Spring Break
Brew's Clues: Drexel's #1 Beer Review
This Week's Ale: Palo Santo Marron
By: Dennis Mongello
Issue date: 7/13/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Originally published: 7/13/07 at 12:10 AM EST
Last update: 7/13/07 at 12:09 AM EST
Originally published: 7/13/07 at 12:10 AM EST
Last update: 7/13/07 at 12:09 AM EST
The other day some friends and I took a road trip down to Delaware. Our destinations were Milton and Rehoboth Beach, the sites of the Dogfish Head Craft Ale Brewery and Brewpub, respectively. It was a day full of beer, bocce and beach. Well, it was more like beer, bocce, beer, beach, beer, but you get the idea. Anyway, there was one beer in particular that caught my attention, a beer so incredible, that the very wood used to age it is protected as it is in danger of becoming extinct. That beer is the Palo Santo Marron.
The name comes from the tree used in its aging process, the palo santo (holy wood). It is a tree native to parts of South America and is prized for its artistic and medicinal uses. Because of this, it is harvested a lot and that has led it to become listed as "conservation dependent" by the IUCN. What this means is that our friends from Delaware had to smuggle some up from Paraguay, risking life and limb to bring one of the finest beers ever crafted to the Mid-Atlantic.
At first sight, you can tell the Palo Santo Marron is special. The inviting dark brown libation was poured on draught into a snifter. It left behind almost a finger's worth of a foamy, caramel colored collar which slowly dissipated into a thin but ever-present lacing, giving off a pleasant nutty aroma with strong earthy notes that complement the smell of the deeply roasted malts that give it its distinctive color. That would make sense, given the fact that the beer has been soaking in the aromas of the holy bark. It was darker than Newcastle Brown, but still noticeably brown.
The taste was out of this world. The recently graduated business student, Adam Miller remarked, "It's sweet, yet full bodied." That would make it the Jess Finkowski of beers. The Portuguese Dave Goncalves commented, "It feels like a fine port from the Porto region." Both of these young men are correct, but the vast character of this beer goes deeper than that. In some respects, it tastes like any other North American brown ale. It is malty and not very bitter, but has a nice nutty and smoky flavor. However, it has the body of a Belgian dubbel and shares some of the flavor profile with that style of beer too, although not as pronounced.
This leaves the holy tree brown with a highly carbonated mouthfeel. It is also very smooth despite its high alcohol content - a whopping 12 percent. There's no alcohol burn, again uncharacteristic of such an alcoholic beer. It is heavy and sweet, so this is the perfect dessert beer. It can be enjoyed with any type of sweet or alone as dessert itself. Its heaviness makes it hard to drink more than one. That's ok though, because one is all you need.
The only bad part about the Palo Santo Marron is that is only available at the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach and considering the rarity of the wood used to produce it, it's a limited release, so good luck getting it. However, if you do have the chance, it is definitely worth the trip.
Rating: ????
Inebriating:
The name comes from the tree used in its aging process, the palo santo (holy wood). It is a tree native to parts of South America and is prized for its artistic and medicinal uses. Because of this, it is harvested a lot and that has led it to become listed as "conservation dependent" by the IUCN. What this means is that our friends from Delaware had to smuggle some up from Paraguay, risking life and limb to bring one of the finest beers ever crafted to the Mid-Atlantic.
At first sight, you can tell the Palo Santo Marron is special. The inviting dark brown libation was poured on draught into a snifter. It left behind almost a finger's worth of a foamy, caramel colored collar which slowly dissipated into a thin but ever-present lacing, giving off a pleasant nutty aroma with strong earthy notes that complement the smell of the deeply roasted malts that give it its distinctive color. That would make sense, given the fact that the beer has been soaking in the aromas of the holy bark. It was darker than Newcastle Brown, but still noticeably brown.
The taste was out of this world. The recently graduated business student, Adam Miller remarked, "It's sweet, yet full bodied." That would make it the Jess Finkowski of beers. The Portuguese Dave Goncalves commented, "It feels like a fine port from the Porto region." Both of these young men are correct, but the vast character of this beer goes deeper than that. In some respects, it tastes like any other North American brown ale. It is malty and not very bitter, but has a nice nutty and smoky flavor. However, it has the body of a Belgian dubbel and shares some of the flavor profile with that style of beer too, although not as pronounced.
This leaves the holy tree brown with a highly carbonated mouthfeel. It is also very smooth despite its high alcohol content - a whopping 12 percent. There's no alcohol burn, again uncharacteristic of such an alcoholic beer. It is heavy and sweet, so this is the perfect dessert beer. It can be enjoyed with any type of sweet or alone as dessert itself. Its heaviness makes it hard to drink more than one. That's ok though, because one is all you need.
The only bad part about the Palo Santo Marron is that is only available at the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach and considering the rarity of the wood used to produce it, it's a limited release, so good luck getting it. However, if you do have the chance, it is definitely worth the trip.
Rating: ????
Inebriating:
