Dragons and Yumyums Review

Dragons & YumYums - Dogfish Head Brewery

For my first attempt at a beer review, I decided to crack open a bottle of Dogfish Head's Dragons and YumYums. Now, this isn't my first time tasting the beer, but I enjoyed it so much the first time, I had to snag myself a few more. Here's a little bit about the beer from their website:

"An explosion of fruit in every sip, Dragons & YumYums is an intensely tropical - yet subtlety bitter - pale ale brewed with a combination of dragonfruit, yumberry, passionfruit, pear juice, and black carrot juice. Clocking in at 6.5% ABV and 25 IBU, Dragons & YumYums is a first-of-its-kind beer and vinyl collaboration with American rock icons, The Flaming Lips."

Part of the reason I chose Dragons & YumYums to be my first review is that when I was grabbing the six-pack from our local shop, the guy behind the counter asked me how it tasted and I had such a hard time describing the beer to him. I'm not even sure the description on the Dogfish Website truly does the beer justice.

Pour

Pouring the beer, you're greeted with a deep and alluring rose color that complements the bold shades of pink on the beer's label. The color is certainly expected given the promise of "intensely tropical" flavors. This is where, for me, the beer takes a bit of a surprising turn.

Aroma

I didn't get nearly as much fruit on the nose as I was expecting given all of the fruit that's included in this brew. Neither did I sense the typical floral or piney aromas I'd expect from a pale ale. Instead, I found the beer more closely resembles a lighter blonde ale with even a hint of sour on the nose.

Taste

Tasting the beer, you're greeted with more of the sweetness of the fruit that you'd expect in this brew, followed by the tartness I more closely associate with a sour ale. This is certainly a light-bodied ale that goes down easy, especially on a hot summer day.

It's not overpowered by sourness so if you've never tried a sour beer, this would be a great introduction. Like a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, it's sweet enough to be attractive to someone who may be hesitant to try a sour while offering a crisp tartness on the finish without being too bitter.

Dogfish Head has been brewing the "Offical Beer of Record Store Day" for the past 4 years, but this year it really seems like they took the experience aspect of the beer to a whole new level. With each sip, I can't help but be taken back to our night at the Dogfish Inn, sitting around the fireplace flipping through records.

This is not a beer that's meant to be enjoyed alone, but a beer that's meant to complement an experience with friends.