This year saw the release of Dogfish Head’s latest one-off creation, Bitches Brew. The beer was previewed at the SAVOR beer-and-foodie convention in Washington, DC this June and its official debut even garnered a feature on the Discovery Channel’s new show, Brew Masters. Brewed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the seminal Miles Davis album by the same name, Bitches Brew is as unique as Dogfish Head’s motto, “Off-centered beer for off-centered people”. Bitches Brew has been tricky to acquire since its first batch ended, though the Dogfish Head website advertises that a second batch was released November 15. I was only able to track down a bottle after contacting a local beer-and-wine vendor, who had a case of it stashed. The bottle’s design is cool, with one of Dogfish Head’s signaturely surreal labels. I poured the brew into a teardrop goblet and let it sit for a few minutes. With Bitches Brew being a blend of three parts imperial stout to one part African mead, I was anticipating something very sweet indeed—and frankly, was surprised to find something much more mindblowing. Bitches pours dark as dark can be. A finger and a half’s worth of head that is dark tan with hints of ruby in the lacing. The lace stays with the beer most of the way down, and it’s almost sticky to the touch. It wasn’t until the end of my glass, as I was looking down at it, that could I see a honey-yellow tint that surrounded the lace. An absolutely beautiful-looking beer. Perhaps some of the surprise is that the beer hides its imperial nature quite well—at first sniff or taste, you might be unsure as to whether these are the droids you’re looking for. There is not an obvious alcohol scent or taste as is common in beers of this strength (it’s close to 9 percent ABV); it’s remarkably easy drinking. I was also anticipating a bit more viscosity from the African mead, but was again happy to find my presumption incorrect. There were flavors from everywhere—I couldn’t get a constant pattern to things. At first, the beginning was darkly sweet, and finished with a roasted deep chocolaty malt feel, but halfway through, the flavors changed up on me. I was hit with a semi-burnt roast coffee taste and finished again with the sweetness. I could detect the honey—there was definitely a mellowing effect on the flavor coming from the honey, but it did not weigh down the mouthfeel in any unpleasant way. The finish was hoppy and perfectly bitter for the style. My opinion overall, a really great experience. I don’t listen to a lot of jazz, but I did sample this with some appropriate background music (Miles Davis, of course). I also watched Bitches Brew’s Brew Masters episode before I drank this, and I think Sam and the crew from Dogfish Head really put a lot of passion and heart into this beer. Bitches Brew lives up to what these brewers like to call “keeping it a little kooky and wacky around the Dogfish joint”.