Dogfish Head says:
A deep, mahogany Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins, and Belgian-style yeast. We began brewing this one at our brewpub in 1996 as the answer to the question, “What beer should I enjoy with a wood-grilled steak?”
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre
Belgian Strong Dark Ale, 8% ABV
Sadly, I did not have a steak when I drank this beer but I imagine it would pair very well with one.
This beer pours out a deep mahogany brown color. It’s almost similar, in color at least, to tea.
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre smells rather sweet; lots of dark fruits in the nose. The taste is pretty similar to the smell with a mix of plums, raisins and figs. There may even be a bit of honey in there somewhere. As this beer warms the dark fruit flavors are far more pronounced.
It has been a while since I’ve had this offering from Dogfish Head & I forgot how much I liked it. This beer is sweet but not overly sweet. In fact, it is rather easy to drink despite having an 8% ABV — which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.