Life & Limb is a completely unique collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. It's a match made in heaven - Sierra specializes in eminently drinkable, balanced ales and have proven master collaborators of late (check out the Anniversary series), while no one does crazy experimentation like Dogfish does it. First released in '09, they've done another extremely limited run and I got my hands on an early-release bottle Friday. So what's in the bottle? It starts with hops grown at Sierra, yeast from both brewer's private strains, and Massachusetts maple syrup. Brew that and add Alaskan birch syrup to ferment in some more carbonation and you have an exquisitely balanced, entirely unique 10% ABV bottle of bliss.
Despite the extreme sugars this starts with, nothing overpowers here. The color is light molasses with a thin head, and you can only pick up the maple syrup on the nose if you pay close attention. There's a light roast coffee and some toffee notes there as well. On the palate it all blends beautifully - hints of chocolate and coffee smoothed with maple - so only the best notes stand out. Despite the high alchohol content this is wonderfully smooth; there's a little booziness on the nose but nothing in the taste to distract from all the flavors. The only thing comparable is Founder's Black Biscuit, another amazing limited run that gets aged in maple syrup casks. Don't miss this one - production is very limited, expect even the best beer shops to only get a case or two at most, and that will disappear in a few days tops.
