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It’s both!
Dogfish Head has a new Off-Center Your Summer Pack. It has water-resistant packaging that allows you to convert into a cooler simply by tossing ice in. The variety includes 60 Minute IPA, SeaQuench Ale, Lupu-Luau IPA and Namaste White. 3 of each.
I wonder what these are made from or coated with to keep them stable?
I have been remiss in mentioning Dogfish Head beers of late. But an opportunity to rectify the situation has arisen with a new beer/wine hybrid named Mixed Media.
This new beer from Calagione et al is made up of 51% beer grain, and 49% from Viognier grape must from Alexandria Nicole Cellars.
Sounds like a great middle beverage in a tasting of both beer and wine.
I wouldn’t build a whole brand around a beer with vitamins but if Dogfish Head wants to experiment with that and micronutrients and essential amino acids then I say go on and make your Flinstone’s vitamin beer.
It’s The End of the Wort As We Know It is at its base a Belgian-style fruit ale that “contains more than 8 times the amount of Vitamin B Complex than one of America’s best-selling light lagers, including over 90% of the daily recommended serving of folic acid.”
Enough about the health though, what might it taste like? Well, it is an eclectic mix for sure with blueberries, acai, goji berries, purple sweet potatoes, rose hips, chia seed, flax seed, spelt, oats and quinoa. And it packs a 9% ABV punch.
So call you friends in Rehobeth Beach and have them wait in line for the limited bottle release.
Going back to the basics for this autumnal beer review with the Dogfish Head Punkin beer.
Haven’t had this in years it seems like. Comes across strong at first. Picking up vanilla first with the pie spices coming in after that. There is a heavy layer of gourd that sits on the palate after the spices depart the scene. Weird sort of almost burnt bitterness. Nice lacing on the glass after a few sips.
I had hoped to see another archaeological beer collaboration between Dogfish Head and Dr. Patrick McGovern but I guess that a book about past beers (along with home brew recipes) will have to do for now.
Getting to know more of the historical backstory of fermentation should be quite enlightening.
This month I am suggesting that you try a little bit of everything starting with a 3-Way Collaboration and ending in a super big and burly barleywine. A little America, Belgium and England this month.
~LIGHT
Mason Aleworks / Kern River / Eagle Rock/ Gutterball Trio5.3% ABV
“We got together with our friends at Mason Ale Work (San Diego) & Eagle Rock Brewery (Los Angeles) to make this light, refreshing Mosiac, Idaho 7 & Denali hopped IPA.”
~MEDIUM
Green Flash/ Baroque Belgique7.0% ABV
“If Green Flash were founded in historical Belgium, Baroque Belgique would have been our flagship brew. A bold and complex layering of herbal hops finds delicate balance from traditional malts. Bottle conditioning with fresh ale yeast and Brettanomyces adds a funky finishing touch, creating a delightfully bright effervescence, dryness, and continuously evolving character.”
~DARK
Dogfish Head/ Olde School Barleywine15.0% ABV
“Inspired by a tale of a cask doctor who brought sluggish ales back to life by suspending a fig in them. Brewed from 100% Maris Otter pale ale malt, a blend of fine hops and conditioned on dates and figs. User Instructions: open bottle, pour contents into two snifters. Enjoy. ALTERNATIVELY: Walk hand-in-neck with bottle into the middle of the woods. Use shovel to dig 2×2 hole three feet deep. Seal bottle in plastic bag. Place in hole and pack with dirt. Memorize location and leave. Return exactly one year later. Dig up bottle, open and enjoy.”
All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)
No scientist am I and when I see phrases like “restrictor disc” and “N2 pressure to a heat exhanger” or going even further to “inline liquid & gas infuser”. I do not think of craft beer. Seems more like mechanic lingo to me.
But it is part of the mechanical engineering for the draft system called AeriAle which is a byproduct of a team-up between Dogfish Head Brewery and AC Beverage.
The end goal is to drink barrel-aged beer directly from the barrel at the proper temperature and pressure levels.
I am not going to tell you that I understand the process. For that I would need an extra brain and a side by side comparison of the same beer from different taps but I do applaud the creativity and nitro dispense in the US could use a boost.
Maybe this is it. And if an East Coast Eataly restaurant has one, maybe the new Eataly in Century City might too.
At the start of the month, I made a special trip to my local craft beer store, Craft Beer Cellar – Eagle Rock, to spend my gift card bounty from Christmas.
Here is the first review. A beer that I would not normally run out to buy (due to the ingredient list that includes Guatemalan Antigua cold press coffee, Maple syrup harvested from Western Massachusetts and for the quintessential Delaware breakfast touch – Rapa Scrapple and their secret blend of spices), but since it was technically free, I could take a flyer on this hearty stout from Dogfish Head, Beer for Breakfast.
Pours black with a quite foamy espresso/latte head to it. A bit scared of this due to the “scrapple” element. Aroma is pure smoke as in that friend who came in from a smoke break. Off putting to me for sure. Taste is quite strong rauchbier. No ham-iness to it for me. Just smoke. Some coffee grounds poking through but not really bitter. Desperately calls for a 10oz bottle. Quite a warming down the throat bite to it. In the end, I cannot recommend because the aroma is just so off-putting to me.
Since the December blog is filled to bursting with holiday seasonals, for the monthly suggestions we will end with what to drink for Christmas morning, breakfast beers as it were.
~LIGHT
Dogfish Head / Beer for Breakfast 7.4% ABV
“A stout tricked out with all sorts of breakfast ingredients including Guatemalan Antigua cold press coffee, Maple syrup harvested from Western Massachusetts and for the quintessential Delaware breakfast touch – Rapa Scrapple and their secret blend of spices. 2-row Applewood smoked barley, Kiln Coffee malt, Flaked oats, Roasted barley, Caramel malt along with additions of Molasses, Milk Sugars (lactose), Brown Sugar, Roasted Chicory lay the foundation for this malty, breakfast-themed concoction. Enjoy huge notes of coffee in the nose and savory layers in the flavor”
~MEDIUM
The Bruery / The Grade 7.6% ABV
“The Grade is in. It’s built on the backbone of a rich, cold-fermented baltic porter made popular in countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Similar to an imperial porter but distinctly different, the baltic porter style is heralded for being full-bodied, roasty and smooth, with overtones of toffee, coffee, caramel, chocolate and dark fruit. We take it one step further and hammer it home with the bold, sweet flavors of maple syrup and a touch of fenugreek, placing it in a different, experimental class entirely. “
~DARK
Epic Brewing/ Big Bad Baptista 12.6% ABV
“Big Bad Baptista is inspired by traditional Mexican coffee, Café de Olla, which is served with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined sugar. The Cinnamon adds another layer of complexity and accentuates the earthy character of Mexican Coffee, but more importantly, it captures the essence of a place and its culture. As beverage geeks we wanted to pay homage to that rich tradition and offer our unique take. “
I have been a loyal reader of Beer Advocate (the magazine) for years now and have seen ads touting their festivals in Boston and wondered if they might take that on the road.
And they will be, if you are willing to wait a bit, as in over a year from now. Don’t exactly know why they are announcing so soon.
The Extreme Beer Fest® will come to Los Angeles and the California Market Center, Next December 9th in 2017. With the tickets going on sale Saturday, March 4, 2017.
Dogfish Head is the main sponsor but aside from that the only other news is that it be split into two sessions over one day.
More updates to come as the date draws much closer.