Beer # 366: Dogfish Head Festina Peach is this summer's latest tart

After our libation filled 365 Beer Every Day Great Success party last night, I wake up, drag myself out of bed at 8:30am to drive 3 hours up the coast to attend my wine club's, Ampelos, annual summer bbq. Two red bulls later and I'm there with a smile in my face.

I know what you're thinking: why does this beer enthused weirdo also belong to a wine club? The answer lies in the subtle updating of a Chinese proverb. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Well for a birthday, give your son a box of wine and he will drink well. Give him a wine club subscription, and he will drink well for several years. Some gifts just keep giving.

It's the curse of a father in love with wine. Three birthdays ago, I asked for a membership for my favorite winery and have been grape-content ever since, although my collection is now stockpiling because I haven't the libido to drink a beer every day AND wine. I'm unfortunately mortal and have found my limit but that doesn't exclude me from taking advantage of free food and vertical flights of wine up in beautiful Solvang, CA.

Classic 2006 Pinot Noir with classic coke

The owners, Peter and Rebbecca, are both awesome and hilarious. Their story is also really fascinating. They were working in SoCal for Disney while their son studied Viticulture at UC Davis (THE place to study wine making). They bought the amazing land you see for their retirement, and one summer in between class their son asked if he could live in a trailer on the land and grow wine. Soon after, Peter and Rebbecca become sick of the corporate world and leave Orange County for the greener hills. They learned winemaking from their son, who now is the winemaker at the prestigious Sea Smoke, and then they began their own business. How often does a parent learn a profession from their son? 

They make really good wine and you should check out their Rho Pinot Noir or their Grenache if it's available. Under its influence, bearded people wear Justin Timberlake hats for the first time. It's science.

Even silly hats can't disguise a beer nerd

Driving 6 hours round trip for 4 hours of wine drinking and eating slow roasted pork can get me pretty thirsty for something light and refreshing. Good thing I have a low alcohol neo-berliner style weisse bier that's fermented with peach juice waiting for me at home. Also awaiting me is the disaster that is my apartment.  

Drinking Jenga!

The wheat beer style lays the foundation for a light and refreshing brew with a relatively low alcohol percentage for Dogfish Head, 4.5%. The style is also pretty sour, which makes it a good choice to partner with peach juice. I'm unfortunately not a fan of tart beers, evidenced by my dislike of every sour beer ever drunk and this one kinda assaults your tongue with that character. But there will certainly be those who like this style and the flavor, so if you like lighter beers give it a shot. THE ISLAND rating.

Dogfish Head 120 min IPA is 18% of holy crap that's a lot of alcohol

I'm dragging David halfway across town after his long drive back from Carlsbad in an open air and doorless Jeep for good reason. At the Surly Goat, and several bars even further away from us, Dogfish Head has distributed an IPA that don't come around heeear very often.There is a single keg of Dogfish Head 120 min IPA on tap. We arrive to find Nick G already mixing it up with the owner of the Surly Goat, Alan.

David just saw the evil monkey from Family Guy behind the camera

 The bartender brings our pours out in Sherry glasses and I'm at first, a bit put off. Do you know who I am? A international, well known, vaguely familiar beer blogger and I deserve more...What's that? It's 18%?! Sweet Jesus Mary and Jebediah, I should've done my homework! I have only read about the mystery of this beer and for some reason didn't realize it's that strong. Touche bartender, touche.

I initially feel ridiculous holding a glass the size of a child's tea cup, but not after the first sip. If I hadn't known it was brewed by Dogfish Head, I would assume it's moonshine. David and I just had a discussion earlier this week about the perfect alcohol percent in beer, and we both agreed it was 8%. In our experience, anything over that and you begin tasting the alcohol. It's simply difficult to hide an element that intense. At 18%, how do you combat the sheer overwhelming power of alcohol? More hops of course.

A few sips in, I still feel like I'm drinking moonshine tea, but I'm extremely impressed with how well the signature Dogfish hops are hiding it. This is the strongest beer I've ever tasted (previous record, the 14.5% Bruery Cuir), but they have done an amazing job disguising it. Oh, be certain my face is turning red after a few sips, but wow, color me impressed. BAD BOYS rating. 

Dogfish head 60 min ipa makes way for my beer closet

Can't believe I've put off both of these for so late in the year! It's time to clean out our hall closet to make way for our carboy, two buckets, two 5 gallon partial-mash coolers, and 5 cases of home brew plus another 4 cases of home brew that are currently fermenting and will bottle in the coming weeks. I will have before and after pictures tomorrow for now/below, feast your eyes on part of the after and the beer of the day.

Dogfish Head's 90min IPA is a phenomenal beer, rich, big bodied and perfectly hopped. How big a difference will 30 mins less of being continuously hopped make for Dogfish Head's 60 min IPA?

So the fewer 30 mins and lower alcohol/body found in the 60 min IPA does make a huge difference in quantity compared to the 90min. That being said, this still beats many, many IPA's out there. It's a great IPA and its drinkability is high. We originally bought a six pack and I could easily have drunk it all laying on the hammock that afternoon. Good thing I saved one for later! TRANSFORMERS rating

Dogfish Head Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale isn't just for the musically inclined

Good Beer NYC is a beer store and tasting room and is where I'm headed to meet Warren and Lorin, who both got out of work early. If I lived here and wanted to do a beer every day, Good Beer would be my Candyland. It's small space wise but filled to the brim with phenomenal brew from all corners of the globe. 

It would be a contest between this and Beverage Warehouse in LA for beer supply supremacy. And you know who the real winner is? Heyyy, this guyyy.

The Bro's Dubya enjoying Dale's Pale Ale

Flights are ordered and from their roughly 10 taps, I choose 3 lighter beers I couldn't find on the West Coast, a Sly Fox Helles, Troegs Sunshine Pils, and a Left Hand Polestar Pils, and rounded out my foursome with a strong dark ale I can find anywhere but have never tried, Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine. We add a golden goose to wrap up the tasting, a pint of Dale's Pale Ale.

I wasn't really impressed with any of my choices, but that was expected. Pilsners and Hells are simple and clean - perfect day drinking beers but not a style that will woo me. Lorin's future roomie who currently lives nearby, Stephanie joined us to hair of the dog her hangover.

After catching up with my friend and new friend, Lorin and Steph depart and Warren and I hobble back to the apartment. Warren is on crutches from an ankle surgery and I couldn't imagine canvassing NYC on four legs. Fortunately, we stop on the way back and pickup cookies and one of the more amazing dessert-edly delights I've tasted, a Cake Truffle. It's the most amazing funfetti birthday cake you've ever had, but in the palm of your hand. My inner fat kid is screaming!

Back at the homestead, I pop open one of the beers I bought at Good Beer, Dogfish Head Hellhound on My Ale. This beer was on my list of beers to drink in New York, and I'm relieved it was so easy to find.

There's such a rich mythology and purpose behind this beer that my words wouldn't do it justice, so here's what the brewer Sam Calagione has to say about it:

"2011 marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson who, according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever. Working again with our friends at Sony Legacy (yup, the same folks we did our Miles Davis-inspired Bitches Brew with), Dogfish Head pays tribute to this blues legend by gettin the hellhounds off his trail and into this finely-crafted ale.

Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse, 10.0 ABV, 10.0 SRM in color, and dry-hopped with 100% centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. Can you tell we at Dogfish are stoked for this mighty musical centennial? To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the centennial hops (and as a shout out to Robert Johnsons mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson) we add dried lemon peel and flesh to the whirlpool."

My fraternity brother, good friend and Warren's current roommate, Dan, enjoying the Hellhound. Only Dan and his roommates would put a golf net in their NYC apt. instead of a table.

These Dogfish fellers are pretty wild. Their enthusiasm and passion for beer is inspiring. And fortunately, so is their beer. The alcohol is well hidden behind a sweet golden colored body and a very citrus flavor profile. As expected, it's intensely hoppy both in flavor and aroma. This is a wonderfully wild and zesty beer to drink, if only once. THE ROCK rating.

Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA deliciously haunts the former Del's Saloon

Right around the corner from my old Brentwood apartment was a notorious Dive Bar called Del’s Saloon. There was saw dust on the floor and a U-shaped table in the bar’s center. It was also the location of a scene in Knocked Up, where Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan grab drinks and decide to go to Las Vegas:

This is a cleaned up movie version of Del’s

It was a good old fashioned shit hole and the drinks were cheap. You were guaranteed to find a ratio of 2:1 male to females and a good portion of the crowd would be 40+ and looked like they smoke 2 packs a day. Basically, the place was infested with former models (psych). Unfortunately, the place shuttered over a year ago. Fortunately, a new bar opened up with the same cheap drink special ($2 dollar Coors during happy hour, $1 off every beer) and a new décor that includes leather booths. Sadly, gone is the shitty U-shaped table. Being in a place that has class without paying for it? I’m in. David and I are meeting up with an old friend Matt D to ketchup over a round of pool and brewskies.
Fortunately for us, this beer has better taste than Coors light. I can get a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA for $5 dollars. It’s a 9% beer and one of the best around. I can’t believe two things: That it’s this cheap, and I haven’t counted it as one my beers. Time to make it count.

Something I didn’t know, is that Dogfish head uses an English two row pale as the base malt, which I would assume is rather unusual for an American IPA. 90 minutes refers to the length of the boil and over that hour and a half the beer is continuously hopped with multiple kinds of hops. Continuous hopping is a specialty of Dogfish, Sam Caligione actually created a machine specifically designed to continually feed hops over the length of the boil.

As I taste, there is smooth citrus and herbal bite. The Dogfish Head hop bite, like Stone, is so distinct and 'well known' most craft brew drinker could pick it out of a lineup after tailgating a Bud Light fueled University of Texas football game. The alcohol is well disguised in this beer. The beer has a darker amber flavor than I expected, and it’s damn delicious. David is having multiple of these. I plan on returning back here and even though I can’t count this as one of my beers, it’s the only thing I want to be drinking. BAD BOYS rating.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton Imperial IPA would impress Chuck Norris

Bringing food to the Surly Goat is a first for me, and sushi will hopefully prove to be a good choice, even though there are so many ways it could go wrong. I'm excited to try this Dogfish Head, it's an IPA with 10% alcohol! How could this go wrong? 

I subscribe to 7, 10 beer blogs and haven't seen this reviewed by anyone. It must be brand new. Again, props to the Goat for being on the front end of this distribution.

This beer has a big malt, a HUGE malt with a caramel body that leaves me salvitating. This is a big American malt base for a lethal dose of hops. This is Chuck Norris strength of imperial IPA's and deserves a BAD BOYS rating. Love drinking this.

Lindsey, my long lost Chicago friend sent me the coolest beer label today and it's personalized! F*cking A Lindz, I LOVE IT.

Dogfish Head Aprihop and my Belgian Red Home Brew make for a Funday Sunday

The day has come! Hoorayyy! Belgian Red, my first real experimental beer, is ready to drink. This was me when I woke up. David was Paul Pierce, the guy just running around after sinking a game winning shot:

So here is the Belgian Red Recipe. I have to say, it pours beautifully. Many home brews don't have great carbonation, but look at how much head it pours with! Awesomeness.

David says that you could have told him that this was the Belgian IPA we brewed and he would believe it. The IBU's are only at 50, opposed to the 80+ we have in our Belgian, but it's still quite hoppy. David also said, and I have to quote him because I'm proud, that the beer's "good quality exhibits my experience." Happy to report I'm getting better and not worse with age. Score.

Tell you what, it's different than I expected but I'm still very happy with it and it tastes delicious. The color pours beautifully but the flavor doesn't scream red ale, rather, the beer exhibits some light caramel flavors and the sweetness of a Belgian strong ale. There is considerably less caramel flavor than a Belgian Dubbel but there's definitely considerably more caramel than a Belgian Golden. I was hoping for a more "red" flavor profile, but this was the first recipe and I'll add more caramel notes next time. Otherwise, I'm VERY excited to share this with people in the coming weeks. It's tasty.

After sampling, we went onto "sample" more beer with Christine who is up from Newport and with Sara. It's time for a little Sunday Funday.

We checked out a bier garden on the Venice boardwalk. It's been a while since I've strolled the chaos that is Venice beach and I forgot how entertaining it is - that and how many dogs there are int he world. David brought Kamari (under the table in the picture above) and we settled in for a pitcher of Erdinger Dunkel, German puffed pasta and mozzarella sticks ordered by yours truly (not very German of me).

Sunday Funday continued with Sangria at Primitivo Wine Bistro. Guess what else is on Abbott Kenney? The Other Room. The beer of the day is now 3 out of 4 days from this bar. Starting to run out of options...Psych! Their menu is Laaarge.

Even though I know nothing about apricots (I have no idea what they smell or look like), I welcome any beer that can incorporate unusual elements in to make a balanced brew. Sam Caligione is the king of this, so I'm very excited to taste this.

I'm trusting Christine and Sara to help me out with the aroma. They say the Aprihop smells like a bag of dried apricots and weed. HA, silly girls - that's Dogfish Heads signature HOPS. But to be fair, hops are a distant cousin of the green cheeva that is so prevalent in this area. I blame it on the hippies. The fruit in this beer is very well balanced with the hops. I'm not a fan of fruit beers but I love this because the fruit and hops are so subtle. It's simply a well made beer. THE ROCK rating.

David announced that his next beer will be an Imperial Red, like Drake's Denoggenizer. I'm going to use my tax refund money like Ninkasi (the Sumerian goddess of fermentation) would want me too and invest in equipment to brew my first partial-mash beer. Time to step up home brewing a notch and get serious about this!

Dogfish Head Red and White is the best of both worlds

I saw the Dogfish Head Red & White ale was on tap at the Surly Goat yesterday and I knew that it'd be my beer of the day but I didn't get real excited because it's an experimental beer that's made with wine. I love it when I'm totally wrong (so yes, basically I'm love'n life all the time).


It's a big, Belgian Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel with Pinot Noir juice concentrate added with 11% aged in Pinot Noir barrels and 89% aged on oak barrel staves. Sam Caligione's expertise is incredible - how did he know it should be 11% opposed to 15 or 20%? Amazing.

What's also amazing is that the Surly Goat pours it not from a bottle but from on tap. Awesomeness prevails here.

I can smell the pinot strongly and the wine combines so well with the beer it's not even funny. It's a fantastically balanced beer. A synthesis of the wine and beer elements that is sweet with dark fruits and an easy finish. Did I mention it's 10% alcohol? Usually with beers this strong the alcohol makes it's presence known, but not here. BAD BOYS rating.

Now it's onward to Supper Club for Lisa's birthday! I'm ready to dance on some beds after this red and white.

Victory Saison du Buff makes rosemary a rock star

So I went to the doctor this morning. I hadn't been since September, a month after we started drinking a beer every day. Wanna guess who gained 10 lbs? This guy! You can't tell by looking at me, but somewhere, hiding, beneath my epidermis is the effect of 200+ beers. It's not like I'm at the point where I'm calling up Curves, asking what their monthly specials are, but it's time to realize I'm not 23, I work a desk job, and salad's are not the enemy (*note* If you put Raspberries in my salad though, I might turn into the Incredible Hulk's bigger and meaner Brother, Magnus Hulk). I still have 150 beers left and speedo season is just around the corner, as Nick G reminds me every other day, so here's to eating healthy and drinking growlers of beer.

On that note, look at the giant beers I bought at The Bruery Saturday. I've already counted them for the year and will only be drinking for pleasure. Heyyy

Three truly unique and delicious brews

I'm back on track with the collaboration beers after the brewery trip interrupted my planned three consecutive San Diego involved collab beers. This one is from Stone Brewery, Dogfish Head, and Victory out of Pennsylvania and it's an herb centric beer. If Dogfish is involved, you know it's going to be a little wacky.

Clocks in at 6.8% alcohol. The rosemary hits you strong upfront like cheap perfume. It's intense (more on this later).

I had a triple white sage beer from Craftsman at the LA Beerfest and it was amazing. Craftsman also made a lavender beer and it was unappealing. I feel the biggest factor for herb centered beers is the role of the herb. Is it used as a centerpiece and the beer revolves around it? Or does it take a backseat to the body of the beer and play a supporting role, a Robin to the beer's Batman? I believe in the latter and I think that's the more sensible route. It's the same way with cooking - you don't have rosemary for your main meal, it's used as a part of the main meal.

But these guys are professional brewers and they don't-give-a-shit about being sensible, especially Sam Calagione from Dogfish, who is a wild man. This Rosemary centered beer blows my little philosophy out of the water. It's really good, wow. It's definitely something to try, and it has a bright label so you can't miss it at Whole Foods ($3.50). TRANSFORMERS rating



I'm usually very beer-centric on the blog (and like to overuse the word 'centric'), but every so often Jebus presents an opportunity impossible to pass up and not post about. Ladies and Germs, today that opportunity is spelled S-H-E-E-N.

"I'M ON A DRUG. IT'S CALLED CHARLIE SHEEN
http://livethesheendream.com/

Here are several additional gems, but there are so, so many more on the above website:

"SORRY MY LIFE IS MUCH MORE BITCHIN' THAN YOURS. I PLANNED IT THAT WAY."

"I EXPOSED PEOPLE TO MAGIC"

"I AM A WARLOCK"


"CLEARLY I HAVE DEFEATED THIS EARTHWORM WITH MY WORDS"

"I AM AN F-18"

"ROCK BOTTOM? THAT'S A FISHING TERM"

"THE RUN I WAS ON MADE SINATRA, FLYNN, JAGGER AND RICHARDS LOOK LIKE DROOPY-EYED ARMLESS CHILDREN"



If you feel like taking the blue pill and having your reality checked, take this 10 question quiz and choose whether the quotes are  either Charlie Sheen or Muammar Gaddafi (thank you brother Warren) -->
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/quiz/2011/mar/01/muammar-gaddafi-charlie-sheen-quiz

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron is strong enough to use as anesthesia

All I can say is, this ain't the first or last time the Philly Cheese truck will save my life after a night at Daily Pint. I'm meeting Nick G and Karl here for some 12% beer from Dogfish Head.

The Palo Santo Marron is a strong dark ale *(strong is putting a little mildly, don't ya think Sam Calagione?) that's aged in Paraguayan Palo Santo wood and the outcome smells like chocolate, and tastes bitter and roasted. For a 12% beer, I can taste the alcohol but it's going down smoothly and I'm the bitterness is growing on me. I'm used to hop bitterness and not a dry, nutty bitterness. That would make this one funky but delicious beer.

Karl equates this to a better version of the Port Brewing Old Viscosity, which I've never had.
All in all, no many can make 12% taste soo good. Welcome to THE ROCK.

We'll be here next Thursday for a free scotch tasting and more beer!

Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu Jiu Jitsu's my tongue

Coming back from dinner with Karl, Laura, David, Lindsey and Michelle at Manchego, which is not only a great tapas place but also BYOB, with no corkage fee. I'm home now and pouring a a Chateau Jiahu while I watch and time the CO2 bubble through the filter on our primary fermentation for our unnamed Belgian Style IPA so I can guesstimate how long until we rack to the secondary (Thursday perhaps?)

This brew was was inspired by a beverage found in clay posts in China around 9000 years ago and in keeping with historic evidence, Dogfish brewers used pre-gelatinized rice flakes, Wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers. It was then fermented for over a month with Sake yeast. Awesome stuff.

Saucy ancient women with bangs get me every time

Well it pours beautifully but smells sour. However, Jiahu tastes excellent. David is comparing it to a homebrew and I agree. The honey bestows a sweet flavor and the hawthorn brings a brief fruity punch at the end. This would be fantastic on a great hot summer day, especially if you were laying in a hammock, which happens frequently....Hmmm, I bought the last bottle of this at Whole Foods and now I need to find this again. D'oh!  THE ROCK rating.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale makes me a happy camper in Washington D.C.

 

 Out of LA for the weekend and excited to be in Washington D.C. visiting Sarah E!

I am surrounded by unfamiliar local brews but can't resist the awesomeness that is Dogfish Head. The Indian Brown Ale is something I've never seen available for purchase in LaLa land. It's a brown ale with caramelized brown sugar and two kinds of whole leaf hops.

I can't remember what show I was watching or who's mug and it's killing me, but that beer is gorgeous!

Excellent chocolate and nut aroma. It pours a really dark brown, closer to a porter. The brown ale body is changed substantially by the caramelized sugar, which takes the bite out. Whole leaf hops are a subtle touch to this unique take on brownie ale. It's a very drinkable beer and would go great with food or afternoon football game. I drank a bunch of it and wish it grew on trees in California. Lov'n it. THE ROCK rating.

Dogfish Head Punkin

Thank you, The Other Room, for saving Pumpkin Ale Week with this tap. You continue to piss excellence with your selection of sweet beer, here's to you:

One week, we will spend every night at The Other Room and drink every beer. But you know who the real winner is? America. Because beer lovers are patriots.

Rich and and full bodied, this a little column A and a little column B; some pumpkin and some ale, neither overpowering but both complimenting the other with high fives as they hit my tongue. Welcome to THE ROCK.

Hey Dogfish Head Theobrama, nice cleavage

Back at the Library for a Theobrama. Broke the usual rule and looked it up before deciding to go for it. Because I looked it up, I tool one sip and waited to see if the pepper would kick in after a min or two, and it DID.

At first it's sweet and smooth, really nice. An earthy, subtle bitterness follows but it's not exactly malty. Then in the back of my throat I can feel the peppery heat. Really light, completely unoffensive. Awesome how original this is.

Salma Hayek, easy call. While it might be offensive to say this to her face, I don't think she's as "Latin" as her attitude and image lead on. She's smooth and sweet first and once those characteristics have a chance to win you over, the heat drops in, just barely. This is an attractive beer. Also, boobs.

LA Beer Week: Dogfish Head Theobroma

So I dragged David back to the Library Ale House hoping to find redemption, which tonight might be spelled THEOBROMA. Dogfish, don't fail me now! (you almost never do)

Hello gorgeous, you may look blonde but you taste like chocolate. I like you.

So this is one of their specialty beers and I don't believe is widely distributed, so it might be hard to find. This is the description from Dogfish, it's a little wild:

Theobroma, or "food of the gods," is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs from Askinosie Chocolate, honey, ancho chilies, and annatto. The recipe is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras, which scientists claim is the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink.

Fortunately Library is awesome and has it on keg this week. To me this is a very remarkable beer. It pours a golden hue like a belgian and is briefly sweet upfront, but then it follows with a subtle spice and ends with chocolate crashing the party. It's a golden beer that tastes like chocolate. I'm in Heaven. If Theobroma was the President, I'd be chanting "4 MORE YEARS." President Theobroma. Has a ring to it. Adding points to awesomeness, the meaning of Theobroma is similar to a frequented phrase I use, 'nectar of the gods.' I can tell, this beer and I will be lifelong friends. Hopefully I can find it soon!

Watcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when Theorboma comes for you. BAD BOYS rating.