The Drunken Polack

So what does Namaste mean?  Stolen from Wikipedia:

Namaste (Sanskrit: नमस्ते, Hindustani pronunciation: [nʌmʌsˈteː], from external sandhibetween namaḥ and te) is a common spoken greeting or salutation used in India and Nepal. It has multi-religious or else common usage where it may simply mean “I bow to you.” The word is derived from Sanskrit namas, to bow, give obeisance or reverential salutation, and te, “to you.”^[1]

When spoken to another person, it is commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest. This gesture, called Añjali Mudrā, can also be performed wordlessly and carries the same meaning.

Ok so there you have it.  But what does Namaste mean for Sam?  Basically in 2009, 3 Fonteinen Brewery in Belgium lost 1/3 of their annual production when a thermostat broke.  They lost about 100,000 bottles of lambic and gueuze.  So Sam from Dogfish Head and Leo from Birra Del Borgo got together and made this beer and served it at the Rehoboth Brew Pub.  Their goal (I’m stealing this from the DFH blog BTW ) was to send a portion of the profit to 3 Fonteinen and they wanted to use Namaste to celebrate the vibrant and creative Belgian brewing culture.  They wanted the news to get out so beer enthiasts seeked out 3 Fonteinen beers and helped them get over the huge loss. 

In 2010 they bottled the beer for the first time.  I believe it’s only available at the brewpubs and maybe some spots in Delaware.  I went up to the brewpub a few months ago in hopes I could land a few bottles but it ends up I was a week early.  So I got lucky when a gentleman on the BA forums that lives by the pub offered me a few bottles.  Last week I opened one.  What I got was a nice easy to drink session type beer that I would love to drink over and over again on those hot summer days.

Namaste pours a hazy, cloudy, orange color.  A big two finger fluffy head is poured.  A good amount of lacing.  Right off the bat you get a nice floral and spicy nose.  The lemongrass and coriander come through beautifully.  While the nose is quite spicy, it’s also full of fruit. It’s definitely the orange slices talking.  Finally a small wheaty background is there.  Good stuff.

In the taste the citrus comes through more than any of the other ingredients.  The spiceness of the coriander and lemongrass takes a bit of a backseat here and well as the wheat.  They are all present though.  Just a very easy to drink wit. 

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side and highly carbonated.  Drinkability is huge on this beer.  Goes down easy.  Loved it on a 90+ degree day.

This beer will not blow you away.  Don’t expect it to.  It’s just a pleasure to drink though.  I could see myself hitting up the brewpub and just sitting there all night pounding these back. 

ABV%: 5.00%
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says:  A Belgian-style White made with dried organic orange slices, fresh cut lemongrass and a bit of coriander. This beer is a great summer quencher.

Namaste was originally brewed at our brewpub in with our friend Leo from Birra del Borgo in Italy as a tribute to our friends at 3 Fonteinen brewery in Belgium, who had devastating production loss (1/3 of their annual production!) at their brewery in 2009. You can read more about the original brewing of this beer here on Sam’s blog.

For summer 2010, this beer will be brewed in a larger volume and packaged in bottles (750ml) and draft. It will be available in the great state of Delaware – both at our Milton, DE brewery and at our Rehoboth Beach, DE brewpub. We’re shooting for an early June 2010 release.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Immort Ale, Dogfish Head Sah’tea
Other beers to try within the same style:  The Bruery Orchard White, Voodoo Brewing White Magick of the Sun
Rating: B+/A-

For your Wednesday reading, here is a quick review for a beer I’ve many times but for some reason never wrote about.  Festina Peche is a fantastic seasonal beer from Dogfish Head.  It’s light and low and alcohol.  They stuck it in as a Summer beer and well it matches it perfect. 

It’s pale yellow, fizzy, and highly carbonated but don’t let that scare you away.  It’s not a Coors Light.  It’s smell is sweet and tart.  Peaches and wheat blast the nostrils. 

In years past I thought the taste on this brew was more tart and sour.  This years version seems to be a little bit more toned down.  I think it brings even better balance and drinkability.  The taste is wheaty, grainy, slighty malty, and has a nice amount of peaches in it.  Like I said about, it’s slightly tart and sour.  Not overpowering.  Great introduction into beers that are sour.

Mouthfeel is light, crisp, dry, and more importantly, refreshing.    Refreshing is the most important part.  As it is a really good beer on a hot summer day.

I picked a growler of this stuff up from the brewpub and it was more than halfway done the first night I picked it up.  It really hit the spot and it’s better than I remember it being.

Found: Straight from the brewpub but you can find it in every store pretty much
ABV%: 4.50%
Price: Cost me about 13 dollars for a new growler
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says:  A refreshing neo-BerlinerWeisse fermented with honest-to-goodness peaches to (get this!) 4.5% abv! Because extreme beers don’t have to be extremely boozy! Available in 4-pack and draft during the sweaty months.

Sadly, there are only a few breweries left in Berlin still brewing the Berliner Weisse style which is characterized by its intense tartness (some say sour). There were once over 70 breweries in Berlin alone making this beer! In addition to fermentation with an ale yeast, Berliner Weisse is traditionally fermented with lactic cultures to produce its acidic or green apple-like character. It is delicately hopped with a pale straw color and served as an aperitif or summertime quencher. To soften the intense sourness, Berliner Weisse is traditionally served with a dash of essence of woodruff or raspberry syrup.

In our Festina Peche since the natural peach sugars are eaten by the yeast, the fruit complexity is woven into both the aroma and the taste of the beer so there is no need to doctor it with woodruff or raspberry syrup – open and enjoy!
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Namaste, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse
Rating: B+/A-

The girlfriend and I made one of our spur of the moment trips to Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth, DE.  Gotta love a girl that doesn’t mind driving 3 1/2 hours each way  just to have lunch and watch her boyfriend drink some beer.  My goal this time was to try their brewpub exclusive beers, pick up a few bottles of their Beeradvocate/Dogfish Head Wrath of Pecant! and hopefully pick up a few bottles of Namaste.  Sadly Namaste, which is brew pub only, didn’t get released until yesterday and to make matters worse, the keg of it just got kicked before I got there!  I guess 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

First beer I tried was one that was called Voodoo Down.  An Imperial Stout brewed with honey.  Sounds fantastic and damn it, it was pretty damn fantastic.  For a 9% brew this one had no problem going down and would of easily drank a few more if I didn’t have to drive home another 3 1/2 hours.

This one pours pitch black with a two finger creamy mocha head.  The aroma is sweet.  Chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt.  The honey brewed with it doesn’t really show.  Maybe it’s mixed in with the sweetness.

In the taste though I did get a bit of the honey.  The taste is roasty and dry.  Once again the coffee and chocolate come in nice.  Alcohol really wasn’t present at all and surprised me for the heavy 9% it comes in at.

The mouthfeel was dry but smooth.  A little bit to much on the watery side for me but it added to the drinkability on this one.

I was sitting there wondering something while drinking this.  I read an article on Beernews.org about their up and coming release, Bitches Brew.  Here’s what DFH says about Bitches  Brew.

“In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis’ 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has created its own Bitches Brew – a bold, dark beer that’s a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root, a gustatory analog to Miles’ masterpiece.”

What I drank sure did sound like a version of it.  Sure enough Dogfish Head announced on twitter yesterday that indeed what was on tap at the brewpub was a test batch.  Pretty cool.  Decent beer and can only get better.  Can’t wait to try a bottle.

Found: Straight from the Brewpub!
Price: 5 dollars a snifter
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says: A roasty, inky, not-so-dinky Imperial Stout fermented with honey to off-set the inordinate volume of dark grains we included in this here recipe. Enjoy this dark, complex brew-pub exclusive with some spicy BBQ or your favorite dessert.

Voodoo Down will go on tap 5/17/10 and will be available until it’s gone!
ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Other beers to try within the same style: Alesmith Speedway Stout, Cigar City Hunahpus Imperial Stout
Rating: B+

Next up was their Stop the Spill ESB.  Can you guess what this is named for?  Yes the BP oil spill.  A dollar gets donated every time you buy a pint of this stuff.  Very cool idea.

This one pours a dark amber color.  Very little head is poured and what is poured quickly disappears.

Now a little story on this one.  As  I was drinking it, I kept on saying to myself “This is not an ESB”  I got to the middle of the glass and finally got up enough nerve to say to the waitress “Excuse me, can I try a sample of the ESB”  She says “Why?  You have it right there”  I preceded to say that this doesn’t really taste like an ESB to me and it tastes more like a brown ale.  Maybe they got it mixed up with the Indian Brown?  She’s like no I think you’re wrong!  Now I haven’t had the Indian Brown in years so I totally forgot what it tasted like.  She brings out the Indian Brown with a sample of the ESB.  Sure enough I was wrong.  I felt bad but she laughed and all was good.  But dammit this didn’t taste like any ESB I’ve ever had.  Anyway back to the review.

The smell was fruity with a little bit of caramel and some floral notes.  The taste was ok but nothing fantastic.  I would of loved to try this beer off nitro but that’s all they had it on.  I think maybe it might of killed some of the taste.  What I did get was a nice dose of citrus mixed in with some chocolate and caramel malt.  A nice hop bitterness remains after every sip.

Since this was on nitro, it was very smooth and creamy.  Went down easy.  Maybe to easy.

Loved trying another brewpub only beer from these guys.  Makes going there just that much better.  Didn’t think this was a ESB dammit! =)

Found: Straight from the brewpub!
Price: $5.50 a pint
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says: Brewed just days after the Gulf oil spill began… and we hope the spill is stopped before the beer kicks! Even if it is – $1.00 from every pint of this beer we sell will be donated to help the Gulf Coast cleanup efforts.

This very British style ale is a nitrogen poured Extra Special Bitter with English Malt and American Hops (Willamette and Galena).

‘Stop The Spill BP ESB’ has a pleasantly sweet malty flavor that sticks around until the hops arrive. The English ale yeast leaves a nice citrus, floral flavor and aroma.
ABV%: 6.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Festina Peche, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Mcneill’s ESB, Three Floyds Lord Admiral Nelson
Rating: B-

And now for what I might have come for the most.  I’ve been trying to land this brew for a few months now but traders want so much for it I decided to just hold off and see if I could pick it up later.  Luckily when I went to the brewpub they still had bottles.  What we have here is an American Brown Ale.  This one is different though.  It’s brewed with pecan-wood smoked malt, plantains, and carob.  Can’t say you’ll find that in a beer every day.  It was brewed for the 2010 Extreme Beer Fest.  It was a collaboration between the brothers from Beer Advocate.  There was a contest held to name the beer and Wrath of Pecan won but the FDA had an issue with the name so it was changed to Wrath of Pecant.  As you can see by the bottle it’s very Star Trek inspired.  Ok now on to the review!

Pecant pours clear dark amber.  Two finger frothy light tan head is poured.  Lacing throughout the glass as you drink.

I said this is a different Brown Ale and right from the start you notice it.  Of course it’s like a lot of Brown Ales in one way.  It has a nutty aroma but unlike a lot of Brown Ales this has the pecan-wood smoked malt and that comes through really nice.  Mixed in there is a caramel sweetness.  But for me the smokiness shined through most for me.  As it gets warmer the deeper smoke aroma pops out more.

In the taste the smokiness still reigned for me.  It just added another level of depth to the beer.  Mixed in there was a bready malt taste and some fruit.  This was probably the Plantains talking.  You can never say DFH uses normal ingredients.  I love how they go out on a limb.  Once again as the beer warms up a bit it gets more complex and the ingredients get a deeper and more rich taste.  By the end of the bottle you can tell the smokiness was just hanging in the back of the throat.

Mouthfeel is smooth and dry.  Medium to full bodied.  At 6% it goes down easy and is a very good sessionable beer.

Overall I loved this beer.  In the beginning I wasn’t very impressed.  But as everything came together and became more complex I was sorry to see the bottle empty.  Good thing I have one left.  Another different brew from DFH.

Found: Straight from the Brewpub!
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.dogfish.com
What the company says: Wrath of Pecant is a collaboration between Dogfish and the Alstrom Brothers of Beer Advocate celebrating the 2010 Extreme Beer Fest.

We worked with them to come up with the concept for the beer. If you want to read the actual ‘making of the beer’ converstaion -check it out here!

Once we had the beer idea, we let Beer Advocate members vote to name it – the winning name came from BA member ‘strangefate.’ (find out the long, strange story behind the final name ‘Wrath of Pecant’ here)

So in the end… Wrath of Pecant became a 6% abv brownish ale brewed with pecan-wood smoked malt, plantains, and carob. It is complex yet quaffable; maltiness nuttiness and subtle earthy notes prevail.

The beer was first tapped at the 2010 Extreme Beer Fest in Boston in February. The bottles (750ml) were released from the Milton brewery for The Weekend Of Compelling Ales & Whatnot in March of 2010. They are now available for sale from the brewery (and very soon at the brewpub!) and should be around into the summer. There are no plans to distribute this beer outside the state of Delaware. Pay us a visit and get some!
ABV%: 6.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Theobroma, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, Voodoo Brewing Wynona’s Big Brown Ale
Rating: A-

Another month and more Stone collaborations.  Stone sure does like to pump these beers out.  I will admit it’s a cool idea to get with some of the best breweries out there to create one off brews.  Sometimes they really work out well.  Sometimes they miss.  I kinda felt that way about the two below.  One I really loved and one I couldn’t really get into.  Read on!

First off is the one I really couldn’t get into.  What we have her is a brew between Stone, Firestone Walker, and 21st Amendment.  I really don’t know to much about the lineup from 21st Amendment.  They hit Virginia a few months ago and all I’ve tried from them is their Watermelon wheat beer which really did nothing for me.  But Firestone on the other hand makes some really good stuff.  Union Jack is a lovely IPA and their anniversary beers are always fantastic.  And well you know Stone.  The bottom line is with this beer though is that it bored the hell out of me.  I could of totally done without even trying it. 

El Camino pours a lot like a stout.  It’s almost pitch black.  A two finger tan head pours and leaves a line of lacing around the glass. 

The issue with this beer for me at least is that nothing really stands out.  I had to put my nose into the beer a few times to really pick something up.  What I did pick up was roasted malt, slight aroma of coffee and chocolate, and some spice kick.  It stated on the bottle that the brew was made with peppercorn and fennel.  So that would explain that. 

The taste is just more of the same.  Not bad at all but just not fantastic.  Once again nothing really stands out here.  Up front the spices come in and are washed away by the roasted malt.  I also picked up some dark fruits.  Some figs mixed in with licorice.  In the end your left with the taste of some alcohol and spice.  

The mouthfeel is dry, smooth, and medium bodied.   

This really isn’t a bad beer.  I liked what they tried with the ingredients but it just didn’t mesh together well in my opinion.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://stonebrewing.com/collab/default.asp#camino
What the company says: You can read all about the collaboration here
ABV%: 9.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Stone IPA, 21st Amendment Monk’s Blood, Firestone Walker Union Jack
Other beers to try within the same style: The Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share, New Holland Dragons Milk
Rating: B

Now here’s a beer I totally got into.  I bought 3 bottles of this stuff and before I knew it they were gone.  It takes a traditional saison and amps it up a bit with some interesting additions.  Clove, sage, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.  It also doesn’t hurt to have 3 of my favorite breweries making this beer.  After all, I can blame Dogfish Head for getting me into this whole craft beer scene. 

Saison Du Buff pours a hazy golden color with a 2 finger white fluffy head.  Great retention and lacing throughout the glass.  The smell on this one is big.  Up front your definitely going to notice all the herbs and spices just here.  It hits you first.  I also picked up a nice bit of grassy hops and lemon. 

Taste is more of the same for the most part but the grassy hops sit up front a bit.  Of course the herbs just plow through all that and attack the palette.  For me the rosemary came through the most followed by the sage.  But all ingredients are very noticeable and are pretty damn big.  It makes for the most interesting saison I’ve ever had.  Wouldn’t expect anything else from these boys.  The taste ends with the usually yeasty taste you get from a saison.

The mouthfeel is light with a nice amount of carbonation.  Goes down easy and quick.

This beer just did it for me.  I loved the twist on the style.  So sad to see my local beer place run out of it.  Good news is that the two other breweries will also be brewing this beer down the line.  I can’t wait to see the differences between the version brewed at Stone.  What will Sam do?  What will Bill do?  It’s why I love beer.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 3.50 a bottle
Website: http://stonebrewing.com/collab/default.asp#dvs
What the company says: You read about it here
ABV%: 6.8%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Stone Old Guardian, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Victory Storm King
Other beers to try within the same style:Boulevard Brewing Saison-Brett, The Bruery Saison Rue
Rating: A

I can honestly say that Dogfish Head (60 Minute IPA in particular) really got me into the Craft Brewing world.  I don’t know whether I should thank them or curse them =)  No I’ll thank them.  It’s a wonderful hobby.  Since I was such a big DFH fanboy, I couldn’t pass up these prints they came out with last year.  A print for each one of their seasonal brews.  I really hope they continue this line.  Please excuse the horrible pictures and on the last picture please excuse my laziness to hide the power wire going to my projector.

Summer is over and wow did I drink a ton of great beers during my second favorite season (fall being my favorite)  Along the way some of those beers were just forgotten about or well I was to lazy to write about them.  So here’s some quick thoughts on some of those forgotten beers.

Stone Vertical Epic 07/07/07 Aged in Red Wine Barrels – When I visited Stone,  it was my goal to bring back some one off brews that I could enjoy in the hotel room.  I came back with two growlers.  One of them was the beer you see above.  I love their Vertical Epic line.  I enjoyed what the Red Wine barrels gave to this beer.  It added a bit of a sweet taste with a mixture of a smokey aroma.  Very nice to try something that you can’t buy in the stores

Rating: B+

Stone Old Guardian Aged in Red Wine Barrels -This beer was a little bit of a disappointment.  But it was still really nice to try.  The Red Wine gave the beer kind of an off taste.  I enjoyed the Vertical Epic just a tad bit more. Old Guardian is one of my favorite Barleywines ever.  I don’t think the Red Wine made it any better.

Rating: B

Alpine Exponential Hoppiness -This is one of the beers I came to San Diego to get.  The girlfriend and I took the 35 minute drive to Alpine on  one of our last days there.  I plan on posting some pics of the actual brewery soon but let me just say that it’s small.  Very very small.  If you blink, you miss it.  But size matters not as Yoda says.  In my opinion, Alpine makes the best bunch of IPAs on this Earth.  Duet, Nelson, Pure Hoppiness, Bad Boy, O’Briens and well this beer right here.  Let me have Alpine explain this beer because well, it’s right on.  It’s amazing and it belongs on the top 100 of Beer Advocates best beers in the world.

Very popular. A complex hopping method where each hop addition is double the previous amount. More hops in the hopback and then two dry-hop sessions. The second dry-hop session is with whole hops and oak chips. 1.093 OG 10.75%ABV

It’s a mixture of hoppy goodness with a beautiful smokey flavor.  It’s dangerous.  It’s so easy to drink.  I was just estatic to try this brew.

Rating: A+

Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA -Ballast Point makes a ton of beers but this is there only Double IPA and its a really good one.  A great mixture of floral, citrus, and piney hops.  Easy to drink and crisp.  These guys are just amazing.  The one – two punch of Sculpin and Dorado is one of the best out there.

Rating: A-

Ballast Point Victory at Sea -This is the second brew I tried at the brewery and wow it just blew me away.  Dorado was very good but this was just fantastic.  I wish I would of bought a bigger glass but I was already feeling a little buzzed and I had to drive around San Diego.  A place I really don’t know to well.  The mixture of coffee and vanilla in this porter is just spot on and the mouthfeel is amazing.  Easily my favorite porter.  See this somewhere, you make sure to buy a glass

Rating: A+

Stone Sawyer’s Triple – The reason this beer exists is a sad story.  You can read about it here http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=149 But there is a happy ending.  100% of the sales of this beer go to fight ALD.  So if you are at the brewery, pick up this beer.  Not only are you helping a good cause but hey this is actually a pretty damn fine beer.  Taste is full of candied sugar, fruit, and honey.  A real treat.

Rating: A-

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Starr Hill Northern Lights – What you see here might be the worst beer I had all summer.  I had it while I was at the Dave Matthews Band concert.  It was a bitter mess.  I would of thrown it away if it didn’t cost me 12 dollars for the plastic cup you see above.  Maybe I’ll have to try this beer again in bottle.  I see it all the time around my area.

Rating: D

Dogfish Head Goser the Gosarian -Yes this is definitely a Ghostbusters reference.  I had this brew at the Rehoboth DFH Brewpub.  It’s a brewpub exclusive and I don’t know if they will ever brew it again so I’m really glad I got to try it.  Hey look it’s even smiling at me! Gozer is classified as a Gose.  Beer Advocate says this about the style:

An old German beer style from Leipzig, Gose is an unfiltered wheat beer made with 50-60% malted wheat, which creates a cloudy yellow color and provides a refreshing crispness and twang. A Gose will have a low hop bitterness and a complementary dryness and spice from the use of ground coriander seeds and a sharpness from the addition of salt. Like Berliner Weisse beers, a Gose will sometimes be laced with various flavored and colored syrups. This is to balance out the addition of lactic acid that is added to the boil.

Somewhat recently, Gose has seen a mini-revival with a handful of breweries bringing back the style in the Leipziger area and pubs like Gosenschenke “Ohne Bedenken” serving traditionally brewed Gose.

The writeup was pretty much right on.  It defintely had a little sour twang to it.  Not much, just right for me.  Mix that in with a decent amount of coriander, wheat, and lemon and you have a nice small tart brew.

Rating: B+

Stone 10th Anniversary and Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans (sitting right behind the glass of 10th =) – One of my first nights in San Diego the girlfriend and I went out to visit Joey from South Bay Drugs.  We met him at a bar that was holding a Stone night.  Joey also brought in some Stone brews.  I got to try Juxtaposition for the first time but the highlight was trying Stone 10th Anniversary.  I missed the 10th anniversary beer because I really only got into craft beer with the 11th anniversary beer came out.  Stone 10th was classified an American Double/Imperial IPA when it first came out.  But after all the years of aging this beer is tasting more like a Barleywine these days and wow was it just fantastic.  Thanks Joey!  Also I got to try an tap only Stone beer.  Their Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans.  Wow!!!  Smoked Porter is ok by itself but with the vanilla it’s just out of this world.

Stone 10th Anniversary Rating: A-
Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans Rating: A

Damn I missed this brew by a few days. I just visited their brewpub last weekend. Sigh. Anyway pretty cool idea and I love how they are trying to be as close to the original as possible. Anyone else a little freaked out by drinking someone else’s saliva even though its sanitized?

Before I get into any kind of info or review I would like to thank Stu from Friday Night Beer for getting me this beer.  You are awesome my friend.  So where was I.  Oh yes. What we have here is a American Brown Ale from a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Three Floyds.  No doubt two of the best breweries in the US.  They make some fantastic beers and like to take chances.  Popskull was released right around Dark Lord Day 2009 and heck was I looking forward to trying this beer.  I mean come on!  These breweries are just sick.  So the other day I popped one of these babies open and well what can I say, I was a little disappointed.  See I figured this beer would of been well, better then what it was.  I was hoping for something that would blow my mind.  More like Palo Santo Marron, another American Brown Ale from DFH.  What I did get was a decent brew, don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t turn it down but it was just missing the um mph I was hoping for.

Popskull pours a pitch black color.  Whatever head that’s poured just fizzes away like a soda.  If you put a glass of coke right next to this beer you might have a bit of a problem telling the two apart from the distance.  The aroma this beer gives off is caramel malt, dark chocolate, molasses, and a small amount of oak earthy smell.  Overall the smell wasn’t to impressive and was really hoping for more.

The taste is more of the same.  Feels like it’s missing something.  Small amounts of caramel and chocolate.  Mixed in their was some dark fruits, herbal kind of taste, and a bit of a nutty flavor.  The oak aroma I got disappears a tad in the taste.  The best part of this brew might be the mouthfeel.  Full bodies, creamy and smooth.  But it’s just not enough to make this lacking beer really good.

I was waiting to be blown away but it just didn’t happen.  I don’t mind easy drinking beers at all.  I just wish more came out of this beer especially since these two breweries know how to make a good big beer.

Found: My Buddy Stu!
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/, http://www.threefloyds.com/
What the company says: Nothing about this brew on either site.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Other beers to try within the same style: Voodoo Brewing Wynona’s Big Brown Ale, Surly Bender
Rating: B

Last but not least is a weird release from DFH.  Before I get started, this time I need to thank my buddy Aaron from the Vice Blog.  He picked this brew up for me.  It’s only distributed in a few states and well Virginia isn’t one of them.  So thanks bud!

Squall IPA is actually an unfiltered, bottled condition version of DFH 90 Minute IPA.  First question I had when I heard of this beer is why the hell would you want to mess with a perfect thing?  90 Minute IPA is one of the best Double IPAs in the world.  Secondly what the hell is up with the labeling on this beer.  If you are familiar with DFH you know that this label isn’t their usual thing.  Well it ends up this beer was made to support Rogue Gallery.  A Maine based clothing line that Sam fell in love with.  In the end I do like the label.  It’s different but if I didn’t know what I was looking for I would pass this beer up not knowing it was a DFH creation.

The good thing about Squall is that you can still tell this is 90 Minute IPA.  For messing around with a beer a bit it still remains balanced and tasty.

Squall pours a nice clear copper color.  A nice sized head is poured but comes down to earth rather quickly.  A good amount of spotty lacing throughout as you drink.  The smell is unmistakably 90 Minute.  Nice bready and caramel malt background.  Tropical fruits.  A nice raw hop aroma.  Citrus and piney.  But the tropical fruits is what really smacks your nose around when the beer warms up a bit.  It’s lovely.

As with the smell, this beer gets better and better as you let the beer warm up.  The flavors just pop.  Nice sweet caramel malt base.  The hops come out a tad bit more then they do with the regular 90 Minute but it’s a welcome addition.  Once again the fruity taste was the winner.  It was just tasty.   Mouthfeel was medium bodied, dry finish, nicely carbonated and goes down really well.  Easy to polish off the champagne bottle.

While I probably would like to have the regular version more then this version.  It just seems a little bit more balanced, I still wouldn’t turn this beauty down.  It’s a treat to try.  Thanks Aaron!

Found: My Buddy Aaron!
Price: I honestly forget, he did tell me though =)
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says: An unfiltered, 100% bottle-conditioned, super-pungent imperial I.P.A. clocking in at 9% ABV and dry-hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops.

As many of you know, Dogfish Head is named after a ‘head’ of land off of Boothbay Harbor, Maine where company founder Sam Calagione grew up. A few years ago we discovered and fell in love with a Portland, Maine company called Rogues Gallery that makes beautiful, unique clothing. Their rustic, quality-centric creative approach mirrors our off-centered obsession with inspired brewing. As Time Magazine put it Rogues Gallery is all about “Masculine-style with a nostalgic eastern seaboard feel”. Alex Carleton and the crew at Rogue’s Gallery were down with getting their chocolate in Dogfish Head’s peanut butter. We agreed to do a beer in keeping with their brand and a line of co-branded clothing in keeping with ours. The theme of the clothing line is superlative stuff to wear while drinking beer at a sunset beach bonfire and the clothes will be available by mid-summer 2009. The beer will come out in June of 2009 in a handful of eastern seaboard states.

ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Burton Baton, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Russian River Pliny the Elder, Alpine Pure Hoppiness
Rating: A-

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Dogfish Head really opened my eyes to the world of craft beer.  The first time I had 60 minute IPA my eyes opened to another beer world.  As I started drinking more and more different beer I noticed that DFH was becoming my favorite brewery.  The reason for that is that they took chances.  They made unique beer.  Since then I’ve had over 500 different beers.  Still I find their stuff just unique.  Sahteais another example of that.  Before I get started with the review check out these videos on how they made this stuff and a quick rundown of the style called Sahti.

“Said to be one of the only primitive beers to survive in Western Europe, Sahtiis a farmhouse ale with roots in Finland. First brewed by peasants in the 1500s, mashing (steeping of grains) went down in wooden barrels, and then that mash would be scooped into a hand-carved wooden trough (a kuurna) with a bed of juniper twigs that acted as a filter. The bung at the bottom of the kuurna would be pulled to allow the sweet wort (liquid infusion from the mash) to pass through the twig filter, followed by wort recirculation and a hot water sparge (rinsing of the grains), all of which created a juniper infusion of sorts.

As you can see by the videos, DFH did it a little different then they used to by adding the hot rocks.  Port Brewing did a beer earlier this year that took the same kind of approach.  Yeah I’ll get around to drinking that one soon hopefully.Now on to the review.

Sah’tea pours a beautiful golden color.  It’s like it’s glowing in your glass.  You also get a nice big fluffy white head.  Combine that with the color and you have a very nice looking beer, at least for a few seconds.  The head dies quickly.  I didn’t notice much lacing throughout.

Now the smell on this beer is just wonderful.  Everyone of the ingredients are there and you can notice them all.  That’s something you can’t say for all beers.  It smells like a good chai tea.  Spicy!  Cinnamon and cloves.  Even the Juniper Berries shine through.  Great mixture of stuff going on here.

In the taste the Juniper Berries and Chai tea like qualities shine through.  It’s nicely spiced.  Not overly spiced.  Pretty much just right to me.  It also has a nice floral taste to it.  Honey and cinnamon round out the taste.  Everything is well balanced.  I wish I had the talent these guys have to balance out all these ingredients.   This brew sits in at 9% abv but it’s masked really well.  I didn’t taste any alcohol at all.

Mouthfeel is a little on the thick side.  It’s smooth and syrupy.  Goes down really nice. 

Dogfish Head does it again.  They’ve created a highly drinkable, different, and great tasting beer.  They brought a style to the US that you don’t see to often.  I know I’ve never had something like this before (then again I’m not a professional drinker or anything =)  I just wish they would of stuck to their original name for the beer, Brand X.  Hey it leaves more mystery.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: Around 12 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.dogfish.com/
What the company says:A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer. Brewed withrye, we caramelize the wort withwhite hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizenyeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper.The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew witha full-mouth feel.
ABV%: 9.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Fort, Dogfish Head Immort Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: First time I’ve ever had a beer like this.
Rating: A-

Last weekend my girlfriend didn’t feel like hanging around the house.  I jokingly said let’s take a trip to the Dogfish Head brewpub.  I said it jokingly because it is around 3 1/2 hours away.  It’s also through a rather hefty bridge toll and overall trip is quite boring.  To my surprise she said OK lets go.  Woah there did I hear you right?  Yes she said lets go!  So 3 1/2 hours later we arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Which by the way is a really nice beach.  I think I’m going to spend some time there next summer.  Doesn’t hurt that it also houses the brewpub that started it all for my favorite brewery of all time.  When you enter this place you can tell it’s been there for a while, it’s lived in.  Yeah I know sounds weird but it’s just a nice place to hang out and drink some fantastic beers.  Before I left I checked if there was anything on tap that I haven’t had before.  Sure enough Lawnmower Light was on tap.  Now usually I wouldn’t be to excited for a beer like this.  After all it’s the easiest drinking beer they make. You know I love extreme beers.  But it’s only available at the brewpub and last time I went there they didn’t have it.  So I ordered one before I got into anything heavy.

Lawnmower Light pours a pale yellow straw color.  Looks like a lot of light beers out there.  There was a good amount of a white fluffy head.  Nice carbonation.  Bubbles flowing throughout.  The smell had a nice sweet bready malt character with faint grassy hops.  The smell is nothing special but I’d drink this over that shit called Coors Light any day.  Taste had a grainy bready malt flavor to it.  Light grassy and citrus taste to it.  Mouthfeel was clean and crisp.  You could have 8 of these babies and feel totally fine.  Great for a hot day.  Maybe they should bottle this stuff?  It’s a fantastic low calorie beer.  Better than the other stuff out there.

Found: Dogfish Head Brewpub – Rehoboth Beach, DE
Price: 4 dollars a glass
Website: http://www.dogfish.com
What the company says: Lawnmower is our intro for those who need a little help jumping feet first into the crazy world that is Dogfish Head beer.It’s a starter beer, but it’s not dumbed down. Lawnmower is made with quality ingredients and is a great thirst quencher – perfect to enjoy after a day in the sun mowing the lawn (or anything else that gets you hot and bothered)!
ABV%: 4.0%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Black and Blue, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Oscar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale, Otter Creek Pale Ale
Rating: B-

Now another reason I was excited to go was because they had one of their one off brewpub exclusive beers on tap.  One that might be only on tap once and never to be seen again.  The beer I’m talking about is a English Porter called Daily Wry.  They used several Rye malts to get the illusion that you’re drinking Pumpernickel bread.  Does it work?  Yes to a certain extent. 

Daily Wry poured a dark brown.  A murky dark brown at that.  Small tan head that had good retention and that left a ton of lacing in the glass.  The aroma had a nice rye frontend.  A bit of spice and burnt bread.  I couldn’t wait to dive in as I really liked what I picked up.  Up front the rye and spices attack the tongue with a nice burnt bread taste in the mix as well.  It’s a pretty big flavor but it’s quickly disappears as it hits the back of your throat.   I wish it would of stuck around more.  The spices did linger a bit.  Especially after I drank the whole glass.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied.  Like I said the beer attacks your tongue with a bit of a rough flavor up front but ends with a smooth ending.  There’s a tad bit of carbonation throughout.  Overall I liked this beer.  Could it do well in their daily lineup?  Probably not.  But if they work on it I’m sure it would be a nice addition.  I just wish it was a little bit bigger.  Oh you know, Dogfish Head style =)
 
Found: Dogfish Head Brewpub – Rehoboth Beach, DE
Price: 4 dollars a glass
Website: http://www.dogfish.com
What the company says: A liquid version of Pumpernickel Bread!   This English-style session Brown Ale was conceived of and brewed by our Milton brewer Joseph Lemnah.Daily Wry was brewed with Maris Otter Malt, a hearty dose of Rye Malt, Crystal Rye and Dark Munich Malt.  The grains work together to create a bready, full bodied, almost peppery flavor.  Joseph also brewed with a pinch Amber, Coffee and Black Malt adding a toasted pumpernickel bread character.  Daily Wry is lightly hopped with Liberty to balance the sweetness of the malts and spiced with freshly ground Caraway seeds to round out the illusion of Pumpernickel bread.
ABV%: 4.3%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Dogfish Head Red and White, Dogfish Head Aprihop
Other beers to try within the same style: This is the first English Porter I’ve ever had!  Can’t recommend anymore
Rating: B

Oh and did I mention I bought some fresh 60 and 90 Minute home with me?