Author Archive for Jeremy Banas

I’ve used this before, but Dogfish Head tells their tale much better than I…

“The story of Dogfish Head began in June of 1995 when we opened Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, the first state’s first brewpub opened in the resort beach community of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The plan was to bring original beer, original food, and original music to the area.

Not only was Dogfish Head Delaware’s first brewpub, it was the smallest commercial brewery in America. Our very first batch, Shelter Pale Ale, was brewed on a system which essentially was three little kegs with propane burners underneath. Brewing 12–gallon batches of beer for a whole restaurant proved to be more than a full time job. When the doors to the pub first opened, we brewed three times a day, five days a week! The one benefit to brewing on such a small system was the ability to try out a myriad of different recipes. We quickly got bored brewing the same things over and over – that’s when we started adding all sorts of weird ingredients and getting kind of crazy with the beers!

The beer wasn’t the brewpub’s only draw. The pub’s menu centered on a wood-burning grill. We soon became known as the place to enjoy fresh grilled seafood, burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. The wood–burning grill imparts a unique flavor to everything on the menu, whether it’s a hearty sandwich, a delicate piece of fish or our signature pizza dough.

With the popularity of the pub growing, it was quickly apparent that the 12–gallon brewery would not keep up with demand. We built a new brewery and underwent a thirty-fold expansion of the brew house!

The reputation of Dogfish Head ales quickly grew beyond Delaware’s borders. Calls from Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and beyond poured in, as thirsty restaurant patrons demanded their favorite beach beer at home. We began bottling our Shelter Pale Ale in 1996 and just 1 year later we expanded again – this time we separated the packaging operation from the restaurant, and kept on brewing! By 1999, we were up to five year–round bottled brands in about a dozen states.

We outgrew our distributing brewery in a couple years and in the summer of 2002; we moved our entire production brewery up the road to Milton, Delaware into a 100,000 square foot converted cannery. Around the same time (just to keep thing interesting), we built a distillery on the second floor of our Rehoboth Beach brewpub, so we could make vodka, rum and gin.

Thanks to all our employees and every one of our customers, Dogfish Head continues to grow today! We’re now up to nearly 20 styles of beer that are sold in more than 25 states, and a half–dozen kinds of hand–crafted spirits… and we still have some ideas in the back of our collective heads.

This is an example of an Imperial IPA, or India Pale Ale. Essentially this is an IPA all juiced up. The style often have double the hops and malt, creating an even more bitter taste. Some Imperials are more balanced between the hops and malt, giving it a clean, crisp, bitter hop finish, but with a balanced sweet malt taste. Much higher in alcohol than a standard IPA.  Dogfish Head takes a twist on this by blending of an oak-aged English strong ale and their 90 Minute I.P.A.

This poured nicely into a pint glass, with a light copper/reddish tone and producing a medium amount of foam. The nice amount of carbonation may be the culprit for the foam, but either way it left a thin but nice lacing on the glass.

The aroma was a very nice citrus, mixed with a wonderful floral aroma, almost that of mountain wildflowers. Slightly piny, although I think this can be attributed to the the floral aroma.The malt really does balance this nicely, but still retain a bitter hop finish.

The taste was very nice. The bitter hop I smelled really comes out, enhancing the sweetness of the malt balance. Somewhat a contridiction perhaps, as some imperials are extremely bitter with no attempt at balance, and others loose the bitter while having complete balance. The alchohol taste is there more on the back end and can sneek up.

Mouthfeel is good. Very crisp, sweet and goes down smooth.

I liked this one. I’ve had it before and always enjoyed it. It paired nicely with the grilled chicken fajitas with Monterrey Jack cheese I had. The bitter hops balanced and complimented the cheese. With a 10% ABV, take it slow, but enjoy and have another!

I’ve had this one before, but never reviewed it. Recently a friend from San Diego had occasion to try this one and fell in love. As i had a couple of them in the fridge, I decided there was no better time to have and review one.

This one is labeled a a reddish-brown ale, although the overall style is known as a Flanders Red Ale. They are typically brews that range from red to brown in color. The style often uses a Lactobacillus yeast strain producing a high lactic acid and giving a sour taste, also sometimes a Tannic acid producing that lip puckering feeling. Often aged for long periods in oak barrels, aged batches are sometimes mixed with younger ones to balance them out. The often have distinct and sharp fruit flavors that that set them apart from other Belgians.

Produced by the Brouwerij Verhaeghe Brewery in Vichte, Belgium. “The brewery Verhaeghe was established in 1875 in the castle-farm in Vichte, West Flanders. Today it’s still a family owned & run company.”  Started by two brothers, Adolf Verhaeghe and Paul Verhaegh, the brewery has seen quite a history. As their site says “The brewery-malting Verhaeghe was established in the vicinity of the railway, Kortrijk, Oudenaarde and Brussels built with bricks from the brick Adolf Verhaeghes. De gerst die als basisgrondstof dient voor de aanmaak van het mout werd betrokken uit de opbrengst van de eigen landerijen. The barley as a base raw material for the production of the malt was involved from the proceeds of the private lands. Het geëste mout diende naast water, hop en gist als belangrijkste grondstof voor het brouwen van bier. De eerste klanten die de basis vormden voor de initiële afzetmarkt van de bieren van de brouwerij werden in niet onbelangrijke mate gevonden in de boeren en de personen met wie de Verhaeghes zakelijke relaties onderhielden. The clergy was beside water malt, hops and yeast as the main raw material for brewing beer. The first customers were the basis for the initial market for the beers of the brewery were found in an appreciable number of farmers and the people with whom Verhaeghes the business relationships maintained.” With World War I, came the end of the brewery. The Germans briefly took it over introducing Pilsner to the area. However,  after the war, the brewery resumed it’s production with the founders sons, Victor and Leon.

This one has quite an appearance. Similar in some ways to new Belgiums La Folie, poured into a tulip glass, it has a deep brown, almost molasses, color with a faint hint hint of red when held up to the sunlight. Very cloudy and with a modest amount of carbonation, it produced a small, but sustainable thin head. The lacing left behind was nice and lite, perfect for this style.

Take a whiff of this one and you are immediately overpowered with the scent of caramel, banana, bread and a faint hint our sour apple. The caramel malt mixed with the banana is what served to really balance out the apple and bread.

As I took my first sip, I immediately tasted the sour apple I smelled earlier with the banana not far behind. Another sip brought the bead and caramel malt and this time a hint of a as yet to be determined spice. Works well with the bread, banana and apple. I felt like I was being treated to dessert! The Lactobacillus yeast really works well on this one, as it was sour, but not too tart and not overpowering.

I really liked this one overall. Not only does it do what the style intends, it just down right pleases! Don’t get me wrong, this one is all beer, but may also be one that can pull those who usually shun beer over to the dark side! I had some cheesecake cake around, and really enjoyed the Duchesse as it complimented the cheesecake perfectly. Since it weighs in at around 6% ABV, if you want another you can.

Although labled a brown ale, the overall style is known as a Flanders Red Ale. They are typically brews that range from red to brown in color. The style often uses a Lactobacillus yeast strain producing a high lactic acid and giving a sour taste, also sometime a Tannic acid producing that lip puckering feeling. Often aged for long periods in oak barrels, aged batches are sometimes mixed with younger ones to balance them out.

Produced by New Belgium Brewing Co, as part of their Lips of Faith line. Starting off in 1989, they have made great strides since then. I’ll let them tell their story: ” As our aspiring young home brewer rides his mountain bike with “fat tires” through European villages famous for beer, New Belgium Brewing Company was but a glimmer in his eye. Or basement. For Jeff Lebesch would return to Fort Collins with a handful of ingredients and an imagination full of recipes. And then there was beer. Jeff’s first two basement-brewed creations? A brown dubbel with earthy undertones named Abbey and a remarkably well-balanced amber he named Fat Tire. To say the rest was history would be to overlook his wife’s involvement. Kim Jordan was New Belgium’s first bottler, sales rep, distributor, marketer and financial planner.” There is much more, but also unique for them is their addition of employee ownership to all employees upon completing one year of employment.

Appearance was a candy apple copper, deep. Minimal carbonation, but produces a light and long lasting Lacing on the glass. Hold it up to the light and I swear it looks like neon sunset shining through.

Aroma had raspberries come to mind, but tart ones at that. Definite malt smell with a faint spice aroma. It smells like tart raspberry soda that got into a fight with some malt. A nice woody flavor creeps in amongst all that sour malt giving it a nice balance.

The malt hits you right away, but soon after that, a sticky tart, sour flavor comes out, almost like a pack of apple sour patch kids mixed it up with the hops and malt on playground after school. Didn’t notice the spice as much, but a slight caramel malt was definitely present, reminding me this was based on a brown ale.

Overall: fantastic. I’ve had Lost Abbey’s Cable Car Wich is a fantastic sour and this is close. Lower in ABV though, about 6%, and went well with my sweet potatoe fries.

This one is an example of  an American Amber Ale or Red Ale. This style is usually heavier on the malt, sometimes toasted or even smoked, contains hops  and very often has a fruity character to it, with spices sometimes present. Varying degrees and varieties of hops are often used. The American Amber Ale or Red Ale, is a kind of a catch all category for ales that are amber in color all the way to red. American Amber Ales are more or less, hopped up Pale Ales with have had crystal or other colored malts added to a Pale Ale, thus producing the darker color. American versions can sometimes even border on being an IPA, or India Pale Ale, with colored malt added in.

Bear Republic Brewing Co hails from Healdsburg, California. Tucked away in Sonoma County, which is known for it’s wine, Bear Republic is opening a new facility in Cloverdale, California. I wasn’t able to find much about the history of Bear Republic, but they appear to have begun as a modest brewpub in Healdsburg, with some ties to mountain biking. In fact, their website boasts that Red Rocket is the brew of choice for mountain bikers.

Poured a deep copper color into a tulip glass (should have been a pint glass, but this was the first thing I grabbed), dark enought that it almost appears brown.  Moderate amount of carbonation produced a nice little set up bubbles that trickle on up to the top of the glass. The head is minimal, but that is nit uncommon for this style. The lacing left over sticks well to the glass.

Aroma is of caramle and roasted malts. This hits you immediately. At the same time, the pugnant hop aroma is just as prevalent, giving the overall aroma a nice balance. Some spice is detected, as well as faint citrus notes, although the citrus is not so prevalent. Worthy of another snif.

When tasting this one, I wasn’t sure if I had an IPA or not. Damn, but the hops were bountiful and bitter! Another sips finally brings out the roasted malts. The caramel was not quite as prevalent, although still present along with some definate spice.

Mouthfeel had a medium body to it. Exactly what I would expect form a beer tossed into this style. Crisp, yet not too much for an Amber ale.

Overall, a very nice brew. Similar in some ways to Green Flash Brewing Co’s Hop Head Red. I am always surprised and pleased with American Ambers, as they most often are so hopped up you can not help but get all giddy anticipating the next bottle. Red Rocket weighs oin at around 6.8% ABV, average for this style. Paired well with the Brat and steak fries I had for lunch. This one would also go well with a nice dish of homemade vanilla ice cream.