Son of A B****

For my birthday my sister and her boyfriend were cool enough to track down some Bitches Brew, a brand new offering from Dogfish Head Brewery. Unfortunately there was so much good beer that I never got around to drinking the Bitches. Then, as I am wont to do, I left it at the beach.

I am so proud of my little sis. A few years ago she hated beer. Then her current boyfriend brought her to the Dogfish Brewery down in Milton for a free tour and tasting and she's turned into a beer connoisseur. Hell she owns sniffer glasses, a couple Dogfish T-shirts, and has probably tried almost everything they make. I'm an amateur by comparison, and yet no one would peg someone like my sis as a serious beer drinker.

As for the weekend, there was plenty of relaxing on the beach in beautiful weather, drinking, swimming and one happy chocolate lab. A fun but underwhelming night out in Dewey. (man, I am too old for this, also, Corona & Bud Select were the best beers at the bar? really?)

I'm getting to the point now where I'm much happier staying in a good part of the time with good company, good beer & maybe some rusty nails.

It was definitely a Dogfish weekend. When you're down in slower lower what else would you drink? Coors Light? I absolutely must get my hands on some more Burton Baton. It's an oak-aged IPA which packs a punch at 10% ABV. Amazing stuff that's supremely drinkable given the high alcohol content. I wish it were one of their year-round offerings.

Also, I hear this other guy had a birthday Monday as well and almost lost his iPhone in a lake. That would have been a tragedy of epic proportions.



From left to right, 90 Minute IPA, Bitches Brew, Punkin' Ale, Midas Touch, Burton Baton. What other Dogfish Head brews do I need to track down? I hate the 60 minute IPA, though it seems to be immensely popular. I think that's what Breda & Jay were drinking in Charlotte at the shin-dig.

Oh, they also have a limited availability brew called "Life & Limb" Breda, you absolutely must try this! It sounds sweet!

So, are you thirsty yet?

A sad day for beer drinkers

Dogfish Head Brewery is pulling out of Tennessee, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Indiana.* I feel for you folks. I can get pretty much any Dogfish I want around here save for very limited run beers. Usually the worst that happens is I might have to go to a 2nd liquor store to find Burton Baton.

The good news? The reason for pulling out is that they simply can't keep up with demand. I'm noticing quite a few folks that are angry about this, but you have to remember that Dogfish is a relatively small Brewery that has seen a major increase in popularity (and demand) recently. I am sure that they'll be back in the market in those states as soon as they can get production and distribution ramped up.

*I'm happy to say I've had every Dogfish pictured in the article.

For You Dogfish Fans

If you like Dogfish Head beer then this is an invaluable resource. It sure beats driving to 3 or 4 different liquor stores looking for the brew you want. Ah, the beauty of Al Gore's internet!

Dogfish Fish Finder

How did I not know about this?

A True Dogfish Head Fan

This guy had tried every single Dogfish Head brew except for one. Now, thanks to Sam Calagione and the rest of the folks at Dogfish he's tried them all.

I'm still marveling at the fact that this guy has tried every beer DFH has made. By comparison I've tried I think 29 so far.

Peace through superior beer

Last Thursday night I went to a Dogfish Head beer tasting & 4 course dinner at the Stone Balloon Winehouse in Newark.  The Winehouse is smack in the middle of Main Street, just down from the Brewery.  It's a really classy place, totally out of place in a college town.  I happened to be walking down Main Street one day in September and saw a sign outside the Winehouse for a Dogfish head dinner & tasting event taking place in November, so I thought I'd treat my little sister as a late birthday present.

It was awesome!  The place is beautiful, and really far, far too upscale for me.  When I look at the menu and don't know what some of the words mean I know I'm out of my element.

 The first dish was some kind of Smoked Tuna which looked like I'd hate it when it came out, but something on the plate tasted like bacon, so tuna dipped in that was great.  They paired this with Dogfish Head Red & White, a beligian white ale that didn't have the strong coriander taste I often dislike about belgians. It was my first time trying it.  I'll have to buy a bottle.

The second dish was smoked duck, which was tasty as well.  It was paired with Sah' Tea, which I haven't had in a while.  I'd forgotten how much I liked it.

There's only one word to describe the third course.  NOM!  Braised pork shank that was slightly crispy on the outside, yet fall off the bone, melt in your mouth tender.  If they'd given me 4 plates of it I'd have devoured it all!  The only thing that would've made it better would've been a side of bacon. They paired this one with Bitches Brew, the only dark beer of the night.  Even Breda likes Bitches Brew, and she's more of an IPA drinker.

The last course was something I dug into having not the slightest clue what I was eating. I'm glad I didn't know, because fatty duck liver sounds gross. Foie Gras, which apparently PETA hates!  Good to know I pissed off some hippies!  The beer, a vintage 09' Olde School Barleywine was probably my favorite of the night.  Last time I tried Barleywine style beer I hated it, but maybe if I buy some Olde School and cellar it it'll mellow out, sweeten up and not be so bitter.

Hit or miss

David over at Musings Over A Pint, writes about a not so pleasant experience with a Dogfish Head brew. That was my experience with their Shelter Pale Ale as well. I didn't like it one bit.

Dogfish Head is a strange brewery and they love to really push the envelope and try new things. If you watch brewmasters you know this. This unique approach results in some awesome beers, some of which I've talked about on the blog, I.E. 90 Minute, Burton Baton, Bitches Brew, Midas Touch, Punkin' Ale etc, but it also results in (IMO) some big misses. There are some Dogfish Brews I just can't stomach and wouldn't buy again. I like all of their year round brews except the Shelter Pale Ale, 60 minute IPA & Indian Brown Ale.

I've only tried about one third of their "occasional rarities" and only two of the four seasonals, so I've clearly got some work to do this year on that front.

I have to applaud them for being unconventional and having an extremely wide variety of brews, and damn am I glad to have them right here in little old Delaware.

Resolutions

I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but this year I do have a few small goals in mind.

1. Get in better shape. Started this one early, about 5 weeks ago and have been hitting the gym several times a week for the past 5 weeks. So far this one's a success.

2. Try new beers, specifically IPA's. There are a handful of beers I really like, so when I hit the store I tend to get the same thing all the time. I've already started this by trying the "Brew Free or Die IPA over the weekend." I intend to pickup a big bottle of Dogfish Head Squall IPA sometime soon, as it comes highly recommended to me by folks whose opinions I trust. If any fellow Dogfish fans would like some or have requests for brews they can't get I've got no problem buying stuff for people who will be in Pittsburgh this year. Just shoot me an e-mail.

3. Get to the range more often. This includes bringing new shooters to the range. Between health issues that turned out just to be stress/anxiety, a car accident, nagging injuries and more pain than even I'm used to it really wasn't a good year from a gunnie standpoint.

4. Go back to school - I really should get my butt back in school this year. Need I say more?

What are your resolutions / plans for 2011?

Preview Not Review

I finally got a chance to crack open the Dogfish Bitches Brew that'd been sitting in a fridge 100 miles away for the better part of two months.

Review tonight, before I forget what it tasted like & have to track down another bottle. ;)

It was good but there was one flavor I found a bit overpowering. Here's a teaser. It's dark.

My baby sis's words were "eww, it looks like soy sauce."

That's OK Jess, we still love you even if you're not a beer snob... Yet.

*Also, a word of advice. Skip Dogfish Head's "Pangea" unless you really like ginger. I don't and so that brew did absolutely nothing for me.

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Pork & Beer, Dogfish style

I dropped by the Dogfish Head Brewpub at the beach this past weekend.  I tried a couple of their new beers, White Lodge, which was weird, light belgian style brewed with Garbanzo beans.  I'll definitely pass on that one, as did everyone else at the table.  The Urkontinent on the other hand was actually quite good.  It's not really my style, (I had a 75 minute IPA) but it's definitely something I'd order again when I'm not in the mood for an IPA.

Their pulled pork sandwiches, while good, are not up to par with the pulled pork wraps from the Washington Street Ale House, or the food at Iron Hill, but it's definitely good enough to stop in if you're ever in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  I'd recommend the fish tacos.

An article in the men's room says that DFH employees curse like sailors, yet I didn't hear any of that.  Fuck!
 

Sage Advice

Seen on the Dogfish twitter feed.

"Give a man a fish he has food for a day. Give a man case of Dogfish Beer and we got a fucking party on our hands. " *

As long as that case is 90 Minute or Burton Baton I wholeheartedly agree.

*I wrote out the entire "bad word" which was abbreviated in the tweet. Here at Another Gun Blog we don't give two shits whether you've got a fucking problem with swearing. We're all adults here, aside from the occasional Liberal of course.

Drink Good Beer - Burton Baton

If you try one beer this year it should be Dogfish Head's Burton Baton.

Burton Baton is a blend of dogfish Head's excellent 90 Minute IPA with an oak aged English Strong Ale. This is done brilliantly, as the Burton tastes like two distinct beers with each sip.

The 1st time I had one I knew nothing about it and thought it tasted like a mix of 90 Minute and a bit of Palo Santo Marron, without the alcohol heat you get from the Palo Santo.

I like the 90 minute, but damn I'd stockpile a years supply of this stuff if I could. It's that good.

If you're a beer drinker this is one you don't want to pass up. Drink it with caution though. At 10% ABV it packs a punch.


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Sweet, maybe too sweet?

A little birdy told me that Dogfish Head starts bottling 120 Minute IPA today.  Guess who happens to be going to the beach this weekend and the following weekend?

I'm going to drop by the Brewpub and hope they actually have some for sale. (at ~$8 bottle) This could be difficult, as the last time my sister tried to get some they were out because some guy had just bought an entire case of the stuff.

Frankly, while the 120 was good it was quite sweet, not at all what I was expecting for a beer with such a high IBU rating.  My understanding of the 120 is that it lends itself to aging, so maybe I should buy some and store it for a while.  From what I've read it also seems to vary quite a bit in taste from batch to batch, so maybe what I had was sweeter than usual? 120 Minute is very much a "once in a while" beer.  I couldn't imagine buying a case of the stuff at a time.

Also, this may sound crazy, but I'm wondering how the 120 would taste if you ran it through Dogfish's Randal hopping machine to cut some of the sweetness?

If I had to render a final verdict on the 120 Minute it would be this.  Interesting idea, but too sweet.  I'll stick to my 90 Minute IPA and Burton Baton.  Still, I'm a stubborn bastard and want to try it again.

As an aside, I also tried the Festina Peche while visiting the Brewpub.  While it's not necessarily my cup of tea I could see it being good while sitting out on the beach on a hot day.  The tartness makes it different than any beer I've ever tried.  They even make Festina Peche lipbalm.

Brew Free Or Die..... drinking

So I was at the liquor store earlier this week and I saw this interesting looking 6 pack microbrew.....in cans. It was just sitting there by it's lonesome, totally out of place so I had to pick it up.

Other than the homebrew the Nerds made for Breda this is one of the best beer names I've ever heard.

Live Free or Die IPA from 21st Amendment brewery.

The package says this beer starts with "a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose.". They were right.

I was anticipating a taste to match the smell and was a little let down. I was expecting more flavor and a heavier mouthfeel, yet this tasted light and easily quaffable for an IPA of 7% ABV.

I'll admit that I'm new to IPA's and the only one I have a taste for so far is Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA. Maybe I'm selling Brew Free or Die IPA short since I'm using the Dogfish for comparison.

It honestly wasn't bad, just wasn't everything I thought it'd be. Pickup a can and try it out if they have some near you. Buy at least one for the kickass name alone!

Expect some more beer blogging here in the near future.

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Brewmasters

The guys from local Dogfish Head Brewery were on Brewmasters on the Discovery Channel.

You should watch it! Very informative & funny. The owners rapping about Bitches Brew and the rap video with the gangsta Dogfish chains had me in side-splitting laughter.

*see TV listings at the link. Bonus points if you drink a DFH brew while watching.

Beer & Butts!

I don't mean to be an ass, but when you're asking $15 for one bottle of beer you're full of it. That's more than double what I paid at the brewery.

On the other hand, a nice, smokin' butt is always a good thing, especially when I know Allah says the Jihadists can't have any.

In all seriousness the food is quite good. Nice portion sizes and an excellent beer selection.  They even had Dogfish Head 75 minute on tap the other day, but when I went to order it they were all out. :(  I've been wanting to try the 75 Minute for a while now.

Hooray Beer

While visiting the Dogfish Head brewpub I picked up this nifty sniffer glass. This is what they served the 120 Minute IPA in.

Here's mine with a bottle of 90. A very snooty way to drink good beer!



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Computerless blogging

Trying to blog when all you have is an iPhone is a real pain in the ass.

More short beer blogging here perhaps?

I might be able to swipe my sister's Macbook for the NRA con in case Falnfenix can't get my Eee working.

Jess is the one who's been "borrowing" my HP for months now. That'll teach me not to loan stuff out "for a few days."

Here's a picture of a beer. Why? Because on a Monday most of us could use one. I know I could, given the crappy week I had.





As an aside, I love that Dogfish slogan. I am definitely "Off-centered people."

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LOL Cats

I'm on ur headz, watchin ur pronz


Just imagine if they started giving him Dogfish Head!


H/T to That's Nerdalcious

Dogfish!

I'm at the Rehoboth Brewpub drinking the elusive 120 minute IPA. I'll only have one

Only # 11?

Dogfish Head Brewery comes in at #11 in the Brewer's Associations list of Top 50 Breweries.

What the heck were they smoking?  With beers like 90 Minute IPA and Burton Baton they're definitely #1.