Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Sixty One India Pale Ale

Ya gotta hand it to the team at Dogfish Head. These guys just keep coming up with new, great off-beat beers.  Not content to stand on their laurels, these guys took their amazingly good, continuously hopped 60 Minute IPA and just made it better -- if that's possible.  Sixty One is a riff on the 60 minute IPA, as our friends aat DFH have added grape must to the mix, and the addition makes it a completely different beer.  Think it sounds interesting?  It is -- and delicious, too.

Sixty One was poured at the home office on a lazy Sunday evening, with a pre-recorded football game blaring away in the background.  Wigan vs. QPR, if we remember correctly, bottom-of-the-table clash of the minnows -- but a game which held an ending to match the excellent quality of this beer.

The beer poured a Shirley Temple colored pink, with a pinkish-white, fizzy head.  It smelled primarily of fruit -- grapes to be exact, and not too surprising.

Sixty One was fairly well carbonated, and not nearly as hoppy in our mind as the 60 Minute DFH -- the grape must seems to have mellowed much of the hoppiness out of the beer. The grape taste is there, although its a bit faint until the very finish.  Outstanding. A-

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Rhizing Bines Imperial IPA

(8.00% ABV) Rhizing Bines was poured into a Dogfish Head IPA glass and enjoyed on a recent Saturday night at the home office.  The beer poured a brassy gold color with a huge off white head. There was a massive amount of carbonation in this beer.

We smelled both hops and malt on the nose, as well as some slight notes of citrus.

The beer was thick, almost viscous at times, and not nearly as hoppy as we expected from the nose. It started off a bit sweetish at the outset, but finished hoppy and dry.  It's not our favorite from this great Delaware Brewery, but it's definitely an interesting take on the style and worth checking out: B

Our Thoughts on the 2012 Great American Beer Festival

photo by popculturegeek.com	via PhotoRee

It was when we saw two grown men dressed up as Super Mario and Luigi of Nintendo fame that it dawned on us that all beer festivals are somewhat alike in nature. Sure, the Great American Beer Festival held in Denver this weekend is larger than the rest -- it featured an astounding 650+ breweries and more than 2,000 beers -- but it still struck us as somewhat similar in nature to the other beers events we've attended over the past couple of years, gatherings in Columbia, South Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jupiter, Florida: craft beer lovers in their element, having a good time while walking around and sampling the various offerings from some of the country's top brewers.

The attendees represented a broad swath of middle America. While many were Denver locals, there were also a huge number of visitors from out of town who journeyed to the festival. Some patrons were normal looking, others not so much. Some were of the beer geek variety ("What kind of barrels was this beer aged in?"), and others more firmly in the novice camp ("I'll try some of that yellow one, please."). But while there may have been profound differences amongst the gatherers in terms of knowledge and attire, there were also some baisc commonalities: a true love of good beer, and for most of the participants -- at least of the male variety, anyway -- a healthy amount of respect for facial hair and hats. And the weirder, the better, as far as that last point goes.

And so it was that we came to see men dressed as cowboys roaming the dusty plains (okay, actually the convention center floor) in search of their next watering hole, and women dressed as pirate wenches and German fräuleins standing in line for the buffet sponsored by the American Cheese Society. This disparate group -- men in Top Gun flight suits and Olympic track suits among them -- all descended on Denver this past week in search of good beer.  And that's exactly what they got.

As we noted yesterday, farlieonfootie dispatched a team of our top correspondents to the festival to give you their impressions: the sights, sounds and smells of Denver, if you will. But a funny thing happened on our way to that report: although we fully intended to cover the event from all angles, after one too many two ounce beer samples all hell broke loose and that plan went completely awry. By the break of dawn Saturday, after almost 48 hours in the arena, most of our team could hardly remember that they attended the festival, never mind recall what they actually did there.

But as is typical of this blog, we have somehow managed to snatch a narrow victory from the gaping jaws of defeat, and piece together some of our staff's semi-intelligible notes and photo streams to make up the following report:

o Judging by line length, the hottest craft breweries in the country right now are as follows: Russian River (California), Dogfish Head (Delaware), Cigar City (Florida), Bear Republic (California) and Firestone Walker (California). While there may be bigger names out there (think Sierra Nevada and New Belgium) the buzz of the aforementioned breweries, combined with their relative scarcity in the Colorado market, meant long waits for the beers of those hot names.

o Sour beers are definitely in. Like Pavlov's bell, anything made with Brettanomyces is guaranteed to cause a beer geek's mouth to begin salivating.

o We were shocked at how many breweries there actually are in this country; it's not until they're lined up side-by-side that one can truly appreciate the sheer number of small market brewers whose businesses have come to life over the past several years. With roughly 25-30% of all breweries in the country attending GABF, it boggles even our beer-educated minds as to how many of them we'd never heard of. Which prompts the following existential question in our minds: If a brewery makes beer that no one has ever heard of, does it really exist...?

Game Day Beer Review: Boothbay Craft Brewery 633 Pale Ale

(7.00% ABV)  633 Pale Ale poured a honey brown with no head. It was drunk from a clear plastic cup while sitting outdoors at a New England clambake during a fabulous afternoon spent on Cabbage Island, Maine.  The spectacular setting, and the delicious feast of lobsters and steamers could have marginally influenced our opinion here, but those are the kind of risks we take for you daily here at farlieonfootie in order to bring you the very best from the worlds of footie and craft beer.



A view of Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Before we get to the review, the story behind the beer is fairly interesting, as well: although the Boothbay Craft Brewery is a relatively small operation -- emphasis on the word small -- it has some rather big friends in the craft beer industry.  Sam Calagione, the founder of the Dogfish Head Brewery (as regular readers of this space know, Dogfish is one of our absolute favorite American breweries for its delicious beers and no-holds-barred approach to brewing) spent many of his formative summers in and around Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  Due to his love of the area, Sam repeatedly returns to the area on family vacations. 

Somewhere along the way, Sam got to know the founder of the local craft brewery in Boothbay, and has given him an active helping hand in getting the operation off the ground.  In fact, on a recent Friday in August when we visited the brewery, we witnessed Sam deep in conversation with the team at Boothbay, proving two things: 1) he's a loyal friend who's still helping out; and 2) some of Sam's advice must be working, because the beer is damned good.   Staying true to their local roots, the brewery's flagship beer is called 633 because those three numbers are the telephone prefix for Boothbay. 

633 had a nice floral smell on the nose.  On tasting, the beer started out a bit sweet with some beautiful floral notes, then evolved into something a bit stronger and hoppier in the middle, before fading into nice, mellow finish.

It was exceptionally well balanced, and dangerously sessionable for a 7% ABV pale ale.  Definitely try it -- if you can find it. A-

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Saison Du BUFF

Poured from the bottle into a cheap wine glass, while preparing to watch the US Mens' National Soccer Team from my hotel room. Dogfish Head's version of Saison Du BUFF is a cloudy, pale yellow color, with almost no head to speak of.

Saison Du BUFF is citrusy on the nose, with a bevy of spices also apparent -- it smells like my spice cabinet! There's also the scent of a yeasty lemonade on the nose, with a hint of pepper, rosemary and basil.

I like the flavor; it's not nearly as sweet as the nose would imply. Although Saison Du BUFF begins with lemon, you can definitely taste the rosemary and other spices somewhere in the middle, before the beer finishes on a peppery note. I'm also tasting a bit of salt. 


This is a savory beer, although fairly light bodied. My guess is that it would go fairly well with food.

An interesting take on a classic Summer style from our friends at Dogfish Head. B+

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Tweason'ale Fruit Ale

I was looking forward to this next beer from the very first time I read about Dogfish Head's new "in-between" seasonal, which also just happens to be a gluten-free beer.  Tweason'ale was designed to be released four times per year, in between this Delaware brewery's various seasonal offerings (think Chickory Stout, Aprihop, Festina Pesche, and Punkin Ale).  And so it was with great excitement that I spied it on offer recently at one of my local watering holes and determined to give it a go.

According to its release notes, Tweason'ale was brewed with a mild sorghum base rather than a traditional barley foundation, and offers vibrant strawberry notes, while also featuring the addition of a malty buckwehat honey.

Poured on tap into a pint glass, I found Tweason'ale a deep golden color, with a reddish tinge.  The picture above makes the beer appear a lot darker than it otherwise should -- what can I say except the lighting was fairly low in the bar where I drank it....   The pour also featured a reasonable sized head that faded quickly into oblivion.

Tweason'ale smelled sweet, almost like candy. The smell of strawberries was also clearly there.  The strawberry was a bit more muted in the taste, but still definitely there.  I also got some strong honey notes. 

It's definitely different from most beers, and maybe lacking that certain bit of depth you might expect to find in a barley-based beer.  It was decently carbonated, maybe overly so.

Nevertheless, I like these guys: they consistently push the boundaries of how we should think about beer.  I could easily see where this would be refreshing on a hot summer day -- of which we have quite a few in Florida: B+ 

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Noble Rot Saison / Farmhouse Ale

(9.00% ABV)  Dogfish Head's Noble Rot is one unique beer.  Or is it a wine...?  Composed of 51% beer and 49% wine, Noble Rot is a one-of-a-kind saison, and offers yet another example of Dogfish Head pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a beer.  Noble Rot was brewed by Dogfish, in collaboration with the Alexandria Nicole Cellars, located in Prosser, Washington, on America's West Coast.

I was more than pleasantly surprised to find the Rot on tap during a recent trip to Tap 42 in Fort Lauderdale, and quickly determined that I needed to taste it.  It was poured into a chalice (pictured above), and appeared an incredibly clear and light, translucent yellow, with a massive head of foam as thick as shaving cream. The picture above is much too dark to do the beer any justice.

The beer smelled primarily of honey and clove. It also offered a distinctly grapey smell, the result of the Rot being made with must (grape juice that contains, skins, stems and seeds) from viognier grapes that were infected with a benevolent fungus called botrytis.

But if the smell was interesting, it was the in the tasting that this beer was truly mind-blowing.  Wow!  Noble Rot tastes like a wine!!  A dry white wine, to be sure, but definitely a wine. The Rot is thinnish in body, and offers an ultra-clean, wine-like finish.

This is a great beer, truly unlike any other beer I've ever tasted.  I'm very glad I was able to sample it on draft, and I'm now actively hunting it down in the bottle. A

Game Day Beer Review: Birreria Eataly Wanda Chestnut Mild Ale

5

Hand pumped from the cask at Birreria Eataly in New York, Wanda pours -- well, a chestnut brown, completely dark, as if a shade has been pulled around the glass and totally encompassed its contents.

The beer offers a smallish off-white head that lingers lovingly around the rim of my Dogfish Head glass. It smells mild; there's virtually nothing there to the nose.

Its taste is like a mild brown ale, with just a hint of coffee and chocolate. 

But then it gets you: chestnut. It's there, very mildly, but unmistakably so. If this were more chilled it could be so subtle that you'd miss it, but hand pumped from a cask it comes through perfectly. Chestnuts are traditional in Italian brewing, but new to beers made in this country.  In my mind, they would make the perfect addition to your holiday lineup -- can we get this in a bottle, please?

I like it.  A lot: A-.

Game Day Beer Review: Birreria Eataly Sofia Belgian White

Hand pumped from a cask at the Birreria on top of Eataly in New York City, Sofia is a murky goldish orange color, with a thin white head that stays and stays.

I'm getting strong orange and coriander on the nose. It's a bit thinner than I expected, but it's still very good. A strong pepper taste comes through on tasting the beer. It's not hot, just very tasty, and slightly unusual -- like nothing I've ever had before....

There's also a hint of orange that emerges gradually. I really like this one -- I could drink it all day long. A-.

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Burton Baton American Double / Imperial IPA

(10.0% ABV). Poured on draft after a tap takeover at an event featuring Dogfish Head and Short's Brewery held in Traverse City, Michigan, Burton Baton was a reddish-brown, warm caramel color with a medium-sized head of foam that stayed around for awhile, before ultimately leaving behind epic lacing.

The beer smelled of big hops and pine needles, followed by a caramel sweetness. It was big and boozy tasting, bursting with orange citrus and caramel, and had an oaked-wood depth to it, with hints of woodsy licorice showing up on the finish.

This was a huge beer, and if I didn't have somewhere to be later that same night, I would've asked for several more -- and loved them.  A-.

Game Day Beer Review: Collaboration Cornholio Baltic Porter

(Approx 7.00% ABV).  A collaboration between three of the most innovative American brewers, Cornholio came about as a project involving Dogfish Head Brewing out of Delaware, Short's Brewing of Michigan, and Three Floyd's Brewing from Indiana.  The beer was brewed using a combination of Michigan horehound (a minty herb), Indiana red popcorn, and Delaware and Cape May plums. 

Brewed for a festive event held in northern Michigan in mid-July, and served on tap at the Short's Brewing brewpub in Bellaire, Michigan, Cornholio poured a murky caramel orange -- a lot lighter looking than I expected. Cornholio had a mild hop sweetness on the nose, with just a touch of a mellow banana scent. I got a slight bit of belgian candy sweetness mixed with citrus on first taste, followed by some sourness on the finish. The beer was medium bodied with good carbonation.  I'll have another, please! A-.

Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Brewing's Aprihop India Pale Ale

(7.0% ABV). The release of Dogfish Head's seasonal beers are something I always look forward to, and Aprihop is no exception. It pours a light reddish brown color, almost the color of iced tea, with a thin head that hangs around just long enough to get noticed. Aprihop is, appropriately enough, very hoppy on the nose.  That's the first and most overhwhelming thing I notice before I get hit with the apricots -- they're definitely there even before I've tasted the beer -- and some pine notes kick in, as well. The beer is aggressively hoppy like a good IPA should be, but the finish is smoother and fruitier for my money. Nicely carbonated, and it's good; very good. Recommended: A-.

Like Taking (Halloween) Candy from a Baby

photo by lovelypetal	via PhotoRee

Feeling strangely nervous today, in large part because most of my Spurs-leaning friends, including James, are not expecting much out of today's match at Old Trafford. Concerns about Spurs' defense (which I wrote about last weekend)  and their terrible track record away to United is mostly what I've been hearing. 


I'm also slightly undone, though, by the confidence my friend Mike has shown in the Reds today for his fantasy footie side, starting Berbs and Chich up top. I pondered that formation over a beer or two, but ultimately didn't have the guts to go with it. Instead, in a very low moment, I went with the weaselly diver Chamakh up top with Berba, and I already am full of self-loathing and regret over my choice of the Gunners' striker. Sure, I like the matchup, Arsenal at home and all, versus my friend Paul's Hammers, but this guy has disappointed me to no end whenever I've picked him to date, and I had sworn off him as of about Gameweek 5. Oh, well -- onward and upward.



[Ed. Note: Or maybe not. Chamakh on the board with his typical one point fantasy performance AT HOME today. This guy is just unbelievably bad. Please, someone tell me never to pick him again. Seriously; I mean it. He's terrible.]

Now onto the big game: Sir Alex goes with a mixture of youth and experience today, confirming my gut sense by picking Rafael to mark Gareth Bale, while leaving the rest of the defending to Vida, Rio and Evra.  It's Chicha and Berba up front, with Fletch, Carrick, Park and Nani getting the nod in midfield. The bench also contains some young guns, with both Bebe and Smalling having seats near the sideline. Contrary to my suspicions, Rooney is at the game today, watching from the sidelines with some of his fellow teammates.

It's Park clanging the post inside the first two minutes, with United on the front foot right from the get go. Early on, it's Park and Nani causing Spurs problems on the offensive end of the pitch, while Spurs counter with some threats and a goalpost of their own, a rocket off the foot of Van der Vaart that has VdS beaten.  Although it's a bright start for both teams, if Park had only the slightest ability to finish the Red Devils could be in the lead. This one could be frustrating.

Modric and Bale are little to be seen through the match's first 15 minutes, but I don't expect that to last. The OT crowd is in full throat tonight, probably fueled as much by the pre-game anti-Glazer protests outside the stadium as the beer inside it.  

Chicharito makes a cameo appearance in the game's 20th minute, almost pouncing on a spilled Carrick shot, but the Mexican, too, has been largely absent from tonight's proceedings. At the other end, the assistant referee almost gifts Spurs a goal, somehow missing a ball that goes clear over the end line, but VdS bails the defense out, and comes to Ferdinand's (and the referee's) rescue.

Midway through the half, Nani offers a piece of mesmerizing skill that should've led to the game's first goal, hypnotizing two Spurs defenders as he moves slow motion into the box before sliding a ball that had "assist' written all over it through the middle, but Fletcher can only direct it right at Gomes. Score tied still, nil-nil, and the tension continues.

Despite all the attacking talent on the pitch, it's Vida who finally open up the scoring, connecting smartly on a fine Nani free kick. The Serbian uses his head to thump the ball past Gomes for a 1-nil United lead.   Both teams create plenty of chances before half in an end-to-end game that is not disappointing the neutrals.

[Ed Note: why does FSC show so many Proactive commercials before, during and after every EPL game?  Do they really think that lots of acne-pocked teenage girls are watching their EPL broadcasts? These commercials may be slightly more appropriate on the Disney or Lifetime Channels than on FSC.]

The second half begins under a cloud of smoke, as halftime fireworks cause generally cloudy conditions to prevail on the pitch. The smoke clears as both clubs struggle to find their second half footing, with the pace of this half feeling much flatter than where we left off. United seem unable to generate much of a offensive threat other than that provided by Nani, with both Berbatov and Chicharito having relatively weak games to this point in the action. The midfield, ex-Nani, also seems poor again today, with even Fletcher struggling to make much of an impact on the game.

Spurs blink first, substituting Roman Pavlyuchenko for Robbie Keane in a bid to change the outcome. Fergie counters with Scholesie and Wes Brown for Berbatov and Rafael.    Strange substitutions, to be sure, but in SAF I trust. Also makes me wonder if Wes Brown has finally started to work his way out of the United dog house....  Mrs. Palacios, too, should be well pleased to see her son enter the fray as a replacement for Jermaine Jenas, as the game devolves momentarily into a battle of substitutions, as both coaches seek to alter the final outcome.

Fergie seems strangely determined to see out a 1-nil lead, as if proving to himself and others that United can hold a lead at home, even against one of the league's top sides. While it's dismaying seeing the Red Devils go into a defensive shell at home, my guess is that Fergie is more concerned with the three points today than being stylish in victory.

Van de Vaart, who has looked most likely all afternoon for Spurs, pulls up lame with 15 minutes remaining in the contest, bringing the Britsh Flamingo, Peter Crouch, onto the pitch. The crowd at this point is dulled into silence by a lack of action at either end; even a watching Ryan Giggs looks bored to tears by the lack of on-field action.

It's a bizarre incident (shown here on video) that ends the game, reminiscent of  Dirk Kuyt's goal against Sunderland earlier this season, with Nani being fouled in the box but no call forthcoming from referee Clattenburg. Although Spurs goalie Heurelho Gomes is under the impression that a free kick has been given, it hasn't, and as he puts the ball down in front of the goal, Nani steals it -- like taking candy from a baby -- and steers it into the back of the net before Gomes can stop him.  As @rioferdy5 tweeted after the game: "...gotta play to the whistle - harsh but true."

The freak goal stands because no free kick was ever signaled, Spurs furious and United with the three points. Game over, 2-0, and farlieonfootie with the candy from the baby for Halloween on October 31st.



Game Day Beer Review: Dogfish Head Sahtea (9.00% ABV). Pours a murky orangish color with just a small amount of head that leaves behind virtually no lacing. Up front aroma is dominated by chai tea spices.  Taste is chai tea spices, with distict a distict clove undercurrent, and a slight hint of orange that fades into a crisp, clean finish. The alcohol in this beer is extremely well hidden. Unusual: A-

Davey and Goliath

photo by Fried Dough	via PhotoRee

Thoughts on finally viewing some live (ok, tivo'ed to be completely honest, and watched later at night) football yesterday, when England played traditional Euro power Montenegro:

- Do All 600,000 People Living in Montenegro Have Surnames Ending in-vic?  It certainly sounded as if it's a governmental requirement, as announcer Martin Tyler reeled off one -vic after another: Bozovic, Ivanovic, Djalovic, Novakovic and more.  Credit to Tyler for keeping them all straight.

- Losing Serbia Has Turned Montenegro into a Football Superpower. Based, at least, on last night's performance, as well as the Montenegran minnows' results to date in Euro qualifying.  Four shutouts in four games is not bad when you're starting center back is no longer named Vidic.

- England Was Much Too Slow in the First Half, completely off the pace required, and gave Montenegro ample time to marshal their defense.  It seemed as if  England's play took forever to develop, as they were unable to play the ballthrough mid-field quickly enough to open up attacking space....

- The 2nd Half Didn't Look Much Better.  Sure, England looked dangerous in fits and starts, and even came close to scoring on one or two occasions, but they were also an 83rd minute crossbar away from losing 1-nil to Montenegro.  I repeat: 1-nil to Montenegro.  At home.  Enough said.

- Roo's Confidence Must be Well and Truly Shattered.  I know he's not playing well, but backing off 2nd-half free kicks so that Ashley Young and Adam Johnson could take them? That's a new feature to his game, and something that never would have happened last season.

- Game Day Beer Review: Watched the game while drinking a Dogfish Head 2010 Punkin Ale.  Loved this beer last year, but don't find this year's version quite as compelling.  The pumpkin spices, including cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, seem  more muted than I remember, and the malt flavoring more pronounced.  Still, an excellent beer from one of my favorite American breweries.  Rating: B+

I'd be Remiss (negligent?) if I didn't at least touch on the Liverpool situation: I think it's quite funny that a Manchester United fan could end up owning the club.  Although it's far from certain at this late hour, Peter Lim, who made at least a portion of his vast fortune through the ownership of 14 Manchester United-themed bars in Asia, could be installed by the High Court today as the new owner at Liverpool.  Maybe they'll become a Manchester United farm team, kinda like the Toledo Mud Hens.  A decision is due from the court at 4:30am EST.  Stay tuned.

I'm staying tuned, as well.  This is farlieonfootie for October 13.