Dogfish Head Sixty-One

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: American IPA/Fruit Beer, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: 60

I was at the liquor store the other night, as I'm wont to do, and I saw the Piercing Pils and Sixty-One sitting in the fridge. I figured it was time to try these two beers, and maybe if I drink beer intended for warmer weather then we will get some warmer weather. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

The Sixty-One is a twist on Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA, which oddly enough I haven't reviewed on here (maybe I'll get to that someday). The 60 Minute IPA is one of those classic IPAs you can recommend to anyone and pick up whenever you need an IPA. It's good and it's a classic and yeah. The Sixty-One takes the 60 Minute IPA and adds syrah grape must from California. The beer was inspired by founder/president Sam Calagione when he poured some red wine into the 60 Minute IPA. The end result is this beer.

Dogfish Head Sixty-One

The beer pours into a surprisingly red wine-esque body, even showing some hints of red in the head foam. The body of this beer is dark amber with shades of red and orange, and the beer produces a finger of white head with amber and red tones. There is a nice cauldron effect/sea foam thing going on as the head drops off, and there is lacing. The beer appears to be transparent (and probably filtered) with spotty mid-sized carbonation. It's a good looking beer, all things considered, and you probably wouldn't peg it as an IPA straight up.

The aroma smells a lot like the 60 or 90 Minute IPAs. It has a very distinct...Dogfish Head aroma. It's hard to explain, but you know it once you've quaffed enough 60 and 90 Minutes. I'm getting big pine, sweeter citrus, Amarillo, orange, tangerine, peaches, and big grapes and grape must. The grape must is a standout aroma, and it isn't embedded into the hop profile like a Nelson Sauvin aroma would be. There is some citrus zest and white pepper on the aroma as well, with some white wine, Syrah, and grape-apricot fusion. There are some hints of biscuit malt and bread in the backdrop as well. 

Contrary to a lot of people who dislike this beer, I think this beer is a really nice blend of hops and grape. You get a nice meld of resinous pine, citrus, grapefruit, lemon zest, white pepper, and grass....with big grape must, Syrah, white wine, gooseberry, and apricot. The finish is dry with lingering hops and grapes. There's a hint of bread/cracker on the backbone, with some suggestive caramel sugars popping up here and there. 

The carbonation and mouthfeel for this beer is spot on. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is okay. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied. You wouldn't know this was 6.5% based on how drinkable it is. I really like this...I don't know if it's world-class or the best IPA you can buy, but how many IPAs are brewed with Syrah grape must? Up front: resinous pine, white pepper, citrus, dry white wine, big grapes, Syrah, grape must; the mids roll into orange, tanginer, and Amarillo against big grapes; the back end features gooseberry, white wine, and apricot-grape goodness. The finish is dry and clean, with lingering grapes and hops.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a super drinkable, super refreshing, fun beer. It really is the perfect meld of grapes and hops, and you couldn't pick a better vehicle than the 60 Minute IPA for the combination. What a fun, tasty brew. I'm happy that this is going to be part of Dogfish Head's annual lineup, and I look forward to picking this up to drink in the future. Food pairings: chocolate, grilled meats, chicken, and warm weather. I miss the warm weather.

Random Thought: We are about to get pounded with a snow storm....the only silver lining is it looks like we are supposed to reach the mid-30s by the end of next week.

Goose Island Class of ’88 Belgian Style Ale

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 765ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (bottled 01/13/2014)

Style/ABV: Belgian Strong Ale, 11.2% 

Reported IBUs: 7

It's hard to believe I was just a wee little baby in 1988, sucking on dem titties and crapping my pants. I missed out on hairy bushes, bright pink lights, and cocaine. Wait, on second thought, I'm okay with that. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The Class of ’88 Belgian Style Ale was brewed in collaboration with Deschutes Brewery to celebrate both brewery's "silver" or 25th anniversary. Goose Island opted to brew this beer using whole flower Mt Hood hops, which were introduced in 1988. They then transferred this beer to Muscat casks and aged it on Michigan Riesling Grape juice and Oregon Pinot Noir grape must. It's kind of wine-like, like the Dogfish Head Noble Rot. The Goose Island Class of '88 features a Best Pilsner malt base, and punches in at 11.2% ABV and 7 IBUs.

Goose Island Class of ’88 

The beer pours into a slightly hazy, apple-juice amber/orange body, kicking up a finger of rapidly dissolving white head. The head crackled and fizzed away like soda, leaving a ring of white carbonation on the edges of my glass, and tons of alcohol legs. Bright light confirms the apple juice color of the beer's body, and some tiny carbonation bubbles are rising upwards with moderate authority.

The aroma is pretty subtle, with apples, grape juice, oak, and some peppery Belgian spice. If I really dig into the aroma I get some candi sugar and orange, lemon, candy malts, and some nondescript floral aromas. Kind of meh.

Wow...this just...sucks. Totally flat with dull Muscat and stale Riesling, obnoxious waves of glaring Belgian candy sugar and sappy candy oranges, and just...meh. There's hardly any barrel or oak, and there's little wine complexity. The finish is equally as flaccid and sad. For an 11.2% Belgian Strong aged in wine barrels with grape juice, I was expecting big things.

When the best part about a beer is the boozy warming, you know (1) you're an alcoholic, and (2) the beer sucks. This isn't quit the abortion that the Blue Moon Grand Cru was, but it's about on par with the novelty that Kwak is. I'm kind of offended that Goose Island would even bottle this, let alone in their fancy 765ml format and at an asking price of $20 a bottle. Fuck no. Maybe this needs some time to age in the bottle? I think there's some Brett in here? I dunno. Complexity is at an all time low, especially for a Belgian Strong aged in wine barrels with grape juice. Palate depth is okay I guess, and the 11.2% is hiding like minorities at the state fair. Up front: flat candy citrus, grape drank, sugary grape/orange, orange candy, weird chemical; mid palate rolls into more grape drank and apple juice, stale sugar, stale white wine, the "L" car that the homeless person peed in; back end is lingering sweetness and booze. Grapes, wine complexity, and barrels be damned. There's none of that here. Any Brett funk is in the alpha stages. I guess when Greg Hall isn't pissing and cumming on things, magic doesn't happen.

Rating: Below-Average (2.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Below-Average beer. Just...disappointing as my first three kids. Seriously, hit the fucking softball, it's on a tee for cripes crates. This beer is disappointing from the onset: no pop when you open it, no aroma when you sniff it from the bottle, and a pour that would only make the thirstiest homeless person happy. On the plus side, this beer isn't as bad as it could be...I mean they could have mixed the 312 with some grape juice and slapped a shiny label on it and stuck it in their trademark 765ml bottle. About that, do I really have fucks to give about the extra 15ml? No, I don't. I'm not even going to recommend food pairings in good faith here, because I honestly wouldn't waste 20 dollars on this. If you do blow your load on this expensive beer, age it for a few years because yeahhhh. BOOOOO.

Random Thought: Hey, it happens. At least Kwak comes with a cool glass that you can use as a butt plug or to butt chug. 

Dogfish Head Noble Rot

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Saison/Fruit Beer, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: 18

Dogfish Head and Sam Calagione have always included comparisons to spirits or wine for their beers. They compare their Palo Santo Marron to an oak-aged baernet, their 120 IPA to whisky, their Bitches Brew to a Bordeaux, etc. They also make a number of spirits, including rums, vodkas, and a jin. It's probably no surprise, then, that Dogfish Head would dabble with infected grape must, and then blend it with a Belgian Strong Ale-esque beer. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

If you roll over to the Noble Rot page, you can get the breakdown on this. It looks like the Noble Rot is brewed with pils and wheat malts, and fermented with a Belgian yeast strain. According to Dogfish Head, the yeast gets to ferment sugars from "two unique wine grapes sourced with our friends at Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Prosser, Wash." The first addition of sugars comes from unfermented grape must from viognier grapes that have been infected with the fungus botrytis. The second source of sugars comes from pinot gris must that has been intensified by a process called "dropping fruit," where clusters of grapes are clipped to amplify the quality of those left behind. 

All-in-all, this beer is big at 9.0%, and features a lively Belgian yeast. The primary sources of sugar for this beer are grape juice, and should add some interesting complexity to the taste. Let's glass this up and see what this beer is about.

Dogfish Head Noble Rot

This one pours like a Pale Lager, at least upon first impression. The body is a light yellow color, the head is bright white, and there's a storm of carbonation visible in this transparent beer. As the finger of white head settles down, you're left with a Belgian/Saison-looking head. The body is reminiscent of a white wine, but there is a TON of carbonation in this. I wonder if this is bottle conditioned, and if so, how this would develop.

The aroma on this is really nice, I'm not going to lie. I'm getting grapes, gooseberry, white wine subtleties, a little bit of apple/apple skin, floral/perfume yeast frutiness, and some nice clove spice. There's a touch of grain and wheat as well.

If I said this tasted like a Duvel mixed with a white wine, I would hope it wouldn't be interpreted as me selling this beer short. There's a lot of wheat, pils malt, and some yeasty fruit/clove, and there's a huge grape presence, with white wine, and gooseberry. The beer is creamy from the wheat malt, but it also tastes fairly attenuated towards the back palate, where you are left with dry wine and dry grain. It's a really nice mouthfeel, with lots of subtle complexity.

This is quite nice at 9.0%, although there's definitely some warming on the back end of this and there's a hint of wine-esque booze. Basically, I would drink this like a wine. Problem solved. This is creamy and smooth, but also quite dry towards the back end...probably medium-light in terms of mouthfeel, with good supporting carbonation, and nice dryness. Palate depth is really nice, refined, and mature...and complexity is great too. I think an oak-aged version of this would be off the charts amazing, and I bet this would even take well to a Bourbon barrel. Just some food for thought....up front is clove, Belgian yeast fruitiness, and big gooseberry; middle is big white wine, grape, gooseberry, more Belgian yeast; back end is lingering grapes, lingering white wine, and dryness. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Light Divine Brew on this. This is a really solid, delicious beer. In fact, this goes beyond a beer...this is a beer + wine. Really nice stuff, with big bold grape presence, gooseberry, and white wine characters. There's a really nice Belgian base beer with big wheat, pils malt, light grain, it's fantastic. I could see pairing this beer with muscles, alfredo, white pasta sauce, various Italian foods, strong cheese, chicken, Greek/Mediterranean food...you name it. 

Random Thought: This beer is surprisingly boozy at 9.0%, especially in the 750ml format. I know bigger beers have come in 750s, but this one sneaks up on you.