I'm a huge fan of Dogfish beers. There aren't many that I have tried that I'm not good friends with (ahem, Black & Red). I've been hearing the hype behind Dogfish Head Black & Blue for a few months now. It's the first time they have brewed this beer and it's a limited release, meaning it could also be the last time. I spent the last couple of weeks casually searching for it, until I went into Total Wine a few nights ago and asked a clerk if they had any in stock. He said they already sold through a shipment and that a Whole Foods in the area had some. Well, wouldn't you know I was heading to the homebrew store the next day and I just so happened to drive right by a Whole Foods. After scanning the shelves for a minute, my heart dropped. None left. But wait! What's that odd-looking bottle on the wrong shelf? You guessed it! It was the last bottle of the stuff. So I took it home, chilled it and cracked it at sunset, sharing half with my wife, Sarah. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this could be one of my favorite Dogfish Head beers. It has just the right amount fruit flavor (black raspberries and blueberries) and only in the finish. It's incredibly smooth and extremely drinkable. It's a great spring/summer beer, and is best sipped (10% ABV) while in a relaxed environment. Sarah said it's the perfect sunset beer, as we sat on our balcony and watched the sun set. If you get the chance to try it, by all means, do it.
Also on my agenda is brew day. I've recently started homebrewing again. See, I started homebrewing with my buddy Steve but I moved out of state about 8 months ago so haven't done a homebrew since. He's done a couple, with some success, but I'll let him post about that. I have a batch in my secondary fermenter and today I'm putting one back in the primary. In my secondary is a clone of one of my favorite beers of all time, Troeg's Nugget Nectar. This is an outstanding beer for hop heads and is only brewed three months out of the year (February-March-April), so it's out of stores right now. If you've never had it, it's got a crisp, clean taste with lots of hops, but the hops don't overpower your palate. It's finished with a hint of sweet, which is likely the nugget and warrior hops that go in during the dry hopping phase. Mine is dry hopping at the moment and bottling day is coming up next weekend. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.
Today though, is a new creation. Today I'm trying my hand at an English Honey Brown Ale. I've always been a fan of English Browns and Newcastle Brown Ale in particular. I had my list of ingredients for a Newcastle clone but when I went into my LHBS, they had a kit that the owner said is even better than Newcastle, with a bigger flavor. I thought I would take it one step further and add some honey at flameout. My only fear is that the yeast attack the honey, filtering out any sweetness and drying out the beer. But hey, this is why we experiment as homebrewers, right? For the honey, I found all natural honey imported from Germany, complete with honeycomb and all. I really hope this turns out because this honey is top grade and is amazingly sweet. I'm hoping that hints of honey come through in the final product, making this a great beer to please your palate on a warm summer evening.
I'll post results of my brews when they're finished. If you want my recipes, let me know. Until next time.
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