Sat, 10 Dec 2011

We needed 7 beers to turn over before this morning for today's O' Come All Ye Burton Barton Weilding, Immortale, Faithful Hellhounds to the Olde School... (bow head)... Namaste Dogfish Head Brunch, and happily since Thursday night, 7 kegs turned over.

Kicked: Troegs Hopback Amber, Leinenkugels Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout (sixtel), Manayunk Philadelphia Porter, Lost Abbey Avant Garde.

Tapped:
Dogfish Head Hellhound (sixtel) - the beer was brewed to celebrate the 100th years since the birth of bluesman Robert Johnson. Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse, 10.0 ABV, 10.0 SRM in color, and dry-hopped with 100% centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. Can you tell we at Dogfish are stoked for this mighty musical centennial? To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the centennial hops (and as a shout out to Robert Johnsons mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson) we add dried lemon peel and flesh to the whirlpool. That's a lot of 100s and centennials. Way cool.

Dogfish Head Namaste (sixtel) - A Belgian-style White made with dried organic orange slices, fresh cut lemongrass and a bit of coriande. Sounds like a great breakfast beer, and hey we serve brunch every Saturday and Sunday!

Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine (sixtel) - Inspired by a tale of a cask doctor who brought sluggish ales back to life by suspending a fig in them. Brewed from 100% Maris Otter pale ale malt, a blend of fine hops and conditioned on dates and figs. This one had a serious aroma when we tapped it last night. I can't wait to have one.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton (sixtel) - another one got that tapped last night. For Burton Baton we first brew two 'threads' or batches of beer: an English-style Old Ale and an Imperial IPA. After fementating the separate beers in stainless tanks, the two are transferred and blended together in a large oak tank. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month. You'll find an awesome blend of the citrus notes from Northwestern hops melding with woody, vanilla notes from the oak. The wood also tends to mellow the 10% of the beer - so tread cautiously! I had one last night and even after blending and wood aging, this bad boy retains its hoppyness.

5:30 PM Update:

The Dogfish Head Namaste turned out to be a bad keg which sucks for everyone. We had to take it off and in its place is Duck Rabbit Milk Stout. Duck Rabbit Milk Stout is a great rendition of a milk stout. Milk stout (also called sweet stout or cream stout) is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Because lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast, it adds sweetness, body, and calories to the finished beer. Milk stout was claimed to be nutritious, and was given to nursing mothers. That is why it will be next weeks Beer Season Beer of the Week.