Better Drinking

Amongst beer aficionados, Dogfish Head ranks right up there as one of top craft breweries in the US. Founder Sam Calagione has created not only a reputation for good beers, but non-traditional, experimental beers that push the limits of style. For a traditionalist like myself, this is dangerous water since I tend to be a "paint within the lines" kind of guy. But being a homebrewer myself, I am beginning to appreciate the subtler elements of the craft simply through trial-and-error and curiosity. The goal is not always to make an exact duplicate of "X" style or label, but to make something like it, that is both recognizable to a stranger and yet uniquely...unique. As a brewer, it is unlikely I will ever achieve this level of artisanship. But as a taster, learning to apprehend and appreciate complex beers is ever a challenge, however silly it might seem to the uninitiated.

This brings me back to Dogfish Head, which just last week entered the Georgia distribution market. The reputation for good beers was almost from word of mouth alone since I've previously only had their Chicory Stout, which I picked up in Chicago last year. From the various selections available here, I chose two, the Indian Brown Ale and the Raison D'Etre. Both are hard to exactly pinpoint on style, though broadly speaking one is a brown ale, the other a Belgian dark.

But the broad description of each is really where it ends. Both of these beers are very complex. There is so much going on, especially as they warm, that I would hard pressed to accurately describe the flavors. The Indian Brown is malty, nutty, hoppy, with touches of peat. The Raison D'Etre tastes like a Belgian dark, but has a vinous quality reminiscent of wine. Normally, I am "distracted" with dinner, a movie, a conversation, etc, when drinking, but both of these beers really captured my attention more than usual. This is not to wax poetic or to make it seem like a religious experience, which it certainly was not. But it was beyond the norm, and well worth the extra time to ponder.

But as someone once quipped on Beer Advocate, less geeking and more drinking; we can write reviews all day, but the celebration of beer is found in the drinking.

Go, and soberly appreciate such wonderful gifts.