Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale

It's at the same time completely coincidental and relative to the moment that I'm reviewing this aptly named beer from this Delaware brewery on the heels of this recent hurricane. More about that below.

Style: Pale Ale

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Package: 12oz bottle into pint glass

ABV: 5%

IBU: 30

Excerpt from Dogfish Head's description: "Shelter Pale Ale is brewed with a premium barley and northwestern Willamette & Columbus hops. The beer has a fine malt backbone and a slightly nutty flavor. Shelter Pale Ale is a versatile, quaffable beer."

Appearance: Pours very copper in color and is quite transparent with a one finger, fluffy, eggshell white head that hung around for a couple of minutes. A good amount of thin, wispy lacing stuck to the glass throughout drinking.

Aroma: Slight malt. Equal touches of pine and citrus. Maybe a little grass as well?

Taste: Malty up front, followed by a tinge of floralness, finishing with a hair of bitterness. So far, everything is in moderation here keeping it balanced throughout. (Note: I didn't really get the advertised nutty flavor. *shrug*)

Mouthfeel: Not super, watery light, but definitely light and simple. Moderate carbonation. Very crisp and clean finish.

Overall: Maybe just a little too tame of a pale ale for my tastes to give it a higher score, but not to Shelter's detriment. It excels in being smooth and drinkable. The subtly present qualities would gladly make me want to session many of these on a hot summer day if Dogfish Head offered this brand outside of the Mid-Atlantic region. In fact, that led me to an idea. Can this, package it in 12-packs, and aggressively price it. It would be an excellent craft gateway and, placed next to any B/M/C light beer, would blow the big boys out of the water.

Grade: B

Completely subjective intangible (that didn't affect the review or overall grade): Standard Dogfish Head labeling and bottle cap. Still appreciate the oval dogfish logo though.

On a scale of Warm & Sunny Day to Hurricane Irene, I'm giving this...

Nah, I kid. No tasteless jokes here, just safe wishes and a speedy recovery to everyone on the East Coast after Irene's landfall.

Lastly, a shout out and huge "Thank you!" to my good friend Katie who was kind enough to bring me back this fine array of Dogfish Head brews direct from a visit to Milton.

Completely not beer related, but Katie's a fellow blogger who writes about vintage items, thriftiness, "junkin'," life in general, and is local to boot. Check out her blog, The Savvy Luna Bugg, if that interests you or even if you just happen to have a few extra minutes to spare. Cheers!

Sierra Nevada / Dogfish Head Life & Limb 2 coming to the South Bend area!

Once upon a time, way back in the year 2009 A.D., Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head decided to collaborate on a brew dubbed "Life and Limb." This brew would be an American Strong Ale, weighing in at 10.2%. Whether they didn't think it would sell, or didn't have the capacity to run more, I don't know, but there was an incredible demand which overpowered supply and became a highly sought after beer. Fortunately they decided to release this beer again, while increasing production so that more people will have access to it. I think I remember hearing it was 4x the amount this time around, but don't quote me....

From the SN website (grammar and all)...

"They say there are no second acts in American life, but this beer is living proof that sometimes-if we are very lucky-we get another shot at bringing something great into the world. In the fall of 2009, Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada created Life & Limb to celebrate our extended brewing families. That beer was so popular that it was sold out nationwide in less than two weeks and proved once-and-for-all, that the wild and wonderful world of craft beer was healthy and vibrant. Because of that wonderful response, we've decided to brew the beer againsomething like a Life & Limb redux. Using the same recipe, but a different package, we invite you to raise a glass once again to the rambling and rambunctious craft beer family tree. Life & Limb 2 will be available nationwide in limited supply starting mid-August 2011"

I am going to steal the part about raising a glass to the craft beer family tree in something I write, because that was a pretty cool line.

Anyhow, what brought about this long-winded post was a txt from my friend Josh over at Portage Liquor on Portage Ave in South Bend. He told me he is getting an entire case of this beer, and asked that I get the word out. When I hear that it's been delivered, I will let you know. This is a limited edition brew, which may or may not ever be crafted again. Pick up a bottle or two and enjoy!

Brew Masters killed by Big Beer?

Have you ever seen the show "Brew Masters" on the Discovery Channel? It's a very entertaining and informative five show series (six, if you count the filmed but not released episode) that follows Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewing Company on his journey to create some of the greatest beer in this country. From the first 10 minutes of the opening episode, I was hooked. Since I had no previous knowledge of this show until after all of the episodes were aired, I had the opportunity to watch them all, commercial free and at my convenience over the course of two days. Maybe I'm biased by being a beer enthusiast, but this is one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.

And like most shows I get hooked on, it has been canceled...

"No Reservations" host Anthony Bourdain, of whom I'm a big fan, tweeted "Big story there. Brew Masters goes--or our Ads do" and "See what happened to Dogfish/Discovery deal. Big Beer threatened to pull ads." I've read that Bourdain's show shares a production and/or film crew with the Brew Masters show, and you could draw a conclusion that he is someone who would know these details.

Although I'm not a fan of MillerCoorsBudweiser and often drink nothing if those are my only choices, I'm not so eager to hang them on this based on only two tweets. Discovery claims they are pulling the show due to poor interest. However anecdotal, everyone I've talked to about this show that has seen it really enjoys it, but many others haven't even heard of it. I wouldn't be surprised at all if "Big Beer" threatened to pull ads in the face of Brew Masters success. Craft beer sales rose over 10% last year, seemingly impervious to the economical dip, which must have companies like InBev worried. In the end, I doubt we'll ever hear the full story on this.

Go to the Beer & Whiskey Brothers website to read more, they have a great article on this situation.

Meanwhile, if you haven't seen this show, I highly recommend you click on over to iTunes and download all five. You can thank me later.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

For many of you that follow my twitter feed, or craft beer news in general, the loss of Dogfish Head in Indiana should come as no surprise.  Without going into great detail, the demand for their product increased exponentially over the last 5 years and has severely outpaced their ability to fulfill orders.  To avoid being spread too thin in too many states, they decided to pull back from four; Indiana, Rhode Island, Tennesse and Wisconson.  Holding near the top of my list of favorite breweries, Dogfish will be sorely missed, specifically their 90 minute IPA and Indian Brown Ale.  On the other hand I feel very fortunate that South Bend is surrounded by a number of exceptional breweries like FFF, Dark Horse, Founders, Bell's, and the list goes on.  Not only can I still find lots of great beer in my area, I can also make a short trip to Chicago when I need to get my Dogfish Fix.


In tribute to Dogfish Head, this review is about their Indian Brown Ale.

 
Style:  American Brown Ale
Brewery: Dogfish Head
Package: Bottle into Bruges Glass
ABV:  7.2
Gravity: Unknown
IBU:  50
Location: Citywide Liquors (Downtown South Bend)

Aroma: Roasted Malt, Coffee, Caramel sweetness and a touch of chocolate.


Appearance:  Very dark, leathery brown with subtle red highlights under light with a thick tan head and sticky lace that clings to the glass.

Taste:  Huge robust coffee with a reasonable amount of bitterness.  The roasted malt and chocolate is balanced well with the sweetness from the caramel and molasses.  

Mouthfeel: A little chewy, mild carbonation with a bitter dry finish.

 
Drinkability:  I really enjoy this, not a session beer but is a nice relaxing brew in moderation.


Notes:  This is a brown ale, one of my favorite categories, on steroids.  If you enjoy coffee, you will probably like this.  I have two more of these in my refrigerator and will miss having easy access to this great beer when it's gone. 


Food Pairing: Barbecue, stews, steak, etc

Grade:  A

What I've been drinking lately...

Hardly a week goes by before I get asked, "Andy, what are you on?"  Ok, I'm mostly joking, however I do frequently get asked what I've been drinking lately, and regardless of the occasional blank stare, I enjoy answering.  No beer review here, just solid consumption and relaxation...

The first, something I've thoroughly enjoyed this year from one of my favorite breweries: Dogfish Head (Based in Delaware) Indian Brown Ale.  As some of you may be aware, the Indian Brown Ale style is a fairly recent addition to the craft beer industry with its well balanced mixture of rich roasted malts and floral hops.  Inside you'll find some coffee flavor, slight brown sugar notes, and unmistakable floral hops.  At around 7.5%, it's no session beer, but a damn good 2-3 pint beverage.  Some area liquor stores carry this, and you can find it (while it lasts) on tap at Bar Louie in Mishawaka.

The other is from another favorite brewer of mine, Stone Brewing Company in California.  Their IPA should please hopheads and beer enthusiast alike with its Columbus, Chinook and Centennial hop varieties hitting 77 IBU's.  Sitting at 6.7% ABV, you'll have just the right amount of boozy warmth to drink a handful of these.  This can also be found at local liquor stores in the South Bend area, as well as being on tap at Bar Louie. 


-Andy
TheBeerIsGood.com Owner, Editor-In-Chief and Senior Researcher