Dogfish Head Sixty-one

When I walked into my beer store to grab something to make the week go away and get the weekend off to a happy start the beer manager was near the front door. 

When he saw me he grabbed my arm and guided me towards the back of the store and said to me, “Have I got something for you!”

I was like, “Huh? Wha?”  I quickly recovered my sensibilities and said,”Listen.  You’re kind of cute and I’m really flattered but I’m married.  Besides, I barely even know y…”

By this time we had reached the rear aisles.  Before I could finish he turned around an looked at me as if I had some sort of mental defect.  He was handing me something.

When I saw what was in his hand I was like, “oh.”  Then I was like, “OH!”

He handed me a four-pack of Dogfish Head Sixty-one.

Sheepishly, I took the four-pack from his outstretched hand, mumbled my thanks, and headed for the check-out counter.

I got home and immediately popped a couple Sixty-ones into the freezer for quick chillage. Fifteen minutes later I’m drinking a Dogfish Head brew and the loooong week begin to slip-slide away.

Now, Dogfish Head has rarely – like never – disappointed me.  So, I’m used to being impressed by their beers.  This is a “WOW”!  

It's no wonder I like it so much.  It's a blend of my favorite Dogfish Head beer - 60-Minute IPA - and red wine.  I've had beer/wine blends before and I'm surprised that I like them so much; they seem like an odd mixture but they're actually quite good.

Sixty-one (6.5% ABV) pours a beautiful ruby red with very little head that kind of just swirls around.  The aroma was very interesting - sweet grapes, earthy/resiny hops and an underlying dankness.

The flavor is remarkable.  The sweetness of the grapes comes forward in a big way and pairs well with the bitterness of the hops.  There is an undercurrent of caramel malt somehow fits in there quite nicely.  The finish is dry with a lingering sweetness.  

The mouthfeel is medium and loaded with tingly effervescence.  Sixty-one is dangerously quaffable, two bottles went down way to easily.  

I would like to add that there is a subtle mustiness that is exactly like what I find so offensive in Founders All Day IPA and Stone Enjoy by 04/01/13.  Except that in Sixty-one it is only a suggestion instead of being in-your-face and adds a unique characteristic that somehow just works.

This is a strange and unique blend of IPA and red wine that is complex and unusual.  I know that not everyone is going to like this beer.  It's like nothing I've ever tasted before and I like it.  No, I dare say, I love it.  Dogfish Head ROCKS!

Overall: Excellent!

All Day IPA

My experience with Founder's beer has been hit or miss.  I've had ones I've really liked - like their Breakfast Stout and Rye PA.  And then there was Cerise which I thought was kind of meh.

The beer guy at my go-to beer store knows how much I like IPA's.  So when he suggested that I give All Day IPA a try and went on to add that it was his favorite IPA.  He has a knack for steering me in the right direction so I decided to give it a go. 

I've only ever had one IPA that I really really didn't like, so the odds were good that I'd like this one.  Mmmm.  You'd think. 

All Day IPA pours a clear amber with a small head that quickly dissipates   There are scads of bubbles in this brew, they cling to the inside of the glass like the beer has been aerated.  Pretty neat.

My initial reaction to the aroma was, "I am not going to like this."  It has the same dank, musty aroma that Enjoy by 04/01/2013 has.  Yeah, that would be the one IPA that I really really didn't like.  It has to be the hops that they have in common.  But, I don't know, because they're not really clear on what hop varieties they use.











The taste is pretty much what I expected.  The dank, mustiness in the aroma carries through to the palate.  It clings to the back of the throat in a way that is smelled as much as tasted.  And that dank flavor lingers in the finish.  I find it unpleasant and unappealing.  

It's not all bad.  There are the bitter hop characteristics that I enjoy. There is also a malty quality that offsets the bitterness quite nicely.

The mouthfeel is light and tingly.  That and the relatively low 4.7% ABV make this a very sessionable brew.

If you like that particular hop profile that I seem to find so offensive, and apparently some people do because it gets rave reviews, then you will like this beer.  Me?  I could barely choke it down.  Overall - blah.

Well, if nothing else, I like the name and the label design is pretty cool.  It reminds me of a summer outing   I like that.


For more information about their beers visit Founder's website or check them out on Facebook.

Stone Enjoy by 04/01/13

The much anticipated release of Stone Brewing's next installment of their "Enjoy by' series had me pretty excited about trying the 04/01/13 version.  So, when my beer guy texted me that he was holding a couple bottles for me, well, I ran right over there and snatched up a couple bottles.

What's all the hubbub about?  Stone created this series of beer to be consumed as fresh as possible. Ideally, when you drink an Enjoy By beer you will experience maximum hoppiness and peak flavor.

Dagnammit!  I really want to love this beer.  I really, really did. But I didn't. In fact, I can't say that I liked it much at all.

I am a big-time, all-around IPA lovin' gal.  I love the big hoppy bite and puckering bitterness.  But Enjoy By is off in an awful way that I could barely choke down.  

The aroma was a clear indication of what was to come.  There was a decidedly unpleasant smell mixed in with all the other wonderful hoppiness.  The flavor?  Very much the same.  If it wasn't for my philosophy of wasting beer being equal to alcohol abuse I might have dumped it down the drain.

After sharing the two bottles with hubby and not Enjoying the experience, I decided that I wanted to give this much adulated beer another shake. So, hubby and I went to Plan B in Milford who was tapping a keg of Enjoy By 04/01/13 at 5 PM today (03/05/13).  I waited expectantly for the beer to arrive at our table praying, "please let me like this, please let me like this".  Yeah, I actually did.

The glass was placed before me and I thought, "Boy, I hope this is good."

Enoy By is very pretty in the glass.  It is a bright clear orange with a fluffy white head that diminishes to a wisp of bubbles that leaves behind considerable lacing.  

I gave it a sniff.  Ugh.  There it was - that smell; however, somewhat more subdued than it was than when I poured it from the bottle.  It's a dank, musty odor.  It almost reminds me of rotten moldy nuts.  

The taste is crisp, bitter and hoppy.  But the dank, mustiness in the aroma carries through to the palate and clings to the back of the throat in a way that is smelled as much as tasted.  Like I said before, yucky.

I can't imagine that this is what Stone was going for, but it is what it is.

Lot's of people love this beer.  I don't and I'm disappointed.  Well, I guess I can't like every beer that rolls down the 'pike.  Even one that is super heavily promoted and released with such high expectations.

9.4% ABV 

On a side note - it's a physiological fact that women are more sensitive to and perceive bitterness differently than men do.  Case in point, hubby didn't taste the nastiness that I did on either occasion. Though he said he liked it less out of the 

keg. I think he said he thought it tasted like

kerosene or turpentine.  No, diesel fuel.  
That's it!  But, then, he's not an IPA 
kind of guy.