Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre is a Belgian brown ale made with beet sugar, green raisins and Belgian yeast. In 2000, Malt Advocate Magazine named it "American Beer of the Year." First brewed in 1996 at their brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this brew hit the store shelves in 1998.

Raison D'Etre pours a deep mahogany in color with a tan head and moderate carbonation. Aromas are of plum, toffee, spice and bread. Flavors of raisin, brown sugar, maple syrup and molasses tickle the palate. The finish is long, sweet and complex due to sweet malt and Belgian yeast. Possible food pairings are steak, blue cheese and smoked sausage. At 8% alcohol by volume, this brew is potent and is definitely a sipper. Raison D'Etre is best enjoyed from a snifter glass at 50 degrees.

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

Farmhouse ales, also known as Saisons, have had a long history as thirst-quenchers. Traced back to Wallonia, a French-speaking area of Belgium, Saisons were brewed for farm workers during the harvest. Once considered to be endangered as a beer style, Saisons have made a significant comeback due to growing interest in Belgian-style ales from beer enthusiasts worldwide. Smuttynose Brewing, out of the quaint seaside town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been making their Farmhouse ale since 2008.

Saisons are known for being funky, dry and crisp. The Farmhouse Ale pours a slightly hazy golden color with a rocky white head and significant carbonation. Aromas are of spice, banana, pepper and apple. It has pronounced flavors of sweet malt, lemon peel, coriander and terroir. The finish is a combination of honey-like sweetness and sour notes from the yeast. It is a bit bigger and sweeter than tradition Saisons, but that is due to it having a higher gravity (9.3% alcohol by volume.) It is a perfect pairing for jambalaya, spicy crab cakes or a fromage triple-creme.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Great Divide Brewing hit the ground running when they opened in 1994 in Denver. Within three months of brewing their very first batch of beer, Great Divide was awarded a medal at the Great American Beer Festival. From the moment they opened their doors, Great Divide has thoroughly dedicated itself to making "big beers." Some of these progressive, bold offerings have included wood-aged beers, barleywines, smoked ales and double India pale ales.

Hercules Double IPA is not a brew for Joe Sixpack. It is malty, sweet, bitter, potent and aromatic. A veritable cornucopia for the senses, this double IPA is unforgiving and forceful. The brew pours a very dark orange color and has an ample, off-white head with good carbonation. Aromas of orange peel, toffee, spruce and hazelnut will attack your olfactory system. It has flavors of Tootsie Roll, grapefruit, caramel and a hint of toasted vanilla bean. It finishes sweet at first, but the spiciness from the hops dries out the finish. At 10% alcohol by volume and 85IBUs, Hercules packs a real knock-out punch. Without a doubt, Hercules is one of the very best double India pale ales in the world.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, is a true Renaissance man in the craftbrew world. He has written multiple books on beer, appeared in two documentary films about beer and developed and starred in a series for the Discovery Channel ("Brew Masters") about his beloved brewery. Never one to rest on his laurels, Calagione has helped Dogfish Head redefine the craftbeer revolution with nearly every new release. Dogfish Head Festina Peche is "a refreshing neo-Berliner Weisse fermented with peaches."

Festina Peche pours a very cloudy light golden color with a moderate white head and high carbonation. The nose consists of aromas of tart citrus, apricot, wildflowers and bread. Flavors of peach and light sweet malt blend in with the natural tart flavors produced by lactobacillus bacteria, which is added into the fermentation vessels. The finish is light and dry with hints of peach and sourness. Festina Peche is a complimentary quaffer for a mixed greens salad with grilled chicken or a mild grilled fish.

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

Boston has a long and rich brewing history. I imagine that the colonists first began making beer a few minutes after landing on Plymouth Rock. By the mid-1980s, the East Coast microbrew movement had begun with Sam Adams (1984) and Harpoon Brewing (1986.) After traveling throughout Europe, Harpoon founders Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary decided to start up their own microbrewery to bring great beer to the good people of New England. Twenty-five years later, Harpoon still continues to push the envelope by creating new brews and introducing unique beer styles to the masses.

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA is a substantial craftbrew. At 10% alcohol by volume and 120 IBUs, it packs a kick as well as some serious hoppiness. It pours a hazy orange color with a slight white head and good carbonation. Aromas of spicy pine and tropical fruits run rampant. The flavors of peach, orange, mango and pine mix with the caramel malt sweetness effortlessly. Massive quantities of potent American hops (Simcoe, Amarillo, Chinook and Centennial) balance the flavors with a crisp bitterness and create a lingering dry finish. Leviathan IPA is a perfect match for grilled lamb, creamy blue cheese or even creme brulee.

The Samuel Adams Conundrum

Way, way back in the late 19th century, Louis Koch devised himself a lager he rather fancied. It was a brew so liked, the recipe survived over a century as well as prohibition. Fast forward to 1984 and we have Jim Koch, the fifth generation, brewing himself up a batch of his family's beer in his kitchen. You've all seen the commercials; you all know what happens next.

Jim Koch with Samuel Adams, as well as a handful of other breweries such as Sierra Nevada and Redhook, helped to trail blaze what would become a revolution in American beer. Americans were shown what real beer was supposed to be. It didn't take too long for these craft/artisinal beers to take off in America. Today we are offered more beer options than we could have ever dreamed.

Even more so, Jim Koch flabbergasted beer enthusiasts with the introduction of Millennium and Utopias. Massive, monsters of a barelywine that came in at over 20% ABV and would put quite a dent in the beer drinker's wallet. It's beers like these, though, that many enthusiasts began to strongly appreciate and desire. That dent in the wallet didn't hurt so much once the brew was cracked and shared amongst friends... not to mention the buzz that 20% ABV can induce.

(I think even Sir Thomas More would approve)

Jim Koch was a renegade, and I have a lot of respect for the man. However, with as many groundbreaking beers as Samuel Adams has produced, they also produced some equally sub par beers as well. These beers just seem to lack any motivation or defining qualities. Beers that seem to stick out are the entire Imperial Series, Cranberry Lambic, the Longshot series, and especially the Cherry Wheat.

(What the fuck is dis shit??)

The Imperial and Longshot series are not bad beers by any stretch of the imagination. They just seem to be weak efforts at beers that could be incredibly good. Even more frustrating is the Longshot series. These are recipes created by homebrewers across that country. Samuel Adams purchases the recipes from winning homebrewers to release them in a mixed six pack. Most of the beers are just ho-hum and forgettable. Enjoyable, but in the end, forgettable. I can't help but wonder what the original recipe devised by the homebrewer actually tastes like.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing at Samuel Adam's Cincinnati brewery for a brewing position. The interview could not have been more fun or laid back. It mostly consisted of the brewers and I shooting the shit about what beers we would like to have with us if we were to be stranded on a desert island for life. We also got to talking about the beers Samuel Adams brews and they all shared the opinion that many lack in quality, and some they just flat out hate (looking at you Cherry Wheat). What confounds me further is Samuel Adams makes beers like Utopias, Millennium, Imperial Pislner, Boston Lager, etc. that are incredibly unique and tasty beers.

I'm not sure if I'm alone in feeling that Samuel Adams is starting to somewhat stray from their roots. I'm also in no way bashing Samuel Adams or saying they are selling out.... just making observations. There are plenty of breweries out there that produce beers that I forget the instant my glass is gone. However, these places do not have the reputation and expected standard Samuel Adams has. They brew bad beer, they disappear. Samuel Adams can get away with these bad brews. I just hope they don't become a habit and that more original goodness is still to come.

Note: I sincerely apologize for my horrible lack of photoshop skills.

North Peak Wanderer

With the current extreme brew "arms race" going on, the attitude "bigger is better" is the rallying cry for many microbreweries. A few craft breweries are going against the grain and are releasing low gravity session beers. A perfect example of this is Wanderer session India Pale Ale from North Peak Brewing Company (Traverse City, Michigan.) Summer is almost here and Wanderer is a good choice as a thirst-quencher, especially when compared to the watery domestic macrobrews.

It pours a golden, slightly copper color in the glass. Aromas of white grapefruit, grass and spicy herbaceous notes. The light malt gives it a slight sweetness, which is a pleasant balance to the mild citrus and pine flavors. Wanderer is light in body and mouthfeel. It could be described as a light IPA because it does come across thin, but that is exactly what makes it a perfect session ale. A good match for a backyard barbecue (especially hamburgers) or a mild English cheddar cheese. Wanderer is not the most interesting or complex microbrew around, but then again, it never set out to be that.