Dogfish Head: Sixty One

The most beautiful thing about Dogfish Head brewing and Sam Calagione (Head of Dogfish) is that they don't get bogged down with the industry. Hops are in right now, the top beers on Beer Advocate right now are all double IPAs. So instead of worrying about bottling a brand new year round hop bomb, Sam splintered off in another direction. Apparently inspired by Sam pouring some red wine in his friends round of 60 Minute, Sixty One combines the unique bitterness from wonderful hops with the lively spiciness of the syrah grape, my personal favorite wine grape. I was very excited to try this beer, and it didn't disappoint.

This beer immediately pours a beautiful red tinted pale, with an amazing fruity aroma, both pepper and citrus. The syrah grape must added really works excellently with the bitter hops, giving it a dry fruitiness with a very crisp beer, loads of citrus and bitterness rolling over the tongue. Unlike some of Dogfish Heads previous wine related releases, this beer will be available four times a year in four packs, at around twelve bucks, much better than the fifteen dollars for a 750ml, and much easier to drink when you want it. This is a definitive dinner beer if there ever was one.