Many of you may have noticed a block on the left side of the main page called “Comment of the Week”.
Each weekend — or as occasion merits — I intend to highlight some thoughtful commentary from the blog or the forum.
By the way, you don’t have to register to make a comment. But registration (via the “Participate” section on the left navigation panel) allows you to post a photo, makes it easier to reply, and automatically allows you to participate in the forum.
With all the talk of “stimulus” in the halls of Congress these days, I’d like to propose a recovery package of my own: Let’s make IPA Monday a national holiday.
If every American worker of legal drinking age could look forward to starting the workweek with an IPA, the resulting vigor and renewed enthusiasm would increase productivity and energize the economy.
“But Andy,” I hear you argue, “isn’t alcohol a depressant? How could a downer perk us up?”
Beer is a lot less depressing than the recent news coming out of Washington, DC. And since IPA Monday consists of one — and only one — bottle of IPA, the required moderation might just result in far less drinking than encouraged by the current stimulus package.
Finally, with such great brews as the 90 Minute Imperial IPA from Dogfish Head, instituting IPA Monday may be the only response capable of wide, bi-partisan support. And that, like the 90 Minute IPA, would truly be refreshing.
I’ve really enjoyed this “Dogfish Head Theme” week. All week long I’ve had the chance to delve into some of the envelope-pushing brews from one of my favorite craft breweries. There are so many more DFH experiences to be had, but I have to start moving on. Tomorrow will be the last Dogfish Head beer in my rotation for some time — I’ll be celebrating IPA Monday with the 90 Minute IPA.
Today, I made a special trip (two hours, round trip) to pick up a bottle of Dogfish Head Red & White. (I also used the trip to stock up on beer, so you will see many more brews appear in The Fridge soon.)
The objectivity of my palate should be questioned after a full week of extreme beer from Dogfish Head. But even with that disclaimer still fresh at hand, I can’t help but heap praise upon Red & White.
Editor’s Note: It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you a new feature on BeerADay.net, called “He Said, She Said.” Each week, Marc & Aimee — a husband and wife tasting team — will size up a beer or a brewery and share their opinions. Enjoy!
This week’s “He Said, She Said” beer was Dogfish Head’s Pangaea, a ginger-infused malt beverage with an alcohol content so high that drinking the entire 25oz bottle would be enough to call it a night. Fortunately, two can play at this game — and on “He Said, She Said” that’s kind of the point. With the bottle split down the middle, we had a fair shot at finishing off this beer before it finished us.
Pangaea is named for the tireless effort of DFH staff to pull ingredients from all corners of the globe. Probably the most herculean stunt was brewing the beer with water straight from Antarctica. However, despite its unifying global message, this week’s beer split an opinion wider than the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Perhaps my third grade teacher had me pegged.
There it was, right on my report card — “Fails to follow instructions.”
And here I am, looking down at the bottle of Olde School Barleywine by Dogfish Head, living up to my third grade teacher’s expectations.
DIRECTIONS? On a bottle of beer?
DIRECTIONS: Open bottle, pour contents into two snifters. Enjoy. OR: Walk hand-in-neck into the middle of the woods. Use a shovel to dig a 2 x 2 hole three feet deep. Seal the bottle in a plastic bag. Place in hole & pack with dirt. Memorize location & leave. Return exactly one year later. Dig up bottle, open & enjoy.
Guess it’s a good thing I don’t work for the space program. We’d still be at the paper-rock-scissors stage of the moon mission.
Instructions or not, I did offer to share a sip with my wife, but she refused to consider it. She doesn’t like beer — it’s a mixed marriage.
My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.
I hope that means he liked it.
The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.
So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.
