A Hoppy Wine?

Brewer- Dogfish Head Brewery

Beer- Sixty-One (61)

Style- American IPA

ABV- 6.50%

Interesting Fact- Dogfish Head 61 was born when Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione was having drinks with friends and poured some wine into a half full glass of Dogfish Head Sixty Minute IPA.  He drank this, loved it (as did others who sampled it) and went about finding a way to make it at the brewery.  61 is exactly that as well, a blend of Sixty Minute IPA and Syrah grape must, a grape used to make a dry red table wine.

Description- Dogfish Head 61 pours red amber like color with a white fluffy head, that has a pinkish hue to it as well, that remains and leaves a nice lacing on the glass.  I poured this into Dogfish Head’s new IPA glass, something worth looking into if you are an IPA fanatic, in my opinion.  The aroma is interesting blending a nice floral hop bouquet with a berry/grape must aroma, if more wine had this aroma I may drink more of it!  The taste is also interesting; the sweet wine/grape flavor dominates up front with a bit of malty sweetness and follows with some citrus zest from the hops.  There is a mild amount of bitterness but is balanced nicely with the sweetness from the grapes.  The body is medium and has a nice amount of carbonation and finishes quite dry, as both good wines and IPA’s do, so I say perfect!  This is definitely worth a try, so if you see it try it out!

Food pairing – The wine and IPA combination make it a little different when trying to pair with meals.  The sweet wine flavor would make this great with chocolate, which it is, and the sixty minute IPA flavor would make it great with a variety of mildly spiced Mexican dishes, which it is, but take it easy on the spices.  Be adventurous with this brew though, if there is a dish you typically enjoy red table wine with, swap a 61 instead and the same can be said for a sixty minute IPA.

Is it worth trying? – Yes! Dogfish Head Brewery is known for pushing the boundaries of what beer can be with its vast choices of ingredients into a wide variety of styles and experiments.  61 falls perfectly into the beer line-up for Dogfish Head and is great for those who are one the fence about beer, but still love wine.  The choice of using the less aggressively hopped Sixty Minute IPA is great to lure in those new to craft beer as well.  It is limited right now in availability, so if you can find it… try it!

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Where can I get it? -  Currently available in bottles at: Exit 190 Beer Deli- Dickson City, PA and  J & H Beer- Wilkes-Barre, PA

Also, Dogfish Head will be at the Steamtown beer and Music Festival.. so stop by the booth and try everything!!

Remember, enjoy responsibly!

Cheers!