Dogfish Head has rolled out a wild beer program, known as “Wooden … it be nice!”
The program has wild ales poised for a 2018 Milton brewery-only release. Brewers have hand-bottled more than 2,000 cork and cage 375ml bottles, each one hand-painted with a special stripe.
It’s part of Dogfish’s strategy of continuing to produce limited edition beer while also focusing on flagship brands like 60 Minute IPA and SeaQuench.
“About fifteen years ago, we first started experimenting with sours, beginning with Festina Lente – a peach wild ale that won us a bronze medal at the World Beer Cup the first year it was produced – then went on to produce SeaQuench Ale which is currently the top-selling sour in America,” stated Dogfish founder & CEO Sam Calagione. “Now, we’re amplifying our wild beer program with ‘Wooden … it be nice!,’ as it’s another step forward in our journey and evolution of goodness incorporating everything from herbs and spices, to local fruits, and of course, bringing it all together in wood.”
Wild beer is different from traditional brewing in that it’s fermented with wild yeast variations. The yeast is carefully introduced to the wood-aged beer, which can develop a wide array of flavors, including degrees of sourness, fruitiness, and hop-level variations that occur during fermentation.
The beer can sit in barrels for months or even years until brewers deem it ready for consumption. This uncontrollable process can sometimes delay the release of the beer.
The program kicks off with the release of KnottyBits – a wild ale aged on sweet and sour cherries, and rhubarb. Teaming up with Sussex County’s Fifer Orchards KnottyBits was first wood-aged for a year with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, then racked onto several hundred pounds of sweet and sour cherries, and locally sourced rhubarb from Fifer Orchards at a rate of more than pounds lbs. of fresh fruit per gallon. Carrying an 8.2 alcohol content KnottyBits is priced at $10 per 375ml bottle, with 2,000 bottles available for purchase at the Milton Tasting Room & Kitchen beginning Sept. 29 at 11 a.m.
KnottyBits will also be available at the Rehoboth brewpub while supplies last. Bottles are $14 each and for onsite consumption only.
Next will be Wet Hop American Summer – a wild ale dry-hopped with wet-hops slated to be available in early November.
Next is Eastern Seaboard – a wild ale brewed with blackberries and beach plums. The release of the beer is slated for December.
After spending almost a year and a half aging in wood barrels, the beer was met with several hundred pounds of blackberry and Eastern Shore beach plums.
