Sunday, November 23, 2008

A Sunday Blessing




My friend Jason, Beerblogger extraordinaire , has already mentioned the terrific New Yorker piece on craft brewing. I'll re-iterate here: it's a brilliant article, very well written and thoroughly researched. I learned quite a bit from reading it.

Here's the most important thing I learned: Dogfish Head brewing's founder, resident genius, and god to whom beer geeks genuflect, Sam Calagione, named his company for the piece of land off Southport Island (near Boothbay--surely you knew, SLM!) where he summered as a kid. Yes, it's true, Dogfish Head is locavore compliant. Some of the ingredients are trucked in, as is the case with any beer, but the name is strictly local.

During 2008 I have suffered mightily: the horrible 3 beer limit; the 10 day suspension order; the wretched trips to beer-starved Florida and Virginia; the gut-wrenching free-versus-local dilemma. I have endured it all. But the cruelest indignation, the most horrific challenge has been to deprive myself of the single best beer in the world: the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. I now know that my agony was unnecessary. So it is with pure joy mixed with a twinge of regret that I lift my glass and sing Hallelujah.

4 comments:

SLM said...

PKL - think you need a little help with your geography. The pix in your post is Hendrix Head Light. Dogfish Head is about 1 mile north of the lighthouse. SLM

Pete said...

Thanks for the geography tip. You have a sharp eye.

I have a phobia about the word "Light" in a sentence that has beer as a topic, however. Probably why I was off base on the photo.

SLM said...

Yeah - it was probably the light issue. FYI Ann and I were at Novare Res tonight. Had a nice Dogfish Raison D'Etre. May need another even though it's not a locavore brew.

One thought on that score. Maybe we should take a Dracula approach. In this instance, we drive to Delaware, bring some soil back and voila - we're locavores?

Just a thought. Happy Turkey Day to you and the family. SLM.

Pete said...

Dogfish Head is a Raison D'Etre in and of its ownself. I am very grateful that the governing bodies have ruled that given the name, it is locavore compliant.