Quick Sips: Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Seasonal beers are awesome. Winter beers are best, spring beers are fantastic, autumn beers are classic, and summer beers? Well, they can be all over the map, but when they're good, they're GOOD.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche is a summer beer.

And I love this beer. I love it not because it's a low(ish) alcohol beer by a brewery that mostly does BIG beers, but because it drinks awesome.

This is a delicious beer, but it's not for everybody. It's nicely tart, not quite on the level of a sour candy, but tart enough so that it has a mouth-puckering snap at the finish. Some may find that off-putting, but if you enjoy tart foods and fruits, or sour alcohol drinks, you'll probably enjoy this.

It's made with peach puree, just enough to lend it tasty fruit overtones but not so much that it screams out, "This is a fruit beer!" It's a great balance, fruity enough to be a flavorful and refreshing summer drink, but thanks to the tartness, not so fruity that it tastes like a lame wine cool.er

Even better, at just 4.5% ABV it's pretty low alcohol for Dogfish Head, and plenty low enough so that you could put quite a few of these back on a summer day. And it is indeed PERFECT for a summer's day. Like most Dogfish Head beers it won't be cheap -- it runs about $9 a four-pack -- but the cost is worth it.

Count me in for three or so four-packs every summer.

The Philly Beer Top 50 - Part 4

Philly Beer Week is pretty much the biggest beer thing ever this side of the Great American Beer Festival when it comes to the not-shitty side of the Mississippi, so needless to say I'm stoked to be writing the 50-Beer Countdown To Philly Beer Week for the Philadelphia Weekly.

And hey, I care for you (not really), so I'm happy to divide it up into handy little five-beer lists like this. So here are five of the 50 beers available in Philly that you MUST drink. Part 4 of 10!

Founders Dirty Bastard
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Founders-Dirty-Bastard-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-17-204118431.html

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Oskar-Blues-Dales-Pale-Ale-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-18-204893471.html

Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Terrapin-Moo-Hoo-Chocolate-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-19-204895221.html

Tröegs JavaHead Stout
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Troegs-Javahead-Stout-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-20-205399151.html

Fegley’s Insidious Imperial Stout Ale
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Fegleys-Bourbon-Barrel-Insidious-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-24-205961861.html

FU Sandy beer returns - in bottles!

Good news from the folks at Flying Fish in New Jersey: FU Sandy beer is returning! First brewed as a limited, one-time only beer to raise funds for Hurricane Sandy relief, FU Sandy was a wheat/pale ale hybrid that seemed as if it would have made a nice, zesty summer beer. Only about 100 kegs were made, and everywhere it was tapped those kegs were gone the same day. All proceeds went to Sandy relief.

Demand and interest was high. People wanted more. And now Flying Fish is delivering.

According to Flying Fish, "We're going to brew one batch of Sandy in kegs and then about 1,000 cases in the 750 ml champagne bottles that the Exit series beers come in.  We will continue our fundraising efforts by earmarking a portion of these proceeds to add to the $45,000 we've already donated to the rebuilding efforts."

Needless to say given my experience with Hurricane Sandy, the beer is close to my heart.

The beer will be available in June.

It's American Craft Beer Week!

From today to May 19, it's American Craft Beer Week, a week for celebrating all the awesomeness that is craft beer in America.

And it's a great time to do it, because there has never been a better time to be a beer drinker in America.

Pretty much forever, American beer has had a bad reputation. The world saw it (and sometimes still sees it) as watered-down piss barely fit for anything other than chugging. And sadly, for a long time that perception was pretty much accurate. While the easy-drinking Buds, Millers and Coors of the world have their place, for generations that's all American beer had to offer.

Not anymore. Anyone who knows their beer knows that following the trails blazed by Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Boston Beer Co., New Albion and others, American craft brewers are making some of the best beer in the world. They're innovating. They're pushing boundaries. They're inventing at a remarkable pace. It helps that they have a rapidly growing base of support from the craft beer loving community in the United States. These are die hard beer geeks who demand quality from their brew. While the larger beer market remains stagnant under fierce competition from spirits and wine, American craft beer is enjoying double-digit growth.

No surprise there. Craft beer in America is arguably the most varied, flavorful, and inventive in the world right now.

So this week, tip back a glass or two of American craft beer and appreciate just how far we've come.

The Philly Beer Top 50 - Part 3

Philly Beer Week is pretty much the biggest beer thing ever this side of the Great American Beer Festival when it comes to the not-shitty side of the Mississippi, so needless to say I'm stoked to be writing the 50-Beer Countdown To Philly Beer Week for the Philadelphia Weekly.

And hey, I care for you (not really), so I'm happy to divide it up into handy little five-beer lists like this. So here are five of the 50 beers available in Philly that you MUST drink. Part 3 of 10!

Tröegs Dreamweaver
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Troegs-Dreamweaver-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-12-204099481.html

Avery Brewing's Mephistopheles
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Avery-Mephistopheles-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-12-204100571.html

Founders All Day IPA
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Founders-All-Day-IPA-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-13-204110031.html

Rodenbach Grand Cru
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Rodenbach-Grand-Cru-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-14-204111951.html

Ommegang Hennepin
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Ommegang-Hennepin-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-204117901.html

The Philly Beer Top 50 - Part 2

Philly Beer Week is pretty much the biggest beer thing ever this side of the Great American Beer Festival when it comes to the not-shitty side of the Mississippi, so needless to say I'm stoked to be writing the 50-Beer Countdown To Philly Beer Week for the Philadelphia Weekly.

And hey, I care for you (not really), so I'm happy to divide it up into handy little five-beer lists like this. So here are five of the 50 beers available in Philly that you MUST drink. Part 2 of 10!

Victory Golden Monkey
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Victory-Golden-Monkey-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-6-203062651.html

Flying Fish Exit 16
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Flying-Fish-Exit-16-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-7-203063151.html

Samuel Adams New Albion Ale
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Samuel-Adams-New-Albion-Ale-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-8-203063981.html

Tröegs Nugget Nectar
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Troegs-Nugget-Nectar-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-9-203611731.html

Stone Brewing's Oaked Smoked Old Guardian
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Stone-Brewing-Old-Guardian-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-10-203821411.html

The Philly Beer Top 50 - Part 1

Philly Beer Week is pretty much the biggest beer thing ever this side of the Great American Beer Festival when it comes to the not-shitty side of the Mississippi, so needless to say I'm stoked to be writing the 50-Beer Countdown To Philly Beer Week for the Philadelphia Weekly.

And hey, I care for you (not really), so I'm happy to divide it up into handy little five-beer lists like this. So here are five of the 50 beers available in Philly that you MUST drink. Part 1 of 10!

Yards General Washington's Tavern Porter
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Yards-George-Washington-Porter-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-1-202327311.html

Allagash White
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Allagash-White-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-49-202328771.html

Lindeman's Framboise
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Lindemans-Framboise-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-48-202330031.html

Bell's Two Hearted Ale
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Bells-Two-Hearted-Ale-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-4-202714031.html

Fuller’s London Porter
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/drink/philly-beer-week/Fullers-London-Porter-PWs-50-Beer-Countdown-to-Philly-Beer-Week-Day-5-203062311.html