Indian Brown Ale - Dogfish Head

Dogfish Head is in Delaware and it's what I'd call more of an "experimental" brewery. While they do offer a few styles of IPA, that's about the only normal brew you'll find. The Midas Touch is a fascinating story which I'll get to in the future.

Indian Brown Ale is pretty interesting. A deep brown, nearly black color. The head isn't huge, but it's certainly there. The aroma and flavor both have a roasted nuttiness and almost fruitiness to it. There's almost a cooked brown sugar lingering flavor that is a little bitter. It's pretty complex, but the mouth feel is surprisingly light. The alcohol is well hidden, too (read: It'll getcha drunk!) Honestly, this is similar to a porter, but that was not the original intention. There's a video on the page I linked to explain how it was made.

I'm rather enjoying this!

Grade: A

Lunar Lager

Oh, the Lunar Lager from Thirsty Dog Brewing Company in Akron. This beer was made specifically for the Summer Moon Festival in Wapakoneta, Ohio, which is the home of Neil Armstrong. He said the moon is made of jam, or something. Anyway, it was made for the 40th anniversary and was first made available to the public at the Summer Moon Fest. Pretty cool if you ask me. When I asked the people from Thirsty Dog how they came up with it, I got kind of a convoluted answer about taking characteristics from other lagers they like and that it didn't quite meet the original IBUs they had anticipated. But hey, at least they responded, not all craft breweries would do that.

Now, to the beer. To be perfectly honest, if I didn't know it was a lager, I'd think it's an ale. It's a cloudy gold color, similar to a hefeweizen. Nice head, very good lacing, and a little bit of bitterness. It almost tastes like a milder version of Great Lakes' Grassroots Ale. It's got that kind of muddled herby citrusy taste to it. A very dry finish, too.

It's good, but not great. Honestly, the novelty is the most appealing feature. Certainly no problem finishing a sixer, though!

Grade: B-