Today's beer is a collaboration, of sorts. It's not a collaboration between brewers, like we've seen so much of on the blog. It's a collaboration between Dogfish Head and Dan the Automator, a member of the hip-hop group Deltron 3030. Sam Calagione gives the full story on how the collaboration came about and how the recipe was formed in the quick sip clip found here. Now, I'm only a very recent convert to hip-hop, only the last couple of years, and can still only get down with the more alternative stuff, but I checked out some Deltron 3030 after drinking this beer. Pretty cool stuff. Here's the song that the beer was named after. I dig it. Anyway, the beer we have today, in true Dogfish Head tradition is brewed with some pretty wild ingredients: Fuji cider, slow-roasted farro, cayenne, and cilantro. Sort of a beer cider hybrid going on here. To the beer!
Positive Contact pours a cloudy pale yellow in color. There's a bit of an amber-y brown color tucked in there underneath the finger of white head that leaves some spotty lacing with each sip.
On the nose I'm definitely picking up on the additions of cider. Plenty of fruity notes of apple and lemon. A powdery Belgian yeastiness leaves the impression of something saison-ish, perhaps Belgian golden ale. There's a bit of a spicy quality as well with a hint of some white pepper.
On the palate, Positive Contact leads with more of those fruity notes of apple, lemon and pear. The beer is medium in body with a lovely creamy, smooth mouthfeel. There's a spicy earthy character going on in here as well. It finishes with a bit of warmth, but not nearly to there level you'd expect from a 9% ABV beer.
This beer left me a bit wanting. Don't get me wrong, it's very tasty. It just seemed a bit one note. I expect more complexity and interesting flavors out of a beer from Dogfish Head. I'm left a little disappointed by this one.
HD
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