Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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.

4 comments:

  1. $9 for a four pack hurts when all you're getting is 4.5% ABV ...

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  2. It's tough to argue with that. This beer doesn't provide a big bang for your buck when it comes to alcohol content, so anyone buying it needs to be buying it purely for taste reasons. I like it enough to spend the money, but it sure isn't a friendly beer for your budget.

    A decent alternative that is in the same ballpark, minus the peach, is Bell's Oarsman Ale: http://celebratethesuds.blogspot.com/2012/05/bells-week-bells-oarsman-ale.html

    It's tart, crisp and tasty. It's only 4% and is about $7-$8 a six pack. Still pricy for the ABV, but a better value nonetheless. I really enjoy that beer.

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  3. Hi,

    We have recently launched a new magazine called Craft Beer Magazine:
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/craft-beer-magazine/id643848007

    Any way I could reach you?

    Thanks,
    Fredrik

    P.S. Wish I could get that beer in Norway!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Fredrik,

    You can reach me at ericsanjuan at gmail dot com. I will send you a note so you have my address. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete