It was at an annual meeting of the world’s leading brewers (the Craft Brewers Conference in 2018) that our relationship with Rodenbach began, blossoming over a few good sour beers.
is a complex, ruby-colored ale with tart, dry flavors of jammy berries and floral lemon. To create this trans-oceanic potion, we carefully combined two unique base beers – one developed by Rodenbach and the other by our brewers here in Milton.
Rodenbach’s portion – a two-year, foeder-aged sour from its legendary, standing oak casks – was brewed in Belgium before making its 3,400-mile (or 1,000-nautical league) voyage to Delaware.
From there, it was blended with our portion – a kettle sour brewed with pilsner malt, malted wheat, elderberry, elderflower, sliced lemons and Belgian fleur-de-sel.
“We are absolutely honored to be the first to collaborate and create a beer in partnership with Rodenbach, the world’s most well-respected maker of sour beers,” says Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione. “I’m proud to say that our teams contributed equally on every creative facet of this beer – from the brainstorm to the brew to calibrating the vibrant, red hue of the beer though specific grain and fruit blends. We really took our time and focused on creating a mouth-puckeringly magical drinking experience.”
Color: Ruby-aubergine hue with a light pink head
Aroma: Complex berries, floral, hint of citrus
Flavor: Tart, dry, berries, jammy, floral notes, lemon