Sixty-One (Dogfish Head Brewing)

    To back track 12 years or so, my curiosity about niche beers began as a gimmick. Good beer tuesday began as a tradition where we would have friends over and share our six packs. Everyone brought a six pack of something they have never had before. Craft beer back then was abita, rogue, georgia brown, newcastle, even the occasional killians. I was bar tending back then and beer was more a novelty, something we drank when we had too much liquor. Well with some craft beers being as strong as 8% they just didn't make the cut. I want to credit Dogfish Head as the first, Non-local, craft beer that I perused. Legend brown, was the first to make regular rotation.
    Dogfish stood out as doing crazy beers, and from the exposure that Sam Calagione received  I loved it. He was crazy, and rebellious. He is responsible for bringing brewing to his state. He was an exciting brewer, and entrepreneur. It now appears that his business and brewing has snow balled at an uncontrollable rate. He has exploded his distribution, and grown his brewery several times in the past 10 years. He has had such a hard time keeping up with production of his IPA's I can tell you several times the Richmond market hasn't had a drop of 60 minute. He also had a national T.V. show, brewmasters, that thrust his brands into the main stream. Did I mention he has a chain of pubs/restaurants?
    Well recently he has collaborated with Sierra Nevada to craft rhizing bines, which is an experimentally hopped IPA. I have not had this beer but was interested until I heard a little info on the 75 minute that came out about the same time. If you go to a Dogfish head brew pub, this beer is a blend of 60 minute and 90 minute. I am guessing that is geared for extremest who just enjoy bitterness. Flavor hops become muddled when over blended, so this beer seemed a bit like a cop out. Then we get 61 minute about a month later, oh lord.
    61 minute, also named and created with little to no imagination, is another blend. As the story goes, one night while drinking with friends, Sam poured a 60 minute into the remainder of his favorite red wine. Will this gimmick provide a new core beer? The first new year round since 2007? It appears so, but I am not buying it. A style known for bitterness from floral hops, wrestled to the ground my grape must? It is confusing and in poor judgement in my opinion. The must is pungent like a mustard seed, and needs some sweetness to tone it into the background. I'm sorry Sam, but grape/wine flavor would probably work better in a darker style.
    For me Dogfish head will remain on the radar, but I will remain ever critical of the choices they make in new beers. If you want to check in and see what is new head on over to www.dogfish.com