Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Festina Peche
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
Festina Peche is one of the best fruit-sour beer blends I’ve had.
The base beer is a Berliner weiss style, which unlike other German weiss beers, is sour, not sweet, because of the introduction of lactic acid bacteria into the beer. It is common in Germany to sweeten the beer with flavored syrups, such as raspberry, cherry and woodruff.
Unlike most U.S. breweries putting fruit into their Berliner weiss, Dogfish Head included enough peach flavor in its offering so that you can actually taste the fruit, as opposed to just getting a little bit of fruit-like flavor behind the sour.
Its aroma smelled of peach and light malts, while the flavor was mostly peach, with some lemon in the background. There is a bit of sweetness that mixes with the sour, which I prefer. To just get a blast of sour, which is common with many U.S.-made sours, is too simplistic.
The small touch of sweetness in the 4.5% ABV brew helped bring out the fruit flavors and provided a lip-smacking quality, making for a nice summer ale.
I was not as enthused about the other two Dogfish samples. More often than not, the downside to many fruit, spice and herb beers is that there is not enough of them in the beer. With the next two Dogfish offerings, it was the opposite.
Biere de Provence (8.3% ABV) is a saison, sometimes referred to as a farmhouse ale, with the addition of marjoram, lavender and bay leaves. There is a lot going on with this beer, as the aroma is perfumey, fruity and spicy.
However, the aromas carry over into the flavor too much with the spices being overpowering. The lavender, especially, was a bit much.
The base saison ale is well made, golden with good clarity and while it had a dry character, it still left a creamy mouthfeel.
Beer to Drink Music To (9% ABV) is a Belgian tripel style. Again, while the base beer is well made, with some banana yeast esters, vanilla, fruit and sweet malt, it is crammed with cardamom, which is clove-like and clings in the main flavor and aftertaste. I can see this beer being a good accompaniment to an Indian or Thai curry meal.
Dogfish Head is known for its use of various spices and herbs in its beers. If you’re into extreme flavors, these last two Dogfish offerings will fit the bill.
Dogfish Head distributes in about 30 states; it has a “Fish Finder” product search at the top of its home page.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability by mail. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns, click here.
