The ultimate authoritative primer on extreme homebrewing, Project Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast’s Guide to Extreme Brewing at Home, is available for pre-sale at Amazon.com and will be officially released on November 14 at independent book stores or your favorite retailer. Sam Calagione, CEO and founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, one of the nation’s most recognized indie craft breweries, teamed up with Todd and Jason Alström, brothers and founders of BeerAdvocate, a global, grassroots network powered by an independent community of craft beer enthusiasts, to create Project Extreme Brewing.
With over 50 homebrew recipes and creative brewing philosophies from dozens of America’s most beloved, respected and coveted indie craft breweries, readers will find step-by-step instructions and tips for making creative, forward-thinking recipes that expand the definition of what goes into making a great beer. Only inside Project Extreme Brewing can readers learn how to make a Flanders Red inspired by a pastrami sandwich, a not-so-traditional Stout made with chocolate and oysters, or a Scotch Ale designed to mimic the flavors of an Old Fashioned cocktail. Homebrewers can replicate the Imperial coffee porter recipe contribution from Dogfish Head called Mr. Hector Vargas, specifically brewed for those that dig some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and a little Sanka instant coffee in their porter. Named after the pioneer Science teacher Mr. Vargas from the 80’s movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, this extreme brew contains Sanka decaf instant coffee, a ton of 2 row pale malt, amber, caramel, wheat, black patent and chocolate malts, with a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg to round it out.
Pioneering the movement to experiment with beers outside of the Reinheitsgebot (aka the ‘German Beer Purity Law’ stating it’s illegal to brew with anything other than water, barley and hops) – Dogfish Head and BeerAdvocate have been leaders in amplifying the creativity behind the extreme brewing movement. “We’ve always believed the Reinheitsgebot is nothing more than a relatively modern form of art censorship and we are proud to work side by side with folks like the Alström’s – our brothers in beer – to adventurously brew inventive beers,” says Calagione. Exploding consumer interest combined with extreme brewing philosophy and its diverse, creative, ingredient and process-driven brews have reshaped the image and perception of beer in the marketplace. Recent IRI data (Total Multi-Outlet and Convenience, YTD 2017 vs. 2012) indicates a 151% growth in craft beer sales in styles like fruit IPAs, sweet/milk stouts, sour ales and herb/fruit specialty beers. They also demonstrate an explosive 5-year sales growth in beers brewed outside the Reinheitsgebot, like Session IPAs (1,927% increase), Gose (11,594% increase), Imperial Pale Ales (17,343% increase) and Porters (107,161% increase).
“In the last decade, the homebrewing and commercial brewing community has grown to fully embrace the concept of beers without borders and brewing beyond militant beer styles,” says Calagione. “I’ve been proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the Alström Brothers at their Extreme Beer Fest® throughout the years, and now, with the help of many of our favorite brewers, we are pouring our shared love for experimental brewing into this DIY book.” Since the inception of the first Extreme Beer Fest® in 2003, beer style categories in the competition have grown over 50% from the early beginnings to today as breweries continue to raise a fist to the norm and further proliferate in style and diversity. These statistics confirm that unique, potent beers that push the boundaries of traditional brewing are not only a movement, they’re here to stay. Todd Alström shares, “What’s extreme beer? Simply put, it’s beer that pushes the boundaries of brewing – and the attitude, creativity, and techniques behind brewing extreme beers are the foundation of today’s international brewing revolution. Project Extreme Brewing captures this and we’re honored to be a part of it with Sam and the contributing brewers.”
If that’s not extremely exciting enough, there’s more – Dogfish Head and BeerAdvocate rallied a few adventurous brewer friends featured in the book to create a six-part video series documenting the evolution and journey of cutting edge, extreme brewing. Follow along with pals from Short’s Brewing, Carton Brewing, The Post Brewing Co., The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Co., BeerAdvocate, and the Godfather of Homebrewing, Charlie Papazian of the Brewers Association, on a documentary-style video series journey demonstrating what extreme brewing means to their individual exploration of creative brewing. Brewers share thoughts on the evolution of extreme brewing, the impact of wood barrel aging, culinary inspirations, along with tons of laughs and high-fives. Calagione tours his craft brewing brethren around his home state of Coastal Delaware, and gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at each special brew day at the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Episodes are available to view on the Dogfish Head YouTube Channel.
Calagione and the Alström brothers collaborated to brew Puddin’ Wine, a traditional English-style Barleywine with an adventurous touch that’s featured in book. Clocking in at 10.5% ABV, Puddin’ Wine is brewed with dried cherries, plums, dark brown sugar, hazelnuts, sultana (big ol’ raisins) and black currants – resulting in a malty, rich, complex and fruity beer. A blend of Maris Otter, Pils and dark crystal malts alongside toasted wheat balances the dark pit fruit notes with smoothing caramel and toffee. Reminiscent of your favorite Christmas pudding (and inspired by Jason Alström’s actual holiday recipe), this Barleywine serves up an infusion of flavors that are rich and mildly sweet, yet slightly tart with sherry and oak notes. Aged for 6 months on Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port barrels, Puddin’ Wine is now available throughout Dogfish’s distribution networks.
For more information about Project Extreme Brewing, the six-part video series, Puddin’ Wine or to learn more about delicious off-centered beers, visit www.dogfish.com.
Dogfish Head:
Dogfish Head has proudly been focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as the smallest American craft brewery 22 years ago. Dogfish Head has grown into a top-20 craft brewery and has won numerous awards throughout the years including Wine Enthusiast’s 2015 Brewery of the Year and the James Beard Foundation Award for 2017 Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional. It is a 250+ coworker company based in Delaware with Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, an off-centered brewpub and distillery, Chesapeake & Maine, a geographically enamored seafood restaurant, Dogfish Inn, a beer-themed inn on the harbor and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a production brewery and distillery featuring a tasting room and food truck. Dogfish Head supports the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, the definitive icon for American craft breweries to identify themselves to be independently-owned and carries the torch of transparency, brewing innovation and the freedom of choice originally forged by brewing community pioneers. Dogfish Head currently sells beer in 37 states and Washington D.C. and will expand into additional states in 2017. For more information, visit www.dogfish.com, Facebook: @dogfishheadbeer, Twitter: @dogfishbeer, and Instagram: dogfishhead.
BeerAdvocate:
Founded in Boston in 1996 by brothers Jason and Todd Alström, BeerAdvocate is your go-to resource for beer, publishers of BeerAdvocate magazine, and hosts of world-class beer fests, like Extreme Beer Fest®, coming to Los Angeles on December 9, 2017 and Boston on February 2-3, 2018. Learn more at https://www.beeradvocate.com and follow @BeerAdvocate.
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