The world’s cheesiest beer collaboration (quite literally), Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Cabot Creamery unveil The Perfect Pairing, a hazy pale ale scientifically-engineered to be ‘the perfect pairing’ for sharp cheddar cheese, specifically Cabot Creamery’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese. Clocking in at 5.5% ABV, The Perfect Pairing is unfiltered and hop-forward with juicy, citrusy notes of grapefruit and pineapple. Beautiful hazy-golden in color, it features whey from Cabot Creamery, which contributes both a compelling body and subtle sweetness to the beer. Hitting shelves from coast-to-coast this month, The Perfect Pairing will be available exclusively in Dogfish Head’s NEW Variety 12pk/12oz cans, The Off-Centered Party Pack.
“The carbonation, light bitterness and balanced fruity flavors of The Perfect Pairing prepare and cleanse the palate in between bites of our creamy, tangy, bold Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese,” said Maegan Olsen, R&D Food Technologist at Cabot Creamery. “The Perfect Pairing shares some of the same DNA as Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar, with the use of Cabot’s whey permeate as a unique ingredient to the recipe. The collaboration was a natural fit (and extremely fun!) as Dogfish + Cabot both take the time to lovingly craft their products starting with the magical process of fermentation.”
Dogfish Head’s Off-Centered Party Pack includes a selection of four hop-centric beers to complement any cooler-weather drinking occasion. In addition to The Perfect Pairing, the Off-Centered Party Pack contains three, 12oz cans of each of the following beers. Recommended cheese pairings for each of variety pack’s beers are also included, courtesy of Cabot Creamery.
- 90 Minute IPA (9.0% ABV): Inspired by a bowl of soup and a thrift store football game, 90 Minute IPA is the beer that invented Dogfish Head’s proprietary, continual hopping process. By adding small amounts of hops at a consistent rate throughout the beer’s 90-minute boil, Dogfish created a pungently hoppy yet beautifully balanced brew with rich pine and fruity citrus hop aromas and a strong malt backbone.
Recommended Cheese Pairing: Habanero Cheddar
- 60 Minute IPA (6.0% ABV): A best-selling Dogfish Head beer, 60 Minute IPA is continually hopped for – you guessed it – 60 minutes with a boatload of intense Northwest hops for a bold, timeless flavor. Chock full of pungently, citrusy, grassy hop notes, without being crushingly bitter, 60 Minute IPA is a surprisingly sessionable IPA for the craft enthusiast.
Recommended Cheese Pairing: Cracked Peppercorn Cheddar
- Blue Hen Pilsner (4.8% ABV): A crisp and refreshing pilsner, Blue Hen Pilsner is brewed with only four ingredients – water, hops, yeast and Delaware-grown and malted barley. Giving a loving nod to Dogfish Head’s slight yet mighty home state, the beer’s label artwork features the Delaware state bird and a color palette similar to the Delaware state flag.
Recommended Cheese Pairing: Pepper Jack
“Many folks think of pairing cheese with wine, but beer and cheese pairings can be just as complex and delicious,” said Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer. “We had a blast working alongside the folks at Cabot to create, from a sensory perspective, the perfect beer to pair with sharp cheddar cheese. With The Perfect Pairing, and Dogfish Head’s entire Off-Centered Party Pack, we want to open drinkers’ minds and palates to the intricacies of beer and cheese and introduce them to the culinary magic that can be found when you artfully combine the two.”
For more about Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Cabot Creamery, visit www.dogfish.com and www.cabotcheese.coop, respectively. To track down an Off-Centered Party Pack, featuring The Perfect Pairing, check out Dogfish Head’s Fish Finder.
Terry Bunch
Raymond
