Maryland Beer: DuClaw Funk

DuClaw is one of my favorite local breweries and I'm a wheat beer obsessed fool. Logic says that when I add those two factors together the result should be one happy Doug. So, let's crack open a Funk and see if the logic plays out here. 

Brewery Location: Rosedale, MD
Style: Blueberry Citrus Wheat Ale
Serving Type: Bottle
ABV: 5%
IBU: 16

Appearance: Funk is effervescent and surprisingly clear for a wheat beer. I didn't notice any haze at all, just a vivid gold liquid.

Aroma: Blueberry is the most noticeable smell of Funk. As soon as I cracked the bottle open a shot of sweetness wafted it's way to my nose. After I poured the beer and the aroma had a chance to show its self fully, the blueberry smell came across as more Fruit Loops than blueberry. I could pick up a little lemon, but overall the blueberry masks anything else that might be going on.

Taste: Funk is without a doubt a fruit beer. There is lot of blueberry up front. Middle of the mouth a little of the wheat notes come in but it's quickly pushed back aside as blueberry and a bit of lemon dominant the finish.

Final Verdict: Overall, Funk is a refreshing summer beer which is extremely easy to drink. The fruit flavors are prominent without being cloying, but I'm left wishing the wheat flavor had the ability to shine through a bit more. On hotter days I can see reaching for one of these to quench my thirst, but because it's mostly sweet fruity flavors this isn't a beer I envision stocking my fridge with.

The Session #78 - My Elevator Pitch for Craft Beer

This month's Session is hosted by Beer Bar Band

Here’s the scenario: 

You walk into an elevator and hit the button for your destination level. Already in the elevator is someone holding a beer…and it’s a beer that annoys you because, in your view, it represents all that is bad with the current state of beer.

You can’t help but say something, so you confront your lift passenger with the reason why their beer choice is bad.

30 seconds is all you have to sell your pitch for better beer, before the lift reaches the destination floor. There’s no time, space or words to waste. You must capture and persuade the person’s attention as quickly as possible. When that person walks out of the elevator, you want them to be convinced that you have the right angle on how to make a better beer world.

Who brews the beer you've got there? No, I don't mean the company. Who is the person that comes up with the recipes? I'm a huge Dogfish Head  fan myself. Sam Calagione is the face of Dogfish Head. Have you ever heard of them? It's really awesome what he's helped build in the craft beer community recently. With his vision Dogfish Head has helped make India Pale Ale one of the most sought after beer styles in the world. Their beers are so full of flavor, balanced, and they pair well with so many foods. But I think the coolest thing he's done at Dogfish Head is with their Ancient Ales Project. Sam traveled around the world learning about different fermented drinks and used that knowledge to recreate some lesser known styles of beer. It's truly awe inspiring stuff and I love how history gets mixed in with something as simple as beer. One of the beers he did, which also happens to be my girlfriend's favorite, is called Midas Touch. It's actually "based on molecular evidence found in a Turkish tomb believe to have belonged to King Midas". How cool is that?! Anyway, looks like this is my floor. Enjoy your beer and I'll see you around.