<p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">This great read in the <a href=" ">New Yorker</a> about the Dogfish Brewery mixes a tale of an says a lot about the changing definition of beer in America, which may someday actually change what's sold. .</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">The newcomers to the U.S. brewing business have about 4 percent of the market, so right now it's an interesting specialty product, like organic Brussels sprouts.</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">But like fashion, the output of cutting edge makers can predict the future. The fact Budweiser came out with its Real American Ale, and it's pretty good, shows beer drinkers are looking a little further than they used to.</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">What makes Dogfish notable is it has gotten to be one of the bigger of the smaller players while including experimental beers like this one described in the story: "a stout with roasted chicory and St.-John's-wort ("The world's only antidepressant depressant." That description came from Sam Calgione, the owner of Dogfish who describes his mission as:</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>"Trying to explore the outer edges of what beer can be."</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">Needless to say his business is based on brews far closer to tradition, but with a twist. For example its best seller, the 120 Minute IPA, has about 3 times the alcohol content of a typical IPA (India pale ale) and is three times as bitter as well.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">This long story notes there's a divide among brewers on that score. One skeptic is Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery. His company makes Brooklyn Lager, which suggests he knows what he's talking about, and he's not behind beers like 120 Minute IPA.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;">"I find the term &lsquo;extreme beer' irredeemably pejorative.When a brewer says, &lsquo;This has more hops in it than anything you've had in your life-are you man enough to drink it?,' it's sort of like a chef saying, &lsquo;This stew has more salt in it than anything you've ever had-are you man enough to eat it?' "</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">A lot of what defines beer-ness in America apparently goes back to the dominance of German immigrants in brewing - my Bavarian ancestors immigrated around the time Augustus Busch was starting up Anheuser Busch in the late 19^th century.</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in 1.15pt 0.5in"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The debate goes back, in one form or another, nearly five hundred years. According to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, of 1516, beer can be made with only three ingredients: water, hops, and barley. (Yeast was left off the list because brewers didn't know it existed; beer was naturally fermented, like sourdough bread.) German brewers still observe a version of the Reinheitsgebot, but Belgian brewers, just across the border, have cheerfully renounced it. Their krieks, wits, lambics, and gueuzes are among the world's most remarkable beers, yet they're often made with fruits or spices, or fortified with sugar, to become as potent as wine.</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in 1.15pt 0.5in"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">So I tried to find Dogfish anything in a Houston bar with a pretty extreme selection and wound up with 90 minute IPA. Apparently those extra 30 minutes are pretty eventful. This one is a not so extreme 9 percent alcohol - higher than average but half the content of the 120 minute version. It's a good IPA with a bite and a satisfying taste. What stood out was a $6.75 price tag - compared to $5 for most taps there. Clearly that's the payoff of an extreme reputation. I could whine about the marketing of it all, but for microbrews to ever become something big it's going to taking some marketing genius. </span></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">I'm going to keep trying to broaden my definition of beer, but will American's ever really change their beer tastes and embrace these extremes?</span></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 1.15pt 0in"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN"><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: times new roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>