Beer of the Weekend #448: Dig
I did a potentially stupid thing: my recommendation in next month’s LV is a beer I had never tried before yesterday.
My original plan was to recommend Anchor’s Liberty Ale, but all the Liberty Ale available locally was bottled late last summer. Not cool. After searching in vain for fresher bottles, I decided to take drastic measures: I grabbed a sixer of Dig, brewed by New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado, and hoped for the best.
It turned out to be decent stuff — or at least that is what I am trying to convince myself. I did a quick little tasting while writing my recommendation (which was due yesterday), so I wanted to make the tasting official today.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. What I assume to be the “best by” is printed on the label: “16JUN13.”
Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass. While pouring I said to myself, “That’s pretty fucking dark for a pale ale.” The color is bronze, or maybe copper, with an amber tint. Two fingers of dense foam dissipated unevenly to leave trails of foam on the glass, a billowy ring, and a spotted lacing.
Smell: Earthy/grassy hops dominate, which is fitting. I am a little surprised, though, since the citrus is hyped by New Belgium. The citrus and tropical fruit are there, but one needs to “dig” to get to them. Faint scents of mango and peach are tinged with lemon zest, lime, grapefruit, and light pine. As the beer warms, though, the tropical fruit does become more prominent, and becomes sweet in that sticky, lip-smacking way. Yesterday I tried it in a pint glass and today I switched to a tulip. The tulip tempers the earthy/grassy characters and allows the citrus and tropical fruit to shine through a little more.
Taste: Earthy, much like the smell, and somewhat metallic. However, the earthiness eventually gives way to nice balance that is neither too sweet nor too bitter. The malts emerge, but the zest and tropical fruit are still present. Sweet caramel, toffee, mango, lemon, lime, grapefruit, and pine. Despite not being overly bitter, it offers a nice bite throughout the pint.
Drinkability: This is definitely not as zesty or citrusy as I expected. The earthy and grassy hops dominate, which imparts a completely different character — though it is fitting. It is still drinkable and decent.
Fun facts about Dig:
-Style: American Pale Ale.
-Price: $7.99/sixer at the First Avenue Hy-Vee in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: The label suggests serving at “7ºC (45ºF).”
-Alcohol content: 5.6 percent.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage offers a recipe for “Luau Pork.” It is not really a pairing since the recipe calls for two bottles of Dig. Recipes and pairings are different, people!
-IBU: 36.
-Calories: 168.
-While in Denver, on my way to San Francisco, I had a couple brews at the New Belgium Hub. I had never drank while in transit, and though I did not get drunk or tipsy, I learned that beer makes flying and airports much more tolerable. It is expensive, though. I drank an Iowa Pale Ale before departing Cedar Rapids and it cost $7.50. I could almost buy a whole six-pack for that! I also had two beers at the SFO Anchor Brewing Bar to the tune of $19. Just another reason for me to hate airports.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
My original plan was to recommend Anchor’s Liberty Ale, but all the Liberty Ale available locally was bottled late last summer. Not cool. After searching in vain for fresher bottles, I decided to take drastic measures: I grabbed a sixer of Dig, brewed by New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado, and hoped for the best.
It turned out to be decent stuff — or at least that is what I am trying to convince myself. I did a quick little tasting while writing my recommendation (which was due yesterday), so I wanted to make the tasting official today.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. What I assume to be the “best by” is printed on the label: “16JUN13.”
Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass. While pouring I said to myself, “That’s pretty fucking dark for a pale ale.” The color is bronze, or maybe copper, with an amber tint. Two fingers of dense foam dissipated unevenly to leave trails of foam on the glass, a billowy ring, and a spotted lacing.
Smell: Earthy/grassy hops dominate, which is fitting. I am a little surprised, though, since the citrus is hyped by New Belgium. The citrus and tropical fruit are there, but one needs to “dig” to get to them. Faint scents of mango and peach are tinged with lemon zest, lime, grapefruit, and light pine. As the beer warms, though, the tropical fruit does become more prominent, and becomes sweet in that sticky, lip-smacking way. Yesterday I tried it in a pint glass and today I switched to a tulip. The tulip tempers the earthy/grassy characters and allows the citrus and tropical fruit to shine through a little more.
Taste: Earthy, much like the smell, and somewhat metallic. However, the earthiness eventually gives way to nice balance that is neither too sweet nor too bitter. The malts emerge, but the zest and tropical fruit are still present. Sweet caramel, toffee, mango, lemon, lime, grapefruit, and pine. Despite not being overly bitter, it offers a nice bite throughout the pint.
Drinkability: This is definitely not as zesty or citrusy as I expected. The earthy and grassy hops dominate, which imparts a completely different character — though it is fitting. It is still drinkable and decent.
Fun facts about Dig:
-Style: American Pale Ale.
-Price: $7.99/sixer at the First Avenue Hy-Vee in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: The label suggests serving at “7ºC (45ºF).”
-Alcohol content: 5.6 percent.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage offers a recipe for “Luau Pork.” It is not really a pairing since the recipe calls for two bottles of Dig. Recipes and pairings are different, people!
-IBU: 36.
-Calories: 168.
-While in Denver, on my way to San Francisco, I had a couple brews at the New Belgium Hub. I had never drank while in transit, and though I did not get drunk or tipsy, I learned that beer makes flying and airports much more tolerable. It is expensive, though. I drank an Iowa Pale Ale before departing Cedar Rapids and it cost $7.50. I could almost buy a whole six-pack for that! I also had two beers at the SFO Anchor Brewing Bar to the tune of $19. Just another reason for me to hate airports.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
