Dogfish Head and Brouwerji Rodenbach Brew Crimson Cru
(MILTON, DE) – With more than 225 years of collective brewing experience, Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Belgium’s Brouwerji Rodenbach join forces to release Crimson Cru, a 7.1% ABV blended red ale. Deep copper in color, Crimson Cru begins with Rodenbach’s world-renowned Grand Cru, a Flemish red-brown ale aged in oak casks, that made the overseas trek from Belgium to Delaware via tanker ship. After its cross-Atlantic journey, Rodenbach’s Grand Cru is artfully blended with a red ale from Dogfish Head that is infused with sumac and sweet orange peel and dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc hops. The resulting beer is full-bodied and slightly warming with aromas of candied citrus, cherry, caramel and toffee, complemented by malty flavors of stewed fruits, plum, cherry, dried citrus and toffee. Crimson Cru hits shelves nationwide in mid-October, for a limited time, in 6pk/12oz bottles.
“It was awesome to – once again – work with the folks at Rodenbach to create a deliciously complex, multi-continental brew. Just as with our first joint venture, Vibrant P’Ocean, a blended sour ale Dogfish Head launched with Rodenbach back in 2020, every facet of Crimson Cru was truly a collaborative effort,” said Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer. “We worked side-by-side with Rodenbach Brewmaster, Rudi Ghequire, on every component of this collaboration; from ingredient sourcing to blending, and even composing the beer’s artful packaging. I’m really proud of the end result and feel that Crimson Cru is a liquid love letter we collectively floated across the Atlantic Ocean and back.”
As part of Dogfish Head’s Off-Centered Art Series, an annual collection of four beers highlighting artwork by a featured artist, Crimson Cru boasts a bold packaging design by Max Mahn. The artwork centers upon both breweries’ logos, pulling in colors iconic to each brand – forest green for Dogfish Head and crimson for Rodenbach. The label highlights a wooden foeder as a nod to Rodenbach’s well-known foeder-aging techniques and sumac leaves to not only showcase an ingredient within the beer, but subtly reference Dogfish Head’s focus on brewing with real, high-quality culinary ingredients.
“After more than 33 years of brewing sour beer at Rodenbach, it was a special pleasure to work with Sam and his team at Dogfish Head,” said Rudi. “Our brewery is a few years older and across the Atlantic, but we bonded immediately due to a shared passion for brewing sour beer, learning and pairing with food. I am proud of the collaboration we created together and believe it’s a special beer many will enjoy. Thank you to Sam and his team.”
In honor of the launch of Crimson Cru, Dogfish Head and Rodenbach will continue their collaborative efforts with a series of celebratory events on Friday, Oct. 14, and Saturday, Oct. 15, at Dogfish Head’s Delaware hospitality properties. On Friday, folks are invited to a Belgian-themed prix fixe dinner at Dogfish Head’s seafood and cocktail spot, Chesapeake & Maine, in Rehoboth. Saturday morning brings a guided beer and cheese pairing experience aboard the Cape Water Taxi, which departs from Lewes and tours the waters along southern Delaware’s coastline. Later that evening, Dogfish Head’s Rehoboth Brewpub, Brewings & Eats, will host a four-course beer dinner featuring pairings from both Dogfish Head and Rodenbach. While enjoying their thoughtfully crafted menus, guests will hear Sam and Rudi discuss beer and their unique partnership. For more on these events, including details about reservations, menus and tickets, visit www.dogfish.com/events.
To learn more about Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Brouwerij Rodenbach, check out www.dogfish.com and be.rodenbach.be, respectively.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery:
Dogfish Head has proudly focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as one of the smallest American craft breweries more than 27 years ago. Dogfish Head has grown into a top-20 craft brewery and 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. A Delaware-based brand with Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats®, an off- centered brewpub and distillery, Chesapeake & Maine®, Dogfish Head’s seafood and cocktail spot, Dogfish Inn®, a beer-themed inn on the harbor, and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery®, a production brewery and distillery featuring the Tasting Room & Kitchen and Dogfish Head Distilling Co.®, Dogfish Head is a supporter of the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, the definitive icon for American craft breweries to identify themselves to be independently-owned and carry the torch of transparency, brewing innovation and the freedom of choice originally forged by brewing community pioneers. Dogfish Head currently sells beer in all 50 states and Washington D.C. For more, visit www.dogfish.com, Facebook: @dogfishheadbeer, Twitter: @dogfishbeer, and Instagram: @dogfishhead.
Royal Swinkels Family Brewers:
Royal Swinkels Family Brewers Holding N.V. is the holding company of the Swinkels Family Brewers group, a 100% independent family business. For seven generations, the Swinkels family has been managing a group of companies that now has several brewery locations: the Bavaria brewery in Lieshout (Netherlands), the De Molen brewery in Bodegraven (Netherlands), the Palm and De Hoorn brewery in Steenhuffel (Belgium), the Rodenbach brewery in Roeselare (Belgium) and the Habesha brewery in Debre Birhan (Ethiopia). In addition, the family works closely with brewery De Koningshoeven in Berkel-Enschot (the Netherlands). Together, these breweries accounted for the production of 7.2 million hectolitres of beer and 0.6 million hectolitres of soft drinks in 2021. With Holland Malt, the group has two malthouses in Lieshout and Eemshaven (the Netherlands), which together produced 400,000 tonnes of malt in 2021. In addition, CereX produces about 3,000 tonnes of malt extracts and compounds annually. Bier&cO, a distributor of specialty beers, adds a large portfolio of traditionally brewed specialty beers to its range. Within Royal Swinkels Family Brewers, approximately 1,800 employees worldwide are working towards the goal of continuously doing business in a smarter and more sustainable way. In doing so, the family business adds lasting value for consumers, employees, business partners, shareholders and the world around it. In 2021, the company added the Uiltje Brewing Company, located in Haarlem, the Netherlands, to its family of breweries. In 2019, Swinkels Family Brewers received the designation Royal. Since then, the company proudly calls itself Royal Swinkels Family Brewers. For more information: www.swinkelsfamilybrewers.com
