Dogfish Head’s Beer/Wine Hybrid “Noble Rot” Returns

The second batch of Dogfish Head’s Noble Rot, a near equal meshing of the beer and wine worlds that debuted last year, is shipping to wholesalers now and is due back on shelves and taps over the next couple of weeks.

Named one of the Top 25 Beers of 2012 by Wine Enthusiast, this saison-esque science project gets complexity and fermentable sugars from two unique white-wine grapes.

This saison-esque science project gets complexity and fermentable sugars from two unique wine grapes sourced with our friends at Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Prosser, Wash.

The first addition is unfermented juice, known as must, from viognier grapes that have been infected with a benevolent fungus called botrytis. This noble rot reduces the water content in the grapes while magnifying their sweetness and complexity. The second is pinot gris must intensified by a process called dropping fruit, where large clusters of grapes are clipped to amplify the quality of those left behind.

“This is the absolute closest to equal meshing of the wine world and the beer world thats ever been done commercially,” says Dogfish’s Sam Calagione.

Noble Rot is brewed with pils and wheat malts and fermented with a distinct Belgian yeast strain. It has a spicy white wine body and a dry, tart finish.

Noble Rot first went on tap at our brewpub in February of 2011 and went into full 750ml bottle production in January 2012.

We currently send Noble Rot (when available) to our wholesale partners in the following states:

AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, WA

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