Sixty-One

Dogfish Head Brewery

You know something isn’t normal about this IPA the second it pours from the glass—because it’s pink. Indeed, the Sixty-One India pale ale is a beer-wine hybrid—a blend of Dogfish Head’s popular 60 Minute IPA and California syrah grape must. The idea for the beer supposedly came about several years ago after the Delaware, Md. brewery’s founder, Sam Calagione, served a few friends pints of fresh, draft IPA spiked with a splash of red wine. The malty, bitter and fruity cocktail made an impression on the group, and Calagione—who is widely known for conducting some of the most bizarre experiments in craft brewing—decided eventually to hone the recipe and make this blend a core beer. First released this March, Sixty-One will now be available all year. It does the job of any well-built IPA: nice and foamy, on top of a solid foundation of robust malt and bitter, fragrant hops. It is more complex than a mere beer, though. It is winey, brisk and tart, with acidic fruit notes not usually found in the world of hops and malt. But this is the world of Dogfish Head, where anything can happen.