Drinking in Boston: Get Wet

Two new beers have been developed recently, both involving the word wet. One is wet hopped, the other, well, has been spit in.

To satisfy curiosity, the spit in your beer will be that of Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales. His goal is not revenge upon all the doubters and naysayers he’s encountered in his life, but rather the reproduction of a traditional Latin American corn beer, chicha. The process involves chewing, essentially milling, the purple corn in one’s mouth. This is the process by which the starches are broken down into sugars, like the malting part of traditional beer production. It’s a labor intensive endeavor that may not even be appealing to many of his customers. Unfortunately for those of us who would like to try it, it’s a small batch and probably won’t be brewed again.

The second newish brew comes from our hometown Harpoon. The name of this newest edition to the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series is Glacier Harvest ’09 Wet Hop Ale, named after the top of hops used. The beer, obviously, is wet hopped, meaning they use freshly picked hops rather than the dried variety used in most brewing. According to Harpoon this will give it a “fresher hop flavor and aroma.” They also hope the Glacier hops will give it “an herbal, earthy hoppiness.” You’ll be able to find the beer in 22 ounce bottles and on draft in select bars. Harpoon is also hosting several tastings for Friends of Harpoon.

Photo courtesy of david.nikonvscanon on Flickr using Creative Commons License.