To commemorate — and poke fun at — the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, Dogfish Head Brewery has released SeaQuench Ale, a session sour ale made with lime peel, lime juice, black lime and sea salt.
Clocking in at 4.9% ABV and 10 IBUs, SeaQuench Ale is a citrusy-tart union of three German styles of beer, the company says. The beer became available in this August.
The Reinheitsgebot, the German Beer Purity Law, was enacted by Bavarian dukes in 1516 and forbid brewing beer with any ingredients except barley, hops, yeast, and water. While the regulation may only apply within Germany today, the tradition “has resulted in the largely homogenous, industrial light lagers that dominate the commercial beer landscape worldwide,” the company says. SeaQuench Ale “takes aim at this centuries-old form of art censorship” by combining culinary-inspired ingredients with three traditional German beer styles.
The brewing process begins with a batch of traditional Kölsch with wheat and Munich malt. Next up is a batch of salt-forward gose using black limes and sea salts from the Maine and Chesapeake regions, followed by a batch of tart Berliner Weisse brewed with lime juice and lime peel.
The three beers are blended together in during fermentation.
The release of SeaQuench Ale will also kick off a new partnership between Dogfish Head and the National Aquarium that will focus on “inspiring conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures,” the company says.
“Both of our organizations have a longstanding commitment to championing sustainability, and we believe our SeaQuench Ale is the perfect vessel to launch this union,” says Sam Calagione, founder and president of Dogfish Head Brewery.
The National Aquarium logo can be found on the SeaQuench Ale label and Dogfish’s brewed ales and handcrafted spirits will be showcased in the Aquarium’s café year-round and offered at select Aquarium events.
