Here’s a thought on Dogfish Head Sea Quench Ale: If I drink two or more in a row, will I be drinking them sequentially? Let me know when you get that. I’ll wait a minute. Ah! You’re back. Seriously though, Dogfish does call this beer a “session sour”, whatever that is. Session beers are meant to be drunk in quantity, so my little wordplay is apt, but as we shall see Sea Quench does not quite qualify as such in my book.
The beer is certainly quenching, however, refreshing and tart with lime and salt. I had seen pictures of it popping up by pleased drinkers in Honest Craft Beer Reviews on Facebook, and was on the lookout when I spotted a display ay Publix and quickly snatched up a six.
From the website:
SeaQuench Ale is a session sour mash-up of a crisp Kolsch, a salty Gose, and a tart Berliner Weiss brewed in sequence with black limes, sour lime juice and sea salt to make this the most thirst-quenching beer Dogfish Head has ever brewed.
“…may be the world’s most thirst-slaying beer.” - Men’s Health
….Our experimentation focused on three thirst-quenching styles with German roots, but no single style quite hit the mark and mood we were going for … so we blended them and the result was the tart and refreshing beer we were looking for!
Partnering with the National Aquarium, we replicated sea salt sourced from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and added sea salt from the coast of Maine to honor the Atlantic coast we love so much.
World’s most thirst slaying beer? Not sure about that. I think Men’s Health needs to drink some more beers. A puckering Berliner Weisse at proper strength or a spicy refreshing hefeweizen work just as well for me. That said. Dogfish Head Sea Quench Ale is quenching indeed.
It’s not a session beer, though. Not at 4.9% alcohol by volume. Session Ale is an English notion, and should be 4% ABV and under. After all, if you’re going to drink more than a few, you don’t want them to be overly strong. Then too, think about the three German styles being blended here: Gose (4.2% to 4.6% by volume) Kolsch (around 5%), and Berliner Weisse (2.5% to 3%). Being generous with each, equal parts of 5%, 3%, and 4.6% beer should give you a 4.2% beer. Dogfish Head Sea Quench Ale is too strong in my book. And you’re reading my book. Anyway, it has 10 IBUs and I paid $9.99 for my six-pack.
Dogfish Head Sea Quench pours to a hazy yellow color with a large fizzy head that is short-lived and spirited. The nose is slightly tart with citric lime notes. Sipping, the beer is very tart, quenchingly puckering and sour. Strong notes of acidic lime run throughout and a hint of salt comes through in the sour dry finish, with that salt being a tad understated but detectable. I like it, and yes I will buy it again. Even if it’s just a sour fruit beer, and not a session sour.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft