WILK Friday BeerBuzz–19 Aug 2011 (Dogfish Head Festina Peche)

WILKFridayBerbuzz14It’s never easy returning from vacation, especially when you spend a week sipping great beers on an amazing beach…but what better way to return than to bring a great summer ale onto the Friday BeerBuzz.

This week I wanted to roll out one last summer beer, but in fine mybeerbuzz style…not just any summer beer.  This week we rolled out Dogfish Head’s summer seasonal Festina Peche.  This non traditional or neo-BerlinerWeisse as DFH calls it, is a really interesting beer.  Festina is a wheat based beer, and uses a considerable amount of fresh peaches, but don’t expect a sweet-peachy-wheat.  This is a BerlinerWeisse so it is tart or even acidic /sour to some palates.

imageBrewmaster Sam Calagione says he’s backed off the level of tartness by reducing the lactic cultures used in fermentation and bouncing up the amount of peaches, and I’d say he hit I just right.  Last year’s Festina Peche was considerably more sour and a lot less peach flavored.  This year the balance allows the fresh peach flavor to shine through without losing the tart/sour character a fine BerlinerWeisse should have.

Traditionally, a BerlinerWeisse would be served with the addition of herbs, woodruff syrup or even raspberry syrup.  According to Sam, Festina Peche doesn’t need that, so in find mybeerbuzz tradition, we decided to add some raspberry syrup to see for ourselves.  Naturally there’s a delicate balance as to how much to add, so if you try this yourself, be sure to test different amounts.  How Was It?  Well it was good, although the syrup did reduce the tart edge, perhaps even a little too much.

With or without syrup, be sure to try Festina Peche…it’s a great summer beer and I think Sam really nailed the 2011 version. 
Thanks
to Nancy, John, Joe, and Bosco for yet another fun Friday. 
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together
As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE

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34 comments (click to read or post):

  1. Funny show today. I loved it when the camera failed. I guess we're funny like that. I like Festina but it is an acquired taste.

    Ryan

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  2. It's about time you featured a DFH beer!

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  3. Nice beer choice today. Not everyone is up for that level of sour, but for those that love a sour beer, this one is one of the best.

    Tommy

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  4. Thanks everyone. DFH Festina is a great beer, although I'd split nickles a little and say it's really a tart beer in the green-apple sense and not a true sour ale. We will feature a sour in the future for sure so stay tuned. This beer is different that a traditional beer and more closely related to a Lambic, but it's a great beer and well worth trying for yourself...and of course it's available in 4-paks from Krugel's Georgetown Deli.

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  5. I really enjoyed the show and I'm waiting to see the HD video!

    Martin

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  6. I love the Weeping Radish. My wife and I have been to OBX many times in the past and we always visited their pub on Manteo. Glad to see it featured along side with Dogfish.

    Chris

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  7. Thanks Chris. I'm a frequent OBX flier and I'm always happy to show some Radish-love to the NEPA people. It's a great destination with some great brews.

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  8. Isn't Festina a Brett Beer?

    TJ

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  9. TJ...Sam does call it a "wild" beer but I don't think it is traditional Brett yeast. It doesn't have that flavor either, but you never know.

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  10. Funny show. I love you guys and I love the beer you feature. I have Festine Peche in the basement right now!

    Art JJ

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  11. For anyone traveling on vacation you can stop at the DFH pub in Rehoboth, DE. The food is fantastic and the beers are always unusual, and of course you can buy some for the vacation trip. (Jack--Dallas)

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  12. Nice music choice!

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  13. So how peachy was Festina?
    Amy

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  14. Thanks to Bosco for the musical choice (and to Chris for playing it)...and yes Amy there is a peach flavor there. It's not overwhelming but it's definitely there...and good.

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  15. Sam brews a good beer!

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  16. Is Festina available at Krugels now?

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  17. I like this beer. It's unusual but very drinkable for me. Then again I like peachy beers.
    Jim

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  18. I've tasted every Weeping Radish beer for years so I was surprised to hear they have a new one out. We're heading to VA in Sept so I'll definitely stop down and check out their new IPA. I was just reading about it on their website and it sounds good. Bob T

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  19. I haven't heard Peaches the song in years. Very funny choice WILK.

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  20. Sam Calagione is world famous for beer and brewing. I'm surprised you waited this long and didn't talk more about him! Jack

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  21. I agree Jack! All kidding aside there's actually there's a REALLY good reason (that I cannot divulge) for not featuring DFH sooner. You'll thank me later ;)

    And the show was a little crowded today, or we would have paid even more homage to Sam....we love Sam!

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  22. I agree with Jack,

    BUT

    WILK has been featuring some amazing guests and beers on the Friday BeerBuzz. I can't even remember that last show without a guess unless you don't count Vince Sweeney. Cheers to you guys for a great beer show.

    CHris (Dallas)

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  23. Thanks Chris...and Vince counts as not only a member of the Friday BeerBuzz team, but also an honored guest!

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  24. Agreed too Chris. I'm a regular listener and yes they had a lot of great guests. I guess I love DFH and Sam a little too much :)
    Jack

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  25. ;)
    It's all good in craft beer guys!
    Cheers!

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  26. Festina is an unusual beer, but everything Sam brews is unusual.

    JT

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  27. Off-centered Ales for Off-centered People!

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  28. I actually have that T-Shirt too!

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  29. Me too. I have several DFH shirts.
    AJ

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  30. Great show. I still want to be a guest but I enjoy listening and cannot wait to see the HD video too.
    Eric Jackson

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  31. Thanks everyone and stay tuned for the video. We're still working out some of the HD kinks and we did have a memory-card issue today too so I'm not sure which video we'll be putting out....so stay tuned! The HD video conversion is more than a little slow....so please be patient.

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  32. Bailed out of 'work' fast yesterday to get on the road bringing our son to school in MA so didn't get a chance to comment until just now.

    There isn't anything Dogfish Head and Sam Calagione produce (that I've tried) that I didn't love. The Festina Peche is tart and probably not a beer you'd want to spend a whole afternoon with but I can see spending a good chunk of one! lol

    Thank you Bill from MyBeerBuzz.com, to Josh for forging ahead despite the video hiccups we're working out, and to everyone who listens to The Friday BeerBuzz every Friday morning on WILK!

    Best,
    John
    webster@wilknewsradio.com

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  33. Thanks John....(and of course thank you Josh).

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