Bedford based Charles Wells has teamed up with Dogfish Head Brewery from Delaware, USA to produce a ground breaking craft beer collaboration.
The partnership has announced the launch of Dogfish Head DNA New World a 4.5%ABV IPA beer available in cask at a number of limited stockists from 1st April 2013. DNA has been in development across the Ocean for some months and celebrates the creativity of two internationally renowned breweries that have invested in new product development. The beer will be rolled out more widely in keg and bottle variants later this year.
“Whilst there’s been a stream of craft beers coming to market, we’ve taken a new approach to creating a beer that is a true amalgamation of two internationally recognised brands” explained Tim Sprake, International Sales and Agency Director of Charles Wells. “Rather than simply mashing new ingredients together, we’ve taken a special reduction from 60 Minute IPA, a popular Dogfish Head beer in the USA, and integrated it into our own brewing process. In other words we’ve taken the very DNA of one beer and added it to the brewing process of another. As a result we’ve produced a beer that is unique and diverse and a little bit special.”
The pioneering collaboration will be replicated when Dogfish Head grows and pitches Charles Wells brewing yeast into the United States version later this year. This will be an IPA brewed in the “Old World” style and is planned to launch at Philly Beer Week at the start of June, when representatives of Dogfish Head and Charles Wells will be on hand to introduce drinkers to the new beer.
Commenting on the partnership Sam Calagione, Founder & President of Dogfish Head, said “We have great respect for the people and brewing heritage at Charles Wells and it’s been really rewarding to work on this project together. At Dogfish we use many culinary-inspired ingredients in our brewing process but borrowing the concept of sauce reduction to intensify the complexity of a beer, while established in the world of gourmet chefs, is a new twist in the world of commercial brewing.”
DNA New World IPA is available as a seasonal cask variant in selected Charles Wells and Young’s/Geronimo’s pubs for the month of April and is described as: “A marriage of East Coast USA and East Anglian UK brewing credentials. Dogfish Head DNA New World IPA brewed by Charles Wells using the brewing ‘DNA’ from the Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware, offers a unique experience for the drinker. The beer has a toasty nutty start followed by a highly hopped citrusy finish. A beer of two halves in many ways.”
“Dogfish Head brings an off-centred approach to the art of brewing and has an incredibly loyal following in the States” continued Tim Sprake. “We believe that by combining the expertise of both companies we have produced a beer like no other that will stimulate interest in both the UK and USA. We’re hoping to excite drinkers who may never have drunk ale before by getting them to sample DNA New World IPA and enjoy its great taste and inspire them by this novel approach to brewing.”
-ENDS-
For release: Tuesday 2nd April 2013
For further information, contact:
Kate Hempsall, Charles Wells
07976 941958 or Kate.hempsall@charleswells.co.uk
Kelly Burgess, Charles Wells
07970 117923 or Kelly.burgess@charleswells.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Charles Wells was formed in 1876 and is based in Bedford, England. It combines the tradition and heritage of over 130 years experience with a fresh thinking approach to brewing and running pubs. Through its brewing division, Wells & Young’s, the company has a range of well-loved beers including Bombardier, Young’s, Courage and McEwan’s complimented by a portfolio of premium beers such as Estrella Damm and Kirin Ichiban. It runs over 200 pubs in England and also operates a managed estate of 9 pubs in France. Charles Wells has an established and growing presence in international markets and was listed in the Sunday Times International Tracker for private companies in 2012.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: You might not expect the East Coast’s most creative and adventurous craft brewery to hail from rural Delaware, but Dogfish Head has been breaking beer style guidelines and embracing the entire culinary landscape for its off-centered ales since it opened as America’s smallest commercial brewery in 1995. Dogfish Head now produces more than 7,000 cases of beer a day and is the largest craft brewery in the mid-Atlantic.
It all began with founder Sam Calagione brewing two or three 10-gallon batches six days a week at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, a brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Del. In 2002, Dogfish opened a production brewery in nearby Milton, Del., and the original pub has expanded to include a micro-distillery. Dogfish Head’s family of co-workers now includes more than 200 people.
Dogfish Head believes beer can have as much flavor, complexity, diversity, food-compatibility and ageability as the world’s finest wines, and by embracing nonstandard ingredients such as raisins, chicory, maple syrup, grapes and wine must, Dogfish has changed the way America thinks about beer.
While the focus on exotic ingredients has not wavered, there is one old-world style Dogfish Head has embraced, tweaked and reinvented. Thanks to its innovative continual hopping technique, Dogfish has been recognized as an innovator in the world of IPAs for more than a decade.
Dogfish Head has grown not with the help of focus groups or million-dollar ad campaigns, but by keeping up a conversation with hardcore craft beer lovers. At events, on social media and over beers, Dogfish listens to customers and treats them the way they’d want to be treated.