Dogfish Head Positive Contact
Positive Contact is a cider-beer-hybrid veeeeeery loosely based on a Belgian-style Wit beer brewed with a bunch of unconventional ingredients for the style. Typically, Wits are brewed using bitter orange peel and coriander, but we went a different route.
Inspired by one of Sams trips to Eataly in New York City, Sam and Ben brewed this beer with organic Fuji apple cider, fresh organic cilantro, and dried cayenne pepper. The cider was pressed in house from 200 lbs of apples with our very own fruit press. These wonderful fresh ingredients were delivered to usa couple of days before the brew by Sams friend Zeke of Washingtons Green Grocer.
The grain bill for this brew was about 50/50 wheat and barley but a small portion of Anson Mills Slow-Roasted Farro was also added. To make this awesome product,the folks at Anson Millsuse a unique ancient heirloom variety of grain which imparts a delicate aromatic quality (Farrois traditionally used in soups and similar dishes). On top of that, a new hop variety was used, named Calypso, which lends notes of pear and apple that perfectly compliment the other ingredients in the brew. It was then fermented with a Belgian Wit yeast strain, adding both fruity and spicy complexity. This beer was made with a number if ingredients more traditionally used in the culinary world and we designed it to be a dazzling nimble food-pairing brew.
Positive Contact: Between beer and cider.
Between food and drink.
Between us and you.
Inspired by one of Sams trips to Eataly in New York City, Sam and Ben brewed this beer with organic Fuji apple cider, fresh organic cilantro, and dried cayenne pepper. The cider was pressed in house from 200 lbs of apples with our very own fruit press. These wonderful fresh ingredients were delivered to usa couple of days before the brew by Sams friend Zeke of Washingtons Green Grocer.
The grain bill for this brew was about 50/50 wheat and barley but a small portion of Anson Mills Slow-Roasted Farro was also added. To make this awesome product,the folks at Anson Millsuse a unique ancient heirloom variety of grain which imparts a delicate aromatic quality (Farrois traditionally used in soups and similar dishes). On top of that, a new hop variety was used, named Calypso, which lends notes of pear and apple that perfectly compliment the other ingredients in the brew. It was then fermented with a Belgian Wit yeast strain, adding both fruity and spicy complexity. This beer was made with a number if ingredients more traditionally used in the culinary world and we designed it to be a dazzling nimble food-pairing brew.
Positive Contact: Between beer and cider.
Between food and drink.
Between us and you.
3.5
397 reviews
Milton, United States
Community reviews
Pours a mostly clear light golden color with a hefty white head. I smell honey, lemon, seltzer, brown sugar, and molasses. Soft and a little heavy with some carbonation. Honey, lemon, caramel, and earthy flavors.
Bought at the 7-11 in Sparks, NV next to the in and out while working gate strike at TTITD 2013. Shared with an old friend who used to live in DC where I grew up. Pours Golden, great head and really nice aroma. Super drinkable and got me a nice little buzz! Tweeted about it:
https://twitter.com/theyisweeheavy/status/596495722624647169
Draft sample at Craft Bar PCB. Clear gold color with a white head. Light malt aroma with a witbeer full mouthfeel. Citrus and light spice in the finish.
Clear bright copper/golden with a thin cap of white foam. Sweet and fancy nose of appley perfume and bright golden malt and sweet flowers---almost like a girls perfume but with a blonde earthy beery kick. Nice flavor with the spritzy dryness of of a champagne and a nice appley touch with a little kiss of sweetness and a blonde cracker backbone. The booze is well hidden and you don’t really taste how strong it is, with a hefty dose of semisweet cider and a little bit of Belgian cracker malt.
Meh. On tap @ Hi Hat Lounge Milwaukee. Cloudy pour. Smells more like a wit. Bananas and pears. Dry, stale banana flavor. Not sure what specialness they were going for but they missed. Probably better on tap than in a bottle.
You can most definitively smell the apple cider. But if spice to this one. Like the look.
Interesting mix with a kick that has a tick of apple cider and a slow roast that makes for a nice palate and good after taste.
On tap at Dexters, pours a clear gold with a thin white head, the aroma has some spice with a little bit of fruit coming through, the flavor has a ton of spice on the front end with a dry finish and a little bit of fruit in the finish, really didn’t enjoy this.
Bottle (750ml): Golden with some sitiment floating around. White head. Had a slight funk Belgium smell. Taste is unique. I think its the cilantro that dominates the aroma and taste. A little too much for me. Pretty sweet, but the spices hide that.
Bottle poured a clear, w/ lots of small particles, golden hue w/ large white head diminishing to a lasting cap. Moderate to bold fruity aroma. Initial flavor is light sweet w/ a light sour finish. Tastes are apple, white wine, vinegar, and currants. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel and lively carbonation.
[5916-20131010] 1pt9.4floz bottle. Fragrant apple and pear juice aroma. Clear, pale yellow orange body with a medium-lasting creamy white head. Sweet pear syrup continues in the flavour. Medium body. Good. (7/4/7/4/14) 3.6
(c/o blankboy, w/ him, Greg Clow, jercraigs, mds)
Champagne bomber in a brown bag. This one confused me at first because the concept is so well thought out. When I took a drink the fruitiness would lead one to expect a sugary drool to form in your mouth, but then the pepper comes out and dries that up. It’s taste bud magicianadry. It doesn’t even taste like there is any alcohol in this, but I know because my ears are ringing there is, or maybe I just have tinnitus, and am buzzed.
On tap at Granite State on tap.
Lightly hazy golden color with a minimal head. Spicy earthy fruity flavors with a Belgianesque character. I’m surprised how little of the ingredients I found in my sample, but I was at a brew fest. I must try this beer again.
Tap. Hazy golden with small head. Medium tart with some fruit and Belgian yeast in the finish. No booziness though tartness lingers.
Bottle: Poured a clear bright golden color ale with a medium size white foamy head with medium retention and some lacing. Aroma of apple cider with some coriander notes is quite refreshing. Aroma of cider is quite dominant with some medium sweet notes. Coriander notes are also noticeable and are well-balanced against the sweeter malt base. Body is light with good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Very nice experiment and I could see myself drinking this again on hot summer days.
750ml bottle: This one pours a slightly hazy golden color. There was a thin white head that doesn’t linger or leave much lacing. It has a nice nose. Some apple, spicy and earthy. The taste is very good. It has a touch of bitterness, earthy, apple and spices. Nice!
750 mL bottle. Pours light yellow, with a medium, bubbly, white head. Cinnamon and apple aromas, orange zest, peppercorns, and caramel. Sweet and fruity, with just a little, sharp, tart note. Light to medium body, sharp, and acidic. Overall, this is a fairly nice, fruity, acidic beverage. Not exactly beer, but certainly not cider. Interesting.
"More of a belgian aspect than i expected. spicy, like a belgian golden, but with an apple aspect that ended up being a lesser part of the whole. Lots going on. Besides the belgian yeastiness and apple, there were some grassy hops, and only faint notes of cayenne and herbs (which if not in the ingredients I would not have been able to tell was cilantro). $12 with a record from an unexpected source here in Reno. I’ll seek out at least one more time."
Transfer from BA review on 8-9-13-
Served on tap in a chalice glass
Appearance – The beer is served a golden orange color with tons of carbonation bubbles seen streaming through the brew and a one finger white head floating atop the brew. As the brew sits, the head fades very slowly fades leaving a good level of streaky lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is very sweet of fruit, with the aromas heavy of apple cider, pear and some tropical fruits. Along with these aromas are spice smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and cayenne A little bit of an herbal smell as well as a little bit of a bready malt smell are there as well to round out the aroma.
Taste – The taste begins with a sweet apple cider flavor mixed with some spice flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. As the taste advances some yeast and a little bit of clove and coriander come to the tongue. The sweeter flavors loss a little bit of ground as some light tart apple cider flavors come to the taste. Some grassy and herbal flavors work there in as well as a little bit of wheat and a moderate cayenne spice toward the end to leave a nicely spiced cider flavor on the tongue.
Mouthfeel- The body of the brew is average to a little on the lighter side for a brew of 9 % abv with a carbonation level that is a bit on the higher side. The higher carbonation is rather nice for the cider characteristics of the brew making it a rather refreshing brew even in light of its higher abv.
Overall – A rather tasty take on a strong wit beer/cider hybrid. Rather refreshing and a good one to give a try to.
Serving: 750 ml. bottle. It pours a light amber color with a thin white head. Interesting nose. A mix of dried apple, coriander, and some yeast. Wit like yeast notes with a little citrus zest, coriander, roasted apples, spice, and a weird bitterness. I think I like my beverages better separated.
Murky apple pour. Aroma is spices. Taste is very witbier like with a good dose of stewed apple and spices. The abv is just too high for a beer of this kind though.
750 ml. bottle. Pours a well retained, tiny bubbled white head, over an ever so slightly hazy, particle laden, effervescent, gold body.......nose is light colored fruits, including pear, apple, hints of tropical fruits, mango, peach, light floral honey tones, clove, hints of cereal, minimal hops, balance to the yeast and adjuncts.....taste is slightly sweet, with honey notes, light pear, apple, hints of clove, hints on coriander, minimal cereal, no hops, finishing slightly towards dry, balance to the yeast and hops....mouth feel, medium body, alcohol warmth present, high carbonation and acid. This is a fruit beer only because of the ingredients. It really is in the realm of a Belgian Golden Strong or a very light Tripel. The multitude of adjuncts were used with a light enough hand so as to add complexity with out domination. The only flaw is in the appearance with the particle laden body, which may have been a storage issue or aging, but not a brewing problem. BJCP 7/1/14/4/7
citrus, cloudy, rocky head, white foam, amber, medium bitterness, lightly sour, light body, average carbonation, bitter,
Pours a very pale yellow, almost throughs a tinge of chartreuse into things. Actually, coincidentally enough (ok, it’s just my willful belief) it’s almost hte same colour as the album cover (in the year 3030...). Finger and a half of white driven snow fades soon enough.
You really get the cider on the nose. It’s sweet and crisp up front. Round pears and a bit of Belgian yeast. Minor light spices, not picking up much depth behind that.
The cider takes front court again, spicy Belgian yeast brings pear to the party, and the Belgian spice segues nicely into the light cayenne heat at the end. The finish is surprisingly earthy and bitter; a characteristic that was not necessarily present earlier in the profile. Dunno if the cilantro and farro could be contributing to the earthiness, or if I’m just making hte connection because I was looking for them since I’d read the description, but at the very least it’s not completely without the realm of believability.
From a bomber. Pours a clear gold with a foamy white head. Smells of yeast and cereal, and apple. Tastes of sweet apple and belgian white. A bit if cayenne on the aftertaste. An interesting overall taste, but not as distinctive as I'd hoped for.
Taster at the brewery. Nothing outstanding about this beer, but also nothing that is offensive. Finished dry and crisp and tasted like a premium beer. I know this is a lame description, but it about sums it up.
(bottle - 750 ml) Cloudy orange pour with a fizzy head. Tangy aroma with lots of wheat and spice notes. Flavor is tangy as well. Some sweetness, then dryness, then fruit, then spice... way too much going on. Can taste all the ingredients which to me isn’t very good. Not bad, but nothing great.
Pale yellow pour with creamy white head and lace. Aroma is spicy apples and a light sour. Flavor is sweet malt with apples, cinnamon, or clove. Medium bodied with good carbonation. pretty solid
Tap. Cloudy light yellow pour. Beautiful pour. Tomato, spice, coriander, fruit, honey. Complex. Well balanced carbonation that balance out the sweet spiciness. Long herbal and fruity complex finish. Very easy to drink but very complex. Awesome
Nice strong smell of corriander and fruity sweetness..unique yellow color, taste is like a strong Belgian white...surprized it tastes so similar...slight spice on finish