Any Continent Will Do: Dogfish Head Pangaea

Ingredients: Crystallized ginger from Australia, water from Antarctica, basmati rice from Asia, muscavado sugar from Africa, South American quinoa, European yeast and North American maize
22 oz. capped bottle
Alcohol content: 7 percent ABV
Sampled: November 18, 2009

Tamp down those expectations – a beer crafted with ingredients from all seven continents sounds crazy. Even if the Antarctic contribution is just pure glacial water, Pangaea doesn’t sport off any jagged peaks, just smooth peaks and valleys. And that landscape is nothing short of magnificent.

While the lace soon condenses to a fingernail’s width, crystallized ginger from Australia dominates from the nose forward. Much like honey, it softens the entire beer, not stripping away other flavors adding a gloss and helps the whole eclipse the sum of its parts.

The African sugar imparts a red fruit crispness; the crystallized ginger and malt impart a flavor similar to caramel-coated apples (with the purest caramel of all time, mind you). Perhaps the quinoa comes to the fore; having never tasted one, I couldn’t tell, but some passion fruit also lurks around the edges.

I’ll use my imagination for what the quinoa adds, but given how enjoyable this esoteric brew tastes, I can only assume it enhances this majestic brew.

The grainy finish overflows with freshness; it’s damn near orgasmic. I couldn’t tell if the use of American maize and Asian rice forms such a delicious mash. In mass-produced American lager, these ingredients cut barley down to bland depths. Without high-quality ingredients, the barley barely goes unnoticed.

Dogfish Head deserves extra points for avoiding the obvious and skipping barley and hops; this ale excels without the keys to 99 percent of beers. Substituting ginger for honey was another bold move – they could have gone the easy route and tapped hives on six continents.

I believe the European yeast helps to calm the potentially clashing flavors; a strain from Belgium could chill them out enough to coexist, and the ginger fills in the rest.

With Nashville’s supply tapped for another year, I grimace as much as I savor each sip. But what a glorious, mercurial ride Pangaea offers.

If you find it, hoard it; this ale rates as rare as a super-continent.

Raing: 10/10