Dogfish Head unites with Flaming Lips, releases 2018 beer lineup

Kicking off the year with a massive, magical bang, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery announced its upcoming 2018 band collaboration with iconic American indie rock darlings, The Flaming Lips. Keeping in line with their decades-long tradition of banding together with the uniquely epic and imaginative, the brewery teamed up with the longtime musical wizards in what they believe is their most off-centered and extraordinary beer alliance to date.

Releasing in spring, Dragons & YumYums will be a lip-smackingly tart pale ale clocking in at 6.5 percent ABV. This intensely tropical yet subtly bitter ale is brewed with a combination of dragonfruit, yumberry, passionfruit, pear juice and black carrot juice providing an explosion of fruit in every sip.

Acclaimed for their elaborate, over-the-top live shows, The Flaming Lips have a sound that contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, while lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles.

"The Flaming Lips are one of the most innovative and collaborative bands of all time, and Dogfish shares a similarly playful and adventurous point of view," said Sam Calagione, CEO and founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. "Their art is a full-on otherworldly sensory experience, and we strive to create that same intense sensational experience for craft beer drinkers in the development of our liquid art."

Good tunes and great beer are at the heart of Dogfish as the brewery has composed a musically inspired series of brews with artists like Miles Davis, Deltron 3030, The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam and Guided by Voices. "Our brewery has been obsessed with music since the day we opened," said Calagione. "And we have enjoyed every opportunity to weave together the art of brewing with our love of music, as often and meaningfully as we can."

Dogfish Head's 2018 beer calendar lineup will get underway with the release of two well-differentiated, cult-favorite beers now available year-round in cans – Lupu Luau IPA and Namaste White. Lupu Luau is a coconut India Pale Ale brewed with a tropical trifecta of toasted coconut, coconut water and an experimental hop which contributes coconut aromas, while Namaste White is a Belgian-style white ale brewed with dried orange flesh and peel, fresh-cut lemongrass, a bit of coriander, peppercorns and a generous dose of good karma. Along with this new canned duo, off-centered ale fans can count on finding their favorite year-round Dogfish beers on shelves and taps including 60 Minute IPA, 90 Minute IPA, SeaQuench Ale, Flesh & Blood IPA, Indian Brown, Palo Santo Marron, Burton Baton and Midas Touch.

Continually celebrating all things musically inspired, Dogfish is bringing back its bold, honey-enhanced, imperial stout, Wood-Aged Bitches Brew, with a new, wood-centric spin as this version is aged and blended in giant oak and Palo Santo wood tanks resulting in a vanilla, chocolatey-licorice wood aroma with a sweet, roasty, coffee flavor finish. Brewed as an homage to Miles Davis' 1970 landmark jazz-rock fusion record, Bitches Brew is a fusion of three threads of imperial stout aged on oak and one thread of Tej, a native African honey beer aged on Palo, and it will be available year-round.

Two more exciting new releases are Mixed Media and Fruit-Full Fort. A rustic Saison and Farmhouse blend with a crisp and quenching finish, Mixed Media is a sweet and tart dry ale, brewed to be the ultimate beer-wine hybrid. It's brewed with 51 percent of the fermentables coming from pils malt, malted wheat and flaked oats, and 49 percent coming from late-harvest Viognier grape must harvested for Dogfish by friends at Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Washington. Mixed Media is an idyllic summer sipper and a natural favorite for Pinot Gris and Saison lovers alike. Fruit-Full Fort, an ageable Belgian-style ale, is fermented with a big ol' bundle of fresh berry juices including boysenberry, blackberry, raspberry and elderberry. Brewed with pils malt, munich malt and malted wheat, Fruit-Full Fort leaves the taste buds warm with jammy dark fruit notes and deeply complex flavors.

A longtime champion of all things collaborative and artful, Dogfish Head will celebrate its 2018 Off-Centered Art Series, for which it has partnered with highly acclaimed artist Marq Spusta to create custom pieces of art for beers that bring their unique stories to life through visuals. Art Series beers include Romantic Chemistry - an India Pale Ale brewed with mango, apricots and ginger; Dragons & YumYums - the Flaming Lips collaboration beer; Punkin Ale - a full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of real pumpkin, brown sugar and spice; and Liquid Truth Serum - the newest IPA from Dogfish utilizing a unique process involving pelletized, powdered, leaf and liquefied hops all added post-boil, resulting in a unique and intense IPA. Truthfully hoppy without being deceptively bitter, Liquid Truth Serum has a perfect match of citrusy and tropical notes, making for a zesty finish.

With a boatload of exciting new releases, Dogfish is also proud to bring back classics like Festina Peche - a tart summer-session-sour; 120 Minute IPA - the Holy Grail for hopheads; Pennsylvania Tuxedo - a pale ale brewed with Pennsylvania spruce tips; and Siracusa Nera - a roasty Imperial Stout with jammy Syrah wine notes. IPAs for the Holidays, a delicious India Pale Ale variety gift pack, will make its return in late 2018.

For more information and to view a full 2018 calendar, go to www.dogfish.com.