Dogfish Head and National Aquarium partner to launch SeaQuench Ale Aug. 1

Dogfish Head Brewery and the National Aquarium in Baltimore will celebrate a new multi-year partnership with the release of SeaQuench Ale, a session sour quencher made with lime peel, lime juice, black lime and sea salt.

SeaQuench Ale will be available beginning Aug. 1 and will feature three different German-style beers blended into a citrus-tart union that's perfect for summer's warmer days. The name of the beer stems from its nautically inspired, scurvy-snubbing ingredients as well as the unique sequence in which the different threads of beer are brewed.

The National Aquarium logo will be featured on the SeaQuench Ale label. Dogfish Head will be the official craft beer of the aquarium, and Dogfish's brewed ales and handcrafted spirits will be showcased in the National Aquarium's café year-round and offered at select National Aquarium events.

"Both of our organizations have a long-standing commitment to championing sustainability," said Sam Calagione, founder and president of Dogfish Head Brewery. "We believe our SeaQuench Ale is the perfect vessel to launch this union." The partnership will focus on inspiring conservation of the world's aquatic treasures.

Dogfish Head's philanthropic contributions will help the aquarium generate important conservation impact for a healthy Chesapeake Bay. Some highlighted initiatives will include: research on Northwest Atlantic populations of sand tiger and sandbar sharks, and Seafood Smart, a program focused on connecting all facets of the seafood supply chain. Dogfish's geographically enamored seafood restaurant, Chesapeake & Maine, which opened in March 2016, serves as a key advocate for the initiative on the Eastern Shore.

"The National Aquarium's partnership with Dogfish Head is a natural collaboration due to our shared commitment to fostering community, nourishing artistic advancement and innovation, and cultivating environmental stewardship," said John Racanelli, National Aquarium CEO. "We're looking forward to combining our efforts to achieve great things for the people and places of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond."

The release of SeaQuench Ale is also to commemorate - and disintegrate - the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot. Clocking in at 4.9 percent ABV and 10 IBUs, SeaQuench Ale is a citrusy-tart union of three German styles of beer blissfully brewed into one highly quenchable ale. The Reinheitsgebot, or the German Beer Purity Law, was enacted by Bavarian dukes in 1516 and forbade brewing beer with any ingredients except barley, hops, yeast and water. While the regulation may only apply in Germany today, the tradition has resulted in the largely homogenous, industrial light lagers that dominate the commercial beer landscape worldwide.

SeaQuench Ale pointedly takes aim at this centuries-old form of art censorship by combining culinary-inspired ingredients with three traditional German beer styles. The innovative brewing process begins with a batch of traditional Kölsch with wheat and Munich malt. Next up is a batch of salt-forward gose using black limes and sea salts from the Maine and Chesapeake regions followed by a batch of tart Berliner Weisse brewed with lime juice and lime peel. The three beers are blended together during fermentation to create a zesty quencher that's perfect for warmer months.

In 2010, the Delaware-based brewery began supporting the National Aquarium through the organization's corporate membership program. Now, Dogfish Head's philanthropic contributions will help support a healthy Chesapeake Bay. For more information, go to www.aqua.org or www.dogfish.com.