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Dogfish Punkin' Ale is Here!

This fall seasonal made its first appearance at the annual Punkin’ Chunkin festival in Delaware in 1994 - a full 6-months before Dogfish even opened their doors for business. Click here to see some videos of the seriously wacky annual event!
Dogfish Punkin’ is brewed with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices….lots of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  It goes great with turkey, roasted duck, lamb, stuffing, and am guessing…..pumpkin pie!  Don’t wait ‘til Thanksgiving to pick some up though, as it disappears very quickly! Availabe in both cases and kegs.
Click on the following YouTube video to see Sam talk about it:

Welcome to Hunterdon Distributors

Purveyors of Enjoyable Fermented Beverages since 1996

Hunterdon Special Drafts - While Supplies Last

These kegs are updated regularly and reflect our current inventory. Contact your Salesman to order!

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Uniting the Beer Community

Dry Hopping? I.B.U.s? Secondary Fermentation? Brettanomyces? Here is a condensed list of key beer terms and definitions for the rest of us so we can understand what these hopheads are firkin talking about!

 Acid Rest

A relatively low temperature rest (95F) used to activate the phytase enzyme, the desired result of which is to lower the pH of the mash. This is generally only employed in Germany where the Reinheitsgebot prevents the use of things like acid blend which serve the same purpose. A small amount of acid malt is used.

Alcohol by Volume (abv)

Percentage of alcohol content in a beverage, by volume. The percentage of alcohol by weight is approximately 20 percent lower than that by volume.

Ale

Beers brewed with top-fermenting yeast strains. The top-fermenting yeast performs at warmer temperatures than yeasts used to brew lager beer.

Aroma Hops

Variety of hop chosen for its bouquet, which are typically added in the final stages of the boil or during the secondary fermentation in a process called "dry hopping."

Bittering Hops

Hops added at the beginning of the boil in order to obtain maximum alpha acid utilisation. Any type of hops can be used for bittering, although those higher in alpha acids will require the use of less hops per unit of beer.

Body

The weight of a beer on the palate, ranging from thin or light-bodied to full-bodied. Thickness and mouth-filling property of a beer described as "full or thin-bodied".

Bottle Conditioned

A final fermentation, which occurs in the bottle by adding yeast and/or fermentable sugar to the beer before bottling. It may make the beer cloudy or leave a sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

Bottom Fermenting Yeast

One of the two primary types of yeast used in brewing. Bottom-fermenting yeast works well at low temperatures and ferments more sugars leaving a crisp, clean taste and then settles to the bottom of the tank. Also called "lager yeast".

Brettanomyces

Brettanomyces is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name Dekkera is used interchangeably with Brettanomyces, as it describes the teleomorph or spore forming form of the yeast. Brettanomyces contributes tartness to a beer during fermentation. In most beers, Brettanomyces is a contaminant suggesting of infected yeast. However, some beers, such as lambic, gueuze, Flemmish Sour Ales, and Flanders Red Ales, utilize Brettanomyces to intentionally add a thirst quenching tart quality which is described as anything from "sour cherry pie" to "sweaty horse saddle."

Brix, Degrees

A measurement of the mass ratio of dissolved sucrose to water in a liquid. It is measured with a saccharimeter that measures specific gravity of a liquid or more easily with a refractometer. A 25 °Bx solution has 25 grams of sucrose sugar per 100 grams of liquid. Or, to put it another way, there are 25 grams of sucrose sugar and 75 grams of water in the 100 grams of solution. Used interchangably with Plato and Balling.

Bung

The stopper in the hole in a keg or cask through which the keg or cask is filled and emptied. The hole may also be referred to as a bung or bunghole.

Cask

A closed, barrel-shaped vessel used for fermenting and serving beer. They used to be made of wood, but now most are made of stainless steel or aluminum. They are used for cask-conditioned ales, which need to be vented intermittently while they naturally carbonate. A standard sized cask is called a firkin, and a half-sized cask is called a pin.

Cask-Conditioned

Unfiltered, unpasteurized beer that is naturally carbonated by undergoing a secondary fermentation in its own serving vessel. Cask-conditioned beer is traditionally served slightly warmer than draft beer.

Cold-Filtered

The process of filtering beer to remove sediments and contaminants, which improves the clarity of beer. Marketers use this term to connote a special process, but virtually all beer is "cold-filtered."

Conditioning

Period of maturation intended to impart "condition"(natural carbonation). Warm conditioning further develops the complex of flavors. Cold conditioning imparts a clean, round taste. An aspect of secondary fermentation in which the yeast refine the flavors of the final beer.

Conditioning Tank

A vessel in which beer is placed after primary fermentation where the beer matures, clarifies and is naturally carbonated through secondary fermentation. At some breweries, this vessel is also used as the bright beer tank, serving tank and/ or the secondary fermentation tank.

Contract Brewery

A company that markets, sells, and owns all rights to a beer brand but outsources the production of the beer to another brewery. Confusingly, breweries that offer these production services are also commonly refered to as contract breweries.

Cooper

Craftsperson who hand-builds beer kegs from wood.

Cooperage

Any vessel used to serve beer, including kegs, firkins, pins, etc.

Diacetyl

A buttery or butterscotch aroma or flavor created during yeast growth in the fermentation process. Diacetyl is frequently caused by a high-temperature fermentation, low pH in the fermenting wort, insufficient aeration at the start of fermentation, or the use of unhealthy or infected yeast.

Draff

The material remaining in the lauter tun after sparging. (wow.)

Dry Hopping

The addition of dry hops to fermenting or ageing beer to increase its hop character or aroma.

Ester

Volatile flavor compound naturally created during fermentation, most frequently with ales. Often fruity, flowery or spicy.

Finish

The resulting impression of a beer after it has been swallowed. A finish can be characterized as dry, lingering, short, etc.

Firkin

A measurement or container of beer, which equals one quarter of a barrel (40.9 liters). The firkin is the most popular sized vessel for serving cask conditioned beer.

Hop back

Sieve-like vessel used to strain out the petals of the hop flowers. Referred to as a hop jack in the United States.

Hops

The green cone-shaped flowers from the female hop vine used to add flavor and aromatics as well as bitter to beer. Hop vines are grown in cool climates and brewers make use of the cone shaped flowers. The dried cones are available in pellets, plugs, or whole.

IBU's (International Bittering Units)

A measurement of the iso-alpha acid concentration, which contributes bitterness to beer. The iso-alpha acid concentration is the major contributor to bitterness in beer. 1 IBU = 1 part per million of isomerised alpha acid.

Lactose

A nonfermentable sugar, lactose comes from milk and has historically been added to stout, hence the style lacto-stout or milk stout.

Lager

Beers produced with bottom-fermenting yeast strains at colder fermentation temperatures than ales. Fermentation of lagers generally takes longer than that of ales.

Lauter

To strain or separate. Lautering acts to separate the wort from grain via filtering and sparging. To run the wort from the mash tun. From the German word to clarify. A lauter tun is a separate vessel to do this job. It uses a system of sharp rakes to achieve a very intensive extraction of malt sugars.

Lauter Tun

The vessel in which mashed grain is sparged (lautered). Sometimes referred to mash-lauter tun because usually mashing and sparging occur in the same vessel.

Light-struck

The skunky smell or flavor that results from a beer being exposed to too much direct sun or fluorescent lights. It is particularly pervasive in light beers packaged in green or clear bottles and is less common in beers packaged in brown bottles. It is caused by the reaction of hop oils to ultraviolet light.

Malt

The foundation ingredient of beer after it has gone through the malting process, typically barley. Grain which has been sprouted and kilned.

Malt Extract

The condensed wort from a mash, consisting of maltose, dextrins and other dissolved solids. Either as a syrup or powdered sugar, it is used by brewers, in solutions of water and extract to reconstitute wort for fermentation.

Malting

The process by which barley is steeped in water, germinated, then kilned to convert insoluble starch to soluble substances and sugar.

Mash

The porridge-like blend of water and grist at the beginning of the brewing process that releases sugars for brewing.

Mead

Mead is produced by the fermentation of honey, water, yeast and optional ingredients such as fruit, herbs, and/or spices.

Monastic

Any beer that is produced at a monestary.

Mouthfeel

The way a beer feels on the palate, such as viscose, thin, light, soft.

Musty

Moldy, mildewy character; can be the result of cork or bacterial infection.

Noble Hops

Hop varieties stemming primarily from Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic, which have been in existance for a very long time. Most other hop varieties trace their origins to the noble ones, which are characterized by low levels of bitterness. Noble hop varieties include Hallertauer, Saaz, Spalt, and Tettnanger.

Nose

The overall aroma of a beer, best observed with short sniffs of a beer that has been poured into a wide rimmed glass.

Oxidation

A cardboardy, old bread, or cooked breakfast cereal aroma or flavor in beer that is the result of overexposure to light (common in clear- and green-bottled beers), the beer being exposed to oxygen for too long during fermentation, overpasteurization, or overboiling.

Plato, Degrees

Used in brewing industry to describe the amount of available extract as a weight or percentage of sugar in solution, in relation to specific gravity. Eg. 10 °Plato is equivalent to a specific gravity of 1.040. Used interchangably with Brix and Balling.

Primary Fermentation

The initial fermentation activity marked by the evolution of carbon dioxide and Krausen. Most of the total attenuation occurs during this phase.

Reinheitsgebot

The Bavarian beer purity law of 1516 that states that beer in Germany shall only be made with grain, hops, and water. Yeast, which was not fully understood at the time, is also a necessary ingredient in beer, and was added as the fourth ingredient in an ammended version of the Reinheitsgebot.

Secondary Fermentation

A period of settling and conditioning of the beer after primary fermentation and before bottling.

Sediment

The yeast and fermentation byproducts at the bottom of a bottle of conditioned beer - typically rich in vitamin B.

Shelf Life

The number of days a beer will retain its peak drinkability. Packaged beer is generally best consumed fresh, with some exceptions among higher alcohol, non-pasteurized bottle conditioned beers, which can improve with some ageing.

Sparge

To spray grist with hot water to remove soluble sugars (maltose) from the malted barley. This takes place after the mash, in a tank fitted with a false bottom (lauter tank).

Tannins

Astringent polyphenol compounds that can cause haze and/or join with large proteins to precipitate them from solution. Tannins are most commonly found in the grain husks and hop cone material.

Trappist

An order of monks that have produced beer for over a millennium. There are seven Trappist breweries still in operation in Belgium and the Netherlands. Strict regulations prevent non-Trappist Abbey breweries from using the term.

Tun

Any large vessels used in brewing.

Vinous

Wine-like. Typically referred to beer that has the off-flavor of an old opened bottle of wine caused by the reaction of esters and alcohols with acids.

Wet Hopping

A term used to describe the addition of freshly picked (not dehydrated) hops. Wet-hopped, or "harvest" beers are brewed by a select few breweries once a year, immediately following the hop harvest in early fall.

Wort

The sweet liquid produced in the brewing process by mashing malted barley and water. Beer is called "wort" before yeast is added. The malt-sugar solution that is boiled prior to fermentation. (Pronounced "wirt" - rhymes with dirt).

Yeast

A single-cell, micro-organism of the fungus family, which consumes fermentable sugars in the wort and produces alcohol, carbon dioxide, flavors and aromas in beer. There are many yeast strains used in brewing, each with unique characteristics. The two primary yeast varieties are ale yeast, which ferments at warmer temperatures, and lager yeast, which prefers cooler temperatures.

Yeasty

A yeast-like flavor often derived from beer sitting on yeast too long during fermentation.

Zymurgy

The science or study of brewing and fermentation.