Positive Contact box sets to hit shelves in late June

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Positive Contact, the latest release in Dogfish Head's Music Series, hits shelves in late June.

What is Positive Contact?

It's a house party in a box. Start with a carefully crafted hybrid of beer and cider, add a helping of hip-hop dub remixes and serve with an inspired multi-course meal. 

Positive Contact 

The beer

The beer was born one festive night at Eataly New York's rooftop brewpub Birreria. Hip-hop producer Dan the Automator – the mind behind supergroup Deltron 3030 – and Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione sat at a table full of fresh ingredients and picked out their favorites.

They settled on wood-pressed Fuji apples, roasted farro from Anson Mills in South Carolina, cayenne peppers and fresh cilantro. The result is a sweet-and-sour Belgian-ish brew with cider-like notes, 9% ABV and a warming finish.

The music

While Dogfish did its thing at the brewery, Dan did his in the studio. Taking tracks from the long-awaited followup to Deltron 3030's cult classic debut, Dan fashioned four dub remixes and pressed them onto 10-inch white vinyl.

The food

What's a party without food? Dogfish recruited acclaimed chef and TV personality Mario Batali, loud and fast Joe Beef chefs Frederic Morin and David McMillan, Momofuku's influential David Chang, super-creative Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton and West Coast luminary James Syhabout. Each contributed a Deltron 3030-inspired recipe that's printed on the record sleeve. (*chef bios below)

Positive Contact will be released in a dynamic box set of six 750-ml champagne bottles, with the 10-inch vinyl EP and the recipes. The box set will be sold for $60-$70 throughout Dogfish Head's distribution network, in accordance with local and state laws.

So, invite some friends over, rock the remixes, drink the beer and whip up a multi-course meal.

No wonder Esquire has already named it one of the best beers of 2012.

 

* Chefs

Critically acclaimed chef, restaurateur, award-winning author and television personality Mario Batali is one of the most recognized and respected chefs working in America today. With business partner Joe Bastianich, Batali has created an uber-successful restaurant and culinary empire in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Singapore. www.mariobatali.com

Frédéric Morin and David McMillan, the radical chefs behind Joe Beef, are passionate about French market food, and they serve it Quebec-style: loud and fast. Morin and McMillan seek out the best local ingredients and keep Joe Beef's menu brief so they can change it on a whim. www.joebeef.ca

David Chang is the chef and owner of the Momofuku restaurants. He has been honored with awards from Food & Wine and Bon Appetit, named a Man of the Year by GQ, and called one of the "most influential people of the 21st century" by Esquire. Chang also has taken home three James Beard Foundation awards. www.momofuku.com

Californian Sean Paxton, known as the Homebrew Chef, believes in beer. On his popular blog and web series, Paxton explores the complexity beer adds to food, whether paired with it or incorporated into the recipe. www.homebrewchef.com

Named a "Restaurant Empire Builder" in 2011 by Food & Wine, James Syhabout made his reputation at the Michelin-Starred Commis in Oakland, Calif. He flexes his casual culinary muscles at Hawker Fare, focusing on inexpensive dishes inspired by the street markets of Southeast Asia. www.commisrestaurant.com