Positive Contact: A collision of hip-hop, beer, cider and culinary exploration
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Deltron 3030's Dan the Automator have teamed up to create Positive Contact, a hybrid of beer and cider based on Dan's favorite ingredients and Dogfish Head's innovative brewing practices.
Deltron 3030 is an adventurous hip-hop collaboration between Dan and Del the Funkee Homosapien. Deltron's self-titled debut album, released in 2000, was an instant classic and is included on many hip-hop best-of lists. It got an 8/10 rating on NME, which called it "a crazed sci-fi journey to Planet B.S. that takes myriad detours around the galaxy. The most purely enjoyable hip-hop album of 2000."
Over a decade in the making, the new Deltron 3030 album is set to drop this spring, and Positive Contact was brewed to celebrate the release.
Named after a key track on the first album, Positive Contact is a 9% ABV hybrid of beer and cider brewed with wood-pressed Fuji apples, roasted farro, a handful of cayenne peppers and a late dose of fresh cilantro. This sweet-and-sour Belgian-ish brew is a light straw color with fruity, cider-like notes. The cayenne and alcohol give it a warming finish.
The beer will be released in a dynamic box set of six 750-ml champagne bottles, with a 10-inch vinyl EP of four new Deltron 3030 remixes created exclusively for this project, and a list of Deltron 3030-inspired recipes from a small group of renowned chefs (see below). Invite some friends over, rock the album, drink the beer and whip up a multi-course meal. It's a house party in a box.
Positive Contact box sets will be released in May throughout Dogfish Head's distribution network, in accordance with local and state laws. Stay tuned.
For more information on the beer Positive Contact, contact Sam Calagione at sam@dogfish.com. For more information on Deltron 3030, contact Toni Isabella at peafacegirl@yahoo.com.
Participating 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
Frdric 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