The Swill: Midas Touch Handcrafted Ancient Ale
The Still: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, Delaware
http://www.dogfish.com/
The Drill: Specialty Ale brewed with honey, saffron and muscat grapes, 12oz bottle, 9% ABV
The Spill: Based on a recipe that dates back some 2700 years, this brew claims to be inspired by the oldest known fermented beverage in human history. The same ingredients are used, and the barley/grape combination lands it somewhere inbetween beer and wine. The honey addition helps settle the debate closer to the mead side of things, both in taste and its somewhat sticky mouthfeel. It's not quite the syrupiness of a dessert wine, but as beers go, it may be the closest you'll get. At 9% alcohol, the strength of the beer is also a noticable flavor characteristic.
Says Bill: Picture a mead that wants to get you home and take your clothes off. It's tough to have more than one of these in a sitting, both because the taste is so intense, and because the alcohol will sneak up on you. It's a long-drinking beer, and one you shouldn't be afraid to let warm up as you go. Perhaps the best beer to offer to a wine snob who normally wouldn't touch anything with a bottle cap on it.
Refill?: This Midas may not turn everything it touches to gold, but enough of it could turn your liver into diamonds: 3.5 taps out of 5.