Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale @ Long Room

Shelter Pale Ale was Dogfish Head's first brew, and they refer to it as their "most approachable." Adding to the allure, although this beer is brewed and available year-round, it is only sold in the mid-Atlantic coast. Well, that's no longer true, at least for the moment, as I had this in a regular-old Chicago tavern just the other day. Dogfish Head makes my all-time-favorite beer, the 90-minute IPA, so I'm usually game for trying every other variety that I can find. Unfortunately, I rarely like anything even half as much as 90-minute. This Shelter Pale Ale probably is among the better non-90-minute Dogfish beers (with 60-minute a close 3rd, but I'm anxious to try the 75-minute I saw on cask in Boston this past weekend (sold out, unfortunately)). It's not nearly as hoppy as the 60 or 90-minutes, but still has a good PA flavor. The aftertaste associated with the 90-minute is largely absent, which disappoints me, but pleases those who aren't huge IPA fans. It also has much less ABV, which can be nice at times. Overall, a solid effort, and pleasant were it more available. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though, especially if 90-minute is around.

B+

ABV: 5%; IBU: 30

Beer Advocate sez:

BA OVERALL  B- worthy w/ 397 Reviews THE BROS  C mediocre read more » rAvg: 3.36 High: A+ / 4.8 Low: D / 2.2 pDev: 12.8%