Earlier this month at the Brewers Association’s SAVOR event in Washington, D.C., attendees were treated to a variety of expertly prepared foods and a chance to try beers from around the country. In many cases those beers came from smaller breweries that do not have a large distribution network.

Sam Calagione, the brewer, beer impresario and president of the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Del., chose the occasion unveil the latest offering from the brewery: Bitches Brew, an imperial stout and honey beer hybrid.

Named after the Myles Davis album, Calagione calls this beer “the ultimate partner for chili or spicy curry chicken” that is best enjoyed “sipped cool, not cold.”

A buzz quickly spread throughout the National Building Museum, home to SAVOR, and soon patrons were lining up – 20 deep at one point – for their first taste poured by Calagione. As a result, long before last call, the last drop of Bitches Brew had been poured.

For Calagione, this album is a nod towards his brewing roots. He talks about living in New York City, just after college and listening to the Davis album around the time he started homebrewing.

“I listened to it when I was writing my Dogfish business plan. I wanted Dogfish Head to be a maniacally inventive and creative brewery, analog beer for the digital age,” he says. “You could say that my dream was to have Dogfish Head, in some small way, stand for the same thing in the beer world that Bitches Brew stands for in the jazz world.”

The beer will be available around the same time that Legacy Recordings releases the 40th anniversary edition of the epic jazz record.

For those looking for an even deeper beer-jazz experience, there is Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale, from California’s North Coast Brewing Co., which has been on the market for a few years now. Proceeds from sales of that beer go towards the the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, a nonprofit education organization.

-- by John Holl

John Holl writes about craft beer and the culture of drinking. He
may be reached at johnholl@gmail.com.