Days of the Beer, December 9

The beer for today is Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra.

On December 9, 1608, John Milton was born. Milton was an English poet best know for his epic poem Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost was composed by Milton from 1658 to 1664. At the time he was blind, and the poem was dictated to several of his aides. Paradise Regained was published along with Samson Agonistes, in 1671.

Milton died November 8, 1674.

As to the beer:

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is located in Milton, Delaware. Their tasting room is open Tuesday - Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. They offer tours on those days at 3 on T,W,Th, and 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday. It's recommended to have reservations for the tour.

Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra was last released in March of 2007. It is currently listed as "On Hiatus" by Dogfish Head.

A bigger, bolder version of our Raison D'Etre.

This is a bulbous, brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, brown sugar and raisins.

This outstanding beer was 18% ABV (or higher). If you look around in the right places, you might be able to find a couple of bottles.

So, for the Birthday of Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost, see if you can find an out of production bottle of Raison D'Extra by the Milton brewery.

(I have 4 bottles in my cellar). (Kriddy and I toured the brewery on October 24).