Dogfish Head swims into the Grand Strand market; or, what I did at Mellow Mushroom last night

Today, I went to the Piggly Wiggly at The Market Common and bought a four-pack of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

I also saw Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, and Immort Ale, the first two of which I had tried the night before.

That's when I had chatted with Claus Hagelman, indie guru for Dogfish Head Brewery, at Mellow Mushroom about his company's beers and its move into the Myrtle Beach market. (I also talked with some of the Yahnis Co. guys, who will be distributing the Dogfish Head products in our area.)

The samples I tasted Monday evening blew my mind -- new favorites, and new respect for Dogfish Head.

I'll write about Dogfish Head's move into the Myrtle Beach market for the April 3 edition of the Weekly Surge, and I'll be blogging about these new-to-us brews in the upcoming days. Stick around and check back.

The Bruery's Saison de Lente and Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA, from Bodega in Conway

I had to file my column before I had a chance to review the two beers I mentioned, so I left a note saying I would offer my tasting notes on this blog.

Saison de Lente was light and very bubbly, almost a champaign in its pour and color. It reminded me of many lighter, Belgian-style beers. Pleasant, and worth the $10.99 for the big bottle.

Racer 5 IPA is my new favorite IPA. Imagine New Belgium's Fat Tire retooled for the IPA profile -- Racer 5 has that exquisite and rich malt profile along with the expected, and in this case, measured, hop presence of an IPA.

Two mugs up on both of these! One place to find them is Bodega in Conway. I also saw Racer 5 on tap at Myrtle Beach's Mellow Mushroom.