Savor Flowers: a strange mixed breed of beer

Savor flowers, indeed. The first thing you noticed when you uncork the beer is the fragrant aroma -- it's like walking into a florist and a farmer's market at the same time. Highly carbonated, this beer is like a cross between sparkling cider, ginger ale, and an India pale ale. We tasted everything from apples to roses to citrusy hops in this sweet, fruity brew.

Had we read the accompanying materials first, perhaps the beer wouldn't have surprised us so. Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione and Sam Adams founder Jim Koch created a rosewater base to make Savor Flowers. In addition to yeast, hops, and barley, they added dried lavender, hibiscus, jasmine, and rosebuds. And they used 30 pounds of a new hop breed, known as #369, that comes from the Yakima Valley region of Washington state. The result: a sipping beer -- more like a champagne, really -- that is unusual, experimental, and definitely interesting. Eight ounces was enough for me, and good thing: It's more than 10 percent alcohol.

By the way, if you had any thoughts of traveling to Savor this weekend so you can nab a bottle of Savor Flowers, forget about it: The festival is sold out.