Dogfish Head

Here are area finalists for 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, which will be announced Monday: OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT: Vetri. Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin, chefs/owners. OUTSTANDING WINE AND SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL: Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del. BEST CHEFS IN AMERICA: Michael Solomonov, Zahav. Also, Chef Vola’s, 111 S. Albion Place, Atlantic City, has won the American Classics award. The restaurant is owned by Louise Esposito, Michael Esposito, Michael Esposito Jr. and Louis Esposito.

The summer of 2013 pop-music schedule at the Jersey Shore is not quite so star-studded as last year. Atlantic City got a boost in 2012 with Beyoncé christening the then-brand-new Revel casino. Bader Field hosted Metallica's Orion music festival, which has moved on to Detroit, another town seeking revitalization via rock. Still, there will be plenty of marquee names playing down the Shore this season: Willie Nelson, Mary J. Blige, Ke$ha, Sting, Pitbull, B.B. King, Steely Dan, and, yes, Beyoncé are all coming to Atlantic City between now and Labor Day. Outside the orbit of the gambling town, there's noteworthy action, ranging from farther up the Garden State Parkway in Asbury Park, to Dover, Del., where the second Firefly Music Festival will set up shop in June on the way to the beaches of Delaware Bay. Things start to kick into gear Memorial Day weekend in Atlantic City, with Southside Johnny at the House of Blues on May 24 and Mary J. Blige at Caesars on May 25-26.

REGIONAL DISTILLERIES They aren't brewing moonshine, but professional distillers in and around Philadelphia are crafting a variety of products. Here's a sampling. Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats 320 Rehoboth Ave. Rehoboth Beach, Del. 302-226-5771 Products: Restaurant and distillery making Jin gin, Blue Hen Vodka (plus a variety of flavored vodkas) and Brown Honey Rum, Wit Spiced Rhum and White Light Rum. Philadelphia Distilling 12285 McNulty Road, No. 105 215-671-0346 Products: Bluecoat American Dry Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe Supérieure and Penn 1681 Rye Vodka.

Only six more drinking days until Christmas. That means you'll have to double up on Joe Sixpack's annual 12 Beers of Christmas. Cooked up by happy brewers as a gift to beer fans, these holiday beers typically contain added malt and spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Each is a satisfying alternative to eggnog and hot toddies, perfect for a cozy evening in front of the fireplace or 'neath the mistletoe. Hurry to your local specialty beer store or tavern, because most will be gone by next month.

WHAT'S OLD is brew again. From heather to pomegranate, unusual ingredients that were common in beer 1,000 years ago are making their way back into the modern brew kettle, thanks to a quirky new wave of experimentation by small brewers. Through academic research and consultation of dusty texts, these brewers are producing a stunning variety of unusually flavored ales that were - until recently - virtually extinct. The oddest, undoubtedly, is Dogfish Head Chicha , brewed this summer with purple maize that founder Sam Calagione and his staff chewed into mush, spit out and dried.

Quenching Brooklyn spirits Between its obsession for local, artisanal products and the borough's unquenchable thirst, it's no surprise Brooklyn has plunged deep into craft spirits, with eight distilleries opening in just the last 21/2 years. The tiny but mighty liquor store called Dry Dock in Red Hook (next to Fairway) is a prime destination for bottles from them all. Try a flask of this "white lightning" from Kings County Distillery, the borough's first, in a white Manhattan (see recipe on F4 )

Exotic Italian ales are the hottest new trend in craft beer. Turns out it's actually an old one, too - about 2,800 years old. That's the age of drinking vessels unearthed from Etruscan tombs and analyzed for trace ingredients by Pat McGovern, the molecular archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum who's been a frequent collaborator on reimagining such "Ancient Ales" with Dogfish Head Brewery's Sam Calagione. Birra Etrusca is the spectacular result of their recent jaunt, a recipe collaboration with Italian brewers Baladin and Birra del Borgo.

The SS Dogfish, to most casual observers, is little more than a red rubber dinghy. And despite the bright spring sunshine that beamed down upon the Lewes Canal near the Delaware shore, it was still rather waterlogged with rain. To Dogfish Head brewer Sam Calagione, however, whose new book, Brewing Up a Business (Wiley, $24.95), details his unorthodox entrepreneurial rise, great journeys have always begun in tiny wet vessels. And this boat, docked just outside his Brewmaster's Suite at the Inn at Canal Square, was poised for a cruise to the farthest ends of his growing empire of beer.

Craft beers are blooming in the Philadelphia region, giving hops-heads craving big flavors plenty to get excited about. Ten small breweries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware earned spots on a recent list of the 100 best in the world. Pennsylvania had five in the ranking by RateBeer.com, third behind California, with 10, and Michigan, with seven. "I think eastern Pennsylvania is the best place in the United States to be a beer drinker right now," said Brian O'Reilly, brewmaster at Sly Fox Brewhouse, which came in 54th and has locations in Phoenixville and Royersford.

In a city where residents sport sweatpants in public with pride, the crowd at Brew Works Pajama Jammy Jam Brunch Party on Saturday appeared remarkably well-groomed. That's Philly Beer Week for you. More than 35,000 folks - some well-dressed, some not - are expected to flood the region for the fourth annual frothfest, which wraps up Sunday. Organizers say it is the largest celebration of its kind in the country. So it was a must for Beau Baden. The head brewer at Brew Works in Allentown, Baden, 40, arrived at the Pajama Jam - held at City Tap House in West Philadelphia - with some of his more popular brews: Hop'solutely, Space Monkey saison, and Blueberry Belch.