MILTON, Del. — Jeff Gordon may as well have been any average sports fan, sliding up to the bar and ordering a beer.
But for a guy who has mastered winemaking as well as he has winning races, Gordon needed a remedial course on the finer points of handling a cold one.
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"Do you smell the beer like you do with wine," Gordon asked.
He raised the glass to his nose, inhaled the fruity complexity and pungent hoppiness of a Dogfish Head 61, and started to drink.
One sip turned into two sips. And with a few more swigs, Gordon was suddenly the Delaware version of TV barfly Norm Peterson.
"I could drink this all day," Gordon said, to the delight of the Dogfish Head staff.
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Gordon, who toured the brewery while promoting the Sept. 28 Chase race at Dover, has been soaked in champagne in victory lane three times this season. He's sipped wine from his private stock at Jeff Gordon Cellars.
After a personal tour of one of the top craft breweries in the business, Gordon was willing to make 24 stand for more than the number on his car — he could use a case of the good stuff to lug back to North Carolina.
"I think I have a new appreciation for a good beer," Gordon said, laughing.
Gordon has had plenty of hops in his step this year, enjoying a career renaissance with Hendrick Motorsports that has him with three wins and a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He's coming off a win Sunday at Michigan International Speedway that thrust him to the top of the points standings. Gordon, who fueled retirement talk at the Daytona 500, has backtracked from any thoughts about hanging up the helmet.
He looks every bit a title contender — and his cars are as stout as some of the dark, roasty and complex beers Dogfish stirs up.
"I feel like we're the best team," Gordon said Wednesday.
Gordon is again a contender to win this weekend at Bristol. He wins at Kansas and the Brickyard 400 to go along with Michigan. He has 91 career wins and his fantastic season has put 100 in sight.
"It's great to play a role in the results on Sundays and know my guys believe in me," he said.
He's again established himself as a top contender for the championship, and his first in the Chase era.
Retire? Maybe if his achy back finally gives out for him. But he expected to have a longer shelf life than any mass produced beer.
"I don't believe in retirement," Gordon said. "I believe in the next step in life."
Gordon brought wine from his private stock to the brewery, swapping some cabernet and chardonnay from 2007 (of his Ella label) and 2010s (of son, Leo) for some Delaware beer.
Gordon preferred the Namaste, a Belgian wit crafted with oranges, lemongrass, coriander and peppercorns.
Sounds good, especially after a victory. But Gordon wasn't ready to commit to home brewing quite yet.
''The beer business would have been fun to get into," Gordon said. "But I like wine."