The Beer Tap

Giving Thanks for Beer

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?  Work has been a 7 day a week thing up until the recent Thanksgiving holiday.  I've found time to drink a few beers along the way, but not the time to take notes and comment.  So when I traveled to Kentucky last weekend I was on a mission to taste a few new brews and get a post up.  All of my family always enjoys good food, wine, liquor, and beer when we get together for the holidays.  I knew I would have plenty of people to help me work through a number of large bottles and multi-packs.  However, I was worried that Kentucky, the home of Bourbon, might not offer the best craft/micro beer selection even if I was going to be in the larger city of Louisville.  Enter Liquor Barn to the rescue.  My brother and I walked into this behemoth of a store and I knew we had a good shot of finding a few new brews along with a couple of my favorites to share.  As one aunt called it when we got back to the house...Toys-R-Us for adults.  She was spot on with that analogy!  A row of imports and a row of crafts.  Stone, Dogfish, Avery, Flying Dog, and many more.  I loaded the cart with a mix of everything but focused on making sure I picked up a few that I knew would please.  Here's what we opened and tried through out the day:

• Avery Thirteen - A Weizen Dopplebock full of malt sweetness (22 oz)
• Avery Maharaja - An Imperial IPA jam packed with hops (22 oz)
• Bell's Double Cream Stout - One of my all time favorite stouts and a model for one of my own home brew recipes (6 pack bottles)
• Stone Arrogant Bastard - A beer that helped send me down the current path of beer obsession (22 oz)
• Stone IPA - Left over from a recent trip to see my mom, Refrigeration is a great thing! (6 pack)
• Flying Dog Woody Creek White - A Belgian-style I reviewed a while back that I knew several people would enjoy more than the larger beers above (6 pack bottles)
• Kentucky Bourbon Ale from Lexington Brewing Co - New and never tried, A little too mild in my opinion for a Bourbon beer, Balanced and drinkable with soft vanilla, oak and bourbon flavors but without any complexity from the beer (6 pack bottles)
• Dogfish Head Olde School Barley Wine - I was sold on the brewery and the 15% alcohol level, Something had to compete with all of the bourbon and scotch!  I did not check, but I believe that this was the most recent 2007 bottling. (4 pack bottles)

The Dogfish Head Olde School was a hit among those of use who prefer bigger beers or barrel-aged liquors.  Here are my notes on this gigantic brew fresh off a napkin from the dinner table:

• Appearance - Dark copper color, cloudy without much light passing through, Little to no head which quickly fades
• Aroma - Raisin, darker dried fruit sweetness, alcohol and some very subtle spice (cinnamon came to mind but I do not think that was right, no spice is listed as an ingredient)
• Taste - Begins with a big burst of malt and fruit flavors (orange on top of the dried fruits noticed in the aroma), Again some spice but I cannot be sure that was not the aroma playing tricks on my tongue, Alcohol hides at first coming through as warmth and lingering heat, As the beer warms the alcohol asserts itself much more aggressively, Bitterness apparent but without hop flavors, Less American-style barley wine and almost a huge old ale

After tasting I went back and read the label on the beer a little closer.  The text reveals a little more about the ingredients and purpose of this brew:

"Inspired by a tale of a cask doctor who brought sluggish ales back to life by suspending a fig in them. Brewed from 100% Maris Otter pale ale malt, a blend of fine hops and conditioned on dates and figs. User Instructions: open bottle, pour contents into two snifters. Enjoy. ALTERNATIVELY: Walk hand-in-neck with bottle into the middle of the woods. Use shovel to dig 2x2 hole three feet deep. Seal bottle in plastic bag. Place in hole and pack with dirt. Memorize location and leave. Return exactly one year later. Dig up bottle, open and enjoy."

I definitely agree that this beer needs some age before reaching its full potential.  I left my extra at my aunt and uncle's for them to enjoy so if you pick up a 4 pack send me a bottle or two.  Or throw a bottle in the cellar and let me know how they taste on down the road.  I think it will be worth the wait to see how Olde School mellows over time.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!  Guess that means holiday beers are hitting the shelves as I type.  Time to head back to the beer store.

Belgium by way of Brooklyn

On Friday, I finally had a chance to dig into some new beers.  I should have been writing about beer and music for the November Beer Blogging Friday, but I found myself wanting to do nothing more than relax and enjoy a beer.  I think the topic is a great one.  I almost always put my posts together with the assistance of iTunes.  Just one of those weeks!  So I reached into my fridge and pulled out a 750 mL Belgian-style offering from Brooklyn Brewery: Local 1.  For all the beer drinking I do, I have to admit that my knowledge and experience with Brooklyn is limited.  They have good distribution, but I always seemed to be in a place where they weren't. 

Most of my knowledge of Brooklyn Brewery is based only on my reading of Beer School and The Brewmaster's Table.  So when I saw this cool looking bottle and the name of the brewery, I made a marketer somewhere happy.  Brand equity meets "Ohhh....look at the pretty bottle".  Yep...a moment of weakness.  "Pretty" rarely gets me to buy a beer.  I think I'll have to put more of this purchase decision back on the brewery and their reputation. 

Here is the text from the bottle:

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we forge barley malt and hops from Germany, aromatic raw sugar from Mauritius and yeast from Belgium into our latest beer, Brooklyn Local 1. Behind the full golden color you'll find an alluring aroma, a dynamic complex of flavors. Belgian flair, Brooklyn fortitude and a dusting of our special yeast. To create this beer, we use the old technique of 100% bottle re-fermentation, a practice now rare even in Europe. It gives this beer a palate of unusual depth. Enjoy it locally or globally, as an aperitif or with your favorite dishes. It is particularly nice with spicy seafood and with fine cheeses.

A lot of verbiage and it sounds a little lofty, but exactly what I would expect based on The Brewmaster's Table.  Warning you now...my notes on the tasting won't follow the same style!

• Appearance - Cloudy, golden, bottle was sideways in my fridge so I stirred the "dusting" up off the bottom, thin head but still a creamy appearance
• Aroma -  Sweetness like you would get from an unrefined and darker sugar, pineapple with some citrus, spice
• Taste - Sweet but very well carbonated leading to a dry, spicy finish, strong Belgian-style flavors, alcohol noticeable especially as the beer warms up
• Food pairing - I was all out of spicy seafood so I opted for a turkey sandwich with a blend of 6 Italian cheeses fresh from a plastic bag (just a few steps above the Kraft stuff that comes in a can and sprinkles), The cheese brought out the alcohol and highlighted some bitterness and astringency in the finish (I can see how fine cheeses would be a good match.  I was fresh out of fine, though.)

Final verdict....a refreshing, balanced beer.  Not exactly middle of the road but certainly not overly aggressive.  Enjoyable yet a bit expensive for repeated purchase.  I think I'll seek out a few of their other beers before cycling back to Local 1.