Bottles of Barley

Cooking With Beer: Samuel Adams Beer Roasted Chicken

2010-09-07T08:41:00.001-04:00

Just in time for the release of Samuel Adams Octoberfest, a recipe from the Sam Adams website using the Octoberfest beer for roasted chicken. The recipe as it appears on the website:

Beer Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Samuel Adams® OctoberFest
3-4 pound chicken, cleaned of fat, rinsed, and patted dry
Juice of one lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
1 large clove garlic
1 tablespoon dried sage or thyme (for fresh sage, use 1 teaspoon)
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

Instructions

Rub chicken inside and out with lemon juice. Sprinkle inside with half the salt and pepper. With side of cleaver, mash garlic and remaining salt to form paste and mix with sage and butter. Carefully lift skin on each side of the chicken breast and push some of the mixture under. Rub the remaining mixture over the outside. Tie it up and place the chicken breast side down on well greased rack in a shallow pan. Pour Samuel Adams® OctoberFest into pan and place in 425 degrees F oven for 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with beer and pan drippings. Turn breast side up and roast 25 minutes, basting every 8 minutes. The juices should run clear when you puncture the skin at the thigh joint.

Remove from pan and place on a heated platter. Cover with foil and allow to rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with pan juices or make into gravy.

*****

And now the notes since I am incapable of following a recipe exactly...

I used a package of bone-in chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.
I added a bit of rosemary at my wife's suggestion.
I used a bottle of Samuel Adams Double Bock in lieu of an Octoberfest.

Other than that, the recipe went off without a hitch. I did not use the dripping for gravy but in retrospect, that sounds like a good idea. The chicken turned out moist and flavorful and I served it with some broccoli rice and steamed vegetables.

Beer at the Ballpark: Camden Yards, Baltimore

2010-09-02T22:57:00.002-04:00

Baltimore has a long brewing tradition and Camden Yards makes a small nod to that by offering "Old Line Microbrew" kiosks offering better beer throughout the ballpark. There are two kiosks of this type on the main concourse and I spotted one way up in the concourse for the cheap seats; they are all basically the same. They offer local brews in the form of Heavy Seas Classic Lager, Falmouth Copper Ale, Flying Dog Old Scratch IPA and the imported Heineken. At some of these kiosks the selection is expanded to include Guinness, Smithwick's and Harp lager.

The prices are steep, $7.50 for a 16oz pour but considering the park is charging $7.25 for 16oz of Bud Light, it's a relative value. There is also a Blue Moon kiosk on the main concourse behind the home plate area, same price and a better option than Miller Lite.

In the luxury box section there are taps for Stella Artois and Samuel Adams Boston Lager at the various bars.

There are a lot of great beers brewed in Baltimore and Maryland in general and it would be great to see more of them represented at the park but there are some quality brews to choose from.

Now, if you are looking for a great beer experience before (or after) the game, just a block from the stadium is the Pratt Street Alehouse, specializing in English-style ales including three varieties on cask. The prices are good, the beer is great and its proximity to the ballpark make it a must stop if you are a lover of fine ale.

Coaster: Duvel

2010-08-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

Still one of my favorite beers of all time, I picked up this Duvel coaster in Belgium as the dual Flemish/French tag line gives away. Roughly translated, "Shhh...here we serve ourselves Duvel." It's a play on the slogan on the outside of the Moortgat brewery in Breedonk, "Shhh....here rests the Duvel."

Tasting Notes: Lancaster Kolsch

2010-08-30T07:37:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Lancaster Brewing Company
Style: Kolsch
ABV: 4.8%
Date Poured: August 2010

Tasting notes from the growler of kolsch I picked up fresh from the Lancaster Brewing Company brewpub/restaurant in Harrisburg, PA.

Pours a lustrous golden yellow with a generous frothy snowy white head. Smells strongly of noble hops, grassy and herbal. Some sweet pale malt present as well.

Crisp and light. The grassy hops take over quickly and add to the wonderful crispness and lightness of this beer. Just a hint of biscuity malt and lemony citrus. It's a refreshing ale and perfect for a hot summer day. According to the brewery's website, it's available in cans too, a point in its favor.

Great little summer beer, even better fresh from the brewery (I'd imagine...).

Lancaster Brewing Company

Beer Travel: GrowlerQuest 2010! (Part 2)

2010-08-18T13:02:00.000-04:00

On our way back through Harrisburg, heading west, I navigated a tangle of junctions for Interstates 83, 283 and state road 322 to reach the Lancaster Brewing Company, a restaurant bar that serves all the offerings from this brewery. I am a big fan of their Milk Stout but has not had a chance to try any of their other offerings. I went in, was directed back to the bar area and promptly was given a few samples.

Now, this was early July when the entire US east coast was sweltering through a heat wave. And coming in out of that 100+ degree heat, the Milk Stout, IPA and even the Hefeweizen all paled in comparison to the Lancaster Kolsch. It was crisp and lightly sweet with a wonderful flowery hop aroma. It was just what the doctor ordered. I ordered up a screw top growler full, paid the barkeep and moved on.

LBC of Harrisburg was a homey little restaurant and bar whose menu tries to skew to the upscale side of the normal pub fare. I'll have to get back here for a fuller experience.

As always, tasting notes to follow...

Cooking With Beer: Samuel Adams Pale Ale Corn Bread

2010-08-16T14:40:00.000-04:00

No, this is not the most complicated recipe but I am, in fact, the world's worst baker. So this recipe seemed about my speed. Here it is, from the Samuel Adams website:

Pale Ale Corn Bread

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Samuel Adams® Pale Ale or Samuel Adams® Summer Ale
2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven at 350. Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Now the notes...

I was fresh out of pale ale, Samuel Adams or otherwise. I substituted a bottle of Rogue Brutal Bitter.
The recipe does not specify what kind of flour. I used 100% whole wheat flour which will have an affect on the bread later.
I used cornmeal from the (relatively) local Nora Mill located in Helen, GA.
Since I am the world's worst baker, I don't have a loaf pan. I went with a 9" pan I have used for corn bread in the past.

Basically, combine the ingredients...

Pour it into the pan...

And bake. I made this as a side for a pork loin I barbecued on my charcoal grill with potatoes and peppers. I decided to have a Sea Dog India Pale Ale, a malty, English-style IPA from Maine.

Because of the wheat flour, the bread didn't have the classic yellow/golden brown color of normal corn bread but it tasted good just the same. We're calling it a success but next time I'll try it with white flour.

Beer Travel: GrowlerQuest 2010! (Part 1)

2010-07-20T14:10:00.007-04:00

Back from vacation and, as I am wont to do, managed to squeeze in a bit of beer hunting during the break. Since we were going to be spending plenty of time in Pennsylvania, I decided to focus on getting some fresh growlers from some PA breweries. Georgia law prohibits growler sales and I miss my days in Maine when I could just drive down the road and get a refill from my favorite local brewery. So growlers it was!

The first stop would be at Tröegs Brewery in Harrisburg, PA. I have had my big 2-liter German-style Troegs growler for more than 6 years now and filled it often when I would pass through town but haven't had a chance to use it since this trip nearly three years ago.

I arrived during the mid-afternoon so the place was pretty empty. The first thing I noticed was the expansion of the hospitality area as there were now tables to sit and enjoy samples but an expanded store as well. But more importantly, the taps were in the same spot...so I headed over to the taps to get my growler filled.

I perused the list of beer on draft and noticed one I did not recognize. I asked what "Mouflan" was. "That's a barleywine," said the barkeep. "I'll take it," I replied.

$15 filled my growler with Flying Mouflan, a relatively new offering from Tröegs, hopped with Chinook, Warrior, Nugget and Simcoe and weighing in at 9.3% ABV. How on earth I will be able to finish a growler of such a beast in the appropriate time is beyond me. Obviously, I will have to share.

There were lots of barrels stacked in the brewery, obviously an expansion of earlier experiments involving adding wild yeasts to standard brews and barrel aging them.

Tasting notes to follow...

Coaster: Samuel Adams

2010-07-01T10:58:00.000-04:00

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Boston Beer Company, I dug up one of these old Sam Adams coaster from the mid-90's. As you can see, the logo still shows the original stoic Sam Adams instead of the current "Party Patriot" that they use today. I probably got this from one of the Sam Adams airport pubs which were in their infancy at the time and kind of novel. Now, they are all over.

On the other side, there were various listings of awards won by the famous Boston Lager.

Beer at the Ballpark: Turner Field, Atlanta, GA

2010-06-29T15:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I never thought of this before. I love baseball, I love beer...but I have trouble finding the good beer at the ballpark.

Lots of times it's not available at all but a lot of time it is there...just hidden unless you're looking for it. So here's the first installment; where the best beer is at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia.

Most of the beer at Turner Field is as you would imagine it; Budweiser and Miller are the staples, usually in cans, sometimes on draft. Scattered in various concessions, you may find some bottles of Blue Moon, Stella Artois or Pilsner Urquell but these appear without rhyme or reason.

The place to go in the Terrace Level of the stadium, to either outlet of the Tomahawk Tavern. There is one near Section 233 on the northeast side and one near Section 222 on the northwest side. Both offer a decent selection of bottled and draft beers. In bottles, there is Abita Purple Haze, Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Light, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pilsner Urquell and Guinness Draught in cans. On draft is Sweetwater 420, Blue Moon, Sam Adams Lager and Tomahawk Amber Lager (a crafty-type amber brewed by Budweiser).

On this particular scorcher of a night, I opted for something lighter and went with Blue Moon. At $6 for bottles and $7 for a draft, these beers are relative bargains compared to what you have to pay for Bud or Miller Light.

The Bottom Line
Location: Terrace Level, two locations near Section 222 and Section 233
Highlights: Sweetwater 420 (draft), Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Prices: $6 for premium bottles, $7 for 16 oz. drafts

Southern Beer News: 6/28

2010-06-28T10:32:00.000-04:00

The big news in the Atlanta metro area today is that the excellent Brick Store Pub is tapping the first colloboration beer between Terrapin Beer and De Proefbrouwerij today at 5:00 PM. The beer is described as an Imperial Flanders Red and is reported to be released to distributors on July 15th.

In other beer release news, beers from the 21st Amendment Brewery, based in San Francisco, began appearing on store shelves late last week. Cans of Hell or High Watermelon Wheat and Brew Free or Die are now all over the Atlanta metro area and the addition of more good canned beer to the mix is welcome indeed.

This is not new but Sweetwater has introduced a new year-round brew call Sch'Wheat. Billed as an unfiltered American wheat, it screams boring and probably won't appeal to me. But I'll have to try it at least once. The beer launched on June 1st.

The 3rd Annual Capital Ale House Virginia Beer Festival will be held from noon- 11:00 pm at their Midlothian restaurant on Saturday, July 3rd. Craft breweries from all over the state and live music all day.

Cooking with Beer: Arrogant Prawn Gumbo

2010-06-24T10:33:00.000-04:00

Here's a recipe I got from Beer Advocate magazine. (You can subscribe here...) It's almost worth the subscription price for the recipes alone.

The ingredients:

1 qt chicken stock
2 lb prawns
22 oz of Arrogant Bastard

4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 ea andouille-style sausage, sliced
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 ea yellow, red and green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-6 tbsp Cajun spice blend
2 bay leaves
1 jalepeno pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
3 cups rice
3 green onions sliced thin

Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, add the chicken stock, the shells from the prawn and the Arrogant Bastard. Simmer 30 minutes.

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Add the sliced sausage and and stir until the meat has browned. Remove the sausage and set aside.

Add the flour to the oil and whisk to a loose paste. Turn the heat to low and brown the roux for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the onions, peppers and celery and saute until vegetables are fully cooked, about 15 minutes. Add some of the Cajun spice. Then add the bay leaves, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes.Add hot sauce and strained stock Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add the sausage and Cajun spice to taste. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the prawns. Bring back to a boil, then remove from heat and cover, letting sit for 5 minutes.

Serve over rice, garnished with green onions.

A few notes:

* I didn't use andouille, I used a locally produced hot link sausage.
* I didn't use yellow onion...this is Georgia. Vidalia, of course.
* I made my own Cajun seasoning from spices on hand
* No Dutch Oven (yet) so I used the heaviest stainless steel pans I could muster.

After I was done cooking, I went to get an IPA to have with the meal...but could find none in my fridge. I had forgotten to check what I had on hand and had assumed that I had some on hand (as I usually do).

So I hit the beer closet to see what I had on deck and got lucky...a bomber of Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, which had the body and bitter hops to stand up to this hearty gumbo.

The recipe was a good one. I had never prepared the stock, or the roux for that matter, in such a deliberate way and it seemed to make a world of difference. I was thick, hearty, spicy and more complex tasting than any gumbo I've ever made before. It's a lot of work but I'll definitely be using this recipe again.

Bottles of Barley: The Reboot

2010-06-22T15:32:00.000-04:00

It's time to reboot the blog!

Not in a design sense (at least not yet) but in focus and content. I started this blog around the planning and chronicling of a beer trip to Belgium. That thrust kept things going for awhile. But that trip was almost two years ago and the blog has lost focus and steam. Big time.

My other blog serves as therapy and for some reason the loose structure works and allows my mind to travel where it will go. Over here though, the lack of structure is strangling whatever momentum I had going.

So here's the bit of structure I am proposing to get the blog back on track:

Tasting Notes - once a week: When I tend to get back to blogging, Tasting Notes tend to be what I fall back on. And they get monotonous, for me and for you I'd imagine. One and only one per week.

Local/Regional Beer News - once a week: To help keep the readers and myself more plugged in to the Atlanta/Southeastern beer scene.

Coasters/Breweriana - 3-5 times a month: I have a ton of coasters as well as other pieces of breweriana. I'll be posting pictures of those a few times a month.

Out of the Cellar - twice a month: I have a lot of beers in my cellar. I think I can afford to drink 24 bottles a year. Time to get tasting.

Cooking with Beer - twice a month: These posts are relatively new but I like them a lot. Need to do this more, even if it's a simple recipe.

Beer Hunting/Beer Travel - once a month: These are the posts I love the most. I need to find ways to get more of these done.

The Session - more!: I need to participate in The Session more. Get the juices flowing.

That's something like 17 posts a month which is ambitious for me but it's a good target to get things moving.

I'll start this next week. Here's to beer!

Beer Travel: Kickbacks Gastropub, Jacksonville, FL

2010-06-21T11:54:00.002-04:00

I headed down to Jacksonville, Florida this past weekend and, as I am want, tried to find a place to have a good pint with dinner. I succeeded.

I found Kickbacks Gastropub in the old historic district of Jacksonville. It's a bit of a contradiction. At first glance, it looks like a typical dive bar but boasts 60 taps and an extensive bottle list. It is filled with flat screen TVs but blasts loud music instead of the game. You wouldn't expect to be able to get much more than pub fare or a burger for food but they have quite the gourmet menu (at least, that's what they shoot for).

One of the first things you notice is the large board with neon writing on it that details the 60 taps available that evening. I decided to get a draft of Terrapin Oak Aged Wake N' Bake and figure out what to eat. The server was prompt, attentive and knew his beer. We talked about the beers he had on tap and he brought me out the extensive bottle list too.

I decided to go with The Harpoons; skewers of broiled bacon-wrapped shrimp and scallops and they were served with steamed broccoli and fried onion chips. They were very good, much better than most pub food I have had. Was it fantastic? No but they are aiming high and it's damn good...especially when you consider all the good beer.

The Terrapin Oak Aged Wake N Bake was very good. I usually don't think that oak aging stouts works that well but this one turned out pretty well. It doesn't really improve the beer any but it does make for some pleasant differences.The oak aging adds some nice dark fruit notes to the stout but doesn't overpower the roasty coffee flavors that make the beer so great.

I chatted with the server about a good local beer to try and he suggested something from Cigar City Brewing. Cigar City is based in Tampa and started brewing in 2008. I decided to try the Jai Alai IPA. And it was a good choice. It's well-balanced but with strong citrusy hop profile. Orange, grapefruit and apricot with a bready malt backbone. The website says it weighs in at 7.5%...really tasty and smooth even at that strength. I was impressed. (Between Cigar City and Saint Somewhere, I may have to revamp my entire thinking of what Florida breweries are capable of...)

Only one point of feedback...the draft beer list. It's on a couple of greaseboards (see the fist picture) and the writing is so small I had to get up and walk over to the list to read what was there. Maybe I'm just getting old. Or they could invest in a couple big chalkboards so you can read it from across the pub.

Kickbacks Gastropub is the best beer bar in Jacksonville. I wish this place had been open when I live here.

A couple beer sidenotes from the rest of the trip...

Stopped out by Singleton's Seafood Shack in Mayport as I always do. Even straight out of a bottle, Sam Adams Boston Lager goes great with fresh seafood.

Out at the The Baseball Grounds in Jacksonville, the European Street Cafe runs a "Biergarten" where you can get good beer while you watch the Jacksonville Suns play ball, which is always welcome.

Tasting Notes: Lancaster Milk Stout

2010-06-07T07:18:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Lancaster Brewing Company
Style: Milk Stout
ABV: 5.3%
Date Poured: April 2010

First has this a couple years back while stranded in Philadelphia International Airport. It was in a little airport bar, on draft, and was the highlight of my extended stay in the The City of Brotherly Love. I found this bottle...actually I don't remember where I got this beer but it was most likely either on a recent trip through the Carolinas or a recent trip to Sarasota. I wanted to revisit it and see if the bottled version holds up the the draft.

Pours an opaque brown with hints of mahogany highlights about the edges, topped by a thin creamy (but persistent) brown head. Smells prominently of roasted barley with a milkiness (or lactose) providing the background for the mocha-like aroma.

In the mouth, the lactose and creaminess are very up front in this beer but with an underlying (yet balancing) coffee-like bitterness. It certainly sweet but the roasty bitterness makes itself known. The bitterness especially is prominent in the aftertaste, long and lingering. There's just a touch of dark fruit in there too. Mouth is smooth and creamy, making it easy to drink. It's nicely balanced, well crafted and tasty.

It doesn't blow me away like it did on draft but it is still really good from the bottle. A fine example of a milk/cream stout if you're looking to try one.

Lancaster Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Konig Ludwig Weiss

2010-06-03T16:45:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Konig Ludwig International
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.5%
Date Poured: April 2010

It's summer in Atlanta again so it's time to crack open some wheat beers. I have managed to find a German hefeweizen that I have never sampled before, Konig Ludwig Weiss. This beer is produced by a Bavarian brewery literally owned by Bavarian royalty as the company is headed by Prinz Luitpold von Bayern. I would expect this to be pretty traditional.

The very hazy body is the color of straw with a modest, frothy head. Smells of clove, lightly of honey and some lemon. There's just a touch of ripe banana back there too.

Lots of lemon and clove in the mouth. Sweet and bready, but muted, wheat malt. A bit sour. Some peppery spice in there too. I am searching for the ripe banana but find none. Crisp and fizzy, clean finish.

It's a good refreshing hefeweizen. It doesn't rank among my favorites (I think Paulaner still makes my favorite hefe) but it's certainly worth a try.

Konig Ludwig International

Tasting Notes: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

2010-06-01T16:08:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.8%
Date Poured: April 2010

I picked this one up on a trip through North Carolina a few weeks back. I should clarify; I picked up a full six-pack, not just one. I've had this during a couple trips to Cleveland and have enjoyed it. Haven't tried it in more than two years so I was curious to see if I still love it.

Pours opaque brown with enormous frothy brown head. Lots of thick lacing. Some coffee notes in the nose with a light milk chocolate aroma and a hint of roastiness.

Creamy mouth, equal parts bitter coffee, roastiness and milk chocolate smooth and luscious

Alternately dry and sweet maltiness up front. Morphs into strong roasted coffee bean flavors. This is like porter's greatest hits. Smoky, sweet, creamy and bitter. Coffee and milk chocolate and damn smooth. It has it all. Really like this creamy mouthfeel, it's just so luscious. Roasty, mocha flavor in the finish that linger through the aftertaste. Easy drinker but full of flavor.

It's still very, very good and I look forward to working my way through the rest of the sixer. One of the best porters in the country. A bold statement but I think the beer merits the title.

Great Lakes Brewing Company

Cooking with Beer: Guinness Cake

2010-04-07T18:37:00.007-04:00

With time and money too short for brewing and road trips on the back burner, I decided I would start cooking with beer a bit more to sharpen my skills and see what I could create.

This recipe comes from the NPR website and goes like this:

Cake
1 cup Guinness (or other stout)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder*
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (make sure it's less than 6 months old for maximum leavening power)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Icing
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, place a round of parchment paper on the bottom and butter it, then flour the pan.

Cake
Place the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Whisk in cocoa powder until mixture is smooth.

Thoroughly combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream until well-blended. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed.

Finish mixing by folding batter with a spatula until completely combined. Pour batter in the springform pan and bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Place cake on a rack and cool for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and cool completely.

Icing
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Add cream and vanilla and mix. Spread icing on top of cake to echo the appearance of a glass of Guinness and its head of foam.

Now a few notes...

The recipe didn't specify what variety of Guinness so I went with the more popular Guinness Draft from the can over the Guinness Extra Stout from the bottle.
My cake pan is nowhere near deep enough. I had extra batter and my cake still spilled a bit as it rose and then burned on the bottom of my oven.
There may be nothing so decadent as sticks of butter simmering in stout. Observe:

Overall, I'll call it a success. I am not a fan of cream cheese icing but it did turn out quite well. The wife and kids enjoyed it even more than I did. I'm a lousy baker but this turned out as well as could be expected.

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 12: Trader Joe's Vintage 2009

2010-01-08T17:25:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Trader Joe's Brewing Company/Unibroue
Style: Strong Belgian Ale
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: January 2009

Sure, this is sold at Trader Joe's and marketed under the Trader Joe's Brewing moniker but the cork cage features the familiar purple "U" that signifies that this beer comes from the great Unibroue brewery. So let's pop the cork and enjoy some Quebecois "ale sur lees".

Pours a deep opaque brown, damn near black, with the signature Unibroue "voluminous head of froth". Lots of yeasty and dark fruity aromas. Raisins, black currant and a breadiness in the nose.

In the mouth, rich dark fruit, really big and deep, dark fruity flavors. So fruity and so luscious and vinous. Raspberry, black currant, ripe plum...bready too. Thick but smooth with just a hint of warming alcohol. Not too sticky in the finish though, the alcohol cleans the palate just enough to keep it from being overly cloying.

If this is not just a rebottled version of Unibroue's Trois Pistoles, it's a variation on the theme. And at $4.99 a bottle, that's a great value for a very cellarable beer. My other bottle joins my cellar collection today and I need to get out to TJ's to grab another couple bottles.

Unibroue

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 11: Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza Special Ale

2010-01-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

Brewery: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI
Style: Belgian Kerstbier (?)
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

Popping the cork on this bottle reveals a foamer. Foam pours steadily out for many minutes in the sink. Pours a dark opaque brown with a enormous lacy froth on top. I have to wait a few minutes before I can even dip my nose in it. Yeasty and fruity in the nose, some vanilla and sweet spice...clove?

Ooof! In the mouth, it's an explosion of spice, yeast, ripe grapes, alcohol, baked apples, spiced pears and vanilla. Some wine-y flavors, sweet spice, maybe clove, some caramel and toffee flavors way back there too. There's a cidery character and easy to drink considering the complexity and ABV. As it warms, there a rum flavor...or maybe whiskey. No, it's a rummy flavor for sure. Like rum soaked raisins. Long fruity finish and aftertaste.

It's a Belgian-styled wonder of a Christmas ale. Exquisite and highly recommended.

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 10: Dominion Baltic Porter

2009-12-31T12:19:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Old Dominion Brewing Co., Dover, DE
Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 6.8%
Date Poured: December 2009

I had a version of this beer about six years ago and although it was good, I haven't had it since. This is mostly because I could not easily get Dominion offerings where I lived but when I saw this at my local bottle shop, I had to grab one.

Pours black as night with a thin brown head that quickly evaporates to nothing at all. Smells of roasty malt, mixed with dark fruit and a just hint of smoke.

No surprises in the mouth as it reflects the nose almost perfectly. Roasty and dark fruit (raisiny) with a fairly chewy body but creamy as well. The roasted malt and fruit mix nicely and the creamy texture makes it go down smooth. The alcohol sneaks up on you a bit since there's nary a hint of booziness. Creamy, mocha-like finish and a lingering roastiness in the aftertaste.

It's as straightforward as a Baltic Porter can be, balanced the fruitiness and the roastiness well and is smooth as velvet. What's not to like? Six years is a long time to wait between samples...but I think they have improved the recipe since then

Old Dominion Brewing

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 9: Stone/Nogne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Holiday Ale

2009-12-30T20:03:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Stone Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Nøgne Ø
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

Here's a unique brew. What do you get when Stone, Nøgne Ø and Jolly Pumpkin get together to brew a holiday ale? You get a 9.0% ABV behemoth brewed with 25% rye malt, white sage, juniper berries, caraway seed and chestnuts. Chestnuts! According to the Stone website, this ale was brewed just once for the 2008 holiday season so I guess I'm lucky to have found some.

It's murky brown in the glass and a thinnish but creamy tan head.Smells very Stone-y if you know what I mean. The malt smells very much like Arrogant Bastard. Big bitter hops with some citrusy hops underneath. Hint of alcohol.

Definitely some alcohol in the mouth, spicy, fruity with a pronounced juniper berry quality adding bitterness, Big bruising malt profile. I mean, this must be hopped but I am having a hard time telling if it's the juniper or some other form of bittering being used.. Again, spicy in the finish, must be the sage. I suppose there's a nutty quality to this ale form the chestnuts but I'd be hard pressed to detect it if I didn't know it was in there. Biug sticky mouthfeel. It a liquid meal.

Very unique ale, very tasty and very well suited for winter. I doubt I can find any more...but I'll keep my eyes open.

Stone Brewing

Nøgne Ø

Jolly Pumpkin

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 8: Bell's Winter White Ale

2009-12-29T14:02:00.005-05:00

Brewery: Bell's Brewery
Style: Belgian Witbier
ABV: 5.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

A nasty little illness put my beer drinking on hiatus over the holidays. But the beer's been bought and I'm no quitter! That beer's not going to drink itself so I'm finishing the series heading into the New Year!

Next up is Bell's Winter White. Bell's is new to the Georgia market in 2009 and while I wouldn't think of a witbier as a winter seasonal, it is brewed with orange peel and coriander so in a weird way it works.

Luminous golden color with a snow-white froth. Smell is predictable spicy with clove and coriander present, a touch of bitter citrus and sweet, grainy wheat malt.

Again, spicy in the mouth. Coriander, clove and some other peppery spices. Sweetish finish, nice wheat character. Some muted fruitiness, green apples and pear.

A better white ale than most American versions I have tried. Spicy and lively, easy to drink and, although not a true winter beer, a really tasty ale.

Bell Brewery

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 7: Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

2009-12-20T07:35:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery, Akron, OH
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.6%
Date Poured: December 2009

Hoppin' Frog Brewery is a small brewery in Akron, Ohio that is most famous for their B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout. That beer is amazing. This is the second beer I've had from this brewery and, again, this was once I was really looking forward too. The bottle for Frosted Frog says this ale is brewed with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

It pours clear but dark mahogany and the head is almost non-existent. Now the first whifff...man, they weren't kidding about the spices. Strong cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the nose. A bit of fruity malt in there too.

The spice dominates the flavor as well. Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg throughout. It's like drinking a gingerbread cookie, bready, spicy and a tinge of alcohol. A sweet fruity malt backbone but, again, the spices dominate. Not overpowering though, the ale remains pleasant to drink. Sweet spice in the finish.

Unusual and tasty spiced ale. It's a "Wow!" beer for sure.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 6: Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

2009-12-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.9%
Date Poured: December 2009

I've heard a lot about Anderson Valley over the years and was looking forward to trying their seasonal offering. Again, I found a bottle in Maryland and brought it home for a sample.

The color is hazy reddish orange with a wisp thin khaki head. Smells of caramel, sweet spice and lightly fruity in the nose. Apricot, orange rind and juicy grapefruit from the hops.

The first thing you notice in the mouth is that the body is kind of chewy. Lots of caramel. Nice mouthfeel with a nice fruity finish. Some light spice, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon. Some light citrusy hops in the finish, some orange rind and apricot. amber ale. Nice finish and sweetish aftertaste.

Imagine an amber ale with a bit more "oomph". That's a basic overview of this ale and it seems a wee bit lacking for a winter warmer at first blush. But it's well crafted, the mouthfeel is nice and if you just let your tastebuds take over, it really is a fine ale to sip while sitting by the fire.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 5: Alvinne Gaspar

2009-12-18T07:52:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Picobrouwerij Alvinne, Belgium
Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 8%
Date Poured: December 2009

I'm not 100% sure that this is meant to be a Christmas beer but I'm taking the Three Wise Men on the label as a sign that it is. The label claims that it is one of the hoppiest beers in Belgium, hopped with Hallertau, Goldings and Saaz.

The body is a lightly hazy copper in color and upon even a gentle pour grows an enormous, billowing white head that leaves a thick sheet of lace on the glass. Yeasty fruitiness in the nose, with apples, muscat grapes and ripe pear interspersed with a peppery spice.

The first taste reveals three competing major flavors: bitter, boozy and fruity. These major themes blend for various combinations throughout the glass of beer. Bright fruit (apples, pears, etc), herbal and citrusy hops, sweet rich malt and some understated alcohol flavors with a bit of warming in the mouth. Medium bodied with a finish that's more bitter than sweet.

Is this the hoppiest beer in Belgium. No way. I like Belgian IPAs and Urthel Hop It and Houblon Chouffe are hoppier in the same style and, off the top of my head, Westvleteren 6 is a hoppier golden ale. But Gaspar is still a pretty tasty beer.

Picobrouwerij Alvinne

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 4: Troegs Mad Elf Ale

2009-12-17T07:11:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Troegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA
Style:Strong Belgian Ale (?)
ABV: 11%
Date Poured: December 2009

This is one of the craziest Christmas beers you'll ever come across. It's ruby red, brewed with cherries and Pennsylvania honey, uses a "spicy" Belgian yeast and hopped with the "noblest" of hops, hallertau and saaz. It's an odd concoction that somehow works. I haven't had this beer is years but when I came across it during a recent trip to Maryland, I picked up a bomber.

It's a crystal clear ruby red in the glass with a thinnish ivory colored head. Fruity aromas, honey and ripe cherry. Also smells boozy and oaky.

As you might expect, lots more cherry in the mouth. Very, very sweet. The honey is quite present. Just a touch of tartness fromt he cherries. Sweet spice in the finish, herbal hops in the aftertaste, detectable but faint. Big beer and sticky mouthfeel but the alcohol and the hops clean just enough away in the finish to keep it from being cloying.

It's truly original and, more importantly, really tasty. I wish that I could get it more often.

Troegs Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 3: Scaldis Noel

2009-12-16T07:12:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Brasserie Dubuisson, Belgium
Style: Strong Belgian Ale
ABV: 12%
Date Poured: December 2009

This one is called Bush Noel in its country of origin and Scaldis elsewhere due to copyright laws.

It pours a murky reddish chestnut topped by a creamy, inch thick, khaki colored head. The head fades to a wisp but persists in that state. In the nose, it's boozy with dark fruit, sweet spice and yeasty.

There's a lot more dark fruit (raisins, fig, black currant) and sweet spice in the mouth. Now, there is certainly some booziness in the flavor and warming in the mouth (as well as warming as it heads down the gullet) but it's not harsh at all. It's lovely. Lots of flavors lurking about..vanilla, toffee, all that dark fruit especially raisin, sweet spice and just a hint of oak.

Smoother than you would expect, certainly smoother than regular Scaldis but make no mistake, this is a big beer. Big flavors, big sweet mouthfeel and the warming alcohol....leaves my ears hot by the end of the glass but an incredibly pleasant drinking experience. This might have to be one of my new Christmas traditions and, of course, I need to get some to cellar.

Brasserie Dubuisson

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 2: New Belgium 2 Below

2009-12-15T07:27:00.002-05:00

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.6%
Date Poured: December 2009

New Belgium is new to the Georgia market this year so I felt it was appropriate to include thier winter seasonal as one of the 12. I have been a big fan of New Belgium for a few years now, always making sure to pick some up when I head west (especially the magnificent La Folie).

Orangey copper with a rocky ivory head that leaves thick sheeting lace down the side of the glass. A very odd hop profile in the aroma with a very sweet citrusy hop smell reminiscent of limes...but I don't think that's right. I think it's a combination of very bright citrus and piney hops that is creating a unique a heavenly hop aroma. Some biscuity malt evident in the nose as well.

In the mouth, there's a distinct honey-like quality to the malt with the bright hoppiness delivering a juicy bitterness that pierces the malt and balances the sweetness in the finish. It's crisper in the mouth than you would expect. Bready and biscuity malt but, again, the hops balance that sweetness in the finish and aftertaste.

Is it a winter warmer is the classic sense? No. Is it good.?Yes. Is it a good beer for winter to my tastes? Borderline but definitely unique and worth a try.

New Belgium Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas: Southern Tier Old Man Winter

2009-12-14T07:12:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 7.2%
Date Poured: December 2009

I always like to start this series (even in its abbreviated form) with something I know is going to be good. I don't want to start it with something that will leave make the rest of the beers a let down but I want something that I know will be a solid offering. Enter Southern Tier. Southern Tier will occasionally wow you but even their standard fare (the IPA, the porter) are tasty and enjoyable. Combine this with the fact that I love a good Old Ale and Old Man Winter was the logical choice to kick off the 12 Beer of Christmas.

This one is lovely in the glass. (There's the picture...I mean, just look at that!) The body is a crystal clear chestnut with a thinnish tan head. Fine lacing left on the glass. A surprisingly hoppy aroma, floral hops with a caramel underneath.

A rich, lovely blend of caramel and hops in the mouth. Good body, nutty malt, floral and citrusy hops. Lightly sticky and sweet but creamy and sneaky smooth, no hint of alcohol in the flavor. Lovely balance, great drinkability but plenty of flavor and body to qualify as a great winter beer.

A good start. Go get some.

25 Beers of Christmas? Not So Much...

2009-12-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

For the last two years, I have done the 25 Beers of Christmas. While I enjoy the feature immensely, 25 straight days posting about Christmas/winter beers leaves me with a blogging hangover (and occasionally, an actual hangover) heading into the new year and my posts tend to drop steeply on January 1st.

So, in an attempt to sustain my beer blogging a bit more heading into 2010, I am shortening this feature to the 12 Beers of Christmas and will begin posting them on December 13th. I am looking forward to it!

After all, it's the most wonderful time for a beer...

Tasting Notes: Mad Hatter India Pale Ale

2009-11-30T13:51:00.000-05:00

Brewery: New Holland Brewing Company
Style: IPA
ABV: 5.8%
Date Poured: July 2009

This is one I picked up during a recent trip through North Carolina. I would imagine Georgia will start to see the beers from this Michigan brewery soon.

Pours an bright orangey-gold with a rocky ivory head leaving big chunky lace. Floral hops in the nose, underneath is a light, sweetish malt profile.

In the mouth, sweet malt with a strong herbal hop profile. Somewhat sticky in the finish with long herbal hops in the finish. The hops are a bit harsh and heavyhanded. It's not unbalanced per se but this beer is just trying to hit you over the head. Nothing wrong with that in itself but it's just not that tasty. It goes for bombastic instead of good flavor. Just doesn't work that well here.

New Holland Brewing Company

The Session #33: Framing Beer

2009-11-06T07:26:00.003-05:00

This month's version of The Session is about "Framing Beer". I'm not sure what Andy had in mind exactly but my mind seized on this sentence:

I have not done much blind tasting, and I would be intrigued to hear about this ‘frameless’ evaluation of beer.

Well, I have never done any blind tasting and I have always wanted to do one. This installment of The Session gives me the perfect excuse.

Now, it wouldn't be a perfect blind tasting...I was having my wife pick out 4 12oz bottles out of my cellar. I am vaguely familiar with what is in my cellar so I imagine that this colors my "blindness" during the tasting but I have enough inventory that I can't keep it all straight. My wife grabbed the 4 bottles, poured me a sample of each and did not tell me what beers she had picked until after the entire tasting was complete. Here they are in chronological order.

Beer #1

Lots of dark fruit in the nose and a bit of alcohol. Taking a sip, big flavors from this one. Pronounced alcohol is evident first. Fruity, oaky...and roasty. The roastiness comes out more as it warms with lots of sweet dark fruit in the finish. Warming alcohol as it moves down the throat.

After sipping on this for a few minutes, I am pretty certain that this is am Imperial stout. It felt like a strong old ale at first but the dark roasted malt flavors gave it away. No idea what label the beer is but if you made me guess, I'd say a young version of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.

The Beer Revealed: Duck Rabbit Imperial Stout

I had the style right and I was pretty happy about that. Again, the roasted malt and strength of the alcohol flavors gave it away.

Beer #2

Big caramel aromas in the nose...some faint herbal hops too. The flavor takes a 180 from the smell. The aroma was big and rich, the taste is difficult to detect. Perhaps this is because it follows the Imperial stout but I struggle to get anything from my first couple sips. The body is thin and light, the finish is fairly clean. An American wheat beer? A golden ale? That doesn't go with the smell though. No idea on this one...I'm stumped. If I had to guess, I'd say a strong Belgian pale ale.

The Beer Revealed: Anchor Christmas 2005

Amazing. Without being able to see the beer, I picked up none of the porter-like elements I usually detect in this beer. The age on the beer explains the thinnish feel of the body.

Beer #3

Big malty caramel in the nose. Alcohol too and some pronounced bitter hops. For lack of a better phrase, it smells like a barleywine. In the mouth, big fruity and caramel malt. And hops. Lots of hops followed by an alcohol bite. The hops bite too but you can detect some citrusy notes there too. Some dark fruit and warming alcohol.

It's assuredly a barleywine, almost surely American. If I had to guess, I'd say Rogue Old Crustacean.

The Beer Revealed: 2004 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

I am surprised that a nearly 6-year-old sample still has that much hop flavor going on. Wow.

Beer #4

Bright fruity aromas, roasted malt and no hops to speak of. Roasty dark malt in the mouth and a lot of carbonation, more than you would expect from what is almost certainly a stout. It's creamy and certainly thinner in body than the Imperial stout I had earlier. There's a character that I can't put my finger on that leads me to believe that this is not an ordinary stout. It got something extra...maybe a milk or cream stout?

The Beer Revealed: New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout

I love oatmeal stouts but couldn't identify that oatmeal quality beyond "something else".

Conclusion:

So what have I learned? I learned that, unsurprisingly, beers with big bold flavors are easier to identify than those with more muted and subtle ones. I was still pretty pleased that I was able to identify about 2.5 beer styles out of the 4 I sampled...I've seen blind tastings that go far worse. I am also curious what would happen if I sent my wife to the local Whole Foods with $10 and told her to bring back 4 random single bottles what this exercise would look like. Hmmmm........

For more entries for this month's installment of The Session, check out this post on I'll Have A Beer, this month's host.

Beer Hunting: Green's Discount Beverage in Atlanta

2009-11-05T08:01:00.000-05:00

If you peruse this blog on a regular basis, you know that I cellar beer. Well, a second child and the economy in general has slowed down beer acquisitions for my cellar over the last couple years. But when my wife recently gave me some birthday money for beer, I knew there was only one place to take it...Green's.

Green's offers the delightful combination of the best selection and the best prices when it comes to beer in Atlanta. There are two locations but the Ponce location downtown is my store of choice. My goal was to get some new bottles for the cellar.

The only problem with Green's is that it's easy to get sidetracked. And that's what happened to me. Seemingly, for every beer that I got for the cellar (like 2007 N'Ice Chouffe) I found another that was for drinking now (like Sweetwater Wet Dream Ale). But really, it's a good problem to have.

It goes without saying that if you have to pick one place to buy beer in Atlanta, Green's is the runaway winner. Best selection, best prices and, at the Ponce location, a climate controlled beer cellar where much of the Belgian beer is housed.

The haul:

Moylan's Ryan Sullivan's Imperial Stout (2 bombers, 1 for the cellar)
Smuttynose Big Beer Series - Baltic Porter (1 bomber)
Sweetwater Dank Tank - Wet Dream Ale (1 bomber)
Smuttynose Big Beer Series - Imperial Sout (1 bomber for the cellar)
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (1 750ml bottle)
Unibroue Trois Pistoles (2 750ml bottles for the cellar)
Gueuze Girardin 1882 (1 375 ml bottle for the cellar)
Terrapin Side Project #8 - Pumpkinfest (1 bomber)
N'Ice Chouffe 2007 (1 750ml bottle for the cellar)
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (1 750ml bottle)
Houblon Chouffe (1 750ml bottle)
Stone Cali-Belgie IPA (1 bomber)
Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin (1 bomber)
Stone Vertical Epic 09.09.09 (1 bomber)
Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale (1 24oz bottle)
Brew Dog Riptide Stout (1 bomber)
Samuel Adams Imperial Stout (4 12oz bottles, 3 for the cellar)
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (4 12oz bottles)
Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout (6 12oz bottles for the cellar)
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (6 12oz bottles)

Still, it was a nice addition of "new blood" for the cellar and I'll have to re-inventory the thing to reflect the additions as well as recent subtractions.

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beer: Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale

2009-10-31T07:53:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Style: Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 7.0%
Date Poured: October 2009

Brewed since 1994, this is another old favorite. Brewed to honor the Punkin Chunkin Festival in southern Delaware, this may be the oldest pumpkin beer currently brewed.

Pours an orangey copper with a quarter-inch tan head. Smells spicy. Clove and nutmeg and light cinnamon in the nose. Sweet spice. Tart and fruity underneath, spiced baked apple aromas.

Lots of spicy flavors as mentioned in the smell. Nutmeg, clove, allspice, cinnamon. Some pumpkin flavors in there as well. Fruity malt behind all the above. Some hops in the finish. Good body and lightly sour. A bit creamy. Pretty easy drinker around the holidays. It's a regular at my place every fall

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beers: Clipper City The Great Pumpkin

2009-10-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD
Style: Imperial Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 8.0%
Date Poured: October 2009

Clipper City has been doing their Heavy Seas series for awhile now which features their big beers like imperial stouts, double IPAs and such. Now they have a subset of the Heavy Seas series called Mutiny Fleet that have limited runs and come in 22 oz bombers. I picked one of these beers, The Great Pumpkin.

From Hugh Sisson's blog on the Clipper City website:

To be sure that we created the best possible recipe, small 5 gallon batches were made using different yeasts, spice blends and other ingredients.

Then the entire crew got together and held a taste test, discussing what was working and what could be improved. Recipes were assigned a number so ingredients were not known to the tasters.

Then we tested one more time just to be sure... Everyone cast a vote for their favorite recipe.

And here it is.

This beer is a very hazy pale orange with a thin head that disappears completely. Pie spice in the nose,(clove and cinnamon) with some alcohol detectable too. Lesser aromas include some fruity malt and some pumpkin.

In the mouth, big flavors, not the least of which is the alcohol. Lots of pumpkin spice, especially clove. Big fruity malt and sweetness. However, outside of the hotness from the alcohol, the beer is well balanced. Spice and malt are equally strong and provide a nice stasis. Spice dominates the aftertasteand sweet malt dominates the aftertaste.

Really tasty and pretty drinkable, even with the strength. I would like to get a bottle for the cellar just to see how it is once it calms down. After a full bomber, the 8% ABV will leave you a bit woozy. Split with a friend if you need to drive!

Clipper City Brewing

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beer: Smuttynose Pumpkin

2009-10-28T07:56:00.005-04:00

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH
Style: Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 6.3%
Date Poured: October 2009

When I lived in Maine, this was the best Pumpkin beer available in New England and it was a fall tradition at my house. Smuttynose became available in Georgia this year and this fall saw the return (for me) of Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

From Executive Brewer Dave Yarrington's notes on the Smuttynose blog about the first batch of Pumpkin Ale in 2003:

So we started with a base beer that is orange in color and fairly hoppy. We knew the spices would need some sweetness for balance so we used a mixture of crystal and carastan malts. To this we added pumpkin pie spices at the end of the boil. We actually found that adding pumpkin into the fermentor at the end of primary gave us the most interesting pumpkin flavor, and so that's when we add the puree. We've gotten a great response to the beer which I think is well desreved. (sic)

It's hazy orange in the glass with a thin ivory head. Lots of bubbles rising in the glass. Smells of clove and just a touch of nutmeg.

Very fizzy in the mouth. The malt is masked by the carbonation. Bitter in the finish, herbal hops. Detect just a little pumpkin flavor, especially in the finish. Cloves and cinnamon in the mouth. Crisp and a fairly clean finish.

It doesn't deliver the pumpkin and sweet spice flavor at the same level as Terrapin Pumpkinfest but it's a pleasant beer, well crafted and very drinkable.

Smuttynose Brewing Company

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beers: Terrapin Pumpkinfest

2009-10-27T19:22:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company, Athens, GA
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 6.1%
Date Poured: October 2009

After taking a break from the pumpkin beers last year, I decided to jump back in this season with a couple new selections and a couple of my old favorites. Thus, a mini-theme for the week leading up to Halloween of pumpkin beers of various varieties.

First on the list is the latest from the Side Project series from Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, GA. This is #8 to be exact, a beer they call Pumpkinfest. According to their website, this beer is a traditional Oktoberfest beer melded with ingredients for a typical pumpkin ale. So you have all the maltiness of a traditional German fest bier (Munich and Vienna malts) coupled with 1 pound of pumpkin per barrel with pumpkin pie spices (allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon). Side Project has rarely disappointed and I am looking forward to see how they pulled this one off.

This one pours a crystal clear orangey copper with a thin ivory colored head. Clove and all spice in the nose. Maybe cinnamon. Sweet caramel malt too.

First sip tastes like pumpkin pie. Sweet caramel malt, lovely mix with the spices, sweetish finish with the sweet spice in the aftertaste (allspice, cinnamon and ginger). Sweetish finish and creamy body.

Terrapin does it again. They manage to strike the right note while combining two disparate styles.

Terrapin Beer Company

Tasting Notes: Modus Hoperandi

2009-10-23T18:14:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Ska Brewing Company, Durango, CO
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.8%
Date Poured: October 2009

As a fan of ska music and a fan of beer, this brewery has always intrigued me. The beer has made it into North Carolina this year and this was one of the Ska Brewing products I picked up on a recent trip north. I find an IPA is rarely a bad place to start when you're checking out a new brewery.

If you needed a picture of what an IPA was supposed to look like, this beer could be the example. It pours bright copper and is topped with a frothy ivory head. Intricate, fine lacing left on the glass. A lovely aroma, grassy and herbal hops with a strong grapefruit smell wrapped around it all.

As the aroma indicates, the mouth is filled with tons of juicy hop flavors. There's the grapefruit but also orange rind, lemon zest and a bit of tangerine. Moving past the citrus, there are piney, herbal and floral hops. Underneath, the malt gives a nice caramel and biscuity malt profile. A creamy texture. Smooth and finishes with a bitter citrusy aftertaste.

It doesn't break any new ground but it delivers all you would want from an IPA. Tasty!

Ska Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Southern Tier IPA

2009-10-12T08:57:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.5%
Date Poured: August 2009

Another selection from the Southern Tier mixed 12-pack I picked up in Maryland.

Pours a coppery gold with a wisp-thin ivory head. Citrusy hops in the nose, apricot with a hint of lemon, some herbal notes too.

Bitter herb in the mouth, orange rind, grapefruit and a piney quality from the hops. A honey-like sweetness imparted from the malt. Medium bodied, a sweetish finish and the lingering piney bitterness dominates the aftertaste. Well-balanced IPA, the bitter citrus from the hops and the honey from the malt blend nicely.

Southern Tier Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: New Belgium 1554

2009-10-07T09:16:00.001-04:00

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO
Style: Belgian Black Ale
ABV: 5.6%
Date Poured: August 2009

New Belgium recently showed up in Georgia albeit in a kind of limited capacity. I used to have to go to Arkansas (at least) to find New Belgium but today I picked up a bomber at my local Harry's Farmer's Market.

Pours a rich nearly opaque brown with tinges of auburn. Thin but creamy tan head with almost a reddish tinge. A roasted, fruity nose. Light burnt malt and an odd fruity smell, almost like kiwi fruit. Spicy.

Taste is all over the place. Spicy like cloves or nutmeg. Roasted smokiness in the malt. A tropical fruity flavor, like kiwi or mango more so than apple or citrus. Also a crisp bitter hoppiness through out, especially in the finish. Medium bodied and creamy with a smoky chocolate bitterness that lingers and turns into a sticky maltiness. I enjoy this beer alot, lots of different tastes happening here. Good show.

New Belgium Brewing

Tasting Notes: Terrapin Maggie's Farmhouse Ale

2009-10-06T07:48:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company
From: Athens, GA
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.0%
Date Poured: August 2009

OK, time to clean out the notebook. Tasting notes!

This was a bomber of Maggie's Farmhouse Ale, #7 in the Terrapin Beer Side Project series of one-off beers.

Fills the glass with luminous and lightly hazy golden hue, frothy but fleeting ivory head. Very lemony nose, sweetish with pointed herbal hops.

Distinct juniper berry flavors in the mouth, bitter and crisp. The body is light but fruity like new apples. But the bitter lemon and citrus is always there too. Herbal and tart. Finishes fairly clean with that juniper berry bitterness closing things out.

Nicely balanced and delivers what you need from a saison. It won't beat you over the head but it serves as a nice refreshing summer beer with some complexity on flavor to keep things interesting. Nicely done.

Terrapin Beer Company

The Session #32: Eastern Beers

2009-10-02T05:41:00.002-04:00

This installment of The Session is hosted by Girl Likes Beer and the requirements were to select a beer brewed to the east of where you live and far enough east that it is brewed in a different country.

I am in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. So the beer I picked is technically brewed east of here...but much farther north than east I suppose. But it counts!

I am picking one of the fine beers from the Unibroue brewery in Chambly, Quebec, Canada. I selected Trois Pistoles, a dark Belgian-style ale and this particular bottle I've selected tonight has spent just under 5 years in my cellar.

Canada is best known for it's widely exported industrial lagers like Molson and Labatts but Unibroue was the first Canadian craft beer I ever tries and they were doing beers in a Belgian style, something that was rare for North American breweries at that time.

This beer pours a very dark brown with a thick and creamy light tan head. As with the beer when young, lots of ripe dark fruit in the nose. Raisins, plum and currant. Almost smells more like a ruby port than a beer.

Still a bit of alcohol in the mouth at first sip. A caramel sweetness still remains but the body has thinned out considerably and it's much drier than the last time I tried it. Still the dark fruit, still there is oakiness in the body but the flavors are harder to identify as everything has blended nicely as the age has taken effect. No unpleasant flavors from oxidation can be detected. A warming as it finishes, lightly sticky in the mouth but a fairly clean finish for such a big beer (9% ABV).

So what's different with this beer after 5 years? The spiciness that you expect from Unibroue (and that this beer displayed when young) is very muted and at most times undetectable. As a result, the malt shines through more than it once did. Not as balanced but the flavors all blend wonderfully.

Get some to drink now and some to drink later. Still fantastic after 5 years!

The blog Girl Likes Beer is hosting this month's edition of The Session. Head over there to link to more entires.

The Session: Beer Desserts

2009-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Almost 15 years ago, one of first beer books I ever bought was Beer Basics: A Quick and Easy Guide by Peter Lafrance. It, along with Michael Jackson's New World Guide to Beer, were my guides through my early days of learning styles and exploring the various American "microbrews" in the mid-1990's.

In the back of Lafrance's book is a chapter on beer and food and a few recipes can be found therein. Here's the recipe for a dessert called Naughty Gretchen:

Naughty Gretchen

(Yields: 1 serving)

2 scoops chocolate ice cream
1 12-oz bottle of dark or amber beer
One cherry

Place the ice cream in a blender. Add the beer to the ice cream and blend until frothy. Pour into a tall glass and place a cherry on top.

(Jim Gagnier - The Broome Street Bar, Manhattan, New York)

Now, I have a more strict recommendation for the recipe as I have exclusively used stout in this recipe, usually Guinness Extra Stout, and with stout it is delicious. I can't vouch for other styles.

Mr. Lafrance's book seems to be out of print but still available through various online resellers. Lafrance also has a website called Beer Basics with a couple of attached blogs and a newsletter.

Tasting Notes: Southern Tier Porter

2009-08-06T14:51:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.2%
Date Poured: August 2009

Part of a sampler pack I picked up while driving through Maryland a couple months ago.

Pours thick, pitch black in color topped with a thin tan head. A sweet aroma with some dark chocolate and a hint of mocha.

The taste follows the aroma for the most part. It's still sweetish with notes of dark chocolate but with more bitterness...coffee, a bit of herbal hops present. Good body, sweetish but with a clean finish.

Tasty. Very drinkable. The only knock I can give this beer is that I wish it was a bit more roasty but that's just a personal preference.

Southern Tier Brewing Company

Vote for Jordan!

2009-07-20T15:12:00.002-04:00

I don't usually do this but I'm going to campaign for a local brewer. Please go to this link at Atlanta Cuisine and cast a vote for Jordan Fleetwood as your favorite Atlanta brewpub brewer. Now, I know most of you have never been to Twain's to sample Jordan's wares but if you like this blog and trust my tastes, go give him a vote of confidence. Thanks.

Tasting Notes: Terra-Rye'zd Black Rye Lager

2009-07-18T20:45:00.002-04:00

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company/Terrapin Beer Company
Style: Black Rye Lager
ABV: 6.6%
Date Poured: July 2009

This black lager is the result of a collaboration between Georgia's Terrapin Beer Company and Colorado's Left Hand Brewing Company. It was released at the end of last year and the experiment continues with a new beer this year. This "tweet" from Terrapin:

"Left Hand & Terrapin brewers stepping up to the brew house today at 2:00 to cook up Midnight Project number two...Depth Charge!"

Pours black with hints of red around the edges topped by a creamy head the color of dirty sand. Lots of rye in the nose, sweet with just a touch of herbal hops evident.

Malty schwarzbier character intertwined with a persistent rye graininess. Underlying citrusy hop profile keeps the beer malty but not overly sweet. Roasty, milk chocolate, bready, grainy spicy rye and big citrusy/floral hops. An odd combination of flavors. The rye is so pronounced, I would avoid this beer if you don't care for rye beers. As it is, it's a malty, velvet smooth and perilously drinkable.

Out of the Cellar: Bell's Java Stout

2009-07-12T19:24:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Bell's Brewery
Style: Coffee Stout
ABV: 8.1%
Date Poured: July 2009

When I had this beer fresh, it was good but I found the coffee flavors to be a bit overpowering and, at times, even astringent. I wondered if some cellaring would help mute the coffee bitterness and bit and make the beer a bit more balanced. So here is this bottle, picked up on a trip through the American Midwest two summers ago, with two years in the cellar to see if it worked.

Still pours the color of dirty motor oil, still topped by a frothy brown head that retreats to a wisp within minutes. The mocha aromas still dominate but they seem sweeter. A good sign?

Lots of bitter chocolate in the mouth and the sweet mocha flavor comes through as well. It's a little hot still, you can taste some alcohol and get the warming from this ale as it slides down the gullet. Wee bit sticky in the finish, sweet roasted malt in the aftertaste.

The proof here is at the end of the glass because the coffee flavors were not overpowering right away but became evident as the beer warmed and more was consumed.

The verdict? It actually did help quite a bit. This beer is much more balanced now and the big coffee flavors, while very present, are nicely muted. Successful experiment!

Bell's Brewery

Tasting Notes: Clipper City Marz-Hon

2009-07-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Clipper City
Style: Marzen
ABV: 5.25%
Date Poured: May 2009

Clipper City brews its take of the traditional German springtime beer and uses a play on words incorporating Baltimore's most famous colloquialism.

Pours a bright, crystal clear copper with a thinnish snow white head. Some fine lacing making spiderwebs on the glass. A bright maltiness, hints of caramel and sweetness in the nose.

Beauteous caramel malt and noble hops in the mouth. There's a nice balance, not too sweet either. Very smooth. Lots of flavor but easy to drink, malt lingers in the finish, very clean aftertaste.

I'm not sure a marzen can get much better than this one. It's my new favorite. Gotta get back to Baltimore...

Brussells Slideshow

2009-07-09T08:52:00.000-04:00

Belgium Trip: Day 8, Part 2: More Brussels, Lots of Lambic

2009-07-08T08:58:00.000-04:00

Poechenellekelder is a two-tiered cafe located within spitting distance of the most overrated tourist attraction in the world. Still giddy from the Cantillon tour, we ordered up a 750 ml bottle of Rose de Gambrinus to split. Poechenellekelder is a classic Belgian bar, full of Mannekin Pis replicas dressed in little outfits created for the real one over the years. Marionettes hung from the ceiling and walls and the requisite beer signs were plastered over a glassed in square. Service was good. We snacked on the little crisps they made available and leisurely enjoyed our lambic. After we were done, we grabbed a waffle from the place across the street and started making our way to the Grand Place.

From the Grand Place, a series of narrow alleys take you to Toone, a combination cafe and marionette theatre. Toone is sizable, three distinct rooms and far more seating than you would expect from the outside. We took a seat in the second room that housed the marionette stage itself. The place looks well worn and cozy. It's near the Grand Place and there were plenty of tourists in there ordering tables full of Kwak in the coachman's glass. The beer list...was not that impressive to me. Outside of Cantillon, there wasn't a lot that was going to rock your world...lots of Inbev brews. I went with a Hoegaarden Grad Cru, an old favorite. Dave got a Leffe Radieusse. The Grand Cru was as good as ever. The Leffe Radieusse was a bit hot in my opinion.

After a dinner at a Greek cafe, we headed out to look for a bar called Becasse. There is one main reason to seek out La Becasse; their house beer, Lambic Doux produced by Timmerman's. Becasse is located at the end of a narrow alley keeping foot traffic to a minimum which is a shame because it is a beautiful little cafe. Lots of wood and brass and ceramic jugs which carry the Lambic Doux. Lambic Doux is a straight lambic, lightly sweetened and very still. It hits you more like cider than ale but the balance of the tart funky flavors and the candy sugar sweetness is delicate and perfect. This makes Becasse a must visit for fans of lambic. Served in ceramic pitchers, it is a throwback to a time when all beer in Brussels was served this way.

La Becasse would be our last beery experience in Belgium. It was time to head back to the station, jump the train to the airport a fly home. Great trip overall!

Some recap notes:

Top 5 Cafes Visited

5. t' Oud Arsenaal - a 1920's bar that remains unchanged. Well chosen beer menu with some nice treats.
4. t' Beertje Bruge - Outstanding beer list but cramped and limited hours.
3. De Dulle Griet - Not a great list but classic "brown bar" atmosphere and a lot of fun.
2. Het Waterhuis - Charming cafe on the canal with an incredible beer lsit including some good house brews.
1. Kulminator - Great atmosphere, outstanding beer list and cellared beer for sale. Fantastic.

Gent was overall my favorite city to drink in.

Top 5 Beers Tasted

5. Boon Faro Pertotale - tart and cidery, a rare chance to try traditional faro
4. St. Bernardus Tripel (draft) - spicy and warming, perfect in draft form in my opinion
3. 2000 Boon Oude Gueze Marriage Parfait - aged to perfection, velvety smooth
2. Rodenbach Foederbier - wickedly sour, Rodenbach Grand Cru x 2
1. Westvleteren 12 - perhaps not worth the crazy hype but stellar just the same

Top 5 Surprise Beers

5. Martins Scotch - Malty treat that was quite tasty
4. Brugse Bok - Very traditional bok beer brewed in Belgium
3. Adrian Brouwer - Strong brown ale, fruity and malty
2. Timmerman's Lambic Doux\Lambicus Blanche - Had not heard good things about Timmermans but these two beers were tasty and complex
1. Westvleteren 6 - the forgotten baby brother of 12 and 8, fresh 6 at the abbey cafe was hoppy and crisp and so very tasty.

Cantillon Slideshow...

2009-06-30T18:31:00.002-04:00

Belgium Trip: Day 8, Part 1 - Brasserie Cantillon

2009-06-29T19:08:00.000-04:00

Turned the car in at Antwerp without a hitch...the mile walk to the train station was another matter. My backpack and luggage was pretty damned heavy but at least the luggage had wheels and I could shoulder the weight of the pack on my back. But Dave had a duffel bag (no wheels) that had grown quite heavy during the trip and he had a rough time getting it down the street to the station! But eventually we made it onto the train and the worst was over.

Once we arrived in Brussels, we stashed the luggage in an automated locker at the station and headed out to find Brasserie Cantillon.

Cantillon is a very traditional lambic brewery in operation since 1900 and is classified by the Belgian government as historic landmark. it operates under the more official name of "Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze"

The brewery was quite a bit off the beaten path but after a couple wrong turns we eventually found it. The tour was 6 Euro each which included a couple of glasses of lambic at the end. We paid and were off.

No brewing was going on yet (too early in the fall for good wild yeast in the air) so we got a close up look at the empty mash tuns, the old copper kettles and the open air cooling tuns. Most impressive were the alcoves stacked with bottles upon bottles of lambic laid down for conditioning. If you've ever visited any of the large wine cellars in France, you know what it looked like. There were also scores of wooden barrels containing fermenting lambic, kriek, framboise and more of various ages.

After the tour, we hit the tasting area and were permitted one glass of gueuze and one glass of kriek. Wonderful as always. They also offered a plate of local cheese and sausages (gratis) which were delicious, especially since we had not had a decent meal yet and it was approaching lunchtime.

The gift shop had various gift boxes of various Cantillon offerings at very good prices...unfortunately our luggage was already set to burst. Next time maybe...

It was amazing. A must see for the beer lover. The slideshow to follow tomorrow speaks for itself.

***photo of Cantillon exterior - photo credit to Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog, I was in such a hurry to get inside that I forgot to take an exterior shot!

Slideshow: Brugge Wrapup

2009-06-25T20:14:00.000-04:00

Brugge Wrapup

Belgium Trip: Day 7, Part 2 - Wrapping Up Brugge

2009-06-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

We dumped off our haul from De Bierloods at the trekkershut and hiked our way back into the city center of Brugge. We spent more time than planned for at Adegem and we were going to have to cut the bar hopping short to pack up the Polo for an early morning departure.

Dave was doing some souvenir shopping so I stole off toward the main square to grab some frites. On my way back, I noticed a sign at the entrance of a narrow alley. Upon closer inspection, it read "De Garre". Excellent! De Garre was a cafe that was on my list but had i been walking at normal speed, I would have missed it completely.

After Dave finished up his purchases, we headed down the alley to get some ale. De Garre, like many of the bars in Brugge is small but does have a second floor. They offered a house tripel and had a sign informing that no customer could order more than three during a session!

But the strength was not the only selling point for this tripel. It was spicy enough to offset the considerable maltiness and sweetness. It was lively and just a bit warming. Very nice tripel.

The bar was rustic and woody, very "brown bar" with a lovely hewn wood bar and dozens of old bottles on display. A roaring fire was crackling away in the hearth and the place was very cozy indeed. We ordered a couple rounds of the tripel and headed back out.

Sadly, time was running short and we were going to have to cut the beer drinking off early. We had a lot of packing to do and we had to take the Polo back to Antwerp first thing in the morning (90 minutes away) and had to get up early. So we headed back toward the campground.

But on the way, we ducked into a cafe called Kelk. It was a dark, smoky cafe that offered little in the way of seating outside of the enormous ornate bar. We grabbed a couple stools and the beer menu. The list was very good and we went with De Dolle this time. Dave tried his very first De Teve and I stuck with the high-octane theme and ordered the imperial stout.

Peter, the owner, recognized us as tourists and started chatting with us. He was quite proud of his bar and his future plans for it and took us a tour of the facilities. Lots of construction was going on upstairs as well as in the basement and in the rooms behind the current bar. The plan? A expansion of the cafe and a beer shop upstairs that would boast more than 1000 varieties of beer. Very impressive vision. i wish we could have hung around for a few months to watch him do it. We went back to the bar, finished our beers, met the old dalmatian who lives at the cafe and, thanking Peter for his hospitality, started making our way back towards the campground.

Packing turned out to be more challenging than we realized. We had a lot of beer, glassware and other souvenirs to get home. To lighten our load, we drank the surplus beer! Among the casualties:

Floreffe Tripel

Lindemans Faro

St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition

Timmmermans Fruits de la Foret

La Rulles Blonde

Quintine Ambree

t' Gaverhopke Zingende Blondine

Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek
Leffe 9

After the bags were packed to our satisfaction, we loaded up the car and turned in. We were going to be rising early to get the car back to Antwerp and hop the train for Brussels in time to drink our fill for the last day of the trip...and see Brasserie Cantillon.

Belgium Trip: Day 7, Part 1 - A Side Trip to the Outlying Village of Adegem

2009-06-15T16:11:00.002-04:00

Thursday was intended for Brugge but first I wanted to drive out to Adegem to hit an epic beer store called De Bierloods. Their website boasted a selection of more than 800 Belgian beers and was only a 10 minute drive east of Camping Memling.

We arrived shortly after they opened and the selection lived up to the hype. The shelves were 60 ft long and as tall as me. Name a beer brewed in Belgium and it was probably here. Only Westvleteren was notably absent. (Although when I think about it now, I wonder if I had pressed Vacas, the owner, if he might have had a stash to sell us. Hmmm....) I focused mainly on Christmas (Kerst) beers and Belgian stouts....I kind of had to or I would have been overwhelmed by the choices. He also sold us an dusty old bottle of St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition...it had to have at least 5 years of age on it. Prices were decent as far as I could tell. Dave picked up some glassware too.

Mr. Vacas was very proud of his store and the bar that he housed in the basement below. He took us on a quick tour of the facilities and the bar. He also brews his own beer at De Proef called Koantjes, a spicy crisp blonde ale. He snagged a 750 ml bottle, some snacks and served us some (gratis!) out on of the outside tables. Spicy, hoppy and effervescent....it was a tasty ale, maybe the best blonde I had while in Belgium outside of the Westvleteren 6.

Our boxes full of beer, we loaded up the back of the Polo and headed back to Brugge. Thanks to Mr. Vacas for making the beer shopping very enjoyable. If you are in Brugge and you have a car, you must get out there. Hell, even if you don't have a car, Vacas was such a nice fellow that he might come and get you himself!

Bierloods

Out of the Cellar: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2004

2009-05-25T19:50:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Sierra Nevada

Style: Barleywine
ABV: 9.6%
Date Cellared: February 2004
Date Poured: May 2009

I have very few beers in the cellar that are getting past five years and this is one of them. Anything that reaches five years of aging has to be sampled, right?

Pours the familiar murky brown with a thin but persistent tan head. After five years, still the distinct aroma of cascade hops in the nose. Rich and fruity maltiness too but the hops are still prominent.

Fruity and rich maltiness in the mouth. Again, still a ton of cascade hops detected and gives it a biting bitteness. A bit of alcohol in the finish. But the flavors are blending very nicely. Could still keep aging! Easily!

Tasting Notes: Chouffe Bok 6666

2009-05-24T09:45:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Brasserie Achouffe
Style: Bock
ABV: 6.66%
Date Poured: March 2009

Purchased from the Brasserie Achouffe gift shop in Achouffe, Belgium. This beer was poured from a 750 ml capped bottle. The 6666 refers to the postal code in Achouffe and is advertised as being 6.66% ABV to match.

Sheeting lace from the billowing white head surrounds a nutty clear coppery brown body. Lovely aroma, rich caramel malt with a hint of noble hops and some faint apple in there too.

Malty, nutty, caramel...all the flavors you would expect from a traditional bock beer. But there is a touch of fruitiness (apple or pear, I assume from the yeast) and a persistent twinge of noble hops throughout. Just a bit smoky too. A bit sticky in the finish but ultimately very drinkable, very well-balanced and very tasty. I finished the whole thing with little effort over the course of an hour. Brilliant stuff. According to the website, it's brewed for the Dutch market but get some if you can.

Gent Slideshow: Part 2

2009-05-06T16:40:00.000-04:00

Gent Part 2

Belgium Trip: Day 6, Part 2 - Evening in Gent

2009-05-05T19:30:00.001-04:00

The next bar on the list was De Trollekelder, a bar full of, as you may have guessed, statues, carvings and paintings of trolls and the like. Lots of wood in the bar, very atmospheric and offered nice views of a cathedral from the window seat we occupied.

Only one problem; even though the bar opened at 16:00, the barkeep did not seem thrilled to see us coming through the door at 16:05. I think he was annoyed because he was not expecting customers until later in the afternoon. He did not throw us out but was curt while we ordered the house blonde ale.

The beer was not impressive either. Most blondes I had imbibed in Belgium to this point were snappy, lively, effervescent, hoppy or some combination of those qualities. The Trollekelder blonde just kind of sat there, very listless and dull in the mouth. The beer menu was quite extensive but we didn't see any point in staying where we were not wanted. We paid for our beers and moved on to the Market Square.

De Dulle Griet (Mad Meg) is right on the square. It wasn't that high on my list but it was nearby and we headed in to see what they had.

The beer selection was good and the atmosphere was classic brown bar. We grabbed a table and got to ordering. Dave was intrigued by the house beer that was served in the big coachman's glasses. He ordered the blonde and then the waiter asked for his boot. After a double take, he repeated the request. Evidently, the glasses are very expensive and to keep people form running off with them, they keep one of your shoes as colateral. Dave gave tghe man his left boot, a basket was lowered by pulley from the ceiling, the boot was placed in the basket and it was hoisted far above our heads. I ordered the Buffalo Stout which required no loss of footwear.

While Dave was making his way through his coachman's glass, I finished my stout (sweetish and fruity, nice stuff) and ordered a bottle of Liefmans Goudenband, one of my all time favorites.

There was quite a crowd gathering now, especially one party at the bar who looked like they were meeting for a drink after work. They asked us if they switch places with us given the size of our table and we obliged. They were grateful and bought our next round.

I ordered a Delirium Tremens (another old favorite) while Dave asked the bartender to bring him something unique. He was served a Leutebok, a good bock beer but the unusual part was the glassware. Imagine a goblet. Now remove the everything from the stem down. That's the glass. You can't sit it on the bar like that so it comes with a wooden stand. Sure it was a bit gimmicky but the beer wasn't bad at all.

We drank our beers, chatted with some fellow Americans from Pittsburgh and then walked out, now quite toasty, into the twilight.

I only had one place left on my list and it was definitely chosen due to atmosphere over beer selection. It is called 't Velootje and is run by an eccentric barkeep named Lieven. It is famous for having dozens upon dozens of bicycles suspended from the ceiling. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

We arrived to an empty bar except for Lieven. Perhaps empty is the wrong word...we had to step over various pieces if junk to get into the place. Lieven helped us out, cleared off a spot at a bench and table. The lighting was virtually non-existent a couple of hanging lights and the glow fo the CRT from the owner's computer but our table was quite dark. There were candles but Lieven didn't have any matches handy and asked if we had some. We did not with neither of us being smokers so he went to finds some matches.

He returned, lit our candles, grabbed two beers (Slapmulke Blonde and Brune) popped the tops, handed them to us and hurried away. Mind you, we had not ordered these beers, nor had he asked us what beers we wanted or offered us a menu. Nor did we have any glasses to drink from, an oddity in Belgium. OK...

We sat at the candlelit wooden tables, seated on benches and took in the scene. A waist-high stack of cases full of Rochefort 8 and McChouffe. Bicycles of various sizes and shapes hanging feom the ceiling just more than a foot above our heads. A jar of mystery liquid, a hazy yellow, on our table. Gas lamps strung together but non working. Stacks of newspapers everywhere. Great music playing over the speakers, the best of the whole trip. The pictures don’t do the clutter justice; the most bizarre pub atmosphere I’ve ever witnessed. Dave paid for the beers, a whopping 5 Euro a bottle and we moved on.

Yes, it was odd, cluttered, unprofessional and overpriced….but it’s one of the best places to have a beer I’ve ever been to. Unmissable in my opinion, especially if you have a sense of humor. It was a stellar experience.

Nicely toasted from all the beer, we took took the train back to Bruges. Had a nightcap back at the trekkershut, ran some laundry and hit the mattress.

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Buffalo Stout (Version 2)

2009-03-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The name is the same and so is the brewery. But for some mysterious reason, this beer clocks in 50% stronger than its little brother. Odd that there's no distinction on the label...

Pours pitch black with a voluminous light brown head. So big that I was afraid I had an infected bottle. But the head fades to a a thin wisp in several minutes. Aroma contains sweet dark malt and milk chocolate notes with a touch of fresh coffee.

Taste is the same, a bit more bitter chocolate than milk though and persistent hints of espresso. Nicely balanced. Full bodied, no real hint of alcohol given its strength. Nice bitter chocolate in the finish and aftertaste with some sweetness to offset the bite.

Very tasty. Nicely balanced and well-crafted.

How do the beers of this series stack up? My rankings:

1. Buffalo Stout (Version 2) - See above. No flaws to speak of, very well rounded.

2. Hercule Stout - Dark fruit and bitter chocolate dance in a velvet smooth strong stout.

3. Buffalo Stout (Version 1) - Well-crafted and balanced, like its big brother. Nearly came in second.

4. t'Smijse Catherine the Great - The color is offputting but it makes up for it with a crazy combination of roastiness, bitter chocolate and ripe pears.

5. Podge Stout - Way more fruity and sweet than roasty but tasty nonetheless.

6. Wilson Stout - Not bad but too much alcohol showing for its strength, flavors never really mesh

7. Leroy Stout - Run don't walk...away

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Leroy Stout

2009-03-23T08:35:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Leroy
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

Pours pitch black with a frothy tan head and some minimal lacing. Smells of dark fruit and light caramel aromas.

If I had a blind tasting of this beer, I would never pick it out as a stout. It tastes like a sweet brown ale. Tons of caramel flavor, no hint of roastiness or sweetness you would expect for black patent...but sickly sweet and overwhelming caramel flavors that don't mesh with a distinct fruitiness in this ale. Very carbonated, distractingly so. Unpleasant astringent finish and a lingering cloying sweetness in the aftertaste.

It's not good. At all.

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: 't Smisje Catherine The Great

2009-03-13T09:37:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The label of this beer declares that this is an imperial stout. De Regenboog has yet to disappoint so I am looking forward to this one.

Surprisingly, this stout pours out a murky brown instead of a pitch black. Highlights of mahogany with a frothy tan head. Smells fruity, of Granny Smith apples and ripe pears. Quite yeasty and hint of alcohol.

Lots of lovely roasty flavors, espresso, bitter chocolate and mocha. Oaky too, vanilla, toffee and hints of dark fruit. Full bodied and sweetish, not sticky. Roasty and bitter in the finish, the coffee flavors coming through again.

If you closed your eyes, this would be a classic roasty imperial stout. It's very good, just that odd appearance that throws you.

Brouerij De Regenboog

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Wilson Mild Stout

2009-03-12T08:59:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Date Poured: March 2009

This one bills itself as a mild stout so I am expecting an English character here. At 5.2%, this is the most sessionable stout I've tried thus far.

This one pours as black as night (of course) with a creamy brown head that leaves sheeting lace. Smells of fruity dark malt, very sweet, yeasty and estery.

First impressions are that it is kind of thin in the mouth and some prominent metallic flavors. Underneath, the raisin and blackcurrant flavors start to come through. Yeasty, a lot of yeast character for a stout...even for a Belgian one. Pretty sweet, some detectable alcohol in there and lightly oaky. Odd because the mouth is thin but there are sweet and sticky textures in the finish with just a bit of dark chocolate in the finish.

Interesting beer but too much alcohol presence for a beer of this strength. A bit haphazard with the flavors too.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Hercule Stout

2009-03-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

Brewery: Brasserie Ellezelloise
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 8.4%
Date Poured: Feb 2009

Dense creamy tan head tops a pitch black body. Lots of dark fruit in the nose, very sweet, no hint of roastiness but there is a hint of alcohol

Wow. Smooth as velvet in the mouth, no hint of the alcohol whatsoever, just a pleasant warming effect in the finish. Sweet and fruity (ripe plums and raisin) with just a hint of roastiness in the finish. Bitter chocolate pops up in the finish too. Creamy, chocolaty flavors in the aftertaste.

Lighter in the mouth than you would expect for a big strong stout but that just makes it that much more drinkable. Different but delicious.

Brasserie Ellezelloise

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Buffalo (Version 1)

2009-03-10T08:29:00.001-04:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 6.5%
Date Poured: March 2009

One of the focuses of my trip to Belgium was to seek out some examples of Belgian stout. So here's a mini-series of tasting notes on a few of the bottles I brought home. First up, a version of Buffalo from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche.

It pours pitch black with a dense and creamy tan head.

Smells of fruity dark malt, sweet and with a hint of some metallic aromas.

Sweet in the mouth with just a hint of roastiness. Lovely balance that I wasn't expecting. Mocha and hint of dark chocolate. Underpinnings of ripe dark fruit. Medium-bodied with a sweet finish and a uncharacteristically clean finish.

Very flavorful but smooth and drinkable. A good start!

Brouwerij Van Den Bossche

Slideshow: Gent Part 1

2009-03-05T15:01:00.002-05:00

Gent Part 1

Belgium Trip, Day 6 - Part 1: Morning in Gent

2009-03-04T15:24:00.014-05:00

We arrived in Gent fairly early the next morning and headed for the center of town. We were too early for the bars, even in Belgium, so we headed to the St. Bavo Cathedral to see Van Eyck’s Adorati on of the Mystic Lamb (which was fairly impressive).

After that, sufficient time had passed that some of the cafes had begum to open. We headed for one of the oldest and smallest cafés in town t’ Galgenhuisje. The bar claims to be housed in the former gallow’s house and was right on the Groentenmarkt…so I believe it and the building dates from the 16^th century. I can imagine the gallowmaster conducting business here waiting for the next victim.

Two floors of bar are crammed into a very small footprint with a restaurant in the cellar (former holding cells for the condemned). Very rustic with old exposed timbers, witches hanging from the ceiling, some tin beer signs, paper money of all nationalities and denominations stapled to the walls behind the bar and Flemish phrases painted on the timbers. The house beer was thick and brown, served in a mug and sold for less than 3 Euro. It was a good way to start your Wednesday!

Most of the bars we wanted to hit weren’t going to open until afternoon so we wandered the streets of old Gent, dodging trams and crossing canals. (The city is gorgeous by the way…rivals Brugge as far as I’m concerned.)

We also visited Castle Gravensteen, an imposing and impressive Medieval castle and worthy of a visit if you care to spend some non-beery time in Gent.

After the castle, we headed back across the Leie River to Het Waterhuis, a café right on the river that had a good reputation for beer. It did not disappoint.

They offered three different house beers. I stuck with a hoppy blonde called Gandavum, Dave grabbed a tawny colored strong ale Klokke Roeland. Both were surprisingly excellent. The cafe was lots of brick and timber, old dusty glasses on a ledge above the bar, beer signs galore and false vines draped from the ceiling. Nice view of the river too.

But there was more! What should I spy on the chalkboard but Rodenbach Foederbier. Fantastic! I ordered one and the server asked me if I was sure I wanted one because this beer was very, very sour. I reaffirmed that, yes, this was the beer I desired. She warned me again about the extreme sourness and asked me if I was really sure about this choice.Again, I assured her that I had an idea what it would be like and said that I was prepared. A third time she tried to warn me…”Bring it on!” I said. I am guessing she has had to take this beer back from unsuspecting tourists in the past…

The Foederbier was amazing. Imagine the difference in degree of acetic sourness between Rodenbach and Rodenbach Grand Cru. Apply that same increase in intensity to the Grand Cru and you have an idea of what you get in the Foederbier. Sour and woody but after the initial shock to the tastebuds, refreshing and wickedly drinkable. Puckeringly sour but ultimately delicious. It may have been the best glass of beer I had in Belgium.

Dave ordered a Timmermans Lambicus Blanche, an unusual cross between the funk and sourness of a lambic and the spicy sweetness of a Belgian witbier. Very unique and very good in its own right.

Bellies full of beer, we moved on, first to the frittur for some frites and then more sightseeing. We killed some time at the Folklore Museum (more time than I wanted but sometimes you have to indulge your travel companion, right?) and waited for 16:00 to roll around when the next wave of bars would open up for us.

Tasting Notes: Half Moon Hefe Weizen

2009-01-30T19:45:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Charleston Brewing Company
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: ?
Date Poured: January 2009

Pours a surprisingly clear gold with a bright white but thin head. Smells lemony, sweet wheat malt and a hint of bubblegum.

Crisp wheat malt, some lemon, even fainter hint of bubblegum with an astringent, CO2 finish. Finishes clean. The aroma offered some hope but in the end,it's just another lacking American wheat beer. Not much more to say.

Bruges: Day 1 Slide Show

2009-01-28T09:29:00.001-05:00

Bruges: Day 1

Belgium Trip, Day 5 - Part 2 - Intro to Brugge

2009-01-27T09:18:00.001-05:00

It's about an hour drive from Westvleteren to Brugge so we arrived at the campground (Camping Memling) around 2:30 and checked into the trekkershut that was to be our home for the next three nights. After a quick unpacking, we hoofed it just under a mile to the center of Brugge.

We had barely gotten inside the old wall it seemed when we spotted a bar that was on my list of places to visit. It was called Cambrinus. So we headed inside to get a sampling of the beers available in Brugge.

I started with a new beer from Brouwerij Straffe Hendrik, Brugse Bok. It's a Belgian take on a bock beer but for the most part it is remarkably, traditionally German. Outside of a breadiness and a slightly more pronounced hop profile, very traditional and very tasty. Dave started with Brugse Zot from the same brewery.

The bar is a bit more modern than most we had gone to at this point in the trip but with folksy murals on the wall including one of Cambrinus himself above the fireplace. The beer list is advertised at more than 400 and from the look of the menu, I believe it. It was early afternoon and our waitress' service was fairly good by Belgian standards.

Next I moved on to the Adrian Brouwer, a big brown ale at 8.5% ABV which is a stunning combination of the tartness and fruitiness of an oud bruin and the sweet maltiness of a dubbel. Lots of dark fruit and rich breadiness...amazing beer. Dave went with an Alvinne Podge Imperial Stout that was astonishingly good.

By now it was after 4:00 PM, so we headed out to look for some food and just generally see the sights. After wandering around the vicinity of the main square, we stumbled right onto Brugs Beertje. Score!

This cafe was at the top of my list for Brugge and was quite crowded when we entered. We grabbed two rickety chairs at a small table which may have been the last two seats in the house. Even though it was quite busy, our server arrived in no time and took our order. I ordered the Verhaeghe Echte Kriek and Dave took a chance on a mustard bier, Wostyntje from Brouwerij de Regenboog. The Echte Kriek was pretty unique, a mixture of a Flanders red and a kriek, but the combination is a natural that I'm surprised other breweries don't try.

The cafe walls are covered with old brewery signs and it's a cozy, if cramped, little space. The beer list is not as large as Cambrinus but it a very well chosen selection of more than 200. The list is so well-chosen, in fact, that it makes it hard to choose yourself.

For dinner, we ordered a bowl each of Spaghetti Bolognese which was pretty damn good I have to admit.

*****

The lack of sleep (or poor quality thereof) of the past few nights was beginning to take its toll so we threw in the towel and headed back to the campground for an fairly early turn in. Clean showers and comfy beds (the best of the trip so far) were a welcome sight and we split a 750 ml bottle of 60th Anniversary St. Bernanrdus Abt 12 for a nightcap and headed to bed.

Tasting Notes - Mustard Beers: Alvinne Melchior

2009-01-26T07:16:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Mustard Beer
ABV: 11%
Date Poured: January 2009

It's a hazy orange with a billowy white head. Very sweet and fruity in the nose with some spiciness from the hops. I'm not picking up any mustard seed aroma.

Boozy and sweet but a strident spicy hoppiness (Challenger and East Kent Goldings according to the label) give it some balance. I'm not sure I would notice the mustard seed flavors if I didn't know they were there but underneath the hops is a distinct bitterness of the mustard seed. Sticky body with a strong lingering hoppiness with a hint of mustard in the finish. Strong hoppy aftertaste.

The mustard is not as pronounced but like Wostyntje, it makes it work.

Picobrouwerij Alvinne

Tasting Notes - Mustard Beers: t' Smisje Wostyntje

2009-01-23T19:15:00.000-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Mustard Beer
ABV: 10.5%
Date Poured: November 2008

Part 1 of a mini-theme about "mustard beer". I may have heard of beers made with mustard peripherally but they really didn't come to my attention until my trip to Belgium. I was further surprised to find not one but two Belgian ales made with mustard as a prominent ingredient! This is the first one from Brouwerij De Regenboog.

Pours a hazy orangey copper with a dense sandy colored head. Chunky lace left on the sides of the glass. Fruity, yeasty and sweet malt, spicy in the nose. Is that the mustard? I think so. Spicy hops too.

There's a fair amount of bitterness in this ale. A fruity sweetness provides a nice backbone for the spicy hops and the spicy mustard seed. Spiced apple and an earthiness form the yeast. Well -balanced sweetness and herbal\mustard spiciness. The hop\mustard spiciness lingers through the finish and aftertaste.

Really nice. The mustard seed lends a unique flavor that is not heavy-handed and therefore works quite well. Delicious!

Brouwerij de Regenboog

Tasting Notes: Green Man ESB

2009-01-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

Brewery: Green Man Ales
Style: ESB
ABV: 5.6%
Date Poured: January 2009

A couple a weeks ago, I took a hiking trip up near Asheville, NC so I drove into town to hunt for some beer. North Carolina has no annoying laws forbidding growlers so I picked up a growler of fresh ESB brewed by Green Man Ales.

It pours a deep orangey copper with a creamy but thin, light tan head. Sheeting lace on the glass. Very fruity and herbal in the nose

Taste is bready and fruity, a well balanced ale with herbal English hops, (Kent Goldings and Fuggles according to the website) offsetting a sweetish, fruity malt. Quite British in character but surprisingly sweet and that sweetness lingers long in the finish and aftertaste.

It's a well crafted ale and certainly enticing enough for me to want to try some more from Green Man the next time I find myself in Asheville.

Green Man Ales

Best Beers of 2008

2008-12-31T09:14:00.003-05:00

Inspired by Boak And Bailey (who were themselves inspired by Fuggled), here are, in no particular order, the top ten beers I've tried for the first time in 2008.

1. Rodenbach Foederbier - The sourest Flanders red out there. If you like Rodenbach Grand Cru, you'll love Foederbier. Tasted at Het Waterhuis in Gent.

2. Westvleteren 12 - the Holy Grail. Rich malt and dark fruit. A little hot when I sampled it at In De Vrede outside the abbey but still damn good.

3. Westvleteren Blond - Totally underrated little brother of the 12 and the 8. Crisp, sweet and hoppy at the cafe. Really excellent, at least fresh at the abbey.

4. 2000 Boon Oude Gueze Marriage Parfait - I've had this beer before but this aged bottle from the cellars of the Kulminator was divine.

5. Bell's Double Cream Stout - Huge but smooth, a unique and delicious double stout.

6. Saint Somewhere Saison Athene - Relatively new brewery in Florida. A shockingly tasty and complex saison...from Florida which makes it even more shocking.

7. J.W. Lees Harvest Ale Lagavulin 2001 - I have never been able to get my head around the various incarnations of Harvest Ale but at the 10th anniversary of The Brickstore Pub there was a 7 year old vintage that had been aged in Lagavulin whisky casks. My eyes were opened. Looking forward to trying more Harvest Ale in the future.

8. Sam Adams Longshot Weizenbock - One of the winning homebrews from the Samuel Adams Longshot competition. This was one of the winners and falls under the category of "well crafted in every way".

9. Weyerbacher Heresey - Weyerbacher Old Heathen is one of my favorite imperial stouts and Heresey is that beer aged in oak barrels that were used to make Kentucky bourbon. Typically not a fan of oak aged stouts but this one hit the spot.

10. Mikkeller Stateside IPA - A Danish brewery doing an American style IPA. Juicy, bitter and delicious.

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 25: 2003 N'Ice Chouffe

2008-12-30T22:03:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Brasserie Achouffe
Style: ???
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

This is one of my favorite beers and I grab one every winter. The bottle describes this brew as a dark ale brewed with thyme and orange peel. It also says that this beer can be aged up to 5 years. So this is a bottle I've been holding onto for just that long.

Pours a murky dark brown with a frothy tan head. Smells of sweet spice, rich caramel malt, dark fruit and a hint of alcohol.

The first impression is that the beer is very smooth and the flavors are well balanced. Sweet spice, caramel malt, black currant, sweet dark chocolate, a hint of hops and some warming alcohol, all mixing around together and alternately taking the lead. The mouth is not as full as when fresh but it is more drinkable.

What can I say? Did it improve with age? I wouldn't say it's better than when fresh but it turned into something equally as good.

Brasserie Achouffe

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 24: Breckenridge Christmas Ale

2008-12-28T19:18:00.000-05:00

Brewery: Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 7.4%
Date Poured: December 2008

This winter warmer has been brewed by Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado since 1993. This is the first Christmas it has been available to me.

Deep opaque brown with mahogany highlights, thinnish white head, light lacing. Smells of roasty malt, some underlying citrusy hops.

Roasty dark malt, bittersweet chocolate and caramel malt. Just a hint of dark fruit and a light peppery bitterness. Rich but drinkable, very smooth for a beer approaching 8% ABV. Full mouth and a sweet and roasty finish. Lovely stuff.

Breckenridge Brewery

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 23: Abita Christmas Ale 2008

2008-12-23T18:34:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Abita Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: ???
Date Poured: December 2008

This is the second year that Louisiana-based Abita Brewing has put out a Christmas Ale. Each year they change the recipe. This year it seems that it is a brown ale.

A crystal clear but lightly reddish copper topped by a dense, creamy tan khaki colored head. Lots of fine lacing down the glass. Lightly fruity caramel malt.

Crisp and light faint caramel malt, some herbal English-style hops. Light and crisp in the mouth with a very clean finish.

That's about it. A light, mildly refreshing ale in a style I'm not that crazy about to begin with. Not bad I suppose, just not much here.

Abita Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 22: 1997 Samuel Adams Triple Bock

2008-12-22T21:32:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Style: Triple Bock (???)
ABV: 17.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

Samuel Adams Triple Bock was brewed in three vintages: 1994, 1995 and 1997. Even though it hasn't been brewed for over ten years, the cobalt blue bottles are still sporadically found on liquor store shelves. This was probably the first real "extreme" beer. It was brewed with maple syrup and aged for some months in oak whiskey barrels. At the time, it was considered to be the strongest beer in the world. This bottle is a 1997 vintage and was purchased about five years ago and has been int he cellar even since.

Dark brown in the glass with no head at all but nice "legs" like a port or sherry would have. Lots of oaky, whiskey components in the aroma. A hint of molasses and vanilla. Strong and sweet.

Rich malt, dark fruit and a scorching alcohol flavor. Very, very sweet. Distinct whiskey flavor. Oak and vanilla. A hint of the maple syrup in the aftertaste as well as a nice alcohol burn. Very sticky after the heat subsides.

This is a sipper, treat it like a cognac instead of a beer. I only drink this about three ounces at a time. I still like it though. I like what the age has done to it and I like the overall flavors this beer is delivering. Good stuff.

Samuel Adams

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 21: 2006 Avec les Bons Voeux

2008-12-21T21:50:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
ABV: 9.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

Avec les Bons Voeux is no longer a winter seasonal but was for years before Dupont decided to make this "big daddy" of a saison a year-round offering. This one has been in the cellar for two years.

This one pours a hazy bright gold with a fair white head that leaves some modest lacing. Quite lemony in the nose, some sweet spice and maybe a hint of orange zest. Significant herbal hop presence still in this beer. Sweet pale malt up front but dries out quick. A distinct flavor of juniper berries comes through again and again. The mouth is full bodied but dry. Lovely bitterness in the finish.

Over the fresh beer, the big change it goes through over two years is the body has thinned a bit and some caramel and molasses flavors evident in the younger beer have all but disappeared. A much more crisp and dry beer now but it's still pretty amazing stuff. A classic.

Brasserie Dupont

25 Beers of Christmas '08: Day 20: 't Smisje Sleedorn

2008-12-20T20:11:00.005-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij de Regenboog
Style: ????
ABV: 6.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

Another beer from De Regenboog, another brought back from my recent trip to Belgium. I'm not sure if it's a winter seasonal but the festive sled with the cartoon dog leads me to believe so.

It's a murky coppery-brown with no head to speak of. A tart berry aroma wafts from the glass, (this ale is supposedly brewed with some sort of berry) some brett funk smells too.

Quite tart. Who am I kidding? It's pretty sour, lots of acetic acid and barnyard funk. The berry/cherry sourness flits in and out too. Surprisingly, the finish is relatively clean, just a hint of vinegary sourness and then it's gone. The mouth is light but lots of flavor.

It's unique. Not sure I love it but it is different.

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 19: Allagash Grand Cru

2008-12-19T20:44:00.006-05:00

Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Style: ???
ABV: 7.2%
Date Poured: December 2008

When I lived in Maine, this was probably my favorite winter seasonal. Unlike most Maine breweries that specialized in English style brews, Allagash was unique in that they dealt in Belgian styles. Back then, it was their White, Dubbel, Tripel and this one...the Grand Cru. Allagash recently began distribution in Georgia making me a happy man.

Orangey brown with a dense and creamy tan head that lingers forever and leaves sheeting lace. Aromas of biscuity malt and sweet peppery spices.

Flavor is dominated by a caramel, biscuity malt with peppery spices underneath. Pretty sweet. Yeasty and spicy, pepper, coriander and cinnamon. Thick and sticky mouthfeel, finish is sticky too. Spicy aftertaste.

Lovely balance of the various flavors. Just as good as I remembered.

Allagash Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 18: 't Smisje Kerst

2008-12-18T22:15:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij de Regenboog
Style:???
ABV: 11.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

Another Christmas beer brought back from my recent Belgium trip and yet another beer from Brouwerij de Regenboog. This one is bottled in a green glass stubby with a red bottlecap. Very festive!

It's a luminous reddish-copper with a thinnish ivory head. Smells of lightly fruity malt with significant floral, noble hops aromas. Faint spice.

Huge fruity sweetness, ripe cherries and black currant, hints of pear with a distinct coriander flavor underneath. Very sweet with a touch of alcohol flavor in the finish. It says it's an 11% ABV beer but you'd never know it. I would've guessed it was a beer that was 2/3 that strong. Sticky sweet finish and spicy aftertaste.

Delicious beer and very drinkable! I'd get it again.

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 17: Rabid Duck Imperial Stout

2008-12-17T21:38:00.001-05:00

Brewery: Duck Rabbit Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

Duck Rabbit is a small craft brewery located in Farmville, North Carolina. Rabid Duck is their winter seasonal and they only recently began to distribute in Atlanta.

Pours dark as night with a thin brown head. Rich malty and creamy in the nose with significant alcohol and dark fruit notes.

Wow. Malty and rich in the mouth. Oaky with a light roastiness. Very, very sweet dark malt. Bitter chocoalte and creamy mocha. Very bold and intense. Enormous body in the mouth, full and sticky. A roasty finish and aftertaste.

A little brewery that is doing big things. Go get some.

Duck Rabbit Brewery

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 16: Red Brick Winter Ale

2008-12-16T20:35:00.006-05:00

Brewery: Atlanta Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Dubbel
ABV: 8.2%
Date Poured: December 2008

Until this year, ABC's Winter Brew was a porter. But this year, it's a new style: a big 8.2% ABV dark belgian ale. The closest thing I can describe it as is a dubbel...but let's get drinking.

Deep reddish brown in the glass with nary a head, just wispy bits of foam. Nose is full of candi sugar, herbal hops and big fusel alcohol aromas. Hints of banana, believe it or not.

Fruity and caramel malt, slight sweet astringency from candi sugar or something of the like. Plum and blackcurrant. Very sticky in the mouth, only the driness from the alcohol keeps it from being cloying. It's hot, lots of alcohol. Long sticky aftertaste.

Perhaps a bit young and hot but interesting nonetheless. Maybe a bit of age will settle it down.

Atlanta Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 15: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

2008-12-15T21:48:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.8%
Date Poured: December 2008

Yet another yearly tradition at Christmas is Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. This is the first Christmas beer I can remember drinking. I tried an aged bottle last year and decided that this beer was defintely best when fresh! So here's a fresh bottle for 2008.

Orange body topped by a creamy khaki head with lots of fine lacing on the glass. Grapefruit and orange rind in the nose.

Bitter but juicy citrus flavors, more grapefruit and orange rind. Lightly sweet with a clean finish. A long citrusy hop finish.

Good as ever.

Sierra Nevada Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 14: Boucanier Christmas Ale

2008-12-14T20:13:00.004-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Strong Pale
ABV: 9.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

I don't know much about this one except that it is brewed by Van Stennberge in Ertvelde, Belgium, about a half hour north of Gent. This is yet another of the Christmas beer I brought back from Belgium.

It pours a fairly clear orangey-copper with an enormous fluffy white head. Smells of very fruity, very spicy pale malt. Spiced apple and cidery aromas. Ripe pear and even ripe banana. Peppery, gingery aromas too.

Again, spiced apples and cidery in the mouth. A distinct alcohol flavor, some herbal, almost juniper flavors help balance the sweetness. Peppery spice, a bright fruitiness, touch of lemon. bready, lots going on in here. Sweet and fruity aftertaste and finish. Nicely done.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 13: St. Bernardus Christmas

2008-12-13T09:55:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij St. Bernard
Style: Abbey Ale
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

In my humble opinion, St. Bernardus does nothing but make great beers. Every style they make is superb. I'm hoping their Christmas beer meets the same standards.

Murky brown in the glass with just a hint of a wispy brown head. Licorice and dark fruit aromas and mulling spices.

Rich dark fruit and bready dark malt. Some warming alcohol and anise. Very thick and malty, lots of black currant and ripe plum, More licorice in the finish and aftertaste. Yummy!

Great stuff. I need to get some more.

Brouwerij St. Bernard

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 12: 2007 Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig

2008-12-12T19:30:00.002-05:00

Brewer: Boston Beer Company
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 5.6%
Date Poured: December 2008

Old Fezziwig is another beer that I manage to pick up every Christmas season but the fruity and caramel notes always made me wonder how it would age. It's not a great candidate at only 5.6% ABV but I put a bottle away last Christmas to see what would happen anyway.

Pours reddish brown with a thin tan head and sheeting lace. Smells of fruity caramel malt. There's still the fruity and caramel malt in the mouth but there's clear signs of oxidation and toffee. The oxidation really overwhelms the other flavors, it's a mess now.

Nut fresh this is a really great beer. It's fruity and malty and finishes with sweet spice. It's very well balanced and a great Christmas beer. Don't let my failed experiment put you off.

Boston Beer

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 11: De Dolle Stille Nacht

2008-12-11T08:44:00.001-05:00

Brewery: De Dolle Brouwers
Style: ????
ABV: 12.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

This bottle of beer is NOT from my trip to Belgium but it is brewed in Essen, Belgium, 45 minutes north of Antwerp, right near the Dutch border.

Murky orangey copper in the glass topped with a frothy khaki head. Rich fruity malt, sour apples and pears, hint of plum. Spicy and sweet.

This ale packs a wallop. Huge pale malt flavors, big fruitiness with the spiced apple and pear again. Incredibly sweet, the candy sugar is very apparent. Sweet buttery caramel and hints of vanilla and toffee. All of this is permeated by a distinct booziness that warms and kicks. It's not harsh but you know it's there. Very sweet finish but the alcohol helps to dry that out a bit. Fantastic flavors but very, very strong and rough around the edges.

I've got another bottle. Maybe I'll crack it open for the 25 Beers of Christmas '09...or '10.

De Dolle Brouwers

25 Beers fo Christmas '08, Day 10: Sweetwater Festive Ale

2008-12-10T17:43:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Sweetwater Brewing Company
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.6%
Date Poured: December 2008

I tried to drink this beer for the 25 Beers of Christmas '07 but the old flip top container had failed and the beer was spoiled. Fresh, this beer has an overbearing spiciness that I do not enjoy at all. The solution? Try a capped bottle that has been aged for a year and hope that the spice has calmed down.

It's a deep, nearly opaque, brown with a thinnish tan head. Fruity sweet malt with sweet spices.

Fruity, sweet dark malt. Lots of sweet spice, clove, cinnamon and ginger. Quite sweet and quite a lot of spice. Lightly roasty and sweet in the finish.

The spice, even after a year, is heavy handed and all the flavors are a bit haphazard. I've given it a real chance but this beer is just not for me.

Sweetwater Brewing Company

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 9: Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale

2008-12-09T18:35:00.003-05:00

Brewery: Samuel Smith Old Brewery

Style: Winter Warmer

ABV: 6.0%

Date Poured: December 2008

I tried Samuel Smith's Winter Warmer about five years ago and was less than impressed. It didn't seem as big and robust as I thought an ale calling itself a winter warmer should be. I decided to retry it this year thinking that a more mature palate may lead me to a new appreciation of this ale.

Pours a bright copper with a thin ivory head. Fine spiderweb lacing is left on the glass. Floral British hops in the nose, lightly fruity malt and lightly metallic too.

This ale is crisp in the mouth. Lightly fruity malt with just a hint of caramel. Herbal hops. Finish is quite crisp and clean with the herbal hops lingering in the aftertaste.

It still strikes me as lacking when it comes to a winter warmer. Perhaps its just my expectations as an American who came of drinking age with the "microbrew" revolutuion in full swing. But I have a better appreciation for this ale than I did five years ago.

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 8: Anchor OSA 2008

2008-12-08T08:07:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: ?
Date Poured: December 2008

Anchor's "Our Special Ale" is a yearly tradition for me and here is the latest edition. The recipe is different each year and the brewery has been releasing it every Christmas season since 1975 making it one of the oldest (if not the oldest) winter seasonal beers brewed in the U.S.

It's dark. A nearly opaque brown, with a dense, creamy tan head. The nose is piney and sweet dark malt with hints of mocha and dark chocolate.

Very piney in the mouth. The hops are bittersweet with the underpinnings of some roasty porter-like malt. Did I mention it's piney? Roasty and sweet in the finish. The piney hops dominate the aftertaste and the mouth is lightly sticky.

A good one yet again but with Anchor OSA, that's the norm.

Anchor Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 7: 't Gaverhopke Kerstbier

2008-12-07T08:03:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij 't Gaverhopke
Style:
ABV: 8%
Date Poured: December 2008

Pours murky chestnut with a thin tan head. Lots of alcohol in the aroma, fruity and lightly sour, a bit of funk.

This is a weird one. The alcohol I thought I smelled is nowhere to be found in the flavor. Lightly tart and fruity with a light funk. There's the distinct vinegary taste of lactic acid. Thinnish body, crisp and tart. Berries and sweet spice with a cidery finish.

This is different to be sure. A bit of oud bruin, a bit of lambic and a little Flanders red thrown in for good measure. I can't say I love it but I would love to know how they brew it. Worth a look.

't Gaverhopke

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 6: Great Divide Hibernation Ale

2008-12-06T08:15:00.002-05:00

Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 8%
Date Poured: December 2008

Great Divide brews in Denver, CO and Hibernation has been their winter seasonal since 1995. They brew it in July, age it until October when it is bottles and is only available from November 1st to December 15th. Sounds like Christmas to me.

The body is crystal clear reddish-copper with a thin and lingering khaki colored head. The aroma is full of pinewood and toffee mixed with earthy spice.

There's a distinct chocolate flavor that permeates this beer, kind of a mix of very dark chocolate and cocoa. Lightly roasty with a hint of smoke. But a lot of toffee and fruity, oaky malt in here as well. A woody mouthfeel, if that makes any sense. A bit like having the reed of a saxophone in your mouth. Lingering sweetness and herbal hoppiness in the finish.

Really extraordinary beer. Get some if you can.

Great Divide

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 5: Boelens Kerstbier

2008-12-05T07:30:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Brouwerij Boelens

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Date Poured: December 2008

Brouwerij Boelens is a microbrewery located about halfway between Antwerp and Gent. Another beer I brought back from my recent trip to Belgium.

It pours a deep reddish chestnut with a frothy tan head, malty and yeasty with fruity apple and pear. Somewhat boozy.

In the mouth, it's surprisingly smooth and the booziness is barely noticeable. Bready and fruity malt, caramel and spiced apple. The body is not at full as you would expect but finishes with a nice sweetness. Light, sweet spice in the aftertaste.

This beer drinks easy but that 8.5% ABV sneaks up on you for sure! Good stuff.

Brouwerij Boelens

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 4: Spanish Peaks Winter Warmer

2008-12-04T08:23:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Spanish Peaks
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.3%
Date Poured: December 2008

It's a deep chestnut in the glass with a thinnish but dense and creamy khaki head. Leaves sheeting lace. There's a nutty, malty aroma intertwined with a biting herbal hop smell.

The first sip delivers lots more hops than I expected. Spicy, herbal hops balanced by a nutty sweet malt. Sticky finish but a relatively light mouthfeel.

Be forewarned...if you're looking for a big, bold winter warmer, you won't find it here. But it is well-balanced and an easy drinker. As long as you're not expecting it to hit you over the head, it's well worth checking out.

Spanish Peaks Brewing Company

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 3: Gordon Xmas

2008-12-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

Brewery: John Martin SA
Style: Belgian Scotch Style Ale
ABV: 8.8%
Date Poured: December 2008

The John Martin brewery is based in Belgium and, among other things, brews some Scotch-style ales under the Gordon label. This Christmas beer seems to be in the same vein. As you may have guessed, another beer I picked up in Belgium this October.

It's dark brown in the glass with auburn highlights and topped by a frothy tan head. A malty nose, sweet spices and a faint smokiness.

Rich, raisiny fruitiness blended in with sweet spices, clove and cinnamon perhaps. More dark fruit lurking below and an understated earthy smokiness or toastiness in the body. There's a faint metallic quality in the finish and the fruitiness leaves a stickiness in the mouth. The earthy roastiness lingers in the aftertaste.

It's 8.8% ABV but you'd never know it. Very smooth and complex at the same time. Nice ale.

John Martin

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 2: Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

2008-12-02T08:45:00.002-05:00

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 6.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

Rogue Ales Brewery is based in Oregon and Santa's Private Reserve is one of those beers I try to get at least one bottle of every Christmas season. It's not your typical winter beer but it has yet to disappoint.

Pours a slightly reddish copper with a dense ivory head with thick lacing on the glass. Big hops smack you in the nose, citrusy and sweet. (Being Rogue, there's not much of a surprise that there is a big hop presence in this beer!)

Some caramel malt imparted but mostly just overwhelming piney hops with finishings of grapefruit. Long lingering hops in the finish and aftertaste.

If you like your amber ales hoppy, this is your beer. Tasty and refreshing. A nice change of pace from the parade of big malty beers that dominate the winter season.

Rogue Ales Brewery

And So It Begins...

2008-12-01T08:41:00.002-05:00

Today starts the 25 Beers of Christmas, the second annual edition. For the next 25 days, I will be posting notes on various Christmas beers, winter seasonals and treats from my cellar. (For another feature similiar to this, check out The Brew Site where Jon will be doing his 4th annual Beer Advent Calendar. We only had two beers overlap last year...)

As a result, there won't be much on the site except the 25 beers of Christmas for the rest of the month. I still have to finish writing up my Belgium trip (still Brugge, Gent and Brussels to go!) and I had hoped that would be done before now. But what can you do?

Happy Holidays!

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 1: De Koninck Winter Koninck

2008-12-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

Brewery: De Koninck
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.5% Date
Poured: December 2008

One of the several bottles of Christmas or "Kerst" beers I brought back from Belgium. De Koninck is a brewery right in the middle of Antwerp and their standard De Koninck ale is the most popular beer in town. This beer is described as a deep amber ale. It also reads "Best by 6/12/2007". Oops.

Kind of an amber brown in the glass with a thin ivory head. Some floaties in the beer, doesn't look like yeast but more like coagulated protein. Not so appetizing! Fruity maltiness and an earthy, yeasty aroma. Prunes and baked apples with just a hint of oakiness.

Earthy and spicy in the mouth, a bitterness in the finish. Cinnamon and clove is prominent and a sweetness that hints at candy sugar used in the brewing process. More candy sugar in the finish, a mild bitterness accompanies the sweetness in the finish. Man, a lot of spice in this ale! Fruity, sweet and spicy pretty much sums it up.

You can taste a bit of oxidation and the unappetizing floaters demonstrate that this ale is past its prime but still not bad. Someday I hope to have a fresh taste.

Brouwerij De Koninck