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I'll drink and enjoy anything the folks at Stone brew. That's just a fact.
On the other hand, whatever BrewDog puts in a bottle promises an awful lot, but it rarely delivers on that promise.
This beer somehow fulfills both prophesies. Like the black pilsner they collaborated on, the beer defies style and definition. It's black black with lovely lacing. The aroma is big, roasty, raisiny, and even oddly hoppy. However, the mouthfeel is a bit watery and the flavor doesn't quite live up to what's promised in the appearance and smell.
That said, I enjoyed the beer anyway. It's still better than 90% of the beers out there and is unique enough of an experience to warrant another pint.
4...8...15...16...23...42...
Such are the mysterious numbers in my favorite TV show, Lost. They come up time and time again throughout the series, hiding some cryptic meaning for Losties like myself to ponder endlessly.
The obsession for this show runs deep as I wait nine or so months for the show to return to the weekly lineup. Even as intensely frustrating as the series can be, I'll wait for it's arrival every February.
The mysteries surrounding numbers exist in beer as well. Boulevard Brewery of KC has a particular fermentation tank that likes to infect their beers. Instead of fighting the mysterious black cloud hovering over Tank 7, they went with it and brewed up a semi-traditional Belgian farmhouse ale. And like my obsession for the show, I've waited for this beer to arrive in its majestic 750 mL bottles to reveal the mysteries of open fermentation.
Tonight, as if caught up in the same time warp as the survivors of Flight 815, we enjoyed some cheese fondue with our sci-fi melodrama. The beer and garlic-y cheese paired nicely, playing off the mutual funkiness and tartness, keeping my senses alert as I tried to take in the games Lost played with time and space. Much like the mysterious nature of the island, Tank 7 and the fondue slowly revealed themselves and their parallel assertiveness.
There was a post from the previous week about drinking some beer over football. It was never completed, but I'll somehow manage this sports-related post concerning sports and beer. Maybe I'll have room for a Super Bowl edition...
Sunday afternoon is a great time to take in a college basketball game and even better time to take in a beer.
Notice the champagne cap. It works when you can't finish a beer in one sitting.
The game was between my beloved Buckeyes and the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. A few weeks ago, Ohio State laid an egg up in Minneapolis. Revenge was on their mind as two Buckeyes led the way to a game I never saw the end of as the network moved on to a more competitive one. Evan Turner and Will Buford combined for 45 points and 13 assists to put away the Gophers by 22 (85-63). It took their double effort to whip the Gophers into submission.
Much like the game, I had a tough time finishing my entire beer in one sitting. I popped open Stone's Double Bastard, a double version of the popular Arrogant Bastard. While at first I thought "This is a stronger Bastard than before..." that wasn't the whole tale. The only thing that balances the sweet toffee of this huge malt bill is the intense level of hops. I consider myself to be a hophead, but this beer is beyond my threshold. It is thought that the human tongue can only sense a certain level of bitterness. Double Bastard made me feel like that limit was busted tenfold. On top of that, the 10.5% ABV made me slow things down a bit, capping the beer to finish just before dinner.
So, like the Buckeye blowout, I loved it. I don't want to simply beat my team's opponents or my tongue's taste buds; I wanted to pulverize them. This past Sunday allowed me to enjoy both experiences.
Sometimes there are beers that get lost in one's cellar. It's not that they're bad beers. It's just that it might not be a style one is really into. You have to figure out something to do with it. To drink an entire bomber of a beer you're not entirely sure you want to drink in the first place is hard to do. So, we look to cooking as an option.
For me, there have been a couple of wheat beers that just won't go away. One such beer was the Boulevard Smokestack Series' Two Jokers Double-Wit. This beer is said to be loaded with orange, coriander, and other spices. Spicy wheat beers are hit-or-miss for me. That and I don't always handle 750 mL of Belgian style brews as well as American counterparts. All that and I had the beer in my possession for nearly six months, the universally accepted limit for cellaring beers.
After some searching on the Internets, I came across a roasted fish recipe. It called for halibut or salmon. I was able to find salmon here in town, so that's what I went with. The recipe called for 12 oz. of beer. That left me with enough to drink at dinner which paired deliciously. I will definitely try this recipe/beer combo again.
ROASTED FISH WITH WHEAT BEER SAUCE
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 2 halibut or salmon fillets (about 1 ¼ inches thick), halved crosswise
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 TBLS extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 TBLS balsamic vinegar
• 1 bottle (12 oz) Wheat Beer
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 TBLS capers, drained
• 1 ½ TBLS chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse fillets and dry thoroughly with paper towel; season with salt and pepper.
In large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat, warm olive oil. When oil is hot, add butter. When melted, add shallots and sauté 3 minutes. Add vinegar; cook 30 seconds, then add Wheat Beer and bring to a boil. Boil mixture until beer is reduce to about 1 ½ cups, about 4 – 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, cream, capers and chopped tarragon; cook mixture 1 ½ minutes longer.
Place fish on top of hot tomato mixture. Put skillet into oven and roast 10 minutes, or until fish is firm to the touch and just barely opaque in the thickest parts. Transfer fish to serving platter. Stir tomato mixture in the skillet and spoon over top.
Every year, there is a mad rush to claim every case, sixer, and bottle of Bell's DIPA, better known as Hopslam, in this town. We don't normally get as many cases as we received this year, but last year's crazed onslaught of beer geeks seeking hop heaven has finally earned us additional shipments of Hopslam.
Last year's edition was a punch in the face of pure grapefruit. I loved it. I would eat piles of Simcoe hops if my mouth wouldn't get so dry. That's how much I like the grapefruity, cat-piss aroma and flavor of this beer. It was a truly a memorable beer.
This year's version is as balanced as last year's was top-heavy. Sure, as I opened and poured the beer, I could smell that familiar grapefruitiness from last year. But as I took a sip of my first Hopslam, I realized this was another beast. The malt and honey came correct and balanced the Simcoe/Amarillo frenzy. Plus, there's pine not previously present in my experience. Truly, this is a great, great beer.
I love me some grapefruitilicious, hoppy-as-hell DIPA, but this makes it work for the rest of the beer-drinking world. Welcome back Hopslam.
I decided some time ago that maybe I should take better care of myself. To do this, it seemed best to rid my body of toxins in order to begin a new regimen of eating better and exercising more. I certainly ate better, limiting portions, sugar, caffeine, and even alcohol. (The exercise will have to come later when it gets warmer.)
The program of supplements meant to clean me out was a ten-day deal. Today is the 11th. It's time to undo all the good I've done. It's time to retox as one friend put it. I started with coffee this morning, but a beer this evening was what I really looked forward to.
I decided to finish off one of the few holiday beers I still had left from the...err...holidays. The Special Holiday Ale from the collaboration of Jolly Pumpkin, Nøgne-Ø, and Stone (three of my favorite breweries) hit the spot. Juniper berries, chestnuts, and other spices dominated this malty slice of heaven. When the hop presence wasn't felt, I could swear I was drinking the best, fruitiest Coke ever. And at 9% ABV I was sure not to confuse it too much for a fruity cola.
Welcome back beer. I've missed you. It's been since last year...
This was my first beer of 2010, just in time for Hopslam's arrival tomorrow. Enough of that talk. Let me enjoy my first beer of the year, of the decade.
Possibly due to the holiday and the fact I live in a college town, last night's Columbia Beer Enthusiast gathering at Sycamore was somewhat small. This was surprising in that the tasting involved only beers on Beer Advocate's top 100 list(s). Granted, the list at BA is lacking a few great beers, but overall it is pretty solid from top to bottom.
The list is fluid as beers are rated daily. One of the beers I brought (Hoppin' Frog's B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Stout) was ranked at 99 on the American list as of last night, but it did spend time off the list last week. Thankfully, no one minded having to drink such a lowly beer.
I'll detail what we drank below. We started with the lowest ranking beer and moved down the list. I'm not that concerned with rankings. You can look those up if you wish. Here's what we drank...
My contribution to the evening's collection of beers.
Hoppin' Frog's B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Stout - This was a great place to begin. Someone pointed out that it was too sweet and could stand to age. I love a beer that's very drinkable but you can tell that it will only get better with age, like many beers on this list.
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter - Too bad this beer was sandwiched between two mammoth imperial stouts. It was a good porter nonetheless. Great Lakes doesn't blow me away, but they always make a solid brew.
Old Rasputin Russian XII - This was as good as I remembered it from the summer: boozy, a touch of cola, so good.
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout - This one was up for debate. Sanford (of Sycamore) tapped a a keg of this beer (supposedly). Many thought it tasted more like the regular Yeti. I thought it didn't taste like either. I thought I tasted some funk, but I could be wrong. I certainly would finish a pint if you ordered it for me.
Stone Ruination IPA - This was the beer that exposed me to the wonders of craft brewing, my gateway beer. It's always so good. Either because of some aging or the fact that we jut polished off some pretty intense stouts, this one was mellower than usual. No complaints though.
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy - This is a great imperial stout that brings the bitter better than most and is mellower in a can than the syrup usually found in a imperial stout bottle.
Duvel - Spicy...and I think it was skunked. The bottle said that it was pretty new, but it tasted off. Some guys were polite, but I thought it was a case of a bad bottle. I'm pretty sure Duvel didn't taste this way to me before.
Boulevard Saison Brett - It's nice that a MO beer made the list and the tasting. This beer is so much better done than the other saisons I've had over the past couple of years. Sometimes it's hard to believe that it comes from here.
Bear Republic Hot Rod Rye - I love the balance and hop presence of this beer. That said, I'm sort of surprised that it's on this list and so high (40's-50's). It's good, but there aren't beers more deserving than this? Maybe it's such a good representation of the style that it rates high. I've noticed that a lot of brews that defy classification do not make appearances on either top-100 list.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart - What a great way to cleanse the pallet near the mid-point of the tasting. This beer was sweet and not as tart as expected, but it really did the trick. I used to proclaim that I didn't like fruity beers, but I think I'm beginning to sound like all those beer novices who say they don't like hoppy beers. They usually just have to find the right one.
New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red - OK. Two fruity beers from New Glarus in a row? My palet was ready to bring back the malt and hop at this point. Again, this was another excellent fruit beer I didn't expect.
Surly Furious - Simcoe. That ammonia/grapefruit aroma and flavor you sometimes get from your favorite beer? That's simcoe. This beer comes correct with it. Furious indeed.
St. Bernardus 12 - This is my Thanksgiving beer. Give me malt, spice, coffee(?), and a touch of funk to match my smoked turkey. I was more than happy to get started on the week's festivities early with this one.
Russian River Consecration - Wine drinkers can suck it! This beer is pretty awesome. However, I have two problems with Russian River. First, this is a finely crafted beer with even finer artwork on the labels. Why be so lazy as to cover said label with comic sans? COMIC SANS!!! Second, these beers are too pricey. This 750 mL bottle was $25 and the next 12 oz.(?) bottle below was in the $13 range. Why pay those prices when you can get a bomber of New Belgium's La Folie at Arena for the same as Temptation?
Russian River Temptation - Now that I'm done bashing Russian River, I should write about the beer. Consecration and Temptation are two of the most balanced sour beers one can find (if you can find it). This one is more sour than the first, but it's wine in a beer glass. I mean that in a good way.
Founders Breakfast Stout - This beer is pure coffee, but it's done well. The day this became available in MO was the day this place became a little less miserable.
Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA - Mangoes are my favorite fruit. Why wouldn't you want a beer that taste like mangoes?
Stone Russian Imperial Stout - This is the mother-ship of all Russian imperials. Interesting how much Stone is consumed in our little beer community despite their refusal to distribute here. I'm not sure they have to legally sell in Missouri. We all are too willing to ship their beer or drive to every corner in order fill that gap in our cellars. Either way, this is always welcome at the table.
Bell's Hopslam - I now have a new appreciation for Hopslam. I was always convinced that it needed to be consumed ASAP in order to enjoy the freshness of the hops. The fear is that the hoppiness will fade with time, leaving the beer undrinkable - especially at $19 a sixer. Last night proved me wrong. One of the beers shared last night was cellared and the other was kept in the fridge for the past nine or ten months. I was lucky enough to swipe a sample of each. The cellared beer was very mellow, like a light barley wine. The cold bottle was able to hold onto quite a bit of the grapefruit present in a fresh bottle, but it too was mellower. I will definitely do my best to save a six-pack the next time Hopslam hits town.
Rochefort 10 - "Always good; malty." That's all I had written at this point in the tasting. I think you'll understand why.
Alesmith Speedway Stout - I wasn't sure about this one at first, but it grew on me. Where most stouts pair chocolate with coffee, this one brought the orange zest to the party. There aren't many better combos with chocolate than orange.
Ballast Point Sculpin - Grapefruit and simcoe. I'm sensing a trend in the realm of IPA's and DIPA's.
Abyss - This chocolaty imperial stout actually had some spice but didn't overwhelm you with syrup.
Pannepot Old Fisherman's Ale - Sweet and tart, this beer was lost as it made a solo flight around the table of fallen beer enthusiasts. I was told it's nothing like the real thing. I wouldn't have known the difference at this point in the evening.
Overall, it was maybe the best tasting we've had in the first 18 months of the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts. I enjoyed it immensely, maybe too much. Now, where's my vitamin B?
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