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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.
I invited over a friend to have some beers Sunday. I have several beers in my stash that not just anyone would enjoy. On top of that, I don't know that I should enjoy them alone. So, there they sat on their shelf under the basement stairs until yesterday.
My friend Alan is a major foodie. In fact, you might have heard of his chocolate. He brought over some super dense rye bread, this great cheese with a strip of ash running through the middle, some chorizo, Branston pickle, and some homemade pickles. The pairings of all these slightly off, mostly sour foods went well with the beers I chose to sample.
We started with a Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. The nose of this beer is quite sour, but somehow balance is maintained with just the right amount of bitterness. If all sour beers were like this, I may drink more of them.
It was cool to bring out the Jolly Pumpkin as Alan has been talking to the brewer and founder at JP concerning some projects. I won't divulge any information at this time, but I think it will be a great partnership.
When that beer was done, we moved on to the very excellent Mikkeller Monk's Brew. What a fine example of a quadruple. Again, the beer paired well with the foods. It's a cliche to say that I tasted raisins, but I tasted raisins. That's probably all some people need to know about a beer.
It was a nice afternoon of discussing beer styles I don't often consume. The food pairings and Alan's profession have convinced me to make pairing his single-origin chocolate with with the perfect beers. Stay tuned for those developments.
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