David and Walker are drinking a different beer each day* for an entire year, 365 beers in all, starting August 5th, 2010. We're writing about our daily regime to share the experiences and delicious discoveries with our friends and mild acquaintances to inspire YOU to bring previously unknown beers to your lips. (*limit one new beer per day consumed before midnight, no catch up days allowed)
Enjoying a big beer my last evening before I head to NYC. There's a rich caramel aroma as I pour this pooch out on the deck at day's end. Barleywines, my friends, are my kinda dogs. Will this brew be a yellow lab or a hairless chihuahua?
Hair of the Dog's other ales are named after people in either the brewing world or the owner's personal life - Ruth, Adam, Fred - you know, the type of four letter words one doesn't need to spell out in front of kids, like Love or Twat. So why not a name like something like Nick or Tedd for their Barleywine? Because at 11.5% alcohol and 70 IBU's, Fido here has claws.
There is a sweet, rich caramel flavor profile and a bold, unique hop flavor. The hops used are Simcoe, which typically departs a very bold and earthy flavor, and the Amarillo, which departs a very citrus flavor. They also used wild flower honey, which only helps the flavor imparted by the Amarillo hops. Right now the brew is tasty, but in another 6 months the hops will smooth out to make a more balanced barleywine. Still, I love in your face Barleywines and I'm looking forward to my next time with Doggie Claws. THE ROCK rating.
Karl picked this gem up in Bruges because he'd never seen the Grand Cru from this Saint, and because he knew this ceramic bottle wouldn't break in his luggage. Smart man that Karl and an incredible friend for bringing 4 beers back from Belgium just for us.
It's a pretty smooth and light for a 7.8% beer. It's crisp with a bit of that Belgian Blonde sharpness. Karl believes this to be pretty tasty and I agree. It's smooth and easy with an edge at times; this would be Van Morrison singing 'Jackie Wilson Said,' if it 'twas a song. TRANSFORMERS rating.
Small update, David insisted I open up a bomber of my Belgian Blonde for Karl to try, since the small bottle last night proved excellent. Unfortunately the bigger bottle hasn't carbonated yet. Still good but nearly as crisp. Will have to put this back on the shelf for a week. If St. Sebastiaan was incarnate, his royal monkness would tell us to be patient. Lesson learned.
Tonight I'm brewing my 6th home brew in 7 months. The recipe is incredibly experimental and is inspired by a particular sweet I can't pass by, which are caramel on the inside with sea salt on top. The combination of sweetness and the salt creates a supernova of flavors. It's wild if you haven't tried it, you can probably find them in wine shops or Whole Foods.
I've never seen a beer like this and there is only style brewed with salt that I'm aware of, the German Gose. This beer is packed with caramel malts and dark brown sugar, then I'm adding sea salt at the end of the boil and crossing my fingers that it's the correct amount. I chose a Scottish pale malt as my base grain and I'm using a Scottish yeast, which will accentuate the malty flavors. Since smelling a beer will greatly influence the taste your beer, I threw in a gregarious amount of aromatic malt to bring out the salt and caramel aroma. Finally, the hop count is real low, which will exacerbate the caramel malt presence.
To be honest, those who have tasted all my homebrews agree that they would buy them again if it was sold in store, which is the ultimate litmus test. However, I'm nervous about this one. I haven't really screwed a brew up yet but this one could be the one. Welp, here's to being bold:
Hops: Kent Goldings (5.0%) 1 oz at 60 mins
Willamette (5.5%) .5 oz at 45 mins
Yeast: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale
Misc: 9 tsp of Sea Salt at 5 mins.
Instructions: Boil 1 gallon of the first runnings and add brown sugar. Add with the rest of the wort to cool in the fermenter.
Mash Efficiency set at 70%
Potential Alcohol 6.3%
19.4 IBU's
Color is 26 SRM (Dark Brown to Black).
*Keep reading and you'll discover why I don't have a starting Original Gravity, grrrr.
Three tiered brewing in action. You can see David in the background manning the caramelization pot on our open flame stove
The major difference between this partial mash brew and the last, is that the grain bill is 2.5 lbs more, around 8 lbs. This requires 4 gallons of water to mash at 158 degrees and another 7.5 gallons of water at 182 degrees to sparge. We use a 4 gallon pot for all of our boils. After the first gallon was taken out to boil to caramelize the wort, I filled up the 4 gallon pot really quickly. Suddenly I'm scrambling for pots.
This is when the circus came to town and this music started playing in my head:
So I'm running around the apartment, flipping open cabinets, the dishwasher and scrubbing off bowls from the Sunday bbq. I'm scrambling for pots and pans, anything that resembles a bowl. I literally use every pot we own and one of the bowls to catch the run off. I look ridiculous, David is shaking his head at me. Actually, he does it so often that I'm wondering when he'll start charging for chiropractic appointments. THEN, guess what happens? I have to boil all each and every pot.
I'm boiling on every heat inducing platform in our apartment. I'm pretty stressed here, but I also can't stop laughing at my naivety. I thought earlier today about getting a larger boil kettle, but my ADD mind shifted gears after I watched this entire video David sent me (start at 2 minutes):
So, I'm stuck boiling wort on 5 different pots in two different locations. At this point in the brewing process, I usually play video games for an hour, but instead I'm going back and forth checking for boil overs. Boo. We're going to have a huge electric bill from running four electric coils for over an hour and a half.
To shift gears, David suggests we pop open a small bottle of my Belgian Blonde, pictured above, which has only been in the bottles for a week. Usually I wouldn't even consider to open a beer this early, but I need something and at this silly point in my second partial mash, curious to try how my first partial mash finished.
Even though at a week early it's great! Citrus and apple flavors with a hint of sweetness and a dry bite belgian blonde bite. David says its better than my honey wheat, which is the highest compliment he could give it. I really appreciate that and it couldn't have come at a better time, as I rush to check on my pots.
Afterward, we uncapped our beer of the day from Iron Fist, which was brewed by a 21 year old kid. His Imperial Oatmeal Stout is phenomenal. I bought the Renegade Blonde at the brewery whilst we visited. It's a blonde ale that's created using Kolsch yeast. When I sampled it at the brewery, I thought he really nailed the malt. Tasting it here after my blonde, it's not nearly as scrumptious. It's crisp but also quite tart. ARMAGEDDON rating.
Long story short, the 5 gallons of boiling wort that I poured into my fermenting bucket took me two hours to cool down. Usually it takes less than half an hour. 6 hours after I started, I went to bed at 2AM. I was to tired to take the OG. This marks the first and last time I brew during the week. Also, the last time I brew without a 10 gallon kettle. I feel like most home brewers have stories from their rookie mistakes, and finally after my 6th beer I have something to share. Hopefully the brew will still turn out great!
Two years ago David, Nick and I went to the first LA Beerfest at Sony Studios (which has since turned into a shit-show) and amidst a hundred vendors, bumped into these two guys set up next to Fireman's Brew pouring two beers from "The Bruery."
I think the first beer we tried was either a Saison de Lente or a Rugbrod, but their second beer was a summer seasonal made with Thai Basil which was astounding. Our minds were blown and we had just crossed a threshold; in a very unlikely place we'd stumbled upon one of the best breweries in the U.S.
Since then, neither David or I have tasted Trade Winds - until today. And we have a growler of the stuff! Two years later and we're having a homecoming for our threshold beer to The Bruery.
The Bruery's brewers are Promethean with many if not most of their beers and this one is an excellent example. Who woke up at one day and said, "hmm, I'm going to make beer with basil, thai basil to be exact." Truly Amazeballs. The beer's base is a belgian golden ale, but instead of using candi sugar, typical for the style, they use rice in the mash to lighten the body and increase the gravity and then spice with Thai Basil. The result is a beer that is subtle and earthy, with a hint of spice from the Thai Basil, which is evident in the first sip. The result is a basic golden ale that's easily drinkable (too much so) and a complex flavor profile. Some might argue that this is like their Mischief, only better. For me, how can you pick between your two kids? Well, for my parents it's obviously me and not my brother Warren, but I made that easy. Here it's much more difficult :). BAD BOYS rating.
Melissa R, Nick G, Lisa, Jake, Jenny and Tiffany are coming over to eat and watch the 3rd game between Dallas and Miami. I'm using this excuse to do a flight of my homebrews, as everyone except David and myself haven't had all three of my beers.
I love this, because I'm able to stand up and give a spiel about how each brew was made, funny tidbits, and how clever I think the names are (self absorbed much?). To my surprise though, Heisenberg's Honey Wheat, a winner at previous parties, is not the leading man here. My first brew, King Moonracer's Revenge made with clove, probably got the highest all-around rankings. Lisa's favorite was King Moonracer, Jake's the Red Headed Step-Child (because you just can't beat it), and Mel's was the Honey Wheat. The super hoppy Double Dutch Rudder (a belgian IPA, a beer where two different styles rub off on each other) and one of my personal favs, Jake loves but is probably too hoppy for the ladies' tastes.
Overall, everything but the Mavs loss was a great success! This entire weekend was filled with beer and breweries and great friends - another stellar weekend thanks to beer!
Planning on having a little bbq tomorrow, so David and I grab Mark and Brennan to join our jaunt down to refill growler's at Bootleggers and The Bruery. I haven't been since February to either and after missing their 3rd anniversary party last weekend, I'm beyond titillated see what's on tap!
While David scopes out the Cuir for the first time, I'm pouring myself their new Provisions Series, the Bierbach. The Bierbach is an Imperial Miabock and the timing couldn't be better because I had my first maibock, a Hofbrau, exactly a week ago. I love how experimental The Bruery is, particularly how they're willing to make like Barry Bonds and 'roid up their beers. They doubled the alcohol for their Imperial Orchid Wit and here they clock in at an impressive 8.1%
And here's what The Bruery has to say about their latest and greatest:
"Meaning Beer Belly in German, Bierbauch is the Provisions Series ale for the month of May 2011, so of course we had to make a Maibock! And we're The Bruery, so of course we had to make it imperial! And why stop there when you can age it in oak barrels for a few months? The last strong beer you'll need before the heatwave of summer is upon us, this version of the traditional German lager is rich and oaky."
The oak barrels really come through in the smell and taste, in the best of ways. I'm starting to believe that for homebrewing and making high alcohol beers, using oak chips to sedate the aggressive alcohol flavors is key and the Bierbach is another excellent example. The Bierbach is a full bodied beer with a sweet bready malt with the floral notes, which are a welcome surprise. Yep, The Bruery has brewed another Provisions Series winner. THE ROCK rating.
We loaded up with more than we possibly needed, including 7 bottles of The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary 14.5% Old Ale, the Cuir. David and I each bought two to age and the rest are for friends. I plan on keeping at least one of the bottles for my 30th birthday, which is in two years (sweet Jebus did I really just say 30?).
Forgoing our usual Friday excursion to the Surly Goat, Tiff and I head to a particularly special tasting at the Venice Whole Foods. Every Friday they do tastings but since December I've been haunting the Goat on Fridays. Tonight though, Whole Foods is serving 6 different barrel aged beers, and all are made with big, delicious complex malt bills and are over 10% alcohol. Old Ales, Imperial Stouts, Barleywines and DIPA's, I'm looking forward to these heavyweights. Looking back on my notes from the tasting, the degree of detail declines rapidly after each tasting. HA, I wonder why...
Our first pour is a Great Divide Double IPA that is the only beer aged with oak chips, not barrels. It's a measly 10% alcohol. The smell doesn't correspond to taste, which smells like a Rose wine. The hops and alchol join forces and my sips finish sharply with a punch. The oak is evident, but it's an almost experimental mix of flavors. A good beer but my least favorite out of the other heavyweights.
Mikkeler, as our pourmaster Super Mike informed us, was a "gypsy" brewer who traveled from brewery to brewery making different batches of goodness. He must be some badass to make a living that way. I've seen his bottles but never knew his story or tasted the fruits of his labor. Brewdog is a very well known Scottish brewery. Together they made the Devine Rebel, which is a 12% Barleywine. It is sweet, alcoholic and rich with a light caramel undertone. I love this brew and would give it a Bad Boys rating if I was counting it as today's beer. Tiff loves it as well.
Allagash Curieux is an 11% Belgian Tripel, based on the same recipe we tasted as our first beer, but the Curieux is aged with bourbon barrels. I'm tasting the bourbon as it finishes, giving us a gentlemanly kick out the door. As the beer warms, the bourbon kicks becomes less gentlemanly kick and more a boot by a bouncer who's girlfriend you just kissed. It's a mix of two worlds and an interesting beer to try but not to sip on again, although I do hope to properly review it soon. For Tiff, the bourbon flavor is overwhelming and I see that being a problem for people who don't fancy bourbon as much as I do.
North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve aged in Bourbon Barrel. That name illustrates how you announce a beer with authority! This is an Old Ale, like Hair of the Dog Adam and Bruery's Cuir, both of which are two of my favorite beers. Old Ale's are rarely made but are strong in alcohol and embody a wild spectrum of flavors not often found in beer (like leather and molasses). With this Old Stock, there is a wild bourbon smell and a rich caramel flavor notes. This is incredibly rich and complex, and the bourbon adds an even higher level of complexity which makes it the stand out thus far. 13.7% alcohol too! There is just a syrupy flavor that tickles my soul.
Practicing our portrait pose
Karl joins us for a late glass and already aware of the Old Stock, receives a big glassful. He's somersaulting over this beer as well. It's damn amazing. Turns out, it's rated in the top 5 for the Old Ale style. Karl and I both discuss buying a bottle but choose to hold off. BAD BOYS rating.
The Bush de Nuits is pourmaster Mike's favorite out of the group. It's 13% too and isn't as complex as the Old Stock but is sublimely smooth. Different but just as amazing as the Old Stock.
The Older Viscosity David and I counted it during our trip to San Diego. Pourmaster Mike has been pumping everyone else up all night about it, saying "it tastes like motor oil!"
If motor oil actually tasted like this then I'd be dead for motor oil poisoning. Also fortunately, I think they're both out of my price range: http://www.beereveryday.com/2011/05/san-diego-brewery-trip-sunday-and-port.html
Got a big night ahead! I left for Whole Foods with the Mavericks game in the toilet and I return with 1 minute left and the Mavericks have pulled it off! Hot damn! Time to celebrate their win and our 301st beer (since we didn't realize yesterday was 300) with a real treat from the one Trappist Brewery whose beers are hardest to find, Westvleteren - Westvleteren info (Lost Abbey Inferno post).
The Westie Blonde is actually the least sought after of this brewery's beers - although the other two are the highest rated beers in the world for their style Beer Advocate Westvleteren. It's kinda like the Emanuel brothers. Ari is the president of the second largest talent agency in the world and has a character based on him in Entourage; Rahm was the Chief of Staff for Obama and is now running for the mayor of Chicago; and Ezekial is the Director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and a leading proponent to legalize euthanasia. They are all leading men in their fields, but let's be honest, the Westie Blonde is probably an Ezekial Emanuel.
This lady is one smooth talking blonde who gets a little sassy as the night wares on. There is a malty sweet smell and I'm really enjoying the creamy, buttery and herbal flavor profile, but the grainy bite at the end jolts me. It's a grainy or clove like bite and it shadows my every sip. This is very well rated on every beer site, but the finish really nags me, like an itchy bug bite or a woman (winks). I want to say it's a Transformers rating, but I know that it's a Westie and other might enjoy it more than I, it gets a THE ROCK rating. However I personally wouldn't buy it again - not that I plan on going to Bruge anytime soon.
Next on the books is the great Sea Salt and Caramel experiment of 2011. I'm forging new ground with my next homebrew and so I need to test it. It's a wild recipe with a lot of new ground to cover. I have to reduce part of the wort to aid caramelization and then actually caramelize the brown sugar while I boil the wort for an extended time (90mins) - at least that's the plan. We'll see how it actually goes down.
The recipe is in the final stages of development and is go for brew this Sunday. It's based on these chocolate caramels that have sea salt on top, which explodes the flavor in your mouth. Love it. Here's my recipe: Savory Caramel Sea Salt
I'm testing how much salt should be used in the boil. Too little and I make an overly caramel beer, too much and I ruin it for everyone. I bought a can of caramel and dumped it in a specific amount of water in order to provide some flavor consistency, and then I'm adding sea salt at specific increments and tasting.
1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon yield nothing. 1 teaspoon we're getting there. 2 teaspoons and we've ruined it. This is a 2 quart batch and in 5 gallons there's 20 quarts, so we're multiplying by 10 and thus I'm looking to add 10 teaspoons to the boil. I'd rather go under rather than over. Another reason to test the salt now rather than later is, if I miss the correct salt amount in the boil, I can't add it when I bottle because salt de-carbonates beer. You've probably seen people add salt to beer at bars, particularly to Corona in the summer. That's why. Adding salt at bottling will make my beer flat. #notwinning
Tonight I'm also making a yeast starter for the brew, which is the easiest and quickest part of the process. My math is a little fuzzy, but each container has roughly 50 billion cells of yeast in it, and a yeast starter can double that amount. It's important to the fermentation process that there is enough yeast to eat the sugar. I think it's important to make one with any beer over 4% and more importantly, your beer will ferment faster, sometimes as soon as 4 -6 hours after pitching it. Party
Even though barleywines are one of my favorite styles of brew-ha-ha's, I wasn't aware tonight was our landmark 300th beer at the time of opening the Old Victory. If I had realized, I would've gone with the Lost Abbey Judgment Day or a Quadruple we have stored up. Maybe the Westvleteren Blonde. We'll properly celebrate tomorrow or Friday. Until then, apparently it's the right time to barleywine.
Old Victory Barleywine is surprisingly bitter, but not from hops, who are the usual suspects. David notes that it tastes malty without being sweet. Eureka, that's why it's bitter. Barleywines usually have a big caramel flavor that join forces with dark fruit and even unusual flavors like tobacco. Here, there is simply a big malt taste that expertly camouflages the whopping 11% alcohol and no residual sweetness.
I have the feeling that the brewers set out to make specifically this style of barleywine, one that hides the alcohol and isn't sweet. But to me this is the anti-barleywine. I enjoy barlreywines like Stone's Old Guardian or even The Bruery's Old Richland, to a lesser extant, that knock you in the teeth. I like barleywines the way I like my women; big, bold and complex with lots of daddy issues. If that sounds like you, call me, wink. This is a very subtle barleywine and although it's a well made beer, the style it's made doesn't appeal to me. ARMAGEDDON rating
We picked up Port Brewing's Christmas beer at their brewery during our San Diego trip because we knew it wouldn't be around long. I'm glad I did. I love the look of a good stout and this one pours beautifully. The label is pretty cute as well, I must say. Included in this picture is one of my favorite Christmas gifts from years ago, a Kangroo Testicles Beer Opener from my brother's semester abroad in Melbourn (this is actually Testicles 2, as our favorite dog sitting canine Kalmari ate the Testicles 1). Still, I had 5 minutes to gather all my things before the great tsunami came, this would be on my list to grab.
At 10% alcohol, this is more than a little helper. There is a rich oak taste that reallly smooths out the roasted malt flavor. When we visited, their brewery was filled with barrels, much like The Bruery and their oak flavor scratches this stout the right way. Stouts tend to have a bitter taste thanks to the roasted and chocolate malts, but thanks to the oak barrel aging, Little Helper is strong, smooth and rich. As the beer warms, I can taste the alcohol just a snosh. This warmness would be very welcome in the winter. For Christmas in June, it simply tastes awesome. This is one of the better stout's I tasted this year, BAD BOYS rating.
Probst! says the Elf
This is one of those beers which inspire me as a home brewer to try something new. In this case, aging strong, bitter ales made with roasted malts with some oak chips. I've had many barrel aged brews this year, but this one was eye opening. As soon as the summer's heat is over, I'll look forward to brewing something like this for Christmas!
As I head to the airport and say goodbye to Houston, mom can't help herself and sends me packing with a grab bag of all things Texan - bbq, texas firecrackers and blueberries...? Two out of three ain't bad. For my ride to the airport, I pour an Alamo golden ale, which I'm excited to try just because it involves the state's biggest landmark, besides the world's largest cowboy boots:http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7815.
The Golden ale is malty for the style and reminds me of a German bock or an Oktoberfest in that manner. They say it's a velvety on the back and they ain't lying. This isn't a great beer but it's a good drinking beer. TRANSFORMERS rating, worthy of the Alamo. God willing, Michael Bay will one day let it be destroyed by a either a giant robot or a pair of rogue cops on their way back to Miami.
After returning my tux from the wedding, I swung by H-E-B, which I discovered last Christmas, is the bees knees of beer selection in Houston. They have many Texas brews and a noteworthy amount of national craft brews, including a surprising amount from Brooklyn Brewery. They also have a solid selection to build your own 6 pack, which is a novelty to me. I have never seen this in California, New York, Washington D.C. or Utah (4 states I've visited).
I chose an assortment of Texas beer and California beer because ironically, I came to Texas to buy Cali beer because I've never seen it out there. It's called Beer Camp from Sierra Nevada and it's a pretty neat concept that is essentially like winning the Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's factory: Sierra Beer Camp. You apply via a video by mid July and in August this year, you and a chosen select travel to Chico, California, and spend a weekend brewing a beer which your group conceived. The flavors available here were a Black Juniper Ale, a California Common, and a Weizenbock. I also picked up two brews from the Real Brewing in Blanco, Texas.
With no time to drink I headed to the Astros game. It's been a while since seeing Minute Maid Park (originally known as Enron Field, not so much anymore). And oh how times have changed. Only two people on the team are hitting greater than .300. The Astros Pitcher had the only RBI for the day, after he cranked the first pitch of his second at bat 367 feet into the right field bleachers. After going ahead 2-0 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Astros middle relief blew it. The story of the Astros sad year so far.
Can't complain about the seats though!
Back home I ran outside to play with our yellow lab, Snowball, and within minutes I was soaked. The high today was 96 degrees! And there's bugs in Houston. California has spoiled me so badly that I forgot how nasty it could get even on a beautiful day.
Snowball needed a cool-off pretty quickly, as did I, so I returned to open the Shiner 102.
Even in her old age, ain't she cute?
Shiner's latest anniversary brew is a 6.2% Double Wheat with Saaz and Washington Golding hops, a malted wheat ale. Their first anniversary beer, 101, was a pilsner and was quite delicious (Shiner 101).
It's a slightly sweet and malty, but overall bland. I wonder what kind of yeast they used because it has no banana or clove characteristics of a german hefeweisse or the tartness of an american wheat. As it pangs my heart to rag on my two hometown favorites, this Shiner 102 is as bland as the Astros offensive power. THE ISLAND rating
I know very little about European 'football, other than Karl's an ardent supporter of Chelsea, so when I join family friends Carlos and Sam to watch the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United and Carlos is wearing a Barcelona jersey, I'm on his side. Even if Bar Munich in Houston is filled with Man U fans. Ugly fellers.
I shouldn't have a stein on an empty stomach 3 hours before I have to usher a wedding, but Sam has known me since I was 4 and he obviously knows how much I should drink more than I (at least that's the story I'm sticking to).
Created in 1614, Maibock is Munich's oldest bock beer. It pours an amber color and is really good! Sweet and malty. Shiner Bock is the bock I'm most familiar with, and while it's on my family's mantle next to the dog, this Maibock I might actually prefer. A sweeter bock, is a drinking bock, but the Shiner I would prefer with food. This is a great Saturday afternoon soccer game beer, probst! TRANSFORMERS rating.
Afterward, Sam and I head to usher the wedding of our family friend Katie, to Taft. A great time with friends and family! So happy and excited to officially welcome Taft to our circle!!
Mr. and Mrs. Beereveryday.com
Walker with the bride and groom
Katie is so sweet, she actually apologized for not having any 'good' beer at the wedding! The bride herself. Apparently I've made an impression on people. That's ridiculous! They have Shiner Blonde! I drank enough Shiner Blonde tonight to put one of the brewer's kids through college. Here is my ode to Shiner Blonde, one of my favorite posts: Shiner Blonde
With a half day at work and a plane flight looming, I poured myself some bourbon and set to packing for a trip to Houston for a wedding. Packing took me all of 10 minutes so I poured myself a bomber from Karl Strauss and soaked up sun in the hammock. If I was here this weekend, I'd spend time down by da beach, by Tower 26. But I'm sure as hell ain't gonna spend time in the sun in Houston, it's 96 degrees!
Hell of a day to leave California
I've had three beers from Karl Strauss and enjoyed none of them terribly much. However, the Tower 10 turns out to be one good lookin' slumpbuster. It's not a great IPA but it's definitely the common man's drinking IPA. Turned out, I picked a fantastic beer to enjoy during a warm day at the start of summer. It's 6.5% alcohol and has a great bite to it. For once, Karl Strauss, you're getting above 4 stars. TRANSFORMERS rating.
When you have nothing good to say about someone, my mother told me not to say it. Unfortunately, I have a blog so I'm inclined to yell it from the top of the webosphere but keep it brief.
With David gone, I'm scrambling to find single beers in the house and there's only one I could find, a Widmer Hefe that David 'borrowed' from a Red Bull event and brought back to the house. Kudos roomie. However, this was worse than I expected. I thought this might taste like a bad beer. Instead it tastes like water that's watered down with German yeast. There are several American made commercial hefeweizens out there, don't try this one. TRANSFORMERS 2 rating
I'm at The Other Room with Karl and we're killing time until David and Nick G are able to join us to kill a growler of Iron Fist and hopefully some ice cream, which if they don't eat, will eventually turn my inner fat kid into an outie. In the meantime, I'm surprised to discover I've unfortunately covered a good portion of The Other Room's beer menu, and I'm settling down on the fairly easy to find Anchor Steam Porter.
Anchor Steam's brewing process, is called steam brewing, and during the first half of last century, it was pretty common on the West Coast, but now Anchor steam is the only company which still brews in this manner. The result, if you've ever had an Anchor Steam, is a creation similar to a fruity Sierra Nevada.
Accordingly, the Anchor Steam Porter has very dark fruit notes that are unique to the porter style. Porters are known for their roasted and toasted malts - chocolate, nutty flavor notes. The steam process has really differentiated this porter from others in the style. While unusual, I like it. It's a drinking porter and perfect for summer. TRANSFORMERS rating.
Back at the homestead, we open Iron Fist's Velvet Glove, which I've had before as the beer of the day and scooped some ice cream (Velvet Glove is pretty heavy). This beer is just phenomenal, and with ice cream it's like chocolate alcohol syrup. It's so good I had seconds of both, just to enjoy the pairing.
Nick G also brought over some Gunga Galunga, one of David's favorite beers, made with ginger and named after a Bill Murry line from Caddyshack. Could it get any better? Only by sharing it with great friends like Karl and Nick G. Freaking great guys night of drinking and non stop laughter.
I can't believe it's on tap! The Surly Goat has again proven to be my favorite beer bar in Los Angeles. The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary Ale isn't even available by bottle (and will likely sell off quickly) but it's here on tap. I recently paid way too much (north $30) for a bottle of Coton, their 2nd anniversary beer, to be shipped from Florida because it's unequivocally out of stock her. Still worth it.
The Cuir is French for leather. Every year The Bruery brews the exact same beer — an Old Ale fermented with our Belgian yeast strain - and every year the malt goes up by a pound, and then they blend it with a portion from the previous year. The Coton is one of the most phenominal beers I've ever tasted. So this beer is the same recipe, but blended with the most amazing beer ever and then blended with their 1st anniversary beer (Papier) which is the same recipe but has aged for 3 years...if you're not drooling, then I'm pretty sure you're an emotionless robot and possibly a Terminator - only with better taste in maids, ZING.
I'm DYING to have this.I'm missing The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary weekend over Memorial Day, so I'm incredibly thankful to enjoy this at the Surly Goat, which is easily my favorite beer mecca in LA.
So I drag Tiff over to the Goat to watch the Bulls and Heat game while enjoying a tulip glass of this old ale with the alcohol content of a glass of wine. Only there's more than a glass of wine in these tulip glasses. Party
Glory be to Jebus!
I'm fortunate to have a certified Cicerone (beer sommelier) and BJCP judge (national beer competition judge) behind the bar pouring tonight. Playoff Basketball, Anniversary beer, Bruery, beer geek, strong alcohol...my head's going to explode.
The Cicerone said they opened up a bottle of Papier when they received this keg, and it's just now hitting it's prime (2 years later). The Cuir, he touts, is the most drinkable right off the bat of the three brews.
My first sip of the Cuir reveals the barrel aging of this batch and the blends, as there's a 2x4 of pine hits my tongue. Next comes a big sweet malt and dark fruit flavor profile. As the beer warms up, I'm tasting the complexity of the profile, including brown sugar and dark fruit. I love how it opens up. I will say, that it's more of a Belgian Quadruple than a Coton Old Ale. Age may prove otherwise, however.
Tiff says it's explosively sweet, as kills the last of it. She's a pint sized gal, and the 14.5% without dinner is rocking her world. She's yelling at the Bulls on TV like a banshee, even though she's from Hawaii and never watches basketball. Me thinks it's extraction time to the nearest taco joint, post haste.
In finality, it's just so...COMPLEX! What else can I say? It's something else. The Bruery Anniversary beers are like the Godfather's; you kiss their hands in their presence and even on the day of their daughter's wedding, you're sweating asking them a favor. You are not worthy. BAD BOYS rating.
Karl and David arrive baring In-N-Out, which I graciously consume after having a shoddy day. I'm moderately surprised they splurged on the delicious burgers, and they reveal that not only did David have a shitty day, but so did Karl as well as his wife Laura after she was stuck at the DMV all day. I coincidentally had my own problems with the DMV as well, but more on that later.
There's been a lovely lady wandering around our apartment and it's now time to taste her offering. I can't tell if that sounds like prostitution or human sacrifice, either way come! We're beer drinkers here in the marina, not Pirates or Mayans. Any brew from Goose Island gets our hearts fluttering and the Sofie is no exception.
It's listed on the bottle as a Belgian, but beeradvocate describes it stylistically as a saison and I agree with them. It's a Belgian style ale made with orange peel and aged in wine barrels. This process creates a golden ale with a very strong flavor profile including fruit, banana and citrus, making it more akin to a farmhouse saison than a golden belgian. Karl says it seems more alcoholic than its actual 6.5%. I wonder if that's a result of the wine barrel aging. If you like saisons or white ales, you would love this. Girls especially, who might be turned away because it says Belgian style, might dig it. THE ROCK rating.
My problem with the DMV began when I went to renew my license today. After making an appointment and going in, I was informed that I had a "Failure to Attend" (FTA) a trial and "Failure to Pay" from a traffic violation in 2006. I've only been pulled over once for having Texas plates while in California. I changed my plates and registration and paid my ticket...or so I thought. An FTA is a misdemeanor and stay on your record for 5 years AND they release a bench warrant when it's issued. If you're pulled over by the police for anything, they can haul you in before a judge and make you pay. So I'm freaking out a little after this. They irony is, I've been driving like a maniac the last 5 years and until I resolve this, I'm more nervous than a virgin on prom night
I'm writing this postscript - I went on Tuesday to the Beverly Hills Courthouse and they let me know that I wasn't going to pay $850, like the poor sob in front of me who was in a similar situation, or go before a judge. It was a clerical error, hooray! There was a mix-up between the courthouse and the DMV because I originally had a Texas license. Jesus, come on peoples! What a pain in the ass. Anyway, problem solved.
Sometimes you can do everything right and still get run around the block. Ah life, such a mysterious fig.
Continuing my quest to discover the finest of Kolsch's, Beverage Warehouse fortuitously made this 5.3 % German import available for consumption. On an unrelated note, the below picture is what you get after girls invade your apt. for the weekend, flowers! Our apartment currently looks like the bottom of a monkey's cage, after a massive earthquake, so thank you for making it pretty again Andrea and Sarah.
To be honest, my half-baked mind first read this as a Summer Kolsch and I thought, 'just like my home brew, my anticipated summer hammock beer Heisenberg's Honey Wheat!' Tonight I realized how dsylexic my scrambled brain can be. Children listen and look at me; this is your brain on a beer every day...you should still do it anyway because it's AHHHMAZING.
The Sunner Kolsch has a surprisingly complex character - kolsch's are often crisp and flavorless - that is both a little sweet and a little fruity/tart. David says reminds of my home brew and I agree. So maybe my brain isn't scrambled, it's actually intuitive. I'm practically one of the X-Men. Like BRIDESMAIDS, which I saw this afternoon and was hysterically funny, this beer is surprisingly good and worthy of your time. THE ROCK rating.
Today at 6pm, the rapture is supposed to happen. Good thing I'm in the best of company! After covering Venice yesterday, we're Malibu bound for scenic beach cruising and wine tasting in the hills. Among the many things I love about Sarah and Andrea, is that they don't care about the wine flights/tasting. It's a beautiful day, why don't we just pick 3 random bottles, put our feet in the grass, our faces toward the sun and let the wine do the rest. We don't need to sample the various wines or go from place to place today. Let's just have a blast.
Apparently the U.S.S. Yacht Rock was in port, because there were also some sailors ready to party.
After dinner we hit up The Other Room for a last couple drinks before their midnight flight home. So what would be the perfect end to an LA weekend? Seeing a celebrity. Andrea and Sara got to chat up Luke Wilson and his posse for a while at the bar.
I focused my attention on some vicarious amusement and my fresh a Russian River Damnation. I toasted to the ridiculous rapture that didn't happen and dived in. The Damnation is a Belgian Strong Ale that's almost 8%. It has a typical sweet belgian malt and pours beautifully. There is a yeasty flavor profile with spicy and fruity elements - clove, apple, banana. It's a fantastic, full bodied beer. THE ROCK rating.
Such phenomenal weekend touring the city with Andrea and Sarah and it's killing me they gots to get home. But I'm feeling a Chicago trip in my future...Until next time!
