Rock Stars Among Us

The complex simplicity of beer is something that can be enjoyed by almost anyone. Unfortunately, most of the people I know think "Good Beer" is Coors Banquet Beer.My Wife and I were that way onece, but good fortune has caused us both to grow and expand our pallets. You can imagine my excitement when SWMBO (@Kahunaschick) decided that the GABF was one of those things that we should do EVERY YEAR! She went last year, and put up with me and the other homebrewers that we met there, but I figured it was just her putting up with me. Come to find out...She really liked it. This year, she has found a taste for a few different kinds of beer, and is getting over the BMC that ruled our younger lives together. She is leaning toward Belgian and sour beers, with or without fruit.
We attended 2 of the sessions at the GABF in Denver this year. We were at the Friday night and Saturday Members sessions.
We had the privilege of being the first 2 people to get the PRO-AM entry from olllllo and Papago Brewing...Ladies First!

This thing was damn good! I hate farmhouse saison ales like I hate warm diet pepsi, so I had low expectations. The pear nose was phenomenal, and the clean crisp flavor really cleaned up my perception of a French Farmhouse! With ollllo being someone I know from Homebrewtalk.com and also follow on twitter (He is a blogger here too) It was cool as hell to be drinking his Pro-Am Beer...and to be the first 2 glasses poured, I was happy with that.
Awards and famous people are as abundant at the GABF as the beer flowing from 1200 taps. Successful brewers are adorned with attention and praise becoming of a rock star. The cool part, is most of them are still just beer guys at heart. There are a few that have a holier than though personality, but most of them will brew you a beer, pour you a beer, then drink one with you while you hang out. Most of the rock star brewers we met definitely remember when they were just like us, and are appreciative of our support for their beer.
So when I got a chance to get a picture of SWMBO at a tweetup at the GABF with Mr. Charlie Papazian, I took it. What an opportunity! I was actually star struck when we met Charlie...and that just doesn't happen to me! But this is the man that started it all! He is the reason we have a GABF to go to. And he is just as normal as can be.

We got a chance to spend some quiet time with a few friends (It still seems odd to me to call people I meet on the Internet and see once a year friends, but it's true!) we met with IronOrr and his wife for dinner with one of their friends and his wife. Then we met up with olllllo and his wife, and Don from Naked City Beer in Seattle. So here we are, having dinner and drinks with friends that are so close to the rock star brewer status that you about can't stand it...and they are just as cool as anyone you'll ever meet.
IronOrr, Brewtopia and I got our picture together while hanging out at the GABF after we all tried the samplings from Cascade Brewing. They had a total of 5 bottled sour ales available including a sour brewed with fresh pressed wine grapes and a Kirek that was perhaps the best tasting example I've ever had. The one picture that I missed, and will kick myself for a year for not taking...is the picture of our wives!
I did get a picture of my SWMBO with Blogger ChipperDave, olllllo, and Blogger Raiseyourpints at the tweetup.

So as I think back on the GABF and all of our friends we have met and talked with, I have to wonder which ones will be on stage next year! These people are truly Rock Stars Among Us!

Stone's Vertical Epic 09.09.09

Thanks to the tasting notes of Stone's head brewer Mitch Steele, the word on the street was that this was going to be more of a Belgian Porter than anything else. I love Belgian beer, I love Porter. On paper it seems like a no-brainer that I'll like it.

Leave it to Stone to challenge our taste buds every single time. It certain pours like a Porter, and smells uniquely like a Belgian Dubbel. But that's the end of normalcy for this beer. Once it's in your mouth, it's a whole new ball game.

It's sharp to the taste, and after about 10-15 small sips, and trying my absolute damnedest to analyze it in every Craft Beer Radio way I know how, all I can attribute the sharpness to is the hops. There's a slight coffee/burnt chocolate flavor there, but the bittering hops are definitely giving this thing an acrid punch that simply won't go away, no matter how long I let the beer sit and get up to (nearly) room temperature.

It seems to be playing every bit of it's nearly 9% ABV too, because the presence of alcohol did not leave me after I swallowed it. I swore after those first few sips that the alcohol on my breath was heavy enough to pull a Gene Simmons in my living room if I wanted to.

As I normally do with these Vertical Epics, I'm going to let this one cellar for a while - maybe until next year - before I try it again. It's definitely built to last, and will be interesting to see how this thing works it's way into the vertical tasting marathon session we'll have in 2012.

Are you a beer snob?

Over the past three years, since the inception of shouldidrinkthat.com, I have been faced with the comments from folks that we are beer snobs.

Lately I have been thinking about this stereotypical term that is laid upon any and all craft beer lovers from their peers. While part of me is quite proud to own this label, there is a part of me who despises this terminology.

I have learned over time that this term can be quite damaging to the craft beer industry as a whole. We at SIDT are proud to introduce average folks to great craft beer. And from experience I can tell you that these same folks are very turned off by the stereotypical beer snob who talks over their heads, and spits out beer terminology like a scientist.

So if you consider yourself a “beer snob” and want to spread the good word of craft beer, please keep in mind the next time you chastise someone for drinking one of the “BMC” (Bud, Miller & Coors) beers that these folks are new to the industry as a whole. If they are willing to listen, offer them a gateway beer and explain the blood, sweat and tears that these brewers experience to share their favorite recipes and styles with the masses.

Explain the different styles and recommend that they keep trying until they find their favorite. If they are not willing to listen and simply insult your beverage of choice, move on to someone who will listen.

Even as an experienced craft beer fan, I feel that there is a fine line between beer snob and asshole at times. If you love craft beer and want to see the industry grow, I implore you to not cross that line and simply be respectful and have patience with your new craft beer prospects.

Brooklyn Local 2

This was a hard beer to review because I wanted it to be a whole lot more than it was. I even tried this twice on two separate occasions and the results were the same. The Brooklyn Local 1 is a very good beer. The Local 2 is a drinkable beer but nothing to get excited over. It was not very flavorful. Even when it warmed up it didn't bring out anything. A clear dark brown color. Layer of yeasty goodness on the bottom of the bottle from it being 100% fermented in the bottle (like champagne). According to the label it was brewed with honey and citrus peel, though I could not taste or smell either. The body seemed thin. Nice pillowy head that was a little sticky. I was expecting more from Brooklyn Brewery and Local 2 didn't deliver. I may get another bottle and let it age to see if it changes in a year or so. Cheers!

Ommegang Hennepin Saison

It’s bright and alive in your mouth, and with citrus overtones. Yet, this beer is also sweeter than I would have expected – but not in anyway oversweet. IT comes in at 7.7% ABV, but it’s a light bodied beer, so quite good for summer drinking, yet with enough ‘kick’ to be warming in the winter.

A gorgeous golden hue when poured. Quite well carbonated, like sparkling wine on the tongue. A clean finish.

Hennepin was a Belgian missionary who ‘discovered’ the Niagara Falls.

I recommend it, as a very drinkable brew. Complex, but yet not challenging.

I got a growler full of this from The Charleston Beer Exchange

Brabant American Wild Ale from Avery Brewing

I received a bottle of this limited-edition wild ale from Rick at Big Foamy Head. It's been in the back of my beer fridge since it arrived here in February. My intent was to allow it to age for a year or two, but then a cloud of WTF came over me recently. You know the drill. So I decided to break it out and pair it with something I thought it might compliment, or vice versa.

Brabant is a barrel-aged wild ale from Avery Brewing, and was extremely limited in production (only 624 cases produced). It was brewed using the infamous Brettanomyces yeast, which gives wild ales their sour flavors. After fermentation was complete, Brabant was aged for 8 months in used Zinfandel barrels.

The result is a beer that, while definitely sour, retains a complexity and depth of flavor that required several sips for me to wrap my head around. The oddest thing I've found about wild ales is that they tend to smell a lot like they taste. That is, at least to me.

The first sniffs of this beer didn't smell sour at all. So I expected that the beer would not approach flavors as sour as I initially figured it would. I guessed wrong. Very wrong, in fact. This thing was deep with flavors of tart currants and unripe cherries. There was way more going on than I'd anticipated.

It wasn't until I allowed the beer to rise in temperature a little that the aromas I was looking for started to lift off of the beer, and began to match the flavor almost exactly. In fact, the warmer this beer became, the deeper those flavors of bitter fruit began to come through. And I love that about this style.

In addition, Brabant was the perfect compliment to what I'd decided to pair it with. Left on my own for dinner, I tend to eat things my wife would rather not. Tonight, it was Boudin Noir, or blood sausage. Earthy, mealy, laden with spices, and protein rich -- Boudin Noir got along quite nicely with Brabant. It was Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman all over again.



At the Great American Beer Festival two years ago, I ran into this couple who'd been to Belgium on several occasions. They said that one of the most common things they saw wild ales paired with was horse meat. I'm not 100% sure I'm ready to pair a beer named after an actual horse, that has horse blanket aromas, with meat from an actual horse. But for this meal, it more than sufficed.

Thanks again to Rick for an excellent experience with an American Wild Ale not many people get a chance to explore. It was truly art in a bottle.

8.6% ABV
Limited Production
Avery Brewing's Brabant

Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi 2008

Since this is my first review I thought I'd start off with some caveats. My sense of smell isn't that great and my palette isn't as educated as my fellow writers so from me you'll get discussions about the really special beers I have been fortunate enough to get in my hometown of San Diego and elsewhere, in terms far simpler than the hardcore beer geeks can put it. With that out of the way, to the beer!

My home away from home, O'Brien's pub, had some Lost Abbey beers on tap around the holidays. I've got a 2007 bottle aging at home but I took the opportunity to finally drink it since it was on tap that day. Semi-related, I got to meet Tomme Arthur, a very nice guy for being such a genius, a couple weeks later at a special Lost Abbey night at the same place. I told him I really enjoyed his beers and his reply was "yeah, you look like you do"...I'm still not quite sure how to take that.

This year's Gift of the Magi is a deep amber color (Tending towards golden to compliment the frankincense and myrrh) with very little carbonation; there's almost no head on it. The smell was very sweet, reminiscent of apple juice. As for the taste...wow, I now know what myrrh tastes like. Bitter, but not packing anywhere near the punch of a lot of our other local brews. It's also a little resiny, which is to be expected given the ingredients. This beer, if it were a book, would be like Pynchon or Faulkner as opposed to Dan Brown or John Grisham. It's not something you grab for fun, like a Red Trolley or a Leine. You pick it up, sit back and take it in slowly while trying to not let the complexity overwhelm you. When you're finished, you're left with the feeling that you've been challenged and you've bettered yourself for having gone through the experience but you're not whooping it up and looking around for another to chug. It's a very contemplative beer that I respect and is definitely a great special occasion beer, I'm very much looking forward to finding out how time changes the bottle I've got on reserve for a special occasion.