Why Wait Till 12-12-12?

A couple weeks ago I decided that I wasn't going to wait until 2012 to open ANY of my Stone Vertical Epics. Of course that only consisted of one '06 and a few '07's I just bought. I opened the '06 with my buddy Milty a while back and decided last night was a good night to crack open my first '07. The 06.06.06 was a pretty tasty Belgian dark ale, though not the best I've had. This 07.07.07 was VERY tasty, and right up there with the better Belgian Golden Ales. Of course, it is unique being that it is a hybrid of a Tripel and a Saison. It might have helped a little more if I had ever had more than one Saison (Lost Abbey Red Barn). Admittedly, I'm not sure if I was able to pick up many of the nuances of its saison heritage, but the Tripel aspect really did shine.

The '07 pours with a nice dark golden color, ever so slightly orange, although I was drinking this on the back patio at night in dim lighting. Aroma is contributed by the Belgian yeast, a good deal of fruit in the aroma and also a bit of must (saison heritage?) and earthiness which I thought was coming through from the hops. The taste evolves from a bitter initial bite, to fruit over the middle of the tongue, to some subdued earthy/mustiness in the end. This beer is carbonated on the higher end of things and I liked it that way. Sometimes Tripels or other Belgian Strong Golden Ales get a bit viscous, or sticky, and it seemed like the carbonation cut that down a little. I also thought that this beer tasted better at its colder temperatures, more so than the last 1/4th of the glass that had warmed up a bit. This was a pretty nice beer to drink, and although I couldn't really bring myself to giving it any higher than a 4 in any of the Beer Advocate rating categories, I probably would have scored it higher in an "overall" category (strange I know, but I am an enigma). Overall, I gave it a 4.0 on BA (higher than its average so far of 3.85).

My New Favorite Canned Beer - Surly Furious

Surly Brewing Company (Brooklyn Center, MN) is a young and unique brewery. They have about 3 standard beers they can, at least from what I've been able to tell, and I've been really wondering what a good beer out of a can tastes like. Surly Furious is the 4th rated American IPA on BA, so it's gotta be good. After popping the top I realized what a good canned beer tastes like. It tastes as good and better than some bottled IPA's. Surly packs this beer with a very generous amount of malt, almost putting it into the DIPA category. However they keep the alcohol fairly low, 6%, though the same cannot be said for the IBU's (100). The beer pours pretty dark, with a bit of chill haze, but it does clear up as it warms up. The smell of this is actually best if you put your nose next to the can opening. Sweet malt, citrus and pine all try to rush out the tiny opening. Other than tasting really good with all the citrus and pine of a normal IPA, the things that stand out about this beer are the heavy caramel malt and the very slick mouthfeel created by the abundance of malt. The only flaw to my palate is that it overshines a lot of the carbonation, so that when it rolls over the tongue it feels under-carbonated.

Though I'd never had a beer from a can that doesn't start with the letter B, M, or C, this was a great reminder that good beer can come in aluminum (though it can take as long as 500 years for an aluminum can to degrade, so please be responsible and recycle :)

Avery Collaboration Not Litigation

When I bought Avery's (and Russian River's) Collaboration Not Litigation a month ago at the store I really didn't know much about it, other than the premise behind the blended beer. I didn't know what the Avery Salvation was (until a week later when I tried it) or the Russian River Salvation. I bought it anyway for a pretty hefty price of about $7.50 for a 22 oz. bottle. When I got home and read the BA reviews I was a bit worried I bought a good, but much overpriced beer.

I wasn't let down though. This was a very good beer. A blend of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale and a Belgian Dark Ale. The color comes out on the side of the Russian River's dark Salvation. The aroma has a Belgian yeast earthiness along with a toasted-malt smell. This beer tastes kind of similar to what I would expect from a little heavier Biere de Garde. The alcohol is evident, at 8.99%, but mixes well. I wouldn't drink this beer all the time for this price, but it was a nice experience anyway. I gave it a solid 4.1 on BA.

Second Try is a 60-minute Charm

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I had bought a single 12 oz. bottle of Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA at a local liquor store. Unfortunately, when I had gotten home I realized the stamp on the bottle neck said "bottled 10/14/06," which meant I had it over 6 months after bottling. What I suspected, and found out, was that this renowned IPA lost pretty much any semblance of an IPA after this amount of time. So I tried once more. No I didn't go back to buy a new bottle because that store only had the 10/14/06 bottles. So in a trade with another fellow BA'er I obtained another DFH 60-minute IPA, along with a few other things.

First the contents of that trade (in exchange for a Cuvee de Tomme)-
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Great Divide Hercules DIPA
Great Divide Titan IPA
Dale's Pale Ale
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA

So back onto the subject of this Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA. I was worried as I unwrapped my shipment because when I took the bubble wrap off the 60-minute it was a bit wet, and when I got to the bottle the label was soaked and smelled like beer that had been poured on the sidewalk and left in the heat for a day. However, the bottle was still filled pretty far, up into the neck, so I guess it was only a slight cap malfunction. I popped it in the fridge as fast as I could and waited until now.

The anxiety of knowing whether I was going to be 0-for-2 on DFH-60 was a bit to much to wait any longer. I popped off the cap to only a tiny fizzle of carbonation. Not a good sign. From that point on it was a completely different story. The beer poured with a very nice amount of carbonation, seeding a light, airy, semi-frothy two finger head. The color was outstanding- a clear rich golden (picture makes it look darker and a shade of red) and a bright white head. The smell isn't breathtaking, but at least you will know you are about to get yourself into an IPA. The taste is another matter, lightly malty, caramel-y, hoppy earthiness, and a mildly bitter lingering finish. This is one of the more drinkable IPA's I've come across, if not the most. So thankfully this turned out ok, because if it hadn't I might have given up on DFH 60-minute IPA forever. I gave it a 4.45 on BA.

First Beer Tasting Recap

The results of the tasting were as follows (from top avg score to low avg score)

1. Young's Double Chocolate Stout (8.5)
2. Green Flash West Coast IPA (7.9)
3. Chimay Premiere (7.5)
4. Rogue Mocha Porter (7.5)
5. Bayhawk Chocolate Porter (7.36)
6. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye (7.15)
7. Lost Coast Pale Ale (7.0)
8. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (6.2)
9. Full Sail Pale Ale (4.9)

Granted, there were 7 of us total and really only me out of the all the participants is a beer fanatic. I have gotten two of my friends into tasting/buying different things but they don't really have an urge to LEARN about each beer, its history, or beer in general (ie, one friend thinks the stuff on the bottom of a bottle-conditioned bottle is hops). So mostly it's just drink it and taste it, and remember whether they liked it or not. But I thought this would be a great opportunity to have them all try a diverse lineup of beers so they could learn a bit about how beers can be different. What I learned, and what the ratings reflect, is that some people at the table really love rich porters/stouts and despise hoppier beers, while others really love hoppier beers and don't appreciate as much the porters/stouts. Some of the people not really accustomed to IPA's scored the two IPA's very low (and these are by most standards 2 of the very finest IPA's in the country).

As for my ratings, they went like this (with quick notations on some):

1. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye (9.5) - I have had this on tap, and it is a truly fantastic beer. The hops are so fresh and perfect, and the malt/rye body is rich and complimenting.
2. Young's Double Chocolate Stout (9.5) - Better than what I remembered of the first time I had it. The most chocolaty beer I have had.
3. Green Flash West Coast I.P.A. (9.0) - All around great, aggressive, bitter IPA.
4. Rogue Mocha Porter (8.5) - Solid rich porter, with lots of chocolate malt.
5. Chimay Premiere (8.0) - The first time I tried this. One of the less interesting Dubbels I've had. Not sure why I scored this so high yesterday.
6. Lost Coast Pale Ale (7.0) - One of those pale ales that falls in the not too bad, not too great categories. I would welcome it if I saw it on tap at one of those places that only carries Sam Adams at best, but I wouldn't pick it out of a Yardhouse or Delirium Cafe lineup.
7. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (7.0) - Not near as good as Damnation. Not nearly as good as Delirium Tremens, Avery Salvation, Piraat, or Duvel either.
8. Bayhawk Chocolate Porter (6.5) - Amazing aroma of powdered bittersweet cocoa. Taste doesn't match up though. Thin body and sourish/tangy taste that has a bit of chocolate trying to cover it up. 9. Full Sail Pale Ale (5.0) - a bit astringent in the hop aroma as well as taste. I could still try this fresh from a tap, but I don't believe it'd be different out of any other bottle.

Prelude to a Beer Tasting

Tomorrow marks the first ever Circle Beer Tasting. "The Circle" is a group of friends (includes as many as 10 people, but really consists of about 5 or 6 now) who met freshman year of high school in football. We gave our group the name because in the morning before class we would stand together and talk, and when someone came up to us who we didn't want to join in the conversation we would close down into a tight circle to exclude that person. Now we have all graduated from college, some of us work full time, while one of us is still in school (me). Recently, and after a bit of an effort, I have introduced my fellow Circle members to the great world of craft/micro/good beer. The last few weeks we have been planning a beer tasting, so I took charge and got things squared away. First things first, our lineup looks like this...

1. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
2. Chimay Premiere (Red)
3. Full Sail Pale Ale
4. Lost Coast Pale Ale
5. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
6. Green Flash West Coast IPA
7. Bayhawk Chocolate Porter
8. Rogue Mocha Porter
9. Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Father of the Circle, Steve "Milty" Timmins, whose house the tasting will be held at, has also bought a great assortment of cheeses and is cooking up some Philly cheese steak sandwiches for us.

I took the beers up to Milty's house tonight along with an Allagash Grand Cru for us to sample tonight. Belgian Strong Pale Ale category with an ABV of 7.2%. The bottle states that it is brewed with spices. The beer pours a dark, cloudy golden, with a very nice head that leaves great lacing. The smell is typical Belgian Strong Golden Ale, but the taste is a bit different. There is more of a hop presence in this, but as it warms up the spices come out. The great smooth mouthfeel made it ridiculously easy to drink. I gave it a 4.45 on BA.

Great Trade, Upper Midwest Beers

This last week I completed a trade with a fellow BA in Minnesota. He got a good dose of Stone and I got a great selection of Midwest beers. The beers seemed to make it in great condition through the heat, though the wax seals on 2 of the bottles didn't fare as well. Those two being the most unique- the New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red and the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. I hadn't even heard of these beers (that full under the fruit beer category) until about three weeks ago, when I saw some stuff posted in the forums that piqued my interest. I had to jump on the chance to get these when it came up. I'm also really looking forward to the 3 IPA's that were included- Bell's Two Hearted Ale, Surly Furious, and New Glarus Hop Hearty Ale. To round it all out was a Bell's Double Cream Stout. Can't wait to get started on these in the next few weeks.

Supplication - Pray and It Will Come

Unexpectedly came across a bottle of Russian River Supplication, batch 002, at the aforementioned Lone Hill Liquors. Decided this afternoon was a good enough time to open it up. A quick bit from the Russian River website about this beer...

Brown Ale aged in French oak Pinot Noir barrels for one year with three strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, & Pediococcus.

Sounds good enough huh? Of course if you hadn't noticed, this is one of Russian River's 14 "-tion" named beers. Supplication meaning 1. to ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying. 2. to make a humble entreaty to; beseech. It's one of six (now that they are releasing a barrel Aged Damnation for batch 23) barrel aged beers.

I guess up to this point the only sour beer I have had is Boon Geuze, and I thought the taste of that was of course very unique and nice. When I popped the cork on this bottle of Supplication it started immediate effervescence, but did not overflow the bottle. The pour is visible from the picture, a nice light brown and red colored beer with a head that doesn't factor in too much. The minute you start pouring this you can smell it at arms length. Amazing tart fruit bursting in all direction. Get this in your glass and swirl it each time before you smell it. The swirl really releases a ton of aromatics from this beer. The taste is tart of course, from the wild fermentation, and there is an abundance of fruit- cherries and grapes. I thought I picked up very light oak, but who knows, I'm not an expert. The carbonation is very high and very fine, fizzy if you will. The only thing I thought was a bit harsh was its acidity. Even so, I couldn't help but score this high on BA- 4.5, right on track with everyone else.

Brewpub Profile: Oggi's

Oggi's is a brewpub chain mostly located in the San Diego area and up to Orange County. Thankfully they also have one located a bit more inland in Corona, which is only about 20 minutes away from me. They have a standard lineup of 7, maybe even call it 8 regular beers (though their website will only list 7).

(hefe not pictured because they ran out)

1. Sunset Amber Ale (Gold, 2004 World Beer Cup)
2. Sweet Spot Hefe (Bronze, 2003 GABF)
3. California Gold Blonde Ale
4. Paradise Pale Ale
5. Torrey Pines IPA
6. McGarvey's Scottish Ale
7. Black Magic Stout (Bronze, 2004 World Beer Cup)
*8. Hop Juice Double IPA (located in the center "hefe" position)

The asterik on #8 denotes that this beer isn't even mentioned on their website, but it has a cult following among Southern Californian hopheads who frequent Oggi's. They make some fantastic pizzas and appetizers, especially the Oggi Stix-

Our light pizza dough brushed with a garlic and olive-oil sauce, topped with parsley, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Served with ranch dip or Marinara sauce.

Separated a bit from the main restaurant seating is a nice bar area that contains many flat-screen mounted TV's broadcasting sporting events. In the regular dining room there are I think 14 TV's including 1 big screen around the walls. If you order the beer sampler you get 8 samples of about 4-5 oz each. That's a lot of beer you have to get through in a short amount of time before it warms up too much, so I would suggest sharing it.

As for the beer, I would say the Pale Ale is their best crafted. It is quite hoppy and juicy (my term for the opposite of dry). The IPA, Amber, and Scottish Ale, and Hop Juice are all pretty good as well, though the IPA contains a somewhat abrasive, weird bitterness. Personally, I don't like the Stout that much, as it has a really huge anise & coffee mixture in it that make it undrinkable. The hefe is also interesting, it doesn't contain notes of banana, it contains what seems like gigantic amounts of banana flavoring. It almost feels like you are drinking some sort of super-concentrated artificially flavored banana liqueur (if you can imagine that). It is definitely a place to try, for some beer and pizza.

Avery White Rascal

It's only 94 degrees outside right now, so I guess you could say today was a bit mild. That's still hot enough to need to crack open a refreshing beer, and thankfully I had a bottle of Avery White Rascal in the fridge. I don't pretend to be an expert on witbiers, and I must say this is actually the first one I've ever had. I've never even had more than a sip of Hoegaarden's witbier.

The label makes it sound tasty enough... Belgain yeast, wheat, curacao orange peel, and coriander along with Saaz Hops. The pour reminds me of the Hoegaarden my friend orders. It's a pale but cloudy yellow, with a nice bright white frothy head. Smells very Belgian-y, with the slightest bit of orange. The taste was eh, a bit of bland wheat, some earthiness, and a lingering spice finish. I didn't really pick up any of the bitter orange taste I was expecting. I will say though that this thing is pretty pretty pretty drinkable. I had no problem finishing this off in a few minutes, even though I didn't necessarily enjoy the taste of it as much as I do other beers.

I gave it a 3.65 on BA, but I probably liked it more than that, if that makes sense.

The Session #5: Atmosphere

While I like the familiarity of sitting and having a nice pint at my local English pub Lucky Baldwin’s in Old Town Pasadena, I would have to say my absolute favorite place to sit down for some beers is the new Stone World Bistro & Gardens. Sound a little too commercial to have that fuzzy feel-good atmosphere of your regular evening stop? Well, I will put those notions to rest right here. Being at Stone provides an amazing and comfortable setting, and you may even feel fuzzy after a few hours with their top notch lineup of beers. Let me walk you through what makes this such a great experience to my senses.

The Setting: The brewery/restaurant/gardens is located just on the outskirts of an industrial/auto park. It’s a huge building, and as you roll into the parking lot I will admit you may get that commercial sort of feeling. Don’t worry though, once you enter that feeling will be gone. Enter the cavernous stone and wood constructed building and notice a waterfall and river on the inside cutting though the restaurant that runs underneath the floor to the outside patio. You have a beautiful wood bar and wooden tables alongside some greenery on the inside. Take a venture outside and go for a long walk though the garden and lawn areas, around the mini lagoon, and by more streams and waterfalls. It’s no doubt that Stone sets the mood visually. There are plenty of benches and seats within the gardens as well, so feel free to sit down with your beer and buddies.

Having Your Pint: Not only does a good atmosphere have to be visually pleasing, but it also needs a little buzz in the air. Something to make you feel like you’re taking part in something special away from the comfort of your home. With the bustling restaurant, the sound of running water, and the business of Stone Brewing happening around you, that is no problem. A glimpse through the glass wall that separates the beer tanks from the restaurant may remind you where the beer you’re drinking came from (if you’re drinking something made by Stone from among their very diverse tap and bottle list). And if you are there in the afternoon and feel like taking a break from eating and drinking, head over to the gift shop and take an entertaining brewery tour (with free tasting of their regular lineup afterward).

The Stone World Bistro & Restaurant is over an hour drive from me, and I’ve been there less times than you could count on one hand, but each time I’ve been there its beat every time I go anywhere else. If I lived closer to Escondido (and my wallet were bottomless) it would be my regular stop, it’s that fun of a place.

IPA Fest Revelations and Upcoming Fests

I was able to open and close the week-long IPA fest at Lucky Baldwin's with trips on both Saturdays. The major thing I realized was that I developed a better appreciation for some beers I didn't take to in the biggest way when I first experienced them. Of course, I was also able to try some amazing new beers, namely Russian River Blind Pig IPA and Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA. The beers that I gained a greater admiration for were AleSmith IPA and Stone Ruination Double IPA. Both of these are very good beers for their respective styles, so I must conclude that my tastes when I first had them were not evolved enough to appreciate certain IPA's (since I definitely did like other IPA's). Unfortunately it's near impossible to find Ruination on tap in the greater Los Angeles area, but the Alesmith IPA is easy enough if you know where to look.

Next up at Lucky Baldwin's is the Christmas in July Fest which lasts for two days, on the weekend of the 14th and 15th. From hop overload one weekend to spice overload the next. Of course if that wasn't enough, a week-long Lagunitas Fest goes down the week after (July 21-29), only a few weeks before the week-long Belgian Beer Fest II (August 18-26). This will keep me somewhat occupied for the next couple months.

Also, on the horizon is the First Annual Stone Sour Fest, Sunday, July 22nd. I can't say I've begun to experience the world of sour beers (though I have a few in the fridge), but this should be a pretty good opportunity to try a variety of things.