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Fred
Wine Thief
Posts:2673
 | | 01/18/2005 7:36 PM |
| This weekend,
Long Trail
Otter Creek
Magic Hat
Not nec. in that order. | |
"It's better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out, then outside the tent pissing in." -- Lyndon Johnson | |
| KillerB
Barrel Racker
Posts:1533
| | 01/19/2005 8:50 AM |
| | Guzzling the Timothy Taylor's Landlord again and Marston's Oyster Stout. One light and refreshing, the other dark and mysterious. | | | |
| Bradley Molzen
Bayonne, NJ
Wine Lover
Posts:4992
| | 01/21/2005 9:51 PM |
| | It'll be a nice 1.5Liter of Duvel (all to myself) during Sunday football. And some great chili! | |
If you drink wine, you get smarter.... | |
| ormbee
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2397
| | 01/22/2005 5:15 AM |
| Quote:
This weekend,
Long Trail
Otter Creek
Magic Hat
Not nec. in that order.
I know this was for my benefit. Bastard. | | | |
| kpak
Alaska
Wine Thief
Posts:2968
| | 01/24/2005 4:49 AM |
| | Sorry; didn't report back on the festival; got busy doing other things. The barley wine end wasn't great. I find most barley wines to be overdone, cloying and much too alcoholic. I usually like hopped up, crisper type ales and didn't find anything new there - nothing that I didn't already know I liked. Deschutes Brewery put in a good showing and the local brewers, Midnight Sun and Moose's Tooth are fabulous. I like porters and stouts as well, and the Midnight Sun brewers had some stout flavored with their own small batch roasted coffee...very good with chocolate. | |
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits...
ps - friends don't let friends eat farmed salmon. | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 01/24/2005 6:14 AM |
| Calling all Bay Area Hop Heads! Double IPA Fest in Hayward 2/12. Anyone interested?
Double IPA Festival | | | |
| Fred
Wine Thief
Posts:2673
| | 01/24/2005 5:06 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
This weekend,
Long Trail
Otter Creek
Magic Hat
Not nec. in that order.
I know this was for my benefit. Bastard.
Hey pal, no one is pointing a gun at your head forcing you to live in CA. | |
"It's better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out, then outside the tent pissing in." -- Lyndon Johnson | |
| Tim
Barrel Filler
Posts:1465
| | 01/26/2005 4:42 AM |
| Quote:
While I was in Cincinnati for an offline last weekend, I visited an amazing store called Jungle Jims, that had the best beer selection I'd ever seen. Deep Shaft Stout, Scaldis, Trappist Rochefort, Foret, Westmalle, Harvest Ales back to `97, and 395 others.
When I returned home, I was obsessed with thoughts of world class brews and decided to open my last bottle of 1995 Samichlaus Brown Ale. (250ml bottle). These were brewed one day each year on St Nicholas Day, December 6th (1994 in this case) and aged for 10 months before bottling. This is a doppel bock brewed by Hurlimann's of Switzerland and is the biggest lagered brew anywhere at an astounding 14.7% alc. by vol. This is an extinct beer that has been revived during this millenium by Eggenberger Schloss of Austria. Whether they do the original justice is a subject for debate.
Although the aging potential of this brew is legendary, I was a little apprehensive after reading a review of a few dead `97's from one six-pack. Brews this strong usually don't display any head retention, but this one maintained a foamy ring around the rim and some clouds in the center. The carbonation was surprising. Not club soda, but would equate to a half a coke that had been capped and consumed the next day. It's years from being "dead".
There's just no comparison between the simple, sweet, hot carmelly brew that Samichlaus is on release and the astoundingly complex beverage it becomes with 5-13 years of age.
Root beer colored. Aromas of figs, butterscotch pudding and wet stones were teasing my nose as I poured it gently off its yeast. Super complex with very malty flavors. Milky cocoa, ginseng, molasses, dates, Angostura bitters, and other exotic tastes that were more difficult to identify. The high alcohol manifested itself as a warming effect, but never affected the flavors in a hot or cough syrupy way.
The experience was more like drinking a fine tawny port or `70's Pedro Ximenez than a strong ale. Still one of my top five beers of all time and better than any of the previous `95's I've had.
I picked up a few bottles of the 2003 version of this the other day, popped one for curiosity's sake and found it quite good, but I don't drink a lot of beer. Rich and carmely, like no other beer I've had before, showed none of its alcohol. How do you 'cellar' this? Fridge? Cellar? Over the stove?  | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 01/26/2005 6:53 PM |
| | Mine were stored passively (closet). The `96 and `97 I still have are in my wine cabinet now. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 02/02/2005 6:49 PM |
| Another Bay Area event: Third Annual Strong Beer Month...San Francisco during February
Magnolia and 21st Amendment are teaming up again for their Strong Ale Fest. Magnolia will be featuring 5 beers and 21st Amendment 4. Pick up a beer card at either place and when you have tried all 9 during the course of the mo., you get to keep the stemmed tasting glass. The following beers will be available: Magnolia: Old Thunderpussy Barleywine, Promised Land Imperial IPA, Tweezer Tripel, McLean’s Wee Heavy, and Smokestack Lightning Imperial Stout. 21st Amendment: Lower de Boom Barleywine, Double Trouble Double IPA, Golden Doom Belgian Strong Ale, and Sully’s Original Malt Liquor. Both breweries will also be serving some vintage strong ales. 3 vintages of the Thunderpussy will be available at Magnolia, including the current yr. Beginning Feb. 4, each Fri., Magnolia will tap a firkin of cask conditioned strong ale. Late in the mo. there should also be some bourbon barrel aged strong ales available. A different beer will be paired with daily food specials each day during the 1st wk of Feb. at Magnolia.
Magnolia: 1398 Haight St. SF
21st Ammendment: 563 2nd St | | | |
| ormbee
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2397
| | 02/07/2005 7:10 AM |
| Good news this weekend, tried out a different Whole Foods, and they carried Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout, brewed at the Otter Creek Brewery in Vermont. That means Otter Creek finally has a distributor in CA!!! I'm going to have to bug the Whole Foods beer guy to get the Stovepipe Porter and the Hickory Switch Amber Ale when in season. Best beer news I had in a long time.
BTW, Cracked open the Wolaver's at kickoff. Best stout I have had since I moved to CA. Boy I miss VT beers. | | | |
| skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 02/08/2005 1:02 AM |
| | Ormbee, you need to get up to Pacific Coast Brewing up in Oakland and try out their stouts and porters. They are quite good. PCB makes a Killer Whale stout which is a dry stout a bit like a Guiness style. They also make a Imperial Stout which will kick your a** if you aren't careful (10%+). I forget what the porter is called but it is pretty good. | | | |
| ormbee
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2397
| | 02/08/2005 7:40 AM |
| Do they retail these? Seems like I have seem the Imperial.
I will keep an eye out. | | | |
| skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 02/08/2005 8:38 AM |
| | No, the Pacific Coast Brewing beers are not retailed. They only have a 7 barrel brewery and no capacity to bottle. Sometimes kegs make it to other pubs but it is pretty rare. I couldn't see Pacific Coast's beer making it to San Jose (mainly because they are small, not because the beer is no good, they have won several medals at the GABF). | | | |
| BryanG
Oakland, CA
Grape Destemmer
Posts:56
| | 02/10/2005 2:05 AM |
| And also in conjunction with the strong beer month in the Bay Area are two events in addition to what Bob mentioned.
Toronado has its barleywine festival (15th annual maybe?), with typically over 30 barleywines from all over the US and England.
And the Bistro in Hayward is having its Double IPA festival this weekend, 2/12.
As you might imagine, some beers end up at both festivals!
There are also a couple beer & food dinners around, one I know of at the cathedral hotel in San Francisco. I think it is beer & chocolate that Bruce is doing. | |
Bryan
Oakland, CA | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 02/10/2005 12:19 PM |
| Bryan, I will be at the Double IPA Festival at the Bistro in Hayward this Saturday. I'll probably get there around 2PM after golf.
I just signed up for the Beerapolooza Strong Ale Class at Kelley Brothers in Manteca on 2/15. It sounds incredible. Three Floyds and Oggies at the same time? I'm swooning. There may still be some openings.
"Beerapalooza Strong Ale Class, A fantastic way to sample several strong ales (16 at current count) at one sitting. The cost is $20 and will be limited to 50 people. Some of the select beers are Three Floyd's "Sextuple", Oggies Ding Ding IIPA, Magnolia Wee Heavy, Valley Brew Decadence 10 Triple and Valley Brew Frogzilla Imperial Amber, Avery The Reverend Quad and many other hard to find and unique big beers. For more info call 209-825-1727. Five or Six brewers will in attendance to discuss Strong Ales as part of the evenings fun. ****BONUS****Rate beer members will be allowed to sample additional VIP beers being offered by the attending brewers. Find Steve from Valley Brew or Mike from Kelley Bro's and let them know your there.
I've got the Firkin Fest (20 cask conditioned ales 3/26) at Triple Rock pencilled in too.
Burp! | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 02/11/2005 8:30 AM |
| Uerige Alt "Sticke" (means secret).
Beside the 30 barrels, only 250 cases of this are brewed for each batch. Just two batches per year; on the third Thursday of November and January.
Classic Alt. Tarnished copper color. Not huge, but a nice clean maltiness from the Pilsner, carmel and roasted malts. Nice bitterness from dry hopping to 65 IBU. Just a hint of sweetness. There's an overall snowmelt cleanness to the whole thing. Too bad there's less and less of this style being made in Germany.
Having heard that this is one of the rarest beers in the world, I did a little research to find some interesting facts along with what I already knew. Altbiers are made in the older top fermenting style that was popular before the spread of the lower alcohol lager style. The lighter lagers were a better and more affordable choice for the workers lunches. A few communities, notably Dusseldorf resisted the invasion of the lagered style. What has evolved today is an altbier that is still top femented, but cold conditioned like a pilsner.
Like other local breweries, Uerige follows the custom of brewing special batches on occasion, usually stronger and maybe with added ingredients. This beer is dry hopped, increasing the IBU by a third, and is higher in alcohol by nearly a third as well. Doesn't blow you away, but it's so nicely balanced and clean, with an extremely long and pleasing hoppy, malty finish. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 02/17/2005 7:42 PM |
| Beerapalooza Strong Ale Class - February 15, 2005
Kelly Brothers Brewing Company
Kelly Brothers Brickyard Oven Restaurant
112 E. Yosemite Ave
Manteca, CA 95336
209 825 1727
The Brewery and Restaurant are located in a buiding that used to be the local theater. It burned on the final night of the Towering Inferno's run in 1977. The restaurant features meats that are slow smoked in their brick ovens. I haven't tried the ribs or chicken, but I can say that the smokey Tri-tip Sandwich served French dip style is by far the best beef sandwich I've ever had. Head brewer Roy Medeiros brews the excellent beers and ales available on tap.
For the event the strong beers we tasted were obtained from far and wide. Some of the brewers were in attendance. Many of the beers were special batches or beers that were unavailabe outside of their pubs of origin. Some were in keg, some had been drawn from kegs into bottles for the event, and some were bottled for retail sales. The lowest alcohol beer weighed in at 7%.
I don't have much technical knowledge about beermaking and I don't know the lingo for describing them in detail, so I can only give my impressions, and a little info that was provided.
Firehouse Brewing (SoDak) Pils - "Czech Out Time" : Lager. 7.8% alc 55 IBU. Made from the original yeast from the 600yr old European Budweiser Co. Golden. Yeasty, sweet citrus nose. Floral, refined, light textured.
Valley Brewing "Decadence 10" : Begian style. 10% alc. Very little hops. Med gold. Clean, crisp and focused. Citus and a hint of banana. Not hot. Excellent. One of my favorites of the night.
Gouden Carolis "Grand Cru of the Emperor" : 10% alc. Belgian Strong Ale from a Champagne style bottle. Brewed once each year on 2/24; the Emperors birthdate. Zippy carbonation with a very fine bead. Nice flavors of fried plantain.
De Dolle "Orbier" 8% alc. Belgian Strong Ale: Tiny production and rare to find any in the US. Intoxicating nose, pefectly balancing malty, toasty tones with berry notes. Very complex. One of my favorites of the night.
Avery (Colo.) "The Reverend" Belgian Style Quadruple: 12% alc. Tropical nose. Grilled Mango flavors. Would be great with some grilled Halibut or Sea Bass.
Jack Russell Olde Ale: 7% alc. Old world style dusty toasty nose. Good for a commercially produced brew, but performing in a tough crowd.
Jack Russell Blackberry Belgian Double: 8% alc. Sweaty nose. Plummy and malty with large bead carbonation.
Magnolia "Wee Heavy" Scottish Ale: 8.5% Drier than other Scottish Ales I've had. Nice maple flavors marred by a limey, Pine Sol finish.
Valley Brewing "Frogzilla" Imperial Amber: 7% alc. Dry hopped. Earthy hop flavors with some jalapeno and broccoli notes.
Stone Brewing "Double Bastard" : 10% alc 100 IBU ! Super hopped, but with some dusty malty character. Fairly dry and a little hot.
Triple Rock "Punched in the Eye(P.A)" : 9% alc 110 IBU ! Tangerine color. Frothy head. Great, complex fresh fruity and floral hop aromas and flavors, turning to a brewed tea bitterness (rather than dried herb) Excellent IPA. One of my favorites of the night.
Drakes "Denoginizer" : 9% alc 116 IBU ! This was the winner of the Bistro Double IPA Fest in Hayward on Saturday. Amber color with a thick head. As good as the Triple Rock was, this was even better with more depth and body and some deeper maltier flavors with great concentration and an extremely long finish. Outstanding and one of my top brews of the event.
Kelly Brothers "888 Double Bock": 8% alc. 88 IBU. Pours without a head. Malty, toasted grain flavors, with a balancing streak of grapefruit peel and apple skins. Very nice offering from the hosts.
Sacramento Brewing Imperial Stout: Lacking in body. Simple Toasty Coffee flavors.
Rogue Imperial Stout: 10+% alc. Lots of complexity and focus for such a dense, inky brew. Good balance, but overpriced at $18 for a pint and a half bottle.
Brew it Up " Czars Tar" 9% alc. Slightly sweaty dark chocolate aromas. Not hot. Thick and sticky with refreshing blueberry streak Long finish. From bottle. Another of my favorites.
21st Ammendment "Wild Turkey Barleywine" 9.25% alc. Tons of wood. Winey and peaty like a single malt. Lots of people liked this, but coming from a wine background, it was just too woody for me.
Beerman "Bourbon Barrel Barleywine" 10% alc. Lots of butterscotch in the nose and overpowering the carmelly flavors.
Beerman "English Barleywine" 8% Straightforward barleywine style. Carmelly, with some dried apricot. Very similar to Anchor "Old Foghorn"
**********************************************
I had a "VIP" ticket to the event which allowed me to stay for an afterparty with the brewers. Similar to a wine offline, they shared aged brews from their cellars, and other gems. My notes were getting a little brief by this point in the evening and don't really do justice to these excellent brews that were so generously shared.
Stone 5th Anniversary IPA: (2001) From 3L. Nutty, dried apricot, balanced. Persistent finish.
Stone 4th Anniversary IPA: (2001) Lighter. A bit oxidized. Many felt it was over the hill.
Stone "Old Guardian" Barleywine: (2001) 9.5% alc. Carmelly with citrus to balance. Will age further.
Westvletern 12: (3 1/2 yr old bottle) A real treat. Ratebeer.com's highest rated brew in the world. (Which has led to its extreme scarcity) Utra complex with notes of buckwheat, fementing grain, beef barley soup, sage, and lots more.
Scaldis: Years ago, Scaldis was my first Belgian Ale. Blonde Gold in color, it's always surprising how much flavor there is for something so light in color and how well it hides 12% alc. Crisp, fruity but dry. Warming yeasty finish.
Moinette Brune: Fresh Saison Flavors with some Brown Ale nuances.
Pizza Port "Hop 15" Wow and double Wow. From bottle. A hophead's dream brew. 15 different hops introduced into the brew at 15 minute intervals. Like a stroll through a flower garden filled with fresh herbs. Thick solid head. Very fresh and zippy. Unreal. My best ever IPA.
Green Flash Brewing Ruby Red Ale: no notes
Green Flash Brewing 1st Anniversary Strong Ale. 8.4% alc. Another rare treat. Last of only 4 bottles made (I assume the rest was served at the pub from keg). Nutty, hazelnut, dried fig. Medium bodied. At it's peak.
De Koninck Winter Koninck 2004: 6.5% alc. Soft and grainy. Slight carmel. Nearly flat.
Malheur 12: Complex sweet malty nose. Drier in the mouth. Complex. Excellent
Mackeson XXX Triple Stout: Like an Imperial Stout. Very strong.
Lagunitas "B2K": (2000) Their millenium brew. 12.5% alc 68.8 IBU. Dried orange peel, apricot, honey, hint of carmel. Some felt it was over the hill. I didn't, but I'll drink the only bottle I have left soon.
J. W. Lees Harvest Ale 1989: Another real treat. The oldest I've had was a `97. This was still in great shape with a Scotch Whisky nose, carmel color, fine mousse, and toasted sourdought bread/dried peach flavors. Fabulous!
I feel fortunate to have been able to attend this. Thank God, I learned how to swallow a little and spit the rest from big wine tastings or I wouldn't have made it. A lot of others were making their departures early and a few others should have. This will be hard to top. | | | |
| Winoman
Herndon VA
Grape Sorter
Posts:390
| | 02/18/2005 1:02 AM |
| Wow Bob - what an awesome event!! We are truly living in the absolute best of times when it comes to beer - certainly we've never had it better here in the states!. (won't get into an East coast - West Coast debate though). I'm not familiar with many of the beers - but am a longtime Stone & Rouge fan and know their stuff well...like the barleywine (I might still have some left...) and I have some of the annual releases (meant for aging - forgot what they call them...)....yummy though - what a great event - I'm envious...
And Pizza Port hop?!?!?!?! I'm intrigued...do they distribute? I've fallen fro Dogfishhead 60min IPA myself - can hardly imagine a more perfect IPA... | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:886
| | 02/18/2005 7:46 AM |
| The Pizza Port brew was in a bottle with a "15" label. It may only be available at one of their locations in the San Diego area. There may or may not be some local distribution. I've never seen any in Northern California, but have enjoyed some of thier brews in No Cal pubs like Toronado that make the effort to obtain kegs of special stuff. I plan to make some calls to friends down San Diego way.
Although some Belgians and other strong beers can improve for a decade or more, the Pacific hopped Pale Ales and India Pale Ales, for my taste, are best as fresh as possible. A freshly bottled Stone or Lagunitas is a very good thing, but once theyve sat around for a while they still kick but on most of the run of the mill stuff, but either way, can't compare to the fresh stuff on tap.
I'd love to try some of the Dogfish Head brews sometime. I'm also kicking myself for not making a pilgrimage to Three Floyds when I had some time to kill in Indiana last summer.
There are a lot of paralells between the wine scene and the beer scene but luckily price is not one of them. I'm not sure how long the best beer in the world will still cost $10/bottle. I'm drinking the highly regarded Trappist Rochefort 10 right now that cost $6 and I can say that it's way more complex and interesting than a lot of Napa Cabs I've had. | | | |
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