Black Friday Stout Tasting

I had a wonderful impromptu stout tasting last night with Aaron Hyde, owner and operator of Brewstock, New Orleans’ best and brightest homebrew shop.  We kicked through five interesting ales (stouts are ales) and the tasting notes are below.

Great Divide Brewing Co.: Yeti Imperial Stout

This beer has BIG chocolate notes at the front and in the nose, and that pleasant beginning is  followed by hints of vanilla, burnt caramel and delicious mouthfeel because of a full bodied finish.  It keeps it’s  great cocoa colored head all the way down. A very tasty and rich classic American stout.

The Saint Louis Brewery: Schlafly Oatmeal Stout

This beer left a bit lacking for both Aaron and I.  It is a bit one dimensional for an oatmeal stout.  Almost too much coffee and acid flavor that left you with a tart bite that was a bit unpleasant.  Aaron believes this is from the roast barley; I’m not sure what it is from but it was not all too pleasant.  The oats seem to be lost in the equation.  Generally, I expect a bigger body in an oatmeal stout, and the mouthfeel was just off.  It didn’t have that creaminess that most oatmeal stouts deliver.

North Coast Bewing Co.: Old No.38 Stout

This was a new beer for both of us and it was a very pleasant surprise.  There was deep complexity to the flavor which developed as it warmed.  Think caramel, sour dough and biscuit throughout- topped off with whiffs of chocolate, toffee and dark coffee.  The blend of flavors was brilliantly roasty, but without being overbearing on the coffee notes.  It finished clean and dry; overall this was a very pleasant stout.  If you can find it, give it a try.

The Brooklyn Brewery: Black Chocolate Stout

This has been one of my favorite beers since my first sip in the Squirrel Cage (What’s up Pittsburgh?) I can’t keep from savoring each sip of this dark beauty.

According to Aaron, “It is a classic example of a big American Stout that drinks clean and smooth with great head retention.  The dark chocolate finish is almost like sipping on an expensive dark chocolate candy bar.  The alcohol is tucked away perfectly and begins to add some warmth to the finish as beer as it warms.  Not as much roast or tannin quality as other big stouts as the chocolate character is the focal point.”

Bluegrass Brewing Co.: Bourbon Barrel Stout

We both agreed that this is one of the safest  Bourbon Barrel Stouts we’ve had.  It was enjoyable but not memorable.  The vanilla notes from the barrel are subtle.  The body was medium for a stout and the mouthfeel was not quite as big as one would hope.  It did get the job done.  I think this is a good introduction to bourbon barrel stouts, but not really a great pick for someone who is really into bigger or darker beers.

 

Beer Review: BrewDog’s Paradox Speyside

As  I was carefully deciding which beer to review, I grabbed the closest bottle to where I was sitting.  This method of problem solving is the equivalent to the way men shop in a mall.  Find something, buy it, then leave.

The beer of choice today was the BrewDog Paradox Speyside.

Their Paradox line of beers are special single batches of Imperial Stout that are aged in Scotch Whisky barrels. These particular barrels come from The Speyside Distillery.  Speyside is located in the Highland region and is known for lighter bodied and sweeter whiskies with strong flavors of honeyed and fruit notes.

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 10%

Score: 9 out of 10 (lost a point for the price).  The score is biased, as I love this style of beer.

Cost: about 12$ per 11.2oz bottle

Overall- This is a special batch (ie. supposedly only brewed once) aged in Scotch Barrels From the Speyside malt whisky barrels. beer is a kiss between someone who just took down a few fingers of scotch and another who has a . this is as a car bomb should be, no shot necessary. Not light on the wallet, but for the occasional treat, this is one for the record.

Recommended Glassware: anything that will let you get the aroma.  It has such a rich scent that you want to not waste a sniff.

I drank it out of a: Pint Glass (but wish that I had used something that would have captured the aroma better).

Appearance- Black as a moonless night. Think thin molasses.

Smell- Scotch breath, not scotch, but the breath of one who just drank some. There is a bit of peat in the nose of the beer, but it stays creamy and smooth.

Taste- I believe that every single taste bud in my mouth was pleased by this well balanced beauty. Sweet and earthy, with that tar and char of a nice scotch. It doesn’t keep much of the peat of scotch, but there is a musk to it that keeps telling my brain that I’m not drinking beer. The aftertaste is malty and roasted, yet keeps a fine sweetness on your mind and scotch on your breath. This beer masterfully blends the tart twang of scotch gained from it’s aging with the a delicate malty sweetness.

Mouthfeel- Ale smooth, it that the body of a barley wine that keeps a coating on your tongue for taste, but isn’t an overwhelming aftertaste.

If you get a chance to find one of these beers, take a shot.  The BrewDog beers are not cheap, but they are worth the price.  Yes, when you pay more than $10 for a small bottle of beer you are turning a corner away from the PBR, but you don’t have to lose yourself in beer snobbery.  This is a great line of pricey beer to guess at, because they are interesting and tasty.

 

The Dangers of Being a Hulking Beast

Autographs are free for children.

As I accidentally snapped off the neck of my second beer (did the first one also) in my bare hands, I pondered why I even use my hands.  I probably should just move on to using my teeth (which does happen to be the most appreciated opening technique of neanderthal frat boys nationwide).  Seriously, I’m not as strong as I used to be; the days of my sister calling me a “Gang of One” are long gone.  So can someone tell me why are these bottle necks crumbling in my fingertips?  Did I unassumingly buy the sixer of beer that was bottled in the movie prop pressed sugar bottles?  Knowing full well that Wolaver’s (A Vermont brewery of many tasty suds)  is not out to spite me personally, nor anyone who actually buys their beer, it appears that I must search for another answer.

So here’s the dilemma:  I like to drink beer, but I now fear that every beer that I open tonight will shatter in my hands.  That would be a horrible waste of beer as I’m past the point in life where I’ll drink a beer that has glass powder suspended in the head.

I think to solve this problem I must (at least partially) go back to my university studies in logic.  The stuff can be really dense, but I bothered learning it then, so I might as well apply it to my practical life issues.  If not my tuition dollars were all a waste.

Let us suppose that we have a three main premises:

A: The BeerSquatch likes beer.

B: When the BeerSquatch wants beer, he turns into a Hulking Beast.

C: When the BeerSquatch is a Hulking Beast, he then accidentally snaps the necks off of normally sturdy bottles.

Now when we consider that there is nothing in my textbook dealing with a Hulking Beast,  so it seems that there isn’t much logic can do.

Where does that get me? Shit if I remember the details of formal logic, but it ends with this: Therefore, I need to sneak up on the beers, and not really like them so much.  It’s similar to dating, right.  I’m gonna play hard to get and my beer had better hop out of the fridge, rip it’s top off and press itself against my lips.  I may be on to something here.  I’ll get back to you on how well it works out.

 

I’ve Been Away / Beer Not Bullets

I have been away, and I mean that  both literally and figuratively. I’ve been off the blog for about a year and a half, but I feel it is an appropriate time to return to you all now. If you wonder where I’ve been, I guess I could respond in one sentence. I’ve been busy. I took a new job, my father died, I moved to Baton Rouge, I became a teacher in rural Louisiana, went through a year of teaching hellfire only to come out like a strange phoenix with hoppy breath, and I’m about to move back to New Orleans to teach in that fine city. There you go, my apologies for the absence, I’ll try to not do it again.

I have a few posts that never made it live, but there is now an occasion would bring me back. Sadly, it comes from the very negative aspect of one of the most amazing cities on this planet. New Orleans is a beautiful and luscious city in which people of many persuasions thrive. This does mean that the cruel underbelly of the city lurks waiting sometimes to prey on those who make this city the oasis that it is.

Chef Zimet

Nathanial Zimet, chef/owner of Boucherie,  was shot multiple times in an apparent robbery while returning home from preparing for the Bayou Bougaloo festival. I’ve met him once casually and he was a very jovial man. He has made a great mark in the city with his attitude towards food at his restaurant Boucherie, which hits on my top 5 restaurants in the city (I’ll have to make that another post).  As most people who work in the food service industry, he is without insurance and as you can imagine, his recovery will not be cheap.

New Orleans has a large loving heart, and it’s beating to support Chef Zimet in his time of need.  There have been multiple benefits planned for his recovery costs, and a major event from the beer community- that the chef supports greatly- is taking place tonight.

“Bullets Not Beer” is a food and beer tasting event that is taking place tonight at the NOLA Brewing Co. and will feature live music.  Due to capacity issues, the limit is 300 people through the door.  Last I checked it was nearly sold out.  Local breweries have made donations as have many individual beer lovers opened up the beer cellar to donate some rare treats.  I sent down a few hard to get treats (Dogfishhead’s 90 minute IPA and Left Hand’s Milk Stout) to be enjoyed by those in attendance.  I’m in the middle of moving and can’t make it down, but even though I’m not there, I’m happy.  This event and the general support from the community for a man, who’s making New Orleans a more awesome place to live, make me smile.  I miss the city and I’m proud to become a resident again in a few days.

Sure, the city has its rouge edges, but its got enough soul to make up for it.  My best wishes to Chef Zimet, I hope you heal up soon.

If you are interested in hearing about more benefit events and/or donating to his recovery please follow the following link: http://benefit4nathanial.wordpress.com/

Photo courtesy of myneworleans.com via The Beer Buddha.

 

Support small business, boycott Monster energy drinks and Hansen’s beverages

I am not one to support big nasty companies who do bad things to the little guy.  Today I found out about this new case of corporate nastiness and felt it needed to be shared further.

Rock Art is a small brewery in Vermont that is being targeted by Hansen Beverage, the company that brings you Monster Energy drinks, in a frivolous trademark lawsuit.

Monster has told Rock Art to cease and desist (click link for pdf) their production of a 10% abv barleywine, named Vermontster, because of the confusion between this beer and Monster energy drink. The labels are in not similar to each other, one is a beer and one is an energy drink. The only similarity is the “Vermonster” vs “Monster” part of the name. It would bankrupt the small brewery to fight this lawsuit in the courts and Monster has acknowledged that it is interested in this because they wish to enter the market of alcoholic beverages.

I have always enjoyed the Hansen products, their natural soda was always a pleasure of mine while working at a little deli in Pittsburgh.   I have not yet had the chance to try a Rock Art beer, but I believe that they have the right to do business without being held down by a big corporate thumb.  Now the time has come to let those folks who run Monster and Hansen know that this is not acceptable behavior.

I ask all of you to join me in boycotting their products and letting the company know why. Please share this with anyone who supports the rights of small businesses in this country.

According to M. Fischer on Facebook group “Vermonters and Craft Beer Drinkers Against Monster” (click to join the group):

“It took me about 15 minutes to figure out the email format that Hansen’s uses. With that info, you can contact the CEO, COO, etc.

The email format is Firstname.Lastname@hansens.com.

You can see a list of key officers here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=HANS

A full list of Board of Directors members is here:
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/board.asp?ric=HANS.O“

Contact the COO of Monster Energy nick.gagliardi@hansens.com

There are many other sources of info on this conflict.  The Rock Art Brewery website is one, the facebook group is another and here is a link to a very thorough article from the NY Times on the subject.

 

Beer Tasting: Weihenstephan at Clever

Enjoy a taste of a classic German brewery today at Clever Wine Bar from 6 to 8pm.  There will be a free tasting of four beers from Weihenstephan: Hefeweizen, Märzen, Korbinian, and the Munich Helles Lager.

This tasting is a prelude to Clever’s Tapas Tuesdays, which always is a pleasant variety of food served at this stylish wine bar.  The bar does have a fine beer selection to go along with the wine.

For more information and beer, visit  Clever from 6-8pm at 3700 Orleans Ave New Orleans, LA 70119

 

Beer Review: Sierra Nevada 2009 Harvest Wet Hop Ale

Oh so fresh (and so clean-clean). This seasonal offering from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is a joy to drink.

This thirteenth Harvest Ale packs a wallop of hop flavor while not overpowering your palette. The flavors of the fresh hops allow all of the flavor profile to come out without the tongue numbing effect of a dry hopped ale or an IPA. Wet hopping is the process of picking the hops then immediately getting them into the brew kettle as soon as possible; in the case of this beer, it is the morning after they are picked. The result is that the hops don’t lose some of their flavor in the drying process. Give this one a try, it is a very pleasant ale that won’t overwhelm the senses. At 24 ounces a bottle, there is enough to share a bottle with a friend, but if you are wise (or selfish) get enough for all. I’ll be going back for a few more for the fridge while these are available.

I gave this a steady pour into a nonic pint glass to let the head develop, and I’m very glad that I did.   The first glance is captured by a righteous off white head. It is fluffy and thick like meringue. I took the time to make it stand up off my finger just for fun. (Yes, I do play with my beer, so what you gonna do ’bout it?) Even after playtime, the head lasted all the way down the pint. The beer itself is an amber pushing ruby hue. It holds your gaze with a steady stream of carbonation rising from its depths.

This beer smells like hops. Cascade (which gives the great aroma to their Pale Ale) and centennial hops give this beer it’s floral, citrus and pine aromas. At first whiff, it makes me think I have a handful of hops that I’m about to throw into a batch homebrew. It smells as beautiful as a sunset sounds lovely.

This ale has a tart resin taste from the fresh hops that is quite refreshing. It like pine and citrus are having a party and invited a bit of malt over. The crisp bright flavor of the centennial hops is balances to a smooth taste with the malts. There is a true tingle on the tongue from the hop’s acidity and citrus notes. Leaves the mouth feeling clean, but the aftertaste does leave that tartness that I expect from a dry hopped beer. It appears that you get this effect through the wet hop brewing process if the hop is fresh enough. I will have to experiment with this if I can ever get my hops to grow well.

I give this a few thumbs up, now I must go buy more before the wife finds out I drank this without giving her a taste.  Oops.

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Beer: 2009 Harvest Wet Hop Ale, 13th release
• Style: Wet Hopped Ale
• ABV: 6.7
• Cost: $$   4.49/ 24 oz bottle @ whole foods
• Score: 4.6-5

 

An afternoon of beer

As I get a bachelor afternoon so infrequently these days, I decided to take full advantage of this one. It shall be a beer day.

Earlier this afternoon I hopped off to the best (and only) homebrew store in New Orleans for my next batch of stout.  Stouts are relatively easy to brew and don’t show flaws very easily. There are many variations and I’ve decided to take a shot at a milk stout after having enjoyed the Left Hand Milk Stout so much.

I just picked up a batch of goodies from Brewstock: tasty roasted grains, chocolate malt, american ale yeast, lactose, magnum and kent goldings hops.   Those along with some other ingredients that I have laying around will become a very tasty milk stout in a few weeks.

I then stopped for to taste some of the new beers in the case at Squeal BBQ.  I love their food and they keep very good beer in the case.  As Patrick, my new Georgia Bulldog fan friend, chowed down on the Pulled Pork sandwich two stools down from me noted about his grub, “You know its a good sandwich when you have to wash your hands afterward.”

I’ll work on more detailed reviews later, but the short version is helpful too.  Indian Wells Brewing’s Orange Blossom Ale is sweet and tart as a ripe orange.  The taste more lies along the lines of the peel oils rather than the juices or meat of the fruit.  It was alright, but nothing you can’t do by blending a basic ale with a bit of Fanta (Yes, I’ve had that before.  It is a menu item in some places in South America).

Next was Wolaver’s  Pat Leavy’s All-American Ale.  Tasty beer with a nice organic hop blend that leaves a bright citrus hop flavor.  The malt forward of this was unexpected after reading the label, but it was a very pleasant balance.

Last was the Heiner Brau Marzen.  mmmmmmmm. that’s all i got for this beer that represents the style very well. mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Now that I’m rested for a while at home and dried off from the rainstorm, I’ll be off to The Avenue Pub to enjoy the newest beer offered by the crew down at NOLA brewing.  The Hopitoulas IPA will be available as of this afternoon and available around the city until around Mardi Gras.

 

Slow pork ribs in oven (fast pork runs free) w/ Shiner Smokehaus Helles

I don’t claim to be a BBQ pit master, but I can do a reasonable imitation.  Right now in my oven is a wonderful variation of a slow cooked rib recipe that I enjoy.  I thought I’d share it with yinz (there is one for all you Stiller fans out there).

Smoked beer slow-cooked swine

Ingredients: Pork, spices for rub, beer, oven, sheet pan (with rim and a rack that fits), aluminum foil, a few hours, patience, and hunger.

• This recipe is mainly designed for Ribs, but can be modified for use with most cuts.  Get pork that should be slow cooked to get tender, something that is either tough or fatty, ideally both.   The good news is that this meat is cheap.   You can do this with short ribs, country ribs, baby back ribs or boston butt or shoulder (if you trim them down to strips).  Prep the meat (rinse off, pat try with paper towels).
• Get out a cookie sheet with a rack, or a broiler pan.  You need some sort of rig to keep the piggy from sitting in its drippings.
• Preheat oven to 200 F.  If it won’t go that low, get a shittier oven.  It works at a higher temp, but don’t go past 250 if you can help it.    Figure it out.  Low heat is good.
• Make a spicy sweet rub.

Mine consists of: about 3/4 cup of my Tasty spice (a personal cajun spice blend that has no salt), 1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of course kosher salt.  Mix well.

Note: the sugar will caramelize the rub and help hold in some juices while making a nice crunchy coating.

2nd Note: If you are using a store bought cajun spice mix, it is usually loaded with salt, so you won’t need the extra salt.

3rd Note: you can play with the spices in the rub to make the flavor as you will, just make sure that you have a both sugar and salt to get the desired texture.

• Rub pork with spices, massaging it in and coating all sides, then lay out on rack in sheet pan so that they are not touching.
• Pour one beer into pan under ribs, this will steam some flavor into the ribs, keeping them moist and taking some of the beer’s unique flavor.  I’m using some Shiner Smoked beer that I got for my birthday.

Personally, I’m not a huge smoked beer fan (yes it takes like bbq, but so does bbq meat.  Meat wins), but everything is great in the proper application, so the smoked beer goes into the rib recipe.  (It is also great for making rice)

• Cover pan with aluminum foil tent and carefully (don’t spill beer on your shoes) place in oven.  Close it up and wander away for a while.  I check about an hour in to see if it needs more liquid, it will if your oven is too hot.
• 3-6 hours usually does the trick, but it depends on how thick your pork is cut (mine is in about 1.5  inch thick slabs) and the temperature of your oven.  The thicker and tougher the cut, the longer the cooking time.  The first time you do this you may have to keep checking on it.

To make good use of the oven heat, roast some veg (squash, potatoes, peppers, onions, ?) on another rack to go with your pork.

• Take off the foil when it is almost done to dry out the moisture from the surface, leave it a lil’ longer.
• Once it is done to the point of almost falling apart at the touch, remove it from the oven, take off the foil and let the meat rest.

At this point, you could eat it, but we’re not done yet.

• Put your oven rack to the second from the top position.  Reheat your oven to 400 F.
• Take your favorite BBQ sauce, or give my recipe a shot, and glaze the top of your pork.
• Set the sheet pan with pork on it right back into oven to caramelize the sauce on the meat.
• KEEP AN EYE ON IT.  BBQ sauce will burn if you aren’t careful.
• Pull it out, let it cool a minute (so you don’t burn your lips).
• Pull it apart and enjoy it in the best manner as you see fit.
• Reserve the juices to make some really good gravy or soup. (I’ll do a recipe for that later)

The result is spicy and sweet with a crisp crunch.  Enjoy it with some cold beer.  Go with your gut on this one when choosing your beer.  I usually will go with a nice lager or a pale ale, but this time of year I’ll be cracking a few oktoberfest beers to go with my swine.   Enjoy.

I’ll post some photos later on once the piggy is done.

 

NOLA Blonde Cask review

NOLA Brewing Company tapped a special cask of their Blonde Ale at The Avenue Pub on Wednesday evening. Those of us in attendance tonight were lucky enough to get to enjoy a few pints of this special offering.

The beer was creamy yet well balanced with a crisp hoppiness and the aromas from the dry-hopping were luscious.  I found this delicious and it had some extra love from the brewers at NOLA.

Dylan Lintern, vice president of NOLA Brewing Company describes how they created this beer, “this particular cask is our Blonde Ale dry-hopped with Crystal, Cascade, and Columbus hops at the time we put the beer into the cask.  This will give the beer a huge presence with an aroma of hops and citrus pouring through.  Our regular Blonde Ale is transformed nearly into a completely different beer, it really is amazing.”

The night was quite a success with many of New Orleans’ happy drinkers enjoying this special production ale.  Be sure to keep you eye out in the coming weeks for soon to be released NOLA Hopitoulas IPA.