Beer Fridge 10/4/07

Dales Pale Ale, Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abby Ale, Coopers Strong Vintage Ale, Heavy Seas “Hang Ten” Weizen Dopplebock, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, Bell’s Pale Ale, Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale, Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA, Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale, Dogfish Head Midas Touch, Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu, Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine, Dogfish Head Immort Ale, Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner, Ommegang Witte, Ommegang Abbey Ale, Ommegang Three Philosophers, Terrapin Rye Squared, Great Divide Hades Ale, Great Divide St. Bridget’s Porter, Great Divide Old Ruffian Barley Wine, Meantime London Porter, Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale, Allagash White, Allagash Curieux, Kasteel Bruin-Brune, Samichlaus, Stoudt Fat Dog, Young’s Old Nick Barleywine, St. Bernardus Abt 12, Saison Dupont, Flying Dog Wild Dog Weizenbock (yikes I need to drink this), Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga “The Firefly” , Nøgne ØAmerican Porter, Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock, Brasserie Dubuisson Bush “Scaldis” Quadruppel, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier

 

Whew

Ted’s Butcherblock beer tasting with food pairing September 20

The wife and my 5th wedding anniversary is this weekend and we have all sorts of things planned including last night’s trip to Ted’s Butcherblock for the 4th installment of their Beer tasting and food pairing. As usual it was a wonderful evening with fantastic beers from all over the world (none of which I had had before) and great food from the head chef.

Dragon’s Milk Ale

Picked up a bottle of this from Winston-Salem’s finest beer store (City Beverage) last time I was in the area. Coming in a dark glass bomber style 22 oz bottle with white screen printing. Dragon’s Milk Ale is brewed by New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan.

I poured it into a pint glass after chilling it overnight. It pours dark with some red/amber highlights has a strong malty aroma with some vanilla and some oak. The creamy head is slightly tan and didn’t hang around too long. It is not as strong a brew as I expected but was pretty good overall. Tastes of caramel, dark roasted to chocolate malt, vanilla and a slight bit of coffee. It does have a creamy smooth mouthfeel and is very easy drinking for 9 ABV. Similar “weight” to a Guiness, but with a more noticable kick. A good ale that I’d drink it again but I doubt I’ll search it out.

heaven?

A fridge full of good beer and good hotsauce. One of the many reasons a second refrigerator is a necessity.

Beer Tasting and food pairing at Ted’s Butcherblock

Ted’s Butcherblock is easily the best butcher in the Charleston area. They source all their beef from Oregon and have a great selection of cuts you can’t find other places as well as a wide selection of other meats, charcuterie, gourmet gifts, lunch items, prepared foods, wine and now high gravity beers. Tonight they hosted their first high gravity beer tasting and food pairing in celebration of the newly changed SC beer laws, and well I just had to make an appearance. I’ll have to say that it may be the best $15.00 I’ve spent in a long while. Here is the menu in order.

Delirium Tremens from Belgium (Paired with Grilled Chicken with Portobellos.)

Gouden Carolus D’or from Belgium (Paired with Fresh, Local Mahi and Homemade Molé Sauce.)

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA from Denver, Colorado (Paired with Grilled Beef Teres Major.) 

Aecht Shlenkerlina Rauchbier from Germany (Paired with Ted’s Bacon-of-the-month BLT with Cheddar and Broadbent Farms Pepper Bacon.)

Kasteel Bruin from Belgium (Paired with Ted’s Sweet Potato Pie.)

I’d only had Delirium Tremens before so I was excited to try the different ales and lager as well as the pairings. I figured the portions would be small for only $15.00 but I was totally wrong. Scott Shor, resident beer guru, was master of ceremonies and did a fantastic job announcing and explaining  the 5 courses and 5 paired beers. 

Stoudts Double IPA

Well, strangely enough I have another beer review. I guess I’m a little pork deprived right now and I’m in a Jack Daniels rut (not a surprise). Fresh back from another quick business trip to help with a VoIP install at our warehouse in Atlanta I picked up a couple sixers of various beers and another case of Bigfoot Ale (see previous review and explanation on why I have to go to Atlanta to get good beer).

I had never heard of Stoudts Brewery in Adamstown, PA. The sixers were in the “special” section of the beverage mart and I could tell they were something a little different. I grabbed a six of the Double IPA and a sixer of the Fat Dog Stout. I decided to try the Double IPA first. These ales are bottle conditioned and you can see a little sediment in the bottom of the bottle. At a whopping 10% abv and a bitterness rated at 75 IBUs this was going to be a good representative of an IPA (x2) and was going to be right up my alley. I love a good hoppy beer and this does not dissapoint. It is not crushingly bitter, like some IPAs that can almost feel like they are drying out your mouth, but it was very hoppy. It pours a little cloudy and has a nice amber to yellow color with a good aromatic head. Very full bodied, full flavor ale with some nice maltiness that has a nice kick.

Rating: A great IPA with some serious balls

Bigfoot Ale: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Ok, so this blog will mostly be about Barbeque but I had to start with my favorite brewer’s Barley Wine. For a few years I was not able to get Bigfoot ale. Here in the South the ridiculous blue laws have kept the states I seem to be in most from carrying any higher abv beers. Well finally my birth state of North Carolina quit being shoved around by the religious Right and allowed real beer sales. Now when I travel to see the family in the months of Jan and Feb I can pick up a few cases (dozen).

So to the beer

It had been about 4 years since I had the pleasure of cracking open a bigfoot ale. When I found out I had to travel to Georgia for work I was pretty excited on the chance of picking up a case. When I got back to the homestead I cracked one open within minutes, luke warm. Damn it was good. But I wanted to chill a few to get it down a little below roadkill temperature.

Once I had some chilled, I poured one into a nice pint. Deep amber color and strong hoppy smell that was cut by the sweet maltiness. The head was rich and well structured. The taste was as strong as I had remembered. Dark, sugary, malty, hoppy. A very toasty flavor that lingered long after I had downed the pint. It was time for a few more. The 9 or so abv will get you, but what the fuck. You’re not drinking applejuice.

Rating: Get some now.