Things fall down...

Went to the cellar (a dedicated beer fridge) to check my Cantillon stock today. I'm thinking of grabbing a couple more bottles to keep a decent stock until we get another shipment or two. Anyways, as I was shutting the door, a bar that keeps some of my 750ml bottles slipped out of place. Crashing to my garage floor were:

3x Boulevard Imperial Stout 2011 Batch 1
2x Hunahpu 2011
1x each CCB/Mikkeller Bohr & Dirac

Watching $110 worth of Imperial Stouts crash to my garage floor was bad enough. All of these were acquired either (a) through a round trip to Tampa or (b) through beer trading, and thus were irreplaceable. Then came the liquid. Dark matter squirting. A spicy mocha aroma filled my nostrils. Once the smoke cleared, I had ~6oz of Hunahpu 2011 in a puddle on my floor. All the other bottles laid unruptured. Hallelujah.

One of the Hunahpu bottles had a slightly ruptured cap. Everything else was (somehow??) undamaged. One of my Boulevard Impys managed to roll halfway across my garage undamaged. I took everything into the kitchen and cleaned it up. I was forced (right word?) to open a Hunahpu. It was delicious, as always. I have a few more that I brought back from my road trip to CCB in March, but I've not been opening them on random Saturday afternoons in the summer. These are special occasion beers, ya know?

Anyways, this whole debacle reminds me of a few key points for this craft beer obsession:

1. Be careful with the brew! Don't rest expensive beer on moveable parts.
2. 750s are a pain to store if you want to keep them cool. Buy a bigger fridge next time.
3. It's only beer. My wife, daughter, and dogs are all safe and healthy. I am in no position to complain.

I have no pictures of the debacle, as I went into first responder emergency mode as soon as the bottles made their descent. However, I am moving a few brews to a cool closet in my house until more safe space comes open in the cellar. Live and learn.

American Wilds, Part 1

Sour beers are an interesting breed. As a whole, they are probably some of the most traditional and authentic beers on earth. The lambics of Belgium predate the dubbels and tripels of the Trappist monasteries. The Belgian sour beers typically have a high wheat ratio and traditionally get their funky/sour characters from an open fermentation process whereby wild yeast and local "bugs" are allowed to ferment the wort into complex, beautiful beer. Sours are a relatively new style in America, coming to the forefront of beer geekdom in the last five to ten years. While some American Craft Brewers have experimented with open/spontaneous fermentation, most have opted to control the addition of brett, pedio, and lacto to achieve their desired flavor profiles. Of course, many of these American Wilds are barrel-aged, and once the beer goes into the barrel you can never be quite sure what it will take out of it - but it is usually very good and almost always interesting (to say the least). Anyhow, without further adieu here are a few of my American Wild Ale reviews:

Russian River Temptation

375ml bottle into a Russian River goblet. Batch 05X2E

Pours a slightly hazy golden with a tight white head. Lots of carbonation bubbles race to the top of the glass.

Smell is slightly funky, slightly tart, and heavy Chardonnay. This beer seems to have picked up a good bit of the barrel character.

Taste is somewhat lively. Nice funky overtones with elements of citrus, breast yeast, and a light tartness. The white wine character carries through from the nose.

Mouth is light and oh so dry. Lovely and refreshing.

Overall, this is a wonderful sour ale. Wilds are one of the final frontiers for American Craft Brewing, and Russian River is way ahead of the curve.

Score:4.4/A

Russian River Supplication

375ml bottle into a Russian River "Belgian Style Glass." The cork popped out of the bottle while I was removing it and hit the ceiling. Don't open this one towards anyone's face. Pours a dark reddish brown with very little head. Held to the light, the beer shows an orange hue.

Nose is pretty funky. The tart cherries lie beneath a nice layer of musty barnyard-type aromas and hints of oak.

The taste has a lot going on. It starts slightly sweet, but immediately turns to funky. The finish is dry with a lingering acidic quality. All the parts play well together to paint a nice picture.

Mouth is highly carbonated and bone dry. Champagne like.

Overall, a wonderful American Wild. I'd love to see more breweries explore the style the way Russian River has.

Score:4.53/A+

Russian River Consecration

375ml bottle into a Russian River -tion glass. Batch005X2EPours dark ruby brown with less no head at all. Lots of carbonation bubbles rush to the top of the glass. Very nice clarity.

Nose is brett, earth, and wood. Touches of fruit. As it warms, the oak and fruit become more prominent.

Funk takes forefront in the taste. Very smooth with a pleasant tart finish. The fruit makes a wonderful contribution, similar to a Kriek.

Quite dry, impressive for 10% ABV. The high carbonation works really well.

Overall, a spectacular showcase of RR's ability to make a funky sour beer.

Score:4.47/A

Avery Dihos Dactylion

12oz bottle into an Avery Tulip. Pours a rusty copper with a thin off white head. Looks rather still, not showing any bubbles moving through the body.

Nose is tart, with elements of sweet fruits, tart vinegar, and a touch of funk.

Taste is interesting. The beer has a sweet/sour thing going on, but rather than a fruit sweetness it's more of an alcohol sweetness. I keep thinking this should be called a "Sour English Barleywine." I'm not getting any of the Cabernet, but I'm no expert in wine.

Mouth is heavy. It's not bad, but it doesn't have that dry, crisp quality that so many great American Wilds display. It is moderately carbonated.

Overall, an interesting take on the American Wild style. Worth a look, but not the best in category.

Score:3.8/B+

Avery Quinquepartite

12oz. Bottle into an Avery Genua Glass

Pours a hazy golden with pinkish grapefruit hues. A very thin head stay afloat the top with nice lacing.

Aroma is subdued, but still nice. Lightly tart and slightly funky with overtones of citrus.

Taste mirrors nose, with the tartness coming out a tad more. Nice lingering sourness on the palate leaves me salivating. A little sweetness throughout.

Overall, I think this is a nice American Wild. I'd like to see it a tad dryer, as the sweetness seems out of place, but it is still a nice drinking beer.

Score:3.9/B+

New Belgium Le Terroir

22oz. into a Duvel Tulip. Pours a hazy bright yellow with a one finger dense head.

Nose is very fruity. Makes me think funky peaches. Love it.

Super tart taste. This thing is nearly Cantillon sour. Bright citrus fruits through and through.

Super dry, light medium bodied.

A fantastic American Wild at a decent price. New Belgium hit a home run with this one.

Score:4.47/A

Odell Friek

750ml into a Russian River goblet.

Pours dark ruby red with a fizzy head that disappears almost instantly. Looks more like cherry cola than beer.

Smells funky and fruity. More raspberry than cherry, with a little wood mixed in for good measure.

Taste is a nice mellow tartness. Slightly funky with really nice fruit flavors balancing out the tart. This is a very good tasting beer.

A little thin and fizzy in the mouth. Appropriately dry, but not quite substantial enough to be great.

Overall, this is a really nice American made fruit Lambic*. I like.

Score:3.9/B+

*BeerAdvocate classifies this as a lambic, but it is more properly classified an American Wild, as the term lambic implies a certain geographical origination.

Another Round of Beer Reviews (Imperial Stout Style)

Just a few more from the backlog...

Boulevard Imperial Stout 2011 (Batch 1)

750ml into a Boulevard Tulip. Purchased at Beertopia in Omaha. Bottle #7978.

Pours a thick jet black. Looks flat at first, but throws a nice head after the pour. Good lacing.

Nose is huge on the whiskey notes. Big roasty imperial stout with smoke and chocolate in large quantities. Smells decadent.

Hot on the tongue, but not overly so for a barrel aged imperial stout. This bottle is good to go, however, with loads of sweet chocolate and touches of bitter roast. A hint of soy sauce on the finish.

Mouth is rich! Reminds me of a young CCB Zhukov, but not quite that thick.

Overall, I'm digging this bad boy. Sitting in a hotel in Omaha, sipping on this on a Friday afternoon... Life is good.

Score:4.1/A-

Alesmith Speedway Stout

750ml into a Founders Balloon tulip at 50F. Purchased at Belmont Party Supply in Dayton, OH in May 2010.

Pours black as night. No light escapes this beer, holding it in the bright Georgia sun, I see nothing but a dark void. A fluffy tan head rises from the blackness, hanging onto the side of my glass as it slowly receeds back into the abyss.

Nose is spectacular. Rich dark flavors of coffee, chocolate, and hints of dark fruits mingle with a welcoming warm alcohol aroma. The nose shows just how well crafted this brew is.

Taste is no less spectacular. The roasted flavors shine through, with the mellow coffee flavors holding it all together. The 12% is present, but not the centerpiece. Just a lovely stout.

Mouth is full-bodied, perfect for carrying the substantial, complex flavors of this brew.

Drinkability is through the roof for the style. I will enjoy sipping this one for a couple hours, and I hope to pick up another whenever I can. Bravo, Alesmith!

Overall:4.68/A+

Smuttynose Short Batch #10 Belgian Imperial Stout

22oz Bottle from CBX poured into a Russian River -tion glass.

Pours black with brownish red highlights. Not much head and even less lacing.

Nose is full of Belgian esters. Lots of dark fruits, and a touch hot.

Taste is more Belgian Strong Dark than Imperial Stout. Way too sweet with tons of esters. Not appealing at all.

Mouth is thin. Like most Belgian Stouts I've had, this one is a bit hot and over attenuated.

Overall, a disappointment. Smuttynose makes some of the best big beers I can get in wide distribution, so this peek into the short batch series was a letdown.

Score:2.68/C

So I'm Still Here...

Haven't made a post I awhile. I've been reviewing beers over at BeerAdvocate, but I haven't been maintaining this blog as much. I'd like to maintain a flow of info here, so I'm going to try to do better. Here are a small handful of recent reviews and pics, hopefully I'll be able to keep a nice running record here.

Cigar City Bolita Brown

Pours a deep brown with lovely tan highlights. A frothy light mocha head rests atop the brew, leaving gorgeous lacing on the side of the glass.

Sweet, roasty notes meet an earthy goodness. Take everything good about the brown ale style, double it, and you have an idea.

Taste is more sweet than roasted, but with a perfectly bitter/spicy hop finish. the nuttiness is apparent in the lingering aftertaste. Superb.

Mouth is wonderfully smooth without being too heavy or chewy. While not the most intricate CCB beer, this is a very nice representation of a typically under appreciated style. This would make a great candidate for an addition to CCB's six pack lineup.

Score: 4.43/A

2006 Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze

750ml bottle poured into an Allagah Tulip. Bottled on January 17, 2006.

Pours a hazy dark golden with a huge off white head. The head fades to an ever present quarter inch white cap.

Nose is quite funky. Musty, like wet hay and mushrooms. Smells o funky green apples intertwined.

Tastes moderately sour and plenty funky. Pretty restrained for the style, but still quite complex.

Dry and crisp. Lovely.

This is a really nice Gueuze. Brings all the right elements together into a well made package.

Score:4.25/A-

Beer & Beach: Jai Alai IPA on Edisto Beach

Okay, so this isn't a beer and food post. Consider it a beer and nature post. For any beer lovers out there who have never enjoyed the goodness of a hoppy brew while letting the surf run up on your toes, take note. This Jai Alai IPA from the up and coming superstar brewery Cigar City (also chronicled in Humidor for in this blog entry) was my brew of choice for relaxing in the sand.

Now when most people think of fun in the sun, they think of beers that end in the word 'Light.' Looking around Edisto, I saw plenty of beach bums sipping on the canned swill that gives American beer such a bad reputation. I'm guessing the attraction to barley flavored soda water goes hand in hand with the desire to drink all day? True, I only took two of these bottles to the beach with me. That's all I needed. Laying on the beach next to my better half (and our adorable bundle of joy), sipping from my SOLO cup while the tide washed in? Perfection.

Edisto is a lovely little community on the South Carolina coast. Want the picturesque beaches of Hilton Head without all the riff raff? Head to Edisto. There are no hotels on the island, which means that anyone who lands there really meant to - renting or buying a house is the only way to stay. Granted, the beer scene on Edisto is lacking (Piggly Wiggly is the nicest bottle shop in town), so make sure to bring your own. Or, if you are so inclined, take the 40 minute trip into Charleston and visit the Charleston beer exchange. They always have something interesting on tap, from the hard-to-find local brewery COAST to other rarities (I picked up a 22z bottle of Whiskey Barrel Aged Ten Fidy on this particular trip). Combine such a beer run with lunch at one of Charleston's outstanding restaurants, and the trip is well worth your while.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout Chocolate Cake

Ever baked a chocolate cake with your mother-in-law? Using an Imperial Stout as a main ingredient? I have, and the results were delicious. The inspiration for this recipe comes from the Imperial Stout Chocolate Cake recipe from the Small Beer Blog, which in turn is a mutation of Nigella Lawson's Choclate Guinness Cake. The recipe is exactly the same as Nigella's, except instead of the watery Irish Dry Stout, I'm using the thick, robust Stone Imperial Russian Stout. Though the two beers share the "Stout" moniker, the similarities end at their dark black bodies. Consider them fourth cousins twice removed.


The Stone IRS is a beastly Russian Imperial Stout, weighing in at 10.5% ABV and 90+ IBU's. The beer strikes a delicious balance in its heft, packing all the syrupy heavy dark chocolate, roasted malt, coffee bitterness, and sharp alcohol bite that this beer style demands.


Now, if you've clicked through to Nigella's site, you'll notice that it's a British blog. That presented an interesting challenge in getting the recipe together. After translating terms like caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda, I recalled my middle school maths to perform conversions of grams to ounces and milliliters to cups (not really - there's an app for that).

Stone IRS Cake ingredients all laid out

So around 8:00 on a Friday evening, I laid out all the ingredients and we got to the business of baking. Mixing the beer, butter, cocoa and sugar in a saucepan, we let the mixture get nice and warm while I measured out the remaining ingredients on my little kitchen scale. I then pulled out the mixer to beat the eggs with the vanilla and sour cream, rounding out the prep of the ingredients. Once all that was done, we poured the cake batter into my wife's super deluxe cake pan and left it to bake at 355F (That's nearly 180C for those wondering).

Now, one of the best parts about this recipe is that it only calls for 250ml of beer. However, Stone IRS comes in a 22oz (650ml) bottles. That means there is bound to be ~400ml of beer left just sitting around. What to do about that? (See photo at right for answer...) After 45 minutes of baking, what came out of the oven was a fluffy, dark mass of chocolate goodness. It isn't overly sweet, as the beer seems to really bring out the more subdued side of the chocolate. The recipe calls for an optional cream cheese icing, but I decided to leave it off for this first run through, as I really wanted to see what the beer would do for the cake without the extra sweetness of the icing. I will say the cake itself is excellent, but next time I think I will make the icing, too. All in all, this was a successful experiment in baking with beer. The qualities of the stout mesh perfectly with the cocoa to make an elegant and tasty cake. I'll be on the lookout for other recipes involving beer and dessert.

La Parilla Nachos Fajitas & Cigar City Humidor Series IPA

Last time I posted about an All-American, easy to find collabo. This time, not so much - this post features highly local and hard-to-find fare.

My cuisine this time is from Taqueria la Parrilla in Athens, GA. It is a helping of tortilla chips covered in meaty grilled chicken strips, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and oh-so-good queso sauce. They call it Nachos Fajitas. Such a simple dish, but it is heavenly the way they put it together over in Homewood Hills. The beer that I chose to go with my nachos is a special one, indeed: Humidor Series IPA from Cigar City Brewing out of Tampa, FL.

The Humidor Series IPA is Cigar City's Jai Alai IPA aged on Cedar Wood. It takes the smooth, cistrusy IPA into another dimension, adding mellow spicy dimensions to an otherwise bright beer. This beer is tough to find in Florida, and nearly impossible to find outside of the sunshine state. I feel fortunate to be able to make this pairing at all.

The nachos are very tasty, with the chips that are submerged in queso quickly becoming something of a corn cheese mush that compliments the chicken and veggies very well. The chips that are left dry add a nice crunch to the dish, and the queso itself adds a richness that defines these nachos. It isn't a sophisticated dish, but it does make kickoff that much more enjoyable on a warm Saturday afternoon in September.

 The beer pours a cloudy pale orange with a giant frothy off white head. This beer is an unfiltered IPA, and it looks the part. The nose really shows off the cedar wood, with citrus hops fading into the background. The wood and hops make a nice pair, and it's a wonder more breweries haven't experimented with cedar (oak being the wood of choice for most beer aging).

The beer has a distinct wood character, with a spiciness that compliments the hops perfectly. Paired with this cuisine, the beer finds a perfect partner in the thick, heavy queso sauce. The sweetness from the cheese does punctuate the beer's bitterness to a degree, but the contrast makes for a wonderful pairing, and one that I would love to explore further.

Cigar City is doing some very interesting things with their beer in Tampa, and I'm lucky to have the chance top access it way up here in Athens. This quality, unfiltered IPA aged on wood makes a great pairing for any hearty Mexican dish, much like any bold IPA would. This one, however, does it with flair, building on the impressive cuisine with a bold wood spice of its own. Both the food and beer in this installment come highly recommended.