Review: Brother Thelonious, II

Blogged about North Coast's Brother Thelonious a while back, but finally got a chance to try it this weekend. A solid Belgian-style ale. Dark and malty, with a spiced yeast flavor. The review on BeerAdvocate was mixed. I'd agree that is is a standard, strong representation of the style, but it's not the most amazing Belgian I've ever had. That being said, I was very impressed and may be picking up a few extras to cellar in the basement!

Technorati Tags: Thelonious Monk, Brother Thelonious, North Coast Brewing Company, Beer Advocate, jazz, beer, brewing, craft brew, craft beer, tasting, review

Review: Home Again/AleFest

Whew! Forgive the hiatus. It's been an exhausting 3 week period. My wife's step-sister got married in Vegas, and then, about a week later, our good friends from college got married in Rochester, NY. Especially exhausting because we were traveling with an almost-3-year old and a 5-month old.

But I did make time for beer. Dayton's AleFest was last weekend. This was the third year I've been (I believe it was the 8th annual). We drank lots of good beer, but I was a little disappointed by this year's event. Some of it was external--it rained like hell while we were there, and some of the folks who were supposed to come bailed at the last minute (you know who you are). Some of it was me--I've been drinking good beer long enough that I'm shifting from trying lots of new beers to appreciating ones I've tasted before. A lot fewer new beers for me to try, since I've tried most of them before (boo hoo for me, right?).

But some of it related to the AleFest in general. After about the first hour, tables starting running out of beer. About half-way through, about every third or fourth table was empty. I was eager to try the Mt. Carmel brews, but that table kicked early. So did the Clipper City beers, and lots of Belgians. I believe Great Lakes ran out early, too. It made for long lines at the tables that were still serving. I wonder if this phenomenon of tables kicking early is related to the growing number of AleFests. Are the contributions from each brewery being stretched thin? Because it didn't appear that there were a lot more people at this AleFest than the last two.

All that being said, we still had an opportunity to try some great beers (I think the only reason I'm slightly disappointed is because the last two years set the bar so high). It's not probably terribly interesting to recount all the beers we tried (if I could even recall all of them), but here are some of the highlights:

• Dogfish Head's Randall The Enamel Animal--something I had been waiting to try since I first heard about it. Dogfish Head creator Sam Calagione's super-hopping system is a carbon filter with 1/2 lb. hops packed into it. At AleFest, they were pushing DFH 90 Minute IPA through. Interesting taste--more hop flavor than bitterness. I would like to have had more time and a larger sample to really enjoy this beer. It was something I could see drinking in the back yard, relaxing in the hammock.
• Rogue's Chipotle Ale was incredible. Smokey, almost like a Rauchbier, with a hot kick right at the end. I'm not a fan of chili beers, but this is one I'd try again.
• Rodenbach Grand Cru--an acquired taste, meaning that I was the only one in the group who liked it. Sour, with an almost vinegar taste. I haven't had a lot of Farmhouse Ales, so this was a new taste to me. More sour than their website leads you to believe. Wonder if our batch was any good?
  
• Boston's Bistro had a couple of cask-conditioned ales: Arcadia's IPA and Cincinnati's own Barrel House Boss Cox Double Dark IPA. Wish more places regularly carried cask ales.
• Unibroue's table was well stocked. I tried the 2005 Terrible, the Chambly Noire, and the 15, all of which were excellent (not surprisingly).
• Finally, The Pub, a new bar that is said to be moving into The Greene soon, had a couple of interesting beers--an English Ale and an English Pale Ale. I think the Pale Ale was cask-conditioned. I believe that these brews were contract-brewed for The Pub. Look for more updates about the Pub once it gets settled in. (Sorry, no links to The Pub itself. It appears that The Pub doesn't exist in cyberspace yet, either.)

Technorati Tags: AleFest, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Rodenbach, Unibroue, Boston's Bistro, Arcadia, Barrel House, The Greene, The Pub, Dayton, Ohio, event, tasting, beer, culture, craft brew, craft beer, smoke beers, chili beers, chipotle, IPA

News: Czech Beers

The NY Times ran a very in-depth article about beer traveling in Czech Republic last week. Beers covered include Budvar, Pilsner Urquell, and many other smaller, local breweries. Good to see good beer getting such good coverage. And Garrett Oliver, who seems to be popping up all over, is even quoted.

Thanks to Allison for forwarding the article to me.

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, Czech, Budvar, pilsner, Pilsner Urquell, Garrett Oliver, New York Times, media, beer coverage

Event: Garrett Oliver To Speak at Jungle Jim's

Jungle Jim's, the foodie's paradise near Cincinnati, hosts a series of beer and wine tastings. On November 10th, Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, will be the guest speaker. Garrett recently published a book on food and beer pairings entitled The Brewmaster's Table, so the session will likely follow this topic. Brew Your Own magazine recently ran an article about Oliver and his book. You can see a summary here (the full version of the article isn't online). In the article, Garrett made the case that beer has a larger spectrum of flavors than wine and that, as a result, can be more successfully paired with food than wine. Tickets are $30 and the session starts at 7. Directions can be found at the Jungle Jim's website.

(Also, be sure to check out the full list of other Jungle Jim's sessions, including a session on September 22 with Dave Engbers from Founders Brewing Company.)

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, Brooklyn Brewery, Jungle Jim's, beer pairing, Garrett Oliver, Cincinnati, Founders, tastings

Review: Karl Strauss Brewing Company

I was in San Diego a few weeks ago for the NECC conference. I make it a habit to search out brew pubs or beer bars when on business trips, so I checked BeerFly for places within a few miles of my hotel. The flagship Karl Strauss brewery turned out to be within a couple of blocks. I was really impressed with the beers here. Their Windansea Wheat was a great representation of a hefe. My inner hophead has been rearing its head lately, and it was not disappointed with either of their two pale ales: the Stargazer IPA or the seasonal Pin Tail Pale Ale (sorry, no link available).

While I was there, my waitress told me that the next day they would be tapping a firkin of a special dry-hopped edition of the Stargazer IPA. I headed back the next day and was really impressed! I'm a huge fan of cask-conditioned ales and this Stargazer topped the standard offering. And I was able to meet and talk with Adam Ball, one of the brewers at that site. Adam took time out to tell me more about KS brewing and the West Coast scene. I only regret that Karl Strauss beers aren't available in the Midwest!

Technorati Tags: Karl Strauss, necc06, BeerFly, San Diego, beer travel, brewery, Windansea Wheat, Stargazer IPA, Pin Tail Pale Ale, firkin, cask-conditioned ales, beer, brewing, craft beer

Notes: Beer and Jazz

Recently uncovered two intersections between beer and jazz. The first is a new brew by North Coast Brewing Company called Brother Thelonious. As the name implies, the beer honors avant garde pianist Thelonious Monk. The beer was produced in conjunction with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and a portion of the procedes goes to the institute. I've yet to try it, but will have a full report when I do. There are a lot of mixed reviews on BeerAdvocate, so we'll just have to wait and see. Perhaps it will be available at AleFest.

Another jazz-inspired brew worth noting is Allagash's Interlude. This brewery continues to push the boundaries of brewing the way Coltrane, Bird, and others pushed jazz. As part of their Serie d'Origine, Interlude is a farmhouse ale aged in French Merlot and Sirah oak casks. I picked up a bottle at Jungle Jim's and have it cellaring in the basement. I only wish that I would have grabbed a second bottle to try one now! (Here's what the folks at BA say about Interlude.)

Technorati Tags: Thelonious Monk, Brother Thelonious, North Coast Brewing, beer Advocate, Allagash, Interlude, jazz, beer, brewing, craft beer

Recap: Beer Appreciation Picnic

The first (annual?) Beer Appreciation Summer Picnic was a success! More than thirty of our friends convened at our house to brew beer, drink great beer, eat smoked pork and chix, swelter in the heat, and nearly set ourselves on fire (okay, that last part applies to me only).

We brewed three batches of beer: Scott brewed a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone; Kyle brewed a modified version of a Celis White Beer Clone; and I brewed what I've dubbed KevBrew's Half-Assed Entire Butt Porter, named because brewing a beer and hosting a party simultaneously only allows you to do either half-assed.

Great beer, too! A pony keg of Dogfish Head 60 Min IPA (thanks to Alex @ Belmont Party Supply for the special order). Folks also brought lots of great beers--I recall seeing some Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA, some Avery White Rascal, a bottle of McChouffe, a bottle of Hebrew Genesis 10:10, and a mixed sixer of New Belgium beers.

Lots of kids there! They seemed to have a great time, too. Here are some pics:

A herd of children stampedes across the yard.











Alex explains how he found Jesus.











Elias mauls Kelly.











Elias mauls Liz.











Watch out, Elias is coming to maul you!

Technorati Tags: brewing, beer, craft beer, Beer Appreciation, summer picnic, Sierra Nevada, pale ale, clone beers, Celis White Beer, porter, homebrew, Dogfish Head, 60 Min IPA, Belmont Party Supply, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Commodore Perry IPA, Avery, White Rascal, McChouffe, He'brew Genesis, 10:10, New Belgium