Indulge

As expected, the Indulge Craft Beer and Food Tasting Show Saturday night was quite the attack on the palette. Jon and company definitely put on a class event, which I'm sure was a ton of work, and earned the vacation he's taking on Tuesday. The food was excellent, and I'm not sure how to make carmelized bacon, but I'm gonna have to figure it out, cause it's killer (on the taste buds and the arteries, I'm sure). It was surprisingly fun to use their pairing suggestions and my personal favorite was Bell's Expedition Stout and a chocolate truffle. Another highlight was watching a guy pour his glass wash into half of pitcher of Flat Earth's Xanadu Porter...oops. The program was also very well done, although more room to take notes next to the beer listings would have been appreciated

But we were all there for the beer, and since I did take notes, here goes my worthless opinions.

Best Belgian:
1. Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty
2. Surly Cynic (saison)
3. Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale
There were 11 Belgians there (give or take) and I was surprised (OK, not really ) that once again, Fatty rocked.

Best Big Beer: Bell's Expedition Stout
I say this more because it was a crowd favorite. I was hoping that this would be the Flying Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo Porter, but it was a little heavy on the alcohol. Actually the best big beer was also the...

Biggest Surprise: Cold Spring John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale
Yep, that not a misprint. The brewery that brings you Gluek rolled out a 9.1% ABV Imperial Stout aged on bourbon oak chips. A very balanced beer with nice bourbon flavor but no alcohol. Somehow, Beer Magazine was smart enough to make it their Beer of the Month, and for good reason (if you've never read Beer Magazine, it's kind like the Cliff's Notes version of Beer Advocate magazine, but with lots of big, shiny pictures and hot chix on the cover) .

Best Fruit Beer: Lift Bridge Minnesota Tan/Left Hand JuJu Ginger
I'm not a big fruit beer drinker, but both of these brews are interesting and original.

Best Pale Ale: Widmer Drifter
Best Pale Ale I've ever had, hands down, no question. Very flavorful with citrus and a nice balance

Best IPA: Lagunitas
I don't think I'm going out on a limb here. These guys know how to make hoppy beers.

Best Double IPA: Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
We've had this in-store for awhile but this is the first I've had it. Very good...like, "holy crap!" good.

Best Porter: Surly Smoke
Not alot of competition here, but it wouldn't have mattered. This is a great porter.

So I don't just come on here and gush, I'll lodge one complaint. While the glasses were cool, the lips on them were curved so you had to tip your head back like an idiot to finish your sample. Other than that, everyone seemed to have a blast and I'll be back next year. Kudos, Jon.

Scotty Karate (left) with the lovely Joe from JJ Taylor Dist.

Update-Your best in show winners are:

1. Lift Bridge Minnesota Tan

2T. Cold Spring John Henry

Brau Brothers Scotch Ale

There's a nonbeercentric recap on Heavy Table.

Lift Bridge

Just wanted to throw a quick congratulations out to our local boys at Lift Bridge for their first bottle release of Farm Girl Saison. It wasn't supposed to come out until Tuesday, but one of the advantages of self-distribution is you can get your beer in stores quickly as long as you're willing to drive it there. The labeling layout is very cool, as is what's inside. Steve said that Liberty Village W&S sold 27 cases on the first day. I recently had their Minnesota Tan ligonberry infused Tripel and if it's any indication, we'll be seeing some interesting brews from them in the future. Unfortunately for those of us east of the river, they're not licensed to distribute in Wisconsin yet, but I was assured Casanova's is on the top of the list when they do.

Oskar Blues

Every once in a while, I have a beer so good I want to tell everyone, whether they want to listen or not. Luckily, once I sober up I can come on here and scream from the rooftops. Oskar Blues is a Lyons, Colorado brewery that opened in 1997 (brewpub in 1999). They were the first craft brewery to can their beers (no, not Surly), and are proud of it. Much like screw-top wines, there's a bias against beer in a can for no real reason. In fact, canned beer is actually better for many reasons, including protecting it from light, easy recycling and cheaper shipping (they're also unbreakable and compact for camping trips). It's easy to dismiss a beer in a can, thinking it can't possibly be geek-worthy. It's just part of our makeup as craft beer drinkers. That's part of the reason I've only tried Ten Fidy and Dale's Pale Ale from Oskar Blues so far (that and the fact that we haven't singled them out because the SKU's on the cans are the same as a 6 pack). I've had some Double IPA's lately that are truly special beers, and Ten Fidy peaked my interest enough to give their DIPA a shot. I was rewarded with one of the best beers I've ever had. Their website does a great job of laying down the basics:

Gordon is a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. We make it with six different malts and three types of hops, then dry-hop it with a mutha lode of Amarillo hops. It is 8.7% alcohol by volume, and has 85 International Bittering Units.

It features a gooey, resiny aroma and a luscious mouthfeel. Gordon is brewed with dash of chocolate malt in it, to round out its load of hops and balance the beer. The result is an assertive yet exceptionally smooth version of strong beer.

We brew Gordon in tribute to the late Gordon Knight. In addition to opening some of Colorado’s first microbreweries, Knight was a Vietnam vet, grade-A citizen, and huge promoter of craft beer. He lost his life in 2002 while fighting a wild fire outside of Lyons, Colorado.

Originally our winter seasonal beer, it has become a cult favorite of extreme-beer lovers, so we now brew occasional batches of Gordon throughout the year. Released in bottles in 2003 and 2004, Gordon is now sold in four packs of hand-labeled cans and on draft in select markets.

Chocolate malt? Cool. Gordon ($10.99, 4 pack) has such a great blend of smooth malt and citrusy hop, I literally couldn't stop drinking it. I had downed 3 before I realized it's got 8.7% ABV and better slow down. This beer has an incredible hop aroma, a beautiful amber color and an amazing mouthfeel. Though it's not a hop bomb, it's an extreme beer that's not extreme because it's so smooth. Thus we have me on the rooftop.

Chris Staples rules.....

...and Aran Madden is crazy !!!

All right...if you're not gonna take my word for it and need an explanation...Furthermore Beer's globalisticate Chris drove all the way from Eau Claire (the fact that he was here for a different reason is beside the point) just to drop off a precious bottle of Thermo Refur culled from the last half case they have left (not leftovers...you heard me). This is where the "Aran is crazy" part comes in, cause I have no idea how he comes up with these insane brews. Thermo has beet juice and black pepper up front with a wild yeast, wheat and dark malt providing the backbeat. In an interesting quote, Aran says, "I wanted to use ingredients that were processed locally, so I found organic beets from a nearby grower then peeled, chopped and boiled them before adding them to the beer near the end of the fermentation period. My hands were literally beet red before it was done." It says on the bottle to drink it at 55 degrees, which is very important. We started it at about 50, where a green vegetable spice flavor comes through heavily. As it warms, more and more pepper comes out, blending well with the beet to make a taste I have never experienced before. I had no idea it had 8.1% ABV until it hit me halfway through, as the beet sugars provide alcohol similar to the way candi sugar does in Belgian beers. Their inital plan was to only brew this to kegs, but decided to do some for samples. The lone pallet of single beer cases went only to Milwaukee, Madison and Spring Green, 60 total. Chris said this beer may be tweaked when made again for January release.

Chris also gave us a couple Oscura, which is the next seasonal we should have in store soon. Aran poured this beer at our festival in April. Here's a short summary from him: "I start with a brown Mexican lager to compliment the coffee of choice, 'Nicaragua' (beans from the La Fem Grower’s Co-operative, roasted by Just Coffee of Madison.) I include flaked maize for added creaminess". The combination of warm fermentation and cold lagering makes a unique brew. There is no way Oscura is a lager...I refuse to believe it. But it is...it's a thick, dark lager with a ton of coffee flavor, and yet another one from Furthermore that defies defintion.

They are in the process of setting up a tasting room on land near Spring Green and are planning a September party there to kick it off. Hope I can make it.

I really hope the rest of the beer geek nation catches on to what Chris and Aran are doing, cause these guys are doing an incredibe job of creating extreme yet drinkable brews that deserve wider acclaim.

Best of Both Worlds

While American brewers and beer drinkers are always looking for the next extreme brew, Europeans tend to stay closer to home with more subtle, balanced beers. A great trend in craft brewing is the marrying of the Belgian and IPA styles. While it was initially done by West Coast brewers, more Belgian breweries are bucking centuries old traditions and upping the hops. Two great examples of this are Urthel Hop It and Achouffe Houblon.


According to the label, Hildegard van Ostaden, who founded De Leyerth Brouwerijen (Urthel Brewery) with her husband Bas, traveled to Alaska in 2005 for the Anchorage Barleywine Festival and loved all the hoppy, west coast style brews. Once she returned home, she took a traditional Belgian golden ale and crammed it full of Saaz, Styrian Goldings and Magnum hops. The result is something akin to a hopped up Duvel, tasting very similar to Founders Harvest Ale. The lemony citrus Belgian yeast and peppery hops seem to duke it out in your mouth, resulting in a smooth, balanced flavor, from an American viewpoint anyway. Hop It ($10.99, bomber) is defintely the less hoppy of these two beers, and the semi-dry finish doesn't quite hide the 9.5% ABV.


The Achouffe Brewery was founded in 1982 by 2 brothers-in-law, who recently sold it to Duvel. Besides having easy to spot painted bottles with gnomes on them (chouffe means gnome), they make my favorite Belgian, La Chouffe Golden Ale ($9.99, bomber). Extremely tasty and highly recommended. In 2006, they began making Houblon ($9.99, bomber), an unfiltered, bottle fermented marriage of a Belgian Triple and an Imperial IPA they created especially for the American market. Houblon has a much thicker mouthfeel than the Urthel Hop It and no trace of the 9% ABV. Much like their golden ale, Houblon seems to flood your mouth with thick, rich flavor. This complex brew has a piney hop punch, yet the malty Belgian body still shines through. The label lists it at 59 IBU's, but it tastes like more. The creamy tangerine citrus flavor combines so well with the dry finish that it's definitely a Belgian and an IPA, a perfect blending of the styles. It's also truly unique and easily my favorite hop forward brew.

Both of these beers are definitely worth a try if you like either style, and especially if you like both. Let's hope the trend continues and more breweries take a shot at Belgian IPA's

Indulge

Heavy Table has a great article on the Indulge craft brew event being held June 20 at the Radisson Ballroom near the U. Sounds like it's going to be quite the gastronomic adventure. Plus Scotty Karate will be there. I'm looking forward to it.

Boulder Beer in St.Paul

Info courtesy of Corey from Hohensteins:

If you are not doing anything tonight (3rd) we will be at The Bulldog Lowertown in St. Paul this evening with the President of Boulder Beer and some of his employees this evening at around 6pm. We will have Flashback on tap and the rest of their stuff in btls. The Bulldog is making different sauces for their tater tots made with Boulder beer. Jeff the President will not be down their till after 8pm.

We will also have one of the Monks from Koningshoeven (one of the 7 Trappist breweries) in town June 26 – 28th. There will be 2 class/tasting events at the Muddy Pig in St. Paul on Sat. 27th.