Picks for the week

My pick for the week is Wii Rock Band.  If you feel like going out though there's an interesting one at the Brick Store right now, De Regenboog T’Smisje Guido, a rare sweet and sour beer that's supposed to be good.  I'm sure it will be gone before I have a chance to go, so I would love to hear anybody's thoughts on it.

On Tuesday The Porter is tapping Duvel Green and giving away some Duvel glasses to people who show up early enough.

And on Saturday Black Joe Lewis is at The Earl.  Is there good beer there?  We'll see.

Update: Stopped by the Brisckstore yesterday and they had some interesting stuff, including the Guido I thought I would miss out on.  It's a lot like a tripel, but interestingly sweet from honey and slightly sour.

They had also just tapped Haandbryggeriet Dark Force, a Norwegian Imperial Stout made with wheat.  This is one of the best breweries in the world and as far as I know (and the guy at the Brick Store agreed) this is probably the first keg of Haandbryggerietin Georgia.  I hope for many more.  This one was extremely smooth, almost like a strong stout mixed with chocolate milk.  They also had a keg of New Belgium Fall Wild that was about to be tapped so I didn't get to try it.

Sour beers on tap

If you're interested in trying some sour beers now would be a great time to head over to The Porter.  They have a handful of well balanced sours that would be a good introduction without being overwhelmingly sour.


Hitachino Red Rice: I mentioned this one yesterday in my last sour beer post.  This is a great sour that mixes flavors from Japan and Belgium.

Smuttynose Brett & I: This is a little fruity and doesn't have as much Brett funk as I was hoping, but still delicious and refreshing.

Ommegang Hennepin: Nice example of a farmhouse saison that I previously wrote about here.

Then head over to The Brick Store for Allagash Interlude, a complex, fruity, fairly intense American wild ale and Kasteel Rouge, the beer that started the Flemish red style.  There's not much real difference between a Flemish red and brown except the color.  This one was seen as so beautifully red that it deserved a style of its own.

Update: Sorry, I just happened to re-read this and I realized I confused some sour beers.  Rodenbach is the original Flanders red and Kasteel Rouge is brewed with cherries.

Quick picks

I've been too busy to be able to do much beer blogging (no, this isn't my full time job).  There's some good stuff out there though.  Samichlaus is making a rare appearance at the Brickstore.  Often called the strongest lager in the world (even BSP website makes the claim) it's not actually true, but at 14.5% it's not messing around either.  In the bottle it was very much like a browned chocolate chip cookie and very sweet.  On tap the sweetness has mellowed somewhat and other flavors like raisins and anise come through.  Very boozy and hot alcohol.  Nice and worth trying.  BSP is also carrying Allagash Interlude, a good American wild ale full of Bretty funk and goodness.

The Porter still had Hitachino Red Rice as of just a few days ago and it is well worth trying before it's gone.  Like a mixture of Flemish sour, sake, and Belgian pale. 

Picks for the week

I was driving down Hosea Williams and saw that the sign for Kirkwood Vinocity seemed to be down and that "Kirkwood Public House" is now painted above the door.  My girlfriend and I gave up on Vinocity months ago after trying a few times because the food was so bad.  I just read that they got a new chef in November (formerly at Rathbun's) and now it looks like maybe it's going to be more of a beer place.  Possibly just wishful thinking (it's about a mile from my house), but it's an awesome spot that I think would thrive as a beer bar and I want to check it out.

Elsewhere, not a lot new to report, though it didn't interest me much last week, the Smuttynose takeover at The Porter looks good now.  A lot of it is still there and they have a few sour offerings, Brett & I, and Strawberry Weiss (a Berlinnerweisse, which tend to be mildly sour).

An even more interesting sounding sour beer is at The Brick Store, a collaboration between Bell's Brewery in Michigan and De Proeff in Belgium called Van Twee.  Beers can get their sour flavor from sour fruits, a bacteria (usually lactobacillus or pediococcus), or a yeast (generally Brettanomyces).  Van Twee gets its sourness from sour Michigan cherries and Brett yeast.  Only 1,000 liters were kegged, so this will probably be your only shot to get it.

Finally, a crew from the great Canadian brewery Unibroue will be at The Grange in Decatur January 26th with some of their beers on tap.  They must have been the first brewery on this side of the Atlantic making Belgian style ales.  They released their first beer in 1992 and Ommegang, in New York, didn't open until 1997.

Picks for the week

I don't see any clear winners, but there is a lot of good stuff out.  Here's my take on it.

The Porter-They still have a few Allagash left over from last week, most notably Fluxus and Hugh Malone.  Starting tomorrow Smuttynose will be taking over the taps.  The list will include Oak Aged G-Bock, Brett & I's, Oak Aged Big A IPA, Smutt-A-Roni, Wheat Wine, Strawberry Weiss, Finestkind IPA, Robust Porter, and Old Brown Dog.  I've recently had the G-Bock and Old Brown Dog and wasn't too impressed, though many of these are very limited releases so you may want to be one of the few to ever try them on tap.  I should say that many of these are highly regarded IPAs and wheat beers, but I just don't get very excited about either style.



The Brick Store Pub- The Founders Brewing Company's Backwoods Bastard looks good, but why is BSP serving a 10.2% beer in an 18 oz glass?  Same with the Sweetwater Happy Ending.  I love the beer, but who wants 20 oz of a 9% beer?  The Porter would have probably put the Founders in an 8 oz glass and I would order it.  Probably won't order this one.  Good thing they have a great Belgian selection right now.  Check out Mad Bitch, a great tripel that I think falls between the sweetness of Tripel Karmeliet and the bitterness of De Ranke Guldenberg, which is happily also on the menu.  If you're in the mood for a new dark Belgian, Terrapin's The Dark Side is a good Belgian style imperial stout.

Steinbeck's Public House- Sometimes you really just need one great light beer ad one great dark beer on the menu and right now Steinbeck's has it nailed with Stone IPA and Bells Expedition Imperial Stout.  I think each is one of the best examples of their style.  

Sour cherries, chocolate chip cookies, and ham at The Brick Store

As I mentioned in my last post there are some exciting beers at BSP right now, so Les and I ventured out in the cold last night to try them, and between the two of us plus a few samples from the always generous bartenders we tried a wide range of distinctive and rare beers.

First was a tasting of Smuttynose G-Bock that the bartender gave me as I was awaiting my Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek '07 from upstairs.  G-Bock is a very limited and unofficial release doppelbock.  It immediately brought to mind Samichlaus, the infamously strong (14%) Swiss doppelbock.  The Smuttynose isn't quite as strong or rich and is rumored to be around only 11-12%.  Taste profile is very similar though, with caramelized brown sugar, chocolate, rich malts, and slightly bready yeast making it taste like a browned chocolate chip cookie.  It's too sweet for me to want to drink much of it, but the few sips I had were nice.

And then we get to the beer I was most excited to try: Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek '07.  Supposedly you can only get this in the bottle in Belgium, but they'll occasionally send a few kegs to the US.  Sour cherries dominate.  As this is a real lambic you don't get the cloying sweetness that you get from a Lindemans lambic that has been pasteurized and had sugar added.  This is tart cherry, acetic vinegar, very little carbonation, and astringent tannins(?).  Does cherry skin contain tannins?  It turns out that yes, it does.  If you haven't experienced a lambic this may seem like an extremely unpleasant description, but it was very nice.  I found myself wanting it to be a little more funky and yeasty, but that's just a personal preference.  This is the nicest example of a traditional kriek I've come across.


While I was drinking Cantillon, Les was drinking De Ranke Guldenberg, from which I of course stole a few sips.  It hits the tongue like Tripel Karmeliet (which is good-our friend Doug has dubbed it Tripel Karmeyum), but a then a wave of bitter hops takes over.  Rich body, bready Belgian yeasts, slight fruity sweetness, a little citrus and spice, and a load of hops.  Very tasty.


The bartender offered me a sample of Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche when I asked if anyone likes it (the staff hates it but it's been pretty popular).  Wow.  Tastes like a stock made with smoked ham hocks.  Not recommended for drinking, but I would actually like to cook with it.



I also had the Ommegang Adoration, but I think my taste buds were completely shot at this point.  It's supposed to be spiced but I didn't detect any.  I tasted cherry, chocolate, and dark fruits.  I thought it tasted like what I remember Ommegang's Three Philosophers tasting like.  Enjoyable, but not what I was expecting.

Best bets for the week

This week there is a lot of great stuff at The Porter.  Stone Double Arrogant Bastard, one of my favorite American ales is at The Porter for $3.50.  They also have New Belgium's Lips of Faith La Folie, a new sour ale that gets good reviews, and Mikkeller Santa’s Little Helper, one of my favorite Christmas ales that probably won't be around much longer.  

The real fun starts Friday though, when Allagash takes over 10 taps.  Besides the readily available White and Curieux we'll be treated to rare offerings of Hugh Malone, Burnam Road, Fluxus, Victory, Odyssey, Interlude, Four, and Triple.  I'm especially looking forward to having Interlude again (it was on tap at BSP a few months back).  It's a beautiful sour beer.

Also try to head over to BSP for two very rare Belgians, Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek '07 and De Ranke Guldenberg.  Bottles of the Cantillon run $25.00 in liquor stores, but you can get it on tap now for $7.00.  This is a real lambic, supposedly extremely tart and complex.  De Ranke Guldenberg is a strong blonde ale with more hoppiness than you would associate with most Belgian triples.