New Belgians on Tap at The Porter

St. Bernardus Abt 12 is probably the most commonly sighted Trappist beer on tap in Atlanta, but despite its popularity we never see any of the other St. Bernardus brews.  That changes today with the arrival of St. Bernardus Prior 8 at The Porter.  I got to have this on tap in New York at The Burp Castle a few months ago and it is delicious.  It's a dubbel and it's lighter and fruitier than the 12.

Duvel Green was released in the Northeast about a year ago, but next Tuesday The Porter will be tapping what I'm pretty sure is the first keg available in Georgia.  Standard Duvel is never available on tap in the US (Duvel doesn't trust consistency of the last fermentation in the keg).  Duvel undergoes three fermentations but the Duvel Green only goes through one.  Originally it was going to be the same beer as standard Duvel, just stopped after the primary fermentation (this is sold in Europe as 'kleine' Duvel).  There were problems with this though, so they use the same ingredients but use a little less of the fermentables (malt and/or candi sugar) to end up with a lower abv beer.  By all accounts I've read this is a great beer, but lighter and with less complexity than the standard Duvel.

Update: I didn't feel like dedicating a whole new post to Duvel Green so I'm just going to add a quick review here.  Duvel Red (the standard bottled Duvel) isn't one of my favorite beers.  It would be nice in the middle of the summer on a patio, but except for the great spicy yeast I think it's a little boring.  Duvel Green tastes very similar, but with a little less body and complexity.  It tastes good, but there's not really enough going on to keep your attention.  It's relatively sessionable though, so if you want an easy drinking, sessionable Belgian it may be a good choice.

Sour beers, part 3

This time I hit some sour beers from outside of Belgium, including 3 variations of a Flemish style sour and a sour stout.

Haandbryggeriet Haandbakk: This was the real surprise of the bunch.  This is a Norwegian sour.  Beers similar to Flemish Oud Bruins had been brewed in Norway for centuries but had gone out of style and this was the first attempt at a Norwegian sour in over 100 years.  It was aged in used burgundy wine barrels for 18 months before bottling.  This is as good or better than any Flemish sour I've had. Malt is nicely rich, and faintly sweet with hints of bitter cocoa.  There's a dominant acetic acid sour, leather, slight barnyard funk, and faint apple.  This completely dominates your mouth, the acidity burns your throat a little, and there's an extremely long finish.  This and Panil Bariquee Riserva are probably the most complex sours I've had.

Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura: A sour stout?  That may sound odd, but historically there were actually a lot of sour stouts, porters, and other British ales.  Brettanomyces (the funky, wild yeast that is one of the main beer souring agents) is actually Greek for British fungus because of it's use in British beers.  Guinness is 3% sour beer, though it's sourness comes from a lactic acid bacteria. Madrugada Obscura is actually a Belgian style stout.  Flavors are cherry, chocolate, and nice sourness (lactic and a little Brett funk) with a dry ending.  Honestly, this is billed as a Belgian style stout, but I taste more Guinness in this than any Belgian stout I've had, possibly because the Belgian stouts I've had weren't sour.  This is worth trying.

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja: This is a fairly standard oud bruin, though a good example.  I taste a little brown sugar, faint apple and lemon, mild Brett, and not much acetic acid.  Overall this is an easy drinking sour.

New Belgium La Folie: I loved the first few sips of this.  The acidity really catches your attention, there's mild vinegar, and you taste some of the wood that is was aged in.  Les and I split a bottle of this before we went out for Valentine's Day and I actually struggled a little to finish my half.  The acidity starts to become overwhelming.  We commiserated about the fact that when The Porter had this once it went quickly and we didn't get to try it on tap.  After we ate we headed over to The Porter and serendipitously there it was, so we each ordered one.  Again, it started great, but it's so astringent it became hard to drink.  The Porter was serving pints of it, and I really think all anybody would want would be 8 oz, but at least it was pretty cheap.  I like the beer, but I didn't bother finishing mine.  I have mixed feelings about the drinkability.  One reason I like sours is that they have much more dense flavors, so even though they tend to be lower alcohol they are still sipping beers.  I think this one goes a little over the edge though in terms of unpleasant acidity.  It's worth trying, but split it.

One last reminder, The Porter has its Flemish sour class this Wednesday.  I'm going to be playing with a Beatles tribute band at Smith's Olde Bar so I won't be able to make it (my day job is a trumpet player), but if you can you should check it out.  It's $25.

Picks for the week

My pick is Sidebar downtown on Thursday before the Them Crooked Vultures show at The Tabernacle.  They usually have at least one or two interesting beers, and if nothing else always a good pour of Guinness.  I don't see anything unusual and interesting on anybody's lists right now (besides what I posted 2 days ago...BSP is now out of Interlude though).

I would be completely remiss to not point out that The Porter is having beer class on Flemish sours next Wednesday at 7:30.  I don't know yet which ones Molly will have to try, but if you've been reading about sours and want to jump in that would be a great opportunity.  It's usually $30 and includes samples of 6 beers.  I'll update if I find out what they are.  Make reservations at (404)233-0293.

Let me know if you've seen anything else of interest this week.  I've been busy and haven't really looked very hard.

Update 2/12: Them Crooked Vultures was awesome.  I saw them 3 times in October and this was by far the best show.  Sidebar, on the other hand, was lame.  Probably the smokiest bar in Atlanta and no seasonal beers, which they used to have.

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

This is pretty easy this week.  The distributor B. United is taking over the taps at The Porter on Friday so we get treated to some beers rarely ever seen on tap.  Big selection from the wild Japanese brewery Hitachino including their Real Ginger Ale, Red Rice, Espresso Stout, Commemorative, and White.  White shows up on tap occasionally but I don't think I've seen the others.

I'm most curious about the Red Rice and the Commemorative.  The Red Rice is 25% rice with the remainder being pilsner malt.  It's not a pilsner though, as the yeasts are an ale yeast and a sake yeast (ale yeast can't break down the rice sugars).  It's supposed to be a slightly fruity, sake-like, bitter, complex beer.

The Commemorative is a spiced Eisbock with coriander, orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla bean.  From Hitachino I think it's safe to assume that this one will be pretty far removed from any Eisbock you've had (which for most people would be limited to Aventinus).

Besides Hitachino I'm looking forward to the Sinebrychoff Porter, a great example of a Baltic Porter.

The list is being updated on The Porter's website.  I keep hoping to see Ondineke show up.  I know that B. United is the distributor and The Porter had it once for about a day.  It may have been the best tripel I've ever had.

Here and There

I was thinking a few days ago about how odd it is that Ommegang Hennepin rarely shows up on tap around town, and then it appeared at The Porter this week.  A very good rendition of a Belgian farmhouse saison, it boasts a richer body than many saisons, with some nice light fruitiness, grassy hops, some spice, subtle yeasty funk, and a lingering bitterness.  I think this is a beer that would appeal to serious beer drinkers and novices, while also being great for food pairings.

We stopped by Kirkwood Public House as business was winding down last night.  Apparently a lot of people noticed the beautiful new painted sign and stopped in to check it out so they had a great weekend.  It's good to hear that the transition has started successfully.

Update 1/25: As commenter Leslie (coincidentally also my girlfriend) pointed out, I forgot to mention the most important part of our conversation with the owner.  Though because of stupid distribution laws no bar can buy straight from a brewery, in keeping more with the farm to table concept of locality he wants to focus on American beers.  I love Belgians, but there are so many great American beers that I think it's a good idea to highlight that.  There's probably a limited market for expensive, rare Belgians and I think that part of the market is pretty well taken care of by The Porter and BSP.  I'll take a Stone or Jolly Pumpkin any day.

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.

Firkin Madness!

It's firkin madness at The Porter this week, which sounds great, but then you realize you don't know what a firkin is or why you should care.  I'll start by saying that you should care because it means you're drinking a fresh, naturally carbonated, living ale.  There's not loss of flavor from filtering (meaning the beer will be cloudy) and they are served room temperature to let all the flavors be more fully released.  I assume there's only one firkin of each beer (9 imperial gallons), so they'll probably go fast, which is good because once a gravity drawn firkin is tapped they have very limited shelf life.  Here's the schedule.  I'm looking forward to the Lenny's.

Tuesday-Bell's 2 Hearted Ale
Wednesday-Allagash Black
Thursday-Lenny's RIPA
Friday-Heavy Seas Hop^3

If you care what a firkin is you can read after the jump.

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.  

Allagash at The Porter

The Porter continues to raise the bar in this city for catering to beer geeks.  You can get a brewery's biggest 1-2 beers all over, but where besides the brewery will you find 11 on tap?  Starting this past Friday you could find 11 Allagash brews at The Porter.  There were 8 I wanted (the other 3 are more readily available) and fortunately those 8 could be had in sets of 4 oz tastings that Les and I split.  Yet again, this shows how The Porter raises the bar for beer geeks: we each got to try 8 beers, but only drank a pint.  Here's my quick take on the beers we had:

Odyssey-strong, dark wheat beer.  It seemed complex, but I had a hard time picking out specific flavors.  I would like more of this without being surrounded by 7 other beers (the slight disadvantage of tasting this many beers).

Fluxus-A saison brewed with sweet potatoes and black pepper, but I wouldn't have guessed that.  I thought it had some character of a light bodied, spicy tripel with a little bit of pear.

Burnham Rd-I'm not a fan of rausch beers (beers made from drying the malt over a flame).  The smokiness in this was more subtle than some I've had, but I still don't care for drinking beer that tastes like bacon.

Victor-Molly said that she was expecting this to be winey based on Allagash's description that it is brewed with grapes and a wine yeast.  Like her I didn't find any wine quality, but there was a lot of grape juice flavor.  That's not a bad thing, just what it is.

Four-Made with four malts, four hops, four sugars and four Belgian yeast strains.  Piney hops dominate nose, but balanced taste.

Hugh Malone-Very nice.  I usually don't like when simcoe hops dominate, but it didn't bother me at all in this one.

Interlude-My favorite of the bunch, but I am biased in favor of any beer with even a hint of Brettanomyces yeast.  A little light fruit (pear, plum, apricot) and that awesome Brett funkiness.

Tripel-Good example of a standard tripel.

I'm looking forward to the Smuttynose takeover this weekend and the B. United takeover the next week.  And don't worry if you want to drink something else.  The Porter has enough taps that even the with giving 11 to Allagash they still had one of the best selections in the city on the remaining taps.

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.