Ben and I have attended 6 of Beer Advocate's beer festivals in the three years since we moved back to Boston. Our first festival was the 2007 Belgian beer festival (BBF), and then the American Craft Beer Festival (ACBF) in 2008. Fall 2008 we were in Belgium during the Belgian beer festival. Last spring, we decided that we really enjoyed the festivals so maybe we should help out, and we volunteered at the 2009 ACBF. Well, volunteering was awesome. So we also volunteered for BBF...and though we never had the inclination to attend one before, we volunteered for the Extreme Beer Festival last weekend. I must say, it's an awesome festival! I was always a little turned of by the amount of super-strong barrel-aged beers. Which I enjoy, but shelling out $ for 3 hours of only tasting them didn't appeal to me...I was worried about how I could stay sober and gt my money's worth. But volunteering doesn't come with that worry! You do, however, really have to stay sober when you volunteer.
Ben and I volunteered all day for the Saturday portion of the festival (the Friday night is a special "Night of the Barrels" and it's hard for me to get home from work in time to volunteer for it). Knowing that we wanted to try many of the excellent beers that would be available, we actually made lists so that we would be sure to not "waste" our sobriety on anything we weren't dying to try.
Anyway, we arrived at Cyclorama a little before 10am and got to work. We got our first session assignments and I was pouring beer for...Lost Abbey! That's really pretty cool, especially since I got to do so with Director of Brewery Operations, Tomme Arthur. He was nice, though he probably thought I was nerdy...as I was being super nerdy! Haha. So, first order of business, I had to try all of Lost Abbey's beers. I know, I know...tough life of the beer advocate volunteer. They were at the top of my list of beers to try, so I was pretty psyched with my assignment. They brought Oak-Aged Ten Commandments, Barrel-Fermented Serpent's Stout, Red Poppy Ale, Sinner's Blend 2009 (a barrel-aged blend of Serpent Stout, Ten Commandments, and Gift of the Magi), and a "secret framboise"* called Framboise de Amarosa...it was actually a double version of it. My favorite was probably the framboise, then Red Poppy. Yum, Belgian-style fruity sours. All of the beers were excellent, though. I may have tried them all twice to make sure they were still good.
My job the second session was patrol...so I wandered around asking if anyone needed me and drinking/sampling when I could.
Here are some of my thoughts (unfortunately I dropped my list at the festival, Ben found all of my papers but I just looked and the list isn't in it! At least I realized this and went through the program to mark things off)
Allagash Brewing Company
Victor Frankenstein 2008--this was awesome. Their "Victor" beer aged in a cask with grapes and "bugs"...not sure what that means. I've never had an Allagash I didn't like, and this was fruity and wonderful.
Birra del Borgo
Rubus-Lamponi--sour ale made with fresh raspberry. If I recall it was refreshing, but apparently forgettable.
Brewery Ommegang
Ommegeddon "Funkhouse Saison"...a little too much for me at the time I drank it
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
They had this special contraption called "randall" where the beer would filter through additives like wood chips, orange peels, additional hops leaves, or espresso beans as they poured it. Added a lot of flavor.
Burton Baton Meets Randall w/Wood Chips
This was pretty woody. I liked it.
Red & White Meets Randall w/Orange Peels
This was fruity, refreshing, but still held its own. Really enjoyed this one.
World Wide Stout Meets Randall w/Espresso Coffee Beans
Probably my 2nd favorite beer of the night. The espresso was just an amazing complement and the way the flavor was used with the Randall was just amazing. An awesome treat.
I tried a sip of Wrath of Pecan from Ben and it was nice and smokey. Enjoyable.
Founders Brewing Company
Canadian Breakfast Stout--a syrup-barrel-aged chocolate coffee stout. My favorite beer of the festival. Smooth and complex. Definitely get maple, chocolate, and coffee flavors in it. Sweet but balanced. At the end of the fest, after clean-up, the volunteers got to drink some of the leftovers of this. I could have had two glasses, just relaxing. Loved it. A+
Ithaca Beer Company
LeBleu--a blueberry sour. I enjoyed this immensely. Tart.
Russian River Brewing Company
The Much Lusted After Pliny the Younger--Triple IPA: it was good, dry, hoppy, drinkable, enjoyable. But not my favorite beer ever. I didn't dislike it, though, at all. Great beer, just not what I was looking for that evening.
Supplication--Brown ale aged in pinot noir barrels w/Brett and sour cherries-- this was a very good beer and I liked it a lot.
Short's Brewing Company
Key Lime Pie--brewed w/lime puree, graham cracker, marshmallow, and milk sugar. I would NOT have tried this if I hadn't been asking all the volunteers what their favorite beers were. This was, actually, very very good and drinkable. Sweet and tasty. It felt like you were drinking a beery key lime pie, but not disgusting like that sounds. Awesome job on that.
I tried some of Ben's Plum Rye Bock and it was okay
Turtle Stout--another very sweet beer, stout brewed with chocolate, caramel, and pecans. Really enjoyed it, very decadent.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Vintage 1994 Bigfoot Barleywine--I tried a sip of Ben's. This beer had mellowed, was really balanced and just great. A 16-year-old beer! Really impressive
Chocolate Chili Imperial Stout--stout with cocoa nibs and chipotle chills....I'd heard that most of the chili beers weren't very good, but this is exactly what I wanted. Smokey heat and chocolate. Yum.
Smuttynose Brewing Company
Bacon Brown Dog--I had really built this up in my head. 1) it was lighter in flavor and color than Brown Dog 2) The bacon flavor wasn't at the perfect level. I was disappointed in this beer, but again, I had built it up a lot in my head.
Potato Maple Porter--this was really enjoyable. Apparently I like maple flavor in beer (or, really, anything--like Starbucks Gold Coast Blend paired with maple!)
The Bruery
Mischief--still very good since the last time I had it. Very enjoyable hoppy golden strong ale.
I alluded to the fact that at the end of the night we got to drink from some of the kegs. One of the volunteers actually did a keg stand of Sam Adams' Utopias. Umm....it's like $100/bottle. But hey, he can say he did it. I tried some, and it's definitely a sipping beer. It'd be nice to try when I had time to enjoy it better. Apparently lots of the volunteers had combined Utopias and Canadian Breakfast Stout, which sounds good, but really my sample of Utopias was enough!
The next morning was the Hair of the Dog after-brunch at Cambridge Common. I had done such a good job of being social the day before that I sat by myself (Ben was working) and just people watched. The idea of chatting someone up was too much, though Candice Alstrom was super sweet to me which I appreciate, inviting me to sit with them. I just couldn't! Anyway, I had Dogfish Head's Black and Blue, which was great. And then a DFH World Wide Stout (since I'd enjoyed it so much with Randall). It was great, but way stronger than I anticipated. Being tipsy by 2pm is awesome. I wandered over to Ben's store after and he laughed at me.
Oh, and at this festival? I have never been flirted with by so many guys. Some dude even put his arm around me when I was standing next to Ben and declared me his "Canadian Breakfast Stout Girl" (well, he slurred that part). Ben was not amused. I was amused that I really did talk to so many guys! Now Ben knows what it's like when I see him being Barista McFlirtyPants. HA!
Volunteering is awesome, and soo soo worth the 13 hour day we put in. Our feet were killing us, but we were so happy and had a great time.
*I seriously told ONE person about this beer and then that's all anyone wanted. We had no signs for some reason, so no one knew where Lost Abbey was, so no lines. People who knew where we were came up, no joke, 10 times asking for the freakin' framboise. It was awesome, but still...there are other beers to try, people! The guys from Allagash, though, were so cute coming over and looking guilty asking for it. "Um, may I try the 'secret' beer?" YES!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Return of the Christmas Beers (Beth)
We finally drank the beers we got each other for Christmas...we actually planned meals around them.
Last night was Kasteel Rouge, paired with bleu-cheese dried-cherry turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and salad (spring greens, tomatoes, onions, dried cherries, and a white wine vinaigrette).
The first time I tried Kasteel Rouge was at Beer Advocate's Belgian Beer Fest in 2007. I remember how impressed I was to find a dark beer with cherries. Yeah, well, apparently my tastes have matured since then! I've been to Belgium again, another Belgian beer festival, and tried a lot more cherry-based beers...this is not a star, to me, anymore. It tasted...well...like cherry cough syrup. Overly sweet and syrupy in texture. Just not my thing anymore.
The food, actually, wasn't cherry enough to hold up to the hit of cherries. The meatloaf, done in the crockpot, was super dry...my fault as I started it cooking about 12 hours before we ate it. I have a biiiiig crockpot, and apparently there was just not enough food for being in there so long (I usually cook huge beef or pork roasts in my crockpot on days I work, not a pound of ground turkey). Next time I'd do the covered dish within the crockpot trick. Anyway, the meatloaf was dry, and did not have any bleu cheese flavor in it, despite using a particularly pungent one. It was so dry that I had to make emergency gravy. Life is tough.
Kasteel Rouge C+
Meatloaf B-
Overall satisfaction: Eh.
Tonight we drank Mikkeller's Santa's Little Helper (2009). To pair with the Christmas beer we did a holiday meal...roast turkey breast, Ben's famous stuffing, and bacon-onion green beans, and gravy (I couldn't find any frozen cranberries to make sauce!). Oh my. This meal was good. The beer might have been even better. Hints of cola, cocoa, strong hop presence, excellent maltiness. Great beer. Delicate. The Bruery's 2 Turtle Doves, while excellent, is a wee bit...overpowering. It's in-your-face. This is just a much more subtle and nuanced beer. (Full disclosure: since my last post I've had more Two Turtle Doves on New Year's Eve and we bought another bottle as our first cellaring beer...maybe it'll mellow a bit with age).
Dinner was great, I might add. Ben's stuffing never disappoints, and the butter-sage-shallot rub I used gave the meat so much flavor. Can't wait for leftovers!
Santa's Little Helper A-
Turkey A-
Overall satisfaction: nom nom nom with a side of tryptophan
Last night was Kasteel Rouge, paired with bleu-cheese dried-cherry turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and salad (spring greens, tomatoes, onions, dried cherries, and a white wine vinaigrette).
The first time I tried Kasteel Rouge was at Beer Advocate's Belgian Beer Fest in 2007. I remember how impressed I was to find a dark beer with cherries. Yeah, well, apparently my tastes have matured since then! I've been to Belgium again, another Belgian beer festival, and tried a lot more cherry-based beers...this is not a star, to me, anymore. It tasted...well...like cherry cough syrup. Overly sweet and syrupy in texture. Just not my thing anymore.
The food, actually, wasn't cherry enough to hold up to the hit of cherries. The meatloaf, done in the crockpot, was super dry...my fault as I started it cooking about 12 hours before we ate it. I have a biiiiig crockpot, and apparently there was just not enough food for being in there so long (I usually cook huge beef or pork roasts in my crockpot on days I work, not a pound of ground turkey). Next time I'd do the covered dish within the crockpot trick. Anyway, the meatloaf was dry, and did not have any bleu cheese flavor in it, despite using a particularly pungent one. It was so dry that I had to make emergency gravy. Life is tough.
Kasteel Rouge C+
Meatloaf B-
Overall satisfaction: Eh.
Tonight we drank Mikkeller's Santa's Little Helper (2009). To pair with the Christmas beer we did a holiday meal...roast turkey breast, Ben's famous stuffing, and bacon-onion green beans, and gravy (I couldn't find any frozen cranberries to make sauce!). Oh my. This meal was good. The beer might have been even better. Hints of cola, cocoa, strong hop presence, excellent maltiness. Great beer. Delicate. The Bruery's 2 Turtle Doves, while excellent, is a wee bit...overpowering. It's in-your-face. This is just a much more subtle and nuanced beer. (Full disclosure: since my last post I've had more Two Turtle Doves on New Year's Eve and we bought another bottle as our first cellaring beer...maybe it'll mellow a bit with age).
Dinner was great, I might add. Ben's stuffing never disappoints, and the butter-sage-shallot rub I used gave the meat so much flavor. Can't wait for leftovers!
Santa's Little Helper A-
Turkey A-
Overall satisfaction: nom nom nom with a side of tryptophan
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
January Grades and Ranks
Alright, my first post with the intention of tracking my beer consumption. I share my immediate thoughts on Twitter, which is the first grade in the parenthesis. The second grade is my "lasting impression/second consideration". Within the grades, they are ranked from top to bottom. I try not to drink much crap.
I plan to do one of these a month. Here is my January list.
-Ben.
[A]
#1 Pretty Things Babayaga. Wow, simply. Smoky, dark flavor with a medium body that does not diminish the cacophony of intense flavor. A 7:13 PM Jan 7th from web (A,A)
#2 Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. First Beer '10: A, A+ with chocolate cake. 11:37 PM Dec 31st, 2009 from web (A,A)
#3 Allagash Wheat. Belgian Wheat. Simply one of the best session beers ever. It will never disappoint. A 7:46 PM Jan 27th from web (A,A)
#4 Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale. A saison with big coriander and lemony flavor. Each sip powerful, but once settled, makes you want more. A- 7:36 PM Jan 14th from web (A-,A)
#5 Iron Horse's Quilter's Irish Death. Dark Smooth Ale, which it was to a T. Really delicious, thick bodied ale. Smart, not-a-stout. A- 8:54 PM Jan 30th from web (A-,A)
[A-]
#6 Pretty Things Jack D'or. American Saison. Beautiful balance of lemon, coriander, and pepper. Like to have this about once a month. A- 9:20 PM Jan 31st from web (A-, A-)
#7 Harpoon Leviathan Porter. Big body, big taste. Tart like whiskey, but not pungent. Thick and lingering head until the end. A- 7:22 PM Jan 25th from web (A-,A-)
#8 Anchor Our Special Ale 2009. I love the use of herbs and spices to make this a very flavorful beer. Had a slight tin aftertase. B+ 8:04 PM Jan 9th from web (B+,A-)
[B+]
#9 Breckenridge Christmas Ale. Nice balance of herbs and spices, lighter body than Anchor's OSA. Great with the right food. B+ 6:59 PM Jan 12th from web (B+,B+)
#10 Dogfish Punkin Head. This isn't powerfully pumpkin like the last one. The spice is almost a subtle afterthought to a very good beer. B+ 11:29 PM Jan 23rd from web (B+,B+)
#11 Bear Republic Rebellion at the indo. super hops. Good body. b+ 5:43 PM Jan 3rd from txt (B+,B+)
#12 Weyerbacher Hops Infusion. cask. real smooth and balanced. b+ 10:38 PM Jan 20th from txt (B+,B+)
#13 Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat IPA. Soft hops, but a lot of them. Well-balanced, subtly strong. B+ 8:54 PM Jan 10th from web (B+,B+)
#14 Pike Tandem Double Ale. A gift from Brad. Great taste, dark color, little light on the body. A-? 7:53 PM Jan 1st from web
Dropping Tandem to a solid B. Doesn't have the OMG factor that an A-range beer should have. Still enjoyable. 9:07 PM Jan 1st from web (B,B+)
#15 Anchor Our Special Ale 2008. The beer ages well, but I felt mine was a little flat. Perhaps the dinner was so yummy that it paled in comparison. B 7:52 PM Jan 13th from web
Anchor OSA '08 again. Alone this time. A lot more rounded in flavor and not muddled by contrasting flavors of food. Up to a B+ 10:27 PM Jan 15th from web (B,B+)
#16 Lazy Boy Brewing Belgian Golden Ale. Dark for a golden, lovely bite, medium body. The taste flattened near the end. B+ 7:31 PM Jan 6th from web (B+,B)
#17 Bear Repbulic Heritage Scotch Ale. Malts and sweet with strong after taste. sticks to the back of your throat. b+ 8:04 PM Jan 26th from txt (B+,B)
#18 Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale. Wheat/Barleywine mix. Super strong. Good beer, but wasn't prepared for it. Too much barley for a wheat. B+ 7:45 PM Jan 29th from web (B+,B)
#19 Bavik Wittekerke. A Belgian Wheat. Paired amazingly with quiche and arugula. Nothing to push it to a "wow" beer. B+ 7:43 PM Jan 21st from web (B+,B)
[B]
#20 Salopian Entire Butt. English Porter, Cask. Nice with a smokiness that lingers. Light body. Drinkable, but not exciting. B 7:21 PM Jan 25th from web (B,B)
#21 Dogfish Head 60 IPA. Not as hoppy as it's cousins, but full-bodied tartness to the last drop. Very dependable. B 11:29 PM Jan 8th from web (B.B)
#22 Smuttynose IPA. A well balanced IPA without too much hops. A no-frills, just a good everyday beer. B 11:31 PM Jan 23rd from web (B,B)
#23 Stone Sublimely Self Righteous. Black double ipa. Confusing what it wants to be. b- 6:15 PM Jan 3rd from txt
Stone self righteous. better taste at end. B 6:33 PM Jan 3rd from txt (B,B-)
#24 Middle Ages The Duke of Winship. A Scotch Ale. Dark, medium body. Nice spice. By far the best thing from Middle Ages, but nothing too wild. B- 10:41 PM Jan 16th from web (B-,B)
#25 Elysian Night Owl. A Pumpkin ale. Powerful smell and taste, moreso than Punkin, but not annoyingly sweet or spicy. Good balance. B 9:46 PM Jan 22nd from web (B,B-)
[B-]
#26 Rogue Double Dead Guy. Something sweet is hiding something bitter. unsure me the taste. b- 10:19 PM Jan 20th from txt (B-,C+)
[C]
#27 Two Brothers Cane & Ebel. super hops red rye. not impressed. c+ 8:39 PM Jan 26th from txt (C+,C-)
#28 Middle Ages Swallow Wit. Pretty boring as drinkable wits go. No complaints, though. C 11:11 PM Jan 4th from web (C,C-)
I plan to do one of these a month. Here is my January list.
-Ben.
[A]
#1 Pretty Things Babayaga. Wow, simply. Smoky, dark flavor with a medium body that does not diminish the cacophony of intense flavor. A 7:13 PM Jan 7th from web (A,A)
#2 Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. First Beer '10: A, A+ with chocolate cake. 11:37 PM Dec 31st, 2009 from web (A,A)
#3 Allagash Wheat. Belgian Wheat. Simply one of the best session beers ever. It will never disappoint. A 7:46 PM Jan 27th from web (A,A)
#4 Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale. A saison with big coriander and lemony flavor. Each sip powerful, but once settled, makes you want more. A- 7:36 PM Jan 14th from web (A-,A)
#5 Iron Horse's Quilter's Irish Death. Dark Smooth Ale, which it was to a T. Really delicious, thick bodied ale. Smart, not-a-stout. A- 8:54 PM Jan 30th from web (A-,A)
[A-]
#6 Pretty Things Jack D'or. American Saison. Beautiful balance of lemon, coriander, and pepper. Like to have this about once a month. A- 9:20 PM Jan 31st from web (A-, A-)
#7 Harpoon Leviathan Porter. Big body, big taste. Tart like whiskey, but not pungent. Thick and lingering head until the end. A- 7:22 PM Jan 25th from web (A-,A-)
#8 Anchor Our Special Ale 2009. I love the use of herbs and spices to make this a very flavorful beer. Had a slight tin aftertase. B+ 8:04 PM Jan 9th from web (B+,A-)
[B+]
#9 Breckenridge Christmas Ale. Nice balance of herbs and spices, lighter body than Anchor's OSA. Great with the right food. B+ 6:59 PM Jan 12th from web (B+,B+)
#10 Dogfish Punkin Head. This isn't powerfully pumpkin like the last one. The spice is almost a subtle afterthought to a very good beer. B+ 11:29 PM Jan 23rd from web (B+,B+)
#11 Bear Republic Rebellion at the indo. super hops. Good body. b+ 5:43 PM Jan 3rd from txt (B+,B+)
#12 Weyerbacher Hops Infusion. cask. real smooth and balanced. b+ 10:38 PM Jan 20th from txt (B+,B+)
#13 Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat IPA. Soft hops, but a lot of them. Well-balanced, subtly strong. B+ 8:54 PM Jan 10th from web (B+,B+)
#14 Pike Tandem Double Ale. A gift from Brad. Great taste, dark color, little light on the body. A-? 7:53 PM Jan 1st from web
Dropping Tandem to a solid B. Doesn't have the OMG factor that an A-range beer should have. Still enjoyable. 9:07 PM Jan 1st from web (B,B+)
#15 Anchor Our Special Ale 2008. The beer ages well, but I felt mine was a little flat. Perhaps the dinner was so yummy that it paled in comparison. B 7:52 PM Jan 13th from web
Anchor OSA '08 again. Alone this time. A lot more rounded in flavor and not muddled by contrasting flavors of food. Up to a B+ 10:27 PM Jan 15th from web (B,B+)
#16 Lazy Boy Brewing Belgian Golden Ale. Dark for a golden, lovely bite, medium body. The taste flattened near the end. B+ 7:31 PM Jan 6th from web (B+,B)
#17 Bear Repbulic Heritage Scotch Ale. Malts and sweet with strong after taste. sticks to the back of your throat. b+ 8:04 PM Jan 26th from txt (B+,B)
#18 Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale. Wheat/Barleywine mix. Super strong. Good beer, but wasn't prepared for it. Too much barley for a wheat. B+ 7:45 PM Jan 29th from web (B+,B)
#19 Bavik Wittekerke. A Belgian Wheat. Paired amazingly with quiche and arugula. Nothing to push it to a "wow" beer. B+ 7:43 PM Jan 21st from web (B+,B)
[B]
#20 Salopian Entire Butt. English Porter, Cask. Nice with a smokiness that lingers. Light body. Drinkable, but not exciting. B 7:21 PM Jan 25th from web (B,B)
#21 Dogfish Head 60 IPA. Not as hoppy as it's cousins, but full-bodied tartness to the last drop. Very dependable. B 11:29 PM Jan 8th from web (B.B)
#22 Smuttynose IPA. A well balanced IPA without too much hops. A no-frills, just a good everyday beer. B 11:31 PM Jan 23rd from web (B,B)
#23 Stone Sublimely Self Righteous. Black double ipa. Confusing what it wants to be. b- 6:15 PM Jan 3rd from txt
Stone self righteous. better taste at end. B 6:33 PM Jan 3rd from txt (B,B-)
#24 Middle Ages The Duke of Winship. A Scotch Ale. Dark, medium body. Nice spice. By far the best thing from Middle Ages, but nothing too wild. B- 10:41 PM Jan 16th from web (B-,B)
#25 Elysian Night Owl. A Pumpkin ale. Powerful smell and taste, moreso than Punkin, but not annoyingly sweet or spicy. Good balance. B 9:46 PM Jan 22nd from web (B,B-)
[B-]
#26 Rogue Double Dead Guy. Something sweet is hiding something bitter. unsure me the taste. b- 10:19 PM Jan 20th from txt (B-,C+)
[C]
#27 Two Brothers Cane & Ebel. super hops red rye. not impressed. c+ 8:39 PM Jan 26th from txt (C+,C-)
#28 Middle Ages Swallow Wit. Pretty boring as drinkable wits go. No complaints, though. C 11:11 PM Jan 4th from web (C,C-)
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