Tag: brewing

Sunday Beer Blog

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Stopped by Ravens Ring Brewing Company today before some grocery shopping. I had the Noel which is 7.9% ABV and 23 IBU. Word has it it’s only on tap through end of the month so get yours soon. It’s definitely a winter festive beer and is spice forward. Super dark with a light mouthfeel and a very pleasant sipper. It was a wonderful accompaniment to the snow outside.

Nevermore & Noel

Derek enjoyed the Nevermore imperial stout. It’s 9.7% ABV and 40 IBU. I snuck a sip and it had a very creamy coconut start with a smooth mouthfeel. It was also dark as night. We brought some of this home.

A HUGE happy birthday to Ravens Ring. What a glorious addition to Southside.

Brewery: Raven’s Ring Brewing Company

Sunday Beer Blog

Published on by TraciLeave a comment

This Sunday’s offering is from Black Plague Brewing. The imperial milk stout, Medusa, is brewed with coconut, maple syrup, and cacao nibs.

Medusa

It’s dark in color, pours with little head, and clings to the glass. It smells sweet with no particular ingredient aroma overwhelming the senses. The mouthfeel is very light and moderately effervescent for an ABV of 8%, and chocolate and coconut are the stars of the first sip.

Overall, I shared this 16oz can with Derek and I was happy I did. It drank like a dessert beer so more would have been too much for me. This beer was a nice part of my La Bodega beer club, but I don’t think I’ll purchase it in the future.

Black Plague Medusa
Dark & Dessert-y

Brewery: Black Plague Brewing

ABV: 8%

Purchase Location: La Bodega

Amber Earth

Sunday Beer Blog: Amber Earth ESB

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Today I partook in Arkose Amber Earth ESB. It poured medium gold, and was actually a lot like the print on the bottle. It’s small amount of head gave way to a yeasty, ordinary beer “non-smell”. Think Coors or Bud. (Don’t be upset Arkose!) I was a bit hesitant to take the first sip, but was met pleasantly by effervescence and a wonderful barley-yeast-hop combination.

ESB
Arkose ESB

I felt a little embarrassed by my hesitation because I should have known better. This is Arkose and they rock beer. They are a very consistent brewery.

A note on the hop bitterness- it was only slightly bitter. Online, the description shays “light hop bitterness” and I would agree. I wish it was a warmer day because it was very easy to drink and refreshing, but it still hit the spot overall.

Amber Earth
Arkose Amber Earth

I have to admit to drinking this without my husband. In my defense, he was having a beer with his buddy without me at the same time. I was a woman scorned. (I saved him a taster. I’m not an animal.)

Brewery: Arkose Brewery

Style: ESB

ABV: 5%

IBU: 30

Purchase Location: Wine House

Sunday Beer Blog: Outta Line

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Rogue has provided us with a very cute can and that was all this girl needed. Seriously, a penguin in a jet pack?

Beer Can

Outta Line is a West Coast IPA. It poured a beautiful gold and displayed ample head. The initial scent was hop forward as expected.

“Wow. That’s delicious.”

Frothy Head

I audibly liked this beer from first sip. It was a sweet hop flavor finished with a tart balance. Second sip smoothed out even more and the effervescence showed through.

I may have purchased for the can, but I’ll repurchase for the beer.

Rogue

Brewer: Rogue Ales

ABV: 6.9%

Style: West Coast IPA

Purchased: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Must Kuld Porter

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La Bodega gifted us with a beer from Estonia this month. Estonia! If you’re like me, here’s a map to paint a clear picture.

Map
Estonia

What I found more interesting was Chris Pilkington of Scotland’s Brewdog joined the Põhjala team. The creative collaborations are going to be endless.

Black Gold
“Black Gold”

The beer itself was dark brown and opaque. The scent was fruit and molasses. The mouthfeel was surprisingly light and the first taste was also surprisingly syrupy. The second tasting gave me a more complete picture. The malt comes in and balances the sweet. Cocoa and coffee flavors abound, but lean toward a bitter finish.

Black Gold

I think this was a beer which would have been better after a sturdy meal. Even the bottle says to enjoy “as a dessert at the end of a decadent meal”. I feel that if given enough food flavor, this porter would cut through and finish the evening quite nicely.

Brewer: Põhjala

Style: Porter

ABV: 7.8%

Purchase Location: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Arcadium Gruit

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Arcadium Gruit

This beer is out of Tennessee. It’s by VonSeitz TheoreticAles. It’s a gruit with rosemary, savory, and marjoram. It’s actually a very complicated beer. I recommend you check out the brewers website. (See below.)

According to our friends at La Bodega, this was supposedly not too sour. After the first pour, the smell said sour patch kids had an accidental baby with those cheap sour rings you get at gas stations. I persevered.

Yellow Brown Ale

Syrup-yellow brown color, not auburn, is how I’d describe it. It was very distinctive. The mouthfeel was really nice and effervescent. I prepared for the worst, but the initial sip was not bad. It was actually pleasantly lambic in nature.

I grew braver on the second sip and let things swish. Tart but sweet. Maybe sour patch kids were in a committed relationship with gummy bears.

Thank goodness for the bubbles. They really took the flavors and rushed them around. It gave this brew the lightness it needed. Otherwise I think this would be close to barley wine. I don’t think I’ll repurchase, but I recommend this highly, especially to those sour beer lovers out there.

Brewer: VonSeitz TheoreticAles

Beer Type: Gruit

AVB: 6.1%

Purchase Location: La Bodega

Sunday Beer Blog: Zwart Black Star

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Yes, it’s January. Yes, there’s snow on the ground. No, this was not a timely post. BUT I still think it’s worth mentioning this one. Surly Brewing Co.’s Zwart Black Star 8 is a Brewmaster’s collaboration between Ben Smith, Jerrod Johnson, and Dirk Naudis of De Proef Brouwerij.

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Minnesota
Belgium

 

 

 

 

 

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

 

I received this ale as part of my monthly beer club from La Bodega. While I’m not always a fan of what I get as a member of this program, I can always rest assured the beers are unique. This collaboration was not a disappointment in that arena.

The ale was bright amber in color. The note of star anise was nice, but the Brett was not. I’m just not a fan. I’ve tried so many Brett beers and my tastebuds are still very much against them. After pour, there was a really nice head, and a pleasant aroma. The first taste was sour and sweet. More than one sip proved this a complicated beer. I actually really liked the first notes. I dared to swish it around in my mouth and I got sweet, sour, and decent effervescence. Overall it was pleasant if not for the Brett. Brett fan? Run and grab this beer.

Little tidbit: this was named after Bowie’s final album “Blackstar”. My mother had a major thing for Bowie. She’s a very proper person, but when I was growing up she’d drop hints. I think the most scaring moment for me was when, after watching the movie Labyrinth, she announced that David Bowie should always wear tights as pants. Wowza. The only thing I could do to cope with the blow was wait until I had children, let them watch Labyrinth, and then let them know about Nana’s desires. Done and done. You’re welcome S and L.

To prove how much I love my mamma, and how I really did recover from too much information, here are some gratuitous shots of the man. Although, please note the Labyrinth photos have been omitted. I can only handle so much.

Brewer: Surly Brewing Co

Style: Old Ale

ABV: 8%

Purchased: La Bodega

GBC: Girdwood Reserve

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This is a familiar story- girl hears about new, amazing beer. Girl misses the first release. Girl’s best friend tries to bring her a growler of said beer. New, amazing beer isn’t put into growlers. Girl begins mourning process because she didn’t ever get to try beer. Brewery brings beer back on tap. Girl rushes over. Girl and new, amazing beer are united…finally. The world is a better place.

Touching isn’t it?

Menu
GBC Menu

The Girdwood Reserve is a bourbon barrel aged stout. It’s pitch-brown in color, has very little head, and a smooth mouthfeel. Upon first approach it smells of barrel chips, and delivers a lot of flavor. There are layers for your palate’s enjoyment, including a bit of sweetness. I am happy to report it’s not even a little “barleywine-y” and is instead a very drinkable (well, sippable) barrel aged beer. Derek mentioned notes of cherry, but I enjoy cherry Lambic, so my meter is set pretty high. I was happy to let the bourbon notes shine.

Barrels
Hello my lovelies.

This is where the story gets embarrassing- girl drinks stout. Girl hadn’t eaten much. Girl tries to have conversation with kind brewery owner. Girl realizes she’s a bit tipsy…

GBC Reserve

Even so, Josh Hegna discussed expansion with me. The team at GBC is ready to grow and moving forward with very exciting plans. It would seem they can’t make poor decisions. It does help that their backgrounds are varied- everything from law to education. It’s also a true family establishment.

Josh and I were discussing education too. Well, we were trying. Derek was enjoying his own story- the one where boy has brewery owner’s attention. Boy loses the attention and conversation strays from beer.

Boy interrupts current conversation to return to topic of beer…three times. I don’t know why I bring him. Oh ya, I love him and he loves beer as much as I do…maybe more.

gnome
A little friend.

Brewer: Girdwood Brewing Company

Beer Style: Stout

Alcohol Content: 10.1%

Purchased:Girdwood Brewing Company

Sunday Beer Blog: Espresso Stout

Published on by TraciLeave a comment

LaurelwoodCollageHappy April 4th! I cannot believe we have started a new month already. While I’m enjoying the changing season, those of you who live in Alaska know it’s not one of our finest. Our trees and grass are brown, there’s mud everywhere, and the only fragrance is an odd mix of dog poo and freshly awakened bear. How will I survive this awkward Spring awakening? Beer. Duh.

Our selection today is Laurelwood Brewing Company’s Organic Portland Roasting Coffee Espresso Stout- whew! That’s a mouthful.  I sent my hubby out with instructions to pick up something “substantial”. He didn’t disappoint. The stout satisfied my urge for something heavy and flavorful. The smell, unlike nature’s current concoction, is earthy and heavy on the coffee. The taste is like a really good mocha: light sugar, smooth, and primarily coffee flavored. I won’t say it has a chewy mouthfeel, but it isn’t remotely light.

LaurelwoodI appreciate that Oregon’s Laurelwood partnered with a local coffee company on this one. In business since 1996, they became carbon neutral in 2008 and intend to stay that way. If you visit them, it becomes clear coffee is their “baby” and it shows in this collaboration.

Derek wasn’t too comment-y on this one. I got to enjoy most of it myself. (Whoot!) His only suggestion was that I “please don’t duck-pout” when I was taking pictures of myself drinking.

First, as if! Second, pshaw! I don’t duck lip unless he does it too and we send the pic to our teenage girls. That is a perfectly understandable situation. To be sure I kept him happy, I photo bombed him so he could monitor my lip movements.

Serves him right.

Beer Name: Organic Portland Roasting Coffee Espresso Stout

Brewer: Laurelwood Brewing

ACV: 6.3%

Purchased From: La Bodega

Extra Shout-out: Portland Roasting Coffee

Sunday Beer Blog

Published on by Traci2 Comments

Years ago my husband and I started a very personal relationship with beer- we began to brew at home. As all good home-brewers know, it’s required by law that one drinks while brewing. (This honors the beer god Brewlius and almost guarantees a great batch.) Sadly, as with many good things, time created a couple of monsters out of us. Now we find ourselves fascinated by brew regardless of brewday.

Due to our affliction for which we know of no cure, I have decided to raise it to an artistic level because everyone knows that once it’s “art”, it’s ok. As a matter of fact, it usually catches on and is deemed socially acceptable and glorious. Admittedly my beer knowledge comes from great discussions with smart people, reading books and articles, and a pure excitement for the stuff, so please take this “with a grain” and hopefully my words will add to your adventure with beer.

Behold the Sunday Beer Blog. Continue reading “Sunday Beer Blog” →