Hoppy New Year with a "Glass of the Bubbly"

So here comes 2010. I hope everyone has had a safe and enjoyable New Year's. Once again I chose to stay inside to avoid the amateurs, plus nobody wants to babysit on a holiday like this. Some people like to make resolutions for New Year's. I like to stick with with resolutions I can keep, so I'm choosing to drink more beer and exercise less. I figure that's a safe bet.

To bring in the New Year, I decided to go with Bell's Sparkling Ale.  This is a Tripel style, and the label describes it as their take on a "glass of the bubbly".  This is a fairly new addition, I do not remember Bell's Sparkling Ale offered before.  This was priced as a standard Bell's special release at $12.  Since Champagne is also referred to as "bubbly", I figured tis is perfect for New Year's.

12 oz bottle poured into a Boulevard Smokestack chalice.  Light white head goes up to the rim from a solid pour, a half inch or so.  What is left after a minute is a thin frothy looking cap.  Lacing is thin and spotty across the glass with each sip.  Color is a clear, clean looking golden yellow.  Very active carbonation.

Smell has a slight musty whiff of Belgian yeast and a mild pear sweetness.  Taste is more with the pear.  Nice crisp fruit flavoring.

Mouthfeel is a slight weight to it.  Not exactly light bodied, but less than medium bodied.  Very crisp carbonation keeps each sip fresh.  I have a tendency to ignore Tripels, which is why I often miss out on tasty beers like this.

Beery Christmas, Hoppy New Year, and to All a Good Pint

Yeah, I know.  It's a few days late, but it's that time of year. I hope everyone had a great holiday, whichever one you celebrate.  Our kids had a pretty good Christmas, which is really the whole point.  The grown-ups did get a new Kodak EasyShare camera.  Since our last digital camera was about twelve years old, I figured it was time for an upgrade.  I still need to do some fiddling with it to get the settings to where I like it.  But I like to fiddle.  I'm a fiddler.  I also got some beer mug boxers, but I will spare you the photos on those.

I did happen to get a couple of nice holiday beers in my stocking, one of which is Gouden Carolus Noël, brewed by Brewery Het Anker. Brewery Het Anker is a Belgian brewery that was established in 1369, so they have been around a while. Beers from this brewery are fairly easy to come by, including Gouden Carolus Carolus D'Or - Cuvée Van De Keizer which ranks in BeerAdvocate's Top 100

750 ml corked bottle, poured into a St. Bernardus goblet.  This fizzy dark tan head that is quick to recede.  Small spots float on the surface with a pencil thin ring around the edge.  Color is a dark ruby red.  There are nice refracting effects when held to the light.  Not the most visually fascinating Belgian, so we'll see how the rest stands up.

Smell has that distinct musty Belgian yeast aroma, but there are some some fruity notes as well.  I'm going to go with a dark cherry.  Taste brings in more spices.  There is definitely some orange peel, and there is a little cinnamon and ginger.

Mouthfeel is a little thin for me, but the carbonation is pretty crisp.  I think is would go with more body and less carbonation, but that's me.  For a 10.5 it goes down really fast.  There is a mild alcohol burn, but the spices keep it shadowed.

Holy New Missouri Brewery

Seems there is a new brewery coming to Missouri.  Cathedral Square Brewery is going to be centralized around St. Louis, however the beer is brewed in Weston.  Safe bet that this is a contract brew for Weston Brewing Co.

The two labels approved show a Belgian-Style White Ale and a Belgian-Style Abbey Ale.  An interesting note on the Abbey is that it is brewed with "authentic Belgian Trappist yeast."  It doesn't say which Trappist brewery, but that's kind of cool any way

In Search of Life and Limb

The hot new thing for craft brewers right now are collaboration beers.  Everyone seems to be doing some sort of mix up and when some of the top brewers in the craft beer world get together, people take notice.   One limited quantity collaboration that just hit KC is from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head called Life and Limb.  A lot of folks from Missouri may not of had any beers from Dogfish Head, or have even heard of them, since they are not distributed here.  If you are familiar with the craft brew scene, then you would know Dogfish Head is at the leading edge of extreme beer.

Sierra Nevada is handling the bottling and distribution for Life and Limb, however at this point bottles are not available in our state.  Kansas City was able to acquire two kegs.  One was sent to The Flying Saucer in the Power & Light District.  They tapped the keg last Thursday for their rare beer night.  I wasn't going to go, but Paul A. Ner tweets out the place is slow so it shouldn't be a problem.  What the hell, let's do it.  I hit the road, find a place to park, and saddle up to the bar.  Guess what?  Ten minutes too late.  They were sympathetic to my loss and squeezed out a taster glass full of foam so that I would at least get a taste.  As the foam settled, it was maybe an ounce total of beer.  It tasted pretty good, but it wasn't really enough to get a good review.  The night wasn't a total loss.  I hung out with Jeremy R. from Boulevard and talked beer geek.  Good times.

I had thought my chances to try Life and Limb were gone, until Brandon from Sip to Drink sent me the heads up that Blanc Burgers and Bottles was going to tap another keg at 6.  I'm there dude.

Blanc Burgers and Bottles has been on my short list of places I really, really wanted to go to.  I 've heard nothing but good about the place, but just hadn't been able to get out to go.  I got there at 5, I was not going to miss out by minutes again.  Since I had time to kill I ordered a Gulden Draak Belgian Dark ale and an order sweet potato fries.  The salty sweetness of the fries went very well with the dark fruit sweetness of the beer.  I then ordered the Bison Burger with a North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsener.  That's a damn good burger, and a pilsener was a perfect pairing.

As I was sitting at the bar, more beer geeks fans started to come in for the release.  It just so happened that Mark from the Hopry sat down next to me.  I just found his beer vlog and have been enjoying his reviews.  Go check it out, good stuff.  We had a great conversation about craft beer, and once the Life and Limb was served it was fun to do a side-by-side review.  As for my review, here goes.

Served in a tulip glass. Thick dark tan head trapped in the smell. Once the head settled, a mild aroma of charred oak, figs, and raw sugar came out. Smell came out more as it warmed, but I had a hard time getting a good reading. Taste really comes through with the charred oak. There is a almond extract kind of nuttiness. I get some dark pitted fruit.

Mouthfeel is full bodied and has a mild syrupy thickness. Very filling. There is an alcohol warmth, but not so strong as to burn. This is not an earth shattering collaboration, but one trying if it's available.  If you happen to get a chance to try Life and Limb, don't let it go by.

Extra Short Bus Bitter Bottling Day

The day has come for my first homebrew to be bottled.  I have a surplus of empty 22 oz bombers that I was using for just this purpose.  KC Hophead was once again kind enough to lend some equipment I haven't acquired yet.  The handiest thing was a bottling bucket.  It's just like the bucket I used to ferment in, with a spigot on the bottom.  I need one of these.  It made the bottling process so easy.

My friend Christina did the pouring and I did the capping I only had one mishap where I snapped off the neck of a bottle with the capper. Don't know my own strength.

Here's some stats for all the homebrewers out there.  The Original Gravity/Final Gravity was 1040/1010. I did the calculation and it's about 4% That's pretty much what I was shooting for. Something sessionable, more traditionally British. I ended up with 21 22 oz bottles, plus a little extra. We drank the extra and flavor was what I was going for. Hops are very nice in the finish. Pronounced yet subtle. I'm eager to see how the carbonation plays in over the next few weeks.

Going Nutty

I love pecans. For me the holidays means more pecans. Pecan pancakes. Sticky buns. Pecan log rolls. Turtles. Pecan pie. Oh man, I could eat an entire pecan pie. Some people don't like pecan pie. My mom calls it wood chip pie. Which is funny because my aunt makes the best pecan pie ever. One year while at my aunt's, one of her dogs jumped up and took a bite out of a pecan pie. Only my dad and aunt knew about it, and they didn't tell anyone. After it had been served up and everyone was eating, my dad says, "My pie had dog lips on it." Didn't matter. Still the best damn pie ever.

So when I saw a six pack of Abita Pecan Harvest at Gomer's Midtown I could not resist. Plus it was on sale, and it was the last one. That probably should have been a sign, but I had to see for myself.

12 oz stubby bottle poured into a shaker pint glass. Egg shell white head stands up a half inch, but manages to maintain a solid cap for an extended time. Nice stair steps of lacing sticks to the glass. BeerAdvocate has this listed as an American Brown Ale. The color is a clear orange, no where near a brown.

Smell has a dry woody aroma. Mild bitterness. Nutty pecans come though more in the taste. I would like there to be a little more sweetness to balance to out the dry bitterness.

Mouthfeel is thin and feels a bit over carbonated. I think this beer would work a lot better with some molasses added to the mix. I think it would add some more body and sweetness.

For pure novelty sake, I did a half-and-half with a Boulevard Nutcracker Ale. How could you not? Pecans are nuts, and nutcrackers go with nuts. Right? As it turns out the Nutcracker really improves the Pecan Harvest. Te hops helps balance out the dry woodiness of the nuts and adds more texture. On the flip side, the Pecan Harvest doesn't add much to the Nutcracker.

Cheers!

Stuff to do - New Belgium Tasting at Flying Saucer

This Just In!

Flying Saucer Hosts Tasting Featuring

New Belgium Brewing Company

Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 1, 2009 – Flying Saucer Draught Emporium will present a beer tasting featuring New Belgium Brewing Company on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. at its location in the Kansas City Power & Light District at 101 East 13th St.

The event will be hosted by Lauren Salazar, New Belgium’s “sensory guru.” Six of New Belgium’s year-round and seasonal brews will be paired with selected meats and artisan cheeses.

“Since our opening in 2008, Flying Saucer has established itself as the beer destination for the Kansas City area, and our customers expect us to offer tasting experiences featuring both established and up-and-coming craft breweries and rare brews,” said Matt Gardner, general manager at Flying Saucer. “It’s a rare treat be able to attend a tutored tasting event with someone as highly qualified as Lauren Salazar. She’s at the top of her field in terms of sensory analysis, so beer enthusiasts will not want to miss this unique opportunity.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Flying Saucer and are $20 for U.F.O. Club members and $25 for non-members. Reservations are recommended as space is limited.

The staff at the Saucer has been pretty buzzed about this tasting the last few times I was in. I am interested to experiment with the "sensory" stuff. Something like this can help train yourself to better appreciate your beer drinking experience.

Cheers!

Brewing Threesome - Schlafly/O'Fallon/New Albanian Collaborate

Missouri brewers from Schlafly and O'Fallon have joined up with Indiana brewers from New Albanian to create an Oak-Aged-Dry-Hopped-Smoked-Rye Pale Ale.  This is going to be draft only, and in very limited quantities.  So much so, I doubt KC will get any. This Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink brew will be 6.5% ABV and 35 IBU. It's being called the C1 Collaboration, so I'm hoping there will be C2 and so on.

photo courtesy of Schlafly's Twitpic