Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Derf's Secret Alt-Boston Beer Company

This is one of the winners from the Longshot home brewing competition that Sam Adams revived several years ago. Also known as a Sticke Alt, or, with this brew, better characterized as a Doppelsticke, it has typical altbier features in its medium brown appearance, generous maltiness yielding an ABV of 9.3% and prominent flavors of medium to dark caramel and milk chocolate. Bitterness is a bit more apparent than I expected and there are subtle citrus notes of grapefruit and orange. This would make a nice beverage with grilled items with a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce or to accompany a dessert of blondies, oatmeal raisin cookies or apple crisp with a cinnamon-pecan topping.



I'm sipping A Dark Night in Munich as I type .

[Lavabe]

Just received a New Glarus sampler pack from a long-time Duke friend in Wisconsin who was just passing through Lexington.

I need more friends like that!!

[devildeac]

Just received a New Glarus sampler pack from a long-time Duke friend in Wisconsin who was just passing through Lexington.

I need more friends like that!!

[devildeac]

A Dark Night in Munich-Boston Beer Company

Longshot brew #2. This is basically a dark (dunkel) lager with a clear, medium to dark brown color, 1-2 fingered head and aromas and tastes of dark caramel, milk chocolate and toffee. with minimal hop presence. Dark, toasted whole grain breads also come to mind with a bit of nuttiness. I'd guess the IBU to be rather low and in the 20 range. The ABV is on the bottle at 5.9% so it would be very easy to compare this to others of the style in a sitting or enjoy with soft pretzels and mustard, grilled BBQ items or German sausages.

I am sipping the imperial stout brother of the other two winners tonight .

[Lavabe]

Just received a New Glarus sampler pack from a long-time Duke friend in Wisconsin who was just passing through Lexington.

I need more friends like that!!

And when are you stopping by Chez Lavabe? There should be plenty left for your visit.

[devildeac]

Just received a New Glarus sampler pack from a long-time Duke friend in Wisconsin who was just passing through Lexington.

I need more friends like that!!

And when are you stopping by Chez Lavabe? There should be plenty left for your visit.

Should be there about 430PM a week from tomorrow. Just in time for dinner ( ) and a New Glarus or Schlafly or Goose Island or...

Do you want any Mother Earth or Duck Rabbit stuff?

[devildeac]

Five Crown Imperial Stout-Boston Beer

The 3rd winner in the Longshot Home Brewing Contest. I have no idea why "Five Crown" but the imperial stout part is readily apparent in this nearly black pour with rich aromas of dark chocolate, hints of espresso and prominent tastes of black strap molasses and licorice. Could not find the IBU of this thick and oily beverage and I'd guess 60-70 but the hop bitterness is easily balanced by the above tastes. ABV is a shade low for a typical RIS at 8.9% and is fairly well hidden by all the other flavors. Sip for dessert at cellar or even room temperature or savor with a slice of chocolate pound cake or triple chocolate chip cookies. This is really quite a 6er. You get 2 different high gravity brews (2 of each) and 2 moderate ABV dunkels all for about $10. And the added bonus of not having to figure out how to get rid of the damned Boston Lagers they seem to include in every mixed 6er or 12 pack they distribute .

[devildeac]

Check this out:

http://gizmodo.com/5903256/randall-jr-m ... -different

[devildeac]

(Russian) Imperial Stout (2009 bottling)-Rogue Brewing

This is part of their XS series and I had resisted buying it for a number of years as I did not need a 750 ml ceramic swing-topped bottle that cost $15-16. My last tasting of this elixir was from 7 ounce ponies/nips I had purchased about 15 years ago directly from the Rogue brewery in Newport on the Oregon coast for about $2 each, along with several Old Crustaceans, McScotch and Smoke Ales. I found several bottles of this at Total Wine last week for $3 each and procured four of them. I had seen them for the last couple years a $5 each and passed each time. Great purchase. Poured a thick, inky black with little head and a nose of baker's chocolate, black licorice and molasses with tastes to match. Has a ton of malts, mostly black and chocolate, I'd guess, along with rolled oats, a generous amount of 3 different hops for an IBU of 87.5 and 2 "secret ingredients" that I would guess are anise and molasses. Don't taste any vanilla or coffee which would be 2 other additives I'd consider brewing in a RIS. Lovibond, a measure of the opacity of beer, is 258, one of the highest I have ever seen, along with a couple or three of the Southern Tier "engine lubricants." I think this measure has been replaced by the SRM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Reference_Method). Smooth and silky with the bitterness being well-hidden by the alcohol bite of 11% ABV. Definitely a sipper, served for a night cap or dessert beer and best served near room temperature in a snifter or brandy glass, with or without some decadent chocolate or fudge baked goods.

[devildeac]

Monk's Blood-21st Amendment Brewing Company

Brewer's notes describe this just about perfectly:

21st Amendment founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan traveled to Belgium to develop the recipe for this special beer, visiting small, traditional breweries in the hop fields of west Flanders, not far from the famous Trappist abbey of Westvletren. Monk’s Blood is designed to pair beautifully with rich winter stews, creamy cheeses, unctuous desserts or just by itself, in a Belgian tulip glass, with a good book by the fire.



Find a 4 pack of this (cans) for about $9 and buy it. Outstanding concoction.

[captmojo]

Monk's Blood-21st Amendment Brewing Company

Brewer's notes describe this just about perfectly:

21st Amendment founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan traveled to Belgium to develop the recipe for this special beer, visiting small, traditional breweries in the hop fields of west Flanders, not far from the famous Trappist abbey of Westvletren. Monk’s Blood is designed to pair beautifully with rich winter stews, creamy cheeses, unctuous desserts or just by itself, in a Belgian tulip glass, with a good book by the fire.



Find a 4 pack of this (cans) for about $9 and buy it. Outstanding concoction.

Sounds lovely. I really like the name.

[devildeac]

Sixteen-Weyerbacher Brewing

Happy Anniversary #16 to the folks at Weyerbacher about a year late. I feel lucky to have found a 4 pack of this at Total Wine a couple weeks ago and only waiting a year for it instead of two or three years like it was with their Fourteen and Fifteen. This is a dark brown and mildly cloudy braggot with a rather small head that is made with a humongous amount of honey and I'd guess about as much malted barley. Here are a couple definitions of mead and braggot and I'll admit that I am a bit confused (http://mead.bravehost.com/braggot.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead). This most resembles an especially strong Belgian double or brown ale with flavors of raisins, dates, figs, dark rum and, of course, considering the amount of honey used, a very dark honey. I'm not sure any hops are used and the bitterness is minimal and the ABV checks in at 10.5% so this beverage is easily and best served slightly chilled in a tulip glass or snifter by itself or with perhaps some bread pudding or pound cake.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Today's Groupon deal in the RDU edition
http://www.groupon.com/deals/midwest-ho ... f0064ba864

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Sweet Josie brown ale by Lone Rider brewing in Raleigh, @Flemings in Raleigh . Review later when I'm not posting from my phone!

[devildeac]

Two Hearted Ale (draft)-Bell's Brewing

It has been a while since I had one of these and I had forgotten how pleasant and well-balanced this IPA was from the light citrus and floral hop aromas and tastes to the nearly perfect balance with medium caramel and toffee flavors, too. Served in a voluptuous Sam Adams ale glass as the select brew of the evening, this yellow-orange ale accompanied a heaping plate of chicken nachos and was an ideal pairing with its modest spice and bitterness (even my daughter who is not much of a beer fan thought it only mildly bitter) with an estimated IBU of 60 and an ABV of 7%. I think it was a $3/pint special. I even thought about a second pint but declined so I was able to fully enjoy Brahms' Symphony No. 3 and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 a bit later that evening.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Sweet Josie brown ale by Lone Rider brewing in Raleigh, @Flemings in Raleigh . Review later when I'm not posting from my phone!

Very good beer. Went well with my filet mignon. Strong chocolate flavoring, along with "aromatic" hops, according to the label, but I tasted the chocolate on the first sip. Moderate bitterness, not nearly as much as Sexual Chocolate. I hope to find this beer in the store, where it doesn't cost $5.95 for a 12 oz. bottle.

A word about Fleming's Steak House, located at Crabtree Valley Mall. First time I/we'd been there. My filet was excellent, nicely seasoned (salt and pepper only before cooking) and perfectly medium rare. The shrimp dish Mrs. Ozzie had was also excellent, the shrimp almost tasting more like lobster tail! This place is like Ruth's Chris and Sullivan's (in Raleigh) - EXPENSIVE! A everything is a la carte - sides, salad, everything, except the bread, which was an excellent hard roll, served with a rosemary tomato butter, and they brought more when we finished the first loaf. Our dinner, with my steak(~$42), the shrimp ($32), an asparagus side, 2 glasses of wine and one beer was $100.90 plus tax. We had won a $100 certificate from a radio station, so dinner only cost us the tax and tip. But for my money, the Angus Barn is equally delicious, and the cost of the entree includes salad, sides, and the crocks of cheese and crackers, a far better value and probably less costly overall. Fleming's is an excellent place to go on an expense account, to celebrate winning the lottery, or on someone else's nickle!

Oh. Tell them it's your birthday (they don't check your ID for proof). They gave us a gift box of 4 chocolate truffles to take home, plus a $25 gift certificate to use on our next visit. We were celebrating my birthday a couple of weeks early. And believe me, the chocolate truffles are unbelievably good!

[devildeac]

Can't include your quote with my tablet from work but agree with Oz about the AB. He forgot to mention the relish tray which is also included with your meal (you have to ask for it now and they will bring it at no additional charge). We have had a couple occasions/events to celebrate this year and went to the AB and meal, tax, tip was about $55 PP both times and there were 1-2 desserts shared and a couple glasses of wine with each evening.

And yes, you should be able to find a 6er of Sweet Josie Brown for a lot less than $5.95/12 ounces in your local grocery store/Total Wine/specialty shop. I'd guess about $8 for the entire litter. Never had that one before. Maybe we can trade a couple later this month .

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Can't include your quote with my tablet from work but agree with Oz about the AB. He forgot to mention the relish tray which is also included with your meal (you have to ask for it now and they will bring it at no additional charge). We have had a couple occasions/events to celebrate this year and went to the AB and meal, tax, tip was about $55 PP both times and there were 1-2 desserts shared and a couple glasses of wine with each evening.

And yes, you should be able to find a 6er of Sweet Josie Brown for a lot less than $5.95/12 ounces in your local grocery store/Total Wine/specialty shop. I'd guess about $8 for the entire litter. Never had that one before. Maybe we can trade a couple later this month .

Love putting some of their cheddar cheese in the celery stalks in the relish tray. And their pickles are outstanding!

Something I mentioned in another thread long ago - ask them for a tour of their wine cellar. It's they are not TOOOO busy, they'll take you on one after you eat your dinner. Very impressive!

Traders. Hmm!

[devildeac]

Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Ale-The St. Louis Brewery

Wait a minute! If this is a Schlafly's Special Release Ale, how the heck is it brewed by the St. Louis Brewery and who in hades are they? I'm not sure. I'd guess that the Schlafly gang has contracted with another local brewery to concoct some beverages their sites cannot produce. This is rather interesting as it is a blended brew from their barleywine and their pale age that is aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. Poured a medium brown with a slight orange hue with a nose of dark dried fruits, rum and caramel. Tastes consist of dark caramel, oak and vanilla with a trace of bourbon near the end of a sip. Quite smooth as the bitter edges typical of a barleywine are polished nicely by the maltiness and less bitter tones of the pale ale. I could not find the IBU anywhere but I'd guess about 60. ABV is nowhere to be found either so I'd estimate the ABV about 8%, somewhere in the middle between a 6% pale ale and a 10% barleywine. Likewise, I could not find the percentages of the two components in the final product but I'd guess they are close to equal. Booziness is minimal and I'd sip this by itself or with some grilled fare during an evening cookout or Brunchgate. I picked up a 6er of this from the Liquor Barn in Lexington, Kentucky for about $11 this weekend while visiting family and will cellar 1 or 2 and share/trade the others.

[devildeac]

Hoptimus-New Albanian Brewing

Adventure time. This was a bomber from the Liquor Barn in Lexington, Kentucky that I had never heard of/tasted before and bought on a whim. Huge resinous, cannabinoid and piney hop profile with a reasonable toffee/caramel malty balance. Poured a slightly cloudy orange-yellow with a modest foamy head. IBU are a stunning 100 with a numbing 10.7% ABV so I divided this big boy over a couple nights and glad I did. This would be a fine beverage with Indian/spicy Chinese dishes. Not sure I'd purchase again but a nice one to share/taste. If I'm going to spend $8-9 for a 22 ounce bottle, I'd prefer the Maharaja that fuse reviewed this week but certainly worth a taste.

Brewer's notes:

Hoptimus
Sterner stuff
Living vicariously through others is a sad compromise meant only for rank amateurs and subpar international lagers. Rather, we all might profit from the principled example of Hoptimus, which lives vivaciously, audaciously and capriciously through itself. With a snarky hop character that is blatantly unrepentant, Hoptimus ensures that meek palates surely will not inherit the earth.
100 IBU
10.7% ABV

Nice label, too: