Tasting - Crooked Stave, Magic Hat, Empyrean, Lagunitas, Odell and Russian River

Time to catch up on a few weeks of tasting different beers.  These are from Colorado, Vermont, California, and Nebraska.

Crooked Stave is based in Denver and the focus is on barrel-aged beers and the use of brettanomyces.  Chad Yacobson, the owner and brewer, of Crooked Stave wrote his Master’s on the topic and I have been wanting to try his beers for some time.  He offers a subscription program that is sold out and when I saw a couple of bottles at the store, I promptly purchased them.

Surette (6.2% ABV) is a wood-aged Farmhouse Ale and it is one of the best, if not the best beer I have tasted this year.  The sourness is perfectly balanced and this is a fantastic beer.

Vieille (4.2% ABV) is another Farmhouse Ale and I could not find much information on it.  It is a very good beer – I liked Surette best.  However, Vieille is an excellent beer too.

Magic Hat is based out of South Burlington, Vermont and I picked up a mixed 12 that contained the following beers.  They offer many different varieties and are now in Colorado.

Wooly (4.5% ABV and 20 IBU) an English Special Bitter brewed with spruce tips that is OK.  I am not a big fan of spruce tips in beer.

# 9 (5.1% ABV and 9 IBU) a Fruit beer that is OK – I am not a fan of fruit beers.

Encore (6.4% ABV and 35 IBU) an American IPA that is very good.

Heart of Darkness (5.7% ABV and 30 IBU) is an excellent Stout.

Empyrean Brewing Co. is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and I had not tried anything from them before.  Their packaging was very good and I thought their branding on the package and labels was excellent.

Fallen Angel (5.5% ABV and 17 IBU) is an easy drinking Sweet Stout and is very good.  I will try other products from Empyrean.

Lagunitas is based in Petaluma, CA and they are opening another brewery in the Chicago area.  Lagunitas is one of my favorite brewers and they consistently make excellent beer in many different styles.  They have a very robust seasonal list and when I saw WTF, I picked it up.

Wilco Tango Foxtrot or WTF (7.83% ABV) is a Double / Imperial Brown Ale and is just fantastic.  Brown Ales are easy drinking and some consider them “ho-hum”.  I like a good Brown Ale and WTF is an excellent one.

Finally, my family took me to Parry’s Pizzeria and Pub a couple of weekends ago for my birthday and I had two very tasty beers.

Russian River’s Damnation (7% ABV) is a Belgian / Golden Ale that is incredible.  Russian River makes some very good beer and it is on rare occasion that I find one in Colorado.  When I do, I purchase it.

Odell’s Amuste (9.3% ABV) is an Imperial / Double Porter and is very good.

Dupont – Saison and Avril

La Brasserie Dupont is a located in Belgium and Saison (6.5% ABV) is a classic among Belgian beers and some regard it as one of the best beers in the world.  Avril (3.5% ABV) is an USDA organic Saison or Farmhouse Ale that is described as a Biere de Table on the bottle label.  Both pour a cloudy yellow tan and the cloudiness is from the bottle conditioning.  Saison was incredibly effervescent and gushed out of the bottle when the cork was popped.  Avril was more restrained there was no gushing.  Both have an aroma of a Saison of bread, yeast, and spice.  Saison has a bit more kick and Avril is a session beer.  You could literally drink it all day with the low alcohol content.  Both these beers have a large lacy head that takes some time to subside.  There is a nice malt taste with a dry, and hoppy finish and Saison is a stonger beer – Avril is more restrained.  Both these beers are good ones and I enjoyed them both.

 Website description from the distributor – Dupont Saison – “Saison Dupont is a world classic beer and the yardstick for one of Belgium’s most important beer styles. It is the most admired AND imitated Saison in the world. The Saison style was pioneered by farms in Wallonie, the grain-growing region of Belgium. Traditionally beers were made during harvest to make use of excess grain. But before refrigeration, beers were hard to keep and the typical method of preservation was higher alcohol and sugar. This made for a heavy beer not very thirst quenching or suitable for hard labor. Golden, spritzy, quenching Saisons were the answer. They were strong enough to keep (4–6.5%) and very well attenuated so excess sugar could not go sour or create unwanted re-fermentations.

A strong, vital yeast is key to full attenuation and thus to the style and why Dupont’s role in its popularization has been central. Starting in the late 1800s and continuing till the present day, Dupont has helped neighboring farms and brewers by selling them yeast and providing lab services!

Saison Dupont is a wonderful straw color with a dense creamy head. The nose is alive, like fresh raised bread, estery with citrus and spice notes. Full-bodied and malty, it sparkles on the palate and finishes with a zesty hop and citrus attack. Incredibly compatible with food!”

Website description from the distributor – Dupont Avril – “Bières de table are not the heavy hitters Belgium is so famous for – but are central to Belgian beer culture because they are how Belgians learn to appreciate beer. They are typically enjoyed with home cooked meals at the family dining table. There is no finer example of the style than Avril. USDA-certified, organic Avril is aromatic like fresh bread, full in the mouth and light on the finish. Exceptionally flavorful given its low 3.5% alcohol by volume.”