Great Divide - Oak-aged Yeti and Avery - Ellie's Brown Ale

Last night Lori prepared a dinner of BBQ Ribs and fried potatoes.  Preceding dinner was an appetizer of Texas Torte – a spicy cheese treat.  Following dinner was Chocolate pie – which is unbelievable.  Randy and Chris brought over salad with all the fixings and a raspberry-based terrine.  I had two beers selected for dinner and desert and these were Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale and Great Divide’s Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I have had Ellie’s a few times and it a very nice brown ale with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 17.  Ellie’s pours a dark reddish-brown with a nice head and this was literally a perfect pairing with BBQ ribs.  Avery’s website suggests pairing Elile’s with roasted meats with spicy and / or smoky preparations and Ellie’s with BBQ worked very well. 

I knew I would need a different beer with the rich chocolate desert and Imperial Stout is a perfect pairing with chocolate deserts. I am a big fan of Great Divide’s Yeti and there are a few varieties – Yeti, Oak-aged Yeti and Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I decided to try the Espresso Oak-aged Yeti (ABV of 9.5%) and this went very well with the rich Chocolate pie.  One can pick up the flavors of coffee, espresso, and chocolate from Yeti that cut through the fat in the pie and balanced the sweetness of the chocolate pie.  I need to send a thank you to Garret Oliver – brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery for providing excellent data on beer and food pairings in his book – The Brewmaster’s Table.  It is my reference for pairings and he is spot on.

Denver - Winter BrewFest

Tibor and I attended the Winter BrewFest at the Mile High Station on Friday night and it was very good event that allowed us to sample a number of beers and chat with some of the representatives from the various brewers.  I had an opportunity to speak with a number of the representatives and talk to them about their respective beers, the brewery, and thank them for working the event and for the wonderful beer they make.  It was great talking with Dustin from Avery, Andy from Ska, Marty from Stone and the representatives from Alaskan, Breckenridge, Oskar Blues, Upslope, Mountain Sun, Rogue, and Sierra Nevada.

I tried many different styles from various breweries and my favorite of the evening was Modus Hoperandi from Ska - I had not has this one before and had a couple of samples of this one.  I also tried the Black Barley wine from Sierra Nevada that has garnered many accolades this year and won a metal at GABF.  I did tell the guys from Alaskan that I liked the 2008 Alaskan Barley Wine better.  I liked the Chocolate / Mocha offerings from Rouge and Great Divide.  The IPAs from Avery, Oskar Blues, Alaskan, Stone and Flying Dog were all very tasty.  If you get a chance to attend a beer festival - I encourage it.  The attendees were well-mannered, the brewers are friendly and you get an opportunity to try many beers.  You have to be selective, because there is no way to taste them all.   

Great Divide - Oak-aged Yeti

Great Divide’s Oak-aged Yeti is an Imperial Stout at 9.5% ABV and 75 IBU.  This one pours a much frothier head as compared to Yeti and the head is so think you can pick it up with fork.  I know because I did.  The aging seems to blend the flavors and further balances this already very good beer.  I did not pick up oak per say, but I still picked up caramel, toffee, coffee and smoke.  The coffee and smoke had mellowed out.  I paired Oak-aged Yeti with a dinner of Burgundy Pepper marinated Tri-Tip, Sweet Potato and a mixed vegetable sauté of onion, jalapeno peppers, carrots and broccoli.  I thought this pairing worked very well together and the sweetness and caramel notes of Yeti were enhanced by the meal.  Oak-aged Yeti is very nice and I can easily recommend it.

Great Divide’s website describes Oak-aged Yeti as ”Yeti Imperial Stout’s sophisticated sibling. They may be from the same clan, but they have entirely different personalities. Oak aging gives a subtle vanilla character, rounding out Yeti’s intense roastiness and huge hoppy nature. Who says you can’t tame a Yeti?”  This beer has won numerous awards and suggested pairings are “Grilled NY strip, fudge brownies, strong/salty blue cheese”.  This is a very nice Imperial Stout and if you like this style, you will not be disappointed.

Great Divide - Yeti and Avery - IPA

On the can of Avery – India Pale Ale – it states “Hop Heads Unite.”  So, I knew I was in for a hopped up version of IPA.  This is a nice one too at 6.5% ABV and 69 IBU.  The beer pours golden with a nice head and a floral / citrus nose.  The description on the can says that, “Our IPA is an intense hop experience straight from the can?  Settle back and savor the citrusy floral bouquet and the rich, malty, yet dry finish.  Brewed by hop heads, for hop heads.”  This one is nice and it was great to have while I was preparing dinner.

After dinner, I opened a bottle of Great Divide’s Yeti – Imperial Stout at 9.5%ABV and 75 IBU.  This is one of the best beers I have tasted this year.  It pours very dark with little head and is described as “an onslaught of the senses. It starts with big, roasty malt flavor that gives way to rich caramel and toffee notes. YETI gets its bold hop character from an enormous quantity of American hops.”  I tasted the caramel and toffee qualities of this beer and I also picked up hints of smoke and coffee.  Great Divide recommends pairing Yeti with Grilled Steaks, strong / salty blue cheese, and chocolate and I paired Yeti with a salty (not too strong) Windsor Blue Cheese and they went together wonderfully.  I can see why Yeti has won numerous awards over the years and it is one I will buy again.  I am trying the Oak-Aged Yeti this evening with steak and it should be very good.