Avery - 18

Avery is my favorite brewer and I have sampled everything that is available.  One I had not tried is the newest anniversary edition – 18.  Avery brews a special anniversary edition each year, and this year it is a Dry-hopped Rye Saison Ale.  The Dry-hop is a hop addition added during the fermentation stage of the brewing process and per the web site description below, Tettnang was the aroma and dry-hop selection.  Rye is used today in a number of brewers and Roggenbier is the name of Rye Beer that was brewed in Germany.  Rye increases the complexity of a beer’s flavor and adds a crisp and slightly spicy finish.  This goes well with a Saison Ale as there are spicy flavors with this Belgian-style ale.  The Belgian yeast also adds distinctive flavors to the beer too.  18 pours tan / burnt orange with a lacey three-finger head.  18 has a very nice aroma from the hops and the Belgian yeast.  18 is a pleasure to drink to and the description encourages the drinker to take the time and smell and taste the complexities, that I totally agree with.  18 is a great beer and it is one that I will appreciate again before it is gone, as this is a “one and done” edition.

The web site description is:

Beer Style: Dry-hopped Rye Saison Ale
Hop Variety: Bravo, Hersbrucker & Tettnang (aroma + dry-hop)
Malt Variety: Two-row barley, rye malt, chocolate malt, acidulated malt, caramunich malt
Yeast Variety: Proprietary blend of five Belgian yeasts.
OG: 1.069  ABV: 8.12%  IBU: 40
Color: Tawny  Availability: Bottled in May 2011. One and done.

For this year’s celebratory brew, we decided to focus on the characteristics that certain yeasts bring to the party.  Each of the five Belgian yeasts selected adds its own unique aspect to the flavor and aroma of this saison.  The hefty addition of rye helps dry this beauty out and lends another spicy component to the flavor.  And for added fun, we dry-hopped it, too!  Take your time and smell and taste the complexities that Eighteen has to offer. 

Food Pairing: Try pairing Eighteen with wild game, diver scallops with pineapple mango chutney, or a potato lentil soup.

Peace to all and follow your dreams!

3 From Big Sky Brewing

Big Sky Brewing is based in Missoula, MT and offers a variety pack of 4 selections (3 each).  The one I purchased had Moose Drool (5.3% ABV), Trout Slayer (4.7% ABV), Big Sky IPA (6.2% ABV and 65 IBU), and Heavy Horse (6.7% ABV and 20 IBU).  On Friday, I sampled Montana Trout Slayer (Filtered Wheat Beer) and paired it with roasted chicken thighs, corn on the cob and green beans.  Trout Slayer pours straw-colored with a two-finger head.  Trout Slayer went very well this dinner and is an easy drinking ale. 

On Saturday, I switched to red meat and enjoyed a steak, corn on the cob and some sautéed Vidalia onions and mushrooms.  I enjoyed dinner with Heavy Horse (Scotch Ale) that pours garnet with a two-finger head that quickly resides.  Heavy Horse is a classic Scotch Ale that is malt-forward with little bitterness.  This is a very nice Scotch Ale and a real treat. 

Finally, on Sunday, I pulled out the spit and grilled a cheese and bacon stuffed chicken breast accompanied with a salad and sautéed carrots.  This dinner was paired with Big Sky IPA.  Big Sky pours orangey gold with a large head – I had to let it recede before emptying the bottle.  This is a really good IPA and I thought the hop bitterness was just right with the malt sweetness.  Big Sky IPA went very well with dinner – highlighted the blue cheese in the salad, the bacon in the chicken and the sweetness of the carrots.  If you have the opportunity to pick up something from Big Sky, I recommend it – the product is good and you get to sample 4 varieties if you select the variety pack.  Big Sky distributes to the Western states and as far east as Michigan and Illinois and then west of the Mississippi.

What I Like and What I Don't

The two beers listed below were sampled on different evenings.  I cannot imagine having them in succession or during the same evening because of the differences between the styles.  Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout (5% ABV) is produced in the U.K. and available in the U.S. with many of the other offerings from Samuel Smith’s.  I have had a few of the offerings and they are all good.  The Yorkshire Stingo was awarded a rare 100 rating by Draft Magazine.  Oatmeal Stout pours dark with a large head – be careful pouring.  Good malty aroma and nice mouth feel.  This is just a nice drinking stout, creamy, slightly sweet, hints of coffee and a nice bittersweet finish.

What I don’t like – Raspberry Beers.  I have only had a couple and I was not particularly fond of either.  I do not think it is an issue with the Brewer, I think it is my palate.  Twisted Pine’s Raspberry Wheat (5% ABV and 10 IBU) pours cloudy yellow with a small head and has a hint of raspberry on the nose.  The beer doesn’t taste bad, I just do not like the raspberry taste associated with it.  Per the website, it is a popular beer.  I think it would be my last choice at Twisted Pine.  I have enjoyed all of their offerings that I have sampled from Twisted Pine.  I think I would even pick Ghost Killa [in ya] Face – a chili beer made with the world’s hottest - Ghost peppers, that would wreck my palate before Raspberry Wheat. 

Twisted Pine - Billy's Chilies

Twisted Pine offers a Chili Beer named Billy’s Chilies (5% ABV and 10 IBU).  Billy’s Chilies pours cloudy yellow with a small head that quick recedes.  Carbonation is good as Billy’s Chilies keeps bubbling in the glass.  The aroma of chilies is amazing and you can easily smell the pepper influence on this beer.  I was really impressed with the taste too; there is a nice wheat beer taste with the peppers in the background.  The heat is not too hot; it is present, but not overwhelming.  I paired this beer with some chicken nachos and it was a very nice pairing.  Twisted Pine’s website description of Billy’s Chilies is spot on and I was surprised to see that 5 different peppers are used in brewing this beer, “This light-bodied ale has an amazing chili aroma that jumps out at you.  We infuse wheat beer with fresh Serrano, Habenero, Jalapeno, Anaheim, and Fresno chili peppers.  Surprisingly, the chili flavor is strong but not overpowering and comes through without lending too much heat.  Billy’s Chilies is a very drinkable beer and pairs especially well with food.  It finishes dry with a spiciness that will leave you thirsty for more.”  I was almost afraid to taste Billy’s Chilies because I thought my mouth might be set afire – this was not the case – Billy’s Chilies was my first Chili Beer and it was a great experience. 

100th Post - A Black Ale and a Blonde Ale

Last evening I tried the final style in Sierra Nevada’s Best of Beer Camp offering, #16 Juniper Black Ale (8% ABV).  #16 pours black with a two-finger head, and you need to take care pouring as this can easily foam up.  This has a very thick head that you could pick up with a fork and it takes a bit of time to recede.  #6 has an aroma of malt, hops and pine / juniper.  Taste is very good, I expected more juniper, and was actually somewhat surprised by the balance.  My palate picked up the juniper as closer to bitterness from hops.  I thought this was a tasty beer too and the Best of Beer Camp by Sierra Nevada is worth picking up to try some different and tasty beers.  These all seem to pair well with the dishes I selected for them.  I paired #16 with a cheeseburger on French bread with melted provolone and sautéed Vidalia onion and mushrooms. 

Chris stopped by and he was wanting a lighter beer so I opened a couple of Twisted Pine Blonde Ales (5% ABV and 24 IBU) that is classified as a Kolsch / German Pale Ale.  Blonde Ale pours cloudy yellow with great carbonation and a two-finger head.  Blonde Ale has a floral / fruity aroma and is easy to drink.  The taste has a nice malt / grain start with a slightly hop / bitter finish.  Another nice offering from Twisted Pine.

A night of Ales from the British Isles

Last evening, we gathered at Tibor and Nicole’s for the next round of Beer and Food Pairings.  We focused on beers from the British Isles and Nicole made some UK-inspired dishes of spice Beer Nuts, Fish & Chips with Slaw, and Bananas Foster for desert using Stroh Austria Rum for flambé.  I brought over some cheeses of Fontina, Applewood Smoked Cheddar and Cantelet.  For the beer, I brought over Fuller’s London Pride & Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, Chris brought Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2009 & Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter, Dennis brought over Tetley’s English Ale & Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, and Tibor had Murphy’s Irish Stout and Boddingtons Pub Ale.  These were all very tasty and very drinkable.  I would not hesitate to try any of these again and it is a real tribute to the Brewers of these beers that they make it to the U.S. in very good condition.  With the exception of Fuller’s Vintage Ale – 2009, none of these are meant to be aged, all tasted very good.  Below are some of the pictures I took during the evening.  The fish (cod) was cooked to perfection and the Bananas Foster cooked in 160-proof Stroh Austrian Rum was a highlight.  We paired the Porter and the Vintage Ale with Bananas Foster and the pairing was very good.  I thought the Porter paired better than the Vintage Ale.  The next meeting we will cover Mexican food – still deciding on the bee.

Tetley’s English Ale (3.6% ABV) is an English Pale Ale.

Boddingtons Pub Ale (4.7% ABV) is an English Pale Ale.

Fuller’s London Pride (4.7% ABV) is an English Pale Ale.

Fish & Chips with Slaw – Fish cooked to perfection – Bravo Nicole – slaw was excellent.

Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale (5% ABV) is an English Brown Ale.

Murphy’s Irish Stout (4% ABV) is an Irish Dry Stout.

Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter (5% ABV) is an English Porter.

Bananas Foster – Flame ON.

Fuller’s Vintage Ale – 2009 (8.5% ABV) is an Old Ale.

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout (5.2% ABV) is a Milk / Sweet Stout.

The Brew Crew – Tibor, Chris, Dennis and Chef Nicole.

Light and Dark

Sierra Nevada’s Best of Beer Camp #8 is a California Common (6.5% ABV).  Beer Advocate describes the California Common or Steam Beer style as, “is a unique 100% American style lager. It's usually brewed with a special strain of lager yeast that works better at warmer temperatures. This method dates back to the late 1800's in California when refrigeration was a great luxury. The brewers back then had to improvise to cool the beer down, so shallow fermenters were used. So in a way the lager yeast was trained to ferment quicker at warmer temperatures. Today's examples are light amber to tawny in color, medium bodied with a malty character. Mildly fruity with an assertive hop bitterness.”  #8 pours a straw orange with a nice two finger head.  There is very good carbonation with #8 and a pleasant aroma of malt, grain and fruit.  Taste is nicely balanced between the malt sweetness and hop bitterness – very drinkable.  I need to do a side-by-side comparison with Anchor Steam.

Twisted Pine’s Pearl Street Porter (6.7% ABV and 23 IBU) is a Winter Seasonal offering.  Beer Advocate describes Porter as, “Inspired from the now wavering English Porter, the American Porter is the ingenuous creation from that. Thankfully with lots of innovation and originality American brewers have taken this style to a new level. Whether it is highly hopping the brew, using smoked malts, or adding coffee or chocolate to complement the burnt flavor associated with this style. Some are even barrel aged in Bourbon or whiskey barrels. The hop bitterness range is quite wide but most are balanced. Many are just easy drinking session porters as well.”  Pearl Street pours very dark with a small head that quickly dissipates. The nose has malt and slight chocolate hints.  Twisted Pine brewed this beer for the 150^th anniversary of Boulder, CO.  This is a very nice beer with a classic porter taste and chocolate / mocha hints.  Pearl Street Porter would be a great beer to introduce someone to dark beers.