Yards Brewing Co. - "Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce" ale

As you know, beer has been around for quite some time - thousands of years. Archaeologists and researchers have uncovered some very early depictions of beer in hieroglyphs and Sumerian cuneiform tablets, along with the recipes! But it doesn't take a PhD in early languages to decipher some antique renditions of beer - in colonial America, beer was readily available in taverns and was commonly brewed at home, and recipes circulated and published.

Ye Olde Beer Taverne or whatever

Interestingly, some of the founders of this country were also homebrewers as well as revolutionaries, and some of their recipes exist to this day in their private journals and documents. Philadelphia, PA-based Yards Brewing Co. has released an "Ales of the Revolution" series based off those recipes. Today's particular example is a 5.00% ABV herbed ale based on Benjamin Franklin's own recipe, called "Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce."

Benjamin Franklin is my favorite founding parent. He was a very pragmatic, industrious man who was always looking for new things to make, new things to try, and new ways to improve his life and the lives of people around him. He was very civically-minded but also enjoyed fun and wasn't afraid to reject the repressive and parochial social mores of his fellow leaders. He also loved beer, made his own, and is (unfortunately) mis-attributed as saying "beer is proof God loves us, and wants us to be happy!"

However - no sense in appealing to a higher power when I have a cold brew in front of me. Let's try it.

It pours super fast, with a thin white head. It's a clear, red/brown color, almost the consistency of soda. The nose is pretty interesting  - lots of strong wood aromas, with a tinge of  sour malts.

The taste is light, with woody flavors and herbal notes, and definitely sour. But not in an awful way - it's got a peculiar sort of wood sourness (if that makes any sense) that's rather new to me. It's piney but not resiny on the way out. It definitely tastes like spruce, or at least what I imagine spruce to taste like. It's very light and refreshing on the finish.

It's new and interesting, that's for sure. As noted above, it's almost like soda in the consistency. There's some carbonation, not a lot, but overall it ends up being a light and very easily-drinkable beer. And it's cool to see that's what they drank in colonial times. I have a feeling that high-alcohol beers are a modern thing; a few years ago I read Tom Standage's A History of the World in Six Glasses, and in one of the chapters, he discussed ancient beer - and it was pretty light, only a few points of ABV. And indeed, Belgian farmhouse ales were light enough in alcohol that it was given to workers to sustain them during long summer days working in the fields. Some beers I have tried are two, three, or even four times as strong as this one, and so it's cool to sit back and imagine I'm drinking something very similar to what colonial taverngoers would have had.

Cellar & Stove: Troegs' "Nugget Nectar" and Pork Sausage-stuffed Bell Peppers

Welcome to another edition of "Cellar & Stove." Today, I'm going to be making stuffed peppers and pairing it with a delicious beer from Troegs. However, there's a twist: today's recipe is a bit of a shortcut from the usual - I substitute ground beef (the usual) with chopped hot Italian sausage.  And the recipe changes quite a bit since I'm precooking the sausages. I'm also kicking it up a notch by adding into the rice some chopped dried arbol chiles, seasoned black beans, garlic, and a tiny bit of turmeric. I like it very spicy!

First thing's first - hollow out those peppers!

Next, I'm boiling the peppers for a few minutes while the sausages cook. Also, the rice takes a while so it's important to start that up, too. It's actually white rice, but the turmeric turned it yellow.

So let's talk beer - I want to pair a beer with this dinner that brings out the flavor but also not overpower it. That always should be the goal of any pairing, wine or beer. But with that in mind, sometimes you want to highlight (or de-emphasize) a particular flavor. For today's dish, the goal here is to offset the super spicy peppers with a moderately hoppy beer. I want the hops to cut through the oils in the food.

So I've chosen Troegs' "Nugget Nectar", a super-hoppy 7.5% ABV imperial amber ale. The flavors are going to work well, and the alcohol content is going to be enough to go toe-to-toe with those hot chiles.

Hop notes on the aroma with a nice orange-colored pour. A little bit of sour citrus aromas, but not very noticeable.

It's a strong amber ale, full of hops taste. The beer is hopbacked with whole Nugget hops flowers, which imparts a strong and slightly floral hops flavor. It's actually less bitter than I expected, but still full of hops taste.  I liked the strength and the slight bitterness, and there are some piney / fruity flavors on the aftertaste and finish.

The peppers turned out a little less spicy than I had hoped, but still delicious. And the beer complimented it well - I enjoyed having that spice / hops balance. A maltier beer would have been a little too weak, I think, to stand up to the heat in the dish. It turned out to be a great pairing!

Rogue Ales & Spirits: "Rogue Rooster Sauce" sriracha stout

Welcome to the final post in my 3-part pepper beer series. Today's is another experimental Rogue brew; a 5.7% ABV stout dosed with that tangy hot sauce we all love.

As many of you may know, sriracha is a kind of Thai hot sauce made using distilled vinegar, garlic, and chili peppers. It's popular and is available at many restaurants around the US and abroad. Anyone who is familiar with the Huy Fong brand sauce will recognize the color and layout of the bottle. The beer is in fact made with actual sriracha,  and I admit it, I couldn't resist. Enter the Rogue Rooster Sauce.

Pours black with a buff-colored head. I wasn't expected that dark of a beer, even despite knowing ahead of time it was a stout. I was expecting it to look a lot like the Rogue Chipotle Porter, sort of a burnished mahogany color. Nope, it's totally opaque.

Smells faintly of hot sauce and not much else. Let it sit, took a sip.

Good God, is it spicy. It hits you with an opening salvo of heat, giving way to a lingering chile flavor with residual heat that lasts on the tongue long after the beer is swallowed. In fact, I was looking forward to diving into the super-hot Madras kari patta curry I had going on the stove, if not to cool my mouth down. The beer finishes nicely with strong lingering flavors of chili and a little hint of malt.

One of the main reasons I think this beer is great is due to the uniformity of flavor, but also the straightforwardness. Unlike the Xocoveza, which is nuanced and multifaceted, the Rooster Sauce is just straight heat. I respect that straightforwardness and I respect the massive amounts of heat they pack into this beer. It makes the other pepper beers I've tried pale in comparison.

I absolutely will buy this again. It's excellent, start to finish, and is exactly what I was hoping for. It's spicy, hot, tangy, and keeps my attention throughout the entirely of the tasting experience. It's well worth the $15.99 per bottle!

Dogfish Head - "Namaste" white ale

Just in time for the warmer weather, I picked up two singles of Dogfish Head's "Namaste." It's a 4.8% ABV white beer made with lemongrass, orange slices, peppercorns and coriander. I admit that I really like the label - it reminds me of that old PBS cartoon special we used to watch in elementary school around Halloween, set to the (wonderful) sounds of Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre."

It pours fast, almost clear in color, definitely one of the lightest beers I've seen. In addition, the head is a pure snow-white.

When candled, it's a straw-color. There's quite a bit of floral aromas to this beer; it's bright and fresh, with lots of carbonation bubbles in there.  

The taste reminds me a lot of Hoegaarden. It's bright with the usual white beer tastes; lots of yeast with a little bit of spice. There is a definite zing of peppercorns at the end, with a very soft finish of lemon flavors. In fact, I found a green peppercorn floating in the beer. Awesome. But I can't really taste the orange flavors at all. 

At the end of the day, it's pretty good. It's perfect for the season, nice and fresh and uncomplicated with just the right amount of spice and flavors. But while I found this beer delicious, you can get similar-tasting beers for cheaper. I don't think I'd buy this beer in quantity, just because it's not really worth the price for what you get. There's nothing exceptional or interesting about it - just a straightforward white ale. 

Wine Flash: 2012 Saint Cosme cotes du Rhone (France)

Hi all, here's just a quick snapshot of what I've been drinking lately. It's a 2012-vintage Cotes-du-Rhone from French winery Saint Cosme. I've had this numerous times before and have always really enjoyed the vintage - it's got pleasing dark berry tastes (think blackberries or currant) with a surprising levity. It's solid and bright but still earthy and strong, and can stand up to hearty Italian meals. I like serving it with steak or starch dishes - you can't go wrong pairing this with a big bowl of sauced pasta and a side of basil, tomatoes and mozzarella. 

Stone Brewing Co. - "Chipotle" smoked porter

Welcome to Part 2 of a 3-part pepper beer series. I was pleasantly surprised to see this in the store, and not having tried it before, I grabbed a bottle. Must have been left over from this past summer. But interestingly enough, Escondido, CA-based Stone Brewing Co. releases several versions of this beer - they also have a winter seasonal, which is a smoked porter with vanilla beans, which I have just recently tried.

It's got a fast pour and a nice deep red / brown color, which as you may know is one of my favorites for beer. The beer has a tan head to it, that dies down quickly but leaves nice lacing in the glass.

The beer has a faint nose of peppers but nothing really strong. On the first sip, I tasted a nice zing of peppers almost immediately, and as the flavor develops, that heat dies away and gives way to some pleasing dark malt / porter flavors. The pepper zing is like a lightning bolt - it's sharp and fast, and is gone just as soon as it arrived.

Unlike the Xocoveza, which had a very deep, subtle flavor to it, this beer has a sharp pepper burst with a little accompanying heat. But the beer is bright and fresh, and so the flavors go well with the texture. It's a smooth porter with a dash of flavors, and makes a great beer to serve cold on a hot day. I'd say this would be a good starter beer, since the pepper flavors are strong enough to make it interesting but mellow enough to not burn your tastebuds off.

Rogue Ales & Spirits - "Morimoto Black Obi" soba ale

Lately, chefs are more and more frequently pairing with breweries to develop finely-tuned companion beers to their signature dishes. Today, we're looking today at one of Rogue's specialty ales, made in collaboration with Japanese chef Masaharu Morimoto, of Iron Chef fame. Morimoto, a trained sushi and sashimi chef, has appeared on a number of cooking shows and owns several restaurants both in the United States and in Japan.

Morimoto with a custom Henckels Damascus-steel chef's knife

And so it's no surprise that the Morimoto collaboration ale has a Japanese flair. It's made from soba - the Japanese word for buckwheat. You may see soba noodles in the store, or at a restaurant.

Soba can be served a variety of ways, either on its own pasta-style (as shown above) or served in a hot broth. Of course, you can also make beer out of it! There are several versions of this ale - the one with the black and red label (this one) and the one with the blue and white label (the original soba ale.) I recall having the original several years back, and not really enjoying it. But I knew in the back of my head there was a black-and-red label version out there, and when I saw it in the newly-minted single beer section at Harris Teeter, I figured I'd give it a go.

The beer pours deep brown, with a tan-colored head that settles down easily. The aroma is malty, with notes of molasses and sugar. Interesting!

It's a root beer brown when candled.

It struck me how very malty this beer is. The taste is clear, and light, with strong malt and dark sugar flavors. The texture is very crisp, which is nice, and ultimately refreshing and sweet. There's virtually no carbonation to speak of.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't blown away. I like the maltiness and the earthiness of it, and the flavors are pleasing, but it really lacks any power. The good news is that this beer will be rather suited for the novice beer drinker. It's smooth and lacks any aggressive hops, has very little carbonation, and is extremely light, weighing in 4.8% ABV. Plus, the price point ($6.99 for a 22oz) is just right for what you get.

Field Trip - Brouwer's Cafe (Seattle, Washington)

As part of my recent trip to Seattle, my brother Dan and I visited Brouwer's Cafe, a restaurant and beer lover's paradise in the Fremont district of Seattle. Brouwer's is owned by the same folks that run Bottleworks, the specialty beer store where I bought my first legal beers back in 2008. 

Brouwer's isn't much to look at outside - they have some small tables on a patio but for the most part a non-descript building. Inside is much cooler - There's a huge bar, lots of tables, and an area for live music. They have an extensive cold case behind the bar, and a neat second floor area that overlooks the main floor. Dan and I were seated off to the side, and I was actually sitting on the music stage.

Brouwer's has an amazing beer and whiskey list. They have more beer on draft than most supermarkets have bottles; and at 13 full pages, their bottle list reaches almost 400 variants. They focus on Belgian beers, but certainly do not neglect other offerings. With a draft list this badass, I figured I had to try some neat local brews - stuff that I can't get back in DC. Since Dan and I were already planning to head over to Fremont Brewing Co.'s beer garden, we each limited ourselves to three beers each...got to save room for later.

To start, Dan ordered a Boulevard "Saison-Brett", which is a totally solid choice, one that I myself would have made if not for a rather intriguing selection from Ballast Point - the "Wahoo."

The Wahoo is a white beer made with chilies, ginger, and lime. It's very light, only 4.5% ABV, and has an interesting golden grey color that's really neat. The beer smelled like lime Tostitos, which honestly didn't  do it any favors. 

It ended up being delicious! It's a super drinkable, sessionable beer with a zing of ginger spice zing and a little bit tartness at the end. But very light, something you'd want to take in cans to the beach on a hot day. The spice keeps it interesting but the levity keeps it drinkable. 

Next up is Fort George's "Divinity," a 5.1% ABV Belgian pale ale made with berries. 

Well, it definitely has a nose of blueberries! Pretty neat if you ask me. Normally I'm not a huge fan of the lambic / fruit beverages, but this ended up being pretty great. It had good strong notes of Belgian pale yeast, exceptionally velvety smooth, like an herbed iced tea. It had a great malty finish with tons of lingering fruit flavors on the palette. I'd drink this again, for certain. 

And for my last beer, I wanted something a little stronger. Enter the "Reason be Damned", an 8.2% ABV Belgian abbey ale from Stone Brewing Co.

It's got a classic dark honey / amber color to it, with some faint notes of yeast and alcohol on the nose. It's definitely an abbey ale - tastes like strong Belgian malts with some sugary yeast in there and a nice syrupy consistency. There's some straw flavors on the finish which is cool as well. 

To wrap it all up, Dan and I split a delicious lamb burger with French fries and chipotle mayo dipping sauce. The food alone was worth the trip to Brouwer's, and I'm sure I'll be back to try many of the other things they have to offer!

Hunnicut Wines - 2004 Zinfandel (California)

After a wonderfully-amazing meal at Seattle's MKT restaurant, consisting of crispy quail and greens to start, with braised lamb over pan-fried gnocchi and pork tenderloin with pepper pork lardons (I paired it with a glass of 2013 Les Michelons Cru Moulin-a-Vents gamay), my brother Dan and I headed back to the house to dip into the cellar.  Up from the depths he brought a dusty bottle - a 2004 California zinfandel by Hunnicut Wines.

 

Before we discuss the wine, let's talk about decanting. Decanting is the process of pouring out wine into a vessel, usually a fancy glass bottle, not only to serve the wine but also to aerate the wine and to remove sediment. Historically, most wines were unfiltered, and so decanting was necessary to separate all the sediment from the wine. Since today's wine is over ten years old, Dan figured we should decant to not only let the wine mix with the air but to possibly filter out any sediment that may have accumulated in the past decade. You'll notice there's a filter on the top of the decanter to help sift out anything that might be in there.

It actually decanted rather cleanly - must be a filtered wine. Another benefit of this style decanter is that there's increased surface area for the air to interact with the wine. We put down some white paper towels to see the refracted color:

It's got a rather neat garnet color - suggests to us that it'll taste like lighter fruit perhaps. When candled, the wine on the edge of the glass is an orange-brown color, which suggests old wine.

The aroma was very strong, of leather and muddled dark fruit. We let it sit for quite some time, to open up to the air.

The flavor itself is muted, with a dry texture. I can detect some fruit in there, not much (and not surprising, since the flavors have been softening for 11 years.) But on the finish and aftertaste, there's a fruit note, but not a bright one - I'm thinking blood orange here. But a wine this old, might need some time to develop. We let it sit in the decanter, covered, for over two days, and then came back to it.

It definitely opened up! It's still sweet and blood orangey, but softened up even further (not in flavor, but in texture.) It's softer, more mellow, and more approachable then when initially opened.

It was really cool to try an older wine and see how the flavors of a Zinfandel change. Dan had it back when it was new, in '04, and his recollection was that it was full and bold and peppery. Ten years certainly brought down those flavors, dulled them and mashed them all up with each other, and while it's not the best aged wine Dan or I have had, it's still a fun experiment (and a tasty glass of wine!)