BOW DOWN BEFORE SAINT BERNARDUS

Of the 8 beers brewed by BROWERIJ SINT BERNARD in Watou, Belgium (known as ST. BERNARDUS to you and me), I’ve still got two to conquer. I keep forgetting to pick up the PATER 6 and the WATOU TRIPEL – but in time these too will be conquered. As many told me when I embarked on my beer mania and started this blog a few years ago, ST. BERNARDUS are among the kingpins of Belgian brewing. I got a few flabbergasted comments when I rated the ABT 12 a mere 6.5/10, and hey, given how much I’ve loved all of the subsequent beers from them that I’ve ingested, I guess I’m a little taken aback myself. Here’s how the six I’ve tried stack up:

GROTTEN BROWN 10/10
ST. BERNARDUS PRIOR 8 9/10
ST. BERNARDUS TRIPEL 9/10

ST. BERNARDUS 2007 CHRISTMAS ALE 8/10
ST. BERNARDUS WIT 7.5/10
ST. BERNARDUS ABT 12 6.5/10

That’s’ a pretty stellar set of scores, wouldn’t you say? As my palate adjusts more to intense, flavorful Belgian ale, I expect that revisiting some of these might even bump ‘em higher – the point being that all of the beers from this “browerij” are unique, complex and delicious. Let’s isolate one of them: ST. BERNARDUS PRIOR 8. I had my second bottle of this not too long ago, and it was fantastic. Dark, malty and bursting with fruit, this beer had this overwhelming “tang” that I couldn’t shake even fifteen minutes after completion – nor did I want to. The fruits were lighter, like those you might find in a tripel: tastes of grapes and apricots, mixed with a little fig & date action. The 8% ABV was a nice blancer between the sweet and the sour flavors, and overall this thing just soars. I went with a 9/10. On to the “PATER 6”!

LET’S GO....DRINKING IN DECATUR, GEORGIA

Last week I had a short one-day trip to Atlanta planned for work, and this time, rather than going to THE VORTEX, I did my homework. I went back to my two posts I did about drinking in Atlanta from earlier this year, and read the comments. They were unanimous – everyone said, “if you’re coming to Atlanta, you gotta go to the BRICK STORE PUB in Decatur”. As it turns out, Decatur is only a mere 10 minutes outside of Atlanta, and despite being in another county entirely, it was closer to my hotel than the places I’d gone in Midtown in previous trips. So needless to say, once I looked at the Brick Store Pub’s website and menu, I was pretty stoked. A full-on Belgian beer bar, with tons on tap and bottles like you wouldn’t believe! So I pulled into Decatur after mapquesting the place, and it’s a totally beautiful little upscale Southern town – rolling green grass, a cool old courthouse, giant homes, and loads of modern restaurants. But when I drove into the parking lot of the Brick Store Pub & peeked in the window – hey, now why are chairs stacked up on tables? Hey, it sure is dark in there……ugh, turns out I picked the day for my big beer-off in Decatur to be the day the place had decided to renovate. If I’d come on a Thursday, say, rather than a Tuesday, I’d be regaling you with tales of new Belgian conquests as we speak.

So there I was, a thirsty stranger in a strange town. Ah, but as I pulled into town I noticed a restaurant called CAKES & ALE – could the “ale”, in fact, be the sort of ale that I was craving? Indeed it was. CAKES & ALE is a Southern-style upscale restaurant that, rather than focusing on fritters & hush puppies, serves up high-end deviled eggs w/ pickles, and wild trout from North Carolina with greens. That’s what I had, in fact. Expense account, baby! They were having a bit of a problem with their taps, and as it turned out the only one of the 5 advertised beers on tap was ALLAGASH WHITE, a beer I’ve declared on this site to be “the North American wit bier standard”. No loss at all – in fact it was excellent, as this beer always is. I needed more, though. Down the street was the bar/restaurant “TACO MAC”. Having done my homework, I knew this TGI FRIDAYS-like chain restaurant had an amazing beer selection, something like 75 taps and another 150 bottles or so. As advertised, it had all that. It wasn’t just American macros and bigger-name micros – there were at least a couple dozen beers I’d never heard of. I ended up going with the HOP WALLOP from VICTORY BREWING, a beer some of you have told me is a good ‘un. Thanks! It was. It has a very intense hoppy bitterness that primarily manifested itself on the back of my tongue. Not as intense as some of the boundary-pushing west coast double IPAs, but absolutely strong enough to drive a big-hop newbie away for a while. I really liked it (7.5/10) – great for a humid evening at “Taco Mac”, and a good consolation prize for the night’s missed opportunity.

FIRST PRINCIPLES

This is probably miles from what you’ve come to this site for, so I’ll mention it this time and this time only. I enjoy yammering & running my proverbial mouth about a number of topics, and thought it might be fun to tackle that most subjective and opinion-laden of fields: politics & society. I’ve got a few bugaboos I’d like to tackle, and so given how cathartic writing for a blog can be (one can only rant at one’s wife, or at the newspaper, for so long), I’m announcing yet another blog in my media empire: FIRST PRINCIPLES. At the very least it will let me sleep at night.

FROM THE MUSKETEERS: TROUBADOUR OBSCURA STOUT

And I’m not kidding, the brewery in Belgium that makes this very interesting concoction is called BROUWERIJ DE MUSKETIERS. They only put forth three beers that I’m aware of, and this is one I’ve seen in better bottle shops and took a flyer on the other night at San Francisco’s CITY BEER (a great store that charges a mere $1 “corkage fee” for any beer bought and consumed in the store, and they’re overflowing with some pretty amazing beers). TROUBADOUR OBSCURA STOUT was served up in a 330ml bottle, and the label gives fair warning that it’s an 8.5% ABV big one. Is it truly a stout, though? I don’t think so – it was squarely in the Belgian dark ale camp, though quite sweet the way some English stouts can be. I recall a distinct eau de bier that smelled additionally of mocha, licorice and other sweet things. It was pretty strong & bold without that whole hardcore coat-the-tongue in alcohol thing going on. Definitely worth grabbing on a bottle run – I pecked the words “very enjoyable” into my cell phone when I rated this one a 7.5/10.

A WONDERFUL BORING BROWN ALE FROM AVERY

Pity the poor brown ale, always a bridesmaid among the beer cognoscenti. Back in the days before many of us discovered high-gravity imperial IPAs and the wonders from Belgium, beers like LOST COAST BREWING’s DOWNTOWN BROWN ruled the roost: simple, unadorned, clear & smooth English brown ales, making up in no-frills taste what they lacked in complexity. Today, you’ll find folks like the Beer Advocate fellas making the case for browns, pilsners, ESBs and crisp, standard-issue pale ales with the same level of excitement they give up for hop bombs and Russian Imperial stouts - but everyone knows the jig is up. That’s what you say when you’re trying to make the case for being well-rounded or a man or woman of the people (“I may listen to punk rock mostly, but I also like some of my sister’s pop records”; “New York City may be wonderful, but there’s much to be said for Tulsa” etc.). It’s easy to succumb to, and perhaps when one gets tired of discovering mind-blowing new beers every week in our age of abundance, a return to “common things” has its merits.

This brings me to the six-pack of ELLIE’S BROWN ALE I picked up the other day from brewing heavyweights AVERY BREWING out of Colorado – only one of the nation’s top 5-10 brewers on just about everybody’s watch. What to say about it? Well, it certainly is brown. It runs clear. It’s drinkable, and clean-tasting. Nothing to stand in the way of having a couple of ‘em in one sitting, as I did. If there are good brown ales and bad brown ales, then this is definitely one of the good ones. Oh – and it’s malty. There probably aren’t many hops. After two bottles, I barely had a buzz going. Oh, and one more thing: 7/10.

HOME FOR PURIM: HE’BREW ORIGIN POMEGRANITE

Way back when, the HE’BREW brand of beers were partners of sorts with ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING, and I remember enjoying those early Hebraic beers quite a bit. More recently, the SCHMALTZ BREWING COMPANY have gone their own way, and are now fairly well-regarded for their ales. A few years ago I had a couple of them and thought they were pretty tasty, though I’ve been hearing mixed reports about their recent concoctions, and somehow they all sort of passed me by. I decided to change all that by giving a try to the HE’BREW ORIGINAL POMEGRANITE ale the other day. Sort of a mixed bag on this one. It’s a very deep-looking reddish/orange brew, one that is instantly perplexing upon first sip and especially with the first gulp. ORIGIN POMEGRANITE is true to its name – hey, that funky aftertaste is pomegranate, right? Jeez, even after the US pomegranate advisory board’s ever-present marketing campaign for the fruit’s health benefits, I kinda forgot what they tasted like. This particular formulation has a strong acerbic bite that again, manifests itself mostly in the aftertaste. Beer is mostly malt-heavy and somewhat bitter. Very interesting – but strange. For “special occasions only”. 6.5/10.

MONK’S CAFÉ FLEMISH SOUR ALE - THE GATEWAY BEER

It didn’t happen the first time I had DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE. It didn’t even happen the first time I tried the sour beer lineup from RUSSIAN RIVER. But I knew it was gonna happen – there was going to be that one sour ale that was going to knock me for a loop and make me a full-on believer in their power. That beer, my friends, is MONK’S CAFÉ FLEMISH SOUR ALE. Oh, my friends who’d had it told me what would happen. They said this was one of the best beers going, and they were right. Brewed for Philadelphia’s renown Belgian beer bar MONK’S CAFÉ by the VAN STEENBERGE BREWERY just outside of Ghent, Belgium, FLEMISH SOUR ALE just coats the tongue in puckering, mouth-pleasing smoothness. It is a dark amber beer that I’d have to say is fairly mild overall in its sourness, but it is miles away from the layman's beer. It's incredibly delicious and I felt like a full-on gourmand while ingesting it.

Here’s something I found about the beer on the internet, penned by Jason & Todd Almstrom, the fellas behind Beer Advocate.com and the magazine:

Philadelphia is home to Monk's Café, one of America's top havens for Belgian beer lovers. The emporium is co-operated by Tom Peters and Fergus Carey, whose love for Belgian beer and food runs deep. How deep? So deep that Peters had a beer commissioned by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, the same brewery that brings us Gulden Draak and Piraat. From our understanding, Monk's Café Flemish Sour Red Ale is actually Van Steenberge's Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne ("Flemish Burgundy") -- Tom convinced them to bottle it under a private label. Despite all of the "red" references, it's actually an Oud Bruin, a style of ale that hails from the Flanders region of Belgium…… Leathery, with deep ruby hues. A creamy, beige, two-finger head that laces, retains and sticks well. Sour in the nose and quite vinous, with mildly fruity undertones of lime rinds and funky phenols. The puckering tartness -- it really gets your saliva glands going -- cuts through with an acidic smack that's akin to lemon-lime juice with a salty edge. Dry, ultra-crisp and thin-bodied. A big oak note in the center amplifies the tartness and brings with it a woody edge. Suggestions of bitter cherries and raisins, even though there's no fruit in the beer. Slightly medicinal and metallic as the beer warms. No real sweetness or maltiness to speak of -- it's all about the sour. Finish is dry and surprisingly clean.

I’d agree with that, although I’d say it all with at least three or four times as much enthusiasm. This is one of my favorite beers right now, and folks, it’s being imported into America. It’s fantastic. 10/10.

RUSSIAN RIVER OFFERS TEMPTATION, AS ALWAYS

Best brewer in the country? I don’t know, what do you think – Lost Abbey? Bell’s? Dogfish Head? Hey, how about RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING? Think they’re any good? I can’t believe what a whopping winning streak this Santa Rosa, CA brewer is on these days. Not only are they expanding production significantly, winning awards hand over fist, getting hosannas rained down upon them by everyone who’s ever had one of their ales, but they are in the vanguard – they ARE the vanguard – of offering Americans their first sour beers brewed right here in the USA. When I was offered a glass of RUSSIAN RIVER TEMPTATION the other day (now in bottles!), of course I took it. I know that anything they produce is liquid gold, and in looking over my notes the past few years, everything I’ve had gets rated a 7/10 or above, with special mention going to incredible beers like DAMNATION, BLIND PIG IPA, REJECTION and O.V.L. STOUT.

TEMPTATION falls on the “Belgian” side of their menu. Now that it’s in bottles, it’s going to pucker a lot more mouths than it has in the past, when it was only available at the brewery, via a growler, or purchased via the underground railroad. It is a sour beer. That is, a sour, wild ale with an intense yeasty mouthfeel, one in which you taste lemon, cloves, and of course hops. It is a light-colored orange, with a great funkiness that actually takes a backseat to the fruitiness. In other words, a drinkable sour ale, one that will be an excellent one to complement lingering conversation, chortles, guffaws and extended “good times”. You know what I mean? 8/10!!

BELGIAN ROULETTE – ONE FALSE MOVE, AND IT’S $7.50 DOWN THE DRAIN

I enjoyed a pleasant evening of Belgian beer roulette at San Francisco’s Toronado Bar a couple weeks back, just doing my thing, pulling the trigger on whatever Belgian beers had the funniest or most impenetrable names. A game like this should only be played by professionals – professionals who just got their paychecks, for it is a high-stakes game played with real money. Here’s how it played out:

VON HONSEBROUCK KASTEEL DONKER BRUIN – This was a false move that nearly blew my head clean off. Also known as KASTEELBIER BRUIN, this is an 11% ABV Quadrupel that I mistook for a “Flanders Oud Bruin” (you may recall how excited we were by this style when we encountered a version made by Brooklyn Brewing a few weeks ago). I found it to be very “chewy”, and strong & bold from the get-go. No surprise. It is quite sweet, with tastes of brown sugar and slight caramel. That said, as it warmed I started getting a little annoyed by it, and by the time I was two-thirds in, I wanted to chuck it. Annoyed by a beer? Yep. Not for me. 5/10.

VAN STEENBERGE BORNEM DUBBEL – Here we go. Creamy, light, not-too-strong dubbel that tasted exceptionally fresh, with notes of toffee being most predominant. This is like mother’s milk in Belgium, I’m sure. Goes own very quickly and very smoothly, and I am guessing that it’s fairly low in alcohol. Let’s check and see: no! 8%! That’s what they say on Beer Advocate, anyway. This is our first Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V. product, and likely not the last. 7/10.

Hey, is that it, HBJ? You call two Belgian beers a true roulette session? Ah, I can’t lie – I had some Lagunitas or Bear Republic thing after that, I can’t remember. The night’s winner: VAN STEENBERGE BORNEM DUBBEL! It’s no DE DOLLE OERBIER, but what is, right?

AYE, CAPTAIN LAWRENCE!

It was a crisp October day, I remember it ‘twas. A bottle of CAPTAIN LAWRENCE BREWING’s SAINT VINCENT’S DUBBEL blew in from the east Coast and happened to show up at my birthday get-together. It was heartily enjoyed by all comers, and many were heard to reckon that a grog this fine needed to find its way into as many hands as possible. Well, truth be told, the only way to get a bottle of CAPTAIN LAWRENCE ales in the hands of land-lubbers on the West Coast is to jet them out, so that’s what I did. Alas, my suitcase had room only for two big bottles of ale, one being the SOUTHERN TIER HEAVY WEIZEN we discussed last week, the other being a jumbo bottle of CAPTAIN LAWRENCE XTRA GOLD AMERICAN TRIPEL. Avast! An American tripel, ye say? Aye, that I do, that I do.

CAPTAIN LAWRENCE XTRA GOLD AMERICAN TRIPEL features few characteristics one might associate with Americans, I must say. Its fruit-filled smell and ester/yeast mouthfeel are straight out of Belgium 101, with a rich bready taste and a crisp “bite” that really satisfied. It may have a big more hop action going on than a typical Belgian tripel – then again that might’ve been the beer talkin’, you know what I mean? It is a light-bodied golden ale with a nice big “four finger foam” going on, and it packs a real punch without being overpowering. In short, it’s excellent, and that’s a big 2 for 2 from these guys. 8/10.

CATCHING UP ON A FEW WEST COAST & GERMAN BEERS

If you’ve read this site before, you know how we work, right? Try a new beer, type some notes on that new beer into a cell phone when no one (especially females) is looking, post the results with some pithy commentary and a rating on HBJ, blah blah blah. Since we took a pretty big break from posting said reviews in March & April, there were a few pours that sorta got lost in the shuffle. In case you’re wondering what beers to drink or not drink this weekend, let’s use this occasion to get caught up on a few that we haven’t talked about in this forum yet.

RED HOOK LONGHAMMER IPA – Consumed on tap at the New York Sports Grille, JFK Airport, New York. This IPA, introduced a year or two ago, and rumored to be the same old Red Hook IPA and Ballard Bitter they've been running out there for years, is dry with fairly low/medium hopping. It has some good lingering bitterness with more pine & grapefruits flavors mixed in than you might expect from Red Hook in 2008. That said, it’s kinda boring, if drinkable. 6/10.

BEAR REPUBLIC SCOTTISH HERITAGE ALE – Consumed on tap at Barclay’s, Oakland. Bear Republic have made a Scottish/Scotch ale, and it’s a good one. Caramel taste, some good hopping, but a definite tendency toward the malts. I was told that’s it’s pretty high alcohol in the 7-8% range, and I seem to remember it not tasting that way – so that’s something. Need to try this again if it ever comes around. 7/10.

AYINGER UR-WEISS – Consumed in a 500-ml. bottle at my house. This dunkel weiss (dark wheat) from heavyweight German brewers AYINGER is of course brewed according to the “Reinheitsgebot” purity laws - not that you’d notice, right? I’m surprised to say, I’m not into it at all. Yeasty, somewhat chalky tastes of banana and clove, and very thin-bodied. Entirely uninteresting, and I don’t see any reason to go for it again. 5/10.

DRAKE’S SUMMER BELGIAN BLONDE – Consumed on tap at City Beer Store, San Francisco. 6/10. I’ve pretty much decided that DRAKE’S are masters of the double IPA (HOP SALAD, DENOGGENIZER) and just decent at everything else. I wish I thought otherwise. This light Belgian-style blonde did very little for me other than make me wish I had chosen something else, something that always seems to happen when I choose a non-IPA from Drake’s. 6/10.

MOONLIGHT OLD COMBINE – Consumed on tap at Barclay’s, Oakland. This is a crazy-ass “kitchen sink” lager that tastes like somewhat a pale ale with elements of every other beer thrown in. Like all Moonlight products, it’s smooth, crisp and exceptionally drinkable. Grassy and earthy. It certainly tastes like an experimental beer, yet one that can be consumed “in quantity” as they say. 7.5/10.

I DRANK A GREEN FLASH THIRD ANNIVERSARY BELGIAN TRIPEL

.....and it was pretty good, too. GREEN FLASH out of San Diego are on a roll these days. I’m not sure how many IPAs and how many Belgian-Style ales they’ve got in the lineup right now, but they can’t be accused of not giving the people what they want. I know they’ll got some serious street cred in places that can’t get their beer; the guy at Spuyten Duyvil Grocery in Brooklyn was practically apoplectic about how good their beers are. Me, I’m still reeling from that SAISON I had on tap a few months ago, by far the best thing of their I’ve had – and they’ve all been good-to-great. Same goes with this THIRD ANNIVERSARY BELGIAN TRIPEL. I bought this whilst visiting my sister in Santee, CA, and I actually passed up all these LOST ABBEY bombers of beers I probably could’ve put on eBay for $75/each in favor of this one. It’s actually kind of a mystery wrapped in an enigma, if you will. Is this the same beer as GREEN FLASH TRIPEL? Was this beer truly sitting on the shelves since 2006, which was the third anniversary of the brewery, and when I believe this bottle was created? Could it be that both are true? Help me out here, folks.

My take on it was that I truly enjoyed how intense the yeast-heavy spices were – that peppery, almost smoky taste you get from a good tripel was here in spades. That said, it was more smoothed-out than your typical Belgian import, and not quite as robust. A product of it being aged on a liquor store shelf, perhaps? Or is that just how this beer is? I thought it was very good, not great – went through my notes and found that I’d never had one of GREEN FLASH’s Belgian-style beers before outside of that mammoth Saison. So there you go. 7/10.

BOONVILLE ’08 – ONWARD & UPWARD & LEFTWARD & RIGHTWARD

(Note – all photos by Jen Hale, who took a ton of great ones. Check them out by clicking here)

Another epic session at the BOONVILLE BEER FESTIVAL this past Saturday, always a big event at HBJ headquarters since it’s really the only major beerfest we allow ourselves to go to each year. We can’t be trusted to keep it together any more than once an annum. 2008 in Boonville, California – an idyllic little hippie/redneck village 2.25 hours north of San Francisco – offered the usual fantastic weather, goodtime vibes, friendly smilin’ faces, incredible beer selection and even a few surprises. Without going too far deep into the personal, it was also notable for a number of firsts:

1. The first year that I traveled via limousine to the event (!) - or to any event
2. The first year I was safely tucked in back in San Francisco the night of the fest
3. The first year I didn’t say, nor do, anything particularly regrettable (I think)
4. The first year I ever broke bread with another “beer blogger” (big ups to Jessica from The Thirsty Hopster; Peter from BetterBeerBlog and the legendary Jay Brooks from Brookston Beer Bulletin)
5. The first year I was smart enough to not wait in any astronomically long food lines and instead “rolled my own”

But enough about me. Quit talking and start rocking, right? How was the beer?? Well, let me first offer some observations about the festival itself. There were some anomalies this year. Not only was it the largest crowd ever for one of these things (one semi-reputable estimate came in at 10,000 people, but that sounds bogus to me – I’m thinking more like 3,000), but, alas, the “beer dawg” quotient was at its absolute highest. You know what a beer dawg is, right? No? Let me paint a picture for you. White male, appx. 21-40, backward baseball cap, likely beer gut, some sort of sports/beer insignia on a t-shirt, if in fact a shirt is even being worn. Prone to yelling, “whooooooooo” at events like these, or perhaps “yeeeeeeeeeah!”. Enjoys throwing his meaty arms around his buddies and, if possible, around any female on two legs. Often found urinating into sinks, cardboard trash cans or on the side of fairground walls (I in fact witnessed individual beer dawgs doing all three on Saturday). One fat beer dawg actually drunkenly leapt on his beer dawg buddy’s back, fell off, and proceeded to bend my nearby pal CS’s knee into a Joe Theisman-esque position, requiring first aid & a trip to the hospital on Sunday. Boonville seemed to have drawn a lot more reserved crowd in years past – the friendly beer dorks, the business guys/gals on break from the family, the happy hippies, etc. Not to sound too elitist – apologies in advance – but the reputation of this event has obviously reached its tentacles into Raider Nation, and into the stockrooms & the loading docks of Northern California. These people – even the beer dawgs - are still my brothers and always will be, but I wish they could keep their sh*t together when gingerly sipping their pale ales.

On a related note, the 2008 Boonville Beer Festival also featured something that I’ve never witnessed before – the disappearing tap. By 4pm, at an event that went from 1-5pm, many taps were, uh, “tapped”. Many of the greats were gone early – Russian River and Moylan’s were two that had essentially closed up shop with an hour to go; their wares had simply proven to be too popular. I hope this is rectified next year, or that tickets are capped at a certain level. It wasn’t a catastrophe – it certainly helped me to check out some brewers I might not otherwise have sampled – but it was a bummer nonetheless.

The best anomaly of 2008 was the fact that the BEER itself was at an extremely high level. Unlike in prior years, I not only had not a single “pour out”, virtually everything I had was absolute first-rate solid gold. One beer in particular, PIZZA PORT’s 10th Anniversary Ale, AtTENuation, was so incredible I had it twice – forsaking my normal festival goal of “breadth” for a little more “depth” than normal. Here are the beers HBJ tried, all but one of which was excellent or at least very good:

THE GOLD MEDAL, FLAT-OUT BEST BEER OF THE DAY

PIZZA PORT – AtTENuation (10th Anniversary Belgian-style golden pale ale)

THE AMAZING

MOONLIGHT – Special Ale (brewed with redwood tips and no hops!)
RUSSIAN RIVER – La Fleurette
ALPINE BREWING – Duet IPA
MOYLAN’S – Pomegranate Wheat

THE VERY, VERY GOOD

NEW BELGIUM – La Folie (finally got to try this – not half as sour as I expected, and was simply wonderful if a little odd to be chugging in the hot sun)
ALPINE BREWING – O’Brian’s IPA
SACRAMENTO BREWING – IPA (my notes say “solid, smooth, delicious”)

THE GOOD ENOUGH

MARIN BREWING – San Quentin Breakout Stout
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN BREWING – Wilder Wheat

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

PIZZA PORT – Black Lie IPA (I know! Go figure! A black IPA from these guys that just didn’t have it together)

In short, given the idiosyncrasies of the day and the high quality level of the beer, I’ll be back in ’09, just with a few more key learnings tucked into my noggin that’ll make that one go even better. Boonville’s still the best event of its kind I’ve ever been to, and I recommend it highly.

SOUTHERN TIER’S AMAZING “HEAVY WEIZEN”

So this is what an imperial hefeweizen tastes like, hunh? Love it. I bought this at Spuyten Duyvil Grocery in Brooklyn, NY a couple of weeks ago, carted it home in my checked luggage, and opened it pretty quickly upon my return to San Francisco. I worried unnecessarily that shaking this thing up with my socks and jeans might detract from the taste somehow, and that it would spurt to the ceiling upon opening. Nope, what I got was an incredible tart, high-ABV (8 percent!) tasting wheat beer, so different from other American wheats and yet still so much at home as an easy-drinking beer. I’ll bet it is absolutely amazing on tap in Lakewood, NY, too, where SOUTHERN TIER BREWING are located.

It actually gave off more of an internal lemony flavor as it warmed, and it got even better than it did upon tapping. These guys actually recommend throwing a real live lemon in with it, which I think is fast becoming verboten with all right-thinking beer dorks – too reminiscent of Coronas and limes, or some gimmicky trick designed to ease the newbie into craft beer, I reckon. It actually seems sorta strange to me, given that HEAVY WEIZEN is just about perfect on its own; they’ve already got the flavor combination all figured out. Seriously, this is a new kind of beer – the big-ass hefeweizen. Trade for it, travel for it – do what you have to do! 9/10!

MY BELGIAN CHRISTMAS ANGEL

Had a great beer the other night from the country of Belgium – perhaps you’ve heard they make some fine ales over there. There was this Belgian Christmas ales pack I treated myself to a few months ago, and one that looked particularly tantalizing was this SERAFIJN CHRISTMAS ANGEL from the ACHILLES BREWERY in Itegem, Belgium. You ever been to Itegem before? I understand they make a damn good Christmas tripel there. That’s what this was – a light-colored, spicy, very Christmas-like tripel that warmed the palate and filled the mouth with yeast and carbonation. Fruits were observed during the course of drinking this, banana perhaps, along with a more rich and dark toffee taste that really rang true on a Tuesday night. So far it’s the best thing in that Christmas pack, and here we are in May and I still have one more to go. Serafijn Christmas Angel = 8/10!

LAID-BACK CALIFORNIA DRINKIN’ IN BROOKLYN, NY

I kinda flipped when I learned there was an entirely Boston-themed bar (that is, a bar made entirely in tribute to the city of Boston) in San Francisco, but would you believe a Northern California-themed beer bar in Brooklyn, New York? Yeah, that’s what I said too: “I hope that means loads of IPAs”. Well as it turned out PACIFIC STANDARD is even better than that. The bar is located near the Park Slope neighborhood in what I believe is called Cobble Hill, but don’t quote me on that. Let’s just call it New York City to be safe. Walk in the door, and you might as well be at “The Bear’s Lair” in Berkeley, California. There are “Go Bears!” pennants, pictures of Victorian houses in San Francisco, cable cars, and other ephemera from around Northern CA. To be fair, they don’t overplay the theme – it’s actually fairly nondescript since it’s so large, and it almost looks like they’re still sort of working on the overall décor. That said, it’s a really cool place, and on a Wednesday night at 10pm, it was pretty much ours for the taking & didn’t have that jam-packed New York feel.

One thing I really dug was that it wasn’t a California beer bar per se – sure, there were items from ANCHOR and SIERRA NEVADA on tap, and as I’ve been told, that’s actually kinda special in this neck of the woods. But they also made a wanderlust-stricken San Franciscan very happy with their assortment of TROEGS, CAPTAIN LAWRENCE and VICTORY offerings as well – things I can’t get unless someone mails them to me or I hop on a plane. So here’s what I tried:

SIXPOINT RIGHTEOUS RYE (on cask) – Made right there in Brooklyn by SIX POINT CRAFT ALES. This rye ale had a slight bite to it, and maybe even a touch of the “funk” – the good kind. Hopping was medium; that is to say it was there and it made a difference. I got the sense that perhaps this was a beer that might’ve worked better off the cask and with its “natural” carbonation. I’ve had better rye beers this year, but this wasn’t bad. 6.5/10.

TROEGS DREAMWEAVER WHEAT – Ah, yes. Spicy and very strong, this wheat was delicious. I am finding that North American brewers of all stripes are finding ways to kick the wheat beer into a new strata – tarting it up, smoothing it out, injecting extra hops, and generally experimenting. I think it’s the trend du jour of 2007-08, and I love it. Only other TROEGS beer I had (PALE ALE) I didn’t like – not the case at all here. 8/10.

DE DOLLE OERBIER – OH YEAH!

Now this was a great surprise – like the Fort Collins beer we reviewed yesterday, it was enjoyed immensely at the Homewood Suites in Overland Park, Kansas just over a month ago – I’m only now cleaning out my beer tasting notes after a few weeks of inactivity on this blog. It’s not like we stopped drinking or anything! DE DOLLE OERBIER from Esen, Belgium, just looked right sitting there on the shelf of some random liquor emporium I wandered into – I mean look at that label. It sung to me. The beer was wonderful – a strong reddish/brown ale with a huge head of foam that I really had to wait 4-5 minutes for before I could start drinking. It’s a subtle beer for sure, but if you’re paying attention – and I suggest ya do – you’ll get dates, caramel, some oaked/oakey flavors, and of course some spiciness in the Belgian style. I’m going to learn everything I need to know about Browerij De Dolle and their products posthaste – anyone have anything to share about this unit & their beers? Oh – and HBJ calls DE DOLLE OERBIER a big 9/10, and highly, highly recommends that you find a bottle yourself.

FORT COLLINS BREWING ROCKY MOUNTAIN IPA

I’m reaching back into my notes for this one – it was consumed on one of my business sojourns around the USA, in late March while in Overland Park, Kansas. Who do you think I was visiting out there? That’s right, I was trying out for a slot in the Kansas City Royals’ pitching rotation. Whilst doing so, I bought a bottle of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN IPA from the FORT COLLINS BREWING company to toss back @ the hotel after my workouts. Fort Collins Brewing are the “other guys” in their town, the ones having to compete for hearts & minds with the far bigger NEW BELGIUM BREWING. I know Rick Sellers @ Pacific Brew News has had many a good thing to say about them, and one thing about Rick – he don’t lie. Anyway, this IPA was what we "in the business" call “good enough”. Simple, thin, good aftertaste, and definitely a “single IPA” as opposed to the big-ass ones we often enjoy around here. I’d say it’s a tad more piney than citrus-flavored, and if you told me the English had made it or inspired it, I’d believe you. Of course I’m probably spoiled for IPAs, and even a mediocre IPA beats most comers. Let’s go with 6/10 here.

BOONVILLE ’08 – ARE YOU GONNA BE THERE AT THE LOVE-IN?

Just a reminder that this year’s edition of the BOONVILLE BEER FEST in Boonville, CA, is rapidly approaching. It’s Saturday, May 10th – and tickets are still available. Despite a nearly-deadly after-event campground craft beer overdose on my part last year, I’ve decided to hit the trail again for the third year in a row and go north to this epic fest. Hey, have you ever heard of Russian River Brewing? They’ll be there. Pizza Port/Lost Abbey? Check. Moonlight? Firestone Walker? See you there, fellas. This is a good time to get your game face on and read my past dispatches from the festival.

Some words of caution: 1.) You honestly don’t need to try every beer being poured, nor can you. 2.) Water is free and in abundance – get yourself some. 3.) Wear sunscreen. 4.) Don’t do like I did and consume the majority of four bombers of high-ABV beer after you’ll tried 13 glasses of beer earlier in the day. Your drive home the next morning may be a little treacherous. 5.) Shaking your rump to the Rolling Boil Blues Band is verboten. You’ll be ejected with extreme prejudice from the fairgrounds by a team of vigilantes if you’re caught.

Here are some links you may enjoy:

BOONVILLE BEER FEST web site
BOONVILLE 2006 re-cap
BOONVILLE 2007 hype
BOONVILLE 2007 re-cap

SLY FOX’S DUNKEL LAGER @ THE GATE

Can’t tell you much about either this style nor about SLY FOX BREWING of Pennsylvania, but at times I’ve seen folks talking up the brewery in beer newspapers & I even seem to recall a Hedonist Beer Jive reader making some ultra-positive comments about them in our comments section some time back. That must’ve helped me decide to pull the trigger on their DUNKEL LAGER at THE GATE in Brooklyn, New York last week. It was a fine choice. This lager was smooth and exceptionally dark, devoid of much to set it apart from other easy-drinking beers save for a dinstinct breadiness and certainly a more burnt or “toasted” taste than I’m used to – yet in a manner that was subtle and restrained. It went quick, I’ll tell you that. Someone’s going to have to school me some more about this style and about Sly Fox Brewing in general, but they’re off to a good start up in my head with this one. 7/10.

BROOKLYN EXTRA BRUNE @ THE GATE

I have a new Top 10 US-based beer bar for ya: THE GATE in Brooklyn, New York. THE GATE is a classic modern American beer bar – excellent and adventurous beer selection; patio positioned right at a great people-watching intersection in Park Slope; lots of wood paneling; clean; upbeat; friendly – all that. I put it on par with Chicago’s MAP ROOM and Toronto’s BEERBISTRO for favorite beer experiences of the past annum (Christ, I traveled a lot this year). I particularly enjoyed the agony of deciding which of 10-15 beers I’d never tried before to drink at The Gate; I chose two new ones and the Dogfish Head Aprihop we talked about in this forum last week.

My first choice ended up being the single best ale I enjoyed during my weeklong stay in New York City: BROOKLYN BREWING’s BREWMASTER EXTRA BRUNE. Whoa! I knew this brewery was a heavyweight because of the LOCAL 1 I got to drink last year, but this is the second Belgian-inspired ale of theirs that’s totally blown me away. Absolutely loved it. This is a darkish-colored amber that immediately hit me with this immense, floral bouquet of smell & taste from the first sip. It's in the "Flanders Oud Bruin" style according to Beer Advocate - tell me more! It is redolent of fruits of varying stripes, and even of spices of undetermined origin – just the sort of complex & intriguing sort of beer you’d expect from a Belgian or, say, a Unibroue – and I guess from Brooklyn Brewing as well. What a start to my evening – I’ll sing this one’s praises to anyone who’ll listen. 9.5/10. Big ups to Elisa & Mark for taking us to this bar to be schooled in the ways of east coast beer!

GIVING ORGANIC A VERY BAD NAME

In New York last week we decided to give ourselves over to one vegetarian-only night of eating, to counter the gastronomic excess that had begun to and was to soon fully define the trip. Therefore we chose to dine at a veggie-only place in the East Village called COUNTER – and naturally I agreed to it because I peeked at the beer list online & there were a few I hadn’t had before, organic though they were. Having had some recent success with organic beer, I figured it’d be all right. It wasn’t. The food was decent enough, but hardly something you’d want to come back to in a city teeming with incredible dinner choices. Even a hardcore ovo-lacto vegan could probably come up with a dozen ringers over this one, even if beers had to be snuck in in a purse or a sock or something.

I began the festivities with an ORGANIC AMBER from PEAK BREWING, an outfit based in Portland, ME. Can I tell you something? It was one of the worst beers I’ve ever had. Thin, dry, bitter, and utterly tasteless, this is what the imperial Russian stout drinkers and the barrel-aged yahoos are smirking at when the words “organic beer” come up – as well they should! This was an American amber drained of all character and flavor, left with only the water and some foul bittering agents. Gross. 1.5/10. It was only onward and upward from there, and in comparison this WOLAVERS OATMEAL STOUT was a friggin’ home run over the Green Monster in Game 7. That said, I wouldn’t drink this equally thin, caramel-dominant brew again either, but it actually paired well with the stir fry I was marginally enjoying. I know the Wolavers brand is a big one in organic circles, and in Vermont these guys are kings (the brewery is actually called Otter Creek). In Lower Manhattan they’re knaves – friendly knaves with a nice personality, but knaves nonetheless. 5/10. When I go organic next time, it’s BUTTE CREEK all the way.

SPUYTEN DUYVIL GROCERY!

So I was checking out Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the first time in my life the other day, wandering through the beards and the big hair and the legwarmers, when I stumbled into this mini-mall thing with a cool bookstore. Turned the corner once I was inside, and there was a sign hanging up in front of a store saying SPUYTEN DUYVIL GROCERY. Spuyten Duyvil??!? You mean the famous Brooklyn beer bar that serves the rarest of Belgian beers? I was sorta searching for this bar anyway, and I stumbled on their grocery store instead – which was better since it was 12:30pm and not quite beer o’clock yet. So the bar opened their own small beer store, and beyond beer they sell mustards, jams and a few sundries – but mostly rare beer from around the globe. It’s on a pretty small scale, but you’re bound to find some knockouts there.

I of course totally started dorking out with the guy who runs this place, and he told me about some of the finer east coast beers I needed to take home. Greg, I think his name was – totally cool guy. We decided that I needed to bring home something from SOUTHERN TIER above all else – perhaps the most-hyped east coast brewery this year, by my reckoning. I chose their Imperial Hefeweizen, which is called HEAVY WEIZEN. We also agreed that it was important that I spend a little bit of cash to get this limited-run CAPTAIN LAWRENCE BREWING beer called XTRA GOLD, an “American-style Tripel”. I am, as they say, “psyched beyond belief”. We talked a little bit about Russian River beers and how they are like manna from heaven on the east coast – of course I had to tell him that their taphouse is about a 75-minute drive from my house. In any event, this place is great and I’m sure will make many a local and weary beer traveler happy. Go there! 132 North 5th Street, right off of Bedford in Brooklyn - (718) 384-1520.

LET'S GO....DRINKING IN NEW YORK (AGAIN) - PT. 1

The wife and I went on vacation to New York City this past week, and as it turned out it was a helluva week for great beer. All concerns for guts and wallets goes out the window when one’s on vacation, and so it was as I imbibed fine ales in two boroughs. I’ll report on my findings this week, starting with an afternoon jaunt I had on Thursday to the BLIND TIGER ALE HOUSE in Manhattan’s West Village. We were staying pretty close by, dusk was dawning, and I needed a beer to kick-start the night. I walked over to this reputation-precedes-it bar & ordered up what I reckoned was the most obscure ale on the menu, something I’d never have again: MAGIC HAT BREWING’s CHAOTIC CHEMISTRY. You can see a picture of it sitting here, placed on a ledge outside of the bar’s Bleeker Street-facing window, where I enjoyed – nay, loved – this outstanding bourbon-barrel-aged barleywine. Outside it was 85 degrees, in late April no less. Rather than a pale ale or an IPA, I went for this whopper – a strong, caramel/butterscotch-tasting firebreather, easily the best of the 3 Magic Hat beers I’ve had. Really, considering the 11% ABV, it didn’t have that thick, syrupy taste that often bums my trip. No problem tasting the bourbon on this one, either – and I liked that, despite my general aversion to such elixirs. Of course I’ll never have the chance to experience this one again, but lemme tell you, if you’re in the Northeast and you spot this one, please do go for it. HBJ says 8.5/10.

A HANDFUL OF DO-OVERS

Sometimes one has to wonder about his own capacity for taste, description and perception. I often get a totally different vibe from a beer I've either summarily dismissed in the past or praised to the rafters. Recently I imbibed 3 beers for the second time, all of which have very distinct & unique features. I believe you'll find the results highly illuminating!

1. UNIBROUE'S LA FIN DU MONDE - Consumed from a bottle at The Salt House restaurant, San Francisco. I thought this light, complex, Belgian-style knockout was one of the finest beers I'd ever had last year, and now I know it was. We'll up that score from 9/10 to a big 10/10. La Fin Du Monde is now my standard-bearing strong Belgian ale of the golden variety. You have one of those? No? Well why not make it this one, because it's amazing. Delicate fruits mixed with heavy yeastiness - even from a bottle, it tastes like it was brewed this morning.

2. SONOMA FARMHOUSE's HOP STOOPID - Consumed from a 22-oz. bottle at my house. Not sure what happened with this one. I was ranting & raving about how stunning this big-ass double IPA was a few months ago, and perhaps because I'd had that version on "draught". This time I was less than impressed. A perfectly mediocre hoppy IPA, with a little too much bitterness when it counted, and not enough of that juicy just-bit-into-a-grapefruit feel that makes this my second or third favorite beer style. I'm taking this one down to a respectable but pedestrian 7/10. Totally different take than last go-round. You're forgiven if you never believe anything I say ever again.

3. DOGFISH HEAD's APRIHOP - Consumed on tap at The Gate in Brooklyn, NY. I'm actually in New York City right now on vacation, enjoying all manner of wonderful beers that I'll write about after the weekend. This was one of them - something I didn't really like out of the bottle when I got it in a beer trade, but loved on draft @ this great bar in Brooklyn. Bursting with fresh apricot taste, totally smelled of it too, and a generous dose of hops & yeasts. Great spring/summer beer, and robust enough to be worthy of study - not just a sissy fruit beer. Wow. 9/10. Dogfish Head started distribution in my hometown of San Francisco this week!!

THE YIN & YANG OF TRADER JOE’S CONTRACT BREWS

Many a microbrew drinker has been turned onto the world of craft beer via cheap six-packs at Trader Joe’s, where brands like FULL SAIL and PYRAMID have been going for $4.99 or $5.99 for years now. Recently – well last night in fact – I had the opportunity to drink 2 of Trader Joe’s “house” beers, which are beers made for the retailer by other companies. Sometimes these contract brews are simply old wine in new bottles, i.e. popular craft beer favorites with a new label slapped on them; in other cases they are entirely new formulations.

Late last year I saw on the Beer Advocate message boards that TRADER JOE’S VINTAGE ALE 2006 was being blown out at fire sale prices to make room for the ’07 version. Why was this news? Because it was a 9% ABV dark Belgian ale made by UNIBROUE, that’s why – and everyone was saying that it was great, even when aged. You know what? They were dead right. VINTAGE ALE 2006 is a “dark ale on lees”, whatever that is – it has the unique redolence of a Belgian dubbel, with deep, rich tastes of pomegranate, plums and other dark fruits – without being too “fruity” at all. It was fairly full-bodied, without the stickiness that high-ABV beers like this often have. In short, it was another homer by UNIBROUE, who of course also make the 2007 VINTAGE ALE as well. 8.5/10.

At the other extreme was JUMPING COW AMBER ALE, a thin-bodied and fairly lifeless dark red ale. It was nearly opaque and went down so easy I could’ve been drinking a nice beer-flavored water, though of course it was better than that implies – just nothing I’d ever grab again. I’m not connected to the internet as I type this, so I can’t do any research on who contract brews this thing. Maybe you know? (no, wait a minute, here it is - Steinhaus Brewing in Paso Robles, CA - must be a front operation). 5/10.

SIN CITY AMBER @ POUR 24

In January I was in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics show and posted dispatches here, here and here. I returned last week for another work-related trade show, and decided to only venture forth in search of beer 1 of my 3 nights in town, given as the other nights were to work-related events. I decided to return to POUR 24, the tiny patio bar in the New York, New York hotel and casino – a decent place with outsized Vegas-style prices ($7 for a glass of beer, no matter which one you order), but 24 good craft beers on tap. Hence the name. After getting things going with a STONE RUINATION again, I decided to go local and asked the ‘lil lady behind the bar for a SIN CITY AMBER. Sin City Brewing appear to be a Vegas-only thing, and even have a tiny bar within one of the shopping areas in one of the casinos, I forget which. Anyway, this amber has its time and its place. It was fairly unremarkable but had a hint of sweetness and liveliness that I enjoyed for its quenching characteristics. I can imagine a cooler full of these making for a hell of a day on a river raft or something. Stacked up against some of the heavyweights of the microbrewing universe at this bar, it was fairly middling, but in its simplicity I found something to admire, and it was just different enough to be notable. 6/10.

DRINKIN’ CANADIAN IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH

They sent me to Atlanta again last week. Last time I went to Atlanta for work, I did a mad scramble to figure out where I was going to drink a beer, and ended up at the Suicide Girls’ favorite sports bar, THE VORTEX. You can read about that here. This time it was a no-brainer: The Vortex again (hey, it was near my hotel). I was in the mood for UNIBROUE beers, to be honest, and was hoping they had a few. UNIBROUE is becoming something of an obsession for me – this Quebec-based brewer makes some of the most amazing Belgian-style ales in the world, and I love that I can buy them even at the corner liquor store – they’re (almost) everywhere! My favorites right now are LA FIN DU MONDE and MAUDITE, but I still haven’t worked my way through the lineup yet, so we’ll see. That’s what this visit to The Vortex was designed to do – see if other Unibroues could reach that hallowed standard (and to relax and work off my dinner with a couple o' beers).

I decided to go with Unibroue’s DON DE DIEU to get things started. This is a “triple wheat” beer, like a real souped-up Belgianized hefeweizen, and to be frank, I wasn’t that into it. Funky and tart, there was a lot of lingering bitterness on the tongue, like a lemon/honey syrup of sorts. This is a big one, too – 9% ABV, so you need to have your big boy clothes on to enjoy it. It wasn’t a bad beer, just not my thing I guess, or at least not up to this brewer’s standards. 6/10. Thankfully I pulled the trigger on their EPHEMERE next. I’d resisted this one for a while, given that it’s their “apple beer”. Well damn me and hang me, this one’s great! Light-bodied, hazy golden color, and very crisp. Tastes of, you know – APPLES. Good ones. Not a cloying taste by any means, and it does not dominate the flavor of this beer, which will now go into my Unibroue rotation. Excellent stuff. 8/10. I then headed into tornado-struck downtown Atlanta and the sanctity of my hotel, thankful that modern distribution can bring these Francophone beers to the land of Sherman, Jefferson Davis and Molly Hatchet.

BLACK DIAMOND HEFE!

BLACK DIAMOND BREWERY in Walnut Creek, California, has been around for some time, and though I don’t make it out to “The Creek” all that often, it was nice to find something of theirs on tap the other night in Oakland. You don’t see those guys getting a lot of play around the SF Bay Area, and I remember the one time I drank heartily at their pub as being a good one. So I tried a BLACK DIAMOND HEFEWEIZEN the other night, and it was easily the best beer of four half-pints I tried in a given night – this on a night when I was sampling wares by Bear Republic, Moonlight and Green Flash, no less. How did Black Diamond beat out those heavyweights, you ask? Well, by making a simple, juicy and lush-tasting hefeweizen. This hazy, straw-colored, medium-bodied beer is a tad more tart than most American wheat beers, and it makes me think more of the (admittedly too few) real German hefeweizens I’ve had. I don’t believe Black Diamond does any bottling, so that’s going to make it hard for most of ya to try it – but if you make it out my way, remember that HBJ says 8/10 on this one.

TELEGRAPH BREWING’S MEXICAN SANTA BARBARA CHRISTMAS

Nothing like getting a box of beer in the mail, especially when said box has a TELEGRAPH BREWING return address. You might remember that we discovered this tiny Santa Barbara, CA’s beers on a summer trip down thataway last year, and subsequently pronounced them our “small brewer of the year”, for what that was worth. Further, we procured an interview with head brewer BRIAN THOMPSON as well, which you can read here. Brian was kind enough to drop a couple of bombers of their limited-edition WINTER ALE in the mail, and after a three-month wait, I decided to give one of them a go.

TELEGRAPH WINTER ALE is notable for its very distinct use of dark malts, cinnamon, and chocolaty overtones to create a beer that’s just as close to what you’d imagine “Mexican carameled chocolate beer” to taste like as it is to a classic winter beer. It’s deeper and darker in color than most of them, approaching the brownish blackness of a Belgian dubbel, and much of the high-ABV mouthfeel as well. While there are a number of beers that have similar tastes, none has every had this unique of a combination of flavors. Testimonial once again to the brewers at TELEGRAPH, who need to go “major league” in a big way this year, and will just as soon as more folks start tasting their wonderful beers. 7.5/10.

RACER X ON THE ROAD, RACER X ON THE TRACK

Have heard a lot about BEAR REPUBLIC BREWING’s RACER X over the last two years, but never have I and this beer been in the same room at the same time. It’s their turbo-charged version of RACER 5, one of America’s finest IPAs, and a beer that’s becoming very popular on taps in Northern California these days. RACER X, on the other hand, appears to be a seasonal double IPA, brewed every now & again in small batches, and only served on tap – never in bottles. There was a keg of it at Oakland’s Pacific Coast Brewing this week, and I pounced. Hmm, wow, that’s almost like a barleywine, isn’t it? A thin-bodied, ultra-hopped sweet IPA? Why not? If some marketer started calling it a Barleywine-Style IPA, or an “IPA Wine” or something, you’d probably believe it. Hell, I would too. I liked its bitterness and how smooth it was, and how at the end of the day there was no real overpowering bite. It didn’t taste much like Racer 5, outside of the liberal dose of hops. I like it. I’ll drink it again. 7/10.

GREEN FLASH’S “WEST COAST IPA”

Ever since GREEN FLASH started bringing their excellent beers up to Northern California, I get an email a week from someone or another telling me about another whopper they’ve tried from Green Flash. Recently I had their SAISON, and it not only knocked me flat, but it fueled my desire to try more of this under-appreciated style. Just last week I had my first GREEN FLASH WEST COAST IPA, and it’s another in a nice big winning streak for this brewery right now. Piney and strong, this is a very big, very classic IPA – you can not only taste the alcohol, you can taste everything. It’s fairly bitter, and not a gentle IPA that you’d want to introduce folks to the style with. That said, I enjoyed it quite a bit and would give it a 7.5/10 if pressed to score it.

WHERE YOU AT, HBJ?

Oh me? Oh, you know. I’ve been around. Mostly I’ve been off doing other things – like work, bein’ a dad, bein’ a husband, resuscitating my music blog – that sort of thing. I’ve also tried to maintain a slightly healthier relationship with my favorite beverage, with some limited success. I’ve been enjoying beer for its own sake, not so much for the rating I’ll bestow upon it later, or for trying something new just because it was new. I’ve returned to a few old favorites, and have actually passed up newer, untried beers in favor of them. I’ve worked at getting my still-manageable but burgeoning love handles in line, the expansion of which I attribute almost entirely to beer mania. Lastly, I’ve tried to slowly work through all the friggin’ beer I built up in my cellar/garage over the last few months without buying new beers – believe me, it’s not easy refraining.

That said, I’ve been all around this great country of ours, trying all manner of fine nectars. Why, I was just in Seattle last Monday, and it was there that I enjoyed a fresh MAUDITE on tap at the famed Edgewater Hotel. Maudite is a wonderful Belgian-style dark amber from Canada’s UNIBROUE, one of true heavyweights of fine brewing in the 21st century. God, I heart this beer. It’s even better on draft than in the bottle – what a surprise, “eh”? A complex yet smooth blend of earthy, rich spices and yeasts, like a hopped-up red ale done in the Belgian style. Love it. Not only was I in Seattle, the United States’ second-best city, but I went to Nashville for a few nights in February as well. I know! Wild! Whilst in Nashville I checked out the local beer bar, a place called FLYING SAUCER. It was a cool place, chock-full of great beers, some of ‘em from the South and a lot of ‘em from parts east – like Belgium and Germany-east. I asked the barkeep for a TERRAPIN RYE PALE ALE, and you know what this rogue did to me? He denied my request. He said “eh, Terrapin’s all right – but try our local beer, YAZOO PALE ALE instead”. Well it just so happens that I’ve already had one of those, courtesy of the Monday Night Brewery gang, but you know what? It was good. I was still bestowing ratings back then, and went with a 7.5/10. He also poured me a North Carolina brew called HIGHLAND KASHMIR IPA – didn’t cotton to that one so much, and went with 5.5/10. I don’t remember why, I just didn’t like it & wanted to go to bed. You know how it is.

Closer to home – I mean, at home, the best thing I’ve had recently was a ST. BERNARDUS TRIPEL. A fantastic tripel, maybe one of the 5-7 best I’ve ever had, and totally in keeping with the St. Bernardus tradition of quality ales. Other than those, there’s been an Anchor Steam here, a Boont Amber there, and not a whole lot else. A few crunches and a jog or two and I’ll have a ripping six-pack of abs ("again" – right!). HBJ’s still around, so don’t you go nowhere now, you here?

HBJ CATCHES UP & CASHES OUT

I’m going to take a breather from beer writing and from the beer world in general for a short while, but don’t you worry – I’ll come back. I’d like to try & slowly get through the stash I’ve got sitting at home, and additionally make good on the desire to knock off a beer-driven pound or two. So without a lot of commentary, here’s what’s been sitting in the “notes” section of my cell phone, getting ready for the full-blown write-up on HBJ that never came:

MOONLIGHT TOAST (SLIGHTLY BURNED) MALT LIQUOR – Sampled at the Monk’s Kettle, San Francisco. Very good, not as great as last year’s; 6.2% ABV, amber/brown, fresh-tasting, medium hops, deep barley flavor. 8/10.

LION BREWERY RED ALE – Sampled at the Huether Hotel, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Notes say “standard amber”. 6/10.

GREEN FLASH SAISON – Sampled at the 21st Amendment Pub & Brewery, San Francisco. Wow! Great mild sourness, smooth, with tastes of lemon & clove. Best saison I’ve ever had. 9/10.

LAGUNITAS IMPERIAL RED – Sampled in a 12-ounce bottle at home. Like Boont Amber on ‘roids! Aggresively malted, sweet hops. Awesome. 8.5/10.

IRON SPRINGS SCOTCH ALE – Sampled at the Monk’s Kettle, San Francisco. Another stunner. Great thin-bodied red scotch ale with mild hops and a terrific taste. 8/10.

FULLER’S LONDON PORTER - Sampled at the Monk’s Kettle, San Francisco. Thin, creamy, and ultimately quite bland. 6.5/10.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground & keep reaching for the stars.

VICTORY BREWING’S “GOLDEN MONKEY” TRIPEL

I found this at a Whole Foods in El Segundo, CA – right by the Los Angeles airport – while I was killing some time waiting for traffic on the 405 to clear. That’s some “LA talk” for those of you not from SoCal (I’m not either, but I’ve spent some quality time there in my day). Anyway, I figured I’d have to pick up a bottle of something to stash in my luggage, and given VICTORY BREWING’s stellar reputation – and my love for the bottle of their HOP DEVIL I had last November – I went with their GOLDEN MONKEY TRIPEL, maybe partially because of the little fella on the bottle. Now this beer says it’s “brewed with exotic spices from the East”. Whose east? New Jersey? The Orient? Well, as it turns out, this cloudy, yellowish/orange Belgian-style tripel was a lot less smooth and more astringent than I’d hoped for. Maybe it was those eastern Pennsylvania exotic spices? I didn’t get that warming feeling I like to get when I go for a tripel – just a sort of drab, “ehh” kind of envelopment. Good enough – but sometimes that’s not really good enough, you know what I mean? 6.5/10.