Lupulin Libations

The name says it all.

Lupulin glands are the tiny little yellow pockets of goodness in a hop cone that contain some essential ingredients for aroma and flavor in beer.

A libation is an alcoholic beverage, and of course beer fits into that category.

Lupulin Libations is dedicated to everything beer. I offer you a chance to have an experience with beer through my organized tasting sessions.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Coborn's Tasting - December 23rd

Thanks to the flu I had at the end of last week, I fell behind on posting about my upcoming holiday beer tasting. Now it's only 2 days away and I'm just getting to it. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

This Thursday, December 23rd I will be pouring samples of these brews at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor:
  • Bell's Christmas Ale
  • Bell's Winter White Ale
  • Big Sky Powder Hound
  • Great Lakes Christmas Ale
  • Schell's Snowstorm
  • Summit Unchained Batch 05: Imperial Pumpkin Porter
The tasting will run from 4:30 - 8:30pm, so come and visit us! This is a good opportunity to get out and taste some winter/holiday beer so you can pick one or two for your holiday celebrations. I'll also be happy to assist you in choosing any other brews you might want to take home and try. (And I can even help you make any potential beer gift decisions.) Stop by, it should be a fun tasting!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Great Waters Beer Dinner

Early this week, my wife and I attended a beer dinner at Great Waters along with our friend Kurt. The kitchen staff did a spectacular job with the food! It was a lovely meal that had a different beer paired with each of the 5 courses:
  • Sweet potato and coconut soup with spicy relish - paired with Golden Prairie Blond Ale
  • Grilled queso fresco with onion and tomato salad in a honey lemon vinaigrette - paired with Sans Pantalons Ale
  • Grilled tomato risotto with ham and andouille sausage stuffed calamari - paired with St. Peter Pale Ale
  • Rack of lamb in plum sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables - paired with The Fredrick
  • Pumpkin cranberry cake with cinnamon ice cream topped with candied bacon - paired with French oak aged Blackwatch Oat Stout
First, I want to note a few things about the food:
  • I'm not normally a fan of sweet potatoes, but wow, that soup was delicious. It was smooth, creamy and the relish was an awesome finishing touch. My wife loved it so much I think she was tempted to lick the bowl clean...
  • I've never had a salad like this one. The large cubes of queso fresco and cherry tomatoes were grilled perfectly. The onions were mild, sweet and very tender. Add the greens and vinaigrette, and it's all over.
  • Let me say this; I LOVE RISOTTO! This was no exception. The stuffed calamari looked like little sausages with the squid serving as the casing. Very good, especially with the spicy sauce drizzled over it. It was almost too zippy for my wife, but it was perfect for me!
  • I've found that lamb puzzles me. Sometimes I like it, but I usually prefer some other type of meat. Not the case here. It was almost unbelievably tasty! If lamb was always prepared like this, I'd never turn it down.
  • The cake and ice cream were heavenly. Candied bacon? I wasn't sure what to expect, but I've officially decided I would really enjoy it with any dessert. Sweet and salty. Yum.
The beer was great as always, and it was paired perfectly with the food. In case you were wondering; the Sans Pantalons was an Ardennes-style Belgian ale and The Fredrick was a dunkelweizen. To me, the most amazing beer of the evening was the French oak aged Blackwatch. Bob put a spiral oak core into a keg with some Blackwatch and let it sit for 4 months. The taste difference from regular Blackwatch was immediately noticeable. It had a wonderful vanilla oak character that paired beautifully with dessert. Impressive.

Owner Sean O'Byrne and head brewer Bob DuVernois were there to participate in the presentation of the dinner and answer questions. We were actually lucky enough to have Bob sit right next to us! We had a fun conversation with him that carried through the dinner. Thanks Bob and thanks Great Waters! I would love to enjoy more evenings like this.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Coborn's Tasting on December 11th

It's time for another beer tasting at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. Stop by the store on Saturday, December 11th to try some winter/holiday brews:

Bell's Winter White Ale



Bell's Christmas Ale



Schell's Snowstorm 2010 - Weizen Doppelbock



Big Sky Powder Hound



(Sorry, I couldn't easily find a pic for this one. Imagine a short brown bottle with a Summit Unchained label...)
Summit Unchained Series Batch 05 - Imperial Pumpkin Porter



Great Lakes Nosferatu

I'll be pouring samples from 3-7pm, so come have a taste and talk beer with me!