Beer Brief #10 - St. Bernardus Abt 12

Brewery - Brouwerij St. Bernard, Watou, Belgium

Beer - St. Bernardus Abt 12

Style - Quadrupel

ABV - 10%

Color - Ruby brown with a thick, off-white head

Aroma - Raisins, dates, molasses, cinnamon-like spice

Flavor - Rich, sweet, dark dried fruit, touch of herbal spice, just enough subtle bitterness to keep it even, slight tart twang on the finish

Verdict - Wow. This is my kind of brew. Nice, big rich Belgian with loads of flavor and an ABV that will kick your butt if you're not careful.

Christmas Eve Eve Coborn's Tasting

No, that's not a typo. On Friday, December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve (a.k.a. Christmas Eve Eve), I'll be pouring samples of some gift-and-holiday-celebration-worthy beers. Here are the six tasty brands in the line-up:

• Alaskan Winter Ale
• Chimay Grande Reserve
• Duvel
• Lagunitas Bavarian Doppel Weizen
• Rodenbach Grand Cru
• Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Visit the store anytime from 4:30 - 8:30pm if you'd like to savor the flavor of these brews. I'll also be happy to help you find the perfect beer to accompany your Christmas meal and/or that last minute gift for the beer-lover in your life. Hope to see you there!

Beer Brief #9 - Stag Series Burton Ale

Brewery - August Schell Brewing Company, New Ulm, Minnesota

Beer - Stag Series Batch 4 - Burton Ale

Style - Burton Ale brewed with floor malted Maris Otter, torrified wheat, and British crystal malts, along with turbinado sugar and dark candi syrup, and hopped with Nuggets and Holdings

ABV - 8%

IBU - 60

Color - Crystal clear reddish brown with an off-white head

Aroma - Brown sugar, bread dough, slight sour fruit, herbal

Flavor - Matches the aroma surprisingly well, bread, caramel, little fig, flash of tartness, metallic bitterness

Verdict - Good stuff. This is my second-favorite Stag Series brew. Very balanced, delicious, crisp, and easy to drink. Except for a little alcohol warmth, the strength is hard to detect, so drink with caution.

El Bait Shop

Last week, I went on a business trip to Des Moines, Iowa. During the day, things were all serious business and client meetings. Then, in the evening, I was shown that downtown Des Moines has some great places to drink tasty beer. The first place I visited was El Bait Shop.

Driving past El Bait Shop, you'd never suspect what lurks inside. The unassuming brick building with a couple tiny windows is decorated with a few signs from old oil companies. It could be any old bar at first glance.

When you walk inside, it's easy to see this place isn't just any old bar. Your attention gets pulled in many directions by the eclectic (and fun) atmosphere. Old bicycles hang from the ceiling and walls. Old, new, and obscure beer signs are everywhere. All manner of lighting hangs from the ceilings, including the converted kegs that dangle over the bar. Then there's the bar itself, clear plastic with old fishing gear embedded inside.

That's a lot to take in as you're walking up to the bar. It seemed like this place had potential and would be an enjoyable watering hole, but the full, huge smile on my face didn't come until I saw what was behind the bartender. 105 tap handles, all for American craft brews. It was truly a sight to behold. Check out the pictures on their website if you don't believe me.

They had a nice, big chalkboard to help navigate my beer endeavors. Everything was broken down by style, so finding suitable flavors was made simpler. I drank two delicious brews I had never tasted before and had to be on my way; dinner plans awaited me.

I really enjoyed my time at El Bait Shop. I wish I could have stayed longer, but this will help fuel my desire to make a return trip. If you find yourself in the downtown Des Moines area, you owe it to yourself to visit this excellent craft beer bar. You won't regret it.

Best Craft Beer Store in Hastings

Being the guy who wants to find a quality six-pack when I'm away from home, I've noticed it can be hard to zero in on which liquor stores in a given area best cater to the craft beer drinker. Often, I have nothing to go by except the store's sign(s) and/or name familiarity. I also know other beer drinkers who run into the same problem. So, I have decided to start an occasional series of posts that will be dedicated to finding the best craft beer stores in Minnesota cities. The first of these posts should help people searching for beer in my hometown, Hastings.

If you find yourself needing a tasty six-pack while visiting (or passing through) the southeast metro city of Hastings, I recommend you head over to Coborn's Liquor. For the sake of full disclosure: I work 4 shifts per month at this store. Because of that, it may seem like I would be slightly biased. However, there are reasons I came to the decision to do some part-time beer work with this business.

There are 2 liquor stores in Hastings that have what I consider a good craft beer selection. Coborn's Liquor is one of them. Craving a tripel, doppelbock, imperial stout, Flanders red, British bitter, Wee Heavy, saison, or IPA? They have all that and much more.

Want a little variety in your six-pack? The Coborn's Liquor Mix-Your-Six section has no equal in Hastings. Pick and choose what you'd like to try from a nice, big selection. The beers are grouped by style to make your search easier, and there's a nice flat price of $9.99 per six-pack, which keeps you from getting shocked at the register.

The Hastings Coborn's Liquor does have another thing that helps it stand out: great customer service. The staff is very knowledgable, helpful, and friendly. This service goes a long way towards enhancing your craft beer shopping experience. Can't find the beer you want? I found out long before I worked there that you can ask the store manager, Keith, to order the beer you're looking for. He's happy to bring it in for you.

So, to summarize: Good craft beer shopping in Hastings = Coborn's Liquor. Next time you're in my neck of the woods, stop in and browse the selection. If you don't know what you're looking for, ask. A helpful staff member will aid you in your search.

Cheers!

Coborn's Tasting December 10th

Ah, December - the busy holiday season. A month which can quickly fill up with family visits, catching up with friends, decorating, eating, and, of course, shopping. Why not take a break from all that craziness this Saturday and sample some tasty seasonal brews at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor? I'll be there, sharing liquid deliciousness with all of you weary shoppers. Here's the line-up:

• 21st Amendment Fireside Chat
• Alaskan Winter Ale
• Great Lakes Christmas Ale
• New Belgium Snow Day
• Rush River Winter Warmer
• Schell's Snowstorm

Stop by the store anytime from 1 - 5pm if you'd like to partake in these winter varieties. Hope to see you there!

Beer Brief #8 - Honeymoon Saison

Brewery - Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, Minnesota (created by brewer Sam Doniach)

Beer - Unchained Batch 07 - Honeymoon Saison

Style - Saison brewed with Minnesota honey

ABV - 5.3%

IBU - 40

Color - Orangish gold and cloudy with an eggshell head

Aroma - Lemon, herbal, earthy undertones

Flavor - Honey, stone fruit, spice, strong metallic bitterness

Verdict - Good beer, but not my favorite saison. It has appropriate flavors and aromas, but the bitterness is almost too aggressive for the style, in my opinion. I'd still have a couple, though.

Pour, Then Drink

Doing what I do, I often have many conversations with people about all facets of the beer world. Many of those folks are just beginning to get into craft beer and like to ask me for tips to enhance their new hobby. Interestingly, one piece of advice I offer seems to surprise more than I would expect: pour your beer into a glass before you drink it.

Many people look at me like I'm nuts. They say things like, "I prefer bottled beer, and I like to drink it from the bottle." Don't worry if you're one of them, I'm not going to scold you. I just want to help people understand what they might be missing.

If you drink a beer without pouring it into a glass (or even a cup), you are depriving yourself of the entire flavor experience. Remember when you were a kid and your mother told you to plug your nose when ingesting a taste you didn't enjoy? Did it help? I know it helped me to swallow some nasty cold medicine on more than one occasion. Your sense of smell is very connected to your sense of taste. That trick from mom essentially muted the message to your tastebuds, making unpalatable food easier to swallow.

Now, think of your standard beer packaging. Bottles and cans have very small openings; openings so small that your whole mouth covers them when you take a drink. Since the opening is covered, no aroma can escape to your nose. If you pour that same beer into a glass, you have a wide opening that allows your nostrils to fill with aroma while the liquid rolls around on your tongue.

Of course, don't feel obligated to drink out of a glass all the time. Hey, even I'm not going to pack a pint glass to go fishing. And when I go canoeing, I'm drinking my craft beer right out of the can like everyone else. I just hope that next time you crack open a tasty beer at home, you'll pour it into a glass. I know it will greatly enhance your taste experience.

My New Approach

I've been thinking pretty seriously about the best way to maintain the Lupulin Libations blog these days. It's time for a new approach, for the benefit of both you (the readers) and myself.

It seems that my life is busy enough to make certain blogging aspects more challenging and stressful than they were originally. Mainly, my in-depth beer sessions with nice pictures and my long, intensive stories detailing various events. Those types of posts were getting harder for me to find time for and more taxing to write. This, in turn, was causing me to blog much less frequently. I definitely had a need to adjust my blogging style.

I have already starting making some changes, as some you may have noticed. Posting in a more concise format while keeping detailed highlights has been working well, along with my new "Beer Brief" format. Reader feedback and site traffic has shown me that the new approach is successful, so I'm happy to continue on that path.

Of course, the Lupulin Libations blog remains dedicated to good brews and sharing beer knowledge. I may still occasionally do some of the old style sessions from time to time, but my new goal is to get all of you something beer-related to read on a more regular basis (while minimizing my own stresses).

Thanks for your continued support.

Cheers!