Coborn's Tasting Today!

I fell behind schedule and didn't get this post up as early as I would have liked...  Oh well, better late than never, right? This is very short notice for any of you who read the blog, but here goes:

Today, from 2 - 6pm, I'll be pouring some delicious samples at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. What's more, this will be my first time sharing delicious brews with you since I officially became a Certified Cicerone®! Stop by the store and have a taste from these options:

• Bell's Christmas Ale
• Green Flash Le Freak Belgian IPA
• Samuel Adams Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout
• Summit Unchained Batch 14 Biere de Garde

Also be sure to enjoy a little beer talk with me while you're there. I can help you find the perfect brews for gifts and/or pairing with your holiday meals!

I hope to see you there!

Beer Brief #53 - Old Friend Holiday Ale

Brewery - Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Beer - Old Friend Holiday Ale

Style - Winter warmer brewed with honey and fresh ginger

ABV - 7%

Color - Red with some copper and a light tan frothy head

Aroma - Toffee, ginger, biscuity malt, hint of nuttiness

Flavor - Very similar to the aroma, biscuity nutty malt, caramel, very faintest hint of chocolate, ginger, touch of berry fruitiness, herbal hops, nice balancing bitterness

Verdict - Quite the enjoyable winter warmer. The malt and hop profile reminds me a bit of an ESB, while the ginger adds a nice complementary spice. Moderate carbonation does a great job of amplifying the ginger, and the pleasant medium-body mouthfeel is capped off nicely by some alcohol warmth after swallowing. I'd definitely be happy to call this brew an "Old Friend".

P.S. - So far, this is the seventh beer I've had from Indeed. I must say, I haven't been disappointed by a single one. If you have an opportunity to try any of the brews from their line-up, I highly recommend you do so! I know they are ranking pretty high on my "favorite Minnesota breweries list" these days...

Bomber Tasting on Thanksgiving Eve!

Just wanted to make a quick post to invite all of you to the Hastings Coborn's Liquor tomorrow for our first ever Thanksgiving Eve Bomber Tasting. From 4:30 - 8:30pm, I'll be pouring some tasty samples from multiple 22 ounce bottles from our shelves. Beers present will be:

• Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
• Lagunitas Imperial Stout
• New Belgium Lips of Faith Coconut Curry Hefeweizen
• New Belgium Lips of Faith Yuzu

So stop on by the store and try some samples with me. I'll also be happy to help you find the perfectly delicious brews to pair with all your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I look forward to seeing you there!

Beer Brief #52 - Lunker

Brewery - Steel Toe Brewing Company, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

Beer - Lunker

Style - English barleywine aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels

ABV - 10.5 - 14.4%? I'm seeing conflicting reports regarding batch, and the bottle doesn't specify

Color - Very dark crimson brown with a minimal light tan foam skimming the surface

Aroma - English toffee, vanilla, dark dried fruit, toasted nuts, molasses, alcohol

Flavor - Rich toffee, chocolate, prunes, hint of nuttiness, vanilla, roasty bitterness, little spice

Verdict - A very delicious brew that fits the season well. Each sip warms me up after I fully enjoy all the rich and decadent flavors and aromas within the beer. I had tried this at the brewery on a terribly snowy blizzard of a day late last winter and it suited me so well that I had to take home a bottle. I'm enjoying it so much again that I know I will have to get another bottle as soon as it is available...

P.S. - So, for those of you who might not be sure - lunker is a word reserved for describing something big, usually a fish. Steel Toe did a great job of incorporating that into the label. This brew is aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, which was Al Capone's favorite booze, according to legend. So, very appropriately, the label features Al Capone sitting on a Templeton Rye barrel out on a dock with a fishing pole and his line in the water, presumably trying to catch a lunker. (And of course, this is a "big" beer, so Lunker is a great name for it.)

Beer Brief #51 - Storm Cellar Series #1 Schoko-Weizen

Brewery - Bad Weather Brewing Company, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Beer - Storm Cellar Series #1 Schoko-Weizen

Style - Dunkelweizen with cacao nibs

ABV - 7%

Color - Dark brown, nearly black, with hints of red and a light tan head

Aroma - Chocolate, bit of clove, slight banana bubble gum, and some roasted coffee bean

Flavor - Very similar to the aroma, weizen characteristics are there but subdued, chocolate and coffee dominate with a bit of nuttiness

Verdict - This beer was very surprising, but also very good. I expected the typical weizen flavors and aromas to be the dominating characters. However, chocolate and roastiness are the rulers of this brew. If I didn't know it was a wheat beer, I'd say it drinks like a light-bodied, nutty porter. Unexpected, but delicious and definitely worth a try. I'm probably going to look for another bottle before it disappears from liquor stores...

P.S. - (This is a new section I want to incorporate into some of my beer briefs, depending upon if I feel the need to state anything above and beyond the basics. Let's see how it goes...) This is the fourth brew I've tried from Bad Weather, and I've enjoyed all of them. I wasn't able to taste them until recently, so the experiences are very new (as are the beers) and fresh in my head. For those of you that don't know, they share brewing equipment and space with both Lucid and Badger Hill in Minnetonka. It's cool that these 3 breweries can share and grow together.

On a side note, I learned something fun by reading the label for this beer, which I always enjoy: Schokolade is the German word for chocolate. Hence, the "Schoko" portion of the name.

And finally, for the last bit of the new "P.S. section" there's this little unimportant nugget: I'm pretty sure there's a spelling error on the bottle. Cellar is spelled "Celler" on the front. Now, normally I would think this was by design (because brewers do all kinds of crazy stuff with their beer names and labels), but the website and the description on the back of the bottle spell it "cellar". It's no big deal, but I did notice and thought it would be fun to point out. I guess that's what happens when you work in the print industry as long as I have. Maybe that error will make the bottles more collectible one day...

Beer Brief #50 - Foundation Stout

Brewery - Badger Hill Brewing Company, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Beer - Foundation Stout

Style - American Stout

ABV - 6.3%

IBU - 45

Color - Black with a dark brown edge showing when held up to light, light tan head

Aroma - Light roast coffee, chocolate muffin, slight black licorice, bit of berry fruit

Flavor - Molasses, coffee, dark chocolate, very subtle blackberry, big bitterness

Verdict - This is a highly enjoyable brew that surprises with it's drinkability. Not as rich or full bodied as one might expect from a 6.3% stout, the slight dryness and lighter mouthfeel make this beer one you could revisit a few times in a single evening. I know on one particular occasion, I did just that while enjoying a burger at Red Robin...

Hastings Coborn's Beer Tasting

If you feel like sampling some delicious brews tomorrow, be sure to stop by the Hastings Coborn's Liquor.

From 4:30 - 8:30pm on Friday, October 11th, I'll be pouring beers for your tasting pleasure, including: The Libertine from Fulton, Schell's Star of the North, New Belgium Pumpkick, and Omission IPA. Stop by the store to enjoy some tasty beverages and chat beer with me.

Hope to see you there!

My Experience at New Bohemia's Oktoberfest

Mike from the New Bohemia Wurst+BierHaus invited me to partake in the first annual rendition of their Oktoberfest this past Saturday evening. I was pouring samples at a beer tasting at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor earlier in the day, so I wasn't able to make it to Minneapolis location of the celebration until 8pm. When I did arrive, I met up with Mike briefly and he was kind enough to let me into the 'fest for free with a tasting glass. Thanks for that, Mike!

First off, the tasting glass handed to me at the entrance was a Ball-branded pint jar, which was kind of ingenious on their part. It had to be a lot cheaper and required a lot less work for them to use cases of canning jars, which benefits them greatly. Plus, everyone at the 'fest seemed to enjoy drinking their brews out of those pint jars!

The event was held in the public parking ramp behind Kramarczuk's, on the ground level. After entering the main gate, I took a look around to see where everything was. Three beer trailers were present, serving all sorts of varieties appropriate for this fall celebration. There were spots for numerous activities, including: Bean Bag Toss, Keg Bowling, Sausage Eating Contest, Hammerschlagen, and even a mustache seesaw from The Traveler Beer Company (which really cracked me up - any of you who have seen Super Troopers will understand why). Of course, they had a three man polka band playing all the tunes you'd like to hear, which was located very near where you could pick up some delicious food.

The food required the use of tickets, which you could purchase near the entrance for $3 each. Snacks like Belgian fries and your basic large pretzel (along with desserts) were 1 ticket, wursts were 2 tickets, and a giant pretzel was 3 tickets. I had Belgian fries and the "Exotic Wurst of the Day", which was made from duck. Both selections were awesome!

Since I had to drive home, I didn't hit the beer very hard. However, the brews I did choose were quite good. I really enjoyed Indeed Brewing's Sweet Yamma Jamma; a creation that involves sweet potatoes, candied yams, and a special blend of spices. The big winner for me that night, though, was Bad Weather's Windvane that was cask conditioned with Mosaic hops. Mmmm, good stuff!

New Bohemia's Oktoberfest definitely felt like a great success to me, especially since there was a lot of fun to be had without an overcrowded space where people are jammed in shoulder to shoulder (they limit their general admission entries). I've been to other Oktoberfest celebrations where it was nearly impossible to move, let alone hold a bratwurst and a mug of beer while chatting with friends. Plus, there were some very good quality brews, tasty food, good polka tunes, and plenty of fun activities. If you didn't go this year, I recommend checking it out next year.

Thanks, Mike! I'm glad you invited me to check it out!

Hastings Coborn's Beer Tasting

I just wanted to make a quick post to let you all know that I'll be pouring some delicious beer samples at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor tomorrow - Saturday, September 21st.

I've chosen some fall brews for you all to enjoy, including pumpkin beers and Oktoberfest Marzens. This should be a fun day (especially weather-wise) to enjoy these fall seasonals. Stop by the store anytime from 2 - 6pm if you want to taste some beer, or even if you just want to geek out about beer with me.

I hope to see you there!

Oktoberfest at New Bohemia

Ah, fall. My favorite season. I definitely got a nice taste of that crisp cool autumn weather this weekend and I really enjoyed it. Fall is also great for beer, with all the breweries releasing their Harvest Ales, Pumpkin Beers, and Oktoberfest Marzens. Then, there's all the great Oktoberfest celebrations, usually involving big tents in parking lots, polka bands, and lots of tasty brews. Recently, I met Mike from New Bohemia in Northeast Minneapolis, who invited me to attend their first annual Oktoberfest celebration.

I've never been to New Bohemia before, but after checking their website I see that they brand themselves as a "Modern European Bier Hall" and they serve up a large selection of beer and wursts to satisfy your thirst and hunger, respectively.

Their Oktoberfest is this coming weekend and sounds like it should be a great time. They will have a ceremonial keg tapping with the Lord Mayor of New Bohemia and will have the music and beer ready for all your Oktoberfesting needs. There will be a number of breweries represented, including: Ayinger, Bad Weather, Brooklyn, Goose Island, Leinenkugel's, Paulaner, Samuel Adams, Schell's, Third Street, The Traveler, and Widmer. Sounds like a good time, right?

So, I'm going to head to New Bohemia this weekend and check it out. Maybe you should, too!

Beer Brief #49 - High Road Everyday Ale

Brewery - Badger Hill Brewing Company, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Beer - High Road Everyday Ale

Style - Badger Hill claims this one doesn't fall into any standard style category (we'll find out)

ABV - 5%

IBU - 24

Color - Light golden copper with an eggshell white head

Aroma - Honey, biscuity malt, herbal spice, hay, tropical fruit, hint of sourness when agitated

Flavor - Biscuit/cracker malt, light toast, hops take over quickly and are floral, then herbal, then spicy, with a perfect bitterness to the finish

Verdict - When I poured this into the glass, it foamed like mad even though I poured carefully. That's the one and only thing that challenged me on this brew. The aroma is very complex and pleasant, while the flavors blend together beautifully and are punctuated by the light, drinkable body and awesomely crisp finish that goads you into taking your next sip. I definitely agree that this doesn't seem to fall neatly into a specific style category. In my mind, it's almost like Badger Hill crossed an English bitter with a Bohemian pilsner. I really enjoyed this brew and look forward to drinking it again in the future!

Beer Brief #48 - Star of the North

Brewery - August Schell Brewing Company, New Ulm, Minnesota

Beer - Star of the North

Style - Berliner Weisse

ABV - 3.5%

Color - Cloudy pale yellow with a white head

Aroma - Graham crackers, lemony citrus, earthy, sweet spice

Flavor - Brief yeasty dough, big bright tartness that's a cross of lemon and cranberry takes over, a bit of sourdough bread and minimal bitterness in the finish

Verdict - This is a wonderful, light, refreshing Berliner Weisse that is everything I expect from this type of brew. The low (and true to style) ABV allows you to enjoy the whole bottle of this sessionable beer by yourself if you want, but it might be nice to share this experience with somebody else...

Beer Brief #47 - L.S.D. Honey Ale

Brewery - Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Beer - L.S.D. Honey Ale

Style - Fruit beer made with lavender, sunflower honey, and dates

ABV - 7.2%

IBU - 20

Color - Hazy copper with an off white head

Aroma - Honey, lavender is powerful and dominates, touch of molasses?

Flavor - Sweet malt, flowers (lavender), light but fitting date flavor, spicy hops, mild bitterness

Verdict - This is my second time drinking this brew, and I love it just as much as I remember. The lavender is powerful, yet meshes so well with the other flavors that the level of floral character seems perfect. I've never had another beer like it.

Beer Brief #46 - Noir de Dottignies

Brewery - Brouwerij de Ranke, Wevelgem, West Flanders, Belgium

Beer - Noir de Dottignies

Style - Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV - 9%

Color - Dark brown and definite ruby when held to light with a light tan head

Aroma - Prunes, figs, berries, toffee, dark chocolate, hint of coffee

Flavor - Plums, raisins, bit of brown sugar, chocolate, dark roast coffee beans, surprising bitterness (in a good way: not overpowering, but very balancing)

Verdict - This is a very delectable strong dark ale unlike any I've had before from Belgium. The wonderful sweet fruit characteristics are there like I would expect, but the pleasant roastiness and balancing bitterness make this unique, I think.

Beer Bloggers Conference - Day Two

Day two of the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference officially started at 9:30am. The morning was dedicated to some good information and education, geared toward me and my fellow beer bloggers. We learned everything from current beer blogging statistics to the mechanics of pouring beer. Good stuff, but probably too boring to the non-beer bloggers for me to explain in depth.

At 12:30pm, we went upstairs to have lunch. Of course, because of the beer-centric crowd, this was no ordinary lunch. It was a 4-course meal that paired each course with a beer, and it was put on by the National Beer Wholesalers Association. The run-down of the meal went like this:

1. Gazpacho paired with Rogue Brutal IPA
2. Crab cake and fennel salad paired with Stillwater Stateside Saison
3. Barbecue skirt steak and roasted sweet potatoes with Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot
4. Boston cream pie with Allagash Black

The food and brews were pretty much all delicious (this was my first time eating gazpacho, and I don't think I'll be joining that fanclub). My favorite pick of the 4 pairings was the crab cake and saison, hands down.

After lunch, there was one more educational session regarding social media best practices, then we jumped on a bus and rode to our next destination: live beer blogging at Burke Distributing/Massachusetts Beverage Alliance.

Live beer blogging is something they've done at this conference before, but was totally new for me. It's the beer blogging equivalent of speed dating. Breweries rotate from table to table visiting beer bloggers. Two staffers from each brewery get five minutes at each table to tell you about their business and pour and describe their beer to you. All while that's happening, you (the beer blogger) has to either post to your blog, facebook, or twitter, etc, before it's the next brewery's turn. It was crazy fast and intense. This being my first time, I decided to post to Untappd, which I also have set up to feed into my twitter account. That was a lot of fun.

After the craziness that was live beer blogging, the buses took us to Harpoon Brewery. They had given us beer bloggers months of advance notice and allowed us to vote on a beer style that they would brew specifically for our visit. The style that won? An imperial white IPA. As we walked into the brewery, they were handing out samples of that beer. It was really, awesomely good. Then we walked through the brewery until we arrived at the beer hall, where we were treated to a beer and cheese pairing and delectable dinner. Once again, this would have been a great way to end the night, except that it wasn't over!

The buses brought us back to the hotel, where we began the very first "Beer Social" in this conference's history. Basically, it was bunch of breweries pouring samples while us beer bloggers geeked out and used all available forms of social media to talk beer. They had a live broadcast of the BBC13 hashtag projected on the wall for all to see as we chatted, tweeted, facebooked, and instagramed.

Wow, that was a fun, busy day. I crashed hard that night...

Beer Bloggers Conference - Day One

Yesterday was the first day of the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference. I am very excited to be able to attend this event at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in, of course, Boston, MA. I had such a busy beer experience happening on the first day that I wasn't able to post this at the end of the day like I wanted to. So, I figured the next best thing would be a post first thing in the morning before I get into even more beer fun.

The Beer Bloggers Conference started in 2010 and has been successful enough to continue annually. It happens at a different city every year and involves some great beer experiences that us bloggers can write about. This is the first year that I've been able to attend.

I arrived in Boston just before noon and made my way to the hotel. The conference wasn't going to start until 2:30pm, so I thought it would be a good time to have lunch. Funnily enough, there was a Rock Bottom Brewery just a quick walk away. While I was there, I enjoyed a couple brews with my food and chilled until it was time to head back to the hotel.

I went to pick up my conference name badge and was happy to receive this awesome gift from Hydro Flask:

It's a stainless steel, powder coated, double walled, vacuum insulated growler. Cool, right?

After picking up my badge and growler, I walked over to the trade show that was kicking off the event and sampled some brews. One that definitely stood out was Ghost Face Killah, a chile beer made with Anaheim, Fresno, Jalapeno, Serrano, Habanero, and Bhut Jolokia (aka Ghost chile). This was probably the spiciest beer I have had yet, but not much hotter than the chipotle pepper Black Marlin Porter I had at Ballast Point a few months ago. I sampled some other delicious beers (which helped cool my palate) and then hopped on the bus outside the hotel.

The bus took us to the original brewery of Boston Beer Company for a couple keynote speakers, dinner, and more tasty beer. Jim Koch, founder of the brewery, was one of the speakers and gave a fun and relaxed speech that I may eventually have access to on video and will post if things work out. After the speech I was fortunate enough to go into the barrel room and sample some 2012 Samuel Adams Utopias with Jim:

After the Utopias tasting, I thoroughly enjoyed the food, beer, and conversations with my fellow beer bloggers. This was a great evening. But wait, we're not done yet! We loaded up the bus and headed to Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale, where some pirates were ready to show us a good time.

Heavy Seas Brewing put on a Pyrates, Pints, and Poets party for us at Stoddard's. There were many beers to sample and I did my best, but wasn't able to hit every one. Here's what I did try: Red Sky at Night Saison, Small Craft Uber Pils, Davey Jones' Lager, Loose CANnon IPA, Red Sky with lavender on cask, Siren Noire Imperial Chocolate Stout, and Peg Leg Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed every single one of those beers. I wonder if they'll ever make it to Minnesota? Fun little tidbit for you: apparently, Heavy Seas is the largest producer of cask ale in the United States. It definitely showed at the party, as there were a good number of casks present.

Well, I'd say it was a great first day! Uh-oh, it's getting close to starting time for day two, so I better get going. Keep watching the blog to see what adventures I have today!

Beer Brief #45 - Serendipity

Brewery - New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Beer - Serendipity

Style - Oak-aged sour fruit beer made with apples, cranberries, cherries, and fermented with brettanomyces

ABV - Can't find an official source, but most pages I found listed it as either 4% or 5.1%

Color - Reddish amber with a light tan head

Aroma - Cranberries and sweet cherries dominate

Flavor - All the fruit comes through beautifully, apples and cherries blend perfectly with the cranberry tartness, there's also a small touch of caramel and a slight amount of earthy bitterness

Verdict - If you're ever craving an alcoholic version of sparkling fruit juice, Serendipity might just fit the bill. The big fruit aromas and flavors completely dominate this brew and give the drinker a juicy, delicious treat. This beer was created because a cherry shortage wouldn't allow New Glarus to make their usual Belgian Red. The bottle label says "Happy Accident Fruit Ale", and I completely agree. Happy accident, indeed!

Beer Brief #44 - War & Peace

Brewery - Fulton Brewing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Beer - War & Peace

Style - Russian Imperial Stout aged on Peace Coffee's Guatemalan Organic Dark Roast

ABV - 9.5%

Color - Thick black with dark brown around the edges and a tan head

Aroma - Molasses, chocolate, coffee, a waft of fruit - maybe blackberry?

Flavor - Brief toffee, tiny bit of raisin, dark chocolate, full coffee roastiness, dark berry, earthy bitterness

Verdict - This is now one of my favorite coffee beers! The coffee was integrated nearly perfectly in my opinion by making it's presence well known while still remaining balanced enough that the imperial stout character comes through clearly. Then, there's the added bonus of the luxuriously creamy mouthfeel...

Beer Brief #43 - Love Child No. 3

Brewery - Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri

Beer - Love Child No. 3

Style - Bourbon barrel-aged wild ale

ABV - 9.5%

IBUs - 13

Color - Cloudy copper with a creamy off-white head

Aroma - Earthy, tobacco, woody spice, vanilla, a bit of cherry

Flavor - Caramel and vanilla briefly, cranberry tartness with earthy funk, dry finish with pithy citrus peel bitterness

Verdict - I really enjoy this brew. It has a perfect amount of tartness to go with the sweetish start and lovely funk, and maintains a nice balance that doesn't become overpowering (at least not for me).

Beer Brief #42 - John Henry West Indies Pale Ale

Brewery - Cold Spring Brewing Company, Cold Spring, MN

Beer - John Henry West Indies Pale Ale

Style - West Indies Pale Ale (whatever that is) aged on dark rum oak spirals

ABV - 9.4%

Color - Dark brown with hints of ruby, minimal light tan head

Aroma - Brown sugar, honey, light fruit, bit of alcohol, pineapple?

Flavor - Caramel, vanilla, raisin, touch of rum, more light fruit, hint of smoke, balancing bitterness

Verdict - I am very impressed by this brew. There is an almost indescribable fruitiness that goes well with the malty sweetness. All the flavor complexity is delicious and fun to analyze. I'll probably have to get this again...

Beer Brief #41 - Ode to a Russian Shipwright (2011 Vintage)

Brewery - Olvalde Farm and Brewing Company, Rollingstone, MN

Beer - Ode to a Russian Shipwright - 2011 Vintage

Style - Imperial Stout Porter brewed with spruce tips

ABV - ??? Nothing listed, I've heard around 8%

Color - Opaque black, doesn't even let any light pass through the edges, thick tan head

Aroma - Rye toast, bit of roast, hint of chocolate, acidity, pine, earthy

Flavor - Toffee, prune, coffee, slighty nutty, blueberry, lingering bitterness

Verdict - I remember enjoying this brew very much when I first tried it. Now with some age on this bottle, I think it might be even better than when it was fresh! Very good stuff!

Beer Brief #40 - Before the Dawn

Brewery - Steel Toe Brewing Company, Saint Louis Park, MN

Beer - Before the Dawn

Style - Black Barleywine aged in rye whiskey barrels

ABV - 13.7%

Color - Black with dark brown near the edges of the glass, small amount of tan head

Aroma - Very rich, brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, dark dried fruit, port, hint of booziness

Flavor - Almost a mirror image of the aroma, plus a bit of coffee roastiness and notable bitterness

Verdict - This beer is fantastic! The big, rich, dark flavors and aroma are complex and extremely enjoyable. The only real sign of the ABV is the warmth at the back of my throat. I missed the boat when Steel Toe released Before the Dawn last year. I was lucky enough to receive this brew as a gift from a good friend. It has almost a year of age in the bottle, so I don't know what it tasted like when it was first bottled. A big thanks to you, my friend. You know who you are...

Beer Brief #39 - Brimstone

Brewery - Boom Island Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN

Beer - Brimstone

Style - Tripel

ABV - 9.5%

Color - Yellowish gold with a long-lasting eggshell white head

Aroma - Honey, lemongrass, peach, cotton candy, herbal spice

Flavor - Matches very well with the aroma along with a touch of bubble gum and black pepper, dry and warming alcohol presence

Verdict - I am very impressed with this tripel. I had tried Boom Island's first 2 beers at a beer festival just after they opened a while ago and wasn't sure about them. However, this beer is definitely a winner in my book. I believe that means I need to revisit those first two brews, as well as try their others for the first time. I really, really like this beer! Keep up the good work, Boom Island.

Societe Brewing Company Visit

Wow. It appears that I've let time slip away over the last few weeks. Sorry about that. I do still want to share my last brewery stop in San Diego, though. It's a good thing I liked this last brewery so much – makes it that much easier to remember...

Societe Brewing Company was not on my pre-planned list of San Diego breweries to visit. This stop was thanks to yet another wonderful suggestion from an employee at different brewery. Stone Brewing's Lead Indoctrination Specialist, Phil Macnitt, was kind enough to suggest this small, young brewery.

I walked into Societe on a Thursday evening and sat down at the bar. They had a very large taproom area with a clear, open view back to all the brewing equipment. I mentioned that Phil from Stone had sent me to sample all their delicious brews, then a well-versed employee named Steve was kind enough to guide me through all of their current beers.

Here are the beers in the order I tried them: The Harlot (Belgian pale ale), The Debutante (Belgian brown ale), The Apprentice (American IPA), The Pupil (American IPA), The Pugilist (Irish dry stout), The Butcher (Russian imperial stout). They were all excellent brews, but my favorites were The Debutante and The Butcher. Those two were absolutely amazing!

While I was sampling, Steve and I discussed the beers amongst other things. Apparently, the brewery was not quite a year old yet, but was doing very well. They had a lot of space to add fermenters and increase capacity. But the thing he was most excited about was their barrel-aging program. He pointed out their room full of beer encased in barrels of all sorts, and told me some of the brewer's plans for beers to come out of them.

After listening to all the enthusiasm swirling around those barrels, I think I may have to get back down to San Diego and revisit Societe. Not to mention how much I loved the 6 brews I sampled...

Rough Draft Brewery Visit

Ah, Rough Draft Brewing. The second-to last brewery I visited on my recent trip to San Diego. I had never heard of them before, but found them on the San Diego Brewers Guild website. Their location was fairly close to 2 other breweries that had planned to visit (Alesmith and Green Flash), so I figured I'd give them a try.

As I walked into Rough Draft, I immediately noticed that the atmosphere was very relaxed, even for how busy it was that evening. While the other breweries I had visited on this trip had a very defined area with some form of structure dividing the tap rooms from the brewery space, this space was wide open. The only things separating the tap room from the brewhouse were some temporary barriers.

Alright, I had surveyed the place; now it was time to taste some beer. Luckily for me, the moment I stepped up to the bar and checked out their tap list, a bar seat opened up. So, I sat down and waited for some service.

This is where I tell you the only negative thought I have after visiting Rough Draft – the service left something to be desired. It took a while before someone asked me what I wanted, which, by itself, wouldn't have been too bad. I know places get busy and are oftentimes understaffed. What made it worse, in my mind, was that the server who eventually helped me couldn't answer any of my questions about the beers. Keep in mind, if I didn't have to drive myself back to the hotel, I would have just ordered a taster of every beer and made it easy for her. Since that wasn't the case, I wanted to get a little info about the beers so I could be selective with my choices. I asked her things like: what is the difference in your IPAs, what style is such-and-such beer, etc. She didn't know, but she clearly didn't want to admit it. She said she would get me a beer list with descriptions, and I thought: Sweet! Now we're getting somewhere! That beer list never appeared and she never came back to help me. Eventually, another server came over to ask me if I needed anything. I'm happy to say that she REALLY knew her stuff. And she treated me very well, so my first impression of Rough Draft was saved. Hooray!

Onto the beer! I tried samples of: Belgian Blonde, Belgian Vanilla Stout, Southern Triangle IPA, Freudian Sip, Barrel-aged Freudian Sip, and Barrel-aged Emboozlement. I'm happy to report that the brews were all very tasty, but my favorite was definitely the Barrel-aged Freudian Sip, which is a big American strong ale aged in bourbon barrels. Mmmm...

All in all, I had a good time visiting Rough Draft. I had some good service (in the end), and enjoyed some good craft brews in a cool environment. Yep, San Diego was being pretty good to me, beer-wise. I didn't know that my next stop to a brewery I never heard of would be one of my favorites, though...

Ballast Point Brewery Visit

So, when we last left my San Diego adventures, I was talking to my tour guide at Stone brewing, Mike Martinez. During the course of our conversation, Mike found out that I'm a big fan of well done chili beers. Man, that set him off! He told me that, if I enjoy that type of beer, I absolutely must visit Ballast Point Brewing while I was in the area. What could I do but take a fellow beer geek's advice? I went to Ballast Point.

I wasn't able to visit the brewery while they were giving a tour, but I definitely purchased some tasters in their tap room to enhance my southern California beer experience. When I arrived, I scanned their very long list of brews scrawled on a large chalk board. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to sample all the beers on their list and still be able to drive back to the hotel safely - even with taster size glasses. So, I had to be very selective with my choices.

Since Mike had sent me to this brewery for chili beers, I figured I better start there. There were 3 available on their list:

• Wahoo Wheat with thai chili, ginger, and lime
• Indra Kunindra - a beer they label as an India-Style Export Stout; brewed with Madras curry, cumin, cayenne, coconut and Kaffir lime
• Black Marlin Porter with chipotle peppers, cocoa nibs, and orange peel

Of course, I tried all three. They were all tasty in their own right. The Wahoo Wheat had the best pepper flavor and aroma. The Black Marlin Porter was deliciously chocolately and roasty while having the most spicy heat I've ever had in a beer. The Indra Kunindra ruled over both of those beers, in my mind. I'm a huge fan of coconut curries, and this beer perfectly blended that spicy, rich flavor with a very tasty stout. I liked it so much, I bought a 22 ounce bomber to take back to the hotel. I liked it so much that when the bottle was empty, I rinsed it really well and lovingly wrapped it in a nice thick sweatshirt so I could bring the memory home with me. Yep, I completely love that beer.

Now, even though I had found a very memorable brew, I figured I had better try a couple more before I eventually would head back to my hotel. After all, when would I get an opportunity to try these beers again? These 2 were awesome:

• The Homework Series Batch 1 - If you're a fan of hoppy red ales (like I am), you would very much enjoy this well balanced, caramelly and toffee sweet, floral and bitter hoppy beer.
• Sea Monster with Rum Raisin - Can you imagine a big, rich, chocolately, roasty imperial stout? OK, now imagine it brewed with rum soaked raisins. Is your mouth watering yet?

When I finished my samples, I purchased the aforementioned bomber and headed back to my hotel. What a great experience! Thank you, Ballast Point, for exposing me to one of the most memorable moments in my beer tasting repertoire: sipping on Indra Kunindra. And an even bigger thanks to Mike Martinez, for telling me that I must visit Ballast Point!

Stone Brewery Visit

I returned from my business trip to San Diego this past weekend. It was good to get home and see my wife and kids, but I did not enjoy my "welcome back" from our good old Minnesota weather. That was a fun, snowy, cold drive to work on Monday...

Oh well, at least winter is almost over. Plus, I still have the fond memories of the last 4 breweries I visited in southern California to keep me warm inside. I'm going to make one post for each of those breweries, so check back to the blog for the next 3 after today's post.

Let's start with Stone.

Yep, I managed to get into a tour at the Stone brewery. Their last tour on weeknights is at 6pm, which gave me enough time to get to there after training and have a brew at their bar beforehand.

When I arrived at the brewery, I could instantly smell the aroma of boiled hops from the parking lot. That was a wonderful greeting. After purchasing my $3 tour ticket, I walked around to take a look at their World Bistro and Gardens. It was a beautiful area, especially in the early evening sunlight. My next goal was to hit the bar for one beer before the tour.

I sat down at the bar and was handed a beer menu, not a beer list. We're talking multiple pages here. I was unprepared for the sheer scale of their selection, almost dumbfounded. I have never seen so many beers available at a brewery. Not only did they have their own beers; they had a huge collection of tap and bottle beers from many other craft brewers. And I was only going to have one? Decisions, decisions. I decided I should have a beer from Stone, since I was at the brewery. I had already tasted all of their tap selections, so I looked over the bottle list.

I quickly found one that stood out in my mind: Saison du Buff. I had heard of this collaboration between Stone, Dogfish Head, and Victory, but wasn't able to get my hands on it before. It was an easy choice since saisons are one of my favorite styles and the beer was formulated by a "dream team" of brewers. This same recipe was brewed separately at all 3 brewery locations. Of course, this was Stone's version. It was a 7.7% ABV saison brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. I asked the bartender for a bottle and noticed he was having trouble finding it in the fridge. When he came back with the bottle, I joked and said "I had to pick the one beer that wanted to hide from you, huh?" He chuckled and said, "No, actually. This is our last bottle." Lucky for me! It was a very tasty brew that was strong in two of my favorite saison components: spice and dryness. Not to mention that it didn't drink at all like a 7.7% beer, as the alcohol was almost indiscernible. Good stuff.

After I finished my beer, I headed over to wait in line at the tour start point. Now, I won't bore you with all the brewery tour details. If you've been on one before, all the same concepts and processes apply. What I will say is this: Stone is the largest brewery I have toured yet. The size of the brewhouse and the large number of huge fermenters brought a whole new sense of scale to my brewery repertoire. This was also the first brewery I've been to that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When the tour was over, our guide brought us back to the tasting/growler fill area, which is where we started. Everyone in the group was given samples of Levitation, IPA, Arrogant Bastard, and Old Guardian. I enjoyed my samples and chatted with the tour guide, Mike, and Stone's Lead Indoctrination Specialist, Phil Macnitt. Those good conversations led to me visiting a couple other breweries that I might not have planned to...

3 San Diego Breweries

I rarely travel for work, but this week I'm in San Diego going through some training for my day job. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: it must really be tough having to travel to San Diego for work. Right?

I know, it really is a privilege for most people to be given the opportunity to travel to southern California for work. But for me, it's not. Actually, it's a sublime beer experience better than most! There are so many great breweries in San Diego, and I've already gotten to visit 3 on this trip, so far...

Today, when my training day was over at 5pm, I paid a visit to the Pizza Port in Solana Beach. They are well known for making some tasty pizza. And, oh yeah, they brew some tasty award-winning beers, too! I had the opportunity to sample a few of their brews in the midst of their busy dinner rush. They were all tasty, but my favorite was the Draft Punk, a tasty Biere de Garde. I wanted to take some pictures, but my camera's battery was on it's last leg, so I didn't get the opportunity to record any of that experience.

At least I was able to take some pics yesterday! Check out this photo:

I signed up for a tour at Green Flash Brewing. I previously tried 2 of their beers I had purchased while I was in Florida. Based upon that past flavor experience, I knew I had to visit the brewery. The tour guide was one of the most knowledgeable and fun brewery guides I've ever had. If it wasn't for that great tour, I don't think I would have enjoyed myself as much. For some reason, the atmosphere in Green Flash made me feel like I was in some pop music driven night club with a bunch of people just looking to get drunk.

Don't get me wrong; the beer was delicious, there were definitely some fellow beer geeks there, and I was able to chat with some friendly folks towards the end of my time there. It's hard to describe why I felt the way I did, unless you are able to experience it for yourself. Still, I'm very happy I paid a visit to the brewery and sampled their selection. My favorite was their Le Freak, which is a cross between a Trippel and an IPA. Mmmmm...

I'm kind of working backwards here, but only chronologically. These moments are in an order that reflects my favorite experience. Which leads us to the first brewery I visited yesterday:

Before visiting Alesmith, I had only tried one of their beers. However, it was one heck of a tasty brew called Horny Devil that engrained itself into my brain. That beer, along with the many wonderful things I had read, led me to the decision to visit this brewery. Boy, am I glad I did. First of all, almost all of the beers were all absolutely amazing! Take a look at this lovely list:

Where oh where, where do I begin? Hmmm, let's see. X was an amazing pale ale. The Nut Brown Ale is one of the best versions of the style I've ever had. The IPA is so good. The Wee Heavy brought a huge smile to my face. Old Numbskull was a beautifully balanced American barleywine. Speedway Stout was rich and roasty and inspired me to buy a 750ml. And then, there was the Decadence; I'm not sure if I've had a tastier American-brewed quadrupel...

On top of the beer, there were two awesome employees behind the counter that made the whole experience even better. Cheers to them both! Thanks, Shaun and Brian, for the best San Diego brewery experience I've had so far!

Beer Brief #38 - Silhouette

Brewery - Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota

Beer - Silhouette

Style - Imperial Stout

ABV - 10%

Color - Opaque black with a tan, milkshake head

Aroma - Toffee, milk chocolate, touch of coffee, some berry fruitiness, light alcohol

Flavor - Follows the aroma very closely, very cool transition from milk chocolate to bittersweet chocolate to dark chocolate to coffee, delicate fruit component, strong bitter finish

Verdict - This is a dang tasty imperial stout from a quality Minnesota brewery! That's all I have to say about that. Except for this: You'd be hard pressed to guess you're drinking a 10% brew after tasting this beauty...

Beer Brief #37 - Pentagram

Brewery - Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Beer - Pentagram

Style - Wild Ale aged in red wine barrels

ABV - 6.66%??? (see additional notes at the end of this post)

Color - Dark mix of garnet and brown with a light tan head

Aroma - Tart cherries, oak, vanilla bean, leather, cotton candy, vinous

Flavor - Lemon tartness, cranberry, cherry, citrus rind bitterness (without the citrus aroma or flavor), mineral/metallic hint, touch of caramel?

Verdict - This brew definitely matches it's description. There's no doubt it is a Brettanomyces beer aged in wine barrels. Lots of sour and bitter fruit are evident, along with strong vinous and dry characteristics. It is probably one of the most unique wild ales I've had and is complex and enjoyable. However, I have had people tell me they enjoy it more than Surly Five, which I can't necessarily agree with.

Additional Notes - Surly doesn't list the ABV for Pentagram; not on the bottle or on their website. I did a little web research, and most places I found an ABV had it listed as 6.66%. Typically, when I find numerous sources listing the same ABV for a beer, I will use that as my official stat for a beer brief. In this case, it might be a rumor or a "placed" stat. I mean, c'mon. What are the odds that a beer named Pentagram has an exact ABV of 6.66%? Not sure what I'm talking about? Think about it...

612Brew Release Party

Today, Robert Kasak from 612Brew sent me an email with some great news!

612Brew is having their release party at The Pourhouse tomorrow. Starting at 7pm, you'll be able to try any of their 4 tasty brews.

Click here for more details.

Big Arrival at Hastings Coborn's Liquor

Something amazing will be happening at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor this Thursday, February 7th. Well, it's at least impressive to any craft beer lovers in the Hastings area.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Sorry, I just meant "a long time ago." Anyway, a while back a request was put in with a brewery that would allow the Hastings Coborn's Liquor to carry their beers. (I bet some of you know where this is going already, right?)

This local brewery is raved about constantly and everyone around the country wants to try their beer. (OK, now I bet most of you know what's coming.)

Their brews are canned, not bottled, in 4-packs of 16 ounce containers and the brewery is in Brooklyn Center, MN. (Alright, if you don't know by now, you've probably been living under a rock for the last couple years. If not, my apologies, and read on.)

Yep, Surly Brewing is about to arrive at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor!!!

If you stop by the store after 4pm on Thursday, we will have 6 varieties of Surly's tasty beer available:

• Abrasive Ale
• Bender
• Coffee Bender
• Cynicale
• Furious
• Hell

This is big news for our store, and a big deal for anyone looking to buy Surly in Hastings.

This next bit hasn't been confirmed yet but, hopefully, down the line, we will have access to Surly's limited release brews as well. Beers like Smoke, Darkness, Anniversary Beers, etc.

Be sure to stop on by the Hastings Coborn's Liquor on Thursday evening or anytime after. I know I will. After all, why would anybody want to miss out on some of Minnesota's most popular beers available to purchase at their favorite local liquor store? I think (and hope) that the answer is "They wouldn't..."

Beer Brief #36 - Bellerose

Brewery - Brasserie de Sources, St. Amand les Eaux, France

Beer - Bellerose

Style - Biere de Garde crossed with a Belgian IPA

ABV - 6.5%

Color - Light copper with long-lasting bright white head

Aroma - Lemon, ginger, herbal spice, cotton candy, chamomile

Flavor - Bready malt, honey, hard to describe strong floral character, green tea, gentle bitterness

Verdict - Wow. This beer's flavors are hard for me to describe, but I know I like them. It's the first time I think I've had a beer that tasted this "floral" and I'm really enjoying it. I will officially be dubbing this beer my favorite brew to come out of France. Delicious.

Whaaa? What's going on? A beer tasting?

OK, hold on. Let me try my best Keanu Reeves impression: "Whoa..." That's it, folks. How did I do?

Where did the last 2 months go so quickly? I guess I may have been just a tiny bit busy and didn't maintain my blog, facebook, or twitter. Oops...

Well, I return with a fun and (hopefully) rewarding post for you. Tomorrow, I will be pouring samples of some delicious brews at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. Which beers will be present? Hmmm... I don't know. ;) You may just have to show up to find out!

From 4:30 - 8:30pm, I'll be spreading the beer love in the southeast metro. Stop on by after work (or before work, whatever works) and try some tasty beers that you may have never sampled before. If you show up, you won't regret it. I promise. Plus, you can talk beer with me, which will be awesome (I hope).

Here's the reiteration: Tomorrow (Friday, January 25th) - Mystery beer tasting - Hastings Coborn's Liquor - 4:30 to 8:30pm - It will be a good time!

Hope to see you there!