“Oak” On The Water
Most foodies are able to describe the affect of oak on their favorite wine varietal. Chardonnay, for example, becomes decadent and buttery with lingering bitterness. Or, in a word, “oaky.” Your neighborhood beer connoisseur will tell you that wood aging will play similar tricks on your favorite beer styles. Better yet, brewmasters track down used barrels from whiskey, port, and even, yes, Chardonnay, to make some extremely interesting concoctions to tease your palate. From Allagash to Weyerbacher, so many brewers are wood-aging their beer that the tree in your back yard may be in jeopardy. Sit back and enjoy the view through the trees as we travel the world in a barrel.
The concept of barrels in brewing dates back to the Middle Ages. Back then, beer was barrel-aged by necessity. Oak was most common and is today the most widely used wood for both beer and wine barrels. The advent of steel made the brewing process both cleaner and easier. Even today, the barrel is almost exclusively used outside the actual brewing process — more as a flavoring device than a true fermentation vessel. Scottish brewers, in particular Innis and Gunn, are credited for repopularizing oak barrels for flavor. The past couple of years have seen a significant number of U.S. brewers sporting wood…barrels in their beermaking operations. Read more
Beer Tip: Bell’s Hopslam
I keep touting Bell’s Brewery — they keep putting out great beer. I’m at it again now that Hopslam has finally made its Atlanta debut a few short days ago. Forgive me, I would’ve posted sooner but I was busy publishing our Atlanta Cuisine February paper issue.
This hopped up monster pours a pale bronze with small white head that quickly dissipates under the robust strength of the alcohol. Aroma is all hops, which carries well into the flavor. But even with all that big bitter hop bite you’ll find floral nuances and piny undertones. It finishes surprisingly smooth for a big hoppy brew through a careful combination of honey and sweet malts. Enough so, even the malt lover will appreciate it.
The mouthfeel is slick, a little oily, with some carbonation. This is one ridiculously delicious, insanely easy drinking brew that will sneak up on you in a New York second due to its high gravity nature. Consider yourself warned.
Enjoy with a hophead drinking buddy after a long day in the yard.
Stats
Strength: 10% abv
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Serve In: Snifter
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
Field Guide to Founders
Michigan based Founders Brewing Company enjoys critical acclaim and the devotion of beer enthusiasts across the country. Their name has become synonymous with bold beers utilizing non-traditional brewing techniques and ingredients, the result of passion and commitment to a dream.
As college students, Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers dreamed of opening a brewery. Avid craft been enthusiasts, they began homebrewing as they pursued their chosen career fields. Unfulfilled and still remembering their original dream, they broke from their daily lives and forged ahead into a world of beer and business. Starting small with a standard microbrewery portfolio, they struggled at first and treaded mediocrity. Revisiting their original ideas for the company, the duo set out experimenting with their beers, making huge beers with unorthodox ingredients challenging the common styles produced before. Read more
2009 “Beer” in Review
I know, I know—everyone has a year-end article about something. Why should beer be an exception … especially in light of the wonderful year that 2009 represented for metro Atlanta?
From new breweries to exceptional new beers to great new destinations—last year was very kind to the beer-ophile in all of us.
The final year of the aughts brought us the most new breweries we have seen since the alcohol limit was raised five years ago. New Belgium Brewing out of Ft Collins, CO was perhaps the highest profile new addition. They brought in their flagship beer: Fat Tire Amber Ale, along with portfolio mainstays Mothership Wit and 1554 Black Ale, during their summer roll-out. More importantly, November brought us two of their Lips of Faith series—La Folie and Bier de Mars. La Folie is a sour Flemish-style brown ale. It’s tart Kriek-like bite rarely pleases on the first sip. By the third, however, you are hooked and will have a hard time going back to Fat Tire. Look for more from New Belgium in the months to come including an IPA—Ranger—to join the lineup in February. Read more
Founders Has Arrived!
The coming of Michigan-based Founders Brewery is the buzz of the beer community the past month or so. Well, they’re here.
The most highly touted beer in their arsenal is the Breakfast Stout. This beautiful beer pours rich deep black with a light brown quickly dissipating head that caresses the glass.
Aromas are: a little malts, a little roasty, and a whole lot of coffee.
The beer’s bitter coffee flavor is strong out of the gate, but finishes silky smooth. It’s a mysteriously dark handsome coffee beer, with sex appeal. Beer can be complex. Beer can even be sophisticated. And yes, beer can be sexy.
At 8.3% abv, enjoy curled up in front of a romantic fire with steamy companionship.
Stats
Strength: 8.3% abv
Style: Stout
Serve In: Snifter
Verdict: 4.75 out of 5
Beermuda Triangle Homebrew Competition
Think you got what it takes to brew with the big boys? Then this competition might be for you. The winner will get to brew his/her beer with 5 Seasons and have it on tap at the Westside location.
Deadline for beer submission is January 30th, 2010, judging will take place the week of February 1st. Ready, set, start brewing!
The judges will be Tony Riffel of Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge, Crawford Moran of 5 Seasons Westside, and Kraig Torres of Hop City Craft Beer & Wine. Guest judges to be announced later.
Click here for more info
Beer Tip: Bell’s Expedition Stout
If I had a top 10 American brewery list going, Bell’s Brewery would be on it. This Michigan-based brewery is on a roll, putting out one great beer after another.
The winter Expedition Stout is another wonderfully brewed beer. It pours thick as molasses, and dark as night with a small brown head that doesn’t hang around. Aroma is roasty malts and coffee.
When it first rolls over the tongue, the beer’s smokiness dominates, but bitter dark chocolate quickly breaks through, rounded out by ripe fruit and creamy mouthfeel—and finishes with a warm alcohol sensation.
At 10.5% abv, this beautiful brew should be sipped in front of a fire with good company.
Stats:
Strength: 10.5% abv
Style: Imperial Stout
Serve In: Snifter
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
Beer Lover’s Guide To Holiday Eating
Stressed out by the upcoming holiday rush? You, my friend, need a beer. Better yet, how about nine beers…paired with food. Really good food. Holiday food! Let your friends at Atlanta Cuisine walk you through the ultimate combination of food and drink that will make your neighborhood sommelier blush with embarrassment that he/she couldn’t come up anything even close to this good. So put away your corkscrew and celebrate the holidays with the beverage that counts — beer!
10am - Go time. Hit the kitchen for breakfast and food prep. Whip up some buckwheat blueberry waffles with fresh berries on top. Mimosas? Heck no! Sparkling French Cider, of course. Cidre Bouche Brut du Normandie is the ideal compliment to the grainy sweetness. Read more
Beer Tip: Left Hand Warrior IPA
After nearly 3 weeks of no beer tasting with my glut-for-punishment neighbors, I decided to torture them with a mega pouring that cleared my beer fridge of a half dozen high gravity 22oz bombers and a growler (half gallon) of Rogue Dead Guy Ale.
As you can probably imagine, the night ended rather comically. One neighbor, after barely finding his way home, prayed to the porcelain gods so passionately—he admits it would be easier to repaint his bathroom walls than to clean them.
The other neighbor, who I’m surprised actually found his way home, was awoken the next morning by his screaming, hormone-enraged pregnant wife. He was passed out butt naked on the cold living room floor.
The good news, besides waking fully clothed with liver intact after this blurry-eyed drunk fest, I discovered Left Hand Warrior, a brilliant fresh-hopped IPA.
Brewed with true Left Hand philosophy in mind, this seasonal full-bodied, bronzed beauty is brewed with a strong malt foundation that complements its bright floral hoppiness, that comes from a mixture of Colorado-grown Cascade hops and varieties from the brewery’s own hop fields.
Stats
Availability: 22oz bombers and Kegs
Strength: 6.60% abv
Bitterness: 60 IBU’s
Verdict: 4 on a scale to 5
The Flavor of The Month
Beer enthusiasts stumbling back from the tents of Oktoberfest or relaxing with the first dark beer of the season are very aware that it is finally fall. One of the most famous seasons for drinking beer pairs cooling weather with world renowned festivals, like the Great American Beer Fest in Denver, Colorado.
Some are recovering from the season’s first cold just in time to enjoy all of the flavors of the season, bags of Halloween candy, and the all-important pumpkin pie. This classic American combination of flavors, including the spices cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom, has inspired a popular genre of seasonal beers, loosely based on some of the first ales of American history. The style is even rumored to have been once brewed by George Washington.
Conceptually, Pumpkin Beer is a fascinating idea; rich, hearty brews, flavorful and brewed from vegetables. The modern version of the popular holiday favorite is a far cry from its historical roots. During the early days of America, with very little excess barley for brewing, intrepid colonists used other sources of sugar for the earliest American beers. Molasses, sugar cane, honey, turnips, and squash were often used as replacements for the sugar in more common, inexpensive beers. Read more
