My Half Full Glass - May 14th, 2013

This is actually last week's HFG, but shit happens. I also had a bottle of wine on deck to include this installment, but with allergy season in full swing my nose just wasn't gonna do it. And now I'm on to the next thing, so here it is!

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Three Philosophers is a Belgian Quad, a high ABV Belgian beer for which there is also a growing number of domestic examples worth drinking. The most recent release of Gravitation from Smuttynose caught my attention earlier this year and I've wondered how it compared to the offering from Ommegang.

Ommegang is known for their true-to-style Belgian beers as well as paving some new ground, and I can't say I have ever been disappointed with one of their beers. This Quad was not what I expected however, but in fairness there isn't anything wrong or off about it. It is just much drier than I expected. All of the aromatic and flavor notes are representative, dried fruits, dark sweet fruits, a breadiness and some spices. The alcohol is moderate at 9.7%, and is not a detractor. In the mouth it's all there, but it is very subtle because of the low residual sugar.

Having had a few homebrewed versions that are sweet and viscous I checked the BJCP Style Guide to see what the ranges in the different attribute categories might be. Category 18E, Belgian Dark Strong Ale is where a Quad could be classified. The alcohol is expected to be between 8 and 11% and the bitterness low. As for the sweetness, there are two sub-styles, Trappist & Abbey, that differ greatly in this aspect, while retaining considerable similarities otherwise. OK, glad I checked. The BJCP style guide is one of the ways I have been learning about beer styles and the two different versions (based on dryness) of Belgian Dark Strong Ales was something new to me!

At the end of the day this is a sweet style of beer for me, which is a good thing to know. I haven't ventured to make a Quad yet, but I do like Belgian beer so after trying a few more who knows!

Cheers!

Jason 

Local Spotlight – Moat Mountain Belgian Style Tripel

This is only the second time I've mentioned the Moat Mountain Brewery in my blog, and that’s because you can’t get their beers everywhere. But then again if you could, they might not be the hidden gem I have found them to be. They are local, North Conway, NH, and at least one of the nearby craft beer shops nearby does carry their beers. My first taste was at the 2010 New Brewers Festival where I had their cask drawn Imperial Stout. That beer is a serious drink and coming from a cask where it is still living and fresh made it a real treat.

This week for my Local Spotlight I chilled down a bomber (22 oz bottle) of Moat Mountain Belgian Style Tripel for some thoughtful consideration. I actually picked up this bottle at Downeast Beverage Company in Portland, ME during my recent One Day Scavenger Hunt for food and drink.

The beer pours an orange/gold color with an off-white head that doesn’t stick around too long. The beer sounded crisp when I poured it. The nose is pretty big and full of spice and yeast aromas. The nose definitely locks this beer into the style correctly. In the mouth the beer is malty and a bit sweet but finishes very crisp with hints of hops and fruit along the way. This is a full bodied beer and although the finish is short, it is flavorful and clean.

As I drank the beer I hit the web to find out more about Moat Mountain. Moat Mountain was started by Stephan Johnson, a Johnson & Wales alum and restaurateur in Portland, ME area. In the late 1990’s he acquired the Scottish Lion Inn property and set about executing his vision for Moat Mountain which would include a brewery, restaurant and inn. Since officially opening in 2000 Moat Mountain has received acclaim from Yankee Magazine and is seeing positive reviews at TripAdvisor.com.

Moat Mountain brews year round with consistent offerings that includes a Weiss, Pilsner, Pale Ale, Brown Ale and a Stout. Their seasonal and limited availability brews range from the Tripel I am tasting now to a Mai Bock, to a Lager and a Blueberry Wheat Ale, just to name a few.

The last time I was in the Conway area was over the 2010 Christmas holiday and the brewery was not open on the one day I had some time to make a trip. I also couldn’t find any of the beers in local Conway stores (the ones that were open) so I hadn’t had it in almost a year. I certainly need to plan a trip sometime soon because this beer is making me really happy!

Cheers!

Jason

Sam Adams Stony Brook Red

The Boston Beer Company (brewer of Samuel Adams) is small by commercial beer standards. If you look just at craft, artisanal and other small batch brewers they aren’t as small in comparison, but their total output is still just a small amount of the total volume of beer brewed in the US each year. Somewhere along the way I have found that the beers in their regular collection don’t have the same pop for me as they used to. I’ll chock it up to expanded tastes as I taste more and more beers. That said, when I see something from the company that is new or limited production I often stop to take a look.

Enter the Barrel Room Collection. As the story is told on the bottle tag that hangs on each of the 3 Barrel Room Collection beers, the barrel room at the brewer is a place where special projects where oak aging play a part are done. Up until recently these beers were generally only enjoyed by lucky brewery visitors and didn’t last long. With the introduction of the oak aged Kriek, Stony Brook Red and the Tripel the Boston Beer Company is demonstrating awareness of the shifting tastes in beer by at least some oftheir customer base. All three of these beers are old world styles with considerable character and unique attributes in comparison to the normal Sam Adams lineup.

I took a Stony Brook Red with me on our last trip up to the VT house. The description of the beer is pretty straightforward, “Belgian Style with Tart Fruit and Toasted Oak Character.” An apt description, and easily surveyed with a sip.

It poured with a thick light brown head that stuck around. The color was red/brown and was bottle conditioned so some haze was visible. The aromas were big, with dried fruit, malt and wood all together. The tart fruit notes were easily detected, and reminded me of sour cherries. It is medium-body and seems sweet, but it isn’t. The finish is tart with citrus and a nice length that lets the flavors slowly melt away. At 9% alcohol it isn’t the kind of thing you would want sit around and drink several of (oh I am sure I could) but I could see this making for a great aperitif amongst friend and definitely a strong pairing tool with stews, braises and BBQ.

The beer has a story that comes with it, but the story of when I drank it will complete your appreciation of a well timed drink.

Spring comes to VT slowly, and often in fits and starts. A step forward one week can be made many steps back by a freak snow the next week. Catching a warm sunny day in April is luck, and being able to sit on the deck for a few hours and enjoy a really tasty beer is a joy. There is still considerable snowpack and the breeze still brings a coolness from time to time. This beer paired with both worlds, having the strength and flavors to provide winter warming but also the tartness and fruit to evoke thoughts of warm weather and backyard parties. I killed the whole bottle sitting in the sun and I couldn’t have been happier!

Cheers!

Jason

I’m Back with Crispin

In my first post reviewing Crispin Ciders from early February I shared my thoughts on two of the free samples that were sent to me take for a test drive. For this installment I offer tasting notes on three more.

First up is the Browns Lane Classic English Dry Cider which is produced entirely in England and imported into the US for distribution.

Browns Lane

Made from English bittersweet cider apples and comes in at 5.8 % ABV.
Gold color, with columns of small bubbles from the bottom of the glass.
Unripe apple aromas.
Very fine carbonation, but lots of it.
Super tart and dry.
Savory apple flavors, liked with baked ham.

I really liked this, but dry ciders are more my thing than Margot. This is the style I know from Quebec and the UK imports we can get in US. I would never tire of having this around!

For the second review we return to the Artisanal Reserve line and The Saint, a cider brewed with Belgian Trappist Yeast & organic maple syrup.

The Saint Artisanal Reserve

Pale, almost cream colored & unfiltered.
Smells like sweet cider & spices.
6.9% ABV
Tartness in the finish.
Yeasty, with spicy sweet bread flavors.
The flavor combination reminded me of the warm apple gallete w/ caramel sauce and bourbon cream glaze I had over Christmas.

This is one that I would stock at home and could have a good deal of fun with in different pairing scenarios. Dessert pairings are the first to spring to mind, but I also think a roast pork tenderloin would make for a good match as well.

The last review is of a pear flavored hard cider from the Fox Barrel line, which is the brand of a company Crispin acquired in 2010 located on the west coast.

Fox Barrel Pear Cider

Flavor reminds me of the pear wine we made in 2008.
Subtle aromas, I couldn’t pick out the fruits.
Gold color with moderate carbonation.
It had a good bite of acidity and a clean finish.

I can’t say I either enjoyed or didn’t enjoy this cider, it just was. It would be immensely refreshing on a hot day and since it presents itself quite simply, it should appeal to a wide audience.


Cheers!

Jason




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Beantown Pub

I had a ticket to the Thievery Corporation / Massive Attack show at the Orpheum in Boston last night. Feeling pretty well recovered I decided to fight through a long day of work and then an evening show. Before the show I headed over to the Beantown Pub on Tremont Street for dinner and a beer. I hadn't been there before and was only going on the reviews I found on the web.

The bar winds it way from the front entrance all the way to the back where it overlooks the pool/games area and an adjacent room with more tables. I found a spot nearly at the end and took a quick look at the draft options. Allagash White. Hell yeah! A tasty Belgian white is food friendly and easy drinking. The bonus is that Allagash does this style really well so there is lots of flavor in a nice light-bodied beer. The bar area is well kept and nice looking but looking around you can tell they see a lot of traffic and do their best to keep things looking fresh and clean.

While I enjoyed my beer I struck up a conversation with Travis, a recent transplant from Seattle who lives in Northern Rhode Island and works as a server at L'Espalier in town. He was also going to the show and killing time before his friends arrived. We talked about all sorts of things and genuinely enjoyed the random meeting. He recommended I check out one of the Wine Monday fixed price dinners at the restaurant. His experience is that the sommeliers go all out to great memorable pairings and explain the wines and pairings in down to earth terms. Maybe I'll put my money where my mouth is sometime soon and book a reservation at L'Espalier. I might just run into him again that way.

For dinner I ordered a Paul Revere pub sandwich which consisted of pastrami, corned beef, Swiss cheese, red onions and a sweet dressing with a side of fries. The meat was warm, tender and juicy and the combination of flavors of everything on the sandwich hit the spot. The fries were very well cooked and hot. I saw reviews that said their New England Fried Chicken is also very good so I'd say stopping in for a bite shouldn't be a nervous choice.

They had multiple Sam Adams selections on tap and several other local (New England) brews that should satisfy a wide range of drinkers. I also saw quite a bit of wine going out so the after-work crowd seemed well lubricated.

The show was fantastic and the groovy music of both bands floated me home to New Hampshire. Having had another new dining experience in the city I am even more sure Margot and I need to spend more time there to see what we can turn up.

Cheers!

--Jason

Belgian Beers On Deck

I decided I would add some beer to my slate of beverages for summer enjoyment. I have brewed some amount of beer every year since 2003, but it has certainly declined in volume since I really got into the winemaking.

First up is a Belgian White made with wheat malt and infused with coriander and orange. I am using a traditional recipe and Belgian Wit yeast in hopes of sticking close to the style here. This is a lighter beer that can be enjoyed with or without food, but the citrus and spice does provide some pairing opportunity that I will not miss taking advantage of. I brewed it yesterday and it is already fermenting away happily.

Today I am going to make what I plan to call Jay's Belgian Trappist Monster. I am starting with a trappist dubble recipe that will get a secondary fermentation with two pounds of dark brown sugar and some additional Saaz hops. The Trappist/Abbey style yeast is going to go nuts with all the sugar, but you won't hear any complaints from me. I expect this guy is going to be high in alcohol, aroma and flavor. While it will definitely be enjoyable on its own I expect the food pairing opportunities, including with dessert, will abound. I'll be out in the front yard brewing this one this afternoon, so if you drive by throw a wave my way and I'll lift my glass of whatever I am enjoying as I brew!

Once tasting comes around I will post an update.

Tonight we are hosting a multi-birthday/anniversary party with and for some friends and I am using the occasion to do a Malbec tasting to get some feedback to feed into my first Malbec batches next month. I'll definitely take notes and post the feedback this week.

Cheers!

--Jason