My Half Full Glass - April 25th, 2013

White Birch Ol' Catty Flemish Sour

Hanging out at the Cask & Vine bar can be dangerous. Four beer flights help you experience what's been newly tapped and then a full glass of something that catches your fancy can make for a dangerous night!

Last weekend the Ol' Catty Sour from White Birch (a soured version of their Ol' Cattywhompus Barleywine) was on tap. I will say that I am developing a taste for sour beers and with the experience I do have I know what I like and don't in this style. Beers that are sour for sour's sake and don't have a lot of character in their own right just don't do it for me.

The White Birch Ol' Catty Sour is NOT one of those beers. It's actually sweet, and sour! Brown in color with a wonderfully rich & malty full body and earthy hops you'd be good enough there. The sour, but not too sour, tangent adds depth to this drink. Because it is also sweet the sour profile doesn't taste forced or out of balance. My Facebook message on this beer finished with "damn, I love this beer!" I guess I was having a good time.

Meinklang Burgenland White 2012

Last night (April 24, 2013) the topics of bio-dynamics and Austrian wine were showcased on #winechat. I received the sample kit and popped the bottles open earlier in the day to do my tasting and note taking. The first wine I tasted was the Meinklang Burgenland White 2012 a blend of Welschriesling, Gruener Veltliner and Muskat Ottonel. I'm a sucker for fresh & fruity white blends and this one definitely drew me in. Bottled with some of its own carbonation the wine is a bit prickly which adds a surprising but very workable dimension all of its own. This wine makes a perfect summer sipper. It does need to be chilled to be best.

Aromas of white flowers, crushed herbs and tart, white fleshed fruits (tart apples, pears) blend together nicely in the nose and mouth. The finish is crisp and prickly but does have just a little sweetness left before it exits. There was plenty of conversation about this wine during #winechat and having enjoyed it on the first really warm Spring day we've had in New Hampshire made it easy to consider how this wine might pair well with the inevitable backyard parties of Summer.

Thank you to Austrian Wine USA for hosting #winechat and for the producers who participated. Not having a lot of Gruner experience I was taking in a lot of the feedback from others to help put these wines in context. I purposely decided to make an Asian-inspired salad for dinner tonight so that I can return to the Sepp Moser and Nikolaihof Gruners to experience more of what they offer!

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - January 3rd, 2013

White Birch Tavern Ale

For those not familiar with White Birch Brewing, they are a nano-brewery based in Hooksett, NH. They are also one of a few local breweries that resonate with my tastes, and in the case of the Tavern Ale, my wife's tastes as well.

Margot and I were on hand when Tavern Ale was first debuted, and the story that went with it, which can be found at the WB Tavern Ale page, is interesting; connecting the beer to the history of tavern's in New Hampshire.

I am not in general a fan of smoky beers, I find the overt smokiness in many of them to be too much for me. The Tavern Ale presents a more subtle and restrained smokiness, one that doesn't keep building as you continue to drink the beer. With the addition of rich malty accents, hoppy notes and a pronounced chocolate flavor, this beer comes off very balanced and smooth. Margot and I killed two growlers of this BEFORE Christmas!

Bellwether No. 4 Cider

Nose is subtly of tart, cider apples. Slightly sweet with a funky apple flavor that comes in mid-way and lingers through the finish. Very polished and clean. This cider is made with Northern Spy apples and if you know that apple variety you will pick up the flavors straight away. An example of a mellow, understated cider. This is not the best from Bellwether (Trumansburg, NY) that I've had, and if you've never enjoyed their ciders I recommend a visit! When I last tasted at Bellwether I most enjoyed the Cherry Street and King Baldwin. I know I took the Cherry Street cider to a bachelor party in the fall, but no tasting notes survived the night!

One more note. This cider is a perfect stand-in for sparkling wine for a drinker who isn't a wine person. It has the sparkle needed, but presents all-together different flavors and might appeal to beer drinkers that you might be hosting.

Cheers!

Jason

White Birch Celebrates Three More Apprentice Program Graduates

White Birch Brewing is back at the Ancient Fire Wine Blog. It might seem a bit slanted for White Birch to have shown up a half dozen times in my blog just in the last year, but what can I say? The beer is good and the people who have embraced White Birch are fun to be around.

Last Friday night Margot and I headed over to the new space White Birch recently moved into for an open house to celebrate the graduation of three more apprentices. The Apprentice Program at White Birch is one of the most unique (I know it isn’t a new idea, but for our times…) ideas to help spread the love of a craft to others whilst training people for future employment and grow your own business all at the same time.

The most exciting part of the program for consumers is that each apprentice gets to pick a beer to brew at White Birch that becomes “their” beer. Once that beer makes its way to the tasting room we get to meet the creator and enjoy their beer at an open house along with lots of other White Birch enthusiasts. Being able to meet three such people, and try their beers, in one night was a true joy.

Margot and I also ran into several Brew Free or Die (BFD) homebrew club members at the event, fermenting our choice to join up so we could hang with people with similar interests. Bill Herlicka, the founder of White Birch, has been a long time member of BFD and is a stellar example of where you can take such a passion. Beer really is that cool!

First up was a blind tasting of beers only named “B” or “O”. Margot and I preferred “B” which we found fruitier and maltier. I still don’t know exactly what was going on here, but I bet it won’t be long before White Birch fans find out.

The first apprentice was David Sakolsky with his creation, Deviant Monk. Dave described the beer as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with spices and aged on Tempranillo soaked oak. What, what, what!?!?!

I had to ask why and how this brew came to be. Dave went on to explain that this was a recipe he had been working with as a home brewer for some time, and with his experiences at White Birch he was able to create a batch that made all of his effort come full circle. One of Dave’s friends was chilling to the left of the table and he confirmed that being friends with Dave means that you get to try some pretty awesome homebrewed beer.

Margot and I found the beer to be sweet, malty with obvious spices, hints of wood aging and just a bit of wine character. This is a big beer, 10% ABV, and presents enough nuance that my tendency would be to serve it is an aperitif or with dessert in a formal pairing setting. I’d drink a whole glass of this, or a bomber, just because I could, but for me it isn’t an all night drinker. I am suspecting most other folks would feel the same way.

Way to go Dave!

Next up was Christian Weber with his Colonial Ale. I asked Christian what had him looking to the Colonial era for beer inspiration. He explained that coming to school in New England from elsewhere exposed him to people who were very proud of their heritage and history, and that stuck with him. To him the Colonial Ale brewed with molasses, which was common in that era, and aged on local cedar embraces the history and tradition in the region.

The beer is rich, and was served (at least to us) warm enough that it expose a full palate of malt, spice and wood in both the nose and mouth. The touch of Brett did add a bit of funk and character to the beer to make it stand out.

Christian, thanks for your spin on New England beer!

The last beer we reached as we worked around the room was the Eorna Ceol Ale brewed by Justin Umlah. This beer is Justin’s take on a Scottish Wee Heavy Ale, a beer style I don’t have experience with, making this tasting that much more exciting.

I again asked Justin about the motivation. Scottish heritage and a love for the style of beer were the succinct reply. He is clearly very passionate and animated creating lots of laughs at the table while serving his beer and interacting with tasters.

Margot and I both found a wonderful perfumed nose of malt, smoke and earth to the beer, with a rich malty character in the mouth that is noticeably sweet. This beer was also served at cellar temperature (purposefully or not I don’t know) which really did help us pick up the aromatics it offered.

Many thanks to Justin for introducing us to a new style of beer!

There was a festive mood during the open house. I offer the Octoberfest girl in the following picture as evidence.

As we have said before, we strongly recommend beer lovers seek out White Birch products and/or plan a visit to the brewery so you can experience it for yourself.

Cheers!

Jason

White Birch Brewing – Hooksett, NH

If you've done any business networking at all you have likely been part of conversations about what makes corporate teams and small businesses successful. I've participated in my share of these conversations and over time I have determined that there are three things that make the difference between success and failure:

• Passionate people who really know their product or service
• An ability to focus on practical considerations & achievable goals
• Leaders & owners who actively integrate contributions from everyone involved

Having a really great and competitive product doesn’t hurt either, but that one isn’t always as straightforward to asses.

I've enjoyed the beers from White Birch Brewing in Hooksett, NH a number of times, but I had yet to visit the brewery and due to harried tasting situations hadn’t really had much interaction with the people behind the beer. That changed this a few weekends ago when Margot and I made a trip out to the brewery. Our timing was incredible, arriving on the first full day they were pouring and selling growlers!

I had already formed the opinion that White Birch had a great product so getting to meet the people behind the beers provided a wonderful opportunity to learn more. Listening to Bill, Dave and Scott talk about what they do and how things have changed in the two years since White Birch opened helped me better understand their success.

We started off with a couple of tastings including two brews that I had yet to have, the Tavern Ale and Camp Travis. The Tavern Ale is a smoky imperial brown ale that was inspired the loggerhead ale made at the Butter’ tavern in Concord back in the 18^th century. You can find the full story at Tavern Ale page. The beer is rich and malty with a moderate smokiness that wanders away in the smooth finish.  Camp Travis is beer produced from the Apprentice Program, a unique learning opportunity offered by the brewery, and was the vision of Ben Martin who is the most recent apprentice. Ben chose an American Barley Wine for a style and in a bold move chose Sorachi Ace hops as the only hop to be used in the brew. The thing that struck me about this beer was the taste of dried fruits in the middle of each mouthful. Click to find out more about the Apprentice Program.

The rest of our time at the brewery was spent getting a behind the scenes tour. We took a lot of pictures and struggled to take in details on so many of the special projects going on. The 7 barrel system now in use was made by the company in the adjacent complex, redefining what it means to support local industry!

( Bill admitted a dislike for having his picture taken so I was

very honored he agreed to. Proudly holding a growler and

standing next to a new barrel that will house a barely wine

for late 2011 release he surely looks the part! )

( This mash paddle was hand made by of the 

apprentices. That is serious passion! )

( Custom made fermenters compliment the new brewing

setup also made by Macy Industries right next door. )

( Ever the mad scientist, there are a barrels and carboys

with all sorts of special brews everywhere! )

( Kegs of several sizes awaited filling. There was much excitement 

about several new accounts requesting kegs. I can't wait to order

a White Birch beer off the tap at a local bar. Best in NH! )

If you haven't had brews from White Birch yet I urge you to seek them out. For me they are the best beers being made in NH right now and never fail to make me smile. 

White Birch is hosting the 2011 Southern New Hampshire Brewers Festival on July 23. Click the link for details and to purchase tickets. 

Cheers!

Jason