The thing about spring

A wonderful thing happens during spring, where the cold weather finally flees off back to wherever it comes from (Minnesota obviously). However, I admit to sometimes feeling a little bit lost when my dark, dark heavy beers feel out of place. Those beers make me feel warm and content and full, not light and refreshed. And I love them for that, but come summer time, I'm a little lost.

Luckily, brewing companies recognize this and release all manner of deliciously lighter beers - oftentime a fruity or hoppy beer to compliment the hot weather and long days outside. I'm currently grooving on Sierra Nevada's Glissade, a Golden Bock that is lightly hopped but very flavorful. The nose is hoppy and wheaty, and the flavor goes along with that bring out nice sweet malts to match the mild IPAs. Not the most aggressive, but a really pleasant session beer, this is a good one for the long hot days outside,

I've also been enjoying a friend's leftover Snake Dog IPAs from Flying Dog. I'm not typically a big IPA fan, but this one is light and refreshing and exactly the sort of splash of water I need on hot days. The smell is all hops from the generous head, and the taste just enhances more nice floral hops and citrus fruits. About the depth of my IPA enjoyment, it's still a great beer.

I also feel I should mention another beer I really dug on, although admittedly it doesn't fit with my spring theme. Recently local brewer DuClaw has come out with a beer called Black Lightning. Now, I'm all about storms and lightning, but I was distraught to hear that this wasn't a black ale but a black IPA. I was concerned about the hoppiness of this beer, but my first sip set my heart at ease. The roasted malts and coffee flavors blend nicely with the hops, opposing eachother but creating a nice balance in the process. Definitely an aggressive beer, this isn't for the weak of heart. And like I said, it doesn't exactly make you think of spring, but it's delicious enough to deserve a mention.

Hopefully you're enjoying some of this lovely weather - see you all next time!

This one took way too long

Seriously, it's been a looong time since I've tried more than a few of these beers. I apologize to my loyal reader (there's one out there, right? :-P) but I just haven't found the time to sit down and hash my thoughts out.

We'll start with the best of the bunch - I was at Victoria Gastro Pub, quickly becoming a favorite of mine, debating between an Oyster Stout and a Saison, when I saw that there was an odd beer. It was a Strawberry Weisse, a "short batch" from Smuttynose. It was described as a sour strawberry beer, and I was hooked. I love Smuttynose, and I liked the idea of trying something limited edition.

The beer was fantastic. It poured a rich, ruby red, and was deliciously sour with a nice flavor of strawberries. This was no thin wheat beer with a hint of fruit - it was a punch in the face. To be fair, I desperately love all things sour, so be prepared to deal with a lot of sour. A relatively uncomplicated beer, I was nonetheless wholly impressed by their ability to make a strong and delicious fruit beer. Fruli strawberry can suck it - this is far and away the best fruit beer I've ever had.

Now, I also feel like I've made a mistake somewhere, because apparently I've never written about Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. This seems wrong, as it's quickly become one of my favorites for summer. Nonetheless, I'll give you my impression, and hopefully you'll forgive any accidental doubling.

Their Summerfest is a lager, but this is no bland golden beer. It has a very nice clean, crisp, and refreshing taste with floral and grassy notes, with a pleasantly assertive hop flavor rounding it out. Not too bitter, it's excellent for hot days and lazing around, with an interesting character but light enough to drink more than a few. According to beer advocate, the beer is a Czech Pilsner, but seeing as the bottle calls it a lager, I'm sticking to that.

I also had a chance, oddly enough, to try their Celebration ale. It's a winter beer from them, but apparently it'd been hiding in the back of my friend, The Culinator's, fridge. Classified as an American IPA, I admit to having my doubts. The beer is excellent - darker and spicy, with a nice hop profile. However, it just doesn't taste as bitter as I expect for an IPA. There are also some sweet malts in there as well, making a nicely balanced beer. Tasty and delicious, although misclassified for my money.

Now, the last beer was good, but a little surprising. While at the Perfect Pour, I picked up a mixed pack of Star Hill. On the box was listed the numerous awards each beer had won - multiple medals at the great American beer festival. Needless to say, I was excited.

Star Hill's Amber Ale is good. It's a nice copper red, with flavors of toffee and caramel, as well as some bready malts. Really though, it was pretty boring. I want to reiterate - it wasn't bad. But it wasn't terribly interesting, especially for a medal winning beer. Not a bad session beer, as I had a couple without evening noticing it, but nothing to write home about.

So Much Beer!

So, be warned, this is an absurdly long post. For your convenience, it's divided into three sections. Pre-Beer Dinner, Beer Dinner Beers, and then Beer Dinner recipes/cooking.

I decided this week, with some of my friends home and around, to host a beer dinner. This meant cooking with beer as well as having beer for tasting afterwards. And it was *awesome*, really just a great way to share beer with friends and have a fun evening.

Pre-Beer Dinner

So, as if this wasnt enough, my friends ended up coming in Tuesday to go to Max's. Never one to turn down Max's, I was thrilled at the prospect. I was even more excited when i saw that Allagash Black, a stout that I've been dying to try, was on their menu.

The beer pours dark into a Belgian beer glass (kind of like a giant snifter). Sadly, it really just wasn't that good. It tasted more like an ale than a stout. It was kind of watery, lots of dark chocolate and bitter coffee with some weird yeasty notes. Overall it just wasn't very good, being too thin and bitter, and not rich and hearty like most stouts. To be fair, as a Belgian stout it might be excellent, but I was not a fan.

On Thursday, before the dinner, I went for a run. Forgetting that I haven't been on a run in weeks, I went four miles, only to come back in paaaaain. To soothe my aching feet, I decided a bath was in order. A stroke of genius hit me, and I decided to have a beer with my bath.

It sounds like heresy, but it was perfect. A nice cold beer, a nice hot bath, and perfect relaxation. Try it some time and thank me.

I was trying Troeg's, a brewing company I'd never tried before. They're known for their hoppy beers, so I was a little wary. I cracked open their Dopplebock, and took a swig straight from the bottle. Delicious. It is a dark beer, full of flavors of chocolate and dark fruits like raisins or plums. Thd hop finish is nice and subtle, and accompanies some earthy mellow flavors and some nice caramel malts. It reminded me of a much more adventurous version of Yuengling's bock (which makes sense). Really though, just a delicious beer. Highly recommended for a nice brew to sip.

Beer Dinner Cooking
So, after this wonderful and relaxing bath, the cooking started. I was making Irish Stout Stew, Beer bread, and beer battered shrimp. The recipes are below if you'd like to try any yourself.

I was a little ashamed to realize I hadn't checked portions on the Irish stew, and added in a whole can of tomato paste, rather than the 2 tablespoons required. It turned out to be a nice spaghetti sauce, spicy and tasting of stout, but not really a stew. It went well over mashed potatoes though, so whatever. I also left out the onions and thyme, not being a huge fan of either. Definitely the most work of the evening, but delicious.
(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beef-and-irish-stout-stew/Detail.aspx)

The beer bread was blissfully simple. I put it into a faaaar too small at first though, but thankfully The Lorax was there to help and got me to put it into a bigger bowl. After combining flour, salt, and beer, I poured it into a greased pan, baked it for an hour, and was treated to the best dish of the evening. The bread was hard and crusty on the outside, and warm and soft on the inside. You could also taste the beer just enough to enjoy it. Three philosophers worked really well, but now I *really* want to try it with other beers too.
(source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beer-bread-i/detail.aspx)

The shrimp was not easy, but was well worth the effort. The batter was beer and flour and sugar - I used Sam Adams Noble Pils, but you couldn't really tell. Thankfully my friend the Culinatior had a deep frying thermometer, so we could tell when the oil was hot enough. From there it was just dip the shrimp in the batter, drop them in the oil, flip them, and let them dry on a paper towel.

Overall the meal was delicious, was more than enough for the four of us who showed up, and cost me less than thirty dollars (and I had to buy flour and sugar, the heathen that I am).

Beer Dinner Beers
Finally, we reached the beer. It was quite nice after all the effort and cooking and the long day to relax and sip these beers. I really enjoyed each of them, but each for their own reasons.

I started with Brew Dog's Chaos Theory Ale. I was worried to see that this was classified as an India Pale Ale, but figured I'd get it out of my way. I was thrilled to find out that it was delicious. It tasted very much grapefruit mixing with hops for a nice combination, where neither overpowered. Not an incredibly complex beer, but one I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I went next to the Brooklyn Local #2, a belgian strong ale. It smelled a little of cider, and that taste was present at first. As it mellowed, it revealed a lot more dark fruits like cherries or plums, as well as some smoky flavors. I kind of wish I'd tried this during the dinner, as it seemed like it could've used some sort of meat dish to pair it with to make it complete.

I then decided it was time to try the stouts. I started with Rogue's Chocolate Stout, expecting it to be a little less of a desert beer. I like to think I was right, but it was by no means less tasty. Just as the name described, it was a chocolate stout. Milk chocolate and roasted hops were the tastes present throughout the beer, and boy they were delicious. Not everyone's favorite, and not the best chocolate beer I've ever tasted, but really good nonetheless. Very reminiscent in some ways of Brooklyn's Dark Chocolate Stout - it is everything that the name promises and nothing more.

Finally, I allowed myself to try Ommegang's Chocolate Indulgence. The wait was worth it. Strong dark chocolate up front, with a surprisingly spicy finish. A real desert beer, this was heavy and complex and delicious. I'm definitely glad I ended with it, or it might've spoiled anything that came after it.

To tell the truth, I'm a little beered out at present, but I'm sure that'll fade as soon as I get the hankering to try a new beer.

Until then - enjoy the beers, try the recipes, and tell me what you think!

-The Unabashed Ungourmet

Mick O Sheas

So, I admit to being pretty skeptical of an Irish Pub in Baltimore. Not that it's tough to do, so much as they're dime a dozen.

Mick O Sheas though, was pretty impressive. They had a better than expected tap list (more in a moment), and the food was very good without being horribly expensive. I highly recommend getting O'Sheas Won tons; won tons stuffed with potato, cheddar, and bacon. Mmmmm good.

Anyway, so we had the fortune of a server error, and end up with an extra dogfish head 60 minute IPA to split. I found it surprisingly drinkable, especially considering I'm not a fan of pale ales, much less IPAs. The bitterness was ever present, but it didn't interfere with the potent (but indistinguishable to my immature palette) flavors.

The real treat though was the Resurrection Ale. It's a Belgian style ale, brewed here in Baltimore at The Brewer's Art. It was a delicious ale, sweet without being sugary, and with full rich flavors that made me think a little bit of a dubbel(later confirmed as the actual style!), or maybe just a more flavorful brown ale. Either way, it was all manner of delicious, especially at a robust 9% abv. Definitely give this a try if you get a chance.

DuClaw

So, as I may have noted on several occasions, I do live and breathe sometimes for a brewery in Maryland called DuClaw. The name is weird, but don't let it throw you off. Apart from some seriously tasty bar food (I recommend the buffalo dip), they have wonderful, amazing beers.

My favorites are definitely Alchemy, and Venom though.

Alchemy is DuClaw’s stout. Oh Gosh. Coffee and chocolate float through this hefty drink, sweetening it from the first sip to the last drop. A very sweet stout, some people are not big fans, but they can go suck it. I love this beer, and order it most any time I go to DuClaw. It goes well with most any food too, as the flavor doesn’t interfere, but doesn’t get overwhelmed by the food either. A very balanced, and tasty drink.

Venom on the other hand is their pale ale, kind of a polar opposite. A brief into: I hate pale ales. They are bitter. I find bitter gross. Cool?

With that in mind, I love this beer. I love it so much; I can’t even have it that often because I’m afraid I’ll spoil it for myself. It has all the flavor of complex pale ale, very refreshing and delicious, with none of the bitter after taste. The whole time, you’ll be expecting it to come like a roundhouse to the face, but it mercifully stays the pain that follows most of its brethren. I have tried many, many pale ales, and this is the only one I have ever enjoyed. It is a fantastic beer, and I wish I knew how they made it that way.

All of the below are beers I’ve tried at some time or other. They’re all pretty goof in their own ways, but I haven’t enjoyed them enough to have them repeatedly.

Hellraiser IPA – Wow. Very bitter. If you like bitter beers, this is your bag, but otherwise be warned. It’s a very clear taste, with a BITE for an aftertaste

Misfit Red – Oh so delicious. I don’t get this often, and I kick myself for that. It’s a fantastic Irish Red, flavorful without being bitter, sweet without losing body and flavor. Highly recommended

That Blonde Ale – Eh. I don’t even remember its name. It’s a more complex Budweiser. What else can I say?

Kangaroo Love – It tasted like soap. No, seriously. I don’t know why. It just wasn’t my kind of beer I suppose, very weak. It's supposed to be an Australian beer, but I just wasn't having any of their shenanigans.

Sawtooth – Their seasonal Wit Beer. Very impressive, somewhat spicy, and deliciously refreshing for summer time. Still, you really have to like Wheat beers to be into this bad boy. Enjoyed it but not desperate to try it again.

Celtic Fury – One of their spring beers, a delicious stout reminiscent of Guinness. I was actually very impressed by it, a nice coffee flavor without being bitter or tasting burnt, but others didn’t share my enthusiasm. Sadly, it has a somewhat abbreviated run, so I’m eagerly awaiting trying it again next year.