Stone's brilliance

Good god. I had originally planned to consolidate my posts, but this isn't possible. This beer was so good that it deserves it's own post. I've written before about Stone's Smoke Porter with Chipotle, but the other night I got a full 12oz pour of it. And good god. There's a reason that I like that new bar, Alewife, as much as I do.

The flavor starts out, rich and dark, with roasted malts, some smokiness, and a slight coffee flavor. And then you're hit the face, WHAM, with rich spicy flavor. It's not overwhelming, and it blends nicely with the dark flavors.

The best part though, is after the sip. After you've swallowed the beer, and are resting, you feel a little tingling. It's the spiciness of the beer in the back of your throat, providing a deliciously heated, but not extremely spicy finish.

This is no hot sauce beer, no gimmick. This is a beer with an awesome flavor profile, that will knock your socks off. Or at least, it did mine anyway. This beer is up there with the Italian Chili Pepper stout, although sadly no less rare.

Really just a fantastic beer. My hat is off to stone for their innovation and creativity. Hope your beers are just as good, Cheers!

Pure Wine and Stone at Alewife

Sometimes you're just lucky enough to have a couple of good places to eat, and this is clearly one of those times. I've had back to back weekends of glorious dining experiences, at both Alewife in Baltimore and Pure Wine Cafe in Ellicott City.

Alewife hosted a Stone Brewing Company event, offering 40 different Stone beers, many rare and old. I was floored by almost everything I tried that day. Best of the best would have been Stone's smoked porter with chipotle pepper. Similarly, their Mad Man Mix - a blend of 10 different years of their russian imperial stout, their sublimely self righteous ale, and some chipotle pepper was spicy and delicious. Their Vertical Epic 07.07.07 aged in red wine barrels was also impressive, tangy and light, with full flavors. Finally, one of their best that flew under the radar for me was their bitter chocolate oatmeal stout. Extremely creamy and smooth, with a lot of excellent chocolate flavors, this was a big surprise.

I also tried their smoked porter with vanilla, which was good but couldn't compare to the one with chipotle pepper, their aged russian imperial stout and their russian imperial aged in bourbon, both of which were dark and delicious, but a little boozy at times. Overall it was a really excellent time, and the beers were fantastic.

I also lunched, the other day, at Pure Wine Cafe. On main street in Old Ellicott City, it's a tiny little bistro with an amazing menu. I had Dogfish head's festina peche, delicious as always, as well as a tasty white wine named Infamous Goose. Really though, the food stole the show. Kobe Beef meatball sliders, truffled fries with pepper aoli, my god. Just amazing.

Hope your weeks are full of good beer and good food - til next time! Cheers!

Collaboration is good

So, I was at the neighborhood late-night booze shop. Thankfully, even the super late night stores in the area carry interesting craft beers. I grabbed a bottle of Stone's smoked porter, but I'm saving that for a later date. What grabbed me though, and didn't let go, was a collaboration beer between stone, dogfish head, and victory brewing. A saison, it proudly proclaimed to have been brewed with sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley.

The beer is called Saison du Buff. Buff stands for Brewers United for Freedom of Flavors, and you can see why. The first smell is pungently spicy, and the taste doesn't do any less. You're hit with a very yeasty flavor, and then with all the aforementioned herbs, shocking your taste buds. This is beer, not a turkey dinner.

The beer is pleasant, and dry, but I felt like it didn't necessarily follow through. The taste is powerful upfront, but then kind of drops off without a noticeable or appreciable aftertaste. Still, for such an interesting beer, I find it hard to judge it too harshly. Obviously there are also some malts, with a pleasant sweetness countering the mild citrusy hops.

Overall, worth a try. This is an *odd* beer, mostly in a good way, and I doubt we'll see another beer like it for a long time. Give it a try, at a little under $4 a bottle, you can't cry too much if you don't like it.

Revisiting the past

So, most of my early forays into craft beer are due to my dad. He drinks interesting and odd beers, and he has usually been okay with me sipping them. One of the first of these I remember was at the grand opening of Victoria Gastro Pub, so it was years ago, maybe even before I went to college.

He had ordered this hilariously named beer, Arrogant Bastard. It sounded ridiculous and I had to try some. It went down like tile cleaner though, bitter and horrid. Ever since then I've always shied away from Stone's Arrogant Bastard. But I realized that it's been years, and I owed it another try. If just for the name, I had to try Arrogant Bastard again.

And much to my surprise, it was pretty damn delicious. The beer has a pretty prodigious head, which sticks around for a while. The bitterness is still a pretty major aftertaste, lingering for quite a while. But as the beer warms, the bitterness becomes less pronounced, and overall the taste isn't super bitter. Definitely hoppy, with some grapefruit and chocolate. This wasn't my favorite beer ever, but it was challenging, and interesting, and I feel like I conquered a pretty major part of my past.

I also had the good fortune to try Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot, an imperial brown ale. The name is absolutely fitting, as this beer comes on strong and stays powerful but delicious. It's nutty, with some caramel and chocolate, and a nice malt sweetness, but an undertone of hops that keeps this from being a sweet beer. A seriously tasty brown ale, this is a more powerful version of a typically tame beer. Definitely recommend a try for anyone who likes brown ales.