New Beer Friday 9/9/11

Today we have three new style bending beers that frankly defy categorization. And just in case you missed last nights post Uinta's Jacked Imperial Pumpkin should be on sale today at the brewery.

North Coast Grand Cru: Pours a rich golden color, with a large quickly dissipating head. The nose is of apple, pear, honey and vanilla. The tastes starts with pear, raisins and sweet caramel. Dark fruits come next with slight bourbon notes. The finish is boozy and phenolic. This is one sweet som' bitch and it's 12.9% abv is not something to take lightly. @ Beerhive.

Deschutes/Boulevard Collaboration No. 2 - White IPA: The nose is of lemon and grapefruit with notes of coriander, pepper and Belgian yeast. The taste starts with coriander and orange peel with hints of lemongrass. Next comes a malty spiness that transitions into a hoppy, bitter - west coast IPA finish. This is an anomaly. It's like a Saison and a Belgian IPA got drunk while listening to the Conan The Barbarian Soundtrack (Arnold) and had a kid. Yeah, I know!
@ Beerhive & Bayou.

Epic's Brainless on Cherries #5: This one is unique from the others because it was aged in red wine barrels instead of white wine. It's described as less sweet as the dryer red wine adds more tannin and tartness to round out the cherries and malty sweetness of the beer. Sound like the dryer #5 will be more complementary toward the fruit. Can't wait to try it. @ Epic

Crom!

New Beer Friday and High Praise at Squatters

I've got your Friday fix. Who loves ya, Baby?!

North Coast Brewing Old Stock: Sweet caramel nose with a hint of alcohol. The taste strts with more of the same. Sweet caramel malt, with some roasted notes in there. Next comes chocolate, plum and coffee. The warmer this one gets the more complex it becomes. Well balanced, the alcohol is well hidden. The ABV can vary depending on which vintage you get. 10-13% ABV.

Full Sail Imperial Gold: The nose is full of chocolate, coffee, and oak and boozy. The flavor starts with a lot of rich chocolate, espresso, and molasses sweetness. Bourbon notes come next with a light dose of vanilla and booze in the end. Quite tasty. 10.5% ABV.

Full Sail Bump in the Night: An Herbal citrus stands out with a bit of roastiness and licorice. The taste follows the nose. The hops are at the forefront. Grapefruit, backed up by some herbal qualities hit first. Some coffee and dark malts follow beneath the hops creating a bit of a balance. Licorice and chocolate notes are in the end. The finish is dry and bitter. 6.5% ABV

Lucifer: Not new, but it has been absent for a few years. The nose is of apple, pear, spicy yeast and just a hint of bubblegum. The taste is fairly citrusy up front, with some breadyness and a nice malt sweetness. The end has banana and pepper notes. 8.0% ABV

In other news. Squatters' own Jennifer Talley has won the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing. Jen is the first woman ever to earn this recognition.

If you've ever tried her beers; then you know she's some kind of uncanny beer enchantress that can bend any form of intoxicant to her will. Either that or she's just plain "scary talented". Maybe a little of both. Regardless, she's at the top of her game right now if your not checking out her beers at Squatters, it's your bloody loss! (photo shown is not actual award)

Cheers!

Photo Courtesy: Jay Brooks 2008

More New Beer 5/19/10

Remember last Friday when I said "there was new beer for you"? well I didn't know the half of it. Here are some of the yummy additions to that incomplete list.

Chambly Noire: a smooth and creamy dark beer with a beige and persistent head. Its torrefaction aromas and slight bitterness enable it to perfectly accompany various fish dishes, strong cheeses and chocolate desserts. (Bayou, State)

Full Sail Hop Pursuit: A crisp blonde extra pale ale with a medium malt body. The malts are chased by a ton of hop flavor and a zing of bitterness. (Bayou, State)

Konings Hoeven: Its flavor is full, mild and pleasantly bitter. From one of the seven beer producing monasteries. (Bayou)

Le Merle Saison: A rustic ale, pale in color, inspired by the rich brewing traditions of the Flanders region. Abundant hops and a Belgian yeast strain contribute exotic aromas and tropical fruit notes. (Bayou)

Meantime London Porter: Aroma is chocolate malt, coffee, roasty. Good medium body with easy drinking roasty malt, chocolate and sweet creamy roasty finish. (Bayou)

Rogue Double Mocha Porter: Has an aroma of dark chocolate, roasted, malts, and notes of vanilla. Very smooth an silky. Finish brings a lingering chocolate flavor. (Bayou)

St. Feuillien's Saison: . Lemon, orange and dusty Belgian yeast aromas. Sharp with sweet citrus upfront, turning peppery in the middle into a nice, mild hop bite. (Bayou)

Cheers!

Three Fowl Beers at the Beerhive

The are some new beers at the Beerhive this week(2/26/10) and birds seem to be the theme.

The first is the Hawk Select Ale from Mendocino Brewing. Hawk is a rich bodied ale that is "Bottle Conditioned". Coppery reddish-amber in color. The taste is a judicious mix of caramel and pale malted barley, balanced with Cluster, Cascade and Saaz hops. This gives the Eye a slightly dry finish.

Next also from Mendocino is White Hawk Select IPA. It's blended with American West Coast Cascade Hops as well as a generous dose of English Fuggle Hops. This combination makes for a very aromatic character, as well as a truly authentic English flavor. White Hawk IPA has an ABV of 7.0% and a bitterness of 60 IBU.

The last birdie beer comes from North Coast Brewing. Le Merle is a rustic Farmhouse Ale. Pale in color, inspired by the rich brewing traditions of the Flanders region of Belgium. Abundant hops and a Belgian yeast strain contribute exotic aromas of tropical fruits. ABV: 7.9%.

Fowl...Get it??? I really crack my ass up.

Anyway, I was going to announce a new Utah beer today but labeling issue have prevented it's release. Stay tuned next week and have a good weekend.

Cheers!

A Pleasant Faux Pas for You

A faux pas at Utah's Department of Alcohol Beverage Control is actually benefiting you - right now! Somehow the Bayou ended up with 5 cases of North Coast Brewing's Red Seal Pale Ale. I assume it came in place of something on Mark's regular order.

This beer has been called one of the "finest pale ale available nationally." There is a chance that we will be seeing this beer on a more regular basis. For now, 5 cases is all we have and they're all at the Bayou.

Pours a chill-hazed amber-red with a good two fingers of off-white head that dissipated quickly. The nose is of light grapefruit, tangerine and some florals with a little caramel in back. The taste starts with nutty caramel, a touch of citrus peel. Next comes earthy pine notes mixed with brown sugar. Finishes on the bitter side. At 5.5% abv this is an extremely drinkable session ale. 5 cases won't last long.

And I'm just going to throw this out there and see who bites. I'm toying with the idea of putting together a "Holiday Beer Tasting". I though it might be fun to get ya'll in the same room put some faces to your names and enjoy some good beer.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in please leave a noncommittal "Yea" or "Nay" in the comments along with a preferred Friday or Saturday in December and we'll get the ball rolling.

Cheers!

North Coast Comes to Utah

Yeah more new beers! New to area liquor stores is what looks to be quite a nice line-up from North Coast brewing out of Fort Bragg, Ca.

North Coast Brewing has entered the market with their Blue Star Wheat Beer, Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, PranQster Belgian Style Golden Ale, Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale and ACME Pale Ale. Quite a diverse line-up eh?

Also on the radar is LEINENKUGEL'S Berry Wiess, GRIESKIRCHNER WEIZEN, SAMUEL ADAMS CHERRY WHEAT & FULL SAIL RESERVE 21 DOPPELBOCK.

March is looking like a great month to get your beer-on. Who knows, if the Gods are nice we could see these on tap sometime. Cheers!