GABF 2009

The Great American Beer Festival was over a month ago, but I can still taste it like it was yesterday. Here's some of the great stuff I came across:

• I had somehow never tried a brew by Shmaltz Brewing despite the fact that I've passed it by at more than one local liquor store. What a mistake! The Bar Mitzvah 13th Anniversary Ale was great--built like a barley wine with lots of extra hops, very balanced. They also put out a rye IPA that I will definitely be looking for again.
• I finally got to try Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale and it didn't disappoint. It had a sweet maple syrup nose with herby, peppery undertones. Complexity can be good.
• I once drank an awful green chili beer in New Mexico that I thought had ruined me on the concept forever, but CooperSmith's green chili beer won me back. Reminiscent of Twisted Pine's Billy's Chilies, maybe even a tad more flavorful.
• Dogfish Head always brings some crazy stuff to the GABF, but they topped themselves this year with a beer they call Chicha. This selection was brewed in a traditional South American method which apparently involves chewing and spitting out the maize that goes into the beer in order to break down the starches. Brewer saliva? I couldn't pass that up! It was very sweet and floral, heavily dominated by the flavor of strawberries (not sure if the strawberries they used made it into any mouths or not). One of the most interesting beers I've had the pleasure of drinking, at least in terms of back-story.
• I got another taste of Sam Adam's Utopias this year (I somehow missed it last year), which I already wrote about in 2007 so I'm not sure why I'm bringing it up again. Oh right, because it's frickin' epic! Everyone needs to try this stuff. Seriously.

I'll be there again next year, and you should be too. Hurray beer!

-Jon

7th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest

Not much time for new beers lately since we've been putting all our effort into the upcoming album, but Mark and I did get a chance to hit up the Boulder Strong Ale Fest this year. We were joined by the usual Kate and Jim, plus beer fest first-timer Rico. Since we are accustomed to unlimited pours at GABF, we were shocked to learn that we would only be receiving 16 coupons each. One coupon is good for a two-ounce pour of 8% ABV or higher ale. I put some extra cash in my pocket, thinking I'd need to buy quite a few more tickets to get through the night. But hold the phone, this is some stroooong beer. Not a single one of us used all of our tickets. But we did get in on some good stuff--here are some highlights:

• Great Divide's Hercules IPA is a full-on, all-up-in-yer-bizness IPA, with an explosion of citrusy hops. I can't believe I've somehow avoided it at my local liquor store this long. Shame on me.
• Pizza Port had some great offerings in the double IPA category, including the piney "Killer Dana" from San Clemente and the amazingly hoppy "Poor Man's IPA" from Carlsbad.
• Moylan's Brewery brought along Wet Hopsickle, which was quite reminiscent of Stone IPA (a very good thing). Also, Green Flash Brewing's Imperial IPA reminded me of Redhook's Longhammer IPA (also a good thing). Reminiscent, but with nearly twice the alcohol.
• The ever-present New Belgium brought along the mysteriously-named Kevin's Ale. It's described on the info sheet as a "strong golden ale with spices." Call me unrefined, but I couldn't get past the ginger to find any other spices. You got yourselves some very alcoholic ginger ale there, dudes.
• I also liked Redstone Meadery's Nectar of the Hops. I haven't had a lot of experience with mead, but it tastes like a syrupy agave nectar. Really not bad at all.
• I gotta throw a shout out to Alpine Beer's Pure Hoppiness, merely for the fact that I tried it toward the end of the night and wrote nothing but "bueno" in my notes. Did I mention that these were strong ales?

All in all, a good beer fest. But I must say that Harpo's is waaaay too small for this event. It took half of our coupons to stop being annoyed by the closeness of the crowd and enjoy ourselves.

-Jon

Vertical Epic 08.08.08 (bottle) - 4.5

Vertical Epic 08.08.08
Belgian Strong Ale
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Alcohol Content: 4.5%

Jon:
Amazingly fragrant--citrus, berries, yeast, spice, something almost floral. Golden pale, fizzy, and a bit cloudy. It tastes much as it smells with a big alcohol warmth, and leaves the tongue a tad dry and tingly. A hint of sourness and honey really brings out the complexity. Perfect hops. Impressive beer.

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Mark:
So I read the bottle (lots of print) and it says you're supposed to age this stuff, but I don't know if I could stand it for very long. Very crisp, dry light honey-colored ale. It's got some great hops and really interesting aftertaste. I think sour and honey describes it well.

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Jere:
Quite the aftertaste, which (for a change) I like. Not exactly the cheapest bomber on the shelf, but it'll do. I like the name, too!

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Old Guardian Barley Wine (bottled) - 3.7

Old Guardian
Barley Wine
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Alcohol Content: 11.26%

Jon:
The least sweet barley wine I've tried--and sweet is why I didn't like some of the others. There is sweetness there, of course, but more honey flavors than the weirdly intense figgy flavors I was expecting from past experience. A lot of depth--plenty of hops, and a bitter tea finish. Every sip yields something new.

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Mark:
Old Guardian is a beautiful honey-colored ale. Surprisingly, there wasn't a strong aroma, but the taste is definitely intense. It starts out sweet, but balanced with bitter and spice. Definitely for sipping only!

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Jere:
Tastes like beer with wine poured in it. Also, be careful how much you consume--half of a 22oz bottle knocked Mark on his ass the first time he tried it. Luckily I just had a fourth of that (bottle, not Mark's portion). Anyways, good for getting drunk fast.

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First Bite Boulder

Last weekend, Kate and I partook from the West End's offering in the annual First Bite Boulder event. I had the recommended beer flight with my meal, and I fell face first into the best beer pairing of my life so far:

Warm basil & roasted red pepper goat cheese dip
---paired with---
New Belgium's Mothership Wit

The tangy goat cheese mingled brilliantly with the slightly sour citrus flavors of the wit. I had it 4 days ago and I still can't get over it. And that was only the first course--the rest of the meal was wonderful as well. I was served a Stone IPA with the second course and Avery's Ellie's Brown Ale with the third, but nothing could quite match such a superb beer and cheese pairing.

I washed the meal down with a Buffalo Trace on the rocks, which was an okay choice for after dinner, but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise. It's very fruity, heavy on apple and pear flavors, and just isn't quite what I'm generally looking for in a bourbon.

All in all, it was quite an amazing meal. I'm definitely inspired to experiment with some beer and cheese pairings now. Be sure send any good suggestions my way.

-Jon

Ruination IPA (bottled) - 4.4

Ruination IPA
Imperial/Double IPA
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Alcohol Content: 7.7%

Jon:
Bitterly hoppy to the point of cottonmouth and tongue-tingling. For hop addicts, that's not a bad thing at all. Too intense for everyday drinking, but at this price I'd be pretty upset if I wanted it every day. A feat of hops.

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Mark:
Holy crap. Bitter perfection, like this girl I knew once. I actually like this a bit more than Arrogant Bastard. Oddly enough, if you drink enough, you sort of become numb to the hops and suddenly it tastes almost sweet! Mmmmmm... bittersweet perfection.

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Jere:
For the alcohol content, you can't do much better than this. The Ruination ruined us the first time we tried reviewing this, so this time we split a bomber and stayed coherent.

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Arrogant Bastard Ale (bottled) - 3.9

Arrogant Bastard Ale
American Strong Ale
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Alcohol Content: 7.2%

Jon:
This is one of the more interesting ales I've tried. It's so powerful, but still balanced in an extreme sort of way--I don't really know what to think. But I like it. And I like Stone.

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Mark:
A very pretty beer--it's almost cherry red! It doesn't taste like cherries, though. This is an extreme beer--extremely hoppy but still balanced, just strong-tasting overall. Good stuff, I love it on tap. A beer to be enjoyed in moderation.

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Jere:
This arrogant brew will knock you right on your ass and laugh at you for thinking anything else would happen. Just shy of being too bitter, and that's saying a lot.

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GABF Report

My first time at the Great American Beer Festival was awesomer than awesome can be. Mad props to Kate, Jim, and Jason for shelling out the $45 per ticket for the outing. Some of my favorite parts of the evening:

• Stone Brewing had a festival booth, and I took full advantage to try everything they had to offer. I was stoked to taste their 11th Anniversary Ale for the first time, but the best of the bunch was the Ruination IPA. I had once tried this premium beer in bottled form (which set me back over $16 for a six-pack), but it's absolutely amazing on tap. It's like a clown car of hops--you don't know how they all got in there, but you're smiling too much to care.
• We also had the distinct privilege of tasting Samuel Adam's Utopias, a premium barley wine that weighs in at a record-breaking 25% ABV. This is legendary stuff. It sells for over $200 a bottle on eBay, is illegal in 14 states, and has kicked the asses of both Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer. I've only tried a few barley wines in my day, probably because most of them tasted like someone dropped a vodka-infused Tootsie roll in a beer and left it in a dark corner for 6 months. Not Utopias. Sweet yet refined, intensely aromatic, hints of plum and toffee... simply sublime. By the time we went back for a second round, it was gone. Gone, but not forgotten. I'll probably still be talking about it next year.
• Arbor Brewing's Espresso Love Breakfast Stout was a notably tasty treat. It tastes just like chocolate-covered espresso beans.

There were plenty of other good brews, but as I was drinking a ton of beer and not taking notes, a few details have escaped me. If you plan on going with me to next year's shindig, here are some lessons that I've learned for next time:

• Take notes. You'll look like an ass, but part of the $45 investment is to find some good beers to buy the week after.
• Bring snacks. Those homemade pretzel necklaces are pretty ingenious.
• Have a tasting plan. Imagine tasting a barley wine, then an IPA, then a stout, then a wit, then repeating the whole process. It can really make that first sip pretty weird. It's tough to avoid wanting the closest beer in sight, but I might try to plan a loose progression of beer styles next time.
• Expect a stomachache.

-Jon

Stone IPA (bottled) - 4.5

Stone IPA
India Pale Ale
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Alcohol Content: 6.9%

Jon:
At first glance this IPA doesn't look quite as perfect as it really is (but damn close). And yes, it's perfect. This is what an IPA should taste like. Stone manages a perfect bitterness profile through its strong citrus overtones and clean (for an IPA) finish. This is one of our favorite beers for very good reason. And the gargoyles on the bottle? Frickin awesome.

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Mark:
Ahh....Stone IPA, one of my perennial favorites! My favorite thing about this beer is the fantastic grapefruit aroma and overtones. Light, but extremely hoppy and nicely bitter. There's also that 6.9% alcohol level... Yee ha! This IPA is great, but not quite my favorite. Although the flavor and palate is complex (and wonderful), it seems that a lot of what comes through is the alcohol taste, which I have somehow been numbed to?! There is another IPA that I like just a little bit better--but that is yet to come. Stay tuned.

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Jere:
Full bodied, with that unmistakable "Stone" flavor, this beer is best on tap, but the next best thing is opening a cold one up right out of the refrigerator. Well-brewed, well-rounded, this beer rates second only to the Ruination style of Stone. Two thumbs way up!

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