Beer of the day...!!

[Squire]

Oscar, you're headed to beer Mecca. Between Colorado Springs and Estes Park north of Denver is the largest group of micro breweries in the US. Careful though, buy your beer in the liquor stores and not the grocery stores. Unless they have changed the law since I was last there the grocery store versions are much weaker, 3.5 or so, and both products cost the same.

[DEF]

Next Saturday, Nov. 1, is "Teach a Friend to Brew Day." If you're interested in homebrewing, call your local beer & winemaking supply store to see if they have any activities. Here in Tulsa, High Gravity is sponsoring a brew-in; I'll be one of several folks brewing on the sidewalk in front of the store starting about 10 a.m.

Regards,
Doug

Bottling: Altbier
Fermenting: English Bitter
On Deck: Brown Ale, Raspberry Ale

[JohnInPeoria]

+1 on anything from Unibroue!

Unibroue! Great Quebec brews reminiscent of Belgian ale and with real flavor.

More expensive than beer, but cheaper than the Belgians, at least here in the Boston area.

Bought a four-pack of one of their lighter beers yesterday (only 5% alcohol), Blanche de Chambly, a white beer on lees. Most of their brews come in at 8% or 9%, more like the level of white wine.

Highly recommended.

Greg

[notthesharpest]

A comment and a question:

Tilburg brown ale: the weird picture on the label is said to be a small part from a large painting "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch.

Beer on lees: so, OK, there's sediment in the bottle. Do I concern myself with that fact? Do I just drink the sediment? Very carefully avoid it? Avoid it, but no need to be extra careful? Or what?

[fallingwickets]

NTS

drink becks, dont worry be happy



Clive

[TRBeck]

A comment and a question:

Tilburg brown ale: the weird picture on the label is said to be a small part from a large painting "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch.

Beer on lees: so, OK, there's sediment in the bottle. Do I concern myself with that fact? Do I just drink the sediment? Very carefully avoid it? Avoid it, but no need to be extra careful? Or what?

David, Tilburg is pretty good stuff, basically a Dutch interpretation of a Southern English brown ale (slightly sweet and nutty with low hopping rates). It makes an excellent accompaniment to simple meat and chicken dishes. The picture is indeed from the Bosch painting.

Beer on lees: I pour the beer off of the sediment due to the occasionally unpleasant texture. There are exceptions. Wheat beers are generally meant to be consumed with the lees in suspension, in which case I pour half the beer, swirl, then pour the rest. The sediment is just dead and/or dormant yeast. It's a terrific source of B vitamins and will, er, regulate you if overconsumed but you don't need to be careful to avoid it. It can have a pleasantly nutty flavor, especially in Belgian or Belgian-style ales. One way to find out if you want to drink the lees from a given beer in the future is to pour the beer off of the lees and then take a sip of the lees from the bottle.

Regards,

[notthesharpest]

I would have to let the bottle settle before opening then, correct?

Clive: I enjoy Becks. I only worry about this other stuff when there's no Becks around.

[DEF]

Tonight I tried Fuller's 1845, a strong, deep brown ale with rich malt balanced by solid hop bitterness and wrapped in a wonderful fruitiness (from yeast esters, not from fruit). Aromas and flavors included raisins, caramel, and a heady, toasty earthiness. Unlike many American brewers, the Brits really know how to keep the hops out of the way of the rest of the beer. (Shifting the emphasis from late hopping to early hopping is the trick.) It even left nice lace on my glass. 1845 is a great example of "construction" in a beer -- one you really want to savor, not just knock back with nachos.

In other news, McNellie's Pub here in Tulsa is having a special Fullers lunch on Tuesday, in which they will pair three courses with various Fullers ales. A company representative will be here from England to answer questions. I've taken that day off so I can enjoy it without worrying about taking beer breath back to work. I may even wander upstairs for some darts after it's all over.

[DEF]

As per my previous post, I took today off so I could enjoy a beer lunch at McNellie's Pub here in Tulsa. About 18 of us enjoyed a three-course meal, which paired Fuller's Vintage Ale (2006) with shrimp bisque; a tasty meatloaf and au gratin potatoes with Fuller's Porter; and creme brulee with Fuller's ESB. Fuller's director of export was on hand to provide brief and generic introductions to each of the courses, and was otherwise preoccupied with his Blackberry.

The food was surprisingly good, and the beer was excellent. The Vintage (8.5% ABV) had winey, buttery qualities that complemented the bisque very nicely. Again, I was impressed with Fuller's treatment of the hops, which stepped forward demurely like good little vonTrap children and then stepped back to let the rest of the beer talk. (The interplay of the hop flavors and the slight buttery notes was intriguing.)

The Porter and ESB were on tap (and much better than the bottled versions), but I did hit them up for the Vintage empties, which are pint bottles individually numbered and presented in impractically smart boxes. These bottles I have already de-labeled and prepared to receive some of my homebrew, which seemed a profane thing to do. But I'll get over it.

We also were sent home with a nice Fuller's imprinted pint glass -- the sort with the rounded ridge for grip.

So, in summary,

[Straight Arrow]

Doug I am insanely jealous. I had a PB&J and a glass of milk for lunch. I did detect some buttery notes in the milk.

[Sando]

My everyday beer:



My someday beer:
Sam Adams Utopia.

Once I hit the lottery, that is.

..Ray

[TRBeck]

Ten Fidy, by Oscar Blues Brewery.

Woah. This is an imperial stout by the brewery that does Dale's Pale Ale, a favorite of mine.

I'd never seen this for sale anywhere, but chanced across it tonight. If you find it I highly recommend picking some up. First rate but not for the faint of heart.

And now I need to go lie down



http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/oskar-blue ... idy/68107/

Found it last week, finally: it just made it to our market in the last month, a beer shopowner tells me. Had one yesterday while preparing an assortment of autumnal foods for dinner and this week's lunches. Just a terrific example of the style. I really love Imperial Stouts, and it takes a lot to impress me, but from inky black, impenetrable color through long, bittersweet, tarry finish, this one had me. Thanks for the recommendation.

I also had a homebrewed hard cider yesterday, or rather last night with dinner. Made it in 2005. Six months ago, no apple flavor; I thought it was past its prime. Now, it tastes sweet and tart and lush, despite being bone dry. It accompanied cider-braised pork loin, pie-spiced sweet potatoes with walnuts, and pan-roasted baby squash. Yesterday was as close to fall as we get in Dallas, and I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating in style.

Regards,

[GA Russell]

There is an article in this morning's Wall St. Journal about African farmers growing sorghum so that brewers such as SABMiller can make beer. This is affecting the food supply!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/african-far ... 1426120282

[dosco]

There is an article in this morning's Wall St. Journal about African farmers growing sorghum so that brewers such as SABMiller can make beer. This is affecting the food supply!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/african-far ... 1426120282

I hadn't heard that, thanks for sharing ... although I do know some folks with gluten sensitivity and thus drink sorghum-based beers.

Considering the unhealthy and histrionics with faddish diets and self-diagnoses, I am not surprised about the demand for gluten-free beers and the inevitable impact on those who grow the crop.

Cheers-
Dave