Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
The creativity of brewers is amazing. And the same goes for a good marketer/advertiser.
Case in point….
The Schmaltz people have outdone themselves. This looks like a fun pack for anybody of the craft beer faith. Some of these beers are too much for me but the final beer, a mix of the other seven could be intriguing.
How many times have you wished for a beer that had the same flavor profile as the Danish dessert risalamande?
OK, I’m just trying to hide the fact that I am again posting about Mikkeller and a new beer. It is getting old but no less fun
First, here is the risalamande….”Risalamande (or “ris a la mande”) is a delicious, traditional Danish rice dessert based on rice, cream, and almonds served with hot cherry sauce. Risalamande is typically enjoyed at Christmas time, but is recommended for dessert lovers all year through.”
Now here is the beer inspired by it…..
Apparently, all the pastry ingredients went into the beer. Is it good? Have you had it? I would love to hear reviews.
Being a huge Portland Trailblazer fan, I have longed for more Blazer themed beers in Beervana. I mean, come on, one of best players was Terry Porter. Pun happy brewers could have a field day with that.
Well now, we are getting closer, Laurelwood Brewing (home of Deranger and Vinter Varmer) has brewed “Bald Faced Truth Teller Ale” which is the name of both a radio show and a charity helmed by Blazer beat writer John Canzano. The Bald Faced Truth Foundation funds extracurricular activities for kids by offering grants to children who wish to participate in the areas of arts, music, drama, education, athletics and other enriching activities.
When the weather turns chilly, one beer style that I like to turn to for a warm up is the traditional barleywine.
And one of the best to sample is from sometimes neglected and not talked of enough, Mad River Brewing.
John Barleycorn Barleywine (9.5% abv)
“Nutty caramel malt aroma, a sweet, warming full body and features hints of plum, black currant and maple. Serve in a snifter with desserts, chocolate, or sipping with a good cigar.”
Does this sound delicious or what?
“What you hold in your hand is a very special beer. Unlike most of the beers we produce- meant to be consumed fresh as possible, our Framboise takes nearly two years to create. This Belgian-style ale starts out like most many beers undergoing a two-week fermentation process. From there, things go radically different. The beer was moved to wooden barrels where we added Oregon raspberries and several types of “wild” yeast and bacteria to give create this unique beer.”
Clever names still abound in the craft beer world. In my top 10 beer names is the canned creation of New England brewing, Neighbor of the Beast.
Here is what the brewery has to say about this neighborly offering…”This HELLaciously delicious Belgian Ale is brewed with pilsner malts, candi sugar and blended with American and German hops. It will help you accept that cloven-hooved guy next door.”
Call me predictable. Every month it seems I stammer on about beers from Mikkeller or Pretty Things Ale Project or today’s entry, Brooklyn Brewing and their new Cuvee Noire.
Which the Williamsburg brewery describes thusly, “They said the Belgian yeast was too spicy. Too…unpredictable. But he didn’t care. Didn’t care that black ales with German, British and American malts didn’t normally go out with Belgians. The Brewmaster threw caution to the wind and went ahead and joined them anyway. The result is Brooklyn Cuvée Noire.”
I love their experiments so I am psyched to try it.
Have you had a Czech IPA?
Well check out this description from the Rare Beer Club: “This month, The Rare Beer Club™ is featuring a craft beer from the Czech Republic that was made just once and is available exclusively to its members. Even more exciting is that it might represent the creation of a new beer style. Although “one-offs” don’t generally qualify as creating a style, we sincerely hope it to be the case here since “Czech IPA”, if anything like this beer, would be a welcomed addition to the various styles currently defined. So, who’s behind this very unusual brew? None other than Michael Jackson himself.
It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of gratitude that we first sampled Kocour IPA Samuraj as it was a beer Michael encouraged the brewer to create. Sadly, he never got the chance to taste what may be the Czech Republic’s first IPA, but we still feel a strong sense of respect and celebration with the feeling that Michael was reaching out from the afterlife to turn us all on to yet another great beer.”
The dark malted sensation is moving from IPA’s and lagers to saison? As part of the Goose Island Belgian inspired series, then yes. Bottles will start arriving sometime next year.
Can you wait that long?
A brewery that I had not heard of before is making quite the interwebs buzz. Buzzards Bay from Massachussetts has created a serialized beer with a mystery on the label.
““The Case of the IPA” is a hard-boiled detective farce printed chapter by chapter on 12 bottles of a newly released India Pale Ale. Each 22 ounce bottle not only has 22 ounces of brilliantly deduced IPA, but also 1 of the 12 chapters of the story. Each case has 12 bottles, which makes for the entire tale told in a case. And so, the Case of the IPA is indeed a case of the IPA.
Brewer Harry Smith proposed the idea to author Paul Goodchild and they quickly agreed on a format: a noir-ish detective serial. Smith brewed up a batch of hoppy craft brew whilst Goodchild penned the story. It’s a mystery of zany brewers and their intrigues; sure to tickle the ribs and please the belly of any fan of craft beer.”
And here is the first installment (not the beer, the mystery):
