Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Port Brewing Belgian Beer Fest

Now that I have fully recovered from the awesome amount of Belgian beers (25 on tap, 117 total)  Here are some photos and commentary….

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As you can see, a beautiful day in Carslbad, California.

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The first beer of the day!  Craftsman’s La Luz.  Great way to start.  Light but with a punch of flavor.  Really excellent beer for a sunny day.

The second beer was # 16 on the list. The infamous Lost Abbey, Cuvee de Tomme.  A super sour beer that is still way drinkable.  My first sip was way sour but it mellows and is just excellent.  Top beer of the day for me.

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I was back at the taps for beers 3 and 4.  A Dubbel and a Quad.  The Dubbel from Hollister in Santa Barbara was good. Strong taste.  Made with raisin puree.  The even stronger quad was the Russian River Mortification.  11% alcohol and really good.  Both are excellent choices.

I was four for four.  Then I chose the only boring beer I had.  The Pizza Port Faceplant from the San Clemente location.  Not bad but the description said coriander and orange zest.  Didn’t taste it.  The alcohol must have obliterated the spicing.

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Onto beers 6 and 7.  I left the draft list and for my last two beers chose European beers.  First was Baladin’s Al-Ikser.  Very complex.  A sipping beer not a “guzzling” beer for sure.  Had a great smell and almost too many flavors maybe due to the fact it was made with whiskey yeast. The final beer was Boon’s Marriage Parfait.  A vintage gueze.  The 2nd best beer of the day.  Sour but delicate.  Easy to drink which is saying something for gueze.  This was the 2003 vintage.

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So Cuvee de Tomme, Marriage Parfait and La Luz are the top 3 but there were so many I didn’t try.  Among them the Saison de Lente from the Bruery, Cascade Sour Fruit Ale, Nogne Saison and Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence.  There is always next year.

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The St. Patrick's Day choice

Special beer drinking occasions  (like St. Patrick’s Day) can lead to staring at the store selection and going back and forth between the tried and true, Guinness, or something new. Here is my suggestion, do a stout/porter tasting.  Start with Guinness then head off and try stouts from your local area.  In California, try a Telegraph Stock Porter. On the East Coast try the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. In Oregon, Deschutes the Abyss is a monster and well worth the price.  Or pick up a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.  Avery has some great dark beers or you can try Bell’s Expedition Stout.  Give little tasters of each and have a vote.  See which is a fan favorite.

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2 Brooklyn Beer books

These two books are musts for any beer library.  You had better have a beer library or at least one book by Michael Jackson.  Beer School is a great business accented account of how the Brooklyn Brewery was born and nurtured to where it is today.  Very interesting on the intricacies of selling beer and creating a entreprenurial mind set.

To cover the beer and food pairing phenomenon, you have to read The Brewmaster’s Table.  It is an excellent guide to food and beer.  If you don’t learn something new, then you are the one true beer geek god.

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What I am drinking now – March 8th

1. Widmer Drifter – I generally like Widmer’s special releases better than the Drop Top and Hefe. But this Drifter is smooth with taste. To get the grapefruity taste that this has you usually have a lot of hops like Pliny the Elder but somehow Drifter gets both. Excellent summer beer.

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2. Urthel Hop It – I had this on tap at the fabulous Lucky Baldwin’s and it has such a floral smell and taste. The bottled version doesn’t capture that magic as well but this is the best Belgian/Hop mash up around.

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3. Brew Dog Punk IPA – I love the logo and the design but I must say this was dissapointing. Not very hoppy. It tastes like a generic British bitter and to me that is the most boring of styles. Give me a Belgian or American micro any day.

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ABInBev

Apart from the fact that BIG BEER abbreviations are getting more baroque, it is interesting to hear that Anheuser has tumbling profits according to the Wall Street Journal.  You would think that the cheap beers would be flying out of stores.  But because they buy in bulk and hedge its raw materials purchases means it is locked in to old, high hop prices while the small brewers are making less but better beer at cheaper prices.  I say it too much but your local small brewer always seem to do more with less.

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Drink Locally

I urge all of you out there to keep supporting your local brewery. I know that alot of people are on “economic hold” ( Count me in that group) but if I you have a favorite brew, and it’s from the little brewery down the street, then you better keep buying it. Otherwise it might not be there the next time. Same goes for your local pub. You don’t need to do it all yourself. Let your circle of beer loving friends know about your favorite place or a new place near them.

I will start. If you are in the Los Angeles area here are two great places to try….

Laurel Tavern in Studio City

The York in Highland Park