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Oskar Blues – Liquids and Solids

photo from Oskar Blues website
One of the best food and beer pairings is with BBQ. And one place that marries the two is in, you guessed it, Colorado. And it has a clever name to boot…

Oskar Blues’ newest down home beer joint celebrates beer culture with 43 craft taps, Southern-inspired BBQ & soul-saving live music. “This is an authentic craft beer bar right down to the keg based fountains” says owner Dale Katechis. An in-house smoker, named “the Midnight Toker”, stoked with local apple wood turns out slow smoked North Carolina style BBQ pork, spare ribs, beer-can chicken, salmon and turkey.

“Liquids & Solids is like the Big Muddy flowing through the Rocky Mountains,” says Oskar Blues founder and owner, Dale Katechis. “The slow, Southern style of cooking is the perfect match for American craft beer. Both are labors of love and have mouth-watering tastes people love to enjoy and savor.”

Set in the heart of Colorado craft beer country, Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids takes both its beer and food seriously. Jason Rogers, former executive chef at Denver’s J.W. Marriott and recognized by the James Beard Foundation – the ultimate kudos in the gourmet food world – oversees the kitchen. Menu features such items as smoked salmon fish and chips and a Dale (Pale Ale), or bourbon balls and a Ten FIDY (Imperial Stout).

Sounds good doesn’t it? And after visiting the Tasty Weasel, I know for sure it is.

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Growlers

A while back you may have run across my growler post at FoodGPS. I have started reading up on California Beer Laws to see what I can do to make some effective changes to make craft beer culture friendlier in the Golden State.

So it was with great interest that I read this on the HopPress about working to change outdated laws on the other side of the country.

For 2011, I am planning on gaining support for creating a California Growler. Check back in January for an on-line petition and for updates about my education in legalese and in my progress of creating saner growler law.

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Mad River Barleywine

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.”

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Laurelwood Framboise

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.”

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Portland Holiday Ale Festival

The holiday seasonals seem to come earlier and earlier but to me, it is only winter warmer time when the Holiday Ale Festival arrives.

And not only can you get a wide variety of regular snowy offerings, there is an awesome amount of rare beers!

Check out some of last year’s rarities:
Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg • Samichlaus Bier (2005)
BridgePort Brewing Company • Old Knucklehead Batch #11 (2003)
Holiday Ale / Hair of the Dog Commemorative • JIM (2008)
Brasserie Dubuisson Freres • Scaldis Noel (2007)
Cascade Brewing Company • Barrel-Select Baltic Porter (2007)
Kona Brewing Company • Da Grind Buzz Kona Coffee Imperial Stout
Walking Man Brewing • Ho Ho Homo Erectus (2006)
Lompoc Brewery • Bourbon Barrel-Aged Pagan Porter
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company • Babushka’s Secret

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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.”

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Brooklyn Cuvee Noire

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.