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Chapman Crafted is now more than just beer. On January 23rd at the more beer than coffee hour of 6:00pm, they will launch their cold brew, drip, and espresso that are made with their house blend roast, which they have named, Composition. Also on tap will be their First Roast Coffee Porter as well as other limited-release coffee beers.
Science. Dumb people don’t trust it but it can do amazing things given enough money, intelligence and time. Obsession too.
A recent POST on NPR’s website discussed a new coffee product that is beanless and bitter-less. This is on the heels of explosive growth for meatless burgers that has left supplies low.
But, this is a beer blog, Sean. Yes, but the increase of alcohol-free beers is growing and probably will continue to do so. Hops have gone from pellets to cryo to who know what in the future so why not a fake engineered flavor that is close to hops? Especially if it can consistently provide a flavor that the brewer wants.
Beer is based on agricultural products but considering our stewardship of the planet so far, beer may need to science its way out of a possible problem.
It may be the summer celebration today and light beers are the order of this day but I want to talk about Black Butte XXXI.
“Deschutes Brewery’s specialty anniversary reserve, is an annual tradition since the brewery’s 20th anniversary in 2008. The beer is an imperial barrel-aged double version of the brewery’s flagship, Black Butte Porter, that changes every year.
Deschutes brewers love to experiment with this beer and this year were inspired by Turkish coffee and added chocolate, cardamom and cold brewed coffee from Third Rock Roastery, a locally owned roastery by Deschutes Brewery co-owner Scott Hughes. BBXXXI is 80% barrel aged in oak bourbon barrels.”
After my experiences with “hard” sodas, I have pretty much sworn off the whole Hard –Insert Beverage Here—trend. I am sure that “hard” grape juice is just around the corner. But no, next up is “hard” cold brew?
I give Angel City the benefit of the doubt and I am glad they didn’t just add a Sam Adams spiked seltzer to their line-up and instead went a new route. That being said, if I have the choice a beer made with coffee or heading to a roaster and getting cold brew, well, those are the two choices that I am going to make. Having an alcoholic coffee that isn’t a cocktail doesn’t even register on my list.
Verdict – NOT needed.
New (but with an old styled label is the intriguing combo of coffee and lemon. I have had coffee versions of the famed Arnold Palmer tea/lemonade so this isn’t and out of leftfield idea and New Belgium does have history of coffee in beers working well so this will be one to look for.
I am pretty scattershot with my coffee buying. Most times, I get the latest seasonal offering from Trader Joe’s but when I saw this bag at my local Whole Foods of the Amazon, I decided to give it a whirl since donations to charity always work on me. And this was really good. I will have to look around to find the Hard Wired beer from Left Hand to compare but this was light and a bit fruity without too much acidity to it.
New Belgium has a fancy new beer in the pipeline suitable for special occasions.
Geisha combines the namesake coffee from Panama at Hacienda La Esmeralda with La Folie sour ale. According to the press release this makes for “the coffee’s brilliant mandarin and soft jasmine floral notes which play nicely with the sour plum and cocoa flavors synonymous with La Folie.”
The special coffee was sourced from Fellow B Corp, Sustainable Harvest of Portland.
Here is the info about where the beans came from: “The lands that make up Hacienda La Esmeralda where first brought together as a single estate by a Swede named Hans Elliot in 1940. Coffee had been growing on lands in and around Hacienda La Esmeralda since at least, 1890, and it was this huge reservoir of coffee knowledge and culture that helped the Petersons redevelop much of their land for coffee farming and even make their first coffee farm expansion at Palmira in 1988. It was a happenstance of altitude and lot separation that discovered Geisha’s amazing flavors and aromatics.”
At the start of the month, I made a special trip to my local craft beer store, Craft Beer Cellar – Eagle Rock, to spend my gift card bounty from Christmas.
Here is the first review. A beer that I would not normally run out to buy (due to the ingredient list that includes Guatemalan Antigua cold press coffee, Maple syrup harvested from Western Massachusetts and for the quintessential Delaware breakfast touch – Rapa Scrapple and their secret blend of spices), but since it was technically free, I could take a flyer on this hearty stout from Dogfish Head, Beer for Breakfast.
Pours black with a quite foamy espresso/latte head to it. A bit scared of this due to the “scrapple” element. Aroma is pure smoke as in that friend who came in from a smoke break. Off putting to me for sure. Taste is quite strong rauchbier. No ham-iness to it for me. Just smoke. Some coffee grounds poking through but not really bitter. Desperately calls for a 10oz bottle. Quite a warming down the throat bite to it. In the end, I cannot recommend because the aroma is just so off-putting to me.
Since the December blog is filled to bursting with holiday seasonals, for the monthly suggestions we will end with what to drink for Christmas morning, breakfast beers as it were.
~LIGHT
Dogfish Head / Beer for Breakfast 7.4% ABV
“A stout tricked out with all sorts of breakfast ingredients including Guatemalan Antigua cold press coffee, Maple syrup harvested from Western Massachusetts and for the quintessential Delaware breakfast touch – Rapa Scrapple and their secret blend of spices. 2-row Applewood smoked barley, Kiln Coffee malt, Flaked oats, Roasted barley, Caramel malt along with additions of Molasses, Milk Sugars (lactose), Brown Sugar, Roasted Chicory lay the foundation for this malty, breakfast-themed concoction. Enjoy huge notes of coffee in the nose and savory layers in the flavor”
~MEDIUM
The Bruery / The Grade 7.6% ABV
“The Grade is in. It’s built on the backbone of a rich, cold-fermented baltic porter made popular in countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Similar to an imperial porter but distinctly different, the baltic porter style is heralded for being full-bodied, roasty and smooth, with overtones of toffee, coffee, caramel, chocolate and dark fruit. We take it one step further and hammer it home with the bold, sweet flavors of maple syrup and a touch of fenugreek, placing it in a different, experimental class entirely. “
~DARK
Epic Brewing/ Big Bad Baptista 12.6% ABV
“Big Bad Baptista is inspired by traditional Mexican coffee, Café de Olla, which is served with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined sugar. The Cinnamon adds another layer of complexity and accentuates the earthy character of Mexican Coffee, but more importantly, it captures the essence of a place and its culture. As beverage geeks we wanted to pay homage to that rich tradition and offer our unique take. “
We start our canned beer reviews with the first ever can release from gypsy brewer SoLArc Brewing.
What’s up with Shower Beer….
This is a seriously creamy beer. My first thought was Naughty Sauce from Noble Ale Works but in a bright decorative can festooned with French Press and teapots. But Shower Beer seems a touch less beer and a bit more on the sweetened coffee side. The aroma is really coffee forward and the fancy Nilgiri tea isn’t really popping to the forefront. Something to balance out the sugar would have helped this drink easier. As it is, Shower Beer gets a little too hard to drink even just a 12oz can.