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Tusk & Grain, the barrel-aged arm of Saint Archer (a division of Miller/Coors) has amped up the Gose style with a Pinot Noir Barrel Aged version.
Their version “has been enhanced with the addition of brettanomyces then nurtured in pinot noir barrels, sculpting its identity. Oak. Funk. Tart.”
Imagine salt,coriander and hops with used Pinot barrels and you get a vinous note addition as well.
Unfortunately, like the second release from T&G, this is San Diego only.
I saw the name Tusk & Grain when I was compiling last week’s LA Beer Blast (which you best be subscribed to). Confused by a name that was unfamiliar, I asked my contact about it and found out it is a Saint Archer barrel-aging project.
T&G will be going by the creed of….”Our brewers hand select the most sought after barrels, and use only the highest quality goods in the design and execution of their vision for these beers. We hope you will enjoy the bountiful flavor, complexity, and texture in each pour.”
The first beer in the series a blend of stout and barleywine will be on tap at Blue Palms tomorrow night.
First and foremost, get your hands on a bottle of Unity 2015. The official tart saison of #LABW7. Then look for the rest to supplement your beer buying adventures.
~LIGHT
Left Hand/ Polestar Pilsner 5.5% ABV
“Once you have tasted a true Pilsner, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have seen the light, and there you will always long to return. Let Polestar guide you out of the wilderness, just as the North Star has guided explorers to their destinations and back home again. Light, crisp and elegant, pilsner is the true test of brewing prowess. Less is more.”
~MEDIUM
Port Brewing/ Summer Pale 6.0% ABV
“Our massively hoppy West Coast-style pale ale, we use Chinook, Cascade, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops to really put our mark on the beer. An initial nose of dankness with some subtle pine, Summer Pale Ale starts with a bite from the hops and finishes with a refreshing tangerine bitterness. Our Summer Pale Ale is the perfect accompaniment to any summer night! ”
~DARK
Saint Archer/ Scottish Export 7.0% ABV
“Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.”
I don’t usually write harsh reviews. Mostly because I am pretty damn picky about the beers that I spend my money on. But I do have breweries whose beer I think is over-over rated and there are others whose beer just underwhelms expectations.
And unfortunately, Saint Archer has twice fallen into that latter category.
Recently, I had a taster flight plus 2 of Saint Archer beers at Beer Belly. I set aside my previous experience with the Pale (which I did not cotton to) and the Blonde (which I really quite enjoyed) as I had heard that quality had improved over time. Which I have found to (sometimes) be true as brewers dial in the recipes. And since Saint Archer along with Modern Times have been blitzing the L.A. market, I felt the time was ripe to re-evaluate the line.
The Blonde was just as good as I remembered so I started hopefully moving down the taster line. The Pale was better though not lip-smacking good. Middle of the Pack. Which isn’t bad in a crowded hop field. Then I got to the IPA which was incredibly soapy to me. I was glad that I didn’t get a full glass of it. Not much bitterness either. The last of the taster was a Scottish Ale that was fine but it did have a touch of wort-ish, not quite done-ness to it at the back.
While waiting for a fellow beer gourmand to arrive, I overheard that the Nitro Coffee Brown was tasty, so I ordered one up. And what I got was certainly a distinct take on the style. It was just not what I was expecting. It was the coffee bean all right but the peppery, unroasted type. So you got much more of that green pepper taste than coffee. Which was a direct counter to the coffee aroma. I can see how others might like it but it just didn’t work for me because of the switch from aroma to taste.
I finished with the Double IPA which much like the Pale was good but not Wow! Good. It was fine but in comparison to the hoppy creations of El Segundo that I had tasted the night before, it just paled in both strength and hoppiness. Maybe my hop palate has an uber high tolerance level but it just didn’t have an effect on me one way or the other.
This experience got me to thinking about expectations. How much of my disappointment is based on the track record of the brewers behind the brand. There are good people at the mash tun so it certainly is a factor. Or is it a comparison to Modern Times whose beers seem on track? Was I hoping for more than a standard product line of blonde to stout ? Or is it just what I expect from San Diego beer in general? Only a psychiatrist could probably find out what percentage of my review can be attributed to those points.
As for now, I can heartily recommend the Blonde but I would suggest stopping there unless you want to do your own analysis.
Here is my thumbnail review of my first ever beer from San Diego’s Saint Archer, their pale ale…..
“Pours a light orange. Has almost a Nelson Sauvin aroma and taste. Some herbal dankness as well. Almost a white wine set of notes. Bitterness is medium. A bit sharp. I am a bit conflicted on how to rate this.”
Here is the description from the brewery, “Balanced toward the hoppy end of the spectrum, this straight-foward, California-style pale is eminently sessionable. Crystal and Munich malts provide a backbone to showcase the bright, citrus, piney notes of Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops.”
San Diego has (yet another) brewery to frequent! I know new San Diego breweries was my theme in January but I have a feeling that it could be my theme every month.
Here is their mission: “Saint Archer Brewing Company was founded on a unique strain of creative talent: World-class brewers. Artists and musicians. Surfers, skateboarders, and snowboarders…. All coming together with passion and commitment to express our collective true love — handcrafted beer. Saint Archer’s been a long time in the tank and we hope you taste our appreciation and gratitude in every sip.”
They have a starting line-up that includes a blonde a pale and the de rigeur IPA. You can probably now spend a full month drinking in San Diego and not get your hands onto every brewery’s beers. Amazing!