Beets Me

SpontanbeetrootFront

I have had only one of the “Spontan” series from Mikkeller.  And though I enjoyed The Wild Strawberry, I have to say that I wasn’t thinking to myself.  I sure wish he would do a beet version.  That’s not what I have a hankering for.  But I guess you can tell from the RateBeer list of Mikkeller beers that he has done pretty much the gamut of fruits so maybe now he will work through the vegetables.

An (Extra) Sour Fantome

fantome

There are quite a few English, German and Belgian beers that I need to re-acquaint myself with. I recently had Omer blonde ale and was reminded how great it was. Fantome is another brand that I should sample more of and this new sour offering is now on my watch list.

Captain Sour

One of the many breweries that I wish I had more of is Captain Lawrence. And they have a barrel select series that I wish I could get a bottle from each release. Now they have cherry AND raspberry coming after 4 years of resting peacefully in oak.

Le Terroir

New Belgium is really pushing the envelope with their Lips of Faith series. Berliner Weiss to Eric’s ale and now this…..

“Le Terroir Dry Hopped Sour Ale is the second Lips of Faith beer now available in limited markets. Le Terroir is a French term meaning “of the earth.” Used to reference the environmental conditions that affect the brew, New Belgium prefers to think about the terroir of our foeders, the wooden barrels that age sour beers in varying temperatures, humidity and vibrations. Add in another variable by dry-hopping with peachy, mango-like amarillo hops, and Le Terroir changes every time it is brewed.”

UPDATE: I had this beer recently at the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica and it is really good. Better in small doses because of the acidity but this has great hops and mango taste. It is so balanced that the sour doesn’t take over. One of my best of 2011 so far.

Odonata Brewing

Another new (to me) brewery but not to Sacramento beer geeks is Odonata Beer Co..

odo

Two of their newest and intriguing beers are “Water Witch, a rich, dark brown brew with red highlights. The beer recipe itself is for a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. What deviates slightly from the ‘official’ style guidelines is the maturation in red wine barrels, which lends a slightly acidic note to the finish.
Our first collaborative beer – made with the help of the Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton! This is called Beersel, a name that pays homage to the place our yeast culture originated – in the bowels of the famed 3 Fonteinen brewery! This is a true Sour Ale, but not technically a Lambic (which is a spontaneously fermented beer) or Gueuze (lambics, blended). The grist and hopping is pretty much what the Senne Valley brewers use to make their lambics, however, with raw wheat, pale malted barley and whole flower hops aged 10 years.”

Goose Island

Belgian is obviously the style of 2009. From The Bruery in Orange County to Ommegang in New York, it is where the cutting edge of brewing is happening.

Now I hear through the grapevine about two new offerings from Chicago’s Goose Island. Juliet which is a Belgian Sour and Sofie which is a farmhouse ale. They are now on my ever expanding list of beers I really need to taste.

If you have sampled them and have an opinion you would like to vent then comment below. I would enjoy seeing what people think.

1st Anniversary of The Bruery

bruery
First things first. Kudos to all at the Bruery for throwing a great party. There wasn’t even any sour faces at the sour bar.

I will begin with the beer reviews. My goal was to sample new offerings first. I started at the aforementioned Sour Bar and I was glad I did. The Gypsy Tart was an excellent Flanders red. Easy drinking, full of flavor. Tart without being puckery. On par with the Ommegang Flanders Red.

The next beer truly surprised me. I selected it mostly out of curiosity. Melange # 1 is a mix of Russian Imperial Stout and Flemish Red. I truly loved this beer. They got the mix just right for my palate. Dark and fruity. Like having chocolate and raspberries. I recommended it to all that I talked to yesterday. Anytime I see it, I will order it up.

I followed that with their anniversary beer, Papier. To me it was a little too much. It is close in flavor to the Melange # 3. Both are dark and bourbon-esque. Good to sip by the fireplace in the cabin by the woods.

Next was the Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. The sourest of them all wasn’t at the Sour Bar. I really enjoyed it. 3.1% alcohol. So easy to drink. I could see adding some fruit syrup to balance out the sour but it was great on it’s own.

100% Brett Saison de Lente was very good as well. Full bodied almost amber. A very balanced beer. A complex beer.

That was the end of the beers I had not tasted before. To finish, I had the Humulus Blonde and the White Zin. The blonde is nice but tasted differently from one I had previously at Blue Palms. Not as hoppy as I remembered. The White Zin was good as usual. Zippy with a nice sharp wine taste to it.

Food wise the BBQ from Beachwood BBQ was great. Even tried a fried pickle. The dessert plate was awesome. Belgian waffle, three types of cheese and bacon wrapped in chocolate. Heavenly!
dessert