One That's Not Done (Harriet Batch One)

Last summer, I got a message at the Blue Nile that some one named Jason Sowards was trying to get in touch with me about his upcoming Harriet Brewing Company, right here in Minneapolis. It means a lot to me when people reach out to me about their beer & brewing ventures. We set up a meeting at the Nile,and finally I met the man behind this upstart venture, and we had a tasting session with his homebrews. I was seriously impressed by his skills, and soon learned of his reputation among the home-brewing community. He planned to brew mainly Belgian-style brews, in small batches, which makes him a brewer after my own heart.
I was excited to watch his progress on getting a brewery going, even changing the city's laws to allow breweries to sell growlers or large bottles without having a restaurant attached (weird, right? Why would you need to sell X amount of food, when the customers are taking the beer home?). And more excited when his brewery site turned out to a mere ten blocks away from the Nile. I was quick to get on board, and called him about a tour of the brewery, once I knew he was starting to brew. In the course of that conversation, he offered me the opportunity to host the first tapping of the West-Side Belgian-style IPA. It's thrilling to be involved in the start of a new, great brewery. That's what happened five years ago when Surly debuted, and this week we're doing an anniversary party of the little- brewery- that- could I've been watching grow all these years. One week later, we debut the Harriet line. An exciting February, to be sure.

Last Saturday, the brewery opened to the public for the first time, and sold had their first day of growler sales. About 350 left their doors, I heard. Couldn't make it myself, but got one, still. My notes from tasting that night follow...now.



Harriet Brewing West-Side Belgian-style IPA, …no, wait, it's not really West-Side, not the one you'll find on tap soon. Not the one I had months ago, or even the one just about a month ago. Is it the one I had from the fermenter? Well. what it is, is Batch One, the first beer to come out of the working brewery at Harriet, over at Lake and Minnehaha.
I didn't get the whole story from brewery owner Jason Sowards about how he missed the mark on the alpha acids and the bitterness quotient, but it has something to do with underestimated the mash…malt…something. He does like the Belgian feel of this version, and the alcohol level seems higher than it was supposed to be. I'm fine with the 6.5% he's shooting for. We don't get the bitter hop feel he wants, and it comes out a bit sweeter. So, like I said, this is a test batch.

So, let's look at it.

Slightly hazy, crimson hue, slim head, rests as a ring around the edges.

Aroma: little bit of citrus zest, quite a bit of unique Belgian funky yeast flavor. Sweet malt has taken hold, and sublimated the bitter spunk I've tasted in this before, and that Jason is certainly aiming towards.

Sweet malt flavor is swimming boldly about, the yummy yeasty Belgian flavor, reminiscent of a good Belgian pale ale is well appreciated. Misses the bitterness, though, and, yeah, it's sweeter than it ought to be.

Alcohol moves up in there, rising high in the mouthfeel, kicking in.

Harriet didn't have a perfect first batch. It isn't exactly what they want to produce as West-Side IPA. But it's a fine ale, nonetheless. No one who picked up a growler should be unhappy, no one should line up for a refund. And there is still time to get it dialed in in time for that release in under two weeks. That I'm hosting. Really nervous about it. A lot riding on this. Gonna be press, and pressure and I, yi, yi, yi…

Okay, jokes aside, a beer was made and sold, and it tastes fine and drinks down lovely. Bit on the sweet side, especially for an IPa.
But beer was sold, money goes in the coffers, capital rests, ready to pay those bills, and this next version will be the one, we hope.
Next up: Winterfest, in St. Paul, and I believe Jason will bring more beers for that, and then on the 9th, we host the final version of West-Side at the Nile, plus maybe more…?

Andescher Doppelbock Dunkel

 Andescher Doppelbock Dunkel,
Klosterbrawerei Andechs,
Bayern, Germany
7.1 % ABV, 19 IBU.


original notes from my first tasting, back in May, 2004:

A bottle procured for me by Dave, a loyal customer at my restaurant/bar, who has recently been bringing German gems back from business trips for me. All hail Dave!
Appearance: partially clear, dark ruby hue, an enigmatic appearance, really, clear here, dark there, obtuse in places, with a lovely, lush layer of pale, tanned foam standing guard on top.
Aroma: caramel & spice, soft & creamy, lightly toasted, with subtle fruit.
Taste: luscious fruit proclaims itself at the onset, a beautiful blend of grape, cherry, berry, & more, supported by a warm, generous malt bill.
More flavors interject as we continue, raisins, figs, chocolate climbs aboard, too, for a spell, contributing a subtle, sensuous cocoa feel all over the palate.
Sublime, really.
This mere 7.1% ABV doppelbock only peeps up the tiniest bit in alcohol feel, so smooth it is, so rich with flavor, not harsh, nor brash, mellow, cool, yet bold with flavor, getting winey-er and winey-er in taste as we go.
Got to hand it to the monks at Andesch, for they are gentle, benevolent geniuses, and those who know their work are doubly blessed!

This world famous bock from Bavaria’s Holy Mountain is not meant to be rushed, but savoured slowly. As solid as a rock, Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel presides over the evening meal with a colour reminiscent of dark copper with nuances of fiery red. Its clear gleaming look harmonises with its firm, fine pored head.

Also the aroma delights the connoisseur: soft roasted accents and a nuance of dried fruit carrying a vein of caramel. This Doppelbock Dunkel from Bavaria’s Holy Mountain presents a pleasant effervescence. And then there’s the unmistakable flavour: mouthcoating and velvety, strong and yet pleasantly malty – a powerful, robust body. At the same time, it develops an easily recognisable sweetness, embraced in roasted cocoa and a light, bitter hoppiness.

Concluding with a powerful punch, this Doppelbock departs with a lingering aftertaste of quality plain chocolate. A strong Doppelbock that embodies the centuries old Benedictine brewing tradition, sip by delicious sip (original extract: 18.5%, abv: over 7.0%).

Odell Red

Good name. Short, simple, straight to the point.

Enjoyed moments ago at Acadia Cafe, on tap. (Live blogging! No, several minutes later blogging. Have since posted the notes on BeerAdvocate, and started into a glass of Left Hand Wake Up Dead. Which I'm not taking notes on. Because I don't feel like it. Time to "just drink.")

Here's what the brewery says.

The notes:
Lightly hazed, deep crimson hue, fleeting beige-toned head.

Bright, malty aromatic. Fruity, hoppy

Taste: snappy, hoppy, full-bodied, malt-driven. Great texture, excellent mouthfeel, plentiful play on the palate. Wonderful dance of malt and hops.

Supreme drinkability, long hoppy finish. Quite satisfying, very easy to turn to another, and quickly empty it.

Overall, recommended! Go ahead and have one!

Russian River Consecration

Russian River Brewing Company Consecration, Ale Aged in Oak Barrels with Currants Added, Refermented in this Bottle, Barrel Aged 6 months, with 4 types of funky wild yeast, brett, lacto, podio-, sacchyro--..etc. 10 % abv. Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA. Age in a cool dark place! Batch 001X3.

I've been waiting on this one for a while. From the same BA trade that got me the Lost Abbey Witches Wit, as well as the Lost Abbey Cuvee De Tomme that I'm sitting on even longer. It's been sitting in the fridge for about six weeks, and I can't wait any longer. Away we go!

Dark plum-red coloration, with no head at all, starts slightly fizzy, then quits quickly.

Aroma: ah, that's the stuff, there's the brett, that funky wild wicked twisted sour and sassy wine-ish nose. Currants are doing plenty of work here, too, it's fresh with the fruit. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Tasting it: Whoa! Grabs the tongue and pins it down. Puckeration all the way, in this. Does not relent with the intense tartness. Fruit flavor gives some relief, squeezing in between the huge tart bite.

Another sip, another gulp, and in rushes cherries, blackberries, grapes, some sweet, and then sour. grips the tongue, spanks it a bit, slathers it up and down with funk and sour. Luxurious, relaxing, lush and wonderful.

Halfway in, it's getting deep, plummier, richer…moreover. I'm more impressed-er, for sure. Deeee-licious. Mmmm. Mmm. Mm. M.

Lilja's Argosy IPA

Lilja's Argosy IPA, East India Pale Ale, A Fully Laden India Pale Ale.

Highly clouded, muddy amber, dark, slim white head, leaving some lace.

Aroma: strangely muted, very shy, light fruit, apple, cherry.

Taste: Big hop bitterness up front, but nothing beyond that. Middling malt. Nothing stands out. Seriously lackluster. And I want some damned luster!
Very much an English-style IPA, feel like some Fuggles or EK Goldings are at work here, some fruit flavor going on, apple, cherry, again, just like in aroma. Lightly bitter, definitely drinkable, but not especially special. Actually fairly tasty, certainly sessionable, but I wished for something with bit more spark.

Lilja's Pulling Boat Pale Ale

Another from the Lilja's four. Not thrilled with this one. My notes:

Lilja's Pulling Boat Pale Ale, An American Pale Ale. SVEA. (What's that mean?)

Clouded, pale amber coloration, adequate, 1/2 " rocky, white head.

Aroma: Fairly faint. A little skunked, oddly enough. Lemony. Eh…

Taste: Fairly smooth and somewhat creamy, nice, lightly hoppy. Zesty, citric fruit, nicely hoppy, but, a bit blase. Yeah, drinkable, hoppy enough, but nothing to talk about. Huh. Hmmm. Hyeah.

Sorry, nothing to see, or say, here.

Lilja's Heifer Weizen

Let's get into the final three of the Lilja's quartet I sampled recently.

"Lilja's Heifer Weizen, A Wisconsin Farmhouse Wheat Beer, Belgian Style"

So, is it Hefe Weizen, saison, or witbier, as these words seem to suggest all three?
Let's open it up and find out.

Cloudy, amber appearance, beautiful, bumpy white head,.

Citrus (lemon and orange) and spice (coriander) in the nose, light and floral, very pretty.

Taste: big and bustling spice and lightly bitter hops bust onto the palate. A hoppier version of a wit, for sure. Soft wheat malt plays pleasantly in the back. Seems like a bit of a cross between saison and wit, heartier than a wit, fuller flavor and body, more like a saison, but with the flavoring of a wit. Got that celery thing going on, too.

The "heifer wizen" tag exists only to make some kind of pun on cows, but only confuses, as there's no similarity to German hefe weizens, except the use of wheat malt.

A zesty, spicy one, and an easy drinker. Nice texture, good spark on the tongue, excellent play on the palate, and it goes down well. I could drink a few more of these.

Schell's Bock...it's back!

Here comes the confusion. Years ago, this was "Bock" from Schell's. I wrote the following nearly eight years ago:

"Color is a clear, dark amber, and the head is sturdy and bubbly, an off-white hue. Aroma is clean, with small hints of caramel and nuts. Sweet and silky smooth on the palate, with some fruitiness coming in on the flavor, through the malt. The caramel/toffee/nuttiness also reappears and contributes to a very delicious taste. Nice, sweet finish. Overall, a very good bock.
This my first time tasting this one in 3 years, and the last experience was not good. Maybe I had a bad batch before, or if the beer didn't change, maybe I did!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 04-14-2003 11:28:59"

That last experience eluded to was a keg we had on tap back in '99, or '00, and it was murder to sell and serve. No one was into it.
That bottle in '03 was an improvement, but instead of keeping that going they dropped it in favor of something called Caramel Bock. Yuck, a miserable mistake. The doppelbock was also discontinued for a period, another head-shaker. Well, things are changing at Schell's to be sure. I've heard raves about the new, re-continued brew, now referred to as "Schell's Bock". Wrote the following last night:

"Schell's Bock highlights a rich and storied history of brewing authentic beers for a century and a half by August Schell Brewing Company. A harmonious blend of 10 different types of malt and noble hops, create this rich, smooth-tasting beer. Medium in body and dark copper in color, Schell's bock is everything you'd expect from America's second-oldest family-owned brewery."

In Michael Jackson 2000 "Great Beer Guide", in the course of writing on the DoppelBock, he describes the regular bock, that previous one, as "Tawny and rummy". Tawny, yes in this this one, rummy, not very much.

Clear, dusky amber, nearly brown boy, small, but lasting white ring rests on top.

Earthy, nutty, malty aromatics. Nearing sweetness, but well-tempered, evenly tuned. Right on target.

Taste: Rich, warm malty flavor floods the mouth, swims about, exits clean and gracefully. Actually, this is surprisingly delicious. Just enough hops in here to keep it all in balance. Extraordinary drinkability. Can't find a damned thing wrong with this. Long, malt-tastic finish.

I can't recall ever liking Schell's Bock this much. Next up, let's see some magic done on the Doppelbock.

Town Hall 1800 IPA

Here are my notes from July, 2004, of this brew I just recently re-enjoyed from a growler:


"For this beer, brewmaster Mike Hoops found an IPA recipe from the year 1800, and tried his hand at re-creating it, with with one little fudge. The hop additions (Fuggles, for sure, and maybe EK Goldings?) 5 lbs per barrel, were spaced out more during the boil than the original recipe called for, to make it more palatable and allow us to enjoy it now, rather than the length of a boat ride to Bombay.
So, let's drink 'er!

Lovely bright orange color. opaque and appealing, with a huge, creamy white head, (helped some by the Duvel glass I employ in this tasting).
Big, citric aroma, a mix of grapefruit, orange, peach and more, floral, sweet and sout, very arousing.
BAM! ooof! Kapow! This one grabs the palate and pulls it in for some major puckering! "Bitter much?" Powerful play in the mouth, very tart and citric. Mellows some after a while, leads into some juiciness, then it dries.
Well-balanced, but the hops are king here, not quite enough of a showing from the malty side, but it holds ground well enough. Long, bitter citric finish, lasts long in the tastebuds.
More fruit shows up throughout the glass, more peach, apricot, and also I'm noting some tiny green particles floating at the bottom. hmmm. It was a clean glass...I knew it was unfiltered, but never expected to find hop pieces floating about. Huh!
Damn, this is nice! I find myself thinking it's not like any English IPAs I've had, but yet it is one, it's made from all English ingredients. Perhaps the problem arises from how far afield they are today from their origins...well, we'll leave those matters for elsewhere and when, and just state that this is damned tasty, and I know that I'll be going back for more, while it lasts!"

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

Something never occurred to me when I enjoyed a Jolly Pumpkin in my own private domocile, before I ever tapped a keg for the fine folks who come to drink and dine at the Blue Nile, and that thing is, what a horrible name 'Jolly Pumpkin' is for a brewery.
Everyone, just about everyone, thinks it's a pumpkin beer! I have to talk them out of it. No, no, it's just a terribly misleading name, there's no pumpkin in the beer!
One person recently got it, and said to me, without prodding, "yeah, I guess Dark Horse doesn't taste like horses."
And Sierra Nevada beers don't taste like mountains, Anchor doesn't taste like wet metal, Boulevard doesn't taste like a dirty sidewalk, and Flying Dog doesn't mean the beer is made of airborne canines. Yet, here we are, and I've got the only kegs of Noel de Calabaza, which is fantastic, and wonderful, and tastes nothing like a pumpkin! I have to keep telling people this!
It's a fantastic thing. These guys are on the forefront of great Belgian-style beers in America, in the Mid-west, in Michigan, whatever. Truly, wonderful. For more, I refer to my first notes from a bottle, about three years ago...

(very similar weather at this moment, a grand, wonderful 13 above.)

it's 11 degrees out with a fierce windchill....i just got home from biking back from work...need something dark, warm, deep, rich and mystical...maybe this will do...only one way to know... (9% abv)

noel de calabaza, off goes your cap, and into my Big Ass tripel karmeliet glass you go...

dark brown color, mahogany mixed with prunes, or plums...somewhere around there, with a full creamy tan head...gorgeous!

bewitching aroma! dark fruits find the funk! raisins, plums, dates, as well, meet grapes, and berries, and port wine...a wicked mix! with fragrances of myriad spices, as well, an ethereal delight!

A tickle as it trickles into the mouth, and spills all over the palate. Malty, sour, slick, supple, slightly sweet, and terribly complex...a lot of stuff happening here. Dark fruits at play, a rich blend of grain and fruit, velvety smooth, with a sleek, sensual mouthfeel. full bodied, long finish, dark and delicious...this is one, despite being, as we say in minnesota, "spendy", that I may have to return to again and again...best jp beer i've yet had...damned good!"

It is damned good, and I'm drinking it on tap, aren't you jealous? Fantastic stuff! Despite being "spendy"...

Summit Winter Ale

Here's another "one that got away"...

From December, 2002, so very early...

"Once upon a time, this was my winter long staple brew, deviating only for other seasonal specialties, ie Anchor et al. Nowadays, variety is my everyday spice of life, but I have to pay homage to this brew, every year.
Dark as a Minnesota night, with a small brownish head that leaves too soon. Aroma is light, delicate, with no dominant flavors. Toffee, chocolate, roasted coffee and spice are all hinted at.Texture is smooth with a little hop bite. Balance is excellent; malt stands up, but doesn't stick out.

Spicy and warm, but still mellow and soothing. Seems to lack an "oomph " from years ago, or maybe my tongue has tempered.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 12-26-2002 17:35:01
-----

Always wondered if I should revise that one. Was it better before, did anything change? Is it better now, was it better then?
Meant to sit down and re-review, but the last keg on hand (not the last possible, but that's another kettle of fish) finished tonight. I did, though, have a handful of pints over the past couple of months, and have to say, it's still a good brew, but nothing special. When I thought it was, back in the 90's, really, I hadn't had a great deal of experience in darker, richer, more flavorful ales, porters, and stouts. By the time I put down those notes in the early part of the last decade, I'd put on some more experience in the world of beer, and revisiting Winter Ale found it wanting. I don't think it's ever really changed at all, but perspective changes opinions. It's still a fine ale, and tastes just like I described it eight years ago. There's not a danged thing wrong with that. You just have to keep in mind what it is, what it's trying to be, and what it's not. I can't judge Winter Ale poorly against beers it has little in common with. I did love it way back then, but ...but, then this old feller tends to ramble, dudn't he...yeah, taking me back to the old days, when beer was beer, and ale was a fancy man's beer, and lager was for the ladies, and children, and everything else was for sissyboys and Chinamen.

Great Lakes Nosferatu

American Strong Ale, BeerAdvocate calls it."A Handcrafted Stock Ale", the brewery calls it. 8% alcohol by volume. Available here in Minnesota for the first time this season, here are my notes from my first bottle, back in December of 2004.

"I've gotten so bored with the Satan-themed beers, that it's a warm welcome to find a good, old-fashioned vampire-inspired ale! Here's to more in the future...Bela Lugosi's Red, anyone? But, on with the brew...
A hue as hot as Hades, full and fierce crimson, shadily hazy, with numerous floatillas, under a respectable raft of creamy beige-toned foam.
Yeast starts the nose, malt is next, and we feel like we're basking in new-baked cookies, at first, then...then a soft, citrus scent comes in, light spice, banana cream pie whispers in, zesty, alert, and lively...just-so delicious!
Jet-fueled entry on the palate, a blazingly friendly touchdown on the tongue, hoppy, and happy, bursting with an urgent appeal of flavor, bold, bright, and potent. Dark fruits are first in the taste, bread, biscuits, light citric zest, and a blast of spice on the side...this is all perceived in the flavor, but I don't mean to imply it is contained in the recipe. Yum, I keep on thinking, as the mouthfeel gets thicker, the finish near impenetrable, and my admiration grows. This is an upstanding nightcap here, a cool, mellow, but undeniably big ol' beast in the mouth...the kind of ale that clubs as it caresses...a cool thing to do."

Lefebvre Hopus Ale

Found this one marked down to $1.99 a bottle at Zipp's, and it seems that I reviewed for the first time a little over a year ago, january of 2010. Here are those brief notes:

Lefebvre Hopus Ale, Brasserie Lefebvre, previously tasted in the Barbar Winter Bok.

"Brutus, Amarus, Flavusque. (?)"

Lightly hazed and yellow...enormous, bright white head, leaving much lace.

sharp and bitter aromatics, floral, lemony...

Bitter, hoppy slap to the palate up front, then softly faded back...gets milder, slightly sweetwhile retaining the hoppy flavor. Needs more body, and a bit more from the hops to compare to Poperings and the like.

I enjoyed it to an extent, found it quaffable and passable, but nothing special. At that price, though, I may go back for another.

Iron Hill HoneyDoWit

I didn't know anything about this beer, until a box showed up on my living room floor this Tuesday. A gift from Mr. John S. "Woody" Chandler, without a note or an explanation. I've heard of the brewery, but had no read on their reputation. Put it in the fridge for a few hours, and went at it. Here are the results.


Iron Hill HoneyDoWit Beer. Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Handcrafted Ales & Lagers, Wilmington, Delaware, 750 ml bottle. (I'm guessing Woody got it at the Lancaster location.)

Slimmed & soon-gone head, dar amber, heavily hazed hue.

Aroma: must be honey with a name like that, and there it is in the nose. Quite sweet. Honey and alcohol. Light spice, fruit.

Taste: sweet, fruit, honey, there it all is. Wheat flavor/texture/mouthfeel is here, good and smooth. Flavor is there, but nothing more than what I've already said. There's honey, there's…fruit, it's tasty, and easy-drinking, except that feels slightly strong. Wonder how strong? Good question, as the alcohol increasingly becomes a part of the taste. (Looking it up on BeerAdvocate, it's a whopping 9.5%!)

Tasty and refreshing….-ish. Good stuff, but not quite good enough. Doesn't quite cut it. Lacks a certain spark that would make it sing.

Many thanks, Woody.

Grain Belt Nordeast

I've had samples of this off the tap, but full-sizes servings had eluded me, until a Schell's (brewer of the Grain Belt brand) rep came to the rescue yesterday.
At last a bottle of Grain Belt Nordeast to call my very own! Rarer than unicorn droppings, harder to find than a leprechaun's taint. At long last, it is mine.

Now, to drink! But, first, to open…

Clear, rich amber color, very thin, tight head, just a lean ring of whitish foam round the edges.

Aroma: sweet and malty, caramel tone, thoroughly pleasant. Nuff said.

Taste: more of the same. No complexity, none expected, exactly as advertised, a clean, slightly sweet, malty lager. There's flavor, and it rolls around the mouth, and exits politely. Drinks like crazy. Only offended parties should be those who insist on their beers being yellow, glum, and harshly fizzy. This ain't none of that. It lacks body, but I don't think anyone expected it to be big-boned. Nordeast is what it is and does what it does.

I'll give it high praise from a Minnesotan: "Not bad!"

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I first took bitter nib to paper, (or perhaps I did this strictly electronically, can't remember) in Febraury of 2003, nearly 8 years ago.

Here are those notes:

Color is a dark amber,edging into red, with a huge, handsome, off-white head.

Aroma explodes with hops, calling forth sensations of citrus, grapefruit, orange, peach, lemon, a beautiful, albeit bitter, fruit bouquet.

Texture's tasty, body's light/medium, finish is quite delicious and lasting. Overall, an exceptional overboard IPA.





My tiny complaint, though this is a brew that I sample and enjoy every year, like all beer lovers, is that it's character doesn't offer much than you'd imagine of a super-hoppy IPA. When I think of seasonal wintertime beers, I expect something darker, with extra flavors, suitable to the chilly days we have have to endure. (At least, those of us who have winter...). It's a pity they don't release this year 'round as an IPA, as that's the only staple missing from their portfolio." (I gave it 4.3/5 on BA, 3% above the norm.)

I was still new to finding flavors (peach, really?), but my taste for IPAs had grown so that I was not satisfied with one offered up as a seasonal treat. I've stopped tapping Celebration at the Nile (it's been at least 5 years), mainly because there are so many other beers we can get regularly that surpass in hop attack and flavor, Surly Furious for one. I noticed that this year they are classifying it as a Fresh Hop Ale, perhaps to generate a bit more excitement. It's still great beer, just doesn't get me all a-tingly when it arrives every winter.

De Dolle Dulle Teve, The Mad Bitch!

Another work of genius from De Dolle, The Mad Bitch, spicy tripel.
My first taste was in December of 2003, and I had it from a 750 ml bottle, as noted toward the end. Here are those notes:


"My first dance with this wicked woman, a dame so loco that she grits a rose between her teeth, thorns and all...a tango with the Mad Bitch...

Off comes the cork, and out wafts instant sweetness and spice, up into my nose, urging me to release her from this cage, and out she pours into the most appropriate Duvel glass. The incredible, fizzy, yet creamy as a cloud head fills up 3/4 of the vessel, the body is a hazy pale orange, riddled with floating yeasties. She puts on a pretty impressive show, though she contains mysteries within, which we are about to partake of ...

Aroma, fresh and spicy, while still driven by delicate fruit, pear, apricot, pineapple, banana...a lovely, inticing thing, directing my lips to drink, already...

Somehow, the brew slips out from under all that foam, and...Incredible! The shock of new, once again, sends a shudder through me, a paraxysm of delight...I'm left uttering epithets and interjections...what kind of incredible concoction is this, that leads with hot peppers on the tongue, followed by lush fruitiness, backed up by serious malt! A devilish delivery of hops, followed quick by that spicy kick, almost harsh, but not quite, for it's so adequately complimented by further flavors.

It may seem like a messy marriage, this union of hops, spice and fruit, with the more powerful flavors fully in charge of the palate, but it instead stands out as an immaculate integration, a wanton wedding that provides release as well as relief. Taboos are uncovered, old rituals discarded, and something completely un-thought-of starts to seem commonplace...this is a moment where what's in the glass wends it's way into your soul, by tasting the brew it becomes you, and now, you're that damnable dame! It seriously clings to you, never wants to leave the palate, doesn't take no for an answer, your brain says "no more", but your newly freed secret-self yens to stretch out some..."what's the harm?"


Of course, this beer has to available only in 750s,(I know now that it's not...) and at an incredible price (mine was maybe $9.50?), otherwise it wouldn't be so much the risk and the venture...if you're going to waltz with this wench, you're in it for the long haul, buckaroo!
{Shudder}
{Shudder}
"What did I do last night?"
"You messed with the Mad Bitch!"

De Dolle Oerbier

I love this brewery, "The Mad Brewers" of Esen, Belgium,and grab up bottles of their regular line-up whenever I can. Picked up the Special Reserva at Zipp's last week, and the clerk asked, "Is it really $10?" I told her that once she tasted one, she wouldn't care about the price. I'm saving that for later. For now, notes from February 2003, and my first taste of this one, sent from a trading buddy. So glad I can get it here now. (And still trying to get a keg one of these days!)

"Boggy brown color, full of yeasty travellers swimming about, below a fuzzy, rocky, lacey off-white head.
Aroma is somewhat dry, hints of nuts, caramel, soft and slightly sweet, with huge spiciness, and a touch of woodiness.
A welcome phalanx of hops jumps on board the buds, followed by an armada of sweet malt.
Warm and highly charged, with a softly diminishing finish.
Bracing, bold, and delicious!
My guess on the style would be either a high-alcohol brown ale, or maybe a souped-up Scotch,
either way, several notches above what I'd expect.
At 7.7%, I'm starting to feel it, too! Wonderful, chewy texture, full body, altogether excellent!"

Interesting that it was 7.7% then, but is listed on the bottle as 9, now. Either way, I still love this one.

Sierra Nevada Estate

Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Ale. Abv 6.7%
"Taste fresh-from-the-field flavors with this handmade, homegrown, and completely natural ale. Made with organic wet hops and barley grown at our brewery in Chico, this remarkable ale is the only one of it's kind."

You don't say? Well, let's pry off this wax-laden cap, and pour…

Clouded, crimson look, smallish off-white head, slim but sticks around.

Pop! There she is! Grapefruit aromatics all over the place, with dark fruits as well, some cherry, apple, plum… sweet and scrumptious. Very nice.

Taste: Bitterness grips the palate, far and wide, but lush, sweet malt is big and in charge, holding firm and keeping command. Bright, fresh, floral, brimming with bitterness. Caramel malt, a little toasty, biscuity. Earthy, and nutty. Solid malt backbone, brisk, bitter hoppiness above.

All in all, though…ah, I'm not crazy about this one. Is it the curse of the organic ale? Personally, I've never found an organic ale that ever really did anything for me. Something's always lacking. I can't tell you what, why, or how, they just seem lackluster.

As nice as this is, it lacks a certain spark. For a wet hop ale, I expect a little more. It fades off the palate a touch too quickly, doesn't have the force I'm looking more.

Maybe it's that "earthy, nutty toasted caramel malt" doesn't quite match the hop profile I'm wanting. For a wet hop ale, I want the hop featured, and it's canvas is cluttered with too much else.

Avery Olde Jubilation Ale

Enjoying this now on tap, but reaching back to notes from July, 2003, which still hold up well, I think,

Color, tawny brown and clear, showing reddish at the bottom. Impressive head, fluffy, sturdy, pillowy, meringue-like.

Aroma: sweet, malty, caramel-accented, with notes of toffee and nuts, slowly warming and revealing alcohol.

Thick, plummy flavor makes an immediate presence on passing the lips, with nutty notes joining in later.
Further on, the profile is overcome by a syrupy sweetness that goes so far, but never so far as to be cloying.
Very nice winter warmer, body is full, flavor ever-lasting, luscious, and lively!