posted on 1 July 2009 by dan
Yesterday brought with it two singular excitements: Tony and I undertook Boozy Milkshake Day Part II and George, an esteemed dT alum, popped over to my house for a bit. What with this being the beer blog and with the spirits blog being a whole separate blog, I’m going to leave the story of boozy milkshakes to Tony. The George-bit has more to do beer, so therein we find our subject. B.G. on George: he left our ranks a little over a year ago for UCLA law school; in town again for a wedding, he called us up for a bit of a reunion, “bearing gifts from the left coast.”
Which gift turned out to be two bottles of Pliny the Elder for Tony and I. Never heard of Pliny? You must never been to BeerAdvocate; the BA’s over there hold the DIPA in the same esteem winos hold Caymus or Dom. It’s damn near impossible to find anybody with even lukewarm reviews, nevermind critical. Like anything else hoisted up on a pedestal of such great heights, I’m immediately skeptical, so to actually drink this like-mythical brew doubled as both a drinking pleasure and an intellectual experiment. Of course, as mentioned above, it was Boozy Milkshake Day (the sequel). The scales obviously tipped a little toward the former. I just drank the bastard, frankly. Here, in retrospect, I’ll try to even it out a bit.
And it’s good. It’s very good. Anybody following along these past couple months probably caught wind of my frustration re: American IPA’s going for that over-the-top hop quality (rhymes!); the coolest thing about the Pliny is that even though it’s a double IPA (doubles usually equating to double everything - hops, alcohol, etc.), it manages to seat itself in balance. It doesn’t pull you one way or the other, doesn’t rip your tongue free of your cheeks in an effort to impress. Actually it drinks more like a pale ale, in terms of bite and slice.
As much as I love to knock things off their pedestals, I just can’t bring myself to do so in this case. If you can get your hands on it, I’d highly suggest not blinking, just buying. Pliny’s brewed by Russian River, out in California. Nothing gets shipped out to us in the east. Why am I writing about a beer we can’t get? Well… I don’t know, really. You can’t buy it here. But it is beer, and we deal with beer. So, if you ever find yourself Cali-ways, find a pint, find a bottle; tell ‘em dT sent you.
Tags: American beer, craft beer, DIPA
Category: The Beer Blog | Comments (0)
posted on 15 May 2009 by dan
This whole organic thing is getting a bit out of control. Every other product hitting shelves these days, from beer to wine to spirits, announces itself as organic, bio-dynamic, blah, blah, and all that. It isn’t that I begrudge the movement itself; in fact, I’m all for it. Taking steps towards lessening the carbon footprint is not only respectable, it’s responsible and indicative of a business practice invested with a considerable amount of soul… something oft missing in Our Lady Commerce.
But that’s the thing: because people are starting to catch up to the green movement, the word “organic” has become a marketing buzzword, a bastardized, empty shell of a word that has less to do with any philosophy and more to do with attracting sales. Half of the breweries/wineries/distilleries out there meet the bare minimum of legal requirements necessary to print the claim on the label, caring not about the earth or this, that or the third. Oh well. I guess I should be happy some steps are taken, right?
But then there’s Eel River. Dig their website. Claims at achieving organic status first, which would mean they’ve been organic since way back in 1997, when it became a gosh-darn, honest-to-goodness legal term and that would mean that they’ve been organic since before it was a marketing buzzword. So, okay.
I’m drinking on the Raven’s Eye, their Russian Imperial Stout. According to the website, this brew’s won awards and awards before, and I can see why. The beer in the glass is dark with a swirling beige head that drifts around like astral patterns on its skin. The deep and dark color and the thick, roasted nose suggest a huge beer, but it’s really not all that huge. It’s nice and light on the tongue. Which isn’t to suggest that the flavors aren’t profound or complex; they in fact, are very profound and very complex, with the roasted espresso flavors bouncing off a subtle hoppiness. The dissonance between the body and the flavors is actually the most compelling aspect of drinking on this brew.
So, dig on the organics. Trust that this company is, in fact, committed to the organic movement in a way that perhaps others are not. But this beer stands up besides the organic label. It’s an organic beer that is both organic and beer, not some boardroom formula simulating both.
dJp
Tags: beer, California, craft beer, dark beer, eel river, imperial stouts, organic, stouts
Category: Beer Reviews | Comments (0)
posted on 22 April 2009 by dan
So, this is the week of the craft brew conference, which is an industry event that puts brewers face-to-face with the folks who sell their wares. It’s in Boston this year, which is cool, because the city’s flooded with all manner of brewers and their kind. Last night, Kristen and I headed out to the Cambridge Common to chill with the guys from Mad River.
Mad River’s a 20 year old company out of Humboldt (which is in CA, for all the right-coasters). They’ve been putting solid beers out all this time, rounding up award after award after award. Quality beer awards aside, they also win medals for operating their production at extremely low waste. Check out their website for more specific info on that tip.
Eric Spieth, the CEO/president of the company was on hand at the Common. Spieth’s an incredibly affable guy and exactly what you’d want from a brewer: humble, laidback, dedicated to his craft. He brought with him the whole line of Mad River beers, including the first entry in their High Gravity series, a Black Ale by the name of Serious Madness. Only 40 kegs of it got pitter-pattered across the country, so to be able to try it was something… it was something else. Talk about dark… the beer lives up to the black in its name and its topped off with a creamy looking head. In the mouth, it foams around your tongue, almost swallows you while you’re trying to swallow it. But it never gets hollow. Smokey, sweet… I wish we had some to sell. Enthused by our enthusiasm, Spieth told us he’s making sure we get at least a bit of the next High Gravity entry, a double imperial red (!). Look for it - it should be around this summer.
We’ve got the rest of the line in the store. Try the douple IPA - dig the hoppy kickback that’s like sharp berries on the finish. Dig the Jamaica Red, one of the most immensely drinkable beers I’ve had in a while. Dig this whole company.
dJp
Tags: black ale, California, CBC, craft beer, double IPA, High Gravity, mad river, red ale
Category: The Beer Blog | Comments (1)
posted on 3 April 2009 by dan
A rep from Magic Hat just popped by the store to taste us on the brewery’s new summer offering. It’s called Wacko. Why? Who knows… but maybe it’s got something to do with the bright red, almost fruit-punch-like color of the beer. The color comes from the fact that the recipre calls for beet juice. What? Yep, beet juice. A lot of beers take advantage of beet sugars, but juice? For coloring? Strange, strange stuff. Typical Magic Hat, of course.
The beer’s actually pretty good and doesn’t taste anything like beets. I sipped the thing warily, not being a huge beet fan myself, and I was pleasantly surprised. The beer’s just a beer, nothing too extravagant about its flavor profile. Light, easy to toss back, a porch-drinkin beer with a subtle hoppy bite on the finish. Everything you want out of a summer beer, in other words.
Try it. It’ll be here soon. Don’t be afraid that it’s brewed with beets. Don’t be afraid of the summercamp punch color. Be afraid of how easy it is to swallow. Be very afraid.
dJp
Tags: backporch drinkin, beet juice, craft beer, Magic hat, seasonal beer, summer beer, wacko
Category: Beer Reviews, The Beer Blog | Comments (5)
posted on 27 March 2009 by dan
As reviewed by e-$, one dT’s brilliant employee:
Rather interesting… Although it’s as thick and dark as a moonless night, the body on your tongue is fairly light. It’s a complicated beer, flavor-wise, incorporating any number of individual, subtle vibe, but the forerunners are smoke and molasses. Also, find: caramel, bitter herbs, coffee, black licorice. Of course, that’s just me… Let me know what you pick up on.
Tags: American beer, beer, Boulder, craft beer, porter
Category: Beer Reviews | Comments (0)
