1001 Beers

Beer No: 46/1001
Page No: 347
Category: Blond

Happy Mother's Day all.

For Mother's Day, I of course headed over to my parents house where my brother, my dad, and I cooked up crab legs and steak and enjoyed them with a nice salad, some bread, and some good beer.  And before someone says something, yes, I know you shouldn't serve Chimay in a PINT glass.  But, my parents are wine drinkers and don't have any Belgian beer glasses.  I probably should have used a wine glass like I did for tomorrow's beer, but for the Chimay, it tasted just fine out of a Stone pint glass.

The Chimay was not paired with my dinner, but instead had with the appetizers that I provided - one was cream cheese with an apricot chili pepper jam which was sinfully good and the other was a hunk of Chimay cheese.  I didn't know Chimay had their hands in cheese making, but I saw two bricks at Whole Foods last week when prepping for my Spotted Pig burger, so I picked up the cheese that had beer added and it was very good too.  We ate most of it on Cinco de Mayo and I was going to break out the Chimay then, but stuck to the Mexican beers and wisely saved the Chimay for me to drink all by myself today.

Paired with the steak and crab legs, I figured a darker beer would work well and the 10 Commandments from Lost Abbey worked wonders.  The raisins and spice paired perfectly with the lighter crab legs and blended with the steak as well.  Just like red wine goes with red meats, this darker 10 Commandments really complemented the steak well.  We finished the night with a brownie-crusted cheesecake I made last night which would have paired perfectly with the Bourbon County stout I gave to my mom in her Mother's Day basket, but she wanted to save it for another time, so I settled for some water while everyone else enjoyed coffee with the cheesecake (I don't drink coffee or caffeine).

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Chimay Triple / Blanche (White) from Chimay

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Had from bottle. Pours orange-yellow with slight haze, good carbonation, and small to medium head. Aromas of citrus, spice, malts, banana, and caramel. Taste is complex mixing the caramel malts with a good hop citrus and nice spiciness to balance it all out. Very well done, easy to drink triple. Those monks know what they’re doing.

Beer No: 45/1001
Page No: 427
Category: Blond

I opened the beer earlier today, not really sure what to expect.  It says it's a Belgian Style Ale on the label, but who really knows what that means these days.  Luckily 1001 Beers gives us a little more information - "it was inspired by a trip to Orval...we didn't want to copy Orval, we were looking for a different beer, something a little richer, with more caramel malt, one that would be a really good food beer."  And I think they succeeded.  Matilda is pretty full of malts, but the hop flavors balance nicely.  Likewise, it was a very good beer to pair with my Spotted Pig Burger.

Based on a burger from the restaurant, The Spotted Pig, the website A Hamburger Today deconstructed the burger so those of us who can't make it to New York can try the burger that so many rave about.  I made the burger above from scratch with 1/3 spare rib, 1/3 chuck, and 1/3 brisket.  I ground them all up, threw them on the grill as instructed, and added a good amount of $30/lb. Roquefort from Whole Foods with the butter lettuce.  Note: the butter lettuce is not in the recipe, but adds a nice crunch to the already crunchy toasted bun which I also made from scratch using the recipe.

I cooked these up for Cinco de Mayo originally, but had a few patties left over that I grilled up today and paired with the Matilda.  These extra-savory burgers pack a juiciness that is wonderful and the perfect mix of fat to meat.  Today, instead of the Roquefort, I utilized some Gruyere that is a bit more mellow than the Roquefort, but also paired very well with this burger.  Unfortunately, I was out of buns, but a nice cracked wheat bun went nicely with everything else on the plate.  The key to this burger is no condiments.  It stands on its own and doesn't need any extra sweets, spices, or pickles.  If you have the means to grind your own meat, the Spotted Pig burger is something you should at least try once.  I'm certain you won't be disappointed.  Those that sampled it on Cinco de Mayo were very impressed with it.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Goose Island Matilda from Goose Island Beer Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

Had from 12oz. bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours golden with very slight head that dissipates quickly. Lacing is minimal. Aroma of sugar, candi, malt, and touch of hops. Taste is similar with lots of malts, sugars, a hint of spice, and hint of hop citrus. Finishes smooth, pairs nicely with umami. Good, not great.

Beer No: 38/1001
Page No: 645
Category: Dark

As I mentioned with "yesterday's" post, I'm a bit backlogged, so even though these are coming on line Monday, they're being back-dated to keep up my beer-a-day.  The reason I'm behind a few days, as I mentioned, was because my weekend was pretty crazy.  With Friday's post, I explained how I was all over San Diego and Orange drinking tons of good beer and I kind of kept it up on Saturday.  Being May 1, it was a good friend's 30th birthday, and we were all heading up to the Magic Castle for an evening of drinks, food, and magic.  So, not only was most of my day lost to the Magic Castle and all the mysteries that lie within, but also to running around doing last minute errands and cleaning the house before 19 people showed up for a bit of pre-party drinking before boarding the party bus to head up to Hollywood.

So yes, I'm still behind, but luckily on Sunday, with The Bruery's Show and Tell, I made it up with yesterday's awesome KBS, and today's almost equally-as-good Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.  Having this at the same time as the Founders KBS really gave me a chance to compare the two and taste some subtleties that belie each individual beer and many of the similarities that you'll find across all bourbon barrel aged stouts.  When all was said and done, I found the KBS to be just a slightly better barrel-aged stout with more complexity and a more well-rounded flavor whereas I think the Goose Island just needed a little more time to fully develop and come together.  Either way though, both are top-notch stouts and would be a welcome addition to my fridge at any time.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island Beer Company

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Raing: 4.1 / 5.0

Had from bottle at The Bruery. Pours dark brown / black with no head and slight lacing around the edges. Aroma of heavy bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, and alcohol. The flavors are the same - lots of bourbon, fig sweetness, chocolate, coffee and a well-masked alcohol. Finishes sugary sweet with coffee and smoke undertones. Very viscous with great aftertaste. Maybe needs a bit longer to mellow and blend, but still a very good stout with lots of wonderful flavors.