1001 Beers

Beer No: 103
Page No: 930
Category: Specialty

Yum, yum, yum.  This is the reason I'm heading up to Russian River in August.  Their beers are legendary here in California, and most likely across the United States.  Amongst those that know a good sour, they know Russian River.  You really have no idea how excited I am to be able to visit Russian River in early August.  I'll be there for a nice lunch at their restaurant, hope to take a quick tour of the brewery, and then hit the road to have dinner and a tour up at Sierra Nevada a bit further north.  I had planned to continue my trip by heading up to Portland, but with finances still being tight, I just can't justify the cost of added hotel nights, more gas, more beer bought (well, that's justifiable), and other expenses.  But checking Kayak, round trip flights up there are just $221, so I'll probably go at some point, find a nice downtown hotel, and not even worry about having a car.

As for this amazing Russian River brew, I rated it almost exactly the same as the awesome Consecration.  I think it really says something about this beer when it's the #2 sour ale on all of RateBeer.com.  Lost Abbey's Yellow Bus is #1 and I almost got some of it last Saturday, but instead went to the home brew competition results luncheon at the Orange County Fair to accept our award for our first place Sweet Stout ("our" being Arkh Brewing).  Hopefully I'll have the chance to try Yellow Bus soon as I can't live without knowing what the #1 sour beer tastes like.  Oh, by the way, Supplication is #3 on the site.  Lost Abbey / Pizza Port holds spots 4 through 7 and Russian River holds spot #8 with Temptation (one of the 1001 and coming in mid-August).  Pretty insane that the top 8 sour beers come from just two producers.  If only I could figure out a way to master this type of brew.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Russian River Supplication by Russian River Brewing

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 5/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.4 / 5.0

Batch 005X3 from Hi Time Wine Cellars. An amazing way to follow up last week’s Stone Sour Fest and an absolutely wonderful beer that I’ve had many times, but never rated. Pours with a reddish brown hue, fine carbonation, and slight tan head which dissipates quickly. Nose is mostly cherries, pinot, brett, lactic acid, and sour vinegar. Taste is perfectly balanced sourness with lots of cherries, plums, oak, wine, vinegar and citrus. Finishes perfectly with lingering fruits and oak. I just love this stuff.

Beer No: 102
Page No: 918
Category: Specialty

The last of my Stone Sour Fest reviews, this is the Lost Abbey Red Poppy.  It's easily one of my favorites (though their new Russ - strawberry sour - was pretty amazing as well), but the Cuvee de Tomme still ranks as my favorite Lost Abbey brew (I'll post both reviews below).  One day, when I'm rolling in cash, I'll join the Lost Abbey Sinners & Saints program, but for now, I'll be content with my Bruery Reserve Society membership.  Enough with Lost Abbey, on to the beers.  For the final listing, here are the beers from "C" East Side of Lawn - all on draft.  A * indicates I tried it - a º indicates I skipped it because I knew I had already tasted it at a previous festival.

• "C" East Side of Lawn
  • Lagunitas Pinot Noir Barreled Sonoma Farmhouse Saison Style Ale
  • The Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze *
  • The Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa *
  • The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale *
  • The Lost Abbey Russ *
  • The Lost Abbey Veritas Ale 07 *
  • Moylan's Barrel Aged Kilt Lifter with Brett
  • New Belgium La Folie
  • New Belgium Lips of Faith Eric's Ale º
  • New Belgium Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek º
  • New Belgium Love - Felix (dry hopped) *
  • New Belgium Love - Oscar (spiced) *
  • New Belgium Tart Lychee *
  • Ommegang Zuur *
  • Russian River Consecration º
  • Russian River Supplication º (tomorrow's beer)
  • Six Rivers Raspberry Lambic *
  • Triple Rock Sour Cherry Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels *
  • Dogfish Head Festina Peche º
  • Drake's FrakenBerry Sour
  • Drake's Kuato

I think this quote from Lost Abbey's director of brewing, Tomme Arthur pretty much sums up my feelings on all the sour ales (my personal favorite style of beer):

"Perhaps the single most defining beer moment for me came when I experienced my first Rodenbach Grand Cru.  It was a seminal moment, as I only then began to understand that beer could possess a range of flavors outside of bland and watery.  The beer was ruby with brown highlights.  It was at once sweet and sour, woody and dry.  This beer was an epiphany for me."

I think any craft beer drinker can agree with Tomme.  There's that moment when you discover that there's a whole world out there outside of the Corona, Bud Lite, and Miller High Life.  There's a world full of flavor, complexity, and range.  A beer can at once be "sweet and sour, woody and dry."  It doesn't have to taste like nothing and only serve the purpose of getting you drunk.  A good beer should be imbibed to experience a full range of flavors, and once experienced, there's no going back.

Thank you to all the visionaries out there.  Those at Stone, Lost Abbey, Cascade, Russian River, AleSmith, The Bruery, Bootlegger's, and countless others whom have made my life better through drink.  Keep up the good work, maybe one day I will work beside you.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale by Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

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

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had on tap at Stone Sour Fest 2010. Easily one of my favorite Lost Abbey beers. The Red Poppy pours with a deep brownish-red color and slight tan head. Aroma of cherries, oak, lactic acid, vinegar, and citrus. Taste is equally complex with the cherries being the dominant flavor with the citrus and acids backing it up. Well balanced, finishes nicely, a true gem from Lost Abbey.

Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme by Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

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

Rating: 4.2 / 5.0

Had on draught at The 12 Hour Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad on March 8, 2003  #34 on the program and #100 for me!!!

The beer has a very pleasing aroma - a slight wine smell laced with cherries. It's a bit tart, but wow, it's extremely flavorful. The beer has a beautiful appearance with no head and a clear, dark red hue. The beer is sweet, slightly acidic with a very complex, flavorful density. I had actually left the Beer Fest for dinner, but upon reviewing my program, saw I missed this highly recommended beer. I went back, bought another ticket and enjoyed this very fine beer. An absolutely wonderful beer.

Beer No: 68
Page No: 851
Category: Specialty

Memorial Day...A day of remembrance and thanks.  A time to salute those who gave their lives so we could BBQ, play trivia games, and drink flat beer.  Of course Memorial Day is much more than that, but lately, it seems that unless you lived during WWII or Vietnam we forget about what's going on all over the world and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  We forget about those in Iraq and Afghanistan working to root out the terrorists and keep our country safe from attack.  We seem to have grown complacent and forgotten what happened on 9/11.  But we should be anything but.  There are still millions of people out there whose sole purpose in life is to seek out revenge on the United States.  They are offended by our capitalist ideals and our freedoms.  They are unable to put religious hatred aside and embrace peace, and because of them, we must still wage wars that should be pointless in this day and time.  One day, maybe these wars will be unnecessary, but until the masses abandon their hatred, put down their arms, give up their nuclear ambitions, and come to the table to discuss peace, we must protect our shores.  We must keep this country safe.  And we must never forget all those who went before us and allowed us these freedoms by giving their lives.

Thank you Veterans.  Thank you Air Force.  Thank you Navy.  Thank you Army.  Thank you Marines.  Thank you Coast Guard.  Thank you to all the reserves, the National Guard, the policemen, the firemen, EMTs, and everyone else who goes to work each day to keep us safe.  We will not forget.

And like I said, because of all those people, I'm free to drink Angel's Share (2009 vintage) and have no carbonation in it.  I'm free to decide that I don't like it - even though the masses say I should (100th percentile on RateBeer and an A on BeerAdvocate).  This beer was just lacking without the carbonation.  Perhaps some bubbles or fizz would have broken up the syrup-like consistency and added some extra pop to the thick, sweet flavors.  And unfortunate as it is, it just appears I got a bad year as the 2008 vintage was properly carbonated and a much better beer.  But until I have that, or try the 2010 (and hope for good carbonation - any carbonation), I'll have to leave my rating as-is.

For those of you who are curious also, here's the definition of Angel's Share:

Angels' share is a term for the portion (share) of a wine or distilled spirit's volume that is lost to evaporation during aging in oak barrels. The barrels are typically French or American oak. In low humidity conditions, the loss to evaporation may be primarily water. However, in higher humidities, more alcohol than water will evaporate, therefore reducing the alcoholic strength of the product. In humid climates, this loss of ethanol is associated with the growth of a darkly colored fungus, Baudoinia compniacensis, on the exterior surfaces of buildings, trees and other vegetation, and anything else that happens to be nearby.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lost Abbey The Angel's Share from Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 10/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Had from 375ml bottle - 2009 vintage. Pours dark brown, with maybe a hint of red with absolutely no carbonation or bubbles. Aroma is of fruit, alcohol, oak, and malts. Flavor is complicated, but being flat, leaves much to be desired. Overly sweet, syrup-like, with flavors of caramel, raisins, malts, alcohol and wood. Leaves a sticky film behind and finishes with sugar and alcohol. Really expected much more from this brew.

Beer No: 47/1001
Page No: 614
Category: Dark

Ahh, beer #47.  A special number.  A unique number.  A random number.  My number.

If you saw yesterday's beer, you'll notice this is on the same counter top because I actually had this last night with the dinner we cooked for my mother.  And it paired perfectly with the steak and crab legs I thoroughly enjoyed.  There's not much more to say about the pairing that wasn't talked about yesterday, so I'll just go on with another fun topic...

Home brew!  Yup, today Arkh Brewing (e.g. me (Scott had to work late)) bottled the American Stout.  It is DARK...not too thick, a very good stout consistency I think.  I just can't wait for it to carbonate.  And it'll be ready just in time...  For what?  Why the Inaugural Hanger 24 Home Brew Competition of course - and we also plan on entering it in the OC Fair Home Brew Competition.  We hope to enter all four of our current beers in both competitions - the English Pale, American Pale, American Stout, and Cream Stout.  They are all sufficiently different to enter in different categories, so I'm really looking forward to get some unbiased feedback on our brews.

Back to the beer, the 10 Commandments is a Belgian Strong Ale that says it is brewed with raisins, honey, and rosemary.  The raisins stand above the rest of the ingredients though and almost overpower the flavors.  The spices are there, but I couldn't quite pick out the rosemary on its own.  The sweetness mostly comes from the malt, but I could taste just a hint of honey in there (though if you didn't tell me it was there, I might have missed it).  It's a very good beer, but could be great with a few years of aging.  A solid anniversary ale from the folks down in San Diego.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lost Abbey 10 Commandments from Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.6 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle from Total Wine. Pours very dark brown, not too hazy, a ton of carbonation, very good head and lacing. Aroma very sweet, raisins very pronounced in nose. Some plum, spices, and malts round it out. Taste is very malty sweet with nice fruity finish. Alcohol is somewhat hidden, still apparent, but not too strong. Mouthfeel is standard with lots of bubbles. Good, but probably would be great after a few years of aging.

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.