Another High Desert Gem: Great Food and Great Beer

You ever find good beer in an unexpected place? A café?

We had a B&B in Cedar Crest New Mexico and the host suggested the Greenside Café for supper. Good local food and they had beer and wine. Being hungry and tired we decided to go there without the usual discussions. So, we went. First good sign: A chalkboard outside the front door with a list of local/regional beers on tap. Second good sign: in a crowded small café a table for 4 in a quiet section. Third good sign: friendly and helpful staff. Fourth good sign: the café smelled good.

Fun at La Cumbre Brewery

I asked about the “Elevated IPA”, was told it was a local (Albuquerque 10 miles down the road) brew and popular. Got a pint. My friend Ken got a pint. Yummm. Orangey and a bit cloudy, good lacing, nice mouthfeel, great front, middle and back taste of all kinds of things including but not limited to pine, a couple of different citruses, baking bread and of course hops (the IBU is 100!) .

The second pint came with the perfect meal, and with an ABV of 7.2 two was quite enough for the driver. The brewery is La Cumbre Brewing Co., and BeerAdvocate rates this brew with a well-earned 97, World Class!! I agree.

Now to the other High Desert Gem: The greenside café . The chef, Jay Wulf, is also the owner. He has got it exactly right. The menu is not huge, but offers something for everybody, and all of it made on site. All fresh ingredients, served on perfectly warmed plates by excellent staff. The manager was attentive, helpful and friendly. Nobody was intrusive.

Jay, Chef and Owner of greenside cafe

My wife and I had meatloaf, seasonal veggies and mashed potatoes. All perfect. Huge portions. One friend had a Sloppy Taco Salad with steak and there was the only problem that night. Her salad came with ground beef instead of steak, but she liked it and didn't mention it. Probably a communication issue somewhere. Her husband had a Turquoise Trail Green Chile Cheese Burger minus the cheese (his request) and that was perfectly cooked to order with plenty of green chile on the side. For desert,  Sally and I shared a good-sized dish of homemade cinnamon vanilla ice cream while Barb and Ken shared a generous slice of cheesecake of some kind, also made in-house. Both were excellent. I would go back for the ice cream alone.

Everybody was happy and pleasantly surprised by the quality, quantity and excellent service at this local café.

When you visit Albuquerque, take a few minutes to drive out to Cedar Crest and check this “Gem in the High Desert”. I personally guarantee that you will be delighted and will want to go back.

Thanks, Jay, for doing a fabulous job. You deserve all the kudos you have already gotten, and all that are yet to come.

Images http://www.greensidecafe.net and http://lacumbrebrewing.com

Heads Up for some exciting Brew News: Hooter Brown Ale

The weather was perfect for cold oysters and cold beer. Sunny, cold and crowded. We were at the Apalachicola Oyster Cook Off and I spotted a guy with a plastic pint of dark beer. Back trailed him to a booth with a single tap. Hooter Brown Ale from the Oyster City Brewery. I met Rex, one of the partners in the brewery, talked a minute or so (they were very busy folks) and made a date for later in the month for a serious look at this operation. Snap decision you ask? You should taste the Brown Ale. Malty, rich head, local tupelo honey. Gorgeous. Delicious. I can’t wait to get back down there and talk to the whole crew. If you play nice, I might bring back a sample.

Images: Oyster City Brewery’s Facebook page.

Happy Brewery Crew

The Seductiveness of Samuel Adam's Third Voyage

Samuel Adams

Third Voyage

Double IPA 8.0% ABV

I found myself scraping my bottom teeth with my tongue as I grabbed the bottle off the shelf. I blew the fresh dust off the bottle and wondered if it would be bitter enough to satisfy my mood. As an average beer drinker, that only enjoyed Mickey’s Big Mouths and Steel Reserve 211s just a few years ago, I knew I had come far in expanding my taste for a good IPA, but how far? After all, it was a Sam Adams (in my mind, one step away from corporate beer suicide). 

I chilled the pint bottle in the freezer for an hour and a half, turning it every 20 minutes (as if I was an expert sommelier). After switching over the laundry and having a hefty glass of water to clear the licorice vape taste in my mouth, I grabbed a Proof Brewing glass from the top of the refrigerator and popped the top. The fragrance hit me as I put the bottle to my nose. The spike of floral and hoppy goodness enveloped my nose. Not too strong and not too dull; like the perfect bouquet of bitter presented by a lover that knew it was “his bad.”  

I tilted my Proof Brewing glass to the side and poured my first “Third Voyage.” The sound was a heavy glug, and the color a muddy-brown that produced a reluctant foam that was at first shy to appear, but grew to the perfect inch dark beauty that wore the lace of a jilted hottie; tightly woven and withstanding my seductive sips. Twenty minutes into this article the bitter lace forms patches of firm bubbles in the middle and pastes itself to the sides of my glass as if to protest my advances to consume it fully and completely. 

Throughout the voyage, it remains consistent slapping my lips with a bitter body that one cannot resist to swish before a swallow. This crisp affair reminds be of a Granny Smith slap and I smile while standing in a washtub of lemon and pine needles while hearing a large woman saying, “That’s the power of Pine-sol baby.” A full-bodied beauty produced by Sam Adams that gently rocked me back to sleep and let me dream of my floral hop heaven.  With each and every sip this gentle hop brew left me flicking my tongue against my bottom teeth only and wanting more.

Vom fass in Vienna

"Vom fass", draft beer

We were coming back from St. Stephan's cathedral, late in the day. It was getting dark and   seriously cold. Life deals some good hands sometimes, no? So, we turned a corner and there was a dark little Czech bar. One woman at the bar and one bartender. I asked Sal if she wanted a brew, and with a smile she said "sure". We went in. I asked the bartender "sie haben schwarzes bier vom fass?" "Natürlich" she replied. Then she reached under the bar and pulled out two mugs, a big and small one. We both went for the big one. We sat down while she drew the beer using a Guinness technique - pour, settle and pour again. Then she served it. "Genießen!" She said. And boy did we enjoy. Dark, rich with a not subtle sweetness. Smooth mouthfeel but peppered with tiny carbonation points. Mild dark malt flavors of coffee and coco. Little bitterness. A perfect session beer at 3.8 ABV. She came by as we were finishing and I said "noch einer mal ?" And this time we sipped instead of quaffed.
We walked the rest of the way home to a hot bath and a hearty soup with black bread. Not bad for a couple of old tourists in Vienna, huh?

The Other Bastard at Founders

Well, it's that time of year again folks.  The holiday season?  Well yeah, but what I'm really excited about is it's barrel aged beer season.  What's barrel aged beer season you ask?  Well, this is the time of year that brewers wake up some of their most heaviest, strongest and most flavorful beers after being in a long hibernation in Bourbon, Scotch, Oak, Cognac or wine barrels.  These types of beers just seem to go hand-and-hand with the cold, winter months that are upon us.

For this review, let's dive into one of the biggest and arguably best breweries in Michigan.  Founders Brewing Company.

Founders BC is located in Grand Rapids, MI, on the south end of downtown and almost directly across the street from the city's bus station, making even the drunkest beer run safe for anyone.

Today I'm going to disect one of Founders' yearly releases, Backwoods Bastard.  Backwoods Bastard is a Scotch Ale aged in oak Bourbon barrels for an unknown amount of time and released every November.

I'll be honest with you, Scotch ales are typically not one of my favorite styles of beer.  Usually a bit sweet and malt forward, they don't tend to do much for me.  I've also not seen many Scotch ales that are Bourbon barrel aged.  So this will be an interesting experience.  Don't quote me on this, but I believe Founders takes their Scotch ale (Dirty Bastard) and simply ages in in oak Bourbon barrels to give us this BA beer.

Ok...let's get into the beer....


Stats
ABV:  10.2%
IBUs:  50
Packaged in 4 - 12oz bottles

Beeradvocate:  96
RateBeer:  100

Pour
The beer seemed very active as it filled my glass with a medium tan head, but as you can see in the picture to the right, the head died very quickly.

Appearance
I hate to use this as a visual descriptor, but this beer looks like Bourbon.  With little to no head remaining, the color closely resembles that of a dark brown, clear, transparent beer.  Over the course of this review, I noticed this beer had absolutely no lacing on the glass.
 
Aroma
This beer is all about the Bourbon and the aroma tells you that not from the activity in the pour, as it sits and warms and all the way down to the last drop.  Underlying notes of spice and sweet malt are detectable underneath.

Taste
My favorite part!!!  Right out of the fridge there is a strong booze presence that rides a wave of Bourbon and oak flavors as it crashes against my palate.  This is also a medium weighted beer with a slight caramel stickiness that lingers on the lips.  This is a sipping beer, so as with any high ABV beer, I let mine sit in my glass (snifter or tulip) and let it warm for ~45mins, occasionally taking a sip.  The flavors matured, losing that booze up front and allowing the Bourbon and oak to blend with the sweetness of the malts of the Scotch ale.  More of the spiciness seems to move to the front of the tongue as well.  I can see this beer really sneaking up on me now and cracking me in the back of the head like a 2x4.  Warmed up, this beer is a really sneaky 10.2% ABV beer.

As Bubba Sparxxx once said, "The South has always been Dirty but now it's gettin' ugly."

The Scotch ale characteristics I typically don't care for are complimented by the flavors the Bourbon barrels leave behind.  This is really a great beer if you're into BA beers.  This beer is "Ugly"...but in a great way!!  It's a more sophisticated beer that's been given a kick in the Carhartt overalls by some toothless, backwoods Bourbon.  I'd give this beer a 4.5 to 5.  Definitely worth a pick up if you see some at the store.

Arcade Brewery and Flesk Brewing Collaborate on Archnemesis

Arcade Brewery out of Chicago is hosting a release event for Archnemesis, a collaboration effort with Flesk Brewing. Archnemesis is an American Smoked Brown Ale brewed with ancho chile peppers and will be available in 22oz bombers. Check out the press release below.

FLESK BREWING COMPANY AND ARCADE BREWERY COLLABORATE TO CREATE ARCHNEMESIS - HOST EVENT

Chicago, IL - November 11, 2013 - Flesk Brewing Company and Arcade Brewery have crossed paths, mixed up some ideas, and have developed a collaboration beer called archnemesis,  an American Smoked Brown Ale brewed with ancho chile peppers, available in 22 oz bombers and on draught in select locations.

“We are big fans of smoked beers at Arcade,” Chris Tourre, co-founder of Arcade Brewery, said. “When we started talking to Flesk about a possible collaboration for the late fall, we thought a complex smoky beer would pair perfectly with the season. Flesk is an awesome partner, offering a ton of insight and experience into the process from start-to-finish.  We are all really proud of this beer.”

archnemesis features a subtle smoky malt profile with a fresh pepper flavor. The ancho chiles are added multiple times throughout the brewing process to highlight their flavor and aroma. The use of pale, caramel, peated, and roast malts create a complex malt backbone that mingles with the pepper character.  archnemesis is sure to be the perfect antagonist to the scourge that is Chicago winter.

Arcade and Flesk have also planned a release party to celebrate the launch of the beer.  The event will be at Township (2200 N California Ave, Chicago, IL) on November 18th, 2013. Along with plenty ofarchnemesis on tap, there will be performances by Scott Lucas and the Married Men, Dog & Wolf, Il Tandre Neu, Air Guitar Champion of the World Nordic Thunder, Martin Atkins DJing and brewery giveaways.  There is no cover for the event and it is 21+.

ABOUT FLESK BREWING COMPANY

Founded in 2012, Flesk Brewing Company delivers high-quality craft beers from their production facility in Lombard, IL.  Founded by brothers James and Will O’Brien, the duo are both graduates of the highly acclaimed Siebel Institute in Chicago, IL. Since opening its doors in 2012, the brewery has gained popularity with their Kai Summer Ale,  Feral Cat American Wheat, as well as other local favorites . . .   Recently doubling their  production, Flesk Brewing Company is geared to provide even more of Chicagoland with inventive, high-quality beers. Learn more at www.fleskbrewing.com

ABOUT ARCADE BREWERY

Arcade Brewery is a Chicago-based brewery scheduled to open its doors in early 2014. Embracing  art and pop culture, Arcade Brewery views each of its beers as an experience dedicated to its community. Arcade Brewery is excited to offer innovative product lines, including its Public Brew™ series, which challenges their community to create the name and label art of their seasonal beers. 6-Pack Stories™ is a comic-on-beer designed by the industry’s best and brewed to pair perfectly with the artwork.  Arcade strives to deliver beers that embrace and combine the passions of brewers, artists, and its community. Backed by a team with years of experience in the beer and design industry, Arcade is primed to make a splash in 2014.  Learn more at www.arcadebrewery.com

-- 
Lance Curran
Co-Founder/Owner
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Arcade Brewery: Socially Brewed, Socially Drank.
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lance@arcadebrewery.com
C: 773.885.6634

4237 N Hermitage Ave, Unit 3A

Chicago, IL 60613

Beer in the Blood, or, Leo in Paradise.

Leo in Paradise

When I think of beer, I think of Hops. And then I think of East Kent Goldings. A wonderful flower that belongs to the "aroma" class of hops. I had the very good fortune of marrying into an English family with a tradition of farming of all kinds of things. By a very clever marriage of a second cousin, a farmer was brought into the family who grows East Kent Goldings. My feet walked the rows of this wonderful plant, and my nose inhaled the aroma of crushed fresh flowers. My tongue tasted the bitterness and the brews produced from those same flowers. I am in love with East Kent Goldings.
Pictured above is my nephew, Leo
standing in a jungle of hops, ready to be harvested. Is he happy or what? Yes, this is hard work but the payoff is incalculable. The finest brews imaginable. Finished off with the finest hops available: hops from the family farm. I swear the whole family has beer for blood. I know I do.

Image: Leo Godfrey in Paradise: A Jungle of East Kent Goldings.