Traveling?

If you're traveling in the coming months, in conjunction with some local friends, I've got a number of "Beer Guide" websites up and running: London, Dublin, Los Angeles, Antwerp and Atlanta. The London one is the most complete and the Atlanta was is very much just getting started. They aren't comprehensive sites, just the pubs that I (and my local friends) like. So check them out if you are headed to any of those places.

Birra Italiano -- Updated and updated again.

Tomm Carroll bought back a bunch of beers from his recent Italian trip (click on "Italy" in the sidebar) and he graciously shared them with a bunch of us last night. Added to the mix were some beers he and Scott Burnell had picked up here in the states.

So here's what we drank...

(Click on the picture, it is quite impressive)

and not a Peroni or Moretti in the bunch.

These are the beers, basically from right to left -- format is:
Brewery (region), beer, abv% (notes)

• Piazza dei Mestierei (Turin), Manet, 5% (a Kölsch style ale but unfiltered)
• Borgo (Lazio), Tè, 4.2% (a Saison with Shiu Hsien tea leaves)
• Ducato (Emilia Romagna), Nuova Mattina, 5.8% (a Saison with ginger, corriander, green pepper and chamomile)
• Piccolo (Liguria), Seson, 6% (a Saison with juniper chiotto peel, coriander, cane sugar and matured in Chardonnay barraels)
• Como (Lombardia), Birolla Malthus, 6.5% (ale with chestnut meal and honey)
• Baladin (Piozzo), Nora 2006, 6.8% (ale with kamut, myrrh, ginger, orange peel)
• Montegioco (Piedmont), Quarta Run, 7% (ale with fresh peaches)
• Italiano (Turin), Scires, 7.5%, (ale with cherries)
  
• Torino (Turin), Birra di Natale, 7.4% (Winter Warmer with honey)
• Maltus Faber (Genova), Brune, 8% (Belgian style brown ale)
• Montegioco (Piedmont), Demon Hunter, 8.5% (Dark ale)
• Grado Plato (Fasano), Chocarrubica, 7% (Stout with carob and cacao beans)
• Troll (Vernante), Shangrila, 8.5% (ale with 12 Himalayan spices: tandoori, curry, anise, etc.)
• Lambrate (Milano), Ghisa, 5% (Stout with Weyermann rauch malt)
• Almond'22 (Abruzzo), Torbata, 8.7% (Peat smoked barleywine with chestnut honey and orange zest)
• Baladin (Piozzo), Xyauyù Silver,13.5% (Oxidized 2005 barleywine using a sherry process)
  

As is usual with these sort of things, my notes got shorter, more cryptic and less legible as the day wore on. So I'll just hit the high points.

First, all of these beers were well made and tasty. None of them had any major flaws and if you get a chance to taste any of them, I would do it.

The first beer, Manet, called itself a Kölsch and while it was a close as any American version I've tasted, it didn't have the "snap" of an authentic Kölsch.

The most in artful comment was made when I tasted the Nouva Mattina Saison. "It reminds me of soap" I said, which usually is the kiss of death in a beer tasting.   What I meant was the combination of spices reminded me of those fancy soaps you find on a little dish in the guest bathroom of somebody whose house actually has a decor. I liked this beer, so I meant it as a compliment. Really.

The Torrino Birra di Natale called itself a "Winter Warmer" and it was clearly inspired by Samuel Smith's "Winter Warmer."  It wasn't a clone and I'm sure it wasn't intended to be, but you could taste in inspiration. 

The Troll Shangrila (made with Himalayan spices) was the most unusual beer. My only written comment was "Wow!!"  I would like to try it again with food, there was so much going on there you need so other flavors to compliment and contrast.

The Lambrate Ghisa (with smoked malt) didn't really work for me. You often get a bit of smokiness in stouts from the roasted grains and it I didn't think they went well together. 

The Maltis Faber Brune suffered in comparison with the other beers, I think, because there were no special ingredients. I would like to taste this one again, but by itself or at a start of a tasting.

The star of the tasting, by (I think) unanimous consent was the Baladin Xyanyù. It reminded me of a well aged 10+ year old Stille Nacht. More, please.

Redcar Brewery

Chris Cabrera sips his Southbay IPA.


-- Post From My iPhone

Brit Beers on the Patio

Sometimes, when you can't travel to the beers, the beers have to come to you.

When in Belgium last month, we traded some beers bought in Bamberg to the Black Haddock for some British Winter Warmers. And a member of our homebrewing club, Mike Steinberg, has in-laws in Britain who always bring him beers when the come to visit, so on New Years Day he brought his (quite large) stash over to share. Tom Rierson and Luis DiStefano were there as well, as they helped carry the beers from Bamberg and from Belgium.

Brit Beers on the Patio

We sorted them roughly by alcohol, which means we started out with some older, lower gravity beers. There was some concern they might not have held up (they were all at least a year old, probably two in most cases) but they held up very well, which attests to the skill of the brewers (and the quality of the bottling line :) )

The beers in order (* means it was from the Black Haddock):

Otter Brewery, Beautiful Daze, 3.6%

Moorhouse, Black Cat, 3.4% -- a beer I've often had at the Great British Beer Festival but this was the first time in the bottle.

Wye Valley Brewery, Dorthy Goodbody's Stout, 4.6% -- another one I've had on cask at the GBBF. Won the label contest, hands down.

Hop Back Brewery, Entire Stout, 4.5%

Red Rock Brewery, Dark Ness, 4.5% -- a good beer but hard to categorize (if you are into that).

*Whitehorse Brewery, Rudolf the Red Nosed, 4.8% -- the first of the new beers. We were a little disapointed, but that probably was due more to its placement after some darker, richer beers. There was nothing wrong, just seemed a little un-interesting.

Dorest Brewing Company, Jurrasic Ale 4.7%. An organic beer made with NZ Hallertauer hops. Very good but the hop profile was a little unexpected for British style ale.

*Bateman's Rosy Nosey, 4.9%. The second of our winter warmers. Very nice, fairly hoppy for a Brit Beer and a nice 'cracker' hint to the malt profile. Tag line says "Compliments any Turkey" but it didn't say anything to the turkey's at the tasting table :)

*Wychwood Brewery, Plumduff, 5.0%. A very interesting beer, brewed with spices and primed with plum juice. There was a definite non-estery fruitiness, but we wouldn't have made it out to be plum without reading the label. A split decision here -- I like it a lot but others thought it was a bit too strange.

*Bateman's Victory Ale, 6.0%. An old favorite that I haven't had in the bottle for a long time. We used to be able to get it in LA but I haven't seen it in a while. For me, my favorite of the tasting so far.

O'Hanlon's Brewing, Thomas Hardy's Ale 11.7%. Tom had brought a 2004 bottle and I had a 2005 handy, so we did a side by side to ring in the new year. The 2004 was almost flat while the 2005 was very carbonated. Other than that, they were pretty similar, as was expected. The 2004 had a trace more oxydation but not really that much.

Mike still had about 10 beers left, but everybody was ready to quit so we adjourned for another day.

Samichlaus '07 and N'ice Chouffe on Draft ...

... at the Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel.

Not much work is going to get done this afternoon :)


-- Post From My iPhone

Will Travel ...

... But not that far.

Took the Big Blue Bus up to the Daily Pint in Santa Monica for a hand pulled pint of cask Deans IPA.






-- Post From My iPhone

Have beer, but no travel

Sometimes I do drink beer but the travel involved is from my living room to my patio...

The beers are, from left to right...

Urthel ,Tripel (Hibernus Quentum) --  Belgium/Netherlands -- with greetings to Hildegaard or Bos should the read this. I missed you at Zythos...

Mikkeller Big Worse  Barley Wine -- Denmark/Belgium -- with thanks to the Danske Ølentusiaster for telling me about this beer (though I've had beers from this contract brewery before: Beer Geek Breakfast and Santa's Little Helper)

 

Spezial Lagerbier -- All Franconian -- My eternal thanks to the Merz family -- we'll see you in May

Dr. Fritz Briem 1809 -- Berlin/Bavaria -- A "Berliner Weisse" style brewed by Weihenstephan just outside of Munich. Nice and tart, almost as good as the Jener Weisse I had last fall (thanks Sebastian, a/k/a Der Dopplebock for getting me the Jener Weisse)

Westmalle Tripel -- need I say more...

Not pictured but present: Maredsous Triple

I do have to say that of the three triples, the Westmalle was my favorite The others were tasty but didn't say "Tripel" to me. I wish I had a St Feullien Tripel to compare because in Belgium that is the tripel I often drink...