Not too long ago we met some new friends, the members of the band Pictures of Then. As is typical with Shawn and myself, the conversations held revolved around beer, technology, and music. As our podcast grows, we are looking for new ways to uniquely identify ourselves. Our podcast introduction music has evolved with us on this journey. After listening to Pictures of Then, of Minneapolis, through and through, the decision was made to partner with our friends as they graciously allow us to utilize some of their music for our podcast. Episode 28 was the first episode to feature music from Pictures of Then – their “When It Stings” leads us in. Stay tuned, as Casey and other band members will likely record with us in future episodes. Cheers to Pictures of Then for lending their talent to our project.

• http://www.picturesofthen.com
• http://www.myspace.com/picturesofthen
• http://twitter.com/picturesofthen

Last night, Leslie and I decided to begin our adventure in exploring Odell beers at Stub & Herb’s. We arrived a few hours after the release and special cask tapping of Woodcut #4, but I was happily surprised that the members of the Odell crew were still hanging out, chatting with craft beer folks, excited to see 7 different Odell beers available.

I already knew which burger basket I planned to order (the Inferno, substituting for a Boca burger), so I asked Jon Landers, the bar manager, which beer I should enjoy first to start my evening. He told me that I should check out the Odell sampler. I was able to try three year-round offerings, and one seasonal, in manageable seven-ounce pours. My thoughts, brief as they may be, are as follows:

• India Pale Ale (7.0 % ABV, 60 IBUs) – light, floral nose; taste soft notes of peanut; crisp, slightly bitter finish.
• 90 Schilling Ale (5.3% ABV, 27 IBUs) – Wow. Immediate notes of hazelnut, with a creamy, nutty finish. Think Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, but slightly smokier, and more full-bodied.
• 5 Barrel Pale Ale (5.2% ABV, 36 IBUs) – soft, grassy nose; light, slightly bitter finish. Definitely a great introductory beer for those not keen on hops, but interested in learning about wet hopping and dry hopping.
• St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale (6.5% ABV, 46 IBUs) – slightly astringent nose; medium-bodied mouthfeel; more present hops in the finish. It’s a quenching beer, not overtly-bittered by hops.

Another beer I sampled at Stub & Herb’s was a rare, cask-conditioned rendition of the fabled Woodcut. The crew from Odell clarified for me that it’s not the same beer as the bottle-conditioned namesake; this barrel-aged, double Märzen was dosed with Brett before being casked. The Woodcut #4 was immediately my favorite of the night, and the frontrunner so far in my journey this week. It had a funky, tart nose, reminescent of Russian River Consecration, or a room-temperature New Belgium La Folie. It was a bit lighter in body than those two heavy hitters, yet had a creamier mouthfeel, hitting just the right taste buds to fulfill my craving for sour, funky beer.

Originally, we planned to head home to Saint Paul, but as we were departing, a few of the folks mentioned we should stop by The Happy Gnome. I knew I was going to leave a few Odell beers to be sampled later this week, however I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to some of a rare, 5-gallon cask of Odell Friek, a five-way blended kriek, tea-bagged with whole raspberries. I was instantly reminded of a lighter rendition of a Cantillon 100% Kriek. The Friek’s nose was mildly funky, had a tart mouthfeel, and a fleeting presence of raspberry seeds, with a merlot-like finish.

The final beer I sampled on the first day of Odell Welcome Week was their Saboteur, an oak barrel-aged brown ale with Brett. Ringing in at 10.5% ABV, it’s definitely a sipper, but remarkably quaffable. The Brettanomyces presence is soft, but lends just enough funkiness to make this brown ale really interesting. I detected a soft fruity nose, nutty caramel body, and a funky finish, making this brew extremely interesting. It’s not too funky to be a figurative “one-trick pony” and it’s just funky enough to make a typical brown ale drinker raise an interested eyebrow.

I look forward to seeing many of you at some of the other events this week. If you’ve been out to a tasting or beer dinner already, what do you think? I would like to hear your thoughts. Cheers!

Over the weekend, Rock Bottom Brewery of Des Moines, Iowa played host to the Iowa Farmhouse Ale Fest. The goal of the event was to “showcase beers that originated in the farmlands of Europe” as interpreted by Iowa brewers as well as various international renditions of the styles. Primarily, beers in the style of Saison, Bière de Garde, and Witbier, otherwise known as farmhouse ales, were on-hand.

I love finding out the tradition behind styles of beer, and farmhouse ales definitely have some unique profile characteristics that can be drawn from their brewing history. Originating in the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, Saisons and other farmhouse ales were brewed during the winter and stored until summer harvest, where the beverages were distributed amongst farmhands as a safe and quenching beverage. As such, farmhouse ales were traditionally brewed with a large amount of hops as a form of preservative, but with a low alcohol content so workers could hydrate throughout their day. Today, these farmhouse ales generally fall within the guidelines of Category 16 of the BJCP. However, as this hosted tasting goes to show, there are few defining characteristics for modern farmhouse ales. Despite the change in brewing techniques since the style’s inception, brewers have maintained some of the original flavor profiles of the farmhouse ales. Wild yeast, once a natural ingredient in the brewing process, is now only used with the utmost care as a technique for introducing a certain level of funk or sourness in the flavor and aroma of beers. Thus, the farmhouse ales represent a broad range of beer flavors and give the brewer ultimate creative control in defining the drinker’s palette.

I must say that I consider farmhouse ales to be a gateway for those looking to get into craft beer. Beginning with the style of Witbier, you are presented with what is essentially a spiced wheat ale that is light, refreshing, but also flavorful without much bitterness. As you progress further into styles like Saison, you’ll notice subtle complexities from the yeast presented and the beer might have a dryer mouthfeel. Then as we find examples of Bière de Garde, our glasses will be filled with a sometimes darker liquid but almost always richer and sweeter with a nice malty body. Then, every once in a while you will come across Brettanomyces (Brett) in your beer for an extra kick of tartness.

Where am I going with this, and why haven’t I talked about the specific beers yet? A few nights ago, Iowa Public Television hosted a panel discussion on “Beer and Microbreweries in Iowa”. Check it out. As you may or may not be aware, Iowa is going through a few changes as we have just recently passed legislation allowing for local breweries to produce beers up to 12% alcohol by weight. Now, while these farmhouse ales aren’t necessarily at the extreme top of the legal range, they represent one of the many styles of craft beer that up until recently were either not capable of being brewed, or were just not prominent. The consumers of Iowa simply may not know about these intriguing styles of beer and it is events such as the Iowa Farmhouse Ale Fest, or programs from IPTV that set out to educate. Education on beer is why Shawn and I began our project and why we continue to learn at every opportunity. It’s now on us to bring this world of craft beer to those who want to know more. Eric Sorensen, brewmaster for Rock Bottom Brewery in Des Moines, acknowledged that while this year’s event was sponsored by the brewery, the hope is to have all of the Iowa Brewer’s Guild participate in the coming years.

So what was this event, and how did it all go down? Cost of entry was $30, for which you received a commemorative tasting glass and one heck of a tasting list. For your entry, each participant received a number of tickets that could be exchanged for a full glass pour of any of the available beers, otherwise, you were free to have a one-once pour of each of the represented beers. Rock Bottom had their own Tiger Lily Saison, Dangereaux Amber, Cerveza Especial Bière de Garde, and Flanders Fields Witbier. Mike Gauthier, brewer for Des Moines’ Court Avenue Brewing Company, was on hand to pour samples of his Wit and La Fou Blonde. Other Iowa beers represented were John’s Generation White Ale by Millstream Brewing Company, and Dinky Wheat from Olde Main Brewing. The Belgian-style beers are certainly being embraced by our local brewers, which is a trend I hope to see continue.

Now, this is the part of my post where I inform you, dear reader, that I didn’t take any tasting notes at the event. Jason and I kept pretty busy with conversation and jumping from table to table, trying to find all that we had missed on our first pass. I will point out some of the notable beers, however. In Iowa, we are privileged to have regular access to the Smokestack series of beers from Boulevard Brewing of Kansas City. Their Saison Brett is a dry, low hop, low spice beer with a slightly maltier mouthfeel. In fact, I compared it mostly to the Golden Ale from New Glarus Brewing Company of Wisconsin, if not more subtle with the brett and heavier in the body. Another gem in the crowd was the Blanche De Saisis of Brasserie Ellezelloise, which was sweet and well balanced with a hint of grain.

It is events such as this weekend’s that will work to grow the beer culture in Iowa. Every week new breweries are entering our market, and our local brewers are also now creating some great renditions of our favorite beer styles. Education can only grow the opportunities for new beers to come to market, so talk about beer and look out for more events and releases in Iowa.

Note: If you want to know more about some traditional examples of Saison-style beers, check out Episode 18 of The Beer Genome Project, “Oh, Saison”, or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

On my way to Washington over the weekend, I had a chance to meet up with @SudsyMaggie at the Denver International Airport. Maggie is a fellow beer reviewer and homebrewing friend whose website can be found at maggiesudduth.com. This meet-up at DEN was mostly by chance and through a few exchanges on Twitter – this social networking thing was been playing to my advantage during my stay in Washington. Between flights, Maggie and I decided that we’d try a sampler flight at the Denver ChopHouse. Check out the quick audio clip below.

John’s Grocery – Iowa’s premiminate Beer Retailer will celebrate the first load of “High Proof” beer to come into the state! On Thursday, March 25th at 11:59 p.m., we will unleash onto beer lovers a plethora of Michigan’s Most Wanted-Bells! We will have Third Coast Old Ale Barley Wine, Expedition Stout, Two Hearted Ale, and a very limited number of Hop Slam and Consecrator Dopple Bock. We also have a very limited number of Two Hearted 7.75 gallon 1/4 bbls for purchase as well. We have a very limited supply of these items, so there will be a strict limit of two six packs per customer per item on these beers.

We will have special midnight only pricing on the rest of the Bell’s line up, including a blowout price on the Best Brown 5L mini kegs. At the same time, we will be welcoming to Iowa City one of Iowa’s newest breweries – Peacetree from Knoxville! We will have a limited number of their brand new Belgian IPA and Rye Porter, so stop down and sample some of the newest players in town!

BeerVoice, currently in beta, is a simple and straightforward way for users to collectively share their opinions on the beers that we drink everyday. The front page of the site greets you with a search bar, a rotating list of featured beers, and a list of the most recently written reviews. Type the name of a beer or brewer in the search bar to get your next list of beers or reviews. At this point, many have likened it to the simplicity of Twitter. It’s true. Each review on BeerVoice has a maximum of 500 characters, and the choice of adding one of six face icons as a tally for your final score.

Even this early in the game, BeerVoice looks to have a large database of beers waiting to be reviewed. Each beer has its own page with an ABV rating, a link to other beers of the same style, a link to the brewer, and a list of all reviews for the beer. It pulls together most of the basic information one would need for a given beer, and displays it in a visually digestible way.

I very much look forward in seeing how this website will grow, and how the beer community might support it. I certainly have my ideas on how users could benefit from this site, especially if a few more features were implemented; that can wait for another time. It’s easy to sign-up and to start following others, so I definitely encourage you to browse the site for awhile. The reviews certainly came en masse tonight and they will hopefully continue at a constant rate.

As an example, here’s a link to my profile with a few reviews already posted. If you join, feel free to follow me.

Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

Winter 09-10 bottle
Tasted Jan 5, 2010
10% ABV – Russian Imperial Stout

From the bottle:

In the last century, British brewers made strong stouts for the Czar’s Court. They were called Imperial Stouts. Our Black Chocolate Stout, brewed once yearly for the winter season, achieves a chocolate aroma and flavor through the artful blending of six varieties of black, chocolate and roasted malts.

I know more about Brooklyn Brewery through Garrett Oliver’s book, The Brewmaster’s Table, than firsthand experience with tasting their brews. Where I live in Iowa, the only beer of theirs we can get is a collaboration with Schneider (brewers of the great Aventinus!), the Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse, a wonderful Weizenbock that has left me with a very positive impression of the brewery. While on vacation here in Washington, D.C., I found some of these in my sister’s fridge, and after having a small taste from a friend’s glass last Friday, my interest was piqued. So let’s get down to it.

The appearance is an inky, pitch-black. Had a good inch of head which quickly receded and had no visible lacing, which I’m fine with in a Russian Imperial Stout. Black is the color of a true RIS, and judging by the opaque color, impenetrable to light, Brooklyn knows this very well!

Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout

Last Friday, I remarked to my friend that it was not particularly chocolatey, but sticking my nose down deep into this glass, especially as it warms, I get a lot of chocolate malt. More like dark baking chocolate than Hershey’s-style American chocolate, just the way I prefer. More nuanced and doesn’t really beat you over the head with it like many chocolate stouts can (Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence, I’m looking in your direction!). Black, dark roasted coffee is also apparent in the nose.

The flavor is not what you’d expect. Less sweet chocolate and more earthy—a bitterness not unlike espresso. The mouthfeel is smooth, and while the taste starts bitter the chocolate malts make their presence known, with some subtle sweet and roasted flavor. The chocolate, thanks to the malt, is more of a bitter cocoa (again, think baking chocolate) than sweet milk, which keeps the drinkability higher than your average RIS, while the bitterness keeps me from drinking too quickly. A lot more complex as it warms, the 10% ABV doesn’t hit you over the head in taste, but rather is more apparent in the nose. It becomes less apparent as the it warms. This one is far better at cellar temperature than served cold.

More RIS than Chocolate Stout, Brooklyn Brewery has created a wonderful winter beer, one that I think would age very well. I could see this one mellowing out and perhaps becoming closer to what people might expect if they hadn’t had it before (slightly sweet) but I’m very pleased with this one. Would like to try with a year on it, but I flew and didn’t check a bag, so can’t bring any back with me, sadly!

My score:   4/5

La Folie by New Belgium Brewing – This barrel-aged sour was the second American sour I had ever tried, (the first being Avery’s Brabant), coincidentally at the same bar (The Muddy Pig, Saint Paul). Albeit I enjoyed these two brews on different occasions, this Fort Collins, Colorado brew delivered an amazingly flavorful and tart beast of a spontaneous beer. Vinegar and cherry nose followed by tart woody notes with pleasant residual funk. A superb, sessionable sour.     –    4.5/5

Nor’Easter by Captain Lawrence Brewing- I hadn’t heard of these guys until the weekend of Darkness Day, when I met up with fabled beer traders Uncle Jedi and Purple Hat Joan, of Huntsville, Alabama. After enjoying dinner with these two, Leslie and I visited their hotel room, where I was fortunate to sample this barrel-aged winter warmer, complete with prominent fruity notes from the elderberries used in the beer. This was definitely a winter “warmer” ringing in at 12% ABV, with the sweet bourbon notes present in the mouthfeel.    -   4.5/5

Pumking by Southern Tier Brewing - A dark amber color with a potent spicy nose that fills the room with pumpkin pie aroma quickly. I am a pumpkin pie fiend, so this aptly-named “imperial pumpkin ale” delivers a punch of flavor and body. Yet, even though it rang in a 9% ABV, the creamy smooth mouthfeel is my definition of what a pumpkin ale should be. Yes, Southern Tier does have a few extremely gimmicky beers (think: Crème Brûlée) but this beer was definitely one I had to seek out and buy a few other bombers. Just so happened to be across the border.   -   4.5/5

Petunia Ale by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery - Yet another beer I sampled Darkness Day weekend, I decided it was important Mike finally get the chance to experience Town Hall. This fall seasonal had great body, but was very well-balanced with spice. Unlike other pumpkin ales which use two prominent spices (cinnamon and nutmeg), this brew had at least four or five, rounding out the flavor palette. The creamy finish was definitely a plus, and it was a great draft beer.    –   4/5

Monk’s Blood by 21st Amendment Brewery - I waited nearly two years to have my first 21A beer, and I was fortunate to participate in the release parties (yes, more than one) in Minneapolis the weekend of the 21st of November (suiting, right?). Although all the beers Sully and his crew had available were phenomenal, this Belgian dark ale really fit the brisk late fall weather. The mission figs, vanilla, and Belgian candi sugar in its composition, completed by a barrel-aging to meld the flavors, really helped to yield a big-bodied, Belgian-style beauty.    –    4.25/5

“Sour” Rye Saison homebrew by Stephen Freshnock – I was able to meet Stephen Freshnock, founding member and regular participant of The Fellowship of Gentlemanly Gentlemen (known on the Twitterverse as the #gents) this August. I was able to acquire a few bottles of his homebrew when a friend visited Chicago for a weekend in late October. One of the two bombers of his rye saison I gave to BGP fellow Tom Hill; the other Leslie and I shared shortly after its arrival from Chicago. It was tart, with slight tangy pepper notes, the body reminiscent of a great Ommegang brew: Ommegeddon. For a beer of any origin, it was fantastic, let alone a beer made in a single, five gallon batch. Look for Stephen, a.k.a. @SlovakBrewer‘s beer in a brewpub someday soon.    -   4.5/5

The real winner for me this season was the La Folie from New Belgium. I can’t seem to get enough barrel-aged sour beers. It’s really too bad my sentiment is shared by only but a few über beer nerds the world over. Perhaps someday the BGP will have to acquire some used barrels for experimentation…

Oktoberfest by August Schell Brewing – a rich auburn color and creamy head. smells of grain and the taste is toffee like with a light body. I really like how the beer finishes with a sweet crispness. 3.5/5

Dogtoberfest Märzen by Flying Dog Brewery - a dark amber color with a thick foamy head that dissipates quickly. smells of caramel and spice. a medium body with the flavor falling to the back of the tongue. the thickness comes from a mix of roasted malts and spice. 3/5

Pumpkin Ale by Buffalo Bill’s Brewery – surprisingly more true pumpkin flavor than I had believed it would be. I had built this beer up in mind as being the liquid pumpkin pie of beers, but this was not the case. It’s a true pumpkin flavor that comes through on this beer and it’s low on the spice. 3.5/5

Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest by Boulevard Brewing – smells floral and has a bitter bite in the taste. 3.5/5

Horseman’s Revenge by Olde Main Brewing – a very tasty, local choice. 4/5

Harvest Ale by Goose Island Brewing - this beer certainly focuses on the hop flavoring and it comes through quite a bit more strong than one might expect. This isn’t quite reaching the levels of an IPA, but for that, I commend it. 3.5/5

The true winner for me this season was the Pumpkin Ale from Schlafly – a true 5/5 for me. You will all hear more about this in an upcoming Happy Hour episode.

Can’t get enough of us? How about just me, @MikeBGP? Have no fear, Derrick and the rest of the Everyday Drinkers and I had quite the conversation about Brown Ales a few weeks back. It was kind of a Revenge of the Brown Ales episode for the crew as apparently they had one episode near the beginning on the same topic, but a small dispute between myself and others brought upon the idea of a revisitation. Another one of the panel members, Doug, set out to prove me wrong on my preconceptions of beers from Abita – namely the TurboDog. It’s been a lot of fun hanging out with those guys (in a virtual world), so head on over to the Everyday Drinkers website and give the show a listen.

[Link] - EVERYDAY DRINKERS PODCAST 33: BROWN ALE REWIND