Though spring has been sneaking into the air up in these northern climbs recently, it’s still stout season. When the cold kicks up a bit and you’re looking to hunker down with a fortifying brew, what could be better than cracking open an oatmeal stout? That was the idea behind today’s tasting, anyways.
Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery in Tadcaster, England, is the birthplace of many an amazing ale. Founded in 1758, Sam Smith’s is Yorkshire’s oldest brewery, and one of the few remaining breweries to ferment their beers using the ‘Yorkshire Square’ method. The brewery’s lineup is most impressive: along with this oatmeal stout, they offer an imperial stout and a nut brown ale that are widely considered to be world-class beers. Now, for the beer.
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Books and Beer is back. After a few weeks of comparatively light work and looking for things to do, reviving this writing and quaffing project was somewhat of a no-brainer. Books might actually factor in a bit more to the future of this blog, from lists to favorites to arbitrary rants, we might just see a bit of everything (credit to jump-starting this blog goes both to a delicious beer I had the other night and @lightsoutpm). Enough talk, though — time for beer.
La Fin Du Monde (that’s The End of the World for you philistines who don’t understand a lick of French/any romance language/have no reasoning skills) is a fantastic tripel from the Unibroue operation up in Quebec. Beautifully golden and fermented three times, this Canadian brew packs an ABV of 9%, though you’d be hard pressed to realize it’s that big until you’ve had a glass or two. It’s a spectacular beer—so good that it made me want to get back into the swing of this whole blogging thing again. More on this beer after the jump.
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Filed under tripel Canada? apocalypse beer Unibroue back with a bang
I’m headed to the Vineyard this weekend, so I thought it might be good preparation to sip on a brew from the island’s only craft brewery, the Offshore Ale Company. Almost went there for dinner last time I was in Oak Bluffs, but the menu looked like standard pub food and we were in the mood for a bit more seasonal fare (read: delicious, delicious seafood instead of chicken wings and quesadillas).
I’m optimistic about this blonde ale, but my expectations aren’t too high: it’s a relatively small production brewery, and I imagine the costs of getting stuff out onto the island can get in the way of margins if you’re using really high quality ingredients. I’m not suggesting that they’re scrimping, but I’m not expecting Dogfish Head quality ingredients in this beer. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
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Turns out there are breweries other than the Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I will admit that Garrett Oliver’s brainchild often totally captures my attention when I turn my beer eyes towards the borough of the fixed-wheel bicycle.
Today’s brew comes from the Sixpoint brewery in Brooklyn. Operating under the tagline Sixpoint Craft Ales, the brewery is churning out 15 different varieties for retail consumption, and others on a more limited basis. Their website is a bit obnoxious, but it’s worth a peek. Spoiler alert: it’s what you would expect from a brewery run by most likely a bunch of hipsters.
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Today’s post is an older review of mine that I just never got around to posting, but it might as well see the light of day. Its subject, Harpoon’s Imperial Red from their Leviathan series, is a big, big, big, big beer, as its name might suggest. Unfortunately, it conjures up thoughts of Thomas Hobbes for this beer drinker, which leaves me in a bit of a bad state to start, but I have faith that the folks down in Boston’s Seaport district have concocted something interesting here. Perhaps it is misplaced — only a few sips will tell.
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Today’s brew comes from Butternuts Beer and Ale in Garrattsville, NY. It’s an American Pale Ale, and the first offering from this brewery that I’ve sampled. I grabbed a sixer with the hopes that it’d provide some quality summer session beer hydration. I don’t really know what to expect, but taking the plunge into a foreign glass of beer is a beautiful thing. Let’s get to it.
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Filed under Pale ale Summer beer canned craft beer
Ah, summer. Books and Beer has decided to get off its lazy blogger ass and start updating regularly again. That said, it’ll take some easing back into, and what would be better for easing back into a routine than a smooth, easy drinking summer lager from everyone’s favorite (or top few) American brewery, Sierra Nevada? That’s what I thought. Nothing. Sierra Nevada = win. Anyways, pictures and the good stuff after the jump.
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So Books and Beer has been on a “super deluxe” hiatus, as one of my co-workers might call it — but it’s coming back with a bang. It’ll hit all y’all beer blog readers with the brewed truth so hard you’ll have a hangover just from reading it, or whatever. Anyways, we’ll just dive right back into the beer.
Stone is one of, if not the premier craft brewery in the states these days — my personal East Coast bias sends my love and favoritism out to Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head, but it’s hard to not give credit where credit is due. In this case, a whole lot of credit should go out to the ladies and gents in Escondido, CA, who concoct some of the craziest and tastiest brews on the continent.
A quick profile of this brew: the Arrogant Bastard ale doesn’t mess around. It is too good for you, too complex for you, too tasty for you, too expensive for you, and too intense for you. I was intimidated just looking at it. It’s mean. Reading the label on this beer could bring a small child to tears: there is a reason they call this brew Arrogant Bastard, after all. Find a bottle or check this out, for example, and you’ll see what I mean. Enough of this, though — good stuff after the jump.
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Books and Beer is back with a belated bang. We’ll just cut to the chase - here’s a calendar of sorts for your New Year. I’m dishing out 12 pairings of brews and books to go along with the seasons, and while I don’t doubt you can keep up with the drinking on a monthly basis, you may have to hustle to polish off some of the books. Without further ado: 2011, Books and Beer style.
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Filed under 2011 pilsner stout homebrew kriek import Imperial IPA hefeweizen Fall seasonal
Another work-induced hiatus overcome, another beer review. Today, we’ve got a bottle of Brooklyn Lager from the Brooklyn Brewery, one of my personal favorites. Not a whole lot to introduce here: this brew is one of their signature styles as a part of their ‘Core Brands’ - beers offered year-round. If the brewery’s reputation is anything to go by, this ought to be a good lager.
If you’re not terribly familiar with the Brooklyn Brewery, check out their site; more importantly, read up on their Brewmaster, Garrett Oliver. The man is a genius, and has taken the industry by storm. He’s the author of The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, and is in the process of editing a new, supposedly comprehensive tome entitled The Oxford Companion to Beer. The man knows his beer like none other. Review and pictures after the jump.
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