The Session #37: The Display Shelf: When to drink the good stuff

This month's Session hosted by The Ferm is about when do we actually get to drink our prized bottles that we hoard. It's a topic recently touched upon in the LA Times, and those cats down in LA take "cellaring" to an on-the-real level. I still have a bunch of junk in my parents' basement down in LA, but certainly no beer. And just to get this off my chest, I'm still not entirely comfortable with how the beer community has joined winos in turning cellar into a verb. But I do appreciate the irony in essentially "lagering" our fine ales.

I've blogged about my Beeradise in the past. I recently thinned the herd to make more room in the Beeradise (aka malt vault), which of course one again overfloweth. I figure, it's proof I don't have a drinking problem (just a collecting problem). The good and the bad part is that Half Pint has put her foot down and limits our stash to whatever can fit into the armoire-half and the chiller-half (and whatever I invariably sneak into our hall closet, until such time as it starts to block access to her shoes).

As such, I don't buy a case of beers like Anchor Old Foghorn or Sierra Nevada Old Bigfoot every year. A few I do procure annually are Anchor Our Special Ale, Alaskan Smoked Porter, and Deschutes The Abyss. I don't think anyone would fault me there, right?

But the question at hand is: when do you actually stop mentally masturbating over looking at them like high-gravity centerfolds and actually have your way with them? Like a kick to the head, I feel I’m snapping out of my hoarding mentality. Life is uncertain. What if a piece of blue ice falls from an airplane and fatally knocks

the shit out of—or into—me and I never get to try those 300-ish bottles including the three-year vertical of Cantillon Blåbær peacefully laying at rest in there? No way, Jose. I’m

gonna drink those bad boys sooner than later. Late May/early June sounds good, shortly after my wedding and honeymoon. That’s as good a reason to celebrate, yeah?

As for the other 297-ish, I never really need my arm twisted to find a reason to rejoice with good beer and good friends.

Session #28: Think/Drink Globally

I’m an avid traveler and an avid beer drinker. So when it’s up to me to pick the topic for the June edition of The Session, I’d hope I could blog about the time I was in Kenya and visited the Tusker Brewery (more specifically, East African Breweries, Ltd.). While I didn’t make it to the brewery in Nairobi, I did wash down some grilled zebra and giraffe with Tusker Lager!

While studying in Russia, I attempted to visit the Baltika Brewery in St. Petersburg with my classmates, but tours weren’t offered at that time. Considering the director was assassinated after my semester abroad, it’s possibly for the best.

So the farthest brewery I’ve been to is Allagash in Portland, Maine. The city is picturesque, though not so the business park the brewery is situated in. I was actually there to interview Karen and David Geary, the once-married still-owners of the D. L. Geary Brewing Co. I think their London Porter is one of the best out there, but I’ve written sufficiently about them.

So back to Allagash. Brewer Rob Tod (that’s me pictured with him) started Allagash a decade after Geary’s in 1995. As such, Allagash was an early adapter in brewing Belgian styles here in the US. My sole familiarity with them before visiting Portland was their flagship Allagash White. Next to Hitachino Nest White, it’s still my favorite Witbier. And finding it on tap for a mere $3 was the bargain of my stop in town. But I also discovered their bourbon barrel aged triple, Curieux, which I’d focus on today, except it was the subject of my Session #24. So where does that leave me? Apropos of a guy who blogs at BeerOdyssey.com, I’m partaking of a brew day with buddies Greg & Ryan and amid our homebrew tastings, we’re popping the cork on my Allagash Odyssey pulled from my Beeradise.

Before I get into my notes about Odyssey, I should note that the kitchen I’m in is rife with a hoppy aroma that contradicts with the Odyssey. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. This beer is a 10.4% ABV wheat beer that’s been aged in both new medium toasted oak barrels (as such, part of Allagash’s excellent barrel-aged series) and part aged in stainless steel for half a year. On tap, I recall it having a much more billowy, wheaty character, but this 750-ml bottle presents a much roastier, toastier flavor. I've noticed that Allagash beers on tap are generally more subdued than bottled. The bottled Curieux is more bourbony; the bottled White is corianderier.  In fact, I dare say I’m enjoying today's Odyssey more. Must be that it’s a new barrel and I guess “medium” toasted indicates toastier than standard toasting (though less so than charred oak).

Does it remind me of some lobster bisque I had back in Portland, Maine? No, main-ly because I don’t dig on lobster. But it’s a great reminder of the zymurgelogical wonders that Rob Tod conjures up and that, even if I can’t track down a bottle of his new Gargamel (a 375-ml corked beer that doubtfully tastes like Smurfberries), at least I know his brett’ed Confluence has made its way to the Bay and that I don’t have to make another 3,203 mile trek to drink fresh Allagash.

Anchor's Our Barrel Ale

Anchor Brewing's "Our Barrel Ale," as I've written about before, is a blend of three Anchor Brewing Co. beers aged in Anchor Distilling barrels--not charred but toasted Oak barrels used to age their phenomenal Old Potrero rye whiskey. The beers, I found out, are Bock, Old Foghorn Barleywine, and mostly Liberty Ale, their hoppiest offering in the lineup.

Starting this morning, only 100 cases went on sale. Seeing as I was first in line, only 99 were available once I left.

At $30 per magnum (1.5 ltr), make that almost $33 after tax and CRV, it's a helluvan-expensive six-pack. Compared to other beers that sell at that price for 22- and sometimes 12-oz bottles, or a halfway decent magnum of wine or champagne would set you back, it's actually a fair price for such a delectable, intriguing beer.

But lest you think I'll crack one open this weekend and lay down the other 5 in my Beeradise for years to come, Anchor's master brewer, Mark Capenter, warned that while it's high enough in alcohol at over 8% ABV, since it's unfiltered and sat in wood barrels, it's best to keep it refrigerated and enjoyed with the occasion calls for it. Now accepting occasion suggestions.

Beeradise

Behold: the Beeradise.

Every so often, I encounter fellow beer geeks who sadly have but one complaint about their significant others. "She just doesn't get it." These women, who are wonderful in countless ways, I'm sure, simply do not understand or share in their boyfriends' or husbands' ale enthusiasm. Not mine. Not Half Pint.

One perk of shacking up with someone who does interior design by trade is that she has a keen sense of space. Add to that she loves beer and I was given not simply the go-ahead, but some help in making our new love shack a place where any beer would happily call home.

The "cellar" armoir on the left contains beers worthy of aging (New Belgium's La Folie, Full Sail's bourbon-barrel aged Top Sail, Harviestoun's Ola Dubh 16, Hitachino's sake-barrel aged XH, Goose Island's bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Brown Goose, Upstream's oak-aged IPA, some Alaskan Smoked Porters...) and the chiller on the right is now set to exactly 41 degrees, where a bottle of Geary's Porter is calling my name.


Cheers to a happy 2009

Santas Cruz & Claus

One last blog post to cap '08 and to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, wonderful winter solstice or festive festivus.

Having been preoccupied with a big move and the holidays, I'm 10 days delayed in writing about a killer event down in Santa Cruz. Huge thanks to Janet at Capitola Book Cafe for inviting me, for hooking up some great press and radio and best of all, beer-love from the local brewpub, Seabright Brewery!

So Half Pint and I hopped in my ride and headed down the 101 to the 85 to the 17 to Hwy 1. Since we were there, we got in a little air hockey at the Boardwalk and some of my hands-down favorite ice cream c/o Marianne's. 72 flavors from Irish coffee chip and Mexican chocolate to Horchata and Cardamom. Alas, I was too full to take up Janet on her offer of a Bavarian feast (brats, red cabbage...) at the cafe portion of Capitola Book Cafe, served in honor of a beer book reading! I did, however, quaff a pint of Seabright's Pale Ale, c/o Jason the brewmaster and Charlie, the owner. It wasn't my first time drinking their beer, as I found my way to the brewpub back in April after running the Santa Cruz half marathon, since I only run so that I can drink more beer.

Over 50 chairs had been set up for the reading and each one was occupied when Janet announced me after some upcoming author events including Nicolette Hahn Niman (as in, Niman Ranch) in support of her forthcoming, Righteous Porkchop. All I know is, everyone who bought my book at the store got free beer. If attendees at Niman's event get porkchops, I'm there!

So I took the stage, offered a toast to all who raised and didn't raise their cups, and generally enjoyed one of my best events yet. The terrific audience included everyone from college kids just starting their own beer odysseys (including Banana Slugs from UCSC and a pair of fellow Gauchos from UCSB) to homebrewers in the Central Coast Zymurgeeks club to Charlie Meehan, the who went from young homebrewer to seasoned brewery owner, as he's the guy who founded Seabright 20 years ago.

The Central Coast is vying to become a formidble player in the California brewing scene. There were already a few breweries in Santa Cruz County, and in the past couple of years, I know of a couple more than sprang up including Uncommon Brewers (whose Siamese Twin Ale--the first beer I know of to employ lemongrass--was going to be paired with Thai food, but its still in my beer-chiller for some reason) and Santa Cruz Ale Works.* The latter only has a few beers out (I remember picking up the Hefe last time I was in town) but has a couple more on the way. I know because the brewer, Marc, who started the brewery back in '07, offered me a bottle of his new Oatmeal Stout. Paired with my mom's chocolate chip pumpkin bread, it's an exceptional stout--creamy and rich--and makes me look forward to his next beer, which is currently aging in bourbon barrels!

Thanks again to Janet & everyone at Capitola Book Cafe and all the many cool beer people who came out.

*That asterisk above? Consider this a trailer or coming attraction for an upcoming post about the aforementioned beer chiller (thanks to Santa in the form of my aunt Terri) and my overall new living situation. Prepare for Beeradise.