Drinkin’ beers with mrbeefy
That’s right, I had the distinct pleasure the other week of enjoying some adult beverages in the company of a fellow NMDer. The venue was the Happy Gnome and our agenda (read: Sam’s agenda that I copied shamelessly, because yum) was to drink some sour beer. I started out easy, though, with a Lake Superior Kayak Kolsch. This was a happy surprise at the beerfest for me, and it was pretty good on tap too, though best enjoyed while still cold. Sam got to the bar ahead of me and went right for the Surly Furious on cask. My experimental sips of the Furious were a happy surprise too — those, right there! Those are the grapefruit-tasting hops I’ve been hearing about! Whatever kind of hop this is, I’m going hunting for more of it. Racer 5 is already on my list to try.
Out on the patio, we ordered second beers and a Humboldt Fog cheese plate. My second was a Lift Bridge Minnesota Tan. What’s up with so many beers having names that sell the beer itself short? Tan is more complicated than the name implies: a cloudy yellow-orange ale in the Belgian tripel style that is stuffed full of lingonberries — you know, like you get in the little cup at the Ikea restaurant. It’s strong and tart with a lingonberry kick that is not kidding around, and not sweet either. They filed it under fruity and not sour, but I’m checking this one off as a win in the sour column. Sam, meanwhile, had the only tap beer on the sour list, a Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red. The first whiff was a little bit like vinegar or kombucha, but the flavor was really more like sweet and sour cherry, getting rounder and tastier as the glass warmed. Besides the Humboldt Fog, there was some kind of cherry compote with almonds, a bunch of tiny microgreens, I think a balsamic reduction, and a few fresh berries: all serendipitously great pairings for the Flemish Sour Red, and not half bad with my tripel either. In fact, the flavors on the tasting plate were so interesting that my entree, a gigantic Juicy Lucy made from layers of crispy fried vegetables, couldn’t really compete despite being fantastically executed. Next time it’s kolsch with the sandwich for me — or, even better, a procession of tasting plates and strong beers.
Dessert was an ice cream cake roll and a Flat Earth orange-infused porter — the Internets tell me that it was in fact a Xanadu Cygnus X-1. See the orange cast to the head in that picture? No joke. I say orange zest with black coffee underneath; Sam says Orange Milanos. I note with interest that this is one of several infused porters Flat Earth released at the end of last month, and one is s’more-infused. A s’more-infused porter. If I can get my hands on some, I’ll tell you all about it.
woolwine, and 
smole 11:57 am on August 31, 2010 Permalink |
Two Hearted Ale is one of my very favorite IPAs, and I like the floral hops in the nose quite a bit.
By way of explanation: I’ve always assumed that they use far fewer and less potent bittering hops than others, and add fewer of them at the beginning of the boil. Adding the hops later supposedly gives those excellent floral aromas with less of the bitterness, as would dry hopping or adding hops at the tap (like a Randall). Anywho… it’s hard to tell, as Bell’s doesn’t disclose the hops on their site. A better taster than me would be able to guess the exact varieties used, though.
woolwine 12:09 pm on August 31, 2010 Permalink |
Good to know! Everybody seems to heart Two Hearted; also, a friend of mine helpfully points out that it offers a lot of bang for the buck as regards ABV. Not that I need extra help in that department.