San Francisco thoughts

Just left San Francisco after my first trip to the bay area. I had a lot of dope beer this weekend, and not all of it local. I ended up leaving with a RR Consecration and Temptation, and a Deschutes Black Butte XXI and a Valley Brewing Uberhoppy.

Thoughts:
Monk's Kettle - ridiculously overpriced, wide variety of beers but I seriously didn't want anything they had on draft (maybe says something about me), dropped $7.50 on a big pint of Pliny (overpriced). Their bottle list was impressive but, again, was extremely pricey. I just don't love Pliny, but I can understand why it's considered a great beer. It's a bit too bitter and dry for me, but that's just my preference for sweeter DIPAs revealing itself.

Toronado - I heard the service sucked but going on Monday night was fine and the bartender gave me a gratis beer and poured me a nice sample of another one without me even asking. I went back on Tuesday and it was a bit more crowded, but I was able to get a table and sit with three other people I knew with no big issue. Great prices - 4 buck Blind Pig and 4.50 Pliny, as an example. Most other domestics were in the $4 range. They had a pretty good selection, but I heard that it wasn't as full a draft list as usual. I had the absolutely amazing Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux and one of the better beers I've ever had, Firestone-Walker Double Jack [review forthcoming]. I had some other good stuff as well, but those stood out.

City Beer Store - This is a small place that clearly caters to beer nerds. Along with six rotating taps, it features two big coolers stocked with most everything they sell on the shelves and you can open anything for $1 corkage fee. I met an old old internet friend and he dropped some coin on the fantastic Mikkeller/Brewdog Devine [sic] Rebel barleywine ($15 for 12 ounces) and the fucking amazing Avery Mephistopheles Stout (I don't even like stouts that much and think this is a perfect beer). The server was nice and knowledgeable, which helps.

I wasn't actually blown away by SF as a beer town, but it certainly has it's good spots worth checking out. I'm glad to have left with some good west coast stuff, too.

Some quick tasting notes

Bill and I made a quick stop to Rustico last evening in search of a few good drafts. As if in answer to my question of "where in DC can I get Loose Cannon's Big DIPA," Rustico just happened to have it on draft, along with one of my favorite beers, Avery Maharaja, and Weyebacher Double Simcoe IPA on cask. Bill and I each got a big 16 ounce pour of Big DIPA, and my take on it was that it's good, but not great. It's in the Maharaja style of sticky, sweetish, DIPAs, but lacks the complexity and great nose that exemplifies the style. I first had it in Cleveland, and after this second pour, I don't need it again.

I then got a small pour of Maharaja while Bill quaffed the Double Simcoe. The cask pour was surprisingly delightful, which is hard for me to say, as I usually heavily dislike casks. The Double Simcoe was really nice - a thick, internal kind of carbonation that lended it body and weight beyond any cask I've had before. After a swig, a number of tiny bubbles would be rising up the side of the glass... very appealing. My Maharaja was as good as always, of course.

Ah, IPA... when will I get sick of you for good?

Review: Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

Poured from a bottle into a Sam Adams Sensory glass.

Look: A very mildly hazy golden orange brew with a thin head. A very light amount of cabronation is evident rising from the nucleation points. Attractive, sure, but not beautiful.

Smell: A really great nose on this one, sweet, resinous, citrus, floral - pretty damn big. Definitely pulls you in for a taste.

Taste: Really, really, big for something out of a 12 ounce bottle, even though that statement makes no sense... It has a huge aromatic hop flavor hits your mouth with a rich sweetness that isn't cloying in the least. The initial flavors subside to the typical DIPA dry-bitter tongue that isn't exactly ideal. Complex and definitely ingriguing, but you can definitely tell it's high alcohol. Very tasty.

Mouthfeel: A nice, fairly thick brew with good levels of carbonation. I could say the usual "dances across the tongue" stuff, but that's a little silly here. It's got a really nice overall texture and is assuredly appealing, but nothing either outstanding or deplorable.

Drinkability: This is a fantastic Imperial with a ton of flavor, and if you like the style the bottle will be gone before you know it. It's a big beer that doesn't really hide the booze, but full of big flavors and aromas and shows you what an IPA can be if pushed to the limits. A winner from Harpoon, definitely heads and shoulders above their normal fare.

Review: Dogfish Head Burton Baton

I poured a 12 ounce bottle from this year's batch into a Sam Adams Sensory glass.

Look: Appealing golden reddish-brown with a slightly tan head, I didn't get much head on my pour from a 12 ounce bottle, but I went easy on it. A steady stream of bubbles arose from the nucleation points at the bottom of my Sam Adams glass. The thin head quickly dissipated, but some light lacing was evident.

Smell: Not too strong, but a vanilla oakiness with maybe some fruit and hops - nothing too overpowering in the least.

Taste: This has some of the characteristics of all the trendy burbon-barrel aged beers but none of the overpowering flavor some of them exhibit. The initial flavors are sweet but not too sweet, with some nice caramel, vanilla, oak, and fruitiness, without being cloying. The snap of bitterness cleans the palate nicely with some sweetness and effervescence remaining on the tongue. I expected a beer with fairly low carbonation, but I feel the moderately high levels help to avoid an overly sweet and sticky beer. Some of the baking soda flavors I've been hating about high-IBU beers make their appearance a minute or so after swallowing, but aren't abhorrent.

Mouthfeel: As I mentioned, I think the carbonation levels help create a truly excellent mouthfeel - nearly on the levels of Saison Dupont perfection. It's full and smooth in the mouth and the sweetness is well-displayed, but the bubbles and hop snap leaves your tongue feeling ready for more.

Drinkability: Honestly, I consider most any beer highly drinkable if it's a style I enjoy. Burton Baton is quite dangerous, as the high ABV is disguised by a truly excellent mouthfeel that allows you to take one swig after another. A great beer from a brewery I would expect to make a high-end DIPA.

The Lupulin Reunulin!

Note: I started this post the day after the event, but unforseen circumstances, a job interview, and a 3.5 day music festival complicated things. Better late than never, right?

Man oh man, was the Lupulin Reunulin fantastic! My understanding of this event is that it is the evolution of a friendly competition between a few east and west coast brewers to determine who made the best and biggest IPA. I believe this is the second year of the "Reunulin", where some of the best brewers and brewery owners get together to talk about beer, the beer industry, and bust each others balls on stage for a few hours, while the audience members get to sample a ton of amazing beers, laugh and learn.

On the stage last night were:

1. Tomme Arthur from Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, in San Marcos, CA.
2. Adam Avery from Avery Brewing Company, in Boulder, CO.
3. Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head, in Milton, DE.
4. Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River, in Santa Rosa, CA.
5. Bill Madden from Vintage 50, a local brewpub in Leesburg, VA.
6. Rob Tod from Allagash Brewing, in Portland, ME.
7. Eventually, the esteemed Ken Grossman and his son from Sierra Nevada, in Chico, CA.

So right there you have some of the best in the industry on the stage. What's awesome about the dynamic between these guys is that it's a tight-knit crew. There were hugs between people from the different breweries, their wives, etc. They've taken trips to Europe together, brewed together, and more or less created an industry together. These guys know each other well, and therefore have free range to give each other total hell for the audience's amusement. More importantly, they know beer and the industry, and are great sources of information for beer geeks.

It won't do the event justice to try to summarize anything that was said, but there was a lineup of 16 beers from 6 brewers to enjoy. Here they are, in order, with my thoughts:

1. Dogfish Head Festina Peche: Nothing rare or weird here, and a beer I find barely drinkable. It's a clear golden ale with a sour, fruity aroma and a sour apple taste with nearly no hop flavor. I find it incredibly linear and not even very peachy at all.
2. Port Brewing Hot Rocks Stein Lager: This beer was created and brewed by Bend Brewing's Tonya Cornett with the help of Tomme Arthur (if I recall correctly), and uses hot rocks to heat the wort, which lends some really interesting characteristics. It pours a dark caramel, and has a very toasty aroma. It had a syrupy, toasty flavor, with a bit of hop bitterness on the finish, but leaves the mouth a bit dry. I found it excellent and yet another beer I wish I could get here.
3. Avery Brabant Barrel Aged 100% Brett: This beer utilized two yeast strains, according to my notes. It was a dark, dense beer, with a bubbly head, and a fruity, winey scent. It had a vaguely winey flavor as well, with a slightly tart and dry finish.
4. Vintage 50 Molotov Hoptail: This is a newer creation of the local Bill Madden, and one I really wish I liked... It was a cloudy, foamy IPA with a very generically hoppy aroma. The taste was very fresh and creamy, with a lot of forward hop flavors. I found it to have a very "homebrew" character and it didn't really resemble the output of the more industrialized brewers. It also had a base, alkaline flavor in there that was quite off-putting.
5. Allagash Confluence: Golden with a very juicy, fruity aroma. I found the taste very juicy and thin, with a bit of juicy tang - disappointing. I will note that I had this a week or so later at a different bar and found it quite different, so I won't say it's universally bad or anything.
6. Russian River Blind Pig IPA: Basically a classic west coast IPA, and it didn't disappoint. A super clear, deep golden beer with a bitter hoppy aroma. The flavor is very balanced with a slightly sweet, hoppy, citrus flavor and a smooth mouthfeel.
7. Dogfish Head Pale India/Hoppy Onion: A bizzare new creation of DFH that involves indian spices and sweet onions..... don't ask me. It poured a hazy, golden color, and smelt of sweet onions and spices (unsurprisingly). You could definitely taste the ingredients, and the lightly spiced flavor definitely sticks around in your mouth. It was pretty darn good in a weird way, but I'd have to see how well a 12oz bottle went down.
8. Lost Abbey Carnevale Bretted Saison: I don't have much written down besides that it was a golden color, smelled of vaguely familiar saison aromas, and had a sweet, flavorful taste with a slight tang. Couldn't have been that great, I guess.
   
9. Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA: This blew me away, and cemented itself into my top 10(ish) beers. It was a clear, deep golden beer with a thick head, and my notes say "best smelling IPA ever?" - sweet and hoppy. It was incredibly flavorful and "mad bitter", but it must have had a lot going on besides bitterness for me to write "Amazing!!!"
10. Allagash Hugh Malone: This was easily the best Belgian IPA I've had, and even though I find the style silly and mostly sub-par, this was a very high quality beer. It poured a hazy, caramel color, with a "saisony" aroma. It was definitely a hoppy belgian saison flavor, with a nice hoppy finish, and my only note besides that is "awesome!!" I'll update later on when I pour the bottle I just purchased.
11. Vintage 50 Headknocker: A cask ale that I actually liked, which is saying something. A golden brown, mild smelling english style barleywine. It had a nice mouthfeel, although it was a bit thin up front.
12. Port Brewing 3rd Anniversary Pale Strong Ale: Clear and golden, with a sweet smell. This was amazing... sweet, sticky, totally my style. My note for this? "YES!!!" Another gem from Port.
13. Russian River Consecration: Aged in cabernet barrels, this brown, toasted caramel colored brew had a syrupy, sweet/sour aroma. The flavor was HUGE, with a delightful sour flavor, while not being overly acidic. A great brew that I responded to with "wow".
14. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron: Nothing new to me, but still a great beer. A deep, dark ale with a dark head, the flavor is a sharp, sweet candy with some liquor. Definitely recommended if you haven't had it.
15. Avery Mephistopheles Stout: At this point, my notes say: "16%!!" and "Huge, awesome". Grab one if you see one, I know I will.
    
16. Vintage 50 Wee Heavy 2002: No notes. I think it was pretty good at least. :)

I thought this event was amazing, so much knowledge passed along by some of the best brewers in the country, and the rare appearance of Ken from Sierra Nevada - I felt very fortunate to taste the beers and get the experience. A great night.

The Euros make some weird DIPA

I've recently had two Imperial IPAs from european breweries that were wildly different from the beer I typically enjoy - that being American Imperial IPA, of course. I'll just put my cards on the table here - I love big, sticky, resiny beers, loaded with flavor. Sometimes, though, one has to branch out and explore the world, and the opportunity to try some new big IPA is hard to pass up.

I was in Atlanta last week, and at the excellent Porter I tried Brewdog's Hardcore IPA. Brewdog is a Scottish brewery with a unique brand and a penchant for brewing big beers. However, calling this an Imperial IPA is a stretch, since the beer that poured out of the bottle was a thick, creamy, fruity beer that tasted vaguely ciderish. Low carbonation, very low hop aroma, and very low bitterness. You could sense what they were going for, perhaps, but there was none of the zest that only a face full of alpha-acid rich hops can bring to a drink. I mean, it wasn't a bad beer at all - very drinkable and enjoyable, really - but it's hard to fathom what they were doing besides purposefully making a non-American Imperial IPA.

I had a similar beer tonight at the far-too-close Rustico, who had an Impy IPA out of Denmark, WinterCoat's Double Hop. While I could ignore their choice to serve it in what was essentially a mojito glass, I couldn't overlook the similarity in taste and composition to Brewdog's offering. Low carbonation, low bitterness, little hop aroma, but big apple flavors and a thick, creamy mouthfeel. It drank easily enough (but little doesn't for me, sadly), but it certainly didn't quench my thirst for IBUs.

So what's up with these breweries? Are they making statements against the American DIPA trends, making poor imitations, or just making a bigger ale with familiar flavors for their local markets? It's not quite a trend by any means, but it's something to keep an eye on.