Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsner

Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsner, a canned offering from Avery Brewing, poured a transparent pale gold out of the can, with mild carbonation trailing to a short-lived, loose white head.  The nose had notes of soft key lime and white pepper, both subtle but complex.

Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsner opened bright and crisp, with minerals and slight pepper flacors enhanced by carbonation.  The middle was very light and watery, and took on a slightly grassy tone.  The pilsner sweetened slightly as it faded, with mild herbal notes and soft lime rind finishing the experience.

Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsner achieves pilsner lightness and sessionability while maintaining subtle depth.  I have had very few beers that manage to be light but nuanced, and Avery nailed it.

A Break From the Usual Tasting... Sierra Nevada Belgian Brewers Beer Dinner

Where to even start?  Sierra Nevada hosted an amazing Belgian Brewers Beer Dinner last night in their Big Room on the brewery campus as a benefit for the Abbey of New Clairvaux as an extension of the partnership already created around the Ovila Abbey-Style Ale collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the Abbey.  

Special guests that night included master brewers Tomme Arthur (Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey), Adam Avery (Avery Brewing), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head Brewery), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada Brewing), and Rob Tod (Allagash Brewing)... a who's who of the North American craft brewing pioneers.  Each brought some of their rarer, Belgian-inspired ales to be paired by food put together by Sierra Nevada's Chef Michael Iles.  Below are some hazy shots of the menus and (most of) the custom coasters brought out for the event.

 

Each of the six course were amazing, the standouts being the Duck and Waffles (inspired by the old jazzman and bluesman 2am meal between dinner and breakfast of fried chicken and waffles) and the Pork Two Ways.    But this is a beer blog, so let's get down to the beer!  

Wild ales, sour ales, and witbiers dominated the evening, with the two biggest surprises being the Avery Dihos Dactylion Sour Ale and Depuceleuse Wild Ale being among the best sours our table had ever tried and the uncharacteristically delicate and subdued Namaste White Beer and Red and White Witbier with Pinot Noir offerings from Dogfish Head, a brewery known for big, bold beers.  As Sam said, he felt like he brought a knife to a gun fight.

  

The complete list of beers, with a couple of thoughts on each-

Allagash Tripel Reserve- A fantastic Tripel I would put against any true Trappist Tripel

Allagash Coolship Red- Not many brewers would trust spontaneous, open fermentation, but Rod Tod took a gamble and won.  The raspberries were a great compliment.

Avery Dihos Dactylion- My favorite of the night.  Cabernet sauvignon brarels added the perfect complexity to this sour.

Avery Brewing Depuceleuse- A close second... this wild ale took on the sour notes of cherries and the Zinfandel barrels.

Dogfish Head Namaste- Sam, never have I experienced a nose as big and aggressive as this, and I certainly wasn't expecting the taste to be as delicate and nuanced with lemongrass and citrus as this.

Dogfish Head Red & White- A witbier made with coriander, orange peel, and pinot noir juice... light but complex.

  

Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada Oak-Aged Life & Limb- A fun and tasty collaboration between two great brewers, probably the biggest and boldest of the bunch. 

Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale- In the company of the best sours I have tried, this one stood loud and proud.

Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa- Another great sour that unduly suffered by being served at the end of the night ;-)

Lost Abbey Inferno Ale- Paired perfectly with the cheese and was a nice, earthy grounding after a night a sour and wild ales.

Sierra Nevada Ovila- I have a bottle of this at home waiting for a dedicated tasting, so we'll just say it was good for now.

If it sounds like I am gushing, I am.  Sharing a table with other dedicated beer lovers of all stripes, we were in awe and impressed by every course served and every beer that graced our table.  When you bring five of the the most iconic brewers in the USA together in the same room, everyone is bringing their A game.  The brewers were all gracious, humble, and exuded an enthusiasm that couldn't be faked.  I feel fortunate to have been able to attend this one-time event, meet so many great brewers, and support the Abbey of New Clarivaux. 

Me crashing the brewer's table.

Father Paul Mark Schwan 

Cutting Loose as the Night Went On...

Dad and I

Avery Brewing The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager

Avery The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest, an Imperial Lager from Avery Brewing's Dictator Series, poured a burnt, red-orange into the glass with a large, sticky pale orange head.  A bomb of malt aromas wafted from the glass, with caramel, cereal, toast, and sweet-bread Marzen mostly covering a heated alcohol note.


Avery Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest opened big, flavorful, and surprisingly smooth.  A bit of spice (I'm unsure if it could be attributed to the hops, the alcohol content, or some addition I'm unaware of) came through and helped keep the lager from getting too thick, supported by a slight, prickly amount of carbonation.  


The flavor is all in the complex malt profile in Avery's The Kaiser, and the hops, yeast, and carbonation serve to highlight, not detract from, the experience.  The Kaiser is one of the biggest and booziest lagers I have tried this year, which may be why it sticks out in my mind, but it's a nice break from the hop bombs one typically finds in the West Coast.

Avery Mephistopheles Stout

Avery Mephistopheles Stout, By Avery Brewing, poured pitch into the glass with a huge, orange brown head that had to be forced but quickly swelled over the glass.  The stout had a huge nose of molasses, anise, and coffee with a bit of pine barely poking through.

Avery Mephistopheles Stout opened oily and hot on the palette, easily showing its 16%+ ABV.  Chocolate, almond, and coffee rode alongside the heat, and the stout thickened in the middle, bringing forth some sweetness to match the dark, earthy tones of leather and dried fruits.  There was a copious amount of heat in the fade with the dark chocolate and coffee persisting until the alcohol dried out.

When you name your beer after Mephistopheles, you better make sure you’ve put your strongest foot forward, and Avery Mephistopheles Stout delivers.  Unapologetically big in every way, the stout is still incredibly sippable and rewarding if you know what you are walking into.  That said, I pity the Keystone Light drinker who happens upon this beer unwarned!

Avery Karma Belgian-style Pale Ale

Another Kumas Corner find, Avery Karma Belgian-style Pale Ale from Boulder-based Avery Brewing, poured a cloudy black-brown with a thick, creamy head.  The nose carried a fruity, dark citrus with it an little of the Belgian-funk I was warned to “look out for”.  The aroma was more indicative of a spiced American Pale Ale than anything Belgian-inspired.

Avery Karma opened with a well balanced, healthily carbonated contrast of hops and light malt, with a sweet orange flavor leading the charge.  Although difficult to describe, the hops were more tasted and smelt than bitter, resulting in a slightly uneven tasting experience after multiple sips.  The Belgian yeast brought a soft, subdued spice to the dry fade, but was otherwise mostly absent.

Avery Karma Belgian Pale Ale is an interesting beer…  it doesn’t hit any of the expected style notes, and has a number of bizarre recipe choices (one of the first ales I have tried where the hops had flavor but no bitterness), but it isn’t an ale I regret drinking… in fact I ordered a second!

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale, another canned offering from Boulder, CO based Avery Brewing, poured a cherry-mahogany hue into the glass with a gray-tan head and little carbonation.  The nose carried forward a malt-centric profile of peppery, herbal hops and toasty chocolate.

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale opened with a medium-bodied, roasted start hinting at chocolate and toast.  The middle of the ale was rather middle of the road in both strength of flavor and body, with only hints of nuttiness and caramel coming through over the bread-base malt.  As the ale faded, the earthy hops took over and ended the ale on a pleasantly subtle and spicy bitter finish. 

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale isn’t a big beer, and isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind.  What it does, however, is deliver a lighter American-style brown ale experience with a sessionable ABV and enough flavor to make opening a second can a must.  

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine, by Avery Brewing, poured a lightly cloudy amber hue into the glass, with very mild carbonation slowly working through the thick body to a small, short-lived sticky cream head.  Grapefruit and pine stood out over a sweet caramel candy malt.

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Barleywine opened with a thick and peppery start and followed through with caramel smoothness and a slight rising bitterness.  The ale showed its heat in the belly and ears more than in the mouth, and faded on a clean, earthy note.

Avery Brewing Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine is complex and dangerously drinkable.  It manages to avoid the thickness in body, cloying dried-fruit sweetness, and general heaviness associated with a barleywine-style ale and gives the experienced drinker a lot to chew over.

Avery Brewing India Pale Ale

Avery Brewing India Pale Ale, another standard canned offering from Avery Brewing, poured a perfectly clear yellow into the glass with a voluminous white head and some floaties swimming in the mild carbonation trails.  The nose carried through the sugary citruses like orange and tangerine, with some rind bitterness lingering in the background.

Avery Brewing India Pale Ale opened big and bright, with grapefruit and orange tasting slightly backed and sugared.  The carbonation helped the ale stay crisp and clean, and the biscuit malt body never went beyond serving as a background to highlight the hops.  The ale faded dry and slightly bitter, with carbonation still playing through the mouth.

Avery Brewing India Pale Ale is a great ale and a well crafted representative of an American IPA.   What it lacks in innovation or showiness is more than made up for in a clean, well-balanced ale.

Avery White Rascal Belgian White Ale

Avery White Rascal Belgian White Ale, another member of Avery Brewing’s canned line, poured a slightly hazy pale yellow with a very short lived, small white head.  The nose was very faint, and carried forward wheat, coriander, and yeast.

Avery White Rascal Belgian White Ale opened flat and watery with very light noble hops and candied orange flavors standing out. The ale darkened a bit as it mellowed out and the wheat and coriander came through.  White Rascal ended extremely dry, with white pepper and yeast end capping the experience.

Avery White Rascal Belgian White Ale is an ok beer with a well balanced malt/hop/yeast profile that seems too weak as a whole.  The ale should be commended for the restraint shown in the added flavoring ingredients and a particularly intriguing subtle use of hops, but is ultimately a bit too light in flavor and body, even for light beer.

Avery Brewing Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale, part of Avery Brewing’s The Dictators Series, poured a heady copper color into the glass, with a soapy white head fed by small carbonation streams.  The nose carried forward citrus and evergreen, but was somewhat undermined by noticeable alcohol heat.

Maharaja Imperial IPA opened with a tropical fruitiness and an edge of grapefruit tartness, with a more distinct pineapple presence than most DIPA’s of this ilk.  The malt was entirely overcome by the hops, but the sweet, thick caramel served as an excellent support to the fruitiness of the hops.  For such a big beer (there was some heat, for sure), the fade was dry and crisp, probably one of the cleaner finishes for a big beer I have experienced. 

Avery Brewing Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale isn’t easy to come by in these parts, but the hunt to get a fresh bottle was certainly worth it.  Run, don’t walk.

The Ginger Man NYC Flights

After hearing about The Ginger Man from every bartender in Manhattan I asked about "the place to get beer", I finally stumbled across it my last night (embarrassed to say it was less than a half dozen blocks from my hotel).  Boasting 66 taps and over 120 bottles of beer from around the world, The Ginger Man was certainly the beer mecca it was promised to be, and offered some truly unique and hard-to-find beers.  Although the bar is the sibling of the original The Ginger Man in Houston, TX (named after the 1955 novel The Ginger Man), it felt like pure New York in all the best ways.


The first flight I had included The Ginger Man Ale (their house ale), Chimay Cinq Cents, Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail, and Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew.
  

The Ginger Man Ale- Not reading the sign and only knowing The Ginger Man Ale was "ale brewed with real ginger, I was totally unprepared to the big Belgian yeast funk that met my nose and palette.  A Belgian pale ale by any other name, The Ginger Man was well balanced and it wasn't until the ale began to fade did the ginger bite show up, fresh and surprisingly complimentary to the spiciness of the Belgian yeast.

Chimay Cinq Cents Tripel- Shock number two of the evening... an ale as carbonated and light as the typical Chimay offering with an even bigger farmhouse funk than The Ginger Man.  To over simplify, Chimay + Belgian yeast.  Tasty.

Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail- By taster number three, I was ready for almost anything, but couldn't have been more caught off guard when the first sips of Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail lead with fruit punch with a touch of sourness and slight bittering.  The ale stayed fruity as it lingered, with a dry, astringent grapefruit rind creeping up in the end and eventually taking over.    

Nogne O Sunturnbrew- As if driven to push my concept of what beer should taste like to the limit, the Norwegian Nogne O Sunturnbrew brought big flavors of new tire rubber, roasted ham, and pure funk to the table.  Really... mind blowing (if not particularly enjoyable).  The lingering rubber taste took several minutes to clear from my mouth.

My second flight began with Avery duganA, Southampton Grand Cru, Southern Tier Imperial Mokah,and ended with Dogfish Head Old School Barley Wine.

Avery duganA Double IPA- For a brewery known for great IPAs, Avery hits the mark again with duganA IPA.  Slightly more toasted and bready in the malt profile than their other IPA offerings, there is still a psychedelic amount of pineapple and tropical fruit hops to be found in this ale.  There is a slight mineral/earthy quality at the edge of the hops, interesting but faint enough to not be distracting.

Southampton Grand Cru- Fruity, spicy, and slightly sour, Southampton Grand Cru is an excellent, somewhat funky introduction to the Southampton Publick House offerings.  Spiced, fruity, and a melange of different beer styles coming through with pronounced funky yeast.

Souther Tier Imperial Mokah- This ginormous (it's a word in the dictionary now?) Imperial Stout manages to bring creamy, cafe-style chocolate mocha latte flavor without giving away an heat to suggest its 11% ABV.  Sweets for the sweet tooth.

Dogfish Head Old School Barley Wine- 15% barley wine?!?  Yup, and it's not the first time I've done it...

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp California Common #8

An output of Sierra Nevada's annual Beer Camp, I just picked up two twelve-packs of Sierra Nevada's Best of Beer Camp 2011 Collection (released in the brewery just yesterday).  Because two of the four beers in the pack exceed 8% ABV and I am heading back to the mothership this evening for a Belgium Brewers Beer Dinner this evening (hosted by the head brewers from Lost Abbey, Allagash, Dogfish Head, Avery, and Sierra Nevada), I chose to start the evening with the (relatively lighter) Sierra Nevada Beer Camp California Common #8.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp California Common #8 had a semi-transparent white head fed by mild carbonation from a transparent orange body.  Ale yeast and aromas of biscuits were prominent in the nose and supported by a sweet pine backing.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp California Common #8 had a crisp, clean start that immediately revealed the malt-dominated profile of the ale-lager hybrid, toasty and wheat biscuit-like.  The mouth-feel got a little sticky at the end, and it had the iconic "Sierra Nevada Big Body" that managed to be both full but light on the palette.

Of the few takes on the California Common style I've tried (the most iconic being Anchor Steam Beer), Sierra Nevada has created the best.  It has plenty of character and depth that highlights the hybrid brewing style approach without ever loosing the crispness and distinct flavor that typifies the style.  It does weigh in at 20-30% more alcohol than most California Commons, but drinks like a session beer.