Thursday, November 23, 2017
The Not-So-Subtle Joy of Drinking Imperial Stouts
Wandering through the third floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building last month during Denver Rare Beer Tasting was the equivalent of being trapped in a black hole. Everything being poured was heavy and dense, and no light could shine through any glass.
The biggest difference was, however, that this was an experience you enjoyed so much that you could even begin to pick up subtleties in the booth after booth of the 16- to 19-percent-ABV beers in which you were imbibing. And through that, you could see how far the craft beer industry has come in the past 10 years.
It's not that imperial stouts weren't tasty circa 2007. But those that pushed 10 or 11 percent ABV at the time tended to be beers whose alcohol content was readily apparent. A big beer often brought with it a big, boozy taste. And there was a limit to how many of those you could drink.
Today, however, you can find a beer like Avery Brewing's Black Eye, a 3-year-old rum-barrel-aged imperial stout that grew to 18.8 percent ABV by the time it hit drinkers' glasses last month. Its body was bursting with depth and darkness, but it also was shockingly smooth, using its enormous malt base to cover any residual alcohol burn. It not only was a great beer; it was damn near dangerous.
At just that one event, however, you could also find River North Brewery's 18 percent Vicennial Shadowman, which presented a huge mouthful of almost sooty dark malt that was shockingly drinkable. There was WeldWerks' Medianoche Reserve, which weighed in at 13.5 percent but added an astounding smoothness to its underlying cocoa punch. And even a beer like New Holland Brewing's "Dragon's Milk: Michigan's Winter" added a little burn to its 16 percent body, but not enough to overshadow a bittersweet coffee palate that made you want more.
It isn't just at specialty beer festivals that you find these big-bodied gems, either. Taprooms across the state are featuring experimental and seasonal creations of substantial girth right now, much in the way that virtually every taproom is trying its hand at a New England-style IPA.
So, you can actively seek out a hammer of a beer like Verboten Brewing's Little Nonsense, which packs heavy flavors of both bourbon and vanilla from its barrel aging and manages to be every bit as tasty as it is aggressive.
Or you can find a hidden treasure like Goldspot Brewing's Black Whiskey River Imperial Stout. At 10.5 percent, it's almost a light beer compared to some in this group, and its body isn't as pelting with heaviness as others. But after sitting 5-1/2 months in a Laws Whiskey House barrel, it takes on a lot of warming whiskey flavor but still allows the rough-hewn, slightly mocha edge of the body to take center stage.
And let's not forget, the incomparable Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival - scheduled for Jan. 4-6 in Breckenridge - will be another showcase for the creativity in the imperial stout world.
The joy in drinking these beers is both complex and simple. The flavor profiles they raise bring up tastes ranging from sweetness to heat to bitterness, and picking them out of the big, meaty body is both challenging and satisfying. Yet there is a simplicity in enjoying the idea of a brewer tossing everything they have into one recipe, rolling the dice and letting the experiment end in a boozy, warming toast to their gutsy resolve.
While co-hosting American Craft Beer Radio a couple of weeks ago, I asked Wynkoop head brewer John Sims if I was crazy to think these beers were getting smoother and easier to drink even as they are getting bigger - while we were enjoying his Captain K's Final Daze, an imperial honey brown that offered both depth and a sweetness that was anything but cloying.
He told me that I was not nuts and that brewing techniques have evolved so much in the 24 years he's been in the industry that the methods for making and aging beers have taken off some of their alcoholic roughness while accenting the malts and the occasional additives even more.
To that, I say cheers. And as the nights turn colder, I plan to raise more pints (or smaller servings) of imperial stouts that will intoxicate me as much with their taste as they will with their alcohol content.
Wandering through the third floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building last month during Denver Rare Beer Tasting was the equivalent of being trapped in a black hole. Everything being poured was heavy and dense, and no light could shine through any glass.
The biggest difference was, however, that this was an experience you enjoyed so much that you could even begin to pick up subtleties in the booth after booth of the 16- to 19-percent-ABV beers in which you were imbibing. And through that, you could see how far the craft beer industry has come in the past 10 years.
It's not that imperial stouts weren't tasty circa 2007. But those that pushed 10 or 11 percent ABV at the time tended to be beers whose alcohol content was readily apparent. A big beer often brought with it a big, boozy taste. And there was a limit to how many of those you could drink.
Today, however, you can find a beer like Avery Brewing's Black Eye, a 3-year-old rum-barrel-aged imperial stout that grew to 18.8 percent ABV by the time it hit drinkers' glasses last month. Its body was bursting with depth and darkness, but it also was shockingly smooth, using its enormous malt base to cover any residual alcohol burn. It not only was a great beer; it was damn near dangerous.
At just that one event, however, you could also find River North Brewery's 18 percent Vicennial Shadowman, which presented a huge mouthful of almost sooty dark malt that was shockingly drinkable. There was WeldWerks' Medianoche Reserve, which weighed in at 13.5 percent but added an astounding smoothness to its underlying cocoa punch. And even a beer like New Holland Brewing's "Dragon's Milk: Michigan's Winter" added a little burn to its 16 percent body, but not enough to overshadow a bittersweet coffee palate that made you want more.
It isn't just at specialty beer festivals that you find these big-bodied gems, either. Taprooms across the state are featuring experimental and seasonal creations of substantial girth right now, much in the way that virtually every taproom is trying its hand at a New England-style IPA.
So, you can actively seek out a hammer of a beer like Verboten Brewing's Little Nonsense, which packs heavy flavors of both bourbon and vanilla from its barrel aging and manages to be every bit as tasty as it is aggressive.
Or you can find a hidden treasure like Goldspot Brewing's Black Whiskey River Imperial Stout. At 10.5 percent, it's almost a light beer compared to some in this group, and its body isn't as pelting with heaviness as others. But after sitting 5-1/2 months in a Laws Whiskey House barrel, it takes on a lot of warming whiskey flavor but still allows the rough-hewn, slightly mocha edge of the body to take center stage.
And let's not forget, the incomparable Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival - scheduled for Jan. 4-6 in Breckenridge - will be another showcase for the creativity in the imperial stout world.
The joy in drinking these beers is both complex and simple. The flavor profiles they raise bring up tastes ranging from sweetness to heat to bitterness, and picking them out of the big, meaty body is both challenging and satisfying. Yet there is a simplicity in enjoying the idea of a brewer tossing everything they have into one recipe, rolling the dice and letting the experiment end in a boozy, warming toast to their gutsy resolve.
While co-hosting American Craft Beer Radio a couple of weeks ago, I asked Wynkoop head brewer John Sims if I was crazy to think these beers were getting smoother and easier to drink even as they are getting bigger - while we were enjoying his Captain K's Final Daze, an imperial honey brown that offered both depth and a sweetness that was anything but cloying.
He told me that I was not nuts and that brewing techniques have evolved so much in the 24 years he's been in the industry that the methods for making and aging beers have taken off some of their alcoholic roughness while accenting the malts and the occasional additives even more.
To that, I say cheers. And as the nights turn colder, I plan to raise more pints (or smaller servings) of imperial stouts that will intoxicate me as much with their taste as they will with their alcohol content.
Labels: American Craft Beer Radio, Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Goldspot Brewing, imperial stouts, New Holland Brewing, River North Brewery, Verboten Brewing, Weldwerks Brewing, Wynkoop Brewery
Monday, October 09, 2017
Best of Great American Beer Festival 2017
The phrase "best Great American Beer Festival ever" is so trite that it could rightfully stop people from listening to the rest of the conversation. But this year, it just might have been true.
Over three days at the Colorado Convention Center and six days at events around town, the beer poured was so daring, so unique, so full of life that it elicited smiles and compliments around every corner, even from the harshest beer critics. From audacious fruit sours with boundary-bending flavors to juicy hop bombs to the bevy of 18% ABV barrel-aged imperial stouts that went down like cocoa at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, brewers upped the bar on almost every style.
Choosing beers to highlight from both the convention floor and outside events then is difficult - not because there's not enough to make this list but because there's too many that are being left off. But once again, here is one blogger's thoughts on the best creations at the best beer festival in the world.
Best in Show: Speciation Artisan Ales Rhubarb Vanilla Incipient
Former Black Project brewer Mitch Ermatinger put together a tart, intriguing and yet smooth wild yeast golden sour made with rhubarb and Mexican vanilla beans that was the closest thing to a perfect combination of unusual tastes at a festival full of them. And if that wasn't enough, he also was pouring a Tequila-barrel-aged Incipient with blood orange, guava, limes and salt that was the closest thing you'll taste to a beer version of a margarita.
Best Outside the GABF: Ozark Beer Co. Onyx Bourbon Double Cream Stout
Arkansas isn't known for being a brewing mecca. But one sip of this 10.2% stout with flavors of big coffee and fluid cream will make you rethink your visions of the state, as well as of how easy it can be to drink a beer like this.
Best Hop Bomb: Great Notion Brewing Juice Jr.
Even at just 6% ABV, this New England IPA towered over competitors in taste, imbued with Mosaic hops that offered overtones of citrus and melon, all in an incredibly smooth body. Not far behind was Melvin Brewing 2x4, a double IPA so steeped in flowery citrus (yes, that's possible) that you're halfway through the glass before you realize how quickly you've been imbibing this.
Best Dark Treat: Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
Everything was here: Sweet chocolate, smooth milk, a slight alcoholic bite but one that was far less than you could have expected. Bring on February, as Stout Month at the Denver/Boulder restaurant has never seemed so exciting.
Best Sour Not Made with Rhubarb: Bruery Terreux Oude Tart with Raspberries
In a world where the newest brewery and newest taste sometimes steals the show, this beer demonstrated why a known entity making twists on its classic offering - in this, case, adding raspberries to its Flemish red ale in the final stages of barrel aging to create a simultaneously tart and refreshing beverage - should never be ignored.
Best Lager: Lone Tree Brewing Mexican Lager
Things like simplicity and crispness with just enough of a slightly sweet malt backbone to give a beer heft often are overlooked at a festival of wild and crazy standouts. The gold medal this south Denver brewer won for this subtly brilliant creation (seen at right) shows it should not be forgotten.
Beer That Shouldn't Have Worked But Did: Wiley Roots Brewing Cinna(man)bun
This was a cinnamon vanilla sour. Think about it for a second. Then run up to Greeley to get a shockingly blended barrel-aged golden sour that used the cinnamon to zingy rather than clashing effect, and taste great craftsmanship.
Beers That Everyone Talked About: Weldwerks Medianoche/Medianoche Reserve
One of the simplest tastes from this complex Colorado brewery is its imperial stout, which received a deserved gold medal for presenting a dark, smooth body with notes of chocolate that seemed far too easy to drink. But when it aged said creation for 17 months in bourbon barrels with toasted coconut, vanilla beans and cacao nibs, as it did for Denver Rare Beer Tasting, it became unforgettable.
Beer That Everyone Wondered About: Haw River Farmhouse Ales Sazerac
This North Carolina brewery offered a rye Belgian tripel that tasted eerily similar to the cocktail after which it was named due to the addition of fennel, allspice, star anise and lemon peels to the rye whiskey barrels in which it aged. The common reaction at Rare Beer Tasting: "That was fascinating, though I probably don't need a second." And to clarify, that's a compliment to its creativity.
The phrase "best Great American Beer Festival ever" is so trite that it could rightfully stop people from listening to the rest of the conversation. But this year, it just might have been true.
Over three days at the Colorado Convention Center and six days at events around town, the beer poured was so daring, so unique, so full of life that it elicited smiles and compliments around every corner, even from the harshest beer critics. From audacious fruit sours with boundary-bending flavors to juicy hop bombs to the bevy of 18% ABV barrel-aged imperial stouts that went down like cocoa at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, brewers upped the bar on almost every style.
Choosing beers to highlight from both the convention floor and outside events then is difficult - not because there's not enough to make this list but because there's too many that are being left off. But once again, here is one blogger's thoughts on the best creations at the best beer festival in the world.
Best in Show: Speciation Artisan Ales Rhubarb Vanilla Incipient
Former Black Project brewer Mitch Ermatinger put together a tart, intriguing and yet smooth wild yeast golden sour made with rhubarb and Mexican vanilla beans that was the closest thing to a perfect combination of unusual tastes at a festival full of them. And if that wasn't enough, he also was pouring a Tequila-barrel-aged Incipient with blood orange, guava, limes and salt that was the closest thing you'll taste to a beer version of a margarita.
Best Outside the GABF: Ozark Beer Co. Onyx Bourbon Double Cream Stout
Arkansas isn't known for being a brewing mecca. But one sip of this 10.2% stout with flavors of big coffee and fluid cream will make you rethink your visions of the state, as well as of how easy it can be to drink a beer like this.
Even at just 6% ABV, this New England IPA towered over competitors in taste, imbued with Mosaic hops that offered overtones of citrus and melon, all in an incredibly smooth body. Not far behind was Melvin Brewing 2x4, a double IPA so steeped in flowery citrus (yes, that's possible) that you're halfway through the glass before you realize how quickly you've been imbibing this.
Best Dark Treat: Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
Everything was here: Sweet chocolate, smooth milk, a slight alcoholic bite but one that was far less than you could have expected. Bring on February, as Stout Month at the Denver/Boulder restaurant has never seemed so exciting.
Best Sour Not Made with Rhubarb: Bruery Terreux Oude Tart with Raspberries
In a world where the newest brewery and newest taste sometimes steals the show, this beer demonstrated why a known entity making twists on its classic offering - in this, case, adding raspberries to its Flemish red ale in the final stages of barrel aging to create a simultaneously tart and refreshing beverage - should never be ignored.
Best Lager: Lone Tree Brewing Mexican Lager
Things like simplicity and crispness with just enough of a slightly sweet malt backbone to give a beer heft often are overlooked at a festival of wild and crazy standouts. The gold medal this south Denver brewer won for this subtly brilliant creation (seen at right) shows it should not be forgotten.
Beer That Shouldn't Have Worked But Did: Wiley Roots Brewing Cinna(man)bun
This was a cinnamon vanilla sour. Think about it for a second. Then run up to Greeley to get a shockingly blended barrel-aged golden sour that used the cinnamon to zingy rather than clashing effect, and taste great craftsmanship.
Beers That Everyone Talked About: Weldwerks Medianoche/Medianoche Reserve
One of the simplest tastes from this complex Colorado brewery is its imperial stout, which received a deserved gold medal for presenting a dark, smooth body with notes of chocolate that seemed far too easy to drink. But when it aged said creation for 17 months in bourbon barrels with toasted coconut, vanilla beans and cacao nibs, as it did for Denver Rare Beer Tasting, it became unforgettable.
Beer That Everyone Wondered About: Haw River Farmhouse Ales Sazerac
This North Carolina brewery offered a rye Belgian tripel that tasted eerily similar to the cocktail after which it was named due to the addition of fennel, allspice, star anise and lemon peels to the rye whiskey barrels in which it aged. The common reaction at Rare Beer Tasting: "That was fascinating, though I probably don't need a second." And to clarify, that's a compliment to its creativity.
Labels: Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Great American Beer Festival, Great Notion Brewing, Lone Tree Brewing, Mountain Sun, Ozark Beer Co., Speciation Artisan Ales, The Bruery, Weldwerks Brewing, Wiley Roots Brewing
Saturday, October 08, 2016
The Best Outside Event of GABF Week
Half a mile east of the Colorado Convention Center and the hubbub of the Great American Beer Festival sits the McNichols Civic Center Building, which hosts smaller and typically more staid events. But on Friday afternoon, it was the site of what is arguably the best non-GABF event of GABF week, and it was for three hours the center of the beer universe.
Denver Rare Beer Tasting, now in its eighth year, is at its heart a plea for better health. Founded by beer enthusiast and cancer survivor Rick Lyke, it is the largest annual fund-raiser for his charity Pints for Prostates, which has brought in $1.3 million over the past eight years to raise awareness about prostate cancer and to offer free testing both at the event and outside the convention center this week.
But while Lyke can brag of how much the event has helped those who come by - more than 10 percent of men getting the testing have elevated prostate-specific antigen levels that require them to see the doctor for treatment - he realizes free testing alone won't garner so much attention. So, he uses the help of 54 acclaimed breweries, with another 40 still on the waiting list, that donate and pour some of their rarest, most complex and often barrel-aged creations to lend a hand.
Strolling through the event is like looking into the minds of the best beer makers in the country. Funky Buddha's Aged Chocwork Orange - an imperial milk porter given six months on Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels then infused with cocoa nibs and orange peel - was like biting into the fanciest chocolate you've ever tried and letting it swirl around your mouth.
The sours flowed as if they were water. Two Roads' 2015 Kriek, aged 18 months in oak barrels, delivered a phenomenally sharp cherry bite without being acidic. Russian River's Intinction - its STS Pils aged nine months in sauvignon blanc barrels with sauv-blanc grape juice added - was intriguing and easy on the palate. And it was being poured publicly for just the second time.
And if you just wanted to see how brewers could take a traditional flavor and turn it on its head, Holy City Brewing's Schmetterling, a smoked marzen aged 10 months in whisky barrels, was example number one. Both sweet and smoky, it broke all style guidelines and took you on an adventure.
Getting tickets to Denver Rare Beer Tasting isn't easy - they're $115 and sold out a full three months ago. But Lyke said that he knows of people who fly out to Denver for GABF week and attend this rather than any of the festival sessions. And after seeing the offerings the tasting has and understanding the impact the event can have on people's lives, it's not that hard to see why.
Half a mile east of the Colorado Convention Center and the hubbub of the Great American Beer Festival sits the McNichols Civic Center Building, which hosts smaller and typically more staid events. But on Friday afternoon, it was the site of what is arguably the best non-GABF event of GABF week, and it was for three hours the center of the beer universe.
Denver Rare Beer Tasting, now in its eighth year, is at its heart a plea for better health. Founded by beer enthusiast and cancer survivor Rick Lyke, it is the largest annual fund-raiser for his charity Pints for Prostates, which has brought in $1.3 million over the past eight years to raise awareness about prostate cancer and to offer free testing both at the event and outside the convention center this week.
But while Lyke can brag of how much the event has helped those who come by - more than 10 percent of men getting the testing have elevated prostate-specific antigen levels that require them to see the doctor for treatment - he realizes free testing alone won't garner so much attention. So, he uses the help of 54 acclaimed breweries, with another 40 still on the waiting list, that donate and pour some of their rarest, most complex and often barrel-aged creations to lend a hand.
Strolling through the event is like looking into the minds of the best beer makers in the country. Funky Buddha's Aged Chocwork Orange - an imperial milk porter given six months on Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels then infused with cocoa nibs and orange peel - was like biting into the fanciest chocolate you've ever tried and letting it swirl around your mouth.
The sours flowed as if they were water. Two Roads' 2015 Kriek, aged 18 months in oak barrels, delivered a phenomenally sharp cherry bite without being acidic. Russian River's Intinction - its STS Pils aged nine months in sauvignon blanc barrels with sauv-blanc grape juice added - was intriguing and easy on the palate. And it was being poured publicly for just the second time.
And if you just wanted to see how brewers could take a traditional flavor and turn it on its head, Holy City Brewing's Schmetterling, a smoked marzen aged 10 months in whisky barrels, was example number one. Both sweet and smoky, it broke all style guidelines and took you on an adventure.
Getting tickets to Denver Rare Beer Tasting isn't easy - they're $115 and sold out a full three months ago. But Lyke said that he knows of people who fly out to Denver for GABF week and attend this rather than any of the festival sessions. And after seeing the offerings the tasting has and understanding the impact the event can have on people's lives, it's not that hard to see why.
Labels: Barrel aging, Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Funky Buddha Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Holy City Brewing, Russian River, Two Roads Brewing
