Wednesday, July 25, 2018
From Idaho, With Love - But Also With Mixed Results
There aren't a whole lot of beers from Idaho that one can find in Colorado. Grand Teton Brewing, for one, invaded the state more than a decade ago and has left some tasty marks on liquor-store shelves, even if it's retired too many of its best beers. (Come back, Howling Wolf Weizenbock.)
Now, Payette Brewing - the seven-year-old Boise brewery that was the first in the Gem State to can its craft offerings, has entered the Denver market with a handful of its year-round beers. And while there are things to recommend it, this brewery may have a harder time finding its legs in a state that already is on the verge of being saturated with its own products.
First, the positive: Payette brings a quality lager to a market that is accused of being overflowing with hoppy and challenging beers but lacking in easy summertime drinkers (with some notable exceptions, such as these). A sharp beer, North Fork Lager uses its Bravo and Crystal hops to accentuate its flavor, both on the front end and in the pleasant aftertaste. It's tinged with both sweetness and crispness and is the kind of beer you can drink over and over in a season like this.
Its Aura: Guava & Hibiscus Sour Ale is not the most full-bodied or
most pucker-worthy sour you've ever tasted, and its lightness leaves the flavor less impactful than it should be. But the pleasant fruitiness of the guava is spot on, and the flavor grows on you, becoming slightly pricklier and more notable as it warms.
When it comes to its hoppy offerings, though, Payette will have a hard time standing up to Colorado's homegrown offerings.
Its Recoil India Pale Ale (pictured at top) features more bitterness on its back end than up front, leaving you too much time to ponder an unusually malty base that has a strange tinge of sweetness to it, as well as a surprising bite of alcohol for a 6.5% ABV beer. The body may be smooth, but the effect is one of leaving you confused as to exactly what kind of flavor this beer is looking to impart.
And Payette's Rodeo Citra Pale Ale simply feels lacking in hop bite. You accept that you are getting a sessionable beer (4% ABV) that's not going to rip your tongue apart. But the normally tropical flavor of Citra is lacking here, replaced by a late-breaking piny bitterness that is light even for its description and style.
Payette's website lists a much larger range of beers than the brewery is spotlighting for its entrance to this market, leaving you with the impression that these folks, who expanded into a 60-barrel brewing system in 2016, have a following and a desire to mix things up. But its first offerings in Colorado, which come at a time when several notable breweries are closing and others are struggling, don't feature the kind of originality or ingenuity that is likely to avert in-state drinkers' eyes away from the deluge of options already available to them.
There aren't a whole lot of beers from Idaho that one can find in Colorado. Grand Teton Brewing, for one, invaded the state more than a decade ago and has left some tasty marks on liquor-store shelves, even if it's retired too many of its best beers. (Come back, Howling Wolf Weizenbock.)
Now, Payette Brewing - the seven-year-old Boise brewery that was the first in the Gem State to can its craft offerings, has entered the Denver market with a handful of its year-round beers. And while there are things to recommend it, this brewery may have a harder time finding its legs in a state that already is on the verge of being saturated with its own products.First, the positive: Payette brings a quality lager to a market that is accused of being overflowing with hoppy and challenging beers but lacking in easy summertime drinkers (with some notable exceptions, such as these). A sharp beer, North Fork Lager uses its Bravo and Crystal hops to accentuate its flavor, both on the front end and in the pleasant aftertaste. It's tinged with both sweetness and crispness and is the kind of beer you can drink over and over in a season like this.
Its Aura: Guava & Hibiscus Sour Ale is not the most full-bodied or
most pucker-worthy sour you've ever tasted, and its lightness leaves the flavor less impactful than it should be. But the pleasant fruitiness of the guava is spot on, and the flavor grows on you, becoming slightly pricklier and more notable as it warms.
Its Recoil India Pale Ale (pictured at top) features more bitterness on its back end than up front, leaving you too much time to ponder an unusually malty base that has a strange tinge of sweetness to it, as well as a surprising bite of alcohol for a 6.5% ABV beer. The body may be smooth, but the effect is one of leaving you confused as to exactly what kind of flavor this beer is looking to impart.And Payette's Rodeo Citra Pale Ale simply feels lacking in hop bite. You accept that you are getting a sessionable beer (4% ABV) that's not going to rip your tongue apart. But the normally tropical flavor of Citra is lacking here, replaced by a late-breaking piny bitterness that is light even for its description and style.
Payette's website lists a much larger range of beers than the brewery is spotlighting for its entrance to this market, leaving you with the impression that these folks, who expanded into a 60-barrel brewing system in 2016, have a following and a desire to mix things up. But its first offerings in Colorado, which come at a time when several notable breweries are closing and others are struggling, don't feature the kind of originality or ingenuity that is likely to avert in-state drinkers' eyes away from the deluge of options already available to them.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing, Idaho beers, IPA, lager, Payette Brewing, Session beers, sour ale
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
5 Beers to Drink in the Dead of Winter
February is usually the doldrums of the craft beer year, coming after brewers have kicked the special offerings they made for Vail Big Beers but before the new-found creativity of the summer season begins to hit shelves. But not every brewery believes in taking a winter break.
New experiments and some returning late-winter seasonals that can be found on liquor-store shelves offer a peek at just what can be done with a few new hops or a few bold flavoring additives. And here then are a handful of beers you should grab before Spring comes and sweeps them away.
1) Grand Teton Double Vision Doppelbock
The first release in this Idaho brewery's 2016 Cellar Reserve series is a bold, slightly chocolaty offering reminiscent of a lighter-bodied porter. This is a truly excellent medium-bodied dark beer, laced with a tinge of alcohol taste to remind you how beefy a good German-style beer can be.
2) Ska Bump 'n Grind Coffee Cream Stout
Dark as night and balanced without being a coffee bomb, the cream here doesn't add sweetness as much as it provides a softness to this beer (pictured above). Arguably the most subtle of the Durango brewery's flavored stout series, this is a coffee beer for people who don't want the assaulting-bitterness characteristic of the coffee.
3) Odell Runoff Red IPA
Dry-hopped with a complex malt backbone, this hybrid red/IPA is an appropriate beer for the shoulder season. The maltiness gives the vibrant hops a slightly sweet character to go with the full body that is a constant characteristic of Odell offerings.
4) Crazy Mountain Emotional Rescue Double India Pale Ale
One of Denver's newest breweries (now operating in the old Breckenridge Brewery space on Kalamath Street) has been experimenting with a double IPA recipe for years before recently launching this in four-packs. The research time clearly was worth it, producing a resiny, bitter beer that mellows into a malt-balanced mouthful as it warms.
5) Strange Big Malty Winter Brew
One of the least-hopped beauties of early 2016, this warming, amber-colored malt bomb that's available in bombers hits all the right notes. The earthy malt brings its flavor without getting medicinal, and the beer turns slightly cocoa in your mouth as it warms.
February is usually the doldrums of the craft beer year, coming after brewers have kicked the special offerings they made for Vail Big Beers but before the new-found creativity of the summer season begins to hit shelves. But not every brewery believes in taking a winter break.
New experiments and some returning late-winter seasonals that can be found on liquor-store shelves offer a peek at just what can be done with a few new hops or a few bold flavoring additives. And here then are a handful of beers you should grab before Spring comes and sweeps them away.
1) Grand Teton Double Vision DoppelbockThe first release in this Idaho brewery's 2016 Cellar Reserve series is a bold, slightly chocolaty offering reminiscent of a lighter-bodied porter. This is a truly excellent medium-bodied dark beer, laced with a tinge of alcohol taste to remind you how beefy a good German-style beer can be.
2) Ska Bump 'n Grind Coffee Cream Stout
Dark as night and balanced without being a coffee bomb, the cream here doesn't add sweetness as much as it provides a softness to this beer (pictured above). Arguably the most subtle of the Durango brewery's flavored stout series, this is a coffee beer for people who don't want the assaulting-bitterness characteristic of the coffee.
3) Odell Runoff Red IPA
Dry-hopped with a complex malt backbone, this hybrid red/IPA is an appropriate beer for the shoulder season. The maltiness gives the vibrant hops a slightly sweet character to go with the full body that is a constant characteristic of Odell offerings.
4) Crazy Mountain Emotional Rescue Double India Pale Ale
One of Denver's newest breweries (now operating in the old Breckenridge Brewery space on Kalamath Street) has been experimenting with a double IPA recipe for years before recently launching this in four-packs. The research time clearly was worth it, producing a resiny, bitter beer that mellows into a malt-balanced mouthful as it warms.5) Strange Big Malty Winter Brew
One of the least-hopped beauties of early 2016, this warming, amber-colored malt bomb that's available in bombers hits all the right notes. The earthy malt brings its flavor without getting medicinal, and the beer turns slightly cocoa in your mouth as it warms.
Labels: Crazy Mountain Brewing Company, Grand Teton Brewing, Odell Brewing, Ska Brewing, stouts, Strange Craft Beer, Winter seasonals
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Chilling with Some Grand Old Friends
Everyone has those breweries that seem never to miss the mark, that always hit the right spot on your palate - but that, for some reason, just don't crop up in your drinking rotation as often as they should.
For me, no brewery fits that description more than Grand Teton Brewing of Idaho, which I've long considered one of the quiet gems in America. And so, last night I decided to catch up with that old friend, trying the latest beer in its cellar reserve series as well as a slightly older member of that series that I had let age for a little while.
The new kid on the block is Splash Down Belgian-Style Golden Ale, a 7.5% ABV classic recipe made with European Noble hops and Belgian Abbey yeast. Pouring a deep golden color, it has a surprisingly dry finish.
This seasonal, which launched in mid-May, has just a hint - maybe more of a whiff - of sweetness, but what strikes you about it is the readily apparent alcohol you get on the backtaste. It's a solid offering but one of the more unspectacular members of the reserve series, and it can best be called a big summer beer more appropriate for nighttime porch drinking than daytime patio drink-while-you-sweat gatherings.
Rummaging around in the beer fridge, I also found a 2013 Double Vision Doppelbock, a reintroduction of a previously successful 2009 release that I noted then for its huge caramel profile. Well, give it a year after its release to rest, and that profile changes.
Both sweet and dark, with a touch of molasses settling on the back of your tongue, the aged version presents a roasted, slightly chocolate character as its warms. It becomes a very, very tasty gem, one whose flavor profile is made all the more appealing by the fact that it comes with a medium body rather than a heavier body that could have made this overwhelming.
Ah, good old friends of the beer world. We should all make time to call on them more often.
For me, no brewery fits that description more than Grand Teton Brewing of Idaho, which I've long considered one of the quiet gems in America. And so, last night I decided to catch up with that old friend, trying the latest beer in its cellar reserve series as well as a slightly older member of that series that I had let age for a little while.
The new kid on the block is Splash Down Belgian-Style Golden Ale, a 7.5% ABV classic recipe made with European Noble hops and Belgian Abbey yeast. Pouring a deep golden color, it has a surprisingly dry finish.This seasonal, which launched in mid-May, has just a hint - maybe more of a whiff - of sweetness, but what strikes you about it is the readily apparent alcohol you get on the backtaste. It's a solid offering but one of the more unspectacular members of the reserve series, and it can best be called a big summer beer more appropriate for nighttime porch drinking than daytime patio drink-while-you-sweat gatherings.
Rummaging around in the beer fridge, I also found a 2013 Double Vision Doppelbock, a reintroduction of a previously successful 2009 release that I noted then for its huge caramel profile. Well, give it a year after its release to rest, and that profile changes.Both sweet and dark, with a touch of molasses settling on the back of your tongue, the aged version presents a roasted, slightly chocolate character as its warms. It becomes a very, very tasty gem, one whose flavor profile is made all the more appealing by the fact that it comes with a medium body rather than a heavier body that could have made this overwhelming.
Ah, good old friends of the beer world. We should all make time to call on them more often.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Five Things I Learned from Vail Big Beers 2014
Sam Calagione set the tone appropriately in declaring at Thursday's dinner that kicked off the 2014 Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival that the event was "one of the top 10 beer festivals ... in the country." The next three days proved that, if anything, the Dogfish Head Brewery founder undersold it.
This was the year the Fearless Tasting Crew went big, splurging for a fantastic eating experience and gobbling up pretty much every seminar possible. And around every corner seemed a beer, a pairing, a bit of knowledge that opened more eyes.
The full spectrum of the lessons - and what they reveal about the current craft beer scene - will be played out here in the coming weeks over numerous columns. But it is worth saluting organizers Laura and Bill Lodge and noting a handful of things that stood out with all the subtlety of a Crooked Stave barrel-aged sour (which was on hand and wonderful).
1) Great Divide can still bring it
In a festival where one struggled to identify even a single disappointing beer (zero pour-outs in 3-1/2 hours of tasting for this guy), nothing stood out quite like Great Divide's Barrel Aged Grand Cru Cuvee. Aged in a single Syrah barrel, this creation screamed out all the joys of the festival - experimental, giant (12% ABV), tart (though not too much so) and stunningly balanced and drinkable.
Sometimes at the best festivals, people run to find the newest, hippest tastes - and those, mind you, are great. But 20 years into its life, this Denver legend still produces eye-opening surprises - enough to outdo even all the new kids on the block.
2) Sour is the new triple IPA
Sours have become more common, more clever and mixed with more ingredients in recent years. But now they appear to be going in the same direction that hop bombs went several years ago - more extreme. The difference is, these results might speak better for the genre than the envelope-pushing hop races did.
Big Beers presented sours that were pleasantly pucker-worthy (Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Casee Solera-aged American Sour Ale) and brimming with fruit that accented the wild yeast perfectly (Grand Teton Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour). But if that wasn't enough, you could find an intriguingly good smoked sour (Paradox Skully Barrel No. 7) and a tart beer made with local ingredients (AC Golden Gooseberry Colorambic). Amp it up and push the envelope away; it only seems to be getting better.
3) The art of pumpkin beers is not dead
Less than three months ago, I lamented that every pumpkin beer of 2013 seemed to be over-spiced or under-flavored. Then I found at Big Beers that I was just trying the wrong ones.
Fate Brewing's Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Pumpkin Ale had all the complexity that its name implied, but the smoke was light enough to be unobtrusive and the pumpkin was pure baked sweetness. Meanwhile, Wiley Roots Brewing's Apumpalyptic Imperial Ale was filled with non-biting spices and alcoholic warmth, just begging to be enjoyed in greater quantities than it should be.
4) Any Fort Collins tour without a stop in Loveland is wasted
Those who haven't visited Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in the past year are missing a significantly evolved beer maker that has moved beyond its traditional German roots to incorporate new styles. At the Vail Cascade, it broke out a complex Devil's Riddle again and supplemented that with a lightly soured Once Upon A Time American wild ale and a Grandfather Grim foreign export stout that was dark like a cookie.
But Verboten Brewing, also of Loveland, showed up every bit as big, especially with a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mountain Man that had a vanilla underbelly softening the bourbon kick in a way that made it approachable. And Loveland Aleworks didn't slack a bit with an Imperial Stout that was as dark and rich as its 12.5% ABV denoted but surprisingly easy-bodied and pleasant.
5) For the 2015 festival, go big. You won't regret it.
Even at $108 per person, the Tasting Crew walked away from the Avery/Dogfish Head dinner convinced it was a bargain. The chefs at Atwater on Gore Creek crafted five courses of incredible offerings (beef sushi and Gingersnap-crusted venison, to name two) and not only paired them in a spot-on fashion but did so with beers - especially from Avery - that ranged from hard to impossible to find. (The return of the very limited Thensaurum, aged 18 months to tart perfection in rum barrels, may have been the biggest highlight.)
Beyond that, though, the chance to meander around not just for one day but for the weekend allowed good time to learn about nuances, whether it was at Friday night's winter seasonals session with four brewers or at a beer-cigar pairing where non-presenting breweries (I'm looking at you, Epic Brewing) brought their own stashes to share with crowd. And after a weekend of walking through so many treasures, one could treat Saturday not like a rush around the bigger and more spacious tasting area (pictured a few paragraphs above) but a chance to catch up again with brewers and enjoy the scene calmly.
Sam Calagione set the tone appropriately in declaring at Thursday's dinner that kicked off the 2014 Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival that the event was "one of the top 10 beer festivals ... in the country." The next three days proved that, if anything, the Dogfish Head Brewery founder undersold it.
This was the year the Fearless Tasting Crew went big, splurging for a fantastic eating experience and gobbling up pretty much every seminar possible. And around every corner seemed a beer, a pairing, a bit of knowledge that opened more eyes.
The full spectrum of the lessons - and what they reveal about the current craft beer scene - will be played out here in the coming weeks over numerous columns. But it is worth saluting organizers Laura and Bill Lodge and noting a handful of things that stood out with all the subtlety of a Crooked Stave barrel-aged sour (which was on hand and wonderful).
1) Great Divide can still bring it
In a festival where one struggled to identify even a single disappointing beer (zero pour-outs in 3-1/2 hours of tasting for this guy), nothing stood out quite like Great Divide's Barrel Aged Grand Cru Cuvee. Aged in a single Syrah barrel, this creation screamed out all the joys of the festival - experimental, giant (12% ABV), tart (though not too much so) and stunningly balanced and drinkable.
Sometimes at the best festivals, people run to find the newest, hippest tastes - and those, mind you, are great. But 20 years into its life, this Denver legend still produces eye-opening surprises - enough to outdo even all the new kids on the block.
2) Sour is the new triple IPA
Sours have become more common, more clever and mixed with more ingredients in recent years. But now they appear to be going in the same direction that hop bombs went several years ago - more extreme. The difference is, these results might speak better for the genre than the envelope-pushing hop races did.
Big Beers presented sours that were pleasantly pucker-worthy (Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Casee Solera-aged American Sour Ale) and brimming with fruit that accented the wild yeast perfectly (Grand Teton Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour). But if that wasn't enough, you could find an intriguingly good smoked sour (Paradox Skully Barrel No. 7) and a tart beer made with local ingredients (AC Golden Gooseberry Colorambic). Amp it up and push the envelope away; it only seems to be getting better.
3) The art of pumpkin beers is not dead
Less than three months ago, I lamented that every pumpkin beer of 2013 seemed to be over-spiced or under-flavored. Then I found at Big Beers that I was just trying the wrong ones.
Fate Brewing's Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Pumpkin Ale had all the complexity that its name implied, but the smoke was light enough to be unobtrusive and the pumpkin was pure baked sweetness. Meanwhile, Wiley Roots Brewing's Apumpalyptic Imperial Ale was filled with non-biting spices and alcoholic warmth, just begging to be enjoyed in greater quantities than it should be.4) Any Fort Collins tour without a stop in Loveland is wasted
Those who haven't visited Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in the past year are missing a significantly evolved beer maker that has moved beyond its traditional German roots to incorporate new styles. At the Vail Cascade, it broke out a complex Devil's Riddle again and supplemented that with a lightly soured Once Upon A Time American wild ale and a Grandfather Grim foreign export stout that was dark like a cookie.
But Verboten Brewing, also of Loveland, showed up every bit as big, especially with a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mountain Man that had a vanilla underbelly softening the bourbon kick in a way that made it approachable. And Loveland Aleworks didn't slack a bit with an Imperial Stout that was as dark and rich as its 12.5% ABV denoted but surprisingly easy-bodied and pleasant.
5) For the 2015 festival, go big. You won't regret it.
Even at $108 per person, the Tasting Crew walked away from the Avery/Dogfish Head dinner convinced it was a bargain. The chefs at Atwater on Gore Creek crafted five courses of incredible offerings (beef sushi and Gingersnap-crusted venison, to name two) and not only paired them in a spot-on fashion but did so with beers - especially from Avery - that ranged from hard to impossible to find. (The return of the very limited Thensaurum, aged 18 months to tart perfection in rum barrels, may have been the biggest highlight.)
Beyond that, though, the chance to meander around not just for one day but for the weekend allowed good time to learn about nuances, whether it was at Friday night's winter seasonals session with four brewers or at a beer-cigar pairing where non-presenting breweries (I'm looking at you, Epic Brewing) brought their own stashes to share with crowd. And after a weekend of walking through so many treasures, one could treat Saturday not like a rush around the bigger and more spacious tasting area (pictured a few paragraphs above) but a chance to catch up again with brewers and enjoy the scene calmly.
Labels: AC Golden, Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Cambridge Brewing, Fate Brewing, Grand Teton Brewing, Great Divide, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland Aleworks, Paradox Brewing, Verboten Brewing, Wiley Roots Brewing
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
One Last Callout: Best Beers of Summer 2012
With rumors flying that the Denver area could see a light dusting of snow this week, it's time to declare this seemingly endless summer finally over. But before that happens, it's worth reflecting on some of the finest gifts that breweries gave to beer drinkers in what was an unusually tasty season that more often is known for light, forgettable offerings.
So, while most of this six-pack of special beers are off shelves or taps by now, let this serve as a call for these breweries to bring them back again - in summer 2013 or, preferably, even sooner.
* Black Swan by Twisted Pine
A big beer in most every sense of the word, this sixth offering in the Boulder brewery's 2012 Artisan Ale series combined the tastes of peat moss and licorice, mellowing into a slightly sweet ester with an alcoholic kick. It was a black saison complex enough to make you think about what was going on in your mouth as you reach for sip after sip.
* Saison du Buff - a Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory collaboration
Employing parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme as key ingredients in a beer sounds like a gimmick - right until the inital earthy spices, combined with the citrus body of a classic saison, leave an unforgettable original taste. This was first released in 2010 before coming back for a limited run this summer; here's hoping it becomes an annual seasonal.
* India Pale Lager by Great Divide
The so-called "IPL" is another gimmick that a smattering of breweries have tried in limited runs, often at summer beer festivals. But the hop masters at Great Divide seems to have hit just the perfect balance on it, producing a sweet and grassy beer whose body takes on the thickness of its flavors while still remaining shockingly refreshing for summer crowds. This year it was available only in the tap room. Next year, please bottle it.
* Kaffir Lime Wheat by Denver Beer Co.
You know that Charlie Berger and Patrick Crawford realize they've hit on something good when the Denver Beer co-conspirators actually decide to put a beer in seasonal rotation rather than make it a one-off. The Kaffir Lime Wheat had the tart, powdery quality of a well-made sour, but the citrus was held in check enough to make this widely appealing. Even Fearless Tasting Crew members who tend to eschew fruity wheat beers gobbled this up.
* Snarling Badger Berliner Weisse by Grand Teton Brewing
With the growing popularity of berliner weisses, there appear to be two camps on how to make the German sour - low-alcohol and light or bold and big. Grand Teton's Cellar-Reserve series take on the style was loaded full of both the banana and clove typical to its hefeweizen yeast and the sharp mouthfeel of the Lactobacillus of the secondary fermentation. And it was bold and big. It may, in fact, be the new flag-bearer for the style.
* Trade Winds Tripel by The Bruery
One of the greatest things about the too-soon-departed District Tavern restaurant in LoDo was its offering of this spectacular seasonal on tap. It's likely the Orange County brewery will offer this Belgian golden ale spiced with Thai Basil in the future. Let's hope more Denver bars will be willing to serve it up.
With rumors flying that the Denver area could see a light dusting of snow this week, it's time to declare this seemingly endless summer finally over. But before that happens, it's worth reflecting on some of the finest gifts that breweries gave to beer drinkers in what was an unusually tasty season that more often is known for light, forgettable offerings.
So, while most of this six-pack of special beers are off shelves or taps by now, let this serve as a call for these breweries to bring them back again - in summer 2013 or, preferably, even sooner.
A big beer in most every sense of the word, this sixth offering in the Boulder brewery's 2012 Artisan Ale series combined the tastes of peat moss and licorice, mellowing into a slightly sweet ester with an alcoholic kick. It was a black saison complex enough to make you think about what was going on in your mouth as you reach for sip after sip.
* Saison du Buff - a Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory collaboration
Employing parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme as key ingredients in a beer sounds like a gimmick - right until the inital earthy spices, combined with the citrus body of a classic saison, leave an unforgettable original taste. This was first released in 2010 before coming back for a limited run this summer; here's hoping it becomes an annual seasonal.
* India Pale Lager by Great Divide
The so-called "IPL" is another gimmick that a smattering of breweries have tried in limited runs, often at summer beer festivals. But the hop masters at Great Divide seems to have hit just the perfect balance on it, producing a sweet and grassy beer whose body takes on the thickness of its flavors while still remaining shockingly refreshing for summer crowds. This year it was available only in the tap room. Next year, please bottle it.
* Kaffir Lime Wheat by Denver Beer Co.
You know that Charlie Berger and Patrick Crawford realize they've hit on something good when the Denver Beer co-conspirators actually decide to put a beer in seasonal rotation rather than make it a one-off. The Kaffir Lime Wheat had the tart, powdery quality of a well-made sour, but the citrus was held in check enough to make this widely appealing. Even Fearless Tasting Crew members who tend to eschew fruity wheat beers gobbled this up.
* Snarling Badger Berliner Weisse by Grand Teton Brewing
With the growing popularity of berliner weisses, there appear to be two camps on how to make the German sour - low-alcohol and light or bold and big. Grand Teton's Cellar-Reserve series take on the style was loaded full of both the banana and clove typical to its hefeweizen yeast and the sharp mouthfeel of the Lactobacillus of the secondary fermentation. And it was bold and big. It may, in fact, be the new flag-bearer for the style.
* Trade Winds Tripel by The Bruery
One of the greatest things about the too-soon-departed District Tavern restaurant in LoDo was its offering of this spectacular seasonal on tap. It's likely the Orange County brewery will offer this Belgian golden ale spiced with Thai Basil in the future. Let's hope more Denver bars will be willing to serve it up.
Labels: Denver Beer Co, Dogfish Head, Grand Teton Brewing, Great Divide, Stone Brewing, Summer beers, The Bruery, Twisted Pine Brewing, Victory Brewing
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Holiday Beer Week, Part Three: A Belgian Christmas No one knows quite how to do the holiday season quite like the Belgians, do they? A cold country that's used to serving complex, warm beers, saving up what they have for one big month. Americans shouldn't even compete, right?
With the kinds of lush offerings that Belgium offers, that was once a rational mindset. But this year, at least one U.S. brewery produced an extraordinary Belgian-style offering. And so, it seemed worth a little comparison shopping to test its merit.
The American beer of note is Grand Teton Brewing's Comi
ng Home 2011 Holiday Ale. A medium-bodied but thick-tasting golden ale reeking of cotton candy and orange, it is one of the most accessible and yet enjoyable European-style holiday offerings to come out of a U.S. brewery in recent memory. It has a soft feel, and its 9% ABV weight warms you considerably. And it is infinitely drinkable.
ng Home 2011 Holiday Ale. A medium-bodied but thick-tasting golden ale reeking of cotton candy and orange, it is one of the most accessible and yet enjoyable European-style holiday offerings to come out of a U.S. brewery in recent memory. It has a soft feel, and its 9% ABV weight warms you considerably. And it is infinitely drinkable.Paired against two notable Belgian holiday offerings, it stands the test.
Affligem's Noel Christmas Ale (pictured above) went over less well with the Fearless Tasting Crew. An amber-brown offering that sits somewhere between a Belgian double and triple, it presents a licorice-heavy front taste that sweetens with warming but still leaves an anise presence in your mouth after it's gone. It's interesting and, in some ways more simplistic than the multi-layered Coming Home, but it doesn't make you refreshed and warmed in quite the same way.
St. B
ernardus Christmas Ale, a Belgian abbey ale with a sweet, rich amber body was far more enticing. With candied sugar and tastes of dark fruit such as plum and blackberry, it almost seemed to be made for a holiday associated with sugar-plum ferries dancing in your head. The mouthfeel is not overwhelming, but it carries a deep, burgeoning richness.
ernardus Christmas Ale, a Belgian abbey ale with a sweet, rich amber body was far more enticing. With candied sugar and tastes of dark fruit such as plum and blackberry, it almost seemed to be made for a holiday associated with sugar-plum ferries dancing in your head. The mouthfeel is not overwhelming, but it carries a deep, burgeoning richness.Still, Grand Teton's effort just struck one note more original, more pleasing, more for a holiday celebration. And both the Idaho-based brewery and American beer drinkers should rejoice in that.
Labels: Affligem, Grand Teton Brewing, Holiday beers, St. Bernardus
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Grand Teton's Dueling Tastes of SummerMost breweries that delve into regular seasonals can be relied on to produce a summer ale that is lighter bodied, maybe splashed with a hint of citrus. And if they dare to come out with a second hot-weather beer, it's usually something in the wheat family.
And then there's Grand Teton Brewing Co., the Victor, Idaho-based rising star that's decided summer is appropriate for two very different tastes. One is the lighter, sweeter taste of a white beer ... albeit, a Belgian double white. And one, of course, is a double IPA, since nothing says "beat the heat" quite like a hop-gutsy 8 percent ABV concoction.
The big boy, released April 1 and available through September, is the Lost Continent Double IPA, a 2009 debut that is back by popular demand. Only this year's version is a little different, with a half pound of "dry hops" added to the three pounds of hops per barrel in kettle and a revised fermentation program aimed at producing a more traditional double IPA flavor.What comes from those changes is a medium body with a big, bold taste, one that lets you feel citrus zest and chewy flower root in every sip without the stickiness that sometimes is present in this style. And while Lost Continent may be lacking some of the bitterness of other double IPAs - a positive attribute for the new version - it does fall into that classical taste now, something golden enough to be drunk all year long and bold enough to be noticed.
The Tail Waggin' Double White Ale, the summer release in Grand Teton's cellar reserve series, is an animal of a different nature, however. This one provides a little more bark than bite, and the opinions of the Fearless Tasting Crew were decidedly mixed during a tasting at a Memorial Day get-together.This new creation adds zing by mixing lemongrass flavors in with the traditional orange peel and coriander overtones, leaving your taste buds scrambling a little more to try to figure out what it rolling over them. It is light-bodied with a late-breaking sweet backtaste, leaving it decidedly refreshing in the warm weather without ever being confused with the beer your grandparents drank in the summer.
But the hints of lemongrass and orange peel remain just hints of taste in this one, far enough off that you can imagine what just a little more of either could have done to lift the flavor profile of this beer. In the end, Tail Waggin' is a decent beer, but not the kind of mind-blowing flavor bomb that past Cellar Reserve series entrants such as the Pursuit of Hoppiness American Red Ale and Sheep Eater Scotch Ale have been.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The 12 Beers of Christmas: Day 6Black Cauldron Imperial Stout
Note: I'm a fan of holiday ales, and I want to use this forum this year to lay out 12 beers that just seem essential for holiday party drinking. Plus, I want to actually see if I can sit down and write for 12 days in a row, a feat I've never pulled off on this blog.
In the cold, cold days of winter, nothing seems so warming as a thick, dark, full beer. And though it is a new entry this year, Grand Teton Brewing's Black Cauldron Imperial Stout jumps to the front of the pack as one of the most frost-killing, more-appropriate-for-spooning-out-than-sipping versions of a winter seasonal that has come along in quite some time.
Both smoky and sweet, this blaringly thick concoction features beechwood-smoked malt and raisins and dried fruit soaked in cherry. The smoke mellows as it warms, but the thick body stays, building up in fortitude.
This is a wonderfully complex, rich beer that you drink just one of in any given sitting. But the appreciation of its craftsmanship grows with each mouth-filling taste, and you're left both savoring it long after you've finished and pondering what taste buds each swish over the tongue will enliven as you slowly work your way through it.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing, Holiday beers
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
New Brews: Grand Teton GoodnessBe honest, you had the same reaction as me the first time you tried Grand Teton Brewing's Bitch Creek ESB about 10 years ago. Good beer that you'd drink on any occasion, but when you shoot the moon with a name like that, you're just never going to reach expectations.
I liked the beer and the brewery, but I never put it in the hallowed class of the top American beer czars. Then came the Cellar Reserve series six years ago, and the complexity of Grand Teton's efforts advanced. Now, after the most recent releases from the collection, I'm beginning to rethink my initial impression and starting to wonder exactly how many breweries have as diverse and daring a collection of specialties as this Victor, Idaho-based beermaker.
Take, for example, the Howling Wolf Weizenbock, the latest Cellar Reserve series member, released about a month-and-a-half ago to what I now would argue was shockingly little fan fare. Dark, spicy, tangy and evolving with every sip, this is the most interesting summer release in recent memory.Sporting the fizzy tan hue of a double IPA, this 8% ABV bock, cellared for more than three months, hits you with very sharp and spicy wheat tones before overwhelming the mouth with a date-and-green-apple feel. Its stout caramel fruit taste (trust me, the combo works on the taste buds) mellows slightly into a clove-and-raisin combo upon warming then sweetens at the end into an almost syrup-like taste with the heavy feel of that product.
Crafted with 40 percent wheat malt, Howling Wolf is meant to emphasize the wheat aspect of the old German purity laws. But you will find in it an envelope-pushing done by few beers claiming they are classic wheats, and I promise you that you will want to try one before this seasonal rotates off shelves.
Howling Wolf is so impressive, in fact, that it overshadows the impressive Lost Continent Double IPA, a former Cellar Reserve creation released as a new seasonal beer in May.
Lost Continent, sold in four-packs, smells like a wet patch of sod and bites like the dog that lays on it, and after a few uber-hoppy sips, you begin to feel the spice on the back of your tongue. The burn dissipates, however, and is replaced by a smooth but heavy hop presence whose warmed flavor is revved by a biting bitterness.
An excellent beer at all temperature levels, Lost Continent sports a kind of roasted, slightly peppery feel that is unique among its double IPA brethren. And while it doesn't make you reconfigure your thoughts on the style like the Howling Wolf, it's not something to scoff at either.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing
Thursday, February 12, 2009
New Release: Grand Teton Double Vision DoppelbockIt's always been a great mystery to me that the chocolate bocks and doppelbocks of the world are actually lagers. These are, after all, thick black malt extravaganzas that seem to have nothing in common with the fizzy yellow liquids that also qualify in that category. Yes, I understand that they go through the same cold-fermenting, longer-aging process, but the outcome is as different from an American light lager as a bunny slope is from a double black diamond.
Putting this existential dilemma aside, however, one can find in Grand Teton's new Cellar Reserve beer one of the boldest examples of the doppelbock clan. At more than 8% ABV, Double Vision surely could produce a condition that lives up to its name, but that would mean you'd have to down a couple of these in one sitting, and that won't be easy.
Brewed with a quintet of malts that leave this with a deep brown color, the beer smacks you immediately with an overwhelming malt sweetness that, combined with its thickness, gives this quite a heft of body. As the beer warms, its burnt caramel flavor emerges, and it leaves a slight hint of vanilla on the backtaste.
Idaho-based Grand Teton is dedicating its four-beer reserve series this year to the Reinheitsgebot - the 1516 Bavarian beer purity law - and each of the beers will be brewed to commemorate one of its four permitted beer ingredients: malt, hops, yeast and water. Double Vision highlights the water growing near the brewery, though I promise you that "water" is the last word that will come to mind as you chew through this bold bock.
The Double Vision will be available, beginning Sunday, in 33-ounce bottles that allow for a secondary fermentation. Take one home and put some time aside for this one - it's thick, hearty and an all-nighter by itself.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Bitch is Back and Bigger than Ever
You have to appreciate the entrepreneur who can create a catchy beer with a catchy name, two ways to shout from out of the great beer cornucopia to grab the attention of prospective beer drinkers. Though American brown ale has never been my favorite style in the world, I've always believed that Grand Teton Brewing has pulled off that double-double with Bitch Creek ESB.
"XX Bitch Creek Double ESB" isn't quite as simple and catchy a name. But if a rose is still a rose by any other name, as that Billy guy said, then let's call this exactly what it is: An extremely powerful and impressive beer.
Part of the Idaho company's Cellar Reserve series, this dark and jolting concoction is everything that the name suggests. Twice the malt and twice the hops of what has become the brewery's flagship beer, it is a bitch on your taste buds . . . in a good way, of course.
What impressed me about this was the enormous hops taste that pervaded its darkness. To me, it's less a double brown than an English-style pale with some real American cajones, but the complexity is exceptional all the same.
Maybe I'm a sucker for beers with melted wax lids or for limited releases that just amp up everything you know about the original beer. And yet at 7.5 percent ABV, this is a beer you could enjoy two of in one night, remember it and be feeling the lingering hop backtaste for hours afterward.
Available in 11 western and Midwestern states - plus New York, for good measure - this is one of only two seasonal releases that has really caught my eye so far. (See my last scribblings for my thoughts on Left Hand's Snowbound Ale as well). But when I find something like this, I've got to shout about it. And in this case, the name even lets me swear a little.
You have to appreciate the entrepreneur who can create a catchy beer with a catchy name, two ways to shout from out of the great beer cornucopia to grab the attention of prospective beer drinkers. Though American brown ale has never been my favorite style in the world, I've always believed that Grand Teton Brewing has pulled off that double-double with Bitch Creek ESB.
"XX Bitch Creek Double ESB" isn't quite as simple and catchy a name. But if a rose is still a rose by any other name, as that Billy guy said, then let's call this exactly what it is: An extremely powerful and impressive beer.
Part of the Idaho company's Cellar Reserve series, this dark and jolting concoction is everything that the name suggests. Twice the malt and twice the hops of what has become the brewery's flagship beer, it is a bitch on your taste buds . . . in a good way, of course.
What impressed me about this was the enormous hops taste that pervaded its darkness. To me, it's less a double brown than an English-style pale with some real American cajones, but the complexity is exceptional all the same.
Maybe I'm a sucker for beers with melted wax lids or for limited releases that just amp up everything you know about the original beer. And yet at 7.5 percent ABV, this is a beer you could enjoy two of in one night, remember it and be feeling the lingering hop backtaste for hours afterward.
Available in 11 western and Midwestern states - plus New York, for good measure - this is one of only two seasonal releases that has really caught my eye so far. (See my last scribblings for my thoughts on Left Hand's Snowbound Ale as well). But when I find something like this, I've got to shout about it. And in this case, the name even lets me swear a little.
Labels: Grand Teton Brewing
