Arrowine

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

“Not everything that goes around comes back around, you know…”

That’s a line from the title track of the new Queens Of The Stone Age album, …Like Clockwork, and while beer has absolutely nothing to do with the themes of the album or that song in particular, that line came to mind the other day as I opened a beer from my cellar. That beer was Fort, from Dogfish Head, and it was the last bottle I had, and maybe would ever have of one of my favorite beers to age.

To make a long-ish story short, Dogfish Head revises its brewing schedule every year, discontinuing beers to make room for new ones or rotating occasional rarities in-and-out of the lineup. Even among the Dogfish faithful Fort was never the most popular beer, so there was little surprise when their 2012 schedule showed that Fort had been discontinued.

Still, I was disappointed: yes, Fort was an insane 18%-ABV Belgian-style base beer fermented with a ton — literally one ton — of raspberry puree in every tank. It was true that on release Fort was boozy, obnoxiously fruity and sweet, with a syrupy feel that made it nearly undrinkable. With a year and a half to two years in the cellar, though, I would put Fort up against nearly any beverage on the planet.

When the word went out that Fort was not going to be made anymore I only had one bottle in my cellar, a 2011 that I’d recently purchased. Ever since, I’d thought about opening it at least 3-4 times but couldn’t bring myself to do it know that once I did, that would be it.

Any hobbyist can tell you about the difficulties of coming to the end of something they enjoy — the last book in a series; the last bottle in a case; the last bite of a perfect meal; the pause as the lights go down just before the ending credits roll at a movie. At heart hobbyists are sentimental; you have to be to develop such attachments to what for most are at best interests and at worst distractions. Along with that attachment comes the knowledge that one day, you’ll have to let that wonderful thing go, whatever it is.

After nearly 15 years of chasing down craft beers and wines I’ve gotten pretty good at letting go, but occasionally it is still difficult. My last bottle of Fort was one of those occasions.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

I occasionally find myself becoming fascinated with a brewery. Sometimes, it happens very quickly — I fell in love with the beers of Maine Brewing Company almost immediately. Other times, though, I find a brewery that sneaks up on me as I try more of their offerings and become more familiar with their style. Such was the case with Picobrouwerij Alvinne.

I started bringing in some of the beers of Alvinne last year, and they’ve become staples of my Sour Ale collection at Arrowine. In ten short years, Alvinne has become a worldwide phenomenon with the most modest of facilities — with the average batch of beer at Alvinne being good for only about 65 cases of beer, the ‘Picobrouwerij’ title (“small brewery”) Alvinne self-applies isn’t just a joke — it’s the truth.

How small is Alvinne? This is their website.

Alvinne’s uses wine and spirits barrels along with their distinctive Morpheus yeast, a blend of their own proprietary strain and Lactobacillus cultivated in Auvergne, France. (Side note: Auvergne is home to some of our favorite cheeses at Arrowine, including Bleu d’Auvergne, Fourme d’Ambert, and Cantal.) The Morpheus yeast makes for a Sour Ale that has plenty of acidity but also complex, fruity notes. Here is a rundown of some of the Alvinne beers I’ve been able to try over the past year, most of which are available right now.

Cuvee d’Erpigny: A version of Alvinne’s Quadrupel aged in barrels from Monbazillac, a region of France that produces Sauternes-like sweet white wines. The already sweet, rich Quad is pushed to the brink by the heavy influence of the wine barrel. There’s a lot of interesting fruit and brown sugar notes in Cuvee d’Erpigny, so don’t let its sweetness distract you. Most Quadrupels are very big but approachable on their own or with the right cheeses or meals; Cuvee d’Erpigny is for dessert only.

Cuvee De Mortagne: Another Quad variant, Cuvee De Mortagne is aged not in dessert wine barrels, but barrels from Pomerol, a region within Bordeaux’s right bank. While not as sweet as Cuvee d’Erpigny, Mortagne is sweet, with earthy malts and subtle vinous cherry flavors.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Last week I sat down with some of the Arrowine staff (including Katie, a.k.a. Your Cheesemonger, who has some amazing insights regarding the cutting of your cheese — you guys should ask her to tell you about it) to try out some beer and cheese pairings.

In the name of experimentation, we were slightly haphazard in the selection of cheeses and beers — we were looking to be surprised one way or the other by the results we had. Not that we weren’t looking for beers that would pair well but as you’ll see, a couple selections fell into the “I wonder what would happen if…?” category. First, a quick rundown of the cheeses we had to work with:

La Tur: An old favorite of mine and popular at Arrowine, La Tur is a three-milk (cow, goat, and sheep) soft cheese from Bosia in the Piedmont region of Italy. While its aromatics are a little funky (especially as it warms up), on the palate La Tur is very mild with the tang of the goat’s milk keeping it from feeling too rich.

Manchego Artequeso: Classic Spanish sheep’s milk cheese aged for about nine months. This sharp, dry, mild, relatively young Manchego can make for a tricky pairing subject.

Challerhocker: A popular cheese at Arrowine, Challerhocker is a washed-rind cow’s milk cheese that is semi-firm in texture. I find Challerhocker to be salty with bold, earthy flavors but not so salty that it isn’t a good ‘base’ to play other flavors off of it.

Valdeon: An intense Spanish blue cheese, Valdeon was the one I was looking forward to the most. I’m a big bleu cheese fan, and Valdeon pack a big punch for those who enjoy it like I do. The vein of the Valdeon is hot, with a strong, spicy presence on the palate.

Here are the beers we tried with them, with notes on how they were on their own as well as with the cheeses:

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale: This Saison-style beer from Kansas City is hoppier than a traditional Saison, but manages to be crisp and flavorful without losing its balance. The spicy finish would lead you to think it’d be a great choice for a pairing—and you’d be right. Tank 7 matched with La Tur was the group’s pick for best pairing of the night; with the beer and cheese allowing each other’s best characteristics to shine. It seemed like Tank 7 went well with all of the cheeses — even the Manchego, which proved to be the most difficult cheese of the night.

Leipziger Gose: Gose is a style of Wheat Ale made using coriander and salt. With an alcohol level usually clocking in somewhere in the 4-5% range, think of Gose as a precursor to Belgian Witbier. I thought the citrus character, spiciness, and subtle salinity of Gose would work well with the Manchego, and cut through the richer La Tur and earthy Challerhocker — and boy, was I wrong. Pairing the Manchego with the Gose just brought out the salt in the beer and the intense sharpness of the cheese. The Leipziger played a bit better with the Challerhocker, but in the end this was the one beer that really didn’t go over well with any of the cheese selections. I still love it on its own, however, and think with the right seafood or even a salad with fruit and crumbled goat cheese it would be right at home.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

A few weeks ago, I came down with (for me) a very rare case of the flu. Now that I’ve shaken it off and resumed normal breathing function, I’ve suddenly found myself with a backlog of beers in my refrigerator that I need to try. I know, we should all have such problems, but what struck me was how quickly these beers amassed themselves, and where they were coming from.

I had purchased a handful of limited run beers and new arrivals I wanted to try when I was feeling better (Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger; a pair of Stone Enjoy By 5.17.13 IPA bottles since I’d missed out on the last run) but for the most part the beers populating my fridge were coming from friends who had recently been traveling, and from distributors who wanted me to try new products they were representing in Virginia.

Unlike wine distributors, who come see restaurateurs and retailers every week with wines to sample and (hopefully) sell to them, beer distributors have been notoriously tight when it comes to ‘trying before you buy’. Over my career I’d found the experience of trying to get a sample of a new arrival before buying it for my job to be like pulling teeth. The attitude of beer distributors seemed to be “Look, if you’re not sure about buying this we’ll just sell it to someone else — we don’t need to let you try it”.

The growth of the craft beer business has changed the way things work in a very short period of time. There’s been a lot of chatter about the “wineification” of beer; that beers have become too pricey, or exclusive — but it’s in how distributors are handling new arrivals and competition that I’ve really seen the beer business become more like the wine side. Today there is such an influx of new breweries along with new beers from established stars that distributors who handle craft beer are having to fight for shelf space that was easy to fill even just a few years ago.

For retail and restaurant buyers, this is a very welcome change. I’m lucky enough to have found a love for craft beer in the late 90s, which scarily enough is a long time for someone in my position. I have a good library of tasting notes and experience to draw from when I consider new beer arrivals: meaning that at this point, I have a good feel for a breweries tendencies and often feel comfortable enough bringing in new offerings without feeling a need  to try them out beforehand.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Nick’s Note: Like all of us, I was saddened by the terrible attack in Boston earlier this week. I just wanted to take a moment here in the forum I have to offer my condolences and best wishes to all of the victims, their families, their friends, and loved ones.

Let’s get on with it, then.

The early spring is a great time of year for craft beer fans. The warming weather brings yearly favorites made to refresh and to be shared among friends. There are also some releases in the spring that don’t quite fit in with the expected light Ales, Session beers, and Saisons. One of these is a beer craft fans know to look for as Tax Day approaches — Stone Imperial Russian Stout.

Largely unchanged since its debut in 2000, Imperial Russian Stout (or IRS, because it’s usually released around April 15th) is one of the best examples of the style made in the States. Clocking in at 10.6% ABV and 60 IBU, IRS pours coal black and settles in the glass with a dense, caramel-colored head. The aromas of coffee and cocoa jump out of the glass, with some interesting spicy notes from the yeast strain used to ferment IRS.

On the palate is where IRS sets itself among a sea of bigger, richer, and darker Imperial Stouts. The requisite chocolate, caramel, and coffee flavors that you’d expect in any fuller-bodied Stout are present, but it’s the dark fruit notes of plum and cassis along with hints of anise that make IRS extraordinary. This Imperial Stout also handles its high ABV level differently than most beers of its style. Some Imperial Stouts overwhelm with a rich mouthfeel and lots of heat from their alcohol level, while others strike such a harmonious balance that their palate feel belies the ABV of the beer. Stone takes a different tack with IRS — it has just a touch of alcoholic heat that adds some sharpness to the rich flavor while satisfying the needs of the Big Beer Drinker’s Club.

A newer tradition for Stone is the Odd Year releases. These are versions of their bigger beers with a special ingredient or process applied to them. The Odd Year releases started in 2011 with the Belgo Old Guardian and Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout, which saw Stone’s classic Barleywine and Imperial Stout fermented with a Belgian yeast strain with the IRS having star anise added to the tank.

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