beer

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

Many of the rare beers I offer are not only on the strong side, but can often come in larger bottles as well. A 22 oz bomber isn’t a great feat when tackling a 5-6% Pale Ale or IPA, but 750 mL wine-bottle size beers clocking in at 10-15% ABV or higher take some doing. I get asked all the time: “How does someone drink all of that?” Well, the answer is most of the time, we don’t.

Bottle shares are a time-honored tradition among beer geeks, where a group gets together and opens rare/high-ABV beer that we might not want to take on alone. It’s a great excuse to get together with friends and an opportunity to try some beers you may never had heard of, or hadn’t tried in a long time. Recently I had a couple friends over for a night of bottle sharing and UFC — here are some of the highlights of our evening:

Olde Hickory The Event Horizon: I’d heard the name Olde Hickory here and there but I’d never had the chance to try anything from the North Carolina brewery. An Imperial Stout released once per year, The Event Horizon is aged in several types of bourbon barrels before being blended. The Event Horizon tasted more chocolaty than anything else—rich, dark chocolate dominated the brew. Not what I expected, but very, very good.

DC Brau/Ska Taster’s Choice: I picked this one up in the city a while back, and had wanted to try it. This was a one-off made by DC Brau with Colorado’s Ska Brewing Company and legendary ska group The Pietasters. A Doppelbock brewed with coffee beans, I was surprised Taster’s Choice wasn’t maltier, but thoroughly enjoyed it. The brighter-than-expected malts and roasty coffee played very well together.

Hair Of The Dog Fred: Portland, Oregon’s Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company is revered worldwide for their artistic, rich, cellar-worthy Ales that place and emphasis on balanced yet unique recipes. It had been years since I’d had a Fred Ale, and this one did not disappoint. The hops are very floral, but the viscous feel of the beer gave this bottle of Fred a subtle mead-like quality. Once upon a time, we could get Hair Of The Dog beers in Virginia; I’d love to see them back here again.

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

July is already here, and the weather here in the D.C. area has settled into the combination of heat and humidity that we’ve all come to know and… well, we’ve just come to know it. There are the ‘songs of the summer’ and blockbuster movies of the summer, but I feel like I’ve just found my beer of the summer.

Blue Mountain Kolsch 151 has just become available in cans, and as much as I’ve enjoyed it in the past, something about the new format just works for me. At 5.0% ABV, Blue Mountain Kolsch may not be a Session beer by definition (though that depends on the definition you subscribe to), but it is clean and refreshing, with subtle fruity notes thanks to its yeast and light hop addition. As is tradition with a Kolsch, Blue Mountain’s has a round mouthfeel reminiscent of a Helles Lager or even a Bock, but remains an Ale. Kolsch 151 is going to be a go-to for cookouts and parties for me this summer and hopefully beyond; if you haven’t had the chance to try it I highly recommend it.

Here are some other beers I’ve been enjoying this summer:

Dogfish Head 61: It’s not a summer Ale, nor at 6.5% is it something I’d advise trying to session, but Dogfish Head’s new year-round beer 61 is great, and I can’t get enough of it. 61 is Dogfish Head’s 60-Minute IPA with the addition of Syrah sourced from wineries out in California. The combination is fantastic, with the earthy character of the hops carrying a dark fruit flavor that isn’t overwhelming or sugary, but is certainly present. When it comes time to talk about our favorite new beers of 2013, I’m going to upset a lot of people with how much I liked 61, but don’t pass it over — give it a try, and you might see why it’s become so popular so quickly.

Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit: This is the most overlooked of Abita’s Harvest Series beers, and it’s one that never seems to be around long enough. I can’t explain why, but this year’s Satsuma is especially nice, with what seems like a greater restraint in the yeast character than before. That restraint makes this year’s Satsuma Wit feel less rich and more dry; factor in the citrus notes and there’s hardly a better beer for a D.C. area summer’s day.

Boulevard 80 Acre: A newer addition to the Kansas City brewery’s line, 80 Acre is a hoppy Wheat Ale that clocks in around 5.5% ABV. The mix of the bright Wheat Ale with focused, floral hops is dead on in 80 Acre, with each element balancing and showcasing the others. How 80 Acre isn’t in more stores and on more draft lists already is beyond me.

What are you all enjoying this summer? Let’s hear about it in the comments. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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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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