Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest - A Whole Lotta Beer!

The Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest was a great event. There were tons of brews, actually over 100 breweries and over 400 beers! Out of all of them, the best one as voted for by fans was Dangerous Man Brewing Company out of Nordeast Mpls. Good job Dangerous Man! They seem to be winning a lot of awards lately, and having had a lot of their beers it makes total sense. Unfortunately, as often happens at this large of an event, I never got to their booth. But, I did have a lot of other great beers. So, let’s get to it!

(Crowd Around Dangerous Man)

Let’s start with one of my favorite breweries, Bent Brewstillery. Last year at this event was where Bent made its debut and gave Dark Fatha to the world. This year Bent brought Dark Fatha that had been aged in rye whiskey barrels. WOW! This beer was awesome! Dark Fatha is a very smooth approachable beer. Barrel aging this beer added depth to it while maintaining the smoothness. There was no boozy bite like lots of barrel aged imperial stouts. But, if you want a bit of a bite they had ghost peppers that you could toss into your glass to spice things up. Bent Brewstillery is doing awesome things. It has been fun to watch them grow and to have seen how their beer has evolved from the beginning till now. Expect more greatness to come from these guys!



(Bent Brewstillery Pourin' The Good Stuff!)

Next up we have one of the newest breweries on the block, Tin Whiskers BrewingCompany. This brewery just recently opened in St. Paul, so I wanted to see what they are doing. I tried the Wheatstone Bridge. This beer is an American style wheat beer made with chamomile and honey. It has an almost chai tea flavor to it. It has ginger and floral notes along with a nice sweetness. It is a refreshing beer with an awesome original flavor. Although I am not sure I could sit down and drink a whole 6 pack of it, it shows how creative brewers can be with beer and makes me think we are going to see some awesome creations from Tin Whiskers going forward.

(Third Street Out Back)

ThirdStreet Brewhouse never fails to bring something tasty to these parties and they didn’t let us down at this fest with Hunny Do. This beer is a wheat beer with honey dew melon. The smell of this beer had a nice melony scent along with a hint of a cinnamon toast crunch, although only the melon flavor stuck around when the beer hits your tongue. It’s crisp, refreshing, and fruity. Thanks for never letting us down, Third Street!

Now let’s hit a couple “unbeers”. First up is Angry Orchard. They brought a hard cider with elderflower. We tried this purely because earlier we were talking with our Norwegian friend about elderflower. And then, BAM, an elderflower cider.... It was meant to be! This cider was sweet, slightly floral, fruity, and light. It was a good drinkable cider and was a great departure from a typical “just apple” hard cider. I know this is a beer blog, but Angry Orchard deserved a little cred for this one for sure!

(Great Music At The Beer Fest)

Our last beer of the day is a shout out to Vicky who writes our blog series Confessions of a Sober Cab; Lift Bridge Brewing Company’s Root Beer. Vicky said it was sweet but not overly sweet nor bitey and was a good mellow root beer. Thanks for bringing something hand crafted for our sober cab, Lift Bridge!  

(Three Marks Means Trouble!)

All in all I had a great time at the Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest. There was more beer than I could ever imagine, the rain stopped right before pulling into the parking lot, and the crowd was fun and festive. Chop Liver knows how to throw a great beer party!

(My Crew And I Havin' Fun!)

Acclivity, the REAL Champagne of Beers!

I am a sucker for sour beers. The acidity, the tartness, the sour... I know they aren’t for everyone, but they sure are for me! So, a group of friends and I headed to Ward 6 for the release of Bent Brewstillery’s new sour beer, Acclivity.

Sours may not show you exactly what beer SHOULD be, but they do show you what beer CAN be. Because of this it made perfect sense for Bent Brewstillery to make a sour. The folks at Bent don’t seem to feel the need to stick to what the “rulebook” says beer should be. Instead they tend to do their own thing to create really good approachable original beers. They did their own thing again with Acclivity, and the results are awesome!

Acclivity is a Rosé Berliner Weisse. It has a pinkish hue to it, which can probably be attributed to the use of beets in this beer. It has a great sour citrus fruit taste along with a great acidity from the Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus used. This beer is very effervescent. It’s not a normal beer type of carbonation, rather much more bubbly. This, along with the use of Gewurztraminer must, gives Acclivity a great almost champagney taste and feel. Absent was the overly funkiness of some sours, which for this beer just increased the drinkability.

We tried Acclivity on its own and with Ward 6’s house made rhubarb and triple berry syrups. It was a nice touch by Ward 6 to make some fruit syrups to allow customers the choice to drink Acclivity in a fairly traditional Berliner Weisse manner. All were very tasty, but in my opinion straight up on its own was the best way to drink this beer.

In short, Acclivity is great! It is very refreshing, crisp, drinkable, and approachable. If you haven’t had a sour yet, start here. If you love sours you should give this one a try. And if you don’t like sours because the ones you tried were all funky, give sours one last try with the REAL champagne of beers, Acclivity!



www.bentbrewstillery.com
www.ward6stpaul.com
www.beerploma.com

Beerploma Craft Beer Tour: Cigar City, Miami Brewing, and more from Florida

I love getting to travel to work.  Well let me clarify.  I miss my family and friends...but I get a hotel room all to myself, get to meet new people, get to see new things and try new foods, and most of all I get a free trip to try new beers.

My recent trip to Miami, FL was no exception.  I got to go with a great crew, who were very adventurous about craft beers.  And of course I went on the hunt for the Legendary Brewery:  Cigar City!

Our first beer on the list was from the Florida Beer Co. Florida Lage:

The thick white foamy head topped the light reddish color of this beer.  It had a piney aroma.  The taste was low on malt flavors and high on the piney saaz hops.  It was a very solid beer that reminded me of many German pilsners, especially Jever.  Over all it was a good solid beer.  On my scale of 1-3 stars I gave this * (Good). 

Next up on our list is OPB's Orange Blossom Pils:

I have heard a lot of good things about this beer, even reading it in many of my Beer Suggestion books.  I had to give the beer a try.  Like the Florida Lager it had a very clean piney aroma.  It was almost identical in color to it as well.  The taste is what sets these two beers apart.  This one had low hops in the in the flavor, slight sweetness.  I picked up a little bit of the honey, but I kind of would have liked more.  Overall another solid brew earning a rating of *(Good)

Next on our list are two beers from Miami Brewing:  Vice IPA and Gator Tail Brown Ale

Vice IPA:  This dark reddish IPA started with a thick foamy white head.  It had a really thick caramel aroma.  It had a medium mouthfeel and left a piney/citrus after taste.  The malty caramel came on strong through out the tasting.  This is very much done in the British Styles of IPAs.  It was a solid hit and perfect for sitting pool side on a hot spring day.  It scored a *1/2 (Very Good) rating.

Gator Tail Brown Ale:  This was the sleeper hit of all the beers I tasted on this trip.  It pours thick and foamy with a tan head.  It had a medium mouth feel.  It was light on carbonation.  It had a really robust sweet coffee aroma.  It was the heaviest beer I drank, but still light enough for the Florida weather!  Great coffee flavor, and a very well rounded beer.  Fans of porters would enjoy this!  It scored **1/2 (Excellent).

And last but not least we have two beers from the legendary Cigar City:  Florida Cracker Belgian, and Hotter then Helles Lager.

Hotter then Helles Lager:  This brewery lives up to the hype!  This hazy gold elixir had a soft fruity apple aroma.  It carried over into the flavor.  Light biscuit notes from the malts.  I have been to Germany many times, and this would go right up their with the best of the German Helles, easily.  Rating is **1/2 (Excellent)

Florida Cracker:  This hazy straw gold brew poured light with a thick foamy head.  It had a great spicy aroma., most notably a coriander scent.  Very well carbonated, light mouth feel.  It had a spicy taste with a hint of cloves.  This beer is enough to make you forget that Blue Moon even exists.  Quite possibly the best Belgian Wheat beer I have ever had.  Rating:  ***(Awesome)

I am looking forward to getting down there again to partake in even more of these really awesome beers!  Until next time keep those beer mugs full!  PROST!

A Rare Evening After All - The Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest in Review

 

Many people have a desire for rarity, an affinity for anything that is unusual or hard to find. No matter your interests or hobbies I can assure you that among them exists something rare, an item or experience that is desirable to those who love their passion. Even within our shared passion of beer, rarity exists and is worthy of pursuit. Luckily it was within reach of Minnesotans on March 29^th at the Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest.

The 2014 Rare Beer Fest, presented by Chop Liver Craft Beer Festivals, was held at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. At $100 a ticket ($20 for a sober cab) the event may seem pricey, but believe me it’s worth every penny for a true beer lover who is seeking out unusual and hard to find beers. In order to showcase their product at the event brewers must make sure that their beer fits the conditions of a ‘rare offering’. This includes beers that were brewed specifically for the event, limited in their availability, or at least a 2012 vintage. For 3 hours ticket holders had access to some of the rarest beers from across the country available to them for unlimited sampling. Thirty breweries (10 of which were from Minnesota!) presented at least 2 beers, with many breweries showcasing 4-5 brews. Included in the ticket price was food provided by Bon Appetit, and excellent food at that. We were also treated to live music during the event by The Zacc Harris Trio, which only lent to the indulgent feeling of the night.

I was also interested to learn that a portion of ticket sales went to Pints for Prostates. Started in 2008 by Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor, the campaign seeks to raise awareness among men of the dangers of prostate cancer and how screenings and early detection can save lives. I do love beer, but when my beer is partnered with a charity event or cause, my love of said beer and event does increase exponentially. Pints for Prostates had staff on hand to discuss their cause, as well as a silent auction with all proceeds going to the group. I invite you to check out this great cause yourself at http://pintsforprostates.org.

I know you’re wondering about the stars of the evening though, the beers themselves. Admittedly, I sampled many, and was quite grateful to my own sober cab for driving me home in the evening. (Thanks again Mark!)  Andy and I were lucky enough to volunteer pouring beer with Brau Brothers for the night, and we owe them a huge thank you for letting us see what happens on the other side of the keg for the evening. We were able to see how hard each brewery works, not only making the beers we’d be sampling, but setting up a great experience. So much work goes into staffing and setting up a booth for these events, and while an incredibly fun experience, it is hard work! I truly loved getting to meet so many people and explain each offering to them, chatting about their evening, and the love of beer that we all share. And while you might not realize it, pouring the perfect glass from a tap is a talent all in its own. As a former bartender, Andy had experience in this, and didn’t laugh at me too much when my first couple pours were a little larger and foamier than they should have been.

Andy pours an excellent beer, especially compared to me.

Since we started the night behind the Brau booth I’m going to start the beer reviews with the Brau booth. And while it might seem biased, I can honestly tell you that the beers they brought were excellent and among my favorites for the evening. Admittedly, they were offering two of my favorite styles of beer, a porter and a sour. Their Rubus Black, a strong porter coming in at 9% ABV, left a malty chocolate taste on my palette, but it was the added blackberry that hit the forefront and really made me take notice of the complexities of this beer. The chocolate notes and blackberry played off each other proving that there is a reason why chocolate and berries work so well together. Using the blackberry though was a nice touch, as it’s an often over looked berry (in my opinion) in the beer world. I’d love to see this on the shelves someday. (Hint!)

The second offering from Brau Brothers was their Bancreagie Sour 26, with the addition of raspberries. With an ABV at 11.5 this sour packed a delicious punch. I love sour beers, and while I understand they are not for everyone, I hope that everyone in attendance had the chance and openness to try this sour. Expertly executed, this sour was not only sour of course, but it also had a tartness that it owed to the raspberries. The tasting booklet mentions that this was brewed smokier and heavier, and aged 8 months. All of these aspects definitely came across in the tasting. I could drink this all evening long, a feat for any sour beer lover like myself. Well done Brau Brothers, well done. (braubeer.com)

Since we didn’t have all night, we had to be choosy with our beer decisions. Likewise, without filling pages covering every tasting, I have to be choosy with what beers I review. And if we’re really being honest, with an event like the Rare Beer Fest there really isn’t any that really miss their mark. Yes, they might not be in a style that serves everyone, but for their target audience they work. There were certain beers though that were not only amazing, but memorable. It’s those beers, the ones I’m still thinking of months later as I write this (hey…it’s been busy at the day job) that I’m choosing to review.

The evening view from the Minnesota History Center

I’m going to start with a familiar name in Minnesota, a name that is lauded in some circles and viewed in others as over hyped. Every circle though will agree that Surly Brewing Company has been an important brewery in recent history of craft beer in the state. I am among those that like Surly, but I’m not always on friendly terms with their price point. All the more reason to indulge myself when at the Rare Beer Fest! Even more reason when I saw their offerings for the evening. I knew what I wanted when I saw it, Barrel Aged Sÿx, 2012 vintage. Gold in color, fruity on the tongue, it tasted like fall.  There was a woodsy warm feeling to the beer, the kind of feel and flavor that’s perfect to sip on a cool night around a bonfire. With 15% ABV, it’s definitely a slow, sipping beer, but one you’d be happy sipping on for the night. (surlybrewing.com)

I’m picking another Minnesota brewery for my next beer, going with one from my home county. As a Washington County farm girl, Lift Bridge Brewing is a beer after my own heart. Every time I’m anywhere near Stillwater I stop in for a Silhouette, so of course I stopped by the Lift Bridge table for a 2014 Barrel Aged Silhouette. I love this Russian Imperial style stout beer and wanted to see how barrel aging it would change its flavor and feel. Barrel aging the beer not only seemed to me to make it a darker, deeper hued beer, but fuller as well. Flavors of roasted coffee beans brought an indulgent richness to the beer that great stouts aim to have. The Barrel Aged Silhouette was a rare beer indeed. (liftbridgebrewery.com)

I decided to head out of state and hit up San Diego, CA brewers Green Flash Brewing Company. I enjoy their Le Freak and wanted to give the Super Freak a chance. We get Super Freak when Le Freak is aged in red wine barrels for 12-16 months.  The freaky result is a slightly tart, oaky vanilla flavor, with red wine tannins biting at the edge of your palette. Super Freak is super good, and I wanted to drink it straight from the red wine barrels it was aged in. Now that would truly be super freaky. (greenflashbrew.com)

Finally I can’t finish without mentioning the Jalapeño Cream Ale from Wasatch Brewing Company from Park City, UT. I was intrigued by the idea of a beer brewed with 130 pounds of fresh jalapeños, and I was not disappointed. The spice from the peppers did bring heat to my palette, but not a burning or overwhelming heat. It was the perfect type of heat – smooth and mellow – the kind of heat that leaves you wanting more of the beer, not a glass of milk. The best part though was the fresh feel and flavor of the pepper that carried into the beer. This cream ale tasted green, fresh off the vine from a summer garden. I do wish I had a six pack of this in my fridge as it would be the perfect with any dinner with a little heat to it. (wasatchbeers.com)

Fellow MN rare beer lovers at the Brau Brothers booth

We headed back to the Brau Brothers booth for a shift serving our fellow beer lovers at the end of the night, and I can honestly say it was as much fun for me to pour beer as it was to drink it! So, would I go again and spend the money on this event? My answer is a solid yes. The Rare Beer Fest isn’t just a festival of beer. It’s a festival that focuses on the chances brewers take experimenting with new ingredients, the science of how aging a beer changes its flavor and feel, and most importantly an event that connects beer lovers and brewers over what we consider rare. If you truly like hunting for a rare beer to drink, this is the event to find what you’re searching for. I encourage you to go – you won’t regret it. (rarebeerfest.com)

 

Rise of the Beer Baron Pt 5: A Homebrewer Is You!

It's been a while since I blogged about the beginnings of my love for craft beer.  So when we last left off I had just gotten my first homebrew kit.

 







This was my introduction to how beer was made.  Even with the first batch I learned A LOT about the mechanics of brewing.  Here is a quick list of lessons that I learned:

1. Brewing the beer is easy, it's the pre-cleaning, post-cleaning, and bottling is hard.
2. You will learn to clean EVERYTHING.
3. Repeat step 2 in case you missed it.
4. No really, read step 2 again, it's important.
5. Having and empty plastic jug on hand for water is a nice to have
6. Don't even bother with the plastic bottles that comes with the kits.  Move right into glass
7. If you start with Mr. Beer and love it, you will quickly want to invest in a more mature kit
8. You will want to watch your beer every day, note, I didn't say need to.  You will just want to to make sure it is okay.
9. In the end, you're entire job is to make yeast cells happy.

In the end I was very happy with my first beer.  It was a style I had never had at this point (a Vienna style ale), well carbonated, and wasn't too bad.  But I know I could do better.  I quickly moved to the next step kit from Midwest Homebrew Supplies.

I did a lot of beers with honey during this phase.  I even got creative with a batch of beer, using my Mr. Beer kit to experiment.  Here is the recipe that I used:

2 Cans of Stickey Wicket Stout (from Mr. Beer)

2 Packets of Brewers Yeast

1 pouch of booster

14 oz of coconut in the fermentor

3oz. of chai tea per 22oz bottle during bottling.

Yeah.  I know it sounds a little strange, but it was one of the best beers I ever brewed.  Not enough beers utilize coconut....

So now the fire was lit.  I was beginning to understand the basics of brewing, beer styles, and proper beer handling.  It was time to see how the big boys play, it was time to start meeting the great brewers of Minnesota!

Road Trippin' to the Twin Ports Brewfest

(Twin Ports Brewfest in Action)

Last month, My friend Chris and I made the ridiculously icy trek from Saint Paul to Duluth for the Twin Ports Brewfest at the Black Bear Casino. It was cold and the roads sucked, but once we got there and the beer started flowing we had a blast!

One thing that struck me was the fairly small brewery turn out. I have been to a lot of beer events and this one had the least amount of breweries. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty. And actually I am not sure this was a bad thing.

The smaller amount of breweries, while it limited variety a little bit, made it possible to actually hit every booth to sample every brewery. With most events having 30-70 breweries, this is impossible. Sometimes that leads to missing out on some pretty good beers. This time I was able to hit every booth and sample a beer from every brewery there.... although I didn’t hit up the wineries and of course skipped the Coors Light booth and the booth that had the Hard Mike’s and Hard Teas. What were those last two even doing there?!?!

It was nice to be out of town and trying some local breweries I haven’t tried before. Different area, different local breweries, right? One that stuck out, and actually was my favorite of the day, was Thirsty Pagan out of Superior, WI. They had one of only a few “special beers”, a sour! I love sours, and this one was good. Tart, a tiny bit funky, and not covered up with fruit. I like fruit sours, but I love a sour that can just stand on it’s own. This was my favorite of the event.

 

(Thirsty Pagan)

Chris’ favorite was the Apricot Wheat by Fitgers. Chris is somewhat new to the craft beer scene. It’s awesome when someone somewhat new to craft beer finds a beer that they say they could drink all day. This beer was a little malty, kind of fruity from the apricot, and really smooth. I swear he hit up that Fitgers stand so many times he was probably close to being on a first name basis with them by the end of the day!

 

(Fitgers)

There was a bit of a downer during the concert portion of the event. There was a small break where they got rid of all the brewery booths for the concert. The Dropkick Murphy’s totally rocked the house! But when we decided we wanted a beer, all they had for sale were a few national brands.

 

(Dropkick Murphys Rockin' Out)

It was the casino that was handling the beer and alcohol sales at this point. But seriously, this was a craft beer event! You have a huge room full of craft beer drinkers! After spending the day drinking awesome craft beers all you can offer me is a Bud or a Miller Lite? Ugh! We had mixed drinks instead.

 

(Crap Beer... C'mon Man!)

All in all this was a pretty fun event. A couple small tweaks and maybe another couple breweries and this event will be top notch. I’m always up for a road trip, so I am sure I will be back!

http://thirstypaganbrewing.com/
http://fitgersbrewhouse.com/
www.twinportsbrewfest.com
 

Confessions of a Sober Cab

You’ve got your phone, wallet, and I.D. – everything needed for a great night out drinking beer. Whether it’s at a taproom, beer event, or bar, you’re set to have an awesome night out with friends, new and old. Hopefully you’ve also thought about your way home for the night (or early morning as it usually happens in my situation). Of course I’m talking about a sober cab!

Sober cabs, or designated drivers, serve an important role in every drinking situation. The main goal of a sober cab is of course to get everyone home safe and free of shackles. Believe me, nothing kills a good craft beer buzz faster than seeing red and blue lights in the rearview mirror. If that doesn’t sober you up, spending a night with a stranger in a cell will clear your head right up. Did you know that those things don’t have any privacy? None at all! Have you ever had to use a toilet in front of what is essentially a room full of strangers? I guess it would be the quickest way to break down any barriers between you and your new roommate. Nothing says “Hey roomie, nice to meet you!” more efficiently than taking care of business in front of your new friend. Although it’s best to get that hurdle out of the way since you’re probably sharing the scratchiest blanket on Earth for the rest of the night. Hmmm….are you a little spoon or a big spoon?

But I digress. We’re all adults here and know the importance of sober cabs and the consequences of drunk driving. The purpose of this series – Confessions of a Sober Cab – isn’t to preach to you or reprimand anyone for their actions. I’m neither your mom nor Officer Friendly. Instead I want to help you enjoy your nights (days?) out and encourage you to be the best sober cab or peanut gallery member that you can be. And let’s not forget the fun parts that come along with the end of the night. Some of my best nights out haven’t ended at the bar. They’ve ended in laughter in a cab ride home, or with the occasional house after party. Just because you’re heading home for the night doesn’t mean your night is over. Unless of course you’re the peanut snoring in the back seat. Then it’s probably best that your night end soon with a soft blanket and private toilet facility.

In this series I’ll share my tales from the driver’s seat and the peanut gallery with you. This friends, is where the confessions come in. I love a good story and am happy to share my hijinks with you. We’ll look at the unspoken rules sober cabs and peanut gallery members should abide by. We’ll also look at options for sober cabs and ways to get safely home. And while I may touch on serious points at times, I intend to get down to the funny side of drinking life and expose what happens when the lights go off downtown.  So hop in. My name is Vicky and I’ll be your driver. See you soon!