A NIGHT WITH THE HOPS

Holding to the schedule of having all of the Tweetups going forward on the first Wednesday of each month, we are very close to the next one at the Celebration Town Tavern for the month of July.  One week from today, on Wednesday July 7^th starting at (about) 6:00 will be the next event.

The fans and misters will be going strong assuming that the weather will be much like what it has been in recent days.  Then again, maybe there will be a nice afternoon shower to take care of some of that humidity for us.  On top of the temperature comfort provided, it is always my intent here to give some additional incentive to be there.  For those of you who have not yet joined us keep on reading, but for those of you that have been with us in the past, you can just skip down to the list you are looking for!

These are your friends

For the folks attending the Tweetup at 6:00 that evening there will, as always, be some good beer to sample.  The entire Beer Club (with its relatively recent additions) and draft list will be available as usual, but there is yet another special opportunity to sample a few beers not typically on either list at CTT.  With the awesome folks of The Brew Crew continuing to be on board for the occasions, each person coming to this Tweetup will be given a flight of four beers to sample.  After tasting all four, everyone will vote on the beer that they enjoyed the most and more specifically for the beer that they would order on their own if they were to visit again.  The winner of this vote will be added to the draft selection at Celebration Town Tavern for the month.

If any of you did not hear what beer won the vote last month and is currently occupying the “Micro of the Month” tap handle, you can check it out here so you know what we will be replacing.

Come out and enjoy the scenery

Announcing the beers that will be offered at the Tweetups that will compete for the “Micro of the Month” is always the favorite part of this announcement for me.  In June we had the first ever seasonal battle and for this month we are appropriately going with a bit of a red, white, and blue theme.

Without further delay, the four beers and styles this month will be:

• Summit Horizon Red Ale (St. Paul, MN) – American Amber Ale
• Avery White Rascal (Boulder, CO) – Witbier
• Southampton Double White Ale (Southampton, NY) – Witbier
• Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale (Longmont, CO) – American Pale Ale

Some of you might think your eyes are failing you, but the White Rascal is indeed returning for another shot at the title.  Where the first three on the list might have a more obvious relationship to the theme, the Dale’s Pale Ale works in a different way.  Any of you that know what the can that it comes in looks like will understand that it belongs as well.

Your flight will be waiting for you

Unfortunately, once again I will not be able to make the event this month so I will be anxious to hear from some of you about your impressions of the beers.  Be sure to let me know what your thoughts were.

Mark your calendars for July 7^th!

There were thoughts of going in without any numbers for my latest visit to Celebration Town Tavern, just to see what would happen in that scenario.  At the last moment I figured that a bit of back up would be a good idea and thanks to some numbers given to me by The Wife, my plan of attack for the afternoon took shape pretty quickly.  It was a good thing because seeing Rich behind the indoor bar was enough of a curve ball for the day.

So the first number chosen by The Wife was number 77.  When looking at that I noticed wheat (based) ales on either side.  So using the inspiration of number 77 I decided to do a side by side of Sam Adams Coastal Wheat (number 76) and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (number 78).  In my mind directly comparing two beers of similar style, by the same brewery, and at the same price point ($4 dollars) made perfect sense.

Brothers in wheat

The Coastal Wheat poured a golden, honey-like color, had a good frothy head, and left a laced trail.  The aroma was a bit sweet (again honey-like) with some light graininess/breadiness and some citrus.  The mouthfeel was nicely smooth with a light lemony flavor that builds on your palate the more you drink (not in a good way for me).  The lemon flavor makes the finish a bit harsh and lingering especially after it warms some.

The Cherry Wheat was a golden to amber color, having a thick, off-white head that left a good trail.  There was a prominent cherry sweetness in the aroma.  The flavor had light sweetness up front following with some pretty strong notes of cherry then closing with a bit of dryness/astringency at the finish.

Colors and aromas given them away.

I did not exactly care for the either of the two and my reasons were similar.  The lemon flavor in the Coastal Wheat builds on my palate in a way where it starts to morph into an almost Lysol-like flavor (or what I would imagine it to taste like).  When it is quite cold that stays in check, but the second half of the glass is never ice cold.  The Cherry Wheat simply has too much cherry flavor for my liking.  Of course I realize that it is a fruit beer, but as much cherry as it has it starts to remind me of cough syrup taken as a child.  In the end neither are bad beers, but I would not order either again so I gave them matching grades of 2.5 with Coastal Wheat having a very slight edge.  Bill’s opinion was only slightly different, giving the Coastal Wheat a 2.5 and the Cherry Wheat a 2.  Either beer would be fine accompanying a salad (without a really pungent dressing).  Aside from that I think the Coastal Wheat could work when paired with a light chicken dish and the Cherry Wheat might be nice with desserts incorporating berries or chocolate.

Using the given number 91 we made a big jump in style to the only porter currently on the list.  I had actually already crossed off 91, but the newly added beers jumbled the numbers and it was again something I had yet to drink.  It did not take long for me to take the Smuttynose Robust Porter now at that number and cross off number 16 (Budweiser) in its place.  Sorry to those of you waiting for the Bud review!

In my porter excitment I overpoured!

The Smuttynose poured an extremely dark brown (essentially black) and had a thick, light brown head that held well with a nice laced trail.  The aroma was nose filling with deep roasted malt and lightly smoky notes.  The body was medium (to full) and the mouthfeel was very smooth with deep roasted flavors up front, following with some roasted bitterness and a bit of coffee character with a slightly dry finish.

A closer look at my mess.

This is a really full flavored beer and I think a good value at the $5 price.  We both really enjoyed it with Bill giving a grade of 4 and me hovering somewhere between 4 and (more likely) a 4.5.  Either way this is a very solid beer.  Though I don’t always immediately think of a food pairing while I drink beer, I almost instantly wrote down “BBQ” in big letters.  At the very least this one would be great with red meat, though preferably something that had a bit of smoke put to it.

To close the day we went off the list of provided numbers and revisited number 1.  It was (I believe) the very first beer that I crossed of the list, but it had a new occupant with the addition of the new beers.  Having caught my eye, I went ahead and chose number 1 and a 400 Pound Monkey while crossing off number 19 and a Corona Light.  Again it was a very good switch for me.

Beware of large animals!

It poured a medium coppery amber color with a slight white head.  The aroma was lightly sweet and had a bit of an earthy nose, blowing its cover as an English IPA.  The flavor had a good, light caramelly malt background with some low hoppy bitterness and a peaty/earthy character.  The flavor and mouthfeel had a bit of a bready quality, being smooth with a slightly chewy wheat-like character.  The finish was very slightly dry with a bit of lingering.

Behind the glare is some nice artwork.

This was the biggest gap in our grading for the day as Bill gave it a solid 4 and I landed on a 3.  Not a bad beer at all and I could be convinced of a higher grade, but I think my palate tends to lean towards the flavors of American IPAs rather than their European cousins.  Regardless, I think this one would pair nicely with most any sandwich with the malt profile playing nicely against the bread and the carbonation and bitterness working well with the meat.  Roasted meats would not be a bad way to go either.

As has become my habit, I will end with a few closing remarks.  First, a big thank you goes to The Wife for picking the numbers that led us in the direction of some good beers and a few new to me.  Second (and I suppose lastly), thanks to Rich for again hanging out with us and indulging our usual discussions of beer and sports.

For those keeping track, that is now 41 down and 58 to go! 

Stay tuned . . .