East meets West

In a couple days an employee of mine will be heading out west for a wedding. Specifically she will be in San Diego. Being the craft beer enthusiast that I am I took advantage of the situation and asked her if she would be willing to make a trip to a local liquor store for me. She has agreed (really I'm her boss and she had no choice, just kidding!) Anyways I have already completed the necessary steps in an attempt to get her a list of a couple of 22oz. bombers of beers that I cannot get here in northern Virginia. The store I contacted was Dicks Liquor in La Jolla, which if you are ever out that way I definitely recommend visiting their location, great guys really seemed to know what he was talking about and even emailed a full list of their craft beer inventory, great guys very helpful and good selection of craft beer, can't go wrong!

After looking at the list I was provided which included, Lost Abbey, Russian River, Karl Strauss, Alesmith and a couple other breweries that we get here just not the same beer. With much consideration and research I settled on Lost Abbey Serpents stout, Russian River consecration, Alesmith IPA and Great Divides Expresso Yeti, aged in oak barrels. In my opinion a great haul as long as everything is still in stock and my transporter can still get everything! I am as giddy as a school girl in anticipation of these beers!

So on to the important aspect of tonight's post..THE BEER! Recently I have been sitting on some special beers (in addition to the beer mentioned above) Last week I picked up a bottle of Nogne O Imperial Stout from Norway, as well as a bottle of the Blue Mountain's Barrel House' Dark Hollow, from the same brewers of Blue Mountain out of Nelson County, Virginia. I decided for this review I would stay local and went with the Barrel House. I must admit that I expect big things from any craft brewery in Virginia, as there has only been one that I was underwhelmed with (not this one!) Barrel House combines two art forms, brewing and distillation to make one super drink! Dark Hollows is an Imperial Stout (above normal ABV...10% to be exact with this beer) aged in charred American oak bourbon barrels for 100 days, which allows it to take in the complexities associated with bourbon, but also the burnt dark flavors of the wood.

What you get is a super smooth stout with hints of chocolate and alcohol at first taste. The mouth feel is amazing with this beer, so smooth and thick, it will coat your mouth and tongue where you can really take in the bitterness that comes with the beers 70 IBU's (International Bittering Units). As you swallow sip after sip you can really taste the floral and fruitiness that Blue Mountain has so expertly brewed into the beer. Dark Hollow is a bottle refermented, meaning when bottled there is live beer included giving this beer a natural carbonation and its smooth mouth feel.

Out of the bottle it has a black color to it, however while resting in the glass you can see it is outlined by ruby red tones. I was able to pour at a nice slow pace allowing a 2 finger chocolaty head to form. The head lingers throughout the glass and maintains its light brown hue. This is definitely a beer I WILL get again to enjoy with friends at our next get together. It is a slow sipper meant to be enjoyed over time allowing the drinker to sit back and not worry about the next glass, but partake in the pleasure that is The Dark Hollow.

If you have not done so, I highly recommend checking out Virginia Craft Beer, I am extremely excited about what is happening in the world of craft beer and the role that Virginia will be playing!

Cheers!

Foaming over the sides

Foam, what is it good for...Absolutely nothing! Actually foam is good for something, at least the foam that sits on top of your favorite craft beer. The foam or more commonly and better known as the head on top of beer is a good thing, always in moderation of course. The head on beer is produced when you pour a beer into the glass which then releases all of the pent up carbonation which then obviously goes to the top of the liquid. Each beer will produce a different level of head on top, some have a denser froth and will linger, while others are more loosely formed and will not leave a lot of lacing (or the story of your drink as I call it, also a great clue as to your drinking style) on the side of the glass as you down your drink. The importance of the head is that it is releasing all of the aroma that your beer was brewed with and will give you an idea of the flavors that you are about to indulge yourself with.

I love a nicely formed head on my beer, but as I said before there is such a thing as too much head on your beer. The head of a beer in my opinion should never be more than an inch or inch and a half wide, or two fingers wide at most. What this tells you is that you had a clean glass, I mean CLEAN CLEAN, and that you or the bar keep poured the perfect pint. Something to remember, be cognizant of the glass you are choosing for your beer. When going with an IPA, which is full of aroma producing hops it is best to go with a tulip shaped glass which will hold the head and also allow for multiple repeat sniffs. While a strong Belgian of this sort is best consumed from a snifter or snifteresq glass. For more information on glassware head over to the Beer Advocate.  All in all remember that some beer head is good...a little bit more is better, but too much is just sad and takes away from your drink and you have to wait for it to die down before you can sip your brew. For more in depth analysis of beer head visit Wikipedia.

Now on to your regularly scheduled blog post. I knew that I wanted to review a local beer and I had two in my hand, one was from Legend Brewing and the other was from Heavy Seas. I decided to go with the brew from Heavy Seas Brewery (fyi that link may not work, has not worked for me in a couple days) in Baltimore, MD, but it is actually brewed by some local home brewers that won the annual Heavy Seas Letter of Marque contest. According to history a Letter of Marque was used to show that someone was now a professional pirate, hence why the contest from Heavy Seas is named the Letter of Marque contest, where local home brewers can take a shot at becoming a professional. This beer was brewed by Clay Wright and Nick Boylan, I was unable to find any information on these two gentlemen, so if you know anything please pass the information along to me. Much appreciated!

There was no official name given to the beer, but they do label it as a Tripel Wit style Malt brewed with Spices. What this means it is a strong Belgian styled beer so right off the bat you know that it will be more crisp that a Lager or ale. It will also have a good amount of fruit flavor and aroma.

The Tripel poured a nice golden blonde color, also a bit hazy in the glass. It finished with a light effervescent head on top. From first smell you get the orange zest that is used during the brewing process, which will almost remind you of Blue Moon, however this is MUCH better because it is it won a contest obviously!

When diving in for your first sip you get the typical mouth feel of a Belgian styled beer, it is lighter in feel, yet at the same time very flavorful. However, on the finish the brown sugar that is added really shines through and helps this beer end with a great malty taste with a bit of an alcohol feel as well. I must admit I am not the biggest Belgian fan, they just do not tickle my fancy, yet this one was good. Having tasted other home brewed Belgians thanks to the Stafford Brewing Club, this had the distinct taste, feel and smell of a home brew beer so if you want to get a good idea of what home brew is all about this is about as close as you will get without going to your local home brew club.

Cheers!