Stout Season Winds Down, But It's Not Over Yet

In light of the spring snow the Colorado front range received last week, I'm featuring one more imperial stout to close out the colder months of early 2014. I recently enjoyed a glass of Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout by New Belgium Brewing at Parry's Pizza in Greenwood Village, Colorado. This beer is part of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series, which means it's a limited or special release. I hadn't seen this one out in the beer market since I first tried it more than a year ago. When I noticed it was one of Parry's 50 craft beers on tap Friday evening, I figured I'd give this tasty beer another go while I had the chance.

The beer, which I'll call Stout for the sake of brevity, is one of the more straight-forward beers I've had from the Lips of Faith series. That's not to say it's boring or lacks complexity, not in the least bit. New Belgium uses the Lips of Faith series as a format for its most creative and experimental brews, often incorporating unconventional ingredients or brewing methods. Perhaps the most well-known Lips of Faith beer is the outstanding La Folie sour brown ale. Others have included Cascara Quad, a Belgian dark strong ale made with dates and coffee cherries; Paardebloem, an ale brewed with peach juice and dandelion greens; and Coconut Curry Hefeweizen. Compared to these and most of the Lips of Faith series, Stout sounds a bit mainstream.

Don't mistake mainstream with ordinary, though, because Stout is a big beer that's loaded with flavor. The flavors are a great combination of dark roasted malts, coffee, and dark chocolate. It's a very balanced beer that doesn't tilt too far in any one direction, with the flavors playing nicely off each other. My only critique is that the body feels somewhat thin for this style, but that doesn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the beer. It's a great cold weather beer, and one I hope New Belgium continues to brew periodically.

Indulge in the Flavors, Save on Time & Money

Are you in the mood for a delicious seafood meal paired with an excellent beer? Seafood restaurants can be pricey, but it can also be tricky to cook seafood at home. However, there's an alternative option. Some grocery stores have great ready-to-eat items to take home, and making a stop at a good liquor store gives you a chance to pick the right beer for your meal.

Seafood and fish have some intricate flavors, from light and delicate to strong and rich. When it comes to crab, lobster, and shrimp, beers with a paler malt profile and moderate hop character make the most sense. Specifically, I've found that Belgian styles with these elements go particularly well with seafood, as the complex fruity esters created by the Belgian yeast complement the light yet rich flavors in the food. Some examples are Belgian blonde ales, tripels, golden ales and saisons.

For a recent meal, I picked up shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon dip with tortilla chips, and lobster salad with a focaccia roll. For my beer, I chose Le Merle Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, or Saison, from North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California. Le Merle is part of North Coast's American Artisan Series. It pours a slightly hazy golden color, with an aroma bursting of citrus, white wine, honey and pepper. The mouthfeel is very carbonated, and the bubbles give way to flavors of pears, citrus, pepper, and a buttery richness. Le Merle matches up perfectly with all the flavor components in the meal: the light and crisp shrimp, the moderate richness of the lobster salad, and the strong smoky flavors of the salmon dip.
 
There's certainly nothing wrong with picking up pre-made items and calling it an excellent meal, especially if you have the right beer to make it complete. Of course, there's never just one "right" beer or style for a meal. With so many new craft beers constantly being brewed, never has there been a better time for creating some excellent pairings of your own.

G'Knight is a Great Beer for Early Spring, or Any Time

Spring is officially here, but does it really feel like it? That answer can change as quickly as the early spring weather. March and April in many parts of the U.S. can bring snow one day and 65 degrees the next. It makes sense then that American craft breweries put out spring seasonal beers that are all over the map. There are a few distinctly spring styles, but I've noticed that most spring seasonals cover a broad spectrum of flavor profiles. One beer that's excellent this time of year is G'Knight Imperial Red IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery.

G'Knight is brewed year-round, and, truthfully, it's a great beer to enjoy any time of the year. Oskar Blues first launched this beer as Gordon Ale. It was a tribute to Gordon Knight, who was a homebrewer, Colorado craft brewing advocate, Vietnam vet and helicopter pilot. Knight died in 2002 in a helicopter crash while fighting a wildfire near Lyons, Colorado, the town where Oskar Blues was founded. Oskar Blues rebranded the beer as G'Knight in 2011 after receiving a cease and desist letter from Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. Oskar Blues was able to turn a potentially contentious situation into a positive by smartly renaming the beer in a way that continues to honor Knight, and creating new buzz around an excellent beer.

G'Knight is the type of beer to select if you can't decide between something more on the malty or the hoppy side. It has a large amount of both, but the flavors are well-balanced. G'Knight pours a deep copper color with a moderate head. Sweet malts mixed with citrusy hops dominate the nose, and the flavors that follow in the taste are what you'd expect from the aroma. A caramel-like sweetness, grapefruit, pine, and earthy spiciness come through, leaving a bitter finish. It's hard to believe this tasty brew is 8.7 percent ABV because it goes down very easily.

G'Knight throws a lot at you, a bit like the spring-time weather. Give it a try soon if you have the opportunity.

Get to Know Your Beer Styles: Berliner Weisse

Have you ever read through the beer list at a bar or restaurant and noticed some beer styles unfamiliar to you, and then simply ignored them? Chances are you're not alone. It takes a very seasoned beer expert to know all the many dozens of traditional beer styles from all over the world, some of which are obscure or brewed only in a specific region. However, you don't have to travel the world to learn about the many styles that exist. American craft brewers foster a spirit of exploration, and many brew a wide variety of more or less common styles.

One style that I learned about just in the past couple of years is the Berliner Weisse. This tart, refreshing wheat beer is a favorite in Berlin, Germany where it's been brewed since the late 16th century. Berliner Weisse is brewed with a malt base comprised of at least 50 percent malted wheat, and has a low hop bitterness. A top-fermenting yeast is used, along with the bacteria Lactobacillus, to achieve a sour or tart character. I haven't known many American craft breweries to brew a Berliner Weisse, but one that currently has their own on tap is Grist Brewing Company in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

The Grist Berliner Weisse, at 5.4 percent ABV, is somewhat stronger than what's typical or traditional for the style. This one would still be considered a session beer by American craft beer standards though. Grist also offers to add a bit of fruit syrup, which is in keeping with Berliner Weisse serving tradition. Pictured here is the standard Berliner Weisse, and one with a squirt of raspberry syrup added. This delicious Berliner Weisse is great for sour beer lovers and those who haven't yet ventured into the world of sour beer. It has a crisp, tart, refreshing flavor with a dry finish, but does not quite make your mouth pucker from the sour character. The wheat malt profile gives it a bright, almost citrusy flavor as well.

The next time you notice a beer style that's new to you, give it a try. You'll be happy you expanded your craft beer knowledge and your palate, and you just might really like it!

 

More Craft Beer in the Burbs: Lone Tree Brewing Company

Residents in the southern part of the Denver metro area continue to have great options for local craft beer. A couple of breweries in this area have opened in recent months, with more in the works. One of the more established among the wave of new south suburban breweries is Lone Tree Brewing Company. Located in the southeastern city of Lone Tree, this excellent brewery has gained a presence at beer festivals and in beer bars and Front Range stores since it opened in late 2011. To truly get a feel for the brewery and its beer, it's great to stop in to the spacious Lone Tree taproom and try a variety of the 10 to 12 beers they'll have on tap at any given time.

When John Winter and Jason Wiedmaier founded Lone Tree Brewing, they wanted to create a community-minded place where people could relax and enjoy each others' company over great beer. That's exactly the type of vibe I get when I walk into the taproom. The decor is simple, seating is abundant, and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Lone Tree brews six flagship beers and keeps a handful of seasonals on tap. The selection is wide and approachable, from simple and clean like the Mountain Mama Helles and Ariadne's Blonde, to more complex and aggressive like the Hoptree IPA. For those wanting to take beer home, Lone Tree fills growlers, and sells bombers of several beers. The brewery is also planning to start canning two beers soon for distribution to local area stores and restaurants.

On a recent visit, I was able to taste Lone Tree's seasonal pumpkin ale, doppelbock lager, and peach pale ale, in addition to the flagship offerings of Hoptree and Toot's Oatmeal Stout. These are all delicious, flavorful beers, but the ones that stood out the most were the peach pale, doppelbock, and Hoptree. The peach pale ale is very well-balanced between a crisp hop character and a subtle peach flavor on the finish. The doppelbock is an outstanding example of this style, with rich malt flavors of dark fruits and caramel dominating the profile. The Hoptree is simply an awesome Imperial IPA, with 11 hop varieties and a sturdy malt backbone creating citrus, tropical fruit and pine flavors without an overly bitter finish. It’s smooth, crisp, and very drinkable, but be careful as this one is 8 percent ABV.

Aside from being close to home, there are lots of great reasons for me to make regular trips to Lone Tree Brewing. I look forward to watching this brewery continue to grow and produce excellent beer for the region’s consumers to enjoy.

Green Flash Brewing Delivers Big Hops and Freaky Goodness

I have a confession to make: I just discovered Green Flash Brewing Company this past year. Maybe it's the fact that here in Colorado we have a seemingly endless selection of local craft beer, but somehow this San Diego brewery had eluded me. As a self-professed hop head, all I can say is, "better late than never." Green Flash, like a lot of California breweries, brews a vast array of assertive and complex hop-centric beers.

Green Flash opened in 2002, and has grown into a major player in the booming San Diego craft beer scene. The city has established itself as one of the best beer cities in America, luring beer enthusiasts in with names such as Stone Brewing, The Lost Abbey, and Ballast Point. Green Flash prides itself on brewing delicious, creative beer that combines styles and creates new ones. Their portfolio includes IPAs of all different types and strength, Belgians, black ales, and more. I recently tried one of their hybrid beers that combines two of my favorite beer characterics, which are aggressive hops and the complexities of a Belgian ale. This amazing beer is called Le Freak.

Green Flash calls Le Freak a combination of a Belgian-style tripel and an American Imperial IPA. Since I had really enjoyed several big Belgian IPAs or double IPAs in the past year, I knew I had to try it. Le Freak pours a hazy orange color with a moderate head that hangs around and forms a nice lace on the glass. The aroma is heavy on fruit, including banana and orange from the Belgian yeast esters, and citrus and tropical fruit from the large amount of American hop varieties. The flavors are simply delicious - a crisp, complex combination of fruitiness and spiciness. Although Le Freak is very heavily hopped, the Belgian yeast subdues and smooths out the bitterness for a dry finish.

My experience with Le Freak, the third Green Flash beer I've had, is further proof to me that this brewery is a force to be reckoned with. In a consumer market whose thirst for hop-forward beers is hard to satisfy, Green Flash will continue to turn heads and pick up steam. Now I just need to get my hands on some Palate Wrecker Double IPA, the Green Flash spring seasonal.

A Craft Beer Gold Mine at Tommyknocker Brewery

I love checking out new craft breweries, but it's important to also recognize Colorado's iconic craft beer brands that helped pave the way. Tommyknocker Brewery and Pub is one such noteworthy establishment, and it's been churning out approachable excellent craft beers for 20 years. Located in the mountain town of Idaho Springs, about 45 minutes west of Denver, Tommyknocker makes a great pit stop for anyone traveling to or from the Rocky Mountains along Interstate 70.

The brewery's name taps into the gold mining history of Idaho Springs. A tommyknocker is a mythical elf-like creature that was said to live in the cracks of the mines, helping the miners know where to pick for gold. The legend of the tommyknocker is playfully reflected in the brewery's label art, branding, beer names, and brewpub decor. However, clever branding wouldn't mean much if the beer wasn't consistently great. In the bar, Tommyknocker exhibits the large collection of medals its beers have won at the Great American Beer Festival. The brewpub's food also holds up with the best of them, with a wide variety of reliably delicious pub food on the menu.

Over the years, I've tried just about all the year-round Tommyknocker beers, and a handful of seasonal releases. I stopped in recently and tried two of their seasonals, the Oaked Bock and Pine Bough Pale Ale. For the Oaked Bock, Tommyknocker takes the recipe from its Butt Head Doppelbock lager, an old favorite of mine, and adds oak chips in the brewing process. The beer has a malty sweetness, and flavors of vanilla, oak and whiskey. It retains similar qualities to the original doppelbock, but the oak adds layers of complexity. The Pine Bough Pale Ale is light and refreshing, with a crisp hop character and a smooth finish. The hop flavors are grassy, earthy, floral and a bit piney. It's a very enjoyable pale ale that packs a lot of flavor.

Tommyknocker has carved its place among Colorado's best and most well-established breweries. With its ideal location off I-70, it's also possible that many consumers first fell in love with craft beer in the brewpub while waiting out the mountain traffic. Here's to many more years of mountain town craft beer from Tommyknocker!