Lazy Magnolia Getting Crazy At The Londoner!

I know they aren't a Louisiana brewery, but I still consider Lazy Magnolia (@lazymagnolia) out of Kiln, Mississippi to be a regional brewery.  They've been in our market since their early days, and the Southern Pecan is widely considered to be one of the better nut brown ales out there.  One of the problems Lazy Magnolia faces, though, is that they are in Mississippi and Mississippi's laws regarding alcohol production/sales are pretty ruthless.  They aren't allowed any beer greater than 6% abv, so Lazy Magnolia's options are limited when it comes to brewing bolder and bigger beers.  One way to create new and interesting beers that they have been able to use, is aging and spicing processes on their existing favorites.

Not too long ago I met up with Jay and Al Manint over at The Londoner to do some work on our potential radio show, and to try some of these Lazy Magnolia varieties.  First up was a beer they call the "Southern Gentleman," which is a bourbon-barrel aged version of their Southern Pecan.

It was a deep amber color, not hazy, and aroma was very spicy and boozy... the bourbon aging really came through in this style.  The taste was even more bourbon heavy, easily one of the most bourbon-dominant examples of aging I've tried. The nutty pecan flavors are there as well but the bourbon vanilla and spice notes dominate the palate.

The mouthfeel is interesting because it tastes like a stronger beer than it actually is. The alcohol notes from the bourbon really fool you, but it's not a strong beer alcohol-wise at all. Overall, I'm glad I got the chance to try this, hopefully it's more than a one-time release.  It might be bourbon-dominant, but fortunately I like bourbon, and I'm fan of the Southern Pecan either way.

After a few of those they tapped a cask of chamomile infused Indian Summer, Lazy Magnolia's light wheat ale.  Unfortunately this was a cask that had been tapped the night before for a tasting, and casks aren't meant to hold carbonation for long.  As a result, we had a bit of a flat beer on our hands, but I could see the promise in the way the flavors combined.  I wish I had a better example to properly review, but I think this spiced beer had a lot of promise and I commend Lazy Magnolia for giving these a try.  I do hope both end up in a regular (or at least special release) rotation so I can try them again.

Beer Links & Events for June 27th!

Hey everyone, time for a few links and events about beer in town...

First on the agenda... tomorrow night (June 28th) there will be an international beer dinner at The Londoner on Sherwood Forest.  I never really thought about it before, but that's the perfect street for a British themed pub.  It's a $65 event, but it features a 5-course meal with each course being paired with a Belgian ale.

Also, as part of the first annual Baton Rouge Beer Fest, The Londoner will be hosting the homebrew competition on Friday, July 1 from 8-10 PM.  

The main event of the Baton Rouge Beer Fest will be Saturday, July 2 from 1-4 PM at the Baton Rouge River Center.  Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door and the event benefits Dreams Come True of Louisiana.  So if you're looking for something to do Saturday afternoon, give it a look!

Also, rumor has it that Jolly Pumpkin (@farmhouseale) beers are in our market now and can be found at some of the usual places like The Cove, Calandro's and Whole Foods.  They are a very highly regarded brewery out of Michigan, and I'm excited to get my hands on some and give it a try!

Cheers, and always drink responsibly.  

Samuel Smith Beer Dinner At The Londoner

Recently I had the pleasure of an invite to the Samuel Smith beer dinner at The Londoner.  I had been there once before with my friend Carlye to check out the food and drink, but do I seem like the kind of guy that turns down an invite for even more food and drink?  Yeah, I didn't think so.

This time around it was a 5-course dinner, each paired with a different Samuel Smith beer.  I've written about Samuel Smith many times, and even added a new one to my 365 in 2011 quest at the Top Of The Hops Festival in Lafayette.  With that in mind, I wasn't expecting anything new in this tasting, but sure enough, the dessert course called for the Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry Ale... well alright alright alright.

After a drink appetizer of a Moylan's Kilt Lifter, their best beer on tap in my opinion, it was time for the real show to begin.  Our appetizer course was a plate of pan-seared crab cakes paired with a Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale... one of their classics.  The crab cakes were topped with a buerre blanc sauce made from the ale, so it paired nicely.

Up next, the salad course... nothing too special here except I enjoyed the fried crawfish tails.  can't really go wrong with those.  It was paired with the Samuel Smith regular lager.

The soup course was up third... a smoked gouda and Taddy Porter soup that was the highlight of the meal for me.  As expected it was paired with the Taddy Porter.

 

For the main course, braised pork shank and Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, one of their iconic beers.  It has nearly the came complexion as the Taddy Porter, but whereas the porter has more of a smoked flavor the oatmeal stout really retains some nice chocolate tones with a definitively oatmeal flavor.

Up last, the dessert, a chocolate lava cake with fresh raspberries, and the only new beer to me on the menu.  This of course was the Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry Ale.  The guys at the dinner said they were originally planning on going with the strawberry ale, but a few cases of the raspberry came available at the last minute.  Sounds good to me, we get enough strawberry beers down here between Abita and Covington.  The Raspberry Ale was very sweet, almost TOO sweet, but paired well with the chocolate and matching fruit flavors of the dessert.  Not bad, and hit the spot for a little post-meal sweet-tooth.

 And that concluded this dinner... and this blog post.  It was a tasty evening, lots of good food and good beer.  Not the best beer dinner I've ever attended but I certainly left satisfied and I can't ask for much more than that!

It's American Craft Beer Week!

Hello everyone, and a happy American Craft Beer Week to all of you!  The celebration officially kicks off today, although I know some bars started a little early. 

If you're looking for a good way to try some new craft beer in Baton Rouge, the first place I'd recommend is the Tin Roof Brewery.  They will be having an open house every day this week from 5 to 7, with free beer samples to anyone who wants to come by.  In addition, the Food Truck Roundup will be at the brewery on Wednesday for an even larger open house and tasty bites to compliment the beer.

The Londoner will also be hosting special tastings all week as they celebrate craft beer's best week of the year.  Tonight will feature Moylan's and Saint Arnold, on Tuesday they will have special taps of Sierra Nevada and Stone, Wednesday is all Lazy Magnolia and Covington, Thursday is Abita and Harpoon, Friday is Rogue and Magic Hat, Saturday is Flying Dog and Schmlatz Brewing, and they finish it off on Sunday with some NOLA, Sam Adams, and Brooklyn beers.  I'd be most excited about the Stone and Schmaltz offerings, but I'm afraid I'm not going to have time to swing by at all.

The best place to celebrate American Craft Beer Week is definitely The Avenue Pub in New Orleans.  I know it's not always easy to just head down there and drink a few, but if you have a chance this week or this weekend, it's the place to go.  They will have special releases every night and that's on top of an already outstanding craft beer lineup.  They have also put together a list of other locations hosting Craft Beer events, so check it out! 

And if all else fails, just buy some craft beers at the local store, and enjoy with some friends!

Cheers!

Beer Links Time!

Maybe I should make this an every Monday thing... but here are a few local beer links I wanted to share with everyone!

An article on Parish Brewing!  As any loyal readers know, I've been a fan of Parish brewing from the beginning, having made several trips to check out Andrew's progress.  It seems a lot of people are taking notice these days!  Congrats to Andrew and Parish Brewing for all the success.

Samuel Smith beer dinner - tonight at The Londoner.  I'll be there to check out the British-styled beer & food pairings.  Samuel Smith's is a fantastic British brewery readily available in Baton Rouge... I've even done a three-part series on their beers a while back.  (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)  They will also have the royal wedding on TV live for anyone who wants to check that out.

Pub Crawl BR will be having another charity pub crawl this Friday in Downtown Baton Rouge... check out their website or facebook page for more info!

Abita has a beer dinner coming up at Galatoire's on May 6th which will feature 5 courses paired with an Abita beer.  Abita also has a Pub Crawl lined up for May 13th, also in downtown Baton Rouge.  This pub crawl will feature the Abita Wheat beer.

Cheers!

Review: The Londoner

Ever since this Londoner place opened up I've been wanting to check it out, but it's on the other side of town so it took a little while... fortunately, thanks to a half-off $40 gift certificate from 225 Best Eats I went out there with my friend Carlye a couple of weeks ago. 

The beer selection is pretty decent but also pretty typical... a lot of the beers you would expect at a British pub, but they did have a few interesting bottles that I'd never tried.  More on that later... as I perused the draft list there was one new one, so that's what I started with, as we ordered a chips & curry appetizer, which turned out to be pretty interesting and tasty.

The first beer was the Moylan's Kilt-Lifter Scotch Ale, not to be confused with the Pike Brewing Company Kilt-Lifter Scotch Ale!   The beer came out in a pint glass... not much head but that's to be expected from a bar pour. It's a reddish brown color, not bad.

The aroma is malty with hints of dark fruit and vanilla, very nice.  The taste is about as expected... very malty with caramel and coffee notes to it, not a lot of 'scotch' flavor but still a damn fine beer and one I'd order again.  Overall this is probably the best beer on tap at The Londoner, so I'd definitely have more of it if I went back.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B+

Scotch Ale

Moylan's Kilt-Lifter Scotch Ale

After that I went to the bottle list and found the Black Art Gold, by Braustolz GmbH.  And if that name sound familiar to you, then A) you read my blog too much, and B) it should, as I tried the Black Art Black Premium Beer by the same brewery a couple of months ago!  That one pleasantly surprised me, this one... um... not so much.  It came in a clear bottle, and poured a lifeless golden color.  It tasted grassy and funky, a lot like a Heineken, in my opinion.  Definitely a beer I'd like to forget and one I don't think I'll ever be ordering again.

My Rating: D+

BeerAdvocate: C+

Black Art Gold

Following that I went for the other new beer on the bottle list, the Old Speckled Hen English Pale Ale from Greene King / Morland Brewery.  I've had another beer from these guys, but you'd have to go WAY back to my first ever beer post, about the Wexford Irish Style Creme Ale from October of 2009.  This one also came out in a clear-glass bottle, not exactly a good sign as clear glass lets in the MOST light and can lead to a skunky beer the fastest.  Unlike the Black Art Gold, though, I really enjoyed this one.  It's an English Pale Ale, so it was a lot more hoppy and less malty than the American counterparts.  There was a little bit of toasted biscuit flavors in there but overall it was mostly hoppy, but not overwhelming at all.  A decent beer and one I certainly wouldn't turn down if offered!

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B-

"Old Speckled Hen"

As for a little food, the fish & chips were pretty good, but nothing that blew me away. I think the "chips" were more above par than the fish. I doubt I'll be back too often for just a happy hour trip because I live on the other side of town, but it was definitely worth a visit.  I could see some return trips for special British-themed events for sure.