Zapps International Beer Festival - March 26th

 

Thought I'd help spread the word about this beer event... it'll be at the LSU Rural Life Museum on Essen Lane (right by I-10) on March 26th.  Here is the link to the homepage to buy tickets!  I went to one of the first occasions of this beerfest, and had a fantastic time.  The beers to definitely not miss are the home-brewers, as they tend to be fantastic and in limited quantities.  I went a few years after that and it was so packed it was tough to get a beer!   Since then, the organizers have started limiting tickets sold to 1,500 as they realized that that many patrons just didn't work.  I haven't been able to make it the last few years, and won't again this year due to the Hammond Blues & BBQ Festival, but I encourage any Baton Rouge beer lovers to check it out!  

There will definitely be some good beers that are new to you, and you might find something you really like.  Cheers!

Review: Abita Select Black IPA

I'm going to go a little out of order here... but this is for a reason.  The Abita Select series typically only run for a couple of months before they're on to the next one, so I want to get this review in before it's completely archaic.  Not much point in reviewing a beer no one can try, right?  And unlike a lot of the beers I've covered on this 365 in 2011 trip, this one is most definitely available in BR.

On to the beer!  It was Monday night... Lundi Gras for those who know what I'm talking about, and I didn't have to go to work on Tuesday!  One of the perks of living in South Louisiana... we don't work on Fat Tuesday.  The Chimes does trivia every Monday night, so I figured it was a good chance to go drink a few new beers, play some trivia, have some cheese fries, and not worry about waking up early the next day!  Jeremy Wells and James Lawson decided to join in... and it was off to the bar.  

 

The main beer I wanted to try was the Abita Select Black IPA.  I had read good things about it from other beer bloggers, so it was time to try it for myself.  As usual, it came in an imperial pint glass, filled nearly to the top. James ordered a Guinness and the color was about the same through the bulk of the beer but the Abita was a little thinner on the edges, and a much smaller head.

The aroma was definitely a piney hop-forward hit, but there were roasted malt notes as well, and subtle hints of caramel.  The flavor was a lot like the aroma... piney hops and roasted malts with a very nice balance. I'm impressed with this one... really stays true to the style. It's not overly hoppy, but that's to be expected with Abita.

It's got a good mouthfeel, nothing real special here, but nothing bad either. The hops aren't overpowering, rendering a very drinkable brew that's not lacking in flavor either. 

Well done, Abita... it would be nice if these select brews that seem to usually impress could find their way into the regular lineup. Might help people forget that pub crawl mess??  Unless you're still boycotting, check this one out before it's too late!  And Abita, if you're reading, think about bottling some of these select brews... maybe as part of the "big beer" series?

 

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A- (through 4 reviews...)

The Lenten Beer Diet... No, Not Me!

 

I came across this link earlier today... about a guy who, for lent, is going to spend 46 days fasting from solid food and attempting to survive on beer alone.  The guy's blog is called "Diary of a Part-time Monk" and this is in reference to when monks would survive off of doppelbock alone for a 46-day period.  Apparently it's 46 instead of 40 because now we don't "fast" on Sundays during lent or something?  Seems a little extreme to me, but hey, I'm looking forward to checking in on the guy's progress.  Maybe I'll consider trying this next year?  Okay... very doubtful.

Reviews: Saint Somewhere Brewing Company

While in Florida a couple of months ago I had the chance to pick up some beers from the Saint Somewhere Brewing Company.  Saint Somewhere is a small brewery in Tarpon Springs, FL that specializes in traditional Belgian-style ales.  Since Belgian-style ales are my favorite I picked up the three bottles that I saw at Tipple's bottle shop in Gainesville! 

Up first was the "Saison Athene"... which I poured from a 750ml bottle into a Chimay goblet.

This one had a nice pop to the cork, one of the easier to pop off I've experienced. It's a pale yellow color with a fizzy head that dissipates quickly. There is some nice pooling on the surface of the beer but no lacing on the sides at all.

The spices dominate the nose... cinnamon, ginger, coriander, and a little orange peel to it. It's delicious, but missing a little base or hop balance.

The taste is more of the same, except with a sour kick... kinda like a winter warmer meets an American wild ale. The sour notes provide a nice balance to the spices that was missing on the nose. I really like this one a lot as far as the palate is concerned.

It's easy to drink, and the alcohol content of 7.5% is barely noticeable.

 

My Rating: A

BeerAdvocate: B+

I followed up the Saison Athene with their "Pays Du Soleil," again a saison or farmhouse ale.  It's a cloudy amber color with pretty much no head at all. Just a few bubble on top... very interesting to note the lack of head on this one.

It smells like an amber ale... with just a hint of sour funk. Mostly I'm getting the malt sweetness and just a slight bit of fruit sour. It's not bad, but it's nothing too special.

There are much stronger sour notes on the tongue than on the nose, and the malt is a little in the background. It's tart, has that sour fruit flavor to it and hardly any aftertaste. Much better than the build up to the taste.

All in all it's a good beer... it's not flat so I'm not sure what's up with the lack of head, but it still tastes fresh. I'd go for another for sure. 

 

My Rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B+

The final Saint Somewhere beer I tried was the "Lectio Divina" which is a saison the same as the first two.  Served the same way as the first two, it's a cloudy red-amber color with a LOT of bubbles and small white head that dissipates quickly. Still a lot of bubbles coming up a few minutes later.

It smells of malt and sour notes... a little caramel hint in there and some sour fruit smells. Not bad.  The flavor is a lot more sour than the aroma... with a little woody note at the end of the sip.

Okay... this is a lot more sour than the typical Belgian-style Ales that I've had before, which is also typical of the other two Saint Somewhere brews I tried.

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B+

 

 

 

 

 

I've been wanting to get more into sours, so it's nice to try these but they're a little rough to start out with.  The Fifth Element Farmhouse Ale I had way back in January was one of my introductions to sour ales, and these three from Saint Somewhere provided another learning step along the way.  Part of the goal of this 365 in 2011 resolution was to learn about new styles and new breweries, and I'm certainly doing that!

Saison Pale Ale

Abita "Pub Crawl" Update

Word on the street (er... internet...) is that Abita is dropping their claims against Pub Crawl BR.  I guess a lot of bad publicity and lots of negative attention was enough to change their minds in a hurry.  I know there was a lot of negative feedback on their facebook page and probably many e-mails and calls.  So... way to stand up beer lovers!  And way to come to your senses Abita and support the cause instead of fighting against it.

Cheers!

Abita: The Good And The Bad

I guess I'll actually start off with the "bad" as far as this is concerned.  I'm sure this isn't news to all but might be news to some... a blurb popped up in the Baton Rouge Business Report : Daily PM Edition,  about Abita issuing a cease and desist letter over the use of the phrase "pub crawl."  Huh?  This has to be a mistake right?  Nope.  Apparently Abita filed for the trade name "pub crawl" with the state and have kept that filing up to date.  Really?  Since when can you "trademark" a damn generic term that was around long before your brewery even existed?  They even go one to say "...Blossman says that Abita made the term "pub crawl" known across Louisiana and that the term is now synonymous with the brewery."  HAHAHAHAHA... what a load of horseshit!  Seems to me like a case of Abita trying to throw their weight around and bully a little guy.  (In this case, Manu Kamat, who has organized a few pub crawls in downtown Baton Rouge...) 

Pretty lame... pretty fucking lame.  Even if they do have the legal trademark on the term.

On to the good... Abita has announced their 25th Anniversary Brew, which will be bottled!  It's going to be called the "Vanilla Doubledog" and I assume it's a stronger version of their limited Vanilla Turbodog which I missed out on trying.  I found a bit of info here about it, it should be out sometime in the early Summer, and despite the above news I look forward to giving it a try!

Review: Mikkeller All Others Pale

I'm going to skip over the Saint Somewhere beers I tried before this one and save some time to cover all three in one post... which means I'm on to the Mikkeller All Other Pale, a pale ale from the guys over in Denmark.  I picked this one up at Martin Wine Cellar over on Perkins Road.  One of the odd things about Mikkeller is that they don't have their own brewery!  All of the beers are created by the now single-man operation and contract brewed by different breweries and collaborators around the world.  Even on the website they refer to themselves as a "gypsy brewer" which is a pretty interesting concept to me.  Enough about that... on to the beer!

First off, this is a good looking beer! I poured it from a half-liter long-neck bottle into an imperial pint glass. It's a cloudy amber color, bubbly white head with great retention and lacing. Attractive brew that makes me want to dive in.

It has a delicious malt aroma with a honey caramel smell... not too bold on the hops but there are a little there. The sweet honey smell is what really grabs you.

The taste is more of the same except that the hops come out a little more. Wow... a potpourri of malt flavors and hop hits and roasted flavors. What really stands out here is the burnt malt flavor on the aftertaste. The honey malt is first, then the bitter hops, then a burnt caramel flavor. Really a nice complexity to it.

I only wish I'd bought a few more of these... APAs are quickly becoming one of my favorite styles and this is a top notch example.  Next time I see them I'll grab several, as this is now my favorite new beer of 2011!

My Rating: A+

BeerAdvocate: B+

American Pale Ale