#CBEleven - Running Out of Clever #Hashtags

For the first time in CBE History, we went with 8 wild cards.  At the onset, it actually looked like it was going to inexplicably produce the most varied style selection.  A lot of people were grabbing summer seasonals and one-off brews.  But as I sit here diligently entering the names and styles of the brews into the master spreadsheet, which will then be returned to the CBE vault, I see a Pale, a Belgian Pale, a Hoppy Wheat, and two IPAs.  Well, not as varied as initially thought, but at least they're all good ones.

I'm really in the sweet spot for newsletters at eleven.  I know I've missed a few here and there, but I can really just look back to some of the old ones, and it pretty much does the writing for me.  For instance, we've seen a Lost Coast beer before.  The Indica IPA.  They have since changed the artwork for it, as well as the description, and I know that because I documented it in the newsletter for CBE 6.  I don't think we had #hashtags back then, so it was just CBE 6.  I also said this about the website:

This website sucks too.  It’s making me dizzy.  Let me copy this description over for you word for word…

And the website is not very good.  The store is even worse.  But in a CBE first, they have a media kit section on the website.  I don't seriously consider myself media, but I'll go ahead and take advantage of it anyway.

There are probably a reasonable amount of questions as to why I used that picture, and why it looks like it was taken with a camera from the set of Boardwalk Empire.  Well, the media room doesn't have any pictures of Tangerine Wheat, and I don't know.  I just drag and drop, the iMac does the rest.  If it wants it to be weird colors, who am I to complain.  The website does describe it though.

A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines our Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops.

Follow me to the other side to see what my "Hot Take" is...




My hot take; it tastes like Beer Fanta.  That's not necessarily a terrible thing, it's just what I think about it.  Super tangeriney, it tastes vastly similar to a clementine.  It is also super easy to drink.  I'm 3/4 done with this one and I opened it right before I wrote that thing about Fanta.  Kudos for not picking an IPA.

I've already made some pretty hilarious jokes about Anderson Valley and Boontling in a past Newsletter.  #CBE8 for all those that want to go back and relive my wit.  We did have #hashtags by then.  We have also had Summer Solstice's sister, the Winter Solstice.  That was in CBE 3 though, and I think that Newsletter has been lost forever (which sounds far more romantic than I just never got around to writing one.)  So here is the Summer Solstice.  And an awesome website.  That will tell you that Anderson Valley is the first brewery in the world to offer an 18 hole Disco Golf Course.  Wait, what?  Disc Golf?  What the hell is that?  Well, that's not as impressive as Disco Golf.  The also have a Hall of Foam, for people that collect their bottle caps.  They have over 200 unique ones, so you may want to check them out before throwing them in your yard.  And last but not least, have this to say about their very hard to classify Summer Beer.

Smooth.  Our Summer Solstice Seasonal Ale is a slightly sweet, malty session beer with a creamy mouth feel and clean finish.  With hints of caramel in the nose and a touch of spice, it’s become affectionately known as “cream soda for adults”. The unique flavors and superior drinkability make for the ultimate refreshment on a hot summer day.

Is it a cream ale?  Is it a wheat ale?  Does it taste like an orange creamsicle?  The last one I can answer. Yeah.  A little bit.  It kind of does.  This one also comes in cans that they sometimes have at Whole Foods.  That means it is beach acceptable.  Also, pictures of bears with antlers are awesome.

I'm going to finish up the last of the outliers before I get into the hoppy beers.  So we move to my selection, Deschutes Black Butte Porter.  Deschutes just came to the Philadelphia market.  If I were you, I would keep an eye out for their beers.  I don't think there's much if anything on tap yet, but their Mirror Pond Pale and Inversion IPA are solid.  The Chainbreaker White is an ok "White IPA" if you're into a style of beer that just doesn't make sense.  Anything that comes in a bottle larger than 12 oz is right up your alley.  Hope Henge, Hop Trip, and Fresh Squeezed IPA, which I saw floating around Wegmans this weekend in KOP.  So why did I get the Black Butte.  Well, no one makes a good porter.  I assume it's tough to do, or everyone would do it.  I'll direct everyone to the Vanilla Porter from Breckenridge that we had in the first CBE, and the historic backlash that @RNA1177 feels to this day when we go get beer.  Iron Hill makes a good one, it's slightly roasty, very velvety.  This is the other one I like.  Bigger hops notes, a little chocolatey, bordering on stout territory.  If you like this one, imagine what you'll think of their IPAs.  From the site.

With a dark beer as our first and flagship brand, Black Butte defined Deschutes as a radical player. A slight hop bitterness up front enhances the distinctive chocolate and roasted finish. It’s prized for its creamy mouthfeel and intense complex flavors.

Shit.  If a second independent brewery is selling "Golf Discs," than my research is telling me that Disc Golf is a legitimate thing, isn't it?  I apologize Disc Golfers.

Now everything gets hoppy.  I'll make this slightly easier on myself and start with Victory Headwaters. This is the third selection from Victory in the past two CBEs.  I think overall it's the 7th selection from Downingtown.  I like Victory.  The pub is cool, they always have at least a half dozen beers that they don't bottle, using crazy new hops as experiments, the foods not bad, the growler fills are reasonable, they always have Scarlet Fire, and even thought that beer tastes like campfires, I still really want one every once in a while.  That wasn't always the case.  They used to not have so many taps to do cool things with.  I like HopDevil, but I'm not in love with it.  Since 2011, they've release two beers, Headwaters and Summer Love, that have turned into go-to's, at least for me.  From the web:

Malted barley, hops and yeast are the building blocks of beer. But none of these elements would exist without water, the essence of life. The waters that feed our brewery begin just over a dozen miles away, making for spectacularly pure and vital water for brewing. Having worked with watershed advocacy groups since our inception, we value our headwaters, our source, in many ways. We think you’ll value them as well when you taste this firmly crisp and aromatically arousing pale ale.

They are opening up another brewery, and from what I understand it will be pretty much their production facility.  It's in Parkesburg, PA.  That's pretty close to Coatesville.  I just read an article today that the feral cat population is out of control in Coatesville.  I hope they can't find the new brewery.  That would be horrible.  Also, this will probably open up Downingtown for Victory to do even more experimental things, and that would be good for everyone.  Even the cats.

I guess I'll keep it easy on myself and go to Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  It amazes me that we haven't had this beer in CBE yet.  It's probably on everyone's top 5-10 IPA list.

Bell's Two Hearted Ale is defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance. Hopped exclusively with the Centennial hop varietal from the Pacific Northwest, massive additions in the kettle and again in the fermenter lend their characteristic grapefruit and pine resin aromas. A significant malt body balances this hop presence; together with the signature fruity aromas of Bell's house yeast, this leads to a remarkably drinkable American-style India Pale Ale.

I'm under the assumption that we just take this beer for granted because we can get it.  I'm glad that I now live in a world where having Bell's Two Hearted on draft doesn't necessarily make you a beer bar.  One day, I hope that this takes over the obligatory Sam Adam's or Sam Adam's seasonal tap at Applebee's.  That way, when my parents want to meet me for lunch and refuse to go anywhere but Applebee's, I can order this instead of a Sam Adams.  In case you were curious, this is the fourth beer from Bell's we've gotten.  We'll have to schedule a CBE around HopSlam next year, or find one of these and have a party.

I will credit @ppantalones with the actual push to start the CBE.  It has brought me an immense amount of joy, and the largest part of that comes from trying beers that I've actually not had before.  I won't lie, it doesn't happen very often, but it is definitely cool to come across beers that I haven't had before, especially if they surprise me.  Southern Tier Hop Sun falls into this category.  The website is being a real dick about me copy and pasting the description, but I'm going to type it anyway because it very aptly describes what it is I like about this beer.

Make Hop Sun part of your summer survival kit, and no amount of heat or humidity will get you down.  This summer thirst-quencher is not your average wheat ale.  Light and slightly dry, it is the addition of fresh hop flowers after fermentation that adds a necessary kick on a hot summer day.  Hop Sun is mild enough to be a refreshing summer offering, but has just enough of a hop profile to keep your taste buds tingling for another sip.  Wheat, barely, and hops coalesce in this superb session ale, a telltale symbol of fun in the sun.  Summer tasted so good.

I made a crack about "White IPAs" earlier in this Newsletter somewhere.  I don't have a problem if you throw a bunch of extra hops into your wheat ale.  But that's all you did.  You didn't revolutionize brewing by creating a different style.  Southern Tier owns up to that, and makes a beer that as advertised is light enough for summer, but has enough hop flavor to take you to flavortown.  If anyone knows someone at Southern Tier and thinks they might want to use that in their advertising, you can tell them to feel free.  That ones on me marketing department.

I was surprised that Mad Hatter was the first New Holland Brewing beer that we've had in the CBE.  I've had this one before, and it's very solid.  I believe Shangys in Emmaus is the wholesaler for New Holland, and the first few beer exchanges I was involved in took place there.  Several of New Hollands portfolio ended up in those swaps; The Poet Oatmeal Stout, Sundog Amber, Cabin Fever Brown Ale.  I've had some Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout, and it's damn good.  I'm now making a pact with myself to pick some of that up next time I'm at Whole Foods.  There's not really a reason for this rant, except that I started fishing around their website, and am starting to wish that we had a larger distribution of New Holland.  They have some pretty sick barrel aged beers, and entire line of Hatter IPAs.  Black, Oaked, Rye, Farmhouse... and they make whiskey, rum, vodka, and gin.  And then they tease you on the website like you'd be able to find it by punching in your zip code.  There is unfortunately not a retailer or bar within 100 miles of Conshohocken that serves their spirit line.  So that's all I have to say about that.

Tasting notes: Dry-hopped for a distinctive, floral hop aroma; subtly balanced with delicious malt notes.

This is exactly like that time we went to Fette Sau, had the bartender brag about whiskey that was made with Bear Republic's Racer 5 (Charbay) and then never be able to find it, no matter what Wine and Spirits store I go to.  Thanks for ruining Christmas New Holland.

That guy looks snarky.  Like he knows where to buy Charbay.

Well, in what I hope one day is not described as the worst newsletter ever, we get to the last selection.  If you've been checking off the beers while you've been reading this, you already know it's Ommegang's Fleur De Houblon.  There's not a full page for this one, so you have to browse through some of the other Ommegang seasonals and one-offs.  Side note: the second Game of Thrones beer is on it's way.  There were rumors that Ambler Bev guy wanted to trade for some of these because it was the only case that they received, but was denied.  I'm going to go ahead and assume that this was the only case delivered to PA.  Here's some other buzz...  @mattybo24 said, "holy shit that Ommegang beer is tremendous."  Beer Geek Nation has this awesome video.  I suggest at the very least that you watch until he says Fleur De Houblon for the first time, because it's awesome.  You can follow @Ommegangphilly on twitter, and find out about local tastings, releases, and most importantly the day you can run to Wegmans to get the new Game of Thrones beer.  You know you want it.

As with all Ommegang beers, this one's pretty fantastic.  This was another first as we have not had a beer from Ommegang.  But considering the initial reviews, as well as the fantastic videos that the internet has provided, I have a feeling it won't be our last.

I am completely out of witty banter to finish out the newsletter.  I hope you enjoy #CBEleven as much as I am going to.  Even though we ended up with a decent amount of hoppy beers, there's a lot of stuff in here that's been outside of the general range of beers that the CBE has historically been leaning towards.  Let me know how you like the Deschutes, and keep an eye out for Charbay at fine liquor stores and restaurants everywhere.  Also, I'm sorry.  I didn't proofread.  So there's lots of misspellings and errors.  I probably used to instead of too at one point, but I don't understand Bloggers spell check or grammar check and I'm to (I just did that for effect, or is it affect, oh F) lazy to copy this into word.