CBE13: Giddy Up Jingle Horse

After almost a month of tasting and pondering, I have finally found time to sit down and write a few thoughts on what may have been the best beer exchange that the CBE has ever been involved in.  After very little research, and less fact checking, I've decided that this was the most expensive of any CBE's in the history of CBE.

Let's start with the selections from Brewery Ommegang.  Two of the brews from this selection are from the Cooperstown, NY Brewery.  Here is a brief list of things they are known for: Some pretty awesome Belgian Ales (Three Philosophers, anyone?)  Brewing some collaboration brews with HBO for the Game of Thrones series.  Being part of the Duvel Family which includes brands like Brasserie D'Achouffe and Maredsous.  Although the CBE hasn't selected a ton of Ommegang brews, we've made up for it with two beers chosen in this selection, and three total in the last three exchanges.  They're website is pretty fantastic, with recommendations for food pairings, lengthy detail about their beers, and something that has renewed my interest in a potential visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  On one of my many side notes, if you're looking for cool glassware, this is the website you want to visit to browse.  They have a few neat chalices and a lot of very cool designed tulips.

Continue reading, it's going to get good...




The first selection is Ommegang Scythe and Sickle.  A fall seasonal that just hit shelves last year, this year it comes in 12 oz bottles for the world, and the CBE, to share and enjoy.  The website has this to say...

Scythe and Sickle is Ommegang’s foray into honoring the harvest season. Using barley, oats, wheat, and rye, we’ve brought the mood of fall to life with vibrant and flavorful passion. 

Farming is about precision, timing and care. At Ommegang we place the same emphasis a farmer has for his crops into the creation of our beers. Scythe and Sickle is a testament to the craft and care of farming, from which our farmstead-brewed beers benefit greatly.Brewed with balance in mind, Scythe & Sickle reveals a smooth and creamy mouthfeel with light toastiness and gentle sweetness. Bright amber in color from the mixed malts, the beer is balanced with delicate hopping to counter rather than overpower the malt profile. 

Available for a limited time in 1/2 BBLs and 12oz bottles starting in Fall 2013. 

5.8% ABV

The rye definitely gives this one most of its character.  It's different than most fall seasonals as it's not quite malt forward.  The next selection from Ommegang is Adoration.  This one reminded me of the Delirium Noel we had way back in CBE2.  Dark, and sweet.  High in alcohol, but you'd never really know it.  This one tasted like rock candy in a beer, wrapped in a snuggie, and I'm looking forward to opening my last one at 8 am on the 25th.  From Ommegang's fine marketing department, who may have unintentionally written the first verse of a new Christmas Song about the beer...

Ommegang Adoration, brewed in the authentic style of Belgian winter, or noel beer, is dark, malty and assertively spiced. 

Adoration is best sipped before a roaring fire, or on a sleigh ride over the hills to Grandma's house.  It would also be a tasty accompaniment to dark roasts and wild game.  Even at 10% abv, the beer is well balanced and not at all hot or fiery.  The dark malts give it lush, malty flavors and aromas, complemented by the five spices, including coriander, orange peel, mace, cardamom and grains of paradise.  Hopping is modest, as befits such a beer. 

Available for a limited time in 12 oz bottles and 1/6 kegs starting in November 2013. 

10% abv

The next beer has become a winter standard for me.  Around this time of year, I'll always be looking for a six pack of 21st Amendment Fireside Chat.  Whether it's the Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, Hop Crisis, or Back in Black (all past CBE selections,) or the Bitter American or Brew Free or Die IPA, 21st Amendment makes it easy for me to sneak really delicious beers onto America's beaches.  They are also great for tailgates, train rides, or dog walks.  I'm assuming the dog walking thing, because I don't have a dog.  This is the first year that I've noticed in the depiction of one of FDR's famous chats, he's actually talking to an Elf, or a very small person wearing some pretty wild socks.  Queue the jargon...

Like FDR’s Depression-era radio addresses, which were like a kick in the butt and a hug at the same time, our Fireside Chat is a subtle twist on the traditional seasonal brew. We begin with a rich, dark, English-style ale and then we improvise with spices until we know we have a beer worth sharing with the nation. 

Fireside Chat is our early winter seasonal brew available from October through December in six pack cans and on draft. Brewed like a classic, warming Strong Ale but with a subtle blend of hand-selected spices for just the right festive flair.

This one is a really great winter beer, as long as you don't have it right after the Adoration.  Because then it will taste a little watery, and not leave the same impact as it would if you had it by itself.  So now, every winter, I'm on the lookout for four-packs of Adoration, reverting to the FDR/Elf conversation beer if the Ommegang one is not available.

Out of all of the things that you could name that come from Michigan if I gave you five minutes, arguably the best thing is Founders Brewing Co.  We don't repeat beers very much, but when we do, they're excellent ones.  Half of the current CBE roster had Founders Breakfast Stout in CBE2.  It was great then, and it's great now.  Then, I said this...

Let’s start with a very highly contested beer.  Without anyone knowing, two people were after the same brew.  Ranked number 7 on Beer Advocate’s list of best beers in the world, I present to you, the Founders Breakfast Stout.  Weighing in at an impressive 8.3% abv, this American Imperial Stout is the pride of Grand Rapids, MI.  Pretty much any beer that was going to be chosen from this brewery was going to be a highly anticipated pick, but this one might be the best stout currently in production. Unlike an early review, I suggest you take at least a couple sips of this one right out of the fridge.  I’ve had it a couple times before, and it might actually be the closest thing to a stout milkshake when served chilled.  Then of course, let it warm up a little so you can enjoy. Per the Brewery… The coffee lover's consummate beer. Brewed with an abundance of flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates, and Sumatra and Kona coffee, this stout has an intense fresh roasted java nose topped with a frothy, cinnamon-colored head that goes forever. Sounds good to me.  This selection is only available from September through December.  So if you enjoy it, better find it somewhere quickly if you want to have some more.

Rings true.  I was pretty smart then, and I probably would have written something close to that today.  I will also always remember how angry @pppantalones was at @gang_greeny for picking this one before he had a chance.  Great stuff.

Sticking with the Imperial Stout style, the next selection is one of my all time favorites, the Great Divide Yeti.  Great Divide makes this in several different aged/barreled varieties, but I'll take the original every time.

YETI IMPERIAL STOUT is an onslaught of the senses. It starts with big, roasty malt flavor that gives way to rich caramel and toffee notes. YETI gets its bold hop character from an enormous quantity of American hops. It weighs in at a hefty 75 IBUs.

It's definitely an onslaught, and I'll take this one warmed up to room temperature where you can taste every decimal of the 9.5% abv, as well as dark chocolate, roast, and if it's anywhere near fresh, tons of hops to balance all of that out.  The one we got was about 6 months old, and both the hops and booze settle in a little to make this one dangerously drinkable.  Makes you want to watch Harry and the Hendersons, where you can try to enjoy John Lithgow before Dexter made him the most evil bad guy on the face of the planet.

A newer release, the Victory Dirt Wolf is the first "West Coast" IPA that Victory has bottled.  They've perfected their attempts at floral, citrusy hops in this one, and it'll stand up to any Racer 5 or Flower Power of it's kind.  Victory has just started, or will soon start, brewing out of a new facility, and the additional space will probably lend itself to additional experiments and new beers.  Hopefully they'll keep making more crazy IPAs like this one.

Darkly heroic, Humulus Lupulus (hops) have empowered brews with bite and character since the 11th century. DirtWolf is a tribute to these untamed vines which rise from the earth with the voracity of a “wolf among sheep.” Hops have made an assertive comeback in American craft brewing. Revel in the best U.S. varieties of hops, in their natural, whole flower form, as they bring a vital, pungent reality to the soul of a wild element in our dangerously satisfying DirtWolf Double IPA. 

Malt: Imported two-row maltsHops: Whole flower Citra, Chinook, Simcoe and Mosaic hopsABV: 8.7% 

This dangerously delicious recipe features often subtle, but sometimes assertive signatures of American hop varieties. Look for: Citra: heavy citrus aroma, fruity flavor; Chinook: grapefruit, resinous pine; Simcoe: dry, piney; and Mosaic: earthy and mildly floral, with notes of sweet citrus and spice.

In the CBE Pantheon of favorite breweries, Lagunitas strikes again with Brown Shugga.  They've updated the website, but the stoner footnotes and marketing print remain.  Instead of just asking you if you are over 21, Lagunitas now says this...

It's not important for us to know exactly how you arrived here, but it is important for both of us to acknowledge that you ARE here... Acceptance is always the first step. 

Many souls have arrived here at the end of arduous and sometimes difficult journeys and we want you to know that you are welcomed and that we will always be here for you. Your complimentary blanket and bowl of soup will be along in a moment.  

So, it is in a genuine spirit of mindful compassion that we will share this time. You are good, you are beautiful, and you are a sentient being on the planet Earth. You may or you may not have lint in your navel. 

Therefore make peace with your God, whatever you conceive him to be; Cosmic Muffin or Hairy Thunderer, and take solace in the knowledge that your dog is finally getting enough bacon. 

Namaste.

I couldn't even write this stuff.  I will also suggest that with all Lagunitas beers, that you read the border on the label.  There's always interesting entertainment to be had.  They say some stuff about the beer too, which to me smells like an open jar of JIF...

Originally a failed attempt at our 1997 batch of Olde GnarlyWine Ale resulting in an all-new-beer-style we like to call…Irresponsible.

AVAILABLE: OCTOBER
ABV: 9.99%
Sold as: 6-packs & Kegs
Net contents: Ounces and ounces of Malt, Hops, Yeast and water.

Lagunitas makes beautiful mistakes.  That, I did write.  I will also say that this is one of the best kind of brown ales that I've ever had.  And I'm serious about it smelling like peanut butter.  It's delicious.

Last but not least, the North Coast Red Seal, which the proper name for is Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale.  I hate this website.  A lot.  So much so, that I didn't even write a newsletter for CBE, which was the last time we had a North Coast beer; Old Rasputin.  Which is an awesome Russian Imperial Stout.  I think I still might have one sitting around that now has a couple years on it.  And now I also know what I'll be doing after I finish writing this newsletter.  This beer's not bad either...

RED SEAL ALEMalt and hops are beautifully married in this full-bodied, copper-red Pale Ale. Red Seal is generously hopped for a long, spicy finish. An excellent accompaniment to grilled meats and rich sauces.
VITAL STATISTICS
Style: American Amber Ale
Color: Amber
ABV: 5.4%
Bitterness: 42 IBUs

This one was a little on the yeasty side for me for a session red ale.  But because of that it's definitely complex enough to be a beer that you have just a couple of with dinner.  I would set my limit at three before I'd need to switch it up to something else.

And that's pretty much it.  Sorry for the monthlong delay for the newsletter.  I wish I could say it won't happen again, but it probably will.  I hope Santa brings you beer related gifts, or just plain beer, those are both always winners.