Tag Archives: Mikkeller

A Few Things Before St. Patrick’s Day 2012

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Have a Great St. Patrick’s Day weekend! I just wanted to highlight a few noteworthy events should you find your self stuck in or near Missouri on this fine weekend.

Other St. Patrick’s Day events in Missouri worth mentioning include a visit to Rolla (about the only time, I have considered traveling to Rolla as a valid party option), which is surprisingly fun. Since St. Patrick was apparently the patron saint of engineers, the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla) takes this holiday pretty seriously with a parade and many parties.

Kansas City is also a very good choice for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Kansas City has been warming up for this event for several weeks with the Brookside Warm-Up Parade (March 10, 2012) and the North Kansas City Snake Saturday Parade (March 10, 2012). The 40th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the largest Irish themed events in the United States and should not be missed. For more Irish themed events in Kansas City check this out.

St. Louis also hosts a very large St. Patrick’s Day Parade. http://www.irishparade.org/

Springfield will host its 32nd annual parade http://www.springfieldstpatsparade.org/, there will also be a downtown pub crawl that night.

First, I found this on Twitter http://www.good.is/post/makin-it-denmark-s-quirky-brewmaster/ this is an interview with Mikkel Borg Bjergsø (Mikkeller). Mikkeller is one of the most prolific figures in the beer industry today. He makes some crazy good stuff and an absurd variety and the craziest thing about it is, he does not even have his own brewery!

I seriously hope there is some anti-trust or legal issues with this possibility. Because honestly, the idea of Inbev owning SABMiller simply scares me. I am sure there is a lot more involved with this than the article I have presented shows and it appears to be a mere possibility (based entirely on speculation) at the moment. http://beerpulse.com/2012/03/yet-another-analyst-speculates-that-ab-inbev-will-buy-sabmiller/

P.S. My Vanilla Bean Imperial Stout (also known as my first home brewing project) should be done bottle conditioning tomorrow! I will try and post some pics of the process that started several months ago, in the near future.

 

 

Mikkeller Porter (Review)

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The Mikkeller Porter is an awe-inspiring beer. It pours a solid black with a substantial beige head. The aroma contains strong hints of licorice, chocolate, smoke, roast and coffee. The taste is a little less robust than the aroma, which raises it’s drinkability. The Mikkeller Porter is medium bodied with significant flavors of roast, chocolate and coffee. Honestly, it is simply an extremely delicious example of the style. I have drank some excellent porters and the Mikkeller Porter is easily as good or better than them. If you can find it, it is a must purchase.

Musings On Incorporating Wine Into Beer

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I am not going to go as far as saying that combining wine and beer is a trend nor is it a terribly new idea. But, I have noticed in 2011 that such combinations have become more common and often with impressive results. Of course, the manner in which they are combined is extremely important. I have seen beers that directly used grapes in their recipe. More often, I have noticed brewers aging beers in wine barrels. The purposeful of specific use of wine yeasts in beers has also been done by many brewers to great effect. I have also noticed that beers brewed with grapes or aged in wine barrels tend to come from really high end brewers like Cantillon, Anchorage Brewing Company or Mikkeller. I believe this is due to several reasons such as the skill of the brewer, the brewery’s emphasis on innovation and experimentation as well as the price tag (I am sure used wine barrels are not cheap, plus the time and resources it takes to age such beers must add up quickly). Here are a few examples of the incorporation of wine in brewing that I noticed. I am sure I have missed many excellent examples and am genuinely curious, please feel free to and add your thoughts and experiences!

Cantillon St. Lamvinus- The St. Lamvinus was brewed with merlot and cabernet-franc grapes that were soaked in Bourdoux barrels that contained 2-3 year old lambics. I have one of these babies sitting in my cellar, but have not yet tried it. Considering Cantillon’s steller reputation and the uniqueness of this beer, I am extremely excited for the moment that I decide to open it.

He’Brew Rejewvenator (Year Of The Grape) 2010- This beer was brewed with concord grapes. I have not tried it but I regret that I missed my opportunity. Schmaltz has yet to let me down with their innovative and impressive beers.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch- Midas Touch was based on residue found in drinking vessels from King Midas’s tomb which included muscat grapes. Proving, this idea is by no means “new”.

Allagash Victoria Ale- According to their website, Allagash used over 200lbs of chardonnay grapes in brewing this beer/wine fusion.

Paeleman Brewery Druivenbier- I will be honest, I am not familiar with this beer but a quick Google search leads to a page from HomeBrewTalk about grape beers. This Belgian beer was apparently one of the first modern beer/wine fusions in 2005.

Saint Somewhere Cynthiana- This month’s Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club selection, Saint Somewhere Cynthiana is a Belgian style ale brewed with Cynthiana grapes. This is even more interesting because Cynthiana grapes tend to come from the less prestigeous wine producing states such as Missouri, Illinois, Florida and so on. So more power to Saint Somewhere for utilizing a unique member of the Vitis aestivalis (compared to Vitis vinifera or Vitis lambruska).

Samuel Adams even included a grape pale ale in its 2007 long shot six pack.

Probably the most common incarnation of beers that are combined with wine are those aged in used wine barrels. A few notorious examples of this are Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Brut which was aged in sauvignon blanc barrels and used Champagne Yeast (amongst other yeasts). Stone Brewing Company’s 2007 Old Guardian barley wine was aged in red wine barrels. Anchorage Brewing Company’s Bitter Monk and Love Buzz were both aged in wine barrels. Mikkeller included a red wine barrel aged beer and a white wine barrel aged beer in his Black Hole series. Russian River Brewing Company aged their Temptation and Supplication in chardonnay and pinot noir barrels respectively. Even Springfield’s new brewery Mother’s Brewing Company aged a batch of Foggy Notion barley wine in sherry barrels. The list goes on and on. While these beers are not super common and do not have their own category in the ranking systems, they are interesting and worth trying out!

5 Unique And Awesome Beers To Consider This New Years Eve

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Happy New Years Eve! I am a Champagne or sparkling wine proponent for your NYE toast. With that said, I believe there are a few beers that are not only appropriate as an alternative to sparkling wines but excellent in their own right and should be considered either in stead of, or in conjunction with a sparkling wine.

1) Mikkeller: Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Brut The Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Brut is of My Favorite Beers of 2011. “This is the perfect beer to drink on New Years or anytime for that matter. It is truly fantastic, lots of funk, a little white wine and citrous, just fantastic. It is expensive for a beer, but $20 is still cheap compared to a good champagne.”

2) Weihenstephan & Doemens: 1809 Berliner Style Weisse This authentic interpretation of the Berliner Weisse style is simply delicious. This tart wheat hods a special significance to me, as I recently earned a masters degree in history and predominantly focused on modern Germany. The Berliner Weisse beer was toasted by Napoleon’s Army after their Prussian victory in 1809. The historical significance alone makes this beer an excellent choice for New Years Eve but, as I mentioned earlier, this beer is very tasty in its own right.

3) Samuel Adams: Infinium The inclusion of the Infinium, on this list, should surprise no one. After all, the Infinium was specifically brewed to be a champagne like beer. It is also pretty good. The Infinium is highly carbonated, fairly sweet and yeasty with some fruitiness.

4) Any Gueuze This variation of a lambic is one of my favorite styles for any occasion. It is especially pertinent on New Years Eve. These dry, musty, cidery, complex sours are often considered the beer equivalent to champagne. Some good and readily available gueuzes to try are St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition, Hanssens Oude Gueuze, Oud Beersel Oude Geuze and Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze. If you can find anything from Cantillon, that would also be a stellar choice!

5) Lagunitas: Lagunitas Sucks Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Leftovers This is Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale in a different package. You have probably seen me write a lot about this beer. That is simply because it is good. The Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Leftovers is perfect for anyone’s New Years Eve festivities!

My Favorite Beers of 2011

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I know this list is entirely subjective. Sadly, there were many new beers that deserve to make this list that I was not fortunate enough to try and many that I simply forgot (it has been a very eventful year). Still 2011 was an excellent year for beer in my world and these are some of my favorites. Hopefully, 2012 has some tricks to compete! The list is in no particular order and I am trying to focus on beers that were new to 2011 (or at least new to bottles, if I am mistaken on some, I apologize), so classics such as Bell’s Hopslam and Chimay Grand Reserve are excluded.

1) Anchorage Brewing Company: Bitter Monk with a description like this “Belgian style double IPA with Brettanomyces. this ale is aged in french oak chardonnay barrels. Brewed with Apollo, Citra, and Simcoe hops. Dry hopped in the barrel with Citra hops. Triple fermented- First in the tank with a Belgian yeast, second in french oak chardonnay barrels with brett, and finally in the bottle with a third yeast for natural carbonation.” how can it be bad? The complex, funky taste lived up to the hype.

2) Mikkeller: Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Brut This is the perfect beer to drink on New Years or anytime for that matter. It is truly fantastic, lots of funk, a little white wine and citrous, just fantastic. It is expensive for a beer, but $20 is still cheap compared to a good champagne.

3) Jolly Pumpkin: Lupulo De Hielo This Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club exclusive is one of many reason I will continue to utilize that excellent service. This beer is crisp, funky and complex. Like many of Jolly Pumpkin’s offerings, world class all the way.

4) Boulevard: Collaboration No. 2 – White IPA This beer was the result of a collaboration with Deschutes Brewery. This beer retains some of the lightness and spice of a wit yet boasts some strong citrousy hops. In three words, it is beautiful.

5) New Belgium: Le Terroir Released for the first time in bottles this spring. This beer is astonishingly refreshing, tart and fruity.

6) Firestone Walker: Firestone 15-Aniversary Ale I am not sure where to begin on this one, this is an extremely complex blend of amazing beers. There are layers upon layers of delicious flavors, including toffee, bourbon, coffee, dark fruits and the list goes on.

7) Lagunitas: Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale Do not let the clever, self depreciating name fool you. This American double IPA is astounding. It contains about everything I could ever hope for from an IPA and I have all but forgotten about Brown Shugga. I can not wait for “Leftovers”.

8 ) Founders: Canadian Breakfast Stout Bottled for the first time in 2011. This maple barrel aged version of the already stellar Kentucky Breakfast Stout is a real treat, if you can find it.

9) Avery: Rumpkin This beer is huge clocking in at 15.9%. It is also very sweet and boozy, but unique, complex and delicious.

10) Firestone Walker: 2011 Abacus I have not had previous incarnations of the Abacus, but this English Style barley wine is one of my favorite beers of all time. The 2011 Abacus is decadent, smooth and so complex it is perfect for long contemplation.

A few very unique honorable mentions include, Rogue Bacon Maple Ale, Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Life and Limb, Odell Friek and New Belgium Kick.

5 Great Gifts For Beer Nerds!

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It seems that every blogger and online news publication puts out one of these lists and many are very similar. Still, I do not want to be left out! Here are five great gifts that any passionate beer fan will appreciate, myself included.

5) Brewery related clothing, tap handles, bottle openers, signs and other memorabilia: Every beer nerd needs clothes, many of the ones I have me need them badly! I love wearing my Cigar City or Cantillon shirt to beer related functions or any function really. Almost any decent brewery will have a merchandise section on their website and by hanging out at the right bars and events one can usually score free swag. Anyway, it is always a simple and flexible option.

4) Beer Literature: Anyone who is really into beer is probably interested in learning about it. Often beer related books are inexpensive and easy to acquire as well. Amazon.com will have the largest selection but even the local Barnes and Noble should have a fairly substantial selection beer related literature. Some noteable titles include “Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink” by Randy Mosher, anything written by Michael Jackson (the beer critic of course, not the singer), “The Oxford Companion to Beer” by Garrett Oliver and Tom Colicchio, “Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery”, Revised and Updated by Sam Calagione, “The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.: Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes, and Unabashed Arrogance” by Greg Koch, Steve Wagner and Randy Clemens, “Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them by Stan Hieronymus” and a book I plan to read soon, “LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World” by Tim Webb, Chris Pollard and Siobhan McGinn. Of course, this list is by no means comprehensive and there are many fantastic books about nearly every aspect of beer out there.

3) Beer Related Travel: Beer nerds love to travel, therefore tickets to Portland, Denver, San Diego and so on are always welcome. Other ideas such as tickets to the Great American Beer Fest, World Beer Fest, any Oktoberfest in Germany and the American Craft Beer Fest. Those are just some of the biggest names, nearly every city has a major beer related event, Springfield alone has 3-4! Even a bad beer fest is a lot of fun! Another beer travel related idea is brewery tours, which are a blast and always worth the time and or money.

2) Glassware: The proper glass is essential to enjoying beer. Ok, that is not entirely true, I have enjoyed many great beers in inappropriate containers. Still, a beer nerd should always try and use the correct glassware as it really does make a difference. Furthermore, I believe that one can never have enough beer glasses. I am particularly fond of my New Belgium snifter and Spiegelau tulips and think that any beer nerd needs at least one of each.

1) Rare Beers: This is perhaps the most important and obvious answer. Nothing associated with beer is more important to the beer nerd than well, beer itself. The more sought after the better the taste. While that is not true at all, I enjoy finding and drinking rare or hard to get beers. Now with the grey market on Ebay (selling “collectable containers, any “contents” are incidental….) this is not as difficult as much as expensive. It is still a fun hobby. For the rarest beers, homework is often required. To get some of these, inquire at your local liquor stores, get your name placed on lists, search Google, simple ask questions, most beers can be traded for or purchased with a little effort. As I have previously mentioned, the Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club is a great way to get limited and exclusive beers delivered to your home. For instance, this month’s selections are both exclusives (or so I have read) to the rare beer club and one of them was created by Mikkeller!

Anyway, I hope that was at least a little helpful, I just received a Rogue collaboration with Voodoo Donuts, that is simply screaming for me to try it!

Thanksgiving Beer Recap Calzeau Saison, Jolly Pumpkin Lupulo de Hielo, Redbud Brewing Company Cuvee Four, St. Arnold Pumpkinator, Mikkeller Chipotle Porter (Review)

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As, I mentioned yesterday, I was fortunate enough to eat and drink some pretty amazing stuff on Thanksgiving with, of course, some pretty great people too. We did not try and pair foods to beer as much as we simply drank whatever we felt like. That said, we did enjoy some thanksgiving appropriate beers such as the St. Arnold Pumpkinator and the Jolly Pumpkin Lupulo de Hielo (which was brewed with some pumpkin). We ate the traditional fare, chicken, turkey and ham and so on. We also added a few twists such as a Williams Sonoma tiramisu (amazing and worth every penny, but could have used some rum). All in all it was a great meal. Now on to the part you really care about, the beers.

We started with a Brasserie Cazeau Saison, I acquired from Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club. This true Belgian saison came in at 5% abv and poured a hazy golden color with a thin white head. On the nose, I did not detect a lot other than a very small amount of sulfur. The Cazeau was brewed with some Elderberry flowers. It was a dry and subtle yet complex. There was a good deal of the unique saison yeastiness as well. It had a little bit of funk and was overall very drinkable. The Cazeau Saison is not world class beer but is very close.

Next in line was the Redbud Brewing Company Cuvee Four Saison (Which was given to a friend by the brewer). This may be the best beer to come out of Oklahoma (a state that is not exactly famous for great beer). I enjoyed it a great deal though. I think it could have used a little more carbonation and stand to dry out a little bit, perhaps a year or two of aging will solve these slight deficiencies. Overall I found the beer to be fairly fruity on the nose, but tasty and easy drinking. If you are lucky enough to find it, I suggest you pick one up.

During the heart of the feast we consumed the Mikkeller Chipotle Porter. This went very well with the meal. There was not a lot of pepper on the nose but a little vegital action as well as other common porter aromas, such as a little bit of chocolate and so on. The chipotles were hard to decipher at this point. As to the taste, the solid roasty porter, meshed well with the slightly smokey chipotle peppers that made their presence known on the finish. The peppers built up and gently warmed the pallet with each subsequent sip. Like everything the gypsy brewer Mikkeller makes, the Chipotle Porter was a marvelously constructed beer and even better with a rich savory feast!

Somewhere in the mix (which particular order we ate and drank these beers was not of a real concern to us last night) we drank a St. Arnold Pumpkinator. The Pumpkinator is an Imperial Pumpkin Stout from Houston Texas. This unique twist on a pumpkin beer poured cola brown and packed a lot of pumpkin pie spices with a slightly bitter finish. It is an excellent beer that deserves its A on Beer Advocate. At 10% abv is packs a pretty solid punch as well. Look for it next year, it is definitely one of my favorite pumpkin beers.

Before the night began slipping away from us we opened up the Jolly Pumpkin Lupulo de Hielo. This Michael Jackson Rare Beer Club exclusive was the highlight of the beer drinking night. The Lupulo de Hielo poured an opaque orange and my bottle gushed just a little. There is a good amount of hops and acidity on the nose. Unlike the La Parcella, I did not detect much of the pumpkin on the nose. The Lupulo de Hielo was slightly sour with a good amount of funk. The hops and the oak played around on the tongue, adding yet more layers to this extremely complex and tasty brew. Words can not really describe just what the Lupulo de Hielo is, but the most important descriptor is this beer was awesome and I wish I had another bottle. The offerings from Jolly Pumpkin, The Bruery and Brasserie Fantome are worth joining the rare beer club alone.

The night concluded with many other beers such as a Drie Fonteinen Kriek, some Oscar Blues and Frambozen and a lot of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I had a great thanksgiving and I hope you did too!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the What to Drink While Playing

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I have spent a good deal of the last few days (when I was not at work) playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. So, far it has that great, open-ended epic feeling common to all of the Elder Scrolls games. The graphics are sharp, though, not flawless. The mood is dark and cataclysmic. And the storyline is, well, there are a lot of story lines, but many involve epic conflicts and dragons so far. From what I have played, the game easily stands up to its predecessors and in terms of darkness and open game play may even surpass them. I personally like the Nordic feel. This game is definitely worth checking out.

And now for the real question, what to drink while you are playing? A game like Skyrim requires something big that fits the theme. I suggest a Scandinavian beer like a Haandbryggeriet Odin’s Tipple or anything this Norwegian brewery makes. You might also try something from Nøgne ø, which is another great Norwegian Brewery. Both producers are world class. Furthermore, you cannot go wrong with anything the Danish gypsy brewer Mikkeller or his brother (who brews under the name Evil Twin) produces. The Orkney Skull Splitter also fits the theme really well. If you insist on drinking American, New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk is a tasty, barrel aged beer that blends nicely with the game’s theme. And if you really want to go all out while you play Skyrim, you should try Viking Blood Mead, the very bottle this mead comes in screams Skyrim!

On an unrelated note, I am now about halfway through Patrick Rothfuss’s “The Name of the Wind”. This book is amazing. If you are into the George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan genre of literature, I highly recommend this book. It is detailed, interesting and extremely well written. Honestly, it is difficult to describe and one simply needs to order it from Amazon and start reading.

After writing this original post and working all day, I narrowed down the above suggestions to a list of 5 beers you should drink while playing Elder Scrolls Skyrim.
1) Orkney Skull Splitter
This scotch ale/wee heavy fits with the Nordic theme perfectly, in flavor profile, name and picture on the bottle.
2) Haandbryggeriet Odin’s Tipple
This imperial stout is big, bad and at 11% alcohol might cut playing time a little short, but sometimes it is just the right thing to do.
3) Unibrique Maudite (or anything from Unibrique)
This Belgian strong ale is sturdy, good for cold nights and takes its name from Norse mythology.
4) Kulmbacher Eisbock
This is the original eisbock, its very potent and good for the cold nights, plus, I just could not leave the Germans out of this discussion.
5) New Holland Dragon’s Milk
This imperial stout has the perfect name for Skyrim and it is a pretty solid whiskey barrel aged beer that should be available year round.

Mother’s Brewing Company Winter Grind and Bell’s Java Stout (Review)

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Yes, I know it is 9:30 am, but it is one of my few days off, and I am very excited about these two beers. They are coffee stouts after all (a.k.a. breakfast beers, speaking of which, had I been thinking, I would have picked up a Founder’s Breakfast Stout to compare here aw well….next time…).


Anyway, Mother’s is Springfield, Missouri’s own microbrewery. They began operations in the old Butternut Bread bakery downtown this past spring. So far they have been pretty impressive, producing solid craft beers. I expect good things from them in the future. I am excited about this particular beer (The Winter Grind) because they are using a coffee blend from locally owned Mud House Coffee. Bell’s is one of my favorite producers and has yet to even come close to let me down. The only exception to that may be “Hell Hath No Fury” or the “Anniversary Ale”, both of which were good, just not the transcendent experience I was expecting…

As to the actual beers being tasted, both are, obviously a very very dark brown in color, with a little bit of head. The Mother’s has a tiny bit more than Bell’s. Naturally, both smell like coffee (being as I am not a an expert that is about as complex as my analysis on the aroma will get), the Mother’s has a much stronger coffee flavor and I think I smelled a hint of chocolate on the Bell’s. The Bell’s is nice, bitter, lots of coffee and a little burnt chocolate, but still pretty mellow and subdued. The Mother’s is much more simple, there is a lot of tasty coffee in here. It is a bit rough when paired side by side with Bell’s (but then again, most beers are). It is still very good and essentially, lightly carbonated coffee. The Bell’s is far more complex and balanced so I will have to give it the edge, Mother’s is considerably cheaper and both are a pretty good way to wake up! Both are good in their own right, the Mother’s is cheaper ($6-8 a six pack), stronger and more refreshing, as it is much heavier on the coffee. The Bell’s is more complex, better balanced and comes with a heftier price tag (around $15 a six pack). So, try them both if you can, unfortunately, Mother’s does not distribute outside of Springfield, yet.

Some other coffee beers you will definitely want to try are Founder’s Breakfast Stout is a staple as well as Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Brasserie Du Ciel Peche Mortel (which ages very nicely) and the upcoming Schlafly Coffee Stout. I would also consider the Southern Tier Java, this beer is a beast at 10.4%, for the really hard days at work….