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!
