I was not disappointed. It claims to have roasted Soba in it, but that seems to be a supporting character to the 6 different malts and the 4 different hops used in this wonderfully nutty and crisp offering. Nutty and slightly sweet right up front, pleasant floral hoppiness in the middle, bright and well balanced clean bitter/sweet finish, with a mild nose of pure Caramel and Carafa malts and a faint smokiness. You barely notice the 30 IBU and at 36 degrees Lovibond the color is a gorgeous deep, rich, nutty, reddish brown. The slightly mild carbonation makes the medium bodied mouth feel that much smoother.

This beer would pair well with any mushroom based dish, grilled or roasted red meats or pork, spiced duck, dark berries, Butterkase and aged White Cheddar cheeses, and chocolate.

Rogue brewery has rarely disappointed me, though sometimes they do tend to get a little out there, but this may be one of they’re most well rounded libations yet. It goes for around $7 – $8 for a 22oz. bottle, but it’s money well spent for a beer enthusiast.

The next beer is from Goose Island in Chicago, their 2009 Bourbon County Stout. This special run beer was surprising, to say the least. Goose Island makes good beer, but not usually mind-blowing. They’ve outdone themselves with this one. As the name implies, they age this stout in used Bourbon barrels, infusing the beer with the nose and flavor of that sweet, caramel heavy Kentucky whiskey. The nose hits you first, Bourbon, held up by the black barley scent typical of the style. Satin smooth mouth feel, and sweet Bourbon flavor right up front, bitterness from the heavily roasted malts in the middle, finishing with a heavy sweetness, hoppy bitterness, and the smell of Bourbon yet again as the fumes rise up through your nasal passages from the back of your throat. The heavy bitterness from both the black barley and the hops is well balanced by the sweetness. Lightly carbonated and almost syrupy with a whopping 13% alcohol, this sweet stout is purely a desert beer.

Heavy, very sweet, but wildly complex, this beer would pair well with creme brulee, chocolates flavored with Raspberries, ganache, balsamic vinegar, peaches, granny smith apples, bleu and very sharp goat cheeses (Humboldt Fog comes to mind), or anything with enough balls and acidity to stand up to it. I wouldn’t pair this with citrus, though. While citrus does have the acidity, citrus flavors are pretty mild and would get overpowered leaving you with just the acid cutting through. This is, however, a pricey one at around $14 per 22oz. bottle, but it’s a rare treat for fans of the style, and fans of good Bourbon alike. 22 ounces is hard to get through on your own due to how heavy and sweet it is, so have a friend help you or serve it in small snifters after or during desert at a dinner party.

I will endeavor to bring you new beer reviews in between my recipes, commentaries and rantings as I encounter inspiring new malty goodness. Until next I post, live well and drink better!

Jack

http://www.rogue.com/

http://www.gooseisland.com/

The myriad of hop choices can give you an astonishing array of floral notes. The even greater choices in roasted barley will get you whatever earthy, dusty, or even tobacco hints you might be looking for. Even the choice of what yeast strain to use can influence the citrus, sweetness, dryness, or fruity characteristics you desire. Even still, the monopoly remains. When sitting down to a fine meal in a fancy restaurant it’s usually expected to see a good wine list. As well it should be. I’m not trying to marginalize or denigrate the merrits of a good wine list. Not nearly. I’m trying to promote beer to be seen on level ground with wine in respect to pairing with food and in the cooking process. They both have their place, but sometimes (in my eyes at least) wine just doesn’t cut it…

Case in point, oysters. One of my absolute favorite foods period! Kumamoto and/or Malpeque oysters WILL be served to me on my death bed, and if not, I’ll be sure to mercilessly torment from the grave whoever it is that fucks up that request! Just as importantly, they better be served with Guinness!!!! I can’t think of a single wine that that pairs with oysters, or most shellfish for that matter, as well as beer does. Maybe that’s just a personal preference. I’m willing to concede to that, but I think there are more than a few oyster fans out there that would agree with me. On the same note, I can’t imagine short ribs braised in anything other than copious amounts of red wine and veal stock. But you can still pair the finished dish with a good stout, porter, or barley wine. As I said, they both have their place.

I mentioned earlier the probable cause of this imbalance, the French influence on cooking technique as a whole. If you are a serious beer nut you know the reason why the French opt for wine over beer….. French beer sucks! The French don’t even drink French beer, they drink mostly German beer! Masters of cooking and wine making, they should leave the beer brewing to the Germans, English, Irish, Scottish, and Belgians. The true masters of that particular art, though some of the American micro-breweries are on their heels. Another possible root to this is the cost. Beer is cheaper than wine, at least any wine I’d wanna drink, and how good can it be if it’s $5 a glass at most restaurants that are charging $10 and up for a glass of good wine? There is something to be said for the snootiness of people with money to burn, trust me…. I’ve been feeding them for over 15 years… But to this I say, “Pull your heads out of your collective asses and open your damn mind!”

Give me just about any dish and I can tell you a good beer to use in it’s preparation or to pair with the final dish. If I can’t think of a specific beer, I should be able to come up with a style choice to explore to find the best match. I already mentioned short ribs and shellfish, here is a short list of other meat preparations and their respective beer pairings to the best of my abilities:

Sushi – a dry, hoppy Pilsner such as Sam Adams Noble Pils

Chicken:
Grilled – Pale Ale such as Bass
Roasted – Nut Brown Ale such as Sam Smith or Pete’s

Beef:
Grilled – IPA or ESB such as Fullers
Stewed – Brown Ale such as Newcastle or Stout such as Guinness or Murphy’s

Duck – Belgian Lambic or other fruit beer such as Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde

Pork:
Grilled – Helles or Grolsh style
Roasted – Porter such as Sam Smiths Taddy Porter or see Duck

Red Game (venison, elk, bear ect.) – Barley Wine such as Shipyard or see Beef

Pale Game (boar, quail, pheasant ect.) – Heffe-Weizen such as Paulaner or Bock such as Spaten

These are, of course, gloriously oversimplified. To get a true “match” all the elements of the dish need to be considered when weighing your beverage choices. I hope this has opened your eyes a little to the possibilities (assuming I’m not preaching to the chior) that beer present as a viable alternative to wine for the next time you sit down to great meal.

This post is meant to be the lead off to the much neglected “Beer Snob” category of this site. I/we will endeavor to keep the beer section alive, especially now that we have a dedicated wine writer.

I could go on for pages! I will, however, end it here to leave room for future reviews, discussions, tips, and rantings. So until then, eat, drink, live!

Jack

Continuing on the wonderful parallel journey of culinary and craft brew discovery with my dear friends from the B.Nektar Meadery, I had the distinct honor of not only attending this year’s Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival, but working the B.Nektar table serving thousands of glasses of Mead – many to first time Mead drinkers.

The day started with biblical thunderstorms which broke just before public opening into a hot and sunny and glorious day of thousands of eager and thirsty beer and wine aficionados from all over the Midwest United States in attendance for what has certainly become my favorite day of drink and debauchery.

I sampled many fine craft beers from a huge variety of brewers and met so many smiling people – it’s such a wonderful feeling. A real afterglow of a hard yet fun day’s work as I sit out in the darkened HIlton courtyard tapping away on my laptop with my final glass of Mead for the evening.

An honor to meet so many wonderful people from near and far and a pleasure to serve you. I look forward to next year’s event – and I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who enjoys sampling new and delightful beers and other exotic beverages.

For those in and traveling to Detroit, a little taste of the experience can be had every 1st and 3rd friday evening at B.Nektar in Ferndale, just outside of Detroit. I hope to see you there some time.

To your health! Live well!

-Mac