Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

What a strange three days it has been! Two days ago, I was hiking in 76 degree weather in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, sweating and wearing sunscreen. It has been snowing now for 24 hours, and we've seen about 10 inches of accumulation from it. This is more than I've seen it snow all winter! I've never nursed a sunburn on my shoulders in a snowstorm before.

Tea has been my companion for most of the day, but it's time to switch over to beer! Thanks for this one, Eric Kammerer!

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 6% ABV, Bottled on 02/06/15, 9.5 weeks old

A Golden to light copper in color with a finger of snow white suds on top. It quickly shrinks down into thin layer of tiny bubbles, leaving the sides of the glass well laced. It’s brilliantly clear.

A Herbal and earthy hops, saltine crackers, tropical fruits like pineapple and grapefruit, gardenia, slightly toasty, Pils malt. The aroma is light. Nothing in-your-face. As it warms up a touch, more piney hop aromas are drawn out.

T Lots more pineapple and grapefruit. Toasted honey wheat bread, sharp cheddar cheese, solid malt backbone, lots of floral notes. Mild bitterness I would better associate with a pale ale. 

M A little creamy, medium carbonation, the finish is a tiny bit astringent

A A bouquet of flowers… that you just ate. It’s more pleasant than it sounds. =)

C This is a perfect example of an East Coast IPA. Compare it to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and you’ll find one beer is much hoppier than the other, and it’s probably not the one you think (SN PA is hoppier than DF IPA). In general, IPAs are more hoppy and bitter than pale ales, but East vs. West puts a different dynamic into play. West Coast cranks everything up a notch in the hop department. Is that better? No, just different. This IPA has a lovely even balance of gentle hop derived tropical fruit and bready malt backbone. It’s very sessionable, and won’t kill your palate. 

FP Tortilla chips with picante salsa. Chevre salad with pistachios, grapefruit, and a creamy herb vinaigrette. Peach pie.

Curious about the 90 minute IPA? Check it out here.

Lindemans Faro Lambic

Faro is a substyle of lambic that was first imported to the US in 2010. It is a blended lambic that is sweetened and then pasteurized to prevent further fermentation. Sugar is added to help balance the tart acidity of the beer, and make it more palatable. The result is a fruity, sweet, spontaneously fermented lambic-style brew. The sugary, fruit-flavored lambics aren't really my thing, but I've never tried a Faro before, so I had to grab this!

Lindemans Faro Lambic

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355ml) green capped and corked bottle into a Chimay chalice, 4.2% ABV, "L K21LFA" Bottled 11/21/12 - Good thing lambics just get better with age!

A Iced tea amber in color with reddish hues and fairly large chunks of sediment that eventually rest at the bottom of the glass. Not really any foam, but a film of suds is present for a few minutes after pouring. 

A This sucker is potent! I could almost take notes on the aroma while my nose is a foot away from the glass. Getting my nose up closer, this is double sugar-coated peach rings that have been liquefied and fermented. Red apples, raspberries, white peaches, a little bit of cherry. That lambic tartness comes through and gets my salivary glands going. When I swirl the glass, some familiar lambic sweaty gym sock stank comes through. It’s really just overwhelmingly sweet smelling.

T Have you ever made sweet tea and accidentally put too much sugar in, and you don’t notice until you taste it? That’s what this is like. Sweet and tart raspberries, mango nectar, the tiniest touch of funk rests on the tongue on the finish. Artificially flavored seltzer water. It’s borderline sour, but the syrupy sweetness drowns it out. Peach pit, Arnold Palmer, fruit leather, turbinado sugar. 

M High carbonation, slightly mouth puckering, surprisingly off-dry finish

A Tart cherries, a little tobacco, some astringency

C This is as sweet as fruit juice, and more like a wine spritzer than a beer. Nonetheless, I’m sure it’s right up someones alley, just not mine. I prefer a straight lambic or a gueuze. But I’m happy to have had the opportunity to try it! 

FP Pear and candied walnut pizza with caramelized onions. Chèvre cheesecake with graham cracker crust. Salted caramels.

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

I'm sure many of you are familiar with how Guinness in a can works. It has what they call a "widget" inside of the can that releases nitrogen when the can is opened, effectively replicating that creamy mouthfeel and visual cascading effect that's most often enjoyed on draft. In 2011, the geniuses over at Left Hand Brewing Co. figured out a way to bottle a nitrogen beer without a widget. After an extensive 15 minute research session, I am here to tell you I have no idea how it works. I don't know if it's a dearly kept secret or something, but I wasn't able to find any sort of scientific or dumbed down explanation of this black magic. If I find one, I'll be sure to put it up here!

Nitro beers are very visual, and if you pour them wrong, you're failing the beer. Pay attention, kids! This is how it's done.

You can read more about Left Hand's nitro beers here.

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355ml) bottle into a nonic pint, 6% ABV, Enjoy By 06/11/15

A Dark chestnut in color with ruby highlights. Two fingers of super thick, khaki colored froth rest on top. I could watch that gorgeous cascade of beer settle in the glass all day. Sheets of froth cover the glass as I drink, not unlike my upper lip.

A Equal parts sweet and roasted malt. Plenty of coffee, nuttiness, and a hint of oak.

T Oh my… a great sadness has just come upon me. I have found another favorite beer that doesn’t distribute to Utah. This. Is. Incredible! Vanilla bean, coffee, and dark chocolate all wrapped up in a soft blanket of sweet lactose. Walnuts, fresh cream, roastiness. And everything is so perfectly balanced. This is actually perfect. 

M The mouthfeel of this beer contributes tremendously to the overall impression. Nitrogen gives beer a silky, milkshake texture that you simply never get from carbon dioxide alone. 

A Cafe latte, nougat

C This is as close to a beer milkshake as you will ever get. This just might be a perfect beer. I lend not just my left hand, by my right as well in applauding the creators of this masterful milk stout! This isn’t an extreme beer. The subtleties of flavor are all in balance, creating a flavorful but not overwhelming beer. I wouldn’t change a thing. Bravo Left Hand Brewing!

FP Buttered whole grain toast with avocados and a dash of salt and pepper. Fish and chips, no sauce. Angel food cake.