Southern Appalachian Beer Guide

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I picked up the latest Blueridge Outdoors and was pleasantly surprised to see a feature on beer. More specifically, a feature on Appalachian Breweries.The story leads in with attributing the mircobrew revolution to Georgia's own Jimmy Carter who in 1978 repealed a law that made it illegal to brew beer in your home (don't worry you can still shelter soldiers and have guns in them).

The tour of the Appalachian Breweries features 8 total, 2 in Georgia, and 3 from which I think we've sampled. Each brewery is written up with the following sections: signature beer, limited edition, the scene, and an adventure pairing. This last section is the BRO twist on the normal beer review and a welcome addition. It includes road bike riding in Athens and hiking in Asheville. Definitely some great suggestions for future Beer Club outings. Several of the breweries are in Virgina and West Virginia. I am heading up there for a wedding in June and will see what I can bring back with me.

Hop City: A Review by Brennan

[I am his minion, posting on his behalf]

Vargo and I went to the opening of the Hop City, which was promised to be a par-tay...and it was mos def not a party of any kind. There were some people milling about, but no muzak and, instead of free beer, glassware and t-shirts flowing like wine, there was only a rep from a brewery that was handing out STICKERS. Like we were five or something. No free beer in sight.

But I was really impressed with the selection. Lots of beers I haven't even heard of. There's enough there to keep beer club tipsy on new tastes for some time coming. The homebrew stuff isn't out yet but will be soon. So, I picked up a 6-pack of Great Divide's Imperial Porter and big bois of Avery's Quadruppel, Left Hand's Imperial IPA, and Stone's "Self-RIghteous" Ale, while Vargo picked up a 6-pack of RJ Rocker's Imperial ESB (where sticker-boy was from), a 6-pack of Duck Rabbit's Barleywine, and a big boi of Fort Collins' Oak Barrel Belgian ale (barrel-licker or something). We swapped out a couple of the 6- packs.

I tried the RJ Rocker this evening, and was pleasantly surprised. It's not an IPA, for sure, but the hops are there, and there's a good bit of grapefruity hop action that is well-balanced with the malts. It begins fruity and ends bitter. Pours a good head, and dark for an ale. Prety good, and masks the 8.5 per cent well.

The Stone Russian Stout we had was very alcoholy, and very chocolatey. After I got past that, it was smooth sailing. Surprised, though, that Stone got out-hopped in the Stout department by Victory.

BTW, the dude from hop city promised us that he
(1) could get ANY kind of torpedo keg we wanted
(2) would definitely have Russian River beers in stock sometime this year.
He said Pliny the Elder is as good as everybody has said. For all those IPA junkies out there, this is the holy grail of hops.

The website, um, sucks.

Tour de Ponce (Decatur)

Fresh off the first ever Tour de Ponce I began to imagine what a Tour de Ponce (Decatur) might look like. It would definitely have less transvestites and smoking and more kids and delicious beer. It should be said that the purpose of the Tour is to test endurance, to hang with friends and to hit many bars (some that you'd never otherwise go to). It is not beer focused, though it could be tailored to DSBC's (dare I say) very discerning tastes.

I think it would start at the Angel (whoops, The Grange) and head east. Stage 2 could be at Taqueria for some margaritas or at Watershed. And already you begin to see one issue with the Decatur Tour; it's a lot of restaurants that happen to serve expensive, but, delicious drinks. In laying out the tour I've decided to take the cheap, loud, and obnoxious route. So stage 2, Taqueria. Stage 3, Mellow Mushroom and Stage 4 Taco Mac. Is there a Sushi Avenue I might have skipped? Then we have Chocolate Bar or Ted's and then past Ruby Tuesday's and on to everyone's favorite, the Brickstore. I think we could head into the square to include Birdi's and Raging Burrito unless you think those are on Church. Finally we hit Leon's.

Part of the trouble of sticking to Ponce is that we exclude a lot of other places, like Twain's, Java Monkey, Eddie's Attic, Depeaux, Care Diem, and we include a lot of places that we all know pretty well already. I'd like to hear from other readers (read, DSBC members and family) what places we might be overlooking and what you think should be included.

Barley Wine

Recently I sent an email to my cousin, Brad, who is in the Army fighting the Taliban (I think). It was in response to the periodic updates that my aunt sends out. Through them I was introduced to a magazine called Robb Report. It features the highest of the high end luxury goods, including yachts and nautical-themed pashmina afghans. I related to Brad that there was little in the magazine that I could ever dream of possessing but that beer, coffee and sometimes food tend to be the sectors of fine-ness into which I can afford to delve.

Naturally I searched the Robb Report for beer. Their focus tends to be on wines but they recently featured a beer that has wine in its name: barley wine. Since writing the article we've sampled several in our group, though I have never had any mentioned in the RR article.

Below are links to three of the barley wines we've sampled recently at DSBC. I think the Avery scored the highest. All in all I really like them. They're big and bold (Avery is most hoppy) but have a twist that is not too bitter. I have been meaning to revisit some of them to gain more insight into the subtleties, but as yet have not. The next one I intend to try is Duck Rabbit's version, now out as their seasonal.

So, apparently barley wines are the what the elite are drinking, or at least cellaring, these days. I think we should buy a few and age them for a one or two-year anniversary. Or a 20th meeting anniversary.

Avery Hog Heaven
Lagunitas Gnarly Wine
Great Divide Old Ruffian

up next
Duck Rabbit Barley Wine

Beer Wars

Last night we organized to go and see the 'live' viewing of the movie Beer Wars . The event was being hosted by Ben (don't call me Gerhard) Stein and shown in theaters around the country. It conveniently fell on the 3rd Thursday of the month and thus we decided to hold court as usual. We met at Panahar Bangladeshi Restaurant beforehand to simultaneously satisfy and whet our appetites. (beer tasting notes to follow I presume) We rushed through dinner and beers and ran out the door with little time to spare in making it over to the theater. But, all of our effort was for naught as we sat in the seats and watched a movie about beer without sound. After 10 minutes of this they told us that they would not be able to fix the movie and that they would refund our money and give us coupons to come back and see another movie for free. Thus, this is the closest we can get to seeing Beer Wars.

We remain excited and enthusiastic about this work and look forward to seeing it, as it was intended, soon.

Beer Club Mountain Excursion: Mountain Breweries

Theme: Mountain Breweries
Date: April 11th, 2009
Location: Sam's totally awesome mountain house in Rabun Gap, GA. The first official Beer Club overnight and, with that, the first time no one had to drive home. Historic and hopefully repeatable. Twelve happy members present.
Beer club rating of the view: 22 (almost everyone's double thumbs up-- Christout was hesitant.)



Let's get to the beer!

1) French Broad Gateway Kolsch,
Asheville, NC

This beer "smells like wet dog" and offers a "metallic taste" that had drinkers saying, "has a lot more flavor, but similar to Miller Lite."
Beer rating: -1

2) French Broad 13 Rebel ESB
Asheville, NC

The second Asheville offering "tastes better than it smells" ("like mold"), reminded reviewers of "cocoa", and had one participant recalling fondly, "a little fruitiness at the end, just like my old boyfriend*."
Beer rating: 3

3) Fort Collins Retro Red
Fort Collins, CO

This beer was considered "quite hoppy for a red ale" and tasted "metallic - copper, specifically," and reviewers were quick to add "I could go for more of them." Seemingly unrelated: "old speckled hen" and "My first fake ID was from Fort Collins!"
Beer rating: 6

4) Breckenridge Avalanche Amber Ale
Breckenridge, CO

While reviews began mild: "sour at first," "I kinda taste paper", so too was the beer. "You could drink this all night long, but your palate would not be challenged" preceeded "single dimensional" and the damning, "I will never drink Breckenridge again!"
Beer rating: -5

5) Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA
Fort Collins, CO

Comments were brief as beer was enjoyed: "fruity" "excellent" and "nicely hopped."
Beer rating: 7

6) Collaboration Not Litigation Ale, Avery Brewing
Boulder, CO

This "ode to Matthew Vivian" and peace was "caramel-y," "peaceful and caramel-like" and "layered." "Puckering at the end" and a taste of "meunster cheese" led to exclamations of "whoa- this is different" and "I love this!"
Beer rating: 11

DINNER BREAK

Turkey Chili: "If you know anything about me, it's that I love turkey chili. If you know two things about me, it's that I will go for seconds of turkey chili."
Frito topper: "I learned this from my school cafeteria." "I'll have to stop by for lunch sometime."
Corn Bread: "Can I have this recipe?"
Salad: "Thanks for keeping the cheese separate!"
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils ("ick")- Lyon's, CO

ONWARDS!

7) Stone Levitation Ale, Stone Brewing Co.
San Marcos, CA

This "bitter" ale was considered "really hoppy, but not in an IPA way" and one drinker declared, for better or worse, "I've never tasted a beer like this before." With its low alochol content, members noted "you can almost sell this in Utah!" As for its label? "Explanation too long." In sum, "I don't care for this" "No thank you."
Beer rating: -3

8) Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine
Denver, CO

Drinkers likened this "really hoppy, but sweet!" brew to "dark fruit-- fig! Prune!" and declared it "syrupy with an alcohol kick." Of barleywine in general: "Barleywine: they're like shape-shifters or something."
Beer rating: 9

9) Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine
Boulder, CO

Members asked, "what are some synonyms for 'head'?" when poured this "sweet n' malty" brew which, in comparison to the last beer, was "sweeter- spiciness with the initial taste." Also, the following words are written in all caps: "RUPE EJECTS!" Huh.
Beer rating: 10

10) Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout
Lyons, CO

One VERY enthusiastic review was countered by the comment "motor oil." Others too involved in a discussion of time travel to focus on beer.
Beer rating: 5

11) Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Denver, CO

Though one reviewer was "too drunk to comment", he wrote(?) "vanilla and perhaps a lot of hops for an imperial stout." Others called it "amazing" and "killer, dude."
Beer rating: 11

Closing notes: while the focus and the comments dwindled at the end, the taster's appetites certainly didn't. Two (2!) flourless chocolate cakes, agreed by all to be quite rich (with one glaring exception), apple matzoh kugel, and popcorn were all happily consumed. There was also a delicious Belgian berry beer (I cannot remember the name- little help?) that was enjoyed off the record. Also, not taking cabs or having to drive was fantastic.

Thanks again to Sam for her incredible hospitality!

*Best comment of the night?

Picture at top taken, without permission, from Catherine. Thanks!

Next meeting: Thursday, April 16th at Panahar, followed by a viewing of "Beer Wars"
Theme: ???

New Side Project

The new Terrapin Side Project is out. It's Volume 5 and it's a Belgian IPA called Monk's Revenge. Has anyone had it yet? I'm not sure when it came out but it was blogged about on March 26th by Creative Loafing.

Not listed on the Brickstore Tap List as of yet but I'll see if I can score it for our get-away to the mountain monastery this weekend.

.v.

Beating the Drum for Beer

Katy's letter in response to a Sherlock's/Cook's Warehouse wine tasting:

Hey there Cooks / Sherlocks! I am glad to know about all these lovely events you hold. May I suggest that you do a beer tasting sometime at the Warehouse? Our Beer Club would be able to gather a wide number of participants, and your beer selection is rather strong. Best, Katy

Let me suggest that other Beer Club members beat the beer drum whereever they can!