Beer Review - Whiskey Warmer

Rahr Brewing Company Whiskey Warmer - 8.5% ABV

Rahr's Winter Warmer is a dandy beer ... absolutley the best beer that Rahr produces.  Dark brown and cloudy.  Rich and robust.  Roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of hops.  A dandy, dandy brew indeed.

Then those sneaky bastards go and age it in a whiskey barrel.  Mother Goose.  Bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits, chocolate and a hoppy kick at the end.  It drinks smooth and creamy without much carbonation to slow you down, which is dangerous with this much alcohol.  Zero to sloppy in 10 minutes flat, a new record.

Not only is this the best Texas beer on the market, it is one of the best of the season.  Bravo to you Fritz.

Rahr and Sons Brewing Company
701 Galveston Avenue
Fort Worth, Texas 76104
http://rahrbrewing.com/

Beer Review - DeuS

Brouwerij Bosteels DeuS Brut Des Flandres - 11.5% ABV

What do you think of when you hear 'The Champagne of Beers'?  Miller High Life, right?  There is a second beer out there that is called 'The Champagne of Beers', so do you wish to guess which is better?  *Hint - it isn't the one that tastes like pee.* 














Brouwerij Bosteels in Buggenhout, Belgium already makes two of my favorite beers in the world, Kwak and Triple Karmeliet.  Now along comes one that they call a Champagne Beer or Biere Brut.  What arrogance, what nerve to name your beer after the most famous style of wine in the world.  But is there merit to their claim?  First, the bottle is a 750 ml bottle shaped much like a champagne bottle.  Second, they suggest that the beer be served quite cold (36 degreesish) and served in a champagne like flute.  Third, lots of carbonation, but not the same.  Whereas champagne bubbles are quite large and rapidy dissapate, DeuS' head is like meringue and persists...forever.  And lastly, the price.  This beer is priced quite high and the question would be is it worth the price?

The smell of the brew is quite complex. Malt, apple, cloves, citrus, ginger and a sourness that leads you to believe that this is going to be a sour Flemish broun ale.  Another difference between champagne and the champagne of beers is the texture.  Take a sip of champagne and the carbonation tickles your tongue with it's bubbly goodness.  Deus is as smooth as silk, gliding, not dancing across your tongue.  The sourness you smelled does not really manifest itself until the sip is gone.  Bready goodness from the malts and yeast, sweet candy ginger, cloves, allspice and a bit of underlying fruit are all apparent.  Also quite apparent is the 11.5%.  Fire, to balance the sweetness.  A truly magnificent beer, one of the top ten that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.  Champagne?  Not really, more like a superb saison.  $35 per bottle?  Only you can say if DeuS is in your budget, but to me if is not really worth the price.  For $10 less I can get the Mahleur Brut which is still at the very top of my favorite beers list.

Brouwerij Bosteels
Kerkstraat 92
Buggenhout 9255
Belgium
http://www.bestbelgianspecialbeers.be/main_eng.html

Beer Review - St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale - 10% ABV

This is the latest offering from the monks at Abbey S. Bernardus in Watou, Belgium.  I cannot even begin to describe to you the magnificence of this brew and even though I will try, I know that I will fall short.  This deep, dark ale has a thick, creamy head and a velvety texture, which is kind of odd considering the high carbonnation.  The head will persist quite a long while, but be patient, let is slowly dissipate.  I assure you that it is worth the wait.  While you wait inhale the aromas.  Suble dark fruits, malts and a dose of alcohol ethers that will announce themselves a bit later.

Caramel malts, dark fruits, a bit of tangy Belgian yeast will tickle your palate.  Bready and much less sweet than I was expecting.  After you sip and taste all of those lovely flavors you will notice the alcohol burn as you exhale.  This one was even stronger due to that this one was purchased last year and allowed to concentrate the flavors and alcohol.  Simply magnificent.

Even if you don't celebrate Christmas you will want to celebrate this Ale.  Share it with your friends, or drink it yourself and crawl to bed like I did.

Brouwerij ST.Bernard
Trappistenweg 23
8978 Watouinfo@sintbernardus.be

http://www.sintbernardus.be/en/

 

Restaurant Review - Flipping Out Crepes & Coffee

Have you ever had a Crepe?  "Like the ones at Denny's"?  You ask.  Kind of, but not really.  I am talking about the real thing, like the ones you get on a streetside cart in Paris.  "How in the hell would I know what those are like?"  you exclaim,  "I've never been to Paris, unless you mean Paris, Texas in which case yes, I had crepes at the Denny's".  No Bubba, you really should try the real thing and I am going to tell you where you can get an pseudo-authentic crepe right here in DFW.  Why pseudo-authentic?  Let me 'splain, Lucy.

A crepe (pronounced 'krep' if you must know) is a pancake and before you ask, not like the ones at Denny's or even IHOP.  They originated in Brittany (which is part of France, not England) and are very thin and made of buckwheat.  If you get chance to watch them make one you will notice that they pour the very thin batter on a grill and shape it with a spatula instead of dumped from a bucket into a frying pan like the ones we are used to eating.  The crepes themselves are quite authentic and quite delicious.  Now here is where the pseudo comes in, the fillings are quite un-French, which should please the France bashers out there to death.

Scott Hoffner, the chef and owner of the establishment, graduated from Johnson and Wales University and was a chef at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa and is now the personal chef for Dallas Maverick Tyson Chandler.  Scott is also a bit of a panderer, which can be a little annoying, but is truly a nice fellow that loves to chat, he also has created some dandy crepes for you to enjoy.

The restaurant itself is in Addison is a tiny building in a parking lot on Beltline that has been a hotdog shack, a cell phone store, a flower shop and only god knows what else.  Finally the little shack has found someone who can make it something other than a home of broken dreams.  It is so tiny in fact that you will notice as you walk in, the there is nowhere for you to sit your weary bones down and enjoy your new favorite treat.  In fact, if there are more than 3 people inside you will be able to touch strangers inappropriately and then be able to convince them that it was truly an accident, you pervert.  They do have several tables set up outside behind the store for you to use at your leisure.

Flipping Out offers you breakfast crepes (no, not like Denny's, let it go) like the Mile High Club which is Danish Ham, smoked bacon, egg, bell peppers, onions and swiss cheese smothered with a bacon mushroom cream sauce all tucked nicely into the crepe.  The crepe is folded into a cone so that you can eat it like a sandwhich. 

You can get Savory crepes like the Tyson Chandler (hmmm, now where have I heard that name before) which is roasted chicken, spinach and mushroooms smothered with a creamy bacon cheese sauce, again tucked into a crepe.  Or my favorite Lemon Chicken, herb crusted and served with asparagus, parmesian and lemon cream sauce. 

Or go for a desert crepe like the Nutella served with the hazelnut chocolate, strawberries and bananas.

This little restaurant that could serves up crepes which will be familiar, yet unfamiliar to those who know crepes and an exotic delight for those who only know those served by you know who.  Give it a try and thank Scott for taking the risk, you will be happy you did.  Oh, and try the coffee, it's dandy.

Flipping Out Crepes and Coffee
4021 Beltline
Addison, TX
http://www.flippinoutcrepes.com/index.htm

Beer Review - Lump of Coal Stout

Ridgeway Brewing Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout - 8% ABV

I love Christmas ales.  I love winter stouts.  I love holiday porters.  Most breweries give a merry nod to the holidays by producing one or two of the aformentioned lovlies, all for me.  That's correct, they are all made specifically for me, but as that I am a really nice guy, I am willing to share. 

Have you ever heard of Ridgeway Brewing? No? Probably because it is relatively new, founded a only a few years ago in South Stoke in southwest of England by Peter Scholey. Now Peter, you see, was once the head brewer of a magnificent brewery named the Brakspear Brewery in Henley-on-Thames which had been producing famous ales since 1779, but the owners sold it off in 2002 to make way for a hotel. Poor misguided bastards.

Ridgeway brewing goes about the holiday brews a little differently, as far as I can find, they only produce winter ales.  Santa's Butt Porter, Bad Elf IPA, Seriously Bad Elf Ale and this beauty, the Lump of Coal Stout.

This stout pours dark, not so dark as its namesake, but every bit as dark as a stout should be with a bit of ruby red coloring at the edges.  You may be fooled by the lack of nose that the beer will be light and flavorless, but you, my friend, would be wrong.  But don't expect a heavy, thick stout either, this one is lightly textured and lightly carbonated.  You will taste coffee, chocolate and a bit of dark fruit.  The hops are present, but only expose themselves as you swallow it down.
It is not a great beer, but not a bad beer either and with all of that alcohol you can sit by the fire playing with your new iPad amid the debris of present wrappings from toymaggedon and not feel the pain as you contemplate how to pay for all of this.

Ridgeway Brewing
6 Chapel Close
South Stoke RG8 0JW
Telephone: +44 (0) 1491 873474

Beer Review - Good Gourd

Cigar City Brewing Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale - 8.5% ABV

So earlier in the year we took a trip to Tampa, Florida to taste the offerings brewed by the Cigar City Brewing Company.  I have to say that at that time we were a bit less than impressed, but that may be because we were short on time and tried to taste as many beers as we could.  Which beers did we try?  Why their best selling mass market beers of course, and as with any brewery, for some reason, their best selling beers are typically the most underflavored because as we all know, the best selling beer in America is Bud Light.  And we wouldn't want to shock the tastebuds of those who guzzle buckets of that swill, would we?

So our old friend Travis Kruger, their marketing and sales guru, challenged us to try some of their specialty beers.  So off we went to Tampa to give them a second chance and I am forced to admit that I may have been hasty in my earlier judgement. 
The Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale is a delightful seasonal that I so much wish was available in Texas.  I may be ... no, strike that ... it is definitely the finest seasonal ale that I tried this fall.  The beer pours a cloudy orange-gold with a fluffy white head.  The smell is of malts, pumpkin, nutmeg and gingerbread.  Mmmmm .... yummy.  The flavor?  Thanksgiving in a bottle that tastes every bit as good as it smells.  The malts, pumpkin and nutmeg are all there, vanilla, caramel and sweet bread make it a liquid dessert.  Balanced, complex and magnificent.  Bravo gentlemen.

I will suggest to you that later this winter, when you are tired of freezing your buns off, take a trip to the Florida sunshine and stop in Cigar City and have a few .... dozen ..... beers.

Cigar City Brewing
3924 W Spruce Street, Suite A
Tampa, Florida 33607
http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/

Beer Review - Sierra Nevada Harvest

Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Pale Ale - 6.7% ABV

One of the last of the fall season ales for this year and a beautiful addition it is.  Sierra Nevada is on of the original craft brewers in America.  In a time when Michelobe was considered a premium beer, these guys burst our of Chico, California in 1980ish with beer with FLAVOR.  "Flavor"? we asked, "Who ever heard of a beer with flavor"?  So then we tried it and were floored.  "Holy Shit!  We LOVE flavor"! we exclaimed, "Give us more"!  And so the craft beer movement began and has steamrolled in to the giant that it is today.

Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops—the same day they are picked—to the brewery in Chico where they are dumped immediately in to the brewing kettles.  Those fresh oils and resins are what give the Harvest Ale the wonderfully fresh flavor, 110 pound of the stuff per batch in fact.  You smell the hops, you taste the hops and you love the beer, that is how it works.

You will be hard pressed to find a fresher, cleaner tasting beer.  This on comes in limited quantities so grab some while you can.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
1075 East 20th Street
Chico, CA 95928

http://www.sierranevada.com/index2.html