Beer Evangelists

Check it out at http://columbiabeerenthusiasts.ning.com/.

This winter I’ve tried quite a few seasonal beers; more than I did last year. Thanks to Anderson Valley being added to the list of beers distributed in Missouri I’m able to give their Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale a try.

The beer pours with a thick, tan head that settles quickly. The nose has hints of spice and sweetness from the malts. This beer has a nice mouthfeel, not too heavy, but not too thin either. It is a little sweet and is nicely carbonated. The beer tastes similar to what I think of as an english style. Not my favorite, but it is good.

I was going to have a bottle of Wet Hop Harvest Ale last Friday at Sycamore, but Sanford didn’t have any cold. Which actually was okay since he still had Anchor’s Our Special Ale 2007, which is still one of my favorite winter warmers ever, on tap.

Anyway, back to the Wet Hop Harvest Ale. They had some in stock at Patricia’s (thanks Sarah). I’ve been sitting on this bottle for about a week, waiting for a good opportunity to drink it since I had heard good things and really wanted to savor it.

The beer pours with a thick, white head and has lots of retention. When the head finally settles there is lots of sticky lacing on the glass. The nose it hoppy, the taste is hoppy. The mouth-feel is full and smooth. There is noticable bite and carbonation. The finish is pleasantly bitter. I really enjoyed drinking this beer and will definitely be picking it up again before it is gone.

Jamie from Given2Fly had a brewing session for a few of us that are interesting in brewing. I have never brewed before, so the whole process was new to me. Some of those in attendence have brewed, but I think Jamie is the only one of us doing whole grain brewing. We all had a good time. I could see this becoming a hobby (once the house work is finished, Myra). As far as the beers we brewed, the Imperial Rye IPA is now bottled, and the Imperial Stout is still fermenting. I can’t wait to try them!

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Christmas season beers, especially the Anchor Christmas. Since I have yet to see it in stores here in Columbia, I decided to pop open a Summit Brewing Winter Ale from last year that I had been storing.

This beer pours a very dark brown/carmel color with a thick tan head. The beer has a sweet nose, and tastes a bit like a porter. It is tart, and there is a definite burnt characteristic to it. On first taste I wasn’t sure what to think, but the more I drink of it, the better I like it.

I’m not sure that this beer was intented to be aged, but it aged pretty well in my opinion.

Monday was another great night of tasting. While Belgians aren’t my favorite beers, I was once again struck by how diverse the beers in a particular style can be. Some had that overpowering Belgian funky sweetness, while others were sour. Some were highly carbonated, others were not. I can’t say that I had a distinct favorite last night (I left before the Beast was passed around) but if I had to choose from the ones I tried it would be the Vapeur Cochonne. As always a good time was had by all.

The next tasting is scheduled for Monday, December 15th. Styles will be stouts and Christmas beers.

Don’t forget the next meeting of the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts at Sycamore on November 10th at 9PM. Details at the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts site.

Just a reminder that Sycamore will be hosting another beer dinner on October 27th, one week from today. Here are the details: http://www.sycamorerestaurant.com/events.htm. This dinner looks a bit different, in that no single brewer is featured. A bit more like a tasting that the traditional beer dinner at Sycamore. I’m really looking forward to it!

My first ever bottle of Pliny the Elder. This is a year round offering from Russian River. It came in a 500mL bottle allowing me to use an imperial pint glass and not feel cheated. I’ve been wanting to try this DIPA for quite a while. Thanks to Jason and Jeremy for picking me up a bottle while they were in Denver at GABF. Now if I could have just convinced them to blog GABF I would have been happy. Maybe next year…

Pliny pours golden yellow with a thick, firm head that has some retention. The head also leaves lots of lacing on the glass. Lots of citrusy sweetness on the nose, and bitter pine in the mouth. While bitter, the beer doesn’t have a heavy or overly bitter finish, and is quite drinkable. The finish actually reminds me of peeling and eating a fresh grapefruit.

It is 8% ABV so I don’t know how many I would want in a row, but it is really tasty. And actually, that 8% is hidden well, so I could see this beer sneaking up on me (like Jamie’s Centennial IPA). I will definitely have this one again. Maybe someday we’ll be able to get Russian River here in Columbia, but I don’t expect it anytime soon. Outside of California, Russian River only distributes to Oregon, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.