08.31.05
Posted in beer at 8:55 am by
A week or two ago Zalm opened up a marvelous dialogue about a heavenly liquid I believe to be the teardrops of the Gods–in fermented form. (Zalm’s got another really important winner up today about the nature of transformational and renewing communication, but you’ll have to read that and discuss it over at his crib. Today, we’re talking the nectar of the Gods.)
Clearly, though I shouldn’t need to specify this, the nectar of the Gods is nothing other than beer. (You know, the cause of and solution to all the worlds problems.) Anyway, over at Zalm’s house we were chatting it up about a variety of Belgian ales. Some trappist, some not. I kind of got a little out of line by mentioning some ‘non-Belgians’. Because I was over at his place, I respected Zalm’s right to have a Belgian-only post. Yet, I’m an inclusive guy and I didn’t want all those other beer styles feeling bad. Thus, I decided, I would start with a series (yes, it even has its own category) of posts about beer.
Also, being a Sufjan fan, I thought it might be pertinent to do a ‘50 states’ beer tour. Of course, the problem with this (writing deeply on beers from each of 50 states) is that I haven’t much of a clue about beers native to places like Hawaii, for example. Then, as I began to ruminate on this problem, a solution sort of reared it’s beautiful foamy white little head. I will participate in the drinking of more beer so as I can knowlegeably speak about microbreweries native to states in which I’m not a native! The perfect solution.
Thus, much like Sufjan, I’ll start my beer expedition off right here in my home-state of Michigan. I’ll hit a few beers that I think are great. If I miss one you really like, feel free to comment on it, but please don’t question my beer credentials–that’s just likely to piss me off. (Mostly because I haven’t any beer credentials, but I fancy myself cultured in the area anyway.)
If you’re an of-age Michigander and you haven’t heard of Oberon by Bell’s, you should be permanently disbarred from being a member of the Great Lake State. Any way you shake it, you certainly can’t consider yourself a beer connoisseur, and not know about Oberon. Oberon is a summer beer. It’s light and fruity. If properly garnished, it’s served with an orange wedge. Great mouth-feel and a good flavor. This is a great beer to move one from drinking the regular American piss flavoured beers (e.g. Miller Light, Bud Light, Budweiser, PBR, Old Schlitz, etc.) into a nice fresh microbrew without too much of what I like to call “Flavour Shock”. (Flavor Shock is when you’re used to drinking shitty beer and then you taste a good beer but are so overwhelmed by the flavours that you think ‘good beer tastes bad’. Most everybody goes through it when they make the switch from shitty to good beer, some worse than others.)
Alright, I also am a big fan of Red’s Rye by Founders Brewing Company. I drink this a bit less in the summer, as it’s not as light as an Oberon, but more in the Fall and Winter. I wouldn’t say this amber is heavy, but it is quite spicy. There are CLEAR rye notes in the beer. The aroma of this beer is exceptionally distinctive, it has a biting rye flavour. It’s a beautifully colored ale, almost vermillion in color. A deep red. Wonderfully drinkable (in large quantities, I might add) and a great “sit around the ale-house and talk about life” beer. You do have to like American Amber ales to like this one. It’s got a lot of rye malt flavor (of course that’s balanced out by 60 IBUs of hops), so it’s probably not a beer for a beer novice. Yet, it’s not an “expert beer-drinkers only” beer either.
My next selection, as far as complexity goes, IS probably an “expert beer drinkers only”. It’s also from Founders Brewing, this one is called Devil Dancer. Now, this beer was even a tad complex for me. And, one should plan on having only one or two of these fellas, they’re pretty potent at 13% ABV. They’re a quite heavy ale, that’s hopped to an unbelievably high level (200+ IBU’s). All the warnings out of the way, I like this one in the winter. Perhaps, if I’m only in the mood to drink one or two beers on a cold winter’s evening, I’d go for the Devil Dancer. It’s a special ale that calls for special times.
I can see that this is turning out a shade on the long side of things. Yet, I’ve got a lot more to say. I suppose that’s the point of a series, multiple posts, right? Stay tuned for next time when we escape the beer boundaries of west Michigan breweries and move on to the great white north.
Permalink
Trackback URL »
http://www.badchristian.com/2005/08/31/of_the_miraculous_amazing_and_healing_pr/trackback/
Posted in beer at 8:55 am by
A week or two ago Zalm opened up a marvelous dialogue about a heavenly liquid I believe to be the teardrops of the Gods–in fermented form. (Zalm’s got another really important winner up today about the nature of transformational and renewing communication, but you’ll have to read that and discuss it over at his crib. Today, we’re talking the nectar of the Gods.)
Clearly, though I shouldn’t need to specify this, the nectar of the Gods is nothing other than beer. (You know, the cause of and solution to all the worlds problems.) Anyway, over at Zalm’s house we were chatting it up about a variety of Belgian ales. Some trappist, some not. I kind of got a little out of line by mentioning some ‘non-Belgians’. Because I was over at his place, I respected Zalm’s right to have a Belgian-only post. Yet, I’m an inclusive guy and I didn’t want all those other beer styles feeling bad. Thus, I decided, I would start with a series (yes, it even has its own category) of posts about beer.
Also, being a Sufjan fan, I thought it might be pertinent to do a ‘50 states’ beer tour. Of course, the problem with this (writing deeply on beers from each of 50 states) is that I haven’t much of a clue about beers native to places like Hawaii, for example. Then, as I began to ruminate on this problem, a solution sort of reared it’s beautiful foamy white little head. I will participate in the drinking of more beer so as I can knowlegeably speak about microbreweries native to states in which I’m not a native! The perfect solution.
Thus, much like Sufjan, I’ll start my beer expedition off right here in my home-state of Michigan. I’ll hit a few beers that I think are great. If I miss one you really like, feel free to comment on it, but please don’t question my beer credentials–that’s just likely to piss me off. (Mostly because I haven’t any beer credentials, but I fancy myself cultured in the area anyway.)
If you’re an of-age Michigander and you haven’t heard of Oberon by Bell’s, you should be permanently disbarred from being a member of the Great Lake State. Any way you shake it, you certainly can’t consider yourself a beer connoisseur, and not know about Oberon. Oberon is a summer beer. It’s light and fruity. If properly garnished, it’s served with an orange wedge. Great mouth-feel and a good flavor. This is a great beer to move one from drinking the regular American piss flavoured beers (e.g. Miller Light, Bud Light, Budweiser, PBR, Old Schlitz, etc.) into a nice fresh microbrew without too much of what I like to call “Flavour Shock”. (Flavor Shock is when you’re used to drinking shitty beer and then you taste a good beer but are so overwhelmed by the flavours that you think ‘good beer tastes bad’. Most everybody goes through it when they make the switch from shitty to good beer, some worse than others.)
Alright, I also am a big fan of Red’s Rye by Founders Brewing Company. I drink this a bit less in the summer, as it’s not as light as an Oberon, but more in the Fall and Winter. I wouldn’t say this amber is heavy, but it is quite spicy. There are CLEAR rye notes in the beer. The aroma of this beer is exceptionally distinctive, it has a biting rye flavour. It’s a beautifully colored ale, almost vermillion in color. A deep red. Wonderfully drinkable (in large quantities, I might add) and a great “sit around the ale-house and talk about life” beer. You do have to like American Amber ales to like this one. It’s got a lot of rye malt flavor (of course that’s balanced out by 60 IBUs of hops), so it’s probably not a beer for a beer novice. Yet, it’s not an “expert beer-drinkers only” beer either.
My next selection, as far as complexity goes, IS probably an “expert beer drinkers only”. It’s also from Founders Brewing, this one is called Devil Dancer. Now, this beer was even a tad complex for me. And, one should plan on having only one or two of these fellas, they’re pretty potent at 13% ABV. They’re a quite heavy ale, that’s hopped to an unbelievably high level (200+ IBU’s). All the warnings out of the way, I like this one in the winter. Perhaps, if I’m only in the mood to drink one or two beers on a cold winter’s evening, I’d go for the Devil Dancer. It’s a special ale that calls for special times.
I can see that this is turning out a shade on the long side of things. Yet, I’ve got a lot more to say. I suppose that’s the point of a series, multiple posts, right? Stay tuned for next time when we escape the beer boundaries of west Michigan breweries and move on to the great white north.
Permalink
Trackback URL »
http://www.badchristian.com/2005/08/31/of_the_miraculous_amazing_and_healing_pr/trackback/
rachel said,
August 31, 2005 at 1:54 pm
hmmm beer. what about new holland brewery? ; ) i like the mad hatter and the summerpalooza. (i think thats what it was called)
california has many a good beer as does my home state of washington - this will be a very good adventure, i look forward to hearing about your tasting fun.
kurt said,
August 31, 2005 at 2:29 pm
thanks brandon. i’ve perused your blog a plenty in the past few weeks. it took your mentioning great beer and sufjan in the same post to finally say how much enjoy your thoughts and the dialogue prompted by them.
i’m also a consumer of the wit/wheat/white beers. have you tried Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly?
Brandon said,
August 31, 2005 at 2:30 pm
NHBC is a good one, Rachel. I’m quite a fan of the Zoomer Wit (which reminds me to a degree of Oberon). (A summer wheat beer.) I think you’re a fan of the Paleooza. A nice Pale Ale.
I’m also a fan of Sundog, a nice amber ale. And, if you’re a tulip festival goer, in the spring you can’t do much better than a Red Tulip Ale.
Zalm, you might be particularly interested in one brew from New Holland Brewing Co. It’s called Black Tulip. It’s a triple brewed in the Belgian style.
Brandon said,
August 31, 2005 at 2:32 pm
Kurt, welcome!
I haven’t tried that beer! I’m a big fan of La Fin du Monde, is Blanche de Chambly similar?
zalm (zalm) said,
August 31, 2005 at 4:42 pm
It was an interesting thing to wake up this morning and discover that I had a lot of traffic checking out posts on both grace-filled conversation and beer. Now it makes a lot more sense. Two great tastes that taste great together, I guess.
I like the way you set goals, my friend. Becoming “The Sufjan Stevens of Beer” sounds plenty noble in my book.
I don’t have a whole lot of experience with Michigan beers. Yet. But I will say that I avoided really dark beers until a few years ago, when my friend convinced me to try a Bell’s Porter that he had brought back from a trip. I’ve never looked back.
Speaking of Unibroue, last night I had their Édition 2005. Wow. My two favorite beers right now are dark German bocks, and this is a Belgian for bock lovers… dark and sweet and yeasty and fantastic.
zalm said,
August 31, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Heh. I had forgotten about the name gag, but apparently my cookie hadn’t.
Eric W said,
August 31, 2005 at 4:54 pm
Brandon - I’ve never agreed with you more.
Oberon is a wonderful brew. If it was available all winter I’d drink it year round. Many co-workers drink Blue Moon, saying it’s as good as Oberon, but I find it a poor substitute.
If you can find it on this side of the state, try Stoney Creek Vanilla porter. The vanilla just takes the edge off a very good porter.
Not from Michigan (or even the US), Caffrey’s Irish Ale is outstanding. Rich and creamy without being heavy like a stout.
Prosit!
Jim said,
August 31, 2005 at 5:12 pm
I’m getting many more beers to add to my list. I just hope I can find the ones y’all are mentioning.
I’ve tried the Blue Moon White and liked it enough to invest in a case. It went well with hot summer nights.
I’m a fan of Great Lakes brewery in Cleveland, my old hometown. Their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter is very good, IMO.
And I’m just polishing off a case one of Greg’s favorites: Optimator. I understand why he likes it so.
Brandon said,
August 31, 2005 at 5:55 pm
I agree utterly and completely, Eric, Blue Moon is a pale substitute for Oberon. If I remember correctly, you’re local in GR, you’ll probably be farmiliar with the Cottage Bar. They’ve actually stopped serving Blue Moon on tap (last I checked) in favour of Oberon.
Mind you, I don’t think it’s bad, per se, just not as good as Oberon.
kurt said,
September 1, 2005 at 9:08 am
Blanche de Chambly is a summer wheat style beer getting much flavor from the strain of yeast used: clove, banana, Quebec. Sublime with a slice of orange and a sliver of sunset scraping the scarlet sky.
Matt said,
September 1, 2005 at 9:12 am
Nice post. I too am going to have cast my vote for the NHBC beers.
As for summer beers, while Oberon and Zoomer can’t really be compared head to head (Oberon is a much fuller, fruitier-tasting beer than is Zoomer), they both serve different moods for me. If Oberon has a downside, it’s that the quality of the product appears to have dropped off over the past couple of years (as is the case, imho, for most of the Kalamazoo Brewing Co.’s beers; as the production runs have gotten larger, the quality just seems to have dipped some; still good, but just not quite as good as it was), and it is becoming a bit ubiquitous around here (GR) resulting in a bit of burnout by me.
My year-round mainstays, though, are certainly NHBC’s Mad Hatter (they have delicious variants on this at the brewery itself) IPA and Bell’s/KBC’s Two-Hearted Ale. These have my votes as not only two of the best local brews, but two of the best brews I’ve ever had, period (and I, like yourself, am somewhat of a beer connoisseur), so I’ve got that goin’ for me.
Finally, as for places to drink it or buy it. My favorite bars in town are probably Cottage and Billys, depending on my mood (although, as I get older, I’m starting to feel increasingly out of place at Billys). Favorite take-home sales establishments: Martha’s Vineyard, of course; The Vineyard (down in Gaines Township); and the Art of the Table (next to Wealthy Street Bakery) has a nice walk-in beer cooler stocked with imports of all varieties.
Again, Nice post.
Tom said,
September 1, 2005 at 9:37 am
I’m far from being a beer expert, so I’ll probably just embarass myself, but:
There’s a brand I’m quite fond of in New York called Saranac. I’m not sure if it’s available anywhere else; I’m from the South originally and have never seen it outside of western NY. They make quite a few varities - my favorite is their black & tan (half stout and half lager). Not only does it taste great, but if you drink too much of it, you will be appropriately punished the following day no matter what precautions you take.
zalm said,
September 2, 2005 at 4:40 am
I’ve had Saranac. The Black & Tan is nice, but I’m partial to their Black Forest. It’s been a while since I’ve been in New York, so I don’t remember anything more specific than I like it. Oh, and it’s not the best thing to spill on your suit at a wedding.
Stephen said,
September 2, 2005 at 12:05 pm
I love IPAs, and I must say that I was a tad disappointed with Bell’s PA. I had expected more body, given their other selections.
I still have a soft spot for McEwan’s Scottish Ale, the first beer I bought legally.
Mmmmm…
Maria said,
December 29, 2005 at 12:17 pm
I know I’m getting in on the beer discussion a little late, but I only just discovered your blog yesterday (12/28/05).
I have to agree that Oberon is one of the best beers ever brewed and would drink it all year long if I could. I moved to Colorado from West Michigan in September and went into Oberon withdraw almost immediately. Being half way across the country Blue Moon is a mediocre substitute - but it’s better than nothing.
I’ve been trying to find a new favorite beer here in Colorado and for the moment I’ve settled on Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins. I know nothing about beer so I can’t talk about it intelligently, but I like it.