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    Thursday, July 09, 2009

    Saisons Greetings

    My second article for Beer Connoisseur was just posted and it's a timely one for a couple of reasons. For one, the Saison style is one of my personal favorite summertime beers, hands down. Who am I kidding? Saisons are one of my favorite beers regardless of season.

    The other reason is that, for the intrepid brewer, saisons are also a terrific style to brew in warm weather as they benefit from a relatively hot primary fermentation. In fact, members of the Aleuminati Alechemists are taking advantage of this fact even now for our third collaborative beer brewing session. I hope to get in on this action soon as well, but with a baby due to arrive any day now, I'm gonna wait until I can focus on the beer again. Until then, you can read about the saison-brewing exploits of Aleuminati luminaries like Ray Grace and Rob DeNunzio right here.

    Oh, and if you haven't subscribed to Beer Connoisseur Magazine yet, and want to become a founding member - complete with many additional benefits - I invite you to use my special invitation code when you subscribe. Just enter FBC-0102 in the 'Promotions' field when subscribing!

    Cheers!

    Friday, July 03, 2009

    Boulevard Beer Buffet!

    Boulevard Smokestack SeriesOn Monday, July 13th we're gonna take our usual "Drink Wisely" session at Kindling Spirits down a new path ... or perhaps I should say a new Boulevard!

    Boulevard Brewing Co. has partnered with beerphilosopher.com and Kindling Spirits to bring you an evening of great beer, great food and great conversation around the other two!

    Beginning at 6PM, we'll host a casual "meet and greet" featuring some fine Boulevard beer in a way you've likely never seen it before - packaged in new aluminum bottles! This is your chance to sample some beer and give the brewery feedback on their new packaging. I don't know about you, but I could definitely fit some Boulevard aluminum bottles in my cooler for upcoming Sunset Concerts! Let 'em know if this is a product you'd like to see hit our local market!

    After the meet and greet wraps up, we'll convene in Kindling's banquet room at 7PM for a session of Boulevard beers, including Unfiltered Wheat, Single-wide IPA and the Smokestack Series The Sixth Glass - accompanied by one of Kindling's excellent buffet-style dinner spreads which I'm told will feature a nice salad, chips and their bistro-style steak sandwich.

    I can taste it already!

    Boulevard BeerAs if that weren't enough, Nicole from Boulevard is gonna walk us through the featured beers during dinner and then break out a special "mystery beer" she's bringing in just for the event. I don't know what it is yet, but it promises to be something unique and elusive. How do you like that, fellow beer geeks?

    Seating is very limited, so be sure and RSVP early to get a spot. They'll undoubtedly fill up fast!

    Kindling LogoTickets are only $15 each.

    Kindling Spirits is located at 1420 Main St. in Crainville, IL (just east of the Carterville crossroads in the old Pioneer Cabin location).

    Please RSVP to (618) 985-2226 and tell 'em the Beer Philosopher sent ya!

    This is sure to be a terrific night and let's face it, you can't eat a decent meal for this price anywhere else in the region and get great food, great beer and increase your beer IQ all at the same time.

    RSVP ASAP!

    Thursday, July 02, 2009

    Pucker Power

    Jolly Pumpkin La RojaDuring a recent tasting event I was hosting at Kindling Spirits - a local boutique beer and wine retailer I work closely with - I deviated from our typical course of excellent, but otherwise "common" beer styles - and threw a slight curve ball at my friends in attendance. Grabbing a green-tinted bottle from the walk-in cooler, I proceeded to pry the crown off of the bottle and then draw the cork up and out, resulting in an audible "poof" as the pressure in the bottle released the accumulated carbonation inside.


    This was the first indication that my friends were in for something ... different. A crown and a cork. Hmmm ... odd.

    Once poured into our house sample glasses (tulip-style, in case you're keeping score), I encouraged the group to let the beer warm a bit by cupping the glassware in both hands, then to swirl the contents vigorously and breathe in the aromas emitting from the glass and into the air. This exercise alone was enough entertainment for me, as I observed peculiar, somewhat contorted looks and a decided grimace or two from those around me.

    What my friends were smelling obviously wasn't your typical fare.

    The brave souls slowly tilted their glasses and tasted the pale gold -colored liquid inside. The reaction this time was priceless. For some, you would have sworn they'd just sipped pure lemon juice, while another quickly summed up his thoughts on the experience with a definitive, "no." The consensus seemed to be that this stuff had clearly gone bad and anyone with good sense would be crazy to intentionally drink this vile substance to which they'd been subjected. I'm sure many now question my palate, and sanity, as a result.

    Good. The process has begun.

    The bottle I brought out was a Lindemans Cuvee Rene - a good but not superlative example of the Belgian gueuze style, in my estimation. While the majority of Lindemans beers you'll find in wide distribution are of the sugary sweet variety and not representative of the traditional Belgian lambic beers, this particular beer I find to be an exception and contrary to my audience's reaction, a good "gateway" beer to introduce the uninitiated into the wild and wooly world of sour beers. Cuvee Rene is not overpoweringly sour and contains enough sweetness to round out the tart edges of this spontaneously-fermented beer. It's tame, relatively speaking.

    While sour beers are still something of a rarity in many parts of the U.S., we are starting to see a growing interest in these wildly complex (pun intended) beers and several American craft brewers are leading the way. Rather than elaborating on the who and what here, I thought I'd share this surprisingly good read from the L.A. Times on the subject. The article mentions several terrific and innovative craft breweries who are doing terrific things with wild yeast strains and wood these days, like Allagash, Jolly Pumpkin and Russian River.

    If you've never had a traditional lambic or gueuze (the Lindeman fruit beers don't count, sorry), I'd encourage you to keep your mind - and your palate - open and try one. Ideally, attend a tasting or a beer dinner where these sour beers are being featured. Often times, the context in which you drink these beers makes a huge difference in how you perceive them. Food pairings, of course, can change an otherwise "offensive" beer into something special. Don't force your palate into submission just because you feel like you'll lose beer geek cred if you don't like sours. They are for many, admittedly, an acquired taste and the pleasure truly is in the journey. Take your time and before you know it, you'll likely be sipping sours with the rest of us wild and crazy people.

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