A Sunday Respite with Good Beer

We capped off the weekend with a quiet dinner at Capital Ale House on Sunday evening. That meal was highlighted by a couple of excellent beers recently tapped at the restaurant. Colleen chose a Peach Berliner Weisse from Perennial Artisan Ales. My selection was Hardywood Park Hoplar IPA.

The Berliner Weisse was refreshing with a crisp tartness backed with a hint of wheat. There was a pleasant peach fragrance, but the peach flavor was mild and just moderated the sour aspect. Although the server warned Colleen it was very sour, it was not excessively so. The almost-sparkling carbonation made for quite a refreshing and light feeling beer. Perfect for summer evenings and warm weather!

The Hoplar IPA is Double IPA aged on Virginia Tulip Poplar wood. The aroma is a mix of pine and citrus, with an earthy note. The aroma is rich but balanced. The first sip of the beer put a smile in my face. This is what a DIPA should be. It's a strongly flavored, 100 IBA beer that is complex and amazingly well balanced. The resinous pine and bitter citrus combine with earth and wood undertones create a rich and robustly flavored beer that doesn't coat or kill the palate. A moderately creamy body with a thick mouthfeel that finished clean leaving just a touch of bitterness left behind.

I enjoyed my Hoplar with an extremely spicy Mexicali Chicken Salad consisting of grilled chicken breast tossed in a spicy habenero pale ale wing sauce with roasted corn relish, avocado, pickled red onions, jalapeño peppers and bleu cheese. My rule on spicy food is if my head doesn't sweat, it wasn't done right. However I found myself leaving some of the jalapeños behind. But still, the rich Hoplar held its own.

We were enjoying the beers so much, that we decided to stay a bit longer and enjoy another round. It was an easy decision to stick with our same beers as we finished dinner. I enjoyed Hardywood Hoplar very much and I hope I can get back to CAH for more, or perhaps even find it locally in a bottle.

A Bell's Brewing Break From Cabin Fever

Friday Night was the "Bell's Dirty Dozen" tap takeover at Capital Ale House, so Colleen and I headed downtown for some good beers and a meatless dinner. The roads were clear from this week's snowstorm, and with more snowfall headed our way Saturday, this was likely to be the only break from the Winter doldrums we'd have this weekend.

Before we got to the beer menu, we needed to order food. We struggled a bit with the menu during this Friday in Lent. Perusing the appetizer menu we paused at the tasty Fried Pierogies; Fried potato and onion pierogies topped with applewood smoked bacon bits. And the soup special on Fridays is Scallop Chowder, with bacon. We finally settled on the Spinach, Crab & Artichoke Dip appetizer and Fish & Chips as our main course. Now on to the beer.

Twelve Bell's Brewing beers were offered, some new, some we've enjoyed before. We selected a few that we planned share during the evening. I had already decided I would start with the seasonal Hopslam Double IPA. This is an intensely hoppy beer, one whose popularity I believe is enhanced by its limited availability. I refuse to pay $20-$30 for a six pack, but do try to enjoy it on draft each year. Colleen ordered the Third Coast Old Ale Barleywine. This one has some nice dark fruit and is mildly flavored, as Barleywines go, but quite enjoyable. 

Also on tap this evening were some interesting beers from Perennial Artisan Ales of St. Louis, Missouri. When we were handed that menu, our decision making was thrown for a loop, since we now had more options to process. (A good problem to have.) Colleen ordered Perennial's Vermilion Barleywine. This one was a little more robustly flavored than the Bell's version, with rich, dark fruit and molasses notes. After much thought, and a recommendation from a friend, I opted to stick with Bell's and ordered Roundhouse IRA, an "India Red Ale." Slightly sweet and resinous, the flavor of the hoppy red ale was at first hidden by the lingering flavors of the barleywines. After a few sips my palate "reset" and I enjoyed the full flavors of the beer.

There were still many interesting beers to try, from both menus, but one can only do so much in a sitting. I decided to wind down with a Bell's Kal-Haven Ale. This Rye Ale is fermented with Brettanomyces yeast giving it a funky, sour flavor. The sourness worked well with the breadiness of the rye. It was certainly a switch from the evening's previous beers. I lingered on this glass for quite a while, sipping slowly and enjoying the interesting flavor of the sour ale.

It was an extremely pleasant evening, and a great relief from being cooped up by work and weather. As I write this post on Saturday morning, the snow is falling steadily. (And another planned trip to the range cancelled.) I guess as ProudHillbilly noted, February is hibernation time. But hey, I don't have to like it!