Another Interesting Stout and Cigar Pairing

After a long-waited IDPA match on Saturday, I sought out another cigar and beer pairing with which to relax before dinner. Looking through the bottle reserves in a dark basement corner, I came across a bottle of Ommegang My Watch Has Ended Imperial Brown Ale. Reading the beer's description, it immediately struck me that a Micallef Grand Bold Maduro would make a fine accompaniment to the ale. 

The stout poured a rich dark brown, with a short beige head. The aroma was a pleasant sweet malt with a hint of chocolate. The flavor profile followed with semisweet cocoa and toffee notes. Mouthfeel was creamy with a short sweet, but not cloying, finish.

The Micallef Grand Bold Maduro is a 7x50 Churchill, featuring a dark Ecuadorian Broadleaf wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The full-flavored smoke offered nutty, wood, and espresso notes. There's a hint of sweetness that complimented the beer flavors quite well. A few salted cashews brought out to snack on were a fitting addition to both the beer and cigar.

I enjoyed this pairing, or actually trio, very much. The Micallef is a smoke I've recently come across and have enjoyed several times lately. Each time I smoke it down to the very end, this time accidentally burning my finger tip as I let it drift too close to the nub. 

I had plans for an after-dinner cigar and beverage as well, but the evening passed with other mindless distractions, ice cream and a movie, to be specific. However other pleasures were still in store for the long holiday weekend.

Ommegang Ommegeddon

After an exciting and exhausting day of shooting, it was time to sit back and enjoy a good beer. (So there you nosey hoplophobes.) I broke out an old bottle of Ommegang Ommegeddon Funkhouse Ale. This explosive-themed beer seemed to be just the thing for the occasion. The bottle was labeled Batch #2, March 2008, and was a gift from a friend some years back.

Ommegeddon is described as a Belgian-style ale with the addition of Brettanomyces yeast, along with dry hopping. The beer pours a bright amber color with a foamy white head. The aroma brings notes of sour apple, citrus, pepper, and bready malts, all with a musty undertone. The initial flavor is citrus and some funky yeast. There's an interesting juxtaposition of sweetness and mild sourness in the taste. The complex flavor profile includes hints of pepper, fruit, and toasted malt. There's copious tingling carbonation present and the beer finishes dry and slightly astringent. The 8% ABV is not readily apparent.

I didn't know what to expect from this beer. That hesitation might have contributed to it being left for so long in storage. However, we enjoyed this very much and found it to offer an interesting combination of flavors. We accompanied our drink with a bowl of fresh strawberries and bananas, and believe it or not, a chocolate bar. It all made for an enjoyable finish to the day. The Ommegang Brewery website lists Ommegeddon on their "historical ales" page, so I'm guessing that the beer is no longer being produced. But I'll keep an eye out for sure.

Beer & Food Tasting, Round 2

Click menu to embiggen

We hosted round two of our 2012 Beer & Food tasting extravaganza this weekend. Based on feedback from the first round, and availability of some menu items, we made just a few adjustments to the menu we presented in May. Colleen spent the days leading up to the event, planning and preparing the foods that were to be served with each course. Without a doubt, her cuisine is as big of a draw as the beer. Our son worked hard serving and clearing throughout the afternoon. For this gathering it was an all male guest list, and they each came with a big thirst and appetite. After a brief introduction to beer and food pairing, tasting procedures, glassware, and a prayer, we got down to the eating and drinking. I purposefully chose beers that are available year round, and brewed domestically. (Although one of the selected breweries is owned by a foreign company.) 

The first two pairings, Starr Hill Jomo Lager with Artichoke Dip and Tortilla Chips, and Victory Prima Pils with Cheddar Bacon Bites were meant to be "appetizers." These beers are craft versions of beer styles that many folks are familiar with. Next up was the Port City Optimal Wit and a Peaches and Cream French Toast Casserole. This combo made quite an impression and Colleen promised to share the recipe with the men's wives. Next up was an old favorite of mine, and one that I've not enjoyed in a while, Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA. I have to admit that when I was shopping for a hoppy beer to serve with the spicy Buffalo Chicken Sliders, I selected the beer for me. As expected, the beer was a hit with the other men as well.

Halfway through the list of beers now, we took a short breather to chat about other things. This gave Colleen a chance to catch up in the kitchen as well. We had a very enjoyable non-beer conversation about travel, guns, and society, before diving back in.

The next selection of Oskar Blues Old Chub with Spicy Beef and Provolone Semolina Panini was another hit that was followed by requests for the recipe. The slow cooked beef was a variation of this recipe, prepared with a Brown Ale. The Scottish Ale was an unfamiliar style to some of the participants, but one they'll seek out again. Next we changed gears a bit and served Ommegang Hennepin Saison with Olivada and Mozzarella on French Bread Crostini. One of my favorite pairings, the rich olive and garlic flavors of the olivada go exceedingly well with the spices of the Saison.

Finally we moved on to the "dessert" segment of the feast. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout paired with a bowl of rich vanilla ice cream and a few chunks of Sea Salt Soirée Dark Chocolate. The rich roasted espresso flavor of the stout served to accentuate the flavors of the ice cream and chocolate. Lastly we brought out Brooklyn Local 2 with Stilton Blue Cheese, Sugared Walnuts, and Red Pear wedges. The mixed plated offered both matched (sweet fruit and walnuts) and contrasting (cheese) flavors. This course served as a light and refreshing ending to the meal.

After about a four hour exploration of beer, we finished over coffee and more conversation. It's always a lot of work to prepare for such and event, and there's no little bit of stress from wanting to entertain well and provide a tasty and enjoyable representation of craft beer. But once it's over, it all seems worth it. It's extremely fun and folks always enjoy themselves. I consider the afternoon a success if our guests leave with a new appreciation of beer and food. And since this done as a benefit for our son's school, it's even better. 

The aftermath

An Ommegang Evening, and a little more

I got together last night with my regular drinking buddies for an eclectic evening of beer tasting. Jerry had been given an Ommegang gift pack for Christmas and was generously saving it until we all could enjoy it together. So Jerry, Frank, Tom and I planned to gather at Jerry's house to drink the Ommegang and a number of other tasty brews. When I arrived Frank and Jerry were already enjoying some Sam Adams Boston Lager. "We didn't know when you'd get here so we started with some Sam." So I had one as well, to prime the pump so to speak. A large spread of crackers, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and dips had been prepared as well to prepare for the evening.

We enjoyed some snacks before settling down to business. First up, Ommegang Hennepin. This Farmhouse Saison pours straw-yellow with a thick billowy head. The aroma is a nice blend of floral hops and earthy yeast. The taste is lightly sweet with orange and apple fruits, and slight hop bitterness. The 7.7% ABV is only barely noticeable. We all enjoyed this one very much.

We opened the Ommegang Three Philosophers next. This interesting beer is a blend of a Belgian dark strong ale and a cherry lambic, Lindeman's Kriek. The pour brought forth a rich mahogany liquid with an off-white head that dropped fairly quickly. The aroma of cherries was at the forefront along with some other dark fruits and sweet malt. After the first taste, none of us were sure we were going to enjoy this. The dark cherry flavor comes out initially, followed by the rich, sweet malt backbone of a Belgian dark ale. It was slightly tart, and somewhat astringent. The 9.8% ABV can be faintly detected in both the aroma and taste. However, I continued drinking and the flavor grew on me. Perhaps some of the initial impression was influenced by coming right off the Hennepin. In the end, Frank and I both decided we liked this one, Jerry passed on finishing his portion.

After the Three Philosophers, Tom finally arrived. Now, our buddy Tom usually prefers his Goldschläger over the beers the rest of us drink and Frank made sure there was a bottle of this cinnamon schnapps on hand, but Tom is always game to try a few beers with us. (I figure if Tom can handle the flavor of the Goldschläger, we'll find a strong beer to his liking sooner or later!) At this point we briefly changed gears, Jerry wanted to try the Cottonwood Low Down Brown Ale he had brought back from a recent trip to North Carolina. Following the strong flavor of the previous beer, this English Brown Ale from Carolina Brewing had a challenge standing up. But we were here for enjoyment, not an ordered tasting. The aroma was faint with just a bit of malt and nuttiness coming through. The flavor was sweet malt with a bit of roasted chocolate. The general consensus was it left us wanting more out of the beer. To be fair, this is decent English Brown Ale and perhaps in another grouping it would present better.

Okay, now we were ready to get in to the third Ommegang beer in the box, Chocolate Indulgence Stout. This beer is made with dark Belgian chocolate. Chocolate Indulgence pours a very dark brown with a thick tan head. It certainly looks like chocolate! The aroma of dark bitter chocolate is very strong and to me it was almost off-putting. Besides the chocolate (dark cocoa, not milk) I noted some dark fruit backed by a faint tartness. The flavor was full of cocoa bitterness, along with some roasted malt that lingers in the end. The beer is only 7% ABV but a bit of alcohol warmth comes through in the finish. The mouthfeel was moderately carbonated and not as thick as I had expected. The general consensus was a drinkable beer but we enjoyed the prior two Ommegang selections more.

At this point I opened the Victory Baltic Thunder I had brought along. I reviewed this beer not too long ago, but hadn't yet had the chance to share it with friends. I gave a quick "history" of the beer as we drank it. I seem to recall it was around this point in the evening we started singing the "B, double E, double R, U N" tune thanks to Tom over at Yours for Good Fermentables. The group was unanimous in our enjoyment of the Baltic Thunder.

After returning from one of his trips to Raleigh, Jerry showed up at my door bearing gifts; a six pack of Highland Kashmir IPA and a 4 pack of 2006 Samichlaus Bier. The IPA was consumed a while ago, but I promised to bring some of the Samichlaus along when we did the Ommegang tasting and we decided to open one now. Samichlaus pours a clear dark amber with a thin head. After the dark or cloudy beers we'd been enjoying so far this was a marked change. There's little carbonation and the aroma is sweet malt and alcohol. The flavor is syrupy sweet but not in a bad way at all. There's a dark fruit aspect to it as well. It is apparent that this is a high alcohol drink (14% ABV) and meant to be sipped. The mouthfeel is slick and warming and everyone enjoyed it very much. I had tasted some 1995 and 1996 vintage Samichlaus recently and decided I really wanted to put some away for a few years. However, this drink is such an enjoyable nightcap that I'm not sure my stash will stay untouched.

At some point a bottle of Piedmont Porter from the Minhas Craft Brewery in Wisconsin made an appearance. What immediately struck us was the label. This had to be the smallest text I've ever seen on a beer bottle, and it was in a script font as well, making it all but impossible to read. We passed it around and all tried to pick out bits of the text. Granted, we've all got 40+ or 50+ year old eyes but this was crazy! The beer poured a very dark brown, with some red showing through at the edges. The thick off-white head dropped rapidly. A faint, but typical porter aroma of roasted malt with a hint of smoke. The flavor was roasted malt and dark chocolate with a thin but highly carbonated mouthfeel.

Tom had left us by this point, and a basket of roasted peanuts in the shell and made it to the table. We opened another bottle of Samichlaus and settled in to sit and sip for a while. Eventually someone looked at the clock and we decided to call it an evening, just barely finishing within the same day we started.

Admittedly my notes from the evening are limited, and, shall we say, scratchy. Most of this was written from memory and will likely be edited when the other participants send corrections! However, the purpose of the evening was to spend time with good friends and enjoy some good beers, which we did quite successfully. And isn't that what beer is all about?

Beer and Thanksgiving Dinner

Here's the requisite beer and turkey post I mentioned yesterday. I start thinking several weeks ago about what beer I should take to my parents house when we visited for Thanksgiving. I had a few requirements in mind. Since we would have a two hour drive home after dinner, I wanted something not too big in ABV. I wanted something in large, corked bottles since I'd be offering it as a replacement for wine and wanted similar impression at the table. Of course, it would have to go with the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc.

I few weeks ago I watched this video tour of the Ommegang Brewery on the Brewing Network. When they discussed their various beers I made a note that the Ommegang Rare Vos seemed a likely candidate. Last week I saw an article on Beer Advocate suggesting beers for pairing with various Thanksgiving foods. One of the beers listed was the Rare Vos, so I took that as confirmation. I decided to bring a couple bottles of this beer when we visited, despite never having tried it.

The Ommegang Rare Vos didn't disappoint. My parents had some thistle glasses on the bar which I used to serve the beer. This Belgian-style Amber Ale pours a cloudy amber red with a nice foamy head that lingers for a long time. It has a very light bready and spice aroma. The beer had just enough spice in the taste to make it interesting, with a slightly sweet, caramel malt body and a light hop bite at the end. Mom and Dad both had a second glass which I took as a sign they enjoyed it. At 6.5% ABV it's quite drinkable. Overall a very easy drinking beer.

And there's more! I was able to bring a new beer home as well. A few weeks ago I sent my parents a link to an article about the Green Peppercorn Tripel being released in bottles by Brewer's Art in Baltimore. I asked them to keep an eye out in their local liquor stores. But they went one step further! They went to Brewer's Art and picked up three bottles for me. I'm looking forward to trying this beer in the future.

Overall, a pretty good beer and Thanksgiving day I'd say. :-)