h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh yes I had encountered the widget numerous times in the past, as well as hearing the reasoning behind it. However I have Never experienced quite the foamy explosion I have with these 2(as of just now)cans of Kilkenny. Could almost-in terms of appearance at least-qualify a 'steam beer'...as in explosion of steam/foam from a ruptured boiler.

Something I didn't notice with the Kilkenny was the cascade effect as the bubbles burst and the beer slowly flows down through the head. I'll have to try one in a Guinness glass.

Just sidestepping the s for a moment......Arizona?? Really??

http://vueweekly.com/dish/story/hot_new_region/

But, back on track, as it were. I notice that Stephen Beaumont picked up a bit more in Alley Kat's Hefeweizen than I did(not that I'm at all shocked) .

http://worldofbeer.wordpress.com

I guess I'll have to taste it again.

Did I do this already?


Dieu du Ciel!
Blanche du Paradis Wheat Beer Brewed with Spices
341ml/5%


The Pour:

Cloudy yellow with a touch of orange and a brief white head.


The Aroma:

Somehow a little off. Fruity and doughy, but there's a bit of an unpleasant overtone in my nose.



The Taste:

Very nice! Malty and full bodied. The spices with which it was brewed are certainly not very prominent. Smooth, with perhaps a bit of citrus after a few good sips. Very subtle. There's a hint of cinnamon in that sip.

I like it.





Earlier this evening I tried a bottle of

Bard's Gluten Free Sorghum Beer http://www.bardsbeer.com/
the label had no %

The Pour:

A nice amber colour but not much head.

The Aroma:

Very fruity. That's all.

The Taste:

Not too bad, but obviously not a barley malt beer. It was quite thin and it had the kind of fruity taste that one gets with many homebrew kits, particularly when using corn sugar rather than malt extract, a flavour which is generally considered undesirable. But, quite enjoyably drinkable as something new. And, if I had Celiac disease and wanted to sit down to a brew, I'd be very happy that Bard's is around.

Gettin' back in the Fri. night groove - Cam Hayden's Fri. Night Blues Party on CKUA, so 'blues'n'brews'...

Cannery Brewing Scotch Ale 650ml bottle, 6.5%abv

The pour

Pours a clear darker copper showing very moderate carbonation. Gradually diminishing 3 finger off-white head. Nice though sparse & transitory lacing.

Aroma

Rather muted caramel maltiness...not too much else detectable.

Taste

Initially malty...with a hint of caramel, then a subtle smokiness rolls in...& fades to a hop bitterness & relatively dry finish.Slightly syrupy medium bodied mouthfeel. Just a bit of smoky aftertaste. Quite nice!

Overpowers the Wensleydale cheese with blueberries.

Quite neutral with the Capriny goat cheese on stoneground wheat cracker.

Seems to soften/mute the Rosenborg Blue on wasa rye.

Brings out a nice brief malty & rather minty burst of flavour with a Lindor Dark truffle.

----

Cannery Brewing Anarchist Amber Ale 355ml can, 5.5%abv

The pour

Lovely clear amber with good carbonation. Two finger pillowy off-white head that settles to a slight ring & smattering of foam - nice lacing.

Aroma

Malty, some...apricot & just a touch of nuttiness.

Taste

Initially a bit of maltiness...slight salty note in there, announcing a somewhat lingering hop bitterness. Rather neutral-only slightly dry, imho-finish...though I find the dryness builds a bit in the aftertaste.

Lends a subtle earthiness to the Rosenborg Blue cheese on wasa rye.

---

And in the cooking with beer category...

Another success, Triple P(pork, parsnip & peppers)Amber Mole, with Wellington S.P.A.

A 72 hour marinade in Alley Kat Amber with a few splashes of Nando's garlic hot sauce worked subtle wonders on the pork. The combination of brown ale & hot sauce(including onion, garlic & a lemon puree)resulting in a very nicely integrated spicing. And the S.P.A. was a splendid compliment, with an initial heat extinguishing quality(yes, mixed emotions...I Like my heat!), but allowing the rich flavours to gradually flow back. The ale was also wonderful with the rich spicy-cinnamon stick & 3 chipotle peppers-infused chocolate sauce.

http://www.wellingtonbrewery.ca/?page_id=17

And I should clarify that the cooking isn't following recipes in the The Best Of American Beer and Food: Pairing & Cooking with Craft Beer(by Lucy Saunders) ...or the author's associaated website http://www.beercook.com/ . I've just used them as general inspiration...some great recipes on the website though. Including one for a mocha freeze - three ingr. ice cream, & shaved .

I've got a recipe for ice cream around here somewhere. I've made it a couple of times and it's quite nice. would be a nice addition.

Baird Brewing Country Girl Kabocha Ale 633ml bottle, 5.8%abv
(started in early 2000 by an American expat & his Japanese wife, kabocha being a variety of winter squash vaguely similar to a green-skinned pumpkin)

The pour

Pours a slightly cloudy copper with good carbonation. Two finger off-white head with a bit of retention...dense lacing.

Aroma

Malty...a hint of yeast & some vegetal notes.

Taste

Vaguely bready malt initially with a hint of slightly sweet vegetable. An earthy bitterness rises up, hops well-integrated...fading to a dry finish. Fuller bodied and a rather creamy mouthfeel.

Wonderful with reheated mole, enhancing the spices slightly. Revealing an earthy veg. compatability with the sliced parsnip/not so much with the bell pepper. Some of that sweet vegetable quality evident with added thinly sliced courgette & even moreso with gently steamed carrots. Pleasant enhancement of the pork. the ale just the perfect compliment somehow.

Oddly neutral-no reaction-with the Wensleydale cheese, not accenting the blueberry as I had suspected it would.

R & B Brewing Hoppelganger IPA 650ml bottle, 6%abv
( http://www.r-and-b.com/?page_id=4 hmm, seemingly originally called 'Hop goblin')

The pour

Relaxed pour yields a partially cloudy medium copper ale, barely a finger of tight white head. Faint carbonation evident - bit of lacing.

Aroma

Essentially citrus hops...another whiff reveals a bit of tropical pineapple/mango as well.

Taste

Initial split second of rather neutral maltiness-not really sweet-before the hops arrive, strong but well-restrained, with citrus(grapefruit) and a hint of pineapple.,,,some apricot? before fading to a rather momentary yeastiness and a drier finish. Quite nice actually.

---

Ise Kadoya Imperial Smoked Porter 500ml bottle, 7%abv
( http://www.isekadoya.com/blog/index.php?id=7880348656388192902 )

The pour

Pours opaque darkest brown with two fingers of fairly short-lived tight tan head. No easily discernable carbonation, dense lacing.

Aroma

Mix(well-balanced mix)of coffee, malt and chocolate.

Taste

Initially malty, quickly transitioning to a black coffee taste...ªI detect only vague hints of chocolate), with some hop bitterness coming on, and underlying smokiness becoming a bit more prominent...then gradually fading to a dry finish. With a bit of lingering smoky aftertaste.

Very nice with the last serving of-reheated and respiced-mole, the smokiness meshing quite seamlessly with that of the chipotle peppers( my respicing threatening to overshadow the porter). A superb-imho-vaguely salty and subtly smoky character imparted to the pork.

'Hoppelganger'

I found an interesting video on thephysics of Guinness, on reddit/beer(it's back a page now - titled 'Guinness Science'.

http://www.reddit.com/r/beer

Oh-I'd noticed it earlier, but neglected to save the link/URL -hot on the heels of International IPA Day-Aug. 4th, is International Beer Day(Aug. 5th). However, thanks to Google...

http://www.internationalbeerday.com/about

Ooh!

Perhaps I'll have a beer on Thursday.

Belated, but...#IPADay preparations: Hoppelganger-marinated pork loin cutlet in a Thai yellow curry(with coriander, cumin & ground mustard seed)...excellent with Alley Kat Amber - the brown ale further enhancing the pork...and adding a bit of additional character to the water chestnuts.

Said pork loin cutlet(or at least re-spiced leftover portion), with Pike Brewing-Seattle-IPA, 650ml bottle, 6.3%abv(60ibu)

The pour

Pours a cloudy amber gold with good carbonation & a rather rapidly dissipating eggshell-coloured head. Not alot of lacing although it appears later.

Aroma

Rather well integrated malt & hops, the malt being prevalent...only faint hops.

Taste

Very well-balanced malt-hop taste((imho), the malt fading mid-palate & hops leading to a drier finish. A medium, to fuller medium body. Quite nice for an Imperial or Double IPA.

Actually brings out the coriander in the marinated pork...the caramel/toffee character of the ale comes out much more post-curry.

my mistake! Getting ahead of myself...Garrison Brewing Imperial IPA 500ml bottle, 7%abv

The pour

Slightly cloudy amber - good carbonation & gradually diminishing four finger pillowy eggshell head...nice bit of lacing.

Aroma

Hmm, toffee-ish malt...bit phenolic. Just a hint of yeast.

Taste

Malt with underlying hops, then a bit of yeastiness...after that it's restrained hops. Drier finish, medium-fuller body.

Quite nice with Rosenborg Blue cheese, although initially a little overpowering.

Before I forget about this one...

Garrison Brewing Sugar Moon Maple Ale 500ml bottle, 6.3%abv

The pour

Relaxed pour yields a clear darker amber ale, good carbonation. Barely a finger of palest tan-read 'off-white' head. Nice bit of lacxing.

Aroma

Primarily malt and maple syrup, though not all that sweet.. A second sniff reveals some graininess(some yeast).

Taste

Oh nice! Extremely well-blended and/or balanced. Initial taste is malt with maple syrup around the edges, then the maple flavour swells. Pleasant lower level of sweetness with an underlying hop presence. Rather creamy medium bodied mouthfeel and 'next sip please' drying finish. Almost regret not having a second bottle. It was initially kind of an impulse purchase for marinating a pork loin cutlet(& it's marinating now). I thought I'd review the remainder of the bottle.

It is wonderul with a Michel Cluizel chocolate mushroom(from Kerstin's).. The mushroom having a gooey caramel and crunchy praline filling. Maple and caramel being a wonderful match...praline not really interfering, just providing a crunchy textural note. Thanks Kerstin!

For this post I'm responding quickly to the original post . . .



I've just resampled Alley Kat's Aprikat and I have to say that first time there was either something wrong with my nose and tastebuds or there was something wrong with the bottle! This time it was truly, truly enjoyable, with only a hint of `peach in the air when the bottle was first opened but after that strong, rich apricot all the way.

Tomorrow I'll make appropriate adjustments to the entry.

Giving Alley Kat's Brewberry a second chance...

Stopped at The Next Act this evening & had a couple pints of the Brewberry. Whether it was the boistrous convivial atmosphere of the pub, or(my)forgiving taste buds, I rather enjoyed the Brewberry, consequently the second pint. My opinion remains unchanged, Much too subtle a blueberry flavour(quite overshadowed by the hops imho-as if there aren't enough hop-forward beers out there. . However I found myself in a more forgiving/'accept-it-for-what-it-is' frame of mind this evening.

'as if there aren't enough hop-forward beers out there.'

You've noticed that, too?


I was over at Amber's the other day and suddenly they started shoving little glasses of some sort of beer at me, putting drops of some sort of flavouring substance into each glass as I prepared to taste. . .


'What do you think? Is the hickory better than the mesquite? How about this hot sauce?'

I think there's a Mexicali hint in Amber's future.



At least the hot sauce was from Tienda Latina.