Beer for Steak Night

I know I've neglected the blog for a couple of weeks now- school has been crazy and completely monopolized my time (notable beers that I've drank recently and not blogged about include: Delirium Nocturnum, Sweetwater IPA, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, and Hoegaarden).

So to make up for the gap in posts, I've got a special post featuring two different beers and how they pair with Steak au Poivre. The beers I've picked are the Belgian classic Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue) Trappist and Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine. I'm very excited about this dinner and beers as I just got a cast iron pan for the steak (and its a new recipe) and I've never had Chimay before!

Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)
9% ABV, Trappist ale, 2008 vintage

This Trappist ale poured brown with a moderate head dissipating into a ring. The aroma is estery, fruity, and malty. The flavor was as suggested by the aroma. Fruity (apple?), rich, slightly malty, bite from carbonation, and just overall delicious. The fruitiness made it slightly sweet, but not overpowering. The high alcohol content was very well masked. This is a fantastic beer, very drinkable, delicious, and with gives you a nice buzz at 9% ABV. I expect this to be a standby Trappist.

Anchor Old Foghorn
8.2%, Barleywine ale

There seem to be (at least) two different strains of Barleywine: hoppy and malty. This falls in the latter. It is rich and strong, with heavy malt flavor, caramel notes, and a hint of hop. This is another big beer, which is exactly what I had in mind. This is not my favorite barleywine, but it stands up well to the rich steak au poivre.

The steak au poivre was delicious- it was rich, buttery, peppery, fatty, and simply amazing. I used ribeyes in a cast iron skillet. We also had some amazing mashed potatoes and asparagus made by my fiance. The Chimay was fantastic with the steak- the rich fruit and malt flavors complemented and offered a delicious counterpoint to the rich steak. The rich malt flavors of the barleywine stood up well to the steak as well, but I preferred the fruitiness of the Chimay to the caramel flavor of the barleywine, which was a tad too rich in malty flavor for me.

So as far as a great, rich ribeye steak goes, Chimay or malty barleywine are both great choices. My favorite between these two was the Chimay.

In fact, the Chimay even paired well with the dessert my fiance's sister made. This delicate custard eclair cake moderates the carbonated bite and the two flavors just melt together and complement each other perfectly. This beer would also go very well with Creme Brulee, one of my favorite desserts. This was the perfect end to a perfect dinner. Chimay is truly an amazing beer and incredibly flexible with food pairings! Trust me, pick up a bottle and see what I mean.

Sometimes you just have to

So some workers decided that when the company changed the rule about the amount of free beer they got a year, they go on strike. The drivers decided not to join in because their limit of 3 beers a day did not change, but just to make sure you feel safe all of these drivers have breathalyzer starters, so no Drunk driving.

all I have to say is: only in Copenhagen!

Pizza and Beer: there is a reason it is a classic

Yes, pizza and beer is a cliche. Everyone knows that pizza and beer go together. Why bother talking about it here? Here's why:It gets a hell of a lot better than a bud and pizza hut (hopefully this isn't an epiphany for any of you).

I experienced what was pretty much pizza and beer heaven this week and it just wouldn't be right if I didn't say a few words about it.

Okay, I've been to Mellow Mushrooms before. Actually, I've been to about five different locations, many times. This time was different.

We were in Athens looking for apartments and we stopped for dinner and ordered some pizza. I, after reviewing the taps, ordered a glass of Terrapin Hopsecutioner.



Terrapin Hopsecutioner
7.2% ABV, American IPA

Hopsecutioner, as indicate by the name, is an IPA with bold hop flavor up-front. It's well-balanced but with a great hit of piney, citrusy hop bitterness. This beer isn't revolutionary for an IPA, but it meets all the expectations for the style, delivering on flavor with a somewhat higher than typical alcohol content. The alcohol did get to work very quickly on my empty stomach, giving me a nice buzz and putting me in a great mood for the pizza. If you want a great IPA with plenty of great hoppy flavor, this is a rock solid choice.

This pizza was perfection. Italian sausage, mushrooms, feta cheese, and basil. Firstly, the crust was amazing. The dough was the perfect consistency - not too crunchy or undercooked - and was absolutely delicious, and was topped with a sharp Italian cheese, I'm guessing parmigian, and olive oil. The sauce was also great, not revolutionary but well executed. The toppings went together perfectly. This pizza was a delicious combination of the sharp feta and parmigian cheese, the creamy mozzarella, spicy and fatty sausage, savory mushrooms, and herbal fresh basil. I thought that this pizza was better than any I'd had at a Mellow Mushroom... they're doing it right in Athens.

The pizza and beer went great together too. The bitter, piney flavors in the beer cut through the creamy, fatty flavors of the pizza and accented the sharpness of the feat cheese. Having a slight buzz from the beer seemed to make everything more enjoyable as well. This was the best pizza and beer combination I've ever had. Pizza and beer isn't groundbreaking, but I enjoyed this meal more than any I've had in a long time and this enjoyment is all because of this pairing. How could I not talk about it here? If this is your kind of pizza, I highly recommend trying this out at Mellow Mushroom with a bold IPA like Hopsecutioner.

Rauchbier and Ribs

This weekend on a visit to our future home in Athens, GA we stopped in at the Copper Creek brewpub for lunch. I ordered a Rauchbier and some ribs, and the combination was fantastic.

Rauchbier is a German lager style that uses smoked barley, giving it a prominent and unique smoky flavor. The one from Copper Creek was bold, smoky, and had a slight bite to it from the carbonation. I had never had Rauchbier before, but I was feeling adventurous in trying such a bold beer. I instantly loved this beer, and I highly recommend trying it; it's a unique and exciting experience.


While sipping on this smoky beer, I couldn't resist ordering some ribs. The pairing was completely complementary and natural. The ribs had a sweet sauce and no smoke flavor, so the beer actually added another layer of flavor that the ribs were missing. This was a great pairing and I can't wait to try out more pairings with this unique style of beer.

Dogfish Head's Midas Touch and Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Dogfish Head, an excellent craft brewery based out of Delaware, has produced several of what it calls "Ancient Ales". Essentially brewer Sam Calagione is working with an archeologist to recreate ancient beverages. Midas Touch is based off the contents found in an ancient tomb in Turkey believed to belong to King Midas. The recipe includes barley, white muscat grapes, honey, and Saffron. I picked this beer up a while back, intrigued by the story behind it.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch
Ancient Ale / Spiced Ale, 9% ABV, muscat grapes, honey, saffron

First off, is this beer? Yes, I believe so. The "traditional" recipe for beer is barley, water, yeast, and hops (though this Midas Touch recipe is technically older), and all of these are present here. Many, many other beers deviate from these four ingredients (white ale, kriek, and pumpkin ale to name a few), so I think it is fair to say that this may be exotic, but it is still beer in some sense.

This pours a very light amber/ dark straw color, with a few bubbles but not what I would call a head. The smell is of muscat grapes. This ale has an initial bite of saffron, malt, and muscat that is well balanced, and fades into a slightly sweet dryness that I strongly suspect is due to the use of honey and finally into what I believe are either subtle hops or saffron. The flavor is complex and unusual. Some say this tastes more like a wine, but I think the flavor lies somewhere between beer and wine, but with a good deal more herbiness than one comes to expect from either. I liked this beer, though it was somewhat outside of my comfort zone. It is a bit strong at 9% and has a very interesting flavor; I'm glad I drank it slow to appreciate everything going on. I am glad they didn't go any stronger on the honey; I find that too much dryness and alcohol flavor is somewhat unpleasant.

Pairing this with creamy chicken noodle soup was a complete shot in the dark, as I had no idea what to expect from this ale. I modified the recipe by first sauteing onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and mushroom in a pan before adding the chicken, broth, and some white wine. Also, I used egg noodles instead of rice and as I had no sauce packet, I made the roux with sage, black pepper, and herbes du provence instead. This soup turned out really well. It is rich and hearty, creamy and delicious.

Despite being a shot in the dark, this pairing actually turned out pretty well; it seems to be getting better as I work my through the beer. This ancient ale provide an interesting, herby contrast to the creamy soup. The soup brings out the dryness and saffron in the ale. This one is quite interesting and if you have the patience to make soup from scratch, I'd recommend trying it.

St. Patrick's Day

After two weeks of distractions and impediments to drinking (professional conference, spring break, stomach virus, head cold), I've returned to the blog!

So I sadly realized that I missed posting on St. Patrick's day, the biggest drinking holiday of all. To make amends for this, I'd like to say a few words about it.

Firstly, I hope everyone had a Guinness on St. Patty's. I'm an open-minded guy, but I believe there is value in traditions. I've been to Ireland (I'm dying to go back), and Guinness is definitely Ireland's beer.

Guinness was also one of the first beers I managed to get my hands on, and despite what some told me would happen, I loved my first pint. It was smooth and velvety with a creamy head and a light flavor that had just a hint of coffee-like bitterness, and not to mention the seemingly unique blackness. I was just getting my first glimpses into a new world; beer was good and Guinness was good. It wasn't too bitter or too heavy or like eating a loaf of bread as I had been told, and I still believe that those are simply myths. A good pint of Guinness (go for on-tap) has a wonderfully smooth mouth feel and a light but interesting flavor.

Of course, Guinness goes well with your St. Patty's staple dishes, Corn beef and cabbage or shepherd's pie. Stout and oysters is a classic British pairing; I'm fully planning to try this pairing as soon as the opportunity arises.

If you, God forbid, drank that abomination "green beer" this St. Patrick's day, next year don't make this mistake. Instead, reach for Guinness, the true Irish beer (or at least get a Harp).

"A bottle of whiskey at his feet
and a barrel of porter at his head

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner
round the flure yer trotters shake
Bend an ear to the truth they tell ye,
we had lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

Mickey Maloney ducked his head
when a bucket of whiskey flew at him
It missed, and falling on the bed,
the liquor scattered over Tim
Now the spirits new life gave the corpse, my joy!
Tim jumped like a Trojan from the bed
Cryin will ye walup each girl and boy,
t'underin' Jaysus, do ye think I'm dead?"

- Finnegan's Wake (Irish song)

Another Belgian Classic: Saison Dupont

Earlier this week, upon finding out that I got in to one of my graduate schools, I popped open a bottle of Saison Dupont to celebrate a little bit.


Saison Dupont
6.5% ABV, unfiltered, bottle conditioned, bottled in 2009

Saison is a classic Belgian style, also known as the farmhouse ale (or biere de garde in France). Tradiationally these beers would be brewed on farms in the winter and stored until the summer, when the farm workers would drink them as a thirst quencher after a long, hot day of work.

Therefore, it's not surprising that these are thought of as like a Belgian "lawnmower" beer. However, my research on saisons has also set me up to expect a delicious complex beer. My idea of lawnmower beer is beer that comes about as close to water as possible, the American Adjunct Lagers (Bud, Miller, Coors). So I'm not really sure what to expect.

Firstly, this was a green 750 ml bottle with a cork and caging to prevent the cork from flying off; necessary because this is bottle conditioned. The cork gave a nice satisfying pop as it came off (much like opening a bottle of Champagne).

Upon opening and pouring, I started to get a sour, slightly funky aroma with fruit ester notes and some sharpness not unlike that in a lager. The beer was a very light amber color and had experienced chill haze, which made it almost look like a wheat beer.

The initial mouthfeel was of good carbonation, and I get some sharp yeast and some musty flavors. There is a slight bitterness at the back that I suspect is from dry hopping, though none of the vibrant hops flavors (pine, grapefruit, grass) are present. The sharpness as well as the excellent balance and integrated flavor makes this one actually have some things in common with a German lager, but with much more complexity in its yeast and earthy flavor notes.

This beer was indeed refreshing and could perhaps be used as a thirst quencher, but it has nothing in common with "lawnmower beer" beyond that. It is well executed, complex and subtle, and very delicious. However, I would eagerly accept a bottle after a bit of lawn work.

As I drank this I was eating a bowl of spicy, homemade chili. This beer's earthy flavors make it pair very nice with the savory meat and beans of the chili, and it's sharpness and light bitterness accentuates the acidity of the tomatoes and the spiciness. I think this complex beer is made for food, and would pair very well with many dishes.