Pacific Brew News

Last Sunday, in unplanned fashion as usual, another meeting of some of the S.O.B.E.R participants occurred at my house where some great food (thanks to Jose) and great beer was shared. Planned around tasting the Allagash Hugh Malone and my Belgian Pale Ale homebrew, the day evolved into much more than that. Attending this outstanding session were Jose, Grant (now of Sac Bee fame due to his Owl Club picture), Mark and myself.

 Our first beer of the day was the Maredsous 6, a Belgian Blond Ale. Mark and I were familiar with the Maredsous beers but had never had the 6. It had a great creamy body (maybe a little creamier than most typical blonds), had slightly fruity taste with a dry finish. It also was a little more orange/dark in color than most blonds. At only 6% ABV, you could a have few of these pretty easily. This was a great starting beer for the afternoon.

 Next up was my Hoppy Monk, a homebrewed Belgian Pale Ale, that I made using fresh Cascade hops from PBN friend Bob Silva’s back yard. Brewed as a Belgian IPA with 3 hop additions in the boil and one in the fermenter, the Cascade hops came out very well in the aroma and taste but the bitterness was too low for an IPA. Next time, a more traditional bittering hop will be used early in the boil. There was a definite fruitiness/juiciness and grapefruit from the hop, great aroma, and good body and head retention (Mark’s comments, not mine).

 After this, we moved on to the Allagash Hugh Malone, a true Belgian IPA. Brewed with Warrior and Simcoe hops, the bitterness was noticeable but not lingering and it had a slight sweetness up front. According to Allagash, the sweetness was due to the British 2- row and Crystal pale malts. Our own Beer Geek, Mark, however thought honey was used. We also noted that it had a very light body for 8.5% ABV. This was very good beer which we would have liked to taste head to head with another one of our favorite Belgian IPAs, Le Freak from Green Flash Brewing.

 At this point, we were enjoying the nice weather and began discussing what else Jose and I had in our “cellars” for tasting. Typically, this is what happens at S.O.B.E.R meetings and out afternoon only improved from there.

 Next up was a contribution from Jose, the 3 Philosophers from Ommegang. This beer, 98% Belgian Quad and 2% Kriek Cherry Lambic blend, has been around for awhile and is well-known by most Belgian beer lovers. Using wild yeast, this beer had enough hops to balance any malty sweetness and had definite notes of fig/plum, other dark fruits. The cherry was noticed more in the aroma than the flavor. This beer got several Wows and only motivated us to move on to more great beers. 3 Philosophers is 9.8% ABV.

 After the 3 Philosophers, we moved on to another Belgian Quad brewed with cherries, the Rorie’s Ale from a new brewer, Odonata Brewing in Sacramento. A combined adventure between PBN’s own Rick Sellers and master brewer, Peter Hoey from Sacramento Brewing, this beer is unique and truly one of a kind. When I tried my first one at Chef’s Table in Rocklin earlier in the week, my first thoughts were OMFG (oh my freaking god) this is good. This beer has been almost 2 years in the making and has been aged in oak barrels for a year with sour cherries. Our tasting panel notice rich caramel malt and burnt sugar flavors and noticeable oak and cherry in the aroma. I loved the slightly sour flavor from the cherries. The good folks at Odonata suggest cellaring this beer for 6-12 months longer but Mark and I wonder if it would lose some of that wonderful tartness if we did. 10.2% ABV, this would have been excellent with some dark chocolate.

 Just for the hell of it, before moving on to our last beer, we decided to taste the Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock. We did this to 1) cleanse our palates slightly and 2) because it was there. With a toasty bread aroma and biscuit flavors, this beer was missing the often typical “skunk” that is often present in imported beers. It also had a slightly spicy flavor probably from noble hops, and was very smooth.

 Finally, we made it on to our final beer, the Maredsous 10, a Belgian tripel. One of the great examples of the triple style, this had spent some number of months in Jose’s cellar.

A 10% ABV beer, it was very creamy, and had noticeable hops and tartness. There was some discussion around a “spicy” bite the beer had when cold and it was decided it was from the carbonation which seemed higher than usual. As it warmed, it took on a more fruity character and demonstrated why beers like this are meant not to serve ice cold.

 All in all, it was great afternoon. Tasting the beers with the marinated chicken, sausages, and cheese and bread Jose provided only added to the experience. Another successful chapter in the growing chain of S.O.B.E.R meetings!