- Bottoms Up (RSS)A new beer and beers worth looking for: Stone Vertical Epic, Flying Dog Kerebos, Dogfish Palo Santo Marron
By William Brand
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 2:31 pm in Uncategorized.
Beers that are here and beers that are coming… Just arriving in Bay Area stores this week:
- Stone Vertical Epic 080808. This annual series started on Feb. 2, 2002 with 020202; each one’s a different style, but they are all strong and designed to keep and continue aging for a dozen years. Last year’s was far from my favorite. It was a spice bomb, 8.4 percent ABV and spice from nose to tail. I figure it will be much more drinkable in a couple of years as the spices blend and mellow. Haven’t tried this year’s yet. Gonna’ do so tonight. I’m told it’s in the style of a strong Belgian-style golden ale. Here’s what Stone head brewer Mitch Steele says:
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The Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale is a Strong Golden Belgian style ale highly hopped with American hops (Ahtanum, Amarillo and Simcoe). The beer pours pale golden with a thick and creamy white head of foam. The aroma is full of depth: nuances of pepper, clove, and banana from the Belgian yeast strain, and the resiny citrus notes from the American hops blend together nicely to provide a complex aromatic character. The taste is spicy, hoppy and fruity, with a very dry and a pleasant bitter end. The bitterness lingers nicely, and provides a refreshing finish that leads you to want to drink more and more of this beer!
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If you’re far from California, Vertical Epic is available by mail order. Here’s one source: Liquid Solutions:
A beer that’s been around all summer and is finally making its way into Bay Area stores is Flying Dog Kerberos***1/2. It’s a Belgian-style, 8.5 percent tripel: orangish color, nose of malt and spicy hops with a tart, spicy finish. I loved this one. It’s in 12 ounce bottles and is worth a hunt to find it. But don’t look in supermarkets, gotta’ go to a good beer store and prowl. Don’t know where to look? E-mail me at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net and ask for our Bay Area Retail Beer Store List. By the way, the photo is a portion of the Kerberos label. Wild, huh?- Here’s another that can still be found in San Francisco and in Marin and Sonoma counties at the very best beer stores: Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron***1/2. I finally got to try it on tap a couple of weeks ago at the Toronado in San Francisco: Double wow: Inky brown, very little foam, nose of licorice and wood and vanilla. Tast is big and malty, like a wood-aged barleywine. It’s got some sweetness in the middle with a dry finish and a tingle of warming alcohol on the tongue and a lingering, licorice sweetness. One damn good beer.
Here’s a video about the making of Palo Santo Marron posted on the aleuminati:
Talk about beers that got away. If you live almost anywhere in the Rocky Mountain West - Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and maybe Nebraska and South Dakota, here’s one to look for: Grand Teton XX Mountainberry Double Wheat Ale***1/2. It’s 7.6 percent, with fresh huckleberries, blueberries and marionberries added. It’s part of a series of “imperial” beers, including a delectable Sweet Grass Double IPA last spring. Double Wheat is surprising, a complex, mildly sweet taste with spice and a bit of tartness in the finish.
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August 5th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Speaking of recently released Belgian-style ales, I picked up Lagunitas Brewing’s latest Zappa tribute release, “We’re only in it for the money” at Safeway last night. It’s a damn good Belgian-style tripel. Some sediment in the bottle. I thought they filtered their beers. Did they bottle condition this one? Doesn’t matter … I’m going back for more.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Great suggestion. Haven’t gotten to that one yet. Just talked to Lagunitas. The beer, like almost all their beers, is not filtered and not pasteurized. It isn’t bottler conditioned either. But because it’s fairly high alcohol and not filtered, there will no doubt be a bit of a slow secnodary fermentation in the bottle. I’d say this beer’s a must-buy for Lagunitas fans and I am one.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Lagunitas and Flying Dog. Two breweries that always seem to have something interesting going on. The fly under the radar compared to some other breweries.
Old Scratch Amber Lager, a great beer.
The Zappa series, plenty to love there.
brewnot
August 6th, 2008 at 8:24 am
William, not sure about Lagunitas not filtering. I remember taking a tour there a year ago or so and specifically asking about their filtering process. I could pretend to know specifics, but I was full of Hop Stoopid at the time.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Good point, I’ll call Lagunitas again. That Hop Stoopid has a kick, doesn’t it.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Yes it does. And for anyone who happens to be in Petaluma @ 3 pm during the week, I highly recommend the tour. You get to go through their taps in a clubhouse sort of bar upstairs in the brewery and they’ll pour you a sample out of whatever bottles they happen to have in the fridge. After that, they fill up a glass for you to bring during the tour. Bring a DD or plan on hanging back in the parking lot for a few when it’s done.
August 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Just opened a bottle of “Money” and I can say it’s definitely filtered. I went bottom’s up on the bottle and no sediment. Only thing in my glass is my daughter’s hand….she’s got a lot to learn.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
They told me at Lagunitas that the beer is “partially filtered.” That is, part of the batch was filtered, part was not and the filtered and non-filtered were put back together and bottled and kegged. They explained that they wanted some yeast remaining in the beer but not a lot.
Mostly, these days, they filter their beer. But it is never pasteurized.
Ah little kids and sticky hands. Treasure the moment Mario; they grow up fast –hopefully able to tell good beer from swill.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 am
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