Better Drinking

Do you remember your first beer? Do you remember your response? If you're like me, that memory is probably not very good. If you're like me, you drank an adult beverage as a teenager, and you drank something less than well-crafted. Beer was nasty, at least the beers widely available and to those of us less than legal drinking age. More specifically, those beers were usually acquired by raiding someone's Dad's fridge or bought by someone's older brother. But wherever it came from, you didn't really enjoy it - you drank it because your idiot friends did and it seemed like wisdom and joy at that moment. The only appreciation you had for beer was that someone else bought it and you never got busted for drinking it. However, an adult beverage like beer, and I am talking about well-crafted beverages here, is an acquired taste, a taste that requires a bit of discipline, insight, and thought.

Now, let's ask another question - what was the beer that introduced you into the broader orbit of the malt and hop world? Whatever it was, it shook up your expectation and presented a challenge to the taste buds that required re-categorization of beer itself. Beer can taste like this? And so begins a journey that never really ends; the discipline of appreciation. Of course, I'm using beer as the prime example, but the principle is applicable to any number of things. The things we eat, and enjoy, change and shape over the years and it does take years to appreciate certain things. Picky eaters become connoisseurs of things that their fathers couldn't threaten them to eat when they were children. This principle even applies to people, in that it requires discipline (and love) to deal with certain people we interact with on a regular basis. In fact, I would argue that love is the triumph of appreciation and enjoyment for the "otherness" of others, over and above the appreciation and enjoyment for self. Those who appreciate only self are not very likeable people.

But back to my main point here. Appreciation takes effort and discipline, especially if we are to expand our palate to the point where any number beers are good, depending on the context and circumstance. And here, proverbially speaking, is what separates the men from the boys because I'm not just talking one style, but all of them. The well-rounded palate enjoys lagers and ales, darks and lights, barleys and wheats, cold and room-temp, carbonated and flat, sweet and sour, and so on. Favorites may have a place, but it takes discipline to truly appreciate things we don't consider as such. And with any discipline, it takes time. No one becomes a master at anything in a few months; we must invest patience and time into those things that are worth mastering.

You may be asking yourself - does the word "appreciation" or "discipline" really belong in the same context as beer?

Only the disciplined will know that.

As noted below, comments are working again. However, about 24 seconds after getting the comments working, we received junk spam comments. I am enabling word verification for comments from this point forward. I apologize for the extra hassle but what the heck would you do in a situation like that?

As promised, here's one of the recipes from the Belgian tasting. Excellent stuff - thanks Susan!

Carbonnade Flamande (Belgian Beef Stew)

4 pounds lean beef stew meat
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons duck fat (or olive oil, but duck fat is SO much better!)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
2 tablespoons ground sage
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cube stew meat into 1.5” squares. Season liberally with thyme, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of fat in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Add one-third of stew meat to skillet and sear all sides. After meat is well browned (about 6 minutes), add 1 tablespoon flour to meat and stir well, browning flour. Remove meat and place in a Dutch oven or other large casserole dish. Repeat process until all meat is done, adding 1 tablespoon of oil per batch. It is important to sear the meat well over a medium-high heat; this browning process will give the stew its robust, meaty flavor.

After all meat has been transferred to the Dutch oven, heat the last tablespoon of oil in the skillet, adding:

3 large sweet onions (about 4 lbs.) peeled and sliced thinly.
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery
1 carrot, peeled

Reduce heat to medium and cook until onions are soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add:

1½ tablespoons sugar to the onions, and continue cooking 5 more minutes.

Add:

14 oz. beef broth
2 750-ml bottles Ommegang Belgian-style Abbey Ale (Reserve yourself a glass to enjoy while you cook, and pour the rest in the pot!)
4 bay leaves to the skillet. Deglaze and bring mixture to a boil.

Add entire contents of skillet to the Dutch oven. Simmer, covered, over medium heat until beef is tender and pierces easily with a fork, about 90 minutes. Remove and discard celery rib, carrot, and bay leaves. Stir in:

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Simmer, uncovered, until reduced to sauce consistency.

Prepare and refrigerate a day ahead for better flavor. Serve warm with mashed potatoes, baguette, and a Belgian Dubbel.

Serves 6.

For the aspiring beer geek, nothing could be more detrimental to a well-developed palate than to assume that lagers are all terrible beers. This is certainly not true. For the beer lover, the various styles of beer should be neither good nor bad but better or worse, to be enjoyed as the occasion calls for it. There are bad beers within all styles and categories, so let us dispense with the idea that ales are the only true beers. Interestingly enough, the average mainstream lager drinker could probably say that their beers are the only true or good beers. But we'll leave that one alone for now.

Lagers, as a broad category, are those beers which employ a bottom-fermenting yeast, operative primarily in cooler temperatures. Before the advent of refrigeration, top-fermenting beers (ales) were the only ones produced, and those mostly in the fall or spring, and only in temperate climates. If the weather were too cold or hot, the yeast would not perform it's duty. Lagering, which is a German term meaning to store, was discovered somewhat accidentally when German brewers stored their spring beers in very cold caves during the summer months. With the advent of biochemistry and isolation of specific strains of yeast that best operated in colder environments, a whole new style of beer was born. These tended to be lighter beers, and flavors were much cleaner and refined.

For the ale drinker now, a world of only dark beers would seem like a paradise. But much of the brewing was very inconsistent, the flavors and aroma not being regulated by strict yeast strains, yielding varying degrees of success. Lagering changed all that, and combined with the science, brewers were able to make to new, clearer beers. The technology employed to create such creations was applied to all styles of beer, benefiting the old and the new. Truth to be told, ales progressively fell out of favor as they represented the old world, and lagers came to dominate the markets, probably associated with the progressive spirit in which they were born. Ales have made a come-back, but lagers still dominate the beer landscape. So rather than ignore them, the student of beer will become familiar with them.

What follows is are a few tasting notes on a few "mainstream" beers I wanted to try. A few of you have told me that you'd like to see my review of Michelob Ultra. I did in fact drink one of these several years ago, but did not realize it was beer until I finished. More like carbonated, unfiltered tap water from the back of chicken farm. The Miller Lite someone gave me a several years ago did not taste like beer at all, and all the politeness in the world could not make me finish it. A neighbor gave me a Steel Reserve one hot day last summer, but found it quite devoid of character, though it did give me a little buzz. Which is really what mainstream lagers are about, so I guess that one could be considered a success.

Most of the other lagers I have had also fall into a rather bland category of "beer", somewhat akin to ordering "food" at Longhorn's Steakhouse. Corona, Heineken, Red Dog, Budweiser, and Icehouse are all rather boring. There were some I hadn't tried though.

Starting early in February, I drank a Peroni and a Sapporo, side-by-side. Both were golden clear, relatively low carbonation, a thin mouthfeel, and not much flavor at all, except a clean malt.

About two weeks after that, I drank a Stella Artois and a Kirin, side-by-side. The results were very much the same as above. Of these 4 beers, the Japanese lagers were far better overall, though I would not necessarily choose any of them as a "favorite". To the contrary, none of them had anything in particular that was appealing at all. I kept waiting for them to get interesting, but it never happened. Even when warm, no flavors or aromas stood out.

Next, I tried a Brooklyn Lager and had a whole different experience. A very nice copper color, crystal-clear with moderate carbonation. Aroma is a very clean floral hop. The mouthfeel was medium thin, but the flavor was a very crisp malt with a good hop aftertaste. A refreshing beer.

After that, I drank a Pilsner Urquell, a Czech beer that prides itself on being the original Pilsner, which is a particular type of lager, the last true style of beer invented. The Urquell is good, but not as good as the Brooklyn.

Other lagers to try would be:

Sam Adams Boston Lager - crisp and clean, lots of flavor for a "mainstream" beer.

Paulaner Oktoberfestbier - drink anytime, not just in October. Full mouthfeel, creamy, delicious.

Weihenstephaner Original - clean and crisp, Bavarian style lager. Good on a hot day when you don't want a wheat beer.

Sam Adams Black Beer - this is a schwarzbier, or black beer, full of taste but not heavy. Einbecker and Kostritzer also make good, and original, German versions.

Celebrator Dopplebock - the king of dopplebocks, and really, all lagers. Paulaner's Salvator, Weihenstephaner's Korbinian, Spatan's Optimator, and Sam Adams Double Bock are also worth imbibing.

Ayinger - try the Jarhundert-Bier and Altbairisch, Munich Helles and Dunkel respectively. Excellent stuff if you want light or dark Munich-style lagers.

As you can see, there is much to choose from and my list is not attempting to be comprehensive. Now, go and investigate the lager world. You may be surprised.

Sorry for the intrusion but I wanted to let you know that the thoughts (comments) links are not working. I am aware of it and am working to correct it...

Last Friday March 3rd was our Belgian tasting and we had a great turnout. One of the tough things about beer tastings in general is being limited by the local market availability. Fortunately, we've been blessed with a great selection in general, and kudos to Adam at Green's on Buford Hwy, who keeps the shelves stocked with some excellent choices.

Belgian beers present their own challenges since Belgium has such a huge variety of styles, and various interpretations of those styles from many different brewers. In short, you have to draw a line somewhere in the sand and hope it turns out well. The attendees seemed to enjoy the mix. While not every beer suits every individual taste (we shouldn't expect that anyway), the overall response was good and I am grateful for every person who participated.

I am especially grateful to Hampton and Susan Groover for hosting this event. Susan wanted to do most of the cooking, and everything turned out great. In fact, she owes me a few of the recipes so they can be posted here. And not only was their home open to us, but their children were present with us all night, which if you're new to whole tasting experience, should tell you something about the tenor of our events.

As to the beer itself, here is a list of what we drank, by name and style:

Orval, Belgian Pale
Hoegaarden Original, Witbier
Jenlain, Biere De Garde
Saison Dupont, Saison
Westmalle Tripel, Tripel
Duvel, Belgian Strong Pale

Goudenband, Flanders Oud Bruin
Rodenbach Grand Cru, Flanders Red Ale
Liefman's Frambozenbier, Fruit Lambic
Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene, Gueuze

Grottenbier, Belgian Dark
Chimay Red, Dubbel
Trappistes Rochefort 8, Belgian Strong Dark
St. Bernardus Abt 12, Quadrupel

I didn't get any photos this time, but hopefully when we do this again, my photographer will be back in town. Please check the blog periodically for updates, new reviews, and maybe an article or two.

And again, thanks to those dedicated few who keep coming to these events and for motivating me to do better and better. I hope to meet the challenge.

I saw this at Green's the other night while shopping for the Belgian tasting and since I enjoyed the Left Hand Milk Stout so much, thought I'd give it a whirl.

Left Hand pours a dark brown, opaque around the edges. Small head that dissolves into a fine lacing over the top.

Smells like chocolate, coffee, and a vague sweetness, nothing terribly defined but inviting.

Mouthfeel is full - thick and rich with only moderate carbonation.

The taste is all malt; chocolate and coffee dominating with a slight hop in the aftertaste. Not super sweet but not very well-balanced in terms of a bitterness and fruit flavor that an imperial stout should have. The 10% ABV is noticeable only a slight slickness that the mouth gets used to by glass-end.

Overall, a good beer though a bit one-dimensional in terms of presentation. The big exception to this one would be price - Left Hand is expensive and if you're going to spend the money on an Imperial Stout, buy Sam Smith's. But try Left Hand at least once. It's new the Atlanta market and perhaps the price will drop soon.

Labels: beer reviews