Brewery Vivant Contemplation - Beer Review

Jason Spaulding has given Michigan quite a gift with Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids's envionmentally friendly purveyor of Belgian style beers. One of the founders of New Holland Brewing, Spaulding has done it again with his current venture, which features well-crafted, sometimes cheekily named Old World ales with a New World twist (Big Red Coq, for example). Brewery Vivant distributes their fine beverages in 16 ounce cans. Yes, you heard me, cans. And while you will probably never crack open a tallboy of Orval or Westmalle, Spauding's beers haven't lost anything as a result of their packaging. They are flavorful, robust, and created with the same attention to quality as other North American Belgian style breweries, such as Ommegang and Unibroue. Canning is part of Brewery Vivant's philosophy of sustainability, and the merits of the packaging are proudly displayed on their products. Usually when I'm in Grand Rapids, I have one compulsory stop at Founders; now it seems like I might have two.

I chose to review Contemplation, a Belgian Pale Ale brewed with Michigan honey and hops. Through this focus on local products, Brewery Vivant makes a nod to sustainability while incorporating the terroir of their state into this fine ale. Well played.

 

Appearance:

 

Decanted from a 16 oz can into a large goblet. Caramel colored. Medium amber, approximately 11 or 12 SRM. Thin head after initial pour, but heavy lacing on the side of the glass. Clarity is impressive; steady stream of bubbles continue to rise.

 

Aroma:

 

Floral honey up front, nutmeg, saisony barnyard notes, wild, slightly gingery, cidery, mildly clovey, yeasty, banana

 

Body and Texture:

 

Buttery and corny. Fairly thin body, moderate legs on the sides of the goblet, but not cloying at all. The honey fermented down without leaving much residual sugar.

 

Aftertaste:

 

No serious hop presence. Mild muffiny, buttery, and cidery linger.

 

Overall:

 

Not the best honey beer that I've had, but I think I'm a little biased because I make one of my own. Still pretty interesting. Brewery Vivant markets Contemplation as a good summer beer, but I think it's a little heavy for that (6.5% ABV). It strikes me as an appropriate autumn brew; it's earthiness and mild spice would make it a good partner to a Thanksgiving turkey and some pumpkin pie.

Ballast Point Big Eye IPA - Beer Review

Ballast Point seems to be the current star of the IPA scene; after tasting a couple of their beers I understand why. Big Eye was a really nice find. It is a little less citrusy than Sculpin (Ballast Point's other IPA), but it has a depth of interesting flavors of its own.

 

Appearance:

 

Well-carbonated. Thick lacing of foam around the rim of the goblet. Light amber, approximately 9 on the SRM scale. Mix of large and small bubbles. Retains a 1/4" of dense head.

 

Aroma:

 

Caramel, raisins, oranges, faint pine resin, lemon scones, bergamot.

 

Body and Texture:

 

Bready, rich mouthfeel. Sudsy and biscuity. Dry and bitter finish.

 

Aftertaste:

 

Starts off with a caramel corn/bready taste, but bitter hop resins quickly take over. Lemon zest/juniper tang erases malt sweetness from the palate.

 

Overall:

 

Very pleasant; can stand on its own. Not malt heavy or syrupy; not too astringent or biting.

 

I would pair Big Eye with tacos al pastor topped with salsa verde. The caramelly breadiness of the beer will go well with the pork, and the strong hop profile will help neutralize the bite of the salsa.

Odell Myrcenary Double IPA - Beer Review

When I was in St. Louis, I made it a point to pick up some beers that aren't available on this side of the Mississippi. One of the best ones that I brought back was Odell's Myrcenary Double IPA. It's a citrusy high gravity ale that tastes like a session beer. It's very dangerous, but very delicious (kind of like the beer version of fugu).

Appearance:

Decanted into goblet from a 12 oz bottle. Typical American pale ale appearance; SRM approximately 6 or 7. Modest carbonation, large bubbles slowly rise. Initially pours with a heavy white head. Scales down to a modest ribbon of small bubbles on the perimeter of the glass; dollop of large bubbles in the center. Swirling the goblet generates a 3/4" layer of dense head with staying power. Bubbles cascade down the side of the glass revealing moderate viscosity. Not thick legs, but a sheen of residual sugars.

Aroma:

Not as heavy on hop aroma as you might expect for a double IPA, but pleasant. Chlorophyll, pears, green apple, grass, grape skin, juniper, lemon rind, kumquat, ginger ale, faint chlorine, biscuity, crackery. Citrus and pine come out as the glass warms.

Body and texture:

Mildly viscous. Slightly flat, but enough carbonation to sustain a high gravity IPA. Initially thick and mealy, but the texture fades as the hop oils take over. Warm and hoppy up front.

Aftertaste:

Sweet greenness lingers with a lemon oil bite, very pleasant. Clean hops dominate, but courteously allow a biscuity aftertaste to accompany them.

Overall:

More balanced than most double IPAs; very flavorful on the palate. Could use more late hop additions or dry hopping to boost the aroma, but that's a minor flaw considering all this beer brings to the table. Myrcenary is deceptively quaffable in spite of its 9.3% ABV (I guessed that it was around 7% before I read the label!). I would recommend pairing it with Gorgonzola and pear slices.

I really wish I could get Odell beers in Chicago. C'mon guys, if Deschutes could make it out here, you can too!

Chinook Power!

My Chinook vine really took off this year. This is the third summer since I planted the rhizome. I might actually have enough cones to brew a wet hopped ale!

 

 

 

 

Skirt Steak Fajitas

We grilled these skirt steaks a couple of weeks ago. I pounded them out with a mallet and rubbed them with Bill Baron's Texas BBQ with Chipotle seasoning. We grilled them for four minutes per side on high heat, and let them rest for 15 minutes before cutting them into strips. I like using Steven Raichlen's method of cutting them in half crosswise, stacking the two pieces, and then thinly slicing them lengthwise (across the grain).

We served them with grilled flour tortillas, sautéed onions and bell peppers, cilantro, and homemade guacamole.

I also quick-pickled sliced jalapeños and diced red onions together in lime juice and sea salt. It was a simple and amazing side, although quite fiery, as I did not remove the jalapeño seeds or membranes. The Tallgrass Ethos IPA that I paired with the fajitas helped strip away the heat though.

The fajitas were delicious. My only criticism is that I could have sliced the meat a little thinner; skirt steak is a stringy cut no matter how thoroughly you tenderize it, and the thinner you slice it, the better.

Urban Chestnut Hopfen Bavarian IPA - Beer Review

I was told that Urban Chestnut uses lager yeast to brew Hopfen, so IPA seems like a misnomer. Perhaps IPL is more fitting (I know that Samuel Adams and Great Lakes have both made beers with that classification recently). Also, I think a lot of Brits may have a problem with one of their prized beverage inventions being labeled with a Germanic adjective (they didn't keep calm and carry on for that!). Semantic squabbles aside, Hopfen is original and definitely deserves a taste.

I enjoyed it at Urban Chestnut in St. Louis while having a great conversation about beer styles with the bartender. He really knew his stuff, and passed along some complimentary tastings of a few of their other offerings. They have a gorgeous, hop-laden beer garden, and are a must-visit craft beer destination.

Hopfen was served to me on draught in a fluted goblet. It is 6.1% ABV and has 45 IBUs.

Appearance:

Straw-colored. SRM is slightly darker than a Pilsner, approximately 6 on the scale. Slight haze, but fairly clear. Small bubbles gently waft up and collect in a 1/8" ribbon of close-knit, frothy head. Swirling the goblet brought the head up to 1/4".

Aroma:

Grassy, spicy, herbal, sweet aromatic malt, hay, barnyard, perfumey, soapy, jasmine.

Body and Texture:

Crisp, slightly sweet, thin lager body, very clean.

Aftertaste:

Hop presence is balanced; not too bitter. Flavor hops don't outshine the malt. Notes of lavender, violet candy, and jasmine tea.

Overall:

Fragrant malts and floral essences dominate the aroma; a real IPL star. Quirky with an almost Belgian sensibility, but balanced and fun.

I had a great time in St. Louis during their recent Craft Beer Week. The energy and citywide buy-in, especially on the part of local restaurants, charmed and inspired me. St. Louisans are looking to the horizon of exciting upstarts like Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, Civil Life, and Perennial, while scorning the sun blocker that Anheuser-Busch InBev tried to build over their town.

Milwaukee and Southwestern Michigan are well established hubs of beer tourism for Chicagoans like me; yet for my flatlander countrymen who do not mind driving a little further, I promise that the St. Louis beer scene can hang with the aforementioned destinations in creativity, aesthetics, and taste any day of the week.

Definitely check out Flying Saucer and Bridge next time you're there. They're both hip beer bars with dozens of quality taps (Flying Saucer's wall of draughts was out of sight! The picture below shows about half of them!). The Schlafly Tap Room is amazing too, and their excellent menu dovetails perfectly with their beers.

St. Louis is reinventing itself as a craft beer town right now, and it's making the best out of the energy surrounding the scene. It feels genuine and sustainable.