Tag Archives: dark

LPBC 2011-01-30 The Wood Aged 3-4-3

January 30, 2011 by Thomas · Leave a comment

This is an episode of the Living Proof Brew Cast.

In the intro, we discuss the beers we are drinking.  For the first time we are in the studio together for both the intro and the brewing update (see below).  We share a Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager that I picked up from Gilly’s.  I enjoyed the Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop previously so had a good idea this second beer in the series would be fun to try.  It certainly makes effective use of the new de-husked black malts that we’ve written about before.  Rogue consistently turns what would seem like mere novelties into wonderfully crafted expressions of the brewing art, like their Mocha Porter and Chipotle Ale.

Our main segment is a series of three tastings with returning guest, Chooch.  All three beers share that they were aged on wood.  The first we tried was the J.W. Lees port word reserve.  In discussing it we mention Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout and Burton Baton.  I also compare it to an example from one of my other passions, single malt scotch, in this instanced Glenmorangie’s Quinta Ruban.

The second beer we sample is the Blue Grass Brewery’s Clay Street Series Bourbon Barrel Stout.  If it is a high gravity beer, it hides it well like the Southern Tier Old Man.  John mentions wanting to do a comparison to the Jefferson’s Reserve bourbon barrel stout.

Our third beer was the Southern Tier Cuvee Series 3.  In tasting it, we mention almost every Southern Tier beer we’ve tried before.  I mention the Ommegang Hennepin as pushing that funk that John’s friend, Daniel, from Mountaineer so enjoys.  John likens the brettanomyces note to Victory Golden Monkey.

We also have a brewing update.  We taste my Sun-dial stout that has been in the bottle three weeks and is just about ready to share.  John shares the latest on his stale, vatted IPA, the Green Grass and High Tides, which is coming along nicely.  He has also pitched the fruit into the pair of lambics that we started on our last brew day.

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You can grab the flac encoded audio from the Internet Archive.

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Of Stouts and Porters

November 15, 2010 by Thomas · Leave a comment

Jon Fleury at the DCist continues his excellent tutelage on all things beer.  This installment not only illuminates the history and differences between porters and stouts, but also explores the finer gradations within the class of styles all stemming from porters.

Back in the early 18th century, a new beer concoction was becoming very popular with the working class of London (porters…duh.). At the local pubs, tenders would combine old stale ale, new (pale) ale and mild ale in various combinations. It was a hit with street workers throughout the city who wanted a bit of the three together. This surge in popularity led to many breweries deciding to brew the combination as a style with malt combination that uses the darkest of malts, heavy on the caramel malts with roasted or chocolate malts. This created a fresh beer with the marketing push that would transcend London’s wharf rats.

Very timely for us here at Living Proof as one of the next two beers John and I will be tackling on our homebrewing adventures is an oatmeal stout, included in Fluery’s wonderful lexicon of these darker brews.  He also gives some breweries and beers as examples that shouldn’t be too hard to find to taste for yourself.

Hey Porter! Hey Porter! DCist

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Cascadian Dark Ales

August 16, 2010 by Thomas · Comments Off

My wife pays an unexpectedly large role in my discovery of new beers to try.  Surprising because she doesn’t really care for beer.  There are a few she will drink, even that she likes, but they typically are not very beer like.

However, as the one responsible for grocery shopping for our household, she has far more reason to visit some of the better beer sources in the area.  Because she clearly understands my passion for beer and enjoys surprising me with new finds, she’ll often pick up things she’s sure I’ve never seen, let alone tried, that bare some hint that I might enjoy them, either by the description of the beer’s style or the location or reputation of the brewery.

She also reads the print edition of the paper, the Washington Post, which I skip entirely for the online edition.  Complementing her role as chief shopper, you won’t be surprised to learn that she also takes care of meal planning and preparation for the week.  Snooping through the food section of the Post is almost obligatory though often it is a joy, especially when she uncovers a winning recipe the whole family enjoys.

Maybe you see where I am going with this?

The Post’s Food section occasionally covers the beer scene here in DC and around the nation.  When she spots such an article, she’ll save it for me.  Greg Kistock’s discussion of the emerging dark IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale style was the most recent such find.

The only common flavor in beer for which I haven’t really developed a taste is black malt.  Ordinarily, seeing dark or black in the description of a beer gives me pause.  I have had cause to work on this taste, as I did with the peat and iodine aspects of certain single malt Scotches, my other alcoholic indulgence.  All the same, I’ll reach for just about anything else, all things being equal, before trying a “black” beer.

Color me surprised, then, when Kitsock’s description of CDA’s leaves a strong impression that beers of the style probably won’t have the flavor aspects I find so difficult.  Intensely hoppy without the burnt flavor, it sounds like these beers were made for me.  Better yet, one of my favorite brewers, Souther Tier, makes one.  Southern Tier is a brewery that is pretty much exclusively available in my county from one of the local markets my wife occasionally visits to supplement our CSA share and regular groceries.

I am so curious about this new style, though, I may make the trip out to that market myself to see if I can find one.  So far I haven’t see a CDA yet in any of the usual haunts where I purchase or enjoy beer.

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