Sunday, February 28, 2010
St. Feuillien Saison
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Alaskan Brewing Company's Winter Ale
Sunday, January 31, 2010
St. Somewhere Brewing Company's Lectio Divina Belgian Style Ale
Having lived in Florida for 22 of my 23 years, one would think I would be familiar with all the cool things to do there. Since I am also passionate about beer, it would follow that I would know about the few breweries in Florida, yet it was not until my first visit to the Tampa Total Wine and More that I discovered the St. Somewhere Brewing Company. The St. Somewhere Brewery is located in Tarpon Springs, Florida and specializes in brewing traditional Belgian style ales. Florida is a state more known for its beaches and hurricanes than brewing amazing beer, so I was a bit skeptical at first. 2009 represented my first California Christmas, and my thoughtful mom, knowing that I love beer and was missing Florida, literally sent me a taste of home—two bottles from the St. Somewhere Brewing Company, based just 20 miles away from the place I called home for 22 years. I really wasn’t expecting much at first, since I had never heard of a “true” Floridian brewery, but I was excited to try a beer that was born in Florida, just like me. (Yuengling doesn’t count as a “true” Florida brewery because it was originally based in Pennsylvania.) It was simply an added bonus that this particular local brewery specialized in Belgian style ales—my favorite!
St. Somewhere Brewing Company’s Lectio Divina Belgian Style Ale
Appearance: Reddish, burnt orange in color, unfiltered and cloudy with decent amounts of cream-colored head that disappeared quickly.
Aroma: Inviting and fruity, complex with hints of grapes and raisins
Taste: Highly carbonated (so much so that after I took off the wire cage, the cork flew off by itself!) dry, tart beginning with hints of green apple and pear in the middle and a crisp, dry, quick finish.
Alcohol: 8% (Interesting to note that Belgian strong ales traditionally have extremely high ABVs. 8% is on the lower end of the spectrum)
I was pleasantly surprised by my first introduction to the St. Somewhere Brewery--I knew that Tarpon Springs had excellent Greek food, but now I can honestly say that they offer great beer as well. I think the lower alcohol percentage (again, lower for a traditional Belgian ale) actually works to this beer's advantage because you can drink a few during those humid Floridian summers without knocking yourself out. This beer could easily be enjoyed by itself, but would also pair nicely with lighter fare like a salad or fruit plate.
Fun fact: Lectio Divina is Latin for “divine reading” and refers to a method of religious reading intended to invite spiritual insights. Although I didn't have any spiritual visions while quaffing this Belgian style brew, I was divinely impressed by this little known local brewery. I recommend this beer to anyone who likes Belgian style ales or wants to get in on one of Tarpon Springs' delicious hidden gems.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Trader Joe's 2009 Vintage Ale
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Fireman's Brew Brewnette
Winter has finally arrived in Southern California and as the temperatures drop, I find myself seeking a heartier brew to take the chill off my bones. Ironically, I discovered the Fireman's Brew Brewnette over the summer at the Septemberfest Beer Festival held at Paramount Studios. I'll be honest, what originally caught my eye was not the creative nomenclature, but rather the shirtless guys wearing firefighter helmets and suspenders passing out free samples. Bingo!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tenaya Creek Brewery Experience
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For the Beer Babe, no trip to another city would be complete without getting a taste of the local brews, so when I went to Las Vegas last week I was determined to tour a local microbrewery. Lucky for me the Tenaya Creek Brewery was just a few miles outside of "the strip" and featured 10 original beers crafted by a family born and raised in Las Vegas. The Tenaya Creek Brewery, founded by Tim Etter (pictured above) in 1999, is the only one of its kind and has been family owned and operated for over a decade. Although the Tenaya Creek Brewery itself is a smaller operation, their kegs are on tap at many popular Vegas hotels such as the Bellagio and the Wynn. The goal of the brewery is to offer a wide selection of unique beers to the myriad tastes of the Las Vegas market, offering four core beers and five seasonal beers. Anthony Gibson, longtime friend of Tim Etter and Head Brewmaster at Tenaya Creek for 10 years said, "We aim to change people's perception of what beer is and what it can be." Gibson (pictured below) personally gave me an informative and interactive tour of the entire Tenaya Creek Brewery--from where the malt and barley are kept to the boiling kettles to the keg room where the finished brews are chilled. I even got to taste their hefeweizen straight from the 620 gallon fermentation tank itself! Gibson taught me a lot about the intricacies of the brewing process from the importance of sanitation to "sparging"--a term that refers to the addition of water to extract fermentable sugars from the grain. I also learned a lot more about the hop flower--one of the four key ingredients integral to brewing beer. There are nearly 50 varieties of hops, with certain species being used for flavor and others being used for aroma. Even though I am a wheat beer afficionado, Gibson was so descriptive and enthusiastic about their hops that I was inspired to try the Tenaya Creek Brewery's hoppiest beer of all.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Weihenstephaner Vitus
On Saturday, November 7th, I was lucky enough to attend the much anticipated Big 100 Gourmet Beer Tasting in downtown Burbank. There were only 100 people in attendance--all of them beer enthusiasts, all of them thirsty. The impressive roster boasted over 100 breweries from all over the world. Countries as far as Belgium, Germany and Japan were represented, along with a few local breweries right here in California. When I ask people which countries are known for brewing high quality beer, most tend to answer with Belgium or Germany. I personally am obsessed with Belgian beers, so I would say Belgium before the question was over. I knew Germany is another huge name in beer--with their Oktoberfest and the German Beer Purity Law--but I had never experienced a German beer that delighted my palate in the same way select Belgian brews had. That is, until Weihenstephaner's Vitus.