'Cuegrass '10

April 17, 2010 brought us the opportunity to enjoy the second annual North Carolina 'Cuegrass Festival. Put on by The Pit and local bluegrass bands and brewers, the event is a great way to enjoy some nice spring weather. They set up a stage outside of the restaurant for the bands, and 2 tents, one for beer and one for barbeque. Sandwiches and beer were both $5, with some amount of the proceeds going to the Future Farmers of America. Beer and food could both also be ordered inside.

The beer tent selection was a downgrade from last year, with only four taps, Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit, Lone Rider Peacemaker Pale Ale, Big Boss Blanco Diablo, and Carolina Pale Ale. We tried the Peacemaker and Blanco before ordering other beers from the bar inside. The Big Boss and Lone Rider offerings both were great for the atmosphere, easy drinking, but not bland. If anything they went down a bit too quickly, which at $5 a pop can add up quickly.

Inside we tried out a Smuttynose Robust Porter and then finished up with a couple of Highland's Seven Sisters Dubbel. The Porter was light enough to drink out in the sun, but still had a nice roast flavor and not too much sweetness. The Dubbel was maybe a bit heavy for the afternoon sun, or maybe that was just because I was getting full of beer and barbeque! Regardless it was very tasty, with some nice spicy yeast flavors that complemented the malt base well.

Keep an eye out for this event next year, it's sure to only get bigger and better!

Big Oak Release Party

At Brixx Brier Creek yesterday, I found out about a new beer that is being brewed by Red Oak. It sounds like basically an Imperial Red Oak. The beer is described as a Vienna style lager brewed to the strength of a bock. I am curious to see what this tastes like, as I can't say I've ever tried a style like this. Although it will probably share some characteristics of regular bock beers, which is a pretty wide ranging style.

The release party is all day Tuesday, April 13 at Brixx Brier Creek. The party is also going on at The Flying Saucer Raleigh. Stop by either place to taste the newest beer from Red Oak!

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Thursday April 1st brought us the opportunity to enjoy a 2 year vertical of the highly acclaimed Founders KBS. The tasting was hosted at The Flying Saucer in Raleigh, and featured both 2009 and 2010 versions of Founders bourbon barrel imperial stout. According to the brewers this beer is has "massive amounts of coffee and chocolate". It is then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels to add even more taste and complexity.

Both beers looked almost identical in the glass, a dark black, with a thin, light mocha colored head. The smell is intense chocolate and a touch of coffee, I was surprised at the lack of roast or coffee notes in the nose.

Tasting them though, the beers differ a good bit. The 2009 is much smoother, with much better balance between all the flavors. You definitely get a little bit of bourbony oak, but the chocolate is what stands out. The sweetness masks most of the coffee in my opinion. The mouthfeel of the 2009 is a bit creamier and thicker than the 2010, which adds to the experience.

The 2010 version is way too fresh, with just an explosion of flavors and tastes that does not meld well together. You can tell it's the same beer, but very harsh around the edges. This is really a beer that you must force yourself to age. I think the 2009 version was even a bit hot with alcohol, and would be really curious to try a larger vertical that left out the current year's version.

Imperial Pilsner Cask

Natty Greene's Raleigh is having a special cask of Imperial Pilsner on Friday April 2nd. The cask will be tapped at 5pm. Be on time, I'm sure this one will go quick. They will be charging $5 for this instead of their regular $4.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary--Fritz and Ken's Ale

So last night I went with BeerMechanic and Hopslam to Tyler's in Durham for a taste of the new release from Sierra Nevada. This Imperial Stout weighed in at 9.20% ABV, and was very tasty! The brew had a very aggessive coffee flavor, so this would not be for those who do not enjoy a strong mocha flavor. A very dark beer, and was completely drinkable and very enjoyable. Try it if you get a chance!

Mikkeller Single Hop Series

Carrboro Beverage Company hosted a unique tasting a few weeks ago. It featured 5 of the 10 Mikkeller Single Hop beers. The beers are all IPAs, and have the exact same recipe except for the hops. Each beer uses only one type of hop, so it is a great chance to see how different hops can influence a beer's flavor. I will go through the beers one by one:

Nelson Sauvin: This was a hop that I had not heard of, and produced a very unique flavor. The IPA was almost wine like, with the hop imparting a tart sweetness not unlike a white wine.

Centennial: This hop is used in some very popular beers, including Founders Centennial IPA and Bell's Two Hearted. Citrusy but not in a way that dominates the palate, the hop gives some slight floral aroma as well.

East Kent Goldings: I went into this beer thinking I would like it, since I do like English Pale Ales and ESB's that this hop is frequently used in. I came out of it realizing why I like those beers, and it's not the hops! The Mikkeller IPA was not very tasty, a little harsh bitterness, with a lot of dirty, earthy flavors. This hop obviously works very well in the background, but not as the main flavoring hop.

Cascade: Well known from Sierra Nevada's flagship Pale Ale, this one tasted pretty much as expected, tons of citrus and floral notes dominate this hop profile.

Chinook: This hop variety is typically used just for bittering purposes, so it was interesting to get more of the aroma. It imparted a very strong, piney, spicy flavor. Very interesting combination.

For those that do not know, Carrboro Beverage is located next to Tyler's original Carrboro location. They do weekly tastings on Thursday nights and keep a fantastic inventory of beers. You can follow them and their events on Facebook.

Duck Rabbit Brunch

The Borough hosted their second beer brunch on Sunday, March 14th. It featured four of Duck-Rabbit's beers, paired with four brunch courses. The beer highlight was the Barleywine, fresh from Farmville. I was worried with it being so fresh that it would be a bit rough, hot with alcohol, and not very good. Lucky for us I was wrong. The beer was actually very balanced (for a Barleywine) and a good hybrid between English and American styles. Paul, the head brewer, called it a "Farmville" style barleywine. It was nice and malty, with plenty of caramel and sweetness to back up the hops. The hops were noticeable, but far from overpowering, a great combination of flavors. Now that was only the second beer, which left me wondering how the transition to the next beer would go. They chose the Brown ale, which is a hoppy American style. It actually worked, and did not taste weak or bland even after the Barleywine which was my concern.

Overall it was a good experience, although four full twelve ounce beers was a bit too much compared with the size of the food courses. The food was excellent, with the most enjoyable course being the black cherry tart, which was paired with the Milk Stout. The courses and beers are listed below:
Smoked Tomato Soup with Porter
Herb and Cheese Potato Gratin with Barleywine
Roast Chicken with Herbs and root vegetables with Brown Ale
Black Cherry Tart with Milk Stout

The next brunch we attend, we will make sure to have a more formidable breakfast, so that one of us does not get a little too tipsy from brunch...