Sad News for Texas Beer Lovers

I have blogged a lot about it in the past (check out the Saint Arnolds page) but it appears that Texas House Bill 1926 that would allow Texas Microbrewers to actually sell their own products is dead on arrival. Brock Wagner has stated in an interview for the Austin Chronicle that the bill was opposed by a Mr. Mike McKinney of Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas. And of course once he opposed the bill it was dead, because we all know that the politicians will cower before the big money of distributors due to their incredible lack of spine they possess. Also reported by the Austin Chronicle is that Mr. McKinney has given thousands of dollars to Chair, Kino Flores D-Palmview. I know it shouldn't surprise me, but it still appalls me, that such a reasonable request is shot down without even a hearing because of the corruptness of our political system. Brock has stated that he is looking forward to trying to get the bill passed in 2009. In the meantime maybe we can start working on getting Flores out of office and hoping that the next chairperson is not in the deep pockets of the Beer Distributors.

There's a Beer in my Wine.....

...Magazine. Imagine my suprise this month, when flipping through my copy of Food and Wine Magazine I found an article on beer. Titled The Keg Vs the Cork it focuses on Chef Sang Yoon of The Father's Office in Sonoma California. Its quite a good article taken from the point of the great beer finds in this top end wine country. Chef Yoon has 36 taps in his restaurant and even has a couple in his home! To me its a very well written article accept for the prerequisite wine snobbery dig at beer lovers. This comes when talking about the fact that the sign that hangs outside of Lagunitas Brewing has been stolen four times in the past:

Typicall wine afficianados do not rip winery signs out of the ground and transport them back to their homes (or dorm rooms).

While this dig is unnecessary and cheap it shouldn't take away from an otherwise very beer friendly article. The author and Chef take a beer tour through Sonoma going to Lagunitas, Russian River, Beer Republic, and Anderson Valley. All amazing breweries. The Chef is allowed to make some really great points about how food friendly beer is. Some of my favorite quotes revolve around Chef Yoon telling his Sommelier friends to put down the Riesling and pick up on of the great beers from Sonoma. As with many people Chef Yoon grew up hating beer, because his only reference was cheap industrial swill. However while working for Joel Robochon in Paris he came upon the great Delirium Tremens and fell in love with beer. By the time he came back to the states the Craft Beer movement was getting in full swing and he found out great beer and food parings. These pairings is where the article really shines through for me. Taking some pretty complex food dishes, such as Rack Of Lamb with Arugula pest and paring it with a Belgian Dark Ale, to Sichuan Peppercorn shrimp paired with a White Ale like Allagash, he is able to show to a much wider, much more apprehensive audience the diversity of beer. Of course Chef Yoon does lose some points when he disses Texas BBQ Brisket, but that may be a small price to pay for good Beer coverage in a Wine Magazine.

Is Now the Best Time to be a Beer Drinker?

I've been thinking of writing on this topic for a couple of weeks now. I think the past few books I've read put it in the back of my mind. From Ambitious Brew, to Beer and Food and even Fermenting Revolution, all of them, in some manner speak on Beer Culture, and it got me thinking about comparing today's Culture to yesteryear's. There are those that would argue that the peak of Beer Culture has passed, come and gone sometime in the late 1800's where everyone went down to their local pub or saloon to grab a pint of local brew. However, as is the purpose of this post, I disagree. I think NOW is the best time to be a lover of beer and to participate in beer culture. Maybe its because having grown up in Texas the local beers were Lone Star and Shiner (nothing against the Spoetzl Brewery) but the fact that most Americans are within 10 miles of a brewery (thanks to Fermenting Revolution for the stat) has to mean something. Today's beer drinkers have more GOOD choices than ever. From great local brewers (like Houston's Saint Arnold's) to Craft Brewers that ship nationally like Sam Adams, Dogfish Head and others the consumer has a plethora of amazing beer choices.
There are those that would argue that although the aforementioned is true there has been a loss of unique beer styles like Scottish Hawthorne Beer. While I will admit that point I would counter that we have seen an increase in new beer styles. The Brewer's Association recognizes well over a hundred different styles of beer, some which didn't even exist 20 years ago. Original beers such as Double IPA, and Double Red Ale are uniquely American and uniquely now. While our culture does not prioritize the use of older methods using traditional Belgian brewing techniques and wild yeasts, American Brewers are coming back strong utilizing these techniques. Brewers such as Allagash or Ommegang make some of the best Belgian style beers in the WORLD. Brewers at Dogfish Head are using fruit and herbs to create unique and complex beers that are closer to some wines in flavor profiles than traditional malt beverages. More and more beers are coming out that are oak aged, some from old bourbon barrels, others from used wine barrels. There has never been a time before that we have had a chance to taste so many amazing beers and to have so many amazing Beer experiences.
I don't believe that anyone can deny that the average person has less of an excuse now to drink bad beer. With so many choices, even at the local grocery store there is no reason to drink swill. This is one of the good things that has come with being able to easily ship things across country, everyone has the chance to taste great beer.
In the argument over Beer Culture and when it was at its peak, there is one thing I will concede. We are lacking in local Pub Culture, a place where one can go and (to quote an old TV Show) everyone knows your name and pours your favorite beer. Outside of a few places such as New York, Boston, even San Francisco good neighborhood pubs are a thing of the past. I hope that that trend turns around.

Left Hand Imperial Oak Aged Stout

In the Texas heat there's not much better than nice pint of Kolsch or a good crisp clean pilsner. That being said there are times that I need something different, something a bit heavier. The other day I found such a beer and grabbed it in ernest. Left Hand is one of my favorite Colorado Brewerys along with Avery. They have a tendency to make some really good simple beers, and they also make some amazingly complex beers, usually bottled in their Big Bottle Series.
The Beer: This beer of course is a Big Beer, with a nice champagne like cork closure. The beer was bottled in 2007, with 25% aged in Oak Barrels. The beer weighs in at 10.4% alcohol so you know its a sipping beer. The beer pours a jet black coffee color, capped with a still thick toffee head. The nose is full of raisins, espresso, roasted and chocolate malts with an underlying vanilla oakiness.. The mouth is thick like syrup, raisiny, notes of bitter chocolate, burnt coffee. Quite an amazingly thick mouthfeel, as I was drinking it, I thought of reaching for a straw. But this thickness was not a bad thing, instead it made it seem like liquid chocolate cake. An awesome creaminess lasted throughout the whole experience. Just small notes of alcohol at the end that left a slight twinge of astringency was the only weakness to this beer. Great Beer, B+. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

The Session #4 Announced!

From the bitter defeat of the last Session, the Day of Mild, comes the announcement of The Session #4 from the Gastronimic Fight Club. For the uninitiated, The Session is held usually the first Friday of the month and is a Virtual Beer Tasting, each with a theme, hosted by a different blogger. This month's theme is a departure from the first 3 sessions in that it is not a style. The theme this month is you must taste a beer from your local brewery. By local the beer must be brewed within 15o miles of where you live. Here are the rest of the rules:

• You can select any beer or even a sampler if you want.
• If you select a single beer, let us know why you choose this beer (e.g. favorite,seasonal,limited edition, best seller).
• Preferably you'll shy away from beers with wide distribution outside your immediate area.

I am PUMPED about this month. For one I am a HUGE supporter of local breweries so this is right up my aisle. Secondly it will let me give some good pub to my favorite local brewer, Saint Arnold's. Now all I have to decide is which brew to taste (although I think I have a pretty good idea). So come back on June 1st for the results.

Its Session Time: A day of Mild's

Today normally would be day that I would have normally looked forward to. The first Friday of the month means its the day of The Session, the monthly virtual beer tasting. The host is Jay over at Brookston Beer Bulletin and the theme is the British Mild, a dark, malty, somewhat low in alcohol beer. Unfortunately for two very different reasons, I wasn't able to participate in this months tasting. Normally I would love searching for something like Mild for a couple of reasons, one I have never had the style and I love tasting new things, two, its a sesson beer, something that you can have one two, or three of in one sitting and not fall on the floor. However this time around I searched high and low, from Central Market, to Spec's with no success in finding a Mild, or really even something that I felt was comparable. The other issue is that I got hit by a bad case of allergies, and couldn't have tasted a Mild even if I could have found one.
All that being said, head over to the website and check out the roundup.

Book Review: Pint Sized Ireland

The title of this book by Australian Evan McHugh doesn't initially sound like much a beer book, but its the subtitle where the joy lies 'In Search of the Perfect Guiness.' While there are many craft beer lovers that turn their nose up at this dark bitter liquid, it has opened many novice beer drinkers to the fact that there is something else to drink than yellow colored water so it deserves a better place than most give it.
This book as stated on the jacket is part travel guide, part beer lovers diary. I couldn't agree more. Evan and his future wife travel around Ireland in search of the Perfect Guiness, from Dublin and the Guiness brewery to Westport on the West coast of Ireland and on up to Belfast the capital of Northern Ireland. The book is full of raucous tales and rather hilarious stories of his time in pubs with locals and other fellow travellers from Italy, Germany and other places that they met along the way. It is a great book, and I'd love to take it along to me if I ever get to go to Ireland, trying to match pace, visiting some of the pubs mentioned. If I could compare it to one book I have read it would be Travels with Barley by Ken Wells. The focus here is not drinking any beer, or Guiness specifically, but more about being in a Pub with friends (spoiler alert: that's a hint to where the Perfect Guiness really is). I think its something we miss here in the states where a Pub Culture is all but nonexistant, alas thats a post for another day. In the mean time this wouldn't be a bad book to read.

Dogfish Head Red and White

Time for another Dogfish Head. Rick Lyke spoke briefly about this beer in a seminar he gave at the World Beer Festival. Generically speaking this beer is a Belgium wit beer, but as with most from Dogfish head its much more than that.
The Style: Witbier or wit beer is a Belgian wheat beer, usually very pale, and hazy with lots of yeast. Commonly it is brewed with coriander and/or orange peel. The color is a golden with a rocky white head. Citrus aromas with light spiciness usually shine through. Witbier's are traditionally unfiltered and brewed with pale malts and raw wheat. The most popular witbier is Hoegarden, although another famous brand was made by Peirre Celis who all but introduced this style of beer in the States with his namesake brewery in Austin Texas, that unfortunately was taken over by SABMiller.
The Beer: This beer is so amazingly complex its unbelievable. First off the beer has some traditional notes of being a witbier being brewed with orange peel and coriander. However that's about as traditional as this beer gets. Its then blended with Pinot Noir concentrate, and aged in oak. 11% of that oak being Pinot Noir Barrels, the other 89% being aged on oak staves. The beer weighs in at 10% alcohol and pours a bright cherry color capped with a white slightly pinked tinged frothy head. Over time the head dissipates but leaves behind streams of thick lacing all over the glass. The nose is has notes of coriander, but is full of oranges, grapefruit, and hoppiness. The mouth has oranges, grapefruits, some oaky toastiness shows up as well. The beer starts out quite refreshing and zesty as a witbier should before leaving a mellow complex toasty aftertaste. As the beer warmed notes of wine-yness began showing up on the aftertaste. To me this was a great example of what Dogfish can do, not to much alcohol and an amazingly complex hybrid of traditional and old. For me a solid B+ beer. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Support Your Local brewery

There is a new grassroots organization focusing on Beer laws called Support Your Local Brewery (SYLB). SYLB is organized and run by the BA (Brewer's Association). It is not just for brewers, but for home brewers, beer enthusiasts, distributors and other trade professionals. Their goal is to protect the legislative and regulatory interests of small, traditional and independent craft breweries. Since this is something near and dear to my heart as my favorite local brewery Saint Arnold's is fighting with the Texas State Legislature I wanted to give them some pub. Check their website out and remember to support your local brewery because they will support you.

Beer Quick Hits

Its been a while since I've had the chance to sit down and talk news around the beer world so I thought I'd use a Saturday morning to through some newsy updates out there.
First off a couple of Saint Arnold's updates:
- BJ's Restaurant and Brewery has announced that it has moved into Florida. Like the deal that BJ's made in Texas, Saint Arnolds will be contracted to brew all the beer for BJ's in Florida. Just another great way for Saint Arnold's to expand capital, and hopefully expand their operations.
- Its Baseball Season and Saint Arnold's has announced their first ever Bus Trip to the Astros Game. Everyone will meet at the brewery for some pre-game refreshment, pile into a bus and go to the Astros Game. This is a great idea, and I'm so happy that Saint Arnold's has started this. Great idea, and I can't wait to go!
- A couple of stories here, and here about how good Beer is for the economy! No surprise here, as microbrewer's as I have talked about in the past, are more likely to give back to their communities and as shown at New Belgium have incredibly low turnover.
- A sad note here, in that A-B wins again, this time over in the old country, Hungary specifically where they have earned the right to market their beer as Budweiser, causing the original Budvar to be marketed under a different name.
- Beer and Math? Hey its how I got through University. An article from the BBC detailing how a math formula has helped to solve the question of how to make that head last longer.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton

DogI had seen this beer at both my local Spec's and Central market a while ago, but then it dropped off the face of the earth before I could grab a four pack. So I was extremely excited to see it back on the shelf this past weekend.
The Beer: The beer is a blend of an oak aged English Strong Ale and Dogfish's 90 minute IPA, and weighs in at around 10% alcohol. Using a chalice shaped glass, the beer poured a bright amber, orangish color capped by a quarter inch foamy cream head, the soon dissipated leaving behind thick streams of lacing. The nose was full of hop bitterness, citrus peel, oak, vanilla, and surprisingly what I could only compare to as sour cherries. Not that it was bad, just surprising to me. The mouthfeel was thick, with good but somewhat mellow carbonation. Grapefruit and some alcohol burn were prevalent at the beginning with just hints of cherry and oak, but as the beer warmed in the glass the grapefruit flavors subsided and the cherry and oak flavors came forward expressing themselves in tastes similar to a cherry vanilla coke with out the overbearing sweetness. An extremely complex ale, and maybe I am a sucker for oak aging, but I really enjoyed this one. Here's what the folks at BA had to say, and it seems as if most agree with me.

Book Review: Beer & Food An American History

A few weeks ago I went on a bit of a book shopping splurge and bought a few pieces on beer. Hopefully over the course of the next month or so I'll finish them all and write up a couple of reviews. The first book that came was the newest by Bob Skilnik titled Beer & Food: An American History. Before getting into the book, a little about the author. Mr. Skilnik has written a pretty well reviewed book in the past, Beer: A history of Brewing in Chicago. Chicago being near and dear to his heart as that is his residence and where he earned a degree in brewing technology from the Siebel Institute. So he has some pretty good credentials, and as I am fan of beer and food pairing, I was eager to crack open the book.
The basic premise of the book is looking at how beer and food have evolved over American History, both in pairings, but more specifically as an ingredient. I think that the author does a good job of meeting the premise, in an authoritative and entertaining manner. The author does covers much more range than Maureen Ogle's book, starting back in the Colonial days. He starts out showing how the women that brewed the beer used it in their dishes, and stews, sometimes using them as preservatives, due to the use of hops. But more prevantly the author shows how people had to make do using other non traditional ingredients for beer in the new frontier than their British Homes were used to. This manner of showing the state of beer, then food, then giving a smattering of beer infused ingredients continues throughout the book, up until Prohibition, where instead of using beer, ingredient pamphlets were created by struggling brewers emphasizing the use of their Malt extracts. Fascinating if not entirely appetizing approach. The book ends with the craft beer movement and recipes from a good selection of craft brewers using their own beers in various unique ways.
Overall I think this is a good introductory book to beer and food. Some of the recipes were redundant, (sometimes that may have been the authors point) I mean how many stews or Welsh Rarebit recipes does one need? The real treat here were some of the current recipes utilizing today's craft beer's as they seemed to be very thought out.
My recommendation is, if you are interested in beer and food as ingredients, this is a good start, if you are more interested in Beer and food in pairings, seek out Garrett Oliver's much more thorough effort.

Allagash Musette

I am always on the lookout for new and unusual beers. Not necessarily extreme beers, but beers that are made in an usual way, beers that show craftsmen ship. The other day in Spec's I found it in this beer from Allagash. Now, I have had an Allagash beer before and been impressed, so when I saw this one I knew or at least hoped I'd be in for a treat.
The Beer: The beer comes in a big bottle with a wire cage closure, its aged in oak barrels, and according to the label was bottled on December 2006! This is one of 518 cases bottled and finally the beer weighs in at 10% abv. The beer pours a cloudy dark amber, capped by a thick white foamy head. The nose is full of sweet malts, raisins, figs, and a hint of burnt wood. The mouth has smoky, oaky, slightly vanillin notes, and caramel. The oak brings out flavors like a good oak aged wine, this beer is dry in that vein too. Very smooth. As the beer warmed more vanillin notes started to pop out creating a beer of incredible depth. Very nice. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.
A couple of other notes, according to Allagash this is a Scottish ale. The oak hides some of this, but I do see it. For more info check out their page dedicated to this great beer.

The Session #3 Announcement

Yes the announcement has been made. We have had a blast with the first two Sessions, that I am pleased to announced Jay over at the Brookston Beer Blog has announced the latest installment.
For those new to The Session, belly up to the bar, its easy. On the first Friday of every month, beer bloggers around the world gather for a virtual tasting, directed toward a specific theme that is supplied by that month's host. Well we know the host is Jay, the theme? Well its Mild Beer. Some out there may be saying 'Huh' I know, but its a pretty popular beer over across the pond in London, so popular in fact that CAMRA has named May The month of the Mild. So what is mild? It is usually a darker beer, slightly sweet, with toasty malts, a bit of hops, but relatively low alcohol, weighing in at around 4.5 to 5% sometimes lower. For more information, check out this sight. It will be challenge for me to find a good Mild to taste, since there aren't many American Craft Brewers making them, and I don't know if I get any of the ones imported. But hey challenges are part of the fun. Plus I am exceedingly happy that Jay chose this as I think it will open a lot of people up to a style they have not tried before. As many beers as I have tried, I have never had a mild, so this one will be new to me, and that's always exciting. So join in, and come back on May 4th for the results.

The Session #2

Wow.....the first session was a great success, this time it might be even better.

Head over to A Good Beer Blog and check out the plethora of Dubbels.

The Session #2: Dubbels

The day is finally upon us, The Session #2 has arrived. The first session was a blast as the theme was "Not your Father's Stout". For those new to the discussion The Session is a virtual Beer Tasting held the first Friday of the month. All the beer bloggers, the world over, do tasting, write up and the host posts every one's tasting in a round up a couple of days later. This month the host is Alan over at A Good Beer Blog, the theme is Dubbels. My foray into this months discussion is Ommegang's Abbey Ale.
The Style: The Dubbel style has its roots in Trappist brewing, although many American Craft brewers are making Abbey ale, which for the most part are Dubbels. These beers are of moderate strength around 8%, but always less that the more robust Trippels. These beers are dark, malty, spicy, with low hops.
The Brewery: Ommegang is based in Cooperstown, New York, was founded in 1997 and is renown for creating some of the best Belgian Ales in the States. Simply put they are Belgian ales. They use traditional Belgian style malts, spices, and brewing methods to create a small collection of reportedly amazing Belgian Beers. Among other things they also promote the greatness that is Beer with Food, something I am passionate about.
The Beer: I searched a long time before selecting a Dubbel that I wanted to taste. At first I was going to go for a Belgian Beer, but most of those I have been lucky to taste, either here, or when I was in Brussels last year. So I decided to search for something new, something I had never tasted. Lucky me then that Ommegang brewery has just started distribution to my fair city! I had heard nothing but raves about this brewery so when I saw their Ommegang Ale on the shelf of my local Spec's I knew this was THE BEER!
The beer came in a large bottle with the words 'Bottle Conditioned' printed on the front of the colorful label. The beer weighed in at a nice 8.5% and poured a deep amber with just small streaks of red flashing through when held up to the light. There was a nice thick, dense quarter inche taupe head capping this amber nectar. The nose was fruity, musty, raisins. The mouth showed good carbonation, smooth, with notes of coffee, dark chewy raisins, concentrated dark grape flavors, leaving a crisp long finish. A bit of espresso bitterness showed itself right at the finish. As the beer warmed the dark fruit flavors showed up even more prevalently, expressing itself in what I would call a thick beer. I really enjoyed this beer and am glad that Ommegang has made its way down here. Can't wait to try their other beers. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
Now go over to A Good Beer blog and check out the other Dubbel Posts.

MOJO Risin Double IPA

Beyond going to a couple of Brew Pubs this past weekend while in Colorado, I was also able to pick up a beer that I have been trying get my hands on. Unfortunately Boulder Beer Co, doesn't distribute to Texas, or at least not down to Houston so my only other previous experience was during this past years Great American Beer Festival. So, when I went into a local Denver Beer store and saw this beer, it called to me, a big bottle, big beer, double IPA! Sounds good to me!
The Brewery: Boulder Beer Co, was Colorado's first microbrewery which is pretty telling in a state that has quite a few. The brewery was started in 1979 by a couple of professors from the local university CU. There first beers were a Extra Pale Ale, Porter, and a Stout, but I dare say now they are more famous for their MOJO IPA and their Hazed and Confused (a fresh hop infused IPA).
The Beer: This particular beer is part of the 'Look Glass' Series, of which the aforementioned Hazed and Confused is the flagship and comes in a big bottle. The beer weighs in at a potent 10% alcohol. It pours a deep copper color with a nice quarter inch frothy head. Floral hop bitterness with some citrus peel in the nose. The mouth is full with nice carbonation. Its like biting into a grapefruit, skin and all, but the nicest thing is that it ends with a bit of malt sweetness that helps balance the beer and not making the beer unbearable, which it comes close to, but never goes over the edge. I couldn't drink more than one of these massive beers, but its quite nice for being an extreme hoppy beer. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

My weekend

I know its been a few days since my last post, but I do have a good excuse. This past weekend I headed up to the land of beer and mountains, Denver Colorado. My fiance and I were doing a little wedding planning, but since Denver and the area surrounding Denver are infested with Microbreweries I was VERY happy. Amongst the planning we were able to stop by two craft breweries, Estes Park Brewery, and Oskar Blues and have a sample of their fine brews.
Estes Park Brewery is of course located in Estes Park across the lake from the Stanely hotel (the creepy hotel in the Shining). The brewery is a Brew pub serving ok food, and pretty good beer. When we got there we headed to the tasting bar for a few short glasses of beer (since these were small pours I won't be grading the head):
Estes Park Porter: Dark, ruby colored, coffee notes, creamy, smooth with a light bitterness at the end, very nice.
Estes Park Renegade: This is their IPA, oranges, bitter, fruity, balance the bitterness with some malt, good carbonation. Pretty good.
Estes Barleywine: Very nice at 13%, raisins, Roasted sweet malts, chewy, dark fruit. Could use some aging, but already very good.
Estes Tripel: Weighs in at 8.8%, fruity, golden in color, white grapes, like a Riesling, honey suckle, melons, Extremely smooth, no alcohol flavor.
Estes Park Oatmeal Stout: Flavors of roasted malts and chocolate, a tad bit of oaty flavor. Some esspresso notes, with only a bit of mild bitterness. An ok attempt.

Oskar Blues of course is that small brewery that has become famous for serving their beers in cans, something not many craft brewers do. The brewery is a small venture in a Lyons Colorado. They serve food, but we didn't get any, instead we sat down on a Sunday afternoon and ordered a sampler tray of 6 beers:
MoneyShot Cream Ale: Light, lemony, cloudy, crisp, and tart. An ok beer, but I don't have much experience with a Cream ale.
Gordon Strong Beer: Big hops here, no malts, orange peel notes, a little much, but not to bad.
Dale Pale Ale: The flagship beer. Poured cloudy, nice smooth hops, well balanced, refreshing, Very nice.
Bitching Creek ESB: A guest beer from Jackson Hole, that they were pouring. Bitter, some chocolate notes, smooth cocoa-y, very nice.
Old Chub: Another one of their popular beers a Scottish Ale. Dark brown, sweet dark raisins, dark cherry notes, smooth a little bitter, but very nice.

Avery Mephistopheles

Avery is known for making some pretty extreme beers, and they usually make a series of them. From their Dictator series to their Demons of Ales they make uniquely great beers some that I have tasted before. Mephistopheles is part of the Demons of Ales beer, along with The Beast, and Samael (which I tasted previously). This particular beer is an Imperial Stout.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at a stout (no pun intended) 16.03% and pours an inky jet black capped by the darkest brown foamy thick head that I have seen. The nose is of raisins, rum, hops, coffee and just a bit of astringent alcohol. The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, good carbonation, toasty and oaky, coffee, chocolate, raisins, with a bit of that rummy taste showing up as the beer warmed. Not much of that espresso bitterness that I was hoping for though, but on the upside not an overt amount of alcohol taste either. If I could compare it to one thing it would be a dense double dark chocolate coffee cake. Pretty nice beer, here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Collaboration Not Litigation Ale

I first heard about this unique beer while reading a review of it over at Hedonist Beer Jive. By unique I mean that this ale is not one beer, but actually two different beers blended together. This of course is where the name comes in. There are two craft breweries with a Salvation Beer. One is from Avery and is a Belgian Golden Ale, the other is from Russian River Brewing and is a Strong Dark Belgian beer. The litigation portion of the story goes that instead of filing a law suit over who is the true Salvation beer the two beer makers joined up and created a unique blended beer. Brewed and bottled at Avery, the Russian River Brewer flew out to Colorado, brewed his beer there just as he does out in California.
The Beer: The beer comes in a big bottle format and weighs in at a nice 8.99% alcohol. It pours a cloudy brown hazelnut color with a thin taupe colored head. Raisins and spicy fruit on the nose, yeast breadynessPublish. A creamy thick mouthfeel, bananas and bread on the tongue. Low carbonation causes the beer to sit and coat the tongue. Very smooth, with very little alcohol flavor showing up. Very rich, very nice. Jay over at HBJ gave the beer a 8.5 out of 10, I'd say that's about right, here's what the folks at BA had to say.