Texas Brown Ale

Tonight, I broke out the Texas Brown Ale- a collaboration between Stone, Bear Republic, and Fat Head's.  Rebecca was out with friends, so I took a much needed break from our recent hop marathon.

The beer pours chocolate brown with a good head.  As it is drunk down the beer has decent lacing.  Aromas of chocolate and brown sugar dominate.  The beer has big mouth feel and flavors of molasses, chocolate, and brown sugar envelop the palate.  The aftertaste is sweet and very pleasant.  Overall, I'm reminded of a great southern style pancake breakfast with lots of syrup.

Overall rating: 89

Food Pairing: Brisket, baked beans, and coleslaw
(Or just have it on its own for breakfast!)

Hopzilla

Rebecca cooked extra spicy jambalaya tonight, so we decided to pair that with Deviant Dales.... it was a great pairing.  The Dale's stood up nicely to the extra spice.

After dinner, we headed to Mellow Mushroom for Hopzilla on draft. The beer pours honey in color.  The head was 1/2 inch and as the beer drank down it had great lacing. Aromas of honey and pine predominated. The beer started on the front palate with lemon and sugar.  Mid palate is where the bitterness and hops came in with a bang.  The aftertaste was very pleasant, without the metallic bitter of other beers.  Overall, a solid beer, similar in appearance and taste to the famous Hopslam.

Overall rating: 90
Rebecca's rating: 96

Food pairing: This beer would not stand up to spicy Jambalaya! But would go nicely with a milder red thai curry.

Deviant Dales

I decided to take my winnings from my bet on I'll Have Another and go on a beer buying trip. Bestway in Greensboro NC got Deviant Dales in this weekend.  I am a fan of Dale's Pale Ale, and had high hopes for this beer. I postulate that Dale's cans make for good road sodas as they look like a coke can, but I would, of course, strongly advise against testing my theory.

The beer pours copper orange with an inch head.  As it's drunk down, the beer has some decent lacing.  The nose has pine, citrus, and is a little danky.  The palate is brimming with pine and syrup.  Citrus notes strike mid palate.  Mild bitterness as an aftertaste, and very hoppy.  Not too boozy. Overall, a winner.

Overall score:  90
Rebecca's score: 94

Food pairing: Goat cheese and crackers

Derby Day

Inspired by I'll Have Another, I've put the beer away for the afternoon and moved to a combination of mint juleps and straight-up bourbon.

My mint julep recipe is as follows:
Equal parts sugar and water with 8 sprigs of mint, boiled until sugar and water mix. Add ice to cool (about 8 cubes).  Now, for the most important part, 8 ounces of good bourbon.  Not some cheap generic bourbon like Jim Beam but either Basil Hayden or Blantons.
The results were intoxicating.  Literally.  My alcohol buzz is only surpassed by the high of winning on ponies.  (Well, I haven't won yet, but plan to at some point today).


Overall rating: 90
Rebecca's rating: 86

Food pairing: Country ham with mango

(In the spirit of the Derby, I plan on drinking one of my favorites next:  Foothills Brewing Company's Bourbon Barrel Aged Peoples Porter [aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels!!!])






And in honor of Derby Day, Rebecca made Bourbon Apple Pie with Cinnamon topping.  She shared the recipe with me, so here goes




For the crust:
Cheat and use Pillsbury frozen pie crust


For the filling:

4 Granny Smith Apples, diced
1/8 cup Basil Hayden's
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick butter, cut into 8 small parts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix all items in the filling together in large bowl.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

Put all topping items except butter into a food processor and blend.  Put one part of butter in to processor at a time.  Blend until all ingredients have a "wet" consistency and are mildly chunky.

Place filling inside crust.  Place topping over filling evenly.  Cover with aluminium foil.

Baked covered for 45 minutes and then uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool for one hour prior to serving.

Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream...

Great Divide 18th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA

While watching the Braves, I opened up the Great Divide 18th anniversary Double IPA. I had just finished enjoying a supper of sloppy joes, and I was feeling stuffed. I didn't need a beer, but after watching an overweight baseball player, who couldn't manage to run faster than my mother, fail to make it to home, I decided I was in great shape and deserved a beer. (My mother is in a wheel chair). Rebecca, as always, was up for a beer (or any sort of alcohol).
The original plan was to split it with my hop-loving fiancee, but she took one sip, handed it back to me, and headed to the fridge for a Hopzilla, leaving me on the road to a Monday night buzz.

Poured into a tulip glass, the appearance is promising. Amber in color with a decent head. The nose is oaky, earthy, with more pine than floral or citrus. On the front palate I detect oak, pine, and a slight sweetness. The back palate is bitter and metallic with some oak. (Rebecca says yuck.) Despite the high alcohol content, this beer is not very boozy.

Overall, I give it an 83.

Rebecca wasn't as impressed. She gave it a 72. She probably wasn't drunk enough yet.

Food pairing: Chicken Picatta with vegetable lemon pasta