Beer Congregation

This past weekend Kelleigh and I broke away from chasing down beer events to get together with a few old friends. As much as I love zipping around Philadelphia from place to place it's great to kick back and chill on a comfortable couch with a beer and a big plate of food. The problem is the older that we get the fewer opportunities there are for all of us to hang out. Life always seems to step in and alter plans. Who knew that kids, marriage, new homes and careers would interfere with friendly social gatherings? Since these congregations don't happen that often I made sure to sufficiently overeat and fill my glass as often as possible. Sorry no deep detailed discussion on food and beer pairings. This is just a quick break down of what poured through the evening.

The beer choices on Saturday covered a wide range of styles. The early part of the evening kicked off with Newbold IPA from Philadelphia Brewing Company. This was sort of the, "Hello, welcome to the party!!!” starter beer. Newbold was a good launching point. Where some IPAs lean almost into DIPA territory this one remains fairly mild in comparison. The, "bold", in the name might suggest an eventual hop assault but it never happened. However citrus, along with a nice bitterness, did come out in the finish. If we weren't headed to other beers it would be easy to toss back a few of these.

The evening really started with the opening of the big bottles. The first was Cuvée Van De Keizer Rood Belgian Strong Pale Ale from Brouwerij Het Anker. Before anyone makes comment on the picture I already know that this beer shouldn't be served in a pint glass. Don't worry we switched the glassware. This was a very carbonated beer with a huge billowy white head. The aroma was complex. Mild funk and flowers mixed with candy sugar, tropical fruit and apples. Honey and fruit came through in the taste with crisp champagne like quality. The slight warmth at the end reminds you that the abv is 10%. This was one of the best Belgian Pales I’ve tasted.

Next up we flipped open the top on Sprecher’s Doppel Bock Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels. The bourbon aroma jumped straight from the glass along with malt and hints of vanilla. The taste is malty with caramel, oak and an earthy quality which I am guessing comes from the oak aging. I expected the overall taste to be bigger but instead it’s warm and mellow. The sweetness and warmth of the bourbon is there until the end. As the beer had a chance to warm the bourbon character became even more predominate. This is a great after dinner beer. Put this one in a snifter; find a big leather chair in front of a toasty fire and kick back for the evening.

The suburban beer trail suddenly turned explosive and pitch-black. Jolly Pumpkin’s Madruga Obscura, Dark Dawn Stout, which sounds more like the title of an old Police album than a beer, flowed wildly as soon as the cap was removed. This Imperial Stout foamed out of the bottle before we were ready with the Chimay glasses. The pour was motor oil dark with a latte brown frothy head. The aroma was an interesting blend of chocolate, coffee and sour fruit. The sourness (thank you Brett) continued with the first sip then faded to reveal a more traditional roasted chocolate stout flavor. If your not use to sour beers it may take some time to adjust to the distinct taste. To my surprise the odd sour twist worked surprisingly well.

The fifth and final beer, Unibroue 17, really deserved better treatment than I gave it. I've had this beer before so I've experienced the flavors of dark fruit, cinnamon, brown sugar and roasted malts. This is one of my favorites from Unibroue. However by the time we poured it my beer comprehension had just about reached its limit. Anytime you forget you're actually drinking a beer or don’t remember how the beer got in the glass it's a sign to find the designated driver and bring the evening to a close. So, after finishing what was in my glass I called it an evening. My memory of 17 definitely didn't come from my most recent experience. Sorry Unibroue next time we will start the evening with the 17 instead of using it as our evening's swan song.