Girl Scout Cookies & Beer - Year Six

It’s that time of year again and if you haven’t seen them hawking their sugary treats around town or been asked by a friend or relative to buy them then clearly you’ve been living under a rock. Since Chris’ niece was once again selling them, he was once again buying a box of each variety available. Apparently the beer gods looked favorably upon us because we were able to sit down for our annual pairing foray less than a week after the cookies arrived. 

In advance of gathering at our local we perused past years’ pairing posts to see what beers had worked with what cookies, keeping a particular eye out for the unexpected pairs like Do-Si-Dos (peanut butter sandwich cookies) and Bell’s Winter White (Belgian style) or Samoas (coconuty) with Baerlic What the Fluff (hazy IPA). Referencing that information aided some of our decision making while the rest was left to our palates’ preferences and what shiny new things were available this year.

Block 15 Breakfast with Woodford
Our friend Paul brought this treat from his collection and overall the big, boozy stout brewed with maple syrup was a hit both on its own and with many of the cookies. With Toffee-tastic, the gluten free cookie that we were quite happy to see return this year, the pairing took on the flavor profile of French toast. The cookie provided a brioche-like base with its toffee bits playing off the maple syrup notes in the beer. Not surprisingly the rich coconuty Samoas made for a very decadent pairing. Thin Mints, for all of their perceived easy pairing with big, dark beers, have often not been as compatible as we had hoped however here the beer brought the mint to the forefront, making it pop in a deliciously sharp way.

Stone Xocoveza 
A favorite beer of Caren’s, this imperial stout was brewed to have a flavor profile similar to that of Mexican hot chocolate - deep with a balanced spiciness. As with the Block 15, it worked well with many of the cookies but particularly well with S’mores. This sandwich cookie not only does a great job of smelling like a s’more but also tasting like it and when paired with this beer the marshmallow flavor became enhanced to the point of almost reaching coconut.

Trap Door Mango Lassi
We’ve been impressed with Trap Door’s beers in general however none of us were particularly enamored by this sour/gose, that is until we had some cookie in our mouth at the same time. A tropical take on the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich resulted from pairing it with the Do-Si-Dos and the bright fruit helped to lighten up the chocolate covered peanut butter goodness of the Tagalongs. That light fruitiness also worked well to balance the overt sweetness of the S’mores cookie.

Tieton Cider Works Apricot
While we have primarily stuck to beer pairings, we have occasionally cracked open a cider and often found a compatible cookie for it. This year we tried out an apricot cider, agreeing that it was enjoyable on its own, and found its best mate in the tried and true Trefoils (aka Shortbread). The cookie’s butteriness held strong with a pleasant contribution of bright fruit from the cider. For a lighter pairing, the Savannah Smiles lemon cookie hit the mark.

Great Divide Orabelle
This Belgian-style ale “with spices” is in the same family as the Bell’s Winter White we mentioned previously. Similar to it, it’s not a beer we find particularly enjoyable on its own but we did find a pairing that redeemed the beer - the super sweet Samoas. The beer did its part to balance the cookie’s sweetness while the cookie transformed the beer into something that we quite enjoyed. 

Ex Novo Wooden Teeth
Another big, dark beer, this 13.4% ABV whiskey barrel-aged wee heavy ale also found a friend in the Samoas, here being decadent instead of being lightened. For being a "controversial" cookie (depending on your feeling about coconut) this year it turned out to be one of the most versatile and successfully paired cookies.

Thanks to all the friends that joined us, our local and the beertender on staff for making this another fun and palate-informing outing! 

A Second 2017 Beer & Cheese Pairing Party

We think beer and cheese is one of the most perfect pairings to be found and recently our small group got together once again to play with pairing. At least the fourth time we've done it, we gathered as usual at our favorite watering hole, each toting cheese, eager to grab beers and dig in. After a quick round of sampling all of the cheeses on their on that's just what we did. Here are the highlights.

Taleggio from Italy (Market of Choice), suggested as a replacement for the Limburger that was currently sold out, it was one of the most versatile of the cheeses. The only caveat was that it took far longer than the standard two hours at room temperature to come into its creamy, slightly funky own.
- Not surprisingly its funkiness paired well with the assertive Mexican hot chocolate flavors found in Stone's imperial milk stout, Xocoveza.
- With Anchorage Nelson Sauvin Saison with Brett the cheese brought out the hop bitterness of the beer, which depending on one's personal preference might be a bit too much, but we enjoyed it.
- Paired with the relatively mild North Coast Berliner Weisse Cranberry-Quince it surprisingly did not overpower the beer but instead they took turns complimenting one another with the beer allowing the funk of the cheese to come through and the cheese returning the favor, allowing the bright, tart cranberry to come in at the end.
- Somewhat similarly to the North Coast pairing, when enjoyed with Ballast Point Sour Wench the cheese allowed the fruitiness of the beer to really shine.

Rivaling the Taleggio for versatility was the Creamy Toscano dusted with cinnamon (Trader Joe's).
- No one in the group is much of a fan of pumpkin beers but the temptation of Southern Tier's rum barrel-aged Pumking was too much to pass up as we know that dark beers tend to work particularly well with cheese. In this instance the cheese allowed the pumpkin to come out and rival the barrel-aged flavors of the beer nicely.
- With the Stone Xocoveza the cinnamon in the beer and the cinnamon in the cheese played wonderfully off one another, neither overpowering the other.
- In a surprising pairing, at least on the surface, the cinnamon in the cheese and the cranberries in the North Coast Berliner Weisse worked together. Thinking on it further and savoring the pair, it was similar to the way cinnamon and fruit work together in a pie or crisp.
- The gathering also included slices of Crimson Crisp apples (a relative of Honeycrisp) which combined with the cheese and the Stone Xocoveza for a triumvirate of tastiness.

Beecher's Flagship Cheddar (Fred Meyer) was quite possibly the overall favorite cheese of the day on its own and it found a singular perfect partner in Ruse Clock Keeper Saison/Farmhouse. The recommendation came from David, the beertender on duty, and it was spot on with the beer nicely lightening the luscious, flavorful cheddar.

Another cheese superstar with our group was Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog (Fred Meyer). Great on its creamy own, it brought a pleasant (at least to us) sharpness out in the rich Stone Xocoveza.

The gooey-est cheese of the day, Triple Cream Brie with Wild Mushrooms (Trader Joe's), was another crowd favorite even for those who don't typically dig on gooey cheeses. As with the Taleggio it found delicious partners with multiple beers.
- Block 15 Azaccasicle IPA, with its blend of tropical and citrusy hops and touch of milk sugar, made fast friends with the earthiness of the cheese.
- The depth of Pints Chocolate Nut Brown, brewed with UK Phoenix hops that in fact taste like chocolate, found a partner in the mushrooms.
- Once again the North Coast Cranberry-Quince mixed and mingled with the cheese. Here the tartness from the cranberries and the Berliner Weisse base balanced the richness of the cheese while the mushrooms took the tart edge off the beer.
- A final pairing but not a beer one, that we found deliciousness in was pairing this with Ilchester Smoked Applewood Cheddar. We thought the smokiness of the cheddar, the earthiness of the mushrooms and the creaminess of the brie would make an outstanding grilled cheese (further exploration is impending).

Not as gooey as a brie but silky soft once it warmed was Mitica Drunken Goat (Fred Meyer).
- The sweetness of Southern Tier's rum barrel-aged Pumking balanced and was balanced by the saltiness of this soft but not oozy cheese.
- Reuben's Home From Home, a beer no one had a particular affinity for perhaps due to its super bitter-hoppiness (and this is coming from hop-loving folks), managed to become more balanced and drinkable when accompanied by the cheese.

Long Clawson Wensleydale with Cranberries (Fred Meyer)
- Pairing a fruit cheese with a stout is a bit of a no-brainer yet it still came as a bit of a surprise to find how delicious this cheese was with the Stone Xocoveza. The complexity of the beer had the potential to clash with the tartness the cranberries brought to this pairing but happily they worked harmoniously.
- With the North Coast Cranberry-Quince the cranberry-on-cranberry pairing worked nicely, being anything but one dimensional.

Stilton (Fred Meyer) is one of the more strongly flavored varieties in the blue cheese families and as such it did overpower some beers we tried it with.
- Surprisingly its powerful flavor mingled well with the North Coast Cranberry-Quince. Here the beer brought out additional, lovely funkiness in the cheese while still allowing the fruit in the beer to sparkle.
- The most decadent pairing of the day was here with the Stone Xocoveza. This is what post-dinner cheese course dreams are made of.

Face Rock Smoky Cheddar (Fred Meyer) is one of the creamiest cheddars we've had with a pleasant but not overpowering smokiness.
- A fun pairing with the North Coast Cranberry-Quince the saltiness of the cheese came out, followed by the sweetness of the beer.
- Finding its backbone it stood up to the Stone Xocoveza, bringing the cinnamon in the beer to the forefront.

If you haven't tried your own beer and cheese pairing we hope this post encourages you to give it a go. As we move into the holiday season you'll likely have more opportunities at gatherings you host or attend. They won't all be winners but if you go into it with an open, exploratory mind, we bet it will be fun. And if you discover some great ones make sure to let us know!

The Best Things We Drank: CA Vacay Edition

This week's best list is dominated by beers we consumed while taking a long weekend vacation to the Orange County, CA area. We drank plenty more than made the list (Portland still wins at beer) but there were definitely some remarkable beers had during the trip as well as some we had before we skipped town to soak up some much needed sun.

Phantom Carriage Broadacres with Passionfruit - We get some Phantom Carriage in the Portland market and knew that they did a great job with sours so finding ourselves in the vicinity (Gardena, CA), we couldn't resist stopping. The brewery is unique, being part café and part haunted cellar (complete with horror movies playing) and overall damn cool. This was the best of the beers consumed there and sour to the max. The passion fruit used in this iteration of Broadacres gives it just enough mouthfeel to take some of the sour bite off.

Barley Forge Wedding Tackle - Somewhat stumbling on this brewery (aka using a "search nearby" map function for breweries), we found ourselves surrounded by really great beer and a hopping taproom on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. The huckleberries used in this sour blonde ale were present from the start - both in giving it a beautiful color and on the nose - and carried through to the flavor. The lightly, brightly sour flavor was enhanced by the cherry wood it was aged on.

Barley Forge Nom Nom - We'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite between this hefeweizen and the sour, both incredible beers at easy drinking ABVs. A well crafted hefe, its classic characteristics are there and enhanced by the mango that was slightly present on the nose and more prevalent in the flavor. This is a very crushable beer that would be perfect for sunny, summer drinking.

Block 15 Cosmic Cold Brew Double Ristretto - Block 15 does amazing stuff with hops but their coffee game is equally strong. Starting out with an aroma that is all coffee, followed by a smooth mouthfeel and finishes with a lovely lingering milked-coffee flavor.

Firestone Walker Bretta Rose Batch 3 - A beer we'd had a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed, it seemed a great prelude to heading out to celebrate 14 years of wedded bliss. The extra year of age did nothing to diminish, and perhaps even enhanced,  the tart, fruity yum that is so delicious.

Honorable mentions go out to Stone for their Tangerine Express, enjoyed with breakfast on the first day of vacation at a sports bar, Tustin Brewing and Gunwhale Ales. If you find yourself in the area with limited time Barley Forge is definitely the place to hit. Gunwhale, a somewhat sterile feeling taproom, and Tustin, a neighborhood hangout filled with TVs for sports fans, are fine and we wouldn't steer you away from either, just keep in mind Barley Forge is where it's at in the Costa Mesa area.

Favorites at the 2014 Holiday Ale Festival

I may have chosen the coldest, wettest, most miserable day of the five day run to attend this year's Holiday Ale Festival but there were some outstanding beers that made it worth it. With that said I encourage you to keep in mind that I only sampled about a quarter of the 50+ beers at the festival (one can only drink so many big beers in one sitting no matter how strong one's resolve is) so I may well have missed trying some great ones on my first day.

For the most part I did a good job of sticking to the pre-set order on my hit list, only skipping over the ones that were two or more tickets. Now, just in case you think I was being cheap by doing that, let me set you straight. I had you, my dear readers in mind, and I wanted to make the most of my time and tickets so I could more thoroughly report back to you. That meant I skipped over Nectar Creek Triple Brett, Feckin Top O' The Feckin' Mornin', Cascade Gingersnaps and Portland Brewing BBA Imperial Stout, beers which if I can make it back for a second visit will be high on my list.

Of the beers that I did try the two that hit the most high notes for me were Oakshire Prestidigitation and Stone New Desecrator. As I was putting my list together part of the draw for Oakshire's offering was that the description reminded me a lot of Cascade Brewing's Oblique Black & White Coffee Stout. It was the first the blonde stout I tried and it made a huge, happy impression on me. Oakshire's version, a white chocolate milk stout, had the aroma of white chocolate and the flavor was reminiscent of Oblique, but with a stronger coffee punch. It's an amazing beer and at only 7% ABV, one of the lighter beers you'll find at #HAF19. I have my fingers crossed that they made more than just what was sent to the festival and that over the next few months I'll be able to have more. If nothing else, I hope it will reappear next winter.

The other beer, Stone New Desecrator, was one that as I put it on my list I was actually a little hesitant about. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Stone's beers and hoppy beers in general, but a black barley wine, we'll, I wasn't sure how well that would work. Silly me. Not only was it visually appealing, with a huge, creamy head, but it was perfectly balanced between providing the hop character of a black IPA and the warming booziness of a barley wine.

The rest of the beers I tried ran from ones that weren't my favorite stylistically but I could appreciate them for what they were to ones nearly as good as my two favorites. Thankfully, and due in part to heeding the warnings from my beer friends, I didn't get any "drain pour" beers. If you've been, or once you go, I'd love to hear your favorites.

19th Annual Holiday Ale Festival
Through Sunday 12/7 opening at 11:00 am daily, closing at 10:00 pm everyday except for Sunday when the festival concludes at 5:00 pm
Pioneer Courthouse Square
General admission tickets: $35 includes tasting mug and 12 tasting tickets

The Glory and Goodness of Beer and Cheese

After talking about it for a few weeks, Chris, Lynn, Mag and I met up for our own amateur beer and cheese pairing last weekend. There wasn't much of a plan other than Chris would bring some homebrew, both of us would pick up a variety of cheeses and we'd commence with enjoying two of the most perfect foods out there.

This was the perfect "excuse" for me to make a run out to Cheese Bar where one of Steve's wonderful staff helped me pick out three cheeses that didn't overlap with the ones Chris had mentioned bringing. Sticking with my three-cheese limit I picked up Lou Bergier Pinchin, a raw cow milk cheese that is produced using vegetable thistle rennet, Mizotte de Vendee, also a cow milk cheese but one with a white wine washed rind, and Pecora Il Tartufo, a semi-hard cheese made from sheep and cow milk with black truffles. When we showed up for the pairing I was glad I stuck to my guns because in addition to the Stilton, sharp cheddar and fruited cheese Chris mentioned he would bring, his cooler must have at least 10 more varieties. Not that you'd ever hear me complaining about too much cheese.

Our pairing started out fast and furious, a bit overwhelmed by all the goodness in front of us sort of like kids at Christmas staring at a mound of toys wrapped for them. Chris busted out the Stilton right away and with Mag grabbing a bottle of Old Schoolhouse Hooligan Stout I let the kid in me take over and went for "dessert" first. I'd had blue cheeses paired with stouts and heavy beers in the past and found them to be decadent. This pairing was no different and although it was the first of the afternoon it was one of my favorites. Stone's Suede, an Imperial Porter, and Chris' Road Runner 3.0, a sweet-ish rye beer, also went well with the assertive cheese.

Two of Chris' homebrews - Tongue Slapper IPA and Blue Footed Booby Baltic Porter - although very different beers each went well with Pecora Il Tartufo. In the case of Tongue Slapper, an IPA with outstanding bitter hop flavor, the cheese mellowed the hop bite slightly. The change to the Baltic Porter was more substantial but also more difficult to put my finger on and properly express. Let's just say that if you find yourself with some of this cheese and a Baltic Porter, give 'em a try together.

Although I'm generally not a Saison fan I've had Grassroots Brewing Artic Saison on a couple of occasions and found that it works for me. It works even better for me when paired with Lou Bergier Pichin. The effervescent beer is well balanced by the creaminess of the cheese but if you're going to try it yourself, make sure that the cheese has had enough time to warm and develop that creaminess.

There were a ton of other pairings, some as successful as these, some less successful. Never the less, an afternoon with great beer and great cheese is a plan you can't go wrong with in my book. If you've found some great pairings I'd love to hear about them. You can also check out past posts about beer and cheese pairing events (done by professionals) I've been to in case this post has sparked you interest in doing a little matchmaking yourself.

Side-by-Side x2

Whether he was inspired by my recent Abrasive versus Hopslam post or whether it was something he'd been thinking about before I was happy to take my friend up on an offer to do a double side-by-side comparison of double/imperial IPAs. Each of the beers is well regarded and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have any of them (and over a lot of other beers). But the real question to be solved was if offered this beer or that beer, which would I really prefer.

The first "battle" pitted the highly popular, widely sought Russian River Pliny the Elder against the less well known Kern River Citra. Both clock in at 8% ABV, on the lighter end for a double/imperial IPA. Pouring them Pliny came out crisp and clear while Citra was cloudy yet bright. The first sips offered a surprising and clear cut winner for me. Pliny came across as one dimensional while Citra was balanced yet complex with the citrus bite one expects from this style. As they warmed I found Pliny to improve but Citra still easily won.

The second "battle" matched the winner of my last side-by-side, Surly Abrasive, with the much hyped Stone Enjoy By 02-15-13. After pouring both it was more important than during the last "battle" to make sure to keep the glasses in their original spots as the color and clarity were almost identical. These are the next step up in the double/imperial IPA booze scale, coming in at 9.5% and 9.4% and were bottled/canned at nearly the same time. The beers were distinctly different in flavor yet I would be hard pressed to say which I liked better. Both made me want to keep drinking after each sip.

In the end it's a matter of personal preference but I'd encourage you to do your own tasting of some of your favorite, same style beers. You might be surprised by finding a clear winner or equally surprised in being so dumbstruck by their deliciousness that you can't identify a clear winner.

Remembering #HAF2011

After a five-day run, this year’s Holiday Ale Festival is now just a memory and it’s time for a little reflection. Overall I found the offerings to be a bit weaker than last year or maybe it was that while there were some really outstanding beers, there were some very disappointing beers, something I don’t recall from last year.

Very Tasty Beers

Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin – Yes, I’m hopping on the bandwagon and giving this beer two thumbs up.

Laht Neppur Laughing Boy Stout – This was my second beer of the festival and I was pleased to find it a very well done bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout.

MacTarnahan’s Barrel Aged Ink Blot Baltic Porter – This beer was on my “skip” list simply because it was from MacTarnahan’s. I was wrong, so very wrong, and I'm super pleased I had the chance to try it.

Stone Ruination IPA DDH Apollo/American – Besides being completely different from most of the beers at the fest, it hit the right notes for me being packed with hoppy grapefruit flavor, very smooth and immensely drinkable.

Disappointing Beers

Upright Provision – While I like some Upright beers and dislike others, this one fell solidly in the disappointment category. My sixth beer of the fest, I don’t think my taste buds were that far gone but I got nothing, just nothing from this beer.

Brew Crew Hallucinator – One of my main reasons for trying it was that it was billed as a Holiday Ale Fest only beer. Lesson: that doesn’t mean it will be good.

Buckman Fruit Cake – Fruit cake has a bad reputation, sometimes undeserved, sometimes rightfully deserved. This proved to be the latter.

Natian HOLLAday Ale – In general I’m a Natian fan (especially after meeting Nat recently) and I was excited to try all of the holiday treats in one glass. I guess sometimes there is such thing as too much of a good thing.

Beyond the beers there were a couple things I hope the festival organizers will take note of and improve upon in the future.

Water Stations: Water, for rinsing and for drinking, is essential at any beer fest. When a fest bars outside food and beverage from being brought in, it’s particularly essential that there are plenty of well stocked water stations available. Besides the hydration factor, it’s impossible to get the true taste of a beer if the last one is still lingering in your glass. One water station near the exit for a multi-level event doesn’t cut it.

Re-entry: Both this year and last year we went to the festival multiple days. Last year there was no issue with coming back, as long as it was the current year’s festival mug in your hand, all you had to do was get ID checked again and buy more tasting tickets. This year however, I feel we came very close to having to pay for a whole new package ($25 for a mug and 8 tasting tickets) because our stamps had worn off and we had taken our wristbands off. I understand that the festival doesn’t want one person buying a glass and then letting buddies use it. But what the festival didn’t seem to understand is that I, and probably a good majority of attendees have jobs, professional jobs, where wearing a bright red “ID checked” wristband and not showering in order for the stamp to stay on is simply not acceptable.

While I may complain about some of the beers, you won't find me dwelling on them. In fact, if you ask me in a couple months which beers those were I will likely have to pull up this post to remember. And for the critiques of the water and re-entry issues, well, I'm an event planner and I can find things that need to be improved upon at nearly any event. So no hard feelings, friends. You win some, you lose some. And there will always be more beer to enjoy.