'Tis the season for cranberries to lend their festival color to holiday spreads. Beyond their vibrant color, their late fall harvest lends reason to see these berries popping up this time of year. So tart, these are one of the few berries that are not suitable for eating fresh, on their own. Instead they make their way into juices, baked goods and jellies/compotes/sauces. Ingrained in our mind is the hand-ground cranberry-orange compote Grandma always used to make for Thanksgiving dinner. Also ingrained is memory of how bitter it was to a child's palate. But palates change and our experience with cranberries has greatly expanded.
This year, starting with the great pairing we found during our recent cheese and beer pairing, and continuing with additional cranberry beer, cider and cheese coming across our radar we felt compelled to round up some of these festive-looking goods. By no means is this a comprehensive cranberry round up, even in the realm of cheese, beer and cider, however all of these should be relatively easy to find should something here catch your eye.
The Goods
- Portland Cider Company Cranberry
- Lompoc Barrel-Aged Cranberry Saison
- North Coast Berliner Weisse Cranberry-Quince
- Long Clawson Wensleydale with Cranberry
- Trader Joe's White Stilton with Cranberries
- Cinnamon sugar won tons*
For those that read our beer and cheese pairing post, you already know that we were enamored with the combination of North Coast Cranberry-Quince and Long Clawson cheese. The addition of the cinnamon sugar won tons gave the pairing an added boost and provided an edible vehicle for the cheese. The white Stilton wasn't a complete bust with the beer and may appeal to those who prefer a more savory flavor profile.
We recently had a chance to try Lompoc's Cranberry Saison along with a specially created slider, a pairing we enjoyed but a much easier to recreate pairing would be picking up a bottle of it and a hunk of white Stilton. The pairing, like with the Berliner Weisse, leans savory and is also nice with cinnamon sugar won tons, especially considering the crumbly nature of the cheese (which we think would be great on a salad or as a component of an apple pie crust).
Finally, Portland Cider Company Cranberry, a cider that was brought to our attention by the company was certainly the most vibrantly colored drink of the three. With an aroma reminiscent of Kool-Aid and a flavor we found to fall between juice and Kool-Aid, this is a gateway cider. We preferred it with the white Stilton, which helped to balance the sweetness, but have a hunch that it would be really good with apple pie. Why is there never an apple pie around when you need one?
So whether you're hosting a gathering or attending one this holiday season, making a festive contribution is as easy as grabbing a bottle and a hunk of cheese. Simple can be delicious.
*Cinnamon sugar won ton chips
1 package square won ton wrappers (found in the produce section of Fred Meyer or elsewhere)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup sugar + 3/4 tsp cinnamon)
Cut won tons in half, corner to corn, transforming the squares into triangles.
Brush one side with butter, flip over and brush the second side with butter. Fold in half and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 3-4 minutes, or until the edges start to become golden. Turn over, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until the edges are golden.
This week's edition is dedicated to The Commons. As anyone living in Portland knows, last Saturday was the last hurrah for the current incarnation of The Commons. We say that because we firmly believe that we will see them again in the future, especially if Mike's recent collaborations are any indication. We showed up at opening Saturday and during the course of our time there were fortunate to be able to say a "see you later" to Mike in person. In addition, Travis' familiar face was to be found behind the bar, a face we hope to see popping up somewhere else around town after the transition is complete.
We enjoyed all of the beers that found their way from the menu board to our glass, but these four in particular.
Eidolon (R) - We first enjoyed this sour, barrel aged amber farmhouse five years ago. Noting at that time that it was a "great approachable sour" we agree with that first impression. The beer was matured on two strains of Brettanomyces in wine barrels but the Brett holds a supporting roll. The shining star is the super fun combo of Meyer Lemon peel, jasmine green tea, jasmine flowers and New Zealand Hallertau hops.
Anderlecht (L) - Our favorite of the day we were so stunned with its flavor that we can't express just how delicious it was other than to say it is simply an outstanding wood aged lambic. If we could have gotten growler fills of it, we would have rounded up all the growlers we had and happily handed over how much ever they were asking for it.
Galaxy Myrtle (L) - We've been quite pleased with the few hopped sour beers we had, with this one continuing the trend. Here the bright Myrtle tart farmhouse base found a great partner with the Galaxy hops used. Starting with a definite hop aroma, the flavor is a melding of the two.
Fresh Hop Myrtle (R) - More lightly hopped than the Galaxy non-fresh hop version, this beer features Meridian hops. Effervescent and easy drinking, we enjoyed this as much as we did when we first had it in 2013.
Now on to two other great beers we enjoyed to finish out our list.
Revision Dr. Lupulin 3x - We've just started seeing Revision's beers hit this market and so far we've been impressed with the offerings from this, hold on to your shorts...Sparks, Nevada brewery. Before we get to the beer, a bit about the brewery. Sparks is essentially a suburb of Reno, sitting on the Western edge of Nevada, and less than a day's full drive from Auburn, CA. That's relevant because Auburn is the location of Knee Deep Brewery, the brewery Revision's founder Jeremy Warren founded seven years ago. The full backstory is on Revision's website but the short of it is that Jeremy left, taking with him the first brewer he hired at Knee Deep, Jeb Taylor. Officially open just eight months ago, if this triple IPA is any indication of what is to come, we are totally on board because to make an 11.3% beer with massive IBUs this smooth is an incredible feat.
Crux Tough Love [BANISHED] 2015 - Our favorite of the three vintages offered at The BeerMongers during their Tough Love event the big, Russian Imperial Stout offered a licorice aroma and flavor that was smooth with a tannic finish that makes one want to keep drinking it.
This time next week we may all be waking up with a hangover (of the food variety). Before then, however, we'll be taking a look at some cranberry offerings that have recently come across our radar. Stay tuned!
This holiday season Lompoc will be offering seven seasonal beers plus Barrel Aged Cranberry Saison, the latter of which will be available starting this Friday, November 17th. Since that will be the first beer available, we'll start there.
Available on draft and in 500ml bottles, Lompoc's Barrel Aged Cranberry Saison is a "Belgian style ale brewed with fresh cranberries and aged one year in port barrels that infused the beer with a drinkable tart and spicy flavor and subtle notes of port and oak. Pale and wheat malts keep it light, while the peppery yeast and noble hops lead to a tangy finish."
Starting off with a beautiful, peachy color and slight barrel/funk aroma we found it to be nicely balanced between Saison characteristics and the contribution to the flavor from the cranberries. The very drinkable 5% beer it would be a great starter to any meal and a beautiful addition to a holiday spread. Friday's release will be accompanied by the Sage Derby Turkey Sliders chef Mark Otey created to pair with the beer. $3.50 each they are on the substantial end of the slider spectrum and combine many flavors of the Thanksgiving table into a sandwich.
Moving on to the holiday seasonals, we were able to try out five of the seven at a preview earlier this week (Blitzen and Brewdolph were still in the stable getting ready for their debut at the Holiday Beer Extravaganza on the 27th). Ranging from the 7% Top Shelf, Old Sport to two, 9.4% versions of Old Tavern Rat this year's beers offer a variety of flavor profiles.
Top Shelf, Old Sport is a Belgian style dubbel that we found to exude an aroma that was almost winey and attributable to the eight months the beer spent in Maryhill Winery Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. The flavor profile is of an old library combined with a smoking room and the warmer it gets, the more complex and delicious it becomes.
Lump of Coal may be an imperial porter but we got a strong CDA aroma and initial flavor to match. As it warmed the flavor of the 200 lbs of sour cherries the 1/6bbl batch of beer was aged on started to show itself.
Switching over to the most hoppy offering was C-Sons Greetings Double IPA. The 8% beer is quite similar to last year's version with plenty of bitterness from the seven "C" hops used. This is the only other seasonal beer that will be available in bottles, this in 22oz format.
Finally, the two versions of 2016 Old Tavern Rat, a barleywine that has been aging for a year. One version spent eight months in Maryhill Winery Port barrels and thus offers an aroma that is part barleywine and part port. Tasting to us slightly less boozy (they're both 9.4%) than the non-port barrel version it got our slight favor in a head-to-head tasting. The caveat is that the non-port version was outstanding paired with Moonstruck milk chocolate with sea salt and toffee that was thoughtfully brought and shared by one of the other attendees.
Barrel Aged Cranberry Saison Release
Friday, November 17
4-11pm
Holiday Beer Extravaganza
Wednesday, November 27
4-11pm
Both events take place at LompocSidebar ~ 3901 N Williams.
