Beer Rant

Welcome one and all, for this blog I've chosen a beer from a brewery that is one of the few reasons I'm really looking forward to visiting Boulder Colorado sometime in the not so distant future. The particular brewery I'm talking about is Avery, and they do make a wide array of beers for all of us adoring consumers to try. I've done a blog before on one I wasn't such a big fan of, but this special addition, barrel-aged beer, I am definitely a fan of. The bottle is quoted as saying, "Ale brewed with sour cherries and aged in zinfadel barrels, 100% brettanomyces fermentation." From that description I was sure I was stepping up to another sour style ale. For those who have not tasted, sour ales are usually just as the name describes sour. They go from complex tastes, and wonderful flavors, to something that tastes like warhead candy melted down and mixed with water. Like any beer they can be done wonderfully right, or god awful wrong. This beer was done wonderfully right, but did not have that intense sour taste I prepped myself for before trying. In fact it was a nice tart ale that was only slightly sour at best. It had a wondferful the taste was subtle so not to be overpowering/face puckering. The cherry flavor is mixed in well, with an ale prepped in a very belgian style manner. That harkens back to the brettanomyces fermentation, which is a style where spore forming form of yeast is used in the brewing process (for more see the ever accurate Wikipedia). It has that nice smooth flavor associated with many belgian style ales, which I'm sure loans itself well to making this a sour style ale that leans more towards the tart end of the taste spectrum. Anybody who knows me, knows I love barrel-aged beers, the complexity of whatever came before almost always lends itself well to just about any ale you combine it with. Zinfidel barrel flavor apparently is a match made in heaven for sour cherries, and just increases the smooth complex flavor and aroma you get with this ale. If you haven't picked up on it, use a snifter style glass, it smells just as good as it tastes. Carbonation wonderfully minimal! Sour style ales typically have a high alcohol concentration, this is no lightweight coming in at a respective 9.59%. For all those looking for a tasty alternative to their steele reserve, this wouldn't be a bad choice. I purchased this from 99 bottles, and I haven't seen it anywhere else in the area, so if your jonesing for one (as well you should) then your stuck headed there most likely. This is an increbily complex beer, that was crafted beautifully. For anyone wanting to try a sour without the intensity, this is the beer for you. It has an awesome tartness to it. Throughout the tasting your palette will range from sweet to sour, in both taste and smell. Avery trys alot of different beers, some are hits, and some misses in my opinion. This one is a nice hit, two thumbs up, with some bull horns raised in the air good. Looking for something different, then this is an excellent start.

Wow! Almost the end of May and I haven't written about a beer yet, these are indeed hectic times. No I'm not slacking, I mean something this in depth takes time and a huge amount of skill. You may think it takes seconds to photograph a beer, but it literally takes me a minute to get just the worse amount of light possible so each and every picture is horribly obscured with glare. Well with all seriousness it's nice to write about my passion, and this one is brought to you by a recomendation from a friend. I'll admit to being hesitant to try this, I always am when it comes to the fruit beers. And I know what your thinking, "Why don't you just drop the pink umbrella in your beer mug now, and start collecting care bears." Well normally that kind of attitude towards a fruit beer I would whole-heartedly agree with, but sometimes there's an exception. This Oatmeal Blueberry Stout from Buffalo Bill's Brewery is one of them. Buffalo Bill's you say? Well I did to since I had never even heard that utterance before, but flip over the label and you'll notice that it was brewed by Pyrmaid Ales of Seattle/Portland for Buffalo Bill's Brewery. That means you can pick this up at just about any local grocer, although I see it more at Kroger establishments (QFC, Fred Meyer, etc.). Bravo, is my first inclination towards the Pyramid revelation, I'm really happy to see them start brewing something different every once in a while. When it comes to beer I am a devote follower of variety being the spice of life, and IPA people quit whining try expanding your horizons for once. Well on to the meat and Potatos, as with any Oatmeal Stout this beer has a wonderful robust body that is very filling, and smooth at the same time so as not to make the drink feel overly heavy, or intense. The best part is that the blueberry flavor is very subtle, and woven in nicely to this style of brew. The flavor is tightly woven to give it a wonderful complexity that creates a very well balanced drink. It doesn't have an overly sweet taste that come from many fruit beers, and especially those taste bombs called Lambics. I believe it is a more tart type flavor that enables the two flavors to work well with one another, it's the type of berry that lends itself well to a dark rich beer. The only other flavor I know that has been able to accomplish this before are some of the dark cherry stouts and porters I've tried. Mad props, and tons of kudos go out to pyramid for working with a berry that is not blended traditionally as much as the cherry, yet accomplishing the same dark, robust, semi-sweet flavor that this drink envelopes. As another counterexample peppy sweetness of pyramid's apricot ale, will drive me away again and again. This Oatmeal Stout, well it will keep me coming back for more until my lips are locked around it, and I begin to slip it a little tongue to titulate the senses, so enjoy this wonderful offering from Pyramid's pseudonym!