A Beer Four All Seasons - Spring Version

It's Spring now and there has been a little more than three months since the last Beer Four All Seasons from Dock Street and the Four Seasons. What that means is it's time for the second one! The first, if you remember (which, well, you might not), was a Truffled Old Ale and was quite good which made me excited for the next one. The first we heard about the collaboration was a tweet of a picture of two chili peppers and that was some time in March I think. It turns out the newest one is called Caliente Golden Ale and it's a Belgian Strong Ale brewed with Agave Nectar which was then aged on two types of chile peppers (Guajillo and Ancho to be specific).

Nodding Head's Spring Fling

It's the middle of the month which means it's time for Nodding Head's Second Saturday event! This month's theme was Spring Fling though I'm not really sure how it relate to the the beers. But, whatever. Since I can't drink the theme, it's the beers that matter and there were a few gems this time.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Last night I opened a bottle of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. This is the double IPA in the family of minute IPAs from them. The name refers (for the most part) to the number of minutes Dogfish Head spends hopping each beer through the initial brewing of it. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's true. I sometimes think things are true only to find out I totally made them up.

I had some trouble putting my finger on the actual hop profile as it was kind of mild. I wrote down that it reminded me of citrus, but it had some other notes too which I couldn't pinpoint. Started with some bitterness with some sweetness immediately after to balance it. The hops were woodsy, piney and almost smokey. I don't think it's something I'd order at a bar but I wouldn't say no if it was free nor am I disappointed I have two more bottles.

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A

I've finally managed to finish the last of my brother's Hanukkah beer gift, the He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A, a really strong rye ipa. I'll admit, I should have drank this one earlier but I just never got around to it. At least I drank one of the two he gave me a month or two ago so I did get a sense of what it's like in a fresher state.

Sweet nose with some aged hop notes and some rye spiciness. On first sip there was some caramel, bitter hops, some more rye spiciness, and a lot of alcohol. Basically continued that way though the rye spiciness and alcohol were at odds with the caramel sweetness at times. Decent enough after four months (well, at least four months) but this is one that should be drank closer to its bottling date even if it is 11%. The previous bottle was a bit more balanced with the hops covering the alcohol better.

Farmer's Cabinet De Struise Pig Dinner

About a week and a half ago (the last Thursday in March whenever that was), the Farmer's Cabinet held a ridiculously awesome beer dinner. I first heard about it in February and even though Jo and I were heading to Beer for Beasts the weekend directly after the dinner was being held, we decided I should go to this. Urbain (pronounced urban which I didn't actually know), the head brewer from De Struise brewery in Belgium, was coming to brew with Terry of the Cabinet Brewhouse (the Farmer's Cabinet brewery) and so they asked him to attend a dinner at the restaurant while in town. They bought a 300 pound pig from outside Lancaster, PA, brought it in and made every single course of the meal from a different part of it. With each course, they also paired a different beer from De Struise. Just a really impressive idea. If you expand the menu, you should be able to get an idea of the different courses.

Lost Rhino Rhinoel

Okay so this is the second to last bottle my brother gave me for Hanukkah. Yes, I realize that was back in late December, but, well, you should already know I drink incredibly slowly. I blame drinking slowly for the bottles collecting in my basement more than my innate need to buy things I can't find when I'm on vacation. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Lost Rhino Rhinoel is a dubbel.

The first surprise was that it was sealed with a cork hidden under the cap. I'm not totally sure why they felt the need for a cork but be prepared for it when you do buy the beer. Malty sweet nose with lots of bread notes. Really nice aroma for a dubbel. Sweet malt, mild fruitiness, and some clove follow. There was also a slight undertone, almost a smokiness, that brought it all together. Basically tasted like a real dubbel from Belgium. Really impressive actually. I quite enjoyed this and thought it was one of the better American dubbels I've had in a long while. Seriously, though, the cork seemed a bit unnecessary.

Beer for Beasts

For an introduction to Beer for Beasts, see my preview post here where I wrote a bit about what it entails and such. To summarize for those too lazy to click a link, it's a beerfest held by BeerAdvocate and Sixpoint where 50 or so beers were brewed specifically for the event on Sixpoint's small batch system. The brewers ranged from various home brewers to friends of the brewery to our own Philly native Sean Mellody of Mellody Brewing.

After spending the afternoon wandering around NYC, we hopped on the subway to head to Brooklyn. While it should have taken 40 minutes or so, the various trains we took kept deciding to just stop or change their line designations so it took a bit longer than that but we still managed to make it there in plenty of time. At least the trains never changed directions I guess. When we arrived, the line was already pretty long but at around 5:45, they started handing out bracelets and checking IDs so when 6 hit we got into the Bell House in about 5 or 10 minutes. Not bad getting like 100+ people in there that quickly that's for sure.

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Some nice turnover from last week at the Kite & Key meant I had quite a few new choices. Since I had liked a saison brewed by a friend of mine made with Sorachi Ace hops, I decided to give the Brooklyn Sorachi Ace saison a try.

Pretty wonderful nose. Bright and juicy with lots of tropical fruit. Taste followed though unfortunately not quite as nice as the aroma. Mostly fruity with some malty breadiness underneath but that was about it. It just wasn't as strong as I would have expected and wanted. Decent enough but I won't be revisiting it any time soon.

Samuel Smith Imperial Stout

Last night I opened one of my bottles of Samuel Smith Imperial Stout.

Sweet, slightly salty nose. Medium bodied, poured pretty nicely. Started with some roasty bitterness and followed by more of the sweet and salty flavor. Finished with more bitterness and some chocolate notes. Decently tasty though the saltiness is a tiny bit much at times. Probably not for everyone because of that but these kinds of stouts appeal to me at times.

Downtown Joe's Bar and Grill

It's been a while since we were actually there, but I have a few pictures and took some notes so I figured I'd write a little bit about Downtown Joe's Bar and Grill in Napa, California. We stopped here for lunch during our day of wine tasting and it made for a nice break, at least for me. It's located directly in Napa and is really hard to miss as it was right at the end of the main street. I'm pretty sure you can't miss it if you're driving through the town.