Big Beers & Beyond

Okay, so I can explain the lack of activity, you know, so just in case my imaginary readers are having a fit over my absence. :) Long story short, my wife and I found out she was pregnant shortly after my last post. My wife loves beer way too much for me to keep on drinking the good stuff while she watched. So, we shelved the drinking until recently here.

That said, I'm looking forward to updating the blog with several new brews I've had in the last couple of months. Here's a look ahead to the beers I'll be tackling:

• Widmer's SnowPlow Milk Stout
• New Belgium: 2 Degrees Below, MA, Lips of Faith and Les Terroirs
• Samuel Adams Utopias
• Ascent 54 Dunkel Weisse (yes, an Anheuser product that's not half bad)
• Rock Bottom: a slew of one-off batches
• Coopersmith's Winter
• Odell's India Pale Ale

Brewer: New Belgium Brewing Co.

Selection: Abbey

Style: Belgian Style Dubbel



Over the weekend, I decided to revisit a brew of historical importance ... in my life, anyway. It was the second microbrew to entirely change my thinking about beer -- New Belgium's Abbey. The first was Odell's 90 Shilling. You can read all about that experience at my other blog.

As a mid-'90s graduate of Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, I was privy to some great options, and none at the time reigned more supreme than New Belgium. Sure, after the Odell's 90 Schilling, I went on to try Fat Tire, both beers remaining favorites of mine for many years. And while I raved about Fat Tire like the rest of us, it didn't have the profound effect on me that Abbey had.

Abbey was so different than anything I had ever tried at that point. Granted, I was young and inexperienced in the ways of beer, so perhaps this isn't saying much. But anyone who has tried Abbey or Belgian ales in general knows how distinct the taste is, so Abbey certainly took me by surprise at first sip. I'll be honest with you and say I wasn't quite sure what to make of it at the time. It's not that I wasn't ready for the volume or complexity, but let's be realistic here -- I was 21 and likely more interested in quantity than the intangible qualities of beer. Case in point, I likely would have regarded the live yeast at the bottom as a defect.

Fast forward to today when I have a better (albeit not expert) understanding of different styles and tastes, I can clearly say that Abbey has stood up well over the years. Its rich, deep color speaks to the flavors that await, and by comparison there's more character in this one than other dubbels I've sampled. I'll remain partial to the trippels, courtesy of the unassuming color that belies the broad palate they evoke, but Abbey is most definitely the type of brew one can keep in regular rotation. It's one of only a handful of six-pack beers I'll give the time of day.

Here's what the fine folks at New Belgium have to say about Abbey:

The color of just-polished mahogany crowned with a tightly laced, mousse-like head, our Abbey Belgian Ale raises eyebrows just on sight alone. An ethereal swirl of banana, spice and smoky aromas compels further study. Cross the liquid threshold and discover flavors evoking ripe fig, caramel, coffee and clove. Settle into the solace of Abbey’s other-worldly finish. This is ale consecration.

Abbey, the biggest medal collector in the New Belgium portfolio, is categorized as a Belgian style “dubbel” or “Double Ale.” This complex ale, along with Trippel, is very true to style of the beers brewed in Belgium where the monks produce beers to support their abbey. Dubbels tend to be darker, with a heavier malt profile. Bottle conditioning produces esters that manifest as earthy or floral tones.

Though excellent when paired with savory dishes, Abbey inevitably finds itself paired with dessert at dinners given by our brewery. As well, our restaurant friends are finding Abbey to be an appealing addition to their lists of ports, brandies and single malts. Abbey is worthy of being furnished as a stand alone liquid dessert, a euphoric palate enhancer in the cigar humidor, a stairway to heaven companion to chocolate, or a pleasing brain twister when served with espresso.

Found: Left Hand's Smokejumper Porter

Currently Enjoying: Summit County IPA

Desperately Seeking: Sanity in Snowy Colorado

In most circles, the terms beer and sophistication are at polar opposites. As modern-day humans, we're expected to merely consume suds, not carry on hour-long conversations about a beer's characteristics, history and creator. Such dialog is supposed to be the sole domain of wine and spirits.

Yet the groundswell cannot be denied, and the beer geek cannot hide. Brews of all shapes, sizes and origin are fast regaining credibility, and the art of craft brewing is once again viable. You can thank the independents and even some of the big-name craft brewers for breathing new life into the industry, but more on that in a minute.

It would seem we've learned quite a bit from the '90s, a time when fleeting fandome and transient homebrewers set the stage for eventual collapse. We had it all wrong. In the rush to keep up with instant, insatiable demand, the breweries did what any self-respecting capitalistic business would do -- churn out product. The industry stayed conservative, and micro and craft brewers alike stuck with a tried-and-true collection of standards (pale ales, ambers, wheats and stouts). It was a time where the only thing of certainty was that a seasonal beer would be something of fruit origin.

The eventual collapse of this market produced two positive byproducts:

1. Brewers had the opportunity to reset and remind themselves why they got in the game in the first place. Hence, big beers moved out of the lab and into consumer hands, albeit on a limited basis.
2. Fans who were at least somewhat sincere about their interest in craft brews would be the audience these breweries would target, and it's clear these fans are back ... again, albeit on a limited basis.

The evolution, from my perspective, has been nothing short of impressive, and I absolutely love the community aspect this turn of events has produced. Brewers are relating to their consumers on an entirely new level, while said consumers are finding themselves refreshed and even more enthusiastic, now that there's more than just the concept of craft brew to occupy their interests. It's not an elitist thing by any stretch, but there's most definitely a punk rock element to it -- the notion that beer can be relevant without being prententious and that in any given state, one can usually find a DIY brewer who's passionate about the ageless tradition.

Sure, I like cracking open a PBR with my friends at the local dive bar, and I'll mix some Coors Light in with my tomato juice the next morning. But nothing beats trying new creations ... recipes that spawn imagination and not just visions of bottom-line profits. And we're just scratching the surface here; we haven't even begun to discuss different styles, regions and the brewers themselves.

So, in tribute to this modern renaissance, we've created the beer geek's haven "Big Beers & Beyond." The purpose is simple -- to share our experiences with the less-heralded brews, what we like and don't like, food pairings (although I'm no expert), characteristics, etc. We'll touch on the various styles and the brewers behind them. And while we're not going to split hairs over what's a big beer and what isn't, we won't devote much 'ink' to nationally distributed, six-pack craft brews, although we may conduct the occasional roundup since these beers are generally nationally distributed. We welcome entries/reviews from you, the populus, since our small group only has so much time in the day to drink, so feel free to send them over to 'sean DOT hawk AT gmail DOT com' and we'll post the best of the bunch.

Currently enjoying: Breckenridge Christmas Ale, Leffe, Brother David's Triple Abbey (Anderson Valley)

Desperately seeking: Left Hand's Smokejumper Porter, Sam Adams' Utopias (why not?)