BBA

Lando, Crowlers, and Sour IPAs.

~ Bearcat ~ 1 Comment

Lacto CalrissianTrust Lando Calrissian himself Mr. Billy Dee Williams:
“Pizza Boy Crowlers work every time!”

Before we begin… This post is about three things: The shelf life of Crowlers, Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), and Sour IPAs. I swear by the end this will all make sense and the three actually belong together.

The Crowler is wildly popular. It should be, they are great. I love picking up a new Crowler from either Al’s of Hampden or from ZerØday Brewing. I have purchased a Crowler from East End Brewing co. in  Pittsburgh and from St. Boniface Brewing in Ephrata. I generally keep a 32oz growler in my car. But with Crowlers, the need to keep a glass bottle rolling around the floor in the back of the car is somewhat abated.

Al’s of Hampden was the first in Central PA to get a Crowler, instantly it was a hit. The popularity of Crowlers became very apparent to me when Al’s Pizza Boy Brewing released Bourbon Barrel Aged Sunny Side Up Stout. It was a phenomenal beer. BBA Sunny Side Up was only sold on draft, which meant that you could have a glass at the bar or get a Crowler of it to take home. That was until Al sold out of all his cans. This led to some really pathetic bitching on social media by entitled beer drinkers.

Part of why the Crowlers sold out was a number of people buying 6, 8, 10, or 12 Crowlers to horde in stock or to trade. In December, I got into a bit of snit with some guys on Twitter that were talking about still having cans of BBA Sunny Side Up in their fridge. What are you holding on to beer in a Crowler for?

If you look today over at Beer Advocate you can see two people are still offering this beer for trade. In February it was four. FOUR. This beer was tapped nine months ago. These Crowlers have been sitting for nine months.

A quick check of Untappd shows that people are still regularly enjoying this beer at a bottle share or just pulling it out of the back of the fridge. This is nuts. These cans are sold as means by which to enjoy take home beer within a reasonable period of time (i.e. a couple days at most). Anyone that tells you they can go longer than a week or maybe two is just flat out lying. They are not for cellaring, storing long term, or used as a storage device to sustain a limited run beer for long periods of time until you can “win the trade” by getting some Bro’s “whalez.”  (THIS is my favorite link ever on the site.)

Buy the beer, take it home and then drink it. Enjoy it.

Crowlers are not like the beer version of freezing Han in Carbonite.

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“Yes. He is alive and in perfect hibernation. 

He will stay very fresh.”

Speaking of Lando… I wonder what it would cost for Billy Dee Williams to cut a Colt 45 like promo for Lacto Calrissian. It is a sour double IPA, also by Pizza Boy, and one of the best damn beers I have had so far in 2016. This lactobacillus bacteria “infected” ale has a depth of flavor few beers can match. There is citrus peel in the front end then a subtle alpha acid hoppiness along with some unique lime in the middle. The finish is both creamy and slightly sour as the lactic acid is more than evident in the beautifully bodied brew. The finish is strong and long lastingly pleasant, which is good because this 8.2 ABV ale has no alcohol burn and could sneak up on you like Greedo.

If you have a chance to swing by Al’s and get a draft of Lacto Calrissian I doubt you will be disappointed. And if you choose to take a Crowler of it home… Don’t sit on it.

Post Script Thoughts: Sour IPAs, like Tropical or Citrus IPAs, are hot right now; like Tatooine and her two suns hot. These twists on the the craft beer lover’s old stand by are showing that we are a long way from brewers running out of innovative ways to give us new and exciting styles. It is also a way to introduce sour beer to the skeptic. Both are good things.

In regards to the above mentioned people buying 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 Crowlers of BBA Sunny Side Up: Do what ever you want with your money. I have no complaint with you purchasing all that beer. I just find it ridiculous to horde a Crowler. That stuff has a serious risk of going bad. It has to be at risk of going flat. Please… don’t horde Crowlers.

Han shot first. There is no debate.

MS Paint FTW! I mean, just take in the work at the top of this page. Just look at it!

I am bit of a Star War’s geek… so this post was more fun than you can possibly imagine.

All Right Stop, Collaborate and… Brew Really Good Beer

~ Bearcat ~ Leave a comment

East End Brewing Company and Pizza Boy Brewing represent the two areas of Pennsylvania that matter to me personally.  Over the past decade plus I have spent more time on the PA Turnpike than I would like to admit traveling between my old home (Pittsburgh) and my new home (Harrisburg and later Lancaster).

East End has been making phenomenal beers in Pittsburgh since 2004 and are at the center, geographically and metaphorically, of the region’s craft beer surge.

Al’s of Hampden was where I discovered the funk and the sour of craft brewing; either through Al’s wonderfully curated offerings, Pizza Boy Brewing or Intangible Ales. It has been where I know I will find great beer here in the Harrisburg area every time.  It’s bullet proof.

So when Al teamed up with East End to make a Berliner Weiss I knew I would have to check it out.  Moonstomp (named after a Reggae song) is a cloudy straw colored beer.  The brew was crisp and refreshing.  The nose was similar to that of Big Hop, an exceptional pale ale by East End and was fragrant of apples. The light bodied and effervescing brew had an easy drinking character. The flavors of apple and slight bits of lemon along with a pleasing mouth feel made this beer inviting; while the long slightly sour finish made it slow going. A palate-cleansing tartness of lactic acidity sold this beer to me as perfectly executed.  A fine collaboration and bringing characteristics of both brewers to the final product, it is highly recommended.

Moonstomp is currently available at Al’s both on tap and in 22 oz. bombers. It will see a limited release on Saturday at East End.  You will want to arrive early for this one if you are in Pittsburgh.

Al also released a bourbon barrel aged version of his beloved Sunny Side Up Stout. This coffee stout was aged for about four months in Woodford Reserve barrels Reserve barrels and yesterday ten and a half kegs of it were tapped starting at 11 am.  Glasses and Crowler fills sold out the allotment before the dinner rush ended. The numbers on how much was sold as figured by my friend Jeff… were in a word, amazing. Al was apologetic on social media about selling out half the stock so quickly. He need not be. The beer was fantastic.

Served in a wine glass, the pitch black stout shortly held a mocha brown head and smelled lightly of bourbon, vanilla and cold coffee. In the front, it tasted of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts.  The bourbon flavors of vanilla, caramel and oak come along to finish and linger pleasingly.  The full bodied beer never gives up a burn or astringency despite the 10% ABV or the long rest with the spiritus frumenti.

This is barrel aged beer done right.  The aging process expanded the character and flavors of an already exceptional beer.  It added depth and complexity and never diminishes the base.

Al will be tapping this beer again today (7-30-15) at 4pm.  It will be available by the glass and in 32oz Crowlers to go. (Special thanks be given to Zeroday for helping out in this regard.) Get to Al’s early. This will sell out.

In order to bring this posting full circle I also decided to crack open one of my two bottles of Homewood Reserve (2014) that I have been sitting on.  This bourbon barrel aged version of Blackstrap Stout by East End was a fine compliment to the Sunny Side Up.

It too played with the subtle end of the barrel aging spectrum. The nose is thick of roasted coffee and hints of bourbon. Medium bodied and lighter than the Sunny Side Up.  Homewood Reserve was lightly carbonated but with microscopically small bubbles.  Easy drinking for an aged stout it had a long and very dry finish of coffee, vanilla and slightly of wood.  As the beer warmed up, just a faint burnt smokiness entered with an almost peaty character. The most interesting flavor was a mineral like taste that would be akin to a full bodied deep red wine.  This was both surprising and pleasing.  A great beer.

The thread that weaves all three beers together beyond the collaboration between the two breweries and the similar styles is the understated approach to flavors. These beers work at the edges. Never being over powering with any one taste. Instead they gently suggest various impressions of the ingredients and processes used to make the final product.  This is brewing at a high level.

Post Script: Beer geeks frequently talk of chasing “whales” the seemingly unobtainable beers that many covet. Usually these beers are from far off states sold in incredibly low volumes. I am generally dismissive of these snow flake in hell type beers. I stopped chasing “whales” a long time ago. 

But there are “whales” to be had in our own backyard. I just had three of them. We need to recognize the quality we have locally and cheer this as a grand success for the craft beer community here in Central PA.

When Big Beers and Big Brewers Go Big

~ Bearcat ~ Leave a comment

Arrogant Bastard Ale will always hold a special place in my heart when it comes to beer drinking.  It was an early influencer in developing my appreciation for the Strong/Ole Ale style and eventually Barley-wines.  As a friend of mine stated on Untappd “[This is] the beer that made me fall in love with craft beer.”  I think that is probably true for lots of today’s craft beer drinkers.  Still, it is often easily dismissed by beer snobs who are frequently chasing the new styles or most limited of releases.  But Stone never disappoints with this ale; it’s truly a world class American Strong Ale.  Further, Arrogant Bastard has been the base for a number of other fantastic beers over the years.

It has provided Double Bastard, a winter release that takes all the flavors of the “lighter” ale and goes to 11.  I once split a three year old magnum of this crazy brew with some friends and needless to say it got us all absolutely wrecked. Be careful with that one.

Lukcy Basartd Ale (not a typo) married the two above with Oaked Bastard which showed off the ability of Stone to blend various beers and marry them together in such a way as to take an already exceedingly complex ale and give it enough personalities to require institutionalization.

In 2013 Stone released Crime and Punishment.  Crime was a cork and cage bottle of Lukcy Basrtd aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels with an assortment of hot peppers.  Punishment was Double Bastard given the same treatment.  Stone basically took the two ales and drove them off a cliff in a burning car.  They were amazing even if the mere thought of them still gives me heart burn.

Oaked Bastard, my favorite of the lot was a beautiful beer that poured a deep rich mahogany color with a bright white head.  Its subtle wood notes in the nose and finish were glorious and refined.  But it was sadly discontinued last year to make way for Arrogant Bastard Bourbon Barrel Aged.

Recently I procured a 22oz bottle of Arrogant Bastard BBA and after the news of Sepp Blatter stepping down from the head of FIFA, I felt there was never going to be a better opportunity.  In case you are unaware Sepp Blatter is an arrogant, evil, bastard of a man but this is a beer blog so I will just leave a link.

Arrogant Bastard BBA was a good beer but when held up to its kin I am a little worried. The beer pours a dark mahogany color as is true to the lineage.  The head was nearly nonexistent but that is not unusual for BBA beers.  Nose was malty, sweet with a bit of rye. Only the faintest hint of Kentucky bourbon could be determined in the nose.  The mouth feel is medium bodied and not adversely affected by the time held in a cooper’s handiwork. The changes to this great beer by the barrel aging though are in a word… underwhelming.  It is welcome to have a BBA beer with no astringency but it also came without the bourbon.  I regularly praise brewers on their ability to deftly evoke subtly in flavors.  To play at the edge of a flavor profile and not to go crashing through. But this one just never showed up.  It is kind of sad. Look, this is a good, tasty beer but it just never lived up to its pedigree.  It just makes me feel sad that Oaked Bastard is gone.

Postscript – I wonder if volume is the issue with this beer.  Black Note, KBS, Bourbon County and other BBA beers are in such short supply finding just one bottle is often enough.  Arrogant Bastard BBA is being sold on tap, in 22oz bombers and six packs.  It appears to be pretty widely available as far as I can tell.  Stone is a huge operation with nationwide distribution (and sights even further).  Kentucky bourbon barrels are 53 gallons and used barrels are in high demand.  To my mind there is an interesting question:  Is Stone going high volume with what is by nature a low yield product thus resulting in an underwhelming beer?  I can’t answer that specifically that but it seems like it could be the issue.

Let Us Ignore the Fact that I Just Trashed Coffee Beers and Enjoy a Sunday Morning Stout

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Discerning craft beer drinkers can be a dismissive and an impolite bunch. The term “craft beer snob” can be a badge of honor when I turn down a Bug Light Lime; even a free one. Yet, it’s not a label I am comfortable with when I am drinking a craft beer that I find less than stellar. Brewers put lots of man hours and risk, financial and otherwise, into their craft. It’s hard for me to not always want to be supportive of the little brewery that could.

Even when I find a beer not exactly perfect, I frequently just chalk it up to not being to my taste.  De gustibus non est disputandum!  Unless a beer is so bad its clearly a failure or I have to pour it out I will give the craft brewer the benefit of the doubt.

I say this because over the past couple weeks as members of my beer drinking social media circle began trying Weyerbacher’s Sunday Morning Stout, a bourbon barrel aged coffee stout, I started to see a very serious and repeated trend: “Good but no KBS.” “KBS is still the best.” “KBS kills this.” “Meh, it’s not KBS.”

Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) is a world class beer, worthy of all the superlatives that are regularly gushed upon it. It’s a beautiful beer wonderfully crafted and if you are a fan of bourbon and/or bourbon barrel aged beers it is high on the list of must haves each year. Year in and year out, KBS sets a high standard for what bourbon barrel aged (BBA) beer can be.

After having a bottle the other night I can too say “Sunday Morning Stout is not as great as KBS.”  You see Founder’s brew is just transcendent.  It and its brother Canadian Breakfast Stout are highly regarded by beer snobs with good reason.

But the twist here is I liked it precisely for the ways in which it was not like KBS. In my opinion, KBS is best after a few years of cellaring. Its astringency goes way down; the bourbon’s burn takes time to mellow out. Given sufficient time, the coffee notes quiet with vanilla and oak taking over. It’s just a better beer even after at least twelve months rest.

In contrast, Sunday Morning Stout is ready now.  This is a stark contrast. It’s a fully matured ready to drink BBA beer today. Sunday Morning pours thick like a quart of motor oil and sits in the glass heavily. Held up to the light shows off this opaque beer has a slightly reddish brown hue at the meniscus with a thick greasiness that clings to the glass. In the parlance of wine tasting, this beer “has legs.” Even from a slightly vigorous pour I only got a short tan head. The nose is not boozy but simply offers a whiff of the bourbon and oak with a backdrop of fresh roasted coffee grinds. As the beer clings to the glass, so it does for you after a pull. This one is greasy as hell with an enjoyable mouth feel; not as thick as KBS but more than sufficient to remain true to style.

Coffee flavors play second fiddle to chocolate and roasted malts taking center stage. All the flavors you find are subtlety played here. Where the KBS plays tremolo the Sunday Morning is practicing portato. The bourbon barrel used with Sunday Morning brings out vanilla and caramel flavors; these are prominent in the finish while not evident at first. This is a beer that requires patience as as it opens with fresh air and dissipation of the refrigerated cold. As the beer comes up to temperature a warming astringency appears that is acceptable for this 11.3% ABV big beer.

So yes, this beer is no Kentucky Breakfast Stout. In some ways its better as its more welcoming and fully ready for its time in the spot light right now. It gets the Bearcat Seal of Approval.

Weyerbacher does big beers well. If you can’t get your hands on Sunday Morning Stout I also recommend picking up a variety case of Weyerbacher’s Big Beer. You will not be disappointed.

Bearcat’s Weekly Beer Related Links Friday News Dump

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KeystoneEdge.com posted a great rundown about the upcoming Harrisburg Beer Week.  It makes my post look like what it is… the sad drivel of an Internet enabled sot.  Great to see the hard work for Tierney, Sara, Chelsie and Colleen get recognized.

Speaking of the Stouts and Stilettos girls… they recently had a nice makeover for their website.  It is now 100% more girly and it looks perfect.  They have a nice niche going writing about craft beer from the woman’s perspective. I especially enjoy reading Tierney’s postings on craft brews and brewing.  Cheers to them.

Columbia Kettle Works (CKW) has just released Bald².  I am a big fan of both CKW and the Bald Guy Ale.  I don’t generally care for ales with rye, but this one just works.  Can’t wait to try it taken to the next level.  CKW also still have their Imperial Wheat IPA on tap which got the Bearcat Seal of Approval; be sure to get that one while it lasts.  I plan to pick up a growler of both.

Drinking barrel aged beer is not just a great way to try some of the most complex and tastiest beers but is also good for Mother Nature.

Bell’s Brewing Company officially announced they are making and will be canning Pumpkin Peach Ale during 2015.  Naturally, this will be brewed the easy why just like that stupid Bud Super Bowl Commercial told us.

Funck’s Restaurant in Palmyra will be having an all Pennsylvania beer tap takeover during American Craft Beer Week (May 11-17).

This Saturday is the Jersey Mike Rock+Run 5K sponsored by Al’s of Hampden (Pizza Boy Brewing).  I ran the inaugural race last year and loved it.  If I could have done it this year I would have done so.  If you have not signed up there is still be time for last minute entries including day of race sign ups.  Its a great deal of fun and a great cause and it gets the Bearcat Seal of Approval.