Posts Tagged ‘hops’

Damon’s Top 5 Beers Not to Miss

Tuesday, 09 August 2011 09:27 Written by beersomm 0 Comments

Gianni had the pleasure to spend time with the legendary critic Alan Richman and together they picked a great top-ten list of beers not to miss.  As I (Damon) am the second half of Beersomm, Gianni and others have asked for my “5 Beers Not to Miss.”

While this list will certainly change if you ask me 6 months from now, the beers below are beers I keep coming back to:

Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal, “Hof Ten Dormaal – Blonde”

Tildonk, Belgium

The story of this brewery is enough for you to want to at least try their beers.  The brewery grows all their own grain, grows all their own hops, cultivates their own yeast strain, and even powers the brewery with rapeseed oil that they themselves produce. Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal brews a Blonde and an Amber ale.  The blonde is definitely my favorite – an amazing Belgian farmhouse saison beautifully balanced and very carbonated.  Like a fine champagne, the cork should be opened with care. Pair with salads, lemony fish dishes, or ceviche.

Stone Brewing Co., “Sublimely Self Righteous Ale “

Escondido, California

I first had this beer at NY Brewfest on Governors Island in June 2010 and it blew me away. I didn’t know what it was.  I thought it was an imperial porter but it was hoppy – really hoppy.  It was right when black IPAs were starting to take off and it was the first I had and easily the best since trying many examples of this style.  With this beer you get a nice roasty taste with tons of hops with a warming alcohol finish.  Pair with lamb sliders or venison sliders.

Cigar City Brewing Co., “Jai Alai India Pale Ale”

Tampa, Florida

This beer has been my go-to IPA this year whenever I see it on tap or in the supermarket.  Close to a DIPA at 7.5% ABV, it’s a hoppy, strong amber colored with a ton of fruit flavor, malts and hops.  Apricot, caramel and heavy hops in a glass – got to love it.  Pair with cured meats, blue cheese and pear salad.

Brouwerij Rodenbach,  “Grand Cru”

Roeselare, Belgium

This beer is arguably the best version of a Flanders red ale out there.  More tart than sour this beer also consists of complex fruit flavors and vanilla from the oak barrel aging process.  It’s aged in huge oak casks for 2 years and then blended with other aged beers before bottling.  If you like good wine, you’ll love this beer. Pair with duck terrine and pates.

Oskar Blues Brewery, “G’Knight”

Longmont, Colorado

Formerly called Gordon, G’Knight is somewhere between a double IPA and an imperial red ale.  Loaded with hops and malty sweetness this is probably one of my favorite strong, hoppy beers.  Oskar blues, who cans all their beers, makes exceptional ales and none have disappointed me. At 8.7% ABV, this beer is very drinkable and smooth. Pair it with beef and pork but probably best with any spicy foods including Indian or Mexican dishes.

Follow Damon’s beer drinking experiences @NYCBeerologist.

Hop Wars #IPAday August 4th

Thursday, 04 August 2011 11:43 Written by beersomm 0 Comments

Rattle N Hum & Cafe D’Alsace 

To celebrate international IPA Day, two of Manhattan’s top craft beer joints are teaming up for a global showdown of Old World Vs New World IPAs.   Patrick Donagher of Rattle ‘N Hum and Gianni Cavicchi from Café D’Alsace are collaborating by offering New Yorkers some of the best IPAs from around the world!   French brasserie Café D’Alsace will naturally showcase the Old World brews and will have on hand 20 special IPAs such as Meantime IPA, Thornbridge Jaipur, Nogne-O IPA,  Evil Twin Before, During and after Xmas and Mikkeller Willamette Single Hop.  The restaurant will even offer menu items prepared with IPAs and the showstopper will be Beer Sommerlier Gianni pouring table-side fresh hop infusions.  Oh and all brews will be available for just $5!

Rattle ‘N Hum will be showcasing 25+ lines of American

hoppy deliciousness on tap plus a Cask Ale Festival featuring some really rare IPAs!  Patrick – who is known for always having his hands on the good stuff – once again is bringing out all the stops!   Some examples of IPA’s he will offer are Barrier Ruthless Rye, Undarum, Dunegrass, Oil City & Medula, Smuttynose Big A, Two Brothers Hop Juice and Stone Ruination just to name a few.

Earl’s Beer and Cheese – A Small Gem on the Upper East Side

Friday, 15 April 2011 12:38 Written by beersomm 0 Comments

I finally got to visit Earl’s Beer and Cheese the other night on Park Ave. between 97th and 98th Street. This place is awesome – I kept repeating this the entire time we were there.  I bellied up to the bar with Gianni and Chris and we sampled some beers from the menu – Victory HopDevil Ale, Shipyard Blue Fin Stout, Smuttynose Winter Ale, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, and Oskar Blues Pale Ale – to name a few. For a small cheese-focused boutique-like restaurant they had some great craft beers and a nice wine selection.

 The scene was very cool and casual with long bench-style tables and chairs and probably only seats around 20 or 30 patrons so get here early and get a seat if you can. The large chalkboard menu and the hunting motif makes this place different than anything you would see in the neighborhood.

 As for food, well, bring your appetite and be prepared to be rolled out onto Park when you leave. It’s heavy, cheesy, comfort food. I had the chicken mac and cheese and Gianni had the NY State cheddar grilled cheese sandwich with pork belly, kimchi, fried egg on sourdough. Chris had the Calabro mozzarella cheese sandwich with miso mayo, potato, dill pickles on English muffin. They were all very good and very filling. We had our fill of good beer and good food that evening and we even came in second in trivia night, which is every Tuesday.

 If you’re not in the neighborhood, this place is well worth the trip.

 Visit their website (www.earlsny.com) and checkout their beer list on beermenus.com (www.beermenus.com/earl-s-beer-cheese).

A Good Beer

Tuesday, 22 March 2011 09:26 Written by beersomm 1 Comment

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous

sublimely self-righteous ale

Dark, evil & bittersweet

Style: Black IPA
Notes: Black smoky malts with piney ruby-red grapefruit hops and a roasted caramel finish.
Pairings: Mom’s stew, burgers covered in bacon, steak and kidney pie and crème brûlée
Hops:Chinook, Simcoe & Amarillo,

Black IPA’s
Also known as American Style Black Ales or Cascadian Black Ale,  Black IPA’s are only 20 years old. Vermont brewers Georg Noonan and Glenn Walter were the first American’s to start brewing the style in 1990. The style combines dark roasted malts with a strongly noticeable hop presence.
Other Black IPA’s: Deschutes  ”Hop In The Dark CDA,” Cascade’s “Dark Day,”  Heavy Seas “Black Cannon,” Thornbridge’s “Raven” and Laughing Dog”s “Dogzilla”

Firkin Friday 3: Hops vs. Heat

Sunday, 06 March 2011 16:40 Written by beersomm 0 Comments

Damon came up with a great idea for this week’s firkin night.  Sausages with beer, the timeless pairing/tradition, but what would be our twist?  We had a cask of Double Simcoe IPA from Weyerbacher brewery in Pennsylvania. Chef Philippe makes 8 different sausages @ Café D’Alsace including 2 that are uniquely spicy.  His duck sausage has green peppercorns that give a sharp fresh pinpointed heat blast to the gamey duck meat. He also makes a seriously spicy Merguze: a lamb sausage that originates in Morocco and gets its heat from the Tunisian Harissa chili. Harissa chill’s have more of an elevating and lingering heat attack.  Enter Hops vs. Heat.  Hops seem to redirect your palate from heat while injecting a citrus bitterness, but we don’t want to confuse the pairing we want to add to it.  Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA has an excellent tangerine, apricot sweetness profile that really compliments the hops, the heat and briny delicious sauerkraut. This is exactly the cyclical rollercoaster we wanted the pairing to ride.