Fellowship of Beer Lovers

[Susan in FL]

There is something special that unites those who love beer, and in my experience it is different than the bond among wine officiandos, food enthusiasts in general, and other communities of people sharing interests. Several years ago I met a bunch of great beer friends online, met some of them in person, and have since kept in touch with many online and a few in person. What fine people they are, and so generous when it comes to sharing sought-after beers.

Several weeks ago my husband and I sent one of these beer friends a check for two cases of beer that we might have missed if he had not bought it and held it for us. We planned to pick them up when we traveled to Delaware for closing on the sale of our house up there. Last week was settlement, and on the way home we met Lloyd to pick up our cases of Old Dominion Millenium and their spring brew, an Imperial Pilsner. We appreciated that, and knowing Lloyd, imagined that he would throw in a couple bottles of something else as a treat. Wow! Imagine our surprise and joy when this was his gift of beer to us...

A 750 ml bottle of Deus Belgian Ale!!

A pint of 2003 Alaskan Brewing Co. Smoked Porter

2 bottles of:

Clipper City Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

2003 Anchor Brewing Co. Merry Christmas Happy New Year OSA

Troegs Mad Elf Holiday Ale

Victory Storm King Stout

2003-04 Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

Dogfish Head Aprihop

Heavyweight Brewing Old Salty 2003 Barleywine

Allagash Grand Cru

This is truly an awesome selection of beers. Thank you so much, Lloyd!

[LJDolan]

There is something special that unites those who love beer,

Sue please PM me, e-mail me, or post here how you and Russ liked the taste of those beers.

[Susan in FL]

I sure will, Lloyd. I'm planning menus for some food and beer pairings in the coming weeks, and I'll keep you posted as we taste the new ones. I'm also thinking of sipping some Aprihop tonight before or after dinner. I'm eager to see how that tastes bottled.

So far, we've had the Impy Pilsner and Millenium and they're great! I think the Millenium will even improve with age. Do you think so? We like the Pilsner, too. It is more balanced than I expected and it makes for a good spring brew with some substance to it!

[Rich Pawlak]

I sure will, Lloyd. I'm planning menus for some food and beer pairings in the coming weeks, and I'll keep you posted as we taste the new ones. I'm also thinking of sipping some Aprihop tonight before or after dinner. I'm eager to see how that tastes bottled.

So far, we've had the Impy Pilsner and Millenium and they're great! I think the Millenium will even improve with age. Do you think so? We like the Pilsner, too. It is more balanced than I expected and it makes for a good spring brew with some substance to it!

Food-beer pairing suggestion:

Aprihop and Middle Eastern food (hummus, baba ganojh, felafel, kabobs)! An incredible match!

[rabidscottsman]

Susan you will really enjoy that Alaskan smoked porter. Alaskan brewing in my opinion makes some excellent beers. If you ever get the oppertunity, try the Alaskan Amber. It is one of the best beers i have ever tasted. It tastes incredible from the bottle and its superb if you can get it off tap.

I actually look forward to going out to the west coast so i can aquire a few 6 packs of the amber,unfortunatly they dont sell the alaskan beers in Minnesota.

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, RP! Sound interesting and good. Russ and I recently met an eGulleteer in person and went to dinner with him at a great little Middle Eastern restaurant (finally entered the discussion of the definition of Shawarma). I can imagine getting a take-out from them and washing it down with some Aprihop. But oh woe is me we have only one more bottle. Now that I know it is bottled, it will be on my shopping list for the next trip up north.

So, to report about this bottled Aprihop... We split a bottle of it before dinner and it was delicious. I have never said that a bottle version of a beer is better than the draft, but maybe, maybe this was or very, very close. I've had this on tap at Dogfish Head two or three times, and tonight's taste of the bottled might have been better than what we had on tap at the brewpub put last week. It could have been just because I was hungrier tonight or who knows what, but it was real fine, with emphasis on the hoppy flavors and subtle and pleasant on the apricot flavor. Thanks again, Lloyd.

[Susan in FL]

Susan you will really enjoy that Alaskan smoked porter. Alaskan brewing in my opinion makes some excellent beers. If you ever get the oppertunity, try the Alaskan Amber. It is one of the best beers i have ever tasted. It tastes incredible from the bottle and its superb if you can get it off tap.

I actually look forward to going out to the west coast so i can aquire a few 6 packs of the amber,unfortunatly they dont sell the alaskan beers in Minnesota.

Good endorsement! I will report back after the smoked porter.

Anybody, any ideas on what food it might match up with... snack, lunch, dinner, anything?

[LJDolan]

...unfortunatly they dont sell the alaskan beers in Minnesota.

You might want to go to the website for the Horse Brass Pub in Portland, OR, one of the better beer bars in Portland (www.horsebrass.com). There is a link for it's sister beer store (whoch is next door), Belmont Station. If beer is allowed to be shipped to MN, you can order it; however, because of the price of freight, it is reccommend tol order at least three cases at a time. You can get four different sixers to make a case.

[Okbrewer]

Susan,

You can always count on Lloyd to surprise you with a great selection of beer! Even if you ask him not to, he doesn't know how to show up empty handed! Way to go, Lloyd!

I would set the Smoked Porter aside and let it age a bit, at least until this fall, and serve it with a pot of beans or chili or a venison steak! I have a couple of bottles hiding in the back of my fridge, just waiting for fall!

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, OK-Bob. That is a great suggestion for a pairing with the smoked porter. I will go lay that baby down right now.

So right about Lloyd... you have quite a lot of experience in meeting up with him yourself, don't you?

[LJDolan]

Susan,

You can always count on Lloyd to surprise you with a great selection of beer! Even if you ask him not to, he doesn't know how to show up empty handed!

Bob, I was that generous because Sue and Russ live in the middle of a beer desert. They need to drive about 90 minutes to the nearest decent brewpub. They are not homebrewers extraordinaire who plan to be at beer judging competions on government expense like some people we know.

[Susan in FL]

Holy shit, this beer is good. I did not know this barleywine until Lloyd's generous gift! ...Heavyweight Brewing Co. Old Salty. This is the 2003.

It is a way too drinkable barleywine! Great mouthfeel. [i love to say that.] It's very smooth, roasty, with just the right mild amount of fruit flavor. At the very beginning it seemed thin, but the more it gets to room temp, the fuller it gets, but the bad news is my glass of this almost gone. With it, I am munching on some Poppycock Just Nuts, the fancy cashews. This is way too good.

[Susan in FL]

We drank the Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils, from Clipper City Brewing. What struck me first was how crystal clear the golden color was. I usually don't take special notice of that. It's a real good beer -- just not very distinctive -- and crisp, pleasant, and on the light side.

Does anybody have any suggestions of food to have with our bottle of Deus?

[malarkey]

Does anybody have any suggestions of food to have with our bottle of Deus?

Its sorta like champagne, goes with a LOT of things. My suggestion? Frites

I've had it with caviar, and that worked. It was the classic set up, caviar, blini, creme fraiche.

It would be fabulous with breakfast too In fact.. it would be really great with breakfast in bed.

[Susan in FL]

We did the Deus. It was a couple of weeks ago, along with appetizers. I failed to post right away, nor did I write notes, so I can't give a detailed description. However, I can say thank you, Lloyd, for one of the best Belgians I've had! I usually find it hard to appreciate them because of the banana bubble gum flavors of some. This went down much easier than most Belgian beers do for me.

Another new-to-us brew from Lloyd's gift that I neglected to mention trying was the Allagash Grand Cru. This was a similar tasting in that spiced beers are not one of my favorite styles, and again, this I enjoyed.

I think these varied selections have helped to expand my tastes. Cheers!

[Susan in FL]

Food-beer pairing suggestion:

Aprihop and Middle Eastern food (hummus, baba ganojh, felafel, kabobs)!  An incredible match!

Sometimes it takes me a while to get to things, but I usually don't forget. After buying some Aprihop in Orlando last week, tonight we had that long-awaited match of the Middle East food take-out with it. We had Shawarmas, Kibbe Balls, Hommos, and Baba Ghannouj. You were right, as always... wonderful pairing.

[Rich Pawlak]

For a time, every Wednesday at the Grey Lodge in Philly, an Iranian friend of mine would join us to play Quizzo, and this friend, Fari, would bring along some of the coolest Middle Eastern food, felafels, kibbe, hummus and pita, schwarma, and often kebabs. That was just when Aprihop came out, and when we paired it with the food Fari would bring, it was an absolute revelation. A great counterpoint between the sweet and hoppy Aprihop. and the tangy, garlicky food.

I live for beer-food pairings like that.

[Susan in FL]

Susan you will really enjoy that Alaskan smoked porter. Alaskan brewing in my opinion makes some excellent beers. If you ever get the oppertunity, try the Alaskan Amber. It is one of the best beers i have ever tasted. It tastes incredible from the bottle and its superb if you can get it off tap.

I actually look forward to going out to the west coast so i can aquire a few 6 packs of the amber,unfortunatly they dont sell the alaskan beers in Minnesota.

Good endorsement! I will report back after the smoked porter.

Anybody, any ideas on what food it might match up with... snack, lunch, dinner, anything?

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Susan, 

You can always count on Lloyd to surprise you with a great selection of beer!  Even if you ask him not to, he doesn't know how to show up empty handed!  Way to go, Lloyd! 

I would set the Smoked Porter aside and let it age a bit, at least until this fall, and serve it with a pot of beans or chili or a venison steak!  I have a couple of bottles hiding in the back of my fridge, just waiting for fall!

←

The calendar says it's fall, and for the past few weeks we have enjoyed weather which has usually been cool enough to turn off the A.C. and open the windows... Perfect opportunity to eat chili and get that bottle of Alaskan Smoked Porter out of hiding! Russ made the chili and I remembered the beer. This was the best smoked beer I've ever tasted. We were prepared and had the back-up plan for a bottle of wine in case we really didn't like the smoked part of this beer. That didn't happen; in fact, we want more. I love porters, and wish more were available here, especially with the coming of the cooler weather. This had a subtle flavor of smoke that was just right. And the pairing with the chili was perfect. Again thanks Lloyd, and thanks OK-Bob for the suggested food matches.

We were recently given venison (there are deer in Florida!), and wish we had more of this beer to go with that.

Cheers!

[BrentKulman]

There is something special that unites those who love beer, and in my experience it is different than the bond among wine officiandos, food enthusiasts in general, and other communities of people sharing interests. 

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You are absolutely right, Susan.

Up until recently, I was mostly a wine a food enthusiast, but have recently discovered beer and become a homebrewer. I joined the local homebrew club and, not only is it a wonderful cross-section of the community that cuts across class, race, religion and any other boundaries you can think of, but it is a supportive group that is passionate about great beer, educating those who are interested in the topic and spreading the gospel.

Beer has a marketing problem, however, as too many Americans have no idea about the range and quality of available beers. Most Americans who drink beer drink it without regard to taste and style but think of it in terms of either light beer or regular beer. To them, its just something to sip on when they want something refreshing to consume in conjunction with another activity.

In short, beer needs to be taken seriously but I fear that if it achieves that goal, the beer community will be permanently altered, and probably for the worst.

[suzilightning]

susan-

you haven't gotten to the Victory Storm King Stout? this is johnnybird's new favorite beer.

[Susan in FL]

Ahhh, sorry about that. Yes. Even though that was part of the selection given to us by Lloyd, it has always been one of our favorites. In fact, we have bought it by the case. It is delicious. Wish we could partake with you and Johnnybird!