With their 9% Belgian-style strong ale, Avery once again proves they can do no wrong.
Avery Salvation
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Category Archives: Beer
Beer From Tibet
Thanks to Ed, who packed this home with him.
It Was All Stouts at Stuffed Sandwich
Dropped in at Stuffed Sandwich a couple weeks ago for lunch, and they had nothing but stouts on tap. Old Rasputin, Stone Russian Imperial, Bison Chocolate, Moylan’s Dry, Barney Flats, and Speedway (yum yum) were still flowing while I was there, but once they dry up, they’re gone (*update: they are on to Barleywines. See more below).
The funny thing about Stuffed Sandwich, if you’ve never been there before, is that they only serve beer in paper cups. Sam doesn’t like foam on his beer, so you always get a full pour right up to the rim. But before you pick up your beer to take it to your table, Sam and Marlene always make you bend over and take a sip off the top, so when you pick up the paper cup, you don’t squeeze any beer over the side.
The first time I went, I thought it was a little silly, but this being my second visit, I guess there’s a little charm to it.
I went with a small cup of the Speedway and their French Dip sandwich and OH YES, it hit the spot. Last time I was in I had the pastrami and that was pretty money too.
Another great thing about Stuffed Sandwich is their To Go License.
Sam has an amazing bottle selection, with tons of beers hiding in his cellar in back. If you know what you are looking for, and you get on his good side, you might just walk away with some real treasures. Continue reading
Green Flash Barleywine
Remember way back when, before I had ever tried Green Flash? Now it’s a semi-frequent part of my repertoire. Nut Brown, Imperial IPA, the Barleywine, they’re all fantastic. Picked this bottle up for $4.69 at Vendome Toluca Lake. Map it!
Doppelbock Session: Ayinger Celebrator
Let me be the first second to admit it: I’ve fallen off the beer blogging bandwagon. I’ve been missing Session deadlines left and right. Heck, the last time I participated was way back in August. Why the lack of posts?
I guess I had just gotten a bit bored with my pedestrian style of reviewing beers. After all, beer is one of my greatest passions. Can you really define your passion by deconstructing it and judging its value by assigning a grade based on a 50 point scale?
Jesus, what was I thinking?
Talk about taking all the fun out of something. So from here on out, I plan to leave all the heavy duty classification and grading to the fine folks at Beer Advocate and Rate Beer.
Thanks to friends and other assorted beer bloggers, I’ve been reminded not to neglect the most important source of creativity, the Muse. You can’t take the time to write about every half-decent beer that enters your glass, you’ve gotta wait for the one that makes you want to go out and buy it by the case. You’ve gotta find a beer that makes you rush to your computer and bang out a loving ode while your glass is still half full. You’ve gotta find the one that makes you phone in sick for work, just so you can spend one or two more hours of half-lucid bliss, snuggled up under the covers, wrapped in their embrace. You need to find the beer that’s so incredible, you can’t think of anything better to name your monthly beer news magazine after. Or for that matter, your beer blog. Hey, meta humor!
Ayinger Celebrator is at the pinnacle of those special beers. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been saving it in your fridge for 6 months, waiting for a special occasion to crack it open. The very occasion of opening an Ayinger Celebrator is special enough on it’s own.
Cracking the cap is enough to start your mouth watering. Dark dark brown beer, almost black, with a sudsy tan head that stays for the duration. Celebrator has a perfectly thin and bready maltiness. It doesn’t hammer you on the head with over-the-top complexity and brilliant flavors bursting left and right, it’s more subtle and refined than that. Balanced and delicate. I’ve only had it by itself, but if I could choose any meal to have accompany it, a great pairing would be braised lamb shanks and mashed potatoes.
I’m curious, have any of the Session writers out there NOT tried Ayinger Celebrator? With this post I am declaring my fervent and undying zealotry for this beer. Much like a Ron Paul supporter standing on a freeway overpass in the rain, waving a hand-stenciled “REVOLUTION 2008″ poster, I want to share this beer with you.
Now let’s go check out some of the doppelbocks that you guys have been drinking.
A special thank you to Wilson at Brewvana for hosting today’s Doppelbock Session.
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice: A Love Letter
Anderson Valley, can you do no wrong? Ever since I tried your Summer Solstice back in July, I knew I’d found something special. That Cerveza Crema coats my gullet with velvety goodness that rivals even a snug velour jumpsuit in tactual pleasure.
I had high hopes for the Winter Solstice, and I’m happy to say my expectations were exceeded.
It has all the creamy sweetness of the Summer, but more going on for it in the spiciness department. Now, some beers have a maltiness to them that makes you think, “Hmm, this tastes like bread.” But Winter Solstice’s maltiness just makes me think about graham crackers and Whoppers (America’s Favorite Malted Milk Balls, not BK value menu you sicko).
At 7%, this guy definitely brings a bit of warmth with it. Great weight to it; not too heavy, not too light, this is the porridge that Baby Bear would eat. Highly sessionable despite the higher %, and what better evening to enjoy it than the longest night of the year.
This may just be my favorite domestic Christmas beer of the year.
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
Picked up a single bottle of this stuff just for the sake of experimentation. It stayed in my fridge for a while until I filled up a cooler to take up to Malibu for the afternoon.
Tasted terrible, like artificial whipped cream and maraschino cherries. Bleh. Luckily I had also brought along some Avery Salvation, which lived up to it’s name.
Might be worth giving a try, some people love this sort of thing, but I say avoid. If you are in the market for what some would call “chick beer,” a much better choice would be Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde.