DRINK WITH THE WENCH PRESENTS:

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

Curious what goes on in the minds of your favorite beer bloggers? Well, The Beer Wench is and she has embarked upon a mission to interview as many beer bloggers that she can — from all over the world. Are you a beer blogger? Do you want to share your story? Send me an email!

INTRODUCING: MARTY WALSH

AUTHOR OF: THE BEER GUY

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Marty Walsh
Internet nickname: “mdwalsh”
Twitter handle: @StCloudBeerGeek
Name of blog: The Beer Guy
Current location: St. Cloud, MN

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Beverly Hills (South Side), Chicago, IL

2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?

Jr Lifeguarding, Waterpolo (10 yrs, through college), Cross Country (4 years)

3. How old were you when you had your first beer?

Too young

4. If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?

First beer, I don’t know. First Craft beer, that I recall drinking and recognizing as something different, I was maybe 18? And it was a Pyramid IPA at my brothers house in LA. I hated it. It scared me away from IPAs for a long long time.

5. Where, if applicable, did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?

I went to St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict (two schools, one institution, long story) in Collegeville and St. Joseph, MN. I played Club Water Polo for 4 years, Campus Greens (as in the Green Party), was a Teachers’ Assistant in the Economics Department, which was also my Major, along with a minor in Environmental Studies. I graduated in 2009.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:

When I was a sophomore in college my girlfriend and I decided to do a 100 mile diet, which meant only eating foods grown and processed within 100 miles of where we lived. Because of that, I became very interested in processing foods from scratch and beer was a natural thing to do from scratch (especially since I wasn’t 21).

After one or two choices of recipes, which were based on the description on the side of the box and a little info in the back of John Palmer’s “How to Brew,” I realized I didn’t know jack-squat about beer or beer styles, and didn’t want to waste 5 gallons of beer and money and time on something I wasn’t going to like. I started buying (aka having my girlfriend, now my lovely wife buy) more craft beers of widely varying styles. I still love homebrewing, but there’s just too much out there that’s too good to not try it.

2. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:

Not so much epiphanies but just realizations. Beer and food go great together. You can drink craft beer and not get looked at as funny by non-drinkers as if you were drinking BMC beers.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?

Just since October or so. I publish about three times a week.

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

Our local paper, The St. Cloud Times has a blogging function on their website, www.sctimes.com. I was sick of two things, the lack of good beer in St. Cloud and the lack of anything other than political bickering in the blogs. So I applied some of the things I had learned about the beer community from various books and beeradvocate.com and started the blog.

3. Why did you chose the name of your blog?

The Beer Guy. Very simple, but that’s all it needed to be.

4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?

I hope that I reach some people in my town (about 75,000 people) and get them to start drinking something other than Michelob Golden. There’s already a very intelligent wine community here, but people are often amazed that we carry 300 beers at our store, and apart from two or three bars in the city with the most restaurants per capita in the country from what I’ve heard, there isn’t much for good beer on tap. Hopefully I’ll get enough people educated and interested that they’ll change that, and I’ll be able to document that change.

5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?

Nothing much yet, I try to keep my identity a relative secret because I don’t want people to know what store I work at and think I’m just pimping it. Note I haven’t named it.

6. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?

beeradvocate.com, mnbeer.com and beernews.org. Far and above my 3 of my 5 favorite websites probably, let alone about beer.

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

Scotch Ales/Wee Heavies, Strong Ales, and anything in that general sessionable lager area.

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

New Glarus, Surly and Schell’s.

3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?

New Holland, just so I could have all the Dragon’s Milk I wanted.

4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?

A casual brewer, the most interesting thing I have is in the carboy right now and is an apple ale. 2 parts hand pressed apple cider, one park dark brown ale.

5. Do you have any beer certifications (BJCP, Cicerone, Siebel, American Brewers Guild)??

Nope.

6. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

A good, acidic hoppy beer with something creamy like Havarti or Alfredo Sauce.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

Beer Geek/Specialist at a local “boutique” liquor store. Aka the clerk who knows about beer.

2. If you could change your career at this very moment, without any restrictions on what you could do, what would you want to do and why?

An Economic Development Consultant/Director with Urban and Regional Planning involved. It’s just what I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m looking for that sort of work and waiting to get in-state tuition to go back to grad school.

3. Are you married? Children?

Married, no kids. Apartment and Budget is too small.

4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?

Cooking, especially with my wife and for groups of people. Also hiking up North or even just walking around the neighborhood.

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be and why?

An Oak Aged, Very Malty Strong Ale. I would be almost as delicious as I am right now.

2. You were caught smuggling beer illegally, which has now been made punishable by death. Right before you are sent to the executioner, you are offered one last beer. What beer would you chose and why?

Hmm, as I said I do love some Dragon’s Milk from New Holland, or something really rare like a really old J.W. Lees. No, anything in a Jeraboam Bottle. Put that sucker off as long as possible and be really drunk when it happens.

3. If I contracted you to brew a beer (or design a beer recipe) called “The Beer Wench” — what style would you chose and what, if any, extra ingredients would you add?

A Dark Chocolate Infused Black DIPA with all the ingredients used by the Three Witches in MacBeth.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

Flight.

5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?

Hmm. Perhaps off roading in a Taurus in a riverside industrial park where hobo’s are known to congregate, and getting stuck. Thank’s Doug, by the way. That’s all I can say.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

Fried, smoked, fresh, aged, carmelized, wrapped around a piece of Chicken, wrapped around a fillet, used to flavor other food, with pancakes, with sausage, with french toast, in french toast, in sausage….mmm, bacon stuffed sausage, in the morning in the evening, hungover, hunry, full. There’s always room for bacon. As long as it’s chewy.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MARTY FOR HIS AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!!

Anyone can call themselves an expert on beer.

Heck, my personal business cards say Beer Connoisseur in lieu of having a “job title”.

But what does that really mean? After all, it is a self-proclaimed title. It would be like calling myself a wine aficionado. Sure I know more about wine than your average person, but does that qualify me as an expert in the subject?

In today’s society, standardized tests are king.

There is a reason why people obtain college degrees. As much as we would love to prove our own intelligence level without a diploma, it makes it that much easier to argue our case with that silly piece of paper.

And forget the significance of a college diploma, one can’t even get into college without a decent score on the SAT or the ACT. As for further education? Try getting into graduate or professional programs without taking the GRE, MCAT or LSAT. Not going to happen, my friends.

Would you visit a “doctor” that does not hold a Medicinae Doctor (MD) degree or hire a “lawyer” without a Juris Doctor degree? The Wench thinks not.

Having an official title means a lot in today’s day and age. Sad yes, but true.

If I told you that I gave the best massages in the world, would you pay me $100 an hour to massage you? Probably not. If I was certified in some crazy exotic form of massage from some fancy massage therapy school,  I can guarantee that you would pay me big money to massage your back.

There is a large debate on whether or not standardized measures should predetermine one’s ability to perform a certain set of skills. I can argue both ways.

You see, I am “that guy” — the student that everyone hates. Mom, Dad … please stop reading. No, really. You don’t want to hear this.

I was the kid who never had to study. EVER. You remember that kid in college, the one who spent all day on AOL instant messenger and all night hanging with friends, watching movies, out at parties and NOT studying? You remember that kid who never came to class, but got straight A’s? Yep, that was me.

Now, Mom & Dad, I know you are still reading this. But, remember what you told me? “We will pay for A’s & B’s but not for C’s & D’s.” Did I ever let you down? No.

I’m very proud to say that I never had to pay my parents a cent … just saying. Regardless of my (lack of) studying habits, I graduated with honors.  But luck has nothing to do with it.

As much as I hate them, I do believe that standardized tests are important. Without them, anyone could declare themselves have any sort of credentials that they want or see fit, by their own standards — i.e.: I drink beer, therefore, I am a beer expert.

Society does need (ahhhh and my liberal nature hates admitting this) some sort of standards when it comes to expertise in different arenas. There has to be some sort of neutral and fair system in place that determines ones level of expertise in a certain subject. Am I wrong?

Long story short, I had a bad day. A really really bad day. An Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Yes, it was that bad. One of those days where you question your own self-worth and your purpose for existence on the planet.

Sure, I call myself a beer “connoisseur” … but what does that mean?? I write about beer, big deal. I drink a lot of beer, big deal. I read a lot of beer books & websites, big deal.

Wellas fate would have it, my stars were aligned in some sort of twisted yet methodological pattern today. You see, just as I was about to go get myself into a drunken funk and sulk in a corner, a strange thing occurred.

My friend on Twitter (@djacra) passed the Cicerone Certified Beer Server test. And upon congratulating him on his amazing feat, many of my followers that that it was I who had passed the exam — not him. And after explaining the mix up to several people, it occurred to me … how am I not certified??? (After all, I consider myself to be … errrr… a beer connoisseur?)

My rather emotional and irrational state of mind jaded my perception. And so I ventured into my beer cellar, where I found a relatively low abv beer to aide as liquid courage.

Once I made my decision, I could not go back. With Frank Sinatra on the stereo & La Folie in the glass, I registered my information into the Cicerone program. And with no prior preparation or studying, I took the test.

Why on earth would pay $50 to take a test on a whim without any sort of preparation?

My closest friends in college and high school will tell you that I’m not one to study. (Once again, Mom & Dad — earmuffs!!!)

Studying was never my thing. LEARNING is, however. I’m really good at learning things and committing them to memory automatically (I am blessed with a photographic memory — yes try and test it, I dare you). Which, kind of makes it redundant to study. After all, if I KNOW it already — why would I need to study it?

And so, I challenged myself today. Do I really know as much about beer as I think I do?

As it turns out, I’m on the right track. Am I a beer expert? Oh hell no. Am I a beer dummy? Oh hell no.

Neither an expert nor a novice, I am The Beer Wench — a Cicerone Certified Beer Server!!!

This post is dedicated to my Ma, for reasons you shall discover later on…

I am sick and tired of hearing people bitch and complain about calories, carbs and fat.

Okay, I understand that these things exist. However, there are more important things in life to obsess over …

When it comes to health, beer has a bad rap.

“Belly Belly” … “Beer Gut” … Beer makes people fat, right?

NO!

Allow me to present an arguement in regards the caloric content of beer. Please note that there is no “scientific evidence behind my assertions. All of my observations are …  well, just that. Observations. And my conclusions are neither “credible” nor “official.”

However, I am not exactly uneducated … so there may be truth to what I have to say.

If you know nothing about nutrition, know this: not all calories are created equal.

Some calories are readily transferred into energy, while some are stored as fat.

The 100 calories in a glass of coke are NOT digested and processed the same as the 100 calories in a plate of vegetables.

Once upon a time, monks in Belgium started brewing ”bread water” [aka Trappist ales] as a way to sustain themselves throughout fasting. To this day, Trappist beers are produced with only the best and highest quality ingredients. Said monks were able to sustain themselves on this “bread water” for several days at a time. Why? Because the beer that the monks brewed was full of readily digestible matter. AKA … it was actually nutritious.

Truth be told my mother inspired this blog.

She responded to my post: “Please Put Down The Budweiser.” In her comment, my mother said: “ So here’s your newest task, Wench. Find me a less caloric, tasty, crafted beer.”

DEAR MOM: YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER! And I say this with love.

My mother is a brilliant woman: She’s a vegetarian (her choice, NOT mine), a liberal, a feminist, an environmentalist … and the list continues for miles. But the point is: my mother is UBER healthy and ridiculously conscientious.

(No offense, Ma … well then again, you are a New Yorker born and raised … so you, more than anyone, should be able to handle the truth) …

So why the hell is my intelligent mother drinking crap like Michelob Ultra Light? (Aka … this beer sucks, has virtually no nutritional benefits WHATSOEVER and tastes like watered down piss)

Because she is a CHICK. And like most chicks, she fears gaining weight. And most people equate drinking beer with being fat.

NO ONE WANTS THE “BEER BELLY”. Trust me, even those who have it don’t want it.

Try this experiment: Ask people who have these “Beer Bellies” and “Beer Guts” … what beer do you drink the most? And your response will be something like “Bud, Coors, Corona, Miller and so on and so forth.”

Hmmm COINCIDENTALLY, people who brew and drink craft beers are less likely to have these things that people call “beer bellies” or “beer guts.”

Evidence? Well , I drink beer and seem to be relatively healthy and of a “decent” size.

My friend and renowned beer writer, Stephen Beaumont, is virtually stick thin.

Another chick beer blogger, The Beer Babe, is anything but fat and absolutely STUNNING.

1WineDude drinks almost as much beer as he does wine … and he is as fit as a fiddle (and cute as a button).

And then, of course, there is the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery. Sam Caglione is definitely a hottie (… ummm I mean an extremely attractive gentleman whom I respect emmensely).

Bottom line: the higher quality shit you put in your body (whether it be food or booze) … the more likely your body will transfer the calories to energy as opposed to FAT. Stephen Beaumont wrote an excellent article entitled “Beer Makes You Fat, or NOT” that, very eloquently, argues this very same issue. “I’ve said it before and no doubt I’ll say it again: Beer is as dignified and sophisticated a beverage as any other, and in and of itself, does not make you fat or lazy or stupid or boorish. And stereotypes suck.” - Stephen Beaumont’s A World Of Beer

When it comes to the caloric content of brews, one must ALWAYS consider ABV – aka Alcohol By Volume.  Most people need to drink 2 or 3 “so called lite beers”to reach the same ABV of the “heavier beers.”

Need further proof? Let’s play the math game.

Coors Light= 104 cal/ 4.15% abv

Bud Light= 110 cal/4.2% abv

Miller Lite= 96 cal/ 4.2% abv

IN CONTRAST …

New Belgium Trippel Ale= 215 cal/ 7.8% abv

Dogfish Head Midas Touch= 309/ 9% abv

Dogfish Head 120 Min IPA= 450/ 18% abv

And with the few examples we have, let us play math …

In theory, one bottle of Dogfish Head 120 min IPA is equivalent to FOUR and a half bottles of any of the corporate light beers on the market.

One more time, I will CLARIFY this to all you calorie obsessed kids.

ONE WHOLE bottle of Dogfish Head 120 IPA … also known as one of the best damn beers on the planet … is equivalent, both in caloric and alcohol content, to FOURwhole bottles of ANY FREAKING Joe Schmoe lite beers on the market.

It is like telling you that you can have one scoop of the most decadent ice cream made from the most amazing ingredients in the entire world … or 4 scoops of sugar-free, fat-free … wanna-be ice cream made of chemical ingredients.

Hello, what is the point of ice cream without cream?

FLAVOR … is the most important factor to all things consumable, including beer.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBJECT YOUR PALATE TO BEER THAT TASTES LIKE … hmmm bad stuff.

Instead, drink craft beer … and know that your calories are being converted into something other than FAT.

Yes, I have opinions. I am The Wench. Cheers.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day, one of the most useless and overrated holidays that plagues society every year (in MY personal opinion). But then again, I am anti most holidays. Not too mention, I loathe romance. And the color pink.

If you decide that you must partake in this “unimaginative, consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative & shallow interpretation of romance” day … please do me one favor: BE ORIGINAL.

Roses, diamonds, chocolate & champagne are sooooo overused it makes me want to puke.

Although I am a wine enthusiast and aspiring sommelier, the unconventionalist in me needs to steer society away from toasting with champagne on “singles awareness day.”

If you really want to impress your Valentine, pop open a bottle of brew. Trust me on this one – it will work on both chicks and dudes alike.

Naturally, my go to beers on special occasions are lambics (and other “wild yeast beers”). In my opinion, gueuzes (a type of lambic) make the best substitute for champagne. And for a good reason.

Gueuze is a blend of young and old lambics. As with champagne, gueuze undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. If you love the ceremonial uncorking presentation and the “special pop” that accompanies champagne, have no fear. Gueuze is served in champagne bottles – cork and all.

Unlike most beers, gueuzes are produced with aged hops. The combination of wild yeast and aged hops yields a dry, cidery, must, sour, acetic acid & lactic acid flavor. Mmmm … dreamy.

Here are a list of my personal favorite gueuzes, in no particular order:

Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René

Girardin Gueuze 1882 Black Label

Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic

Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze

Cantillon Iris

Boon Oude Geuze

Okay, so I understand that not everyone enjoys gueuzes as much as I do. Fair enough. To each their own.

BUT BEFORE YOU GO BACK TO THE CHAMPAGNE – STOP. There are still other options. Let us visit the fruit lambics, shall we?

Now I know from LOTS of experience that some people (cough *women* cough) think that all beer is heinous and getting them to drink one is like trying to give a cat a bath – lots of hissing, spitting and clawing with nails.

However, I have found that many beer haters can be converted with fruit lambics. (Even my very own SISTER … a chick who drinks one alcoholic beverage a year … enjoys the flavor of fruit lambics!)

Fruit lambics are exactly as they sound – lambics with fruit added. Typically, whole fruit is added after the spontaneous fermentation. In some cases, fruit flavoring is used (usually by American brewers trying to mimic the Belgian style).

The most common flavors include: sour cherry (kriek), raspberry (framboise), peach (pêche), blackcurrant (cassis), grape (druif) and strawberry (aardbei). My personal favorite, without a doubt, is Kriek.

Here is a list of fruit lambics that I particularly enjoy:

Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambic

Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus

Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vieille

Oude Kriek

Boon Kriek

Lindemans Kriek

Lindemans Framboise

Still not convinced to forgo the champagne in favor of beer? HOLD UP. STOP RIGHT THERE.

It is time to take out the big guns … Allow me to introduce you to my friend DeuS.

Ahhhh yes. DeuS, the REAL champagne of beers. And this is NOT an over-statement.

DeuS is brewed by Brouwerij Bosteels in “one of the newest and most interesting styles of beer”: Bière de Champagne. Essentially, the only thing that separates it from champagne is the ingredients.

DeuS is initially brewed in Belgium, where it undergoes double fermentation (the second occurs within the bottle). It is then sent to France, where champagne makers add champagne yeast for a third fermentation. DeuS spends a long fermentation period in France where (like champagne) it is slowly turned each day in a process called riddling. Eventually the yeast collects in the neck of the bottle, which is frozen, and the yeast is expelled. (Also known as the “methode de champenoise” process of removing yeast from the bottle.)

The price tag of DeuS reflects the lengthy and complicated process of producing this beer. At around $30 bottle, DeuS is a beer for the big ballers. But as with a good bottle of champagne, it is a worthy investment. And you have my word on it. In fact, I will even give you my scouts honor.

And whether you chose a gueuze, a fruit lambic, DeuS or all of the above … take my suggestion and “class” it up with a flute glass. It will have you saying “champagne schmampagne” in no time. And before you know it, all of your holidays will be celebrated with a beer!

And regardless of how and why you celebrate it, Happy Valentines Day. Cheers!

]]> http://drinkwiththewench.com/?feed=rss2&p=909 5 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=594 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=594#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:16:20 +0000 Wenchie http://thecolumbuswench.wordpress.com/?p=594

The first time I had heard of Norwegian brewery Nøgne Ø was when I learned of their collaboration with American craft brewers Stone and Jolly Pumpkin on a highly coveted “Special Holiday Ale.”

Naturally, my curiosity was peaked. After all, Stone and Jolly Pumpkin are two of the most kick-ass [craft] brewers in the world (forget about the country). If they thought that Nøgne Ø was awesome enough to collaborate with – then logic can only deduce that this brewery has got a little somethin’ somethin’ going on.

Truth be told, Nøgne Ø is ridiculously bad-ass. Started by two Norwegian homebrewers with lofty dreams, Nøgne Ø has completely revolutionized beer in Norway.

Now, you may think that my last statement is a radical over exaggeration. Well, I beg to differ.

Nøgne Ø will forever go down in history as “Norway’s first microbrewery for creative brewing.”

Before Nøgne Ø, there were no IPAs in Norway. (GASP!) In fact, there were no pale ales. No Porters … no Imperial Stouts … no bottle conditioned ales. Actually, Norway had pretty much nothing but lagers (insert high-pitched horror flick scream). Worst of all, most Norwegians had no idea that any other beer styles even existed!

Imagine a world without ales. For The Beer Wench, such a world is the equivalent of (if not worse than) Hell.

One of the brewery’s founders, Kjetil, is an airline pilot. On his frequent trips abroad, he developed a taste for better beer, and especially for bold brewing styles. His attempts to re-create these beers as a homebrewer were so successful that he was strongly encouraged to follow his dream of brewing professionally.

Today, Nøgne Ø is Norway’s leading and largest supplier of bottle conditioned ale.

The name derives from the first two lines of the famous poem Terje Vigen by Henrik Ibsen: “There lived a remarkably grizzled man on the uttermost barren isle”. In the ancient-styled language in which the poem is written, “barren isle” comes out as “nøgne ø”.

Nøgne Ø’s subtitle is “The Uncompromising Brewery.”  It is their mission to craft ale of highest quality, personality and individuality by using only the highest quality of ingredients in order to make beers of uncompromising quality.

They currently “create” nine bottle conditioned ales.

The list is as follows:

Sheltonbrothers are the official US representative. They help to distribute the Pale Ale, Brown Ale, IPA, Sasion, #100, Imperial Stout and Dark Horizon to a total of 43 different states.

The beer gods must really love me. Naturally, after finishing my post on the “Special Holiday Ale” collaboration and learning all about Nøgne Ø … I was bound and determined to find me some Nøgne Ø to taste. As fate would have it, as I was combing the shelves of Total Wine for some Lambics that same evening … there they were.

Four different beers stared me down with extremely seductive bedroom eyes. The Saison, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, & Porter all blinked their long flirtatious eyelashes at me … and I giggled like a little school girl. I wanted to kick myself for not noticing them in the past, but as it turns out, it was not an oversight on my part. The store clerk informed me that Nøgne Ø only just entered the store (and the Florida market???) the previous week along with Stone Brewing Company.

Being a slut for all things Belgian [well, actually just Belgian and Belgian-style beers], I was immediately seduced by the Saison. The Pale Ale also managed to slip into my basket as well. In a way I regret not picking up the other two, but then again the store is only a car ride away.

Tonight I opened the Nøgne Ø Saison.

Description on the bottle:

SAISON 14°P, 25 IBU, 6.5 ALC/VOL

One of our most refreshing brews, made for those hot summer days, but satisfying year ’round. Recommended serving temperature 8°C/45°F. Goes well with seafood, particularly oysters.

Ingredients: Wheat and lager malt; East Kent Goldings and Crystal hops; Belgian ale yeast, and our local Grimstad water

THE BEER WENCH’S TASTING NOTES ON Nøgne Ø SAISON

Appearance: First off, let me just say that I totally dig the bottle. The crazy “O” logo is very reminiscent of my alma matta – Ohio State. Especially since the Saison’s version is in red (Ohio State’s colors!)

The beer is a ridiculously cloudy, Marigold yellow color.  (For all you non-Crayola kids … Marigold is light golden yellow with hints of orange). The small white head dissipates fast. This may be a result of my pouring the beer into a large round wine glass … but who knows. Regardless, it leaves a nice lacing on the glass … so carbonation is A-Okay.

Aroma: Definitely reminiscent of a Saison – aka Belgian yeast + farm “funk” smells. On the nose I get sweet grass, fresh hay, banana bread, and spice.

Taste: Starts out sweet with flavors of honey, toasted nuts and doughy yeast. The sweetness fades and a nice crisp hoppy bitterness takes over the palate. Light acidity fades as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, moderately carbonated, slightly syrupy (especially as it warms).

Drinkability: Overall, I like it. It is a lovely Saison-esque beer, moderately complex & flavorful. The nonabrasive, moderate alcohol level (6.5% ABV) makes it easy to drink.

I am really looking forward to tasting the others in the very near future. In the meantime, I encourage everyone (in the 43 states where Nøgne Ø is available) to hunt down and try some Nøgne Ø beers ASAP!

CHEERS!

I have developed an intense fascination, preoccupation … and obsession with wild yeast beers.

In my personal opinion, Lambics are quite possibly the most exciting and interesting style of beer. Ales and lagers are both fermented carefully with cultivated strands of brewer’s yeast -using tremendous control. On the other hand, Lambics are produced by spontaneous fermentation.

Although, my spontaneous nature has led to less than desired consequences in the past … I still pride myself for having such a free-spirited and adventurous personality. So what if I almost died jumping off an 80 foot cliff when I was in high school … I am still alive now, right?

I love the thrill of not knowing. I function well in chaos. I love jet setting at the very last minute. I am an adventurer and explorer. And this is why I love the concept of spontaneous fermentation.

The late and internationally renowned Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, has referred to Lambics as the winiest of all the world’s beers.

As with many Belgian beers, Lambics are also subject to many regulations. In order to receive Lambic “certification” and label privileges, Lambics varieties must have Traditional Speciliaty Guaranteed (TSG) status.

The Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) is a trademark for an agricultural product or a foodstuff, which has a certain feature or a set of features, setting it clearly apart from other similar products or foodstuffs belonging to the same category. The product or foodstuff itmust be manufactured using traditional ingredients or must be characteristic for its traditional composition, production process, or processing reflecting a traditional type of manufacturing or processing.

So what exactly is all the traditional mumbo jumbo for Lambics?

The Lambic style can trace its roots back over 400 years, and has remained mostly unchanged from its introduction. The first written recipe is dated 1516.

Although it is impossible to confirm the origin of the word “Lambic” (“lambiek” in Flemish / Dutch), its most likely origin is the small town of Lembeek (“Lime Creek”) – a municipality close to Brussels. Today, Lambic production is concentrated in the western part of Brussels and in the nearby “Pajottenland”.

The definition of Lambic was set out in a series of Belgian Royal Decrees in the 1960′s and 70′s. These determined that Lambic must be made from at least 30% unmalted wheat at a gravity of no less than 11 Plato.

Lambic wort is usually composed of 60-70% barley malt and 30-40% unmalted wheat. Lambic beers are typically made from an original density (wort-strength) of 11.75-13.5 Plato (12.7 is the classic level) with an alcohol content of around 5.0-6.5% by volume.

Lambic beers use a variety of mashing regimes – some being very long and elaborate. The traditional method involves making two separate mashes and heating each in individual kettles.

At the boiling stage, Lambic beers use far more hops than conventional beers – sometimes up to 6 times as many hops. HOWEVER … Lambics are NOT bitter. (We will get to the flavor notes later). One of the MAJOR differentiating factors about Lambics is that they use AGED HOPS, typically aged up to three years.

The object of aging hops is to diminish their aroma, flavor, and bitterness. INSTEAD, the hops are being used solely for their secondary purpose – to ward against unwanted infections and excessive oxidation.

Unlike conventional beers which usually boil for an hour or so, the Lambic boil lasts anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. After the boil, conventional beers are usually cooled in a heat exchanger. Lambics are not. Instead, Lambic wort will spend the night in a coolship.

Then it is on to fermentation.

Unlike with conventional beers, No yeast is artificial added to Lambic wort. Instead, Lambic wort is exposed to the open air of the “Zennevalei” aka the Senne-valley. Wild yeast cells, including Bretanomyces bruxellensis and Bretanomyces lambicus (which are always in the open air in the environment of Brussels), come into the wort and eventually result in spontaneous fermentation.

Due to the spontaneous fermentation, Lambic can be brewed only in the “winter season” (October-May). In summertime, there are too much undesirable bacteria, which can infect the wort and interfere with the natural fermentation.

Most ales and lagers are produced using only a few strands of yeast, while Lambics are typically made with around 86 yeast strands.

As you can imagine, spontaneous fermentation is a very lengthy process. The microorganisms involved in the creation of Lambics must work in a specific sequence. Each microroganism depends on the metabolized products of its predecessors. It takes about two to three years for the entire process to complete and to produce a mature Lambic.
The varieties of Lambic include: Straight Lambic (Lambic Pure), Faro, Fruit, Mars … and MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE, Gueuze.

Straight Lambic: Cloudy, uncarbonated (almost still), unsweetened and unblended draught beer. Generally three years old. Extremely hard to find. It is served in only one or two two cafés in Brussels and a handful in the area of production.

Faro: Unblended three-year-old lambic sweetened with rummy-tasting dark candy sugar and occasionally spiced. Also hard to find and typically found on draught. Sometimes available at Lambic cafés in a do-it-yourself version where sugar is added directly at the table by the drinker and crushed into the drink with a mortar. Faro was once the restorative for the working man in Brussels.

Mars: Traditionally referred to a weaker beer made from the second runnings of a Lambic brewing. It is no longer commercially produced.

Fruit: Lambic with the addition of whole fruit or syrup. Most common fruits include sour cherry (kriek), raspberry (framboise), peach (pêche), blackcurrant (cassis), grape (druif), or strawberry (aardbei). Rarer fruit lambic flavorings include apple (pomme), banana, pineapple, apricot, plum, cloudberry, and lemon. Fruit lambics are usually bottled with secondary fermentation. Lambic-based Kriek beers are the most traditional fruit brews.

Gueuze: Bottled, sparkling and easier to find. Made by blending young Lambic (6 months to 1 year old) with more mature vintages (2 to 3 years old). It is then bottled for a second fermentation (similar to Champagne and is actually bottled in Champagne bottles). The word Gueuze (hard “g”, and rhymes with “firs”) may have the same etymological origins as the English words gas and ghost, and the Flemish gist (“yeast”), referring to carbonation and rising bubbles.

Last spring – while drinking and eating my way through Chicago, I was introduced to the gueze. My first experience was with Lindeman’s Cuvee Rene – which absolutely blew my mind. I loved it so much, in fact, that I opted to drink Cuvee Rene for my last birthday (the quarter of a century celebration) in lieu of Champagne or sparkling wine. To this day, I find it very hard to choose between Gueuze and Champagne!

Now that I have posted the educational mumbo jumbo about Lambics … I look forward to tasting and blogging about some of my favorites in the (very) near future!

CHEERS!

SOURCES: Michael Jackson’s GREAT BEERS OF BELGIUM, Wikipedia

There are only 7 trappist breweries in the entire world. Only beer brewed at an abbey, under the watchful eye of the Cistercian monastic community living there, can rightfully use the strictly controlled name of “Trappiste”. Belgium is home to six of the breweries entitled to use the “Trappiste” name: Orval, Chimay, Rochefort, Westvleteren, Westmalle and Achel. The seventh is Koningshoeven and is located in The Netherlands.

Each beer brewed at one of the seven trappist breweries is entitled to use the logo: Authentic Trappist Product. The logo is also used for other products manufactured in the Cistercian monasteries and under the supervision of the monks and nuns. It indicates that they are the manufacturers.

Orval is situated near Florenville, in the province of Luxembourg, south-east Belgium, in the immediate vicinity of the border with France.

As is customary with Cistercians, the Community of Orval provides entirely for itself through its own activities (mainly cheese-making, hospitality, and beer brewing). All generated profits are devoted both to various forms of social and charitable aids, and to the upkeep of the monastery.

Throughout the long history of Orval, it is assumed that there has always been a brewery on the grounds. Various facts corroborate this idea : topographical references on old drawings; a detailed description of production left by a Franciscan visitor three hundred years ago; an area called the “hop-field” very close to the monastery. Since the area was ill-suited for vine growing, brewing beer was customary. Beer was first and foremost considered for its nourishing properties : it was called “liquid bread”. (Source: Orval)

In 1931 the present day brewery was built, employing lay people and intended to provide a source of funds for the monastery reconstruction. It was designed by Henry Vaes, who also designed the distinctive Orval beer glass. The first beer was shipped from the brewery on May 7, 1932, and was sold in barrels rather than the bottles of today. Orval was the first Trappist beer to be sold nationally around Belgium. (Source: Wikipedia)

Now I know what you are thinking … enough of the history lesson – what about the freaking beer?

Ah yes. THE ORVAL Trappist Ale. A classic amongst the Belgian ales.

Merchant Du Vin is the sole importer of Orval. For a list of their distributors, visit this link.

To learn how Orval beer is made, visit this link.

THE BEER WENCH’s TASTING NOTES:

Appearance: Amber-orange color. Cloudy with large fluffy head – which lasts a really long time and leaves a thick film of lacing.

Aroma: Mild Belgian yeast aroma (sweet yeast with hints of cloves). Slightly floral nose with citrus notes (compliments of the hops, naturally).

Taste: Well-balanced ale! The ale has an interesting acidic “bite” that is nicely neutralized by a mild malt and mild yeast taste. The floral hops are apparent on the taste and help balance out the sweetness of the malt as well as kill some of the acidity. The finish is tart and slightly bitter, lingering … enough. Medium to full body. Nicely carbonated. Alcohol is very hard to detect on the taste, which makes it a super easy ale to drink.

OVERALL: As always, ORVAL is a classic. This is a MUST TRY BEFORE YOU DIE kind of beer. I don’t care who you are and if you don’t like beer – you must try Orval at least once in your lifetime.

Orval is a staple in my beer diet.

Why? Because it could very well be the quintessential example of what a well-balanced, well-rounded ale should look, smell, feel and taste like. It reminds me of Goldie Locks and The Three Bears. Not too strong. Not too weak. Not too sweet, not too bitter, not too sour, not too astringent -EVERYTHING IN BALANCE.

Just right!!!

But as always, don’t take my word for it – try it for yourself and then feel free to call me out on it. After all, I am just a wench … wink wink!

CHEERS!

Avery Brewing Company (located in Boulder, CO) is one of my favorite American craft breweries … BY FAR! Avery’s Seasonal Maharajah IPA is one of my all time favorite IPA’s … a “staple” in The Beer Wench’s pantry! Avery also produces one the best barleywines that I have ever tasted – Hog Heaven. But that is only MY opinion – feel free to form your own!

Being new to Orlando – I am only JUST uncovering its beer “niches.”

The other day I found its candy store for big kids – Total Wine. Despite the name, Total Wine has a pretty damn decent beer selection – from all around the world!

I filled up a basket of single beers while I was there … and I am REALLY looking forward to sharing my experiences with each of the unique beers that I bought!

FIRST UP: Avery Karma

Beer Wench Tasting Notes:

APPEARANCE: Light golden amber. Thick, foamy, off-white, slowly dissipating head. Decently lacing (props to me for having a squeaky clean glass!) Cloudy with subtle sediment.

AROMA: Characteristically BELGIAN! Mild malt, almost non-existent hops on the aroma. Belgian yeast takes the cake – lots of clove … subtle banana … some citrus. DEFINITELY a Belgian Ale! My only gripe is that is does not have the typical aroma of a Saison – aka Belgian-style farm ale. It is missing the characteristic “manure-esque” aroma of saisons that I have come to know and love …

TASTE: Light malt, little hops, low alcohol. Very smooth, easy to drink. Bitterness increases as the beer warms and sits in the glass. Highly carbonated, minimal acid, short finish.

OVERALL: Not what I expected. Based on the description, I was hoping for something closer to a saison-style ale. Besides the characteristically Belgian aroma – this ale lacked many of the qualities that I love and enjoy about Belgian beers. HOWEVER, in the end – the beer was smooth and drinkable. The low ABV makes it easy to enjoy several of these – without regretting it in the morning.

Karma may not be the BEST Avery ale out there, however – it is still a pretty decent beer. One that The Beer Wench thinks is definitely worth trying! A lighter beer, with Belgian notes … and decent drinkability.

CHEERS!!!

Sadly, tomorrow marks the last official day of the world’s largest folk festival – Oktoberfest. And unfortunately, yet another Oktoberfest has come and gone without me. I vow to make the trek to Munich for this event some day! Until then, I will live vicariously through the stories of others while sipping on some Oktoberfest-bier.

Speaking of Oktoberfest bier, although the official festival ends tomorrow – the Oktoberfest spirit still lives on through the beer! (Which should remain on store shelves for another couple of weeks!)

So, what is so special about Oktoberfest bier? Oktoberfest bier rules are similar to the Trappist beer laws in Belgium in that the beer must be brewed in a certain style within a certain location and only a few breweries can actually carry the official name “Oktoberfest.”

Authentic Oktoberfest bier is brewed only by the breweries within the city limits of Munich. There are several breweries outside of Munich, including U.S. craft breweries, that brew beers in the Oktoberfest style. Technically, they are not authentic and must be labeled Oktoberfest-style beer. (Just like how any beer brewed to emulate the Abbey ale style must be labeled Abbey-style).

And as with the Belgian Trappist beers, only a select number of breweries in Munich are officially sanctioned as Oktoberfest brewers. The official breweries of Oktoberfest include: Spaten, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr. These “Big Six” are the ONLY breweries allowed to participate in the annual Munich Oktoberfest.

The story of how Oktoberfest bier came to be is a classic story – very similar to the foundation stories of many other styles of beer. Once upon a time, the brewers of Bavaria had difficulty controlling the quality of beer in the hot summer months. A combination of heat and bacteria would cause the beers to sour and spoil.

In order to remedy this problem, Bavarian brewers resorted to two simple but effective solutions.

One solution was to increase the level of natural preservatives in the beers. They achieved this by adding more hops to the brewing process as well as increased the alcohol content of the beers by brewing them at a higher gravity.

A second solution was to change the schedule of the brewing season. After much trial and error, Bavarian brewers learned that brewing between early October and the end of March tended to produce the best tasting beer. And this is how the Märzen-Bier was born.

FYI: Märzen-Bier in German translates to March Beer in English.

In order to maintain freshness during the hot summer months, brewers stored casks of Märzen beer in cool cellars and mountain caves (in the Alps) which were often filled with blocks of ice from the winter.

The preservative qualities of possessing high alcohol and hop contents in combination with the ideal storage conditions of the mountain caves and cool cellars ensured that the beer kept well – even matured and improved as summer turned into fall!

Just like Cinderella had to be home by midnight, all of the old Märzen casks needed to be returned to the brewers by October so that they could begin brewing another years worth. And naturally, the casks needed to be empty – which meant that the last of the Märzen beer needed to be consumed.

And as fate would have it, Munich just happened to host an enormous folk fest in the world at the end of September through the beginning of October. And what better time and place to consume the last of the Märzen beers than Oktoberfest? This is how Märzen-biers became known as Oktoberfestbiers – what they are most commonly referred to as today!

Oktoberfest biers have been served at the festival in Munich since 1818. Advances in technology and the science of brewing led to the evolution of the Märzen-Oktoberfest styles. The Oktoberfest recipe was first revolutionized in 1941 by Gabriel Sedlmayr, former owner of Spatan Brewery of Munich, and Anton Dreher, former owner of the Dreher Brewery of Vienna. Together they created the first Märzen “gebraut nach Wiener Art” (brewed the Vienna way). They achieved this by adding a new, slightly caramelized, but fairly pale malt to the grist – which also lightened the color of the beer. This malt is now called Vienna malt.

Spaten Brewery went ahead and revamped the Oktoberfest recipe for a second time in 1871. Spaten helped Oktoberfest beer return back to its Munich roots by brewing it with Munich malt – a slightly darker version of the previously used Vienna malt. This “re-Bavarianized” version of Märzen-bier is the official Oktoberfest bier drank at Oktoberfest today!

The traditional style guidelines describe an amber-gold lager, robust at 5.2 to 6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), bottom-fermented and lagered for at least a month, with pronounced malt flavors from Vienna [Munich] malts, usually accented by the German noble hops such as Hallertau and Tettnang.

For more information on the history and brewing techniques of Oktoberfestbier, visit the website of the German Beer Institute!

And if you still have not gotten a chance to celebrate Oktoberfest this year – have no fear! Just go out and grab one of the big six Oktoberfest beers or one of the thousands of Oktoberfest-style beers still available today! But hurry … these beers need to be consumed by the end of autumn to make room on the shelves for the winter ales! (Need help choosing one? Try Spaten … after all, its the grand daddy of Oktoberfest-bier!)

CHEERS!

Hops are most commonly known for giving beer its distinctively bitter taste – a characteristic which no other plant is able to provide. Hops is also a natural preservative.

What most people don’t know is that there are several “medicinal” uses for the hops plant. The word medicinal is in quotations since most hops remedies have originated from traditional “folk” medicine and have not been scientifically proven on a large scale. Although there may be little scientific evidence that hops can cure certain ailments and diseases, there is no evidence in the contrary. Personally, I choose to believe in the magical “medicinal” powers of hops … and something tells me you will want to as well!

So go grab yourself the biggest, hoppiest double IPA you can find and drink to the medicinal uses of my favorite magical herb – HOPS! Cheers!

First off, hops is a sedative. It has been proven useful in treating insomnia and nervous tension. Traditionally, hop filled pillows were used for inducing sleep.

Due to its strong anti-spasmodic actions hops also effectively relieves muscular spasms and cases of colic in the gut.

Hops is also used for treating coughs, bladder ailments, and liver ailments. Hops has been proven as an excellent remedy for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, nervous indigestion, peptic ulcers, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other kinds of stress related digestive problems. In addition, the bitter principles in hops aid in digestion, enhance the action of the liver, and aid in the secretion of bile as well as other digestive juices in the body.

The tannins in hops aid in the quick healing of many types of irritated inflammatory conditions and can treat diarrhea. The strong antiseptic action of the hops helps to relieve infections in the body. Externally it is used to treat itching skin rashes and hives. It has been used to alleviate the pain and inflammation of abscesses, boils, swellings, and neuralgic and rheumatic complaints, as well as to allay skin infections, eczema, herpes and ulcers.

Hops also remove poisons and toxins from the body.

And for all of you who [wrongly] think that beer is a man’s drink – THINK AGAIN! Hops naturally possesses very strong estrogenic action, which makes it an ideal remedy for all sorts of “female” problems. Hops based medications can be used to treat the symptoms of menopause as well as painful and suppressed menstrual periods.

So far so good right? Hops sound like a pretty magical herb, does it not? Well kids, I have saved the BEST remedy for last. Drum roll please …

Due to it having a high content of flavonoids – a form of phtytoestrogens, hops has been proven to have beneficial effects on the female endocrine system. This has led to it becoming a common ingredient in effective natural breast enhancement supplements. It has ACTUALLY been scientifically proven that taking hops alone will encourage breast development. (Doctors even claim drinking lots of beers which are high in hops will help to make breasts grow.)

Now THAT is what I’m talking about! Now I know why I love my IPAs and Double IPAs so much … haha!

Let us revisit basic logic … If beer = hops and hops = boobs, then beer must = boobs. FURTHER evidence that women should drink beer. How about it ladies? I think it is time to trade in your appletinis and wine spritzers for a big ole’ IPA … or at least a weak little pale ale! And if you men know what’s good for you, you will all start encouraging more ladies to embrace the magical powers of hops!

Cheers!