A Bit of Southern Hospitality: Raleigh NC

So I had to rush South for the weekend recently.  Time was short and, as I've bemoaned to the point of becoming a theme on this blog, brewpubs just aren't how they do things in the South.  They just don't.  The brewers brew.  The restaurateurs... er... restaurant?

So one has to go looking.  I looked and I found the Carolina Ale House.  It's a family restaurant / sports bar and grill that basically has a lot of beer.  Nothing special, but nothing to complain about either.

I focused on beers from North Carolina and this is the sample I came up with:

Big Boss Brewing - Bad Penny: This is a dark ale from a local Raleigh brewery.  There was a light, sweet caramel aroma.  The flavors were on the light side.  A kind of bitter, woody flavor mixed with a bit of roasted malt and caramel sweetness.  Herbal, floral hops came in toward the end and gave this beer a dry finish.

Red Oak Brewing: Red Oak Lager: Red Oak is all about simplicity.  There are breweries that churn out a multitude of different beers that leaves malt heads staring at beer menu like a child that's been told he can have all the candy.  Red Oak has two.  One of those is their German Lager.  I  picked up a very light fruit aroma.  The fruit sweetness continued on the top of the flavor with a tiny hint of noble hops in the back.  Very refreshing session beer.

Foothills Brewing Company - Foothills Torch Pilsner:  A light lager from the next town over.  This beer was surprisingly heavy on the hops for a style that tends to favor the light flavors.  There seemed to be very little malt here so the lemongrass, herbal flavor from the hops were kind of allowed to run the show.  I liked it for the fact that it had a decent amount of flavor, but the hops could be scaled back a tad.

Pints at the Station: Baltimore, Maryland

Way out on the East Coast and Baltimore this week.  I was banished to the suburbs this time, but it put me close to a nice little restaurant and brewpub that might normally be too far out to make the trip worthwhile.

The Redbrick Station is mostly a grill and bar type restaurant.  I don't know if beer is really their specialty, it was good, but it didn't seem to be the focus.  It was good, but not spectacular.  The beer was more or less what you would expect from the styles although they did have a cask conditioned beer available, so that's a pretty big mark in their favor.

I would both recommend and warn against the fish and chips here.  They are awesome.  At the same time they pile the plate high with french fries and big-old cuts of battered fish.  If you missed lunch, like I did that day, you might be tempted to eat the whole thing.  It was delicious, but it did create a gastronomical adventure later in the evening.

I guess, what i am saying, enjoy in moderation.

Now, the beer.

Honey Go Light: A light honey ale that makes the honey known in a very pleasing aroma.  The dry, sweet flavor is fairly prominent off the top followed by bread flavors and a fizzy mouthfeel.  As light ales go, this was pretty good.  Probably not something to reach for everyday, but refreshing when summer starts cranking the heat up,

Avenue Ale: There was a very light citrus aroma here.  I could detect the hops in the aroma, but not nearly as much in the flavor.  There was some slightly roasted, bread and malt flavor.  The citrus was there but overall this beer just didn't have the flavor I like in a pale.

Something Red: No aroma I could detect here.  The flavor was first dominated by malty flavors with hints of dark cherry fruit.  Pine and floral hops started very, very light and slowly climbed to give the beer a dry, bitter flavor.

Cask Conditioned Red Ale: The same beer as above served just below room temperature and naturally carbonated.  This really brought out a malty aroma that just wasn't there before.  There was a little bit of caramel sweetness with the malt and dark cherry in the flavor.  There was more sweetness here, but the hops still managed to cut through it at the end.

Daily Crisis IPA: Just a hint of citrus in the aroma.  As far as IPA's go this was a bit different.  First there is lots of light malt but almost no hops.  You have to wait a bit.  Give it a few seconds.  Keep waiting... hold... there it is.  Pine and floral hops eventually show up almost after the rest of the flavor has already passed.  I enjoyed it to a certain degree but I think those who really, really like an IPA would find this disappointing and they would probably be right to think that.

Spooners Stout: Intense coffee aroma here.  Kind of a drier Guinness clone although I did get hints of chocolate peaking out from the creamy roasted grain flavor.

Scotch Ale: This packed a hell of a hop wallop for the style. Sweet roasted malt with light cherry fruit carried most of the flavor but there was a very distinct pine bitterness.

The Bounty Part 2: The Others

Okay, so I wasn't quite done with Layffette Brewing Company.  As I said last week, their beer is pretty much awesome and it is plentiful.  However, if for some reason some person were to glance up at their beer board and dismiss it with both a 'phooey' and maybe even a 'pesha' you do have options.

Oh so many options.

Since I already drank my way through what they had to offer, I went back to wade farther into Indiana beer. 

Sun King - Sunlight Cream Ale: This was the last of Sun King's regular brews I hadn't gotten my hands on.  I talked about the Osiris IPA and the Wee Mac in a previous post.  I picked up a sweet lemon grass aroma.  True to the nature of a cream ale, it had some extra body and a good dose of sweet cream flavor.  There was maybe a hint of citrus in the back, but mostly pretty much what you would expect from the style.  Not bad in any sense, but lacks a bit of complexity.

Triton Brewing Company - Rail Splitter: A flagship IPA from another Indianapolis brewery that appeared on my radar.  I picked up citrus hops on the aroma and really, really picked it up in the flavor.  The floral and citrus was pretty intense but is was tempered to a certain degree by some caramel malt.  Hoppy IPA, but not so much that it can only be enjoyed by someone who can check the IBU's in their bloodstream.

Flat 12 Bierwerks - Pogues Run Porter: A regular brew from another Indianapolis Brewery that appeared on my radar (The damn things must be breeding somehow). The name of this porter tips its hat to the British working-class origins of the style.  The name and label also appear to be a shout-out to Shane McGowen of the Pogues.   I'm not a hundred percent sure but I'll let you be the judge:

If nothing else, a reminder to floss regularly.

Anyway, I liked the licorice, coffee aroma on this beer.  Lots of that same bitter coffee as well as some chocolate make this a pretty typical porter.  A decent amount of wood and pine hops add just a hint of complexity that give it a something extra. A typical porter with a kick, you might say.

And with the above image forever burned into your brain, that's it for Indiana for now... I swear.  At least for a week.  Maybe more.  We will see.

Cheers.

The Bounty: Lafayette Brewing Company

Maybe it's the disturbing amount of time I've spent here over the years, but I find that Indiana is a little-known gem in the world of awesome grain-based beverages.  Every time I find myself wandering this weird little state in the middle of the country looking for beer, I find it.  And every time I figure that, this time, I'm probably getting to the bottom of the barrel.  When I come back, I realize that there is more beer underneath.

For today's post I had to venture far from the welcoming lights of Indianapolis, but not too far.

Lafayette Brewing boasts award winning beers brewed locally.  Not exactly a unique stance for a local brewery, but well deserved in any case.  The first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of different styles they had available during my visit.  There's something about staring down at three sampler trays that makes you slowly push your car keys to the other side of the table and steel yourself for a long battle.

They were plentiful and, for the most part, they were excellent.  As I go through the line there were, I think two that really didn't resonate.  Really, I don't think they were bad as much as I don't think they weren't as good as their siblings.

Overall I was impressed.   There's a bunch to talk about, so let's not stand on ceremony.  Time to pull up a pint... or two...

...or twelve.

HMS Porter: Pretty standard charcoal and coffee aroma that hides something a bit unusual for a porter. The flavor is heavy on some bitter herbal hops with some bitter coffee flavors that blend surprisingly well. The flavors are propped up with some creamy sweetness that leads to a very nice and rather complex porter.

East Side Bitter:  I couldn't pick up much of an aroma here. This turned out to be a pretty simple, nice session beer. Toasty caramel sweetness with a bitter herbal back.  Nothing earth shattering but very nice.

Black Angus Oatmeal Stout: I picked up a little liquorice on the aroma here.  The flavor had lots of bitter for a stout beer. I picked up lots of smoky, woody flavors along with a pretty heavy herbal flavor.

Take Flight APA: American Pale with a heavy citrus floral aroma.  This is one of the few I didn't really dig since it was pretty heavy on the hops dancing dangerously close to triggering a hop bomb. It would be okay for an IPA but it was too much for a pale.

Electric Oatmeal Stout:  They do love their oatmeal here.  This also presented with a woody aroma, but the flavor and mouthfeel were much smoother.  This stayed on the sweeter side of the equation and mixed the woody leather flavors with some coffee and sweet chocolate.  Nice contrast to the Black Angus.

Cask Aged Hazelnut HMS Porter: I picked up a very light herbal aroma here, a different variation from it's draught brother. The flavor was also richer with a heavy dose of vanilla to mix with the coffee and chocolate with very little to none of the bitterness shown from the last.

Tippecanoe Common Ale: Light hoppy aroma here.  This the hop bill on this one was similar to the pale although not half as intense.  The citrusy, floral hops and the light malt made this one feel more like a pale.

Marley VSOP:  There was some debate on the meaning of the acronym, VSOP.  I don't think two members of the bar staff gave me the same answer.  It's a very special... something or other at any rate.  The light chocolate aroma of this dark beer was very nice, but the flavor was quite complex.  I picked up hints of coffee, chocolate, red wine flavor and the slight bit of herbs and vanilla.

Star City Lager: Now for something completely different, a light beer with a hint of hops in the aroma.  There was nothing much light in the flavor, however.   There were some sweet, bread flavors right off the top with some grassy pine hops that follow fast and hard and made for a surprisingly flavorful light beer. 

Bumpy face Agave Wheat Wine: This is where things got interesting.  The aroma had just a bit of sweet, light fruit that I could just sit and smell all day.  I picked up apple, pear in the heavy-bodied light malt and it finished with a touch of citrusy floral hops.  

Otis Brown:  Actually I lied.  I don't know if it was the heavy flavors from the bumpy face or if the last two beers in the sample were just kinda.... meh, but it tapered off here at the end.   This brown ale had no aroma I could find.  Light sweet caramel flavor with a medium body and that's all one can really say about it.  It avoided being watery which is so often the hazard with this style, I'll give it that.

Phantom Sun:  No aroma again.  This beer combined some sweet toasty flavors with a decent amount of   citrus floral hops.

I made it through.  Was sober enough for a pint of the Bumpy Face before it was time to venture into that good night.

I woke up three days later with this blog post scrawled on a hobo's chest.  He didn't seem to mind.

Under the Empyrian Skyes: Lincoln NE

Empyrean Brewery, for me, is like that next door neighbor I never really got to know.  He waves when he's nearby we exchange a few words about the weather, but I never really got to know him and I never asked about the strange lights and sounds in his garage at 3am.  It's high time I packed a six pack, knocked on his door and introduced myself.

Empyrean is a bit of a staple of the Nebraska brew scene, such as it is.  The Midwest have been slow adopters, but Empyrean has one of those leading the way.  I've run into them once or twice but I've really not had the chance to see what they've been getting up to in Lincoln.  Here's a closer look.

Besides bottles at the local beer store, the place to get some Empyrean goodness is at Lazlo's Brewery and Grille, which confused the hell out of me.  To speak true, I never intended to visit Empyrean.  I would have liked to, but I couldn't find them anywhere in Lincoln.  Found a brewery called Lazlo's that looked good, and then it turns out they are one in the same entity.  Why not call their taproom Empyrean Brewery and Grille?  Only the gods and the head brewer know for sure. 

Chaco Canyon Gold:  Light beer with a slightly honey sweet aroma and flavor. It finishes just slightly dry and has a nice flavor for a light beer.

Burning Skye Scottish: I've had this before but, just for kicks, I'm reviewing it again to see how much my perception has changed over the years.  I couldn't pick up any aroma on this beer.  The flavor was bready with a light caramel sweetness too it.  I picked up hints of mocha and dark cherry as well.  Although it's hard to tell, it tastes light and slightly watery for the style with a fizzy mouthfeel.

Luna Sea ESB:  There was just the slightest hint of pine on the aroma.  The flavor was dominated by light roasted grain and caramel sweetness but there were some pine hops that stuck their head out a little at the end for a slightly dry finish.

Third Stone Brown: I was just able to pick up some sweet caramel aroma on this beer.  The flavor was sweet with roasted grain, bread and maybe just a touch of coffee to bitter things up a tad.

Watch Man IPA:  It came with a pretty standard citrus and floral hop aroma.  The flavor was an example of an IPA done right.  There is a decent amount of back-of-the-throat bitterness but it comes with a tone of citrus, pine and floral flavors that are powerful but not overpowering. 

Dark Side Vanilla Porter:  No aroma I could detect.  The flavor is pretty much as advertised. Strong vanilla flavor that dominates the palate with some coffee and chocolate thrown in for good measure.

Collapsar Oatmeal Stout: Nitruos stout with a nice woody aroma. The beer was definitely on the sweet side, but it was hard to pin down.   I picked up some wood, coffee and chocolate flavors but it was so smooth it disappeared almost as fast as it appeared.  Before I knew it, my sample was gone.  This is one of those beers that's almost dangerously drinkable.  Nitrous often has that effect as does oatmeal, which probably explains why this goes down so easy.

Fallen Angel Sweet Stout:  I couldn't pick up any aroma on this. It was very drinkable, not as much as the Collapsar, but in the ballpark.  Flavor was pretty straight forward, though.  Mocha, coffee, roasted grains... not much else to say.

Three Floyds, Two Brothers and an Old Dominion in a Pear Tree.

This is one of those posts that... isn't so much written as gathered.  Normally I find a brewery, have as many samples as I can stomach and really get into their guttyworks.  Sometimes that is not possible to do.  Sometimes I'm in a hurry to get to the next city.  Sometimes I happen upon a random beer in a random bar that I don't know what to do with.
So what follows is sort of a collection.  By themselves, I don't feel they have enough meat to equal a full post.  So they've been mashed together.  We have a couple of beers from 3floyds, a couple from Old Dominion and something from Two Brothers thrown in for good measure.

3Floyds:
I managed to get my hands on some Gumballhead from this brewery a little while back and I've been stalking this weird Indiana Brewery ever since.

Zombie Dust: In the bars and taverns of Indiana this is a beer spoken with a certain reverence usually reserved for a Deity of some kind or another.  It's one of those beer that is a challenge to even taste since it has a tendency to fly off the shelf the minute it arrives.  Luckily, I know some people.  Well one person, but he is a fellow traveler and a good human.  If you are reading Patrick, thanks again. 
Anyway I picked up a lot of fruity malt on the top of this beer in the form of pear, berry and light citrus.  This serves a a base for an impressive hop bill that brings a lot of citrus along with some spicy, floral hops.  Worthy of the hype?  Not sure.  But for a heavily hopped beer, I really enjoyed it.

Alpha King:  Flagship beer of 3Floyds.  I loved the citrusy floral aroma on this beer. These qualities are well-balanced with the malt and the result is a nice, drinkable beer with a lot of flavor and a little kick.

Two Brothers

Domaine DuPage: This beer is described by the brewery as a 'French Country Ale'.  I picked up a touch of hops on the aroma.  It's got a medium body with a light toasty sweetness right before a slightly bitter, herbal finish.  Nice beer, but nothing much to set it apart from every other amber ale.

Old Dominion: Another brewery from the surprisingly beer-fueled state of Delaware that I managed to find just outside of D.C.

Pale Ale: I picked up some spicy hops on the aroma from this beer.  Definitely a hoppy beer, but it has enough flavor to hold against the pure back-of-the-throat bitterness.  I picked up a lot of spice and pine on the flavor.  It finishes quite dry but without that lingering hop character.

Oak Barrel Stout: There was a very light sweet fruit aroma on this beer.  I picked up a lot of wood on the flavor along with some leather and a touch of caramel sweetness.  This beer was harder to pin down because the flavor is truly complex and the flavor hits hard and almost disappears. 

Pure Louisiana: Abita Brewing

I've talked about them before.  Okay, I've talked about them once when I managed to spirit away a bottle of their special Marti Gras brew.   But given my semi periodic trips to the Crescent city, it's kind of surprising that I hadn't talked about Abita brewing at any length. Well I'm gonna now.  It's happening...
yep...
any moment now...

Here's the deal.  Abita is to the South as Boulevard is to the Midwest or New Belgium is to the West or what Sam Adams is to... well the entire freaking country.  You find it out and around and for good reason, it's pretty good.

Like the breweries mentioned above, they have a flagship beer that is the go-to for most microbrew lovers in the area.  The Abita Amber is a fairly typical, slightly malty light amber ale in the same spirit as a Fat Tire.  It's got some mild roasted, nutty notes with just a hint of hops in the back that makes for a decent beer to sink in large quantities.  Best of all, it's available at just about any bar in Louisiana and elsewhere in the South.   That being said, I had the chance to track down some of their other beers during my last visit and this is what I came up with.

Jockamo IPA: The quasi-masochistic hop-heads from the Pacific Northwest would probably make farty sounds towards this IPA.  It doesn't come at you with that intense bitter flavor that is associated with the style.  It's aroma actually has some fruit notes alongside the tell-tale citrus.  There is some spicy, citrus hops but they kind of float on a tide of heavy, fruity malt sweetness.  It's a little out of sorts for the style, but a pleasant beer anyway.

Purple Haze: Raspberry beer and pretty decidedly so.  Lots of sweet fruit on the aroma and even more packed into the flavor.  A little too much for my tastes.

Hop Gator: The bartender at Lagers Taproom didn't know what kind of beer this was.  BeerAdvocate even seems to fumble over itself when it comes time to classify this.  It starts off with a very, very light spicy aroma.  The flavor reminded me much more of a pepper beer then anything else.  The green chili is especially pronounced at first, but it slowly melds into a more herbal hoppy finish.

SOS: This is a beer brewed to help the continuing cleaning efforts on the gulf coast (yes... they are still at it.  Thank you BP, good work).  A sweet, fruity pear flavor dominates this beer right off the top.  The finish is a little on the dry side with the hops adding a woody, pine flavor.  The two different flavor profiles actually clash rather nicely in this beer.

Andygator: Finishing with a specialty brew.  This is a helles dopplebock with a very light roasted aroma.  It's a big-bodied smooth beer that has some light, sweet toasted flavors that leads to a very drinkable beer.  What it's really doing, however, is skillfully hiding the upwards of 8% alcohol.  It's one of those beers that can be classified as dangerous.  You can drink a lot, yes you can.  And you can wake up with an imprint of the bathroom floor on the side of your face.  That's how they do things in Louisiana... so I am told.