When Things Go Badly - Creme Brulee by Southern Tier Brewing Company

Sometimes a perfectly good idea seems wonderful on paper, but in reality it just blow chunks. It seems like such a perfect combination. Creme brulee, one of the very hearts of a Parisian dessert, is a staple of life. Not just in Paris, but everywhere one goes and expects a dessert, creme brulee is surely on the menu. So it would make sense to create a beer to duplicate the taste. Hmm, it starts the mind to thinking...

Creme Brulee

It should start with "Are you nuts?" Creme brulee tastes nothing like beer. Not a milky sweet stout to say the least, where you are fending off bold malts from the hearts of creams that are at center of creme brulee. But Southern Tier Brewing Company said "ah, we know how to do it" and set about creating a chemical bath that would simulate creme brulee in a beer mug.  Now Southern Tier Brewing Company has done some tough brews in the past and has made them sing - Anyone remember Mokah? - but there was something wrong with the Creme Brulee.

The deficient batch that they came up with is only half of the story to creating creme brulee. It actually smells like it in the glass, which is impressive, but it all goes down hill from there. The second part is just a mish-mash and turns the mix wickedly disappointing. The end is symptomatic of the whole experience - crashing and burning - as the drinker is gulping their way through the sourly tainted end. The best feeling is when the last bit is imbibed and the glass is empty.

The question becomes did Southern Tier Brewing do something by intention or was it the way the way it was prepared in the bar? Southern Tier has been serving this mixture since 2008 and that should be enough time to work the bugs out of it. The bar was Del Rey Pizza and they have served plenty of beer with success on their watch. But there were plenty of termites in this batch for everyone. Southern Tier Brewing Company or Del Rey Pizza - whom do we point the finger?

Creme Brulee by Southern Tier Brewing Company is a 10% ABV and has a serving temperature of 48 degrees.  The yeast is ale yeast, four malts, two hops, vanilla and lactose sugar.

Skal!
Brian

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Cold Press Coffee Porter Nitro by Flying Dog

Just when you think you have seen everything, these guys from Flying Dog come up with something new. Something new and oh so good. Brewhouse Rarities Cold Press Coffee Porter Nitro is what it is called and it has something nice and tasty in each syllable of its name.

Cold Press Coffee Porter Nitro

Lets start with cold press coffee. Though beer is supposed to be cold, the idea of cold coffee and beer have been slow to take off. But here, cold beer and coffee have finally found their coming together. You can actually taste the coffee in the beer, though there appears to be none of the ingredients on the list. Porter is a natural uptake of this brand of beer, but has been a second tier to stout in that category. However, stout is too strong in this mix and porter is a better natural alternative. Finally, nitro is a fine alternative to carbon dioxide and warrants the extra expense for employing it here.

When the three are put together, you get dark, rich, cold coffee, a nice employment of porter, and with the all the fineries of nitro. It is actually calling you to take a second cup (there probably should be a discussion of whether it should be served in beer sized tastings) and that is always good. Yes, it is as good as the last cup.

Brewhouse Rarities Cold Press Coffee Porter Nitro is 6% ABV and hop bitterness 15 IBU. Specialty hops include roasted barley, chocolate, and black barley. Hops are Perle and yeast is American Ale.

Skal!
Brian

Too Many Cooks by South Street, Wild Wolf Devils Backbone, Starr Hill and Blue Mountain

Too Many Cooks

Too Many Cooks by South Street, Wild Wolf, Devils Backbone, Starr Hill, and Blue Mountain is just that - too many cooks. The result is it is carrying too much junk (like water) and too little flavor. Maybe a few less cooks could find a way to decrease what it is carrying, but until they do, this will be continue to be sub-par.