Craft Beer NYC

Another selection from the Ancient Ale series that won't be available again until September 2015, so grab what you can if you see it on the shelves at your nearest market.   Using the scientific expertise of biomolecular archaeologist, Dr. Patrick McGovern, they re-created a Scandinavian beer recipe recovered from a drinking vessel found in the tomb of 3,500 year old Danish woman.  The original ingredients included wheat, lingonberries, cranberries, myrica gale, yarrow, honey, and birch syrup.   Before hops were widely used in the beer process, herbs like myrica gale were used across Europe to create the bitter tasting notes.  Prior to grains, the ancient brew masters had to use alternative sources of fermentable sugars.   In this speciality beer, they counteract the honey and syrup with small amounts of hops in this recreation of the original ancient recipe.  Gruit is the name of a herb mixture of myrica gale, yarrow and other various herbs that sometime i...

The Boulder Beer Company is the oldest craft brewery in Colorado.  Founded in 1979, Boulder has established many green tactics in their facility to be environmentally friendly, including using vegetable oil ink for their labels and encouraging employees to bike to work.  This new addition to their seasonal line showed up in my monthly beer delivery.  The base of this beer starts with with a nice red ale that is made with a blend of 5 malts and then hopped with Horizon hops perfectly fitted for the cold weather season.  The northwest hops bring some pine infused tasting notes to this winter IPA that mixes well with the nice dark red pour.  I recommend this one for a nice cold day in the northeast. Food Pairings:  BBQ Chicken and Lamb Burgers 6.4% ABV 7.5/10 Colorado Rockies http://www.boulderbeer.com/beers/slope-style-winter-ipa

This seasonal offering from Harpoon combines the great holiday classic gingerbread with a cinnamon and clove spiced wheat beer.   The Gingerland pours with a cloudy orange hazy that provides a mild ginger zest.  One of the 6 selections from Harpoon that are branded under their UFO line- "Unfiltered Offering".   The tasting notes of the gingerbread are actually too mild to provide a signature unique aromatic experience.  The traditional wheat notes still overpower the ginger, which given the special promotion and branding is a slight disappointment. 5.2% ABV 6.5 out of 10 Boston Gingerbread Men http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/beer/368698/ufo-gingerland

The Dupont brewery is located in Tourpes, in the West-Hainaut region of Belgium.   This farmhouse ale is produced on a 18th century working farm that dates back to 1759.  The current brewery has been functioning there since 1950.   The origins of a "Saison" date back to the 18th and 19th century when the beer was brewed in the winter and was strong enough to make it through the summer where seasonal workers on the farm could enjoy and quench their thirst without modern refrigeration to keep everything fresh.  The Dupont yeast can be fermented at very high temperature, and this one is able to be bottle conditioned with think glass to withstand a heavy amount of carbonation that ages nicely over time.  The unfiltered nature creates a cloudy pour and a medium body of tasting notes unveil a spicy finish, but maintains the bouquet of flavor that is such a signature of the farmhouse ales, almost a candy-like fruity aroma. 6.5% ABV 8.0/10

Another superb offering from the team in San Francisco behind the infamous prohibition ale.   This Red Rye Ale is like drinking velvet, the type of velvet that George would drape himself in.   The subtle tasting notes of caramel, toffee, and chocolate give a nice supplement to the deep red flavored pour.   There is also a nice spicy peppery edge, which delivers a nice punch to the rye aroma.   Relive the Jazz era and pick up a Scarlett in your neighborhood market today! Food Pairing:  NYC Old School Reuben Movie Pairing:  Cotton Club 5.5% ABV 8.0/10 http://www.goodbeer.com/theusualsuspects

Long Trail has been in the brewing business since 1989.   They were one of the earliest breweries in Vermont to be part of the craft beer movement in the late 80's and early 90's across the country, especially in New England.  The Brush and Barrel series is a unique collection where local artists come together with the brewers of Long Trail to create a collaboration of fine art and craft brewing.  They simultaneously have an artist create the imagery for the label and bottles as they developed the recipe for the special release.  The goal is to have the artists and brewers drawn inspiration from one each other.    Imperial Pumpkin is designed by Jess Polanshek, an illustrator from Cambridge, Vermont who focuses her work on the surreal or fantastical imagery inspired by the Green Mountain State.  The brew master in charge of the Imperial Pumpkin was Dave Hartmann who joined Long Trail in 1992.  The beer also deserves some attention,  a limited...

Its almost Christmas time and The Mad Elf continues to live on in the spirit of this ruby red seasonal ale.  A bouquet of honey and cherries, this jolly entry creates a decadent masterpiece for the holidays.  I question whether or not this should be a year round offering, but then the Mad Elves might run out of power.   It's best to savor this one between October and December, and hopefully there will be some left over in January for new year's indulging. Movie Pairing:  Fred Claus 11.0% ABV 9.0/10 check out more on Troegs Brewing https://troegs.com