I admit freely, have admitted it
freely for years, I am a wino. (I often
like to spell it wineaux…it makes me feel better.) I enjoy a glass of wine multiple nights a
week with dinner. I love new and
different wines when I find them. I love
experiencing the culture of wine, learning about wine, and teaching about
wine. But lately…lately…I have been
neglecting my lover wine and spending a bit more time with beer…and as a friend pointed out, it is as if I
am cheating on wine! The first weekend
in May I led a Brinery Tour through the Black Hills, enjoying both wine and
beer (see blog post below). This past
weekend, a group of friends and I went to Fort Collins, known as the Napa of
Beer, to attend a private beer tasting there with Lauren Hoff, founder of the blog
with the same name—Napa of Beer. Lauren,
knowing I was a wineaux, focused the very unique tasting on “Beer for Wine
Lovers.” Then we tried some truly
one-of-a-kind beers.
Beer One: Funwerks Saison—This beer was produced right
in Fort Collins, though I have not visited Funwerks yet. Saison beers were originally brewed for farm hands to drink in the
French speaking areas of Belgium. Special yeasts were used that made this beer
sweet and smooth with “funky” flavors.
It had a light straw color, and at 30 IBUs (International Bitterness
Units) was considered not overly bitter.
This was my friend, and fellow beer taster, Jody’s favorite beer of the
six.
Though not sipping the Saison, Jody and Michelle enjoying the tasting.
Beer Two: NoLi Born and Raised IPA—India Pale Ales like
this beer are known for their bitterness from the hops used during production,
and the NoLi was no exception. Its score
of 80 on the IBU scale shows the “hoppiness” in the drink. However, people--like my hubby--who love IPAs,
love the hoppy bitterness. This second
beer was his favorite in the tasting. The
brew master who makes NoLi beers got his start in Fort Collins, then took his
talents to Washington to start his own brewery.
It was made in Spokane, and all the materials used came from within 200
miles of the brewery.
NoLi Born and Raised IPA.
Beer Three: Midas Touch Clone—When King Midas’s tomb was
discovered, beer was found buried with him.
Scientists and beer enthusiasts have broken down the ingredients in the
beers found, and this mix of beer, mead, and grapes was a clone of the ancient
beer. (Many ancient beers have been
scientifically mapped and then recreated in modern breweries. Who knew?!)
The hobbiest brewmaster who brewed this beer, Matthew Burton, was on
hand for our tasting. He brews in his
garage in his spare time; this particular beer he aged for four years, mostly
in bottle. I enjoyed the mix of the wine
and beer world in this taster; the mead (honey wine) was evident on the
palette. This brew was my favorite. I drank another glass later in the tasting
and found I liked it even more when it had warmed up a few degrees. (This is usually the exact opposite of how I
feel about beer: I want it colder than
cold can get.)
Midas Touch King Clone.
Beer Four: Blue Moon Impulse—The only beer we had that
was not technically from a craft brewery (must be small and independently
owned), Coors produced the Blue Moon Impulse.
It was a combination of wheat beer and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes as part
of the Vintage Ale series combining beer and wine. This beer was lighter, sweeter, and softer
than any of the others. To me it was
reminiscent of church wine with some carbonation. However, many liked the softer style that
wasn’t beer-like or wine-like. My sister
enjoyed this one; it was her favorite.
Beer Five: Odell Amuste—Odell Brewery’s community room
played host (with Lauren and Matthew) to our private tasting, and this fifth
beer represented the host brewery well.
Amuste was an imperial porter aged for two years in oak barrels with
Tempranillo grape juice sourced from the western slope of Colorado. Beautifully brown in color, the porter showed
hints of coffee and chocolate. It was a
very robust beer, and my Fort Collins friend Rhonda especially enjoyed this
one.
O'Dell's Amuste porter.
Beer Six:
Solera Old Ale—A second project from one of our tasting hosts Matthew,
Solera started as a group barrel with multiple brew masters adding ingredients
to create a sour ale. From 2008 to 2011,
ten gallons were removed from the barrel for consumption each year, and ten
more gallons of new brew were added. Our
batch was pulled in 2011, and not long after, the entire barrel was emptied for
use. What that meant was we were truly
drinking an exclusive beer. Many thought
this was too bitter for them, but it was actually my second favorite beer of
the tasting. This wine lover found I
actually liked the beers MOST that tasted the LEAST like beer. Go figure.
With Lauren and Matthew--thank you both!
Though I don’t usually drink beer,
I love the whole culture behind the microbrew and craft beer industry. People are fun, friendly, and accessible,
while the brewery tasting rooms are noisy, boisterous, and vibrant…all
qualities I enjoy. Lauren taught us how
to taste beer, and though there are similarities to wine tasting, there were
unique aspects just for beer. Sometimes
I think the wine world can be too stuffy and pretentious; the craft beer world takes
this stuffiness and laughs in its face!
I don’t see myself ending my love affair with wine anytime soon;
however, I truly enjoyed our beer tasting and learning even more about beer. I may “cheat” on wine periodically to get my
fill of the alternative, and entertaining, culture of beer!
Our group enjoying our private tasting.
