Beer 183: Summerfest and a Big Shout Out to Gary and Kel!

I am way impressed by the mad running skills and dedication of Gary and Kelli as they kicked ass at a hilly, woodsy 5K today. It was probably about 90 degrees when the race started and I'm pretty sure it was uphill both ways. I was spent carrying their water bottles. How they didn't keel over immediately after finishing is beyond me.

We celebrated with beer. Lots of beer. Beer at Victory Brewing, beer at TJ's Everyday. Perhaps more beer at home.


All that celebration resulted in tonight's beer review...Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. I think Sierra Nevada likes to make hoppy beer just because they can. Is that a California thing? I hope not. I'm not a fan of the "punch you in the neck, it's so hoppy" kind of beer.

The Summerfest is a crisp summer lager coming in at 5% ABV. It poured a clear golden color with a thin white head. It smelled of wheat and non-descript beer aroma. The taste was citrus, malt with a big hop tanginess. It's a good beer but not a style I gravitate toward.

Cheers!

Beer 180: Shiner Ruby Redbird, Marci Smash

Confession. I am in a piss poor mood. I currently hate the world and I'm pretty sure the world has it in for me. I just want to scream bugger off and go hide under my blanket.

My beer is not as cold as it should be. I managed not to orchestrate its migration from basement beer shelf to the fridge. I've been thinking about this beer since about 4:30 p.m. when the third half of my day began. (You know it's a long day when it has three halves.) So that is disappointing in an exponential way.


Into my pint glass went the Shiner Ruby Redbird. It poured a light shade of amber with a very fizzy head that bubbled and fizzled away pretty quickly.

The scent is straight up ginger...pickled ginger. I love ginger, but I'd guess this may not be a beer for everyone. The flavor was very light and at 4% ABV, I could make this a summertime go to beer...if only I could find more than a stray bottle now and then. (Damn you, Pennsylvania and your stupid laws.)

The flavor is grapefruit, ginger and what I believe to be citra hops. It's fruity but quite tart. I really like it!

Cheers!

Yes, Soup For You!

Beer #67 Bittersweet Symphony / Brouwerij t'Gaverhopke, Stasegem, Belgium

After a long day, it's nice to come home and relax.  Which explains why after work I went to Wegman's, then came home and immediately went to work on making soup for dinner.  And no, we're not talking about opening up a can of Campbell's, we're talking about soup from scratch.  Time consuming? Sort of.  Delicious?  Yes.  Rewarding?  Yes.  Easy?  Eh, this one wasn't too bad.  More on that later.

Tonight's beer comes courtesy of a collaboration project between t'Gaverhopke from (surprise!) Belgium and a small American brewery, Tired Hands, which hails from the nearby town of Ardmore.  Tired Hands will get their day in the sun soon enough (with a visit, I hope), but we're crossing t'Gaverhopke off the list today.

I tried this one on draft at The Farmer's Cabinet, and it pours a hazy orange color with a pleasing citrus and yeast aroma.  The taste combined malt and hops, with some citrus notes and a faint hint of caramel.  Really, a very enjoyable beer that I hope to drink more of in the future.  One of the challenges of this beer blog has been when I find a good beer, I might not get to drink it again due to the need to cross breweries off the list. A risk is that really good but temporary collaborations like this one will disappear from existence before I ever get to drink another one.  Say what you want about macro beers, but I can guarantee that Miller Lite is going to not only taste the same, but also be on tap for years to come.  Bittersweet Symphony?  You better drink it while you have the chance....

Things to Think About Today:
Seems too easy to go with the song Bittersweet Symphony from The Verve, right?  I'll skip it and share with you the recipe for tonight's meal, a healthy take on baked potato soup, which we picked up from smittenkitchen.com:

1 head garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white & light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and chopped small
5 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (start with 5 cups, save the extra if you want your soup thinner)
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup sour cream

Let's do it:
1. Rinse the head of garlic to remove dirt/loose skin, cut the top third out and discard.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, then add leeks and cook until soft (but not brown), about 5 minutes
3. Add the garlic head (whole, not chopped), broth, bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.  Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until garlic is very soft.
4. Add potatoes and continue to simmer partially covered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Discard bay leaves and remove garlic head.   If you like garlic, take a few soft cloves and mash them with a fork, then return to the pot
6. Add sour cream, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Use immersion blender (or transfer a portion of potatoes & broth to food processor or blender) and process, leaving chunks of potato for texture.
8. Top with something like chives, shredded cheese, bacon bits, or sour cream (or all of them, or none of them), and serve.  Preferably with beer!

Beer #8: 't Gaverhopke Singing Blond

This blog was almost finished before it started tonight as I nearly choked to death on a deadly combination of spicy soup, a slightly too crisp sandwich wrap and beer. Beer in the nose is painful. So is choking.

A far better way to enjoy 't Gaverhopke Singing Blond Ale does not involve snorting it and I highly recommend drinking it. As I sipped it prior to dinner trying to discern the most notable flavors, I managed to drink almost half the bottle. I'm probably misusing sipping and should admit to gulping. Perhaps I should leave it at it's a great session beer. But per every definition of session beer I read, it mostly certainly is not. This one comes in at 9.8% ABV - nearly double the definition of session. Maybe it's just highly drinkable.

In the glass, it is a slightly cloudy golden liquid...a color I often associate with "Oh yeah, I'm going to like this." And on that note, I'm off to finish my beer and wonder why no one names beer after singing brunettes.