Of Leopards and Supersonic Jets

 Beer #151 Liopard Oir / Lavery Brewing Company, Erie, PA

Spent every free minute at work today (all six of them) working to book hotels for our upcoming vacation.  Found a sweet, sweet deal on a resort undergoing renovations and offering cut rate prices to keep guests there.  Considering that I only plan to sleep & shower in the room and spend the rest of the time at the beach, eating fish tacos, or relaxing at brew pubs, renovations to the lobby and whatever else they're fixing are irrelevant to me.  Thanks, internet!

With dreams of summer in mind, tonight's farmhouse ale comes from another Pennsylvania brewery, Lavery.  Was expecting good things from this beer the minute I read it was brewed with brettanomyces, and it didn't disappoint.  Poured a clear, effervescent gold with a wispy white head.  On the nose, you get subtle aromas of yeast and lemon, and from the first sip you can pick up flavors of lemon, bread, grass, and a mellow spice finish, and the brett adds a nice crisp tartness.  Very good beer, particularly for summer.

I know you've all been dazzled by my ability to learn & speak Dutch, but I'll throw some Irish out there for you as well, as this beer translates from the Irish words for "gold leopard."  Would love to get another bottle to let it age in the cellar, but sometimes beer is tasty and I can't delay gratification, so aging a few bottles is not likely to happen.  Lavery is another relative newcomer on the scene, opening their doors in 2009.  Best thing ever to come out of Erie?  As I don't know of many other things to come out of Erie, I'll go ahead and declare "yes."

Thing to Think About Today:
While this brewery is from Erie, the name is Irish, and if we're thinking Irish it's about time you all started thinking about a fantastic band out of Ireland.  No, not U2.  I'm talking about Bell X1.  No, not the supersonic jet, the super awesome band named after said supersonic jet.  This band sounds like the mellow love child of the Talking Heads, which is good as I'm an enormous Talking Heads fan.  Smart lyrics, soulful message, catchy songs.  Don't take my word for it, check out their album Blue Lights on the Runway, and this song, The Great Defector:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_SoCCIVCwc

"I love the way your underwire bra/always sets off that x-ray machine"

Beer 151: Lavery Farmhouse Ale

I'm embarassed to be an American.

The rights I have should be the same rights that any American has regardless of sexual orientation.  I'm also absolutely exhausted by the mixing of politics and religion.  I don't shove my atheism down your throat.  Don't shove your christianity down my throat. 

Why can't everyone subscribe to the "Don't Be a Dick" philosophy of life?  I fear that it's not going to get better.  I fear that it's going to get much, much worse before we can even think about it getting better.

***

And on that uplifting thought, it's time for beer.  Tonight we opened a Lavery Brewing Company farmhouse ale -- the Liopard Oir.  Lavery is a Pennsylvanian like me.  At this moment, I'm kind of happy that I share the Commonwealth with them because this is a pretty good beer.  The Liopard Oir is brewed with barley, wheat, rye, oats and corn and hopped with locally sourced hops.  It's bottled with Brettanomyces - and everyone now:   That's a good thing in my book!  Brett provides a great tartness to a beer.

In case you were wondering about a translation of Liopard Oir, it means gold leopard.  The label states that represents for Lavery the long history of brewers and their close relationship to the land.  I'm also going to assume it has something to do with the lovely golden hue of this beer.

This farmhouse ale poured golden and cloudy and has lots of carbonation.  The white head disappeared pretty quickly but is leaving lots of lacing behind.  A good swirl of my glass releases that Brett smell - tart and tangy and a touch of lemon.  The flavor is biscuit, citrus, a little hop bite and a touch of funk.  It drinks with a full mouthfeel but finishes crisp.

Overall this is a terrific beer.  Cheers!