365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Today's beer is the Red White Christmas from Mikkeller,a gypsy brewer based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Red White Christmas was billed as an American strong dark ale at Teresa's Next Door, but further research lists it as an herbed or spiced beer and a hybrid red ale/wit bier. I'm going with the latter as it makes the most sense given the name of the beer.
The Red White pours a hazy chestnut color with a loose cream color head. It smells of citrus hops with a light caramel undertone.
It is hop forward and backward with interesting buttery notes. It has a rich mouth feel. There's a breadlines to it along with savory, not quite pepper spice. Overall quite interesting and very enjoyable.
Mikkeller makes some amazing beer. As a gypsy brewer, he's free to experiment and also to collaborate on a whim and has done so with some great results. The challenge is to find repeats once you like something or simply to get your grubby paws on one. Especially if you live in the very backward state of Pennsylvania.
Beer stats
Style: Hybrid red ale and wit bier
ABV: 8%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Great
Previously reviewed from Mikkeller
Mikkeller / Stillwater collaboration, Our Side from Gary
And one from Marci
Mikkeller / de Struisse collaboration, Elliot Brew
Beer # 63 Our Side / Mikkeller, Copenhagen, Denmark
Another day, another trip into the city for dinner. Some friends are in town for the night, so we're hitting Jose Pistola's for dinner. Will give a full rundown on the experience tomorrow, as the beer list looks inviting.
With dinner on deck for the evening, that leaves us with a cold, snowy afternoon. Clearly, that = drinking. After previously drinking a Mikkeller/De Struise collaboration, it's time to officially and formally cross Mikkeller off the list. Mikkeller is one of the biggest "names" in craft brewing of late, as he's one of the gypsy brewers who spends time traveling and collaborating with other brewers and breweries to create really unique offerings. I chose the Our Side, a project starring Mikkeller and Stillwater. Fairly interesting story - two gypsy brewers meet at a beer festival in Europe and find that they both named their beer Stateside. So, they settle their beef over naming rights old school style, with dueling pistols at 15 paces. BLAM.
Or, at least that's how I would have thrown down. Apparently, these guys figured instead of filing intellectual property lawsuits over the name (and instead of shooting each other), they'd just create a beer together, basically blending the two versions of Stateside into a new beer called Our Side. Definitely an unusual way to form a partnership. If one of these guys were a girl, Hollywood would have already wrapped production on the zany romantic-comedy starring Katherine Heigl. It would be called "I Brew, I Do!" or something asinine that would make women in the 25-40 demographic want to pony up money and drag their boyfriends to the theaters and then torture them about why they aren't married yet.
"You brew a beer called Stateside? So do I!
Let's fall in love and have preposterous and infrequently funny things happen!"
Enough on the back story and Hollywood's obsession with romantic comedies. Let's talk about the beer. There's a mellow hop aroma with citrus and yeast, and the taste is earthy with some pine, and there's a distinct tartness with a peppery finish. Just the right amount of bitterness. Excellent beer, really top notch. This beer would probably earn a seat in the Top 25, but the pepper bite is just a little overpowering. I mean, I'm being obscenely picky here; this beer is straight up delicious. A manageable 7.5% ABV, too.
Things to Think About Today:
We've come to another Saturday night. So, why don't we all think about Cat Stevens and his thoughts on Saturday nights:
Tonight we open a big bottle of a collaboration between Mikkeller and Stillwater -- two gypsy brewers who happened to, independent of knowledge of the other, name their first creations Stateside. The idea of living life as a gypsy brewer is fascinating. Do what you love while traveling the world meeting other beer lovers and making some of the most unique brews out there? How do you not want to quit your day job, pack your bags and hit the road right now?
Mikkel Borg Bjergso and Brian "Stillwater" Strumke later merged their Stateside recipes into a new product that goes by Two Gypsies Our Side. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of trying any of Mikkeller’s other brews but having tried Stillwater’s Stateside, I knew I would definitely like at least half of this one. (Review here.) Trust me, this is collaboration at its finest. I am going to be on the lookout for anything and everything Mikkeller does and that goes without saying when it comes to Stillwater.
After a few nights off, the tulip glass was back in business. This one poured with a frothy thick head. The smell gave off a funky farmhouse yeast fragrance. There is lots of lemon as well. Tasting let the citrus shine through and it was tart but not very dry. I could swear I tasted hints of chardonnay too. There was a pepper kick to the finish and something green and grassy. (Grassy…not gassy!)
Beer #57 Elliot Brew / De Struise Brouwers, Oostvleteren, Belgium
I have something to tell the world: I really don't care much about the Super Bowl. There, I said it.
Like many things that are supposed to be the "most awesomest thing in the history of awesome", the Super Bowl itself never lives up to the hype. It's a bloated six hour commercial with some football sprinkled in when Toyota doesn't need to sell you something. I mean, think of it this way: Madonna is the halftime entertainment. Did I miss the black hole that spun the planet back to 1988? There's no one available more compelling than Madonna? Yes, I'll watch the game. I'll eat some chips and drink a beer (obviously!) and pay attention to the commercials. But I refuse to spend an excess amount of energy or time caring about this nonsense. Now this being said, who's making bets on this year's Puppy Bowl? Anyone taking action on Bud Bowl?
One highlight of the Super Bowl is that beer advertisements are usually among the most entertaining spots of the night. Sadly, the beer isn't quite as interesting as the ads. So, here's a much more interesting beer: Elliot Brew, a collaboration between De Struise and Mikkeller, a highly regarded gypsy brewer. I'm filing it as a beer from De Struise, as they seem to be the lead dog. Or at least, their name comes first. This collaboration brought together two unique perspectives on craft beer to create a double IPA. The beer pours a hazy amber color with an abundant foamy head. A good hop bitterness dominates the flavor, and it has a rich malt taste, with some toffee notes hiding underneath. Definitely a winner, grab one if you can.
Elliot Brew checks in at 9.0% ABV, and it's allegedly the hoppiest beer produced in Belgium. Not sure that I'm qualified to weigh on that distinction, so I'll just put it out there for you to be the judge. I've also seen Tsjeesees, another De Struise beer, on draft in our neighborhood, and I intend to try it when it's available again. There's a bottle from another Mikkeller project in our fridge, so the other half of this combo will get their due soon enough.
Thing to Think About Today:
While everyone is rocking out to the (awful) sounds of the Material Girl, let me suggest you mute the TV and put on some music you can actually enjoy. Today, I encourage you to think about The New Pornographers. A Canadian alt-rock outfit, this band has been churning out critically acclaimed albums since 2000. They're sort of hard to describe - they rock, they have a softer side, they blend harmonies together, they bounce through pop numbers. Maybe that what makes them so appealing? The band is fronted by Carl Newman, with Neko Case adding her amazing voice on most tracks (Full disclosure: I have a crush on Neko Case). This band currently resides on the list of my all-time favorite bands, so there's no way I could just give you one clip today:
