Day 549: The National, Weyerbacher Riserva. What Are Things I Really Like?

Friday night we hit the Mann Music Center for the National show. The band is touring in support of their new album Trouble Will Find Me. While it hasn't been winning acclaim like some of their past albums have, I do highly recommend it.

I like music that stirs emotion and the National does just that. Matt Berninger (lead singer) has a voice that rattles my soul. It's deep, pensive and flows like honey--except when he's given to a bit of screaming. Then it's just raw emotion and I feel like I shouldn't be looking at him/listening to him. Watching him perform is mesmerizing. Where the music seems to flow out of the other members of the National, it's like it's battling with Berninger to get out. Or to stay in...I'm not sure which really.

Mr. Blog Named Brew and I debated whether this was one of the best shows we've seen and I was decidedly on the "YES!" side of that argument. Each song felt weighty...building to a point where it exploded in a fit of joy, anger, mind bending  lyrics and finished leaving me wanting more...waiting excitedly for the next song to start. Sweet release. Over and over. Song after song. 

That desire for more was repeated when I opened up this bottle of Weyerbacher Riserva (2012)--recently named the best new beer at The Philadelphia Inquirer's 2013 Brew-vitational, an annual competition for local beers.

Riserva is an American wild ale with raspberry purée added and aged in oak barrels. As soon as the cork came out of the bottle, I knew I was in for a treat. I believe the first words out of my mouth after the first sip were, "Holy hell this is good!"

It poured a hazy ruby-tinted brown ale with a small pale tan head. It has a fresh fruit smell that isn't sweet..more organic. There's definitely raspberry in the nose and a little wood too. The flavor is tart fruit and tart raspberry specifically. It has lots of prickly carbonation up front, then a little sharpness but it quickly mellows out and gets very smooth. It's fruity and woody and seriously one of the better beers I've had in recent memory. It's going in the top 25!

It also weighs in at a whopping 11.4% ABV. Amazingly you don't notice the booziness at all.

Beer stats
Style: American wild ale
ABV: 11.4%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from Weyerbacher
His review of Riserva, Double Simcoe IPA
My review of Merry Monks

Keeping it Quiet

Day #540 Riserva / Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA
Previously from this brewery: Merry Monks, Double Simcoe IPA

"She said, 'I don't believe in any old Jesus.

And if there was a God, then why is my ass

the perfect height for kicking?"

- Bell X1, Rocky Took a Lover

Frequent readers of this blog may know that I love music.  I like nothing more than finding the right songs for the right mood, and then sharing those finds with everyone either in this blog or through an iPod mix at a party or tailgate.  I enjoy having people comment on the eclectic combinations I put together, and I like surprising people with the song that they absolutely need to hear at just the right moment.

A mix I rarely ever share from is my Quiet Mix; a collection of songs I like to listen to when I want to slow it down, take time to reflect and think, have a pity party and feel bad for myself, or just find a quiet, peaceful place to be alone in between my ears (my brain can be a cluttered, chaotic, noisy place).  The quote above has been running through my head lately; I bring it up in my mind whenever life throws a particularly well timed uppercut that I can't dodge or block.  Just like the quote says, sometimes I feel like I've earned the crap life hands out because my ass is really just the perfect height for kicking.  I don't know where I'm going with this post; I just had that song running through my head and then started typing.  Anyway, everyone should have a Quiet Mix.  If you need some suggestions, I'd be happy to share; I'm always happy to share my thoughts on music.

Tonight I give you Riserva from Weyerbacher, an American Wild Ale aged on raspberries in oak barrels.  Intrigued?  Yes, I believe you are.  This beer has a reddish rose hue with a thin edge of white head.  Out of the bottle, there are aromas tart raspberries, and when you take a sip you get taken away into a happy place with flavors of raspberries and oak, and just the right bit of sourness.  I drink a fair number of beers, and when my first reaction to a sip is, "holy shit!" you can feel comfortable that this is a world class beer.  Riserva beer has a very pleasing carbonation, and it hides a rather potent 11.4% ABV incredibly well.  I was shocked to see the ABV this high, as you don't notice the alcohol whatsoever.  Congratulations to Weyerbacher, as I'm awarding this beer a place in my coveted Top 25 list!

Soooo good!

I'm not the only one to fall in love with this creation.  It was very recently crowned 'Best New Beer' at the Philadelphia Inquirer's 2013 Brew-vitational.  

Thing to Think About Today:

No way I quote this song in the opening paragraph, and then not give you the goods.  I've only shared Bell X1 here in this space once before, but they're a band I enjoy greatly.  If you close your eyes (not now, you're reading), you can hear the Talking Heads influences hiding in there somewhere.  A high compliment from me, indeed.  Enjoy something quiet to unwind from your weekend and find an inner peace before the work week starts again.  Night, friends....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdA-CYwUDJg

"She said I'll shine for you / that's what I'll do"

Beer 109: Weyerbacher’s Merry Monks

Today I was part of something pretty amazing.  I can’t say more than that because I don’t want to jinx a good thing.  But I finally feel like all this hard work may finally pay off.

***

To celebrate I opened a big bottle of Weyerbacher’s Belgian-style golden ale -- Merry Monks.  It poured a cloudy apricot color.  It had a full white head and was very active in the glass.  The scent is sweet and full of an undetermined fruit smell.   The taste was predominantly alcohol, which I found disappointing.  There was also a creamy doughiness to it and cloves.  It drank with a full mouthfeel - sort of creamy (have fun with that one!) - but finished dry.

While this was a perfectly fine beer to drink, I think I prefer some of Weyerbacher’s other offerings:  Verboten, Blanche and the Winter Warmer.  I’m also very intrigued by the Rapture - a sour red ale aged in pinot noir barrels.

Cheers!

When Being Awesome Every Day Takes a Day Off

Beer #60 Double Simcoe IPA / Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA
Spent today trying to cram three days worth of work into one day, so I'm getting a late start on today's writing (and drinking) and thus I'll keep it short: Today was a really good day at work.  The cleaning lady came today.  Dinner was good.  The roofers are still working on the roof/siding.  There's an inch or so of wet snow in the yard.  The end.

Look, no one ever said this blog was going to be entertaining every day.  I don't recall ever saying that.  I'm pretty sure you just assumed every post was going to be awesome, because 99.5% of them are.

Today's beer is a draft pour of Double Simcoe IPA from Weyerbacher, a relatively local brewery.  Simcoe is the name of the hop used throughout the brew.  Lots of hop scent in the aroma, and the taste is a mix of citrus and strong hop flavor.  Doughy malt flavors are present, but don't dominate.  There's a pine flavor, which can be expected from a double-hopped beer.  A respectable 9.0% ABV, which you can taste - you know you're drinking a potent beer when you put one of these down.  If you're a hops fan, this deserves your attention.

Thing to Think About Today:
I certainly have no intention of making this space a daily memorial service to those who have passed away.  I mean, it's a bit depressing to simply sit every single day and think of the departed.  However, a few people do cause me to stop and make mention.  RIP, Robert Hegyes, also known as the guy who played Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter.  A fantastic, absurd, hilarious show - at some point down the road, I'll tell you about the time I met Horshack (aka Ron Palillo) and managed his campaign for Lieutenant Governor.  I'll save that story for a day where I'm back to being awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xps2E86uOFs

Signed,
Epstein's Mother