Monday, November 24, 2008

ESB?

Ew, Spit Beer?
Extra Sucky Barf?
Elephant Sized Balls?

Sadly, I was unable to attend the bottling of the Novemberfest (and brewing of the Imperial Stout). But so strong is our brewing bond, that one beer was "sacrificed" for my "benefit," as part of my share of bottles. "ESB" was written in Sharpie on the cap. The term Extra Special Bitter was mentioned, but so were the words, "mystery ingredient." Surely it's just hops, isn't it? No straight answer was offered, certainly in an apparent attempt to freak me out. It's true, I spent some of the two weeks of bottle conditioning wondering what they used, but in the end, it's beer, and beer is for drinking. No matter what.

I cracked it tonight, and it looked normal, had the same head as the Novemberfest, and smelled like it too, but with a slightly stronger scent. Upon tasting, I decided it was just hops, or at least some other, presumably edible bittering agent. The first sip was as delicious as the last. It wasn't quite as magical with my pasta as the unfettered Novemberfest might have been, but still a very enjoyable. I suppose if they wanted to get goofy and not use leftover hops, they could have put a few drops of bitters in at bottling time, but it seemed like hops. Maybe they'll tell me, maybe they won't. The bottom line is, I think it was overall somewhat improved over the stock Novemberfest, so kudos, and thanks for the treat!

But if you did spit in my beer, screw you dicks, I'll get you. I'll get you all GOOD.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Grynch: First Impression: Rapscallion Beer Makers: Novemberfest

We were too late for Oktoberfest, so we made the best of it with a completely different beer. Spiced with cloves and flavored with one brutally chopped apple, we imagined that it would be a perfect addition to a Thanksgiving feast.

It's fairly dark and reddish, but surprisingly light bodied. Not very sweet, not very hoppy, with a perfect clove twang. The apple is present, but it's more of a subliminal suggestion. I credit the apple with the bright and dry fall crispness. I had misgivings about the pile of cloves we poured in, but adding them early kept them mellow and round.

For the first few sips I was a little surprised how light it seemed, but then I started eating pizza. This might be the greatest beer for food I've ever had. I've gone through a whole mess of food in my head, and I can't find anything with which it won't pair up well; hot dogs, steak, miso soup, cereal, potato chips, Indian, sushi... It might not be great with Mexican food, except maybe something with mole sauce, which I usually don't like, but I could make an exception for this beer. And of course, turkey. But especially cranberry sauce.

The others will probably post with completely different impressions, and maybe our ABV measurement. I have no idea.