Swedish Beer
22 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Avenue Pub, Narke, Nils Oscar, northampton brewing, Nynashamn, Oppigards, Sweden, Swedish beer
Yesterday, the Avenue Pub had a big Swedish Beer Event. We were able to attend for a bit, but I was only able to taste five out of the nineteen Swedish beers they had on tap. We arrived around 1 pm and found a table free inside. We didn’t buy a ticket for the special 3 pm tappings, as we weren’t staying that long. As time passed, it got busier and busier inside. Looks like it was a big success!
They numbered the beers so we could order more easily (yes, there were numbers on all the taps!)…..I wasn’t even going to try to pronounce any of the names 
Here’s what I tried (all were 6 oz pours):
Oppigårds Amarillo Spring IPA (5.9%): very grapefruity like cascade hops, very good
Närke Slättöl (4.7%): described as an “American Pale Ale”, a nice bitterness that hits the back of your tongue (mild), very good, looks somewhat unfiltered..??
Närke Tanngnjost och Tanngrisner (7.1%): Holy smokes! uses smoked barley and rye, smells a bit “boozy” yet smoky, you definitely get the sense of burning logs/fire, probably good on a snowy day, peaty, definitely a sipper.
Nils Oscar Hop Yard IPA (7.3%): quite hoppy, not so grapefruity as the first one, very good
Nynashamn Tjockhult Tjinnok (Stockholm Chinook 5.1%): very different from the others, aroma of a strong cheese but not in the taste at all, clean and crisp, good if you don’t mind the smell.
You can find a full list of all the Swedish beers they had here.
I might go back soon and try a couple others before they run out. Don’t forget, you can even get $2 off THESE pints during crafty hour 4-6 pm. Usually, it’s only for the American craft beers, but I think they want to get through these so they can tap some new beers. So if you’re in NOLA, now’s your chance!
That’s me, wearing my Northampton Brewing shirt! There were even a few folks from Northampton at the event…they recognized my shirt
Cheers!
T.
LOTS of tastes
21 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Avenue Pub, Banhof, Bayou Teche Brewing, Bear Republic, Berliner Weisse, Brugse Zot, De Halve Maan, Dottignies, Haand, IPA, Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour, Noel de Geants, NOLA Brewing, Petrus, Rogue Ales, Saint Arnold, Saison, sour ale, St. Arnold Brewing, Stout
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been to the Avenue Pub several times. Here’s what we drank:
4 oz tastes of Bayou Teche Biere Joi (not bad, had a very mild coffee flavor), and Noel de Geants (unfiltered Belgian, 8.5%, tasted like medicine…could NOT drink it)
NOLA Irish Channel Stout (love it, 6.8%, great stout):
Petrus Aged Pale (7.3%, always a good sour):
Also just had a little sample of Haand Nissefar Father Christmas. 7% alc, strong coffee flavor, can taste the high alc, not bad, but I don’t think I could drink even a whole 4 oz at once. Seemed strong, good for sipping over a long period of time.
On another visit–
Brugse Zot Unfiltered (LOVE this one, had it in Belgium, this time it wasn’t very unfiltered..??):
Thanks to a suggestion from someone sitting at the bar, I tried the Saison de Dottignies (very good actually!):
And last, but not least…a SOUR!! I love sours, if you haven’t yet noticed. I tried a new one, Banhof Brettanmyces Lambicus (Berliner Weisse, very sour, delicious):
…and yet another visit to the pub–
A Rogue Good Chit Pilsner in the back (very good!) and a Brugse Zot Unfiltered Blond in the front:
Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour (surprisingly, I wasn’t really into this one…not sure why, maybe it was more bitter than most sours I drink?):
Then I had 4 oz tastes of Bayou Teche Biere Noire (I really like this one!) and Racer 5 IPA (pretty good IPA, doesn’t blow me away, but pretty good).
And that’s it!!
Unfortunately, we missed some of the St. Arnolds Christmas brews that were upstairs….they’ll probably be gone by the time we get back to the pub 
There’s always next year, I suppose.
Thanks, Polly and the rest of the Pub staff!!
Cheers!
T.
Utah Beer
26 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: bock, IPA, Squatters Pubs, Utah, Wasatch
Utah…..such a beautiful place! And guess what? They’ve got good beer too. Never would have thought, several years ago. But it’s booming now.
I recently had a few beers from Utah that I really enjoyed.
Squatter’s IPA in a bottle. It was unbelievably hoppy! But quite good.
Then we had it on tap locally (here in Louisiana). Totally different!! Not very hoppy, but still delicious….something in the transport I guess.
Squatter’s Hop Rising. The ultimate in hoppyness….but I like it that way. Good stuff. (9% alc)
Wasatch Devastator (Double Bock)….high alcohol, dark, rich, and delicious!
I believe these are both brewed by the same company, under the name Utah Beers. Check them out if you have access. I wish we had more Utah beer down here…..who wants to send me some?
PS- did you know that in the state of Utah, you can’t serve beer on tap if it’s over 4%? Yup. So they can’t enjoy all of their own beers on tap. But I noticed that they make most of their beers right at 4% so that they are able to serve them locally.
Utah……..
Cheers,
T.
Beer Souvenirs from Europe
15 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Beer Planet, belgium, De Halve Maan, Duvel Moortgat, Het Anker, Liefmans, Netherlands, Switzerland, Westvleteren
So I finally gathered all my “stuff” from Europe that was beer related and took pictures. Here they are:
(from the Duvel brewery: apron, glass, beer mat, & belt)
(Belgian brewery book I bought at Het Anker)
(6-pack beer carrier I got at Het Anker)
(bottlecaps from various beers I drank)
(bottle labels from those beers)
(bottle openers!)
(brochures from Het Anker, Halve Maan, & Beer Planet)
(yup, postcards)
(coasters: some I stole from the bars, some I bought!)
And don’t forget…..I brought back a couple of beers too:
Liefman’s Oud Bruin and Westvleteren 12!
You can see my previous Europe beer trip posts here, here, here, and here.
Cheers!
T.
Minnesota Beer
07 Nov 2011 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Brau Brothers, Fulton Beer, Minnesota, Olvalde Brewery, Summit Brewing
A friend was visiting last week from Minnesota and guess what? She brought me beer. Lots of beer! Four 6-packs and a large bottle to be exact. Here’s the stash:
Summit Brewing Extra Pale Ale: really good and refreshing
Summit Brewing Red Ale: not what I expected of a red ale, hoppy, but good
Fulton Brewing Sweet Child of Vine IPA: excellent! My favorite so far out of this bunch
Brau Brothers Moo Joo Oatmeal Milk Stout: haven’t tasted it yet
Olvalde Farm and Brewing “The Aurochs Horn”: haven’t tasted it yet
So that’s my latest collection. Has anyone tried these?
I’ll post about my new love of Utah beer soon too!!
Cheers!
T.
Westvleteren and other tastings
15 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Avenue Pub, Beer Planet, De Halve Maan, Squatters Beer, Van Steenberg, Westvleteren
My birthday was exactly one month ago. I decided to open my special bottle of Westvleteren 12 that I brought back from Belgium. You can read about my Belgian Beer trip here.
This beer is exquisite. I know I’ve read all about how it’s the “greatest beer in the world” and all. But seriously, I savored every sip. So rich and flavorful! Really something else. I had the opportunity to drink a bottle of the Westvleteren 8 on my trip and that too, was wonderful. It’s definitely not an everyday beer, or even a once a month beer. I’d love to have one every year on my birthday You can actually order them online from Beer Planet. But shipping is so expensive. Maybe one day if I have some partners to go in on the deal with me and am able to have it delivered somewhere outside of my home……where there’s someone always there to sign for it…….ok, who wants in? Any Belgian beer lovers out there?
How can you resist??
As for the other few beers I just tried, have you heard of Squatter’s Beers? They’re located in Utah. Yeah, I know……”Utah has beer???” That was my first response. (They probably have good coffee there by now too!) I saw some bottles of their IPA in Whole Foods and so I picked one up.
I loved it. Really delicious and more malty than your standard IPA. Most of the IPA’s I drink are pretty darn hoppy. So here’s the thing….we later went to our local pub and guess what? They had the Squatter’s IPA on tap! So we got one (it’s the one in the background below). Totally different than the bottle. But still really good….much, much hoppier. I just smelled it and could tell from that grapefruit aroma. Polly (the Pub owner), explained that many IPA’s can lose their hoppiness in transport, due to lack of refrigeration. So I’m guessing maybe that’s what happened.
(the front beer is the Bruges Zot unfiltered…one of my favorites from Belgium)
If you check out the Squatters website you will see that most of their beers are only 4% alc. Why? I just found out that you cannot serve any beer on tap that is over 4% alcohol in the state of Utah. So even the folks over at Squatters were jealous that I was having their own beer (one of the few over 4%) on tap, when they could not! I’ve not seen any other of their beers in the store, but would love to try them.
Some upcoming events in the NOLA area:
Cantillon Mamouche tasting event:
October 26th at 7:30 pm, Avenue Pub, (Cantillon Mamouche, Anchorage White Out Wit, & Drie Fonteinen Kriek & Gueze) $20 plus tax
Drink with the Monks:
November 2nd, Avenue Pub, Beers from La Trappe, Rochefort, Orval, Chimay, and Westmalle, 5 glasses for $18
Van Steenberg at the Pub:
November 12th, 2-6 pm, Avenue Pub, Jeff Versales (grandson of the founder) tapping Piraat, Gulden Drack, Augustin, & others.
Lots of cool stuff going on….big Belgian Fest! And don’t forget to go pick up some Squatters Beer.
Any favorite Belgians??
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.
Cheers!
T.
Zwanze Week!
16 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Abbey de Saint Bon Chien, Avenue Pub, belgium, Drie Fontainen, Hannsens, Italy, LoverBeer, Oude Geuze, sour ale, Switzerland, Trois Dames, Zwanze Day
This is an exciting week for craft beer drinkers. Tomorrow is Zwanze Day 2011. You can find out more about it here. Events have been happening all week at The Avenue Pub here in New Orleans. On Wednesday evening, I attended a Sours tasting. Though there were many sour beers to be had, here are the five that I chose:
Grande Dames (Trois Dames, Switzerland): 7.2% alc, ultra sour with a hint of bitterness on the end at the back of the tongue. Very good! (the sourest of all that I tasted).
BeerBera (LoverBeer, Italy): A beautiful reddish color with a slightly medicinal smell and taste, but it grew on me as I sipped it.
Abbey de Saint Bon Chien(Switzerland) 2006: 10% alc, not as sour as the others but very nice, slightly oaky taste (perhaps from the oak barrels they were aged in).
Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze (Belgium): very sour at first taste, but not quite as much later, a little hint of grapefruit on the end. Good!
Hannsens Oude Gueze (Belgium): 5% alc, sour, was going up my nose a bit, something very strange about this one…it made my throat hurt, as if I were eating something overly sweet. Hard to finish. Wouldn’t get this one again.
My two favorites were the Trois Dames and the Drie Fontainen!
We had a great time at the pub and chatted with Polly (the owner) for a long time. Boy, does she know her beer. I’m jealous.
(Polly)
And here’s a look at the newly renovated upstairs section of the pub:
Good job…looks awesome!
Tonight, there’s also a special tapping at the pub:
Cantillon St. Lamvinus tapping (one glass of St. Lamnvinus plus a two-pour ticket at 6 oz each for $18), September 16th 5-6 pm.
Tomorrow is the BIG day! Zwanze Day 2011!! I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it, though I want to:
Zwanze Day-tapping at 2 pm, get there early for a ticket (limited number), on balcony, Ticket for 2-6 oz pours for $12.
For more complete info on these events, click here.
Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for more!!
Hurricanes and Facebook
01 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Belgian Beer, facebook, hurricane, st. bernardus
No, not the drink. There was massive damage along the east coast from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. I explain a little about Vermont here. I hope you all stayed safe and out of harm’s way. Don’t forget, hurricane season is NOT over. Here’s some info about hurricane prep.
Anyway, I had this beer (shared, of course) the other night. Wow! It was awesome. (St. Bernardus Pater 6)
Since my birthday is this month, I think I may open my Westvleteren!!! Stay tuned
I have a bit more activity going on with my Facebook page, so feel free to “like” me there. I often post links to beer articles and events, as well as the beer I’m currently enjoying.
What new beers have you tried recently?
Cheers!
T.
A Saison Tasting
05 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Brooklyn Brewing, de Blaugies, De Ranke, Dupont, Mark Janes, Nogne O, NOLA Brewing, Ovila, Saison, Sierra Nevada, St. Feuillien, Stein's Deli, Urthel
Happy Int’l Beer Day!!
Yesterday was IPA Day, but I chose to attend a Saison tasting event at Stein’s Market & Deli with Mark Janes, who was very insightful. Thank you! There weren’t too many people….and I actually only got through about 11 out of the 13. They were big tastes! I was so beered out, that I couldn’t even make it to our usual pub for the great Belgian beers they had on tap
Here’s what we tasted (bottles were on ice, but not too cold):
Saison Dupont (Belgium)-6.5% alc, good, not too strong, refreshing,
NOLA Hurricane Saison (New Orleans, LA)-6.5% alc, pretty good (much better than when I tasted it last year), citrusy, not very much carbonation…could be due to the fact it was in a growler.
St. Feuillien Saison-6.5% alc, sweet, nutty aroma, nice head, fizzy, very nice!
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace(Brooklyn, NY)-7.6% alc, hoppier than the others, medium carbonation, not much head, ok.
Nogne O Saison (Norway)-6.5% alc, no carbonation, a hint of sweetness on the end, not especially my thing
Ovila Saison (Sierra Nevada in CA)-7% alc, not my favorite, a bit bitter
Dupont Foret (Belgium)-7.5% alc, very nice, a bit hoppy, seltzery but smooth, has more of the traditional “Belgian” flavor
Dupont Avril-low alc 3.5%, tasted and smelled a bit skunky to me (in a green bottle), couldn’t really drink it. I’d try a taste again sometime.
Saison d’Epeautre (Belgium)-6% alc, made with spelt but couldn’t really taste it, also seemed a bit skunky, not great, no sweetness at all.
Urthel Saisonniere (Belgium)-6% alc, bitter, very “Belgian”, good, darker than the others.
De Ranke Saison de Dottignies (Belgium)- 5.5% alc, bitter on the way out, very nice, also darker than the others.
It was a good tasting! It was a lot of tasting…..then we had to go eat something!
What have you tasted recently?
Cheers!
T.
Upcoming Beer Events
03 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Avenue Pub, Beer Day, Belgian Beer, Cantillon, Events, Good Beer Guide Belgium, Great Lakes Brewing, IPA Day, Saison, Stein's Deli
First, let me thank my friend, Yuki, for bringing me some Great Lakes beer from her recent trip to Ohio! I was actually a bit skeptical about their Dortmunder Gold. But you know what? It’s good!!
(photo from the Great Lakes Brewing website)
I think I was expecting some sort of plain pilsner. Wasn’t at all like that. A little sweet, a little malty. Nice!
This week is a big beer week. Tomorrow, August 4th, is International IPA Day, followed by International Beer Day on August 5th. How will you be celebrating?
There are a few events coming up here, locally:
Today, August 3rd @ The Avenue Pub-Belgian Beer Tapping 6-9 pm. You get to taste 5 different ones for $12. They’ve got some really exceptional ones to try. I actually had some of them when we were in Belgium this summer!
August 4th @ Stein’s Market & Deli 4-6 pm-FREE Saison tasting event. Some of the beers on the list:
Saison Dupont, Dupont Foret (Organic), St Feuillien Saison, Ovila Saison. You get the idea. They’ve got a ton on the list….please RSVP on their Facebook page, so they know how many to expect.
September 17th @ The Avenue Pub 3-6 pm – Cantillon Zwanze Day 2011. You can read more about the general even from Cantillon’s website here. This is a one-time event with a special beer and only 10 places are getting it (in the U.S.) This pub is one of them! I’m hoping to be there (I’ve already placed my order for the t-shirt!!)
And for more info on worldwide beer events, check out Roadtrips for Beer.
If you’re planning on doing a beer trip to Belgium, you may want this book. Leave a comment if you’re interested in winning it and feel free to spread the word!
Cheers!
T.
