Taproom Talk

The bouquet was distantly reminiscient of a Framboise Lambic. The color was gold-orange with an undeniable hint of red. The pureed raspberries had definitely found their final resting place. The first sip happily projected “THE FORT” into a category of its own. A true beer-drinker’s beer, which had no danger of losing its character or drinkability to the fruit flavor with which it was married. Don’t get me wrong, a good lambic is a good lambic. But the Fort!! It retained the strength and hoppy character of some of Dogfish’s other fine brews and expertly married it in a blissfull raspberry wedlock made in a wheat-filled heaven. There is perhaps only one thing missing from this beer… It is the typically overdone syrupy sweetness that is found in many “fusions” of fruit and liquid bread. Or, overt doses of flavor (PUMPKINS IN SAM ADAMS…) Fine effort and I must leave now if only to revisit the flavor, again and again…—Stirling Elmendorf—

With a huge white head that clung to the side of the glass, a pleasantly spicy nose and a warm crisp taste, the Goliath Belgian Blonde Ale is another strong showing from the Brasserie des Géants brewery in Belgium. This golden colored beer with a light bubbly body has a strong hoppy character accented with a spicy peppery taste and subtle malts. The spicy finish works amazingly well– in fact, I’d say that this Belgian Blonde is even better than the Leffe.

This unfiltered crisp ale is a great warm evening drink– if you can actually find this beer, buy a few! While the Leffe is far easier Belgian Blonde to find, this beer is much much smoother.

Early fall is a great beer drinking time when adventurous breweries unleash spicy tasting pumpkin beer– this year’s first batch comes from the Brooklyn Brewery of Black Chocolate Stout fame. Under the Post Road brand, this dark logger-like hued pumpkin beer is a great showing with a nice lasting head with a fair amount of bubbliness, which imparts a wonderful malty nose with a pleasant cinnamon and nutmeg spiciness. This pleasantly crisp and smooth beer has a sweet cinnamony taste, complemented by a well balanced maltiness, which finishes brilliantly.

The pumpkin spiciness of this beer makes it a pleasant drink lacking in the harshness commonly associated with some of the more full bodied winter beers. What’s more, at 5% ABV, it’s an easy drink.

All in all, I’m impressed with the Brooklyn Brewery’s Post Road Pumpkin ale– it has been a welcoming taste for a great beer drinking season.

On a recent trip down to Houston I had the pleasure of trying, what turned out to be, a phenomenal beer. I had never even heard of the Saint Arnold Brewing company when I decided to try their Amber Ale; however, within one sip I was comfortable these brewers were masters at the fine art of producing beers worthy of highbrowed beer drinkers.

Their Ale was obviously an amber color with a light head and few bubbles that gave off a complex malty aroma that was easily complemented by the wonderfully crisp malt taste with a slight hoppy backdrop. The finish was wonderful with a subtle spiciness. This is a fabulous beer– I thoroughly enjoyed drinking this refreshing ale as I sat eating Texas Barbeque even though it was 100+ degrees outside.

The Saint Arnold brewery has produced a winner with their Amber Ale– the next time I find myself in Houston, I plan to drink as many as I can.