Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #2

This Feature Beer Friday! and the next 3 following it are going to take on a bit of a different feel... as part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

Up now, blind taste test #2...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a NOLA Brewing pint glass.

Appearance: Slightly hazy, a lighter tone than beer #1.

Aroma: More faint than #1, with the malt coming through a little stronger. Brenton also noted it as less hoppy than the first offering. 

Taste: More bitter than the aroma would indicate, closer to #1 on the taste profile than the aroma, but still a little more on the balanced side. 

Mouthfeel: Lingering bitterness, but more full than the first beer.

Overall: I didn't like this one quite as much as Session Beer #1, and the scores across the board reflected a similar opinion. Still, it was a very respectable offering and one I'd drink again. My guess was that this was the Terrapin RecreationAle, which is why it was a little less hoppy than what I guessed was the Stone Go To IPA in glass #1. We had also recently tried the Terrapin offering in a non-blind taste test, where I scored it a 78.  This one received a little lower marks, so if it is the same beer, it just goes to show how varied scores can be and perception can be, especially tasting blind and comparing to other similar beers.

Overall Rating: 64.5
My Rating: 67

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Continues...

We are now getting into the real "meat" of Craft Brewers Week. I hope some of you made it out the last few nights to try the Gnarly Barley / Chafunkta collaboration or a few sour beers from Tin Roof, but if not, there is still plenty more craft beer week to go!

Tonight will be one of the biggest events, the Louisiana Craft Brewers Bash at The Irish House in New Orleans.  I'll be there for sure, and also hopefully will be making a stop at Avenue Pub to try some Parish stouts and I'm sure the plenty of other good stuff they'll have on tap. 

If you can't make it to New Orleans tonight, then I'd highly recommend an afternoon trip on Sunday to the "Make Pour Decisions" party at NOLA Brewing where they plan on rolling out 18 (yes, EIGHT-TEEN) beers for the event. If you can't make it to New Orleans at all, there will be a couple of chances to catch Abita's pumpkin and peach SOS in Baton Rouge.

Happy drinking!

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Is Here!

So, it's here, one of the best beer weeks in the state, Louisiana Craft Brewers Week! I posted last week about a full lineup of events in the BR/Northshore/NOLA area, but here's the link to that again.

For tonight though, you have two opportunities to check out the Gnarly Barley / Chafunkta collaboration brew in Baton Rouge! The beer details have been announced, and it's an 8% Black IPA named "Black Tooth Grin." The beer will be tapped at the Chimes East at 5 PM, and at The Pelican House at 8 PM. These will be the only Baton Rouge events featuring the beer, and it's likely to move fast. 

Also, be sure to get your ticket for the Louisiana Brewers Bash at The Irish House in New Orleans this Wednesday.  Nine breweries from Louisiana will be featured with two special beers each. I'm really looking forward to this one.

(Yes, I know this is last year's logo... but I don't think a new one was put out?)

Feature Beer Friday! - Blind Session Tasting #1

This Feature Beer Friday! and the next 4 following it are going to take on a bit of a different feel... as part of the Me & My Big Mouth recording a few months ago, the 4 reviewers listed below decided that we should take on a blind taste test of five session ales.  All were either session IPAs or APAs, but the main point was that we were going to try them all blind, offer up our reviews, and even take a guess as to which beer was which.

The five on the table, arranged so we didn't know which was which by Teresa Day of I Eat BR, were the Stone Go To IPA, Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin RecreationAle, Sierra Nevada Nooner, and Southern Tier Farmer's Tan.

This week, blind taste test #1...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: Presented in a Forge Racing pint glass.

Appearance: Clear amber.

Aroma: Big time grapefruit hoppy IPA notes. All of us noted the grapefruit presence of this one.

Taste: More bitter than expected for a session IPA, but it mellow out fast. Just a huge amount of up front hops.

Mouthfeel: That hoppiness from the taste mellows out pleasantly, and then lingers for a while, reminding you of each delicious sip.

Overall: Very bitter, but still tasty, I'd drink more of this one for sure. At this point, we all took a guess as to which beer we were drinking.  My guess, based on the up front hop profile, was the Stone brew... check back to see what we thought about the others, and to see if I was right. 

Overall Rating: 67.25
My Rating: 71

Louisiana Craft Brewers Week Events!

I'm snagging this from the Gambit article, which was written by blogging compatriot, Nora McGunnigle of the NOLA Beer Blog, if you don't follow her blog, you definitely should. She knows the goings-on around New Orleans and has taken up writing for several different publications. I've highlighted the Baton Rouge events, but there is also a lot going on in New Orleans... in fact if you're ever going to make a beer trip to the Big Easy, this might be the week to do it.

Mon. Sept. 22

2 p.m. The Bulldog Mid City (5135 Canal Blvd., (504) 488-4180; bulldog-midcity.draftfreak.com) offers $1 off all Louisiana beers all day.
 
5 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Chimes East (10870 Coursey Blvd., Baton Rouge, 225-296-4981; www.thechimes.com/the-chimes-east)
 
7 p.m. The Barley Oak (2101 Lakeshore Drive, Mandeville, 985-727-7420; www.thebarleyoak.com) features beers from Arabi's 40 Arpent Brewing Company.
 
8 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Pelican House (2572 Citiplace Ct., Baton Rouge, 225-456-5200; www.thepelicanbar.com).


Tues. Sept. 23

5 p.m. The Avenue Pub (1732 St. Charles Ave., 504-586-9243; www.theavenuepub.com) hosts Tin Roof Brewing, which presents a series of single-hop beers and an experimental beer, Pucker Up Cherry Sour.
 
5 p.m. NOLA Brewing pint night at the Chimes Baton Rouge (3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, 225-383-1754; www.thechimes.com).

5:30 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at Capdeville (520 Capdeville St., 504-371-5161; www.capdevillenola.com).

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features beers from Abita Brewing Company.

8 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Bulldog Mid City.


Wed. Sept. 24

5 p.m. Abita cask Pumpkin & Peach SOS at the Bulldog Mid City.
 
5 p.m. Parish Brewing visits The Avenue Pub and taps Export Stout and a cask of Coffee Vanilla Export Stout, and there will be bottle pours of Grand Reserve Barleywine and Farmhouse IPA. Parish founder Andrew Godley will arrive at the Pub by 7 p.m.

6 p.m. Louisiana Craft Beer Brewers Bash hosted by Jay Ducote at the Irish House (1432 St. Charles Ave., 504-595-6755; www.theirishhouseneworleans.com). The brewery owners, brewmasters and representatives of the nine Louisiana breweries available in New Orleans attend the event, which features two beers from each brewery and food. Tickets and more information are available at www.biteandbooze.com.

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features a NOLA Brewing cask of barrel-aged Hurrican Saison made with dry-hopped Galaxy hops.


Thu. Sept. 25

5 p.m. NOLA Brewing night at The Avenue Pub features two new sour releases: Piety (American sour ale with tart cherry; 100 percent fermented with lactobacillus and brettanomyces) and Lowerline (American sour ale, fermented with lactobacillus and brettanomyces). Also available on tap are barrel-aged Hurricane Saison dry hopped with Galaxy hops, Four Roses bourbon barrel-aged Irish Channel Stout, and double dry-hopped ALS IPA, which is a farmhouse-style IPA made with proprietary hop blend and saison yeast. A portion of the proceeds benefits ALS research.
 
6 p.m. Abita celebrates Louisiana Craft Brewer Week at Deuce McAllister's Ole Saint Kitchen and Tap (132 Royal St., 504-309-4797; www.olesaint.com) with two-for-one on all Abita beers including its new Octoberfest, the new seasonal Pecan Harvest and the new Select series Legendary Gator, a triple helles bock.

6 p.m.: Abita cask Pumpkin & Peach SOS at the Londoner Grill (4215 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, 225-292-9291; www.thelondonerbatonrouge.com).

7 p.m. Chafunkta and Gnarly Barley collaboration release at the Barley Oak.

7 p.m. There's a tapping of ALS IPA at the Chimes Covington (19130 Rogers Lane, Covington, 985-892-5396; www.thechimes.com/the-chimes-covington).

7 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at the Swamp Room (5216 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-888-5242).


Fri. Sept. 26

2 p.m. Abita Tap Takeover at the Avenue Pub. Draft specialties include: Abita/Birrificio Del Ducato Saison with honey, peppercorns, lemon and French farmhouse yeast; Bourbon Street Biere de Mars; Pappy Van Winkle barrel-aged Biere de Mars, and Pumpkin Peach SOS on cask.
 
3 p.m. Make "Pour Decisions" at the NOLA Brewing Tap Room (3001 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-301-0117; www.nolabrewing.com). NOLA will offer 18 specialty beers brewed specially for this event.

3 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at the Bourbon House (144 Bourbon St., 504-522-0111; www.bourbonhouse.com).

4 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at The Chimes Baton Rouge.

5 p.m. Hammond Brews Arts Fest (Hammond Regional Arts Center, 217 E. Thomas St., Hammond, 985-542-7113 ; www.hammondarts.org/brews-arts-festival) featuring Tin Roof Brewing, Gnarly Barley Brewing, Chafunkta Brewing, Covington Brewhouse, Bayou Teche Biere, Lazy Magnolia Brewing, Saint Arnold Brewing, Rogue Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, SweetWater Brewing and Southern Prohibition Brewing.

5 p.m. Jeremy Labadie hosts Chafunkta Brewing at Squeal BBQ (8400 Oak St., 504-302-7370; www.squeal-nola.com) with Chafunkta beers on draft and pulled pork sandwiches with barbecue sauce made with Chafunkta's Old 504 coffee porter.

5 p.m. The Bulldog Mid City presents Covington Brewery's seasonal Fest Bier.

6 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at Lager's International Ale House (3501 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-887-9923; www.lagersmetairie.draftfreak.com).

7 p.m. NOLA Brewing visits the Bulldog Mid City with Smoky Mary and Irish Channel Stout.

7 p.m. The Barley Oak features beers from Parish Brewing from Broussard.

7 p.m. Abita Pumpkin & Peach SOS cask at J&J's Sports Lounge (800 France St., 504-942-8877; www.jjssportslounge.com).


Sat. Sept. 27

11 a.m. The Barley Oak holds its annual Louisiana Craft Beer Appreciation Day.
 
11:30 a.m. The Bulldog Mid City offers pitchers of all Louisiana-brewed beers for $2.

1 p.m. The fifth annual New Orleans On Tap charity benefit for LA/SPCA is at the City Park Festival Grounds. New Orleans on Tap is a free family- and pet-friendly beer festival that features live music, more than 200 local and national beers, food, a homebrew competition, games and giveaways. Visit www.neworleansontap.org for tickets and information.

2 p.m. 40 Arpent visits The Avenue Pub. There is keg tapping of Red Beans & Rice ale with chipotle at 2 p.m., and a keg of Bananas Foster Milk Stout at 5 p.m


Sun. Sept. 28

1 p.m. Dorignac's (710 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-834-8216; www.dorignacs.com) hosts Meet the Brewer with Chafunkta Brewing, which will provide beer samples.
 
3 p.m. Bayou Teche Barrel Beer at The Avenue Pub highlights the brewery's new barrel series beer, Teche Hombres Belgian-style Cerveza, an agave nectar wheat aged in French white oak sauvignon blanc barrels with Spanish orange peel and aji limon peppers. There's a new vintage of Miel Sauvage (Acadian honey beer aged in Jack Daniels barrels), which will be served alongside last year's batch. There also are Coteau Rodaire, the brewery's French farmhouse ale aged in sauvignon blanc barrels and finished with orange peel, and Biere Joi, a Belgian dubbel style aged in whisky barrels with coffee, cacao nibs, and chili arbol. Bayou Teche also will serve Cajun charcuterie and jambalaya.

Feature Beer Friday! - Terrapin RecreationAle

Alright alright alright, Terrapin Brewing is back up on Feature Beer Friday! for the second time. About a month ago we featured the Terrapin Hopsecutioner, their flagship IPA, and it received generally good scores, with a 77 from yours truly. Terrapin has been one of my favorite additions to the Louisiana market in recent years.  I find that their year-round beers are all worth buying and I've for the most part enjoyed their seasonals and special releases.

Up today is their RecreationAle, which they describe as a "Session Ale" without labeling it as an IPA or pale ale.  I guess it's really up to you as to how it fits, but I'd consider it a pale ale personally. Most importantly, it's only 4.7% abv, which is ideal for tailgating season! In fact, I think it's become my tailgating beer of choice, with affordable 12-packs of cans available around Baton Rouge.

Enough blabber, let's review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. can.

Appearance: Deep golden, a little more hazy than Hopsecutioner I think. Hopsecutioner probably gains a little clarity through a longer secondary dry-hopping? Just a guess...

Aroma: Hoppy, with grapefruit and citrus dominating.

Taste: More hoppy, with those grapefruit notes still coming through. There is a little malt base sweetness, but at only 4.7% there really shouldn't be too much.

Mouthfeel: Ridiculously easy drinking.

Overall: An excellent session pale ale/IPA. I imagine this being in my tailgating rotation for years to come.

Overall Rating: 72.5
My Rating: 78

Upcoming Beer Events! - Louisiana Brewers Bash, Brew At The Zoo, Beefstock, And More...

Hey everyone, time to start spreading the word about a few upcoming beer events in the area.  

September 22-28th - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week - All Over - It's that time of year again, I'll keep everyone up to date when specific events in Baton Rouge are announced, but I know of one in New Orleans for sure... 

September 24th - Louisiana Brewers Bash - The Irish House in New Orleans - Louisiana Craft Brewers Week is September 22-28, and this might be the only event that will feature 9 commercially producing Louisiana breweries.  For those keeping score at home, that's almost all of them, but unfortunately it appears that Great Raft won't be making the trip down. The event is being hosted by Jay Ducote of Bite And Booze.com, with food from Chef Matt Murphy of The Irish House.  I'll be at this event for sure, I'm excited to see what sort of special releases and casks our local breweries can come up with.

October 10th - Brew At The Zoo - BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo -  Another beer festival, this one at the Baton Rouge Zoo and yes, it will be featuring the local homebrew clubs. The commercial beer list is pretty typical, featuring a lot of local and regional beers plus the bigger craft beers available in the area, but the real standout should be the homebrew stations.  I know I'll be there serving up some beer with Brasseurs A La Maison, and I expect the other local clubs to be there as well.  

October 17th - Great Raft's 1-Year Anniversary Party - Great Raft Brewing Company - I'm unlikely to make it up there, but this should be a great time.  They have been working on several more limited release bombers and draft specialties, and for those who haven't been, the tap room is beautiful. The guys and gals up at Great Raft have been kicking ass, so if you ever find yourself up in Shreveport for this weekend or any other, check them out.

November 2nd - Beefstock - Tin Roof Brewing Company - Alright, so this one is more about the beef, but it is being held at Tin Roof, and everyone that attends gets some complimentary beer, plus the tap room is almost certainly going to be open by then. So, try plenty of beef, drink some beer, and catch some tunes. 

November 22nd - Grand Reserve Day - Parish Brewing Company - I don't know the details yet, but mark your calendars. Last year's event was a great time, and I'll likely be going again.

Feature Beer Friday! - Founders Porter

Founders Brewing is another relatively new arrival to the Louisiana craft beer portfolio, and this will be their first appearance on Feature Beer Friday! They are known for being one of the better craft breweries in the country, and their star is the Kentucky Breakfast Stout, a bourbon-barrel aged version of their regular Breakfast Stout.  We saw a little of this when they first came to Louisiana and likely will again, but in the meantime we have plenty to choose from out of their regular lineup. 


First up is their regular porter, nothing special about this one, no crazy flavors added, no barrel aging, just a straight up porter. In their words, "Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter." It's a respectable 45 IBU and 6.5% abv, so it's probably not a session porter, but that doesn't mean you can't have more than one!

Let's review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, nice head, you can't see through it, so it has some thickness to it.

Aroma: Roasted coffee notes dominate, but Brenton could pick out some hops in there as well.

Taste: Rich, with more coffee and roasted malt notes. We all used those same terms so it was a unanimous approval on the taste of this one.

Mouthfeel: This one lingers with a little bitterness from the hops and roasted barley. The alcohol doesn't show up at all, so it's very well balanced.

Overall: An excellent porter, and just what we would expect from Founders.

Overall Rating: 80.75
My Rating: 83