Bill Richardson

As opposed to my East Coast position on Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy, here's a West Coast point-of-view from a different Cizauskas.

Super Beer II

The writers at Celebrator Magazine have anointed Clipper City's Below Decks Barleywine - tied with six others - as their choice as best barleywine for 2006/7 out of 15 tasted. Their tasting notes were:

Nice light malty nose, amber color and a tan head. Delicious balance of sweet malt up front giving way to sharp hop character midway through. Rich notes of apples and licorice add to the overall complexity of this fine beer.

On the Blind Tasting Panel were: Jay R. Brooks - tasting panel director of Celebrator, Tom Dalldorf - editor/publisher of Celebrator, Vic Kralj - owner of The Bistro in Hayward CA, and Pete Slosberg, founder of Pete's Brewing Company. The results were published in Celebrator's February/March 2007 issue, page 29.

And who were the six others that, along with Below Decks, were designated as "Exceptionally great; something special"?

Barstow-Lundy Barleywine (Iron Springs Brewing, CA), Doggie Claws Barley Wine Style Ale (Hair of the Dog Brewing, OR), Lost Abbey Angel's Share (Port Brewing, CA), Old Dipsea Barleywine Style Ale (Marin Brewing, CA), Schooner's Old Diablo 2004 Barleywine Style Ale (Schooner's Grille & Brewery, CA), and Talon (Mendocino Brewing, CA).

What is a barleywine?

Super Beer

Watching the Super Bowl this evening, I'll be eating some (or a lot) of my Stout Chili Sin Carne. It's a vegetarian chili cooked with Clipper City's Peg Leg Stout. The dark malts of the stout add a molé flavor layer to the chili.

Stretching the boundaries of local, I'll be drinking Victory Brewing's Storm King with the chili.

Enlightened big business

Individual effort yields dividends but it does so in a networked milieu. That is: no man, no property owner, no business owner, no government, is an island. Thus, it's reassuring to notice a very successful businessman remember to remember where he came from and how he was assisted in becoming successful ... and to act on that, recognizing, that in the long run, it's good business.

Maverick Costco CEO Joins Push to Raise Minimum Wage

Two Hearted Ale - a review

Bell's Brewery (formerly Kalamazoo Brewery) of Kalamazoo, MI, has recently established a salient for its beers here in the DC/VA area. (An earlier post of mine concerned Larry Bell and his encounter with a large midwestern distributor.)

Of Bells' roster of beers, I have particularly enjoyed the Two Hearted Ale. It's a strong American Pale Ale at 7% abv (although Beer.Advocate.com, lists it as 6%).

Two Hearted Ale has an orangey hue, and pours with a big white mousse. There's a lovely yet restrained nose of pear, apricot, ripe pineapple, and - de rigeuer for American pale ales - citrus.

The flavor follows suit. The malt is there, but as a slight sweetness.

Many big pale ales only highlight the bittering tannins of hops rather than their herbal quality. But Two Hearted Ale also emphasizes the hops' herbal aromatics. In that manner, it shares a brewer's emphasis similar to that of Clipper City's Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale.

Two Hearted Ale also brings to mind Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale from Old Dominion Brewing in Virginia - but with a softer finish and more of a fruity nose. That's not a value judgment; the two beers show different - and valid - brewers' interpretations of the American Pale Ale style.

There may be a less-than-six-degrees-of-separation connection here: the production manager for Bells is John Mallett. More than a decade ago, he was one of the original brewers for Old Dominion. He remains today one of the truly talented brewing technicians of the US craft beer world. (Rob Mullins was the brewer who actually formulated Tuppers at Dominion for Bob and Ellie Tupper. But Rob had worked under John Mallet.)

Don't get me started about whether Two Hearted Ale is a Pale Ale, IPA, double IPA, or a ... WHATEVER. That's the boring domain of obsessive nit-picking beer-style hop-lites.

Instead, simply relax and enjoy this delicious beer!

My samples were purchased at my local Whole Foods grocer; they had the code 7781 printed on their back labels.