Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the blog hiatus.  I had surgery on my right arm and didn’t realize how hard it would be to type left handed.  So the blog break will continue until I’m able again.  Give me time to recoup.  See ya soon.

Watch out Michigan- Here We Come!

Last year a couple friends and I celebrated my birthday by taking a road trip to tour some breweries.  The tradition continues this year.  This weekend, seven other gadabouts and I will be driving around Indiana and Michigan to drink boot-loads of beer.  I’m looking forward to documenting the event and producing a couple beer review with the help of the crowd.  I love trying beers with lots of people cause you get such an interesting variety of opinions.  Needless to say, this weekend will be BEERded Lady heaven.  Hope you’ve got something fun planned too.  See ya Monday…or Tuesday…depending on how fast I can recover.

Final Stop Last Year- Bell's Brewery

It Wasn’t Me, It Was You

I’ll be honest to what’s already evident- I’m having a hard time meeting this Monday morning deadline.  I’m late/light once again.  Better late than never.  So…did I mention that the tastings are my favorite part of this blog?  I did…last week…..just in case you didn’t read it. This week’s fun time started as a Saturday night out at Piece Brewery (brewpub) with my good friends PantsOn and Berto.  You’re familiar with PantsON, and well Berto- he’s in love with PantsOn and beer, so we have plenty in common.  While out, Berto suggested a BEERded Lady tasting.  I happily agreed.  I’d been looking forward to tasting with Berto for several reasons:

1. He works in the beer industry and has been privy to many samplings with the pros..aka he knows his shizzle.
2. He’s a straight-talker so you’re guaranteed a candid opinion.
3. I just really love drinking with him.

The beer we picked was the Worryin’ Ale.  Now up until this point I have been wowed by all of the beers I’ve blogged about.  But get ready, its your first not-so-hot beer review….

The Brew: Worryin Ale Rye Beer, 5%, Piece Brewery(Pub), Chicago, Illinois

In 3 Words: Cider, Weak Sauce, Forgettable

Where it Came From:  From tap to glass to mouth

Look:  The beer is a really pretty deep amber color.  There’s barely any head, maybe just a couple bubbles at the top.

Smell: Hmmmm…we can’t smell anything.  Now given we are in a bar and there’s food around, subtle aromas could go unnoticed.  But we sniff our other other beers and can definitely smell those.  So we get the impression that this one doesn’t have much of a bouquet.  Maybe the smallest hint of caramely malt…maybe.

Taste:  We take a sip together and then just stare at each other.  Time passes.  Finally, Berto says, “It’s f’n weird.”  I concur.  It takes a couple sips to even figure out what’s going on.  We can’t tell if something is wrong with the tap or the beer is just tastes weird.  I find it hard to believe that it’s the latter so we keep sipping.  It basically tastes like a dry cider.   Its light and effervescent and has a bit of a sour aftertaste.  A little malt and a little bitterness, and overall simplistic flavoring.  Could explain why there wasn’t much to smell.

Ferment on This:  So we’ve talked about wheat beers and barley beers (which is most) but this one is a rye beer.  Rye is a less commonly used grain in beer. Rye beers are said to have a distinct, refreshing and slightly spicy flavor.  Distinct alright…

Bottom Line:  Now, even though neither of us like this beer, Berto “sips” it about 3x’s faster than me.  As he finishes the last of his, he looks over at my half-a-glass and says, “Slam that shit.  Get it out of your life!”  We all agreed that we would not want to order this beer again.  Considering the amazing flavors of the other beers at Piece, we found this one to be a disappointment.  Sorry Piece.   Maybe it was us.  Maybe the “rye” flavors were just new to us and we hadn’t accommodated yet.  Ya know, like the first beer you ever had.  That one was gross too.  But now you chug Miller Lite likes its water.  Yeah, it had to be us.

Mediocre pic for a mediocre beer

Fill Your Glass for Fall

There is no doubt that Fall has arrived in Chicago.  What better way to warm up than with some brews to complement the weather.  Fall is a good time to choose beers with a little more color and body.  Here are some BEERded Lady fall favorites…

1. Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale- 2nd best pumpkin beer I’ve had (4 Peaks Pumpkin Porter is #1).  Fresh pumpkin flavor accented with light spice.  Not overwhelmingly cinnamony or sweet like other pumpkin beers.
2. Goose Island Harvest Ale-  One of my fav Goose Island beers.  A very drinkable citrusy, hoppy, copper ale.
3. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye- Currently on special at Maproom.  This beer is hearty, spicy and super hopped but well balanced by a strong backbone of malt.
4. Deschutes Black Butte Porter – Sorry Chicagoan’s, but you’re gonna have to travel to Oregon for this one.  Quite possibly my favorite beer ever.  A perfectly crafted porter that deserves its first class reputation.

The last is a serving suggestion…Mix #1 and #4.  Or really, any pumpkin ale and stout.  The combination is synergistic….like the Rolling Stones.

See ya Monday for a beer review on Piece’s Worryin Ale.  Be Hoppy.

The Beerded Lady

Some Bird Park in Michigan

BEERded Lady Halloween Contest

I just got a great idea from one of the BEERded lady’s loyal readers.  How about a halloween costume contest.  But not for you….for your beer!  Dress up a pint glass, a beer bottle, a growler…anything beer related.  Get creative.  Get funny.  Get stupid.

Submit your picture to thebeerdedlady@gmail.com by Friday Oct 23th.   I’ll set up a poll so we can all vote on the winner.   Winner will get a super cool prize plus be posted as the homepage photo for the BEERded Lady blog!

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks Steve

I Like My Beer How I Like My Men…

The tasting sessions are definitely my favorite part of this blog.  It brings together my two favorite things-friends and beer.  This week I did a spontaneous tasting with….yep….you guess it…PantsOn.  It started off as an innocent trip to Whole Foods.   Not just any Whole Foods, the biggest, newest one in Lincoln Park.  Have you been to this monstrosity?  It’s got wine bar, a beer bar, a coffee shop, dining areas and a couple quick serve restaurants.  Oh yeah, and of course groceries.  It’s a huge one.  The place is overwhelming and usually crowded, so to assuage PantOn’s grocery store apprehension, I suggested (or pushed) a beer from the on-site bar.  We sat down and were greeted by an amiable and beer-wise bartender named Nick.  He poured us a couple beers including one I’d like to tell you about….

Founders Breakfast Stout, Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, 8.3%, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Where It Came From:  Poured into a little taster glass from the tap

In 3 words:  Roasty, Cozy, Strong

Look: This beer pours as deep opaque brown, almost black.  There’s no light escaping through this beer, even the corners of the glass are dark.  As you slosh it around in the glass, it looks viscous, almost syrupy.  There’s a teeny bit of brown colored bubbles forming at the top of the beer.

Smell:  Lets do this one with single words.  Earthy.  Chocolate.  Sharp.  Coffee.  Bitter and…bitter and…Hershey’s chocolate syrup.

Taste: After looking and smelling this mighty beer, I surmise that the first sip I take should be very small. I’m right. This beer is like alcoholic espresso.  It’s has lots more flavors than you’re typical stout.  More bitter.  More roasty-ness.  More chocolate.  More coffee.  PantsOn reiterates that this beer is bitter and I have to agree that the bitterness lingers on your tongue for a while.  Pretty smooth for 8% alcohol.

Ferment on This: How about a nice short fact today…In addition to the four main ingredients in beer, this brew is spiked with Kona and Sumatra coffee, flaked oats and bitter chocolates.

The Bottom Line: I will remember this beer for the first time I’m cold enough to light up my fireplace, which could be soon in lovely Chicago.  It’s a warming beer that’s best sipped like wine.  Good as dessert or a night cap.  PantsOn suggests this ‘coffee’ beer would taste good with some ‘creamer’ in it…aka ice cream.  Like a root beer float, but with stout.  I’d have to agree.  The added sweetness may tone down the bitterness a little for you hop-a-phobes.  I suggest buying a 4-pack to share with 3 friends as you’ll only need one of these before your taste buds are maxed out.  Or just go visit Nick at Whole Foods…I’m sure he’d be happy to give you a sample.

The taps at Whole Foods

DLMD

Whoops.  I didn’t do a beer review today.  Well actually, I did do a beer review.  But I did the tasting today.  So give me some time to write it up.  Let’s do a Tuesday beer review this week.  In the words of a great man…”Capish? Capish.”

It’s how we drink it in Belgium. It’s called a Belgium dip.

Remember when I told you I went to Hopleaf and I was going to tell you about it later?   Well, it’s later- you lucky little reader you…

DESTINATION:  Hopleaf Bar, 5148 N Clark St, Chicago, IL,  http://www.hopleaf.com/

Chicago bars are stocked with a lot of crafty beers.   However, if you’re craving fresh Belgian beer served in a logo branded goblet, you go to one of two bars- Map Room in Bucktown or Hopleaf in Andersonville.  I live about 100 yards from the Map Room and while their beer selection is phenomenal, it’s served with a side of ‘baditude’.  Recently I was craving quality beer minus the ‘tude so I decided to give Hopleaf a chance.

I found a fun drinking buddy to join me, we’ll call him K.  K is the kind of guy who will try any kind of beer…ya know?  He’s open minded yet opinionated about his beers.  He unhesitantly rates Guinness as his number one ; ) with Anchor Steam and Pacifico alternating between two and three.  But really he’ll sample anything and talk all about it, which makes for an entertaining beer partner.

After a warm up with a some cold Red Stripes, K and I head up to Hopleaf.  We arrive at 10pm on a Tuesday to a packed bar.   The crowd is filled with hipsters, suit coats and raised pinkies. The place has a little attitude, but is overall palatable. You get the sense that this is a smart bunch that knows their beer.  We weave (or is it man-made)* through the crowd and make our way to a couple stools at the end of the bar.  The vibe is cozy.  The lighting is low and they hum of the crowd is loud.  We end up sitting right next to my favorite feature in the bar.  It’s a backlit wall of shelving filled with all types of beer serving glasses.  It’s just gorgeous.

The drink menu here is beer nerd heaven.  There’s about 17 Belgians and 23 American’s on tap plus a plethora of bottles.  There are some hard to find tap beers…Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Bells 2 Hearted Ale and Victory Prima Pils.  I settle on the Van Hosenbrouck- as self proclaimed “Hopleaf exclusive” boasting something about wheat, barley and oak aged perfection.  Plus it will be entertaining to hear K order it.  A young rockabilly bartender comes over to take our order.  I’m used to Map Room bartenders who have quite literally shoo’ed me before, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a friendly, helpful bartender.  She politely questions my order, “Have you had a Gueuze before?”  I was totally caught off guard.  What??  I don’t know what you’re saying. Goose?  Now, I’m no Michael Jackson**, but I have read lots about beer and had never heard this word.  She was saying Gueuze, and warned me that it would be very sour.   I tasted a sample and I winced.  It was potently sour.  Not tart-sour like lemons, more fruity like sour apples or cherries.  Thanks to K’s iPhone*** we looked up the style right away to learn that it is a subcategory of Lambic, another Belgian style of beer.  It’s made by blending several Lambics and rebottling them for a second fermentation.  Lambics are made with wild yeasts that produce the cidery, sour and commonly called “barnyard” flavors.  Needless to say, I ended up selecting a different beer.  But now I’m thinking that I’d like to go back and see if I could down a whole glass of the Gueuze, just for the hell of, just to see how it feels.  So K and I ended up enjoying a Tripel Karmeliet and a Urthel Hop-It.  Mine was good but I had beer envy for K’s.  Don’t tell him.  We had a second round of bartender picked “Guinness” equivalents- Mclausan St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout.

In the words of a funny friend….”In Summary”….Loved the beer.  Liked the bartenders.  Tolerated the crowd.  I’m pretty sure they don’t serve a bad beer here.  Everything is fresh and of high quality. The only thing that didn’t really tempt me was the food menu.  K and I had perused it to find a snack, but midnight didn’t seem like a good time for mussels, rabbit, duck or pork belly.  I’m sure the chef is skilled, but I think I’ll drink my dinner at this bar.  Overall a good place to go when you’re in the mood for an exceptional beer in a fancy glass.  A little pricey, but you get what you pay for. Wish they ran a special or something.  Regardless, I would go back to this bar in a heartbeat and try some new beers.  There ya go.  You’re first BEERded lady bar review!

The shelving minus the lighting. From http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/Hopleaf/Hopleaf.htm

* If you get this one-I love you.

**It’s not what you’re thinking.  There’s another Michael Jackson.  This one was an english journalist and author of several books that are famous in the beer community.  He traveled the world studying beer and was exceedingly fond of Belgian beers.  He is said to have helped to define modern theories on beer styles.

*** Speaking of, if you have an iPhone you should get this app- Geotap.com.

Sure You’re Wheaty…and Kinda Shy

It’s Monday!  And to hold to a two-week strong tradition, here is your Monday Morning BEERded Lady Beer Review.  For this review I’m going right down the street to Piece Brewery.  Or for those who like complete accuracy…a brewpub.  I got laughed at for calling this place a brewery before…even though its called “Piece Brewery”.  Sooo funny, I know.  So what’s the difference?  A brewery is an establishment that makes beer.  A brewpub is a little more specific, defined as a brewery that serves food and sells its the majority of its beer on site.  Piece falls into this category as all its beer is either consumed on site or via growlers purchased from the bar.   Speaking of, the beer here is phenomenal. Unfortunately, I think it gets overshadowed by the fact that the community thinks of it as a ‘pizza place’ (rightfully so as their pizza is amazing).   But the beers and the brewmaster here are award winning.  Literally.  They’ve placed in the Great American Beer Festival every year since they opened in 2001.  My brother-in-law loves their Dark and Curvy Dunkleweizen.  To celebrate his recent Chicago visit, we went to pick him up a growler….and they were out!!  Heartbroken, we substituted the Top Heavy Hefeweizen.  Together we tasted this beer…

Top Heavy Hefeweizen, Piece Brewery, Chicago down-the-street Illinois

Where It Came From:  A growler purchased the day before from the brewery at 1927 W North Ave

In 3 words:  Banana-y, Surprisingly Light and Creamy

Look: If you read “wheat. white. what?” you could already guess that this beer is unfiltered and cloudy.  This color is hard to describe.  Maybe like darkish gold, not quite coppery.  Kinda like iced tea with a ton of ice in it.

Smell:  Sweet.  No alcohol smell.  Smells like bananas.  According to bro-in-law, the bananas are ripe, but not old…”let’s go with mature banana” he said.  Oh yes he did.

Taste: The darker hue and cloudiness would lead you to believe that this is going to be a hearty beer, but that’s not the case.  The mouthfeel is light to medium.  The “weizen” flavors are fairly mild with banana flavors dominating the clove, but still remaining low key.   A lack of bitterness and a slight sweetness contribute to a round, creamy flavor.

Cool Fact (please help me think of a better name for this category): A modern day growler is a half gallon glass bottle that is filled with brewery (or brewpub : ) beer from the tap.  The name is proposed to originate from the early 1900′s when beer would be transferred from bar to home by means of a covered metal pail.  As the beer sloshed around in the pail and CO2 escaped, it is said to have made a “growling” sound.  Kids were commonly sent to run and pick up the beer and the term “rushing the growler” was coined.  I say that like its a common phrase.  But apparently its in some old songs.

The Bottom Line:  This is a refreshing warm weather beer that would taste best on a rooftop deck in August.  No need to add a lemon-you don’t want to miss any of the flavors in this beer.  It’s not overpowering like I find other hefe’s to be.  I could easily sit down and have a couple of these in one session.  Worth trying before the weather gets too cold.

Spoiler Alert- Answers to Yesterday’s Quiz

1.  What is Belgian Lace?

• A traditional Belgian coaster made of high quality linen
• The foamy residue left on the inside of the glass as you drink a beer
• A deceivingly strong Trappist beer with 19% alcohol

Belgian lace is a sign of a well crafted beer with a hearty, resilient head that lingers in the glass.  It is also the sign of  a well-rinsed glass.  A glass dirty with soap residue will produce poor head retention because soap pops the little bubbles that make up the head of beer.  Take note of this next time you’re at your local not-so-pristine pub drinking a not-so-heady beer.

2.  Which country drinks the most beer per capita?

• Czech Republic
• Germany
• Ireland
• United States

Surprised? Me too. According to wiki.com, the Czechs drink about 338 pints/year.  Ireland is right behind with 277 and Germany follows with 244.  The US ranks #13 with a measly 172pints/year.  I think I’ll do that next year…keep a running tally of how many pints I drink in 2010.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_consumption_by_country

3.  What Chicago beer bar did I go to last night?

• Map Room
• Small Bar
• Innjoy
• Hopleaf

Yes I did.  Made the trip all the way up there.  Tell you about it soon.