Nora McGunnigle

So, I am ashamed to say, in my previous post, I mixed up Dec. 12 with the 21, re: apocalypse. Please forgive me, and we shall move along with my Vertical Epic tasting! The Avenue Pub offered tasting tickets for all 8 years that they had in stock (2005-2012). We went to the Pub yesterday after work to try the first four years (2005-2008) and returned tonight to try 2009-2012. These were all 4 oz. pours, which was good, because they ranged from 8.4-9.5% ABV. Also, some of them were pretty intensely flavored and maybe wore out their welcome by the time 4 oz was imbibed? (I am looking at you, 2006 and 2011!) Anyway, I appreciate the opportunity to do a tasting like this and extend my sincere thanks to Polly and the staff at the Pub for making this happen and celebrating a great project by Stone. So, for those who aren't familiar with Stone's Vertical Epic series , it's a series that started in 2002- they are all brewed with a Belgian style twist, and are meant to be cellare...

Tonight, Tin Roof Brewing (of Baton Rouge) debuted in New Orleans at Squeal BBQ . So, we went for dinner and to try a couple of beers. They have two flagships that they are focusing on- Tom, the brewmaster, said that he's tweaking and getting everything in place and exactly the way they want it to be. I think they have some solid potential, but they have some room to take it to the next level. In my conversation with the brewmaster, I got the feeling they knew that too. Which is exciting, because I am looking forward with what they come up with. The two beers, the Perfect Tin Amber and the Voodoo Bengal Specialty Pale Ale, came to our table looking more or less alike. There were some slightly redder tones in the amber than the pale ale, but it was a very subtle distinction. Perfect Tin: No noticeable aroma (although I am recovering from a cold), but the taste was clean, drinkable, and drier than I'd anticipated. This was a pleasant change from Abita, which has a sweetnes...

This week has included a lot of beer as well as a lot of cocktails. Um, and wine. And work! Wednesday, we attended a Brooklyn Brewery tasting at The Avenue. Mike Vitale, the first employee hired by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter as a sales person back in the earliest days of the company, came to talk about Brooklyn's beers. We were running a little late, so we missed some of his discussion about the history. But that was OK, since we'd both read Hindy and Potter's book: "Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery" which goes into all that. I recommend it for any beer lover- though slightly technical about the nuts and bolts about brewing and business. We were able to get 4 (out of 8 available) samples. I had (in this order): Black Ops, their Russian Imperial Stout, which they are very cute about "disavowing knowledge" of. It was good. It's bottled flat and then re-fermented in the bottle with Champagne yeast, and then aged in bourbon ba...

Last night we hosted a beer tasting for a few friends at our house. We got a spread of cheese from St. James Cheese Company - a Mrs. Applebys Cheshire, a Lincolnshire Poacher, and a Lagiole from France. Also a wild boar salami and a goose, duck, and chicken pate. Now, the beer! We started with a mellow Mana Wheat Ale from Maui Brewing Company - a Hefeweizen brewed with Maui Gold Pineapple. I actually didn't know about the pineapple until I just looked at the can right now. I think the fruity characteristics that are often present in Hefeweizens really lent itself to the inclusion of pineapple to a very smooth and delicious result. Next up was a Goose Island special series beer called Fleur . It's a Belgian Style ale with steeped hibiscus flowers. Excellent. Goose Island produces some seriously high quality beers, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to try this one. Became more complex and flavorful as it warmed. Hibiscus seems to be somewhat of a trend these d...

I believe that St. Arnold's is a new product in the New Orleans market. We won a mix six pack for our 2nd place showing in the Avenue Pub's pub quiz the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with 2 bottles of Texas Wheat , 2 bottles of Elissa IPA , and 2 bottles of Brown Ale . The Texas Wheat pours a bright golden straw color, with an appropriate cloudiness from the wheat. It doesn't taste very wheat-y, though that's fairly typical of American wheat ales, in my experience. It's light in body and the yeast made me think of a German ale, so I was pleased with my palate to read afterward in the tasting notes that the beer was originally a Kristall Weizen and it's brewed with a Kolsch yeast. There's a hop bitterness, but there's not a significant hop flavor profile. In contrast, the Alyssa IPA is pretty heavy on the hops. I dunno why it's called Alyssa. Wait, to the St. Arnold's tasting notes! (They are super detailed.) This beer is named after ELISSA, a ...

We picked up the newest Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Brewers Reserve - an Oak Aged Ale. It's a blend of their Oak-aged Bigfoot Barleywine, their Celebration Ale, and the flagship Pale Ale. Then they dryhop the hell out of it! Clocking in at 9.2% ABV, I got a heavily hopped initial taste of the barleywine - a whopper of a boozy taste up front, but smooth rather than raw or hot. Strong hop aroma, courtesy of the dry hopping, and there is a pronounced spicy hop flavor, which battles the barleywine bully. As it warms, the woody vanilla flavors courtesy of the oak aging of the Bigfoot becomes more pronounced. I didn't get the citrus or floral hop notes that other reviewers describe, but once I was able to differentiate the hop spiciness and the boozy oak-y spiciness, I was able to match the hop aroma in the nose with the intense hoppiness of the taste. An interesting beer- it's hoppy as hell but somehow that was camouflaged by the woodsy tones and barleywine booziness so it...

This being a holiday week, we have been able to justify more getting out and drinking beer than we usually do (and can) during the regular 5 day work week. Whoo! Last night, we went to the Avenue Pub's Pub Quiz, and came in 2nd! Which, sure, there were only like 8 teams, but still, we were pleased with our showing. We won a mix six pack of a beer I hadn't heard of before- St. Arnold's and 2 lovely belgian tulip glasses, which, shamefully enough, we'd been lacking in our beer glass collection. (We do have one of these , though!) We had a great time- it was just the two of us on our team, and we actually didn't know anyone else there except for Polly. But that was fine, sometimes it's just nice to relax. I drank a Unibroue Trois Pistoles, a Brooklyn EIPA, a 10-oz of Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, and then downstairs, the '08 (10 oz) and '09 (4 oz) He'Brew Jewbilation. Somehow this got me completely hammered. Well, I had a beer at home before headi...

Ok, so our "cellar" is our office, because New Orleans homes have no cellar, because we are like a foot above water level (if that.) We brought a lot of beers down from Salem, including a couple Trader Joe's holiday Vintage Ale. Trader Joe's gets its annual beer from Unibroue and they are usually dark Belgian style. We had 2 2008s and a 2006. I brought one of the 2008s to the Beer Advocate beer swap a few months ago, and we still have one cellaring in the office. Tonight, after a crap ass Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to crack open the 2006 vintage. It's good- while cold it pours dark, dark mahogany brown. About 1/4" or so of light tan foam. Smells like dried fruit, ginger, deep spices- kind of like fruitcake the way we make it at home (which is SO AWESOME.) It drinks easy, and it gets tastier as it warms to room temperature. I think it's aged beautifully- it is so smooth and quaffable. I have a memory of the 2006 vintage still being a ...

OK, I've only had a few beers today so my sass quotient is on the more mellow side. After the BrewHaHa yesterday, we stopped at Felipe's for post-beer burritos and then to Elio's for MOAR BEER. I was super excited that the Sierra Nevada Celebration and the Anchor Christmas Ale were both on the shelf. Sure, it's still shorts weather here, but I have loved both these seasonals for YEARS. I was sad when we were in San Francisco last year too early (in October) to enjoy the Christmas Ale at the Anchor Brewery. After an extensive look at the packaging the beers came in, I cleverly gleaned that Sierra Nevada has been brewing their Celebration Ale since 1981, which makes this year's version the 29th edition of the style. Celebration has consistently been much hoppier than other holiday seasonal beers, and this year is no exception. However, it contains more maltiness than Sierra Nevada's flagship Pale Ale. It pours a bright orange-y copper color, with good carb...