Santa's Private Reserve

This festive drink was acquired by Bier Goddess only through the gracious hospitality of Conrad, the General Manager of the Rogue Pub in San Francisco. Bier Goddess can only guess that when Conrad heard far she had come, how limited her visit to San Francisco was and then witnessed her "bouncing off the wall" enthusiasm, he must have somehow found it in his heart to sell her his only display sample of this Christmas Box set of Santa's Private Reserve which was meant to be kept until the real stock was delivered for sale to the general public.

So it came to pass that the precious gift set went home with Bier Goddess along with 16 other beers carefully packed in the Beer Suitcase (yes, she has an especially outfitted suitcase for the sole purpose of bringing beer back from her travels...more on this later). And when it was finally opened, the bottle poured out a rich, brown, sweet-ish ale very reminisient of another Rogue brew, the St. Rogue Red Ale.

This is what the Rogue website had to say:

"Santa's Private Reserve:
Rogue's annual holiday offering, Santa's Private Reserve, is a variation of the classic Saint Rogue Red, but with double the hops--including Chinook, and Centennial, and a mystery hop called Rudolph by head brewer John "more hops" Maier!This holiday elixir is brewed with two-row Harrington, Klages and Munich malts, along with Hugh Baird 30-37, Carastan 13-17, and Crystal 70-80 malts, plus free range coastal water and John's proprietary top-fermenting Pacman yeast. Available in both 22-ounce bottles, 12oz Loose packs for Winter 2005, and 12oz six packs for 2006.Measurements: 13 degrees Plato, IBU 44, Apparent attenuation 73, Lovibond 26

No Chemicals, Additives, or Preservatives"

http://www.rogue.com/index.html

Thanks for a totally memorable pub visit & all the goodies you sent me home with...cheers Conrad!

Midnight Sun Espresso Stout

This lovely, black stout is from Yukon Brewing Company of Whitehorse. This impressive 1 liter bottle was purchased on an adventure last summer to Banff, Alberta. It was put away upon return from the trip until it could be shared with Beer Friends (one of whom is a particular fan of stouts and porters). We thought, "This should be right up her alley." We paired it with the 'intense dark' Espresso Escape cacao chocolate bar from Ghirardelli of San Francisco.

In a tasting seminar Bier Goddess attended a year or two ago, it was suggested that all food pairings should either be a compliment or a contrast to the beer being drunk. This pairing was a near perfect compliment - the dark, velvetly dry flavour of the stout was enhanced by the bitter, espresso chocolate. Although the stout had 6.2% alcohol, the low carbonation made it go down smoothly, effortlessly and far too quickly. It was enjoyed as the dessert after a lovely dinner. It wasn't so long ago that it would have been inconceivable to think of eating dessert matched with a beer. But Bier Goddess has learned that just like with wine, there can be great pairings with all kinds of food. It's a matter of investigating suggestions from others and experimenting on your own.

Written on the label was the following:

Hearty northern people love a hearty stout beer. We've teamed up with Yukon's famous Midnight Sun Coffee Roaster to create this special blend. Originally developed for "Bean Queen" Zola Dore in a small batch kettle system by Yukoner Mitt Stehelin, we've retained the artisan qualities of this unique, unfiltered brew.

The robust taste of this hearty stout starts with the smooth glide of real espresso and finishes with a dry, chocolately malt flavour. Why the big bottle? You'll love it so much, you'll want to share it with a friend, or not!

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale

In the spirit of celebrating the newly formed blog, Beer Guide decided to open a very special bottle he had been saving for such an occasion. Delighted at the prospect of such a thoughtful gesture, Bier Goddess watched as Beer Guide extracted the synthetic cork from the 750 ml bottle. 'Flemish Primitive Wild Ale' from the brewery 'De Proef Brouwerij' from the town of Lochristi in Belgium was acquired in San Francisco back in November of last year.

Written on the back of the bottle was the following:
The name 'Flemish Primitive' refers both to the famous wild yeast that lends a unique flavor accent to this extraordinary ale, and to the school of "primitive" painters in Medieval Flanders whose startling work kick-started the Renaissance.
Working in his ultra-scientific brewery in western Flanders, Dirk Naudts, "The Prof", is one of Belgium's leading brewmasters. A rigorous experimenter, his fame is the perfect matching of malt, hops, and yeast. He has crafted recipes for breweries large and small throughout Belgium. The masterful Flemish Primitive, like everything from De Proef, is great brew born of science and passion.

Beer Guide and Bier Goddess first noticed the strong fruity nose. When pouring they noted the rocky white head. It was clear like a Duvel but not as golden, more amber in colour. There seemed to be a difference of opinion when trying to discribe the flavour. Bier Goddess thought it had a strong taste of sour grapefruit, likely a result of the wild yeast. She also detected some fruit and it was definitely very dry throughout. Beer Guide thought it was like a Saison more so than the Triple he was expecting. It wasn't as sweet as a Triple but rather quite dry in the finish. He said that it was fruity with notes of pear. He also added that despite the 9% alcohol content, the mouth feel was lighter than that of a Triple. Both agreed that it was well made and definitely worth seeking out.

In the beginning...

In the beginning there was an ordinary woman who did not really care for beer. No, wine and cocktails were more to her liking. She considered beer as a drink filled with carbonated bubbles - often too bitter and too filling for her small stature. Like many before her, the path to great beer came gradually.

There was Beer Guide that aided her tasting experiences; introducing libations of which she'd never seen before. With an open mind and an adventureous spirit, she began to find a world of beer beyond the big, generic, commerical breweries. "Start at home and with what is close by" is good advice. So she started with beers from her area - Creemore Springs, Mill Street, Durham County and others.

Over time she started to discover a world of beer so vast and plentiful in variety and flavors that she began to think that it may even be bigger than the wine world. She discovered creamy ales & stouts, doubles, triples, Trappist biers, wheat beers and crisp lagers. Her palate started to change. Before she knew it, she was thinking, "What foods would compliment this fine beverage?" Thus, she started experimenting with food pairings. She found that she learned just as much from the bad pairings as from the ones that worked. She started throwing parties for friends sharing her beer experiences with those who were interested. She began to seek out pubs & restaurants that specialized in great beers. And in these establishments she made beer friends. Some were experts & brewers and others were just like her, a fellow traveller on their own beer journeys.

And so it came to pass that Bier Goddess began to emerge.