Beer Friday #6

I wasn't sure what music I wanted to go with this week. But after I tasted the Boon Mariage Parfait Gueuze, a beer I hadn't tasted in years...nothing less would do. Enjoy Dimitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture.

I love that stuff.

Boon Mariage Parfait Geuze, 8.0%
I still remember my first Boon Mariage Parfait. It split my nose open like a well-used outhouse; raunchy farmhouse assault, swelling bacterial aromas, brutal. And yet...I kept going back for more, like with a truly great raw milk cheese. I never forgot that, even when Boon tamed down a bit.

Then I got this sample from the Rare Beer Club, and I wanted to see if it still had that power, if it still gave up that funk. The cork popped sharply, the beer fizzed mightily, the dark gold color and bright white head were beautiful. Nosing time.

Well, it doesn't smell like a shithouse. What I do smell are classic geuze markers: blood, old iron, horse blanket, deeply tart grapefruit, soursop, and finally, some malt in behind. There's a sweetness to it that makes me a bit suspect, but let's get it over the lips.

A blend of sour, bitter, oaky tannin, and dry brett. The fizz is great, but the main body is so blended, it's almost too well-blended. Don't get me wrong: this is good, very good, and I intend to finish the entire 750, but...it falls short of the true greatness it used to possess. I've seen people ding Boon for not being "as sour as Cantillon." I don't think they get it. I'm not a lambic expert, but I've had far more than my share, and the truth is, "lambic" doesn't mean one thing, one type of beer. There are differences among them: piercingly sour, crisply astringent, raunchily funky, dryly woody with brett. This actually reaches across several categories and brings them together. To be fair, the finish is spectacular, the beer's best aspect, where the full range of complexity catches fire and lights up your mouth.

Welcome back, old friend. You're not what you were, but what you are is worthy, and loved, and a great way to fill a glass.

Verdict: Good

Innis & Gunn White Oak Wheat Beer, 6.4%
This is where I get confused, by the confusion over wheat beers. The front label of this one says "Wheat beer with bergamot, orange peel, and orange oil added." Which sounds more like a witbier, right? Then the back calls it a "German-style wheat beer," aged 46 days over oak and finished with the bergamot and orange. So what the hell is it? Style considerations aside, let's find out.

It sure doesn't smell German-style (or look it; no huge head): mostly it's the bergamot (think Earl Grey tea) and the oak — mostly vanilla — in the nose. So let's have a sip.

Very creamy (almost feels nitro), like many of the Innis & Gunn beers, and not a trace of the German weissbier character. The orange and bergamot and oak are all there, though, and they come together in a weirdly pleasant way. It's beguiling, truly. I like about 1 in 3 of these Innis & Gunns, and I never thought this would be one of them from the description, but even though it tastes kind of sweet, weird sweet, the oak and the bergamot balances it. I like this one, and it's bewitchingly different.

"Different" is good, these days...as long as it isn't disgusting.

Verdict: Good

Søle Clink, 4.9%
(I'm just going to type Sole, without the fancy ø every time. Had this on draft at a place that shall remain nameless.)
Is the pale ale coming back? Mebbe? Please? A new "gypsy" brewery in our area, Sole Artisan Ales created Clink as their "anytime" beer, a heavily dry-hopped pale ale without a ton of bitterness (though -- spoiler -- it does show up in the finish). I haven't seen it a lot of places, despite having some connection to the people who make it (as in, I've met them and they stay in touch), so when I saw it today I grabbed one.

Clean and clear, light yellow, white head. Good aroma -- pine and citrus, the American classics -- and the hop and malt are beautifully balanced in the beer. There's a bit of minerality that I'm not sure is the beer (might be the lines), and then the hops really kick in at the finish. A solid beer, not a great beer, but solid.

This, or another decent solid beer? Love the one you're with, baby.

Verdict: Okay

Drie Fonteinen to stop brewing lambic...but it's not all bad

Joe Stange has a beautiful post at his Thirsty Pilgrim blog about Drie Fonteinen owner Armand Debelder's decision to stop brewing his own lambics. He will, however, continue to blend, which is what 3F was known for originally anyway, and he will also continue to distill. Go read the details, it's a nice story that should bring a smile to your face.

Iron Hill Lambic-style beers go full-time

Iron Hill, the regional brewpub group in these parts (seven brewpubs -- all brewing -- and counting; Maple Shade, NJ slated for the spring, now how about Bucks County?), never seems to get enough respect from some of the geekerie. Oh, the beer's good, but nothing's really special, they say (which I assume means over 12% ABV, hopped like a crank-shooting bunny, and/or sour-assed puckery). This, despite many GABF awards for their big beers, their sour beers, and their "ordinary" beers, seems a bit out of touch to me, to put it politely.

You may hear a mass sucking sound this weekend as heads are finally pulled out of ... orifices by the launch of Iron Hill's bottled lambic-style beers. Four of these beers, Kreik de Hill (isn't that supposed to be "kriek"?), Lambic de Hill, Framboise de Hill, and Cassis de Hill, are now available in take-home bottles, not just on draft for special occasions. Iron Hill's lambic-type beers have won awards, critical acclaim, and built a fan base locally. They're damned good, and they should be, with the amount of work, love, and expense the brewery has put into them. They've won five GABF medals between them, including three golds.

To celebrate, there will be launch parties this weekend. Saturday, Dec. 6, from 2-5 at Iron Hill Wilmington, and Sunday, from 2-5 at Iron Hill Media. All four beers will be available at Wilmington, the Cassis will not be at Media. These two locations will be the only ones selling these bottles.

American craft brewers. If they can imagine it, they can make it. Iron Hill invites comparison to the Belgian classics.