Happy Zwanze Day!

Happy Zwanze Day!  We can't get to any to place remotely nearby that has any of the fine beer from Cantillon, so we decided to celebrate instead not with a Belgian sour, but rather an American sour from the only American brewer invited to the sour beer celebration in Belgium - Allagash Brewing Company. Tonight it's Allagash's FV 13.  This is a sour ale aged for four years in a giant (2700 gallon) oak foudre (or foeder).

1420. Allagash Brewing Company - FV 13 - Poured from bottle into snifter from one of my other favorite American sour producers, New Belgium Brewing. Pours a rich, dark, orange/copper with two finger head. Head dissipates down to maybe 5 mm fairly quickly. Aroma - vinegar, cherry, earthiness, some funk and forest floor. Taste - very earthy and funky - clear brett notes, vinegar, sour apple and cherry, and some sweetness. This really reminds me, on some notes, of Crooked Stave’s offerings in terms of brett-taste. Finish is long and tart and earthy. Carbonation level is appropriate and prickly; mouthfeel is creamy and slightly oily. This is a complex beer with lots of brettanomyces character.  We have one more bottle left and we'll probably let this one age awhile longer to see how it changes.  
      

Awhile back we also had another beer from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaboration, but forgot to record that here.  

1421. Sierra Nevada / New Glarus - Beer Camp - There And Back - This is a traditional english-style bitter.  Poured from bottle into English pint. Pours a rich clear copper with a two finger head. Head pretty quickly dissipates to a thin skim. Aroma - nose is fruity hops with light grass and citrus underneath. There is also some biscuit malt on the nose as well. Taste is a really nice balance of biscuit and hops with less citrus than on the nose. Finish is long and malty, carbonation level is pretty high and prickly.  Didn't get a picture of this, but it's a beer that we wish there was a lot more of around.  

Beer Camp - Sierra Nevada / Bell's Brewery - Maillard's Odyssey

This is the second beer from the Beer Camp 12 pack.  This one is a collaboration with Sierra Nevada and Bell's Brewery.  They've created an imperial dark ale which is really an imperial dark strong ale.  

1418. Sierra Nevada / Bells Beer Camp - Maillard’s Odyssey - Pours a dark rich brown with 3 finger tan head. Head dissipates pretty quickly, but leaves a good deal of lacing. Aroma has notes of chocolate and caramel with subtle coffee underneath. Taste follows suit with some grassy notes early on. There is a little bit of alcohol on the finish giving a nice subtle warming in the belly.  This is quite rich, roasty, and very tasty.

Beer Camp - Ninkasi Brewing Double Latte

This year Sierra Nevada worked with 12 different breweries across the country in a program called Beer Camp to brew collaboration brews.  They then released a limited number of  12 packs and we managed to get one of the very few to come to our area.  Because these are special and so limited, we are going to post individual reviews to each brew.

The first one we tried is the collaboration with Ninkasi Brewing - Double Latte.

1417. Sierra Nevada / Ninkasi Brewing - Double Latte - This pours a dark color with light khaki head (2-3 fingers). Head is fairly resilient, but does fade some, leaving lots of lacing. Aroma smells like a latte - lots of rich espresso notes with creamy undertones and a touch of milk chocolate. Tastes follow the aromas to a tee. Really rich, creamy mouthfeel. Long finish, but it is subtle and nice.  It has been nice and cool here in the evening and this is going very nice with a chocolate chip cookie bar.