Magic of Beer: Samhain (Part 2) “Homebrewing”

 culture  1 Response »
Oct 272011
 

As the magic of beer has showcased over the last year, I enjoy beer on a seasonal basis. As I am about to finish off the Pumpkins and Octoberfests for the season, I am very much looking forward to the winter warmers that will be available throughout November and December.

Suddenly, I realized that this can also be applied to homebrewing.  Earlier this year, I got involved in homebrewing as a hobby. Not only is it fun, but the end result is beer. I started out by brewing a couple of my favorite styles with kits, but recently successfully brewed a more experimental beer for the late summer using a wheat beer recipe and adding pomegranate for a beer to honor Demeter with the wheat and Persephone with the pomegranate. The beer is delicious, but I fear that I might have bottled it too late to truly enjoy - the crisp wheat beers are no longer what my  taste buds are craving as the season turns colder. Not that I won’t drink it, however.

This error in timing made me think about a new approach for brewing. I brewed the wheat beer in the late summer because that is what I wanted at the time, but I didn’t take into account the fermentation and bottling process that led to it not being drinkable until October. While I still plan to enjoy it, it just isn’t the same. But home brewed beer can be brewed seasonally, and the traditional Wiccan/Pagan Wheel of the Year provides the prefect template. That is why I am brewing my Yule beer at Samhain!  And, check this out – I can then brew my Imbolc Beer at Yule and my Spring Equinox beer at Imbolc!  And it goes on and on. Why didn’t I think of this before. The brewing itself can be a beautiful act of devotion and the resulting beverage will be ready to be consumed at the next holiday – the one for which it was intended!  What a brilliantly natural system.  I’m glad someone thought of it!

My Yule beer is a Gingerbread Porter. That sounds delicious. I am taking a slightly modified porter recipe a friend recently brewed and, per the suggestion of this book, adding gingerbread spices to make a delicious wintertime beer.  I am so excited I could burst.

If you’re so inclined, you too can brew your own beer. There is a small up front investment – I got everything I needed for about $200.  Once you have all that though the beer ingredients are not terribly expensive and cheaper than buying beer in the grocery store or at the bar.

The rest of the process is really an equal portions preparation, ingredients and waiting.  I began to brew my Yule Gingerbread Porter about 7pm and finished about 11pm, including clean up.  The resulting wort, which I always sample, tasted heavily of the gingerbread spices – ginger, clove, cinnamon and allspice.  Then it was placed in a carboy with the yeast to do its magic.
In mid-November, when I get back from a trip to South Africa, I will bottle said beer. Once it is bottled it needs to condition for a couple more weeks before it is completely ready.  If it is good, I think I will give it to friends and family for the holidays (act surprised if you get one).  And, closer to Yule I will begin to brew my Imbolc beer – appropriately, a Milk Stout. And on Yule proper, I will crack open my Gingerbread Porter and share it with the Gods, a harvest of the seeds I planted at Samhain.

The Magic of Beer: Samhain (Part 1) “Pumpkin”

 culture  5 Responses »
Oct 242011
 

Last year for Samhain I focused on Octoberfest beers. But this year, I thought I would showcase the various pumpkin offerings. There is nothing more iconic for this time of year than the pumpkin (unless it is the witches).  Pumpkin beers are a bit of a fad – just about every brewery out there wants to try their hand at one. This makes for an interesting culture of pumpkin flavored beers. As this article mentions, Pumpkin beer is the single most divisive beer flavor available. Either you love them or you hate them.  I have a more complex relationship with the pumpkin ale. A really good pumpkin beer is just that – *Really Good*. Delicious. Fabulous. A flavor odyssey for your tongue. But a really bad pumpkin beer typically tastes like pumpkin flavored spicy water.  I have tried good and bad ones. Here are some really good ones to check out.
 
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin
 
If you can get your hands on this one, do yourself a favor and check it out. The term Imperial indicates that a beer is higher in alcohol, so this isn’t a low octane beer by any means.  It is a rich dark beer with very spicy flavors to compliment the pumpkin pie flavor a typical pumpkin beer is trying to accomplish.
 
Dogfish Head Punkin
 
This is probably my favorite pumpkin beer. It is also one of Dogfish Head’s most popular brews – it is sold out pretty much as soon as it is produced. During their short lived TLC series, they aired an episode about how this beer is made and this is the real thing. They use a good brown beer recipe to start then add real pumpkin, brown sugar and complimentary spices. The resulting beer is delicious.  It is autumn in a glass. 
 
Blue Moon Harvest Moon 
 
As you know from reading this series, I am a big fan of the craft beer industry – especially local beers. However, for a macrobrew the Blue Moon’s Harvest Moon is not bad at all.  It not as heavy as either the Weyerbacher or the Punkin but the spices and pumpkin flavor are acceptable. Recently, my partner and I were at  a chain restaurant and they were out of the fall seasonal that we ordered.  The waitress kindly offered us a taste of the Harvest Moon. I didn’t hate it, but I declined the offer and ordered something else. My partner asked if they said it was a local brewery would I have ordered one and I said yes. He seemed perplexed by this. I told him it wasn’t bad and I would probably drink it but given the option I’d rather not give my money to Coor’s. If the same beer had been produced by a local brewery, I would at least support them because the beer wasn’t undrinkable. 
 
Terrapin Pumpkinfest
 
To counter the Coor’s offering of Blue Moon, I thought I would mention a local Georgia beer. I would actually classify Pumpkinfest just like I described above – not the best of the style but not bad and if given the option I would order a local beer over a mass produced beer any day. 
 
 Smuttynose Pumpkin
 
Smutty Nose makes a brown ale that I am not a huge fan of. It tastes, for lack of a better description, a little dirty. It is a cloudy brown and overly earthy. However, we were just a a very nice restaurant in Asheville and I asked our waiter about any fall seasonals they had and he suggested the Smuttynose Pumpkin…so I gave it a shot.  It tasted a lot like their brown, but adding the real pumpkin and well balanced spices seemed to give the beer a little bit of the personality it was lacking. It really tasted like the season. 
 
Pumkin beers often go off the shelves right around Samhain, so get your 6 packs now. They’ll make a fantastic libation to share with the Gods and Ancestors for this holiday. 
 
And stay tuned – I have a Magic of Beer Part 2 on its way.  This time, we’re cooking up our own magic of beer with home brewing.

The Magic of Beer: Branding

 culture  1 Response »
Sep 202011
 

After over a year of unsuccessfully trying to taste the controversial Witch’s Wit from Lost Abbey Brewery, I have come to the conclusion that the universe does not want me to try it. In a last ditch effort before the summer was over, I went down to a world famous bar in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta for their anniversary event. While the event was awesome and the beer was exceptional, they were out of Witch’s Wit by the time we got there at 3pm.  I have tried some other Lost Abbey and Port beers and they have not been among my favorites, so at this time I can only conclude that Lost Abbey is not for me.

However, I have been doing a lot of thinking about imagery and the use of labeling to sell beer. While I think that a lot of the backlash about the Witch’s Wit label was much ado about nothing, I suppose it never hurts to have a more positive image on a bottle.  Enter Mother Earth Brewing’s Sisters of the Moon IPA. I was recently out to dinner in the Asheville area and they had bottles of this North Carolina brewery on the menu. It was simply listed at Mother Earth IPA and I was in the mood for some refreshing hops, so I ordered it.  Just a few moments later our server, who looked a lot like Lucius Vorenus from Rome, arrived table side with a bottle of beer. He carefully poured it in the pint glass and set both the empty bottle and the golden beer before me. I glanced at the bottle, and then I picked it up to get a closer look. The IPA was named Sisters of the Moon and featured three women dancing around a bonfire reaching their arms up to the full moon. This was the sign I needed. It was the counter point to the rather graphic image on Witch’s Wit. Rather than glorifying death and torture, the Mother Earth IPA seemed to be celebrating life.  At that moment, even though I had spoken out about the internet tirade against Lost Abbey, I realized that there could be something better. There could be a craft beer available that Pagans would be proud to purchase. Pagans could place this bottle upon their altars to honor the Gods.

I emailed Mother Earth Brewing to find out the inspiration behind their branding, but I have yet to hear back. If and when I do, I will be happy update.

Now, one of the things that angered me about the Witch’s Wit controversy was that none of the people who were so outraged had even tried the beer to know whether or not it was good in the first place. If the beer isn’t tasty, then people won’t by it anyway – problem solved; no boycott necessary. That being said, of course, taste is subjective. This is why I had tried so hard to get my hands on a bottle or tap of the beer the last year. Failing to do so, I simply have to evaluate based on the other Lost Abbey brand beers that I have tried and so far none have been among my favorites.

So, how is the flavor of Sisters of the Moon? Well, I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much I ordered myself another bottle. And I would buy a six pack if I saw it in the store.  It is a smooth, golden IPA. It has some perfectly balanced hop flavors that are neither subtle nor overpowering. It is light and refreshing. There is only one small drawback. The beer is brewed in Eastern North Carolina and only available throughout that fine sate, from Apex to Zebulon.  So if you find yourself in or near enough to North Carolina look at the BrewFinder and seek out Mother Earth Brewing.

While you’re at it, have a look at local brews in your area. Are there any beers that seem ready made for ritual?  What are your local favorites?  What kind of image do they project?

The Magic of Beer: Midsummer II

 culture  3 Responses »
Jun 162011
 

This all started a year ago as I was enjoying one of my favorite summer beers – Bell’s Oberon – and thought how appropriate it would be as an offering for a Midsummer ritual.  The project evolved to include nation- and worldwide options so everyone could have an option no matter where they were on the planet.  The main focus became the “Perfect” beer for each of the 8 major Wiccan holidays (I am not Wiccan myself but I know those are the most recognizable days and plus it gave me a reasonable deadline for each installment). Now Midsummer has come again and I wondered where this project would take me through the next wheel of the year.  On a more personal note, doing this year long exploration of beer styles has led me to a new place in my life – home brewing. I love the science and the art and, dare I say, the magic of the process.

I had originally hoped to review Lost Abby’s Witches Wit since it is a summer seasonal, but even though the beer is now distributed in Georgia, it is difficult to find. I even contacted the brewery to have them send me some “reviewer beer” and they said they would, but I have not yet received any. (That exchange was in November of last year, btw). I wanted to see how the beer had fared in spite of the controversy within our communities last year.  Alas, I will not be able to review this beer.

Oberon is a wheat beer and while wheat is a perfect summertime beer, it isn’t the only beer. Besides, I did choose to focus on wheat brews for August 1st since we were still in the hot hot heat of the summer at that time.  Instead, here is a small sampling of summer seasonals that are available now.  If these beers are in your town, check them out.  If not, look at your local or regional breweries and see what summertime brews they can offer and give one a try.

Sam Adams Summer Ale

This is a staple beer in the summer and will be available pretty much anywhere throughout the US.  It is actually an American style wheat beer.  The big gimmick with this beer is that it is brewed with an ingredient called Grains of Paradise. This African pepper gives the beer a bit of a spicy flavor which is counter balanced by lemon.  It makes for a very refreshing beer, but surprisingly not the most original flavor available out there.

Magic Hat Summer Pack

Yes, you read correctly – this is a 12 pack of beer all meant for summer enjoyment. If you are planning a large midsummer celebration, this offers a perfect variety for your group.  I couldn’t pick just one of these offerings.  Number 9 is a year round beer for Magic Hat and it is one of my favorite drinking beers. It is light pale ale (described as a not-quite-pale ale) flavored with apricot.  Wacko is my least favorite of the beers in this pack, but it is notable as a beer brewed with beet sugar and pale malts. This year, Magic Hat is brewing is doing a “Tour of IPA”s – a new one each season. The summer IPA is Blind Faith which I like quite a bit. This may be surprising since in the spring I mentioned that I didn’t like hoppy beers.  Folks – I have learned to appreciate hops.  I am here to tell you it is possible.  The fourth offering in this pack is Single Chair, a dry and crisp pale ale.  Grab yourself a variety pack and enjoy the solstice.

New Belgium Summersault

I was able to try this at a beer festival just after Beltane. It is a delightful “Blonde” ale.  New Belgium is one of my favorite breweries and available most anywhere in the US.  They are also a “green” brewery using sustainable techniques. The Summersault is a good summer drinking beer.

Sweetwater Waterkeeper

I just got back from the bar. The only reason I hadn’t posted this article sooner was because I wanted to try this beer first.  I was able to try this special edition, seasonal and local beer just a short time ago and I am excited that I did.  It is a Hefeweizen, which is to say a European style wheat beer.  It had a crisp lemon flavor that accented the wheat malts wonderfully. It was, in my opinion, a perfect summer beer.  On top of that, it is a beer with a social message. The beer was brewed especially as a campaign to save the waters of Georgia’s Chattahoochee River.

Pisgah Solstice

And last but not least, I wanted to mention this beer from Western North Carolina.  This beer, like Bell’s Oberon is a perfect Midsummer beer. I have enjoyed this on several occasions but my favorite was to their brewery in Black Mountain NC and sitting outside with other beer fans.  I do write a lot about local brews (for me that means Atlanta and Asheville NC) and there is a reason for that.  Support your local brewery. Chances are, they make great beer and use fresh ingredients.  Some local breweries try to be sustainable and earth friendly as well.

So, Jugglers, what do you think?  Do you continue to see a place for beer reviews in our community?  What do you want to know about beer and magic or ritual?  Have you used beer in your celebrations?  If you have, I would love to see it. Take pictures of your altar and share them with me.

Blessed Solstice everyone (and if you are celebrating the Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere, check out my post from December)

The Magic of Beer: Beltane

 culture  1 Response »
Apr 272011
 

With my “Wheel of Beer” nearly coming to an end (it is hard to believe that I started at the Summer Solstice last year), I spent quite a bit of time determining what kind of beer would be suitable for Beltane.  There are so many styles of beer that I haven’t even begun to cover I could do this cycle for years to come and not touch them all.  I had considered suggesting Belgian style beers for Beltane because they are lush, sweet and high in alcohol so they might encourage Beltane encounters.  However, I also think of Beltane as the start of summer and during this time of year I don’t want such a heavy beer. I look for something light and refreshing that I can drink while sitting outside at bar’s patio or on my own balcony.  In the end, I settled on Amber and Red beers. The deep red color is reminiscent of the rising sun on Beltane morning signaling a shift in energy for the year.  This beer is often referred to as a “crowd pleaser” because it is a simple, drinkable beer with options made by a lot of different companies offering a wide variety. Here are some of my favorite reds to celebrate this season.

New Belgium Fat Tire

This simple red beer has a great fizz to it and tastes almost toasty.  This isn’t a hoppy beer at all, so if you prefer malts this might be the beer for you.  It is light, crispy and refreshing it is a prefect beer to enjoy outside on a hot May day.  New Belgium is regarded for their Green Brewing initiatives so you can also feel good about drinking this beer.

Highland Gaelic Ale

This amber beer is the polar opposite of Fat Tire.  It’s malt flavors are sweet and almost fruity and the hop character is more pronounced giving this beer a rich lightly bittered flavor that is very refreshing.  The color is a rich red with almost mahogany notes that look beautiful poured in a pint glass.  You can also imagine that the Irish name of this beer can honor the Celtic traditions of the Beltane holiday.

Abita Amber

Out of the magical city of New Orleans comes this easy drinking Amber beer.  This is actually a lager beer, so the brewing process is different than an ale but results in a rich drink. One reviewer at Beer Advocate described it as an “easy drinking lawnmower beer” which is a great phrase.  The non-bitter matly and fruity flavor profile goes well with the smell of fresh cut grass.

Red Brick Laughing Skull Amber Ale

This local Atlanta beer has an interesting story.  It was brewed for a restaurant (and Atlanta institution) called The Vortex but it became so popular it has been found all over the south east.  This is a fun beer.  It simply tastes fun.  The carbonation plays on your tongue bringing about sensations that remind us of the season.  It is a much hoppier been than a typical red or amber with fruity flavors.

Magic Hat Vinyl

This is a spring seasonal for Magic Hat brewing out of Vermont.  It is a very original amber lager with darker malt tastes but a surprising light feel. It is perfect to honor the turning of the season.

Killian’s Irish Red

This beer is owned by Coor’s which make me cringe as a craft beer enthusiast, but it is probably the most accessible red beer in the United States.  And for a macrobrewed beer it isn’t bad at all.  If you’re not a beer drinker, this could be an easy offering to try for the first time.  It is a slightly sweet, not bitter and malty beer.

Since Red and Amber beers are so common, I’ve barely covered the possibilities.  If none of these are available in your area, just look for other local offerings in this style.

This Beltane, I will be celebrating International Pagan Coming Out Day at a local craft beer bar with Pagans and non-Pagans coming out to support the mission.  We can share our stories over a couple of pints.  Check the website to see if any events are happening in your area. If not, consider celebrating with friends and a cold glass of Amber Ale.

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: Earth Day

 tv  No Responses »
Apr 062011
 

I am starting to get that anxious feeling that my favorite series’ are coming close to the end of their seasons.  Last week didn’t have a new episode of Fringe, but there aren’t very many left, though I am very excited about the announcement of a special guest star for the finale (click link at your own risk of spoilage).

But mostly I am here to share this series of PSAs from Fox featuring the cast of Fringe. Mostly the supporting cast, with the exception of Joshua Jackson who, if I am going to be honest, is currently on my top 5.

I am pleased to see network television spreading the message of environmentalism. Learning about Earth Day as a young teenager eventually led me to modern Paganism.

In other television news, BBC America is closing in on the season finale of Being Human. I will be sad to see it go, but am so excited about the newest season of Doctor Who, which will be aired in the US without delay this season.

I am sadly missing the Starz series Camelot because I don’t have that station on my cable, but I have set my DVR for the epic fanstasy seriesGame of Thrones on HBO. It is sure to have broad, sweeping magical themes that might interest our community. At the very least, I imagine it will be pretty. Game of Thrones and Doctor Who might just make up for Fringe and Being Human ending for the season.

On the reality TV side of things, The Fabulous Beekman Boys has returned for their second season. There is nothing inherently Pagan about this show at all but I am inspired by the way they are working toward their dreams. It encourages me that I can work toward mine as well. I am also oddly inspired by the show Sister Wives. I am ambiguous about their lifestyle choices personally, but I am really interested in the theme of this season where the family is choosing to be public in spite of all the possible fall out. Essentially, they are coming out and I encourage anyone and everyone to be public about their lifestyle.

As a complete and total non-TV related side note, I have recently discovered a beer that I failed to mention in the latest Magic of Beer post.  I wanted to pass this on before the season passed me by.  As I mentioned in that post, I don’t like hoppy beer because of the overwhelming bitter flavor in most of them.  I spent so much time leading up to writing that article avoiding Pale Ales that I don’t know that I really experienced then.  At my birthday party over the weekend, we bought the spring pack of Magic Hat and in it was their Number 9 Not Quite Pale Ale. I gave it a shot and fell in love.  If you have been avoiding hoppy beers like I have, give this one a try. It is pretty smooth and even and worth a taste.

The Magic of Beer: Spring Equinox

 culture  7 Responses »
Mar 172011
 

There was one thing and one thing only that I could write about for the Spring Equinox installment of the Magic of Beer. As we welcome spring and all the rebirth of the green growing things around us, one flower stands out in the world of beer. The flower I speak of is Hops, a bright spring green flower that grows on vines and is used exclusively for beer. This little flower has an interesting history in that it was used not as beer flavoring but as a beer preservative. When the English Empire spread to India, the British subjects living there still wanted to enjoy a good pint of beer and hops was used in the brewing process to keep the beer fresh to survive the long ocean voyage to the Indian subcontinent. Over time, it became a familiar favor for beer and has enjoyed a renaissance with the microbrew boom in the US and across the world. There are several beer styles that use hops to give it that floral, hoppy, bitter taste. They include Pale Ales, India Pale Ales (IPA), and bitters, to name a few. Hops come in several varieties that grow all over the world but here in the US the Willamette Valley of Oregon is known for growing some fantastic hops.

But here is my confession, Juggler Readers. I do not like Hops. Or at least I thought I didn’t before I started exploring the Pale Ales for this feature. Truthfully, I still wouldn’t name hops among myfavorite flavors, but we have reached an understanding. Hops has a very distinctive bitter flavor. I read somewhere recently, though do not have a source to provide, that women are biologically programmed to reject the taste of bitter. Anthropologically, as the preparer of meals, women became in tuned with the flavors that might indicate food was spoiled or poisoned and often that meant bitter. Whether that is true or not, I do talk to many female beer drinkers who prefer a malty-er flavored beer over one that is excessively hoppy. Hops and I still have a rocky relationship but one of the things that has helped me come to terms with it is home brewing. I understand the hopping process now so I can see where it belongs in a well brewed beer. One thing I learned about hoppy beers is that the strong bitter taste can be overwhelming at first. That first taste can make someone decide not to finish the pint, but that is exactly you should do. The flavors will open up on your palate. There are some hoppy beers that I have learned to appreciate. I will showcase those beers here. However, because of the vast variety of hoppy beers, feel free to explore styles and brands on your own this spring.

New Belgium Mighty Arrow
New Belgium is one of my favorite breweries and a great one to support as Pagans due to their green initiatives. Mighty Arrow is named after a beloved border collie and features the pretty
dog on the label. Mighty Arrow has a sweet honey flavor, but not as strong as something like mead. The hops taste fresh and flowery without being too overpowering. It is crisp and refreshing.

Fullers ESB
This is a go to beer on tap for me in a lot of bars. I have featured an ESB before (New Belgium’s 2Below) and it remains a favorite. ESB means either Extra Strong or Extra Special Bitter depending on who you ask. The bitter refers to the use of the hops but it isn’t extreme. The result is a malty, drinkable, lighter beer with an unsurpassed mouth feel and great drinkability. Fullers is a British brewery and should be available just about anywhere you can get imported beer. I enjoy drinking a variety of beers and rarely do I have two of the same beers in one sitting, but this is an exception. One pint of this and I am looking forward to another pint.

Left Hand Sawtooth ESB
ESB is a favorite style now and I enjoy it often. I have even recently brewed my own ESB, results yet to be determined. I have written about Left Hand brewery from Colorado several times and I experienced Sawtooth on tap at a local bar. It was a nitro tap which is an excellent way to experience the real complexities of a beer. Left Hand Sawtooth tastes like velvet with a rich, luxurious flavor. The feel is creamy.

Sweetwater 420
This local beer is very popular in Atlanta. It is Sweetwater’s flagship brew and it is exactly what you might want in a Pale Ale. I spent some time on a recent vacation getting intimate with this beer as it tended to be the best offering at several places we found ourselves. It is available throughout the South East and is worth a try. The hops are prominent and you really smell and taste the flower and because of that, this beer really tastes like spring.

http://www.dailybeerreview.com/2010/07/hop-karma-brown-ipa.html

Terrapin Hop Karma
Another local beer, this one brewed in the college town of Athens Georgia (Home of the University of Georgia). It is an interesting take on a hoppy beer in that it isn’t a pale ale at all. It is called an Indian Brown Ale or Brown IPA. The brewers took a more traditional Brown beer recipe (which is one of my favorites) and added a good dose of flavor, aroma and bittering hops. The result is a full flavored beer with complexity. It tastes like the first spouts of green growing things bursting through the dark, brown earth.

Bass Pale Ale
I had this post all ready to go when I realized I was missing something very important.  Last night, I was at an event to benefit St. Baldrick’s, a foundation that raises money for childhood cancer research by accepting donations for people to shave their heads.  This particular event was at a little comedy club near my home and truthfully, the beer selection wasn’t that great.  I started with a 420 but then I wanted something a little smoother so I ordered a Bass.  Bass is an English Pale Ale.  The label even tells me it is the first English pale ale.  The result is a rich malty beer with slight hops aroma and flavor but very little hops bitterness.  It is the grandfather of Pale Ales and I would have been wrong to have excluded it.

This Equinox, spend the day honoring the new spring. Buy or plant some flowers, honor the gods and enjoy a hoppy beer.

And if you are in the southern hemisphere but haven’t yet been able to follow along with the magic of beer, check out the Autumn Equinox installment and Happy Fall!

The Magic of Beer: Imbolc

 culture  2 Responses »
Jan 292011
 

I can’t think of a celebration more appropriate for the enjoyment of beer than Imbolc.  Several years ago, I went to Ireland to celebrate Imbolc/St. Brigid’s day in Kildare with the nuns who live there and keep Brigid’s fire lit.  It was an incredible experience to celebrate the holy day (whether Catholic or Pagan) in this holy place. Truthfully, it was one of the most Pagan rituals I have ever been involved in despite the inherent Catholic-ness of it.  While there, I learned this prayer to St. Brigid (excerpt):

I’d love to give a lake of beer to God
I’d love the Heavenly
Host to be rippling there
For all eternity.
…
I’d sit with the men, the women and God
There by the lake of beer
We’d be drinking good heath forever
And every drop would be a prayer.

Whether Goddess or Saint, I think Brigid values the art and offerings of Beer.  There is one particular style that I think is perfect for Imbolc: Milk Stout or Sweet Stout.  It is often brewed with un-fermentable sugars like lactose giving a creamy and sweet flavor.  What could be more perfect for a festival celebrating the first milk of the year?

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

This is one of the best examples of a sweet stout.  I have never tasted a beer that had this strong a chocolate taste without compromising the beer’s integrity.  It pours a deep velvety black with a thick coffee colored head.  Let this sweetness and the chocolate play on your tongue as you savor this brew.  This is a British beer and is available nearly anywhere.  If you can, try it on tap.  It is also available in bottles or what is called a Nitro Can.  If you get the can, make sure you pour it into a glass. Once you pop the top the nitro capsule is released and pouring it is meant to replicate drawing it from the tap.

The best of both worlds: A Left Hand Milk Stout in a Duck Rabbit Pint. Photo by Me.

Left Hand Milk Stout

This brewery out of Colorado makes a most delectable milk stout.  It is deep and creamy.  The color is a deep dark ruby brown when you hold it up to the light.  The flavor is sweet but also has a hint of roasted malts and coffee but finishes with a more beer flavored bitterness.  I am enjoying one as I write this post. (Write, I say, not publish since you may notice that it is posted at 8am Eastern Time)

Duck Rabbit Milk Stout

This is my favorite milk stout.  Unfortunately for most of the world, it is locally made by Farmville, North Carolina brewery Duck Rabbit and only available regionally. Lucky for me, though, because I can drink more of it.  If you can get your hands on this one, definitely give it a try.  The first time I tasted this I didn’t know beer could be that creamy and transcendent.  Like many milk stouts, it is smooth with chocolate and coffee flavors.  I have used this as an offering in ritual many times.

Terrapin Moo-Hoo

I recently tried this beer, described as “Chocolate Milk” Stout, from local Georgia brewery Terrapin.  It really does taste like it is described – like chocolate milk or even maybe a milk shake.  Like any other good milk stout, it has the heavy black coloring of a good Guinness with a thick tan head.  The sweet milky texture plays well with the chocolate flavors.

Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout

Bells Brewery from Kalamazoo MI is one of my favorite craft brews and they appear to have a pretty reasonable distribution area.  If you can get access to the Double Cream Stout it is well worth it.  However, this is not a traditional milk stout.  It is brewed with just the right combination of malts to have the creamy notes of a milk stout but no lactose making it a good option for someone with lactose intolerance.  It has some flavors of vanilla and coffee and that nutty roasted malt taste.

Sam Adams Cream Stout

One of the most accessible brands, Sam Adam’s Cream Stout is a lovely offering of the milk stout style.  It has a creamy feel on your tongue and has a strong vanilla flavor balanced by slight bitterness from very light hops. Anyone should be able to get their hands on this beer because of the wide distribution.

If you’re looking for a good milk stout to offer to Brigid for Imbolc, check out some of these brands.  Crack open the bottle, pour the Goddess a small glass and enjoy it with her.  Blessings of this season of new beginnings.

The Magic of Beer: Yule

 culture  No Responses »
Dec 182010
 

Exploring beer seasonally is an entirely satisfying experience.  Yule brings us to a large selection of offerings called “Winter Warmers.” The best part about Winter Warmers is that there is no one beer style that falls into this category.  Typically, a Winter Warmer beer is malty as opposed to hoppy, but that isn’t always the case.  However, many winter seasonals do have a larger alcohol by volume percentage than a typical beer – hence the “warmer”.  The following is a list of many of my very favorite winter beers for your Yule celebrations.

Sam Adams Winter Lager
This available beer is really one of my favorites.  It is a dark coppery colored beer with malty and spicy flavors.  At only 5.6% ABH it is lower in alcohol but it is high in calories, so it is an indulgent choice.  Sam Adams Winter is probably my go-to winter beer to celebrate the season if other offerings aren’t available.

New Belgium 2°Below
Here is something a little different if you prefer a less malty beer. And, in spite of the name being so cold, the rich golden tone of this beer is very reminiscent of the sun’s return.  2°Below is an Extra Special Bitter or ESB, which is not my usual style by a long shot. They use more hops but also tend to balance well with the malts so even though the title is “Bitter” they aren’t very bitter at all. This beer is my favorite ESB, though I have been inspired to try others since tasting this one.  There is an almost toasty flavor with some fruits like citrus or even grape.

Red Brick Long John
Red Brick is an Atlanta based brewery and I thought about whether or not I wanted to include it since it is only available regionally. However, I decided I would (along with the next beer on the list) if for no other reason than to encourage you to try local craft brews in your city for your festivals.  Local beer is going to have the very freshest ingredients.  Long John is considered a Belgian Dark and as a Belgian style it is 8.2% ABV!  This is strong beer and very sweet, which I love but it isn’t for the uninitiated.

Sweetwater Festive
Another local beer, it is one of my favorites for the season so I thought I would share.  I’ve experienced it on tap (at the Airport heading to Detroit for Thanksgiving, no less) and in a bottle. This is another rich, high alcohol beer that will leave you feeling a little warm.  This beer tastes like Christmas, or Yule if you prefer.  It is roasty and nutty with cinnamon tones.

Magic Hat Howl
For those in the Northeast (though it does have a wide distribution) Magic Hat offers a great winter lager.  This is a German style beer called a Schwarz bier which, of course, means Black Beer. It tends be lighter than a typical dark beer like a heavy stout or porter and is a more refreshing option. Howl has coffee and chocolate notes.  Since the style is German it may also be a great offering for rituals honoring any northern deities.

Breckenridge Christmas
The second Colorado based beer in today’s offerings (the first being the Greenest Brewery in the world, New Belgium), Christmas is described by the brewer as the beer equivalent of a good fire. It’s dark, rich
caramel flavors make it a typical winter warmer.

Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale
This beer, from a brewery out of New York, was a last minute addition to the list.  When my partner and I were in Michigan for Thanksgiving we asked his mom to get us some beer.  We told her to go talk to the beer guy at the beer store and give him a list that we emailed to her. Unfortunately, he had none of the beers on the list even though we thought we’d picked some easily available ones. Apparently New Belgium is distributed to Georgia but not Michigan. He offered this as a substitution for the Winter Warmer that we had asked for, and I am very glad he did.  We told her to go back in and thank him for such a good selection.  This is what is considered an Old Ale which is a specific maturing process.  It is a little strong with hops, but well balanced with the malts.

As a side note, I am currently enjoying the Discover Chanel series Brew Masters featuring Dogfish Head Brewery out of Delaware.  I love watching the art and science that goes into the making of their signature and experimental beer.  For me, beer making is real magic.

The Magic of Beer: Samhain

 culture  4 Responses »
Oct 272010
 

There was really only one choice for me when it came to selecting the beer to feature for Samhain, and it isn’t the currently controversial ”Witches Wit” beer or any other campy Halloween themed brews.  Rather than glorify some kitschy seasonals, I would prefer to offer a more accessible taste exploration.  For me, nothing says Deep Autumn like an Oktoberfest beer. Interestingly enough, the history of this German brew is not that of a harvest beer.  The beer, called a Marzen, is a lager brewed in March (which is what Marzen means) and stored in caves traditionally until it is ready to be opened and enjoyed during the annual Munich festival of Oktoberfest.  The festival was originally a celebration of the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810.  It is typically a 16-18 day festival celebrated from late September into the first weekend of October. As American Breweries have rediscovered brewing Oktoberfests, the style of beer has really come to be associated with the late autumn season. I also find it appropriate that this is a beer stored in caves underground and “harvested” in October in time for the final harvest celebration of Samhain. Maybe, during its time in the underworld it picked up some secrets of our ancestors that we will imbibe by enjoying the beer.

There are some real gems when it comes to American brewed Oktoberfest beers.  They are typically dark amber lagers with rich German malts often having something of a spicy flavor.  Beyond the American brews, of course, there are traditional German Oktoberfests that are available worldwide.

Sam Adam’s Octoberfest

This is my go-to Octoberfest. This beer, labeled conveniently with an autumn themed label, is available just about everywhere and has a rich lager flavor with caramel and honey and spicy hops.  It pours a dark orange color with a thick head with lots of carbonation that you feel when you drink it.

Bell’s Oktoberfest

I wrote about Bell’s Brewery for Midsummer because their Oberon is the quintessential summer solstice beer.  Bell’s, out of Kalamazoo Michigan, also brews a wicked Octoberfest this time of year.  I have had it in Georgia, so I know it is distributed anywhere that Bell’s is normally available.  This is a traditionally brewed Marzen and has a lighter, medium bodied taste with good balanced malts.

Red Brick Oktoberfest

I had the pleasure of visiting local Atlanta brewery Red Brick earlier this month along with some friends.  We enjoyed the available beer taps and went on the brief tour of the brewery.  Red Brick is a good solid southern beer company here in Atlanta and their Brown is a staple (and one of my favorites).  Their Oktoberfest is equally as good.  Typically, Red Brick brews ales but this is a lager; a beer with an entirely different brewing process.  Read more about the difference between Lagers and Ales here.  I have said before that the best way to drink a beer was from the tap, but I would say that drinking it from the tap at the brewery is an entirely different experience.  This beer is fantastic and if you are anywhere near the Atlanta area, swing by and check it out.  It is a rich amber beer with caramel and smoky roasted malts with just the right amount of hops to balance.  I loved this beer because it felt buttery on my tongue.

Left Hand Oktoberfest

Colorado seems to have a good number of breweries that put out quality product.  The Left Hand brewery (which also makes another beer that I’ll be talking about at Imbolc) has an Octoberfest offering.  This is a slightly non-traditional Marzen but has a great aroma and lots of sweet malts.

Hex

Magic Hat Brewery from Burlington Vermont, known for its extremely hoppy beers, also has a beer they call an Octoberfest.  However, theirs is an ale instead of a lager.  The beer is not one of my favorite Samhain seasonals, but it is an alternative to the malty Oktoberfest offerings if you prefer something with a little more bitter hops.  I would also say that this was my one kitschy seasonal offering, but the entire Magic Hat line is named similarly.

Warsteiner and Ayinger

If you are in Europe, especially Germany, you really have the pick of Marzen beer.  I don’t feel qualified to speak much about authentic German Oktoberfests, but I have had Warsteiner Oktoberfest and Ayinger Oktober Fest which are both premium Marzen beers and should be available worldwide.

Raise a glass of Oktoberfest this Samhain season and toast those who have gone before us.

 Older Entries