This past Saturday I had a hankering for hops and this certainly did the job.

It poured a deep burnt orange (really quite stunning by the way – I do love a juicy, deep orange) with a hint of fog and a tall, fluffy cream-colored head that stuck around for a long time and left a fair amount of lacing on my pint glass. Upon first smell, I was hit with citrus and pine, with a heavy dose of floral hops.

Up front, I tasted the hops immediately. As it settled on my tongue, there was a bit of malty sweetness, which balanced it out rather well. It slid down my throat with the delicious bitterness I was craving at the back of my tongue. Despite having a good amount of carbonation, it had a smooth, medium body. Even at 7.2% ABV, I could see myself enjoying this as a session beer, next time the hops craving hits again… most likely with a nice, stinky bleu cheese to munch on.

Next time you’re feeling hops, check out Sierra Nevada Torpedo. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheers!

TAGS [ SIERRA NEVADA | TORPEDO | AMERICAN IPA | BEER REVIEWS ]

This Sunday is Easter and most of us will be gathering with many of our family members for possibly the first time since Christmas, and for MY family gathering, I inadvertently found out that my parents are responsible for bringing the wine. I started to count down the minutes before I got a phone call from my mother as to what wine went well with ham. I really had to think off the top of my head I know that some of the lighter reds work, as well as some of the semi-sweet whites. But historically, ham hasn’t always been the predictable, go-to meat of choice for the table in my family, so I never really gave it a lot of thought. Which got my internal engine running as to what beers would be good with the stuff. And it gave me a good idea for a post here—sounds to me like another holiday where we can easily leave the wine off the table and again give beer a fighting chance.

As I do much of the time, I decided to consult Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmasters Table on what would complement the ham the best. Here are five beer styles (and my personal pick of each style) that will pair beautifully with that baked pig.

Irish Stout: As we know, Irish Stout is dry and full-flavored. That contrasting profile will pull the salt out of the ham and amplify its most important flavors. My pick: Avery Out Of Bounds.

Pilsner: A light, snappy beer that is another style that will yank the salt out of the meat and slash its way through the fat. My pick: Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

Maibock/Helles Bock: Similar to Pilsner, but maltier and sweeter, which will match up with the meat but have enough hops to cut the fat and carbonation to clean your palate. My pick: Hofbrau Maibock

English Brown Ale: The caramel and nutty flavors in one of my favorite styles is a terrific complement to the sweetness of the roasted meat. My pick: Goose Island Nut Brown Ale

Belgian Strong Pale Ale: A list from me wouldn’t be complete without an offering from Belgium now, would it? A thirst-quenching style with loads of scrubbing carbonation, along with plenty of citrusy spice, ham would be happy to have a goblet of this golden God next to it. My pick: La Chouffe

Happy Easter, and Cheers!

TAGS [ EASTER BEERS | BEER AND HAM | BEER FOOD PAIRING ]

I had been waiting to try Dogfish Head World Wide Stout for quite some time now. I decided that rather than enjoy it wholly on my own, I would bring it over to my best friend’s house to share.

World Wide Stout poured deep, squid-ink black with very little head that dissipated wicked fast, which I expected from an 18% ABV brew. Despite this, though, there was a fair amount of lacing for as long as it remained in my snifter. This brew’s got legs.

Its aroma was heavy with alcohol and dark chocolate. I also detected a hint of dark fruit – perhaps raisins. Overall, despite the alcohol in the nose, it was straight-up sweet. Margaret and I decided to break open a box of dark chocolate to have alongside. Perfect match.

As World Wide Stout entered my mouth, I tasted pure dark chocolate with bitterness on the sides of my tongue. Most definitely a sipping beer. Its carbonation is extremely light, leaving it with an immensely heavy body that coats the tongue; chewy, even. Despite the bitterness up front, the finish is incredibly sweet, like that of dark molasses.

Honestly, I cannot wait to get my hands on another bottle. DFH World Wide Stout is the perfect finish to a meal or a day, just like another one of my favorites, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.

Cheers!

TAGS [ DOGFISH HEAD | DOGFISH HEAD WORLD WIDE STOUT | DFH | DFH WORLD WIDE STOUT | BEER REVIEW ]