The most recent of The Gate’s Winter Ale events was a showcase of New Hampshire’s Smuttynose brewery. Founded in 1994, Smuttynose has shown that there is indeed great beer in New England. The brewery crafts solid beers in a variety of styles, so this event had an incredibly well-balanced list. Unusual for an event at the Gate, there were only(!) two vintage beers, a 2007 Imperial Stout and a 2007 Farmhouse. The 20L Farmhouse lasted all of two hours, proving that Park Slope is indeed full of hippies.
I started my tour of the list with a Scotch Ale. Part of Smuttynose’s Big Beer series, the Scotch Ale is amongst the best Scotch ales domestic or foreign. Large malt presence, followed by huge peaty smoke with just enough hop character to dry it out. Dangerously drinkable, I immediately ordered another and ate a roast beef sandwich with Carr Valley’s Chipotle and Cranberry Cheddar. The lightly smoked beer was the perfect compliment to the smoked chilies.
At this point, the Gate’s legendary barkeep, Pat, gave me a taste of a blend of the Imperial Stout and the Hanami cherry ale. Smuttynose’s Imperial Stout has a relatively huge hop character which was softened nicely by the Hanami, a light pale ale brewed with cherry juice. Blended with the stout, it provided a fruity nose and a touch of tartness on the finish. I think the ratio he was pouring was about 3/4 stout, 1/4 Hanami.
Having been deliciously side tracked it was now time to tackle the main event, as it were, The Gnome and the Brett and I. I ordered the Gnome first. Inspired by Brasserie D’Achouffe’s Houblon, a Belgian Tripel hopped with both American and Noble hops, the Gnome is a shining example of the beauty of hops beyond a scouring bitterness. It is fairly dark in color with less yeast character than you would expect from a Tripel–it’s all about the floral hops here. Almost minty with a touch of alcohol spice, the Gnome is an elusive and exquisite brew.
Unfortunately, my palate was not up to the task of making heads or tails of the Brett and I. I was looking forward to trying this wild yeast ale but it was far too delicate to truly appreciate after a slew of big beers. There’s a more-than-good chance that some more will be coming my way in the near future, so keep an eye out for a review in the next month or so.
3 Comments
I only got to try two beers that night but they were both great — the Farmhouse was killer and stank like a beast, and the Scotch Ale was as deadly as Sitnky laid it down.
Picked up a Smutty Blonde (perfect name) growler last night, super sweet nose, honey and fruit all the way. Pretty tame going down, but a hit with the lady.
It’s table beer it should be pretty tame. I’ve only had about two ounces of it but I noticed some tartness on the finish? It was early in the morning and may have been sanitizer in the line.
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