Look in the refrigerator of most discriminating beer lovers in New York City, and you’ll probably see more Two Brothers beers than any other brewery from the midwest. More drinkable, more affordable, and even just better than many other coveted midwestern brews, Two Brothers range of beers are available all over the place, in bottles, in kegs, on cask, whatever, they almost always deliver.
I was greeted recently at my favorite local beer shop by my pal (and member of the elusive ‘Esoteric Order of the H.P.D.’) Jonah, who was stoked on two new Two Brothers offerings – Avalon, a spiced beer with fresh apple cider, and Northwind, a Russian Imperial Stout. Being someone who doesn’t typically lust over Imperial Stouts, and usually goes crazy over spiced beers, I expected to have a slightly different reaction to these beers than I did, but that’s part of what keeps drinking and writing about different beers so exciting — expectations sometimes don’t mean shit.
Avalon is a spiced beer brewed with apple cider which is local to the Two Brothers brewery. A very fall flavored brew, Avalon says on the label that it can be consumed warm or cold, and invokes the mythical island of Avalon, scene of King Arthur myths, a beautiful island known for it’s beautiful apples. With visions of islands and apple blossoms swimming in my brain, I poured this beer and it looked like a glass of Autumn. A beautiful bronze/brown colored beer, amply carbonated with a light and quickly dissipating head, golden edges and other spectral colors shoot out when you hold this up to the light. When I first sniffed this beer, I was incredibly excited — their was a spicy, appley aroma that smelled a lot like the apple cider fermenting in my basement. I kept sniffing and sniffing before taking a big sip, and that’s where things went downhill. The spicy, rich nose wasn’t matched by the beer itself, which felt thin, a bit sharp, and overall, flat. Not much spice, even after the beer warmed up a bit, and certainly not much apple flavor. Strange to me that Two Brothers couldn’t nail this one, and I should try this beer hot — maybe the flavor comes through more that way. With such a successful aroma, I was hoping for a lot more, and I definitely got it the next night when I cracked the Northwind Stourt.
Going from Autumn straight to Winter in two consecutive nights might normally be kind of hectic, but in this case the sailing was smooth. Northwind pours a beautiful deep black with a brownish head that comes up late and goes away quickly. A wealth of red and brown colors when held up to the light compliment an unbelievable depth of flavor. Northwind smells like a boozy cup of chocolate flavored coffee, and this is well matched by the deep and rich flavor of the beer on the tongue. Not too bitter, not too carbonated, and not too thick, this is in many ways an ideal Imperial Stout, maybe my favorite, and certainly the best one I’ve had in a long time. Perfectly executed from top to bottom, Northwind has sewn up any doubts I may have had with the brewery after really not enjoying the Avalon. Once these winds blow through Avalon though, I trust all will be well with the Brothers.
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