Two recent excellent offerings there included a new beer from local favorites Sixpoint, and a small run beer from recent New York implant The Bruery.

Sixpoint’s Express is a Quadruple – another example of a Belgian “Trappist” style that is difficult to nail down but should contain a few benchmark traits in order to be considered part of the style.  Typically very high in alcohol (check, this clocks in at 11% + ABV), dark reddish brown in color (this is a bit paler) and exhibiting the darker dried fruit range of flavors and aromas, some examples of the Quad style are so difficult to track down that it’s hardly fair to discuss all of them here.  But of course Sixpoint shrugs off most of these things and makes a beer that is all their own.  A deep, deep brew, this exhibits a good amount of dryness which is key to making such a heady beer easy to digest, and with a very small amount of residual sweetness, it does a great job.  I’ve heard other people talking about how well hidden the booze is in this beer and I’d have to agree — it’s hard to know, aside from how your vision is blurring and doubing, that this beer contains as much alcohol as a glass of wine, and I’m sure happy that I didn’t spring for 64oz of this — it would cause  me quite a lot of trouble.  Pouring a beautiful but paler color than most quads, Express has a deep nose of chocolate, caramel, and raisins, with a hint of something lighter — a decent amount of hop aroma, a great amount of balance, and a nice full body that finishes dry.  Balance, balance, balance.  Sixpoint does it again.  I love you guys!

The Bruery recently landed with quite a loud impact in the NYC area — every beer nerd I know has had the brewery’s name on their lips, and with good reason.  Humulus Blonde is one of their latest brews to hit this coast, and it is a hell of a beer.  Pouring a golden color, clear and bubbly, Humulus Blonde has so much god damned citrus hops on the nose that you can actually trick yourself into thinking you’re about to take a big swing of a Grapefruit Spritzer.  A good amount of bitterness is countered with a nice malty backbone and a great amount of hop flavor.  There’s a good amount of Belgian Yeast on the nose too — pretty much everything you could hope for from a “Belgian IPA” and more of a standout to me than the other West Coast renderings of the same style.  Just beautiful all around, Patrick seems incapable of failing.  I need to get out there immediately to check out the brewery and it’s tasting room which is famous for hosting great events and supporting the local homebrewing communities.

So thank you, Bierkraft, for giving a guy a break — keep those bombers flowing!

Of course I’ve been drinking beers while I haven’t been writing, and those notes are stacking up.  I wanted to write up a few, and my head pounding from too much coding is giving me a good reason to do so.  I also wanted to shout out osme other resources that I’ve really been into lately.

Beer Podcasts: Yep, I’ve gone that far.  I spend a lot of time listening to these on the train now, and my reading has been suffering a bit for it, but that’s okay.  The Brewing Network is the home to some great shows, including The Session, Brew Strong, and the Jamil Show.  Experts such as John Palmer, regular guest brewers, and knowledgeable fans all make these shows very informative.  I’m not as much into the pseudo-shock jock aspect, the loud and shitty rock music, or the repetitive and not-so-funny commercials, but hey, what can ya do.  I listen a lot anyway, and if you listen closely you realize these guys really know what they’re talking about, and they are passionate about what they do.  And hey, I am generally entertained by those goofballs — awesome stuff.  Basic Brewing Radio at first struck me as being pretty conservative and almost boring, but that was before I ever listened.  It’s a reliable source for good information, the host has a very soothing voice that makes your cares melt away, and it’s concise, entertaining, and fun.  They have a video component as well which is finding its stride, and I’ve learned a lot so far.  Well done.  Craft Beer Radio is an old standby that delivers personal perspectives on beers, with a focus on tasting.  Also great for the train.

Unsurprisingly I’ve been reading beer books too — How to Brew by John Palmer, Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher, Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus, Farmhouse Ales by Phil Markowski, and Wild Brews by Jeff Sparrow are all essential.  Look them up, absorb them, and live them.  You won’t be sorry.

My own beer is coming along quite well.  I have my “Bitter Farm Cat” Hoppy/Sour Saison in secondary, where it will stay while I’m gone.  I’m hoping more sour character will come out as I’m gone.  The “Rye Farm Cat” Rye Saison has been in bottles for over two weeks and is round, spicy, a bit funky, and delicious.  I’m very pleased.

So what have I been drinking? A bunch of new stuff came through, including four legendary west coast IPAs I’ve never had the pleasure of having — Alesmith IPA, Russian River Blind Pig, Russian River Pliny the Elder, and 21st Amendment’s “Brew Free or Die” IPA.  All four are excellent, and in their own way.  Alesmith is beautiful, floral, and well balanced.  Blind Pig and Pliny deserve all of the hype they get, two sides of one amazing hop bomb of a coin, and the crisp freshness of the 21A IPA in a can is hard to beat, period.  All essential to track down, and drink them fresh.

East Coast love from Captain Lawrence and Sixpoint have been big players lately too — with Smoke from the Oak: Rum Barrel from CL topping the list for me of their Barrel Aged porters.  Small bubbles, black pour, fruity rum on the nose, and a wallop of hot booze make for a very complex drink.  A Trappist Beer on a binge in Barbados might be a good description.  Sixpoint’s Gemini Double IPA, Belgian Rye, and Belgian Double IPA are all fantastic, as is the Belgian Flavored “Sweet Re-Action,” a throwback to an older recipe for one of their most popular and sought after beers.  Sixpoint continues to impress — but you wouldn’t know that if you don’t live in NYC or Boston.  Rumors of expansion abound, but will it happen?

I’ll keep a list of what I’m drinking on the road, and I’ll hopefully be bringing back some treasures.  Here’s to hoping that I can sample Orval and one or two Lambics on draught, score some Westy’s, and get freaked out several times by the beers I find.  Wish me luck.