Sunday, March 16, 2008
Excellent Event at Ebenezer's
Ebenezers's Restaurant and Pub in Lovell Maine was the site of a great BFD event this weekend. Thanks to Jeff & Pam Goyette who arranged everything, and to owner Chris Lively who provided us with a wealth of outstanding beers from his cellar. Among the great beers that I got to try were Black Albert, Russian River's Salvation (batches 1 + 5), and Chris's custom blend of Boon Geueze and Cantillon Kriek (totally yummy!) Fifteen of us made up the BFD party at Ebenezer's and I encourage those of you who were lucky enough to be there to add comments to this posting and let everyone else know what they missed.
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Mary is right. We had some fantastic beers at Ebenezer's. The house blend of lambic was Boon's 3 year old unblended (and flat) gueuze combined with Cantillon 100% Kriek. That was pretty damn good, but another beer took the cake. Here's my review of Black Albert:
Dark brown, approaching black in color. Opaque. Off-white head of tiny bubbles recedes quickly into darkness.
Nose of Belgian dark chocolate, vanilla, and toasted almonds. Some woodiness and oaklike tannins present. It smells almost bourbony although I know it is not barrel-aged.
The first sip is smooth and chocolatey just as suggested in the aroma. Vanilla, coconut, and roasted barley meld together nicely. Some fusels due to presence of high alcohol. Vinuous legs. Nice notes of oxidation and dried fruit. Dry roasted espresso beans in the finish.
A subtle, complex, and refined Imperial Stout. The only thing Belgian about it is the brewers. No phenols or funkiness.
Cheers to Ebenezer's and De Struise for this fantastic and delicious collaboration! The only complaint I have is that I wish I had a bottle to take home and savor by a crackling fire.
Yes, a great time!
the following is my fuzzy recollection of the debauchery...
Sixteen BFD'rs gathered in the middle of nowhere, Maine on Saturday for a heaping helping of Lively hospitality.
We started around 3:30 and stayed until aprox 10:00pm, and enjoyed plenty a quality brew and food.
In between ordering off the beer menu and building up a burgeoning bar tab, we were treated to a plethora of rare, pallet expanding treats by Chris.
After I had enjoyed a LaTrappe quad and Hop 15 on draft, Chris showed up (freshly back from vacation), and started cracking open the goodies, and we were in high gear!
1.5 L Grosse Vapeur Cochonne, unknown vintage.. plenty of funk, dusty peach-skins, and horse-barndoors from one of the oldest producers of saisons in Belgium, still brewed in a steam-powered brewhouse.
750mls of Cantillon Saint Lamvinus + Kriek.. Grapes and Cherries in a traditional lambic? Yes, please.
(which after enjoyed individually, were blended..Holy shite batman)
A mini-vertical of Russian River Salvation, with Mike Fairbrother graciously donating a Batch #1 for the tasting and Chris breaking out a batch #5, which has not even been released to the public...The batch one had a surprising amount of sherry in the nose, and dried cocoa on the pallet, while the batch five, was chocolatey, with bready malt.
Russian river is one of the most sought-after american micros, with bottles only available at the brewery, and select locations in California, Pa, and DC. And oh, yes... Lovell, Maine.
Lost Abbey Carnevale..A saison that aproaches "Imperial" in strength, and made with american hops.
Lost Abbey Judgement day..Tomme Arthur's quadruple, and the high-grav base for many of his barrel aged beers, including Cuvee De Tomme (formerly known as MOAB.."The mother of all beers").
A blending of Cantillon Kriek and Boon flat, green lambic. (how can a straight lambic cut the acidity of a Kriek you ask? When it's a Cantillon Kriek...Need I say more?)
After which, I believe there was an extremely small amount of De Struise Black Albert and Earthmonk milling about.
Black Albert, is only available at 3 other bars in the world. The Kulminator in Antwerp, Bier Circus in London, and the Delirium cafe, in Tokyo. It is a Belgian Imperial stout of massive proportions.
The Earthmonk (also known as Aardmonk), is an Oud Bruin which ages for two years in oak casks, and is released "grand-cru" style. Unblended and intense! Possibly the worlds most intense layers of flavors. Balsamic vinegar, over-ripened pit-fruits, cedar-forest floor earthiness..Ugh. I could spend hours with one glass.
While many dead soldiers lined the tables, I took this opportunity to take the Cantillon blend to a "whole nutha level", and I had my first ever 3-way (of beer, you pervs)..Cantillon Kriek, Boon unblended, flat, green lambic, and Saint Lamvinus.....So good I think I popped a button. :+)
Chris had stepped away to take a call from Belgium, and when he returned he explained that we were about to take part in a simulaneous blending with Urbain from De Struise in Belgium!
Upon Urbains strict instructions, Chris blended bottles of De Struise Struiselensis with Hanssens Oud Kreik.
Booya! The Struiselensis is incredibly funky and bretty, and when integrated with an authentic Kreik lambic, it proved to be another first-time-palett/mind-altering experience at Ebenezer's!
The Oud Kreik can still be found on the shelves, but the Struiselenis has not yet been released in the US.
The evening wound down for myself with a mug of Kulmbacher Schwazbeir from the draught. Amazing. Another great beer I had never heard of. Looking around the room there was at least 4-6 other patrons (snowmobilers) enjoying this fine, quaffable darkness. Chris explained that he finally decided to dump the Stella Artois from the lineup and has replaced it with a Schwarzbeir. Good for him!
Thank you very much to all of you who made the trek. If you hadn't have come I would have been bummed, and it is encouraging that BFD is still willing to do a field trip. Mike Roy mentioned that he would like to plan another one that included transportation, so I look forward to that.
Also, thanks to all of you who brought beer to give to Chris. He appreciates it greatly, and you'll never see good karma with such quick turnaround (see above). Chris was psyched and said that he had never tried any of those beers..Good picks.
-Jeff
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