New Brew Thursday: 'Ghost Hugs' from Long Live Beerworks

In the spirit of the "Summer of Sours" tonight's beer while not the best cure for that hot summer day is just one of the better sours released this year. 'Ghost Hugs' is very similar to the other Long Live beers that bear the 'Ghost' name as it too is a Berliner Weisse with ample fruit. This offering has large quantities of blackberries, raspberries, and black currant. The blackberries and black current really amp up the tartness and gives this beer a very distinct and instantaneous sourness in the front of the mouth. The raspberries play a very nice supporting role to help with a very subtle tartness and just the right amount of sweetness. However, it is the vanilla bean that really does steal the show. It gives this beauty very distinct vanilla notes and helps to sweeten things up just as well and helps to round out the beer with a soft but lingering aftertaste. The vanilla also does give the beer a little thicker mouthfeel, while most Berliner Weisses have a light mouthfeel this is a little thick and creamy. Initially when I first opened the beer and had my first sip I had almost convinced myself that there was lactose in this due to how creamy it felt. After multiple sips and doing multiple takes on the label I was pretty shocked that it did not.

While 'Ghost Hugs' is neither on tap nor available in cans at the brewery if you are able to get your hands on one it is definitely a solid choice.

The Summer of Sours

We are roughly half way through the summer and the heat is really starting to amp up. While IPAs and Stouts are my favorite styles there is nothing better than a super tart and crisp sour for that summer scorcher. 

I vaguely remember the first time I had a sour. I believe it was a Flemish Red but I cannot remember which one it was. I really liked it as it was unlike anything I had ever tried before and it began to peak my curiosity. Next were various Goses and Berliner Weisses but then it was the American Wild Ales that really blew me away to becomes my favorite type of sour. While the Goses and Berliner Weisses are more tart and deliver their trademark sourness in the front of our mouth, Wild Ales coat the mouth in an ever loving blanket of sourness. They can be light or heavy but always deliver an amazing sourness that cannot be beat. 

Most breweries have begun to brew more sours for  the summer because they are perfect for the heat. They allow for a crisp refreshing experience with not only that awesome sourness but have more substance that other lighter beers. Often the ABV is lower so you are able to have multiple and still be able to function. While I do love my craft lagers and wheat beers I will take a sour over them more often than not. So on those hot summer days when you're out and about or just need something cool to drink after a long day and it is way too hot for something heavy go for that sour in the fridge or at your nearest brewery/liquor store. You will not be disappointed. 

New Brew Thursday: 'Permutation 109' from Trillium

I Have not featured a Trillium beer on "New Brew" yet. But today my aunt and uncle came into town in for a family wedding this weekend I figured I had to break out something good and here we are.

'Permutation 109' is of course part of Trillium Permutation line which I have always been impressed with. While I can almost never remember some of the numbers of my favorites but their Triple IPA that was the inspiration for 'Plane Over Car Over Train Over Boat' was simply amazing. Their take on a typical Lager was one of the best I have ever had and their Gose that was the most beautiful shade of pink was nearly perfect. So, needless to say that when I heard the description of what 'Permutation 109' was, an imperial stout with toasted almonds and coconut with vanilla and coffee I knew I just had to have it.

I had this bad boy in the cellar for a few months so needing something both amazing and unique now seemed like as good of a time as any to open it. Like most imperial stouts the head had a beautiful deep brown color and its time in the cellar mellowed the overly malty smell that will often plague most imperial stouts. The initial notes are very soft with a light smell of coffee and vanilla with only mild notes of coconut. The taste is actually quite similar as well with the initial flavors being that very same coffee and vanilla with the toasted coconut and almond rounding it out. For an imperial stout clocking in at 12.4% ABV it has a remarkably lighter mouthfeel  than I was expecting as well. Moreover, for having that high of an ABV it does not suffer from it and it is very drinkable (even on a day when it's around 85 degrees).

That being said if you are able to trade for a 'Permutation 109' or see it on a tap list or in a cellar Sunday line-up I highly recommend getting one, or whatever the limit may be.

New Brew Thursday: 'Single Shot' from Tree House

On my trip to Tree House I was able to pick up a wide variety of cans and a couple bottles. One of which was 'Single Shot' which sounded just heavenly on the can list. When it comes to coffee milk stouts I have routinely been disappointed by multiple different breweries. To me, a coffee milk stout should taste like an alcoholic version of coffee milk. A beer that is both sweet and rich with strong notes of coffee. Now being a Rhode Islander I have had more coffee milk than I care to admit and for years my favorite coffee milk stout was from Narragansett because it perfectly encapsulated what a coffee milk beer should be largely in part to its inclusion of Autocrat Coffee Syrup. My preferred coffee syrup when making coffee milk.

It should come as no surprise that 'Single Shot' has bested the 'Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout.' With a rich dark head and the aforementioned strong notes of coffee this beer looks and smells absolutely perfect. The first sip is rich and creamy with a very subtle sweetness that lingers on the palate well after the beer is gone. Flavors of both chocolate and coffee are present that really show just how rich and creamy this beer is. 'Single Shot' is an awesome and the perfect morning beer. But it is also good at any time of day.

Brewery Trip! Tree House Brewery

Last Wednesday while on twitter I happened across something magical. Tree House had just announced a run of King JJJulius. I panicked, as I had heard the stories of this mythical and delicious beer and knew I had to get to Charlton ASAP. However, with the annual RI Bar Association Meeting along with some family events I could not get out there until Saturday so I suggested to my girlfriend a trip to this amazing and scenic brewery. I also mentioned that Burgundian Waffles was going to be there and that sealed the deal.

Now I have had Tree House beer on numerous occasions but I have only been out to the brewery in Charlton one time before. I had forgotten just how beautiful it really is. Nestled in the countryside on a cozy hilltop with a scenic view of the valley below it is one of the prettiest breweries that I have even been to. While getting there can be difficult for yours truly I am definitely going to start venturing out there more frequently.

We got there roughly an hour early so we were guaranteed our allotment of not only King JJJulius but some other offerings and part of a father's day present for my dad. We could not have picked a better day weather-wise as it was perfect, both warm and sunny. With the line moving very fast and before we knew it we had already gotten our cans/bottles (King JJJulius, Haze, Hibiscus and Dragon Fruit Tart, Sap, Single Shot, Treat, Triple Shot, and Impermanence) and our drink tickets. I did have time to run to the bar and grab a pour of 'That's What She Said' which was just an exceptional. This Milk Stout brings numerous compliments that would make Michael Scott simply respond with this beer's name.

We next we got our waffles which were also amazing (we both love Burgundian Waffles) and then got back in line for our final pour. I went with 'Perfect Storm' and she went with 'Triple Shot Chocolate Truffle' and we headed outside to sit on the Adirondack chairs and look out on this beautiful almost-summer day.

Now I have said multiple times that my favorite beer is 'Heavy Mettle' by Trillium but 'Perfect Storm' may have taken that title. This wasn't just a beer but an experience as to what an IPA can be. This double IPA packed to the brim with Simcoe and Citra hops is an absurd combination of tropical sweetness and juiciness that is out of this world. My girlfriend's 'Triple Shot Chocolate Truffle' was also amazing but 'Perfect Storm' was something exceedingly special and while this was the first, and so far only, time I have had this beer but I will be crossing my fingers in the hopes that I am able to get back up there for the next batch.