 |  |
Just thought you’d want an advanced peek at the Rare Beer Club selections for Jan 2012….
Microbrasserie Les Trois Mousquetaires (Brossard, Québec, Canada) — Porter Baltique (750ml 10% ABV) & Saint Somewhere Brewing Company (Tarpon Springs, Florida) — Cynthiana (750ml 5% ABV).For the full details…
Microbrasserie Les Trois Mousquetaires was founded in 2004, and while they began with a focus on creating traditional German-style beers, they’ve definitely applied their own North American treatment. As you'll find in the Porter Baltique featured this month, they're not afraid to mix tradition with creative interpretation. Part of their flexibility in this regard lies in their approach to brewing; as head brewer Jonathan Lafortune states himself, "I don't come from the microbiology branch of brewing, I'm more like a chef in a kitchen. The recipes come from my senses, my heart and my passions. I'm an Epicurean."
Les Trois Mousquetaires’ beers are not common here in the States; in fact, outside of the Rare Beer Club, only about 20 6-bottle cases of this year’s bottling of Porter Baltique are being imported for the whole rest of America—so enjoy this rare treat! Expect a complex aroma on this deep brown 10% ABV brew, including notes of prunes, plums and other dark fruits, leather, tobacco, chocolate, caramel, wood (oak?) with a touch of smoke and almonds in the back. The flavor is rich with notes of molasses, brown sugar, coffee, chocolate, cherries, dates and impressions of leather and wood. Look for dark rum notes as it warms. A slight woody, peppery spice note offsets the sweetness quite nicely. Finishes with a lingering smokiness, mild damp woodiness and an earthy quality that reminds us of settling in with a very, very old book—especially a leather-bound one. Porter Baltique is also a great cellaring beer that, treated right, will be around for many years to come, picking up some port and madeira wine qualities after a couple years in the bottle.
Focused on traditionally-brewed, small batch, handcrafted Belgian-style ales with a local spin, St. Somewhere is a tiny brewery by any measure, producing just 375 barrels in 2011. A highly-awarded-homebrewer-turned-pro (as are so many of our other favorite innovative brewers), brewmaster Bob Sylvester has complete creative control and LOTS of work as the sole employee of his brewing company. Utilizing what is basically a scaled-up homebrew system that uses open fermentation, Bob brews only with imported Belgian malts (the same ones used for nearly all Trappist breweries) and European whole leaf hops.
Bob Sylvester created this one-off beer just for our Rare Beer Club members, and we’re pretty darn psyched to be bringing it to you. The beer is named for the Cynthiana grape, also known as the Norton varietal, whose must (fresh pressed skins, seeds and juice) is added to the secondary fermenter. A gorgeous copper orange color, this brew offers rich notes of fresh oranges and lemon zest, robust Belgian character, a flash of white wine, and a bit of sweet dough. On the palate, the beer is less fruity than the nose would suggest, offering a wine-like dryness, a gentle apple and grape skin bitterness, mild tartness and some subtle suggestions of tea with lemon, with a light bite of black pepper. In the finish, there is a nice, cleansing bitterness that approaches lime zest. Finishes with very pleasant, vinous after-breaths and an ever-present citrus zest. The brewmaster expects Cynthiana will hold up nicely for at least three years—“as it ages, the maltiness will rise along with the usual Belgian Dubbel notes of raisin, rum and toffee, but will become drier due to the yeast and the grapes.” Cheers, and Happy New Year!
That Baltic Porter is amazing!
ReplyDelete