My most memorable beer in 2010
In the first days of 2010, my favorite beer of 2009, Ommegang Rouge/Cuvee de Jacobins Rouge, was tenaciously holding on to its position; then came the release of Rodenbach Vintage 2007. Rodenbach Classic and Rodenbach Grand Cru are blended beers; a mixture of soured beer that has been aged in huge oak vats for up to two years and young beer that has never seen wood. Vintage is unblended. It is the product of a single vat. And it is heaven. Smoother than Grand Cru, Vintage is an explosion of balsamic vinegar and fruit. Juicy flavors of cherries, currents, fresh plums, and grapes literally burst in your mouth. Tart acidity is balanced by just a bit of residual sweetness, and toasty malt. Oaky tannins provide some pucker. I recently read that Rodenbach has released Vintage 2008. I haven’t seen it in area stores. I’ll have to hunt some down.
The beer I wish I could forget from 2010
In researching my January Star Tribune column on smoked beers I had a bottle of Mantorville Stagecoach Smoked Porter. I really wanted to like it. It scores well on both Beer Advocate and Ratebeer. I try to be a supporter of Minnesota brewed beer, big and small. Unfortunately, this was a difficult beer to get through, a jumble of pieces that crash into one another and then fall in fragments on the floor. Acrid roast buries the smoke. An odd kind of café mocha sweetness fights against the other flavors. It’s unclear which side is winning the battle. The next day I tried one on tap, hoping that I had just had a bad bottle. Alas, it was the same beer.
Best Twin Cities Beer Festival of 2010
I have to say that I am a big fan of Winterfest. I like that it is an intimate festival, not a gigantic drunk-fest like some of them can be. I like that it features only Minnesota Beer. I like the setting at the Minnesota History Center. The 2010 event was laid out better than 2009. The hallways were much less crowded. The food in 2010 was good and lasted until the end of the event. The beer line-up – especially from Town Hall – was excellent. It was a great fest. You can read my re-cap here.
Runner up for Best Fest goes to Where the Wild Beers Are. Again, this is an intimate event. Great rare beers were poured. Much fun was had by all. Organizers Jeff Halverson and Tim Stendahl did a great job. Can’t wait for this year’s event.
Worst Twin Cities Beer Festival of 2010
Without a doubt the title goes to Firkin Fest at the Happy Gnome. Too many people. Too little space. Too few porta-poties. The beer ran out well before the scheduled end of the event. Horrible things were done to firkins of perfectly good beer. Read my full write-up here.
Stupidest Beer Quote of 2010
Overheard at Stub & Herbs. “I need to slow down on these (Surly) Abrasives. I’ve had like seven of them already.” 9% ABV ≠ session beer.
Craziest Internet Comment Thread of 2010
Following an announcement by former Stub & Herbs bar manager Jon Landers that Stubs would be serving 100% local and regional beer, the internet lit up. Lengthy threads on both Beer Advocate and MNbeer got quite heated and verged on inappropriate. The great guys at Fulton Beer took quite a shellacking.
Growth for Minnesota Beer
Two new Minnesota Breweries came on line in 2010. The first was Leech Lake Brewing in Walker, MN. The tiny brewery in this Northern Minnesota lake town started brewing in mid August. Owners Greg and Gina Smith debuted their beers in the Twin Cities at the Autumn Brew Review. I look forward to getting up there for a visit this year.
Jason Sowards of Harriet Brewing sneaked in his inaugural brew just before Christmas. It was a long road to get there that included getting Minneapolis ordinances changed to allow production breweries to sell growlers within the city limits. I’ve tasted Jason’s beers and very much look forward to seeing them in bars soon.
My Personal Beer Highs of 2010
#1: Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago. The awards dinner was perhaps the biggest beer dinner ever staged. Several courses, each paired with beer, were prepared by Chef Sean Paxton for 2000 diners. My table drank a lot of Allagash Curieux, as we kept stealing bottles from empty table. At the pre-dinner reception, large troughs of ice were set on two very long tables. In them were all the entries in the World Beer Cup. While looking through the beers to decide what I wanted to try, someone next to me pulled out a bottle labeled “Alaskan Smoked Porter 1998.” “This should work.” she said. It did.
#2: Taking the Gold Medal for my Bohemian Pilsner at the National Homebrew Competition. And I wasn’t even at that dinner.
Overall 2010 was a good year for beer. Craft beer sales continued to rise at a fast pace. The number of small breweries around the country reached its highest number since prohibition. For me personally 2010 was a huge year. I hope for more of the same for the industry and myself in 2011.