As a friend is departing for a year of study in Japan, it seemed an ideal time take advantage of the wonderful East Bay evenings at the moment and throw a few things on the grill and make a night of it with good company. And so we did. As I lit up the grill before my guests arrived, my housemate and I share the Mavericks Princeton-by-the-Sea IPA. Fairly bitter, fairly simple, and very dry, on the simple side of IPA but with plenty of bitterness. As the mesquite charcoal started its journey, a quorum had arrived and we opened the Foreau Vouvray Brut to celebrate (lot L2061, which indicates 2006 fruit, if I am reading things right). This was a fleshier and fuller sparkling chenin for sure, waxy, melony plenty of honey, dry but full. And I do love starting off with a sparkler that has a bit more weight and texture to get things started.
A beergeek friend had brought a bottle I barely let hit the fridge, and so out came the Heretic Tartuffe, a Berliner Weisse-style beer brewed locally in Pittsburg. I am a sucker for brewers who take on esoteric styles and try to introduce them anew and so just had to try this once it was pointed out to me. This particular one was more yeasty than lactic, and the sourness was a bit fainter than I prefer. Some called it a bit light for the style, but I actually felt some weight to it and just felt like the tartness was neither puckering nor depthy. Interesting to evaluate and glad to see in comes in at a mere 4.7% ABV. Back to wine for some wildly aromatic 2009 Zöbing Riesling Trocken from the Kamptal in Austria. Interesting that there was some meat on the bones of this one as well and was not austere, though it was plenty dry. This wine is drinking a whole lot of delicious right now.
The sun still shining and everyone settling into conversations, a friend and I decided to open up the Vicaris Tripel-Gueuze from Belgium's newest producer. Evidently it has a history that parallels the supposed invention of the ice cream cone, with two neighboring vendors at a fare merging their wares together to create something new. In any case, with the jovial atmosphere around me I didn't give it proper evaluation, but the Gueuze element stood out strongly (and deliciously so) while I can't say I noticed the Tripel element. In any case a properly defined sour that I would love to age and revisit. As we dumped out the mesquite coal from the chimney smoke and poured on more mesquite for good measure, a friend came out with a glass filled with darkness. As I raced inside to discover what had been opened, I was delighted to discover the freshly opened 2011 Epic Epicurean Coffee & Fig Imperial Oatmeal Stout lying atop the counter. I had introduced this as a 'beer-that-must-be-opened' and finally this beer that had clogged up space in my fridge after an impulse purchase a few months back was having its day in the sun. Both the hefty pricetag and the 750ml bottle made this Kiwi import one for a special occasion, and what could be more special than a gathering of good friends? Wowy, wow, wow, wow. This beer was drinking beautifully and was certainly a contender for BOTN for a good number of people. Rich but nothing like hot (8.5% ABV helps on that score), high drinkability, layered complexity, long memorable finish, did well when first popped and changed a lot with time and temperature, this was a notable beer among notable beers, pricey and worth every penny. Yum, yum, yum.
Back to the lighter and refreshing with a unfiltered Kölsch from (of course) Cologne in Germany, the Freigeist Ottekolong is a relatively new producer to me, and this was kind of reminiscent of the imperial Berliner Weisse-style beer they do (the Abraxxxas) but yeastier and more playful. A delightful palate cleanser I'd love to return to and get a better feel for as a Kölsch-qua-Kölsch. As we pulled the tritip off the grill and let it set, we tossed the corn cobs onto the heat and I poured myself just a splash of the High Water Hop Riot, an IPA brewed locally in San Leandro. I know this IPA and love it well, robust, precise, clippy, West Coast hoppiness with wonderful spicy piquant element that makes it super foodfriendly . . . and then, suddenly, it's gone (22oz doesn't go far in this crowd!).
Tritip now on the table and carving away, I was mighty excited to try two of the red wines that friends had brought. An incredible good friend had sought out a wine from the Canary Islands to bring (she knows my soft spot for those wines) and the 2010 Frontón de Oro Tinto (a blend of Listán Negro and Tintilla from Gran Canaria) did need a few minutes in the fridge to bring the temp down a bit, but, though it was a bit recessed alone, it absolutely sung with the pepperyness of the meat. Wonderful pairing and it turned savory and less berried in a direction I really enjoyed . . . have to say I'd love to give this wine a year or two in bottle to see whether that savory element might come a bit more forward. The other red open was the 2009 Château de Gaudou Cahors (a blend of Merlot, Malbec, and Tannat) and this was certainly a bit richer than the Tinto, but a natural and delicious wine with the grilled amazingness all around us. I was almost giddy with excitement with the beauty in which all of these things were coming together.
As the corn was coming off the grill with some serious char, and the squashes, eggplants, and lamb shoulder went on the grill, I grabbed another welcome contribution from a beerloving friend, the Anchorage Bitter Monk Batch 2 (abridged description from label: A Double IPA brewed with Apollo and Citra Hops. Triple-fermented: First in French oak foudres with Belgian yeast, second in French oak chardonnay barrels with brettanomyces, finally in bottle with third yeast for natural carbonation). Now Batch 1 from last year was memorably tasty, but Batch 2 was drinking absolutely amazingly and was another contender for BOTN: so much integration of the hops and brett elements, something that really comes together into a refreshing moreish whole. Absolutely amazing.
Lamb off the grill, thin cut beef short ribs go on and I slink down to the cellar to grab a bottle that I've been mighty curious to check in on as it's been lingering on the shelf down there for a couple of years. The 2003 Señorío de P. Peciña Rioja Crianza was shining and was, shockingly to me, my WOTN. It was delicious when I tasted in upon purchase two years back, but it is simply firing all cylinders right now, a case study in amazing wine that didn't even set me back $20. Score! I saw my beerloving friends hovering around a Ballast Point Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale as they devoured the lamb and now cooked-in-a-flash beef. They loved it, but I find the overt aggressiveness of the hop element a bit OTT for my tastes, though I must admit the hops themselves are rather tasty . . . you just feel your tongue buzzing for six minutes after sipping it! Which has me looking for palate refreshment yet again with another fantastic contribution, the Lodgsdon Seizoen (an organic saison from Hood River, Oregon). It was everything I wanted, flavorful, pure, refreshing and clean.
As we worked down the last elements on the grill, a Europhile friend emerged interested in sampling the De Molen Hemel & Aarde (a superrich 10% dark ale from the Netherlands) and so we did. Packed with content, this beer feels just too young to appreciate right now, give it 8 to 10 years, I'd say. Speaking of age, now was a time to do a small bit of space clearing from my cellar, so out came the 12oz bottle of 2008 Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA that I've been cellaring all over the place as I moved my stuff from Virginia to Massachusetts and finally out here to California over that hectic period. The last time I checked in on this beer in 2010, I didn't have great hope for its future, as it was a hot gloppy undifferentiated mess back then. Surprised and delighted to discover it is just starting to emerge from its initial slumber. It certainly has a heat element to it, and you sip it a lot more like brandy or bourbon than drink it like beer, but new interesting flavor combinations are just starting to emerge and it is giving plenty of pleasure. Five years seems like a good time to start checking in on this beer, which makes me happy as I've still got a few more lurking in the cellar after all that travel.
Then onto one of the first additions to the California branch of my cellar, the 2010 Deschutes Once a Decade Ale was safely after the 'best after' date of 29 January 2011 printed on the bottle. Indeed the beer felt young vibrant and not showing any age and just a hint of development. Drinking simple and beautiful right now. As the party winded down and we entered the wee hours of the morning, I can't say I may a full evaluation of it, but the Viven Smoked Porter from Belgium struck me as another beer that would appreciate more time in bottle, drinking good right now, could drink great in the future. The day is done, friends waved goodbye, a great way to celebrate a departure of a good friend.