Tonight Ben and I went to the Beer Evangelist class on Saison over at the Four Firkins. This could well be our very last beer snob outing before he and Nora move to Florida.

The "beer evangelist" pitch seemed kinda weird, since everyone there already reads MnBeer or shops at a specialty beer store — that is to say, it seemed like preaching to the choir. But hey! It was a good time, and there's something special about a group of people brought together by geeky enthusiasm. I don't think I've ever been around a group of strangers that friendly.

We learned about the beer's history and sampled five or six progressively better Saisons. It's apparently a very broad style: over the course of the evening I tasted mustiness and citrus and apples and honey and various unidentifiable spices. Other people were able to pick out additional flavors, but my palate wasn't up to that task.

(I also don't think that I can get a really good sense of a beer, certainly a light one, from a single tasting glass. I submit that I'd like several of these Saison beers more if I went to the Gnome and ordered a pint.)

We also tried the Jenlain, a stake-in-the-ground Biere de Garde, because the style is similar to the Saison. I liked the Jenlain more than the weak Saison that preceded it, and more than the impenetrable Two Brothers Biere de Garde I had a few weeks ago, but ultimately I still would much prefer the Flying Dog version.

My still-favorite Saison and our last beer of the night was the Surly CynicAle. Very assertive compared to the other beers on offer.

I almost bought a 4-pack with the $15 in store credit we got with our $15 tickets, but instead I purchased a Southern Tier Imperial Cherry and a 4-pack of the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel. I am set for beer now, thanks. I mean, I was before too, but now I really mean it.

Labels: Biere de Garde, Brasserie Duyck, CynicAle, Jenlain Original French Ale, Saison, Surly Brewing, The Four Firkins

Because they were on sale at Big Top, I picked up another six pack of Big Sky Trout Slayer, an American Pale Wheat Ale that was just as good as I remembered, and a six pack of their seasonal Summer Honey APA.

I've only had one Summer Honey so far, but I think I like that one too; I wish I had a Leinie's Honey Weiss around to compare it with.

I tried to get to Town Hall this week to try their Chocolate Milk Porter, but when Graham and I went there yesterday night it was already gone. I tried their Pursuit of Happiness instead and it was decent, which is saying something for a beer that tastes like blueberries — but as with that Longshot Grape Ale, the blueberry flavor was pretty darn subtle, and I feel like if you're adding weird fruit it should do a bit more.

I also had the Liberty, a red American Pale Wheat Ale that was pretty tasty. After that Pursuit of Happiness, it was nice to have something really flavorful.

I think that the 1800 Old English IPA, Eye of the Storm, and pumpkin ale are still my favorite Town Hall beers (is there a dark beer I'm forgetting?), but our server said that the chocolate might return, so I'm keeping an eye out.

Afterwards we went to Pracna, where I had a tiny little glass of Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. Purists take note: they served it with a slice of lemon. I don't care about the lemon, but I wouldn't go there to drink as often as I do if it weren't so conveniently located.

I also went to Stub and Herb's this week for the first time, with Ben and Nora. Great draft selection, great happy hour, terrible BBQ wings. I had a Flying Dog Woody Creek White (this place had a ton of my standbys) and a Two Brothers Domaine DuPaige French Country Ale

I couldn't pull anything out of the Two Brothers, though I had the nagging sense that it was good on a less perceptible level. ("Like hearing a party two apartments over," is how I put it at the time.) Nora seemed to like it, and I'm guessing her sense of taste is better than mine, but as far as Biere de Garde go, I definitely prefer the Flying Dog Garde Dog.

Labels: APA, Biere de Garde, Big Sky Brewing, Domaine DuPage, Flying Dog Brewery, Liberty, Pracna, Pursuit of Happiness, Stub and Herb's, Summer Honey, Town Hall, Trout Slayer, Two Brothers Brewing

Yesterday we had Ben over for a cookout: dinner consisted of very good (if a little overseasoned) steak and porkchops. It was very nice out, so we sat on the deck and had some beers while Matt tended to the meat.

While my beer glasses went through the dishwasher I had a Flying Dog Garde Dog, good as usual. Then: colaweizen.

For the colaweizen, or colaweizens if you're a crazy American, we combined the drinks in a 3/4 beer to 1/4 cola ratio, i.e. one 12 oz. bottle (poured with almost no head) and 1/2 of an 8 oz. pop can (poured aggressively) in each pilsner glass. The beer will darken noticeably as you pour in the coke. Scientists have determined that this is cool to watch.

I tried two American wheat beers, the Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat and the Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat. Both were good (the Flying Dog mix had some leftover Sierra Nevada in it, so I'll forgive for being the worst of the two), but neither could stand up to Ben's colaweizen, which used Paulaner Hefe-Weizen and had a noticeable banana taste. Once I run out of Sierra Nevada, I guess I'll have to get a good German hefe.

It also occurs to me, just now, that I had enough bananas to juice and make bananaweizen (same ratio as a colaweizen). There's a drink I'm curious to revisit...

Labels: American Pale Wheat Ale, Biere de Garde, Colaweizen, Flying Dog Brewery, Garde Dog, Hefeweizen, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, Paulaner Salvator Thomasbraeu, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Unfiltered Wheat