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

Ben and I went on the obligatory pilgrimage to The Four Firkins today.

It was pretty cool (or should I say, "awesome"?) to finally meet Alvey after spending so many hours listening to him and Philip on the What Ale's Thee? podcast. He gave us plenty of beer suggestions... and provided the prices for beers we were curious about. Pricing is still a work-in-progress.

I felt like a kid in a candy store. I got a Unibroue Chambly Noire and a Hitachino Nest XH for special occasions; a mix-pack with Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, Peak Organic, and various Flying Dog brews; a Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest; and a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Stout that was in desperate need of a foster home.

Remembering how delicious Colaweizen is, I also picked up some Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer for mixers later. I was taught that there was a difference between a Diesel and a Colaweizen, something about proportions maybe, but the Internet does not seem to have my back on this. The English-language Wikipedia page on mixed beer is an abomination.

Probably I could find a lot of this without going to St. Louis Park (sooo much Sierra Nevada...), but I also could've walked out with a $100 in obscure and hard-to-find beer if I'd really wanted to.

A few bottles of the really good stuff is enough for now; hopefully we'll have some nasty cold weather now that my fridge is full of so much dark heavy stuff.

Afterwards Ben and I went to Town Hall. We both started with an 1800 IPA, a huge hoppy beer made with British hops and malt (it's a "Welsh Coast IPA," if you will... or... well just nevermind) that was really good. Maybe just because we were hungry and had planned a day around beer without having drank any as yet.

My next beer was a framboise from somewhere or other. It was decent but not spectacular. It wasn't cloying (which I gather is the typical complaint with fruit beers) but the taste kind of missed a beat in the middle.

Ben had a West Bank Pub Ale, which I tried. It was waaaaay too biscuity for me and way too biscuity and boring for him.

We met up with Jenna and Barry at Acadia, ditched immediately because of the terrible live music, and went to Matt's Bar, apparent birthplace of the Jucy Lucy. The four of us split a pitcher of Newcastle that I didn't really care for, watched and/or listened to the Twins fail, and went our separate ways.

Labels: 1800, American IPA, English Brown Ale, Fruit Lambic, Matt's Bar, Newcastle Breweries, The Four Firkins, Town Hall, West Bank Pub Ale