Monday, January 26, 2009

EPGTC













A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for an exclusive club of gentlemen beer drinkers, of which I am a member. My plan was to roast a pig, but with my back outta whack I did six slabs of ribs and a butt load of Conecah County Sausage instead. The dinner was held in my work shop and I must say it was the perfect setting for an event of this type. Men, beer and lot’s of sawdust.

These guy’s have a really good thing going and I was happy to host them. EPGTC has been meeting regularly for about three years and they focus on a different beverage at each meeting. This time it was festive brews, Christmas beer if you will. This is some of what we tasted.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale. This beer brewed in Pennsylvania is known as a winter warmer. It is a dark brown beer with an aroma of caramel and spices, peppery spices. I guess that’s the “warmer” part. A mild beer, good and easy to drink.

Trader Joe’s 2007 Vintage Ale. This is a Abbey Dubbel style beer. This beer is put through a second fermentation which increases the effervescence, or bubbles produced when poured. Malt is the foremost flavor of this beer, with a little fruit and flower to balance it out nicely.

Red Brick Winter Brew. This beer is brewed right here in Atlanta. It is a Belgian style ale that is dark brown with a banana aroma to it. High alcohol
like most dark Belgian brews. I liked this beer a lot.

Bad Elf Winter Ale. A English beer heavy on the hops. It’s a golden color with a hint of dirt when tasted, that’s a good thing for me. Not a heavy beer at all, not what I would think of a Winter Warmer.

Santa’ s Butt Winter Porter. Brewed by the same as above, Ridgeway of England. A dark beer with a little chocolate and espresso when tasted. As for the “butt”, that has to do with the over-sized barrel it was stored in. I found this to be kind of a weak drink.

Abita Christmas Ale. A dark red beer with lot’s of malt taste and a little bit of a bread taste, I guess that’s would be yeast coming through. I like most Abita beers and I like this one although it had a kinda light feel in the mouth.