Duclaw Sausage Twins Featuring the Bad Moon Porter and Blonde Ale

Who's visited DuClaw Brewing Company - Arundel Mills or DuClaw Brewing Company - BWI and had the Duclaw Sausage Twins. Unbelievably good sandwich -- two sausages poached in Blonde Ale with Old Bay, topped with crab meat, Bacon, cheddar, tomatoes, and chipotle mayo on toasted pretzel rolls. Includes sliced pickles and a side of Bad Moon Porter Mustard. These restaurants pair their pub food with a sizable local craft beer menu including several from their parent Baltimore's DuClaw Brewing Company. Perhaps their most known beer is the Sweet Baby Jesus! Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. This unique beer comes across sweet just like a Reese's. However, I learned while devouring one of the sausage twins that the Sweet Baby Java Espresso Infused SBJ actually counters the sweetness and makes drinking a pint enjoyable rather than a challenge.  As stated above, the Bad Moon Porter and Bare Ass Blonde Ale are mentioned as ingredients to the sausage twins and both are drinkable beers on their own. Particularly the Blonde Ale with its inherent minerality.  For those looking for more options Duclaw has available the Misfit Red Amber Ale, Enjoy Your Time Away IPA, and Funk Blueberry Citrus Wheat Ale. Cheers.

Blood Orange Gose - Are You Serious Anderson Valley Brewing?

Seems like brewing with blood oranges is a favorable new fad in the Maryland beer scene with at least Flying Dog Brewery (Bloodline Blood Orange IPA) and DuClaw Brewing Company (Hop Continuum No. 1 - Blood Orange Gypsy IPA) brewing an IPA version. I'm really digging this flavor profile, the subtle citrus tartness from the oranges provide a distinct difference to the heavier IBU side of the beer. I've also become interested in Gose styled beers after our recent #VABreweryChallenge visit to Manassas and  Badwolf Brewing Company. Gose styled beer originated in Germany (Goslar) and is an unfiltered wheat beer brewed with ground coriander seeds and salt. It receives its sourness through inoculation with lactic acid bacteria. The Badwolf version was both sweet and a tad sour with a noticeable salt concentration at the finish.

Today, I joyously discovered the Boonville, California's Anderson Valley Brewing Company Highway 128 Blood Orange Gose combining my two new beer obsessions.  The brewery's Highway 128 Series is a set of funky session beers with the Blood Orange Gose weighing in at a measly 4.2% ABV. The blood oranges are added during fermentation and according to Director of Brewing Operations Andy Hooper, the Gose part of the beer is a major challenge.

"Traditionally, this beer was made by allowing yeast and bacteria to ferment wort at the same time.  It was packaged unfiltered and still contained loads of yeast and bacteria.  Putting Lactobacillus bacteria into our cellar equipment and packaging lines would be a potentially huge problem and might contaminate other non-sour beers.  To solve this problem, the lactobacillus is added in the brewhouse – specifically in the kettle.  The bacteria are allowed to sour the wort and create the acidity needed for the tart flavor and funky aromas.  After the bacteria do their job, the wort is boiled and sterilized.  Now that all the bacteria are dead and gone, it’s safe for us to ferment, filter, and package the beer in the cellar without the risk of contaminating other beers.  After fermentation is complete, a small amount of sea salt is added to enhance the body and soften the edge of the sourness."

The Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose is more sour than the Badwolf (a plus for me), but less salt on the tail - which resides mostly on the tongue (another plus). The beer starts with an orange citrus aroma and the blood orange refuse to leave the stage until the final, final act. There's a little effervescence which provides a refreshing finale - along with the salty finish. Overall this is a great beer. Good enough to have a blog post devoted to it. Care for a music pairing? Easily the funky soul and blues of JJ Grey & Mofro. Cheers.

Update: Just had the Anderson Valley Holy Gose. Sour and refreshing. I also just tasted the Angry Chair Brewing Company Gose which was one of my favorites in our Florida Beer Tour. Michael Kaiser of WineAmerica recommends the Almanac Beer Co. Golden Gate Gose. 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup & Beer: Is It Possible?

During last Spring's coverage of the Savor Craft Beer Experience I read about a new fad in craft brewing - combining peanut butter and chocolate into the brewing process. Being a major peanut butter fan, I was intrigued with this concept; yet promptly forgot about it when Summer ascended. In the Fall, I was reminded due to my Lost Dog Cafe app alerted me that the Twisted Pine Brewing Company - Rhesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout was being poured at one of their locations. I hurried over that day to taste the Rhesus and was both disappointed and encouraged. The disappointment arose because the Rhesus didn't really taste like a Reese's peanut butter cup; instead these flavors were subtle and the beer more stout like. On the other hand, I was encouraged because I did like this beer even though I had to strain to appreciate the Reese's qualities.

Over the next couple of weeks I searched for more beers in this style and finally landed the beer that many had recommended - the DuClaw Brewing Company - Sweet Baby Jesus!. This is a porter from a Maryland brewery I've been following for quite sometime and pretty much nails a Reese's cup. There is plenty of chocolate and peanut butter - but also balance - as the tail finishes with a smooth hoppy character. Keeping with the lexicon - so far this is the Holy Grail of  Peanut Butter Chocolate beers.

At the same time I was able to find a Rogue Brewery - Voodoo Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Ale easy to spot in the pink bottle with Voodoo’s "Memphis Mafia" doughnuts. This is the sweetest of the three with plenty of banana throughout - nose, palette, and finish. In my opinion, the excess artificial banana was it's downfall - overwhelming the chocolate and the peanut butter. To others in our tasting party - that was not a problem. 

Finally there's one more in this style I am familiar with that I have not been able to sample: Florida's Rapp Brewing Company - Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout.  I'm not sure how wide their distribution but will seek them on theCompass Alcohol Locator our next trip to Tampa.