Club Corner
Beer of the Month Club November 2024
PORTERS AND STOUTS As the nights get longer and colder, it’s time to break out the dark beers. This month we’ll be mostly focusing on the darker and richer end of the spectrum, with a fun light bodied porter to round out the bunch. Porters have been around since the early 18th century, originally made, so barmen could pull from a single cask instead of the typical tactic done by the porters of the time, which was to mix the lighter and heavier styles on tap that day together to cut the higher ABV beers. These new beers used malted barley and a touch of hops to create a stronger dark ale without being overly boozy. The adjective “stout” was first applied to beer as early as the late 17th century, and had usually denoted a stronger style of beer. The word became intertwined with porter over time as there were a wide range of strengths, and the stronger ones were regularly called “stout porters”. Over time, there became a slight difference in these two beers, with stouts normally being introduced to nitrogen to give a smoother, creamier mouthfeel and having a wider range of strengths, while porters tend to not be nitro’d and stick generally between 5 to 7 percent ABV. With the rise of craft brewing, these styles underwent a renaissance in the start of this century with an eye towards experimentation and having great shelf life. While not the craze it once was, these beers are still some of the most exciting being made. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Dokkaebier Chuseok Porter Oakland, CA USA This beer is brewed for Chuseok, a major Korean harvest festival that is celebrated on the 14th through 16th day of the 8th lunar month. It is a light bodied porter brewed with pumpkin, rice, persimmon, cinnamon and ginger. Molasses in color with notes of ginger, persimmon, and coffee on the nose. Soft on the palate with the fruitiness of a good cup of coffee, toasted barley notes, and an earthy and spicy finish. $5.99 per can / $141.74 per case Suggested Food Pairing: Minestrone soup, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, japchae Perennial Take 10 Imperial Stout St. Louis, MO USA Brewed with peanut flour and salt, fermented with chocolate sauce, and steeped on whole roasted peanuts. A deep black with a nose that shows notes of chocolate and sea salt. Lush and mouth coating with flavors of toasted peanuts, mocha, and a salty pretzel like finish. $9.99 per can / $235.59 per case Suggested Food Pairing: pour over ice cream, chocolate icebox pie Brouwerj de Molen x Jopen Sin and Remorse Imperial Stout Bodegraven, South Holland, NL A multi-grain beer made with 38% rye, 24% oats, and a small amount of wheat. Opaque black with a nose of baking chocolate and black coffee. Malty and soft without being cloying. Notes cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate graham crackers on the palate with a long chocolatey finish. $10.99 per bottle / $130.13 per case Suggested Food Pairing: Pork mole, South Indian beef curry, black forest cake, braised short ribs Midnight Sun T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter Anchorage, AK USA Brewed with pumpkin, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Black with notes of baking spice, chocolate, pumpkin bread, and black coffee. Boozy and luscious on the palate where the clove and nutmeg stand out along with a dark chocolate fruitiness on the finish. $6.99 per can / $152.18 per case Suggested Food Pairing: Chocolate babka, pumpkin pie drizzled with chocolate sauce
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Beer of the Month Club March '24: Shadow Puppet Brewing
SHADOW PUPPET BREWING One of the best parts of enjoying beer is watching a brewery improve over time. The brewery we’re featuring this month is one I’ve been visiting almost since they started in 2017 due to a close friend moving to the area around the same time. Shadow Puppet Brewing has been getting better and better each year, winning numerous awards (most recently winning multiple gold medals from the Summer 2023 US Beer Tasting Championships) and quietly becoming a powerhouse brewery over the course of their 7 year existence. Showing a mastery of multiple styles from all ends of the spectrum, the quality of their work speaks for itself. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Double Lush Nectar Hazy Double IPA 8.7% ABV / 48 IBU Pouring super hazy almost like juice with very little head. Citrusy and fruity on the nose with little detectable alcohol. Flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, guava, and clementines with a long mouth coating finish. $4.99 per can / $15.99 per 4pk Brewed with El Dorado, Citra, Amarillo, and Azacca hops Bittersweet Memories Golden Imperial Dessert Stout 9.8% ABV / 35 IBU Decadent and mouth coating. The substitution of lightly roasted coffee beans instead of dark malts typically used in traditional dark stouts gives it a finish reminiscent of Vietnamese coffee. Vanilla, caramel, and hazelnut round out the impressively long finish. Pair with a tres leches cake or chocoflan. $5.99 per can / $15.99 per 4pk Brewed with Ecuadorian cacao nibs, vanilla, lightly roasted coffee beans Double Contortion Imperial Milk Stout 9% ABV / 25 IBU Pouring black with a thin, quickly dissipating head and slow barely perceptible carbonation. Notes of roasted coffee, Dr. Pepper, dark chocolate fruitiness and a long creamy finish with pleasantly rich malt sweetness and a surprisingly mild alcohol finish for being 9% ABV. Pour this over some chocolate ice cream for a decadent dessert. $5.99 per can / $15.99 per 4pk Brewed with lactose
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