Feature Beer Friday: Gnarly Barley's Lion Up Wheat Ale

By Eric Ducote

Happy Black Friday to you all!  I sure hope everyone reading this is enjoying some quality time with friends and family and not fighting the crowds for the deals.  Or if you are out there shopping, maybe hit up some local small businesses.  Regardless, you're not going to find me joining in on the shopping madness!  For this week's offering I dug into the beer fridge to find something that was worthy of FBF praise, and found a can of Lion Up from Gnarly Barley Brewing.  

Gnarly Barley is no stranger to this space, and for good reason.  They put out some of the best beers in the state and the taproom is always a great spot to visit.  Co-owners Zac and Cari Caramonta are usually there hanging out and similarly to how LSU and Tin Roof put out the licensed Bayou Bengal, Gnarly Barley partnered with Southeastern Louisiana University to put out the licensed Lion Up.  It makes perfect sense with Gnarly Barley being located in Hammond and both Caramontas being alumni.  Lion Up is brewed with football season in mind, and although it's been cooler and dreary lately, most of football season in south Louisiana is on the warmer side, so this American Wheat Ale is brewed with late Summer and Fall in mind. 

Gnarly Barley's Lion Up Wheat Ale

The beer pours a deep yellow color, some haze from the heavy wheat bill, and a bubbly champagne-esque white head.  The aroma is very floral with some sweet notes from the malt underlying the Cascade and Amarillo hops.  The taste is clean and refreshing, with the hops holding up well to the wheat and barley base, giving the beer an excellent blend of sweet and bitter and packing plenty of flavor into the 4.5% abv.  The result is exactly what they describe it as, "an easy drinking beer, great for football season!" I could definitely see plenty of these making it into my cooler next year, unless the Tigers are playing the Lions again.

Cheers everyone, and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  

Feature Beer Friday: Tin Roof / Gnarly Barley's Liger Juicy Pale Ale

By Eric Ducote

Good morning everyone!  It's another Friday and that means another featured beer here on Bite And Booze.  I'm going with a local collaboration today, the Liger Juicy Pale Ale which was brewed by Tin Roof and Gnarly Barley to celebrate last week's LSU vs. SELU football matchup.  Tin Roof brews the Bayou Bengal, a licensed LSU beer, and Gnarly Barley out of Hammond brews the Lion Up, a licensed SELU beer, so it only made sense for the two to combine forces for a Rivalry Edition beer.  

I'm a huge fan of local breweries collaborating together on beers like this, as well as local breweries collaborating with regional and national breweries.  It's a great way to get new ideas, new beers, and new exposure for these craft breweries that support a lot of local jobs.  This beer sold out quickly in cans at the brewery last weekend, but as of Wednesday night there was still plenty on tap, and they were selling crowlers of it to go.  So, as I'm an LSU fan, I grabbed a Tin Roof glass and gave the beer a try...

Tin Roof / Gnarly Barley's Liger Juicy Pale Ale

The first thing that hit me is the hop aroma as soon as I popped the can, citrus flavors dominate due to the galaxy, citra, and mosaic hops used.  The color is a pale yellow, not quite orange juice color, but hazy and vibrant.  The aroma out of the glass is more of the same, strong citrus hop flavors which invite me in for a sip.  On the tongue the hops continue their dominance, with a medium body and a minimal malt presence.  This is basically a toned down pale ale version of a "juicy" NEIPA and they nail it.  At 5.5% but bursting with hop flavor, this would be a great game day beer or perfect for breaking out after mowing the lawn, which is exactly what I in the picture above!

Here's hoping this makes it into the regular rotation for either Tin Roof or Gnarly Barley, I know I'd drink plenty more if it was readily available.  In the meantime, hit up the Tin Roof taproom and grab a crowler or two for the weekend.  Cheers! 

Feature Beer Friday: Gnarly Barley's Gnarvana Double IPA

By Eric Ducote

Hey everyone, it's another Friday, and another featured beer, but not a  new brewery this time around as Gnarly Barley has made a few appearances always in this space.  I'll be honest though, if a brewery keeps putting out good beer that I have access to, they'll find a way into a post or two of three before too long.  

Not too long ago they put out a special release Gnarvana Double IPA at Gnarfest in honor of the brewery's 4th birthday.  It was hailed as a juicebomb of a Double IPA, and unfortunately I wasn't able to make it out to the party this year, my first year to miss the big anniversary.  Fortunately though, I have some good friends who made sure that I didn't miss out on the beer du jour.  (That's the beer of the day.)

A pour of the Gnarvana Double IPA

The Gnarvana pours crazy hazy, with a grapefruit flesh shade of orange and a bubbly white head that doesn't stick around too long due to all the hop oils. The aroma is pure pineapple... just pineapple on top of pineapple layered with some pineapple juice.  On the taste, you guessed it, more pineapple! There's a little other citrus in there on the taste, some orange and grapefruit to give it a bit of complexity, but the truth is, this beer is a pineapple bomb, which I personally find to be delicious.

Last I saw online, there were still cans to be found at the brewery, so if you're wanting to give this a try, make the quick trip over to Hammond and find yourself in Gnarvana.   

Feature Beer Friday: Gnarly Barley's Korova Milk Porter

by Eric Ducote

Good morning again everyone! It's time for another Feature Beer Friday (#FeatureBeerFriday if you want to join in on Instagram or Facebook!) and today I'm checking back in with Gnarly Barley Brewing out of Hammond, LA.  About a month ago I featured their Jucifer IPA, but this time it's their flagship Korova Milk Porter.  

The Korova has been a staple of Gnarly Barley's lineup for years, it's a baltic porter base with some oatmeal and lactose (milk sugar) added.  They say about this beer, "This Baltic Oatmeal Milk Porter will change the way you think about porters. From its sweet coffee and chocolate flavor, to its silky smooth finish, this is one unique brew. So sit back and enjoy her sultry sweet side." The Korova clocks in at a solid 6.2% abv.

A pour of the Korova Milk Porter, with appropriate glassware.

On to the appearance... Korova pours a deep brown color with hints of chestnut when the light shines through.  The head is a bubbly tan color that recedes over the course of 30 seconds or so.  The aroma is a delicious combination of coffee, dark chocolate, and marshmallow sweetness.  The taste is more of the same, with a creamy mouthfeel combined with a well blended balance of lactose sweetness and roasted bitterness.  

This is exactly what a flagship should be, an easy drinking yet flavorful beer that offers a slight variation on a traditional style.  Delicious, and now I'm ready for another!

Feature Beer Friday: Gnarly Barley's Jucifer IPA

by Eric Ducote

Good morning everyone, and welcome to another riveting installment of Feature Beer Friday here at Bite and Booze. I'm going to keep trying to feature a mix of local, regional, national, and possibly even international brews in this space, but naturally being in Baton Rouge my beer fridge is going to contain more locally available brews than not.  The good news in that regard is that there are no shortage of Louisiana breweries putting out some excellent brews.  

With that in mind, this week's offering is coming to you from Gnarly Barley Brewing just down I-12 in Hammond.   Gnarly Barley was established in 2014 by husband and wife team Zac and Cari Caramonta.  Like many brewers before and since, they got their start homebrewing before turning their passion into a full blown business.  Currently the brewery is open for tastings on Fridays from 5 to 9 and on Saturdays from 12 to 5.  If you are ever looking for something to do on those days, it's easily worth the short drive to Hammond, but of course drive responsibly. 

Gnarly Barley's Jucifer IPA

Today's offering from Gnarly Barley is the Jucifer IPA, their take on the extremely popular hazy "New England" IPA style, or just NEIPA for short.  The style is finally recognized by the BJCP as it's own distinct type of specialty IPA, and the impression is described as: "A refreshing hop-driven pale ale showcasing fresh, juicy, fruity hop flavors and aromas. Moderate bitterness and low malt flavors only play a supporting role, preserving approachable drinkability. Deceptively soft, creamy mouthfeel gives way to a crisp, dry finish characteristic of all American IPA’s. Singularly hazy but still attractive to those who appreciate an intense hop experience." 

Now on to the review... 

Jucifer comes in at 6% abv and 79.5 IBU, and pours a hazy bright golden color that's perfect for the style, with a frothy white head that lingers for minutes.  The aroma is strong with grapefruit and blood orange, in my opinion, strong citrus flavors with a hint of tropical tones.  The taste is more of the same, with an excellent blend of citrus and tropical flavors with just the right amount of underlying bitterness to accentuate the hops but prevent a harsh acerbic finish.  At 6% this is a smooth easy drinker that will always have a place in my beer fridge.

Cheers! 

Beers with Chuck: Gnarly Barley's Imperial Korova Milk Porter at the GnarBQ

by Chuck P.

BBQ brisket at the GnarBQ. Sydney claims this is the best photo she's ever taken. 

If there's one thing that truly excites my taste buds, it's some really tasty BBQ, especially when paired with delicious local craft beer.

Now combine those with a day-long event at one of my favorite local craft breweries Gnarly Barley, and you've got yourself a pretty perfect day.

That about sums up my experience a few weeks ago at the second annual GnarBQ over at Gnarly Barley's brewery in Hammond, Louisiana, with Team Bite and Booze.

This being my first official event as a team member, I was a little nervous.

What if I embarrassed Jay and the team? What if I dropped a big tray of ribs covered in Jay's fantastic Jay D's Louisiana BBQ Sauce all over brewery owners Cari and Zac Caramonta?

These and many more horrible scenarios played through my head the night before the event, but I was determined to shake those bad vibes off and get a good night's sleep so I would be on my best game for the following morning.

I convinced myself before I drifted off to dreams of tender brisket and waterfalls of baked beans that the following day would go off without a hitch.

The Great Trailer Fire Fiasco of 2015

I awake Saturday morning to the sound of my iPhone alerting me of a group text. The night before, Jay had prepped the smoker for brisket, and the trailer the pit was on caught fire. When he returned to check on the brisket around 4 am, he witnessed the dying moments of what had to have been a pretty raging blaze considering it had melted the tired off the trailer we had borrowed from Galen.

Without a hitch indeed.

Jay, Blair, and I getting some deliciousness into hotel pans for serving.

I arrived on the scene later that morning, and once the rest of the team arrived, we began prepping the rest of the meats (chicken legs and ribs to go along with the brisket), cutting up cabbage for our slaw and getting the barbecue baked beans going.

And of course, grabbing a cold Gnarly Barley brew.

My first of the morning was a Radical Rye P.A., my favorite of their three flagships. It's got a nice bit of spice from the rye and includes two of my favorite hops, Magnum and Cascade. It's totally my go-to if it's on tap anywhere.

The Radical Rye P.A. is my favorite of Gnarly Barley's flagship brews.

As noon quickly approached we noticed people beginning to file into the brewery. They've got a thirst for cold brews in their eyes and a rumbling in their bellies for some hot BBQ that echoes throughout the building.

As the line begins to form for food, the smooth tones of Will Vance & The Kinfolk begin traveling through the air, distracting the crowd with some tunes as we start setting up our assembly line of awesomeness.

The food moves pretty quickly as we do our best to keep up with the hungry masses. After a while we run out of the first wave of food and ask everyone who didn't get a plate to please wait patiently while the next batch is cooking. Luckily, there's plenty of beer on hand to keep them satisfied until the next wave hits.

While we wait on food, we all get a chance to try the specialty beer that's being featured that day, The Imperial Korova Milk Porter. This new twist on their existing Korova is a fantastic blend of chocolate and coffee notes with a bit of alcohol on the finish. Coming in at 9% the Imperial Korova is definitely something you want to sit and enjoy, not chug.

I really enjoyed Gnarly Barley's Imperial Korova Milk Porter, their new twist on their existing Korova.

Gnarly Barley packaged a very limited amount (1,000 to be exact) in 25oz bottles! This will perfectly age the beer so you can grab a few bottles to cellar for later.

After a brief break we're back at it with our last round of food. The line formed quickly, and after a few minutes the remaining group of people who missed out on the first batch have been happily fed.

Now all that's left is the fun part of the event...the clean up! Once everything is packed up and all trash is deposited in its rightful places, we make one last run through for goodbyes and thank Cari and Zac for having us there while also grabbing one more pint for the road. (Unless you were driving.)

Zac, Jay, and Cari pose for a photo at the brewery in Hammond, La.

For my first official event with Jay and everyone on Team Bite and Booze I have to say that for me, it was a complete success. I can't wait to take on the next one with this amazing group of people.

And hopefully next time we'll keep the fire contained to the pit.

Cari Caramonta: Mother of Malts

by Blair "B-Rex" Loup

It’s a tale as old as time (cue twinkly, sparkly music), boy meets girl, boy likes beer, boy teaches girl to like beer, boy brews beer, girl pushes boy to open commercial brewery, girl make brewery a success while wild boy brews beer all day, girl makes boy get a haircut. Okay, so obviously the story of the Caramonta’s and how they came to own what is one of South Louisiana’s favorite breweries isn’t simple and cliché and would better be accompanied by insane electric guitar riffs…

Cari Caramonta, Co-founder and Creative Director of Gnarly Barley Brewing in Hammond, LA

It all started in 2005 when Cari and Zac Caramonta met at Southeastern Louisiana University. “I really did not know shit about craft beer,” says Cari, “…and then, he opened my eyes to it, brought me to Red, White, and Brew (an awesome beer bar/shop in Hammond) while we were in college to try all of these awesome beers.”

Cari said when Zac expressed a desire to home-brew, he knew it wouldn’t be enough to use a crappy starter kit. After tasting the kinds of beers Zac produced, Cari saw his potential she encouraged him to pursue his love of brewing even further. Zac easily admits that if it weren't for Cari’s support and particular set of skills, he would have never thought of brewing commercially and yours truly would be left without my craft beer spirit animal: Gnarly Barley Brewing.

“Personally, I love building the business. I enjoy marketing and branding. I think it’s cool that we bring a different dynamic to the table,” Cari said. Watching this brewery grow over the past year makes my heart swell. Knowing Zac and Cari well, I know that Gnarly Barley would not be here today if it weren’t for Cari.

Cari has an outgoing, infectious, bad-ass personality… you know, she’s the kind of girl you want to hang out and drink beers with. Website management, social media guru, special event coordinator, checkbook sultan, extra sack of barley fetcher, merchandise designer, distribution liaison, and expert Zac wrangler are a few of her job titles and add to that mother-to-be.

Though Zac brews beers that are absolutely on point, Gnarly Barley would have been like the Titanic without Cari. Sure, everyone was drinking and having a good time and things looked great, until they didn’t, and that’s where Cari comes in. Without her at the helm, Gnarly Barley would have never stepped foot outside of the garage.

Now, if only Cari could answer her phone, introduce herself when people call asking for Zac, and then hang up or leave messages for Zac (that Zac can’t answer because Cari is in charge), all would be better in the wacky world of Gnarly Barley. Let it be known that there are some talented, intelligent, boss ladies in charge of your beer, gentlemen, and I’m sure they’re growing tired of being overlooked and undermined.

Let’s face it, this is Cari’s world and we’re all living in it.

This post is part of a monthly series spotlighting Louisiana women in the business of booze. Previous features include:

Natalie Parbhoo: Duchess of Distribution

Lindsay Nations: Baroness of Beer

Dori Murvin: Sorceress of Service

Nora McGunnigle: Headmistress of Hops

Myna Arroyo: Vino Valedictorian

Brandi Lauck: Warden of Whiskey

The 2011 Hammond Smokin' Blues and BBQ Challenge

This past weekend, team Bite and Booze once again competed in the annual Hammond Smokin' Blues and BBQ Challenge. The results may not have been quite what we were hoping for, but we still had a great time and cooked some fantastic barbeque.

Let's get things started by giving you a glimpse of something special.  Here's our BBQ Sauce Fountain.  Talk about a show stopper!  We had to fight the crowds away.  Please leave a comment at the bottom of this post saying how classy you think it is!

That's right... keeping it classy with a cascading BBQ Sauce Fountain and Grilled Sausage!

Thanks to everybody who came out to eat and cheer us on!  Our team - myself, Chef Eusebio Gongora, Travis Ducote, and Eric Ducote - really appreciates all the support!  Thanks to Sammy from Calandro's Super Market for coming early to help set up on Friday and hanging out all day Saturday, Ashley for coming late Friday night to relax, Jeremy for coming early Saturday morning with supplies and for assisting with the camera work on the video, and most certainly to Rush for the use of the travel trailer... what a great improvement over last year!  Also, thanks to Tony and Nani of KickersBBQ for the rub, sauce, and company!  Oh, and we also used some of the Red Stick Spice Company's applewood smoked sea salt and apple chipotle rub... you must check that out!  Finally, this video is the unveiling of the new Bite and Booze intro animation created by the one and only Hunter Brown.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about that and the BBQ!

Team Bite and Booze would like to thanks our title sponsor for the 2011 Hammond Smokin' Blues and BBQ Challenge:

        Additional thanks to:

                

Now, how about some more pictures from Jeremy Wells of FairelesCourses.net?

BBQ chicken plated and ready to be served to the judges

Ribs finishing on the grill after smoking for hours

Travis and Jay pull pork to plate it for the judges

Brisket resting before slicing

Hammond Smokin' Blues 'n BBQ Challenge

On the final weekend of March, Travis, Eusebio, and I competed in the Smokin' Blues 'n BBQ Challenge in Hammond, La.  We entered the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event, which means we were cooking against the big dogs.  Johnny Trigg from the TLC show Barbeque Pitmasters was there, as well as QUAU and Pellet Envy, the first and third ranked BBQ teams in the country according to KCBS.  It turns out that of the 50 teams doing competitive barbeque, we were the ONLY rookie team and seemingly the only team with chefs under the age of 40.  In fact, we are all 30 or younger, and every other team appeared to be full of wily veterans in their 50s and 60s.  We knew we were going to have our hands full to just not finish last in each category.

In KCBS contests, each team must enter all four meat categories: chicken, pork ribs, pork butt, and brisket.  Teams must have their meat inspected the day before the competition to ensure they were not pre-marinated, and then they have until noon the next day to prepare and cook the meats.  As with any true barbeque, the preferred cooking method is low and slow.  Barbeque pits infuse the meats with delicious smoky flavors while cooking them for a long time at a low temperature, leaving the finished product flavorful and tender.

The Monstrosity: Third Row Tailgaters' Famous BBQ Pit and Smoker

For the majority of our cooking, we used the Third Row barbeque pit and smoker, which has been dubbed "The Monstrosity."  We hand-crafted this pit back in 2002 or 2003.  It is made it an old full-barrel aluminum keg flipped on its side with a smoke stack connecting to a stainless steel keg that is used as the smoker.  It is a true thing of beauty, and I think easily got the most looks and brought up the most discussion of any pit in the KCBS challenge. 

Soaking Pecan Chunks

For some extra flavor, we used pecan chunks as a smoking wood.  I find that pecan gives a nice balanced smoke that adds sweetness and smoky flavor without overpowering the meat. 

I could go on with more text about the competition, but I think this video that I put together would sum it up a little better.  Enjoy!  Warning: it will make you hungry!

Thanks to Lauren for help with the video!  One thing for sure is that we had a good time.  The contest presented its challenges but was also a whole lot of fun, and we did cook some great food.  We ended up placing 39th overall, which really wasn't too bad.  On our first attempt at competitive barbeque we beat out 11 teams that had been doing this for years!  Our chicken placed 23rd, which we were pretty proud of. To cook some chicken that finished in the top half exceed our expectations of anything we could do on a first attempt.  The pork finished tied for 31st and the ribs came in 34th.  The only really sad note for us was that our brisket came in 49th.  But hey, we weren't last in anything, and we learned a lot about cooking in a KCBS contest.  I imagine we'll do it again at some point, and we'll only be better!  The barbeque circuit better look out!

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