Beers with Chuck: Attacus Atlas from Parish Brewing

by Chuck P

I know I’m a bit late to the party with my review of this beer. After I received these from my good friend Buddy Etheridge things got pretty busy here at Bite and Booze HQ. Then I was attacked by the vicious flu not once, but TWICE which put me and my taste buds out of commision for about a month. Now that I’m back from what felt like the grip of death I felt the time to break out my 4-pack of Attacus Atlas from Parish Brewing had come.

This Triple IPA is packed with a crazy amount of Galaxy hops and Idaho 7, a fairly new hop that was released in 2015, to counter the amount they had to use to get the high 9% ABV. Honestly, I didn’t get a lot of booziness from it as I expected but I’m sure after a few of these it would creep up on you.

Attacus Atlas pours a nice yellow/orange mimosa-esque hue which is pretty much what most of the juicy IPA’s tend to look like, at least to me. The aroma is a mild mix of orange and mango, but my nose still may not be 100% yet. Taste wise the hop juice hits you right off the bat in a big way. The citrus notes come in nice and smooth with a bit of creaminess. There was some bitterness on the finish but to me it’s very mild.

Once again Parish knocks it out of the park with another strong entry into their ever growing hop portfolio. I’m glad my taste buds were able to get back to normal so I could truly enjoy this beer. Let’s all hope this one shows itself more often.

Beers with Chuck: Heady Topper from The Alchemist

by Chuck P

There are beers and there are BEERS. You know what I’m talking about? There are a select few amazing beers out in the world that are just absolute must haves. They’re the ones that taste like no other and are placed upon pedestals far above the heads of every other beer. On the West coast, most would say that beer would be Russian River’s Pliny The Elder, a one of a kind Double IPA that assaults the taste buds with a mouthful of hops. Most craft beer geeks would offer up the family pet and whatever cash they can to get just one bottle of this California nectar.

The Alchemist’s Heady Topper is, I believe, the East coast equivalent out of Stowe, Vermont.

Heady Topper by The Alchemist

Like the legendary East coast/West coast rap battles of the 90’s, Heady and Pliny have long been at the top of the list as the best Double IPAs made today and everyone debates as to who the true champ is. As far as I know, there’s never been a clear victor in this debate similar to the battle between Biggie and Tupac (pour one out).

Whereas Pliny carries one hell of a hop bomb on the pallet, Heady comes at you with a hop wall that washes over your tongue but finishes amazingly clean. It’s fruity, piney and all around delicious. The lingering hop feel on the back end lingers a while in the best way. Words don’t do justice to how delicious this beer truly is.

So, here’s my verdict. If I had a bottle of Pliny and a can of Heady Topper in front of me and was told I could only have one, I’d go for Heady Topper every time and twice on Sundays.

That’s not to say I don’t like Pliny The Elder. It’s a fantastic beer that I’m always happy to receive when one happens to come my way. Neither of these beers are distributed in Louisiana which makes them as coveted as the Holy Grail or actually seeing Bigfoot.

I’m sure there will be a lot of people who won’t agree with me and that’s fine. That’s the beauty of the craft beer world. We’re a passionate lot who are quick to jump on anyone who can’t understand our passion for one of our favorite brews.

This classic clash of the titans makes for some interesting debates online and that’s the geekiness and glory of craft beer.

That’s the passion I feel for Heady Topper. To me, it’s the be all end all of IPAs and you’re not going to tell me otherwise so as soon as you come to terms with how wrong you are we can go about our day.

Cheers!

Provisions and Traditions: The Beginning of a True Louisiana Collaboration

by Blair "B-Rex" Loup

Great Raft Brewing out of Shreveport cranks out some of the finest beers in the state. Their new collaboration with the John Besh Restaurant Group is something I’m particularly jazzed about.

Co-owners Andrew and Lindsay Nations, along with their brewmaster Harvey Kenney, have released their first beer in a series of four to go with the different styles of cooking at each Besh restaurant.

This is all being done in the spirit of bringing together the two things Louisiana loves most: food and beer. For every bottle sold, Great Raft Brewing will donate one dollar to the John Besh Foundation, which helps preserve the rich culinary history of Louisiana.

Volume One: Provisions and Traditions, A Chef Brian Landry Collaboration

Volume One: Provisions and Traditions is a collaboration with Borgne’s Chef Brian Landry. The dry-hopped Kölsch made with Louisiana Cajun Country Rice pours with a thick white head that doesn’t disappear. Like a good Kölsch, there’s a bready maltiness up front, but the hops come through on the back end. I like that there’s a sort of muted citrus pop with some grapefruit notes after the cracker-like malts in the beginning. All of the flavor notes are balanced well, and the beer is well-carbonated which offers a slight effervescence.

I’m looking forward to the next collaboration release, which shouldn’t be too far away. Until then, you can enjoy Chef Brian Landry’s dishes at Borgne in New Orleans with this delicious Great Raft Beer!

Tin Roof Beer rolls out in Baton Rouge

The Tin Roof Brewing Company is ready to roll out their first selections to draft beer starting tomorrow (Thursday, November 18, 2010), so naturally I got a sneak peak at what is in store for craft beer fans in Baton Rouge.  Setting up shop off of Nicholson Drive between LSU and Downtown, Tin Roof is starting with two brews to give us a thirst-quenching taste of local flavors.  The Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale is the beer that I'm most excited about.  It is a slightly hoppy American pale ale that is brewed with Louisiana's own Steen's Cane Syrup.  The beer has an excellent mild fruit nose and a beautiful balance between the malt, hops, and cane syrup taste.  For those who may not be as much of a hops enthusiast as I am, the Perfect Tin Amber provides a solid amber style beer with a nice malt presence.  Either way, you shouldn't be disappointed!

Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale (left) and Perfect Tin Amber (right)

Tin Roof's Brew Kettles

Tin Roof's Fermenting Tanks

The best news about everything is that the wait is over for Baton Rouge to be able to taste their city's very own beer!  This weekend William McGehee and Charles Caldwell at Tin Roof have a roll out planned in efforts to get a beer in as many hands of craft beer lovers and local product supporters as possible.  Here is the schedule:

Thursday 11/18

The Bulldog on Perkins, 4-9 PM

Friday 11/19
Happy's Downtown 4 - close with David Borne for your musical enjoyment
Mellow Mushroom on Burbank 5 -7
Chimes East on Coursey 5 - 7
Chimes LSU 7 - 9

Saturday 11/20
Walk-On's both locations... especially at the Burbank location after the Ole Miss football game!

Many of those featured times and places will also have specials like $3 pints (very good price for such small-batch local craft beer), free jambalaya, and more.  Check it out, bring a friend, drink plenty, and support a new Baton Rouge business!  CHEERS!

Tin Roof 1/6 barrel kegs ready to roll out to a bar near you!

Make sure you keep up with Tin Roof on Twitter and Facebook!  Tell them Bite and Booze sent you!

Things To Do
Baton Rouge

Seattle Part III: Quinn's Pub

Quinn's Pub in Capitol Hill, Seattle

Eric and I departed the Pyramid Alehouse a few hours before the start of the Yankees v. Mariners game on our intoxicating Friday-Funday around Seattle.  A crowd had already gathered in the Pyramid beer garden and all around the stadium.  I enjoyed seeing the atmosphere and fanfare around the ballpark, but Boo and I had another place to visit before we headed to the pre-wedding barbeque, so we couldn't stay for the game.  If you need a reminder, we had already raised our glasses at The Pike Brewing Company (Seattle Part I) before making our way over to the Pyramid Alehouse (Seattle Part II) for even more beer and festivities.  Now we found ourselves traveling back downtown by light rail and then catching a taxi to Capitol Hill where we found a fine establishment known as Quinn's Pub.  This place came recommended to me by the Seattle Food Geek himself, so I figured it had to be good! 

Quinn's Pub is located on East Pike Street, just a little ways up the hill from Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle.  The Capitol Hill neighborhood is known for being a unique part of town.  The area is one of Seattle's most densely populated neighborhoods and is known for its LGBT friendliness, the Seattle art scene, and is home to Seattle's music, made famous by the Grunge movement of the 1990s.  It was in this historic and hip neighborhood that Eric and I met up with Regan Vaugn, the General Manager of Quinn's Pub, for a few more beverages and some gastropub grub.

The Balcony Level at Quinn's Pub

Quinn's had a slightly rustic yet hip ambiance that provided to its obviously well-established culture.  It seemed to match the neighborhood very well in that regard.  However, it wasn't the culture that brought me to Quinn's Pub.  After getting the recommendation and looking up some details, I realized that Quinn's had two great things going for it: an excellent Trappist and local craft beer selection and inspiring, original cuisine.

Eric and I both started with one of Regan's local selections: a pint of Dick's Grand Cru. Dick's Brewing Company resides in Centralia, WA and brews up 21 different varieties of ale. The Grand Cru is an award winning Belgian-style ale made with malted barley and Noble hops. One of 14 beers that Quinn's had on tap, the Grand Cru poured with an amber-orange body and off-white head. The sugars and fruit did wonders to mask the 10% or so ABV on this bad boy, providing a smooth taste, clean finish, and deceptively strong beer.

Ragan and a Glass of Dick's Grand Cru

Regan kindly sent us a couple of Quinn's Pub's signature pretzels to taste.  The doughy knot of flour and salt may have been one of the best soft pretzels I've ever eaten.  The texture seemed to be a mixture between chewy and melt-in-your-mouth goodness.  One dip in the Welsh rarebit, a beer and cheese sauce, and I had a perfect snack to go along with my imbibing.

Pretzel with Welsh Rarebit

In addition to a superb beer list, Quinn's also has enough whiskey, whisky, and bourbon to make a grown cry out of pure joy.  Being a rather large fan of all Irish whiskey other than Jameson (not that it's bad, just that it is the only one that is available everywhere), I noticed that Quinn's had one that I'd never tasted before.  I ordered a glass of Knappogue Castle 1995 neat.  The Knappogue is different than most Irish whiskey.  It is aged in oak bourbon barrels, and even more rare, the Knappogue Castle is a single malt whiskey, not a blend.  Distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2007, the whiskey has a pale golden color and distinct floral and citrus fruit notes on the nose, as well as possibly some honey and vanilla.  I found each sip to be remarkable smooth, easy to drink and somewhat mellow yet sweet.  There's not much like drinking some great whiskey after hours of beer drinking.  In all reality, I'm sure it's what did me in, but it was worth it!

Knappogue Castle 1995 Irish Whiskey

Aside from the booze, what really attracted me to Quinn's Pub was the unique gastropub fare.  The menu consists of various salads, sandwiches, small plates, large plates, snacks, sides, and cheeses.  Deciding what to order proved to be a very difficult task, so I continued to let Regan and our waitress, Erin, steer us in the right direction.  They certainly did just that!  For a sandwich we sampled the wild boar sloppy joe.  The ground boar's game flavor came through while the fresh sage leaves added a peppery kick.  The sloppy joe presented a great twist on the cafeteria classic, and I enjoyed every bit of the nostalgic nosh.    

The Wild Boar Sloppy Joe at Quinn's Pub

From the 'small plates' menu came the oxtail.  The dish featured the slow-braised oxtail with gnocchi, fontina, and crispy marrow.  Erin warned us that "most people that order one end up ordering two."  While we resisted the urge due to our bellies being slightly stuffed from the day's bites and boozes, it wouldn't have taken much of an arm twist to get me to double the portion.  The oxtail's tenderness and flavor were incredible.  Each savory taste presented a myriad of flavors with the gnocchi and marrow adding proper complex, yet friendly, flavors.  The beautiful, imaginative, and modern dish had classic and rustic characteristics that perfectly matched the charm of Quinn's Pub.

Quinn's Small Plate: Oxtail, Gnocchi, Fontina, Crispy Marrow

Eric and I each had one more beer while wrapping up our time at Quinn's.  We got a couple more pints of locally brewed glory, Manny's Pale Ale and Odin's Gift Ruby Ale.  Manny's comes from the Georgetown Brewing Company in Seattle.  With a semi-orange color, Manny's nicely combines its Northwest hops with a trio of malts and English ale yeast to put forward a quality beer that is smooth and crisp on the finish.  Odin's Gift Ruby Ale comes from the Odin Brewing Company, also in Seattle.  The self proclaimed "most adventurous microbrewery in America" makes only small, hand-crafted batches of its deep-ruby colored ale. Living up to their "adventurous" label, Odin's Gift is brewed with juniper berries for a unique finish while still maintaining a nice balance of malt and hops.  If nothing else, it is an interesting beer with a unique twist, and is certainly worth a try.

Manny's Pale Ale and Odin's Gift Ruby Ale

And with that, our brief tour of Seattle had come to its conclusion.  The remainder of the weekend was filled with more food and drinks (well, not much to drink for me as it took a full day to recover from Friday), with family time and wedding obligations mixed in.  I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and will be looking forward to my next trip to the Pacific Northwest where I hope to find even more craft beer and great food.  Until then, Louisiana cuisine calls my name.  Gosh, my life is hard!

Things To Do
Seattle

The Parish Brewery Part Deux

It had been a couple months since I first tasted Parish beer, and the time that passed since then grew more and more difficult without the locally brewed crafty taste of malted barley and noble hops on my tongue.  As if an angel heard my prayers while they were in South Louisiana to watch over the Saints, Andrew Godley from the Parish Brewing Company sent me a message inviting me back for a second round of brews and to give him some feedback on his latest fermentations.  I gladly obliged and hit the road to Lafayette with Eusebio, Eric, and Dustin.  Parish is still in the research and development phase to find that perfect recipe, though now Andrew is really just fine-tuning and tweaking his flagship suds.  With the beer batches being brewed and the paper work getting ever closer to completion, it is just a matter of time before we can order a pint of Parish in some select local watering holes.  I, for one, wouldn't mind being the first in line. 

Engraved Parish Brewing Company Canebrake Tap Handle... A Real Thing of Beauty

The tap handle alone makes me want to drink the beer.  Parish's signature "Fleur de Barley" couldn't be hitting the market at a more appropriate time.  This particular handle is for the Canebrake flavor, which is an American wheat beer brewed with pure Louisiana sugarcane molasses.  The picture on the right below is the Canebrake beer.  As can be seen, the brew is poured with a cloudy body, a unique flavor, and a surprisingly creamy finish.  The Canebrake boasts a 4.8% ABV.  Andrew's new batch of the sugarcane beer came out a fair amount better than the previous version.  He added even more molasses to ensure that the sweet flavor and aroma came through and could be tasted clearly, though still without being overpowering.  He is still playing with the recipe slightly and is considering a batch with a small amount of lactose to help make the beer a little sweeter and creamier, amost giving it a melting sensation in your mouth.  Yeah, that sounds good, I think I'll have that.

Parish Biere Blanc and Canebrake

The Biere Blanc (pictured above on the left) is a light and refreshing take on a European style pilsner.  Beer geeks and typical light beer connoisseurs alike will enjoy this brew as it certainly has more malt and hops than your American standards, and also has a slight hint of wheat and a smidge of sweetness on the back end.  Like the Canebrake, the Biere Blanc is about 4.8% ABV.

Newly Stained Wood Wrapped Around Stainless Steel Brew Kettles

The beer that I think will sell the best early on in the Louisiana market is the Parish Pilsner (below on the right).  The pilsner is a crisp, light, and refreshing beer that has that something extra that all cheap American light swill lacks.  The first taste of the pilsner on the lips is a sweet and fruity flavor, not all that far from a sparkling wine or Champagne.  But then, on your tongue, the hops hit you, and know this is no fermented fruit, but rather a beer with unique character.  It finishes with a bit of dry spice on the back of the tongue and a crisp, delicious bite.  The beer is complex yet is amazingly clear and, remarkably, is unfiltered (as are all the Parish beers).  The Parish Pilsner has around a 4.7% ABV and it shines with a beautiful luster in the glass.  This baby will sell in South Louisiana, that is for sure.  

Envie APA and Parish Pilsner

Finally, Andrew brought out the beer that might soon win him some awards and accolades from true beer geeks, the Envie American Pale Ale.  Envie is an old Cajun French term that means a craving or a hankering for something.  For example, while writing this post, I have an envie for more Parish beer.  The Envie poured with the biggest head of the bunch... that's what she said.  At first nose the beer smelled distinctly of orange citrus, rather than grapefruit which a lot of Indian Pale Ales bring.  The orange aroma led to a balanced, very non-offensive hoppy taste.  Pale Ales are notoriously hoppy, and while this APA brought the hops, it did so in a way that was very pleasing to the palate for even amateur craft beer drinkers.  The Envie boasts a 5.2% ABV, and with its delicious flavor and perfect blend of malt and hops, this beer is sure to be a hit for many years to come.  

Things To Do
Lafayette

A Sneak Peek at the Parish Brewing Company

A couple nights before Thanksgiving I was invited to check out the brand new Parish Brewing Company near Lafayette, La. Andrew Godley, the owner and brewer, welcomed me and some of my select craft-beer-loving friends to his home where we were able to sample his brews and discuss his brewing knowledge and game plan for the brewery over dinner.  I brought Eric and Eusebio with me while Ben and Andrea met us at Andrew and his wife Rachel's house where Andrew has been home brewing since 2007.

The Group Talking About Parish Beer in Andrew's Garage

Andrew got the festivities started right away by pouring us all a glass of beer before talking about any of his brews or custom equipment.  We began with a tasting of the Parish Biere Blanc which is a dry-hopped pale ale using hops from the Pacific Northwest.  It had many of the characteristics of craft beers that you find in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington while still maintaining a crisp and refreshing taste throughout and not being overpowered by the delicious hops.

The Parish Brewing Company's Tasting Taps

Parish Primo Pilsner and Parish Oktoberfest

The next two brews that Andrew let us sample included his version of an American-style pilsner and his seasonal Oktoberfest beer.  The pilsner was lagered and had the taste of a typical "American" macro-brewed beer except that you could actually taste the malt and hops!  In some ways, it reminded me of what a Budweiser should taste like if it were not watered down due to mass production.  The beer still had the light and crisp characteristics and, I hate to say this, "drinkability," while also offering the extra flavor and beer notes that come with any good micro, or in this case nano, brews.  The Oktoberfest had a true beer flavor that you find in a lot of European beers and American Oktoberfest-style beers.  Brewed as an ale, the Oktoberfest blended together a wonderful combination of malty goodness and noble hops.

Now for a look at the Parish Brewery original home brew kettles and the new equipment to enlarge the brewery's capacity.

The old home brew kettles made with retired stainless steel half-barrel kegs.

The new boil and mash pots.  The are actually stainless steel 55 gallon drums.  The wood is for insulation and decoration.

Jay checking out the new line of stainless steel drums.  Photo courtesy of Eric Ducote.

Parish's electrical relay switches followed by the new fermenting tanks which will replace the 5 gallon carboys

Parish Pumpkin Patch and Parish Canebrake

Now we should return to the beer before moving on to dinner.  The final two Parish beers that Andrew poured for us were the Parish Pumpkin Patch and the Parish Canebrake.  I would venture to say the Pumpkin Patch won the evening as the beer that is most ready to go to market and needs no further tweaking of its recipe or process.  The best thing about the Pumpkin Patch is that it is a beer first.  Many vegetable and fruit beers add extract that overpowers the actual beer.  A lot of times this is taken advantage of by the brewer making a relatively crappy beer and then masking it with sweet flavor.  That is no good.  The Parish Pumpkin Patch is just the opposite... and excellent beer with just enough pumpkin flavor and spice (which comes from real pumpkin added into the process, not just flavoring afterwards) to make it feel like the Fall has arrived.

The Parish Canebrake is a the beer that I'm looking most forward to Andrew perfecting.  It has potential to become Parish's flagship label as it is brewed with Louisiana sugarcane!  The light, crisp, and refreshing beer will finish sweet on the palate with lingering hints of molasses.  The version that we tried was a little lighter on the sugarcane than I think he should go with.  I wanted a little more pure cane flavor to stay on my taste buds after each swallow, not to the point of overpowering the malt and hops, but enough to make me realize what I'm drinking.  I have no doubt that Andrew will play with this recipe and get it right just in time for Crawfish Season!  Mais cher, dat'll hit da spot, yeah!

The Grill Fired Up with Glorious Assorted Meats

Andrew lit the barbeque pit and began to cook a feast for us while we continued to drink Parish beers and talk about brewery related topics.  He hit up a local specialty meats store and picked out some wonderful meats for us to dine on.

My Glorious Plate of Food at the Parish Brewing Company

My platter featured several perfectly cooked bacon wrapped duck breasts.  They were tender and juicy on the inside, and everything is even better when you add bacon!  Above the duck breasts on the plate are three stuffed mushrooms.  Two featured a seafood dressing and the third came stuffed with a spinach mixture.  Both varieties were extremely tasty but I'd give the edge to the seafood dressing.  On the left side of the plate is a broccoli salad that was really a slaw of sorts with broccoli mixed in.  I'm usually not a cole slaw fan, but this salad hit the spot and supplied a bit more greenery on the plate.  Finally, the top of the post features a locally created chicken and apple sausage.  The apple added just a hint of sweetness to the chicken to create a really great encased meat.

The Final Beer of the Night: Maharaja Imperial Pale Ale from the Avery Brewery

The Maharaja is one of the finest and hoppiest IPAs that I've ever tasted, so a very big thank you to Andrew for breaking his bottle out and letting us try it.  The great thing about beer geeks is that they know good beer when they taste it, and the aren't afraid to promote what other brewers are doing well.  That is the case with Andrew when it comes to this IPA from Avery.  Every sip was a hop explosion on the tongue, though the malt was still present and obvious on the palate, unlike some double or triple IPAs.  The Maharaja ended the evening of craft beer and food fantastically.  I'll be very excited in the coming months when the Parish Brewing Company begins to be fully functional and the beer starts to flow through South Louisiana.  I highly recommend that everybody give them a try and taste a bit of what Louisiana craft breweries have to offer! Cheers!

Things To Do
Lafayette