Rock Bottoms Up!

Well, another week has passed and what was looking to be a quiet beer week has turned into some pretty decent hauls. We visit Rock Bottom Brewery (twice), Mackenzie Pub, The Muddy Pig and Town Talk Diner. We’ve also got an exciting bit of news for you as well. A long time project comes to an end… and the fun is just beginning!

January 7th, 2009 Today, my beer drinking friend Sean Callahan and I visit Rock Bottom Brewery. This is one of our favorite places for happy hour as it seems the beer menu is always changing. Brewer Bryan Tonnis and Company seem to push out at least two different beers a month in addition to their satisfying line up of year round beers. Today we enjoyed two special releases. First I had the Silver Mullet Oatmeal IPA. Traditionally when thinking about Oatmeal in beer, you think about Stout. But, American brewers have become so adventurous in recent years that they will blur the lines and try just about anything. And we’re all the better for it. I remember this one from last summer. According to reviews I found it was also available last winter at this time. It was so smooooooth. I know that Oatmeal is used to create a smooth texture and mouthfeel in beers but this was also served on nitrogen which also adds smoothness. Wow! Take a beautifully bitter beer like IPA and smooth it out with nitro and oatmeal and you get a blissful combination. This beer still packed hoppy bitterness but the flavor was more subdued. It was a pleasure drinking this. After “the Mullet” I went to their winter seasonal, Old Curmudgeon Winter Warmer. Even Ebenezer Scrooge would enjoy this beer. This sweet beer is packed with spices and malts and perhaps currants or some dried fruits. It was a nice variation of flavors new to my palate. Either that or my palate is becoming more refined and I’m more able to identify or perceive certain favors. Either way, I really enjoyed the new flavors on my tongue.

Since it was only Wednesday we called it a night and headed home after just two beers – albeit 23oz beers. Sean was lucky enough to catch his bus, but I missed mine, or it was late or early or who knows. It was snowing and it was freezing and the traffic wasn’t even moving, so I thought screw it, back to the bar for me. Bummer. Near 10th and Hennepin there is a pub which I often forget about. I don’t know if it is location or proximity or what, but I never seem to think about Mackenzie Pub. One of this city’s original beer bars, this nice little pub boasts a healthy tap list and great bottle list of local, regional and national craft beers. I tried a couple of beers for the first time on this trip. After a brief hiatus, Dark Horse Brewing Company out of Marshall, Michigan is finally back in Minnesota. They brought with them a stellar lineup of beers. Tonight was the first time for me to try Scotty Karate. This highly acclaimed cleverly named beer is their version of the classic style Scottish Ale. What I notice most about Scottish Ales is the light smoky flavor. This beer has that, but that is about all that is Scottish about it. What an extreme beer packed with flavor and one hell of an aroma. You could definitely smell the alcohol and lots of brown sugar. The flavor was very nice as well. In addition to the faint smoky malts there was lots of residual sweetness. I’m not sure if the yeast adds to the flavor profile or not, but there was a lot going on in here. I thought it was really good and I look forward to another sometime. With its alcohol content being 9.7% it would make a nice let’s-get-this-party-started beer. Finally, before venturing back out in the cold I ordered a Left Hand Milk Stout. Milk stouts aren’t something I am very familiar with. I haven’t drunk many and I’m not sure what makes a milk stout a milk stout but I am learning it has something to do with lactose. I will make sure to learn more about this style as I was quite impressed with this beer. The smell was like a stout, plenty of dark roasted malts but I also picked up a… sour aroma? I don’t want to call it sour milk because it was pleasant but that’s what I immediately thought. It was not daunting but inviting rather, curious, I asked myself what will this taste like? I could not wait, I had to dive right in. What I got was not sour at all, but sweet instead and very creamy. Almost refreshing. I know you can’t taste colors but this did not taste dark at all. It tasted light, but not Bud Light. This may leave you scratching your heads… what the hell is he talking about? For that I apologize. I just love experiencing new beer flavors, but have a hard time putting it into words. I will certainly research milk stouts and their origins and how they’re made.

I wanted to have this posted on or around January 11th and as you can see time has escaped me. I did eventually make my bus and as so, I did eventually make this post. It did not include my second trip to Rock Bottom, the Muddy Pig or Town Talk as I mentioned in the opening. And it did not make any mention of the project that has come to a close, but rest assured it will all come out in the next (Special) Edition of BEER THIS!