Daily Loaf

Cigar City Brewing is relentless; they refuse to stop making ridiculously great beer. RateBeer recognizes their Hunaphus Imperial Stout as one of the world’s ten best Imperial Stouts, and Big Sound Scotch Ale ranks among the top ten of its style. Then there’s Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale, which ranks #1 in the brown ale category on RateBeer – it’s the best brown ale currently produced on the planet as judged by a massive group of very critical beer nerds. Yep, in our own backyard, folks. This is truly beer history in the making.

The side of Bolita bottles reads:

Bolita was a type of lottery popular with the working class citizens of the Ybor City district of Tampa. Bolita means, ‘little ball’ but profits from the illegal (and often rigged) game were anything but little. In the 1920’s Tampa native Charlie Wall was the undisputed kingpin of the Bolita racket.

Our Bolita is a Double Northern English-style brown ale that has a complex malt forward character with notes of chocolate, toffee and hints of roasted nuts in the finish. Bolita pairs well with Baklava, Big Band music, cool evenings and robust cigars.

Sounds great. Now check out this variation — Bourbon Barrel Bolita. It begins with Cigar City’s Bolita Double Nut Brown. After three weeks of fermentation, the brew is transferred to Maker’s Mark barrels. Three months later, it hits the bottling line, where each bottle is filled by hand and then individually numbered. Since this batch of Bourbon Bolita only yielded 221 bottles, it is a pricey beer, but it’s completely worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

Pairing beer and food has always been a major fascination, but lately I have become preoccupied and unable to focus. All I can think about is a variety of fine brews accompanied by little plates of delectable fare. After much persuading, five of my friends agreed to skip dinner and embark upon a beer and snack paring marathon.

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Off State Road 580 near downtown Dunedin, a mountain of beer joy lies in a rather unassuming strip mall. Luekens Liquors is rated by Beer Advocate as one of the best places to buy snobby brew in the Bay Area. A quick survey of the copious beer selection reveals that inventory is scattered everywhere, with no apparent organizational system whatsoever. Wild Blue is shelved between Christmas beer and Boon Gueuze; the same beer is displayed in five different locations. Browsing the shelves of this brew Wonderland is similar to digging for vinyl records. In order to find the good stuff, it is often necessary to look at every single item. In some ways, that aspect adds to the charm, at least for someone like me. Exploring in this manner is way more interactive than simply buying a six pack. Here’s what I found on my treasure hunt through Luekens. Read the rest of this entry »

Think about the massive amount of performance pressure within an industry such as beer. Certain recipes mark milestones in the evolution of brewing, like Pilsner Urquell,  which defined a new style of beer and took its name from the region where it originated. You’ve got experimental breweries like Dogfish Head, partnering with university archaeology departments to analyze residue found on ancient pottery, crafting a modern brew from these ingredients so that we can appreciate beer as it might have tasted in its more ancient forms. That’s a hard act to follow. How about this — currently operating European commercial breweries date as far back as the year 1040. Serious beer intimidation.

And then there’s Terrapin Beer Company from a tiny college town in Georgia. In 2002 their only beer, a Rye Pale Ale totally unknown except for the few places in the vicinity of Athens, GA where you could find it on tap, took first place in the American Pale Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival. I’d say that’s strong performance in the face of pressure.

Today, Terrapin produces a great number of kick ass beers. Read the rest of this entry »