Swiftwick

is not a bunof ch ordinary sock spinners, it seems. Once they heard of our fiendish Friday tasting sessions, they decided to start having some of their own, starting with some of their own. Yazoo Brewing, situated in an historic Nashville building, has come into their scene over the past few years (check out their brewmaster’s blog – they’re doing some interesting work with their Hop Projects; I’d love to get some of those to sample), and the Swiftwick guys are allegedly pals with ‘em. So for the Tennessee Annex’s first BBF, they chose to visit the Yazoo Taproom all while sending us two sixpacks of their local liquid lunch:

In the box were a six-pack each of Yazoo Pale Ale and Dos Perros (a Mexican/Viennese lager). They were also kind enough to entice us (as if we needed it) by providing a mixed selection of pizza from Little Deli down the road. In short, if you didn’t make it, you missed out on one of the better kickoff events of the year (we had one such meeting at work earlier in the day….this was better by far.) My notes of the evening (as usual) were a little sketchy from drinking and chatting with friends, but I once again succeeded in sneaking a bottle of each home for the official lab testing:

Yazoo Pale Ale

Appearance: The color of pale apple juice – not bright copper, but not quite dark straw yet. The head poured well, but retention was moderate, leaving a bit of lacing on the glass. It’s not the color I was expecting from a pale ale.

Aroma: Bittering hops and some malt, nothing surprising. Doesn’t join the hophead-community like most American Pale Ales. The label talked about the “new” Amarillo hops, so I raided my hop stash to smell them side by side, and I couldn’t detect any, which was a little disappointing.

Taste: Good bittering throughout, and a little spicy. There’s a hint of toastiness to it, like there’s a tiny bit of biscuit malt…almost more like an amber than a pale in this regard. There’s a funky smoothness that finishes in an odd medicinal / skunky flavor that reminds me of Stella Artois…Good up to this point.

Mouthfeel: Slick and bitter, medium carbonation might be a little high for the style.

Overall Impressions: I’d give it a B-. It’s an American Pale Ale, but diverts from (my understanding) of the style. The description mentions citrus flavors, but all I get is bitterness, as if they were too early in the boil.
5.8% ABV

Yazoo Dos Perros

Appearance: Dark brown and blisteringly translucent against the light. The sort of dark brown of which good trail is made. The head was minimal, with almost no retention.

Aroma: Big on the malt for such a small beer. There’s the smell of hops being present, but can’t ID them.

Taste: Mild sweetness, very restrained hops (just enough to balance, not upfront), and toasty malt flavors (reminds me of a bock, in fact.) There’s a hint of the “off-color” flavors I noticed in the Pale, but they’re subdued and don’t get in my way.

Mouthfeel: The body is pretty thin…you could drink a ton of these with tamales and never stop. It’s not thin in the sense that it’s weak, but in as much as it’s not cloyingly sweet / thick. The finish is subtle, with the toastiness lingering well beyond any bitterness.

Overall Impressions: The Dos Perros gets a B+. I generally drink these Vienna-style lagers when I’m at a TexMex joint, but I never liked the regular imports….Dos Perros knocks ‘em all out of the water. I’d be tempted to give it an A-, but I only got to sample 2…and with garlic pizza and lentil soup rather than tamales.

We had a pretty good turnout (about 15 people hiding from the cold outside), and the pizza and beer were gone so fast we had to make a run to get some more. By the time I was ready for a second beer, there were three left (I got three beers in almost four hours….that’s horrific!). For your viewing pleasure, the photo dump:

A full and festive crowd, just the way we like it.

Beer, through beer-goggles

The Three Amigos…ah…Two Amigos

More sea-of-people and some socks hiding in the front.

It was devoured, so we had to get more, which was swiftly devoured as well….

6pm, done with work, walking home; it’s 38F and drizzling, which is quite pleasant in the dark. As much as I like it, I have a nagging wish for some beer…..

Continue Reading »

What’s more fun than spending a Friday evening hanging out with a bunch of bike geeks next to a workbench and beer fridge? Hanging out with bike geeks and beer geeks next to a bunch of kegs, of course…..

The night began with a few laps around the pump track on our not-so-militant commuters. Extra-long wheelbases don’t work too well on stiff-lipped tabletops, FWIW.

Unfortunately, that got old, so we rolled out instead. There was a cute little sunset, but the darkness finally overcame us.

We finally arrived, only to find Woody…….who tried to insulate his feet from the chill….

There was a reason we made the ride….beer! The local winner of the evening was the Oatmeal Stout from Independence Brewing. The word is that it should be available in bottles in about two months. I’ll be looking for it now that I know it’s coming; stouts are a fantastic thing come “real” (Central Texas) winter.

(512) was also making some noise, but they ran out of beer before I could get to my third pint…this may have been their Pecan Porter, or it may have been the Shiner winter peach/pecan contraption…

Either way, the Best Wurst was enjoyed by most of the crew, in part to stoke the central heat; in part to ensure we had enough gas to roll home.

When we finally ran out of beer, some intrepid souls charged indoors to exchange their wrinkly green for some bubbly brown. With stouts on the mind, we sampled another specimen of the Oatmeal Stout variety (anyone who can match Breckenridge Brewing has a winning team), as well as excellent takes on the Imperial Stout (worldclass!) and IPA (Pike is extremely under-rated — $3.99 / 22oz — and consistently high quality. Try their Extra Stout and Kilt Lifter, you’ll love ‘em!)

The ride home was a little eventful, but we left no man behind, and met a rather nice police officer who enjoys riding at City Park. Thanks for making sure we were safe from physical harm, guys. However, you can never be safe from your better half, especially when she gets a call from your friends. Ride safely, kiddos!

With all of that behind us, we wandered off to see if the Rubik’s Cube had been solved. Turns out it had, and it warranted some blue boobs and double-teaming sunglasses.

There’s more to the story, but I’m tired, so check back soon….

Prost!