Talk about your birthday beer! I started with an African spicy mead, which was good but not as good as I had remembered it. Ed started with Silver City Whoop Ass. A bright and hoppy beer, designed for the “IPA lover”, Silver City Whoop Ass Double IPA was a great choice for a delicious summer brew. They say

More than 50 lbs. of Washington State Cascade and Columbus hops are infused, injected, or otherwise inflicted…

Well, thankfully that was per batch and not per keg! Although Ed may disagree, I do believe a beer can be too hoppy. But this one didn’t cross the line. It had a bite but it didn’t take a bite out of me!

For my second beer, I wavered between Duchesse de Bourgogne which I loved at last time we were at Uber and  Kasteel Rouge  I opted for the sour and Ed went for the sweet.  Kasteel Rouge is a 8.5% Belgium beer. They blend Brune with 25 % Mon Cheri brandy that has infused with Piemont cherries and aged for over a year. It is a deep red color and was gorgeous served in a goblet. The aroma was overwhelming. It smelled so strong of cherry cough syrup that I almost decline to sip it. I am glad that I held my breath and took a chance. This beer is silky smooth, complex, intensely cherry flavored and very sweet. This is a sipping beer that you want to linger over. We both thought it would be an excellent dessert beer. You chocolate lovers would probably love the pairing.  Beer Advocate suggested trying it served with salad and I could envision that pairing as well.

Our beer tender Ken recommended the two Russian River Beers on tap: Salvation and Damnation. We tasted both before settling on the Damnation. As different as salvation and damnation should be, these beers upheld their names. The Russian River Damnation Belgium Ale is a 7.7% Belgian golden ale that actually tastes a lot more boozy than the 9% Belgian Strong Dark Ale Russian River Salvation. The Damnation had more complexity, lots of bright fruit taste, sweet malt and hops to balance.  Although not a fruit beer, it was reminscent of pears. The Salvation was good, but the Damnation won out on a summer day.

When asked about his favorite beers of the moment, Ken raved about some of the bottled beers from Hitachino. They use some sake brewing techniques with their beer brewing that make them really special. We are looking forward to trying some out soon!