The ABCs of beer
Australia, Bozeman and Cantillon to be exact. There was no order to this tasting, nor was there a theme. Conveniently, I found a loosely threaded theme to follow in a simple song my two-year-old sings.
My buddy Luke from Kettlehouse, grabbed a growler of schwarz beer from Bozeman Brewing Co., I threw in two bottles of Coopers and Luke kicked in a bottle of Cantillon Broucsella (1900) Grand Cru. I purchased the Coopers Sparkling Ale and Vintage Ale at The Good Food Store and I believe the Cantillon came from Worden’s Market.
We started with the beer, which was nicely roasted with a hint of licorice and a bigger hop profile than most black beers.
The Coopers Vintage Ale had a heavy fruit nose with a ton of dried pineapple, green apple and green raisin flavors. The color left something to be desired. We decided it was a dishwasher brown, which didn’t flatter the beer. But the fruit nose and the warm full body with medium malt were very satisfying.
The Coopers Sparkling Ale was super light with a decent nose containing some floral hints and a little over-ripe grapefruit. I wonder if this beer wasn’t a little flat or perhaps old. With some effervescence or a little sparkle, this would be great summer beer.
And last, but certainly not least, the Cantillon Broucsella (1900) Grand Cru is fantastic beer, with a deep and complex sour well that seems to go on forever. This particular bottle went a little flat, so we were left with only a hint of what a great beer this is. Don’t let that scare you, if you find one of these, grab it and have a friend over to enjoy one of life’s great pleasures.
Cheers,
GG
That particular Cantillon was intended to be still or flat. Every one I’ve had from here to Seattle has been that way.
Charlie,
Thanks for the note. That’s really good to know. I kept thinking that this beer is extremely quaffable despite the stillness it had. But it was an odd experience not having tried it before. I’d never heard that this beer is intended to have that particular quality, but like I said, there is something to it that is really deep. The sour is well-balanced and delightful.
Tim
Hey Tim, just wanted to let you know that every Wed. at the Old Post Pub starting Aug 6th there will be a different Big Sky Brewing Firkin ale available. The tapping takes place at 4 pm! Maybe a little earlier to run the waitstaff through the pouring procedure.