I’ve been waiting for a month for the right time to drink this beer. I found this at a super Whole Foods in El Segundo, clapped my hands and jumped up and down like a four year old while chanting “The precious” (No, Seriously…I did…and I was alone.)
I think collaborations are awesome, they make me feel like I’m hanging out with a group of my friends. See, I’m a geek, all my friends are geeks and from what I’ve seen most brewers are geeks. So I picture a group of my friends planning, plotting, and creating these beers and I want to be a part of the fun! (It doesn’t hurt that Stone’s Blog confirms my geeky friends theory) Drinking these beers is how I get to participate in the geeky goodness.
So onto the beer. El Camino (un) Real is the first collaboration of the year by three Breweries (Brewers). Stone Brewing (Mitch Steele), Firestone Walker(Matt Brynildson), and 21st amendment (Shaun O’Sullivan). (Sorry 21st about not having a glass for you, somehow I’ve gotten over a hundred glasses and never found one from your brewery! I’m working on it, I swear!)
It boldly states that it is brewed with Fennel seed, Chia Seed and Pink peppercorn, the mission figs are added. At a 9.5% ABV I’m salivating thinking about how the figs will mix with the estimated 80 IBU’s.
I will be back in an hour to let you know how it tastes….what?! I wanted someone else to share in my suspenseful wait!
9:32 PM- The Tasting
It pours a thick oily black with this pretty lacy caramel head (no dirty jokes peanut gallery, you know who you are).
Let me start by saying that this beer what not what I expected. Yes I expected roasty delicious chocolate but when I see Figs (or raisins, cherries, etc) as a part of the process I’m use to a thicker sweeter bite ( Ala Avery).
This was so amazingly balanced (the boy states that balanced sho
uld only refer to the relationship of hops and malt, I maintain it refers to the overall beer. I blog, thus I win.), the alcohol, malts, biting hops, fruit meshed perfectly.
(the Boy and a Firestone Glass (-tip of the Hat to New Belgium, we have 5 of your signs…))
I could put this in a baby bottle and feed it to…well, me (no babies were intoxicated in the reviewing of this beer…though now you likely understand why I don’t have kids).
It’s oily in my mouth and dear God it’s drinkable. In fact we had to do three “takes” of this picture because I wouldn’t stop drinking long enough for an unblurred shot.
I taste the fennel, it reminds me vaguely of these Anise cookies a friend of the family use to make…wish I had some now.
I’m sad that this beer’s existence is so brief. The boy mentioned saving a bottle to age, I told him he could do what ever he liked with his but I was drinking mine.
May it live long and prosper in our memories…and my belly.
Getting close to tasting time. This beer can also be aged but we are too greedy tonight, don’t want to share just one bottle. More pics to come!! The girl will be drinking from her Stone Old Guardian glass and I will be using the Firestone Walker pint glass!! It makes drinking beer so much better when you can use the specific brewery’s glass.
Great beer!! Funny, you notice behind the pic of my girl pouring hangs a Newcastle bottle opener over a cat calendar. At first we loved the opener, opened those 12OZ’s with ease, then tried it on a fancy 22oz’r which I think they cap tighter and the friggin thing bent like a straw!!
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Great post! A shame the top picture had to be ruined by a Flat Tire poster!!!
Glad you liked the post Bryan! But now I’m curious, what beers have you had from New Belgium? I love a challenge and there’s got to be something they’ve brewed that you’d like. So I guess more importantly, what styles do you enjoy?