Beer Tasting – The Market @ Washington & High – 8/19/2011

If you weren’t at The Market @ Washington and High last night for the beer tasting, well, we’re sorry we missed you. These tastings are always an excellent time to get together, eat some great food, try some beer you may not have had before and enjoy some general beer-comradery. First of all, the food is ALWAYS top notch and last night was no exception – that’s a crab cake right there my friends and while the leafy greens had it hidden there’s a fancy tomato hidden in there. Along with some bread, lemonade tater-salad and some crunchy okra – ’twas a great meal.

Now, the Beer Doctor himself is usually in attendance at these events but he was called away on official duty. So, yours truly stepped in with Mike Adams (Chef-extraordinaire) and imparted what little knowledge I had on the brews for the evening.

First up, Yazoo Hefeweizen: For those snobs amongst us, we’re well familiar with Tennessee’s largest brewery in our big sister city, Nash-vegas. Even though I’ve had my fair share of Yazoo this hefe was a new one for me. On the nose you get the yeast, banana, maybe a hint of orange, a little clove – this was a nice summer beer and as far as hefe’s go, a very nice example. For many, this was the favorite of the evening.

Next, RJ Rockers Son of a Peach: Son of a Peach is a wheat ale made with real peaches by a brewery in Spartanburg, SC known for their unique brews. When I was growing up I remember getting little peach gummies that were a little sweet, a little sour and were always a welcome treat. Son of a Peach, to me, are these candies in liquid form. This is a very sweet beer but very drinkable, maybe too drinkable. For a few in the crowd, this one quickly knocked the hefe out of it’s #1 spot.

We then moved into Rogue’s Captain Sig’s Northwestern Ale: For those who watch Deadliest Catch you’re familiar with Captain Sig and his boat, The Northwestern. This is a red ale that cranks 80 IBUs that has a floral nose, some caramel notes but gives a bit of a bitter flavor on it’s way out. I hadn’t had this brew before but it was a pleasant surprise and one this snob thoroughly enjoyed.

Fourth up was Paulaner Oktoberfest: Hard to believe it’s almost Oktoberfest time again (even though I hear this one is brewed year long), where has the summer gone!? Another new beer for this beer snob but a very nice drinkable beer. It’s also on the growler wall @ The Market if you’re interested in checking it out.

Finally we ended with one of my favorites, Yazoo Hop Project: We’ve written about this beer before, however for those of you that know, each batch is different from the last, thus the beauty in the “hop” project! This was definitely the hoppiest beer of the evening and while enjoyed by some (even Mike changed his mind on this brew and gave it a thumbs up) there were several that just didn’t care for the bitterness from the hops, and that’s ok. We all have different palates and with the variety of beer available to us, there’s something for everyone!

Overall another great tasting put on by our friends at The Market @ Washington and High. The next one is on 9/16 and there’s a sign up sheet at the register, don’t miss it!

Cheers!