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Smoky the Beer
Saturday, May 10th, 2008Last week, we went to a beer tasting with brewmaster Garrett Oliver at D.C.’s National Geographic building. Theme was the Italian beer renaissance, which frankly, I wasn’t aware had happened.
We tried some very good beers, but my favorite was one called Malthus Birollo from the Como region of Italy, a carmelly beer heavy with chestnut flavor and a touch of acacia honey. What’s really nice about it is that they roast the chestnuts until they burn a little before adding the flavor from, which gives the beer a really smoky (but not overwhelmingly so) taste. If you’re the kind of person who douses burgers with liquid smoke, this is the beer for you. Seemed like the ideal beer to sip while grilling.
The only problem now is finding it. It’s nearly impossible to have beer shipped in most places, thanks both to blue laws and protectionist laws benefiting beer wholesalers. Il Birrificio di Como is a small brewery that, unfortunately, doesn’t make much of each variety. If you’ve seen this delicious nectar for sale somewhere in the D.C. area, let me know.
Have you tried Brickskellars? They should have it.
U might try messenging some of the people r from the DC/Maryland area who rated this beer on ratebeer.com. I saw a couple ratings there so they might be able to tell u where to find it.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/malthus-birolla/79563/54221/
- r
(NTS: Proofreading goes a long way.)
Most specialty beer stores will special order imports for you if you are willing to buy a case or two.
I’m not familiar with this beer, but you may also want to try Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (http://www.schlenkerla.de/). The malt is smoked before it’s brewed, so the beer has a very nice smoky flavor (it tastes a little like bacon). You may have better luck finding that.
I’m fairly sure the Brickskellar had it at one point. I’ve also seen it at a few bars in NY and SF, though that’s probably not as helpful.
Naw, if you’re the sort of fellow who douses burgers in liquid smoke, Rauchbier is the way to go.
Personally, I think the stuff tastes like licking the inside of a fireplace, but I have friends who really enjoy it.
Alaskan Brewing Company’s Smoked Porter is also fantastic…though, without the chestnuts.
http://www.alaskanbeer.com/porter.html
Damn! I was gonna suggest Brickskeller’s but Chris beat me to it. Whatever beer it is, they’ll have it. They never disappointed me when I was living in DC.
I am very jealous of anyone that gets to go to a beer tasting with Garrett Oliver. I’d trade a pinky toe for that.
It doesn’t taste of honey, mind you. It tastes of ACACIA honey. Now that’s a palate!
Snark aside, supporting your local brewpub is an absolute good. There’s a place within walking distance of my apartment that brews its own suds, including a Pale Ale that’s simply delish. And cheap, too–I belong to their mug club and so, during their 4-6 weekday Happy Hour, I get a 25oz beer for $2. Best deal evah. Of course I’m having some trouble losing weight.
If brickskeller’s doesn’t have it, this place might (http://www.eatyourpizza.com/)
Their beer selection is not as comprehensive as brickskeller’s, but their philosophy seems to be to have the best 500 beers in the world available at any given time. They change their stock constantly and frequently have beers on tap that I have never seen anywhere in the US.
Oh, and only the georgetown location. There is a neat bar in the basement.
RFD doesn’t carry it, so that will be a bitch to find in DC
I gotta say…homebrew is where it’s at…fresher than even microbrews typically are (at the micro brewery - I have verified this with mine against the Deschutes brewpub in Bend, OR (Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond pale ale, Jubelale seasonal, are a few of their well-known ones - theirs was fresh but not -that- fresh!).
T
LaRana Brickskeller isn’t in Georgetown really, it’s really in DuPont circle area. If it were in Georgetown it would be on the other side of Rock Creek.