The Idea of the supper clubs is to showcase the beers and introduce IMBC and our beers to new people and get feedback on what works and what doesn't. We had a good selection available for this edition and received some great feedback that we'll incorporate into our future beers. That being said, here's a breakdown of what we drank that you missed out on.
We started with our Irish Red. This spring seasonal has a sweet nose with a hint of roast that carries through the beer and finishes clean and dry. A medium-light body and lower ABV(5.3%) keep the beer smooth and make it easy to have a few pints. The feedback we received was very positive, reassuring us to keep this one around. Look for this one to be available early/mid March.
Having 5 beers for a 3-course meal made having a palate cleanser between courses very easy. Our first choice was our Thai PA. This is a basic pale ale, lightly hopped with Sorache Ace for a slight lemon character. We finished this off with a post fermentation addition of fresh ginger and kaffir lime leafs. The ginger is definitely the front runner of this one, but not overpowering. The lime leafs, mixed with the sorache ace, make for a smooth bitterness and lemongrass like flavor that pairs well with the ginger. At 5.4% ABV, this is a nice refreshing pale that, while not be for everybody, is perfect for a warm spring day. The feedback was mixed on this one, as we anticipated. Ginger is a love it or hate it flavor and that was the reaction we got from people. We'll probably do this again, but not regularly.
For the main course, we chose our Oaked Porter. This is our standard porter, that was ages on bourbon and Madagascar vanilla bean soaked american oak. The bourbon flavor is very subdued, but is detectable. The oak and vanilla work to smooth out the beer and give it a very complex. Hints of chocolate, nut, vanilla, bourbon, and oak, make this 6% porter something not to be missed. Feedback on this, mirrors our thoughts.
Our next palate cleanser was our SD session. This was very well received as well. We basically took a good San Diego IPA and toned the alcohol down, leaving a highly hopped, light bodied pale at a quaffable 4.6% ABV. A combination of Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe leaf hops create a refreshing citrus aroma with hints of mago and grapefruit. This one will definitely be sticking around as it's one of our favorites as well.
For desert, we chose our Black Wit. The idea behind this beer came from some late night conversations with the crew after a considerable amount of beer. Come, morning, the idea still sounded good, so we went with it. We took a traditional Belgian wit recipe and darkened it. A 50/50 split of unmalted wheat and malted barley, step mashed and brewed with coriander and fresh orange zest keep this beer sooth, crisp and refreshing. We added some darker malts during the sparge to extract their color while minimizing the roast character to keep the beer as close to the traditional wit as possible. What came through was a slight hint of roast on an overall refreshing beer that's too easy to have too many of, but at 4.3% ABV, that's probably OK. Feedback was positive for this one. This probably won't be added to our regular lineup anytime soon, but we're definitely keeping the recipe in a safe place.
Upcoming supper clubs will continue to showcase our staples, as well as experimental beers. Look out for summer session in July/August and a winter session that's sure to leave you wanting a bottle or two for the road.
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