School is back in full swing, which can only mean one thing for college
students everywhere. That’s right! It’s time again to retreat into your
protective shell of alcohol consumption. Ignoring deadlines and skipping
classes aren’t exactly hard things to do, but they’re just that much easier
when you’ve got a little liquid courage (or liquid laziness) lending a
helping hand.
Just don’t forget that you don’t have to skip and slack without class. When
you get tired of frat-packs of Busch Light and empty handles of Aristocrat
littering your kitchen, be sure to tune in to Dive’s weekly post, the Brew
Ha Ha, for helpful pointers on craft brewed beer in Chapel Hill. Slaking
your thirst should be a joy to your palate as well as your liver, and
nothing kills those two birds with one stone like a serious beer.
We reinaugurate the Brew Ha Ha with a brief look at two North Carolina
selections both being served at Milltown at the moment.
The first is the Carolina Common by Fullsteam Brewery in Durham.
This California-style “common” beer, or steam beer, is a highly drinkable copper-colored beauty that goes down easy but still has lots of flavor and aroma for those who prefer to sit around sniffing and critiquing. “Steam beer” is a unique style that originated in California around the time of the Gold Rush, and is made by fermenting lager yeasts at temperatures normally reserved for ales. Hence the ease of dropping it down the hatch, but also the moderately hoppy body that’s too noticeable to ever be considered a regular lager.
This combination is perfect for these lazy and stubbornly hot days of late
September. The weather is somewhere on the cuff between summer and fall,
and this beer is likewise smack dab in the middle between a lager’s light
accessibility and a pale ale’s mature flavor. At $5 for a 16 ouncer it’s a
reasonable price for a full package and it comes with Dive’s highest
recommendations.
Our second selection is from Foothills brewery, the Barrel Aged People’s
Porter.
The concept of barrel-aging is critical to the idea of whiskey
production and in recent decades craft porters in America have largely
co-opted this. Such is the offering from Foothills. This beer is dark and
strong, though as a single or “plain” porter it’s not thick. What struck me
as I sipped it was a deep, malty sweetness, complimented very nicely by a
couple of mysterious aromas hanging around my nostrils. But what were they?
I agonized over them until I finished the beer and then went and read its
description. As my eyes lighted upon the words “vanilla” and “bourbon” in
the description, everything became instantly clear.
The barrels that it’s aged in are most likely old bourbon barrels, giving the porter a down home aroma that can’t be mistaken once it’s identified. Vanilla extract compliments the malty sweetness as well. While I would also recommend this beer, it comes with reservations: for one, it’s fairly strong in flavors and aromas (chocolate, vanilla, etc.) that are more likely to alienate drinkers, and at $6 per 12 ounces, it’s not exactly a bargain buy.
That’s it for this week. Be sure to check in next Friday for more
consumptive criticism by the friendly folks at Dive. Until then, happy
drinking!
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