Archive for November, 2013
Beer of the Arbitrary Time Period
Okay, fine, this is a bit late. I know I said I’d update a Beer of the Month twelve times a year unless there were no contenders. So far, there has twice been a distinct lack of contenders. This time, though, that was not the case. I got distracted. I don’t just mean lazy, either. A lot was going on this October, and honestly the fresh hopped ales were still coming out, so I let an update slide.
Plus, I had my eye on a specific beer release that I wanted to talk about, and it just kept getting delayed. So now we find ourselves in November, and I might as well admit that there will be no Beer of the Month for October 2013 (although, to be honest, a sizeable chunk of me wanted to declare “Fuck the Date” and just plod on with calling the next BOTM October, calendar-be-damned).
What’s on tap for November, then? Is it Driftwood Lustrum, which I tadalafil tablets prices on Scout? Nope. As much as I like that beer, I don’t like giving props to a beer that is now sold out everywhere (pro-tip, it’s still available at The Blackbird… on tap… in 20oz pints… for $6. Why are you still reading this and not on your way there?).
Enough prologue; the November BOTM is (drum roll please)…. Four Winds Wildflower Saison.
October is for suckers, anyways.
Why this beer? Is it because it’s the first bottle release from a very promising new BC brewery? Nope. Is it because it’s an interesting twist on a favourite style of mine? Not really. Is it because it’s very good? Nyet. Sure, this beer is all of the above, but that’s not why I picked it as BOTM.
I picked Four Winds Wildflower Saison as Beer of the Month because it has a cork. I’m not shitting you. Yes, I am that shallow.
Sigh, so pretty. So. Very. Pretty. What? No, I am not weird. You’re weird, okay? Shut up.
Sure, the fact that this beer is a very good twist on a favourite style of mine from a promising new brewery in BC certainly didn’t hurt this beer, but the cork seriously sealed the deal. Cork and cage releases are rare in BC. So rare, in fact, that this is only the second time it’s been done, and the first time in a bottle that a single person could conceivably drink. (Background cialis ftbl 10mg)
Corked beers also cellar much, much better than crown caps, and that’s what I’m driving at here. Sure, this particular ale isn’t meant to spend long periods in a dusty basement, but if Four Winds can absorb the higher costs and effort of a cork & cage release and prove the whole model viable, then maybe we’ll see more bottle conditioned, corked beer in BC ready for long hauls in the cellar, and damnit, that’s a thing I want. Also, corked beers are just… more fun to open. I did say I was shallow, no?
So, congrats Four Winds. Congrats on producing an excellent beer (and it is that), and congrats on blazing a bold trail in packaging that hopefully everyone else will follow.