Well-crafted beer a simple, shoulder-relaxing delight

Posted by lushlife

Posted: March 24, 2008 - 10:02 am

This week, Play’s Last Call columnist, Jessica Bowman, and Down the Hatch columnist, Dawnell Smith, switch roles to discover if the love for liquid translates across ale and cocktail borders. Things will be back to normal next week. Read Smith’s take on mixed drinks on Page 4.

Switching it up and doing a beer column was a trying task for me. When I go out to dinner, for happy hour or just for fun, I want something interesting, intriguing — something to tingle my taste buds. I never order beer.

Beer, to my barely barley-trained palate, was just too blase. Too boring. I mean, I usually thought of beer as a keg-party necessity and a good complement to pizza. The idea of ordering a Corona at a bar made me cringe. Beer seemed like a carbonated, tasteless waste of five bucks.

But I was wrong. There are beer lovers everywhere, and they’re not all in love with Bud Light. And now I think I can call myself one of them. An amateur, but a lover just the same.

I started a brew-centric weekend by heading to the weekly tour at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. (7329 Arctic Blvd., 344-1179, www.midnightsunbrewing.com). It’s always fun to learn about alcohol, and I knew there were details and involved processes for spirits and wine. But Bud Light? How involved could it be?

Apparently very involved. As a beer newbie, I was shocked to discover that beer is more complicated than just soaking hops in water; you can actually get a four-year degree in malting science. Sheesh. Some bartending schools only last one to five weeks.

My eyes were opened the more I heard and the more I tasted. The brewery was definitely not a bar, and the crowd wasn’t what you’d typically see on a regular Friday night at Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge. But you could drink (for a buck a sample). And the beer — well, it wasn’t any beer I’d ever tasted. Some of it was sweet, some was dark and brooding, some was light and effervescent. All were good, and unexpected.

So, with a few new favor-ites under my belt, I took some friends and visited Cafe Amsterdam (530 E. Benson Blvd., 274-0074, www.cafe-amsterdam.com), an established beer mecca with a menu that boasts a beer list to rival any wine selection around.

I didn’t know where to start, so I asked for a recommendation. The server had several: cider, bock, brown, lager, pale ale, tremens, Chimay, barleywine; beers from Canada to Scotland to Germany. I was completely lost, and there wasn’t a Coors or Heineken to be found.

But pints were $6, and there were pints aplenty, so we sampled. My loyal tasters tried the Magner’s Irish Cider, Harp’s Lager, Silver Gulch Rye Bock and Chimay Cinq Cents. I tried the Delirium Tremens (dubbed the “best beer in the world” in the 1998 World Beer Championships) and was happy with the lightness, plus the jaunty goblet festooned with red elephants prancing like they were heading to a Dumbo cartoon.

While we sipped, I noticed a key point about beer. There are awesome things you can eat that include it. For example, Cafe Amsterdam serves a Welsh rarebit appetizer that is just bread and cheese covered with ale and baked. I briefly considered changing my expertise to Welsh rarebit columnist.

Another thing I noticed about beer is that, in the end, I hardly noticed it. We forgot about the analysis as we all just relaxed and kept the conversation going. I’ve always enjoyed a beer with hot wings or during a sports game, but I never realized that kind of enjoyment — relaxing, load-off-your-shoulder bliss — can come at any time with a simple glass of brew. With beer you can either start your night or decide to end it early.

Sometimes a cocktail is a stressful venture — you have to choose the right bar, plan ahead with friends, ask about ingredients. With beer, you just have to order a beer. Even if it’s a fancy beer, it’s beer. It isn’t something you order a “double” of. It isn’t something you take in a shot. It’s something you enjoy, slowly and surely, with friends. One pint at a time, anytime.

-- by Jessica Bowman

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