New York Cork Report

2011 Beer of the Year: CB's Brewing Company Krysztoff Baltic Porter

By Mark Tichenor, Rochester Beer Correspondent

Some breweries just don't get a lot of respect. Then again, some breweries haven't always taken the steps to earn it. For most of its history, Custom Brewcrafters subordinated the desire to make truly world-class beers and clung to their original business model, making small-batch, neutral, house-label beers for Rochester area bars and restaurants.

You could see that mentality start to shift a few years ago with the launch of the CB's line of signature beers launched by then-brewmaster Jason Fox and continued by Bruce Lish, the current head of brewing. These beers marked a turnaround for the brewery, which even changed its name as it oriented toward marketing its own beers. The culmination of the new direction is Krysztoff. 

Shelves and taplines are strewn with delicious dark craft beers, and today's drinker is in very little danger of getting something awful by ordering at random. Far less common among all those stouts, porters and imperials is complexity. The bulldozer nature of dark roasted malt overwhelms most other flavors save vanilla, chocolate and coffee. 

Kryzstoff retains a ton of dimension for a beer so dark, mostly manifesting as dark fruit such as date, plum and cherry. These become more evident when the beer warms, but, personally, I find it an exercise in willpower to wait long enough for a refrigerated bottle of Krysztoff to come down to temperature. These flavors are buoyed up by a burly body with zero tolerance for wateriness. The body keeps the sweeter favors distinct from the earthy notes confusing the palate at first but, ultimately allowing each drinker to settle on which element he or she likes most. 

Finally the finish. In a beer that uses so much roasted malt, it's tempting to shut your eyes and assume a crash position just before the swallow, in full anticipation of the sour, bitter finish that... just doesn't come. Instead there's a rounded, seductive wash of light coffee across the back of the tongue, and the finish recedes like a gentle wave. Of course, this forces you to go right back in for another sip. 

Most impressive of all is how Krysztoff hides its alcohol. This is a 10% beer, but it feels smells and tastes like a 6%. This could lead to some dangerous and/or hilarious situations, depending on how much respect a drinker affords this porter. 

The reason this beer won New York Cork Report 2011 Beer of The Year: CB's was able to take a traditional, established style, treat it with respect, and scale it up into something great without going over the top, getting trendy or turning the beer into a cartoon. That is a simultaneous exercise in creativity and restraint you just don't see too often with American craft beer. 

 

 

Naked Dove Brewing Company Helles

By Mark Tichenor, Rochester Beer Correspondent

Color matters in the beer world. It's a disappointing truth, but some people make snap judgments about, and shy away from, some styles just because of the color of the brew. It's ironic because of the inherent self-deprivation; tragic because some drinkers who turn up their nose at all liquids not obsidian black would miss out on as wonderul a beer as Naked Dove Brewing Company Helles.

Helles is the iconic golden lager style of Munich. It's the rejuvenator you get a liter of when you drag your jet-lagged tourist butt into the Hofbräuhaus. It's proof that a beer's hue isn't always an indicator of character, body or flavor.

The Helles offered by Canandaigua, New York's Naked Dove Brewing Company indicates a deep grounding in Bavarian brewing tradition. You get that in the first whiff. The aroma hints at freshly baked bread and green hay.  Although strikingly pale (more so than any German example) the beer is a river of alluring grain sweetness and clear finish, both hearty and refreshing, with a slight viscosity that gives it heft on the tongue. This is the kind of beer that supports the old cliché about 'liquid bread.'

In that sense, Naked Dove Helles is a great beer for the other extreme of color-shyness. It looks like a refreshing golden beer, so it's perfect for introducing the beer-averse to something more interesting and present than the big-box stuff. 

Naked Dove Helles is a limited release, so please, cling tightly to your prejudices of beer color. That way there will be more available for me. 

Producer: Naked Dove Brewing Company 
Style: Helles 
Stemware: Straight 16oz pint
ABV: 5.5% 
Price: $5.00

 

 

(4.5 out of 5 | Outstanding and Delicious, Highly Recommended to Extraordinary, Can't Recommend it More)

(*Ratings Guide)

Your Ultimate Guide to Pairing Beer and Cheese

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor and Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor

Some say the best match for cheese is wine. We say those people are probably the ones who thought Buttercup should’ve stuck with Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride.

Beer and cheese is where it’s at, folks and with the holidays approaching, you may want to treat your guests and family to this killer combination. But pairing is always a challenge, and you may be asking yourselves, “But doesn’t all beer go with all cheese? Aren’t they both delicious and snackable? Why should I care about specific pairings?”

As your friendly Cork Report beer and cheese editors, we are here to demonstrate the awesome power of a fantastic beer and cheese match with a list of must-try ideas. Julia’s well versed in the classic beer and cheese matchups, but with Aaron’s off-the-hook cheese expertise are are also able to suggest more adventurous matches too. Of course, we list New York examples of all beers and mostly New York cheeses, though we did include a few out-of-state cheeses for educational purposes and diversity’s sake.

For starters, a little pairing 101. Much like with any craft beverage and food pairing, there are a few guidelines to learn and then break as you see fit. The key principle, balance, is a cinch here: beer has plenty of acidity thanks to those glorious hops and that refreshing carbonation; in addition it may have a little sweetness, a lot, or almost none depending on the malt bill, alcohol content, and additives if any (such as fruit or chocolate). These qualities balance it beautifully with the rich and creamy taste of cheese; fine-tuning the pairing just means considering the next two factors -- texture and flavor profile.

Texture and mouthfeel are all about the feel and body of your beer and cheese. The sharp bitter roast of a stout or the fierce pucker of many Belgian-style sours and Bretted beers will cut right through an incredibly buttery, creamy cheese, while a diacetyl-heavy or oaked beer might be too much.

Finally, specific flavors can be the difference between a good and a great pairing. While hops impart citrusy, piney, or even resiny notes, malt produces flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, and licorice. Extras like roast, oak aging, fruit, and additives like juniper and spices are often some of the most potent characteristics of a beer.

Yeast imparts a flavor that can range from bubblegum-fruity to musky, funky, and sour, and it makes for some of the most amazing beer and cheese combos. If you’re stuck in a rut with beer or cheese it’s time to experiment with some of the crazier flavors out there. Check out our ideas, then try some of your own!

Beer Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)

This beloved style combines hop bitterness and citrusy fruit with moderate to substantial alcohol and subtle malt. We love Ithaca Beer Company's Flower Power, Sixpoint Bengali, and Captain Lawrence IPA. IPAs are known to love an aged cheddar cheese like Montgomery Cheddar to coat the palate and cut that bitterness. Aaron, a hop hound, recently had Bengali Tiger with a funky English cheddar (Keen’s Cheddar to be exact) and declares it a brilliant pairing.

Beer Style: Chocolate Stout

Rich and roasty and no slouch in the alcohol department, chocolate stouts and cheese make a great dessert. We like Brooklyn Brewery's Chocolate Stout and Southern Tier Choklat. Julia loves a smoky chocolate stout with an equally smoked gouda or a light manchego, a nutty Spanish cheese. Aaron occasionally likes a triple cream with a chocolaty stout. “Doesn't always work, but very nice indeed” when it does, he says.

During the Holidays last year, Aaron paired Mt. Tam (A triple cream from Cowgirl Creamery in California) with an Imperial Stout from Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewery. The pairing was just fantastic. Chocolate and cream all rolled into one.

Beer Style: Winter Seasonal

Try Saranac Big Moose Ale, Flying Bison Blizzard Bock, or Captain Lawrence Nor'Easter. As Aaron points out, this style depends heavily on the spice level: anything heavy on orange peel or coriander, and he would say a blue cheese works best. You definitely need a cheese that has some bite to it. Anything mild or delicate will fade into the background. For maltier and less spicy styles, Julia likes a bacon smoked gouda or other heartier smoked cheese to go with meats.

Beer Style: Saison or Belgian Pale

This style has exploded in New York recently; we love Ommegang BPA, Three Heads Ontario Coast, Southampton Saison, and Ommegang Hennepin. Aaron loves Hennepin with most cheeses, as it’s versatile enough to stand up to just about anything. Julia's favorites are funky French styles like Port Salut or Chaume (Warning: open this cheese and you will not be socially acceptable for the rest of the evening. Open it alone or with a long-term partner only.)

Beer Style: Sour Beers

Pucker up: sours are absolutely amazing with a wide variety of cheeses. Ithaca Beer Company is the New York sour master, with classics Brute and Le Bleu; we also love Southampton Cuvee des Fleurs. Both Aaron and Julia love goat cheese with this style: they tried a fresh Catapano goat with Cuvee des Fleurs at last year's Wines/Beers of the Year and were in love.

Beer Style: Hefeweizen

Try Brooklyner Weisse, Butternuts Heinnieweisse, or Southern Tier Heavy Weizen for a New York take on this classic Old World style. A sexy beer in and of itself, this is a dream pairing for many cheeses. Julia loves Hefe with just about any cheese but especially loves it with goat cheese on toast points to accompany a light salad; a camembert or other delicate creamy cheese is also excellent.

Aaron likes a young cheddar; a mellow example is Mecox Bay Cheddar from Long Island. The cheddar from Mecox has a nice and easy finish that really highlights the yeasty qualities of this style. He also recommends Three Corner Field Farm sheep’s milk cheese.  A fresh button of “Brebis Blanche” and a cool wheat beer go hand-in-hand any day of the week.

Views from a Southern Finger Lakes Beer Adventure

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor

Over the weekend I headed to the southern Finger Lakes area to visit friends; as always, the trip was essentially a beer pilgrimage. Though I came seeking the enigmatic Ithaca Beer Company Brute (it was back on the tasting room shelves for a short time only; stay tuned for a formal review), I also got a chance to visit with brewer Jeff O'Neil and check out the beginnings of Ithaca's expansion to a larger facility. Naturally, I also stocked up on Flower Power, and my friend's sister, a breastfeeding mom, appreciated Ithaca's scrumptious root beer.

Tales of the excellence of Horseheads Brewing had reached my ears after this spring's Tap NY festival, so I had to make a stop at the tasting room. I was exceedingly impressed. Look for a piece on the Horseheads brews I tasted later this week, but for now, suffice it to say I've met my chili-pepper-beer match.

A sample of Towpath ale at Horseheads Brewing Company

 

Jeremy Gulich fills growlers on a busy Sunday at Horseheads

 

A beautiful day in Ithaca

 

The Ithaca tasting room bar

 

Ithaca brewmaster Jeff O'Neil explains the expansion plan, fresh pint of Flower Power in hand

 

Plans for Ithaca's new brewery on the walls of the current tasting room

 

Ithaca's sexy new bottling line

 

The Holy Grail