New Belgium: Shift

If you think my love affair for New Belgium is a joke, take a look at my twitter profile, (not on a mobile device), a Flanders Red I brewed in "La Folie" style, and maybe even the shrine above my home bar. It is going to suck when I have to take it all down and move... Maybe I should buy a giant poster board?



Though, today has brought my attention to one of the newer beers in their regular line up. Actually, to date it is the newest. Though, they have a few changes for seasonal ales this year. Shift.

Shift is part of the "Explore Series" and it is classified as a Pale Lager, clocking in at 5.0% abv. I first had it after its release, would you expect anything else? At that time did not really know what to think about it. My short notes on Untappd read,

I really don't know how to figure this. Creamy.... Grainy... A tad spice? Lemon.lawnmower beer.

Since then I had it a few more times and my impressions on it changed quite a bit. I had it out of the can then as well. The place I got it was not really well suited for drinking in anything but plastic or its vessel of transport. Did they change anything? Was the beer just really green since I had it right after it was released? I do not know. I gave it a 3/5 then. One of the things I love about the poster above my bar is that it shows the beer is actual size!



Though, the poster brings other things to my attention. I tweeted New Belgium about it before and got no response... I tweet them quite a bit so it is probably just annoying. But with the plans of the new brewery and the little things I noticed in the poster... I really got to thinking...



It looks like it says "Raleigh NC". Was Raleigh one of the original places they planned to open the brewery? Was it "official" but things fell apart after making the poster but they just never changed it? What about Raleigh should I know in regards to New Belgium? Maybe nothing. But I would expect the poster to say "Asheville NC". That only makes sense, right?

Shift is a really bright and clean beer. You will have a better time seeing through this than a pane of glass. Really clear, honey colored and it has a respectable white head. The nose is bready and sweet. There is a scent in there I can't really describe but I have smelled it before and a little fruity. This beer goes down really easily and there is a light bitterness. Crisp, lemon, grainy, and creamy again, like I said before. A nice malty body and some juicy fruits.



Overall, A lot better than the first few times. The proper serving of this beer, I would say is in a normal fridge. Not a beer fridge and out of the can probably. The colder temps and the can just make it seem more refreshing. It is not bad at 53f, but you know. I'm not allowed to keep beer in the regular fridge, so mine will not be moving. I like that they added a few IBUs to this beer but not too many to the point where it was just ridiculous. The can says best by 10 MAR 13 on the bottom. If BMC beers tasted like this, I never would have got into craft.

So, the pretzel in this picture... yeah, that's what it is. It was made using some spent grain but I think I am going to stop using it in certain things. Everything I make with it kind of reminds me of poop. Maybe if I make a really light style of beer it will be cool, or a bread. I can deal with brown bread. The waffles were not bad either. But, the dog treats and these pretzels... Yeah. I mean they taste fine, but look at them. If you want to give them a try, the recipe is posted on this blog. She even talks about how crazy I am. Damn...

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Boston Lager

One of my favorite places to go out and eat... just because Fondue is amazing, is The Melting Pot. They can get a bit on the pricey end but you never leave dissatisfied... unless you get a crappy waiter. I have not experienced that yet. Just throwing out variables. Makes sense, no? Well, Recently I was there and decided to have the beer flight with my Big Night Out. Mainly because I wanted beer, not really because I was trying to pair. The last time I was here I did the wine flight. I think there was one I really liked and I didn't really keep notes on them so it's whatever.

The beers for the flight were split between ones I have had many times before and ones that I have only had a few times. They were Boston Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale, Stone IPA, and Rogue Chocolate Stout. Honestly, I did not really see any correlation in flavor of the food to the beers that they presented but I guess I cannot be too mad. There were a few good selections.



The first course was just The Big Night Out Boston Lager Cheese Fondue. A little appetizer to get us going. Bread Fruit Vegetables, and Beer Number 19 Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I have only had this one a few times before, and I always say I am not really a fan of Sams so this was just a formality since you cannot substitute beers in the predetermined flight... not that they really have a beer menu anyway. Honestly, I found nothing interesting about it... again. Just another beer. A bit of floral hops in the start, a tad earthy and then citrusy... It was way better in the cheese than in the glass but I guess I can't be too picky, I did come here for the food.



The next beer was a classic. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I can't say anything bad about this beer. Though, I did not think it paired well with my salad... It wasn't bad, but for sure it was not thought out. Check out This beer Here.



Stone IPA is one I have had a few times and it actually fits into this series, but I will give it it's own post at a later date. It deserves one and will not go into this count. There is just so much to be said about this beer and this brewery, that I'd rather have it organized than just thrown together to get Boston Lager out of the way hah! I guess Lobster and Stone IPA is never a bad choice, but again, the whole coming together thing was just lost. My fault, or theirs???



The last beer, Rogue Chocolate Stout. I thought I had never had this one before, but a little search on Untappd proved otherwise. I am not really a fan of Rogue, but this beer was actually one I might buy get a pint of one day, and not just because I am at the brewery. Again, who ever made these pairing decisions should be fired but I guess the beer and the courses stood alone and that is what matters?

982 Bottle Of Beer To Go!

Cheers