Better Late Than Never: Strong Beer Month

Hey, did you know February is Strong Beer Month. This is specifically something between Magnolia and 21st Amendment breweries in San Francisco, but can we really say that it doesn’t deserve to be a universally acknowledged event? We’ve had the Bistro’s Double IPA festival, Toronado’s Barleywine festival, barleywines are hitting the shelves and let’s face it, is there a better month to crack open a beer that will warm the soul than February? I popped a couple bottles this week in honor of Strong Beer Month and wanted to share them with you.

I mentioned yesterday I’m not well versed in the European aspect of beers, and that includes the Belgians. So to ease my way into it, I bought a bottle of Trippel from New Belgium brewing in Denver. This is a strong golden ale with your typical banana like flavors. I really liked this beer. The kick of alcohol was noticeable but not overpowering at 7.8%. This definitely made me want more from the Belgian styled brews.

Last night I was looking through the fridge, and despite my affair with the Double IPA last week, I couldn’t pass up the Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA. Very rich and malty, the hop aroma and flavor is very subdued for the style, but they are definitely there in the bittering. This went great with the spicy tuna burgers my wife and I had for dinner. This was a well proportioned beer, and weighed in at 8.7%, but had the impression of something closer to 6 or 7%. Anderson Valley never disappoints.

By the definition given by 21st Amendment and Magnolia, a strong beer must be 8.55 or more, but for my purposes I consider anything 7.5% or higher to fit the bill. I find it hard to exclude anything that might be considered “imperial” or a triple from this category. So you’ve still got a few days left. Go drink those strong beers. I have Mendocino’s holiday release, an Imperial IPA (I know, it’s getting scary), waiting in the fridge.

Sidenote: By chance, the sampling glass I used last night was from Booneville’s 10th Anniversary Beer Festival. Rather appropriate.