Treasured Valley

Archive for the ‘Beer’ Category

It’s kind of a tradition around these parts, the quicker we can get out on the patio and enjoy a beer the quicker the air will warm and spring will finally grace us with its presence.

And what better style of beer beckons the thoughts of the heat of summer than a good old fashioned wheat beer? I’d heard some good things about Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat before so I figured it might be a good way to start out the patio season.

The beer is clouded by yeast with a deep straw-yellow hue, there isn’t much head to speak of and what head is there went away rather quickly. The smell is doughy and sweet with some slight spice and citrus. The taste is biscuity, sweet and subdued, its nice medium body make it a beer to be quaffed slowly and to be enjoyed whilst basking in the sun. The mouthfeel is full, leaving a slightly chalky coating, presumably from the yeast that is added to the bottle for secondary fermentation.

I’m generally not a giant fan of Boulevard Brewing’s offerings (except for their Smokestack Series, OMG, OMG, OMG, so good!), but Unfiltered Wheat has earned a slot in my beer fridge for this summer — an honor that isn’t bestowed lightly.

Beer Advocate.

You can pick this beer up at Brewforia.

Good beer does come in a can, my friends.

Another beer that is sure to be a staple camping beer in these parts this upcoming summer.

Caldera Brewing IPA pours a nice golden amber with a creamy, fluffy white head. The nose is full of grapefruit, orange, tangerine and nectarine citrus with some nice creamy malts hanging out in the background. The taste is a bright citrus zing with a solid malt backbone that is slightly sweet with a corn tortilla chip finish. It’s a nice mellow IPA, one that is nicely balanced — its 6.1% ABV is well disguised making it a very sessionable, horseshoeing beer.

Beer Advocate.

You can grab this beer at Brewforia and the Boise Co-op.

…say, have I mentioned that Northern Lights Cinema Grill in Nampa has Sockeye beer on tap? Pizza, Sockeye beer and a movie? Sounds like an evening to me.

Well, if you check out KBOI 670 AM’s Half Price Deals you can get a $50 gift certificate for only 25 clams, that’s a lot of $3 movies! Or of course, it’s a nice dinner with a couple of cold drinks.

Gotta get ‘em quick though, they are limited.

OK, I’m not going to say that we have all been there, but I’m sure that the sizable chunk of us have had a weekend night or two where we’ve needed to…*ahem*…find some late night grub to put into our beer filled bellies. After I found out that Liquid’s new eatery, Solid is open late for revelers and that they serve fried chicken and waffles (an amazing combo, btw), it got me thinking about the best late night eats in the Treasure Valley.

Whether it’s the Pita Pita (free pita, ladies?), Pie Hole, the classic: Los Betos, Jack in the Box’s drive-thru or coffee at Denny’s, where do you get your late night grub? Do you head home (safely of course) and order in the kind of pizza that is only good after too much quaffing? Or do you head out to the joints that are open late night in a vain attempt to keep the night alive and feast upon alcohol soaking fried grub?

Where do you go? What do you order?

If you’ve talked to me in person in the last 2 weeks you know that I’m big on this beer…like BIG on this beer — and no, it’s not because I’m a Stone fiend, it’s because this is one of the best beers in our market right now.

Let’s start here: perhaps you’re familiar with Stone IPA, yeah, you might have heard of it, some consider it to be one of the best IPAs made in the US, others consider it one of the best IPAs in the world — for me, it’s in my top 5, leaning towards the upper end of 1-5. Well, Cali-Belgique is just Stone IPA, with a Belgian twist — the yeast they use for Stone IPA is swapped out for a Belgian yeast strain, that’s it. And what do we get? A completely different beer, a beer that is…dare I say: amazing.

Cali-Belgique pours a copper-gold with a frothy mountain of snow white head — it is, in a word…beautiful. The nose is crisp, like the air of a spring morning high up in the hills, there are Granny Smith apples, sweet caramel and fresh baked French bread yeast all lingering towards the top of the glass. The bouquet on this beer is like non-other, in itself not to be missed.  The taste, oh the sweet taste of happy tears, tart apple peel, fruity peach, it is lemoney and an ever so-slight sticky pine. The beer is sweet, tart and yeasty a perfect blend of barely, hops, yeast and water. The mouthfeel is sticky and lovely, you can feel the beer coat your lips, allowing the flavors to linger for later enjoyment.

In these late days of Idaho’s winter when the sun stays up a little long and the clouds have begun to dissipate but there still is a sharp sting in the chilly air this beer will remind you of summers past. Children running and playing, horseshoes, splashing water, fresh mountain breezes and the wavering smoke of the BBQ grill. All you have to do is take a drink, close your eyes and think about what you enjoy about Idaho’s summer, you’ll get it…maybe only for a fleeting second or two, but I promise you’ll get it.

Beer Advocate.

You can find this uniquely, amazing product at Brewforia and the Boise Co-op.

Summa’ time yet?

I’m not gonna lie to ya and say that this is the best beer ever, or that it’s even the best summer beer, but I will say that it was a welcome escape from these dreary February days. The beer pours nice burnt orange and has a nice frothy head, think: bubbly Sunkist. The nose is simple, some tart orange with some nice coriander spice. The taste is buttermilk creamy a lot of orange, tangerine and coriander and just a touch of doughy yeast to round it out.

The mouthfeel is where I really start to dig this beer, it’s creamy and smooth, think: eating one of those orange push-up ice cream pops from your youth, that’s what it reminds me of. And when I think of orange ice cream pops, I think of summer — and that makes me happy — and sometimes… that’s all I need to make me like a brew.

Beer Advocate.

You can grab this beer at Brewforia.

Just received this dispatch from Breworia owner Rick Boyd:

As many of you know Brewforia started out over a year ago as an online specialty beer retailer providing access to the world of beer to thirsty consumers in 34 states. Well all that could come to an end if UPS and FedEx have their way and we need your help to make sure that doesn’t happen.

As of Tuesday we have been prohibited by our carrier, UPS to ship any more orders as this is in violation of their policy. Were we shipping wine there would be no conflict which I believe discriminates against a very large segment of consumers. I’m calling on all of you to support Brewforia and the craft beer industry as a whole by calling and emailing UPS to ask them to change their policy.

Please call Chris Coleman at (404) 828-4900 or email customerrelations@ups.com

Whether you drink beer or not, this is an issue that affects a local business owner and contributing member of our community. So if you have a a minute please consider contacting UPS on behalf of Brewforia so that beer lovers across in the nation (well, in 34 states) can continue to receive their quality swill.

If UPS and FedEx are willing to ship wine they should be willing to ship beer.

…more to come.

You know what is awesome? It seems like each week we have access to a growing number of outstanding beers in the Boise area. That is awesome.

Brewforia has been on a hot streak lately, they’ve got Hell or High Water Watermelon Wheat, Brew Free or Die IPA and Monk’s Blood Belgian Strong Dark Ale all from 21st Amendment Brewery and the bonus is that they are all in cans. Also in are some Southern Tier Choklat, Krampus and Jahva, some new vintages from Pike Brewing and 3767 Belgian IPA from Midnight Sun that you have to try, it is outstanding. They also just got in 2 cases of Stone Cali-Belgique which is one of my new favorite beers, but you might want to get some quick, it’s moving very quickly.

Click below for an update from Beerguy Matt at the Boise Co-op.

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