Beers in cans, just clap your hands...

...Enotria is where it's at.

This Wednesday I went to a tasting event at Enotria - my favorite wine bar, where I've become a regular the last few years - and the theme was beer. Canned beer, specifically. I was a little hesitant since I'd only had one of the listed beers before (Oscar Blues Old Chub) and didn't care for it, and two of the other beers were also made by Oscar Blues. But, I know Chuck, the distributor organizing the event, and he has excellent taste and beer knowledge so I decided to trust him and attend.

The first beer was a Belgian white beer: Bavik Wittekerke (White Church). Very fresh and crisp with plenty of citrus and lemon aromas. Pretty good but smelled a bit like Lemon Pledge.

Next up was the Premium Pilsner; also from Bavik. I didn't care much for this beer, reminded me of Stella Artois and cheap lager. More flavor than a Bud but not enough to make it compelling.

The third beer was an ESB Special Ale from Ska Brewing out of Durango, Colorado. I'm not a big fan of bitters - they are often good, but rarely great - and this fell solidly into that category. Clearly more hops than the previous two, but fell a bit flat on the finish. On the other hand, any beer with a fedora-wearing skeleton dancing with a girl in a checkered racing flag skirt under the line "Lip Up Fatty" deserves some credit.


The first beer from Oscar Blues, also out of Colorado, describes itself as "A Huge Voluminously Hopped Mutha of a Pale Ale", and is, appropriately, named Dale's Pale Ale. I have to confess I have a predilection for IPAs and other pale ales, and this one didn't disappoint. If you don't like your beers "voluminously hopped", stay away.

Next, the Old Chub Scottish Style Ale turned out to be a positive surprise. Last time I had it was when we were playing volleyball outdoors, and I think we served it too warm and it was just the wrong beer for the occasion. A good amount of hops balanced with sweet maltiness followed by a smoky finish, not unlike an Islay whisky. I picked up notes of caramel, coffee and road tar. And, the 8% of alcohol were noticeable too.

Finishing out the beer lineup was the Oskar Blues Gordon, their Strong Ale, which was very enjoyable, but not a beer I'd like to drink in large amounts. All levers were dialed to the max - as Nigel Tufnel would have said: "These go to eleven."

At the end, Chuck brought out a little surprise: a Redstone Meadery 'Mountain Honey Wine'. I've been to a Redstone mead tasting before, and have to say I find it hard to drink - too thick and sweet. As a viking and a warrior I'm embarrassed.