Friday Night (de)Lights

See what I did there? Clever title, no? I amuse myself far too easily.

Friday night. Manito Tap House. I'm putting the brevity up front, because there is a lot to go over with this one. Delicious food. A handful of amazing beers. Almost all of which I failed to get pictures of because I was too busy having a great time.

To start, we have to talk about the Yeti. Great Divide Brewing's Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. This is a seasonal version of their Yeti Imperial Stout, and has many brothers. A Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti. A Belgian Style Yeti. So on. The standard Yeti is probably one of my favorite beers, and I like the regular version a bit more than any of the others that I've had (and I'm pretty sure I've had them all), including this Espresso Yeti. Not to say it isn't a damn fine stout. It is most certainly a damn fine stout. A bit thick and heavy for most tastes, I'd imagine, but packs a huge hop wallop. And it's 9.5% ABV. So why are you complaining? Knock that off and just enjoy it, why don't you.

Following that was dinner, which I did manage to remember to take a photo of before I got too far into it. I had the french dip, one of my favorites, and a definite go-to when they're out of their weekly specials. The meat is tender and the Newcastle Brown au jus is amazing. Even though I'm not a big fan of Newcastle.

The beer in the picture next to the meal is the Judgement Day from Lost Abbey Brewing. It's a belgian dark quad. It's dark. Complex. It almost defies description. It has a sweetness to it. It's quite unassuming with it's quality. It seems so simple, as if it's pretending it's not one of the better belgians you can drink. It's humble. Like it doesn't want you to know how good it is. But this monster is amazing. Damn amazing. It's incredibly smooth, especially considering it's 10.5% ABV. It feels like silk in your throat. I guess. I'm kind of at a loss for analogies with this one. Judgement Day transcends all that flower language and just is a damn fine beer. One of the damned finest.

And it paired quite nicely with my french dip.

The other beer in the photo, the one behind the pepper shaker, was the Rumble Oak Aged IPA from Great Divide that Misty, My Indian Companion, was drinking with her dinner. It's pretty solid. The oak aging takes some of the bite out of it, which, to those who like IPA's for the high hop content, might find this one a bit tame. I found the oak aging to add a certain nuance and flavor experience you don't usually find with a standard IPA, and I enjoyed it for that.

Next in line is the G'Knight from Oskar Blues Brewery. It's an imperial red. Or it's a double IPA. It goes both ways. It even says so on their website. Either way, it's a strong contender for best in it's class.  It's about as perfectly balanced as an imperial or double can get. 60 IBU's. 8.7% ABV. This beauty is big and bright, with a sublime hop presence. Perfect for camping. Or anything else you'd want to do. This beer doesn't discriminate, so why should you?

Rounding off the evening was an unexpected treat. Well, two treats, but I forgot to get a picture of the amazing dessert we had. So I'll tell you about the beer that could very well be a dessert all it's own. The Old Embalmer '12 Barleywine Ale from Widmer Brothers Brewing. It's sweet. Like candy. It's almost too sweet, but it's not overwhelming. It drinks easy, which can be trouble with it's 10.2% ABV, but it still tastes about as big as it sounds. It's really bright for a barleywine, but that makes this one perfect for warm late summer nights. It's not overbearing like some barleywine's can be, and isn't as dark and heavy. I would love to see this one in a six pack and give some competition to Sierra Nevada's Big Foot Barleywine, and I'd say the Embalmer would have the upper hand in that one, at least during the warmer months of the year.

The night didn't end there. But this post is. Take it as a to be continued. But I will say that I have some interesting and entertaining videos coming up, to pair with interviews with Branden Moreau, the executive chef at the Manito Tap House, and Patrick McPherson, the man in charge at the Manito Tap House and a certified Cicerone.

"What's a Cicerone?" you might ask. It's pretty much a fancy word for beer snob, but with the papers to back it up. Think a sommelier, but with beer instead of wine, and they have to pass the required knowledge and taste tests to adopt the title.

Beer nerd is also another term for it.

Either way, a Cicerone would likely never, ever, ever tell you the following:

Tap that glass.

I'm sure it's not good for the beer. Might look good on a t-shirt though. Alright, I'm back in.