Beer Week 09 is Over. Long live Beer Week.

Had to take a few days to decompress and assess after the whirlwind that was BW 09. In between hauling large pieces of furniture to Fishtown (thanks Jim and Tim) and giving myself a blister putting together Ikea furniture I managed to get to a few events and sample some amazing beers.

Sunday after moving a couple carloads to our new place on Memphis St., Amanda (along with Julie and Christy), Tim & I just made it to Memphis Taproom in time for the Vintage Beer Brunch, to which we had reservations. My physical exhaustion gave way to elation as each course trumped the previous (salmon terrine! shirred egg with short rib!). And the beer...Oh! the beer! ('04 flying dog imperial porter! rochefort old and new!). I think Tim is trying to cobble together a more coherent post on this event so I'll just leave it at that for now.

Also, made it to Caribou Cafe for a happy hour sampling of some Bieres de Garde as well as some tartines. We tried the Ambree from Brasserie La Choulette, which the menu described as being a classic representation of the style. It was malty sweet with hints of caramel and nuts; delicious, but I think I preferred Olivia's Gavroche.

They also had a couple beers from Brasserie du Mont Blanc. Neither the blanche nor the blonde from Mont Blanc were Bieres de Garde but I decided to try one anyway. I am glad I did. The blonde was delicious. Light in body and in color, it had the crispness of a helles or a pilsner. It was the surprise of the afternoon and a beer that I will definitely be seeking out this summer.

Let's see...what else? Oh, yea there were the random nights, after rearranging furniture for hours, that Amanda and I decided to hit our new local for dinner and their 'No Repeat Beer Week'. Really enjoyed the Fuller's they were pulling from the cask, as well as the Great Divide Wee Heavy. And Amanda had a chance to savor an Obamagang just before the last keg kicked.

See also: Tim's eloquent account of our harrowing journey into the belly of the Great Northbeast.

In short, it was a crazy 10 days. Im glad the moving is done. Sad that I have to wait 12 months til PBW 2010. But that sadness is tempered. For, in this Greene Countrie Towne of ours, every week is beer week.

Boyz II Men, ABC, BDG: Biere de Garde Week

In the months and weeks leading up to Beer Week (which starts tomorrow!), I watched as the number of events swelled from a few dozen to (as of today) 130,000. Ok, that's an exaggeration. But! There really are a ton of events to sort through. And a goodly number of those events come with a hefty price tag. So far I have reservations for only one fully-sanctioned, ticketed PBW event (the Vintage Beer Brunch at Memphis this Sunday!) and I am okay with that. One of the great things of having so many participating bars, restaurants and breweries is that I can stumble upon interesting events without much effort or the immense cost.

One place I plan to stumble to, upon and from is Caribou Cafe. For BW theyre highlighting Biere de Garde. Biere de Gardes are farmhouse style ales that are cellared for a period of time (the name means "kept beer"). They are generally malt forward and light brown or copper in color, typically darker than a saison.

All week Caribou will have a selection of different BDG's on tap; and their cooler will be stocked with bottles peculiar to the Pas de Calais region of France (the birthplace of BDG). They'll also have a tasting menu of three courses. Each paired with a different biere.

Take a look at Caribou's full schedule for Biere de Garde Week.