sour-beer-la-folie-new-belgiumCome Monday you’ll be able to sample sour beers from all over the place at Santa Monica’s Library Alehouse during their 10-day Sourfest. The carefully curated kegs are coming from breweries in California, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, and of course Belgium.

We know we’re looking forward to trying Heretic’s sour for the first time and enjoying some other older favorites, but what are the guys running the event stoked about? General Manger and Certified Cicerone Tom Kelley and Bar Manager Alex Davis weigh in on the beers while Kendra Birdwell the Cheesemonger from Bruery Provisions tells us about the cheeses for Monday’s Bruery night.

Beer Me

The Wanderer, The Bruery
“I haven’t had the chance to sample yet, and I hear wonderful things. City Beer Store is one of my favorite establishments in San Francisco, and the mere thought of a tribute to them by the Bruery makes my mouth water even before you start saying things like sour, cherries, and blackberries.”  Tom

“Not only is it a sour beer that does a wonderful job of incorporating fruit and barrel notes, it’s one that I won’t likely see again soon since it was brewed for City Beer Store’s Fifth Anniversary and probably won’t ever be made again.” Alex

Petrus Aged Pale, Brouwerij Bavik
“I have had this beer many times, but it is still one of my favorites. Highly acidic with a good dose of farmyard that ends up finishing fairly clean with a pleasant tartness rather than a severe sourness. Not seen too often in keg, and we have been saving this one for a while!” Tom

Yearling, Eagle Rock Brewery
“This is a blended sour that Jeremy put into barrels right as they got started. It is mostly a Flander’s Red, but to take a bit of the acetic edge off they blended in a touch of soured Solidarity (their Black Mild). The balance and finesse of this beer, especially for such a young brewery, has really impressed me. And I can’t wait for another taste.” Tom

Obscura Fortis, Telegraph
“Brian Thompson did us a big favor pulling out kegs of this beer and Obscura Amber just for the event. Obscura Fortis is a big strong sour that has spent some extended time in barrels and I’m very excited to see what Telegraph has done with such a beer.” Alex

Consecration, Russian River
“Sure, it’s been around for a while and most sour-centric beer enthusiasts have tried it, but no one in America does sour beer better than Mr. Cilurzo. Consecration has only gotten better since Batch 2 and Vinnie has done a wonderful job lately highlighting Consecration’s dark fruit and using the oak to bring out flavors of leather and tobacco.” Alex

Cheese It

And now, Miss Kendra on the cheeses:

“One of my favorites that I cant wait for people to try is the Pharaoh pairing with Taleggio. Pairing the Pharaoh, which is made with date sugar, was great because it has such a good balance between sweet and funky-tart – I knew it could hold up to a cheese with a good amount of character. The raw Italian Taleggio brie was perfect, it coats your mouth with a light, funky, salty paste that’s absolutely delicious and the carbonation from Lambic lifts it right from your palate, swirls it around your mouth in a wave of sweet and salty, then washes down leaving you ready for more. This one is really easy going and should be a good started for people new to sours and funky cheeses.

“Another one I’m excited about is The Wanderer paired with a little gorgeous french cheese called Banon, which is a soft un-pressed cows milk cheese made in South-East France and is wrapped in chestnut leaves that have been soaked in vinegar and fruit brandy. Need I say more? Because The Wanderer is a dark sour that is aged in barrels with blackberries and cherries, the undertones of wood and fruit in the beer match delightfully with the nutty leaves soaked in sweet brandy that coats this cheese. This is an exciting one to try.

“Overall I’m really excited for all of these pairings. The opportunity to be involved in the event with Library Alehouse has been great. Sour beers are one of my favorite styles to pair cheeses with… mostly because I love them both so much!”

The Complete Pairings

In addition to her favorite picks above, here’s the full list of cheeses with Kendra’s descriptions, which are making us very hungry right about now.

Hottenroth with Cana de Cabra

Cana de Cabra is a creamy, tart, goats milk cheese from spain that has a delicate creamy texture. This duo meshes well due to the similar funky tart flavors and light body, and contrast well due to the high carbonation lifting the creamy goodness from your palate resulting in a clean crisp finish.

Saison de Lente with Beemster Goat Gouda or Barely Buzzed

Beemster Goat Gouda is a 6 month aged, semi-firm, silky, salty, funky and sweet gouda made in Holland. Saison de lente’s refreshing, floral, earthy, hoppy body and bitter finish made it tough to find the perfect cheese pairing, but I soon came across Beemster Goat gouda. This cheese’s sweet and silky character stood up to the body of the beer and its pleasant funky bitter finish coupled nicely with the Saison for a graceful finish.

Barley Buzzed is a unique cheese that is aged with an olive oil mixture of coffee grinds and lavender. I was surprised but this cheese was a great pair for Saison de lente! The roasty, earthy character in the cheese brings out the earthy bitterness of the Saison, while the lavender brings the floral quality in the beer to a dim surface, both finishing with an earthy bitter balance.

Pharaoh with Seahive Cheddar

Seahive Cheddar is an aged cheddar thats washed with sea salt and honey. The cheese takes on a light sweetness from the honey that helps bring out a sweetness in the beer from the date sugar, and the cheese also has a lot of earthiness from the salt wash which pairs well with the funkiness of the beer.

Marron Acidife with Rogue Smokey Blue

Rogue Smokey Blue is smoked over hazelnut shells for 16 hours, resulting in flavors of sweet caramel and hazelnut, which contrast with the sharpness of the blue veins. Sour beers can be difficult to pair because a cheese can easily alter the fragile flavors and qualities of a sour beer. In this pairing the natural smokiness of the cheese brings out the oak and bourbon qualities in the beer while the sweet and salty of the cheese balances well with the fruity balsamic characters of the beer ending in a pairing that brings out the best in each product.

When?

Sourfest: Monday, July 25 – Wednesday, August 3
Kick off event: Bruery Night, Monday, July 25 6 – 9 PM

Where?

2911 Main St.
Santa Monica, 90405

What’s on Tap?

The beer list (subject to change)

Draft:
Bruery Saison de Lente
Bruery The Wanderer
Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse
Bruery Pharaoh (Faro)
Bruery Marron Acidifie
Ballast Point Sour Wench
Liefman’s Cuvee Brut
Petrus Aged Pale
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Rodenbach Vintage 2008
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
New Belgium La Folie
Allagash Confluence
Allagash Vrienden
Jolly Pumpkin ES Bam
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
De Proef/Allagash Les Deux Brasseurs
Drake’s (TBD)
Bootlegger’s (TBD)
Eagle Rock (TBD)
Lost Abbey Red Poppy
Verhaeghe Echte Kriekenbier
Duchesse de Bourgogne
Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge
Van Honsebrouck Bacchus
Russian River Consecration
Telegraph Obscura Amber
Telegraph Barrel-Aged Strong Sour
Heretic Tafelbully

Bottles:
Lost Abbey Red Poppy
Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme
Telegraph Obscura Arborea
Cascade Kriek 2011
Russian River Consecration
New Belgium La Folie

Additional Information
http://www.libraryalehouse.com