Beer Angel Share for TrinityKids Care Hospice at Sophie's Place
1708 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310.540.8484
www.sophiesplacerb.com
Sat 07/02/2016, 02:00p-04:50p
Beersnobbin (a.k.a. Scott or The Beer Angel) recently held another charity bottle share at Sophie's Place. Things were a bit different this time around though. In place of cancer patient Rylee Totman, the beneficiary today was Trinity Kids Care Hospice, a dedicated pediatric hospice facility in Torrance. In addition, Scott provided all the bottles, so the requested donation went up twenty bucks to a still-very-reasonable $50 a head.
![2003 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Vintage]()
2003 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Vintage: We began with the main attraction, an '03 OGV, the brewery's reserve series geuze that's cellared for several years at 3 Fonteinen before being released.
S: Rich, deep, nutty, with a distinct oxidative edge. Mature to be sure, but not over-the-hill.
T: Low-carbed, with a fruitiness at first leading to a persistent acidity and more of that oxidized, sherry-esque character. This one held up pretty well for being 13 years old.
![2015 de Garde The Peach]()
2015 de Garde The Peach: Co-headlining was the lone magnum of the share, a wild ale aged in oak cognac barrels with peaches.
S: Sweet, super juicy, super true-to-life stone fruit. Yum.
T: The tartness of peach skin was on point here, with the cognac just peeking through. Nice acidity and pucker on the finish. A top notch stone fruit sour.
![2015 3 Fonteinen Hommage]()
2015 3 Fonteinen Hommage: Batch 3 of a lambic with raspberries and sour cherries, brewed to honor the late Gaston Debelder, founder of the brewery.
S: Tart-yet-jammy berry juice and light funk.
T: Expectedly sour at first blush, with that Band-Aid quality coming in the middle, while the back end saw the berries making themselves known once more.
![2015 Cantillon Saint Lamvinus]()
2015 Cantillon Saint Lamvinus: A lambic with Merlot and Cabernet-Franc grapes.
S: Sour and decidedly funky, with a strong grape skin character.
T: Tart with slight barnyard commingled with an underlying vinous quality.
![2016 de Garde Imperial Boysen Bu]()
2016 de Garde Imperial Boysen Bu: A Berliner Weisse style ale aged in oak barrels with boysenberries.
S: A surprisingly subtle, but persistent jamminess dominated.
T: A blend of tart and earthy notes finishing with loads of berry. Classic de Garde.
![2016 de Garde Imperial Blackberry Bu]()
2016 de Garde Imperial Blackberry Bu: Another Berliner, this one aged in oak with blackberries.
S: Milder on the fruit than the beer above, with a distinct lactic note.
T: Definitely more acidic, but with less funk, and still a good amount of fruit on the close.
![2016 de Garde Oude Desay]()
2016 de Garde Oude Desay: A farmhouse blend comprising three different years of oak-matured Petit Desay batches.
S: Soft, sweet tropical fruit--very nice.
T: Again, more great fruit character finishing with a slight graininess, oak, and some pucker.
![2016 Cigar City Opal]()
2016 Cigar City Opal: Getting into something heavier now, this was an old ale aged in bourbon barrels then dry-hopped with Opal.
S: Boozy caramel and brown sugar, with very light hops.
T: Malty and chocolate-laden, with huge bourbon character. I didn't get much from the Opal.
![2015 de Garde Imperial Raz Bu]()
2015 de Garde Imperial Raz Bu: A Berliner Weisse style ale aged in oak barrels with raspberries.
S: Sour, bracing fruit with an undercurrent of nuttiness, which was interesting.
T: Acidic berry fruit of course, but with that nuttiness becoming very apparent on the finish. One of my fellow drinkers even likened it to sesame seed.
![2015 de Garde Ginger Bu Rice]()
2015 de Garde Ginger Bu Rice: A wild rice ale aged a year in dry vermouth and oak barrels with ginger.
S: Zesty ginger with a slight ricey quality.
T: Loads more ginger, though fortunately it never became overwhelming. Another person at the table quipped that this would be great with sushi.
![2016 de Garde Imperial Purple Raz Bu]()
2016 de Garde Imperial Purple Raz Bu: A Berliner aged in oak, with both black and red raspberries added.
S: Fruit and cheese plate, seriously (not a bad thing necessarily).
T: Really nice berry flavors here, layered over that signature de Garde funk.
![2015 de Garde Biere Rouge]()
2015 de Garde Biere Rouge: Continuing on with the raspberry theme, this was a wild ale aged in French oak puncheons with raspberries.
S: Probably the tartest in terms of the berry sours we had.
T: The taste followed, but what I found intriguing was that there was an almost vegetal note that came in on the mid-palate.
![2015 Bruery Terreux Bourgogne Blanc]()
2015 Bruery Terreux Bourgogne Blanc: A sour ale with Chardonnay grapes aged in French oak for a year.
S: Oaky, funky, yet crisp, with bountiful amounts of Chard peeking through.
T: A pretty convincing rendition of a buttery California Chardonnay. I think this might've been the most wine-like beer I've ever had.
![2015 Cigar City Lorem Ipsum]()
2015 Cigar City Lorem Ipsum: Our second CC beer was a barleywine-style ale aged in brandy barrels.
S: Lovely sweetness to it, with lots of caramel, wood, and alcoholic heat.
T: Decidedly rich 'n' malty, with dark fruit and a really nice contribution from the brandy barrel.
![2016 de Garde Grand Rouge]()
2016 de Garde Grand Rouge: A wild red ale aged in oak with Zinfandel grapes.
S: I detected tart, cherry-like notes with sweet spice all over the place.
T: More of the same, with the Zin really coming through as cherry to me. Slight mustiness too.
![2016 de Garde Grand Blanc]()
2016 de Garde Grand Blanc: The counterpart to the beer above, a golden rye wild ale aged in oak with Riesling grapes.
S: Really nice, just funky enough with the sweetness of the grapes at the forefront.
T: Soft, delectable Riesling here over a base of citric tartness. Slight grain on the finish.
![2016 Reverend Nat's Bootylicious]()
2016 Reverend Nat's Bootylicious: Pineapple wine with cinnamon, clove, allspice, and piloncillo, aged six months in a Dominican rum barrel and infused with toasted coconut and banana.
S: Ridiculously rich pineapple and tropical notes, with a bit of booziness to it.
T: Thick 'n' viscous. Huge amounts of pineapple and sweet spice in your face, with light coconut. Like Kern's Nectar according to another person at the table.
![2009 The Bruery Papier]()
2009 The Bruery Papier: The brewery's first anniversary old ale. This was the standard variant comprising 25% aged in bourbon barrels.
S: Brown sugar and malt for sure, with an oxidative bent (not surprising given its age).
T: Thin in terms of mouth feel, with again malt, toffee, and bourbon-y heat at the fore. This one held up decently well.
![2011 Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze]()
2011 Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze: A non-traditional gueuze, made from a blend of two-year-old lambics aged in wine barrels.
S: Fantastically well-balanced, with tart lemon all over and a hint of barnyard.
T: Earthy, grainy, tart, oaky, with again lemon standing out. Beautifully integrated.
![Schramm's Black Agnes]()
Schramm's Black Agnes: Our lone mead of the tasting, a honey wine with black currant.
S: Sugary sweet and honeyed, with the piquancy of the blackcurrants apparent.
T: Thick and viscous. Rich honey and currant flavors commingled with a vegetal-minty quality.
![2015 de Garde Chat d'Or]()
2015 de Garde Chat d'Or: A golden wild ale, aged in a mix of rye whiskey, Chardonnay, and genever barrels for 8-18 months.
S: Rather delightful, with a tanginess offset by some dry, oaky nuances.
T: Full-flavored, with delicious fruity notes joined by more oak, grass, and a touch of booziness.
![2016 de Garde Sucre Brun]()
2016 de Garde Sucre Brun: A wild brown ale aged in a variety of oak barrels for up to three years--our final bottle from Scott, and one that we'd actually missed earlier.
S: Dark and malty, but definitely with a tartness to it.
T: Again, more of those malty, chocolate-y flavors and some dark fruit, all commingled with a palpable acidity. This one didn't come together as well as it should.
![2016 J. Wakefield DFPF]()
2016 J. Wakefield DFPF: Somebody slipped in Wakefield's vaunted DFPF, a Berliner Weisse brewed with passion fruit and dragon fruit. This one had been on my to-drink list for a long time, and was probably the most beautifully-colored beer that I'd ever encountered.
S: Surprisingly delicate, with restrained tropical, passion fruit-driven aromas and a subtle sourness.
T: Properly tart, dry, with an almost lactic quality. I got a very vibrant dragon fruit flavor with the passion fruit imparting further richness. Nice!
![Beersnobbin & Bottle Graveyard]()
1708 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310.540.8484
www.sophiesplacerb.com
Sat 07/02/2016, 02:00p-04:50p
Beersnobbin (a.k.a. Scott or The Beer Angel) recently held another charity bottle share at Sophie's Place. Things were a bit different this time around though. In place of cancer patient Rylee Totman, the beneficiary today was Trinity Kids Care Hospice, a dedicated pediatric hospice facility in Torrance. In addition, Scott provided all the bottles, so the requested donation went up twenty bucks to a still-very-reasonable $50 a head.
2003 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Vintage: We began with the main attraction, an '03 OGV, the brewery's reserve series geuze that's cellared for several years at 3 Fonteinen before being released.
S: Rich, deep, nutty, with a distinct oxidative edge. Mature to be sure, but not over-the-hill.
T: Low-carbed, with a fruitiness at first leading to a persistent acidity and more of that oxidized, sherry-esque character. This one held up pretty well for being 13 years old.
2015 de Garde The Peach: Co-headlining was the lone magnum of the share, a wild ale aged in oak cognac barrels with peaches.
S: Sweet, super juicy, super true-to-life stone fruit. Yum.
T: The tartness of peach skin was on point here, with the cognac just peeking through. Nice acidity and pucker on the finish. A top notch stone fruit sour.
2015 3 Fonteinen Hommage: Batch 3 of a lambic with raspberries and sour cherries, brewed to honor the late Gaston Debelder, founder of the brewery.
S: Tart-yet-jammy berry juice and light funk.
T: Expectedly sour at first blush, with that Band-Aid quality coming in the middle, while the back end saw the berries making themselves known once more.
2015 Cantillon Saint Lamvinus: A lambic with Merlot and Cabernet-Franc grapes.
S: Sour and decidedly funky, with a strong grape skin character.
T: Tart with slight barnyard commingled with an underlying vinous quality.
2016 de Garde Imperial Boysen Bu: A Berliner Weisse style ale aged in oak barrels with boysenberries.
S: A surprisingly subtle, but persistent jamminess dominated.
T: A blend of tart and earthy notes finishing with loads of berry. Classic de Garde.
2016 de Garde Imperial Blackberry Bu: Another Berliner, this one aged in oak with blackberries.
S: Milder on the fruit than the beer above, with a distinct lactic note.
T: Definitely more acidic, but with less funk, and still a good amount of fruit on the close.
2016 de Garde Oude Desay: A farmhouse blend comprising three different years of oak-matured Petit Desay batches.
S: Soft, sweet tropical fruit--very nice.
T: Again, more great fruit character finishing with a slight graininess, oak, and some pucker.
2016 Cigar City Opal: Getting into something heavier now, this was an old ale aged in bourbon barrels then dry-hopped with Opal.
S: Boozy caramel and brown sugar, with very light hops.
T: Malty and chocolate-laden, with huge bourbon character. I didn't get much from the Opal.
2015 de Garde Imperial Raz Bu: A Berliner Weisse style ale aged in oak barrels with raspberries.
S: Sour, bracing fruit with an undercurrent of nuttiness, which was interesting.
T: Acidic berry fruit of course, but with that nuttiness becoming very apparent on the finish. One of my fellow drinkers even likened it to sesame seed.
2015 de Garde Ginger Bu Rice: A wild rice ale aged a year in dry vermouth and oak barrels with ginger.
S: Zesty ginger with a slight ricey quality.
T: Loads more ginger, though fortunately it never became overwhelming. Another person at the table quipped that this would be great with sushi.
2016 de Garde Imperial Purple Raz Bu: A Berliner aged in oak, with both black and red raspberries added.
S: Fruit and cheese plate, seriously (not a bad thing necessarily).
T: Really nice berry flavors here, layered over that signature de Garde funk.
2015 de Garde Biere Rouge: Continuing on with the raspberry theme, this was a wild ale aged in French oak puncheons with raspberries.
S: Probably the tartest in terms of the berry sours we had.
T: The taste followed, but what I found intriguing was that there was an almost vegetal note that came in on the mid-palate.
2015 Bruery Terreux Bourgogne Blanc: A sour ale with Chardonnay grapes aged in French oak for a year.
S: Oaky, funky, yet crisp, with bountiful amounts of Chard peeking through.
T: A pretty convincing rendition of a buttery California Chardonnay. I think this might've been the most wine-like beer I've ever had.
2015 Cigar City Lorem Ipsum: Our second CC beer was a barleywine-style ale aged in brandy barrels.
S: Lovely sweetness to it, with lots of caramel, wood, and alcoholic heat.
T: Decidedly rich 'n' malty, with dark fruit and a really nice contribution from the brandy barrel.
2016 de Garde Grand Rouge: A wild red ale aged in oak with Zinfandel grapes.
S: I detected tart, cherry-like notes with sweet spice all over the place.
T: More of the same, with the Zin really coming through as cherry to me. Slight mustiness too.
2016 de Garde Grand Blanc: The counterpart to the beer above, a golden rye wild ale aged in oak with Riesling grapes.
S: Really nice, just funky enough with the sweetness of the grapes at the forefront.
T: Soft, delectable Riesling here over a base of citric tartness. Slight grain on the finish.
2016 Reverend Nat's Bootylicious: Pineapple wine with cinnamon, clove, allspice, and piloncillo, aged six months in a Dominican rum barrel and infused with toasted coconut and banana.
S: Ridiculously rich pineapple and tropical notes, with a bit of booziness to it.
T: Thick 'n' viscous. Huge amounts of pineapple and sweet spice in your face, with light coconut. Like Kern's Nectar according to another person at the table.
2009 The Bruery Papier: The brewery's first anniversary old ale. This was the standard variant comprising 25% aged in bourbon barrels.
S: Brown sugar and malt for sure, with an oxidative bent (not surprising given its age).
T: Thin in terms of mouth feel, with again malt, toffee, and bourbon-y heat at the fore. This one held up decently well.
2011 Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze: A non-traditional gueuze, made from a blend of two-year-old lambics aged in wine barrels.
S: Fantastically well-balanced, with tart lemon all over and a hint of barnyard.
T: Earthy, grainy, tart, oaky, with again lemon standing out. Beautifully integrated.
Schramm's Black Agnes: Our lone mead of the tasting, a honey wine with black currant.
S: Sugary sweet and honeyed, with the piquancy of the blackcurrants apparent.
T: Thick and viscous. Rich honey and currant flavors commingled with a vegetal-minty quality.
2015 de Garde Chat d'Or: A golden wild ale, aged in a mix of rye whiskey, Chardonnay, and genever barrels for 8-18 months.
S: Rather delightful, with a tanginess offset by some dry, oaky nuances.
T: Full-flavored, with delicious fruity notes joined by more oak, grass, and a touch of booziness.
2016 de Garde Sucre Brun: A wild brown ale aged in a variety of oak barrels for up to three years--our final bottle from Scott, and one that we'd actually missed earlier.
S: Dark and malty, but definitely with a tartness to it.
T: Again, more of those malty, chocolate-y flavors and some dark fruit, all commingled with a palpable acidity. This one didn't come together as well as it should.
2016 J. Wakefield DFPF: Somebody slipped in Wakefield's vaunted DFPF, a Berliner Weisse brewed with passion fruit and dragon fruit. This one had been on my to-drink list for a long time, and was probably the most beautifully-colored beer that I'd ever encountered.
S: Surprisingly delicate, with restrained tropical, passion fruit-driven aromas and a subtle sourness.
T: Properly tart, dry, with an almost lactic quality. I got a very vibrant dragon fruit flavor with the passion fruit imparting further richness. Nice!
