Did you see the footage of the Vikings’ dome coming down? Pretty wild, and like good chaos theory it lead to a discovery of a great beer.
I’m not such a fan of the NY Giants. Actually, I find being a fan an exercise in suffering, not something I’m fond of. However, I am a fan of fans, particularly a couple of Giants fans — Eric and Jonathan. I do try to watch a game with them simply to razz them about their suffering.
With the stature of the game elevated to a Monday night, the whole group decamped to a relatively new beer bar, the Tobacco Roadhouse overlooking the Durham Bulls field, home to the World Beer Festival — Durham.
Given the freezing temperature, I sought a comfort beer. At the end of the row of taps was Big Boss’s newest beer — Aces & Ates. At 8%, it had the warming capability I needed. Trading out a frozen glass for one heated with hot water got the beer temperature nearly perfect. With ten different malts and specially prepared coffee, the complexity and intrigue of the beer is off the charts.
The nose is all toast, that combination of slightly burnt grain. The head had a decidedly brown hue. The flavor was layers of different umami sensations that ranged from coffee bitter to silky cream, with roasted nuts and toasted bread in the middle. The complexity continued through the finish that had some warmth from the alcohol.
I didn’t let the lace settle too long with two more refills in the same glass. Like the beer, the game started all over the place and quickly settled into a nice comfortable evening. Like I said, I’m not a fan; but it was great to see Eric pleased with the outcome as much as I enjoyed the beers. I never used to be such a bar person, but now there’s little that provides as much pleasure as a good beer, a good bar and a good friend.
Except maybe the 18-year-old Talisker that I had afterwards at the already legendary Whiskey. That turned a great evening into an adventure.
Got your own chaos-theory-beer-discovery adventure?
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