Tasting note: Slighty smokey and wood-influenced, but not heavily so, it displays very nice qualities of roasted toffee and caramel-like flavors, but not with any real sweetness - which make it an ideal food beer. Think of classic Argentine fare with your own twists at home: grilled steak or burgers, simply-cooked potatoes, and nutty or salty cheeses. Enjoy it with a great meal and company in a stemmed glass, even a red wine glass or brandy snifter if you don’t have a traditional beer sampler.
|
Download the Newsletter
|
 A few of the last beers that I had the pleasure of tasting with Michael Jackson in June of 2007, only about 2 months before his death, were from Argentina. I had received a number of samples from a pair of breweries there, and shipped them to our common good friend, Ben Vinken. Ben is the publisher of Belgium’s Beer Passion magazine, who we would both be joining in Antwerp to attend his annual beer festival on the Groenplaats city square.
On the festival’s closing Sunday afternoon the three of us shared a trio of the BarbaRoja dark lagers, along with Belgian beer lover, reviewer, and author Jeff van den Steen. The beers were admired across-the-board as being rich, well-made, and in the hearty and complex chocolate-coffee style of Bavarian dunkels and schwarzbiers. A pleasant surprise, to say the least, and Michael requested an additional set of samples to be sent to his London office, so that he could take some more extensive notes and select one for the Rare Beer Club.
Sadly, though he told me several weeks later that he had done his second tasting and written the notes, he passed away on August 30th and we were never able to find his words on those black brews. But I traveled myself to the brewery in November of that same year to meet the owners, Antonio and Vivian Mastroianni, and told them the story. I also showed and described to them a number of the eclectic beers that were past features of the club: Belgian classics, “extreme” U.S. recipes, Japanese barleywine, high-gravity Czech lager. Antonio was quite fascinated by whole concept, especially the idea of developing something never before brewed and presenting it in 750 ml bottles.
Just about one year later, I received word from Antonio that he had created a very special beer for the purpose of limited export to the U.S., a smoked and aged strong red ale that was getting a lot of attention locally and was worthy of being a beer club feature. After tasting a hand-bottled sample that arrived via courier, I absolutely agreed and as a result the first import of this great brew is now being shared this month with Rare Beer Club members.
A few words about the brewery: family owned and in the town of Escobar, it is the picture of local and artisanal brewing in Argentina. Escobar, the flower capital of the country with about 400 commercial producers, is located just over 35 miles north of the Federal Capital of Buenos Aires. It is a frequent weekend destination because of its nurseries, parks, gardens, and generally restful pace. The BarbaRoja (Red Beard, after the renown pirate) brewery is a destination itself, with 5 acres of park-like grounds, a comfortable restaurant with outstanding Argentine steaks and frites, and cozy cabanas for overnight stays during the summer season.
The U.S. government alcohol labeling authorities do not allow the term used for the beer in Argentina, “strong” red ale, but make no mistake that this is a warming beer at 9% alcohol. Best consumed at a cellar temperature of about 55 degrees so that it can show off its complexities, it is suprisingly easy to sip for a beer of this level. Slighty smokey and wood-influenced, but not heavily so, it displays very nice qualities of roasted toffee and caramel-like flavors, but not with any real sweetness - which make it an ideal food beer. Think of classic Argentine fare with your own twists at home: grilled steak or burgers, simply-cooked potatoes, and nutty or salty cheeses. Enjoy it with a great meal and company in a stemmed glass, even a red wine glass or brandy snifter if you don’t have a traditional beer sampler. |
|
