Boont: Extra Special Brew of Excess, California Style

The Boont ESB may be an ESB ("extra special bitter") by name, but it's a totally Californian one at that. Meaning, for its category, it's big, a little bit brash, and has way too much personality to be any kind of well behaved ESB. For example, the brewing process involves "four separate additions of Pacific Northwest hops" which gives it a very strong hop character (most beers have one or maybe two occasions when hops are added). In terms of alcohol content, at 6.8% ABV, it's pushing it towards the high end of what's already an amplified version of the English Bitter. No matter. It's tasty, and it's got an undeniably Californian character that you just have to go with. And what's not to love about giant coastlines, big sky, and abundant greenness, Death Valley, hippies, Hollywood, Lakers, Silicon Valley, facebook, ebay (oh, wait...)? Anyway... in the case of beer, excess is fine by One Woman, as long as it works. But what makes the Boont ESB extra special is the little hint of spiciness in the hops that lingers on the tongue after the initial sweetness of the higher alcohol content and the bitterness of the hops passes.

Food - Some kind of weird, gourmet junk food, like tri-color popcorn tossed with Anderson Creamery pepperjack would probably be a very good combo for this one.

Musical pairing: Fats Waller, "Honey Suckle Rose." Famous for his stride piano playing and his large-than life stage persona (and appetite), Fats Waller's performances are big, bold, promises tons of sweetness, but with an intensity behind power. And then there are the lyrics - "don't buy sugar / you just have to touch my cup" - uh, sure... The old piano in my house always makes me think of him. Check out this other solo piano version for an almost schizophrenic, manic version of the same piece. Excessive, but ends as if nothing ever happened. Manic.

Destinations: Spuyten Duyvil - Mikkeller Draft Bear

WILLIAMSBURG, New York. Some people, like dude with the amazing Beer Stocked Refrigerator (click on the link to be impressed by a fridge!), are better prepared than One Woman. Around 6:00 pm, One Woman still didn't know what the beer of the evening was going to be. So she called up This One Guy to meet at the mighty Spuyten Duyvil (another reason to heart New York City). And after all, with One Woman's week in nyc approaching the later half, a trip without a visit to SD would just be wrong. Late afternoon / early evening is my favorite time to go to SD, before it gets too crowded. Last night was the perfect evening to sit outside in their recently expanded backyard. With its gravely ground, wispy green life, mismatched patio furniture, and J/M/Z subway signs lying around, and flanked by the sides and backs of neighboring apartment buildings, it's a cute backyard. In a Williamsburgy way.

In any case, SD is probably the most serious beer venue New York City has that's open to the public. Since opening in 2003, they pride themselves on a selective stock of the "rare and obscure" "antiques and curios" from all over the place, including, but not limited to the US. Their emphasis is on European (continental and UK) beers, which sets them apart from the recent domestic-focused craft beer phenomenon, but without limiting themselves to one region. They usually have about 6 beers on tap and 1cask beer going, and these rotate quickly. Using Riedel stemware (fancy!!) for some of their pours, the place commands respect. Some of this seriousness, One Woman has yet to fully appreciate, being the young beer exploratrice she is. But what makes this place truly amazing is their beers, and if you're looking for adventure, depth, philosophy, a good time, or education, go here. One Woman can't help but love it.

The Beer (or "bear") of the evening was the Mikkeller Draft Bear. Mikkeller is a Danish Brewery that's a beer lover's dream of passion-turned career, and of cross-cultural collaboration. It's a young, Old World brewery, started by two home brewers, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller, inspired by New World experimentalism. They challenge you to go on a "taste adventure" with them. Sign me up!

One Woman was unable to find any clues about why the Mikkeller Draft Bear is a "bear" (is it related to the mythical Boontville creature from Anderson Valley, the Beer?). But, the Draft Bear is sort of grizzly bear-colored. Named a righteous, Imperial Pilsner (!!), the Bear has slightly translucent reddish, copper color, that shines in the twilight sky. It has the pilsner smell (the fresh, yeasty whiff of pils malts), but nothing of your Danish grandpa's pilsner in color or flavor. At 8% ABV, it's a slow sipping beer that's warmly hopped and tastes like light brown sugar or that cotton candy flavor, but without being too sweet. All this is lovingly well-balanced to make a sexy, modern beer.

Musical Pairing: Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane, "Ruby, My Dear" (click on the link to listen). I love Monk and this is probably my favorite Monk tune, but I can't decide who I love more on this track. Is it Coltrane who can magically become transformed by Monk's style and still remain unmistakeably the Trane? Or Monk, 9 years Coltrane's senior, who has the ability to irresistibly draw in Trane who, left to his own devices, plays soaring long melodies that are gorgeous, but almost diametrically opposed to Monk's angular style that bursts with small explosions everywhere? Hearing these two very, very different players come together and blend so smoothly is nothing short of a miracle!

Back to Beer: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boont Amber Ale

One Woman liked this Beer so much she mistook it for her own baby?!

After an evening of apple cider (that didn't finish too badly--it ended with "drunken" apple cider muffins for breakfast), back to beer feels so good, especially when it's Anderson Valley's Boont Amber Ale.

Brewed in Boonvile, California, Boont is the best known beer from the Anderson Valley Brewing Company. What's cool about this modern brewery (est. 1987) is that they grow hops on their estate (see pics here).

Quickly--stats: 5.8% ABV, and 15 IBUs. From a purely numerical level, this translates to a beer that's just a tad sweet, and not super hoppy at all.

Boont has very gentle carbonation, that allows for a very soft encounter. In terms of flavor, it has a hint of caramel... or was it persimmon with light brown sugar? Dissection, or over analyzing doesn't seem right for this lovely, curvy beer. Boont Amber Ale is so well-rounded! Suddenly, it's not about the malt in relation to the hops, and the nose and the mouth. It's about the chemistry that happened to make this ale that feels so right. As for color, the amber is jewel like, and so pretty. I could have just stared and admired it for a long time, had I not been overcome by the urge to quench my beer thirst with this beauty.

One Woman enjoyed her Boont with Chef Dre's crazy good legendary empanadas and fried green plantains, blessed with the company of poet SR, and a fiddler/photographer CS, who I credit with the genius idea behind today's photo.

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Did you know that the weird animal on the Anderson Valley Brewing Company's label that looks like a bear with antlers is "not a bear," but "a beer"? (Um. Okay, Stoners) Anderson Valley also has its own language that locals developed in the 19th century called Boontling.

Musical pairing of the evening: Jack O' the Clock. Good ol' Americana--quirky, weird, amnesiac folk of found sounds and ballads.