>Chris Groves Certified Cicerone ®

Whats this? An American IPA from Brewery Ommegang? Who’da thunk! Back in October 2013, news was made when Ommegang’s parent company Duvel Moortgat had acquired Kansas City based Boulevard Brewing Company. For those who may not know or may not care, this acquisition was a good thing. Ommegang has been at the forefront of producing some of America’s best Belgian-style ales since it’s inception and it now has a sister brewery in the midwest to work with! Ommegang’s new Nirvana IPA is the first Ommegang beer that is being brewed in Kansas City at Boulevard and their first ever American IPA. Why IPA? Are we not flooded by a sea of them? Well....yes but if you’ve had any hop forward beers brewed at Boulevard...enough said. Clocking in at a cool 6.5% ABV and 60 IBUs, Nirvana is mouth-wateringly juicy with flavors of pineapple, citrus and a touch of honey. Aromas of tropical fruit mosh with floral notes to bring everything into harmony. This beer is clean on the finish and certainly a step in a new direction for styles we will be seeing from them. What’s cool about having a sister brewery is that we are going to be seeing more neat, small batch beer come out of Ommegang’s Cooperstown brewery while their bigger year round brands’ production will be heading out to KC. This means more beer. Are you excited yet? It’s ok if you aren’t. I am.

>Chris Groves Certified Cicerone ®

Last Saturday my buddy Mike and his lady Erica made a killer Paella (pronounced pa/EH/yah). Rice, chicken, peppers, tomatoes, mussels, shrimp, chorizo, saffron, lemon... gone in an instant. What did this lovely Valencian dish scream for? SAISON! What did I just happen to bring over? SAISON! Not exactly the coolest day of the summer, the beer choice needed to be light, crisp and able to stand up to a myriad of flavors. Poured into my favorite drinking vessel of all time (a mini Duvel glass), North Coast Brewing’s Puck—The Beer fit the bill. Bright gold and sparkling with a white pepper and floral nose, this petite Saison put me in a happy place...like making friends with the younger brother of someone you know...now that you’re no longer in high school you can hang and have a decent conversation. Adults. That older brother by the way is North Coast’s Le Merle; a wonderful Saison from which Puck is derived. Sporting the same yeast strain is none too dissimilar as coming from the same mother. I try not to think about the food so much when making a beer run but I simply can’t help it. Having the “right” beer for your food occasion can really round out the whole flavor experience but the time spent shopping can certainly be lessened. That’s on me. Gotta get to the party before the golden hour! Grab a 4-pack and [don’t] think too much about it.