Exactly three years ago my wife called me on my way home from work and asked me to pick up toilet paper. The shelves were empty. So were the coolers where 30 packs of beer normally sit. The world started shutting down and it seemed all our needs were satisfied by those two products.
Embracing The Darkness
It’s cold outside and I’m hunkering down in an old speak easy where, instead of illicit spirits, there’re a plethora of taps. Despite the dim lighting my beer is quite cheery. I’m drinking an Oatmeal Stout. First time in years. I normally gravitate toward other styles, but today it’s just what I needed. Roasty flavors, faint notes of coffee, subtle bitterness, and a slick body delight my senses and serve as a fleece jacket for my soul. I had forgotten how cathartic it feels to brood with a dark beer in winter.
From German influence we find flavors of dark bread, chocolate, nuts and toast in beers like a Dunkel, a Schwartz, or an elegant Doppel Bock from breweries like Heater Allen or Chuckanut. If you’re into banana bread with a side of booze, then a dark Weizenbock will improve your chill factor in more ways than one.
A Belgian Dubbel and a Quad share warmth, not through roastiness, but through a dry body, clean alcohol and flavors reminiscent of raisins, nuts, and a nod toward clove and all-spice. Breweries like Monkless and Pfriem are knocking these out of the park.
Home of Porters and Stouts, the UK is well adapted for brooding in cold weather. Wee Heavies, Imperial Stouts, or my Oatmeal Stout sitting in front of me, are sweet, smooth and delightful. Breweries like Santiam, Fort George, Porter Brewing and Pelican usually have these lined up for winter.
Many people find dark beers intimidating. The truth is, while some are intense, most are comforting, especially in Winter. With Craft Beer month coming in February, we have a chance to sink deeply into our glasses and embrace the darkness. Just add a fire, and hopefully a little snuggle.
In my lamentably final submission to Beerlandia, a column I created for 1859 Magazine, I express my gratitude to the place and the people that made everything possible.
1859 Magazine, Beerlandia Sept/ Oct 2020
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1859 Magazine May/ June 2019
written by Jeremy Storton
I sat typing away at my keyboard one wintry day at a local brewery. A beautiful, brilliantly clear pale ale with a rich head kept me company and served as my muse. My calendar said January, but the sunny, 60-degree temperature outside suggested late spring. “If this is climate change,” I thought, “I could get used to this.”
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Beerlandia Column: 1859 Magazine Nov/ Dec 2018
