EPISODE 39: a roman theater musical at crooked lane brewing

The site of an old theater is now the stunning site of a northern California brewery in the Sierra foothills. John Hunt and Bob Moffitt head to Auburn for some fine beer, blast-chiller ambience, proper pinky placement, and special appearances by The Beastie Boys, Phil Collins, Motley Crue, UB 40, and Run DMC, all hosted by Crooked Lane brewmaster Teresa Psuty. Besides the tunes, she also drops a lot of knowledge on how new and interesting beers are made. Click HERE for the podcast!

Crooked Lane “Dark Bent” Dry Irish 5.8% abv

Teresa: This is a fun one. Not as roasty as Guinness. Goal is approachability. Bob is a marketing genius.

Bob: Little bitter. More than I expected. Drinkable. GOOD. Not much aftertaste.

John: Smooth. GOOD. Super drinkable.

Crooked Lane “Do Me A Flavor” White 7% abv

Teresa: No, a white stout isn’t really a stout, but if you want a lot of oats, English base malt, cocoa nibs, lactose, Cru Chocolate and Clementine Coffee Roasters. We nailed this.

Bob: This is delightful. Could be a coffee stout. Love the sweetness. Lingering coffee aftertaste. VERY GOOD.

John: Love the coffee and I’m a coffee snob. So, there. VERY GOOD

Sierra Nevada “Narwhal” Imperial 10.0% abv

Teresa: If you hold on to some beers for five years, it gets better. Not very sweet. Thinner than I expected, but my unabashed crush on the brewery leads me to an EXCELLENT.

Bob: I really like this. The aftertaste brings it down to VERY GOOD. Very, very pleasantly surprised. For all the lousy things I’ve said about pale ale, I must atone with praise now..

John: I swam with the unicorn of whales in Norway. Just like them, this is surprising at the start. Aftertaste sneaks up and won’t leave. GOOD.

Lagunitas “Sonoma Farmhouse Brett” Imperial aged in wine barrels 11.3% abv

Teresa: I’ve had port. Never had a stout with this type of brettanomyces yeast. Super interesting. Super special. Super not a stout. Are you communicating what you are delivering? EXCELLENT. Leave the bottle

Bob: Happy to. Grab your microscope if you hope to read this label. Then feel stupid for not being able to pronounce half the words. Promises funk. I don’t want funk. FAIR at best. OK I guess if you like red wine. If not for Teresa’s explanation this has cat written all over it.

John: Oof at the idea. Hold on. I like the barrel taste. it’s a nice mix of wine and booze. I really like this. VERY GOOD. Not an excellent because it isn’t a stout.

Crooked Lane “Shot Through The Heart” Russian Imperial With Chocolate 11% abv

Teresa: It’s not sweet chocolate. Pretty simple. This will age well. Diversity of the tap list has us releasing this before it’s matured.

Bob: It’s the baker’s chocolate. Definitely not sweet. Balanced. Unlike any other I’ve had. GOOD/VERY GOOD now. It is the anti-pastry.

John: Baker’s chocolate. This is pretty heavy alcohol-wise. GOOD. I want to come back in six months and try it again. So interesting, we totally missed an opportunity to talk Bon Jovi.