Weekend Tap Update: Dark Beers Kick Off The Weekend At Blue 5 Tonight

Taste enough beer and you will eventually hear someone say something along the lines of “Yeah, well, I’m just not into [insert any style of beer here]”, writing off perhaps an entire style in one fell swoop. (Trust me, it won’t take long.) It could be argued that the great expanse of hop forward beers may have this situation cornered with their long road to appreciating that bitter bite, a learning curve that for some might as well be as big as the arch in downtown St. Louis. But you’ll also hear the same being said from time to time about darker beers, and predominantly among those, stouts or porters. (Although for the record, there are plenty of these beers that sport a formidable hop presence.)

This always throws me for a bit of a loop. Without getting into the argument over those all too common myths regarding darker beers – that they’re all too heavy, or that they’re all fuller bodied than other kinds of beers, or that they always have much more calories than other types of beers – darker beers are often full of some extremely beloved aromas and flavors. Rich flavors. The best, richest, most chocolaty dessert like flavors. Your favorite-morning-beverage like flavors.

Just consider for a moment the words often used to describe stouts, porters, or other dark beers: Coffee like, Chocolaty, Roasty, Smokey, Rich, Intense…or “tastes like” liquorice, espresso, or even dark fruits (think dark cherries perhaps). This doesn’t even begin to touch on their typically smooth as silk mouthfeel. Nor does it begin to delve into how aging many of these beers in whiskey or bourbon barrels can add further complexity, or how simply adding oats to the brewing process can impart an even smoother body, or how adding lactose can add sweetness to styles such as Milk Stouts. And we’re not going to even get into the breweries that toss peanuts or peanut butter into brewing their dark beers.

Often, we tend to write things off after one less than satisfying experience and then apply what we “learned” across the board. If perhaps you’ve only had one, two, or even a handful of darker beers (stouts, porters, and the like) and haven’t quite landed a favorite, you may owe it to yourself to come out to Blue 5 Restaurant’s “Christmas In July” celebration tonight (starts at 5pm). According to the restaurant, close to thirty dark beers will be front and center, and I am willing to bet you can find one or two that will envelope you in their rich, roasty nature. (And might make you change your mind about dark beer – or any kind of beer for that matter – too.)

Check out this week’s earlier post, below, for a partial listing of beer to be featured at the event. Beers will be available in both draft and bottle form!

Cheers!

Also, don’t forget this weekend to turn out for plenty going on at our local breweries in and around Roanoke. Food trucks and/or live music have become regular fixtures for spots like Chaos Mountain, Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers, Parkway Brewing Company, and Sunken City. Daleville’s Flying Mouse will be hosting a “ShrimpFest” out at their place on Saturday as well.