a new saison plus bonus mushrooms
Yesterday I made my way over to the new Boom Island taproom to enjoy their saison.
It was another gloomy day and I wasn’t in a great mood for a number of reasons. But I brought along another writer who hadn’t been to the brewery before and we sat down at the bar.
I ordered the saison, a lovely hazy gold-orange beer in a snifter, and Andrew ordered a flight of their four classic choices – The Silvius Pale Ale, The Thoprock IPA, The Hoodoo Dubbel, and (my personal favorite) the Brimstone Trippel.
I always enjoy introducing new people to good beer.
Mark, who works around the brewery and also delivers kegs and bottles sat down with me for a bit and we talked about the gradual materialization of the patio dream and about how successful things have been. Jim, the bartender, explained how many regulars enjoy that the place isn’t generally crowded and that it will be bittersweet when summer comes and the taproom grows busier.
The aroma of the saison is very sweet, almost honey-like, with faint tartness and very slight grassy notes, almost typical of a wild ale. Some orange is also present in the aroma. The taste, though, is not sweet at all. It carries that typical Belgian well-attenuated nature which is incredibly refreshing. The ginger is quite dominant with crisp hops and significant dryness. I don’t taste as much orange as I smell. The aromatic ginger definitely lingers.
Mississippi Mushrooms, who have been partnering with Boom Island, using their spent grain as growing medium.
I chatted with Ian, Tyler, and Nik about their Kickstarter project which will help them fund and install a retort – a giant pressure cooker that will sterilize their growing medium, including the spent grain.
I tried a sample of a mushroom that I had never heard of called a Lion’s Mane or Monkey Head. It was absolutely incredible! After being pan fried, it smelled like a shortbread cookie right out of the oven but tasted like lean beef. The texture was delicate but meaty and I would use it often in my own cooking. I can’t wait for them to reach their goal and significantly increase production capacity.
Because of the odd and dim lighting in the taproom I made the mistake of saying “mushrooms aren’t very photogenic”. I regretted the words immediately as they left my mouth. They were hurt. Well guys, I take it back. I have seen the website photos and I was completely wrong.
Join Mississippi Mushrooms TONIGHT at Chowgirls Catering in Northeast Minneapolis for their Kickstarter party, celebrating what they have been able to raise. And support them soon — the campaign ends on Sunday!