Butte Creek Organic Porter

It is mid-March and I am starting to thaw out from the (mercifully) brief winter that we "endure" here in the capital of the Old Dominion. It is great to be able to open up the windows, put away all the leaden fashion accouterments of winter, and not to have to put up with the incessant clanging sounds generated by the ancient radiators in my apartment. It is, however, a time of the year when I feel motivated (or at least compelled) to launch into a whole list of projects in and around my abode: moving all my furniture about and cleaning every nook and cranny, changing the oil on my car, airing out everything. So, on my days off from work, I find myself engaged in such "multi-tasking" (odious term) around my place, jumping from project to project to leisure to nap.

Such a day is usually punctuated by a leisurely but light lunch such as a salad accompanied by crostini or a sandwich picked up at a local deli. On such a day and with such a lunch, I don't particularly want anything brash or bold. Instead, I want a straight-forward beverage like the organic porter made by the Butte Creek Brewing Company of Chico, California. It has all of the elements that I look for in a porter. This caramel-red brew has a coffee like flavor (or even more specifically , it reminds me of mugicha, a non-alcoholic Japanese summer time refresher made from roasted barley. There's a faint note of licorice root (without sweetness) as well as a hoppy- coppery finish that leaves me smacking my lips. Unlike some mass-production offerings, this porter has a modest but enduring natural carbonation.