Buttle's Beer Blog

AHS American Red Ale

2009-05-30T18:40:00.003-04:00

First post in a while.

Just a follow up on this homebrew: Austin Homebrew's American Red Ale, mini-mash method. It turned out pretty good (maybe it will get even better). It's less muddy than my picture makes is seem, but not very red (certainly not as crimson as the copy of The Crimson Petal and the White upon which it sits). A definite Cascade hop flavor comes through, although much subtler than in so many American pale ales. But this isn't a pale, it's a red ale.

I might have liked a touch more malt flavor, but this is really more of an easy drinker, a good warm weather beer at that. It seems to appeal to "civilian" beer drinkers, though hop heads might find it a little dull. No idea how much of a difference mini-mash makes versus extract + specialty grain.

For my sixth brew, I took a chance on all grain, more or less. I'll try to post soon.

Green Brewing

2009-05-08T10:52:00.002-04:00

I've been really busy at work and home, so not much posting recently, and maybe a light load in the future.

Here's a piece from the Center from American Progress (a left-wing think tank) about environmentally friendly brewing practices at New Belgium, Brooklyn Brewery, and others. A lot of this we beer geeks have heard already, but I didn't know, for example, that Brooklyn pays farmers to pick up their spent grain to feed to their livestock.

Dieu du Ciel Corne du Diable/Nils Oscar IPA (CAN/SWE)

2009-04-28T21:38:00.006-04:00

Two IPAs from unexpected parts: Quebec and Sweden. Accordingly, both are on the pricey side.

Dieu du Ciel Corne du Diable: The devil's horn. It's in the style of "la cote ouest de l'Amerique du Nord," and it tastes it. Pretty golden amber with lacy head, it smells of Cascade dry hopping. Medium-to-full in body and lightly carbonated. Malty, hoppy (though nothing ridiculous), grapefruit and pine. Tingles the ribs afterwards.

Nils Oscar India Pale Ale: A classier label, I think, although possibly a bit dull. This one also claims a US influence, with "American Amarillo hops to give the exotic aroma of tropical fruit." It seems lighter in color and in body (I didn't drink them side by side), and fizzier. It is in fact vaguely fruity tasting (not citrusy, as I tend to think of Amarillos), and maybe spicy/earthy. No IPA hop blast, but it's pleasant. What semi-spoils it for me is the finish, which is dry and in fact chalky. The effects of a less than fresh bottle? I don't know. I don't regret that it isn't an American-style hop bomb, although others may, but it loses points for the powder.

For me, this is now two winners from Dieu du Ciel.

Brewhouse Honey Blonde

2009-04-24T13:11:00.000-04:00

Just in time for the warm weather, my Brewhouse Honey Blonde, modified for five gallon rather than six, and with WLP008 yeast rather than the enclosed Cooper's.

It turned out good. Orange-tinged, slightly hazy (though more clear than my picture lets on). It has what I consider to be more of a soda pop carbonation -- plenty of what feel like bigger bubbles -- which is more appropriate for this style. The honey flavor is actually buried underneath what I think are yeast flavors. I probably should have used a cleaner yeast; then again, I kind of like this taste. Without it, it might be kind of a boring beer.

So thumb's up on the easy to make, but pricey, Brewhouse Honey Blonde.

Mel Kiper Drinking Game

2009-04-22T21:58:00.000-04:00

For diehard NFL fans who intend to spend all weekend watching the draft (I would be one but the weather supposed to be great): the Mel Kiper Drinking Game.

Some of the rules:

1) Anytime Mel says this player is productive take a drink
2) Anytime he says this player is great value take a drink
3) Anytime a general manager says Mel Kiper has never worn a jock strap take a drink.

The "jock strap" debate was over the Colts taking Trev Alberts over Trent Dilfer in 1994. On hindsight, I'm not sure who was right. Alberts had his career ruined by injury, Dilfer kind of sucked (the Colts seemed better with Jim Harbough), but then piggybacked his way to a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner went undrafted that year, so I suppose no one knew what they were talking about.

Ellicottville Pantius Droppus (NY)

2009-04-19T17:03:00.007-04:00

I noticed that Beerjanglin' gushed over this foray into big beer from Ellicottville Brewing Company (EBC), so I figured I'd give it a try. Pantius Droppus is an Imperial Pale Ale -- not an Imperial IPA. I wondered what that distinction meant, and then recalled that I didn't even like EBC's grapefruit rind pale ale. So would this be just more of a bad thing? In addition, it's claim of a "robust Cascade dry hop" made me think I knew what I was getting into, nothing particularly original.

But then there's the sour, enough so that I wondered whether my bottle had gone bad. It turns out, others have noted the sour notes as well, so I'll assume it's intentional. Here's the thing: I have yet to "appreciate" sour beers, but I like Pantius Droppus a good deal. The sourness isn't overwhelming, but stands on top of other aspects of the beer: citrus and sweet-leaning malts, slight grapefruit bitterness underneath. The high alcohol doesn't comes through. It still leans more to sipper than gulper, but isn't oppressively heavy.

About $7.50 a bomber for 22 ounces of 11.5% ABV isn't a bad price at all, and I greatly appreciate the uniqueness of Pantius Droppus, a beer that Biggus Dickus would have loved.

AHS American Red Ale

2009-04-18T16:47:00.004-04:00

This is my fifth batch of homebrew, although I haven't tasted my fourth batch yet (maybe tomorrow; I'm pretty patient). My first partial mash, using a kit from Austin Homebrew.

American Red Ale

5 lbs. Munich LME

1.5 lbs. Munich malt

1.5 lbs. 2-row

0.5 lbs. Cara-Munich

0.25 lbs. Special B

1 oz. Cascade (7.5%) each at 60, 15, 5.

Windsor yeast

The grains smelled like Grape Nuts flakes.

The AHS instructions specified using a stockpot (and large grain bag) for the partial mash, but I used a 4-gallon cooler (and grain bag). I figured this would hold the heat better, but (a) I forgot to pour hot water into the cooler ahead of time to raise the internal temperature, and (b) the grains and strike water (two gallons) barely filled half the cooler. So I lost more heat than I think I should have, finishing the 45 minute mash rest just below 150 degrees. But I don't know if that's a big problem with a mini-mash. My OG was 1.057 instead of the expected 1.053, but I don't trust my gravity readings that closely.

The whole thing has smelled strongly of Cascades from the first day until bottling day (today). That's the "American" part, but I wonder if AHS adjusts its recipes for AA, with 7.5% is on the high side for Cascades. Windsor yeast is known to leave a fairly high FG, which is part of the reason this isn't an APA, I guess. The yeast was slow to get going, which worried me a bit. Last known gravity was 1.020 (expected 1.014), but my hydrometer broke so I didn't get a bottling day measurement.

Four weeks in primary, no secondary, and now it will be three weeks in the bottle before I crack one. I do like this mini-mash procedure and look forward to using it more, probably with more grains and less extract. Possibly I could try an all-grain half batch, but my weak electric stove limits my ability to boil too much wort.

Lake Placid Ubu Ale (NY)

2009-04-13T21:16:00.003-04:00

This beer's claim to fame is that Bill Clinton tried it and liked it so much he asked the brewery to send a few growlers to the White House. Clintons successor drank so much alcohol as a young man that he lost his privilege by the time became President. Somewhat predictably, this has lead some to think there's a rule that the President should never drink. And all this after Obama was accused of disliking beer, and drinking anti-union beer, and lord knows what else.

Ubu was (is?) the name of a chocolate labrador retriever. The beer is described as a strong ale (7% ABV), which I think is a fairly open style. It's dark -- slightly ruby -- and comes across as a bit stout-like, but not of the dry, highly roasted variety. There's chocolate malt evident and a slight sweetness that doesn't stay around too long. Medium-bodied. Ubu is an easy-drinker, a session ale despite the ABV. Tasty, if somewhat nondescript.

Thomas Hardy's Ale 1998 (ENG)

2009-04-09T21:33:00.003-04:00

L@@K VINTAGE! 1998!

Looks like a bottle of this recently sold on ebay for $17.87. It's expensive, but not that expensive, though in auctions it only takes one person to overpay.

Thomas Hardy pours a dark amber -- clear unless you tip the yeast in as well -- but I can't get much of I head. I could smell the underside of the cap all night: raspberry-chocolate, mmm! First taste of the ale is nothing like that, however. In fact, I primarily detect licorice. Also, a strong peppery, spiciness distinguishes this from other barleywines I've had (its 12%). Brown sugar, fruit, slight sweetness, just a whole lot going on. All in all, an excellent barleywine, but not above and beyond all the others I've had (e.g., Old Foghorn).

BTW, here's a piece from the late William Brand on the history of this beer. It looks like my bottle was in between Eldridge Pope's and O'Hanlon's brewing. The bottle only says 'Thomas Hardy Brewery Ltd." I'm somewhat proud to see, as is the case with Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, there's an American distributor at the heart of the fight to keep this ale flowing.

When my time is up...

2009-04-06T22:02:00.002-04:00

Just so you know, when I go, if this woman shows up a my wake, let her stay:

Sheriff's deputies said a Texas woman started a brawl at a wake in Arkansas when she arrived with a beer can in her hand. The woman, 52, faces a third-degree domestic battery charges, as does another woman, 46, over the March 29 fight. Deputies said the first woman arrived at the Christies Chapel Church with a beer can in hand and that she refused to leave.

People in Arkansas are just so prissy about stuff like this.

Coney Island Albino Python (NY)

2009-04-04T15:50:00.004-04:00

Some craft breweries don't even bother with lagers. Shmaltz has a whole specialty line of them. Albino Python (with its slightly salacious label art) is a singular beer: a "white lager brewed with spices," a witbier brewed with lager yeast. Who else brews one of those?

The lager yeast is bound to make a difference, but on top of that, Shmaltz uses an atypical blend of spices: ginger, crushed fennel and orange peel. No coriander? And how many other beers use fennel? (Although fennel is licoricey like anise, which isn't completely unusual in beer.) To me, the spices definitely dominate any citrus fruit elements, and I'll definitely believe it's ginger and fennel. There isn't much malty backbone here, and the hops aren't bitter, but instead appear to add a somewhat rough and dry finish. It's crisp, and would work well with grilled chicken or fish or something like that.

Albino Python is, first and foremost, different. It's also pretty good, better than most lagers. But I don't like it quite as much as a well-made white ale.

Session Reminder

2009-03-30T16:00:00.001-04:00

Just a reminder that this Friday, Lew Bryson is hosting, and the topic is smoked beers (coincidentally, The Atlantic has a short piece on Bavarian Schlenkerla). I've been pretty busy with work and life so I don't know if I'll be able to participate. If I do, it will surely rate a fail due to Lew's one demand:

Because I'm not going to tell you that you have to like them, how you have to drink them, or whether you can have an expensive one or where it has to be from. But I do insist that if you blog on this Session, that you drink a smoked beer that day.

Which I'm sure means that some of you will fail to do that and proudly blog about it and have what you think is a real good reason. I swear, it's like trying to push string...

That's kind of tough, because I won't be home from work until after 6, and then there's dinner, and I will likely have plans Friday with people who couldn't care less about smoked beer of beer blogging. Drink on Thursday, post on Friday, I say. Still a nice topic.

Hair of the Dog Ruth (ORE)

2009-03-28T18:51:00.004-04:00

Now you're messing with a sonovabitch. Oregon's Hair of the Dog must be viewed as one of the quintessential American boutique microbreweries. Well, boutique might not be the right word, but they make only a handful of beers, mostly big alcohol, not huge batches. Ratebeerians drool over things like the 29% ABV Dave with its super-selective release.

Ruth is only 4.5% ABV and predictably not as highly rated. An American Pale Ale, it claims, but it's also unfiltered and not at all in the Sierra Nevada style. It looks like a hefeweizen and tastes like fresh grapefruit juice. Seriously, drinking this blind I'd probably guess carbonated grapefruit juice as easily as beer. It's good: not bitter canned grapefruit juice, or pith or rind. It's more fruity and a bit floral. Not a lot of hop sharpness for a West Coast pale, nor a bready malt backbone, just some combination of Crytsal hops, light grains and yeast.

It's unusual and refreshing, I think, but a little too pricey on this side of the country to be properly drunk as a warm-weather session ale. Still, I'm sure I'll drink this again.

NYT on Wine in Supermarkets

2009-03-25T12:40:00.002-04:00

Eric Asimov has written about the governor's plan to permit wine sales in New York State grocery stores. Opponents to the measure includes liquor stores of course, but also both the Teamsters (who have a stake in distribution) and Baptist ministers. With supporters like that....

But Asimov makes a good point:

Nobody supporting the bill would begrudge some concessions to wine and liquor stores, which right now are not permitted to sell cheeses, bread and other foods that would naturally pair with wine. They can’t even sell beer, which is sold in groceries, delis and convenience stores. If groceries are permitted to sell wine, perhaps wine shops ought to be able to sell cheese and beer.

A few weeks ago, my local Wegmans was asking people to sign an in-store petition on this measure. I wanted to ask the guy whether they supported allowing liquor stores in New York to sell beer. Perhaps at this point, they would, as they're big enough not to worry about Joe's Liquors poaching their six-pack sales . Nonetheless, it's important to recall that no one's motives are pure. Liquor stores have doubt been harmed by their inability to sell beer. I don't begrudge them their complaints now.

Cricket Hill American Ale (NJ)

2009-03-21T18:50:00.004-04:00

I think this is my first New Jersey beer, and I believe Cricket Hill -- founded in 2002 -- is only just starting to sell outside their state. The label design is very attractive, although it looks more suitable for a telecommunications company than a brewery.

American Ale is clear gold/copper in color, nice head. The body is on the light side of medium, and carbonation is held in check. Grassy and slightly citrusy hops, but not too many of them (East Coast restraint). Some might want more bite, others a different a "brighter" approach. I think it's a nice easy drinker. I see Lew Bryson quotes the brewer singing the praises of sessions beers, and this offering follows suit.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T13:17:00.002-04:00

I have nothing interesting to say, and to be honest, St. Patrick's Day is starting to grate on me as I age. FWIW, it currently loses to its evil twin (good twin?) Valentine's Day in a Googlefight, but it's close.

Brew House Honey Blond Ale (modified)

2009-03-16T10:10:00.002-04:00

For my fourth batch of homebrew, I decided to give a Brew House kit a try. If you're unfamiliar with these, they describe themselves as "premium all grain beer kits" from Canada. But this isn't all-grain brewing; it's no boil brewing. You get a four gallon bag of wort brewed to high gravity (~1.080) and add two gallons of water, and pitch yeast. To prevent spoilage, the bagged wort is acidic, which you rectify by adding potassium bicarbonate (included) to raise the pH. This is the big idea that allows you to avoid the use of extract and its corresponding problems (e.g. dark color, extract twang).

Supposedly these kits make the best beer short of all-grain brewing, plus are as simple to use as no-boil canned beer kits from the likes of Cooper's and Mr. Beer. This raises an interesting conundrum. You'd think ease of use would be a great selling point, but I don't want the process to be too easy. I mean, if I want easy, I'd just buy beer. On the other hand, it does seem silly to want to go through extra steps of steeping grains and boiling wort if it still produces inferior beer. (Though at this point, I can't vouch for the quality of the Brew House kits.)

Fortunately, The Brew House kits are hack-able, allowing brewers to put their own stamp on the beer. You can swap yeasts. You can add less top-off water to produce stronger beer. You can boil hops of steep grains in the water before topping off. The manufacturer's website gives a few interesting recipes, and I found a few more here.

Although I was tempted by the Duvel clone built upon the neutral American Lager kit, I instead opted for the Honey Blonde kit with two modifications: I used liquid yeast, and I added only enough water to make a stronger, five gallon batch (note: the kits say they produce gallons, but those are imperial gallons). The yeast I used was White Labs East Coast Ale, WLP008. In truth, I might have been content using the enclosed Cooper's dry ale yeast, but I wanted to give liquid a shot for the first time. WLP001 (West Coast) would probably have been a more natural choice for this style of beer, and I can't say why I chose WLP008 instead.

The night before "brewing," I made a 1/2 gallon starter (my first!) using DME, a pinch of yeast nutrient, and a sanitized growler. The process seemed to go well. I pitched the whole starter into chilly wort (below 60). I had stored the kit box in the garage and grew impatient waiting for its 40+ pounds of mass to warm up. I still saw bubbles that evening, and within 24 hours had a raucous ferment on my hands.

The kit instructions suggest using a 12 US gallon fermenter (!) which I don't have. So instead, I used a blow off, snipping the cross off the bottom of my 3-piece airlock and attaching 1/2 inch wide tubing to its stem. It worked perfectly. Plenty of gunk inside the tubing suggested things would have been messy without the blowoff.

Anyway, fermentation died down abruptly and stuck at around 1.030 (after a starting OG of ~1.060). I tried gently swirling the pail, but ultimately opened her up and stirring with my sanitized thief. I also increased the heat a few degrees. Both of these things -- opening up the pail and warming -- have their drawbacks, but they worked, and my fermentation ended at 1.017 when I transferred to secondary 11 days after brewing. Still, not great attenuation, but I think that's what WLP008 does.

This is my first use of a secondary. I don't know if one was really needed, but I need my ale pail for my next brew. So my 5 gallon Better Bottle is sitting in a closet and will be there for another couple weeks. It'll be some time before I see how this tastes.

Even if the taste is great, two caveats:

I paid nearly $45 for the kit. Your mileage may vary, but these are very heavy and thus very expensive to transport. Again, this is a kit designed to make six US gallons, or 4-5 gallons of bigger beer, but it's still pricey.
If you don't have a really big pail, you'll need to use a blowoff. Even then, I don't know if you can make six gallons of this in a 6.5 gallon bucket. I found that others have reported violent fermentations, so be careful.

Postscript: here's the finished product.

Schneider Aventinus (GER)

2009-03-14T18:21:00.005-04:00

This beer's a classic I've never tried before, and I assume it is going to be my last doppelbock until fall. "Germany's Original Wheat Doppelbock" it claims, and it's brewed with an ale yeast and not a lager yeast. A big, dark wheat beer rather than a big, dark lager.

My overall reaction is that I'm surprised at how light Aventinus is. Well, not exactly light, but it isn't weighty despite the 8.2% ABV. It's medium brown in color with a massive head, and not so far removed from a hefeweizen that you can't smell banana. On the tongue that doesn't really come through, but there's some tartness, spice, raisins, and cocoa powder. It's pretty deep, yet still almost refreshing. I prefer my doppelbocks to be more like this -- not syrupy or alcoholic or soy saucy -- and thus this moves to the top of my list of favorites. The rating sites show nearly universal love, but also a high number or ratings, so I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know already.

Beer Quiz

2009-03-10T23:14:00.001-04:00

Trying to kill time at the office? Try the Pike Brewing beer quiz. Maybe this has been around, I don't know. It's 100 questions and I lost interest before I finished, but at least the questions aren't of the "what beer did Spuds McKenzie endorse?" variety.

Ommegang Rare Vos (NY)

2009-03-09T21:00:00.003-04:00

Rare Vos is described as a Belgian-style amber ale, 6.5% ABV. The label says to serve at 40 degrees, but I must have gone at least 10 degrees higher. I bought this corked 750 ml bottle on sale for $4.59 I think, which isn't a bad price at all.

I poured leaving the yeast in the bottom. The beer is on the orange end of amber more than the darker side, and the billowy head is fantastic. Light-to-medium bodied, assertively carbonated. Really, this should be drunk in warmer weather. The nose is fiercely fruity, and the taste is fruity as well -- something like peaches and apples -- and a bit spicy. All that Belgian goodness. Rare Vos finishes dry and very abruptly, too much so perhaps, as I'd have liked to taste it a bit longer. I suppose that's better than finishing too sweet. Ultimately, a really fine Belgian-style ale. I wonder what it would have tasted like at the recommended 40 degrees?

Of Ommegang's five basic beers, I've never had one of them (Three Philosopher's) and am torn in my preference between their eponymous ale and Hennepin. Rare Vos is, to me, a shade below these two, but a bit better to Witte. But they're all good.

Orlio Closing

2009-03-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

I saw this from a post at 2beerguys blog: Orlio Organic Brewing is closing. They were owned by Magic Hat. I tried and liked their Black Lager back when this blog was young. Orlio only had two other beers I think. Sad to see them go, but of course in any business, many will fail.

Genesee Bock Beer (NY)

2009-03-06T12:35:00.006-05:00

Session #25: Lager. The Beer Nut suggests we "return to our roots" and calls for us to leave those fancy-pants imported lagers aside. In his kick off post, he also writes up Dundee Honey Brown Lager and calls it the very sort of fancy-pants imported lager we should not be blogging about, and this is a problem for me, for whom Dundee Honey Brown is local, not imported, and stands as the quintessential middlebrow brau. There is roughly the same amount of space between it and Budweiser as there is between Applebee's and Wendy's. So what lager can I find that fills the space between craft and crap?

Actually, The Beer Nut backtracks a bit and says Honey Brown is exactly the sort of beer we should discuss. Nonetheless, I felt self-conscious about over-shooting this one. Fortunately for me, this is the time of year where Genesee (ultimately, the same brewery that makes the Dundee line) releases its "special edition" Bock Beer. The brew is a bit darker than The Beer Nut's recommended pilseners, light lagers, or helleses, but it runs about $6.50 for a 12-pack, so I don't think I aimed too high on this one. And how can anyone resist the early-60s-wallpaper style can design?

Genny Bock is attractive enough to justify pouring into a glass: clear amber with a big (but superficial) head. On the tongue, it's over-carbonated and light-bodied. The finish will prove to be metallic (or maybe that's just me fixating on the can). But before that, it's a pretty good beer. A little caramel flavor, some very light floral hops. It's not too sweet or corny or rice-y. It doesn't warm all that well, but is more than just thirst-quenching for 90 degree days. It's damn well better than any other Genesee beer. I never regret buying a full 12-pack, although one pack a year usually suffices.

I can't say Genny Bock is really a 'roots' beer for me. I didn't drink this in high school or college, and it wasn't a regular choice for me before I became connoisseur and hobbyist. Still, I'm glad to see it when it comes out each year. It's what an unpretentious value lager should be, and it's a shame there aren't many American regional breweries that produce stuff like this anymore.

Paper City Radler Bräu (MA)

2009-03-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

If ever there's a time to drink this, it isn't in March. Radler is beer mixed with Sprite or sparkling lemonade or something. For all the respect Germany receives for its brewing tradition, they sure do know how to adulterate the stuff. I suppose if someone offered you Diet Sprite and then said "would you like beer in that?" it wouldn't seem so bad. But why not just take the beer?

Paper City's take on the style talks of "natural lemon flavor" rather than specifically mentioning soda (or "tawnic"... it's in Massachusetts). It's golden in color with a fairly decent head, and a mouthfeel that is light and spritzy. The lemon taste is subtle, and not tart at all, nor sweet. Instead, it's like a mixture of Corona and lemon Crystal Light. Watery and dull. In the heat, it could be refreshing, but even then there are better options.

Paper City Brewery seems to have an affinity for fruit beers: they have three fruit lagers listed on their site. I'd hope they're all better than Radler Brau.

Colbert on Beer Pong and Herpes

2009-03-04T11:23:00.003-05:00

Stephen Colbert weighs in on the issue of beer pong and herpes (it starts about 30 seconds in).

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Beer Pong Herpes Outbreak

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Session #25: Lager

2009-03-02T21:27:00.003-05:00

A reminder that this Friday is the next Session. Hosted by The Beer Nut from Dublin, the intent is to get "back to basics":

Don't even think about cheating the system: leave your doppelbocks and schwarzbiers out of this one: I want pilsners, light lagers, helleses and those ones that just say "beer" because, well, what else would it be?

This has already lead to a bunch of comments asking what "counts" as a lager here. Hopefully, some of these discussions will pop up in the Session posts themselves.

Samuel Adams Double Bock (MA)

2009-03-01T15:00:00.003-05:00

This is part of Sam Adams' Imperial Series that also features a pilsener and a witbier. Of the three, doppelbock is the only style that's naturally big. Even so, Double Bock is on the heavy side for its style at 9.5% ABV and 24.5 Plato (over 1.100 OG). It turns out to be a little much for my tastes.

A good-looking beer, it pours clear mahogany with a decent head. It is very rich on the tongue, syrupy like a barleywine. Nice soft fizz. Unsurprisingly, it's a big malt bomb -- caramel, molasses, maybe a little maple syrup -- though there are just enough hops to keep it from being too sweet. My problem is the alcohol comes through, both peppery on the tongue, slightly burning in the throat, and warming in the ribs. A lot of doppelbocks bring heat, but my favorite -- Weihenstephaner Korbinian -- doesn't, and is also lighter on the tongue. Just a matter of personal taste I suppose. SA's take is a well-made beer and a pretty good bargain given its size. Just know what you're getting yourself into.

Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Our Glass (ENG)

2009-02-27T14:00:00.001-05:00

Dorothy Goodbody has to be one of most attractive women to grace a beer bottle label. She's no more real than Betty Crocker, but if she were she'd be a lot more fun. Gotta love the punny name: not just "good body" but "(h)our glass." I believe in Britain, however, this is just known as Country Ale. It's either an ESB or an English Strong Ale at 6%. As an import, it cost me over $5 for 500 ml.

Nice clear ruby color--it had a little yeast in the bottom, but I left it there--with a terrific head that imprinted the side of the glass as I emptied it. A little more malt than hops. Rich caramel mostly, but some raisin as well. As it warms, fruity esters appear. As it warms even more, sherry is evident (not so fresh a bottle?). The hops hit the back of the throat in the finish and provide balance. Until the very end when it had warmed a bit too much, I thought this was wonderful. It's not something that grabs you by the throat, though. Well done, Dorothy!

Wordle of This Blog

2009-02-25T22:01:00.002-05:00

Here's some fun: the most commonly used words in this blog (excluding a, the, and, etc.). I have a suspicion that it's only looking at recent posts for me (not including this one). "Conable" looks a bit big, and I know I've used it only in one post. I don't ever remember typing "welch." You can kill a lot of time at the office playing with the layout.

Reason for Homebrewing

2009-02-24T16:01:00.002-05:00

The libertarian publication Reason has an online piece on the legalization of homebrewing in the US. A few things I didn't know:

In 1872, there were approximately 17 times as many breweries in the US per capita as there are now. And "now, " of course, comes after a long boom in micro brewing.
Pre-1978, illegal homebrewers were never threatened by the Feds as much as by state law enforcement.
It was a supplier of beer-making equipment in Rochester, NY who asked Congressman Barber Conable to sponsor the famous 1978 homebrewing bill that Jimmy Carter signed. Asked about the importance of the bill decades later, Conable couldn't even remmeber it.

Custom BrewCrafters St. Patrick's Irish Ale (NY)

2009-02-22T14:48:00.004-05:00

I'm not actually thinking about St. Patrick's Day yet, but I was looking for an easy drinking beer to share and a growler seemed to fit the bill. Honeoye Falls, NY based Customer BrewCrafters cranks out tons of styles for area bars and restaurants. Growlers are available at the brewery and in several local stores, and two of their beers are bottled (one of which I reviewed here).

This Irish ale is pretty light in the body, but very smooth and easy drinking. Some caramel malts are balanced by earthy hops which never really reach the level of bitterness. The beer reminds me of their English Pale Ale. I don't know if it's mostly the same malts and yeast (not that this is a beer that shows off its yeast). This is what happens

To me, St. Patrick's Irish Ale is just okay, but it serves its purpose. St. Patty's Day isn't for beer connoisseurs, it's for everyone, and they could do worse than a drinkable local brew.

Lower Beer Taxes? / NYT on Hop Obama

2009-02-21T17:17:00.004-05:00

With all this talk about increasing beer taxes in Oregon and New York, it's interesting to see a call for lower beer taxes in Britain. The Conservative Party has launched a campaign to lower beer taxes (and raise taxes on high strength cider and alcopops). The Tories are out of power, so I have no idea if it's going anywhere. It sounds like good politics in a place where you can associate beer with family owned pubs (not the case here in the States).

Meanwhile, the New York Times has an article on Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales, formerly brewers of Hop Obama. The beer was already retired a few weeks before the feds told them to stop. Really, you can't just name a beer after a public figure like that. I'm skeptical of this:

What stung about the Hop Obama episode was the suggestion that the brewery had been trying to cash in on the president’s name. In reality, Mr. Welch said, Sixpoint felt an affinity for the former community organizer because the beer business thrives on grass-roots connections like camaraderie over a frothy pint glass and even artistic collaboration.

I don't doubt the sincerity of his feelings toward Obama, but I don't know if Welch (brewmaster of Sixpoint) really has any right to feel "stung" by the suggestion that he was cashing in. It was great marketing while it lasted.

Mendocino Brewing "Black Eye"

2009-02-16T21:37:00.004-05:00

Mendocino also sells a beer called Black Eye, which is a mixture of their Black Hawk Stout and Eye of the Hawk Ale. I didn't buy that beer, but instead just mixed a couple bottles from the variety pack. I don't know whether this is exactly the same as the version that's sold.

The stout gets the better of the pairing, which is a shame given that I liked Eye of the Hawk better. Eye's role seems mostly just to cut the stout a bit, adding a very faint fruity note and boosting the ABV. What works best with the mix is the texture: this is a really smooth, creamy beer.

I don't know whether I'd but Black Eye if I saw it in the store, but if you have three of each from a variety pack, why not mix a one of each? It's a pretty good "fifth beer."

Mendocino Brewing Black Hawk Stout/Eye of the Hawk (CA)

2009-02-15T13:20:00.002-05:00

Other two beers from the 12-pack:

Black Hawk Stout: A reminder that dark doesn't mean heavy. "The the intent was to create a Stout that did not overpower the palate," says the brewer. It's very dark, has a thick beige head that unfortunately fizzes away before you can fully admire it. Medium-bodied, I'd prefer a little less carbonation as the acidic CO2 element doesn't work for me in a stout. Roasty and very slightly burnt, it finishes dry. Nice stout, about as good as Red Tail Ale.

Eye of the Hawk: This one caught me by surprise. For whatever reason, I wasn't at all familiar with it, and had no idea what to expect. It's a strong ale at 8% ABV. Clear copper color, nearly headless. It reminds me of a barleywine with its slick, oily mouthfeel and soft carbonation. More malt than hops, it's perhaps a little too sweet. Eye of the Hawk has sort of a fruit brandy thing going on for me. The alcohol is hot, making this one a sipper. It also has some yeast in the bottom, which I didn't pour in.

I like it a lot and was kind of disappointed to see it receiving lesser reviews at the rating sites. What's also interesting is how all-over-the-place the descriptions are. Some say the alcohol is hidden, it's crisp or sessionable, others compare it to an ESB. I didn't get that at all.

For me, Eye of the Hawk validates the Mendocino 12-pack. It's just not the sort of beer you'd expect to find in one, and with the IPA, it gives it two good bigger beers alongside two nice sessionable ones.

Mendocino Brewing Red Tail Ale/IPA (CA)

2009-02-13T19:40:00.005-05:00

Mendocino Brewing Company is located in Hopland, CA, but also has a big brewery in Saratoga Springs where they produce the unexceptional Indian lager Kingfisher. In a 12-pack, Mendocino's offerings came out to just under a buck a bottle for me, so it's "bargain" craft beer, like Saranac, Dundee, et. al.

Red Tail Ale: Their flagship beer, a (surprise) fairly subdued amber ale. It's pretty nice though. The brewery's website says it has Cluster and Cascade hops, but I don't detect citrus/floral. The Cascades certainly aren't used for dry-hopping here. The site also says that most of their beers are bottle conditioned, but none of these seem to be. Red Tail Ale is slightly more malt than hops to me, but finishes dry. Very faint orange flavor. Clean and crisp.

White Hawk Select IPA: 7% ABV and 60 IBUs. The brewer says it has a "truly authentic English flavor," but is a blend of Fuggles and Cascades, so it's not purely English in style. Here, I do detect the Cascades. Not a blockbuster IPA, but very flavorful, well-balanced, and brings a bit of that IPA tingle. Nice lacing down the glass too.

So a good start to the variety pack. A pretty decent flagship beer and a nice IPA. But the IPA isn't the biggest of the pack as it would be more many other breweries.

High Falls Buyout

2009-02-09T22:47:00.004-05:00

Rochester, NY based High Falls Brewing--makers of Genesee and Dundee--is the target of a buyout by KPS Capital. KPS is also seeking to buy Labbatt's USA, which is on the trading block due to anti-trust regulations. According to the Wall Street Journal:

KPS likely sees an opportunity to leverage the brewing operation of High Falls in Rochester to win a deal for Labatt. The Justice Department settlement requires the buyer of Labatt USA to eventually brew the beers, rather than merely marketing and selling them.

So KPS needs an actual brewery to get its foot in the door in the US. Would this have any effect on the Dundee line, the closest thing to a craft beer is this story? It doesn't seem like it would.

Mudlark Ale

2009-02-08T13:00:00.002-05:00

This is my third batch of homebrew, and the first I've given its own name. In Erie Canal lingo, a boat was "mudlarked" when it was grounded in low water. Mudlark has also been used to describe someone who scavenges in river mud for valuable items. This brew looked really muddy for a time.

I created my own recipe, and again made a smaller batch. Don't know what style this is.

3.5 gallons:
4 pounds of light DME
8 oz. Crystal 60L

4 oz. Crystal 90L
1/2 oz. 6.5% Challenger hops (60)
1 oz. 4.5% Progress hops (1/4 oz. each at 60, 45, 30, 15)
Coopers dry ale yeast (7 gram package)
Irish Moss
2 1/2 oz. corn sugar for priming

I ordered the ingredients at the same time as those from my previous batch, so I went with dried extract and uncrushed grains because they last longer (of course I crudhed the crystal before steeping). I chose English hops because I had Challenger left over. I chose Cooper's yeast for no reason better than that it came in a smaller packet for a small batch. I was planning on making a lighter three gallon batch, but then realized I'd be drinking this in the dead of winter, so I bought an extra pound of DME locally and upped the recipe by a half gallon. This was a dumb adustment because it threw the rest of my calculations off.

The brewing process went very smoothly, and rightly or wrongly, I'll give much of the glory to the DME. It fermented better than my previous batches with LME: from 1.061 to 1.017 still not quite (75%). According to the recipe calculator, IBUs were 28.

I pitched that yeast at 64 degrees and it peaked at just over 70. The Cooper's yeast may have attenuated well, but it didn't flocculate for nuts. I lost a couple bottles worth amidst the sandy dregs. My new toy this time was an autosiphon, which was well worth the price. While siphoning, the beer looked beautifully golden through the hose. In bottles, it was darker but still clear... until I chilled it. The first few bottles were foggy, but now it's reasonably clear again.

The taste? I think my process didn't hurt it any, but I'm not sure about my recipe. It's sort of an awkward blend of caramel, somewhat raisiny malts and earthy, herbal hops. The levels of each element seems spot on, but the combination isn't exactly right. So enough with my own recipes for a while. Still, it's pretty good, and pleasingly free of any off flavors. Solid execution of a questionable game plan.

What I learned: DME and autosiphons are good. There's so much I would like to try for my next batch. Partial mash, secondary, a yeast starter, or maybe one of those Canadian Brewhouse kits some people are raving about. First, I have to create some empty bottles.

The Session: Three Tripels

2009-02-06T10:30:00.003-05:00

The topic of Session 24 is "A Tripel for Two." As David at Musings Over a Pint explains:

Beer is best when it's shared, and a strong beer is just right for sharing. Belgian Tripels are big beers with a flavor profile that is enjoyed by both experienced and new beer fans. Be it an intimate evening, or watching a ball game on TV, a Tripel is made for sipping and sharing. For Session #24 the theme is "A Tripel for Two." What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?

As is often the case, the topic seems to assume we'll write about a beer we've had before. I've only reviewed one Tripel so far, the unusual dark Tripel from Abbaye d’Aulne, and I've only ever drank one or two others. The Tripel Brune raises a question: must this style be light in color, or is tripel-ness just a question of heft? I kind of lean toward the former, but am not going to get all pissy about it.

I decided to sample three Tripels. I did not drink these all on the same night, and only the Sprecher did I share.

Maredous 10: Love the stubby bottle. The price point suggests that this may be a second tier Belgian, as it clocks in at a couple bucks less per bottle than the really expensive ones. The 10 refers to 10% ABV, and the alcohol indeed makes its presence felt. Cloudy orange-gold with a meringue head that stays after the party is over. Peachy, spicy, slightly tangy, and a bit boozy. Feels like champagne. Maybe the best of the three for both "sipping and sharing."

St. Bernardus Watou Tripel: This is a better beer overall, just too pricey to share unless it's an intimate setting with someone you know will appreciate it. St. Bernardus makes two tripels; how many other breweries do that? Watou is a town in Flanders, by the way. This slender-bottled beer is mellower than Maredsous. It's "only" 7.5%, a little paler in color, more bubblegummy in aroma, and I think a bit lighter in carbonation. As with Maredsous, the foam outlasts the beer itself. Great creamy body. Honey and fruit (oranges?), but ultimately dry. My favorite of the three.

Sprecher Abbey Triple: I wanted to toss in one American take on the style, and chose Sprecher because it seemed so unlikely. This Wisconsin brewery rightly specializes in lagers. Abbey Triple is sold in a bruising 16 ounce bottle that has a twist off cap, for god's sake. 8.4% ABV. Relatively cheap at around $8 a 4-pack, it's good for sharing with any company, but alas, not really for sipping. It's lighter in color than the others, more clear, and with a less impressive head. The ABV notwithstanding, I can see guzzling this in the summer. Fruity and sweet, it only scratches the surface of Belgian yeast complexity. And yet, it's a tasty beer. If you don't hold it to the lofty standards of a Tripel -- maybe pretend it's a fruit beer -- Sprecher's take is pretty good. Non-beer nerd friends were fond as well.

So there you go. I had a lot of fun with this style, and am curious to see what other Tripels people are drinking.

Super Bowl Prediction

2009-02-01T14:20:00.001-05:00

I'm gonna say Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 17.

The Cardinals are a bit of a question mark. The Steelers pass rush could wreak havoc, and Kurt Warner has been a turnover machine at times. At other times, however, he's like Dan Marino with his quick release, plus I don't think the Steelers can cover Larry Fitzgerald. On the other side of the ball, I think the Cards would do well not to blitz Roethlisberger. They seemed to play more for coverage against the Eagles (the announcers praised the Philly line, but Arizona was often rushing only three guys), and McNabb couldn't deal with it. Big Ben seems to be at his best when scrambling, so don't kill yourself by blitzing, I say, even though Ben is fumble prone. But maybe it all comes down to the running game after all.

I want Arizona to keep it close, but would be happier if the Steelers win. A Super Bowl team just doesn't play the way the Cardinals did versus the Patriots and the Jets in the first half. Oh, and I will be drinking and sharing homebrew.

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil/Ola Dubh (SCO)

2009-01-31T17:44:00.005-05:00

I came upon a bottle of Harviestoun's special Ola Dubh ("black oil"), and figured I should first try Old Engine Oil. The former is based on the latter, but is matured in whisky casks for some time, mine for 12 years.

Old Engine Oil: Viscous, Chocolatey, Roasty, says the label. Designated as an old ale, I wouldn't argue if they called it a stout. Roasted malts and chocolate provide an overall effect of bittersweetness. Very slightly fruity. Unfortunately not as rich and full as I would have hoped.

Ola Dubh (12 year): This comes in a much fancier bottle, with a paper cover over the cap and a necklace tag. The label says it was bottled in September 2007 and is signed by both the Head Brewer and Master of Wood. This one really is viscous -- inky black, with some purple around the edge. The body is very lightly carbonated and geared toward sipping. The aroma seems slightly asian to me: miso? mirin? Taste is stout-ish, with roasted malts and chocolate, but there's a bit of a raisiny element to it. Subtle whisky components come through, smoke/peat and warming of the ribcage. This is 8% versus 6% for Old Engine Oil. I like Ola Dubh a lot. Whether the versions aged in a whisky cask for longer would taste better or perhaps be too much, I can't say.

No surprise that Ola Dubh is the better of the two, but I also think it's better when adjusted for the price. Old Engine Oil for me isn't special enough to pay something like $4 a bottle here in the States. Old Dubh, on the other hand, is special enough to be worth the occasional $8 a bottle.

Beer Sabayon Ice Cream

2009-01-29T21:25:00.004-05:00

The first real cookbook I ever bought for myself was Biba Caggiano's Trattoria. This was back when I thought Italian would become my specialty. Nowadays, I'd say my specialty is homemade ice cream (not that I'm a reliably good cook), but one of my favorite recipes is Caggiano's Zabaglione Ice Cream. One day, I found a recipe online for beer sabayon, and realized that sabayon and zabaglione are the same thing.

Beer Sabayon Ice Cream

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar
8-10 oz Ommegang (or other beer)
squeeze of lemon (maybe)

1 1/2 cups cream, whipped

3 TBS sugar

I've made this several times, but never had the diligence to try to perfect it, so I can't guarantee that above is the best version. It's still good though.

Beat the egg yolks with the larger amount of sugar until pale yellow (the usual ice cream step). Place it in a double-boiler above simmering water (I just use a stainless steel bowl on top of a pot). Slowly beat in the beer with a whisk. Keep at it for a few minutes until the mixture is frothy and has doubled in size. Then, place bowl in ice water bath to cool, stirring.

Separately, whip cream with sugar. (Whipped cream is always better fresh.) Fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture, and add a squeeze of lemon if desired. Run the mix through your ice cream machine, or still freeze it if you don't have one.

Whipping the cream first is unusual, but produces a super soft texture. The ice cream itself should be strong enough in taste to cut through all that air (Caggiano's recipe -- made with Marsala -- is considerably stronger). That being said, sometimes I only half whip the cream, which also makes it easier to pour into the ice cream maker. Feel free to experiment, maybe using a different beer (I've only used dark Belgians so far).

Homebrew in Five Days

2009-01-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of Men's Health Living, a way to brew a small batch of beer in your home using your Mr. Coffee machine. I don't own a coffee maker so I can't try it out, but it looks like it would have been a useful suggestion back in 1975. Today, not so much. Ingredients include "1 packet of baker’s or other yeast." Makes 1 to 2 pints. Commenters are skeptical.

Cropton Brewery Monkman's Slaughter (ENG)

2009-01-25T14:56:00.003-05:00

This is a great name for a beer. It's a great bottle, a bit like the newer St.Peter's with its fat round body and then neck. The beer looks nice: a bit muddy and dark brown from afar, but light shines through to reveal a reddish tinge. Pretty head. Nice, creamy "flat" (i.e., low fizz) British body.

But then there's the taste. My first reaction after drinking was to Google this beer to see whether it's supposed to taste like this. Apparently, yes. Alan at A Good Beer Blog describes it as "lime juice and molasses cookie," and there's not much I can add to that. Maybe its tart green apple skin rater than lime, and there's also a distinct earthy quality to it. English hops add a some bitterness (Challenger and Goldings).

The label claims this is a "Strong Bitter Style." Is it supposed to be this sour? Maybe the trip across the ocean didn't do it any favors. Also, this is a bottle conditioned beer, and I might have let some of the yeast slip through the pour. Still, I don't think that's to blame. More likely, Monkman's Slaughter is ultimately a taste I haven't acquired. Strange brew.

The Session 24: Tripel

2009-01-24T09:10:00.000-05:00

The Session for January is being hosted by David at Musings Over a Pint, and the topic is A Tripel for Two. This is mostly a return to the earlier days of beer style topics, although the "for two" adds a twist.

What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?

The Session is two weeks from today (February 6th) and I intend to play along. I'll be curious to see if anyone has a specific reason why one tripel is especially suited for sharing, aside from it simply being a great beer.

Ithaca Gorges Smoked Porter (NY)

2009-01-22T17:28:00.000-05:00

Ithaca Beer Company's winter seasonal takes its name from its town's punny motto Ithaca is Gorges. There are t-shirts attesting to this, but I'm guessing all those college students prefer the ones claiming Ithaca is Gangsta.

The porter is basically a straightforward, medium-bodied, dark, dry brew at around 6% ABV, but with a light layer of smoke added. I'm still a bit put off by heavy smoke, so this is perfect for me. Gorges doesn't taste of ash and doesn't cross over into stout territory. It's just a really nice cold-weather sessions beer, possibly my favorite from this brewer.

Beer Too Much for Pure Youth

2009-01-19T21:33:00.002-05:00

What a fantastic headline! Alas, it turns out that this Taipei Times article isn't about a BYU freshman kegger, but about a basketball game in which Taiwan Beer defeated Pure Youth Construction, 75-72. Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh is "still struggling to find his groove," according to the piece.

Baird Jubilation Ale (JP)

2009-01-17T17:39:00.005-05:00

I tried Hitachino Red Rice beer recently, and here's another one from Japan, courtesy of Shelton Brothers. It appears to be new to the US. Baird Brewing doesn't sound like a Japanese brewery, but whether beermaster Bryan Baird is native Japanese or not, Jubilation Ale does seem to be Japanese in style. Or at least it isn't Western.

"Japanese ale brewed with figs an cinnamon," says the label, as well as "emblematic of the good cheer and renewed energy with which Japanese celebrate the coming of each New Year." I'm guessing it's a seasonal. It pours the reddish side of amber, ultimately clear, with a ice head. Medium bodied (a little slick) and properly carbonated. Figs and cinnamon? What hits first is big caramel, the real deal, not just caramel malts. Some cinnamon comes through, and this is certainly a heavily spiced brew. It's not too sweet, IMO, thanks to some hops. But there is that odd, rough aftertaste...

Jubilation Ale is a beer blogger's beer. It's good, but mostly, it's different. Something you'll want to try at least once. It's also expensive at around $10 for 633 ml. I'd like to try some other stuff from Baird.

AFC Championship Beer Bet

2009-01-16T20:32:00.002-05:00

Per Rob Kasper at the Baltimore Sun's beer blog, the CEOs of Iron City and Flying Dog have wagered their beers on the winner of Sunday's game. Pittsburgh can do better than Iron City of course, but what about Flying Dog? I still think of that as a Colorado brewery. When I think of Bawlmer, Merlin beer, I think of Clipper City.

Nothing against the Ravens, but I'll be pulling for the Steelers. I just prefer a matchup of an expected team (Pittsburgh's all we have after last weekend's carnage) versus a surprise team, rather than two surprise teams facing each other. Philadelphia-Pittsburgh would be a a great battle, but I kind of think Arizona would be more fun, provided they don't flake out.

Søgaard Bryghus Julebuk (DEN)

2009-01-10T17:27:00.004-05:00

Søgaard is a Danish brewery -- I assume Bryghus means brewhouse -- that has only been around since the middle of the decade. Julebuk is some sort of game children play(ed?) at Christmas time in Denmark, and this is indeed a holiday beer. A "full-bodied German-style bock" with "a "blend of Christmas spices," says to the label.

Sniffing directly from the bottle, I sense ginger and soy sauce. Maybe I was just imaging them, though, because they don't appear at all once poured. Held to the light, the beer reveals that it's more medium than dark brown. The head is big and fluffy. It's medium bodied and lightly carbonated. Julebuk isn't heavily spiced, and I wouldn't assume it was a Chrismas beer if they hadn't said so. To me, it falls somewhere in between a doppelbock and a porter. There's a subtle dessert quality to it -- some milk chocolate, caramel -- but it finishes dry-ish. It doesn't have the roastiness of many porters, nor the licorice notes or alcohol burn often found in doppelbocks.

Julebuk reminds me a bit of Utenos Porter , except that it is much, much more expensive (at least here in the US). So much so, that I will probably never buy Julebuk again, even though it's a pretty tasty brew.

Saranac Vanilla Stout (NY)

2009-01-08T17:49:00.002-05:00

I've been disappointed with Saranac as often as I've been pleased with them, so I don't know why I keep coming back. Vanilla Stout certainly sounds tasty, although Caramel Porter did as well, and I didn't like that. It turns Vanilla Stout didn't do it for me, but for reasons that were different than I would have thought. So at least it was interesting in that respect.

I was ready for an overly sweet, lightweight dark beer, with faux vanilla and too many bubbles. Instead, I got a beer with an admittedly terrific, fluffy beige head and a decent (if somewhat light) body. It wasn't too sweet; it wasn't sweet at all. And there was very little vanilla to be found. At most, it tasted like chewing on a leathery vanilla bean pod. Instead, it had a dark roastiness that sounds attractive, but turned into a harsh bitterness in the finish.

It looks like Saranac Vanilla Stout is receiving pretty good reviews. I can understand that, I guess, as it was neither weak nor cloying. Still, it wasn't for me.

Dieu du Ciel Solstice d'hiver (CAN)

2009-01-05T21:54:00.002-05:00

We don't get too many good Canadian beers around here, despite the fact that we're just across Lake Ontario. Unibroue is easy to find (thanks to Sapporo), and MacAuslan is around as well. These are both based in Quebec, as is Dieu du Ciel. I don't recall seeing anything from Dieu du Ciel before, so was quick to snathc up Solstice d'Hiver, their winter seasonal barley wine at 9.8% ABV. The label has two scales from 0 to 9 with a couple notches between the 1 and 2 on the second one. So what does that mean? Drink by mid-2011?

The label also reviews the beer. "Brown in color with flaming red highlights...delicately sweet and liquor-like...a very bitter beer." It's weird to describe your own product as "very bitter," especially since it's not that bitter. It probably fits about midway between Anchor Old Foghorn and SN Bigfoot in this regard. Resiny hop bitterness comes through at the end, following an initial big, thick malt sweetness of cherries/berries and caramel. Maybe it's a fruit punch with a grapefruit juice finish. The alcohol is noticeable but not overwhelming.

Barley wine fans have to give this a try. Send more good beer to Western New York, Canada! In return, we'll let you host the Bills for another one of their nine losses next year.

Unibroue Trois Pistoles (CAN)

2009-01-02T17:56:00.006-05:00

Trois Pistoles is named after a town near Quebec that disappointingly means "three coins" not "three pistols." My 750 ml bottle was dated 10/01/10. This is the sort of beer which should age well (it's 9% and the yeast is left in the bottle), but it was hard not to uncork it sooner.

It looks very dark in the glass, but held to the light, it's clear and reddish. The aroma is awesome, and the taste is nearly as good. A dark, strong Belgian ale, it brings the expected fruits (plums, maybe berries) with some chocolate cake. It's actually lighter in body than I would have expected, though not too light. The finish is dry.

The brewer suggests pairing with game, wild fowl or pasta. I'm assuming they mean something like fettucine with a rich cream-based sauce, and not alio oglio. Either way, I like to drink beers such as this by themselves, and save more everyday brews for food pairings. To me, Trois Pistoles is superb, and can hold its own with a few Belgian Trappists.

Drunken Dogs a Bad Idea

2008-12-30T22:25:00.002-05:00

In an article that reminds you that you're not reading the New York Times, the Boulder, Colorado Daily Camera informs us that it's not good to get your dog drunk. Apparently, you don't have to worry about cats though:

"Cats don't usually overindulge out of their own volition," [Veterinarian Dr. Lee] Woods said. "But dogs want to join the party."

So score one for dogs. Also:

All the intoxicated dogs Woods has treated this season drank beer, except for one that had too much of a mixed drink and another that was given marijuana.

Apparently, college students are to blame for much of the wasted dog phenomenon. The piece quotes a 38 year-old former University of Colorado student:

"They used to blow bongs into their (dogs') ears," he said, referring to the irresponsible partiers of his youth. "I'm sure dogs got plenty of second-hand smoke in this neighborhood."

I'd love to now how the reporter tracked down this guy for the quote. He just pops into the article out of nowhere. Random man-on-the-street interview? Is he in her rolodex?

The whole piece strikes me as really funny.

Orval (BEL)

2008-12-28T18:44:00.004-05:00

I'm a neophyte when it comes to sour beers, so Orval has to take one for the team here. This was bottled in February of this year, and what a bottle it is! I always liked the distinctive shape, but never knew it was of such skull-cracking heft.

The beer's head is world class, with its stiff peaks and longevity (it was still there after I finished drinking). Nice fruity smell and light-ish texture. The first sip is all tartness (green apple jolly rancher?), and it took me a bit to look past this and notice other flavors. It isn't an awful sourness to me, but I felt as though I was enduring it more than enjoying it. I think I'd appreciate it a bit more in warmer weather. I didn't really detect any horseblanket or leather or anything like that, although there was some fruitiness and a nice dry finish.

Does the brett increase with age, or decrease? I've read both; maybe it peaks at some point. Either way, I'll give you another shot someday, Orval.

Chimay Bleue (BEL)

2008-12-26T18:28:00.004-05:00

2008 is apparently Chimay's 25th anniversary in the U.S. So how many people drank this here back in 1983? Nowadays, Blue (aka Grande Reserve) is available even in high end supermarkets. I'll leave it to others to debate whether the increase in distribution has come at the expense of quality.

The cork on 750 ml says 11/07, but I couldn't know that until I popped it. Elsewhere on the label it says "L07-726," which I hope hints at the bottling date. You shouldn't have to uncork this to know how old it is. Blue pours amber/brown which is slightly hazy, even though I was careful to keep the yeast at the bottom of the bottle. The fruit aroma is striking. It's not dark fruits; more like tangerine and apple. This fruitiness comes through initially on the tongue, but then plums, raisins and brown sugar take over. It's a neat effect though: a big beer with a fruity lightness to it.

What I'm less enthused about is the effervescence of it all. This is a pretty highly fizzed beer, which is something I personally don't favor. The head doesn't last long enough to be photoed. I suppose it does help create the perception of lightness though. The 9% ABV doesn't come through until you're already buzzed.

So I think this is very good, but not earth-shattering. Still, if you haven't already tried this, you pretty much have to eventually.

Victory Baltic Thunder (PA)

2008-12-21T18:54:00.000-05:00

I found bombers of this on sale with a drink by date 12/31/08. I figured it's a big enough beer (8.5%) so as not to show signs of wear. The brewer says it combines the "enticing, toffee roast of the British porter" with the "soothing, subtle fruit nuance of contemporary brews that flourish from Helsinki to Vilnius." It also comes right out and says it's a lager. My understanding is that's often, but not always, the case with this style.

It pours a lovely clear dark ruby with a nice tan head. The texture is very smooth. The taste is faintly roasty and fruity, but not as doppelbock-ish as other Baltic porters I've had. Alas, it also comes off as a touch watery despite it's heft, although it improves as it warms. The finish dries out and has some German-tasting hop presence. I didn't sense the 8.5% ABV, at least not until I was done.

Maybe the bottle could have been fresher after all. It's still a nice beer, but not something I am going to make to hunt down next year.

Blithering Idiot/Old Horizontal Barelywines

2008-12-20T17:11:00.004-05:00

Two more barleywines, both from Pennsylvania.

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot: This is the first beer I've tried from this brewery. It's a whopping 11.1% ABV; I cannot find a 'drink by' fate on the bottle. Compared with the others, it's very cloudy, and slightly orange. The aroma is very fruity in an almost candy-ish manner Maybe it's fruit Bubble Yum or Orange Flower Water. The taste isn't that sweet, although it indeed skews malt > hops. Tummy warming comes alcohol after the fact. Good, but doesn't top Anchor's entry, IMO.

Victory Old Horizontal: I didn't realize at the time that I picked out four English-style barleywines. This one isn't like the others: it tastes American, i.e., more hops. The bottle is dated October 31, 2013, so I'm guessing it's pretty new and maybe could have benfitted from some aging. Citrus hops hit right away in the nose. It's clear, dark amber in color, and the only barleywine that yielded a great head (though this may be my fault in pouring). Fairly sharp carbonation, which is a strike against it I suppose. Overall, though, it's a tasty combination of plummy sweet malts and citrus/floral hop bitterness.

I drank Sierra Nevada Bigfoot some time ago, and I don't think I was ready for it. Even now, I have to say I prefer the malty barleywines to the hopped up ones. So this means Old Foghorn is my favorite, but if you demand hops, Old Horizontal is a better choice, though even then not the ideal.

Beer in New York Supermarkets?

2008-12-17T22:40:00.004-05:00

There's been a bit of talk about Governor David Paterson's proposed increase in beer (and other) taxes in New York to try to fix the budgetary problems, but lost in the mix is his proposal to permit wine sales in grocery stores. In New York, you can't buy wine in supermarkets. Liquor stores fight to retain these protectionist laws, and supposedly local wineries do so as well, worrying that broader sales could drag more California wines into the state and hurt their sales.

I can't defend the protectionism, but I do believe that these laws have allowed great beer stores like Beers of the World and Finger Lakes Beverage to flourish. A corollary to the laws is that liquor stores can only sell wine and spirits, not beer, so beer retailers have a bit of space carved out for them. Then again, if supermarket giants like Wegmans could sell bottled wine, they might swap valuable store space from craft/imported beer to wine.

Two interesting (?) side notes. First, you can't buy bottled wine at Wegmans, but you can sit and drink a glass or two at the food counter nestled in between the bakery and fish department. Second, frustrated by their inability to sell wine, one member of the Wegman fanily recently bought out a local wine retailer and built a 45,000 square foot behemoth down the street from their flagship supermarket. I'm not sure if they would have done that if they had been able to sell wine in their stores all along.

Old Foghorn/Horn Dog/Below Decks Barleywines

2008-12-13T18:36:00.004-05:00

For whatever reason barleywine is a style I'v barely explored. I haven't reviewed one yet on this site, and I think the only one I've ever tasted was Sierra Nevada's. So I picked up five barleywines -- or as they're all American, "barleywine style ales" - to help me survive the cold. Three now, two later.

Anchor Old Foghorn: From the US perspective, this is the original, so I figured I'd start with it. The bottle is dated 7SG, i.e, 2007, September 7th (G is the 7th letter). Nice clear, mahogany colored brew. Quite viscous in texture and delightfully low on carbonation. Kind of a pruney/raisiny maltiness to it, but also some citrusy hops. Caramel and/or toffee as well. By today's standards, this is fairly low in alcohol (under 9%), but it's still a sipper all the way, due largely to it's thick texture and rich taste. I thought it was fabulous.

Flying Dog Horn Dog: This is a bit higher in ABV at 10.2%, and pours hazier out of the bottle, but it has a similar aroma (Cascade hops again) and similar viscosity to Anchor. Again, it's from 2007. It claims 45 IBUs, which really isn't a lot given the malt level. Nonetheless, I found this to be hoppier than others, with sort of a citrus rind hit to it. Some dark cherries come through as well. Also a very good beer, but maybe not quite as great as Anchor.

Clipper City Below Decks: Another Maryland brewery (Flying Dog having moved from Colorado). The bottle is dated 2006. Retailers must love barleywines, as you don't have to worry much about old bottles. I think all three of these are considered English-style barleywines, but Below Decks actually uses English hops (Fuggles, Goldings). Thus, a different non-Cascade aroma. The beer also has some yeast floaties in it (my fault because of an aggressive pour?). It's sweeter than the others and a bit less thick. Also, at 10%, the alcohol comes through a little more than for the others. Licorice, molasses and fruit flavors abound. This seems to have a lesser reputation than Anchor and Flying Dog, but I don't really see why. They're all pretty close.

High Falls Wins European Beer Star Awards

2008-12-13T13:44:00.002-05:00

High Falls Brewing of Rochester, NY won three medals at the European Beer Star Awards in Germany. As you can see, US breweries did well; Deschutes, Stone and Firestone Walker were among the winners. High Falls won golds for Genesee and Dundee Honey Brown, and a bronze Dundee Porter. For some reason this reminds me that there are five teams from the MAC playing in bowl games this year.

Genny won for "Bottom Fermented beer with alternative cereals or field crops." More respectably or New York brewers, Ommegang won a medal for their eponymous ale, and Saranac won for their very nice Pale Ale (as the yanks swept the English Pale Ale category). Also, a Namibian brewery won a gold for a Mild Ale, while South American breweries won medals in the Dry Stout, Sweet Stout and Porter categories.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale (BEL)

2008-12-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not quite in the Christmas mood yet, but figured I'd write this one up well in advance. I actually bought the bottle last year in an post-Christmas sale ($2.97). It was one of the few times my local retailer had a sale that didn't involve beer beyond its sell by date. At 8.5%, Corsendonk Christmas Ale is big enough to cellar, and I drank it a year before its best before date.

Liquid bread? This is more like liquid cake. It pours dark brown, but when held to light proves to be translucent and red-tinged. Great head. On the tongue, its a very rich beer, although it still has a fair amount of carbonation to cut through the body. The taste is chocolate cake, toffee and anise, among other spices. Yeah, it's sweet, but not over the top. The alcohol doesn't come through, but I couldn't drink more than one because of the rich dessert-ness of it. All told, a very good beer for this time of year.

Efes Pilsener/Bare Knuckle Stout (TUR/NH)

2008-12-06T20:20:00.008-05:00

Efes Beverage is a swaggering international corporation based in Turkey. They apparently sponsor a basketball club where Mehmet Okur and Hidayet Turkoglu used to play (and where former Syracuse Orangeman Preston Shumpert currently plays, but I digress).

Their pilsener isn't all that bad. I think this a beer that our European cousins have seen around a lot, but it's new to me. It tastes like a second tier Euro pils, with grainy malts and light, grassy hops. Not much kick, but nothing off about it either, and it's reasonably crisp and refreshing. I liked it with a spicy stew.

Bare Knuckle Stout is A-B's attempt at a Guinness clone. I'd never heard of it before and ordered it in an out of town hotel bar thinking it might be a local beer. A-B only sells it on tap I think. It certainly has the look down, complete with cascading foam, and the nitrogen texture, for better or worse. Taste-wise, it comes across as a somewhat watery version of Guinness (which isn't the stoutest stout to begin with). Still, it wasn't bad, and I'd order it again in an A-B exclusive location (or maybe I'd order American Ale).

But who's going to drink it? This isn't Anheuser-Busch trying to overhwelm tiny microbreweries. Guinness has formidable marketing and distribution of their own. Also, I can't imagine the Guinness fanboys switching even if BK Stout were superior. Is Bare Knuckle destined to be the stout of choice in unlikely places (e.g., hotel and airport bars)? Or does A-B plan on doing some serious arm-twisting to take taps away from Guinness?

Over-Priced Beer at Sporting Event!

2008-12-03T23:49:00.002-05:00

Shocking news out of England. Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion are being accused of over-charging their fans for a pint. Liberal Dem MPs are raising a fuss.

The figure is based on the difference between the price of a pint at the Villa ground and the national average for a pint of lager, which is £2.76. They say both clubs charge £3.20 for a pint.

That's like $4.75, which is, what, half the price you'd pay at Fenway? It's very quaint to see British politicians taking up such a pressing issue as beer prices at sports stadiums. US pols have more important issues to tend to, like college football playoffs.

Young's Oatmeal Stout (ENG)

2008-12-02T16:00:00.001-05:00

If you think Young's stout, you first think chocolate. Apparently the brewery produces their oatmeal stout primarily for the North American market. I'm not sure why that would be. It was the American importer Merchant du Vin that commissioned Samuel Smith's to revive of the style in the '70s, so maybe Americans have a special connection.

Sam Smith's is my favorite oatmeal stout. Comparatively, Young's take is more heavily carbonated than the flattish SS, though it's is still rich and smooth. Young's also strikes me as a bit drier, with a charred bitterness that adds character. The bottle label reviews itself and claims a "short but distinctive finish reminiscent of toast." Burnt toast, perhaps.

I don't know if I like Young's as much as Sam Smith's, but I like it a lot. Pricey at more than $4 for 16.9 ounces. Cool bottle.

Four More from Lakefront (WI)

2008-11-30T16:50:00.002-05:00

The remaining four from my Lakefront 8-pack are darker beers, except for the India Pale Ale.

IPA: The strongest beer of the lot at 7% while the rest are between 5% and 6%. This also proves to be the best of the bunch. It's not a West Coast hop bomb, but more of a balanced English-style IPA. Big aroma comes through as soon as you pop the cap. Hazy pale orange, nice trail of foam left down the side of the glass. Taste-wise, it's not the punchiest of the style in terms of hops, but puts forth a nice balance of biscuity malts and citrus and floral hops. Doesn't feel like its ABV.

Eastside Dark Lager: "A rich, dark lager like the ones Milwaukee's founding fathers might have enjoyed on the old Eastside." Wikipedia describes Milwaukee's East side as "a mix of hipsters, hippies, college students and young professionals." Was the old East side different? Regardless, this is a dark lager, but not a rich enough one for me. Any roasty coffee or chocolate elements are muted.

Instead, it's a bit metallic. Better than macro lagers (blah, blah, blah) but that's about it.

Riverwest Stein Beer: Riverwest is another Milwaukee neighborhood, and I appreciate the brewery's effort in tapping into it's local scene. I did not drink this lager out of a stein, but out of a regular lager glass. It's lighter than Eastside Dark, a chestnut colored beer. The taste is primarily caramel, and then maybe woody hops which keep it from being too sweet. Alas, it's somewhat watery. Still better than Eastside Dark, but not a memorable lager.

Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout: When I cracked this open, I sensed that sour salami smell I had found in the lighter beers. Fortunately, any such taste was covered up. This pours pitch black with a red-beige head that fizzes away quickly. The coffee is there as promised. It's actually fairly hard to down, maybe due less to its richness than to a mild astringency in the finish. If you really like coffee stout, give this one a try.

Overall for me, a pretty unimpressive variety pack from Lakefront. I'd drink the IPA again and maybe the Cherry Lager, but that's about it. Was there an issue of freshness? All bottles were dated from later August, which is only three months. That doesn't preclude the possibility of poor handling, but that still doesn't change the fact that for me these weren't all that great.

So you think you know beer?

2008-11-28T18:04:00.002-05:00

From the Norwegian end of the beer blogging universe, Larsblog has a great post from last week about a course for becoming a certified beer judge. The blind tasting experiments described are fascinating and, I'm guessing, more than a little humbling.

Lars and his fellow would-be judges are given a variety of tests. A triangle test: which two of these three are in fact the same beer? Guess the style, dunkel or brown ale? And then a devious trick involving food coloring:

We were then given a batch of three unidentified black beers, and told to write notes on them, then attempt to guess the beer styles. After tasting the three we were asked one by one to read our notes on the first one, all of which went along the lines of "roasty, caramel, maybe a bit neutral". The shock was considerable when we were told that it was, again, Ringnes Pils, this time with some black colouring added to it. Every single one of the 10 participants claimed to taste roastiness in the beer, and not one of the 10 so much as came near the idea that this might be a pilsener. An interesting example of the sense of taste being affected by visual signals.

The guys undergoing the trials weren't neophytes either. Definitely read the full post.

Four from Lakefront Brewery (WI)

2008-11-22T18:33:00.006-05:00

To me, Lakefront Brewery is known for two things: for New Grist, their gluten-free beer, and for being arbitrarily sued last year by a guy who was hit on the head by a can of Schlitz. As their beers are newly available to my area -- we seem to be getting a lot from Big 10 country all of a sudden -- I figured I'd try to learn more about them.

I bought their unusual 8-by-1 variety pack from my local retailer. It's a nice package for those who want to try as many beers as possible, although I'd prefer at least two of each. Thankfully, New Grist is not included. Instead, there are a surprising four lagers in the box, perhaps a sign that this Wisconsin brewery embraces it's German roots.

Cherry Lager: This is the seasonal in the pack, and an out of season one at that (my variety pack seems to be from late August). The last fruited lager I had was the crummy Wild Blue. Cherry Lager is much better, although still not great. It pours with a pinkish hue and really nice head. The cherries aren't really prominent, but at least if you didn't know you could guess they were there. There's only a light cherry tartness to it, and some proper fruitiness. The beer finishes dry with rough hops (Mt. Hood, the website says), which maybe clash a bit. Overall, I'd say this is pretty good for a fruit beer in that it doesn't have that no-calorie seltzer flavor that so many others do.

Klisch Pilsner: Klisch is the family name of the brothers who run the show. Their pilsener is pretty ordinary: straw-colored, light-bodied, fizzy, without much of a hop kick. There's an unfortunate faint sourness to it. In the summer, I might applaud it for being thirst-quenching, but now there isn't much to recommend.

Cattail Ale: I should point out that I don't like the label designs on any of these. Cattail is categorized by Beer Advocate as an English pale mild. I don't know what Ratebeer says; they're down again. The ale is a hazy golden brew, light and fizzy, not too distant from the pilsener. Again, there's a slight sourness. Is this a problem of lack of freshness? There aren't many hops here, nor even much in the way of malt body. Cattail probably works best fresh in the summer as a sessions beer at just over 5%.

Oragnic ESB: This may be the best of the bunch. It pours more amber has more heft to it than Cattail, with biscuity malts and earthy hops. The website says "cascade hop flavor" but I don't detect that. Also, it really isn't all that bitter, even by English standards. It's a style I like though, and a solid attempt.

Not a blockbuster start for the eight-pack, but the beers are to follow are darker and more to season right now. I enjoyed the ESB the most but would probably order the Cherry Lager if I had a choice, if only that it's just about the only one of its kind out there.

Dogfish Head in the New Yorker

2008-11-18T23:23:00.003-05:00

The New Yorker has a fairly detailed piece on Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head brewery. It's long and may be better to read in the magazine than online. It's also very good. One eyebrow-raising quote:

I asked the brewmaster, Jean-Marie Rock, which American beer he likes best. He thought for a moment, squinting down his bladelike nose, and narrowed his lips to a point. Then he raised a finger in the air. “Budweiser!” he said. “Tell them that the brewer at Orval likes Budweiser!”

English-style Porter

2008-11-16T18:39:00.006-05:00

For my second homebrewing effort, I did two things differently: I created my own recipe and made a smaller batch.

Actually, the recipe was hardly original. I mostly just started with John Palmer's porter and switched to English hops. It seems like a lot of homebrewers like trying to make something that's never been done before. I'm not interested in that yet, but the experience of looking through existing recipes definitely helps in learning about beer styles.

As far as the small batch is concerned, I know, it's just as much work making three gallons as five. However, I want to get a few batches under my belt quickly, and I don't want to forgo frequent visits to my local beer retailer. I used the beer recipator to check my recipe and ordered from Austin Homebrew, which lets you select small amounts.

3 gallons:
3.5 pounds of extra pale ~~DME~~ LME
6 oz. each of chocolate malt and Crystal 60L
1/2 oz. 6.5% Challenger hops (60)
1/4 oz. 4.5% East Kent Goldings (30)
1/4 oz. 4.5% East Kent Goldings (15)
Safale 04 dry yeast (about two-thirds of the package)
Irish Moss
2 1/4 oz. corn sugar for priming

Despite the small batch, I still used a partial boil and about a gallon of top-off water to replace boiled of liquid. I also boiled the wort for 75 minutes. Whether the extra 15 made a difference, I can't say.

In general the process went smoothly, although I did have a problem with measurements. My instant read thermometer zapped out mid-session. I used an old candy thermometer for part of the process, but it doesn't go below 140 degrees, so I ended up using a Polter probe thermometer to check the wort before pitching yeast.

I also struggled with my hydrometer. I measured an OG of about 1.065, which had to be wrong. I suspect the wort wasn't mixed enough at the time. Based on the recipe, the OG was 1.047 and the IBUs were around 25. I ended up with an FG of 1.018, which I hope was wrong but probably was right. Poor attenuation again. Inadequate aeration? Maybe, but not for lack of trying. I can't blame the yeast this time. I've read that extract brewing often results in high FGs, so maybe that's at least part of it.

Bottling day was a mess, and I already went out and bought an auto-siphon (no kegging equipment yet though). I lost a good bit of beer during bottling as well, which hurt more given the small batch.

It's now been nearly two months since brewing and five weeks since bottling. The beer is pretty good. No off flavors like my first batch. It has a nice light roastiness to it, but isn't a really rich porter. Compared with my first batch, this one has more carbonation than I'd like and doesn't keep as good a head. Palmer says the latter is a downside to using Irish moss for extract beers, and I'll confess that I forgot to adjust my quantity down to account for the smaller batch. (That stuff smells like Poseidon's armpit too.)

I actually just brewed my third batch yesterday (this is the advantage of smaller batches), but I'm a way's away from drinking it.

German IPA

2008-11-15T15:31:00.002-05:00

Charlie Papazian has a piece on a German brewer's attempt at an India Pale Ale. Not a traditional style for them of course, and in fact the dry-hopping violates the Reinheitsgebot, meaning they can't call it beer.

As much praise as the Reinheitsgebot often receives, it's hard not to roll your eyes on this sort of thing. The again, I personally am glad that Germany takes a hard line. We have the best of both worlds. You want tradition? Buy a German beer. You want experiments? Buy American. Argue all you want over who produces the best beer, but it would be a very boring beer world if all nations had the same approach.

Koningshoeven Bock (NED)

2008-11-13T23:02:00.004-05:00

I can't quite keep straight whether it's Koningshoeven or La Trappe. My bottle says Koningshoeven, which is the better name. This is the only Dutch Trappist brewery, the only Trasppist Bock (although the bottle also says "ale"), and I think this is the only Trappist seasonal.

It pours cloudy reddish-brown, looks syrupy, and smells like a doppelbock. The first thing that stands out is the carbonation, which is invasive, like something from a Saison (it's bottle conditioned, though, which gives it a natural, small bubble feel). It's medium-bodied. On the tongue, this Bock is very malty, of caramel and licorice, with some roasted tones. Maybe a little spicy as well. Not too sweet though; the finish is dry.

So this isn't exactly a bock or doppelbock. It has some interesting flavors you wouldn't find in a German beer. On the other hand, the carbonation doesn't work for me at all. This is a good beer, but pricey (I paid $4.85 for 330 ml) and probably not something I'll revisit.

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (NY)

2008-11-09T16:44:00.002-05:00

Chocolate Indulgence is a stout originally brewed for Ommegang's 10th anniversary in 2007. They brewed a new batch this year. Belgium isn't really know for its stouts, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The upshot is it's a chocolate stout with faint Belgian yeast esters coming through. This is a nearly opaque dark brown brew with a beige head that leaves superb lacing. It has a wonderfully creamy body, light carbonation, but is not really heavy. It's chocolaty, but I'm not sure I'd have guessed that it has added chocolate (actually, cocoa powder) beyond the usual chocolate malt. I'm not sure if it merits the 'indulgence" moniker. It's fairly dry but not roasty. There's a little bit of fruitiness in there that I attribute to the yeast, but this doesn't really scream Belgian either.

So Chocolate Indulgence is ultimately a really nice, drinkable stout (@7%) with killer lacing to look at and geat mouthfeel. I paid $8.50 for this on sale, but I've noticed that others have grumbled a bit about paying over $10. That's probably fair. It's a very good beer but not a blockbuster.

Supermarket Finds

2008-11-07T17:30:00.005-05:00

This summer Bill at Beerjanglin' posted about Wegmans Dewitt (Syracuse) getting a big beer makeover. Well, now that's hit their Pittsford store near my home. Now I can toss a bottle of Westmalle, Orval or Delirium Tremens in my blue basket alongside paper towels and raisin bran. They also have a decent selection of German 500 mls and US breweries such as Rogue, Sly Fox, Weyerbacher, Green Flash and Dogfish Head to name a few. All this is in addition to the usual Southern Tier, Ommegang, Unibroue, etc. Here's a fuzzy cell phone pic of the DTs at $10.69 a bottle:

You can't sell wine in supermarkets in New York State, so maybe beer becomes the big thing. Wegmans actually owns a monster of wine store right down the street.

As excited as I was to see the new beer section, it really doesn't add much value for me. I already have access to way more beer than I have time to drink. This is New York, not Oklahoma. Hell, there's a lottery tickets-and-cigarettes convenience store near my place of work that sells Chimay and Maredsous.

Utenos Porter (LT)

2008-11-06T21:42:00.003-05:00

From Lithuania, this is, of course, a Baltic Porter. A very tasty one at that. It's fairly light in color -- certainly more brown than black -- and a thin in body (especially for a beer at 6.8%). This last bit takes it out of the style somewhat. It's loaded with caramel sweetness and sports a certain rum raisin quality. Near the finish, Utenos becomes chocolaty, but with only a slight roastiness to it. Not much of a hop presence, if any. Super easy to drink. A dessert beer, though I wonder whether it would match up well with barbecue.

Utenos Porter is one of those beer that thrilled me once, but may not do so again. In a different mood, I might be turned off by it's light body and lack of roastiness. It's a great value at $1.99 for 500 ml, though.

Election Night

2008-11-04T23:06:00.000-05:00

Outside the US, what's the longest anyone's election season lasts? A few months maybe? It seems like it's been forever since I said to myself "this primary has been going on forever." (Warning: if your election lasts more than 12 months, seek medical assistance.) And we still have two months to go before Obama even takes office.

I decided a homebrew would be the perfect drink while watching the results come in. I'm glad I recently started homebrewing. Based on what I've heard from certain corners, the US is likely to be ruled by Sharia law soon, so no alcohol, and any breweries left standing would be state owned anyway. So homebrewing looks like a good skill to have.

So here's a toast to Jeremiah Wright, John Hagee, Bill Ayers, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the Romney brothers, Mike Gravel, Ron Paul, Chuck Norris, Rudy Giuliani's delegate, John Edwards' mistress, Levi "fucking redneck" Johnston, Joe the Plumber and all the others who played such a large part in these elections but will have no relevance to us whatsoever over the next four years. Bottoms up.

Southern Tier Porter (NY)

2008-11-02T21:30:00.002-05:00

I like this brewery's Raspberry Porter, which I believe is just a blend of their Raspberry Wheat and this beer, the Porter. "Dark" says the label -- is that a nod to BMC drinkers, who might not be sure what a porter is? It is very dark, nearly black. The aroma reminds me of chocolate liqueur or maybe just chocolate syrup, but the taste is less sweet than that. Roasted chocolate, maybe a touch of charcoal smokiness as well. The body is medium with plenty of small bubbles. There's a cola-like quality to it as well, maybe something acidic, caused by the fact that it isn't a big beer.

Southern Tier owes its reputation mostly to its big imperial brews, but Porter (@5.2%) ranks with their IPA and Hop Sun as really nice session-able beers for when you don't want to be dazzled.

Hair of the Dog Adam (ORE)

2008-11-01T18:49:00.005-04:00

I don't know if this was ever available in my area before, but all of a sudden I saw Adam, Fred and Ruth at my local beer shop. The former two are darlings of the BA/RB crowd. Adam is a free interpretation of an old Dortmunder ale style. In his Great Beer Guide, Michael Jackson relates a tale of William IV of Prussia being knocked out for a day after drinking a tankard of adambier. HoD Adam is 10%, but I'm still on my feet after one bottle.

The brewer's website says "it is great with chocolate or cigars," but I like to drink at least one bottle by itself. Besides, I don't smoke cigars ; wouldn't that undercut the beer? Anyway, Adam is a very dark brown beer, beige head, thick on the tongue, with an aroma of roasty malts and hops. The taste is "complex": chocolate, figs, light roastiness, a touch of earthy smokiness, and a shot of citrus rind hops. A lot going on, to be sure. It reminded me most of Jewbelation 11, but that's a crude comparison, and for most people, a backwards one at that.

My bottle was the recent Batch 72 (the latest batch?). I think I would have preferred an older sample to mellow the hops a bit. Still, this is a taste bomb, easily recommended for those who like that sort of thing.

Halloween Beers from MJ

2008-10-31T14:38:00.002-04:00

It may be a bit late to run out and buy beer for Halloween, but I found this old Michael Jackson article for "if you don't fancy pumpkin beers." Recommended: Unibroue Maudite and Beelzebub/Belzebuth, with further mention of Hobgoblin, Old Nick and several others.

This was written back in 2001. Today, it really isn't hard to find beers with ghoulish or devilish themes, particularly in the US. For me personally, the packaging doesn't mean as much, so I'll probably be drinking Pumking tonight.

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale (JP)

2008-10-26T17:06:00.005-04:00

Two years ago, Hitachio Nest Red Rice Ale was featured (along with Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale) in a New York Times article. It seems to be a pretty fashionable beer, at least in New York. As explained, the rice isn't just used as cheap filler: in addition to using ale yeast, the brewery uses sake yeast to ferment the rice.

The result is a slightly foggy beer colored on the orange side of amber. The aroma reminds me of the sourness you get occasionally from packaged sliced salami (your perceptions may vary). Taste wise, it's somewhere in among beer, sake and wine spritzer, but mostly beer. Fruity and slightly tangy with a grainy undertone. All told, it's crisp without being too light. Red Rice Ale packs pretty big alcohol at 7% and sports a hefty price tag ($4+ per 330 ml bottle). Definitely a good beer for bloggers and raters who think they've tasted it all.

Three More from Saranac

2008-10-23T18:30:00.005-04:00

The other three from Saranac's Adirondack Trail Mix:

Brown Ale: Clear brown with a red/orange tinge. The label boasts of "Pacific Northwest hops," and I think I can smell them. So this isn't a British Brown. To it's credit, it isn't a bland one either. A touch of chocolate malt, a decent hop presence, and a dry finish. But also an over-carbonated body and kind of a rough taste. Eh.

Black & Tan: I've often had the suspicion that Saranac produces some of their myriad beers by mixing existing ones. No secret about the Black & Tan, a mixture of their Amber Lager and seasonal Irish Stout (which, as Wikipedia explains, would technically make this a Half and Half). From a bottle, you don't get the cool layered effect as with a true Black and Tan. So what do you get? A lighter stout, I suppose. It's roastiness is cut by caramel sweetness from the lager. Overall, the malts and hops don't really blend, and it tastes like the sort of experimental beer mix you'd create at home with the remnants of various six packs. Still, it's pretty intersting and worth a try.

Black Forest: "Bavarian Style Beer." It never comes out and says it's a schwarzbier on the label, but I think that's what it is, more or less. I don't think it strives for German authenticity though (the Black Forest isn't even in Bavaria) . It's very dark brown and ruby colored. Even accepting that this is a lager, the body is too light. In fact, the entire initial taste is too light and mineral water-ish for me, more treble than bass. At the end, a light roasted flavor comes through, which is great, but overall I don't like this as much as some others do. Sam Adams makes a better American black lager, while Sprecher makes one that is much richer and roastier.

So the Pale Ale is the star of this sixer for me, and probably the only one I'd seek out again.

No More Zima

2008-10-20T13:49:00.004-04:00

Miller Coors is going to stop making Zima, so fans of the drink should stock up while you can. The rest of us need to find another drink to mock. Evidence of the drink's decline? The Late Show archives show that Zima appeared in eight Letterman Top Ten Lists in 1994-95, but only once since then.

Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel (AUT)

2008-10-18T19:07:00.004-04:00

Aren't all doppelbocks dark? Well, Schloss Eggenberg makes Urbock 23 which is a light colored doppelbock, so the beer I'm writing about becomes the dunkel. I love the black and white label.

The beer is indeed dark brown, but not impenetrable to light and showing some red tones. Nice white head too. This is nice and rich, but also soft in a way. Some of this is the low carbonation against a very creamy body. Some of it is the absence of alcohol burn (despite the 8.5% ABV). Instead, it delivers on the "toffeelike malty sweetness" claimed on the label. There's a touch of roastiness as well, but it isn't super-complex. It is very tasty, though. The hops make it somewhat dry at the end, but this is closer to liquid cake than liquid bread.

I'm in a doppelbock mood right now and was very happy with this. The problem is it cost me over $5 for a bottle, but I think a lot of you would pay $3-4, which is reasonable.

Wagner Valley Sled Dog Doppelbock (NY)

2008-10-16T20:09:00.003-04:00

A spell of unseasonal warmth has passed, so I can pull out my fall/winter brews again. I've had this one before, and it might be my favorite of the brewery (although I've yet to try their Trippelbock).

This is a clear tawny-colored brew, syrupy looking, with a dying tan head. Pretty sweet up front: caramel and molasses and maybe raisins. Very slight roastiness as well. I like the soft carbonation and smooth palate, though it's maybe not quite as rich as the best doppelbocks. The finish isn't quite as long as I'd like either, but this is quibbling. It's 8.5% ABV, but that doesn't really come through until it warms my gut afterwords.

Nice doppelbock, if not a great one.

Great American Beer Festval Winners 2008

2008-10-13T10:24:00.001-04:00

The GABF was held in Colorado this weekend, and the winners have been announced. New York breweries won only 10 medals. In comparison, California won 39 and Colorado won 34, but they probably had more entries given the location of the event. Ithaca Brewing won two silvers for Cascazilla and for their new sour ale Brute. Ommegang won bronze for Rare Vos (the same color medal Keystone Light won). Whatever the gripes, remember, they taste blind we usually don't.

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Delware won six medals. Anybody know this place?

Three from Saranac (NY)

2008-10-12T13:07:00.005-04:00

Saranac really makes a lot of styles, so many that I can buy their variety six-pack and find no beers that I've reviewed (though I've had a couple of these before).

Adirondack Lager: The good news is that this isn't a bland lager. The bad news is it doesn't taste quite right (at least not to me). Clear, light amber color, light hop aroma. It's made with both Hallertau and Cascades, and you can kind of taste both of them battling it out. However, some of the taste gets buried beneath heavy carbonation (not uncommon for this brewery). There are also somewhat sour, metallic elements appearing. Maybe just a bad one-off for me, but this wasn't good.

Pale Ale: Much better. This might be considered their signature beer, and it's all over the place around these parts. "Classic English Style," it says on the label, and it uses Fuggles and EKG hops to prove it. I think I sense some US-style citrusy hops in the nose, but those don't really appear. In stead, it's a good balance of malts and fruity, herbal hops. Softly carbonated. Great sessions brew.

India Pale Ale: The label says "American I.P.A." and boasts of "generous amounts of Cascade hops." This is a tough style to crack for a place like Saranac. Do you try to appease the hop-crazed elements of the craft beer community? Or do you tone it down a notch to appeal to a larger crowd? A bit more of the latter, I'd say. The citrusy hops come through against the malt background, but neither is huge. A bit light in both body and bitterness. The last IPA I had was Great Lakes, to which Saranac can't hold a candle. Still, if you forget about others of the style, you'll find a fairly tasty beer, and maybe a good first IPA.

Not a bad half a six pack (you only get one of each). Their Pale Ale may be my favorite of the brewery, but sometimes I think its more fun to drink things like Caramel Porter and Mountain Berry Ale and Chocolate Amber Lager, even if they don't all work. That's what Saranac does best: crank out the styles.

Cheaper than Water

2008-10-08T20:40:00.001-04:00

There's always someone in the world in a snit about alcohol. Currently it's British MPs Nigel Evans (Conservative) and John Grogan (Labour) complaining that Skol beer is being sold for less than Evian water as Asda supermarkets. I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of regulating alcohol promotions (such as free drinks specials in bars), given that alcohol can cause social problems. However, I'm not sure of I buy this basic syllogism:

Water is really cheap
This beer is cheaper than water,
Therefore, this beer must be really, really cheap

And maybe it is, but Evian is stupidly over-priced, so why compare to it? Also, given that Britain has what I assume are pretty stiff taxes on beer, how cheaply made is Skol? Still, I'd rather buy cheap beer than expensive water.

Mr. Evans isn't a teetotaler, though:

We are living in a time when 36 pubs are closing each week because they simply cannot compete with the prices charged in the large supermarkets.

Well, that's a different argument entirely.

Budweiser American Ale (MO)

2008-10-08T16:45:00.005-04:00

Curiosity must be accounting for a lot of sales for A-B, but probably not enough to pay that massive advertising bill. They need repeat sales for that, and probably won't be getting them from me.

Not that it's a bad beer. The bottle itself is very attractive with its bulging shoulders and classy color scheme. The beer looks great too: clear amber, impressive head. There's a slight citrus hop aroma (those dry-hopped Cascades we've heard so much about). Not a lot of hoppy flavor or much bitterness, though. It's a decent balance of caramel malts and hops, I suppose, but not a lot of bite. The body is too thin and there's a hollow finish.

American Ale isn't a bad attempt, though. I paid only $5.99 a sixer, which is less than even the cheapie micros like Saranac. I can't help but wonder how it will taste to BMC loyalists not used to a bit of flavor. You have to work your way up to hop-bombs, and maybe this is a first step.

He'brew Origin Pomegranate Ale (NY)

2008-10-04T19:04:00.002-04:00

Do a search at ratebeer and you'll find only a handful of pomegranate beers, and just four with at least 100 ratings. Most fruit beers use a wheat beer base, but this is an "imperial amber ale" with pomegranate juice added. Why pomegranate? It fits in with the brewery's Old Testament theme ("In some parts of the world, it's believed that Eve tempted Adam with a pomegranate," says the website).

This pours a very hazy copper/amber color with only a thin head, although the foam that's there lasted for me. Medium bodied, tight fizz. It has a pretty solid malt backbone. The pomegranate is added with a light touch. Fruit juice comes through, but I wouldn't necessarily have guessed the source if I didn't know (cherries? berries?). Any fruitiness is out manned by the hops, however: definite West Coast accent, with citrus/pine and a somewhat bitter grapefruit aftertaste. The alcohol -- 8% -- isn't obvious.

I'm not sure if it meshes completely, the hops and the pomegranate, but Origin is still a tasty beer from a brewery that has tried to do something different.

Great Lakes Commodore Perry (OH)

2008-10-02T21:17:00.003-04:00

Great Lakes beers were available in western New York just long enough for me to buy a variety 12-pack, but then they disappeared. Now they're back in a style, even with a display in the supermarket.

I liked all four beers from the variety pack, and Commodore Perry (India Pale Ale) doesn't disappoint. "Don't give up the sip" is the punning motto. It pours a thick-looking gold body with a lacy head. The Commodore creates that explosive mouthful of flavor you want from an IPA. It's probably a little sweeter than others upfront, and slightly fruity and spicy. The bitterness and grapefruit aftertaste come through at the end. The label requests that you drink it at 45 degrees, cooler than I'd have thought, but mellows it out a bit for non-hop heads.

One of the better IPAs, IMO. What next for me from this brewery? I think Burning River Pale Ale is the only one I can get here that I haven't tried.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice /Dogfish Head Punkin (MO/DE)

2008-09-27T18:04:00.004-04:00

Two pumpkin ales from different sides of the track.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale: This is from A-B, specifically Michelob (the bottle is etched with the Michelob name), which is turning into A-B's ambassador to the craft beer world. 5.5% ABV. It pours clear copper with a head that doesn't last. The smells reminds me of a pumpkin candle or something. It doesn't taste like real pumpkin, but what does? What we perceive as pumpkin is probably mostly about the complementary spices. In this case, cinnamon comes through the strongest against a caramel, amber ale body. I like the dry finish and the malty aftertaste; I don't like the light, fizzy body, which isn't rich enough for fall.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale: This one is a bit more red in color and slightly hazy. The aroma is sweeter with a touch of vanilla, but that doesn't come through in the taste. Instead, it's malty, spicy (more allspice and nutmeg than cinnamon), and rummy. Like Jack's, it doesn't taste to me much like real pumpkin, and if you told me it was a Rum Raisin beer I might have believed you. But Punkin (7% ABV) still has a lot going on, and a nice medium-full body.

It isn't fair comparing these two, as the DFH costs at least 50% more. Is it worth the extra dollars? I'd rather drink one of it than two of Jack's, but I'd bet most civilian beer drinkers would prefer Jack's. I don't like either any more than Pumpking, but I'd gladly pay for DFH Punkin again.

Beer in Airports

2008-09-25T21:59:00.002-04:00

MSNBC is fronting an article about the rising quality of beer available in US airports. This is just part of a larger trend to turn on airports into shopping malls (not that I'm complaining). The article links to Cheapflights.com's brief Beer Lovers’ Airport Guide.

My own local airport doesn't have anything decent (at least last I checked), but on a recent trip I had a chance to try Columbus Pale Ale in an airport in Ohio. Good beer. Still, air travel being what it is nowadays, that's one place I feel like I need a scotch instead of a beer.

Blue Point Oktoberfest (NY)

2008-09-23T21:46:00.006-04:00

This is apparently the first year this Long Island brewery has produced (or maybe just bottled) an Oktoberfest. 5.0% ABV, 28 IBUs.

It pours a clear copper with a lame lager head. No surprise that this is malty, particularly upfront, but it isn't caramel-ish. This shouldn't be surprising ("noticeable caramel or roasted flavors are inappropriate" -- BJCP style guide), but a lot of American Oktoberfests seem to taste of caramel. Or maybe that's a problem of perceptions. Blue Point's hops come through at the end to dry it out, but I also detected a somewhat ale-ish aspect to it. Butter? Oak? (Chardonnay? No, that's not it.) The body is medium-light and pretty heavy on the carbonation.

So not a bad beer, but not a great one. Looking at my photo, the empty body seems to exert some sort of force bending the glass toward it, which is kind of neat, but I still haven't tried an Oktoberfest that really blew me away.

Update: A Joe Sipxack column from the Philadelphia Daily News describes the conflict between the BJCP Oktoberfest style guidelines and what's currently served in Germany. Interestingly, it's the current German brew that is "dumbed down":

The big Munich breweries still export their familiar dark version, including the original Spaten Ur-Märzen. But the variety they pour at the festival is closer to a much lighter Dortmunder or Helles style, experts say.
Oktoberfestbier "has evolved into a ubiquitous light lager," Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian wrote in an online column, "light on hop character and, I think, dumbed-down to appeal to the masses."

Schwelmer Alt (GER)

2008-09-20T18:27:00.007-04:00

My first Altbier. It pours a clear chestnut color. It's quite light in body with soft carbonation. Goes down really smooth (just over 4% ABV). Yet, this isn't a watery tasting beer. It's described as a "unique, hoppy altbier" on the label, but this is an old school, European definition of hoppy. Instead, the beer is more malty, slightly toasted and very slightly raisiny. The hops kick in near the end, but they only bite so much. The aftertaste has a lot going on, but what came through most to me was unsweetend cola. This wasn't particularly attractive, but I think I may have been drinking it too warm.

I've liked what I've tried from this brewery in the past, the Pils and the Weizen. I'm less convinced by the Alt, but I'm still getting to know the style. It certainly is different. It turns out that some American beers I've seen around with are attempts at altbiers (Otter Creek Copper Ale, Long Trail Ale, Southampton Secret Ale).

Oktoberfest in Pictures

2008-09-19T12:13:00.002-04:00

Slate magazine's Today's Pictures piece currently points its camera on Oktoberfest, with images from Munich both recent and old. It's not as interesting as many of their other topics (check out Spetember 9th's Burning Man photos for a take on an enitrely different festival atmosphere), but a good way to kill time for the last half day of the week.

True Brew Nut Brown Ale

2008-09-17T19:00:00.000-04:00

Homebrew!

It's funny. I never had the slightest interest in homebrewing, but this summer I suddenly got the itch and it wouldn't go away, so I succumbed. There were two main reasons I wasn't interested in homebrewing:

Sanitation. Who wants a hobby that stresses cleanliness so heavily?
I'm not a big drinker. I mean, I like beer a lot, but I like to drink as many different ones as possible rather than a bunch of the same. What would I do with two cases of possibly mediocre suds?

But for whatever reason, I took the plunge. I bought a basic equipment kit (plastic pail, no wort chiller or anything) and a True Brew Nut Brown Ale kit. My guide was Palmer's How to Brew, which I might write about in a separate post. I also tried to read as many web pages as possible about the hobby.

The True Brew Nut Brown Ale kit includes Munton's ingredients: a can of hopped light LME, one pound each of pound of amber and light DME, a pound of brown sugar (!), specialty grains (chocolate malt, dark crystal and black patent), Fuggles finishing hops, and Munton's Dry Yeast.

I brewed this first batch on one of the many unfortunately hot weekends in July. I prepped as much as possible and things went well... up to a point.

My first mistake was dumping my sanitizer when I thought I was done with it. I ended up needing more for items I'd forgotten about. My second problem was cooling the wort. Despite only doing a partial boil, it took me way too long using an ice bath. On hindsight, I should have stirred the water outside the pot (or stirred the wort inside it) to get some convection going. I impatiently pitched my (re-hydrated, as per Palmer) yeast at 73-74 degrees.

I also didn't aerate the wort enough, and the top off water I used had been boiled, which I think means it lost most of its oxygen. I stored my fermenter in a basement storage area that was a tad over 70 degrees, but the temperature inside the vessel was in the high 70s when fermenting. This meant quick fermentation, but also some wayward esters. The FG never made it below 1.020 (it was supposed to be 1.012-14). The OG was supposed to be 1.050, though I never verified that. Poor attenuation. Poor brewing, I suppose, although I've discovered that a lot of people have problems with Munton's regular dry yeast.

About bottling day, the less said the better. What a mess. Someone's going to say I should switch to kegging, but I really don't want to invest more money until I brew a few more batches. After bottling was done, I really needed a beer, and what I had (something from Flying Dog, I think) was the best beer I’d ever drank if for no other reason than I had no need to de-label the bastard afterward. (For the record, Hoegaarden labels are super easy to remove, but don't even bother with St. Peters.)

I poured my first beer two weeks after bottling, four weeks after brewing, and it was murky and, of all things, a tad astringent, powdery on the back of the tongue. Did I boil the specialty grains? I don't think so. But that was the only bottle that felt like that. In successive beers I've tasted a bunch of wrong flavors, though it seems to be improving. Maybe it will taste good someday. What's always been good about it is the big, fluffy head that sticks to the glass as you drink it, as well as the spot on carbonation (I used 3.5 ounces of corn sugar instead of 5, in part due to my high ending FG).

So overall, what do I make of it? In cooking terms, homebrewing seems like a cross between making chicken broth and baking, in its emphasis on sanitation and precision, respectively. This isn't the casual stew or soup making we all know and love. It has a comical ratio of doing-to-waiting. And it isn't necessarily value for the money; better to think of those dollars as coming out of your hobby/entertainment budget than your beer budget. Nonetheless, I can't wait to brew again, and spend hours planning my next batch, not to mention the batch after that.

American Ale

2008-09-16T13:30:00.003-04:00

Now is the time when Budweiser American Ale is launched (caution: slow-loading site). I believe it's already available on tap is some places, plus some promotional bottles are out there. Anyone tried it yet? There are a handful of reviews at the rating sites.

This is different from previous attempts by the big boys to go after craft beer drinkers. It isn't a sub-brand -- it says Budweiser right on the admitteldy sharp-looking bottle -- and has a huge ad buy behind it. In fact, I don't think it's aimed at craft beer drinkers. I suspect A-B would like some respect from beer geeks, but all the purchases in the world from us isn't going to cut it. They need to tap a bigger market.

So despite bragging about using Cascade hops (aimed at those of us who know what those are), the brewers have to use a light touch. Someone who's never had much other than BMC or Molson or Heineken has to drink it once and not wince from citrus bitterness. A-B can't wait for people to build up a tolerance to hops, as many of use have done. And A-B can't treat it as a gateway beer. Gateway to what? Someone else's product?

Added: from an About.com article called "Beer by Committee":

So they started with a grain bill of pale and caramel malt. Then they
developed a hop bill with four different varieties: Palisades for bittering, Willamette, Saaz and Cascade for aroma and finishing. Then they brewed four identical beers but used different yeast in each one. These four beers were brought into the tasting room where the new products panel tasted them and decided which strain to use. Once the choice of yeast was settled they then brewed six versions of the beer and dry-hopped with six different hops. They decided on Cascade in the same way as they did the yeast strain. After that it was a matter of fine tuning the beer and establishing things like alcohol content. Beck said that he relied on the panel during this stage. He added that they were still making adjustments and was eager to get our input.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian (GER)

2008-09-13T18:15:00.003-04:00

A "dunkles starkbier" from the oldest of the old German breweries. Sometimes I think I love this style, sometimes I don't. What turns me off is when alcohol burn comes through and is coupled with licorice/anise. This isn't a problem here. Korbinian is a red-tinged, dark brown (though still translucent) lager with a super smooth, creamy texture. Big malts all the way, tasting of caramel and toffee sweetness and some dark fruits. Very faint bitterness. The finish is mocha and is wonderfully long, and not too sweet. It's almost too easy drinking for its own good at 7.4% ABV and $3 or so per 500 ml.

The brewer's website suggests drinking this with "smoked meat and fish," presumably meaning smoked meat and smoked fish, as this would be horrible with filet of sole. I kind of think that really good beers are better alone, and this is really, really good.

Dundee Oktoberfest (NY)

2008-09-11T19:59:00.004-04:00

A couple of months ago, The Session topic was anti-seasonal beers. I didn't participate because I don't often drink out of season. Maybe I should have written about that. I try to eat seasonally as well, but the reasons are different. With beer, a local stout in summer is more environmentally friendly and fresher than a German hefewiezen, but I'd still rather drink the latter. Some of this is due to weather, but even then, I could just sit inside turn on the air conditioning. Ultimately, I just like the idea of drinking different styles during different times of year. It's a bit like sports. In early August, I'm sickened at the sight of pre-season football on TV. Once September hits, however, I'm ready to go. So it goes with beer. Dundee Oktoberfest is my first autumn beer of 2008.

JW Dundee's Honey Brown Lager may have saved Genesee Brewing Co. in the 1990s. Now the brewery is named High Falls, the sub-brand has dropped JW and 's, and the bottle label has been smartly redesigned.

The Oktoberfest pours clear copper which the label brings out as a matching orange. "Be full-bodied," the neck label says, but this is quite light. It's also highly fizzy, which gets in the way of the flavor. It's mildly sweet with a slight twangy quality coming through at the end. Not a poor tasting beer, but not satisfying (maybe you have to drink 3 or 4). I kept trying to suck more flavor out of it.

I'd guess the rollout of the new Dundee has bumped sales temporarily. Will it last? I wish them the best, but it's tough now that the really big boys are trying to enter the market as well. Dundee is competing with Saranac, not with Ommegang, so they don't need to be world class in quality. Instead, they need good distribution and marketing.

Football and Beer

2008-09-07T21:21:00.003-04:00

So the NFL season is now underway (Thursday night doesn't feel like the real thing if your team isn't playing). I think this is pretty clearly America's national sport. Unless told otherwise, I assume every American male is an NFL fan. I cannot make the same assumption about baseball.

I'm not one who thinks you need go macro when watching sports, but I'll play along when among non-geeks. Today it was Molson Canadian for me. Not really so bad at first, but the 24 ounce can doesn't do it any favors. You really can't drink this at all warm, and two 12-ouncers would let me keep one in the fridge while sipping the other. All told, not a bad beer for a special teams inspired rout. On top of that, events now suggest that the AFC East may be competitive this year.

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale (NH)

2008-09-06T18:23:00.006-04:00

This is a Smuttynose Big Beers seasonal that I'm catching late in its run. Still, the bottle dating implies it will be drinkable through 2011, so there's no concern about staleness.

This saison pours coppery orange with a big white head. It's medium-bodied with wonderful soft carbonation. The taste is primarily fruity -- maybe apricots and peaches -- and secondarily spicy. There's a touch of sourness involved as well, but the aftermath for me leans more toward fruity and maybe sugary. It would be nice if it were drier, but still, it's very, very good, a warm weather beer with great depth of flavor. It's over 7% ABV and tickles the ribcage a bit.

Before this. I think I've only ever had two saisons: Ommegang Hennepin, one of my favorite beers, and Southern Tier's disappointing Cherry Saison. I'd rank Smuttynose right up there with Hennepin. I haven't tried them side by side, but I think Hennepin is more perfumey and perhaps a bit wilder, while Smuttynose's take is fruitier. It may be a little late in the season to be drinking saison, but if you find it, this Big Beer is worth two purchases: one for now and one for the cellar.

BTW, the brewery's current seasonal is the intriguing Wheat Wine Ale, carrying a back story of a labeling battle with the Tax and Trade Bureau.

Custom BrewCrafters EPA (NY)

2008-09-02T21:52:00.005-04:00

This is kind of exciting: Custom BrewCrafters has started bottling their beer. Located about a half hour's drive south of Rochester in Honeoye Falls, Custom BrewCrafters creates private label beers for many area restaurants and bars. Under their own name, they've also sold growlers at the brewery and a few other places. Only recently have they expanded their facilities for bottling.

This English-Style Pale Ale is "a well balanced amber ale with a smooth, dry finish," according to the label. Those expecting something like Sierra Nevada or Anchor Liberty will be disappointed. CB's brew leans more toward malt sweetness than hop bitterness, and the hops are herbal and floral. The malt base is slightly caramel or maybe toffee (and, admittedly, a touch watery), but the finish still pulls back dry. It's supposedly 5.1% ABV, but feels lighter. It's also quite low on carbonation by US standards (good!). This strikes me as a decent interpretation of the style, which isn't to say it's what American beer drinkers are yearning for. However, I like it, and am glad they went all English on us.

There's still the issue of the name. "Custom BrewCrafters" accurately depicts what the company originally set out to do, but is all wrong for a craft brewery. The label also calls it "CB's," which sounds like a forced nickname . But now that they're selling six packs, it's probably too late to change.