Anniversary

Just a reminder that The Barley Blog is hosting Session 18 with the theme of "Happy Anniversary." This just so happens to coincide with the one year anniversary of this blog (actually about a week ago).

Coney Island Lager (NY)

Creepiest. Label. Ever.

This is from the the same guys who make He'brew beers. The Coney Island lagers (there are several) have spun off onto their own web page. This isn't a huge lager in terms of ABV (5.5%) but it is one that tries to do a lot, boasting of eight malt and six hop varieties. With hops, it plays both German (Tettnang, Hallerauer) and Czech (Saaz) sides of the fence, plus adds Amarillo, Warrior and the inevitable Cascade. The ultimate result is, I think, something a bit ale-ish.

It's coppery-brown and a bit hazy, looking thick for a lager. The aroma does hint at citrus hops. A lot of flavor for a lager: caramel malt (but not like the Vienna lager that ratebeer places it as), grassy and citrus hops. Overall, it isn't bitter, but well-balanced, and not in the sense of boring. The price of this is that it isn't as clean and crisp as many lagers, although it does bring a lager-like carbonation that tells you it isn't an ale.

Coney island Lager isn't as far outside the stylistic boundaries as Flying Dog's Old Scratch. I like it about as much as I like Brooklyn Lager, which also tosses in Northwest hops. If you want a purely traditional take on lager, you might be disappointed. If you're an ale supremacist, give this a try.

Supermarket Finds

Beerjanglin' reports that the Wegmans supermarket in Dewitt (Syracuse area) has expanded its beer selection, and it looks impressive. And I thought my local Wegmans had a good selection. I wonder this will spread to all thier stores throughout the Northeast, or if it's dependent on local market conditions.

Budweiser has a recipe?

He's no Stephen Colbert, but here's Lewis Black on the A-B sale. It starts about 2 1/2 minutes in out of 4 1/2.

Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager (COL)

So I decided to take a break from my lager tasting to try this English-style ale called Old Scratch Amber Lager. The brewer confesses that this is fermented at "medium temperatures to develop both ale and lager characteristics." Maybe it's a California Common -- I haven't had Anchor Steam in a while for comparison. My first thought upon sipping was that it's reminiscent of Adnams Broadside.

Not that it's a close match. Old Scratch smells initially of a lager with its German hops. It's clear like a lager, although somewhat ruddier than most. By the standards of an ale, it would be fairly light-bodied and crisp. But really, this isn't a lager. It's more malty than hoppy (only 19 IBUs), which I suppose is okay. The malts are somewhat caramel, but also of butterscotch, which is way out of place for a lager. The finish pulls back somewhat dry, but still not entirely clean.

Fidelity to style notwithstanding, Old Scratch is a good beer. Given the Beer Geeks' suspicion of lagers, maybe it's a good way to sneak one in under the radar. The raters at Beer Advocate and ratebeer are only moderately impressed, however.

Elsewhere on the internets...

Salon has a piece entitled "The rise and fall of an American beer," a somewhat cursory cultural history of Anheuser-Busch. The woes for A-B are presented as thus:

Budweiser is seen as kind of like 'The Man,'" says Eichelberger, a serious student of beer semiotics. "People who want to be anti-establishment, they're more comfortable with Miller."

For the same reason, Pabst Blue Ribbon is the cheap beer of hipsters in the funky-but-not-quite-scary dive bars of our largest cities.

Chris O'Brien at Beer Activist has a more informative piece enititled "Beer and Climate Change." In it, he charts the carbon footprint of New Belgium's Fat Tire. It turns out, it's mostly "downstream" factors to blame, that is, what happens after the beer leaves the brewery. Retailer refrigeration is the main culprit, with some improvement possible through the use of closed door coolers (or, presumably, no coolers at all). Drinking at local brewpubs or (preumably) homebrewing would also help. Non reusable glass bottles are a problem, but transportation isn't much of one.

Brooklyn Lager/Blue Point Toasted Lager (NY)

I'm going through a bit of a lager spell right now. Like any other style, and I occasionally have a hankering for them. Still, I know that many beer geeks feel as the Modern Drunkard does in this blast from the past post:

lager: there are those who like to say this light, golden beer is served cold so as to distinguish it from urine, but the truth of the matter is urine also has a much better head.

I decided to give Blue Point's Toasted Lager a try, using Brooklyn Brewery's better known lager as a benchmark.

The beers look nearly identical: clear amber/copper with white head. I think Brooklyn's foam lasts a bit longer. Tastewise, Blue Point strikes me as simply a more competently made version of the lagers we Americans grew up with. It has good malty flavor -- no light or sour corniness. However, it isn't really toasty. The hop kick exceeds that of macros, obviously, but isn't huge (28 IBUs, according to the brewer, but against not too rich of a malt backbone). Fairly flavorful, clean, crisp and refreshing.

Brooklyn Lager is either more exciting or more wrong. It brings more flavor and more hop presence; more bite, and a bit of pilsener scratchiness. What's most noteworthy is the American citrusy hops whose bitterness hit at the end. It's made with Hallertauer Mittelfruh, Vanguard and Cascade, and the last of these isn't hidden. To me, it's reminiscent of an APA or Amber Ale. Looking at what most people say online, I didn't see a lot of others pointing this out, so maybe I'm just sensitive to grapefruit bitterness. All told, it's a better bet for those underwhelmed by most lagers.

Both are defined at ratebeer as Vienna lagers. Neither are much like Great Lakes Eliot Ness, which amps up a toffee-like sweetness and tastes very Octobery. I've heard people recommend Brooklyn Lager as a gateway beer, but I don't know. A lot of people just don't like that citrusy bitterness. Blue Point would be a safer bet, but maybe doesn't do enough to drag macro drinkers into the craft beer realm. I like both beers.

Trader José Dark Lager (MEX)

Trader Joe's Dark Premium Dark Lager is made in Mexico -- thus, Trader "José" -- and is pretty clearly modeled on Negra Modelo. This sets certain levels of expectations for the beer that work in TJ's favor.

This is basically a fairly light-bodied beer that wouldn't work in October, but that's not what they're trying to do. I would like a higher hop level to match the caramel sweetness. If it warms too much, it seems to develop some off flavors. But this is too negative.

What I like best about it are the roasty, cocoa-ish notes that come through at the end. It's ultimately a clean, refreshing summer brew that is also quite tasty. Maybe I was selling Trader Joe's short (they don't even have stores around here, so I don't know), but I liked this considerably more than I thought I would.