I'm not sure why, but I've been waiting for this one. I'm usually not a fan of chocolate stouts, but this one is well regarded and it's from a brewery that I can't get in Texas so of course that makes me want it more.
Deep opaque black with a moderate, medium tan head on even a hard pour. Small, slow bubbles apparent at the edge of the glass.
Smells great. Obvious chocolate that lingers between cocoa and semi-sweet and increases as it warms. Solid roasted malt backbone.
Bitterness hits you first, with a smooth, slow feel that feels like there's no carbonation. The chocolate comes next, almost as sweet as a Young's Double Chocolate Stout, but the 11% ABV and huge roasted bitterness keep it in check. Young's is like drinking a cake, this isn't subtle, but it's balanced.
This is not an every day beer. It's not that it's too big, but it is too chocolatey. Young's is sickly-sweet, this one is just chocolately. It would be good to split the bomber iwth friends as a dessert beer. Then hit the straight-up stouts, or maybe even straight-up coffee.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Nashoba Valley Brewery's Imperial Stout
I feel fairly fortunate to have received a sample of this small brewery's seasonal Imperial Stout. I've never heard of this brewery, but the label is interesting and I love trying new obscure breweries.
This one pours the standard inky black with a great deep tan head that thins, but not completely.
Uh-oh. Has a Belgian dubbel smell to it, so I let it warm. As it opened up a bit it smelled more like a solid, malty RIS. Deep bread, slight roasted coffee.
Interesting. Carbonation shows up in the feel to make is seem on the lighter side of imperial. At 70 IBU's it's surprisingly mellow, and same goes for the 8.2% ABV--both are well balanced and subdued. Very vinous--like Nashoba uses the same yeast for their beer as their wine. Compared to most impy stouts, this one is a bit lighter. All of the malt, roasted, and coffee flavors are there, just not as strong. Hints of Belgian beers pop up from time to time in the smell again, and in the taste. More like a Belgian strong ale than a dubbel now though.
Interesting take on an RIS. I don't like the phenols that show through from time to time, but they're very subdued. Overall this has the look and feel of an RIS, but it's more mellow than most. Good beer. Glad I had it.
This one pours the standard inky black with a great deep tan head that thins, but not completely.
Uh-oh. Has a Belgian dubbel smell to it, so I let it warm. As it opened up a bit it smelled more like a solid, malty RIS. Deep bread, slight roasted coffee.
Interesting. Carbonation shows up in the feel to make is seem on the lighter side of imperial. At 70 IBU's it's surprisingly mellow, and same goes for the 8.2% ABV--both are well balanced and subdued. Very vinous--like Nashoba uses the same yeast for their beer as their wine. Compared to most impy stouts, this one is a bit lighter. All of the malt, roasted, and coffee flavors are there, just not as strong. Hints of Belgian beers pop up from time to time in the smell again, and in the taste. More like a Belgian strong ale than a dubbel now though.
Interesting take on an RIS. I don't like the phenols that show through from time to time, but they're very subdued. Overall this has the look and feel of an RIS, but it's more mellow than most. Good beer. Glad I had it.
Mercury Brewing Company's Ipswich Oatmeal Stout
Wanting to recover from a disappointing Palo Santo Marron experience, I went to a standby style from a brewery I've never tried. Mercury Brewing Company's Ipswich Oatmeal Stout was a huge improvement.
Pours an inky black with an almost cascading medium tan head. Looks great. Like all stouts, it's not too sexy in appearance. It pours more opaque than many regular stouts, but the head is big and that's what sets this one apart from most.
Smell is a little light at first--come to find out it was too cold right off the bat. As it warmed the smell improved, and was much more substantial. Grainy and roasted, with a little alcohol. Kind of close to a Ten FIDY, which is saying something because that's a huge impy stout.
Wow, great roasted bitterness that tastes like it comes more from the malt than hops. The 60 IBU's are very well balanced. Smooth, substantial feel, like some impys. Slightly sweet hint from the oatmeal but that's gone in a flash when the roasted flavor hits. Big taste in this one, and the smell opens up as it warms to match the bigger taste, and a coffee flavor comes out a bit when it warms as well. One of my favorite stouts so far.
Pours an inky black with an almost cascading medium tan head. Looks great. Like all stouts, it's not too sexy in appearance. It pours more opaque than many regular stouts, but the head is big and that's what sets this one apart from most.
Smell is a little light at first--come to find out it was too cold right off the bat. As it warmed the smell improved, and was much more substantial. Grainy and roasted, with a little alcohol. Kind of close to a Ten FIDY, which is saying something because that's a huge impy stout.
Wow, great roasted bitterness that tastes like it comes more from the malt than hops. The 60 IBU's are very well balanced. Smooth, substantial feel, like some impys. Slightly sweet hint from the oatmeal but that's gone in a flash when the roasted flavor hits. Big taste in this one, and the smell opens up as it warms to match the bigger taste, and a coffee flavor comes out a bit when it warms as well. One of my favorite stouts so far.
Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron
So I said to myself, I think I'll start off with something light, like a brown, before starting in on the stouts tonight. Holy Crap Batman, this ain't a brown.
And in some ways that's fine, but in others it just shouldn't be called something it's not. You can't brew a pale and call it a pilsner (I'm looking at you, Prima Pils) any more than you can brew a damn near impy stout and call it a brown. I'm all for bending the rules, but you shouldn't just break them. Some people may call that "creative," or even "on the edge," but the truth is that this is a stout. No ifs ands or buts. It's not "difficult to define" any more than Arrogant Bastard makes beer that I'm "just not ready for." It's a stout.
It pours inky brown, like a brown stout. Great deep tan head that can't stay too long because of how malty the beer is--the pure weight seems to drag the head down. Small, slow bubbles. Opaque, with red highlights.
Deep, malty smell, like an immensely dark bread. Sharp alcohol smell comes through as well. Vinous, almost like a port.
Feels like a milk stout, because it has that smooth texture that lactose can impart. A vinous alcohol hits you right up front, and then fades to a heavily roasted malt flavor. As it warms the coffee comes out stronger, as does the alcohol. I like the beer. I will say that. But it ain't no brown. Its main flaw is an absolute inability to hide the alcohol. I think a good beer with this much body can have 12% ABV and not feel like it, and this one should have done more to try to mask it here. It gets in the way of the flavors and adds nothing. It would have been much better if properly labeled and without the high ABV.
And in some ways that's fine, but in others it just shouldn't be called something it's not. You can't brew a pale and call it a pilsner (I'm looking at you, Prima Pils) any more than you can brew a damn near impy stout and call it a brown. I'm all for bending the rules, but you shouldn't just break them. Some people may call that "creative," or even "on the edge," but the truth is that this is a stout. No ifs ands or buts. It's not "difficult to define" any more than Arrogant Bastard makes beer that I'm "just not ready for." It's a stout.
It pours inky brown, like a brown stout. Great deep tan head that can't stay too long because of how malty the beer is--the pure weight seems to drag the head down. Small, slow bubbles. Opaque, with red highlights.
Deep, malty smell, like an immensely dark bread. Sharp alcohol smell comes through as well. Vinous, almost like a port.
Feels like a milk stout, because it has that smooth texture that lactose can impart. A vinous alcohol hits you right up front, and then fades to a heavily roasted malt flavor. As it warms the coffee comes out stronger, as does the alcohol. I like the beer. I will say that. But it ain't no brown. Its main flaw is an absolute inability to hide the alcohol. I think a good beer with this much body can have 12% ABV and not feel like it, and this one should have done more to try to mask it here. It gets in the way of the flavors and adds nothing. It would have been much better if properly labeled and without the high ABV.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
North Coast Brewing Company's Scrimshaw Pilsner
We just had a cold snap here in Houston, so you'd think tonight would call for at least a porter, and maybe a stout or barley wine. But, dinner is a huge bowl of a pretty spicy lentil soup, and nothing goes better with spicy food than a pilsner.
This one pours a super clear yellow, with a white head that thins but stays due to good carbonation. That's fairly unusual for a pils, even a malty German one.
Smells crisp and has the right pils funk, but it's pretty light. More sophisticated? We'll see. Definitely smells maltier. Not quite sweet, but just more substantial.
It's a more subtle, more malty German pils, instead of a more funky in your face Czech type. Moderate bitterness with a heavier body than a Czech, so it doesn't fizz away in the feel as fast and isn't as sharp in the smell or taste.
Good beer. I prefer Chezchs, but this is right on type for a German. My only complaint is that it's a little too sweet, but again that's from the maltier German style. Many people say a German pils is a lot hoppier, but this one shows that you can do it right without over-hopping it (I'm looking at you, Prima Pils, you ridiculous excuse for a beer).
This one pours a super clear yellow, with a white head that thins but stays due to good carbonation. That's fairly unusual for a pils, even a malty German one.
Smells crisp and has the right pils funk, but it's pretty light. More sophisticated? We'll see. Definitely smells maltier. Not quite sweet, but just more substantial.
It's a more subtle, more malty German pils, instead of a more funky in your face Czech type. Moderate bitterness with a heavier body than a Czech, so it doesn't fizz away in the feel as fast and isn't as sharp in the smell or taste.
Good beer. I prefer Chezchs, but this is right on type for a German. My only complaint is that it's a little too sweet, but again that's from the maltier German style. Many people say a German pils is a lot hoppier, but this one shows that you can do it right without over-hopping it (I'm looking at you, Prima Pils, you ridiculous excuse for a beer).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sand Creek Brewing Company's Woody's Wheat
I guess you can tell that I just got a shipment from a beer of the month club in, because this is my second beer form Sand Creek tonight. Wheats are some of my favorites, too, so I'm looking forward to this one.
This one pours a deep, unfiltered and glowingly-opaque hazy yellow with amber where the least light penetrates the beer. Looks like it's going to be one of the more substantial hefes. Fairly strong carbonation that still can't keep the light off-white head at more than a collar. That's OK though, wheats are like that.
Smells sweet, a little phenolic though. Uh-oh, I hate that, and all that it implies. Damnit it looks great, but smells like a band aid. Damnit, I have to drink it. And I know I'm not going to like it.
Yeah, it's like drinking a band aid. I always like the way band aids smelled as a kid. The ones with the plastic tan sticky parts, and the cloth ones, always smelled the same. Medicinal, like you just knew that it was going to make your cut better. Johnson & Johnson must have intentionally imbedded that smell into the materials they used to give a sense of comfort to the six year old that was about to put it on his finger. It was comforting.
Not so with beer though. It reminds me of the Belgians I no longer enjoy. It's well within type though, because hefes are acceptably phenolic. This one's better than most, too, because it's drier and a little more tart than others. I often hear that people get banana and clove tastes in beers like this, but I disagree completely with that. I like bananas, but not this. And cloves are distinctive, but this has none of the clove spice to it. I think that people taste phenols and just say clove and banana because that's what they think they're supposed to say, because this isn't even close to that.
Objectively, this is probably a good beer. It's like a Blue Moon or Shiner Hefeweizen on roids. Well within the type, leaning toward the heavier-bodied side of the style. Well worth it to folks who love Belgians, but it's just not for me.
This one pours a deep, unfiltered and glowingly-opaque hazy yellow with amber where the least light penetrates the beer. Looks like it's going to be one of the more substantial hefes. Fairly strong carbonation that still can't keep the light off-white head at more than a collar. That's OK though, wheats are like that.
Smells sweet, a little phenolic though. Uh-oh, I hate that, and all that it implies. Damnit it looks great, but smells like a band aid. Damnit, I have to drink it. And I know I'm not going to like it.
Yeah, it's like drinking a band aid. I always like the way band aids smelled as a kid. The ones with the plastic tan sticky parts, and the cloth ones, always smelled the same. Medicinal, like you just knew that it was going to make your cut better. Johnson & Johnson must have intentionally imbedded that smell into the materials they used to give a sense of comfort to the six year old that was about to put it on his finger. It was comforting.
Not so with beer though. It reminds me of the Belgians I no longer enjoy. It's well within type though, because hefes are acceptably phenolic. This one's better than most, too, because it's drier and a little more tart than others. I often hear that people get banana and clove tastes in beers like this, but I disagree completely with that. I like bananas, but not this. And cloves are distinctive, but this has none of the clove spice to it. I think that people taste phenols and just say clove and banana because that's what they think they're supposed to say, because this isn't even close to that.
Objectively, this is probably a good beer. It's like a Blue Moon or Shiner Hefeweizen on roids. Well within the type, leaning toward the heavier-bodied side of the style. Well worth it to folks who love Belgians, but it's just not for me.
Sand Creek Brewing Company's English Style Special Ale
It's hard to get excited about an English Brown Ale, but they can be solid beers that are god to go to when you want something a little more robust than a pilsner or kolsch, without all of the hoppy nonsense of a pale.
This one pours more like an imperial red than a brown, at least in color if not body. Light tan head that stays longer than any brown I can remember, and that's a good sign. Moderate carbonation.
Another malty, bready beer for tonight. I've had so many uber-stouts lately that I've kind of lost touch, but it's great to have a few in a row that are more mild but perfect for their type.
Malty with a nutty, almost coffee bitterness. A great alternative to the in-your-face grassy bitterness that comes from hops in unadulturated quantities that mask every other thing about a beer. Solid malt backbone to it, although the bready smell doesn't really translate to the taste. This is a well balanced brown that I wish was more widely distributed.
This one pours more like an imperial red than a brown, at least in color if not body. Light tan head that stays longer than any brown I can remember, and that's a good sign. Moderate carbonation.
Another malty, bready beer for tonight. I've had so many uber-stouts lately that I've kind of lost touch, but it's great to have a few in a row that are more mild but perfect for their type.
Malty with a nutty, almost coffee bitterness. A great alternative to the in-your-face grassy bitterness that comes from hops in unadulturated quantities that mask every other thing about a beer. Solid malt backbone to it, although the bready smell doesn't really translate to the taste. This is a well balanced brown that I wish was more widely distributed.
Lancaster Brewing's Winter Warmer
Well, it says it's a winter warmer, but its listed as an old ale, so it's probably a less spicy version of a warmer, which is OK with me because spices can be easily overdone.
Pours deep opaque reddish brown with a huge tan head and good carbonation.
Fantastic bready smell. It subsides when the head dies down some, but this is what a malty beer should smell like.
The malt is balanced by an indistinct bitterness that finishes with a slightly sharp alcohol taste that warms nicely. Great warmer, and despite the slight taste of the alcohol it actually hides its 8.9% ABV very well. The fact that the alcohol comes out is what makes it passable as a warmer, but it has a vinous almost bordeaux hint to it as well, like an old ale should.
Great beer. Only my second from Lancaster, and it has convinced me to keep coming back to them.
Pours deep opaque reddish brown with a huge tan head and good carbonation.
Fantastic bready smell. It subsides when the head dies down some, but this is what a malty beer should smell like.
The malt is balanced by an indistinct bitterness that finishes with a slightly sharp alcohol taste that warms nicely. Great warmer, and despite the slight taste of the alcohol it actually hides its 8.9% ABV very well. The fact that the alcohol comes out is what makes it passable as a warmer, but it has a vinous almost bordeaux hint to it as well, like an old ale should.
Great beer. Only my second from Lancaster, and it has convinced me to keep coming back to them.
Monday, January 26, 2009
O'Fallon Brewery's 5 Day IPA
A good beer from Missouri? I'm as shocked as you are.
Admittedly, IPA isn't my favorite style. I find them to generally be one-dimensional excuses for brewers to pump up the hops in a beer in order to hide the fact that they can't brew something that can stand on its own without an overly-bitter camouflage for their substandard ingredients. But, if done well, they can be a treat.
This particular one pours a hazy amber with a great tan head. Looks to be loosely filtered instead of any form of chill haze. Looks like it'll be substantial.
I can smell it already, grassy hops that the carbonation and head throw off like crazy. When you get closer to it the bready malt comes out strongly, making this at least smell well balanced.
Great level of bitterness in the taste with an orange-citrus zing that is different but fitting. Well balanced in the feel and taste, but understandably the hops take charge. Still, a well balanced IPA doesn't mean that there can't be prominent hops, and in fact that's part of the point but it shouldn't get out of control, and this one doesn't. Fairly high carbonation makes it a little lighter bodied than it would have been otherwise. Drink this one cold, because its only negative characteristic is that it gets a slight chemical taste as it warms.
Admittedly, IPA isn't my favorite style. I find them to generally be one-dimensional excuses for brewers to pump up the hops in a beer in order to hide the fact that they can't brew something that can stand on its own without an overly-bitter camouflage for their substandard ingredients. But, if done well, they can be a treat.
This particular one pours a hazy amber with a great tan head. Looks to be loosely filtered instead of any form of chill haze. Looks like it'll be substantial.
I can smell it already, grassy hops that the carbonation and head throw off like crazy. When you get closer to it the bready malt comes out strongly, making this at least smell well balanced.
Great level of bitterness in the taste with an orange-citrus zing that is different but fitting. Well balanced in the feel and taste, but understandably the hops take charge. Still, a well balanced IPA doesn't mean that there can't be prominent hops, and in fact that's part of the point but it shouldn't get out of control, and this one doesn't. Fairly high carbonation makes it a little lighter bodied than it would have been otherwise. Drink this one cold, because its only negative characteristic is that it gets a slight chemical taste as it warms.
Rogue Ales' Brutal Bitter
Although their XS series is a bit pricey (with the exception of Morimoto, which isn't truly XS but still an imperial and in their ceramic bottles), and the guy on heir labels is kind of cheesy, Rogue puts out some consistently good beer and I was happy to see their version of an ESB on the shelf.
It pours a solid amber with a huge tan head that stays for ever. Looks perfect for the type, and as usual Rogue can make a beer with a head that is considerable.
Smells like a bitter. Malty with solid hops that smell a bit grassy. Has a hint of pale or amber to it, but only because of the huge head throwing off so much of the smell. When that dies down you're left with a balanced smell that has both hops and a slightly bready malt.
Excellent bitterness, but not as bitter as an IPA. More like a pale or amber, but drier in the feel. Slightly grassy, but mostly just straight-up bitter without real definition. Not floral, not piney, barely grassy. Slightly sweet with a hint of bread from the malt.
Great beer. Solidly bitter without any one overbearing characteristic, right down the middle of the type. And while that usually denotes an unimiganitive beer, the fact is that this particular type calls for modesty despite the aggressive name. Hope it stays in the stores on a regular basis.
It pours a solid amber with a huge tan head that stays for ever. Looks perfect for the type, and as usual Rogue can make a beer with a head that is considerable.
Smells like a bitter. Malty with solid hops that smell a bit grassy. Has a hint of pale or amber to it, but only because of the huge head throwing off so much of the smell. When that dies down you're left with a balanced smell that has both hops and a slightly bready malt.
Excellent bitterness, but not as bitter as an IPA. More like a pale or amber, but drier in the feel. Slightly grassy, but mostly just straight-up bitter without real definition. Not floral, not piney, barely grassy. Slightly sweet with a hint of bread from the malt.
Great beer. Solidly bitter without any one overbearing characteristic, right down the middle of the type. And while that usually denotes an unimiganitive beer, the fact is that this particular type calls for modesty despite the aggressive name. Hope it stays in the stores on a regular basis.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Deschutes Brewery's Obsidian Stout
I'm always looking for beer I can't get in Texas, and this one came to me through one of the internet beer stores to the right. Deschutes Brewery's Obsidian Stout has many characteristics of the bigger impy stouts that I love, with a little less alcohol. To me, that just means I can drink more of it before I get to where I can't taste anything.
Pours super-opaque for a beer that's not billed as an RIS or double stout. Great dark tan head, almost as dark as Ten FIDY's, and it stays for a while.
Great roasted malt smell. Grassy hops fight through the malt, but not too much.
Straight forward. Lighter in body than it looks like it would be, but that's more because it looks like an RIS than anything else. More carbonated and lighter in feel than an RIS, which is exactly how it should be. Non-distinct bitterness can't fight through the roasted malt flavor, which is substantial. Larger sips bring out the bitterness a bit more, and oddly enough a slight alcohol taste.
Great beer. Probably my favorite straight-up stout (I'm not counting Founders Breakfast Stout as straight-up), and it even edges out a few RIS's.
Pours super-opaque for a beer that's not billed as an RIS or double stout. Great dark tan head, almost as dark as Ten FIDY's, and it stays for a while.
Great roasted malt smell. Grassy hops fight through the malt, but not too much.
Straight forward. Lighter in body than it looks like it would be, but that's more because it looks like an RIS than anything else. More carbonated and lighter in feel than an RIS, which is exactly how it should be. Non-distinct bitterness can't fight through the roasted malt flavor, which is substantial. Larger sips bring out the bitterness a bit more, and oddly enough a slight alcohol taste.
Great beer. Probably my favorite straight-up stout (I'm not counting Founders Breakfast Stout as straight-up), and it even edges out a few RIS's.
Beer Alliance of Texas
Today's Houston Chronicle has an interesting article about lobbyists, and there are two sayings that always come to mind whenever I think about lobbyists. First, is 'follow the money.' And second is 'two things you never want to see being made are sausage and legislation.'
Well, the more you follow the money, the more you realize you really do want to know how legislation is made. Take, for example, the fact that one of the single largest lobbyists in the last legislative session was the Beer Alliance of Texas.
Now, information on exactly what it is that the Alliance does is sorely lacking. I found a reference or two about distributing education materials on the responsible consumption of beer, and that's undeniably a Good Thing(TM). But--what else are they asking for? We have little way to tell. One thing's for sure, though, with an address on High Life Drive, the chances are that they don't have the small brewer at heart. It's also interesting to hear that their "contact" person is often listed as the very same lobbyist listed in the Chronicle article--telling me that the organization is little more than a lobbyist organization.
It's also interesting to note that so far in preparation for this upcoming legislative session they've already paid about $75,000. $5,000.00 went to recently ousted House Speaker Tom Craddick (OOPS). Also interesting is that folks like Joe Huggins, who is the President of Houston Distributing Company is one of the Alliance's contributors.
Another wonderful example of following the money is when you see who's been lining State Senator Gallegos' pockets. Despite not being up for election this past year he accepted more money than any other Texas legislator in either house, and was beat out only by Governor Perry and a few other state-wide office holders. He is a leading recipient of funds from various PAC's, but one in particular draws my attention where beer is concerned. One of his most recent contributors was a PAC run by Locke Liddell, a law firm with one of the most entrenched Republican lobbies in Texas. One of their largest contributors is Silver Eagle Distributors.
Why does this matter, you ask? Because Gallegos just sponsored a bill to eliminate a tax break for micro brewers.
Yeah, I thought Republicans were all about fostering small businesses too. But not when they compete with their campaign contributors, I guess. Gallegos is a Democrat you say? Why yes he is. And evidently his vote is for sale. He serves on no committees that have a thing to do with alcohol or taxes, and his only connection to beer is that he receives money from Silver Eagle, which also contributed money to Texans For a Republican Majority PAC. That's only incidental to the beer issue, but it does complete the picture that Senator Gallegos, a Democrat, is one of the state's leading whores if he takes money from heavily Republican contributors.
Well, the more you follow the money, the more you realize you really do want to know how legislation is made. Take, for example, the fact that one of the single largest lobbyists in the last legislative session was the Beer Alliance of Texas.
Now, information on exactly what it is that the Alliance does is sorely lacking. I found a reference or two about distributing education materials on the responsible consumption of beer, and that's undeniably a Good Thing(TM). But--what else are they asking for? We have little way to tell. One thing's for sure, though, with an address on High Life Drive, the chances are that they don't have the small brewer at heart. It's also interesting to hear that their "contact" person is often listed as the very same lobbyist listed in the Chronicle article--telling me that the organization is little more than a lobbyist organization.
It's also interesting to note that so far in preparation for this upcoming legislative session they've already paid about $75,000. $5,000.00 went to recently ousted House Speaker Tom Craddick (OOPS). Also interesting is that folks like Joe Huggins, who is the President of Houston Distributing Company is one of the Alliance's contributors.
Another wonderful example of following the money is when you see who's been lining State Senator Gallegos' pockets. Despite not being up for election this past year he accepted more money than any other Texas legislator in either house, and was beat out only by Governor Perry and a few other state-wide office holders. He is a leading recipient of funds from various PAC's, but one in particular draws my attention where beer is concerned. One of his most recent contributors was a PAC run by Locke Liddell, a law firm with one of the most entrenched Republican lobbies in Texas. One of their largest contributors is Silver Eagle Distributors.
Why does this matter, you ask? Because Gallegos just sponsored a bill to eliminate a tax break for micro brewers.
Yeah, I thought Republicans were all about fostering small businesses too. But not when they compete with their campaign contributors, I guess. Gallegos is a Democrat you say? Why yes he is. And evidently his vote is for sale. He serves on no committees that have a thing to do with alcohol or taxes, and his only connection to beer is that he receives money from Silver Eagle, which also contributed money to Texans For a Republican Majority PAC. That's only incidental to the beer issue, but it does complete the picture that Senator Gallegos, a Democrat, is one of the state's leading whores if he takes money from heavily Republican contributors.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Breckenridge Brewery's Oatmeal Stout
With a couple of exceptions, Breckenridge is a lackluster brewery producing lackluster beers under lackluster labels. This is one of those exceptions.
Their oatmeal stout pours an opaque black, with a small tan head that thins to a collar. Smells like grainy, sharp molasses, with a roasted smell.
Sharp for an oatmeal stout, like they skimped a bit on the oatmeal, but it's not out of type because it gives way to both a moderate bitterness and a slight sweetness from the oats. Deep, roasted malt. Straight-up (non-RIS, anyway) stouts like this are lighter in body than I like, but that's my subjectivity. It has the right amount of malt backbone and body with the classic roasted taste of a stout, with the oats contributing the smoothness and sweetness that would otherwise be absent.
My favorite Breckenridge beer so far.
Their oatmeal stout pours an opaque black, with a small tan head that thins to a collar. Smells like grainy, sharp molasses, with a roasted smell.
Sharp for an oatmeal stout, like they skimped a bit on the oatmeal, but it's not out of type because it gives way to both a moderate bitterness and a slight sweetness from the oats. Deep, roasted malt. Straight-up (non-RIS, anyway) stouts like this are lighter in body than I like, but that's my subjectivity. It has the right amount of malt backbone and body with the classic roasted taste of a stout, with the oats contributing the smoothness and sweetness that would otherwise be absent.
My favorite Breckenridge beer so far.
Tommyknocker Brewery's Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer
I have to admit that this brewery's stupid name and stupid labels kept me from trying their beers for a long time. I guess I should have known better, since I've bought beers just because of the label, and was sorely disappointed. But Tommyknocker Brewery's Cocoa Porter Winter Warmer is just one example of why you shouldn't judge a beer by its label. Being a porter means it's not a "true" winter warmer, but both winter warmer and American porter are categories so broad that there's bound to be some overlap.
Pours an opaque deep brown with a good tan head that thins to a sheet. Fairly large bubbles can be seen only at the edges of the glass.
Great vinous smell, with a sweetness that seems to be more like a milk stout than cocoa. Solid grainy malt backbone to it as well.
Obvious cocoa taste, with a good body that's right for a porter. A bit fizzy, but that doesn't detract from the feel too much. Substantial roasted malt taste with hops showing up for the first time. Moderately hopped, and sweet, from the cocoa. Hint of coffee from the roasted malts comes through in the aftertaste.
It has a sweet cocoa taste that fits as a cocoa porter, but it's lighter in body than a porter, which fits as a winter warmer. I don't know, personally it feels like a chocolate bock, because it has a hint of a lager taste with a malty, heavy lager feel. Either way, I like it. It doesn't fit neatly into any single pigeon hole, like beer nerds like to cram each and every beer into, but it's a darker beer with solid flavor and a light feel. It's not often that that combination works out.
Pours an opaque deep brown with a good tan head that thins to a sheet. Fairly large bubbles can be seen only at the edges of the glass.
Great vinous smell, with a sweetness that seems to be more like a milk stout than cocoa. Solid grainy malt backbone to it as well.
Obvious cocoa taste, with a good body that's right for a porter. A bit fizzy, but that doesn't detract from the feel too much. Substantial roasted malt taste with hops showing up for the first time. Moderately hopped, and sweet, from the cocoa. Hint of coffee from the roasted malts comes through in the aftertaste.
It has a sweet cocoa taste that fits as a cocoa porter, but it's lighter in body than a porter, which fits as a winter warmer. I don't know, personally it feels like a chocolate bock, because it has a hint of a lager taste with a malty, heavy lager feel. Either way, I like it. It doesn't fit neatly into any single pigeon hole, like beer nerds like to cram each and every beer into, but it's a darker beer with solid flavor and a light feel. It's not often that that combination works out.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Porter
Bill Clinton once said that there's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America. And to me, Sierra Nevada exemplifies what's right with America. It's a solid company with big beers that is successful enough to reach macro status in capacity while not dumbing down their recipes to reach the masses (I'm looking at you, Sam Adams), or having to get there by means of advertising because taste and quality aren't enough on their own (still looking at you).
Everything is streamlined, and simple. Good, solid beers in recognizable, unique labels, and not a bum in the bunch. So tonight's Sierra Nevada Porter is a guaranteed good beer.
It pours an opaque black with amber to red highlights and a thick tan head that gets pillowy and very slowly fades. Difficult to tell what the carbonation is by sight, but it supports a good sized head for some time.
Smells almost like a stout because it's a bit grainy, but it's more rich than a stout, a little deeper. Slight hops, a bit sweet, and molasses that puts it solidly in the porter style. Very slightly vinous as it warms, and low carbonation keeps it smooth and buttery in the feel.
Very good porter, and just one more example of how a beer should be even if your company grows bigger than you thought it ever would (Sam...).
Everything is streamlined, and simple. Good, solid beers in recognizable, unique labels, and not a bum in the bunch. So tonight's Sierra Nevada Porter is a guaranteed good beer.
It pours an opaque black with amber to red highlights and a thick tan head that gets pillowy and very slowly fades. Difficult to tell what the carbonation is by sight, but it supports a good sized head for some time.
Smells almost like a stout because it's a bit grainy, but it's more rich than a stout, a little deeper. Slight hops, a bit sweet, and molasses that puts it solidly in the porter style. Very slightly vinous as it warms, and low carbonation keeps it smooth and buttery in the feel.
Very good porter, and just one more example of how a beer should be even if your company grows bigger than you thought it ever would (Sam...).
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Well, it's from Quebec, which is the same as the Surrender Monkeys across the pond, or Louisiana, which is no better, but it was free and you know what, it looks good in the bottle and I'm a sucker for a stout of almost any type.
This one pours inky black, the darkest non-impy stout I can remember. Light tan head that is a decent size, but fades pretty quickly.
Has a deep, grainy smell. A bit sweet, like a milk stout. Not hugely malty like I'd expect from such a dark beer, and no apparent hops. Smells kind of like cold milk, maybe with a little coffee thrown in.
Like the smell, the taste is more like a milk stout than oatmeal, except the coffee smell comes across as a roasted flavor in the taste. I like this beer, but it feels off type. The purist in me thinks I would like it more as a milk stout. But it's a damn good beer if you don't let hyper-technicalities get in the way.
I'f I'm ever in Quebec, I'll make them surrender more of this to me.
This one pours inky black, the darkest non-impy stout I can remember. Light tan head that is a decent size, but fades pretty quickly.
Has a deep, grainy smell. A bit sweet, like a milk stout. Not hugely malty like I'd expect from such a dark beer, and no apparent hops. Smells kind of like cold milk, maybe with a little coffee thrown in.
Like the smell, the taste is more like a milk stout than oatmeal, except the coffee smell comes across as a roasted flavor in the taste. I like this beer, but it feels off type. The purist in me thinks I would like it more as a milk stout. But it's a damn good beer if you don't let hyper-technicalities get in the way.
I'f I'm ever in Quebec, I'll make them surrender more of this to me.
Hofbrau Munchen's Hofbrau Maibock
I'm waiting for a couple of stouts to chill in the fridge, so in the meantime I thought I'd warm up with a Hofbrau Maibock.
It pours a nice, clear copper with an almost white crisp head that thins quickly. Moderate carbonation with big bubbles, but the head stays only at a sheet. It's to be expected from a bock, so I don't count that as a negative.
Smells malty and a bit slow, I hate to say it but it had a hint of banana--this is the first time I've ever used that word in a beer review, although I see it used far too often. But it left quickly, and was replaced by a slightly bready malt smell.
Tastes like a light bock, or a heavy, malty Euro lager (yes, that's different). Good beer, fairly crisp like a lager should be, but heavier than the lagers we're used to in the US. Slight roasted character and a heavier euro lager mustiness. Solid malty backbone that gives it the bigger bock-like feel.
Not a bad warm up...
It pours a nice, clear copper with an almost white crisp head that thins quickly. Moderate carbonation with big bubbles, but the head stays only at a sheet. It's to be expected from a bock, so I don't count that as a negative.
Smells malty and a bit slow, I hate to say it but it had a hint of banana--this is the first time I've ever used that word in a beer review, although I see it used far too often. But it left quickly, and was replaced by a slightly bready malt smell.
Tastes like a light bock, or a heavy, malty Euro lager (yes, that's different). Good beer, fairly crisp like a lager should be, but heavier than the lagers we're used to in the US. Slight roasted character and a heavier euro lager mustiness. Solid malty backbone that gives it the bigger bock-like feel.
Not a bad warm up...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Anchor Brewing's Christmas Ale 2008
Knowing that I can always count on Anchor to put out a consistently good beer, I went to their 2008 Christmas Ale to redeem tonight's beer experience.
This one pours an opaque, deep brown like a porter with a huge tan head that gets rocky and almost never recedes. It has decent carbonation that you can see only toward the top of the beer due to its opacity.
Huh. Grassiest warmer I've ever smelled. That was the smell of hops thrown off by the head at its height, but as it receded and was replaced by a typical warmer smell that's close to a bock or dark ale, with a deep, fermented fruit smell.
Fairly heavy and smooth for a warmer--close to a porter, but less vinous. Solid slow feel with moderate bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste. Hint of chocolate and roasted malts as it warms, with a crisp finish due to the carbonation.
I like this beer. It's not the sexiest style, but it's solid. It's like a darker, maltier, heavier bodied pale. Pleasing to just about everyone, not risky or bold, but a good, consistent style.
This one pours an opaque, deep brown like a porter with a huge tan head that gets rocky and almost never recedes. It has decent carbonation that you can see only toward the top of the beer due to its opacity.
Huh. Grassiest warmer I've ever smelled. That was the smell of hops thrown off by the head at its height, but as it receded and was replaced by a typical warmer smell that's close to a bock or dark ale, with a deep, fermented fruit smell.
Fairly heavy and smooth for a warmer--close to a porter, but less vinous. Solid slow feel with moderate bitterness that lingers in the aftertaste. Hint of chocolate and roasted malts as it warms, with a crisp finish due to the carbonation.
I like this beer. It's not the sexiest style, but it's solid. It's like a darker, maltier, heavier bodied pale. Pleasing to just about everyone, not risky or bold, but a good, consistent style.
Avery Brewing's Ale to the Chief
I know, I know, drinking this one on Inauguration day is gay. Still, I had to.
Pours a great coppery amber with a huge tan head. This is the first head on a pale of any type that I've ever seen cascade (like Guinness, for those unfamiliar with the term), and then it gets pillowy before it slowly fades. Moderate carbonation with big bubbles that slowly rise, a sign of a heavy bodied DIPA, I'm hoping.
Great grassy smell with a big, bready malt backbone. Not complex, but right what it should be.
Huh. Falls kind of flat on the taste. The grassy hops hit you right up front, but then quickly fade to a muted grassy-sweet flavor. Goddangit, it has Belgian dubbel traits that really bring it down for me. It mutes the taste and dulls the feel. I expected more of a fresh hop taste out of a dry hopped beer like this, especially a DIPA. The bitterness fades quickly, then finishes with a tart sweetness. Fairly substantial body, but the taste is relatively dull, moreso as it warms.
Great day, mediocre beer. About average for Avery.
Pours a great coppery amber with a huge tan head. This is the first head on a pale of any type that I've ever seen cascade (like Guinness, for those unfamiliar with the term), and then it gets pillowy before it slowly fades. Moderate carbonation with big bubbles that slowly rise, a sign of a heavy bodied DIPA, I'm hoping.
Great grassy smell with a big, bready malt backbone. Not complex, but right what it should be.
Huh. Falls kind of flat on the taste. The grassy hops hit you right up front, but then quickly fade to a muted grassy-sweet flavor. Goddangit, it has Belgian dubbel traits that really bring it down for me. It mutes the taste and dulls the feel. I expected more of a fresh hop taste out of a dry hopped beer like this, especially a DIPA. The bitterness fades quickly, then finishes with a tart sweetness. Fairly substantial body, but the taste is relatively dull, moreso as it warms.
Great day, mediocre beer. About average for Avery.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Lexington Brewing Company's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
Lexington Brewing Company's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is the second bourbon flavored beer I've reviewed for this blog, and something tells me the last.
The first one I said made a lousy stout but probably a decent bourbon. This one is just lousy.
It pours an odd, clear orangish amber with a small almost white head that's gone almost before it starts. Light carbonation can't keep the head at a sheet, and barely at a collar.
As the head fizzles away it has a decidedly bourbon smell, so at first it's on type, at least. That fades a bit and is replaced by a sweet, vanilla malt, but still keeps a bit of an acidic, bourbon smell.
I'm not a huge fan of bourbon flavored beers (this one was given to me), but if they're going to be bourbon flavored they should be sharper than this. This one seems to taste like they tried to give it a bourbon flavor after the fact, almost from a syrup, and almost as an afterthought. It feels like a bourbon flavored adjunct lager, is what it is. That would account for the corn-like sweetness.
Maybe they were trying to make a light-bodied bourbon flavored beer in contrast to all of the heavier ones, but it fell kind of flat to me. Now, an American Strong Ale is supposed to be just about any American style with a fairly high alcohol content, and because that's pretty damn broad my opinion is that if it's trying for a certain taste that it should hit the mark or be derided as a flop. This one is a flop. It's a mish-mash (pardon the pun) of adjunct-tasting malt, an odd sweetness, and weak bourbon, with a weak carbonation profile to top off the misery.
I hate writing reviews like this. I prefer to be constructive and respect the work that went into a beer, but this bourbon stuff just isn't right, and this one can't even get to "not right." Do everything you can to avoid this one.
The first one I said made a lousy stout but probably a decent bourbon. This one is just lousy.
It pours an odd, clear orangish amber with a small almost white head that's gone almost before it starts. Light carbonation can't keep the head at a sheet, and barely at a collar.
As the head fizzles away it has a decidedly bourbon smell, so at first it's on type, at least. That fades a bit and is replaced by a sweet, vanilla malt, but still keeps a bit of an acidic, bourbon smell.
I'm not a huge fan of bourbon flavored beers (this one was given to me), but if they're going to be bourbon flavored they should be sharper than this. This one seems to taste like they tried to give it a bourbon flavor after the fact, almost from a syrup, and almost as an afterthought. It feels like a bourbon flavored adjunct lager, is what it is. That would account for the corn-like sweetness.
Maybe they were trying to make a light-bodied bourbon flavored beer in contrast to all of the heavier ones, but it fell kind of flat to me. Now, an American Strong Ale is supposed to be just about any American style with a fairly high alcohol content, and because that's pretty damn broad my opinion is that if it's trying for a certain taste that it should hit the mark or be derided as a flop. This one is a flop. It's a mish-mash (pardon the pun) of adjunct-tasting malt, an odd sweetness, and weak bourbon, with a weak carbonation profile to top off the misery.
I hate writing reviews like this. I prefer to be constructive and respect the work that went into a beer, but this bourbon stuff just isn't right, and this one can't even get to "not right." Do everything you can to avoid this one.
Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout
Well it appears that I need to change the name of this blog to Stout of the Day. I haven't intended for it to turn out this way, but the beers I read about and most want to spend the extra money on having shipped to me are the bigger stouts, which are generally my favorite. Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout may cure me of that for a bit.
It pours an opaque black, a bit brownish as it pours, with a good medium tan head that looks like it wants to cascade, but never does. One of the few stouts where I could see carbonation rising, despite the apparent opacity.
No real roasted smell, more just a straight grain with a slight sugary sweetness from the lactose.
The lactose doesn't really add to the taste, just makes it a little smoother. The grain switches back to a roasted flavor again, as it should, but there's no real sweetness up front. There is a fairly mild and indistinct bitterness that may come from the roasted grain as much as any amount of hops. The carbonation is too heavy, which makes it feel a bit like a soft drink and fizzy at the end. Because of the mild flavors the last real impression you have of this beer is the fizzy feel, kind of like Pop-Rocks fading away.
All in all this one's just a safe, non-spectacular milk stout. Unimpressive, and finished off with too much carbonation. There are better milk stouts out there, and far better stouts of just about any other type.
It pours an opaque black, a bit brownish as it pours, with a good medium tan head that looks like it wants to cascade, but never does. One of the few stouts where I could see carbonation rising, despite the apparent opacity.
No real roasted smell, more just a straight grain with a slight sugary sweetness from the lactose.
The lactose doesn't really add to the taste, just makes it a little smoother. The grain switches back to a roasted flavor again, as it should, but there's no real sweetness up front. There is a fairly mild and indistinct bitterness that may come from the roasted grain as much as any amount of hops. The carbonation is too heavy, which makes it feel a bit like a soft drink and fizzy at the end. Because of the mild flavors the last real impression you have of this beer is the fizzy feel, kind of like Pop-Rocks fading away.
All in all this one's just a safe, non-spectacular milk stout. Unimpressive, and finished off with too much carbonation. There are better milk stouts out there, and far better stouts of just about any other type.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Bell's Brewery's Expedition Stout
I thought Bell's Expedition Stout was on the porter side of a stout, and it's billed as "the vintage port of American stout" so I'm patting myself on the back for this one.
Pours an almost inky black. Almost as dark as their Kalamazoo, but a slight brown tint to it. Not as good a head as Kalamazoo, due to the heavier malt and probably higher alcohol content, but a decent dark tan head nonetheless. I'm thinking it's odd that this, an impy, isn't as dark in appearance as Kalamazoo, a milk stout, but all in all that doesn't affect my thoughts on it too much.
Good roasted grain smell, slightly vinous like it borders on the line between stout and porter. No alcohol smell, which is amazing because this one has 10.5% ABV.
Wow, huge bitterness. Creamy feel due to low carbonation, again similar to a porter, but this one grabs you. Huge bitterness that finishes with grain, and a coffee aftertaste.
Verges on "too bitter for a stout" for me, but it's still a good beer. I prefer Kalamazoo, it seems like it was more thought out than this one. Overall I'm starting to like this brewery though, and I hope they find their way to Texas sometime soon.
Follow Up: I let this beer sit a bit, and as it warmed the hops subsided quite a bit and it took on a very nutty, chocolatey flavor. It improved a ton, in my opinion. I'll have to keep that in mind for later if I get to have this one again.
Pours an almost inky black. Almost as dark as their Kalamazoo, but a slight brown tint to it. Not as good a head as Kalamazoo, due to the heavier malt and probably higher alcohol content, but a decent dark tan head nonetheless. I'm thinking it's odd that this, an impy, isn't as dark in appearance as Kalamazoo, a milk stout, but all in all that doesn't affect my thoughts on it too much.
Good roasted grain smell, slightly vinous like it borders on the line between stout and porter. No alcohol smell, which is amazing because this one has 10.5% ABV.
Wow, huge bitterness. Creamy feel due to low carbonation, again similar to a porter, but this one grabs you. Huge bitterness that finishes with grain, and a coffee aftertaste.
Verges on "too bitter for a stout" for me, but it's still a good beer. I prefer Kalamazoo, it seems like it was more thought out than this one. Overall I'm starting to like this brewery though, and I hope they find their way to Texas sometime soon.
Follow Up: I let this beer sit a bit, and as it warmed the hops subsided quite a bit and it took on a very nutty, chocolatey flavor. It improved a ton, in my opinion. I'll have to keep that in mind for later if I get to have this one again.
Independence Brewing Company's Austin Amber
My first beer from Independence Brewing Company, and it pissed me off right from the Goddamn start. It foamed out of my glass on a gentle pour, something I'd expect (and watch out for) in a Duvel but not from a straight-up American amber. So it had to overcome a very poor first impression. It was also hugely over carbonated and even without nucleation sites on the bottom of my glass it looked like a waterfall going against gravity. The light tan head that it eventually boils down to is pillowy, which I like. And I like the loosely filtered look with a deep amber color. But still, the bastard foamed out of my glass.
In a turn for the better, it has a great bready malt smell, clean, with slightly grassy hops.
Solid amber taste as well, with a fair amount of bitterness backed up by a good bready malt body. A tad too sweet, which slows down the otherwise crisp feel.
This beer dug itself out of the hole with me, but I hope Independence fixes their carbonation problem. Otherwise, it'll be just like every Austinite I know, fatally flawed, and gushing imperfection.
In a turn for the better, it has a great bready malt smell, clean, with slightly grassy hops.
Solid amber taste as well, with a fair amount of bitterness backed up by a good bready malt body. A tad too sweet, which slows down the otherwise crisp feel.
This beer dug itself out of the hole with me, but I hope Independence fixes their carbonation problem. Otherwise, it'll be just like every Austinite I know, fatally flawed, and gushing imperfection.
Bell's Kalamazoo Stout
I love getting beers that I can't get here in Texas, because it's like Christmas all over again.
This one pours inky black with a great dark tan head that stays. It's not an impy stout, but it pours as dark as one and has virtually no highlights like one as well.
The head throws off a sweet chocolate smell--sweet from the lactose, and chocolate from the roasted malt. As the head thins the smell turns a bit more to the roasted grain, but the sweetness is still there.
I'm not a huge fan of sweet stouts that go over the top, or chocolate stouts like Young's. If I want something that sweet or chocolatey, I'll eat a cake or drink a milkshake. Traditionally the chocolate taste is supposed to come from the roasted malt anyway, so I view those as being on the far edge of the style. This one though, it's more traditional. Great bitter, roasted grain taste that finishes a little sweeter than most stouts. Seems a little bit fizzy, which is the only real fault. Still has a heavy body to it though, as it should.
This is my favorite milk/sweet stout now. It's very well balanced and has the sweetness without giving up the bitter, roasted grain taste. Wish the carbonation was a little lower, but that's it. As it warms it turns from fizzy to creamy, aided by the lactose, so let it open up a bit and it's even better.
With any luck it'll be available in Texas soon.
This one pours inky black with a great dark tan head that stays. It's not an impy stout, but it pours as dark as one and has virtually no highlights like one as well.
The head throws off a sweet chocolate smell--sweet from the lactose, and chocolate from the roasted malt. As the head thins the smell turns a bit more to the roasted grain, but the sweetness is still there.
I'm not a huge fan of sweet stouts that go over the top, or chocolate stouts like Young's. If I want something that sweet or chocolatey, I'll eat a cake or drink a milkshake. Traditionally the chocolate taste is supposed to come from the roasted malt anyway, so I view those as being on the far edge of the style. This one though, it's more traditional. Great bitter, roasted grain taste that finishes a little sweeter than most stouts. Seems a little bit fizzy, which is the only real fault. Still has a heavy body to it though, as it should.
This is my favorite milk/sweet stout now. It's very well balanced and has the sweetness without giving up the bitter, roasted grain taste. Wish the carbonation was a little lower, but that's it. As it warms it turns from fizzy to creamy, aided by the lactose, so let it open up a bit and it's even better.
With any luck it'll be available in Texas soon.
Beer Blogs
I took a little look through several beer blogs today, to see what others were saying. I ran across an odd menagerie of sites, most of which had some professional connection for the author. The ones that didn't were mostly home brewers, and those guys had their heads in the right places. The ones that were just self-promotion, well, they professed to know the most while at the same time contributing the least to my understanding of a beer they were reviewing.
I was especially amused by some of the females--the MySpace camera angles were the best. Face it honey, drinking a lot of beer makes you a bigger girl than you would otherwise have been. The face/clevage shot can't hide that fact. Beer sommelier? I know a few. They're generally full of themselves. Promoting a book or career through a blog? You're doing it wrong. Fancy pictures of the bottle and glass at different angles? Meh (although a nice touch).
So in the event that anyone ever reads any of this and thinks the same thing about me, feel free to comment on it. But know that these comments are for my own record, and that I'm not selling myself or my services here. If you want recommendations on how to better get your point across without all of the distractions, or how to better market yourself or your books, just let me know. I'd be glad to help.
I was especially amused by some of the females--the MySpace camera angles were the best. Face it honey, drinking a lot of beer makes you a bigger girl than you would otherwise have been. The face/clevage shot can't hide that fact. Beer sommelier? I know a few. They're generally full of themselves. Promoting a book or career through a blog? You're doing it wrong. Fancy pictures of the bottle and glass at different angles? Meh (although a nice touch).
So in the event that anyone ever reads any of this and thinks the same thing about me, feel free to comment on it. But know that these comments are for my own record, and that I'm not selling myself or my services here. If you want recommendations on how to better get your point across without all of the distractions, or how to better market yourself or your books, just let me know. I'd be glad to help.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Rogue Ales Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Imperial Pilsner? Sounds effed up. But pilsner being one of my favorite styles, I had to try it. The fact that it's from Rogue, one of the most solid breweries in the US, makes it even more of a must.
From one of Rogue's imperial series ceramic flip-top bottles, it pours a hazy, unfiltered reddish amber, with a huge cascading light tan head that stays for a long time. Good carbonation.
Smells grassy, with a very subtle sweet maltiness that comes across as a very light bread smell. Grassy. Did I mention grassy? Hugely grassy.
Grassy. I wouldn't describe the initial hit as bitter so much as I would twangy. Tart, not citrus. Hits you with tartness on the top of the tongue, then follows with an excellent bitter aftertaste. Fairly clean finish for such a big beer. Great medium to heavy body. (Burp) Grassy.
I'm a little confused. It has less of the pilsner funk than I thought it should have, but I love this beer. As big and unfiltered as it is, it's still amazingly crisp. The alcohol (more than 9%) is also completely absent, a difficult task in a lighter-style (save for the imperial), but I've had impy stouts that had more of an alcohol bite.
This is probably the only beer in the Rogue XS series that I'll come back to. They're all good, but they're also all expensive, and this is the only one that rates, in my book.
From one of Rogue's imperial series ceramic flip-top bottles, it pours a hazy, unfiltered reddish amber, with a huge cascading light tan head that stays for a long time. Good carbonation.
Smells grassy, with a very subtle sweet maltiness that comes across as a very light bread smell. Grassy. Did I mention grassy? Hugely grassy.
Grassy. I wouldn't describe the initial hit as bitter so much as I would twangy. Tart, not citrus. Hits you with tartness on the top of the tongue, then follows with an excellent bitter aftertaste. Fairly clean finish for such a big beer. Great medium to heavy body. (Burp) Grassy.
I'm a little confused. It has less of the pilsner funk than I thought it should have, but I love this beer. As big and unfiltered as it is, it's still amazingly crisp. The alcohol (more than 9%) is also completely absent, a difficult task in a lighter-style (save for the imperial), but I've had impy stouts that had more of an alcohol bite.
This is probably the only beer in the Rogue XS series that I'll come back to. They're all good, but they're also all expensive, and this is the only one that rates, in my book.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Founders Breakfast Stout
I'll just lead off here by simply saying: Best.Stout.Evar.
Now, I'm sparse with the superlatives, and I try to be fair when evaluating beer--but this one has earned it.
Pours black, with a great dark tan head. Best head I've seen in an impy stout. Opaque, with reddish highlights around the edges.
Man, this smells great. Smells like coffee grounds. Not from a regular coffee maker, but like it was from the old percolator style coffee makers, except after the grounds have been sitting for a day. Strong, and wet. Great memories of my grandparents' kitchen. As the head fades the smell opens up more to the grain, with a sweetness from the heavy malt and oats.
The coffee disappears from the taste initially, but does come out in the aftertaste. The first hit is of sharp grain, from the huge malt. No discernible taste of oats, which are usually sweet but this beer is too big for the oats to compete against the malt and the coffee. In the aftertaste the coffee comes out much more, a good coffee, not some scorched Starbucks version. Strong, black. The alcohol is almost completely absent, not interfering in the taste of the malt or coffee one bit.
Best stout ever, I think. I could not find a single fault with it. Well, one fault--it's only a 12 oz. bottle.
Now, I'm sparse with the superlatives, and I try to be fair when evaluating beer--but this one has earned it.
Pours black, with a great dark tan head. Best head I've seen in an impy stout. Opaque, with reddish highlights around the edges.
Man, this smells great. Smells like coffee grounds. Not from a regular coffee maker, but like it was from the old percolator style coffee makers, except after the grounds have been sitting for a day. Strong, and wet. Great memories of my grandparents' kitchen. As the head fades the smell opens up more to the grain, with a sweetness from the heavy malt and oats.
The coffee disappears from the taste initially, but does come out in the aftertaste. The first hit is of sharp grain, from the huge malt. No discernible taste of oats, which are usually sweet but this beer is too big for the oats to compete against the malt and the coffee. In the aftertaste the coffee comes out much more, a good coffee, not some scorched Starbucks version. Strong, black. The alcohol is almost completely absent, not interfering in the taste of the malt or coffee one bit.
Best stout ever, I think. I could not find a single fault with it. Well, one fault--it's only a 12 oz. bottle.
Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout
I've been waiting for this one.
Russian Imperial Stout has been my favorite beer for a while, although it's starting to be overtaken by pilsners, for some reason. That's the beer equivalent of switching from pro-life religious Republican to pro-choice athiest Democrat. But it is what it is...
Anyway, this one pours an inky black, with red highlights but only at the extreme edges because of how thick this one is. Not as opaque as Ten FIDY or Bourbon County, but it doesn't have to be. Good sized head on an aggressive pour that's dark brown and fades to a sheet, but stays there.
Great smell. Deep, grainy smell with a hint of chocolate that comes from roasted malts and not the addition of cocoa, as many have to do. Slight sweetness, from the sheer amount of malt--mashed three times, which has to extract just about every last bit of starch--which in turn contributes to the 10% ABV. As the glass empties the lace on the side of the glass throws off a deep smell of dark bread.
Sharp grainy taste. Not sharp in a bad way, but clean for such a heavy beer. The high alcohol probably contributes to that, and although the alcohol is obvious in the taste it's not in a straight alcohol way. It's more of a deep, dark fermented fruit that gives way to the grainy taste, followed by the alcohol. Some hops bitterness, but primarily in the aftertaste. At the end is just a roasted coffee taste that lingers.
Very good beer. I wish there were less of a vinous/fermented fruit taste, but all in all it's one of the best impy stouts I've had.
Russian Imperial Stout has been my favorite beer for a while, although it's starting to be overtaken by pilsners, for some reason. That's the beer equivalent of switching from pro-life religious Republican to pro-choice athiest Democrat. But it is what it is...
Anyway, this one pours an inky black, with red highlights but only at the extreme edges because of how thick this one is. Not as opaque as Ten FIDY or Bourbon County, but it doesn't have to be. Good sized head on an aggressive pour that's dark brown and fades to a sheet, but stays there.
Great smell. Deep, grainy smell with a hint of chocolate that comes from roasted malts and not the addition of cocoa, as many have to do. Slight sweetness, from the sheer amount of malt--mashed three times, which has to extract just about every last bit of starch--which in turn contributes to the 10% ABV. As the glass empties the lace on the side of the glass throws off a deep smell of dark bread.
Sharp grainy taste. Not sharp in a bad way, but clean for such a heavy beer. The high alcohol probably contributes to that, and although the alcohol is obvious in the taste it's not in a straight alcohol way. It's more of a deep, dark fermented fruit that gives way to the grainy taste, followed by the alcohol. Some hops bitterness, but primarily in the aftertaste. At the end is just a roasted coffee taste that lingers.
Very good beer. I wish there were less of a vinous/fermented fruit taste, but all in all it's one of the best impy stouts I've had.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Well, it appears that I have lost my taste for more than just Belgians. Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout makes a fairly decent bourbon, but a lousy beer, I think.
It's not because it defies expectations--one thing I've learned about the many beers that I've tried, especially the more extreme types, is that if they say they're something they generally are. Hop bombs, quads, you name it, the big beers deliver big flavors. So, objectively this beer is exactly what it says it is. It may even be under-advertised. But that doesn't mean I like it. Shit on a shingle is also well described in Army mess halls, and from what I hear it kind of sucks.
Pours black--the closest thing to Ten FIDY I've seen. It's as dark, but not as thick, as Ten FIDY. It would have been perfect if it had any real degree of head. The deep tan head on this one never really forms and stays at a collar.
Great bourbon smell, along the lines of Maker's Mark, but with a heavy bread smell mixed in.
It must be the alcohol content that really brings out the bourbon. It lends a bourbon sting in addition to the bourbon taste. As it warms there's really nothing but the bourbon taste with a sweetness from the heavy malt. What would normally be a roasted taste in a heavy stout is drowned out by the bourbon and alcohol. There's a slight deep coffee taste that comes through every once in a while.
I don't know, it's not my thing. I'd slam it harder, but damn if it isn't correctly labeled as bourbon first, stout second. My subjective taste doesn't mean it isn't objectively correct for the style, but since I can only judge by my taste I'm going to have to pass on recommending this one to anyone.
It's not because it defies expectations--one thing I've learned about the many beers that I've tried, especially the more extreme types, is that if they say they're something they generally are. Hop bombs, quads, you name it, the big beers deliver big flavors. So, objectively this beer is exactly what it says it is. It may even be under-advertised. But that doesn't mean I like it. Shit on a shingle is also well described in Army mess halls, and from what I hear it kind of sucks.
Pours black--the closest thing to Ten FIDY I've seen. It's as dark, but not as thick, as Ten FIDY. It would have been perfect if it had any real degree of head. The deep tan head on this one never really forms and stays at a collar.
Great bourbon smell, along the lines of Maker's Mark, but with a heavy bread smell mixed in.
It must be the alcohol content that really brings out the bourbon. It lends a bourbon sting in addition to the bourbon taste. As it warms there's really nothing but the bourbon taste with a sweetness from the heavy malt. What would normally be a roasted taste in a heavy stout is drowned out by the bourbon and alcohol. There's a slight deep coffee taste that comes through every once in a while.
I don't know, it's not my thing. I'd slam it harder, but damn if it isn't correctly labeled as bourbon first, stout second. My subjective taste doesn't mean it isn't objectively correct for the style, but since I can only judge by my taste I'm going to have to pass on recommending this one to anyone.
Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 2
A few days ago I was at a friend's house, and he's not as much of a fan of beer like I am so he asked if I wanted to sift through some of the beers he's been given over the last few years. We were cleaning out his "cellar," which like mine is a cramped space in the pantry that the wife lets me keep mainly because she doesn't know how to use that space, but unlike mine is a mess of random Budweiser-ish beers for the most part. So I was passing over many of them, but coming up with a decent one here and there, as was he.
He got to it first, saying something along the lines of "Hey, what's this? It's from Saint Arnold's, but it's just got a number two on it. What's Divine Reserve?"
"You said I could have anything in here I wanted. And I want that," was the first thing I could think of. I missed this one when it was first released, and have been wanting to fill in the gaps in my Divine Reserve tastings. Having been brewed over two years ago in a series that is brewed only once and never returns, I was prepared to be pissed if he went back on his word. He didn't though, so I brought it home to try tonight.
It pours a heavy, murky, slow, unfiltered amberish brown with almost no head that's quickly gone. It's opaque, but moreso in the middle of the glass.
Great Belgian quad smell, slow and sweet, with a soft, bready malt smell touched off by a background of molasses, a hint of aged fruit, and a bit of alcohol.
The alcohol hits you right up front, but quickly mellows into a deep, dark bread taste with more aged fruit and a hint of spice that I wouldn't call clove but is subdued and slightly aromatic.
If you've read my recent entries you know I'm no longer a fan of Belgians, and although this has been fermented with American yeast as well, it's a Belgian Quad at heart. I like it though. Maybe the half-and-half nature of the fermentation did it for me.
He got to it first, saying something along the lines of "Hey, what's this? It's from Saint Arnold's, but it's just got a number two on it. What's Divine Reserve?"
"You said I could have anything in here I wanted. And I want that," was the first thing I could think of. I missed this one when it was first released, and have been wanting to fill in the gaps in my Divine Reserve tastings. Having been brewed over two years ago in a series that is brewed only once and never returns, I was prepared to be pissed if he went back on his word. He didn't though, so I brought it home to try tonight.
It pours a heavy, murky, slow, unfiltered amberish brown with almost no head that's quickly gone. It's opaque, but moreso in the middle of the glass.
Great Belgian quad smell, slow and sweet, with a soft, bready malt smell touched off by a background of molasses, a hint of aged fruit, and a bit of alcohol.
The alcohol hits you right up front, but quickly mellows into a deep, dark bread taste with more aged fruit and a hint of spice that I wouldn't call clove but is subdued and slightly aromatic.
If you've read my recent entries you know I'm no longer a fan of Belgians, and although this has been fermented with American yeast as well, it's a Belgian Quad at heart. I like it though. Maybe the half-and-half nature of the fermentation did it for me.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Saint Arnold's Winter Stout
Saint Arnold's Winter Stout is the most interesting of their seasonals, and for now the only regularly offered stout in Texas.
Pours an inky black. Not fully opaque, with red highlights and a nice medium-tan head that sticks. Great roasted grain smell with lesser hints of coffee and molasses.
Slightly more complex taste, especially as it warms. The roasted grain is still the most obvious. The coffee isn't present in the taste, which is much more vinous than it smells. Slight smoke flavor, nothing approaching a rauchbier but it's there. Almost as vinous as a porter, and as it warms it gets more and more so because the grainy taste lessens and the vinous and molasses tastes are heightened.
I prefer heavier stouts, but this one is very good. I'd love to see them make it a year-round offering, and if they up the body a bit I bet they'd be able to compete against some of the bigger stouts that sell well year-round.
Pours an inky black. Not fully opaque, with red highlights and a nice medium-tan head that sticks. Great roasted grain smell with lesser hints of coffee and molasses.
Slightly more complex taste, especially as it warms. The roasted grain is still the most obvious. The coffee isn't present in the taste, which is much more vinous than it smells. Slight smoke flavor, nothing approaching a rauchbier but it's there. Almost as vinous as a porter, and as it warms it gets more and more so because the grainy taste lessens and the vinous and molasses tastes are heightened.
I prefer heavier stouts, but this one is very good. I'd love to see them make it a year-round offering, and if they up the body a bit I bet they'd be able to compete against some of the bigger stouts that sell well year-round.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Love, Lost
While I've never actually uttered the phrase "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", I have said something similar to many friends, many times. I have told them about my own lost loves, about how I have lived my life without regret in the loves that I've had, none of which were permanent. I have explained how I've moved on, and how I can still think back to when I had those feelings and how I was glad to be able to look back on those times, on those loves, and that they would in some ways always be a part of me. Who you are today is just an accumulation of all of your past experiences, after all. Today you are who you are because of where you've been, who you've known, and what you've learned, and tomorrow you will be a slightly different person. The daily adjustments to your person are incremental, almost minute. But the larger events in your life make larger changes. Deaths of loved ones, people you love and lose, all teach larger lessons than the daily, incremental changes.
And having known this, having learned from a young age about losing those closest to you in death, and those you want to love forever leave you in life, I have always taken pride in my ability to see these things coming based on my failures in the past. I have always, since my last loss, thought that I would know that something in my life was permanent. That I could ensure that I was ahead in any relationship, that I wouldn't love again until I was ready, and until I knew that that love would be permanent. That it would not leave me, that I would not lose so heavily or pay such a price again. I always took solace in knowing that I had learned, that I would be the one that others would lean on when they lost so heavily, that I would be the one to help them through their times of need. That it would never happen to me again.
But it is insidious. It hides. It waits. It knows you better than you know yourself, and it exploits your needs before you even feel them. Before you know it, the need you didn't know you had, that you believed you could withhold, that you knew you could keep subservient to what you did, or did not want, including the belief that you did not want it yet again, is filled.
And then, without a pause in time, instantly after you realized that you had that need, and that you had to have what it was that filled that void in your life, it is gone. You're left with memories, with visions, and that most powerful of memory triggers, with smells. Golden hues that change in the light, and with movement. Brown curves that warm to your touch. Remembering the feel on your lips of what you no longer can have. Remembering the touch that will never be yours. And without the perspective that can only come with time, the once-familiar scents and tastes that are no longer so sweet and so needed, are now harsh and acidic. Like bile that rises from the anger you feel from so fresh a scar, from so recent a loss.
You don't know why. You can't point to a moment when you knew you needed it, or to when you lost it. You just know that it isn't the same. That it's gone, that the hole in your life is back and that your past attempts to analyze and restrict your feelings were foolish. The feeling that you can prevent it from happening again is replaced by the knowledge that you cannot.
And so you keep trying to bring it back. You foolishly keep going back to try and force something that cannot be forced. To resurrect those sights, and scents, and tastes, to restore your dignity, you keep trying what you know will never be the same. But your mind tells you that if you just keep trying you can bring back what you thought you didn't need in the first place. Again, insidious. Taunting.
It doesn't look the same. It doesn't feel the same. The scents are different. It no longer warms to your touch so much as go flat while you watch. Not only the glass, but what is within, is difficult to even smell. Where your first real introduction to beer was by way of the Belgian ales that you'd heard so much about, even the Trappist offerings that have been brewed to perfection for centuries, you now cannot stand the taste. It reeks of burning plastic, of harsh chemicals. The blonde appearance you once loved is now an odd and empty haze. The brown curves you felt in the glass you now scoff are cold, are without desire. The scents that were once so sweet, so malty, so spicy, are now described in terms like 'band-aid' and 'phenolic'.
No part of what you loved remains.
And having known this, having learned from a young age about losing those closest to you in death, and those you want to love forever leave you in life, I have always taken pride in my ability to see these things coming based on my failures in the past. I have always, since my last loss, thought that I would know that something in my life was permanent. That I could ensure that I was ahead in any relationship, that I wouldn't love again until I was ready, and until I knew that that love would be permanent. That it would not leave me, that I would not lose so heavily or pay such a price again. I always took solace in knowing that I had learned, that I would be the one that others would lean on when they lost so heavily, that I would be the one to help them through their times of need. That it would never happen to me again.
But it is insidious. It hides. It waits. It knows you better than you know yourself, and it exploits your needs before you even feel them. Before you know it, the need you didn't know you had, that you believed you could withhold, that you knew you could keep subservient to what you did, or did not want, including the belief that you did not want it yet again, is filled.
And then, without a pause in time, instantly after you realized that you had that need, and that you had to have what it was that filled that void in your life, it is gone. You're left with memories, with visions, and that most powerful of memory triggers, with smells. Golden hues that change in the light, and with movement. Brown curves that warm to your touch. Remembering the feel on your lips of what you no longer can have. Remembering the touch that will never be yours. And without the perspective that can only come with time, the once-familiar scents and tastes that are no longer so sweet and so needed, are now harsh and acidic. Like bile that rises from the anger you feel from so fresh a scar, from so recent a loss.
You don't know why. You can't point to a moment when you knew you needed it, or to when you lost it. You just know that it isn't the same. That it's gone, that the hole in your life is back and that your past attempts to analyze and restrict your feelings were foolish. The feeling that you can prevent it from happening again is replaced by the knowledge that you cannot.
And so you keep trying to bring it back. You foolishly keep going back to try and force something that cannot be forced. To resurrect those sights, and scents, and tastes, to restore your dignity, you keep trying what you know will never be the same. But your mind tells you that if you just keep trying you can bring back what you thought you didn't need in the first place. Again, insidious. Taunting.
It doesn't look the same. It doesn't feel the same. The scents are different. It no longer warms to your touch so much as go flat while you watch. Not only the glass, but what is within, is difficult to even smell. Where your first real introduction to beer was by way of the Belgian ales that you'd heard so much about, even the Trappist offerings that have been brewed to perfection for centuries, you now cannot stand the taste. It reeks of burning plastic, of harsh chemicals. The blonde appearance you once loved is now an odd and empty haze. The brown curves you felt in the glass you now scoff are cold, are without desire. The scents that were once so sweet, so malty, so spicy, are now described in terms like 'band-aid' and 'phenolic'.
No part of what you loved remains.
Victory Brewing's Storm King Stout
In an effort to wash the taste of Prima Pils out of my mouth, which you'd think would be easier after having poured half of that abomination down the drain, I moved on to Victory's Storm King Stout.
As with all Victory beers, I know this one's going to be hoppier than others of the same type. Too hoppy? I'm hoping so, that way it'll scrub the Prima taste off of my tongue.
Pours an opaque black with a huge dark tan head that slowly fades. Reddish highlights around the outsides, if the light is able to get through it just a bit.
Huge roasted grainy smell like a substantial stout should have. It's also backed up by a very floral, very grassy hops. Straightforward and simple, this is going to be a roasted hop bomb.
Sure enough, a strong roasted and molasses flavor hits you right up front and then quickly gives way to the grassy hops that grab the back of your tongue. Slightly sweet, but only in the last of the aftertaste. Very good stout, and my only criticism would be that it's too hoppy. It doesn't throw the beer out of the style, however, which is good. Another example of not doing something just because you can, but with this brewery I give more leeway as long as there's some semblance of the style left.
As with all Victory beers, I know this one's going to be hoppier than others of the same type. Too hoppy? I'm hoping so, that way it'll scrub the Prima taste off of my tongue.
Pours an opaque black with a huge dark tan head that slowly fades. Reddish highlights around the outsides, if the light is able to get through it just a bit.
Huge roasted grainy smell like a substantial stout should have. It's also backed up by a very floral, very grassy hops. Straightforward and simple, this is going to be a roasted hop bomb.
Sure enough, a strong roasted and molasses flavor hits you right up front and then quickly gives way to the grassy hops that grab the back of your tongue. Slightly sweet, but only in the last of the aftertaste. Very good stout, and my only criticism would be that it's too hoppy. It doesn't throw the beer out of the style, however, which is good. Another example of not doing something just because you can, but with this brewery I give more leeway as long as there's some semblance of the style left.
Victory Brewing's Prima Pils
One of my favorite commenters on my favorite beer website recently said "Think, American Brewers, think! Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD."
Now, I have no idea what beer he was talking about, if he was talking about any particular beer at all. More than likely the snooty Brit was bemoaning the state of American brewing generally. But if he was going to be talking about a certain beer, I can only imagine it would be Prima Pils.
Now, pilsner is one of my favorite beer styles, period. I love the crisp, clean, and slightly sharp taste of a Czech pilsner like Budvar, Rebel, or Urquell. I also enjoy the slightly more malty German pilsners like Warsteiner Premium Verum, or the American Scrimshaw Pilsner by North Coast Brewery. But even more I love that funky taste that all pilsners should have, the funk that smells and tastes like a skunk's ass. It's not skunky in the usual sense of the word, it just is what it is, and the type requires it.
But Prima Pils has got to be the worst pilsner I have ever had. True to Victory's style it's overly hopped, a cardinal sin for a pils if you ask me. Again, just because you can doesn't mean you should. The other Victory offerings are good. They're hoppy and bitter, with a heavier body than most beers in the types they offer. But hoppy isn't right for every beer, and it's a tragedy for this one. I know lots of hop heads who can't stop raving about it, but I'm convinced now more than ever that their taste buds are either screwed or they think there's only one style of beer, that its main characteristic is hops, and that as long as there's at least twice as much in it than there should be, it's perfect for whatever style it claims to be. Even when it's not.
It is a decidedly sophomoric way to brew and taste beer. And it is simply wrong.
This one pours more of an orangeish yellow than any pils I've seen. Looks like it'll be fuller bodied than others, with a white head that thins to a collar quickly with moderate carbonation.
Smells like a pils on the sweet side--fairly malty, which is appropriate for a German pils, and more floral, which is not. Smell is lighter than I expected from the way it looks. No bitterness. No real crispness to it, like I want in a pils. Not the usual pils funk that it should have either, just that light bready malty sweetness. The absence of the funk makes this beer a loser before I even taste it. A pils should also have a fizzy head that throws off that pilsner smell, and although this is a heavier German pils, it still doesn't come close to having the right look or smell.
Ugh. Odd. Barely has the taste that a pils should have. Too hoppy for a pils. Medicinal band aid taste that you'd expect in a Belgian, but it's way out of place here. I thought it smelled more like a pale than a pils, except that it didn't have any bitterness. Well, the taste is much more like a pale because the bitterness is too strong. As it warms it gains a slight bit of pilsner taste, but it's still too bitter, and a pils is better cold.
Terrible pils, way off type. Might have been a halfway decent pale. Might. What an awful beer.
Now, I have no idea what beer he was talking about, if he was talking about any particular beer at all. More than likely the snooty Brit was bemoaning the state of American brewing generally. But if he was going to be talking about a certain beer, I can only imagine it would be Prima Pils.
Now, pilsner is one of my favorite beer styles, period. I love the crisp, clean, and slightly sharp taste of a Czech pilsner like Budvar, Rebel, or Urquell. I also enjoy the slightly more malty German pilsners like Warsteiner Premium Verum, or the American Scrimshaw Pilsner by North Coast Brewery. But even more I love that funky taste that all pilsners should have, the funk that smells and tastes like a skunk's ass. It's not skunky in the usual sense of the word, it just is what it is, and the type requires it.
But Prima Pils has got to be the worst pilsner I have ever had. True to Victory's style it's overly hopped, a cardinal sin for a pils if you ask me. Again, just because you can doesn't mean you should. The other Victory offerings are good. They're hoppy and bitter, with a heavier body than most beers in the types they offer. But hoppy isn't right for every beer, and it's a tragedy for this one. I know lots of hop heads who can't stop raving about it, but I'm convinced now more than ever that their taste buds are either screwed or they think there's only one style of beer, that its main characteristic is hops, and that as long as there's at least twice as much in it than there should be, it's perfect for whatever style it claims to be. Even when it's not.
It is a decidedly sophomoric way to brew and taste beer. And it is simply wrong.
This one pours more of an orangeish yellow than any pils I've seen. Looks like it'll be fuller bodied than others, with a white head that thins to a collar quickly with moderate carbonation.
Smells like a pils on the sweet side--fairly malty, which is appropriate for a German pils, and more floral, which is not. Smell is lighter than I expected from the way it looks. No bitterness. No real crispness to it, like I want in a pils. Not the usual pils funk that it should have either, just that light bready malty sweetness. The absence of the funk makes this beer a loser before I even taste it. A pils should also have a fizzy head that throws off that pilsner smell, and although this is a heavier German pils, it still doesn't come close to having the right look or smell.
Ugh. Odd. Barely has the taste that a pils should have. Too hoppy for a pils. Medicinal band aid taste that you'd expect in a Belgian, but it's way out of place here. I thought it smelled more like a pale than a pils, except that it didn't have any bitterness. Well, the taste is much more like a pale because the bitterness is too strong. As it warms it gains a slight bit of pilsner taste, but it's still too bitter, and a pils is better cold.
Terrible pils, way off type. Might have been a halfway decent pale. Might. What an awful beer.
Dogfish Head's Fort
I know, fruit beers are girly, right? Except when they're not.
This one is a huge beer. Brewed with a literally a ton of pureed raspberries over a ridiculously long two month fermentation period, this beer is billed as the world's strongest fruit beer. At 18% ABV, I'm sure they're right. The lengthy fermentation also allows for the beer to mellow up for such a high alcohol content as well, and the fact that the raspberries are pureed makes them easily subsumed by this beer during conditioning.
Fort pours amber, a surprise for a raspberry beer. It has a small tan head that quickly thins to a collar. Decent carbonation with huge bubbles, the biggest I've ever seen in a beer.
Whoa. It was at this point that I had to come back to see how much alcohol this had. I like to review beers without reading too much about them, and I hadn't read about the enormous amount of alcohol or details on the amount of raspberries. With the alcohol smell is a raspberry twang that's familiar but I can't place. Kind of like a Jolly Rancher--but in a good way.
Yep. A malty Jolly Rancher with an alcohol bite that grabs you as if it were a weak liquor.
I like it. It has a twangy sweetness that keeps it from being too syrupy, which is a problem with many fruit beers, and the alcohol is also surprisingly in check. It's there though, and there's no doubt about it. It's just a couple of points behind the alcohol content in Dogfish's 120 Minute IPA but it is remarkably easier to drink. In a big beer like this with so much fruit and alcohol, there is little of the malt to taste but it does contribute greatly to the smooth feel of the beer. The carbonation and high alcohol content lighten the body up quite a bit, as well as the taste, and help keep it from being too syrupy.
This is the first fruit beer I've ever had that tasted like real fruit. Admittedly I've had limited exposure, but the others were syrupy and/or overly sweet. It's so big and there's so much of it that it should definitely be shared. Great dessert beer.
This one is a huge beer. Brewed with a literally a ton of pureed raspberries over a ridiculously long two month fermentation period, this beer is billed as the world's strongest fruit beer. At 18% ABV, I'm sure they're right. The lengthy fermentation also allows for the beer to mellow up for such a high alcohol content as well, and the fact that the raspberries are pureed makes them easily subsumed by this beer during conditioning.
Fort pours amber, a surprise for a raspberry beer. It has a small tan head that quickly thins to a collar. Decent carbonation with huge bubbles, the biggest I've ever seen in a beer.
Whoa. It was at this point that I had to come back to see how much alcohol this had. I like to review beers without reading too much about them, and I hadn't read about the enormous amount of alcohol or details on the amount of raspberries. With the alcohol smell is a raspberry twang that's familiar but I can't place. Kind of like a Jolly Rancher--but in a good way.
Yep. A malty Jolly Rancher with an alcohol bite that grabs you as if it were a weak liquor.
I like it. It has a twangy sweetness that keeps it from being too syrupy, which is a problem with many fruit beers, and the alcohol is also surprisingly in check. It's there though, and there's no doubt about it. It's just a couple of points behind the alcohol content in Dogfish's 120 Minute IPA but it is remarkably easier to drink. In a big beer like this with so much fruit and alcohol, there is little of the malt to taste but it does contribute greatly to the smooth feel of the beer. The carbonation and high alcohol content lighten the body up quite a bit, as well as the taste, and help keep it from being too syrupy.
This is the first fruit beer I've ever had that tasted like real fruit. Admittedly I've had limited exposure, but the others were syrupy and/or overly sweet. It's so big and there's so much of it that it should definitely be shared. Great dessert beer.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Internet Beer Stores
To the right in my links section I have a list of beer stores that ship to you. In the even that someone besides me actually reads this and complains that there aren't many stores on my list or your favorite store didn't make it, well, go make your own blog that nobody will read and include the stores you like. This list is not intended to be all inclusive. It's a list of stores that I've used and like for one or more reasons. Some have a huge selection, others have sites that are easy to navigate, some have great prices and occasional deals. I intentionally passed over sites that were difficult to navigate or that were a visual mess.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian
Probably the best dopplebock ever.
Pours a deep, fairly opaque, brown with red highlights and a huge tan head for a dopplebock, a lager style that usually fizzles out fairly quickly.
It also has a much cleaner malt smell than many bocks, especially from Europe, which are often musty or slightly off smelling. This one smells a bit like dark bread.
Great roasted taste, with more dark bread behind it. About halfway into the taste is a moderate bitter hoppiness that fades into the aftertaste.
This is fairly close to a porter. Slightly vinous, moderate bitterness, and a solid, bready maltiness that is the most substantial part of this beer. Best dopplebock I've ever had, due to the absence of any clove, banana, or other off-tastes. A definite recommendation. Bocks aren't the sexiest styles out there, and are often overlooked in the US because we're such freaks for hop bombs or imperial stouts, but this one is substantial enough to satisfy just about anyone.
Pours a deep, fairly opaque, brown with red highlights and a huge tan head for a dopplebock, a lager style that usually fizzles out fairly quickly.
It also has a much cleaner malt smell than many bocks, especially from Europe, which are often musty or slightly off smelling. This one smells a bit like dark bread.
Great roasted taste, with more dark bread behind it. About halfway into the taste is a moderate bitter hoppiness that fades into the aftertaste.
This is fairly close to a porter. Slightly vinous, moderate bitterness, and a solid, bready maltiness that is the most substantial part of this beer. Best dopplebock I've ever had, due to the absence of any clove, banana, or other off-tastes. A definite recommendation. Bocks aren't the sexiest styles out there, and are often overlooked in the US because we're such freaks for hop bombs or imperial stouts, but this one is substantial enough to satisfy just about anyone.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Alaskan Smoked Porter (2008)
This is one of the most decorated beers at the Great American Beer Festival? I just don't get it.
Admittedly, smoked beers, or rauchbiers, are not my favorite type. But this is a smoked porter, and porters are one of my favorite types. Plus, this was highly rated and widely discussed, since it's kind of the grand daddy of rauchbiers in the US.
This one pours and opaque black, with no real highlights and a moderate tan head that is never really big, and thins quickly. That's expected for a porter, though.
Moderate smoke smell. Not alder, to me, as advertised, but more like the average campfire. Not overpowering, like many smoked beers are, but maybe that's because the porter keeps it subdued. Slight roasted grain smell, balanced with the smoke, but no bitterness or other hops that I can tell.
The taste is a bit disappointing. It's not overpowering, but the smoke tastes different than it smells. Mild bitterness with no substantive hops profile. It smelled like a straight-up camp fire, but tastes like there's more in the fire. Not trash or plastic, really, but random stuff. Fabrics. Different wood. The best analogy I can come up with is that it's like adjunct grains in a beer's malt profile. It just tastes off. Not like straight alder wood to me, more like alder wood with preservatives in it or something. Just medicinal, off. Plus, there's none of the usual porter vinous feel or taste. This one is dry, and feels more like a stout than a porter. Or a starkbier, lighter than a stout.
I gotta tell you, I won't be looking for this one ever again, except to avoid it.
Admittedly, smoked beers, or rauchbiers, are not my favorite type. But this is a smoked porter, and porters are one of my favorite types. Plus, this was highly rated and widely discussed, since it's kind of the grand daddy of rauchbiers in the US.
This one pours and opaque black, with no real highlights and a moderate tan head that is never really big, and thins quickly. That's expected for a porter, though.
Moderate smoke smell. Not alder, to me, as advertised, but more like the average campfire. Not overpowering, like many smoked beers are, but maybe that's because the porter keeps it subdued. Slight roasted grain smell, balanced with the smoke, but no bitterness or other hops that I can tell.
The taste is a bit disappointing. It's not overpowering, but the smoke tastes different than it smells. Mild bitterness with no substantive hops profile. It smelled like a straight-up camp fire, but tastes like there's more in the fire. Not trash or plastic, really, but random stuff. Fabrics. Different wood. The best analogy I can come up with is that it's like adjunct grains in a beer's malt profile. It just tastes off. Not like straight alder wood to me, more like alder wood with preservatives in it or something. Just medicinal, off. Plus, there's none of the usual porter vinous feel or taste. This one is dry, and feels more like a stout than a porter. Or a starkbier, lighter than a stout.
I gotta tell you, I won't be looking for this one ever again, except to avoid it.
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