Booze Bros. Tasting - Belgians

I took a little trip down to Booze Bros. tonight to try some of their new Belgian beers. Let me just say that I really wish that I would've brought a notebook, because it's very hard for me to remember all of the beers that I had tonight (and my thoughts on their flavor too). Of the beers that I do remember, here are my favorites/beers of note.

• Mc Chouffe from Brasserie d'Achouffe - I really liked this one. It is an 8.5% ABV Scottish-style dark ale that had a great aroma and taste. It was much better than the other Brasserie d'Achouffe beer I tried, which was their lighter flavored La Chouffe.

• Grand Cru from Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs - This was a great tasting Belgian strong dark ale with a great aroma to boot. I liked it even more than the Mc Chouffe, especially because it was 9.5% ABV, but didn't taste like it...it was ridiculously smooth.
  

• Gulden Draak from Brouwerij van Steenberge - This tripel beer kicked my butt and made me feel all warm inside, and at 10.5% ABV, I'm not surprised.

• I had a Gueuze (the name escapes me) that was very interesting. It tasted and smelled like sour orange...not something you would expect in a beer. I liked it, but it was the most polarizing beer of the night, with people either loving it or hating it intensely.

All in all, a great tasting.

I can't wait until 2 weeks from now, when they're tasting all of the Deschutes brews, including Jubelale. See you there!

Prost!

Lindemans Kriek Fruit Lambic

My wife and I couldn't resist it.

We were at Cost Plus World Market picking up some pumpkin ale for a Harry Potter party we're going to this weekend (I'm going to blacken out the "ale" and write "juice" over it) when my wife spotted a bottle of Lindemans Kriek fruit lambic (I reviewed their Pêche lambic on Monday). She thought it sounded good because it contained black cherries, but when I told her that the late Michael Jackson said in 1985 that it was one of the 5 best beers in the world, we knew we had to get it. I've already gone over the brewery history and the style history on the Pêche lambic page; the only thing I'll add is that this beer has been brewed since 1930, and that kriek is the Dutch word for "wild cherry." (Lindemans brewery history)


Here are the stats:

Lindemans Kriek Fruit Lambic
BREWERY: Brouwerij Lindemans, Vlezenbeek, Belgium
FIRST BREWED: 1930
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: As an aperitif in place of dry sherry, with carbonnade à la bœuf, mussels in white wine or Gueuze, flavorful cheeses; traditionally served in tall, thick tumbler with cubes of sugar to sweeten to taste
AWARDS: 1994-1995 World Beer Championships Platinum Medal Award Winner

The first-brewed and awards came from Lindemans Brewery history, the food pairing came from Merchant du Vin's Kriek webpage (they're the American importers), and the ABV is from BeerAdvocate's Lindemans Kriek page until I can get a more accurate source.

Like the Pêche, it was bottled in a mini-champagne bottle, complete with cork and extremely-concave bottom. The aroma was a strong fermented cherry smell that smelled a little more natural than malt beverages like Smirnoff Ice. The beer itself was an opaque ruby red color with a light pink head (which my wife really liked). I was kind of disappointed with the taste, however. It did taste like black cherries, but it was kind of bitter; I guess that's what real black cherries taste like though, so I really can't slight it for that. On the plus side, the aftertaste was a nice cherry flavor that did not grow bitter.

While I didn't like this beer as much as the peach version, it still is pretty tasty. It was less carbonated than the Pêche, so it went down smoother. And it didn't leave as much of that stickiness in my mouth when all was said and done. Its availability is probably the same as the Pêche, so grab one at the nearest liquor store.

Op uw gezondheid!

Old Rasputin Update

Just a quick note saying that due to a phone call to North Coast Brewery, I was able to get some more information on Old Rasputin and update my review.

I'll have a new review tonight.

Prost!

Lindemans Pêche Fruit Lambic

For a change of pace, I decided to veer off the beaten path of wheat-based beers and go for a Belgian specialty: the lambic beer. Like certain wines, the style can only be brewed in a certain region to be a true lambic, in this instance the Pajottenland region of Belgium. It uses what's called spontaneous fermentation, or fermentation through wild yeasts in the air, to give it a unique flavor. (The Lambic Beers - caution, pop-ups abound)

The specific lambic I chose is a fruit lambic, Lindemans Pêche (French for peach), described by the Cost Plus World Market employee as "the nectar of the gods," so naturally I had to try it. Lindemans is located right in the heart of the Pajottenland, in the town of Vlezenbeek, near Brussels. It was started in 1809 as a farm, but decided to start more lambic brewing activities in the winter, when there was less farming to do. Their lambic was so popular that by 1930 they ceased all farming to focus on the demand. They released their Framboise fruit lambic fifty years later, and it was so popular that they branched out, releasing their peach lambic, Pecheresse, in 1987. (Lindemans Brewery History)

Now, I think that the Pecheresse and the Pêche are somehow related, but I don't think they are exactly the same beer; the British Beer-Pages gives Pecheresse an ABV of 2.5%, but American BeerAdvocate gives its ABV as 4.0%. Chances are its ABV was beefed-up for the American audience, and I have absolutely no evidence to back that up. However, the brewery can claim that it brews one of the 5 best beers in the world: Lindemans Kriek, a cherry lambic; it was so designated by the late great beer hunter, Michael Jackson. (Beer-Pages Lindemans Fruit Lambics, BeerAdvocate: Lindemans Pêche, Lindemans Brewery History)


Here are the stats:

Lindemans Pêche Fruit Lambic
BREWERY: Brouwerij Lindemans, Vlezenbeek, Belgium
FIRST BREWED: 1987
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 45°F (7°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Peach Melba, peaches in brandy, pear tarts, salad Nicoise, sorbet, egg rolls, peach cobbler, Waldorf salad, haroses, free-run chicken crepes, Belgian waffles
AWARDS: 1994-1995 World Beer Championships Gold Medal Award Winner

The first-brewed and awards came from Lindemans Brewery history, the food pairing and temperature suggestion came from Merchant du Vin's Pêche webpage (they're the American importers), and the ABV is from BeerAdvocate's Lindemans Pêche page until I can get a more accurate source.

The cool thing about this beer, among many things, is its wine bottle-like appearance, from its dark-green bottle to its cork and extreme concave bottle bottom. That's right, it has a cork! Let's see your bottle of Bud do this:


Many of this beer's characteristics reminded me of hefeweizen. Its color is a cloudy yellow-orange color and its head is a nice foamy white. It even has an aroma of peaches and wheat similar to a Franziskaner (but with citrus). But all that wheat disappears in the taste, which is basically fermented peach juice with carbonation and a hint of grain. My wife described it as "apple juice." It was a fantastic taste that was devoid of any overly-agressive hoppiness or bitterness, and it went down smooth. My only gripe has to do with any sweet drink I encounter: it leaves a sticky residue in my mouth due to the sweetness factor.

This beer certainly is a great nectar. It seems to be very well distributed in the states, so pick one up, or one of its cousins, at a store nearby.

Op uw gezondheid!

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

After a hell of a week, I decided to imbibe one hell of a beer. That's when I reached for the strong stuff: North Coast Brewing Co.'s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, weighing in at a whopping 9% ABV. While it's not the strongest beer I've had, it's stronger than most beers you'll see in the supermarket.

Russian imperial stout is actually an English style of beer that was specifically shipped to the Baltic, specifically the Empress of Russia (as a porter, a slightly weaker version of a stout). It was brewed with a higher alcohol and hop content to keep during the voyage by sea, similar to IPAs. Word has it that Grigori Rasputin, the famed Russian mystic, also developed a strong affinity for the beer style. So, when North Coast Brewing Co. of Fort Bragg, California, needed a name for their Russian imperial stout, they chose to name it for the Mad Monk himself.

His portrait appears on the bottle of his namesake, above the Russian phrase "Сердечный друт не родится вдрут", an old Russian proverb which translates to "A good friend is not easily made." It was first brewed in 1994 but wasn't bottled and sold until 1996; it was done so in 4-packs, a practice that is now done with all high-ABV beers, including Old Rasputin. In 2007, they've brewed a special 10th anniversary version of the beer, Old Rasputin X, that's been aged 9 months in 12-year-old bourbon barrels. I hope I can find it in the store, but I think it's only sold at the brewery itself...sadly. I'm always a sucker for a limited edition. (Imperial Russian Stout info, Beers of the World, Old Rasputin webpage, brewery phone call, North Coast Brewing Co. News)


Here are the stats:

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
BREWERY: North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, CA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1995 (on tap), 1996 (bottled)
CALORIES/SERVING: 303 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 75 IBU
ABV: 9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 20.95° Plato (1088.00)
MALTS: (proprietary, they said "many domestic and imported malts")
HOPS: (proprietary)
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 55°F (13°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Rich chocolate cake
AWARDS: 2006 Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Fest Gold Medal Award Winner, 1996-1999 & 2004-2006 World Beer Championships Gold Medal Award Winner, 2004 Spring Beer & Wine Fest Gold Medal Award Winner, 1999 & 2002 GABF Gold Medal Award Winner (imperial stout category), 1996 World Beer Cup Gold Medal Award Winner (imperial Stout category)

The ABV, IBUs, and the awards came from North Coast's Old Rasputin webpage, and the serving temperature and food pairing came from Beers of the World. I called the brewery at 4:10 PM PDT on October 22nd, 2007, then again at 4:35 PM PDT on October 25th, 2007, to get some more info, which Mark from North Coast graciously provided. Thanks so much Mark!

This beer had a very strong aroma from the moment I opened the bottle. It was strong and smelled of fermented fruit...very pleasing to my nostrils. Its color was almost black with no light escaping the glass, and had a very foamy tan-colored head that did not dissipate at all, as this picture demonstrates:


It seemed to fade from tan at the top to a darker brown about halfway down the glass (which the flash ruined in the photo). Like its aroma, its taste was also very strong, tasting of more alcoholic fermented fruit mixed with dark chocolate (how I love those chocolatey beers...mmm...). The aftertaste was a bit too harsh and hoppy at the beginning, but it faded nicely into a chocolate-coffee mixture. I could feel its flavor burn into the back of my nostrils, a very nice effect. It's also not a chewy beer, a trait I've noticed with other beers of this ABV, like Hair of the Dog's Adam and Fred beers. This one is nice and fluid without having a molasses-like consistency.

If you've had more than your share of 4-6% lagers and ales, this beer may get you buzzed in one fell swoop, hence it's price being a little steeper than other beers. But give it a go. Who knows, you may go Mad with delight for this beer.

Будем!

UPDATE: I called the brewery today and spoke with Mark, who was able to fill in some of my blanks.

Old Peculier English Ale

This beer came via the recommendation of a beer-loving employee of Cost Plus World Market: Old Peculier English Ale. He liked it because, according to him, its taste would change after each sip of the beer. I was intrigued, so I picked one up the next time I was in the store.

Remember when I reviewed Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale and mentioned Paul Theakston's family brewery that was bought out by Newcastle in 1987? Old Peculier is brewed by that brewery, originally started by Robert Theakston and John Wood in 1827 in Masham, North Yorkshire, England. They originally set up their brewery in the Black Bull Pub. T&R Theakston takes over the Lightfoot Brewery in 1919 (I like that it was allegedly because Lightfoot always beat Theakston at cricket). In 1974, they took over the Carlisle State Management Brewery, which was the only state-owned brewery in the country. After a 17-year battle, Scottish & Newcastle bought out the brewery in 1987, but four of the brothers Theakston regained control in 2004. (Theakston Brewery history)

Now, I thought it was strange that the beer was spelled Old Peculier with an "e", seeing as how it is spelled with an "a". However, what I didn't know is that a Peculier is "a place of worship that falls directly under the jurisdiction of a person or body other than the bishop of a diocese." So this beer is essentially named in honor of the old Peculier of Masham, founded in 1741 (the label and the bottle cap illustrate the Peculier's seal). I don't know when the beer was first-brewed (Wikipedia says the 1890's, but then again, it's Wikipedia). (Reference.com "Peculier" entry, the bottle)


Here are the stats:

Old Peculier English Ale
BREWERY: T&R Theakston Ltd., Masham, North Yorkshire, England (under authority of Scottish & Newcastle)
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The ABV came from Theakston's Old Peculier webpage, but that's it. A call to Scottish & Newcastle Importers of San Rafael, CA, may be in order.

This beer poured an almost-solid dark ruby red that revealed itself after a moderately-sized half-foamy half-bubbly light tan head. It stayed for a little bit, then quietly retreated. In its wake was a very fruity and slightly chocolatey/nutty aroma that wafted to about an 18-inch radius. The taste did not drastically change between sips like for the Cost Plus employee, but it was an interesting taste. While the initial taste was a weak bubbly grainy taste, once I swallowed it, an explosion of fruit and nut occurred in my mouth for about two seconds before fading out to another grainy taste without the carbonation. For a second, I thought that I tasted bubble gum (!) in a fleeting moment. It's finish was a very light grain that was not intrusive and was very pleasant.

This is a very interesting beer, and I highly recommend it as a change of pace from the usual lager or ale. It certainly has an interesting character.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Stout

I've been a little under the weather recently. I've had a chest cold that has given me a nasty cough. So if while I'm writing this review I need to turn away to cough, rest assured that I'm not trying to be rude to you. Besides, beer is supposed to have health benefits, so maybe I should've had more beer when I was starting to get sick.

My comeback-of-sorts is Sierra Nevada Stout, another beer from regional brewer Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. While a very brief history can be found on my Summerfest beer review, there are a couple other facts I'd like to throw out. Ken Grossman, being an "avid backpacker," named the brewery for the mountain range of the same name because he loved to hike throughout them. The current brewery opened in 1989 and was expanded to 800,000 barrels a year in 1997. Apparently, the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale wasn't the only beer that was first brewed in 1980; among them was this beer, one of the "original four," which I assume also includes their other year-round brews, Porter and Wheat. Over the past couple months, Sierra Nevada has released two long sought-after beers: their Anniversary Ale, a special beer brewed each anniversary (this year is an IPA), and Harvest Ale, an ale brewed with fresh hops flown down from Yakima, Washington, the same day. (Sierra Nevada About Us webpage, phone call to brewery, Anniversary Ale and Harvest Ale press releases)


Here are the stats:

Sierra Nevada Stout
BREWERY: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1980
CALORIES/SERVING: 225 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 60 IBU
ABV: 5.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 16° Plato (1065.84)
MALTS: Two-row Pale, Munich, Caramel, & Black
HOPS: Magnum, Cascade, & Willamette
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 45-50°F (7-10°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Smoked raw oysters, shellfish, lentil stew
AWARDS: 2000 California State Fair Gold Medal Award Winner (Stout, Sweet & Foreign category)

I got all this information, except the first-brewed, calories per servings, serving temperature, and foods to pair with, from the Sierra Nevada Stout homepage. The rest I got talking to the Sierra Nevada receptionist and Theresa from Customer Support/Quality Assurance on the phone on October 9th, 2007 at 4:15 PDT. Thanks so much for the info!

Like most stouts I've encountered, the head was rather large, a very bubbly but foamy light-tan explosion once the beer hit the bottom of the glass. When it settled, it revealed a solid, dark-brown color that seemed to suck in all the light around it. It had a strong aroma of dark chocolate with a hint of fruit that was pleasant. The taste was a mixture of chocolate, coffee, and burnt (or is that "roasted"?) hops. However, it's the aftertaste that I really didn't like about this beer. Its 60 IBUs came roaring at me in the finish, which in and of itself wasn't a bad thing, but it was a bitter hop flavor, and I didn't really enjoy it.

Hop heads might though, as it seems like a combination of stout and IPA. It's a well-crafted beer with an over-ambitious finish, but don't let it stop you from picking one up if you enjoy a hoppy bite at the end.

Prost!

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Malt Liquor

I felt like having a nice light-colored beer after the deliciousness that was Anchor Porter I had Monday, so I pulled a Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse out of the fridge. Now, there are a couple of weird things about this beer. First of all, in spite of being from Germany, one of the country that knows how to make a good beer, they put it in a damn green bottle! Clear and green bottles are a big pet peeve of mine, but especially in this case because I've seen pictures of this beer in a brown bottle. Second of all, I would think that "Hefe-Weisse" would classify it as a hefeweizen, but apparently, in tiny text to the right of the logo on the label, it's clearly classified as a malt liquor. Apparently it's some weird classification thing, but it lumps good beers like this into Olde English 800 and other cheap "high gravity" beers. Third is the naming confusion. I've seen "Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse" (my bottle), "Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier," "Franziskaner Weissbier," and "Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Hell" (the hell is German for "bright"), and I think that these may all be the same things.

The Franziskaner brewery can trace its history back to 1363, when a brewer named Seidel Vaterstetter was first mentioned to own "the brewery next to the Franciscans [monks]" in the Munich Residenzstraße. The fact that it was across the street from the monastery is how Franziskaner got its name. After changing hands a couple times and merging with the Leist Brewery in 1861 and Spaten in 1922, Spaten-Franziskaner-Leistbräu AG has Munich artist Ludwig Hohlwein create Franziskaner's mascot, the "Franciscan Friar," which adorns each bottle to this day. I have no idea when Franziskaner was brought under the InBev name, but probably sometime in the last couple decades. InBev says it was sometime after 2001, and Wikipedia says 2004. My guess is that the weissbier has been brewed all this time, even before the German Purity Law, which this beer follows. (Printable Franziskaner history, About InBev, Franziskaner Wikipedia entry, InBev's Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse page)


Here are the stats:

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Malt Liquor
BREWERY: Spaten-Bräu, Munich, Germany (under the InBev umbrella)
FIRST BREWED: 1363
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got my first-brewed date inferred from the language of InBev's Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse page, where I also got the ABV.

The beer poured an exquisite cloudy golden color, meaning that it is unfiltered. The head exploded a white puffy cloud of bubbles from the bottom of the glass, though it reduced over the span of a minute or two. The aroma was very pleasing to the nose, a combination of orange and citrus with a hint of wheat. The taste was a little bubbly at first, but transitioned into a nice wheaty-citrus flavor. It wasn't too strong, but I feel it could've been a little stronger. The finish leaves a nice hint of wheat in the aftertaste, almost clean, without tasting stale.

This is a pretty good hefeweizen, and I still have no idea why it's called a malt liquor on the bottle. Because it's distributed by InBev and imported by Spaten, you can find it in a number of establishments.

Prost!

Anchor Porter

Today has been a hell of a day. After having a great weekend, I come back to work to be kept continually busy with meetings and things going wrong. I thought I was going to go insane with all the problems that kept cropping up. It was like facing the Hydra; when one problem was finished, two more popped up in its place. Then, on top of all that, my wife and I were cooking a pizza when it slipped off the oven rack during removal, having it land on the bottom of the oven and catch fire. We managed to smother the fire and wave out the smoke, but now our place smells like burnt pizza, and we of smoke.

That's when I decided to crack open one of the beers I purchased last Friday: an Anchor Porter. The Anchor Brewery was opened during in San Francisco in 1871 by German immigrant brewer Gottlieb Brekle as something different (name and date unknown). It was bought by another German immigrant brewer, Ernst F. Baruth (with his son-in-law, Otto Schinkel, Jr.) in 1896. It was at this point that it was renamed the Anchor Brewery, and it continued the tradition laid down from its previous owner producing steam beer (or beer brewed under primitive conditions with no ice), or California Common beer. Steam beer is now a trademark of the Anchor Brewery. After surviving the 1906 earthquake, sudden deaths of owners, Prohibition, fires, and World War II, the effect of 1950's television advertising by the big boys hurt craft brewers, and the brewery was on the edge of closing for good. In 1965, a man by the name of Fritz Maytag bought a majority of the brewery for a few thousand dollars and slowly, but surely, turned the brand around. In 1972, their Anchor Porter was first brewed, bottled for the first time two years later. They now brew 8 beers at their Mariposa St. brewery and show no signs of stopping, thanks to the current microbrew wave that's been growing since the mid-1970's. (Anchor's history parts 1, 3, 5, and 6, Anchor Porter homepage)


Here are the stats:

Anchor Porter
BREWERY: Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1972
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: 2-row barley
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got the first-brewed, ABV, and malt information from the Anchor Porter website. I will call the brewery tomorrow for some addition information.

This beer was a very dark brown, almost black color with a billowing tannish head that bubbled furvently, then suddenly stopping to keep its pillowy form. When I poured the rest of the beer, the head looked like a mountain range:


The aroma was a faint hint of dark chocolate, but its taste was more of a caffeination transitioning to a black coffee flavor. I certainly appreciated that their porter had a lot more flavor than the others had. The problem is with the aftertaste; it just kept building as I drank the beer, something I tend not to like about most beers in general. But, like I said, it had a good taste, so I can't complain.

I liked this beer a lot better than their Steam Beer and Liberty Ale, but that's my opinion. It has a rich enough flavor to stand out from other straight porters I've had before (save Alaskan's Smoked Porter). Pick one up the next time you're out and about.

Prost!