The Beerocrat

CanFest 2010 Winners

2010-10-09T00:21:00.000-07:00

Today (technically yesterday) I attended the trophy ceremony for CanFest 2010, the Reno International Canned Beer Festival, presented by Reno's own Buckbean Brewing Company. The awards were given in advance of CanFest's public festival, which will be held tomorrow (technically today) at 6PM at the Grand Sierra Resort's Silver State Pavilion. Over 60 (!) canned beers will be available for unlimited tasting until 9:30. Tickets are $35 at the door, but only $30 if bought in advance...like at Buckbean. I will see you there. (I wish I had a site to link you to, so here's Buckbean's site instead.)

Of those 60+ beers, 15 were awarded trophies in five categories tonight. And the awards go to:

IPA Category

Gold: Oasis Ale, Tallgrass Brewing Co., Manhattan, KS
Silver: IPA, Tallgrass Brewing Co., Manhattan, KS
Bronze: Epic IPA, Mammoth Brewing Co., Mammoth Lakes, CA

Pale/Amber Ale Category

Gold: Big Swell IPA, Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, Maui, HI
Silver: Dale's Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO
Bronze: Epicenter, SanTan Brewing Co., Chandler, AZ

Dark Ales Category

Gold: Gordon Imperial Red, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO
Silver: Kilt Lifter Scottish Style Ale, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Ale, Tallgrass Brewing Co., Manhattan, KS

Other Ales Category

Gold: Sunbru Kölsch, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe, AZ
Silver: Trout Slayer Ale, Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, MT
Bronze: Coconut Porter, Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, Maui, HI

Lager Category

Gold: Viennese Lager, Bohemian Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Santa Fe Oktoberfest, Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, NM
Bronze: Coors Banquet, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO (they didn't receive much of an applause)

Best In Show

Sunbru Kölsch, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe, AZ

Congratulations to all the winners, especially Tallgrass, a newcomer this year who cleaned up with three trophies! Other big winners (i.e. multiple trophies) included Four Peaks from Arizona, Maui Brewing from Hawaii, and mainstay Oskar Blues from Colorado. I look forward to having all your beers tomorrow.

Prost!

(Special thanks to the awesome folks at Buckbean.)

Reflections on the GABF

2010-09-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, the party's over. At the Colorado Convention Center, the last bits of the 2010 Great American Beer Festival are being torn down and packed up. Janitorial crews are scrubbing the floors and walls. Brewery representatives are headed back to their respective cities, and college kids are returning to campus. And bloggers, such as yours truly, are reflecting upon the festival gone by.

This was my first GABF, and it won't be my last. My wife and I went for two nights this time around, but I could see myself going for all three. There might be a couple changes to the routine next time around, such as staying within stumbling distance of the convention center and not really trying to explore Denver by foot in between sessions. Also, I may have to sign up for the Brewers Association or the American Homebrewers Association to get into their Member's Only Saturday session or go on Thursday night instead to try and beet the college kids.

I had many good beers at the GABF, but only a few that I would call amazing beers, and all of them seemed to be from Colorado, a state I've neglected to cover in my reviews thus far. First of all, I fell in love with Wynkoop's Patty's Chile Beer, a 2006 GABF Bronze Medal winner in the Fruit and Vegetable beer category. It had a strong chili pepper aroma without the overt spiciness that I was expecting from a pepper-infused beer. It is one of my new favorites. Also one that I enjoyed was Yak & Yeti's Chai Milk Stout (auto-"corrected" to "Chair Milk Stout" in one of my tweets); I've never tried a beer infused with tea before, but they did a fantastic job. Finally, Rocky Mountain Brewing's Da' Yoopers tasted almost exactly like cherry pie filling. I've never had so many creative beers at one time. Great job all around, guys!

Also, I took the time (probably too much time) while there to talk to some of the brewmasters and brewery representatives that were there. Here is my list of awesome breweries from the festival, along with any awards they won last night (the full list of winners can be found here):

Alaskan Brewing Co. - Always great to talk to and support. Another Gold for the Smoked Porter's 2009 edition. Not a surprise there.
Trinity Beer Co. - Great IPA out of Rhode Island, which won the Bronze in the Imperial India Pale Ale category.
Horseheads Brewing, Inc. (NY) - Another good East Coast brewery, though I can't remember what I had. Blame it on being buzzed.
NOLA Brewing (LA) - Great Brown Ale, great people to talk to.
Full Sail Brewing (OR) - Dedicated staff, which is what you get when the employees own the place.
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. (OR) - Still one of my favorite breweries to visit and support. Bronzes in the Hefeweizen (for their famous Hefe) and the Ordinary or Special Bitter (for their Drop Top Amber Ale)
Redhook (WA/NH) - I toured the Woodinville, WA brewery many times in college. So many fond memories. Passionate about the beer. Shoulda tried the Copperhook, one of my college beers, if they had it.
Laurelwood Brewing Co. (OR) - Another Portland brewery that I'd probably be addicted to if I still lived there. Deranger took the Bronze in the Imperial Red Ale category.
10 Barrel Brewing Co. (OR) - So there's apparently more to great Bend beers than just Deschutes. Sold out by the time I got there. Draft only. Last year's Bronze in the Out of Category awards for their S1NIST0R Black Ale.
Can't forget Deschutes (OR), also sold out when I got there, but I have a bottle of Abyss waiting for the holiday season. Gold for their Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Classic English-Style Pale Ale), Silver for their Gluten Free beer (Gluten Free) and their Wowzenbock (German-Style Wheat Ale), and Bronze for their Bachelor ESB (Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter).
Ninkasi Brewing (OR) - Another SOL, but I met co-founder Jamie Floyd. Awesome guy. Can't wait to try some of your beer.
Wynkoop Brewing Co. (CO) - The aforementioned Chile Beer is my new favorite beer, and their food ain't bad either.
Brooklyn Brewery (NY) - Finally! An east coast brewery doing something interesting that isn't Sam Adams! I took a zymological journey with them and their odd-but-tasty beers. Their Manhattan Project tasted like a Manhattan.

Congratulations one and all! I look forward to talking with you in the future.

For now, however, I must rest and start another week of work. I am continuing work on the redesign and the migration of this blog as you read, but I felt this entry couldn't wait. So until next time: Prost!

P.S. I have to give a big thumbs up to the Reno area's own Great Basin Brewing Co., who took home a Bronze in the Experimental Beer category -- Nevada's only medal!

Big Site News!

2010-08-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

Dear loyal Beerocrat readers,

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't been active on this blog ever since my spring break last year. I figured I would let you in on what's been going on. In the months since I've published my last post, I've:

Successfully switched jobs,
Passed another semester of grad school,
Went on an awesome vacation to Ireland and Scotland, and
Purchased two tickets for the upcoming Great American Beer Festival in Denver

However, there is a fifth thing that is on my list of stuff getting done, one that isn't quite so apparent. I am going to be moving this blog to a new address: www.TheBeerocrat.com! Being the web developer that I am, I am writing the entire codebase and designing the site myself so that I can have complete control over how my site should look, act, and feel.

Right now, all going to thebeerocrat.com does is take you back to this Blogspot blog, but that will change in the near future. I have been working behind-the-scenes to get things up and running and integrating it with social media, Web 2.0, and other overused tech buzzwords. For example, all of my established blog posts are now ported over (including all your comments) and my permanent RSS and Atom feeds have been created and tested. And, like everyone these days, I now have a Facebook page and Twitter feed which will be integrated into the site.

RSS Feeds: Atom and RSS 2.0
Facebook: Jonathan "Beerocrat"
Twitter: @thebeerocrat

Hopefully this will mark a positive step for the Beerocrat and its followers. I would like to thank everyone who has helped make this blog the way it is. I also would like to thank Blogger for the more than three years of blogging that I've done.

And, as always: Prost!

SalvaVida

2010-03-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

Before getting to the meat of this entry, I want to let you all know to expect a hiatus coming up this week. It was great being able to write some entries during my spring break, but The Beerocrat has to hit the books again this week, so maybe expect one more entry this week, then possibly irregular updates until mid-May.

Stumbling along Reno's Irish Row this St. Patrick's Day, I stopped in the King Ranch market to see if I could grab some more Guinness to continue the celebration at a friend's house. I figured they'd have some because everyone's a little bit Irish on St. Paddy's Day, right? Apparently not there; all they had were Latin-American beers and your typical domestic fare. In my semi-drunken state, I remember staring in awe at the number of different countries that were represented, which I guess makes sense, considering it serves a sizable Hispanic population nearby. For some reason, the Honduran beer SalvaVida caught my eye, so I grabbed a 6-pack.

The story of the Cervecería Hondureña is interesting. The Standard Fruit and Steamship Company started the Compañía Industrial Ceibeña in 1902 to produce electricity, water, ice, soft drink, and cold storage service in Honduras. In 1915, the government of the banana republic declared that the CIC could market and produce beer, and they did just that, with their first beer, SalvaVida (meaning "lifesaver") brewed the following year. In 1935, the CIC merged with the Cervecería Unión combined to form the Cervecería Hondureña. In 2001, the brewery became a part of the SABMiller family of breweries, which probably brought the beer to the states for the first time. Just last year, the brewery won the gold medal in the Australian International Beer Awards for the large brewery category, and its Imperial lager won the lager category (Cervecería Hondureña History and SalvaVida pages, the AIBA 2009 awards announcement)

Here come the stats:

SalvaVida
BREWERY: Cervecería Hondureña, S.A. de C.V., San Pedro Sula, Honduras
U.S. IMPORTER: G.K. Skaggs, Inc., Irvine, CA
STYLE: Lager
FIRST BREWED: 1916
CALORIES/SERVING: ~170 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Caramelized malt"
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 46°F (8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

Everything except the bitterness, original gravity, hops, food pairings, and awards came from Cerveceria Hondureña's SalvaVida website. I will need to either e-mail the brewery or call/e-mail the U.S. importer for the rest, if they'll give it up.

Like most Latin American pilsners, SalvaVida poured a dull golden color into my glass. It had an almost non-existent bubbly white head that dissipated almost immediately. The beer's nose smelt very strongly of hops and metal, once again very characteristic of a pilsner from that part of the world. The taste of the beer was also hoppy and metallic with a malty undertone and a carbonated mouthfeel. At first, the taste was mostly clean and crisp with almost no after taste. However, as I drank more of the beer, it started to taste bitter, and the aftertaste built on itself.

With exception of the finish, this beer is largely interchangeable with most other Central American beers I've had, and I imagine if I had some burritas, Honduran tamales, or pastelitos de carne (similar to El Salvadoran papusas, I believe) it may have complemented it better. Still, if you're interested, pick one up at your local Hispanic store.

¡Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout

2010-03-17T02:56:00.000-07:00

Before today's entry, I would like to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. Please party responsibly.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to have a special Guinness: their 250 Anniversary Stout, released last year to honor the 250th anniversary of Arthur Guinness signing a 9000-year lease on a disused brewery in Dublin at St. James' Gate in 1759. Apparently, he had an initial cost of £100 and an annual rent of £45, which makes me wonder if the deal is still on (I'd hope so). So, what better way to celebrate the start of the next 250 years than with the anniversary stout? This marks the third Guinness product I've reviewed, after the Extra Stout and the Jamaican version of the Foreign Extra Stout; I plan to review the Draught when I get a proper pint at the St. James' Gate brewery in May. (Diageo Beer Brands)

Here come the stats:

Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout
BREWERY: Guinness Ltd., Dublin, Ireland
U.S. IMPORTER: Diageo-Guinness USA, Inc., Norwalk, CT
STYLE: Stout
FIRST BREWED: 2009
CALORIES/SERVING: 136.3 per 11.2 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Two types"
HOPS: "Triple hops"
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got the first brewed, calories, ABV, malts and hops from an MSNBC article on the beer. I'll probably fire off an e-mail to Guinness or Diageo for the rest, but I won't hold my breath.

The beer, like every other Guinness product I've had, pours black as night into the bottle. I messed up and poured this beer as I would've poured a Guinness Draught, but it turns out I wasn't supposed to; what little head that resulted was tan in color, a little whiter than the other Guinnesses. The aroma was similar to that of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout: a pleasing dark chocolate nose. The taste of the beer was certainly more carbonated and less creamy than the Draught, with a little more malty flavor. That maltiness lingered slightly in the aftertaste, but it wasn't overbearing.

Overall, a well-crafted beer from Guinness, but it doesn't evoke the same memories that the Draught does. This beer is only available for a limited time in the US, Australia, and Singapore (but not Ireland, curiously), and may already be sold out in some locations. (Booze Bros. in Reno, where I grabbed this one, still had 5 after I grabbed mine.)

Sláinte!

Almaza

2010-03-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

My wife and I took a mini-vacation to the Monterey Bay area for Valentine's Day. When we were in the Cannary Row area, I found a little Mediterranean market that had all sorts of funky Greek, Russian, and North African/Mediterranean foods and drinks. I was fascinated by their beer fridge; in addition to beers from the Baltic region and Greece, I found a beer from Lebanon, so naturally I had to buy it. That beer: Almaza, a pilsner.

The Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. was founded in the Baouchriye sector of Beirut in 1933 by Lebanese shareholders as the Brasserie Franco-Libano-Syrienne; the name stems from the fact that France administered Lebanon (then the Lebanese Republic) at that time, but still administered under the French Mandate of Syria. Lebanon saw many conflicts throughout its existence, and throughout the bombardments, Almaza still kept brewing its beer, changing its name to the Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. in the 1990's. (Almaza profile)

In 1995, Almaza beer became the only beer brewed in Lebanon (no longer true, ever since the 961 Brewery opened in Beirut in 2006). In 2002, the Heineken group purchased a significant portion of the brewery, which means I'm not sure if the beer I purchased was actually brewed in Lebanon. In addition to the Almaza pilsner, their flagship, they began brewing Rex strong ale (8% ABV) in 2004 and Almaza Pure Malt (6% ABV) in 2007; they originally began experimenting with additional styles in the 1990's. Since Lebanon has a large Muslim population, it also brews Laziza (a non-alcoholic malt beverage it acquired in 2003) and Almaza 0% Alcohol. The only thing I wasn't able to find was when their pilsner was first brewed (I assume 1933, when the brewery opened) and what "Almaza" means; "al-maza" is a type of Mediterranean tapas called mezze, and "almaza" means "why," so I'm not sure. (Almaza profile)

Almaza
BREWERY: Brasserie Almaza S.A.L., Beirut, Lebanon
U.S. IMPORTER: Lebanese Arak Corporation, Glendale, CA
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED: 1933 (as far as I can tell)
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Lebanese food, I imagine
AWARDS:

The year comes from the Almaza website, and the (limited) rest comes from the bottle and the importer's website. I think some e-mails are in order.

When I poured the beer, a smell I can only describe as "pilsner" emitted from the brew. It was that hoppy metallic aroma that I've smelled in beers from Poland to Honduras. Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of that smell, but I fully support anyone who does. Also for full disclosure: I'm fairly certain the beer smelled funky; I'm not sure how long my bottle had been in the case, and the green bottle doesn't exactly help with UV radiation and hop oil spoilage. The beer had a light golden color with a white head that dissipated moderately quickly. Taste-wise, this beer tasted like a diluted version of Okocim, which was nice; no penny in the taste and a light carbonation. There also was a little skunk in the taste, which I chalk up to the bottle and its unknown age. The finish was a little bit of a sticky hoppy taste, with a slight touch of skunk.

I probably would've liked this beer more if it were fresher or newer. I'm sure those people who like pilsners will enjoy this one. Order one from your local Lebanese restaurant in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Australia, or the Persian Gulf.

Kesak!

Lhasa Beer

2010-03-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the lookout for beers that come from exotic corners of the globe. So when I was reading my September 2009 issue of All About Beer magazine a few months ago, I noticed an ad for a new imported beer from Tibet, called Lhasa Beer. I immediately looked around Reno for the beer, mostly in the Asian markets and at Whole Foods, but I came up empty-handed. Flash-forward to Christmas, when I was visiting family members in Austin, Texas. My wife and I went to the main Whole Foods store there, and while I was looking around, I found that they sold this beer. I had to snag it and bring it back to Reno.

It is important to note that the Lhasa Beer that Americans receive in this country is different than the Lhasa Beer that Tibetans drink. Both are brewed by the Tibet Lhasa Brewery, founded in 1989 in Lhasa, Tibet, as a joint venture between two corporations; half is owned by the Danish Carlsberg Group and a Danish government development fund, and half is owned by a domestic corporation that is traded on the Shen Zhen stock exchange. However, the beer we get is specially designed for the US market, an all-malt Dortmunder lager with up to 30% Tibetan barley (with the remainder coming from Australia) and Saaz hops. The Lhasa Beer consumed in Tibet is a rice beer brewed with a lot of other adjuncts in it, and it is this beer, and others brewed by Tibet Lhasa (which, by the way, is the highest brewery in the world), that accounts for 70% of all beer consumed in Tibet. (Lhasa Beer, Ingredients, Brewery)

What's really cool about this beer is that its U.S. importer, Dzambuling Imports LLC, likes to make a point that 10% of their net profits are reinvested back into "direct philanthropic intervention in Tibet," calling it "good karma." While some people may think that this is just a marketing gimmick, I actually had the privilege of speaking to people in management at Dzambuling who assured me otherwise. They told me that the brewery employs 250 full-time workers, 3/4 of whom are Tibetan, and one worker's salary is sufficient to support one family. Each one also gets full benefits, health care, and a retirement program, and upper management at the brewery even gets housing. The brewery has working conditions that are on a par with a modern well-run American brewery (a photo of the bottling line is below). Finally, even though they aren't yet profitable, they are currently making contributions in support of educating children in Tibet. Good karma, indeed. (Brewery, Interview with Management)

Here come the stats:

Lhasa Beer
BREWERY: Tibet Lhasa Brewery Company Ltd., Lhasa, Tibet*
US IMPORTER: Dzambuling Imports LLC, El Cerrito, CA
STYLE: Dortmunder lager
FIRST BREWED: 2009
CALORIES/SERVING: Never tested
BITTERNESS: ~20 IBU
ABV: 4.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.3° Plato (1045.62)
MALTS: Up to 30% Tibetan 2-row barley, 70% or more Australian 2-row barley
HOPS: Aroma: Saaz; Bittering: (some variety)
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: 2009 WBC Silver Medal (Dortmunder Lager)

*I count Tibet as its own country, even though China technically has administrative control over the region. I would count Taiwan similarly. It's not so much a political thing as it is an "exotic" thing.

Information on the first-brewed, malts and hops came from the Ingredients page, the ABV comes from the Beer page, and the award information comes from the Beverage Tasting Institute's review. The remainder of the information came from an interview with management at Dzambuling Imports LLC.

The first thing that hit me was this beer's strong pilsneresque aroma as it hit the glass. A deeper smell reveals a hoppy floral bouquet. The beer poured a yellow-golden color with a bright white head. The taste was carbonated and a bit hoppy for a 20 IBU beer. The finish was very crisp and light, leaving no trace of the hoppiness it originally had.

Lhasa Beer makes for a drinking experience that you can feel good about, both taste- and karma-wise. Pick one up wherever they distribute it, which will also include Reno and Las Vegas in the near future.

ཉེཔོནང (Nyepo nang)!

Harar Beer

2010-01-17T00:24:00.000-08:00

Let's go back in time to January 2008. The economy was still somewhat good but about to burst, George W. Bush was still president, Michael Phelps was dreaming of eight Gold Medals in Beijing, and in Reno, a new Ethiopian restaurant, called Zagol, opened up. Me, my wife, and my parents-in-law decided to try it out. The food was interesting, the honey wine was fantastic, and the beer was Hakim Stout, what I called a "surprisingly good beer". Some of the commentors agreed, some didn't, but hey, we all have different tastes, and that's why I never bad-mouth a beer.

Now, we come back to the present. Barack Obama is president, Michael Jackson is dead, Alabama won the BCS National Championship game, and the family returned to Zagol for my father-in-law's birthday. Last time, I came with a 1.3 megapixel cameraphone, but this time, I came prepared with a 10 megapixel digital camera. I even knew that I wanted the light beer this time. Problem is, I had no idea what it was called, and neither did our waitress last time. I soon found out it was Harar Beer, a lager from the same brewery as Hakim Stout (thus the brewery info is the same). This beer is brewed in the pilsner style and runs at 4.25% ABV, less than the stout. Like the stout, the name of the beer is printed on the label in English as well as in Ethiopian, with the transliteration of the text being "Harar Bīrā," or (surprise!) Harar Beer.

Unfortunately, also like the stout, there's not a lot of information about the beer itself, so I've decided to include a little more brewery information. Of Ethiopia's four breweries, the Harar Brewery Share Co. is the only one who exports. It gets its brewery equipment from the Czech Republic, so it's no wonder that what is probably their flagship beer is in fact a pilsner. Their hops come from Germany, and the malt comes from the Assela Malt Factory in Assela (it used to be imported before the factory opened up). From what I've read, the brewery seems to be in good working condition, and it draws its water from the Genela Spring located on-property, as well as the Finkile deep well and the Alemaya Pump Station. (The Beverages Sector: The Private Sector)

Here come the stats:

Harar Beer
BREWERY: Harar Brewery Share Co., Harar, Ethiopia
US IMPORTER: NTS Enterprises, Oakland, CA
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.25%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Ethiopian food
AWARDS:

I got this extremely limited information from the bottle. I really need to e-mail the brewery with my questions. Who knows, maybe they'll answer.

This beer poured a golden color with a very nondescript white head that faded away almost instantaneously. The beer had a very malty aroma to it, but I thought it was pleasant. The taste was a little sweeter than I was used to for pilsners and was a nice surprise. I tasted malts, slight hops, carbonation, and a citrus taste reminiscent of a hefeweizen. The aftertaste was a combination of hops and slight metal, but faded pretty quickly. Matching the beer with Ethiopian food like Gored Gored and Ya Doro Wat made the aftertaste non-existant.

I liked this beer better than the Hakim Stout and better than most other pilsners I've had. Some complain that it's too sweet, but I think it's nice to not have a lager that tastes like I'm sucking a penny. Like Hakim Stout, you can find it at your favorite African restaurant or importer.

T'chen chen!

Famosa (Gallo)

2010-01-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

This is a beer that recently was distributed to the Reno area, or at least to my favorite beer store, Booze Bros. I was in the mood for a Latin American lager, I saw the bottle, I saw the country of origin as another I can check off my list (Guatemala, by the way), I purchased.

Famosa (Spanish for "famous") is the export name for a beer Guatemalans call Gallo (Spanish for "Rooster"), explaining the black stylized rooster on the bottle. Why there's a stylized rooster on the bottle, I wasn't sure, so I had it explained to me by a brewery spokesperson. I originally thought that the rooster was in fact a Resplendent Quetzal, Guatemala's national bird, whose image adorns the flag, coat of arms, and currency (which is also named the Quetzal), but I was wrong. In 1896, one of the family members of the brewery owners (not mentioned, but I assume it's the Castillo family; read on) decided to put a rooster on the bottle of their "Lager-Bier", I imagine as a sort of trademark. Ten years later, people started asking for a beer "with the Rooster on the bottle," eventually being shortened to "The Rooster," and thus, the name El Gallo was born. (E-mail to Central Beers)

The brewery itself was established in 1881 by Mariano and Rafael Castillo Córdova as Castillo Hermanos, with German brewmasters Herr Stiller and William Spitz arriving in 1895. The beer now known as Gallo in Guatemala and Famosa elsewhere was first brewed in 1896, and it has won numerous awards since. According to the Famosa spokesperson, the brewery is now owned by the 4th and 5th generations of family members, and it is one of only two independent breweries in Latin America. (Gallo beer information; I did my best with the translation, but if anyone can assist, I would be grateful)

Here come the stats:

Famosa (Gallo)
BREWERY: Cervecería Centro Americana, S.A., Guatemala City, Guatemala
US IMPORTER: Central Beer Import and Export, Inc., Miami, FL, USA
STYLE: Lager
FIRST BREWED: 1896
CALORIES/SERVING: 145 per 12 oz. bottle (135-155 on average)
BITTERNESS: 20 IBUs (18-22 on average)
ABV: 5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.5° Plato (1046.47)
MALTS: Malts from Denmark, Sweden, and Germany
HOPS: Hops from Yakima Valley, Washington
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 32-41 °F (0-5 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Guatemalan food, but also "sea food, Italian pasta or steak" among other things
AWARDS: 25 Monde Selection awards since 1967, including 21 gold medals (which itself includes 10 straight golds), 1 Great Gold medal in 1992, and the Crystal Prestige Award; 1914 gold medal at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition

All information, except for the OG, malts, hops, and serving temp, came from Central Beer's Famosa website; the rest came from an e-mail to the importer, Central Beer Import and Export.

The beer itself poured a clear light golden color that bubbled up into a nice clean white head. The scent of the beer reminded me of many a pilsner and Latin American lager I have drank, which makes sense considering this is your basic Latin American lager. The beer itself tasted of carbonation and a slight hoppiness with just a hint of malt. The good news is that the aftertaste was not overly bitter or metallic, a problem that befalls many beers from this part of the world (my theory is that it has to do with the water). It was a light hoppy aftertaste that lingered for a little while.

Overall, not a bad beer, but I imagine that the entire experience would be greatly improved served alongside some tamales or chile rellenos or other Guatemalan food (and yes, apparently most Guatemalan food is also Mexican food). Certainly far from the worst Central American lager I've had. Your favorite Guatemalan restaurant or Latin American grocer probably has this beer, so pick one up.

¡Salud!

Shiner 100 Commemorator

2010-01-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

When I went to Texas for Christmas vacation, I of course wanted to check out the local beer flare. And in many parts of the state, when it's not one of the Big 3, the two big Texas beers are Lone Star (what one friend in San Antonio called "Texas' Budweiser") and Shiner. I only had one bottle of Lone Star, but I had a fair amount of Shiner, both the flagship Bock (4.4% ABV) and the winter seasonal Holiday Cheer (5.4% ABV). Both beers were very delicious and were highlights of my trip, along with a trip to the Blue Star Brewery and La Tuna for drinks.

It was when I got home that I discovered that Spoetzl, the brewery that makes Shiner, celebrated their 100th anniversary this last year, and they released a special beer to commemorate the event, called, er, 100 Commemorator, a Doppelbock-style lager that Spoetzl notes was used as "liquid bread" by monks fasting during Lent. The anniversary of the "little brewery" in Shiner was one of the many that occurred involving beer, including Guinness' 250th anniversary and Rogue's Sesquicentennial Ale to celebrate Oregon's 150th birthday. Since it was only available for the entirety of 2009, I figured that I should pick one up while I can find them in 2010.

After doing a little research, I discovered that this is the last of the anniversary beers that Spoetzl brewed. They started in 2006 with 97 Bohemian Black Lager, and followed up with 98 Bavarian-Style Amber in 2007 and 99 Munich-Style Helles Lager in 2008. Too bad I didn't try them when they came out, although I lucked out on the 97, which is back for good.

Spoetzl Brewery, so named after first brewmaster Kosmos Spoetzl, was founded in 1909 as the Shiner Brewing Association by German and Czech immigrants in Shiner, Texas, first releasing Shiner Premium that same year. In 1913, they released Shiner Bock, and in 1914 the Association recruited Spoetzl to head up the brewing operation; he ended up buying the brewery the next year. They managed to survive Prohibition by brewing near-beer (and, rumor has it, Shiner Premium for local farmers), and Spoetzl survived until 1950, when he passed away; at that time, his daughter took over and renamed it the K. Spoetzl Brewery. I'm not entirely sure when Shiner expanded out of Texas for the first time, but I do know they expanded to North Texas officially in 1992, so it probably was pretty recent. (Spoetzl Brewery → History)

Here come the stats:

Shiner 100 Commemorator
BREWERY: Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX, USA
STYLE: Doppelbock
FIRST BREWED: 2009
CALORIES/SERVING: ??
BITTERNESS: 17 IBU
ABV: 6.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The style, bitterness, and ABV come from Shiner's 100 Commemorator website (What's On Tap → 100 Commemorator). The rest will hopefully come as a response to an e-mail I'm going to send to the brewery.

The beer poured a mid-amber color and produced a light tannish foamy head. The aroma was fruity in nature and pleasant to my nose. The beer itself also tasted fruity but also very malty as well, proving the liquid bread reputation this style is known for. The taste also is slightly hoppy and also felt "heavy" and complex, if that makes sense. The aftertaste reminds me of a sweet dark bread, and it was pleasant and non-intrusive.

I snagged one from my usual haunt Booze Bros. in Reno, but if you want to grab one, you better do it soon!

Prost!

Nøgne Ø Porter

2009-08-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for new beers that come into the Reno area, and one just arrived recently that I had seen before. Over Christmas, in Portland, I told you that I had found a cool beer named "Ø" amongst other foreign beers (I eventually settled on Hinano Tahiti, a French Polynesian beer). Apparently, the brewery itself, not the beer, is named Ø, and it's actually not Ø, it's Nøgne Ø, Norwegian for "naked island". I can't remember the style that I saw in Portland, but the one on sale at Booze Bros. was their Porter. It came highly recommended, so I had to snag it, even though the price tag was a little steep. (Not as steep as in Norway, where it can fetch €12, or $17, a bottle, more than twice what I paid.)

Nøgne Ø (full name "Nøgne Ø - The Uncompromising Brewery" when translated from Norwegian) was started by two Norwegian homebrewers, Kjetil Jikiun and Gunnar Wiig, in Grimstad, Norway (a town about 4 hours SW of Oslo), in 2002. Jikiun, an airline pilot, started homebrewing in 1997 after bringing homebrewing supplies back from Seattle and Chicago. He met Wiig and, after months of persuasion, convinced him to join him in his pursuit. You see, like many countries (including the US), Norway's beer market is dominated by two main breweries, Carlsberg-Ringnes and Hansa-Borg, which control 85% of Norway's beer market. Combine that with strict alcohol control laws (no advertising, alcohol more than 4.75% ABV must be sold in state-run liquor stores, Internet legislation, high taxes, etc.), and it seems unlikely that any micro could survive.

And yet, Nøgne Ø (and many others) has, mostly thanks to exporting 70% of its crop to more tolerant countries. Even though they've had some pretty rough times over the last 7 years, it seems as if Jikiun and his crew have found their niche introducing new beer styles (mostly ales and bottle-conditioned beers) to Norwegians and sharing their interpretations with the rest of the world. The porter in particular was first homebrewed by Jikiun in 2000 and was released commercially in 2003. Jikiun himself has a soft-spot for this particular beer; says Jikiun, "Our porter was developed by me, and I am the one who have made the adjustments required, when we have changed brewing equipment or there has been inconsistencies in malt/hop supplies ... [it] is my baby." (Various pages on Nøgne Ø's site that can't be direct-linked, All About Beer November 2007)

Here come the stats:

Nøgne Ø Porter
BREWERY: Nøgne Ø Brewery, Grimstad, Norway
US IMPORTER: Shelton Brothers, Belchertown, MA
STYLE: Porter
FIRST BREWED: 2000 as a homebrew, 2003 commercially
CALORIES/SERVING: Never tested
BITTERNESS: 30 IBUs
ABV: 7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 16.5° Plato (1068.04)
MALTS: Maris Otter, Munich, caramel, black malt, and chocolate malt
HOPS: Centennial and Northern Brewer hops
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 50 °F (10 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Dark chocolate, cheese, red meat dishes
AWARDS: 2008 World Beer Championships Silver Medal (Robust Porter)

I got all but First Brewed, Calories, and the Awards from Nøgne Ø Porter's website (no direct link, so go to the Homepage → Our Beers → Porter). The rest was generously provided by Kjetil Jikiun, head brewer at Nøgne Ø. Tusen takk, Kjetil!

The head exploded out of this beer, even while I was trying to pour it the right way; it emerged a large fluffy copper color. The beer itself was an extremely dark brown, so dark that no light shone through it, despite my efforts. The smell was very pleasant, with a malty and slightly hoppy aroma with strong sweet coffee and chocolate overtones. The beer itself tasted sweet and malty with a larger amount of hoppiness than its smell. The finish dissolves into a strong coffee aroma, but it doesn't leave a bad aftertaste.

Overall, Nøgne Ø is a very well-crafted and complex beer. The beer, and the brewery, deserve all the praise they get for improving the quality of beer in Norway. Jikiun and company are doing something special in that part of Scandanavia, so pick one up in one of the 43 states Shelton Brothers distributes Nøgne Ø's beers to, or also in Finland, Sweden, or Japan for that matter.

Skål!

Pike Kilt Lifter

2009-08-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

At the end of our Alaskan cruise, my wife and I were dropped off in Seattle. Now, while I am very biased towards Portland's beer history, Seattle is a great beer town, full of well-known and obscure brews alike. One of them is the Pike Brewing Co., situated a couple blocks from the historic Pike Place Market. Being one of the more widely distributed of Seattle's breweries (they distribute to WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, and AK in the United States and BC in Canada, but not Nevada!), I had to check it out. Unfortunately, I only had enough time to dash in, pick out a bottle I thought looked cool, and dash out. That bottle: Kilt Lifter, a Scotch-style ale that was first brewed in 1990.

Pike itself was opened in 1989 by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel under Seattle's Pike Place Market, in what they call "one of the smallest breweries with the tallest smokestack". There, they brewed their Pike Pale, an Amber ale, and XXXXX Stout, but it wasn't long before they expanded to the Kilt Lifter, as well as numerous other styles, such as a barleywine, IPA, and even Belgian-style doubles and tripels. Pike got a big boost when it was spoken of favorably by the late great Beer Hunter Michael Jackson in 1991, and they've never looked back. They've won numerous awards at many festivals and judgings, and All About Beer magazine ranked their IPA as one of the 5 best in the country and one of the 10 best in the world. Now, as far as Kilt Lifter's awards go, I may have missed some (mostly because I was tired when prepping this entry), but in 2006-2008, Northwest Brewing News rated it the Best Northwest Scotch Ale. (Pike Brewing Website → History)

Here come the stats:

Pike Kilt Lifter
BREWERY: Pike Brewing Co., Seattle, WA, USA
STYLE: Scotch ale
FIRST BREWED: 1990
CALORIES/SERVING: ~190 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 27 IBUs
ABV: 6.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 15.58° Plato (1064)
MALTS: Peated, pale, crystal, Munich
HOPS: Magnum, East Kent Goldings
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 45-50 °F (7-10 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Pike pulled pork sandwich, salmon sandwich, Kilt Lifter mac n' cheese (all of which are on Pike's brewpub menu)
AWARDS: 2006-2008 Best Northwest Scotch Style Ale as voted by readers of Northwest Brewing News
INTERESTING FACTS: It's their most popular beer, equally popular amongst men and women alike, and it's "extremely popular around St. Patrick's Day", which is odd considering that it's a Scottish styled beer on an Irish holiday

Much of the info comes from Pike's Flash-based website; first brewed and awards come from History, and bitterness, ABV, OG, malts, and hops come from the Kilt Lifter "page". The rest of the information comes from Pike's own Head Brewer, Drew Cluley. Thanks again for the info!

The beer poured very smoothly, revealing a medium amber color and a white foamy head. The nose was very malty and sweet, with just a touch of hoppiness to it. The beer itself tasted malty and carbonated in equal amounts, perfectly balanced. As the beer warmed up, a little smokiness emerged as the maltiness and carbonation waned. The finish started off a little stale, but actually ended up quite nicely. Overall, a pretty good beer.

I am more of a wheat beer and stout fan, and not usually one for strong ales, but I really enjoyed this beer. Check this one out the next time you're in Seattle or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

Prost!

Saigon Export

2009-08-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was at the Golden Flower Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Reno, enjoying some of their delicious phở. When I went to pay, I looked over in the cooler next to the counter, and something caught my eye. Next to the "33" Export (which I reviewed back in October 2008) was a bottle with a similarly-designed label: Saigon Export. I decided I needed to buy a bottle and try out another beer from Viet Nam.

Unlike the French-Australian-Vietnamese-whatever brewing situation of "33" Export, Saigon Export's label actually matches what it says in RateBeer's The Beer Guide; it is actually brewed by the Saigon Beer Co. (or "Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corp." on the label, or its abbreviation of "Sabeco"), actually based in Saigon (a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City), actually in Viet Nam. I was able to find that Sabeco brews both Saigon Export and "333" Beer (according to this Reuters report about Sabeco's IPO), which adds a new wrinkle to the "33"/"333" brewing situation; this means I may need to update the entry.

Furthermore, I found Sabeco's Vietnamese site and, thanks to Google Translate, I was able to cobble together a little more info about the beer and its history; apparently, Sabeco was formed in 1977 from a merger the Official Southern Beer-Wine Company (I think that's how it's translated) and the Cho Lon Beer Factory; I assume that it was around this time that Saigon Export was created. I could be wrong, so I may need to verify this info with the US importer. (Saigon Export page, Sabeco History, both pages in Vietnamese)

Here come the stats:

Saigon Export
BREWERY: Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corp., Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
US IMPORTER:
STYLE: Rice beer, lager
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Malt"
HOPS: "Hop"
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 50-54°F (10-12°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Vietnamese food, I suppose
AWARDS:

I got name, importer, ABV, malts, and hops off the bottle, and serving temperature from Sabeco's Saigon Export site. Is there more to come from the U.S. importer? Stay tuned!

This beer started off similarly to "33" and other Asian lagers I've had, mostly in keeping with the golden color and bright white bubbly head that dissipated rapidly (although I am trying to pour my beers better). However, the similarities between Saigon Export and the other Vietnamese beer end there. I caught a big whiff of a hoppy but overly metallic scent that turned me off; now it was starting to remind me of Central American lagers. The taste certainly exuded that same metal undertone along with more carbonation, like a pilsner. Finally, the aftertaste that lingered was more metal, as if I had been sucking on a penny.

Overall, Saigon Export was a very disappointing brew. I had high hopes for this beer ever since I had "33", but unfortunately it reminded me about the worst attributes of various beer styles I've had: The inconsistencies of some Asian beers, the poor water quality of some Central American beers, and the metallic taste of Eastern European pilsners. Maybe it goes better with Phở, I dunno. All I know is, I'm grabbing a "33" next time I'm at the Golden Flower. However, if you wish to try this beer for yourself, you can probably grab one at your local Vietnamese restaurant or Asian supermarket. Besides, it's not even nearly as bad as Korea's Hite Exfeel-S. But I still wouldn't spend $4 on this one.

Cạn ly!

(Today's foreign language lesson: Beer in Vietnamese is bia)

Cusqueña Premium

2009-08-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Additional information was found once I called the importer and found out it was MillerCoors.

About 6 months ago, I noticed that a new restaurant was going to open in a strip mall on Moana Ln. near Kietzke. It was called "El Tumi," and they specialized in Peruvian food. I thought, How exotic, I'll need to try them when they open up. And for the next half a year, I was always so disappointed driving by and continually seeing the "Coming Soon" banner still waving in front of the restaurant. I was worried that they would never open in this economy.

Well, as luck would have it, about a week ago, I noticed that they were finally opened for business. So I took my wife out to Peruvian food tonight to see how the cuisine was comparable to other Latin American food I've had while in Reno. I have to comment that the food was excellent for the price. My wife got a half rotisserie chicken for $6, and I got a delicious chicken, pork, and potato dish called carapulera for $8.95. The fried plantains were also fantastic.

But enough about the food: While I was there, I had to try one of their Peruvian beers. Of the two that were offered (Cristal and Cusqueña), I had to go with Cusqueña for no other reason that it sounded more Spanish (it's the "ñ"). Now, just from looking at their Peruvian website, I imagine that Cusqueña as a company is similar to Budweiser, mostly because it appears they sponsor all sorts of sporting events, concerts, and movies without giving a detailed history of the company of their beers.

So I called the 800 number of the US Importer, "Latam Imports," supposedly based in Fort Worth, Texas. Turns out that Latam Imports is another name for MillerCoors International Brands (which imports Cristal, as well as Pilsner Urquell and others). He directed me to MillerCoors' "Great Beers" website (click Imports and scroll down) and Cusqueña's English website (which for some reason I was unable to find) for the information I didn't get from the Spanish website. So here goes the history; hopefully it's accurate and not just a legend.

In 1908, two German brewers came to Cusco, Peru, and found that the water there was incredibly pure. So they decided to brew a European-style lager in Cusco that adhered to the Reinheitsgebot, or the 1516 German Purity Law, using this water. Enter Cusqueña (Spanish for "from Cusco"), which was first brewed in 1911 and is still apparently brewed using that same water source found 18,000 feet in the Andes. The teardrop bottle shape caught my eye when it was served to me. The bottle also contains an engraving of an Inca wall, including the famous "12 angle stone," a one-ton stone crafted to have 12 unique sides that still sits on a main street in Cusco today. (Like I said, it all sounds pretty legendary, but hopefully true as well.) (Various pages on Cusqueña's English site)

Here come the stats.

Cusqueña Premium
BREWERY: Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus Y Johnston S.S.A., Lima, Peru
US IMPORTER: Latam Imports, Fort Worth, TX
ALSO KNOWN AS: MillerCoors International Brands, Milwaukee, WI
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED: 1911
CALORIES/SERVING: 130 per 11.2 oz. bottle (I've also seen 140 and 143 for 12 oz.)
BITTERNESS: 13 IBUs
ABV: 4.8% (I've also seen 5%)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: (proprietary)
MALTS: Meltcalfe, Scarlett, Caramel, and Barke
HOPS: Nuggest, Styrian, Saaz
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 36°F (2°C) (the Spanish site advocates serving it between 28 and 35°F, or between -2 and 2°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Peruvian foods, I assume; also couscous tabouleh, spicy prawn stew, steamed scallops, and others
AWARDS:

The brewery and importer came from the bottle; style, and the first three malts came from Cusqueña's Ingredients page, translated from Spanish; first brewed, calories, IBUs, the last malt, hops, and serving temperature came from Cusqueña's Facts page; and additional food pairings came from Cusqueña's Food Pairings page.

This beer was served to me in an 11.2 oz. bottle accompanied by a frosted mug, which made it look all the more delicious after I poured it. It had a foamy white head with a translucent golden color. At this point, it reminded me of Corona, but with a stronger grainy nose. The real difference between Cusqueña and other Latin-American lagers I've had is that this one had no metallic taste, which I usually chalk up to bad water when brewing. In fact, now that I think about it, Cusqueña may have been one of the best pilsners I've had, mostly because it didn't taste like it was brewed using pocket change. It wasn't skunky, and tasted malty with a little bit of a hoppy bite, but nothing even approaching an IPA. The finish was faint, with a little bit of malt and fruity notes before vanishing.

While it's not my favorite beer in the world, it's a pretty good beer considering it's from a part of the world that brews mostly forgettable lagers. It paired very well with my carapulera, and I imagine other Peruvian dishes would go well too. Since it's the height of summer, it'd even make a good thirst-quencher after a long day's work (or relaxation) in the sun. In Reno, you can pick one up at El Tumi (although they're kind of expensive) and possibly Machu Picchu, the other Peruvian restaurant in town; otherwise, your local Peruvian restaurant or store may have it. Or, use this Find Cusqueña tool I found (it may be out of date, as it only listed locations in Las Vegas for Nevada).

¡Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

Alaskan White Ale

2009-06-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This entry contains updated information courtesy of the Alaskan Brew Crew.

The Beerocrat is back after a long absence.

My wife and I just returned from an Alaskan cruise last week, where we marveled at the unparalleled beauty of Alaska'a glaciers, mountains, and wildlife. I also had to make a pit-stop at Juneau's Alaskan Brewery to take the tour (and of course, have some beer). While I was there, I noticed that Alaskan released a new beer, Alaskan White, that looked particularly tasty. Our friend from college, who lives in Juneau and was taking us around the city for the day, said that ever since Alaskan released its version of a Belgian witbier, people in Juneau have been drinking it as if it was water. Since I wasn't sure of its availability in Reno, I had to grab a bottle.

Alaskan White Ale has had a long journey. It was originally brewed by Alaskan brewer Tracy Bird as a part of their Rough Draft program in 2001. Ever since then, Alaskan's Brew Crew has been fine-tuning the recipe, finally making it available to the state of Alaska earlier this year. However, they also made it available in the rest of Alaska's distribution area (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, and WY) in early May. (I also heard on the tour that New Mexico and Minnesota may be next on Alaskan's list, so keep your eyes peeled!) (Alaskan White Ale Press Release)

Here come the stats:

Alaskan White Ale
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK, USA
STYLE: Witbier
FIRST BREWED: 2001
CALORIES/SERVING: ~157 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 15 IBUs
ABV: 5.3%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.63° Plato (1047)
MALTS: Pale malt, malted wheat, and others
HOPS: (proprietary)
SPICES: Coriander, bitter orange peel
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 47 °F (8 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Spicy food, lighter fare, fresh summer salads, grilled shrimp, grilled halibut
AWARDS: Bronze in the West Coast Commercial Craft Beer competition (although Alaskan looks forward to entering it into many future competitions, including the GABF, World Beer Cup, and European Beer Star)

All info except the calories, malts, hops, and serving temperature comes from Alaskan's White Ale homepage and press release. The rest comes from the great folks at the Alaskan Brew Crew. Thanks again for the information guys, and keep up the good work!

This beer had a wafting citrus aroma that erupted from the glass during pouring. The beer had a semi-cloudy golden color to it, accompanied by a bright white fluffy head. The taste was a little hoppy but wasn't overpowering; I also could taste a little maltiness and citrus flavor, and it wasn't too carbonated either. The finish was very smooth with no stale aftertaste.

It's easy to see why this beer is a favorite of Alaskans whenever the sun comes out. I would love to have a pint on tap sometime, but I may just have to settle for a 6-pack. Pick one up this summer anywhere west of the Rockies.

Prost!

Bridgeport Old Knucklehead #12

2009-01-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

I finally got my hands on a bottle!

Ever since I've found out about this beer in my Beers of the World book, I've wanted one. I have always been a fan of the barley wine: its thickness, its ability to warm you from the inside, its high alcohol content, and especially its rich flavor. I have not reviewed too many barley wines, the only ones being Young's Old Nick and Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws.

BridgePort Old Knucklehead marks my second Oregon barley wine and my second BridgePort beer reviewed, my first being Ebenezer Ale (see that entry for a history of BridgePort). First brewed in 1989, this beer was designated a BridgePort Big Brew in February 2008. The batch I have, number 12, was aged in American Oak Bourbon barrels and blended back into the cask, which adds a wealth of flavor and complexity to the brew. The numbers not only correspond to the batch, but used to also designate a "knucklehead," or someone who has contributed to the brewing process. I'm not sure to whom #12 is or if they even do that anymore. Oh, and I believe it's bottle conditioned too, but it doesn't say so on the bottle. More fodder for the e-mail. (BridgePort - Our Beers → Old Knucklehead)

Here come the stats:

BridgePort Old Knucklehead #12
BREWERY: BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
STYLE: Barley wine
FIRST BREWED: 1989 (this vintage brewed 2008)
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS: 60 IBUs
ABV: 9.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 20.8° Plato (1087.32)
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 55 °F (13 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Desserts, by itself as "an after-dinner libation" (Beers of the World also suggests sausage casserole)
AWARDS: 2002 Brewing Industry International Awards (silver medal), 2000 Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival (2nd place), rated "Highly Recommended" by the Beverage Tasting Institute in 2002

I got all but the calories, malts, hops, and serving temp from the Old Knucklehead page. (Since they've switched to Flash, you need to go to Our Beers and click "Old Knucklehead".) The serving temp came from Beers of the World. A phone call or e-mail may get me the rest of the info.

This beer has a strong aroma, most evident as I poured it into my glass. It definitely had a malty syrupy nose that had just a little sweetness to it. A clear brown color also exposed an off-white, almost tan-colored head. The beer itself had a little bit of sweetness to it, but quickly transformed into an alcoholy malt flavor that, like the smell, was syrupy and thick. Because of all the alcohol (I mean, it is 9.1%), that was the flavor left in my mouth, which to me tastes similar to a hop aftertaste, but better.

This beer is excellently crafted, and I can appreciate its complexity. Since I had it laying around for almost a year in varying temperatures, who knows what a fresh Knucklehead, or one that further conditions for another year or two, will taste. Pick one up in the next month or so. Hell, grab three or four and let some sit for awhile before trying them.

Also: Stay tuned to The Beerocrat because next I will get to some beers I've been dying to review: Trappist beers!

Prost!

Blue Dawg Wild Blue

2009-01-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where or when I picked up this beer, but I know that I got it at some point from a friend. I think it was the one who moved to San Diego four months ago because he gave me a few beers that were lingering in his fridge before the move. Anyway, when I was trying to figure out what to have tonight, I found the Blue Dawg Wild Blue blueberry lager in the back of the fridge and decided to give it a go.

It is allegedly brewed by the Blue Dawg Brewery out of Baldwinsville, New York. I say "allegedly" because the Blue Dawg Brewery is a special group within Anheuser-Busch. It may be brewed in Baldwinsville, but it's still a product of the big three. I wonder why A-B needs to hide behind an obscure brewery to produce a decent beer; my guess is that the beer snobs would never go for a Budweiser Blue Lager because they hate the big three, and the economy/regular beer drinkers would get Bud, Busch, or Natty Light instead. Coors takes a similar line with Blue Moon, and I'm sure Miller has a similar situation with some craft beer, although none come to mind at the moment.

After digging a little, I found some information about this particular beer. It was first brewed in 2005 and released to a few cities in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, after which it was further test-marketed in St. Louis in December 2007; it was nationally released last year. A-B decided that it was good enough to put in the Fruit Beer category at the 2006 North American Beer Awards. It was a smart decision too, winning the gold that year. (Wild Blue product info)

Here come the stats:

Blue Dawg Wild Blue
BREWERY: Blue Dawg Brewey, Baldwinsville, NY, USA; Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, MO, USA
STYLE: "Fruit-infused lager"
FIRST BREWED: 2005
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: 2- and 6-row barley
HOPS: "Aroma hops" from the Willamette Valley, "German hops" from the Hallertau region of Bavaria
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "pork rib roast with fig and pistachio stuffing ... pork tenderloin with apricot mustard ... fruit salad with ginger syrup ... mixed-green salad with dried fruit"
AWARDS: 2006 NABF Gold Medal (Fruit Beer)

The bulk of this information came from the Wild Blue product info page. I will try to get some info from the brewery, but a lot will probably be proprietary, and besides, who at big three breweries ever listen to a little ol' blogger like me?

This beer caught my eye with its reddish-purplish color and light purple head, but now that I know it's by A-B, I'm sure that was an intentional gimmick; the color probably comes from the blueberry syrup that they added to the beer. The head itself was very bubbly but thin, and it didn't last long. It had the pleasant aroma of blueberries with subtle hoppiness. However, the beer itself was a little too carbonated and tasted too much like alcohol, although the blueberry flavor was the dominant one. The alcohol of this beer definitely settled towards the bottom, though, especially as the beer went flat (and it went flat quickly). The aftertaste was sugary and fruity, once again with the blueberry in the lead.

This beer was a little too sugary for my taste, seeming to be a step or two above Smirnoff Ice, mostly because the sugar didn't leave that weird residue in my mouth this time around. This is a beer for people who don't like the taste of beer, similar to lambic beers but produced like a macrobrew. If you want a fruit beer, you could try this one, but I'd stick to the real fruit beers like Lindemans.

Cheers!

Widmer Okto

2009-01-11T00:22:00.000-08:00

For the last two or so years, I've always wanted to try this beer. Unfortunately, whenever I ran to the stores to try and grab one, they were always sold out, and the season was always almost over. Finally, when I was in Portland during Labor Day 2008, I managed to find this beer (with the help of my parents).

I don't know much about the history of Widmer Okto, such as how it came about and when it was first brewed. Those will be asked in an e-mail I send to Widmer. (I'm gonna have them running around for a long time!) I do know that this beer is a Munich style ale intended to match the style of beer found at Oktoberfests worldwide. Widmer itself holds an annual Oktoberfest in Portland, with food, music, and a lot of good beer. Sounds like a party to me.

Here come the stats:

Widmer Okto
BREWERY: Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
STYLE: Munich Style Ale
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS: 25 IBU
ABV: 5.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13° Plato (1052.85)
MALTS: Pale, Caramel, Munich 60L, Extra Special, Carapils Malt
HOPS: Bittering: Alchemy; Aroma: Mt. Hood, Tettnanger
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "Grilled bratwurst, burgers & other hearty fall fare"
AWARDS:

Most of my information comes from Widmer's Okto webpage. An e-mail to the brewery is in order for the rest of them.

This beer poured a dark amber, but not dark brownish, color with an accompanying small cream-colored bubbly head. I really enjoyed the nose of this beer, which contained malts, hops, and a slight hint of fruit. The taste was a little too carbonated, in my opinion, but then the maltiness came through along with some citrus flavors. The aftertaste was faint and malty, and didn't wear out its welcome.

I enjoyed this beer, like I do so many other Widmer beers. This would be a great beer for any occasion, but especially for your local Oktoberfest. Since it's available nationwide (except Utah and Oklahoma) between early August and late October, I guess you'll just have to wait until then.

Prost!

Widmer Brrr

2009-01-10T00:21:00.000-08:00

This was the other (actually, the first) beer that I snagged in Portland over my Christmas vacation. At the time, most of the northern states, including Oregon, were buried under massive amounts of snow; Portland in particular had 15 inches of the white stuff between December 20th and December 24th, when my wife and I landed at PDX. It was amazing that we were even able to fly into the airport at 1 in the morning. We honestly consider it a miracle that we made it.

While stocking up on some supplies at the Safeway in town, I couldn't help but notice that there was a new Widmer brew for sale: Brrr, described on the bottle as a "seasonal ale." What was the most shocking about finding this beer was that there were no 6-packs of Widmer's traditional winter seasonal, Snow Plow Milk Stout. A little research reveals that their website has changed the availability to "Limited Release," whatever that means. I think I need to place an e-mail to the brewery and find out what's what.

As far as Brrr is concerned, this is a new brew, coming out as Widmer's first new winter seasonal in four years. It's possible that this may have been brewed before 2008, but only served in their Gasthaus Pub; I'm checking on that. Speaking of which, Gasthaus says that their beer has "[n]otable hop aroma and flavor" and "[s]tealthly alcohol content." I guess when you clock in at 7.2% ABV, it should be classified as "stealthy." (Widmer Newsletter from Nov 11 2008, Widmer Brrr website, Gasthaus Pub's What's on Tap)

Here come the stats:

Widmer Brrr
BREWERY: Widmer Brother Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
STYLE: Seasonal Ale
FIRST BREWED: 2008
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS: 50 IBU
ABV: 7.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 17° Plato (1070.25)
MALTS: Pale, Caramel 10L & 80L, Munich 10L, Carapils, Dark Chocolate
HOPS: Bittering: Alchemy; Aroma: Simcoe & Cascade
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "Holiday favorites like turkey and ham"
AWARDS:

I got most of this from Widmer's Brrr website. An e-mail to Widmer should net me the rest.

When I originally went to taste this beer, it had been frozen solid by my stupid beer fridge (speaking of "brrr"), so I let it thaw in the fridge for a couple days, drinking and reviewing Hinano Tahiti instead. When it was ready and I finally poured it into the glass, it had a gorgeous dark reddish-brown color with some flecks (probably yeast or remnants of the freezing). The head was a puffy light tannish color. The nose was very hoppy and reminded me a lot of Widmer's own Broken Halo IPA (they use the same or similar malts and hops in each), though not as strong. This beer, however, had a stronger hop flavor than Broken Halo, and was carbonated to boot. Like many IPAs, this beer did leave that hoppy aftertaste in my mouth.

This is the problem I have with reviewing IPA-style beers. One may think that I'm bad-mouthing this beer because I didn't particularly enjoy its flavor, and that is blatantly false. Is Widmer Brrr a good, well-crafted beer? Yes. Did I enjoy its flavor? No, because IPAs aren't my beer style of choice; stouts, porters, and strong ales are. However, anyone who enjoys IPAs will love this beer hands down. It is a well-crafted beer, yet another winner from Widmer, and perfect for hop-heads. Me? I'll be stealing some bottle-conditioned Snow Plow from my father-in-law's fridge. Mmmm.

Widmer says it was only available through the first week of January, but if you hurry, you may still find some on the shelves.

Prost!

Hinano Tahiti

2009-01-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

When I was in Portland over Christmas, I went shopping at the local Cost Plus World Market to see what their beer selection was like compared to Reno. I have to say that while a lot of beers were the same, they had some pretty cool beers from other countries (I found a Norwegian beer named "Ø"!). One of my finds was a Tahitian beer by the name of Hinano Tahiti, which I snatched up.

From what I gathered on their website and on the bottle, this beer was first brewed in Tahiti in 1955. For the opening year they went all out, engraving their distinctive "vahine" (Tahitian for "woman" or "girl") logo onto their bottles and launching the Miss Hinano festival. They then expanded internationally: China got Hinano Tahiti in 1960, Japan in 1991, and France in 1992; it is unknown when it was imported into the United States for the first time. The 33 cL longneck bottle (the size I bought) was introduced in 1998. I still have no idea what "Hinano" means...it's probably Tahitian for something. I asked that question in the e-mail (Website)

Here come the stats:

Hinano Tahiti
BREWERY: Brasserie de Tahiti S.A., Papeete, Tahiti
U.S. IMPORTER: Young's Market Company, Orange, CA, USA
STYLE: Lager, maybe a pilsner
FIRST BREWED: 1955
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: "Gold medal in Luxembourg, Brussels"

This information either came from the bottle or Hinano Tahiti's website, which is unfortunately Flash-based to prevent direct linking. I plan on sending an e-mail to both Brasserie de Tahiti S.A. and Young's Market Company asking them about additional information on this beer.

For an 11.15 oz. beer, this one almost overflowed my glass (probably because it took a little tumble just before I took it out of my beer fridge). It poured a pale yellow color, almost like a slightly opaque straw color, but the accompanying head was puffy, bright white, and long-lasting. The smell had a mixture of metal and citrus, which reminded me of pilsners. The taste pretty much reflected its nose, except I could taste the carbonation and bitterness. Its aftertaste originally held the same taste slightly, then changed to a wheaty taste, but after the first few sips, that pilsner taste was all I could taste (leading me to say "taste" six times this sentence...I think I need to go to bed). I'm sure part of the reason my tastebuds had trouble with this beer is that it was served just above freezing thanks to a fridge malfunction.

All in all, not a bad beer, especially if you enjoy those Central and Eastern European pilsners like Pilsner Urquell. Not my cup of tea, but people like bitterness more than I do. I have no clue on distribution, but it's probably only found in select stores on the West Coast.

Manuia!
–OR–
À votre santé !

UPDATE: Special thanks to Hinatea, who told me that "vahine" means "woman", "girl", or "lady", and that "cheers" translates to "manuia".

"33" Export

2008-10-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

As summer turns to fall (or, in Reno, skipping fall entirely and segueing right into winter), light, summery beers fall by the wayside, giving way to thicker, darker, chewier beers that warm you from the inside out. I have plenty of those beers in my mini-fridge, but I wanted to have one last crack at a summery lager. That, and we were out at Vietnamese food tonight and the urge hit me to pick up the blog again.

The beer I tried is another of your standard Asian beers, "33" Export. Now, this beer is very confusing to me, especially trying to discern the origin. The bottle says it's from Vietnam, but RateBeer's The Beer Guide claims it's brewed by Heineken in Schiltigheim, Alsace, France. I also could find virtually zero information from what I would consider an official site. No brewery page, no importer page, no real whiffs of any kind on the information front. Heineken's French site is down (according to Archive.org, since February 12th of this year), and for some reason RateBeer is being flagged by Firefox 3 as being a malicious site, so I had to dig elsewhere. I tried going through Archive.org's caches of the site, except that since it's Flash-based, nothing loads properly, and the older ones I can get to work don't mention "33" at all.

The only thing I know is that the Vietnamese brewery that the bottle claims brewed this beer used be owned by Foster's (yes, that Foster's) but was sold to Singapore's Asia Pacific Breweries in 2006. They still make Foster's and other local beers, but no mention of "33" exists on their web site. The only other information I even have about it is a random Flickr picture of a French bottle of "33" complete with information...where the ABV on the bottle doesn't match the ABV in the photo comments. I think I believe the Flickr guy, though, when he says that Heineken France holds the recipe but VBL Tien Giang Ltd. holds a license, which allows the bottle to say "Product of Vietnam" on it. UPDATED See below (APB in Vietnam, random Flickr image)

(I took a picture on my cell phone at the restaurant, but it's a -3 megapixel camera, so this empty bottle shot is all you get this time around.)

Here come the (limited) stats:

"33" Export
BREWERY: VBL Tien Giang Limited, My Tho Industrial Zone, Binh Duc Commune, Chau Thanh District, Tien Giang Province, Viet Nam (yes, all that was on the bottle)
US IMPORTER: Nicolas Wines, Westport, CT, USA
STYLE: Lager
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Malt"
HOPS: "Hops" (descriptive, no?)
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Vietnamese food, I imagine
AWARDS:

I got this information off the bottle, and also from a nice e-mail from Nicolas Wines (see below).

This beer pretty much looks like your standard Asian lager: bright gold in color, bright white head, hoppy aroma, the whole nine yards. At first, the taste was somewhat under average. Better than most beers I've had from the region (I'm looking at you, Singha and South Korea), but still somewhat pedestrian in taste. Then I tried it after I took a bite from my Srirachi and fish sauce-infused beef ball pho, and the beer took on an enjoyably sweet characteristic, almost champagne-like in transformation. The hoppiness of the beer lingered, but it wasn't distracting, probably because I shoveled another mouthful of hot noodles in my trap less than 10 seconds later.

I guess these Asian lagers are supposed to complement the dishes they are served with (hell, I guess that's every alcoholic beverage). Unlike some beers I thought didn't (once again, Singha...), this one paired very well with my pho. Does this mean that I'm off the micros and hitting the French/Vietnamese suds from now on? Um, no. Not quite. But I will admit it wasn't half bad...at least while my tongue was on fire.

Cạn ly!

P.S. I still have no clue what the "33" means. It might be the year of first brew. It might be the recipe number. It might be its Beverage Testing Institute score. It might be absolutely nothing, which is why it's in quotes. One for the ages, I guess. Raise a glass below if you have any ideas.

UPDATE: Imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from someone at Nicolas Wines, the official importers of 33 Export, without any prompting or nagging. They were able to confirm that the beer I tasted did in fact come from Vietnam's VBL, formerly Foster's Tien Giang. Also, they were able to shed light on the origin of "33"; apparently, it "refers to the size of the original bottles at 11.2 ounces, which is a third of a liter," or 33 centiliters. Makes sense if you ask me, although I'm waiting for one of the big three to call their beer "12." I guess stateside you can only use a number in the name if it refers to that beer's calories.

Thanks again Nicolas Wines for your submission! I raise my glass to you.

Widmer W'08 Crimson Wheat

2008-08-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

With this post, the Beerocrat will celebrate its Golden (50th) Beeriversary, so drink up! I know I will!

Today's beer, the 50th I've reviewed so far, is Widmer Brother Brewing's 2008 Brewmasters' Release, called W'08 Crimson Wheat. This is the fourth release in their "W" series of beers, available from January to July of this year, but there may still be some 6-packs floating around somewhere. While other Widmer W releases, save for their W'05, have never been re-released as a regular bottled beer (they may have been served at their Gasthaus Pub), this one may have a decent shot for re-branding, as it has already won a silver at 2007's Great American Beer Festival, under the cryptic name "Brewmaster Reserve." A promising start, indeed. (Widmer W'08 homepage, GABF 2007 award list [alternative if GABF link goes stale])

Here come the stats:

Widmer W'08 Crimson Wheat
BREWERY: Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
STYLE: American-Style Ale
FIRST BREWED: 2007
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS: 20 IBU
ABV: 4.9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13.75° Plato (1056.07)
MALTS: Two Row Pale, Dark Wheat, Caramel Wheat, Red Wheat, Caramel 10 L, Rye, Chocolate
HOPS: Bittering: Alchemy, Aroma: Sterling
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: A variety of entrées including hamburgers, roast beef sandwiches, and seafood
AWARDS: 2007 GABF Silver Medal Award Winner (American-Style Wheat Beer category, as "Brewmaster Reserve")

Most of this information came from Widmer's own W'08 homepage, with help from the GABF 2007 award list (and it's alternative link).

This beer poured a deep reddish-orange color, a very different color than what I've seen out of Widmer. The head was small, bubbly, and white, staying for a little while. The nose of the beer had a nice malty-sweetness to it and was very pleasing, not overpowering. This malty-sweetness extended to the taste, mixed in with a faint hoppiness indicative of a beer with only 20 IBUs. The finish was grainy in origin, but it didn't go flat or stale in my mouth, instead fading away gently into oblivion.

This is a nice beer, worthy of their W series. Hopefully it will be rebranded as something else like their Broken Halo in the near future, or at least featured in their Gasthaus Pub. If there are any left in stores, pick some up.

Prost!

P.S. Also, if anyone knows a better file hosting situation (free sign-up and hosting, direct link to file downloads), please do not hesitate to drop a comment. I'd love to switch from Uploading.com early in the game if possible. Thanks.

Redhook Copperhook Spring Ale

2008-08-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today's entry covers a beer from one of my favorite craft brewers, Woodinville, Washington's own Redhook Brewery; that beer is their Copperhook Spring Ale. Now, I know you're thinking "hey, wait a minute, it's not spring...it's halfway through summer!" I would like to note that I bought it in spring, and it's been relaxing in a cold, dark fridge ever since just waiting to be drank. It gets its chance today. Looking back on previous entries, I'm surprised I've never done a brewery history on Redhook, at least a comprehensive one.

The history of Redhook starts in the Scandinavian working-class Seattle neighborhood of Ballard in May 1981, when Paul Shipman and Gordon Bowker founded the brewery. The first batch of their Redhook Ale was poured in 1982. Unfortunately, Seattleites were "maybe a little confus[ed]" about this beer, called the "banana beer" because of its flavor. Less than 1,000 barrels were sold that year; sadly, this beer is no longer available in that initial form. However, their next brews, 1983's Blackhook Porter and 1984's Ballard Bitter (now known as Longhammer IPA) were met with much greater acclaim, and 1987's ESB (Extra Special Bitter) became their flagship ale. To keep up with demand, they moved out of Ballard and into a new brewery in nearby Woodinville in 1994, while expanding their east coast presence with a brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1996. As previously mentioned, Redhook and Portland's Widmer Brothers Brewery merged to form the Craft Brewer's Alliance in 2007, which was finalized in 2008. (Redhook's history link, not direct-linkable; go to Redhook main page → About Redhook → Redhook History)

The history of Copperhook itself is not nearly as long-winded. It began life in 2001 as two different beers: the Chinook Copper Ale, and the Chinook Stock Ale, later renamed Late Harvest Autumn Ale. Chinook Copper Ale was sold year-round, but only in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. It was pulled from the shelf in the summer of 2005 due to a redesign of the bottle and label layout of all Redhook products, combined with Redhook's leasing of the name "Chinook" from Yakima Valley's Chinook Wines. Instead of dealing with all the rights issues associated with continuing to lease the name, Redhook re-christened it as Copperhook Spring Ale, their spring seasonal, in the spring of 2006. It was still temporarily available only on the west coast at that time, with their delicious Nut Brown Ale filling in on the east coast, but as of spring 2007 it is now available nationwide with the exception of Utah and Oklahoma (like all their beers).

On a side note, their Nut Brown is sadly no longer available, but may be due for a glorious comeback soon. One can only hope.

(The above info comes from a combination of recollections of the many Redhook brewery tours I've taken and a phone call to the Redhook Beer Guru on August 7th, 2008 at 2:45 PM PDT. Thanks again, Guru!)

DISCLAIMER: This beer has a soft spot for me, having gotten me through most of my junior year of college. I have tried to be as objective as I can in reviewing this beer.

Here come the stats:

Redhook Copperhook Spring Ale
BREWERY: Redhook Brewing Co., Woodinville, WA, USA
STYLE: BeerAdvocate calls it an American Pale Ale
FIRST BREWED: 2001
CALORIES/SERVING: 174 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 20 IBU
ABV: 5.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13.078° Plato (1053.18)
MALTS: Carapils, Caramel
HOPS: Willamette, Saaz
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 40-50°F (4.4-10°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Barbecue, salads, seafood
AWARDS: (none)

Most of this information comes from Redhook's Copperhook website (not direct-linkable, go to Redhook main page → Our Ales → Copperhook). The rest were answered by Redhook's Beer Guru.

It makes sense that Copperhook pours a copper color into the glass, accompanied by an average-sized soft foamy white head which stuck around a longer than average amount of time. The nose was a grainy texture with accents of subtle sweetness, almost fruity in nature. The taste of the beer itself was hoppy at first, quickly transforming into a malty flavor with carbonation. The aftertaste was a little bit of stale hoppiness, but it didn't stick around; within 30 seconds it had evolved to a slight maltiness that was pleasant on the tongue.

This is a light ale that is perfectly suited for the spring and summer months. It's flavor masks its 5.7% ABV well, making this a higher ABV session beer in my mind. Since Redhook's seasonals for this part of the year are their Sunrye Summer Ale and their newly-nationally-available Late Harvest Autumn Ale, you'll have to wait until mid-January 2009 to pick up a six-pack.

Prost!

Widmer and Redhook Breweries Merge

2008-07-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

My dad forwarded me an article from the Portland Business Journal about Widmer Brothers Brewery of Portland and Redhook Brewery of Woodinville, WA, merging to form a new company, Craft Brewers Alliance. The co-CEOs of the new company are David Mickelson, president and COO of Redhook, and Terry Michaelson, president of Craft Brands Alliance (Craft Brewers Alliance's marketing and sales arm, created before the merger). Kurt Widmer (guess which brewery he's from) is chairman of the board, and Paul Shipman (recent chairman and CEO of Redhook) is chairman emeritus. You can read more about it in this Portland Business Journal article (if the link is stale, here's a PDF version).

I think this is a good thing for both breweries, especially Redhook. According to a January 5, 2007 Oregonian article, Redhook hasn't posted an annual profit since 1996, compared to Widmer's double digit growth between 2002 and 2006. Since both companies A.) are partially owned by Budweiser and B.) have been working together for at least a few years now, I think this merger will go over well, so long as their beers remain separate. You know, keep the Widmer beers Widmer and the Redhook beers Redhook. I do like my Widmer Hefeweizen and my Redhook Chinook, and it would be a shame if they decided to combine all the beers and dropped or combined some.

I do have to say that the Widmer/Redhook conglomerate now presents some decent competition to Sam Adams, the other large craft brewer on the market today. Who knows, we may see some Widmer and Redhook commercials on TV in the next few years.

Apparently, Widmer and Redhook released a joint press release (on Widmer's site, or from here if that link gets stale) about the merger back in November 2007, and have been talking about it long before that, so the Portland Business-Journal is a little slow on the uptake.

Prost!

Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale

2008-07-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Happy 232nd Birthday, America!

My wife and I had our 4th of July barbecue tonight, and of course we invited some friends over to celebrate and watch the fireworks. Because we're poor, it was BYOB, and one of our friends brought 6 cans of Buckbean Brewery's Original Orange Blossom Ale. For those not in the know, it is Reno's only microbrewery (the brewpubs Great Basin, Silver Peak, BJ's, and Brew Brothers presumably don't count because they don't bottle their beers), and it is taking Reno by storm. I went into Ben's the other day, and they were completely sold out, and at the grand opening of Reno's Whole Foods, I saw tons of people taking home 4-packs of Orange Blossom and their other beer, Black Noddy, a schwarzbier like Sam Adams' Black Lager.

As mentioned in previous posts, Buckbean was established in 2007 and just opened earlier this year. The Buckbean name comes from the Buckbean plant, an herb which grows over North America and Europe, and also in Tahoe Meadows. Apparently, Buckbean leaves have been used as a substitute for hops and also as a remedy for scurvy and stomach illnesses. Dan Kahn, the brewmaster, says he plans to use the herb in future brewing projects, and I personally can't wait to try them. Original Orange Blossom Ale was created by Dan while he was brewmaster at Riverside Brewing Company in Riverside, CA for their Orange Blossom Festival, becoming the first to use orange blossoms in the brewing process. They got to try it, but now it's all ours. (All info came from Buckbean's website, which unfortunately does not allow direct linking.)

Here come the stats:

Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale
BREWERY: Buckbean Brewing Co., Reno, NV, USA
STYLE: Orange blossom ale
FIRST BREWED: 2008
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: Caramel, Munich
HOPS: "American"
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Tangy, herbal or spicy foods, soft cheeses or pastries
AWARDS:

I got this information from the can, which can also be found on Buckbean's website. I will talk with the brewers to see if I can get the rest.

The beer poured a beautiful cloudy orange color, accompanied by a decent white head that did not stick around very long. The nose was unlike anything I've ever smelled in a beer before, a swirl of orange and hops; my wife noted that it smelled like a nice perfume. The taste also was unique, a light hoppiness mixed with a smooth orange flavor, best described by one of my friends as a Blue Moon Belgian White and the orange already in the bottle. The finish was crisp and clean with a delightful aftertaste that didn't wear out its welcome.

Buckbean has truly made a great beer that is one-of-a-kind and fits in with Reno's unique culture. I look forward to seeing what else they can do. For now, you can also try out Buckbean's seasonal tap-only brew, Artown Vienna Lager, in honor of Reno's own Artown festival.

Prost!

The Beerocrat - One Year On

2008-06-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I decided to create a blog that detailed my love of beer. I posted my first entry on June 19th, 2007 at about 7 in the morning. That period of time was a very happy time in my life; I had a great time, I was carefree, and I had ample free time to celebrate my love of beer on this blog. Gradually, things changed; I got married, so I now had a family to support; my job became more and more stressful, eventually spilling into the afterhours; and my stress levels began to rise because of both of those things. Stress and overwork do not bode particularly well for a carefree beer blog that was meant to be a hobby. But fortunately for you Beerocrat fans, I'll be making more and more frequent entries.

I was laid off from my IT job yesterday.

It was a total shock when it happened, but my former company needed to downsize, and unfortunately I was among the few who were let go. I am still saddened by it (considering it happened only yesterday, and considering that I loved that job and my co-workers), but I hold no ill will towards my ex-company, and especially towards my former co-workers and managers, some of whom are aware of, and have supported, this blog and its exploits. Still, I drowned my sorrows with - you guessed it - a few beers. There's no better feeling than drinking beer at the Silver Peak at 11 in the morning on a Wednesday.

For you, dear reader, this means more entries and a renewed commitment to excellence, and no better time to renew my commitment than to do it on the first anniversary of this here beer blog.

Since its too late to do an entry tonight (I swear I'm turning into a crotchety old man at 24), I'll post one tomorrow. Now that I can call breweries during normal work hours to get more information, I can get the information and review to you quicker than I have in quite some time.

In the meantime, I got this in my inbox a couple days ago. Redhook, one of Seattle's largest breweries, has started a new viral marketing campaign called the What Would Redhook Do? Coaster Contest. You create a slogan with what you think Redhook would do, like "Redhook would lower gas prices" or "Redhook would date the hot girl's ugly friend", add a background photo, then upload it. Other people who visit the site can vote on your entry, and if enough deem yours worthy, it will end up on coasters nationwide, a pretty sweet deal. You can find the caption contest here.

Take care, and I'll post a new review tomorrow.

Prost!

Buckbean's Grand Opening Recap

2008-06-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my previous post, Reno's own Buckbean Brewery had their official grand opening today at their brewery on 1155 Rock Blvd. Suite 490. I, like at least 100 or so of my fellow Renoites, went to check out the beer, the food, the ice cream from Tahoe Creamery, the beer, the roller derby girls, and the beer. I had the pleasure of tasting the three beers Buckbean had on tap, including their new Artown Vienna Lager, which happens to be the official beer of Artown, Reno's annual monthlong arts festival starting around July 1st. I also was able to briefly speak with Doug, the president, and Dan, the brewmaster, and express my support for Reno's only microbrewery (I don't count brewpubs like Great Basin or Brew Brothers). Sadly, because of Buckbean's size, the Artown Lager is only available on tap, so we won't be seeing their seasonals in can form for another year or two.

Below are some photos I snapped at the event.

The outside of the Buckbean Brewery in SE Reno.

All these cans of Black Noddy Lager and Orange Blossom Ale are empty. Apparently they have to buy them by the full truckload – about 2,500 cases worth at a time.

A close-up of the empty Black Noddy cans.

You don't wanna touch the cans, lest you get cursed with flat oxygenated skunky beer.

These cans have yet to receive their fate.

Hidden amongst other boxes are those of rival craft brewers like Deschutes and Buzzards Bay.

A better view of the empty cans. Time to get to drinking.

A shot of the canner and other brewing equipment, looking towards the front of the brewery.

Looking from the front of the brewery towards the back.

Dean Heller scores major points with me with this Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. Apparently Congress does do things the people like...sometimes.

The Battle Born Derby Devils show off some of their moves in Buckbean's back lot.

I look forward to keeping in contact with Dan and Doug and helping promote Reno's only microbrewery, and I give them what they most deserve: A hearty "prost!"

P.S. Buckbean and its brewers were featured in an article in the June 12th, 2008 edition of the Reno News & Review. It can also be found online.

P.P.S. The Reno Gazette-Journal had an article about Buckbean that ran on June 8th as well. Seeing as how I don't subscribe to the RGJ, that one slipped by me. However, it too can be found online.

Buckbean Brewery Grand Opening Saturday!

2008-06-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

If any of you are going to be in town this weekend, the Buckbean Brewery is going to have their grand opening on Saturday June 14th from 11 am to 9 pm. Not only is local radio station KTHX going to do a live remote from there, but all sorts of entertainment will abound, from a photo-op with a roller derby team to live music. And, of course, no brewery grand opening is complete without free beer tastings. That last bit is more than enough of a draw for me. You can get more info on the event on their website (they have no direct linking, so click "Events/Community" at the top, then mouse over the 14th of June).

The Buckbean Brewery is new to the Truckee Meadows, only being established in 2007 and moving into their current location earlier this year. I've had their two beers, Black Noddy Schwarzbier and Original Orange Blossom Ale, at a friend's graduation party from a keg, and while those beers were flat (full disclosure), their flavors were still extraordinary, especially the Orange Blossom. I can't wait to try them with carbonation on Saturday. I also am looking forward to chatting up the brewmasters; it's good to have another microbrewery proper in the Truckee Meadows, aside from Brew Brothers, BJ's, and Great Basin, of course.

Don't go looking up the brewery's location on Google Maps yourself, because it won't point you to the right place. Instead, I've pointed to the brewery's exact location in their office complex on the map below. Use that to navigate, and I'll see you there!

View Larger Map

Prost!

Hite Exfeel-S

2008-06-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I was in the far-off land of South Korea, experiencing the culture and the beer. Furthermore, I said I going to write a blurb about my experiences and post it here as part of some entries about Korean beer. Wellllll...the ensuing entry I wrote in my notebook during the 10-hour flight between Seoul and San Francisco clocked in at almost 12 full pages of unadulterated text, so that's probably not going to appear here. So, let me sum it up South Korea for you: Technologically-savvy, wants Korean unification under South Korean rule, hates Japan, dislikes American military, loves American civilians, wants to be more western, kimchi, kimchi, kimchi.

Drinking is a big part of South Korean culture, especially between the boss and his co-workers. The drinking age is 18, and no one bats an eye at drinking in public. People mostly drink soju, a rice vodka; some sort of bamboo-based alcohol that tastes like apple cider; and makkele (not sure on the spelling), a thick white rice beer; all were delicious. Then there was the beer. I was deeply saddened to discover that there was virtually no good beer in all of South Korea. The three main brands, Hite, OB, and Cass, were South Korean equivalents to Miller, Bud, and Coors. I had just about every brand of beer I could find in the numerous convenience stores around where I was staying, and I can tell you that for the first time, I'd've taken a Bud over another can of Hite or Cass Lemon. The best the country is Guinness, but no, I had to have a Hite Black Beer Stout instead.

To quote Hugh Grant in Music and Lyrics, "God, I suffer for my art."

On every trip aborad, I try to bring a beer back from the country I came from. This time, it was Hite (pronounced like "height") Exfeel-S. It caught my eye, not because of the green bottle (sigh...), but because of its claim as "The stylish beer with fiber." Yes, fiber. They put 1.65 grams of fiber in every 330 ml bottle because Koreans apparently don't get enough fiber. No really, that's what they claim on Hite's website. Ingenious, in my opinion. Other than its fiberousness, I can't tell you any historical information about the beer, but according to Hite's website, the company itself started as the Chosun Beer Company in 1933, growing due to various acquisitions and mergers throughout the years.

Here come the stats:

Hite Exfeel-S
BREWERY: The Hite Co., Ltd., Yeongdeungpo-Dong, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, South Korea
STYLE: "Fiber beer"
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
DIETARY FIBER/SERVING: 1.65 g per 330 ml bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The limited information came from Hite's English Site, except the location of Hite's headquarters, which came from some sales lead site.

When I poured the beer, it was a clear golden color with a foamy white head. The smell was pretty nondescript, smelling like a Bud or Coors. But what really threw me was the taste. Man oh man was it bad. And I don't like to bad mouth a beer, but the taste was horrible. I tried this with some friends, and one of them described the taste as "grass beer." I would describe its taste more like a spoilage-riddled Becks Light. To make matters worse, the aftertaste was a stale spoilage-riddled Becks Light flavor, and it just kept building and building as the beer got warmer. Yuck.

While I admire their attempt to get Koreans to add more fiber to their diets by slipping it into their beer, they should've put it in a better beer. Their website claims that "Simply holding [Exfeel-]S makes you a style leader." I say, simply holding Exfeel-S makes you a person holding the worst beer I've ever tasted. If you go to Korea, avoid Exfeel-S in the convenience stores and grab a Guinness. Or seek out the rare Korean microbrewery, whose beers aren't sold in most convenience stores over there. Or (I never thought I'd say this) don't have a beer.

건배 (Geonbae)!

The Beerocrat Abroad: South Korea

2008-04-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

안녕하세요 (hello), and welcome to another episode of The Beerocrat Abroad. This week, the Beerocrat is spending almost two weeks in and around Seoul, South Korea, visiting a friend and experiencing the culture, which of course means that I'll be having a beer or two while I'm here. While I may not be able to upload pictures at this time, I'll do my best to relay my experiences while in Seoul. It's gonna be another one of those longs posts again, so you have been warned.

건배 (Geonbae)!

75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition

2008-04-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

I admit that as a beer blogger, I've messed up and missed some big events, like the passing of renowned beer hunter Michael Jackson and this year's St. Patrick's Day (which I did start and entry and only was able to finish it yesterday). However, tomorrow is a day that I can't, as The Beerocrat, miss: The repeal of the Volstead Act of 1919 on April 7th, 1933, otherwise known as the repeal of the national scourge known as Prohibition.

Many breweries, notably Anheuser-Busch, are hosting a number of events to mark the 75th anniversary. They are planning, among other events, to rebroadcast then-president of AB August Busch, Jr.'s speech on CBS radio that he made the same day President Franklin Roosevelt legalized beer in the 19 states that repealed their own Prohibition laws. Chances are that your local bar, pub, or brewery is having their own celebration to mark the occasion.

However, as with most things involving alcohol, there's some controversy surrounding this day, specifically if this is really the 75th anniversary. Many historians and critics of the beer industry say that Prohibition didn't truly end until December 5, 1933, when Utah ratified the repeal amendment. In spite of that, the fact that any American could have a beer, even 3.2% ABW beer, 8 months before Utah's ratification makes April 7th the start of the decline.

While April 7th is a joyous occasion, it still boggles my mind that we still have the vestiges of Prohibition 75 years on. There are many dry counties, including the county that contains Lynchburg, Tennessee, better known as the home of Jack Daniels. Many states, most famously Utah and Oklahoma, limit which alcoholic products can be sold and what ABV they may contain. Different labeling standards sometimes prevents beer from passing through certain states and counties. The words "last call" prevent people from enjoying a long night out. Some states that are otherwise progressive in their attitudes towards alcohol, like Oregon and Washington, prevent hard alcohol from being sold in grocery stores, relegating them to state-run liquor stores. Then there are the infamous "blue laws," or laws which legislate morality, that prevent people from buying alcohol on certain days of the week, most often Sundays; these are found all over the South, but also as far west as Colorado.

It makes me angry that these laws and regulations still exist, and if you are a freedom-loving American (or really an American that enjoys alcohol), you should hate them too. We as a free society should do everything in our power to overturn these silly, restrictive laws and regulations regarding beer. It's fine with me if you don't drink, just don't tell me what I can and cannot drink and when I can and cannot buy it. The repeal of Prohibition is about freedom, and I will raise my glass to it, and I will dedicate myself to getting rid of these restrictions wherever they exist. I identify more as a Democrat or a liberal, but any politician who stifles alcoholic freedom, regardless of whether they have a -D or an -R after their name, are in my sights.

So raise a glass to the return of freedom, and let's all work to make alcohol more accepted across the entire nation.

Prost!

My sources:

Wexford Irish Cream Ale

2008-03-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

*NOTE* This post was intended for St. Patrick's Day 2008, but job stuff got hectic and prevented me from posting it. Here it is in its entirety. I kept the post date the same, as it was started on that day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Be sure to have one on your friend The Beerocrat tonight...and drive safe.

My St. Paddy's Day beer of choice is my attempt at getting an Irish (or at least Irish-style) beer that wasn't a member of the Guinness family. My choice: Wexford Irish Cream Ale, which takes its name from Ireland's County Wexford. According to the can (yes, this beer is canned, which is not uncommon amongst imported beers and even U.S. craft breweries), Wexford Irish Cream Ale's recipe is based on a similar one brewed in the eponymous county back in 1810. Thames America, one of the American importers, says that the recipe was then used by five generations of the family-owned Wexford Ale Company. It is now brewed by Greene King Brewing Co. in Suffolk, England. Hey, at least it has Irish roots. (Thames America's Wexford site)

Here come the limited stats:

Wexford Irish Cream Ale
BREWERY: Greene King Brewing Co., Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England
STYLE: Irish Cream Ale
FIRST BREWED: 1810, according to the can
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got the brewery, first brewed info, and ABV from the can, which can also be found on importer Thames America's Wexford site. Through that site, I sent an e-mail to get the rest of the missing pieces.

Like a lot of well-known beers imported from the British Isles, Wexford has a widget full of nitrogen placed inside during the canning process, which gives it a burst of creaminess to the flavor and allows you to bring the pub experience home with you. Wexford's widget looks like this, which is similar to Guinness' can widget in size and shape:

Apparently, its the first widgeted Irish Cream beer sold in the US. (Thames America's Wexford site)

The beer itself was a translucent amber color. The tan head exploded in the bottom of the glass, even when I poured it slowly (probably on account of the nitrogen). It flowed downward, much like a Guinness does. Its nose had a bit of grainy-hoppiness to it. The taste was creamy and grainy, almost velvety; it was very rich for an amber ale. The finish was nice and faint with no hoppy aftertaste.

Overall, this is a well-done beer. Considering that it was the closes thing to an Irish beer that I could find (no Beamish), I may just have this every March 17th.

Sláinte!

Sierra Nevada Updates

2008-03-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

I updated a couple of my Sierra Nevada posts to add caloric, temperature, and food pairing information. I should have a new entry tomorrow, but take a look at these pages for the updates:

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale (2007 Vintage)

2008-03-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

Number 5 on my Clean Out the Fridge Countdown Part Deux was originally going to be Full Sail Brewing's Ltd. Number 2 Lager. Unfortunately, my bottle has long since expired, and Jaime Emmerson from Full Sail said their beers taste their absolute best within the first 120 days of bottling. Hence, it has been taken out of the countdown and replaced with a beer that I've been conditioning for the past year. You'll find out what that is soon.

Instead, the distinction of Number 5 is going to Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale (for brewery history, see my Sierra Nevada Summerfest and Sierra Nevada Stout pages). This beer, named because it is brewed each year for the anniversary of the opening of the brewery in 1980, was actually only available at their brewpub in Chico until 2007, when it was bottled for the first time. Said founder Ken Grossman:

When we heard people had driven all the way from San Francisco last year to try some of this beer, and how disappointed they were when they couldn't take some home, we figured it was time to make our Anniversary Ale available to everyone on a consistent basis.
Also, according to Sierra Nevada Brand Manager Sierra Grossman (who also happens to be the daughter of the founder), demand for the beer to be bottled grew sharply after the 25th batch was brewed in 2005. It is an American-style IPA that took home the Silver at the Los Angeles County Fair in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category. (Anniversary Ale Press Release, Sierra Nevada awards)

Here come the stats:

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale
BREWERY: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA, USA
STYLE: American-style IPA
FIRST BREWED: 1981 (draft), 2007 (bottled)
CALORIES/SERVING: 189 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 46 IBU
ABV: 5.9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 14.9° Plato (1061.04)
MALTS: Two-row pale, caramel & munich
HOPS: Chinook, cascade
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 50°F (10°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Assertive aged cheeses, southeast Asian or Indian dishes, west coast salmon, bittersweet chocolates
AWARDS: 2007 Los Angeles County Fair Silver Medal (American-Style Strong Pale Ale category)

All the information except for the calories and the serving temperature came from the Anniversary Ale web page. Those other two pieces of information came from sources at the brewery.

The beer poured a clear bright amber color, producing a foamy slightly off-white head that stayed awhile. Bubbles were clearly seen ascending from the bottom of the glass, reminiscent of champagne (take that Miller High Life). The nose was more hoppy than grainy, but still fainter than usual. The taste was a hoppiness that transformed to a wheaty flavor and texture towards the finish. The aftertaste was a bit hoppy, but not overly so, and it didn't remain for long. It was very fresh tasting overall.

While maybe not hoppy enough for hopheads, Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale is one beer I'll be having at least once every year. Pick it up at your local beer store. (I don't know about distribution areas, but you could probably get it anywhere on the west coast, the closer to Chico the better.)

Prost!

Deschutes Obsidian Stout

2008-02-21T23:40:00.000-08:00

Coming in at Number 6 on the Clean out the Fridge Countdown Part Deux is another brew from the Deschutes crew: Deschutes Obsidian Stout (for Deschutes' history, see my Black Butte Porter review). This beer, like so many from Bend's first brewery, is named after a nearby landmark, specifically the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, located 13 miles south of Bend, which contains one of the world's largest obsidian flows (over 700 acres), called the Big Obsidian Flow. According to Deschutes' head brewer Brett Porter, Obsidian Stout has a solid following amongst beer drinkers, and is brewed using whole-flower hops, which means that the hops are not in pellet-form and allegedly give off a better aroma and flavor. They must be doing something right, because it has won a myriad of awards over the past decade. If you can, try it at their brewpub; it is served in nitrogenized form, where nitrogen and CO2 are infused into the beer to give it a smoother, creamier taste. (Cascades Volcano Observatory website, Deschutes Obsidian Stout website, phone call with Brett Porter)

Here come the stats:

Deschutes Obsidian Stout
BREWERY: Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR, USA
STYLE: Stout
FIRST BREWED: 1988
CALORIES/SERVING: 220 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 50
ABV: 6.4%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 16° Plato (1065.84)
MALTS: wheat, black barley, roasted barley, carapils, munich, higher-colored British caramel
HOPS: Nugget Willamette northern brewer
SERVING TEMPERATURE: Either room temperature or cold (in the fridge for 1 hour prior to drinking)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Chocolate, red meat, shellfish, oysters
AWARDS: A ton...

I got the calories, IBUs, ABV, and awards from the Deschutes Obsidian Stout website. The rest came from a phone conversation with head brewer Brett Porter on February 18, 2008. (Another cool guy who called me in the early evening on a holiday to answer my questions. I really appreciated the time he took for some Reno beer blogger.)

Like many stouts I've had, this one poured thick and black, with no light visible on the other side. Despite my best efforts to keep the foamy tan-colored head within the confines of the glass, it almost overflowed. A strong smell of roasted coffee and dark chocolate emitted from the beer, including, I think, a slight hint of smoked wood. The taste was a hoppy roasted coffee with a little carbonation, but it transformed into a strong hoppy finish. The beer was very velvety, and I really wish that I had some chocolate on-hand.

This beer has a lot more flavor than your average Guinness stout. Pick one up at a nearby retailer, or stop by their brewpub the next time you're in Bend (soon to expand to Portland).

Prost!

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2007 Vintage)

2008-02-17T00:25:00.000-08:00

Today, I opened up my fridge and found that I have a lot of beer in there. Which is usually good, except I keep wanting to buy more beer. However, I need to drink this beer before I buy more so that the beer I bought doesn't go bad and thus go to waste. Hence, I have decided to start another Clean out the Fridge Countdown. You at home can follow along with me as I go through all the beer that's in my fridge in no particular order.

From L to R: JosephsBrau Winterfest Lager, Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws Barley Wine Ale, Buffalo Bill's America's Original Pumpkin Ale, Full Sail LTD #2 Lager, Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, Kennebunkport Blueberry Wheat Ale
First on my list (and coming in at Number 7) is the 2007 vintage of Hair of the Dog's Doggie Claws (for brewery history, see Hair of the Dog Ruth), a barley wine that's "brewed in the west coast style." Brewed in September/October of every year and released in November, it's a winter seasonal that will truly warm you up with it's 11.5% alcohol content. This is officially the strongest beer I've had, with HotD's other strong beers, Adam and Fred, being the runners up. This will mark the fourth Hair of the Dog beer I've had, and I haven't been disappointed yet. I'm expecting this one to pack a wallop.

After speaking with Alan Sprints, he revealed that it was first brewed in 2000 as "Fido" and it was only available on draught when he entered it in the Toronado Barley Wine Festival (which is actually going on right now in San Francisco). He bottled it one year later and changed its name to Doggie Claws. He now brews 350 cases a year, half of which is sold at the brewery and the rest is sold in Oregon and Washington. Every November, he throws a big release party, an event that I'll have to attend sometime soon.

Here come the stats:

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws
BREWERY: Hair of the Dog Brewery, Portland, OR, USA
STYLE: West-coast barley wine
FIRST BREWED: 2000 (draught), 2001 (bottle)
CALORIES/SERVING: ~200 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 70 IBU
ABV: 11.5% (my bottle says 11%)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 25.67° Plato (1110)
MALTS: Organic pilsner, British crystal
HOPS: Amarillo, simcoe
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 55°F (13°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Spicy cold cuts, cured meats, pizza, ginger cake
AWARDS: 2006 Hard Liver Barleywine Fest 1st Place

I got the style, IBUs, and ABV from the Doggie Claws webpage, and the award came from the Hard Liver Barleywine Festival Past Winners site. The rest came from an interview with Alan Sprints on Saturday February 16th. (By the way, I thought it was really awesome that he called me back on the weekend. He's a classy guy and I appreciate him taking the time to talk to a little blogger like me.)

Once I opened the bottle, I first noticed the hoppy aroma that radiated from the bottle. It poured a clear amber color and produced a foamy off-white head. The interesting thing about this beer is that over a matter of minutes, the beer grew darker and less transparent, evidenced in this photo:

The taste was hoppy, but not overly so; I could taste the 11%-plus alcohol content and the honey that came from Mt. Hood. The aftertaste started off sweet and alcoholic, but transformed into a little bit of the hoppy taste that I don't like; however, that did not deter me from drinking this beer. And I was right: it did get me buzzed.

This beer is a great value for the price and ABV and is one of the most interesting barley wines I've had. Pick up one the next time you're in Washington, Oregon, California, New York, or Denmark (random distribution, I know).

Woof!

Steinhaus Fat Weasel Ale

2008-02-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

A couple things before I get into tonight's review: I know I haven't been updating this blog very often. I've been going through a couple changes in my life, from holidays as part of a new family to shifting job responsibilities and overtime on important projects. Now that the rush season appears over, I can return to reviewing that sweet sweet alcoholic liquid known as beer.

Also, for some reason changes to Blogger's internal template handling caused my JavaScripts to go offline since I don't know when. They should be working now.

At our annual Super Bowl party, a friend of mine brought over a beer I had never heard of before: Steinhaus Brewery's Fat Weasel Ale. I asked him to leave one behind so I could try it out. I had never even heard of Steinhaus Brewery; according to the bottle, it's based out of Paso Robles, California, known for acclaimed brewer Firestone Walker. I did a little digging and, according to RateBeer, it actually is either a product of Firestone Walker Brewing Co., also based in Paso Robles, or Mendocino Brewing Co. in Hopland, California. My guess is that Firestone Walker does do the brewing, but I can check up on that. Also, it appears that this is another Trader Joe's exclusive brew, similar to JosephsBrau, though I don't know for sure. (RateBeer Fat Weasel Ale, RateBeer Fat Weasel Pale Ale)

Here come the limited stats:

Steinhaus Fat Weasel Ale
BREWERY: Steinhaus Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA, USA
STYLE: Pale Ale or IPA
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 7.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I guessed on the style based on the taste of the beer, and the ABV was on the bottle. I'll try to find out who really brews this beer and get the info out of them.

Speaking of the bottle, this caught my eye:

The brewery is misspelled "Stienhaus Brewery Co.", though I'm not sure about the spelling myself. If it really is Stienhaus, then the joke's on me.

This beer poured out a thick cloudy copper color, atop of which was a thick, foamy white head that took awhile to fully dissipate. When I smelled it, it had an aroma of fruits, grains, and a hint of citrus, almost lemony. I took a taste, and my initial impression is that it reminded me of an IPA because of its hoppy and carbonated textures. I thought for a second that I had tasted metal, but that may have been the hops. The aftertaste was mostly clean, but after every subsequent sip the bitter taste of the hops lingered and built upon itself. Meh. At least the alcohol didn't settle on the bottom like some beers.

The hoppiness of the beer was definitely an IPA or an APA, though it wasn't spectacular. Then again, I'm not an IPA person. If you want to pick one up, you can find it at your local Trader Joe's. I don't know about availability, unfortunately.

Prost!

Hakim Stout

2008-01-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

After I got home from a long day's work, my wife, her parents, and I went decided to go to dinner, but we didn't want the usual fare. So we decided to hit up Zagol, Reno's new 2-month-old Ethiopian restaurant, for a taste of something a little different. The food was excellent and the honey wine was delicious. But what really intrigued me was the "Ethiopian beer" listed under the drinks menu. I had a choice between a light and a dark (our waitress didn't know the names offhand), and since I've been in the mood for dark beers, I chose the latter.

What arrived at my table was a 330 cl bottle of Hakim Stout, a beer out of Harar, Ethiopia. It is brewed by the Harar Brewery, which also produces a pale lager named for the town and a non-alcoholic beer that is primarily marketed towards the Muslim population. Apparently, this brewery used to be owned by the Ethiopian government along with three other breweries, but they have since been turned over to the private sector. Also, it's the only brewery that sells abroad, which is why I was able to pick one up in the states; it can also be found in Canada, the Netherlands, and neighboring Djibouti. Not much info exists on Hakim Stout, or of the history of the brewery, although I did find an e-mail form I may have to use to ask for additional information. You can too, as I'll provide the link after this sentence. (Ethiopian Privatization Agency: The Beverages Sector, US Embassy in Ethiopia's 1998 Report on Beer Brewing in Ethiopia, Contact Harar Brewery Share Company)

Since I'm a big language nerd, I noticed the bottle had some Amharic (Ethiopia's language) on it. I transliterated it and it says "Hakīm Stāwt", which is pretty straightforward.

Here come the stats:

Hakim Stout
BREWERY: Harar Brewery Share Co., Harar, Ethiopia
STYLE: Stout
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Ethiopian food, I assume
AWARDS:

The brewery, style, and ABV came from the bottle. Maybe I can get an e-mail from Ethiopia soon for the rest.

The first thing I noticed about this beer is that it was a lot lighter in color than most other stouts I've had; it looked more like an amber, as it had a dark amber color, but was slightly translucent. It's head was a tannish color, and it's smell was very fruity. The taste also had a hint of fruit in it, but I noticed a pronounced honey taste in the beer mixed in with its carbonation. It was unlike any stout I've ever tasted. The aftertaste was a strong coffee flavor that was a little bitter, but it faded away over the course of a minute or so.

All in all, a surprisingly good beer. Not a great beer, but a good beer to go with maybe some lamb or beef or injera (spongy bread). Pick one up at Zagol (if you're in the Truckee Meadows) or your favorite Ethiopian or pan-African restaurant.

T'chen chen!

Full Sail Session Premium Lager

2007-12-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 14th, me, my wife, and some family friends decided to drive down to Douglas County immediately south of Carson City in search of a neighborhood adorned with Christmas lights. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the neighborhood, or we did and they just weren't doing the lights this year, so the travel down south was a bust. However, we decided to stop in Carson at Red's Old 395 Grill. What's so special about this place? They boast an impressive "vault" of 101 beers, whether on tap or in bottles. They even have hundreds, if not thousands of bottles lined up along the wall.

I was beyond impressed and overwhelmed with all the choices that the restaurant had to offer, beer-wise. But I wanted to have a beer that I don't usually have the opportunity to snag. So I decided upon a Full Sail Session Premium Lager, brewed by the Full Sail Brewing Co. of Hood River, Oregon. I've had their Amber Ale before, and I've always wanted to try some of their other beers.

Full Sail Brewing was founded in the small Columbia Gorge town in old Diamond fruit cannery in 1987. At the time, Oregon was starting to become a beer haven and Hood River was gaining notoriety for windsurfing, which is why the brewery is named Full Sail. What really put Full Sail on the map was A.) their ability to put their microbrews in a bottle, something that critics said was almost impossible, and B.) Full Sail Amber's gold medal at the 1989 Great American Beer Festival. Still another milestone was achieved when the company became entirely employee-owned in 1999, with profits split evenly amongst its 47 workers, a fact that they boast on their web site and bottles. Recently they've brewed another beer, Session Premium Lager, as a hearkening back to the beers that were popular before the wrath of Prohibition. Like Red Stripe, this one is sold in a pre-Prohibition-era 11 oz. stubby bottle which helps it stand out amongst other beers. (Full Sail Story, Session Lager)

Here come the stats:

Full Sail Session Premium Lager
BREWERY: Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR, USA
STYLE: Continental pilsner
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV:
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: 2007 World Beer Awards (World's Best Premium Lager), 2007 North American Beer Awards Gold Medal Award Winner, 2007 L.A. County Fair Silver Award Winner, "a silver medal in a New Zealand international beer competition"

The awards came from the November 2007 newsletter (currently found here). I plan on placing a call to the brewery to pick up all the remaining information, as well as clarify the awards.

The beer arrived in the stubby bottle, which I poured delicately into the glass (see, I'm trying to improve my pouring technique), resulting in an amber colored beer with no head in a frosted mug. It had a relatively strong aroma of wheat and hops. The taste also had a strong wheat flavor with a hint of hops and strong carbonation. The finish was very smooth and grainy-tasting. The whole experience was very pleasing to the mouth.

I enjoyed this beer a lot, and it was a great thirst-quencher as I was waiting for my delicious chicken fajitas. Pick one up at a liquor store or grocery store near you. Your great-grandfather would be proud.

~Prost!

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

2007-12-03T01:15:00.000-08:00

For today's entry, I decided to re-taste a beer that has already been tasted on this blog. The first time that I tasted Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale was at the 2007 Great El Dorato BBQ, Brews, and Blues Festival on a hot July day in downtown Reno. While I enjoyed its flavor, this beer was not tasted in the most optimum conditions. Therefore, I decided to give it another try after getting it fresh from a bottle that has been sitting in my fridge for a couple of weeks. Plus, it will give me a chance to elaborate on the history of the beer and its brewery.

Firestone Walker was founded in 1996 by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker, hence the brewery name. The two could not be more different: Firestone was an American former Marine Corps captain and Walker was a British expatriate, but they both found they had a mutual love of beer and the common dream to open up the perfect brewery. So that's what they did, originally on a corner of the Firestone Vineyard estate in Los Olivos, California and now at their brewery in Paso Robles. Firestone Walker is a brewery which combines Firestone's family legacy as a vintner with Walker's knowledge of British styles of beer brewing. (Firestone Walker Proprietors, Firestone Walker Brewery)

In fact, it was this knowledge that helped them create their flagship Double Barrel Ale. After a disastrous initial brew in 1995, where Chardonnay residue leaked into the beer from the used wine barrels they were using, Firestone and Walker decided to use their own version of an obscure 19th century oak barrel called the Burton Union system. This system was first used in Burton-upon-Trent in 1840 to feed Britain's shift to pale ales, and was an oft-used system in those times that fell into disuse over the decades. Firestone Walker developed their version in 1996, called the Firestone Union system, to brew a much more well-received Double Barrel Ale. They are the only American brewery to use such a system, which is patented. (Firestone Walker History, Firestone Union Brewing System)

Here come the stats:

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale
BREWERY: Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA, USA
STYLE: ESB
FIRST BREWED: 1995
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS: 32 IBU
ABV: 5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: Premium Two-Row, Maris Otter Pale, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate
HOPS: Mangnum, Styrian Golding, East Kent Golding
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: 2005 Australian International Beer Awards Silver Medal Award Winner, 2003 Real Ale Festival Gold Medal Award Winner, 2003 and 2006 California State Fair Gold Medal Award Winner and 2005 California State Fair Silver Medal Award Winner, 2002 World Beer Cup Gold Medal Award Winner and 2004 World Beer Cup Silver Medal Award Winner, 2002 California State Fair Gold Medal Award Winner, 2002 and 2003 World Beer Championships Gold Medal Award Winner

I got all but the calories, original gravity, serving temperature, and food pairings from the Double Barrel Ale webpage. A quick call to Paso Robles should get the rest of the info I need.

Now that I can actually see the beer, I can tell that it has a rich amber color with a slight white half-foam half-bubble head. It's scent combined a grainy aroma with the English and Slovenian hops that they put in the beer. I still tasted the hops, but it wasn't as pronounced as I thought due to the carbonation. I also tasted the graininess, but it too was muted behind both the carbonation and the hoppiness. The aftertaste still transitioned into that wheaty finish, however I got that gummy residue in my mouth a third of the way through the beer. I do appreciate its complexity, mostly because there were some flavors that I can't describe; I'll chalk it up to the barrel system, definitely a plus.

This beer is complex and unique and is for a beer lover who wants something a little different for a change. The barrel system helps to set this beer apart.

Cheers!

BridgePort Ebenezer Ale

2007-11-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

After a lack of alcohol over Thanksgiving weekend (except for the night out with the guys, and the basketball game...so maybe there was no lack of alcohol after all...), I've decided to get back off the wagon and start reviewing my six pack that has been waiting for me in Reno. Well, it's a six pack now that I picked up some beers that I couldn't get in Nevada. One of them, Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws, is a bottle-conditioned beer that will be ready for a review on Christmas morn. The other is the subject of this review: BridgePort Ebenezer Ale, a brew that is available in just about every western state...except Nevada. I think it's even available in Utah. (NOTE: The beer is not available in Utah.)

BridgePort touts itself as Oregon's oldest craft brewery, even trademarking the phrase "Oregon's Oldest Craft Brewery™" to boot. Founded all the way back in 1984 (take that, Widmer and Portland Brewing!) by Richard and Nancy Ponzi and Karl Ockert as the Columbia Brewing Co. in a century-old former rope factory in Portland's Pearl District, it has had a front-row seat to the microbrew revolution that has taken place in Portland and nationwide. In fact, it has led the way for Oregon's breweries to take their place in the world of beer. BridgePort Brewery is currently owned by The Gambrinus Co. of San Antonio, who has owned it since 1995. In addition to a brewery, BridgePort owns an ale house in addition to a brewpub/bakery of all things. (BridgePort History, Gambrinus Co. History, BridgePort Brewery Info)

It is best known for its flagship IPA, but has expanded its lineup to include an ESB, an amber ale, a stout, a pale ale (Blue Heron, itself well-known), and even a barleywine called Old Knucklehead, a beer I've tried to find on several occasions in Portland to no avail. So I snagged this one instead at Whole Foods at Bridgeport Village (not related) in Tualatin, Oregon, and brought it back to the Biggest Little City. It was originally brewed as a winter seasonal called Winter Brew back in 1986 and was sold exclusively in their brewpubs. Their first bottling was in 1999, but they realized that some other brewery had a beer called Winter Brew. So they held a company-wide contest to rename the beer, and Ebenezer Ale was the winner. They are now on their 9th bottling of the stuff, described as a "winter warmer" style ale.

Here are the stats:

BridgePort Ebenezer Ale
BREWERY: BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1986 as Winter Brew (first bottled in 1999)
CALORIES/SERVING: ~180 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 40 IBUs
ABV: 6.4%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 16° Plato (1065.84)
MALTS: Three kinds of crystal, two kinds of roasted, and 2-row pale
HOPS: English Goldings, a little bit of Chinook
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 45-50°F (7-10°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH/USE IN: Gravies, basting meat, vegetable stew, pot pies
AWARDS: 2002 Brewing Industry International Awards (London, England) Silver Medal Award Winner

I got the IBUs, ABV, gravity, and awards from BridgePort's Ebenezer Ale webpage. The rest came from a phone call to the brewery at 4:15 PM on November 28th, 2007. I spoke with brewmaster Karl Ockert, the same one who helped found the brewery back in 1984, so you can be assured of its veracity. Thanks for the info Karl!

This beer is defined by its brewmaster as a "strong ale," and this description is no more accurate than with its nose. A strong nutty scent emanated from the beer once it hit the glass, which was very pleasing to my nostrils. Once in my glass, the beer's color was a rich dark brown that was slightly translucent. It was accompanied by a long-lasting head that didn't go away until I was done with two-thirds of the beer. The taste perplexed me, filled with a nutty taste with fruit undertones, a very delicious combination; it also was a very smooth beer with not a lot of carbonation. The only thing I didn't like was the aftertaste, which was a bit stale. However, I was able to taste the nutty-fruitiness of the beer with a slight hint of hoppiness mixed in.

This beer was in fact a winter warmer, as I felt the chills go away towards the end of the beer. Pick one up if you're in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, or Washington. But not Nevada. Or Utah.

Prost!

Beer News: Hop Price Increases and Georgia Blue Laws

2007-11-25T01:12:00.000-08:00

I've had these articles in my inbox for so long that one of them now 404s. But, while I'm on vacation and away from my beer, I decided to post them here and start a little discussion.

First up is from October 26th:

Forget Gas Prices: Beer is Going Up
SUNNYSIDE, Wash. (AP) -- Fans of Snipes Mountain Brewery's cloudy Hefeweizen relish the subtle wheat flavor of the bright, summery brew, and like beer drinkers everywhere, they know when their favorite brew tastes a little too hoppy or bitter.

Connoisseurs could be in for a surprise this year, and they may not be alone.

Small brewers from Australia to Oregon face the daunting prospect of tweaking their recipes or experimenting less with new brews thanks to a worldwide shortage of one key beer ingredient and rising prices for others.

Oh, and one other thing: Beer prices are likely to climb. How high is anybody's guess. Craft brewers don't have the means to hedge against rising prices, like their industrial rivals.

"I'm guessing, at a minimum, at least a 10 percent jump in beer prices for the average consumer before the end of the year," said Terry Butler, brewmaster at central Washington's Snipes Mountain. (Google Cache of Full Article)

What killed me was the next line: "Sales have been relatively flat in recent years among the country's big three brewers - Anheuser-Busch Cos., Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC. unit Miller Brewing Co - while small, independent brewers have experienced tremendous growth." I guess it just goes to show that if you brew pisswater "beer" with rice adjuncts, people are going to get sick of it. The only beer I badmouth are macrobrews for this reason.

But anyway, this was surprising to me. I guess it makes sense that in the race to find growable, renewable energy, many farmers are now switching to growing corn for ethanol. The drought in many states this year isn't helping, as farmers struggle to cultivate any decent-sized crop. My solution: we apparently pay farmers in this country to grow nothing, right? Why not have them grow hops and barley instead of nothing? I think of it as a Depression-era approach for beer growth; put people to work growing the stuff that makes American beer great.

If there's one flaw in my plan (aside from the "farmers growing nothing" bit), it's that the fundies will probably never let it happen. The baptists and pentecostals and the what-have-you will complain about the evils of alcohol and that the devil's in the drink, and the idea will get scrapped because some spineless congressmen will capitulate to their demands. Much like what my other story, from September 7, is about:

Georgia breweries dry up
Local laws that limit beer tastings hurt independents.
By Mina Kimes, Forbes Small Business Contributor

Georgia, with twice the population, has only three, down from eight a decade ago.

New rules governing brewery tours could reduce that number to zero, says Fred Bensch, owner of Sweetwater Brewing (sweetwaterbrew.com) in Atlanta, by driving away thirsty crowds and eliminating the brewers' best marketing tool.

"This would totally cripple us," he says. The dispute has been fermenting since May, when the Georgia Department of Revenue proposed limiting tastings to two ounces per brew. Under pressure, the revenuers raised the limit to 24 ounces, but with stipulations: Breweries can't serve samples until tours are over, they can't pour any beer if they charge admission (Sweetwater charges $8), and Sunday tastings are verboten.

DOR spokesman Charles Willey says the rules are for "public safety."

Bensch, who has operated Sweetwater since 1997, says it's part of a pattern of regulatory harassment. "Five breweries have gone out of business since we've started," he says. "This is an inhospitable place to brew beer." (Full Article)

"Public safety." What a cop-out. What difference does it make if a brewery charges admission for its tastings or not? People are still going to drink that beer. Why force patrons to wait until the end? Wouldn't it be safer to spread that beer tasting over an hour's time? Also, why forbid Sunday tastings? Beer doesn't get you more drunk on a Sunday. (The last one was more rhetorical than the others...I'm pretty sure Georgia's position in the Bible Belt is a prime reason.)

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-religion. I just feel that religious laws have no place in American legislature. Georgia's Blue Laws consist of religion imposing on people's freedoms, and I am pro-freedom. If you don't want to go to a store or a brewery on a Sunday, don't. It's your right. Just don't prevent me from doing the same, because I will do everything in my power to defy you.

This is all part of a larger rant I'm planning to write involving Blue Laws, dry counties, Prohibition, and freedom.

What do you think about either one of these stories? Raise a glass and let me know.

Prost!

Xingu Black Lager

2007-11-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Another black lager that I picked up from Booze Bros. is the exotic Xingu (pronounced shin-goo). This beer certainly caught my eye when I was perusing the foreign beers in Booze Bros., so I had to snag it. It is a schwarzbier from Rio de Janeiro, and it takes its name from an Amazonian tributary (the Xingu River) and region that contains some of the most untainted cultures in the Amazon Rainforest.

The earliest Western account of Amazonian black beer can be traced back to 1557, where it was used by the natives in religious and social ceremonies. The beer itself was brewed using manioc root and dark roasted corn, fermented with wild yeasts, possibly like the lambics of Belgium. This incarnation of Amazonian schwarzbier was first brought to America in 1988, a result of five Vermont women who hired beer historian Alan Eames to find dark beers on the verge of extinction worldwide. (Five Women in Search of Good Beer, from Amazon Inc.)

Here are the stats:

Xingu Black Lager
BREWERY: Cervejaria Independente Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
FIRST BREWED: 1986? 1988?
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV:
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got this (limited) information from Five Women in Search of Good Beer. I hope an e-mail to the brewery or to EuroBrew, the American importers, will answer some more questions.

Like most dark beers, this one poured very dark almost black color with a slight tannish head. However, while the head wasn't that big, it still had staying power, lasting a really long time. The aroma just burst forth from the beer, smelling like dark chocolates with heavy fruit influences. The taste was, for the most part, indescribable. I was scratching my head throughout this tasting trying to describe the flavor. I think it was a carbonated grainy-fruit with maybe some slight nuttiness mixed in, but it was certainly very different from any beer I've ever had (including Old Peculier). And just as mysteriously as this beer's flavor arrived, it vanished into a slight grainy aftertaste that was welcomed into my mouth with opened taste buds.

This is a great beer for those looking to take a walk on the wild side. It's very different and enjoyable. I don't know the availability of this beer, but it's been around since 1988, so liquor stores will probably have it.

Saude!

Samuel Adams Black Lager

2007-11-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

I've always thought that Samuel Adams makes some very interesting beers. Ever since I first heard about the Utopias (which weigh in at about 25% ABV), I started to keep my eyes on Sam Adams. One beer I noticed when I was buying my latest 6-pack at Booze Bros. (great selection of beer, BTW) was the Sam Adams Black Lager. Since most lagers I've had are light in color, I was intrigued, so I picked one up.

Samuel Adams Black Lager is a relatively new beer that is part of their Brewmaster's Collection. It is brewed in a less known beer style in the United States, called schwarzbier, or "black beer" in German. Unlike strong stouts and porters, schwarzbiers do not have a strong hoppiness to them despite their dark color. The schwarzbier that has been brewed for the longest period of time is Braunschweiger Mumme, which has been brewed since around 1390. However, in an archaeological dig in the German town of Kulmbach (considered the origin of schwarzbier), an ancient Celtic beer vase from the 8th century BCE containing blackened bread, which was used as an early brewing technique by Celtic and East Germanic tribes to subject beer to the forces of airborne yeast. While schwarzbier was thus proved to have been brewed in Bavaria for at least 2,800 years, Sam Adams' black lager version has only been brewed since 2004, a significantly shorter amount of time. (Samuel Adams World of Beer, then Brewmaster's Collection → Black Lager, Bella Online German Schwarzbier)

Here are the stats:

Samuel Adams Black Lager
BREWERY: Boston Beer Company, Boston, MA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 2004
CALORIES/SERVING: 191 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 14° Plato (1057.14)
MALTS: Two Row Pale, Munich, Weyermann dehusked Carafa®
HOPS: Spalt Spalter
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

All information except the bitterness, serving temperature, food pairings, and awards came from the Sam Adams website (Flash-based, so no direct linking). I hope to get more information from the brewery itself.

The beer poured a thick almost-black color into my glass, accompanied by a tannish head. The beer's aroma wasn't too strong, but it smelled of a hint of coffee. Unfortunately, the taste was where the beer just vanished. I tasted the carbonation of the beer, with maybe a faint trace of coffee, but nothing else. The good news is that even though the beer tastes like almost nothing, there's no aftertaste that grows stale on your palette.

This beer seems to have been brewed more for novelty than for anything else, but it tastes better than most of those Central American lagers out there (and looks cooler too). Pick one up at your local supermarket; it's available year-round at stores across the country.

~Prost!

Booze Bros. Tasting - Belgians

2007-10-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

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!

Alaskan IPA

2007-09-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

I got a pleasant surprise last Friday when I came home from work. Back when I was researching my Alaskan Smoked Porter entry, I called up the brewery and talked with some people who worked there. Not to brag, but they were so impressed with the research I was doing and the amount of effort I put into the entry that they felt that I deserved some sort of prize. I was taken aback, not really expecting anything except information and a "Thanks for your interest," what I usually get from most breweries (if they respond at all). It arrived, overnighted from Juneau to Reno, on Friday. Here were the contents:

An Alaskan IPA hat
A portfolio filled with reprinted articles and information on every single beer they made
A thank-you note
A book, Smoked Beers, that was signed by co-owner Geoff Larson (the co-author of the book)
Three bottles of Alaskan IPA

I was taken aback again. Alaskan was so kind to provide me information and send me this nice stuff. They clearly didn't have to. Alaskan therefore gets my approval as the coolest brewery I've ever spoken to. They were friendly and laid-back enough to deal with the sometimes-invasive questions from a little blogger from Reno about their beer, and they spoke to me with class and respect. That's enough to get in my good books forever, but the swag didn't hurt either. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

So, naturally, the IPA I received from them is the beer I tried. I would like to let you know, however, that the fact that I received swag will not influence my review in any way, shape, or form. I don't know when this beer was first brewed, but, like all their beers, the water comes from the Juneau Ice Field and rain, which Juneau receives 90 inches of annually. (Alaskan IPA homepage)

Here are the stats:

Alaskan IPA
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska, USA
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: 210 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 55 IBU
ABV: 6.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13.97° Plato (1057)
MALTS: "two-row and specialty"
HOPS: "European and Pacific Northwest"
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "grilled prawns, spicy food and as an aperitif"
AWARDS:

The IBUs, ABV, original gravity, malts, hops, and foods to pair with came from the Alaskan IPA homepage, and the caloric information came from a document I received from Alaskan via e-mail. I hope to get other information soon from another e-mail/phone call.

Now, my first impression of this beer is: "HOPS!" That assessment came from the smell, with the aroma almost being pure hoppiness, and a STRONG hoppiness at that. The beer was an amber color with a half-bubbly, half-foamy head that was emitting the intense hoppy scent. But I was pleasantly surprised by its taste. While there was a lot of hoppiness to it, it wasn't bitter, and in fact, transitioned to a nice buttery beer taste. The only thing I didn't like about the beer was its stale hoppy aftertaste, which seemed to grow with the beer, but eventually faded away.

When I spoke to Alaskan, they told me that this IPA was for people who don't like traditional IPAs, and I have to say that they're right. Most of the hoppiness is in the aroma, but it still has some hoppy taste to it. Not bad, in my opinion. I still have two more bottles to enjoy, and believe me, I will. You will too if you don't like your overly hopped-up IPA.

Prost!

Black Sheep Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale

2007-09-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

The end is here! We have reached the top of the countdown!

The number 1 beer on the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is a beer that honors the great pioneers of wacky British comedy, Monty Python. It's...Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale! The bottles claims that it was "tempered over burning witches," but in actuality, it is brewed by Britain's Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. The history of the brewery isn't very long; it's only been around since 1992, started in Masham by Paul Theakston. However, his family has been brewing in Masham for six generations until the family brewery was bought out by Newcastle in 1987 after an arduous seventeen-year battle. Determined to continue brewing in Masham, Theakston built a new brewery and has brewed several different ales, including Holy Grail. That beer was released in 1999 in recognition of the 30 year anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus. And yes, according to The Foot crushing the Black Sheep logo on the bottle, it's official. (Black Sheep History, Eurobrew's Holy Grail page (US Importer))

Here are the stats:

Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale
BREWERY: Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire, England
FIRST BREWED: 1999
CALORIES/SERVING: per 500 mL bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got the first brewed and ABV info from the beer's website on Eurobrew (you can also get the ABV from Black Sheep's own website).

This beer has a very alcoholy aroma to it when I poured it, but it wasn't strong enough to be smelled from a short distance. It poured a rich clear amber color with a white foamy head. When I tasted it, it definitely had a very hoppy flavor with strong hints of the underlying alcohol and rich grains. In spite of its hoppiness, it finished relatively cleanly, not leaving that much of an aftertaste in my mouth. It tasted like it had more alcohol in it than was shown on the websites.

It's a pretty decent ale with a good flavor and finish. Do yourself a favor and silly walk over to your nearest pub/liquor store and try out Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale if you're a Python fan. You don't even need to fight the Black Knight to get it.

Cheers!

Young's Old Nick Barley Wine

2007-09-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

I have always been interested in having my share of barley wines, so I decided to choose one for the number 2 spot on the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown:" Young's Old Nick Barley Wine. This beer comes from across the pond, which is most apparent in the moniker "Old Nick," what the Brits have nicknamed Satan, The Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub, or The Devil. (When I first heard of Old Nick, I thought they meant Santa, but I guess I just needed to rearrange some letters.)

Barley wine (alternately spelled barleywine) is a style of strong ale dating back to 18th or 19th century Britain. It actually originated out of Britain's constant wars against France, where true patriots always drank British ale over French wine. Therefore, to compete with France's high ABV wines, the Brits created a new beer style that had between 10 and 12% ABV. Apparently, the style wasn't called barley wine until 1903, when Bass created the name to describe their No. 1 Ale (I don't know what the style was called before). Since then, the style has become popular worldwide, with many US craft brewers, including Full Sail, Rogue, and Sierra Nevada, brewing their interpretation, usually naming it something beginning with "Old." (CAMRA - Barley Wine, Behemoth Brews: Barley Wine)

Young's was borne out of an inn in Wandsworth, The Ram, that was started in 1533 and added brewing in 1581. It changed hands a couple of times over the next three centuries until it was bought out by Charles Allen Young and Anthony Fothergill in 1831, establishing the Young's brand at The Ram and 80 other taverns. The Ram (a Dorset horned ram, to be exact) was registered as Young's trademark in 1893. When the brewery celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1981, Queen Elizabeth II showed up for the celebration. In 2006, Young's partnered with fellow brewer Charles Wells to create Wells & Young's Brewing Company Ltd. Under the agreement, The Ram brewery was sold and brewing of Young's was moved out of Wandsworth. (Young's History: 1533-1581, 1582-1831, 1832-1890, 1891-1981, and 2006)

Before we continue, I should note that this beer review may not be that accurate due to the fact that it expired in November 2006. It originally wasn't my beer; it is one of my wife's brother's beers he left over at his parents' house. I acquired it at some point a couple of months ago.

Here are the stats:

Young's Old Nick Barley Wine
BREWERY: Young & Co.'s Brewery PLC, London, England
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: per 500 mL bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 7.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: Pale, Crystal
HOPS: Fuggle, Goldings
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

This information came from the bottle (ABV) and US importer Belukus Marketing's Young's Old Nick webpage (malts and hops). I may call them for additional info.

This beer poured a dark brown that was translucent if you looked hard enough through the glass (it's hard to tell because it's so dark). The head was an off-white tan-ish color that was foamy and light in appearance. I could detect a faint hint of dark chocolate in the beer's aroma. This trace was a lot more pronounced in the taste, which was a smooth mix of chocolate and alcohol. After a few more sips, a sweetness could be detected. The only problem is that I felt the alcohol was starting to settle, but I don't know if it was because the beer was expired or not. The aftertaste was creamy and not stale at all, even as I drank down to the higher alcohol parts. Like the Alaskan Smoked Porter, I began to feel warm inside while I was drinking this beer, probably because of the high alcohol content.

This is a pretty good beer. Like I said, it may not be a perfect review because of the expiration date, but the fact that it's still drinkable means that it can be kept well past it's Best By date like a fine wine. It has a Hell of a taste.

Cheers!

Site Updates

2007-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

I received some information from the Widmer and Alaskan breweries yesterday that I had requested. Therefore, three beer reviews have been updated with new information:

Enjoy!

By the way, a new entry will be coming tonight. Tune in to see what #2 in my "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is.

Widmer Broken Halo IPA

2007-09-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Silver (25th) Beeriversary to me!

The third-to-last beer in the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is also the 25th beer I've reviewed for this blog, the Widmer Brewery's Broken Halo IPA. While Widmer has released many an IPA in the past, they have usually been as seasonals. Their first one that I know of was Spring Run IPA, which was brewed in the spring months until 2004. After changing their hopping technique and lowering the ABV slightly, an IPA was released as the first of their "W" series of craft beers for the first part of 2005 (the beer itself was called W'05). My guess is that the beer was such a success that it was re-branded as Broken Halo IPA in 2006, complete with a new logo and packaging. (I confirmed that W'05 and Broken Halo are almost identical.) The best part for hop-heads: this Widmer IPA is available year-round.

Here are the stats:

Widmer Broken Halo IPA
BREWERY: Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR, USA
FIRST BREWED: 2005 (as W'05)
CALORIES/SERVING: 190 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 45 IBU
ABV: 6.0%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 14.25° Plato (1058.22)
MALTS: Pale, caramel 10L & 20L, carapils
HOPS: Alchemy, cascade, zeus
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 42-46°F (6-8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "Spicy hot foods like Mexican, Asian dishes, or hot wings"
AWARDS:

I got all information but the calories, awards, and serving temperature from Widmer's Broken Halo website. The rest came from e-mails to the brewery.

Once again, the aroma hit me like a ton of bricks. This time, it was a hoppy aroma that spilled forth from the beer as I poured it. Seeing as how it's an IPA, that's par for the course. The beer poured a cloudy golden-amber color with a nice foamy white head that took awhile to dissipate. The head itself was very hoppy and tickled my upper lip as I drank the beer. While this beer was hoppy, it didn't really turn me off to it (I'm not usually a fan of IPAs) and was quite drinkable. The only problem with the hoppier beers is that they tend to leave a bit of a dry aftertaste in my mouth, but that's quickly solved by drinking more of the beer.

Overall, I like this IPA, but it may be a little tame for total hop-heads. It's a good beer, but if you want a true hoppy adventure, stick with Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale. For those of us not so IPA-inclined, this one is a good-tasting romp through a hop patch.

Prost, and here's to at least 25 more beers reviewed!

UPDATE: I filled in some of the blanks from an e-mail I received on September 25th, 2007. Thanks so much David! I really appreciate it.

Alaskan Smoked Porter (2006 Vintage)

2007-09-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

The fourth-to-last beer in the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is the 2006 vintage of Alaskan Smoked Porter. It is brewed by the Alaskan Brewing Co., which was founded in 1986 in Juneau, Alaska by Geoff and Marcy Larson. They started out brewing their flagship Alaskan Amber beer from a recipe that was popular during Juneau's gold rush days a century earlier. Then, inspired by rumors of gold rush brewers using roasted malts in their brews, they teamed with local Taku Smokeries to roast some malts on some indigenous alder wood in 1988, releasing it Christmas Eve of that year.

Since then, it's been a runaway success, with a new vintage brewed in limited quantity each fall. This beer pretty much introduced smoked beer, known in Germany as rauchbier, to America. It was available only in Alaska until 1997, when it was released to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Northern California (it was brought into Northern Nevada in 2001, hence my pickup in Reno). It even was sold in the UK. The interesting thing about this beer is that the smoke acts as a bottle conditioning agent, which alters the flavor over time like a fine wine. This is similar to Deschutes and Hair of the Dog's bottle conditioning, but Alaskan uses a different catalyst. Because of this, it gains a uniqueness to the flavor that has made it the most award-winning beer at the Great American Beer Festival, which is fitting, considering that the brewery is the most award-winning craft brewery at the GABF. (Alaskan History, Alaskan Smoked Porter Stats and Story, two press releases, and a phone call to the brewery)

There are a lot of interesting facts surrounding this beer that I found out through my correspondence with the brewery. The smoker that they've used for every batch of Smoked Porter since 1988 is now owned by Alaskan so that the brewery can maintain consistent levels of quality. Like Hair of the Dog, Alaskan has a library of all their vintages, used mostly for vertical tastings of two or more vintages. Geoff Larson, co-founder of the brewery, co-wrote a book on smoked beers, appropriately called Smoked Beers: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes (you can find it at Amazon). Speaking of the Larsons, I hear tell that for vintages of a year or two old, they love serving them over vanilla ice cream with raspberries for dessert. (Note to self: try that out.)

Here are the stats:

Alaskan Smoked Porter
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1988
CALORIES/SERVING: 225 per 12 oz. serving (or ~413 per 22 oz. bottle)
BITTERNESS: 45 IBU
ABV: 6.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 15.8° Plato (1065)
MALTS: "5 types", some of them smoked in small batches (the types are proprietary)
HOPS: "2 varieties" (the varieties are proprietary)
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 54°F (12°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "Smoked seafood, cheese and other robust foods"
AWARDS: A ton...

All info but the calories per serving, the serving temperature, and some of the awards came from the Alaskan Smoked Porter website and the Alaskan Smoked Porter story, and the serving temperature came from Beers of the World. Awards came from press releases on their website, found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. (That's a lot of press releases I waded through.) I confirmed during a phone call to Alaskan on September 24th, 2007 that the malts and hops are protected secrets, and the calories per serving came from an e-mail from them the next day.

Like Tuborg Gold, this beer has one powerful aroma; I could smell it back from where I was taking the picture. The nose was a mixture of smoke and chocolate that was pleasing to my nasal passages. When I poured the beer, it poured a dark brown, almost black color with a foamy light chocolate-colored head. The beer's taste was very distinctive, a chocolate-coffee flavor infused with the same smoky flavor that I smelled. The finish left a pleasant taste in my mouth (the aftertaste didn't grow stale), and my throat was warming me up from the inside.

This is a well-crafted beer. At times, I thought the smokiness overpowered the chocolate/coffee flavor a little too much, but that doesn't make it bad. Because of its bottle-conditioning nature, different flavors will emerge over time, so buy a couple of bottles and wait a year between each. It's easy to see why this beer from The Last Frontier has won so many awards. They brew a new vintage every November, so the 2007 should be available in a little over a month.

Prost!

UPDATES: I added some information I picked up from a phone call to the brewery at 4:10 PM PDT on September 24th, 2007. I received additional nutritional and fun factual information from them in an e-mail received the next day. The people I spoke to are very nice for taking the time to talk to a little-known beer blogger out of Reno. Props to Alaskan!

Tuborg Gold Pilsner

2007-09-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Coming in at number 5 on the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is Tuborg Gold pilsner in the golden-brown bottle. I could actually find some information on this beer, because it's a very well-known Danish beer. The Tuborg Brewery was founded in 1873 in Copenhagen, and began brewing its flagship beer, Tuborg Grøn, in 1880. Tuborg names a few of its beers after the color of the label, with Grøn referring to the green label. Other beers named this way include Rod ("red") and Guld ("gold", the beer I'm having).

Tuborg Gold itself was first brewed in 1895 for export (but has since grown popular in Denmark), and is nicknamed "The Golden Lady" after the company made TV commercials for the beer in the late 1950's starring model and actress Anette Strøyberg, a Danish Brigitte Bardot. It is currently available in Denmark, Switzerland, Croatia, Turkey and Nepal, but somehow managed to find its way into my Beers of the World pack. The beer, like the others in the Tuborg line, have been brewed under the Carlsberg family of breweries since the two merged in 1970. (About Tuborg (UK) (requires age verification), Carlsberg's Tuborg Gold Page, Annette Vadim (Anette Strøyberg) IMDB Profile, Carlsberg's History)

Here are the stats:

Tuborg Gold Pilsner
BREWERY: Carlsberg Brewery, Copenhagen, Denmark
FIRST BREWED: 1895
CALORIES/SERVING: per 11.2 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Lager"
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 41-46°F (5-8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Fish dishes, spicy dishes
AWARDS:

I got the first brewed date, ABV, malts, serving temperature, and compatible foods from Carlsberg's Tuborg Gold website.

The first thing I noticed about the beer was its smell. This is a very aromatic beer, and I noticed the grainy smell from a couple feet away as I was taking that picture. The head was a half-foamy, half-bubbly white mixture, and it revealed a slightly cloudy golden-yellow beer in the glass. The taste was a very light grainy flavor with a slight metallic undertone that most pilsners have (I couldn't make out the fruit and nuts Carlsberg says I should be tasting, and I don't know what fennel is). While there wasn't a ton of flavor, the beer was very smooth and not at all acrid, finishing very cleanly and without aftertaste.

Overall, while this beer may not be the most flavorful, it's definitely one of the smoothest beers I've had, making it different from most pilsners. Try one if you're in Denmark (or Nepal, apparently).

Skål!

Whitbread Pale Ale

2007-09-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

At number 6 on the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is another beer from the Beers of the World multipack I grabbed from a BevMo! store: Whitbread Pale Ale. Its country of origin is England, so naturally it is an English Pale Ale style. What surprised me about this beer is the lack of information on it. I tried finding a product page about the beer, no luck. I tried searching on InBev's website (InBev brews this beer), no dice. I tried the US importer's website, and it doesn't exist. I couldn't find anything on Sam Adams' website either (they brew the US batch in their Cincinnati brewery). It's as if this beer doesn't really exist.

I do know, however, that Whitbread & Co. Ltd. was established in 1742 by Samuel Whitbread (his signature adorns the label) in swinging London, where and when this beer was first brewed. I also know that Whitbread has since expanded into many different other businesses, including hotels, coffee shops, conferencing centers, and the British TGI Friday's chain. They also brewed such beers as Boddington's and Mackeson Stout. I say "brewed" because Whitbread doesn't do it anymore; they sold their brewing operation to Belgian-owned Interbrew in 2000 for between £400-450 million. That's really all I could find out; if you know more, drop me a line by e-mail. (The bottle, Whitbread's website, BBC page on the Interbrew deal)

Here are the stats:

Whitbread (English) Pale Ale
BREWERY: InBev, Luton, Bedfordshire, England (a UK subsidiary of InBev, Leuven, Belgium)
FIRST BREWED: 1742
CALORIES/SERVING: per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS: Styrian Golding
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The ABV came from the RateBeer website, and the hops and first-brewed date came from the bottle. I may be able to find info from the importers in Cincinnati, as well as ask them why they don't have a website in this day and age.

At first, I thought that the overly-bubbly head was going to dissipate before I could get a good picture, but I was wrong; it stayed there for around a minute and a half, going from carbonated and bubbly to light and foamy, staying its clean-looking off-white color. The beer itself poured a dirty reddish-amber, which was beautiful to look at in the light. The beer's aroma was that of equal parts grain and hop, which lent itself well to the taste, also a grainy-hoppy mixture. It wasn't overly powerful on either end, but still had enough of each to register on the taste buds. The finish was just a little hoppy, but it eventually faded away. Beer shouldn't linger any longer than it has to.

I don't know where you can find it on its own, but if you can, check it out. Honestly, I haven't had a lot of EPAs, so I don't know if there are better or worse ones. But, its taste isn't that bad, so give it a try.

Cheers!

Radeberger Pilsner

2007-09-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

The number of beer bottles in my fridge is dwindling, mostly because I want to clean out my fridge of all the beer I received and picked up before the wedding. I'm down to seven beers, and this is number 7: Radeberger Pilsner. I originally picked it up in one of those "beers of the world" multipacks from the BevMo! store in Sacrament three months ago. Since then, it's been relegated to the back of the fridge, waiting for it's day to shine. Well, today's the day, little pilsner.

The Radeberger Brewery started out in 1870 as the Aktienbrauerei Zum Bierkeller in Radeberg, a small town outside of Dresden in the Saxony region of Germany, by Conrad Brüne. In 1872, they became the first brewery in Germany to produce a pilsner, a style born 30 year prior in the town Plzeň in what is now the Czech Republic; in fact, it was the first beer they produced. In 1907, word of the brewery's success reached Saxony's king, King Friedrich August von Sachsen, who requested to visit the brewery. He must have been impressed, because in 1911 Brüne was designated as a Königlichen Kommerzienrat, or a "royal counsellor of commerce" (my 80+ year old German-English dictionary says that it was an honorary title bestowed upon merchants). The Radeberger Gruppe now owns many German breweries and brews many beers, including Clausthaler (non-alcoholic) and the aforementioned Henninger beers. It even controls a Czech brewery, the Královský Pivovar Krušovice (the Royal Brewery of Krušovice). (Radeberger Brewery Information (in German), Radeberger Gruppe AG Information, Geneaology of the Junod de Neuchâtel, German Beer Institute: Pils)

As a side note, if I were the President of the United States, I would visit breweries on a goodwill tour of our nation's brewing tradition. Microbreweries only, no big three macros. I would give brewers I particularly enjoyed some sort of Presidential commendation. And I would denounce any temperance/prohibition movements publicly.

Mini-rant over, here are the facts:

Radeberger Pilsner
BREWERY: Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei GmbH, Radeberger, Germany
FIRST BREWED: 1872
CALORIES/SERVING: per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.8° Plato (1047.74)
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 46-47°F (8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The first brewed, ABV, original gravity, and serving temperature came from the Radeberger Pilsner website. I may contact the importer for more.

Once I poured the beer into the glass, the head seemed to explode skyward, with lots of foamy white bubbles filling up the entire space inside the glass. Once the bubbles reduced significantly, a cloudy golden beer was revealed. The aroma that emanated from the thick head that remained was grainy with a hint of metal. That metallic hint carried over into the beer, but it was largely muted by the hoppiness of the beer, making it a fair shake better than most pilsners. It's finish left a slight aftertaste, mostly grainy in nature.

Like I said, it tastes better than most pilsners that I've had, so if that's your style, try the one endorsed by a former King of Saxony.

Prost!

SITE UPDATE: I've updated the Deschutes Black Butte Porter page with additional info I received after placing a phone call to the brewery today. I'd like to thank Jimmy Seifrit, a brewer at Deschutes, for taking the time to answer questions from a tiny little blogger from Reno. Check it out!

Henninger Premium Frankfurt Beer Lager

2007-09-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

I needed to drown my sorrows after a heartbreaking loss by my beloved Seahawks to the Arizona Cardinals. Long story short, Matt Hasselbeck fumbled on a hand-off during a 20-20 tie with less than two minutes to go. If there was no fumble, the 'hawks would've probably been within field goal ranger, possibly even in touchdown range. But as it turned out, Arizona was the team that got within field goal range with 0:05 left on the clock and ended up winning the game 23-20. I needed a beer.

So I reached in my fridge and grabbed the first beer I could: a Henninger Premium Frankfurt Beer, a German lager in a spoilage-inducing green glass bottle. I actually couldn't find any information on the beer itself, especially on Henninger's web site. It may be known by a different name over there, I'm not sure. Just like the beer's name states, the brewery is based in Frankfurt. According to the (poorly) translated company history, the brewery traces its roots back to when Eberhard Stein opened his brewery in 1655 Frankfurt, which was the "germ cell of the mark Henninger." After the death of Eberhard's last descendant, Johannes Stein, in 1873, Heinrich Christian Henninger took over the brewery and named it after himself. In 2002, the Henninger brewery was brought under the Binding umbrella, the same company that brews Radeberger Pilsner (what I will be having Wednesday). Like many German breweries, Henninger follows the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Law, that only states water, barley, and hops can be used in brewing beer. (Company history in German or English Google Translation)

Here are the (limited) stats:

Henninger Premium Frankfurt Lager
BREWERY: Henninger-Bräu, Frankfurt, Germany
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

Like a golden Guinness, this beer had a fantastic head, clean, white and long-lasting, retaining its shape for a full minute. The beer itself was a clear straw color. Its aroma had the odor of wheat and other grains. It's taste, while having an initial carbonated bite, was very light and not really there at all. As a matter of fact, it was kind of blah. It did have some beer taste, but it wasted away in my mouth. However, it also didn't leave much of an aftertaste. Unfortunately, as I drank the beer, one started accumulating in my mouth, but then again, that's what a lot of beers do.

In conclusion, it's not a great beer, but it's a decent lager. Don't get it for the taste, but get it if you want something other than the Big Three at a bar.

Prost!

Guinness Extra Stout

2007-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

When some of my friends were in town for my wedding (specifically, they were all here as a part of the wedding party), we hit up the local beer store to grab some special brews to enjoy over classic comedies like Old School and, of course, Wedding Crashers. One that we picked up at Booze Brothers was Guinness Extra Stout. Having had Guinness Draught in various forms (never at a pub though...I'm saving that for Ireland), and knowing that the upcoming honeymoon may allow me to pick up the foreign version of this beer in Jamaica, I picked up the domestic (but still imported) version to try and compare. It's been sitting in my fridge for almost two months now, and since I tried Guinness Foreign Extra Stout already, it's time to taste the version we get stateside.

Guinness Extra Stout (or something thereabouts) was first brewed in 1759 at St. James' Gate in Dublin as Guinness East and West India porter by Arthur Guinness. While it is not the exact beer now as it was then, it is the direct ancestor. It became reformulated as Guinness Extra Superior Porter in 1821. There are a couple of interesting notes about this beer, particularly the name change between Britain and the United States; across the pond, it's known as Guinness Original, a more direct link to the East and West India porter of the 18th century. It's also not as strong over there, weighing in at only 4.2% ABV; according to the website, it's 5% ABV over here, though. Wikipedia (always a "trustworthy" source...) lists 4.8% ABV for Namibia and South Africa and 6% for Australia and Japan (it also says the US gets 6% too). What contradicts that last parenthesized statement is that Canada brews all the Guinness Extra Stout sold in the states; it says "Product of Canada" on the bottle (Canada being the home of 5% Guinness). (US website (requires birthday and USA for location), England website (requires birthday and England for location), Wikipedia entry)

Here are the stats:

Guinness Extra Stout
BREWERY: Guinness Ltd., Dublin, Ireland
FIRST BREWED: 1759
CALORIES/SERVING: per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5% (though I've seen other sources say up to 8%)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 54°F (12°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Oysters (I'll take their word for it)
AWARDS:

As with other Guinness entries, the beer is an opaque black color that seems to absorb all light that attempts to pass near it. It also gives off a coffee-colored head when poured, once again taking up the whole glass with bubbles moving downward, retaining a puffiness once it had compressed. (I did not attempt to pour the perfect pint, or in this case 12 oz.) The aroma that spilled forth from the beer was that of blackened dark chocolate. Its taste was stronger than that of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, with more hoppiness, I feel, and it tasted like black coffee. While it tasted alright, the taste quickly transitioned to a funky aftertaste.

However, lots of beers have funky aftertastes, and if you want a great stout, than Guinness Extra Stout is a good one to order. Pick one up at your local beer store.

Sláinte!

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

2007-09-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Did you ever have one of those days where everything went wrong? I did today. It just seemed like no matter what I did, the computer code I was working with just wouldn't work properly. I won't bore you with the details, but it drove me mad. That's why at the end of the day I was looking forward to the next beer I could review. For this one, I selected a beer from my home state (and there are plenty to choose from): the Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter.

The Deschutes Brewery was founded in 1988 in Bend, Oregon (in the middle of the high desert) by Gary Fish (who is still the president). It started off as a small brewpub in Bend, a city along the Deschutes River, for which the brewery is named (des chutes is French for "the rapids"). At that point, it started by brewing three beers, Black Butte Porter, Bachelor Bitter and Cascade Golden Ale. The Black Butte Porter is named in tribute to Black Butte, an extinct volcanic cinder code located near Sisters, Oregon (NW of Bend). A planned resort community nearby is also named Black Butte due to its view of the mountain. Other information about the brewery is that it is completely vegan (their clarifying agent is an algae called Irish Moss) and that they moved into their current brewing facility in 1993. They also brew tons of specialty beers, some of which appear to only be available at their brewpub or thereabouts (they may serve them at their forthcoming Portland brewpub, due to open April 2008). Finally, they use a process called Kräusening (don't ask me how to pronounce it) where actively fermenting beer, yeast, or wort is added. Hair of the Dog also does this, but they call it "bottle conditioning" (see my review of Ruth). (Deschutes Brewery information and FAQ, plus info on the bottle itself)

Here are the stats:

Deschutes Black Butte Porter
BREWERY: Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon USA
FIRST BREWED: 1988
CALORIES/SERVING: 192 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 30 IBUs
ABV: 5.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13.735° Plato (1056)
MALTS: Chocolate, wheat, and mid-level caramel
HOPS: Cascade, galena, tettnanger (not "tettenanger")
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 44°F (6-7°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Beef with heavy sauces, steak, ribs, BBQ, chicken (basically any meat you can grill)
AWARDS: A ton...

The calories, first brewed, bitterness, ABV, and awards information came from the Black Butte Porter website. The rest came from a phone call I placed to the brewery on September 19th, 2007. Special thanks to Jimmy Seifrit of the Deschutes Brewery for answering my questions!

This is a very dark opaque beer, with a rich dark brown color, almost black; the accompanying head was a light coffee color and refused to go down, its puffiness lasting for upwards of 5 minutes as I enjoyed the beer. Its aroma was of a sweet dark chocolate type that was pleasant to my nose. The taste also had this dark chocolate flavor with some coffee undertones combined with a slight bitterness, which pleased my tastebuds enormously. The aftertaste finished almost clean, with just a slight hoppy aftertaste. I can handle slight hoppiness in my taste, but not my aftertaste.

Overall, this is a great beer, and it's plain to see why Deschutes stands by this brew. It's coming up on its 20th anniversary next year, and who knows what this brewery will do to celebrate. I only wish I could be there.

Prost!

Okocim O.K. Pilsner

2007-09-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Back in my review of Żywiec Full Light Pilsner, I mentioned that my Polish co-worker had purchased me another Polish beer for me to review for this blog. Well, she brought it in a couple days later, but I had other beers to review and other things to get ready for (like a wedding), so naturally, it started gathering ice in the back of my fridge. Well, I finally rediscovered it there and decided to review it. The name is Okocim O.K. Pilsner, a very amusing name.

Okocim O.K. Pilsner (pronounced OH-ko-cheem) is brewed by the Okocim Brewery of Poland. The brewery itself was established in 1845 (the year in the shield on the O.K.'s bottle) by Johann Evangelist Götz, but was expanded under the ownership of his son, Jan Albin. Under Polish communist rule, the brewery was nationalized in 1945, but re-privatized after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. In 1996, the brewery was absorbed into the Carlsberg family of breweries. It now produces several beers in addition to the O.K., including a porter, a malt liquor, and a couple non-alcoholic beers. According to a sales sheet from the importer, Stawski Distributing in Chicago, this beer helped define the "Polish pils style," which sets it apart from other pilsners. On the label (which hasn't been changed in almost 40 years), the beer is listed as a "full pale." I still don't know what the significance of the goat in the shield and the woman on the label signify; I suppose that's a question for the importer. (Brewery history in Polish, plus beer information in English)

Here are the stats (which aren't much at this point):

Okocim O.K. Pilsner
BREWERY: Okocim Brewery, Brzesko, Poland
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: per 16.9 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: World Beer Championships Silver Medal Award Winner

The brewery and ABV information came from the bottle, and the awards info came from the aforementioned sales sheet. I plan to call the importer to get some more information. Hopefully they'll know some more.

The beer poured very smoothly into the glass, giving off the aroma of wheat and grain. It was a rich dark amber color with a nice white head that was mostly bubbles, but it lasted for about a minute, taking its own sweet time to fade away. Taste-wise, the beer had a little bit of a bite to it, but it transitioned into a smooth grainy taste. Unlike every other pils I've had, this one didn't taste like a penny had been dropped into the bottle, a major plus in my book. The aftertaste originally finished clean, but as I started drinking it, I started to develop a residual taste in my mouth that reminded me of when I drink IPAs.

Overall, a decent beer. Those Poles sure know how to brew. I'm looking forward to trying the Okocim Palone, complete with fire-burned malts. Mmm.

Na zdrowie !

Miller Chill Chelada

2007-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw this beer was at the 2007 Great El Dorado BBQ, Brews, and Blues Festival in town a couple months ago. Miller Brewing had set up a tent that was promoting the crap out of this beer, offering free samples and various goodies for trying the beer (in a skunky beer-inducing green bottle!). I passed, not wanting to waste my tokens on beers I can get in the store everyday. Then, I recently got into a habit of wanting to review Latin-inspired beers (hence the Corona entry a couple days ago), and I wanted Miller Chill to be a part of the lineup.

The only problem was that I couldn't purchase a single bottle of the stuff. I went to five different stores in search of the single bottle. Wal-Mart had 6-pack bottles I could buy, but they wouldn't sell me one individually. (The moral: Never buy beer at Wal-Mart). The Albertsons nearby didn't even sell the brand. The Safeway nearby sold 12-pack bottles, but I didn't want to pry open the cardboard box just for one bottle. The convenience store near my house didn't sell the brand either. Finally, I ran into a Scolari's up the road from where I live, and I finally found a 6-pack they'd let me grab a single bottle from! They even said that it was their policy to allow single bottles to be sold just because other companies don't. Go to Scolari's instead to buy your beer. They usually have a good selection anyway.

The interesting thing about this beer is that it's a "new" style to America, called Chelada. It's a style of Mexican origin in the 1950's, the name being a combination of chela (slang for "beer") and helada ("iced"). It was beer served over ice with a squirt of lime in a salt-rimmed glass, the ice being integral to maximizing profits. A variation called michelada is served with tabasco and Worcestershire sauces in addition to the ingredients above. (Budweiser is currently testing a version of their Bud and Bud Light beers mixed with Clamato, lime, and salt, possibly in response to Chill; I found it at a local Hispanic store and will review it soon.) Miller decided to try an approximation of the original chelada by adding a dash of lime and salt to the beer itself and test-marketing it as Chill in several markets earlier this year. According to Miller's blog, it was so popular in those markets that they immediately took it nationally during the Summer 2007. As such, it may not be available everywhere nationally just yet. I know that it's not available in Canada yet either.

Here are the stats:

Miller Chill Chelada
BREWERY: Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI, USA
FIRST BREWED: 2007
CALORIES/SERVING: 110 per 12 oz. bottles
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

I got this information from the Miller Chill website (age check required). More may come from a phone call (there goes my lunch break tomorrow).

The first thing I noticed about the beer was its head, which was large and fluffy white in color atop the faint golden beer. Like the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, the bubbles moved downward, which I thought was strange, but may not be as strange as I thought. The head also took a long time to dissipate. The smell reminded me of stale hops, not the fresh taste I normally encounter with beers. The taste, however, is its selling point; in spite of the fact that it is a light beer, it actually has some flavor to it. I could taste both the lime and salt mixed in with the beer (the salt was the harder to find), but it took getting past the over-carbonation to find them. The aftertaste was bad, bringing back the "stale hops" taste from the odor. But it didn't last, gradually fading away.

All in all, not a beer I'd drink on a regular basis, but kudos to Miller for actually developing a light beer that has a taste. If you really want to drink light mass-produced beer but want the taste (or if you're living in 2003 and still watching your carbs), drink this macrobrew.

Prost!

Corona Extra

2007-09-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today, my wife and I had her parents over to our place for tacos and other stereotypical Mexican foods tonight, and, inspired by the delicious meal, I thought that I should follow it up with a stereotypical Mexican beer. Then I realized that I never had the quintessential Mexican beer, Corona Extra, before. So many Cinco de Mayo's have gone by, but I never picked up Corona...mostly because they were sold out, surprisingly. However, this time I happened to have a bottle left over from some party. So I ran to the store, picked up a lime, and prepared myself for a south of the border experience.

Corona Extra was first brewed in 1925 by Cerveceria Modelo of Mexico City, the same brewery that makes Negro Modelo and other beers well-known to Mexican restaurants. It is the number 1 selling beer in Mexico and the leading export brand from Mexico, and has enjoyed enormous success in el norte in the 1980's. It is now sold in 150 countries worldwide, including Iraq. Stateside, it's sold in traditional 12 oz. clear glass bottles (which induces spoilage) and smaller bottles, which are labelled Coronita. Incidentally, regular-sized Coronas in Spain are also called Coronita, but it's because the Spanish crown has a trademark on the word corona "crown." Their label says "La cerveza más fina," which means "The finest beer." The American slogan for the beer is "Miles away from ordinary," while the Spanish American slogan is "Orguillosamente Mexicana," or "Proudly Mexican." (Source, plus personal research)

Additionally, the preferred way to drink this beer stateside is with a wedge of lime stuck in the neck. There have been many theories on the origin of the lime, from keeping flies out of the bottle to cleaning the glass of unsanitary elements around the top of the bottle. All false. The reason has to do with the spoilage-inducing clear glass bottle. The lime is there to mask the flavor of the skunky beer. Interestingly enough, people in Mexico do not usually drink this beer with the lime.

Here are the stats:

Corona Extra
BREWERY: Cerveceria Modelo, Mexico City, Mexico
FIRST BREWED: 1925
CALORIES/SERVING: 148 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 41-45°F (5-7°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Baked ham and salad
AWARDS:

Most of the information came from the Corona FAQ, and the rest came from Beers of the World.

The clear bottle does not leave this beer's color to the imagination, which is a clear golden hue. The head was a nice bubbly white color that actually took its time going away. I couldn't really smell much of an aroma in the beer until I pressed my nose almost up against the head, which revealed a faint grainy scent. Then I tasted the beer, and there really wasn't much there. It still had more flavor than, say, a Red Stripe Light, and it is the best of all the Latin American lagers I've had before (mostly because most beers taste like Corona knock-offs with some extra metal thrown in). However, that's not saying much. The aftertaste was a little grainy, but the beer was very blah. Even when I added the lime, it tasted like blah beer with lime.

The good news is at 4.6% it'll get you buzzed, but the only sacrifice is taste. While Corona is the gold standard for Latin American lagers, it's not even close to the best beer Mexico has to offer. Get a Negro Modelo the next time you're at the local taqueria. You'll thank me later.

¡Salud!

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

2007-09-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have new blog entries on tap (to Adam: pun intended) for you to enjoy, and it's actually one I wrote tonight. After I wrote those two entries on my notebook on vacation, I got so busy with work and wedding wrap-ups (thank you notes suck to write, by the way) that The Beerocrat fell by the wayside for a little bit. But I'm back, and I have lots of beer in my fridge just begging for a drink. I thought I'd start off with a beer that I bought in Jamaica specifically for this blog.

As my wife and I were traveling Jamaica admiring the striking tropical scenery, I was also keeping my eye out for some interesting beers that they don't have in the states. One that I remember from one of my favorite beer books, Beers of the World by David Kenning, was Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, specifically brewed for Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. So naturally, I was on the lookout for this elusive beer. Finally, on our last day there, we stopped to eat at a Red Stripe brewpub in the international terminal of Montego Bay's international airport, I saw a few bottles of it behind the bar. After telling the bartender that I wanted a cold unopened bottle (to which he gave me a quizzical expression), I had a 275 mL bottle in hand ready to import back into the states.

Now you may be wondering, why does the Caribbean (and Africa and Asia) need a foreign extra stout. The answer is borne out of the same dilemma that gave birth to the India Pale Ale. According to Guinness, it is brewed with extra hops so that it can enjoy an increased shelf life in warmer climates, which include the three areas I mentioned. As a consequence, it also gives the beer a unique kick for a stout while still retaining that distinctive Guinness look and taste. It was first brewed in Dublin and first exported in 1802. Since the 1960s, it has been locally brewed in those warmer climates, including Jamaica, and has gone on to be ridiculously popular; 40% of all Guinness worldwide is the Foreign Extra Stout. Unlike bottles of Guinness Draught, it does not have The Widget in the bottle. (Source; you need to enter your birthday and location to enter the site.)

Here are the stats:

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
BREWERY: Guinness Ltd., Dublin, Ireland (mine was brewed locally by Desnoes and Geddes, Kingston, Jamaica)
FIRST BREWED: 1802
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 6.5% (Beers of the World says 7.5%)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 64°F (18°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Sausages and mashed potatoes
AWARDS:

These stats come from a combination of Beers of the World, the Guinness website (link above), and what it says on the bottle. More info may come from a phone call to a Guinness brewery in the states.

As it is a trademark of Guinness beers, the first thing I noticed was the fact that the head took up most of the glass when I first poured it. It was a nice, fluffy, chocolate-tan head where the bubbles were moving downwards...unlike other beers I've had. The foam also had a habit of staying for a really long time; looking at my glass now, I see that the head has finally reformed into those last few delectable drops. The aroma of the beer was a combination of character and a whiff of chocolate that is very pleasing to the nose. The beer itself had Guinness' trademark solid black color and a nice velvety flavor to it with a chocolatey coffee taste that was a little bit more bitter than the usual stout (due to the extra hops added for the climate). The finish was like a liquefied dark chocolate combined with hops and just a touch of sweetness.

In short, I'm glad that this bottle survived the journey from Jamaica back to Reno. I only wish I could pick this up at my local store. Oh well, I have my bottle of regular Guinness Extra Stout waiting for me soon, so I guess I can manage. For now.

Sláinte!

Red Stripe Light Lager

2007-08-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

In my last (very long ago) post, I mentioned Jamaica's history from Arawaks to Ziggy Marley and everything in between. I also reviewed Red Stripe, the beer in Jamaica. For this one, I'm not only reviewing Red Stripe's lighter brother, but I will give you a paragraph or two of my observations of the island nation, which celebrated its 45th birthday on August 6th. Since I didn't get around to it in my last review, I'll also give you some background information on the brewery itself. If you wish to skip these thoughts, click here to skip right to the beer.

I had heard of Jamaica's poverty long before I came here. The web comic Least I Could Do had a story arc where the main character Rayne and his best friend Noel traveled to a Jamaican Sandals resort for couples (though they themselves are not one...hilarity ensues). After they arrive at the airport (presumably Montego Bay's), Rayne notes the rampant poverty that was evident immediately upon leaving baggage claim. It was this image that ran through my head as my wife and I traveled by a hot, humid Japanese bus along the A1 from Montego Bay to our resort.

Well, that and my memories of a church mission trip I made to Tijuana, Mexico almost a decade ago. There were marked differences between Jamaica's north coast and the slums of Tijuana: the water's better in Jamaica (and won't give you Montezuma's Revenge), the Jamaican shacks have electricity (well, most of them), better roads, better scenery, and the air was fresh and clean, unlike south Tijuana's air, which smelled like a garbage dump. But, in both cases, the people were very happy, or at least seemed that way. They were down-to-earth, hospitable people who made do with what they had.

Jamaica, like Mexico, can tend to get a little violent. When I watched the TV-J 10 o'clock news in my room, the lead story was that of a multi-victim drive-by shooting in Kingston (which, as I mentioned previously, is the most dangerous city in the West Indies). No motive was given for the shooting; it appeared to be a random act of violence. I was initially shocked that such a thing could happen, but then I remembered that many of these things happen everyday in any major U.S. city and that they too are splashed across the top of the local news. "If it bleeds, it leads" must be a universal saying in the news industry.

Other news was much more positive. Barrington Irving, a Jamaican-born pilot, became the first black man to fly solo around the world. The Jamaican cricket team was doing well, or so I was told. It is an election year, so politics were abundant, first with a story on one of the Prime Minister's bodyguards who was accused of stealing cars, and then with the race between candidates in the JLP (Jamaican Labour Party, conservative leaning, symbolized by the Liberty Bell) and the PNP (People's National Party, democratic socialist leaning, symbolized by the Head) that was hotly contested. Internationally, floods in India and Bangladesh and the recovery effort of the Minnesota I-35W bridge disaster were reported. What surprised me was the lack of weather coverage, especially since the island is in hurricane-infested waters, but then again, since the average temperature is between 86 and 90°F, it may not be needed.

(NOTE: This was written before Hurricane Dean came within 60 miles of Kingston, meaning it pretty much hit the island.)

Jamaica has an interesting dichotomy between the massive multinational beach front resorts (or the massive foreign-owned mansions) and the ordinary citizens struggling to make enough to live. The Jamaican government appears to be making progress in some respects. Unemployment has apparently been cut in half over the past 20 years, tourism is thriving (at least it was before Dean), and infrastructure, such as new high-speed tollways, are at least partially open. Each party appears to have a plan to improve schools and health care. However, as in the U.S., there is skepticism over whether any changes will take place for the better. As our bus driver said on the way back to Montego Bay, "They're all the same." Spoken like a true cynic.

In conclusion, Jamaica is a land not unlike my own, but with many differences. They have remarkable beaches that are almost too good that are almost too good to be true, but everything has a price. Sports are different, where cricket and fútbol are the dominant pasttimes, and the people are easy-going and understanding. Just don't forget to tip.

Now, on to the beer.

The Red Stripe Brewery is based out of Kingston with plants on the north coast (we passed one between Montego Bay and our resort). They also have a brewpub in the Montego Bay airport (probably Kingston's too). It was founded in 1918 by Kingston natives Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes, and the first version of Red Stripe was brewed a decade later, an ale too strong for the locals. Paul H. Geddes created the smoother lager in 1934, which they've used ever since. The brand was shown prominently in the 1962 Bond movie Dr. No, which was based mostly in Jamaica. Its American slogan is "Hooray beer!" and the Jamaican one is "Don't just live, live red."

In the past year or so (few years?), the folks at Red Stripe released a light version of their beer, the unimaginatively-named Red Stripe Light. As of this writing, it's unavailable stateside. Aside from the Desnoes and Geddes logo and the familiar Red Stripe text on the bottle, not much is recognizable. The bottle shape is of the everyday tall variety, as opposed to the distinctive stubby bottle shape of its regular counterpart. The glass color is also different, being clear instead of brown. Not a wise choice, seeing as how brown bottles prevent spoilage by sunlight, which is something that clear and green bottles are notorious for. My guess is that these changes were made to differentiate the two in a market or pub that dominantly serves Red Stripe. The clear glass especially does the trick, especially considering those limited edition regular Red Stripe bottles that are in the tall variety but still retain their browned glass.

Here are the stats:

Red Stripe Light Lager
BREWERY: Desnoes and Geddes, Kingston, Jamaica (a member of the Guinness family)
FIRST BREWED: 2001 at the latest
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 3.9%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

When I poured this beer, its color was a clear light golden, but I was especially disappointed with the head. While it was a clean, white color, it wasn't as fluffy or as long-lasting as regular Red Stripe's. It looked more like a series of bubbles than a head, which quickly dissipated. The beer itself almost tasted like water with a little beer mixed in and reminded me of many a Latin American lager, but brewed with better water and without a metallic taste. The good thing about no taste, however, is no aftertaste. It finished clean with no bad memories lingering on my taste buds.

So, if you have an affinity for Central American beers, or don't like any beer that will potentially get you drunk, then this beer is for you. Otherwise, stick with plain ol' Red Stripe to get beer that tastes, well, like beer. I will.

Ya mon!

Red Stripe Lager

2007-08-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm sorry the beer reviews haven't exactly been flowing in. I've been a little busy with my wedding and its preparation to write in the blog. Rest assured that beer did play a prominent role in the bachelor party and the wedding, which was stocked with Widmer Hefeweizen, Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Bud Lite (not all of us are beer snobs), along with some random leftovers. Most of the whereabouts of these beers are unknown, presumed consumed.

So as a treat for you, I have not one, but two beers reviewed coming up. Not only are these beers from a foreign country, but the reviews themselves originated in a foreign country: Jamaica. This act shows to what lengths I will go to ensure that this blog is internationally focused on the merits of beer. (Also ignore the fact that I went to Jamaica on my honeymoon. Totally unrelated.)

Because I think it's interesting, I'll give a little background of Jamaica's history. If you wish to skip these thoughts, click here to skip right to the beer.

Jamaica is a little bit of paradise nestled just below Cuba and east of the Yucatán Peninsula. The island has been blessed with crystal clear Caribbean water, lush green forests, beautiful white and black sand beaches, and bright color tropical flowers. Such a veritable jungle couldn't be left alone to the native Arawaks, who called it Xamayca, or "land of wood and water," so the Spaniards, following Christopher Columbus' visits to the island in 1494 and 1503, colonized the island as Santiago ("St. James"), albeit half-heartedly. Columbus' family was offered the island in return for his services to the Spanish crown, but were angered with the lack of immediate profit on the island (read: gold and silver), so they did nothing but turn Jamaica into a cruelly-ruled Spanish colony and decimate the Arawak population, who was replaced and/or supplemented with African slaves.

The Jamaican peoples' fortunes improve a little when a British armada arrived on the island in 1655, overrunning the Spaniards in just one day. The Spanish colonists fled to teir other holdings, mostly in Cuba, though some stayed on the northern coast in secret, fighting a couple of battles for the island beginning in 1657. They were defeated by the Brits by 1660, and the Spanish once again retreated to Cuba. The British saw potential in Jamaica, especially in sugar cultivation, so in 1661 they appointed a governor who directly reported to the crown, and all children born to British subjects in Jamaica were free citizens of England.

The plight of the Jamaicans was not over, however. A slave rebellion was crushed in 1690, a major earthquake destroyed Port Royal (near Kingston) in 1692, a massive fire destroyed what was left of Port Royal in 1704, and the Maroons (escaped slaves and their descendants who live in the eastern mountains of Jamaica) were captured and killed during a fierce battle in 1734. Their fortunes improved with a 1739 treaty that gave the Maroons semi-autonomy over their territory, which is still enforced today. Jamaica's population continued to grow as American colonists loyal to Britain left the U.S. during the Revolutionary War to emigrate to Jamaica. The economy started to slump, however, as sugar prices dropped and slave ownership was outlawed in all British territories by 1838.

Determined to keep Jamaica modern, the Brits established a telegraph service between the island and Europe in 1869, and introduced coins backed by the Bank of England soon after. Roads, employment, education, tourism, and irrigation all improved in the late 1800's. Then, as luck would have it, another earthquake hit Kingston, destroying it. The British Parliament and the Church of England sent lots of poundage to rebuild the city exactly as it is today (well, the street plan anyway). Jamaica made contributions to the two World Wars: aiding the Brits in Palestine during WWI and supplying the Allied forces with bauxite (aluminum's raw material) and workers in munitions factories in WWII. Suffrage-wise, Jamaican women won the right to vote in 1917, three years before it was allowed in the United States, and universal adult suffrage came about in a new constitution in 1944.

Still, the Jamaican people clamored for independence, and they received their wish, first in 1957 with autonomous internal self-government, then with true independence on August 6, 1962. The British crown was still the official head of state, and still is today. (This is a characteristic of former colonies, albeit a highly resented one in Jamaica, as evidenced by the controversy over this policy when Queen Elizabeth II visited the island in 2002.) Britain's Princess Margaret and the United States' Vice President Lyndon Johnson observed the changeover that day. In 1966, Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia, visited Jamaica, bring along with him his religion, which many Jamaicans converted to after his visit. This religion focuses on sacramental marijuana smoking, Ethiopia-specific Bible passages, and the "I" (inner divinity), and in 2003 there were 265 thousand believers. You may know it as rastafarianism, named after the Ethiopian emperor Selassie, formerly known as Ras Tafari.

Now this is where I veer off the Frommer's-inspired history a little bit. The 1980's was a very dangerous time to be a tourist in Jamaica. Kingston, its capital, was (and still is) the most dangerous city in the Caribbean. Many Jamaican resort cities, such as Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril, weren't much better. Crime was high, unemployment was high, and the island suffered major damage from Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. In the 1990's, however, the island started turning around. Infrastructure was rebuilt, resort cities hired extra cop patrols to reduce crime, and unemployment was eventually cut in half. Violence continues to flare up occasionally, and Kingston is still bad, as are many touristy areas at night. Muggings aren't uncommon, but the most you may encounter is someone trying to hock a conch shell or write your name on a piece of wood (don't accept either).

Now, on to the beer.

There are a few defined constants in Jamaican culture. The national food is salt fish and ackee. The other national dish is jerk chicken. The national fast food is the meat patty. The national pasttime is cricket. And the national beer is Kingston's own Red Stripe. This stuff is sold everywhere on the island, and is the dominant beverage on signs for convenience stores and pubs. It's Bud's cooler, better-tasting, Caribbean-accented Jamaican brother, and it is a source of pride for all Jamaicans. It is a big supporter of Jamaican sport, including Cricket, which is another source of pride especially when they beat England. It is a sponsor of the 2007 Cricket World Cup (the link may not work correctly until after you have verified your birthday and re-entered the URL), which is held in the West Indies, and they released a special collector's edition bottle in celebration. "Hooray beer!" indeed.

Here are the stats:

Red Stripe Lager
BREWERY: Desnoes and Geddes, Kingston, Jamaica (a member of the Guinness family)
FIRST BREWED: 1934 (its current incarnation)
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 39°F (4°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The first thing that I noticed about this beer was its large white head. It managed to retain its shape and puffiness even as I downed the beer. It was brewed a clear golden color. Its taste was not bitter, but didn't have anything extremely memorable. Anyways, it's still better than most stateside macrobrews (I have a weakness for regular Coors...is that bad?). Its finish was clean, leaving a slight bitter hoppy aftertaste, though it didn't linger. A word of advice: drink it cold, like D&G recommend.

In the end, Red Stripe is a great beer to quench your thirst whilst you're eating jerk chicken on a warm Caribbean evening. It may not be the best beer in the world, but it's a step above most beers from south of the Rio Grande/Gulf of Mexico.

Ya mon!

Sierra Nevada Summerfest Pilsner

2007-07-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's good to be back after a short absence. Life has been kinda busy and I haven't had much time for beer (unfortunate, I know). But now I'm back, and I decided to try yet another seasonal beer: Sierra Nevada Summerfest.

In Spanish, sierra nevada means "snow-covered rocky mountain range" (or "snow-covered saw," if I am to believe my dictionary), and it was the Sierra Nevada mountain range that a Chico, California brewery adopted in 1979 to be a leader in American craft-brewing. Ken Grossman, who first opened a home brew store in Chico with dreams of opening his own brewery, brewed his first batch of the brewery's flagship Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on November 15, 1980, and he hasn't looked back. In 1992, he released the Summerfest, which won a Gold Medal in the European Light Lager category of that year's California State Fair.

Here are the stats:

Sierra Nevada Summerfest Pilsner
BREWERY: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1992
CALORIES/SERVING: 158 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 32 IBU
ABV: 5.0%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.8° Plato (1047.74)
MALTS: Two-row pale, munich
HOPS: Perle, saaz
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 40°F (4-5°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Spicy meats and sauces, specialty mixed salad greens
AWARDS: 1999 California State Fair Gold Medal (European Light Lager category)

I got most of this info from Sierra Nevada's Summerfest page, and a couple other pieces (the date and the temp) from an e-mail I sent Sierra Nevada. Thanks Laura! The rest came from sources within the brewery.

The first thing I noticed about this beer is how incredibly clear it was. It may just have been the fact that I took the picture outside, but that golden color just stood out. It had a thick white head that would not go away. The taste was a little bitter and deep at first, but it finished with a light grainy taste. The aftertaste was a little too strong for my taste, personally, but it was not metallic-tasting like just about every pilsner I've had, which is a big plus.

The bottom line is that I guess I just don't like pilsners, but you might. If so, reach for a cold Summerfest and enjoy it.

Prost!