Quantum Beer Foam

2008 Holiday Ale Festival – Day 2

2008-12-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

I arrived back at the HAF about the same time I did the day before and was surprised to see that there were actually fewer people than Wednesday.

Yakima Craft Brewing Co. - Twin Stag Oaked Scottish Ale (ABV 7.2%): Started off the day with a relatively low alcohol (for the HAF) barrel aged (to mellow the flavors) beer to get warmed up. This was just what I was looking for. A faint oakyness and sweet molasses aroma and a malty sweet flavor with just a hint of earthyness.

Southern Oregon Brewery - Old Humbug II (ABV 8.2%): Time to kick it old school. Old Ale style that is. I’m not sure that worked… Anyway, the aroma of this one was packed with lots of dark fruit and dark sugars. The molasses notes stand out in the flavor but are well balanced with the US Golding and Styrian Golding hop making for a smooth drinking beer that finishes with some nice alcohol warming in the back.

Eel River Brewing Co. - Climax Noel (2007) (ABV 10.8%): This doppelbock was my only +10% beer all day. No wonder I was so much more alert at the end of the day. The yeast took over the aroma here and tossed up a lot of dark fruit and just a hint of bubble gum. Another well balanced flavor profile tilting towards brown sugar. But in this case the alcohol flavor was completely hidden.

Lagunitas Brewing Co. - Yersinia Pestis Holiday Stout (ABV 8.2%): I was all excited to make a Ween reference when I saw this was an Imperial White Pepper Stout, but it probably has more to do with the ripe peppercorns used in the brewing process. Apparently this recipe was developed from a brochure for a defunct bunker fuel cracking refinery located somewhere outside of Fossil, New Jersey. There was a hint of something that seemed like black pepper aroma, but it was mostly milk chocolate that I smelled. The flavor was very chocolaty and I did get a bit of spicy warmth on the back of my tongue. Still, even if it is from NJ, I can’t figure out why they would name the beer after the bacteria strain responsible for the plague.

McMenamins Thompson Brewery - Santa Baby Stout (ABV 5.8%): I could have and should have gone without this one. There were coco and grainy aromas and a dark chocolate flavor with some mild bitterness. However, it had a water body and after the all the big and rich beers I had been drinking, this one was relatively unimpressive. Should have gone for the Firestone Walker Brewing Velvet Merkin Stout.

Cascade Brewing Co. - Barrel-Select Baltic Porter (ABV 9%): ‘Tis the season for blending beers I guess. Here is one that mixes a 2006 Bourbon barrel-aged Porter and a 2006 French oak barrel-aged Porter then had lactic acid added just to sour things up a bit. It had a somewhat unexpected aroma with notes of dark fruits and herbs. It tasted sweet and tart like you would find from raspberries, but with hints of bourbon. It finished slightly sour.

Hopworks Urban Brewery - Noggin Floggin' Barleywine (ABV 9.6%): With one script left I looked around for a short line for a beer I hadn’t had yet and finished off the festival with a barleywine brewed with hops grown in Independence, OR. The aroma was a little lighter than the past beers but the fruity and malty smells were there. It had a sweet caramel flavor followed by and some alcohol warming and. I find it funny that the description for this beer was “gunter glieben glauchen globen”. I wonder if they just really like one-armed rock band drummers. For my part, by this point in the evening, I was feeling pretty fly for a white guy.

2008 Holiday Ale Festival – Day 1

2008-12-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

There were many firsts at the 13th annual Holiday Ale Festival (HAF). It was the first year that they opened the festival on a Wednesday. It was the first year they added an annex to the upper level of Pioneer Courthouse Square to provide more room for the event. It was the first year I actually had to wait in line to get into the HAF despite getting there only 15 minutes after it opened. It was also the first time that they required the purchase of a $20 package to get the beers. The package included a cup that doubled in price (from $5 to $10) over the previous year.

Economics aside, I was here for some beer! First stop was the annex to sample some vintage JIM beer. That meant going to the annex via the three sets of stairs and two causeways that seem to be intentionally arranged as a sort of sobriety test. I guess if you couldn’t get to the annex you were probably to drunk to drink the beer in there anyway. Being achingly sober I had no problem getting there, but found that there was a line for JIM 2006 & 2007 that was longer than the line to get into the tent. I opted to start with the JIM 2008 since the line was much smaller and to occupy me as I waited in line for it’s older siblings.

Hair of the Dog – JIM 2008 (ABV 9%): For those who don’t know, this is the third year that Alan Sprits has made a blended and barrel aged a beer specifically for the HAF. It is named after the founder of Admiralty Beverage, Jim Kennedy. This year’s blend consisted of Adam of the Wood (aged four months in wet Elija Craig bourbon barrels), Fred of the Wood (aged in new American oak), Blue Dot and Doggie Claws. There was also some 2003 Samichlous and 2007 Chimay Grand Reserve added for good measure. The aroma was thick with molasses, brown sugar and raisins. Much of that came through in the flavor and was accompanied by a surprising amount of bitterness and some alcohol astringency. It had a full and sticky mouthfeel.

Hair of the Dog – JIM 2006 (ABV 10%): I distinctly remember that this was my favorite beer from the 11th annually HAF and am more than a little surprised to see it since only four kegs were brewed. Maybe more was brewed, but only 4 were for the festival. Anyway, I was very exited to see what 2 years had done to this beer. This vintage was a blend of Fred, Adam, Doggie Claws, Rose and Belgian Dubbel Maredsous 8, and then aged on oak. It was much lighter in color than the ’08. It still had some of that brown sugar aroma but it was much less powerful and notes of oak and alcohol were easily detected. The flavor too was much less intense and more rounded. Woody and dry with some faint malty sweetness and almost no bitterness.

Pyramid Breweries – Snow Cap(‘n and Tennille) (ABV 7%): Heading back to the main tent I decided to slow down a little. I enjoyed this year’s standard Snow Cap so I decided to see what this offering was all about. BTW it a really good day when a 7% one-off beer that has been dry hopped with English Kent Goldings and aged with cacao nibs from Scharffen Berger is used as palette cleanser. It was a very dark colored beer with dark fruit aromas. There was some fruitiness on the flavor with just a hint of coffee. After the JIMs I found this to be light, clean and refreshing.

Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg – Samichlaus (2005) (ABV 14%): I will have to go into the story of Samichlaus some time, but not now. The aroma was dominated by the sent of barley with just a hint of some malty sweetness. It was thick and sweet, but not cloying. The dark sugar flavors suck to my lips after just one sip. The flavor was simple; brown sugar and alcohol. Complex and yet simple at the same time. This is an old world brew at its finest.

Hair of the Dog – JIM 2007 (ABV 10.5%): I checked back up stairs and the line was finally gone, so I pick up the middle child of the JIMs. Along with Adam, Fred and Doggie Claws a few other special beers were added to this vintage: 10% of a Spaten Pilsner, a 9 liter bottle of Val Du Trippel, 1989 Thomas Hardy's (The year Alan met Jim), a 1991 Rodenbach Alexander that Alan bought from Jim, and a 1994 Maredsous 10 that Jim enjoyed drinking. It was all then aged in a barrel for 6 weeks. Compared to the ’08: it’s just as dark, but the aroma is more controlled by the dark fruits and oakyness than the dark sugars. Without the Blue Dot, there seems to be little to no bitterness.

JIM Wrap-up – For my part I loved them all, however the 2008 was a bit of a wild child with flavors of sweet and bitter going to extremes. I hope that they bring it back next year I bet it will be amazing after resting for a year. The 2007 was probably the most complex beer, and demanded the most attention. The 2006 was the other side of the coin, it was not a simple beer, but it was much easier to drink and relax with. Asked which one is my favorite and my answer would be completely dependant on my mood at that instant.

Astoria Brewing Co. – MacGregor (ABV 6.5%): Back to the main tent and a less extreme beer. In this case a Scotch Ale from the Oregon coast. The Pale, Caramel, and Munich malts dominated both the aroma and flavor. Caramel sweetness in the nose and on the tongue until the end where the roasted barley malt kicks in and contributes some coffee and dark fruit flavors. The East Kent Goldings seem to contribute little more than balance to the beer.

Cascade Brewing Co. – Drie Zwarte Pieten "Sang Noir" (Three Black Peters “Black Blood”) (ABV 9.5%): Stacy called this one the “wine of beer” due to its tart fruit and acidic flavor. The name comes from an old Dutch tale where “Black Pete” was one of Santa’s helpers. He did more than just help deliver presents to the nice kids; he actually scolded the naughty ones. There are three because of the two brewers for Cascade and the HAF Beer Steward who all worked on the beer. Blood Cherries were added to the Pinot Noir and Whisky barrels the beer was aged in.

Stone Brewing Co. - Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Beans (ABV 5.9%): I can’t believe that the makes of Arrogant Bastard had one of the lowest alcohol beers at the festival. This creamy porter tuned out to be just what I need after that tart “Sang Noir”. The vanilla is faint but distinct in both the aroma and flavor. Notes of faint smokiness and malt sweetness were also detected.

Max's Fanno Creek Brew Pub - Fanno Creek Dopplebock (ABV 6.8%): This is my first chance to try one of their beers since Max Tieger left back in February. Why it’s still called Max’s? Who knows. The 9 malts used in the beer combined to give the beer a caramel and vanilla aroma and the yeast contributes just a hint of bubble gum. The beer is medium bodied with a malty sweet flavor and some faint minty bitterness contributed by the Perle hops.

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. - Babushka's Secret (ABV 9%): One of the great things about brewing a beer specifically for an event like this is that the brewers can have fun with experimentation and not have an impact on there regular line-up. In this case the Widmer Brothers decided to see what would happen if they added 14 lbs of black raspberries per barrel of there KGB Russian Imperial Stout during the fermentation. It smelled a lot like a chocolate cake with raspberry filling. The roasted coffee flavor gave way to a tart sweetness and alcohol warming in the end.

Three Creeks Brewing Co. – Rudolph's Imperial Red (ABV 9%): Unfortunately, by this time my senses had become quite dulled by alcohol and fatigue. The fact that we were near the exit meant that the cold air wasn’t helping either. 11 different malts and copious amounts of 4 varieties of hops went into this beer which meant that the slightly floral aroma and faintly bitter flavors I detected were not nearly all there was to experience with this beer.

Rosé De Gambrinus

2008-11-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

That's the answer. The question is: What do raspberries, a legendary Flemish King, 1st Amendment legal battles and watercolor depictions of a naked woman have in common?

Stats:

Brewery – Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium
Style – Fruit (Frambozen) Lambic
ABV – 5.0%

Serving Type – 375 ml bottle

A few months ago there was a forum thread on BeerAdvocates about someone asking for help in getting a bottle with the "real" label on it for his bottle collection. Turns out that where the original poster was from (Elk Grove, CA according to his profile) the label shows a woman in a blue dress sitting on a guys lap:

When I picked this beer up at Belmont Station, I got the label that artist Raymond Coumans envisioned back in 1986 and that has been placed on every bottle that you can find throughout the rest of the world, thus proving that pointless censorship is alive and well in the land of the free:

Gambrinus is sometimes referred to as the patron saint of beer, or king of beer. His is a fictional character who supposedly ruled the Flanders region of Belgium and learned how to brew from Isis herself. The person he is believed to be based on is John the Fearless who is also credited as the inventor of hopped malt beer.

Popping the cap off the bottle I see that there's a cork as well. Pulling that out (with a little difficulty given my corkscrew wasn't designed for this bottle type) I noticed that this beer was bottled in 2006. Pouring it into my "Original Czech Bud" tulip glass I can see that has an amber/strawberry hue to it betraying the fact that 200g of fresh raspberries per litre of beer were used in the fermentation tank. The crown dissipated almost immediately and left no lace. The aroma was full of earth and raspberries, but there was also an acid/vinegar smell that let me know this was going to be very tart.

On the first sip I couldn't taste anything it was so very very tart, it was almost painful. Knowing what I was now up against, I braced myself and continued drinking. I could definitely pick out the raspberries and some strawberry flavor in the front and middle, and a hint of the cherries on in the back of my mouth. It finished very dry and sour with linger fruit flavors. In the future I would definitely need to cut this with some food to be able to enjoy it to its fullest extent.

The Science of Brewing

2008-05-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last week (May 16th) the NPR program "Science Friday" dedicated its second hour to discussing some of the science behind beer and brewing. Since it was in Milwaukee, they also spent some time talking about the early years of Wisconsin brewing. It wasn't as technical as I personally would have liked, but they do a good job of covering many subjects and providing a general overview of the state of beer brewing today. If you missed it here is the link to the MP3:

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/510221/90543718/npr_90543718.mp3

Portland represents at the World Beer Cup

2008-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

On April 19th the World Beer Cup published the winners from each of the 91 beer style categories that they were judging this year. Out of the 2,864 beers entered from 644 breweries in 58 countries Oregon walked away with 16 metals, the winner of the Small Brewpub category (Bend Brewing Company, making Tonya Cornett the first woman brewer to win this award), and the winner of the Large Brewpub category (Pelican Pub & Brewery, which they also won in 2006 at the Great American Beer Festival)

Portland was able to snag 7 of the medals, 4 golds and 3 silvers:

BridgePort Brewery got a gold for its Beertown Brown in the English-Style Brown Ale category and a silver for its Blue Heron Pale Ale in the Ordinary Bitter category.

New kid on the block Hopworks Urban Brewery won gold with its IPA in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category and silver with its Organic Lager in the Bohemian-Style Pilsener category.

Laurelwood Brewing Company's Organic Deranger won a silver in the Imperial or Double Red Ale category.

Widmer Brothers got two golds, one for their Hefeweizen in the American-Style Hefeweizen category and the other for their Pale Ale in the American-Style Pale Ale category.

Find the compleat list here: http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/index.html

Barons Black Wattle Superior Wattle Seed Ale

2008-04-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

I had no idea what wattle seeds were when I saw this, so naturally I had to check it out. As an extra special bonus I had a flimsy excuse to use my really bad Australian accent while purchasing it and listening to Men at Work's opus "Down Under" over and over again on the way home.

Stats:
Brewery - Barons Brewing Company in Woollahra, Australia
Style - Seems to me like a spiced version of a Northern English Brown
ABV - 5.8%
Serving type - 12-oz bottle

Apparently, Wattle Seeds are native Australian versions of Acacia. Of the 1300ish species of Acacia, around 960 of them come from Australia. It has been used in food stuffs for awhile. The aborigines would eat the seeds raw or cooked or made into "bush bread". Today it shows up in Barq's Root Beer and Altoids. It was only a matter of time until it made its way into beer.

I have no idea what Wattle Seeds smell or taste like so it may be difficult to judge how it impacts the beer. According to what I found on-line Wattle Seeds tend to add a nutty, chicory and/or coffee flavor to the foods it is added to.

Glass - Tied house pint glass

Aroma – When I first poured this beer there was a distinct cider aroma. This quickly gave way to a delicate balance of flowery (almost like lavender, but not as pungent) hops and nutty/bready malts. As the beer warmed it became muskier.

Appearance – It pours with a small, short lived off-white crown. There is no lace. It has a light ruby color.

Flavor – The beer starts off delicate and balanced enough with sticky sweetness in the front, malty and nutty down the middle and the floral hops down the sides. In the back the flavor a bold spiciness jumps out. Then, from out of nowhere, dark chocolate appears in the aftertaste amongst the lingering spices.

Mouthfeel – The body is light and refreshing, probably do to the prickly/fizzy carbonation. It finishes dry.

Final Thoughts - Not what I would call an "Everyday Beer" and it might even be difficult to knock back a couple of these in a row. However, it is a unique and flavorful beer that I'm glad I found. I am curious to add a few milliliters of Wattle Seed extract to a macro-beer and see what that tastes like.

6th Annual Hard Liver Barleywine Fest

2008-03-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have been dreaming of attending this week-long festival for years. Unfortunately, something always seems to get in the way. First, it takes place three hours away in Seattle, which means I would need to spend the night up there. Second, since 8% ABV is considers a weak barleywine, I would really prefer to have someone there, to "watch my back", but finding someone who can take off on an overnight trip in the middle of the week just to support my drinking habit has been difficult. However, this year was different, and by 5 p.m. Wednesday Noelle and I were walking into Brower's Café (unquestionably one of the greatest beer drinking establishments I have ever seen).

Sampling the 50+ barleywines reminded me a lot of ordering food at a Chinese restaurant. In order to keep things as simple as possible I would pick out several 3 oz sections from the menu and order based on the number next to that beer. The 60+ taps behind the bar all had masking tape wrapped around the handles with a number that corresponded to the menu.

First up was a very special Old Bawdy from Pike Pub & Brewery in Seattle that was kegged back in 1996. It looked dark brown but showed its ruby highlights when held up to the light. The aroma was all about the dark fruit (figs mostly) and molasses, although once it warmed up the smell of brown sugar became apparent. The bold taste of coffee and heavily roasted grains danced in my mouth. There was roasty bitterness down the sides and in the back but it was strangely sweet (molasses) down the middle of my tongue. As you might expect from a 12 year old beer, it finished dry and left and a little astringent.

Next, I couldn't resist the allure of a barleywine from Anderson Valley Brewing Co. in Northern California. This beer, called Horn Of The Beer, was a beautiful dark crimson color with a thin light tan crown. It was just as pleasant to smell as it was to look at. Plums, raisins and toffee combined with the faint smell of alcohol to make me a very thirsty camper. In my mouth, flavors of apples and plumbs swirled around in what was a surprisingly light bodied beer (for the style). I could also detect the faintest hop bitterness on the top of my tongue.

Curiosity then got the better of me and I ordered up a 2007 vintage of Pike's Old Bawdy for comparison's sake. In almost every way this was the yang to the '96s yin. This was much lighter in color, more of a medium ruby. The aroma was similar to the '96, but each individual facet seemed to blend much more easily together. I got the impression the aroma was comparatively muted. It was almost sticky sweet after having it's dried out older brother. The "lighter" flavors stood out in this one. Apple and caramel were predominant and there was a little hoppy bitterness down the middle.

It was about this time I started to let slip my attachment to sobriety. I also noticed that most of the flavors seemed to be similar from beer to beer, not so surprising since they are all the same style. So, for the rest of the tasting I only wrote down the things that stood out.

Shiver Me Liver from Skagit River Brewery in Mount Vernon, WA was up next. This too was sticky sweet and I could swear I was tasting brown sugar on my teeth. It was mellower and less bitter than the previous beers, but did seem to have more of a fusel alcohol taste. It also had more of a pear flavor rather than that of an apple.

My inner-geek (maybe not so inner sometimes) convinced me to try Old Wookie from Water Street Brewing in Port Townsend, WA. It had a pleasant floral aroma, but the flavor was incredibly bland. I didn't realize it was possible to make a virtually flavorless barleywine. I was so disillusioned that at the bottom of my notes in bold capital letters I wrote "Never drink Water Street beer again!"

Then I realized that I could just be suffering from "taste bud fatigue" and maybe the Old Wookie wasn't as bland as I thought it was. I decided on another beer just to make sure (funny how once I get a few drinks in me all my decisions tend to lead to more beer). Walking Man Brewing Co was a brewery I trusted and they just so happened to bring Old Stumblefoot up from Stevenson, WA. Turns out I was right the first time, Old Wookie just sucked. This beer had all the flavors and aromas I had come to expect from my early beers other than it was slightly sweeter and had a mild bitterness to it.

To mix things up, I next chose the Harvest Ale that J.W. Lees & Co. brought over from jolly old England. This sort of reminded me of the '96 Old Bawdy with it's dark molasses and brown sugar aromas, but it was much softer and the fragrances blended together much more playfully. As with most heavy beers from across the pond, raisin flavors dominated the palette. Some brown sugar flavors peaked out in the back and lingered in the aftertaste where they were joined by some dark fruit flavors. There was absolutely no bitterness at all.

For my final beer of the evening I decided on Widdershins from Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont, CO. I wasn't able to pull much out of the aroma; however, this beer stood out because there was a strong smoke flavor component. It's not something I normally enjoy, but it was just so different and unexpected that I couldn't help but appreciate it.

Overall, the evening was a blast. I hope I can go back someday and stay for multiple sittings. Maybe I'll even get there on opening day and participate in the judging.

The Abyss (’06 & ’07)

2008-02-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

After the “Abyss-O-Mania” (as John Foyston put it) where all bottles of The Abyss in Portland sold out in less than three days, I wasn’t expecting to get any this year. Then, last week, my buddy Dave and I went to “Deschutes Night” at the Moon & Sixpence where I got to do a vertical tasting of this year and last years beer.

Stats:

Brewery – Deschutes Brewery, Inc. in Bend, Oregon

Style – Russian Imperial Stout

ABV – 11 % ABV
IBUs – 65
Serving Type – Draft

The Abyss is the second beer in Deschutes’ “Reserve Series”. The first beer was an oak-aged barley wine called Mirror Mirror launched back in 2005. In 2006 The Abyss was released and became so popular, and won so many awards, that they decided to mix up another batch of ’07. However, it didn’t actually get released until mid-January of ’08, which may have had something to do with the über-hyping of this beer.

The popularity of may have something to do with the fact that it is aged in French oak, pinot noir, and bourbon barrels for 9 months. Also, Cherry bark and vanilla bean were added during the fermentation staged (dry-hopped).

Glass – Both were in a 10 oz. snifter glasses

Aroma – The ’06 had a very pronounced smell of dark roasted grains, coffee and dark chocolate. The ’07 was more subtle and rounded. The dark aromas blended, and complimented, the more delicate vanilla and molasses notes.

Appearance – This is where this beer earns its name. The color is so dark; you might as well be gazing into the hart of a black hole. This void in reality, from which no light can escape, is so enveloping that men have gone mad from staring into the nothingness. It also has a wispy dark tan crown.

Flavor – As in the aroma, the flavors of the ’06 were more jagged and aggressive. The younger was roasty, with hints of chocolate down the sides of my tongue. In he back it was a coffee or dark chocolate like bitterness, which got sweeter as the beer got warmer. Right down the middle was the pronounced taste of alcohol. The younger brother was once again smother, less bitter, and sweeter. The alcohol was more subtle and I was also able to pick out some licorice and floral flavors.

Mouthfeel – Both had a full body. The ’06 finished dry, while the ’07 finished wet with a lingering bitterness.

Final Thoughts – The 2007 was a more complex beer and yet easier and more enjoyable to drink. I definitely got the impression the ’06 kept fermenting and dried out the beer while the hops naturally mellowed out and their subtle contributions were overwhelmed by the roasted grains. It’s amazing to see what a year can do to a beer. I can see why this beer has such a cult following.

Collaboration not Litigation Ale

2008-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

The story of this beer is so beautiful it just might warm the cockles of your heart. Even if it is a year old.

Stats:
Brewery – Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, CO (with a little help from Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, CA)
Style – Blended Belgian-style Strong Ale
OG: 1.079
ABV – 8.99%
Serving Type – 22 oz. (bomber) bottle

In the fast-paced world of craft brewing, beer names are bound to be repeated. In this case, "Salvation" became the moniker for two Belgian-style ales from two of the countries leading brewers. In one corner we have a Belgian Strong Dark Ale from Vinnie Cilurzo and the boys at Russian River Brewing dominating the flavor palette with sweet, complex malts and yeast flavors. In the other corner, with plenty of refreshing hops and spicy esters, Adam Avery from Avery Brewing enters the arena with a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

In our overly litigious and adversarial culture no one bat an eye if these companies sued each other into the ground (although it would have been a terrible loss for the craft beer community). Instead they took a page out of Voltron's book when they had to battle the evil King Zarkon, and combined the two beers to form a new and even more powerful third beer.

In the spring of '04 Adam met with Vinnie at the Russian River Brewing pub where the two tried blending their individual beers together, in various concentrations, until they the ratio just right. As the story goes, they also found them selves more than a little "blended" by the end of the night. Vinnie's wife, Natalie, came up with the name that aptly highlights this (unfortunately) seldom used business strategy. In mid-November of aught-six Vinnie when to Avery Brewing and brewed his beer just as he would back in his own brewery. On December 11th, 2006 the two beers were finally blended together.

Glass – Thistle glass

Aroma – Definitely a Began beer. As soon as I opened the bottle I could detect a musky and yeasty aroma, which dissipated quickly. In the glass I got notes of apple and fig as well as a faint spicy and nutty scent.

Appearance – Pours with a big fluffy, stable white crown leaving big sheets of lace. The color is a crystal clear dark ruby.

Flavor – It starts off with a malty sweetness on the front of my tongue, turning slightly floral as it moves towards the middle. The apples are present in the taste profile on the sides. There is a subtle clove-like spiciness throughout. In the back it gets a little tart, and reminds me of a green apple Jolly Rancher.

Mouthfeel – It has a medium body with a dry, almost astringent, finish.

Final Thoughts – I really wish I had gotten this beer before it was a year old. After reading some of the other reviews I can tell this beer has mellowed and is a mere whisper of what it was originally intended to be. I also think it’s much drier than it would be if it was fresh. On the other hand, my bottle had a much bigger kick since the residual yeast has been working on the unfermented sugars for the past 12 months.

10 Unexpected Uses for Beer

2007-12-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

This entry is blatantly plagiarized from here.

There are many useful uses for beer besides drinking it and having fun. Most of us just enjoy drinking beer, but the truth is, it can be used in a variety of different ways. Especially when you don't want to throw away any extra beer you have. Here are just 10 examples of what you can do with them.

Marinate meat in it - Use beer instead of wine to marinate your meat. Not only does it taste better, but it also makes the meat softer and more tender.
Help grass grow easier - pour beer on those irritating brown spots on your lawns to help your grass grow. The grass absorbs the nutrients, sugar and energy it needs to be able to grow.
Kill slugs & snails - Fill containers or wide-mouthed bottles or something of the sort with beer about a quarter to half way up. Then bury these in your garden. The slugs or snails will be attracted to them and drown.
Kill mice - This may sound a little far-fetched but fill a bucket or pail up about a third of the way with cheap beer with a board or something leading to the rim at the top. The mice, smelling this, will jump in, and not be able to climb out.
Calm a stomach-ache - Just sit down and drink a beer. This carbonated drink will settle your stomach right down. The alcohol helps reduce the pain as well. Don't use if you have an ulcer or gastritis.
Polish gold - Wet a piece of cloth with some beer and start rubbing your gold (no stones) to get the shine back. Use a second cloth to dry it.
Bathe in it - Add a few cans of beer into your bath. Believe it or not, it will do you good. The yeasts are good for softening and soothing the skin.
Polish wood furniture - Let some beer sit until it goes flat, then, dampen a washcloth with it, and rub your wooden furniture. This will polish it, and give it a more shiny and healthy look.
Cook with it - When boiling shrimp, try using beer for the cooking liquid. Season as you wish, but don't overcook.
Drink it!

Holiday Ale Festival 2007

2007-12-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

I'm more than a bit flummoxed about how to react to this years HAF. Naturally the beers them selves were, for the most part, wonderful and since that is why I was there nothing else should matter right? Well, there is also the experience of just being at an event like this; the crowds, sights, sounds and smells all play into how enjoyable the experience is, and that's were I was disappointed. Like I said the beer was great, but I have a few things I would like to get off my chest before we get to them.

I was very annoyed to find out that the OLCC managed to bar anyone under 21 from entering the event this year. This bothered me for several reasons:

1) It implies that the servers can't be trusted not to serve beer to my friends 18 month old daughter in a frog costume despite the fact that she wouldn't have a wrist strap proving that she was under 21 after being carded at the door OR it implies that parents can't be trusted to decide if this is the kind of environment that their children should be exposed to.

2) When I asked what the reason for the age restriction was I was told that it was because alcohol was being served. By that logic restaurants that serve booze should ban children. They were serving pepperoni pizza in the tent too, so I can only assume that people with a lactose intolerance, vegetarians, vegans and anyone suffering from Celiac Disease were turned away.

3) What about the poor root beer vendor? In downtown Portland with the Max, busses and taxis that can get you just about anywhere, what's the point in a designated driver? And if you don't like beer, and since this is no longer a family friendly function, what's the point in showing up?

4) Finally, this can only be the first step in doing away with the free entry to the Festival. If everyone there is going to be sampling the beer then there is no reason not to charge people just to show up.

I was also very disappointed to see that they went to a ticket or "script" system rather than a cash bar. When the crowds started poring in Friday afternoon, I was ready to go. However, I ended up line hopping just so I could finish off my last couple tickets. And speaking of bad ways to taste beer...I could barely get a real sense of what the beers smelled or tasted like because the smell of Natural Gas seemed to permeate every corner of the tent.

Anyway, enough crotchety old man back-in-my-day-things-were-better moaning. I should at least mention my favorite beers before wrapping up. For me, and for most people from what I could tell, 'Jim II' from Portland's own Hair of the Dog Brewing was the crown jewel of the festival. This was a blend of Fred from the Wood, Adam, Doggie Claws, a German Pilsner and a Belgian Triple. As you might imagine, virtually every flavor and aroma you can think of could be found in this beer. My other favorites were 'St. Nick's Sock Knocker' from Karlsson Brewing, Kringle Krack' out of Calapooia Brewing and 'North' a Red Wheat Wine from Fort George Brewery if only because it was so very complex.

If you want to know more about these, or almost any, of the HAF beers check out this guy's blog.

Douchebag Of The Year nominee

2007-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

I know there are still a few weeks left, but I'm ready to declare Olester Duncan my pick for "Douchebag Of The Year". Here is the original story of why I think he deserves this prestigious honor.

But here is my version: Olester (or as I like to call him "The O-ster") was innocently shopping at an Albertson's in Florida when he reached for a four-pack of Schlitz and was savagely beaten on the skull by one of the cans. Having absolutely no concept of the basic rules governing the universe, he had no way of knowing that a can of liquid, not properly supported, would fall to the earth (BTW this is what we call "Gravity" just incase anyone else vying for D.O.T.Y. is reading this).

Any other man may have just gone on with their (what I'm sure is a very rich and full) life. But Olester bravely enlisted the help of attorney Dennis L. Finch and is trying to sue seven different entities. That's right, he's not limiting himself to Albertson's or even the people that make Schlitz (Stroh Brewery took over Schlitz brewing Co. in '82, but Pabst Brewing actually produces the Malt Liquor), he's taking on fat cats like Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The fact that Lakefront was in no way connected to the incident isn't going to stop The O-ster from seeking justice.

The end is nigh...for Belgium...maybe

2007-11-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

There is some historic news coming out of Belgium right now; as of today Belgium has gone 150 days without a functioning government. If memory serves the last record for number of days without a Belgian government was 148 set back in 1988. Now, as then, linguistic and cultural differences between the 6 million Dutch-speaking folk in the Flanders region to the north and the 4.5 million French-speaking inhabitants in the Walloon Region to the south are the cause of this debacle.

With the seemingly impending splitting of the country into two independent nations, two questions come to mind. First, will poor old King Albert II's be able to take this or will his heart break like his country via an ironically poetic myocardial infarction? (Dude is old, I'm just sayin'). The second, and lets face it, much more important question, is what will become of Belgium's over 500 varieties of beer?

The rational side of me thinks that even if this break were actually to occur there would be very little change. Beer and chocolate make-up a large chunk of their economy and disrupting or interfering with their production would be tantamount to political suicide. For instance InBev, the largest beer company in the world, is located just a few kilometers to the east of Brussels. If some interim punk PM from the country of Flanders And Regional Territories (or whatever name they come up with, I just like that one because you can make a childish, yet hilarious, acronym out of it) tried to get in InBev's way, he would be crushed faster than a PBR can against a frat boys forehead. Realistically, the worst that would happen would be a slight shift in tariffs causing my Westvleteren 8 to be a few cents cheaper, but my N'ice Chouffe to be a few cents more.

The irrational side of me...well...to put what I'm thinking into words would make it even more horrific. I'm already going to have a hard time getting any sleep tonight. Taking away Delirium Noël would be like taking away Christmas itself. Suffices to say, I'll be keeping an eye on this story.

Year of Beer

2007-11-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

Starting now-ish (let's say the beginning of November 2007) till the end of October 2008 will forever become known as my "Year of Beer", at least it will be in the annals of my gray-matter-bound biography. It will be known by this rather unimaginative, yet still catchy, moniker because over the next 12 months I'm dedicating my self to beer and beer culture. Basically, this is my excuse to do all the beer related things that I either haven't done in a while (i.e. homebrew) or have always wanted to do, within my limited means of course.

Someday I'll make it to all the Trappist breweries in Belgium and experience the Darwin beer-can regatta in Australia, but that's not going to happen this year. There are plenty of relatively local events that I've never attended. There is the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest, Hard Liver Barleywine festival in Seattle and the Sasquatch Brew Fest in Eugene just to name a few. Of course, there is one event that every avid beer lover must attend at some point in their lives, and that is the Great American Beer Festival. If all goes well the GABF will be the exclamation point on this experiment.

However, this year is about much more than just drinking a lot of really good beer, it's also about education. I haven't brewed a beer in years, and it's been months since I've reviewed one. I call my self a beer geek, but have never read any of Michael Jackson's books (not that MJ). So, beer reviews will be starting up again (probably at a bi-weekly schedule), I'll be mixing up a batch of homebrew at least every other month and I'll start reading those books I've been letting collect dust on my shelves. I may even take another look at the BJCP study guide.

I have no idea if I can accomplish all the things that I want, but I'm not getting any younger and I have an unprecedented amount of freedom right now that I will probably not experience again. In other words, it's now or never. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how far I get with this project. It's the journey, experiences and camaraderie that is formed when people of dissimilar backgrounds come together to celebrate a similar interest that I'm craving.

07.07.07 Vertical Epic

2007-07-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not only drinking, but also writing about a beer while it's still topical. I never thought I would live to see the day.

Stats:
Brewery – Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA

Style – Belgian Golden Strong Ale
ABV – 8.4%
Serving Type – 22 oz. (bomber) bottle

The "Vertical Epic" series is a rather clever idea celebrating the unique patterns found at the beginning of the century that are caused by the dates when converted to numerical form. This installment was released around July 7th, 2007, or 07/07/07. This all started back in February of 2002 when the original Vertical Epic ale was released. From there a completely new beer was created and released one year, one month and one day later. This will continue until December 12th, 2012 at which point, if you have taken on the epic challenge of cellaring each years beer, you can do a vertical tasting of all of them.

This year they did an odd blending of Saison and Belgian Golden Triple styles. It looks and had the mouth feel of a Golden Triple thanks to its for different malts, but has the spiciness of a Saison thanks to the ginger, cardamom, grapefruit peel, lemon peal, and orange peel that were added to the wort. Should be interesting.

PS for all the homebrewers out there, they have the recipes for past VE ales here.

Glass – This was my first chance to use my brand new “Leader of the Pack” Pint Glass I got while visiting the Alaskan Brewing Co. in Juneau.

Aroma – Very predominant citrus and grapefruit aroma. Just behind that is ginger, and when things settle down and the beer warms a little there is just a touch of spice.

Appearance – It's hazy with a light orange color. The crown is white and fluffy. It's small but has good stability leaving a moderate amount of lacing.

Flavor – Tastes similar to the way it smelled. There is a definite citrus flavor and if not for the spices I might thinking this was a heavy lemon lager. Fortunately the spices keep things interesting and, once again, the ginger stands out. There a slight woodiness in the back and another flavor I can't quite place. Since I don't know what cardamom is, let's call it that. As with most Belgians there is virtually no bitterness, but unlike most there is no yeastiness to it.

Mouthfeel – It has is a medium to full body even with some prickly carbonation. It finishes dry.

Final Thoughts – This beer strikes me as being a little "green". It seems like there should be complexity in a beer like this instead of being dominated by citrus. It would make a nice refreshing beer if it wasn't so full bodied and high in alcohol. I'm also disappointed in it lack of yeastiness. It's possible that a more flavorful Belgian yeast would mess up the balance they they've been able to achieve. It could definitely hold up to a few years of cellaring, and I think that over time the citrus would mellow and the other flavors would mingle to create an entirely different beer.

Willamette Dry Irish Stout

2007-05-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

Garnett and I accidentally/on purpose found this brewery during the Great American Beer Tour. It was on purpose because this is the place we were looking, but accidental since we asked some random guys if they knew were it was. Turns out they worked for Willamette brewery, and the address on the Beertown.org site was wrong. Even though they were packing up to go home for the day, they took the time to give us a 5-minute tour of their operation and sent us on our way with a free growler.

Stats:

Brewery - Willamette Brewery LLC in Eugene, Oregon
Style – Dry Irish Stout

OG – 12.2° Plato
ABV – 5.2%
IBUs - 37Serving Type - half-gallon growler

Eugene has now opened two new breweries in as many years (Ninkasi being the other new one). While Willamette Brewery brings the total to only 5, dwarfed by Portland's 40+, this place is special. It is the smallest brewery in Eugene, and there is a good chance that it's the smallest in Oregon. Having only opened in October of '06 (even it was registered in April of '04) by brothers Jeff and Chris Althouse, I think they told me their capacity was only 4 or 5 barrels. The brewery itself is tucked away in a small warehouse that, on a good day, is 2,000 sq. feet.

Being that they set up in the hippiest city in the hippiest state, it's hardly surprising that "Sustainability" is one of the breweries core values. Sure, they use organic ingredients from local produces to produce unfiltered beer (needing less processing) and it's all done with 100% windpower, but they once again take that extra little step to stand out. The custom made Oregon black oak tap handles were designed and created by a family owned working company in Eugene. These handles are unique, as far as I know, since they have a hollowed out section behind their trademark tree for business cards. Not only is there information about the company on these cards, but there is a beer description on each card. The opposite side of the card is a solid color that corresponds with the beer. So, even though all the taps look alike you can tell what is in the keg by the color of the background of the tree.

Glass – 20 oz Imperial (Nonic) glass

Aroma – Coffee dominates the nose, but isn’t overpowering. Lightly roasted malts and hits of chocolate are also tucked away.

Appearance – This beer is deep black. I got virtually no crow but what was there was a very light tan that left no lacing.

Flavor – Coffee and roasty flavors remain constant all across the pallet. There are some barely detectable floral hops and bitterness on the sides. A few seconds after it goes down the coffee aftertaste kicks in. Maybe just a hint of lingering acidity.

Mouthfeel – Silky smooth with a light to medium body. There is also a dry finish.

Final Thoughts – Classic Dry Irish stout in almost every way. Not to dry, not to roasty. The only thing I can think of that would make this better would be to serve it on nitro. If I wanted to be extremely critical I would have to mark it down for not being bitter enough. This breweries size limits its distribution area so I doubt I’ll find it on tap in Portland, but I’ll definitely be looking for there other beers as I travel south.

Original Flag Porter

2007-05-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it; I was drawn to this beer by the kitsch factor. However, this beer apparently has a story behind it and telling these stories is the main reason I started this blog.

Stats:
Brewery - Darwin Brewery Ltd. in Sunderland, England
Style - Brown Porter
ABV - 5.0%
Serving Type – 12-oz bottle

It all began on a dark and stormy night back in 1825 during a treacherous crossing of the English Channel. Well...I don't actually know what the weather was like or what time of the day it was, but it must have been treacherous since the boat sank 60 feet into the channel were it lay undisturbed for 163 years.

In 1988 the ship was excavated and several intact bottles of porter, complete with wood stoppers and wax seals, were brought up and found their way to Dr Keith Thomas at the University of Sunderland's Brewlab. According to their website, they "teach various brewing courses such as Start Up Brewing and British Brewing Technology and also provide specialist training in taste evaluation, microbiology and small scale bottling." Good job if you can get it.

For reasons unknown to me Dr. Thomas tried the beer only to find out it "tasted like old, wet boots". Being an expert on yeast physiology, beer composition and bioremedioration he couldn't resist taking a look at the ancient brew under his microscope. Remarkably, several yeast cells were still alive and he was able to propagate it until he could use the yeast strain in a modern beer.

Keith had the dream of making a porter that likely would have been the kind that was on a boat in the English Channel in 1825. To do this he found a recipe from 1850 and used barley and hops grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers just as they would have done back in the day. Naturally, the 16-decade old yeast was used as well.

In 1994 Keith co-founded Darwin Brewery as a sister company to Brewlab. By 1998 Flag Porter took Gold at the World Beer Championship.

Glass – Glass mug

Aroma – First thing I notice is that it seem sweeter than other porters I've had. I initially get a bit of toffee and caramel, but this is quickly backed up with the aroma of roasted grains and just a hint of coffee.

Appearance – The beer is a dark mahogany with ruby highlights. The crown is tan, very thin and dissipates quickly. There is no lacing on the glass.

Flavor – An excellently crafted and delicately balanced beer. The toffee/caramel is most noticeable on the front of my tongue, but faintly persists throughout. On the sides I can pick out some light floral hop flavors. In the back I get some bitterness that seems more reminiscent of coffee than from grain tannins or hops.
Mouthfeel – It seems to have a lighter body than I expect from porters, but not from browns. There is low to moderate carbonation and it has a clean finish.

Final Thoughts – What a delicious and delicately complex beer. I've been drinking some really big beers lately; ones that just beat you over the head with flavor (I'm looking at you 120 Minute). And as much fun as I have with those it's nice to kick back with something light and refreshing, such as this, to enjoy its subtle interplays of flavors and aromas where no single attribute dominates the others.

Fred From The Wood

2007-04-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Considering Fred is one of my favorite all-time beers, it's a little surprising to me that I haven't done a blog entry on it yet. I thought I would knock this one out now because next weekend the brewery will be having an Earth Day sale on cases of Blue Dot IPA and this beer; just incase anyone was interested in trying this elusive beer.

Stats:
Brewery – Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. in Portland, OR
Style – American Barleywine
ABV – 10%
Serving Type – 12-oz bottle

The genesis of Hair of the Dog was inspired by two things (aside from Alan Sprints' love of craft beer): First, there was John Bickerdyke's "Curiosities of Ales and Beer", a 19th century book describing the drinking culture in England. Second was Fred Eckhardt, a well-known and much admired beer writer in Portland. With his help, Alan and Doug Henderson were able to recreate an extinct style of beer called Adambier. The first purchase of 'Adam' was made on August 23rd, 1994 by Mr. Eckhardt and Hair of the Dog was officially open for business.

Fred (the beer) was named in honor of Mr. Eckhardts contributions, not only to this brewery, but also to the brewing community as a whole. Fred From The Wood is Fred batch #64 that has been aged for six-months in new American oak barrels. This was aparintly inspired by the folks at RateBeer.com who are doing something called the "Worldwide Masters Series". This is the first beer in the series, and from what I have seen in their message boards, it could be the last.

Glass – Dogfish Head Pint Glass

Aroma – There is a definite oaky aroma that dominates. In the background it seems malty and sweet. There is also just a barley perceptible hint of floral aroma.

Appearance – It pours with a huge, thick, fluffy, and stable off-white crown. The beer itself is a crystal clear dark mahogany color.

Flavor – On the front of my tongue it is malty and sweet with a touch of honey. It’s not until it gets about halfway through my mouth that I start to detect the oak and alcohol. It gets a little bitter in the back, but I’m not sure if it’s from hops or from the roasted malts mixed with the alcohol. Although I think there is a hint of floral tucked away in the back, so if I had to I would comedown on the side of hops.

Mouthfeel –Now this is what I call a full body. It feels thick but with out being oily. It finishes dry.

Final Thoughts – As with most beers, the oak-ageing seems to have mellowed this incredibly. It's not as complex as a regular Fred, but it is much "easier" to drink. Plus, I do love that oak flavor and aroma. When I first got this beer last summer it seemed more cidery than oaky, but aging it really seems to have helped it. Since this is probably going to be a one shot one-off, I'm really tempted to pick up a case of this stuff just to let it age next to my other bottles of Fred and Adam.

Okocim O.K. Beer

2007-03-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

These guys do a porter that is hands down one of the best in the world. However, there's something about this beer that makes me think that it will be good, but not great. Just can't quite put my finger on it...

Stats:
Brewery - Browar Okocim S.A. (Carlsberg) in Brzesko, Poland
Style - Polish Pils (according to the label)
ABV - 6.2%
Serving Type - 330ml bottle

The Okocim (pronounced: Oh-KOTCH-eem) brewery started in 1845 while the area was still controlled by the Austrian Empire. There have been some renovations over the past few years so it's a little bigger and more modern than it once was, but it does still have the original chimney from '45.

Try as I might, I was not able to find out what the deal with the name is. They didn't even respond to my e-mails. In fact, there isn't much original content on the web about this beer; all of it seems to have been written by the ad department. It uses "indigenous Polish hop varieties", but the specific varieties aren’t disclosed. The water, however, comes from a spring in the Tatra mountain range.

Everyone mentions that this beer helped to "defined the "Polish Pils" style", but once again we are left to wonder what exactly the means. How is that different from a German Pils? Also, "the O.K. label remains mostly unchanged from its original design from forty years ago, which is testimony to the spirit of this brewery’s vision." What is the brewery's vision and how does it relate to the label?

The distributor was able to come up with an interesting, if true, story. On the neck it reads "imported by Stawski Imports" with a big gold "Stawski" scrawled underneath it. As a result, the beer has become known as “Stawski’s Beer” in Poland. They also make a note that this was the first variety of Okocim imported to the US.

Glass – Kona Brewing pint glass

Aroma – Well it’s obvious that one of those indigenous Polish hops is of the Saaz variety. Their distinct floral aroma is predominant. It is also a slight sweet and malty. Unfortunately, I also get just a slight cidery aroma, probably due to its age.
Appearance – It pours with virtually no crown, which dissipates quickly. This obviously means there is no lace to speak of. The beer is pale straw colored and is bright and clear.

Flavor – This beer tastes a lot like it smells. The hoppieness is dominant all the way through. On the front of the tongue it’s sweet, and on the back it is a little bitter.

Mouthfeel – The beer is watery and moderately carbonated. It finishes slightly dry.

Final Thoughts – Talk about a beer that lives up to its name. It’s light and refreshing, good but not complex. It’s a little sweeter than most Pale Ales, but other than that there isn’t much to be said.

Big Horse Brew Pub - Horsefeathers & Co.

2007-03-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Originally we took the hour long drive to Hood River to visit the Full Sail Brewery. Unfortunately, their tasting room & pub were closed for renovations until some time in April. Hungry and disappointed I would not be getting an Old Boardhead fresh from the bright tank, Lk and I wandered the streets of the small town until we found the Big Horse Brew Pub.

The brewpub was converted from an old house located on the side of a steep hill above State Street. We climbed the stairs on the outside of the building up to the third floor to enter the restaurant. The view was incredible, the climb was worth it. Our table was next to the window and we could see the entire town, the Colombia Gorge below and the scenic hills above. The food was just ok, but I was here to see what Brewmaster Jason Kahler could do. Unfortunately they were out of Horsetail Pale Ale

1) Pale Rider IPA (5.8%) - Light floral hop aroma and flavor. Bitterness comes in the aftertaste. Almost astringent.

2) Willy's Liquid Courage (Wee Scottish) - Not really any aroma. Flavor of peat and a wheat malt (Simpsons?). Finishes very dry.

3) Snow Bunny Blonde - Smells of banana and clove and tastes the same. There is some floral hoppiness to it. Finishes wet, a nice change after Willy's.

4) Horse Thief ESB - Hop aroma flowery. Some malty aroma. Lightly malty and hopped. Get the distinct flavor of bubble gum.

5) Moped Rider English IPA - Typical of the style; mild in all respects except that it's 6.2% and the alcohol dominates the flavor.

6) Nightmare Oatmeal Stout - Some coffee & almost bubblegum aroma. Creamy, chocolate & coffee taste. Lingering light bitterness.

7) MacStallion's Scotch Ale (7.5%) - Aroma of malt & alcohol. Full bodied, malty flavor some alcohol warming. Dry.

Overall I would have to say these beers were mediocre at best. The Scotch ale was probably my favorite, but with its alcohol level I don’t think I could enjoy it that long. The ESB would have been really good, but I don't like bubble gum flavor in my beer. I hate to say it, but the view was the best part about this pub.

Sam Adams Utopias

2007-03-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

I've actually been drinking from this bottle for over a year now, but now it's about ready to run dry and I want to save my impressions of this ground breaking beer for posterity.

Stats:

Brewery - Boston Beer Company in Boston, MA

Style - Extreme American Strong Ale (why not)

OG - 48º Plato (≈1.275)

ABV – 25.0%

Malts -Two Row Pale, Caramel 60º, Munich, 2 Row Moravian, Bavarian smoked malt

Hops - Spalt-Spalter, Tettnang Hallertauer, Hallertau Mittlefruh, Czech Saaz
Serving Type - 750ml copper plated porcelain bottle in the shape of an old brew kettle

For those that don't already know, this beer is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for being the "The Strongest Commercially Available Beer". It could probably make it as the most expensive beer as well, but with a 50 proof beer by my side I can afford to go without heat for a couple of months. Especially since this bottle is one of only 8,000 brewed.

From a general beer culture standpoint, this elixir pushes the concept of what a beer is. Even though made with the ingredients of beer (water, hops, barley and yeast) it's non-carbonated and is more characteristic of a port. In the November 2003 edition of Wine Enthusiast Magazine Utopias received a 96 out of 100 points.

From a technical standpoint, the most interesting thing about this beer is how Jim Koch found a way to get fermentation above 20 percent. It took a sixth generation brewer over a decade of experimentation to get the alcohol levels this high. Naturally, the entire process is shrouded in secrecy, but it is know that at least two different yeast strains are used: one is a specially designed proprietary strain, another is a strain normally used in Champaign.

To add to the complexity of the whole thing, the beer is aged in oak barrels that were previously used to store whiskey, bourbon, port and cognac. This process can take anything up to 12 years. For the aught 5 edition the bourbon casks came from Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Glass – I grabbed one of LKs Cordial glasses since it’s served in 2 oz. portions.

Aroma – The first thing that hits me is the alcohol, it actually makes my nasal membranes burn a little. It smells similar to Sherry and especially Port. There are definite notes of raisin, plum, maple syrup and brown sugar. I don’t know if something can actually smell “syrupy”, but that’s how I would describe this.

Appearance – It is a dark brown, similar to a dark amber beer, but instead of ruby highlights this has more golden brown highlights. It’s not carbonated (never was) so there is no crown or laces, but leave “fingers” on the side of the glass similar to wine.

Flavor – I’ve always described Lagunitas’ Brown Shugga as being like drinking liquefied brown sugar, and the initial taste of this is similar. This beer however is immensely more complex. For one thing the alcohol is very much present at every point in my mouth as is the sweetness. On the front of my tongue I get a lot of Sherry flavor. That transitions into raison and plume over the middle part. Port and a little cheery seem to dominate the back. Strange to drink a beer without any real hop characteristics.

Mouthfeel – It feels thick and oily sliding over my tongue and finishes wet with just a slight alcohol burning in the back of my throat.

Final Thoughts – I do remember that there was virtually no Sherry-ness to this beer when I first tired it. Apparently the beer became oxidized over time imparting this aspect. Normally, this would be considered a bad thing, but in this case I really like it and thing it adds another layer to an already complex beer. I have heard this beer described as a gimmick beer, and maybe in some ways it is. However, unlike other gimmick beers this one is truly brilliant and expands the universe of beer. What ever it is, this is one of my all-time favorites. The art world has Da Vinci's "Madonna of the Rocks", architecture has the Parthenon, literature has Joyce's Ulysses and beer has Utopias.

Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

2006-11-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

With a tag line like "A unique marriage between the English tradition of IPAs, the American new revolution of Imperial IPAs and the classic Belgian way of brewing" I would have to be insane to pass this one up.

Stats:

Brewery – Brasserie d'Achouffe in Achouffe, Belgium
Style – umm... I could agree with BA and call it a Belgian Tripel, even though it's really a Belgian interpretation of an IPA.
OG - 1.092
ABV – 9.0%
IBUs - 59
Malts - Pale & Pilsner
Hops - Tomahawk in the beginning and at the middle of the boil. Saaz added during the last 10 minutes of the boil. Amarillo hops used for dry-hopping.
Serving Type – 750 ml bottle

I guess domestic American brewing is starting to finally make a mark on the world. After decades looking down their noses at our beer, someone as world-renowned for their brewing prowess as the Belgians are looking at one of our beers and saying "I wouldn't mind a piece of that action." Of course they would be saying it with a French accent.

To understand this beer we need to look at its name. "Houblon" is easy, it's French for "hop". I'm guessing that it's not a coincidence that it's at the front of the name. Tomahawk is a "super" alpha hop that’s great for making a beer bitter. Saaz is normally used for Bohemian pilsners and contributes some spicy characteristics. Rounding things out we have the floral and citrus aspects of the Amarillo.

"Chouffe" is another name for the town that the brewery calls home, Achouffe. It also happens to be the Walloon word for gnome. Thus explaining the lawn ornament that graces the front of each of there bottles. The Walloon language is a French dialect spoken in Belgium, but is different from Belgian French, which is subtly different from French spoken in France.

"Dobbelen IPA" or Double IPA is the high alcohol, heavily hopped American style of beer that is the impetus for this beer. They did, however, try to incorporate some of the English IPA style. Definitely a move that I wouldn't have bothered with.

Finally, the Belgian "Tripel" is Christian Bauweraerts' (brewery owner) favorite stile of beer. Traditionally, Tripels are high alcohol (they are called Tripels because they use three times the malt of a standard "simple" beer) and, by Belgian standards, fairly bitter.

Mixing all these together should be...interesting.

Glass – Pint glass

Aroma – There is a definite Belgian earthy yeast aroma with this beer. The hops impart a floral and citrusy smell. The bouquet doesn’t really mach up with most double IPA that I’ve had, actually it seems to mach up most closely to that of a pale ale.

Appearance – Looks like I just pored myself a glass of foam. In the initial poor there was about half an inch of beer on the bottom. The crown is big fluffy, white, and very stable leaving big sticky laces. There are "chunks" of the head that never dissipated. The beer has a pale golden color, not crystal clear, but that’s to be expected from a bottle with so much yeast in the bottom.

Flavor – As with the aroma the Belgian yeast and hops take center stage. Up front I get a lot of banana and pear flavor. As the beer move back it gets more and more bitter. In the back of my mouth there is a grapefruit taste. Estery fruitiness follows the bee throughout my mouth. There is some slight alcohol warming and just a hint of grain as the beer goes down. There is a faint bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel – There is some moderate carbonation prickliness, but not as much as I would have expected from the size of the crown. It has a medium mouthfeel and the "Burtonization" of the brewing water gives it a dry finish.

Final Thoughts – Lets see: Not as intense as an American double IPA, but much more flavorful and complex than an English IPA. Not as sweet as a Triple, much hoppier but it does have a similar mouthfeel. This beer defies any attempt to categorize it, and that brings a smile to my face. This is what craft beer is all about, breaking rules and pushing the edge. The fact that they were able to do that and make a very tasty beer out of it just makes my smile that much bigger.

Otter Creek Oktoberfest

2006-11-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

If I was really on top of things I would have reviewed this beer several weeks ago when Oktoberfest was still going on. Of course, if I flip it around, I could just be starting the countdown till the next Oktoberfest eleven months early.

Stats:Brewery – Otter Creek Brewing Company in Middlebury, Vermont
Style – 3B. Oktoberfest/Märzen
OG - 12.3° Plato
FG - 3.5° Plato
ABV – 4.7%
IBUs - 19.0Serving Type – 12 oz. bottle

Oktoberfest is that special two-week time of year (this year it was Sep. 16th - Oct. 3rd, in 2007 it begins on Sep. 22nd) when you can gather with over 6 million of your closest friends on the Theresienwiese (d'Wiesn for short) in Munich, Germany to share a Maß (a one-liter-tankard). Or, if you are not lucky enough to be able to get to Munich during that time, there are several smaller festivals held all over the world at this time. The history of Oktoberfest stretches back almost 200 years, so let’s just look at how it started.

On October 12th, 1810 Crown Prince Ludwig (the future King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen were married and in commemoration of this event they had a horse race. The race took place five days later on the 17th so there is some dispute as to the actual date of the first Oktoberfest. The whole of Munich was invited and about 40,000 people showed up. They had such a good time that they decided to do it again the next year, only they would do it in conjunction with the state agricultural show.

The particular German Maerzen lager I’m enjoying now is brought to us by Otter Creek’s founder and brewmaster Lawrence Miller who opened up shop March 12, 1991.

Glass – Pint glass

Aroma – After one whiff I can’t help but think about autumn. It has an earthy/yeasty smell. The hops impart both a pine and citrus (orange) aroma. Initially it had a mild corn scent, but that dissipated quickly and was replaced by a touch of honey.

Appearance – The crown starts off with a big, frothy and off-white, and then becomes thin and stable. It looks hazy with a light amber-orange hue. There is virtually no lace left on the glass.

Flavor – There is a light toastyness and citrusyness to the palate, a floral taste across the middle of my tongue with a light bitterness, slightly tart, in the back of my mouth. It finishes dry and clean.

Mouthfeel – It started off with a lot of carbonation that was very prickly in my mouth. I swirled much of that out and was left with a light to medium body.

Final Thoughts – Well it doesn’t seem to match up with the Oktoberfest BJCP style guidelines very well, seems to be more of an American Amber. Other than not being as malty as I like from this type of beer, I found it crisp, clean and enjoyable. I could definitely hang out and have a few of these. One of the best things, as I mentioned in the aroma section, this beer just seems to scream that autumn is here.

Jamie Floyd @ Concordia Ale House

2006-10-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I blew off work early so I could head out to Concordia Ale House for this month's "Meet the Brewer" event. I had never been to one of these get-togethers before, but I figured Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene was worth the trip.

I first heard about him a couple of years ago when he was still the head brewer for Steelhead Brewing (also in Eugene). I was impressed with the beer so when I stared reading up on the brewery I naturally came across his name. Then, about a year ago, I was reading an article about how the head brewer for Steelhead was leaving to start his own brewery. I always get excited when a new brewery or brewpub opens up, and the fact that I knew this guy could already make good beer only increased my anticipation.

My first tasted of a Ninkasi brew was at the twenty-aught-six Oregon Brewers Festival. One of the beers that was scheduled to attend didn't show, and in its place was Quantum Pale Ale. It was good, maybe a little bitter, but it's hard to judge that sort of thing when there is so much imbibing going on. Then a couple of weeks ago, I had their Fresh Hop Ale and enjoyed it very much. That brings us up to last Tuesday.

Quick tangent; the brewery's name comes from the ancient Sumerian goddess of beer and head brewer to the gods themselves. Around 1800 BC a Sumerian poet wrote the "Hymn to Ninkasi" on a clay tablet celebrating the goddess. This poet also gets credited with documenting one or the most ancient beer recipes ever found. The instructions were so detailed that in the early 90's Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing and Dr. Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania were able to recreate the beer.

"Meet the Brewer" turned out to be a much less formal event than I imagined. Jamie Floyd was just sitting at the end of the bar, having a beer and talking to whoever came up to him. I probably never would have even noticed him if I hadn't over heard some of his conversations. He told stories about his beer judging experience at this years' Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup and his recent trip to Germany. Turns out one of the reasons he wanted to start his own brewery was so he could brew and experiment more with traditional European lager styles. His Avalon Münchner Dunkel was on tap and I thought it was great. However, after he told me it still needed some "tweaking" I did notice that the bitterness was just a hair high in the aftertaste. I was impressed at his knowledge and shear love of beer and his use of brewing as a creative outlet.

I was also glad to find out that even though the brewery website has had "This site is currently under construction" for at least the last 6 months, they did set up a MySpace account that lists all the places that Ninkasi beer is sold. I often wonder why someone would start a new brewery in such a saturated market, but think these guys will do just fine. His American ales are good, but not dazzling (especially compared to the outstanding examples along the west coast), but his desire and skill in creating German lagers will set Ninkasi apart. They are currently renting a place to brew beer, but once they move into their permanent place and get aquatinted with the new brewing system I will be very excited to see what comes out.

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

2006-10-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, but between work, travel, writing about my travels, spending every spare moment getting my ass handed to my by Ulysses and general end-of-summer shenanigans, my poor beer blog got lost in the shuffle. But I'm back with a vengeance, coming at you with a beer that's not available in the USA and was a little gift to myself during our tour of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

Stats:
Brewery –Guinness Ltd. In Dublin, Ireland
Style – Foreign Extra Stout
ABV – 7.5%
Serving Type – 330 ml bottle

I know what you're thinking, "Doesn’t Guinness just brew stouts?" Well, mostly yes but sort of no. Let's do a quick roll call:

Guinness Draught - Introduced in 1959, this is the most popular stout in the world. This is what you get when you walk into a bar and get a Guinness out of the tap. Interestingly, all the Draught sold in the US is brewed at the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Guinness Draught Extra Cold - Only 1 degree colder than the regular Guinness Draught (and in fact comes from the same barrel), this is mostly a marketing gimmick aimed at those who fear "warm beer".

Guinness Draught in Bottles - Once again this is the exact same beer as Guinness Draught, but thanks to the invention of the "rocket widget", you can get the same creamy head from the bottle as you do from the keg. By the way; this is the only bottled beer in the world to use a widget.

Guinness Draught in Cans - Same as above, only this is in cans and uses a regular widget.

Guinness Extra Stout - Sometimes this beer goes by "Guinness Original" since it is the closest thing to the original porter that Arthur Guinness brewed.

Guinness Extra Smooth - The people of Ghana thought that Guinness Draught just wasn't as creamy as it could be, and in 2003 got this.

Guinness Brewhouse Series - I don't think this is even available outside of Ireland. It is mostly the same thing as Guinness Draught, just flavored slightly differently. This campaign started in October of 2005 and is a collection of limited edition stouts released every six months. I got to try the second in the series called Toucan Brew. It seemed like a watered down version of the regular Guinness Draught that I had been drinking over there. This gave me a chance to show people over there what Guinness is like over here.

Malta Guinness (Feel Good Every Day) - Now for something completely different; this is one of Africa’s most popular soft drinks. See not all stouts, not even all beer.
This leaves us with our beer du jure, where Nigeria has the largest market and the 3rd largest market for Guinness worldwide. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (GFES) was first brewed and exported from Dublin in 1802. Satellite breweries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean have been brewing it since the 1960s. Guinness Draft makes up 55% of all beer Guinness sells and this makes up 40%, so apparently it's popular throughout the world and yet it still isn't sold in the US.

According to Fergal Murray (one of the company’s head brewmasters), the large distributors used in the US are not use to marketing specialty brands. They would probably not put any effort in to marketing the beer and my even bury it to prevent cutting into Guinness Draught sales. Just one more excuses to travel the world.

Glass – 20 oz Imperial (Nonic) glass

Aroma – Strong sweet smell of molasses and/or dark chocolate. In the back there is a hint of coffee. That’s about it, but it has such a big aroma it seems like there should be more to it.

Appearance – This beer is not quite as black as the Guinness Draft. It seems to have a bit of a brown tint to it. It pours with a big fluffy brown crown. Since this has been carbonated in the standard way, with CO2 instead of Nitrogen, the bubbles are not as tight as what I’m use to from Guinness. It leaves big sticky laces.

Flavor – As the beer hits the front of my tongue it tastes sweet, like dark molasses. However as it moves back it changes completely. On the sides and top it’s rather bitter, but it’s more like a dark chocolate rather than a hop bitters. The bitterness seems to be so pervasive that I can taste it with my cheeks. I can also get tastes some light caramel and an earthy flavor that reminds me of something like cobwebs. Finishes with lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel – This beer has a medium body, slightly fuller than a normal Guinness. It has a silky mouth feel but with some light carbonation. I think there is a little alcohol warming on the top of my tongue. It finishes wet at first, but then somehow quickly dries out.

Final Thoughts – Overall I have to say that it’s not a bad beer. It’s definetly more complex and fun to drink then a regular Guinness draft. On the other hand, I couldn’t drink nearly as much as much of it.