New York Brew

What did you think?

2009-03-31T21:51:00.000-04:00

If you were able to snag a taste or two or five of my homebrew creations last Friday, please tell me what you thought. Add a comment to this post, and feel free to post anonymously. Be honest and be critical. Just saying it's good or bad doesn't help make it better the next time around.

And remember, relax don't worry and have a homebrew!

Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA

2009-01-22T17:22:00.003-05:00

This is great. Hoppy, refreshing, hint of flowery Jasmine. Just makes it go down smooth. Makes me reconsider an idea I had for a homebrew...maybe IPA's can have some of this floral aroma and flavor too. Curious...

Anyway, too lazy to take a photo and give a full review. But it's got a nice color, it's crystal clear, has a great flavor, and is delicious. Jasmine is the perfect amount, you get a hint but not overwhelming.

Company site

La Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen Ipa Tripel

2009-01-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

Pours frothing piling inches of marangue like foam on top. Very like a Belgian in carbonation. Head sticks out above the glass despite a moderate rate of bubble ascent. Nice light gold color. Very clear.

Not a ton of aroma. Citrus and a bit of spice. A tad of earth..the sense of green freshness...probably from the Saaz. Bottle also says there are Amarillo and Tomahawk hops.

Tastes great. On the sweet side for an ipa but very expect in a Belgian. The hop bitterness doesn't come in until the end after the swallow which is nice. The bitterness washes away the sweet and hangs out for a little while. Easy to put down but a little less sweetness would make it even easier.

Mouthfeel is slightly coating at first but I find the bitterness crisp it out. At 9% & 750ml, I'm in for a fun evening.

This is a nice beer, one I'd definitely buy again. It's just really interesting to see a Belgian tripel aspiring to take on some of the big "San Diego" IPA characteristics.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

2009-01-05T19:13:00.004-05:00

A- Beautiful golden in color fitting of the name, not unlike clear honey. Extremely clear. Fizzy with a nice head that falls away quickly into a light foam.

S- Not a great aroma. Very alcohol apparent with a bit of a medicinal quality.

T- Very sweet and honeylike. Sadly I don't get any of the saffron the label proclaims. It's easy to drink because of its sweetness, but it's not the easiest to drink. It's syrupy

M- Thick in the mouth due to the sweetness, but otherwise washes away smooth.

All in all it's an interesting concoction. The overwhelming sense is sweet with sadly not a ton of complexity that I expected from the muscat grapes, honey, and saffron. It's worth a try. Once.

Unibroue Quatre-Centieme Brassin Commemoratif

2009-01-02T19:17:00.003-05:00

I read about this beer in the most recent All About Beer magazine. The beer is by the Canadian brewery Unibroue, a maker of many fine Belgian-inspired beers like La Fin Du Monde, Maudite, etc.

It poured very pale, a nice fizz to it, and created a great head in the tulip glass. It's very Golden in color and cloudy...a bit like Hoegaarden but maybe a bit darker. It's actually quite sweet, but at 7.5% it packs quite a punch and the sweetness completely covers the ABV. There's a bit of spice in there, the AAB articles said they used 4 spices to commemorate 4 centuries of Quebec City, but after an initial sense that something interesting is in there I lose it in the sweetness.

It has the mouthfeel of a session belgian witbier with a very distinct Unibroue quality to it. Not sure where it's from, likely a consistent yeast, or it's a just a slightly modified Don De Dieu (label has that on it actually). The beer actually has an enjoyable aftertaste that lingers on my palette and I like. Although I'm so used to bitter hoppy beers that maybe my taste buds are just reveling in something new.

All in all, it's very easy drinking, has a nice aroma, and a good flavor. Maybe too sweet, maybe not the most complex beer in the world. But for a delicious, easy drinking wit-style plae beer, you could do much much worse.

Only thing that sucks is I paid 10.99 for the 750mL at my grocery.

Homebrew explosion!

2008-12-23T15:51:00.003-05:00

I've been homebrewing!

So far two finished batches. One is an Irish Red Ale, the other is a Double IPA (although I'd say it's a heavier bodied IPA, not quite double/imperial). Both were kits I got from Midwest Supply.

I haven't formally commented on them yet, but I will soon. In short, the Irish Red Ale started a little funky when it was young...something seemed off. But man it's mellowing out nicely and is getting to be very drinkable. The IPA on the other hand was outstanding from the first sip only 4 days after bottling. More on those soon.

Now I've got a DFH 90 min clone in the primary. Yesterday it ended up making quite a mess as the yeast kraeusen came right up through the airlock, clogged, then started spraying wort all over the place once enough pressure built up. Here's some photos of the mess.

Woohoo! Go yeast, go!

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA

2008-12-10T01:20:00.005-05:00

So tonight after a long day in the Seattle studio, I hit up the Whole Foods again for a sleep aid in the form of a Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA. Woooweee!

From Eugene, OR it's not exactly local to the Seattle area. But I spent some time in Whole Foods looking through all of the beers. They had quite a few breweries I'd never seen before since I am on the other side of the country after all. They had some interesting Stone beers I'd never seen as well as some Japanese beers. In general, a great selection. While I was there, a worker stocking the shelves struck up a conversation with me and we started talking beer. He knew his beers well and pointed me towards a few good directions. Another guy showed up and also knew his beer...although he made a comment about how super hops beers are a great exploration. While I agree, I've come to find that I appreciate balanced beers better than overtly hoppy beers. Hops are great, but something that is super bitter and smells like a pine cone just for the heck of it really isn't that amazing. But I digress...

Ninkasi Tricerahops. A beautiful double IPA. 8.8% ABV but you'd never know it. Rather bitter with a long residual bitterness. HAS to be over 100 IBUs. It has a golden, finely brushed copper color. Fairly light carbonation. It's a very slow trickle with hardly any head.

It's definitely bottle conditioned as there's a layer of loose sediment several millimeters thick. A slight movement of the bottle and the sediment is all over the place. I tried very carefully to not disturb it coming out of the store, but of course the checkout girl turned the beer quickly on its side and back to scan the barcode and all the sediment went into suspension. I put it on ice for a while and some of it settled out again, so I'm not sure how that stuff affected the taste.

The double IPA is well-balanced with malts. I'm guess an excessive bill of pale malts and some caramel or amber malts which has given it a sweeter flavor and deeper color. It has a touch of sweetness but isn't coat your mouth with stick malt like some DIPA's. Really it's not overly heavy which is a problem with some IPAs...some feel like a whole meal.

Ooo just got a hint of espresso or rich coffee in the aftertaste. Kind of like you've had a cup of coffee, but now your done and you have that bitter taste that makes you click your tongue and look for a piece of gum. There's also a bit of pretzel dough or something.

Aroma is what you'd expect. Fresh NW hop aromas with a hint of something I can't define. One thing I know is my nose sucks. I can't smell anything. Too bad. But then again, maybe they didn't go crazy with aroma hops.

Anyway, it's a super bitter, super hoppy double IPA that is nicely balanced and lip-smackingly delicious. Now I want them to make a Hopisaurus Rex!

Hale's Ales Mongoose IPA

2008-12-10T01:07:00.002-05:00

What prompted me to start blogging again is the fact that I'm in Seattle for work. My hotel is right above a Whole Foods and they have a great beer selection. Since the Pacific Northwest is the cradle of American Hops, I've tried a couple of local IPA's to see how they craft them out here.

Yesterday I had the Mongoose IPA from Hale's Ales, which is local to Seattle. There was a note from Whole Foods calling it out, so I figured I'd give it a try. The bottle says they use 50 lbs of hops per batch, including Amarillo leaf hops. It also uses pale malted barley, Crystal malts, Centennial and Nugget hops, Hale's special yeast and filtered water.

Well, it had hops. I had it yesterday so I don't remember all the details. But it was really good and a great IPA. Nice flavor, great bitterness, typical NW aroma. But what was nice was no cascades...so you didn't quite have that hop profile in a lot of PNW hop beers. It must have been fairly strong because after the 22oz. I felt pretty good.

So yeah, if you're out on in the Seattle area it's a nice local to try. Although I suspect there are better (and the guy at Whole Foods today agreed).

Catchin Up

2008-12-10T00:57:00.002-05:00

It has been a very long time since I've blogged, which I guess is something that happens to a lot of people. It's tough to keep up, and it's hard to take the time to write things out. But I doubt many people read this so who cares! Oddly enough I have received a few emails from random folks and a couple of comments, so you never know.

At any rate, I have been drinking beer. Lots of it. And I've tried a bunch of great new stuff that I'll probably never try again and they'll be lost forever. Oh well.

A few things I remember drinking:

-Pilsner Urquell, a beer a drink all the time. Probably one of my favorite session beers of all time as it's got everything. Crispness, Saaz hops, bite, flavor, and of course it has all the history and the fact it's THE pilsner.

-Many, many growlers from the Whole Foods beer store on Houston St. Everyone in the city has to go to that store for beer. They have the best selection. New Beer Distributors also has a good selection, but not very well temperature controlled and I question how long they've been on the shelf in some cases. I have gotten dead beers there unfortunately.

-Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale. Fan! Tastic! Love it. Hops from New Zealand and just beautiful. Great aromas and flavors and well balanced.

Also, I recently started homebrewing. I've bottled and had my first couple of an Irish Red I made. More on that soon. Good news is it's beer! But it's just a beer, which is disappointing in some way. It's a tad watery and has some off-flavors I think, but I'm happy it didn't grow mold or something so can't complain. Because, I, made beer. Which is awesome.

Well maybe I'll blog more.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

2008-05-17T20:17:00.002-04:00

Malt beverage brown ale 12% aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. Wood is Palo Santo wood giving it a special flavor.

Super dark like a cola. No light gets through. Very caramely with hints of vanilla. A slightly off aftertaste but a smooth flavor and texture.

Like a stout but different. Good to try and I recommend it.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

2008-05-14T21:08:00.003-04:00

Pure heaven. This beer is perfect. Its nicely settled between the hoppiness of the 60 and the rich sweet maltiness of the 120. Its heavy and rich and complex yet the hop bitterness and flavor aren't lost in a sea of caramely malts. Absolutely delicious.

Label says it's got a ridiculous amount of 2 row English barley and a single continuous 90 minute hop addition. Then dry hopped. Well whatever they do I hope they keep doing it. Just wish it came in 6 packs and wasn't so expensive.

Love it!

Maredsous dubbel

2008-05-11T21:23:00.002-04:00

A Belgian abbey ale from a well-known brewery. At 8% it's a nice medium alcohol content which keeps it smooth. Its quite dark in color, a rich brown. Its touch of sweetness makes it go down easy and it has a refined texture.

Krušovice Lager

2008-05-02T18:33:00.003-04:00

I needed a beer, so I went to Riverside Market and perused the selection. I was delighted to see Krušovice there, a beer that I have enjoyed many times both in the US and in Prague. The reason I chose it was because of hockey. Last night at MSG, we witnessed an amazing performance by Czech-born Jaromir Jagr. All season long I've been on his case from the stands for seemingly not giving enough to the team. Well I guess he had been saving it up for the playoffs, and he has more than made up for it. He gave the NY Rangers some pride last night to avoid the sweep and give them a shot at making history. At any rate, I don't know what Jaromir thinks of Krušovice, but I picked up the Czech beer in salute to him. Last night he played for his team, his fans, his season, and maybe his career with the Rangers and the NHL. Cheers Jags!

As far as the beer, I love this one. It's always great to see a Czech beer besides Pilsner or Budvar (although I love both of those as well). Krušovice is fiercely carbonated which makes if very refreshing. It's a simple, but refined lager with a great color and a smooth taste. I've put down maybe half liters of this brew at Radegast in Williamsburg and the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria. I can drink it all day long on a warm summers day. It's simplicity is it's strong point here. These Czech beers are old and are pushing the limits of flavor and aroma with massive amounts of exotic hops. They're just doing what they've been doing for centuries: making damn good lagers.

Bell's Oberon Summer Ale

2008-04-28T19:11:00.002-04:00

An American wheat described as having "the color and scent of a summer afternoon". This entry from Bell's of Comstock, MI is interesting. A gorgeous color, unfiltered, and cloudy. Its a wheat but has a bite to it almost like a pilsner. Its not sweet or fruity and doesn't have any hint of banana or anything. If you gave this to me blind, I'd never guess it was a wheat beer.

Its pretty doesn't and drinkable, but its not what I expect from a summer wheat beer. In this category I'll stick with hefeweizens from Germany. There are other summer seasonals that are better. Bell's IPA is pretty tasty so I'll stick with that one.

Barley Creek Lager

2008-04-12T14:13:00.001-04:00

Had this beer at a wedding in the Poconos. I have been to the brew pub that makes this which is on the way to Camelback ski mountain in PA. This beer was reminiscent of your basic Buds, Heinekens, etc. But it's made by a small brewer so that automatically made it my choice for the night instead of the other massies.

In reality it's not bad. Easy drinking and flavorful, but really nothing special. It's in the same category as Amstel, Heineken, Stella, etc. But if you see it pick it up and give it a try to support the little guy.

Scherlenka Smoke Beer - Braurei Heller

2008-04-08T14:11:00.003-04:00

I read an article with the guy who makes this stuff. It's been in his family for forever and it's, uh, different to say the least. The thing about it is its historic value. In the old days the only way to dry the grains for beer-making was over an open fire. As a result, the grains were essentially smoked. This smoke comes through LOUD AND CLEAR in this beer. The owner of the brewery called it "liquid ham" and that's about right and about as disgusting as it sounds. It was somewhat worse than what I'd expect from liquid ham.

Now don't get my wrong I appreciate the historic value of this beer. It makes me understand a little bit more about beer's history and the way that it has evolved. But, it also makes me very happy that we have developed technology that allows us to have beer that doesn't taste like this anymore.

Give it a shot if you dare, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew

2008-04-04T14:08:00.000-04:00

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale

2008-03-26T13:46:00.001-04:00

Hitachino from the Kiuchi brewery in Ibaraki, Japan is a fantastic brand. They make a lot of very interesting beers that push the limits of tastes, flavors, and styles. They're always worth a shot, but they can be rather expensive.

This one, the Red Rice Ale, has a coppery color and a firm alcohol bite on the tongue. It is citrusy, yet has an element I can only describe as a distinct fermentation presence. It feels strong. Oddly it has a faint aroma that is very unique...maybe it's that I know it's Japanese but it smells like that very cloudy unfiltered sake. Makes sense though given that sake is fermented from rice and this is a rice beer.

This beer warms you up going down. It's extremely unique, but I'm not sure I could have more than 2. Certainly the star of this show is the rice (take that, Budweiser!) not hops or malted barley. I could see drinking this on a nice summer day, but it's not exceedingly smooth.

All in all pretty decent.

Magic Hat HI.P.A

2008-03-23T18:33:00.003-04:00

This is a seasonal beer from VT-based Magic Hat. I haven't been too wowed by Magic Hat but I had to try this one after reading about it in a magazine. Wow its very hoppy. Extremely bitter and flavorful. Its great if you love hops but I found the aftertaste to be a bit rough if you don't keep drinking. A few other people tried it and weren't big fans, but admitted it grew on them. I liked it and its definitely for people who like big hops. I've had others that were more balanced but this is a good one to test your taste buds with.

Bitter xx

2008-03-21T01:06:00.003-04:00

Belgian golden ale. The hopiest beer of Belgium. De ranke brewery at 124 old rabbit club.

Riverside Marketplace

2008-03-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

The beer shelf at my local bodega. They have a surprising assortment of fantastic beers, but then they dilute it with 40's and Smirnoff Ice. Too bad...

But, it's great to have a decent selection right around the corner. This is why I love Manhattan.

Pinkus Unfiltered Organic Hefeweizen

2008-03-14T21:16:00.003-04:00

I've drank many, many German wheat beers. But, most of them are the same 3 or 4 brands. It's nice to try a different offering every once in a while. This one is organic, which I think is interesting. Organic is not a huge trend in beer for some reason.

At first glance this beer was very clear and yellowish, much like an American Pilsner. But after stirring up the sediment and pouring it in, it obviously clouded up and got a little closer to what I expect from a hefeweizen. This beer has a nice fizziness to it and smells fruit. It's a little lighter than some wheat beers I've had, which could be great on a summer day. The flavor is nice and hits you at first, but then rapidly fades away.

This is a pretty good beer, but a little to light and undeveloped in my humble opinion.

Stella Artois

2008-03-14T18:28:00.007-04:00

Oh Stella, I remember when you were a new rare novelty. Once a delightful Belgian surprise, now this beer is everywhere and unfortunately availability has not been good for my opinion of it. Perhaps it's because the more I've seen it and the more I've consumed it I've realized its not that great. I put it in the same category now as bud, coors, and heineken. Although I'd much rather drink it than that other piss. But let's face it, this is piss...Belgian piss. Ok I'll stop bashing it. It's a luxury brand for people who drink coors light. At this very moment I cringed as the backwards cap-wearing frat boy orders bud over stella. (I mean come on...in this day and age must we stoop so low? That shit is made with rice and corn!) At any rate, I think Stella is indicative of the US popularization of Belgian beers. That is a great thing. Its just unfortunate that most people's Belgian experience doesn't get past this brew. Its not bad in a pinch, but my next order is back to Sam. It just has more flavor. But when I get back to NYC I'll revert back to this popularly unknowns asap.

Brooklyn Brewery IPA

2008-03-12T20:27:00.004-04:00

Flight is delayed so I was very happy to find a place with this Brooklyn IPA. I drink a lot of Brooklyn but I don't think I be had this one, which is weird given my love of IPAs. At any rate its a pretty good offering. Nice light color, smells good, and easy to drink. Its got that edge to it that is representative of IPAs. I get a hop aroma and a bit of bitter, but not too much of that fresh green hop flavor I've com to love from the hop crazy micros. Make no mistake this is a good beer from a brewery that continues to impress and grow. But if you're like me and love that big bitter hop flavor then this will not knock your socks off. But I'd go for it over most brews typically on tap.

Samuel Adams lager

2008-03-12T19:49:00.004-04:00

So this is an airport beer. I'm sitting at LGA and they actually have an ok selection for an airport. I asked for Spaten but the menu was old and they don't have it anymore. So I went with the Sam Adams draft instead. This is my go to for commercial beers for some reason. I like its color and its taste. Its just got character where so many massies don't. I mean its not great and its a last resort but really it's pretty solid. I mean good color and I swear I actually get a bit of good hops. So while many people might disagree I think that in a pinch it's a good one to go for. Of course I try to avoid being put in such a pinch, so I still just rate this one as "Not Bad".