Tasting History - New Albion Ale

Jack McAuliffe started New Albion Brewing Co. in 1976 and while the brewery only survived a few years, brewing its final batch in 1982, McAuliffe and New Albion made brewing history as one of breweries that started craft brewing in the U.S.  New Albion has been described as, “the most important failed brewery in the industry’s history” (Ogle, Maureen).  It was important for serving as an example to other brewers who were getting started in that time period, brewing beers that were not like the large marco-breweries, using hops differently and in larger volumes, and a number of other reasons.  Flash forward to 2012 and Jim Koch of Boston Beer Co. announces that New Albion Ale (6% ABV and 30 IBU) would be brewed under the Samuel Adams brand and available in January 2012. 

American Pale Ale – http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/97 - BeerAdvocate

Appearance – Straw gold with a one-finger head that quickly dissipates.  The beer is very clear with good carbonation – a steady stream of bubbles from the bottom of the glass.

Aroma – Grain, floral, citrus and pine / resin.  I picked up the grain the most.

Taste – A solid APA that starts with a sweetness, bread from the malt then a bit of citrus, grass from the hops and then a clean finish with little aftertastes

Overall – B – New Albion Ale is very easy to drink and I really appreciate Boston Beer Co. brewing a bit of history.  We have a plethora of choices in beer today and we are in the middle of a craft beer renaissance.  I am happy to have the opportunity to try a bit of history.  It will be here for only a limited time – pick some up and taste a bit of history.

Website description – “Brewed solely with American Cascade hops (why? Because that was all that was available to Jack at the time), New Albion Ale is a golden American Pale Ale that holds a distinct citrus hop note and subtle piney character. A delicious brew, it’s no wonder New Albion Ale inspired so many of the Pale Ales we drink today.”

Wikipedia – New Albion Brewing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Albion_Brewing_Company

New Albion Ale - http://blog.samueladams.com/2013/01/14/new-albion-arrives/

Boston Beer Company – Thirteenth Hour

Boston Beer Co. is best know for Sam Adams Boston Lager and they are the largest craft brewer in America.  One thing that I appreciate about Boston Beer Co. is they do experiment with many different styles and they have a huge offering to the public.  The Barrel Room Collection features four Belgian-inspired beers and I had the New World Tripel last year – it was very good.  Thirteenth Hour (9% ABV and 17 IBU) is a Belgian Stout that is aged in oak barrels.

Belgian Strong Dark Ale – “On the same path as the Belgian Dark Ale but obviously higher in alcohol with more of an all around character. The alcohol character can be deceivingly hidden or can be very bold and in your face. Look for lots of complexity within a delicate palate. Hop and malt character can vary, most are fruity and may have mild dark malt flavors. Phenols will range from minimal to high and most will be light on the hops. All in all most are spicy and alcoholic.”  Beeradvocate

Appearance – Black with a white head that takes some time to dissipate.

Aroma – Dark fruit, chocolate, oak and spice - maybe a hint of vanilla.

Taste – Chocolate and dark fruit with subtle oak and vanilla and a Belgian-yeast taste.  It does not taste like a stout, as the roasty malt is subdued. 

Overall – B – If you are looking for a stout, look elsewhere, 13^th Hour is more of a Strong Belgian Dark.  I think New World Tripel is a better beer.

Website description – “The thirteenth hour is the witching hour and refers to the mysterious combination of flavors in this brew.  We've combined the roasted chocolate and coffee flavors of a stout with the spicy character of a Belgian ale aged in oak.  The combination of 7 different malts creates a brilliant black brew that's full bodied and smooth with rich notes of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits like raisins and plums.  The dark roasty, and slightly sweet flavors of a stout are blended with the unique, spicy and sour character of our Kosmic Mother Funk (KMF), an ale that's been aged in oak tuns for up to a year.  The KMF gives the beer an added complexity with notes of black pepper, oak, vanilla, and a hint of acidity.  Enjoy this beer now or age it to further develop unique flavors.  We recommend pouring the beer gently into a traditional glass.  Take care not to unsettle the fine layer of yeast that rests at the bottom from the bottle-  conditioning, a process which creates an extra smooth and balanced flavor in the beer.”

URL – http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?id=23733326-8b34-4964-840e-c5ce8e637dd4

Latitude 48 IPA - Deconstructed

Sam Adams Latitude 48 (6.0% ABV) is an IPA brewed by Boston Beer Company and they recently began offering an interesting 12 pack called Sam Adams Latitude 48 Deconstructed.  This 12 pack offers 6 different blends of Latitude 48 – one is the original and the 5 others use only one of the five hops used in brewing this IPA.  For Latitude 48, the five hop varieties used in the brewing process are: 1) Ahtanum (U.S.), 2) East Kent Goldings (U.K.), 3) Hallertau Mittelfrueh (Germany), 4) Simcoe (U.S.), and 5) Zuess (U.S.).  Lattitude 48 is named because all these hops grow along the 48^th line of latitude.  Hops serve as a natural preservative, provide aroma, and provide bitterness to balance the sweetness from the malts used in the brewing process.  This will provide the drinker with an interesting tasting experience to sample how each hop variety tastes and what it contributes to the overall aroma, taste and bitterness to Latitude 48.  I liked the Simcoe version the best.

From the Samuel Adams web site - Latitude 48 IPA – Samuel Adams® Latitude 48 IPA is a unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48^th latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere.  The combination of hops in this beer creates a distinctive but not overpowering hop character.  The beer is dry hopped with Ahtanum, Simcoe®*, and East Kent Goldings hops for a powerful citrus and earthy aroma.  The hop character is balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the malt blend.  The Hop blend is described as, “The unique blend of hops in this beer creates a complex and distinctive hop character and aroma without being overpowering.  The Bavarian Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops add a floral note to the beer, the American Simcoe®, Zeus, and Ahtanum contribute a citrusy and piney hop flavor, and the English Goldings add an earthy character.  These flavors are balanced with the body from our proprietary pale malt blend and slight sweetness from Gambrinus Honey Malt.” 

The descriptions on each bottle with pictures are as follows:

Latitude 48 Ahtanum™ IPA– Ahtanum™ hops [Yakima Valley, WA] contribute a very balanced and typically “American” orange peel, piney and floral flavor and aroma to this brew, tempered by a slight sweetness and full body.

Latitude 48 East Kent Goldings IPA– East Kent Goldings [East Kent, UK] add a mellow bitterness with earthy, floral and apricot notes, offset by a slight sweetness and full body.

Latitude 48 Hallertau Mittelfrueh IPA – Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops [Hallertau, Germany] create soft bitterness along with delicate lemony citrus and resinous pine notes, balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the malt blend.

Latitude 48 Simcoe® IPA– Simcoe® hops [Yakima Valley, WA] add bitterness and dramatic grapefruit peel and pine resin notes, with the slight sweetness and full malt body to round out the concentrated hop character.

Latitude 48 Zeus IPA– Zeus hops [Yakima Valley, WA] contribute bitterness and an intense, pungent resinous pine flavor.  The balance of the brew leans strongly toward the hop character, but is softened by the malt sweetness and body.

Samuel Adams – Noble Pils and Latitude 48 IPA

Samuel Adams beers are actually produced by the Boston Beer Co., which is one of the biggest craft brewers in America.  The Homebrewer’s Association changed the definition of a craft brewer by increasing the number of barrels produced so the Boston Beer Co. would not lose the classification of craft brewer. 

Samuel Adam’s Latitude 48 IPA has 6% ABV and pours nice golden amber with two finger head that fits perfectly in a shaker pint glass.  The website describes Latitude 48 IPA as “Samuel Adams® Latitude 48 IPA is a unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48^th latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere.  The combination of hops in this beer creates a distinctive but not overpowering hop character.  The beer is dry hopped with Ahtanum, Simcoe®*, and East Kent Goldings hops for a powerful citrus and earthy aroma.  The hop character is balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the malt blend.”  This is not a bad beer, not my favorite IPA, as I prefer the hoppier West Coast styles.

Nobel Pils has a 4.9% ABV and pours gold with a nice billowy head in a Pilsner glass.  The name comes from the use of the 5 Noble hops (Hallertau, Mittelfrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter, Saaz, and Hersbrucker Noble hops) used to brew this lager.  The website description of Noble Pils is “Noble Pils is brewed with all 5 Noble hops for a distinct hop character and fresh taste.  Deep golden in color with a citrusy hop aroma, Samuel Adams Noble Pils is a traditional Bohemian Pilsner.  The honeyed malt character from traditional Bohemian malt is balanced by delicate yet pronounced citrus, floral, and piney notes from the Noble hops.”  This is a good Pilsner, but again, my preference is from Colorado with Avery’s Joe’s Pilsner, Left Hand's Polestar Pilsner, and Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yellow Pils.

I appreciate what the Boston Beer Co. has done for craft beer, but I am not a big fan of Samuel Adams beers.  I know Boston Beer Co. is the biggest craft brewer in America, but there is just something in the taste that does not resonate with my palette (yeast, water, hops??)  I think their specialty beers are the best and I recently tried New World Tripel, which is excellent.

January Beer Tasting

Tibor, Chris and Dennis came over last night from food, drink and camaraderie and we had quite the line-up of craft and imported beer.  We started the evening with Avery – The Reverend – Belgian Quadrupel Ale, with an ABV of 10% and an IBU of 10.  I have had this beer before and it is very good – nice malt sweetness, hints of cherries, prune, and molasses.  This was a great way to start the evening.  I had Lori taste the Reverend and she liked it too.

I recently read a review of Samuel Smith's - Yorkshire Stingo - an English Old Ale in Draft with a rating of 100 and on the magazine's list of top 25 beers for 2010.  This beer has an ABV of 9% and an IBU of 30 –35.  You could taste the oak from the barrel aging and there was a slight sourness to the beer.  I picked up toffee, plum/prune, and raisin.

I served some chips and salsa and we also had other snacks including some Habanero Almonds.  Since we were eating some food with spice, I thought it was time to pull out a beer with some hops and Stone’s Arrogant Bastard seem to be a great match.  Stone makes great products and Arrogant Bastard is an American Strong Ale with an ABV of 7.2% and an IIBU of Classified.  Arrogant Bastard went great with the spicy foods and this is a good beer. 

Time to head back to Belgium for Westmalle’s Tripel with an ABV of 9.5%.  This is a wonderful beer that pours with a nice lacy head.  Great fruit taste and just a great beer and one understand the 100 rating by Draft and the renown this beer has.  You cannot go wrong with a Trappist beer and Westmalle is a great representative of these Belgian beers.

Back to Boston for Sam Adam’s New Work Tripel with an ABV of 10%.  This beer poured with no head at all, which was strange from my perspective.  Nice aroma and I could detect the oak from the barrel aging and the fruity sweetness from the malt and use of Belgian candi sugar (I presume).  Not a bad beer and I appreciate that Boston Beer Company continues to try new things.  This is one of my favorites from Boston. 

IPA Flight Time – I poured four different IPA’s for comparison – all were good. 

    - Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA with an ABV of 6% and an IBU of 60.

    - Bear Republic’s Racer 5 with an ABV of 7% and an IBU of +75.

    - Uintah Brewing’s Detour with an ABV of 9.5% and an IBU of 75 – a Double IPA.

    - Stone’s Ruination IPA with an ABV of 7.7 and +100 IBU.

It was interesting to try these 4 in flight and to sample the different aromas.  I detected the most grapefruit from Ruination and a grassy aroma from Racer 5.  Detour reminded me of a Barley Wine ale and I now want to try Cock-Eyed Cooper.  Chris is not an IPA fan and he liked Detour the best.  I thought the IBUs were a lot lower and I think the higher alcohol and the malt sweetness hide the IBUs.  Detour also had the best head and left the Belgian lace on the sides of the glass.  These are all good IPAs and it was interesting to try them in a flight.  

Now, we jaunt to Canada for Unibroue’s -La Fin De Monde (The end of the World) that is a Belgian-style Tripel with an ABV of 9%.  While this is not a Trappist or Belgian ale, it is a very good, complex beer with nice mild orchard fruit sweetness and very drinkable.  The alcohol is well hidden and this is a great beer from Canada. 

We ended the evening with Left Hand’s Fade to Black Series 2 – a Smoked Baltic Porter with an ABV of % and an IBU of.  This is one of my favorites this winter and I have enjoyed a few of these.  I covered Fade to Black in an earlier blog post. 

It was a nice evening with some incredible beers.  None were bad and we were all impressed by the quality and fine taste that was represented in these beers.  Tibor is hosting the March tasting and we plan to focus on the beers of Germany and will probably have a Guinness in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.  Since Tibor grew up in Germany, we will rely on his expertise with the German beers to sample.  I’ll have to make some German food to take.

Beers Before the Blog

2010 – Beers before the blog – Before I started this blog I had tried a number of other beers and they are listed below.  I thought I would do this to keep everything recorded and current.  The list below is listed in alphabetical order by Brewer.

Alaskan Brewing Company is a great regional craft brewer that I very much enjoy as I toured the brewery during a vacation in Juneau.  They are known for the Smoke Porter and the Amber and these are very good.  I recently tried the Barley Wine and it may now be my favorite from Alaskan.

-       Amber is an Alt-Style Ale with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 18

-       White is a Wheat Ale with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 15

-       Summer is Kolsch-Style Ale with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 18

Avery is my favorite craft brewer and is based in Boulder, Co.  I have sampled the lineup that is available and I have enjoyed all of them.  I plan to visit the brewery / tap room early this year.  Ellie’s Brown Ale, the Maharaja, 17, White Rascal, Salvation and the Reverend are my favorites.  Avery is known for higher ABVs and the use of hops.

-       Hog Heaven is a Barley Wine with an ABV of 9.2% and an IBU of 104

-       The Reverend is a Belgian Quadrupel Ale with an ABV of 10% and an IBU of 10

-       Salvation is a Belgian-Style Golden Ale with an ABV of 9% and an IBU of 25

-       The Maharaja is an Imperial IPA with an ABV of 10.24% and an IBU of 102

-       The Kaiser is an Imperial Oktoberfest Lager with an ABV of 9.3% and an IBU of 24

-       Collaboration, not Litigation Ale with an ABV of 8.91%

Blue Moon is owned by Coors and I really like their Pumpkin Ale.

-       Harvest Moon is a Pumpkin Ale with an ABV of 5.7%

Boston Beer Company is a huge craft brewer famous for Sam Adams and has been instrumental in carrying the craft brew flag.

-       Honey Porter with and ABV of 5.5%

Breckenridge Brewery is a local craft brewery in Breckenridge Colorado and makes a number of styles and the 471 series is a small batch series with some interesting beers.  I purchased a 12 pack with 4 different styles and my favorite was Vanilla Porter.

-       Vanilla Porter with an ABV of 4.7% and an IBU of 16

-       Avalanche Ale is an American Amber Ale with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 19

-       Summer Bright is an American Wheat Ale with Fruit with an ABV of 4.5% and an IBU of 15

-       Lucky U IPA with an ABV of 6.2% and an IBU of 68

Ft. Collins Brewery is a local craft brewer and I wanted to try the Chocolate Stout that took gold at this year’s GABF.

-       Chocolate Stout with an ABV of 4.8% and an IBU of 33

Grand Lake is a local craft brewery in Grand Lake Colorado and I purchased a six-pack with six different styles.  My favorite was Plaid Bastard.

-       Hoppy’s One Ton Pale Ale with an ABV of 5%

-       Wooley Booger Nut Brown Ale with an ABV of 5%

-       Plaid Bastard is a Strong Scotch Ale with an ABV of 8%

-       Stump Jumper IPA with an ABV of 5%

-       Rocky Mt. Red is an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5%

-       Shadow Mt. Stout with an ABV of 5%

Great Divide is a large craft brewer based in downtown Denver.  I have only tried a few beers from Great Divide and my plan is to sample their line through 2011.  

-       Titan is an IPA with an ABV of 7.1% and an IBU of 65.

Left Hand Brewing is a local craft brewer in Boulder, CO with a large number of styles.  I really like Milk Stout and the 2010 Fade to Black Series 2 Smoked Baltic Porter.

-       Polestar Pilsner with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 33

-       Sawtooth is an American-Style ESB with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 27

New Belgium Brewing Company is a very large craft brewer in Ft. Collins, Colorado that is best known for Fat Tire Amber Ale.  There are a number of offerings from New Belgium and their release of Ranger IPA was a big hit in 2010.  I really like Fat Tire (who doesn’t?), 1554, Abbey, and Ranger.  I recently tried Blue Paddle, Pilsener Lager, and it is another nice beer from New Belgium.

-       Fat Tire is an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5.2% and an IBU of 18.5

-       1554 is a Black Ale with an ABV of 5.6% and an IBU of 21

-       Abbey is a Belgian-Style Ale with an ABV of 7.0% and an IBU of 20

-       Ranger IPA with an ABV of 6.5% and an IBU of 70

-       Trippel is a Belgian-Style Ale of with an ABV of 7.8% and an IBU of 25

Red Hook is a regional craft brewer in Seattle best known for Red Hook ESB.  This was my go-to beer when I lived in Seattle and when I first moved to Denver, I kept asking for Red Hook and everyone always asked do you mean Fat Tire?  It will be interesting the next time I am in Seattle if I asked for a Fat Tire.

-       ESB is an Extra Special Bitter Ale with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 13

Sierra Nevada is a large and excellent California craft brewer that makes a wide variety of styles.  They were one of the big stories in 2010 with the 30^th Anniversary series.  Tumbler is a very good brown ale.

-       Tumbler  is a seasonal Autumn Brown Ale with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 37

-       Porter with an ABV of 5.6% and an IBU of 32

-       Stout with an ABV of 5.8% and an IBU of 50

Ska is a Durango, Colorado based craft brewer. I have only tried a few different styles from Ska and I need to try more.  I really liked Buster Nut Brown Ale.

-       Buster Nut Brown Ale with an ABV of 5.15% and an IBU of 29

Stone is a very good brewer based in Escondido, CA that is known for the Arrogant Bastard line of ales and for the use of copious amounts of hops.  I have not tried a beer from Stone that I have not enjoyed.  Your palate is in for a kick and these are great beers.

-       Arrogant Bastard with an ABV of 7.2% and an IBU of ??

-       Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale with an ABV of 8.7% and an IBU of 90

Twisted Pine is a local craft brewer that took home a silver medal in this year’s GABF with Big Shot Espresso Stout. This was a nice beer and had good coffee overtones and I thought would be actually great with breakfast.