May Beer Dinner = Wheat Beers

There are many different styles of wheat beers and wheat beer was very popular in the U.S. before “the great experiment” of prohibition.  I recall sampling American Hefeweizens while I lived in the Pacific NW and these were; and still are, a very popular summertime beverage.  The primary wheat styles that I have tried are Hefeweizen and Belgian Wit.  A classic Hefeweizen has hints of clove and banana due to the yeast and a Belgian Wit usually contains spices (coriander) and fruit (curacao orange rind) that coupled with the Belgian yeast, provide a distinct taste.

Tibor and Nicole prepared excellent food selections of watermelon and deviled eggs for appetizers and dinner of brats steamed in beer, corn on the cob, asparagus, and pretzel rolls.  Dennis brought over a turtle cake and I brought over baked beans.  Everything was very tasty and it was an excellent meal with friends.  The brats were Johnsonville brats and the steeping in Twisted Pine’s Ghost Face Killah (a chili beer) transformed them to another level.  Tibor also grilled some buffalo jalapeno cheddar brats from Continental Sausage located here in Denver and they were fantastic. The pretzel rolls were a recent addition to the Costco lineup and these were very tasty.  Again, everything served was very good.

The beer lineup is as follows:

1)     Horton’s Homebrew – After Midnight Porter (not a wheat beer - covered in a previous  post)

2)     Twisted Pine – Ghost Face Killah (not a wheat beer – a chili beer)

3)     Odell – Easy Street Wheat

4)     Dry Dock – Hefeweizen (a favorite and a previous medal winner)

5)     Tommyknocker – Jack Whacker (fermented with lemongrass)

6)     Sam Adams – Cherry Wheat

7)     Shock Top – Pumpkin Wheat

8)     Shock Top – Lemon Shandy

9)     Shock Top – Belgian White

10)   Avery – White Rascal

11)  Widmer Brothers – Hefeweizen

12)  Boulder Beer – Sweaty Betty

Probably needless to say, but we did not drink full pours of these beers as we wanted to be able to do things the next day.  The other helpful factor is these wheat beers are typically lower in ABV than many other beer styles.  The take away is there are a number of really good wheat beers.  None of these were bad and there were a wide variety of flavors – everyone had ones they liked.  On a side conversation with Tibor, we agreed that the Dry Dock Hefeweizen was our favorite – it is just a fantastic beer and brewed to style perfection.  I can understand why they have won awards for this beer. 

Next month we focus on Amber Ales.

Boulder Beer – Cold Hop

Boulder Beer Company is the oldest microbrewery in Colorado and they were established in 1979.  I had not tried Cold Hop (6.3% ABV and 46 IBU) that is an English-Style IPA and when I saw it at the local store, I picked up a bottle to add to a mixed 6-pack.  

English IPA – ">First brewed in England and exported for the British troops in India during the late 1700s. To withstand the voyage, IPA's were basically tweaked Pale Ales that were, in comparison, much more malty, boasted a higher alcohol content and were well-hopped, as hops are a natural preservative. Historians believe that an IPA was then watered down for the troops, while officers and the elite would savor the beer at full strength. The English IPA has a lower alcohol due to taxation over the decades. The leaner the brew the less amount of malt there is and less need for a strong hop presence which would easily put the brew out of balance. Some brewers have tried to recreate the original IPA with strengths close to 8-9% abv.”  BeerAdvocate

Appearance – Orange/gold with a lacy two-finger head and it is cloudy.

Aroma – You smell malt sweetness and grassy and citrus from the hops.

Taste – One can easily taste the sweetness from the British Malt and then the citrus/grass notes from the hops.  This beer has a firm bitterness, but it is not over the top bitter.  A nice English-style IPA. 

Overall – B – A nice English-style IPA.  Boulder Beer Co. brews solid beers and Cold Hop is another nice one from them. 

Website description – “A unique beer with a rich golden hue.  It’s pleasantly fruity.  Floral hop aroma perfectly balance the mile sweetness of the British grains, for a refreshing yet high-gravity British-style ale.  Limited release available July through fall.

Grains: Maris Otter Pale Malt, Honey Malt, 10-15 Crystal Malt

Kettle Hops: Willamette, Czech Saaz, Hallertau, and Hercules

Dry Hop: Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand”

URL - http://www.boulderbeer.com/

Boulder - Flashback - India Brown Ale

Boulder Brewing Co.’s Flashback (6.88% ABV) is described as an India Brown Ale.  Flashback pours brown with a nice head – be careful pouring.  There is a prominent hop aroma and this beer is hoppy.  Boulder describes Flashback as,” Citrusy with a prominent hop aroma, finishes clean, crisp and dry with dark roasted flavors from the biscuit and chocolate malts perfectly completing the bountiful cascades.”  There are five different hop additions using only Cascade hops.  This is an interesting beer and at first I did not like it very well until I paired it with some goat cheese with chilis and it worked well with the beer.  I would like to try Flashback with some spicy food and I think it would be a good pairing. 

Good JuJu and Kinda Blue

Good JuJu (4.5% ABV and 20 IBU) is a Herb / Spice Ale because it is spiced with ginger and it is a seasonal offering from Left Hand.  This is a session beer because of the low ABV.  Good JuJu pours golden amber with a nice two-finger head.  Left Hand describes Good JuJu as “Fresh ginger kisses the lithe malty body, copulating with the hop in this pale ale ancestor.”  This one did not match my taste and I am not a fan of this one.  I could not taste the ginger in it and I was thinking it would be sweeter than it was.  It might be a good pairing with food that has ginger as an ingredient and it may be good to cook with. 

Boulder Beer’s Kinda Blue (5.2% ABV and 15 IBU) is a Fruit Beer that is an ale infused with blueberries.  Kinda Blue pours an orange tan with a small head and the bottle states that Kinda Blue is a “blueberry wheat beer” that is a summer seasonal release.  I could not discern the blueberries in this beer, but the overall taste is very good.  Boulder describes Kinda Blue as “a filtered American Wheat, placed in perfect measure with muted tones of blueberry.  Kinda Blue, a tasty and tasteful summer brew that you can’t turn your back on.  It’s as cool as the day is long.”  Kinda Blue is very tasty and I would try this again.  I am not a big fan a fruit beers, but Kinda Blue is an exception for me - Boulder Beer did a good job with this one.