May Beers Sampled

Alaskan Brewing Co. is based in Juneau and I have toured the brewery a few years ago.  One of their new offerings is Freeride APA (5.3% ABV and 40 IBU) a very tasty American Pale Ale.

Backcountry Brewery is based in Frisco, CO and their Pale Ale (5.6% ABV and 60 IBU) is another good American Pale Ale.  This beer was formerly know as Telemark IPA and is a Gold medal winner at 2000 and 2009 GABF.

Crooked Stave is just brewing some fantastic beer and St. Bretta (5.5% ABV) is a sour Witbier and it is excellent.  I need to try it side-by-side with Surette to see which one I like best.  Very easy with Crooked Stave, if you see it on the shelf, but it.

Deschutes is based in Portland and is one of my favorite brewers.  I picked up a bottle of River Ale (4.2% ABV and 28 IBU) recently and enjoyed this American Blonde Ale.  It is one of the new session ales that many brewers are releasing and I think a session beer taste-off may be a great choice sometime this summer.

Goose Island out of Chicago brews a large selection of ales and I saw Honker’s Ale (4.3% ABV) recently at Buffalo Wild Wings and really enjoyed this English Bitter.

Hey Day (5.2% ABV) is a Witbier and a new release from Great Divide.  It is not great, but it is not bad – somewhat middle of the road.

Grimm Brothers is a relatively new brewer in Loveland, CO and Master Thief (6.7% ABV) is a German Porter.  I enjoyed the beer and I will try more from this brewery in the future.

Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale (9.75% ABV and 67 IBU) is an American Strong Ale and it is excellent.  It is very easy to drink and be careful - it packs a wallop at almost 10% ABV.  Lagunitas makes excellent products and you can pretty much pick anything they brew and it is good.  

I recently went to Parry’s Pizzeria and Pub and there was a tap of Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale (6.7% ABV and 67 IBU) an Imperial IPA that was very tasty.  I will add Northern Harvest to my “to try” list.

Telluride Brewing Company is based in Telluride, CO and I picked up Face Down Brown Ale (5.7% ABV) that was a Gold medal winner at the 2012 World Beer Cup.  It was very good and I will try some more from Telluride.  

Nectar Ales – Humboldt Brown

I picked up a bottle of Nectar Ales Humboldt Brown (5.7% IBU and 40 IBU) as part of a mixed 6 pack a couple of weeks ago.  This is an ale made with Hemp seeds and was originally title Hemp Ale.  The Hemp seeds supposedly give the ale more of an herb flavor.  I like brown ales and I was looking forward to Humboldt Brown.   

American Brown Ale - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/73 – BeerAdvocate

Appearance – Humboldt Brown pours brown / dark amber and is clear – you can see through it – with a nice two-finger head.

Aroma –Roast malt and nutty – very little hop influence detected.

Taste – Tastes like a brown ale with some nuttiness and a touch of bitterness and herbs at the end.

Overall – B- - Humboldt Brown is not a bad beer, but it is not a great beer.  I am a big fan of Avery’s Ellie’s Brown Ale and for me this is the standard to compare other brown ales. 

Website description – “Affiliated with Nectar Ales experience through shared origins at Humboldt Brewing Company, Hemp Ale is a one-of-a-kind brew that boasts and incredibly rich profile and unique herb-accented flavor that is attributable to the incorporation of hemp seeds into the brewing process.  A wonderful brown ale full of complexity Hemp Ale is great with food or by itself.  American hops create a perfect balance to the darker malts used in this brew.  This brown ale is the Gold medal winner for first place in its category at both the 1999 and 2000 California State Fair Craft Brewing Competitions.”

URL – http://www.nectarales.com/

Lazy Magnolia – Southern Pecan and Funkwerks – Saison

Another shout out to Dennis Wright for bringing this one back to CO on his recent trip to Georgia – Thank you very much – another nice one.  Lazy Magnolia is one of the few brewers in Mississippi and Southern Pecan (4.65% ABV and 22 IBU), is a Specialty Beer using Pecans in the brewing process.  Southern Pecan pours an amber / tan / brown with a one-finger head that recedes quickly.  Nice aroma of sweetness and nuts.  Southern Pecan is a very tasty beer and the pecans worked well with the brown ale.  There is very little hop bitterness and the emphasis is on malts and the pecans.  I think this is my first beer from Mississippi and Southern Pecan is a tasty one. 

Website description – “Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is the first beer in the world, to our knowledge, made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain and provide a nutty characteristic and a delightful depth to the flavor profile. This beer is very lightly hopped to allow the malty, caramel, and nutty flavors shine through. The color is dark mahogany. Southern Pecan won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 World Beer Cup in the Specialty Beer category.”

Funkwerks is a small-Ft. Collins-based brewer and Saison (6.8% ABV and 25 IBU).  I opened this up for Christmas dinner.  The head on this beer was just crazy and it literally filled up the glass.  It took awhile and a number of small pours to obtain a decent glass of this Saison.  Saison pours an orange / yellow with a fruity and spicy aroma.  The beer has tastes undertones of the fruit one smells and the spice / pepper with a very dry finish.  This is a solid Saison and I can understand why Funkwerks has been receiving a lot of attention. 

Website description – “he beer you are holding is unique. A special strain of yeast and a warm fermentation produces a beer of exceptional flavor and aroma. An extended secondary maturation and bottle conditioning ensures all these unique qualities are preserved and evolve over time. Serve at 50°F in a tulip glass. “

Georgia Beers – Terrapin and SweetWater

First, shout out to Dennis – thank you very much for bringing these back on your recent trip to Georgia and both of these were very good.  The only Terrapin beer I had before was via a collaboration with Left Hand Brewing.  Both Terrapin and SweetWater have previously won awards for various beers in their portfolios.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale (5.5% ABV and 35 IBU) is a pale ale with rye and it won the pale ale category the first year it was entered - 2002.  Terrapin is based in Athens, GA.  I heard an interview with the brewer on “Can you brew it?” on the Brewing Network and the brewer was looking to brew a well-balanced pale ale that had some spice from the rye, but not too much hop bitterness on the finish that is present in many pale ales.  Rye Pale Ale pours a light amber with a nice two-finger head that recedes quickly.  One can detect a spicy note on the nose and this is one tasty pale ale – I agree that the brewer hit the target with a well-balanced pale ale. 

Website description – “By using an exact amount of rye, a grain seldom found in other micro brewed beers, the Rye Pale Ale acquires its signature taste. Made with five varieties of hops and a generous amount of specialty malts, it offers a complex flavor and aroma that is both aggressive and well balanced – a rare find among beers.  The Terrapin Rye Pale Ale was released in Athens, GA in April of 2002 at the Classic City Brew Fest. Six months later this beer which was sold only in Athens was awarded the American Pale Ale Gold Medal at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival, the most prestigious competition in North America. We hope you will agree with our peers in the brewing industry that this is truly one of the best pale ales in the country.”

Sweet Water Brewing is based in Atlanta, GA and Georgia Brown Ale (5% ABV and 24 IBU) is a brown ale.  Georgia Brown pours dark, not as dark as a porter or stout, but it is dark; with a two-finger lacy head.  It has a nice aroma of chocolate and caramel / toffee and just a hint of hops.  Georgia Brown is a nice brown ale and tastes just like it smells – some chocolate – some caramel – and just enough hop bitterness to balance it out.  These were a great delivery from Dennis and I appreciate it.  If you get down to Atlanta – I highly recommend Terrapin and SweetWater. 

Website description – “A river of deep caramel and chocolate malts meandering through undercut currents of hop additions. Georgia Brown is part of our year round lineup and is line priced with SweetWater’s other lip smackin’ core styles.”

December – Beer Tasting – Porters and Stouts

Tibor, Dennis, Chris and Chris came over to my humble abode for the next round of beer tasting a couple of weekends ago with a focus on Porters and Stouts.  Dennis had just returned from a trip to Georgia and brought back some regional offerings from the south.  We sampled a number of beers and there were some really good beers.  Chris brought over some BBQ that went wonderful with the beer.  We also had some Honey BBQ wings and chocolate pie.  One of the most interesting pairings of the evening was a side-by-side tasting of Belgian Yeti and Oak-aged Yeti.  By themselves, everyone liked the Belgian Yeti the best.  It was the first time that I had tasted this version of Yeti and it was very good.  The Oak-aged Yeti was an excellent pairing with the chocolate pie and everyone liked Oak-aged Yeti better when sampled with the chocolate pie.  We had some fantastic beers, good food, and good fellowship.  Below is a list of the beer sampled and pictures of the bottles.

Deschutes – Black Butte Porter – 5.2% ABV and 30 IBU

Lazy Magnolia – Southern Pecan – 4.39% ABV and 19 IBU - Nut Brown Ale

Stone – Smoked Porter – 5.9% ABV and 53 IBU

Alaskan – Smoked Porter – 6.5% ABV and 45 IBU

Great Divide – Belgian Yeti – 9.5% ABV – Imperial Stout

Great Divide – Oak-aged Yeti – 9.5% ABV – Imperial Stout

Left Hand – Wake Up Dead – 10.2% ABV and 45 IBU – Russian Imperial Stout

Alltech Lexington Brewing - Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – 7 – 9% ABV

Terrapin – Rye Pale Ale – 5.5% ABV and 35 IBU – Pale Ale with Rye

SweetWater Brewing Co. – Georgia Brown Ale – 5% ABV and 24 IBU

Yuengling – Black and Tan – 4.7% ABV

Yuengling – Lager – 4.4% ABV

Next month we will sample Pilsners.

Thanksgiving Beers – a Brown and two Stouts

I sampled three beers over the Thanksgiving week holiday and I liked them all.  Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin (5.5% ABV and 30 IBU) is an Oatmeal Stout that pours black with a two-finger head.  Velvet Merlin has an wonderful aroma of coffee and dark chocolate.  This is an excellent beer with tastes of coffee, chocolate with a silky mouth feel that and would go great with an after dinner desert.  I liked this one the best.

Website description – “A decadent Oatmeal Stout brimming with cocoa and espresso aromas. Partially aged in bourbon barrels, this beer features a rich, dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavor with a creamy mouth feel and wonderfully dry finish. The addition of U.S. grown fuggles hops contributes the perfect amount of bitterness to this exceptionally balanced beer”.

Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout (6% ABV) is an American Stout that pours black with a large head.  It smells and tastes of coffee, chocolate and just a hint of licorice.  I was happy it was just a hint of licorice because I am not a big fan.  I thought they had just the right touch.  A very nice stout, but I liked Velvet Merlin better.

Website description – “Kalamazoo Stout represents stouts in the Bell's year-round roster, offering a blend of dark chocolate and coffee flavors with just a hint of brewer's licorice. One of our oldest recipes, it balances a significant hop presence against the roast malt body.

Commonly asked trivia:

·        The brewer's licorice we use is gelatin-free, making it acceptable for vegetarians.

·        The label comes from a series of portraits by a local artist”.

Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown (5.0% ABV) is an American Brown Ale that pours a dark tan with reddish notes and has a nice head.  Downtown Brown is a nice brown ale that is easy to drink.  It is not as roasty as a porter or a stout and is not as hoppy as a stout or an amber.  Downtown Brown hits that fine line of a lightly hopped, caramel roasty flavor of an American Brown. 

Website description – “A smooth, full-bodied nut brown ale, lightly hopped with a hint of roasted and crystal malts.  This ale is dark in color without the heavy taste of porter or stout.”

Sierra Nevada - Tumbler

My favorite season is fall.  I am not sure if it because I grew up in a farming community with a emphasis placed on the harvest, the beauty of the trees changing to brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, the cooler weather, or a combination of these factors.  One thing to look forward to in autumn is also seasonal beers and there are some good ones.  One of my favorites seasonal offerings is Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler (5.5% ABV and 37 IBU).  Tumbler is described as an “Autumn Brown Ale” and pours brown with a nice head – be careful pouring.  Tumbler is easy drinking and it is just a fantastic Brown Ale.  Sierra Nevada describes Tumbler as, “As the nights grow cool, the leaves on the valley oaks begin to turn and fall. In honor of this yearly dance, we bring you Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale and invite you to enjoy the show.  We use malt within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor to give Tumbler a gracefully smooth malt character. So pour a glass, and grab a window seat to watch as the leaves come tumbling down.”  Grab some Tumbler if you get a chance and enjoy this quaffable brown ale.  One other thing, the artwork on the label is really good and you can see that Sierra Nevada takes care of details – including the labels. 

Bell’s – Best Brown Ale and Two Hearted Ale

I was recently visiting relatives in Indiana and got to sample some brewers from Indianapolis and I wanted to pick up some brew that is not available here.  I have read some good things about Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI and I picked up Best Brown Ale (5.8% ABV) and Two Hearted Ale (7% ABV).  Best Brown pours brown with a small head.  This is a nice balanced ale between malty sweetness and hop bitterness and it is very drinkable.  Bell’s describes Best Brown Ale as, “A smooth, toasty brown ale, Best Brown Ale is a mainstay in our fall & winter lineup. With hints of caramel and cocoa, the malt body has the depth to stand up to cool weather, but does not come across as heavy. This balancing act is aided by the generous use of American hops.”

Two Hearted Ale is an IPA that uses only one hop, Centennial, in the brewing process.  Two Hearted Ale pours orange gold with a nice large head.  It has very good aromatics and is a very good IPA.  I could taste why some many people have rated this IPA very high.  Bell’s states Two Hearted Ale, “is defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance. Hopped exclusively with the Centennial hop varietal from the Pacific Northwest, massive additions in the kettle and again in the fermenter lend their characteristic grapefruit and pine resin aromas. A significant malt body balances this hop presence; together with the signature fruity aromas of Bell's house yeast, this leads to a remarkably drinkable American-style India Pale Ale.”  If you have not tried something from Bell’s and you get the opportunity, I can easily recommend them.  I will definitely purchase more on my next trip back to Indiana.

Anchor Steam, Spaten Dunkel and Upslope Brown Ale

I had a steak last night and wanted to pair Anchor Steam (4.88%ABV and ?? IBU) with it.  Anchor Steam is considered the oldest craft brewer in American and I am glad Fritz Maytag purchased the brewery in 1965 to keep brewing the beer he enjoyed.  Anchor Steam pours gold / amber / orange with a nice frothy head.  Take your time pouring it.  It is called steam beer because of a nickname for the beer and some say it is attributed to the old days with steam rose from the beer during cooling using cool ships.  Steam is a trademarked by Anchor and it is a tasty beer that went very well with my steak dinner.

After dinner I decided to taste a Spaten Dunkel from the Fatherland.  Spaten Dunkel is Munich Dunkel Lager (5.5% ABV) and pours tan / brown with a nice two-finger head.  Very nice taste that reminds me of pilsener – biscuity / bready malt, nice sweetness, just enough hops to balance it out, and a crisp finish.  I have had a few from Spaten and Dunkel is not bad at all.  One complaint – use amber bottles, not green.  The use of any other container other than amber bottles or cans just baffles me. 

On Sunday, time for a Colorado brewer.  Upslope is a new brewer based in Boulder and they currently offer three styles that I am aware of – Pale Ale, IPA and Brown Ale.  The Brown Ale (6.7% ABV and ?? IBU) pours brown with hints of amber and has a two-finger head that quickly recedes.  Upslope has “tweaked” the recipe a few times on this and added more specialty malts and American hops.  It is a Brown Ale, but it is probably outside of the style guidelines (not sure, but I am guessing).  This is tasty beverage and I will have it again.

Cafe Negro and Bitch Creek

Bridgeport’s Café Negro (5.5% ABV and 30 IBU) is a coffee-infused porter.  Café Negro pours ink black with a lacey, two-finger head.  Bridgeport describes Café Negro as, “BridgePort worked with a number of Portland area coffee roasters to formulate its own blend specific to CAFÉ NEGRO that was then infused with the base beer during cold conditioning. The cold conditioning process helps retain subtle coffee aromas otherwise lost during boil and fermentation. CAFÉ NEGRO is brewed with the strong dark flavors of roasted barley and chocolate malt.”  I like porters and I like coffee and I wanted to try Café Negro after I had read about in a magazine article.  It is very good and has a really good coffee flavor.  Porter seems like a very good style for adding coffee and Bridgeport does a great job with Café Negro.  This would be great with chocolates and fruit deserts.  Anything that coffee goes well with, Café Negro would probably be a great match.

Grand Teton’s Bitch Creek (6.0% ABV and 54 IBU) is described as an extra special brown ale.  I am thinking this combines / gives tribute to the two styles that influence this beer – Brown Ale and Extra Special Bitter.  Bitch Creek pours dark tan with some amber undertones and has a two-finger head.  Grand Teton describes Bitch Creek as, “perfectly balances big malt sweetness and robust hop flavor for a full bodied, satisfying mahogany ale. Like the stream for which it is named, our Bitch Creek ESB is full of character... not for the timid.”   This beer has won numerous awards over the years and it is focused on bitterness – I thought a little too much so.  I like American Brown Ales and I use Avery’s Ellie’s Brown Ale as my standard. Bitch Creek is not a bad beer at all, but it does not have the balance that I was looking for in an American Brown Ale.  It makes more sense to me when I think of Bitch Creek as a hybrid between Brown Ale and ESB.

Big Sky – Moose Drool and Bridgeport – Kingpin

I really like Brown ales and I have wanted to try Big Sky’s Moose Drool (5.3% ABV) for some time.  My favorite is Avery’s Ellie’s Brown Ale and I consider it my standard for the style.  Moose Drool pours dark brown with amber tones and has a two-finger head if you watch your pour.  Moose Drool has a great aroma of malt sweetness and just a touch of hops.  Moose Drool is the “best selling beer brewed in Montana” per the website and is described as “It’s chocolate brown in color with a creamy texture.  A malty beer with just enough hop presence to keep it from being too sweet.  The aroma mostly comes from the malt with a hint of spice added by the hops.”  Moose Drool is a tasty beer and I would have it again.  But again, I am partial to Brown ales.

I have tried a few beers from Bridgeport and I grabbed Kingpin (7.5% ABV and 65 IBU) as a member of my mixed 6er.  Kingpin pours red with a large off-white head – be careful pouring this one.  Kingpin has a nice aroma of malt and you can really pick up the hops.  Bridgeport describes Kingpin as “a full-flavored, red-colored ale that uses a rarely-grown Willamette Valley Hop varietal known as Liberty Hops from fourth generation hop farmer John Annen of Annen Bros. Farm in Silverton, Oregon. Jeff and his team of brewers also used rye and caramel malt leading to a unique flavor profile; triple-hopped for bitter aroma and a unique dry-hopped character.”  Kingpin is an interesting beer and I would describe it as a cross between a Red ale and an IPA because of the use of hops. 



Great Divide - Oak-aged Yeti and Avery - Ellie's Brown Ale

Last night Lori prepared a dinner of BBQ Ribs and fried potatoes.  Preceding dinner was an appetizer of Texas Torte – a spicy cheese treat.  Following dinner was Chocolate pie – which is unbelievable.  Randy and Chris brought over salad with all the fixings and a raspberry-based terrine.  I had two beers selected for dinner and desert and these were Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale and Great Divide’s Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I have had Ellie’s a few times and it a very nice brown ale with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 17.  Ellie’s pours a dark reddish-brown with a nice head and this was literally a perfect pairing with BBQ ribs.  Avery’s website suggests pairing Elile’s with roasted meats with spicy and / or smoky preparations and Ellie’s with BBQ worked very well. 

I knew I would need a different beer with the rich chocolate desert and Imperial Stout is a perfect pairing with chocolate deserts. I am a big fan of Great Divide’s Yeti and there are a few varieties – Yeti, Oak-aged Yeti and Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I decided to try the Espresso Oak-aged Yeti (ABV of 9.5%) and this went very well with the rich Chocolate pie.  One can pick up the flavors of coffee, espresso, and chocolate from Yeti that cut through the fat in the pie and balanced the sweetness of the chocolate pie.  I need to send a thank you to Garret Oliver – brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery for providing excellent data on beer and food pairings in his book – The Brewmaster’s Table.  It is my reference for pairings and he is spot on.

Odell - Saboteur

Saboteur from Odell Brewing that is based in Ft. Collins, CO, made Draft Magazine’s “25 Beers of the Year”.  I had been looking for Saboteur for some time as a few of the larger stores were out of it.  I stopped by a smaller carry-out and they had six bottles left.  Saboteur is a Speciality Ale that does not fall into any distinct style.  The base style is an English-style Brown Ale that Odell then ages in oak barrels previously used for the Woodcut Series, and then injects in brettanomyces yeast for a secondary fermentation.  Brettanomyces is the bane of wineries and they go to great extremes to insure brettanomyces never is allowed in.  However, many craft brewers have embraced brettanomyces as it transforms beer into a funky aroma and taste experience.  This one pours a cloudy brown with a nice one-finger head that quickly recedes.  This is a sipping beer at 10% ABV, with taste of brown ale, tartness from the brettanomyces, vanilla and hints of cherries.  Some note a taste of pineapple, but I did not pick this up.  Odell describes Saboteur as "Our brewer's created an unpretentious, yet sophisticated brown ale.  They they plotted, and dosed this full-bodied ale with brettanomyces, the ultimate adversary of wineries.  Embracing this vitner's nemesis resulted in a complex and wonderfully drinkable beer.  Intense earthy undertones, and notes of vanilla and pineapple come together with a sour silhouette.  Aged in American oak barrels."  I will need to head back to see if any are left.  I would like to cellar a couple of bottles for special occasions and this one should cellar very nicely.