Monthly Archives: August 2009

Review of Tommyknocker Brewery’s Maple Nut Brown Ale

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I am going to review Tommyknocker Brewery’s Maple Nut Brown Ale. Some sites have this beer listed as an American Brown Ale, but upon the first smell and taste I decided it would do this beer an injustice to give it the American Brown Ale label. There is no official claim from the brewery that I can find, so I will compare it to what I think they were maybe going for. This beer is, in my opinion, closer to a Northern English Brown with maple added, than the American version. I wonder if because the beer is brewed here in the US some people mistake it for what an American Brown Ale is. If you read the style guidelines links I provided you can see that there is a big difference in hop presentation, and whether or not the beer is American or English does not have to do with where the beer was brewed (at least by modern definition), but the ingredients and flavor/aroma presentation.

Off the pour the beer is a nice brownish garnet color and fairly clear. It poured a small khaki color head, the head was persistent but disappeared a quarter way through the pint. The aroma is of sweet caramel and some maple, the aroma really suggests that this will be a sweet beer. There is not much in the way of hops in the aroma at all. This is one give away of why I didn’t want to put it in the American Brown category. There is a slight nuttiness to the beer as well, which is better suited to the Northern English variety as well.
The flavor is rich and sweet, as I expected. It is just a bit too sweet for a Northern Brown, but one flaw in a specialty style is easy to overlook. There is a deeply intense flavor of caramel and maple with some nutty character to it. It is almost too much because the sweetness sticks on your tongue for a while after you drink it. The hop bitterness is medium, with just enough punch to keep the beer from being overly cloying. But tone down the hops any more and you would feel like you would be drinking liquid candy in my opinion. Still there is a toasty pleasant quality to the beer that makes this feel like a cool spring campfire beer. But since it is warm and muggy right now, I am not very turned on by this one, which is something I have to overlook for now. The mouthfeel is medium/full with a low level of carbonation, which adds to the syrupy feel. The other reasons I don’t think this beer was intended to be an American Brown is because the hop presence is so low. The bitterness in the American brown should be substantial in comparison to this beer. In here, the hops can way to easily go unnoticed if you don’t fully realize how sweet this beer would appear to be without the hops.
Overall, I give this beer a C+. It is a good solid tasting beer, but even on a cool spring night, you wouldn’t probably drink more than 2 of these. The flavor of maple and caramel is nice at first, but you get tired of it by the end of the glass and are looking for something a bit more dry (which if it was a bit more dry it would better fit a Northern English Brown as well). This is still a drinkable beer and not disgusting by any means, but it is more of a “hey, come try this beer” instead of a “hey, you gotta try this beer.”
-Jason

Pairing Beer with Food

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By far the best book I have ever read on the pairing of beer with food has to be “The Brewmaster’s Table” by Garrett Oliver. On this post I am just going to list some of the most common food and beer pairings he has in his book. This is by by no means the whole list and I strongly recommend getting the book to fully understand the reasons why a particular beer pairs well with a specific food type. Without that knowledge this list is nothing more than a meaningless guide and you have no reasoning behind why these are good pairings. Also, as he states in the book, this is not the definitive list on what to pair together, it really all just boils down to personal preference and taste. A basic guideline is to try to find a beer that compliments, not contrasts the food you want to pair it with. You will get the idea as you see the examples. Also with strong or spicy foods you are looking for high carbonation to cut through the strong flavor. Another great book that goes over this topic is Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. Although not in as much depth’s as Oliver’s book, it’s still a good reference.

(Note: I now have a downloadable PDF file with pairing suggestions by beer style in this blog post here)

Apple Pie- Imperial Stout, Strong Baltic Porter, Cream Stout.
Avocado (as salad or Guacamole) – American Pale Ale and IPA
Bacon with eggs – Bavarian Weissbier or Belgian Witbier.
Bacon with other savory dishes – Belgian Dubbels, German Rauchbiers and Doppelbocks.
Bass - Weissbier, Witbier, North German Pilsner
Beef (roast) – British Bitter and Pale Ale, German Altbier
Beef (Braised, short ribs, cheeks) Belgian Dubbel and strong dark Trappist and Abbey ales.
Bouillabaisse – Tripel, biere de garde, Belgian strong golden ale.
Brownies - Imperial stout, Baltic strong porter.
Burgers - American Brown ales, Pale ale and IPA, Schwarzbier, Altbier, American Amber Ale.
Burritos - American Pale and Brown Ales, Altbier, Smoked beers
Cajun - American Pale and Brown Ale, Schwarzbier, Dunkel, Saison
Calamari (fried) – Pilsner, helles, Kolsch, American Amber Lager, American Pale ale, Saison.
Liver – Strong Dark Trappist and Abbey ale.
Caribbean - Pilsner, American Pale Ale, Saison, Irish or Foreign-style Stout.
Cheese – See segment below.
Cheesecake – Sweet Fruit beer, Baltic strong porter, Imperial Stout, American Stout *I have to say that my Farmhouse 1871 goes AWESOME with Turtle Cheesecake.*
Chicken (Roasted) – Biere De Garde, Dunkel, Bock, British Bitter and Pale Ale, British Brown ale, Oktoberfest Marzen, Dubbel, American Amber, Belgian Pale ale
Chicken (Fried) – American Amber Lager, American Brown Ale, Altbier
Chicken (Barbecued) – American Amber and Brown Ale, American Amber Lager, Porter, Smoked Beer
Tandoori - American pale Ale, Saison, Belgian Strong Golden Ale
Chili - American Pale ale, Brown ale, and IPA, Irish Stout, Smoked Beer
Chinese – Weissbier, Weissbock, Smoked beer, dunkel, Belgian strong golden ale
Chocolate – Sweeter fruit beers, Imperial Stout, Stronger American Stout, Baltic strong porter
Chowder – Weissbier, Witbier, Helles, Kolsch, Pilsner.
Clams – Pilsner, Belgian strong golden ale, Helles, Kolsch.
Crab – Witbier, weissbier, helles, American pale ale, Belgian strong golden ale.
Eggs – Weissbier, witbier, American Wheat beer, helles, Kolsch
Goose -Dubble, Strong Trappist or Abbey ale, Doppelbock, weissbock, strong Baltic Porter.
Gumbo – American Pale ale, Brown ale, and IPA, American Amber lager, Dortmunder, weissbock.
Ham (Baked) – Irish Stout, Pilsner, Dortmucnder, Hellesbock, Oktoberfest marzen, Tripel, Belgian strong ale, English Brown.
Ham(Aged) (Prosciutto, Serrano, Bayonne) Irish Stout, Schwarzbier, Porter, Hellesbock, Doppelbock, Dortmunder, Weissbock.
Ice Cream – Imperial Stout, American Stout, Cream Stout, Strong Baltic porter, Sweet Fruit Beers.
Indian (spicy) – Saison, Pilsner, Dortmunder, Hellesbock, American IPA
Jambalaya – American Pale Ale and IPA, AMerican Amber Lager, Saison, Pilsner, Irish Stout, Schwarzbier.
Lamb (roasted) – Bubbels, Scotch ales, Strong dark Trappist or Abbey ales, old ale, bier de garde.
Lamb (Grilled) British and American Brown ales, American Amber Lager, Schwarzbier, Irish Stout.
Lasagna – American Amber Lager, Belgian Pale ale.
Lobster – Weissbier, witbier, pilsner, helles, Irish Stout.
Real Macaroni and cheese – British bitter and pale ale, dunkel, altbier, oktoberfest marzen.
Meatloaf – British Bitter, Brown Ale and Pale ale, porter, dunkel. oktoberfest marzen; altbier
Ostrich - Biere de garde, tripel, Dortmunder, hellesbock.
Oysters – Irish stout, pilsner, helles, Kolsch, gueuze, Flanders red ale
Pecan Pie – Imperial Stout, American Stout, Cream Stout, strong Baltic porter.
Pizza – American Amber Lager, American Pale and amber ale, Oktoberfest marzen.
Salads- Weissbier, witbier, American Wheat Beer, Kolsch or with Blue Cheese have Dopplebock.
Salmon – weissbier, witbier, american wheat beer, saison, pilsner, American IPA.
Smoked Salmon – Pilsner, Dortmunder, Saison, Weissbier, Witbier, smoked beer, gueuze.
Steak – American Amber lager, American brown ale, altbier, porter, and dubbel.
Thai food- Weissbier, Saison, American pale and and IPA, American amber lager, altbier.
Trout – Weissbier, weissbock, or smoked beer if fish is smoked.
Veal – Dunkel, hellesbock, Belgian strong golden ale, weissbock, saison.
Venison – Doppelbock, dunkel, old ale, British and American brown ale and porter, strong dark Trappist and Abbey ale, strong Scotch ale, smoked beer.

The word on Cheese and Beer.

I am not going to go into a lot of depth at all on this, but this topic cannot be covered on only a few styles. Besides if you are that interested in knowing, your best bet is to buck up and buy the book, or another book on this topic.
Most people think of wine going with cheese but according to the Brewmaster’s Table, cheese and wine are not a good pairing, except in rare cases. The reason that some people pair wine with cheese is because that is what they think they are supposed to do, but in reality cheese coats the palate and blunts the flavor the wine. This makes harsher wines taste OK, and that is fine for mediocre or cheap wine. But if you are spending a lot of money on a wine or want to experience the actual flavor of the wine cheese is not a good pairing for the wine. Beer on the other hand is a lot better pairing. Part of what helps beer stand up to cheese is the carbonation, even if it is a lightly carbonated beer. The carbonation helps scrub the palate and clear the way for more cheese. There are so many combinations and possibilities with this category that it is really up to you. I will list a few of the suggestions from the book to help you out.
Serious complex cheeses like Aged Cheddars and the like cheeses. You want to find a beer that has a sharp bitterness to work with the cheeses sharpness, some nice fruit character and biscuity malt to match the nuttiness. IPA fits perfectly. Also consider Saison with an Aged Gouda.
With milder cheeses like a Swiss, you may want to consider a Dopplebock. The silky, toffee and sweet matches the Swiss very well.
Also the author strongly suggests that with the very stinky cheeses (some of my personal faves)a Biere De Garde will pair up flawlessly. Another good choice would be a barleywine. And speaking of Barleywine, I just want to toss out there a suggestion he highly recommends. Try Barleywine and Stilton cheese. I have never heard of Stilton cheese, but if you have you may want to give it a try.
I just want to add that one of my favorite pairing with cheese is framboise with Gorgonzola. It is very good together. The tart sweetness of the raspberry melds very well with buttery and salty bite of that cheese.

Beer Judging

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I am by far no expert judge, but I did want to put together a little one stop shop for all things judging. For the most part there is some reading and pallet development you have to do on your own. But a great place to start if you are remotly interested in judging or evaluating beer is the BJCP website.This is already pretty much your one source for all judging info and testing, it also has a lot of info on competitions coming up and who to contact. Aside from that though, I wanted to provide a few more links and some real good books that will help you understand how to evaluate beer. I also am going to dedicate another page in here to how to doctor beer and help develop your pallet for tasting and evaluating beer

Books

Chances are that if you are interested in judging homebrew competitions, you are a brewer of some sort and probably have some key homebrewing books like the Brewmasters bible, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, and How to Brew. If you don’t have how to brew, you must get that one because in my opinion it is the best book out there for brewing technique. But there are a few others that I found essential in working towards my certification. One of the books was Designing Great Beers. This book will describe all the major styles and the ingredients that go in them. It also give you some history into the styles and does well for describing the flavor and aroma profiles of the styles. Another book that is a must have is Evaluating Beer. This book is a great tool for all things judging. It has troubleshooting guides, flavor and aroma descriptions, how to develop your senses needed for judging. Some of this book is very technical, but and quite frankly is over my head, but I still found it an indispensable read for the exam. Plus, this book is where I got my information on doctoring beer for both aroma only, and flavor labs. On top of that there are little tricks to make grain tasters and hop teas.
Probably the newest and easiest to read books out there dedicated to the subject of beer tasting and evaluation is Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. This is simply a great book and explains in easy to understand terms, how properly evaluate beer for not only formal tasting, but overall beer enjoyment. This book is exactly what I have been waiting for. This is my most recommended book for someone interested in judging.

Below are some links You may enjoy as well.

The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP)
Here is a brewing network podcast dealing with the BJCP and judging.
Podcast 1

Beertown.org
HBD.org

Brewing Tips

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First off I am not going to just re-hash all the hard work others have put into writing books and such, besides they have done a much better job than I could ever do. I highly recommend checking out John Palmers site; How To Brew to get a good idea on how to get started. This is the same as his first edition book and it is free online. Or better yet you can go out and buy the 3rd edition. Anyway, on this page I will give a few tips from things I have learned while brewing. Some other great brewing books to add to your collection are Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels, Brewing Classic Styles by John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff, and Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher.

*Adding Chocolate Flavor to a beer. I have found that Cacao Nibs are the best choice. First off all, they are the roasted cacao bean. The base off chocolate. The problem with using bakers chocolate is that to bind the chocolate together they need to use some sort of fat. Mostly coco butter. The nibs don’t add any of the head retention killing fat. Plus with age any oils or fat will go rancid. This will not happen with the nibs. For best results just soak anywhere from 3 to 8 ounces in just enough vodka to cover the nibs. Then let them sit overnight. Add them to secondary, vodka and all. It even works better yet if you crush the nibs up even more than they already are.
* Adding Honey to a beer. Boiling honey or even adding honey to the primary will scrub out a lot of the flavor and aroma components that you are seeking by adding honey in the first place. What I have read works best (And this is how I do my honey lager) is to make 1 gallon less of beer than you plan to finish out with. Then when the primary fermentation is done, you boil then cool 1 gallon of water to 174 degrees. Then add your honey and let it sit in that hot water for 15 minutes to kill any nasties. Then cool that gallon in an ice bath. Add it to the secondary, then rack your 4 gallons (or full batch minus 1 gallon) onto that 1 gallon of honey water. You will get a second (less vigorous) fermentation, but it will retain a lot more of the honeys qualities.
* Full Wort Boil – This is the single best improvement you can make to your brewery. Even if you are an extract brewer, going to a full wort boil will make your beer much much better. All grain it is mandatory. You will get a better hop utilization, less burned wort (dark caramelization/unfermentable wort) just to name a few things. Buying an old dented keg and cutting the top off is the cheapest way to go full boil, plus then you can upgrade to 10 gallon batches if you wish. Those kegs are 15.5 gallons.
* Aeration- Not a must for starting out but if you are looking for some small tweak to bring your beer over the top, this is one of those things. The yeast will much more healthy and will ferment stronger and faster then without the oxygen rich wort. Just remember, oxygen before fermentation is good, oxygen added after fermentation begins or worse yet has completed is very very bad.
* Dry yeast – Many homebrewing “snobs” or homebrewers who have been brewing for many many years (from back when dry yeast was sub standard) will tell you liquid yeast is the only way to go. This is not true at all by a long shot. The technology has come very very far and there is excellent quality dry yeast on the market now. Fermentis is top notch and has the basic strains you could want to make about 90% off all the beer styles out there. I rarely use liquid yeast (only for heffe’s or a sour ale or other very specialized yeast flavor profile) and almost exclusively use one of 4 strains of dry yeast. I have been using Nottingham,But lately I have been using a lot of the Fermentis dry yeasts and LOVE THEM! For example you can use Fermentis US-05 (Same as Wyeast 1056 or White Labs WLP001)for any ale you want a clean yeast profile for. I also use Fermentis Safbrew S-33, and I use Fermentis Saflager S-23. If you want to do an English Ale you can use Safale S-04 or use Safbrew T-58 for Belgian style ales. There are even a Belgian wheat specific dry strain out there from Brewferm but I have not used it. One thing you don’t want to use is those blank dry yeast packets that come with some of the kits. Just be safe and pick up at least some Nottingham or Windsor yeast. Dry yeast is cheap, high quality, and does not require a starter. If you want to do a high gravity beer, just pitch 2 packets. It’s still way cheaper than any of the liquid yeast. This is one case where the saying “you get what you pay for” is not true.
* Water – Many people want to jump right into adjusting their water’s mineral content or PH. Truth is, this should be the last part of your brewing technique you start to tweak. You need to really know your content of minerals and the PH of your water before you start adding acids, salts, or other minerals. From my experience, the best all purpose water I have found is just a generic brand spring water. It is free from chlorine, and chlorimines, and will have an average mineral content. The water I get is $3 for 6 gallons at my local Wal Mart. There are 2 other things you can do, that don’t really count as adjusting your water. One is to filter (if your not using bottled water), this is something to seriously consider doing if your using tap water. Another option is to use campden tablets to remove chloramines. I have done this in a pinch and it works well. You still need to let the water sit overnight. If you do want to build your own water, use distilled water. This water has no minerals or anything in it and you can easily build the water you want. DO NOT use distilled water for brewing without adding minerals.

* Roasting your own grains – Roasting your own grains is an awesome way to add another personal touch to your homebrew. I love roasting my own malts and even made my own crystal malt. It is so easy, and all you need is an oven and some time. You can click HERE to get a list of temperatures and times for different common roasts. Roasting your malts is fun and easy and doesn’t take more than 45 minutes at the most, excpet for crystal malt. Be aware that I have found from my experience that roasting your own malt seems to reduce the amount of sugars you get, maybe it’s just me. But it also adds some awesome malt flavor so I am happy with the trade, just use a touch more base malt.

How to Build A Mash Tun

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Home Built Mash TunIt was pretty easy. As you can see from the pictures below. All I used was some 1/2″ copper tubing and some 90 and 45 degree elbows a few T’s and 2 female threaded attachments. For the spigot I used a brass valve, a brass close nipple a few Stainless steel washers and silicone O-Rings. Below are better Descriptions.

Here is the manifold at the bottom of the tun that will filter out the grains. Depending on the size of the cooler used cut the copper tubing to length. I used 4 elbows on the frame and 3 t’s. One facing up for the connector. For the connector I used 1 90 degree elbow right off the T connection and 2 45 degree connectors to form sort of a backwards Z so it came to the right spot on the cooler to meet up with the hole. I used copper bond epoxy which is good up to 185 degrees and is food grade. The mash should not get that high so things should be OK. Copper Bond is supposed to act exactly the same as soldering the joints. After it is assembled and bonded, I cut slits in the manifold with a hacksaw. Above, you can see the positioning in the cooler. Below is a close up of how I build the manifold.
Manifold

For the spigot I just used a 1/2″ brass close nipple, 1 5/8″ Stainless Steel Washer, a 1/2″ brass ball valve, and a 90 degree 1/2″ to 3/8″ hose barbed hose adapter. The other side of the close nipple threads onto the manifold at the other end. There is a silicone gasket on this side as well right behind the washer.

Although I Batch Sparge now, when I started I was Fly Sparging. If you want to Fly Sparge you can build a sparge Manifold like the one to the right. I built the sparge manifold the same way as the bottom, except I drilled holes for the water to shower down onto the grain bed and the T pointing up is connected to a straight piece of copper that goes through the lid and to another 1/2″ female adapter and a 1/2″ to 3/8″ hose adapter. Except it is straight through instead of angled to meet the hole like in the bottom. Below is a pick of the top of the tun, and the flip side of the lid pictured below that.

Review of Hop Stoopid

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Well, I finally went out and got something new to review. Hop Stoopid is one of Lagunitas many great beers, as well as one of their many IPA versions. Hop Stoopid
To start off I want to say that this will be the perfect beer for someone who wants to boast that they drank an Imperial IPA and really enjoyed it, but maybe they really don’t like the Imperial IPA’s :) Come on, I know a few of you like that….you know who you are. This beer brags up a 102 IBU (International Bittering Units), and an ABV of 8%. Neither one seems to be that high, but it is true. So for a double IPA, this one acts more along the lines of a regular IPA than an Imperial, in the bitterness affect (not aroma or flavor). I would hate to imagine how sweet this beer is if the IBU’s were not at 102, because each is offset just enough to seem lower than they are. I think Dogfish Heads 90 Minute IPA which has an IBU rating of 90 appears to have more hop bite than Hop Stoopid does. And if you’ve ever had DFH’s 120 minute IPA (their Imperial IPA), this one is nothing like it. It all has to do with the type of hops being used as well as the balance between the hops and malts, but Lagunitas version is much more drinkable. I easily drank a few pints of this one. So with this long into out of the way, why I don’t I give this beer a review now?

It poured a nice dark golden hue with some haze, obviously from the hops. It had a nice dense head as well. It’s a very pretty double IPA. You can smell the hops as you pour the beer, you don’t even have to wait to bring the glass up to your nose! As you do so, you get a nice bright grapefruit with some fresh peeled orange as well as a piney hop aroma. There is a ton of hops in here for sure. You get a bit of sweet malt aroma, but it is a bit hard to nail down because of the hops, but with a name like hop stoopid, I didn’t expect the malt to take center stage anyway. A+ for aroma, that’s for sure.
The flavor matches up well with the aroma, but is a bit more balanced than the aroma. You do get some malt sweetness, a soft caramel and bready mix for the malt and the flavor of white grapefruit takes center stage for the hops. There is a thick resinous pine aftertaste that is welcome in this beer style, and I don’t think it is over done at all. The alcohol hides well behind the hops, but you can get it, especially if you close your mouth after you swallow and breath out slowly through the nose. The flavor is so well balanced that this is one of the rare Imperial IPA’s that you can have more than one or two for sure, just be weary of the 8% ABV and you’ll be fine.
The mouthfeel is medium full, with the hops actually appearing to adding a bit of mouthfeel to the beer as well. The carbonation is not so high to add some carbonic bite to the beer (think seltzer water), but enough to bring out the flavors and aroma in the experience.
I think this is a very well made beer, I can’t really think of anything I don’t like about the beer, other than the hop profile is very typical. Although it is nice, the grapefruity and piney profile does get old. It would have been nice to see an Imperial IPA with large amounts of newer hops, like Amarillo or Newport to add some interesting twists to the American IPA style, but this beer is still enjoyable for the hop heads. This is a big beer, so don’t expect to like it if you are not into big huge flavors and aromas in your beer. But I give this beer a solid A.
-Jason

Review of New Glarus “Imperial Saison”

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Today I will be reviewing New Glarus’ Unplugged Imperial Saison. There is no official category for this style, so what I will do is just look at the Saison style and imagine everything as being bigger and bolder. So what is a Saison you ask? Saison is the French word for season, but in relation to beer Saison is a seasonal ale that was brewed in the cooler months for summer consumption. In the days before we were able to control our fermentation temps with refrigeration or other cooling methods, most brewing was done in the fall, winter, and spring months because the summers were just too hot and produced some off flavors that were not so pleasant, as well as fusel alcohols which can give some people a headache. Also, back in the days of old, most households brewed their own beer, especially in the rural areas, and this beer was brewed by the women of the household for the summer months, and it was usually brewed to a slightly higher alcohol percentage to withstand the long storing process to withstand the entire summer months. You can expect a Saison to be fruity, higher in alcohol (5%-7% on average, but this is an Imperial so expet it to be above 7%), finish dry, high carbonation, and have a pronounced spicy hop character. With all that said, lets get started with this review.

First, I make it no secret that I am a huge fan of New Glarus. There have been a few beers I don’t care for personally, but they hit the style. Yet others are not within style, but I just love how they taste regardless. If I could describe this beer in three words it would be Wow, Wow, and Wow. It is very tart with a clean sourness that makes this beer incredibly thirst quenching. The color is a rich gold color and fairly clear with just a slight haze. It is highly carbonated and poured a beautiful rich head, and the best part is the head remains throughout the entire pint. The aroma is sweet and fruity (lemon and tart peaches), but with not as much hops as I would expect. The malt profile is sweet and grainy. The whole perception is very much like champagne.
The flavor is where this beer really shines. The tart sourness hits you right away and is very pleasant. There is a citrus flavor that melds well with the tart sourness which creates the impression of lemons in the beer. I really really love this one and think it’s going to be a huge hit. There is also a very very mild pepper spice the beer, but that comes in the right before the finish, and it’s just a flash. It does finish quite dry which adds to the thirst quenching quality of the beer. It also finishes quite clean without any real lingering aftertaste, just a bit of lingering tartness. The alcohol is reported at being about 8.7% but the beer masks it quite well so be careful.
I give this beer a big A+ and give it a high recommendation. However don’t go out and buy any quite yet, I want to stock up on this bad boy because it is a limited release. So please wait until Wednesday before going out an loading up on this beer :) . The Unplugged is sold only in 4 packs, and to some it may seem a bit expensive, but in honesty you get what you pay for.

Review of Oskar Blues “Mama’s Little Yellow Pils”

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Bottles or cans? Green bottles, clear bottles, or brown bottles? All have an effect on your beers flavor and aroma. There was a time when cans were reserved for the macro swill (AKA Budweiser, Miller, Coors) that so many Americans, up until recently, have only known as what beer is. But all that changed with the craft beer revolution of the 90′s. More and more people are learning that there is a beer out there for everyone. Whether it’s a dark roasty stout, complex and boozy barleywine, a sweet and delicate fruit beer, a crisp and refreshing pilsner (not to be confused with an American standard/lite/classic lager), or a hoppy Pale ale or IPA; there is a beer out there for you. All these top notch craft beers are usually sold in brown or dark amber bottles. The reason is because clear and green bottles, which due to great marketing has lead many to believe that these imports in green and clear bottles is the good stuff, don’t offer any protection against the light that skunks beer. No it’s not warm or old beer that is skunked, it is light struck beer. Brown and amber bottles offer the best protection for bottles which is why they are the choice of microbrews. But new can technology has lead many microbrewers to go back to cans. They offer no light penetration as well as the ability to cool down quickly if you buy a six pack off the shelf. Oskar Blues is one of the craft brewers who is leading the charge in going back to cans. Oskar Blue’s flagship beer “Dales Pale Ale” is one of my personal favorites and Old Chub is also quite nice. But a new one emerged at Superior Discount Liquor that I didn’t see before. It’s a Bohemian Pilsner named Mama’s Little Yella Pils. Quite a clever name I think. So with all that out of the way, don’t fear the can and we’ll just get started.

It pours with a bit of chill haze, which is evident because as the beer warms it becomes quite clear, but off the pour the beer was a bit hazy. The head is outstanding and leaves a full 1/8 inch layer the entire glass, start to finish. The chill haze is caused by proteins suspended in the beer, and head retention is affected by proteins so it was probably a trade off for the brewer. Whatever malt they used to enhance head retention probably affected the clarity.
The aroma is of bready sweet malt and some spicy hop aroma from the use of Saaz hops. Otherwise the aroma is very clean with no fermentation by-products detectable by my nose. The hop aroma is right on for me, some people may prefer a bit more hop presence in their Bo. Pils. though.
The flavor is nice with a soft sweet malty start and finish. The center is dominated by the bitterness before giving way back to the malt. The lingering aftertaste is produced by the hops as well. For me the flavors alternate a bit when you swallow which is interesting. I get a bit of a citrusy flavor as well in the middle which I am not entirely sure is appropriate for the style.
The mouthfeel is medium body with a lot of carbonation. Very nice.
Overall I give this beer a very good B, it could be a B+ or A- with a few minor tweaks, but I like this beer. The head is just outstanding with a layer lasting right until the end of the glass, that is very impressive. The flavor is good for summer and the color is not off-putting to those who believe that dark is a flavor :)