Scoring New Glarus Chocolate Abbey

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New Glarus Chocolate Abbey

Today I went to the store to get some 400 pound monkey from Left Hand Brewing and saw New Glarus’ new thumbprint beer hit our shelves, so of course I had to pick it up. This is billed as a Belgian Dubbel with Chocolate, so technically this would fall under category 21a, Vegetable/Spice/Herb beer. It could also fall under category 23 as well. I will be judging it as category 21a since they did list the base style as a Belgian Dubbel.

Aroma: If there one thing New Glarus does well…..very well actually, it’s aroma’s in beer. Dan Carey really has a knack for adding that little extra. I didn’t even have to bring this beer to my nose, I could smell the chocolate off the pour while the glass was sitting on counter. It was the smell of rich couverture chocolate. But things don’t end there. Digging a bit deeper there is some fig and spiced raisins as well. As the beer releases some of the pent up chocolate energy, the fig and spiced raisins play so nicely with the chocolate, it borders on obscene. The spice notes (I get a touch of nutmeg) are probably derived from the yeast. (10 points)

Appearance: The beer is a deep amber with some great clarity. The tan foamy head is fairly thick and reduces to a thin layer as you drink the beer down. (3 points)

Flavor: The flavor is bit more subdued than the aroma, but the same elements seem to come to the table. There is a graham cracker-like undertone to the malt base that I did not get in the aroma. The chocolate flavor is not as pronounced as the aroma, but plays just as well with the dark fruity fig and spice. They used an interesting variety of hops I have not had, but I really don’t get anI have no real way of knowing, but I am guessing this beer at about 7% alcohol based on the fact I get a bit of alcohol in the flavor, but not a lot. If this beer is bigger than that, it hides if very well. (16 points)

Mouthfeel: For a dubbel, it feels a bit thin on the palette. The carbonation is nice and spikey. I don’t get any astringency. (3 points)

Overall: Overall, this is an outstanding beer. This beer would pair great with wild game or lamb, but would also do justice to a grilled steak. Pair it with some chocolate or fruit (cherry, fig, dates) desserts as well and you can’t go wrong. Rich and bold with not much in the way of being overly sweet. There is some sweetness in the front end, but it finishes dry and fairly spicy. The bitterness from the hops balances things quite well, I just wish I knew how much spice was coming from the yeast and how much (if any) from the hops. I may have to look up Segal Ranch hops. Not sure what they bring to the table. This is probably my favorite Thumbprint beer for the winter months. This beer just screams winter warmer to me. (8 points)

Score: 40 points out of 50, which is an A in my book.

Another Great Lakes Brewfest is in the Books

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Great Lakes Brewfest

This was another great year for the Great Lakes Brewfest, one of my favorite beer festivals of the year. The new venue was not what I was expecting at all, which was a plus. I was a bit apprehensive about it being at the zoo, because I was thinking we would be among the animals and who knows what could have happened when you get 4,000 people drinking some great craft beer among a bunch of caged animals. But the area was not around the cages and was a very nice open area.

I was unable to make the Friday event, but from the postings on their facebook page, that event had a great turnout and some very positive feedback. I cannot comment on this portion of the event because we did not travel down Friday and stay the extra night. You can probably place that blame on the economy.

The staging area beautiful. There was some entertainment as the monkey cage was right there. They seemed a bit confused about what all those people were doing there. I also like the castle-like entrance. All that though was small potatoes compared to the electric feel of the anticipation of the doors opening.

Waiting for the gates to open to the GLBF

One the gates opened it was a mad dash to your fist tent. If you are an experienced fest participant, it is smart of have a game plan for your first few beers. We had a game plan and that was to bypass the first few tents because like every year, those seem to be the first hit, so we made a dash for some of the back tents. This brings me to my first noticeable difference in the fest at the zoo compared to the Festival grounds. At the festival grounds, a bulk of your breweries were located in a central location. It got a bit crowded and at times hard to get into the beers you wanted. While the tent situation scattered the breweries all around the grounds, which lead to more  moving about from station to station, it did open up the area and it was not as congested as it is at the Festival grounds. Each setup had it’s advantages and disadvantages I guess. I didn’t mind either way. I do have to say I had a hard time finding (and in the end never got to) the stone brewery tent which was not where it said it was on the map. I was a bit disappointed in that. But it’s not like I didn’t have other choices.

Here is a shot of the festival grounds at the zoo.

There were many great craft brewers represented at the fest, as well as a few mead and cider producers as well. A few local breweries to note were Ale Asylum, New Glarus, Aeppletreow Winery, Hinterland Brewery, Furthermore, and Titletown brewing. On the National level you had heavy hitters like Stone, Left Hand, Avery, New Belgium, Rogue, Moylens, Dogfish Head, Ommegang, and Flying dog…..just to name a few. In the end there were hundreds of beers represented, some special firken tappings, or special offerings that were tapped at specific times. You had over 90 different brewers to choose from. If you couldn’t find something you like, you were not looking. That’s for sure. A few of my personal favorites from the day were Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious, Ommegang’s Aphrodite, and Left Hand Brewing’s 400 Pound Monkey. But really when you think about it, how many great beers do you have after you’re already well on your way? LOL.

Kilties

I’m going to be honest. I was so engrossed in the beer tasting, that I didn’t even notice the band playing. From time to time I recall hearing some background music but I didn’t get to pay much attention. The area was so big, perhaps the sound just was not carrying. I did get to stop and see the Kilties perform which is a treat every year. The Kilties help sponsor the event every year.

The Food is top notch for a beer festival. Although I didn’t get to sample much, I do go right for the pig roast sandwich. It has become my favorite meal at the fest. However, inside the food tent I did see that there were crepes, roasted corn, popcorn, brats and burgers, chili fries, and beer candy. There may have been more, but that was what I saw.

If you are concerned with driving, the GLBF takes good care of you. This was the first year I took advantage of the shuttles to and from the hotel, and I have to say it was a lot of fun both on the way there, and a lot more fun on the way back. There are other services available as well, from cabs to a designated driver program. There should be no excuse for drinking and driving from the festival.

So in the end, again year after year the Great Lakes Brewfest provides an outstanding assortment of craft beers, great food, and good good solid entertainment. I can’t stress enough that if you life in Wisconsin (or even if you don’t) this event is the one to hit. I’ve been going for years, and plan to keep going for many many more. This year, I did do something a little different. I asked a couple of other Fest goers about what they thought of the fest and below are their thoughts.

Brian Lesperance

My first set of feedback is from Fest Goer, Brian Lesperance. I asked Brian the following questions.

Is this your first year at the fest? No.

Did you like the new venue, or did you prefer the Festival Park grounds? I Like the new venue it’s more open and not as maze like.

Was it easy to locate all the beers/brewery’s you wanted to try? Pretty much. But I could not find tent 19 with Stone and Lagunitas.

What did you think of the choices of brewery’s? I am always looking for new brewery’s and beers to sample and regionally undistributed beers are great to sample.

Did you attend the Friday night event? No. We come down on Friday night but we sample the local cuisine and tour the Racine area.

What was your favorite beer of the night? Four Wolves English Ale from Stonefly, Left Hand’s 400 Pound Monkey, I also enjoyed  Alaskan Amber by Alaskan Brewing Co.

Did you like the Entertainment? I Didn’t care for this years band. The Kilties performance is always top notch.

Were you happy with food choices? Hell yeah! Pulled pork is awesome, as well as the usual fair of burgers and brats. The chili cheese fries were yummy.

What do you like most about the Fest? The beer of course. But the  other fest goers at the GLBF are the most friendly group I’ve been around. for the most part No fights, No raging drunks and everyone is friendly and courteous!

What do you like the least of the fest? Staggered Sampling.

Will you attend next year? Yes!

I also received feedback from a first time Great Lakes Brewfest Attendee, David Taylor.

David Taylor

Was this your first year at the fest? Yes.
Did you like the new venue, or did you prefer the Festival Park grounds? I have no way to compare but I think I would prefer a more circular shape so that the path from any one brewery to any other is more 2-dimensional. But that’s just being picky.

Was it easy to locate all the beers/brewery’s you wanted to try? Yes, for the most part, although I did miss a couple that I would have loved to have seen.

What did you think of the choices of brewery’s? Excellent!

Did you attend the Friday night event? No

What was your favorite beer of the night? Does it have to be beer? I loved Aeppeltreow’s Cyser Rose the best. For beer it would be one of two of Bear Republic’s — Racer 5 IPA or the Stout.

How would you describe the atmosphere of the festival? Big and beautiful, and pretty laid back. There were a lot of lines but you didn’t hear people complaining much about them either.

Did you like the Entertainment? I didn’t pay attention.

Were you happy with food choices? Yes, it all looked very good.

What do you like most about the Fest? The selection and the outdoorsy-ness.

What do you like the least of the fest? The sheer size and the lines. Need more port-a-potties!

Will you attend next year? Honestly, probably not. It’s a great fest, but a little too huge for my personal taste. I like being able to get from point A to B in zero minutes with no lines.

I would like to thank Brian and David for their feedback on the fest. It’s always good to give the readers a different opinion other than just my own. I hope to see you next year, I already have my room reserved.

Shipwrecked Captain’s Copper Ale

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Shipwrecked Copper Ale

Today I am going to review a beer from a Door County Wisconsin brewpub called Shipwrecked. Today I have their Captian’s Copper Ale, thanks to my son who picked this out. Generally a copper ale will fit into either the Pale Ale category or the brown ale category, so it’s a toss up depending on the beer itself. Also as a general rule, copper ales tend to be more along the Brittish lineage, such as a English Pale ale or English Browns, but not exclusivly. For fun, I thought I’d run this one against the English Mild category, mostly because if this was my beer this is where I would enter it. Overall I found this beer malty with very little hop aroma. The flavor was quite nice with some hop bitterness in the middle but finished well. So, with that generalization out of the way, lets take a more in depth look at this beer.

Aroma: Toasty and toffee-like malt aroma. Some low caramel notes. Overall the aroma is a bit sweet. I get a very low woodsy hop aroma. I don’t really get any fruitiness. All in all a nice smelling beer. (7 Points)

Appearance: The beer has good clarity. It is a nice rich copper color and has a nice sudsy head. The head disappeared quite quickly. (2 points)

Flavor: First thing I notice is a toffee-like flavor with a little bit of sweetness. That is immediately interrupted by a moderate hop bitterness. There is some herbal hop flavor in the mix as well. I also find that there is a bit of caramel and toasted barley swirling around that I quite like. The only thing that is off-putting is the herbal hop flavor. The bitterness is nice but the flavor just does not seem to mingle well with the other flavors. It’s a good thing this flavor is on the low side, any more and I probably wouldn’t like this beer. All in all it is malty, a bit sweet, but finishes semi-sweet. The lingering malt flavor is very enjoyable. The hop bitterness disappears fairly fast. (12 points)

Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is medium-light and there is no alcohol sensation or astringency. Carbonation is good for the style, falling right in the lower range. (3 points)

Overall: Overall it is a very good beer. It is lacking  just a touch in aroma, and the flavor is very nice except for the herbal flavor. That flavor would go well in a few other beers, but it just does not seem to fit this one. Would I recommend this beer? Sure. Is it my favorite. No, but it is not a disappointment, that’s for sure. A different hop choice may benefit or perhaps just a bit more malt to cover it up. Still, it’s a nice fall time beer to be sure. (6 points)

Score: I give this beer a 29 out of 50 points. While this beer is good, it is not great or outstanding. I liked it and I would order it again. There was just the herbal flavor I didn’t agree with and thought it was just an average middle of the road beer. Still, it’s not bad.

Great Lakes Brewfest Fast Approaching!

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If there is one event in Wisconsin that I hit every year, it’s the Great Lakes Brew Fest (GLBF). This year is no exception. With over 250 different craft beers being offered from 100 different brewery’s, it is a craft beer lovers wet dream. I started going to the GLBF back in 2006 and have been back every year since. Attendance is limited to 4,000 people for the main fest on Saturday and limited to 2,500 on Friday. The fest has been selling out in past years so you should get your ticket soon. It’s a great time, I have never seen anyone at the fest not having fun. In past years the event was held at Festival Park in Racine, but several events this year lead to the Great lakes Brew Fest needing to change it’s location. This year it will held at The Racine Zoological Gardens, at 200 Gold Street in Racine. It will be interesting to see how this affects the festivals turnout, but I saw pictures on the GLBF website and it looks to be a beautiful location.

The Festival is a two-day event with Friday September 16th being a showcase to Wisconsin’s Craft Beer scene. The “On Wisconsin Brews” portion of the Festival will showcase over 100 of Wisconsin’s finest craft beer offerings from about 35 different brewery’s from around the state. If you would like to see a line-up of the beers being offered, I will provide a link here. This particular event runs from 6:30pm until 10:30pm. Aside from the beer there will food and live music as well. Last year I had a pulled pork sandwich which was awesome, I hope that same vendor is there this year.

Saturday is the “Full Monty” which runs from 3pm till 7pm for general admission and from 2pm-7pm for Vip ticket holders. This Saturday event is the one I make sure I hit not matter what. The most exciting part of the whole thing is the choices you have. You have all of these brewery’s to choose from (select Wisconsin or Nationwide to see the full list). From my experience, each of these stands will offer anywhere from 3 to 5 different beers to choose from and many of them them will have special tappings of their specials or seasonal beers. Generally there is a few different musical performers staged at a few different locations of the festival so Entertainment is never an issue. Sometime about mid-fest you also are treated to a performance by the Kilties Drum and Bugle Corps as well. There is a large food tent,(Again, pulled pork my friends. Pulled Pork!) with several vendors offering a wide variety of food.I should also note that there will be a prize for the best animal costume too. So if you love to dress up, this is your chance.

So, are you ready to buy a ticket yet?  Ticket prices are $40 for each day of the fest, or $71 if you buy tickets to both days at the same time. VIP tickets for Saturday only will run you $85 each, or $116 if you bundle with a  general admission Friday ticket too. designated driver tickets are $15 each for general admission and $25 for VIP designated driver tickets.  You can purchase tickets Here.

Since drinking and driving is not the responsible way to attend a fest, I have to add that if you don’t have a designated driver ticket, you should seriously think of purchasing a shuttle ticket if you are staying at one of the hotels. For either $4 or $8 round trip, it is really worth it. You can purchase those Here.

So hopefully you can make September 16th and/or the 17th. If you can’t make this year, make a plan for next year because this fest is one you don’t want to miss!

Sprecher’s Grilling with Beer Contest 2011

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The recipe poster in front of my grilling station

A week ago I posted that I was selected as one of eight finalists in the Sprecher Grilling with beer contest. The event was a great time, and I give a lot of thanks to Sprecher Brewing, Keg-a-Que, and the Beef council for sponsoring such a cool event. Anything that spreads awareness as beer as an ingredient in great cooking is A+ in my book. I am also happy to say I took a 2nd place spot in this competition with my Pub Style Skirt Steak Fajitas. I am sad to say at this time I don’t remember who took the 1st and 3rd place spots, but I promise to update this post with that information once Sprecher updates their site with the other winners. I did get a chance to sample some of the other contestants food around me and I have to say their recipes were very tasty, I can see why they were selected for the contest.

The day started at noon when I arrived to let the people at Sprecher know that I was indeed there to compete. However, since my turn-in time was 2:10 and my dish only takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare and cook, I didn’t have to start cooking until just before 1:30. At about 1:25 I start slicing my peppers and onions and turned on the grill. Once hot, it was just a matter of cooking the skirt steak to about 7 minutes a side. Normally on my charcoal grill I do about 5 minutes each side, but this grill seemed to feel a bit less intense than when I use charcoal. This worked well. I ended up pulling my steak off just shy of 1:50 and got started on the peppers and onions. Shortly after, the steak was done resting about 2pm and I sliced the steak. By the time I was done slicing the vegetables were done, and I had time to quickly grill a tortilla. I was nervous about my serving because I didn’t have time to make another or make it look pretty, so I bet I didn’t get the best score for presentation. But the meat was spot on for what I was going for and the vegetables were of good flavor and texture. Below are some pics from the event.

Here I am receiving my instructions for turn in times and so forth.

Here is the grilled skirt steak as it rests.

Here is the beer braised onions and peppers.

Here is the sliced skirt steak.

Finished product, I also quickly warmed the tortilla on the grill as well.

This is just a shot of the judges eating my entry. I'm probably the only one who likes this pic. :)

Called up on stage for 2nd place!!

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All three of us winners up on stage. 1st place was a rueben burger, then my skirt steak fajitas, and at third place was Farmer's Fantastic Ribeyes grilled by Shana Johnson (no relation).

For second place I received a grill, various beef shwag, a gift certificate for beef, a grilling with beer cookbook, a case of Sprecher beer, and 2 tour passes.

Sprecher Grilling With Beer Contest

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This is just a quick post. I have been selected to compete in the Sprecher Grilling with Beer Competition. I will be bringing you a full account of what happened probably sometime next week. I’m pretty excited, this is the second year I have been selected. However last year I had to back out because of an obligation at work. This year, I am able to make it down. I will be grilling a pub style skirt steak with beer braised onions and peppers.

Firken Follow Up

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Well if you missed it, you probably want to reserve this time of year next year for the next Firken Craft Beer Festival.  The festival may have only been in it’s second year but it is already proving to be a beer event to hit in Wisconsin with a crowd of over 1100 Craft Beer Lovers in attendance. The weather was warm and sunny which didn’t hurt. After all, that’s perfect beer drinking weather….not that there ever is bad beer drinking weather right?  The event took place at Cathedral Square Park in Downtown Milwaukee, on July 23 from 3-8 p.m.

When the gates opened at 3pm,  VIP ticket holders had first crack at their favorite beers. The advantage of VIP is you do not have to contend with lines and you have a lot of open beer options.  The general admissions line wrapped around the block, as they waited for their turn into the fest.  It was not long after opening The Squeezettes made their rounds through the fest, playing everyone’s favorite polka tunes while brandishing their very own tasting glasses.  The Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Alter Boys set up on stage and began a set that rumor has it, even the Klements Racing Sausages couldn’t help but dance to.

The Squeezetss playing Wisconsin's favorite Polka Music

Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Alter Boys Rockin the fest

In the Firkin Tent,  Fest goers tried one of the eight brews up for the Beer Buffalo Lodge Big Firkin Award (an amazing piece of art which was designed and created by Art Milwaukee).  Attendees were able to vote on their favorite nominated brew. The winner was Big Bay Brewing Company with their Wavehopper Kolsch, a clear fest favorite!

Firken Tent

Fest goers also enjoyed many options for food, including George’s Big Dogs, Miller Bakery Pretzillas (which boasted the longest food vendor line!) and Flannery’s.  The Brewriana Tent was jam packed with displays of antique beer cans, caps, photos and signs.

In the end, it appears that the 2nd Annual Firkin was a huge success.  When you have the best Milwaukee has to offer on the craft beer scene, great music, and sunny blue skies;  you are bound to have a Firkin good time.

Prost!