Tag Archives: review

Review: Caylight

Posted on
Reply

Cay Light

Today I am trying another of the beers I got from a friend who visited the Cayman Islands. This one is Caybrew’s answer to Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, and so on. This is an American Lite/Light Lager. We can expect this review to be fairly short because this style does not have much to it, but I don’t think I have ever reviewed an American Light Lager on here before.

Aroma: I don’t find anything in the way of hop aroma. There is a dry grainy aroma and that’s just about it.  A good solid swirl in the glass does give way to a bit of DMS (canned corn) aroma. Normally this is a considered a fault, but it is allowed in low levels in this style. The grain becomes more dominant as the beer warmed. (8 points)

Appearance: A very pale yellow and crystal clear. It pours a decent head and there is a layer of foam that sticks around. A nice looking Light Lager. (3 points)

Flavor: This beer is the light lager for the beer lover because it actually has some interesting flavor. The hop bitterness is very low, I suspect it’s just enough to balance the small amount of malt in the beer. However, there is a very interesting cracked grain flavor. Normally when you think Bud Light or Miller Lite you are thinking everything is so in balance you don’t get much malt or any hops, and maybe a bit of corn if you are lucky. This beer is a bit different and actually brings a bit of grain flavor the table. The beer is very dry and nice and crisp. I suspect some people will find the grain flavor off putting for a light lager, but I welcome it. The high carbonation also brings a slight acidic twang as well. If this were to cross a table in homebrew competition, I suspect most judges would be happy with it because while it remains within the style guidelines, it still pushes the boundary of American Lite Lager and has some flavor. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a very flavorful beer, but compared to the hallmark examples of this style, I like it. I must note, that like most light lagers, as it warms it becomes a bit more unpleasant so drink it fairly cold. (15 points)

Mouthfeel: Very light body and has a watery feel, as it should per style. The carbonation is very high and crisp and gives a bit of acidic twang. (4 points)

Overall: The beer, for what it is, is impressive to me. For an American Light Lager it is very good, probably one of the best I have had. In all honesty I have not had as many Light Lagers as I have had IPA’s (Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Beer 30 Light, and Sam Adams Light is all I can think of for beers I’ve had from this style off hand), but this is my favorite Light lager so far. It has it all. It is dry, crisp, low hop profile, low malt profile, it actually has some flavor and does not taste as much like water. However, you still need to drink it fairly cold and fairly fast. As it warms it becomes a bit more harder to drink. (8 points)

Score: 38 points which is an excellent example of the style. This would be a solid B if I were to assign a letter grade to it. Remember, this grade is a comparison according to the style guidelines. I’m not saying this is the best craft beer you are going to have, but compared to other Light Lagers, this is top notch.

Review: White Tip Lager

Posted on
Reply

White Tip Lager

A friend of mine brought me back 4 beers from the Cayman Islands. This was one of them, White Tip Lager, which is billed as being brewed as a European Premium Lager, which in the BJCP world would still fall under the Premium American Lager category right along with Becks, Stella Artois, Corona, and Heineken. I am confident in the freshness of this beer seeing as the guy who brought it directly from the Caymans just returned 2 days ago.

One thing I don’t enjoy about reviewing light lagers is that you tend to get emails about how much they suck and on. But as a beer judge (especially if you are a beer lover who thinks that way) you need to put that beer snobbery away and judge the beer based upon what it is according to the guidelines, not your personal preference or thoughts on Light Lagers. Like it or not these beers are a part of the craft beer world, although they get little respect. So put those ideas aside, read over the guidelines and accept the beer for what it is, not what you wish it was. So, with that said, let’s review this beer as it would fall if it were in Homebrew Competition.

Aroma: Very low floral aroma, it comes through a lot more if you agitate the beer. There is a slightly sweet clover honey aroma as well. I get the faint aroma of fresh milled grains as well. Other than that, there is not a whole lot going on. Most of the aroma needs to be coaxed out the beer. If you pick it up after sitting a bit, there really is not much to find other than the slight honey aroma. For what it is, it is not bad. If you compare this to the likes of Becks, Stella, or Heineken you will be lacking that classic “skunky” aroma, which is a flaw from being lightstruck. I recall a time when someone would call that the “good stuff” because of that smell. I’m glad that for the most part many people have moved beyond that mindset and recognize that aroma for what it is, a downfall of shipping beer in green bottles across 2 continents.(9 points)

Appearance: This beer is very beautiful. It has a nice gold hue and pours a decent 3/4″ head. The beer is crystal clear. My favorite part comes about half way through the pint, there is a thin 1/8″ layer of foam still present. (3 points)

Flavor: The beer has a nice sweet honey-like flavor that I am digging. The hop flavor is slightly spicy and fairly low. The bitterness lays around the low to medium range and really flows well with the up front sweet flavor of the beer. The beer finishes a only slightly dry. It could be a bit dryer and have a bit more pop to it. It’s not as crisp and refreshing as I would hope. Still the overall flavor is very nice. This is what I find a bit discouraging about beer review sites like Beer Advocate and Rate beer. A majority of the people are rating the beers based on their taste. And many of those people have a taste for the big IPA’s, Barleywines, Belgain Dubbels, and so forth. Granted a beer like this pales in comparison to those extremely flavorful beers, but for what this beer is…..and what the brewery was shooting for, is pretty well done.(13 points)

Mouthfeel: White Tip falls in the medium range for mouthfeel for me. So it could be a touch thinner. That’s strictly by style, on a personal level I like it where it is, but by style it should be dryer so we will have to ding it for that. Carbonation is adequate but I would like to see it a bit higher. More carbonation would give it that pop and help give it a more dry quality as well.(2 points)

Overall: Overall, for an American Premium Lager (which I am comparing more to the other Imported versions we all know) this beer is head and shoulders above it’s competition. While it could thin out a bit, and have a bit more pop, I love the fact that it is not what we are used to for this particular style. I am sure there are plenty of craft brewed versions just as good or better, and it’s possible your local brewpub brews up a version of this style, but I think if you are in Caymans and this is on the beer menu, you will not be disappointed as long as you take it for what it is, a light lager.  (7 points)

Score: 34 points which is a “very good” beer. If I were to assign a letter grade to the beer this would be about a C+. With that, let the email commence about how much the beer sucks because it’s not hoppy enough or big enough.

Sprecher Brewery Tour

Posted on
Reply

Sprecher Brewery, Milwaukee Wisconsin

As part of my winnings from this summer’s grilling with beer competition, I received a coupon for a case of Sprecher beer and 2 tickets for a brewery tour. So Brian Lesperance and I headed down to Milwaukee this past Monday for a day to geek out on beer. We stopped at Northern Brewer in Milwaukee, then headed over to the Ale House for lunch. The Ale House was great! I enjoyed their Weekend at Louie’s beer which is their Louies Demise brewed with blueberry rooibos and Hibiscus tea. The blueberry tea came though the most for me. I also had one of their cask ales, a vanilla bean stout. Both were outstanding. Brian had the Ale Houses Monkey Paw which is a big 7% beer which we found funny that they had listed in their session beer section. He also asked for Black and Tan of their Solomon Juneau Extra Pale Ale and Sheepshead stout. After the Ale House we headed to Downer’s Wine and Spirits based off a beer advocate review of beer stores in the area, Downer’s got an A+ rating and we could see why. The store is small, but packed with one hell of a selection. But the purpose of this post is to talk about the brewery tour at Sprecher, so with that let’s get started.

Sprecher has tours Monday through Friday at 4pm, and also has tours on the weekend at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm. The  cost of the tour is $5. You do have to call ahead for reservations. They also have a gift shop that you can hit at the front end or back end of tour. They have all of their beers and soda, as well as shirts and glasses you can purchase. They also have some interesting beer food, like beer flavored chips, BBQ sauce, and candy. I should also note that children are allowed on these tours because they offer soda. So if you are the type who would like to bring your children on a brewery tour, and sample some beers while your kids drink soda, you can do that. Personally, I don’t care for that idea because I know some people that even after 5 sample sized glasses of beer, probably shouldn’t be driving even more so with kids in the car. But that’s just my opinion. You don’t have to drink the beer I guess, but that sort of is the highlight of any tour, sampling the beer after.

Sprecher Brewery Tour

So now at the start of the tour, everything seemed to start as any other tour in general. We started out in the brewing room with a very brief explanation of the brewing process. Now normally, I expect things to go into a bit more depth, than saying we mix different grains with filtered municipal water and heat it up. It makes a syrupy liquid that get’s pumped over there, then cooled and moved to our fermentors, where we mix that with different yeast and the yeast makes CO2 and of course alcohol. The beer will sit for 2 -21 weeks depending on the beer. Then he pointed to where the spent grains go. Honestly, that was the gist of the tour. No mention of hops at all, no talk about lagers or ales or where they get their grains from. No showing  us the equipment or explaining how it works. You can see where the tour guide stood and he just pointed over in the direction of the equipment. Brian and I were very disappointed. All in all it was less than 5 minutes on the entire brewing process and introduction. We then breezed through by the fermentation tanks without stopping or the tour guide even telling the people what they were, what was inside, or how they lager.

Bottling Line

This is where we spent the most time on our tour. The bottling line. Brian and I had a  theory that the guy who gave us our tour worked on the bottling line. We spent a disproportionate amount of time on bottling, labels, dates, and a very odd amount of time discussing neck labels.  We spent more time here listening about the bottling process than we did about the brewing process. Here we heard every detail. I took a picture behind us, of all the ingredients which which we didn’t talk about where they may be used or what beers/soda the go in.

What are these for? Where do they come from? What are they used in? Are they in something going right now?

From the bottling line we went into the tasting room, which was quite nice. You got a tasting glass and 5 samples of any beer you wanted, and unlimited soda samples. Between Brian and I we sampled the Dopplebock, IPA2, Abbey Triple, Pub Brown (which is what I used in Skirt Steak Fajitas), a contract brewed IPA, and Oktoberfest. The part that also bothered us was that Brian asked our guide a few questions and we got an answer of I’ll have to go ask someone and I will get back to you. But as we sat and sampled our beer, we never saw him go ask anyone. It was clear to us that the tour is not so much a tour for the beer fanatic, but more for general public who has a mild interest in beer. Unlike the New Glarus Hard Hat Tour which was a tour that any beer lover would love to take, this brewery tour (at least the one we were on) was just a glorified sample session. We didn’t learn anything about the brewery or it’s processes, which was disappointing to us. A discussion on Facebook came up shortly after and some I did hear from another beer loving friend who lives in Milwaukee that his tours there went down the same way so we were not alone. In the end, I’d say it’s worth the $5 price for the sampling, but the tour itself is nothing to write home about.

Tasting Room

Review of New Glarus Two Women Classic Country Lager

Posted on
5

New Glarus Country Lager

I’m not sure what BJCP category a Classic Country Lager would fall into, but I don’t think it is a German Pilsner that many of the beer rating sites have this beer listed as. I feel if you can’t find a category, list is as a specialty lager. For me, I think this beer is much closer to fitting in category 4a, Dark American Lager than German Pils. I think whomever classified this went strictly off the fact that it used German hops and floor malted Bohemian malt. But no part of this beer in the flavor or aroma categories fit a German Pils. Since a big part of my blog is work beers in the way of the BJCP style guidelines, I try to fit the beer into a category that I would enter it in if it were my beer going into a competition. For me, I will judge this beer as I would if I were enter it in category 4a. Once you try this beer you will see it is more  “A somewhat sweeter version of standard/premium lager with a little more body and flavor.” And represents “a  broad range of international lagers that are darker than pale, and not assertive bitter and/or roasted.” Rather than the German Pils which many of these site wrongly put the beer into.  So let’s get reviewing Two Women from New Glarus.

Aroma:Some clean malt with slight hint of sweetness. Some soft bready aroma with a touch of toffee. Hops aroma is low with a slightly floral and herbal character. This beer is not very complex, as it shouldn’t be. But really that’s about all I find going on. (8 points)

Appearance: Dark amber, with a good clarity. Nice white head that persists. Good lacing on the glass. (3 points)

Flavor:Some sweet bready malt with a touch of toffee. The hops are also on the low side, with a bit of subtle spicy flavor. The beer is fairly clean, and finished just slightly sweet. I do get a bit of metallic twang, possibly from the water. While the malt and hops are present, it comes off a bit thin in flavor for me. I taste a bit too much of the water perhaps and not enough of the ingredients. Still, a good lager, it is an easy drinking beer. (13 points)

Mouthfeel:lighter in body than I was thinking when I looked at it and smelled it. Carbonation is medium. (3 points)

Overall:it is a very good easy drinking beer for this summer. It’s well balanced and put together very well, it could just use a touch more of everything. Not much, just a touch. A German Pils it is not, but as a  Dark American Lager this thing is very good. I rather like the malt profile. While I personally would like a touch more bitterness to finish this beer out, the hops does it’s job. I wouldn’t say it is my favorite beer, but I like it. (7 points)

Score: I give this beer a 34 out of 50 points. I give the beer a good solid C to C+. While it is very good, it is not great. There is a metallic twang to the beer I had and it seemed a bit thin to me.  Back to the German Pils thing. Once you have this beer, tell me, do you think this beer is much closer to Sam Adams Boston Lager or a  Victory Prima Pils?

Review of New Glarus Unplugged: Smoked Rye Ale

Posted on
2

 

New Glarus Unplugged, Smoked Rye Ale

 

I don’t think I have reviewed any official smoked beers on here as of yet. So today while at the store I saw that The next Unplugged beer was out and it is Smoked Rye Ale. Now anyone who knows me, knows that smoked beers are not exactly my favorite style. Many times the smoke is overdone for my taste when it comes to smoked beers. There are a small handful of smoked beers that fit my taste, one is my own homebrew “Hand of Judgment Smoked IPA” which has a light background note. Another is Shiners Smokehouse. I have had plenty of Bamberg style beers, as well as the the classic Rauchbier; Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen. But, never one to miss out on an unplugged beer, I had to try New Glarus’s take on a smoked beer. I like the dry, and slightly tangy character of rye, so let’s see how this beer stacks up. Although the Alcohol content is not available at this time, the bottle states it is a big smoked beer, so be wary of that if you have too many. (as always, you can score along with me using the BJCP Scoresheet)

Like fruit beers, vegetable/herb/spice beers, and specialty beer; smoked beers are difficult to judge because they are very open to the judges particular taste. Since this is not a classic rauchbier, we will judge this beer as “other smoked beer” which is a very wide style, again pretty much a “does the judge like it” type of category.

Aroma: The first aroma you get is a classic beachwood smoke aroma. To me this always smells like your clothes the morning after a good campfire. If you have ever had the classic rauchbier, it is the same aroma but not as intense. The smoke is fairly heavy and dominates the aroma. Some rich malt in the background gives it sweet smokey aroma which can remind you of bacon cooking. There is also a touch of molasses in the aroma. Not much in the way of rye is able to poke through the smoke dominated aroma. Although the smoke is dominant is not obnoxiously smokey.  (8 points)

Appearance: Very beautiful beer. A nice clear deep amber color with a solid tan head. A thin layer remains throughout the glass, and forms a nice Belgian lace as you drink it down. (3 points)

Flavor: If I were to ever have a beer that I would swear had bacon in it, this would be it. Up front the beer is very clean, with just a touch of scrubbing carbonation, and very mild bready malt. There is a mild caramel sweetness in the middle, usually sugar contributes to drying the beer out but it’s possible this flavor comes from the Turbinado sugar. The beer finishes nicely with a modest amount of smoke flavor. The smoke flavor is nicely done, and by far not overwhelming. Some mild bitterness cleans the palate, along with a crisp dry finish which is probably biggest contribution from the rye. There is a slight tartness that is also from the rye, it plays around a bit with the hops bitterness in the end. I have to admit, from the aroma I thought the beer was not going to be as drinkable as it was. Leave it to New Glarus to create a very well-balanced smoked beer that will be easily drinkable at any BBQ. I don’t detect any high levels of alcohol so either the beer hides it well, or I suspect it’s in the 7% range. (16 points)

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is medium with a good deal of carbonation. That would leave this beer the perfect pairing for a dinner of authentic pulled pork cooked low and slow. The palate cleansing carbonation is what helps make this beer as drinkable as it is.  (4 points)

Overall: I have to say I am impressed. My least favorite part of the beer was the aroma. At first glance it may appear that the smoke may dominate the flavor, leaving you with an overload of smoke, which may be OK for some people. For those who may being seeking a beer to drink quite a few of them, an overly smokey beer can be difficult to drink more than one. This beer delivers as a well-balanced, smokey beer. I don’t detect much contribution from the Turbinado sugar, maybe just a hint of molasses or brown sugar, but that could be coming for the malt as well. Perhaps the sugar helps dry out the finish. One thing I find a bit confusing is why they would release this in the dead of winter. This beer would pair so well with grilled and smoked food it is a crying shame that it comes out in probably the worst season to smoke meat. Still, I highly recommend trying this beer if you either have never had a smoked beer, or are one like myself who don’t like overly smokey beers.  (7 points)

In the end I score this a 38, which is a very respectable B+ in my opinion.

Review of Elliot Brew from Struise

Posted on
1

Today I have a very interesting beer that I received from my friend Peter at Simplybeer.com. Peter and I like to trade beers from time to time and get a flavor of something different that we each can’t normally get in or local areas. Elliot Brew (AKA Struise Mikkeller) from De Struise Brouwers Basically this is an Double IPA, brewed in Belgium. Now I know here in America many brewery’s are brewing Belgian style ales, but I have not heard of much of the opposite happening. Now, before you get down on me about calling this an American Style, and not just an Imperial IPA I am referring to it as such because the double IPA style did start here in America. However, which judging the style, any variety of hops can be used. So you cannot ding it for not having that “traditional” American hop flavor. But I do like to call it an American Double IPA style because of where it originated from, not for the ingredients used.

Elliot Brew from Struise

Aroma: Some sweet taffy-like candy aroma, along with grassy and floral hop aroma are the dominant aromas. It sort of reminds me of what it may smell like on a summer day sitting outside of taffy shop. There is definitely some hop presence, but not as much as I would have thought, but there is a lot going on that helps blend everything together. You have some boozy schnapps aroma in there when you dig deep. Just off the aroma alone I am expecting a nice hoppy beer, but a lot of sweetness. (9 Points)

Appearance: A hazy and creamy looking light amber, with a ton of head. Even pouring it fairly gently, produced a lot of head. For a higher alcohol beer, this head lasted a long time too. (3 points)

Flavor: Here is where all the complexity lays in this beer. I have some sweet and sticky taffy, not toffee, but a sweet and fruity taffy-like flavor. There is some doughy bread, and a slight toasty flavor as well. The hop flavor is wet and grassy, with some juicy orange citrus highlights. I don’t know these are American varieties or not, but I am getting some woodiness, so I suspect there is some English varieties in there somewhere. Alcohol is quite evident, and even though this bottle has aged a bit, seems a bit on the hot side for me. The beer seems a bit sweet, but don’t get me wrong, it is far from cloying. I can easily drink this. The combination of the alcohol, stiff hop bitterness, and use of sugar as an adjunct help to dry it out somewhat. Just don’t expect this to be a bone dry, easy to slam beer. Not that you would want to, but you get the idea. There is a resinous sticky bitterness that lingers long into the finish, and this battles any sweetness that is also lingering. You can literally feel the battle if you pay close attention. (15 Points)

Mouthfeel: For as big as this beer, the mouthfeel is not super heavy and chewy, but it is fairly full. It is just beyond the medium range. The high level of carbonation give the impression of a lighter feel, but if you let it sit in your mouth for a few seconds you can get a real feel for the viscosity of the beer. (4 points)

Overall: This beer has been getting super high marks, but for me it is just above average. Maybe I have a bottle that didn’t travel well, maybe I let it sit too long, or maybe too many people fall into the “If it’s from Belgium it has to be the best beer ever” craze. I can’t really say, all I can do is evaluate the beer in front of me as I see it. It is  a huge IPA, with some great attributes, but for me seems to be lacking in the hop depth. I am sure there are a lot of hops in there, they do come through a bit in such a huge beer, but for me not enough for a world class double IPA. The bitterness is there, but the flavor perspective and fairly low aroma give it  a few dings. But on the high side, it is a very tasty beer and I love seeing an American style coming from overseas, from Belgium in particular. The fruity bit I get, I suspect is from the candy sugar, which is also an interesting twist. But in the end, for a Double American style IPA, it is just very good to me. (7 points)

Total points I score this beer is 38 or  about a B-.

Review of Boaks Monster Mash

Posted on
1

Boaks Monster Mash Russian Imperial Stout

Today I have Monster Mash from Boaks Brewery. Monster Mash is a great name for a Russian Imperial Stout, which is what this beer is. What I find interesting about Russian Imperial Stouts, is that a new comer thinks its a monster Guinness and nothing more (and unless you are a beer geek, and if you are reading this blog you probably are, these same people already think Guinness Stout is high in alcohol). But in reality, I find most Imperial stouts to be fairly sweet, which I like. I prefer sweet stouts to dry stouts any day. I find it very rare to have a dried out Imperial Stout. If you brew, you already know why, but the short and simple of it is that these big beers tend to have a bit more unfermentable sugar and the yeast tends to poop out before fully fermenting the sugars out, giving you a slightly sweeter beer. Granted there are a few more variables to it than that, but that’s the quick over simplified explanation. The overall impression you are looking for in a Russian Imperial Stout is “An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play” Also, you need to consider where the beer was made. American style Imperial Stouts also tend to be more hoppy.

I find the aroma a bit thin, with some mild coffee, deep roast, and a touch of chocolate. There is a spicy hop presence, or a combined hop and alcohol aroma that lends to the appearance of spiciness. In the end I don’t find the aroma to be big, bold, and complex. With some warming and strong swirling I was able to push out some raisin tones, but that was about it. The aroma is good, just not powerful enough. (6 points)

This beer just looks mean. Dark mahogany with some garnet highlights. Opaque except for along the edges, and a very small short lasting head. (2 points)

The flavor is very interesting. When it was cooler, the hop bitterness rang supreme and I found it quite off-putting. There was some stronger coffee and roasted grain in the flavor. The roast almost appeared to add too much of an acidic quality to the beer. However, as I allowed it to warm the beer became much better. The richness of the grains filled out a bit more, there was still some coffee, but the sweetness rounded it out to more of a very dark bittersweet chocolate. The hop bitterness is still there, but does not jump out as much. It does linger long into the finish, but blends in well with the dark chocolate tones. Towards the end the fruity notes of raisin blends with the alcohol giving you a mild boozy feel, almost feels like some forbidden Christmas desert I have never had.  So in the end is it the best tasting Imperial Stout I had? No, but its not the worst either. (13 points)

The mouthfeel is almost perfect. It is creamy, sweet, smooth, and rich. The beer is not cloyingly sweet, so it leaves you ready to drink more. Some mild roasted grain astringency, but that is expected. Carbonation is just right for this style. (5 points)

Overall the beer is quite good, it’s just not awesome. The aroma is nice but I didn’t think it does the beer justice for how big the beer is. The flavor at first was off-putting, but that was partially my fault for serving it too cold. Still, I have to call it like I got it, which will be how most people will get their first few sips. Right out of the fridge. But I promise you, if you let it warm the beer will improve. So don’t pour and drink, give it a few minutes. first.  (7 points)

Overall I gave the beer a 33, which is a pretty good beer. Really, anything in the 30′s or above is a respectable score. A 33 in my book is in the B- to C+ range. I would drink this beer again, and that is what really matters.

Review of Garde Dog from Flying Dog Brewery

Posted on
Reply

Garde Dog, a Bière De Garde

I am a bit excited to try this one today for one reason. I have never had a commercial example of Biere De Garde. Biere De Garde means to Beer that has been kept, or stored. This is because traditionally, Biere De Garde was a French Ale, brewed in early spring, then kept or lagered in cool cellars until the warmer summer months. Biere De Garde can be either blonde, amber, or brown. Just by pouring this, i am assuming this to be the blonde variety. Also, from those I know who have had traditional examples of the style, each ale usually has a “house” flavor from the cellaring where it is stored. I don’t think this beer will have that character but we will see.

In the aroma I find that toasted malt is the dominant aroma, followed by some mildly floral hop character. Aside from the toast, there is some spicy tones to the beer, which I am not sure if it is from the hops, rye, or yeast but I am suspecting from the use of the rye malt. There is an underlying peachy sweetness. I do not detect any real cellared character or funkiness. Just a good solid malty brew. (9 points)

The color is a pale gold and quite clear. The head was quite thin and dissipated quite quickly. This style should have a good amount of head. (1 point)

The flavor is quite full of toasted malt as well. Some fruity esters, again similar to peaches, and a slight hop bite. The hop flavor is slightly herbal and the rye lends a spicy note to it. I feel the beer finishes out a bit too sweet. For the style, the malt balance is nice when compared to the hops. It definitely takes to the front lines, but lacks a bit of depth I would look for here. I get quite a bit of toasted malt, but not much else. I know that this is the paler version of Biere De Garde, but a bit more depth would make the beer a bit more interesting. The spicy and herbal character are my favorite. They linger long into the finish and taste quite good to me. I do think I get t touch of alcohol here, but at only 5.5% I am thinking it is more the herbal tones than real alcohol here, but I am sure the alcohol is playing a small factor.  (14 points)

The mouthfeel is medium with some high carbonation. No astringency. Overall the feel is very smooth and velvet-like. (4 points)

Overall this is a very good beer, but is lacking some depth in the malt arena. I think the toast character is nice, and the spicy/floral/herbal tones are very nice. But a bit more complexity, even in this paler version, would have been nice. Still, I think it’s an easy drinking beer with some definite high points. One other nice touch would have been to dry out the beer just a bit more. I my perception, I felt if finished out a bit sweet. (7 points)

In the end, I gave this beer a 35 which is a very good beer, or a C+ to B- in my opinion. Per the style the beer fits quite well, but is lacking some depth and minor tweaks that would make this an excellent beer in my opinion.

Review of O’Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer

Posted on
1

O'Fallon's Cherry Chocolate Beer

Today I will taking a look at O’Fallon’s Cherry Chocolate Beer. I picked this up simply because the label appealed to me. For some reason the label made me think about my childhood and those sodas we would get at the holidays. I guess you could call it an impulse buy.

When doing a fruit, vegetable/spice, wood aged, or specialty beer you always need to know the base style. Seeing as this is a fruit beer, I went looking for what the brewery says is the base style. For O’Fallons, all I could find is that they say it’s a dark wheat beer, so I am assuming the base is going to be a Dunkelweizen, but in reality that could mean a darker American wheat as well. But for sake of evaluation I will go with the Dunkelweizen. With that, lets take a look at it.

The aroma is dominated by artificial cherry that reminds me of maraschino cherry. The chocolate follows closely behind, and is the artificial chocolate flavor I talked about in the post “Chocolatizing Your Beer“. Behind that is some toasted malt, but not much else that I can pick out. I don’t get much in the way of dunkelweizen, not even any of the esters or phenols you should get in the wheat beer. Still, I don’t exactly think that was the goal. If I had to describe this beer to anyone as simply as possible, it just smells like a cherry cordial you just bit into. The cherry and chocolate are a bit overdone and artificial for my taste. (5 points)

The color is a muddy brownish read, and it poured a decent head. The head disappears quite fast. The beer is quite cloudy, probably from yeast which was in the bottle. (2 points)

The flavor is not far off from the aroma. It’s not as sweet as the aroma suggests though. The cherry is artificial in flavor and reminds me of drinking the juice from the maraschino cherry jar. The chocolate is muddled in a dry and candy-like impression in flavor only (without the cloying sweetness of candy). Think of chocolate flavored hard candy and that is the type of chocolate flavor we are dealing with here. Together the two flavors remind me of chewing on the last bit of a cherry Tootsie pop, and this is even more clear in the aftertaste. The good news is there is some toasty malt flavor that is picked out with some careful attention and there is definitely some low hop bitterness. The bad is that aside from some toasty malt, there is not much support for the wheat beer side of this beer. The beer may be a bit better with some real cherry and some type of real chocolate or use malts to get the chocolate character. Very rarely do flavorings cut it when they are the focal point of the beer. (9 points)

Mouthfeel is medium-light, with some slight powdery astringency sensation in the mouth. (3 points)

Overall, the beer is not bad and pretty drinkable. The only negative points I have is the artificial aspect of the beer. The cherry and chocolate are both artificial in both the aroma and flavor. It is sad really, because both flavors are easily added to beer with real ingredients and the results is so much better. To me, this comes off more like a cheap novelty than a serious go at a specialty beer. Still, in the end the beer is avoids being so sweet you can’t enjoy it. It is drinkable, and aside from stating on the website it was a dark wheat, the label is quite honest about what it brought to the table. (4 points)

In the end, I score this beer a 23 which is equal to a C or C- in my book. The artificial parts of the beer just don’t do it for me. So its OK, but nothing to really rave about.  Is it really a fruit beer then? Or more a chemical beer? You be the judge.

Celebration Time! (Review of Celebration Ale, Sierra Nevada)

Posted on
Reply

Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada

OK, let’s get this out of the way first off. If you see this bottle and think you are going to be buying a traditional festive winter warmer or Christmas ale, you will be sadly mistaken. If you know anything about Sierra Nevada, you will know they specialize in hoppy beers. Their Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the primary exemplary style example for an American Pale Ale. Their Harvest Ale is one of the top 5 IPA’s that has ever crossed my lips. So it goes without saying that Sierra Nevada’s Celebration style would be nothing less than a celebration of hops. And it is, this American IPA style will work well for the hop heads, but those seeking spicy Christmas beers, or malty winter warmers will need to look past this one.

The aroma is classic cascade hops, with the white grapefruit citrus character. There is some pine and floral aspects to the beer as well. Although the malt does not take the center stage, it is also not off the stage. There is some mild bready malt, a little toasty malt, and small amount of caramel. All in all the aroma is fairly well balanced with a bit of leaning towards the hops. Some DMS is detected as the beer warms, small amount though. (A quick note about balance: Balance in beer does not mean that the malt and hops are equal, but rather balance refers to how the two support each other. A beer that is in balance may have more hop character than malt, but if the malt stands up to the hops well enough to prevent the beer from becoming unpleasantly hoppy, the balance is there. Same hold true for the reverse and other flavor characteristics. Balance refers to overall interplay between ingredients. ) (8 points)

The color of this beer is a thick copper with some haze. The haze is probably due to the dry hopping process which is where the brewer adds hops to the fermentor after primary fermentation has taken place. The hop oils can cause the haze. The long-lasting head is dense and rocky. (3 points)

The flavor is soft and malty, yet pleasantly bitter. The rounded softness from the malt is toasty and slightly sweet. There is also a nice caramel edge to it. The hop flavor is grapefruity up front and full of sticky resinous pine in the center. This gives way to a lasting bitterness that fades away slowly, the whole while you not only feel the bitterness but taste the hops. For an IPA, this flavor is full and quite honest. There is a lot going on, but nothing real subtle. I like that. (16 points)

The mouthfeel is medium and creamy. There is enough carbonation to work the palate and leave you wanting a  bit more. There is some mild astringency, but I attribute that to the hops. (4 points)

Overall the beer is quite good and worth picking up for the hopheads. However, there is nothing special about it that would lead me to tell you that you just have to go out and try this one. It is a well put together American IPA with a simple and honest (yet pleasing) flavor profile. I happily drink this beer, but yet wish there was a bit more about it to get excited about. After all, this is the Celebration Ale, they only offer it at this time of year. Give us a bit something special. (7 points)

39 points falls into the B+ or even A- category for me. Although a very good IPA, I wish for a special season offering it had a bit more appeal to set it apart from the rest of their beers. One things for sure, this beer is much better than Torpedo.

Review: Unibroue’s Raftman

Posted on
Reply

Raftman by Unibroue

Raftman is a Specialty ale with a base style of Belgian Pale Ale. What makes this beer unique is that it is brewed with smoked whiskey malt. What exactly that means as far as flavor goes, I have no idea. I have never experienced any non-distilled beverage brewed with Whiskey malt. If you recall from other Specialty ales we looked at, you will remember that the main focus of the judgment is based on the play and balance between the base style and what the special ingredient or brewing method is. This will be unique for me, because I am not familiar with what character whiskey malt brings to the table, but I will see what may prove different from other Belgian Pales I have had.

The aroma has that traditional Belgian yeast phenolic aroma. Spicy and inviting. There is some floral hops in the aroma as well as some sweet fruitiness. I wouldn’t say there is orange or pear, but it is a light and airy fruit. The malt profile is slightly toasty but more bready. Not much smokeiness carrying over from the smoked whiskey malt, you really have to search for it. But it becomes a bit easier when the beer warms. Overall, good phenolic character to the beer, but the lacks any special appeal. (7 Points)

The color is a semi-clear copper with a good deal of frothy and rocky head. The head disappeared fairly quickly. (3 points)

The flavor seems a bit thin to me. The malt profile is weak but has some biscuity character as well as some toast. Hop flavor and bitterness is low, but the hop flavor does come through nicely thanks to the weak malt profile. Again, the smokiness from the whiskey malt is extremely low. I had to really search for it, which sometimes leads me to wonder if it is really there or do I just want it to be there. There is an underlying fruitiness, and this time it is pear-like. The phenols are spicy and slightly peppery, and just at the level I enjoy (which is on the lower end of the scale). There is some low  initial sweetness, but the beer does finish dry which makes it easy to drink.  All in all the flavor is OK, but just seems to fall short of anything spectacular. (11 points)

The mouthfeel is a bit watery and too light for a Belgian Pale Ale style. There is no astringency or other odd feel to the beer here. ( 3 points)

Overall, the beer is just a bit too watery and does not showcase the smoked whiskey malt as much as I personally feel it should. There was nothing in the beer that brought my attention to anything different suggesting it was brewed with any smoked whiskey malt, or any other specialty ingredient for that matter. The phenol and ester profile fo the beer is good and at a good level. It’s just too thin and lacks any special character. (5 points)

I score this beer a 29, which is at the high-end of the “Good” scale. This would be a C+ in my opinion. It’s a drinkable beer with some good points, but just does not deliver what I feel it suggests.

Review of Leinenkugel’s Red Lager

Posted on
Reply

Leinenkugel's Red Lager

Leinenkugel’s Red Lager is a Vienna Style Lager. In Wisconsin, this beer is affectionately called Leinie’s Red, and is a fairly popular beer. Not quite as popula

r as New Glarus’ Spotted Cow, but popular non-the-less. Although I feel Leinenkugel’s often caters to the masses with most beer being either very bland or over flavored with artificial flavors, they do have some good offerings. I have yet to find an outstanding beer, since they stopped making No

rthwoods Lager, but when they come out with something new, usually you do want to give it a try. A few of Leinies that I do enjoy are 1888 Bock, Creamy Dark, and Leinies red. This bottle of Leinies Red was donated to me, but I wouldn’t  mind having a few in the fridge for visitors because it may not be the best Vienna lager, but it’s not bad.

The aroma of this beer is very clean. There is a nice toasted malt character to the beer, with very little spicy hop presence.  In all honesty there is not much to the aroma other than the toasty malt character with some underlying  melenodian aroma. In sort is smells like a very small bock. There is no caramel aroma in this beer, but many times people mi

stake the toasty vienna malt for caramel character. If you pay close attention and think of how caramel smells, you will notice that this aroma is a bit different.

This is a very pretty beer. It pours bright and clear with a nice rich reddish amber color. It pours a nice head that lasts for several minutes.

The flavor is where the beer falls just a bit short.  The malt profile matches the aroma and although the malt flavor is soft, it is just a bit too small in my opinion. There is a slightly sweet aspect to the beer, but it does finish dry, as it should. The hop bitterness is just barely enough to balance, but it does its job. The Vienna malt flavor is very evident in the finish and fairly pleasant. The only thoughts I have on the flavor is that it could be just a bit bigger in malt side. Not very much, but just a touch more. The components are nice, just too small.

The mouthfeel is medium, but on the lighter side of that. The small addition of malt would bring that feel more into the medium range. All other aspects of the beer feel right on.

For a Vienna lager, I feel that this beer is a very good example of the style. It is clean and has the toasty quality that you should see in a Vienna Lager. The melenoiden character is nice and he hops are sitting where they should be for this beer style. The only downfall of the beer is that it is a bit small on the malt side. Although all the flavor and aroma components are there, they are fairly small.

In the end, I generously score this beer a 34 which is a very good example of the beer. A 34 would be a B- in my book.

Review of Dogfish Head’s Burton Baton

Posted on
Reply

 

Dogfish Head's Burton Baton

 

Today I have cracked open Dogfish Head’s Burton Baton, I believe this is a beer I got in a trade with simplybeer. This beer you would judge under the wood aged beer category with the base beer style being Imperial IPA.  I have been very excited to try this one because the only other notable wood-aged IPA I have had that I liked was Hinterland Brewery’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial IPA, I think you can only get it on tap when available. I don’t like that Hinterland’s website doesn’t really showcase their beer though. I think they have good stuff. They should model their site after  Titletown brewery’s site. They are also a restaurant and brewhouse, but at least the website showcases their award-winning beer. Come to think of it, I should make a trek up there to officially review some of their awesome beers. Ok, I digress, let’s get underway with the review.

Off the aroma is the distinct aroma of my favorite hop, Amarillo. I don’t know if they use large quantities of it or I’m crazy, but I would bet a paycheck on there is Amarillo in there. To me Amarillo comes across like sour pineapple with a hint of lemon. I love it and use it all my homebrewed IPA’s. So that sour pineapple and lemon comes through for me first, and it is bright and fresh. In the malt side, the dominant aroma is sweet caramel, with just a small amount of toast to it. I don’t get much in the way of traditional oak aroma, but there are some vanilla tones that you usually get from oak aging. Surprisingly, for a 10% beer I don’t get much alcohol. Overall the aroma is fruity, sticky, and sweet. I like it.  (9 points)

The beer is a thick copper color with a nice strong head to it. It is also quite clear. A very nice looking Imperial IPA. (3 points)

The flavor is quite complex and has a lot going on. Let me see if I can break it down effectively. First, up front I am tasting some sweet caramel and oak. Not much in the way of a citrus hop flavor that matches the aroma, but there is some hop bite to this beer. Mostly it is a grapefruity flavor from the hops instead of the sour pineapple, and the bitterness you get is nice and soft, not harsh. There is some toast, vanilla, and rich malty flavors right in the middle. In the end, as there is some bitterness fading you get the alcohol, and a lot of it. Here is where that 10% is hiding. As you breath, you get that boozy quality you get from a good scotch, but I like this a bit better. The sweetness cuts the alcohol just enough to make it enjoyable, but not so much as to make the beer a syrupy mess. This is a top-notch beer in my opinion. The flavor is complex and interesting, but there are enough major points sticking out so the whole experience does not become muddled. (18 points)

The mouthfeel is full and slightly chewy, as would be expected in a big beer. The hop bite gives the beer the initial feel of a medium/full or medium body but if you pay close attention you can feel the fullness of the beer. (4 points)

Overall, I feel this is an excellent meld between the wood and the Imperial IPA. This beer has become a favorite of mine. The aroma is bright and fresh as a good IPA should be, with just enough malt and other components to make the aroma interesting and draw you in. Then the flavor hits you with this almost overwhelming complexity, until you really experience the flavors. Then you can easily pick out the major flavors and play around with the more subtle underlying and supporting structures. Although I probably couldn’t drink many bottles of these, there is no way I would pass up on drinking this again. The only gripe I could muster would be that the aroma and flavor don’t seem to match up, but to me it doesn’t matter. (9 points)

I score this beer a 43, which is a solid A. I don’t score too many in te 40′s at all, and this one easily fits my 40′s criteria. It meets the style with no flaws, is bold enough but yet not over the top, and for this type of beer in particular, is complex enough to be interesting and not so overdone that you have a hard time finishing the glass. I feel this beer is easily a world-class example of an Oak Aged Imperial IPA.

Review of Capital Rustic Ale

Posted on
Reply

Rustic Ale

Rustic Ale is an American Amber Ale from Capital Brewery in Middleton, Wisconsin. I really used to like the beers from Capital, and they still have some winners, but as of late it seems they have been going the way of the middle-of-the-road brewery with less than exceptional beers. They are just a touch better than Leinenkugel’s, whose beers are always middle of the road, or overplayed up as far as adding artificial flavors to the beer. Apple Spice or Fireside Nut Brown anyone?  But regardless, I have heard some good things about Rustic Ale and decided to give it a shot. So here is the review.

The aroma dominated by toasted malts, with a slightly sweet caramel character. Some breadyness is in there as well. There is a very low citrus hop aroma, and at first I didn’t really get any hops at all. Most American ales have a bit higher hop presentation than this one, but according to the guidelines hop aroma can be moderate to low, and this one is low. Perhaps even a bit too low. Although I like the malt presentation quite a bit, the beer would be better with just a touch more hops in the aroma. If they are trying to keep that low, they may have overdone that aspect in my opinion. 8 points

The color is a bright coppery hue. Although the description on the website states that the beer is cloudy, this beer in my glass is fairly clear. It poured a decent dense 1/2 inch head. Fairly good retention.  3 points.

The flavor is a bit thin. There is some toasty malt and some light caramel in the malt presentation as well as some nice citrus hop flavor. But there is also a prickly sensation from the carbonation. It is almost seltzer water-like. There is a dry feel to the beer as well. The beer is not bad, just not what I am expecting. The malt profile and hop bitterness seem to me to be just a bit low for the style, but the overall flavor is fairly good and balanced. The only real gripe I have is that the overall flavor is too thin and not nearly big enough. If the carbonation adds flavor to this type of beer, it is my opinion that the rest of the flavors are not contributing enough to the overall presentation.10 points.

The mouthfeel is just a bit too light. The feeling in the mouth is watery and not nearly as full as it should be. The carbonation may be too high, but my money is on the rest of the beer not living up to what it should. 3 points.

Overall the beer is quite drinkable and will appeal to a lot of beer drinkers. But for hardcore craft beer lovers, this beer will just barely satisfy your lust for malt and come nowhere near killing your hop craving. The beer could use a boost in malt and a slight nudge in the hop department. Other than that, the beer is good and quite drinkable. But is this a great example of an American Amber Ale? I say no. 5 points.

My overall score for this beer is a 29 out of 50. Which could translate to a C+. For those who don’t know, I use the BCJP guidelines and the BJCP scoresheet for my reviews. If you want to see the scoresheet to relate to the scores I am giving. You can view it here. The BJCP uses a 50 point scale for beer, with a score of 45-50 being and outstanding world-class example, 38-44 is an excellent example of style, 30-37 is very good, 21-29 is a good beer, 14-20 is a fair beer, and 0-13 is a highly problematic beer.

Review of Whole Hog’s Pumpkin Ale

Posted on
Reply

Judging a beer like a pumpkin ale is very subjective and a lot of the scores go towards the judges personal taste. Personally, in competitions I don’t enjoy judging specialty, fruit, or spice/vegetable beers because those categories are so subjective. Some judges look for subtly, while others want the special ingredient to hit hard. Sometimes one may not like a particular spice and end up giving a low score based on personal taste. This is why there is normally two or more judges at each table, to try to eliminate this. But it still can happen. This is why when it comes to specialty beers, like this pumpkin ale, I like to do it alone and just give my personal opinion. Just because I like or dislike this beer, doesn’t mean that you will necessarily feel the same way about it. So lets look at Whole Hog’s Pumpkin Ale against BJCP category 21a, Spice/Herb/or Vegetable beer.

What hits you first in the aroma is the traditional pumpkin pie spice combination. Some pumpkin beers showcase the pumpkin itself, while some try to emulate pumpkin pie and the spices that give the pie it’s distinct flavor. This one obviously is going for the whole pumpkin pie vibe. If you are the type who is looking for the strictly pumpkin character, this beer will disappoint you. However, I am in the pie spice camp so this beer sits well with me. The nutmeg, cinnamon, and all spice is well showcased. There is some pumpkin aroma in there hiding behind the spice. I also get a touch of sweet and toasted malt character and……alcohol. Hmmm, I will have to go check what the ABV on this beer is I was not expecting that. (EDIT: The beer is 7.5% alcohol by volume according to this source http://beernews.org/2009/09/point-whole-hog-pumpkin-ale-debuts)(8)

The color is a light garnet and crystal clear. It poured a small dense khaki colored head that disappeared quickly. (3)

The flavor up front I get toasted and caramel malts up front. There is some pumpkin in the mix in there as well. In the middle you have the spice, mostly nutmeg and allspice, with some cinnamon bringing up the rear. There is not much in the way of hop flavor, and that is OK, this beer is showcasing the pumpkin and spices anyway. There is a touch of bitterness in the finish as well as a lingering toasty malt flavor. Some alcohol is also detectable in the beer as well. What I think would help the beer along is just a bit more pumpkin character. The pumpkin does seem to get lost a bit in the toasty malt and spices. (14)

The mouthfeel is medium and carbonation is in the medium range as well. No astringency. (5)

For a holiday beer, this one is going to be served at my house. The traditional pumpkin pie aroma and flavor will connect well with a much larger audience than just the pumpkin character. What can I say, this particular type of pumpkin beer sits well with me much better than some others. I guess my personal taste rests more with the pumpkin spices than it does the vegetable part of the beer. (8)

In the end, I gave this one a solid 38, which would be a B+ in my book and is in the “Excellent” range on a BJCP scoresheet.

Review of DueS Brut De Flanders

Posted on
2

nullAroma is of grainy malt and aroma is typical of wild fermentation. I don’t know if it is a wild fermentation, but I get a light, yet unmistakable aroma of brettanomyces. Some faint hop aroma. Very effervescent. Aroma is just like a weak geuze. I love the aroma. There is some fruitiness to it, similar to ripe pears. Good stuff.
It is not crystal clear as I expected but slightly hazy. The color is light gold and head is loose, yet long lasting. It pours just like a champagne, but the head retains a lot longer.
The beer is sweet on palate but dry in the finish. It is slightly tart, with some light fruit flavors, again it is very pear-like. The alcohol is evident as well as the brett. Overall the flavor is very light, with some sweet grainy malt and very little hop presence. The bitterness is just high enough to balance the beer and pretty much undetectable. Yet without it, you know this beer would have a sweeter presence in the middle. For such a light aroma the flavor is quite a bit more complex. Aside from the main stage of the grain and brett, there is some underlying spiciness to the beer that keeps things interesting. This beer is exactly what I pictured when I read about it. Not a disappointment at all. If you are a fan of brett beers, this one is for you.
Overall, a great beer. It’s not something I would purchase often, but for special occasions this is a beer lovers champagne alternative. You get the champagne experience and appeal with all the Belgian or Wild beer lovers indulgences. Plus this beer gets bonus points for creativity.

Review of Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager

Posted on
Reply

I am going to start today with a summer lager from Sierra Nevada called Summerfest Lager which purchased at Festival Foods in a six pack. If you are looking to compare this to a style, you can use the BJCP guidelines for the Bohemian Pilsner (AKA Czech Pilsner), the addition of Perle hops sort of puts this out of traditional style, but the category will do for now since Saaz is used in the boil and for finishing hops. So with that all said, lets check this beer out.

The beer pours a brilliantly clear yellow color. If you were to hold this up next to Budweiser you may have a hard time visually telling the difference, for a Bohemian Pilsner this beer’s color is at the mark, albeit the low end of the color scale. In the aroma you have a lot more malt aroma than you would in that Bud, and that’s a good thing, the bad thing is the hop aroma levels of the Saaz is a bit lower than I would expect for this style. The malt aroma is crisp and grainy, while the hop aroma is a bit more floral for me than spicy, as well as being low.
As for the flavor, the hop bitterness is a bit underdone as well as the flavor. The malt flavor is lingering as well. The bitterness is quite a bit lower than what I have had in many other Bohemian Pils, but it is there and it does not linger into the finish. I do like the beer’s finish and it does leave you wanting more, the malt is just slightly sweet and finishes clean. Stylistically the beer misses the mark a bit for a claim as a Bohemian Pils, but it does deliver as a good easy drinking summer beer. I guess it all depends on what the main goal of this beer was, if it was to nail a Bohemian Pilsner style or be a mass market craft beer perfect for summer events. I would put my money on the latter. But this beer still could benefit from a boost in the Saaz hops additions even if it was just a little. O
Overall i would give this beer a C+ for style but a B for good drinking summer lager. I would still take this over a Budweiser, Miller, or Coors any day of the week (or weekend for that matter)

Edit: I just felt I should add that the hops bitterness does increase as the beer warms. This is normal for beers, but if i would have drank this beer a bit warmer, I wouldn’t have dinged it as bad for such a low bitterness level. But as a summer beer chances are you would start this beer off cold anyway.
-Jason