Sam Adams Longshot 2006 homebrew competition: Old Ale (Don Oliver)

From BEER_webalbum

Some student dude from Cali made a pretty nice little ale. It's a little on the overly-sweet, toffee-maltish side, but it's 10.6% abv, is very rich and tastes nice in small sips. It doesn't smell like much. If you sniff hard enough, you get a little of the toffee malts. Nice "mahogany" as they call it color, and good head at the beginning (though not much retention). This is probably my favorite of the 3 2006 winners.
btw, I'm tired of making labels for posts, so I quit.

brewery battles: chimay v. westmalle

having reviewed most of the brews available at my local grocer by themselves, i've decided that a little head to head competition should liven things up. i'll pick comparable styles from two brewers and drink one of each side by side to see how they stack up. first up, two titans of the trappists, chimay and westmalle.

chimay bruin (red label) v. westmalle dubbel

i pitted the bruin rather than the grand reserve against the dubbel since bruin is a bit more standardized as a style. the beers are even in terms of price, the chimay at 73 cents and the westmalle at 77 for 33cl. they have the same alcohol content too, 7% each. you can see that in this light, the westmalle appears a shade darker than the chimay. the chimay's yeast tastes like, well, yeast, and lots of it, while westmalle corralled it's yeast into a big fat grape tone, which i preferred. the westmalle seemed more carbonated to me in the beginning, and was somewhat more bitter in the finish. when warm, the chimay seemed to suffer, becoming thin and a bit watery compared to the westmalle, which maintained malt integrity and loosed some spicy alcohols that were undetectable when cold.
the winner: westmalle

chimay tripel (white label) v. westmalle tripel

these were also even in price, though the chimay has slightly more alcohol at 9.5% compared to the chimay's 8%. again there is also a difference in color. i was surprised not to find a lot of differences to speak of, really. whereas wtih the browns i found myself consistently reaching for and preferring the westmalle, drinking the tripels side by side i found myself coming up indifferent. both beers were comparable in bitterness and apple fruit tones, maybe the westmalle has an edge in alcohol complexity when warm, but for me it was too close to call. the good news is that you can't go wrong!
verdict: draw

oh what a difference chimay makes!

here's a friend of mine enjoying his chimay immensely at the rosenmontag parade in cologne. it's a happy beer.

god awful beers: rodenbach

this is another severely adulterated beer out of belgium. i dont understand how you could cheat and still make such a wretched beverage. if you're going to spike your beer with stuff that isn't beer, i'd think you would at least do it with something that makes it taste better. not so this beer, whatever the brewmeister added to it, it the end product tastes like week old bile. maybe worse. even though the bottle was a measly .25 liters, i still wasn't able to make it through even that much. i hope whoever is responsible for this falls into his own vat and is consumed by the various poisons therein.

Port Brewing WipeOut IPA

This was supposed to be published here in 2/12/07, but somehow it ended on my personal blog... my bad.

From BEER_webalbum

Nice opaque to translucent thick amber/sienna look, with small bubbles rising slowly. Good Coke-float-type head. Retains well in the middle. Nice hop aroma, flowery and pungent. The mouthfeel is thick ale with slight carbonation. Definitely to be served cold. The overall flavor is great, though as always I don't really know how to describe why I like this better than the old standard Dogfish 60 minute. I guess it's comparable to the 90 minute, but with much more body and thicker head. I would have to say I like it better, though my memory's not perfect.
All in all, this is a great beer. Thanks to the dude at the local beer shop that suggested this cold one when he noticed me eyeing a triple IPA.

Very good ratings from beer advocate.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5318/10328

Sam Adams "LongShot" Boysenberry Wheat (2006 Homebrew contest, Ken Smith)

From BEER_webalbum

I think this blogger pretty much summed up my opinion of the beer:
http://blog.homebrewbeer.net/2007/02/sam-adams-boysenberry-wheat.html

The SamAdams site is very annoying, but you can get to the information about this homebrew contest (which seems like a really cool thing) here:
http://www.samueladams.com/promotions/LongShot/Default.aspx

I'll hopefully be reviewing 2 others soon, both of which are more up my alley than a fruity wheat.

Overall, this is a blueberry morning or buttery fruit pancake beer, as the aforementioned blogger said. It's a little too sweet for me, but it's not overbearing, and the little bit of hops are a nice side effect. Maybe it's just cause I'm from the ATL, but Sweetwater blue seems far superior to Wachusset's blueberry, Boston Beer Work's blueberry, or this "boysenberry" thing. I do think that making it a wheat rather than lager is a nice choice, and Sweetwater could improve on their recipe by trying that route. Anyway, this is a nice breakfast beer. I wouldn't buy a six pack, but I would be happy to buy another 6er with two more bottles of this. It's a good one to start off a (binge) sampling.

Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier (Rauchbier) from Brauerei Heller Bamberg

From BEER_webalbum

First of all, does someone want to explain to me what Helles and Heller are? I don't feel like looking it up.
I was very excited to find this sketchy German bottle sitting in my beer store (apparently the last one in stock for now). I knew I recognized the name, but I couldn't place it, so I asked the guy. He mentioned something about the yeast taking on the characteristics of the beechwood-smoked malts after 3+ centuries at this brewery, but I didn't really catch it all. Anyway, the website is written in great English, so I have a good idea of what I'm drinking. Apparently it's brewed in the same vessels and fermented with the same yeast as the Marzen style. Anyway, I think I tried a beer from this brewery at Sunset Grill (not similar in anyway to the Nashville restaurant by the same name), and thought the smoked flavor was much too overbearing. I'm guessing it was the Marzen. This beer is much more pleasant for me.
The nose is, unsurprisingly, sweet beechwood-smoked malts. People on BeerAdvocate (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/263/29145) talk like it doesn't taste smoky, and I guess it doesn't compared to the marzen, but it's distinctively smoky. The smokiness turns doughy with a sip, and the hops are noticeable and balance the sweet malts without being very bitter. I just had dinner, but I'm suddenly ravenously hungry for smoked pork and turkey, maybe some sauer-kraut and red cabbage salad to offset the taste...
Anyway, this is a one-thumb-up-er for me. The other thumb pleads the 5th due to unavailability of proper food to compliment the beer (and yes that is the order of priority). I really want to try the Lent beer now, since it sounds like it might be heavy (meaty) enough to make the extreme smokedness worthwhile.

A side note: the website said October through December is 'strongbeer season.' Any leftovers last year's crop that could be saved for my trip in June would be extremely appreciated (and reimbursed).

Boston Beer Works: cask-conditioned Fenway American Pale

So, normally this is a moderately boring standard pale - nothing to write... home? about. However, now apparently they're cask conditioning the pale ale (instead of the usual IPA or oatmeal stout) and dry-hopping it with Palisade hops. It's important to mention that I know very little about particular hops or malts. I'm guessing Palisade hops are born somewhere on the west coast, and guessing from this beer, near orange or clementine or grapefruit farms.
-Color: darker amber than most pales. very nice, foggy, slow settling bubbles at the beginning that make it turbid at first and settling like a Guiness. Thin, but nice head with impressive retension
-Aroma: sweet citrus and hops, or better, sweet citrus hops. Some subtle malt.
-Taste: straight grapefruit. soft mouthfeel, almost no carbonation. Hoppy, but to my tongue not even slightly bitter. the taste is not as sweet as the scent, but the taste is like a grapefruit with sugar. I wouldn't say the taste is unpleasant, but it's honestly way too much grapefruit and too little normal (?) hop flavor
-Aftertaste: Just like the taste then fades into a very nice, hoppiness with only fringe grapefruit. I think (hope) this is the flavor they were going for - I nice dry-hopped, IPA-ish ale with a hint of grapefruit, as opposed to this juice with beer flavor.
This is a good idea and an adventurous twist on a somewhat boring standard pale.
Kudos to them for trying. It's worthwhile if only for uniqueness.

BTW, just picked up 2007 Stone Old Guardian barleywine... just thought I'd put that out there.

All Songs Considered

I presume that anyone reading this already knows, but it's worth mentioning:
All Songs Considered is amazing. It's like a college radio show by some indie-magazine reading snob except with a crap filter and a very unassuming host. I've only found a few new bands that I'm crazy about, but I like everything they play, and they have great interviews and live concerts. The podcast will get you the show (http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/), but the website (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4627437) will get you access to lots of amazing streaming live shows and some that you can download as mp3 (e.g. Emily Haines). In case you haven't checked this out yet, here's a short list:
- The Arcade Fire (actually live at 8:30 tonight (2007-02-17)
- Wilco (amazing show)
- Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
- Paul Simon
- Sonic Youth
- Neko Case
- Regina Spektor
- Jenny Lewis
- The Decemberists
- Cat Power
etc.

This is all in addition to the show's interviews with the artists. Each page has plenty of interesting and relevant links. Definitely check these out.

My other favorite resource is KEXP, an amazing station out of U. Washington. Judging from their podcast popularity and the professional website, I'd say they're very popular. Anyway, the Live Performances podcast is great. They also have a nice song of the day podcast for your daily dose of obscurity. I haven't really checked out the live performances section yet, but they definitely have some great bands on there (the first that stands out is Viva Voce).
website is, of course, kexp.org.

Enjoy.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock

From BEER_webalbum

From BEER_webalbum

I'm not sure how to interpret this from the website:
Original wort: 18,3 % weight
Bittering power: 32
Alcohol content: 7,4 % vol.
Calories: 340 kcal/0,5 l
(http://www.weihenstephaner.de/index.php?page=home_2_1&), but it's a damned nice cold one.
We drank all the Spaten Optimators before I got a chance to write them up, but I was very impressed for a relatively cheap beer.
So, the Weihenstephaner is very tasty. Compared to the other doppelbocks I've had recently, the malts are considerably sweeter. Caramel nose, lots of maltiness in the taste, etc.
Anyway, I really like this beer, it's high alcohol, and a 1/2 Liter costs $3 or $4.
Don't feel like writing more, but two thumbs up.

Gets a very good rating from BA:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/252/779

deus: cuvee prestige 2006

now that the new year's dropped it seems my source of belgian beers has some new players in its lineup. among them are this flemish beer by deus. sold for the (in europe) outrageous price of 10 euro per bottle (75 cl), i expected to find the cork studded with diamonds and that it was brewed with unicorn tears, the rarest and most sumptuous of all fluid sadness. regrettably, the ingredients and cork were both standard. the cork was *really* tight and the vast amounts of carbonation ejected it with non-negligible force after i prized it out. the nose is dominated by acidic yeast artifacts as i would expect for this region. at 11.5% alcohol and fairy-light golden tone, it can only be called a tripel, and is a heavy hitter even in that category. fruit flavor is apples embedded in a symphony of alcohol. the complexity of the alcohol makeup is surely this beer's strong point, with plenty of warmth and even a little spicyness that goes well with the carbonic edge. seemed fairly acidic for a tripel but not as much as the nose indicates.
overall, it's good but not for the price. when your competition sells for a third or less you really ought to dominate in quality with extreme prejudice. since that isn't the case, don't break the bank.

note: some quick checks reveal that this beer goes for 20-30$ in the states, a typical markup i guess but still, *damn*

Smuttynose S'muttonator Double Bock

From BEER_webalbum

From a leading New England craft brewer, this is the next (or just after the next) in the series after the "Wheat Wine Ale," which was mentioned earlier. I love the "brewer's notes" section on their website: http://www.smuttynose.com/pages/comments.html#anchor29373 It makes me want to go out and find the other Big Beers. This beer has a subtly spicy aroma on top of the malts, which are the major flavor here. BeerAdvocate members are not overjoyed, but they rated this beer pretty high, and I had to look at the reviews to come up with words to describe some of these flavors. The main thing, as with all of the Big Beer Series (why I love said series), is just strong, prominent flavor. I like the term "bready malts." The malts are sweet caramel, but not sugary at all. Hops offset the malts nicely, making the first sip huge and well balanced, bitter on the tip of the tongue. The flavor rounds out and leaves tasting straight like some kind of sweet dough. People have mentioned the alcohol flavor, but for 8.5% by vol, the alcohol is disguised. Alcohol notes are integral to the overall flavor. I love the aftertaste, which is the aforementioned doughy maltiness. Somehow, I think there is something missing here. Considering my adoration of Aventinus, I think I'm looking for some 'sharper' flavor and more aclohol, but I definitely will buy this again, and between this and the ridiculous Wheat Wine Ale, I will have to go out on a limb and try out some more beers from this series, even the ones that I'm hesitant about (Scotch Ale, Farmhouse Ale, Really Old Brown Dog Ale...) Anyway, this is a great cold-one, and it doesn't cost too much for a limited big-bottle craft brew.

Redhook ESB

From BEER_webalbum

I just thought it might be worthwhile to give this old standard a tip of the hat.
Not surprisingly, BA doesn't rate it particularly high (81: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1330/1119), but as far as I can tell it's the only good, cheap, widely available domestic. As with all beers that are available at any local 7-11, it tends to have been sitting in the shop for way too long, but even when stale, this beats any other beer you can get for $1 a bottle, at least in Boston.
The aroma and flavor are so familiar that I have a hard time describing them objectively. Honestly, this cold one smells and tastes like drinking beer. Despite its name, the predominant flavor for me is malt. It's sweet, but not sugary. The bitterness balances these flavors and makes this beer distinctive.
Honestly, I put it above such standards as Heineken (as exported to America), Sam Adams Boston Lager, and certainly anything coming out of Milwaukee or the midwest general.
If anyone finds another beer in this price range that's this good, please let me know.
Two thumbs up from me, because without this cold one my wallet would be considerably lighter.

New England Brewing Co: SeaHag IPA

From BEER_webalbum

Another New England brewing company comes up with yet another tasty IPA. Sea Hag comes out of New Haven. It doesn't get particularly high scores from Beer Advocaters (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/357/28565), but it's served in a can, has a great nose, and tastes like a relatively mild but still punchy bitter IPA. (Not punchy like Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction... or the kangaroo from Streets of Rage 2. More punchy like the 'ya wanna fight about it' guy in Family Guy). Not too complex, and the aftertaste leaves some to be desired, but it's still a nice cold one and not too expensive. I like it, but I'm not going to buy out the store. So, is that vague enough for you?