Posted: December 6th, 2011 by matt
With the holidays approaching I took the time to drink some winter seasonal brews to see which ones will find a home in my fridge the next couple months. I judged these beers on a 5 point scale with 1 being a drain pour and 5 being a Winter Classic.
21st Amendment Fireside Chat
Winter Warmer
7.9 % ABV
First off, I love the can label art. Pours a deep burgundy with a big tan head. Pleasantly smells of winter spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, with a lightly burnt toast aroma. Mellow malt flavor throughout with subtle notes of chestnuts. Spices are not overwhelming, but add a nice flare. Makes me crave some chocolate chip cookies or a cigar.
Score: 4 / 5
Troeg’s Mad Elf- 2008
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
11% ABV
The holiday beer that gets major hype each year. This particular bottle is from 2008, so with a few years age it has really mellowed out. Smelled like juicy juice, which I loved as a kid, but I was expecting to be slammed with cherries and booze. Likewise in the taste I expected a slap in the face and only get a flick of flavor. Honey, sweet malt, and chunks of cherry are there, but dialed down. Doesn’t live up to the hype.
Score: 3 / 5
Fegley’s Rude Elf Reserve
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
10.5% ABV
Christmas in a bottle, big holiday spices in aroma and flavor including nutmeg, cinnamon, gingerbread, and allspice. Probably a bit too much spice cause it gets old after half a bottle. At 10.5 % it’s relaxing with a nice long warmth in the finish.
Score: 3.5 / 5
Flying Dog K9 Winter Ale
Winter Warmer
7.4% ABV
Rich caramelized malts highlight this winter ale. No holiday flash in regards to spices, just a malty delight. Notes of toffee and dark bread. Good amount of hop bitterness in the finish. 7.5% ABV feels lighter. Quite enjoyable
Score: 3.5 / 5
Ithaca Cold Front
Belgian Dark Ale
7.2% ABV
Strong bready aroma supported by spicy yeast character. A hearty ale highlighted by its Belgian nature. Big malt base featuring notes of clove and banana and ending with a moderate hop bite. Alcohol strength is well hidden. Solid brew, reminds me more of a dunkleweizen.
Score: 3 / 5
Lancaster Winter Warmer
Old Ale
8.9% ABV
Intriguing aroma of dark fruits, specifically figs and dates with a wisp of raspberry. Flavor is malt driven. Dark fruits, raisins, and toffee lead the way. Rich body, with a slick feel and a tingle of alcohol warmth. I could see myself sipping on this next to the fireplace on a cold wintery night.
Score: 4 / 5
Weyerbacher Winter Ale
Winter Warmer
5.6% ABV
Soft nose, faint hints of chocolate and dark malt. Initially I taste some weird spicing, almost like spruce. Taste like a weak porter. Malty with hints at toffee and wood. Thin body completes a lackluster effort. Not really feeling this one
Score: 2 / 5
Great Lakes Blackout Stout
Imperial Stout
9% ABV
In both nose and flavor bittersweet chocolate and roasted malt reign. Coffee notes and vanilla beans also dance around in this dark beauty. It’s so rich, smooth and creamy, the body is just impeccable. Warming finish makes this a great nightcap or a great accompaniment to a rich holiday dessert.
Score: 4.5 /5
Long Trail Hibernator
Scottish Ale
5.6% ABV
Faint malt in the aroma, was hoping for more. This seems to be a soft version of a Scottish Ale. Sweet malts are present with bready, caramel notes. Maybe get some honey in there. Feels a bit too light on flavor and attitude.
Score: 2 / 5
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Imperial Stout
10 % ABV
A luscious, silky smooth stout. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, and espresso blend wonderfully. Really boozy and warming. Hints of tobacco and dark fruits complete this Holiday treat. This is consistently one of my favorite beers every December.
Score: 4.5 / 5
Posted: November 21st, 2011 by matt
“It was as natural as eating and to me as necessary, and I would not have thought of eating a meal without drinking beer.” – Ernest Hemmingway
I often times stress to family and friends the benefits of pairing beer with food. They are honestly two perfect compliments. Any meal, any time of the day, there is a beer that can take your food to the next level. In my endless quest exploring the marriage of beer and food, I recently attended a Brewery Ommegang Beer Dinner at the Jamison Pour House. This was the first of hopefully many beer dinners the JPH.
Upon arrival, my Dad and I were promptly seated and given a commemorative Duvel glass and bottle opener. The room was small, benefiting only about 25-30 guests, which made for a more personal and interactive setting. As we waited for the dinner to begin, we were served Gnomegang, a collaborative effort between Brewery Ommegang and their fellow Duvel USA brand affiliate Brasserie d’Achouffe. This is a wonderful Belgian Strong Pale Ale featuring yeast strands from both breweries. The flavor is full of peppery spice, primarily clove, and a fruity yeast character. The beer is not shy in reminding you of it’s 9.5% abv strength. Forget easing into the drinking, I give JPH props for starting the night off with a bang. As we finished our sampling, Megan, the brewery representative arrived. She was responsible for guiding us through the dinner with history and factual information pertaining to the beers. She became a great resource helping explain the complexity of flavors and how they are particularly suited for each dish.
The first plate was a Thai chicken salad. Being one to typically ignore salad, viewing it as just a waste of stomach space, I was surprised how enjoyable this was especially paired with Ommegang Witte. The mandarin orange slices harmonized with the orange zest and lemon tart of Witte with enough bready malt flavor to match the crunchy chow mein noddles thrown about the greens. Witte is soft and light bodied providing nice support for a light starter dish. A long dry finish helped clear the palate with each bite making me crave another. A new fact I learned is that it’s not pronounced “Wit” as in short for Witbier, but “Wit-teh”.
Our second paring was a lump crab cake with remoulade and Ommegang Hennepin. The remoulade sauce elegantly weaved its way through the the tangy citrus notes of Hennepin. The beer balanced the mild spice of the crab and with enough effervescence to wash the palate clean.
Up third were delicious bison sliders in a merlot reduction sauce. The meat was cooked to perfection, and the sauce was just subtle enough to tease the palate, but not overwhelm the flavor of the meat. Needing a rich full bodied beer to cut through such a hefty plate, Ommegang’s flagship beer, Abbey Ale, was served. This beast contains notes of caramel, figs, and even licorice. This was a wonderful addition to the burgers, adding another element to the meat, bringing out more flavor, and creating a full sensory experience. I will remember Abbey next time I am manning the grill.
By the fourth plate my stomach gauge was nearing full. We were served tortellini Alfredo with shrimp. As delicious as it was, I was too bloated to eat more then a couple bites. It’s creamy texture, was too much to handle, despite efforts to fight past my eating exhaustion. Paired with it was arguably one of the best beers in the world, and a defining Belgian beer, Duvel.
As Megan explained, Duvel means “devil” in Flemish. Originally it was intended to be named Victory Ale, in honor of WWI. As the owner went around town giving people an opportunity to try the beer, he would say it was a “devil of a beer”, mainly because of it’s deceptively strong alcohol content. Inebriation can quickly sneak up on you beacause you literally will have trouble denying yourself another round for this world class beer.
For desert we were served a piece of chocolate cake with cherry filling paring with Three Philosopher’s. This is one dish I was particularly excited about because I’m a huge sucker for beer and desert. The rich flavorful context of many deserts can really be accentuated by the right beer. No doubt this was ridiculously good. Each sip of Three Philosphers revealed layers of caramel and chocolate malt with cherry that worked wonders next to the cake. Somehow I managed to find enough room in my stomach to enjoy this to the full extent.
To cap off the evening, we were offered a sampling of Rare Vos. By this point my gut was hanging over my belt, and I was pretty buzzed. Thankfully my Dad was responsible for driving home. Overall, JPH did a great job with this dinner. I hope they continue to provide an outlet for people to become educated on beer and food pairings. Additionally, Megan was a very knowledgeable and friendly guide that really added to the experience. 5 plates and 7 beer samplings for $55, I’d say this was money well spent.
Posted: August 29th, 2011 by matt
My last home brew turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. I had hoped for a big roasty porter, but thanks to that bastard Diacetyl, I was left with a buttery mess. I managed to improve the situation by filtering each bottle through fresh coffee beans as it is being served. The strong coffee bitterness helped mask the unwanted butterscotch flavors. Although my friends enjoyed the porter, I was determined to brew a beer I could be proud of and one that didn’t need any intervention.
I decided to brew a hefeweizen, perfect for the hot Summer months. My main interest in brewing is to create unconventional recipes that incorporate unique ingredients. In the spirit of brewers like Shorts and Dogfish Head, I wanted to make a hefeweizen that swayed toward the unusual side of things. With the help of a couple buddies, we concocted a recipe that included five different spices; coriander, orange peel, hibiscus, lavender, and rose hips. We had no idea what impact the spices would have, or how they would blend together. We basically said screw it, threw all the stuff in the pot, and hoped for the best.
A month later I cracked into my first Garten Grove Hefe (see the Sublime Song). Pours a cloudy light copper, a couple shades darker than anticipated. Nice thick head that has great retaining power. Long stretching lace streams down the glass. Very pleased overall with the appearance. Flowery is probably the best word to describe the aroma. Lavender is in full force as well as rose hips. Get a faint whiff of hefeweizen yeast. The one spice that seems to be the lead dog in this beer is Lavender and to a fault. I would definitely like to re-brew this using a significantly less amount, in order to give the other spices more room to shine. It still tastes pretty damn good nonetheless. Banana bread and a sweet malty backbone compliment the array of added spices. Get a touch of lemon and mango in there as well. The carbonation is high with a light body that makes for easy drinking. The finish is dry. Overall, I am really happy with the results of Garten Grove and anticipate it being even better next time I brew it. This was my sixth time home brewing, and probably the best one to date.
Aroma 7/10 Appearance 4/5 Palate 5/5 Flavor 6/10 Overall 14/20
Total: 3.6/5
Posted: July 25th, 2011 by matt
Drinking in the Summer is all about light refreshing beers that go great in heat and can last you the entire day. These days I find myself drinking a lot of hefeweizens, saisons, and pilsners. This past week has been treacherously hot, with temperatures upwards of 100 degrees. I literally could not walk outside without producing the most massive sweat and near collapsing in dehydration. Thus, I have spent a lot of time indoors, kicking back, AC cranked, slamming cold cruisers by the case. Here are a few Summer seasonals that cooled me down this week.
Abita Wheat
Pours golden yellow yet fails to produce the large white head I associated with a wheat beer. The aroma is way off base, reminding me of a Budweiser. The skunky corn smell is cringe worthy. To win my approval, Abita’s really gotta step up their game in the flavor. Drum roll…….. bust! This is a boring lager under the disguise of a refreshing Summer Wheat. Usually when I do not get what I expect I begin to inspect the back label for an indication as to what the brewer was attempting to accomplish. Ah ha, this is a wheat lager, as opposed to the ever delicious unfiltered wheat ale I expected. This filtered lager with a pinch of wheat results in a Bud clone. I guess my bad for the misinterpretation and higher expectations. I would get into the flavor, but it’s much easier to just picture any mass produced dive bar lager.
Aroma 4/10 Appearance 3/5 Palate 3/5 Flavor 4/10 Overall 11/20
Overall: 2.5/5
Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit
Pours a cloudy yellow orange with a small white head. Aroma indicates wheat, with a nice spiciness of a hefe yeast strain. Big carbonation blasts through your palate, as citrus fruits trail behind. Now if I only knew what Satsuma was. After some much needed Wikipedia research on this alien fruit, I have learned that Satsuma is a Japanese citrus fruit similar to Mandarin orange. There are traces of orange, melon, and lemon, so I can see how Satsuma plays a role, I just wish it was a little more dominant. Hops are evident, but restrained as they should. Overall, pretty tasty Summer option.
Aroma 7/10 Appearance 3/5 Palate 4/5 Flavor 6/10 Overall 14/20
Total: 3.4/5
Lake Placid Hefeweizen
Clear blue skies, a large picturesque lake, rolling green mountains, and a canoe. That’s just the label, lets hope the beer also can transplant me to some Summer getaway. Pours a darker shade of orange, like tangerine on the top half, cloudy and golden on the bottom half. Head is minimal despite gentle pour. Bit of an odd wheat bread aroma that mingles with a sugary candy sweetness. Partners in crime, banana and clove provide flavor upfront. A solid amount of wheat malt settles in with clean fruity esters. As far as German Hefeweizens are concerned this is a pretty good American representation.
Aroma 6/10 Appearance 3/5 Palate 4/5 Flavor 7/10 Overall 15/20
Total: 3.5/5
Blue Point Summer Ale
Pours a brilliant gold with perfect clarity. A white head dissipates quickly. Really not much in the nose, faint pale malts and grains. Very crisp clean flavor causes me to take extra big gulps far too quickly. Very refreshing in this dead heat of Summer. As I guzzle away I barley notice the light toasted malts, and ever slight fruit sweetness in the back. High carbonation with a thin watery body. I basically can see myself pounding out like 15 of these on a Summer afternoon.
Aroma 6/10 Appearance ⅘ Palate ⅘ Flavor 6/10 Overall 13/20
Total: 3.3/5
Southampton Keller Pils
Pours cloudy and faint orange. Big bright aroma of sweet malts and fresh fruits, particularly orange and lemon. Hoppier then expected, featuring a nice pine twang which is an immediate plus. Flavor has a dominate sweet pilsner malt presence that lends to a bitter and clean finish. Get lots of butterscotch notes which turn me off just slightly. Reminds me more of an English bitter. Southampton typically kills it, but this beer falls into the land of mediocrity.
Aroma 7/10 Appearance 3/5 Palate 4/5 Flavor 6/10 Overall 14/20
Total: 3.4/5
Otter Creek Summer Ale
Pours a clear straw yellow. Really struggling to get anything out of the nose, which in a way is better then smelling any off scents. There is a trace of lemon zest and not much else. The flavor slaps you with a burst of lemon. After the first sip I was hoping this wasn’t some cheap artificially flavored lemonade beer hybrid (see MGD 64 Lemonade, shit iis whack). Thankfully, this isn’t, however, it’s also not anything to rave about either. It is a bit too sweet and tart with a metallic aftertaste. Body is thin and watery.
Aroma 5/10 Appearance 3/5 Palate 3/5 Flavor 5/10 Overall 13/20
Total: 2.9/5
Posted: June 13th, 2011 by matt
This is a style I am on the fence about. I love the fruity hop bittnesss of an IPA equally as much as the rich layered roasted flavors of a stout or porter. I have had Black IPA’s that try to push the max of these elements in one product and it came out muddled and unsatisfying.
Pitch black pour with a creamy tan head that has evident lasting power, sheets of lace decorate the glass. Strong aromas of fresh grapefruit fill the air which is surprising given its dark nature. The underlying roastiness is not as easy to detect. Feels great, smooth, creamy texture, medium body. I know almost immediately that this my favorite Black IPA to date. What works so well is the flavor leans heavily in favor of juicy grapefruit bitterness of an IPA. Hop in the Dark lets the citrus hops do their magic, as dark malts linger way in the background. That’s not to say they are completely forgotten, the beer is black for a reason. The aftertaste offers small touches of roasted malt and hints of chocolate, but more along the lines of a compliment rather then a competitor in flavor dominance. That is the success of this beer, and the reason I enjoyed it so much. I finished a bomber far too quickly.
Aroma 7/10 Appearance 5/5 Palate 5/5 Flavor 7/10 Overall 16/20
Total 4.0/5
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