Archives : 2008 : April

Tuesday Tidbits

April 29th, 2008

(With apologies to Stan’s "Monday Morning Musings" and Rick’s "Tuesday Tastings" and others who have themes of that sort. "Tuesday Tidbits" is not going to be a regular named feature here. I don’t think. I just liked the alliteration.)

→ Don’t forget this Friday, May 2nd, is the 15th Session. The topic is "How did it all start for you?"

→ I’ve been drinking through an old six-pack of novelty beer from Las Vegas—from the "Vegas Valley Brewing Company" (which no longer exists, and warrants a longer post)—that I picked up at least eight years ago, I think. Needless to say, it was stored poorly and the beer didn’t make it. I diligently took notes on the first three I drank, though, and I’ll have quite a bit more to write about it. The moral of the story: two things. First, beer is meant to be drank, not (necessarily) saved. Second, if you’re going to save beer, cellar it properly!

→ Lots of blogger reactions to the news of Magic Hat Brewing buying Pyramid Brewing. I don’t really have anything to add to the story—everyone else is doing a great job with it—other than to (selfishly) hope that we might see some Magic Hat beers filter out to the west coast sometime soon…

Lakefront Brewery Week: Fuel Cafe

April 25th, 2008

Lakefront’s stout offering is their Fuel Cafe, which is brewed with coffee from (and for) the actual Fuel Cafe in Milwaukee.

That’s actually about all I can tell you about this beer. It’s nearly 6% alcohol and there is a lot of coffee character going on here—is it caffeinated, perhaps?

Appearance: Nice and black; when I held it to the light, there’s a bit of cola brown at the edges. Head was brown and broke down relatively quickly.

Smell: Black roasted malts and dry-roasted coffee… a hint of smoke; oily.

Taste: Nicely dry and bitter with a creamy "coffee syrup" kind of thing going on. Pleasant and drinkable, a solid dry stout.

Mouthfeel: Firm and dry, fairly smooth. Not too chewy but a nice presence.

Overall: Solid, back-to-basics stout. The coffee adds a nice character.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.11 out of 5 and is in their 53rd percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week: Eastside Dark

April 25th, 2008

Lakefront’s Eastside Dark, a dark lager (Dunkel Lager), is the type of beer I imagine the nineteenth-century German brewers were producing in America—and in Milwaukee in particular—prior to the introduction of the Pilsner.

Their own description of this beer:

The rich, coffee-like aroma and flavor of this fine, dark, Bavarian style lager is derived from a precise blending of three different specialty barley malts. Unlike many other dark beers, East Side Dark doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste. Instead, your palate is greeted with the rich body and balanced flavor that only this beer can deliver. Art in brewed form.

I don’t honestly know about "art in brewed form"—I can think of a few beers that I would apply that to—but it’s still a fine beer. 5.52% alcohol by volume.

I originally reviewed this beer back in 2006; read that here. I wasn’t originally very impressed, but this time around was much more positive.

Appearance: Dark brown in color—mostly opaque but with red-orange edges. Tan, putty-colored head.

Smell: Bready and grainy—almost a rye and molasses character. Grassy hop notes, kind of like green wheat.

Taste: Lots of grain and malt notes… rye/pumpernickel. Some chocolate, some light coffee, rich brothy notes. Clean with a bit of a tang.

Mouthfeel: Clean, medium-bodied, a tad astringent from darker malts.

Overall: Enjoyable, drinkable.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B. On RateBeer, it scores 3.24 out of 5, and is in their 65th percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week: Oktoberfest

April 24th, 2008

I’ve mentioned before how Oktoberfest is one of my favorite styles, and Lakefront’s version is a worthy contribution.

Again, not much more to say… it’s a pretty straightforward beer. At 5.7% alcohol, it won’t knock you down.

Appearance: Hazy orange color tinged with gold and topped by an off-white, creamy head.

Smell: Malty with a touch of darker malts and a slight sourness. Otherwise, fairly clean with a light hop profile (very light).

Taste: Rich and malty with dark breads and a hint of spiciness. Sweet and buttery. A bit lighter than I’d be expecting in the style, but it doesn’t detract at all.

Mouthfeel: Lightly medium-bodied with some nicely complex structures going on in the sweet body.

Overall: It’s a tasty example of the style… I’d be happy to drink it again.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 2.84 out of 5, and is in their 32nd percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week: Organic ESB

April 24th, 2008

Lakefront’s Organic ESB is a USDA-certified organic ale, one of their better-known beers.

I actually don’t have much in the way of history or witty anecdotes or factoids for this beer like I did for the previous ones, other than to point out that this was the first certified organic beer in the U.S., introduced in 1996.

And, it’s a good beer.

Appearance: Very clear nutty brown color with a tan head.

Smell: Buttery, toffee, English bitter style… Ringwood yeast? Fruity notes… green apple, berries, moderately tart.

Taste: Nutty and bitter, but not too bitter… toasty, biscuity malt with a hint of chocolate. Hops are English—mildly spicy and pleasantly earthy.

Mouthfeel: Firm, medium-bodied with a touch of dryness in the finish.

Overall: Very drinkable and tasty… almost a nut brown ale.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 2.84 out of 5, and is in their 32nd percentile. Obviously, that’s not a stunning recommendation from that site; considering the first bunch of reviews on the page are positive, I’m not sure what to make of that.

Lakefront Brewery Week: Riverwest Stein Beer

April 23rd, 2008

The supplemental name for Lakefront’s Riverwest Stein Beer on the label is "All Malt Amber Lager." This is their flagship beer, of which they say:

The rich amber color and smooth flavor are derived from the generous amount of caramel malt, with just a dash of roasted unmalted barley for a subtle toasted flavor in the background. The sweetness, body, and mouth feel tell you this is an all-malt beer. The finish has a balanced hoppiness which cuts through the malty character, leaving a clean palate which beckons for more.

Initially I wondered if the "Stein" in the name was a reference to Steinbier, the German lager style that was a description of the process: heated stones were dropped into the wort to bring it to a boil. Here’s a bit about it from the German Beer Institute site:

Steinbier means "stone beer" in German…. The hot-stone method, therefore, was the only way the wort could be brought to a boil. Beer boiled this way also tasted different from "normal" beer, because the rocks, when dropped into the brew, scorched and caramelized some of the malt sugars.

As intriguing as that sounds, I think it’s too elaborate for a major American brewery to bother with for a flagship beer. In this case I think "stein" refers to the mug variety and not the red herring that I followed. On to my notes.

Appearance: Lives up to its name ["Amber Lager"]… dark amber in color, fairly clear. Nice cream-colored head.

Smell: Clean and malty with mild caramel and a hint of butterscotch.

Taste: Bold with lots of roasty malt characteristics up front—almost a smoky character to it… finishes dry without any tang. Definitely makes an impression but it’s tough for me to nail down any specifics… I’m thinking there’s some malts in here that I’m not familiar with.

Mouthfeel: Big bold body here as well, even though it’s more medium-bodied than anything. Finishes clean and dry.

Overall: "Steinbier" may have influenced my impressions… but this is a big beer full of character. Enjoyable.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.45 out of 5 and is in their 81st percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week: Cattail Ale

April 22nd, 2008

So, Cattail Ale from Lakefront Brewery… this is an interesting one, because I was under the impression that it was a totally different style than the Brewery itself suggests. And that’s weird because I rather quite like it as the misunderstood style.

First, here’s what Lakefront says:

This recipe is a true craft ale brewed with only water, yeast, hops and malted barley.
A Wisconsin style mild ale with a vibrant golden amber hue, a refreshing body, and a sweet, malty aroma.
Perfect for summer, but delicious any time!

All good, right? Even BeerAdvocate says it’s an "English Pale Mild Ale."

Here’s the thing… I totally thought it was a Belgian style ale. Like a Saison. That was based purely on my tasting of the beer, without knowing really anything about it. (My notes below reflect this.) So… what does that mean?

Nothing! It means I liked this beer and I’d drink it again. There’s been some rumbling lately on the blogs about over-analyzing and over-categorizing beers (which I’ve been as guilty of as anybody), so rather than make a big deal about it, I’m just going to go with the sane, logical message to come out of it all: If the beer’s good, then just enjoy it and drink more.

Appearance: Pale golden color, slightly hazy, slightly orange. Head is off-white, one finger’s worth and abated quickly.

Smell: Wheaty with a sour—pleasantly sour—note; reminds me of Belgian funk in a good way. Is this a Saison?

Taste: Saison-y and peppery-spicy, a pleasant surprise since I didn’t know this was supposed to be in the Belgian style. A bit of sour, a bit of crisp wheat, and a hint of raw bread dough. Lemongrass, spices… maybe coriander, maybe cardamom.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, on the light side, but with a nice edgy bite from the spiciness.

Overall: What a pleasant surprise… this is a well-done Belgian [Saison] and is enjoyable to drink.

On BeerAdvocate, this only scores a grade of C+. On RateBeer, they’re even less kind, scoring it 2.66 out of 5 and it’s only in their 22nd percentile. And it seems that the reviews are a bit schizophrenic, as well… I still like this beer, but I have to wonder if it’s consistent from batch to batch?

Lakefront Brewery Week: Cream City Pale Ale

April 22nd, 2008

Cream City Pale Ale is Lakefront Brewery’s American Pale Ale offering. The first thing to notice on their page is this note about the name:

Named after the cream colored bricks used to build Milwaukee.

Which for me, not being from (nor having ever been to) Milwaukee, is interesting enough to explore a little further. According to Wikipedia, one of the nicknames of the city is indeed "Cream City", and this page tells the story.

Milwaukee masons have used these locally fired bricks since the first brick homes were built in the area in the late 1830s. By the 1850′s, word of Milwaukee’s cream-colored bricks had spread throughout the Midwest, and demand increased dramatically….

Milwaukee’s brick making boom lasted well into the 1870′s. More and more of the city’s buildings were constructed of the local bricks, to a point that visitors could not help but notice the overwhelming cream coloration of the city. As a result, it was during this era that the city became known as the "Cream City," and the bricks in turn became universally known as "Cream City bricks."

Beer notes and historical trivia. What more could you ask for?

BeerAdvocate pegs this beer at 5.68% alcohol, and that’s where I pulled the "American Pale Ale" designation from as well. But as I was drinking it and taking notes, it really struck me as more of an English style Pale Ale. That is, it doesn’t have the "American flair" that typifies the APA these days…

Appearance: Clear amber-brown; slightly off-white head. The appearance makes me think "amber lager."

Smell: Malty, lightly hopped, and a touch buttery (diacetyl). Fairly clean, maybe a bare hint of copper (or something metallic).

Taste: Steel cut hops overlaying lightly roasted malts; it’s got a hard-water bitterness that seems to me to be a combination of English earthy hops and roasted barley.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and edgy; medium-bodied. The hops/malt bitterness leaves a dry, lasting (though mild) bitterness in the mouth.

Overall: Almost more of an Amber Ale than a Pale Ale, though I’m splitting hairs… it also has what seems to me the clean and bitter profile of a lager. Decent, though nothing extravagant… comes across as more "English" than "American" in style.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B. On RateBeer, it scores 3.28 out of 5 and is in their 68th percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week: White Beer

April 21st, 2008

Here’s something odd: as I write this, Lakefront Brewery’s page for their White Beer is blank. Not completely blank—there’s a header and the logo and menu stuff at the top—but the content area is empty. Not sure what to make of it—just big white space for the White Beer?

Yeah, not so much.

Anyway, this is their Belgian Witbier styled offering, brewed with coriander and orange peel and unfiltered. According to RateBeer it’s 5.25% alcohol by volume.

I’d like to tell you more about this beer, but since there’s nothing on the website, I’ll just have to leave you with my tasting notes.

Appearance: Hazy straw (pale) yellow, with a crisp white head.

Smell: Delicately floral with coriander and lemongrass; lightly wheaty.

Taste: Grassy wheat with a hint of sourness and the delicate, crisp bite of coriander. A touch of bitterness. Light and tasty with the right level of sour fruitiness.

Mouthfeel: Light and refreshing, with a nice body from the unfiltered yeasty haze.

Overall: Very tasty, and the unfiltered aspect is excellent (I’ve had other Wits that are filtered—not as good). Would be perfect (naturally) on a hot summer day.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.29 out of 5, and is in their 68th percentile.

Lakefront Brewery Week

April 21st, 2008

It’s the third Monday of the month, so that means it’s Theme Week here at the Brew Site. For this month I’m reviewing the beers of Lakefront Brewery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This actually goes back to Pumpkin Beer Week last November; I reviewed Lakefront’s Pumpkin Lager and noted that in addition to the pumpkin beer I had request, they sent along their eight beer variety pack. Unfortunately, I had not yet gotten around to writing about those beers so I decided to devote this month’s Theme Week to doing so.

(Since writing about eight beers in a row would basically amount to the same thing anyway.)

Here’s a picture of the variety pack box:

I’ve since seen this elsewhere, but when I received it, it was my first exposure to it. It’s a great way to do a sampler pack, especially for a brewery that produces a large number of beers. And the box is sturdy and closes up tight, as well.

The beer from the pack (they don’t quite match the packaging on the box):

• White Beer
• Cream City Pale Ale
• Cattail Ale
• Riverwest Stein Beer
• Organic ESB
• Oktoberfest
• Eastside Dark
• Fuel Cafe

That’s the order I’ll be posting the reviews, incidentally.

Hop Henge (2008)

April 18th, 2008

This month the latest Deschutes Brewery seasonal was released, and I received a package on my doorstep containing a bottle of it: Hop Henge. This year’s batch is sporting a new recipe and a new style designation: Imperial IPA.

Head Brewer Brett Porter says, “This is a truly exciting and groundbreaking beer. We reformulated everything about the hop recipe to give Hop Henge an extraordinary aroma and flavor similar to a fresh hop beer.” In addition to the Cascade and Centennial hops, Deschutes Brewery is experimenting with a hop variety so new that it has yet to be named.

At 8.75% alcohol by volume—and offered up in the Bond Street Series of 22-ounce bomber bottles—this beer is nothing to sneeze at.

Appearance: Deep orange-copper in color, like a dark, clear honey. Dense, substantial two fingers of head piled up on top—and leaves a substantial lacing behind.

Smell: Bright, green, powdery hops, almost juicy in the nose. There are hints of a solid, malty backbone, but the hops dominate.

Taste: Strong, hoppy, bitter, resiny, a bit piney and green on the tongue. The hops permeate the malt, giving the impression of a sticky, almost syrupy hop extract. At the same time it’s a rich, slightly roasty, slightly sweet malt base with a touch of the alcohol heat seeping through. A hint of oaky, woody character.

Mouthfeel: Bright, lively, rich and nearly full-bodied. A lingering, pungent hop presence in the aftertaste.

Overall: Excellent, excellent, excellent. Juicy and hoppy and tasty and bright. It doesn’t go all scorched earth with the hopping, though—instead, this comes across as really well balanced despite the big hops.

On BeerAdvocate, there’s a bit of a problem: there are two entries for Hop Henge: one “India Pale Ale” (the original) and one “Imperial IPA” which is marked as retired… however, both have current reviews in them. The first has a grade of A-, while the second has a B+.

On RateBeer there’s a similar situation though they correctly have the Imperial IPA version as the current and active one: it scores 3.67 out of 5 and is in their 92nd percentile.

Cinder Cone Red

April 17th, 2008

Cinder Cone Red is one of the popular seasonals from Deschutes Brewery, and I’m (finally!) posting my review of it from the promotional bottles I received from the Brewery last month. This year’s version is sporting a new label, even.

Ironically, Lew Bryson reviewed this beer today as well. Sadly, he doesn’t care for it overly much:

But after it came a heavy-handed rush of caramel malt, accompanied by a grainy, husky dryness — an addition of roasted barley is probably the source — that could have been an asset if it had been less insistent. It was almost enough to make me angry; this beautiful promise crushed by an overplayed hand.

I’m sorry to hear that. For my money, this is exemplary of the Northwest Red style we’ve come to love here out west; big hops with that twangy, caramel-roast malt character that leaves you dry. Myself, I liked it.

Appearance: Deep, amber brown—less red, more dirty penny copper. Creamy thick off-white head.

Smell: Nicely hoppy in the nose—spicy Amarillo punctuated by a caramel-sweet base.

Taste: Roast grain notes with crisp, dry hoppy bitterness right up front. Interplay of sweet crystal malts and herbal, spicy hops… tasty hop showcase without being over-hopped.

Mouthfeel: Dry, medium body with a crisp dry finish.

Overall: This is a classic Northwest ale, quite drinkable and a big local favorite.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.65 out of 5 and is in their 92nd percentile.

New group blogging meme: Homebrew Blogging Day

April 16th, 2008

Adam over on the Beer Bits 2 blog is announcing/launching a new group blogging meme: Homebrew Blogging Day, inspired by The Session.

In an effort to foster a community of homebrew bloggers who share their experiences and wisdom I’m proposing a Homebrew Blogging Day….

On the last Friday of every month a different homebrew blog will host the event. Beer Bits 2 will host the first event on Friday, May 30th. The topic will be "I remember when I started homebrewing." Inspired by this months topic of The Session # 15 How did it all start for you?. Simply post about your earliest homebrewing adventures and email me the URL (beerbits2@gmail.com) or post it as a comment here. As the host of this first event I’ll collect and post a wrap up of all the posts.

• Event Name: TBD, we’ll vote on it and perhaps come up with a logo.
• Date: Friday May 30th, 2008
• May’s Theme: I remember when I started homebrewing.
• Who’s invited: All bloggers who have ever homebrewed.
• Rules: It doesn’t have to be the first time you brewed by yourself, but, you had to at least be present and do something like carry water or drink a beer

Well, what do you think? Who’s in? Email me your topic suggestions. Let me know if you would like to host.

Sounds like a neat idea, I’ll participate. And don’t consider "Homebrew Blogging Day" to be a final name… after all, The Session was originally called "Beer Blogging Friday."

April Theme Week

April 15th, 2008

Theme Week here at The Brew Site starts next Monday (the third Monday of every month), and this month’s theme is Lakefront Brewery. I’d mentioned the possibility of doing this before, so I made the executive decision (which is easy to do when it’s just me on this blog!) to go with it.

I’ll have eight beer reviews and maybe a bit more to say about the brewery, as well. I will say this right off, though: they make some tasty beers.

The next Session (May)

April 15th, 2008

The next Session—number 15, for those counting (I’m one of those)—is being hosted by Boak and Bailey and the topic is "How did it all start for you?"

Continuing the “Beervangelism” theme, we’d like you to write about the moment when you saw the light. At what point did you realise you were a beer lover / geek / enthusiast? What beer(s) triggered the conversion? Did someone help you along your way, or did you come to it yourself?

In short; how did you get into good beer?

If you can talk about a specific beer, so much the better — it would be good to see if there are any trends.

Sounds good! I’ll be there.