A couple days after the start of the month I had both the New Holland Tulip Red, and the New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Wine. Even though they were had two days apart, it was nice to try two totally different things from the same brewery.
The Tulip Red was at at the Lakewood Winking Lizard on draft, nothing overly complex, but very easy drinking and quite refreshing. There was a nice rich creamy taste and texture with just a hint of bitter; there was also some sweetness and malt flavor with just a hint of honey.
The Pilgrim's Dole was a very interesting one to have, the biggest surprise was it's lack of strong "Barley Wine" sweetness. For what sweetness I could get it was along the lines of caramel. I also noticed that this one strongly reminded me of some British Barley Wines, in the regards of having a "off" flavor that I can not place. My best guess is that this may be from the heavy amount of wheat; though I should do some research to see if, and how much, wheat British Barley Wines may use. As for hops, I did not find many bitter hops but did find some nice and interesting flavor hops. The hop flavor that I got was very earthy and was kind of like cilantro or parsley.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
A Voice from Chicago
Below is a write up my friend Dan from Chicago about an extensive beer weekend that he had a few weeks back;
Wow, what a weekend. Great food... Great beer… Great friends. On Friday we went to Select Cut Steak House. We’ve wanted to try them out for about two or three years now. We just keep forgetting whenever we go out. I know this is a bier blog but I must comment that the steak was out of this world. But as good as it was the lobster tail I had put it to shame. It was like eating a stick of butter. Sadly, the best beer they had to offer was Beck’s Dark. When it arrived I was getting back to the table from the restroom and Jess was asking the waiter to bring us some non-frosted mugs. The smile across my face was quickly wiped away when the waiter gave me a confused look that quickly turned to disdain. Interestingly enough a mediocre beer like Beck’s was enhanced quite a bit by the steak.
Well, after dinner we were meeting up with friends, but were running a little early. Across the street from the Underground Lounge (our destination for the evening) is the Risqué Café American Craft Brews & Smoke House. Boy did they hold up to the “American Craft Brew” bit. I took a double take at the selection once we walked in. Let’s step back and discuss the atmosphere… Modern brick, steel and HD TVs playing classic grindhouse and kung-fu movies surrounded by giant pictures of 50’s pinup girls. Nice. So back to the beer. Nicer. They had an entire wall of coolers each filled to various levels with the best selection of American Micros I’ve seen in Chicago. No rice and corn Macros here. It was tough but I finally settled on a Brooklyn Local 1. I didn’t know anything about it but I’d heard many good things. The menu listed it as a Saison so when I took my first sip I was surprised to find a Strong Ale. After I got past this I have to say it lived up to my expectations… Even if I wanted a Saison. It poured (into a non-frosted goblet) a beautiful straw yellow with a frothy head that quickly settled to nice lacing. The taste and scent were similar so sweet florals, subtle lemon and a clove punch. Enjoyable to say the least, I recommend it if you stumble across one.
After we finished at Risqué we crossed over Newport and went to Underground Lounge. A great little secret of Wrigleyville. A seedy rock-n-roll bar with a nice beer selection. Walls painted black and dimly lit. I loved it. This is the kind of bar where I feel at home After looking over the cooler I settled on Kwak figuring I’d just had one Belgium Strong ale… And stuck with it for much of the night to make the bartenders life a little easier. There was a show Friday night and his help had called off. Over whelmed would be an accurate description. With the low light it was difficult to judge the appearance. From what I could make out it was a nice caramel brown. The flavors that jumped out to me were the caramel and brown sugar sweetness. A hint of fruit was hard to make out over the sweetness. Enjoyable as always. At the end of the evening I saw a Reunion – A Beer for Hope sitting at the back of the cooler. Far be it from me to know when to say when… so after several Kwaks I ordered it. What a change. I thought the massive foam head was a bad pour but after further review it is common, so don’t be surprised if it happens to you as well. Typical rusty pipe brown in appearance with a strong hop smell. The tastes that I got from it were of Earl Gray tea and citrus hops… My palate was a wreck by this time so I can’t be sure.
Well, next thing we knew it was closing time so we grabbed a cab home and quickly passed out after a late night quesadilla, some water and Advil. Up next… Saturday and Sunday.
So, Saturday I woke and felt like Chuck Norris drop kicked my palate. I was pissed at myself. Luckily it was only 7:30am and Delilah’s Vintage Strong Ale Tasting wasn’t till noon. To be honest I considered skipping it. How stupid could I be? Going out with friends the night before a tasting. I grabbed a glass of water and went back to bed for a couple hours and it did a world of good. I woke at about 11 and I could taste. Thank goodness, I’d been looking forward to this for days and it would have ruined my day had I of missed it.
We unfortunately got there about half an hour late and the tasting was in full swing. We got in the door, paid our entry fee and got our glasses. Another punk/rock-n-roll bar. How better could this weekend get. Again I felt like home. I miss the Nyabinghi back in Youngstown Oh.
As I was waiting for my tickets I noticed the selection from Dogfish Head. For those of you that don’t know me, DFH is probably my favorite American craft brewer and what do they have… Au Courant 2004. I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of these for some time and haven’t been able to. I made a b-line for the DFH and handed over my first drink ticket. Dark red in color with a white/pink head. If there was anything else besides sweet black cherries and currants I couldn’t find it. It was wonderfully sour with a nice sweet finish. I was so happy.
Next, I moved onto a 2005 Three Philosophers. For Christmas dinner 07 I had a 06 bottle and was pleased to say the least. The harshness I’d experienced in the past from the TP was removed and there was nothing but a great cherry bite. Sadly, there was too much harshness removed after that extra year. Don’t think I’ll hold onto a bottle in my personal collection for this long.
While I was standing at the bar (it wasn’t over crowded yet) I notice a selection of Anchor Old Foghorn Barley Wines ranging from 2002 to 2007. I give Anchor the respect they deserve for pretty much starting the micro revolution in the late 60’s early 70’s but I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan. I love Barley Wines so I figured I’d give them another shot. I started with the 2002; it smelled of sweet malts and sugary candy. Its taste was bold, thick and chewy with little carbonation. The 2007 was next for a comparison and the first noticeable difference was in the smell… Much sweeter with a sour fruitiness. The color of each by the way was of unfiltered apple juice with a nice light brown almost white head. The taste of the 07 was quite different. Smooth not thick with notes of oak. Overall, not bad on either… Still not going to run out and buy a case.
Right about now it started getting crowded… too crowded so we thought we’d head upstairs in hopes it hadn’t been discovered yet. We were soon to be proven wrong. The upstairs was crowded when we got up there. So we made our way around the room as best we could. First stop was the Unibroue table… Purely by chance mind you because by this time the room had become so crowded that we couldn’t see the actual tables. On the table was a selection of Anniversary ranging from 10 to 17, Quelque Chose 2002 and 2006, Chambly Noir 06 and Terrible 2004 and 2006. I just had to have the 04. Terrible is normally a kick in the ass, but the 04 had all that kick removed and what was left was a thick black liquid with a strong smell of malt and raisins. It tasted of dark sweet malts and dark fruits. Any unpleasantness found in the fresh bottles was removed and all you had left was a thoroughly enjoyable Strong Dark Ale. By this time the upstairs had become a cluster fuck. Sorry about the swearing Tim. We were pushed away from the tasting table so I couldn’t get to the Anniversary Ales… there were more people coming up the stairs and the temperature was getting uncomfortable.
I knew that if I didn’t go for it now I wouldn’t get the one brew I’d purposely come upstairs for… the 1998 Rochefort 10. I would never forgive myself if I missed this one. After some fighting with the ever growing masses and the bartender for that matter I got some. I didn’t care what else might be at the bar, I made my way away from the bar to the windows figuring I could get some air, some space and truly enjoy one of my all time favorites aged longer than I’ve been aware of its existence. Sunlight yellow/orange in color with tiny bits floating through it. When I first smelled it I didn’t get anything. There was not smell. After agitation the slightest hint of ripe fruit came out. Now for the taste, how I’d looked forward to this. Nothing again. It had become so smooth that it was like drinking a glass of flavored water. No carbonation, no alcohol bite, not typical fruit and raisin characteristics of a Belgium. Nothing… And wickedly drinkability because of it. I was in heaven, how subtle and delicate it had become. The beer equivalent of fine china. I could drink this all night long all the while regretting the lose of such a fine work of art. After holding the 10 in my mouth for a moment I was able to pick up apple… no… what could that be? If only I could have gotten my hands on a whole bottle.
At this time some girl started yelling at someone else waiting for a sample. Apparently she was under the impression that there was a line. If there was I couldn’t see it either. It was time to go back downstairs no matter what was up here. After we made our way down there were a few more beers, but to be honest nothing worth writing about. It became near impossible to get served and we decided to leave much earlier than originally planned. Besides that I was going to see Jesus Christ Superstar later that night and needed to rest before I went out. Overall I’m glad I went, but I wish they would have limited the amount of tickets sold. You would think that with this being the 10th anniversary that they would have learned this. Good time… may not go back to the tasting but will definitely go back to the bar.
Sunday… Actually Saturday while we were out my new brew kit arrived with ingredients to make an Oatmeal Stout. I’ve been researching recipes for weeks now and devised a little twist to make it my own. I decided on adding cocoa powder after the boil to the primary fermentation bucket and next week after I move it to my secondary adding cherries. For those of you that haven’t brewed before it is a time consuming task taking most of an afternoon to do right. Well worth the rewards in the end… So I’m told my first venture into brewing didn’t turn out so well, but I think I’ve figured out what I did wrong. I’ll update you all in about a month once I’ve finished the bottling process… Of course I’ll be sending you a few Tim.
Wow, what a weekend. Great food... Great beer… Great friends. On Friday we went to Select Cut Steak House. We’ve wanted to try them out for about two or three years now. We just keep forgetting whenever we go out. I know this is a bier blog but I must comment that the steak was out of this world. But as good as it was the lobster tail I had put it to shame. It was like eating a stick of butter. Sadly, the best beer they had to offer was Beck’s Dark. When it arrived I was getting back to the table from the restroom and Jess was asking the waiter to bring us some non-frosted mugs. The smile across my face was quickly wiped away when the waiter gave me a confused look that quickly turned to disdain. Interestingly enough a mediocre beer like Beck’s was enhanced quite a bit by the steak.
Well, after dinner we were meeting up with friends, but were running a little early. Across the street from the Underground Lounge (our destination for the evening) is the Risqué Café American Craft Brews & Smoke House. Boy did they hold up to the “American Craft Brew” bit. I took a double take at the selection once we walked in. Let’s step back and discuss the atmosphere… Modern brick, steel and HD TVs playing classic grindhouse and kung-fu movies surrounded by giant pictures of 50’s pinup girls. Nice. So back to the beer. Nicer. They had an entire wall of coolers each filled to various levels with the best selection of American Micros I’ve seen in Chicago. No rice and corn Macros here. It was tough but I finally settled on a Brooklyn Local 1. I didn’t know anything about it but I’d heard many good things. The menu listed it as a Saison so when I took my first sip I was surprised to find a Strong Ale. After I got past this I have to say it lived up to my expectations… Even if I wanted a Saison. It poured (into a non-frosted goblet) a beautiful straw yellow with a frothy head that quickly settled to nice lacing. The taste and scent were similar so sweet florals, subtle lemon and a clove punch. Enjoyable to say the least, I recommend it if you stumble across one.
After we finished at Risqué we crossed over Newport and went to Underground Lounge. A great little secret of Wrigleyville. A seedy rock-n-roll bar with a nice beer selection. Walls painted black and dimly lit. I loved it. This is the kind of bar where I feel at home After looking over the cooler I settled on Kwak figuring I’d just had one Belgium Strong ale… And stuck with it for much of the night to make the bartenders life a little easier. There was a show Friday night and his help had called off. Over whelmed would be an accurate description. With the low light it was difficult to judge the appearance. From what I could make out it was a nice caramel brown. The flavors that jumped out to me were the caramel and brown sugar sweetness. A hint of fruit was hard to make out over the sweetness. Enjoyable as always. At the end of the evening I saw a Reunion – A Beer for Hope sitting at the back of the cooler. Far be it from me to know when to say when… so after several Kwaks I ordered it. What a change. I thought the massive foam head was a bad pour but after further review it is common, so don’t be surprised if it happens to you as well. Typical rusty pipe brown in appearance with a strong hop smell. The tastes that I got from it were of Earl Gray tea and citrus hops… My palate was a wreck by this time so I can’t be sure.
Well, next thing we knew it was closing time so we grabbed a cab home and quickly passed out after a late night quesadilla, some water and Advil. Up next… Saturday and Sunday.
So, Saturday I woke and felt like Chuck Norris drop kicked my palate. I was pissed at myself. Luckily it was only 7:30am and Delilah’s Vintage Strong Ale Tasting wasn’t till noon. To be honest I considered skipping it. How stupid could I be? Going out with friends the night before a tasting. I grabbed a glass of water and went back to bed for a couple hours and it did a world of good. I woke at about 11 and I could taste. Thank goodness, I’d been looking forward to this for days and it would have ruined my day had I of missed it.
We unfortunately got there about half an hour late and the tasting was in full swing. We got in the door, paid our entry fee and got our glasses. Another punk/rock-n-roll bar. How better could this weekend get. Again I felt like home. I miss the Nyabinghi back in Youngstown Oh.
As I was waiting for my tickets I noticed the selection from Dogfish Head. For those of you that don’t know me, DFH is probably my favorite American craft brewer and what do they have… Au Courant 2004. I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of these for some time and haven’t been able to. I made a b-line for the DFH and handed over my first drink ticket. Dark red in color with a white/pink head. If there was anything else besides sweet black cherries and currants I couldn’t find it. It was wonderfully sour with a nice sweet finish. I was so happy.
Next, I moved onto a 2005 Three Philosophers. For Christmas dinner 07 I had a 06 bottle and was pleased to say the least. The harshness I’d experienced in the past from the TP was removed and there was nothing but a great cherry bite. Sadly, there was too much harshness removed after that extra year. Don’t think I’ll hold onto a bottle in my personal collection for this long.
While I was standing at the bar (it wasn’t over crowded yet) I notice a selection of Anchor Old Foghorn Barley Wines ranging from 2002 to 2007. I give Anchor the respect they deserve for pretty much starting the micro revolution in the late 60’s early 70’s but I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan. I love Barley Wines so I figured I’d give them another shot. I started with the 2002; it smelled of sweet malts and sugary candy. Its taste was bold, thick and chewy with little carbonation. The 2007 was next for a comparison and the first noticeable difference was in the smell… Much sweeter with a sour fruitiness. The color of each by the way was of unfiltered apple juice with a nice light brown almost white head. The taste of the 07 was quite different. Smooth not thick with notes of oak. Overall, not bad on either… Still not going to run out and buy a case.
Right about now it started getting crowded… too crowded so we thought we’d head upstairs in hopes it hadn’t been discovered yet. We were soon to be proven wrong. The upstairs was crowded when we got up there. So we made our way around the room as best we could. First stop was the Unibroue table… Purely by chance mind you because by this time the room had become so crowded that we couldn’t see the actual tables. On the table was a selection of Anniversary ranging from 10 to 17, Quelque Chose 2002 and 2006, Chambly Noir 06 and Terrible 2004 and 2006. I just had to have the 04. Terrible is normally a kick in the ass, but the 04 had all that kick removed and what was left was a thick black liquid with a strong smell of malt and raisins. It tasted of dark sweet malts and dark fruits. Any unpleasantness found in the fresh bottles was removed and all you had left was a thoroughly enjoyable Strong Dark Ale. By this time the upstairs had become a cluster fuck. Sorry about the swearing Tim. We were pushed away from the tasting table so I couldn’t get to the Anniversary Ales… there were more people coming up the stairs and the temperature was getting uncomfortable.
I knew that if I didn’t go for it now I wouldn’t get the one brew I’d purposely come upstairs for… the 1998 Rochefort 10. I would never forgive myself if I missed this one. After some fighting with the ever growing masses and the bartender for that matter I got some. I didn’t care what else might be at the bar, I made my way away from the bar to the windows figuring I could get some air, some space and truly enjoy one of my all time favorites aged longer than I’ve been aware of its existence. Sunlight yellow/orange in color with tiny bits floating through it. When I first smelled it I didn’t get anything. There was not smell. After agitation the slightest hint of ripe fruit came out. Now for the taste, how I’d looked forward to this. Nothing again. It had become so smooth that it was like drinking a glass of flavored water. No carbonation, no alcohol bite, not typical fruit and raisin characteristics of a Belgium. Nothing… And wickedly drinkability because of it. I was in heaven, how subtle and delicate it had become. The beer equivalent of fine china. I could drink this all night long all the while regretting the lose of such a fine work of art. After holding the 10 in my mouth for a moment I was able to pick up apple… no… what could that be? If only I could have gotten my hands on a whole bottle.
At this time some girl started yelling at someone else waiting for a sample. Apparently she was under the impression that there was a line. If there was I couldn’t see it either. It was time to go back downstairs no matter what was up here. After we made our way down there were a few more beers, but to be honest nothing worth writing about. It became near impossible to get served and we decided to leave much earlier than originally planned. Besides that I was going to see Jesus Christ Superstar later that night and needed to rest before I went out. Overall I’m glad I went, but I wish they would have limited the amount of tickets sold. You would think that with this being the 10th anniversary that they would have learned this. Good time… may not go back to the tasting but will definitely go back to the bar.
Sunday… Actually Saturday while we were out my new brew kit arrived with ingredients to make an Oatmeal Stout. I’ve been researching recipes for weeks now and devised a little twist to make it my own. I decided on adding cocoa powder after the boil to the primary fermentation bucket and next week after I move it to my secondary adding cherries. For those of you that haven’t brewed before it is a time consuming task taking most of an afternoon to do right. Well worth the rewards in the end… So I’m told my first venture into brewing didn’t turn out so well, but I think I’ve figured out what I did wrong. I’ll update you all in about a month once I’ve finished the bottling process… Of course I’ll be sending you a few Tim.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Good times with old friends and some new ones
Over the past couple days I tried a few new biers, had some of my old favorites, and did a little comparison of another. After my visit to, and write up of, the Cleveland Auto Show; I was a little more interested in trying to further compare the difference between Guinness Extra Stout and Guinness Draft Bottle. Luckily on the night of February 27th I went to dinner at Brasa Brazilian Steak House for my husband's parents anniversary and accidentally found out they had both Guinness Extra Stout and Draft Bottle. I started with a Extra Stout, then had a Draft Bottle, then went back to the Extra Stout. I did find that the Extra Stout had a much more predominate flavor than the Draft Bottle; I believe that I may have been right in that the nitrogen widget kills some of the complex flavor, but does add a very nice creaminess if that's what you are in the mood for.
The two new biers that I tried were the Mikkeller RateBeer Special Release and the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil. I was really surprised and pleased with the Mikkeller; it had nice noticeable hops, but with the nice smoothness and refined character of a good Belgian without going overboard on the hops. There was also a strong brown sugar taste in the malt. Over all it was quite enjoyable and worth getting a second bottle. The Old Engine Oil was also good, but not quite as surprising as the Mikkeller. Over all it was well roasted, thick, with lots of different bitters from the roast. It started with more of a coffee bitter and ended more along the lines of semi-sweet dark chocolate. Good one to try, but not sure if I would be in a rush to get another bottle.
Some of the old favorites that I had were; Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra, Hoppin' Frog BORIS that I helped bottle, and an Arcadia Scotch Ale. The Arcadia definitely had the smoke that you would expect in a scotch ale as well as a roasted sweetness somewhere between caramel and molasses. The biggest surprise was how bubbly the Arcadia was. I finally was able to convince Dave to try the BORIS that I helped bottle and knew that he would like how fresh it tasted, of course I was right. We both noticed the strong flavor and texture of oatmeal and how it helped add a nice creaminess to the beer. We also thought it would be very interesting to try a batch of BORIS that did it's initial fermentation aging in Bourbon barrels instead of steel tanks. Although the beer is already amazingly good; it is just asking for that level of added complexity in the flavor. Last, but definitely not least, is one of my all time favorites; Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra. First off, if I read the bottle correctly, the one I had should be from September 2006; I found that it is aging very well and is becoming extremely smooth. Of course it was very sweet, with a nice molasses/raisin flavor, and quite thick and syrupy. One very surprising thing was how the alcohol was only noticeable at the very end and not the entire way through the taste. This is an extremely enjoyable beer to sit back and slowly enjoy out of an over sized Brandy snifter or over sized red wine glass.
Although I went quite over board on my "tastings" on leap day, after taking the day off on the first I am quite excited to try out the New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Barley Wine. But first, I will probably try a few pints at the Winking Lizard and get my glass for the Beer of the Month, New Holland's Red Tulip is the selected one for March. I should also have a write up from my friend in Chicago coming soon.
The two new biers that I tried were the Mikkeller RateBeer Special Release and the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil. I was really surprised and pleased with the Mikkeller; it had nice noticeable hops, but with the nice smoothness and refined character of a good Belgian without going overboard on the hops. There was also a strong brown sugar taste in the malt. Over all it was quite enjoyable and worth getting a second bottle. The Old Engine Oil was also good, but not quite as surprising as the Mikkeller. Over all it was well roasted, thick, with lots of different bitters from the roast. It started with more of a coffee bitter and ended more along the lines of semi-sweet dark chocolate. Good one to try, but not sure if I would be in a rush to get another bottle.
Some of the old favorites that I had were; Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra, Hoppin' Frog BORIS that I helped bottle, and an Arcadia Scotch Ale. The Arcadia definitely had the smoke that you would expect in a scotch ale as well as a roasted sweetness somewhere between caramel and molasses. The biggest surprise was how bubbly the Arcadia was. I finally was able to convince Dave to try the BORIS that I helped bottle and knew that he would like how fresh it tasted, of course I was right. We both noticed the strong flavor and texture of oatmeal and how it helped add a nice creaminess to the beer. We also thought it would be very interesting to try a batch of BORIS that did it's initial fermentation aging in Bourbon barrels instead of steel tanks. Although the beer is already amazingly good; it is just asking for that level of added complexity in the flavor. Last, but definitely not least, is one of my all time favorites; Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra. First off, if I read the bottle correctly, the one I had should be from September 2006; I found that it is aging very well and is becoming extremely smooth. Of course it was very sweet, with a nice molasses/raisin flavor, and quite thick and syrupy. One very surprising thing was how the alcohol was only noticeable at the very end and not the entire way through the taste. This is an extremely enjoyable beer to sit back and slowly enjoy out of an over sized Brandy snifter or over sized red wine glass.
Although I went quite over board on my "tastings" on leap day, after taking the day off on the first I am quite excited to try out the New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Barley Wine. But first, I will probably try a few pints at the Winking Lizard and get my glass for the Beer of the Month, New Holland's Red Tulip is the selected one for March. I should also have a write up from my friend in Chicago coming soon.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
helping cature the frog
a couple days ago (02-26-2008) i drove an hour from my home to go help fred of hoppin' frog brewing bottle some beer. i ended up being there all day from 9:00AM until 6:30pm and we bottled both the mean manalishi and the boris bodacious oatmeal russian imperial stout. of course during the day we had to make sure that what we were bottling was of top quality as well as do some "quality checking" on a few of his other brews. i mostly helped out by drying off the bottles, boxing them, and then stacking them in the cooler. at the end of the day fred was more than kind enough to provide me with a small selection of his wares for my enjoyment and to share with family and some close friends. i really can not thank fred enough for the experience and i had a complete blast. the only bad part of the day was having to drive the hour home as i was snowing.
mean manalishi bottling sample
the smell had a strong citrus hops, some malt that came through, and a slight hint of light roast as well. the taste was also strong citrus hops but with a hint of floral gravel. there was also a very smooth and creamy body from the slight malt that could be tasted, as well as the light roast that was noticed in the smell.
boris aged 14 months
the smell did not have nearly as much roast as i was expecting, but did have a surprising amount of molasses sweetness. the taste had much more roast than the smell, with a subtle, but not as strong as the smell, sweetness. the major, and most surprising flavor, that i got was a nice bitter roast that reminded me of strong black coffee. it was almost like if i made fresh ground and brewed coffee from a medium dark to dark roasted bean. you could also compare it to the bitter you get if you leave coffee sitting over the burner to long and it starts to "cook" down (but my first description is the tastier of the two).
boris bottling sample
this fresh boris was very creamy with a heavy dark chocolate flavor, there was also a hint of coffee in the taste and over all was extremely smooth. i also found that as it warmed some of the oats in this oatmeal stout started to come out as a dry oat flavor.
smashin' berry blond
when cold this one tasted almost just like candy coated sweet tarts. as it warmed the flavor changed to something more like fruity pebbles or fruit loops cereal.
wild frog wheat brewed summer of 2007
fred definitely got this one just right, started with a strong banana with just a hint of orange zest; and like fred has said before, would be awesome with a little orange slice. not sure if it was from the brewing or the slight aging, but there was a strong malt flavor as well that added a nice heavy thickness to the body, it almost felt along the lines of an imperial wheat (which may be worth a try fred).
mean manalishi bottling sample
the smell had a strong citrus hops, some malt that came through, and a slight hint of light roast as well. the taste was also strong citrus hops but with a hint of floral gravel. there was also a very smooth and creamy body from the slight malt that could be tasted, as well as the light roast that was noticed in the smell.
boris aged 14 months
the smell did not have nearly as much roast as i was expecting, but did have a surprising amount of molasses sweetness. the taste had much more roast than the smell, with a subtle, but not as strong as the smell, sweetness. the major, and most surprising flavor, that i got was a nice bitter roast that reminded me of strong black coffee. it was almost like if i made fresh ground and brewed coffee from a medium dark to dark roasted bean. you could also compare it to the bitter you get if you leave coffee sitting over the burner to long and it starts to "cook" down (but my first description is the tastier of the two).
boris bottling sample
this fresh boris was very creamy with a heavy dark chocolate flavor, there was also a hint of coffee in the taste and over all was extremely smooth. i also found that as it warmed some of the oats in this oatmeal stout started to come out as a dry oat flavor.
smashin' berry blond
when cold this one tasted almost just like candy coated sweet tarts. as it warmed the flavor changed to something more like fruity pebbles or fruit loops cereal.
wild frog wheat brewed summer of 2007
fred definitely got this one just right, started with a strong banana with just a hint of orange zest; and like fred has said before, would be awesome with a little orange slice. not sure if it was from the brewing or the slight aging, but there was a strong malt flavor as well that added a nice heavy thickness to the body, it almost felt along the lines of an imperial wheat (which may be worth a try fred).
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
lots of cars and a winey gargoyle
on sunday 02-24-2008 i went to the cleveland auto show at the i x center with my husband and some of his family. after a long day of quickly walking around and looking at lots of cars we decided that it was time to have snack and a couple drinks. based on what a saw on the exhibit floor for beer selection i wasn't very hopeful that they would have anything that i wanted. but after we went over to the food court and saw there were a couple full bars i looked closer and saw they had a cooler with small selection that i knew i would enjoy. the biggest surprise was that they had about six bottles of rodenbach.
at the auto show i had a guinness extra stout bottle, followed by a thirty dog balto bottle. after we got home i tried out the new stone 2008 old guardian barley wine.
guinness extra stout
the classic guinness sour flavor was slightly more pronounced, i am wondering if this is because it is the extra stout and doesn't have the nitrogen widget.
thirsty dog balto
had a nice sweetness from the malt that was some what honey like. there was also a subtle hint of hops that was well blended in with the malt.
stone 2008 old guardian barley wine
after enjoying the 2007 old guardian last year i knew that i had to try the 2008. i found that this one had four noticeable stages in the taste. first it started with strong hops, then the heavy malt started to shine through, after that the alcohol became noticeable, and then it finished with the malt coming back out as the predominate flavor. i am very interested to see how this one ages and to go back and try the one bottle of 2007 that i have left.
at the auto show i had a guinness extra stout bottle, followed by a thirty dog balto bottle. after we got home i tried out the new stone 2008 old guardian barley wine.
guinness extra stout
the classic guinness sour flavor was slightly more pronounced, i am wondering if this is because it is the extra stout and doesn't have the nitrogen widget.
thirsty dog balto
had a nice sweetness from the malt that was some what honey like. there was also a subtle hint of hops that was well blended in with the malt.
stone 2008 old guardian barley wine
after enjoying the 2007 old guardian last year i knew that i had to try the 2008. i found that this one had four noticeable stages in the taste. first it started with strong hops, then the heavy malt started to shine through, after that the alcohol became noticeable, and then it finished with the malt coming back out as the predominate flavor. i am very interested to see how this one ages and to go back and try the one bottle of 2007 that i have left.
the joy of wood
on friday 02-22-2008 i went out and did some beer shopping to pick up a few requested bell's items for a friend in chicago and found that rozi's just got the dogfish head palo santo in stock. with out a second thought i pickup some up; the only pondering i had was if i should get one or two four packs, and of course i got two. Unfortunately it wasn't quite cool enough to have right away so i had to let it sit in the beer fridge for a couple hours.
When i was finally able to open it had a smell with some roast and some sweetness. the taste had a lot of very interesting flavors that i couldn't quite place and were very new for me. although the sweetness had a hint of brown sugar, there was also some other very interesting flavor that i couldn't label. i did notice a nice richness in the taste most likely from the wood aging. the body and texture were both very rich, creamy, heavy, and almost chewy. at first it kind of felt flat; but as it warmed i realized that it wasn't flatness i felt, but it was an amazing rich and creamy chewiness from this beer's crazy amount of malt that i was feeling.
i also had this beer the night after and got a lot of the same tastes and textures, such as the very heavy malt texture, as the night before. but this time i was able to place some of those "interesting" flavors from the previous night. this time i noticed much more wood and wood sap around the sweetness, and the alcohol started to come out a little more as well. i am really curious to see how this beer ages, and if i can hang on to some of it long enough to find out.
When i was finally able to open it had a smell with some roast and some sweetness. the taste had a lot of very interesting flavors that i couldn't quite place and were very new for me. although the sweetness had a hint of brown sugar, there was also some other very interesting flavor that i couldn't label. i did notice a nice richness in the taste most likely from the wood aging. the body and texture were both very rich, creamy, heavy, and almost chewy. at first it kind of felt flat; but as it warmed i realized that it wasn't flatness i felt, but it was an amazing rich and creamy chewiness from this beer's crazy amount of malt that i was feeling.
i also had this beer the night after and got a lot of the same tastes and textures, such as the very heavy malt texture, as the night before. but this time i was able to place some of those "interesting" flavors from the previous night. this time i noticed much more wood and wood sap around the sweetness, and the alcohol started to come out a little more as well. i am really curious to see how this beer ages, and if i can hang on to some of it long enough to find out.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Melting a Beer Engine...
So over the past couple days I have tried quite a few different things. It has been a combination of going to Melt bar and Grilled, Buckeye Beer Engine, and a few things at home.
Melt Bar and Grilled
==Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale on draft
Both the smell and taste had a hint of nut. Some bitter and a roast that is blended in with a burnt molasses sweetness, and as it warms some metallic comes out in the bitter. Over all very good and enjoyable.
==Great Divide Herculies IPA on draft
I have had this before in the bottle and got much more malt that time than this time. I am not sure if it was from previous beers or my sour (kraut) dinner, but i got much more citrus and gravel hops. It also may be that this keg has aged more than the bottle that I previously had and lost some hops.
Buckeye Beer Engine
==Bell's Double Cream Stout on cask draft
Really sweet, along the lines of sweet cream. Hint of roast and slight sour. The beer engine did add a very nice smooth and creamy texture, and was quite enjoyable.
==Great Divide St. Bridgettes Porter
Not as sweet as the Double Cream but with some added nutty brown taste instead. Any chocolate that this one has comes out more as it warms.
Home
==Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Mostly sweet with a hint of roast. There was some creaminess with a noticeable alcohol and silght off flavor that may have been from the hops or oak.
==Bell's Hopslam (a couple times)
Had this one before and this time is was quite a bit more malty and more subdued hops that before. Very easy to enjoy when building routers ;)
==Dogfish Head Golden Era
Very slight pilsner skunk in the bitter with some metallic. Malt was the major flavor with a nice smooth creaminess.
==Goose Island Imperial IPA
The smell had a strong citrus with some floral/gravel bitter. The taste had much more malt, a stong alcohol, and just a hint of bitter from the hops that I smelled.
And, coming soon; Dog Fish Head Palo Santo Marron ;)
Melt Bar and Grilled
==Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale on draft
Both the smell and taste had a hint of nut. Some bitter and a roast that is blended in with a burnt molasses sweetness, and as it warms some metallic comes out in the bitter. Over all very good and enjoyable.
==Great Divide Herculies IPA on draft
I have had this before in the bottle and got much more malt that time than this time. I am not sure if it was from previous beers or my sour (kraut) dinner, but i got much more citrus and gravel hops. It also may be that this keg has aged more than the bottle that I previously had and lost some hops.
Buckeye Beer Engine
==Bell's Double Cream Stout on cask draft
Really sweet, along the lines of sweet cream. Hint of roast and slight sour. The beer engine did add a very nice smooth and creamy texture, and was quite enjoyable.
==Great Divide St. Bridgettes Porter
Not as sweet as the Double Cream but with some added nutty brown taste instead. Any chocolate that this one has comes out more as it warms.
Home
==Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Mostly sweet with a hint of roast. There was some creaminess with a noticeable alcohol and silght off flavor that may have been from the hops or oak.
==Bell's Hopslam (a couple times)
Had this one before and this time is was quite a bit more malty and more subdued hops that before. Very easy to enjoy when building routers ;)
==Dogfish Head Golden Era
Very slight pilsner skunk in the bitter with some metallic. Malt was the major flavor with a nice smooth creaminess.
==Goose Island Imperial IPA
The smell had a strong citrus with some floral/gravel bitter. The taste had much more malt, a stong alcohol, and just a hint of bitter from the hops that I smelled.
And, coming soon; Dog Fish Head Palo Santo Marron ;)
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