Beer Review - Southern Tier 422

Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing

Location: Lakewood, NY

Beer Name: 422

Style: Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.8%

IBU: NA

The beer was poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a thin white head, with splotchy lacing. The aroma is wheat bread with a faint glimpse of lemon citrus and grassy hops. The flavor has notes of wheat with a slightly sweet backing malt that is punctuated with orange and lemon citrus peel that ends with a bit of earthy grass from the bitter hops. This is a lighter body beer with an average level of carbonation.

Overall an average take on an American style wheat beer. Nothing really jumps out at you, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. It is an easy drinking clean, refreshing beer but not very assertive. Seems as though it is trying to blur the lines between an American pilsner with some wheat attributes. Would be fairly easy to drink a few of these on a hot summer day. Could have been a little more wheaty for my taste. Named 422 after Earth Day and is packaged with over 80% post-consumer recycled cardboard. Oddly you would have thought this beer would have been more organic in its attempt with such a lofty name.       

Score

Appearance	3/5
Aroma	3/5
Flavor	5/10
Overall	5/10
Total	16/30

Beer Review - Green Flash Brewing Rayon Vert

Brewery: Green Flash Brewing

Location: San Diego, CA

Beer Name: Rayon Vert

Style: Belgian-Style Pale Ale

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 32

The beer was poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours an opaque golden orange with a thick white head, very high retention rate and some moderate lacing. The aroma barks of brettanomyces, lots of barnyard wet hay, pepper, lightly floral notes that compliments with undertones of Belgian malts and citrus. The taste follows the nose. A solid backbone of malt plays into dramatic hits of dry musty hay, deep earthy woods, lemon pepper with an herbal hot bitterness. The body is solid with a very high level of crispness that balances the warmth of the alcohol and complexity of flavors.

Overall a very solid take on a Belgian-style Pale Ale with an interesting wild yeast twist. This is one of the most carbonated beers (perhaps too much) I’ve ever had. It’s a real gusher with a nice fluffy, almost cotton candy like head that lasts for a very long time. All this effervescence does provide a nice refreshing compliment to the complex wild flavors. There is a very nice malt profile that pairs well with the dry musty barnyard affects of the brettanomyces. The hint of lemon and citrus rinds balances the mustiness. The hops bitterness is a touch distracting at the end. But for the drinker it’s the wild yeast that really shines in this brew. Having sampled two of the four beers in the pack I’m interested to see how the bottled conditioned brettanomyces yeast will evolve over time.    

Score

Appearance	3/5
Aroma	4/5
Flavor	8/10
Overall	7/10
Total	22/30

Beer Review - Capital Brewing Autumnal Fire

Brewery: Capital Brewing

Location: Middleton, WI

Beer Name: Autumnal Fire

Style: Doppelbock

ABV: 7.8%

IBU: NA

The beer was poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a deep reddish brown with great clarity with a very slight head and hardly any retention. Some lacing. The aroma shines of sweet caramel malts, raisins and dates, with a hint of vanilla on the end. The flavor speaks of sweet caramel malt with slight touches of herbal hops and a bit of heat from the alcohol. The body is a viscous medium body with a lithe level of carbonation. 

Overall a very pleasing Doppelbock. The flavor is a deeper extension of what the aroma begins the experience with. There is a sherry quality to the smell. A very nice rich caramel and raisin/fig taste starts the beer that moves into a pleasant bready, almost shortbread quality that rounds out with a fading hint of herbal hop with a slight amount of heat from the alcohol. Some might say that it’s a bit too hot, but with a little warm up time it fades. For me the alcohol adds a balancing factor to all the sweet maltiness of the beer and one I quite enjoy. My only complaint was it could a tad more carbonation to lend a bit of crispness to the beer but that’s just nitpicking. Where as the Hop Heads love their Humulus lupulus, I tend to really enjoy the malt forward beers and this certainly does the trick for me.

Score

Appearance	5/5
Aroma	5/5
Flavor	9/10
Overall	8/10
Total	27/30

Foam Follows Function

My wife found this Lagerhead Black & Tan Turtle beer tool (http://www.brewtool.com/), at the local World Market and thought it would be something I would enjoy. The fact that she likes turtles helped the matter, along with her infinity for snakebites too. At first I was a bit skeptical. The head didn't look like it was sturdy enough to be a good bottle opener and I'm not very partial to mixing beers. But nonetheless it was a very interesting beer item and clever in its looks. Having gotten it home I removed it from the package and the bottle opener was much more sturdy than eye inspection appeared. I quickly snatched a leftover St. Patty's Guinness Stout from the fridge and a can of Shiner Bock. After reading the directions I poured the Shiner with a decent head first and then affixed the Lagerhead, which fits very nicely onto the top of the pint glass, and then poured the Guinness carefully over the top. Little streams of dark stout nicely capped the brew. I have to say it was just an OK mix. I love Shiner and Guinness but together it was not my favorite, there was a metallic aftertaste that wasn't the most pleasant.  

The Black Shiner

I was not ready to give up tho and the next day I gave it a try again with a Boulevard's Boss Tom Golden Bock and a Guinness, which I like to call a Black & Tom. This combo went much better together, the slightly sweeter malty Boss Tom complemented the dry roasted bitterness of the Guinness Stout.

The Black & Tom

Day three I went with an Irish theme of Guinness and Boulevard Irish Ale. There was a pleasant contrast with the Black of the stout and dark red of the Irish and the taste was a winner. Bitter roasted stout with the sweet earthy Irish ale was a perfect complement. Perhaps I'll try a Boulevard Dark Truth Stout with the last Irish Ale I have left.

The KC Fountain?

I have to say I'm slightly hooked on floating beers now and I'm constantly thinking what beers and ciders I want to try next. Lagerhead you have changed my mind. Well Played

Brew Day 4/22/2012 Whiskey Soaked Oak IPA

Another weekend down, another brew bubbling in the fermentor. This weekend I ramped up the ole roadhouse system for a batch of Whiskey Soaked Oak IPA my brother wanted to make. He said he used a grain bill similar to an Odell IPA Clone he had read in Brew Your Own magazine. His plan is to soak the oak wood chips in some Makers Mark whiskey for a couple of days and then add the wood chips to the secondary, and then of course drink the whiskey. However, I may have talked him into saving the whiskey and adding it to half of the batch of IPA during bottling. His hope is that the chips will give the IPA a slightly oaky, vanilla taste. I've read that some people feel that the true IPA style was probably orginially this way, due to the beers being stored in oak barrels during long oversea hauls. Which makes sense to me. All and all the day went fairly smooth. Mash temps were hit, also managed to maintain the temp with not much flucuation, sparging was effortless. The boil started out quickly and began to boil over but after a few quick stirs it calmed down into a nice rolling boil. Used some tea balls for the first time for the hops in an effort to reduce hop particles entering the Dalton cool down process. I have to say they worked really well as far as keeping the wort clean of hop particles. The only thing I could see detrimental was that hop pellets, when placed into the tea balls expands rapidly, and I dont know if the wort makes constant contact to extract the most hop resin potential. The loose leef hops seemed to do better and there was clearly more head space left for wort to circulate thru. Managed to get one 20 foot pole made for the hop garden. Hoping to get the other one made this weekend, but with the spoonbill fishing trip it may be delayed for another week.

Beer Review - Alaskan Brewing White Ale

Brewery: Alaskan Brewing

Location: Juneau, AK

Beer Name: White Ale

Style: Belgian-Style Witbier

ABV: 5.3%

IBU: 15

The beer was poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a pale golden yellow with a little head retention and sparse lacing. The aroma speaks of lightly spiced coriander, lemons and wheat. The flavor has a slightly dank earthy wheat taste with very small hints of coriander, cloves, pepper, and citrus. The body is medium and creamy with a good level of carbonation that lends crispness to the beer.

Overall an average Begian-Style witbier. The whole beer was a little subdued for my liking. Nothing really jumped out on the nose. Seemed too dark and not enough haze for my preference. It could use a little more coriander and citrus to counter the earthy sweetness of the wheat and other malts. I like a bigger spice character to my Witbier. Was expecting more Belgian yeast spice. Really liked the polar bear label tho. Perhaps would have been better enjoyed on a much warmer day, but coming from Alaska this probably was a comparably hot day.

Score

Appearance	2/5
Aroma	2/5
Flavor	4/10
Overall	5/10
Total	13/30

Beer Review - Six Row Brewing Whale Ale

 

Brewery: Six Row Brewing

Location: St. Louis, MO

Beer Name: Whale Ale

Style: Pale Ale/Wheat Hybrid

ABV: 5.47%

IBU: 31.4



The beer was poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a cloudy golden amber with decent head retention and a ample lacing. The aroma spoke of wheaty grains, sweet malt, and lemon citrus. The flavor begins slightly sour with hints of lemon zest that fades into earthy waves of wheat that rounds out with a slightly sweet maltiness. It is a medium body beer with decent carbonation leaning on the lower end.

Overall I found this beer really interesting and complex. Seems to run the gambit well between the two styles. The beginning has the unique bitter sourness of a pale ale, then moves into a citrus aspect from the hops that goes with the wheat grains, and then ends slightly sweet with hints of honey. The label seems to be understated in today's over produced symbolism, but it simplicity is is easy on the eyes and I quite like the coloring. Six Row Brewing states they made the beer from ten different malts, basically using what was around to test run their brewing system. What a way to start your company’s flagship beer. I look forward to trying other brews from this company, and hoping they are just as unique.

Score

Appearance	4/5
Aroma	3/5
Flavor	8/10
Overall	9/10
Total	24/30

Beer Review - Green Flash Brewing Palate Wrecker

Brewery: Green Flash Brewing

Location: San Diego, CA

Beer Name: Palate Wrecker

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.5%

IBU: 100+

The beer was poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a deep orangish amber with a thick white head and good lacing. The aroma is very hop forward, with lots of earthy pine and citrus notes. The flavor follows the nose. Lots of hop bitterness with a piney resin quality with additional hints of grapefruit and bitter orange peel. The beer is slightly boozy but this fades over time. The body is medium with appropriate carbonation.

Overall a Hop Bomb. Lots of hop characteristics dominate this brew. A very nice blend of earthy pine resins with accents of citrus. You smell it and taste it for sure. Not much malt backbone to provide balance but the 9.5% ABV it is surprisingly smooth and rounds out the bitterness, especially after more than a few sips. Those of you Hop Heads looking for that next big IPA beer to try, here you go.

Score

Appearance	3/5
Aroma	5/5
Flavor	7/10
Overall	8/10
Total	23/30

Beer Review - Tallgrass Brewing 8-Bit Pale Ale

Brewery: Tallgrass Brewing Co

Location: Manhattan, KS

Beer Name: 8-Bit Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%

IBU: 40

The beer was poured from a 1 pint can into a pint glass. Pours a opaque golden orange with a fluffy white head and nice glass lacing. The aroma thumps with an earthy, grassy, floral bouquet with subtle hints of tropical fruits and light bready malt. The flavor hints of lightly toasted grains that builds into a dank herbaceous profile that is highlighted with citrus notes. The body is light with a good level of carbonation that keeps the beer bright.

Overall I really enjoyed this beer. First of all, the can was awesome. I suppose I’ll need to start saying something about all the beer labels now. The 8-bit characters on the can takes me back to childhood memories of Atari 6400 and Nintendo games. The beer was very well-rounded, with a good light malt taste that was balanced with a tasty amount of dank earthy citrus hop bitteriness. The beer was crisp was a nice lingering bitterness that made it very sessionable The can notes that the beer was hopped using a Hop Rocket.  An invention homebrewers can also buy and something I’ve considered purchasing. Perhaps if the Hop Rocket does make such smooth hopped beers as this, it would be worth the cost..

Score

Appearance	4/5
Aroma	4/5
Flavor	9/10
Overall	9/10
Total	26/30

Weeks go bye

For all intensive purposes we have finally sold our house. Which is a great relief in that we no longer have to have random people stop by our house while we leave. I can only image the wonder they have as they descend into my basement and see the various glass containers full of interesting colored liquids with lab like tubes jutting out, thermometers, and other odd science fiction like equipment. They have to wonder, how many refrigerators does one family need? On top of that all the countless empty brown beer bottles neatly and not so neatly placed around my work area. If  Ididn't know any better I'd think it was a meth making operation. Now comes the task of packing all this stuff up and moving it. I guess that fridge full of beers and the kegerator will have to be emptied before the big move. I've got some work (drinking) to do. Fortunately we are moving out of the city and into a nice rural landed place. Growing up a country kid I feel like my kids should have the same experience. That and I can't stand all the noise and lights at night. When you grew up making a big deal about the rareness of a car driving down your street, it's a bit distracting to listen to teens crappy music as they drive by at night. I know that makes me sound old, but really I'm very far off from sitting in my garage watching cars drive by to fast and shaking my cane at them to slow down. The other major factor was the Morton building on the land. Visions of nanobrewery run through my head. I find myself looking at used brewing equipment in the 7 to 10bbl range and think, "I could do this," my inner voice avows. "You got the space, you could get the funds, you have a working knowledge of how to brew, why not?" it beckons. On a side note, the Parkville MO Microbrew Fest(http://www.parkvillemo.org/microbrewfest.html) is this Saturday and its highly recommended. Many great local and regional brewers showcasing some tasty beers. I'd advice to go super early if you haven't pre-purchased your glass. Last year we made the trek to the northland and arrived 10 minutes late from the opening time, 1pm, and they were already sold out of glasses. Now I don't know who plans this event but if I was doing it I'd certainly buy way more glasses than I could sell at 30 bucks a pop and have the brewers be the ones that run out of beer first, especially when the event last 4 hours. But that's my suggestion and I wont be attending again. Yeah, I'm still a little bitter, but enjoy.

Beer Review - Doodle Brewing Dubbel

Brewery: Doodle Brewing Co

Location: Liberty, MO

Beer Name: Dubbel Doodle

Style: Belgium Dubbel

ABV: NA%

IBU: NA

The beer was poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a hazy mahogany with copper tinges around the edges. The head pours a nice off-white that dissipates quickly with minimal lacing. The aroma hints of bready, yeasty spices and caramel. The body leans towards the lighter side of a medium body brew but well carbonated. The flavor starts with subdued hints of raisins and biscuity malt that builds into a slightly sweet but fleeting caramel middle. A firm bite of Belgium yeasty spice and grassy hops ends this dry finishing beer.

Overall and interesting and very drinkable take on a Belgium dubbel. For a dubbel it could use a little more weight to the body. I really like the haziness of the beer. I think all too often people get caught up in clarity. Not as complex as your standard dubbel but the lighter body, higher carbonation, and subdued flavor profile makes this a very sessionable versions of this style. I was very excited to try this very small local artisan brewery’s beer and look forward to other creations.  

Score

Appearance	4/5
Aroma	2/5
Flavor	6/10
Overall	7/10
Total	19/30

Beer Review - Flat Earth Brewing Belgian-Style Pale Ale

Brewery: Flat Earth Brewing

Location: St. Paul, MN

Beer Name: Belgian-Style Pale Ale

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

ABV: 5.20%

IBU: 25

The beer was poured from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a deep coppery amber with a nice tan head with good retention and light lacing. The aroma wafts with cloves, bubblegum, and a touch of banana. Under this spiciness there are hints of sweet toffee malts and dried fruits. The flavor develops initially with a touch of sweet caramel, banana and raisins that rapidly gives way to hits of Belgian spice characteristics. The end rounds out with a slightly earthy citrus hop spice. This is a good slightly dry medium body ale and moderate carbonation.

Overall I found this to be very interesting and enjoyable Belgian Pale ale. If you’re looking for a brew that showcases Belgian yeast characteristics, I would highly recommend. There is plenty of cloves, bubblegum, and a touch of banana to tantalize your palate but enough malt sweetness to not completely over power. A lower IBU might steer those away thinking they are going to drink something akin to an American Pale, but this beer is well within style. Very easy drinking with an interesting complexity that makes you want to try another. Having bought a four pack sampler from this brewery, I look forward to trying their other beers.

Score

Appearance	4/5
Aroma	4/5
Flavor	8/10
Overall	8/10
Total	24/30

Beer Review - RJ Rockers Patriot Pale Ale

Brewery: RJ Rockers Brewing Co

Location: Spartanburg, SC

Beer Name: Patriot Pale Ale

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: NA

The beer was poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy copper with a very nice thick white head. There was good head retention and light lacing left on the glass. The aroma beckons of herbal and floral hops with a note of orange citrus with faint undertones of light caramel malt. The flavor begins with a mellow woodsy bitterness with soft splashes of citrus that moves into a bready biscuit taste that ends with a slightly caramel sweetness. The body is in the medium-low category and a brisk carbonation lends a crisp mouthfeel. 

Overall a decent version of an American pale ale. The moderate bitterness and character profile of the hops used gives it a nice balance to the slight sweetness. A slight dull metallic taste lingers with the bitterness at the end but does not distract. Very drinkable, but for my taste it could be a little more hop forward.

Score

Appearance	3/5
Aroma	3/5
Flavor	6/10
Overall	6/10
Total	18/30

Ozark Brethern

Its Friday, the greatest work day of the week. No denying that fact. No brewing plans for the weekend. Here in Missouri we got a calling that beckons our hearts as soon as spring nips at our ears. That sweet siren call is that of the Lake of the Ozarks. Yes, that oddly shaped man-made lake nestled down in south central MO, what many other Statesmen would call hillbilly country, and that most people seem to know as the place with party cove. Going to pack up and drag the wife and kids down to our lake house to start the lake season off with a little fishing (sorry folks, rod and reels here, that handfishing is crazy). Going to teach the finer points of crappie fishing to my three boys, ages 8, 4, and 3. I'd like to say this will be a relaxing fun filled adventure but I'm fairly sure its going to be more work than anything else. Baiting, unhooking, untangling, fish releasing, rebaiting, unsnagging,. Wash, rinse, repeat. I have a feeling this is going to be the method to this madness. Fortunately I'll take the edge off this little endeavor with some craft beers and home brews while smoking some ribs in the evening. All of which I'll have to haul down on our 2.5 hour road trip to our place. The lake, well, its gotten better as far as beer selection goes in some of the bigger areas, however, most have a lot left to be desired. And yes in some of those smaller towns I have seen dozens of shoeless, dirty feet children running around. But you'd kind of expect that from places that celebrate with events such as the testical festival. On the homebrewing front I'll return Sunday to more than likely move the Honey Rye ale to the secondary and contemplate whether I need more thermometers on my brew rig. Been eyeing the thrumometer (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/all-grain-brewing/all-grain-equipment/thermometers/thrumometer.html), and it would sure make it a lot easier to track my cool down temps. Perhaps I'm just getting to pathological in my temperature standards. Here's to the weekend, Cheers!