Jul
26
2010
Flying Dog Road Dog Porter
Decorated with their trademark label art, I sampled Flying Dog’s Road Dog Porter. This American porter is a year round offering and has strong session ABV of 6%. I picked this bottle up at Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. There was no bottling or “drink by” date on the bottle. I served this ale from a 12oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.
The head was about a quarter inch. It had an off white color and good retention. The beer had a clear clarity but the dark brown color did not allow much light through to see any carbonation.
The beer had a mild aroma full of malt character. I noticed hints of roasted malts, toast, toffee and cocoa. The flavor matched the malt complexity of the aroma. I picked up on roasted malt, burnt toast, butterscotch, smoke characteristics.
The medium to heavy body beer had a smooth consistency, with a slight tingling on the finish. There were no alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was a bit above average.
This is a solid session porter, easy to drink but has some strong flavor notes. I could see enjoying a few of this during Eagles game on a cold Sunday. I would pair this beer up with a steak of the grill or even well done a cheese burger.
Beer Score 3.7/5.0
Jul
25
2010
Stone 14th Anniversary Empirical IPA
Wow! 14 years of Stone Brewing, that is an accomplishment. To celebrate each year Stone creates a limited edition beer. This year the brewed an English style IPA called Empirical IPA. This English style ale had an ABV of 8.9%. I bought this limted edition brew at Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens FL. I served the beer in from the screen printed 22 ounce bottle in a goblet.
The quarter inch, rocky, white head had a really good retention. The body clarity has hazy and I could not see any carbonation. The body color was a pale amber.
The aroma for this ale was very different from other stone selections. The intensity was medium to high as always with Stone but the English hop varieties shined. I got a bouquet of bitter, floral, herbal, earthy hops. There was a light malt sweetness hidden in all the hop flavors. The flavor was not as intense as I had predicted, don’t get me wrong though, it was still strong. English hops dominated with spicy, herbal hops with a light bready malt.
The mouth feel had a prickly consistency, and the beer had a medium body. The flavor had a long duration, the pepper hops stuck with you. The 8% alcohol was not very noticeable.
This was really good beer, and a nice change from what I am used to. I so often have beers that showcase American hops; this beer was a nice change of pace. It worth picking up if you get the chance. I would serve this beer some spice food, such as Indian or Thai.
Beer Score 3.55/5.0
The Cap Of My Stone 14th Anniversary
Jul
24
2010
Zywiec Lager
Zywiec lager is another brew left over from the World Cup beer tournament. It had an embarrassing first round exit, being voted out 0-10, but I believe in second chances so I am sampling it again.
Zywiec is listed on Beer Advocate as a Euro pale lager and has an ABV of 5%. I bought this Polish import from Total Wine in Boyton Beach FL. Along with its “beer thermometer” on the label there was a drink by date of 4.10.11. I served this beer from a 12 ounce bottle into a Pilsner glass.
The beer had the looks of your tradition light lager. The body was extremely clear and there was high carbonation. The beer was topped with a one inch white bubbly head, which receded slowly. The color of the beer was a straw yellow.
The aroma was very light; it was tough to pick up on any notes. The only noticeable smell was sweet corn with a light hop spice. The flavor was more disappointing. I picked up on a lot of corn. There also were some peppery hop flavors on the finish.
The beer was very light and watery. The high carbonation gave the beer a tingly consistency. No alcohol characteristics. The flavors were very short lived.
Overall impression of this beer: stay way, it is not worth it. I ended up pouring down the drain. I have had other Euro Style lagers that had more flavor complexity. I won’t even give it a food pairing suggestion because I would not want to spoil any meal.
Beer Score- 2.05/5.0
The Bottle Cap Art May Have Been The Only Good Thing About This Beer
Jul
22
2010
He'Brew Rejewvenator (Year of the Grape) 2010
Shalom! I am going religious with beer review with Shmaltz Brewing Company He’Brew Rejewventator (Year of the Grape). This is the third beer in their Rejewvenator series. This beer is one of the most unique I have hand in a while. The addition of grape juice to the beer enough would make it different, but this brew is also a blend of a ½ doppelbock and ½ Belgian duppel.
I found this beer at Whole Foods in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The ABV for this blend is a formidable 8.2%. I severed this beer from a 22oz bomber into Chimay goblets.
There was no head formation after I poured the beer. The body had a ruby amber color and was slightly hazy. The carbonation was very light. There was no lacing left by the beer on the side of the goblet.
The aroma intensity was moderate to high. I picked up notes of Belgian candy sugar, caramel malts, and some tart dark fruits, which I assume from the grapes.
The flavor though seemed kind of flat to me. I was hoping for a roller coaster of flavors, but I got more of a marry-go-round (still fun but not as exciting). The flavor characteristics were that of sweet caramel malts and tartness of dark fruits. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the flavor but I was really hoping for more complexity.
The body was very light with a soft prickly consistency. I did get a slight warming from the moderately high alcohol. The flavor duration was about average.
This was a good beer; it just did not meet my expectations. At five dollars though, it is worth picking up if you come across it. I would pair this beer up with some honey ham or other glazed pork.
Beer Score- 3.15/5.0
Revewvenator Bottle Neck Label
He'Brew Bottle Cap
Jul
21
2010
The World Cup Beer Line Up
Sports are always a good excuse to get friends together and have a few beers. With the world cup though, I wanted to take it up a few notches. To honor the World Cup we held a World Cup Beer Tasting Tournament. Each person needed to bring a six pack of a beer from a country of their choosing (no repeats were allowed). There were twelve beers, so in order to make a bracket 4 beers got a first round bye. The beer/country was then randomly placed on a bracket by picking numbers out a beer mug for head to head competition.
Each person got a small sample of the two beers that were competing against each other. A simple vote of which one you liked better decided which beer moved on to the next round. This would continue until we had a World Cup Beer Champion. To make the competition a little more interesting, it was a blind tasting. The beer was poured into simple, white Dixie cups. The only thing people knew was what two countries were being tasted. They did not what kind of beer it was, the brewery, who brought the beer, or even which country was in each cup. This allowed for a more fair competition.
Here are how the round broke down…
Round 1
Italy- La Rossa beats USA- Magic Hat #9
Scotland- Red McGregor beats China- Tsing Toa
Brazil- Xingu beats Poland- Zywiec
Spain-Estrella Damm Inedit beat Neatherlands –Grolsh
First Round byes- Germany- Celebrator Doppelbock, Thailand- Singha, Mexico- Dos Equis, and blank spot do to a no show.
Round 2
Italy- La Rossa advances due to no show
Germany- Celebrator Doppelbock beats Scotland- Red McGregor
Brazil- Xingu beats Thailand- Singha
Spain-Estrella Damm Inedit beats Mexico- Dos Equis
Final Four
Italy- La Rossa beats Germany- Celebrator Doppelbock
Brazil- Xingu beats Spain-Estrella Damm Inedit
Championship
Brazil- Xingu beats Germany- Celebrator Doppelbock
I was pretty excited when my Xingu Black Lager won (I remind you that the tasting was blind, so there was no coaxing). I was pleasantly surprised that a dark malty beer won against the popular American style light lagers.
After this fun take on a beer tasting I look forward to March, when I think I am going to host a Malt Madness tournament.
Jul
20
2010
Grolsch Premium Lager
Making an early round exit from the World Cup Beer tournament, I felt the remaining Grolsch Premium Lager in my fridge needed a second chance, especially since it was in a swing top bottle. I think the swing top bottles are pretty cool and I wish more breweries offered them.
This beer is listed as a Euro-Pale Lager on Beer Advocate and has an ABV of 5%. There was a best by date on the label of November 16 2010. I served the beer from the 15oz swing top bottle into a Pilsener Glass.
The highly carbonated beer was topped with a bubbly white head that was about a half inch think. The head had a very short lived retention. The body of the beer was clear and had straw gold color.
The aroma was stronger than I expected. I noticed grainy malt, herbal hops. The flavor though, as I expected fell short. The flavor was dominated by grainy malts, a little corn balanced out by spicy herbal hops.
The mouth feel had very light body with high carbonation on the tongue. There were no alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was short lived.
I probably would not but this one again on my own. This is not my style beer at all, but it met many of the BJCP guidelines for the style. The beer is just to plain for my taste. If you were to pair this beer with a meal I would go with some poultry or fish.
Beer Score 2.9/5.0
Jul
19
2010
Terrapin Gamma Ray
Gamma Ray is a wheat wine with 11% alcohol. This beer comes from Terrapin Beer Company in Georgia. This beer was originally a Side Project Number Three was released in 22 ounce bottles but now it is a summer seasonal release on Terrapin monster beer tour and available in 12 ounce bottles. I bought this beer as a single from Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens Florida. I served it in an oversized wine glass.
The white head was very thin and had retention was very short-lived. The body is a golden amber color with the light carbonation and cloudy clarity.
The aroma intensity was mild to high. I picked up on notes of alcohol, sweet wheat malt, some floral hops, light vanilla, honey and light spice. The flavor was very strong and had notes of strong alcohol, syrupy malt, floral hops, hints of orange zest, spice, and light vanilla.
The body was thick and rich and had a smooth consistency. There was warming from the alcohol as the beer went down my throat and there was lasting warmth in my chest. The flavor lasted just as long on my palate.
I enjoyed the beer. I would drink it again; I always enjoy a strong beer. I did feel like something may be missing, but I could no put my finger on it. It could be from my expectations with the style; I don’t drink wheat wine very often. I need to sample more beers of this style to get a better understanding of the style’s attributes. I would serve this with dark meat or game. With the strong alcohol content it would also be a good after dinner drink.
Beer Score- 3.85/5.0
Jul
18
2010
Chapeau Exotic
I often find myself always gravitating towards American craft beers. My new beer goal is to try and sample more beers from European breweries. I came across my first import to peak my interest in Whole Foods, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. It was the Chapeau Exotic Lambic, which was flavored with Pineapple. I have had several lambics before, but never pineapple flavored. Being the tropical beach bum that I am, I had to try it.
There was no bottling date or “drink by” date on the bottle. The ABV for this lambic was delicate 3.5%. I served this beer from its 12oz capped and corked bottle into champagne flutes.
No head topped the beer. The carbonation was very high, reminiscent of a champagne. The body had a dark gold color and a slight cloudy clarity.
The aroma had a mild intensity with a tart, cidery fruit aroma. The very mild flavor was tart with notes of light malt sweetness and cider. I got pineapple on the finish, maybe because I was really looking (and hoping) for it. The beer really did not have the flavors I was anticipating.
Light body had tingly consistency with a clean finish. There were no alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was average.
I was let down with this beer. I was really hoping for more fresh pineapple flavor but it tasted more like hard apple cider. If I were to pair this beer with food, I would pair it with a light summer salad.
Beer Score 2.85/5.0
Jul
16
2010
My Cascade Hops At Six Weeks
My cascade hops have been growing steadily over the past couple of weeks. They have been growing so much that they have out grown the trellis. I had one vine that grew one foot past the trellis. What to do with the over growth became a concern of mine. It was suggested to just let the hops just grown and do “their thing”. I allowed the hops to grow untrained for about a week, then I decided to take the hanging hop veins and re-train them on the trellis to go back the trellis. So far the hops taken well to this re-training.
I have also allowed to two younger hops vine to grow up the trellis, instead of cutting them. I plan on keeping a close eye on the young vines, in case they appear to be harming the overall health of the plant.
Be sure to check out the Mug Of Saint Arnold Facebook page for additional pictures of the growth of Southern Cascade Hops.
Letting My Cascade Hops Grow Wild And Free
Jul
15
2010
With some family and friends coming into town to celebrate my recent engagement I wanted to brew a beer for the occasion. I really was puzzled over what style to make. I wanted something that would appeal to both the non-beer drinkers and the craft beer connoisseur. I started to flip though my brewing books for some inspiration and I came across a recipe for bride ale in The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide. Instantly, I knew I found a winner.
The recipe explained that in medieval time, when brewing was done mostly by women, brides would brew beer to commemorate the upcoming wedding. The beer would then be sold to raise money for the wedding and to increase the bride’s dowry. This tradition of bride ale is where we get the term “bridal” today.
I used that recipe as a base for this homebrew. I wanted to make some minor changes and additions to make it more my own. I knew I wanted to make it a bit stronger, so I increased the malt extract from 6 2/3 pounds to 9 1/3 pounds. The recipe called for a pound of honey, so I added a ½ pound of honey malt to add to the sweetness. I also substituted crystal malt with Briess crystal 80L and double the amount of malt. In addition to these malts I used ½ pound of flaked barley as the recipe suggested.
With the increases in malts I also doubled the amount of hops I used. I stuck with the hops the recipe suggested: Willamette, liberty, and cascade. The recipe also called for a secondary fermentation with Cascade hops, which I have never done before, but I look forward to trying the additional brewing step.
I have a feeling this is going to be a malt bomb, but that is what I am hoping for. I just hope there will be various malt notes within the beer that would create a complexity.
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