Rob's #3 IPA

My college buddy Rob, aka Hop Rod from the blog As Lived By Rob, starting home brewing right around the same time that I started. This past month when Rob was in town for my wedding he brought me a bottle of his home brew #3 IPA. It was named #3 because it was his third home brew. Also as the name implies it is an American IPA. I served the beer in a snifter.

The beer poured a very thin head that dissipated quickly. The body was a deep amber color and had a hazy/cloudy clarity. The beer also had a very light carbonation.

The appealing aroma had a mild intensity that was full of pine and earthy hop aroma. The flavor preceded similar notes. I got pine and earthy hops right up front but I did notice some caramel malts hiding behind the hops.

The beer had a medium body with a smooth consistency. The carbonation was on the lighter side. There were no noticeable alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was average.

I enjoyed this home brew; I would not mind drinking more of it. Though the carbonation was low, I think this beer represented the style well. I look forward to sampling more brews from Rob.

Be sure to check out his blog, As Lived By Rob, a chronicle of more interesting moments of life.

Estrelle Damm

Estrella Damm has been floating in my fridge since the World Cup Beer Tasting, but the other night it was spotlighted on Three Sheets Barcelona, so I felt it was worth a review. According to Zane Lamprey, this is the go-to beer in Barcelona. Estralla is listed on Beer Advocate as an American Adjunct Lager (meaning a large portion of the fermentable grain is something other than barley or wheat).  The ABV for this lager is 5.2%. There was a date on the bottle of 11/10, which I assume is the drink by date. I served this beer from a 12 ounce bottle into a pilsner glass.

The beer was topped with a frothy white head that was about an inch thick. The head then faded to about an eighth of an inch thick. This high clarity lager had pale gold color. The carbonation was high as excepted.

The aroma was mild with notes of grains, fresh cut grass, and bittering hops. The flavor had notes of sweet corn that were followed by floral hops. The flavor was seemed uninspired. Also as I swished the beer around in my mouth to acquire more flavors, it warmed and became unpleasant.

The mouth feel was reminiscent of water, very light and almost unnoticeable. There were no alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was slightly below average.

I was not too impressed with this beer. Out of all the adjunct lagers that I have had in the past, this one is the worst. I would avoid this one, it was a drain pour.

Beer Score- 2.25/5.0

Allagash White

I had a lot of beer left over from the wedding, which included a few bottle of Allagash White, which is one of my wife’s favorite beers. It was her top choice for the wedding beer line up because it was her favorite and had a less chance of staining her dress if there was an accidental spill.

Allagash White is an unfiltered witbier with 5.2% ABV. There was no date on the bottle, but the brewery web site suggested drinking it young. On the side of the bottle there was some pouring instructions to mix up the yeast, which is pretty cool. I served the beer from a 12 ounce bottle into an over sized wine glass.

The beer had a quarter inch, thin foam head that had good retention. The cloudy body had a pale gold straw color. The carbonation was subtle and lacing was perfect.

The aroma mirrored that of the style, full of yeast, coriander, lemon, and light pepper characteristics. The flavor was very traditional. The flavor notes consisted of wheaty malt, lemon, coriander, yeast, and slight peppery spice.

The body had a light mouth feel. The beer had a prickly consistency from the carbonation that faded to a smooth finish. I did not notice any alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was about average.

Allagash White is a perfect example of the style, so I’m happy that my wife always wants to keep a few bottle in the fridge.  It’s easy to drink and is very refreshing for hot summer days. I would pair this beer with seafood or a vegetable dish.

Beer Score- 4.35/5.0

Allagash White Cap

Allagash White Neck Label

Allagash White Pouring Instructions

The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel

I have sampled many beers in my brewventure, but never one with such a wide cultural blend. The Bruery Trade Winds is a Belgian tripel with an Asian twist of rice and Thai basal added in the brewing complex. The Bruery explain on their website that they used the rice instead of the traditional candi sugar to lighten the body of the beer. The ABV for this brew is 8%. I served the beer from a 750ml wine style bottle into a snifter.

The white head was very frothy. It was about one inch thick and dissipated slowly. The body was a cloudy and had a deep gold color. The carbonation was very subtle; the lacing not so much, the lacing just danced on the side of my snifter.

I got the herbalness of the basil right up front in aroma. I also noticed some yeast and fruity notes. The flavor followed with a traditional tripel up front with notes of coriander, yeast and a light pale malt. The flavor quickly evolved into the liquid spice rack. The finish was full of herbal flavor with a slight lemon.

The body was light, as The Bruery explained it would with the addition of rice. I did not notice any alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was lengthy; the herbal flavors lasted a long time.

This was a really good beer but I feel it would need the right event or food to go with it. The herbalness for me was too strong for a session beer. The beer would go well with some Asian cusine (and Thai food, duh).

Beer Score 3.8/5.0

The Bruery Cap

Dogfish Head My Antonia

Dogfish Head has been pretty busy over the past few years with the large number of collaboration beers they have participated in. Their recent collaboration release is My Antonia, which is an Imperial/Double pilsner. The beer all started when Dogfish’s Sam Calagione brewed it at Birra del Borgo outside Rome, Italy with owner/brewer Leonardo DiVencenzo in October of 2008. In 2010, Dogfish began brewing My Antonia for U.S. distribution. My Antonia is now an occasional rarity in the Dogfish Head beer portfolio.

On the side of the bottle it was stamped with the bottling date of 2010. The ABV of this pilsner is 7.5%. I served this beer from a 750ml wine style bottle into a pilsner glass.

The beer was topped with a very frothy, rocky white head; it was about an inch and a half thick. The clear body was a medium gold color and high carbonation. The beer left a very nice lacing.

The crisp aroma had a mild intensity that was full of spicy, herbal hops. The flavor mirrored the smell with spicy, peppery hops but with the addition of pale malt characteristics. I am usually not a fan of pilsners, but due to My Antonia being an imperial pilsner the flavor were more full which I appreciated.

The body had a medium mouth feel and a very smooth consistency. I found it very easy to drink. I did not pick up on any alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was short lived.

I enjoyed this example pilsner more than I usually like the style. My Antonia had more substance and flavor than other pilsner I have had in the past. I would but this on again and pair it with some Asian cuisine or a simple and light summer dinner.

Beer Score- 3.95/5.0

Southern Tier Crème Brulee

There was a lot of buzz about Southern Tier Crème Brulee. People were saying it tasted just like the dessert, so I had to give it a try. Crème Brulee is an Imperial milk stout brewed with vanilla bean. The beer is part of Southern Tier’s Black Water Imperial Stout Series and is the summer seasonal of the series. I love the concept of having a special stout series along with their regular line up and seasonal offerings. The ABV for this imperial style beer is a hefty 9.2%. I served the beer from the screen printed 22 oz bottle into an oversized wine glass.

The head was short lived, but in its short life span it was a tan color and about a quarter inch thick. The body was dark as night, I could not see any carbonation; it was “black water”.

The aroma…wow! It smelled just like dessert; full of vanilla and chocolate that have a little roasted character. This was a very unique aroma, not like anything I have ever experienced with a beer before. This rare experience continued with the flavor. I got a lot of the milk stout flavors, cream, chocolate and roastedness. The vanilla just took the beer to another level. It really was like I was drinking dessert.

The medium to heavy bodied brew had a silky smooth consistency. There was a light warming from the alcohol; just enough to let you know the alcohol was there. The flavor duration was long; the vanilla pleasantly lingered on the roof of my mouth.

This beer really blew me away. It has been awhile since I had a beer that just impressed me so much with its quality and originality. If you come across any bottles pick them up, because I am on a mission to get some more and cellar them for the holidays. I would pair this with any dessert, the chocolate and vanilla notes would complement vast number of sweets.

Beer Score- 4.4/5.0

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Cap

Brooklyn Brewery's Garret Oliver

This past week I had the pleasure to attend the Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Olive Signing at the Total Wine in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The event centered on Garrett Oliver greeting patrons and signing bottles and books. I had a bottle of Sarachi Ace and Garrett Oliver’s book, The Brewmasters Table, signed. There were also beer samples from Brooklyn Brewery and some cheese pairings. The event though evolved into much more than this.

After Garret Oliver was finished with greeting guests and signing, and he joined the patrons (aka the beer blogger groupies) with enjoying some Brooklyn beer samples. An intimate question and answer session developed. This became the highlight of my night. The questions varied from the local Florida beer scene to Oliver giving me personal tips for home brewing. The venue changed then to The Pub right down the road where we continued our discussion on craft beer over a few Brooklyn Lagers.

To date this has been the best beer event I have attended in South Florida. Garrett Olive was so friendly and approachable; it was as if you were just talking with an old friend over a few beers. I learned so much from this event, and I hope event like this continue to happen in the ever growing South Florida craft beer scene.

Check out the Mug of Saint Arnold’s Facebook page for pictures from the event. You can also buy a copy of Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmaster’s Table from the Mug of Saint Arnold Store.

Cigar City Guava Grove

I am going to put it out there and say that Cigar City may be my new favorite brewery. Cigar City is one of the few breweries that I have to get when a new seasonal beer is released. When I heard that Guava Grove made its way to the east coast of Florida I picked up a couple of bottles for myself. I never had it before, but Cigar City seems never to disappoint.

Guava Grove is a Belgian style ale that utilizes Guava in the secondary fermentation.  The ABV for this fruit beer/Saison is 8%. There was no date on the bottle. I served this beer in an over sized wine glass.

There was no head on the beer after I poured it. The body was cloudy and had a golden orange color. The carbonation was average and there was sediment at the bottom of the glass, and I could swear that I saw some seeds.

The awesome aroma was strong and sweet, full of sweet bready malts, banana, nectar, and guava. With the first sip of this beer I was immediately impressed. The flavor was extensive and varied with each sip. I tasted banana, guava, sweet malt, even a little strawberry. There was also a cider tartness and a dry finish that added a lot to the beer.

The medium bodied beer had a wine like mouth feel. There alcohol characteristics were well hidden by the sweetness. The flavor duration was short lived.

If you consider this a fruit beer, it may be the best fruit beer I have ever had. Many times with fruit beer it tastes fake as if the brewer used syrups, but I could really taste the fresh fruit in this tropical interpretation of a fruit beer. If you come across this beer it is definitely work picking up. I would pair this beer with a light salad, fish or with Sunday brunch.

Beer Score- 4.4/5.0

Bell’s Java Stout

Even though I am not a coffee drinker I wanted to try Bell’s Java Stout. Plus the label is pretty fun with the cartoon coffee cup. Java stout is listed on Beer Advocate as an imperial stout brewed with coffe. The ABV is 7.5%, a bit weaker than I would think for an imperial stout. It is a fall seasonal, but I bought it in August so I am guessing it was sitting on the shelf at Whole Foods, in Palm Beach Gardens, for a while. There was no date on the bottle but a batch number of 9451. I served the beer from a 12 ounce bottle into an over sized wine glass.

The beer was topped with a quarter inch tan head that dissipated rather quickly. The body was a opaque midnight black which lead to not being able to see any carbonation. A nice lacing clung to the sides of my glass with each swirl.

The aroma was very satisfying. It was full of fresh coffee bean aroma; though it dominated any other aroma characteristics, but with a coffee beer I would expect it.  After the first sip, I felt that Java Stout is a spot on coffee beer. The coffee flavor did not dominate, but complemented the beer. Along with the coffee I was able to pick up roasted malt and dark chocolate flavor.

The beer was full bodied and smooth. I did not notice any alcohol characteristics. The flavor duration was lengthy, and seemed to stick to my mouth.

I was a little apprehensive about this beer; I have had some bad experiences with coffee beers in the past. However Java Stout hit the nail on the head. I would definitely buy this one again. I feel this beer would pair best with dessert or as an after dinner drink.

Beer Score- 3.9/5.0

Dogfish Head Wrath of Pecant

For my wedding I received a lot of beer as wedding gifts. I received the Wrath of Pecant from my college buddy Rob. This beer is one that I have been dying to try for a long time. This beer is a collaboration beer between Dogfish Head and the Alstom brothers from Beer Advacate, and you know if a beer is coming from Dogfish Head it’s not going to be your ordinary beer. The Wrath of Pecant is a brown ale brewed with pecan smoked malt and fermented with plantains and carob. The brewers originally wanted to call this beer Wrath of Pecan, but due to food labeling laws and the fact that there are no actual pecans in the beer, they were forced to change it.

Listed on Beer Advocate as a 6% ABV American brown ale, I served this limited release beer from a 750ml wine style bottle into an imperial pint glass. There was a bottling date on the bottle of 2010.

The head was bubbly and had a slightly off white color. It was about 1/3 of an inch thick that dissipated to a long lasting thin layer of foam. The color was a burnt orange and was slightly cloudy. There was moderate amount carbonation and there was a very slight lacing on the glass.

The sweet aroma had a moderate intensity. I noticed the nutty pecans right up front. Some light characteristics I noticed caramel, smokiness, and brown sugar. The flavor was something I have never had before. The flavor was full of pecan nuttiness, sweet brown sugar and caramel and a slight smokiness on the finish.

The beer had a lighter mouth feel I expected, but had a nice smooth consistency. The alcohol was low so there were no noticeable alcohol characteristics. The smoky finish aided to a slightly above average flavor duration.

I was really excited about this beer and had pretty high expectations, and I would say the beer met them. I really happy I was able to try this beer, and if you can find this one I suggest you do the same. I would pair this beer with soft cheeses, such as a brie, sweet Bar-B-Que, and a slice of Pecan Pie.

Thanks again to Rob for giving me this beer. Be sure to check out his blog, As Lived By Rob.

Beer Score- 4.25/5.0

Wrath of Pecant Neck Label