October « 2009 « Brews and Blues

31Oct/090

St. Sebastiaan Golden

Brewery: Browerij Sterkens
Where: Meer, Belgium
Beer: Golden Ale
Style: Tripel
IBU: N/A
ABV: 7.7%

Not too long ago, I picked up a St. Sebastiaan Grand Reserve to celebrate finding a new job. It was so good I decided to try another from that line. Today's sampling from Brouwerij Sterkens in Meer, Belgium, is the Golden Ale.

After looking back on the previous 104 beers I have tried in this project, I'm quickly learning that I really like some of the Belgians. I recently purchased a book called "Brew Like A Monk" to learn a little more about what's involved in the creation of these beers. I'll also be ramping up the Belgians in my tasting regimen in the coming weeks to explore it a little deeper. The Saison is a style that I'm probably going to try to brew myself in the future once I figure out a way to maintain an elevated fermentation temperature for a week or so.

This belgian tripel poured with a light golden color and a thick head. The carbonation levels in these are usually a little higher than most. The lightly sweet aroma comes through nicely and the bright and crisp fruity flavor is classic on this beer. These beers are "Tripel" fermented to create the dry and crisp finish associated with the style, and this beer falls right in line with that concept. As with the others of this style, the alcohol content will sneak up on you and should be respected in that manner. This isn't a session beer :)

Tomorrow, I plan to bottle the Hefeweizen I brewed two weeks ago. I am also considering brewing an experimental hop bomb that I have been thinking about for a while. I have the ingredients but I just haven't had the time to do it. We'll see what happens...

Filed under: Beer Reviews, Tripel No Comments

29Oct/090

La Fin Du Monde

Brewery: Unibroue
Where: Quebec, Canada
Beer: La Fin Du Monde
Style: Tripel
IBU: N/A
ABV: 9.0%

Today's sample is the third of a mixed 4-banger of Unibroue beers I picked up recently. La Fin Du Monde is a big 9% ABV Tripel. I sorta screwed this one up when I poured it and got it cloudy from the yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle, but that was my stupid fault, and it doesn't affect the flavor of the beer. It just looks nicer in the glass when it's done properly... This beer poured with a nice golden color and a decent head that subsided into nothingness rather quickly in my glass. The beer has a fruity aroma with no noticeable hop presence, which is true to the style. It has a lighter body and a crisp finish. There is simply NO sense of the alcohol in this beer, so it should be consumed cautiously. This is definitely a great example of this style in my opinion. I haven't sampled a lot of these, but I plan to start working on the Belgians very soon! I have several standing by as we speak!

Filed under: Beer Reviews, Tripel No Comments

28Oct/090

Sierra Nevada Torpedo

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Where: Chico, California
Beer: Torpedo Extra IPA
Style: American IPA
IBU: 70
ABV: 7.2%

Today, we are sampling a rather new offering from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. The Torpedo Extra IPA is an American IPA that is loaded down with hops. This beer, in fact, is all about the hops. The Torpedo makes use of Magnum, Crystal, and Citra hops to provide the bold citrus, pine, and herbal character that this beer uses to slap you across the face when you take your first sip. The aroma of this beer alone is enough to make you want to come back for more.

This beer poured with a pale golden color and a thick foamy head that managed to hang around for the duration of the glass. The 7.2% ABV is very nicely masked by the malts in this beer, and even more by the aroma and powerful kick in the ass by the hops. If you have tasted the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, this beer is sorta similar to that one, but with a lot more hop punch... Don't wait too long to try this beer if you are a fan of the style. You won't be disappointed!

Filed under: American IPA, Beer Reviews No Comments

27Oct/094

Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Well, here we go once again down that road of slick packaging! I'm a sucker for it. If your beer has a super cool label, I'm likely to try it. The Shmaltz Brewing Company, as far as I'm concerned, wins the cool labeling contest hands down. I was at the World Market in Mooresville recently when I spotted this little gem sitting among some other seasonal beers and wines in a rather subtle display. It hasnt' been that long ago that I tried their Coney Island Lager simply because of the cool label, so I'm going to pick up the rest of their stuff that is available to me this week and get it in the tasting line up very soon. The labeling on the two bottles is nearly identical, which is probably why I liked it so much.

The Coney Island Freaktoberfest poured with a thick foamy head and, as noted on the bottle, a blood red color in the glass. It's so red that I actually expected the Kool-Aid guy to crash through my wall when I took a sip. However, on taking that first sip, the malty dominance of the blood red brew stood up and shouted instead. This beer has a powerful caramel note. I don't know what the grain bill on this beer looks like but I'm quite confident that there is a nice chunck of crystal malt in each batch. I like the flavor of this beer so much I might just write them an email and see if they would be willing to give any tips to a home brewer on making it. Some breweries will do that to some extent. The last time I inquired about a recipe, I was given the list of malts and hops used in the beer, but no amounts or ratios and was left to figure it out on my own.

The label on this beer also says "This is not an Oktoberfest... This is Freaktoberfest." As far as Oktoberfest beers go, this IS a bit different in more ways than just the color. The malt dominance of this beer is right on target with the Oktoberfest style. There is something odd in the hop bill though and I'm not sure what it is. This beer has very little hop aroma, which is also normal, but there is a definite hop bitterness, although not overpowering at all, in this brew. From the bottle:

6 Malts
6 Hops
6.66% Alcohol
Blood Red Lager
Indulge your Inner Freak!

That 6 hop note and higher alcohol content is what sets this beer apart from a normal Oktoberfest. Oktoberfests are traditionally not known for hops. I'll send a note to Shmaltz Brewing and see what information I might be able to get them to give up on this brew... In the mean time, I am headed up to Gail's Hops and Grapes to pick up some more of these brews for future drinks...

Filed under: American Amber, Beer Reviews, Oktoberfest, Red Lager, Seasonal 4 Comments

21Oct/091

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Here we are at number 101... I haven't had time to drink for critique lately but I hope to get back to doing this 3 or 4 times a week if possible. I don't know if I mentioned it here or not, but I finally got a part time job in x-ray. So, my foot is in the door on my new career path, but it has also kept me very busy, but that schedule is easing up now, so hopefully time for beer will be forthcoming :)

Today's sample is yet another from Bell's Brewery in Comstock, Michigan. The Two Hearted Ale is an India Pale Ale (IPA) that rings in at 7% ABV. This beer poured with a nice orange/gold color with a thick head and an immediate floral aroma from the hops. IPAs are hoppy by nature, so they are heavy on the hop bite and the aroma in most cases. This beer is a lighter bodied ale with a very crisp flavor. The Bell's website doesn't share any detail about the ingredients used.

As far as IPAs go, I think this is a rather nice choice. The floral hop bouquet on this beer impressed me more than most, and the crisp lighter body is also a plus for me on pale ales. The lighter body of the beer allows the hop flavor and aroma to be a more dominating element of the style. My past experience with Bell's beers have been good, and this is no exception...

Filed under: American IPA, Uncategorized 1 Comment

18Oct/090

Brew Day – YellowJacket Hefeweizen

I love brew day. Its one of the few days where my diet mainly consists of beer and pretzels with mustard. Today was also cool and windy outside, so the heat wasn't an issue, and my current brew rig can handle the wind with no problem at all.

I set up all my toys and had a successful brew day with the minor annoyance of a TON of yellowjackets hanging out in that big shrub on the right.

Everything went smoothly for the most part. The cooler outdoor temps made me miss my strike temps on the mash a little and I had to correct for that, but other than that, it was a great day to brew. My mash tun hit an 85% efficiency for the second time in a row, so that makes me happy. On my next recipe with that mash tun I'll go ahead and size the recipe ingredients based on that efficiency and see how it turns out.