Hop Slam Ale
Brewery: Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Where: Comstock, Michigan
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
IBU: Off the Scale
ABV: 10%
Today's sampling is going to include a personal tirade about the state of craft/micro beers in America, but first, let's talk about this beer...
Bell's Hop Slam Ale is an American Double / Imperial IPA style of beer, which means two things. First, its stuff full of hops for bitterness and aroma, and second, it's got a lot of alcohol. At 10% ABV, you can consider a 12-ounce bottle to have a full 1.2 ounces of alcohol. That doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider a shot of whiskey is 1.5 ounces, and that most whiskey is 80 proof, drinking a 10% ABV beer is like having just over two shots of your favorite liquor as far as alcohol content is concerned. It's not a beer to be consumed in large quantities.
This beer poured with the standard golden color and foamy head of a good IPA. The hop aroma is immediately present, without a doubt. This beer is also quite bitter, but it does have a fairly decent malt presence. As this beer warms up, the maltiness comes forward with a little more power, but the bitterness hangs on to the very end. As far as I'm concerned, you won't find a beer any hoppier than this one. Your hardcore beer enthusiasts will start to discuss a beer called "Pliny the Elder" in comparison, but it is a rather different beer than this one. It does not have as much of a malt backbone as the Hop Slam does, but it may be just a bit more drinkable in the long run...
Now, for my personal rant...
I am finding myself in a minority when it comes to the current state of affairs with American beers. Being in a taste minority in the world of beer really sucks sometimes. I'm jealous because a lot of the great craft brewers in the US are spending their time and efforts developing beers much like Bell's Hop Slam. These beers are all higher gravity (more alcohol) and high hops (more bitterness). For a person with my personal tastes in beer, this is a travesty. I'm a bigger fan of the maltier (sweeter) beers where there is a nice balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness. I even like the sweeter beers where the hop presence is relatively minimal. I don't dislike the hop bombs with a ton of alcohol, but I'd usually choose a different beer when choices are available to me. Even thought I'm not personally happy with the current trends in the craft beer market in the US, I am VERY pleased that these beers are available and becoming more popular and easy to find on the store shelves. What this means to fans of craft beers is that our favorite brewers and beers are gaining a market share in a world that is still dominated by the yellow fizzy beers of the Bud/Miller/Coors manufacturing titans. It wasn't that long ago that a trip to any grocery or convenient store in North Carolina would yield exactly zero options for anything other than cheap yellow fizzy beer. It's getting a lot easier to find beers I love locally...
Until next time...
Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen
Brewery: LoneRider Brewing Company
Where: Raleigh, NC
Style: Hefeweizen
IBU:
ABV: 5.8%
Today's sampling is another North Carolina beer from LoneRider Brewing Company out in Raleigh. Shotgun Betty is LoneRider's Hefeweizen, and since today is such a pretty day outside, I started thinking about spring and summer coming just around the corner and decided to pour a beer that goes along with that theme.
Shotgun Betty poured with the naturally rich golden hue and a nice foamy head. The head didn't hang around very long, but this beer had the nice banana/clove aroma from the Hefeweizen yeast strains used to make this style of beer. The flavor has a distinct crispness and wheat taste which makes this beer a pretty decent sample of the style. I can't say that Shotgun Betty is the best of the Hefeweizens I have tried, but its definitely a real player in that style and worth a try. It could just be a fluke with my bottle, but the carbonation level on this one was a little inadequate. I'm sure that's not the norm for this beer since bottle-conditioned beers can vary a little in carbonation levels.
North Carolina is, by far, not known nationally for it's great beers, but we have come a long way in the last few years!
Delirium Tremens
Brewery: Brouwerij Huyghe
Where: Melle, Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
IBU: N/A
ABV: 8.5%
I made a quick stop by Gails Hops and Grapes this afternoon to pick up a few new beers. I have been avoiding this particular beer for a while because of the price, but I have had it before and it's really good, so I splurged and bought a 4-pack to bring home. As far as being a GREAT example of the style, I don't really believe that Delirium Tremens stacks up well enough to command $18.99 for a 4-pack of 12-oz bottles.
This beer pours with the typical light golden color and a very foamy head. These beers are typically highly carbonated, and Delirium Tremens is no exception. This beer has the typical aroma created by the Belgian yeasts and it fits all the standard characteristics of the style quite well. This beer is also crisp and has a dry finish, and it also masks the 8.5% alcohol by volume very well, even at cooler temperatures. This is a beer to be careful with because it will sneak up on you in a hurry!
My overall impression of Delirium Tremens is that it IS a very good beer. I highly recommend giving it a whirl. If possible, when you decide to try this one, do a side-by-side comparison with a couple other beers in this style. Unibroue's Don de Dieu and Duvel's Belgian Golden Ale would be some that I suggest comparing to this beer.
Until next time...
Stoudt’s Scarlet Lady Ale
Brewery: Stoudt's Brewing Co.
Where: Adamstown, Pennsylvania
Style: Extra Special Bitter
IBU: 32 IBU
ABV: 5.0%
Today's sampling is a first-time tasting of a Stoudt's Brewing Company beer for me. I picked up a bottle of Stoudt's Scarlet Lady Ale, which is an English style known as ESB or Extra Special Bitter. One of these days I need to look into the style to see if I can figure out where that name came from, but Extra Special Bitters are typically not bitter at all.
This beer poured with a rich bronze color and capped off with a nice head to match. The beer has a sweet and earthy aroma which comes from the Maris Otter and Caramel malts that went into the recipe coupled with the Willamette hopes used to finish for aroma. The beer tastes fine, but it finishes a little on the dry side for me for some reason. It doesn't quite carry the pleasant aftertaste that I get from some other beers in this style, but it's still worth a try if you like the ESB style. This particular bottle may be better served at 50° or so instead of the 37° where my refrigerator is set, but that's the case with a lot of beers. You will never know what you might be missing in a beer until you try it a little warmer than you might normally drink. On a scale of 1-10 in this style, I'd give the Scarlet Lady a 6...
Hoegaarden Original White Ale
Brewery: Brouwerij van Hoegaarden
Where: Hoegaarden, Belgium
Style: Witbier
IBU: N/A
ABV: 4.9%
You won't often find a brewery that has been in business since 1445 A.D., but when you do, it's always a good idea to try what they have to offer. Even though Hoegaarden is now owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch/InBev, it seems that the beer production and techniques for this brewery have remained mostly true to the original ideas.
This beer poured with the typical pale golden color of the style with a nice foamy head that subsided rather quickly, but the carbonation level was high as dictated by this style. The beer has a light body with a crisp flavor and a fruity aroma. I can't really get a sense of the spices included in this brew, but they are slightly present in the flavor but don't create any significant impact. This is also a rather good beer to use in an introductory context for someone who is not used to drinking home brews or craft beers. It's on the sweet side with minimal or no hop presence in the flavor.
Double Bastard Ale
Brewery: Stone Brewing Company
Where: Escondido, California
Style: American Strong Ale
IBU: LOTS
ABV: 11.2%
It's been snowing all day. It's been cold. The temperature hasn't gotten above 27°F. I figured it was time for another real beer after a day of not doing a whole lot other than being lazy. I have been interested in trying Stone's Double Bastard Ale for quite some time, and I think today is the day!
I was quite impressed with Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ale. This Double Bastard is exactly that. It's about twice of everything that made the original Arrogant Bastard so great. This beer is a pure explosion of malt complexity that follows up with a nuclear reaction of hops. I'm not gonna review the beer any further than this. I will post what is printed on the back of this bottle for your enjoyment! From the bottle:
Warning: Double Bastard Ale is not to be wasted on the tentative or weak. Only the Worthy are invited, and then only at your own risk. If you have even a modicum of hesitation, DO NOT buy this bottle. Instead, leave it for a Worthy soul who has already matriculated to the sublime ecstasy of what those in the know refer to as "Liquid Arrogance."
The rest of the bottle comments are absolutely fantastic. I'm not going to post them here. Go get a 22oz bottle and read it for yourself! You won't be disappointed!
This beer goes into my top 5 of all time.
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