Stone Levitation Ale
Brewery: Stone Brewing Company
Where: Escondido, California
Style: American Amber / Red Ale
IBU: 45 IBU
ABV: 4.4%
Here's a little jewel that I have been hoarding away for a while, so I decided to pop the top on this bottle of Stone's Levitation Ale this evening. I'm a pretty big fan of amber ales so hopefully this one won't let me down. Stone Brewing is not known for letting me down so I'll probably be easy on it even if I don't like it, which will be a fat chance.
This beer poured with the standard amber hue with a rich foamy head that stuck around for the entire glass. The malt complexity of this beer was nice and the hop presence was significant at 45 IBU. At 4.4% alcohol, most of my friends would scoff at this beer as unfavorable, but I was rather impressed with it. This beer would make an excellent cool weather drink... one that you can handle for the duration of the day.
As far as amber ales are concerned, this one will probably be in my top 5.
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Where: Chico, CA
Style: American IPA
IBU: 65
ABV: 6.8%
Thanksgiving Day... I nice day to take a ride with Sierra Nevada's Celebration Fresh Hop Ale... I picked up a big 24-oz bomber of this brew in a local grocery store cooler the other day and decided to chill it for today's tasting run. Speaking of... I have too much beer sitting around here. I have 65 different bottles of beer that need to be sampled and logged in this blog. I have been through a spell of buying beer when I see it and not drinking any of it, so I hope to have a daily tasting for the next two months or so in order to clear the shelves. I have quite a few really nice beers along with some more run-of-the-mill samples to work through...
This Celebration Ale is a nice big fat American IPA that just bowled me over with hop aroma when I poured from the bottle. The hops in this recipe include Chinook for bittering and the lovely combination of Cascade and Centennial for flavor and aroma. This hop trilogy is a true staple of the American ales, especially those from the west coast. The grain bill consists of "two-row pale and English caramel" malts which is also a rather standard 'generic' bill for a pale ale or india pale ale, but Sierra Nevada's combination comes together for a brew that has an excellent body, flavor, aroma, and all-around 'welcome to winter' experience. From the website:
The long, cold nights of winter are a little brighter
with Celebration® Ale. Wonderfully robust and rich, Celebration® Ale
is dry-hopped for a lively, intense aroma. Brewed especially for
the holidays, it is perfect for a festive gathering or for a quiet
evening at home.
Sierra Nevada, like a few of my other favorite breweries, seems to have a difficult time making a beer that I don't like. Give this one a whirl... Cya tomorrow!
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...
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.
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