158. BrewDog The Physics

BrewDog Brewery is located in Fraserburg, Scotland. We should offer some sort of gratuitous Sink the Bismarck reference, but we’re not sure we can bring ourselves to do it. We’ll also let you all in on a secret: we didn’t discover that our bottle was well over a year past the “best before” date until after we had opened it (see below). Now that makes for some drinkin’ fun!

The Physics is a hazy dirty brown with an almost non-existent head—the little bit that does exist is white and brief. The nose is malty sweet and musty with some fruitiness mixed with tobacco and paper aromas. It starts with a dry malt mixed with some fruitiness, moves into a musty middle with some oxidized fruit flavors and paperiness, and ends dry and bitter coupled with more musty and paper flavors; it also gets a bit leathery at the end as it warms. The Physics is medium bodied and very dry in the mouth; carbonation is non-existent after the first minute. While there are plenty of off flavors, this beer is not that terrible. The oxidation/paper flavors actually round out and dry out the malt in the flavor profile, and the lack of carbonation also allows these elements to come to the forefront of the beer. The Physics still tastes pretty good, even as out of date as it is, although it could use some carbonation to round out the mouthfeel and palate. The main thing to observe is that this is no longer really an ESB—the drying and oxidation/paper flavors have dried this beer out, making it taste more like a dry red ale, or something with a fair amount of rye in the grain bill. While the oxidized and paper is too much to the fore here, this would be much less noticeable with normal carbonation—the absence of carbonation has led to the oxidization and drop in malt flavor, which, while changing this from an ESB, has not really done anything that some re-carbonation couldn’t radically improve. One could interpret this dilemma as a validation of buying American and local, but that seems too jingoistic to me—we like drinking all that the world has to offer. We would just like it a bit fresher and prior to the expiration date.

Said in my best Homer Simpson faux-whisper: “I think this means it’s a bit out of date.”

From the BrewDog website: “A historically accurate beer based on the recipe devised on the 8th of February 2007. Recreated using the finest coloured malts which provide the complex sweet malt character which initially arouses the senses. Like a fine cheese cake the biscuit base has a smooth and creamy layer that both satisfies and entices. Culminating with a delicate fruit topping of blackcurrant and tinges of citrus to refresh the participant, complimented fully by the crisp dry bitter finish.”

ABV: 5.0%

I also got up at the crack of dawn to drive to Columbus for the official BCJP test—three hours of fast-writing hand-cramping neurotic fun. Cramming in the car on the way to the test was pretty fun, and, in retrospect, probably provided some information that made its way onto the test, at least for me. The tasting portion was mixed with the written portion of the test, which made for an odd balance of careful deliberation followed by more speedy scribbling. Afterwards, we swung by Barley’s Ale House No. 1 for lunch, and then back to Dayton and being able to sleep in on Saturdays. While I haven’t gotten the results of the test yet (I’ll keep all you die-hard readers posted), I have been assigned my official BJCP judge number: you can call me good ol’ B 0704.

(12/5/2009)

151. Stone/Maui Brewing/Ken Schmidt Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter

Since this is a collaboration beer, we’re not sure where to locate our focus—we’ve had Stone (Pale Ale and Vertical Epic 09.09.09) during our current run, and we’ve tried Maui Brewing Company beers in the past—they’re one of the innovators of craft beer can use, and they had an awesome t-shirt for Penguin Imperial Stout that we tried to buy when we were in Maui, but they only had extra smalls left. Sorry, but skin tight t-shirts are not our forte. And let’s not forget Ken Schmidt, who got to live every home brewer’s dream. Since that makes it 2-1 in favor of Hawaii over California, we’ll go with the island state—well, that and the Kona Coffee, macadamia nuts, and coconut. Stone, you get props for the organizational focus, but beer sounds more Hawaiian than Californian.

Made by homebrewer Ken Schmidt, Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing, and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing, KCMC Porter has a chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt nose with toasted nut and macadamia aromas rounding out the profile. It pours a deep chocolate brown with orange highlights and a minimal tan head. KCMC Porter has a smooth rich malt front with some sweetness and chocolate, moving into roasty and coffee flavors, and finishing with very light coconut notes at the end, and also some light burnt/roasty notes & a little warmth from alcohol. The mouthfeel is rich with some creamy toastiness in the middle to end that mixes well with the coconut; the medium body and lower level carbonation keeps the focus on the flavors in the beer. The burnt aromas do increase in the nose with warmth. Overall, there were more burnt notes that we would’ve expected in a porter; still, nicely balanced, but not perfectly to style. KCMC Porter was better and more nuanced that we expected, although the sweetness does cover over a good portion of the coconut in the flavor profile.

ABV: 8.5%

Today was the final BJCP class, but I was flying home from Seattle and Thanksgiving so I’ve got nothing to report. The test is on December 5th; I’ll keep you all posted.

(11/28/2009)

144. Bell’s Sparkling Ale

Bell’s is back; this one was one neither of us had tried before, so we had to give it a run. This is beer number 7 from Bell’s: our list includes Winter Wheat, Christmas Ale, Third Coast Ale, Oberon, Octoberfest, and Two Hearted.

Sparkling Ale is a brilliantly clear yellow gold with a light white head that profusely laces the glass. The nose is grainy and bready along with a good dose of Belgian-style yeast esters, mainly banana and some sourness. Sparkling Ale starts with a small bit of acidity followed by a sweet dry malt and candy sweetness in the front; the middle moves into fruit—including apple, pear, and strawberry-like flavors from brighter fruits—along with some metallic tangs and spicy flavors, and closes with some bitterness mixed with candy sweetness and light alcohol sweetness. Sparkling Ale has a medium body and a dry but sweet mouthfeel mixed with a medium carbonation bite. The body is lightened by the carbonation, although there is a bit of creamy fruitiness as well. A good beer, but not as complex or rich as some Belgian triples. Also, we’re not sure what makes this an American Triple, besides being made in America.

From the bottle: “Fill your glass and toast your friends with this special brew. Our take on a ‘glass of bubbly,’ Sparkling Ale is an American Triple—light in color with a subtle fruit body.”

There is nothing about Sparkling Ale on the Bell’s website.

ABV: 9.0%

Today’s BJCP class focused on answering the Exam Recipe Question. We concentrated on breaking the question into the component parts—giving style parameters, identifying the basic brewing parameters, selecting the proper quantity and style of ingredients, and selecting the proper procedures for the style (mash procedures, for example)—and then how to best calculate grain and hop volumes and types to correspond with the assigned style. We practiced constructing a couple of recipes, and talked about the need to keep the recipe simple—unless you know the ins and outs of a style, extra information will probably bite you in the ass.

Our beer sampling today involved sours and a smoked beer:
17B. Flanders Red Ale: Duchesse de Bourgogne
17C. Flanders Brown Ale (Oud Bruin): Liefman’s Oud Bruin
17D. Lambic: no good examples—the Boon Kriek did double duty
17E. Gueuze: Boon Gueuze
17F. Fruit Lambic: Boon Kriek
22. Smoked: Schlenkerla Marzen Rauchbier

(11/21/2009)

137. Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Our second beer from Weyerbacher; our last one was their Harvest Ale. We had this on tap @ South Park Tavern.

Starting with a rich pine and resin hop nose, Double Simcoe IPA pours a deep copper orange with a light white head. The dry malt front moves almost immediately into the bitterness of the middle, with floral, citrus, pine, and resin flavors and some caramel malt sweetness drawing things together, and ending dry with a pleasant lingering bitterness. Double Simcoe has a soft creamy medium bodied mouthfeel; the carbonation is light, but sparkly in the middle, and helps set up the big bitter finish. There is some slight puckering and dryness on the palate from the large hop load, especially at the end. Overall, a very enjoyable beer, although not for everyday drinkin’—this beer showcases Simcoe’s strengths and complexities quite effectively. And also very American.

From the Weyerbacher website: “Double Simcoe IPA, 9.0% abv, is our incredible reward for Hopheads seeking the intense hop flavor in a Double IPA, without the harshness. It is brewed untilizing only the Simcoe hop variety. This hybrid hop, developed and trademarked by Select Botanicals Group, LLC in the year 2000, was created for its high alpha acid content, maximum aromatic oils, and low cohumulone (harshness) levels so that brewers can really put a lot of ’em in a beer and not create an overly harsh taste.

Double Simcoe IPA is a full-flavored ale with hints of pineapple and citrus upfront, a good malt backbone in the middle, and a clean finish that doesn’t linger too long. Check it out, and you’ll soon see why everyone’s talking about it. Double Simcoe is available year-round.”

ABV: 9.0%

Today’s BJCP class focused on the brewing process. Having discussed the ingredients (I missed yeast last week) and some of the component parts of brewing, we looked at how to put all of it together. Adding to our examination of mashing, we discused lautering, specifically recirculation (vorlauf) and sparging, and further discussed the multiple functions of boiling, including isomerizing alpha acids from the hops, coagulating and precipitating wort proteins and tannins, and evaporating undesirable aromatics. We rounded this out be examining the different ways of chilling hot wort quickly and efficiently, and finished by talking about packaging, maturing, and carbonating beer. Our sampling was also a bit more eclectic; because some of our classes got condensed, we mixed and matched with the tasting:

10B. American Amber: North Coast Red Seal Ale
10C. American Brown: Bell’s Best Brown
11C. Northern English Brown: Hobgoblin
16C. Saison: Dupont Saison
16D. Biere de Garde: At. Amands French Country Ale
19A. Ole Ale: Fuller’s 1845
19B. English Barleywine: Thomas Hardy’s Ale
19C. American Barleywine: Bigfoot Sierra Nevada

(11/14/2009)

123. Bristol’s Smokebrush Porter

Our second beer from Bristol’s Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, CO—our last beer by them was Red Rocket Pale Ale. Smokebrush is a robust porter.

Smokebrush Porter pours a deep brown with red highlights and a creamy tan head. The nose has a sweet roasted character to it with chocolate and crystal malt aromas in the background. The front is dry and chocolaty with some dark sweet malt flavors that lead into a roasty middle and finishing with a return of the dryness and some light smoke flavors. Smokebrush has a light body that is initially creamy with the chocolate, but the creaminess dies towards the middle and end of the beer. Carbonation is present, but not obtrusive—it’s mainly neutral, like Switzerland. This tastes quite a bit like a Schwarzbier, which may be why I like it so much & why Elli doesn’t; it could use a bit more complex of a malt profile to create a wider range of flavors. Overall, I give it a big thumbs up, but Elli thinks it stinks. And yes, I know that rhymes.

From Bristol’s website: “Our city would be a bland and humorless place without the Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts. Since 1992, their random acts of creativity have made us smile, made us think, reminded us of our better selves. Besides, any group that could bring us both a gallery of contemporary art and a giant, drivable toaster has our enthusiastic support. That’s why 100% of the profits from this beer will go to support Smokebrush's Creative Community Efforts, like the Uncle Wilber Fountain. So enjoy this mahogany-hued blend of richly roasted malts and subtle smoke character. We call it art for art's sake.”

ABV: 5.8%

IBU: 30
Malts: 2-Row, Crystal, Chocolate, Smoked Malt, and Peated Malt Munich

Hops: Mt. Hood & Columbus

Today’s BJCP class focused on off flavors and troubleshooting, and specifically on learning to identify the different types of faults that can emerge while brewing beer. Today’s class was led by Gordon Strong (yes, that Gordon Strong). His basic advice was to learn to see, smell, and taste faults in beers, and to learn the proper ways to describe these faults. He further advised learning about what part of the brewing process creates particular types of faults (i.e. is it related to initial production, like with the mashing or from the boil, related to fermentation, or due to infection), and a reciprocal knowledge of styles for where particular faults are appropriate and where they are not. We spent a good portion of the time discussing the tensions between perceptions and adherence to guidelines/judging beers. Our tasting list for the day included:

Rolling Rock: fault example: DMS: light sulfur-based smell; canned corn juice flavor; overcooked vegetable taste. DMS is a volatile, and can aerate off during the boil.
Budweiser: fault example: acetaldehyde: yeast derived flavor; found in the finish; Budweiser calls it part of their “snappy” finish.
Moosehead: fault example: skunky: also known as light struck; this is a chemical reaction caused by the reaction of bitter compounds in hops with sunlight, which transforms compound into the chemical that skunks spray; commonly found in clear and green glass beers.
Samuel Smith Pale Ale: fault example: diacetyl (vs. caramel): fermentation flaw caused by premature separation from yeast; is a by product of yeast metabolism; can be induced by pumping O2 into beer while fermenting; in nose, it is diacetyl, while it emerges as a caramel butter flavor in the body, which helps build toffee flavors.
Old Speckled Hen: fault example: skunk/stale/oxidized: some paper flavor; flavors get muted and dry.
Gueze Girardin 1882: fault example: sourness: lactic sourness; flavors include grapefruit zest and woody characteristics.
Schneider-Weisse fault example: cloudy/phenolic: clove in nose and taste; yeast suspended in beer.
Green Flash West Coast Ale: fault example: bitter/astringent: hop derived; volume of vegetal matter leads to astringent bitter flavor, while astringency or drying in mouthfeel created by residual bitterness that is harsh.
Harvest Ale ’99: fault example: sherry/alcohol/fruity: sherry flavors created by oxidation; good oxidation improves with age; melanoidins oxidize to make sherry and dark fruit flavors.

Much of this discussion was designed to prepare us to answer the main troubleshooting question on the BJCP test: T1. Describe and discuss the following beer characteristics. What causes them and how are they avoided and controlled? Are they ever appropriate and if so, in what beer styles? (three will be given)
a) cloudiness
b) buttery
c) low head retention
d) astringency
e) phenolic
f) light body
g) fruitiness
h) sourness
i) cooked corn
j) bitterness
k) cardboard
l) sherry-like
m) acetaldehyde
n) alcoholic

See? I told it wasn't just drinking beer and hanging out...

(10/31/2009)

116. Long Trail IPA

Our second beer from Long Trail; our last one was the Long Trail DIPA.

Long Trail IPA has a low malt and light floral hope nose along with a bit of mustiness; the color is hazy golden with a creamy white head that laces the glass well down the sides. Opening with a light malt sweetness, Long Trail IPA moves into a big bitter middle and then finishes dry with a little sourness. The body is light to medium, and the carbonation is bright with a nice bite to it. There is also some dryness and puckering in the mouth via the hop bitterness. A good beer overall; it could use more of a malt body to set up the beer, and more complexity and balance between the malt and hop profile—the dimensions are a bit limited. The mix between English IPA hopping—tons of bitterness and no real hop flavor or hop aroma—and a more neutral American IPA malt profile doesn’t work as well as it could, leaving the beer interesting but not super exciting.

From the bottle: We’ve brewed our filtered IPA for 13 years, and never considered offering the REAL (unfiltered) version that is naturally carbonated just as it comes out of our fermenters. Well here it is! We hope you enjoy our REAL IPA.”

From the Long Trail website: “Real IPA, as it ws first brewed in the days of the British Empire, was not the carefully filtered brew that we call IPA today. The first IPAs were unfiltered and featured extra hops and higher strength as a preservative for the long trip from England to the colony of India. Our traditional IPA is naturally carbonated, dry-hopped & unfiltered like the old days.”

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 56
Malts: Two-Row and Crystal
Hops: Nugget and Cascade

For our sixth BJCP class, the focus was on hops. Besides discussing the different uses of hops within the boil—bittering, flavoring, and aroma—we looked at the different types of packaging for hops (leaf, pellet, plug, extracts, and oils), and different hop varieties. After running through the European, English, and American hop varieties, we had an interesting discussion about the similarities and differences between American and English IPAs, and how hop use and hop choice influenced and affected those styles. A good time was had by all....

Our fine fine sampling beers for the day included dark ales:
12A. Brown Porter: Sam Smith’s Famous Taddy Porter
12B. Robust Porter: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
12C. Baltic Porter: Baltika Porter
13A. Dry Stout: Guinness
13B. Sweet Stout (Milk or Cream): Left Hand Milk Stout
13C. Oatmeal Stout: Samuel Adams Oatmeal Stout
13D. Foreign Extra Stout: Lion Stout (Tropical-Type)
& Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (Export-Type)
13E. American Stout: we didn’t try this one—8 is enough
13F. Russian Imperial Stout: I think the Lion Stout was supposed to be this, but in reviewing the BJCP style guidelines, I’ve moved it up to where it is supposed to be. Don’t worry—part two of my day should take care of any loose threads...

So after the BJCP class, I went home to rest up for the Miami Valley Beerfest, which focused on big beers and barley wines. Class ended at noon, and this started at two, so basically, my only real goal was to eat a big meal and drink lots of non-alcoholic fluids...this was going to be a long long day of drinking.

What I sampled:
Allagash Curiex (Bourbon Barrel Tripel)
Brewdog/Mikkeller Divine Rebel (Barley Wine)
Brooklyn Monster (Barley Wine)
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (American Brown Ale)
Founders Old Curmudgeon (Old Ale)
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (Imperial IPA)
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout)
Green Flash Imperial IPA (Imperial IPA)
Harviestoun Ola Dudh 12 Year (Old Ale)
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 30 Year (Old Ale)
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 40 Year (Old Ale)
Ithaca Brute (American Wild Ale)
J. W. Lees Calvados (Barley Wine)
J. W. Lees Lagavulin (Barley Wine)
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura Dark Dawn Stout (Sour Stout)
Kiuchi Hitachino XH (American Strong Ale)
Stone/Brewdog/Cambridge Juxtaposition (Black Imperial Pilsner)
Victory Hop Wallop (Imperial IPA)
Widmer Cherry Oak Doppelbock (Doppelbock)

I also had some Goose Island Bourbon County Stout via Aaron, but that wasn’t on the record, if you know what I’m saying.

My notes are pretty spotty, especially as the day progressed. Juxtaposition was not as good as I expected, and neither was Madrugada Obscura. I liked the Ola Dubh 30 Year better than the 40 Year. The peatiness of the J. W. Lees Lagavulin was very nice, but could use some aging, so if I can score some more of that, I’ll throw it in the cellar for a bunch of years and see what happens. Divine Rebel and Old Curmudgeon got good marks, but the rest was mostly a blur of tasty tasty beery goodness.

All told, this puts me at 29 beers for the day. Let’s hope this is a record that stands for a while—I walked home and after this and made good friends with my couch for several hours...

(10/24/2009)

109. Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #28 Glacier Harvest ’09 Wet Hop

Our sixth beer from Harpoon. I’m calling a moratorium on maritime references, at least those of the Moby Dick variety. I’d take the pirate maritime slant, but Disney’s about killed that one forever. Thanks, Disney, for riding another one into the ground. I'll take my pirates as conceived by William S. Burroughs, thank you very much. Not quite the family friendly tales ala Disney, hmm? In that vein, how about I replace Melville with some good ol’ fashioned Edgar Allen Poe maritime references? After all, Arthur Gordon Pym is always a hoot.

Glacier ’09 Wet Hop is a redux of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series #24 Glacier Harvest ’08. The labeling is the same, the write up on the website is the same, all the described calibrations are the same, but this beer ain’t the same one as offered last year. Maybe the soggy, wet summer affected the hop harvest that much—we’re not fully sure. All we know is that this one lacks some of the definitive hop qualities and characteristics that defined last year’s offering. But I might be getting ahead of myself...

Glacier ’09 Wet Hop is a clear reddish copper color with a creamy tan head that borders on rocky, and laces the glass nicely. The nose is bready and toasty with no real hop aromas—the closest thing to it is some graininess and low levels of a lager-esque aroma. The front opens with a dry, toasty malt flavor that moves into a slightly grainy middle—there is not much in the way of hop bitterness, although there are some low levels of astringency at the end of the beer. Besides the astringency, the end is pretty clean, with some of the malt returning. Glacier ’09 Wet Hop has a soft medium body with medium carbonation and some bite in the final third of the beer. As it warms, the body does get thinner, and there is some warmth on the palate that is not from alcohol later on in the beer. Ultimately, this beer strikes us as more of an Oktoberfest than a fresh hop—we’re not sure how or why to explain this, other than to observe that the hop profile on this beer was almost non-existent, and certainly not in line with any of the fresh hop beers we’ve ever tried. It’s a good beer, but if this is supposed to be a version of #24, Harpoon has failed miserably. And they are too good of a brewery to do that. So where does this leave us? Hell if I know. Our guess is either Oktoberfest in the wrong bottle, or this year’s version of Glacier ’09 Wet Hop just sucks as a fresh hop beer.

From the Harpoon website: “For the 28th session of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, we’re celebrating this year’s hop harvest with Glacier Harvest Wet Hop beer, a pale ale made with fresh Glacier hops. Wet hop beers are brewed using fresh, ‘wet’ hops instead of traditional dried hops—hops contain about 60% moisture when they are first picked. Typically, when hops are picked they are quickly dried and refrigerated to increase shelf life and make them more consistent for brewing. Freshly picked wet hops, however, need to be used within hours of harvest or they will begin to degrade rapidly. Wet hops retain more of their natural aroma and volatile flavors that dissipate when dried. This gives wet hop beers a fresher hop flavor and aroma than that of beers hopped with processed hops. This yields an immersed, intense hop flavor in the beer. Harpoon brewer Ray Dobens, creator of the beer, added a heroic dose of fresh hops the day of the harvest. The hop flavor and aroma from this copper-colored ale comes from a generous late addition of freshly harvested ‘wet’ hops.”

ABV: 6.7%
IBU: 38
OG: 16° P

So I haven’t been able to find any of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #29 to sample, which kinda chaps my hide, as it was Ginger Wheat, a beer that is one of my favorites. I’ve brewed Ginger Wheat more than any other beer—probably something like 20 batches in total. So any o’ you Harpoon hombres out there reading this that want to hook me up with some of that sweet sweet Ginger Wheat, your karmic numbers will be peaking, let me tell you.

For this meeting of the BJCP class, we all traveled to Cincinnati to participate in the Cincinnati Malt Infusers Oktoberfest Home Brew Competition. We all either judged or stewarded (I was a steward). Participating was a good way to get a sense of how beer judging runs.

(10/17/2009)

102. Three Floyds Blackheart English Style IPA

Our first beer from Three Floyds Brewery Company in Munster, IN. The label for this beer is slightly creepy, but what would you suspect from a brewery/tattoo collaboration? And no, there is nothing yet up on their website about Dark Lord Day—I just looked.

Blackheart has a bready and biscuity malt nose, along with some light fruitiness and yeast ester aromas. The color is a cloudy light copper with a minimal ivory head—the low level of carbonation and the biscuit nose do point to an English style of IPAs. Blackheart begins with biscuit malt sweetness, moves into a pleasant bitterness with some low levels of resin hop flavor, and finishes dry with some wood and oak presence rising at the end along with a lingering bitterness. As it warms, light fruitiness emerges in the front along with a bit more spiciness in the middle, as does some acorn in the finish. The mouthfeel is simultaneously dry and creamy with a medium body. This almost tastes more like an imperial or double IPA via the creaminess and oakiness, but the body is much lighter, and there is no stickiness or cloying in the mouth. Overall, Blackheart is well balanced and smooth, and very very drinkable. We’re marking this one a Top 10 Best Contender, and gonna make sure we look for some more soon.

From the label: “This beer is Three Floyds’ U.K. IPA brewed with all English ingredients and aged on toasted oak. An artistic collaboration with our friends Tim Lehi & Jeff Rassier at Blackheart Tattoo in San Francisco. Check it!”

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: 70

Today was the fourth BJCP class, and our focus was on mashing. We covered the enzymes that convert proteins and starches into sugars, alpha-amylase and beta-amylase, and the appropriate temperatures for them, the different temperature rests (acid rest, protein rest, saccharification or conversion rest, and mash out), and the different ways of mashing, including infusion, step infusion, and decoction mashing. Very interesting stuff; the scientific side of brewing is what I know the least about, so it was nice having people there would could answer my questions.

After discussing mashing, we sampled and discussed wheat beers and Belgian ales.
15A. Weizen/Weissbeer: Franzikaner Hefe-Weisse
15B. Dunkelweizen
16A. Witbier: Hoegaarden Wit
6D. American Wheat: Harpoon Hefeweizen UFO
17A. Berliner Weisse: The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse
18A. Belgian Blonde: Leffe Blond
18B. Belgian Dubbel: Grimbergen Double
18C. Belgian Tripel: Kasteel Tripel
18D. Belgian Golden Strong: Delerium Tremens
18E. Belgian Dark Strong: St. Bernadus Abt. 12 Belgian Abbey Ale

(10/10/2009)

95. Elevator Three Frogs IPA

Three Frogs IPA is made by Elevator Brewery and Draught House in Columbus, OH; we had this with dinner at their brewpub on our way to watch the Seattle Sounders play the Columbus Crew. Elevator’s space is quite impressive—the building is beautiful on both the outside and inside. That’s my friend Jay, who lives in Key West, peeking out at you from behind the glass (and below as well)—he flew up to go watch the game with us.

Three Frogs IPA was light copper and clear with a creamy white head. The nose was a mixture of malt and hops, with grassy and earthy hop aromas coming to the forefront. The initial taste brought with it a dry, crackery malt body that had very little sweetness. The middle had a big hop bitterness—the grassy/hay and earthy flavors were easy to pick out; subsequent tasting revealed light citrus and grapefruit flavors as well. There was not much of a return of malt in the conclusion, or it was too light to compete with the bitterness, but there was a substantial lingering bitterness that almost bordered on astringency. Three Frogs was a bit light-bodied for an IPA; it was thin and sharp on the tongue with a pretty low level of carbonation and only a minimal bite. The malt dryness was nice on the front, but coupled with the dryness from the hops at the end, it was a bit much overall. It needs a bit more substance in the body to balance out the hop profile; the dry biscuit/cracker front doesn’t have enough sweetness to carry the beer through to the end. While the hop bitterness and profile was enjoyable, the lack of balance between it and the malt left us wanting a bit more sweetness.

From the Elevator website: “A bigger cousin of the English Pale, India Pale Ales were originally brewed with extra alcohol and lots of hops, both of which served to preserve the beer on the long voyage from England to the colony. Dry hopped with a distinct floral essence.”

Oh, and Seattle won 1-0 on a goal from Roger Levesque with a shutout by Kasey Keller, breaking Columbus’s 22 game home winning streak. Hooray for the good guys.

Before heading to Columbus for the game, I also attended my third BJCP class. Our discussion focused on the role of water in brewing, specifically in regards to primary water characteristics (mineral profile, pH, hardness, and alkalinity) and secondary water characteristics (trace elements, chlorination, oxygen content, cleanliness, and temperature), and how these characteristics affect the brewing process at different stages, as well as how to control these water characteristics while brewing. And of course, we also discussed the influence of water on the development of world beer styles, most particularly in relation to question S6. from the BJCP study guide: Identify, describe, and give at least one classic commercial example as listed in the BJCP Style Guidelines of a major beer style commonly associated with the following three classic brewing centers; you are expected to know the twelve different cities they might use for the question, including Bamburg, Berlin, Burton-on-Trent, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Einbeck, Köln, Newcastle, San Francisco, Senne Valley, and Vienna. See, I told you—not so easy.

Today’s sampled beers included pale ales and bitters:
8A. Ordinary Bitter: Boddington’s
8B. Special Bitter: Goose Island Honker’s Ale
8C. Extra Special Bitter: Fuller’s ESB
10A. American Pale Ale: Stone Pale Ale
14A. English IPA: Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
14B. American IPA: Two Hearted Ale
14C. Imperial IPA: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

(10/3/2009)

88. Stoudt’s Oktoberfest

Our fourth beer from Stoudt’s Brewing (our last one was their American Pale Ale), and our third Oktoberfest of the year—don’t worry, more are on the way.

Oktoberfest smells lightly malty with some toastiness; it has a clean white head, nice small bubbles and active carbonation, and brilliant clarity to go with the orange-yellow color—it is not as deeply colored as some other Oktoberfests we’ve had. Starting with a toasty malt flavor, Stoudt’s Oktoberfest reveals some light bitterness in the middle that accompanies the developing malt profile—it gets richer and breadier in the middle as it moves towards the end—before finishing rather clean and dry. With a medium body, the mouthfeel is smooth and mellow, with only minimal carbonation bite. It does have just about the perfect amount of hop bitterness in it. The solid lager flavors in the second half do round out the beer well; the malt profile is rich but not as complex as it could be—while balanced toward the malt side, as any Oktoberfest should be, it could use more sweetness to bulk up the flavor profile. Nonetheless, a well-balanced and enjoyable beer.

From Stoudt’s website: “This medium-bodied amber beer elegantly combines a touch of malty sweetness with a pleasingly subtle aromatic hop character. A traditional German-style Oktoberfest beer brewed from the finest imported ingredients.”

ABV: 5%

IBU: 26

Malts: Two-row & Munich

Bittering Hops: Perle & Hallertau

Aroma Hops: Saaz & Hallertau

Today was the second meeting of my BJCP class; our focus was grain and malting, and we sampled Ambers, Dark Lagers, and Bocks. We started with the basics: the anatomy of barley, including the germ, endosperm, acrospire, rootlets, and the husk, and how malt and kiln grains (well, in theory—we weren’t actually malting and kilning, although that would be fun to try). We also discussed adjuncts, and the different malt characteristics that you want to consider when choosing a malt along with malt types and styles: base malts (like 2-row and 6-row, and also Vienna and Munich malt), caramel and crystal malts (no enzymes, used to add sweetness to a beer), and specialty malts and grains (chocolate malt, black patent malt, and roasted barley).

Today we sampled:
3A. Vienna Lager: Negro Modelo
3B. Oktoberfest/Marzen: Ayinger Oktoberfest/Marzen
4A. Dark American Lager: Blackened Voodoo
4B. Munich Dunkel: Hofbrau Dunkel
4C. Schwarzbier (Black Beer): Kostriker Schwarzbier
5A. Maibock/Helles Bock: Hofbrau Maibock
5B. Traditional Bock: Stegmaier Brewhouse
5C. Dopplebock: Ayinger Celebrator
5D. Eisbock: Kulmbacher Eisbock

15C. Weizenbock: Schneider & Son Aventinus

(9/26/2009)

81. Great Divide Samurai Rice

Great Divide’s meteoric climb up our charts might have hit a small bump in the road with our most recent sampling—number seven was certainly not lucky, although this was more circumstantial and rhetorical than because of any problems with the beer. First off, Elli couldn’t smell or taste, so she wasn’t much help. She did dutifully go through the motions like the trooper she is, but with not much success: “What kind of flavor profile do you get with this one?” “Um, malty?” Second, the food pairings on the bottle were more than a bit lame and blasé: “Asian food, seared tuna with sesame seeds, goat cheese.” Run out of ideas on this one? “Hmm, what would go well with a beer named Samurai?” “Um, I don’t know, how about Asian food?” C’mon guys, get your head in the game.

Samurai Rice has a light malt and a light hop nose. While a clear straw yellow, it was a bit hazy from some small bits floating in the beer, and it has a minimal white head. Samurai Rice starts a bit sweet on the front—there is a soft sweetness to the front that tastes like more than just barley. Our (or, in this case, my) taste buds would say the sweetness comes from corn, but going with the name, we’ll go with some rice as the source of it. The turn to the middle brings some bitterness and crispness, and the end has a slight return to sweetness before ending dry and clean. Light-bodied with a well rounded carbonation bite that contributes to the crispness, Samurai Rice’s mouthfeel effectively contributes to the beer’s overall character. Besides the lame food choices on the bottle, there was very little to critique about the beer across the board.

Check out the old school label

From Great Divide’s website: “Samurai is an easy drinking, unfiltered ale that changes the status quo for unfiltered beers. The addition of rice gives Samurai a slightly fruity, crisp, refereshing, and clean taste. This is definitely not your everyday unfiltered beer.”

And I thought I liked adjectives...

ABV: 5.1%

Today also marked the first day of my BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) class—10+ weeks of learning and reviewing beer styles, developing my knowledge of the art of brewing, and sampling classic examples in order to understand all of the different beer styles. I can hear all of you already—“Oh, a beer tasting class. THAT must be difficult.” Well, besides blocking out three hours every Saturday morning, let’s see you memorize all of this. Yeah, that’s what I thought. We started with a general overview of the BJCP program, and talked about our collective goals for the next couple of months, leading up to the BJCP exam on December 5th. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the purpose of the BJCP is to:
1. Promote beer literacy
2. Promote the appreciation of real beer
3. Recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills

Our beer sampling for the day included 1.Light Lager and 2. Pilsners:
1A. Lite American Lager: Sam Adams Light
1B. Standard American Lager: Pabst Blue Ribbon
1C. Premium American Lager: Miller Genuine Draft
1D. Munich Helles: Weihenstephaner Original
1E. Dortmunder: Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
2A. German Pilsner (Pils): Warsteiner Premium
2B. Bohemian Pilsner: Cvechvar
2C. Classic American Pilsner: no commercial examples available

(9/19/2009)