463. Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Lager Beer

From the Old Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire comes our first Samuel Smith’s beer. Or at least the first one recorded for posterity. That is, unless there is some secret intelligence branch of the government dedicated to surveying my drinking habits. We’ll just say it is the first one recorded by us for posterity, while noting that there will be more, and leave it at that. Go on, check the files.

Pouring a crystal-clear straw, Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Lager has a thin white head that is well maintained by the prolific carbonation streaming through the beer—lots o’ bright tiny bubbles. The nose is crisp and dry, with a light grainy malt sweetness mixed with low levels of hop bitterness. Overall, the nose is clean and fresh, although as it warms, a slight corn aroma emerges. The body has more malt character than the nose, with sweet grainy maltiness that tastes like Pilsner malt. I’d say I can taste the cleanness and wholesome goodness of the organic malt, but then you might see though my charade of words. The middle dries out, giving way to assertive but restrained hop bitterness. The carbonation bite in the final third wipes the palate clean—it is a bit sharp and bracing with a touch of a carbonic bite, but leaves the palate open to enjoy the dry, clean finish that balances well with the lingering hop bitterness. While this beer is quite comparable to Bell’s Lager in the larger malt body and hop presence, Samuel Smith’s has less sweetness and a wider range of flavor with the same malt substance. As well, the higher carbonation and drier finish allows Samuel Smith’s to better showcase the gentle lingering bitterness at the end. Both, however, make use of the possessive in their respective name. Forced to choose, I’d give the nod to Samuel Smith’s, but this is certainly a win-win choice if ever there was one.

From the bottle: “A full-bodied lager with lots of malty character, a touch hoppier than many lagers yet perfectly balanced. Brewed using lightly kilned organic lager malt from barley grown in the UK, organic hops, yeast and water.”

ABV: 5.0%

(3/13/2011)

461. Bell’s Lager Beer

Bell’s is back. Again. That Bell’s just keeps coming round and around. After all, as the saying goes, when you ring it, school is certainly in session. And with sixteen different Bell’s beers under our belts, knowledge has been dropped. Our curriculum includes Batch 10000, 25th Anniversary Ale, The Oracle, Oarsman, Bourbon Barrel Hell Hath No Fury Ale, Batch 9000, Hopslam, Cherry Stout, Sparkling Ale, Winter White, Christmas Ale, Third Coast, Oberon, Octoberfest, and Two Hearted. I’d offer to stick around and help clean the mash tun, but that would just make me sound like a suck-up, and I can’t keep my rep by being no suck-up, can I?

Pouring a clear golden straw, Bell’s Lager has a white head than puts in a brief appearance before disappearing to a scant ring. It does, however, have the courtesy to at least leave some marginal lacing on the glass—consider it the beer foam equivalent of the “Hey, I ain’t here, but don’t you forget about me, you hear?” comment you tangentially get from that one annoying relative who never really fully goes away like you secretly hope they will. The nose is sweet malt and graininess with just a touch of corn, along with a light Noble hop bitterness that somehow always strikes me as a slight soapiness. Now, while I understand that a sweet corn soapiness might sound somewhat unappealing—after all, I doubt the idea for a sweet corn handsoap is currently being rushed into production—the nose is actually rather pleasant and, might I add, lager-like. Flavors start sweet and lightly bready, but also crisp. The middle dries out and the bitterness comes to the front, while the finish is clean and crisp with a lingering hop bitterness; while the bitterness is a bit high for traditional lager levels, it does work with the clean finish to close and round the beer effectively. As I proceeded through the beer, there was an ever so slight taste of lingering licorice on the palate as well. A bit of graininess emerges in the middle to accompany the bitterness, and there is also a slight return of the sweetness in the finish. The body does have a bit of substance to it, although the carbonation, along with the bitterness, lightens and cleans the finish. Bell’s Lager falls on the sweeter side of the lager spectrum, although the hop bitterness does give it the dry crispness found in drier, cleaner lagers. Overall, this beer is a solid winner. Both Elli and I have been enjoying the lagers of late—I think I feel a lager kick coming on. Stranger things have happened.

From the bottle: “As refreshing as a morning swim in a Great Lake, this brew is crafted with Pils and Munich malts. The pronounced hop character of this golden lager sparks thoughts of sandy beaches and rocky islands.”

From the Bell’s website: “Nicely balanced, Bell’s Lager Beer focuses on the flavors developed in the brew house, matching a crisp bitterness & distinctive herbal hop aromas to a simple yet firm backbone built from Pils & Munich malts. Following in the tradition of Bohemian-style pilsners, this beer spends a full six weeks maturing in the fermentation vessels. This extended conditioning period refines the overall flavor, highlighting the contributions of the malts & hops.”

ABV: 5.0%
OG: 1.050
Batch Number: 10006

(3/9/2011)

426. Left Hand/Terrapin Oxymoron

Ah, the collaboration: creating excitement and giddiness in beer nerds coast to coast. And who doesn’t love the collabo? While I could go with the all-purpose bad guy (that would be Nazis), I’m tempted to create a more appropriate nemesis for the blog. The Amish seem a good choice, what with their hatred of technology and all (although they do love bicycles, so that does give them some bonus points), but that also seems more like beating up your little brother—far too easy. So we’ll just call my search for a new nemesis the latest of my long line of failed contests. You got an idea for an appropriate nemesis besides, well, apathy? Here’s to letting me know. Previous beers from Left Hand include 400 Pound Monkey, Fade to Black and Milk Stout, while our previous beers from Terrapin include Hopsecutioner IPA, Wake ’N’ Bake (which was a bonus beer), and Rye Pale Ale.

Oxymoron pours an orange-ish caramel with a creamy eggshell head that reduces to a thin covering after a minute or so; the nose is a creamy caramel breadiness with a touch of hop spiciness and resin rounding out the aroma. As it warms, a more prevalent lager graininess emerges. Flavors begin with caramel before shifting to an accentuated creamy lager-esque character in the front; the middle has sweetness and a decent amount of bitterness, but less specific hop flavor—there is again some spiciness and resin that almost coalesces into evergreen, but not quite. There is some tacky biscuit dryness that returns in the finish, and a pleasant lingering bitterness that has a bit of the traditional lager bite to it. Oxymoron has a medium to medium heavy body with a chewy clean mouthfeel that is also slightly sticky; the carbonation is medium with some dryness from the hops as well as some creaminess on the back of the mouth. An interesting beer, but one that strikes us a bit too much between styles—it’s not quite an IPA, but not really a lager either. While we laud the experimentation—and the collaboration—the beer is more one-hit wonder than longstanding fan favorite.

From the bottle: “Sometime around midnight in a city nobody can agree on, the idea for Left Hand and Terrapin to brew a collaboration beer was born. Oxymoron is the third in a series of one-time releases between our two breweries. A combination of contradictions embodied in liquid form, Oxymoron is an American-style IPA brewed with three German malts, six German hop varieties, and a lager yeast strain. Obnoxious yet reserved, elevated yet modest, it's the embodiment of blending two brewing philosophies together in order to achieve singularity. Consider it an expression of cruel kindness.”

ABV: 7.2%
IBU: 65
Style: Teutonic India Pale Ale
Malts: Weyermann Pale Ale, Munich I, & CaraAmber
Hops: Magnum, Northern Brewer, Perle, Tradition, Spalter Select, & Hersbrucker
Dry Hops: Tradition, Spalter Select, & Hersbrucker

(11/15/2010)

415. Leinenkugel’s Red Lager and Miller High Life

Today’s drinking was all about being seen at all of the proper events. We started out by attending GearFest, mostly because we were interested in checking out the beer garden. Bikes, beer, and outdoors-y stuff? Sounds good. We didn’t expect or anticipate the hoards of high school kids, though. Alas, alas. From that point we headed on over to “No You Shut Up” art show at the Cannery Corner Gallery. After all, the promise of a forty is a promise not to be taken lightly. Forty ounce dreams and watered-down wishes.

Our first beer of the evening was Leinenkugel’s Red Lager, which is also coincidentally our first beer from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, WI. Served in a plastic cup, it was better than I anticipated. By which I mean I actually enjoyed it. I did not, however, take notes. After all, my interest was in being seen out and about on the town—I was too busy hob-nobbing and being smooth. Which means I wasn’t really doing much of anything. Well, besides drinking this beer.

ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 20

Calories: 166

Malts: Three Pale, Carapils, Caramel

Hops: Cluster & Mt. Hood

Next up was the “No You Shut Up” show. Word on the street had it that 40s were to be the drink du jour this evening. Let’s just say that word was bond tonight. I got handed a smooth sweet sippin’ 40 of the High Life. You know, the champagne of beers? Elli wasn’t sure she wanted to take on a 40 all her own, so she opted for PBR in a can. Either way, solid selections. This is, not surprisingly, our first beer from Miller Brewing Company, located in Milwaukee, WI. We’re doubling down on Wisconsin tonight. Throw in the PBR, and it makes a trifecta from the land o’ cheese. And the High Life itself? You all already know how smooth that went down. Ah yeah. Three words. Champagne. Of. Beers.

From the Miller High Life website: “Combine a classic, award-winning American-style lager with a crisp, smooth flavor, then top it off with a price that won't leave a bad taste in your mouth, and it makes good sense why they call Miller High Life the Champagne of Beers. This is simply good beer at a fair price. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. And while folks could probably find a few other beers out there, they’re going to drain a lot of hard-earned jack from their bank accounts figuring out what you already know: it doesn’t cost a lot to live the High Life, it just takes some good old fashion common sense because the High Life’s always been a mighty fine life to live.”

ABV: 5.0%

I thought to add Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Lager Beer” to this post (after all, we are drinking lager beer in Dayton), but I didn’t think anyone would really appreciate it in the proper manner.

(10/1/2010)

373. Tusker Lager

Our first beer from Tusker, and our first beer from Kenya and from Africa as well—it’s “Kenya’s Heritage since 1922.” Made by East African Breweries Limited in Nairobi, Kenya, the brewery also supports Tusker F.C., a professional soccer team. Awesome.

Tusker pours a crystal clear straw with a creamy white head. And the crystal clear part is something of an understatement. Dag. You could burn ants with the light that cuts through this beer. Sorry, ants. The nose is a soft malt with a bit of creamed corn, and in this beer flavors follow aroma—flavors open with a soft corny sweetness before moving into a bit of dry creaminess in the middle, and finishing with a touch of bitterness and that classic imported foreign lager flavor—slightly skunky and a bit international. The mouthfeel is soft and lightly creamy, matching the medium body, and the carbonation is medium to light with a bit of crispness. A classic international lager, although we do miss the old school label with the nature preserve collection of animals—it was a bit cooler than the current label, although the elephant is a nice touch. Word.

From the bottle: “Tusker Lager has been brewed in East Africa since 1922. Named after the elephant that killed George Hurst, one of the brewery’s founders, Tusker claims that special heritage of being one of the first beers in East Africa. Over the years, this unique lager has become a part of East Africa’s rich tradition. Tusker is brewed with high quality malt, made from equatorial barley grown at the base of Mt. Kenya, choicest hops and water that springs from the renowned Aberdare mountain ranges. Tusker’s famous crisp, refreshing taste and finest quality has continuously earned Gold Medals in the prestigious International Monde Selection Awards.”

From the East Africa Breweries website: “100% African ingredients.Tusker is brewed from 100% African ingredients that are all locally sourced. The barley is from the Savannah and the Maasai Mara. The spring water is from the Aberdare Mountains. All the yeast is developed locally. The cornstarch is sourced from a local Kenyan company. Every grain of sugar is delivered from West Kenya. This means that you feel closely connected to the origins and roots of Tusker. 100% African inspiration. The taste of African spirit can inspire you going forwards, by re-connecting you with your roots. As the old proverb goes, ‘to know where you are going, you must first know where you have come from.’ Tusker drinkers see the traditions, beliefs and cultures of their roots as the springboard for inspiration. They are full of optimism; focused on looking forwards, not backwards. Today’s triumphs are born out of and inspired by where we have come from – Tusker. Refresh Your Roots.”

ABV: 4.2%

(7/8/2010)

365. Rainier

Here’s to the conclusion that no one saw coming. We bought this Rainier at Polebridge Merchantile in Polebridge, MT (they have awesome huckleberry bearclaws), just outside Glacier National Park on a camping trip two years ago. Since then, this beer has traveled to Seattle and then back to Dayton, where it has resided in the back of our refrigerator, just waiting for a moment worthy of being cracked open. And here we are. I don’t think I need to say much about the merits of Vitamin R; for you naysayers who don’t know, Rainier is a Northwest classic. It is one of the two Northwest beers I cut my teeth on before the microbrew revolution took hold—the other being Olympia. I shotgunned pounders of Rainier before seeing Run DMC on New Year’s Eve in 1986. So you know it’s old school like that. Oh, and Rainier used to be brewed in good ol’ downtown Seattle, WA—you always knew when you were rolling up on the big old R outside the brewery next to I-5—but it has since been bought out and is now part of the Pabst stable. Rainier got bought out and shut down in 1999. Fuckers. This can says it was made in Irwindale, CA, but Rainier’s heart is still a part of the great Northwest. Oh, and just so all you haters know, Ranier won GABF gold in 1990, 1998, and 2000 in the American Light Lager category. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Yes, that’s Mickey Rooney in a Ranier ad.

Described on the can as a “naturally brewed mountain fresh beer,” and “made with Yakima Valley hops,” Rainier pours a crystal clear straw color. The light white head quickly disappears, and the nose is a grainy and slightly sweet malt—let’s just say it smells like teen spirit, and leave it at that. Flavors start dry and biscuit-y, with some graininess in the background; the middle is slightly sweet and even, and the finish has a bit more graininess coupled with a light bitterness and a clean, crisp finish. Some of this could be from the age of the beer—after all, Rainier is not a candidate for aging—but a lot of it is just straight up Rainier. Rainier has a light, fresh body (even after two years!) with a dry, clean mouthfeel—as American lagers go, this falls on the dry, crisp side, not on the sweet, malty side. The carbonation is medium, with a light bite that helps the beer finish crisp and light. Rainier reminds me of those younger, carefree days, and tastes like my youth—it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Nonetheless, I’d happily crack a Rainier any chance I can get—nostalgia is getting harder to come by when it comes in 12 oz. cans.

From the Rainier website: “Rainier beer brings together nature’s bounty from the great Northwest. Pure spring waters combine with golden barley and verdant hops to produce a beer rich in taste and texture. Fermented slowly with a pedigree yeast culture under tightly controlled conditions, Rainier comes forth with a satisfying malty flavor over a slightly fruity background, spiced with Chinook, Mt. Hood, and Willamette hop notes.”

Here’s to a good year!

(6/30/10)

309. Asahi Super Dry

This is our first beer from Asahi Breweries, which is located in Tokyo, Japan. We had this out of the bottle at Saya, a Korean and Japanese restaurant in Fairborn—our friends Art and Chloe took us there.

Pouring a light gold with a thin white head, Asahi Super Dry has a sweet flat grainy nose. The front starts sweet, moving into a slightly grainy and dry middle (it’s that patented “KARAKUCHI” style!), before finishing with a light hop bite that is also slightly spicy—you know, something of your classic lager-esque finish. The body is light and dry on the palate with a medium to low carbonation. Flavors are good, and the dryness is nice, but a bit more body would help round out this beer and marry the graininess of the middle with the other flavors. We know the point here is dryness, but this beer seems caught up in the goal of making a beer that tastes like nothing. And we’re not sure we can get behind that.

Yes, my friends, that’s Ray Allen, selling the Asahi...

From the Asahi website: “Since its debut in Japan in 1987 as the first ‘KARAKUCHI’ (dry) beer, Asahi Super Dry has set a new de facto standard in Japanese brewing. Over the years Super Dry has continued to expand its popularity while offering refreshing good taste and drinking pleasure. Behind its overwhelming popularity among people regardless of age, as well as among those restauranteurs and professionalswho keenly discern good taste, lies the story of the three secrets of Super Dry: Use of a Rare, Special Yeast, Selected Ingredients, and Manufacturing Technology.

To make Super Dry beer, we use a rare yeast, the Asahi yeast strain No. 318, which not only yields outstanding fermentation, but produces a complex aroma that results in an elegant and sophisticated flavor and ensures Super Dry’s pure, crisp, dry taste. Yeast are sensitive micro-organisms, and their conditions constantly change during fermentation. Creating an optimal environment for yeast to ‘do their best job’ for beer-making depends on the beer brewer’s technology. We are ceaselessly developing new technologies to pursue a more sophisticated, clear, KARAKUCHI taste.”

ABV: 5.0%

(5/5/2010)

211. Blue Point Toasted Lager

From Blue Point Brewing Company in Patchogue, New York, although the bottle does note that they do some contract brewing in Rochester, NY. Blue Point Lager won a World Beer Cup Gold
Medal in 2006.

Toasted Lager has a grainy malt nose along with something soapy that we couldn’t isolate; it is a golden copper with a creamy ivory head and some lacing. The flavor is rather subdued, and not as toasty as we were expecting—starting with a dryer malt sweetness, Toasted Lager is creamy in the middle before returning to some sweetness at the end, and finishing with low levels of lingering sourness and graininess. The mouthfeel is creamy for a lager—it is bordering on the feel of an Oktoberfest—without the richer malt profile and melanodin flavor. Not as exciting or interesting as we were hoping for—the idea of a toasted lager implies a malt profile with bread and biscuit in the front, or at least something more than grainy sweetness. While not a bad beer, Toasted Lager is probably not worth revisiting, unless we can find some that is newly bottled, and see how toasty it is right out of the gate.

From the Blue Point website: “Copper in color, this unique Lager has a complex character with hints of caramel, malts, and hops.”

(1/27/2010)

77. Great Divide Hoss

We’re back to Great Divide yet again—Hoss is our sixth beer from Great Divide Brewing, and wise money bets says it won’t be our last. We had this with our dinner of roasted red pepper pasta with fresh tomato basil pesto we made from the fruits of our community garden plot. The red pepper pasta came from Pastafinity at the Second St. Market. Do note the sweet John Deer bowl as well—who doesn’t love tractors?

Hoss has a spicy rye nose with a bright, clear, and clean burnt sienna color, and an effervescent white head. Starting with a creamy soft and smooth malt front with richness that builds into a well-rounded spiciness from the rye, Hoss also has some crispness and a carbonation bite with a slight hop bitterness to round out the beer. It ends a bit dry and biscuity, and pretty clean; there are also some light raisin fruit notes mixed in with the malt closure. Another excellent offering from Great Divide—if this is their vision of an Oktoberfest/Harvest-style beer, then count me in—the spiciness pushes the beer’s flavor and complexity in interesting and enjoyable ways.

From Great Divide’s website: “Hoss is based on the Marzen lages of Germany. Rich, layered malt notes, with hints of cherry and dark fruits, dominate, while the unique addition of rye imparts a slightly earthy, spicy character. Hoss finishes crisp and dry, and its brilliant red-orange color is a toast to the late-summer sunsets that make the perfect backdrop for this beer.”

Um, don’t take this the wrong way, Great Divide, but the addition of rye ain’t that unique—the GABF medal you just won was in the rye category. Category equals not unique. Sorry to point out the obvious. Our meal was excellent, but not the best fit with the beer—the colors work nice, but all of the flavors didn’t quite marry.

ABV: 6.2%

(9/15/2009)

76. Starr Hill Jomo Lager

Starr Hill Brewing is located in Charlottesville, VA. First opening in September 1999 in an old store front in downtown Charlottesville, Starr Hill has since moved to a larger facility outside Charlottesville.

Jomo Lager has a hazy straw color with a white creamy head. It has a grainy malt lager nose, and a generous white head. Jomo has a soft lightly creamy malt front, a crisp clean middle with some light bitterness lingering at the middle to end, and a dry finish. Hints of toastiness from the malt and some slight spiciness from either the hops or malt are layered along the way. The body was a bit dark (as was the taste) for a lager—this beer verges on being more of an Oktoberfest than a straight lager—we wouldn’t have complained if we had been served this and told that it was one, especially with the slight creamy opening and the more complex and malty body (although it was not as sweet as some of the Oktoberfests that we've had). With a soft smooth mouthfeel and a crisp refreshing carbonation bite, Jomo is enjoyable from beginning to end.

From the Starr Hill website: “Starr Hill’s Jomo Lager is a smooth, multiple-award-winning Light Amber Lager. Fermented with Southern German Lager yeast, its crisp, clean taste, and noticeable hop aroma are effectively balanced with a slight malty sweetness. This is a crossover beer that appeals to the broadest spectrum of brew aficionados.”

ABV: 4.6%

IBU: 23

Malts: Two Row, Munich, and Caramel

Hops: Tettnang and Hallertau

(9/14/2009)

37. Bürger Classic Beer

Bürger Classic Beer is made by the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company in Cinncinati, OH. Founded in 1885, Hudepohl Brewing joined with Schoenling Brewing in 1986. This combined brewing company then was bought and sold a couple more times, before being purchased by Gregory Hardman in 2006 (Hardman also owns Christian Moerlein Brewing Company). At least this is what I have pieced together thus far—I couldn’t find a website for the company—the closest I could get was the listing for it on BeerAdvocate. However, I did stumble across several other interesting bits of information that I document below.

Bürger is a crystal clear pale straw yellow—see photos. It had a good head with the initial pour that quickly faded. There is the classic lightly musty lager smell; otherwise a clean crisp malt nose. Bürger begins smooth and slightly sweet with some light graininess in the middle before ending crisp with a touch of bitterness. At mid-bottle (or, more appropriately, mid-can), with some warmth, the musty smell is replaced by a malty smell, and the flavor develops some toasted, malty notes. With a light, crisp mouthfeel, it compares well to PBR or other similar domestics—a good example of an American lager with a nice balance of sweet and dry. And at $2.95 a six-pack, it was worth every penny.

The history of Bürger, and of the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Company, seems the normal narrative of conglomerate brewing: smaller breweries are purchased by larger breweries until only a couple own everyone else. The Wikipedia entry for Hudepohl Brewing Company maps a good portion of this out, observing that “As of April, 2008 the Hudepohl building on Gest street still stands, though it appears to be in the process of being deconstructed. The smoke stack bearing the Hudepohl name is still in great condition. As of November 2008, Little Kings, Hudy Delight and the Moerlein brands remain in production under contract brewing arrangements with other regional brewers. On May 20, 2009 Mr. Hardman announced the relaunch of Bürger Beer. He plans to relaunch Hudepohl 14-K in late 2009 or early 2010.”

Then there is this post on the ruins of the Hupepohl Brewery from Queen City Discovery, detailing some local information about the abandoned brewery, and providing both old television commercials from the ’70’s and photos and commentary on the exploration of the abandoned brewery itself. All in all, pretty interesting. There are also two follow up posts, Climbing to the Top of Mt. Hudepohl and Hudepohl Brewing Company: Tour 3.

There is also BrewtifulCincy, which documents “Cincinnati's Rich, Frothy Brewing History,” although this blog is more interested in the whole of Cinncinnati's brewing history.

(bonus points awarded to the first person to correctly identify what Elli is doing behind the glass)

We also have Abandoned, which documents abandoned historical buildings. Click on the photographs link to see all of the pictures from the abandoned Hupepohl Brewery. There is some cross over between the photos here and the ones in the Queen City Discovery posts; one of the links on the second Queen City Discovery post is how I ended up on the particular site.

Finally, there is this news story from 2005 about an attempt to sell the old Hudepohl smokestack. Seriously. Like that thing's gonna be easy to move and install somewhere else.

(8/6/2009)