397. Blue Moon

So it finally happened: amongst the travails of travelling and the busy-ness and tight scheduling of life, I got screwed and had to drink a crappy beer. Thank you La Guardia. Sure, I coulda drank something early in the a.m. before the flight, or even after I finally got home well past midnight, but that would be lying. Straight up lying. So while I was stuck in the Delta terminal of La Guardia, I chose the best beer at my disposal: Blue Moon. A sad and tragic choice on many levels, yes. But at least I had Jeff Sparrow’s Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast to read. You know, to counter all the Coors-esque vibes. Although I think the encounter between my reading material and drinking material threatened to implode the very fabric of the space-time continuum.

And I would like all of you to note: I am drinking Blue Moon out of a Samuel Adams glass, even though they had no Samuel Adams available to drink. Go figure.

(8/1/2010)

327. Great Lakes Holy Moses!

Our third beer from Great Lakes—we’ve renewed our efforts to give love to Cleveland and the great state of Ohio, even if it means less beer from the West Coast. Don’t worry, we’ll pull a Benedict Arnold by the end of the week, since I have a trip to San Francisco planned next week anyway. The last two from Great Lakes were Lake Erie Monster and Oktoberfest. Oh, and we had this on tap at the Dublin Pub. And for all you haters who don’t know, Holy Moses is named for Moses Cleaveland, a surveyor (and soldier—go colonialism!) from Connecticut who was part of the surveying party that founded Cleveland on July 22, 1796. Parts those seas and make it safe for whitey, Holy Moses!

Holy Moses has a slightly yeasty and perfume-y nose that carried with it low levels of wheat and bread malt aroma; in the glass, it was a hazy golden color with a thin white head. Flavors start with a soft clean light wheat malt; there is some graininess in the middle, as well as a light citrus and orange flavor—both are accompanied by some light spiciness, which carries on into the end. The finish is slightly bready and clean. Holy Moses has a light body with a soft and creamy mouthfeel; the carbonation is medium, but helps provide a bit of brightness in the mouthfeel, and helps the beer end bright on the palate. An excellent summer time beer that is crisp and refreshing; not too bad for a brewery known more for their dark beers.

From the Great Lakes website: “Known for its crisp and clean taste spiced with orange peel, chamomile and coriander, this is truly a unique brew. Much like a certain city and its founder: Moses Cleaveland.”

ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 30
Malts: Harrington 2-row, Wheat, & Oats
Hops: Hallertau
Other: coriander, chamomile, & orange peel

Incidentially, Moly Moses is also a German thrash metal band; I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t make any thing this good up.

(5/23/2010)

288. Silly Pink Killer

From Brasserie de Silly in Silly, Belgium. Pink Killer has a zesty, citrus nose; the yeast esters work well with the grapefruit to give the beer a tart and spritzy aroma. The beer pours a pinkish yellow (hence the name) with a light white head. Starting dry with candy and citrus, Pink Killer moves into a sweet middle with light grapefruit flavors before ending dry and tart (almost a bitter, drying tartness) with more of the grapefruit as a lingering aftertaste. Light bodied with lively, effervescent carbonation; there is also a good amount of pucker via the grapefruit and citrus flavors. For Elli, the sugary sweetness is the dominant flavor, while I get more of a balance between the sweet and tartness. Pink Killer is very soda-like; it could easily pass for a Jarritos flavor via the sweetness and bright carbonation. Nonetheless, Pink Killer is an interesting take on the Belgian Wit, one that is perfect for hot afternoons on the porch.

From the Silly website: “Fruity and thirst-quenching, sweet yet not sickly, Pink Killer is a beer based on malt, wheat and pink grapefruit, which explains its very unique colour and the hint of bitterness typical of this fruit, in turn quenching the biggest of thirsts with a flavoursome taste.”

ABV: 5.0%

(4/14/2010)

142. The Bruery Orchard White

Our second beer from the Bruery; our last one was the Saison Rue. Orchard White pours a clear pale straw with an effervescent white head; the nose is fruity, with pear and citrus aromas, and some light spicy yeast notes. The front begins with sweet malt and fruit—besides the apple and floral flavors, there is a general fruitiness to it, most likely produced by the yeast. From there, Orchard White moves in candy sweetness in the middle, and finishes dry, lightly cidery, and very clean—almost like a brut champagne—with a slight sourness too. The mouthfeel is light and dry, with a bright, bubbly carbonation that is clean and fresh on the palate. A clean, bright beer overall; Orchard White is very reminiscent of a French cider or even a California sparkling white wine—it is that dry. There is a more complex fruit nose and flavor profile, but in terms of mouthfeel, it’s pretty close to a dead match. Very light body and malt profile, although this increases slightly as the beer warms, along with the spiciness evident in the beer—the coriander and other spice flavors pick up as the beer warms.

From the Bruery website: “Orchard White is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned Belgian-style witbier. This hazy, straw yellow beer is spiced with coriander, citrus peel and lavender added to the boil and whirlpool. A spicy, fruity yeast strain is used to add complexity, and rolled oats are added for a silky texture.”

ABV: 5.7%
IBU: 15

(11/19/2009)

134. Bell’s Winter White Ale

Another beer from Bell’s—liquid gold in a bottle. Or in the case of this beer, hazy, cloudy gold. During the winter months, this beer gets regular usage—it is good holiday drinking, light and refreshing.

Winter White has a musty and lightly grainy nose with low levels of fruit esters—slight banana—and some clove spiciness along with citrus aromas. It pours a hazy straw color with a tight white head. The front is grainy and bready with some wheat in the background, and moves into some citrus fruit and slight banana flavors in the middle before ending spicy. The light the medium body is fresh and bright on the palate although there is some creaminess as well; the carbonation bite lightens the beer, contributing to its crisp character. Easy drinking and well balanced, with plenty of hefeweizen characteristics to carry the beer along.

From the Bell’s website: “A Wheat Ale brewed with American Wheat and a proprietary blend of Hefe and classic Belgian-style yeasts. A refreshing winter alternative created from the subtle fusion of two classic flavors.”

ABV: 5.0%

OG: 1.052

(11/11/2009)

28. Ommegang Witte

The Ommegang Brewery is located in Cooperstown, NY, which, in case you didn’t know, is also the home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. It is coincidentally the hometown of James Fenimore Cooper as well—Cooperstown is named after his family—but something tells me that La Longue Carabine doesn’t draw the tourist trade like the chance to look at George Brett’s famous overly-pine tarred bat. I know, I know, the cruelties of American culture that make us choose baseball over American literary history. But for those of you who are hardy and obdurate followers of the literary tribulations of one James Fenimore Cooper, I’ll send you here to see what Mark Twain had to says about Cooper and we can call it even. I would like to also throw some props to Ommegang for locating themselves where they did—you don’t think they pick up some extra visitors from all the traffic traipsing through Cooperstown, whether from baseball fanatics or bibliophiles? Damn straight they do. I only wish I liked Belgian beers as much as I do now when I ventured through Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame game in about 2001. Stupid immature beer palate.

Ommegang Witte opens with a nose composed of a careful balancing of clove, citrus, spiciness, and light fruity esters. It is a cloudy vibrant straw color with a light white head. Starting with effervescent citrusy and fruity flavors, Ommegang Witte moves into wheat malt sweetness in the middle and finishes bright and spicy with a touch of bitterness and tartness. It is light bodied with a fresh crispness in the mouthfeel from the lively carbonation. Overall, a clean, crisp, and delicious beer that is very thirst quenching—Ommegang Witte screams summer drinking like a sun tea fresh from the back porch or a mint julep garnished right from the garden. How’s that for a heavy-handed metaphor? Uncas be with you, indeed.

From Ommegang’s website: “Ommegang Witte is our take on a Belgian-white, or Witbier. Adhering closely to traditional ingredients and flavor profiles, Witte proved its worth at the 2008 World Beer Cup by capturing Silver in its category amongst the best in the world. Initially the first Ommegang beer available on draft, Witte is now featured as the Summer Seasonal in our featured-seasonal draft rotation. Though available for year-round enjoyment in 750 ml and 12 oz bottles, summer is the ideal time to enjoy a Witte draft at your favorite warm weather, draft beer destinations.

Imagine...High, white, fluffy summer clouds. A soft breeze through a citrus grove. A heavenly bite of orange chiffon cake. All of these come to your mind as you lift our pale golden wheat ale to your lips. It's so soft, so light on your tongue, you think, as the tart lemon, bitter orange, and subtle spiciness of coriander arrive to round out the intriguing delicacy of this delicious ale. You smile, knowing you have more in the fridge.

Witte is brewed with malted and unmalted wheat, barley malt, a light hops addition and spiced with sweet orange peel and coriander. Though adding a slice of citrus fruit is common while enjoying a wheat or Wiess beer, we feel that Witte's gentle spicing and slight tartness renders the fruit superfluous. Here's to Summer..."

ABV: 5.1%

(7/28/2009)