Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Lorelei Dunkel Weizen-Great Lakes Brewing Company

Beer #2 from my 4 beer sampler. This is draft only from the brewpub and had pretty standard dark wheat beer features such as aromas of bananas and cloves with a cloudy, medium brown pour. Small head and a bit fizzy. Caramel malt gives it toasty/bready and slightly sweet notes and the wheat adds the haziness and citrus features. IBU of 20 and and ABV of 5.1% made this a nice member of the sampler and a nice pairing with local blue and smoked gouda cheeses and rare sirloin slices on my sampler platter.

[devildeac]

Grand Cru-Great Lakes Brewing Company

#3 from the sampler and the bar has been raised. This medium to full-bodied Belgian ale (kinda somewhere between a double/abbey/brown ale and a golden ale) is a clear orange-brown hue with prominent tastes and aromas of the added coriander and orange peel. Small head with minimal floral and citrusy bitterness and an IBU of 30. I sipped this with an assortment of local meats and cheeses from local farms in the Cleveland area but it would make a better dessert beverage from a snifter/tulip glass with an ABV of 7.8%. Draft only from the brewpub but I'd love to see them make this a seasonal or year round offering in 4 packs and, of course, distribute it to NC.

[devildeac]

Lake Erie Monster-Great Lakes Brewing Company

Saving the best for last, the 4th beer in the sampler was this high gravity (9.1% ABV), highly hopped (IBU 80) IIPA that had pungent aromas of grapefruit and orange and tastes to match from the Simcoe and English Fuggles hops. It was very well-balanced with plentiful amounts of Harrington and caramel malts giving rich toffee and caramel sweetness to this dangerously drinkable brew. The pour was orange-yellow and clear with a small head. Brewed as a spring seasonal, I was also able to buy a 4 pack for about $9 at the brewery gift shop and am anxious to try the bottled variety in addition to sharing/trading the others.

[devildeac]

Fire Rock Pale Ale-Kona Brewing

I received a couple pale ales in a recent trader and this was a long tasting weekend. I actually like the Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale a shade more than this but found this pleasant with modest citrus and floral hop bitterness at 39 IBU, pretty standard ABV at 5.9% and a colorful reddish-orange-copper hue with a 1-2 finger head which lingered and mild malty, caramel-y sweetness. Easy to session this or enjoy with grilled burgers, ribs, chicken or steaks on a Memorial Day weekend.

[devildeac]

Drifter Pale Ale-Widmer Brothers Brewing

I always purchased brews from Bridgeport, Deschutes, Full Sail and Rogue while visiting family in Portland, Oregon over the years and avoided this brewery but not really sure why so, when I saw this in my 6 pack of traders last week, I was a bit hesitant but also intrigued to try it and was pleasantly surprised by its balance (ABV was 5.7%) , mild floral and piney notes, muted bitterness (IBU are 28) and the distinctness of the Nelson Sauvin hops that fuse and I have noted in a couple New Belgium brews recently. Golden-yellow color, 2 fingered foamy head and a dry finish make this a nice brew to have with the fare I mentioned above with the Kona brew or to compare with other pale ales. They have some other interesting offerings described on their web site. Now, if we can find some of those specialties here in NC...

[devildeac]

Front Street Pale Ale-Marietta Brewing Company

The pale ale road ends here in Marietta, Ohio, on the shores of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers in southern Ohio. This is a local brewpub and our journey's end last PM and we just so happened to park across the street from one of the few joints open on Memorial Day after 7 PM so I sipped a pint of this slightly cloudy and orange-yellow floral and piney brew with an IBU of 35 and an ABV of 5.7% along with my Kielbasa, grilled mushroom and pepper jack cheese sandwich and seasoned pub fries. A nice combo but the brew was a bit musty but not stale/spoiled. I had ordered the raspberry wheat ale but their supply was depleted but it sure sounded refreshing on a hot holiday eve. The pale ale was a solid substitute.

[Lavabe]

Today's morning news in St. Louis talks about ABusch's BudLight Lime-a-Rita being one of the top ten selling new beers in the country.

Ugh!

Definitely not as good as the New Glarus on their way to Kentucky.

[throatybeard]

Today's morning news in St. Louis talks about ABusch's BudLight Lime-a-Rita being one of the top ten selling new beers in the country.

Ugh!

Definitely not as good as the New Glarus on their way to Kentucky.

My wife says that Raspberry Tart is her favorite beverage of all time, and that's over and above Kulmbacher Eisbock!

Tell me how that Fox one is--I didn't keep any of them.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Today's morning news in St. Louis talks about ABusch's BudLight Lime-a-Rita being one of the top ten selling new beers in the country.

Ugh!

Definitely not as good as the New Glarus on their way to Kentucky.

I have fallen in love with Lime-A-Rita. It is not beer, so start off with that knowledge. It is however a damn tasty drink to pour over ice and spend some time in the garden with.

[devildeac]

Indica-Lost Coast Brewing

This has been IPA season so far. I received this as a trader and was pleasantly surprised by this brew I had never had before. Poured a slightly hazy orange-brown with a generous foamy head and aromas of caramel, pine and light grapefruit and tastes that matched. Moderately bitter brew with an estimated IBU of 60-70 and an ABV of 6.5%. It would be a nice match with spicy Indian or hot Chinese entrees. Worth a single or two.

[devildeac]

West Coast IPA-Green Flash Brewing

The second of my short IPA series from last week. What a hop bomb this is! Cascade, Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe lend all their piney, herbal, resinous and grapefruity characteristics to this fairly well balanced, orange-yellow elixir. The caramel/malty balance is a bit overpowered by the prominent bitterness and an IBU of 93. The ABV is fairly standard at 7.3% and I did NOT have this in conjunction with the Indica. This was a trader also and would likewise pair nicely with hot/spicy fare. This brewery has a great selection of specialty brews with an emphasis on hops. And more hops. Certainly worth a 12 ounce or bomber trader or to be included in a tasting session.

[devildeac]

This one looks interesting:

Rumpkin
rumpkin_140x500
RumpkinBeer Style: Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale
HBarrel Type and Time: Dark Rum Barrels, 6 months
Malt Variety: Aromatic, Honey Malt… and Pumpkins! OG: 1.135 ABV: 15.9% Color: Deep Amber

We wondered what would happen if a monstrous pumpkin ale, plump full of spicy gourdiness, were aged in fine fresh rum barrels to add suggestions of delicate oak and candied molasses. Rumpkin is what happened! This first member of the Annual Barrel-Aged Series was brewed with roasted pumpkins from a local Boulder County farm, and spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger.

Availability: 12oz. bottles, limited annual release in fall


ABV 15.9%! Are you kidding me? Guess we won't see this one in NC .

[devildeac]

Lake Erie Monster-Great Lakes Brewing Company

Saving the best for last, the 4th beer in the sampler was this high gravity (9.1% ABV), highly hopped (IBU 80) IIPA that had pungent aromas of grapefruit and orange and tastes to match from the Simcoe and English Fuggles hops. It was very well-balanced with plentiful amounts of Harrington and caramel malts giving rich toffee and caramel sweetness to this dangerously drinkable brew. The pour was orange-yellow and clear with a small head. Brewed as a spring seasonal, I was also able to buy a 4 pack for about $9 at the brewery gift shop and am anxious to try the bottled variety in addition to sharing/trading the others.

Lake Erie Monster-GLBC

No, this is not a duplicate post. This will be a few musings about one of the 4 pack bottled version bought from the brewery last month for about $9. It has some different characteristics from its draft cousin. Most notably are the softer, sweeter tropical fruit flavors of mango, papaya and pineapple with much less bitter grapefruity tastes and aromas. The other features are fairly similar with a pretty even balance between the hops and malts. I enjoyed this one chilled, but not cold, from a snifter and would easily place this in my top 2-3 IIPAs. Not sure this is available in NC. Yet.

[devildeac]

Eighteen-Avery Brewing

A dry hopped rye saison. Now that should get your attention as it represents a rather unusual combination. This is their 18th anniversary beer and that usually calls for experimentation so they took 3 hop varieties, 5 malts (including rye) and a blend of their 5 proprietary Belgian yeasts to create this elixir. It poured a cloudy grey-brown (yea, not real attractive looking or sounding) and the aromas were funky and yeasty with musty tastes of wet rye bread and hints of sourness (I'm betting some Brett yeast here) and pepper. There were elements of a Belgian pale ale and a rye IPA with a dash of Rodenbach. IBU were 40 and the ABV was 8.12% so I divided the ~$8 bomber over 2 nights. I may have bought 2 so it will be intriguing to taste this again in 6-12 months. This was bottled in May, 2011 and I just found a bottle in Raleigh at Bottle Revolution last month. Certainly worth the adventure of trying a celebratory brew from a fine brewery like Avery.

[CameronBornAndBred]

New Bern has a new brew store! Beer Army is a group that has been around here for a few years, they sponsor the "Brew Bern" events (3rd annual one is next weekend), and now they have their own store. Great selection..not only in bottles but also on tap! They have some cool nights too, such as Monday movie night and Wednesday they have a beer glass night (like Tyler's). DD needs to come on down and do some shopping.

http://beerarmy.com/page/beer-army-outpost

[devildeac]

New Bern has a new brew store! Beer Army is a group that has been around here for a few years, they sponsor the "Brew Bern" events (3rd annual one is next weekend), and now they have their own store. Great selection..not only in bottles but also on tap! They have some cool nights too, such as Monday movie night and Wednesday they have a beer glass night (like Tyler's). DD needs to come on down and do some shopping.

http://beerarmy.com/page/beer-army-outpost

Hmmm...

Might have to pass through on our next trip home from the coast...

[devildeac]

Nothing new to review, just moving this back to page 1 as it breaks my heart to see it on page 2 .

[devildeac]

Matilda (4/11 bottling)-Goose Island Brewing

Very interesting brew. This is a Belgian style pale ale and the caramel malts dominate and there are notes of apples and pears but the truly fascinating qualities and flavors of this creamy, cloudy yellow-orange beverage originate from the yeast. Initially, I thought typical Belgian and peppery, but, after several sips from a tulip glass, I thought this is a bit barnyard-type funky and reading the bottle confirms that this is a Brettanomyces yeast brewed ale. IBU a bit low for a pale ale at 32 and ABV a shade high at 7% but this would pair nicely with soft cheeses during your pre-dinner snacking, or with spicy dishes for your entree. I wanted to wait a year before drinking (they say it will develop up to 5 years in the bottle) but just couldn't resist sharing this bomber a month early with Lavabe last week when he visited. After all, he did send it down over Christmas to help cover the cost of his wife's room and board over the holidays


Goose me!

Matilda (2/12 bottling; 12 ounces)

Not many differences between the 2011 and 2012 brewings. The 2011 may have been a bit smoother after nearly a year of aging vs "only" 4 months for the 2012 issue. I traded one, drank one and have 2 remaining so I'll save one for next year and probably give one to my son a bit later this summer. Certainly worth the $9 for the 4 pack that I procured in April during our trip to Kentucky.

[devildeac]

Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale-Lagunitas Brewing

Quite the discovery here as I wandered through Harris Teeter last week on a mission to see what grocery store craft brews I could purchase on their first ever 20% off sale and I grabbed a 6er of this along with 3 others to sample/trade/gift. Poured a golden amber with a modest foamy head that had aromas of pine, citrus and caramel with hints of medium brown sugar and honey. The tastes of this strong ale matched fairly well with some scents of maple, too. Moderate hop blast with a "devilish" IBU rating of 66.6. Fairly smooth with only mild alcohol burn despite its ABV of 9.8%. There was only one of these on the agenda for the evening and I sipped it over an hour from a standard pint glass and, the more it warmed, the sweeter and rummy-er (?) it became. I think it was $9.49 on the shelf but with the 20% off, it ended up at $7.60 out the door, an excellent value for a high quality, high gravity brew.

[devildeac]

Headwaters Pale Ale-Victory Brewing

This is listed as an anniversary ale of theirs, first released in February, 2011 and is another fine sessionable offering. Pours a yellow-orange with a modest head, the light grassy and citrus aromas and tastes are mild, pleasant and well-balanced. I'd guess the IBU to be about 30 and the ABV is 5.1% so a trader like this that I received last week could easily be taste-tested with other pale ales or enjoyed at a cook out with any grilled fare from fish to fowl and burgers to brats.