Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Perley Town IPA

An English style IPA which means a few more malts, a bit lighter on the hops and more bready and malty tastes than your usual IPA scents and tastes of pine, resin and citrus. The brewer claims all English ingredients used, including the yeast. It was a golden-yellow with a modest, foamy head and had a few more citrus notes of pineapple and papaya than I would have expected and just a bit of pine. I'd guess IBUs of 50-60 and they listed the ABV at 6.69%. Really. Their description also claims that no two batches are the same. Stood its ground well with the spicy nachos.

[devildeac]

Long Brothers IPA

The American answer to the just tasted and reviewed Perley Town, the English style IPA. This was, as expected, a bit more pungent and bitter than its English relative with less bready, malty tastes and aromas. There were some grapefruit and orange flavors with just enough caramel sweetness to balance the IBUs of 60-70 (estimated) and the ABV of 6.9%. Another nice pairing with the mildly spicy and ginormous plate of nachos.

[devildeac]

Mikey Vice's Black IPA

Apparently, they named this after a local artist (http://www.yourband.info/index.php?q=anti-hoot). This is probably best described as dark chocolate covered grapefruit slices served with a medium roast coffee. Poured an almost black with a creamy, off-white head. Roasted aromas wafted up from the 5 ounce serving tumbler and the tastes were as I've described. Columbus hops are named and I'd guess black and chocolate malts. No flavorings are listed. Another nice beverage that didn't get over-powered by the nachos. I'd guess 70 IBUs and 7.5% ABV.

[devildeac]

Lupulin Suplex DIPA

The final brew of the 5 item lunch sampler. I saved this until after the meal thinking it would be even hoppier and sweeter than all the others and it was. There was a nice tropical blend of flavors, including mango and papaya along with the expected grapefruitiness. Aromas matched and this had a moderate amount of sweetness to it from a huge grain offering making me guess the IBUs around 80-90 and the ABV about 9%. Not quite a dessert ale and it would accompany spicy fare quite nicely.

[devildeac]

A bit of a disclaimer/reminder with the preceding 5 posts is that they are drafts only and available only at the Flying Goose Brewpub and Grill in New London, NH. Growlers are available for about $12-13 but that's too much beer to carry around in our car for way too long to carry back to NC this weekend. But it was a nice thought. So, if you are passing through NH on I-93 on your way to visit NSDukeFan in Nova Scotia or budwom in parts unknown of upstate Vermont, this would be a great place to stop for lunch/dinner and a sampler.

[devildeac]

Brett on the Dancefloor (draft)-Fiddlehead Brewing (Shelburne, VT)

Tap takeover (sort of) at The Farmhouse Tap and Grill just off Church Street in downtown Burlington, VT. Lunched with the legendary and lovely DBR poster budwom today and his much lovelier wife after about a 4 mile stroll in the rain along the shores of rainy, overcast and cool Lake Champlain this AM. We divided a 4 beer sampler and this one was first as we moved from middle-of-the-road ABV to high gravity.

Fermented with 100% Brettanomyces yeast and dry hopped with Citra and Simcoe, this poured a medium, cloudy orange with a modest foamy head. Luscious aromas of grapefruit zest and other citrus, the tastes resembled a Sour Patch Kids or Warheads grapefruit candy with the typical Brett barnyard/horse blanket funkiness. IBUs given as 60 and the ABV at 5.9%, both in line with the IPA style of beers. Highly flavorful start to the midday meal.


http://www.fiddleheadbrewing.com/beer/

[devildeac]

Second in the sampler was:

Rang Duce, a hoppy American wheat ale. This really most resembled a blending of styles combining the IBUs and ABV of a traditional IPA with a standard wheat ale. Poured a cloudy golden hue with aromas and tastes of orange peel and other citrusy fruits. Some bready/malty/light caramel-y sweetness with a definite bite-you-back hop forward presence. IBUs a stunning (for a wheat ale) 75 and the ABV an equally impressive 7.2%, also high for a wheat ale. I guess those stats put this beverage into the imperial wheat ale category. This was a nice pairing with a bacon Angus burger and mixed green salad with a light apple cider vinagrette dressing. Interestingly, we both agreed this had a bit less character than the Brett IPA from above, despite its higher hop and alcohol content.

[devildeac]

2nd Fiddle DIPA is up third. This was a bit disappointing as I generally really like this style. Poured a cloudy, yellow-golden with a modest head and all the requirements for an IIPA with IBUS of 80 and ABV at 8.1%, the mild citrus notes in the nose and on the palate were still a bit lacking. Still, it was a pleasant pairing with the meal.

[devildeac]

Circle 3 is their offering of the Belgian tripel style and this was our final 6 ounce sample from the meal. Cloudy orange in color, the scents were floral and sweet and the mouthfeel was smooth (IBU only 27) and minimally boozey despite its generous ABV of 10.5% I'd guess this had typical European hops like Saaz, Hallertau and/or Tettnang, and tons of pale, crystal and caramel malts along with Belgian candi sugar. There were also hints of black pepper and spice from the Belgian yeast and perhaps a bit of orange zest. Made a nice "dessert" beer with its sweetness but dangerously easy to drink.

[devildeac]

Here's one they didn't have on the menu but have featured in their taproom in the past:

"Hef-You

A deliciously refreshing unfiltered Bavarian style Hefeweizen."

I kid you not. Interesting name.

[CathyCA]

Here's one they didn't have on the menu but have featured in their taproom in the past:

"Hef-You

A deliciously refreshing unfiltered Bavarian style Hefeweizen."

I kid you not. Interesting name.

I would love to sit around the table with these guys as they choose names for their beers.

[devildeac]

Here's one they didn't have on the menu but have featured in their taproom in the past:

"Hef-You

A deliciously refreshing unfiltered Bavarian style Hefeweizen."

I kid you not. Interesting name.

I would love to sit around the table with these guys as they choose names for their beers.

Here's another interesting name/beer:


Double Bag-Long Trail Brewing (Bridgewater Corners, VT)

My "bargain" of the trip so far. I found a bomber of this in a Price Chopper grocery store for $4 in Burlington, VT, the night we arrived and consumed all of it in about 60-90 minutes. Had no cork so I sipped slowly. I had this about 5-6 years ago but don't think I ever reviewed it anywhere unless someone can find it on this thread in 2007 or 2008. My search skills kinda suck here.

It is labeled as a double alt beer, meaning an "imperial" style of this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altbier). Dark amber in color with wonderful scents of over-baked wheat bread, dark honey and medium to dark caramel and a slight floral presence. Poured with a moderate, creamy head with the tastes being true to the aromas with perhaps a hint of dried cherries. Hops had a modest role here with IBUs of 39. The malts are the winners in this brew with the ABV at 7.2%. A typical alt beer has ABV around 5%. I should have picked up a second bottle at that price for a fall tailgate. Nice label, too:

http://longtrail.com/sites/default/f...?itok=c6MgDDgv

[devildeac]

Edward (draft)-Hill Farmstead Brewing (Greensboro, VT)

From their web site:

"Edward (1917-2002) is our grandfather; Hill Farmstead Brewery rests upon the land that was once home to him and his five children. In his honor, this American Pale Ale is dutifully crafted from American malted barley, a plethora of American hops, our ale yeast and water from Edward’s well. It is unfiltered and dry hopped. Aromatic and flowery, with impressions of citrus and pine, this is the ale that I dream to have shared with Edward. 13.5ºP, 85 ibus, 5.2% abv. Pale and Caramel malt; Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Simcoe, and Warrior hops; House Ale Yeast, and our Well Water."

At first glance, one might think, "holy hops, this is one highly unbalanced ale" when you look at the IBUs and the ABV. On first sip, and each one thereafter from my somewhat spendy 13 ounce, $6 goblet at Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, VT, my thoughts turned into, "this is the best pale ale I've ever tasted." Seriously. Poured a cloudy, orange-straw color with a small head, the aromas were grapefruit juice and the tastes were the same with a bit of peel added along with a hint of pine. An amazing hop assortment with just enough of the grains to impart an ever so slight sweetness. Pairing it with half a smoked chicken and bleu cheese iceberg wedge that I shared with my wife was a great combination. This was available on draft at the brewery when we visited on Wednesday but simply didn't have the time to stand in an hour line for a 4 beer sampler along with all the folks waiting for their growler fills.

More on the brewery journey at another time.

[devildeac]

Ommegang Brewery tour and tasting notes.

Witte (Flemish for white) started the 2 ounce parade of tasters. This is a classic Belgian wit beer with a pale, yellow-straw color and a cloudy appearance from the malted and unmalted wheat, pilsner and oat grains. The fluffy, off-white head head gave rise to orange and spicy scents and the brew yielded tastes from the added orange peel, coriander. The house Belgian style yeast lends a very slight black pepper presence. I'd pair this with soft cheeses, fruit and light-bodied fish or shellfish, perhaps with a mild pineapple or mango salsa because of its IBUs of 11 and ABV of 5.2%. I'd also pair this with a rocking chair on my porch or deck after working in the yard for the afternoon or evening.

[devildeac]

Hop House is one of their new offerings and a nice deviation from the traditional Belgian style ales, though they describe this as a Belgian pale ale. Poured a bit hazy, light copper hue with aromas of tropical and citrus fruits which followed through with tastes of the same with some herbal and piney hop notes. This makes sense from the Bravo, Styrian Golding and Columbus hops. There is a bit of caramel sweetness from the pilsner, pale, Munich 20, Aroma 150 and Cara 20 malts. With IBUs of 54 (rather high for Ommegang/Belgian ales) and ABV of 6%, this would accompany BBQ fare quite nicely.

[devildeac]

Rare Vos has been around for years and it's been years since I sipped one. This is their amber ale. Think Fat Tire with more body and tastes. Poured an orange-amber with a foamy head, this one fooled me a bit as I sniffed toasted biscuits with orange marmalade and missed the spices of coriander and grains of paradise, which are tiny seeds that look like rye but give beers a mild black pepper taste. Grains are pilsner, aroma (?) and caramel with a single hop, Styrian golding. Tastes are caramel-y and with minimal amounts of herbal hops showing through. IBUs are 21, typical for the style, and the ABV is a tad high for an amber ale at 6.5%. Also great to serve with BBQ stuff, beef roast or stew.

[devildeac]

Hennepin, which has also been around since their early days, is a saison or farmhouse ale. This one also fooled me with the aromas, tastes and body. Pour was an orange-brown with a lighter, fizzier head. The orange and ginger are relatively easy culprits to detect but the coriander and grains of paradise hid from my senses again. Grains are simple with pilsner and pale malts but they are abundantly added to an ABV of 7.7%, a bit high for the style. The hops are Styrian Golding again and Spalter select and lend mild herbal and resin tastes with the IBUs at 24. This could be paired with some spicier dishes like curry or mildly hot Asian entrees.

[devildeac]

Duketaylor's BBQ Beer-Chuck's brewshop

Pass the rib! Half rack, please! With a small order of baked beans and potato salad. Sorry, wrong thread.

Had the pleasure of getting a roadside package off I-95 today from Mr. Taylor himself with a side of conversation. There were 3 BBQ ales, two Oberon wheats and a Lagunitas Pils (no typo-they really do brew a lager). Dinner was a couple large, spicy chicken sausage links from my younger daughter, two hunks of Mr. Taylor's homemade cornbread (one plain, one jalapeno), a Caesar salad prepared at home and his brew. Basically an amber ale with a bit more brown than amber so I'll guess caramel malt and probably some pilsner malt, too, one of which was smoked. Hop presence was minimal with a darkly toasted wheat bread flavor, some dark caramel along with the very mild smokiness. Just enough to taste but not overwhelm. I'll guess IBUs around 30 considering the style and the fact the brewer is not an avowed hop head. Good beer for an afternoon/evening tailgate with an ABV probably in the 5-5.5% range.

I'll save one for fuse and probably the last to trade with CB&B for one of his "imperial" brown ales in two wks.

I think I'm up to a dozen brews owed to Chuck now so I'll be searching for some local products he can take back to Virginia after the 1st or 2nd home game.

[devildeac]

Pils-Lagunitas Brewing

Yep, a pilsner and Lagunitas in the same sentence. Poured a light straw color with a 3 fingered, almost white head. A bouquet of mixed flowers wafted up to tickle the nose buds and liquid flower tastes hit the palate. Saaz hops are listed on their web site but no grains are named but I'd venture pils/carapils and perhaps a bit of caramel malts are included. IBUs not given but I'd guess 20-30 with a listed ABV of 6%, a bit high for a lager but more in order with the Lagunitas line of brews. I'd serve this with cold cuts or light, mild entrees.

Part of my 6er from duketaylor today. Thanks, Chuck!

[devildeac]

Abbey Ale (fka Ommegang) is their original brewing from 1997. The tasting became more complex as the beers became darker with higher ABV, or I got dumber as the 30 minute session progressed. I simply thought this was a wonderful Belgian brown or dubbel ale with a brown-maroon color and a generous light tan head. Dark dried fruits constituted the first aromas with dark caramel, too. Not much in the way of hops here (Styrian Golding and Spalt Select) with the IBUs at 20. Truckloads of pils, Munich, amber and aroma grains with ABV weighing in at 8.2%. It was a bit "rummy" on the palate but what I didn't expect or taste were the additives of coriander, sweet orange peel, star anise, licorice root and cumin. Not sure what their recipe was 17 years ago but I surely don't remember those spices/flavors. I generally don't like anise/licorice but still thought this was a stellar beverage and would pair well with game, stews, ribs or a brisket.