Archive for December, 2008

12 Beers of X-Mas: Pickled Santa

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

So while I tasted the beer for last night, I didn’t get around to posting my review. I’m sorry Santa, I didn’t mean to be naughty. I was just busy worrying about other things.

From the Ridgeway Brewery comes Pickled Santa, a Christmas beer commissioned by Shelton Brothers “exclusively for distribution in the United States” (from the bottle). Note that this isn’t the Pickled Santa produced by the Hop Back Brewery despite the similar label art.

The beer pours a amber-tinted gold that is quite clear. The off-white head is creamy and lasting. The aroma is light and dry, with some caramel malt notes and noticeable spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. The flavor is intensely spicy: wintergreen and coriander, with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. The body is full but not overpowering, with a comfortable thickness. Some lingering sweetness balances the spice and alcohol warming. This is a straightforward strong, spiced, English winter beer. Well executed, but I just can’t get that excited about it. The spices don’t make me really want another one, at least at the moment.

+Pickled Santa

RateBeer: 3.7 (4-6-8-4-15)

12 Beers of X-Mas: Anchor Christmas Ale

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Anchor Christmas AleThe 2008 release is the thirty-fourth of Anchor Brewing‘s annual Christmas ale, Our Special Ale. It pours a deep dark sepia with mahogany notes. The lusciously thick fallow head leaves heavy rings as I drink. The aroma is rich and spicy of licorice, caramel, anise, and coriander.

A strong roast malt flavor is followed by spices: cloves, anise, and cinnamon. A light sweetness balances the roasty bitterness. A slight hint of medicinal flavor (probably the spices) is all that bothers me. Good alcohol warming sensation, not too sharp. The palate is thick, bordering on chewy. There is a bit of a coating sensation gone almost before you notice.

For over three decades this has been pretty much the standard American Christmas beer, and this year it lives up to that role.

+Anchor Our Special Ale

3.8 (4-8-7-4-15)

12 Beers of X-Mas: Bah Humbug!

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

In early December it is impossible to avoid the crowds gearing up for the holidays. I can’t escape being festive as well, so for the next twelve days I’ll be tasting a Christmas or winter themed beer. Someone will no doubt observe that the twelve days of Christmas actually begin on Christmas Day. Nuts to you, I’m getting everyone excited to celebrate.

From the Wychwood Brewery in Whitney, Oxfordshire comes Bah Humbug!, their regular Christmas ale. It pours a somewhat hazy mahogany. The head is a creamy wheat that thins quickly but still remains. The nose smells alot like Jack Daniels… malty and boozy, with a little sweetness.

The flavor is a bit off. There is a strong fusel alcohol warming bordering on a bite. There is also a meaty, almost rubbery character I would attribute to yeast autolysis. Caramel malt flavor and some sweetness are present as well. The carbonation is pleasantly low, and the palate round and full without being too thick. Bah Humbug! is close to being quite good, but was fermented much too warm, so it seems very boozy. The noble hops and delicate malt character are hidden behind unpleasant off-flavors.

+/-Wychwood Bah Humbug!

RateBeer: 2.9 (3-6-5-4-11)

Mystery Homebrew 2nd Edition

Friday, December 12th, 2008

It’s been a while since I tried some mystery homebrew left over from a competition. I had three bottles tonight.

The first one had the letters “BK” on the cap. It poured a somewhat hazy caramel amber with a thick tan – almost golden – head. The aroma was light and fruity, like mangoes and red oranges. The flavor was dry and bitter. Subdued hop flavors (herbal and lemon) play on the tip of my tongue as well as the very back. There is a sweeter fruitiness in the middle. Some caramel malt flavor comes through. This beer is very effervescent: I’m burping alot. The palate is dry and lively, with a big mouthfeel that is almost thick. This beer is clearly quite alcoholic. Probably an IPA.

+Mystery Beer #4

RateBeer: 3.4 (4-6-7-4-13)

The second beer was bottled in a recycled Sam Adams bottle. It is a golden yellow, barely hazy, with an extremely active carbonation. The head is thick, creamy, and straw. A playful, lightly fruity and herbal nose probably of Glacier hops. I smell lemons, kiwis, and orange blossoms. The flavor is very bitter, unpleasantly so. There is a thick herbal character as well. This one’s much too carbonated, and probably also an IPA.

+/-Mystery Beer #5

RateBeer: 3.0 (4-8-5-2-11)

The last homebrew tonight poured an opal straw with some white head. The nose was some sweet corn and lots of cardboard. The flavor is also corny and cardboardy, with some mustiness as well. It is very cloying.

-Mystery Beer #6

RateBeer: 2.1 (3-3-5-2-8)

My Homebrew Strategy: Serendipity

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Style. Possibly the most contentious issue in beer. It could be argued that beer styles didn’t even exist until 1977 when the late Michael Jackson (The Beer Hunter, not a particular recording artist) published his comprehensive World Guide to Beer. In one stroke he redefined what it means to appreciate beer, comparing local varieties from all across the globe. From Wikipedia:

However, despite an awareness by commentators, law-makers, and brewers that there were different styles of beer, it wasn’t until Michael Jackson’s World Guide To Beer was published in 1977 that there was an attempt to group together and compare beers from around the world. Jackson’s book had a particular influence in North America where the writer Fred Eckhardt was also starting to explore the nature of beer styles. The wine importing company Merchant du Vin switched to importing beers mentioned in Jackson’s book. Small brewers started up, producing copies and interpretations of the beer styles Jackson described.

Many brewers outside the U.S. microbrewing scene, Belgians especially, continue to brew without regard to style definitions such as those supported by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Many refuse even to acknowledge the existence of such a rigid framework. There are many good reasons for this repudiation. The history of categorization of beer is byzantine at best: spend a few moments reading Shut up about Barclay Perkins and you will get an idea of how convoluted nomenclature can be.

Further discussion on this topic will have to wait for another time. I am using this simply to illustrate the rationale for my strategy when homebrewing; that is, serendipity. To put it simply (as a certain homebrewer said): Relax. Don’t worry. Have a homebrew. Beer has been brewed for millenia. In this modern age of scientific inquiry and quality malt, hops, and yeast, you can’t possibly make a beer any worse than somebody before you made. In fact, it is quite likely that it will turn out at least decent, and probably pretty good. It certainly won’t kill you. That’s the beauty of beer!

So when I sit down to hammer out a recipe, I am rarely thinking in terms of style, and never in terms of a single beer. Many go to great lengths attempting to recreate a particular commercial beer. This is entirely unproductive, as the adaptation considerations are uncountable. You will end up with a product somewhat similar but in truth not at all like the beer you were aiming for. It is much better to brew a beer and afterwards categorize it. Not only will you be more satisfied with the end product, you will learn more. You will get to know the tendencies of your yeast, the hardness of your water, and the flavor and aroma of your malt and hops. Following a recipe does not make a brewer. Enough didacticism.

My friend Jen recently gave birth to an adorable girl. Back in April she sent me this message:

You’re going to be an uncle! Well, you would be if you were my brother. Try to find the perfect beer for that!

So I started thinking about making her a fest beer to celebrate when she could drink again. It’s supposed to be a secret so don’t tell anyone, ok? Sure I had five months to plan, but I still didn’t get it done in time. Fortunately now she’s not getting any more not pregnant – as far as I know! Though I had decided on a recipe by August, I still didn’t get around to brewing it till September. Anyway, I went all out for this one: a ton of munich malt, real Hallertauer hops, and a double decoction mash. I lagered it for two and a half months in the cellar at Millstream and force carbonated (my first time!). It is obvious I am inexperienced, as the carbonation came out a little low, but not unpleasantly so.

The beer is named in honor of Skeletor, Jen’s daughter. Don’t worry, that’s not her given name, just what we called her in the ultrasound. It pours clearer than any homebrew I have made, just the faintest hint of haze. It is a shade of burnt orange and the head (what there is) is off-white. The aroma is supremely malty. Bread and caramel notes dominate, but some fruitiness comes through.

This beer is quite quaffable, but I must say the flavor is somewhat strange. Strong malt and bready character is most apparent. There is also a serious fruitiness that reminds me of raspberries or black caps. I notice a saltiness that I attribute to yeast autolysis (PDF warning). This beer is as dry as you can get. The light hop bitterness comes through the clean flavor. Even though the carbonation is much too low, the palate is quite lively.

So this beer is not too bad. But back to my point about serendipity. I had originally planned on brewing something like an oktoberfest for the celebration. Despite using lager yeast it ended up very fruity, and the remaining yeast gives a strange character. Fortunately in Germany they make a style of beer much like oktoberfest in strength and color, but with yeast in the bottle. They call it kellerbier (or cellar beer for germanophobes). That’s what I mean when I say don’t worry about style. Beer is beer is beer, and like that stupid quote goes, “shoot for the moon cause even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.”

By the way, that Alt I referenced earlier is pretty good, I’ll post about it sometime. Now if only my Young’s glass didn’t have a chip.

+Skeletor Oktoberfest Kellerbier

RateBeer: 3.3 (3-7-6-3-14)

7 lbs. Munich malt
2 lbs. 2-Row malt
2 lbs. Victory malt

1/2 oz Hallertauer Tradition, 75 minutes
1/2 oz American (PNW) Mt. Hood, 75 minutes
1/8 oz Hallertauer Tradition, 30 minutes
1/8 oz American (PNW) Mt. Hood, 30 minutes

– Mashed in with 3 gallons 140F water to stabilize at 122F for 10 min protein rest
– Pulled first decoction (thickest 1/3), boiled, added back to stabilize at 150F
– Pulled second decoction, rest 20 min at 160F, boiled, added back to stabilize at 170F

Ambrée Des Moines

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Tonight I opened a bottle that I brought back from Belgium. It wasn’t any particular occasion; I didn’t buy this beer because I thought it would be any good. I got it because it is labelled “Ambrée Des Moines”. Being a native Des Moineser I couldn’t pass that up. I saw it (along with its sister the blanche) on the shelf at a little beer shop right off the Grote Markt in Brussels. I can’t figure out the name of it, but I believe it was about here.

Ambrée Des MoinesAnyway, to the beer. It was brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, independent brewers of numerous beers, of which I have heard only of the Blanche de Namur. They also contract produce, among others, Corsendonk and the Tesco Finest Belgian beers. Ambrée Des Moines is such a contract production, to the point that it is difficult to tell the name of the company marketing this beer. Ok, I’ll stop rambling and get drinking.

This pours quite strange. For the most part it is an opalescent lemon yellow (not amber). Down the middle is a colloidal haze making a shape that reminds me of the double helical molecule of life. There is just a bit of spongy white head. The aroma is very subtle, only the faintest fruitiness coming through. This is the only serious problem with this beer.

The flavor is complex. Dry and dusty like a good saison, the flavor is clean. There is some maltiness manifesting as biscuits (or triscuits!) and a slight caramel note. A good yeast fruity character is present as well. This beer is ridiculously effervescent, approaching a champagne. Even though it is so bubbly, it is far from too intense.

This beer certainly won’t turn the heads of bigger-beer geeks, and may not even win awards (I honestly don’t know). However, it is a testament to quality drinkable beer. It is flavorful, it is beer, but you could still give it to your mom and almost convince her she was drinking champagne. By the time she realized it had barley and hops she would already be in love.

+Ambrée Des Moines

RateBeer: 3.4 (3-5-8-4-14)

More Thoughts on Prohibition

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

I’m not trying to rain on the parade of Nico and Shaun over at The 21st Amendment Brewery Blog or steal their thunder for the roundup of Session #22. However, on a few common themes I feel the need to elaborate. Here’s my original post.

Alan McLeod wrote a relatively thorough treatment comparing the history of Prohibition with the current drug war (this was touched on by Lew Bryson and Jay Brooks as well). Alan gets right to the most critical point: that smoking marijuana is a fundamentally “inherently personal” act and that its continued prohibition is a result of cultural precedence. That is, though Alan never explicitly states it, racism.

I was also glad to see I wasn’t the only one to make a comparison to Proposition 8, though Rob DeNunzio made only a hyperlink aside.

The biggest issue raised by the commentaries of many was the need to prove teetotallers wrong in their characterization of alcohol as evil. We as (let’s face it) professional drinkers must set the standard for responsible drinking and alcohol education. To that end I was buoyed by the mention of the Amethyst Initiative by both DeNunzio and E.C. Delia. For those who are unaware, the Amethyst Initiative is the all-too-overdue campaign to bring discussion of the drinking age back to the national spotlight. It is supported by (at this point) 134 college and university presidents and chancellors. From their website:

In 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which imposed a penalty of 10% of a state’s federal highway appropriation on any state setting its drinking age lower than 21. Twenty-four years later, our experience as college and university presidents convinces us that twenty-one is not working. A culture of dangerous, clandestine “binge-drinking”—often conducted off-campus—has developed. Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students.

For their efforts the Amethyst Initiative has been given the new “Millstone Award” by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. That’s right, the group that largely gave us Prohibition has recognized this cause as promoting “unhealthy, illegal or immoral behavior that [they] believe places children at risk”. According to the post on their website, other organizations considered were “groups responsible for placing pornography on the Internet” and the Montgomery County (MD) Council, for their efforts to eliminate transgender discrimination. In my mind receiving this award seems like quite a high honor.

Additionally I’d like to point out this article over at Madison Beer Review. There are many exciting Prohibition-era bootlegging stories but this one is with the best of them. The Eulberg Brewery brewed full-strength beer illegally for 12 of the 14 years of Prohibition. Features a few good quotes from The Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal.

[edit: I originally misspelled the name of Shaun from 21st Amendment. In my defense, that’s how another Sessioner spelled it.]

Goose Island Mild Winter

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

Goose Island released their Mild Winter ale almost a week ago, so I figured it was time for me to try it. (Truth be told I’ve already had three…) They put a hefty measure of rye in this one, as well as roast barley and crystal malt, giving it a complex malt character.

If I’m not mistaken, Mild Winter (like the forthcoming Imperial Brown Goose) is a regular seasonal at the Clybourn brewpub location that has been promoted to distribution. Greg Hall, the Goose Island Brewmaster, calls it an American Mild, backing up the name by saying brewing with rye makes it more American, a strange claim as roggenbier (German for ‘rye beer’) is an old German style.

Mild Winter pours a brilliant rust with a redness bordering on purple. The head is a creamy straw, but doesn’t last long. The nose is subtle and spicy. A floral spiciness, something like potpourri, is followed by an almost grassy note. There is just a hint of fruit.

The taste is predominantly rye, which has a paradoxically fruity spiciness. There is something of a hop herbal flavor as well as a noticeable but not invasive hop bitterness. As the spiciness fades more malt flavors come through: biscuits and a light caramel sweetness. The palate is quite lively, and the light sweetness, slight bitterness, and spiciness balance quite well. A well executed mild ale.

By the way, I have no idea what Bull means by the comparison to Wayne Brady. That he is mild? I guess almost anyone seems mild next to Dave Chapelle, just as almost any beer seems mild next to lots of offerings from American micros.

+Goose Island Mild Winter

RateBeer: 3.6 (2-8-7-4-15)

Session #22: Repeal of Prohibition

Friday, December 5th, 2008

This post is my first contribution to The Session, a beer blog carnival, that is, a monthly beer-themed blog-off. It was conceived by Stan Hieronymus in January of last year and has since grown to quite the event. I’m happy to throw my hat in the ring. The roundup is available here.session_logo

The topic of this session, as today is its 75th anniversary, is the repeal of Prohibition. It is, ironically enough, hosted over at the blog of the 21st Amendment Brewery.

On 5 December, 1933, state conventions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah made the final push and voted for ratification. Only the day before it had been rejected in South Carolina. I imagine most everyone was paying attention only to the first section: “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.” Finally Prohibition, with its attendant violence and organized crime, would be over.

See this is the problem with prohibition (little p). The teetotalers equated alcohol with sin, and thought that by removing alcohol they could cleanse the nation of sin. But people will always do what they do. So under Prohibition (big P) alcohol consumption continued in a big way, after a short decrease, to at least 60% of pre-Prohibition levels. During Prohibition the federal and state governments found themselves spending more and more money in a futile attempt to enforce the law. The handful of agents charged with the task were generally (other than Elliot Ness) corrupt at best, taking bribes to protect drinking establishments, and at worst in the gangs themselves.

In 75 years we seemed not to have learned our lesson. It is not in the place of government to legislate morality. We can draw a direct parallel with drug prohibition (which now is essentially international) or the prohibition of prostitution (which, granted, is not even national). But those are base and obvious. Here is the comparison I would like to make: in 1919, a group of (mainly religious) well-intentioned folk successfully forced everyone to follow their ideas of morality and piety with regard to alcohol consumption. Now eighty-nine years later alot of (I have to assume) well-intentioned folk in Arizona, California, and Florida have forced everyone to accept their ideas of piety in love. I’ll say it just one more time in case you missed it above: it is not the place of government to legislate morality.

Happy Freedom Day!

Homebrew Improvisation

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

I really felt like brewing the other day, so I went to the Coralville Hy-Vee liquor store where they sell some homebrew supplies. I just sort of picked things out at random (their selection’s not very big), so I’ll be intrigued to see how it turns out.

I got 4 pounds of Dingemans malt: aromatic, biscuit, carapils, and Munich. I also got a pound of Maris Otter. I steeped this in 4 gallons cold water and brought it up to conversion (it was about 154F), let it convert for twenty minutes. I brought it all to boiling, removed the grains, and added another gallon or so of water.

To this mini-mash I added 3 pounds of light dry malt extract and allowed the beer to return to a boil. I was intrigued by the Argentine cascade, so I picked up 3 oz to throw in. Watch out: when cascade is grown outside the Pacific northwest it does not possess the same citrusy character. In particular, Argentine cascade has a spicy and peppery flavor and only a hint of lemon. They are much more similar to Tettanang or Hallertau varieties.

The only yeast they had were dry packets (which I am too lazy to rehydrate properly) and a few on-sale out-of-date White Labs vials. I got two different English strains, figuring that stressed old yeast fermented warm might make something estery and somewhat Belgian. It might make something horrible, too. We’ll see.

It took a little while for the fermentation to take off but now it’s going pretty strong. Updates to follow. Here’s the recipe again:

3 lbs. Light Dry Malt Extract
1 lb. Belgian Munich malt
1 lb. Belgian carapils malt
1 lb. Belgian aromatic malt
1 lb. Belgian biscuit malt
1 lb. Maris Otter malt

2 oz. Argentine cascade @ 60 min
1 oz. Argentine cascade @ 30 min

Original Gravity: 1.050