Archive for the ‘American Ale’ Category

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Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

While in Twentynine Palms, California, my father and I had dinner at the wonderful Bistro Twenty Nine. The food was tasty and they had a wide draft beer selection, including Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon.

This opalescent golden gamboge ale has a lasting off-white head. The hop aroma is rich with citric fruit and sage. Floral hops and some caramel malt round out the moderately complex nose.

The hop bitterness is immediate, strong yet velvety. Floral and some fruity hop flavors are followed by not quite enough toasty malt flavor. The palate is initially substantial, but remains lively and lightens quickly.

I’ve never lived anywhere I could get Deschutes regularly, but if I did I could see having Mirror Pond in my fridge a lot of the time.

+Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

3.9 (4-7-7-5-16)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Upstream Horse Feathers Rye

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Matt and Juliet gave everyone a craft beer or wine or gourmet coffee or milk, along with the promise to make a meal pairing the beverage. Such an inspired, ideal gift. For me they chose bottle #154 of Horse Feathers Rye. This strong rye ale is brewed by Upstream Brewing Company in Omaha and aged in former Templeton Rye barrels.Upstream Horse Feathers Rye To pair with this spicy beer they appropriately made a spicy Indian lentil dish and fresh naan.

The Horse Feathers Rye is quite hazy, a ruby tinted hazelnut brown with a creamy, off-white head. The aroma is strong with ginger, to the point where you could confuse it for ginger ale. But there is plenty of rye spiciness and Templeton sweetness to it as well. There is also some caramel, and plenty of vanilla from the oak.

The flavor is a remarkable balance between the competing forces of the rye, rye whiskey, and ginger. The malt adds a significant presence, so there is an overall sensation of licorice, caramel, and even cola. Lingering spice and sweetness are light enough to reveal a hint of the alcohol. The body is light and active, but full and rich.

Brewing a beer with the strong flavors from either rye or barrel-aging is an exercise in delicate balance, but both together, not to mention the heavy ginger addition, takes the challenge to a whole new level. Upstream delivers admirably.

++Upstream Horse Feathers Rye

4.4 (3-9-8-5-19)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Smuttynose Winter Ale

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Smuttynose Winter AleThe winter offering from Smuttynose Brewing Company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is called simply Winter Ale. This milk chocolate colored beer has a nice pillow of tan head. The aroma is delicate. Toffee, chocolate, and caramel character predominate the moderately sweet nose. A faint spiciness almost eludes detection.

The flavor is also somewhat sweet, caramel and chocolate mostly, but there is also some nuttiness and a significant spiciness. Earthy noble hops and a bit of alcohol accent this spicy yeast character. Overall a very intriguing flavor. The palate is big, almost chewy. It doesn’t seem cloying because of the significant spice and a fair addition of hops, but I’m still left licking sticky lips.

+Smuttynose Winter Ale

3.7 (4-7-8-3-15)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Lucky Bucket Black & Tan

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Lucky Bucket Black & TanMatt took me to Lucky Bucket Brewing while I was in Omaha. Their lager and IPA see a pretty wide distribution in at least Nebraska and Iowa, and they brew a number of other beers of varying availability. The distillery arm Sòlas makes a vodka from Nebraska wheat and they have their first single-malt whisky aging in barrels now.

The bartender was making a Black & Tan with an unnamed barleywine and Certified Evil, their Belgian strong ale. A creamy dark tan head atop an almost black layer of barleywine, itself surmounting, perhaps precariously, the ruby copper, barely hazy Evil. The barleywine is predictably most of the aroma: a rich dry burnt character, roasty and toasty.

The flavors present a great combination. The barleywine has a strong roasted flavor that balances the caramel sweetness of the Evil. A bit of alcohol is apparent, adding a little spiciness. The body is rich and full, but it is not thick. This is a very complex, flavorful, and drinkable combination.

++Lucky Bucket Black & Tan

4.3 (4-8-9-4-18)

I also tasted their Joss vodka. They run it through their giant pot stills and then into a 23 plate column still that’s probably as many feet tall.

It is perfectly clear and colorless. The aroma is neutral alcohol. There is a clean, gentle warming to the flavor. There is also a sweetness perhaps due to the wheat.

Sòlas Whisky Countdown

Sòlas Whisky Countdown

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Posted in American Ale, Brewery Visit, Strong Beer | 2 Comments »

12 Beers of X-Mas: New Belgium Super Cru

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

In honor of their 20th Anniversary, New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado has released a mash-up beer loosely based on their wildly popular Fat Tire.New Belgium Super Cru This is part of the Lips of Faith series, which represents most of the worthwhile New Belgium beers.

The Super Cru pours a copper tinted golden yellow with the faintest of haze. The head is off-white, and while there isn’t much, what’s there sticks around. The nose is light and fruity: the Asian pears they’ve brewed this with really stand out. There is also a bit of an earthy spiciness and a fair amount of pale malt character.

The flavor is sweet, dominated by bready malt and fruity pear. A bit of spice follows, unfortunately timidly. The black pepper from the yeast and the alcoholic bite join forces here, but don’t quite measure up. The alcohol grows stronger and its sharpness lingers much too long, yet this fails to allay the cloying palate.

+/-New Belgium Super Cru

3.2 (3-7-6-3-13)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Ovila Saison

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Tonight’s beer was brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California. This is a collaboration beer, but unlike any collaboration I’m aware of. The nominal collaborator was the Abbey of New Clairvaux just up Highway 99 in Vina, California, but all the brewing experience rests with Sierra Nevada.Ovila Saison To the credit of the monks at New Clairvaux, they do make wine.

The Ovila Project, as it is called, is a series of three Belgian abbey-style ales. The label art is inspired by Santa Maria de Ovila, a twelfth-century monastery that was purchased by William Randolph Hearst in 1931 and shipped to California (though never rebuilt). Part of the profits from the sale of this beer will go to the Abbey of New Clairvaux, to help them in their quest to reconstruct the abbey building on the grounds of their monastery.

I was fortunate enough to find a bottle of the saison at Beer Crazy. I doubt I will be lucky enough to see the dubbel or quad.

The Ovila Saison pours an opalescent golden straw with a creamy, thick, long-lasting white head. The nose is light and playful, with floral and mild citric aromas. Earthy hops follow with an unexpected assertiveness. Clean malt character rounds out the very intriguing progression of aroma.

Earthiness leads the flavor as with any good saison. A rich herbal taste combines with a bit of citrus. A bready sweet malt flavor supports the balance. My only complaint about this beer would be the palate: it is somehow simultaneously thin and cloying.

+Ovila Saison

4.0 (5-9-7-3-16)

(p.s. Somebody needs to tell their webmaster that the menu images for all three styles say “Abbey Dubbel”.)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Capital Winter Skål

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

The winter offering from Capital Brewery in Middleton, Wisconsin is called Winter Skål. The name is a reference to the the Scandinavian toasting word skål, roughly the equivalent of cheers or prosit.Capital Winter Skål I’m imagining a horde of vikings singing merry songs while warming themselves with mugs of mead.

The Skål pours a lightly ruby-tinted gamboge color, and almost perfectly clear. There is just a bit of off-white head. A rich spicy and malty nose greets you immediately. Cinnamon and cloves are joined by well done toast and the aroma of something caramelizing. A bit of an earthy hop nose is present, and a bit of sulfur slightly impinges.

The “lagery” sulfuric character comes out more on the tongue, somewhat obstructing the malt flavor. Clove spice and some roast malt flavor are present, and an herbal, earthy hop taste comes through as well. The body is quite full, which seems out of place given the other qualities of this beer. Overall the Skål is not bad, but I think it could use a little more time in the lager tank to clean up.

+/-Capital Winter Skål

3.1 (2-7-6-3-13)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: New Belgium Snow Day

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

New Belgium Snow DayThe winter ale this year from New Belgium is an homage to those Midwest days where the snowfall makes life basically grind to a halt. This year, it seems like it might be a eulogy.

Snow Day pours a deep, dark chestnut brown with a creamy tan head. The aroma is mild and lightly sweet. Hazelnuts, caramel, and toast are the only detectable notes.

The flavor is clean and quaffable. Toasty, lightly spicy, and strongly effervescent.

+New Belgium Snow Day

3.7 (4-7-7-4-15)

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12 Beers of X-Mas: Sam Adams/Weihenstephaner Infinium

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Sam Adams/Weihenstephaner InfiniumThe largest American craft brewery, Sam Adams, and the oldest brewery in Germany, Weihenstephan, have teamed up to produce a prize beer called Infinium. They are awfully secretive about the supposedly novel process used to make this beer. The end result is not that unlike champagne, or in fact, DeuS, another bright, bubbly golden ale. They may not have intended this to be a winter beer, but it will fit nicely into your holiday celebrations.

Infinium pours a very hazy golden yellow with a copper tint. The off-white head is thick and solid. A spicy nose greets you immediately, featuring cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. A sweet bready maltiness follows, reminiscent of challah. This beer has the sort of mild yet complex aroma that makes you sit back and contemplate, content taking only a whiff.

The flavor of Infinium is likewise sweet and spicy, with some cinnamon and plenty of cloves. There is a significant alcoholic bite (reasonable, given it’s over 10%) which is restrained but invigorating. There are some floral and grassy noble hops as well. The palate is light, lively, and effervescent, but still rich and serious.

I shared several bottles with my family tonight, and here are some of their comments.

  • “Mild, yet wheaty…”
  • “…piquant…”
  • “…evolved…”
  • “…the smoothest ever…”
  • “A great dessert beer. Pairs well with chocolate.”

+Samuel Adams/Weihenstephaner Infinium

4.4 (5-9-7-4-19)

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12 Beers of X-mas: Goose Island Christmas Ale

Sunday, December 25th, 2011

Since my original 12 Beers of X-Mas back in 2008, the idea has been taken up by many others, including Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Peter at BetterBeerBlog, Dan Murphy with the Press-Register, and the guys over at beerschoolblog. Cheers!

Goose Island Christmas AleThis year’s 12 Beers of X-Mas begins with the 2011 Christmas Ale from Goose Island. The reverse label on my bottle of this American brown ale is upside-down. The obverse shows the goose with a Santa hat, encircled by holly and ivy.

The Christmas Ale pours a barely hazy copper brown. The tan head is generous, but not as solid as I would like. The nose is mild but complex. A spiciness is immediately evident, with cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A rich nutty and bready malt character follows, accompanied by a slight grassy hoppiness.

The grassy hop flavor stands out, assuring this beer a prominent place among American-style brown ales. The hops lend some bitterness, almost balanced by the nutty malt flavor. A spicy character and alcoholic bite add to the complex richness. An appropriate winter beer.

+Goose Island Christmas Ale 2011

3.6 (3-8-7-3-15)

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