Monthly Archive for April, 2009

Green Flash WC IPA

Published on April 25, 2009 in 2009 and Beer Reviews. 0 Comments

I seem to be on an IPA kick, as this one is also an example of an American IPA . As always, color can range from pale golden to red and often are cloudy. The American IPA is typically big on hops and often a little herbal or citrus flavor. If you get a good one, bitterness will be present. They tend to be medium in body with a mild malt character.

This one comes to us from the Green Flash Brewing Co in Vista, Ca, San Diego County.  Locally owned and operated by Mike and Lisa Hinkley. The name is unique and the owners describe the name “Green flashes are real phenomena seen at sunrise and sunset, when part of the sun suddenly changes color.Green flashes usually are brief, lasting only one or two seconds.Green flashes do not always light up the sky, but are often small and inconspicuous.To see green flashes, you must be in the right place. An ocean horizon can often provide optimum green flash viewing conditions.To see green flashes, the air should be reasonably clear.

Poured a medium to deep copper color into a pint glass. Definitely cloudy as well giving it a wonderful appearance. Small head, but is sustainable and leaves moderately think lacing on the glass.

Aroma is all hops. Some malt mixed in, but hops are what jump out at you as soon as you sniff this one. If your nose stays around long enough smells of flowers and I swear wood seem to come about. Surprising to me for an IPA, but nice.

It tastes as it smells. Hops, hops and more hops. Reminds me of Stone’s Ruination IPA, as this one is bitter and gets more bitter with each sip. The malt is there, by very subtle, as is the alcohol that is present on the back end. What was nice, is that there was a definite sour to it likely from the alcohol.  Instead of taking away from the bitter, it accented it nicely.

Overall, I was impressed with this one. Very hippy and very bitter. It acomplishes what it was meant to and that is to blow your socks off. Definately in league with Stone’s Ruination IPA and Hop Juice. Weighing in at 7% ABV it is just right. Went very well with the Grilled Ham and Cheese with Sweet Potatoe fries.

Steamwork's Brewing Co's Conductor Imperial India Pale Ale

Published on April 23, 2009 in 2009 and Beer Reviews. 0 Comments

An example of an American IPA . Color can range from pale golden to red and often are cloudy. The American IPA is typically big on hops and often a little herbal or citrus flavor. If you get a good one, bitterness will be present. They tend to be medium in body with a mild malt character.

This IPA comes to us from the Steamwork’s Brewing Company in Durango, Colorado. They began in 1996 by opening their first brewpub with what they say was a simple mission “brew world class beer; be a value-conscious culinary leader; celebrate the heroes of our community; generate revenue for our shareholders – all while having fun.” Being located in the middle of the fabulous Rocky Mountains, allowed these folks to take advantage of the industrial mountain history of Durango. Taking an old automotive center built in 1921, they turned it into a state-of-the-art brewery, even using the plethora of concrete, steel and exposed wooden timbers to retain the original industrial feel of the place.

conductor-imperial-india-pale-ale

Typical for and IPA, this one is a deep copper color that really looks like and old copper brewing kettle. The carbonation is great with bubbles just bursting to the top producing a thick lacing that sticks week to the glass.

The smell of hops hits you immediately, almost disguising the malt and slight hint of spice.

To smell this one is divine. The strong hop smell is also a strong hop tatse. Although I can’t place the exact one, spice is definitely present here. Just enough of a bite to enjoy, but not too bitter.

Mouthfeel on this one is good, nice and crisp. The longer it lingers the more the bitter hops come out.

I’ve had Steamwork’s Steam Engine Lager and was somewhat dissapointed, however with this one overall, I was both impressed and surprised. The ABV of 9.2% is higher than average for most IPA’s, although of is not that noticeable making it potrtially dangerous. Went well with the Italian Mozzarella brick oven pizza we had for dinner.

Avery Brewing Co's Brabant

Published on April 16, 2009 in 2009 and Beer Reviews. 0 Comments

Stepping out of the norm for me, I tried one I had not seen before. Avery Brewing Co’s Brabant.  This  one just landed at the Flying Saucer and was served by Ang, the server who saved me from a very long wait!  This is one is what is known as a Wild Ale.  Beers of this type have an advantage other brews do not, although it is typically Belgian yeast, it’s got a bit of a wild side. The yeast is what is known as Wild Yeast, that is it is not added in intentionally. It comes from  barrels that have previously been used for other purposes. Yeasts such as Brettanomyces are sometimes seen. You never know what you are going to get when this gets added in, so look out!

Avery Brewing out of Boulder, Colorado has just released this seasonal. Avery tells us that this was was aged for eight months!

brabant

This one pours a beautiful deep copper, brownish color into a tulip glass.  The color almost reminds you of  a Port. Although the head pours minimal and stays that way, the lacing left behind sticks well to the glass. This is definitely brewed at the right temperature.

The aroma shocked me. Although you never know what you get with a Wild Ale, when sniffing this one, I immediately was hit with aromas reminiscent of a wine such as a red. Likely that Avery used wine barrels to age this one! The scent of red wine is almost overpowering enough that you miss the faint hint of  yeast and hops.

The taste was very similar. Almost like a sour, I tasted mostly the Zinfandel and not much else. Although not billed as a fruit ale, it almost acts like one. Similar in some ways to Dogfish Head’s Red and White. Hard to taste the yeast, but it was there. Reminded me in many ways of a Port, much as the color does.)Just now I look at the label and see that it’s aged in Zinfandel barrels!

Mouthfeel was descent, crisp and refreshing as the alcohol comes it you on the back end. A nice full bodied ale.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable beer. Surprising for me, as I’m not a huge fan of Wild Ale’s. Although this one reminded me too much of a lambic or a fruit ale, for what it’s trying to be, it was good. Definitely went well with the fresh off the grille burger topped with Gouda cheese!

Flensburger Weizen

Published on April 10, 2009 in 2009 and Beer Reviews. 0 Comments

Going for something light tonight, I went with a German Weizen, or Heffe-Weizen,  from the Flensburger Brewery in Flensburg Germany. Beers of this style  are of south Germany in origin and have a higher amount of wheat. ‘Hefe’ itself means ‘Of Wheat’ and this style does bring it. As a result, they often have a pale yellow cloudy look to them. The extra wheat often lends this style to be more flavorful than most wheat with the exception of a Belgian Wit.

In the 1930s …” Flensbury Brewery developed into one of the biggest in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein – carefully managed by Emil Petersen, an honorary consul. With his determinedly forceful, farsighted and focused approach he laid the foundations for future success. Although all other breweries dropped the swing-top bottle, Flens did not. And still sells beer in swing-top bottles today.”

flensburger-weizen

Appearance for this one was light straw slightly cloudy in color. It poured nicely into a pint class producing a minimal head typical of this type of Weizen and left a small a mount of lacing that stuck well to the glass.

Aroma was that of strong Belgian yeast, with smells of citrus, malt and a faint hint of spice. Almost made you feel as if you were in the presence of fresh baked bread.

This one tasted much as it smelled, definate bread flavors, yeast, spice and the citrus I smelled earlier presented itself as a nice orange accent.

Mouthfeel was crisp, medium in body and went down smooth.

Overall this was a great example of a German Weizen. If you want to have something light, but with character this is a good everyday brew! Not sure on the ABV, but felt around 5.5% or so.

Hoogstraten Poorter

Published on April 7, 2009 in 2009 and Beer Reviews. 0 Comments

I decided to go outside the norm for my porter this time and landed myself what is known as a Baltic Porter. Porters of this style were usually made stronger than their English cousins, but share many of the characteristics. Usually dark brown in color, cloudy with a smoky flavor and a thick head.

The Sterkens Brewery in the village of Meer in the North of Belgium has been brewing since 1651 and kept sales in Belgium until about 1990 when then began to export overseas. Today, approximately 95% of there production is shipped overseas.

hoogstraten-poorter

The appearance is definitely all porter. I poured this one into a pint glass nice an slow. The result was a very nice thick head that dissipated to a sustainable thin one minutes later. The lacing produced was medium in texture and hung on the glass well.

The aroma was what caught me by surprise. Usually a porter will have a nice smoky malt aroma, this one did not. Although I smelled the spiced choclately aroma usually found in a porter, and a malt presence was also felt, just not typical of a porter.

The taste was about what I expected after sniffing this one. Chocolaty flavors, hints of spice and a mild smoky flavor. For those in the know, there is a difference between a porter and a smoked porter. Granted, the latter is more of an American invention. However  most porters still have a smoky taste. This was weak in that department. However, it had a very creamy taste to it, typical of a Belgian brew.

As to the mouthfeel, this was also different that most porters. very crisp and light the longer you savor it. Not typical for a porter.

Overall, I was not as happy with this one as I expected to be. That maybe due to my expecting a typical porter. When you stop to consider what this beer is trying to be though, a Belgian take on a Baltic Porter, it likely succeeds, although with an ABV of around 7%, it was too light for me. Since I was having light fare tonight anyway (a roast beef snadwich), it went nicely with it.

Real Ale Brewing Co's Fireman's 4

Published on April 5, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

This one comes to us brewed by the fine folks at the Real Ale Brewing Co, in Blanco, Texas. It is brewed in the style of an American Pale Ale. Beers of this style tend to be heavy on the malt with a slight hoppiness to them, a moderate ABV and a slight scent of Belgian yeast. Typically similar to an American lager, these usually have a little more flavor and character. Not long ago, Real Ale repackaged this one as being brewed by  the Alamo Beer Company,  and renamed Alamo Golden Ale in honor of the Alamo defenders.

firemans-4

This one pours a light straw yellow, with a small amount of cloudiness, into a pint glass. Minimal head that leaves you far too quickly. Lacing is o.k., however it does not stick around.

A little different than when I tried it as Alamo Golden Ales, the malt aroma still hit me right away with the strong malt aroma.  Although this was almost more reminiscent of  Budweiser. Yeast undertones still balanced this out and saved it a little.

Upon first taste, this was almost exactly like a Budweiser. Although Bud is a lager, The heavy malt reminds you of it. The longer it lingers in your mouth the more the attempt to make prominant the Belgian yeast strain becomes. A very minimal hop flavor rounds this out with a hint of citrus.

Overall, this was more than I expected, but less than I hoped for. the yeast definately gave it more character than a typical mass produced American lager, but I will not be anxious to repaet. This one weighs in at around 5% ABV and will not knock you over.

Do not recommend this one again…