RIDING ON THE CRAFT BEER COATTAILS
While engaged in one of my favorite pastimes - namely checking out the craft beer section of a nearby grocery store - I noticed a big blue beer with the word "STONE" prominently displayed on its side. I was, at first, taken aback since I was unaware of a new Stone beer on the market. But, being the savvy craft beer geek that I am I noticed two things that told me this was not a Stone beer. The first thing was the word "light" printed below the word "STONE." Anyone who knows Stone Brewing knows that Light or Lite are totally anathema to all that Stone stands for. This is the brewery whose flagship beer is Arrogant Bastard, upon whose bottles is printed a diatribe decrying "Wussy yellow beers." A light beer by Stone would be like a sweet romantic comedy directed by Quentin Tarantino. Stone makes big in-your-face beers. "Light" is not in their vocabulary. And then I saw the word "KEY" printed discretely above the word "STONE" and realized this was Keystone Light a beer produced by MillerCoors. And they had changed their can design. The old can looked like this:
Notice that the word "KEYSTONE" is all one word. No mistaking what it is. Now, the new can isn't likely to fool an experienced craft beer aficionado, but perhaps one less knowledgeable who is first dipping one's toes into the craft beer pool might think they are buying a Stone beer. It's enough of an issue that Stone has brought a suit against MillerCoors. Whether anything comes of the suit or not is not as significant as the fact that a megabrew feels the need to get a free ride from a respected craft brewer.
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Flying Bison Brewing Company, Buffalo, NY; STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.4%; IBUs: 50; MALTS: UK Pale, NY Craft Malt Erie Canal Pale; HOPS: Centennial, Cascade, Galaxy, Amarillo
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Medium bodied American India Pale Ale using the best UK Pale malt and citrusy, aromatic US hops. The bold hop aromas, flavors, and bitterness are supported/balanced by a solid malt backbone."
COLOR: Golden
POUR: Better than Decent pure white head with good lacing
AROMA: Earthy
BODY: Medium
TASTE: Nice hop bitterness with solid malt balance. Lots of pine and citrus.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Malt comes through nicely; Balanced; Hits the side of my tongue; Piney after-taste; Fine beer - apparently not available in Central New York; Lingering after-taste; Good Bills tailgate beer."
SOME NEW NEW YORK BREWS
716 IPA
FLYING BISON
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Medium bodied American India Pale Ale using the best UK Pale malt and citrusy, aromatic US hops. The bold hop aromas, flavors, and bitterness are supported/balanced by a solid malt backbone."
COLOR: Golden
POUR: Better than Decent pure white head with good lacing
AROMA: Earthy
BODY: Medium
TASTE: Nice hop bitterness with solid malt balance. Lots of pine and citrus.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Malt comes through nicely; Balanced; Hits the side of my tongue; Piney after-taste; Fine beer - apparently not available in Central New York; Lingering after-taste; Good Bills tailgate beer."
THE ELEVEN IPA
CRITZ FARMS
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Critz Farms Brewing and Cider Co., Cazenovia, NY; STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.6%; IBU
POUR: Better than Decent head
AROMA: Piney, toffee and malty
BODY: Medium
TASTE: Malty and Bready with a bit of citus in there
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Nice maltiness; Nice beer; A little piney and some nice citrus notes; Flavors mesh nicely, nothing overpowers; Really good beer."
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Big Tupper Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; ABV: 7%; IBUs: 65
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "IPA 'Eh' is our flagship beer - Say it like a Frenchman, drink it like an Adirondacker! And, just like our French Canadian influence, our IPA 'Eh' has lots of positive attitude and unique accents. It has a crisp flavor with a slight citrus finish that leaves you wanting more. Our IPA 'Eh' pairs well with beef and food with a little spice.
COLOR: Between Wheat and Golden
POUR: Near Guinness Class Head
AROMA: Clean
TASTE: Citrus and lemon dominate
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"
COMMENTS: "Smooth; Fills the mouth nicely; Too citrusy and lemony for me; Dry, clean finish; Too sour for me."
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "A citrusy, piney India Pale Ale with the complexity of eleven constituent parts and the singular deliciousness of local, homegrown ingredients."
COLOR: Unfiltered golden
IPA'EH'
BIG TUPPER BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Big Tupper Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; ABV: 7%; IBUs: 65AROMA: Clean
BODY: Bit more than Medium
HOPPY HOUR HERO MOE.SAIC IPA
SARANAC BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Saranac Brewing Company, Utica, NY; STYLE: Double India Pale Ale; ABV: 7.8%; IBUs: 75; MALTS: Pale, 2-Row, Honey Malt; HOPS: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Combining the intensely piney, citrusy, and tropical fruit aroma and flavor of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops, this Double IPA is a liquid jam-session of big hop flavor. Packed with pineapple, mango, and passionfruit hop character, this is a big beer with a full body and firm bitterness."
COLOR: Golden
POUR: Decent Head
AROMA: Soapy
BODY: Bit beyond Medium
TASTE: Nicely bitter with tropical fruit and butterscotch
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Delicious!; I've got to get this; Superb; Nice malt on the end with a decent hop kick; Nice clean finish; One of their best beers; Hopefully they'll continue to make this; Will actively seek this out; Bravo, Saranac!"
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This American Double IPA features a trio of rare hops, high in alpha acids and juicy oils, that mimic the West Coast style we love so dearly. Do not age Space Kitty and please drink fresh."
SPACE KITTY
ROHRBACH BREWING COMPANY
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Rohrbach Brewing Company, Rochester, NY; ABV: 8.4%; IBUs: 92
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This American Double IPA features a trio of rare hops, high in alpha acids and juicy oils, that mimic the West Coast style we love so dearly. Do not age Space Kitty and please drink fresh."
COLOR: Hazy honey with much flotsam and jetsam.
POUR: Decent head
AROMA: Big hoppy, piney nose
BODY: Between Medium and Full
TASTE: Nicely bitter with strong citrus zest
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Some bitterness to it; The nice thing about this is that you get your daily fiber along with a good beer; Hop forward; Thus far the best of the day; I like it a lot; Reminds me of the IPAs I first grew to love."
DEBACLE DOUBLE IPA
COPPER CITY BREWING COMPANY
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Copper City Brewing Company, Rome, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 8.3%
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Extraordinary double. Sticking with a west coast style theme this IIPA has a malty body, pleasant aroma and a nip of bitterness. 8.3%, make your choice wisely."
COLOR: Cloudy honey
POUR: Near Guiness class head
AROMA: Grassy
BODY: Between Medium and Full
TASTE: Bitter with nutty, malty notes
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near "Can't Get Enough!"
COMMENTS: "Sweet on the end; Smooth - could sneak up on you; A good beer; Really nice beer - another sort of old school West Coast IPA, with a good solid malt backbone."
DOUBLE MIDDLE FINGER LAKES IPA
REINVENTION BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Reinvention Brewing Co., Manchester, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 9.7%; IBUs: 92
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "You asked for it. Our brewer delivered. This is a deceptively drinkable beer, with tons of hop flavor. Watch out or you'll be seeing double!"
COLOR: Amber
POUR: Decent head that quickly dissipates
AROMA: Fairly neutral, not a strong aroma, a little fruit.
BODY: Leaning toward Full
TASTE: Strong malt presence with lots of pine and grapefruit hoppiness, bit of citrus
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Nice beer!; It's big, but still very smooth tasting; Yeah, but a bit alcohol forward; I don't really taste the alcohol - very smooth to me; Deceptive, could keep drinking this but better not operate any machinery; I've got to get out to Manchester and see what elFse they've got there."
OUR RATING
In another month where there really wasn't a bad beer (everyone came in better than "I Could Drink This"), we went with our old tried and true method: everyone listed the beers 1-7. Like golf, the low score wins. Our results:
7. IPA 'Eh' - Though we all liked this beer and rated it near our top "Can't Get Enough!" there were a few dissenters, feeling it was a bit too lemony, thus it came in last. Still a good beer.
6. The Eleven - Another excellent beer - received a #2 and #3 rating by a couple of us - and receive our version of a 4 star rating. Just ended up in 6th place.
5. Copper City Debacle - Another tasty IPA - no complaints. Nice West Coast IPA vibe.
4. 716 IPA - A nicely balanced IPA that we loved and couldn't get enough of.
3. Hoppy Hour Hero - The great offering from Saranac. We considered it one of their best IPAs. Our hope is that this becomes a regular.
2. Space Kitty - A hazy IPA with a big taste and a big kick. We loved it.
1. Double Middle Finger Lakes IPA - First of all, you gotta' love the name! This cozy little neighborhood brewery just off the thruway in Manchester, New York has a number of unique and interesting beers along with this one, which packs a punch at 9.7%, yet is deceptively smooth.
Next Month: Stouts
Slante,
The BOTB Guys
1. Double Middle Finger Lakes IPA - First of all, you gotta' love the name! This cozy little neighborhood brewery just off the thruway in Manchester, New York has a number of unique and interesting beers along with this one, which packs a punch at 9.7%, yet is deceptively smooth.
Next Month: Stouts
Slante,
The BOTB Guys
