Raquette River Brewery

Raquette River Brewing - Small Batches, Big Beers

Deep in the heart of Central New York snow country is a little oasis of warmth known as Raquette River Brewing. Mark Jessie and Joe Hockey of Tupper Lake turned a home-brewing hobby into a thriving business. Established in 2013 but officially opened in March of 2015, Raquette River Brewing is garnering a reputation among New York State beer geeks as a hidden gem. More nano than micro, Raquette River sports 8 taps but is rapidly expanding. 

This month we here at BOTB zeroed in on five of Raquette River's brews: Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Double IPA, Imperial Pumpkin Ale and Red Ale. While the brewery won no points for clever or unique names for their beers, we quickly forgave them this transgression as we found the beers themselves offered a uniqueness to the palette by adhering to the foundations of each style while simultaneously creating their own singular spin on that style. Not an easy feat.

Without further ado, here's what we thought of some of Raquette River's brews using our usual format of objective description followed by where we would place it on our Overall Impression Scale from "Leave It On The Shelf" to "I Could Drink This" to "Can't Get Enough!" We end each review with a sort of collective stream-of-consciousness off-the-cuff comments faithfully recorded at the time of tasting to preserve their freshness. 

PALE ALE

RAQUETTE RIVER BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Raquette River Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; STYLE: Pale Ale; ABV: 5.3; IBUs: 37; HOPS: Cascade

What the Brewer Says: "A light but hoppy flavorful beer. A good summer session beer."

Color: Unfiltered clover honey

Pour: Somewhat less than Decent white lacy head.

Aroma: Initially strong pine, grapefruit hop aroma that dissipates quickly.

Body: Medium

Taste: Citrus hop flavor comes through strongly, nice bitter piney bite with some pale malt behind it.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "More hops in the taste than in the aroma; Nice dry finish; Great Pale Ale; A really good beer!; Clean taste - not overdone; Better than a lot of pales; Has more American Pale Ale flavor than British; This is what I want a Pale Ale to taste like, full of flavor, nicely balanced with a good solid hop presence."

INDIA PALE ALE

RAQUETTE RIVER BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Raquette River Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.8%; IBUs: 65; HOPS: Columbia, Cascade, Centennial. Northern Brewer.

What the Brewer Says: "Full body, balanced, hoppy, but not filling."

Color: Golden

Pour: Better than Decent head

Aroma: Started hoppy - very distinctly - then dissipated quickly to a sweeter,maltier aroma

Body: Medium

Taste: Nice citrus hop flavor with strong toffee, nutty undertones

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "More malty than hoppy, but tasty; Aftertaste lingers; Nice mix of sweet and bitter; Terrific beer - would love to see it out on the market more - increase availability; It's got that malty / toffee / biscuit-y taste that compliments the hops giving a little different spin to an IPA; "

DOUBLE IPA

RAQUETTE RIVER BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Raquette River brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 8.8%

Color: Dark Amber / orange

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Floral, perfume-like

Body: Between Medium and Full

Taste: Nicely bitter, floral hops with toffee, caramel and butterscotch notes

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Strong alcohol taste to this; Distinctive flavor; A really nice beer; So unique - I have to keep tasting it; A snifter beer; Sip and savor beer; Complex flavor; Sweet and herbal aftertaste - maybe even some hint of mint?; Intriguing - an air of mystique; More of that nice toffee malt taste."

IMPERIAL PUMPKIN ALE

RAQUETTE RIVER BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Raquette River Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; STYLE: Imperial Pumpkin Ale; ABV: 9.0%

What the Brewer Says: "The beer ages very well. Put a case in your basement and let it age a year. Delicious!"

Color: Dark copper, unfiltered

Pour: A bit under Decent

Aroma: Nutmeg and cinnamon / pumpkin pie spices

Body: Toward Full

Taste: Sweet, with flavors of allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon

Overall Impression: Divided opinions on this one. Falls below "I could drink this, but not "Leave it on the shelf" status.

Comments: "I'm not a huge pumpkin beer fan, but I like this one; A good Thanksgiving beer; Could sneak up on you; The spices are not overpowering so it still tastes like beer; A dessert beer, for sure; This is one of those styles of beer that is very divisive - very popular with some people while others just don't care for it: I'm not a fan, I just don't like this style."

RED ALE

RAQUETTE RIVER BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Raquette River Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; STYLE: Red Ale; ABV: 5.8%; IBUs: 23; HOPS: US Golding;

What the Brewer Says: "Very unique, Earthy. Hints of toasted goodness."

Color: Red, auburn

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Bready, roasted malt

Body: Medium

Taste: Bready, malty with a bit of nut

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "A great Red; Fills the mouth nicely; So much better than expected; Held up even after a Pale, an IPA and a Double; Not big and hoppy, but tasty; Good first-course beer; Nice roasty, rich flavor; I really like that roasted malt taste; It's kind of the taste I always hope for in a Red, but don't always get."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Four out of five ain't bad! Surprisingly we gave Raquette River's Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA, and Red Ale our top rating. I say "surprisingly" because it is rare that we can grab five beers from any given brewery and give four of them our top score. There were no disagreements on where those four should be placed on our Overall Impression sliding scale. Considering the fact that none of these were in-your-face hop-bombs (which tend to garner the coveted Can't Get Enough rating) and one of them - Red Ale - weighed in at a mere 23 IBUs, this says a lot about the complexity of flavor found in these beers. We were all impressed with the IPA - it really did have a somewhat unique taste for an IPA while maintaining its basic IPA-ness.

Imperial Pumpkin Ale was the only beer on which we had no real consensus. A few of us rated it I Could Drink This while others said Leave It On The Shelf. Pumpkin Ales are always divisive with us. But as this style goes, we felt that Raquette River's take is done the way it should be, keeping the pumpkin spices subtle in support of the beer rather than overpowering it.

Our favorite? Probably a toss-up between IPA  and Double IPA. No surprise, coming from a bunch of hop lovers. 

Wonder If we've reviewed a particular beer? For our in-depth analysis just type the name of the beer into the search window at the top of the page. For a quick look at our Overall Impression go to the link below. Every BOTB tested beer is listed alphabetically by brewery with a four-star rating system.

BOTB Tested Beers

For more beer-related info, opinions, and off-the-wall commentary, check out our link to Gerry's Beer Book. It's an often zany yet always informative look at beer throughout the years. Get it for free now before it hits the New York Times bestseller list and you'd have to pay ten times as much.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

Backyard Brews - A look at Some New York State Beers

CENTRAL NEW YORK - A NEW 'LAND OF HOPORTUNITY'?

Once upon a time, Central New York was the country's leading hop producer. In the mid 19th century, the place for hops was Central New York. Not the Pacific Northwest, but all the way 'cross country on the opposite coast. Unfortunately, three blights - two natural and one human borne - combined to doom a once booming industry. In 1909 sphaerotheca humuli - a mildew struck hop farms followed in 1914 by an attack of aphids. The coup de grace came with Prohibition, one of the greatest examples in our history of cowardly politicians bowing to the whims of a vocal minority.
Prior to prohibition New York State was rife with small, regional breweries. Take a look at some of these pre-prohibition New York breweries:

Though that by no means is a complete list, it begins to show the number of lost breweries since only two of those are still in existence: Genesee and Utica Club (West End Brewing Company - known now for their Saranac line of beers). Some were done in by Prohibition while others were quashed by the mega-brews - either bought out or put out of business.

So it is great to see, like the Phoenix of myth, both hop farms and regional breweries rise from the ashes of their respective ancestors to breath new life into New York's venerable brewing history. This month we delve into some of the latest brews - from small, regional breweries to larger ones with a national presence - to appear in Upstate New York .

BONOBO SESSION IPA

CRAFT BREWERS

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Craft Brewers, Honeoye Falls, NY; STYLE: Session India Pale Ale; ABV: 4.5%; IBUs: 48; MALTS: Superior Pilsner, GoldPils Vienna, Aromatic Malt; HOPS: Bravo, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, Mosaic, Sorachi Ace

What the Brewer Says: "Light on alcohol but not on flavor, this session ale presents a beautiful golden color. Predominant lemon and pineapple meet and carry into a distinct pine finish. The specialty malts add a biscuity complexity to this ale perfectly suited to paradise. This is your go-to IPA to enjoy over an entire evening or afternoon."

Color: Pale yellow gold

Pour: Somewhat better than a decent head

Aroma: Big flowery hop nose

Body: Medium

Taste: Strong hoppy bitterness with strong notes of citrus, lemon, grapefruit and pine. bit of malt balances the beer.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "A lot of flavor for a session beer; Full flavor; Color leads you to think there's not much malt, but there's a nice breadiness there that compliments the hops; Lots of hop flavor for a Session; There's no "monkeying around" with this session beer; Actually, I like it better than Founder's All Day, and I like Founder's All Day a lot."

DACKER ADIRONDACK ALE

DAVIDSON BROTHERS BREWING CO.

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Davidson Brothers Brewing Company, Glens Falls, NY; STYLE: Scotch ale: ABV: 6.2%

What the Brewer Says: "Dacker is a heavily-modified scotch ale that morphed into a completely different style after four generations of being brewed in the Adirondacks. At present, it is similar to a Scotch ale, with a stronger hop presence and correspondingly less maltiness. A very flavorful beer with definite subtle points. It'll teach you something new every time you take a drink."

Color: Orange/Copper

Pour: Decent head with light yellow lasting lacing

Aroma: Bready/metallic

Body: Medium

Taste: Sweet malty flavor with hints of toffee, slight hop. Bready, biscuit, toasted malt.

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This

Comments: "Nice malt presence - not overly heavy, though; A little clove and British yeast taste; Could be a lawn mower beer; Very pleasant; I could drink this; Nice clean finish; It's got that toffee taste you kind of expect from a Scotch ale; Bit of a hop bitterness there, but not much."

 SINGLE BATCH #2 IPA

MIDDLE AGES BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.3%; HOPS: Centennial

What the Brewer Says: "We make dozens of different beers throughout the year. While many are available all year round, many others are brewed seasonally or even just once a year." Single Batch #2 is one of those.

Color: Dark honey

Pour: Decent head with nice off-white lacing

Aroma: Floral / soap aroma

Body: A bit more than Medium

Taste: Balance and complex with a nice mix of malty and citrusy notes

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Very drinkable; Good mouthfeel; I've never had a Middle Ages that I didn't like; Good hop presence, but nice malt presence as well; Nice hop-bitter after-taste that stays with you; Subtle at the beginning; More of a West Coast style than most of Middle Ages other brews; Aroma and taste reminds me somewhat of Flower Power."

DISTRUPTION NITRO

SARANAC BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Saranac Brewing, Utica, NY; STYLE: American Brown Ale; ABV: 7%; IBUs: 25; MALTS: North American 2-Row, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate; HOPS: Northern Brewer, Fuggles, East Kent Goldings

What the Brewer Says: Disruption is a nitro infused Brown Ale, brewed with a distinctive mix of caramel and chocolate malts. Northern Brewer and Eastern Kent Goldings hops balance the deep maltiness, imparting their own rich earthy-fruitiness."

Color: Dark brown almost black. Very dark for a Brown Ale

Pour: Decent tan creamy head

Aroma: Malty, bready

Body: Full

Taste: Mostly sweet redolant of chocolate, coffee, caramel notes

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This!

Comments: "It's tastes more like a good porter or stout than a Brown Ale; I think it's a Brown Ale only because they decided to call it one; I really like how smooth it is; Give me a Stout or a Porter with that rich coffee/chocolate taste and you can call it whatever you like; Real creamy with a bit of earthy bitterness to counteract the sweet; Nice beer; I just love a beer that has a big taste like this."

IMPERIAL BLACK IPA

GENESEE BREW HOUSE

The Beer Facts: BREWER: Genesee Brewing Company, Rochester, NY; STYLE: Imperial Black IPA; ABV: 8.0%; MALTS: Caramel, Black; HOPS: East Kent Goldings

What the Brewer Says: "Heavy in caramel, roasted and black malts, this Imperial Black IPA is balanced with an intense bitterness from East Kent Goldings hops"

Color: Dark mahogany, nearly black

Pour: Guinness Class with big, rich dark head and lots of lingering lacing

Aroma: Sweet, molasses, caramel

Body: Full

Taste: Sweet toffee, caramel and coffee initially with a bitter hop bite at the end

Overall Impression: Between I Could Drink This and Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Bitter bite at the end there; Can taste the alcohol; Has a British vibe; Definitely new direction for Genny; Not your Grandfather's Genesee; I hope they continue in this direction; A really rich, full-bodied beer, one that you want to just sip on; It seems to lean more toward the malt than the hops, but then you get a bit toward the finish."

THIRD IPA

SKEWED BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Skewed Brewing, Watertown, NY; STYLE: Imperial IPA; ABV: 8.7%; IBUs: 123

What the Brewer Says: "A hop-centric Imperial IPA with bursts of lemon and a resinous-spice finish."

Color: Golden honey

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Malty/bready

Body: Medium

Taste: Balanced with hints of grapefruit and horehound

Overall Impression: Just shy of "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "doesn't taste as big as it is; Could sneak up on you; Nice beer, I like it; a little malt boost; Strong bitter after-taste; Drinkable, edging toward sippable; Definitely a winner."

TEST BATCH IPA #3

GENESEE BREW HOUSE

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Genesee Brewing Company; STYLE: Imperial IPA; ABV: 9%; IBUs: 100

What the Brewer Says: NA

Color: Wheat

Pour: Guinness Class head

Aroma: Resin, yeast but not a big aroma

Body: Full

Taste: Big bitter finish with citrus notes, alcohol warming

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "This is from Genesee? Malt, then alcohol, then bitter hops; A "hot" beer; Big bitter finish, A sipper for sure; Not a big nose - but there's no question there's a lot of hops; It's a beer that reminds me of a good scotch - nice to sip before bed; Doesn't taste like the Genesee River and that's a good thing; Wow! I'm just so used to Genesee making lighter German lagers, it's great to see them jump into the big beer arena; Their bigger beers seem to lean more toward British beers as far as taste profile goes - though much bigger than most of the Brit brews."

2015 BELGIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY ALE

OMMEGANG BREWERY

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Brewery Ommegang ; STYLE: Dry Hopped Tripel; ABV: 9.2%

What the Brewer Says: NA

Color: Hazy golden orange

Pour: Near Guinness Class heat - white head that quickly settles

Aroma: Bottom-fermented yeast, pilsener

Body: Between Medium and Full

Taste: Initially sweet with hints of cloves, coriander and orange as well as banana.

Overall Impression: Falls short of "I Could Drink This"

Comments: "I wouldn't seek this out; One of those beers where you either like that style or you don't and I just don't; I don't mind this one, actually; There's a spiciness that follows the sweet malt that I kind of like; It's that banana taste that is common to many of the Belgian brews I just don't care for; Really liked the last few Ommegang's we've tried - Hop House, Nirvana - thought they were really good; There's no question that among Belgian-style fans Ommegang is greatly revered."

RESULTS

We had three beers we rated "Can't Get Enough!" Two - Middle Ages Single Batch #2, and Genesee Brew House Test Batch #3 - were big test batch beers available only at the brewery, while one - Bonobo Session IPA was a low ABV beer.

Top 3: Bonobo Session IPA - We really liked this session IPA - a bigger taste than we generally find in sessions.
            Middle Ages Single Batch #2 - Another tasty beer from Middle Ages - big beer with a West Coast vibe - a bit of a departure.
            Genesee Brew House Test Batch #3 Imperial IPA - The Genesee Brew House series is a real departure for Genesee, which has made its mark with German-style lagers. This is a big, bold IPA with a nice warming alcohol hit to it.

Next:   Skewed Brewing 3rd IPA - Just shy of "Can't Get Enough!" this is a delicious big IPA. It didn't taste like an 8.7%.

Then:   Genesee Brew House Imperial Black IPA - Another good one from the Brew House. The beer has a definite British vibe with a nice blend of malt and hop.

ICDT (I Could Drink This): Saranac Disruption Nitro - We felt this was much closer to a Stout or Porter than a Brown ale. A terrific Stout or Porter with big taste of dark chocolate.
                                              Davidson Brothers Dacker Adirondack Ale - A pleasant beer that didn't really knock our socks, but certainly drinkable.

Also: Ommegang Independence Day Ale - This came up shy of I Could Drink This primarily as a result of personal preference - none of us are particular fans of Belgian-style ales. If you are, you will no doubt enjoy this.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

A Taste of the Highlands

SHERMAN ON THE MOUNT

Bud Anti-Craft Beer Ad Smells of Desperation

There is an old adage in advertising that says if you happen to be number one, you don't acknowledge the competition. You sit regally above the riffraff and let the underlings fight it out for the number two spot. For years Coke never mentioned Pepsi in their ads, for example. So how bizarre was it to see Budweiser roll out a nasty little ad during the Super Bowl which took goofy cheap shots at craft beer drinkers. Nestled in there among their tear-jerk cute puppy/Clydesdale and uber patriotic spots, the ad had the distinctive stench of desperation to it. If you haven't seen it, you can find it at YouTube or a hundred other places online. I will not sully this blog with it. Suffice it to say they portray craft beer drinkers as a bunch of lefty, sissified hipsters who are out of touch with the real world of macho blue-collar beer drinkers, and who, for some strange reason, prefer beer with actual flavor. Bud proudly brands itself as a "macro brew" in a rather clumsy "bigger-is-better-if-you-know-what-I-mean (wink, wink)" message that is probably lost on much of their intended audience. Their tag-line is that they brew beer "the hard way" just in case you missed the point. Besides the Freudian reference, the implication is that they don't cut corners. Yet anyone who knows anything about the beer business knows that the Anheuser-Busch business model for years has been just that: cutting corners on quality and spending big bucks on advertising.

Consider this: Budweiser is by far the largest-selling beer in the country. While craft beer has been growing steadily over the years, the entire industry can't match the sales of Bud. So why the snarky ad? It's like the spoiled rich brat who has everything but can't stand the thought that some other kid has something they don't. What exactly did they hope to accomplish with this ad? Did they think they were going to embarrass craft beer drinkers into switching to Bud? Or was it an attempt to make Bud drinkers feel somehow superior so they wouldn't try a beer with taste and be drawn over to the dark side?

And, really, is this not just the height of hypocrisy? Here's Bud, which wraps itself in the flag at every opportunity, yet is owned by a foreign company (InBev) taking pot shots at the real all-American breweries. Further, the Bud ad denigrates craft beer drinkers and breweries while its parent company, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, busily runs around buying up craft breweries, or invents pseudo-craft brews, so that they can get a piece of the craft beer pie for themselves. In the ad they blast craft brewers for producing such abominations as Pumpkin Peach Ale, yet A-B just bought Elysian Brewery which in fact makes a pumpkin peach beer called Goardia on My Mind (great name, haven't tried the beer).

Look, we here at BOTB have had some fun at times with some of the fruity beers - the raspberry wheats, the blueberry and apricot beers that sometimes stray too far from their beer roots and taste more like a soft drink than they do an ale. But kudos to craft brewers for experimenting with different flavors. After all, a lot of people like those fruity beers even though it's not our mug of ale, so to speak. And some people love their Budweiser, and good for them. No one's trying to take that away. The key here is choice. In my lifetime never have there been so many wonderful options when it comes to beer and that's a great thing. AB/InBev I'm sure would love to see the US go back to the bad old days where the only choice was lager, lager or light lager.

For a great no-holds-barred interview with Dogfish Head's founder Sam Calagione, check out this article, Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione Squares Off Against Budweiser  from Men's Journal on-line mag.

Since the ad aired, a number of craft brewers have come up with their own ads bashing the Bud ad. This one from Ninkasi is particularly pointed and dripping with irony. 

SCOTTISH ALE OR SCOTCH ALE?

One could be forgiven for assuming that the two styles - Scottish Ale and Scotch Ale - were simply alternate names for the same kind of beer. But the truth is, while they both have their roots in Scotland and use essentially the same ingredients, they are distinctively different styles of beer. 

Scottish Ales are more session ales. They tend to be more subtle as far as flavor is concerned and are considerably lower in alcohol than their big brother, Scotch Ale. They usually clock in anywhere from 2.5% to 5% ABV.

Scotch Ales, on the other hand, tend to be big, robust brews. The flavors are more aggressive and the ABV can be anywhere from 6.5% to 10%. 

Yet both styles share a similar baseline taste profile. Both are malty and tend toward the sweet end of the spectrum. Often notes of caramel and toffee are present in both. Scotch Ales sometimes add a roasted malt to the mix, giving it a fuller, richer, deeper, more complex flavor. Scotch Ales also can have a bit more of a hop  presence to balance out the sweetness.

This month we checked out a few Highland brews and found them quite guid.

PUNK IPA

BREW DOG BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Brew Dog Brewing, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; STYLE: Scottish IPA; ABV: 5.6%; IBUs: 35; MALTS: Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt; HOPS: Chinook, Athanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe, Nelson Sauvin.

What the Brewer Says: "Welcome to a post Punk apocalyptic mother of an ale. A beer that spent its formative years Blitzkrieg Bopping around India and the sub-continent.This light, golden classic has been subverted with New World hops to create a devastating explosion of flavor. Steel yourself for Kalashnikov bursts of caramel, incendiary tropical fruit and an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee, before a spiky bitter finish. This is quintessential Empire with an anarchic twist. Turn up the volume. Pay the man. Embrace the punked up, pimped up Maharajah of Pale Ales. Nothing will ever be the same again."

Color: Cloudy, light honey

Pour: Better than decent, thick and white head

Aroma: Grass, a bit of pine.

Body: Medium

Taste: Unbalanced, more IPA than classic Scottish ale, resinous.

Overall Impression: Near "Can't Get Enough"

Comments: "A tasty beer; Classic IPA profile; Great session IPA; Tastes just like another one; Nice solid taste of citrus, grapefruit-y; Very nice beer - bit of cheat as it's an IPA, but it did come from Scotland, so that's fine with me."

NEWCASTLE-CALEDONIAN SCOTCH ALE
NEWCASTLE BREWING + CALEDONIAN BREWING
(LIMITED EDITION)

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Newcastle Brewing, Tadcaster, UK and Caledonian Brewing, Edinburgh, Scotland; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 6.4%; IBUs: 40

What the Brewer Says: "Newcastle Scotch Ale is a well-balanced, malt-forward brew with a delightful velvety finish...Newcastle and Caledonian made a kick-ass beer that does not suck."

Color: Amber

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: UK yeast

Body: Medium

Taste: Malt, initial sweetness with notes of banana, cloves though not overpowering

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This

Comments: "Not a bad tasting beer; Nice taste; Leans toward the malt; Creamy aftertaste; For a malty beer, has a little bitterness toward the end; Has a Newcastle mouthfeel; Enjoyable; Got that hint of toffee going for it along with that bit of banana and clove."

SHIRE ALE

HOPSHIRE FARM AND BREWERY

 

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Hopshire Farm and Brewery, Freeville, NY; STYLE: Scottish Ale ABV: 7.8%; IBUs: 30; MALTS: Flaked oats, Chocolate Malt, Dark Crystal, Amber.

What the Brewer Says: "A malty brown ale fermented with Scottish Edinburgh yeast. Flaked oats and six different barley malts...are used in this rich tasting ale. Lightly hopped to let out the sweetness of the malt. A fun beer to make and a fun beer to drink."

Color: Brown

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: Yeast typical of British Isle beers (bit of banana aroma)

Body: Between medium and full

Taste: Sweet / malt with notes of toffee

Overall Impression: I could drink that

Comments: "Creamy malt; Smooth; I like this; Similar in taste to Newcastle, but fuller body; A little sweet, but boy it's good; Water aftertaste; Funny, they refer to it as a Scottish ale but the ABV is up there in the Scotch ale range. Doesn't taste that big, though; A well-made beer; It's a sweetie."

McEWAN SCOTCH ALE

McEWAN BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: McEwan's, Edinburgh, Scotland; STYLE: Scotch Ale (export only); ABV: 8.0%;

What the Brewer Says: "McEwan's Scotch Ale has a lot of loyal followers, especially in North America, and its rebirth is a direct result of customer demand."

Color: Mahogany

Pour: Decent head

Aroma: Reminiscent of maple syrup

Body: Full

Taste: Malty and sweet with a bitter bite. Notes of caramel, toffee, maple, raisins and brown sugar.

Overall Impression: Close to "Can't Get Enough"

Comments: "Nice finish; Full; attacks the side of your tongue; Not as roasted a malt as some others; sneaky beer - they've hidden the alcohol well; 50 shades of black; Could pour it on your pancakes; Not just for breakfast anymore; You really get a taste that reminds you of raisins and molasses, but there's enough hop bite to ensure it's not cloyingly sweet; Nice beer."

SCOT SCOTCH ALE

DAVIDSON BROTHERS

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Davidson Brothers, Glens Falls, NY; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 8.3%

What the Brewer Says: "Our Scotch Ale is more technically called a Strong Scotch Ale, and it doesn't fail to live up to its name...This is a favorite among wine drinkers, with its sweet profile and high alcohol content."

Color: Mahogany

Pour: Better than Decent.

Aroma: Not a strong aroma - a touch of smoke, molasses.

Body: Full

Taste: Alcohol, sweet with notes of molasses, toffee, caramel.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "Tastes like a big beer; Tastes a lot bigger than the last beer; A bit fuller than the last beer; Residuals are not sweet; End that leaves a bit of a bitter finish; Very impressed with this beer; The alcohol cuts the sweetness."

DIRTY BASTARD

FOUNDERS BREWING

The Beer Facts: BREWERY: Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, MI; STYLE: Scotch Ale; ABV: 8.5%; IBUs: 50.

What the Brewer Says: "So good it's almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat, paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard  has to live up to. Ain't for the wee lads."

Color: Ruby

Pour: Decent

Aroma: Malty sugar, grassy but not a big aroma

Body: Full

Taste: Strong and bitter on the front, mellows on the back with notes of caramel, toffee and some balancing bitterness.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "Founders never disappoints; could almost chew this; A different approach to a Scotch Ale; More hops than in most today; In your face brew; A great beer; it's a Scotch Ale with hops; Great beer for a cold winter night."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Straying from our normal regimen of hoppy IPAs can be a dicey proposition. It's not like we suddenly decided to review a bunch of lite beers or Strawberry Wheats, but Scotch/Scottish Ales are big on malt and tend to be sweeter than the IPA/Pale Ale camp. Despite this, we found this bunch of beers to be very good, any of which we would be happy to see on tap.

Our two favorites were Founder's Dirty Bastard and Davidson Brothers Scot. Both were big, full-bodied, full-flavored beers. Both landed squarely in our "Can't Get Enough" camp. Dirty Bastard had strong toffee/caramel maltiness balanced with a nice hop kick. Scot had a similar profile though sweeter, with hints of molasses and brown sugar.

McEwan's Scotch Ale and Brew Dog's Punk IPA both were very near "Can't Get Enough." We found McEwan's delicious with strong taste of raisins, molasses, brown sugar and maple complementing the expected caramel/toffee. Good for a pint or two, but a bit on the sweet side for too many more. Punk IPA is an interesting hybrid of Old World UK style IPA and New World US style IPA. With a base of English Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt paired with US hops (Chinook, Athanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe) with some New Zealand Nelson Sauvin thrown in for good measure, Punk IPA has a distinctive American IPA vibe with a hint of its UK roots.

We gave both Newcastle-Caledonian Scotch Ale and Hopshire Farms Shire Ale a solid "I Could Drink This!" rating. The Newcastle brew maintained the sort of classic Newcastle taste as a base with a little more of a hop kick and classic Scotch Ale elements, though a bit more muted than some of the other Scotch Ales. One of the most pleasing aspect several of us commented on was its creamy mouthfeel. Shire Ale is a bit on the sweet side, but very tasty. Strong toffee malt taste with little hop presence. It's a solid Scottish Ale taste profile with a Scotch Ale ABV. Tastes like a session but it's too strong to fit that category.

IN MY FRIDGE

LAGUANITAS NIGHT TIME ALE: Described as Day Time's "big, dark, scary sidekick" this is nice full-bodied black IPA. Big malt taste with a strong hop bite. A delicious beer that will please both hopheads and stout lovers.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

In the Bleak Midwinter

Message in a window in Glasgow, Scotland - Thanks to
Rosemary Jordal

Alas, winter is upon us. The snow piles high while the mercury sinks low. The glorious green of summer gave way to a brilliant burst of fall colors followed by the inevitable monochromatic melancholy of midwinter.

And to make matters worse, the Bills didn't make the playoffs. Again. Nor did the Jets nor the Giants nor the Browns nor the Vikings - a pathetic clean sweep for the BOTB Guys.

Thank God there's beer!

For our January beer club, we came upon a dilemma. Gerry proposed what, at first blush, sounded like a great idea. To wit: imagine you have a brother-in-law who drinks only mass produced mega brews and you would like to ease him into craft beers. What beer would you choose to nudge him toward more flavorful ales? And why would you choose that beer? It made for an interesting academic question. Something that would make for a lively discussion. Possibly over a delicious IPA. But would it necessarily make for good drinking? 

Upon further review, we began to realize that if we were to be true to the premise, it would necessitate an evening of fairly middle-of-the-road brews. I mean, let's face it, you're not going to ease someone into craft beers with, say, Heady Topper or Arrogant Bastard. Yet those are the kinds of beers we look forward to each month. Instead we would be bringing some fairly tame pale ales, perhaps even lagers. And where's the fun in that?

Gerry, savvy ex-administrator that he is, sensing the way the wind was blowing on this question, readjusted the sails and suggested we just bring a favorite beer with which we'd choose to celebrate the new year. 

In the end, we had a mixed bag of 12 different beers because nearly everyone tried to adhere to both precepts.

The brother-in-law beers were: Long Trail Ale, Left Hand Brewery's Sawtooth Ale, Middle Ages Boxing Day Bitter, Ballantine IPA, and Harpoon IPA.

The beers we brought as our New Year's celebration beer were: Long Trail Limbo IPA, Southern Tier 2X, Commodore Perry IPA, Up Top IPA, Circus City IPA, Elysian Space Dust, Apocalypse from Middle Ages, and Grindstone Brewery's Holiday Hopped Ale.

Because there were so many beers, some of which we had reviewed in the past, we once again did not do a thorough analysis. Instead I'll give you a quick group consensus on each and why this particular beer was chosen to entice a non-craft beer drinker to the dark side. 

Try-It-You'll-Like-It Beers

Long Trail Ale - Reason: "It's one of those beers from my early days of craft beer. It's one of the ones that got me into good beer." Group: A nice balanced pale ale. Easy drinking malt first with some nice hoppiness to it. I Could Drink This.

Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewery - Reason: "A real nice pale ale that isn't over the top so it shouldn't scare him off but enough flavor so I like it too." Group: Another nicely balanced pale ale. Very tasty but nothing overpowering. I Could Drink This."

Middle Ages Boxing Day Bitter - Reason: "I just think it's a good beer and if he doesn't like it I'm sure he can find a Bud someplace." Group: Terrific beer. Nice piney hop presence with a solid malt backing and a bit of toffee at the finish. Can't Get Enough!

Ballantine IPA - Reason: "I figured the old familiar name of Ballantine might assuage his trepidation a bit as opposed to, say, Caged Alpha Monkey for instance. It's a real flavorful IPA though, so ultimately I'd be tossing him into the deep end." Group: Great beer. Good to see a name from the past resurface as a really tasty IPA. Impressive. Can't Get Enough!

Harpoon IPA - Reason: "If you're going to get him to an IPA, Harpoon would be a good one because while it's definitely an IPA, it's a fairly balanced one, without a real high IBU so there's no overload on the senses." Group: A good, solid, dependable IPA that skews toward the English IPA. Strong malt with a nice hop bite. Can't Get Enough!

New Year's Kick-Back Beers

The rest of the beers we did not really review, we merely enjoyed them as per our hosts instructions. Some of them we've had before (Soutern Tier 2X, Commodore Perry IPA) while others we'll take a closer look at down the road.


Next Month we zero in on Scotch Ales and Scottish Ales (they aren't the same). We'll explain the difference and give our unbiased opinion of several from both here and abroad.




Coming this spring: Live updates from the pubs of England - where a couple of BOTBers check out craft beer British style. Join us on a virtual pub-crawl through the English countryside and London. How does British craft beer stack up with American craft beer?

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys