Of CAMRA and Casks and Craft

The Green Dragon - Upper Wensleydale

Fellow BOTBer Mike and I and our respective wives took a trip to England this May. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip that started in London, headed South to Poole and Guernsey then back up through Yorkshire and the Dales, visiting Sherwood Forest then all the way up North to Ulverston and finally back to London. We took in a collection of castles, an abundance of abbeys and a plethora of pubs. Along with the history and culture, Mike and I decided this would be a great opportunity to research the state of Craft Beer outside the US.

The Craft Beer Revolution here in the US came about as a reaction to the homogenization of American beers. Through the '50's '60's and '70's American beer became increasingly tasteless and bland as big brewers followed the Anheuser-Busch model of spending on advertising and branding while saving on quality. The American beer market was flooded with watery, bland German-style lagers. And then came Light (or Lite) beers which managed to make the bland even, well, blander (despite Miller Lite's "Tastes Great!" claim). I have in the past compared American mega-brew beer to pre-sliced, pre-packaged American cheese - cheap, inoffensive and boring. While many people like American cheese, wouldn't it be awful if that was the only kind of cheese you could get? That was pretty much the state of affairs before craft beer. If you wanted a beer, your choices were a lager or a light lager.

Random Weirdness:
Found in a kitchen drawer in our
flat in London

The growth of craft beer here in the States,  in large measure, can be traced to England. Many of the early craft beer pioneers have similar stories of traveling to England and finding beer with flavor and variety. So it was interesting to find that there are a couple of competing movements afoot in the UK which are reminiscent to the American Craft Beer Revolution. While Britain has its own craft beer movement, there is also a separate beer-related movement: CAMRA (CAMpaign for Real Ale). If you were to lay out a Venn Diagram of these two movements, the area of overlap would be in their common impetus. Both evolved as a result of a beer landscape more and more dominated by a few large breweries flooding the market with middle-of-the-road brews. However, the similarities end there.

Whereas the craft beer movement there is similar to that in the States - a sort of free floating, experimental what-can-we-do-next approach that often pushes the boundaries of brewing while, simultaneously, honoring its traditions - CAMRA has a narrower focus. CAMRA advocates accept only cask ale - often referred to as "real ale" and cask cider. Nothing bottled, canned or kegged. Only ales poured via the pump system. In fact a beer is not CAMRA  approved if there is both a cask version and a bottled, kegged or canned version (although bottle conditioned may  be becoming more accepted). But the CAMRA movement goes beyond beer. CAMRA is a reactionary movement looking for a return to days of old when the neighborhood pub was a social gathering place. A place for a quiet pint with friends, perhaps a game of darts, but none of that loud music or those big TV sets on the wall. It is a case where one movement is more inclusive vs. one that is more exclusive. CAMRA aficionados would not necessarily approve of many of the pubs serving craft beer, or the beers themselves. Whereas the Craft Beer followers certainly appreciate beer in it's many forms including cask ales.

"Real ale" seemed to be more prevalent than craft beer. Most pubs advertise real ale, and most pubs have at least a couple of cask ales (cask conditioned ales are unfiltered and unpasteurized. They do not leave the cask until the beer is served, and are hand pumped without the use of nitrogen or carbon dioxide to provide pressure). Mike and I generally choose a cask ale, so we had the opportunity to sample a number of them. We had a great many Bitters - Ordinary, Best Bitter, Special Bitter, Extra Special Bitter, Premium Bitter. The names roughly denote strength, though there is nothing set in stone regarding at what point a beer goes from, say, a Special Bitter to an Extra Special Bitter. It's sort of at the discretion of the brewer. Bitters are a sub-class of Pale Ales but it is not always easy to differentiate between the two. Cask ales tend to be less carbonated and, yes, they would be considered warm by US standards, meaning it is not ice cold. The thing is, it doesn't need to be. Malt, yeast, bread are the dominant flavor notes with varying levels of toffee, caramel and hop. We also had a few Stouts and  Porters that were quite tasty.

Most beers clocked in at 5% ABV or less. Many at under 4%. At one pub, The Swan in Ulverston, we spotted an IPA from nearby Hawkshead Brewery. We each ordered a pint. The bartender said, "Now, you realize this is 7%?"
"Yes," we said.
"Are you local then?" he asked.
"Local?" I said, then realizing what he was asking, said, "Oh, yes. We walked here." Which we had.
"Ah, then. That's good," he said and poured us our beers.


The beer, by the way, was excellent. It was by far one of the hoppiest beers we had tasted while in England. It is referred to as a traditional British IPA taken to a new level using new world hops. The "New World" referred to here was the US and New Zealand. The hops they referred to were Cascade and Columbus from the States as well as Motueka hops from New Zealand.

What did we discover in our informal, totally unscientific bit of research? A couple of broad generalizations came to light. We'll give you our take on this and the lowdown on a few of the interesting pubs we hit and beers we drank on our journey next time.

But now, we need to take a look at some of this month's beers.

SAM PLUS TWO

This month Sam Adams had a few brews for us to review. Six to be exact, but that left us one short of our normal seven. Luckily, I had picked up a six pack of Bedlam while in Springfield, Illinois that I thought would make a good one for BOTB. On top of that, Mike arrived with a new beer from Ommegang out of Cooperstown, NY. Let's start with the Sams.

REBEL RIDER IPA

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON 

The Beer Facts:  STYLE: Session IPA; BREWER: Boston Beer Company / Samuel Adams; ABV: 4.5%; IBUs: 45; MALT: Samuel Adams Two-row Pale Malt Blend; HOPS: Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Simcoe, Citra

What the Brewer Says: "Samuel Adams Rebel Rider is a bold yet mellow IPA with the hop character of a West Coast style IPA complemented by the golden crispness and lighter body of a session beer."

Color: Hazy wheat

Pour: Decent head with nice lingering

Aroma: Citrus, sour, piney

Body: Somewhat light

Taste: Balanced in that it is not overly bitter, with notes of grapefruit and understated lemon character

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This!

Comments: "For a session, it has a lot of taste; Nice lawn-mower beer; Not a lot of hoppiness, just a little bitter - way better than a pilsener; Very subtle; A good "gateway" beer - introduction to IPAs."

ESCAPE ROUTE

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Kolsch; BREWER: Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams; ABV: 5%; IBUs: 30; MALT: Samuel Adams Two-Row Pale Malt Blend, acidulated malt, flaked barley, Carafoam; HOPS: Strisselsplat, Aramis.

What the Brewer Says: "Escape Route is a limited release beer brewed for the spring season. This golden and hazy Kolsch-style brew is bright, fresh and crisp, perfect for the last days of winter and first days of spring."

Color: Cloudy Wheat

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Grassy, floral

Body: Light

Taste: Tending toward sweet with with malt-first but some subtle grapefruit hop coming in

Overall Impression: It would do in a pinch for us. If you like Kolsch - Can't Get Enough.

Comments: "Not my favorite style, but for a Kolsch drinker I would think this would be great; Light finish; True to the Kolsch style but a little more body than most; Much more flavorful than I expected; Some nice hop character there - subtle, but definitely there."

COLD SNAP

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Belgian-style White Ale; BREWER: Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams; ABV: 5.3%; IBUs: 10; MALT: Samuel Adams Two-Row Blend, Malted Wheat; HOPS: Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble.

What the Brewer Says: "Cold Snap is a crisp, refreshing Belgian-style White Ale with a combination of hazy golden wheat and a lively blend of exotic fruits and spring spices."

Color: Cloudy wheat

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Sweet with hints of clove, floral

Body: Slightly less than medium

Taste: Sweet with hints of orange and strong coriander presence. Very subtle hop.

Overall Impression: We would Leave It On the Shelf - just not the style for a bunch of hopheads.

Comments: "Wheat beer; Thin, sweet, somewhat watery; A bit spicy; Just not crazy over the taste of coriander, and it is very evident here; If you're a fan of Belgians, you probably would like this, just not my mug of beer, so to speak."

CRYSTAL PALE ALE

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Pale Ale; BREWER: Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams; ABV: 5.3%; MALT: Pale, Maris Otter, Honey; HOPS: Crystal, Fuggles, East Kent Goldings.

What the Brewer Says: "Crystal Pale Ale is a bright and earthy pale ale named after its signature ingredient - Crystal hops grown in Corvallis, Oregon. Neither a classic American nor classic English Pale Ale, Crystal Pale Ale is inspired by both styles. the distinct bright, citrusy hop character of the American Crystal hops is complemented by the earthiness of English hops and balanced by malt sweetness, a trademark character of English Pale Ales."

Color: Golden

Pour: Better than Decent Head with a nice lasting lacing

Aroma: Grassy, floral, citrus

Body: A bit more than medium

Taste: leans to the bitter end of the scale with nice grapefruit notes balanced by a malty, nutty sweetness to give it a more complex taste than the previous beers.

Overall Impression: Beyond "I Could Drink This" and heading toward "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "Nice, big finish; A darn good beer; It's got some taste and body to it; The more I taste it, the more I like it; Solid malt backing with hops on top of it, makes for a nice tasting beer; Would love to see it out there more; Crisp, clean taste; I'm a fan; A very nice beer, one of the better Pale Ales I've had."

REBEL IPA

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON

The Beer Facts: STYLE: India Pale Ale; BREWER: Boston Brewing Company - Samuel Adams; ABV: 6.5%; IBUs: 45; MALTS: Samuel Adams Two-Row Pale Malt Blend, Caramel 60; HOPS: American Cascade, Simcoe, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo

What the Brewer Says: "Rebel IPA - the first West Coast style IPA from the same brewers that started the craft beer revolution in 1984."

Color: Cloudy honey golden

Pour: Better than Decent Head

Aroma: Straw, grass

Body: Medium

Taste: Beyond balanced toward bitter with citrus, grapefruit, pine and hints of caramel.

Overall Impression: Well toward Can't Get Enough

Comments: "More complex taste, many flavors attack the tongue (in a good way); Bitter finish; Always glad to see this on tap; A really nice beer; Nice lacing; Kind of a classic IPA taste though a little sweeter than some; 45 IBUs is lower than many, but it still delivers a nice hop punch."

REBEL ROUSER DOUBLE IPA

SAMUEL ADAMS - BOSTON

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Double IPA; BREWER: Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams; ABV: 8.4%; IBUs: 85; MALTS: Samuel Adams Two-Row Pale Malt Blend; HOPS: Bravo, Galaxy, Zeus, Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo.

What the Brewer Says: "Rebel Rouser IPA is a Double IPA, brewed to showcase a wide variety of hop characteristics, rather than just hop bitterness. To drive the hop impact of this beer, our brewers didn't just take our Rebel IPA and double the hops. Our Double IPA is brewed with more than 5 lbs. of hops per barrel and dry-hopped with five american hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest. At 85 IBUs, Rebel Rouser Double IPA was brewed to showcase bold hop character, not palate-scraping
bitterness."

Color: Amber

Pour: Much better than Decent Head, with lingering lace.

Aroma: More acidic than hoppy, alcohol, some pine, floral.

Body: Full

Taste: Grapefruit, pine, alcohol warmth, malty base, citrusy hints of orange

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Very complex; Alcohol jumps out at you; A lot of stuff going on here; Clean beginning with a bitter and strong finish; Nice step up from the Rebel; Contrary opinion - I liked the Rebel better; Overall I really like this whole Rebel family of beers, I wonder where they might go from here - a Belgian-style Rebel? A Red Rebel?"

BEDLAM BELGIAN IPA

ALE ASYLUM 

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Belgian-style IPA; BREWER: Ale Asylum, Madison, Wisconsin; ABV: 7.4%;

What the Brewer Says: "This beast is a beauty. It is heavily hopped and fiercely aggressive, with an unmistakable aroma and flavor profile in a sea of India Pale Ales. What started as an experiment in our original brewery has gone on to become one of the highest rated Belgian-style India Pale Ales in

the world."

Color: Unfiltered amber

Pour: Decent Head

Aroma: Grapefruit / piney

Body: Between Medium and Full

Taste: Balanced with a wonderful malty, yeasty background combined with a citrusy spiciness.

Overall Impression: Pretty near "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "Easy finish; Balanced; Big taste - filled the mouth; I like it a lot - delicious; The Belgian characteristics meld well with the IPA characteristics; They seem to bring out the best in each other; Not a real Belgian fan, but I like this."

NIRVANA IPA

OMMEGANG BREWERY - COOPERSTOWN, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; BREWERY: Ommegang - produced by sister brewery Boulevard in Kansas City, MO; ABV: 6.5%; IBUs: 60; HOPS: Bravo, Simcoe, Centennial, Topaz, Citra  and Mosaic.

What the Brewer Says: "Tri-State hop-heads are about to discover an entirely new state of being!..our first ever American-style India Pale Ale will be available across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut...The flavor is hoppy, juicy and citrusy goodness - without harsh bitterness."

Color: Wheat

Pour: Better than Decent Head

Aroma: West Coast big aroma of grapefruit and pine

Body: Near Full

Taste: Toward the bitter end with tastes of grapefruit, citrus, pine, and hints of lemon

Overall Impression: Very near "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "Drinkable - I can definitely have more than one; Really, really nice tasting beer; Farming it out right now because Boulevard is better set up for hop-forward beers and six packs - Ommegang has only 4-packs and bombers; Ommegang is such a highly respected Belgian-style brewery, glad to see them get into IPAs; Really good beer, very complex mix of flavors."

THE RESULTS

So what's the skinny on this octet of ales? Keeping in mind that hoppy is our happy place it's not surprising that the IPAs took top honors, though there was no clear consensus among the top three, leaving us with a three-way at the top spot. Anyway, the results were as follows:

#1 - Rebel Rouser Double IPA - The most complex of the Rebel family, also the highest IBUs - although at least one of us preferred the regular Rebel in part because they felt the alcohol presence was too much.

#1 - Ommegang's Nirvana IPA - For us it was great to see one of New York State's most respected Belgian-style breweries dip their feet into the American IPA pool. This is the third Ommegang brew I've had recently that scored well with hop-heads like us (the other two were Hop House Dry Hopped Pale Ale and Hopstate NY American Pale Ale, a terrific beer I just had last night.)

#1 - Ale Asylum's Bedlam Belgian IPA - I am finding that Belgian style IPAs seem to bring out the best of both styles, and this one was a delicious melding of the two. 

#2 - Samuel Adams Rebel IPA - We found this to be another solid IPA from Samuel Adams to go along with Latitude 48, Whitewater IPA, Third Voyage, Tasmen Red and Dark Depths Baltic IPA to name a few.

#3 - Samuel Adams Crystal Pale Ale - A tasty, hoppy Pale Ale that scored well with us.

#4 - Samuel Adams Rebel Rider Session IPA - Sam's entry into the session IPA realm. Easy drinking. A nice beer particularly if you intend to have a few. They put a lot of flavor into a 4.5% ABV beer.

#5 - Samuel Adams Escape Route - Kolsch would admittedly not be our beer of choice, but this would be our Kolsch of choice. It was tastier than we had expected, given the style.

#6 - Samuel Adams Cold Snap - This was by far our least favorite beer. If you're a fan of hops, you won't care for this. If you're a fan of White Ales spiced with coriander, this is your beer.

Next Month,
The latest Boat Beers - Canned Brews for the Summer

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

BOTB Blast and Some Road Beers

BOTB ANNUAL OUTING

Once again our yearly BOTB Blast was held at Clark's Cottages in Port Ontario, NY. And once again it was a great day of fun, food, music and, of course, beer. Early June in Central New York can be tricky weather-wise - you could have temperatures in the 50's or in the 90's. There could be clouds, rain, sleet, hail, or bright sunshine. Luckily we had the the sunshine and temps in the 70's.
The day started out with golf at Steamside - captain and mate. The top finishers all received some bottles of beer compliments of Sam Adams and bottle openers compliments of Saranac. If you're interested, the results were:
First Place: Tim Hart and Dan Riley - winning a round of golf at Streamside, 4 tickets to the Boxing Hall of Fame and a six pack of Sam Adams.
Second Through Seventh Place: Received a sixer of Sam and a Saranac bottle opener.
Closest to the Pin: Chris Courtwright - 2 sleeves of balls
Longest Drive: Nate Hart - 7 wood golf club

Back at Port Ontario we had mountains of great food and a firkin of Middle Ages 19th Anniversary Imperial IPA from Middle Ages Brewing. The beer, available now at the brewery, was absolutely awesome. The firkin returned empty. The afternoon was rounded out with some Beer Club Trio sing-along, including, of course, Beer Run. All in all, a great time was had by all.

TRAVEL NOTES

-In May, my wife and I had the chance to spend some time in Los Gatos, California, not far from San Francisco. During the trip I jotted down some notes on any beer-related activities. Below are the unvarnished musings you are welcome to peruse-

Heading to San Francisco. Waiting in the Syracuse airport. Noticed that there is a Saranac pub here now. Cool. Unfortunately, no time to grab a beer.

After hitting four wineries in the Napa Valley on Friday and Saturday - touring and tasting at each - we stopped at Laguinitas Brewery on our way to Los Gatos on Sunday. While I certainly enjoyed the wine (I felt a little like the Thomas Haden Church character in Sideways - pretty much saying "Hmm, I like this" to every one I tried) I soon began to long for the beautifully bitter bite of a bountifully hopped-up brew.

Looking For Mr. GoodBeer

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant and brewery on Saturday, but the best beer they produced was a Red Ale that was just okay - the others were mostly German lager types, but pretty bland. So I was really looking forward to Laguinitas.  Unfortunately I was the only beer drinker of the four of us - I believe the others suffered my desire to visit the brewery with good grace. I longed to compare notes and opinions with the other BOTB Guys while we made our way through the taps.

The place is very laid-back, done in a kind of disheveled chic with lots of outdoor seating and a funky vibe. The walls of the bar area are plastered with quirky, clever signs and posters. I only had time for a couple of beers while we had lunch. I started out with a delicious Laguinitas Sucks which I personally prefer to their regular IPA. Sadly they were out of Hop Stoopid so I then had a Little Sumpin' Sumpin'. I realized I had seen that around for a while, but had never actually tried it.  I took a chance on it even though it is a wheat beer. But the guys there said it was a really hopped up. It was surprisingly good. And stood up well even after Laguinitas Sucks (which it doesn't, by the way).

 Stopped at a Safeway  to pick up groceries when we returned to Los Gatos and I grabbed a couple of interesting sixers: Back in Black  a black IPA from 21st Amendment Brewery, and Big Daddy IPA from Speakeasy Brewery out of San Francisco.



Back in Black is a nice, hoppy IBA with some really rich, chocolate notes to it. Liked it a lot. Big Daddy is an outstanding IPA loaded with that big grapefruit/pine aroma and taste you expect from a West Coast IPA. (Brought back a bomber of Speakeasy's Vendetta IPA - also quite awesome.) Sorry we can't seem to get Speakeasy brews back East. Very impressive beer.






Tried to get to Anchor Brewing. Anchor arguably was the first brewery to experiment with beers to challenge mega-brew lager/pilsner taste profile that prevailed in the U.S. since the end of WWII. Their Liberty Ale, brewed in 1975 to celebrate the bicentennial of Paul Revere's ride, was the first IPA brewed in

America since Prohibition. So I was interested in stopping in to visit the brewery that kicked off a revolution by celebrating a revolution. Made it there on a Friday afternoon after spending the day at the Presidio. Anchor was about five miles away - or in San Francisco traffic, about 45 minutes! We got there only to realize that Anchor does not have a bar nor do tastings! They do tours, but we were too late. Very disappointing. 21st Amendment Brewery was only about a mile from there, but by now it was after work hours on a Friday and game day (SF Giants). The place was packed and there was no place to park. Every public parking lot had big signs saying "Flat Rate $30." Did I mention it was game day? I'm willing to spend more for a good craft beer, but thirty bucks was a bit more than I cared to go. So we exited San Fran without hitting either of the two breweries I was hoping to get to. Sigh.

Got home and had a Back in Black to commiserate.



Back in Los Gatos, stopped in at the Los Gatos Brewery. This is a small brew pub that doesn't bottle. Had their Cask - Firkin Fuggel Ale (Extra Special Bitter) which was quite tasty.
Later had their Oatmeal Stout - also very good.




However, the good news was we did
make it to a brewery (other than Los Gatos Brewery) called Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. Half Moon Bay is a little community south of San Francisco, located near a surfing mecca known as Mavericks, where giant waves form due to the unique geologic shape of the sea floor and shoreline there. The brewery is just outside the town near the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. Their beers are brewed under the moniker Maverick's Beers and Ales. It's a relatively small brew pub, but they both bottle and can many of their beers for sale at the pub. I was unable to locate them anywhere else for sale. They also have a constantly changing line-up of beers on tap. I have found at many such smaller production breweries that there is a tendency to brew "to the middle." In other words, to brew beers that fit into that middle ground that does not stray too far from the German lager taste profile found in the big brews. I've had IPA's that, in my humble opinion, are not deserving of the name. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered up a flight of three intriguing brews (plus a fourth I had the opportunity to taste) and I was pleasantly surprised. I tried the following beers:. Back in the Saddle Rye Pale Ale, Princeton-By-The-Sea IPA, Earl Triple IPA, and Damage Inc. Imperial Stout. I jotted down my impressions of each as I drank them. Here's what I found:

Back in the Saddle Rye Pale Ale - 3.75% ABV; 29 IBUs; Nice pale ale with very low ABV. More bitter than I expected from the 29 IBUs. Nice crisp, dry finish. Make a great golf beer, boat beer, session beer.



Princeton-By-The-Sea IPA - 6.1% ABV; 62 IBUs; Brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Chinook hops with Simcoe for bittering; Terrific IPA. Nice grapefruit aroma that comes through on the taste buds as well. Nicely balanced but not

afraid of the hops. Delicious. Wish I could get it around here.



Earl Triple IPA - 11.1% ABV; 150 IBUs!; Alright, so there's a little bit of wink and a nudge that goes along with the 150 IBUs label here. Nonetheless, this is a big, hoppy beer. There's a very solid alcohol presence without being overpowering. It's pleasantly warming, full bodied with a big bitter bite. There's a real pleasing aftertaste that to me was reminiscent of a nice scotch.

Damages Inc. Imperial Stout - 10.4% ABV; 82.5 IBUs; I have to say, one of the best Imperial Stouts I've ever had. The taste of full, rich deep dark chocolate hit first with pleasing coffee undertones. Toffee, caramel and cocoa flavors also intermingled nicely.  What really sets this apart is the fact that it is not cloyingly sweet as some Imperials can be. It makes for a wonderful dessert beer.

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys

Holiday Break

The BOTB Guys took a holiday break, which is not to say we didn't still get together and have some great beer. We just got together and had some great beer. We didn't rate it, we merely enjoyed it. With no ratings this month, I thought I'd just empty out my "Beer Thoughts" folder, a place for random beer-related ramblings, and see what might be worthy fodder for the beer aficionados who stumble upon this site from time to time.


But first...

A big thanks to Saranac and Sam Adams for sending along some brews to help us celebrate the holidays. Sam sent their Boston Lager and Ruby Mild. Their lager is, of course, familiar to all - certainly one of the best lagers out there. Ruby Mild was an interesting beer. It had a nice nutty, caramel sweet taste (though not overly so). It is, as the name implies, mild - as in a very easy drinking and pleasant beer. Very nice session
beer.

Saranac sent along a nice selection of beers: their Pale Ale, Spice Christmas Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, 4059 Porter, Decoction Concoction, and Moonshadow Black IPA. It is, in fact, the beers from this year's 12 Beers of Winter. As you might guess, our favorite was the Moonshadow Black IPA. It had a nice solid hop kick to it that blended well with the dark malts. But the 4059 Porter was a really tasty brew - a porter with a nice little hop kick to it also. Decoction Concoction made for a nice session beer - it's a red lager that tastes like a pale ale. The  was a drinkable mildly spiced ale. A touch of ginger, perhaps. Lighter bodied and more of a session beer than a lot of Christmas beers, which is not a bad thing; some are just so heavily spiced that they lose their basic beer-ness. The Belgian is very representative of that style.
Christmas Ale

Just got a look at Saranac's Twelve Beers a Springing mixed 12 and it looks good. It includes Prism White Ale, Forbidden IPA, Red IPA, Dry Hopped Lager, and Irish Stout. Another reason to look forward to spring.

A Tip of the Mug and a Wag of the Finger

When we began this beer Odyssey a few years ago, we contacted a number of craft breweries to see if we could get any samples sent to us to rate. A shameless attempt to obtain free beer, you say? Well, yes. But, on the other hand, we would be discussing their beer in a forum that would reach literally thousands of craft beer lovers.Through Dan's relentless pursuit, we were able to get a number of breweries on board. But a funny thing happened on the way to the blog - with some of these breweries (which shall remain nameless) all was well until we gave a negative review of one of their beers. Then suddenly it was crickets out there. Our reviews are never nasty, they are simply honest. If we liked a beer, we said so, if not we merely say it's not our pint of brew, so to speak. Didn't matter. Suddenly, no more beer, no more correspondence. This is not the case with both Sam Adams and Saranac. We have reviewed several of their beers and the results have ranged from "Leave it on the Shelf" to "Can't Get Enough!" These breweries get that not every beer will appeal to every taste - and that's okay. If we aren't honest about the beers we aren't crazy about, how can we be trusted when we say a beer is great? So... A tip of the mug to Saranac and Sam. A wag of the finger to those who can't handle our truth!

If You Can't Make It Good, Make It Cold

I've never been a big fan of the taste of milk. Even as a kid. I liked it on cereal or with a cookie, but not just plain. Not without something else to mask the taste. Then one day the parents of a friend of mine installed one of those milk dispensers like they have in restaurants. You know, those big metal refrigerated units you load up with big plastic bags filled with milk. The bag has a little hose that sticks out of the bottom of the unit and you dispense the milk by lifting up on a big handle. For whatever reason, the milk that came out of that dispenser was ice cold, and I found I could down a glass of it on its own. Why? Well, it was ice cold, as I said, and the colder something is, the harder it is for our taste buds to perceive the taste. It is why a good red wine should never be chilled, and why frozen products such as ice cream and shushees need to be so sweet. While people have known this for years, the underlying cause of this phenomenon was revealed in a study by researchers at Belgium's Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. They identified microscopic channels in our tastebuds - called TREM5 - which they determined were responsible for perceiving different tastes at different temperatures. As the temperature of liquid or food increases, our ability to perceive the taste increases. (Food Navigator.com)

So, what do you do if you have a product that doesn't really have much in the way of flavor to begin with? How do you market said product which, for the sake of argument, is an adult libation? Check out those Coors Light commercials for a hint. Nothing about hops, malt, or taste - just cold. They even make cans that tell you when the beer is cold enough. The overriding motif of all of their ads is ice, ice, baby. The whole marketing strategy is based on temperature, and for good reason. Ever had a light beer that wasn't ice cold? Awful!

On the other hand, I had some beer in our unheated solar room the other day (or what I like to call my walk-in beer cooler in the winter). I grabbed a Flower Power and was a bit disappointed that I wasn't getting my usual hop fix. Then I realized the outside temperature was sub-zero, making the temperature in the solar room in the thirties. I allowed the beer to warm a bit and was rewarded with the hoppy deliciousness I had come to expect. 

I remember for years hearing of the horrors of warm beer in places like England. The truth is today most any British bar will have Bud or Miller or Coors Light served ice cold. It is the locally brewed beers, usually on old fashioned pump taps pulling the beer from kegs stored in the basement at around 45 - 55 degrees that are perceived as warm because they're not ice cold. Thing is, they're also good. The reason they don't need to be ice cold? Flavor.

Is Bitter Better?

These are general levels - various brewers may well
color outside these lines.

International Bittering Units (IBUs) is a measurement of a beers perceived bitterness. Beers range from a low of around 5 for some light lagers to a high of 100 for some potent IPAs. (Some brewers claim to exceed the 100 IBU mark, but the official scale tops out at 100). For comparison purposes, Budweiser Lager comes in at around 12 IBUs, Guinness Stout at around 40, while Ithaca's Flower Power weighs in at 75 IBUs. It is the addition of hops that gives beer its bitterness. The balancing act between hops and malts is one of the things that can make beers of a similar style so markedly different. Some brewers prefer to pour on the hops when they make their IPAs, pushing the IBUs into the upper range of the scale - that 70 - 100 range. Others like to balance out the hops with a maltier presence, bringing the IBUs down into the 60s (and really, anything below 60 shouldn't be called an IPA - I'm talking to you Henry Weinhard Woodland Pass IPA at a paltry 43 IBUs). 

So why is bitter a good thing? Don't we associate bitterness with an unpleasant taste? Ever taken a bite of pure baking chocolate? That is unbridled bitterness, and it is not pleasant at all. Obviously many beer drinkers prefer a beer with a low bitterness factor. Thus the popularity of Bud, Miller, Coors etc. But hops don't just impart bitterness, they also give beers flavors variously described as citrusy or piney or spicy or earthy or flowery, depending upon the hop variety. Add to that the flavors contributed by the malts and yeast and now there is a complexity that fills the mouth rather than merely quenching the thirst. 

Next Month - Black or Dark Beers -

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys