Hop-ology - Please Sir, Can We Have Some More?

Sherman on the Mount

A Beer By Any Other Name
Or
How About a Shot of Culture With that Beer?

Juliet:

     'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

     Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

     What's a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,

     Nor arm, nor face nor any other part

     Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

     What's in a name? That which we call a rose

     By any other name would smell as sweet;

     So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd

     Retain that dear perfection which he owes 

     Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,

     And for that name which is no part of thee

     Take all myself.

Wise words from the oh-so-much-wiser-than-her-age (around 13) Juliet in Shakespeare's immortal Romeo and Juliet. Put simply: it matters not what someone (or something) is called, but who (or what) they (it) actually are (is.) In the case of our famous star-crossed lovers, Romeo is a Montague and the Montagues and Capulets (Juliet's family) were the Hatfields and McCoys of Shakespeare's Verona. Therefore, by dint of his name alone, Juliet is supposed to hate him. (Luckily, in our modern and enlightened world such arbitrary judgments based on such trivial things as one's last name, skin color or religion have long since vanished.)

Yet, prodded by teenage hormones and the machinations of masquerade ball chicanery, she gets to know the boy before she knows the name. Of course the whole thing ended in a three day affair, a secret marriage and six dead, but her point is, none-the-less, well taken.

In the world of brewing, however, there is much in a name (how's that for a segue?). Budweiser years ago branded itself "The King of Beers," and when it comes to production, marketing and sales, who can argue? Budweiser created a legion of brand loyalists not by brewing the best beer, but by hiring the very best advertising agencies. Budweiser is undoubtedly the King of Image. Budweiser sells macho, red-blooded American rugged individualism like nobody's business. Bud Lite goes after the younger crowd, while maintaining its "boys' club" vibe. It's been brilliant marketing of a somewhat bland lager that has kept it at the top of the heap of bland lagers. 

Look, I have nothing against Budweiser, per se. It's just that Anheuser-Busch products are like those invasive species of weeds. It is everywhere. Any venue that sells beer will have A-B beers. But like the way those weeds can dominate a landscape, forcing out all other forms of vegetation, A-B beers tend to hog space that could be available for other, more interesting beers. Shelf space in a store, taps in a bar. These are limited commodities and A-B products demand so much of it, followed by Miller/Coors, that in many places your choice is no choice. Craft beers are crowded out. In a typical bar, by the time taps are set aside for Bud, Bud Lite, Bud Select, Miller, Miller Lite, Miller 56 (or whatever the hell the number is), Coors Light, Blue Moon, Shocktop and maybe,if you're lucky, Sam Adams Boston Lager, what's left? Well, if it's in the summer, you might get a seasonal, which is another light, fruit-flavored beer.  So your choice is Lager, Lite Lager or Light fruity Lager.

Why is this so? Because the the big breweries have the power. What's in a name? Well, if you're Budweiser, everything.

Once upon a time the Battle of the Beers was Budweiser vs. Miller vs. Schlitz (yes, Schlitz). Today it is the mega brewers vs. the craft beer industry. As far as volume is concerned, it is no contest. The big guys easily kick the craft brewers' collective butts. But the little guys are slowly making gains. Each year for the last several years, craft brewing's piece of the pie has grown. And the big guys have taken notice. This all begs the question: why don't the big breweries brew their own "craft" beers? Why is there no Budweiser IPA? No Miller Stout? No Coors Porter? Instead they get lighter and lighter in a race to see who can, in fact, get closest to water (or, as the joke goes, make love in a canoe).

The answer, I suspect, lies in the philosophies of the two industries: love of money vs. love of beer. This is not to suggest that craft brewers have no interest in making money. Indeed, most of them produce a somewhat middle-of-the-road brew that appeals to a wider base - consider Sam Adams Lager and Sam Adams Light - and most produce a fruity seasonal that sells very well. There are more and more Shandies out there. But they also brew full-bodied beers with complex flavors. To do so requires costly ingredients: barley malt instead of corn and rice; copious amounts of hops. So, where the craft brewers opt to put their money into making good beer, the big guys would rather keep making the same old same old and put their money into making good commercials.

Hooray For Rye 
He's Our Kind of Guy

One of the recent trends in craft brewing has been the movement toward Rye IPAs and it has been a tasty trend. There is something about the use of rye that produces a fuller, rounder flavor that just fills the mouth. S-N's Ruthless Rye is a great example, and Harpoon at long last has released their Rich and Dan's Rye IPA which we were lucky enough to review back in May. We found it a terrific "Can't get enough!" brew and have been waiting patiently (well, not that patiently) for it to arrive in stores. I found it in a Wegman's and immediately bought all they had on the shelf. At a time when summer beers dominate the shelves, it was great to see this one bucking the fruity trend.

Samuel Adams Hop-ology - a Mixed 12 For the Ages

Last summer, Samuel Adams made a limited release 12-pack of Latitude 48 called Latitude 48 Deconstructed. It was marvelous. Just as summer rolled around again, we felt a great deal of nostalgia for Deconstructed, and Sam came out with a new limited-release that caught our attention - IPA Hop-ology. First of all, anything with the word "hop" in it makes us sit up and take notice. It's kind of like that old "SEX - now that I have your attention" gambit. Well, HOP got our attention. And upon closer inspection we found the mixed-12 had 6 intriguing beers: Latitude 48, Grumpy Monk Belgian IPA, Whitewater IPA, Tasman Red, Dark Depths, and Third Voyage. Whereas last month we looked at what I referred to as "the lighter side of Sam" with some level of interest and professional curiosity, this month we dove into some of Sam's more complex brews with great anticipation. 

GRUMPY MONK  BELGIAN IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 5.7 ABV - 55 IBU Color: 13 SRM - Malt: Sam Adams two-row pale malt, Bohemian pils malt, Honey malt. Hops: Ahtanum, Simcoe, Cascade, Amarillo, Fuggles, Saaz. Yeast: Belgian ale Yeast - First Brewed 2009

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Our inspiration for this brew began with the idea of taking some of the elements we loved about IPAs, with their citrusy, piney character, and seeing what happened when we combined it with other style influences...The result is golden ale with layers of complex flavor from apricot and clove, to a cereal maltiness, and a citrusy hop finish."

POUR: Decent head, foamy and white

COLOR: Rich yellow/honey

AROMA: Floral and pleasantly summery

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Nicely balanced, with notes of muted clove and a slight bit of bready maltiness.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: A little beyond "I could drink this!"

COMMENTS: "If you hop it, they will come; Nice hoppiness that's pleasant, balanced with a nice malt; Sweet on the lips - slightly bitter after; For a Belgian, it tastes good to me; A good summer beer; A boat or lawnmower beer; The label is good to look at, the Monk is grumpy because his stein is empty; Nice artwork on the labels."

WHITEWATER IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 5.8% ABV - 60 IBUs - COLOR: 14 SRM - MALTS: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend and white wheat - HOPS: Australian Topaz, Ameriaca Chinook, Cascade, Simcoe, Citra - YEAST: Samuel Adams ale yeast - SPECIAL INGREDIENTS: Orange peel, coriander, apricot - AVAILABLE: Year round - FIRST BREWED: 2012

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "We love hops at Samuel Adams, and while we enjoy traditional IPAs, we thought we might spice things up a little bit, literally, by combining the intense hop character of an IPA with the crisp spicy wheat charcter of a Belgian-style white ale."

POUR: Decent off-white head about a finger's worth, and cloudy (unfiltered)

COLOR: Honey

AROMA: Bready/earthy

BODY: Medium

TASTE: A little sweet and spicy up front with a bitter hoppiness at the finish, with bready notes and a hint of apricot.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Pretty much midway between "I could drink this" and "Can't get enough."

COMMENTS: "Reminds me of Saranac's White IPA, but maybe not quite as hoppy; There is a pine aftertaste; The label says there is an apricot taste, but I can't taste it; I like this - it's a good beer; It's a beer that's good to sit around the pool with; A wheat that doesn't taste like a wheat; It's a nice summer beer."

LATITUDE 48 IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 6% ABV - 60 IBUs - COLOR: 20 SRM - MALT: Samuel Adams 2-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, Gambrinus Honey Malt - HOPS: Hallertau Mittelfrueh Nobel hops, East Kent Goldings, Zeus, Simcoe, Ahtanum - YEAST: Samuel Adams Ale Yeast - Available year round - FIRST BREWED: 2009.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA is a unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48th latitude within the "hop belt" of the Northern Hemisphere. The combination of hops in this beer creates a distinctive but not overpowering hop character."

POUR: Decent whitish head with about a finger's worth of foam. It, too, is cloudy (unfiltered.) 

COLOR: Dark honey to amber

 
AROMA: Deliciously hoppy

BODY: Between medium and full

TASTE: Hoppy/bitter with notes of grapefruit hops and malt

OVERALL IMPRESSION: "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "It attacks the tongue; That's a good beer!; It's brewed with a lot of hops and a lot of malt; It's a big beer; There's a nice bitter aftertaste that makes you want to go to the next sip; A reasonably priced, really good IPA; Aptly named as it has a lot of 'latitude'; You can taste the deconstructed hops; A good 'hide it from the company' beer."

TASMAN RED IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 6.75% ABV - 60 IBUs - COLOR: 14 SRM - MALTS: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Special B, and Carafa III - HOPS: Australian Topaz, Galaxy - YEAST: Samuel Adams ale yeast - AVAILABILITY: limited release - FIRST BREWED: 2011.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: Bold, lively, and a bit rugged, this wily red IPA gets its character from the Tasmanian hops that are full of grapefruit, pine, and earthy notes, creating a bold flavor that threads throughout the taste...This flavorful brew is rounded and smooth with a dry and citrusy hop finish."

POUR: Decent creamy head with good retention.

COLOR: Brown with hints of red (maybe auburn)

AROMA: Sort of a coffee aroma

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Not an overwhelming hops taste, but a complex flavor. Perhaps a bit of licorice with notes of roasty malt, toffee and coffee, with a bit of a bitter finish

OVERALL IMPRESSION: "I could drink this!"

COMMENTS: "Less balanced and more to the malty side; More Oktoberfest - sweeter and maltier; It would be a GREAT Oktoberfest. It would rule all the other Oktoberfests if it were brewed as such; There's enough alcohol to make you pay attention; It's more of a Porter style IPA than other IPAs."

DARK DEPTH BALTIC IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 7.6% ABV - 55 IBUs - COLOR: 60 SRM - MALT: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, Munich, Carafa I - HOPS: Zeus, Ahtanum, Saaz, East Kent Goldings, Topaz, Simcoe - YEAST: Samuel Adams lager yeast - AVAILABILITY: limited - FIRST BREWED: 2011 - OTHER STUFF: Despite IPA (India Pale ALE) in its name, Dark Depth is technically a LAGER which began life as a PORTER. 

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Dark and fierce, this English porter was transformed form a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that's rugged, mysterious and full of flavor."

POUR: Decent creamy, off-white head with good retention

COLOR: Dark mahogany

AROMA: Vanilla and sorghum

BODY: Thick/full

TASTE: Sweet with notes of caramel toffee

OVERALL IMPRESSION: "I could drink this!"

COMMENTS: "It's a dessert beer; Has the taste of a Baltic Porter; Tastes like molasses/sorghum; I'd drink it if it's all I had in my fridge; It's a good 'kick back beer' - drink one and head to bed."

THIRD VOYAGE DOUBLE IPA

THE BEER FACTS: 8% ABV - 80 IBUs - COLOR: 24 SRM - MALT: Samuel Adams two-row malt blend - Caramalt, honey malt - HOPS: Cascade, Simcoe, Zeus, Summer Saaz - YEAST: Samuel Adams ale yeast - AVAILABILITY: limited - FIRST BREWED: 2011

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Bright and intense with a vivid hop punch. Third Voyage features Cascade hops from different growing regions throughout the world. The unique conditions of soil, moisture, and sunlight from each yield subtle differences that make this beer a complex medley of hop notes."

POUR: Decent creamy off-white head with respectable retention.

COLOR: Rich amber

AROMA: A little yeast, raw bread dough, cookie dough

BODY: Very near full/thick

TASTE: Balanced - it has a "double" taste to it, malty with a bitter finish

OVERALL IMPRESSION: "Can't get enough!"

COMMENTS: "This is the star of the 12-pack; It dwarfs the rest; An aftertaste that screams, 'More of me'; The aroma is concealed by the full mouth taste; A real sailor's beer; Hoppy-malty-bitter - it's a three tiered taste!"

AND THE WINNER IS...

...In a word: "us." Six terrific beers in one 12 pack. No losers. Wow! Our overall favorite was probably Third Voyage with Latitude 48 a close second. The others were all delicious, with each of us preferring some better than others. But overall, we'd like to see Sam make this available year round!

The Gold Medal Goes to: Third Voyage

The Silver Medal Goes to: Latitude 48

The Bronze Medal Goes to: Tasman Red

Tough call on the last three. There was a kind of a split between Dark Depths and Whitewater, with the nod going to Whitewater by a nose. Grumpy Monk we saw as nice boat beer, pretty easy-drinking and a mild alcohol profile. So...

4. Whitewater
5. Dark Depths
6. Grumpy Monk

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys 

The Lighter Side of Sam Adams

Sherman on the Mount
By Rick Sherman

Craft Brew, Micobrew, Brewpub. Terminology in any subject can be tricky. Any given profession or hobby has its own insider language that can be somewhat intimidating to the novice. Beer is no exception. First of all there is the distinction between Ale and Lager. What's the dif? (Basically, it's in the yeast. Yeast used in lagers do their wondrous work at lower temperatures. Beyond that, ales tend to be more flavorful and fuller bodied than lagers. But not always.)

Then we have the various styles of beer: IPA's, Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, Pilsners, Kolsch, Belgians, Wheat, Altbier, Oktoberfest, Brown Ale, Old Ale, Strong Ale, Imperials. Then within each style are various sub-categories: Smoked Porter, Chocolate Stouts, Black IPA's, Cherry Wheat and so on. One can also delve into the merits of German vs. Belgian vs. English vs. American beers (we are not talking about the mega-brewed American beers here.)

Then there are the abbreviations: ABV (Alcohol By Volume), IBU (International Bittering Units), SRM (Standard Reference Method - referring to the color of beer), OG (Original Gravity), FG (Final Gravity).

SRM Chart which designates a beer's color.

It all can be somewhat confusing and a bit intimidating. I have a brother-in-law who drinks nothing but meg brew light lagers who lumps everything else under the blanket heading of "weird beers." ("I don't know how you can drink that shit, it's like drinking tar!")

So what constitutes a craft beer? For that matter, is there a difference between craft brewery and microbrewery?  The American Brewers Association defines a craft brewer as "small, independent and traditional." It cannot be more than 24% owned by another alcoholic beverage company which itself is not a craft brewery. "Small" is defined further as not producing more than 6,000,000 barrels per year. A sub-category of Craft Brewing is the Microbrew. To be considered a microbrewery, the brewery can produce no more than 15,000 barrels per year. A brewpub is one which both brews and sells the majority of its beer on the premises.

But perhaps the most important requirement for inclusion in the craft brew club has to do with the ingredients which go into making the beer. The mega-breweries use corn and rice as adjuncts in place of barley-malt. This allows them to make a much cheaper product, but it also makes for a much less flavorful beer. To be considered a regional craft brewery the brewery must produce and all-malt flagship beer or have at least 50% of it's production all-malt beers or "beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor."

This month we take a look at some beers brewed by the Boston Beer Company - more familiarly known as Sam Adams. The Boston Beer Company is the largest craft brewer in America. As far as their standing with all American brewers, they are the fifth largest. The top five are: 1.Anheuser-Busch, 2.MillerCoors, 3.Pabst, 4. Yuengling, 5. Boston Beer.

Sam Adams produces an amazing array of styles. Their flagship Sam Adams Boston Lager is one of the better straight-up lagers you'll find and they make a light that is actually drinkable. While these are probably their best selling beers, they are by no means their best beers. Today we'll take a look at what we are calling the "lighter side" of Sam Adams. Next month we delve into what I have deemed "Best Mixed 12 Pack EVER!" as we check out their IPA Hop-ology.

We met this month at the Clarks' place, where the Salmon River meets Lake Ontario. Herb, ever the gracious host, served some Old Marcus fresh from the tap while we awaited the arrival of the rest of the crew. Old Marcus, brewed locally by Middle Ages Brewing in Syracuse, NY, is a favorite of ours, so it was an excellent beer to enjoy before we got down to business.

The selection from Sam Adams gave us a chance to do something we wouldn't normally do if left to our own devices: drink summer seasonals and lighter (but not lite!) style beers. Actually, these beers resulted in some lively debate.

Sherman off the Mount

SAMUEL ADAMS SUMMER ALE

THE BEER FACTS: 5.3% ABV, 7 IBU's  Style:American Summer wheat ale. Malts: 2-row pale malt blend and malted wheat. Hops: Hallertau Mittlefrueh Noble Hops. Additional stuff: Lemons and Grains of Paradise.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: This summer seasonal uses malted wheat, lemon peel and Grains of Paradise, a rare pepper from Africa first used as a brewing spice in the 13th century, to create a crisp taste, spicy flavor and medium body. The ale fermentation imparts a background tropical fruit note reminiscent of mangoes and peaches. All of these flavors come together to create a thirst quenching, clean finishing beer perfect for those warm summer days.

POUR:  Decent head, average staying power, maintains nice lacing

COLOR: Pale Yellow, unfiltered

AROMA: Spice/floral wheat beer aroma. No overpowering aroma

BODY: Thin/light   

TASTE: Sweet, lemony and spicy. Light.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: "Leave it on the shelf."

COMMENTS: "It tastes like summer shandy; It's definitely a wheat; It is really light; It lacks boldness; It surely is lemony; Not very memorable."

SAMUEL ADAMS CHERRY WHEAT

THE BEER FACTS: 5.3% ABV - 23 IBU - Style: Ale brewed with Cherries; Malt: 2-row pale malt blend, Munich 10 and malted wheat.  Hops: Hallertau Mittlefrueh Noble Hops. Additional Stuff:

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: The sweet fruitiness of the cherries is balanced against the crisp cereal note from the malted wheat and the subtle citrus flavor from the Noble hops. A touch of honey is also added for sweetness. The end result is a sweet, refreshing beer that is light on the palatebut long on complexity.

POUR: Moderate head with not much residual lacing

COLOR: Fairly pale yellow

AROMA: Sweet with a definite cherry aroma

BODY: Light/thin

TASTE: Sweet, with strong notes of cherries

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Most felt they would "leave it on the shelf"

COMMENTS: "It tastes like Saratoga Cherry Soda; My wife would drink this; I'd drink this over the Summer Ale; It's too sweet; Reminds me of the Maraschino cherry on the top of a sundae; Tastes to me of Smith Brothers Cough Drops."

SAMUEL ADAMS NOBLE PILS

THE BEER FACTS: 4.9% ABV; 34 IBUs; Style: Pilsner; Malts: 2-row pale malt blend, Pilsner malt; Hops: Hallertau Mittlefrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter, Saaz, Hersbrucker Noble Hops.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Samuel Adams Nobel Pils is brewed with all 5 Noble hops for a distinct hop character and fresh taste. Deep golden in color with a citrusy hop aroma, Samuel Adams Noble Pils is a traditional Bohemian Pilsner. The honeyed malt character from traditional Bohemian malt is balanced by delicate yet pronounced citrus, floral and piney notes from the Noble hops. The winner of our 2009 Beer Lover's Choice election, this beer was chosen by over 67,000 drinker for its crisp complexity and refreshing taste."

POUR: Decent head that dissipates rather quickly, leaving a good lace

COLOR: Wheat

AROMA: Yeasty

BODY: Light/thin

TASTE: Fairly balanced with a nice bitter finish. Tehre are notes of primarily floral and pin from the noble hops in the batch.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: "I Could Drink This!"

COMMENTS: "I could drink that in the summertime; Lights up the mouth; A decent beer; I see it as a lawnmower or boat beer, especially at 4.9%; It has a nice bitter finish; If I weren't a hop head and hops freak, I'd really like it; It's the best pilsner I've ever had; Has a clean finish."

SAM ADAMS EAST-WEST KOLSCH

THE BEER FACTS: 5% ABV; 15 IBU's  Style: German Kolsch; Malt: two-row pale malt blend, wheat, and Bohemian pils malt; Hops:Spalt Spalter and Strisselspalt. 

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Light and fragrant, Samuel Adams East West Kolsch has a floral and herbal character that balances the refreshing German Kolsch style. A classic Kolsch is less bitter than a pilsner with a slightly fruity and sweet biscuit note. For our version we wanted to create a bright fresh flaovr by aging the beer on a bed of Jasmine Sambac, a fragrant night blooming flower from Southeast Asia. The Jasmine creates a delicate floral aroma and flavor for a wonderfully complex and refreshing brew."

POUR: A better than decent head, which was fairly white and lingering.

COLOR: Wheat

AROMA: Clean and floral

BODY: Less than medium, but fuller than light/thin

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!

COMMENTS: "Inoffensive; It may quench your thirst; I liked the Pils better; It tastes like a Kolsch; Clean and smooth; If you had somebody who hadn't drunk beer before, you could give them this and they'd like it; Completely balanced; It may well be the best Kolsch I've ever tasted."

SAMUEL ADAMS BOSTON LAGER

THE BEER FACTS:  Samuel Adams' flagship brew - 4.9% ABV; 30 IBUs; Malts: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend and Caramel 90. Hops: Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger Nobel Hops

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: Samuel Adams Boston Lager is an excellent example of the fundamentals of a great beer, offering a full, rich flavor that is both balanced and complex. The unique flavor is the result of a perfect combination of our signature hand selected ingredients and a traditional four vessel brewing process.

POUR: A decent head, decent staying power

COLOR: Golden amber

AROMA: A slight aroma of hops, but you wouldn't say it has a hoppy smell

TASTE: Just below medium

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: "I could drink this!"

COMMENTS: "It's the old stand-by at many restaurants; An excellent lager; One of the better lagers you're going to get; There's sweetness in this; It is enjoyable, And that's saying a lot! (considering we're talking about a lager)."

SAMUEL ADAMS BELGIAN SESSION

THE BEER FACTS:  4.2% ABV; 16 IBUs; Style: Belgian Pale Ale; Malts: Samuel Adams Two-Row Pale Malt Blend, Gambrinus Honey Malt; Hops: Hallertau Mittlefrueh Noble Hops, Hersbrucker, and Strisselspalt.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Samuel Adams Belgian Session takes a traditional Belgian beer and brews it with a twist to create a crisp, lighter version of this classic style. Thsi limited-release is specially brewedto be light and refreshing for the summer. Fruity, slightly spicy flavors from the Belgian yeast are balanced by toffee and caramel notes from our blend of malts. The hops contribute a citrus character that rounds out this enjoyable brew."

POUR: A decent off-white color head

COLOR: honey

AROMA: spicy

TASTE: Spicy - probably cloves, and notes of bread

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Toward the "Leave it on the shelf" end.

COMMENTS: "Why do they put coriander and cloves in beer? It's like a dessert beer; Granny Apple pie and a Belgian Session; There's something a little different here, like fresh linen; I like the label; There's a little cherry back-taste - like a dark black cherry; It's better than Cherry Wheat."

THE  VERDICT

As any reader of this blog knows, lighter beers, fruit beers, wheat beers are not really our pints of choice. We like hops, and lots of 'em. 

~Not surprisingly, our overall favorite of Sam's lighter side was the Nobel Pils. Everyone felt it had a nice hop punch to it that put it several notches above your average Pilsner (in our collective humble opinions). 

~We enjoyed the East-West Kolsch and thought it would be a pretty decent session beer and one of the better examples of the Kolsch style. 

~Samuel Adams Lager is always a fine "standby beer." We all agreed that it was by far superior to any other straight-up lager (think A-B and Miller/Coors flagship beers) in that it actually has flavor and some hops presence. 

~ The Summer Ale was a pretty typical summer ale - lemony and light. Not a beer for us, but many people like this style and it is very popular.

~ Ditto with the Cherry Wheat. Some actually preferred this to the Summer Ale. Again, as mentioned, I have known people who absolutely love this beer. I am not one of them.

~The Belgian Session was also not one we would seek out. Again that dreaded word: light! We like craft beers because they are NOT light. But of the three that scored "Leave It On The Shelf," this was the one we'd be most likely to pick up.

Up Next Samuel Adams Hop-Ology IPA Mix

Two words: Oh boy!

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

Harpoon, Eddy and Arizona Beer

Beer on the Run Con't
Arizona Redux

If Arizona has a state color, it has to be brown: amber, beige, buff, burnt sienna, chestnut, coffee, dust, ecru, fawn, henna, mahogany, ochre, russet, rust, sepia, sorrel, tan, terra-cotta, toast, umber. Multiple shades of brown - and Arizona has them all. The yards are brown, playgrounds are brown, the multitude of stucco buildings are brown. Arizona's mountains' majesty is not purple but brown. 

The landscape is the very definition of hardscrabble. It is rocks and dirt and spiky plants. If the cities of the Northeastern rust belt are known for their "mean streets" then the deserts of Arizona are the "mean plains." Life is harsh. Water is sparse.                      

 It's adapt or die.

But it is the contrast of the burnt earth with the brilliant blue sky that creates a dramatic, severe beauty that is the American Southwest.

So,after a quick and profitable (beer-wise) trip to Florida, we headed to the this arid land for a few weeks, just North of the Mexican border in the little town of Sierra Vista, Arizona. We were on a grand-kids sitting mission while our daughter and son-in-law flew to Korea to pick up their new son.

So while there, I thought I'd check out the state of craft beer in the state of Arizona.

Last time here I found a limited number of craft beers - primarily Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada. However, in just a short period of time, the choices have grown exponentially, especially in the local Safeway and Frys grocery stores (local restaurants for the most part have yet to fully embrace craft beers). Safeway particularly has a nice selection in their fairly extensive craft beer section. It's not up there with Wegman's, but it's decent. The biggest surprise was something called "Double Take." There was an Amber and an IPA. I immediately checked them out and to my surprise, found that the beers were brewed in Rochester, New York (about an hour west of the BOTB home base)! I picked up a six pack of Double Take IPA. The packaging shows a curvaceous blond with the slogan, "It's a Head Snapper" (you are free to infer any double entendre you wish). The price was quite reasonable at under $7.00 for the six pack. I also grabbed a sixer of O'Dell's India Pale Ale as well. 

Once back at the ranch I did a little Googling and found that Double Take is brewed by Genesee Brewing. While Genesee has been brewing its Dundee series for a few years now, most of those beers are not particularly hoppy, so I was a bit concerned. It poured a kind of honey-amber in color with a full, rich head. The piney hops aroma leaps out of the glass. Hops absolutely dominate this tasty West-Coast style IPA. Brewed with Chinook, Centennial, and Columbus hops, the brew weighs in at 6.9% ABV with a very impressive 70 IBU. Pale, Chrystal, and Wheat malts balance somewhat, but, really, this beer is all about the hops. Unfortunately, for some reason the beer is not available in the very state in which it is brewed! Genesee sells it through Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, and Carrs. Hey, Genesee, what gives? Wegmans?

O'Dell's IPA, from O'Dell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado is  a more balanced beer than the Double Take. It's a tad bit stronger (7% vs 6.9%) but with less of a hop kick (60 IBU's vs. DT's 70). It's a clear honey gold in color with a nice head. It tends toward the more traditional English IPA brewed with American hops. It's a very smooth beer. Full flavored with a rich, malty backbone, nicely hopped.

But what about beer produced in Arizona? There are some good ones. Nimbus Brewery in Tucson has a nice bunch of brews. I was able to get hold of their Old Monkeyshine Strong Ale at a restaurant. Very nice beer. It's fairly potent at 8.2% ABV, yet you wouldn't know it. It's quite smooth with hints of raisin and dark fruit. Tasty.

Further north (we were down near the Mexican border) in Chandler is SanTan Brewery. I had a number of their beers - the best being their Devil's Ale (American pale ale), and their Hop Scotch IPA. Devil's Ale had won a gold in the GABF and Hop Scotch a silver. Both are excellent beers. Wish we could get hold of the IPA up our way.

Why Oh Why Gen X and Gen Y?

A recent article in USA Today on the craft brewing boom was quite interesting. It covers some of the points we mentioned previously concerning increasing sales and popularity of craft beers. The article then speculates on the causes of this increase. One theory proposed by Anheuser-Busch's vice president of marketing is that it is the Gen Y and GenXer's who are spearheading this growth. He feels that members of these groups are used to a lot more variety. Implied here is that the baby boomers are the ones who stick with the same old same old when it comes to beer. It seems an odd theory coming from A-B, the company whose concept of variety is to put the same basic beer in a variety of different containers. And if this is indeed the demographic driving the craft beer revolution, why do all of the Budweiser ads aim squarely at those age groups, ignoring the ones they consider their loyal consumers?

Personally I think the GenX/GenY argument is nonsense. It implies that after a certain age, say North of 50, everyone becomes hopelessly stuck in their ways and is unwilling to try anything new. I think it has little to do with age. There are those out there who seek out new and interesting experiences in food and drink at all ages. For years there was little for these people to choose from in American beer other than light lager and lighter lager. With the increasing availability of craft brews, they are discovering the joy of beer with real flavor. The bad news for A-B and the other mega-brewers is that once you develop a taste for good beer, there's no going back to the same old same old.

No matter what generation you're a part of - X'er, Y'er or Boomer.

MOSTLY HARPOON WITH A LITTLE BIG EDDY

Alas, I was not present for this particular meeting. We were, as I mentioned, in Arizona awaiting the arrival of our newest grandson. From the sounds of it, we missed a great meeting. At this time, therefore, I will turn the controls over to Ron, our peerless statistician and recorder of comments.

I'm of the belief that we just plain live right. For the umpteenth consecutive meeting, the weather was just beautiful for the latest Battle of the Beers tastings. The meeting was at our place in Pulaski. We were down a man, but we carried on.

As the heading indicates, the tastings this particular evening were mostly beers from Harpoon Brewery, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts. The samples Harpoon sent us were: Summer Beer, UFO, Rye IPA, IPA, Black IPA, Catamount Maple Wheat, Uber-Bock and Imperial IPA.
But before we get to these, a couple of shout-outs need to be acknowledged. Firstly, to Tom Stevens, who is a friend of Hal with a condo in the Grand Tetons. He sent a 12 pack of Grand Teton sampler. This included: Teton Ale (an amber), Howling Wolf (a weisse beer), Sweetgrass (American Pale Ale) and Bitch Creek (Extra Special Brown).  We didn't rate these, but enjoyed them prior to our official ratings. These are not available east of the Mississippi except to a distributor in Massachusetts and South Carolina. Although we didn't actuallly rate these samples, we did enjoy them and seemed to gravitate to the Sweetgrass.
A second shout-out goes to Leinenkugel, who sent us a sample of their Imperial IPA from their Big Eddy series. We did rate this after the Harpoons and the results will follow the main event.

Harpoon Summer Beer

Our meeting commenced with Harpoon's Summer Beer. This is a Kolsch style ale witha 5.0% ABV. It is available from April through August.

     Color: Pale yellow
     Pour: Decent head, fizzy and carbonated
     Aroma: Yeasty/bready
     Taste: Not much, a good lawn mower beer. Balanced - neither malty nor hoppy.
     Overall Impression: As would be expected - between "Can't stand it" and " I could drink this."
     Comments: "Good example of the style; A nice golf cart beer; Could be a boat beer; It's a good light summer beer; I would take this on a golf course before Coors Lite; It has a nice bitter, clean finish."

Harpoon UFO

     Rick's Notes: Thanks to Dan, I was able to sample some of the beers - including the Summer Beer. I felt it reminded me of a Pilsner - both in aroma and initial taste. Light, unoffensive beer. Best ice cold.

Our next beer, form Harpoon, was their UFO, a white unfiltered wheat beer. It has year-round availability in six-packs. It has an ABV of 4.8%.

     Color: nice looking, unfiiltered, cloudy, pale
     Pour: decent head, lasting lace
     Aroma: fruity, citrus
     Body: thin/light 
     Taste: sweet with notes of citrus, orange and spices
     Overall Impression: Midway ("I could drink this")
     Comments: "Mysterious translucency; Serve this really cold; I've tasted a lot worse; Light flavor and light malt; Not bad for a wheat beer; Similar to Blue Moon; Better than Circus Boy."

Harpoon's Rich and Dan's Rye IPA

Next on our agenda brought us a nice charge of hops, trying to overcome our deficit brought on by the first two samples. Harpoon makes a delicious Rye IPA, from the brewery's 100 Barrel Series. It has a 6.9% ABV and 70 IBU's.

      Color: honey

      Pour: Decent head with staying power, sort of an off-white foam

      Aroma: citrusy and piney hops

      Body: toward full/thick

      Taste: Very near bitter, hoppy

      Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

      Comments: "Oh my God, I could drink that!; The best I've had from Harpoon; It's better than their regular IPA; I used to keep Harpoon IPA in my fridge, but now I'll keep the Rye IPA; I want more of that."

      Rick's Notes: Excellent beer! Nice hops punch. Even though this is a hops forward brew, there is a nice balance with a warm malty base. Hoppier than their IPA, which I feel is a fairly balanced IPA. I felt it compared nicely with Ruthless Rye for S-N. I'd like to try the two head-to-head some time.

Harpoon IPA

A perennial favorite of the BOTB Guys, we next sampled some Harpoon IPA. A bit less high-octane than the Rye at 5.9% ABV and an IBU of 42.

     Color: Copper

     Pour: Average white head, moderate to little lacing and head retention

     Aroma: Toward the hoppy end

     Body: Between medium and full/thick

     Taste: Somewhat balanced though hop bitterness is in there 

     Overall Impression: Between "I could drink this" and "Can't get enough!"

     Comments: "The Rye kicks its ass; A great IPA; If we'd have had that before the rye, we'd have said, 'Oh my god, that's a great beer'; Nice, clean finish."

     Rick's Notes: Harpoon's IPA is a much more balanced beer than many IPA's and certainly not as hoppy as their Rye. It's a good beer, an easy drinking IPA that aims for a broader appeal than the more intense IPA's out there.

Harpoon's Black IPA

100 Barrel Series

From their 100 Barrel Series, Harpoon Black IPA was next on our palates. It has a 7.0% ABV and 67 IBU's. It is available in 22 ounce bottles and, if you're luck, on tap at your favorite tavern.

     Color: dark, dark - toward black

     Pour: decent chocolate milk color head with good retention and lacing

     Aroma: a nice nose with a cacophony of hops

     Body: toward full/thick

     Taste: hoppy and near bitter

     Overall Impression: Can't get enough!

     Comments: "The best black IPA I've tasted yet; Most other are too malty; Pretty darn good; Smooth...; Nice hop presence; Nice balance."

     Rick's Notes: Had an interesting discussion with Friend of BOTB Jeff over the use of the name "Black IPA" or "Dark IPA." His contention is this: "Since IPA means 'India PALE Ale,' how can something be a black or dark pale ale." Jeff makes an excellent point of course and, as a former English teacher, I appreciate the oxymoronic implication in the name. To me, however, IPA has become a somewhat generic term (like Kleenex or Scotch Tape even when the tissue of tape is produced by neither Kleenex nor 3M), letting the consumer know that the beer is hoppy. I have a much bigger problem with brewers who call their beers IPA when they are clearly not (see Alexander Keith's IPA). Anyhow, I suggest perhaps IDA or IBA (India Dark Ale or India Black Ale) to avoid confusion. 

Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat

100 Barrel Series

We were under a hops spell, and to help snap us out of it for awhile, we were next offered up some Catamount Maple Wheat. That, again, is from the 100 Barrel Series and available, again, in 22 ounce bottles and on tap. The Maple Wheat has a 6.8% ABV and 21 IBU's.

     Color: Amber - like Grade A maple syrup

     Pour: Off-white head that disappeared fairly quickly and left a lingering ring around the glass

     Aroma: Malty to syrupy sweet

     Body: Full/thick

     Taste: Sweet, the maple syrup is evident.

     Overall Impression: I could drink this - a tribute to Harpoon after drinking a few of their fairly hoppy beers.

     Comments: "I'd put it on my waffles; I'd make some jack wax out of it; You could freeze it and make a Popsicle out of it; Has English yeast - tastes like bananas even though they try to disguise it with maple syrup; It's a good introductory beer to craft beers; Good to take to Thanksgiving dinner or other family gatherings."

      Rick's Notes: Didn't get to try this one either, but had a sudden craving for pancakes after reading the reviews.

Harpoon Uber-Bock

Leviathan Series

         Next up (and a month late) was from the Harpoon Leviathan Series: their Uber-Bock. It is pretty big at 9.0% ABV and 26 IBU's. Beers from the Leviathan Series are available in 22 ounce 4-packs.

     Color: brown

     Pour: Decent white head with fairly good retention

     Aroma: yeasty/malty and sweet

     Body: nearing full/thick

     Overall Impression: I could drink this!

     Comments: "It slams you initially; Like a Scotch ale; Very malty, there are no hops in there; Very sweet beer; It reminds me of Troeginator; It's a dessert beer; It reminds me of our brief deviation into Bocks; I could cook with it; It would have fit well into the Doppelbocks series; It's a good, big bock; A winter brew, a by-the-fireplace beer."

     Rick's Notes: Hints of toffee. Detected English yeast. Big, warm beer. Dark fruits in there. Mostly malt and a bit sweet. I agree with the "dessert beer" analysis. Not a session beer. Nice change-of -pace beer.

Harpoon Imperial IPA

Leviathan Series

Finally, from Harpoon and, again, from their Leviathan Series, was their Iperial IPA. It has a 10.0% ABV and claims to weigh in at 120 IBU's. Except for a couple of beers that strayed into the sweeter realm, on would think Harpoon read our blog (and our minds) by supplying some pretty hoppy beers. We thank them mightily.

     Color: amber

     Pour: fairly white and moderate with less than decent head retention

     Aroma: hoppy -citrus and pine

     Body: Full, thick

     Taste: Bitter

     Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

     Comments: "Oh my God, that's a big beer!; Wow!; You can't have more than a few of these; This is a beer and a half; It should have a skull and cross bones on the box; It's like DogfishHead 120; M-m-m-m, that's good; That's a real good double IPA."

     Rick's Notes: Yowza! Really good, complex beer. Amazingly easy to drink despite the aggressive 10% ABV. Nicely hopped, yes. But beyond that, it is one of those beers that just grace the entire palate, it seems.    

Big Eddy Imperial IPA

Leinenkugel Brewery

But, not so fast! Today was bonus day for us. Acoulple meetings ago we had some selections from Leinenkugel Brewer. At that time their Big Eddy series Imperial IPA wasn't available. Now it is, andhere it was. It is brewed with 5 different hops which accounts for its 78 IBU's. It also has a 9.0% ABV.

     Color: Tawny copper/deep honey

     Pour: Decent white head

     Aroma: Way toward hoppy, "Smells like something I could drink."

     Body: Full/thick

     Taste: bitter

     Overall Impression: Can't get enough!

     Comment: "I'd like to put it in a spritzer and just spray myself with it (admittedly this comment came at the end of 5 big beers and 2 IPA's - so we'll cut the reviewer some slack); I like the hoppy assertiveness; It's justice for their Shandy: That's not bad - very smooth; It's bitter, hoppy and smooth."


Up next, some Sam Adams and a few of our favorites.

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys