Make it Black

BEERS - BLACK IN NAME AND/OR COLOR

Deep in the very bowels of winter...

There came a day so dark and drear.

The cold, the wind, the snow did linger 

And yet The Guys had naught to fear,

Without 'twas Old Man's icy finger,

Within some dark and tasty beer.

And what a line-up! Not just a bunch of IBAs (India Black Ale - or perhaps IDA - India Dark Ale?) either. There were arguably five different styles. Because of this they didn't really lend themselves to a head-to-head competition. We tasted 'em and rated 'em - but according to style. We went against normal practice and tasted them at random, rather than according to ABV. Although, for the most part, the biggest beers came toward the end. 

First up was Newcastle Cabbie Black Ale. While Newcastle isn't exactly a craft beer by definition - it's owned by Heineken and in the late '90's was the most widely distributed alcoholic beverage in the UK - it is fun to throw a few foreign brews into the mix to see how they stack up. 

Newcastle Cabbie Black Ale

John Smith Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire 

The Beer Facts: Style: English Dark Mild Ale; ABV: 4.2%; IBU: 25

What the Brewer Says: "Hailed from Britain. The one and only. Featuring notes of various fruits, chocolate and coffee."

Color: Dark Amber

Pour: Heady pour with tight tan bubbles.

Aroma: Malty

Body: Medium to thin.

Taste: Malty yeast with notes of fresh baked bread.

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This.

Comments: "This is a pleasing beer; It reminds me of my grandmother's horehound candy; I think you just like saying 'horehound' but I see your point; A nice dessert beer; It has that Newcastle aroma; There is a little more smoke than with their Nut Brown, but otherwise very much like it; This is a pretty light bodied beer; I could drink it right through a couple football games and still know the scores; It's a little creamy on the tongue."

Wookey Jack

Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Black Rye IPA (or IBRA?); ABV: 8.3%; IBUs: 80; SRM: 45; MALTS: Pale malt, malted rye, Dash of Cara-rye, Midnight wheat from Briess; De-bittered Black Malt, Dash of Wookey Dust. HOPS: German Magnum (bittering), Citra and Amarillo (flavor, aroma and double dry-hopped); MISC.: 2012 Gold Medal Winner for American-style black ale - Great American Beer Festival. 

What the Brewer Says: "A unique twist on the Cascadian Dark Ale style. Wookey Jack offers true hop aroma to rival most IPAs, with pungent citrus and herbal hop nuances, a hint of peppery rye, and earthiness on the nose."

Color: Black (completely opaque) and unfiltered

Pour: An ample dark tan head, with good lacing.

Aroma: A citrus and pine aroma that smells like a hop harvest!

Body: Between medium and full

Taste: A wonderful bitter bite, with notes of dark chocolate, spice, rye and roasted grain.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!!

Comments: "This is on the darker and tempting side; Nice grapefruit hop; It has a nice pungent aroma; It is wonderful; Absolutely delicious beer; It's a little less on the alcohol taste than you would guess; Huge flavor and nice complexity; I love what Firestone Walker did with this; Another great West Coast beer."

Dubhe Imperial Black IPA

Uinta Brewing, Salt Lake City, Utah

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American style Imperial Black IPA; ABV: 9.2%; IBU: claimed 109! (See last month's blog); SRM: 110; MALTS and HOPS: NA

What the Brewer Says: "Toasted chocolaty dark malts align with an astronomical amount of hops." 

Color: Opaque black

Pour: Ample creamy, thick ecru head with decent staying power.

Aroma: Wonderful malty/bready, with pine and citrus hops.

Body: Medium to full

Taste: Initially quite bitter, then a malty backbone. The high IBUs rating is tempered with a strong malt presence.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!!

Comments: "This is a good beer, I could drink this; This would be good on pancakes (???); It has a good tongue bite; Delightful; A lot of alcohol that is not very well disguised; WTF - Salt Lake City?!; Very well made."

Heart of Darkness Stout

Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, Vermont

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Stout; ABV: 5.7%; IBU: 30; SRM: 80; MALTS: Pale, Crystal, Roasted Barley, Chocolate, Munich; HOPS: Apollo, Golding; YEAST: English Ale; AVAILABILITY: October through January.

What the Brewer Says: "Our inky-black stout had a smooth, round palate with a dreamlike undercurrent of bittersweet chocolate. This dense liquid-silk summoned hope from hibernation and balanced winter's endless white snows with a rich swirl of creamy black rapture."

Color: Again, opaque black.

Pour: Decent light brown head, without a great deal of retention.

Aroma: Light grass or hay.

Body: Medium

Taste: Dilute molasses; sorghum; some smoky malts, coffee, and chocolate.

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This.

Comments: "solid, drinkable stout; More sweet than hopped or bitter; A little light - body was thinner than I expected it to be, you expect a black to be thicker, though that is not necessarily true; Impressive finish; It has that roasty, bready taste; I am pleasantly surprised by it; There is something missing in the middle - it has a nice beginning and finish."

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, California

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 9.0%; IBUs: 75; MALTS and HOPS: NA; AWARDS: 2012 Gold Medal Winner Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival.

What the Brewer Says: "Produced in the tradition of 18th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin  seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It's a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish."

Color: Dark chocolate/black

Pour: Nice dark tan head which dissipates rapidly

Aroma: A little grass - not real strong, roasty malt, a bit of chocolate.

Body: Medium to Full

Taste: Burnt, malty; sweet licorice; a bit of coffee; bitter and alcohol finish

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

Comments: "They don't disguise the alcohol; The finish is nice, not a cloying one you sometimes find in Imperials; A clean finish; You don't expect a finish like this from a Russian; It's quite drinkable; Not overly sweet; It has an interesting label; I like it."

  

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 10%; IBUs: 51; MALTS: American pale two-row malt; Caramel Malt; Malted wheat, a blend of American roasted malts and barleys; HOPS: Willamette and American Fuggle; AVAILABILITY: October to March; AWARDS: 2012 World Beer Cup - bronze; 2012 Australian International Beer Awards - Gold Medal.

What the Brewer Says: "This is the famous Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, our award-winning rendition of the Imperial Stout style, once made exclusively for Catherine the Great...It is delicious when newly bottled, but also ages beautifully for years."

Color: Black Strap molasses

Pour: Decent light brown head with lasting lacing

Aroma: Light chocolate, cloves/spicy, and a bit of fruit

Body: Full/thick

Taste: Overpowering alcohol and chocolate, with notes of nuts and fruit.

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This

Comments: "It's a little heavy for me; Kind of medicine-y; It's too much; Not my favorite beer; The alcohol smacks you right in the face; This is really a big stout; Dessert?; The more I have of it, the better I like it; It's one of those beers that kind of grows on you."

Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout

Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, Vermont

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 10.6%; IBUs: 65; Otter Creek's website is under construction, so there's no info other than this. 

What the Brewer Says: And no quotes.

Color: Coal Black

Pour: Minimal/thin tan of coffee with cream

Aroma: Smoked - not as burnt as Brooklyn

Body: Full

Taste: Some roasted malts and chocolates. There are notes of caramel and molasses.

Overall Impression: I Could Drink This.

Comments: "This is good for Otter Creek; I absolutely like it; I can't taste the alcohol as much as the 10%+ ABV would indicate; I wouldn't have guessed the alcohol percentage; It's not as sweet as the other stouts; Add a roasted marshmallow and you'd have a s'more; At Sochi, I'd readily drink it."

THE BOTTOM LINE

To summarize: We had 1 English Style Mild Dark Ale (Newcastle Cabbie Black)

                                  1 Black Rye IPA (Wookey Jack)

                                  1 Imperial Black IPA (Dubhe)

                                  1 Stout (Heart of Darkness)

                                  3 Russian Imperial Stouts (Old Rasputin, Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, Otter Creek) 

Essentially we had five different styles of black beers - and that was without a single Porter. So lets take it from the top:

-Newcastle Cabbie Black - Generally a favorable reception here. It had a nice rich malty flavor and the low ABV makes it a beer you could enjoy over the course of a long afternoon and still remain upright. It scored well as a session-type beer. Very pleasing subtle flavors. We could definitely drink this, though it would not necessarily be our first choice. 

-Firestone Walker's Wookey Jack - Perhaps the overall favorite of the night. A wonderful beer that deliciously blends the hoppiness of an IPA with the rich maltiness of a good stout or porter. A truly excellent beer. We gave it a resounding "Can't Get Enough" rating which was unanimous.

-Uinta Imperial Black IPA - This one got high scores from us as well. Like Wookey Jack it is a kind of best-of-both-worlds beer that gives you a nice hop bite with a pleasing malt presence. A close second to Wookey judging by the comments. Also a solid "Can't Get Enough" rating.

-Magic Hat's Heart of Darkness - The only true Stout of the evening, this was a tasty, malty brew that would please Stouthearts. We felt it opened and finished well, but was a little light in the middle. It was lighter bodied than we expected, otherwise it was another solid beer. 

-Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout - Probably the favorite of the three Imperials we tried. We were impressed by its clean finish and the fact that it was not overly sweet. It scored somewhere between "I could drink this" and " Can't get enough" giving it an overall favorable rating.

-Brooklyn Chocolate Stout - Our least favorite of the three Imperials, though a number of us found that it sort of grew on you after a few tastes. Our main complaint was that the alcohol seemed somewhat front and center, overpowering the more subtle flavors. It is a sipping beer to be sure. 

-Otter Creek Russian Imperial Stout - Overall this was received favorably. We felt the alcohol did not overpower the beer, which was a plus. We found it not overly sweet, but a good dessert beer.

BEERSPOTTING

I was watching Orange is the New Black the other day and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a bottle of good ol' Southern Tier!  Note the distinctive green-labeled bottle on the table of Southern Tier IPA. Pretty cool.

Next month we're having an East vs. West IPA challenge.

We'll leave you with a reprise of Make it Black in case you missed it the first time when we reviewed porters, and just because it seems appropriate.

Make it Black

(Sung to the tune of "Paint it Black")

I see a lite beer and I want it to be black;

No "see-thru" brews for me, I want them to be black;

Don't want no tasteless beers dressed up with summer fruit;

Just pour that down the drain, 'cause I don't give a hoot.

Don't want no Silver Bullet, got to make it black;

Hand me a Lite my friend you're going to get it back;

Don't want no mega-brew pretending to be "craft;"

No sissy lo-cal beer, I want a pitch-black draft.

No deep black to my beer will really make me blue;

Don't want to read the paper through a new-poured brew;

If I look hard enough into that ebon quaff;

I'll feel my spirits rise as my taste buds take off.

Even an IPA I often want it black;

No yellow beers for me, I need them to be black;

Don't want no pale-faced beer ya' gotta' serve on ice;

Give me a deep dark brew, no name that starts with "weiss"

I see just "lites" on tap and I want to be sick;

Pour me a Russian Stout that's wonderfully thick;

Don't want no "interesting" man, telling me what to drink

No macho cowboy ads, tellin' me how to think.

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

Faves

On The Road (Again, Again)

-Ron gets Revolutionary in Chicago

-We Find a Mexican Beer With Hops - In South Carolina, No Less

-WOB is coming to Destiny - OMG!

Here at BOTB we have an agenda. That agenda is to promote craft beer. We are located in Central New York near Syracuse (Go Orange!!) so we like to shine a spotlight on local breweries as much as we can. Having said that, we love to check out craft brews from across the country. Distribution of craft beers is a fickle thing. Unlike the mega-breweries (Bud, Miller, Coors) which are universally distributed throughout the US and beyond, most craft breweries do not have the clout (i.e. money) to get their beers distributed beyond a particular region. You can walk into any bar in the country and be pretty much assured that they will have a plethora of InBev products, as well as Miller/Coors. But try to find Ithaca Brewing's Flower Power in Florida, or Cigar City's Jai Alai in Idaho. I don't think so. A relative few (Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams) are able to distribute nationwide and make their way into the big chain restaurants, but that leaves a vast array of great beers out there that never make it to our part of the country. Worse still, never make it to our taste buds. Ergo, when we travel, we enjoy seeking out these regional treasures and giving them a little shout-out here.

Recently, Ron and Vicky took a trip that wended its way through Chicago and ended up in Myrtle Beach, SC, where they met up with Les and me. While there, Ron picked up Sweetwater IPA and I grabbed some Aviator HogWild IPA, both of which will be reviewed later.

While in Chicago, Ron filed the following review of Revolution Brewpub.

You Say You Want a Revolution

While in Chicago, Vicky and I had the good fortune of stopping at Revolution Brewpub in Logan Square. They have a production brewery a couple blocks away that provides them with their flagship beers and a smaller brewery within the brewpub that concocts the seasonal and specialty beers. A tour of the brewpub facility left me with a feeling that the brewers really enjoy their jobs and have a good sense of their ingredients. Each style of beer well represents that style without being "over the top." I started out with a pint of Red Skull, an Imperial Red Ale with whole Cascade hops, then dry hopped with Citra and Cascade hops. It had a nice big hops aroma, but the taste was balanced with caramel sweetness. Vicky got a Workingwoman Brown, a hopped brown ale. I gave it a thumbs up as well. Since we we were going to the Art Institute after our visit to the brewpub, I knew I couldn't have a pint of each beer they have on tap. I did have samples of: Anti-Hero IPA, Coup D'Etat (a Belgian farmhouse style saison), Double Fist (a double pale ale), Georgia Gene (a German-style Rauchbier), Loganberry, Oktoberfest Revolution, Chicago Smoke and Penguin Hops.

The Penguin Hops was interesting in that it was brewed with an unknown hops variety grown at the nearby Shedd's Aquarium. The proceeds of the sale of this beer are turned back to the aquarium.
I would have loved to spend the day with pints of all but the Loganberry and Oktoberfest - not that they weren't good, but not my styles. In addition to their fine lineup of taps, there are 65 bottled beers and 9 ciders and fruit beers in the coolers.

Bacon Fat Popcorn

As for the food... We started with an appetizer, a large bowl of "Bacon Fat Popcorn." Popcorn was popped in bacon fat, topped with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese. It was so delicious, but then the meal. I got the market fish and Vicky had the smoked trout salad - both outstanding. If all that wasn't enough, the desserts were yet to come. I had a pecan blonde brownie with bourbon ice cream and butterscotch drizzled over the top. Vicky had the orange cheesecake on a bacon/gingersnap crust topped with orange marmalade. Both desserts were decadent.

Let me tell you, it is a must stop when you go to Chicago. The beers, the food, and the staff will leave you with fond memories for a very long time.

A Mexican Beer With Hops

 (And We Don't Mean With Jumping Beans)

So, when The Most Interesting Man In The World tells us he doesn't normally drink beer, but when he does, he drinks Dos Equis, why should that make a real beer aficionado want to run out and buy Dos Equis? He just told us he doesn't really drink beer. I mean, really, if someone said, "I never drink wine, but I think you should buy that reddish colored one over there," would any self-respecting oenophile take that person's advice? So why should I listen to a guy who admits he rarely drinks beer? Sheesh! That commercial has bugged me from the first time it aired. There is more than a hint of snobbery as the guy looks down his aristocratic nose at the riffraff known as "beer drinkers." And I, as a proud, card-carrying member of said riffraff, resent that. Truth be told, with the explosion of craft beers, there is now such a wide and rich variety of styles and tastes in beer, why would you settle for anything as pedestrian as Dos Equis? It may be better than, say, Corona, but is that saying much? We cerevisaphiles turn our collective noses up to such nonsense. Especially now that I have discovered that there is indeed good beer to be found South of the border!

While in South Carolina of all places, Ron and I discovered a terrific beer out of Mexico. We were in a seafood restaurant called Carlos' And Charlie's and checking their beer list. There wasn't a lot to choose from but then we saw something called Day of the Dead IPA. We gave it a shot and we were pleasantly surprised. Most beers out of Mexico follow the typical light lager profile found in the mega-brews in the US. As I later found out, Day of the Dead Brewery is:

-The first fully developed, fully accessible craft beer to come out of Mexico

-Mexican owned, Mexican brewed

-Located 100 yards from the US border in Tacate, Mexico

-Capacity of 75,000 barrels with plenty of room to expand.

Their IPA is 6.8% ABV and an impressive 83 IBUs. It's brewed with 2 Row, Munich, Carapils, and Caramel malts plus Centennial, Cascade, Fuggle, Saaz, Goldings, and Willamette hops.

It's a terrific beer. Nicely balanced despite the high IBUs. They also produce an Amber Ale, a Pale Ale, a Hefeweizen, a Blonde Ale and a Porter.

WOB at Destiny!

Strolled past World of Beers site at Destiny USA in Syracuse the other day. It's pretty much ready to roll. There was a group of future employees, apparently, inside getting schooled in the finer points of beer. Opening day is set for December 16th. Just took a look at their line-up of beers and it's pretty impressive. Check it out here:  www.wobusa.com/locations/Syracuse/menus

The bottled beer selection is unparalleled - broken down by country, and then in the US, by state. 37 beers (and cider) on tap. 

May have to do a little extra Christmas shopping at the mall starting the 16th.

BYFB 

(Bring Your Favorite Beer) 

Most everyone has a favorite beer. Whether it's Bud or Miller Lite or a beer that actually has hops and malt in it, most beer drinkers have that default beer they grab when they just want a good beer. So we decided this month to have  a "favorite beer" competition at the BOTB November meeting. This created a bit of a dilemma: there are now so many good beers out there it is tough to choose the favorite. Add to this the fact that we really didn't want to bring a bunch of beers we've already rated. As a result, we ended up bringing beer we really liked but hadn't rated. Otherwise we might have ended up having, say, four or five Flower

Powers, one of my personal favorites. Some of us had been traveling and brought back a tasty brew we discovered, while others of us actually followed the original premise. As a result, we had seven darn good beers without a loser in the bunch.

Now, we all had a pony in the race, so to speak, since we brought something we had personally endorsed as a top notch brew, so we figured we'd better go back to our old blind tasting model and see where the chips fell in the end.
The order of finish will be disclosed at the end, and the tasting order was random.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed this blog that all are IPAs!

JUST IPA

Just Beer Project - Alchemy and Science,  Burlington, VT

An independently operating subsidiary of Boston Beer Company

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABV: 4.8%; IBUs: 45; MALTS: 2-Row Malted Barley, Bohemian Floor Malted Barley, Honey Malt; HOPS: Chinook, Ahtanum, Citra, Cascade. OF INTEREST: Just Beer's goal is to brew good craft beer that is under 5% ABV.

What the Brewer Says: "It's not 2,000 IBUs. The hops weren't harvested from the grounds of a temple in the heart of a jungle that you've never heard of. This beer won't change your attitude.We're not trying to scare you or numb your tongue. You just drink it. It tastes great. Just IPA."

Color: Golden honey

Pour: Decent off-white head

Aroma: hoppy

Body: Medium

Taste: There are notes of licorice, a little barley, and a hint of grapefruit. 

Overall Impression: Midway between "I could drink this: and "Can't get enough."

Comments: "I'd drink this during a football game; I detect a bit of a licorice/horehound taste: There is a nice aftertaste; It's balanced; There's not a big malt taste; It has a clean finish; It seems like a session beer; The taste on the end makes you want to have another - sort of a "re-taste" session beer; It would be a good lunch beer, when you would still be good for the afternoon; A lot can be said about this beer..."

Hog Wild IPA

Aviator Brewing Company, Faquay-Varina, NC

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.7%; IBUs: 50; SRM: 5; MALTS: Pale Ale and Vienna; HOPS: Chinook, Columbus, Cascade - Dry hopped with Magnum, Williamette, and Amarillo.

What the Brewer Says: "...A very hoppy and refreshing ale."

Color: Golden Honey

Pour: A very nice head, with decent retention.

Aroma: Pretty malty with a little spice

Body: Better than medium

Taste: Well toward bitter. It has notes of malt, bread, citrusy hops and a little nut taste.

Overall Impression: Nearly all the way to "Can't get enough."

Comments: "It seems to have a higher alcohol content than the previous sample; It has a good malt backbone; It hits all the notes; This is really good - I like it; I'd like to be able to drink, and drink, and drink this; It has a nice bitter finish."

60 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, Delaware

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.0%; IBUs: 60; MALTS: NA; HOPS: Blend of Northwest hops

What the Brewer Says: "60 Minute is brewed with a slew of great Northwest hops. A powerful but balanced East Coast IPA with a lot of citrusy hop character. It's the session beer for hardcore enthusiasts!"

Color: Golden honey.

Pour: Much better than "Decent" head, but not quite Guinness class

Aroma: Light hops aroma.

Body: A bit less than medium.

Taste: On the bitter side of balanced. There are notes of bread and nuts.

Overall Impression: "I could drink this"

Comments: "It's a little carbonated; I get a little bit of a pilsner vibe; You get a little flavor at the front - then sail right through to the end; It reminds me of Saranac Pale Ale; There are no strong notes of anything; It's not a big beer; It doesn't knock my socks off, but it is a decent beer."

Centennial IPA

Founder Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI

The Beer Facts: STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 7.2%; IBUs: 65; MALTS: NA; HOPS: Centennial (I assume); OF NOTE: This beer will soon be available in 12-pack cans.

What the Brewer Says: "Get ready to bask in the glory of the frothy head's floral bouquet. Relish the citrus accents from the abundance of dry hopping. This one's sweet, yet balanced. Malty undertones shake hands with the hop character for a finish that never turns too bitter."

Color: Amber/red

Pour: A high, off-white colored head that quickly dissipates.

Aroma: Spicy/hoppy

Body: A bit beyond medium.

Taste: Leans to the bitter, with strong notes of malt to balance it out. Tastes of bread and toffee were also detected.

Overall Impression: "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "That is a nice, full-flavored beer; It stays with you; There is a nice, strong malt backbone; It explodes in your mouth; And it stays right with you; Man, I like this; It is certainly not a lawn mower beer; I'd call it balanced - with strong alcohol taste." 

Sweetwater IPA

Sweetwater Brewing Company, Atlanta, Georgia

The Beer Facts: STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.3%; IBUs: 65; MALT: 2-Row, Munich, Wheat, 70/80; HOPS: Chinook, Cascade, Columbus - finishes with Simcoe, US Golding; AWARDS: Best IPA in the Country - Judges Choice AJC, March '09.

What the Brewer Says: "This mammoth India Pale Ale is loaded with intense hop character and subjected to an extensive dry-hopping process. Our IPA is unfiltered, leavimg all the natural flavors intact. The Beer You've Been Training For."

Color: Unfiltered amber

Pour: Very large off-white head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: A little yeast aroma, but you really have to breathe in deep to get it

Body: Medium to full

Taste: Citrusy hops with notes of bread and grapefruit.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "This is good; WWGD (What Would Gerry Do?) Answer - Open another one; You could have several of these; It's a little floral - almost as much as Flower Power; This is a good year 'round beer; If it is one that is sold around here, I will definitely buy it; It has the taste of a West Coast IPA."

Southern Tier IPA

Southern Tier Brewing Co., Lakewood, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABV: 7.3%; IBUs: "Medium-high"; MALTS: 4 varieties; HOPS: 4 varieties; YEAST: Ale yeast

What the Brewer Says: "The India Pale Ale we brew is our version of a brewing legacy ... (an) intrepid ale, triple-hopped on its journey to your gleass for a truly aromatic experience."

Color: Golden light honey/copper

Pour: Generous off-white head

Aroma: Nice hoppy aroma

Taste: Well towardthe bitter/hoppy end of the sectrum with notes of citrus/grapefruit, toffee and pine.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "OMG; Oh that's good; It has a spiciness to it; It hangs int the mouth; It has a complex taste - it runs the gamut of flavors as you let it sit on your tongue; There is a taste that stays with you; This is one delicious beer - you could easily drink this one, and another just like it; This is a really good, good beer."

Middle Ages X Double Indian Pale Ale

Middle Ages Brewery, Syracuse, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 10.00%; IBUs: Not listed but described as "an intense hop bitterness."; HOPS: Ten addition of American hops.

What the Brewer Says: "Brewed in the style of an American Double IPA in celebration of our 10th anniversary. This beer is golden in color, has medium to full body, intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Ten additions of American hops are made throughout the brewing process."

Color: Golden to amber

Pour: Little to Decent off-white head

Aroma: Banana and clove

Body: Well toward full

Taste: Banana initially with a nice hop bitterness

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

Comments: "This is a big one; You shouldn't operate machinery while drinking this beer; It has lots of alcohol, for sure, but it is balanced so it hides the alcohol; It just sits on my tongue; It tastes like a Middle Ages beer; It is English Ale-ish; I really like it; The bittering lasts through the swallowing; I like it a lot, but I couldn't drink a lot of it; It is very strong; It tastes like a "hunting club" beer."

And the Winner Is...

As mentioned previously, there were no losers in this bunch. Any one of them would be a welcome sight on any tap. But we set out with the idea that we would see which was our collective favorite. Once we had tried all seven but before we knew what they were, each of us ranked the beers 1 - 7 with #1 as our favorite etc. In this manner, as with golf,  low score wins. Some of us tried to keep notes throughout, others preferred to wing it. The results are as follows:

1. A 3-way tie for first - Middle Ages x, Sweetwater IPA, and Founders Centennial IPA all ended up with the same low score - decidedly under par.

2. (or 4th) - Southern Tier IPA - Interesting when you re-read the comments on this one, which were raves. I believe the others all garnered some "1's" while nearly everyone picked this one as their second favorite. Still well below par.

3. (or 5th) - Aviator Hogwild IPA - A nice, balanced brew. Slightly under par

4. (or 6th) - Just IPA from the Just Beer Project - Very good session IPA. Low ABV, nice hoppy flavor. Par.

5. (or 7th) - Dogfish Head  60 Minute IPA - This surprised me as I thought this beer would score higher. Once again, as unmitigated hopheads, we tend to lean toward those brews that are hop forward and 60 Minute is bit more balanced. A bit over par.

Until next time...

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys