Victory

Double Feature: Saisons

by

So I’ve had these two beers for a while and I’ve been saving them for this weekend. I mean, how many Easter-themed beers are really out there? Of course, I had to pick probably the two least appropriate movies to watch whilst drinking.

First up was James Gunn’s comic book spoof Super, which is basically a continuation of the filmic deconstruction of superheroes started a few years ago. As such, it has a lot of semi-derivative elements, but it sticks to its guns (or I should say, Gunns!) and never flinches at its target. It’s extremely graphic and violent, and some of it is played for laughs, but there’s at least one unforgivable moment in the film. One thing I will say is that there’s going to be a lot of teenage nerds falling in love with Ellen Page because of her enthusiastic performance in this movie. The critical reception seems mixed, but I think I enjoyed it more than most. I wouldn’t call it one of the year’s best, but it’s worth watching for superhero fans who can stomach gore.

The second film in my double feature was Hobo with a Shotgun. If Super represents a bit of a depraved outlook on life, Hobo makes it look like the Muppets. A few years ago, when Grindhouse was coming out, there was a contest for folks to create fake grindhouse-style trailers, and one of the winners was this fantastically titled Hobo With a Shotgun. Unfortunately what works in the short form of a trailer doesn’t really extend well to a full-length feature. There are some interesting things about the film. Rutger Hauer is great as the hobo (look for an awesome monologue about a bear), the atmosphere is genuinely retro, it actually feels like a grindhouse movie (as opposed to Tarantino and Rodriguez’s efforts), and the armored villains known as the Plague are entertaining, if a bit out of place. Ultimately the film doesn’t really earn its bullshit. Like last year’s Machete (another film built off of the popularity of a “fake” trailer), I’m not convinced that this film really should have been made. Again, devotees to the weird and disgusting might enjoy this, but it’s a hard film to recommend.

In terms of beer, I was drinking some saisons. As a style, they’re known for being spicy, crisp and refreshing – Spring or Summer beers. You could say that such beer would be inappropriate given the movies I was watching, and that’s true, but perhaps a nicer way to put it was that I was contrasting the refreshing beer style with the depravity on screen. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

The Bruery Saison de Lente

The Bruery Saison De Lente – I’ve only had two Bruery beers before, but both have been damn near perfect in execution. As such, I had high hopes for this, their Spring seasonal saison brewed with Brettanomyces to give it a wild kick. Pours a clear golden color with ample head that subsides quickly, leaving lots of lacing. Smell is dominated by Belgian yeast and a little of that Brett character. Taste starts sweet, gets a bit of a wild and zesty feeling in the middle that makes itself more prominent in the finish, which is a little dry as well. That zestiness is probably the Brett shining through, and it became more powerful as I reached the end of the bottle. High carbonation and a mildly harsh mouthfeel, typical of saisons. I wouldn’t call it a favorite, but it’s a refreshing change of pace and extremely well crafted. Just what I was looking for… and I’m greatly looking forward to exploring some more Bruery beers in the near future… B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV bottled (750ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Victory Helios Ale

Victory Helios Ale – Helios was the Greek god of the sun – an appropriate name for a summer beer, eh? Another clear golden colored beer here, very little head in my pour. Smells very spicy, lots of pepper, with a hint of citrus and some typical Belgian yeast. Taste starts sweet, with some zingy bitterness coming out in the middle and finish (I wouldn’t call it super hoppy, but it does have a distinctly bitter feel). The finish also has an interesting spicy character that lingers a bit. Mouthfeel is full of carbonation and a little harsh, about on par with the Bruery’s effort. This one has a bit of that zestiness, but nowhere near as much as the Bruery beer. While it made a good first impression, I have to admit that I was less enamored with it as I reached the end of the bottle. The other thing I found a bit strange about this was that I’m pretty sure I had this on tap once, and that it had a much stronger lemony zest to it than I’m getting out of this bottle. It’s been sitting in my fridge for a while, so perhaps its undergone some sort of change. I guess, then, I’ll give it a provisional B-, but it’s something I think i should revisit sometime.

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (750ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass.

April Beer Club

by

Every month, a bunch of friends and I get together at a local BYOB and drink lots of beer. I seem to have run out of beer puns for this month, but there was no shortage of beer at tonight’s gathering (despite only 7 attendees):

April Beer Club

(Click for bigger image)

No real theme this month, but lots of new beers, along with some new ones. Not all of the pictured beers were cracked open, but most of them were (I believe only 4 left unopened, though there was still some beer left in a couple bottles). For reference, here’s what I tried:

  • Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale – Intense blueberry aromas and very fruity taste. Overwhelmingly blueberry. Not bad, but not especially accomplished either. C+
  • Unibroue Éphémère – Again, an intense sour apple aroma and flavor, this one is much better balanced and an interesting beer. I’ve actually had this a few times before, and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed, even if it’s not my favorite of Unibroue’s offerings. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though, and it’s probably a good gateway craft beer. B
  • Southampton Biere De Mars – A very nice looking beer, with a nice spicy aroma and a flavor that is quite unusual, but still drinkable. The consensus among attendees was somewhat mixed, but I enjoyed it, even if it’s not exactly a favorite. There’s a flavor there that I couldn’t quite place, but which made this a rather unique tasting beer. Fellow beer club members had a similar feeling. I’ll give it a tentative B
  • Ommegang Rare Vos – One of my all time favorites, I’ve actually got a bottle of this in the fridge, so expect a full review… at some point. A great beer though, and very popular with the beer club crowd, even with the non-beer nerds.
  • Victory Prima Pils – I have had many of these over the years, and it’s one of those beers that tastes very different out of the bottle than it does on tap. And honestly, I think I prefer the bottled version. For a pilsner style beer, it’s extremely hoppy, but I rather like that distinction. Well worth a try, and probably something I’ll give a more thorough review to later. For now, I’ll leave it as a B+
  • Oskar Blues Gordon Imperial Red Ale (aka G’Knight) – One of my contributions for the night, and a solid DIPA. Expect a full review at some point in the near future. Beer club crowd seemed to enjoy it, despite it’s hoppy nature.
  • Peak Organic Simcoe Spring Ale – It’s got that pine resin aroma and flavor from the Simcoe hops, but it’s otherwise a pretty standard IPA. Not particularly popular with the overall beer club crowd, but it’s solid, if nothing special. B
  • Long Trail Pollenator – Holy shit, is this a terrible beer. And of course, I ended up taking more of this than most other brews. I immediately regretted the decision. Tasted like skunked piss. My first F since starting the blog.
  • Oscar Blues Ten Fidy – A very roasty 10.5% stout. I enjoyed it, but those who don’t typically go in for stouts didn’t seem to care for it. Not to get all sexist or anything, but all the guys seemed to enjoy it, while the females seemed to dislike. I have a couple more of these, so expect a full review at some point in the indeterminate future.
  • Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – Smells and tastes of a sorta carbonated lemonade. Very little beer flavor and I really did not enjoy, though some of the more girly beer club members seemed to like it. D
  • Blue Point Spring Fling – A very average pale ale. Not bad, but absolutely nothing special about it. Profoundly average beer. C
  • My Homebrew Tripel – I brought a nice 22 oz bottle of my tripel, which has really undergone a transformation since bottling. I’ve been trying about one bottle per week since I bottled, and it’s gone from an overly-sweet and under-carbonated beer to something much more drinkable. It used to be a very bright orange color, but it has since matured into a more appropriate lightish brown color. The taste is still a little too sweet and too alcoholly, but it’s still a pretty good attempt, and I have a feeling it will mellow out with more time. Expect a more thorough review of this homebrew at some point. If nothing else, I do believe it came out better than my first attempt. This was one of the first beers we opened though, and someone did mention that it could have been a bit of a palate-killer because it’s so intense (but luckily most people only took a small sample). It certainly was a strong beer – more than one person commented that they got the sorta wine-flush feeling from the alchohol. So far, I’m pretty happy with this beer, and I think it’s only been getting better with time.
  • Dana’s Maibock Homebrew – Fantastic homebrew brewed by my friend Dana from a Mr. Beer specialty kit. Very sweet with a nice tang in the finish that I couldn’t quite place. Still, very enjoyable beer, maybe my favorite from Dana’s homebrewing efforts. Most of the Mr. Beer stuff is pretty average (and Dana also brought a Red Ale which was pretty normal stuff), but their specialty kits seem to produce some really good beers, and this one is a prime example (I also rather enjoyed Dana’s specialty Tripel from a while back). We made a deal to trade some of my tripel with some of her maibock. Excellent stuff

So yeah, I suppose you could take the ratings above with a grain of salt (as conditions were not optimal for tasting), but I think the ones I actually rated are pretty accurate. And several of the others will be reviewed on this blog in the near future. It may seem like the above are pretty low, and there were definitely a couple of real stinkers, but some of the ones I didn’t provide a rating for will most likely come in to the B to A range, so there were definitely some great beers that were available tonight…

All in all, another successful outing for the beer club. I was surprised at the amount of beer that we ended up getting through, even if we did leave some of the beers pictured above unopened (though I will say that the only unopened beer that I’ve never had before was the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter). As always, I’m already looking forward to next month!

Double Feature: Pale Ales

by

You may be able to tell that I have a bit of a sweet-tooth (for example, I love Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and I really enjoyed the Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout, both uber-sweet beers). As such, Coca-Cola has long been one of my favorite beverages. However, I tend to drink too much of it, so every few years, I give up Coke for Lent. I find that the 40 day length of Lent makes for an ideal habit-breaker (Last year, I gave up television). Short enough that it’s achievable, long enough to make you realize that you don’t need to indulge in your habit quite so often. So this year, I’m giving up Coke again, which basically means that for the next 40 days or so, I’ll most likely be filling the void of Coke with beer.

As I mentioned in my post on Regular Beers for The Session, sometimes I don’t want a beer that will melt my brain and/or get me drunk after 12 ounces. So while I’m sure I’ll have my fair share of brain-melting beers over the next few weeks, I’m probably also going to avail myself of some more “regular” beers, usually during dinner. Lower alcohol, lower taste, but easier drinkability. Interestingly, this month’s beer club fit right into that strategy, with a few English session beers. And this weekend, I’m hitting up some pale ales. For these double feature posts, I usually try to match up with movies, but both of this weekend’s movies are in the theater, so no drinking whilst watching. But if you’re so inclined, The Adjustment Bureau was surprisingly good for a movie about people with magic hats (I guess that’s something of a spoiler, but it’s so stupid that I don’t really feel bad about it). Of course, you have to overlook a few plot holes and the aforementioned magic hats, but it’s still a pretty fun movie. After I finish this post, I’ll be heading out to meet a friend for Battle: Los Angeles. Expectations are suitably low, but I’m hoping to see shit blow up real good. It can’t be any worse than Skyline (the last Alien invasion movie I saw, which was abominable but almost worth it for the breathtakingly stupid ending) or, one would presume, the SyFy Original movie special that’s playing tonight: Battle of Los Angeles (I haven’t seen it, but if your movie isn’t as good as a SyFy Original…)

But enough about movies, onto the beer:

Victory Headwaters Pale Ale

Victory Headwaters Pale Ale – Usually when a brewery makes it to a big Anniversary, they put out a special beer, and that beer is generally something extreme. An imperial stout, a double IPA, or something even crazier. So when Victory announced that they were making a 15th anniversary beer, I was expecting a big monster of a beer. Instead, they made this beer:

Reflecting over the years as we approach our 15th anniversary here at Victory, we can’t help but be struck by the realization that Downingtown has made a great home for Victory. From the enthusiastic throngs that crowd our brewpub to enjoy our creative, flavorful beers and cuisine to the natural charms of the area, we are blessed with good fortune. As the active community contributor we’ve been over those years, we recognize our opportunity to both utilize and protect these assets.

Chief among those assets is the pure water we receive from the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek that begins its journey to us just under 14 miles from where we brew with it. We’ll be celebrating this water (insert your lite beer joke here) with our anniversary beer, Headwaters Pale Ale, due to be released February 15, 2011.

That’s right, Victory is celebrating… water with this beer, a 5.1% ABV Pale Ale. According to Lew Bryson, Victory has apparently been working on this for a while, as this new beer follows their Pursuit of Pale Ale, which I stumbled onto at a happy hour a few weeks ago (alas, I didn’t save any notes, and the picture I took with my phone didn’t turn out well). An odd choice for an anniversary beer, perhaps, but I think they’ve managed to pull it off. Pours a golden, slightly orange color. Clear with a light head that left lots of lacing as I drank. Aroma is really nice, floral hops, maybe some citrus and an almost yeasty feel. Taste has a light, hoppy bitterness throughout, a little sweetness up front and maybe just a bit of citrus fruits along with the earthy bitterness. Mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side, but not overly so, and I think that’s what they’re going for. It’s certainly crisp and clean and compulsively drinkable (I should have bought a sixer of this!) As pale ales go, it’s an excellent example of the style and something I could certainly drink a lot of, but it’s not particularly aggressive either. Exactly what I was looking for, too! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.1% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a pint glass.

Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale

Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale – Apparently the first modern craft-beer to be produced in cans, this beer has lead the way to several other canned craft beers, though they’re still somewhat rare. In the beginning, brewer Dale Katechis hand canned the beers (one at a time! Uphill! In the snow!) and sold them as a way to promote his restaurant, Oskar Blues Grill and Brew. They encountered some skepticism from beer nerds, but they eventually came around and now Oskar Blues is one of the big Craft Beer success stories. Cans actually do have some advantages, namely minimizing exposure to light (brown bottles protect, but not completely) and oxygen (unwanted light and/or oxygen can produce off flavors in beer, leading to “skunky” beers). Cans are also cheaper and take up less space. Modern can linings are also supposed to be better at not impacting the taste of the beer itself (something older cans may have suffered from). I bought a six pack of this a while back (and drank a few during my Oscars Liveblogging adventure) and have been enjoying them for a while.

It pours a bit of a darker, light brownish color. I wouldn’t call it hazy, but it’s not as clear as the Headwaters. Smell is a bit less complex, but also a little stronger. Earthy hops, all the way. Taste is definitely sweeter and maybe even a bit less hoppy, but still complex and flavorful. It has a fuller body, but is still quite drinkable. I’m having a hard time comparing these two beers. They’re both excellent for what they are and though they’re both distinct, their strengths and weaknesses seem to balance out. So I’ll give this one a B+ as well.

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV canned (12 oz). Drank out of a pint glass.

If you asked me which I’d rather have right now, I think I might choose the Victory. That may just be because I’ve only had one of those though, while I’ve had a few Dale’s lately. Of course, this won’t scare me away from the canned Oskar Blues beers and indeed, I just picked up some Gordon Imperial Red (apparently renamed G’Knight due to legal troubles started by dickheads at Gordon Biersch – more on that story in a review that will most likely be coming soon)…

Double Feature: Hoppyness is Happiness

by

I’m still catching up on 2010 movies, and this weekend’s double feature was the relatively interesting duo of Valhalla Rising and Triangle. Now, I have no idea what Valhalla Rising is supposed to be about, but it’s a beautiful, if surprisingly violent film featuring a one-eyed, mute Mads Mikkelsen. I’m not sure what to make of Nicolas Winding Refn, but the dude knows how to photograph stuff and and is always interesting, if perhaps a bit too artsy-fartsy (then again, this is a movie where someone armed only with an old arrowhead kills 5 people, in one case using the weapon to graphically disembowel an enemy that’s tied up – hardly the usual artsy-fartsy style). Triangle is more conventionally filmed, but in the end, it’s also pretty damn messed up. I will leave it at that for now, though I will say that fans of Nacho Vigalondo’s (second best director name ever) Timecrimes would probably enjoy this movie (it’s not quite a time-travel story, but there’s a sorta recursion going on that will be familiar to time-travel fans). I’m on the fence as to whether Triangle will make the top 10 (i.e. it might be nice to have a film on my top 10 that’s a little more obscure than the usual suspects), but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

Speaking of enjoyment, I took the opportunity to check out two recent IPA purchases. Interestingly, this marks the third occasion that I’ve done an IPA double feature, which is interesting. I seem to like IPAs better when drinking different varieties together. Go figure.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Dogfish Head Burton Baton: There’s always a story behind the Dognfish Head beers, and this one is no exception, though the story isn’t on their website (at least, not in the obvious place for it). I had to resort to an interview with Sam Calagione to find the origins of this beer. It’s an homage to an old IPA beer brewed in the 1950s and 1960s by an east coast brewery called Ballantine which was called Burton Ale, itself a tribute to the English town of Burton (apparently a big brewing town – home of Bass ale, among others). The original Burton ale was a blend of different batches that was aged in wood for complexity, and thus so is Dogfish Head’s beer. The “baton” part of it’s name is not directly explained, but then, it probably doesn’t need to be – there are several meanings that fit here, so I’ll leave it at that.

It pours a nice amber orange color with about a finger of head and some lacing as I drank. Smells fantastic. Clean and crisp, with some floral hops, maybe some pine, and a little bit of citrus. Taste starts of smooth and sweet, followed by a bite in the bready middle as the bitter hops and alcohol hit, and the finish is surprisingly sweet and sticky. There is some booziness here, which is to be expected from such a high ABV beer, but it’s not overpowering or cloying. The sticky finish makes this a good sipping beer, something you need to let linger a bit. Interestingly, some of that hoppy bitterness returns. As it warms, things seem to mellow a bit, which makes it even more drinkable. It reminds me a bit of Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA, but it’s a little looser and wilder than that (exceptional) beer. I’m rating it slightly lower than the 90 Minute, but perhaps another double feature is in order to really determine the winner… In any case, it’s another excellent brew from Dogfish Head. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Palate cleansed with some Buffalo wings. Yeah, I know, not exactly great for the palate, but wings and IPAs go together well.

Victory Hop Wallop

Victory Hop Wallop: Interestingly, the label on this one also features a story about the legend of Horace “hop” Wallop.

Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop headed west a broken man. For in the city of Blues a Miss LuLu Bell Lager had left him thirsting for more. Drawn by wild tales of riches to be had in the gold mines, Hop pressed on westward. His last nickel spent on a prospecting pan, Hop’s hunger got the best of him. Two fistfuls of barely and three of some wild and wayward hops tossed in a pan with some clear water was to be his meal. But sleep overcame him and he later awoke to a bubbling cacophonous concoction. Overjoyed with the beautiful ale he had made, Hop realized the secret of the green gold he had discovered in those fresh hops. Celebrated far and wide, Hop Wallop lives on this vivid ale with his words, “Hoppyness is Happiness”. Enjoy!

I have no idea if there really was a gold-prospector named Horace Wallop, nor do I know if he accidentally made some IPA wort with his prospecting pan (nor if he looks like the cartoon on the typically well designed label), but it’s a wonderful story nonetheless. It pours a lighter, hazy yellow/gold color. Not a lot of head on it. Smells very different. Some sweet malty smells with the floral hops almost buried, but a lot of citrus coming through (I initially got the impression of oranges). Very smooth mouthfeel, with a much smaller bite and a dry, bitter finish. Not as much carbonation as the Burton Baton, but I wouldn’t say it’s bad. A very different taste, maybe a bit less complex, but still very good. There’s something distinctive about it that I can’t quite place, but it’s enjoyable. Graprefruit, maybe? There is a tartness to it, and when combined with the citrus, I guess that does mean Grapefruit. (Looking at BA, it seems that my Grapefruit hypothesis is probably correct and is probably what I was smelling as well). It’s a really fantastic beer. Very different from the Burton Baton, but I think I enjoyed it just as much. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass.

Another week, another IPA double feature. I expect another one soon as Nugget Nectar and some other hoppy seasonals hit the shelves.

Victory Storm King and Dark Devil

by

I’ve never really been a big fan of Stouts, but I’ve recently started trying a few, just to get a better handle on the style and have found them mostly enjoyable, though still not exactly my favorite style. Victory brewing is right around the corner from me, so it’s only natural for me to check out their year-round stout:

Victory Storm King

Victory Storm King Stout: Well, this is unlike any other stout I’ve ever tried, mostly due to it’s hoppy, bitter character. Pours a black color with a brown head. The taste starts with a roasty malt bitterness that eventually gives way to a more hoppy bitterness, making for an unusual stout (for me, at least). It’s much more hoppy than I’m used to for stouts, and while there’s a pretty good balance of flavor here, the bitterness remains its real defining characteristic. It’s almost like a dark version of an IPA (adding roasted flavors to the traditional crisp, bitter IPA style) rather than a straightforward stout. Relatively easy drinkability, which is a surprise given the high alcohol content. I enjoyed it, but it’s not something I’m going to go out of my way for. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.10% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

My beer club met earlier this week at a local pizza place that happens to have a fantastic beer selection, and one of our discoveries was the Victory Dark Devil. The Dark Devil is basically a combination of the Storm King Stout with Victory’s famous Hop Devil, and boy is it a fantastic match. It looks almost exactly like a normal Storm King, but the taste is more complex and flavorful. The Storm King itself already felt like a Hop Devil with more roasted malts, but when you add Hop Devil, you get something a little less biting and a little more flavorful. The Hop Devil has a more floral character, and that mixes really well with the Storm King. Apparently there’s a style of beer emerging lately that’s referred to as Black IPA, India Black Ale, or Cascadian Dark Ale, which is basically the combination of the IPA with the dark, roasted flavors of a stout. If the original Storm King doesn’t count, then this combination surely would… If it’s something you can find, try it out (haven’t tried making this from the bottle, but I imagine it would work well there too).

Double Feature: Again IPA

by

Another duo of India Pale Ales. Sometimes IPAs can taste a bit… samey, but the beers in this post (and the previous double feature), are quite distinct and flavorful. I drank these as I watched a double feature of She’s Out of My League and Monsters, seemingly disparate movies that had some surprising similarities. Sure, one’s a dumb-fun comedy and the other is ostensibly a sci-fi horror film, but they both seem pretty narrowly focused on the romantic relationship at their core. This was expected for League, but surprising for Monsters, though ultimately the post-mumblecore improvisation yields some uninspired dialogue (but there’s a pretty great climax to the film). So while I found the movies surprisingly similar, it seems that IPAs are surprising me with how different they can be:

Victory Hopdevil Ale

Victory Hopdevil Ale – Another local favorite, I’ve had many a Hopdevil over the years. Pours a nice dark orange/amber, with a mostly clear appearance. A small finger of head. Smell is of floral hops, a delicious bitterness throughout the entire taste, from start to finish. Powerful, but not overpowering. Good carbonation and medium body… You wouldn’t think it would be so smooth, but it’s compulsively drinkable. I could (and have) drink these all night. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.7% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a pint glass.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA – One of the great things about Dogfish Head is that every one of their beers has a story behind it. This beer was their first continually hopped ale, meaning that instead of adding bittering hops to the wort at the beginning of the boil (later adding taste and aromatic hops), they add hops continuously throughout the entire boil, a little bit at a time. To aid them in this, they used that stupid vibrating football game – they set it up above their boil, threw a bunch of hops on it, and as the field vibrated, the hops gradually fell off the board and into the pot. (This method was apparently abandoned for obvious safety reasons, and more specialized hardware created for their larger scale operations). A bit lighter in color than the Hopdevil, but a perfect head, and hoppy aroma with some more complex citrus and floral notes. A more roasty malt flavor, perhaps even a bit less bitter than the hopdevil. A more complex taste, with a nice lingering bitterness that cuts the alcohol well. Still, given that high alcohol content, I don’ t know that I’d want to drink a bunch of these at once (like I could with Hopdevil), but on the other hand, it’s a big flavorful hop bomb that’s tough to beat. A

Beer Nerd Details: 9.0% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a pint glass.

Another hard to beat pair of IPAs, though somehow, I’m doubting that this will be the last of the great IPAs I review on this blog.

Double Feature: Shoktoberfest!

by

October is probably my favorite month of the year.  When else can you watch a shitload of crappy horror movies, stuff your face with candy, and decorate your house with (fake) corpses and mutilated pumpkins?  And then you’ve got your seasonal beers, usually falling into two broad categories: pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest lagers.  I have to admit that I’m not exactly an expert on either style, but both seem to be rather distinctive and there’s only one way to learn, right?  So last night, during a double feature of cheesy slasher films, I broke out a couple Oktoberfest beers and gave ’em a whirl.

Victory Fesbier – The Victory brewery is right down the road from me and I’ve enjoyed most everything I’ve tried from them, so I figured this would be a good place to start. Pours a nice amber color, not much head at all. It’s got a good, malty smell, and even though I’m not a big Oktoberfest guy, the nose does seem to represent the distinctive properties of the style.   The taste starts malty sweet and ends with a little bit of a dry, nutty character (again, seems pretty distinctive of the style). It’s an eminently drinkable beer, though I don’t think it’s as well balanced as I’d like. Something about the mixture just seems a bit off, so it doesn’t really knock my socks off, but it’s still quite good. I’ll give it a B-.

Beer Nerd Details: 5.6% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

After finishing, I cleansed my palate with a slice of pepperoni pizza and popped open the next:

Flying Fish Oktoberfish – I guess NJ is semi-local as well, and this particular beer seems to have a pretty good reputation. Pours a darker amber color than Festbier, but even less in the way of head. Smell is similar, but not as strong. Taste is a little more balanced, though a little less Oktoberfesty. Again sweet and malty to start, but the finish is a little less dry and more caramelly than nutty. Again, very drinkable, but not a beer that has me pining for more either. A slight overall improvement over Festbier, I’d give it a B.

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

Neither beer particularly impressed me, but I get the impression that Oktoberfest style beers aren’t really like that. They seem more geared towards a session than a single tasting, which I suppose is the point of an Oktoberfest. Don’t want to overwhelm you or anything, least it will ruin the party.

Update 10/16/10 – During a trip to an abandoned asylum, we stopped at some weird French bistro where the sign out front had a font usually reserved for Chinese restaurants. I wasn’t expecting much, but then they handed me the beer menu. The fact that their selection necessitated a separate menu in itself was promising, and the selection was surprisingly good. If I hadn’t just had some last week, I’d have ordered a Russian River Damnation (exceptional beer, though the $12 price tag for a 375 ml mini-magnum bottle is probably a bit much), but instead I sampled two seasonal beers:

Ayinger Oktober Fest Märzen – Now this is an Oktoberfest I can get behind. Smell was not powerful, but still distinctly Oktoberfest. No balance problems here. Starts off sweet, ends a bit dry, making you want to drink more. I could have drank 10 of these (it was a relatively small glass, but I’d finished it off before the meal arrived). It’s not an overpowering, blow-you-away type of beer, but again, that’s the way this style goes. I’d never actually heard of it when I ordered it, but apparently it has quite the reputation and has only recently made its way to the states (from Germany). If you can find it and you like the style, give it a shot. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.8% ABV draft. Drank from a snifter glass (that was entirely too small!)

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale – I’ve had a few Pumpkin ales recently, and they seem to fall into two camps: sweet, overpowering pumpkin taste (Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale is a good example of that) and spicy, with little or no pumpkin taste. Semi-local Weyerbacher’s take on the style leans more heavily on the spicy side, though there are hints on the pumpkin taste as well. A pretty good blend and a big taste. Overall a solid entry in the style. B

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

The haunted asylum as actually pretty awesome. The entire area is pretty creepy – there are dozens of abandoned buildings in the sparsely populated area, and the architecture was… weird. Lots of strange underground tunnels and arches and whatnot. The actual haunted house portion of it was pretty typical, but at one point you end up in the basement, and the creepy atmosphere there is less about the cheesy lighting than it just being a creepy place.