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Allies Win the War!

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Earlier this week I reviewed a beer that I think had the best designed bottle (sorry, “ceramic crock”) I’ve ever seen, but the packaging for the recent 21st Amendment collaboration with Ninkasi gives it a run for its money. Indeed, all of 21st Amendment’s beers have great packaging, making excellent use of the larger canvas provided by cans (and I love that they put their cans in boxes, even with four- or six-packs).

21st Amendment and Ninkasi Allies Win the War 4-pack box

Seriously gorgeous stuff, and the can itself is also pretty great. I will make one complaint though, which is that, well, it’s hard to tell which way is up on this thing. A minor quibble and totally worth the confusion because it’s just an awesome package. But let’s not get to carried away, it’s what’s in the packaging that counts, and this time around, it seems that the beer is worthy of its packaging:

21st Amendment and Ninkasi Allies Win the War

21st Amendment & Ninkasi Allies Win the War! – Pours a dark amber color, maybe a little brown, with a couple fingers of white head that leaves tons of lacing as I drink. Aroma is full of hoppy pine resin and sweet, almost sugary citrus fruitiness. Taste starts off sweet but that’s balanced very well by the hop bitterness in the finish. Those pine resin and citrus flavors are present as well, leading to a nice rich flavor profile. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, ample carbonation, and a little bit of stickiness. No real booze to be had here and it’s pretty damn easy to drink. Overall, an excellent beer, not quite the equal of YuleSmith (which seems to have become my yardstick for hoppy imperial reds), but damn close. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV canned (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/21/12.

21st Amendment continues to impress, and even though Ninkasi doesn’t really distribute here, I’m going to keep my eyes on them…

Victory Smokin’ Oats

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I know, it’s unfair. This beer is only available at the Victory brewpub (and maybe a few local beer bars). I promise, tomorrow I’ll review a beer that’s more widely available*. Anyways, Victory seems to like smoked beer. They’ve got their roots in German brewing, so perhaps that’s not a surprise, but they do a lot of smoked beers at their brewpub (though mostly not for wide release – one exception to this is Otto, a smoked Belgian Dubbel). But if they wanted to, I think this smoked porter (presumably brewed with oats) would actually work pretty well:

Victory Smokin Oats

Victory Smokin’ Oats – Pours a very dark brown color with amber highlights and finger of tan head. Smell is smoky with a solid amount of roasted malt character. Those roasted malts take on more prominence in the taste, along with some coffee flavors and a rather well matched smokiness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with solid carbonation and a nice crisp finish. It actually went really well with the brisket taco things I was eating at the time. A very good beer! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.8% ABV on tap. Drank out of a 0.3L glass on 1/7/11.

* Technically, the next beer on my list is Trappist Westvleteren 8, which is one of the least accessible beers in existence, but I’ll skip it for a day or two, I think.

Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale

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Back in aught two, Stone started what they call a Vertical Epic. Each year, they put out a one-time brew that is meant to be aged until December 12, 2012. Assuming you’re patient enough, you can then enjoy a vertical tasting of all the brews (it’s not strictly a “vertical” tasting, as each year’s beer has a different recipe, but you get the idea.) Each beer is released on one of them funny numerological dates, like 2/2/02, and 3/3/03, and so on, with the culmination being on 12/12/12 later this year (after which, such numerical games are not possible). This year has the added benefit of being binary (for the last time this century!)

I’ve actually never had any of these beers until now, but they generally seem to be a Belgian Strong Ale with some sort of twist. This year’s installment was brewed with Anaheim chiles and cinnamon. Yeah, I think we’re all thinking the same thing here:

Stone Vertical Epic 11.11.11

Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale – Pours a dark amber color with a finger of light head and some lacing as I drink. Smell is filled with bready, musty Belgian yeast and some spiciness. The taste starts out surprisingly bland, with some sweet flavors emerging in the middle and a big bang of spice (chile and cinnamon are both there, though I’m not sure how well I’d be able to pick them out if I didn’t already know about it) hitting in the finish and plowing through the aftertaste. It’s most unusual. The chiles are definitely there and you even get a bit of heat from them (and it seems to build as you drink), but they’re nowhere near overwhelming (the way they’ve been in other chile beers I’ve had). Overall, this is an interesting beer with a unique character. It’s not a beer I’ll be pining after for years to come or anything, but I’m really glad I got to try some. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.4% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/6/12.

An epic idea, for sure, but it seems I’ve come on board a little too late in the process! Still, I’ll check out that 12/12/12 beer for sure.

Victory Ranch S IPA

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Having exhausted Victory’s regular catalog of beers (and most of their seasonals…), I set about sampling their irregular catalog of beers. This one appeared out of nowhere. No fanfare, just a new Double IPA on tap at the brewery. With a cryptic name.

As it turns out, this is a 100% Cascade hopped beer. Victory sourced the hops for this beer from a family owned hop farm called the Segal Hop Ranch (i.e. Ranch S), apparently the first hop farmers to commercially grow cascade hops (starting back in the late 1960s), so these folks ain’t fooling around. In an interesting Victory blog post a while back, one of the Victory brewers recounted his visit to the farm, talking about the Cascade Hops (which are apparently also used in Hop Devil) as well as Citra and then there’s this intriguing tidbit: “During the visit, the Segals showed me an unnamed experimental hop they are growing that had a fruity aroma with notes of banana and vanilla.” Well that sounds interesting, but I’ll have to make due with this Cascade single hopped double IPA for now. I picked up a growler of the stuff a couple weeks ago and ended up drinking the whole damn thing that weekend. Incidentally, Victory’s growler filler machine thingy is absolutely badass.

Victory Ranch S IPA

Victory Ranch S IPA – Pours a really striking clear golden orange color with a finger or two of fluffy white head. The smell is filled with earthy citrus hop aromas. As it warmed and/or as I drank more of it over the course of the weekend, I started to pick up more of a pine-like aroma. You know how all the descriptions of Simcoe hops say that they’re like Cascade on steroids? I never understood that until now. This Cascade beer really does have the smell (and taste) profile of a Simcoe beer. The taste is sweet with some of that earthy, piney citrus, but also a more floral or even herbal character leading into the dry, bitter finish and lingering aftertaste I expect from an IPA. Again, I feel like my palate adjusted to this the more I drank, with the pine taking a more pronounced position. Mouthfeel is smooth and just a bit sticky, with a light to medium body. Quite an easy drinking beer. I even got a bit of alcohol warming out of it, though I think that’s because I drank a lot of it quickly. It’s a lot like a souped-up Hop Devil (and it has less in common with Hop Wallop)… Hop Devil was the beer that sold me on IPAs, so this is very good thing, and a nice surprise from Victory. Again, as I drank more of it and that Simcoe-esque quality started to shine through, it perhaps came into its own. I really like this beer. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9% ABV growler (2L), filled on 12/30/11. Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/30/11 and 12/31/11.

I have no idea if this beer will return (I went to the brewery again this past weekend and they were already out of this) or if Victory has bigger plans to bottle this or something, but I’m glad I got to try some, as I enjoyed it greatly.

January Beer Club: Hoppy New Beer!

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Tonight was beer club, a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. We had an average turnout this month, with 5 folks drinking beer and one pregnant club member who actually brought some non-alcoholic beer for us to try:

January Beer Club

For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer we tried are below. As usual, conditions were not ideal, so take it all with a grain of salt. Or a giant hunk of salt. In order of drinking (not necessarily the order in the picture):

  • Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale – I already reviewed this beer last month, but this bottle seemed a lot better than the one I had before. Not sure what the deal is there, but it was a better balanced brew than I remember, and certainly not a C. Maybe an upgrade to a B- is warranted.
  • Clausthaler Premium – The first of our non-alcoholic beers, this one was actually not the worst thing I’ve ever had. It’s not particularly great either, but it’s certainly comparable to a solid macro lager, maybe even better. If you’re pregnant, this would certainly hit the spot (though apparently there’s an amber version that is better). I give it a C
  • Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale – I’ve had this a few times before, but it’s actually better than I remember. Very nice, lots of hop character in the nose and the taste (nice floral and pine notes), but not overwhelmingly bitter or anything. I don’t get a ton of oak out of this, but it’s definitely more complex than the standard Arrogant Bastard. A-
  • Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale – Rogue’s collaboration with the Voodoo Doughnut shop generated a lot of buzz when it was announced, but once it was released, it got denounced as a “foul abomination”. Fortunately, it’s not that bad, though it’s certainly not a mainstream beer. It smells very strongly of maple syrup with a little smoke coming through. The bacon comes out a little in the taste, but I’m still getting more maple syrup than anything else. There’s some smoke there too, but it’s not an overpowering flavor. Mouthfeel is actually quite nice, though it’s still not an easy drinkin beer. I’m not sure I’d want to drink an entire bottle, but I did seem to like it a lot more than most beer club peeps. Perhaps because I was drinking this along with the burger I had ordered? Whatever the case, it is a bit of a gimmick, but I kinda enjoyed it. B-
  • Kaliber – This is the other non-alcoholic beer we tried, and we had high hopes. It’s brewed by Guinness, and when my pregnant friend asked around, this was one of the recommendations she got. But yeah, this is horrible beer. Bland and watery with some off flavors or something. The only good thing I can say about it is that it was a kinda nice palate cleanser after the strong character of the Voodoo Doughnut (but then, water would probably have done just as well or better). F
  • The Bruery Mischief – A classic. I reviewed this a while back, and it’s just as good as it was the first time. Still an A and probably my favorite beer of the night.
  • Tröegs Troegenator Double Bock – Very sweet and malty beer, I rather enjoyed this, though it was far from my favorite beer of the night. Perhaps a bit too sticky sweet, though still quite solid. I actually have one of these in my fridge somewhere, so I’ll have to give this some closer attention at some point. For now, I’ll give it a B
  • Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper – During a beer run in early December, I actually bought one of these (along with a few others) and put it on my passenger’s side seat for the trip back home. At some point, I had to brake suddenly and my beer went flying… and this one broke open. I knew what happened right away, but since I was driving I couldn’t really address it until I got home. For the next week or so, my car smelled of imperial stout… which, actually, wasn’t that bad. I eventually picked up another bottle, but never drank it, so I brought it to beer club. It’s quite a solid imperial stout. Roasty aroma with a taste that features a lot of dark chocolate and roasted malts. It was quite good, though perhaps my taste buds were a bit shot at this point of the night, as this wasn’t quite as great as I was expecting. I’ll give it a B for now.
  • My Homebrewed Christmas Beer – I think this is perhaps my best crafted beer yet and other folks at beer club certainly seemed to enjoy it (it went pretty quickly, which is pretty gratifying). I keep saying this, but I should really do some reviews of my homebrewed beers at some point.
  • Dana’s Homebrewed Tripel – This did not come out as Dana had planned – there was a bit of a sour flavor present in the beer – but it actually turned out ok. Very citrusy nose and the taste, while not a typical tripel, was actually pretty good.

And that covers all the beer that we drank. As always, a great time was had by all, and we’re already looking forward to February.

Noel De Calabaza

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Ok folks, coming down the homestretch here. Only two holiday beers left to review. This one is an Belgian style ale aged in oak barrels with wild yeast to give the beer a bit of a sour twang. I didn’t realize that last part when I bought it (beers that say they’re oak aged generally make me think of bourbon barrel aged stuff, not sour stuff, though both seem to happen frequently), so that wild ale twang sometimes catches me by surprise. This was my Christmas night, done with all the festivities, vegging out on the couch beer, and despite the unexpected wildness, it fulfilled its duty well enough:

Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza

Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza – Pours a dark brown color with some amber highlights and a white head that leaves some lacing as I drink. The aroma is full of vanilla, oak, sugary sweetness, and a twang that I normally associate with sours. And yes, there is a bit of a tartness to the taste, though it’s not nearly as prominent as it is in a lot of sours. The taste has a lot of sweetness and fruitiness along with some spiciness (peppery? Not notably Christmassy, but it’s there…) and that wild twang emerging in the finish. The richness of the base beer’s flavors can clearly hold their own with the sourness, a combination I usually like better than beers that are super sour. The mouthfeel is strong and full bodied, a little acidic, but well matched. Overall, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all, but I’m enjoying it… B+

Beer Nerd Details: 9% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/25/11.

I don’t really know what style to call this one. BA calls it a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, but it seems more like an American Wild Ale to me, so that’s what I’m putting it as. In other news, Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery I should really become further acquainted with.

Two Front Teeth Holiday Ale

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So I bought this beer last summer. Damned if I remember why I bought it then, but I did. Heck, I’ve never even really heard of the brewery (as it turns out, they’re a very small, semi-local brewery)… But it’s been sitting in my fridge since then, and it actually seemed appropriate for New Years, so here we are.

Why is it a New Years beer? When you hear the phrase “Holiday Ale” you’re probably thinking about something that’s Christmassy. Darkish beer with spices and/or lots of warming alcohol, with maybe the odd imperial red ale making an appearance. But there’s definitely a different connotation for New Years. When it comes to alcohol, people tend to think of Champagne as the spirit of choice for that holiday. Jim from the Beer & Whisky Brothers blog recently laid out his 5 Rules for New Years Beer and while I normally find such proclamations kinda silly, I thought I’d play along anyway. Because I’m a silly guy, after all.

So let’s see here. The beer is corked, so check that off. The label is a bit iffy. It’s well designed and everything, but it’s not like a fancy, classy Champagne label. It is light colored and as it turns out, you can see through it, so we’re back on track. It’s definitely quite effervescent and bubbly, so there’s another criteria met. The name “Two Front Teeth” isn’t quite nasty, but neither is it properly festive, unless you’re hanging out with a bunch of hockey players for new years. So that’s a strong 3 out of 5, with the other two criteria on the borderline. Call it 4 out of 5. Not too shabby:

Spring House Two Front Teeth

Spring House Two Front Teeth Holiday Ale – Pours a bright, clear golden color with tons of fluffy head. Smells deeply of musty Belgian yeast and typical banana/clove aromas. Taste is candy sweet with a punch of spiciness and a nice dry finish. There are definite hints of fruitiness in the taste, but I’m not getting any cherries out of this. As it warms, that fruitiness becomes more pronounced, but I still couldn’t pick out cherries… It’s light colored, but it feels a bit on the heavy side. Medium to full bodied and a little alcohol warming effect, but still smooth. Not an everyday beer, but it’s working well as a new years beer! From what I’ve heard about this beer, I’d like to try a fresh bottle of this stuff, as it seems like it may have mellowed out in my fridge after such a long stay… B+

Beer Nerd Details: 9.75% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 12/31/11. No date on the bottle, but I’m guessing it was bottled in late 2010.

Interestingly enough, the past two years worth of New Years beer for me have been strong saison style beers (last year’s being Avec Les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont, a hard beer to beat and one of my favorite beers period, let alone holiday beers). They do strangely seem to fit the mold. I’d also assume that a light colored sour beer would work – think Russian River Temptation (I suspect Jim would take issue with the name of the beer and the Scythe imagery on the label, but who cares what he thinks). In fact, that beer is quite champagne-like. Perhaps if I can’t find a new saison for next year…

Fireside Chat

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I had this beer last year and was quite taken with it. It didn’t blow me away or anything, but it had a C+ on Beer Advocate at the time, which struck me as dreadfully underrated. BA seems to have upended the cart by using, like, 3 different rating scales now, none of which are the old letter grading system that was being used last year. Right now it’s got a 74 (out of 100), which still seems awfully low. What have these 21st Amendment people done to inspire such ire? Is this beer made with the venom of an endangered species? Perhaps it’s brewed solely with illegal immigrants in a sweatshop? Is this beer an elaborate money laundering scheme for mobsters? What’s going on here?

I will say that it wasn’t quite as great as I remembered from last year. Perhaps this could be attributed to it being on tap last year, or perhaps I got a fresher can and by the time I got my hands on it last year, it had mellowed out some… But it’s certainly not as bad as BA is indicating… Well, anyway, here goes:

21st Amendment Fireside Chat

21st Amendment Fireside Chat – Pours a dark brown color with amber highlights and a finger of tan head. Lots of holiday spices in the nose – cinnamon, clove, and the like. Taste is sweet, with some caramel malt character and just a hint of roastiness. The finish is spicy and dry, with more bitterness than I remembered from last year. Medium bodied and well carbonated, this one hides its relatively high ABV well. Overall, it’s a really solid winter warmer style beer. I’m slightly less impressed with it out of the can, but it’s still much better than the relatively craptacular ratings it garners on BA. I’ll give it a B

Beer Nerd Details: 7.9% ABV canned (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip on 12/24/11. Unfortunately no Fireplaces were available during consumption.

There you have it. Up next on this brewery’s front is Allies Win the War – 21A’s collaboration with Ninkasi (with whom I’m entirely unfamiliar, as they don’t distribute here). I bought one of the gorgeous 4 pack boxes of that beer, so I’ve already had one and quite enjoyed it. I’ll probably be drinking another for actual evaluation purposes soon.

Yule Smith Winter

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Somehow, Alesmith makes two different beers that are both named Yule Smith. And one of them comes out in the summer. Now, the word “Yule” is derived from a Germanic winter festival that was absorbed by Christmas (one of many such occurrences), so the summer one doesn’t really make much sense unless you consider the dubious holiday of Christmas in July an event worth celebrating. Then again, if it’s an excuse to make good beer, who am I to complain?

What we have here, though, is the actual Christmas version of the beer. Apparently both varieties are hoppy, imperial ales, with the summer incarnation being a DIPA and this winter one being an imperial red ale. In my recently formulated hierarchy of holiday beers, this one represents category three – the do whatever the hell you want and call it holiday beer approach. I guess red is a color associated with Christmas, so there’s that.

Alesmith Yule Smith Winter

Alesmith Yule Smith (Winter) – Pours a dark reddish brown color with a finger of whitish head. Smells strongly of sweet, fruity hops. Maybe even a little pine. Taste starts very sweet, with some of that hoppy fruit and sticky pine. Then you get a small dose of bitterness. Nothing overpowering, but it’s prominent. A nicely balanced beer. Body is full, and you get that sticky resin feeling too. Overall, I find this quite enjoyable and the strong hoppy character was a welcome change of pace. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a tulip on 12/16/11.

As it turns out, this was my first Alesmith beer. And it’s made a good impression too, so much so that I think my next homebrew might end up being an imperial red. Anyways, I’ll definitely want to pick up some of the summer Yule Smith, and I know folks seems to love the Speedway Stout as well.

Sly Fox 2011 Christmas Ale

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Well, what have we here? Another annual Christmas Ale with a recipe and label unique to that year? Well, don’t mind if I do:

Sly Fox 2011 Christmas Ale

Sly Fox 2011 Christmas Ale – Pours a dark brownish red color with tons of billowy head. The smell is filled with spices (clove and ginger with a hint of cinnamon/nutmeg) and bready aromas. The taste starts with a carbonated bang, with the spices emerging quickly and some other flavors coming out a bit as the beer warms. But that mouthfeel is quite aggressive – carbonation is through the roof in the beginning, though it quickly smooths out in the relatively dry finish. If it weren’t for the carbonation, I’d say this was a light to medium bodied beer, but the initial rush really does kick it up a notch. Not a revelation, but quite intriguing (and better than last year’s variety, if I remember correctly)… B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/9/11.

Seriously, this is like, what, the 4th Christmas beer I’ve had this year that is vintage dated with a new recipe every year? Not that I’m complaining (I actually rather like the switchups, though I could really go for a bottle of 3 French Hens right about now and that probably ain’t gonna happen), but I did find it funny. My holiday beers this year have also skewed towards the winter warmery style, while last year was more of a Belgian Strong Dark affair. Well, I’ve got a few more posts in the pipeline and long weekend’s worth a drinking ahead of me, so there’s plenty of room for variety…