B

Beers that have been rated B-, B, or B+

St. Bernardus Witbier

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A little while ago, I mentioned the St. Berndardus variety pack that I got my hands on, but until now, I hadn’t actually cracked it open. I’m not an expert of beer and food pairings, but I was having some Sushi the other night and I had recently run across this Beer Sommelier, which matches meals with beer styles. When I looked up Sushi (just FYI, it’s under seafood, not fish), it recommended various kinds of wheat beers and in consulting my cellar (i.e. my fridge), I saw that the St. Bernardus variety pack indeed included a Belgian style witbier. I would not call myself a huge fan of wheat beers, but I’ve had a few good ones in my time, and I was hoping for a lot from St. Bernardus.

St. Bernardus Wit

St. Bernardus Witbier – Pours a cloudy yellow color, with lots of head and lacing as I drank. Smell features wheat and a prominent Belgian yeast character, with a little citrus apparent as well. Taste is clean and crisp, a little thin compared to the monsters I’ve been drinking lately, but refreshing. Lots of wheaty flavors, with less citrus or yeasty spiciness/fruitiness present than I would like, but it is there if you look for it. As Wheat beers go, this one is probably near the top of my experience, but it’s not the best (a distinction that still belongs Unibroue’s excellent Blanche De Chambly). It’s got a delicate complexity that’s a good match for the sushi though, and it’s certainly something I’d love to drink in summer (I probably should have waited!) B

Not an overwhelming start to the variety pack, but it’s an enjoyable brew and I can guarantee that some of the others in the pack will wow me.

Double Feature: Animated Stouts

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Does TRON: Legacy count as an animated film? There is certainly a ton of animation in the film. Even some of the supposedly “human” characters are animated (notably the pre-disappearance Flynn and CLU), albeit sometimes poorly (you can see that uncanny valley effect quite clearly on a couple of occasions). Well anyway, I went in with very low expectations that were thus met. It was entertaining and pretty to look at, and the music was awesome, which is about all I could ask of it. This iRi post gets at one of the things I really like about TRON (the way the grid seems so alien), but I have to say that the effects described in that post are probably less pronounced in the sequel (in particular, I was disappointed by the light-bikes). The other film of my double-feature (and the only one I was actually drinking during) was Despicable Me, which had a few really funny moments (and I love the minions), but which is ultimately nothing too special. As kids animation goes, it’s no Pixar, but it’s probably a step above average.

I’ve never really been a fan of Stouts and when I started this blog, one of the things I wanted to do was better familiarize myself with the style. I took a bit of a detour into Belgian Strong Darks during the holidays, so I have a bunch of Stouts that I’ve been buying that have been sitting in my fridge or on my shelf waiting. They’re certainly good winter beers, though I wouldn’t recommend drinking a stout while watching an animated kids movie. Kinda weird, actually, but that’s what I did:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout – Pours an opaque black color with a small, relatively light colored head that leaves lots of lacing as I drink. Smells a bit on the roasty side with some nice maltiness coming through, maybe even some caramel. There’s only a very light roastiness in the taste though, which is instead dominated by rich chocolaty flavors, some of that caramel, and a solid malty sweetness. There’s some bitterness there too, but it’s dry, like dark chocolate. Indeed, this is almost like drinking a good dark chocolate. It’s a full bodied brew with surprisingly good carbonation given the small head and high alcohol, which makes one heck of a smooth, drinkable beer (a bit dangerous when it comes in at 10% alcohol!) I get the feeling that lesser breweries would totally screw something like this up. All of the complex elements here are very well balanced. As I said, I’m not much of a stout drinker, but this one is probably the best I’ve ever had. I don’t think that will last, but it’s still an impressive effort from Brooklyn (and my new favorite beer from that brewery). A

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

Founders Breakfast Stout

Founders Breakfast Stout – Before I get into this one, a disclaimer: I don’t drink coffee. I wouldn’t say that I hate coffee, but I don’t particularly like it either. So while this beer is currently ranked on BA as the 7th best beer on the planet, I am not likely to enjoy it quite so much. So if one of my three readers happens to be a beer nerd, be forewarned, I’m gonna rate this one relatively low. Like the Brooklyn, it pours an opaque black color, with a bigger, darker colored but still light brown head. Some lacing apparent, but not as much as the Brooklyn. Smells much more roasty with some coffee thrown in for good measure. Now, I do usually like the smell of coffee, but this beer isn’t really doing much for me on that front, which I find odd. The taste is also dominated by roasty coffee flavors. There’s some malt sweetness there too, maybe chocolate, but it’s overpowered by the coffee. There’s a complexity in the taste, but I just can’t get past the coffee. As far as mouthfeel goes, it’s got good carbonation and a nice full body. A little less smooth than the Brooklyn stout, but still quite drinkable (assuming you like coffee). Really, this just ain’t my style of beer. I’m glad I tried it and it’s certainly not a poorly crafted beer, I just don’t like coffee… If you do, you’ll probably love it. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.3% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

So there you have it. I loved one and didn’t care for the other. I’m looking forward to some of the other stouts I have waiting in the wings though, including one from Stone and, given my taste it should not be surprising that I have some Belgian-style darks that are kinda pretending to be stouts, like Allagash Black and Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (which says it’s a stout on the bottle, but is classified as a Belgian Dark on BA).

Flying Dog

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A little while ago I picked up Flying Dog’s variety pack and in between all of the holiday beers and whatnot, I’ve been working my way through them and their awesome Ralph Steadman artwork.

Flying Dog Logo
  • In Heat Wheat: Sweet, light, crisp and wheaty – a rather typical wheat beer. More details here. B-
  • Tire Bite Golden Ale: Light and crisp, perhaps a small step above crappy “fizzy yellow stuff”, but not by much. C-
  • Old Scratch Amber Lager: Nice amber color, medium body, a little sticky and overall, it’s a very drinkable session beer along the lines of Yuengling lager (maybe even a little better, but that’s hard for me to admit!). B
  • Snake Dog India Pale Ale: A nice west-coast style hoppy, earthy IPA. It does well on its own, but pales (pun intended!) when compared to other good IPAs (including Flying Dog’s own Raging Bitch Belgian-style IPA). B
  • Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale: Solid hoppy pale ale, a little darker than the IPA, but a nice quality session beer and maybe the best overall beer in this pack. B
  • Road Dog Porter: Dark and a bit roasty, it wasn’t quite as complex as I’d have hoped. I’ve never been a big fan of the style though, so that’s probably part of my distaste. It’s not bad, but definitely not my thing. C+

Overall, while most of them are quite drinkable and solid beers, none are really all that exceptional. This isn’t to say that they don’t make exceptional beers though: Raging Bitch IPA is actually a big step up from the Snake Dog IPA, and I’ve heard good things about the Gonzo Imperial Porter.

Nøgne Ø Peculiar Yule

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This was essentially my Christmas Eve, holy-crap-look-at-all-these-presents-I-have-to-wrap, beer. I actually wasn’t expecting to pick this up, but I had to make a trip to my Aunt’s house, and wouldn’t you know that she lives right near a Delaware liquor store that happens to have an awesome beer selection. I was actually surprised it was open, but then, business appeared to be booming. Anyway, a few beers caught my eye, including this one:

Nogne O Peculiar Yule

Nøgne Ø Peculiar Yule – I’ve noticed bottles from this brewery for a while. They’re very well designed and apparently have a decent reputation, so when I saw their holiday ale, I figured it was time to give Nøgne Ø a shot. Me being the nerd that I am, I always thought it had something to do with the null set, but apparently the brewery name is old Danish for “Naked Isle” and is a reference to an Ibsen poem. Pours an opaque, very deep, dark brown, almost black. Solid finger or two of head with lots of lacing. Cinnamon dominates the nose, but there’s some malty sweetness there as well, and you get some bitter hoppiness as it warms as well. Taste starts off sweet and spicy (The cinnamon is in there, but it doesn’t overwhelm like it does in the nose, so you get some more complex flavors here), but it ends on a note of dry hoppy bitterness. Indeed, this hoppiness character seemed to grow as I drank, including some citrus notes. It’s certainly not a hop-bomb or anything, but it’s there, and it’s something I haven’t seen (er, tasted) in, well, any of this year’s winter seasonals (save Sierra Nevada’s Celebration, which, as I mentioned in that post , has nothing really wintry about it). A good amount of carbonation and a medium body make for a very drinkable beer. It doesn’t blow me away, but it’s pretty damn good and while it has a warming spiciness to it it, it’s a nice change of pace from other wintry beers. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a tulip glass.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Petrus Winter Ale

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I stopped in at Wegman’s the other night to pick up some beers for presents to my beer club colleagues, and while there I spied this handsome label and a fancy foil cover. I’ve never heard of Petrus before, but in case you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of Belgian beer, so I figured this was well worth a try (apparently this is a practice known amongst beer nerds as Belgian Roulette). So tonight I threw in my Blu-Ray of It’s a Wonderful Life, planning to catch up on some blogging and maybe do some wrapping with it on in the background. Of course, it didn’t take long, and I simply sat on my couch, mezmerized by the movie (one of my favorites of all time) and sipping on my beer:

Petrus Winter Ale

Petrus Winter Ale: Pours a dark red/brown, with a clearish appearance and a nice big light-colored head that quickly dissipates (no real lacing evident). Smells very fragrant, with Belgian yeasts and lots of spiciness apparent. Taste is malty sweet and a little tart, which is unexpected for this type of beer, but not entirely unwelcome either (It’s not a sour or anything, but it’s there). Lots of carbonation and a medium body make this an easy drink, and the relatively low ABV helps in that respect as well. All in all, not among the best of the Holiday Beers from this year (I think perhaps this would have suffered from double feature with the Ommegang, Bruery, or St. Bernardus beers that take top honors this year…), but a nice change of pace. B

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV bottled (750 ml, caged and corked bottle). Drank from a goblet.

I think this marks the last new Holiday beer I’ll have this year. I’ll still got a bottle of Ommegang Adoration and Affligem Noël, one of which I’ll bring to share with my family, the other of which I’ll hog to myself. And there’s also the super secret New Year’s ale coming sometime next week as well. Other than that, I’ve been stocking up on some Stouts and other dark beers, which are at least wintery, if not exactly holiday themed. I’ll also probably put an order in for some brewing supplies next week, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

Double Feature: Yet More Holiday Ales

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Yeah, I’ve been a bit of a sucker for Holiday ales this year, probably because I love a good Belgian Strong Dark Ale, of which there are many Holiday variations. As such, I find myself playing Belgian Roulette, picking up beers based solely on the fact that they’re from Belgium and have pretty holiday pictures on the label. Last night, after my Samichlaus adventure, I had a couple of other beers:

Scaldis Noel

Scaldis Noël: I saw this tiny little bottle with the fancy foil wrapping at the store and thought it might be a good idea to play some Belgian Roulette. The bottle only contains about 8.5 ounces, which is quite the odd size for a bottle, but then, it also comes in at a hefty 12% ABV, so I’m actually glad it wasn’t too large. Pours a nice dark amber color with minimal head. Smells a bit boozy, and tastes that way too. It’s sweeter than the Samichlaus and maybe a bit more carbonated, but the flavor isn’t as complex. Indeed, I didn’t really connect with this beer all that much. It’s certainly not bad, but it reminded me a bit of how I felt about Mad Elf, though at least I had the small bottle around this time. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 12% ABV bottled (250 ml). Drank from a tulip glass.

Between beers, I cleansed my palate with a single cashew.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

Weyerbacher Winter Ale: Not a Belgian, but I picked up a sixer of this and gave a few away to my beer club homies, saving a couple for myself. Pours a clear dark brown color, with about a finger of head that leaves some minimal lacing as I drink. Smells of roasted malts and maybe a bit of spruce. Tastes like it smells, with a dry roastiness coming through strongly, but the spices seem a bit lost. Mouthfeel is good, with solid carbonation and good drinkability. I’m not terribly familiar with Weyerbacher, but I was expecting something a lot stronger and more assertive than this. Instead, I got a pretty decent session beer (technically just a hair stronger than most session beers, but I think it would work fine) and there’s nothing really wrong with that… It actually reminded me of a less complex 2010 Anchor Christmas Ale (which makes a bit of sense, as they’re both classified as “Winter Warmers”). Not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but I would have liked a bit more complexity (it probably didn’t help that I had had two relatively intense monsters before cracking this one open, but still). B

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

Well, I’ve nearly exhausted my supply of holiday seasonals, but look for a few more posts before the holiday, and apparently one New Years beer as well (I’m excited for that one, which I totally lucked into without even realizing it – keeping this one a secret for now).

Samichlaus

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Yesterday, I made the trek into Philly to see Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a Finnish movie that might be the world’s greatest homicidal Santa movie (not a highly populated subgenre, to be sure – when your chief competition is Silent Night, Deadly Night, the bar’s set pretty low). Anyway, the film let out around 5 pm, and rather than battle the traffic, I headed over to Eulogy for some dinner, and, of course, good beer. After perusing the on-tap list, I noticed something labeled only as “Samichlaus”. Say, that sounds kinda like “Santa Claus”! The bartender says that it’s an “intense” Doppelbock, very high in alcohol (she also says it’s kinda like a Barleywine). I say: Pour me a glass! Ordered some Belgian style mussels and sipped this beer throughout.

Samichlaus

Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier: This beer is only brewed once a year, on December 6 (for the uninitiated, that’s the feast day of Saint Nicholas, hence the name of the beer.) It is then aged for at least 10 months before being released to the public, which means what I was having was probably brewed in 2009. Apparently it was once among the strongest beers in the world, and is even now in the Guinness Book of Records as the strongest lager beer in the world. Coming in at 14% ABV, that’s not hard to believe, and it certainly smells and tastes of alcohol. The color is a nice, clear reddish brown. There was no real head on the beer, thus no lacing, and the carbonation was also low. This made for a relatively smooth mouthfeel, though there is a bit of a bite due to the alcohol. There’s a distinct syrupy texture going on with this beer, but it’s not super sweet or cloying. Taste is complex and boozy. I have to admit that it’s not really my favorite style of beer, but it was damn good and indeed, very intense, as promised. I don’t know that I’d have it on tap again, but I would love to get me a bottle of this and wait a few years to see how well it ages. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 14% ABV on tap. Drank from a Snifter glass.

I’ve been to Eulogy before, but it was always so crowded – this time I got there right around opening time, so it wasn’t as crazy as usual (it was also only a Wednesday night, so that might also have something to do with it). Nevertheless, I think I’ll have to take in some more movies at the Ritz and head over to Eulogy after…

Double Feature: Christmas Ales (Again)

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Last Saturday’s double feature was the unlikely pairing of The Kids Are All Right (a family drama featuring two moms, their half-sibling children, and the sperm donor father!) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (an escaped serial killer dredges up a past tragedy on Christmas Eve). Sometimes when I have a disparate pair of films like this, I’ll find some unexpected similarities, but that’s not really the case here, except perhaps that I think both films are a bit overrated (though both are still good, in their own way).

On the beer side of things, I’m still working my way through recent holiday purchases:

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale – First things firs, I love the label on this. It’s hysterical. It looks like a bad photoshop of the trademark St. Bernardus monk with a Santa hat and some snow. Fortunately, the contents of the bottle are much better than the label. Pours a dark, hazy brown, with a big head. Smell is yeasty with some dark fruits coming through. Mouthfeel is full of carbonation, with lots of dark frutiy flavors. The finish is almost like caramel. Surprisingly drinkable for a 10% ABV beer, I had no problem downing a 750 ml of this… It’s a really fantastic beer, one of the best I’ve had this season. A

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (750 ml, caged and corked bottle). Drank from a goblet.

I was quite pleased with the St. Bernardus, but it set a high bar… apparently, too high for my next beer:

Corsendonk Christmas Ale

Corsendonk Christmas Ale – I picked up a 4 pack of this a while ago and I had a couple before last Saturday, but damn, drinking this back-to-back with the St. Bernardus was a bad idea, as St. Bernardus is clearly the superior beer. This isn’t to say that this one is bad, per say, but it simply cannot hold a candle to the St. Bernardus (nor, I suspect, to my other favorite holiday beers). Pours a dark, clear brown color, with a big head. Smells fantastic, citrusy, spicy, and yeasty. It’s a little lighter than the St. Bernardus, and a bit less flavorful. Lots of carbonation, with a lighter, fruity sweetness and a spicy kick at the end, maybe some coriander. The finish is crisp. It’s a decent beer, but not at the top of the holiday seasonals. B

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (330 ml). Drank from a goblet.

A good night! Still have a few more holiday beers to get through, look for them soon…

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale: A Screenplay

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1. INT. SIERRA NEVADA BREWERY – LATE OCTOBER

Six men sit around a table. A projector is displaying a marketing presentation on the screen.

BREWER 1: What the fuck is this shit about?

BREWER 2: Who fucking cares? Free beer!

BREWER 1: Hey shitdouche, you work in a brewery! You drink free beer all the time!

BREWER 2: You’re just jealous because I got the fucking good stuff!

KEN GROSSMAN: Hey! Every beer we make is “good stuff”

BREWER 1: Yes, sir…

BREWER 2 (in unison): Yes, sir…

MARKETING WEENIE: Ok folks, let’s get started. We here in Marketing are proud to debut the label designs for our new Holiday ale.

BREWER 1 and BREWER 2 start fidgeting anxiously.

KEN GROSSMAN: Great! What’s it called?

MARKETING WEENIE:Picture this: A quaint little cottage in the countryside. Surrounded by evergreens, snow adorns its roof, smoke curling up from its chimney…

HEAD BREWER: Hey, shit-for-brains, he asked what it was called.

MARKETING WEENIE sighs, pausing for effect.

MARKETING WEENIE: It’s called… Celebration.

KEN GROSSMAN: Love it, love it, love it. Let’s go home.

MARKETING WEENIE: Well, wait, shouldn’t we try tasting it first?

KEN GROSSMAN: Holy shit, yeah, duh, forgot about that. Where is it? All I see in this bucket here is a bunch of pale ales and IPAs.

BREWER 1 (under his breath): Fuuuuuuuuuuck

BREWER 2: What the fuck are we talking about here?

HEAD BREWER glares at BREWER 1 and BREWER 2

MARKETING WEENIE: You guys were supposed to bring a few bottles of the new holiday ale for us to taste.

BREWER 1: Yeah… so, uh, we didn’t brew any.

HEAD BREWER: What!? So what the fuck is in all those fucking beer tanks out there!?

BREWER 2: It’s actually a pretty bitchin’ IPA.

HEAD BREWER: What about all the cinnamon and nutmeg we were going to brew it with?

BREWER 1: Brewer 2 heard a rumor it would get him high…

HEAD BREWER: That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.

BREWER 2: Duuuude, it totally works.

KEN GROSSMAN: Really?

MARKETING WEENIE (in unison):This is unbelievable. You assholes should be fired!

KEN GROSSMAN: Eh, not so fast. Do you still have any?

BREWER 2: What, cinnamon?

KEN GROSSMAN: Yeah, let’s fire that shit up!

HEAD BREWER: I’m game.

MARKETING WEENIE: So what are we going to do about the holiday ale?

BREWER 1: Shit, man, bottle that IPA and slap those Celebration labels on it. Done. This ain’t fuckin rocket science.

KEN GROSSMAN: You guys are fucking brilliant. I’m giving you all raises.

MARKETING WEENIE: This is amazing.

KEN GROSSMAN: Except for you, you’re fired.

2. INT. COMPUTER DESK – 11:15 PM

Sierra Nevada Celebration

MARK: Yeah, so it’s pretty good, but I have no idea what makes this a winter seasonal. Pours a nice clear amber red color, with a solid, light colored head. Typical IPA smell of malt and hops, and a taste to match. Nice citrusy start, dry bready bitterness in the finish. There’s absolutely nothing about this that screams “Holiday” (except for the label), but it’s a good beer. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.8% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a tulip glass.

So I’m looking forward to Sierra Nevada’s upcoming summer seasonal, a Russian Imperial Stout. (What? That makes about as much sense as this one!)

Update: This should go without saying, but I obviously don’t think Ken Grossman (and his brewers) is a cinnamon snorting addict. However, I do think it would be funny if he was.

Again Update: Apparently I missed the opportunity to make fun of Sierra Nevada’s “green” industry practices (which are praiseworthy, to be sure, but also probably ripe for hijinks).

Tröegs Mad Elf

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I don’t know, maybe this just isn’t a good year to be drinking beers with “elf” in the name. Not that any were super bad, just that none of them really connected with me. I had high hopes for this one, as I’ve heard many good things, but I found myself disappointed:

Troegs Mad Elf

Tröegs Mad Elf – Pours a light, clear, reddish color, with a relatively small head that dissipates pretty quickly. Smell is a bit fruity and musty. Taste is sweet, with some of that cherry taste, and very boozy. The strong alcohol taste isn’t nearly as well balanced with other flavors as this weekend’s other big holiday brew, Three French Hens, but it’s not out of control (like the Insanely Bad Elf I had on Thursday) either. Carbonation is low, which makes it a relatively smooth drink, but drinking a whole bomber of this gets a bit cloying towards the end. It’s not bad, but I just didn’t connect with it at all. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 11% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank from a tulip glass.

I’m getting close to the end of my Holiday brews, but I think I’ve got enough to tide me over until Christmas. So far, so good, even if there’ve been a few missteps.