Saranac Hefeweizen

So for those who didn't know, the past few weeks I have been out of town so the posts have been automated. This post is included in that. I've been travelling in Europe and finished up my trip in Las Vegas with some friends. I set these posts up in advanced so I wouldn't have to worry about the blog while I was out of the country. Don't worry though, I took notes on all the beers I tried while I was away (especially in Ireland!)

This week, I have another of Saranac's beers from their Summer Sampler. This one was the Hefeweizen because I needed a break from all IPAs I've been drinking. Seriously, that many hops can kill a girl. Plus, I do have a soft spot for wheat beers.

The beer poured a gold color with some cloudiness. There was a thin, white head that dissipated rather quickly. There was some nice lacing as the beer moved down the glass. The nose was very bready with a few light citrus notes. The flavor had a strong banana notes with mild spiciness and just a bit of the bread that was in the nose. The finish was nice and clean.

Overall, a very nice beer. A good example of the style, in my opinion, though not the best I've ever had. I would recommend it to any one looking for a beer at the end of a long day. 

Saranac Rye IPA

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I purchased Saranac's 12 Beers of Summer pack which gives you 6 different beers to try. The next few blog posts will likely be about them as I had never had most of the beers in the pack before. This post is about their Rye IPA.

A Rye IPA is when the brewer replaces a portion of the grains with rye instead. The proportion is usually somewhere between twenty and thirty percent depending on the recipe but on various websites I've seen people say they put as much as forty to fifty percent of the grain to rye. They tend to have a spicier flavor to them from the rye and can be very startling the first time you try them if you aren't expecting it.

The beer poured a hazy, deep gold color with a bright white head. I didn't get much of a head but it did seem to stay with the beer as I drank it. There was very little lacing on the glass as I drank this beer. The nose was very spicy with quite a few hop notes to it. The flavor was pleasantly spicy with a welcome burn as you got to the hop notes. It was nicely balanced with a few malt notes toward the end. The finish was nice and clean with just a bit of a lingering burn.

A very nice beer though not something I would necessarily associate with summer considering the spice of it.

Thomas Neeson's SMaSH IPA

A good friend of mine started homebrewing about a year and a half ago. I've tried some of his beer and it is quite good. He's a grad student up in Vermont studying Education and he is a talented musician as well. He doesn't have a brewing website yet but as soon as there is something I will put a link in here.

The most recent batch he gave me to try was an all-grain brew of an IPA that was dry hopped. This was his first all-grain brew and he had been doing extract brews before that. For those who don't know what that means: extract brewing means that you are brewing using prepackaged malt extract where as in all-grain brewing, you are creating the extract yourself by creating the extract yourself by mashing different grains to create the wort.

The beer poured a hazy, gold color with a thin white head. There wasn't very good retention of the head and very little lacing in the glass as the beer was consumed. The nose was surprisingly mild for a dry hopped IPA but there were still a few hop and citrus notes to be found. The beer was very much a full bodied IPA with a lot of good hop flavor with some nice, light lemon notes as well. The finish of the beer was a lingering of the hop bitterness which left you wanting more of the beer.

A great example of DIY in the beer industry, this was very much a successful homebrew.

Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale

So I was without internet for awhile as I moved into my new apartment but I didn't stop taking notes or trying new beers. One that made a particular impression on me was from Saranac's 12 Beers of Summer Pack, Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale. Now in the past, I had found one of their seasonal beers a bit strong for my taste but one of my friends was raving about it so I decided to try it. Also, I was still on the hunt for the mystery blueberry beer that I HAVE FOUND and will review at a later date.

The beer poured a hazy, gold color with a bright white head. The head had good retention throughout and there was some excellent lacing. The nose of the beer had some very strong blueberry notes with just a hint of some citrus. Normally, this sort of nose is the hint of bad things to come but the flavor was pleasantly mild. It had a very nice blueberry flavor that was well balanced with a touch of hop and citrus notes. The finish was very mellow with a bit of blueberry lingering at the very end.

This beer is available, as I said, in the 12 Beers of Summer Pack but also in its own 6 pack if you want just this one. I highly recommend it.

Deadwood Nut Brown Ale

This weekend my parents and I went to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Orioles. We stayed at a Comfort Inn not too far from downtown. Inside the inn, there were signs for a Deadwood Cafe and Brewery so, being me, I twisted everyone's arm into going.

When we arrived, the place wasn't exactly what we expected. It was in a bowling alley but who am I to judge? This could be some fantastic beer that no one knows about. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

They were out of their stout but the replacement offering was a nut brown ale so I ordered that. On the website, it's described as a blend of a Pilsner and a Stout. The beer came out a dark brown, nearly black color. There was a small head that was cream to white in color but it dissipated very quickly to a very thin layer of foam. The nose was muted but a few floral and hop notes were present. The flavor was thin and overhopped for the style of beer. It was nearly identical to my dad's IPA in the amount of hoppiness. It was very disappointing since malty beers are my favorite and that's what this was supposed to be in part. There was no real aftertaste which was good but the beer overall was lacking. I'm sorry to say I won't be recommending this to anyone because I wouldn't want them to face the same disappointment that I faced here. 

Brooklyn Summer Ale

So life got a little crazy these past few months and despite the fact that I tried some wonderful beers, I just didn't have the time to write about them. Things are calming down now so we're going to try to start things up again here.

About a week ago, my sister and I were on our way to get some beer for a party we were going to when we got distracted by a display of this year's summer beers. Among them were several cases of Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale which we scrambled to purchase. This is a beer we both enjoy a great deal and look forward to every year.

Brooklyn's Summer Ale is an English style Pale Ale which tends to have more malt notes than its American and Indian counterparts. Brooklyn's holds true to this in the actual flavor of the beer. I put this beer into my standard pint glass and it poured a gold color with a bright white head. The nose of the beer was hoppy and floral with just a hint of fruitiness. The flavor of the beer was surprisingly mild with a good mixture of hop and malt notes. There was a bit of citrus to it as well giving it a very crisp texture. The finish was clean and left you looking for more.

A very solid beer, in my opinion, that is accessible to both people who enjoy and do not enjoy the hoppy IPAs. A great start to summer and I look forward to continuing this blog for awhile to come.

Southern Tier Imperial Pumking Ale

As the last entry in the Great Pumpkin-Off 2011, this beer is a more than proper way to end. Southern Tier Brewing Co. already impressed me with their Hop Sun over the summer so when a fan of the blog recommended this beer I was happy to oblige his request. 

Related, perhaps, to Jack Skellington?

Now I hate to continuously point out the importance of naming a beer and the subsequent way that beer is perceived, but this beer's name is Pumpking Ale. As it can be seen in the picture above, the pumpkin is a crowned and regal looking jack o'lantern. Now unlike other beers that have given themselves important names (see Raison d'Etre), this beer truly is the king of pumpkin beers this year and is my personal favorite of the five I've tried so far.

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The beer poured a nice shade of orange with just a little bit of haze to it. The head was bright white and had good retention to it. The nose of the beer was just like fresh scooped pumpkin. It was sweet and a little nutty but distinctly pumpkin. The flavor matched it perfectly. It was smooth and well balanced in spite of the high ABV of the beer. The finish of the beer left you wanting more and I have never been so sad to have finished a bottle of beer and not have another one to drink. I bought this beer in a 22 oz. bottle and paid around $8 for it. So while it was a little pricey, this beer undoubtedly did not disappoint and certainly had a lot of bang for the buck.

Keegan Ales Brewery

So in honor of a good friend coming to visit me, we decided to visit a local brewery. She wants to get better at tasting beer and, well, I have a blog about beer so who was I to say no. This time we went up to Kingston, NY and visited Keegan Ales. The brewery was founded in 2003 and has garnered much acclaim over the past 8 years. I had already tried their Mother's Milk stout at a party over the summer so I was looking forward to this visit.

We didn't get to go on a tour but you could see the brew room to your right when you walk in so it wasn't a complete bust on that end of things. The brewery has a bar/restaurant attached so we found a table and ordered a sampler tray for each of us.

Sampler tray from lightest to darkest

There were five beers on tap that day and we were given them from lightest to darkest.That was the order we drank them in starting with Old Capital.

Old Capital

Old Capital is an American Blonde Ale and its color gives you just that. It was pale gold with a thin white head. There were a few citrus notes in the nose but was overall very muted. The taste was not dissimilar to a pilsner and was very refreshing. It was clean and crisp to drink with a nice finish. Very drinkable and accessible to anyone.

Hurricane Kitty IPA

Next up on this adventure was Hurricane Kitty's IPA. I'm still not the biggest fan of IPAs in general but this one was still very accessible. The color threw me off a bit seeing as I will probably always presume that an IPA will be pale gold but the copper red was a very pleasant surprise. The head was bright white and had a nice retention to it. The nose had a pleasantly mild hoppiness to it with some pine and citrus notes to it as well. The taste was much heavier on the hops giving the beer an almost pine tree like flavor to it. The flavor lingered in the mouth a bit but overall the beer had a very dry finish it.

Mother's Milk

Mother's Milk was the one I had tried previously so I knew I was going to enjoy this one. The beer was nearly black with a creamy head. The nose on this beer was full of rich chocolate and coffee notes. The beer itself was incredibly smooth to drink and had an almost creamy quality to it. There were plenty of chocolate and coffee notes mirrored from the nose into the flavor of the beer. The finish had a distinct milky flavor to it.

Joe Mama's Milk

Joe Mama's Milk is Keegan Ales' Imperial stout. They added brown sugar to Mother's Milk to increase the alcohol content and did so rather successfully as it weighs in around 8% ABV. This beer was almost nearly black in the pour with a cream colored head. The nose was very similar to that of Mother's Milk in that there was a good amount of chocolate but I found that the coffee notes were quite a bit stronger. I could also smell the brown sugar that had been added. The taste differences were almost undetectable as was the increased alcohol level in this beer from the original stout. The taste lingered a bit and finished with a a very malty flavor.

Oktoberfest

The final beer of the day was their seasonal Oktoberfest beer which was a traditional Märzen style. It was a very dark brown pour with a white head. The nose was malty but had a few brighter hoppy and floral notes to it. The flavor was more hoppy than malty to me despite the color of the beer though I am learning to be better about judging a beer by its color. It had a crisp finish with the floral notes lingering a bit at the end. 

This was undoubtedly a great brewery to go to and hang out. They hold events on the weekend and have bands play. The pricing is reasonable as well. It was $2 a sample putting the sampler at $10. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience that I look forward repeating soon in the future. 

Gilded Otter Dusseldorf Altbier

My younger sister recently celebrated her twenty-first birthday. To help her celebrate, our family went out to dinner at the Gilded Otter. The recommendation came from a number of people and we were all looking forward to it. 

Places like the Otter seem to have an additional burden on them to not only provide quality beer but also quality food. This restaurant did not disappoint in either respect but as this is a blog about beer, I will stick to my beer selection for the evening. They have an impressive selection of beers considering they brew in house and it was difficult to pick out just one but I settled on the Dusselfdorf Altbier. The altbier is a brown ale, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite varieties of beer and promised to be different from the other two styles of brown ale I've reviewed. 

The beer, as seen above, was a brownish gold color and appeared with a thin head of white foam. The nose was a bit muted but had a healthy blend of both malt and hops. There were some notes of breadiness as well. The taste matched the nose in its balance of malt and hops. There was an overall sweetness to the beer that was very interesting and hard to place a real flavor to. The finish was a little bitter but not unpleasantly so. Overall, I was very impressed with this beer. 

My sister and my dad also had beers that I tried, though not nearly enough to write a review, and both were very good as well. My sister had the Clove Valley Pumpkin Ale and my dad had the Huguenot St. American Lager. At $6 a pint, the beer was reasonably priced for the atmosphere and I am most certainly looking forward to going back and trying more of their beers. 

Saranac Pumpkin Ale

Halloween seems all too perfect a time to have the second to last beer in the Great Pumpkin-Off of 2011. Especially given the label for this beer is a Jack O'Lantern. Saranac Pumpkin Ale is one of their seasonal brews that's available in their 12 Beers a Falling or in its own 6 or 12 pack. The brewery is located in Utica, NY and as of right now I'm supposed to go visit it very soon. 

Happy Halloween!

 This particular beer was picked out by a friend for his birthday and the first sampling I did was with him straight from the bottle. I was a little put off by it then so I decided to do a proper sampling of it a few days later, thinking that the bottle somehow changed the way the beer tasted.

The beer poured a deep reddish gold color. There was very little head on the pour and what there was seemed to dissipate very quickly. The nose was very spice heavy with clove being the most notable one of the bunch. The flavor wasn't much different. The clove was downright overpowering. It was difficult to discern a lot of the other spices that were there because of the clove. I also found it difficult to discern the pumpkin at all. The spices lingered on the palate after the beer was finished, tasting almost like burnt spices after awhile.

It depends on personal tastes on this one I suppose and I like cloves as much as the next person, but I strongly feel you should be able to taste the pumpkin in a pumpkin ale. The beer was fairly disappointing but not overall terrible. It certainly left a warmth from all the spices and at $8 a six-pack it is certainly reasonably priced.

Sixpoint Sweet Action

Last weekend I went to a restaurant I'd heard about for years on a local radio station, Bacchus Restaurant and Bar. A couple of good friends had gone to a wedding so I met them for lunch. Their sign boasts their beer list as over 400 beers but their website says that they're at about 500 so trying to pick something was a bit daunting. I've been really trying to not be picky but 500 choices and only being allowed one is damn near impossible.

The bartender suggested one of their draft selections, Sixpoint Sweet Action. It's a cream ale and after my delightful experience with Kilkenny's, it seemed to me like an easy decision. The Sixpoint brewery is located down in Brooklyn and has only been around since 2004. After exploring their website a little bit, I noticed that we both share the same Ben Franklin quote so they're also going to be on my list of breweries to continue to try beers from.

Two guest elbows for this blog post

The beer was served in a pint glass. It had a reddish gold color to it with a white head to it that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin ring around the edge. The smell was mildly hoppy with a lot of floral notes to it. The taste had more malt notes too it but still finished mildly hoppy and was flowery overall. While it was a good beer, I felt it was largely unremarkable as far as beers go. 

I don't know that I'd get it again at $5.75 a pint but I'm sure if I could find it at a more reasonable price I'd be more than  happy to drink this beer on a regular basis.

Widmer Hefeweizen

My second day in the Seattle area included a day trip down to Portland. I was incredibly excited because I wanted to go see Powell's books and was actually not really thinking about beers to try while I was there. All of my book shopping and squealing left me hungry though so we ended up trying to find somewhere close by to eat before we headed home. About a block away from Powell's we located Henry's 12th Street Tavern. At first glance, it doesn't quite look like it will live up to its tavern name but one look at the beer list and all fears will be quieted.

There was a third panel too!

As you can see, the beer list was quite extensive (as it continued on to a third panel on the reverse side) and was even separated by types of beer so that you can pick according to the style you want. They have a few specialty beers that are denoted by an asterisk next to the name and are served in a snifter as opposed to a traditional pint glass. It should also be noted that all of these beers are on tap. There are no bottled beers in this tavern. Being in Portland, I wanted to get a beer from Oregon rather than Washington since that was more local and ended up settling on Widmer Hefeweizen, brewed right in Portland itself.

Now, I will never claim to be a beer expert. I know which styles I tend to like and which I tend to stay away from. I had never heard of a hefeweizen before so I did a little searching. Hefeweizen translates to "yeast wheat" which is an unfiltered wheat. From what I read about the traditional German style, it's supposed to smell like bananas and cloves. Widmer Brother's Hefeweizen, however, is an American style Hefeweizen so I feel that is probably why I couldn't smell either.

As you can see from the photo, the beer was a gold/orange color that was cloudy in appearance. The head was thin and white but stayed with the beer throughout the duration. It was served with a lemon which made discerning the actual smell of the beer from the lemon but the beer itself seemed to be mild. There was a definite bready aroma to it but lots of citrus as well. The taste was also fairly citrusy and very smooth. The finish was refreshing and didn't linger much after the drink was gone.

The price was not an issue, I believe it was $6 for my beer. I would highly recommend this beer to people who enjoy things like Blue Moon and would like to try something different. I had the bottled version of it later on in the evening and would strongly recommend to wait to try it as a draft if the option is available over the bottle.

Fremont Brewery

My trip to the Seattle area was phenomenal. The people are fantastic and incredibly friendly. Anyone and everyone will start up a conversation with you. This, in addition to the wonderful beer, was part of the appeal of the Fremont Brewery. It was recommended by a friend of my cousin's, who I was visiting this weekend, but she had never been herself either. Both of us were very impressed.

While we didn't take a tour of the brewery, we arrived during the hours in which they hold their Beer Garden. As you can see from the picture above, they have a long bench table set up with planks of wood propped up on used kegs. You can purchase beer by either draft, growler, keg or bottle. Growlers, however, need to be taken with you as there is a sign asking you do not drink them on the premises. The place was packed when we arrived and there was no room for us to sit but people moved in and out fairly quickly so don't let this discourage you if come and this happens to you. Plus, you can always get a beer while you wait like we did.

Photo taken at the end of the evening, it was much more crowded when we arrived

I asked the bartender what his favorite was because I'm trying to be adventurous and he suggested either the Harvest Ale, which is a saison, that had just be put on draft that day, or the Interurban IPA. I chose the Harvest because I had never had that style of beer before and was eager to try it...and maybe a little because I'm still intimidated by IPAs

Held by my lovely assistant :)

The beer poured a beautiful golden color with very little white head. The head stuck around, clinging to the edge of the glass, the entire time I drank the beer. This beer was a bit of a challenge for me because I am unfamiliar with the style but I was able to figure out the different flavors all on my own. The beer had a faint apple smell to it which pleasantly combined with the hops. The taste was mildly hoppy but still had some of the fruit notes evident. Overall, I'd definitely agree with the bartenders' assessment of the beer coming out wonderfully.

Now, I know I normally only review the one beer, but I was so impressed with the Harvest Ale that I went back and purchased a sampler of the rest of the beers they were offering that evening. The beers offered on draft were Universale Pale Ale, Sister Imperial IPA, Wandering Wheat, Harvest Saison, and Interurban IPA from Fremont and Troll Porter from Hale's Ales as a guest tap.

From left to right: Universale Pale Ale, Hale's Troll Porter, Interurban IPA, Wandering Wheat, Sister Imperial IPA

The first one I tried was the Imperial IPA. It was gold in color with a thin white head. The smell was very crisp and almost piney. It smelled a bit like Christmas trees to me. I think I might just be unfamiliar with this style of beer though. It was intensely hoppy in its flavor which for me was a bit of a turn off but I'm still getting used to hoppy tasting beers. I could make out some citrus notes and the beer had a very crisp, clean finish.

The Sister Imperial IPA

The next one up was the Wandering Wheat which was rather refreshing to me after such a hoppy beer, but again, that's personal preference. The wheat was gold and cloudy in appearance with a thin white head. It had a very mild scent to it with mild wheat and bread notes. A very smooth beer, it had a sweet flavor to it and a nice clean finish. It had a citrus quality to it as well.

Wandering Wheat

The next beer I had was the Interurban IPA. The color was slightly darker than the Imperial IPA with a thin white head. Once again, all I could really smell was pine and hops but it was far milder than the Imperial IPA. The flavor had some citrus notes but also quite a bit of hops to me. It was more enjoyable than the Imperial but still not my favorite of the evening. The finish was clean and crisp and the flavor lingered just a little bit with some hops.

Interurban IPA

The next one on the list was the Universale Pale Ale. Now, I know in the picture above the Troll Porter would appear to be next in line but with all these hoppy beers I wanted a malty one to finish. But, alas, I digress. Visually, this beer was hard to tell apart from the Interurban IPA. They are similarly colored. The flavor, however, was a bit different. While still hoppy, this was a much more accessible beer to those of us who don't enjoy hops. It was citrusy with a mild hops flavor. It had a mild flavor lingering at the end but was very pleasant.

Universale Pale Ale

The final beer of the night was actually not from Fremont's Brewery but from another local Seattle brewery, Hale's Ales. This was their Troll Porter in nitro which is a style I'm growing to really enjoy. The beer poured near black in color with a light tan/beige head that stayed the length of the beer. The smell was coffee and very sweet malts. The taste was rich dark chocolate with some coffee notes. The beer was sweet but not overly so and very smooth with light carbonation due in part to the nitro.

Nitro Troll Porter

Overall, this outing was fantastic. Everything about the experience, the beer, the people, the atmosphere, made it truly enjoyable. The pricing was just right. The Harvest Ale was $4 for the pint with most beers running about the same. Each sampler glass of beer was a dollar which I thought to be more than reasonable. The growlers ran $8 for refills and I'm not sure how much it was to buy a growler from them (anyone with that information feel free to let me know!). I purchased a 22 oz. bottle of their Summer Solstice brew for $3.75 and I'm very excited to try it. For the first night out in the Seattle area, this brewery certainly set the bar very high.

Coming soon: Widmer Brother's Hefeweizen and Big Sky Brewing Co. Moose Drool

Southern Tier's Hop Sun

I bring to you today, a beer that is very unique. It is the summer seasonal beer from the Southern Tier Brewing Company called Hop Sun. It is a relatively young brewery being in operation since 2002, located in Lakewood, NY. Despite it's recent start, it has already garnered national attention and is distributed to many states.

Look at the pretty bottle!

I can't, and won't, take credit for picking out this beer. My sister noticed it on my first trip to my favorite beer store so I bought it. It is listed as an American Wheat Ale on Southern Tier's website but it is unlike any other American Wheat Ale I have tried. The box boasts that it's brewed with three different types of malts but based on its appearance, you wouldn't know it.

Pretty gold color hiding delicious malts? 

This beer doesn't fall into my typical category either. Because while it has a delicious malt taste at the beginning, the finish is all hops. The finish is not too bitter though which is something I find to be characteristic of hoppy beers which is why I think I enjoy it so much. The beer itself is sweet and citrusy with a good amount of carbonation. The head was good with the pour for dissipated fairly quickly. The hops finish lingers in the mouth a long while making the beer last. Aside from the finish, however, you wouldn't be able to tell the color of this beer just by the taste I think.

The price isn't too bad either. For a six pack, I paid $9.99. Taking into consideration this is a seasonal brew, I find the price to be completely reasonable. It's a little more expensive than other similar styles of beer but considering the complexity, I'd say the price increase is well worth it.

National Bohemian

Also on our trip to Baltimore, while my dad and I were at Camden Yard, an unusual mascot caught my eye.

Mustachioed cyclops?

Who was this one-eyed, mustachioed man and what was he selling, you may wonder. The answer was his name is Mr. Boh and he's selling a locally brewed Pilsener by the name of National Bohemian. National Bohemian is a domestic beer originally brewed by the National Brewing company right in Baltimore. Today, it is brewed by Miller in Eden, North Carolina and distributed by Pabst. The beer is still only distributed in the very local market of Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and North and South Carolina. There is also a National Bohemian bar located inside Camden Yard. Needless to say, however, the uniqueness of the mascot was the only thing that was needed to get me to try this beer. 

They had a mascot walking around and everything!

The bar tender was very nice and also quite knowledgeable about the beer he was serving. He was patient with my tourist status and politely explained the proper way to order his beer. When asking for a National Bohemian, it's most correct to order it as a Natty-Boh, or just straight up Boh. The beer I was handed was light gold in color with very little head which was a stark difference from the beer I had earlier, Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale. 

Dad's elbow was in all my pictures of beer

The beer's appearance is reminiscent of other golden domestic beers you may be familiar with such as Budweiser or Coors. The taste, however, was quite a bit different. While it is a pilsener and many pilseners are on the bitter or hoppy end of things, I found this to be quite refreshing and lacking the usual bite. Some may find this disappointing but as I do not like hoppy beers, I found the change to be very enjoyable. Since I had the beer in a major league baseball stadium, the price I paid for it was greatly inflated at $7.50 for the glass pictured above. After doing a little research, I found that the 24 pack should run about $20. Overall, I would give this beer 3 mugs out of 5. It was a very good beer for the purpose it serves as an easily drinkable domestic beer and you cannot beat it for the price. I would consider it a must try if you're in the Baltimore area, if only for the history associated with it.