Saint Arnold's Octoberfest

Labor day has finally gone. More than just symbolizing the end of summer and beginning of a school year it also symbolized a time to get ready for fall, and many brewers use this time to start putting out their fall beers, whether they be Octoberfest style brews or pumpkin ale these are some of my favorite beers. So over the course of the next month or so, I'll be trying as many fall brews as I possibly can, then maybe at the end, around the end of October I'll do a mass tasting to see which one I thought the best was. My first foray is one I had last year.
The Beer: Looking over last years notes it's held up very well and its a pretty consistent beer. It pours a bright amber color with a nice quarter inch taupe head, that has more staying power than last years. The nose is of roasted malts and caramel, with notes of yeast and floral hops. The mouth is sweet and caramel-y. Very little bitterness here, but copious amounts of malt-y goodness. Sweet without being cloying or overpowering. A very good beer in my book.

Thoughts on Michael Jackson

As mentioned yesterday, the Father of Beer Writing Michael Jackson has passed on. Like most lovers of beer, I have never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I consider him a great influence. However, there are many who have met him, some of there stories and thoughts are below:

Thoughts from Stan at Appellation Beer.
A great article and post from Lew Bryson
Another good article from the folks at Realbeer.
All About Beer has posted his last article where he talks a little bit about his illness.
A post from Rick Lyke and his experiences with Mr. Jackson.
The brewers over at Lost Abbey take their turn expressing their sadness at the loss of the Leader of the Pack

A Sad Day......

If any day was one, today is it for the beer world. News from Brookston Beer Bulletin brings that the great Beer author and more Michael Jackson has passed. Mr. Jackson known as the Beer Hunter among other things, introduced many a novice beer drinker to craft beer with the World Guide to Beer among many other books. He will be missed. Other much more eloquent will be posting their thoughts throughout the next couple of days. I'll try to gather as many as I can and post links to them this weekend.

The Under 21 Debate

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably noticed that there has been an increase in the debate on whether or not to lower the legal drinking age. I have spoken about it before, and even link to a site, whose goal it is to educate others about drinking responsibly. Earlier this week Jay over at Brookston Blog had a very well written article on the subject. However it wasn't until I read an article by Fred Eckhardt in the most recent magazine of All About beer that I decided to post a few of my thoughts no the issue.
I'll go ahead and state my position at the top so you understand where I'm coming from, I am for lowering the age to 18. There was one paragraph in particular from AAB that really raised my eyebrows: Of all the countries in the world, the US is one of only FOUR that restrict the drinking age to 21, the others being South Korea, Malaysia and the Ukraine. In fact three are only 7 total countries that don't use 18 as the age (the additional three being New Zealand, Iceland, and Japan). Now is it just me or is there something really wrong here. To help furthermake Jay's point, but does MADD really think that every other country in the world is ready to damage the mental development of their youth? I don't hink so.
Having lived in Germany for a few months I know first hand that there view of alcohol is VERY different. They don't have the issues that we have with drunk driving, alcoholism, and frankly just regular instances of public intoxication. Neo-prohibitionists can scream and yell until they are red in the face, but the above are all true statements. We have made alcohol this mysterious stigma due to our outlook on it, shrouding it misconception that creates an atmosphere that once a person leaves the protected embrace of home and heads to college, binge drinking rises to incredible rates. Our youth are not raised to respect alcohol, understanding that it is something to be enjoyed with dinner and friends, vs getting drunk off the cheapest swill possible. The youth of this great country face immense pressure to drink, while in Europe that pressure just doesn't exist. Why is that?
The legal age of adult hood as set by many precedences is 18. It is the age in which we can choose the leader of our great country. It is the age in which we are considered adults in the eyes of the courts. It is the age in which we can die for our country. We can be police officers, and firemen at 18. We drive cars, we can fly airplanes at 18. However we can not have a beer. If everyone looks at this from a logical (I know this may be a difficult request for some) they can not honestly say that keeping the age at 21 is the right thing to do. As prohibition was a failed culteral experiment, so was raising the legal drinking age to 21.

A tale of two magazines

A couple of days ago I was all set to write a post about what I thought was a pretty good magazine on beer, Draft. Of course some bloggers have pointed out that this isn't all that good of a magazine and sure it has its short comings, but I thought it was pretty good. My attitude changed this past weekend when my eyes caught hold of the newly renovated All About Beer Magazine. Now most beer aficionados know of this magazine, however, it was the first time I have seen it in my area. Having heard so much about it, I picked it up and couldn't be happier.
Here are just a few of the things I liked about it:

• The in depth articles were very informative and well written. The article on the history of IPA, while not covering a whole lot of new ground it was still a good article that would give a new comer a greater understanding of what has become an American Craft brewer's standard. The other was the article on the Publican. The intent of the story was celebrating Washington D.C.'s Brickseller, a taphouse that has been around for 50 years. However the article spread to many more taphouses around the country including the local favorite Gingerman's and Flying Saucer.
• A great guide to Beer Books. Covering everything from beer history to beer memorabilia, this was a great guide for book lovers.
• The tastings were very informative broken down into two distinct formats. The first is the traditional ratings of beer, the theme this month being Continental Ales, the second is called "Beer talk" and is a panel of beer experts each extolling on a specific selection of beers. The panel included such luminaries as Michael Jackson and Garret Oliver, among others.
  

All in all, I felt this was an incredibly easy read, good interviews with brewers and a fun look at news bits. They ave a great selection of writers, from Rick Lyke to Charlie Papazian and many others.
My nits are minor and consistent with my gripes for other magazines. The Activity Calendar is already out of date by the time the magazine comes to print. If magazines are going to put these things out, they need to do a better job of making them relevant. This magazine has now become a monthly pick up for me as its one of the few beer mag's that I have access to down in Houston. Unfortunately no Beer Advocate. I am thinking of writing another post on why Draft is no longer my favorite, maybe later this week.

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Ever since my first taste of Ommegang I have been a HUGE fan of their beers. Touted as one of the best brewers of Belgian ales in the US, they are located in Cooperstown, NY. They have an amazing farmhouse brewery located there that over looks the rolling hills and forests of the surrounding area. Originally an independent brewery they are now owned by Moortgart, makers of Duvel and Maredsous. This past week my local Flying Saucer, as it does every Wednesday had a Glassware night. I couldn't make it due to my work, but my wonderful and amazing fiance went because the glass was from Ommegang and I had to have one. This was a very special glass and it was for a very specific beer, their Three Philosophers. After my fiance picked up the glass I of course, went out and grabbed a Three Philosophers to try in its own glass. The glass is a small almost spherical goblet residing on a short stemmed base.
The Beer: The beer is a Quadrupel made with cherries and weighing in at 9.8% abv. Pouring into its unique glass the beer is a cloudy hazelnut color with a very nice tan colored head. the nose is sour, yeasty, malty, cherries, with some caramel notes. The mouth has a bit of cherry up front, but its not lambic-y at all. Thick and malty with malty notes, both caramel and a bit of chocolate notes come out. As the beer warms more cherry flavor pops up mixing with the caramel and chocolate more. At the very back is this warm sourdough bread flavor that comforts the should. Such an amazingly complex beer! As you can tell I thoroughly enjoyed it. A strong powerful A for this beer. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

A Couple of Quick Hits

Just a couple of quick notes today.

First check out this article by one of my favorite Texas based Beer writers Barry Schlacter. Today in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram he has a good article on who owns what. Some of those independent breweries are not so independent after all.

Secondly Saint Arnold's has announced that Divine Reserve 5 a Russian Imperial Stout will be released in early September. In the meantime checkout their Octoberfest brew which was released this week.

Another Texas Craft Beer

Yes sir, may I have another!
Thanks to Josquin for this bit of news, a new craft brewery is opening, in nearby Conroe Texas no less. Called Southern Star Brewing Company, it looks like they some time before they are open. From the website, they plan on being open by January 2008. No report yet on the styles of beer's they will be brewing, but one would hope they would continue the strong tradition of brewing standard brews such as Saint Arnold's Amber and Brown, Rahr's Red, and Real Ale's Pale Ale. However in addition I'd love to see them mix it up some more, provide more stouts and porters (Something few Texas breweries are doing), oak aged beers, and other less locally brewed beers. All done with a Texas take of course. This is exciting times for craft beer lovers in Texas. Stay tuned, I'll try to keep you all posted on the happenings of this brewery.

A Second Double Dose of Bear Republic

As mentioned a last week, the great Bear Republic has finally made its way to Houston and I couldn't be happier. This week I went out and I picked up two other big bottles to enjoy.
XP Pale Ale: This is Bear Republics Exceptional Pale Ale and its quite a good one. It weighs in at 5.4% abv and 55 IBU. It pours a nice bright orange color with a bright white foamy head. Notes of pine, grapefruit and citrus peel are all over the nose, with slight floral hints showing up. The mouth is effervescent, light body, with a slightly yeast note. Smooth and very well balanced, notes of pale malts show up as well. A little piney at times, but very nice. I'd give it an B+. As for the folks at BA, here's what they have to say.
Hop Rod Rye Ale: Made with 20% Rye Malt, weighing in at 7.5% abv and 90+IBU's this is a strong American Pale Ale. The beer pours a cloudy brown with a tan creamy head. Piney hops abound on the nose, malts, and bready notes show up as well. This beer has a really thick mouthfeel, with hoppy bitterness up front exploding into pine needles and flowing into a light sour bready note from the rye before finishing up in another strong wave of hop bitterness. I really enjoyed the ebbs and flows in the taste profile of this beer. Probably my favorite of the ones that I had, I'd give it a strong A-. The folks at BA tend to agree.
Well so far those are the 4 beers from BR that I have seen in my market. One thing is for sure, they do Pale Ales, and IPA's wonderfully well, but I'm eager to see what else they can do. Hopefully we'll get some more of their beers here, or else I may have to just travel to the West Coast (now that would be a shame).

The Session #7 Announcement

Its hard to believe that just 7 short months ago Stan over at Appellation Beer started up The Session. Its been a great time to try new and different beers and growing every time. Its amazing to see the amount of Beer Bloggers out there all over the world participating. For the uninitiated the Session is a virtual beer tasting hosted by a Blogger. Each Session has a theme that the beer tasting needs to fall into, and on the first Friday of the month everyone posts their tasting. A couple of days later the hosts posts a round-up with all of the tastings.
This month the host is Rick Lyke over at Lyke 2 Drink. The theme is Brew Zoo. The guidelines are simple, grab a beer that has an animal theme. From Rick's post:

We have lions and tigers and bears, plus various birds, reptiles, fish, assorted domesticated and wild animals, plus a few mythical creatures. For whatever reason brewers have a tradition of branding their beers using everything from pets to predators. The Brew Zoo will celebrate these lagers and ales.

So come one come all and join the Brew Zoo.

The Session #6 Round-Up

A few short days after the 6th session was completed, Greg over at Beer, Beats, & Bites has posted the roundup. There were quite a few participants participating in this fruit beer tasting. As expected not all were lambic's, and most tried some really unique beer's. Overall I think this was a great tasting that I am sure opened many (including yours truly) onto a different style of beer. Next Month's host is Rick Lyke over at Lyke 2 Drink.

Worst Beer Ever?

The worst beer ever? Thats and have I had it is the question? It all started innocently enough, with me and my fiance, meeting some friends at Flying Saucer, a family of bars with a huge selection of beers on tap and in the bottle. When I go to the Saucer my eyes are usually drawn to the chalkboard above the bar highlighting new offerings. It was there that it happened, I saw Sam Adams Triple Bock. I had heard of this Extreme beer from Jim Koch before. In fact it was Boston Beer Company's first Extreme beer, followed by the Chocolate Bock and Utopia among others. We sat down and I eagerly asked our waitress for the Sam Adams Triple Bock, it was a short time later that she came back with this small jet black bottle and a snifter. From this 8.45 oz bottle pours what I can only describe as black tar it was so thick. Thats ok I thought, I love thick beers. My anticipation crumbled at the first sniff. It was pure unadulterated soy sauce. Now I love soy sauce, with my sushi, but not as a beer. If I had known I was going to drink Sam Adams Kikkoman I would have passed.
Before I go further, lets take a step back and talk about the beer itself. The beer is an ale brewed with maple syrup and its aged in old whiskey barrels. This creates a beer that should be complex with flavors of oak and vanilla. Finally the beer weighs in at a robust 18% abv.
Ok, back to the nightmare that was this beer. This is coming from someone that is not faint at heart when it comes to strong beers, or even oak aged beers. I have had my share of Dogfish's 18%+ abv beers, and oak aged beers and have for the most part given them good ratings. Not this time, I can't do it, this was so bad I couldn't finish it. The nose of Soy sauce was so overpowering I couldn't enjoy the beer itself, which all I really got out of it, was some raisiny characteristics and lots of alcohol. While I appreciate what Mr. Koch is trying to do, this was definitely a big SWING and a miss in my book. Its important to point out that it was not just me that had these strong feelings for the beer, the three other people felt the same way. In fact I was SHOCKED to see that 63% of BAer's enjoyed this beer, I have no idea how anyone can truthfully say they enjoyed this beer.

The Session #6

Its that time of the month again, the 6th Session! This time hosted by Greg over at Beer beats and bites the theme is Fruit Beer. Lucky for me its not just lambic's we are talking about, but any beer brewed with fruit. Greg's talk of Strawberries at his local farmer's market is what led me in the direction of the ale I chose. While not quite fruit from my local market, it does have that type of quality to it. The beer is brewed with local fruit (local to the brewery that is). I found Atlantic Brewing's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale at my local Central Market, and its something that I have wanted to try for a while, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a taste.
The Brewery: Atlantic Brewing is based out of Bar Harbor Maine. It was found in 1991 and is still a fairly small brewery, only brewing 60 kegs a day according to their website. Another neat thing that they do is they try not to use big distributors instead choosing small local distributors. For instance in Texas the distributor is Spec's Warehouse and not a national company. The brewery makes a wide range of beers from a standard Pale Ale to a 6 month aged Porter and a year long aged Barley wine. Something tells me I was going to like this Blueberry beer.
The Beer: The beer pours a reddish amber with a quarter inch tan head. The nose is FULL of blueberries, maybe a bit of citrus from hops, but no noticeable maltiness, however it may have been hidden behind the blueberries. The mouth was surprising as it didn't have the sugary sweetness that I was afraid of. Instead there were notes of blueberries, some maltiness starts to show up, with minimal hop bitterness. A slight metallic tinge showed up at the end, maybe from the skins of blueberries and thats really the only fault I have with this beer. A very good solid fruit beer, that's not ruined by sugary sweetness. A beer that displays its fruit with out allowing it to take over the beer. I'd give it a good strong B+. What do the folks at BA have to Say?
Now head over to Beer, Beats, and Bites for more Fruit Beers

A double dose of Bear Republic

Living in Texas has some benefits when it comes to beer distributorship since we are somewhat centrally located we get a good portion of beer from the east coast and west coast. Not that we get all that beer, especially with some of the archaic label laws that exist in this fine state, but we get our fair share. One of the ones that we haven't had distributed to Texas is the great Bear Republic Brewing Co. Well that has now changed. Walking through my local Whole Foods, I was SHOCKED, SHOCKED I saw to see big glorious bottles of Bear Republic. I quickly picked up two carried them home and got ready to see what all the fuss was about.
Racer 5 IPA: A 7% alcohol IPA containing Columbus and Cascade hops and an IBU of 69. The beer pours a hazy copper color with a nice creamy head. The nose was more grapefruit than pine, with some citrus and even lychee note. The mouth is vibrant, citrusy, refreshing, not nearly as strong as I would have expected. Some good bitterness but not all that strong, maybe even mildly weak. A very solid IPA, but not top tier as I was expecting. I'd give it a B+, here's what the folks at BA had to say.
Red Rocket Ale: A pretty interesting ale, called a Scottish Red Ale weighing in at 6.8% and 65+ IBU's. The beer pours a nice reddish color with a thick tan head. BIG hops on the nose more piney than grapefruity but there is some citrus here. The mouth is piney, citrus, undertones of malty sweetness, caramel specifically. A little bit of astringency. Very good sipping beer. I really liked this one, this is what I wanted when I popped open a Bear Republic. I'd give it an A-, and here's what the BA people said.
I will definitely be going back to that Whole Foods and give the XP Pale Ale and Hop Rod Rye a try.

Traquair House Ale

A week or so ago, I was having a bad day and my fiance, surprised me by stopping by Spec's and picking up a special beer. It just so happened it was one that I had wanted to try for a while and for one reason or another had failed to pick up. When I saw it, I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to open it up for a taste. Before we get to that, a little history on the brewery.
The Brewery: At 900 years old, Traquair is the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. Back in 1107 it was originally a hunting lodge for the kings and queens of Scotland. The Traquair brewery itself was founded in 1965 within what was the house domestic brewery. Domestic brewing had ceased around 1800 until Peter Maxwell Stuart began brewing again in 1965 until his death in 1990. Now managing is his daughter Catherine Maxwell Stuart. Currently the brewery produces around 600 to 700 barrels annually, but has plans to increase production by about 20%. They make a few different types of beers: The house ale (a Scottish Ale), Jacobite (an ale spiced with coriander), Bear ale (a lighter ale at 5%), and The Laird's Liquor (a dark ale).
The Beer: This Scottish ale weighs in at 7.2% abv and pours a deep amber brown capped with a thin taupe head. On the nose there is some mild hops up front with malty sweetness, raisins and figs showing up in force on the back end. Those being most predominate on the nose. The mouthfeel is thick rich and complex. Plenty of roasted malts, bitter espresso, raisins, and surprisingly a mild bit of sour taste just at the end. Not in a bad way either. A very nice beer, one that I would give an A-. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

Christmas in July

As mentioned earlier this week, Saint Arnolds has released their Christmas Ale in the Summer bringing a little Christmas Cheer in the middle of the Texas heat. I tried it last Christmas, and it was pretty good, but missing something from previous years. I was eager to grab a six pack to see how Summer has affected the taste and enjoyment of the ale.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at around 7.0% abv. It pours a nice bright golden amber, capped by a thin whispy head. The nose is full of sweet caramel malts, raisins, figs, and a hint of citrus. The mouth is thick and gummy, plenty of caramel notes, maybe even honey. Just a tad of hop bitterness showing up as the beer warms. Very nice, and much better than the bottle of beer I had during Christmas. I'd give it a B+.

News from Saint Arnold

On this very rainy Sunday morning I thought that I'd give a brief update on Houston's own Saint Arnold's Brewery. The following news bits are from Saint Arnold's news letter.

They have released their Christmas Ale in July! A few months back they took on a vote on how many people would like to see their Christmas beer available for a limited time in July. Enough people responded with a resounding YES that they brewed it, bottled it, and its now out for consumption. Stay tuned to some tasting notes and see how it compares to last year.

The official announcement has been made regarding the next Divine Reserve. As mentioned last month it will be an Imperial Stout and it will be released at the end of August.

Finally Saint Arnold's sales are up 27% for the first half of 2007. Congratulations go out to Brock and rest of the brew crew!

The Session #6 Announcement

Fresh off a wonderful Session number five a week ago, comes the announcement of The Session #6. For the uninitiated, The Session is a monthly tasting, held on the first Friday of the month. Each one is hosted by a different Beer blogger who picks the them of the month. Then on that first Friday, everyone posts a tasting around that theme. A great idea if I ever heard one. This month the host is Greg Clow of Beer, Beats and Bites. The theme this month? Well with all the wonderful fruit that Greg gets from the local farmers market he thought that Fruit Beer would be wonderful choice. Its OK, all you Lambic Haters out there, your choices are not that limited. Here are the guidelines according to Greg:

be a beer brewed/augmented with fruit (or fruit juice or extract), there are no other rules or guidelines. Anything is fair game, from a tart and funky Kriek or Framboise, to a sugar-laden "lambic", to a Blueberry Wheat or Raspberry Ale from your local brewpub.

This should be a fun one, and another Session that will probably open a few beer lovers taste buds to something new and different. Due date for this session? August 3rd. So if your interested in joining write up your post and email it to Greg on August 3rd.

My Denver Weekend

Another Holiday weekend, another trip to Denver for wedding planning fun. Lucky for me, my future wife doesn't mind when I slip away to check out the great beer scene in Denver. Last Friday, I went out with my future Brother In-Law and headed to a couple of breweries located in historic LODO. First off was Breckenridge Brewery. While we get many of their beers down in Texas, there were some interesting choices available that I hadn't tried. The first was a refreshing if simple beer called SummerBright Ale, a wheat ale with flavors of citrus. The second, and by far much better was the small batch Thunderhead Stout, a thick stout with copious amounts of coffee and chocolate flavors. A very nice beer that I had in their half pint glasses. From there we headed down the street to the Great Divide Brewery where I grabbed a chalice of Hades Ale. An amazingly complex and tasty Belgian Strong Golden ale. This was definitely a winner, the only disappointment coming when I realized that for whatever reason this is one of the few beers from Great Divide I haven't seen here in Houston.
That was Friday, but the real treat for me was the day before when I headed down to Falling Rock Tap House. Falling Rock is one of the top tap houses in America, and has an incredible selection of draft and cask beer. The bar holds a special place for me, as one of the owner's, Chris, is from Houston having gotten his start at the great Mucky Duck before heading to Denver. Those familiar with the Beer scene in Houston probably remember when he came to the Duck last Summer for a special Beer Tasting Saturday. Well good new people, I had the chance to meet and talk with Chris, and he is working with the Duck to set up a time next year for another Beer Tasting. It was a great time to visit the taphouse since it's there 10th anniversary, some local brewers have made some special brews and supplied them to Falling Rock. I was lucky enough to try out New Belgiums Special Edition La Folie, in a half pint chalice shaped glass. A couldy brown ale, full of sour cherries, hops, citrus, it weighs in at 6% alcohol and is blended from 10 different fermentation tanks that had been aged in wood. Quite an amazing beer, and while I am not a huge fan of Belgian Flanders Red Ale this was quite nice.

The Session #5

I know its been a couple of days since the Session #5 wrapped up, but I have only now been able to get back to my computer to post about the wrap up due to being busy in Denver last week (more on that trip later). As with the previous four this Session was a rousing success. It seems like everyone had a great time and Hop Talk received entries from all over the beer loving globe. With that said, head over there and check out the round up.
Stay tuned for the Announcement to Session #6 sometime later this week.

The Session #5

Can't believe its been a month already...this time around The Session is hosted by Hop Talk, the theme is atmosphere. The questions they want answered is: Where is your favorite place to have a beer? When? With whom? Most importantly Why? I have tried to do this when taking about one of my favorite places to have a beer. If you have read this blog then you know I am talking about the great Gingerman's. Gingerman's is a small beer pub chain, with locations in Austin, Dallas, New York and the Original Houston. Its a wonderful place with bartenders that know their beer and a pretty eclectic clientele. College students from the nearby Rice U, to some British Expats, to people like myself that just enjoy good beer and hanging out with friends. What makes this place great beyond the amazing beer selection is the building itself. A great front porch with plenty of sitting, leads up a couple of steps to a relatively dark interior. All wood beams its dominated by a few distinct features. One of course is a short bar in front of a wall that is absolutely packed with tap handles. The others are a good jukebox, and two glass cases that are filled with wonderful examples of Belgium glasses. Walking through the dark interior past the bar (not without stopping for a pint of Elissa cask ale of course) leads you to what makes me love this place. The closest thing I have come to in Houston to a beer garden. A courtyard with a lot of good seating and a HUGE oak tree that lends plenty of shading to the entire place. Its such a wonderful place to sip a good beer with friends. Many a Saturday will find my Fiance and I sitting across from each other talking and drinking good beer out in the courtyard. Now that's a great time. Saturday or Friday nights its the perfect place to hang out with friends listening to the Juke box, drinking good beer and enjoying good company, and I guess that answers the why question. Because what is better than that? One last thing that makes me love Gingerman's...half pints...because sometimes that's all you need.
The Beer: This wouldn't be a beer tasting post without a little talk of beer now would it? Of course I went down with some friends sat back in the courtyard and tried Sierra Nevada's new Anniversary IPA named Torpedo. Available in draft only I was happy to get to try this one out. From one of the forefathers of the craft beer movement and American style Pale ale's I knew it would be a treat. The beer poured a dark amber with a thick dense taupe colored head, that stayed around until the last drop. The nose was floral, citrus, specifically grapefruit. A slight astringency on the tongue, bitter throughout, but not over the top. Copious amounts of grapefruit with a little bit of maltiness in the back giving a mild lemony taste to my taste buds. Its hoppy alright but not in that over the top way many IPA's have. To me it was just right. A beer I would be more than happy to give an A-. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.
The Folks at Hoptalk will be posting their Session Roundup in the next couple of days, so stay tuned......

Quick Hits: Monday's Beer Edition

Just some random posts around the world wide web.....

The world of Wine gets Elvis and Marilyn Monroe wines....beer gets Larry the Cable Guy. Nebraska Microbrewery SchillingBridge Winery & MicroBrewery located near Omaha where The Cable Guys is from will be putting out some beers in his honor. Named Git-R-Done beer it will be a light beer with "More flavor and Body than popular corporate beers."

Metal Prices and the Beer industry. A really good article on MSNBC covering the impact that stolen kegs are having on the beer industry. As reported people are taking the keg's and selling them to scrap metal shops for good sums of money. While deposits can be as little as $15.00-20.00, kegs can be sold for scraps for as much as $55.00. According to the article this has an unbalanced affect on the Craft industry. While over all keg sales are only about 12% of all beer sold, however keg sales can be up to as much as 40% of their business.

And finally, reminder that this Friday is The Session #5.

North Coast Blue Star Wheat

Call this one inspired by Jay. That's Jay of Hedonist Beer Jive. Last week he started his Great Summer Wheat Off where he tasted a very nice one from Goose Island. So well inspired I decided to get on the action and have my own taste of a good ole American Wheat Beer.
The Beer: North Coasts version weighs in at a very light and crisph 4.5% alcohol (now thats a good summer session beer). Its not a seasonal but one of their year round offerings. The beer pours a hazy cloudy straw color with a nice foaming white head. Citrus notes abound here, a bit of yeast, low on the banana scent. The mouth is effervescent, lemony, a bit of yeast, zesty and ultimately refreshing which is what I want out of a good American Wheat beer. Not complex but very nice nonethe less. I'd give it a good strong B. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

Avery Fourteen

Avery brewing is a very nice little brewer from the big Colorado. I have tasted and enjoyed many of their brews in the past. From the big bottle Collaboration ale, to the small but powerful Mephistopheles, they are all unique beers. This particular beer is a celebration of their 14th anniversary. The last few years they have been putting out anniversary beers, the 12th was a Saison, the 13th was Weizen Dopplebock. The style this time around? They leave it up to the drinker to decide.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at a potent 9.46% alcohol and 60 IBU's, a note on the label says that its dry hopped. Pours a rich dark brown with a cappuccino colored head. Molasses, raisins, hops in the nose. The mouth has notes of coffee and chocolate covered raisins and finally a note of figs up front with bitter hops showing up near the end. It keeps the beer smooth with a thick mouthfeel. A very rich beer, you can feel the hops, but they aren't overpowering the malty sweetness up front helps balance it out. The over all alcohol while not noted in the taste is definitely felt as you drink it. A very nice beer. One that I would grade a B+. Now as for the style, while it definitely doesn't fit any one style the nearest I could come to is an ultra hoppy Scottish Ale (maybe an ISA - Imperial Scotch Ale?). To each its own. The folks over at BA call it a strong Dark Belgian Ale. To each their own I guess.

Quick Hits: Beer around the Web

Its a lazy Saturday morning, and I have been searching out some interesting articles on that which we love, Beer!

The Capital Times from Madison Wisconsin has a great write up on Lucy Saunders new book, "Grilling with Beer". From the read it sounds like a great book, that focus's on the facts that Beer pairs so much better with foods than wine. One more book that tries to beat back the falsehood of food and wine pairings. From someone that loves food and beer, its irritating to me that when I go to a good restaurant (as I am planning on doing tonight to celebrate my fiance's birthday) I have very little to choose from when it comes to beer. Enough with the aside, back to the book. Sounds like a really good addition to any one's cookbook collection. For another review, head over to the trusted Brookston Bulletin where Jay did another review.

From Virginia comes yet another story of the government and neo-prohibitionists rearing their ugly heads. A fine dining establishment in Alexandria called Rustico has a new beer related item on its menu. A restaurant for beer lovers this place has nearly 300 beers on tap or in the bottle. The chef's new experiment is Beer Popsicle. Evidently this is a BIG NO-NO as the Virginia ABC says the chef’s summer treat may break regulations requiring that “beer be served in its original container or served to the customer immediately once it’s poured.” This from a state that already has overly controlling alcohol laws I guess this shouldn't be surprising, just sad.

Last but not least a nice write up from Stan over at Appellation Beer in regards to Denver's own Great Divide Brewery and their new beer: Samurai. A good beer made with rice of all things. See adjuncts aren't all bad, you just have to use good ingredients.

North Coast Old Stock 2007

I am a big fan of North Coast Brewing from California. From their Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, to Brother Thelonious, that Belgian style beer that also supports great music. When I went to my local Central Market last week and saw their new Old Stock ale, I decided to pick it up. This is an Old ale that they brew every year, and its meant to be laid down and aged. I decided to go ahead and try one before laying any down to get a baseline for later comparison.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 11.7 and pours a cloudy reddish brown with a thin taupe colored head. The head quickly dissipates into a thin tight line that sticks around throughout. The nose is of sweet malt syrup, raisins, figs, espresso and chocolate. The mouth has notes of caramel, chocolate, espresso and raisins. A bit too much alcohol on the back end kind of kills the over all taste of the beer, and not surprisingly this beer needs some more time to mellow the alcohol flavors and let other's start to meld and shine through. Right now I'd have to give it a B-. We'll have to wait and see how it develops.

Shiner 98: Bavarian Amber

Shiner....that beer from the very small Texas town, made at the Spoetzl Brewery. They will turn 100 yrs old in 1909. To celebrate that momentous achievement they have over the course of the last few years brewed some special beers. These beers are count up from Shiner 96, brewed a two years ago, to Shiner 97, and now the release of Shiner 98. Their first beer was a very pleasing marzen beer, the second was a very good Black Lager that I reviewed last year. As stated in the title this beer is a Bavarian Amber, a style similar if not the same as an Amber Lager.
The Beer: The beer pours a bright orange color with a thin, weak looking white head. The head started relatively week, and ended that way as well, quickly disappearing. The nose was of both pale and caramel malts, some slight toastiness, little to know floral scents. The mouth was smooth, effervescent, a bit of a caramel sweetness. A very mild beer, maybe too mild as there wasn't any pop. No vibrancy that I associate with a good lager. Just there, it sat in your mouth. After the first two special brews by Shiner, this was definitely a disappointment. A grade of C for this one only because there was nothing overly offensive about the brew. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Happy Birthday Saint Arnolds

This past weekend the folks over at Saint Arnold's celebrated their thirteenth anniversary. It was an absolutely great time, full of great BBQ from local Goode Company (love that jalapeno bread), and of course great beer. After an hour or so of sipping on their fine Elissa IPA, and Lawnmower, I heard rumblings that they had opened up something special. Sneaking towards the front of the brewery I saw a small silver keg that the guys behind the bar were pouring half pints. When I finally made my way to the bar, I eagerly passed my pint glass to the tender, asking what this special elixir was. His reply made me giddy, it was their special Imperial Stout (a heftier version of their Winter Stout) aged in oak whiskey barrels. I had heard that they had made this, but since its only served at the brewery during special occasions had missed opportunities to taste it. It was a pretty amazing beer, full of espresso, cocoa, chocolate covered raisins, thick mouthfeel, with hints of vanilla and oak. A great beer. After having partaken in the beer, I ask Brock (owner of Saint Arnold's) if he minded taking me and a buddy around back to check out the Saint Arnold's Rolls (see pic above). Although I don't believe Brock's story how how they did the paint job (scrunched it up and tied rubber bands around it) it was nice to see the car. I also was able to get a semi small scoop from Brock. The next Divine Reserve will be an Imperial Stout (hopefully of the same recipe used in the Whiskey aged version). All in all it was a great night. So here's to 13 more great years of Saint Arnold's Beers.

Nice stein Brock!

Dogfish Head: Immort Ale

Every couple of months Dogfish releases a special four pack of beers. Not surprisingly these are usually very special, very unique beers. Their Punkin Ale and Midas Touch are just two such examples. Others include Burton Baton, Aprihop, and Immort Ale. Talk about unique! The beer is brewed with peat smoked barley, juniper berries, vanilla and maple syrup. Its also aged in oak. The four pack has a really nice piece of artwork on it, that is replicated on the bottle label. (see the picture to the right, courtesy of the Dogfish Website). Check out the Dogfish website for more info on the beer.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 11% and pours a dark brown with a thin taupe head into a snifter glass. The nose is of vanilla, maybe a bit of maple, some smokey earthy notes. The mouth is raisiny, oaky, earth, and something that I could only compare to chestnuts, and some espresso bitterness. A little too much alcohol warmth at the end for my tastes. Not a lot of hop bitterness for 40IBU's, it was disguised by the other complexity. That's the thing, its a very complex beer, maybe a bit too complex. I'd grade it a B-. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

The Session #5

Fresh off a very fun Session #4 focusing on local beers, comes the announcement of the next session. The monthly virtual beer tasting is being hosted by the guys over at Hop Talk. The theme this month? Another session that doesn't focus on a particular style, but focuses on Atmosphere. From their sight:

Beer is about more than flavor, IBUs, and the debate over what is a craft beer and what isn’t. It’s about Life. It’s the proverbial icing on the cake.

So, we want to know about the “Atmosphere” in which you enjoy beer. Where is your favorite place to have a beer? When? With whom? Most importantly:

Why?

Because while life isn’t all about beer, beer is all about life.

I think this is a great idea. I have said before that the place that you have your beer, and the people you are with, are sometimes more important to your beer drinking experience than the actual beer. So, the deadline this time around is Friday 6 July.

The Session Round Up

Snekse over at Gastronomic Fight Club has posted the round up for the lastest session. It was a great idea this month, focusing on Local Brew's instead of a specific style of beer. As a supporter of all things local I was very happy to be able to give some pub to the great Saint Arnold's, and their great Cask ale. Go over and check out the Round up. Snekse did something pretty interesting in dividing up the posts into geographical areas. Next month's announcement will be made shPublish Postortly I'm sure, and I'm eager to participate.

The Session: Local Brew

Its the first Friday of the Month, and you beer lovers know what that means...its Session Time. The time for a virtual tasting, where beer bloggers the world over gather around a common theme for a beer tasting. The host this month is Gastronomic Fight Club, the theme is Local Beer, within 150 miles. Well, from the moment of the announcement, there was no question I was going to go with Houston's own Saint Arnold's Brewery. The only question that remained was which beer to taste. I thought briefly about going with the current seasonal, their very tasty Summer Pislner, but I settled on going really local. Getting a local beer that I could only get from a local pub, not a store.
The Beer: The beer in question is Saint Arnold's Elissa Cask ale, served at my favorite beer joint, The Gingerman's (recently mentioned in the latest edition of DRAFT Magazine). I am a fan of St. Arnold's regular Elissa IPA so I was excited to try the cask version. It pours a nice light hazy amber topped with a creamy thick off-white head. Nose of grapefruit, citrus, herbaceous notes. The mouthfeel is thick, creamy with grapefruit, herb's, spices, and some slightly sweet malty notes to give it a bit of balance. The beer was thick leaving a beer-stache as I drank. It was smooth, served the appropriate temperature of just below room temp. Incredibly good beer, this is what I imagine good Cask Ale tasting like. The ending bitterness wasn't over the top, just subtly flowing over the tongue. A very good beer that I'd give a strong B+.
Now head over to Gastronomic Fight Club for the round up.

New Belgium: Mothership Wit

Not a bad way to celebrate my 200th post than by talking about a beer from one of my favorite breweries. While New Belgium can get a bad rap for their flagship beer Fat Tire, no one can deny that they do make some outstanding beers such as their Abbey and 1554. Also they are at the forefront of being a responsible company, using sustaining practices and the first brewery to go all wind....100% of their power comes from wind energy. They have now added Organic Brewery to their list of Green Achievements. Their newest beer is an organic Belgian Wit Beer.
The Beer: In traditional Belgian Wit fashion this beer is brewed with orange peel and coriander, and weighs in at a session worthy 4.8% alcohol. The beer pours a pale hazy straw color capped with a half inch frothy stark white head. The head does a decent job of sticking around through most of the beer. The nose is of oranges, bananas, coriander, cloves, and yeasty dough. The mouth is of sour lemons, sourdough bread, and oranges. Very zesty, very refreshing, great tasty summer beer. I'd grade it a strong B. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

Quick Hits: Beer in the News

Here's a smattering of some pretty good articles on Beer, some in pretty mainstream places....

The first is a travel article on MSNBC. Getting great British Microbrews, may not be as easy as walking into any pub since may in England are still 'tied' houses, or something pretty close to it, but it doesn't seem that its that hard to find great craft real ale either.

Another great article by Barry Shlacter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on why Texans should drink Texas....its more than Lonestar Beer now.

Lastly is an absolutely awesome article in the New York times on German Beer. The author focuses on three very uniquely German styles, but the draw for me was the focus on Cologne. The article brought back a lot of memories about a city that I really miss.

Sad News for Texas Beer Lovers

I have blogged a lot about it in the past (check out the Saint Arnolds page) but it appears that Texas House Bill 1926 that would allow Texas Microbrewers to actually sell their own products is dead on arrival. Brock Wagner has stated in an interview for the Austin Chronicle that the bill was opposed by a Mr. Mike McKinney of Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas. And of course once he opposed the bill it was dead, because we all know that the politicians will cower before the big money of distributors due to their incredible lack of spine they possess. Also reported by the Austin Chronicle is that Mr. McKinney has given thousands of dollars to Chair, Kino Flores D-Palmview. I know it shouldn't surprise me, but it still appalls me, that such a reasonable request is shot down without even a hearing because of the corruptness of our political system. Brock has stated that he is looking forward to trying to get the bill passed in 2009. In the meantime maybe we can start working on getting Flores out of office and hoping that the next chairperson is not in the deep pockets of the Beer Distributors.

There's a Beer in my Wine.....

...Magazine. Imagine my suprise this month, when flipping through my copy of Food and Wine Magazine I found an article on beer. Titled The Keg Vs the Cork it focuses on Chef Sang Yoon of The Father's Office in Sonoma California. Its quite a good article taken from the point of the great beer finds in this top end wine country. Chef Yoon has 36 taps in his restaurant and even has a couple in his home! To me its a very well written article accept for the prerequisite wine snobbery dig at beer lovers. This comes when talking about the fact that the sign that hangs outside of Lagunitas Brewing has been stolen four times in the past:

Typicall wine afficianados do not rip winery signs out of the ground and transport them back to their homes (or dorm rooms).

While this dig is unnecessary and cheap it shouldn't take away from an otherwise very beer friendly article. The author and Chef take a beer tour through Sonoma going to Lagunitas, Russian River, Beer Republic, and Anderson Valley. All amazing breweries. The Chef is allowed to make some really great points about how food friendly beer is. Some of my favorite quotes revolve around Chef Yoon telling his Sommelier friends to put down the Riesling and pick up on of the great beers from Sonoma. As with many people Chef Yoon grew up hating beer, because his only reference was cheap industrial swill. However while working for Joel Robochon in Paris he came upon the great Delirium Tremens and fell in love with beer. By the time he came back to the states the Craft Beer movement was getting in full swing and he found out great beer and food parings. These pairings is where the article really shines through for me. Taking some pretty complex food dishes, such as Rack Of Lamb with Arugula pest and paring it with a Belgian Dark Ale, to Sichuan Peppercorn shrimp paired with a White Ale like Allagash, he is able to show to a much wider, much more apprehensive audience the diversity of beer. Of course Chef Yoon does lose some points when he disses Texas BBQ Brisket, but that may be a small price to pay for good Beer coverage in a Wine Magazine.

Is Now the Best Time to be a Beer Drinker?

I've been thinking of writing on this topic for a couple of weeks now. I think the past few books I've read put it in the back of my mind. From Ambitious Brew, to Beer and Food and even Fermenting Revolution, all of them, in some manner speak on Beer Culture, and it got me thinking about comparing today's Culture to yesteryear's. There are those that would argue that the peak of Beer Culture has passed, come and gone sometime in the late 1800's where everyone went down to their local pub or saloon to grab a pint of local brew. However, as is the purpose of this post, I disagree. I think NOW is the best time to be a lover of beer and to participate in beer culture. Maybe its because having grown up in Texas the local beers were Lone Star and Shiner (nothing against the Spoetzl Brewery) but the fact that most Americans are within 10 miles of a brewery (thanks to Fermenting Revolution for the stat) has to mean something. Today's beer drinkers have more GOOD choices than ever. From great local brewers (like Houston's Saint Arnold's) to Craft Brewers that ship nationally like Sam Adams, Dogfish Head and others the consumer has a plethora of amazing beer choices.
There are those that would argue that although the aforementioned is true there has been a loss of unique beer styles like Scottish Hawthorne Beer. While I will admit that point I would counter that we have seen an increase in new beer styles. The Brewer's Association recognizes well over a hundred different styles of beer, some which didn't even exist 20 years ago. Original beers such as Double IPA, and Double Red Ale are uniquely American and uniquely now. While our culture does not prioritize the use of older methods using traditional Belgian brewing techniques and wild yeasts, American Brewers are coming back strong utilizing these techniques. Brewers such as Allagash or Ommegang make some of the best Belgian style beers in the WORLD. Brewers at Dogfish Head are using fruit and herbs to create unique and complex beers that are closer to some wines in flavor profiles than traditional malt beverages. More and more beers are coming out that are oak aged, some from old bourbon barrels, others from used wine barrels. There has never been a time before that we have had a chance to taste so many amazing beers and to have so many amazing Beer experiences.
I don't believe that anyone can deny that the average person has less of an excuse now to drink bad beer. With so many choices, even at the local grocery store there is no reason to drink swill. This is one of the good things that has come with being able to easily ship things across country, everyone has the chance to taste great beer.
In the argument over Beer Culture and when it was at its peak, there is one thing I will concede. We are lacking in local Pub Culture, a place where one can go and (to quote an old TV Show) everyone knows your name and pours your favorite beer. Outside of a few places such as New York, Boston, even San Francisco good neighborhood pubs are a thing of the past. I hope that that trend turns around.

Left Hand Imperial Oak Aged Stout

In the Texas heat there's not much better than nice pint of Kolsch or a good crisp clean pilsner. That being said there are times that I need something different, something a bit heavier. The other day I found such a beer and grabbed it in ernest. Left Hand is one of my favorite Colorado Brewerys along with Avery. They have a tendency to make some really good simple beers, and they also make some amazingly complex beers, usually bottled in their Big Bottle Series.
The Beer: This beer of course is a Big Beer, with a nice champagne like cork closure. The beer was bottled in 2007, with 25% aged in Oak Barrels. The beer weighs in at 10.4% alcohol so you know its a sipping beer. The beer pours a jet black coffee color, capped with a still thick toffee head. The nose is full of raisins, espresso, roasted and chocolate malts with an underlying vanilla oakiness.. The mouth is thick like syrup, raisiny, notes of bitter chocolate, burnt coffee. Quite an amazingly thick mouthfeel, as I was drinking it, I thought of reaching for a straw. But this thickness was not a bad thing, instead it made it seem like liquid chocolate cake. An awesome creaminess lasted throughout the whole experience. Just small notes of alcohol at the end that left a slight twinge of astringency was the only weakness to this beer. Great Beer, B+. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.

The Session #4 Announced!

From the bitter defeat of the last Session, the Day of Mild, comes the announcement of The Session #4 from the Gastronimic Fight Club. For the uninitiated, The Session is held usually the first Friday of the month and is a Virtual Beer Tasting, each with a theme, hosted by a different blogger. This month's theme is a departure from the first 3 sessions in that it is not a style. The theme this month is you must taste a beer from your local brewery. By local the beer must be brewed within 15o miles of where you live. Here are the rest of the rules:

• You can select any beer or even a sampler if you want.
• If you select a single beer, let us know why you choose this beer (e.g. favorite,seasonal,limited edition, best seller).
• Preferably you'll shy away from beers with wide distribution outside your immediate area.

I am PUMPED about this month. For one I am a HUGE supporter of local breweries so this is right up my aisle. Secondly it will let me give some good pub to my favorite local brewer, Saint Arnold's. Now all I have to decide is which brew to taste (although I think I have a pretty good idea). So come back on June 1st for the results.

Its Session Time: A day of Mild's

Today normally would be day that I would have normally looked forward to. The first Friday of the month means its the day of The Session, the monthly virtual beer tasting. The host is Jay over at Brookston Beer Bulletin and the theme is the British Mild, a dark, malty, somewhat low in alcohol beer. Unfortunately for two very different reasons, I wasn't able to participate in this months tasting. Normally I would love searching for something like Mild for a couple of reasons, one I have never had the style and I love tasting new things, two, its a sesson beer, something that you can have one two, or three of in one sitting and not fall on the floor. However this time around I searched high and low, from Central Market, to Spec's with no success in finding a Mild, or really even something that I felt was comparable. The other issue is that I got hit by a bad case of allergies, and couldn't have tasted a Mild even if I could have found one.
All that being said, head over to the website and check out the roundup.

Book Review: Pint Sized Ireland

The title of this book by Australian Evan McHugh doesn't initially sound like much a beer book, but its the subtitle where the joy lies 'In Search of the Perfect Guiness.' While there are many craft beer lovers that turn their nose up at this dark bitter liquid, it has opened many novice beer drinkers to the fact that there is something else to drink than yellow colored water so it deserves a better place than most give it.
This book as stated on the jacket is part travel guide, part beer lovers diary. I couldn't agree more. Evan and his future wife travel around Ireland in search of the Perfect Guiness, from Dublin and the Guiness brewery to Westport on the West coast of Ireland and on up to Belfast the capital of Northern Ireland. The book is full of raucous tales and rather hilarious stories of his time in pubs with locals and other fellow travellers from Italy, Germany and other places that they met along the way. It is a great book, and I'd love to take it along to me if I ever get to go to Ireland, trying to match pace, visiting some of the pubs mentioned. If I could compare it to one book I have read it would be Travels with Barley by Ken Wells. The focus here is not drinking any beer, or Guiness specifically, but more about being in a Pub with friends (spoiler alert: that's a hint to where the Perfect Guiness really is). I think its something we miss here in the states where a Pub Culture is all but nonexistant, alas thats a post for another day. In the mean time this wouldn't be a bad book to read.

Dogfish Head Red and White

Time for another Dogfish Head. Rick Lyke spoke briefly about this beer in a seminar he gave at the World Beer Festival. Generically speaking this beer is a Belgium wit beer, but as with most from Dogfish head its much more than that.
The Style: Witbier or wit beer is a Belgian wheat beer, usually very pale, and hazy with lots of yeast. Commonly it is brewed with coriander and/or orange peel. The color is a golden with a rocky white head. Citrus aromas with light spiciness usually shine through. Witbier's are traditionally unfiltered and brewed with pale malts and raw wheat. The most popular witbier is Hoegarden, although another famous brand was made by Peirre Celis who all but introduced this style of beer in the States with his namesake brewery in Austin Texas, that unfortunately was taken over by SABMiller.
The Beer: This beer is so amazingly complex its unbelievable. First off the beer has some traditional notes of being a witbier being brewed with orange peel and coriander. However that's about as traditional as this beer gets. Its then blended with Pinot Noir concentrate, and aged in oak. 11% of that oak being Pinot Noir Barrels, the other 89% being aged on oak staves. The beer weighs in at 10% alcohol and pours a bright cherry color capped with a white slightly pinked tinged frothy head. Over time the head dissipates but leaves behind streams of thick lacing all over the glass. The nose is has notes of coriander, but is full of oranges, grapefruit, and hoppiness. The mouth has oranges, grapefruits, some oaky toastiness shows up as well. The beer starts out quite refreshing and zesty as a witbier should before leaving a mellow complex toasty aftertaste. As the beer warmed notes of wine-yness began showing up on the aftertaste. To me this was a great example of what Dogfish can do, not to much alcohol and an amazingly complex hybrid of traditional and old. For me a solid B+ beer. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Support Your Local brewery

There is a new grassroots organization focusing on Beer laws called Support Your Local Brewery (SYLB). SYLB is organized and run by the BA (Brewer's Association). It is not just for brewers, but for home brewers, beer enthusiasts, distributors and other trade professionals. Their goal is to protect the legislative and regulatory interests of small, traditional and independent craft breweries. Since this is something near and dear to my heart as my favorite local brewery Saint Arnold's is fighting with the Texas State Legislature I wanted to give them some pub. Check their website out and remember to support your local brewery because they will support you.

Beer Quick Hits

Its been a while since I've had the chance to sit down and talk news around the beer world so I thought I'd use a Saturday morning to through some newsy updates out there.
First off a couple of Saint Arnold's updates:
- BJ's Restaurant and Brewery has announced that it has moved into Florida. Like the deal that BJ's made in Texas, Saint Arnolds will be contracted to brew all the beer for BJ's in Florida. Just another great way for Saint Arnold's to expand capital, and hopefully expand their operations.
- Its Baseball Season and Saint Arnold's has announced their first ever Bus Trip to the Astros Game. Everyone will meet at the brewery for some pre-game refreshment, pile into a bus and go to the Astros Game. This is a great idea, and I'm so happy that Saint Arnold's has started this. Great idea, and I can't wait to go!
- A couple of stories here, and here about how good Beer is for the economy! No surprise here, as microbrewer's as I have talked about in the past, are more likely to give back to their communities and as shown at New Belgium have incredibly low turnover.
- A sad note here, in that A-B wins again, this time over in the old country, Hungary specifically where they have earned the right to market their beer as Budweiser, causing the original Budvar to be marketed under a different name.
- Beer and Math? Hey its how I got through University. An article from the BBC detailing how a math formula has helped to solve the question of how to make that head last longer.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton

DogI had seen this beer at both my local Spec's and Central market a while ago, but then it dropped off the face of the earth before I could grab a four pack. So I was extremely excited to see it back on the shelf this past weekend.
The Beer: The beer is a blend of an oak aged English Strong Ale and Dogfish's 90 minute IPA, and weighs in at around 10% alcohol. Using a chalice shaped glass, the beer poured a bright amber, orangish color capped by a quarter inch foamy cream head, the soon dissipated leaving behind thick streams of lacing. The nose was full of hop bitterness, citrus peel, oak, vanilla, and surprisingly what I could only compare to as sour cherries. Not that it was bad, just surprising to me. The mouthfeel was thick, with good but somewhat mellow carbonation. Grapefruit and some alcohol burn were prevalent at the beginning with just hints of cherry and oak, but as the beer warmed in the glass the grapefruit flavors subsided and the cherry and oak flavors came forward expressing themselves in tastes similar to a cherry vanilla coke with out the overbearing sweetness. An extremely complex ale, and maybe I am a sucker for oak aging, but I really enjoyed this one. Here's what the folks at BA had to say, and it seems as if most agree with me.