The Beer Tap

Brew Years Eve!

I was over at the Brewer's Association website the other day (www.beertown.org) and discovered that they are helping to put together a night to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.  The great failed experiment and creator of the mob!  On the evening of April 7th, establishments across the US will be celebrating the return of beer on that date back in 1933.  Some of the first beer shipments on that date went right to the White House as Roosevelt had campaigned heavily of bringing back alcohol as a legal drink.  So head out and toast a few beers to FDR!  Be sure to follow that with one to Jimmy Carter who legalized homebrewing back in the 70's where many of today's craft beer pioneer's got their start.

To find events in your state check out this link on the Brewer's Association site.

Dread turns to Joy

For the last couple of weeks I have been hording a couple of beers in the back of my fridge waiting for the proper time to break them out.  Today I finally decided that a Saturday afternoon was all I needed to break one of them out.  I was craving hops.  The full-on shakes had kicked in!

I found the perfect "fix" in Dreadnaught, an Imperial IPA from Three Floyds Brewing.  Imperial IPA's are a newer style invented by craft brewers here in the US.  Brewers here in the States are notorious for pushing the limits of any defined style and this is usually done by going "BIG".  Lots of hops and/or lots of alcohol.  The Imperial nomenclature is borrowed from the Russian Imperial Stout style which is a higher gravity version of the Stout style.  Sometimes this style is also called a DIPA or Double IPA.

Three Floyds describes the beer as "A hop lover’s dream! Mango and peach aromas with a crisp citrus finish. 9.5% ABV, 100 IBUs."

So how did Dreadnaught stack up?  Here are my tasting notes:

• Appearance:  Hazy amber, almost orange in color, little to no head but I am convinced that may be due to the temp of my beer fridge
• Aroma: Floral, citrus, some caramel sweetness, very inviting and my mouth is watering in anticipation
• Flavor: Strong hop flavor, grapefruit and other citrus flavors, malt and toasted flavors are there but purely as a foundation to support the hops and help them shine
• Finish: Lingering bitterness but not overpowering, very pleasant as it slowly fades, smooth on the tongue with a slightly creamy mouth feel.

Overall this is a fantastic beer for anyone who enjoys hoppy beers and IPAs.  Sometimes an Imperial or Double IPA can be a bit harsh and overpowering with hops or sweet like syrup, but Three Floyds has created a perfectly balanced beer.  As I continue to drink the beer, I notice the warming of the higher alcohol without any of the bite sometimes associated with higher alcohol beers.

Don't miss an opportunity to try this beer.  After my tasting, I went over to Rate Beer and discovered that Dreadnaught has a 100 percentile ranking with 722 people submitting a review.  Can't get any better than that!   

Sláinte

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Its 9 am and bars have been open for three hours already.  I have not ventured out yet, but I think the first Guinness is not too far off.  Before beginning the full celebration I decided to do a little learning about the holiday I was drinking to celebrate.  Some where along the way as a kid I learned about St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.  What else was there to this story?  Here's the cliff notes version of what I discovered over at Wikipedia. 

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain about AD 385, originally called Maewyn.  At the age of 16, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During this time in captivity he became closer to Christianity and would later formally study under a bishop.  He then realized that his true calling in life was to convert pagans to Christians and spent the rest of his life in this service.  St. Patrick died on March 17th in 461 AD which explains the date of our modern day celebration.

So what about the snakes?  Apparently there never were any snakes in Ireland to begin with.  Historians believe that this might have been a metaphor for converting people to Christianity and away from their pagan ways.  St. Patrick was also rumored to have raised people from the dead.  I would assume that this was also not true but since I was not there I will still give him the benefit of the doubt that he was a great man.  He is a Saint after all.

Now that I have had my history lesson, I am off to enjoy the celebration.  Sláinte!

Public Service Announcement: Please remember that friends do not let friends drink green beer.  They instead laugh at people who think beer needs green food coloring.  They point and ridicule and cause green beer drinkers great humiliation.  Green beer just ain't natural. 

Lucky 13

March 13th...have to say it was a lucky day.  A freak warm spell moved in and temperatures pushed above 70.  Snow still on the ground in some areas made for an unusual sight!  After spending some quality time outside, I decided to celebrate with a beer.  I went to the fridge hoping to find something like a Summer IPA or maybe even a wheat beer, but alas I am still loaded up with barley wines, double IPAs and few other strong malty beers.  As I dug through the bottles I stumbled upon a 22 oz. of Lagunitas in the back corner.  The label was staring back at me...Lucky 13.  How perfect!  The label says "Mondo Large Red" which is a far cry from what I went looking for.  Sometimes you just have to go with it when things work out this way. 

Lagunitas started 13 years ago and this beer was released to celebrate that anniversary.  The label pays homage to the beer "heroes" (brew the beer, save the world) who paved the road for them in an obvious manner but without actually naming anyone.  See if you can figure them out: California's best pale ale, the Noble brewer of the world's only recognized steam beer, and Oregon's Rebel brewer from Newport.  If you can't figure out who they are, go drink some beer and think about it.  Come back when you have it figured out!

So here are my thoughts on Lucky 13:

• Beer Specifics: 8.3% ABV; O.G. 1.085, 76.92 IBU
• Appearance: Red, dark copper color; Very clear without any sediment; Head quickly faded
• Aroma: Sweetness and toasted malt; Hop aroma with some citrus and light grass notes; I think there is probably some Cascade and possibly some Centennial hops
• Flavor: Up front sweetness that fades relatively quickly; Finishes with hop flavor and bitterness that comes close to being a little harsh (I think the light body/mouth feel contribute to that)

Overall, I think this is a very drinkable beer but I am a little disappointed based on the label and the aroma.  I had hoped for a little more malt and lingering sweetness which would definitely balance out the bitterness in the finish.  The beer is almost more of an IPA rather than a "Mondo Large Red".  None the less, I'll still enjoy the rest of the bottle.  After all, Lagunitas is the only commercial brewery I have ever brewed at.  While visiting a couple of years ago, I added the final hop addition to a batch of IPA before cooling and transferring over to fermentation.  Not exactly a complete brew session, but a great memory none the less.

Horn Dog

Over the weekend, I made it to a new beer store in the area and stocked up so I will finally be able to get back to sharing my tasting notes.  So where do I start considering I have to get up early and go to work tomorrow?  How about a barley wine!  That always helps fight off thoughts of the "Mondays".

Back in the fall, I visited Flying Dog after a day of tasting at the GABF.  I've always enjoyed their beers and so when I saw Horn Dog on the shelf, I decided I needed to try it.  Plus the snow is still on the ground and nothing warms the soul better than a 10.5% ABV beer.  Horn Dog is a dark and malty barley wine that is aged for three months before being packaged and released.  Here are my thoughts:

• Appearance - dark copper to reddish brown, slightly cloudy and a decent amount of yeast sedimentation (probably got a good shake since the bottle was on the door of the fridge)
• Aroma - toffee, malt sweetness, some alcohol and a little bit of hops comes through
• Taste - The aroma was just a teaser to the great toffee flavor and sweetness.  This might be a little on the sweet side for some, but I think the 44 IBUs of hops helps keep it balanced.  I probably wouldn't drink more than one at a time but it makes for a great after dinner drink.

I have to say that the beer lives up to the Flying Dog motto of "Good Beer. No shit."  A solid beer.  I can feel the warmth building!

"Shrine to Beer" Tavern

After co-founding Gordon-Biersch twenty years ago, Dean Biersch is at it again with a new beer-focused venture.  The San Francisco Business Times ran a short story about the new venture last week (Thanks to Caron for the heads up!).  The tavern will feature a constantly changing line up of beers from Europe and smaller regional brewers here in the US.  The food will be "Northern California interpretations of tavern menus" according to Biersch in Ryan Tate's article.  Rather than locating in the city, Biersch is currently aiming to open in the Sonoma area because escalating costs in San Fran make it more difficult to justify an investment.

So what will the beer philosophy be?  Here is what the article has to say:

"Depending on season or whim, Biersch will pull together clusters of beers from particular categories. Dunkelweizens, for example, which Biersch has not seen much of in the U.S., or a collection of bocks in the winter. There would also be a house pilsner that Biersch will likely have produced under contract by Gordon Biersch brewery, where he remains a consultant."

I am excited to see how this new tavern comes together and what new twists they will incorporate to distinguish themselves from GB.  Looks like I might have to plan another trip out to NorCal to do a full review once they open.

Quick note...sorry for the lack of beer and/or brewery reviews lately.  I have not been able to track down anything new recently due to some traveling.  I have, however, planned a trip on Saturday to a new beer store that a friend recommended.  I will be sure to load up to fill the pipe line for future posts.

Scientific Glasses

How do you make a beer taste better?  You bring in the experts to design a glass just for your beer of course.  Boston Beer Company recently released a new glass designed specifically for their Sam Adams Boston Lager.  Last May I was part of a group that met with Jim Koch in Boston.  As part of the meeting we sampled all of the Sam Adams styles and I immediately noticed how passionate Mr Koch was about fully enjoying all of the aromas and flavors of the beer.  He stuck his nose deep down inside the glass practically touch the head with his nose!  He then almost chewed the first few sips of beer.  No way he was missing the full experience of each beer.  Here's Boston Beer's comments on the glass:

"It’s been a personal passion of mine to develop a beer glass that elevates the craft beer drinking experience" said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “We wanted to create a glass that offers beer lovers a full sensory drinking experience by fully showcasing Samuel Adams Boston Lager’s complex balance of malt and hop flavors. This glass achieves that mission."

Tiax, the world-renowned sensory experts, worked closely with Jim to identify and evaluate the functional design features needed in a glass to showcase the key attributes of Samuel Adams Boston Lager®. The key requirements for the perfect glass for Samuel Adams Boston Lager included: delivering sweetness from the malt; maximizing the hops aroma and flavor; maintaining the ideal temperature; supporting a rich and creamy head; and sustaining the right amount of carbonation.