Let’s get started on some Belgians!
I would simply like to express to you what an excellent beer this Chimay Blanche Trappist is:
I’m getting into Belgian ales. Well, let me correct that - I’ve been into Belgians for awhile, but there are so many different styles and such, that it really is a world of its own. This one happens to be reasonably dry, and the most hopped of the Chimay beers - an excellent accompaniment to most any food. Not overpowering, well structured, long-lingering on the palate, and a great way to start exploring the various styles of traditional Belgian Ales.
A quick review gives this beer a 92 out of 100 for:
- its friendliness to absolutely everyone
- excellent structure
- full-bodied and well rounded mouthfeel
Expect more of this style very soon!
A New Belgium Tidbit
Just in: an interesting beer from New Belgium and Elysian - a Belgian-style IPA. Certainly caught my attention. From their site (http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/elysian):
Trippel IPA
Bringing together what we both do best, New Belgium and Elysian’s brewmasters create a Belgian-inspired India Pale Ale. Hop-forward with a Belgian strong yeast, this Trippel IPA opens with citrus and floral tones from generous hopping, then gives way to soft peachy notes implied by the yeast.
What’s this Trip about?
An artisinal collaboration, New Belgium and Elysian are brewing limited small batches together. We’ve described this new adventure as The Trip, and each beer we release will fall under this brand. By joining, we have the ability to increase efficiency, encourage creative experimentation, and take a bold step into the future of American craft brewing.
The Trip beers will only be available on draft in the Northwest.
I suppose I’ll have to find a reason to visit Portland very soon.
Happenings This Week
Got some good stuff this week.
Friday the 15th of May, Tallgrass Brewing Co in Manhattan, KS is throwing a pub crawl, starting at the brewery with their own brew and BBQ. Hard to beat! Call them directly to reserve a spot - I believe they were accepting a total of 100 participants. http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/contact/
I’ll be tweeting directly from the event and giving a rundown on the brewery itself, their beers, and the people I meet along the way.
This week is also American Craft Beer Week all across the country. Locally (to me), 75th Street Brewery in Kansas City is tapping a new keg of something different every day at 5pm including their own Maibock, a Double IPA, Dan Ryan’s Triple Sugar Tripel, Bell’s Hopslam, and 75th’s XXX-Mas Ale.
There are events going on all around the country. Check them out at http://www.americancraftbeerweek.org/!
Stephen Colbert explains below:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| American Craft Beer Week | ||||
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A Rundown of the Parkville Microbrew Fest
So it has been a week now. I promised you a post on the Parkville Microbrew Fest, and here it is, albeit a bit late.
Turnout was excellent - there were twenty four microbreweries in attendance, several of which I had not yet experienced. Crowd was great - people were quite friendly. Nice to have happy drunks around - not mean ones! That, and it reinforced my belief even more that beer, especially microbreweries, are all about community. After all, that’s how and why large-scale brewing started, right?
A couple of pictures form the event:
Walking into the festival
A line of beer tents, with Free State Brewing Co on the end
Boulevard Brewing Co's Setup
Boulevard had a one-off beer that was a cask-strength Imperial Stout - I was expecting something really cool and interesting, but instead I was assaulted with a mouth full of bad black licorice, and some burnt coffee. Might need a bit of work. They did, however, have a ‘Tank 7 Golden Ale’ that was really quite pleasant - think an American version of Estrella Damm from Barcelona. Classic notes of citrus and honey wrapped up into a palatable, well-rounded ale that satisfies even the most picky of beer snobs was more than enough to erase the fresh, bad memories of their failed Imperial Stout. While I didn’t ask for specifics, I’d expect to see this one as part of their regular lineup not far down the road.
Weston Brewery had a few interesting beers.
The Ladies from McCoy's Public House serving up brews.
Mattingly American Pale Ale - Awesome beer.
I was absolutely blown away by one brewery in particular - Mattingly Brewing Company out of St. Louis. No official website, but you can check out their candid blog at http://mattinglybrewing.blogspot.com/. They had two beers with them - a Belgian Wit that was chock-full of coriander and citrus, yet full on the palate and completely balanced. A phenomenal summer beer that would go great with just about anything. My favorite, however, was their American Pale Ale, and probably one of the best examples of the style that I’ve ever had.
Balanced in hops, only mildly acidic, and a wonderful mouth feel, this is exactly what a Pale Ale should be. Not at all boring, but easy to drink, this beer would go phenomenally well with everything from greasy pizza to a steak au poive. I’m hoping to see this beer in Kansas City soon, or I may just have to make a liquor run to St. Louis. Yeah, it was that good. If you’re in or around St. Louis, go visit these guys. Worth your time.
All in all, the Brewfest was pretty much what I hoped it would be. Not ridiculously huge, so I had the opportunity to get around to all of the breweries, and the crowd was just such where it was lively, but easy enough to get beer. If you are curious about new styles and local brewpubs/breweries, these events are definitely for you. Take a friend, and definitely designate a driver, because you won’t want to stop!
Followup - the Parkville microbrew festival
Good times were had at the 6th annual Parkville Microbrew festival. By the time I left, a few breweries had run out of beer, but that simply means it was well attended. They’ll know to bring more for next year!
I’ll have pictures and a mini-review of some of my favorites shortly. Thanks for putting up with my constant tweets!
- Jameson
Parkville Microbrew Festival TODAY!
I’m heading to Parkville, MO today where I’ll be attending the 6th annual Microbrew Festival. They’re supposed to have 24 local breweries in attendance - should be a good time!
I’ll be tweeting live from the event (@jamesonhuckaba) - you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jamesonhuckaba - or simply look down the page on the right hand side for a live feed of my tweets. I’ll have pictures up this evening, along with a full report.
If you’d like to come down, here are the details, courtesy of ParkvilleMo.net ( http://bit.ly/LdRAI ) :
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6th Annual Microbrewfest 2009
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009
Note: The festival date has changed from Saturday, April 25, 2009 to Saturday, May 2, 2009
English Landing Park
Historic Downtown Parkville, MO.
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Enjoy brews from 24 Midwest Breweries, Live Music and Great Food on the Banks of the Missouri River.
Admission: $20.00 per person
Admission Includes: Access to the event, a complementary tasting glass, tasting notes, samplings of local brews and entertainment.
All proceeds benefit The Main Street Parkville Association.
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Have a marvelous Saturday!
- Jameson
Aaaand we’re back.
Hello friends. I migrated all of our old content over to a new platform, which will allow us to be very flexible as our site grows.
Staropramen Czech Pilsner
In the meantime, I revisited Staropramen - as clean as can be, with significant substance to it. I don’t know why I’ve been drawn to pilsners lately such as Estrella Damm from Barcelona and Peroni from Italy, but I’ve really been enjoying the crisp nature of the style, especially after a night of overdoing it a bit.
Great Divide Hades Belgian
My dad enjoyed the ‘Hades’ belgian-style ale from Great Divide, a smokey, balanced, rich beer that doesn’t sit too heavily in your stomach. You could drink this beer alone, but it really goes better with an intense burger or a lighter pizza of some kind. I’ll publish a full review on this beer in the near future.
Thanks again for sticking with us - as many of you know, I was out of the country for quite awhile, and was unable to continue with BeerGenius because of my location. Now that we’re back in full-force, expect some interesting things to pop up within the next few months as we grow the site.
Odell’s Cutthroat Porter
Odell’s Cutthroat Porter
Doug Odell, founder and owner of Odell Brewing Company, started his passion for brewing in Seattle and in 1989, took it to Fort Collins, Colorado, to start his brewery, Colorado’s second microbrewery. Odell is a true do-it-yourself-er and innovator in the craft brewing community. In the beginning, Odell recalls having to deliver the kegs to restaurants himself in his old Datsun pickup. As the demand for his beer grew, so to did the brewery. Undergoing upgrades in 1994, 1996, and again, in 1997. In 1994, Odell’s brewery nearly quadrupled in size, going from a 15-barrel brewhouse to a 50-barrel brewhouse. In 1996, Odell Brewing Company added a bottling line and in 1997, a smaller 5-barrel pilot system to do their single batch series, like the Imperial Stout or the Double Pilsner. Odell Brewing Company brews about 40,000 barrels annually and is on the forefront of the green movement, which I found incredibly honorable and interesting. They harvest all of the electrical needs from wind energy. They invest in, use, and promote the use of biodiesel and other renewable energy sources. Now, I know what you are thinking, did I drink the beer or not? I did and it was delicious.
Odell’s Cutthroat Porter is your typical porter. It has a rich, dark brown colour that fades to a lighter tan at the edges. This beer pours very nicely with about a finger of head that stayed remarkably fresh for a couple of minutes. Like with any other porter, the nose is going to be big. This porter doesn’t shy away from that fact. Coffee, coffee, and COFFEE… this beer was so fragrant with roasted malts and chocolate, I could have easily confused it for my Vente Mocha Frappuccino that I had this morning, only this tasted so much better. This beer has a good mouthfeel, with a velvety aftertaste that lets the hints of coffee and chocolate linger on your tongue for your taste buds.
Character: 18. Reviewing this many porters back to back, it will be difficult to find enough descriptive words to replace “rich”… a fantastic dark coloured beer is like a bell to Pavlov’s dogs for me… mouth-watering… the brief but nice retention of head, allowed the beer and all of it’s aroma and flavour to stay hidden from me for only a couple of minutes.
Nose: 18. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that this beer’s aroma includes coffee, chocolate, cocoa, roasted malts, and the slightest hint of nuttiness.
Character: 17. A good bitterness to sweetness makes the Odell Cutthroat Porter a representative of what porters are supposed to taste like. It’s smooth with a great mouthfeel and a great aftertaste. This beer is very drinkable.
Originality: 17. Odell didn’t have to spice up this porter with fancy flavours or anything. He just brewed a damn good beer and let it speak for itself.
Versatility: 16. Porters are best drank after a meal, but in this case, drink one with the meal, too. So when you go to build your six-pack, pick up two…
Overall: 86/100. This beer is good. If it were an amp, it would be turned to “10” and you just wished it could go to “11”, meaning I just wish everything about this beer was just a little more.
Beer: Odell’s Cutthroat Porter
ABV: 4.8%
Brewer: Odell Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO)
Availability: Year-round
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Friday April 18, 2008
A Flurry of Porters (Part 1):
• Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
“To ski all day and drink great beer every night…” To some this is a pipe dream… well for Richard Squire, founder of Breckenridge Brewery, this soon became life and could you really ask for a better one? Squire started on his passion by home brewing and in February 1990 his pet project took off, opening the first, of three, restaurants and brewpubs in Breckenridge, Colorado. But it wasn’t until May of 1996 that the brews that Squire created were available outside the restaurants. That year, Breckenridge Brewery expanded to a full bottling line to ease the growing demand of their beer. Over the past decade, Breckenridge Brewery went from a small 3,000 barrels-a-year brewpub to 30,000 barrels-a-year, becoming one of the most successful craft breweries in America.
The Vanilla Porter is the first review from Breckenridge Brewery by BeerGenius and I will admit it, not my favourite beer from Breckenridge (Small Batch 471 IPA… just so you know). What this beer does have is an exceptionally dark brown body that lightens out around the edges. I didn’t get too much foam out of my pour, I would say about a half inch of head, with minimal retention. The aroma of the beer is simply great. It was like Starbucks… only with alcohol. The chocolate, coffee, and roasted nut aromas rose out of this beer with a hint of the vanilla that was promised in its name. Aroma and bouquet matched the taste almost perfectly. It started with a full-bodied dark chocolate taste and finished with a creamy hint of vanilla. So I guess it was worth the trip to Madagascar and Papua New Guinea to get the vanilla beans they used to finish off the flavour of this beer. A good way to describe this beer to friends is silky and smooth, and who doesn’t like that.
Body: 16. The Vanilla Porter was rich and dark in colour. The head dissipated for the most part in about two to three minutes.
Nose: 18. Porters have a distinct coffee and chocolate smells to them, now throw in some subtle vanilla notes to the aroma and it just gets better. I did a little more research into the hops that compose this beer, which are; Chinook, Tettinang, Perle, Goulding, and found out most of these are aroma-cultivating hops, which explains the intense nose from this beer.
Character: 18. I have to admit, I really hoped that this beer didn’t turn out like the Grape Pale Ale, where it promised to have a flavour and it didn’t deliver… at the same time, I was afraid that adding something like vanilla would over-power the taste and turn this beer sickly-sweet. Breckenridge put just enough flavour for you to know, but not so much that it over-whelms your senses. It also had a good hop bitterness to malt sweetness.
Originality: 16. How do you make a porter better? Breckenridge Brewery’s idea was to add vanilla beans from halfway across the world during the brewing process.
Versatility: 17. Due to the nature of a porter, it is best to enjoy it after the meal. In fact, the Breckenridge Brewery website, http://www.breckenridgebrewery.com/, suggests making a milkshake out of the Vanilla Porter by adding ice cream. Now doesn’t that sound good!!!
Overall: 85/100. This beer looked good, it smelled good, and it tasted good. Too bad I don’t have an extra one to make that milkshake because I am about ready to make dinner…
Beer: Vanilla Porter
ABV: 4.7%
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery (Breckenridge, CO)
Availability: Year-round
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward
Sorry guys. I got sick and didn’t get a chance to finish the porter post. I will get more of it up next Monday and Wednesday. Thanks.
Samuel Adams “Long Shot” 2007
Tuesday April 2, 2008
The 2007 winners of Samuel Adams “Long Shot” Home Brewers Contest:
• Mike McDole’s “Imperial IPA” originally brewed in California
• Rodney Kibzey’s “Weizenbock” originally brewed in Illinois
• Lili Hess’s “Grape Pale Ale” originally brewed in Hawaii
Since 2006, Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts has been encouraging home brewers across the nation by sponsoring American Homebrewing Contest called “Long Shot”.
In 2006, over 1500 beers were submitted to five different regions for judging. Winning brewers got the opportunity to have their beer brewed by Samuel Adams and be a part of the first “Long Shot” mix pack. The 2006 “Long Shot” was an exceptional year; it contained “Boysenberry Wheat” by Ken Smith, “Old Ale” by Donald Oliver, and “Dortmunder Export” by Bruce Stott.
In 2007, more entrants equaled more beers. Judges sifted through more than 1900 beers by more than 1300 home brewers… as Samuel Adams founding brewer, Jim Koch, said, “this is proof positive that Homebrewing is alive and well!” The winners for 2007 were Mike McDole with his “Imperial IPA”, Rodney Kibzey with his “Weizenbock” and Lili Hess with her “Grape Pale Ale”. Unfortunately, due to hop shortages, Samuel Adams won’t be able to brew Mike’s “Imperial IPA” until 2009.
I started with Kibzey’s “Weizenbock”. Remarkable in color and the head that was produced with what I deemed a perfect pour. The first thing I noticed about this beer truly was the color, a dark, unfiltered brown, almost amber. The head of this beer stuck around for a good ten to fifteen minutes and provided a balance of fruit and spice aromas. I picked up a bouquet of dark fruits and allspice, with a dominating factor of clove. Weizenbocks typically have more alcohol than their cousin, a Dunkel Weizen, but as far as being able to smell the increase in alcohol was not there. Taste on the other hand, you could tell that it had more alcohol than your average beer at 7.2%. Continuing with taste, sweet wheat with fruit and spice is a great way to describe it. Fruits that I managed to pick out include banana, coriander, and dark fruits. The mouthfeel of this beer was pretty exceptional. A creamy, medium to full body with almost a caramel malt taste. The only thing that detracts from it is it leaves a chalky after-taste.
Body: 15. The Weizenbock has a beautiful, unfiltered amber color.
Nose: 17. This beer is very fragrant. No two doubts about it. The head ensures that your first smell is the clove and allspice, once this dissipates, the banana among other fruits take over.
Character: 15. It is not like I didn’t like the taste of this beer. I liked the initial taste… the complex malts mixing with the fruits and spices. The after-taste left something less than desired, a chalky and bitter taste, so much so that I needed to cleanse my palate before thinking about anything else.
Originality: 20. Let’s face it. Almost every beer has been done. But this beer was originally brewed at home and beat out some 1900 others to be included in Samuel Adam’s “Long Shot” mixed pack.
Versatility: 16. I am at an impasse here. I liked, not loved, this beer. It would probably be great more towards the end of a meal, specifically dessert, like chocolate fondue with an assortment of fruits, that way you magnify the highlights of this beer, its intense caramelized malts and fruit aromas.
Overall: 83/100. Like I said, I liked, not loved, this beer. The flavour stays with you a long time after you drink it. It is has characteristics that I enjoy, but some that I don’t. With that being said, congratulations Rodney Kibzey on your fine beer!
Beer: Weizenbock
ABV: 7.2%
Brewer: Rodney Kibzey (original brewer)
Brewed and distributed by: Samuel Adams Brewery (Boston, MA)
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward
Grape Pale Ale… first of all, the name intrigues me. The past two reviews I have done have been pale ales, and if it is not apparent, I like pale ales. The first notes for this beer is how clear and filtered it is. The head on the Grape Pale Ale dissipates very, very quickly (15 seconds, maybe), leaving you to admire a light-bodied golden ale. The bouquet for the beer was slightly floral and grassy, typical of pale ales. If it looks and smells this good, then it must taste this good… but looks can be deceiving. After tasting it, I took a huge yawn, which is a metaphor for its taste… boring. It tastes more like a light beer, than pale ale. Again, I must emphasize the lackluster attempt at flavour for this beer. I barely tasted the supposed grape infusion, unless it is that millisecond of sweetness right when the beers hits your mouth and taste buds. After about half of the beer, I could taste a little bit of fruit, green grapes and orange zest, specifically, but I really had to concentrate and swirl a little to get that. Upon reading the label more closely (and some other reviews), apparently maple syrup was added sometime during the brewing process, so maybe that is why I got the sickly sweet flavour that I couldn’t exactly grasp. I sit here at my computer, still with half this beer left, not really wanting anymore of it…
Body: 13. The Grape Pale Ale was a light-bodied golden ale. Looks good…
Nose: 13. The Grape Pale Ale aspired to be a lot. The bouquet was light, grassy, and slightly fruity. In my opinion, its floral aspects and fruity smell/taste was not well protected because the head dissipated too quickly.
Character: 7. I think I would have liked this beer better had it tasted more what I envisioned… a pale ale mixed with a couple of grape Jolly Ranchers in it. Instead, I got a light beer that supposedly had grape flavouring. The maple syrup not only confused me, it confused this beer. Pale Ales are hoppy and pop on your tongue and taste buds. This one just sat there lifeless and too sweet for my taste. I hate to say it, but this beer failed at taste factor from the first sip to when I decided to not drink anymore. If you want a strong fruit flavour with your beer, try a Lindeman’s Lambic beer.
Originality: 15. I feel like I might be unfair in this score because the other “Long Shot” beer, I gave an automatic 20 to… but if Samuel Adams Brewery thought this was the best beer that one of their employees could come up with and brew, then I fear what they will make next…
Versatility: 12. If you want to taste the grape, then I suggest eating a bunch of grapes with this beer. Other than that, this beer would probably fit at the start of the meal with a light salad with a fruit infused vinaigrette or at the end, with a dessert with berries.
Overall: 60/100. Not every beer I will like. Samuel Adams Grape Pale Ale a testament to what I don’t like in beers. I need flavour, this beer didn’t have it, and I need to want to actually finish it, and I didn’t.
Beer: Grape Pale Ale
ABV: 5.35%
Brewer: Lili Hess (original brewer)
Brewed and distributed by: Samuel Adams Brewery (Boston, MA)
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward
Next Week: I will try to get together two, hopefully four posts. Expect beers from Breckenridge Brewery, O’Dells Brewery, Avery Brewery, and Great Divide Brewery… oh yeah, and it will be a flurry of porters…
