Another LiveBlog... 3 styles, 3 takes (Europe, East Coast US, West Coast US) on each one of them.
A. Lagers:
1) Paulaner Pilsner--you all know this one by now. If you don't, go try the damn thing.
2) Buzzards Bay Lager--not sure which one specifically... let's be honest... you've had 400 East-Coast American lagers at this point. This one's just fine, but nothing special... it's pretty hairy on the finish--American brewers need to figure out how to balance the hoppiness in some of these. This is one of those.
3) Anchor Steam Beer--California Common is anything but. I doubt any of you need my thoughts on one of the most-discussed American brews. Thanks for saving craft-brewing, and thanks for a delicious brew.
B. IPAs:
Despite the recent trend of intense IPA-hatred among brew-heads, we've got three offerings.
1) Burton IPA--raise your hand if you've ever had a true English IPA. What? Nobody?!? This stuff is hard to come by, but it is the right way to have an IPA. So much more dynamic than the American pretenders, with fascinating malt on the front and a near-caramel syrupy undersweet. The hop character is still powerful and still strong, but it's balanced. And interesting. Which makes it radically different than the American IPAs. (Which I still love).
2) Berkshire Brewing Company (BBC) IPA--welcome to America. Still, more balanced and interesting than most of the American IPAs--some interesting fruit, and some sweet malts that come through at the front. Worth a try, especially if you're a fan of the style.
3) Green Flash IPA--the Westest of the West Coast. Very green taste at the front, and the hops are fun, but you absolutely can't taste the malt one bit. Too bad, because it's an interesting hop profile, and some balance would make it one hell of a beer.
Porters:
1) Samuel Smith Tadcaster--readers, you know what I mean when I say something is a dogshow beer, yes? This one is a dogshow beer. In a big way. I appreciate a good porter, and this is a very pure porter--maybe even a little bit less roasted flavor than most. It's good stuff.
2) Mayflower Porter--perhaps too roasted, a little too sharp on the bottom, but otherwise, tasty.
3) Mad River Steelhead Stout--some chocolate on the nose; a little reminiscent of the Abita TurboDog with the sweet scent. Good malt balance on the nose as well. Well-rounded on the front, with a little hidden sugar and chocolate, largely overwhelmed by slightly dry malts. The middle bottoms out a little bit (unsurprising, since the bottle bills it as a "Scotch Style Porter,) and rolls smoothly into a nicely roasted finish with a tiny bit of very dark fruit peeking through. This is emphatically NOT a session beer, but it is an excellent single-glass beer.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
LiveBlog of a Beer Event
At a fall-tasting event for a beer club... thought it might be a nice return to the blog to liveblog the tasting. It looks like we'll be tasting 9 different beers.
#1) Spaten Oktoberfest
It looks like one of two actual German Oktoberfests on this evening's menu. Very sweet, but more sting on the front than I'd expect from an Oktoberfest with the kind of acclaim that usually accompanies this beer. Nice honey in the nose. I'm NOT an Oktoberfest guy, but if you are, this one's a solid example of the style.
#2) Paulaner Oktoberfest
Actual German Oktoberfest numero dos. A mellower nose, and a mellower flavor as well. The sweet isn't quite as overwhelming, and the beer has an almost distilled quality to it. It's very clean, but maybe a little too clean. Or maybe I just don't like the sickly-sweet Oktoberfestiness.
#3) Otter Creek Oktoberfest
My concerns with Otter Creek are well-documented elsewhere on this blog. This beer does NOTHING to alleviate my problems with them. Someone at Otter Creek missed the memo suggesting that Oktoberfests be smooth... it's the one positive trait of the style, and this beer's got enough front-side carbonation to prevent the word "smooth" from entering the conversation.
#4) Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Another Oktoberfest. My cup runneth over. Or something. Less sickly sweet than the Otter Creek--still an inappropriate amount of front-end carbonation, and definitely some clear notes of syrup once the carbonation recedes... but still, altogether too sickly. The nose isn't bad--it reminds me a bit of Otter-San, the Otter Creek sake-lager... not sure if that's what you want in an Oktober, but there it is.
#5) Berskshire Oktoberfest
Barleywine on the nose. Or maybe taffy/toffee. Haven't tasted it yet, but it may be the beer with the shot to redeem Oktoberfests... Here goes the taste. Completely and totally hopless, but a fair bit of acid, especially on the finish. It's very sweet, but not as syrupy as the others. I like it the most of the bunch, but that's probably because it's really not an Oktoberfest. Apparently 6.8% ABV... but it's not hidden at all. Al and I both suspected it would be higher, higher, higher.
Now we move to the pumpkins. Nick would be sad to know that Shipyard's Pumpkinhead isn't here, and there's only one beer here that I haven't had before, but the three I have had are all excellent pumpkins.
#6) Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
This beer just smells like autumn. The Australian next to me just said, "this is my first pumpkin beer. I kind of like, sort of a strong aftertaste. Crazy pumpkin beer." Thank you Australia. "Pumpkin is not a dessert fruit. It is a vegetable. And while I'm at it, what the hell is the difference between pumpkin and butternut squash?" Apparently in Australia, butternut squash are called "butternut pumpkins." Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi.
Back to the beer: really nice nose. Lots of spice going on... nutmeg and cinnamon for sure. The pumpkin's overwhelmed in the beer, but it's still a nice beer--it's just not much of a pumpkin. Good spice--it would actually be a pretty nice winter.
#7) Post Road Pumpkin Ale
This is the pumpkin offering that I've never had before. It's apparently Brooklyn's pumpkin beer. Pumpkin on the nose, but still dominantly spices. Similar flavor to the Smuttynose... same spices, more pumpkin, but the spices are largely identical. I'm definitely in the minority on this, but I've never been crazy about Brooklyn's stuff in general--this is no exception. It's good, but it's far from great.
#8) Dogfish Head Punk
A good one. I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before... so I won't bore you again.
#9) Southern Tier Punking
Readers, you know Nick's and my feelings on Southern Tier. That is to say, our feelings on EVERYTHING the brewery produces. This beer is no exception. With no offense to Nick's favorite beer, the ever-delicious Pumpkinhead, this beer is far and away the finest of the pumpkins. End of story. I will admit, for what it's worth, that it's tough to drink on the tail-end of eight other beers. The vanilla and coconut are a little overwhelming if you're not drinking it earlier in the night.
Sadly, must run to another meeting. Adieu, readers. Adieu.
#1) Spaten Oktoberfest
It looks like one of two actual German Oktoberfests on this evening's menu. Very sweet, but more sting on the front than I'd expect from an Oktoberfest with the kind of acclaim that usually accompanies this beer. Nice honey in the nose. I'm NOT an Oktoberfest guy, but if you are, this one's a solid example of the style.
#2) Paulaner Oktoberfest
Actual German Oktoberfest numero dos. A mellower nose, and a mellower flavor as well. The sweet isn't quite as overwhelming, and the beer has an almost distilled quality to it. It's very clean, but maybe a little too clean. Or maybe I just don't like the sickly-sweet Oktoberfestiness.
#3) Otter Creek Oktoberfest
My concerns with Otter Creek are well-documented elsewhere on this blog. This beer does NOTHING to alleviate my problems with them. Someone at Otter Creek missed the memo suggesting that Oktoberfests be smooth... it's the one positive trait of the style, and this beer's got enough front-side carbonation to prevent the word "smooth" from entering the conversation.
#4) Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Another Oktoberfest. My cup runneth over. Or something. Less sickly sweet than the Otter Creek--still an inappropriate amount of front-end carbonation, and definitely some clear notes of syrup once the carbonation recedes... but still, altogether too sickly. The nose isn't bad--it reminds me a bit of Otter-San, the Otter Creek sake-lager... not sure if that's what you want in an Oktober, but there it is.
#5) Berskshire Oktoberfest
Barleywine on the nose. Or maybe taffy/toffee. Haven't tasted it yet, but it may be the beer with the shot to redeem Oktoberfests... Here goes the taste. Completely and totally hopless, but a fair bit of acid, especially on the finish. It's very sweet, but not as syrupy as the others. I like it the most of the bunch, but that's probably because it's really not an Oktoberfest. Apparently 6.8% ABV... but it's not hidden at all. Al and I both suspected it would be higher, higher, higher.
Now we move to the pumpkins. Nick would be sad to know that Shipyard's Pumpkinhead isn't here, and there's only one beer here that I haven't had before, but the three I have had are all excellent pumpkins.
#6) Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
This beer just smells like autumn. The Australian next to me just said, "this is my first pumpkin beer. I kind of like, sort of a strong aftertaste. Crazy pumpkin beer." Thank you Australia. "Pumpkin is not a dessert fruit. It is a vegetable. And while I'm at it, what the hell is the difference between pumpkin and butternut squash?" Apparently in Australia, butternut squash are called "butternut pumpkins." Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi.
Back to the beer: really nice nose. Lots of spice going on... nutmeg and cinnamon for sure. The pumpkin's overwhelmed in the beer, but it's still a nice beer--it's just not much of a pumpkin. Good spice--it would actually be a pretty nice winter.
#7) Post Road Pumpkin Ale
This is the pumpkin offering that I've never had before. It's apparently Brooklyn's pumpkin beer. Pumpkin on the nose, but still dominantly spices. Similar flavor to the Smuttynose... same spices, more pumpkin, but the spices are largely identical. I'm definitely in the minority on this, but I've never been crazy about Brooklyn's stuff in general--this is no exception. It's good, but it's far from great.
#8) Dogfish Head Punk
A good one. I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before... so I won't bore you again.
#9) Southern Tier Punking
Readers, you know Nick's and my feelings on Southern Tier. That is to say, our feelings on EVERYTHING the brewery produces. This beer is no exception. With no offense to Nick's favorite beer, the ever-delicious Pumpkinhead, this beer is far and away the finest of the pumpkins. End of story. I will admit, for what it's worth, that it's tough to drink on the tail-end of eight other beers. The vanilla and coconut are a little overwhelming if you're not drinking it earlier in the night.
Sadly, must run to another meeting. Adieu, readers. Adieu.
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