Feel Good World Series Story

I like how the reporter just can’t stop talking about it.

List to revisit with tasting notes

I’m going to dump beers I’ve been drinking lately into this post with the hope that tasting notes will follow soon…
Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine
Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter
Avery White Rascal
Latest Homebrew (IPA)
Snakebite IPA (again)
That Elephant IPA (mountain something?)
Bell’s Expedition Stout
Hercule Stout
Brooklyn Private Reserve Wheat
Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught IPA
Rogue Locker Stock – the IPA
Big Boss Helle’s Bells
New Holland Mad Hatter IPA
New Holland The Poet Stout
Foothills Stout (can’t remember the name)

Westvleteren Blonde

Well, of course I’ve been looking for one of the Westvleterens for a long time (as any beer lover would be). I finally found a Blonde back in June in Stockholm at, of all places, the hotel bar where we stayed. I thought I might be able to track down a Westvleteren in Copenhagen, but not only did they not have one at Den Tatoverede Enke, but the bartender was also a complete bastard about it. At least they’ve taken it off the menu on their web site. Anyway…

The bartender at Belgo Bar was much nicer and was very patient with me since I had lots of questions about other beer. They had the blonde, 8, and 12 on the menu, but only had the blonde while we were there. The bartender’s advice was that first you drive a Volkswagen, then a Volvo, and finally a Jaguar. I hate to think I was paying so much for a Volkswagen beer, but when you think about it, it has a much nicer reputation in the US than in Europe. So I ordered the blonde — I’m not proud of how much I paid for it, but it does make for a nice anecdote. Scandinavia is probably the absolute worst place on earth to buy an expensive beer since the exchange rate is so stacked against us, but I had to do it. I faltered for a bit, thinking I might try a “Chimay Rouge” instead since it seemed different than the “Chimay Rød” on the menu, although as it turned out, it was just the Chimay Premiere. I’m glad my wife talked me in to the blonde instead. My impressions: presented in a Westveleteren glass and poured by the bartender. Frosty white head that settles down fairly quickly with just a little bit of lacing. A small bit of head remained throughout. Serving temperature was about 50 degrees. Had a slight lemony smell, a very smooth initial taste that was light and slightly sweet. In my notes, I have that it was smooth and balanced several times, so I’ll include that here as well. Finish was slightly citrus-y. All in all, it was delicious — it may be the reputation, but I have to say it was one of the best beers I’ve ever had and it makes me that much more excited to find the 8 and/or the 12. ABV is 5.8 %; paid ~$50 at the Belgo Bar for 11.2 oz bottle.

Back in the saddle

Tried three beers tonight. Here are some notes:

Bell’s Sparkling Ale — from the name, I expected some Champagne-style, light fizzy thing. It’s very much a triple though (the back of the label calls it an “American triple”). It definitely has the candied sugar, bubblegum sort of taste to it. The carbonation is low, but it still manages to have a somewhat sharp mouthfeel. The alcohol isn’t particularly aggressive even though it’s 9% ABV — kind of surprising. Not sure of the price on this one, but I bought it as a singleton from Sam’s Quik Mart in Durham since the Good Beer Store is no more.

Biere du Boucanier Red Ale — I’m not sure if it’s related to Piraat, or if they’re hoping to cash in the confusion. At any rate, this is not the easiest drinking beer — it’s got a full body, with a heavy plum/licorice taste to it. Deep red, not much head retention to it. A bit hot for a 7% ABV beer. Again, a singleton from Sam’s; not sure of the price.

Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale — was fooled by this one; should have looked at the label a little bit more closely. It’s an AB beer and it certainly tastes like it. For all the good things AB has started to do for craft beer lately (Here’s to Beer), I still just don’t like it when they try to do craft beer. This beer is no exception. The color and head look great — a deep, ruby red with a nice think head — but the taste is way too sweet and heavy on the vanilla. I was thinking about a nice warming bourbon-tinged beer with just a hint of vanilla when I bought it, but it’s pretty much all vanilla and no bourbon. 6% ABV (which was actually nice for tonight after the two somewhat bigger beers), just really not that good.

Øl, øl, öl, and more öl

Well, I haven’t posted in a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been drinking beer. Lots of beer. Scandinavia turned out be quite a good place for beer if you knew where to look. The lagers which were available everywhere weren’t stellar, but the beer bars ended up being great (especially in Stockholm and Copenhagen).

 

I’ll try to dump as much as I can, but there’s a lot to write about and it’s a little daunting.

 

First off was Oslo, which wasn’t too terribly great in terms of beer. Granted, we weren’t there for very long at all, so I probably can’t really rate it — really all I had there was Ringnes, which is apparently now a Carlsberg brand (as of 2004). It was nothing to write home about, but the wife and I drank it on a nice covered stone porch with heated lamps, which was nice. For lagers and light lagers, I’m a terrible judge. Honestly, they all taste the same to me, which is refreshing, but bland. There are no standout hop, alcohol, or malt notes — it really just has the stereotypical beer flavor for me. Meh.

I guess since I’m starting off with lagers, I should mention that we also drank Viking, Tuborg, Mariestad’s, Abro, and lots of Carlsberg (Elephant, regular, and 3.5%) while traveling. Again, I don’t have much to say about them. They served their purpose well of being available and refreshing, so I can’t fault them too much. Thankfully, variety came from a number of other beers.

A trip to the Wine Warehouse

I bought the beers below from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. The place has a really great selection and I usually spend too much money when I’m up there. The Dogfish Head slection is especially good. The also have Celis beers, which I found really odd the first time I saw them, since Celis has been out of business for years. I have a soft spot for that brewery because Celis White was one of the first beers my wife liked and that brewery was big in Austin when we were living there. Not to mention that Pierre Celis was the brewmaster. Apparently, the name was bought by these guys and they’ve started brewing it again. Anyway, onto the (brief) comments about the beers.

Dogfish Head Black and Blue — cracked this one open at the very end of a long night. I was really afraid that it would be sickly sweet, but as with the Red and White, the sweetness was muted. It was a nice beer, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as the Red and White. 10% ABV
Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale — another real winner from Bell’s. It’s a thick, dark old ale that balances the malty, caramel sweetness very well with the alcohol and (muted) hops. It’s a very dark, almost opaque brown/red body and a tan, thick head. I’m very glad I bought a six-pack of this (actually a seven pack by mistake since I put one in a mixed six). Apparently “old ale” also means barleywine, which I learned while looking for information on this beer. I had an Expedition Stout as well — fantastic as always. 9% ABV
Thirsty Dog Hoppus Maximus — this one didn’t make much of an impression on me. Grassy, astringent hop flavor which felt kind of thin. I expected a huge IPA-type beer (even though it’s an Amber Ale), but it was fairly run-of-the-mill. Maybe the name set my expectations too high, but I wasn’t overly impressed. 5% ABV
Abbaye des Rocs Triple Imperiale — I was trying to find the brown ale, but settled on the triple. I’ve never seen so many yeasty floaters in a beer before. The color is a much darker brown/amber than I expected with a creamy head that doesn’t really linger. It has a medium to full mouthfeel (maybe oily?), with roasted caramel. Some BA folks said figs and molasses tastes to it — I was trying to place the flavor and I think that’s it. I like it, but the yeast floaters are extremely disconcerting (it is filled with them!). 10% ABV
Celis Grand Cru — I had never seen this one before, so I figured it was worth a try. I tasted a bit of banana and spicy clove in this one. It poured a straw/gold color and had a white, bubly head. It was good — I’m glad I got to try it, but I wouldn’t seek it out. 8% ABV

And finally, I had this beer out at a restaurant in Charlottesville…
Smuttynose IPA — Extremely hoppy and good. Nice, solid very good IPA. 6.6% ABV.

Some quick tasting notes

Brooklyn Local 1: — This beer is kind of mysterious in that it doesn’t explicitly say what the style is on the bottle. I had to look online to see that it was a Belgian style blond ale. Of course, after tasting it, it’s pretty obvious. The color is gold with a hazy orange tint and the head faded somewhat quickly without much lacing. It has a candy sugar, alcoholy taste up front and moves into a slightly spicy dry finish. Someone on Rate Beer said it has a pear taste throughout — I would buy that, although I can’t quite pinpoint if that was what I was tasting. It really is a delicious beer; I’m definitely going to seek it out again. 9% ABV. 750 ml bought at The Good Beer Store. The Brooklyn website is a bit of a flash mess. Here’s an alternate link.

Avery Anniversary Ale Fourteen — Another somewhat mysterious beer if you’re just looking at the label. Here’s an excerpt:

Here is yet another quirky brew: a very dark and different, dry-hopped ale. Stye? hard to say, you decide. Just expect massive molasses maltiness, limitless fruits on the nose and an imposing floral & zesty dry-hop finish.

The smell on this one is really crazy — I don’t think I’ve ever smelled a beer with such a singular hop aroma. No alcohol or malt mixed in; just hops. It’s like sticking your nose in a hop bag. The strange thing is, the hops don’t dominate the flavor.  It’s a nicely balanced, complex beer with smoky malts and hints of chocolate. The beer pours a very dark brown with a strong tan head, which sticks around.  Definitely another winner.  9.46% ABV.

I also tasted the Great Divide Hot Shot ESB, but that was after the first two, so uh, my tasting notes are incomplete. I’ve been trying to explore ESBs a little bit more lately because I feel like I’ve neglected them. I’ll try this one again soon (I have five more) and write some proper notes.

Maibock at Carolina Brewery

I haven’t been trying too many crazy things lately — instead, I’ve been sticking to some old standbys. I did go to Carolina Brewery today for lunch and tried their new Maibock. It’s really quite tasty and refreshing. After the Maibock, I tried the Flagship IPA again — I feel like the contrast between the two really brought out the hops in the IPA, which was a great thing. As has been the case lately, the food was awesome too (quesadillas for me; enchiladas for the the wife). Last week I took another stab at the Dogfish Head Red & White. I half expected to find that I didn’t like it as much as I thought, but it really is a treat — a hint of dry, red wine flavor, but still very beer-like. Very interesting all around. The two beers I’ve been drinking regularly have been Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale and Red Hook ESB. The Hop Pocket is really crisp and refreshing, not to mention very hoppy (natch). When we used to live in DC, I tended to stay away from it only because I thought it was a not-that-great Old Dominion beer, but I was really glad once I tried it. I actually like the Pilsner even better — it may be my favorite pilsner — but that’s a little harder to find. I need to make a note, though, that the Hop Pockets are both great for as everyday beers and very easy to drink on the porch. It has probably been ten years since I drank the Red Hook ESB (not sure why that is, I generally enjoy Red Hook stuff), although I’m glad I picked some up. I don’t have any real tasting notes for it, but it’s pleasant enough and again it’s an easy drinking porch beer.

World Beer Fest and other tastings

World Beer Fest — So we went to the World Beer Fest on 4/28. As usual, it was a ton of fun. Highlights this year included having more space to roam around Moore Square, more vendors, and great weather. There seemed to be a number of new breweries there (New Glarus, Bell’s, Deschutes), which was a nice change from the past few WBFs, where the selection was getting a tad stale. My favorite tasting was Loose Cannon IPA from the cask — I like that beer to begin with, but from the cask, it was really fantastic.

Val Dieu Grand Cru — this was a bit darker than I expect, but very good. It’s an Abbey Ale and for some reason I was expecting more of a blond. This had almost no head at all. It may have just been the way I poured it, but it was kinda weird nonetheless. I’d say this was a deeper brown and heavier than what I would normally expect from an Abbey Ale. 10.5% ABV.
Dogfish Head Red & White — I tend to stay away from the crazy Dogfish Head beers (Immort Ale, Midas Touch, etc) because I don’t really like the sweet stuff, so I was leery of this one. It surprised me, though — it definitely had a hint of sweetness, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. The head had a pink tinge to it and the body color was orange-pink. My wife liked it because the carbonation was kinda low and it tasted more like wine than beer. For me, it tasted more like beer than I expected, so that was definitely a good thing. A nice happy medium for us both. 10% ABV
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale — just had to mention that this is finally available in six packs here. Bought some at Weaver Street. 7.0% ABV
Bell’s Amber Ale — tasted this after a few other beers, so I can’t really remember it. I’m pretty sure it was good, but don’t have much more of an impression that that. 5.8% ABV
Cuvee Diabolique — Check the BeerAdvocate reviews for this one. I thought it was a pretty typical (good) Belgian blond. People on BeerAdvocate liked it more than me, but the reviews are informative. 8.5%

Some great beers and some not so great

This has been a busy couple of weeks for me, both in terms of traveling, having visitors, etc and tasting beers. It’s been kinda hard to keep up with everything I’ve tasted, so I’m just going to give some quick comments. Here’s the list of stuff I’ve had lately:

Three Floyd’s Alpha King — Three Floyd’s is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. The Alpha King tastes a bit like an IPA even though it’s officially a pale ale. It’s a fantastic beer. 6% ABV, 66 IBUs.

Founder’s Dry Hopped Pale Ale — My sister brought this from Columbus. It’s very flavorful and I liked it a lot. Didn’t really do a proper tasting, but it’s something I’d love to have more of if I can find it. 5.2% ABV, 32 IBUs.
Kasteelbier Blonde– This is a strange little beer I bought at the Good Beer Store. It’s part of the reason this post was held up for so long. I couldn’t find any information on it at all and kept forgetting to dig the bottle out of the recycling bin to look at it. Anyway, I think I was searching for the wrong thing. It’s listed as a triple on the bottle, but the web site says it’s a blonde ( it was the brewery I had wrong — it’s Van Honsebrouck). Not sure if they can be considered the same thing. I found it to be quite good, although nothing extraordinary. 11% ABV.
Alesmith’s IPA — The label on this one sums it up pretty well: “I prefer Alesmith. It’s pretty awesome.” That’s definitely true. Another winner all around. I’d love to find more Alesmith stuff — the Speedway stout is also freakin’ awesome. 7.25% ABV.
Bell’s Oberon — I’ve been very much in to Bell’s lately. This was a Tyler’s beer and it was very light. Not a bad beer, but I prefer the Two Hearted Ale and any of their stouts to Oberon. I suppose I shouldn’t be too hard on it.  I thought it was pale ale, but it’s actually a summer wheat. 5.8% ABV.
Brooklyn Antwerpen Ale — We had this at Tyler’s in Durham when we went to the Bulls game. I liked it for the novelty factor — hadn’t ever seen it before, but the beer itself was just ok. It’s a Belgian style ale. 5% ABV
Big Boss Double Wit — Another Tyler’s beer. It was good, but quite aggressive with the clove and orange. The first taste was good, but it was a bit too strong by the end of the glass.
Klaster Dark Beer — Got this in a mixed twelve pack from a co-worker. Didn’t much care for it — it tasted almost like a brown ale, but was sweeter with a very distinct (although not altogether good) malty taste. 4% ABV
Chris’ Homebrew — I helped brew this one. It was good — tasted a lot like homebrew.