Monthly Archives: October 2009

Barley and Hops Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale

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Beer-a-Day #295Barley and Hops Grill & Microbrewery

Pours a pale straw golden with a moderate white head. A bright, crisp aroma of floral, pine, and citrus accompanied by a malt backbone. At first taste good hop bitterness presence that turns to slightly bready malt sweetness that finishes dry and clean with hop flavor that lingers letting you know you just drank a great pale ale.

We were at Barley and Hops to celebrate and so I availed myself of the Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale. I like it quite a lot, and it’s my wife’s favorite beer there (which is why she stole mine).

Nice amber color and a spicy hop aroma. A lot of grapefruit and spice hop flavor. Delicious.

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

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Beer-a-Day #294Oskar Blues - Mama's Little Yella Pils

Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, Mama’s gentle hopping (about 35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) makes it a luxurious but low-dose beer. Look for our Gold Metal Winner on US shelves in March. Sadly, the Feds rejected our “Take Two and Call Us in the Morning” line on the can.

Classic yellow with a bit of haze and a finger’s worth of white head. Some floral aroma with a bit of that quasi-metallic lager yeast aroma. Clean and bready, if there is such a thing. A worthwhile brew.

Oskar Blues

New Holland The Poet

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Beer-a-Day #293New Holland The Poet

The Poet has a rich, smooth malt character enveloped in tones of roast and chocolate. A soft mouth-feel brings luxurious flavors and soothing aroma. Any time of year, The Poet is as versatile as it is delicious. It pairs wonderfully with earthy flavors such as mushrooms and beef, while remaining the perfect accent to any chocolate dessert.

Why this isn’t from a brewer in Baltimore I’ll never know. No matter; I love a good oatmeal stout.

Deep, dark brown. Roast coffee in the aroma. Smooth and rich, with more roasted flavor. This is good.

New Holland Brewing

Ithaca Cascazilla

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Beer-a-Day #292Ithaca Cascazilla

The name CascaZilla is a play on both the name of our local Cascadilla Gorge and the monster amounts of Cascade hops in this beer. This red ale gets its distinctive color from a healthy portion of caramel malt, which also lends some body and sweetness to the beer. The predominant flavor and aroma of this beer, however, is brought to you by the fresh American hops. If you haven’t done so yet, treat yourself to Ithaca Beer’s new monstrously hoppy Red Ale.

Another leftover from O-fest. My brother Don is a huge Godzilla fan, so it was necessary to have this beer.

Nice amber color with a little chill haze; two fingers’ worth of beige head. Loads of spicy hop aroma, with perhaps a touch of soapiness. Big biting hops. An excellent choice for (us) hop-heads.

Ithaca Beer Company

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

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Beer-a-Day #291Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Kellerweis is one of the only American Hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavor complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest.

The sun came out today for the first time it a week.

Hazy gold with a big fluffy white head. Spicy wheat aroma. Fruity and spicy taste. For a hefeweizen I’d say this is pretty spot on.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Flying Fish Imperial Espresso Porter

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Beer-a-Day #290Flying Fish Imperial Espresso Porter label

This robust dark brew has been created in conjunction with Crescent Moon to coffee to come up with a special five bean blend to bring out the depth of the beer. Originally produced to celebrate our 10th anniversary, this has now become our late-winter seasonal. Note the aromas of toffee, licorice and coffee roastiness. Then take a sip–there’s a malty richness on the palate followed by chocolate, coffee, spices and perhaps even some licorice character from the Mount Rainier hops. The beer finishes with a subtle black cherry/berry character from rare Ethiopian Sidamo beans. Oh yeah, it also packs a royal kick at 8% alcohol.

I love coffee, but I just can’t drink it like I used to. Decaffeinated coffee is a poor substitute. Perhaps this will make up for the lack.

Looks very much like coffee. So much so that if there had been steam coming off of it I would have been fooled. Head drops quickly. Aroma has, as I expected, a lot of coffee in it, but there is a nice underlying roasty porter in there too. Taste is hearty and a bit unusual (must be the licorice they mentioned). As I get through it, though, it’s really starting to grow on me.

Flying Fish Brewing

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

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Beer-a-Day #289Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale is a big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.

I’d been hearing a lot about this beer, but I wasn’t seeing it at any of my local retailers. I’m glad it came into my hands at our Oktoberfest celebration.

Pretty medium amber color with an ivory-colored head. Plenty of spicy, piney hops in the aroma. Big hop taste. Truly a beer for an unapologetic hop-head like me.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sometimes it is No Good

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I didn’t get to taste this brew at Octoberfest and I am just getting around to giving it a try. Everyone agreed that there wasn’t something quite right about it. Al described it as astringent.

It pours a nice deep dark burnt umber with a fluffy head of tan foam. But, something is not right about the aroma; something I’ve seen before.

The beer is definitely oxidized giving a strong astringent and cardboard taste. Whether this was just a very old bottle or an issue with quality control, I’m not sure. Either way, it isn’t good.

It will be quite awhile before I try any brew from Fort Collins Brewery again even though I did enjoy their IPA, but it is just not worth the risk when I have so many good reliable choices out there. No, it may not be their fault, but that’s how it is.

I dumped it.