Beer-a-Day #334 
A Tröegs Brewery classic, our Pale Ale is copper colored with generous amounts of Cascade hops to create a floral, aromatic pale ale that smells as delicious as it tastes.
Tröegs Pale Ale pairs nicely with Mediterranean foods, starches and anything with fresh herbs. The floral hop character also blends with cheesy dishes like pizza, pasta and dips.
Pale gold and clear. Floral and caramel in the aroma. Clean and light with a bit of bite in the finish. I’d have that again.
Beer-a-Day #333
I often find myself at Barley and Hops.
This time, I availed myself of their Hoptopsy ESB.
It has a nice amber color and a good finger’s-width off-white head. Plenty of spicy hops in the aroma. Medium malty body offset by a pleasant bite.
Beer-a-Day #332 
Brewed with a special blend of domestic and Belgian malts for a delicate nut-like character, you’ll love this Lager’s rich taste and signature hop aroma. The exceptional full-bodied taste reflects our Brewery’s extraordinary commitment to brewing beers of the highest standard of quality.
Medium-dark brown and clear. Rich aroma with a good bit of nuttiness. The flavor matches the aroma. I never would have pegged this as a lager. It’s good.
Beer-a-Day #331 
The psycho in the pack… K-9 Cruiser is a dark, sweet and malty winter warmer that will captivate any adventurous craft brew drinker. A true Flying Dog original, K-9 Cruiser is the perfect brew to warm you up in those cold winter months.
Golden brown with a finger’s width of head. Malty aroma with a bit of spice. Nice and malty, with a bit of roastiness. It’s good.
Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale
Beer-a-Day #330 
Our classic German lager has a perfect balance of caramel malt sweetness. Look for a rich, amber color and medium body.
Pale amber with an off-white head; small bubbles. Slight earthy and peppery aroma. A little toastiness in the taste.
Beer-a-Day #329 
A Bavarian black beer with distinctive carmel [sic] malt sweetness and rich creamy trademark head. Flavorful, yet smooth; it is very drinkable!
Deep, dark brown with reddish-orange highlights. Caramel and malty. Fairly malty but not overly so, with more carbonation than I expected. Pretty good.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States.
In addition to institutional gluttony, it is also apparently the biggest travel holiday of the year.
Bear that in mind while you’re scarfing down your turkey and fixin’s and all that beer (or whatever libation you choose).
We here at Hop Talk wish a safe and happy holiday. We certainly have much to be thankful for.
Beer-a-Day #328 
Designed as our session beer, Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale is bronze in color with a velvety smooth taste and subtle chocolate note. Rugged Trail’s lower alcohol content and subtle hoppiness make it the perfect beer to enjoy during the day and into the night.
Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale is the perfect complement for spicy Mexican and Asian dishes and and spicy, broth-based soups.
It’s a pretty, dark brown color with ruby highlights. Aroma is clean and has that “subtle chocolate note” they mention. Taste is light, but not too light, with a bit of roastiness. I’m not generally a fan of nut browns, but that’s pretty good.
Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale
Beer-a-Day #327
Ten years ago we brewed our first batch of Shoals Pale Ale, our American interpretation of the traditional British ESB (Extra Special Bitter) style. At the time, it was widely considered to be darned hoppy. However, a funny thing happened over the last decade – our Shoals Pale Ale didn’t change; beer lovers did, and we started to hear more and more: “Why don’t you guys make a really hoppy beer?”
You could say, then, that Smuttynose IPA is a physical salute to the glory of the American hop grower. The citrusy hop flavor coming from a mixture of Simcoe and Santiams is pleasantly balanced by a smooth bitterness from the Amarillo hops. The beer itself is light bodied and crisp with a golden color that will throw a slight haze, as we bottle it unfiltered. At 65 IBU’s, this is definitely not a training-wheels IPA, but is meant for hop lovers looking to satisfy their craving in a way that’s not easy to find. We think they’ll be quite pleased.
It’s the color of tea with a lacy head. The hops are pretty floral with some spiciness. The hops are way up in front; obviously dry-hopped. If you like hop bitterness you’ll like this.
“The Zythophile” has a fascinating history of the use of hops in beer. As you might expect, we have a certain fondness for those little flower cones.
When exactly hops began to be cultivated for putting into beer, rather than just being gathered wild from forests, is surprisingly unclear. German sources today claim that hop gardens appear in records dating from the second half of the ninth century in and around Hallertau, in Bavaria, Southern Germany, which is still the world’s largest single hop-growing area. However, they do not specify exact documents in which these hop gardens are mentioned, which makes it impossible to rely on their assertions. The best evidence seems to be that commercial hop cultivation happened in Northern Germany first, and not until the 1100s or 1200s, feeding the breweries of the Hansa trading towns, which were exporting hopped beer from at least the 13th century onwards. (Merchant beer brewers in North German cities eventually became rich enough to join the local aristocracy, something not found in Britain until the 18th century).
“Short”? Well, compared to book form. As usual, Mr. Phile debunks a number of wildly held beliefs. It’s a good read; check it out.
