Monthly Archives: December 2009

Weyerbacher Slam Dunkel

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Beer-a-Day #350 Weyerbacher Slam Dunkel

Slam Dunkel was a small batch release in 2007. We had such an overwhelming response that we had to put it in the seasonal rotation. We also decided we couldn’t live without drinking this beer every year!  This 7% Double Dunkelweizen is unfiltered and made with over 50% wheat malt along with pale, munich, and a touch of chocolate to give it the traditional color and flavor. Bitterness is subdued to allow the Weihenstephen yeast to shine through with those traditional notes of banana and clove.

Dark brown and a bit hazy. Plenty of banana in clove in the aroma, with an underlying bite from the alcohol. Big malty flavor. That’s a good sipping beer.

Weyerbacher Slam Dunkel

Great Divide Belgica

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Beer-a-Day #349 Great Divide Belgica

Belgica—the Roman name the Low Countries—is a marriage of the best in American and Belgian brewing traditions. Belgian pilsner malt, a generous amount of American and European hops and a unique Belgian yeast strain combine to give Belgica big notes of citrus and spice, creating a lively concoction perfect for spring in the Rockies—or the Ardennes.

Pale yellow with a beefy white head. I can definitely smell the promised citrus and spice; especially cloves. Flavor is heavier than I expected, with a flavor a bit like roasted apricots in the finish. That’s not bad, but at 7.2% ABV is probably a bit bigger than I would generally have to wile away a Spring afternoon.

Great Divide Brewing

Abita Christmas Ale

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Beer-a-Day #348  Abita Christmas Ale

Generally, this beer is a dark ale, however, the recipe changes each year, offering a unique product crafted with special care. Enjoy your holidays with Abita Christmas Ale. The spicy character is excellent with traditional holiday foods such as gingerbread or spiced nuts.

Medium brown with off-white head. Aroma is light with a bit of spice and caramel. Fairly malty taste with a bit of nuttiness.

Abita Christmas Ale

Barons Black Wattle Superior

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Beer-a-Day #347 Barons Black Wattle Superior

Crafted for those who demand the finest of beers, Wattle Seed Ale’s character is born from the select blend of roasted barley and wheat, with subtle hopping and the unique infusion of Australian wattle seed. The resulting beer offers a superb balance of flavour and complexity, richness in colour with a lasting creamy head. A truly robust yet provocative ale.

Golden brown. Interesting rich aroma with something like maple syrup. That’s…unusual. It’s not bad but I don’t know if I’d want a steady diet of it.

Barons Brewing

Kalik

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Beer-a-Day #346 Kalik

It bills itself as the “Beer of the Bahamas” and is brewed by Commonwealth Brewery, a subsidiary of Heineken International.

Clear pale yellow. Aroma is slightly floral with a little of that lager “funk”. Taste is, well, typical of a European-style light lager. I’ll gladly have some time next time I’m in the Bahamas (like that’ll ever happen) but don’t feel any need to ever have it again.

Commonwealth Brewery

Pyramid Snow Cap Ale

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Beer-a-Day #345 Pyramid Snow Cap Ale

Deep mahogany in color, our full-bodied winter warmer is brewed in the spirit of British winter ales. Crafted with a flurry of roasted chocolate and caramel malts, and generously hopped, it delivers a smooth finish that makes this beer the perfect cold weather companion.

‘Tis the season for the winter warmer. I expect I’ll be having a lot of them this month as I finish out my project.

Deep brown with gold highlights. Rich, slightly spicy aroma, almost like there’s a bit of cinnamon in there. Rich, slightly roasted flavor. That’s good; I’d gladly have that again.

Pyramid Snow Cap Ale

Pyramid ThunderHead IPA

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Beer-a-Day #344 Pyramid Thunderhead IPA

Our hop heaping IPA is a golden nectar garnering thunderous reviews. Its floral aroma strikes a harmonious blend between a sweet malt flavor and bold hop bitterness. Enjoy this thirst quenching adventure.

A pretty light amber, clear with an ivory colored head. Pineapple and grapefruit aroma from the hops. Nice flavor with a pleasant bitterness that doesn’t kick you in the head. I’d gladly have that again.

Pyramid ThunderHead IPA

Smuttynose Summer Weizen

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Beer-a-Day #343 Smuttynose Summer Weizen

Light, tasty & full of character, our summer wheat ale is brewed with a combination of domestic and continental wheat and barley malts, lightly hopped & fermented with a Belgian wit yeast, resulting in a delightfully tangy & refreshing flavor.

This beer is brewed for warm weather enjoyment. Bring some to your next picnic, barbeque [sic] or Frisbee game.

Available in sixpacks and on draft from May through August.

I just can’t seem to let summer go.

Pale gold with a white head that dissipates quickly. A bit floral in the aroma, with that wheat tang. Light and dry.

Smuttynose Summer Weizen

Watch City Brewing – Again

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This was my second visit to Watch City Brewing in Waltham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. (My first trip recounts a return trip was warranted.) The bar room was not too busy, but not entirely empty early on for a Monday Night Football evening. I would have liked to stay longer, but it was a long day.

I enjoyed a couple of Hops Explosion IPA’s which were excellent, though maybe not quite up to the level of some of my other favorites; but a fresh brew in a friendly relaxing atmosphere is always better than something from a bottle.

My friend had a German dark lager that he described as “smooth”. He also had a second so he must have enjoyed it.

I had the Cuban sandwich which was just great. But again, the fries steal the show.

Do you think these are wood, or lined with stainless steel? I think another return trip is needed.

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

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Beer-a-Day #342 Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

Our interpretation of a classic English beer style is copper-colored, medium-bodied and highly hopped. Its flavor is delightfully complex: tangy fruit at the start, with an assertive hop crispness and a long malty palate that one well-known beer writer has compared to the flavor of freshly-baked bread.

Brown with some golden highlights and an off-white head. Fruity aroma, like pineapple, and a little floral. I know that this has won a bunch of awards, but it seems a bit off-balanced to me, at least at first. As I get deeper into the glass I’m digging the bite of the hops in the finish.

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale