Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I have many passions, beer is just one. Cheers! You can reach me at ron [at] hop-talk.com.

Moving to Bohemia

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Bohemia is a Mexican beer that shares characteristics of a German Pilsner lager beer. I tried this beer and it definitely tastes like every other pilsner import out there. That is, it is bland with no body, over carbonated and has a distinct trace of hops hidden by the strong flavor of water.

Bohemia is made in a Mexican micro-brewery, with hops imported from the Czech Republic which doesn’t mean a whole lot.

Named after the famed Czech region, Bohemia reminds me of a good, fairly unknown, song by Geddy Lee, “Moving to Bohemia”.

Bohemia is a most decorated Mexican beer having received gold medals at LeMont Selection in Paris, Rome and Madrid. Whatever LeMont Selection is, it doesn’t say much for the quality of selections they give awards to.

As proof of my recommendation, I gave the remainder of the six pack to my sister-in-law whose favorite beer is Labatt’s and she loved it.

Davidson Brothers – Business must be Good

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Bill Dowd reported that Davidson Brothers brewpub headed for a fixup. This tells me that business must be good, which is a great thing for them, the city of Glens Falls, and us. Davidson’s has always been a favorite of mine for the beer and atmosphere. The city has put a good deal of effort into beautifying the streets and last fall I enjoyed a great evening meal out on their street side dining. As great as it was, I did note that while the streets have been improved, little has been done to the restaurant itself over the years.

Co-owner Rick Davidson says the project is ready to begin, with a $450,000 budget, once approvals are received for the exterior and interior spruce-up of the 15-year-old business. The plans call for replacing the wood facade on the front and side of the building with brick, repairing and painting existing brickwork, new windows and signage. Inside, new heating/air-conditioning and basement prep kitchen, and various touchups.

I hope it works out and I can’t wait to see the improvements. (perhaps I’ll bring the entire Hop-Talk crew at Oktoberfest!)

Henry Weinhard’s IPA

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Henry Weinhard’s IPA, available April 1, 2011, is going to be a year-round beer added to their family of brews. It pours a copper penny in color with an abundant creamy head. Pleasantly hopped, lightly sweet with a mild body behind it makes this IPA go down easy.

The beer is a session IPA. At 6% ABV, it borders on “session” status, but from an IBU (43 to be exact) and drinkability standpoint, this a great session IPA. The hop bitterness is pleasant and won’t leave you waking up the next morning questioning that “I’ll have just one more” decision you made.

It is brewed with a blend of two-row and Caramel malts along with a blend of three different hops – Galena, Cascade and Citra, all from the Pacific Northwest.

Henry Weinhard’s IPA out of Hood River, Oregon, is in a limited distribution, available in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

Leinenkugel’s Brings Back “Big Eddy” Russian Imperial Stout

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Big Eddy is back, but this was my first experience with it. Appropriately named, Big Eddy is a BIG beer. The name Big Eddy comes from the spring that has fed Leinenkugel since 1867. First released in 2007, this beer is only going to be available for a limited time and if you like imperial stouts you’re going to want to go find some now.

I think the perfect time to enjoy an imperial stout like this is on a cold, quiet, winter evening sitting by the fireside. I loved how this beer poured with a dark tan, thick head. The Leinenkugel beers I have had have been consistently quality beers although also simple in profile, but not this one. This imperial stout was dark and very complex. There were many layers of malt from rich and sweet to the rich coffee and mocha flavors. The roasted malts and hops balanced the beer while the alcohol heat that followed gave each sip a finishing spark.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, especially watching the lacing on the glass as I drank it. Big Eddy Imperial Stout is 9.5% ABV and this year it will have wider distribution than it had in the past. Our readers in the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota and New Jersey, as well as Atlanta and Phoenix markets should look for it. Leinenkugel has also released in the past for a limited time Big Eddy’s IPA – I can’t wait for it to come around again!

Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout is brewed with 11 different malts including Munich, Carmel, Chocolate, classic Pale and Pale Ale, providing a rich, dry character, perfectly balancing Big Eddy’s hoppy assertiveness. Warrior, Summit and Glacier hops create a bold tribute to the characteristic intensity of the flavor. The beer is reminiscent of the 18th century Russian Imperial Stout style that contained extra malts and hops to act as preservatives during long voyages from England to Russia, where it was served in the royal court.

Framboise Cranberry Sauce

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Cranberry Sauce is a staple at any Thanksgiving table and each year I like to try at least one new recipe. This year I made a Framboise Cranberry Sauce from a recipe in Cooking Light. They said the Belgian Framboise Lambic beer would add an underlying sweetness to complement the cranberries. However, I didn’t find that to be so true and the sauce was quite tart. Next time I would add a little more sweetness with either some orange juice or just some more sugar. (Anyone have any other ideas?)

This was extremely simple to make. Here is the original recipe and a photo of me getting mine ready.

Ingredients
1  (12-ounce) bottle Framboise Lambic beer (such as Lindemans)
½ cup sugar
1-½  teaspoons grated orange rind
1  (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
Preparation
Bring beer to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, rind, and cranberries; bring to a simmer. Cook 18 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Spoon into a bowl; cover and chill. (Sauce will thicken as it chills.)

Beer Garden iPhone App (sucks)

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A press release from The Fringe Majority and One Click Pony prompted me to test out their new iPhone app called Beer Garden which turned out to be a piece of crap. In theory it is a social drinking game where you can:

*Collect trophies by sampling a wide variety of craft and hard to find beers.
*Share your location on Facebook so friends will know where you’ve found your brews.

They claim to have 15,000+ beers in their database. My experience was this…

First, it forces you to integrate with Facebook before doing anything. Then, the app is unresponsive, the interface is hard to understand and the app flat out doesn’t work. I tried looking up beers at brew pubs large and small and there are no suggestions. That is if you can get it to even attempt to look something up. I tried logging my own beers and there is no way to get it to complete the entry just to even track your own beers.

And who would want to do this anyway??? Don’t you have something better to do with your time?

I can’t believe I wasted a whole buck on this app… what a waste… DO NOT BUY!

Garden State Hudson Pale Ale

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My Dad tried to surprise me with a beer I’ve never had before, but alas, Al and I had the NJ State Stout at Oktoberfest. However, he had more ammo… I’ve never had the NJ State Hudson Pale Ale.

I am a Jersey boy too and I think it is great that craft brewers continue to make good beer into good business in the garden state. Right now their distribution is limited to New Jersey, but the list is quite extensive. Their stout was great and this pale ale was also well done; I highly recommend giving them a try.

The Hudson Pale Ale poured with a voluminous head at cellar temperature. The color was clear amber / brass. The aroma was light and fruity. It was clean and easy going down, improving along the way. As the lacing lowered itself down the glass, the bright and well-rounded hop character never took over the beer making it a story with a good beginning and a great ending.