Stone Skips Across the Pond

The guys over at Stone Brewing have finally posted the final part of their most excellent Stone Skips Across the Pond mini-documentary and the entire saga is now available for viewing in it's complete form.

For those who don't know, Greg Koch, Steve Wagner and Mitch Steele from Stone made the trek over to Europe in July of 2009 to brew the latest edition of a collaborative Stone/Jolly Pumpkin/Nøgne Ø Holiday Ale at the Nøgne Ø facilities in Norway. From there, they shot across to Scotland where they set out to brew Bashah, a Double Black Belgian IPA, in collaboration with BrewDog.

This isn't a technical look behind the scenes by any means, but rather a fun peek into the world of brewing and collaborations amongst friends and colleagues, and is definitely worth a look. Click below to watch or click on the image above to go direct to the Vimeo site for a larger, HD version.

Stone Skips Across the Pond | Full version from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Hopback, beer, Stone, Nogne O, Jolly Pumpkin, Norway, Scotland, Bashah

Thelonious Monk(shine)

Ah, Utah. I've never been, but it's a state that has always intrigued me for a variety of reasons. While my parents say it's far and away the most beautiful state they've ever visited, I've always seen it as the place that's chock full of bizarre laws: boxing matches that allow biting are not allowed (sorry, Iron Mike), no one may have sex in the back of an ambulance if it is responding to an emergency call...you get the picture. More importantly, and for our purposes here, the liquor laws have always been odd as well, with alcohol by volume maxing out at 4.0% for beer and private club membership being required for full alcoholic beverage service.

Thankfully, things have loosened up a bit for Utah residents in recent years. While taverns, restaurants, brewpubs and grocery stores can still only sell 4.0% ABV beer, private clubs have morphed into non-membership bars with full alcohol service and state liquor stores can also sell beers that weigh in over that 4.0% ABV threshold. This has really allowed Utah breweries to get their creative juices flowing, and one such brewery is, ironically enough, Four + Brewing out of Salt Lake City, which is a division of Uinta Brewing Company.

Monkshine is their approach to the Belgian style Pale Ale, and I have to admit that I was a bit shocked at just how well this one came together. There's a lot of sweetness to the aroma from the Belgian yeast that gives off a nice candy-like vibe, and it mixes in with some banana and citrus notes and a good dose of grassiness/graininess. There is also a slight tick of corn in the aroma which I have found to come out in this particular style from time to time. Nothing offensive and nothing negative about it, but it is there.

The flavor continues on with the aromatic characteristics, and pulls off a more bitter than expected finish to compliment the sweetness that lingers throughout. General candy gives way to a slightly more specific bubble gum vibe. Again, there are some nice grassy qualities here. Refreshing.

There's a certain wispy farmhouse quality to this one that was really quite enjoyable from start to finish. It actually reminds me of a specific beer, but I can't put my finger on which beer that is. I'm sure it'll come to me eventually. I would certainly pick Monkshine up again and would say it is absolutely worth your time to try a few bottles. It's not a big beer that will knock your socks off, but rather something that holds truer to the style and is highly quaff-able.


Hopback, beer, Utah, Salt Lake City, Four +, Uinta, Monkshine, Belgian, Pale Ale

Let There Be Rock (Art)

The Double India Pale Ale has come a long way lately and it is finally starting to catch the attention of my palate. While the style is fairly young in comparison to most others in the beer world (it has really only been brewed for the past 15 to 20 years or so, and only truly became uber-popular and trendy in the early to mid 2000's), it arguably contains some of the most sought after products in the market within it's family, at least here in the United States. My problem with Double IPA's has been that in the past they've largely been something that was brewed to out do the previous guy in trying to create the hoppiest beer possible. Thankfully, this has started to change in recent years, and we're getting Double IPA's that are more balanced than ever, yet can still provide a palate shredding hop burst that standard IPA's just can't touch, and nor should they. A great example of what I think is a newer wave of the Double IPA is the IPA (II) from Vermont's own Rock Art Brewery.

It pours out of the bottle a murky amber/copper color with minimal head retention, but the real story here is the flavor and aroma. As noted above, a much more balanced attack is the key: there's a bit of citrus and also a peppery, slightly spicy bite and all of this blends quite nicely with a hint of caramel sweetness but more so a nice bread-like quality throughout. The aroma takes on a bit more of a biscuit quality while the flavor sticks more toward the traditional baked bread characteristics. Similar yes, but quite different at the same time. To add just a bit more complexity to the mix, a slight hint of pine comes through at times as well.

Balance is again the key in the mouthfeel, where there's a good bit of chewiness and a tongue-tingling bite from the hops meshing with the carbonation, but it's not as heavy handed as a typical Double IPA where often one's mouth can feel like it's being slashed with each sip.

This is a very drinkable beer in general, and especially so for the style. Hops certainly still lead the way but never overshadow any of the other flavors. I'd call it a bit of a "tweener," straddling the line between a standard and Double IPA, but still leaning heavily toward the latter. It could be seen as a nice introductory beer into the world of Double IPA's, but by no means would I call it tame, and it's 8.0% ABV is actually hidden quite nicely. Nice stuff.


Hopback, beer, Rock Art, Vermont, Double India Pale Ale, IPA

Some Like It Hottenroth

Who's in the mood for a low alcohol, sour ale that's made using a wild bacteria culture? I'm guessing there aren't too many hands raised, but the truth of the matter is that these are all elements of a rare style of beer from Germany called Berliner Weisse.

The Berliner Weisse, as you may have guessed from the name, has roots in the city of Berlin and it's surrounding area dating back to about the 16th century, and is brewed with a large proportion of wheat. The beer tends to stick to the lower end of the alcohol by volume (ABV) spectrum, typically coming in around 3.0% ABV (to compare, most macro beers like Budweiser, Coors, etc tend to fall in the 4-5% ABV range, while most "sessionable" craft beers come in around 5-6% ABV), with the sour flavor created either by secondary fermentation in the bottle or by adding lactobacillus during the brewing process.

While a Berliner Weisse can certainly be enjoyed on it's own, it is often paired with flavored syrups, with raspberry and woodruff being two of the most popular choices.

The style is still somewhat difficult to come by, yet a growing number of craft breweries in the United States have been diving into it to offer up their own take. One such stab at the style is Hottenroth from The Bruery, a less than two year old establishment out of Southern California that has been cranking out an array of incredibly solid and flavorful beers since day one.

Hottenroth pours a light golden color that is mostly clear but has a slight haze to it. The mid-sized head quickly dissolves leaving no residue on the glass. Interesting. This one looks very much like a beer, yet at the same time doesn't. Very difficult to explain.

The aroma is incredibly tart and sour, with a bit of a funk to it. Green apple, a touch of lemon and maybe a bit of grass and wheat are present. There's not a ton going on here, but the tartness is very cool, especially when mixed with the apple. This carries over into the flavor which I really enjoyed. There is a LOT more tartness, with the beer being sour to the point of puckering your lips after each sip. Green apple blends in well throughout. Lemon notes are kept on the backburner for the most part but are definitely there as citrus plays a part throughout. Wheat chimes in toward the finish of each sip, which gets a bit bready at times, especially as the beer warms up a bit. There is certainly a lot of funk here too, but it fits in well.

This is good stuff. I can't really compare it to much else as the only Berliner Weisse that I can recall sampling in the past is the Dogfish Head Festina Peche and the last time I had it was years ago in a small sample glass at a beer festival. As the Hottenroth stands, it does a lot with a little. I really loved the overall sourness throughout. Could I drink this one or this style in general often? Probably not, bit it is most definitely a nice treat to have every now and then. I urge you to seek this one out and in fact seek out any beers from The Bruery, as I've had the pleasure of trying four or five different styles from them thus far and they've all been top notch.

Hopback, beer, Berliner Weisse, Germany, lactobacillus, The Bruery, Hottenroth, California

TTB Find of the Week: Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary, Round One - Fritz and Ken's Ale

Fritz and Ken's Ale, The first of Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Celebration beers, will be hitting shelves soon and here is a sneak peek at the label, which is quite similar to the 30th Anniversary web page logo posted here a few weeks ago:

This stout is a collaboration between Anchor Brewing Company owner Fritz Maytag and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company founder Ken Grossman. Fritz and Ken's Ale is a "nod to the dark ales and stouts that seduced both Fritz and Ken in the early years."

Per a recent post by Sierra Nevada's own Bill Manley on BeerAdvocate, the beer was to come in at 10%+ ABV, but as the label here clearly shows it settled in just below that at a still-hefty 9.5%ABV. Manley continued that Maytag was to be in Chico on the 29th of January and that the beer should be "ready to go" by mid-March. One final note is his post was that as of now there are three collaboration beers with other brewers planned for 2010, and a fourth that will be a collaboration of all brewers in the Sierra Nevada family.

Sierra has really gotten into a creative zone in the past year or two (yet has still very much kept these new beers tied to their traditionalist roots) and for their 30th Anniversary it sounds like they're going to raise the bar even higher...

Hopback, beer, Sierra Nevada, 30th Anniversary, Stout, Anchor Brewing, Fritz Maytag, collaboration, Chico, California

Brooklyn, Brooklyn Take Me In

A few weeks back I stumbled upon an intriguing ten minute or so clip of a Simply Beer interview with Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Today beernews.org posted the entire unedited clip, which comes in at a whopping 45+ minutes, but is worth every one of those minutes. For those who have never heard Garrett speak, he is one of the most well-spoken and enthusiastic members of the craft beer community.

Some of the topics covered here are collaborations, the Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve Series, beer and food pairings, beer versus wine and more.

Check it out:

Garrett Oliver Unedited and Uncut from Simply Beer on Vimeo.

beer, Hopback, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve Series, Collaboration, Simply Beer, beernews.org

Beer Works Gets Bottled

Brewpubs bottling their beers and extending their brand to retail outlets is nothing new to Massachusetts. Offshore, Opa-Opa, The People's Pint and The Tap / Haverill Brewing Company have all thrown their hats into this particular ring over the years, so it's not a huge surprise that the Beer Works mini-chain of brewpubs has followed suit.

For those who've never visited a Beer Works location, they started out in 1992 with a strategically placed location in Kenmore Square in Boston that is essentially across the street from Fenway Park. They added a second location in historic Salem, MA in 1996, another Boston location a stone's throw from the TD Garden in 2001 and their most recent addtion to the family is their Lowell, MA location, opening in 2008. The Lowell location also houses a bottling line, which means that this is of course the location from which all bottled Beer Works offerings originate.

Initial offerings from the company have just hit the shelves and include:

Fenway Pale Ale: This one comes in at 5.8% ABV and is "an an 'extra' pale ale, with lots of hops and more malt" than the regular Beer Works pale ale.

Bunker Hill Bluebeery Ale: Coming in at 4.8% ABV, Beer Works dubs this one "New England’s premier 'bluebeery beer' since 1992."

Boston Red Ale: 5.5% ABV. Beer Works calls this "a malty, Amber Ale that was our very first brew. 'High Dry' German roasted malt gives this ale its signature red color and malty flavor."

Having lived in Boston for about six years, I've certainly tried each of these on more than one occasion and while it's been a couple of years since my last sampling, I can't say that I recall anything memorable about them, good, bad or otherwise. Still, it'll be interesting to see how they translate to a bottled product and more importantly if they're successful, what other Beer Works beers would drop into the bottling pipeline. Call me when the Buckeye Oatmeal Stout or Peanut Butter Porter are available!

And finally, just to balance out the unfortunate amount of Red Sox related content in this post (minimal at best with the Fenway references, but too much nonetheless), I'd like to congratulate the New York Yankees on their 27th World Championship this past season...let's get 28 in 2010!







beer, Hopback, Beer Works, Boston, Salem, Lowell, Massachusetts, brewpub, Boston Red, Fenway Pale Ale, Bunker Hill, Bluebeery Ale

Winterlong

Changing a beer's recipe each year is an awful idea. Changing a beer's recipe each year is a great idea. Huh? Let me explain. There are a handful of breweries out there who like to take a seasonal offering and tweak it slightly, or in some cases more than slightly each year. One of those breweries is Stoudt's Brewing Company out of Adamston, PA. They use their Stoudts Winter Ale to throw you a curve ball every holiday season. Some years the changes seem subtle...sometimes it's a completely different style altogether.

The good? A new beer hits the market each season so the brewers get to experiment more and give drinkers something new to try. The bad? Year to year changes often mean a once-and-done life span for certain beers. For instance, the Stoudts Winter Ale from back in the 2006-07 range (I can't remember the exact year) was an incredible Porter-esque ale, with rugged malty notes, lots of chocolate/cocoa and a nutty vibe to it. I enjoyed the hell out of it, but of course when the next release was rolled out the beer had changed. Was this next release better than the previous year's? Well, that's kind of subjective. I could have personally loved the previous year's and hated the release from the current year, and someone else could have been the exact opposite. And therein lies the problem with the constant change. You'll never be able to please everyone. Granted, you'll never be able to please everyone anyway, but at least when you stick to the same beer/recipe, it is what it is. You either like it or you don't and you move forward from there. Changing things up intentionally just begs for criticism and complaints...yet it has to be admired at the same time as the brewery has certain recipes that are constantly evolving into something else. And so it goes...

So, on we move to the 2009-10 version of the Stoudts Winter Ale. This year they've given us what seems to be a slightly spiced Amber/Red/Winter Warmer type hybrid, and while I can't say that it was bad in any way, shape or form, my problem with it was twofold. First, it's not the beer I fell in love with a few years ago. Undeserving criticism for sure, but those are the pitfalls as discussed above. Second, it's just too run of the mill, which is surprising from Stoudt's. I sort of sometimes see them as an East Coast counterpart to Sierra Nevada. They don't take huge risks (most of the time..although that seems to be changing recently for Sierra), yet consistently produce solid, flavorful beers that are usually very much to style but very quaffable. This time around we've got a caramel, buttery, fairly sweet aroma and flavor to match that hits the mark for the style, but doesn't grab a hold of you. The dry, bread-like finish was nice indeed and what appears to be a subtle mix of spice in each sip gives this one a bit of an edge, but still, I just couldn't get into it. The thin mouth feel doesn't help as I'd prefer a heartier body for the winter months. This beer is just sort of there. You don't mind it, but it doesn't set itself apart from the rest of the options thrown at you each winter season.

Oh, well. I certainly won't try to sway you from this beer as again, there's nothing glaring that's wrong here, and many others may very much enjoy this one. It just wasn't for me.


Hopback, Beer, Stoudts, Winter Ale, Pennsylvania

Clipper City Engulfed by Heavy Seas

Interesting bit of news out of Baltimore today, in that the city's own Clipper City Brewing Company seems to be making a move away from that name and will now be branding all of their beers under the not-so-new Heavy Seas moniker (they've used the name for a lineup of beers under their banner for years already).

The new logo, as seen here, will adorn all bottles, and while the still-fairly-new Mutiny Fleet of 22oz. "big beers" (big in both bottle size and ABV) will remain and continue to grow, several of the more standard Clipper City beers will see major label art changes and even slight name tweaks.

BeerInBaltimore.com broke the news today and has even more details on these and other developments from Clipper City/Heavy Seas, including new beers, soon to be retired beers and more, and you can click here to get all of the info direct from them.


Hopback, beer, Baltimore, Maryland, Clipper City, Heavy Seas, Mutiny Fleet

Rocky Mountain High

Every craft brewery should have a mixed twelve pack. It just doesn't make sense to not have one: you get to put three to six offerings from your brewery into one package in an effort to turn a consumer on to as many of your products as possible. Plus, you're maximizing the chances that said consumer finds something that they like and would purchase again. If someone picks up a six pack of a particular brewery's IPA for the first time and hates it, the odds of them returning to that brewery to try a different style have decreased greatly. But, if they pick up a mixed twelve pack and hate the same IPA, yet really like two or three of the other styles that are included, then the pack has done it's job and that consumer will likely return to you to purchase the styles they did enjoy.

These mix packs are also a great investment for folks like myself who like to try a lot of different beers but don't want to blindly spend and potentially waste money on multiple six packs in fear that they may not be very good. For example, the Brewer's Lunchbox from the Fort Collins Brewery, which we will discuss in further detail shortly, was a no-brainer: $16 to sample two bottles each of six different styles from the brewery, or I could've spent $50+ on individual six packs for each style. Sure, I would've ended up with a lot more beer from the latter, but what's the point in that if I end up not liking two or three (or more) of the styles?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: the Fort Collins Brewery out of (you guessed it) Fort Collins, Colorado. They don't provide much in terms of company history on their website (save for the fact that they are expecting to complete construction on a new brewing facility and restaurant slated to open in May 2010, but that is more company future than it is company history), but they do provide what is one of the more unique mixed twelve packs that I've seen available, at least in terms of the styles offered within, which include an American Wheat Ale brewed with pomegranate juice, a Schwarzbier, a Rauchbier, a Red Ale, an American IPA and an American Stout. Here are my brief thoughts on each:

Kidd Lager (Schwarzbier) - A nice deep brown to black color with chocolate, caramel, earth, smoke and perhaps even some brown sugar all balanced quite nicely in the aroma. The flavor is not as sweet as the aroma would lead on but definitely gives off a chocolate vibe and has a nice smoked, burnt finish. This one is very drinkable and is a nice winter, session-type beer.

Chocolate Stout (American Stout) - Pours near black in color with a nice chocolate milk-esque creamy head. The aroma has a mix of slightly burnt malt, a hint of licorice and some cocoa, while the flavor takes on a harsher tone with the burnt malt and what seems to be more bitter than sweet chocolate notes leading the way. A good beer overall save for what was a surprisingly thin mouth feel for a stout.

Z Lager (Rauchbier) - Copper color with a big white head. This one gives off scents of grass, caramel, smoke and some bacon (yes, bacon). The flavor leans toward the sweet side with the caramel playing nicely off of the grass and sometimes floral taste that comes through. Smoke is indeed present but much more subtle than anticipated for the style, which makes this one of the more universally appealing rauchbier's I've ever had. Pretty good stuff again here, but I personally would've liked to have seen a tick more of a hearty smoke presence in the flavor.

Rocky Mountain IPA (American IPA) - Hazy copper color with lots of web-like residue clinging to the glass...nice. The aroma is an excellent blend of pepper, pine, fruit juice, bread and earth and the flavor is similar, but sweeter and juicier, with a bit of fruit shining though amongst the pine notes. Hops lead for sure but don't overpower or distract. The finish takes on a bread-like taste with a tiny bit of the pepper coming through. Big thumbs up for this IPA.

Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat (American Wheat Ale) - Slightly cloudy darker golden color, with passable but faint wheat, grain and pomegranate characteristics in the nose. The flavor thankfully steps it up a notch from the aroma, with the wheat and pomegranate coming through much more pronounced for a taste that's sweeter and that has more pep in it than expected, yet also provides a slightly dry bread flavor at the finish. Not bad overall but nothing memorable. Decent across the board with no major flaws. Tasty yet unimaginative, I'd say.

Retro Red (Red Ale) - A nice crisp ruby color with a soapy beige head. The aroma leads with caramel and slightly burnt malt and is complimented by some darker fruit and juicy hops. This continues in the flavor with even more roasted burnt malt throughout, some smoke in the middle and hops mostly noticeable at the finish. Another nice job by Fort Collins. Hearty and sweet, and I really dug the subtle smoke flavors that came out at times.

The big winners here for me were the Kidd Lager and Rocky Mountain IPA, with the Retro Red lagging not too far behind those two. I definitely see regular purchases of these in my future, and I'd be happy to drink all six styles again. I'd say the Brewer's Lunchbox is definitely worth checking out, as there is something in there for everyone, and there's a good chance that you'll find at least one beer (and hopefully more) that's to your liking...


Hopback, beer, Fort Collins Brewery, Colorado, Retro Red, Red Ale, Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat, American Wheat Ale, Kidd Lager, Schwarzbier, Rocky Mountain IPA, American IPA, Z Lager, Rauchbier, Chocolate Stout, American Stout, Brewer's Lunchbox,