All About Beer Demo Virtual test : Page 64

Lew Bryson Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That’s all you need to know. Stephen Beaumont Once described as “beerdom’s Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel and how it all goes together. Žatec Dark Žatec Brewery Žatec, Czech Republic Imported by: Merchant du Vin Tukwila, WA The Žatec region is home of the hop variety known in English as Saaz. Brewing records in the town of Žatec go back over 1,000 years. ABV: 5.7 ABW: 4.5 COLOR: 25 BITTERNESS: 25 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1058 BEER BEERS FROM AROUND Idiot IPA Coronado Brewing Co. Coronado, CA Idiot IPA is an all-natural India pale ale, brewed with over three pounds of hops per barrel. This unfiltered “San Diego IPA” has been “known to reduce even the most intelligent to a blithering idiot.” AVAILABLE: NATIONWIDE ABV: 8.5 ABW: 6.8 COLOR: AMBER BITTERNESS: 85 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1076 BRYSON: Žatec Bright’s quite good, somuch is expected here, and we get it. Dark brown, ruby-tinged beer under a cap of light tan, with a fresh, appetizing scent of malt and bread. A crisp side-slice of roasted malt and coffee accents the understated sweetness of malt in the mouth. The dry malt and gentle bitterness in the finish whispers “Let’s do that again.” Or, asmywife said, “Ooo, yummy.” Do we have to pair food? I just want to drink this. BEAUMONT: I’ve long been a fan of the darker side of Czech brewing, and this is an excellent example. Deep brown in hue, like a light porter, the nose of this beer is gently sweet, floral and a bit nutty,with dry hints of cocoa. The body follows a similar line, with a sweetish, chocolaty start tuning drier and counterintuitively richer in the body, adding a touch of roast and some toasted nutty notes before a faint bitterness creeps in on the finish. Perhaps a bit sweet to be a true session beer, but I can think of few occasions in which this would not be welcome. Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager Great Northern Brewing Co. Whitefish, MT A “double hopped” (dry hopped) unique American lager based on traditional European pilsners with hops added in the kettle and then again before finishing for aromatic quality. ABV: 4.6 ABW: 3.5 COLOR: 7 BITTERNESS: 15 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1043 AVAILABLE: CA, AZ, NM, WI, CT, PA, VA, DC, NC, SC BRYSON: Finally, a name that resonates, and an aroma that resinates. Bright citrus and zest comes rising out of the foam; it’s hopzapop-pin! The translucent reddish gold turns into sunshine in my mouth: sweet malt crashes withwaves of ruby grapefruit flesh, embittered by a hard-driven spindrift of pith. It’s a bit on the heavy side, but that’s helpfully cautionary in a beer this big. I’m looking for a mammoth chunk of rare red meat to launch on this San Diegan tide of hops. BEAUMONT: Every time I think I’m suffering from hop overload, along comes an ale like this to lure me back. Bright, rich gold in color, this big beer has a most engaging nose of dried apricot, floral hop, fresh spruce and alfalfa, which foretells of the massive fruity-hoppy body to come. There’s plenty of hoppiness here, for certain, but it’s assertive rather than aggressive and balanced nicely by sweet, fresh apricot and canned peach notes. The finish is definitely not for the bitter-phobic, but again, it seems more intent on making a statement than hammering the drinker over the head. A most intelligent beer. Raspberry Wheat Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau, AK With nearly one pound of real fresh-picked raspberries (no extract) per gallon added during fermentation. This new wheat beer launched Alaskan’s Pilot Series of limited-edition specialty beers AVAILABLE: MT, WA, OR, CA, NV ABV: 6.5 ABW: 5.2 COLOR: 16 BITTERNESS: 20 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1060 BRYSON: I want to like this beer—lagers get short-changed in the craft milieu—but reality conspires against it. A “double hopped” beer with 15 IBUs? A “family tradition since 1856” when the 1994 brewery just re-opened after an eight-year hiatus? Those could be overlooked, but not this: a sweet and grassy but faint nose, followed by a blandly malty mouth where any bitterness comes from fizz, and a finish thatwants to be cloying but doesn’t have the guts. The deep gold color is the best part. Disappointing. BEAUMONT: One might expect a “double hopped” lager to smell, well, hoppy, but this deep gold beer does not, instead yielding sweet apple and caramel notes backed up with a faint whiff of tannins and dry leaf. In the body, too, the hoppiness is surprisingly reserved, with a floral sweetness up front, more red apple notes in the body and a dryish and quick finish. A pleasant enough quaff, but quite understated in both aroma and taste, especially considering the “double hopped” claim. 64 ALL ABOUT BEER VOL. 31, NO.4 SEPTEMBER 2010 AVAILABLE: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, WY BRYSON: The label’s “with added raspberries” makes a point, and the rosy tint and fruity nose hammers it home: this one’s giving you the razz! Unlike many other raspberry beers, it’s not sweetened up; the tart edge of the berries remains, and there’s a trenchant bitterness that kicks in as the berry leaves your palate post-swallow. The fruit feels real; the bitterness is a personal issue. For me, it brings the glass back tomy lips long after I intended to be done with this tasting. BEAUMONT: If someone handed me this beer blind, I’d say, “Hmmm, raspberry.” It looks like a beer with raspberries in it; it smells a lot like a handful of fresh raspberrieswith some stems still attached; and it tastes—surprise!—like raspberries. But it’s not sweet or cloying, instead presenting a light fruitiness on the front, a bal-anced mix of raspberry sweetness and tartness in the body, mellowed by a dry wheaty flavor and light citrus notes, and finishing quite dry and a little bitter. Not at all a dessert beer, but rather a sitting-around-in-the-afternoon-chewing-the-fat beer, and a very fine one, at that!

Beer Talk

BEERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD REVIEWED Žatec Dark Žatec Brewery Žatec, Czech Republic Imported by: Merchant du Vin Tukwila, WA The Žatec region is home of the hop variety known in English as Saaz. Brewing records in the town of Žatec go back over 1,000 years. BRYSON: Žatec Bright's quite good, so much is expected here, and we get it. Dark brown, ruby-tinged beer under a cap of light tan, with a fresh, appetizing scent of malt and bread. A crisp side-slice of roasted malt and coffee accents the understated sweetness of malt in the mouth. The dry malt and gentle bitterness in the finish whispers "Let's do that again." Or, as my wife said, "Ooo, yummy." Do we have to pair food? I just want to drink this. BEAUMONT: I've long been a fan of the darker side of Czech brewing, and this is an excellent example. Deep brown in hue, like a light porter, the nose of this beer is gently sweet, floral and a bit nutty, with dry hints of cocoa. The body follows a similar line, with a sweetish, chocolaty start tuning drier and counterintuitively richer in the body, adding a touch of roast and some toasted nutty notes before a faint bitterness creeps in on the finish. Perhaps a bit sweet to be a true session beer, but I can think of few occasions in which this would not be welcome. Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager Great Northern Brewing Co. Whitefish, MT A "double hopped" (dry hopped) unique American lager based on traditional European pilsners with hops added in the kettle and then again before finishing for aromatic quality. BRYSON: I want to like this beer–lagers get short-changed in the craft milieu–but reality conspires against it. A "double hopped" beer with 15 IBUs? A "family tradition since 1856" when the 1994 brewery just re-opened after an eight-year hiatus? Those could be overlooked, but not this: a sweet and grassy but faint nose, followed by a blandly malty mouth where any bitterness comes from fizz, and a finish that wants to be cloying but doesn't have the guts. The deep gold color is the best part. Disappointing. BEAUMONT: One might expect a "double hopped" lager to smell, well, hoppy, but this deep gold beer does not, instead yielding sweet apple and caramel notes backed up with a faint whiff of tannins and dry leaf. In the body, too, the hoppiness is surprisingly reserved, with a floral sweetness up front, more red apple notes in the body and a dryish and quick finish. A pleasant enough quaff, but quite understated in both aroma and taste, especially considering the "double hopped" claim. Idiot IPA Coronado Brewing Co. Coronado, CA Idiot IPA is an all-natural India pale ale, brewed with over three pounds of hops per barrel. This unfiltered "San Diego IPA" has been "known to reduce even the most intelligent to a blithering idiot." BRYSON: Finally, a name that resonates, and an aroma that resinates. Bright citrus and zest comes rising out of the foam; it's hopzapoppin! The translucent reddish gold turns into sunshine in my mouth: sweet malt crashes with waves of ruby grapefruit flesh, embittered by a hard-driven spindrift of pith. It's a bit on the heavy side, but that's helpfully cautionary in a beer this big. I'm looking for a mammoth chunk of rare red meat to launch on this San Diegan tide of hops. BEAUMONT: Every time I think I'm suffering from hop overload, along comes an ale like this to lure me back. Bright, rich gold in color, this big beer has a most engaging nose of dried apricot, floral hop, fresh spruce and alfalfa, which foretells of the massive fruity-hoppy body to come. There's plenty of hoppiness here, for certain, but it's assertive rather than aggressive and balanced nicely by sweet, fresh apricot and canned peach notes. The finish is definitely not for the bitter-phobic, but again, it seems more intent on making a statement than hammering the drinker over the head. A most intelligent beer. Raspberry Wheat Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau, AK With nearly one pound of real fresh-picked raspberries (no extract) per gallon added during fermentation. This new wheat beer launched Alaskan's Pilot Series of limited-edition specialty beers BRYSON: The label's "with added raspberries" makes a point, and the rosy tint and fruity nose hammers it home: this one's giving you the razz! Unlike many other raspberry beers, it's not sweetened up; the tart edge of the berries remains, and there's a trenchant bitterness that kicks in as the berry leaves your palate post-swallow. The fruit feels real; the bitterness is a personal issue. For me, it brings the glass back to my lips long after I intended to be done with this tasting. BEAUMONT: If someone handed me this beer blind, I'd say, "Hmmm, raspberry." It looks like a beer with raspberries in it; it smells a lot like a handful of fresh raspberries with some stems still attached; and it tastes–surprise!–like raspberries. But it's not sweet or cloying, instead presenting a light fruitiness on the front, a balanced mix of raspberry sweetness and tartness in the body, mellowed by a dry wheaty flavor and light citrus notes, and finishing quite dry and a little bitter. Not at all a dessert beer, but rather a sitting-aroundin-the-afternoon-chewing-the-fat beer, and a very fine one, at that! Detour Double IPA Uinta Brewing Co. Salt Lake City, UT Uinta Brewing Co.'s Crooked Line of beers are the company's more experimental recipes, brewed "outside the lines." Uinta Brewing Co. is entirely wind-powered. FINKEL: In the famous Michelin Guide, the finest restaurants are described as "worth a detour." After tasting this beer, I'm heading to Utah! The bright copper color, lovely off-white head and heavenly bouquet are a good indication of what's to follow. The wonderful floral hop flavor dominates the palate but does not overpower the beautifully-balanced malt. Though powerful, this is a session beer with food. We shared a 750 ml bottle with Oysters Rockefeller and crab cakes and wanted more! PAPAZIAN: Yowser! Deep head of potent foam can't cover the unmerciful explosion of American hop fireworks. Hop flavor and aroma is both sophisticated and enormous. Full body, full texture. Full-on bitterness renders silliness, but mysteriously dissipates in aftertaste. A beer that keeps beckoning. Lots of personality creates a cloud of joy. More detours, please. D'Light Kölsch Atwater Block Brewery Detriot, MI Atwater Block Brewery has a Kasper Schultz German Brewhaus, but they brew both ales and German-style lagers. The brewery created this Kölsch (a German hybrid style) as a stepping stone into the craft beer market for the local Detroit Beer drinkers: hence the "D" in the name. FINKEL: Detroit's history includes more than 100 breweries. Atwater does it proud. After a hard day's work in the garden, I poured their aptly named Delight. Very pale, almost white with an ermine head, the nose is clean with good maltiness. The flavors are balanced: round with a slight acidity. It is true to the style of Kolsch. As a snack, it was perfect with radishes picked fresh from the garden, dipped in a little sea salt. PAPAZIAN: Straw yellow, clear as a whistle, capped with wispy froth. Fruity aroma bequests ale, yet an influx of smooth flavor, malt and a blissful hop bite puts a smile on this face. A terrific warm weather brew, yet complex enough to delight with cooler occasions and certainly stands up to the lunch and dinner table. Memorable malt character and quenching dry bitterness is a huge plus on this hot summer day! At beer–Atwater. Buffalo Sweat Tallgrass Brewing Co. Manhattan, KS Roasted barley and lactose give texture to this cream stout from Kansas FINKEL: You know times have changed with they brew canned stout in Kansas! Black as a prairie night, the head is a little too quickly fleeting. Nice toasted nose combines coffee and nuts. Good flavor of cocoa, coffee, bread and fruit is surprisingly gentle and easy to drink, with a clean, long-lasting finish. I enjoyed it with chocolate chip cookies (stout is, after all the mother's milk of beer) but can imagine this excellent beer with a juicy rare steak. PAPAZIAN: Profoundly eccentric roast malt character. Nutty, hazelnut, caramel conspire me to reach for the can and read/see what's up? No indication on can. Another sip to determine this is not your typical American stout. Actually brims with English-style stout character, smooth, mild nutty roast, not entropically bittered. Multidimensional and certainly nutritious. Mild acid roast in aftertaste refreshes. A meal bender stout. Worth seeking. Trouble Brewing Amber Ale Trouble Brewing Co. Rochester, NY Amber ale is a relatively recently defined beer style, with modest hop bitterness compared to the related pale ale style. FINKEL: With more than 1,400 American breweries operating today, those that are not creative are in trouble. Name and label fill the bill for creativity and so does the beer. More golden than amber, the nose is bread-like, clean and refreshing. The sweetness of malt is predominate on the palate with just enough hops to lend character. The finish is pleasant and fruity. Recommended with Buffalo wings, as the sweetness of the malt would be a fine complement to anything spicy. PAPAZIAN: Amber brew with light aroma; very slight hint of caramel. Wonderful head clings to glass. Full malt texture. Loaded on the sweet side with vanishing hop bitterness. Full bodied texture. Lean on aftertaste. Neither radical nor robust, yet perhaps a go-to beer for those who conspire to move from a pedestrian beer. Wheat Ale Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland, ME Shipyard Brewing Co.'s origins were in the Portland brewpub Federal Jack's. Founder and head brewer Alan Pugsley has designed numerous American brewpubs and micros. His recipes employ the distinctive Ringwood yeast strain. MORRISON: If you want your breakfast cereal in liquid form, Shipyard's new seasonal is for you. This clear, golden-amber brew sports a crisp, white head and a slight effervescence. Aromas of toasted wheat with a touch of honey and a whiff of spice greet the nose. At first sip, the beer is a bit creamy in the mouth, and the toasty flavors are reminiscent of the classic American breakfast cereal, Wheaties, making for a wonderful top 'o the day beer. Because, as the saying goes, you can't drink all day unless you start in the morning. EVANS: Sometimes it helps to know what a brewer is trying to achieve. Shipyard's Bruce Forsley has been widely quoted saying that this bright amber beer falls into a group of "lower alcohol session style ales that do not sacrifice flavor." This goes some way to explaining the slender body and the notable dryness, particularly in the snappy, bitter finish, but I might have marked it down without the benefit of this knowledge as it doesn't quite deliver enough to get me excited. What's there is good, though: nut and caramel maltiness and crisp, delicate orange notes from the hops. Ripon Jewel Daleside Brewery, Harrogate, England Imported by St. Killian Importing Co., Kingston, MA The Ripon Jewel is a small piece of gold jewelry inlaid with gemstones, which is on display at the Ripon Cathedral in North Yorkshire, England. The jewel is thought to originate from the seventh century when Saint Wilfrid built a basilica on the site of the present day cathedral. MORRISON: I suspect the froth that oozed out of the bottle when I opened it happened because I was forced to drink it only a couple of hours after being shipped to my door. No matter; Ripon Jewel poured a clear, bright gem-like amber with just a skiff of a white head, despite its earlier jostling. Sweet aromas of biscuits and toffee mingle with some spicy cinnamon notes. Flavors follow suit, with a bit of butter along with the bread. Ripon Jewel finishes a bit dry and mineral-y, making it a good partner with a variety of different food. EVANS: Daleside produces some fine cask-conditioned ales and their bottled beers are also worth checking out. Ripon Jewel is a good example. On the face of it, this is a rich, deep amber beer, loaded with nutty, caramel-like, creamy malt character, nicely balanced by unobtrusive hops. What's that little bit different, however, is the subtle suggestion of whisky or sherry as the alcohol becomes apparent. I don't particularly like spirit notes in a beer, but they are not out of order here and add to the complexity of a satisfying, chunky ale. Regal Pilsner Breckenridge Brewery Denver, CO This double pilsner, one of the few lager beers brewed by Breckennridge, is part of a new small-batch "Occassionals" program from the brewery MORRISON: At 7.7 percent ABV, this is not your mama's pilsner. Regal is, however, an interesting spin on the classic style, with a lot more of everything you like in a pilsner to live up to its imperial moniker. Nicely effervescent, Regal still only offers a slight white head atop its bubbly body. Pronounced hops greet the nose with earthy and woody aromas. Each sip is a duet with malt playing the bass line and hops creating the melody. But the hops continue to linger long after the malty sweetness has disappeared, leaving a lovely, slightly bitter souvenir to enjoy before taking your the sip. EVANS: Double pilsner it says on the label and the strength and depth you'd expect from that descriptor are certainly not lacking. The predominant character is sherbet lemon candy, from the spritzy nose right through to the swallow. In the mouth, there's enough malty body to support the exaggerated hoppiness, but we're talking harmony here more than balance, as the hops hold the whip hand. Their tangy, dry bitterness fills the lasting finish where a mild burn from both the alcohol and the hops leaves you knowing you've had a beer. There's plenty to get hold of with this one. Roscoe's Hop House Amber Ale Genesee Brewing Co. Rochester, NY Genesee Brewing Co. was founded in 1878 and is still family-operated. Brewer of the iconic Genny Cream Ale, Genesee produces beers under its own and a variety of other brand names. MORRISON: I was struck how much this amber looked like Shipyard's Wheat, which I had tasted earlier. It's not every day you sample doppelganger beers back-to-back! But there the similarities end. This beer presents aromas of light malt and honey with a hard-to-nail down enigma of a fragrance that finally revealed itself as white grapes. Sweet, with honey and lightly toasted malty notes, that wine-like white grape character also comes up at the end of each sip. Wine lovers who are interested in exploring craft beer will certainly enjoy this one. EVANS: I'd say it was more dark golden than amber, but there's really very little to quibble about with this quaffable, middle-of-the-road beer. I love the silky smoothness of the malt on the tongue, and the caramel notes that provide the foundation are very palatable. Bouncing on top are some sherbety-sharp hop notes, bringing with them a distant orange character. There's a little spiciness to the taste, too. Bitterness picks up in the finish but never really amounts to much. Bring on the roast chicken. This could be a perfect partner. Gavroche Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre Saint Sylvestre Cappel, France Imported by: Eurobrew Ashland, MA Gavroche is a character in Victor Hugo's nineteenth century novel, Les Miserables. He is a rebellious yet always generous little urchin living by his wits on the streets of Paris. PROTZ: A saintly beer from French Flanders, in the heart of the region's hop fields. St. Sylvestre is a family-owned brewery that dates from 1860. Gavroche comes in a striking pint bottle with a cork and cradle. The bottle-fermented beer is a French interpretation of a Belgian abbey beer, with a gold/bronze color, heavy collar of foam and an amazingly complex aroma of vanilla, cobnuts, roasted malt and peppery hops. Sweet malt in the mouth and finish is balanced by spicy hops, sultana fruit and gentle hops. The perfect beer for the local speciality, a tart called flammenkueche (flame cooked), topped by mushrooms, onions and goat's cheese. OLIVER: "French Red Ale"? I guess that in a brave new world of "Black IPA", it could be true. In fact, the beer has a full amber color, but isn't particularly reddish. The aroma is full of earthy stone fruits, damp leaves, herbs and licorice. The full-bodied palate manages to show a fluffy effervescent texture, focused by light bitterness. Fruit plays through the center to a slightly acidic sign-off. I'm still not sure what "French Red Ale" is, but this biere de garde will be very nice with my grilled lamb chops. Organic English Ale St. Peters Brewery, Suffolk, England Imported by: Eurobrew, Ashland, MA Water for brewing is extracted from the brewery's 300 foot deep borehole. The beer is brewed with U.K. Soil Association-accredited light malted barley from Norfolk and organic Hallertau hops from New Zealand. The yeast used is St. Peter's own single strand variety. PROTZ: This brewery has a magnificent setting behind a moated Tudor house in Suffolk, with a Great Hall that has a raftered ceiling, fifteenth-century tapestries and a portrait of St. Peter before the Basilica in Rome. The beers come in a flagon-shaped bottle based on an eighteenth-century one that owner John Murphy found in a shop near Philadelphia. History all round. Nice beer, too. It's extremely pale, with a ripe peaches aroma balanced by rich malt and spicy hops. Hop bitterness builds in the mouth with tart citrus fruit and nutty malt. The finish is dry, bitter and hoppy with a teasing hint of fruit. OLIVER: The beer that pours from St. Peter's signature bottle raises a white-ish foam over a lightly hazy honey-colored liquid. The aroma is of hay-like and minty hops with a distant note of cheese. The palate opens with moderate bitterness, somewhat rough, giving way to a spare malt center. The finish is mildly astringent. I cannot find a "best before" date here, and I wonder whether this bottle had seen better days–I certainly enjoyed this beer when I had it at the brewery. Pedigree Marston's Beer Co. Burton-on-Trent Staffordshire, England Imported by: Eurobrew, Ashland, MA Brewed with traditional varieties of barley and hops (Maris Otter Barley, Fuggles and Goldings hops), Pedigree is it is still brewed in the oak casks of the fermentation system known as the Burton Union. PROTZ: The label calls it "classic English pale ale" and the hyperbole is acceptable. Pedigree is brewed in the home of pale ale, Burton-on-Trent, at the last brewer in the town to use the "Burton Union" system of fermentation that creates beer with a delicate malt and hops character. Pedigree has a pale copper color, a fluffy head and the famous Burton sulphury nose from the minerals in the water. Traditional Fuggles and Goldings hops contribute a peppery and earthy note to the palate, with sappy malt and light fruit. The finish has a creamy malt note balanced by spicy, bitter hops and gentle fruit. Cheddar and crackers, please. OLIVER: The beer pours with an attractive amber color and a modest off-white head. The aroma is a gentle melange of malt, hay, caramel, a whiff of spicy hop, and a hint of the sulfurous water that made Burton ales famous. The bitterness is broad, clean and appetizing, with a hard mineral edge. It lends the malt a racy quality, and the dry finish leaves the palate refreshed. This is an impressive bottled rendition of one of England's great cask beers. You could scarcely do better with a good burger, preferably from grass-fed beef. Würzburger Pilsner Würzburger Hofbräu, Würzburg, Germany Imported by: St. Killian Importing Co. Kingston, MA Würzburger Hofbräu's history dates to its founding in the year 1643 by the Main- Franconian Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn. It is therefore the oldest business still in existence in Würzburg today. PROTZ: This is a superb German interpretation of the pilsner style: "Hofbrau" in the title recalls the time when this was a royal brew, controlled by the Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg in the Franconia region of Bavaria. The beer has a pale gold color and a toasted malt and hops aroma with a hint of apple fruit. Hop bitterness builds in the mouth, balancing rich, juicy malt. Toasted grain and hops combine beautifully in the finish, with a continuing hint of light apple fruit. In the old Central European tradition, this would be a fine companion for carp, boiled potatoes and dumplings. OLIVER: Labeled as "pilsner-style", this beer shows a full yellow color, clear but not brilliant, with a quickly receding foam. The aroma is cleanly malty with a hint of fermentation-room sulfur and a suggestion of floral hop. The palate is clean too, save for a certain lingering coarseness to the moderate bitterness. The aroma of this beer would be a pride of any helles brewer, but the quality of the bitterness will demand something fried–oysters will do nicely.

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