Elite Wheats

Storm King Stoutshake

2010-08-30T17:31:00.004-04:00

I am writing this post as I sip on a Storm King Stoutshake. Ingredients: half a quart of vanilla ice cream, 6 oz Victory Storm King Stout. Thats it. I had to mess with the ratios to get the right consistency and flavor. You could definitely go a lighter or heavier on the stout depending on taste and desired thickness. Tastes like a malty coffee milkshake. The hops and alcohol are very present, but after a few sips become much more bearable. Definitely a drink that gets better and better as you progress. What shake should I try next?

Schneider Aventinus Aged 5 years vs Fresh

2010-08-30T10:10:00.005-04:00

Weizenbocks are one of my favorite styles of beer, and Schneider Aventinus is one of my favorite beers, and I was excited to do a comparison of aged to fresh. I was fully expecting to enjoy the aged Aventinus much more than the fresh, but I had the complete opposite reaction. The aged and fresh beer taste quite different. The fresh has a malty full body feel, and the aged Aventinus has more of a dry thinner wheat wine-y taste to it. The color and haziness on both beers was identical. This just makes me more excited to start brewing my own of this variety. The fresher the better.

St. Amand French Country Ale

2010-02-13T20:30:00.005-05:00

St. Amand French Country Ale purchased from the Whole Foods on Manhattan's Upper East Side. This slightly sweet, sour, almost salty, well carbonated Saison(French Country Ale) is very well rounded and drinkable. I would have liked to have a slightly more solid mouthfeel, but it is not completely lacking. I would say the sour saltiness is really what sets the beer apart. Would buy again!

St Druon De Sebourg French Abbey Ale

2010-02-13T20:07:00.003-05:00

I have been really enjoying the Saison style of beer. I mistakenly bought this beer to compare to some of the beers I have tried. This belgian pale ale comes in a 750mL bottle and pours with a respectable sized head after some long distance pouring.

The flavors here are very subtle and definitely do not hit you straight away. Make sure the beer is not too cold or you will miss everything. The best thing this beer has going for it is its medium body mouth feel. It is slightly sweet, sour, and bitter. Very drinkable, but not something I would buy regularly, but it went very well with my pad thai.

Spaten-Franziskaner Dunkel, Old Heathen, and Old Rasputin

2008-10-12T01:38:00.004-04:00

Arthur and I went to the Peculiar Pub. Started with the Spaten-Franziskaner dunkel weiss which is typical of the style. Amoung its peers it is better than Erdinger, on par with Julius Echter, but falls short of Weihenstephaner and Schneider Weisse.

Second up was the Old Heathen Imperial Stout from Weyerbacher. While I enjoyed this one, it sweetness reminded me of the Dogfish Head Imp Stout against my will. Perhaps the alcohol content and subtlety of the sweetness made this one easier to handle.

Last up was the Old Rasputin from the North Shore Brewery(shown in the image). Different take on the style than I am used to. Tastes like the offspring of brown ale and imperial stout. Would try again, but perhaps my judgment was too clouded by that point in the night.

Peculiar Pub

2008-10-12T01:36:00.003-04:00

The peculiar pub is a great place to get good beer for a fair price in a not so crowded atmosphere. Will elaborate at a later date.

Unknown Belgian Beer

2008-09-11T20:08:00.001-04:00

I had this beer on 4th and 6th ave in nyc and I completely forget what it is.

Blind Tiger Ale House

2008-09-02T10:02:00.003-04:00

After the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden the next NYC beer destination was the fantastic Blind Tiger Ale House. I have already gone to this bar several times. My only complaint is that it can get quite crowded. What makes the bar great is that it has about 40 taps that change on a regular basis. They are often running promotions with a certain brewery, and sometimes have anywhere from 10-25 of the taps from a single brewery. Prices are reasonable($6-8) except if you want to get one of there overpriced bottles. A great place to come to something new on tap.

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden

2008-09-02T09:42:00.005-04:00

Its been quite some time since I posted last, and I could not possibly post all the beers I have tried in the interim. I have made the move from Philly to NYC, so there will be a shift towards NYC beer, and to start off I am going to review the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria.

On an early summer saturday afternoon the large outside area is packed with long benches of people drinking a small selection of Czech and German beer(mostly Czech). We sat down to eat indoors which limited the selection of beer offered. You can't beat pitchers of good beer for $15 alongside some farely tasty/authentic food. I didn't mistake the garden for Prague, but I think its as close as you get in NYC. I would definitely recomend this place especially for large groups of people.

Take the N to the second to last stop and keep walking in the same direction as the train along 31st street until you reach 24th avenue. You should be able to see the beer garden from the intersection.

2008-06-29T20:52:00.000-04:00

2008-06-26T11:09:00.001-04:00

I bought this beer at U Med when I was heading out of Prague. Drinking the world wide stout reminded me of this beer because of the sweet taste shared by both. This beer is much smoother and complex than the world wide stout, and if i could find this in the US I would have it again.

~$4
12% ABV

Dog Fish Head World Wide Stout

2008-06-26T10:16:00.003-04:00

I had this beer when my friend was enjoying Dog Fish Head's 120 Minute IPA(21% ABV). Picked this up at Atlantic Liquors in Delaware. Also available at Ron's. This is unlike any other stout I have had. It has the high alcohol content I expect from an imperial stout, but the flavor is simply a sweet syrup. Difficult to get through and will not drink again. The 120 Minute was delicious in comparison and I would much have Victory's Storm King if I want a domestic imperial stout. Did I mention I won't drink this again?

Price: $9
18% ABV

Erdinger Dunkel Weissbier

2007-09-17T00:59:00.000-04:00

I have taken a few trips to the beer yard recently and on my most recent trip I picked up a case of Erdinger Dunkel Weissbier. I must admit I was looking for Weihenstephaner Dunkel, and this was my second choice. I also was tempted by the Brooklyn Brewery and Schneider and Son collaboration beer. Ultimately the $70 price tag and the fact that I had never tried it before dissuaded me.

This beer is one of my favorites. I have not yet done a side by side tasting with Weihenstephaner Dunkel and some of my other favorites, but I definitely would like to in the future. Drinkability is my number one concern and this one is at the top of my list. Wholesome and smooth this beer never disappoints. If you are looking for something different, look elsewhere. This is a good traditional dunkelweiss that I would definitely recommend.

Price: $53 for 24x500mL
Marked 03-2008
5.6% ABV

Stella Artois and their New Website

2007-09-16T18:33:00.000-04:00

So the good people of Stella Artois, sent me a free poster, some coasters, and an invitation to their new cinematic website. I was very pleased to receive this invitation and received my poster and coasters well before the September 15th pre-launch date. The poster is now hanging on my wall and I took a first look at the website today.

Unfortunately for me, not all of the completely flash websites played well with the Linux version of Flash 9, but the errors were limited mostly to the very simple games integrated into the website(sorry for technical details on a beer blog). The art and cinematography is superb, but the user interaction leaves something to be desired. The games are very simple, instruction free, and almost childish. That being said there is much to be seen and heard(all in French), and it will be well worth a visit on September 18th when it launches.

The most interesting part of this whole situation to me is the marketing technique Stella is employing. I think it will work quite well for everyone. Blogger are happy to receive trinkets and Stella will enjoy cheap advertising. Read this for more comments on the advertising campaign.

http://www.stellaartois.com/

Online Beer Store: Liquid Solutions

2007-08-15T07:48:00.000-04:00

If you live in Pennsylvania like me, or there simply are not any good beer stores close to you, you may want to look into an online store. One such store is Liquid Solutions, which has a good albeit expensive selection. The major price killer is the shipping, so it is best to order in large quantities. When I was writing this post shipping doubled the cost and there were over 650 beers in stock.

Liquid Solutions
275 Beavercreek Rd #C149
Oregon City, OR 97045
503-496-1942
866-286-9722

Victory Uncle Teddys Bitter

2007-07-24T20:37:00.000-04:00

My third and last beer from my second trip to the Victory Brewery. This one was very interesting. I had never had this type of beer before and I quite enjoyed this one. Poured an amber color with no effervescence. I was expecting something like the "bitter's" I had in Australia, but this was much better. I felt like I was drinking something from medieval times. I won't be getting this one again, but I enjoyed the experience.

$4.50 from Victory Brewery
3.9% ABV

Victory Kölsch

2007-07-24T20:32:00.000-04:00

My first beer on my second trip to Victory Brewery. It seems we got a very good deal on the previous trip because they were limiting the $3 beers severely on this trip. I am kicking myself for not taking pictures again. This one was a disappointment. I am not a big fan of kolsch. It was still refreshing to drink it with the soft pretzel and spicy mustard that I ordered. I hurried through this one to get a Storm King.

$4.50 from Victory Brewery
5.1% ABV

Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat

2007-07-24T20:22:00.001-04:00

Another from the foodery. This one was just weird. I don't even know how to describe it. The first sip was the best that I took and after that there was something a little bit off. The traditional taste was there but some sort of spice that was not agreeable. This is still drinkable, but I will probably not be getting it again.

5.1% ABV

Ayinger Brau-Weisse

2007-07-24T20:12:00.001-04:00

I am nearing the end of my beers from the foodery. I had high expectations for this German hefe and they were definitely met.

The head died down some by the time I took this picture. This one tasted like orange smooth wheat. I am definitely going to get this one again. Reminded me of Maisel's Weisse, but better.

500mL
5.1% ABV
Buy Ayinger Brau-Weisse Online

Stoudt's Weizen

2007-07-24T19:56:00.001-04:00

Another purchase from the foodery. This one was drinkable and interesting. Middle of the pack for american hefe's. I probably will not get this one again, but am looking forward to trying some other stuff from stoudt's.

Smuttynose Summer Weizen Ale

2007-07-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

Another beer from the foodery. This "Weizen" is extremely hoppy and bitter to the point of completely eliminating the traditional wheat flavor.(if it was even there) I can not recommend this one.

Pyramid Hefe Weizen

2007-07-19T15:49:00.001-04:00

This is another beer of the dozen from the foodery. This is a pretty good Hefeweizen. There is nothing special about it but it has the classic taste, is not overcarbonated or hoppy like other American Hefeweizens, and is definitely drinkable. I would not mind trying this one again.

5.2% ABV
Brewer's description of the beer

Coopers Best Extra Stout

2007-07-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

Another beer from the foodery. My friend took one sip and passed this one off to me. I had recommended this to him when we went to the foodery because it was one of the better beers that I had in Australia. He obviously was not in the mood for a stout.

This one was heavy bitter chocolate coffee. Not a bad brew. Definitely a winter drink. I would definitely recommend this one, but probably won't have it again because of availability issues. Tasted much darker than I remembered from Australia.

6.3% ABV

Victory Braumeister Pils

2007-07-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

This was my third and last beer at the Victory Brewery Restaurant. To be honest after the Storm King this one is a little bit hazy. One of my friends had ordered the Victory Prima Pils at the same time, and both were fairly good pilsners. While the Prima was a good traditional pils, the braumeister tasted a little smoother and less hoppy. Although this was good, it was my least favorite of the night and probably will not get a pils from victory again.

$3 from Victory Brewpub
5.5% ABV

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

2007-07-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

This was my second beer at the Victory Brewery Restaurant. The first sip was an experience. This beer tastes like very creamy heavy rich coffee. The alcohol content is hidden behind the bold tastes. I would have enjoyed this more if it was winter and I was not already full when I started drinking it. I enjoyed this one, but it was a struggle towards the end.

$3 from Victory Brewpub
9.1% ABV