Pint Log

Samuel Adams LongShot Double IPA Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Brewery: Boston Brewing Co. | Beer: Samuel Adams LongShot Double IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 9.0% | IBUs: ~100
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

One of the releases I look forward to most each year is the Samuel Adams Longshot pack. The pack is composed of two winning beers from the American Homebrew Contest and one beer from the Boston Beer Company employee's competition. I absolutely love that Samuel Adams has such a commitment to homebrewing, and I love the fact that some of the best homebrewer's beers make it to my local liquor store even more.

Unfortunately, due to the hop shortage last year, Mike McDole’s 2007 champion Double IPA was unable to make it to production. Mike brewed the beer as a Pliny the Elder clone that clocks in at about 100 IBUs, so you know there were a hell of a lot of hops involved. It wasn't a case of the hops simply being too expensive, some of the seven varieties in the recipe were just unavailable at any price at the time. Well, the wait (and hopefully the hop shortage) is over, and the beer is finally here. Lets see if it was worth the wait.

Appearance: A deeply hazy, dark orange body capped by a generous mountain of off-white head that sticks around a long time and leaves great curtains of lace behind. Top marks.

Aroma: Intense and pungent citrusy Cascade-like hop oil absolutely explodes from the glass. Underneath it all, there's a solid caramel malt base accompanied by a nice dose of booze.

Taste: Up front, a brilliant flourish of bitter, herbal, grapefruity, piney, and resiny hops. After the initial hop blast, there's a solid caramel malt backbone to keep the hops somewhat in check. The alcohol is masked well enough and there's plenty of bitterness in the finish. This is no slouch, but a proper West Coast style Double IPA.

Mouthfeel: A creamy, slightly fuller than medium body with good carbonation. A dry finish.

Drinkability: Just what you'd expect from a full-bodied, full-hopped, and fully-potent Double IPA.

Verdict: I've waited quite a while to try this beer, and it didn't disappoint. Congratulations Mike, you've brewed up a great beer here! I'd love to see Sam Adams base a year-round Double IPA on this recipe as the newest addition to the Imperial Series.

Grade: A

Young's Double Chocolate Stout Review (Nitro-Can)

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Brewery: Young & Co's Brewery PLC | Beer: Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout | ABV: 5.2% | IBUs: ~25
Serving Method: 14.9 oz. nitro-can poured into pint glass

Back when I started PintLog, one of the first beers I reviewed was bottled Young's Double Chocolate Stout (you can check out that review here). Since then, it has consistently been the most popular review here on the website, so I thought that I should finally get around to reviewing the other version available on American beer shelves.

Like many popular British beers, Young's Double Chocolate Stout is also available in tall, nitrogenated cans. Compared to carbonated beers, beers that utilize nitrogen have a much smoother mouthfeel with a thicker and creamier head. So, let's pull the tab and see how the widget changes this beer.

Appearance: A deep brown, almost black, body with brown highlights. On top a caramel-tinged, beautifully creamy, and dense nitro-assisted head that leaves brilliant curtains of lacing. Gorgeous presentation.

Aroma: Tons of milk chocolate and roasted malt. Not much else comes though, but that's okay.

Taste: Sweet, roasty malt with plenty of big notes of British milk-chocolate. Notes of toffee and coffee are also present, though in much lower amounts. There's a little hop bitterness towards the end to offer a bit of additional depth. Not thin, but not amazingly intense either. The aftertaste is sweet and roasty.

Mouthfeel: A body that's perhaps a little fuller than medium with smooth, light "carbonation." The "carbonation" level seems to be a little below the already low levels typical to beers served from a nitro-can, making it just a little flat. Coats the mouth a bit.

Drinkability: With moderate alcohol content, a relatively mild flavor profile, and a smooth mouthfeel this makes for a very sessionable brew.

Verdict: Young's Double Chocolate Stout is popular for good reason - it's a solid, sessionable Stout with a nice focus on chocolate flavors. As for whether it's better carbonated in a bottle or nitrogenated in a can, it's a tough call for me. While I certainly appreciate the smooth mouthfeel here, and feel that it compliments the flavor profile well, it just seems a little too flat to really top the carbonated version. It's pretty much a toss-up - but if forced to choose, I think I'd go with the carbonated bottle. I certainly didn't expect that!

Grade: A-

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:18:00 +0000

Brewery: Dogfish Head Brewery | Beer: Raison D'Etre
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale | ABV: 8.0% | IBUs: 25
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Way back when I was a tenderfoot first starting my journey into the world of craft beer, I logged many an hour standing in the beer aisle staring blankly at six-pack after six-pack after six-pack. Knowing hardly anything about beer at the time, all I had to go on was packaging and descriptions.

One of the first beers to pique my interest enough to bring it home with me was Dogfish Head's Raison D'Etre. The bottle reads: "A deep mahogany ale brewed with Belgian beet sugars, green raisins, and a sense of purpose." How could I resist that? It was quite a shock to my innocent palate when I got it home, but I knew that I liked it.

Here's how the great Michael Jackson described the beer:

I could not resist the pun in a beer called Raison d'Etre, based on a brown ale. This contains green raisins and dark candy sugar, and has a primary fermentation with an English ale yeast and a secondary with a Belgian culture. It starts winey, with suggestions of sweet oloroso sherry, developing spicy grain notes in the middle, then finishes with a soft, almondy dryness.

So now that countless new beers have passed over my palate, how will Raison stack up?

Appearance: The body is a rich dark brown, very nearly black outside of direct light, with reddish-brown highlights. On top, a two-finger caramel head that leaves decent lacing. This is a beautiful presentation.

Aroma: Slightly sweet and smoky deep-roasted malt dominates. It's accompanied by whiffs of dark fruit and a nice kick of booze in the back.

Taste: Roasty, smoky, and nutty malt with dark fruit and dark chocolate notes throughout. It's balanced with a good helping of bitterness in the end. Assertive alcohol compliments everything. The aftertaste is intense and roasty.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied with moderately-low carbonation. You can certainly feel the alcohol in your throat a bit. A nice dry finish.

Drinkability: With a good dose of alcohol and a complex profile, this is in the fast part of sipper territory.

Verdict: Another solid and unique offering from Dogfish Head, Raison D'Etre has a complex flavor profile with a hell of a lot going on in just one glass. This is a great beer to sip in the evening and ponder over.

Grade: A-

Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Beer: Wheat Beer
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale | ABV: 4.4% IBUs: 27
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Weizen glass

With two new year-round releases from Sierra Nevada this year (Torpedo and Kellerweis), it came as no surprise that one of their existing beers was going to have to bow out in order to make room. And with the incoming Kellerweis also being a Wheat beer, the choice to discontinue the relatively poor selling Wheat Beer only made sense.

Having never actually tried Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer, I decided that I had to try it before it was too late when I heard it was getting the axe. While there wasn't much stock left on the shelves here in Houston, I was able to find a couple of six-packs to sample.

Sierra Nevada's lightest Ale in the lineup, Wheat Beer has been a popular Summer beer for the Chico faithful. The malt backbone is built from Two-Row Pale and Wheat varieties, Perle hops are utilized for bittering, and Spalt hops are used for finishing. Here's how Sierra Nevada described Wheat Beer:

Pale, smooth, and light-bodied, Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer is brewed from premium malted wheat and light barley malts, utilizing our traditional ale yeast. This unfiltered ale is finished with the characteristically spicy Strissel Spalt hops from the Alsace region of France.

Sounds like good stuff. Though it may be a bit of a moot point now, let's pop a cap and see what made Wheat Beer tick.

Appearance: The body is crystal-clear and pale straw in color. But the star of the show is a monstrous, luxuriant head that leaves awesome curtains of doily-like lace and endures until the bottom of the glass. Beautiful.

Aroma: A pale wheat base with decent hops and some hints of citrus. It's pretty thin overall.

Taste: It's much the same story in the flavor profile. A pale, somewhat bready wheat body with a nice citrus kick and decently bitter hops. Quite mellow, but much more intense than the nose.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with average carbonation. Just short of dry in the finish.

Drinkability: Absolutely top-notch; perfect for grilling on summer's day.

Verdict: Sierra Nevada is a solid, tasty Wheat beer, and I'm sad to see it go. Sure, it may not be the most exciting beer in the lineup, but it will be missed. Godspeed.

Grade: B+

Note: While this review is being published in June, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh early this past April.

Oskar Blues Gordon Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery | Beer: Gordon
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 8.7% | IBUs: 85
Serving Method: 12 oz. can poured into tulip glass

With one of the highest average scores of any brewery here on PintLog, Oskar Blues has been a very welcome addition here in the Houston market. With Ten Fidy, their Russian Imperial Stout, garnering a perfect A+ a few weeks ago, I figured it was time to look to the hoppier part of the style spectrum and give their beer named simply Gordon a look.

Initially brewed as Oskar Blues' Winter seasonal, Gordon is now brewed throughout the year as one of the company's five canned offerings. While I have listed it as a Double IPA, Oskar Blues describe it as a hybrid "somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA," so keep that in mind. Gordon is named after the late Gordon Knight, a Colorado craft-brew pioneer that passed away in 2002 fighting a wild fire.

Oskar Blues describe Gordon as "an assertive yet exceptionally smooth version of strong beer" featuring "a gooey, resiny aroma and a luscious mouthfeel." The malt backbone is built with six varieties, including Chocolate. Three hops varieties are used during brewing, and then a "mutha lode" of Amarillo hops are used for dry-hopping. It certainly sounds like another winner, so let's go ahead and pop the top.

Appearance: A rich, dark red-orange body with a two-finger tall, off-white head. Brilliant lacing.

Aroma: Tons of Cascadey hops over a solid, sweet caramel malt base. This is absolutely excellent.

Taste: An excellent wave of citrusy hops up front with plenty of sweet caramel malt underneath. This is one of the most balanced Double IPAs I've had the pleasure to try. The alcohol is hidden excellently.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied with adequate carbonation.

Drinkability: Above average for the style, but you're still going to have to pace yourself with the 8.7% alcohol.

Verdict: Balanced with a big caramel backbone, Gordon has a unique flavor profile for a Double IPA. While it's certainly somewhat less hop-centric and more drinkable than most Double IPAs, don't be fooled into thinking it's somehow weak. With another beer receiving a review in the "A" range, Oskar Blues is now poised to really dominate the PintLog ratings.

Grade: A-

Sierra Nevada Stout Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:17:00 +0000

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Beer: Stout
Style: American Stout | ABV: 5.8% | IBUs: 60
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Thanks to great beers like Celebration, Pale Ale, the Harvest series, and now Torpedo, the name Sierra Nevada is deeply associated with hops in my mind. But, Sierra Nevada also brews up a couple of beers from the maltier side of the style spectrum, both a Porter and a Stout. With as much as I have enjoyed the hoppy beers I've tried from Chico so far, I decided it was time to check out some of the darker Sierras.

Like the other four original Sierra Nevada's year-round beers, their Stout has the simplest, least pretentious name possible: Stout. But don't be fooled by the name, this is a complex and well constructed beer. The backbone is built with Two-row Pale, Munich, Caramel, and Black malt varieties. As for hops, the beer is bittered with Magnum hops and finished with both Cascade and Willamette varieties. Here's how Sierra Nevada themselves describe their Stout:

"Creamy, malty, and full-bodied, the Sierra Nevada Stout is satisfyingly rich. Caramel and Black malts give the Stout its deep, dark color and pronounced roasted flavor."

It certainly sounds like a solid Stout, but let's crack the bottle to be sure.

Appearance: A dark, imposing body that only allows a handful of dull ruby light to pass through. A big, sticky, toffee-colored head endures until the bottom of the glass, leaving terrific lacing on the way.

Aroma: As you'd expect, lots of roasted malt with the usual chocolate and freshly ground coffee notes associated with a good stout. Hops make an appearance, unlike most Stouts.

Taste: As you'd expect in a Stout, the backbone is of sweet, roasty malt. Despite being a plain old American Stout, this puts many Chocolate Stouts to shame in the chocolate department. It's almost like a frothy chocolate malt at times. Somewhat bitter hops are more present than your average Stout, but never really raise their voices all that much. As I've come to expect from Sierra Nevada, this is a well balanced beer.

Mouthfeel: Beautifully creamy medium-full body with moderately-high carbonation.

Drinkability: Average for the Stout style. You're probably not going to be chugging these after you mow the lawn, but you won't have to nurse it for hours on end.

Verdict: Maybe it's because I associate Sierra Nevada mainly with the hoppier styles of beer rather than the malty ones, but I was expecting this to be a solid, but generally unexciting Stout. Boy, was I wrong. This is a chocolaty, complex beer very much worth a look.

Grade: A-

Homemade Guinness Ice Cream Recipe

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:02:00 +0000

A few years ago while visiting an Amy's Ice Cream parlor in Austin, I came across a truly heavenly concoction. Amongst the list of amazing flavors, there it was: Guinness. This was back in my Guinness phase, before I had really started exploring the world of beer, so I was ecstatic. I stepped up to the counter and placed an order that I had placed a thousand times before: "I'll have a pint of Guinness, please."

The concoction lived up to my greatest expectations, and with no Amy's locations within 150 miles of my apartment, I decided it was finally time to take matters into my own hands in order to furnish a steady supply of the stuff. Since my wife and I received an ice cream maker attachment for our stand mixer at our wedding, there was really no excuse not to give it a try. After some basic research (also known as Googling "Guinness ice cream recipe" and clicking the first result), I found a recipe from The Boston Globe to try out (check it out here).

Here's the ingredient list the recipe calls for:

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Guinness stout
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

We decided to make some slight adjustments. We cut the molasses in half, subbed coconut extract for the vanilla (both extract and bean), and instead of Guinness Draught, we went with some Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout.

The first step was heating the cream, milk, and a dash of the extract to a boil and setting it aside to cool. Next, we whisked together the Guinness and molasses, heated the mixture to a boil and cooked it until it reduced to about a quarter of its original volume, and set it aside along side the cream. While both saucepans cooled, we mixed the sugar and yolks together into a mixing bowl. Then, we slowly whisked the warm cream mixture into the mixing bowl and poured the mix into the saucepan along with the beer mixture. Finally, we heated the mixture for about six minutes, until it was nicely thick, strained it, and placed it in the fridge for two hours. Simple as that.

After waiting for the excruciating two hours, we pulled out the pre-frozen freezing bowl (it takes 15 hours to freeze the bloody thing, so plan ahead) and the stand mixer to get to the exciting part. Before dumping our mix into the bowl, I decided to take a quick sample, and... it tasted horrible. It was savory, salty, and totally wrong - my first thought was the molasses. I was wary of the stuff from the beginning, hence cutting the amount included by over half. I took a whiff of the molasses in the jar just to be sure, and it certainly seemed like the culprit. Who knew molasses was so gross?

So now what? Well, I like to see things through, so I did what anyone would do: I poured a shitload of sugar and coconut extract in the mix and crossed my fingers. It tasted a lot better when I sampled it, but was still rather off. However, we hadn't come this far for nothing, so I dumped it in the freezing bowl, turned it on, and walked away from 25 minutes. It certainly looked the part after it's time in the mixer, and the texture was awesome, but it still tasted terrible. We're talking soy sauce flavored ice cream here - no offense Boston Globe, but that was bullshit.

Okay, okay, okay. That sucked. Badly. Luckily we still had eggs, milk, and cream left in the fridge so we decided to give it another whirl (pun intended). At least we knew that the ice cream maker works like a charm and that most of what we did worked. So, the next day we set out again, but with a few changes.

After researching some different recipes for Guinness ice cream and reflecting on the previous day's events we decided it was best to rule out as many variables as possible to avoid another wasted bowl of ice cream. So instead of the new Guinness 250 Anniversary (which is tasty enough, and I'm sure can be made into a delicious ice cream) we went with regular old Guinness Draught, instead of coconut extract we went back to vanilla, and instead of adding molasses to the mix we threw the jar in the trash. Besides those swaps, everything was exactly the same.

This time, we hit paydirt. All of the flavors mesh perfectly together with none of the offending flavors from the first batch present. It's tastes like rich, incredibly creamy vanilla ice cream with subtle Guinness flavors (toasted malt with coffee and chocolate) mixed in (imagine that). The texture is perfectly fluffy and creamy, I'm shocked how perfectly it came out. I think this is just the first batch in a very long line of beer flavored ice creams coming out of our kitchen. Stay tuned for new flavors coming soon and feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions.

So, to anyone thinking about making their own beer flavored ice cream, or any kind of ice cream really, I encourage you to go for it. Just hold the molasses.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery | Beer: Ten Fidy
Style: Russian Imperial Stout | ABV: 10.0% | IBUs: 98
Serving Method: 12 oz. can poured into tulip glass

Believe it or not, after over sixty reviews here on PintLog, I've yet to review one of my absolute favorite styles: the Russian Imperial Stout. Well, that changes today.

The Russian Imperial Stout style dates back to late 1700s, when British brewers started to brew up an incredibly hoppy and potent version of Stout for export to Russia. Fortified to live up to both the journey to Russia and the tastes of it's resident, these were some big beers. They were said to be quite popular with the Russian Imperial court, hence the name. Recently, there's been a big resurgence of the style in the American craft brew scene. Much like Double IPAs, they work well as an no-compromises showcase for a brewer's talents and are one of the beer community's absolute favorite styles.

So, what Russian Imperial Stout to start with? While there are plenty on the market here in Houston, I was extremely excited this past Winter to find cans of Oskar Blues' legendary Ten Fidy on the shelves. With tons of buzz in the beer community and constant mentions on top beer lists, I've been waiting to try this beer for a long time now. Ten Fidy is a full-blown Russian Imperial Stout with ten percent alcohol by volume and almost 100 IBUs. Here's how Oskar Blues describe Ten Fidy:

It's the beer equivalent of decadently rich milkshake made with malted-milk balls and Heaven’s best chocolate ice cream.

How can you not like that? Let's pop a can open and see what lies inside.

Appearance: My God, it looks like motor oil as it pours out of the can. Blacker than black and thick as molasses, this is without a doubt the darkest beer I've ever seen. It's like a black hole, absorbing all light it comes in contact with. In the glass, it pours a very minimalistic deep-caramel head with half-decent lacing and retention.

Aroma: If you melted a bar of dark chocolate and mixed it with a few drops of pure hop oil and a shot of ethanol, this is what it would smell like. Powerful is somewhat of an understatement.

Taste: Pounds of dark-roasted, bittersweet chocolate malt condensed down into an aluminum-wrapped twelve ounce serving. But don't be fooled into thinking this is just a one-dimensional beer. Somehow, the maniacal brewers have found space in the can for a big wall of hops. How can a beer as big as this seem somewhat balanced? Madness. As you'd expect for a beer in the double digit ABV realm, the booze likes to raise its voice. As it warms, it kicks your ass more and more.

Mouthfeel: I've compared other beers to milkshakes before, but they all seem like water compared to this. This is simply massive and smooth as all hell. The booze makes itself known in your throat.

Drinkability: You'd have to be some sort of God/lumberjack hybrid to be able to throw this back with ease.

Verdict: Ten Fidy is an experience, to say the least, and the best Russian Imperial I've tried yet. A massive body with a brilliant malt profile and a nice flourish of hops. If you like Russian Imperial Stouts whatsoever and can find this in your area, buy it. If you can't find it in your area, move.

Grade: A+

Note: While this review is being published in June, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh last Winter.

Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Brewery: Abita Brewing Co. | Beer: Strawberry Harvest Lager
Style: Fruit Beer | ABV: 4.2% | IBUs: 13
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

I love to try local beer, and luckily for me the state of Texas is (despite what one might guess) rather fertile ground for great craft beer. But what about the surrounding states? Is there good beer flowing in the states around Texas as well? To answer that, I set out to pick up a beer from New Orleans-area based Abita. Years ago, a friend and I worked our way through a mixed Abita twelve-pack. From what I remember we were pretty impressed, but that was before I really knew anything about beer, so I figured it was well past time to try some more Abita.

Now, usually when I pick up my first beer from a brewery, I like to pick either their flagship beer or their take on one of my favorite styles. This time, however, I decided to switch things up a bit. Despite a very full stable of beers available here in Houston, it was the Strawberry Harvest Lager that first caught my eye. Read into that what you may...

Strawberry Harvest Lager is a Fruit beer based on what Abita calls a wheat Lager base. Here's how they describe the beer on its label:

Ripe, red Louisiana strawberries are harvested at the peak of the season in the early morning chill. The scent of the juicy red Ponchatoula berries fills the air as they're picked and pressed for Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager. The end result us a light, crisp lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness.

It sounds a little storybook to me, but it's what actually ended up in the bottle that really matters.

Appearance: A pale golden, slightly hazy body with a sudsy finger of near-white head that recedes rapidly and leaves little lacing.

Aroma: Quite simply, strawberry shortcake. Much closer to real strawberries than strawberry candy. The malt base is firmly in the pale malt range and seems a little sweet (though that may be the strawberries mixing in). I have to say, this is intriguing and alluring.

Taste: Still lots of fresh strawberries, though more muted than in the nose. The Lager comes through much clearer here than in the nose, but unfortunately it's a little grainy and average. The two flavors just don't mesh that well, I can't help but think that these strawberry flavors could have found a better housemate than a boring Lager. The aftertaste is pretty short, and tastes of strawberries and grain.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with good carbonation. The finish dries up a bit.

Drinkability: Decent, providing you like strawberries.

Verdict: In all honesty, I have to say I like this. It reminds of me of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat in a way: it's a fruit dominated beer that just seems wrong, but you can't help but like. This is miles ahead of SA Cherry Wheat, but still not a great beer. Worth a try if you're a strawberry fan, but rather forgettable.

Grade: B-

Shiner Smokehaus Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:29:00 +0000

Brewery: Spoetzl Brewery | Beer: Shiner Smokehaus
Style: Rauchbier | ABV: 4.9% | IBUs: 16
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

A couple of months ago, while searching for a Rauchbier (smoked beers especially popular around Bamberg, Germany) to review here on PintLog, I learned how absolutely impossible it is to find smoked beer here in Texas. Eventually, on a trip to the Southern Star brewery, brewmaster Dave Fougeron tapped a keg of his renowned Rauchbier and I got my first sip of the style. My wife and I were totally blown away with how delicious it was. While Dave jokingly described the beer as "ham in a glass," this was an amazingly well crafted and tasty beer. Unfortunately, that one brilliant pint at the brewery was still my only encounter with smoked beers. Until now.

I was incredibly excited when I heard that the brewers behind the Shiner line of beers announced that they would be producing a smoked Lager for the Summer. Named Smokehaus, the beer is essentially a Helles-style Lager built with malt smoked with local mesquite at the brewery in Shiner. The beer has finally started to show up on shelves here in Houston, just in time for the oppressive Texas heatwave, and I can't wait to give it a try.

Appearance: A crystal-clear golden-amber body with a generous bubbly white head that burns out rather quickly leaving only the barest patches of lacing.

Aroma: A rather typical pale malt Lager body with some definite notes of mesquite smoke. No hops to speak of. I was really hoping for more smoke here...

Taste: The familiar taste of a light Shiner Lager accented with a splash of tasty smokiness in the finish. Unfortunately, the smoke flavor is not very intense and comes off as a bit of an afterthought after the first couple of sips. The aftertaste is composed of a quick flash of smoke and grain that fades quickly.

Mouthfeel: A slightly lighter than medium body with good carbonation.

Drinkability: Built as a very drinkable and refreshing beer, with the smoke flavor light enough to not slow it down whatsoever. A great beer for grilling in the Texas heat.

Verdict: Lots of credit to Shiner for trying something new here, I just wish they had been a bit more bold with the smoke intensity. If you've never tried a smoked beer, this is a nice gentle introduction. I hope this helps pave the way to a new crop of Rauchbiers on the market here in Texas.

Grade: B

Homebrewed Young At Heart Stout Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Brewery: My Kitchen | Beer: Young At Heart Stout
Style: American Stout | ABV: ~3% | IBUs: ~15
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

You can read Young At Heart's Phase One (Brewing) here and Phase Two (Bottling) here

It's been about five months since my wife and I bottled our first batch of homebrewed beer, a Stout named Young At Heart. We chose that name in honor of my father-in-law's heart transplant a few days before we brewed. I'm happy to report that he's out of the hospital, back to work, playing golf once a week, and doing great overall. Hopefully the beer has followed his lead.

While homebrewed beer is generally drinkable after a week or so, the longer you wait, the better it gets (within reason). With all of the concerns I had at bottling time, I decided to give the yeasties plenty of time to do their thing. I've opened a couple bottles along the way just to make sure everything was coming along, but this review is based solely on the beer at five months after bottling.

I'm listing it as an American Stout, just for simplicity's sake. By my calculations, the ABV ended up at just about 3%, obviously not what I was shooting for (you can read more about this issue in Phase Two). Really, as long as it doesn't make me wretch, I'm calling this one a success.

Appearance: Deep black body with no light able to penetrate. There's lots of hiss from the bottlecap upon opening and the massive tan-colored head grows rapidly. It looks like this was just shy of becoming a gusher. Whew.

Aroma: Bitter roasted malt with notes of chocolate and a weird yeasty/fruity smell. Generally thin.

Taste: Pretty thin and bizarre. Malty, with dark fruit and burnt sugar notes and the same yeasty/fruity flavor lurking around the edges. Not a very Stout-like flavor profile. In fact, if given this in a blind taste test, I'd probably end up marking this as a Belgian-style Dubbel (though I'd be far from confident in that guess). No hops or alcohol to speak of.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with tons of soda-like fizz. Again, very much wrong for the style.

Drinkability: With a sub-Bud Light ABV and a pretty watery body, this is one of the most drinkable "Stouts" I've tried yet. Of course, there's probably no one that's going to want to keep going after the first one...

Verdict: Well, my real goal for my first batch of beer was to end up with something that resembled beer and didn't make me throw up or turn blind. I've met all three of those strict requirements, so I'm a happy camper. I don't see this recipe ending up in a bidding war from the nation's top brewers, but I think it's a solid enough start for my homebrew career. Next up, an IPA!

Grade: F (But still a success in my eyes!)

The Session 27: Beyond The Black & Tan

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:09:00 +0000

The Session is a monthly project where a bunch of beer bloggers all blog about the same topic. You can read more about the project here. This is PintLog's second time contributing to the project (I wasn't able to source a beer for the 26th session in time). This month's hosts are Joe Ruvel & Jasmine Smith (the good people behind Beer At Joe's), and the topic they have chosen is Beyond the Black & Tan, a meditation on beer cocktails.

Ah, the beer cocktail. Loved by many, hated by just as many; they're always a conversation starter. Some people think they're a great way to experience beers in a new way, others think it's a sacrilegious waste of good beer. I guess I'm kind of in the middle on this one.

While I haven't tried that many different mixes, the ones I have range from outright nasty to pretty decent. It's very rare that I finish a beer cocktail and think, "Wow, that really offered something enjoyable over just enjoying those beers back-to-back." Most of the time, I'm just left a little confused.

You can find plenty of lists of beer cocktails online, just google "beer cocktails." When deciding what to make for this article I read through list after list, looking for something that sounded interesting. I ended up picking a cocktail that I have a lot of experience with for a baseline and one composed of two beers that sounded truly awesome together.

On a logistical sidenote, to help make an attractive and properly separated beer cocktail, I like to use the Brutool Turtle. Much easier than a bent spoon, this thing works so well that even my bulldog could pour a decent Black & Tan.
Let's check out the two recipes I decided to make for this exercise, and how they turned out, shall we?

First up, the control for this experiment. No matter how cliché, I just had to include the beer that started it all, the Classic Black & Tan. While any mixture of Stout and Pale Ale is considered a Black & Tan, Guinness Draught and Bass Pale Ale are the beers used in the "classic" version. Both beers are solid enough traditional British session beers with distinct, yet complimentary flavor profiles, so the match is a bit of a no-brainer.

It starts off as a more caramel-and-hops tinged version of Stout, and by the bottom of the pint becomes a more roasty and dry English Pale Ale. Each phase is interesting and the flavors always mesh well. While not the most exciting pint in the world, it's easy to see why Black & Tans are by far the most popular beer cocktail out there. You can read my full Classic Black & Tan Review here.

Next up, the Chocolate Truffle, a mixture of Young's Double Chocolate Stout over Lindemans Framboise. I was quite excited to try this mix as I'm a fan of both beers and think the combination sounds like a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately, the reality isn't quite so heavenly. For the first half of the pint, the flavors are very muddled and just don't mesh like I was hoping they would. Once the Stout is almost gone, it livens up a bit and the tart raspberry flavors start to cut through the mess, but it still offers nothing better than the Framboise by itself. You can read my full Chocolate Truffle review here.

So, after reviewing two very different beer cocktails, did I learn anything? Well, the thing that really stuck out to me was that there's a lot more to matching two different beers than two different Jelly Belly jelly beans.

While some matches sound good on paper, beer is such a complex thing that the reality doesn't always follow your expectations. Chocolate Stout and Framboise just sounded like a wonderful match, but ended up muddy. Guinness and Bass sounds like an old boring couple, but each beer was able to compliment the other, making something actually worth the time to mix.

I have to say, after this exercise, I'm still rather indifferent on beer cocktails. To me, most just seem like an excuse to "cleverly" mash up their names, rather than real attempts to pair two complimentary beers. Besides the occasional Black & Tan, I don't see myself becoming much of a beer mixologist. Unless anyone has some good suggestions...

Classic Black & Tan Beer Cocktail Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Breweries: Guinness Ltd. & Bass Brewers Ltd.
Beers: Guinness Draught & Bass Pale Ale
Cocktail Name: Classic Black & Tan
Style: Beer Cocktail | ABV: ~4.6%
Serving Method: ~9 oz. of each bottle poured into pint glass with Brutool Turtle to separate

This review is a part of an article on beer cocktails as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Black & Tans date back to the late 1800s, when it became popular in British pubs. While any mix of Stout over Pale Ale is considered a Black & Tan, these beers represent the classic combination. However, if you're looking for something a bit more daring, you can easily find list after list of different Guinness + X lists online. They feature names as colorful as "Black Honkey," "Dirty Hippie," & "Old Dirty Englishman."

Appearance: On the bottom, the classic crystal clear, rich golden body of an English Pale Ale. Up top, the standard deep, black body of a Stout with the classic creamy nitro-head of Guinness Draught. There's a very clear line of demarcation between the two that holds for quite a while, with just a few thin strands of Guinness intermingling with the Bass. Gorgeous.

Aroma: Very much the standard Guinness. Perhaps some whiffs of somethng lighter, but that's probably just the power of suggestion. Checking in later when most of the Guinness is gone, a lot of the roasty character fades, and you're left with a darker version of an English Pale Ale.

Taste: At first it's a lot of roasty Guinness, with just a hint of caramel and hops. As you move down the pint, things start to mix a lot more and you end up with a pretty great combination. It's just what you'd think: a roasted and caramel malt body with some dark fruit and a splash of mild English hops. Towards the end, the tides change again and it becomes much more like a somewhat roastier, drier Bass.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and smooth at first. It seems like more Guinness influence than Bass, until most of the Stout is gone and the carbonation crispens up.

Drinkability: Both Guinness and Bass are brilliant session beers, so it's no surprise that this goes down easily.

Verdict: You can see easily this is such a classic mix, the beers just compliment each other perfectly. Just the presentation is worth the trouble itself, I could stare at it all day. Makes me wonder what a Russian Imperial Stout over a Double India Pale Ale would taste like...

Grade: A-

Chocolate Truffle Beer Cocktail Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Breweries: Young & Co's Brewery & Brouwerij Lindemans
Beers: Young's Double Chocolate Stout & Lindemans Framboise
Cocktail Name: Chocolate Truffle
Style: Beer Cocktail | ABV: ~4.6%
Serving Method: ~9 oz. of each bottle poured into pint glass with Brutool Turtle to separate

This review is a part of an article on beer cocktails as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Here's a beer cocktail that I just had to try out when I saw the recipe. Equal parts Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Lindemans Framboise. I have a soft-spot for both beers, so this should be right up my street. Plus, a mix of Chocolate Stout and Framboise just sounds like something meant to be...

Appearance: On the bottom, a hazy red body with blazing ruby highlights. Up top, the traditional deep black Stout body. As time passes there's less of a clear boundary than you get with a Black & Tan, but you can certainly tell the top from the bottom. The head has the classic nitro creaminess with alternating caramel-brown and pink blotches, making it look much like melted rainbow sherbet. The overall presentation is awesome.

Aroma: Fresh, tart raspberries and chocolate. Simple, but just what I was hoping for. It's much the same from top to bottom.

Taste: At first, much muddier than I was hoping for. The elements just don't interlock and align in that magic way that makes one beer compliment another. As the Stout starts to run low, the tart raspberry starts to cut through the muddiness decently and you end up with the typical Framboise character with a bit richer body. Perhaps it would be better to totally mix the two different beers to keep a constant all the way through.

Mouthfeel: Nitro-smooth at the front, conflicted in the middle, and crisp in the end.

Drinkability: While light in alcohol content, you're probably not going to be ordering these all night long.

Verdict: While a mix of raspberry and chocolate beer sounds like an awesome combination on paper, the reality doesn't quite live up. My litmus test for a beer cocktail is whether it offers anything better than drinking the beers individually back-to-back. Unfortunately, by that rule, this one is a miss.

Grade: C+

Southern Star Blonde Bombshell Ale Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Brewery: Southern Star Brewing Co. | Beer: Bombshell Blonde Ale
Style: American Blonde Ale | ABV: 5.3% | IBUs: 20
Serving Method: 12 oz. can poured into pint glass

Back in January, I posted a review of the first beer brewed by the upstarts at Southern Star, their Pine Belt Pale Ale. The brewery is actually about ten miles from my apartment, so I was very excited to try some beer brewed so close to home. Pine Belt turned out to be a great beer, and now has a recurring role in my rotation. I've been patiently awaiting their next retail release, and now the time has come.

The second offering to make it to the shelves from Southern Star, Bombshell Blonde Ale is (rather obviously) a Blonde Ale. This style is relatively new, and is essentially an invention of American craft brewers. Many times, a brewery's Blonde Ale serves as the entry-level, or gateway, beer in the lineup. They're typically in the straw to golden range with a medium-light to medium body and good drinkability. As for balance, these are malt-forward beers with lighter flavored malt profiles (think bready and biscuity) and light to medium hoppiness.

As for ingredients, Bombshell's malt backbone is constructed of Rahr Special Pale and Wyermann Viennaa varieties, while German Tradition Sterling is the exclusive hop variety used. California Ale yeast is employed once again. Here's how Southern Star themselves describe Bombshell:

A rich, creamy golden colored ale fermented at a cool temperature to give a clean finish. Hints of yeasty bread and a touch of hops combine to make a beer that is truly more than the sum of its parts.

By the way, I mentioned in my last review that I was going to try to make it up to the brewery to check it out, and I finally made the trip last weekend. Dave has really got a great thing going, with an impressive brewery and some great beers on tap (you have to try the Buried Hatchet Stout). I thoroughly recommend that anyone in the Houston area that cares about great beer make it to one of their Saturday tastings. You can find more info on the Southern Star website.

Appearance: Hardly blonde in color, this is a lovely shade of golden-amber. There are a million particles of sediment suspended in the body, living up to the "clarity is overrated" slogan on the can. The finger of craggy head is off-white in color and features great retention and lacing. I could stare at this all day.

Aroma: Sweet, bready and biscuity malt with a few hints of citrus and earthy hops.

Taste: The same solid malt backbone is firmly in charge here. The profile runs the gamut from husky, to bready, to biscuity, to caramel-like. There's a splash of citrus and mild hop bitterness in the finish for balance. The aftertaste keeps the malt chorus going.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and smooth with mild carbonation. It finishes clean.

Drinkability: Top-notch, I could drink this all night.

Verdict: Perfect for sessioning, Bombshell is just a mild and friendly beer. Every brewery has to have an offering or two in their lineup that appeals to the fans of "lighter" beers, luckily this one has soul and flavors in abundance. A perfect companion for a hot Summer day here in Texas.

Grade: A-

Samuel Adams Double Bock (Imperial Series) Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Brewery: Boston Brewing Co. | Beer: Samuel Adams Double Bock (Imperial Series)
Style: Doppelbock | ABV: 9.5% | IBUs: 25
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

A few weeks back, I reported the exciting news that Sam Adams was adding an Imperial series to their lineup. Well, I was able to secure a pack of each of the three varieties and I'm ready to start reporting my findings. First up, I decided to review the established member of the team.

This is the only beer in Sam Adams' new Imperial Series that isn't totally new. There has been Sam Adams Double Bock for 20 years now, it was actually their first seasonal offering. However, this isn't just a relabeled old timer, the recipe has been revised heavily, with almost a full percent of alcohol added in the process. I never had a chance to try the old version, it would have been interesting to see how it's changed.

The label reads "Enjoy this beer now or age to develop unique flavors" and has a message from Jim Koch:

Samuel Adams Double Bock is brewed with a half pound of malt in each bottle, almost enough for a loaf of bread. This intense, rich lager reveals a deep mahogany color and velvety smooth flavor. Samuel Adams Double Bock is one of our most sought after brews. Enjoy!

On a bit of a tangent, the label also reads "Lager (Ale in TX)." What is is about out state lines here that can magically change the classification of a beer once you cross them? We really need to repeal a lot of the arcane liquor laws around here. Anyway, enough ranting about the wacky world of Texas law, how's the beer?

Appearance: A clear, dark red-brown body with a finger of caramel-tinged head that leaves spotty lacing.

Aroma: Lots of caramel malt dripping with sweetness and booze. No hops to be found here.

Taste: Sweet caramel malt with dark fruit, smoke, chocolate, and Scotch notes. Pleasant alcohol in the back, playing a perfect supporting role. Certainly one of the most complex Sam Adams beers I've tried. The aftertaste is malty and boozy.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and velvety smooth with moderate carbonation. Coats well, but never too syrupy. A lovely subtle burn in the throat.

Drinkability: Above average for a beer with this level of alcohol, but still very much a slower beer. Great for savoring after a meal.

Verdict: This is just about what I expected when I first head "Sam Adams" and "Imperial Series" in the same sentence. A solid, though not earth-shaking, beer that's head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Sam Adams line. The Imperial version of Double Bock is a complex and satisfying beer, and a great companion for after-dinner contemplation.

Grade: A

Saint Arnold Elissa IPA Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:48:00 +0000

Brewery: Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Beer: Elissa IPA
Style: American India Pale Ale | ABV: 6.6% | IBUs: ~60
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

A few Summers ago, I spent a Labor Day weekend with my family in Galveston. One of the highlights was looking out at the water and seeing an interesting dark shape on the horizon (in a scene very close to the one depicted on the bottle). After a few seconds, it dawned on me that I was staring at a tall ship. Seeing something so ancient looking juxtaposed against the modern world was something really special. I'm sure if I had been 15 years younger, that I would have thought it was a pirate invasion for sure.

The tall ship was the Elissa, a barque from 1877, and a major Galveston attraction. When Saint Arnold decided to try their hand at brewing an IPA a few years ago, they decided to name the beer after the Elissa. Not only was it a perfect tribute to a local landmark, but the Elissa was exactly the kind of ship that transported IPAs to India in the first place. Saint Arnold also donates a portion of their proceeds from this beer to help preserve the Elissa.

Released back in 2004, Saint Arnold's first IPA was finally able to exist once a reverse osmosis system was installed in the brewery to strip out the high levels of calcium carbonate levels here in Houston's water supply. They decided to use only one hop variety in the beer, my favorite hop variety, the Cascade. The Cascades are added three times throughout the brewing process and then once as a dry-hopping in the fermenter. The beer is unpasteurized and contains no additives or preservatives. Every now and then, the brewery takes a portion of Elissa, dry hops and cask conditions it for a traditional Real Ale experience in local pubs.

Back when I was first experimenting with good beer, this was the first IPA I tried. At that point, I had no idea what an IPA was - I just knew that the Elissa was awesome and every Saint Arnold beer I'd sampled up to that point was brilliant. I took the six-pack home and promptly poured a glass. BAM! It hit me in the mouth with a massive bitter punch, the hoppiest beer I had ever had by far. To be perfectly honest, it was quite unpleasant at first, and it took quite a while to finish that first glass.

As I slowly worked my way through the six-pack over the course of a few weeks I got somewhat used to it, but it was still rather extreme. Of course today, it's just a good session beer for me; something to pick up when I'm in the mood for hops but not after a big beer. This beer is a constant reminder of how much your palate changes on this journey.

Appearance: An ever-so-slightly hazy, bright golden-amber body with a mass of bubbles working their way up. On top, a finger of dimpled and fluffy off-white head with brilliant retention and good lacing.

Aroma: Citrusy, floral, and piney Cascade hops over a solid biscuity caramel malt base. Inviting.

Taste: In the flavor profile, the hop character is made up of mild bitterness and leafy notes with a good bit of the citrus stripped out. I'd like to see more of the perfumey citrus flavors you usually get from Cascade hops, but what is left is nice. The malt backbone is biscuity and mildly roasted. This is a very balanced IPA, but I'd be happy to see a bit more focus hop character. The aftertaste is bitter and biscuity.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Mildly dry.

Drinkability: Well above average for the style. One of the most sessionable IPAs I've tried.

Verdict: Elissa is just an easily drinkable, moderately hoppy beer. It's certainly not the hoppiest IPA out there, and I'd like to see more of the traditional Cascade character, but it makes for a brilliant session beer for hop fans. A Houston institution in the making.

Grade: A-

New Belgium Mothership Wit Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing | Beer: Mothership Wit
Style: Witbier | ABV: 4.8% | IBUs: 12
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into globe glass

Sustainability is a matter near and dear to my heart, so I always like hearing about brewers thinking about the future. Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing has always had a reputation for being one of the greenest breweries, so the fact that they produced the first organic beer I've ever tried is not surprising. Their first USDA certified organic beer is a Witbier named Mothersip Wit.

This is also my first time reviewing a Witbier on PintLog, so let me take a minute to explain the style. Witbier, or White Beer, is a Belgian style wheat beer usually spiced with coriander, orange peel, and various other spices. Also usually slightly sour, due to the presence of lactic acid. They are very pale in color and hazy in appearance (due to being unfiltered). Known for their refreshing qualities, these are a summertime favorite.

According to the brewer, Mothership is brewed with "wheat and barley malt, as well as coriander and orange peel spicing resulting in a balance of citrus and sour flavors held in suspension by a bright burst of carbonation." That sounds just about perfect for the style, so this should be a good starting point.

Appearance: Hazy and amazingly pale lemon-drop yellow body. This almost looks like lemonade as it pours out of the bottle. Nice finger and a half of white head that recedes quickly and leaves decent lacing. Great presentation.

Aroma: Intense. Tangy wheat, lemony citrus, and lots of spicy coriander and cloves. With the lemon, wheat, and spices this almost reminds me of a lemon meringue pie in a weird (and good) way.

Taste: Zesty lemon, coriander, and cloves still dominate over a wheat/pale malt base. Thin even for this style, I'd like to see just a little more intensity in the backbone. Not particularly bitter or sweet, Mothership is pleasantly mellow.

Mouthfeel: As you'd imagine as you watch it pour, this is very much light-bodied. Good carbonation and a clean finish.

Drinkability: Suburb drinkability, would quench nicely on a hot Summer day.

Verdict: Although a little thin, Mothership Wit is so smooth, drinkable, and very mellow that it works. With a nice mesh of flavors and brilliant quenching potential, Mothership is another solid New Belgium brew. The fact that it's organic is just icing on the cake.

Grade: B

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Beer: Torpedo Extra IPA
Style: American India Pale Ale | ABV: 7.2%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Sierra Nevada, a mainstay of the American craft brew world, has been very busy expanding their line recently. Their newest creation is one of two new additions to their year-round stable being released this year, Torpedo. This is the first change to the year-round Sierra Nevada lineup in over a decade, so this is pretty exciting.

What's even more exciting is that Torpedo is an India Pale Ale, one of my favorite styles. I always felt for such a hop-centric company, a year-round IPA was in order for Sierra Nevada. Well, that day has finally come. Sierra Nevada maintains the reason it was such a long wait is that they've just now figured out how to get the hop profile they desired without having to resort to hop pellets or extracts. Part of the process entails a new device developed at the brewery called the Torpedo, hence the name.

According to Sierra Nevada, Torpedo is actually somewhere between an IPA and a Double IPA, what they're calling an "Extra IPA." For simplicity's sake I went ahead and listed it as an American India Pale Ale, as that seems to be the closest fit. As for the ingredients, the malt backbone is composed of Two-row Pale, Carapils & Crystal varieties with the hop profile provided by Magnum, Crystal, & Citra variates. Magnum is used for bittering, finishing, and dry-hoping. Crystal is used during finishing and dry-hoping. And Citra is utilized only during dry-hoping. Here's how the brewery describes Torpedo:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale is a big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.

Torpedo is joining two seasonal beers, Anniversary Ale and Celebration Ale, in the Sierra Nevada IPA collection. With Celebration getting an A+ here on PintLog, hopes are what you might call rather high.

Appearance: A deep burnt-orange, clear body with a big fluffy, off-white head. Good lacing.

Aroma: Lovely grapefruity, herbal, and piney hops over a solid caramel malt base.

Taste: Pleasantly bitter hops right off the bat with all the same characteristics you find in the nose. Right behind the hops, a big sweet malt background keeps everything in order. Superbly balanced, just what I've come to expect from Sierra Nevada. The moderately-high alcohol content is masked well. Great lingering bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with fine carbonation. Dries in the finish.

Drinkability: Just about average for a good IPA.

Verdict: I think Sierra Nevada is right about Torpedo being somewhere between an IPA and a Double IPA, but it's probably closer to the former. While I prefer Celebration to Torpedo, this is anything but a let-down. I can see this playing a big role in my regular rotation, especially during the Summer when Celebration is just a fond memory.

Grade: A-

New Beer Wars Video Featuring Charlie Papazian

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:09:00 +0000

Haven't bought your Beer Wars tickets yet? Well, what the hell are you waiting for? April 16th is rapidly approaching. If you are still not convinced, perhaps this latest video extra will inspire you. In it, homebrew hero Charlie Papazian talks about, what else, homebrewed beer. Look out for his awesome "malt stirrer," I want one.

Ah, makes me want to take a trip to the homebrew store and get brewing.

See the list of theaters playing Beer Wars here and check the Beer Wars website for more information.

Stone Ruination IPA Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: Ruination IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 7.7%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Stone Brewing Company, best known for their beer Arrogant Bastard, have become one of the big players in the American craft brew scene. Based out of the San Diego area, they've developed a reputation for uncompromising big beers, usually with a healthy dose of hops. Gargoyles are featured prominently on most packaging, a perfect fit for the playfully arrogant voice of most of their marketing materials. Stone is independent and has built a reputation for being eco-friendly, both very important things to me.

While they produce a normal IPA (named simply Stone IPA), they also produce a year-round Double IPA by the name of Ruination, billed as a "liquid poem to the glory of the hop!" Stone say they chose the moniker Ruination because they believe that this is such an extreme and great tasting beer, that your palate will be ruined for anything lesser. The beer better be pretty damn good with that kind of marketing.

Appearance: Somewhat hazy, rich amber-orange body with a two solid fingers of sticky, off-white head. Good lacing.

Aroma: Pungent, floral, citrusy, and piney hops are the focus here. There is booze and caramel malt underneath, but they're very much subservient to the hop onslaught. This smells damn good.

Taste: Aggressively bitter hops take charge of your mouth from the second they hit the palate, not letting go until they say so. Not just bitter, the hops are still grassy, floral, and citrusy. It's not all one-sided though, with enough caramel malt to keep it from being an absolute blowout. The alcohol is kept in check well. There is a terrifically long bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body that coats the mouth, allowing the aftertaste to linger for minutes. Moderate carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: A little above average for the style, that is to say a relatively fast sipper. There are a lot of hops to contend with, but the alcohol is hidden rather well.

Verdict: Ruination is simply a massive beer. Stone have pulled off something masterful here, by keeping a beer so absolutely drenched in hop oil still somewhat balanced. This is a must try for all hopheads, and one of the best beers I've tried yet. Arrogant bastards Stone may be, but their products walk the walk.

Grade: A+

Beer Wars Deleted Scenes

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Have you bought your tickets for Beer Wars yet? If not, perhaps these deleted scenes will help persuade you to pull the trigger.

First up, Kim Jordan of New Belgium talks about her brewery and "the culture of beer."

Next, Greg Koch of Stone brewing talks about the journey his company has been on and who he considers his competition.

I have to say, the more I learn about this movie, the more excited I get.

See the list of theaters playing Beer Wars here and check the Beer Wars website for more information.

Sierra Nevada Reveals New Year-Round Beer: Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Sierra Nevada announced last year that they would be adding two new beers to their year-round stable. As there had been no changes to that lineup in over a decade, the beer community was understandably excited. The first beer was revealed to be a new "Extra IPA" named Torpedo. I just got my hands on a couple six-packs, and it's a very worthy addition to the collection.

Late last week, Sierra Nevada unveiled their second new year-round release, Kellerweis Hefeweizen. This will actually be replacing Sierra Nevada Wheat in the lineup, so if you're a fan of the Wheat, stock up. The beer is of the traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen style and Sierra Nevada is using the shallow open fermentation process and top-cropping yeast. The yeast itself is a special strain borrowed from a small Bavarian brewery and was actually the inspiration for Kellerweis.

When the brewers started playing with the strain a few years ago, they were so enamored with the results that they decided to brew up a new year-round Hefeweizen. After a trip to Germany the team realized that the key to really unlocking the yeast strain's potential was open fermenting.

The name Kellerweis comes from a combination of the German words for cellar (in this case a reference to the open fermentation tanks) and hazy wheat beers. Here's how Sierra Nevada describe the flavor profile:

The flavor is rich with bready wheat notes and massive banana and clove. The finish is clean and crisp and the beer has a low enough ABV to be scarily session-able.

Be on the lookout for Kellerweis on shelves in late May, just in time for summer. If Torpedo is any indication, it should be great.

The Session 25: Love Lager, A Meditation On The American Adjunct Light Lager

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:26:00 +0000

The Session is a monthly project where a bunch of beer bloggers all blog about the same topic. You can read more about the project here. This is PintLog's first time contributing to the project. This month's host is John Duffy (A.K.A. The Beer Nut), and the topic he has chosen is Love Lager, a meditation on the style that most people associate with the word beer.

When thinking about the typical American Lager, three brands immediately spring to mind: Budweiser, Miller, and Coors (collectively known in some beer circles as BMC). These brands account for the majority of American beer produced each year. Differentiated more by marketing than any tangible product attributes, each brews their own version of the American Adjunct Lager.

Designed with the lowest common denominator in mind, the style is light-bodied, pale yellow in color, fizzy, and lacking in any strong hop or malt flavors. Due to the expense of brewing all-malt beers, and the fact that their customer's palates allow them to, adjunct cereal grains (mostly corn and rice) are used to reduce the amount of malted barley required.*

As if the typical American Adjunct Lager wasn't bland enough already, most Americans actually prefer to buy the "light" version of the style. Made popular by Miller in the 70s with Miller Lite, the Light American Adjunct Light Lager is lower in calories, carbohydrates, and (typically) alcohol content. Unfortunately, they're also lighter in flavor.

So the question to be asked is do these beers offer anything but a cheap and quick way to get drunk? To help answer that question, I decided to do my best to objectively review the three best selling American Adjunct Light Lagers: Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light (they're also three of the four best selling beers in America regardless of style). And just to keep things interesting, I also reviewed the light version of a local favorite: Lone Star, known as the "National Beer of Texas." We Texans are a funny bunch.
I decided to do this the right way, so I headed across the street to the gas station to pick up my review material. Lone Star Light was only available in six-packs, and ran me around $3.50. That's quite possibly the cheapest six-pack I've ever bought. All three nationwide beers were available in handy 24 ounce tall boy cans, for around two dollars. As a bonus, all three were wrapped by the cashier in individual brown paper bags. Let's unwrap these bad boys and dig in.

First up, Bud Light, the big boy on the block and the best selling beer in the world (according to Anheuser-Busch). "Drinkability" is the latest Bud Light campaign, and seems to be based on the idea that you don't want pesky things like flavor to get in the way of your drinking. With a fuller mouthfeel than usual for this style and a relatively pronounced (if still grainy) body, Bud Light is not the "most drinkable" here. Which is certainly not a bad thing. You can read my full Bud Light review here.

Next, the beer that started it all, Miller Lite. Now the third best selling beer in America (behind Bud Light and Budweiser), Miller Lite positions itself as the light beer that's just too light for a "GH" in the name. Seriously. A new, unintentionally hilarious, campaign touts the beer as a great way to "Get Hip to the Hops." The beer itself is the same fizzy, yellow stuff as the others, but plagued with a nasty chemical taste. You can read my full Miller Lite review here.

Number four on the American sales charts is Coors Light, the "Silver Bullet." Coors markets the beer almost exclusively around the concept of coldness, which I suppose is rather telling. Without a doubt the most gimmicky delivery device here, its can has a vented mouth, a "Frost Brew Liner," and a "Cold Activated" mountain scene on the side. The beer itself has a better flavor profile than most beers in this style, but almost no nose whatsoever. You can read my full Coors Light review here.

In order to keep things a bit interesting, I felt compelled to add a local favorite. Here in Texas, Lone Star is the local Lager for most people. Because it wouldn't be fair to compare three light Lagers to a regular Lager, I've opted for Lone Star Light, a beer that I'd never actually tried before now. Unfortunately, it's just as bland and soulless as the national fare. On the plus side, it does have some awesome pictogram puzzles under the bottlecap. You can read my full Lone Star Light review here.

So, after tasting them all, how do they rank?

In fourth place, Miller Lite - the chemical taste just killed it.
In third place, Lone Star Light - much blander than the "National Beer of Texas" should be.
In second place, Bud Light - a fuller body than the previous two beers, but just too grainy to win.
And our winner today, a total surprise to me, is Coors Light - hardly a full-flavored beer, but the best taste profile of the group.

So, after my best attempt at objectively reviewing the three big American Adjunct Light Lagers and a local wildcard, has my low opinion changed? Not at all. Viewed alone in a vacuum these beers are not necessarily bad (aside from an occasional chemical taste); but when compared to the rest of the beer world, they're just not good. They don't taste like horse piss or even cat piss. If I'm offered one of these beers at a party, am I going turn up my nose and refuse, citing the superiority of craft-brewed beer? Of course not.

Remember, just because someone likes these beers, that doesn't make them some sort uncultured philistine. Think how much money they're saving over saps like me!

*Reader Mike, who clearly know a lot more about brewing than me, wrote in to dispute the assertion that brewing with adjuncts is cheaper than with all-malt. Here's how Mike puts it:

Adjuncts used in adjunct lager brewing are not significantly cheaper than barley malt. They were historically used to lower the protein content and astringency of North American 6 row barley prior to the successful Canadian 2 row barley breeding programs of the 70's and 80's for growing dry land barley. Low cost factored into their use more in the past more than today, but an all malt beer before the successful breeding of North American 2 row malt was astringent and tended to be hazy at low serving temperatures. Their use now is about light flavour. Brewing with corn and rice increases energy use and brewhouse cycle times. In the case of high maltose corn syrup cycle times reduce and plant efficiency goes up. This comes at a cost. Corn syrup is generally more expensive than malt lately.

All malt is used in craft circles because it is actually cheaper and markets better due to the difference. The plant required for using adjuncts is usually prohibitive and is more complicated to use.

Many thanks to Mike for the info.

Bud Light Review

Chris@pintlog.com (Chris) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Bud Light
Style: American Adjunct Light Lager | ABV: 4.2%
Serving Method: 24 oz. can poured into Pilsener glass

This review is a part of an article on the American Adjunct Light Lager as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Introduced as Anheuser-Busch's answer to the popular Miller Lite (and to a lesser degree, Coors Light) in 1982, Bud Light has become the best selling beer in the world (according to AB). As with it's fellow Light Lagers, the product is differentiated and made successful mostly by it's marketing. Bud Light has been pitched with some truly brilliant ads including "Swear Jar" and the "Real Men of Genius " radio series.

Their latest campaign centers on one of Bud Light's core product attributes, "The Difference Is Drinkability." The message, apparently, is that you don't want anything like flavor getting in the way of drinking as much beer as possible. I suppose if that's what you're drinking for, Bud Light isn't a bad choice.

As for the beer itself, it's your typical American Adjunct Light Lager; a low-calorie, light-bodied beer with an "inoffensive" flavor profile. Here's how AB describe the ingredients:

Bud Light is made with a blend of two and six-row malt and cereal grains for a clean and crisp, smooth taste. In addition, it is brewed with all-natural ingredients - water, barley malt, rice, hops and yeast.

Mmm, nothing like an ice-cold rice beer to unwind with after a hard day.

Appearance: The standard crystal-clear, pale straw-yellow body with a fizzy white head that recedes rapidly.

Aroma: Sweet and grainy with a somewhat fuller body than you usually get in this style (still firmly in the thin territory). In place of hops, a handful of crisp fruitiness.

Taste: A thin, grainy malt body with the barest hints of hops, but no bitterness to speak of. Compared to other American macro light beers, Bud Light has perhaps a little fuller flavor profile and is not as plagued with skunkiness.

Mouthfeel: A little fuller than average, but still very thin compared to most beer. Fizzy with a dry finish.

Drinkability: The usual Light Lager Catch-22; it goes down easily but there's not much desire to keep going.

Verdict: This tastes like college to me. A somewhat fuller body and more pronounced flavor profile than many in this style, but still amazingly bland and shallow. If faced with a choice between a Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light I suppose this is would be my second choice.

Grade: D