Tasting Notes: Mojo IPA

Brewery: Boulder Beer
Date Poured: August 2007
ABV: 7.0%

Never one to turn down an IPA, I picked this one up this summer during the trip to the Great Midwest.

It's a lightly hazy but bright copper in the glass. The head is snowy white with tons of lace. Crazy hop aromas here. The hops provide herbal, citrusy and floral aromas.

As expected, a nice amount of hops delivered in this beer. It's snappy and spicy in the mouth. A bit of pale malt but nicely showcasing the hops in this one. Hops dominate the finish and the aftertaste. A nicely hopped ale, at least for a regular IPA.

This is a nice beer and a nice surprise. I was disappointed with the dry-hopped Hazed and Infused but this beer delivers. Recommended.

Boulder Beer

New England Trip, July 2005: Part 2: - Beerhunting Through New England

It's only about 3-4 hours from Boston to Bangor and since Dave wasn't going to be off work until Friday evening, it was time for some beer hunting at the area liquor stores.

Heading north, the first place I stopped off at was Portsmouth, NH at a little place called Gary's Beverages. Gary's doesn't look like much from the outside. In fact, it could be mistaken for just about any bottle shop in northern New England. In truth, it's the best beer store in Portsmouth. The selection is great but the store is a bit cramped and disorganized so hunting for beer takes on a whole new meaning. I stopped here specifically for Smuttynose beer (especially the Big Beer series) and I was not disappointed. I got hold of some Smutty Barleywine, Wheat Wine and some Big "A" IPA. Also found some bottles of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, in this case it was the Triticus wheat wine.

Crossing into Maine, the next stop was Tully's in Wells. Tully's is housed in a shopping center anchored by a Hannaford and is easily the best beer store south of Portland and north of the New Hampshire border. That makes it a popular stop for people from Massachusetts and New Hampshire to find Maine beers that are not distributed outside of the state. (Can you say Cadillac Mountain Stout?) Tully's had expanded their selection since my last visit and had anything you could want as far as Maine brewed products. The selection of Belgian beers was also notable.

Next up was a stop to RSVP in Portland. RSVP is not the best beer store in Portland but it is reasonably easy to get to from the interstate. It's dingy and they don't dedicate near enough of their ample floor space to beer but the selection is still very good, they even sell growlers from draft-only Maine brewers. Again, lots of Maine beers but tons of micros "from away", certainly better than when I lived in state. RSVP also benefits from being in close proximity to the The Great Lost Bear, the best beer bar in Portland. Alas, the GLB was not yet open. That may have been a good thing as a quick lunch at GLB can quickly turn into a lost afternoon and I still had to get further north.

For kicks, I stopped off at Lou's Beverage Barn in Augusta. Lou's always had a great selection but notoriously kept really old beer in the store. It's no different now. I left without buying a thing. Back on 95 North.

Arriving in Bangor, I stopped off at the Natural Living Center and was pleasantly surprised that their beer selection was greatly improved. Natural Living Store had always been the best place for beer in Bangor by default (this is no longer the case, several stores in the area have stepped it up in recent years) but now it was worthy on its merits. Lots of singles, lots of in and out of state micros. I picked up some singles of old friends and some I wanted to become acquainted with...and headed further north still.

I know my destination was Bangor but up in downtown Orono (home of the University of Maine) is Burby and Bates, a fine little liquor store with an emphasis on fine wines and, more importantly, fine beers. You can mix your sixers, they have fresh growlers from area breweries but today I was all about the Dogfish Head. Georgia had recently raised the ABV limit on beer but that was only up to 14%. Hello World Wide Stout and 120 Minute IPA!

I had made better time than I had expected so it was down the street to sample some beer at the Bear Brewpub. Not the most imaginative name for a Maine brewpub, I'll grant you. Still it was a drizzly afternoon and I decided to grab a late lunch and kill some time over a pint or two. The salmon chowder was excellent and I had the house IPA with it. Was it a master stroke of beer pairing? No but the wicked herbal hoppiness did cut the creaminess of the chowder nicely. Not a bad little IPA here. After a couple hours, it was off to Dave's place for a good night's sleep before we ventured out on the next leg of the journey...

The Haul

Harpoon Triticus

Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA

Smuttynose Big A IPA

Smuttynose Summer Weizen

Smuttynose Barleywine

Smuttynose Wheat Wine

Allagash Summer Ale

Allagash 4

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Sea Dog Winter Ale "Cabin Fever"
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Dogfish Head 120 Min IPA

Atlantic Special Old Bitter (S.O.B.)

Atlantic Brother Adams Honey Bragget Ale

Geary's London Porter

Magic Hat Blind Faith

Casco Bay Pale Ale

Frye's Leap IPA

Unibroue La Terrible

Maine Coast Irish Stout

Unibroue Ephemere Cassis

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Coaster: Bush Beer 7° (Clovis)

I grabbed this coaster from a pub in Brussels circa 1996. Not until I started this post did I realize that this coaster is not an advert for the more famous Bush Ambrée (known as Scaldis in the US) but a different beer entirely. This version is know as Clovis in the US but I have yet to try it. So much for attention to detail...

Tasting Notes: Spanish Peaks APA

Brewery: Spanish Peaks Brewing Company
Poured: July 2007
ABV: 5.7%

Still more notes from the Great Midwest excursion. Two thoughts: Damn, I bought a lot of beer on that trip and Damn, I need to do something a little more creative on this bog pretty soon.

It's a lightly hazy copper, yeast in suspension with a fluffy ivory head. Sweet, sweet hops in the nose, sweet pale malt too.

The sweet hop aroma does not hint at the herbal biting bitterness the hops deliver. It's like a turbo charged English style pale ale. Mouth is dryish lots of herbal hops in the finish and aftertaste.

Something about this beer doesn't mesh well, the hops (Crystal, Mt. Hood, Horizon) are not right for the malt profile or they overpower it too much. Whatever, it just doesn't work for me. Only fair.




Spanish Peaks Brewing

Tasting Notes: Summit India Pale Ale

Brewer: Summit Brewing Company
Poured: July 2007
ABV: 5.8%

Yet another beer found during my trips to the midwest this summer...

It pours a deep clear amber creamy khaki head. There's a lot of lacing on the glass. The nose is full of herbal and floral hops. It's a wonderful sweet aroma.

Very herbal hops in the flavor, some hints of loose tea from the hops as well. The body is crisp but lightly sweet malt comes through and it finishes with the low-level herbal hops. The hops linger in the aftertaste.

A nice surprise. A well-balanced and tasty regular IPA. I've been pretty impressed with Summit so far. They make solid, tasty beers.

Tasting Notes: Bell's Java Stout

Brewery: Bell's Brewery
Poured: January 2008
Style: Coffee Stout

Still more stout from Bell's and more beer from the trip to the Great Midwest...

It pours blacker than black with a thin tan head. Powerful coffee aromas, big mocha and bitter chocolate. Roasty but still lots o' sweet chocolate.

The flavor is dominated by coffee. Lots of mocha and bitter chocolate. Unfortunately, the coffee taste builds and overwhelms the beer in time. It's too much coffee for me. A lingering bitterness in the finish.

Outside of the heavy handed coffee, it would be an outstanding beer. Even so, it's still pretty good. In the interest of equal time, K (my wife) loves this brew.

Bell's Brewery

Tasting Notes: Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat

Brewer: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing

Date Poured: January 2008

Style: American Wheat

One of the fringe benefits of having people over for poker is that they sometimes leave beer at your place that you wouldn't normally buy on your own. Somebody left this Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat in my fridge a couple weeks ago.

This beer pours a hazy pale orangey gold and is topped with a lacy and frothy snowy white head. The nose is full of citrus, lemon and orange. Almost mimosa type smells with light a sweet spiciness.

The first taste is quite bitter with over the top orange peel flavors. Crisp but sweetish wheat malt with a spicy finish. A sweetness starts taking over, an orangey sweetness with a extracty kind of taste.

I'm not a fan of American wheat beers as a rule and they tried to do a Belgian wit here but missed the mark.

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Kalamazoo Stout

Brewery: Bell's Brewing Company

Date Poured: September 2007

ABV: 6.5%

I love Bell's Brewing. I unabashedly state that they are the best brewers of stout in the country. So I am thrilled to finally get ahold of some Kalamazoo Stout, one of the few Bell's offerings I have not tried.

This beer is pitch black in the glass with a dense tan head you could support small coins. Smells sweet and chocolatey with light hints of mocha. Very nice.

There is much more coffee in the flavor than in the nose. More bitter than I was expecting but with a sweetness that offsets it. The bitter and the sweet lead to flavors reminiscient of dark chocolate.

A nice thick body that is just heavenly in the mouth. Drinks smooth as silk with some light smokiness in the aftertaste acconpanied by hints of coffee and a creamy sweetness.

It's money. I might drink nothing but stout if Bell's distributed to Atlanta...

Bell's Brewery

The Session #11: Doppelbock

"The (Paulaner) brewery Has its origins...with a community of monks of St. Paul, who became well known throughout the city for the strong beer they brewed, call Salvator (Saviour) to sustain themselves during Lent...Most other double-bock beers echo the Saviour's brew by bearing names ending in -ator."

- Michael Jackson


With these words echoing in my head, I got off the train in Munich. Did I say I? I mean "we". It was the fall of 1996 and I was with my girlfriend (eventually my wife) K. It was my first proper stop in Germany and the day was going to spent hopping about the various biergartens and I was like a kid in a candystore.

Being on small budget during this backpacking excursion around Europe, many lunches were bought at local grocery stores in the form of bread, chesse and various suasages. Munich was no different and to go with lunch, I bought my first Salvator...in a .5 litre can! Barbarian that I was I drank it from the can as well! Even so, it had a profound effect (from both a spiritual and physical sense) on me and I spent most of the rest of the day trying to sample as many examples of the style as I could, as well as getting a proper serving of Salvator in a glass later that afternoon.

The day is quite hazy or I'd run down all the places we went. Let's just say a day in Munich is a marathon and not a sprint. K took a liking to doppelbocks too and paid to price for it by evening's end!

These days I tend to neglect the original doppelbock. Up in Helen, GA there's a little German restaurant called the Old Bavaria Inn. Sometimes, you can get a bottle of Salvator on special for $1.50. A hell of a deal that I never pass up. Because of this, when I see a bottle of Salvator (like the one non the table before me) I can't help but think of camping up in the north GA mountains.

So to wrap up this tribute to the original doppelbock, some quick tasting notes from tonight's bottle.

The body is a luminous orangey brown with a frothy ivory colored head. You can get a wisp of alcohol in the nose, it's a fairly fresh sample (bottled in October) but mostly you get that rich nutty malt character typical of a doppelbock. I have never been able to put that aroma (or flavor) into words but once you try a few doppelbocks, you'll see what I mean. A doppelbock has a distinct flavor and aroma imparted by the malt.

The flavor is dominated by that same maltiness, some nutty caramel with just a bit of fruitiness too. It's velvetey smooth and drinks easy, masking it's strength. Why don't I pick this up more often? Sometimes the constant search for the new makes you overlook the old reliable. But make no mistake, this is still classic.

For more posts for The Session, pop over to Brewvana who is hosting this month's session.

Tasting Notes: Flying Monkey Four Finger Stout

Brewer: Flying Monkey

ABV: ???

Poured: 10/2007

(I'm clearing out some old notes from back in the fall. Here's the first one...)

Still more from the stash rounded up this summer from the Great Midwest...

This stout pours black, of course, with a dense brown head. Lots of mocha aromas and supported by burnt malt and roasty smells. Strident but lesser sweetish dark malt aromas mixed in there as well.

It's a nice balance of sweet and bitter flavors, damn near perfect balance as far as I'm concerned. Lots of dark chocolate flavors here with sweetish finish, lightly sticky and rich. Very full bodied with a lightly bitter finish.

It's nice, one of the best stouts I've had in awhile. I am impressed. Run, don't walk.

Flying Monkey Beer

Liefmans Brewery In Bankruptcy

I don't usually comment a lot on "the beer business" but I was saddened to see that Riva, the parent company of Liefmans, has declared bankruptcy. This has been talked about on several beer related sites and blogs but seems to be covered quite well on Stonch's blog.

Terribly sad news. We may be jumping the gun as the beer may still be made - during bankruptcy proceedings and perhaps after a restructuring of the business.

Still, there is always a chance that the brand won't survive. Goudenband is one of my favorite beers ever. I have always liked their fruit beers since they used an Oud Bruin as a base instead of lambic or, increasingly, a bland wheat beer.

It looks like I'll have to go find some Gluhkriek just in case.

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 25: N'ice Chouffe 2004

One last entry in this series and for the last entries I picked one of my all-time favorites. According to the bottle, this winter ale is brewed with spring water, barley, hops, dried orange peel, thyme (?!?) and "a lot of candy sugar". Guess that candy sugar helps boost the alcohol content up to 10% ABV. The bottle also suggests that this beer may be aged up to 5 years. This version is from 2004, three years of age on it.

It pours an opaque nutty brown with a enormous, frothy head. Tons of thick lacing. A very spicy nose and not just sweet spice. There a bitterness and peppery quality to the aroma.

Although this is a big beer, there is nary a hint of alcohol in the mouth. Nor is this beer overly sweet like so many big ales from Belgium. The body is thinner than you might expect, though not too thin, and the spice and hops really shine through. It's a nice balance that makes this enormous beer quite the easy drinker. The spice and hops create an interesting bitterness, especially in the finish. Is it the thyme? I think so. The orange peel flavor is there to giving that dryness to the body. It's a really interesting beer and takes awhile to wrap your head around.

One thing for sure is that this one's a one of a kind ale. Go get some.


Brouwerij Achouffe

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 24: Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic

I had to scuttle the original beer scheduled for tonight. It was a 2004 version of SweetWater Festive Ale. When fresh, this beer is a bit heavy on the spice so I thought it might age well. I was wrong. It was completely spoiled. Undrinkable.

So I dipped into the Samuel Adams Winter Mix yet again and snagged a bottle of Cranberry Lambic. I don't have the loathing for this beer that many "beer geeks" do but it does usually linger and I end up using it for cooking more often than not. Although it is not a true lambic, the Sam Adams website states that they do use a strain of wild yeast in the brewing process. It's a sessionable beer at 4.6% ABV.

It a pleasant orangey copper in the glass with a frothy but quickly dissipating ivory head. The smell is the unusual part. It sour but sweet. But not too sweet as the sweetness imparts a bit of tartness. There's a sour, bready wheat malt. But overall it is sweet. It's not puckering at all. But still...there's a tad of sourness. It's odd but not nearly as complex as I'm making it out.

That hint of sourness disappears in the taste. It's sweetish but not overpoweringly so. There's some tartness but it's certainly not sour. A bit of graininess or cereal like flavors from the malt. It finishes surprisingly clean, not a lot of residual stickiness in the mouth.

It's really not so bad but it's certainly not my style. But adding it to your chili? It adds a nice flavor and some body...

Boston Beer

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 23: Anchor Old Foghorn

Anchor Brewing is taking over this list! Along with Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Old Foghorn was one of the first widely available American barleywines. It is listed at 8-10% ABV on their website, is hopped with Cascades and then dry hopped with more Cascade during aging.

It is a murky orangey brown in the glass with a wispy thin khaki head. Smells of big, rich, nutty caramel malt. Very sweet aromas. Citrusy hops aromas, grapefruit and orange rind.

The first thing that strikes me is how balanced this beer is. It has big flavors but the voluminous hops and malt balance each other very well. As much as I love Bigfoot, the hops dominate that beer unless you lay it down for a few years. Big cascades and big nutty malt. The finish is lightly sweet but, again, is then balanced by the hops in the aftertaste.

It always delivers. A good beer when the weather turns chilly.

Anchor Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 22: Unibroue Quelque Chose

This is one of my favorite winter beers and one of the more unusual. Why? Because this is a beer that's designed to be served hot.

Quelque Chose is "ale brewed with cherries" and is 8% ABV. This particular bottle is a couple of years old but it holds up very well.

I warmed the beer up on the stove. This is how I typically do it: Uncork the beer, place a pan with some water on the stove, place the bottle in the pan and heat on low until the bottle is hot.

This one pours a ruby brown with very little froth. This beer is very still by nature. The aroma is sweet with cherry and fills the nose with sweet spices.

If you've ever had mulled wine then you know the sensation this beer delivers up front. Warm sweetness with sweet spice shining through. Cinnamon, nutmeg and clove flavors. Faintly sour in the finish. The body is wicked smooth. It's just silky.

It's a good one and a unique beer experience. I've had this beer cold and warm now but I recommend it warmed up.

Unibroue

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 21: Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Yet another winter tradition from the Sam Adam Holiday Mix Pack. It's a bock beer (single bocks are a rarity around these parts), seems to be spiced and weighs in at 5.8% ABV.

It pours deep amber with a lacy off-white head. It smells lightly spicy. Orange aromas perhaps? Also some lightly malty sweet aromas.

Taste is malty and sweet, much maltier than I remember this beer being before. Fruity undertones with hints of citrus and cloves. Medium bodied and sticky with a caramel and molasses aftertaste with a moderately hoppy finish to balance it out. Very drinkable with a suprisingly full body.

I may have sold this beer short in the past. This is damn good. Worth a second look.

Boston Beer Company

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 20: Anchor OSA 2003

The final edition of this mini-vertical within the greater Christmas beers focus.

No need to describe the appearance. It's the same as all the other editions! Plus, I have a picture posted right?

Smells of sweet dark malt, some nutmeg and clove aromas.

Fruity malt, some bituing spice, allspice and ginger flavors. Faint citrusy flavor, lemony. Odd oxidized finish. Some piney flavors especially in the aftertaste.

This one is still good but just a tad haphazard with the flavor profile. It shows signs of being just about ready to fall apart.

Anchor Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 19: Anchor OSA 2004

Yet another version of Anchor OSA, this time from 2004.

Like all the other versions, it pours opaque brown with a thin tan head. More pine in the nose for this version and a touch more of that sweet spice.

There's still lots of pine in the mouth and some clove and nutmeg spice as well. Sweet dark malt and a sticky and resiny finish and aftertaste. It's real good.

Of all the years sampled thus far, 2004 is holding up the best by far.

Anchor Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 18: Sierra Nevada Celebration 2003

Against my better judgement, I put a bottle of Celebration in the cellar for a number of years. I have heard of other people doing this and while I don't typically don't lay down IPA's, my curiosity outweighed my prudence. It does have nearly 7% ABV and is bottle conditioned so you never know. This bottle has been in my possession for 4 years.

It pours a reddish copper with a quickly dissipating head (from the age I presume). Still quite hoppy in the nose with slight fruity malt and some aromas from mild oxidation.

The hops have faded revealing some lightly fruity pale malt. The body is quite fizzy, perhaps from bottle conditioning creating more carbonation. Some light oxidation and lightly stale cascade hops. Lightly sticky finish.

It's not great but I was expecting a mess. It actually aged quite nicely for the style. Not recommended but an interesting experiment.

Sierra Nevada Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 17: Samichlaus 2003

Perhaps one of the first Christmas beers, Samichlaus is only brewed once a year on December 6th and stored for more than 10 months at the Eggenberg brewery before release. It was at one time the strongest beer commercially available at 14% ABV. Originally the beer was brewed in Switzerland but after a disappearance and revival it is brewed in Austria. This beer was bottled in 2003 and has been in my cellar for three years.

It pours bright red with a bit of golden brown mixed in and topped by a thin tan head that quickly dissipates down to a wisp. The nose is filled with powerful fruity malt. It an enormous aroma of vanilla, oak, dark fruit, overripe plums, lightly sour cherries and big caramel flavors.

In the mouth there is still some alcohol present and it is surrounded by the swirling flavors of dark fruit, vanilla, oakiness and big rich caramel malt. Also it is sugary and sweet. However the finish is relatively clean.

It's huge and a slow sipper for sure but a once a year treat.

Schloss Eggenberg