Out of the Cellar: Middle Ages Tripel Crown

Brewer: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY
Date Cellared: Oct 2004
Poured: June 2007
ABV: 10%

One of the more unusual combinations you'll ever taste is Middle Ages Tripel Crown which they bill as a "British Style Tripel". Actually, you'll likely never taste this brew if you haven't already as they discontinued this beer in 2005.

This beer shines a luminescent hazy orange topped by a dense but thin ivory head. Fruity aromas, spiced apple, sweet spice and alcohol in the nose.

More toffee and vanilla than I remember from the fresh tasting and still quite a bit of alcohol flavor. Much less spiciness with the age on it and not quite as carbonated as I recall either.

Has it improved? Hmmmm. Not sure but it certainly has mellowed a bit. I'm not sure if I would want to age the alcohol flavors down any further but it has enough heat that I certainly could let it go another 6 months to a year. I have two left so I think I'll check back in a few more months.

Middle Ages Brewing

Brew + Baseball League Update

Every year, I play in a fantasy baseball league with some fellow beer enthusiasts. But the prize here is for more than bragging rights or cash, it's for beer! This year, we have 8 teams split between two division and the 7 losers will send the winner about $20 worth of beer.



Right now, my team, The Allagash Cru, has a record of 46-58-6 - good for last place in the Lager Division. I need to make it into second place in my division for a shot at the playoffs.



Fortunately, I got to play the second place team in my division, The Pataskala Isotopes, this week. After losing two of my last three, it was time to shake up the roster a bit. I dumped the slumping Melvin Mora for the suddenly hot rookie 3B Alex Gordon, cut 3B/OF Aubrey Huff for Shane Victorino in an attempt to add some speed, let 2B Ryan Theriot go for the now healthy 2B Ian Kinsler and finally gave up on SP Daniel Cabrera and picked up SP Rodrigo Lopez who is now off of the DL.



The result? Very good this weekend as I beat the Isotopes 6-4. That puts me solidly in 3rd place now and hopefully will be the beginning of a winning streak since I have a long way to go to capture second place.



Lots of beer on the line, hopefully this is the start of the winning streak.

Tasting Notes: Samuel Adams Honey Porter

Brewer: Boston Beer Company
Poured: June 2007
ABV: 5.45%

Way back in the early 90's, Samuel Adams Honey Porter was one of my regulars. I picked it up whenever I could and thought it was one of the best beers in the world. And why not? It was flavorful enough to satisfy my burgeoning appetite for craft brew but not so strong that I couldn't down a sixer at a party without completely losing my senses. I could also be reasonably assured that it's strange appearance would put off the average partygoer enough that no one would drink my stash. It accompanied me everywhere a good beer was needed. It was my regular, man!

It started getting harder to find out in Chicago by '96 and by the time I got back from my first naval cruise (mid-'97), it was nowhere to be seen, at least not in Florida. Boston Beer discontinued it and I thought it was gone forever.

Surprisingly, Boston Beer brought back the Honey Porter for the latest "Drinker's Choice" promotion and it won the consumer vote. For the first time in ten years, I was going to get to taste one of my old favorites. It was out in mixed Brewmaster's Choice sixers but I recently found it in dedicated sixers and picked some up.

This porter is dark brown with a dense, frothy tan head. Lots of thick lacing on the glass. Sweet roasted malt and caramel aromas as well as hints of honey waft up from the glass. Sweet and roasty in the mouth. Light honey in the finish balanced well with the hops (East Kent Goldings according to the bottle). It's got a smooth mouth and a lightly roasty aftertaste.

It's back and as good as ever. It's gong to be one of my regulars again. Amen. Recommended.

Beer Coaster: Bell's

I'm going to start posting items from my sizeable beer coaster collection. Here's the first:

Long before I knew what Two Hearted Ale or Expedition Stout was, a friend of mine brought me back this coaster on a trip back to Michigan. He told me all about this great beer they had in Kalamazoo but instead of bringing me back some of the actual beer, all I got was this lousy coaster.

This was in 1993 or 1994, before I joined the Navy. It would be over 10 years before I would finally taste the beer that the coaster advertised.

Bell's Brewery

New England Trip, July 2005: Day 1, Boston

I flew into Logan Friday morning. I was originally going to meet my buddy Dave that morning for a quick Boston pub crawl before heading out to Jamaica Plain for the Beer Advocate Boston Beer Company Tour but work responsibilities prevented him from coming down from Maine that day. I was left to my own devices and with an afternoon to kill, I headed to the T to hit a couple brewpubs before the tour began that evening.

First on my list was Cambridge Brewing Company which enjoyed a very good reputation in Boston and deservedly so. I ordered the salmon chowder (which really hit the spot) and a draft of Three Threads. Three Threads is a porter made in the traditional way by blending three different beers together. In this case, they blended a brown ale, a sour Flemish-style ale and their Red God IPA. While this made for a porter that starts a bit sour, after a couple sips that sourness seems to fade and a roasted coffee bitterness takes over. Some persistent hoppiness too. The flavors were all very distinct at first but them began to mesh into a smooth drinking, amazing porter. If you ever have a chance to try a traditionally blended porter, I highly recommend it. It really gives you a new perspective on flavors and blending beers.

I hopped back on the T and headed down to the Fenway Park area, first to visit the Boston Beer Works location and second to tour Fenway Park. The Beer Works was nearly empty and I thought I had time for a couple drafts. Unfortunately the service was so slow, I barely had time to drink one in the 45 minutes I was there. It wasn't the bartender's fault as she was covering the bar area and a couple tables in the next room as well. Many taps were available; there were 10 house beers on tap. I had a Back Bay IPA from the tap which had a biting herbal bitterness and was really tasty but I had no time for another as the Green Monster was calling.

After the (very cool) tour of Fenway Park, I hopped on the T and headed over to Jamaica Plain where the Sam Adams Brewhouse is housed in the old Haffenreffer Brewery building. While most of Boston Brewing’s production takes place in Cincinnati and other breweries through contract, this is the test brewery and produces a lot of special releases especially in keg form for the Boston market.

It had been arranged by Beer Advocate to have Jim Koch give us the tour that day. While we waited for everyone to arrive, Jim sent some pitchers of Boston Lager and Summer Ale for everyone to enjoy.

From watching him on the Sam Adams commercials, you wouldn’t think that Jim Koch would be a dynamic public speaker but he is so passionate and so knowledgeable about his product that he is very entertaining to listen to.

He talked about the history of Boston Beer, the colorful characters that used to populate Jamaica Plain when they first bought the property, passed around a bunch of fresh hops and then showed off the brew kettles. “I could explain the intricacies of the brewing process but you guys know how that works. Would you rather just head to the tasting room?”, asked Jim. A cheer of approval from the crowd and we were on our way.

First up, Jim brought out glasses of the Boston Lager. He said that he doesn't believe that any of the beers that Boston Beer have brewed have ever surpassed the first beer they brewed. In a weird way, I think he really believes that.

Next were two beers that were soon to be unveiled in the first "Drinker's Choice" promotion for later that year. The first was a crisp and hoppy Bohemian style pilsener that I liked quite a bit. The second was a brown ale (that eventually won; it's now a regular product) that Jim kept tasting and saying "it's not ready yet" but he let us try anyway. I would have voted for the pilsener regardless.

Imagine this scene: Jim Koch carrying a tray with dozens of snifters containing Utopias and placing them on your table. I don't have to imagine this because that is exactly what happened next. Utopias famously sells for over $100 a bottle so this was indeed a rare treat. It drinks more like a sherry (Jim Koch described it in terms of a cognac but I've never had cognac...), it's rich and oaky with vanilla and toffee notes. No head whatsoever. Again, if I didn't know it was a beer, I would guess it's an aged sherry. I had my snifter and another given to me by a lady who did not want to try hers.


I met some pretty nice people, especially a gentleman from Denmark and his wife. I found the Alstrom Brothers and thanked them for the event. They asked if I wanted to continue the festivities over at Doyle's Cafe but I needed to go get some sleep and get on the road the next morning. I was on my way to Bangor the next day...

A Change In Plans...

The countdown clock has changed as you may have noticed. My friend Dave and I had originally planned to travel to Belgium in March 2008 but conditions dictated that we push it back to August 2008. When that happened, I noticed that we would be in country for the Grande Choufferie and that became the centerpiece of our trip. However, conditions have now pushed our plans back to March 2008. The bad news is, no Grande Choufferie. The good news is, there will be more time in Gent and Brugge and the plane tickets will be cheaper. Cheaper plane tickets mean more money for beer! And I get to go sooner. Sweet.

Boulevard Lunar Ale

Brewer: Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO
Poured: June 11th, 2007
ABV: 4.5%

This was part of a mixed sixer I got at Brewtopia in Omaha.

It's a hazy orangey-brown topped with a creamy ivory colored head. There's a wheaty aroma, clove and banana aromas are present as well. Fruity.

Flavor has prominent banana and sweet spice. Clove is quite evident. It's a lightly dry mouth, clean finish. As you make you way through the bottle, the aftertaste gets sweeter and stickier.

Wow, what a surprise. I certainly wasn't expecting this beer to be a dunkel weisse and I certainly didn't expect it to be so tasty. Well done.



Boulevard Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Lagunitas Lucky 13

Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA
Poured: May 2007
ABV%: 8.3%

This is the 13th anniversary release from Lagunitas and bills itself as "A Mondo Large Red Ale". Knowing Lagunitas, that means copius amounts of hops.

I guessed right as big citrusy hops hit the nose as it pours a lovely orangey copper. The hops dominate the tongue too but it's nicely balanced by a considerable malt backbone. The 8.3% ABV is nicely masked and it the malt is pleasantly sweet. Very smooth and drinkable for a big beer.

This is probably only the second "Double Red" type beer I've had and they both have been really nice. Go get it.


Lagunitas Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Dominion Millenium

Brewer: Old Dominion Brewing Company, Ashburn, VA
Poured: May 2007
ABV%: 11.4%

This had been sitting around my fridge for several months so I decided to clean out the fridge. Here it is.

It pours an orangey-brown with a tan head. Smells of rich caramel malt and very bitter hops. It tastes of very bitter citrusy hops. Did I say tastes of? It's dominated by the hops. Underneath is a subdued malt profile (well, subdued compared to the hops profile) and a warming alcohol burn. Mouth is very sticky and a cloying sweetness dominates the finish.

This one is an ass-kicker to be sure. There isn't anything subtle about this brew and it's assaults the palate. It's over the top even for an American barleywine. But all in all it's just OK. A bit of balance may have made this one a lot tastier and some significant age (a year or more) may go a long way to achieve that balance. If you like your barleywines to be extreme, you need to check this one out.

Old Dominion Brewing Company

The Session #4: Local Brew

I'm a newbie to this beer blogging thing but I saw The Session post over at Lew Bryson's blog and became intrigued with the concept. I was wholly unprepared for this but did have a couple local beers in the fridge that met the criteria so I figured I'd pick up the flag for the Atlanta area.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Terrapin is based out of Athens, GA (even though all their bottles are contract brewed in Maryland) and since the ABV cap on beer was popped nearly three years ago have built a reputation on their seasonal "Monster Beer Tour" extreme beers. However, their flagship beer manages to be pretty innovative, if not extreme. Rye Pale Ale is made with (duh) rye, in addition to other specialty malts but at about 5% ABV makes a decent session beer as well.

The beer pours a slightly hazy copper with a billowy ivory head. The sweet, citrusy hops are evident immediately in the nose but the real payoff for this beer is when it hits your lips and the lightly grainy malt flavor melds with the orange rind flavored hops. The mouth is real creamy. Above all, this is just a really enjoyable and tasty brew. I was happy that one of my local favorites was in the fridge. I must be doing my job, supporting my local brewery and all that.

Sweetwater Road Trip

If you were to rank the best breweries in Georgia, Terrapin and Sweetwater would be ranked 1 and 1A and you couldn't go wrong with either in the top spot. (Some would argue that only Sweetwater is a true GA brewer since Terrapin contract brews elsewhere but I don't subscribe to that argument.) While Terrapin only offers two year-round offerings (their Golden Ale and the aforementioned Rye Pale Ale), Sweetwater offers five and has very recently put an emphasis of their seasonals by thinking outside the box (well, for them anyway). They bottled their Happy Ending imperial stout this winter and this spring have released Road Trip, a beer they bill as a double pilsner recipe in which they subbed ale yeast for the lager yeast.

Road Trip pours crystal clear with a bright golden hue. The head is snow-white and dense and the aroma is dominated by noble hops. The hops (Saaz?) dominate the tongue as you sip this beer but do not completely overwhelm the malt. The mouth is not crisp like a pilsner but softer and creamier (I'm guessing from the ale yeast...). To call this a double pilsner is incorrect; it's what may be the world's first Imperial Cream Ale! (The extreme beer movement's next logical step...) I have a soft spot for a good cream ale so this beer is right up my alley.

Well, I've enjoyed my first post for The Session and think this is a great idea. Support your local brewery!

Out of the Cellar: Orkney Skullsplitter

Brewer: Orkney Brewing, Orkney Scotland

Added to the Cellar: October 2004

Poured: May 2007

ABV%: 8.5%

I wish I could give you an in-depth and detailed analysis of how this beer has held up over the past (nearly) three years but there's not much to report. It's horribly oxidized and tastes of so much wet cardboard that little else can be detected. There's a faint fruitiness but even that tastes a bit sour and rotten. I can't finish this beer.

Orkney Skullsplitter is one of my favorite beers so I have experimented with it just to see what some age will do to it. My conclusion is that the beer holds up well for up to a year and half but never actually improves over that time. Drink it fresh.

Orkney Brewery

New Belgium Loft Update

In the previous post I mentioned that I couldn't locate Loft anymore and had e-mailed the brewery. Today I received this response:


"First off, thanks for your email. We do appreciate questions from our fans, so thanks for taking the time to share your's. Loft was indeed discontinued, because while our brewmaster and his crew considered it one of our greatest achievements, our brewers had a desire to tinker with the recipe a bit. The result was Skinny Dip, which is now our summer seasonal. Skinny Dip is very similar to Loft, but with a little modification. Imagine Loft with more grapfruity hops (Cascades), the same kaffir lime twist and this intriguing slightly fruity background.

You should be able to find Skinny Dip in the same places you found Loft in Arkansas, if you're interested in trying it.

Thanks again for writing! Let us know if you have any further questions.

Andi Rose"

So I guess I'll be trying out some Skinny Dip on my next trip west. Thanks to New Belgium for the response.

Beer Hunting: Arkansas and Tulsa

5/26 -5/29, 2007

I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time for beer hunting on this trip since I was travelling from Atlanta all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma with my young children in tow. The events planned around this family reunion were going to take up most of the free time I would have while in town and, let's face it, being the primary caregiver for a 5 and 1 year old for a long weekend isn't the most conducive situation for beer hunting anyway. However, I had a plan, knew what I wanted and had a fair idea of where to find it.

Passing through Arkansas, I knew there were a few decent stores in Fort Smith and using Beer Advocate's great BeerFly directory, I narrowed my visit down to Empire Liquors as it had a nice selection and, almost as important, was located right off the interstate which meant it would be a quick and easy stop.

On previous visits I had seen beers from New Belgium and that was my target for the Arkansas stop. I was looking for La Folie first (hopeful for this being stocked but knew it was not likely), Loft second and after that any New Belgium beer that struck my fancy. There was no La Folie and I couldn't find Loft either. (Since the trip I have seen that Loft is no longer on their website so it may be discontinued or perhaps renamed. I e-mailed the brewery to check.) It's getting hot in Atlanta these days so New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat looked pretty good to me. I grabbed a sixer and Breckinridge's Oatmeal Stout caught my eye. I love a good oatmeal stout so I decided to give that one a whirl too. So in less than five minutes, I had my two sixers of Colorado beer and got back on the interstate.

The day I was leaving Tulsa I stopped off at the Country Hollow Liquor Store to see what might be distributed in Oklahoma that I can't get back home. Country Hollow was said to have the best selection in town in one BeerFly entry and was right on my way out of town. I stopped in and started browsing, 5 year old in tow and 1 year old in my arms. A gentleman working there asked if I needed something and I said, "No thanks, just browsing." It was then that he informed me that children weren't allowed in liquor stores in Oklahoma! I asked if he was kidding and he said he wasn't and that it was state law. (I was aware that Oklahoma was a 3.2 state, meaning that if you wanted beer with the full alcohol content you would have to go to a liquor store to get it but not this particular law.) I replied that OK, I would go when he offered me the option of letting my oldest wait by the door (for some reason, if the kid is in your arms, like my youngest was, it's OK). Since the end of the beer aisle was by the door, I said OK and did a quick scan of the row. Atwater Block from Detroit had a dunkel and since I don't see a lot of dunkels, I grabbed it. I wish I could tell you how the selection was but I didn't want to leave my kid by himself! (As an aside, liquor stores in OK aren't allowed to sell ice either. Crazy laws...)

So on this trip I definitely learned I need to leave the kids with Grandma if I want to grab a sixpack in OK! I also learned that buying beer is a lot easier in Arkansas and finally that when your 1 year old is sleeping, you don't care enough about beer hunting in Memphis to wake her up!

Posts on these beer to follow.

Out of the Cellar: Middle Ages Druid Fluid

Brewer: Middle Ages Brewing Company, Syracuse, NY
Added to the Cellar: January 2005
Poured: May 2007
ABV%: 9.5%

This is one of my favorite barleywines and I have never quite been able to hold onto one this long. While young, it's a one-two punch. First, you're hit in the teeth with a wallop of citrusy hops and while your palate recovers from that it slaps you with a distinct warming alcohol flavor in the finish. I love it every time!

Now, nearly 2.5 years later, it is utterly transformed. The hops are muted now but still a persistent hop bitterness is present. The malt now shines through as any hint of alcohol flavor is gone. The hops and the malt have intertwined and provided balance. No longer are the hops overpowering and no longer is the malt character so sticky and sweet. The mouth is much cleaner in the finish. The only drawback is that the balance now makes the body feel thinner, on the verge of being too thin but it's got a velvety smoothness now.

I don't often say this about barleywines but this one has appreciably improved with age. It's far less harsh, nicely balanced and really, really smooth. I don't think it will improve much more than this but it's a dream with 2.5 years on it.

The Official Middle Ages Brewing Website

Introductions

What's the blog about? Well, yeah beer.

My impetus for finally starting this blog is the trip to Belgium I have planned for August of 2008. I figured I would need a place to write about the trip and post pictures and this seemed like the best idea.

So what's in this space until then?

Well, I have notes from old trips I've taken, including my two previous Belgian encounters and other various road trips and beer runs. Those will be here.

I have a fairly large collection of beer in my "cellar", some of which I've had nearly 5 years so I think I can detail my tasting notes from the cellar and provide at least one man's experience with aging fine beers and how the results turn out. (And this will help keep track of my results for my own personal use too.) Notes on vertical tastings will be posted as well.

I love a road trip and any trip is the opportunity to locate beer that you wouldn't get to taste otherwise. Results of my beerhunting will be good fodder for posts.

Hey and maybe I'll get some free samples out of this! (hint, hint) I must reiterate that any samples received will be given a detailed and thoughtful write up, though I cannot promise that I will like everything I taste!

So let's countdown to the Grande Choufferie (that will be my first event attended in Belgium) and enjoy the beery ride.