Back to the Brew-ture

It has been quite some time since my last blog post. If you already knew that without me telling you, then I owe you an apology. I just finished what was undoubtedly the hardest semester of my post-graduate coursework, and this Saturday, I will be walking across the stage to receive a Master of Business Administration degree. It was a rather enjoyable ride, and at the same time, I'm glad it's done. Time to get back to living life again. Also, time for some brew-reviewing!

As I alluded to in my last post, even though I haven't blogged in a while, I haven't stopped sampling the brewski. Today's sampling comes from our recent trip to Victor's Italian Restaurant in York, PA[1]. First on tap today, we have my first Sun King beer, Ring of Dingle, which is a 4.7% ABV dry Irish stout. Coming to us from Indianapolis, this stout was very smooth to drink, as a stout should be. Regarding the flavor: what can I say but wow! This amuse bouche was a delight, even with the bit of a bite in aftertaste. I'd drink it again. Surprisingly, there are no ratings on BeerAdvocate or RateBeer at this time.

For being a "Sun" King, this beer sure is dark!

Next up, I tried Roy Pitz Brewing's Lay Down Stay Down. Ah. May. Zing. Seriously. This local brew (Chambersburg, PA!) was extremely smooth, yet bright. Weighing in at 9.0% ABV, this Belgian strong ale was an instant favorite of mine. I loved the deep, dark flavor profile that jumped from the glass. It was very much like a brown ale (think Newcastle), but it was "bubbly" like the Belgian it is. I was super-impressed with this one. While BeerAdvocate doesn't have a rating for this yet, I was surprised that RateBeer gave "Lay Down" the smack down at a low 58 points (and only 30 points for style!). Regardless, Mr. Pitz, I'll be back.

One of these will bring you out of the Pitz, regardless of its moniker.
(Three or four is a different story.)

That concludes this post. I look forward to bringing you some more brew reviews in the not-nearly-as-distant future, relatively speaking. I've missed this! Hope you enjoyed the post. If you've got any comments on this post or have any ideas that you'd like to see me write about for future posts, leave me a comment below. And as always, you can get me on my Twitter handle: @BrewReviewMann. Prost!

[1] If you live in the area, you should make it a point to stop by Victor's. We loved the food and ambiance! The restaurant is in an old church, so there's definitely a lot of character. They have live music all the time. And they have a better-than-decent selection of beer...but you don't have to take my word for it!

The Session #61: What Makes Local Beer Better?

I'm back from my sabbatical from blogging...for now anyway. I didn't mean to take a month off! I've been going through a bit of a dry spell, but only in terms of writing -- I've been sampling new brews, so I've got some notes for future blog posts. But for this post, I'd like to take the opportunity to respond (a couple days late) to a question posed by beer blogger, Matt, from the Hoosier Beer Geek. Actually, the question is part of an ongoing monthly series of questions called "The Session".

The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry. This month's topic is local beer. Here's the question for The Session #61:

Local Beer - "The term is being used by just about every craft brewer in the country. What does it really mean though? Is it more of a marketing term or is there substance behind the moniker? This month I want to think about what makes local beer better? I'm not just talking about the beer itself, although it's the focal point, but what makes local beer better? My connection to local beer is far from thinking that my beer is actually 'local.' Maybe you don't agree with me, and you can write about that. Bonus points for writing about your favorite local beer and the settings around it being local to you."

I'm not really sure what is so unclear about the term "local beer". It seems pretty straightforward to me: local beer is simply beer that is brewed locally. Am I missing something here? Take Liquid Hero Brewery, for example. There's no marketing gimmick here. It's simply three guys brewing beer in York, PA. That's local beer (for me, anyway).

Of course, not all the ingredients are grown locally. But who would expect that to be the case? After all, beer pretty much has its roots in Germany, and many hops and malts used to brew beer still come from Germany. Consider Lancaster, PA's own Lancaster Brewing Company. According to their website, the Lancaster Lager "showcases a balance of malt, along with German and European hops", including 2 Row Pale and Caramel malts as well as Hallertau and Saaz hops. Doesn't matter. The "outsourced" ingredients are "imported" and then brewed by local people. Sounds like a local beer to me.

So back to the question: what makes local beer better? I have to say that the quality of local beer is not automatically better simply because it is local. Let's face it -- some breweries just know how to make better beer than others, and it has nothing to do with proximity to where you live! However, the fact that it is local may make the whole experience better. For instance, take one of my favorite (and local!) breweries: Tröegs Brewing Company. (To be clear, I think the quality of their beers is superb.) I love the experience associated with visiting their brewery, which we affectionately call "T2". They have created a whole world for craft beer enthusiasts (you can read about my recent experience here). In their tasting room, I appreciate the opportunity to sample their brews, especially something from their Scratch Beer Series, and before leaving, I am always sure to have my growler filled with one of their finest. I enjoy walking through their self-guided tour, and to show my local brewery pride, I usually hit up the gift shop for some new paraphernalia too. The whole experience of gathering together with other craft beer lovers at this local venue is not something that would easily be duplicated for non-local beer. And even if it could be duplicated, I wouldn't feel the same pride I feel when I know I'm enjoying local beer.

Hope that answers the question to your satisfaction. What do you all think? What makes local beer better? Leave a comment below or send me a Tweet (@BrewReviewMann). I'd love to hear from you!

Live from Tröegs Brewing

Mural in Entrance (File Photo*)

Thought it was time for another "live" post, so I'm coming to you today from Tröegs Brewing's new facility (fondly known as T2) in Hershey, PA. I'm hanging out with some other craft brew lovers and Justin's Brew Review readers -- good times, good people, great beer. In true Tröegs pride fashion, I'm wearing my HopBack Amber Ale t-shirt. While this is not the first time I've been to T2, it is the first I've had a chance to write about it. Let me say that if you have not been here yet, you should really take the time to do so. There's no time like the present - come on out!

Currently, Tröegs is only offering self-guided tours, but their website tells us of plans on offering a low-cost, taste-as-you-go, guided version coming in late February of this year. If I understand correctly, you'll even get a souvenir pint glass out of the deal -- not too shabby! Back to the self-guided tour: when you come in the front door, keep going straight through the doors and you'll enter the tasting room. There are multiple barkeeps at the impressively long bar, which includes a growler fill-up station (actually, they have an automated machine that is fun to watch as it fills the growler).

The Impressively Long Bar

After you grab a brewski at the bar, take it with you as you hang a right and enter the self-guided tour area. (Don't worry - you can come back for more later.) It's a nice setup -- they have signs that describe each step of the brewing and bottling process. It's not nearly as intimate (read small) as their old Harrisburg brewery (read about the tour I took there just over a year ago), but it's definitely impressive, modern, and a bit more touristy (makes sense - it's only right down the road from Hershey Park). At the end of the line on the tour, you enter the gift shop area where you can pick up Tröegs paraphernalia and/or (probably "and") some cases to go.

Growler Filling Station

Alright, gotta go tend to my Pale Ale. Hopefully, you can make the trip to Hershey and visit this great new facility that Tröegs has crafted--like their beer--for the pleasure of all. Prost!

Thankfully, this sign was not on the entrance doors.

* The photo I used of the 2-story mural in the brewery entrance is a file photo because it is not currently there. I asked the Trogner brothers what happened, and they said that they are repairing multiple cracks in the wall. Never fear - they assure me that "it will return".

Homebrew: Irish Chocolate Stout

Irish Chocolate Stout, the homebrew variety.  Not my homebrew, mind you.  I enjoy drinking craft beer, but I would not have the patience to craft it myself.  I'll leave that to people like my neighbor, Matt, who supplied this great beer for my tasting pleasure.  (Incidentally, I found out about Matt's affinity for beer when we ran into each other at Yorktoberfest, which I wrote about here and here.)

This was the first time that I've ever had the opportunity to try a homebrew, and I certainly hope it won't be my last!  I was impressed with how professional it tasted, especially since Matt tells me he brewed it in his kitchen!  I feel like it was something I could have bought at the local Mix-a-Six (even though there really aren't too many of those local to York, PA...but I digress).

Being that this is a homebrew, I was expecting to write that I didn't have any beery stats for you.  In fact, I even drafted the following:

Sure, homebrewers can have their beer analyzed at a laboratory in order to figure out the ABV and IBUs [1], but that costs money [2].  Precious money that could be put right back into crafting more beer.  I don't know about you, but I'd forgo the numbers in favor of more beer!

But it turns out that I was wrong - Matt tells me that the ABV should be around 4.5-5.0%, and using the beer's specific gravity, he feels that it's probably closer to 5.0%.  Also, the IBU was around 36-37.  He gave quite a few other details too - I'll share a few here.  The chocolate flavor was introduced using an extract.  (Incidentally, his next chocolate brew will use cocoa powder for comparison.)  Matt says, "I let my beer carbonate in the bottle.  It's an old school technique, but I think it allows the flavor to come through a little better and smoother than pushing CO2 through it in a keg."  It sounds like it takes at least two months until the beer matures:  one week in the primary fermenter, two to three weeks in the secondary fermenter (a glass carboy [3]), and about a month to age.  After that, Matt says he tests one bottle a week until he feels it's ready to drink.

Speaking of being ready to drink, let's get to the good stuff!

This stout was as dark as can be.  The frothy, caramel-colored head dissipated shortly after pouring.  A cursory whiff put me in mind of Tröegs JavaHead Stout [4].  A deeper inhalation brought a sweeter smell, almost a Hershey syrup scent.  My tastebuds soon realized the sweet flavor.  The initial impression: sweet, just like the smell.  As the liquid washed over the back of my tongue, the stout flavor kicked in.  Aftertaste was sweet as well, though not sickeningly so.  It had the right balance of strong stout and chocolaty sweetness to satisfy.

A very smooth, easy-to-drink beer, which backs up Matt's assertion that bottle carbonation lends to a better, smoother brew.  Overall, this Irish Chocolate Stout was excellent!  So do you craft your own brews at home?  What interesting combinations have you tried?  I'd be interested to hear what you have to say!  Just leave a comment or "tweet" me @BrewReviewMann.  Prost!

Footnotes:

[1] One of Justin's Brew Reviews's most popular posts, "How Does Your Beer Measure Up?", goes into more detail about ABV, IBU, and color.
[2] In the same post referenced in Footnote 1, I mentioned that you can have a laboratory perform this test on your beer for about $10.  Unfortunately, I did not cite where I found this information - I apologize for that oversight.  I just "Googled" it and found a helpful blog post informing readers that White Labs performs this testing for a reasonable amount of money.  For your consideration, homebrewing reader.

[3] Having no idea what a glass carboy was, I had to look it up (see picture on right, courtesy of this blog).  I've seen these before and knew that they were used in homebrewing, but I had no idea that it was called a carboy!  Wikipedia says that a carboy's capacity is typically five to fifteen gallons (that's 40 to 120 pints according to www.onlineconversion.com) and that they are also known as a demijohn (anyone else thinking about "Music Man" now, or is it just me?).

[4] Admittedly, I reference Tröegs' brews a lot.  What can I say?  I love 'em!  That being said, this comparison should speak volumes.

Christmas Beer

Breckenridge Brewery's Christmas Ale

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud and drinking beer.  Christmas beer, that is.

Just like I'd never heard of Beer Nog until my recent post, I have never heard of Christmas beer.  But apparently, there really is such a thing.  I was reading about it on the blogs [1] and thought to myself, now there's something I've gotta try.  So while we were in the greater Pittsburgh area for Christmas, I stopped by Bocktown again (previously posted about them here).  I knew they wouldn't disappoint - they had an entire cooler dedicated to seasonal beers!  So I picked up the most appropriately-named brew they had: Christmas Ale.

So what does a Christmas beer taste like?  I was expecting notes of pine or peppermint, though I can't say I was excited for either one of those flavors in a beer.  Gingerbread would have been good, though (hint to all brewers!) [2]  Turns out that at least this particular libation was nothing like that.

BeerAdvocate.com (BA) classifies Breckenridge Brewery's "Christmas Ale" as a Winter Warmer.  What's a Winter Warmer, you ask?  BA describes it, in part, as having a "big malt presence, both in flavor and body. The color ranges from brownish reds to nearly pitch black. Hop bitterness is generally low, leveled and balanced, but hop character can be pronounced. Alcohol warmth is not uncommon." [3]

As you can see from the picture above, Christmas Ale had a very dark reddish-brown hue with an off-white, frothy head.  There was nothing particularly distinctive about its smell - it smelled like...well, beer.  The taste was about the same as the smell - nothing special and tasted like a plain ol' beer.  Of course, there's nothing wrong with beer tasting like beer - I was just surprised it didn't have some special flavor to it.  The ale had a medium mouthfeel [4], and it had a slight carbonation-like bite to it.  It was a little bitter and had a bit of an aftertaste, though not unpleasant.  All in all, this Christmas beer was okay, though I don't need to have one every Yuletide [5].

BeerAdvocate rates it a 79, while the Brothers [6] rate it an 83.

RateBeer.com rates it a 57 overall with a harsh 12 for style, which they classify as an American Strong Ale.

Granted, I've only had one Christmas beer, but I'm wondering - is Christmas beer a gimmick?  What do you think?  Leave a comment to discuss, or send me a Tweet: @BrewReviewMann.

As Jon says on his blog, TheBrewSite.com, Beery Christmas and a Hoppy Holidays!

______

Footnotes:

[1] For readers not familiar with the phrase "the blogs", it is simply a way of saying that authors on more than one blog were discussing this topic.

[2] BeerAdvocate.com, a favorite reference of mine, lists a few different gingerbread beers here.

[3] Source: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/47.  You can also read about the many other styles at this link.

[4] I've never really talked about mouthfeel on Justin's Brew Review before, so a quick tutorial is in order.  Mouthfeel is the perception of body in the beer.  Body is typically classified as light, medium, or full.  Each style has an appropriate amount of body to be expected.  (Taken from http://www.alabev.com/taste.htm)

[5] As I was typing "Yuletide", I had the thought that it would make a good Christmas beer name.  So I BA'd it (akin to "Googling" something, but on BeerAdvocate's site instead of Google - okay, yes I made that up...but I'm hoping it catches on!), and sure enough, there are a few Yuletide beers available.

[6] "The Brothers", Jason and Todd Alström, started BeerAdvocate.com in 1996.  Read about it here.

A Taste of Brew Reviews to Come

Quite unexpectedly, I made out on the Christmas gift front, largely due to a generous gift from my wife's cousin, Nick (thanks again!).  I received 18 unique beers, which means you can expect some upcoming brew reviews!  Of course, it'll take me quite some time to get through all these, so please be patient!

Here's a list of the beers (from left to right):

Front row

• Sixpoint Brewery's Autumnation (6.7% ABV)
• Williamsburg AleWerks's Tavern Ale (5.6% ABV)
• Blue Mountain Brewery's Blue Mountain Classic Lager (5.3% ABV)
• Starr Hill's Double Platinum (8.6% ABV)
• 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat (7.9% ABV)
• Pabst Brewing's Stroh's (4.6% ABV)

Middle row

• Williamsburg AleWerks's Pumpkin Ale (8.0% ABV)
• Blue Mountain Brewery's Lights Out Holiday Ale (7.0% ABV)
• Williamsburg AleWerks's Washington's Porter (6.4% ABV)
• Williamsburg AleWerks's Coffeehouse Stout (5.4% ABV)
• Port City Brewing's Monumental IPA (6.3% ABV)
• Williamsburg AleWerks's Red Marker Ale (5.0% ABV)

Back row

• Southern Tier Brewing's Pumking (8.6% ABV)
• Thirsty Dog Brewing's Old Leghumper (6.7% ABV)
• Stone Brewing's Stone IPA (6.9% ABV)
• Stone Brewing's Stone Levitation Ale (4.4% ABV)
• Stone Brewing's Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (7.2% ABV)
• Stone Brewing's Stone Pale Ale (5.4% ABV)

I look forward to enjoying these brews and sharing my tasting experiences with you.

Trusting that you all had a wonderfully Merry Christmas.  Prost!

Beer Nog

Just in time for the holidays - a recipe for Beer Nog!  I had never heard of such a thing until the November / December 2011 issue of DRAFT Magazine (if you have your own copy, just turn to page 14).

Mmm, Beer Nog!
(Photo Courtesy of http://draftmag.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Noggin-239x300.png)

So how do you make Beer Nog?  Glad you asked!  The article and recipe in DRAFT Magazine was provided by Joe Stange of ThirstyPilgrim.com:

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces strong ale*
• 4 fresh eggs
• 1/2 ounces Bourbon or dark rum
• 2 dashes ground nutmeg or mace
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup cream
• mixer
• serving glasses [1]

Instructions:

1. Separate the eggs.  Beat the sugar into the yolks until smooth.
2. Stir the milk and cream into the yolk mixture.  Add 1 dash of spice and the whiskey or rum.  (Some recipes call for as much as 4 ounces of liquor; here, a bit of warmth is welcome, but too much can overwhelm the beer's flavor.)
3. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into the nog mixture.
4. Pour the beer into the serving glasses [1] and add the nog mixture.  Optional: Reserve some of the cream, whip and add a dollop to each glass.  Spring 1 dash of spice on top and serve.

Serves: 4

* barleywine, Belgian strong, Christmas beer, or otherwise

I plan on mixing up my own batch of Beer Nog this holiday season -- how about you?  Looking forward to raising my glass - Prost!


[1] In his post on ThirstyPilgrim.com, Joe says that the DRAFT Magazine article said "snifter" rather than "serving glasses" so I made the correction here.