Craft Beer: Lagers & Ales

[Joel Cairo]

@Joel Cairo

There are a lot of craft breweries in the US. In the link below, take a look at the list which is compiled by state.

https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/by-state/.

I'll take a look at that, when I figure what I'm blocking that stops it displaying usably!

There are lots here, too! That's probably not much of a surprise, but when I was a kid the situation was dire. By the time I was a teen and going to the pubs, one or two of the mass producers had a decent, verging on real, ale. Now there are far fewer pubs but landlords tend to try to build a successful business, serving quality food and ale. Many - particularly edge of or out of town - have an impressively-wide range, and usually a 'guest ale', from a brewer they don't usually stock. If you only have one pint - and they're all strong, so like if you go there in the daytime, or driving, or for wifi access - you can stick with the guest ale, 99% of the time get a tasty, full-bodied pint, and always different such that you never actually remember any but the most mnemonic names. When I do this it always makes me wonder why I usually drink wine (i.e. at home).

JD will always be a part of me - since my late-mother used to bring it back for me in the '80s, when she lived in Calif. (and cartons of Winston) - but I haven't had any spirit in getting on 4 years - and almost as long since I had an ale! But reading this thread, I can taste the hops.

[TwoTankAmin]

Looks like an interesting site for US Beer lovers http://www.beermonthclub.com/

[Night Wing]

In the area where I live, I have to travel about 25 miles to a chain named "World Market". At this place they easily have 100 (or more) craft beers (lagers, ales, porters, hard ciders, etc). And since they are not refrigerated, I can pick up a mixed six pack of six different bottles of craft brews. I'm thinking of having another craft brew tonight. If I do, I'll give a small report in this thread.

[Night Wing]

I had that lone bottle of Dixie Blackened Voodoo lager tonight at dinner. Poured it into a nice tall pilsner glass. Not bad. Not hoppy. Get a taste of medium roasted malt. Nice creamy head. About three fingers on the pour that hangs around for quite awhile. Nice amber color. Lacing on the glass too. It has a slightly bitter after taste from the hops, but not real strong. Would I buy a six pack of this lager? Even though I don't particularly like lagers, this one isn't so bad so I would buy a six pack of this beer.

[Night Wing]

Another night, another beer. Just finished with dinner. Had the St Arnold "Santo" black kolsch. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to get excited about either. Creamy off colored white head. Dark amber in color. Lacing on the glass. I could taste the hops in this beer, but not overly hoppy. And mild on the bitter taste. No lingering after taste either.

[Night Wing]

Tonight I had the Alaskan "Amber". It is described as an "alt" beer which refers to the aging process since alts ferment more slowly and at colder temperatures than most ales. Nice amber color and not very bitter. Makes a nice two finger foamy head which doesn't dissipate. Good tasting too. Slight after taste, but it quickly goes away. It is a slightly sweet which is something like like. No grapefruit citrus taste either.

I've got my eye on two other brews. A Breckinridge "Vanilla Porter" and a Left Hand "Milk Stout Nitro". I'll report on them if and when I can find and sample them.

[Night Wing]

Still on the hunt.

I had a bottle of beer from Breckenridge Brewery tonight in their "Vanilla Porter" flavor. It is 4.7% ABV (alcohol by volume). It has a nice brownish type head after the pour. Tried the sniff test and the first thing I noticed was a slight vanilla scent followed by hint of coffee. It's got a nice dark color too. I took a big gulp and I could taste the vanilla along with the mild coffee taste along with mild toasted malts. Not too carbonated which is something I like. Good lacing around the glass as the beer is drank. A smooth drinkable porter and it would be good as a session beer with it's low alcohol content.

[Night Wing]

Had another brew tonight. Tried a St Arnold "Weedwacker" this evening. What caught my tastebud was a hint of "clove". I could also some "banana" in it. The more I drank it, the more I liked it. This is a good session beer since it is 4.9% ABV (alcohol by volume) and not too bitter with a bitterness rating of 15. I poured this beer into a large Pilsner beer glass and there is not much of a head. No bad after taste either.

[Daikun]

Tonight I had the Alaskan "Amber".

Ooh, I've had that one before. It's quite nice.

By the way, have you ever tried Hefeweizen? That's my favorite type of beer.

[Night Wing]

Tonight I had the Alaskan "Amber".

Ooh, I've had that one before. It's quite nice.

By the way, have you ever tried Hefeweizen? That's my favorite type of beer.

The one I drank last night (St Arnold "Weedwacker") is what I consider a light hefeweizen. It was the first time I had a hefeweizen like this. The recipes for both (St Arnold) Weedwacker and (St Arnold) Fancy Lawnmower are the same with only one main difference. Weedwacker uses bavarian hafeweizen yeast and Fancy Lawnmower uses kolsch yeast. The two brews do not taste anything alike either.

My wife likes Fancy Lawnmower while I like Weedwacker. Fancy Lawnmower is slightly more bitter than the Weedwacker. The link to the St Arnold Weedwacker is below.

http://www.saintarnold.com/beers/weedwacker.html

On a side note. I've got one more single bottle of beer in my fridge. It is classified as a "sweet" milk stout and I'll either sample that one tonight or Sunday night. I'll give out the name of this stout after I sample it, but I'll give you a hint what the name is. It is carbonated with nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide. And it is NOT a Guinness.

[Night Wing]

Tonight was the last night to finish off my stash of craft beers. The last beer is classified as a light sweet stout. It was Left Hand Brewing Company's "Milk Stout Nitro". This stout is 6.0% ABV (alchohol by volume) with a bitterness rating of 25 IBU's.

One pours this stout with an aggressive pour, literally 180 degrees because this stout is not carbonated with carbon dioxide, but with nitrogen gas. It is a black colored stout with hints of ruby red when held up to the light. With a hard pour, this stout had a 3 finger head which didn't dissipate while I consumed my evening meal. The nitrogen makes a cascading effect to create the head. It does remind me of an erupting volcano. It has an off white brownish colored head too. If one stirs the stout in the glass when there is less liquid in it, the dissipated head does come back, but not as tall as when first poured.

It has a rich and creamy mouth feel to it and because of the nitrogen in it, it is very smooth to drink. I could immediately taste the coffee and chocolate accents in it with a hint of vanilla which I attribute to the lactose in this stout. With it's 6.0% ABV, this is definitely not a session beer. This is more of a sipping stout. I'm not fond of stouts, but my taste buds liked this one probably because to the low 25 IBU's (bitterness rating).

[Night Wing]

Thought I would do a little synopsis of my beer tasting experimentation which is still ongoing.

I've come to realize I like beers which aren't too bitter. I like them smooth too. With all of the beers I've tasted (so far), I like beers which are referred to as hefeweizens. Hefeweizens are wheat beers. The closest American hefeweizen I've tasted and like is Saint (St) Arnold's "Weedwacker". It has a taste of clove and banana in it which is characteristic of a hefweizen beer. It's smooth and not very bitter (strong). The alcohol content is 4.9% ABV (alchohol by volume) with a bitterness rating of 15 IBU (bitterness units). The higher the bitterness unit, the more bitter it is. Pours a hazy cloudy blond color (at least its a blond color to my eyes).

So I've decided to try a few more hefeweizens. I've run across two I'd like to taste test. There are Live Oak Brewery's "Hefeweizen" and one from Europe named, "Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier".

Live Oak Brewery is brewed outside the city of Austin, Texas. Their "Hefeweizen" is 5.3% ABV with a bitterness rating of 10 IBU. This beer is considered the second best American hefeweizen in the United States. But, there is only one drawback to this beer. It is only available "on tap" from kegs since this brewery doesn't package his beer in bottle or cans. It is only available at the brewery (where you literally buy a glass and the beer in the glass is free. Texas quirky laws between manufacturers, distributors and retailers) and at restaurants. Bummer for me since this beer is only available near the large Texas cities of Austin, San Antonio, Dallas/Ft Worth and Houston. But the good news, this brewery is building a much larger brewery outside the city of Austin and they're getting ready to package their beer in "cans". The target date for the "cans" is this upcoming Winter. I should be able to find it since I live close to Houston.

The "Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier" is 5.4% ABV with a bitterness rating of 14 IBU. It's packaged in brown bottles and I prefer beer out of bottles. This beer is brewed at the Bavarian State Brewery and the recipe for this beer is 1000 years old since the year 1040, this beer has been brewed on the Weihenstephan hill in Freising, Germany.

I have a feeling one of these three beers will become my favorite. All three beers are listed in the links below if anyone is interested in them and if one likes hefeweizens.

http://www.saintarnold.com/beers/weedwacker.html

http://liveoakbrewing.com/year-round/

http://us.weihenstephaner.com/our-beers

[Night Wing]

Went over to one of my favorite local grocery store chains here in Texas, HEB and they had a brand new ale in stock. It was a hefeweizen named, "Paulaner Hefe-Weizen" which is a naturally unfiltered ale. Smooth and creamy with an ABV of 5.5% and a bitterness rating of 14 IBU's. It had a nice nose smell of banana and clove with a hint of citrus. It is a German ale with the brewery located in Munich, Germany. The brewery has been brewing continuously since 1634.

This one beats my "not too old" favorite, the domestic Saint Arnold's "Weedwacker". I'm glad to see HEB is finally getting in and stocking some imported lagers and ales.

[Night Wing]

While watching the Green Bay Packers at the San Francisco 49ers pro football game on the "telly" this Sunday afternoon, my wife went out earlier and came back home with a bottle of "Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin" ale. Normally, I don't drink seasonal brews for the simple reason, if I really like it, I want to drink it all year round. But, not to hurt my wife's feelings, I chilled it down and drank it.

It was good, I mean REALLY good. It has 5.7% ABV (alcohol by volume) with a bitterness rating of 16 IBUs so the bitterness is subdued. When I smelled it, it smelled like pumpkin with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice notes. In fact, it smelled like a pumpkin pie. It had a nice amber color with a three finger head with plenty of lacing left on the glass when I drank it down. There is just enough carbonation to balance the caramel character. Very drinkable but, it isn't the type of beer where you can drink a six pack and not feel it. Two of these would do a number on me.

I'll have "re-think" my logic on not drinking seasonal brews.

[megaman]

I'll throw-in my Ginger Ale.
Sure, it's not alcoholic, but it's good for the Gastritis.

Besides, I am not recommended to drink alcoholic since it's severe for my condition. (Not that I ever intend to)

[Tharn]

I'm a fan of the dark wheat beers. Paulaner is okay - it's actually pretty standard fare in Germany - but it's one of those beers I only like when it comes out of the fridge. If you ever get the chance, try Andechser Export Dunkel.

[Daikun]

Now we have a monopoly.