Wow. On a whim I cracked open a bottle of Belgian Dubbel - style home-brew (a kit from NorthernBrewer) that has been sitting in a closet aging for about six months now. It was awesome.
I know that aging makes a pretty significant difference for particular types of beer, but it's always a nice reminder to actually drink the result of said aging. Some of the more subtle flavors had really come to life since I'd initially tasted this beer and other flavors had subsided...
Overall, the general flavor decently embodied what a dubbel is actually supposed to taste like - fruity, estery, high in alcohol and with a slight yeasty tang to let you know that it was bottle conditioned for six months.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Informal Reviews: Rogue American Amber Ale and Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
I've been scattered in my beer consumption over the past week or so and as such really haven't gone out and purchased anything with the expressed purpose of drinking it for a review.
But I have consumed a few oldies that deserve a positive mention and tasted one new beer: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Victory Prima Pils and Rogue American Amber Ale respectively.
The Rogue was actually a pleasant surprise - I was at a bar with a decent but not great selection and tried one because I'd never had it before. (I wasn't given the option to drink it out of a glass, so there really wasn't much to base a judgment of aroma on...) It was a nicely balanced, pretty easygoing beer. My snap judgement is that this stuff would make for an excellent session beer. (I'll have to follow up on that.)
90 Minute IPA and Prima Pils are both long time favorites of mine, particularly given my propensity for hops. Neither one gets worse with a broader palate to judge on - they continue to really hold their ground as excellent examples of their styles. (American Double IPA and Pilsner respectively.)
But I have consumed a few oldies that deserve a positive mention and tasted one new beer: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Victory Prima Pils and Rogue American Amber Ale respectively.
The Rogue was actually a pleasant surprise - I was at a bar with a decent but not great selection and tried one because I'd never had it before. (I wasn't given the option to drink it out of a glass, so there really wasn't much to base a judgment of aroma on...) It was a nicely balanced, pretty easygoing beer. My snap judgement is that this stuff would make for an excellent session beer. (I'll have to follow up on that.)
90 Minute IPA and Prima Pils are both long time favorites of mine, particularly given my propensity for hops. Neither one gets worse with a broader palate to judge on - they continue to really hold their ground as excellent examples of their styles. (American Double IPA and Pilsner respectively.)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Review: Pyramid Thunderhead IPA
For lack of a better option, I stopped at neighborhood (albeit lackluster) liquor store on the way home. I picked up a six of Pyramid's Thunderhead IPA, which I've had on occasion before, but hadn't yet reviewed. Pyramid is a macro-micro, so their product is usually decent but not extraordinary or really innovative.
Appearance - Pours a rich copper with a solid finger of thick white head. The head retains moderately and laces lightly down the sides of the glass.
Smell - Aroma on this one is purely from the hop department with notes of grapefruit or other citrus at first while the head is still heavy. As the head dissipates, the hop aroma subsides and shares some of the nose with the sweeter honey notes from the malt.
Mouth feel - Rolls around in the mouth and fizzes away happily. This beer is more heavily carbonated or less viscous than some of the other IPA's I've had recently.
Taste - Although the nose is predominantly hop, the first flavor that hits my tongue is a caramel / honey note from the malt, but you can feel the liveliness and a touch of heat from the alcohol immediately. The flavor moves on to finish out with a balance of grapefruit peel and residual sweetness from the malt.
Drinkability - This is definitely a session IPA. Despite the fact that it doesn't blow me away, it's got the characteristics of a solid IPA without being overwhelming. In particular, it doesn't finish with a uniformly hoppy note and leave your mouth too puckered to drink more than one.
Most of the other reviews I've seen of this beer are mixed - it seems like people enjoy it to a moderate degree or don't. At $7 a six pack, I don't think you can really go too wrong with it. It's not as good as some of the other Pacific Northwest's IPA's, but seeing as I'm in Chicago and can't get my hands on Bridgeport very easily, it works.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Location: West Lakeview Liquors
Oh do I miss this particular little liquor (beer really) store.
When I lived down in Roscoe Village, this place was about a block and a half from my apartment. It's just a small storefront shop, but they manage to cram a huge selection of constantly rotating beers in. I think I probably discovered a very large percentage of what I'd now consider my favorite beers at this place by just walking in a picking something new out of the cooler.
I think it's a shame that there aren't more places out there like this that just focus on quality beer and quality booze. Especially places that have knowledgeable employees who can actually make recommendations based on styles or makers one likes.
It seems like there really aren't very many of the small specialty shops around at this point up where I live now. Everything is either a cheap-feeling convenience store that happens to stock some beer or a Binny's type location that's got a decent selection, but doesn't rotate or really carry the esoteric stuff.
In any case - if you live down in the Lakeview / Roscoe Village area, go to this place and support an outstanding local business. (I am not affiliated with these folks in any way, shape or form other than having been an extremely satisfied customer in the past.)
When I lived down in Roscoe Village, this place was about a block and a half from my apartment. It's just a small storefront shop, but they manage to cram a huge selection of constantly rotating beers in. I think I probably discovered a very large percentage of what I'd now consider my favorite beers at this place by just walking in a picking something new out of the cooler.
I think it's a shame that there aren't more places out there like this that just focus on quality beer and quality booze. Especially places that have knowledgeable employees who can actually make recommendations based on styles or makers one likes.
It seems like there really aren't very many of the small specialty shops around at this point up where I live now. Everything is either a cheap-feeling convenience store that happens to stock some beer or a Binny's type location that's got a decent selection, but doesn't rotate or really carry the esoteric stuff.
In any case - if you live down in the Lakeview / Roscoe Village area, go to this place and support an outstanding local business. (I am not affiliated with these folks in any way, shape or form other than having been an extremely satisfied customer in the past.)
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Review: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Smell: The nose on this one is nearly all citrus - dominantly grapefruit aroma mixed with a pleasant amount of almost honey-like sweetness from the malt.
Appearance: Pours a nice copper with a solid white head that laces nicely and retains most of the way through the glass.
Taste: When it first hits your tongue, the flavor is dominantly citrusy and holds some of the accompanying bitterness from the hops. As the taste progresses, it takes on more flavor from the malt and finishes out with a very slightly toasted note before fading back to a nice residual hop bitterness on the palate.
Mouthfeel: As is fitting for an IPA, it rolls around just slightly heavy in the mouth.
Drinkability: The copious quantity of hops involved in this beer makes it ever so slightly too bitter to really just drink one after another after another. That said, if you drink this with some munchie type food or with a meal, it goes down really easily...
Appearance: Pours a nice copper with a solid white head that laces nicely and retains most of the way through the glass.
Taste: When it first hits your tongue, the flavor is dominantly citrusy and holds some of the accompanying bitterness from the hops. As the taste progresses, it takes on more flavor from the malt and finishes out with a very slightly toasted note before fading back to a nice residual hop bitterness on the palate.
Mouthfeel: As is fitting for an IPA, it rolls around just slightly heavy in the mouth.
Drinkability: The copious quantity of hops involved in this beer makes it ever so slightly too bitter to really just drink one after another after another. That said, if you drink this with some munchie type food or with a meal, it goes down really easily...
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Review: Fat Weasel Ale
I had a bottle of this stuff sitting in my fridge and thought I'd give it another shot for the sake of doing a review...
The first time I tried it, I really wasn't impressed. Unfortunately, it really didn't redeem itself this time either.
Smell: No noticeable hop aroma, mostly just malt and alcohol on the nose. It even smells a little sweet (which is a hint of the rather unfortunate flavor to follow.)
Appearance: Light copper in color, very transparent. Pours with a thin head that dissipated quickly without any noticeable lacing
Taste: The flavor on this one is basically just indistinguishable malt and more than a bit too sweet for its own good. It finishes a little hot from the relatively high alcohol.
Mouthfeel: It's just about right. It's very middle of the road, neither very heavy nor very light.
Drinkability: This isn't a beer that I could really make my way through either of the times that I've tried it. The balance just isn't there - it finishes on the same note that the aroma suggests.
Basically, I wouldn't buy this beer unless you're planning on drinking mass quantities of cheap beer for the sole and expressed purpose of getting your buzz on. In which case, it'll do the trick a little faster than cheap macro-brewed beer and taste slightly better...
The first time I tried it, I really wasn't impressed. Unfortunately, it really didn't redeem itself this time either.
Smell: No noticeable hop aroma, mostly just malt and alcohol on the nose. It even smells a little sweet (which is a hint of the rather unfortunate flavor to follow.)
Appearance: Light copper in color, very transparent. Pours with a thin head that dissipated quickly without any noticeable lacing
Taste: The flavor on this one is basically just indistinguishable malt and more than a bit too sweet for its own good. It finishes a little hot from the relatively high alcohol.
Mouthfeel: It's just about right. It's very middle of the road, neither very heavy nor very light.
Drinkability: This isn't a beer that I could really make my way through either of the times that I've tried it. The balance just isn't there - it finishes on the same note that the aroma suggests.
Basically, I wouldn't buy this beer unless you're planning on drinking mass quantities of cheap beer for the sole and expressed purpose of getting your buzz on. In which case, it'll do the trick a little faster than cheap macro-brewed beer and taste slightly better...
Beer Location: The Palm Tavern
I discovered this place about a year or so ago and it remains pretty much at the top of my list for places to go drink.
One of my cousins lives up in Milwaukee and bought a house in the Bayside neighborhood a couple of years ago. On one trip up there, he and I unsuccessfully tried to catch brewery tours at three of four of the local breweries and found ourselves sitting at the bar in a sushi place before they were actually open for a couple of hours.
After making our way through some of the sake selection, I noticed some Japanese beers (Hitachino - yum yum) that I'd never seen before. At some point after I'd tried a couple of them and been very impressed, the bartender recommended that we go to a bar that was actually about a block from my cousin's house. (My cousin was actually rather surprised to hear that there was a bar a block from his house.)
So after some sushi, we eventually found the Palm Tavern.
It's pretty small and nearly unidentifiable from the street. There's a tiny neon sign in the window of an otherwise totally nondescript building. But once you walk in, you realize that you've hit a goldmine. The place is pretty small and nicely appointed. It's usually not overly crowded or smoky.
They've got a beer and scotch list that's so extensive that they keep it in a binder. And John - the only bartender I've ever seen there other than the owner - knows just about every beer in the list. Everything comes in its proper glass or a glass particular to that style of beer.
According to John, the owner had some affiliation (at least I think so - it's been a while at this point) with the HopLeaf in Chicago and was inspired by it. I think he's taken the concept a step further and really focused on the beer.
Find this place if you're in Milwaukee.
One of my cousins lives up in Milwaukee and bought a house in the Bayside neighborhood a couple of years ago. On one trip up there, he and I unsuccessfully tried to catch brewery tours at three of four of the local breweries and found ourselves sitting at the bar in a sushi place before they were actually open for a couple of hours.
After making our way through some of the sake selection, I noticed some Japanese beers (Hitachino - yum yum) that I'd never seen before. At some point after I'd tried a couple of them and been very impressed, the bartender recommended that we go to a bar that was actually about a block from my cousin's house. (My cousin was actually rather surprised to hear that there was a bar a block from his house.)
So after some sushi, we eventually found the Palm Tavern.
It's pretty small and nearly unidentifiable from the street. There's a tiny neon sign in the window of an otherwise totally nondescript building. But once you walk in, you realize that you've hit a goldmine. The place is pretty small and nicely appointed. It's usually not overly crowded or smoky.
They've got a beer and scotch list that's so extensive that they keep it in a binder. And John - the only bartender I've ever seen there other than the owner - knows just about every beer in the list. Everything comes in its proper glass or a glass particular to that style of beer.
According to John, the owner had some affiliation (at least I think so - it's been a while at this point) with the HopLeaf in Chicago and was inspired by it. I think he's taken the concept a step further and really focused on the beer.
Find this place if you're in Milwaukee.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Homebrew Experiment
Last weekend I had dinner at P.F. Chang's here in Chicago with a couple of friends and noticed a ginger beer on their menu that I tried mostly out of curiosity. (I asked our server about it and was almost talked out of it by her review, but decided to give it a shot anyway.)
I was truly surprised by the beer. It was relatively intense on the ginger flavor, but not overly so. It was pretty balanced and seemed to be lightly hopped (likely due to the intensity of the ginger.) In any case it was very drinkable, and makes me want to try a wheat-style based ginger beer for my next homebrew. Details to follow.
I was truly surprised by the beer. It was relatively intense on the ginger flavor, but not overly so. It was pretty balanced and seemed to be lightly hopped (likely due to the intensity of the ginger.) In any case it was very drinkable, and makes me want to try a wheat-style based ginger beer for my next homebrew. Details to follow.
First Post
Here's to a brand new blog. I'm going to attempt to write about all of my beer-related experiences and hopefully someone other than myself might find them interesting.
I'm toasting it with a Dogfish 60 minute IPA. This stuff is great. Every time that I end up at my local Binny's (for lack of a truly specialty store where I live at this point) and I don't see a new IPA, the 60 minute is one of the beers that I find myself headed back to time and time again. It's just that good.
I'm toasting it with a Dogfish 60 minute IPA. This stuff is great. Every time that I end up at my local Binny's (for lack of a truly specialty store where I live at this point) and I don't see a new IPA, the 60 minute is one of the beers that I find myself headed back to time and time again. It's just that good.
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