Deviant Dale's IPA (Oskar Blue Brewing)

IPA's have been two major flavor profiles, they can either be piney and clean or citrusy and in your face. My personal preference is to have that piney oily smell without all the bite and nasty after taste, although I do enjoy the after burps of an IPA. Now this beer has been highly anticipated by . . . . Me. When I first saw a four pack on store shelves the 15$ price tag threw me a little. So earlier today I went to Once Upon a Vine north and picked up a bottle for my buddy Dan and I later on this weekend and I spotted it, a single can. $3.49 for a single 16oz can of Deviant Dale's. The packaging is sexy, it has two of my favorite colors, but is it really a worthy new product for a an incredibly established brewer? I'm not so sure. As previously blogged about Oskar Blues Gubna is still to this day one of the finest IPA's I have ever tasted. I bring the glass to my lips and the first sniff is as to be expected, piney and exciting. The beer hits my lips and that familiar acidic burn becomes relevant. I swallow, and the burn remains, there is nothing there that I haven't experienced before. The lingering flavor of burning remains. Damn Ralph Wiggum, It sure does "feels like burning". It is definitely a different hop flavor.

Oskar Blue Brewing is from Lyons Colorado. If you have never been to the area but in the community they say there is nothing to do but snowboard or drink beer while waiting for it to snow. It is a rich beer community which is why oskar blues was one of the first craft brewers to can, the superior package for preservation. They have also run with the environmentally conscious marketing, at their website you can find biking jersey's and merch for your pup. It is all this that helps me identify with this brewery, unfortunately lots of other breweries are cashing in on this marketing angle, IE. fuck fat tire. Oops, so surf of over and check them out soon at www.oskarblues.com.

Plank II, Dopplebock style lager (Heavy Seas)

Baltimore holds a space in my heart. About a month or so before I got married some friends and I went there for a gentleman's weekend. The only thing on my agenda was to visit the Heavy Seas brewery and to check out some local watering holes. I have since been back to the brewery with work and have fallen in love with the scene that Heavy Seas has created in Baltimore. What man doesn't like pirate themes and hometown beers. The brewery isn't as much of a destination as say a Devil's Backbone or even a Hardywood park. It is in an industrial park and there is no where within a few miles to grab a bite to eat. They have in the past year opened a brew pub but I have yet to go there.

Heavy Seas releases there beers in three series, the clipper fleet, the pyrate fleet and the mutiny fleet. The clipper fleet is your standard portfolio of styles, a golden, a pale, a lager, a marzen and a summer ale. The next step up is the pyrate fleet which are beers of higher alcohol content or a little extra process in production. This series has IPA, black IPA, pilsner, stout, saison, double IPA. Richmonders are in love with the IPA's from this line. Loose cannon tap markers can be found all over town, and black cannon the black IPA is a highly anticipated beer every year. Then the mutiny fleet are 22's of flavor, that are released with every season and holiday change but what I am drinking this evening is the second installment of their plank series.

Although barrel aging has become all the craze with craft breweries, heavy seas has chosen to circumvent the pain of securing and storing the barrels. Instead they carefully select planks of different woods to age in whatever style of beer they chose. The Plank I was an old english ale and now the Plank II is a dopplebock style lager, and a dark one at that. I have chosen to smoke a cigar with this beer so I cannot give you idea of the nose, but it has velvety mouth feel that goes well with a cigar. I appreciate that this run doesn't have the heavy residual sugars like the first one. At 10 dollars for a 22oz bottle I probably will not be purchasing another, and I am not sure lagering this beer would enhance the flavor. I like this periodic series and look forward to new offerings.

http://hsbeer.com/beer/plank2/

Be on the look out for Land Ho! a collaboration between heavy seas and virginia's very own Devil's Backbone.

Best Brown Ale (Bell's Brewing)

I am a coffee drinker, and have an appreciation for the subtle flavor varieties in coffees from just about anywhere. I tend to think about coffee when I have a good brown, stout, or porter. Brown's tend to be the smoother drink, that can follow with a variety of flavors.

This selection from Bell's Brewing has a sweeter taste that what I generally like. This isn't a brown that I would pair with a cigar. This beer almost seems to have a fruity taste to it, like apricot. At 5.8% ABV, this beer will keep you warm during the fall and winter.

Don't judge Bell's by this particular brew. In Richmond, their Two Hearted ale seems to be the flag stone. This brewery from Kalamazoo Michigan does all the right things to help stimulate a beer lover with a large portfolio of seasonal and special releases. Check them out at http://www.bellsbeer.com/

Breakfast Stout (Founders Brewing Company)

Yet another beer from founders worth talking about, or just one worth trying. This offering from founders is made sporadically throughout the fall/winter months. It was easy drinking despite the 8.3% ABV and the 60 IBU's. Like everything else I have tried from Founders, this one is also pricey. So if you are looking for a sweet mellow stout like a chocolate or coffee, this isn't the one for you. This stout lands in between on sweetness and punch(like an Old Rasputin).

With a little experience in the stout category you will learn to pair your beer with food, desert, or even a cigar. For the type of cigars I like this beer was a little dry. It is that dryness that would lead me to believe this would pair well with something sweet. It probably would also go well with red meat, helping to enhance the flavor profile of smoked/grilled beef.

Stouts are a big category. So try one, try them all. I promise to give more reviews on these, stay tuned . . .

Dutch does Octoberfest!

It's that time of year men. The sun is getting short, the temperature has dropped to nearly 80 degrees. Well, about the only thing that really is starting to feel like fall is the arrival of the Octoberfests! I think we had a few new comers to the category this year which made the fellas and I decide to have a real definitive tasting, in the mountains! I did preview quite a few before settling on the four pictured above, which turned out to be a good idea. Magic Hat brewing out of Vermont tried to enter the race with their Halloween inspired octoberfest, HEX. I knew what I wanted in an Octoberfest and this wasn't it. Like all beers that Magic Hat makes, they put their own twist on this. I'm not a fan.
Local(Va.) brewers Legend brewing company out of Richmond, and Starr Hill brewing company out of Charlottesville had two fairly similar, but solid entries. The malty flavor in both of these beers is very subtle not to distract from the underlying sweetness. The main difference between these two is slightly sweeter finish to the Starr Hill. Most people who tried both chose the Starr Hill over Legends. I prefer the earthy natural taste of Legends Octoberfest, reminds me more of the season. I did have a chance to taste Legends cask conditioned Octoberfest on ferkin at Benedictine's Octoberfest celebration. It is always a treat to experience beer brewed with such care. THESE KIND OF THINGS ARE WORTH SEEKING OUT. I just got lucky.
Clipper City brewing, out of Baltimore Maryland makes their Marzen year round in limited runs. Marzen is actually the type of beer that is usually drank at Octoberfest celebrations in Germany. The tradition is actually to reap the ingredients at the end of the growing season to make beer to be drank in March(Marz) to celebrate the seeding of new crops. I have no clue how it came to be a fall thing for americans but I'm not complaining. This marzen is a malted to the degree of tasting it a lot more. The subtle floral notes don't quite come through in this one, probably a little bit more like the traditional recipe. Heavier malt contents seem to make the beer seem warmer when drinking. You may notice this with some heavy malted or west coast IPA's also.
Brooklyn brewing, out of New York also had an entry in this category this year. I do not recall an Octoberfest from these guys in the past, but with Brooklyn I am seldom disappointed. This brewery has become common for placements on the east coast but they are as crafty and innovative as a dogfish head or a stone brewing. I would closely compare this to the Legend selection, very similar balance and flavor.
In summary, we drank all four around the fire in Shenandoah National park system in October. After the first two our palettes were pretty assaulted. I like the simple but rich flavors of Legends, and Brooklyn brewing, but my other two taste testers prefered Starr Hill.
Go check these guys out for yourself at . . .
www.legendbrewing.com
www.starrhill.com
www.brooklynbrewery.com
www.hsbeer.com

Pumpkin Ale (Williamsburg brewing)

This is the season for beer. The volume of light beer sold during the warmer times of year have spring and summer labeled as beer season. As a lover of crafts, this is very sad fact.
The arrival of Pumpkin beers marks the beginning of flavorful fall seasonals, octoberfests, and darker hearty beers. Every brewery has their own rendition of these autumn favorites. This one by local Williamsburg brewery is definately very complex in flavor. This amber colored ale is loaded with pumpkin flavors for the tongue and nose. at 7.3% ABV, This beer will sneak up on you.
Personally I like a Pumpkin beer with more subtle flavors. This one really smacks you in the face with seasoning. It taste more like a gourmet pie than a pumpkin. I like to support local breweries and this is only one of the seasonal selections available from nearby, Williamsburg.

Stay tuned for more seasonal observations. We have an Octoberfest sampling scheduled for October 6th!

Devil Dancer (Founders brewing company)

This Nasty little number is from Founders brewing, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This triple IPA is the type of beer that some seek. Big beer does not begin to give you idea of what to expect with this beer. It is no doubt a triple at 12% ABV and 112 IBU's. There is a whole group of beer snobs who are all about the persuit of IBU's.
I had heard a lot of good things about this beer, so paying six dollars for this one bottle didn't bother me. I was disappointed in the flavor profile. This is not the beer to introduce someone to. The alcohol is so high and the flavor so over taken this beer taste more belgian that hoppy to me. This beer is limited special release, not seasonal but just produced every once and a while. It's this technique of distibution that creates the buzz around certain small brewery products.
If you are curious always try it. I hope you can find it in individual servings. I would imagine that this beer would age well, and may be more mellow on draft. Founders is a great company, but I think this beer is for a small niche of enthusiast.
I know I'll be reviewing more of their beers, but you can check the full lineup at http://www.foundersbrewing.com/