O’Fallon 5 Day IPA

Happy Hop Day!  This week I cracked into my Missouri beers.  The label of O’Fallon Brewery’s 5 Day IPA said that it was the Riverfront Times 2008 Best Beer in St. Louis.  I set my expectations high.

It poured a murky orange with barely any head and no lace.  I’m fine with not being able to see clear through a beer, and I like the look of a fine frothy head, but I don’t put much stock in it.  I like the color, but I have to say that if you’re looking for a beer experience includes a nice visual, you’d probably be just as safe drinking this one from the bottle.

It smelled like orange rind or maybe the orange pinwheel cookies that my mom makes.  Very nice.  The mouth feel was smooth, light and refreshing.  It was crisp and refreshing, like drinking a cool glass of water on a hot day - very pleasant experience.  It wasn’t very malty, but it had a clean crisp citrusy start and a mild citrusy bitter finish that lingered at the front of my mouth

Nothing wows me about this beer, but it is VERY drinkable.  It would make a decent session beer.  As far as styles go, it reminded me more of a maibock than an IPA, but maybe that’s just me.  I give it 3.5 stars

Christmas in June

I am bad with gifts that I receive - I get gifts that I absolutely love, but I will wait to play with them until I have time to seriously enjoy myself.  It must drive my wife nuts.  She got me some awesome gifts for Christmas that I'm just getting around to playing with.  She bought me a bottle tree, so the last couple of days I've been washing and de-labeling the bottles that I've been saving up (and collecting from friends).  I won't need them for a few weeks, but I really wanted to play with my bottle tree.

She also got me Powdered Brewery Wash (which my equipment is soaking in right now) and Star San (which I just used to sanitize the yeast starter kit she bought me).  Star San mix is re-usable, up to a point, so it's currently sitting in my secondary fermenter waiting until I'm ready to sanitize the equipment that is currently soaking in PBW.  Still following me?

After work today, I ran to the local Northern Brewer store to pick up the yeast I need because my new yeast starter kit says the starter needs to sit for at least twelve hours - and I want tomorrow to be a brew day. 

Tomorrow I'll be doing a NB Spiced Winter Ale kit.  Considering when I probably should have brewed it (it was also a Christmas present from my wife - notice the theme?), it was a good choice.  It may be a little out of season, but since I'm not as fond of summer styles, I'm more than happy to be brewing and drinking a winter beer out of season.  In fact, I'm really looking forward to it.  I'd say that 6 weeks will be a long time to wait, but I've got a nice selection of Missouri beers to keep me busy.  Since it's a wide selection, I want to take my time with them.  That might mean the timing is just right for my homebrew.  We'll see.

That's not all I received for Christmas, but it's all that there was time for tonight.  Now I think I'm going to finish my New Glarus Laughing Fox and curl up with a book.

Black Top - Bottom’s Up

Happy Hop Day!  Today we're looking at a new beer style (or sub-style) for me.  One of the beers that I received for my birthday was a New Glarus Brewing Company Black Top Black IPA.  When I poured it, I noticed immediately why it was called a “black IPA” - it had the color of a porter or a stout.  As I poured, it formed a nice head which faded slowly, leaving a thick lace on the glass.

The scent was very subtle, but it reminded me a little of fruit cake, except less spicy.  My first thought when I took a sip was that the mouth feel was very clean.  My first impression was that it was like drinking a glass of water, the way that it washed all over my mouth and then kept moving.  Normally this isn’t something that I like in beer, but I paid more attention to it with my second sip and realized that my first impression hadn’t been accurate.  There was a solid, front-to-back softness that carried with it the thickness of the malt and the tanginess of the hops, but initially, they’re hidden by a crisp, smooth, fresh feeling that is deceptively clean.  After that passed, I noticed the more pleasant mouth feel that I expect from a good beer, lingering the longest toward the front of the roof of my mouth and leaving my tongue puckering with expectation for another sip.

The flavor was very well balanced between malt and hops.  At least for an IPA, I thought it was very balanced.  The hops were a bit stronger, but there was a very distinct roasted coffee flavor that I found to be the predominant flavor.  In slow motion the flavor went:  crisp, sweet, sour, bitter, roasty and coffee - with the coffee notes lingering along with tanginess from the hops.  The aftertaste was predominantly that roasted malt flavor supported by a sweet hoppiness. 

As far as IPAs go, this wasn’t what I normally consider a standard IPA because of how much of an influence the malt had, but the impact of the hops was exactly what I look for in an IPA.  Now, although I prefer hoppy and bitter beers, I am a huge fan of stouts and porters (stouts being the first beer I drank regularly, they will always hold a special place in my heart).  This beer combined the best of both worlds.

I easily give this beer a five star rating.  I love it.  I’ve had beers that I like more than this one, but I like it a lot, and it brought such a balance and strength to the flavors, all flavors that I love, that I can’t help but give it a five.

The description on the bottle is right “Expect this beer to pour a hop forward jet black glass brimming with aromatic bitterness.”  It goes on to say “Brewmaster Dan skillfully weaves molasses and chocolate malt undertones with a soaring rush of clean citrus and pine hop notes.”

Molasses?  Yes, I can see that

Chocolate?  No, but maybe I don’t have enough experience with chocolate malt to pick it out

Clean citrus hop notes?  Definitely

Pine hop notes?  Hmm.  I had to think about it while drinking this, but yes, I definitely detected the Pine hop notes. 

I love this beer!

While drinking the beer, I read the bottle.  It said, “We invite you to discover this newest beer style Black IPA.  Political debate rages over the origins of this jet black beer as both coasts feel they deserve credit.”

What?  A new style?  Both coasts claiming it as theirs?  So this is a new American Hybrid?  I figured I had to know more.

BeerAdvocate refers to this style as the American Black Ale:  “Also referred to as a Black IPA (India Pale Ale) or Cascadian Dark Ale, ales of this style range from dark brown to pitch black and showcase malty and light to moderate roasty notes and are often quite hoppy generally with the use of American hops.”

Ratebeer describes it as “An emerging beer style roughly defined as a beer with IPA-level hopping, relatively high alcohol and a distinct toasty dark malt character. Typically lacks the roastiness and body of a strong stout and is hoppier than a strong porter. Expressive dry-hopping is common. Also called India Dark Ale, India Black Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, Dark IPA, and sometimes India Brown Ale.”

BeerScribe provides a nice introduction and description of the Black IPA in a short blog post that I suggest you read:  http://www.beerscribe.com/2010/09/01/the-black-ipa-problem/

If you love hops and enjoy malt, I definitely recommend New Glarus’ Black Top.  If you are a fan of one, but not the other, then I encourage you to give it a try and post a comment here to let me know what you think.

Bierthday Gift

Back on my birthday, Brad hooked me up with a sampler of New Glarus beers.  Samplers are something that he’s been putting together for people, and it’s a brilliant idea.  So simple that I’m not sure why I never thought of it.  He’ll buy a number of six packs (or twelve packs) and then he assembles sampler six-packs.  For my birthday he gave me:

• Hearty Hop Ale - India Pale Ale
• Back 40 bock - Wisconsin Bock
• Black Top Beer - Black IPA
• Road Slush Stout - Oatmeal Stout
• Cabin Fever Lager - Wisconsin style Honey bock
• Laughing fox Beer - Kristal Weizen

Honestly, it’s a nice mix and there are some seriously tasty beverages, most of which I haven't had before.  I think we should all follow Brad’s example and start giving beer as gifts.

St. Lou's Brews

My friend Brad is in town for the weekend.  He lives in O'Fallon, outside of St. Louis, Missouri; and on this return trip, he brought me a selection of craft beers from St. Louis.  Although he's the one who introduced me to Budweiser Chelada, he's not much of a fan of Anheuser-Busch.  He has always been more of a Jack Daniel's guy, but over the last year or so, he's begun sampling a wide variety of craft beers - which he tells me is expensive in his area because of the "AB laws" and sin taxes making everything so pricey.  He said that the beers he gave me were around $3/bottle, which I'll agree is kind of expensive.  Not that I wouldn't pay it, but it definately makes it more difficult to sample good beer if that's the price you're paying at the liquor store for a 12 oz bottle.

The beers are from three breweries - O'Fallon Brewery (O'Fallon, MO), Schlafly brand beer from The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (St. Louis, MO) and Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, MO).  Okay, so one of the breweries isn't a St. Lou brew, but he made a point of bringing me all Missouri beers. 

He said that he prefers Boulevard to Schlafly, but he didn't tell me where he ranks O'Fallon except to say that (for him) O'Fallon Gold, a golden ale, tastes a lot like Schlitz.  On the other hand, he said that the Boulevard wheat is "pretty Damn good."  Fortunately, he's leaving me to make my own decisions, and not only has he given me a big selection, he made sure it had plenty of IPA, porter and stout beers to cater to my personal preferences.

I can't wait to get started!

Hearty Hop Ale

Happy Hop Day!  Although I have finished my six pack of Potosi Snake Hollow IPA, I figure there is no reason that a good thing should come to an end.  Today’s beer comes from a mixed sampler of New Glarus beers that my good friend, Brad, gave me for my birthday.  I’ve intended to write about them for some time, but we all know how time and good intentions are.  Nonetheless, we’ve got one to lead the pack:  New Glarus Brewing Company’s Hearty Hop Ale.

I poured it into the glass and have to say that I immediately liked the deep golden hue with a nice red backbone.  It had a prominent head that gradually faded, leaving about a quarter inch of eggshell-colored foam.  It smelled bready and citrusy, like peeling an orange while entering a kitchen with the windows open to a cool, sunny spring day and then catching the scent of freshly baked English muffins.

I took a big sip and instantly noticed the mouth feel - comfortable and soft, like liquid velvet.  It started at the front of my mouth, slowly working back the roof to my palate and then curling around the sides of my mouth, creating just a bit of a pucker at the back of my cheeks.  The flavor was mild, with the malt flavors driven far to the background.  I found the malt unnoticeable except when I concentrated on it.  Even then, it was only really there at the beginning of the sip, quickly enveloped by the hops.  The hops were bitter, but I didn’t notice either floral or fruity notes.

The bottle says “Expect this Ale to pour a glass brimming with rich caramel flavors . . .”  It’s true, I would describe the initial maltiness has having rich caramel flavors, but they didn’t quite have the staying power I would have liked.  The bottle also spoke of the “intense hop aroma.” Which I’d agree with based on my “peeling an orange” and “open windows on a spring day” references.  There is not a bit of false advertising on the bottle.

My favorate IPA?  No

A good IPA?  It's certainly above average.  Maybe I’m thinking about it too much or maybe I’m just looking for something different.

Drinkable?  Definitely.  I could drink a couple of these right now, if only I had another.

It’s best quality?  It’s color.  It is a beautiful ale with a nice head.

It’s second best quality?  It’s scent.

It’s third best quality?  It’s aftertaste.  The aftertaste brings something to the flavor that is close to the scent, but which I didn’t find while drinking it.

The flavor, although good, was uninspiring.

I have yet to meet a New Glarus beer that I dislike.  And I certainly don’t dislike this one.  It’s good.  Quite good.  But I don’t know if it exemplifies what I am looking for when I purchase an IPA.  I don’t know whether or not that is a short coming of mine or of this particular beer.  I say that if you like a bitter beer, but aren’t looking for anything too bitter, buy this beer and try it for yourself. 

I rate it 3.5 - 4 stars.

Happy Hop Day! The final Potosi Snake Hollow IPA

Today (conveniently  timed with National Craft Beer Week) is the conclusion to our six week series with the Potosi Snake Hollow IPA.  Primarily because I just polished off the six pack I’d bought.  We’re going to do another round of beer and food pairing, and this one was inspired by Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher, in which he says, “Dessert works beautifully with beer.  In case you missed that, let me reiterate:  beer is fantastic with dessert!”

Today we’re doing cake, and that’s really all about economics.  I enjoy the occasional cake, but on the whole, cake doesn’t really get me going.  But since I wanted to drink my Snake Hollow with a variety of deserts, my shopping lead me to an important discovery - if you’re one guy drinking one beer and you want to sample a selection of desserts, it’s not easy to do on a budget.  Although there is an increasing number of single-serving desserts in stores these days, there aren’t many that are both inexpensive and decent quality. (No surprise - “You get what you pay for” typically holds true for food.)  I aimed for middle ground and erred on the side of “I like to put gas in my car,” which means I went with frozen cakes from Pepperidge Farm and Sara Lee.  Not bad brands, but I don’t think of “frozen” and “cake” as being paired unless “ice cream” separates them.

Anywho, I picked up:

• A Pepperidge Farm Coconut cake - white cake with coconut filling and shredded coconut sprinkled on the frosting
• A Pepperidge Farm German Chocolate cake - chocolate and coconut
• A Sara Lee Carrot Cake - carrots/pineapple, walnuts spices and cream cheese

An important lesson that I learned is about the way that come at food and beer pairings.  Either I’m going to need a way to get people to come over so I can justify the expense of better quality food, or I’m going to need to limit myself.  Party anyone?

Carrot Cake
I know there are plenty of people who don’t care for carrot cake. I do, but it has to be good. I’ve had disappointing carrot cake in the past. This one was okay, but I found it just a little bland. The cake itself was dense and moist, which was good. There were definitely walnuts in it, and the frosting had a nice cream cheese flavor and texture.

• Beer first, then cake - The spice of the carrot cake was replaced by the hoppiness of the beer for a little bit, but then the hoppiness faded and the full on carrot cake flavor took over.  It didn’t detract from the beer, but it didn’t add anything to it.  The combination with the cake was nice, but it didn’t add too much to the cake - although after I finished the cake, there was still a hint of the beer’s maltiness that was very nice.
• Cake first, then beer - Now this was interesting, the carrot cake sweetness and carrot-ness blended nicely with the maltiness of the beer; and the spice of the cake and the hoppiness of the beer blended nicely.  It wasn’t overly bitter, but I think that each drew the sweetness out in the other.  This was really good.
• Both together - This was much the same as starting with cake and then washing it down with beer; but with the full-on sweetness of the frosting in my mouth, the leading flavor from the beer was tartness.  This was a good combination

German Chocolate Cake
As a cake, it was okay. As a frozen cake it was good. As a German Chocolate cake it was disappointing. The cake was light and fluffy, but not moist. And it was too fluffy for what I expected. The chocolate flavor was mediocre where I expected richness. The frosting was smooth and creamy. All in all, it was an okay cake, but we I think the name was a bit misleading.

• Beer first, then cake - It tasted like beer and cake.  It tasted good, but neither noticeably added or detracted anything from the other.
• Cake first, then beer - The sweetness of the cake overcame the flavor of the beer.  There was a moment of sourness at the back of my palate from the beer that was a little unpleasant, but it faded quickly into the bitterness of the hops and then I was left with the solid malty flavor in the after taste.  Not bad, but not great.
• Both together - The sweetness of the cake still in my mouth prevented that sourness from surfacing (or what sourness was there was pleasant and at the front of my mouth).  This was a real nice combination.  The cake took the prime position, but the sweet maltiness with a little bitter bite and a solid malty aspect finished the flavors.  Very good.

Coconut Cake
It was a white cake that looked a lot like an oversized Little Debbie snack cake. The cake itself was soft, light and spongy. The frosting was a little stiff, but I’m not sure if that was because of the style of frosting, because the cake had been frozen (although I had thawed it completely) or because of all the shredded coconut pieces on the frosting. The cake itself was not coconut, but the frosting had coconut and the filling between layers supposedly was coconut flavored. I could tell it was coconut, but the flavor wasn’t nearly as strong as I expected. Still, it was much better than I expected of a frozen cake.

• Beer first, then cake - After I put the cake in my mouth, the beer flavor faded to the background, leaving a noticeable combination of sweet from the cake mingling with the sweet and bitter of the hops in the beer.  Then, as that faded, I was left with the sweet coconut of the cake mingling with sweet hops and malty body of the beer.  That faded to leave an overall sweetness in my mouth.  This was very good.
• Cake first, then beer - The beer flavor was prominent after I took a sip, but the cake minimized the effect of the hops and emphasized the malt.   As the flavor faded, the sweet coconut of the cake remained after the flavor of the beer was gone, but I was still left with the pleasant mouth feel that you get from a good malty beer.  At this point, I realized that the beer is really emphasizing the coconut flavor of this cake far more than the cake by itself presented.  Interesting and tasty.  This was very good.
• Both together - Malt, coconut and sweet hops with barely any noticeable bitterness except for the hint left on the hoppy / coconutty aftertaste.  This was also very good.

Honestly, it seems that there is no wrong way to do an IPA with cake.  Granted there are other cakes out there, but I get the impression that they would all fare just as well.  After my mixed results with cheese, this was a food pairing that I can get behind (although hopefully not three pieces of cake in one sitting again - that’s a little too much sweet - even for me.)  Randy Mosher, you were right - Beer is fantastic with dessert!