Craft Beer Monday Review: Wild Onion Hop Slayer

Hop Slayer is a Double IPA, and it is brewed right here in Lake Barrington.
Fortunately CBC member Steve B encounters the brewpub on the way home, or else I would have never heard of it. Their pub offers food and a few beers on tap. They distribute their beer mostly local and in cans. As with others, after pouring in a pint glass, I could not tell it came out of the can anyway. More on that debate later.

This one poured smoothly and thick with much foam into the glass and it gave off some strong aromas of pine and clove, as I expected, plus a stronger and sweeter smell I wasn't expecting. It is unfiltered and orange and red in color, and the head and lacing remained throughout the initial tasting. The flavor was sharp and bitter in great strength, and its high alcohol content was obvious (t is 8%). I took it slow and sipped it. I think what I noticed was its separation of tastes, not enough blending for me.

It is not the kind of beer I normally drink, so I don't know if I can review it as fair as I should, but I think I had a problem with the stark differences in tastes. I would have preferred a smoother mix.

Like other craft beers maybe the mix changes with new batches, or maybe I need to gain more appreciation for the Imperials, which I don't have as much familiarity with. I think I will start to try more of these higher IBU beers and see if that can help, but so far I have been unaccustomed to their depth and power.

CBC Rating: 3.

Sam Adams Oktoberfest Event We Missed

Sam Adams has been holding a beer stein hoisting contest at various bars this fall, and, looking at the website here, an Indiana man has the current record for 21 minutes.
I don't think I would last that long, not only because I think you have to hold it out and not drink it at all! In fact, I don't think I have ever held a beer for 20 minutes without drinking it, at least not an Oktoberfest.
Maybe next year the Beer Club can attend one of these events and maybe an Oktoberfest. Steve and I attended one last week and it was excellent, and really a lot bigger than I anticipated. More on that later.

Craft Beer Monday Review: Goose Island Harvest Ale

The debate rages concerning whether we should continue referring to Goose Island as a craft beer, and whether to consider it Midwest beer too. It is owned by Busch and Inbev, but for now, I am going to include it in here. The same question was raised by the editors of the The Great Lakes Brewing News, whose editors have decided to take it off their list of brewpub tours for Illinois.

This one was a little different than I expected. For autumns and Oktoberfests I have seen the traditional Marzens or Munich Lagers, and even a Doppelbock from Capital (Autumnal Fire) at a whopping 7.8% ABV. This, instead, is an ESB, a good quality ale but with a strong malt and hop character I didn't expect. It is copper in color and has a healthy amount of carbonation, which allowed for the right amount of head and bubbles.

I have been fond of other offerings from Goose Island, like their winter rye ale, Mild Winter, and some specialty beers like Red Felt and Bourbon County Stout. In fact, most of the time you will find Honkers in my fridge. I am thinking of adding this to my list, maybe even stock up for the winter like I do for other Oktoberfests.

Overall a good tasting beer, and worthy of repeating. CBC Rating: 4.

Oktoberfest Review Time Coming

It's about time for a review of Oktoberfest Beers! Just for fun I think we will review a big handful, and limit ourselves to those with labels that state themselves as Fest, Autumn or Oktoberfest specially. In other words, no pumpkins, non-Oktoberfest German lagers or Weiss Beers. I will try to use as many submitters as I can for this review.

We are going to use the scale (1-6) for this blog we have been using, with some commentary with each one. I will compile all the reviews and post them here.

Also, since I have been finding that batches change over time and bottling, I am reviewing those I will have tasted this season only. Here's the list that I will most likely be rating. If you have more than this lets put them together the best we can or get together and we can share our thoughts.

Spaten
Sam Adams (draft and bottle)
Leinenkugel's
Hacker Pshorr (draft and bottle)
Two Brothers Atom Smasher
JB Oktoberfest (Trader Joe's)
New Glarus Staghorn
Sprecher
Kostritzer
Goose Island Harvest Ale

International Beer Review: Efes Turkish Beer

Efes, Europe's fifth largest brewer, is dominating a portion of the market that is growing incredibly fast-Turkey. Also available in Europe, Efes has a handful of beers available, including the two I sampled, Pilsener and Dark.

Pils or Pilsener, depending on which bottle you have, is considered their flagship and is available in 60 countries (click on title to get to their website).
It is considered a German Pilsener, and has many of those characteristics except, I thought, it was a little lacking in hop presence which is characteristic of the original pilsners. Smooth, yes, refreshing, I suppose, but otherwise not too thrilling there. Pretty much average. CBC Rating: 3

The other one I tried, the Dark, appears to be the second most popular
beer they produce and was one recommended by George, who travelled
to Istanbul and who luggaged them back to me. This one was a little more characteristic of German darks and was more satisfying. There was a stronger malt presence and more alcohol in the body, which you don't recognize in the Pilsener. Makes sense when you see that the Pils has an ABV of 5 and the Dark is 6.2.
CBC Rating: 4.


Beer reviews coming up soon will be a review of some Swedish Beers, luggaged out of Stockholm, all in cans, plus a review of Oktoberfest selections. The latter will be simply a list of votes by three club members. Stay tuned for that entry too.

Craft Beer Monday Review: New Glarus Staghorn Octoberfest

Tasted, repeatedly, in the bottle, from mine and my neighbor's trips over the state line, since NG is exclusive to Wisconsin. All it takes is a zip up to Woodman's every once in a while. Tasted this last year, but only purchased a six pack and when I returned a few weeks later, it was sold out. Apparently this year more was produced or at least made available to stores in Kenosha, or just timing, I suppose.

Brewed to the traditions of the Bavarian brews, Staghorn is heavy on the malts and is higher in alcohol, but, I really think it excels over a few of those German Oktoberfests we have been drinking for a long time. I will have an entry reviewing those fest beers I have tasted soon, in the spirit of the season.

They advertise it as a red, and, in New Glarus tradition, throw a little something extra into it, they give it a little spice. This reminds me of the rye beers, which are red and a little spicy, but I think it works here because sometimes with an excess of malts, beer will tend to sour a little, and while it is a fun little twist at times, I don't prefer it over some other features, like sweetness, for example.

CBC Rating:4. Good and worthy of repeated tastings.

On an upcoming post I will mention my favorite beer stores and I will be sure to detail Woodman's a little more (this link doesn't do much, sorry), but I encourage stocking up on this one because they have loaded them up really well this year with cases, 12 packs and sixes, but it is seasonal, or course.

Craft Beer Monday Review: Two Brothers Atom Smasher

On Tap at Sheffields, this was an easy decision for me since I have always been a fan of the Oktoberfests, and Two Brothers was my first foray into Chicagoland craft beers (thanks Bingo, Steve A).

Uniquely flavored, Atom Smasher is a welcome addition to the Two Brothers lineup since they usually delve into heavily hopped ales and only produce lagers on a seasonal basis, and don't really promote them too much, if you ask me. In fact, I am including the link from Ratebeer, since TB doesn't have it on their website even.

Tasting: Cloudy amber with some orange colors swirling and with a beige head that disappears quickly, this was reflective of the Oktoberfest lagers I have been accustomed to except for a couple flavors I wasn't expecting: citrusy early and a hint of sourness at the finish. I think I will try it again in the bottle to make sure.

CBC Rating: 4.

Beer News: Coors Can Contest

Someday I hope to make it out west to Coors (Golden, CO for the tour). Maybe while I'm there I hit the New Belgium and Fort Collins Brewery tours. I thought I would mention this contest for an American classic. Always had a soft spot for the Banquet Beer, some good times associated with it, plus, of course, Smokey and the Bandit, one of the best movies of all time. Like others I have some favorites for some occasions, (like Bells Oberon while on Sean's boat), and Coors has occasionally been the fill in for those times when a session beer is needed.

This contest was to pick the next can to hold their beer. I liked the blue-bottomed post Prohibition can (B), but I think a small part of me wants to have all the cans so I can re-start my beer can collection that we (well, mostly my dad and brothers) started when we were kids.

As it turns out, by the time I posted this the contest is over and my can won! I don't know why I am telling you this other than I hoped the contest would go on longer and you could participate.

Are there any other CO breweries I missed? Let me know so I can plan that trip!

The Livery-Hand Forged Brewing

Last weekend we traveled to the eastern coast of Lake Michigan to spend time with some good friends and to visit the first Michigan microbrewery I have been to. I have been hearing about many from Northern Indiana through Michigan and was excited about being able to go here. My excitement was well-founded, because the Livery proved to be worth all that I have heard.

Describing itself as a maker of hand forged micro-brews, the beer list was extensive (15) and they were serious about their beer. They offered a variety of styles for all sorts of tastes, some available on hand pull. Besides their beer, ciders and pop, they offered some local wines, and that's it. No hard liquor or non-Livery beer sold there. But, with the list they had, why would you want any other?
The bar itself was downstairs, and had an industrial feel to it, yet welcoming, thanks to its friendly customers and knowledgeable staff. I think we knew we were in the right place when one of the customers had embroidered into his shirt hop vines.

Among the things I liked here the most was the names of the beers, such as Telewhacker, Lawnmower Lager, Kilt Tilter, Mt Baldy and Hoppy Chick. But throughout the night and later at a local restaurant we were able to try quite a variety of choices.


We sampled 4 beers, throughout the course of the evening, and I think there was a good mix of their offerings. My tastes differed a little than those of my drinking partner, Bingo, so I wanted to try those with a little less alcohol, especially after the blaster we had first.

This first one we tasted, the Runemeister, was described as an Imperial Honey Pilsner, with its 9.25% ABV. Served in a snifter it was one of the best beers I have ever had, a classic. Slightly sweet thanks to the caramel malts and Michigan honey yet its rusty color was warm and inviting. I prefer a stronger alcohol taste, especially for my first of the night so it worked well for me. Rating: 6. (My first ever!)
The second I tasted was the Mandau Man, served in a pint glass, was reddish in color and was listed as an English Red Ale. I prefer the ambers and reds and this was one also good, but maybe too much of a bite, maybe not a good enough balance of malts.
Still good and definitely repeatable: Rating 4.
Next, we tried the Bungtown Export Lager, which was served at a local restaurant we visited for dinner, Clementines. Sure, we left the bar for this, but it was worth a try and when you think about it, since it was only exported a few blocks away and was draft it is about the same.
The Bungtown had the familiar feel of a lager, comparable to Sam Adams Lager. It is a Dortmunder, a regular summertime lager beer, but was a bit heavier and with a slightly metallic taste which changed greatly as it warmed up. I was quite surprised by that. I think it was a good beer, just nothing to brag about. Rating: 3.
We did a taster of the Lawnmower Lager but apart from the name it was a lot like Coors regular, a straw colored session beer that I wasn't terribly thrilled with either.
Lastly on our way back home we swung back and picked up a quick Red Canoe, a dark red lager that had a surprisingly bitter finish that was quite enjoyable. I would like to return and try another of these. My rating: 4.

Can't wait to return to Livery, where hopefully I can try some of the others. I think its my kind of place.

Ales of the Revolution at the City Tavern, Philadelphia

On my recent trip to Philadelphia, we ate lunch at the City Tavern, a multi-story tavern that used to host George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and whose servers still wear the colonial clothes from those old days. The food is traditional and on the fancy tablecloths and napkins, but the highlight, as you may have guessed, is their beer selection. I think it should have been pretty obvious where I was going with this.

I tried the flight of four beers they serve, which are brewed from recipes used in colonial times by a local brewer, Yards Brewing.

Sadly we were unable to go to the brewery due to our schedule so the tastings I took at the tavern there will have to suffice.
The four they offered were: General Washington's Tavern Porter, Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, and Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Ale. These are also offered in bottles for "Take Away", which is what I will do on my next trip out there. I was a little unfamiliar with the policies in Pennsylvania, whose beer selling practices are extremely archaic and anti-craft in just about every way possible. I will cover those practices and others I have encountered in an upcoming post.

Now for the tastings:

General Washington's Tavern Porter, which has been brewed from a recipe on file at the New York Public Library, and is sold exclusively at the City Tavern. It is rich and bold with a certain nuttiness to it. One of the better porters, not too rich. Rating: 4.

Thomas Jefferson's 1774 Tavern Ale, is light and clean, without a lot of bitterness associated with most European style light ales. Thomas Jefferson himself made beer twice a year, and this sweeter recipe reminds us of a brew that would have been by a farmer and beekeeper such as he. Rating: 4.

Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, which is according to Benjamin Franklin's recipe when he was ambassador to France, uses spruce essence and molasses, since it was too difficult to get hops and barley at that time. It was amber and sweet and you could pick up some hints of spiciness. With an unusual flavor and the first Spruce I have tasted, so, therefore I have to give it a Rating: 5.

Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Ale is crisp and light and full of hops. It can be considered an American Pale Ale but I get the feeling it was added later, since I don;t see a lot of Pale Ales originating from those times. Excessive hops is a 19th century process I am pretty sure. Still, it is a good and memorable one. Rating: 5.

All in all I was impressed by these, and it was an impressive place to go, in a really impressive town. Next trip there will have me going to the Yards Brewery for a tour and especially to the tasting room for more of these.