Distelhäuser Brauerei – Landbier

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Distelhäuser Brauerei, Germany

I was looking to add something a bit more unusual to my last round of purchases and decided to make this a last-minute addition.  The price was right and I was pretty happy with the last beer I randomly picked up from this brewery.

Beer Name: Landbier

Brewery: Distelhäuser Brauerei (Tauber Franconia, Germany)

Style: Dortmunder

ABV: 5.1%

Description: Described on the brewery website (thank you Google translate) as sweet and gentle darker beer with caramel notes.  The bottle had a best before date of 10/31/2017 and a cost of $3 for the bottle.

Appearance: It had a translucent, coppery body topped off by a thin light beige layer of foam.

Smell: Light malt sweetness.

Taste: As promised by the smell sweet light malt leads the way, followed by a biscuity, bready middle.  The finish featured a rather pronounced yeast presence and a moderate-plus grapefruit rind bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a slightly plus amount of carbonation.

Hype: Probably none at all.  My last beer from this brewery was a pleasant surprise so I figured I might as well try out another.

Overall: I wasn’t a fan of this one and found the finish particularly off-putting.  I grabbed it at random and it didn’t work out.  Might be a bit more discerning next time but I was feeling adventurous.  Moving along.

Fear and Loathing in the NFL

Tags

Donald Trump, Fear and Loathing, Football, gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, NFL, Politics

Although I am not much of a football fan, it would have been pretty hard to miss coverage of the displays of protest and solidarity that swept the league this Sunday.  Since I don’t have much time tonight to really dig into this topic (and I’m sure the internet is already flooded with hot takes from people way more invested in the league than myself), I’ll keep my own commentary brief.  First and foremost, congratulations to the players for their courage and solidarity in using their position to make a statement.  Secondly, shame on Donald Trump and anyone who continues to either support him or enable his dangerously petty ignorance, penchant for child-like tantrums, and overall boorish behaviour.  Having said all that, I am reminded today of a section in Hunter Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail that didn’t make the final cut in my post last year.  As with so many things from that book, it seemed rather relevant today so, without further ado, here’s an extended cut:

This happened to me on the last Sunday of the regular NFL season when two slobbering drunk sportswriters got me thrown out of the press box at the Robert F. Kennedy stadium in Washington.  I was there as a guest of David Burgin, sports editor at the Washington Star…

…We were halfway down the ramp to the parking lot before I understood what had happened.  “That gin-soaked little Nazi from the Gazette got pissed when you didn’t doff your hat for the national anthem,” Burgin explained.  “He kept bitching about you to the guy in charge of the press box, then he got that asshole who works for him all cranked up and they started talking about having you arrested.”

“Jesus creeping shit,” I muttered.  “Now I know why I got out of sportswriting…I barely even remember the national anthem.  Usually I don’t even stand up…(54)”

Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Helldorado

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, California, Craft Beer, Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Something about this beer really called to me when I saw it my go to bottle shop by work.  Maybe it was the style, maybe it was the nifty little box, but regardless I brought one home with me.

Beer Name: Helldorado

Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, CA)

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 12.8%

Description: Briefly, this was a barrel aged blonde barleywine.  For more of the specs and story behind this you can get the details here on the brewery website.  The price of $10 for the one 12 oz bottle was right around my personal limit for the format but in line with what similar offerings go for in my area.

Appearance: It had an amber colored body through which I could just barely make out my fingers on the other side of the glass.  A thin, fizzy white head formed with the pour and dissipated very quickly thereafter.

Smell: Sweet toffee and honey, with warm oak barrel notes lurking in the back.

Taste: Sweet upfront, with notes of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and again a bit of honey. The back-end was warm and moderately boozy.  It closed with a fading sweet heat and rising oak barrel notes.  As the beer settled in, the sweetness gradually faded in favor of the heat and barrel influence.

Mouthfeel: The body was slightly and right around medium.  Despite the bubbly head, the overall carbonation level was rather low.

Hype: I’ve come to expect some great things from these boxes Firestone offerings.  

Overall: I’m a bit torn.  On the one hand I did think was a good brew, but on the other it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.  Hard to put my finger on it exactly, but I think with perhaps a slightly thicker body and better blend of sweetness and barrel this would have rated a touch higher for me.

Stone Brewing Company – Fruitallica

Tags

Beavertown Brewery, Beer, Beer Review, California, Collaboration, Craft Beer, Garage Project, New Zealand, Stone Brewing Company, United Kingdom

This next brew comes courtesy of my wife.  We had a brie cheese tasting planned for the night and she wanted to get me something to compliment the meal.

Beer Name: Fruitallica

Brewery: Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA/Richmond, VA), Beavertown Brewery (London, UK), and Garage Project (Wellington, NZ)

Style: Double IPA

ABV: 8.0%

Description: A worldwide collaboration effort, this double IPA was brewed with kiwi, yuzu, and habanero.  You can read the full metal description on Stone’s website.

Appearance: A bright, hazy hybrid of yellow, orange, and amber topped off by a thin white head that formed with the pour.

Smell: Light fruits and some piney bitterness.

Taste: Light and fruity upfront, featuring kiwi and assorted tropicals.  Perhaps even yuzu, but I can’t honestly claim to know what that tastes like.  The back-end brought on a nicely balanced amount of heat from the habanero that rolled into a piney, resinous bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Pretty standard for the style.  Medium, slightly creamy feel with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: Elevated personally, though I suppose most grizzled beer veterans don’t get overly excited about these anymore.  Stone will probably always have a special place in my heart though.

Overall: I enjoyed this, but wouldn’t quite consider something I’d drink every day.  It did, however, go quite well with the brie I so in that sense the beer delivered exactly what I wanted.  Nice blend of sweet fruit and spice without going too far into extremes.

Ipswich Brewer’s Table

Tags

Brewery Visit, Fall, Ipswich Ale Brewery, Ipswich Brewer's Table, Massachusetts, New England

My wife and I absolutely love the fall season, so we took advantage of a beautiful weekend and took an impromptu day trip up to Ipswich, MA.  After paying a visit to Russell Orchards for some apple picking and fun on the farm, we ventured downtown for dinner and a few beverages.

Built as an addition to the Ipswich Ale Brewery in early 2016, the Ipswich Brewer’s Table offers up plenty of good food and a wide variety of the beer made right next door.  Since it was such a nice day,  we went with the outdoor seating at one of the several tables set up outside.  Being located on the edge of an industrial area, it wasn’t exactly the most scenic of spots but the street we were on did have it’s own quiet charm nestled in between the brewery complex and some residential units.  For a quick note about the food, both my wife and I loved our meals; the pulled pork sandwich in particular earning my seal of approval.  Our waitress was fantastic and very attentive and accommodating of our food allergy concerns.

Now for the beer.  Seeing how we were out to celebrate the fall weather, I started my visit off with the Fall Flight featuring four of the brewery’s seasonal offerings.  Going down the list, I started out with Chucktoberfest, a solid 6.1% marzen with the malty, slightly sweet, and bready profile I was expecting from the style.  Beer number two was the Trailblazer Pale Ale which was nice and light at 4.5% with a mix of mild lemon and citrus fruitiness and bitterness.  The third brew was another pale ale named Hop Harvest.  This one came in at 7.0% and poured a bit darker amber color than the previous.  It had a nice mix of citrus sweetness blended with grapefruit bitterness.  A sweet malt backing helped make this my favorite of the flight.  The final beer in the sampler was the Pumpkin Porter.  Super rich and smooth to drink, the taste blended roasted malts with pumpkin spices.  It wasn’t bad, but admittedly not really my thing.  Full disclosure, I do have something of a history with pumpkin beers to keep in mind and also generally prefer to wait until October before trying any out.  If you’re into pumpkin beer, check this one out though.  It was definitely better than a lot of the others I’ve tried.

The main event for me was a beer that I had read some good things about but had yet to come across; the Route 1A Double IPA.  Coming at 8.2%, it poured a nice amber color with a thin slightly off-white layer of foam up top.  Taste-wise it featured a nice sweet caramel-like malt base underneath a top layer of moderate citrus sweetness, grapefruit, and resinous pine sap bitterness.  Mouthfeel was on point for the style with a steady amount of carbonation.  I was big fan of this and will be sure to keep my eye for this in the future.  

We all had an excellent time here and I would certainly recommend this as a place to check out.  Good food, good beer, and outdoor seating.  What more could you want?

Equilibrium Brewery – Fractal Mosaic

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Equilibrium Brewery, IPA, New York

In the last few months or so Equilibrium has become something of a hotspot for my friends in northern New Jersey.  Luckily for me, that means I got to come home with a few cans after we met up over the long weekend.

Beer Name: Fractal Mosaic

Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery (Middletown, NY)

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.8%

Description: To summarize the website, this was the first installment in what has become a series of small batch brews created with pale malt and a single, rotating variety of hop.  As you probably guessed, the hop used for this one was Mosaic.

Appearance: Came out of the can with a bright, cloudy pale yellow body and a thin white head of foam.

Smell: Sweet and juicy upfront with hoppy resin creeping in on the back-end.

Taste: Very similar to the smell.  Light tropical fruit and berries made for a juicy sweetness upfront.  The finish was mildly dank and resinous hops, skirting a fine line between pine and earthy bitterness.  Earthy hops and berries lingered in the aftertaste, along with perhaps just a little bit of the pale malt.  The overall taste was smooth, balanced, and distinctly flavorful without leaning too heavily on either the juice or hop aspects.

Mouthfeel: Soft, fluffy roughly medium body with a slightly less than moderate level of carbonation.  Very smooth and easy drinking throughout, there was a subtle creaminess here as well.

Hype: I get the impression there is starting to be some excitement about this brewery.  Personally, I was pretty eager to try this.  My last beer from this place was absolutely fantastic and the stamp of approval my friend has given them was reason enough to be excited.

Overall: Really tasty and a very relaxing and chill drinking experience.  The beer’s somewhat mellow profile in combination with its smooth mouthfeel made this super easy to drink.  I went through my can pretty quickly and could have easily reached for another if there was one available.  Looking forward to trying out the rest of my goodies.