Albino Python

Ladies and Gentlemen, beer drinkers of age, come closer and allow me to introduce you to a fine beer from Shmaltz Brewing: Coney Island Albino Python. Brother B and I selected this fine beer on the "what the heck is this going to taste like system?" Yes, curiosity killed the cat, but it makes a fine beer selection from time to time, and when it comes from Shmaltz, how can you go wrong?

It's a "white lager brewed with spices." I have no clue what that means. It's not a lager. It's not spicy. It's not white.

Sister Bunny says, "It looks like pale yellow sludge."

The beer has amazing amount of large particulates. Look at the photos. That's taste you see. Never trust a beer you can see through. This beer is a clear as sludge.

Sister Mars says, "Yummy." And she hates beer.

Brother B says, "The bottle reminds me of Blade Runner and the snake dance."

It's a fruit beer not crushed by fruit. It has hints of banana and clover honey.

Brother B says, "There's a sweetness to the character. It's unique!

Brother B didn't think I'd like it, but on a mild day in the dying days of summer, it was just right.

Peppercorn and Pomegranate

Just had time to try the Pomegranate Ale (from Hebrew) and LipSmacker (for Mactarnahans).

The Pomegranate was picked up from the beerstein. It was a good fruit beer. I didn't think the pomegranate would work with the ale. It was great, my only complaint was the pomegranate was a little weak. The flavor was good and masked the high alcohol. I would recommend and buy on occasion.

The LipSmacker was an ale aged with peppercorn, supposedly to burn your lips. It doesn't live up to it's name and the ale is disappointing. Mactarnahan's ales are usually pretty good, this was not. The flavor was off and weak. There was no trace of hops and was a bit sour. Now i am trying to figure out what to do with the other bottle a bought.

Brothers Kieft

The Brother's Kieft created several home brews for an event at their home this weekend. A Pilsner, a Scot, and IPA were all present, but there three years in the making Wee Heavy was the true gift of the weekend. I'll let Brother B tell the story of their own brew, but he and his brother are fine craftsmen. I'm not a fan of Pilsner, but it was my choice of drink for the weekend.

Sadly, only the Scot Ale photos turned out.

Enjoy and may the blessing of the Church be with you,

Brother RD

Short Trip

convince the mrs to take a short trip to visit several pubs and beer associated places.

1- the beer stein. reportedly 1000 different bottles. I picked up 6 beers and spent time talking beer with strangers.
-Dick's Imperial Stout-7.5%-it was all alcohol. i couldn't taste much else. i don't think i would buy it again. the flavor was flattened by the beer
-Sea Dog's Raspberry wheat- a great beer. comparable to the two favorite raspberry beers. not tart, not to sweet. good hops level that makes it a great refreshing summer beer.
-Planet Porter from Boulder Beer- an okay beer. nothing memorable about it. again i was spoiled by western breweries and there ability to make good porters. this one was week on odor, taste and hops. if you are afraid of porters and want to wet your feet in porters try this
-Dorothy Goodbody's Stout-The Wye Valley Brewery (UK)-I found out by drinking this beer, that i am an incredibly talented homebrewer of stouts (only in the UK apparently). this beer was sour, over carbonated, smelled funny and if you think it was a stout, then you need to come to the west in the winter. i wouldn't buy it, but the label has interesting artwork, think WWII bomber art work.
(i haven't got to the other two beers)

2. Mcmenamins- the great porter on nitro. of course smooth, but the rich, dark coffee/chocolate flavor was fantastic. a great smell and flavor that i wished to capture in my beard. i only wish there was one closer than 2 hours away. i finished off with a rubinator (half ruby half terminator stout) great fruit flavor combined with dark stout. refreshing raspberry and rich flavor. a classic favor

3. rogue- the russian imperial stout and the porter on nitro. two of my favorite beer. i am not a fan of rogue's beers in general. These beers are an exception. The pint of porter on nitro was excellent. i only sipped of the mrs
dark, smooth, great aroma. the 6 oz of imperial stout was dark elixir, 11% of danger. it was good stuff.

4. Ninkasi- only a tasting room, but i got a chance to taste the stout, which will be bottled in the fall. it is good stuff, wish they would have filled my growler. a nice little brewery, expanding and a hub of activity. also got a sample of their cream ale. i did not care for it. the cream ale was warm and tasted skunky and un memorable-avoid

Blue Moon's Belgian White

Blue Moon Brewing Co.

http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/

I have mentioned before that I don't like American Wheats but with the rise of the traditional style brewing geniuses around, I may have to alter my blanket contempt. Blue Moon's Belgian White is a wonderful mass produced wheat. To me, wheats should stand on their own, no fruit necessary. That makes me a bit of a heathen, but I prefer the complexity that often is masked by the addition of citrus. I can taste the coriander and the orange peel in the brew sans the orange, thank you very much.

Give this one a try, I actually found it in Safeway so it makes it my cheap-and-easy-to-find list. There are better Belgian style wheats out there but this one is solid for the price.

Cheers,

Brother B

Silver Moon Brewing

Silver Moon Brewing - Bend, Oregon

I got a chance to meet Tyler from Silver Moon Brewing a couple of months ago when he was doing a tasting at Corvallis Brewing Supply (my brewstore of choice). Great guy with a lot of enthusiasm for the craft let me try his Hop KNOB IPA and Badlands Bitter, two very solid beers. The IPA was a full IPA, not one of your pansy large manufactured ipas with nice blend of fruity and spicy hop character although Tyler said he was still working on it. The Bitter was a North West style bitter (as opposed to an traditional English bitter), very heavy on the boil hops supported by a nice malty body quite a bit heavier then the version from across the pond. I had a great time talking to him about his operation. Thanks, Tyler.

What has brought this short fellowship to mind is the acquisition of Silver Moon's Snake Bite Porter. It is very much an English style porter but with enough flavor and body to almost qualify it as a stout. Don't let that discourage you though. It finishes clean as a Porter should and is quite refreshing. I think I will make this one of my dark beers of summer.

I am very excited to try Tyler's Imperial IPA - HOPTYGON which is his Winter offering this next year. He promised me it would be good.

If you get a chance, pop over the mountains and see Tyler at Silver Moon, you will be glad you did.

Cheers,

Brother B

For Beer Lover's with Celiac Disease

Thanks to research of Brother B, Gluten free beers.

Bard’s Tale Beer –USA brewers with current distribution in 21 states, including Iowa, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont. The owners are Celiacs and beer lovers themselves who are dedicated to keeping the beer experience alive for those who are committed to a gluten-free lifestyle.

Dragon’s Gold – Bard’s Tale Beer, USA – Golden amber with light white head, with the aroma and taste characteristics of a satisfying, finely crafted wheat beer. This beer is crafted with pure water, premium sorghum, hops and yeast, combined with buckwheat, natural honey, corn and rice. This is Real Beer for Real People.

Tavern Ale – Bard’s Tale Beer, USA – Soon to be on the market, another finely crafted offering from the makers of Dragon’s Gold.

Ramapo Valley Brewery - Located in beautiful Rockland County in New York, these folks travel to various conferences throughout the year, and offer their Gluten-free beer year-round.

Honey Passover Beer - Ramapo Valley Brewery, USA - Bright golden in color, with a delicate honey and hops nose. Crafted with honey, molasses, Kosher yeast hops and pure, sparkling water, this gluten-free wonder has 5% ABV, a lighter taste and is dry at the finish.

New France Beers– Canadian brewers with a commitment to ALL of their customers, they have dedicated three years to research and development of gluten-free beer centered on purity and taste.

La Messagère – New France Beers, Canada – A crystalline pale ale with light effervescence and froth of lacing that lightly webs the surface. The aroma and flavor of golden honey, kissed with citrus and wisps of hops. Brewed from rice and buckwheat. 4.7% ABV.

Green’s – United Kingdom Company dedicated to serving the growing community of people being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. New gluten-free products are being developed daily to serve this segment of the beer loving community.

Discovery Beer – Green’s, United Kingdom – Hazy amber beer, like a glowing sunrise over the ocean, brewed in the European tradition with crisp taste and refreshing flavor. 5% ABV

Pioneer Lager – Green’s, United Kingdom – Golden amber lights with gentle cloudiness, strong body and thirst-quenching palate. 5% ABV

Endeavour Double Dark Beer – Green’s, United Kingdom – Walnut brown, full-bodied, with rich European flair. 6% ABV

Trailblazer Lager - Green's, United Kingdom - 4.7% ABV in a low-carb, refreshing, crisp lager. Herald Ale - Green's, United Kingdom - A traditional ale with a hearty, crisp body and 4% ABV. Pilgrim Cherry Beer - Green's, United Kingdom - Winter Seasonal available in early November, this 4.7% ale boasts a spicy cherry aroma and flavor, that awakens the zest in holiday fare. NOTE: Green's has added three Gluten Free Belgian Beers to the USA market through Merchant du Vin. The new beers are: Discovery Amber Ale; Endeavour Dubbel Ale; and Quest Tripel. For information about getting Green's Beers in the USA, contact Merchant du Vin at:http://www.merchantduvin.com Mongozo Exotic Beers - Exotic Beers brewed in Belgium. Mongozo Coconut - Mongozo Beers, Netherlands - Using Mongozo Quinua as the basic recipe, coconut adds a hint of tropical refreshment, with a low 3.5% ABV. Mongozo Banana - Mongozo Beers, Netherlands - In Africa, known as mbege, this exotic beer has the golden color of banana, with strong banana flavors in a quinua base. Mongozo Quinua - Mongozo Beers, Netherlands - This bitter grain of Bolivia is characteristically used to brew beers made in Africa and South America. Mongozo Palmnut - Mongozo Beers, Netherlands - Lightly fruity, Palmnut Beer is in line with African tradition, and is typical of Angolan Beer.7% ABV. Sprecher Brewing - Originally brewed for Milwaukee's African World Festival, Sprecher has now entered the Gluten Free Beer market. Shakparo Ale - Sprecher Brewing, USA - Unfiltered and brewed of sorghum and millet, it is lightly refreshing with a fruity apple profile. Mbege - Sprecher Brewing, USA - Brewed with sorghum and millet, bananas are added in this traditional Ale with roots in Eastern Africa. Anheuser-Busch – Brewed at the Merrimack, New Hampshire facility, Redbridge is now available throughout the USA Redbridge - Redbridge pours a deep honey gold, with a creamy, eggshell head that settles like a gauzy veil over the surface. Effervescent bubbles rise through the glass in a constant stream. Initial aromas are of light malt and a tempered, gentle nuttiness. Some florals rise in the nose. The tongue interprets flavors that echo as a softened pale ale, without the characteristic grassy, earthy flavors of more intense cultivars of sorghum. Cascade hops are not initially prominent in the foreground, but provide a lingering, bitter presence at the back end, O’Brien Brewing – Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia – Brewer John O’Brien was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 1998. A beer lover himself, he was soon to discover the absence of beer available for those with gluten intolerance. Not to be discouraged, he founded O’Brien Brewing, producer of the first gluten-free beer in Australia. O’Brien Premium Lager – O’Brien Brewing, Australia – Sparkling Topaz amber, with white head and light lacing, touched with a distinct fruit aroma, smooth malty flavor and clean bitterness. 4.5% ABV Under Development: O’Brien Premium Light O’Brien Brown Ale O’Brien Pale Ale Bi-Aglut – Brewed with pure water, buckwheat, hops, corn syrup and vitamin B1 by an Italian food products conglomerate. Birra 76 Bi-Aglut – Italy – Golden color, foamy head, and fresh taste, totally lacking in gluten.

Nostradamus

Bunny has an interesting method of picking beers, since she doesn't really like beers she looks at the labels. This gives her a unique way of pulling some of the more interesting things of the shelf. While this method would probably not work in a more parochial setting, here in the Northwest where variety of brew houses almost exceeds that of denominations of churches and the number of beers exceeds the number of churches, it really succeeds.

People that tend to put effort into making their labels interesting show artistic flair, I am finding that they take the same approach in beer making, solid beer without the pretense of being anything more then what it is, an enjoyable experience.

To further explain my wife's proclivity to find good tasting beers, she does work in a wine shop and is pretty thorough in reading the labels on beer and have a general sense of the styles I like and aren't particularly fond of, the latter being fairly rare since the only thing I really don't go out of my way for are American style wheats.

She pulled the He'Brew previously reviewed and this little gem...

Nostradamus

http://www.specialtybeer.com/images/beer_NOSTRADAMUS.jpg

Oh, this one is tasty.

I was a bit dubious cracking into it, A Belgian Brown Ale, exactly what was I to expect? A New Belgian offer of mediocre style? A traditional Belgian Ale? An Americanized Brown? I am particularly fond of traditional Belgian styles with their complexities but this one I didn't have a read on.

Out of the bottle I would say this is a tad too carbonated and I let it rest for a bit before really taking my first pull. The complexity of the beer is quite evident in the nose but slightly masked by the volume of CO2 released. Brown it is with a density that can be appreciated in the glass and it has a consistent milky character partially due to the effervescence and just the wheat constituents of the grain bill.

Rich and tasty full mouth flavor hitting all the right notes for a Belgian dark ale. Clocking in at 9% the ABV really isn't noticeable except for the warming sensation. The flavor eased evenly with a proper balancing of bitterness and maltiness over time.

I really liked this beer when I first tasted it and I liked it even more by the time I had emptied the glass.

Try this beer, its a keeper. Thank you, hunny.

Brother B

Bittersweet Lenny R.I.P.A

Sweet Bunny selected Bittersweet Lenny R.I.P.A on her last visit for Brother B and I to imbibe.

It's hard not to like a "Chosen Beer" so cleverly labelled, "Warning: Contains Explicit Adult Material * 21+ Only" in homage to Lenny Bruce. This beer is "brewed with an obscene amount of malts and hops." This is no mere beer. This is no mild IPA. Its a double IPA with rye malts. Shmaltz Brewing boldy gives you a big beer with a big taste using the following malts and hops:

Malts: 2-row, Rye Ale Malt, Torrified Rye, Crystal Rye 75, Crystal Malt 65, Wheat, Kiln Amber, Caramel 70

Hops: Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe, Crystal, Chinook, Amarillo, Centennial. Dry Hopped with Amarillo and Crystal

The rye IPA is like a barley wine. It has a distinct carmel flavor with a slightly bitter after taste. I agree with the packaging, "Chutzpah never tasted so good." Go try one today.