Church of Beer

A belief to unite

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving tasting

The in laws just made there way back from Montana and they brought back some variety.

Belthian White- Harvest Moon Brewing. A beer once opened, smells of it proudly labelled spice. Coriander. Do I like Coriander? I don't know, but I like beer with made with spruce tree tips and I don't generally like spruce tree tips. So I dove in. The color was crisp and light, with the odor of a lighter beer to go with it. The beer is Coriander, followed by a hard to identify spice, but I would guess orange. It is a good beer, but not something I would consume regularly, due to the lightness and flavor. TRY

Dragon's Breath "Dark Heff Ale"- Bayern Brewing. A surprising beer MIL found at a brewpub in Montana. She was surrounded by locals ordering the Dragon's Breath and excited for me to taste it. The beer was a little weird, billed as a Dark Heff Ale, a lunatics experiment? No, this beer was great. A rich full flavored beer. It was unusual to poor such a dark heff. No hints of citrus, but almost a light brown mixed with the lightness of a heff. It a great smell to it, crisp and inviting. RECOMMEND

Black Widow Oatmeal Stout- Yellowstone Valley Brewing. It was a good dark beer. The smell was enticing. I couldn't wait to taste it. I was surprised how bitter the first drop on the tongue was which was followed by a smooth taste, that reminded me of mild chocolate mixed with mild coffee. I could taste a hint of licorice. The beer itself was also warming, but not because of alcohol. I like the beer, but found myself wanting the beer to be the second flavor, rather than the sharp first one. TRY it see if it is your type of brew.

Octoberfest Lager -Bayern Brewing. This was my least favorite beer. It tasted young and the color was dark for an Octoberfest. There was no odor or aroma. I actually was confounded after drinking the Dragon's Breath first, thinking this should be good, but it wasn't. I poured out the rest of the beer, not brave enough to finish it and eager to try the others. AVOID or get a better batch, I still have two let, maybe Brother Chris will like them.

Pigs Ass Porter-Harvest Moon. At first not much smell, good smooth, not rich or sharp. A roasty flavor. A good after taste, a London Style Porter, which can cause some apprehension. The warmer it got the more that aroma of roast came out. I let it sit and waited to see if the flavor would get better. It did, making me wish I had taken it out of the fridge and let it sit for eight minutes before drinking it (40-45 degrees). It was better than any London Style Porter I had ever had. RECOMMENDED.


The winner is........

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

JEWBELATION BAR MITZVAH

From Brother B:


JEWBELATION BAR MITZVAH - Shmaltz Brewing

Carmel and alcohol assault your senses on this fantastic limited time
release from Shmaltz. 13 Grains 13 Hops 13 ABV in Shmaltz' 13th year.

There are so many hop characteristics blending together I really can't
say that there is a predominant one, there is just a thorough hop
flavor across the malts without being over powering. Brother Jim you
need to try this one, Brother Mike needs to try it to an alt of his love
of Heavy Belgians.

At 13% I was sipping after my first pounder and feeling fat and sassy.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Whistler Brewing Company: Black Tusk Ale.

From Brother Adam:

I'd
heard about the Whistler Brewing Company for a while, and that they would be importing into Washington State soon, so I was excited to bring a six home to try.

This lovely beer developed a thick head as it poured, which calmed down into a thin, but visible layer after a minute or two. Though very dark in color, with just a little glimmer of deep amber around the edges, it is a beautiful clear reddish brown. Much like some of the English Porters I have had the good fortune of drinking. It has a very nice toasty biscuit aroma with just a little finish of coffee and honey.

The Black Tusk Ale has a lovely, soft malty sweetness, and a refreshing, light palate. It has just enough hops to back up the malt, but it is in no way forward. This ale has a rich flavor profile, matching its nose nicely, and following up with some really soft chocolate and wheat bread character.

I am very happy with this beer. It has a rich palate which lends itself to the colder winter months, a very nice light body, and an ABV (5%) which lends itself to easy drinking for thos
e of us in the Pacific Northwest who are used to stiffer brews. I look forward to the other 5 bottles, as well as trying out their other brews.

Url:
http://www.whistlerbeer.com/

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

WHA2

From Brother B:

Brother Chris with increasing confidence in all-grain brewing reproduced
his Wet Hop Ale with very few modifications. Reactions to the growler
went as follows...

Brother D - "Tasty"

Reverand Gum - (yes he is ordained and another brewer) "Light on the body
add a lighter crystal to support the wonderful hop character which
carried the grapefruit citris notes and had a wonderful fresh hop nose."

Brother B - "Aged well for a month and a half, solid carbination and good
head retention. The hop chararacter was thorough front to back with a
nice fade to bitter. I would still like to see a bit more body to it
but that is a personal preference. All said better then the first and
very drinkable. Chris you are a master."

Friday, November 20, 2009

Session Black

From Brother B:

Session Black - Full Sail

Full bodied lager that finishes clean. Different from Session Lager by the malty back that tastes somewhere between a porter and a lager. Reminds me very much of East European black lagers. I am not sure if I would prefer this over the Session Lager but I wouldn't turn it down.


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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Steam Train Porter

I have been devoted to my keg of beer and haven't had time to sample lately.
I did have a birthday and talked the Mrs into a local little beer shop to pick up a couple selections.
The first was Steam Train Porter from Snoqualmie Falls Brewing. I poured the Mrs a sample, so she could taste and I could observe it in a glass. (who wants to dirty two glasses?).

I sat down with the 22. The color was rich and dark. The aroma built up the anticipation for the beer, with it's dark, warm and smooth smell.
The flavor was great. The Mrs kept refilling her taster glass, saying "this is really good".
I agree, a "typical" porter with rich malts, including brown and chocolate. The beer was great, easy to drink, no sugary tinge and not heavy at all. This beer was great to the end. Pick up a bottle

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Monday, November 09, 2009

Black Ale

From Brother Jim:

Some friends came for dinner this weekend, and brought with them some beer to share: New Belgium’s (the folks who do Fat Tire) 1554 Enlightened Black Ale. The bottle states that it was based off of an “ancient” recipe found in an old library book. The verdict? Beer was just as delicious 500 years ago as it is now.

The beer was dark, but not as opaque as a porter or stout. It gave up a respectable head that quickly died down. The aroma is heavy on the coffee and caramel. In the mouth, the beer is surprisingly smooth. The carbonation was particularly nice – it made for a creamy mouthful without the density of a stout. It is perhaps best described as “medium bodied”, though full in the flavor department. The dominant flavors are chocolate with a touch of acidity. It has a really nice malt profile, nowhere near a Scotch ale, but enough for a tasty, satisfying full-mouth flavor. The hops are present and give it a dry finish, but don’t take center stage. Yum.

This was a big hit for both Sister Erin and I. A nice switch from the porters we’ve been drinking. Dark, satisfying, and fairly unique. We’ll definitely be drinking more of this, and encourage other brewers to spend more time in the library.


http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/1554

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Messiah Bold


Sister Mars know my fondness for Shmaltz, so she returned from the local grocer with a six pack of Messiah Bold Beers last week. I shared a few with Brother B. After tasting the beer, we both agree it has a full mouth taste with clean finish. All the flavor is on the front. It is not a Belgian Brown or a warmer, instead it has a brown sugar flavor. It's a good beer, but I am not a fan of brown. I probably won't buy another six pack, but if you like Browns, give it a try.

Cheers,
RD

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