Beer Review: Houten Kop

Here's a delicious Belgian amber I got from Santa (thank god he has good taste).

Houten Kop
Belgian Pale Ale
Brouwerij Strubbe

B+ / 4.2
appearance: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 5 | drinkability: 5

Poured into my Hennepin stem glass it's a mostly clear amber with a fluffy white head. The aroma reminds me of a chardonnay (but better) at first with a slightly acidic and sweet biscuit aroma - nice in a different sort of way. The flavor is a subtle and well-balanced mix of caramel, apple sugar candy, bubblegum, white grapes, herbal/perfume-like hops and yeast. Really, this is what Belgian beer is all about. It's a little funky, but finely balanced with an array of aromas and flavors. A must-try for Belgian pale ale fans.

Beer Review: Carlsberg Beer - How Beer Gets Skunked

This beer is another example of why green bottles are a bad idea. The mixture of a low flavor profile with skunked hops (green glass allows light to pass through, which breaks down chemicals from the hops to create another chemical that's essentially the same as that released from skunk glands) create a fairly unpleasant experience as the malt can't hide the skunk.

overall: 2.15/5
appearance: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | mouthfeel: 2 | drinkability: 2.5

This beer is trying to taunt me, telling me I don't need any malt flavor in my beer. Regardless, I'll do my best to keep an objective opinion while reviewing.

The beer starts off with a medium, traditional Euro-skunk a la green bottle. The aroma clears up after about 5 minutes to a very mellow extra pale grains and grassy hops with only a touch of skunk. The flavor follows with an almost tasteless sweet flavor that reminds me of a blander version of Heineken, and mild mix of skunk and noble hops.

Men's Health Living

I want to take a quick break from beer to talk about some of the other work I do. Currently my gig at Men's Health is just about over, but with production calendar running at least two months ahead, I'm just starting to see my best work come out.

Here's a link to my first real feature. BAM! A lovely ~1000 word piece in the new Men's Health Living on starting over in life. Rich Roll, the subject of the piece, was on track to become one of the most powerful lawyers in L.A., but he gave up the power and (most of) the money so he could start loving life again.

Currently it's on the front of MensHealthLiving.com, so check it out before my brief spotlight fades.

Beer Review: Saranac Imperial Stout

Well this one was a disappointment. I always appreciated Saranac's cheap, yet decent-tasting beer. At 9% abv this one might just need some mellow-out time like Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, which I recommend cellaring for 18 month before consumption.

overall: 3.15
appearance: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | mouthfeel: 2.5 | drinkability: 3

Right after the pour the aroma starts with rich espresso followed by fruity, floral hops. The first aftertaste, however, is a bit chalky. What's up with that? The aroma is interesting to say the least, with biscuit (and almost cracker-like) malts with smooth chocolate. The flavor, however, is harsh like there's too much black grains, without much substantial flavor. The bitterness is unmatched by any tasty malts, leaving it unbalanced.

In summary, aroma=good, taste=not good.