Friday, January 25, 2008

BJCP + Beer Review: Iron Hill ESB


In order to both gain more street/beer cred and ramp up my beer knowledge, I'm taking a course with the Beer Judge Certification Program. Why would I want to take any sort of class after I graduated from college just last Spring? Well every week we just sit around an Iron Hill brewpub drinking beer and talking about its finer points. Yeah, it's real tough, and if things go according to plan I'll be an official beer judge by March. Talk about a resume builder.

I don't usually drink much as it's an hour's drive from home and my attention span decreases exponentially with increased alcohol consumption, but this week I had a particularly good brew worth mentioning.

ESB
Extra Special Bitter
Iron Hill Brewery (North Wales location)

A- / 4.25 [on a 1-5 scales]
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4.5

On-tap at the brewpub.

Man, it's hard to find an ESB this good. There's a subtle grassy hop note in the background of the aroma along with a hints of chocolate and big, creamy Ringwood character. That carries into the flavor with roasted caramel to make for a near perfect balance of the malt, hops, and yeast. Very drinkable and very tasty. I hope this is still on tap next time I'm in North Wales. Go drink this.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Beer Review: Cricket Hill East Coast Lager


East Coast Lager
American All-Malt Lager
Cricket Hill Brewing Co.

Overall: B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

A great pale lager that's relatively full-flavored and well-balanced. The malts are clean and biscuity while the hops are crisp with floral and citrus flavors. The malt is a touch grainy, but not in a bad way. Rather it just adds to the flavor. I found this to be a great pairing with an opening course at dinner or as a stand alone appetizer. Worth trying if you're into lagers.

I'm guessing "East Coast Lager" simply means this is a more balanced beer betweent he hops and malt, while West Coast-style beers are hop-heavy. I might also consider this an American pilsner as the malt flavors tend to fall in with the likes of German and Czech pilsners like Pilsner Urquell.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Homebrew: Belgian Amber Ale


After some interesting results I've had recently with my Belgians recently - a spicy pale ale and a funky lambic - so I decided to give the genre another shot with a beer inspired by a recent favorite of mine, Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale.

Here's the recipe:

7# Weyermann Pils
12 oz. Victory
12 oz. Biscuit
12 oz. Wheat
12 oz. Caramunich

1 oz. Challenger @ 60
1 oz. Saaz @ 30
1 oz. Saaz @ 5
1 oz. Herbsrucker @ 5
*Muslin bag used

Wyeast Activator Ardennes
OG: 1.059
FG: 1.008
IBU: ~40
ABV: 6.4%

Tasting Notes - 1/28/08 - Transfer to Secondary
Sweet and fruity with odd herbal flavors. This could get good or bad. The beer's been moved into the attic for two weeks of cold lagering.

Tasting Notes - 2/10/08 - Bottling
After two week of lagering in the 45-50F attic, this beer is fairly clear and the flavor has smoothed over to a nice, spicy mix of flavors including grassy hops and toasted malt. Yum. Should be ready to drink before the end of the month.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

More Beer: My Top 5 Beers of 2007


Now that every media outlet has published their top-whatever lists of 2007 and gotten that out of the way, I firgured its time to throw a list of top beers for 2007 down. This isn't anything terribly comprehensive, it just happens to be my favorite beers I drank in the last year. Self-indulgent? Probably. Delicious? Most definitely.

1) Surly Brewing Co. - Bitter Brewer - 4.5/5 [My highest rating to date]
appearance:4 | smell:3.5 | taste:5 | mouthfeel:5 | drinkability:5

On-tap at the Blue Nile.

Damn, I tried to come in skeptical on this one but it blew me away. It combines awesome hops with the mellow and subtle flavors of a true bitter. I'm knocked out that the true can separate. First a big fruity hops flavor with pineapple punch and citrus hit. Then really mellow vanilla and malt flavors shine through. This beer is deep - the flavors just keep coming. The only real fault I found is that the aroma didn't do much for me and there wasn't much lacing. Whatever on smell and appearance, this one tastes so good I dare say it might be the finest Surly yet.

I want more.

2) Southampton Publick House - Grand Cru - 4.5
appearance:4.5 | smell:4 | taste:5 | mouthfeel:4 | drinkability:4

Wow, this beer really impressed me and I can in fairly skeptical. I loved the balance between sweet malt and uncommonly assertive bitterness for the style. The flavor had lemon, spice, and funky cheese-like flavors, I also got vanilla, orange in there and even some grape in the initial aroma. I'm a little amazed this. It was spendy at $12 a bottle, but still one of the best Belgian beers I've ever had. Damn, find this.


3) Rogue Ales - Morimoto Imperial Pilsner - 4.45
appearance:4.5 | smell:4 | taste:4.5 | mouthfeel:5 | drinkability:4.5

On-tap at the Blue Tusk

This beer rocks, no question about it. I've been hunting good pilsners all summer and finally I find this and I'm blown away. It didn't even taste that big, it just tasted good. The hops standout, but don't dominate or overpower the beer. They're crisp, a little grassy, with citrus and herbs. The malt is pale with a touch of biscuit and that distinct slightly funky pilsner malt taste. It's perfectly balanced and wonderfully drinkable. I can imagine the only improvement being to add a little more malt character. But damn, this is good beer.


4) Goose Island - Bourbon County Stout - 4.4
appearance:4 | smell:4 | taste:4.5 | mouthfeel:5 | drinkability:5

Vintage 2007, 13% abv.

Easily the smoothest, tastiest ~13% beer I've ever had. Yes, it's a bit thick, but no more so than weaker double or imperial stouts. The aroma is rich with the bourbon which once on the palate, doesn't dominate, but compliments the strong, dark chocolate ad espresso flavors. Throw in a dash of oak and vanilla and you've got a hell of a beer. More please.


5) McKenzie Brew House - Saison Vautour - 4.4
appearance:4.5 | smell:4.5 | taste:4.5 | mouthfeel:3.5 | drinkability:4.5

2007 GABF Gold Medal Winner.

On-tap at the Malvern location. I'm told they brew this with a bit of rye, I don't know if I could taste that in the beer, but what I did taste was freakin' amazing. I'll just start by saying the only thing that seems off was the carbonation, the bubbles weren't fine like a good saison is. Mouthfeel aside, the flavor was all over the place, yet seemed balanced. It was sweet and bitter, funky and fruity, there's some spice, some white pepper and citrus rind. Yeah, just trust me that this is damn tasty. Find this beer while you can.

[Click images for credit]