Archive for the ‘Beer Reviews’ Category

July5

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

By: Jake

Summer is in full swing, the Regatta is over, Pirates are in 1st place, 90+ degree weather and boat loads of firework events. With the weather being so hot and humid lately I set out on finding some cool, crisp, refreshing beers on tap around town. My first stop was The Shiloh Grill on Mt Washington. Like its Shadyside sister restaurant Harris Grill, Shilo has a decent tap and bottle selection.

Today, with the weather in the mid 90s, I ordered the Dogfish Head Festina Peche. This is a seasonal brew from Dogfish using real peaches. The style is what they call “neo-Berliner Weisse.” A Berliner Weisse is known by its extreme tartness. By adding peaches to the brew, the fruit flavor and aroma balance the tartness. Do not be worried if you start humming “Peaches” by Presidents of the USA as this is a common side effect….Movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches.

Appearance:  A Hazy golden straw colored brew.

Aroma:  Peaches with the under tones of a weisse beer.  Mainly peaches.  Millions of Peaches, Peaches for me.

Taste:  The taste is still tart and hits you on your tongue right away. The tartness is quickly overtaken with the sweet peach flavor. They say they use hops, but I couldn’t detect them at 8 IBUs. My guess is a lite amount of fuggles or some other German style low A.A. hop.  The beer is good cold and slightly warm. The peach flavors are more forward at slightly warmer temperatures.

Mouth feel:  Crisp, clean, refreshing. Everything you want when it’s hot out.

Drinkability:  Easy and at 4.5% you can enjoy more than one. Millions of peaches peaches for free.

Check it out if you haven’t already.  It is a fruity beer, but made more interesting since the base style is the tart/sour Berliner Weisse,  which is a change of pace from many of the fruit flavored American wheat beers on the market today.

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June27

Happy B-day Deschutes Brewery

By: Jake

Deschutes Brewing, Bend Oregon, turns 24 today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  To celebrate they are throwing parties at their Bend and Portland Brew Pubs.

24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case and 24 years of Deschutes Brewery’s “damn tasty beer!”  To celebrate this special occasion there will be live music, good food, barrel-aged beers, firkins of fun, give-aways every 24th minute and local’s specials on the pint-of-the-day, Bachelor Bitter! The beer that started it all!

I know what you are saying, “Jake, wtf! Who cares? We can’t fly across the country to the party nor can we get their beer here. Why do you talk about them so much?”  Well because they are awesome. And one day they will expand to PA. And maybe if we ask real nice and have a great craft beer event we can lure them to come to Pittsburgh. I mean they already attend Philly Beer Week, why not Pittsburgh Beer Week?  If you had the pleasure of trying their beers you understand my excitement.

In honor of Deschutes B-day, I will be enjoying their summer ale, Twilight. Twilight is a lighter, full-flavored, aromatic brew good on warm long summer days. In addition to the solid malt foundation, Amarillo hops are used for flavors every bit as intriguing as bigger, heavier ales. “A back porch, lingering sunset wonder.” Try pairing it with Salt and Pepper Grilled King Salmon with a Lemon Twist or Marinated Calamari Salad. Are you a home brewer? Check out how to make a clone Twilight.

Again, Happy B-day and congrats on 24 great years!  What’s your favorite Deschutes Brew?


Cheers!

Posted in: Beer in the news, Beer Reviews0 comments

April30

Too Many Bottle Tuesdays : Pauwel Kwak

By: Tim McFarland

Brewery Bosteels Pauwel Kwak may be best known outside of it’s native Belgium as that beer with the crazy glass.  The glass is shaped like an hourglass or a yard glass but requires it’s own stand.  Belgian beer fans will know this as a unique beer that combines some swee, malty character with a slight hop bitterness not found in most Belgians.  The experience of drinking Kwak is immensely increased when using this unique glassware.

 

A Cold Kwak on a Snowy Pittsburgh Afternoon

Pauwel Kwak (8.1% Alcohol)

Appearance :  The head is impressive helped by the unique shape of the glass, clings all along to the glass.  Color is a deep orange-brown.

Aroma:  Slightly sweet aroma with notes of caramel.

Taste :   Slight citrus and banana flavors with a decidedly sweet finish.  The initial taste is not overwhelming in any flavor.

Mouthfeel :  Somewhat thick but good amount of carbonation does lighten this beer in the mouth.

Overall :  If you get the chance to try this beer at a reasonable price and in the correct glass, seize the opportunity.  However, there is nothing that makes this beer really stand out.  It lacks the depth of flavor profile that you would find in a great Belgian Dubbel or Quadrupel.  It lacks the malt character and bitterness to be a Belgian Pale.  Overall, It’s a beer that can’t really decide what it wants to be.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Out and About in the Burgh0 comments

March20

Bourbon Barrel Chocolate Porter

By: Jake

This fall I decided to brew a chocolate porter.  The recipe was very similar to my already established porter recipe.  The original Porter, was on the roasty and chocolate side and included a healthy helping of hops.  The next step, for me, was to increase the chocolate taste profile.  Being the nerd that I am, I wanted to change one variable and understand how it impacted a tried and true recipe.  I fought over weather to increase the chocolate malt addition or to use a chocolate additive.  After doing some homework I learned that everyone had pros and cons to each approach.  Now, take those pros and cons and multiple them by 10 and that is the number of opinions on what chocolate additive to add.  Finally the decision was made to use a chocolate additive.  This was based on not wanting to try and brew with more chocolate malt in a partial extract brew in fear of losing valuable fermentable sugars in my small brew set up.  Mainly due to the equipment I use to brew.  So which chocolate additive to use?  Imagine standing at Giant Eagle staring at the chocolate baking supplies and trying to decide on which to use.  I swore a long time ago against coca powder because I believed it added a chalky texture to the beer and an unnatural dry mouth feel.  So what do I do, I decide to use coca powder.  Why?Well  some high respected blogs swore by it over other approaches.  From my limited understanding using milk chocolate or baking chocolate can introduce a fatty substance that could potential surround yeast cells not allowing them to eat sugars and poop ethanol and CO2.  I value fermentation above a dry aftertaste. To combat my fears with using coca powder I decided to use less than all the blogs said to use and to limit the time the beer is in contact with the powder to a minimal.

Malt Bill:

  • Roasted Malt
  • Chocolate Malt
  • Crystal Malt
  • Dry and Liquid Extract Malt

Hop Bill:

  • Nugget
  • Cascade
  • Tettnanger

Yeast:

  • Ale yeast

OG = 1.060

FG = 1.020

%Alc by Vol = 6%

The fun part was taking a growler sized sample of the chocolate porter and transforming it into the Bourbon Barrel Chocolate Porter.  This was all done without harming any bourbon barrels.  I used oak chips that had been soaked in bourbon for several weeks.  The bourbon soaked oak chips were added to the growler of chocolate porter and maybe a little extra bourbon made it’s way into the growler, but not much.  The growler was then left in the basement at about 35-45F for 2 months.

After 2 months it’s time to tap into the growler and test it.  The taste test was done in parallel with the chocolate porter.

Appearance: Both brews were very dark with little to no transparency.  The bourbon porter had little to no head with no lacing.  The porter had a dark brown head and slight lacing.

Aroma: The porter had significant more aroma.  It’s aroma was full of chocolate and roasty malt.  The bourbon porter was dull to the nose.  Thinking this is related to the poor head retention and carbonation.

Taste: The porter again was much more flavorful.  The bourbon porter was a let down.  It was a dull, muted, chocolate taste with a very very very fine hint of bourbon booze.

Mouthfeel: Both brews went down easy and had a nice feel.  The bourbon porter had little carbonation and could stand to use more for a better feel and taste and aroma.

Overall:  The chocolate porter turned out ok, still not a fan of coca powder and plan to change that in the new brew.  The bourbon porter will also under go some updates.  One of which will be the conditioning of the oak chips and the aging process in the ‘bourbon barrel’.  I hope to use a different container where the beer and can have better surface contact with the oak chips and the bourbon.  Thinking of using a keg and laying on its side or stealing a bourbon barrel.  Know where I can find a bourbon barrel in Pittsburgh?  Another change will be to do more homework and reference the Radical Brewing book.

This was a disappointment, but still fun and enjoyable.  I’m excited to try out the new ideas and see how it impacts the final brew.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Home Brewing0 comments

March13

Saranac IPA Review

By: Jake

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a plethora of Saranac sample cases on the shelves of local distributors.  I tried the year round sampler and the winter sampler.  This time I went for the What Ales You case.  This includes the White IPA, IPA, Pale Ale, Stout, Irish Red and the Scottish Ale.  Tonight we will focus on the IPA.

Appearance:  Straw colored, nice head (especially from a bottle pour), transparent, with minimal lacing.

Aroma:  A mostly malty aroma.  Appears this brew was not dry hopped or heavily dry hopped, due to the lack of a hop/flowery aroma.

Taste:  A well balanced mid ranged IBU beer.  I call mid range anywhere from 40-60, only because I’m a hop head.  This is a good example of an American IPA.  There is a presence of citrus and earthy hop usage. The bitterness level is mild in my opinion.

Mouthfeel:  Very smooth, very drinkable.  The bittnerness comes in late and hits on the back sides of your tongue.  The carbonation is decent for a bottle.


If you are new to IPAs or enjoy a classic American IPA this is a good brew.  New to IPAs give this one a try.  The low bitterness level should make it enjoyable for you.  Give this brew a try with seafood, pizza or Mexican food. 

And as always, let us know what you think of it.  I’ve never paired this beer with seafood, so would be interested in hearing how that goes.

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March7

2009 House Red Wine Review

By: Jake

House Red Wine 2009

  • 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 4% Syrah and 2% Petit Verdot
  • Produced and bottled by The Magnificent Wine Company, Walla Walla Washington USA

Here is a great example of a solid red table wine that is less that $15.  I have seen it on sale a few places around town for even less.  The wine was paired with a pasta and red sauce.  Not a fancy dinner by any means.  More like it’s Tuesday night and I don’t feel like cooking type of dinner.

The grapes come from the Columbia Valley, WA.  The website notes that the success with vinifera grapes is due in large measure to the state’s unique geography.  The vineyards are planeted on the east side of the mountains to protect the plants from the very wet climate of the NW.  Here the plants only see 6-8 inches of rain per year.  Having less rain allows the vineyard managers to control vine vigor to promote full grape development.

This is a 2009 vintage.  The plants budded a little later than normal.  This did not affect the grapes due to the long hot summer that followed.  This kind of summer weather allowed the grapes to have accelerated growth.  Due to the accelerated growth the grapes were harvested prior to a fall October frost.

This wine has a great balance of traditional red wine grapes.  Combined with the summer weather these grapes provide a fruit flavor of cherry and strawberry.  Yet the wine had a long lingering fruit finish with a dry finish.  I would compare this to a Pinot Noir.  Very fruitful, yet finishes a little dry.  This is  not sweet wine by any stretch.  Lastly, the legs on this wine were awesome.

Give the wine a try and pair it with lasagna, pizza, grilled salmon or even roasted root vegetables.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Out and About in the Burgh0 comments

January15

TDY Visits Lake Placid Part 2

By: Jake

After a long day of bobsledding we stopped by the Adirondack Brewing Co.  The restaurant associated with the brewery is a little more high end than your typical brew pub.  The food is great here.  The Clam Chowder really hit the spot. The menu is full of surf and turf options, all of which looked awesome.

The beer list included: Haystack Blonde Ale, Ausable Wulff Red Ale, Cloud Splitter BelgianThe Red Ale is a good solid brew.  It was amber in color with a rich malty taste.  The Hefeweizen is a traditional German Hefe, you know what that tastes like.  The Belgian Strong Ale is a high alcohol example of a Belgian.  They use Belgian candi sugar so the taste is sweet with a dry finish and a hint of alcohol.  Strong Ale, Hefeweizen, Whiteface Stout, and John Brown Pale Ale.  After we sampled all the brews, Whiteface Stout and the Pale Ale stood out.

Whiteface Stout has won multiple GABF awards for foreign-style stout. Huge amounts of roast and chocolate malts give this brew a very robust opaque color.  The malt bill also contributes flavors of chocolate, roast, coffee, and Espresso.  This is a medium to full bodied brew that has 7.6% alcohol to balance out the roast flavors.  We drank a lot of these.

John Brown Pale Ale is a classic west coast pale ale hopped with a ton of Cascade hops. The beer is then dry hopped with cascade whole hops in the fermenter at over a pound per barrel. The dry hopping produces a sharp, crisp citrus aroma for this hop lovers beer.  This brew had a much bigger hop taste than the traditional pale ale, which was a pleasant surprise.

If you are ever up in the area stop by for a brew.  They also have a few seasonal selections throughout the year.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Brewery Visits, Road Trips0 comments

January5

TDY Visits Lake Placid Part 1

By: Jake

Lake Placid, NY has hosted the winter Olympics twice, 1932 and 1980.  One of the more memorable, if not the most memorable, event in US Olympic history took place here in 1980.  Of course I’m talking about the US Men’s Hockey team beating USSR.  This game gave us a great speech from Coach Herb Brooks (kid version here):

Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here, tonight. One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with ‘em. Tonight, we stay with ‘em, and we shut them down because we can! Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players — every one of ya. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time — is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearin’ about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ‘em! This is your time!

So what does this have to do with beer?  Absolutely nothing.  Currently Lake Placid is part of La Nina, hence no snow, but the beer is still flowing.  We frequented may local watering holes and sampled our fair share of local brews.  Two breweries sit in town; Lake Placid Brewing Company and Adirondack Brewing.  We will focus on Lake Placid Brewing first.

The Lake Placid Brewery brew pub is along side the shores of Mirror Lake in the town of Lake Placid.  It’s a cool two story building with lots of hearty wood and beer paraphernalia on the walls.  The first floor had a cool, dark wood bar that was hosting a santa party when we were there.  The second floor had more tables and a fireplace.  Very relaxing place to grab a brew and food.

On tap they had the everyday selections of: Ubu Ale, 46er Pale Ale, Lake Placid IPA and Moose Island Ale.  The seasonal selections this time of year were: High Peaks Hefeweizen and Lake Placid Winter Lager.

Ubu Ale – The is the flag ship beer for the brewery.  Named after a dog who had a great nose for beer and was a staple at the brewery.  This beer is smooth and very malty with a slight hint of hops, but mainly malty.  The website says English hops are used.

46er Pale Ale and Lake Placid IPA – Both beers are very similar.  I believe the only difference between the two brews is the amount and type of hops used.  Both appear to have the same malt flavor and finish.  The Pale ale used fuggle hops while the IPA was more citrusy.

Lake Placid Winter Lager – A very dark copper pour with a great head.  A nicely spiced brew, typical winter beer spices, ginger and a malty nutty taste.  Light body with a nice warming effect, good for cold winter nights after skiing all day.

Keep your eyes open for some Lake Placid bottles around town.  I have seen Ubu and the IPA on the shelves of some bottle shops.

Check back for Part 2 of TDY Visits Lake Placid.  Part 2 will include Adirondack Brewing and other local brews we found on tap around town.

 


Posted in: Beer Reviews, Brewery Visits, Road Trips0 comments

January3

TMBT : Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout

By: Jake

Since moving into a new house, I now have ample space to collect all sorts of bizarre/seasonal offerings.  What does this really mean?  Probably more Too Many Bottle Tuesdays as I dig around just to see what I can find out in the beer ether.  This week’s installment comes to us courtesy of Southern Tier with their ambitious new stout that seeks to bring some of the decadent flavor of Creme Brulee to your drinking experience.

Souther Tier Creme Brulee Stout

Appearance : Jet black in color with a small caramel colored head.  The head has a nice dark brown tint belying the ricness of flavor that one would expect.

Aroma : Monster smells of caramel and vanilla.  The aroma is intense.   At this point without having tasted the beer, the drinker is promised rich tapestry of flavors just from the impressive aroma and appearance.

Taste : And….The Creme Brulee Stout cashes this hefty check.  This beer is extremely rich, just like the dessert. Vanilla and  caramel flavors abound through out the stout.  The sweet flavors mixed with traditional dark malts leave a feeling of sweet syrupyness.  The vanilla flavor feels almost like a punch in the face.

Mouthfeel :  Thick and syrupy.  This feels like a meal in a glass.  The heaviness puts a limit on the amount that you might want to drink in one sitting.

Overall : Certainly an interesting beer that has it’s place in the “I can’t believe they brewed that category.”  This is wonderful to share and keep for a special occasion.  Impress your friends that fancy themselves wine experts with this complex concoction that challenges the perception of what a beer can be.  Serve with Creme Brulee or a decadent cake/torte for a real treat!

 

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December27

What are you drinking?

By: Jake

With the Holiday season in full swing what are you drinking?  Do your tastes change with the seasons?  IPA, Pales, Lagers, Stouts, Porters…what?

Personally I’ll drink anything anytime, but something seems so right about drinking a hearty brown, stout, porter or holiday spice beer this time of year.  It seems like there hasn’t been a lot of dark beers on tap to start winter.  Luckily more and more are showing up in bars around town.   Below are a few beers you can find on tap at some local watering holes.  Give them a try and let us know what you think.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout – Newport, OR

  • Ebony in color with a rich creamy head, earthy flavor and a mellow, chocolate finish.

 

Great Divide Yeti – Denver, CO

  • A subtle oak and vanilla character with an intense chocolate, roasted coffee malt flavor and hugely assertive hop profile.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dark Horse Oatmeal Stout – Marshall, MI
  • This beer is full bodied with hints of chocolate, roasted barley, coffee flavors and a nice creamy head.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
East End Snow Melt – Pittsburgh, PA
  •  A rich malty, deep ruby-red winter ale with a touch of brown sugar.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Troegs Mad Elf – Hershey, PA
  • The combination of Cherries, Honey, and Chocolate Malts delivers gentle fruits and subtle spices. Fermented and aged with a unique yeast, this ruby red beer has significant warming strength.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sixpoint Diesel Stout – Broklyn, NY
  • Deep roasted flavor and toffee sweetness with cleansing citrus and grassy hop bitterness.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Out and About in the Burgh2 comments

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