TLDR Beer Club

[Kneel B4 Zod]

so I am going to do some testing of Belgians vs. US equivalents. do these groupings sound right?

Chimay Blue vs. Ommegang

Duvel vs Allagash Grand Cru

Saison Dupont vs Hennepin

[MrWookie]

I haven't had Duvel, so I can't speak for that one, but I was under the impression it was like a light, golden ale? If so, it's not a good opponent for the Allagash. Other than that, your pairings are spot on.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't had Duvel, so I can't speak for that one, but I was under the impression it was like a light, golden ale? If so, it's not a good opponent for the Allagash. Other than that, your pairings are spot on.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, that's what the Duvel is. what would be a better natch?

[MrWookie]

I went poking around on Duvel's website to see what kind of beer it is. It looks to be a classic tripel. Consequently, I'd put it head-to-head with Allagash's tripel, Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde (Canada), Ommegang's Rare Vos, or, if you feel like blowing it out of the water, Southampton's Grand Cru. Allagash's Grand Cru was unlike most Belgian ales I've had - it was of a different color. Here's my review of it, w/ pics. I honestly don't know of another American beer that could fill in for the Ommegang against Chimay Blue, but you could consider using the saison from either Southampton or Flying Dog, both of which were solid, if for some reason you didn't want or couldn't find the Hennepin.

[MrWookie]

OK, it's been much, much too long since I've done a beer review in here. I have several tonight, though, one full, and a few minis. I just got back from Beers of the World, so I'll have more to come over the next few weeks. I got some Maibocks, couple fruit beers, another from Southampton, and a couple odds and ends. My real coup though was that I found that BotW had Allagash's White on sale for roughly 45% off. A case cost me less than a case of Blue Moon! I bought two [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

For tonight, I'm gong to review a new (or at least, new to BotW) offering from Dogfish Head, their Immort Ale. I paid $4.99 for a single 12 oz bottle of a whopping 11% beer. They don't offer much of a description of this variety other than that I should expect flavors of maple, vanilla, and oak.



The beer pours a clear reddish brown with a respectable head. The head dissipates fairly quickly, though.



The smell of this beer is fairly subtle. I smell mostly a sort of maple-syrupy sweetness, almost like an English-style barley wine. The flavor, though, caught me off guard. It actually does taste something like a mild English barley wine, but there's a powerful flavor of oak and smoke that I didn't detect in the aroma. The alcohol is noticeable, too. This beer is almost like drinking Scotch -- some sweetness, smokiness, woodiness, although it doesn't have the peat flavor. The closest beer I've had to this one is Rogue's Smoke Ale, but this beer has more to it than just the smoke. It's tough to give this beer a rating. I know for sure that some people absolutely will not like this beer, but lovers of Scotch or lovers of English barley wines looking for a change might really dig it. I'm going to give it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's good, and people looking for something new to try should give this a whirl. However, it's pretty expensive, and I can't say I'd be in the mood for this sort of beer often.

[MrWookie]

OK, now for some mini reviews. I've been running bad at poker lately, so w/o that contribution to my Booze and Loose Women fund, I'd been drinking cheaper beer. Still, I managed to find a few decent ones.

Blue Moon's Honey Moon Summer Ale: This was a pretty decent beer for the price. The honey flavor was nice, and it had a little fruit and spice to go with it. I might like this a hair better than regular Blue Moon. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

These next beers were all found in Saranac's summer pack. I've already reviewed the Pomegranite Wheat (not very good), so on to the rest.

Saranac's Hefeweizen: A big surprise for an American Hefeweizen. It smells almost identical to the real McCoy. It's flavor was a little more subdued, though. Still, it managed to pull out the banana and clove flavors and avoid being yet another crappy American Hefe. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

Saranac's Belgian White: This was decent, but it wasn't as good of an imitation of the original as the Hefeweizen. I like Blue Moon better [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Saranac's Golden Pilsner: I wasn't excited by the prospect of finding this in their summer pack, but surprisingly, it did have some good hop flavor. It wasn't much, but it kept it well out of the realm of cheap plonk beer. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Saranac's Koelsch: This, on the other hand, was a pretty dull lager. Sam Adams is better. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

Saranac's Summer Ale: The best of the bunch here. Appealing fruit and spice flavors, if not much malt behind them. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], just shy of 3.

[MrWookie]

Tonight, I'll review Ithaca's White Gold, part of their Excelsior series. Ithaca is a small brewery in NY in the city of the same name. They do, however, put out my favorite red hop bomb to date, their Cascazilla. This Excelsior series is their attempt to get into the premium brews from their more typical microbrew line up. I paid $8.95 for a 750 mL bottle. It packs a respetable 8% ABV. I guess this is something like Southampton's Double White ale.



The beer pours a nice light cloudy gold. Unfortunately, when I swirled the yeast sediment into the beer, it came off in chunks rather than dissolving into the more pleasing homogeneous opacity of some bottle-conditioned beer.



The beer doesn't smell as spicy as I'd hope a Belgian white would be. The flavor is a little disappointing. It's fairly sour and dry compared to the expected sweet and spicy flavors I've come to associate with this style of beer. The malt is fairly thin, and I don't taste the yeastiness as much, either. It's not bad, and I do like the lemon flavor and the sourness for a change. There's a little hoppiness in there, too. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's decent, but it doesn't really blow me away. I probably won't be buying it again.

[MrWookie]

It's the summertime, and consequently, I've been drinking a lot of lighter beers. Too many, in fact. It's time for a change of pace. I picked up a bottle of Southampton's Imperial Porter, the last Southampton brew that Beers of the World carries. It ran me a fairly modest $5.29 for a 22 oz bottle. The bottle didn't indicate the ABV, but after a little research, Beer Advocate reported it at 7.5%. I'm actually a little skeptical of this, though. As I'm writing this review, the beer has hit me pretty solidly. I would have guessed 8-9%.



I poured the beer more aggressively than I do most beers, but I know that porters tend to be light on head. I coaxed a decent one out of this beer, though. It has a trace of head that has persisted through my drinking, which is more than can be said of many beers of this type. It's the usual dark brown color. Light gets through, but only around the edges of my glass.



The beer smells, well, pretty mild, much more than I was expecting. The flavor is also lighter than expected. I taste a dark roasted malt, the alcohol, and a hit of an almost fruity sweetness. The hopping is fairly light. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's good, but I liked the Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog better, I'd say. It's not as hoppy, and its malt isn't as rich. Considering how much I've liked Southampton beers, this was a disappointment. Stick to their Belgian styles, I suppose.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

After my recent trip to Belgium, I came back inspired to taste test a couple Belgians vs. their American 'equivalents'. here are 2 I have done recently. these aren't full-fledged reviews of each, but more of a comparison between the 2.
tonight I did Chimay Blue vs. Ommegang (brewed in USA):



as you can probbaly see, the Ommegang pours darker and with a bigger head. perhaps that had something to do with my glassware, I need to buy some proper glasses. anywho, I taste tasted with a friend, and we came away with similar yet different conclusions. We both agreed that these were superior, excellent beers. We both agreed that that Chimay (especially when left to warm to 50 or so) had a lot more yeast/wheat taste, and more spiciness like you might find in a nutmeg beer. The Ommegang tastes fruiter, I picked up some apricots maybe? that's what we agreed on. He liked the Ommegang better, while I couldn't figure out which one I liked better. I do know that the Ommegang costs $5.99 and the Chimay $10.99, so I will rarely buy buy le blue. Sorry Old World.

about a week ago, we tried a similar test. Saison Dupont vs. Hennepin, brewed by the guys who brew Ommegang. The Saison is on the right.


The Dupont clearly looks like a fuller beer, and it does have a whole lot more yeasty taste than the US version. I like it a lot. The Hennepin was a crowd pleaser b/c it tasted a bit crisper. 2/3 of my buddies preferred it to the Dupont, I think b/c they weren't used to the wheat/yeast taste thats evident in a lot of Belgians. again, I couldn't really decide, I liked both. I do know that this style isnt my favorite, and the Hennepin at $3 cheaper is a far better deal.

coming soon: Westvleteren!

[MrWookie]

Oh no! I typed up a big review for Allagash's Hugh Malone ale. My pics:

[image]http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=allagashhughmalone001fs3.jpg]

[image]http://img473.imageshack.us/my.php?image=allagashhughmalonemolecwl1.jpg]



At this point, I'm too drunk to retype the full review. However, this was a good beer that I award [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's in the same genre as Arrogant bastard, and it packs 8.5% ABV. However, it cost me almost $17 for a 750 mL bottle, and that's too much for a great, but not ridiculous, beer.