TLDR Beer Club

[kidcolin]

Sorry all.. it's been a while since I've had a review, or even read this beast. I got some catching up to do.

Tonight, I sampled Urthel's Samaranth Quadruple. This is from memory of a few hours ago. I didn't take any notes, so this is a little lacking.

Came in a corked 750mL bottle. Poured it into a tulip glass. It pours a dark amber color. Lots of flavor in the nose. Alcohol and spices are abound, along with some deep fruits, notably cherry. It has a very healthy head with lots of retention.

It tastes much like it smells. The alcohol comes through nicely on top of the spices, yeast, and fruitiness. Nice balance of hops and malt. There's a fair amount of carbonation. As the beer warmed up a bit, I noticed the alcohol bite a bit more. In fact, when I first noticed this, I put the bottle back in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes while I finished my first glass.

All in all, a great beer. I enjoyed it with roasted chicken and some bread. I give it [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

[kidcolin]

Alright, I've got another review. This time something a little more unique. I was in SF yesterday with my sister and some friends and we stopped at a Japanese place for some Saturday happy hour. Many a drinks were had, but most were just Sapporo. However, this bottle caught my eye:



Hitachino Nest White Ale. It's brewed in Japan, but it seems to be along the same lines of classic Belgian White Ales. It's 5% ABV. I paid $7 per 21/oz bottle at the bar.

It pours the same color as a traditional white. Kind of a hazy straw and orange color. There was a little head to this beer, maybe 2 fingers worth, and there wasn't much lacing.

It's aroma was unique and very strong. Spicy with coriander and some citrus, but I think I picked up on some veggie influence, too. My guess is cucumber (editor's note: after writing this review I poked around beer advocate and I didn't find any veggie remarks. I could be off here).

It tasted very good. A variety of spices to go along with the crisp citrus flavor (mostly lemon). There's a little sourness in there, but not much. It has a very light consistency, almost creamy, and a good amount of carbonation. Goes down smooth and isn't very filling.

Overall, I think this is a [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] beer, maybe even 4.5. I liked it enough to buy 2 bottles of it. I'm going to try to find it again and just focus on the beer, as on this occasion it complimented a myriad of appetizers. I think there's more to this beer than my review from memory indicates.

[RunDownHouse]

Whoa, a Hitachino review! I was checking out a place in town I hadn't been to before, saw Hitachino Nest Celebration Ale, and had to give it a try. I was going to post pictures and reviews, but my computer with all the info died on Friday.

I thought it was ok. Maltier than I was expecting, but probably because I couldn't get Sierra's Celebration out of my head. From memory, I thought it was a little bit better than average, but probably not something I'd get again when there's so much other stuff out there to try.

[MrWookie]

Tonight, I'm going to review a new beer from Stone, their Vertical Epic 07.07.07. Apparently Stone has been releasing new brews to commemorate the triple dates, from 02/02/02 through 12/12/12. I've missed the first five, but I'm looking forward to trying this one and all the rest. I paid $8.99 for a 22oz bottle of 8.4% beer. The bottle bills this beer as blend of a saison and a tripel, and then they dumped in ginger, cardamom, and grapefruit, orange, and lemon peels. It certainly sounds exotic.



The beer pours a rich gold color. It's darker than any saison or tripel I've ever had. It's also clear, so it's not bottle conditioned like most tripels. The head is bubbly, but dissipated pretty quickly down to nothing.



The first thing I smell in this beer is: spice! I smell cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. There doesn't seem to be as much fruit or malt as I was expecting, but the spiciness is so strong that it might just be overpowering it. The flavor is similar. The ginger is strong and tasty, and the other spices are a nice compliment. There's a sweetness in the finish that I didn't notice at first behind the spice. However, there's not the same yeastiness, malt, or fruitiness I enjoy from a tripel. I'm going to award this beer [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 is tasty and unique, but it does feel like it's missing something to back up the spice. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

[MrWookie]

I have a few quick reviews tonight. One was from a beer I tried about a week ago but didn't review at the time, and two were from a bar over the weekend.

The beer I didn't review right away was the Wagner Valley Sled Dog Doppelbock from here in NY. It is a strong beer, 8.5% ABV. It was a clear darker brown with a slight reddish tinge and little head. It was a pretty disappointing beer, though. It was kinda sweet and syrupy without having a whole lot else going for it. It was better than the Sam Adams attempt at a doppelbock, but it still wasn't something I'd buy again. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].

I'm thinking that bocks and doppelbocks are two styles of beer I'll have to investigate this fall and winter. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but I've been disappointed by some feeble American attempts.

Anyway, onward. I was in Minneapolis this weekend, and at the bar I hit up, I was lucky enough to find that they had some Bell's brews on tap. The first one I tried was the Two Hearted Ale. I was ordering blind at the time, but this turned out to be their IPA. Looking it up now, this beer has a pretty mighty 7% ABV, at least by the standards of this style. I was very impressed. It was a little light on head, but the head stuck around pretty well. The flavor was outstanding. The hops were delicious, with great floral and citrusy flavor without being overpoweringly bitter. The citrus was surprisingly strong. It wasn't as fruity as, say, a tripel, but it was stronger than most IPAs. There was a decent grain flavor hiding behind the hops, too. This was probably the best standard IPA I've had to date. [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].

For my second beer, I was trying to decide between a bottle of Bell's Kalamazoo stout, which I was pretty sure I'd like, and a draught of Bell's Oberon, which I had no idea what style it was. I opted for the draught, and unfortunately, it was a mistake. It turned out to be an American hefeweizen. Honestly, though, by American hefeweizen standards, it was pretty decent. Naturally, it had none of the banana, clove or other interesting flavors of its distant Bavarian relatives, but it did have a fairly tasty malt and a slight yeastiness to it. It was a cloudy brew. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. In all honesty, this was probably the best American hefeweizen I've had, disregarding Brooklyn's, which actually made a decent attempt to get the flavors in the Bavarian hefes. That doesn't mean that I have any love for this style of beer, though.

[stormstarter28]

Wookie,
In regards to your comment about bocks/doppelbocks, I suggest you try Ayinger Celebrator (if you haven't already). It's a German doppelbock, and is awesome. I tried it for the first time tonight, and I'm not much for writing reviews, but I don't think anyone who appreciates beer could dislike it.

[MrWookie]

Duly noted. I know for a fact that Beers of the World carries that one, so when I get some doppelbocks, I'll definitely get that one. I've liked the beer I've gotten from Ayinger so far, albeit with one dud, but I'd trust them to do a good job.

[MaxxDaddy]

Two Hearted is also my favorite IPA...makes me want to live in Michigan. Sad about the Oberon though, I heard it was a decent attempt at an American Wheat beer. Speaking of wheat beers, I'll give a review on my new favorite summer beer: 1809 Berliner Style Weisse. $5 for a 500 ml bottle, 5% ABV.



This isn't my first Berliner Weisse, but it it the first that wasn't bastardized by too much raspberry syrup. Apparently this style of beer was thought to be too acidic and sour for some, so to offset that, people added raspberry or woodruff syrup to it. Anywho, on to my review. Pours a pale, cloudy gold with quickly receding white head. It had an aroma of lactic sourness, citrus, and yeastiness. Upon tasting, the sourness immediately comes into play, followed by lemon tartness. Then it beautifully segues into typical wheat/yeasty flavors. The finish is pretty yeasty as well. At one point after having taken a sip, I could still taste lemons in the corner of my mouth. Pretty awesome. Had a lively, carbonated mouthfeel, which is great for these summer months. I could kick back in the sun with two or three of these and be a real happy camper. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[MrWookie]

Nice review. After all the beer we've reviewed in here, it's not every day we get a review for a completely new style of beer. I don't recall if Beers of the World carries this specific beer or any like it, but I'll definitely look next time I'm out there.

[stormstarter28]

Beer question, maybe someone can help me figure it out (I'm looking at you Wookie). Just tried Franziskaner Heffe-Weisse; on Beeradvocate.com it is listed at 5% ABV, but on my bottle, it didn't have an ABV, but did say "malt liquor". I was under the impression that malt liquor was listed on beers that are 8-9% ABV, and I thought my Franziskaner tasted far too strong to be 5%. Can anyone explain? Thanks