Site Upgrade

I will be using my four day weekend to put some site changes and upgrades into place.  Next week should see the debut of two or three new series.  I hope to also use the weekend to revamp the page layout, new indexing, and improve the user experience.    Some of the upgrades will start to show up over the weekend, and I do not anticipate any downtime.  See you next year!

Christmas Ale Update

I know you all remember the post I did on Northeast Ohio Christmas beers.  If you forget go here to check it out.  Well I added an update to the bottom.  Here is the update so you do not need to go through the whole thing again.

Update:  My cousin, who has been known to buy Great Lakes Christmas Ale by the case, preferred the Frosted Frog.  He agreed the Frosted Frog had a bolder flavor than Great Lakes.

Also, we had one Frosted Frog left from Thanksgiving, and my mother picked up several new bottles from the brewery a week before Christmas.  Dad and I poured the old bottle first.  Even though it was kept refrigerated we both thought the flavor was not as bold as we remembered and it reminded us of the aged version we previously tried.  We followed that up with a fresh bottle and it matched our recollections exactly.  Either we somehow got a bad bottle or Frosted Frog ages quickly.  I hesitate to use the word deteriorate, but it is clearly not the same beer it was just a month prior.  This confirms my suspicion that freshness is extremely important when it comes to Hoppin' Frog.

Why Do Brewpubs Sell Macro Lager?

Today feels like a Monday since I have been out of town so here is a tough topic to get the week off to a tough start.

Every time I walk into a brewpub I take a look at what beer is on the menu.  At Breckenridge in Denver I saw Miller Light, at Boulder Brewing's airport location I saw Coors Light, Flossmoor has High Life and Goose Island sells Budweiser.   Why do these breweries sell the competition?  I can somewhat understand a brewpub selling a guest draft of a crosstown rival, but why the big guys?

I have heard all the excuses.  Some say customers demand it, while others say it is a good way to maximize profits.  I think if your customers are demanding macro lager your brewer is not making a product worth drinking.  If you are really concerned about maximizing profits you sell your own beer.  Selling your own beer provides a much wider profit margin than selling a competitors.  Unfortunately, these brewpubs do not always have the best trained staff.  All too often I will hear someone order a Budweiser and fail to hear staff offer something comparable like 312.  Even if the staff do not make the sale right off the bat, a small free sample served alongside the swill might make the customer a believer.

Am I being picky or should brewpubs sell macro lager?

A Beer For New Years Eve

Christmas is past and New Year's Eve is coming up quick.  What beer should you take to the party?  I recommend Midas Touch by Dogfish Head.  I originally reviewed this beer a few months ago as the first in the 1001 series.  You can find that review here.

Midas Touch as you recall is very wine like in quality.  With a bit more carbonation it would be almost champagne like.  Since casual wine drinkers seem to find this beer palatable it is also a great way to get a friend hooked on craft beer in the coming year.

Do you have any suggestions for a NYE beer? Leave me a comment.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas!  Maybe you even bothered to pick up a Christmas beer I reviewed earlier this week?  Come back Monday for a look at what to get for New Year's Eve.

Beer Review: Guinness Draught

Most people forget the name Guinness refers to a beer and not a brewery, and there is more than one version of Guinness.  St. James Gate Brewery founded in 1759 is by no means the biggest brewer in the world, but without a doubt brews the most iconic beer.  Almost anywhere in the world you can find Guinness, and the brewery has pioneered many techniques that make brewing what it is today.  For most of us, Guinness is our first dark beer.  Of course for the non-beer drinkers there is always the Guinness Book of World Records which was created in the 1950's to settle disputes in pubs regarding records and facts.  Either way Guinness is a recognizable name.

Tasting Notes:

When poured from a can with a nitrogen cartridge into a tulip pint Guinness Draught creates a creamy head atop black liquid.  Light aromas reminding the drinker of roasted malts.  Flavors of malt and cream cling to the tongue as it passes over leaving a slightly dry finish.  A drinkable beer to be sure, but not the same power as one would expect from an American craft brewed stout.

Be Safe This Holiday

The Holidays are now in full swing, and does not hurt to be reminded that beer is an intoxicant.  I know it surprises you that beer will make you drunk.  Do yourself a favor before you out this season and head over to craftbeer.com and check out the blood alcohol calculator.  You can use it to see exactly how much (or little) beer it takes to impair you, and hopefully make some smart choices.  Have fun and be safe!

Book Review: The Little Black Book Of Beer

The Little Black Book Of Beer provides a concise, easy to read, review of all the beer basics.  At approximately four by six inches this truly is a little black book.  Additionally, this was my first beer book.  I found it so useful getting started that I bought one for Bro as her first beer book.  A quick review of the history of beer both internationally and the unique history of the U.S. give readers an appreciation of where beer has come from and where it is going.  The author also takes the reader through the basics of tasting, storage, and even ordering beer.

One to two page reviews of different beer styles makes up the bulk of this book.  In each style review you learn the region of origin, common variations, alcohol by volume, characteristics, beers of each style to try, and food pairings.  The characteristics section has a basic history of the style as well as color, aroma and flavor profile you should expect.  There is a pretty solid glossary in the back.

I would say this book is a must for those getting started in beer.  The style guide provides an excellent background but is not serious enough for a brewer or beer judge.  Beer connoisseurs may find this book a bit beneath them, but I still use it from time to time for a quick fact check.  The compact size has allowed me to take it with me on many of my adventures like Denver for reference on the go.

A Northeast Ohio Christmas

I went home to visit family at Thanksgiving, and the Flossmoor Pullman Brown I took was a big hit.  Thanks to my Mom I sat down with my Dad and brothers and we sampled several other beers side by side.  We had four beers that day.  Now I know you all assume Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale was on the list, and it was, but we also sampled a 2009 bottle aged Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale, a 2010 Frosted Frog, and 12 Dog Days of Christmas from Thirsty Dog.  Here are my notes from this side by side tasting:




Great Lakes Christmas Ale:
Pours a copper color with a one finger head.  A strong malt nose with hints of spice.  Tastes similar to a gingerbread cookie with a side of honey.  Moderately carbonated and very drinkable.  Although weighing in at 7.5% ABV this is the lowest alcohol beer of the day.












Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale (2010):

Brewery Fresh

Purchased from the brewery and kept refrigerated as suggested on the bottle label.  The 2010 poured a cider color with a slight head releasing a strong cinnamon aroma.  This beer also has a ginger cookie taste, but also a great deal of nutmeg and cinnamon with a slightly lingering aftertaste.  Frosted Frog only has 12 IBUs meaning almost no hop presence requiring the flavors to be driven by the added spices.  The flavor in this beer is much bolder than the Great Lakes almost as if it was concentrated somehow.  At 8.6%, although drinkable, a few of these will probably put you under the table.

Hoppin' Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale (2009):

Aged Frosted Frog

This bottle was purchased direct from the brewery in 2010.  I am operating under the assumption that it was properly aged at their facility.  The 2009 poured with no head and much darker than the cider colored non-aged Frosted Frog.  There was no cinnamon smell, but a much stronger ginger presence in the aroma.  It went down very smooth with a bite, with a strong cinnamon flavor.  The aftertaste here lingered much longer than 2010 bottle.

12 Dog Days of Christmas by Thirsty Dog:
This beer poured an amber color with a light head.  The nose had malt, but a very weak aroma.  The flavors you expect to be there, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger were non-existent.  This was a very malty beer, but unfortunately did not match in flavor to the other beers on the table.

The Winner:
To be honest I went into this tasting with a front runner in my mind and I was personally surprised at the results.  I was the only one, of the tasting group, who cared for the 2009 Frosted Frog.  It had a definite aged taste to it that a less sophisticated drinker will probably not enjoy.  My brothers were huge fans of the Great Lakes Christmas Ale while my Dad and I preferred the Frosted Frog.  I had Bro and her wife try Great Lakes and Frosted Frog side by side and they split on preference.  I think if your a big fan of bold flavors then Frosted Frog is the winner with Great Lakes a close second.

Update:  My cousin, who has been known to buy Great Lakes Christmas Ale by the case, preferred the Frosted Frog.  He agreed the Frosted Frog had a bolder flavor than Great Lakes.

Also, we had one Frosted Frog left from Thanksgiving, and my mother picked up several new bottles from the brewery a week before Christmas.  Dad and I poured the old bottle first.  Even though it was kept refrigerated we both thought the flavor was not as bold as we remembered and it reminded us of the aged version we previously tried.  We followed that up with a fresh bottle and it matched our recollections exactly.  Either we somehow got a bad bottle or Frosted Frog ages quickly.  I hesitate to use the word deteriorate, but it is clearly not the same beer it was just a month prior.  This confirms my suspicion that freshness is extremely important when it comes to Hoppin' Frog.

There Is A New Page!

I just put up an about page.  Check it out by clicking the "About" tab or this link.

Wine Drinkers and Beer

This months Wine Enthusiast Magazine, contained their list of the top 25 beers of the year.  I find it striking that  they take the time to review beer, and apparently do it on a regular basis.  When was the last time you picked up All About Beer or Draft Magazine and saw a five page spread on something that was not beer?  I took some time to go through the list, and it is diverse: light/ dark/ American/ Czech/ Belgian and covers a variety of beer styles.  Unfortunately, I can only claim to have had eight of these brews.

We in the beer community get very focused on our beer.  Now I am a huge beer fan obviously, but Sunday nights I usually have a glass of scotch.  When I cook a fancy dinner for someone it usually requires a bottle of wine, and I keep a cocktail recipe book right next to my beer books.  I am not suggesting the magazines above change their format, and I will likely not change my format.  However, I do think it is important to remember there are a lot of people out there who just dabble in craft beer.  Dabbling is not a bad thing; it is certainly important enough for Wine Enthusiast to make it an article, and why arn't you dabbling in something besides beer?


Special thanks to Ed for sending me this article.

Why Can I Not Keep Up?

I have been comparing myself to several other beer blogs and twitter people and felt like I should be producing five to ten times the volume I currently am.  Then I started to really take a look at what is out there.  The first thing I noticed was press releases.  Many of these blogs are taking press releases and pasting them into blogs with no additional information.  The goal of this blog will not be free advertising.  I expect that you expect thoughtful commentary on issues.  That brings me to the second thing I found: reposting of another blogs idea with the only additional comment of agreeing or disagreeing.  I find it distatseful to not contribute to the conversation.

I have a stated goal for this blog about making it thoughtful and original.  If I can not produce something worth reading then why bother writing.  I know the more I post the higher the readership, but I do not want to trade off more hits on this blog for quality.  

Finally, I wish to apologize.  This site has become really focused on beer reviews.  I would like beer reviews to be just a fraction of what you can find.  I am in the process of preparing articles in six areas:

• Tough Topics
• Location Reviews
• Hosting Beer Events
• Beer Styles
• Beer Reviews
• Beer Ingredients.

Some of these subject areas are more difficult to prepare than others.  I am attempting to write a few weeks material in advance before each series comes out, and still try to keep up with daily posting.

Why the people who sell beer annoy me....

I really want a bottle of Samuel Adams Infinium.  I don't know why, I just do.  I first stopped into Binny's out in Downers Grove on the release date.  Their truck is a day late.  I hear it is selling fast so I call Binny's Beverage on Grand Ave and ask nicely if they have one.  The man says yes.  I ask for one to be held.  He replied that Binny's does not hold beer.  I know this is untrue, because they do it all the time.  I even offered to pay by phone.  A few hours later I trudge in ask where they are and I am promptly told all the bottles are spoken for and waiting for people to come pick them up. 

The manager was less than helpful.  He did say he would call me if someone did not pick theirs up, but made no effort to check about transferring a bottle from another store.  Blows me away, that no one seemed to consider how valuable a customer can be, especially a customer who is looking for a specific beer.  Binny's is now the main player in Chicago's beer retail segment.  However, there are plenty of other small shops looking to play David and Goliath.  Binny's really needs to begin to take the craft beer market seriously and look at treating it more like wine in their service level.

As for me in my quest for Infinium: My brother stumbled across three cases in Ohio and bought a few bottles, and he is not impressed.  I will let you know my thoughts after the holidays.

#14 of 1001 Hibernation Ale by Great Divide

After spending all of the weekend snowed in, I felt Hibernation Ale by Great Divide was a wise choice for Sunday night.  Now I know the folks out in Denver are laughing at my measly Chicago storm, but I do not care.  Hibernation Ale is brewed in the summer and aged by the brewery for a few months until release, usually in November.  I am told this beer will age well.  However, I got this lone bottle off a singles shelf in Ohio so one beer is all I got.  I do think in the future I will try to find a six pack and age it a year.  It is worth noting that the side of the bottle brags about the well deserved Gold and two Silver medals from GABF .

Tasting Notes:
Poured into my Great divide glass it made a nice khaki head that gave off a chocolate and spice aroma.  The non-scientific descriptor of taste here is "warm".  Flavors of dark fruit, some alcohol, caramel and malt notes balance with a solid hop presence.  Hibernation Ale had a surprisingly full mouthfeel, but I found it to be an excellent winter beer.

Hamburger Mary's- Chicago, IL

Hamburger Mary's located in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago is a combination of three spaces.  Mary's is comprised of Hamburger Mary's restaurant, Mary's Attic a performance space and nightclub, and Mary's Rec Room a sports bar.  The brewer, Brandon Wright, is a self taught home-brewer who brewed out of necessity while living in Saudi Arabia.  (Yes, drinking beer is a necessity)

In summary decent beer, great food and fun atmosphere, but read the details before going.

The Beer:
Overall, good $5 beer, but there is some room for improvement.

Mary's has all the macro drafts people like me hate.  At the same time Mary's usually has about four drafts of on premise brewed beer and four special reserve options in bottles.  Additionally, mead makes a regular appearance on the special reserve list.  Mary's really is a nano-brewery where beer produced is better measured in gallons than barrels.  The beer here is inventive and locally produced both of which are big hits in the Andersonville bar scene.

Unfortunately, the quality of the beer can be hit or miss.  While the brewer definitely pushes boundaries with beer like Sweet Potato Ale and Oatmeal Cookie Stout amongst others, he has quality control issues.  Problem number one is that batches of brew are not always consistent from one to another.  I have gone in and ordered a beer and ordered the same beer a few weeks later to only encounter a totally different flavor.

Additionally, sometimes a metallic off flavor occurs in the beer.  I know the brewer boils in the kitchen and uses pails to cart beer into the fermenters.  I theorize there is a huge opportunity to impart metal flavors into beer and possibly contamination.  Mary's needs to really dedicate space for a proper small scale brewhouse.

I would say beer more often than not is a hit instead of a miss.  I think with construction of a proper brewhouse and more formal training on the brewing process will greatly assist Mary's beer making adventures. Additionally, the staff is very uneducated about the beer selection with the one exception of Alexie.  Sorry, but that girl knows her stuff.

The Food:
Mary's has a great selection of $10 burgers and a few entrées.  Remaining conscious of the needs of others Mary's lets you transform almost any red meat selection into chicken or a vegetarian option.  There are also those naughty treats you want to try, but are a little scared of, like deep-fried Twinkies.

The Atmosphere:
The Attic and original restaurant areas are eclectic, flashy and flamboyant while the Rec Room is much more subdued and has several TVs.  Mary's is constantly having events from bingo night to trivia check out their calendar here for a chance to have a good time.

Beer Review: Pipeline Porter by Kona Brewing Company

Kona's Pipeline Porter is the last beer I drank as part of the Open It! online event.  This beer is my brother's favorite beer, and when I went to Vegas I brought him back a six pack as an early Christmas gift.  He was pretty blown away, he expected just one, lonely single bottle.  Pipeline is a highly regarded Porter and only has a limited bottling run each year.  Coffee flavors in this beer are not just from malt, but also from 100% Kona coffee that is added to each batch.

Tasting Notes:
Poured a deep brown into a Pipeline Porter shaker pint and a nice tan head formed.  Strong coffee aroma with malt and chocolate behind it.  Coffee also dominates the flavor profile of this beer.  The malt brings a nice sweetness and there is no bitterness from the coffee as one expects.  A very smooth beer with nice carbonation and balance.  Definitely worth picking up given the chance.

Hercules Double IPA by Great Divide Brewing Co.

I picked up Hercules Double IPA when I was in Denver, and this has been lurking in the back of my fridge.  I decided that Open It! was the right time to bring that bottle to the front.

Tasting Notes:
Hercules poured amber with a medium white head and left some lacing on the side of my stemmed tulip glass.  Aromas of pine and caramel balance nicely with the citrus, tropical fruit and malt flavors.  This was a smooth well balanced beer with good carbonation for the style.  This was one of the few beers I was lucky to buy direct from the brewery and I do not regret it.

White Rajah by The Brew Kettle

The third beer of the Open It! weekend was White Rajah by The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, Ohio.  White Rajah IPA was not exactly a beer that I was saving for a special occasion, but rather just never seemed to get too.  The moment never seemed to come.  From my understanding this was a one time batch from The Brew Kettle, and is a shame as it is a very good beer.

Tasting Notes:
Poured a hazy yellow from a 22oz bottle creating a one finger head and some lacing.  A strong citrus and tropical fruit aroma.  Citrus and other fruit flavors are dominate in this beer, but nowhere near as bold as the aroma. White Rajah has a dry sweet finish that leaves you wanting more.  I wish they would brew more of this so I could get some next time I pass through Ohio.

Fire Rock Pale Ale by Kona Brewing Co.

I first had Fire Rock at a pool bar in Florida.  I ordered a different beer and then belatedly noticed a  tap handle I had never seen before.  I used my good looks and charm to get the bartender to pour me a free sample.  I immediately fell in love with this one.  It became my mission to get to Kona, Hawai'i.  In March I made it there and tried every beer they had on tap or bottle.

Now this beer has not been waiting for a special occasion.  I have been saving the glass for a special occasion.  My recent trip to Las Vegas allowed me to bring back a couple bottles of this brew.  The Kona Brewery shaker pint is made of blue glass.  This glass was to be my souvenir from Hawai'i.  Unfortunately, the glass was no longer sold due to consumer complaints about breakage.  Beer Bitch being the woman she is tracked down a set of two on eBay and gave me one heck of a good birthday gift.

Tasting Notes:
Poured into my blue glass and therefore you cannot see the color or head, but I can tell you  it is copper with about a one finger head that results in some superb lacing.  It has a nice citrus hop aroma, and is less hoppy than one would think for an American Pale Ale, but not bad. Flavors of pine and biscuit swirl together with a citrus finish.  A medium body with solid carbonation, this is an excellent Pale Ale and should not be missed if your in an are where Kona distributes.

No Pictures No Blog

Beer Bitch took the camera this morning.  I being a moron reminded her to take it, yet I failed to download my photos.  She will make fun of me.  This is why nice guys finish last.  Reviews to come tonight.

Old Chub by Oskar Blues

Welcome to my first blog post reviewing beers as part of Open It!.  Open It! is about opening beers that have been sitting on a shelf waiting for a special occasion.  This weekend is that special occasion.

Old Chub is a Scotch Ale by Oskar Blues of Lyons, CO.  I was saving it for that first cold, snowy night in Chicago.  Coincidentally, the first night of Open It! occurred on the first cold, snowy night in Chicago.  Like all Oskar Blues brews this beer comes in a can making it more shelf stable than its' buddies in bottles.  You can read more about the benefits of cans here.  I am glad this was the first beer for Open It! because it really hit the spot.


Tasting Notes:
Old Chub poured from the can into a shaker pint glass with a tan head and a dark brown color.  The nose has some alcohol with lots of malt aroma.  The creamy mouthfeel brings light smoke mingled with flavors of chocolate and coffee.  At 8% ABV its is not a session beer, but definitely drinkable.

Open It Weekend

This weekend is Open It Weekend.  I first heard about this event from Pencil and Spoon.  Any beer drinker has bottles of stuff he or she has been saving for a special occasion.  The idea behind Open It is that now is that special occasion.  All weekend I will be twittering using the hashtag #openit when I pop open another bottle or can.  I will have reviews of each beer on my blog this week.  Thanks to the people over at http://www.pencilandspoon.com/ and http://www.mybrewerytap.com/ for inspiring this!

Its Cold Outside

The first real winter storm of  2010-11 is rolling in.  Go out get yourself a winter warmer or two, and maybe some Christmas Ales and batten down the hatches.  In the next few days look for a story on Northeast Ohio Christmas beers, locations reviews and a website upgrade!  Enjoy your Friday!

Why I Am not Buying Rare Bourbon County Stout

The other day I was given a heads-up by a store on getting myself a bottle of Rare Bourbon County Stout by Goose Island.  I discussed whether to purchase Rare with Beer Bitch.  This discussion should send up a big red flag.  I never discuss beer purchases prior to purchase, much like she never asks what I think of her shoes.  Either way, purchases show up and the other person goes "Oh, what is that?"  I thought very, very hard on this and actually have a list of reasons why I am not buying it.

For your consideration:

1. I tried an early batch of Rare in the Spring at a Goose Island event.  While I know it was not the finished product, and Bourbon County Stout (BCS) usually takes a year to age once in the bottle.  At the time I was not impressed.
2. The name.  I could fire up a homebrew kit make a limited number of bottles, and call it rare.  Just because I call it rare does not mean it is a good beer.
3. We do not know if this is good beer.  This is a new recipe.  How do we know it is really worth it?  It might be indistinguishable from the regular BCS recipe.
4. Goose Island has had quality control issues.  We can all remember a recall of Matilda their flagship beer, and reports of contaminated taps at their brewpub.
5. Cost.  At $45 a bottle it may or may not be worth it.  Not that I am opposed to spending that amount for a bottle of beer, but I want to know it is worth it.  I have a sneaky suspicion this beer might only be worth a few dollars more than regular BCS.

Now I know in a few weeks many of you will likely point out positive Beer Advocate reviews or your own good experiences with this beer.  I think you should keep in mind a psychology theory known as confirmation bias. It is the idea that a person has a belief and will look for any evidence to confirm that they made a correct decision.  I hope if you bought a bottle you do not regret it.  If you did not buy a bottle and regret it please use my list to console yourself.  Hopefully you will end up believing it.

Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale by Hoppin' Frog

I despise sharing pumpkin beers.

Hoppin' Frog won a Gold Medal at the 2010 GABF in the Field Category with Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale.  This is the second Great American Beer Festival Gold medal winner in three years for this young brewery.  Pumpkin is a fast growing segment of the beer industry, and Hoppin' Frog's ability to land a gold shows that the brewer is no slouch.

Tasting Notes:
When poured from the bottle it produces a nice white head and a dark amber color with a nice amount of bubbles. The head produced a spicy aroma with nutmeg and clove standing out above the pumpkin.  A very light pumpkin flavor was dominated by pumpkin pie spices.  The beer lacks the bread flavors found in most pumpkin beer, but this is not a bad thing.  Overall the beer reminds me more of pumpkin pie filling than the whole pie.  A fizzy mouthfeel that creates a bit of a bite.  As the GABF medal attests this is a beer worth having.