Don't you just love Christmas? I recently received the gift of beer from a friend of mine, Barb. She gave me a sampler pack of 10 beers from around the world that included this little gem! This beer, Diebels Alt, is probably the best example of Alt beer-style available in America. It is copper colored, with a medium body full of smooth caramel flavors and a very slight bit dry hop flavor coupled with an ale-like yeast fruitiness. If you're looking for an alt bier, this is the one you should try and find! Thomas Hardy's Ale I know what you're thinking, a vintage beer, what the heck is up with that? Well, beer actually can be just as special as wine or bourbon, and can be aged for many years. It says on the bottle that this beer can be aged for up to 25 years. I believe it. This English beer from the Eldridge Pope Brewery is very strong at 12 percent alcohol by volume. It comes in small 7-ounce bottles that you should always store upright (even when aging.) This beer has flavors that remind of sherry, with exception of the distinct flavor of malt. Unlike some stronger beers, this beer is not too grainy, except for maybe at the finish, towards the back of the tongue. There is no real flavor of hops, but they must be there in large quantities to balance the bite of the sweet malt. The beer, for a strong beer, is actually beautifully balanced. The sad thing about this beautiful beer is that the brewery, Eldridge Pope of England, is rumoured to have closed. If this is the case you may want to stock up! Just like a vintage wine, certain strong beers can be aged, and are sometimes vintage dated. If you're interested in keeping a collection of vintage beers (like I have in the past) then I would suggest strong styles such as barleywines, or strong Belgian ales such as Trappist ales. There are some Trappist ales that have been sampled after 50 years!! If you want to learn more about vintage beer check out this article from All About Beer magazine. Sprecher Black Bavarian Sprecher has a sort of cult following in the greater Milwaukee-Chicagoland area, at least as the far as their gourmet sodas are concerned. The Sprecher Brewery makes 11 beers and 6 gourmet sodas that they distribute in Wisconsin and Illinois. The brewery is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has their own website. I've been to the Sprecher brewery -- a few times -- so they must make good beer, eh? (By the way, I mention the soda here on a beer site because that is how I was introduced to Sprecher. They make a very good root beer and ginger ale.) The Black Bavarian is beer for fans of black malt. This has a roasted and black malt flavor that is dry and roasty, as it should be! This is not considered a stout although it tastes somewhat like a dry Irish Stout. It is a "black lager" that originates in Bavaria, Germany. If you find bottles of this beer, make sure they are fresh, and kept refridgerated. Most of Sprecher's beers, including the Black Bavarian, are not pasteurized. Beers that are not pasteurized need to be kept cold or off-flavors will develop. I would also advise that you not serve this beer too cold. Let it sit for about 10 minutes after taking a bottle out of the fridge. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it's worth the effort! I haven't had a Bell's beer in awhile, so I tried the Bell's Porter, a beer I tried a few years ago. I know I haven't had this beer in awhile, but I am immediately reminded how "eccentric" Larry Bell at Kalamazoo Brewing is when he makes his beer. (I know he has a few people helping him these days, but the recipe is his, I'm sure. This beer has a huge chocolate malt flavor, in fact I wouldn't surprised if Larry put real chocolate in this beer! There is just a lot of chocolate flavor. There is hop bitterness (no hop flavor), but the most assertive character is of malt. It is full-bodied, but not to the point of being a strong stout, although we're probably pushing the limits of the style. Actually, I know we're exceeding the limits for the style as far as color is concerned because this is a jet black beer. I like it, but it can't be served too cold. If you find this beer and try it, let it warm up a bit before drinking it. After a month off I'm updating these tasting notes with a selection from Greene King, of Suffolk, England. This is a pale ale that comes in one of those widget cans. It is a very hoppy ale, but can also be noted for its caramel sweetness and a slight buttery note. It is very smooth because of widget; on tap I believe it is dispensed with nitrogen. This tap selection can be found at the Maple Tree Inn, in Blue Island, Ill., and excellent Cajun/Creole restaurant. This is not the first time I've had this beer, but the first time I've reviewed it. This is an intensely hoppy, spicy beer in style of an India Pale Ale (IPA) that made in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the Arcadia Brewing Co. I've heard this brewery is a great place to visit as it has an adjoining pub that offers a great selection of pizzas to accompany the brewery's beers. This IPA has a lot of hops, including Columbus, Cascade and Fuggles. It doesn't have the strong malty character to back up the hops as some other IPAs have, such as Goose Island IPA or Three Floyd's Alpha King. It is, however, an outstanding interpretation of the style! Blue Heron Pale Ale This beer from the Mendocino Brewing Co. of California is moderately hoppy, thin and a bit watery with a prickly bit of carbonation. Very light compared to most microbrewed pale ales. Not the "legend" the label promised, but still a decent beer. I don't know that I'd buy this again, but I wouldn't refuse to drink this beer if it was offerred to me at a party. The hops in this beer are nice, but the prickly sensation of the bubbles and a lack of malt "backbone" to this beer makes it relatively lackluster. La Fin du Monde This is a golden-colored Belgian-style beer that is brewed in Quebec that is very strong. It is somewhat in the style of a tripel, a kind of beer produced by Trappist monks in Belgium. It has a strong malt character and is sweet, yet balanced by hops. It is highly carbonated, yet smooth, and delightful to sip. Don't drink this one too fast! This is definitely a cleaner tasting Belgian-style beer, not as fruity, with not as many esters as some others, but distinctive and tasty. Bitburger Pils This beer is subtitled with the words "klassiche herb" and I'm not sure what that means, but I'll guess that has something to do with herbal hop character and dry bitterness that this beer posesses. Although this beer has a nice sweet, light malt taste it is also dry and hoppy. It is beer that I've had before and is probably one of my favorite German pilsners. The only other pilsner beer from Germany that I think ranks close is König-Pilsener. What I love about German pilsners and lagers is that the are always so soft, and by soft I'm referring to the mouthfeel of the beer, with its light maltiness and soft (but tight) carbonation. By tight carbonation I'm referring to the size of the bubbles: some beers have a rough carbonation, which is to say that the bubbles are larger. My homebrew usually has a rougher carbonation, that is why I use priming sugar/malt to make the beer a little less fizzy, but if I really want a well-built beer I'll count on a German brewmaster. This is an interesting pilsner beer with a crisp, somehat mild bitterness, coupled with bubblegummy sweet malt. All these taste sensations lead to an underlying taste of minerals and nice dry finish. This is good beer! Which I am happy about because one 12-ounce bottle cost me more than two dollars. I've always been afraid to try this beer because it comes in a green bottle. Why does that scare me? Well, if I haven't gone over this yet, I'm doing it now. Beer in a green bottles gets "skunky." Yes, that skunkiness that Budweiser has mentioned in its marketing, because Bud uses brown bottles. Therefore, Bud is not skunked. Of course, the real reason Bud doesn't get skunked is probably because thay use a miniscule amount of hops, which are what react with ultraviolet light to create that skunkiness. I could write a whole story on skunkiness. I know people who drink Heineken (a green bottle pilsner) who enjoy the skunky taste and aroma. Ick. It's not supposed to be there -- but many Americans aren't fully educated about skunky beer. Clear bottles are even worse than green bottles -- that's why Miller Genuine Draft and Corona are always very "skunked." This is a great dark bock beer. The first thing that hits me is a nice toffee aroma. Upon tasting the beer there is a tawny, malty flavor supported by just enough bitterness to prevent the beer from being too sweet. The bit of toffee and chocolate flavor in this beer went well with one of my handcrafted American-made cigars. This how a dark/bock should taste! Sam Adams Boston Ale This a good "American ale" that presents itself on the palate as sweet then hoppy, and then fruity. This is one of the few Sam Adams beers that are produced at the Boston brewery in the area known as Jamaica Plain (actually west of Boston.) This is a good introduction to fruiter ales, if one is too timid to try an English ale, which are usually quite fruity. (Only a real man is comfortable drinking a fruity beer, I might add.) Like British beer, Boston Ale gets more flavorful and complex as it warms up. Come to think of it, this beer almost seems more British than American, but I it's made in Boston. For along time Jim Koch, President of Sam Adams, didn't have a brewery. All his beers were brewed at breweries in Pennsylvania (Yuengling) and Oregon from 1985 until about 1992, I believe. Paulaner Hefe-Weiss I've always appreciated Paulaner's beers and I've always appreciated the "Welcome to Munich" label around the neck of the bottle. Truly, these beers make you feel like you're in Munich, and this Hefe-Weizen is no different than any other Paulaner product. They're all good. This beer is certainly on my top five list of great wheat beers. (The beers in that top five would have to be Schneider Weiss, Weinestephaner(sic), Franziskaner and the weiss at Back Road Brewery in LaPorte, Indiana. Yes, Indiana.) This weiss has that sort of banana/clove flavor -- with being overwhelming -- and a slight hint of bubblegum. Make sure that your bartender doesn't spoil this beer by adding a lemon wedge -- that practice should only be reserved for filtered wheat beers. Paulaner Hefe-Weizen is well-carbonated. It is one of the best beers to enjoy in a beer garden in summer, except for maybe Pilsner Urquell. Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel This is a malty beer with caramel and toffee flavors. Tastes almost like a toffee hard candy. Intense toffee flavor and aroma. If this beer had more hops it would be an alt beer -- a very old form of German ale -- but the label calls it a dark lager. A strange beer with a unique tastes that only caramel or toffee fans would enjoy. I like this beer, some of the others it produces, I also own a glass from the brewery. I've alway liked the artwork on the bottles, depicting a country scene. New Glarus Edel Pils This just might be my summer beer of choice this year. This is a light, crisp, refreshing pilsner beer that is perfect for quenching your thirst on a hot day. I gentle malt sweetness is evident, but the beer is still hoppy enough to be called a pilsner. There is none of the six-row malt huskiness that is sometimes found in microbrewed pilsners, but there was a slight noticeable buttery note, that is a bit inappropriate for the style. New Glarus Celtic Stout Well, it's not Guinness Stout, but it's pretty close. Since the Dan Carey the brewmaster at New Glarus named this beer "Celtic" I'm assuming that the intention is too make a dry stout not too different than the legend we all know as Guinness. In comparison (which really isn't fair) both beers are roasty and dry. I detected a little more chocolate flavor in the Celtic Stout than in Guinness. I also noticed the trademark Guinness "twang" a sour note that is present in certain versions of Guinness Stout. All in all a very good stout. I can remember when this beer was called Ballard Bitter. Now it's an India Pale Ale, but I think the term "bitter" better described this product from the Redhook Brewery, in Seattle and Woodinville. The brew is bitter, as an IPA-style beer should be, but it's not a total stand out. I do like the nice twinge of malty sweetness, a kind of caramel flavor, but again nothing outstanding. I believe this and the rest of the Redhook beers used to have more character. Why I am reviewing the beer here -- if it doesn't stand out? Redhook's beers are a good introduction to craft-brewed beer. They are fairly tasty for such a widely distributed product that a lot of people can probably find it at their local beer shop. By the way, my favorite beer from Redhook is the Double Black Stout, made with Starbucks Coffee. Yum! Ayinger Maibock This is a blond bock or Maibock, a German beer made to commemorate spring. This beer is different than your usual bock as it is lighter in color. There is little hop flavor in this beer, but I can forgive them for that because there the sweet maltiness of the brew is quite tasty. The carbonation was also smooth with a fairly good head. This beer almost reminds me of a Vienna-style lager with a little more malt, and therefore a higher strength. It is, for me, an excellent interpretation of the style. (To find more information about this and other styles of beer discussed on this page see my home page. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale This is a beer that is considered to be a classic (rather the classic) American pale ale. It is brewed by the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., in Chico, Calif., where the whole microbrew revolution sort of started. This beer takes me back to my late college days, almost post-college, when a slightly fruity, dry and hoppy beer was my favorite. SN Pale is still a favorite -- those pretty green labels are always nice to look at -- especially in the form of the 12 pack that is currently in my fridge. This beer has not been available in 12-packs (as far as I know) in this part of the country. Hopefully, the slightly lower price for packaging 12 bottles in one box will attract more people to this wonderful medium-bodied dry pale ale. (If you are one of those who are scared of "ales" this a great place to start.) Bell's Expedition Stout Yeee Haa!! This is a HUGE beer! What in the hell is Larry Bell doing? Well, I would say he is making a damn fine Imperial Stout, or whatever the the hell kind of super dark, super strong sort of beer it is that I'm drinking! (Ed. note -- Hold on. My husband is extremely, uhh, buzzed, off this stuff. So proceed with caution. Larry Bell is the head brewmaster at Kalamazoo Brewing, in Kalamazoo, Mich., which makes this beer. --The marcofrau) This killer beer has a huge chocolatey flavor, with an almost equally large helping of roasty smokiness. Yikes! I'm almost scared of this beer. For lovers of stout, and I mean S-t-o-u-t this is your ultimate beer. Good luck in finding it though, it is a limited edition each year, and will probably cost you about $13 a six-pack. I bought a single bottle for $2.49 at Famous Liquors & Deli in Lombard. That may seem like a lot for a beer, but there's more malt in one bottle of this beer than a whole case of Guinness! Big Foot Barleywine In the cycle of the year there is a time in bleak midwinter when Chicagoans dive deep into a funk. Long past Christmas, the snow has worn out its welcome and you're getting over a cold. Then, one February day, about mid-week when your nose is raw and the work just won't end and you can't even take a walk around the block without slipping on an errant ice patch, your husband brings home (ta-da) Bigfoot Barley Wine from the local liquor emporium. Large, burly, malty, with a kick that hits just right, this is a beer that stands nose to nose with a neverending Windy City winter. Strange, seeing that it's from California. But never mind, because you've been rescued from another Midwest winter by another edition of the Foot. And the cycle continues. Thanks be to God. (Note: This is a beer whose hops and malt just make you want to shout and then pass out. This beer is made by Sierra Nevada, the same people who make a durn fine Pale Ale, that is quite popular. Some people call this brewery's pale ale a classic, and this should be a classic, too. Some people, like the Marcofrau, have a unique relationship with this beer.) Sam Adams Double Bock Malt, malt, malt and more malt. That pretty much describes this annual offering from the Boston Beer Company, makers of Samuel Adams. You've got to like malt to like this beer. Just about everybody who drinks beer has heard of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Fewer people know about this chewy offering, which helps make late winter and early spring a more pleasant experience for all. I first tried this beer years ago and found it to be quite malty and strong, yet smooth and velvety. It is quite sweet, but neither the sweetness or the alcohol is overpowering. This really is a fine example of the style, as I believe it stands up to the authentic German versions of double bock (or doppel bock) that I've had. These authentic versions include Celebrator Dopplebock and a beer called Salvator, from Munich. Both these beers are considered to be classics, and Sam Adams imitates them rather closely. Of course, the true classics are still a notch above Sam, but Sam Adams is much more accessible to the average American beer drinker than the German classic doppelbocks. This is one of the better tasting pilsner beers I've had. What really gets me is that it's "non-alcoholic!" Haake Beck is actually brewed to .5 percent alcohol by volume and is brought to by the same Germans who proudly make Beck's Bier. You may ask why I'm tasting a non-alcoholic beer. I'm doing so because I have the flu -- but I need my beer -- badly. You see, it's not alcohol I crave, but that wonderful combination of malt and hops in a tasty beverage! Maybe I have the flu and my taste buds are somewhat off, but I will tell you that if you can't drink full-strength beer, this is a non-alcoholic beer you should drink! Unlike many American non-alcoholic beers, Haake Beck actually has hops, and is all-malt in accordance with the German purity laws. (As one German brewer has put it, "Heaven knows what other brewers put in their beers -- rice, potatoes, and God knows what else.") Well the people at Beck's say their n.a. beer is all-malt and hops and I believe them. Wild Onion Jack Stout This is actually my first Illinois beer to appear in the Tasting Room. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner! My favorite beer fromt this Barrington-based microbrewery is the Paddy Pale Ale, but I figured is was about time I try the stout. I can say it was quite robust, yet creamy. There bitterness of the dark malt blends very well with the good amount of hops. It helped that the bottle was fresh. I like Guinness and other imported stouts, such as Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout or Taddy Porter, but if I'd rather support my local brewery if I know the product is fresh. I check the bottling date if there is one, and I usually have success and end up with a fresh product. I'm not saying don't buy the beer if it is a month past its freshness date, or if there isn't a freshness date -- just be wary. If the beer tastes funky, it might not be the fault of brewery, but that of the supplier. Don't let one experience sour your tastebuds on your hometown beer! Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale This is a beer from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. that I look forward to every year. It's one of those things that helps me get through the winter. A dark red ale, Celebration Ale is an assertively hopped spicy brew. I sometimes think of this beer as a little brother to another Sierra Nevada product, Big Foot Barleywine. (In case you're wondering, a barleywine is an extra strong English-style of ale that usually surfaces in late winter.) Celebration Ale is not for the timid, but if your brave and you think like hops, try it. Chances are that you should find it for about $6 a six-pack at a store near you. You can't start winter without it! Hennepin Ale I have to admit that it was price and design that initially attracted me to Hennepin Belgian Style Ale. The brew, made in Cooperstown, NY, by the Ommegang Brewery, has a lovely label -- a neat collage in harvest browns and rusts and some regal purple accents. And it usually hovers around $4 a 25-ounce bottle. Pilsner Urquell So far all the beers I've reviewed here have been American microbrews, but I'm making an exception for this beer, Pilsner Urquell. The name of this beer translates to "the original pilsner" and it pretty much is the original pilsner. The name is a derivation of the town the beer is brewed in, Pilsen, which is in the Czech Republic. All the pilsners that are popular today, (Heineken, Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc.) can be linked to Pilsner Urquell. As the original Pilsner beer, it is golden in color with a crisp malt taste and bitterness that leads a quenching dry finish from a liberal use of hops. (If you like a dry, hoppy pilsner and you haven't tried this beer yet, than I suggest you buy a case.) When fresh it has a remarkable hop taste. However, finding a fresh bottle can be difficult, because it is packaged in green glass. What I've found out over the years is that beer bottled in green or clear glass is more susceptible to sunlight which breaks down the hops and "skunks" the beer. Ever have that skunky beer? That skunky smell most likely came from beer in a green or clear bottle. The important thing to remember is that ultraviolet light is the enemy of beer. If a beer is exposed to incandescent light such as that from a lightbulb -- it should be fine -- as long as it has otherwise been kept in cool. Remember: heat and ultraviolet light hurt your beer, protect yourself by buying beer in brown bottles, or if you must buy beer in green bottles make sure it is right out of the case! Oasis Zoser (Oatmeal) Stout I've always liked stouts, ever since my first Guinness, way back in college. I've actually had this stout before, but it's even better than I remember it. In order to be considered a stout, a beer must be comprised of chocolate malt and black patent malt, in addition to the usually pale barley malt, hops, yeast and water. Many people taste chocolate in their stout, but it is not that at all, it is just a specially roasted malt that gives beer a chocolate taste. Black Patent malt is a deeply roasted malt that gives stout its deep, dark almost opaque color. Tonight, my stout has been made with the addition of flaked oats, which gives it a smooth texture that is especially yummy! Use the links below to access more reviews. Bars and Pubs | Brewpubs | Breweries | Belgian Beer Send comments and suggestions to: marc@marcobrau.com
(Vintage 1995)
tasted 10/22/00
Update (3/26/01) -- Tasted again this beer has a stranger bitterness and hop flavor than I recall. A bit of a toasted character accompanies the hops and makes for a strange bedfellow. Much fizzier than the last tasting. Still a good beer. I'm blaming any slight off-flavors on the beer being not quite as fresh as usual.
tasted 8/28/00
tasted 8/26/00
tasted 8/9/00
tasted 7/19/00
tasted 7/12/00
tasted 5/21/00
New Glarus Brewing, New Glarus, Wisconsin
tasted 5/4/00
tasted 5/11/00
tasted 4/24/00
tasted 3/20/00
tasted 3/1/00
tasted 2/9/00 by the Marcofrau
tasted 2/2/00
tasted 12/2/99
Update (8/3/00) -- In a second tasting a few months later, this beer tastes much more chocolately than I remember it tasting, but I guess that's okay. I really like my stouts drier tasting than this stout. A Guinness (Irish Dry Stout) is probably my favorite, but one of the more roasty (and dry) examples I can think of are the Australian Cooper's Best Extra Stout and Sierra Nevada Stout.
tasted 11/10/99
tasted 11/10/99 by Marcofrau
For me, hops are the key, and this beer is hoppy. The label describes the brew as "pale, hoppy, crisp and rustic" and that's just about right on. The crispness (likely from the yeast) you may notice just as much as the spiciness from the hop thing going on. The stuff gets lively on the middle of each sip. This same brewery, managed by theVanberg & DeWulf Belgian beer distributors makes a self-titled Ommegang beer. It is a bit maltier and therefore not as dear to my heart. Hennepin is good a set of training wheels for the beginning Belgian beer drinker, but that doesn't mean it's not worthy of the attention of bona-fide beer snobs! There's some American pride there, too.
tasted 11/21/99
tasted 10/20/99
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