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Archive for the 'Lager' Category

Smoke and More Cherry

Published on August 8, 2008 in Review, Lager, Ale and Beer. 0 Comments

Tonight I decided to try one of the beers from, new to RI, Fort Collins Brewing. I tried their Z Lager, which is a rauchbier. It pours a darker reddish amber color with almost no head. It smells of caramel and other malts with a hint of smoke. The taste isn’t quite as smoky as I would have liked, but it is nicely smoked. It’s an easy drinking beer and worth a try as it’s one of those styles you don’t see very often. Fort Collins is likely a welcome addition to RI.

On Wednesday, I had Southern Tier’s Cherry Saison from their imperial beer series. I’ll start off by saying that I wasn’t crazy. It was a little dark for a saison. It had a cloudy orangy yellow hue to it. It smelled of spices and a slight hint of cherry. The flavor lacked the cherry, which wasn’t too bad, but it had too much of something and not enough of something else. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about this beer seemed off. I didn’t finish the bottle. It wasn’t overly drinkable and it is definitely not worth another try. In fact, if you have to drink the whole bottle yourself, it’s not worth the price. It’s worth trying if you’re going to split the bottle with 2-4 other people.

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As usual, Playing Catch Up

Published on March 17, 2008 in Review, German, Lager, Ale and Beer. 0 Comments

As always seems the case with me (mainly because of other stuff going on), I’m playing catch up.

Last night, Susan and I split the bottle of Hoppin’ Frog B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout (BORIS stands for Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout) that we picked up at Yankee Spirits over the weekend. We had never heard of Hoppin’ Frog and she likes Oatmeal Stouts, so we decided to try it. I’m glad we did. It pours a thick black with a thin dark tan head. There is very little carbonation present. Smells of roasted coffee and chocolate. It’s thick and slightly oily in the mouth with a nice roasted flavor. There’s a lot of bitter chocolate and coffee flavors, along with a slight caramel sweetness. It had the nice smoothness of an Oatmeal Stout mixed in with the power of a RIS. This is one flavorful beer and definitely worth the purchase. Hoppin’ Frog is a brewery from Akron, Ohio. It’s good to see more of the midwestern beers making their way to the Northeast.

Saturday night, I had my bottle of Burton Bridge Empire India Pale Ale. The bottle says that this English India Pale Ale was brewed using the recipe of the original IPA, which was used to make a stronger, more hopped beer to last the voyage overseas for British soldiers and colonies. Now, I will say that English IPA’s tend not to be quite as hoppy as their American cousins. That’s not a bad thing (unless you need that hops flavor). This beer was no different, though it does have a different taste. It’s bottle conditioned, so it had a lot of yeast taste to it. It says to let the sediment settle to the bottom, and I had let it sit for a good 5-10 minutes after removing it from the fridge (where it also sat). I guess the sediment in this one is in suspension most of the time as it wasn’t clear. Anyway, the flavor was nice and malty with a little hops and the yeast added a little tartness to it. It had a slight bready mouthfeel and smelled a little on the sweet side with a hint of lemon. It was good, though I don’t know if I’ll buy it again for the price ($5+ for a 500 ml bottle).

I don’t remember when I had my Long Trail Double Bag, and I don’t have an exact writeup about it. It’s a stronger Altbier than the regular Long Trail Ale. The label calls it a German Sticke. The beer is really good. That’s, unfortunately, all I can say. If you see it, buy some. It’s worth it. Long Trail is one of the single most underrated breweries in my opinion. Their beers are solid, they just don’t brew anything really extreme (though the Double Bag is 7.2%), which shouldn’t be held against them. I’m hoping to do a tour of their brewery in Vermont on my honeymoon in June (yes, we’re being different and going to Vermont).

Finally, on Wednesday, I had Einbecker Schwarzbier. This dark lager wasn’t anything special. It poured a brown color with very little head. The beer had a very malty aroma, though nothing really stuck out. It had a light flavor of slight chocolate with a hint of caramel. I wasn’t overly impressed with this one. It was too light for my tastes and I’ve had other schwarzbiers that I liked much better (Sam Adams Black Lager and Monschof).

That should do it for now. Perhaps I’ll write more tonight. I think I’ll start down my small IPA collection that I’ve been building.

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Catching Up…

Published on March 6, 2008 in Review, German, Lager, Ale and Beer. 0 Comments

So I haven’t written a whole lot lately, but I have had some pretty tasty beers. I’ll go in reverse order as I remember them.

Last weekend, Susan and I went back to Yankee Spirits because I wanted to try to get Alesmith Speedway Stout. They were out of it, so I got some barleywines and the Sam Adams Longshot 6 pack. Longshot is a homebrew competition that Sam Adams holds every year. They brew the 3 top beers and put them in a 6 pack. Unfortunately, this year, one of the winners was a Double IPA. Because of the hops shortage, they will brew it next year. So there were 3 of each of the other winners, a Grape Pale Ale, and a Weizenbock.

Last night, I tried the Grape Pale Ale. It pours a nice amber color with a 1 finger white head that hangs around for a while. It smelled like a pretty weak pale ale with some hops, but mostly malt. It had a very very faint grape scent to it, but not really enough for me to notice that much. The flavor was much the same, pretty light on all parts. I couldn’t really taste a whole lot of grape, but it added to the sweetness. This beer would be better for the summer. It was nice and light and easy drinking, but not big on flavor.

The night before, I had EKU 28, one of the German beers I picked up. This Eisbock was big on flavor. It poured an amber color with a small head. Smelled of fruit and malty sweetness. Very little hops were present in the aroma. The taste was fantastic. It was nice and fruity with a slight alcohol warmness that lasted throughout. It was a very sweet beer and worth drinking again and again (though maybe not in the same night at 11% ABV). Very different for a lager.

Finally, the night before that, I had Left Hand’s Imperial Stout. This was one of the smoothest, imperial stouts I have had. It had a nice sweetness with just enough bitterness to balance it out. It pours a dark mahogany color with a very small tan head that disappears quickly. The smell is of roasted malts, some slight sweet chocolate, and a very slight hint of hops. The taste is sweet and slightly bitter. It’s a very smooth and easy drinking, especially considering the 10% ABV, which was not at all noticeable.

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One Brewery, 2 very different Pilseners

Published on March 2, 2008 in German, Lager and Beer. 0 Comments

I haven’t written anything about the great tasting last week at Nikki’s yet, but here’s a couple of the beers I tried there (and liked since I bought some).

All the beer was from the same brewery, Kulmbacher Brauerei AG. Last night I had the EKU Pils and the Kulmbacher Edelherb Premium Pils, both German Pilseners (a style I wouldn’t normally try).

The EKU Pils is a clear yellow color with lots of nice carbonation and a nice thick white head. Smells dry, crisp, and refreshing. Has some nice notes of some grassy hops in the nose as well. Taste is very much the same. It’s crisp, cool, and very refreshing. This would be a great beer for a hot summer afternoon. It’s not very bitter, but it’s not overly sweet. There’s a nice balance of the grassy hops and the sweeter malt. I could easily down several of these in a sitting.

The Kulmbacher Pils is quite different. It pours similar, though it’s a bit cloudier than the EKU. The smell is quite a bit sweeter with some fruity/sugary notes in there, but still some grassy hops. The taste is very different from the EKU. It’s sweeter with a sugary quality to it. The grassy hops are present, but only as a little balancing act for the sweet malt character. It’s almost got a slight sweet apple/pear flavor to it. It’s just as refreshing as the EKU, but in a very different sort of way.

Both beers were quite good. If you’re looking for something different for a hot summer afternoon, these are perfect thirst quenchers.

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Broadway Bistro

Published on February 15, 2008 in Review, Lager, Providence, Food and Beer. 0 Comments

Broadway Bistro opened up on (you guessed it) Broadway in Providence a week or 2 ago. It’s where La Prima Caffe used to be. I heard some good reviews; so Susan and I decided to try it tonight (after passing on Loie Fuller and Nicks on Broadway because they both had waits and we were hungry). I’m glad we did. We were seated right away because it wasn’t full (though I don’t imagine that will last much longer once word gets out). It’s a small space and a little cramped, but very quaint. They had an eclectic mix of music playing (I heard some Ryan Adams, Dylan, Flaming Lips, Kinks, and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t recognize).

We decided to split a salad. It was an artichoke salad with fried artichoke hearts on a bed of salad greens, some bleu or Gorgonzola cheese, and pancetta. It was excellent. I ordered the Crusty Hen and Susan ordered the Hangar Steak. I only had a bite of hers, but it was excellent. It was served with spinach and risotto (which was different, but still very good). Mine was a Cornish game hen on a bed of sautéed onions with a small piece of sweet potato bread pudding. The hen was coated with a crust (go figure) and a mixture of spices and herbs. It was cooked perfectly and was nice and moist. The only complaint about that was that they could have done with fewer spices on it. It was a little overwhelming, but not too bad. The sweet potato bread pudding was excellent, though quite different. I was very impressed with the meal and the prices were fairly reasonable. The entrees range from $14 to $23. They don’t have a dessert menu (though I expect they’ll have one at some point), but they brought out a small complimentary cup of chocolate mousse.

Since I love beer, I can’t leave that out. They had the usual suspects (nothing on tap) - Sam Adams and Light, Heineken Light, Amstel Light, Guinness (in a can), Harpoon (I assume IPA, she didn’t specify), Newport Storm (the bottle looked like the blueberry ale), Newcastle, Rolling Rock, and Peroni. OK, I guess it’s not exactly the usual suspects, but nothing spectacular. However, they also have Brooklyn Lager, which is something you almost never see around here (in Sam Adams and Harpoon country). I ordered that because it’s awesome and because I never see it in restaurants around here. The waitress brought it out with a glass and it was at the perfect temperature. I figured it’d be pretty cold, but it was perfect. They also have a pretty nice wine menu (though I know nothing about wine, but Susan’s Pinot Noir was decent, not my favorite).

All-in-all, this was a great night and a great restaurant. I’ll definitely be going back. If you live in the Providence area or are visiting, I would suggesting checking it out. It’s at 205 Broadway.

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Samuel Adams Double Bock

Published on February 6, 2008 in Review, Lager and Beer. 0 Comments

Tonight I decided to try Sam Adams Double Bock. This beer is fantastic, probably one of the best beers from Sam Adams. Anyway, it pours a nice copper color with a nice thin white head and ample carbonation. It smells of caramel malts and a bit nutty. It tastes of some nuttiness, some caramel malts, a very slight hint of chocolate, and some malty sweetness. All that is balanced nicely by the Bavarian hops. The beer is perfectly balanced and very tasty. It’s full bodied and even though it’s 8.8% ABV, it’s not noticeable and the beer is extremely drinkable. This is one excellent beer from Sam Adams. I’m glad I tried it.

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Cisco Tasting

Published on January 25, 2008 in Lager, Ale and Beer. 0 Comments

Last night, Nikki’s had their weekly tasting. This week was Cisco Brewing from Nantucket. They had the whole lineup. I had been wanting to try one of their beers for a while now and finally got my chance. The beer I wanted to try only came in 750 ml bottles, and they were more expensive, which is why I never tried it before. Anyway, here’s the lineup:

The Sankaty was good for a light beer. It had an apple scent, but a grapefruit taste. It was a bit too carbonated though (and that’s kind of the theme for the night). The Whale’s Tale was a decent pale ale. It wasn’t really anything special though. The Bailey’s was a good blonde ale with a nice light hoppy flavor. I was disappointed with the Indie Pale Ale. It wasn’t as hoppy as I would have hoped. The Celebration Libation is their winter beer. It smelled strongly of spices, but the flavors were milder. It was probably my favorite of the night. The porter was an excellent porter. I’ll probably be buying a bottle of this at some point. The stout was a little too watery and carbonated, but had a really nice flavor.

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Celebrate!

Published on November 16, 2007 in German, Lager and Beer. 0 Comments

Tonight’s “beer of the night” was Ayinger’s Celebrator Doppelbock. This beer is considered the grand-daddy of Doppelbocks, a true German classic.

The beer pours a thick dark brown color with a creamy light tan head. The beer smelled of chocolate and roasted malts with a slight metallic scent. The beer tastes like roasted chocolate malts with a thinner, but creamy and smooth mouthfeel. There’s also a slight caramel undertone to the flavor with an every so slight hops bitterness. This is a good drinkable beer and something any beer lover should try, being such a classic for this style.

The only other Doppelbock I have ever tried was Thomas Hooker’s Liberator Doppelbock. That one was a whole lot thicker with almost a motor oil feel to it. I wasn’t as crazy about that one, though I will definitely revisit it.

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Black Beer

Published on November 13, 2007 in Review, German, Lager and Beer. 1 Comment

While many people are familiar with Sam Adams’ Black Lager, they don’t realize what style the beer is and that the true German examples are very good (better than Sam’s, which is a good take on the style). I don’t drink a lot of lagers, but tonight’s beer was one I could drink and drink and drink. It was Mönchshof Schwarzbier, a German Schwarzbier “brewed according to the German Purity Laws of 1516″ (that’s what it says on the bottle). Since I don’t drink a ton of lagers, the only other beer in this style that I’ve had is the Black Lager from Sam Adams.

Anyway, this beer poured a creamy dark brown color with a creamy 1.5 finger head that left a lot of lacing as the beer was drunk. The beer smelled of sweet chocolate and caramel. The taste was awesome. Milk chocolate, caramel, and roasted malts all mixed in to give it a nice round smooth flavor. If I didn’t know what this was, I would’ve thought it was a stout. The beer is very smooth and creamy. It’s a very drinkable beer and a good introduction different styles for people used to drinking Guinness. I wish I had more of it as I could easily drink this all night. It was better than the Sam Adams, but I’m not knocking the same version of this style as it’s also a good one (though not quite as creamy).

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Nothing Beats Pizza and Beer

Published on October 14, 2007 in Review, Lager, Food and Beer. 2 Comments

I spent the past day or so in CT and when visiting southern CT, you have to go to New Haven for pizza. We went to Modern Apizza on State St. That is my current favorite pizza place anywhere. In fact, New Haven has the best pizza in the entire country. While some might try to argue that, most that do have never eaten in New Haven. Sally’s on Wooster St. used to be my favorite. However, the long lines and the slow service have deterred me from going there. Modern has a lot more seats and makes the pizza faster than Sally’s. Most people also don’t think to go there because Wooster St. is the Little Italy of New Haven and that’s where most go. The pizza has a paper thin crust and just the right amount of cheese, sauce, and toppings. The flavors are amazing. It truly is pizza that can’t be beat. I ordered the clams casino pizza. While it might sound gross, it’s a New Haven specialty. It’s not to be missed when visiting New Haven.

While at Modern, I ordered an Elm City Lager from New England Brewing in Woodbridge, CT. The beer was a very pale yellow color with a moderate head. The flavor was mostly malty sweetness with a slight hops taste to add a little bitterness to the beer. It was a refreshing beer, great for the summer. It reminded me a lot of Narragansett. I’d definitely have one again.

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