Tasting
Alefest 2008
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Events, Tasting Reviews | No Comments
Hanging out with the Pub girls
I have to say that the end of Summer is my favorite time of the year. It’s the beginning of the end of the hot & humid dog days of Summer and the weather starts to become a little more cooler and tolerable. It marks the beginning of football season and lots of anxious anticipation as to how my Steelers and Nittany Lions will fair in the upcoming months. For some, it marks the beginning of a new school year and all the excitement that brings. But for me, it signifies another Dayton Alefest — one of my favorite events of the year.
I have to say that this was one of the best AleFest ever’s, and I have to say that I overdid it a bit this year. Although I had plenty of tickets left over, due to the high alcohol percentage of most of the beers I tried, I was feeling a little too happy long before the event was over. I am very thankful and appreciative that my wife was able to accompany me as my designated driver.
The biggest reason I enjoyed this year’s festival even more than in years past is likely due to this year was the first year I actually arrived early. I was happy to see that they were letting people into the festival area in advance of the actual start time. That allowed people to scope out the tables and plan a strategy for getting the most of the festival.
And plan a strategy I did. I decided that I was going to skip or pass on anything that was normally available and concentrate on those beers that were exclusive to this year’s event. I’m sure there’s a lot I didn’t taste, but with that in mind, here are the top 8 beers I tasted at this year’s AleFest…
- Dogfish Head Festina Peche run through Randall the Enamel Animal filled with Blackberry’s — A little sweet, light & very fruity – the perfect summer beer!
- Great Lakes Barleywine — Aged since January, I was told they only have made this one time. I also got a chance to talk to the Great Lakes Rep, who noticed my Ohio Brew Week shirt. She had a lot to do with co-ordinating this event and she asked me what I thought. When I told her that the folks in Athens seemed a bit disorganized she laughed and said this was by far the most organized they’ve ever been
- Stone 10th Anniversary aged in Oak barrel
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA run through Randall filled with fresh hops
- Something from Hopping Frog (perhaps the Silk Porter, but I don’t remember). I do remember the table had one of the longest lines at the festival. I’d love to sample more beers from this Ohio brewery
- Dogfish Head Fort — Strong Ale brewed with fresh Raspberrie
- Goose Island Bourbon Stout (2006 Vintage) — This really aged well. Very drinkable despite the heavy bourbon flavors
- Dogfish Head Raison D’extra — Not sure if they make this any more, but at 20% alcohol, this tasted more like a brandy or cognac.
MVP Points Totals
I’m giving 2 points to anyone who came out this event (4 points for volunteering). And 2 additional points, if like me, you brought a designated driver. Let me know if you attended and I didn’t catch you….
Prev Total August Score New Total
- Todd 85 2 87
- Steve B 85 0 85
- Mike 48 2 50
- Steve V. 48 0 48
- Joe 46 0 46
- Andrew S. 45 0 45
- Chuck 41 4 45
- Andrew W 38 4 42
- Luke 34 2 36
- Jay 33 0 33
- Zombie 32 4 36
- Dave S 31 3 34
- Pete 21 0 21
- Dave H 3 0 3
Hot Summer Nights
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | No Comments
July Tastings was held outside on Joe's Patio
We had a full house for our July beertasting in addition to some great summer beers, fine company including some new faces, a few raindrops and an excellent job from our host. My only criticism is that as our tastings get bigger, the quantity of beer being tasted in someways prohibit us from fully enjoying some of the great beers that we had on hand. But a good quantity and quality of beer selections is a great problem to have for our tastings.
Here’s the lineup of what I had we tasted according to my notes. I think 21 different beers sets a new record for us…
- Joe B. (host) – Honey Ale & Rock Candy Saison (Homebrews), Blue Moon Belgium Wheat, St. Feuillien
- Jay — Hoegarden White Ale
- Steve B — Victory Whilrwind Witbeir, Alesmith IPA
- Dave S — New Hollland Zoomer Wheat
- Zombie — Bell’s Oberon
- Mike — Goose Island Summertime Kolsch
- Todd — Avery White Rascal Wheat Ale
- Luke — New Glarus Spotted Cow & Fat Squirrel Ale, Kwok
- Pete — Paulaner Hefeweizen
- Mark — Horse Piss Beer, Souther Tier Hop Sun
- Chris — Great Lakes Eliot Ness Lager
- Phil — Hacker-Pschorr Weisse
- Steve V (not present, but still sent beer) — Flying Dog Garde Dog
- Chuck — Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Betty (from Athen’s Ohio)
Some tastings notes…
The Victory Whirlwind had a distinct and unique peppery flavor to it — not sure if this is good, but it was very different.
Joe impressed me with his two home brew offerings. The honey ale was very smooth and drinkable. The Saison had some orange and coriander flavors going for it — very interesting.
The Hacker-Pschorr Weisse had a nice banana flavor that you would expect from a German Wheat beer. On the other hand, I thought the Paulaner Hefeweizen had a sweet honey finish to it.
I’ve never had the St. Feuillen before — I think Joe said his family got it from Belgium and that’s it’s aged a few years. Very Belgium like, I will definitely be on the look out for it in the future.
The Horse Piss beer was appropriately named. The Blue Moon Belgium tasted neither like a Belgium or wheat beer.
The Kwok had a very sweet malty flavor. Nice contrast to the summer beers we tasted.
I think Pete summarized the Bourbon Aged Black Betty — “Dessert in a glass!”.
Here was our lineup, along with their ratings from Beer Advocate and Rate Beer
Beer Advocate RateBeer
- Hoegaarden White Ale B+ 88
- Victory Whirlwind Witbier B 74
- Joe’s Honey Ale N/A
- New Holland Zoomer Wheat Ale B- 46
- Bell’s Oberon Ale B+ 82
- Paulaner Hefewiezen B+ 90
- Bluegrass Brewing Horse Piss Beer C- 4
- Goose Island Summertime Kolsch B 54
- Avery White Rascal B 64
- Coor’s Blue Moon Belgium B- 46
- Joe’s Rock Candy Saison N/A
- New Glarus Spotted Cow Ale B 43
- Southern Tier Hop Sun B+ 75
- Flying Dog Garde Dog B- 27
- Great Lakes Eliot Ness A- 90
- Hacker Pschorr Weiss A- 87
- New Glarus Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale B+ 84
- St. Feuillien Blonde B+ 79
- AleSmith IPA A 99
- Pauwel Kwak B+ 86
- Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Black Betty N/A N/A
MVP Points Totals
For the first month this year, we have no top 100 beers on our list. The AleSmith IPA is on the list, but technically we tasted that last month and Steve was kind enough to share another bottle as a few didn’t get a taste in June. However, I’m awarding bonus points to Chuck for bringing back beer from the Athens Beer Festival, Luke for bringing back New Glarus which is only available in Wisconsin, and Joe for sharing his homebrew’s and aged Belgium beers. Joe gets docked 1 point however for bringing a Coor’s product, which is almost as bad as bringing Anheiser Busch. Steve V. gets bonus points for bringing beer even though he couldn’t attend personally. Steve gets 5 points for his blog postings, which is enough to put him and Todd in a dead heat for first place.
Prev Total July Score New Total
- Todd 82 3 85
- Steve B 77 8 85
- Mike 45 3 48
- Steve V. 43 5 48
- Joe 18 28 46
- Andrew S. 45 0 45
- Chuck 35 6 41
- Andrew W 38 0 38
- Luke 22 12 34
- Jay 30 3 33
- Zombie 29 3 32
- Dave S 28 3 31
- Pete 18 3 21
- Dave H 3 0 3
Chocolate Guiness Cake
Saturday, July 12th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 1 Comment
Chocolate Guiness Cake went well with Oatmeal Stout
It’s been 3 weeks since our June tasting, and the one thing that sticks out most about the June Beertasting is the Chocolate Guiness Cake. Which says a lot, because in addition to some excellent beers, we had an incredible food line-up for Todd’s June Beer/Food Theme tasting. A special thanks to Todd and his wife for making this truly a memorable event and many bonus points are unquestionably coming — the only controversy is who should get the bonus points, Todd or Lora?
As a side note, it’s been a busy couple of weeks for our family, and we are heading to Athens, Ohio for the Ohio Brew Week Festival ( http://www.ohiobrewweek.com ) , so I may hit the main points and follow up later with any corrections or additions.
- Todd (host) - Sterken’s White Ale, Unibroue Don De Dieu, Trader Joe’s Anniversary (vintage)
- Chuck - Wiehenstephan, Bell’s Octoberfest
- Steve B. - AleSmith IPA, Brooklyn Lager
- Jay –
- Steve V. - Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar
- Pete - Sam Smith Pale Ale, New Holland Blue Goat Doppelbock (?)
- Zombie - Jimmy Buffet Land Shark Lager, Full Sail Session Lager
- Luke - Belgian Style Wietbeer(?)
- Mike/Joe - New Holland Zoomer Wheat Ale, Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Bell’s Porter
- Andrew - Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
- Paul - Southern Tier IPA
- Unclaimed — Morlein Emancipator
Here was the menu that was served…
- Pre-Tasting - Trader Joe’s Anniversary
- Chevre on crostini(paired with the Weihenstephan Hefeweizen)
- Grilled Portobello Mushrooms(paired with Rogue Hazelnut and Sam Smith Pale Ale)
- Garlic Shrimp Skewer(paired with a Belgian Style Wietbeer and an Brooklyn Lager, Full Sail Session & Land Shark)
- BBQ Beef Sliders(paired with AleSmith IPA and Founders Dry Hopped Ale)
- Beer Brined Pork Medallions(paired with Bell’s porter, Morlein Emancipator & New Holland Blue Goat Doppelbock)
- Lemon Squares(paired with Sterkens White Ale and Zoomer Ale)
- Chocolate Guinness Cake (new recipe)(paired with a Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout and Bell’s Oktoberfest)
- Bonus Beers - Southern Tier IPA & Unibroue Don De Dieu
Since the theme was food & beer pairings, my comments are strictly on the pairings themselves and how I felt each complimented the other. I felt all the food and beer were excellent selections!
The banana wheat flavor of the Weihenstephan complimented the crostini well. Most of the comments I heard suggested that the Rogue Hazelnut overwhelmed the grilled mushrooms; however, I felt the earthy flavors of the Hazelnut complimented these flavors better thean the Pale Ale. I didn’t think I would enjoy an American Lager, but I must say the crisp flavor of the lagers (especially Session) was an excellent choice to go with the shrimp skewers. Both Ale’s were great selections to go with the Beef, but the Founders Dry Hopped Ale stood out the best (maybe because wasn’t that much of the AleSmith to go around. Hmmm, I wonder if you get full credit for not bringing enough for everyone. :-)).
I thought the pork medallions went better the the Dobbelbock, the porter was a bit too heavy. The lemon bars were perhaps my favorite pairing, as I really thought the Belgium White Ale and Wheat beer went well with this desert. I didn’t think the Octoberfest was rich enough to go with the Guiness Cake; the Oatmeal Stout was a much better pairings.
As always, feel free to add your own comments or to correct any of the beers above. I’ve got a couple beer’s unaccounted for, I’m assuming they are from Luke and/or Jay…
MVP Points Totals
Todd (ie, Lora) gets 10 extra bonus points for the incredible meal selections had at this tastings as well as for posting all the recipes. He is docked 1 point however for his Russian Judge comments without checking to see if Jay earned his extra bonus point through some other means such as a blog entry). So in total, I’ve given him 15 hosting points + 10 hosting bonus points + 9 points for 3 beers + 5 for postings, including all the recipes, minus 1 Russian judge comment = 38 points, moving Todd into the lead. Steve and Chuck get bonus points for top 100 beers and Steve B and Steve V gets 5 and 1 extra points respectively for relevant postings (It really helps me if you post your beer selection and that’s an easy way to pick up an extra point). Let me know if I short-changed you on a bonus beer or if brought something special/difficult to find. Joe/Mike as well as Pete also had bonus beers.
Prev Total June Score New Total
- Todd 44 38 82
- Steve B 61 16 77
- Andrew S. 45 0 45
- Mike 40 5 45
- Steve V. 40 3 43
- Andrew W 35 3 38
- Chuck 27 8 35
- Jay 27 3 30
- Zombie 23 6 29
- Dave S 28 0 28
- Luke 19 3 22
- Joe 13 5 18
- Pete 12 6 18
- Dave H 3 0 3
June Tasting: Food/Beer Pairings
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 9 Comments
Here’s the latest information from Todd regarding beertasting…..
As of today, we have 10 attendees (including myself). Based upon that, I have planned the tasting around 13 beers. I will provide multiple beers, and anybody else who wants to provide more than 1 is welcome to do so. Here is the list of beer styles we need:
- Belgian Style Wietbeer I (TBD) Todd
- Belgian Style Wietbeer 2 (TBD) Luke
- Hefeweizen Wiehenstephan (Chuck )
- American Style Wheat Beer New Holland Zoomer Wheat Ale (Mike)
- American Lager Jimmy Buffet Land Shark Lager (Zombie)
- Pale Ale I Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale (Mike)
- Pale Ale 2 (TBD) Pete
- IPA AleSmith IPA Steve B.
- Brown Ale Hazelnut Brown Nectar (Steve V)
- Porter Bell’s Porter (Mike)
- Oktoberfest/Marzen potentially Bell’s Octoberfest (Chuck)
- Stout Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout (Andrew)
- Bock (TBD) Pete
(Chuck: Here are some possible suggestions of some of the traditional beers in each categeory.that we’ve not tasted yet this year. Selections marked with an * are in the top 100 list)
Belgian Style Witbiers — Hoegaarden, Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, Allagash White Ale, Celis White, Sam Adams White Ale, Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat
American Style Wheat Beers - Bell’s Oberon, Sam Adams Summer Ale, Three Floyd’s Gumbalhead, Sam Adams Hefeweizen, Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat, Magic Hat Hocus Pocus
American Lager — Lots of beers qualify for this category but I was hoping for something a little more refined such as Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Heavy Seas Uber Pils, Penn Pilsner. Technically, Dortmunder Gold and Penn Pilsner are German style lagers brewed in US, but I’d rather have them than Budweiser…
Pale Ale — Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Magic Hat #9, Alpha King Pale Ale*, Great Lakes Burning River Pale
IPA — Given the recent hop-themed beertasting, might be difficult to find a non-repeat in this category. Here’s some options… AleSmith IPA*, Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA, Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, Founders Centennial IPA, New Holland Mad Hatter IPA, Stone IPA (but Ruination IPA would be a repeat)
Brown Ale — Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale, Sam Adams Brown Ale, Pete’s Wicked Ale, Goose Island Nut Brown Ale, Abita Turbodog, Hobgoblin
Porter — Sierra Nevada Porter, Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter, Darwin Original Flag Porter
Octoberfest/Marzen — Not sure what’s available this time of year. The only Octerberst we’ve had this year is the Dayton Art Institute Octoberfest.
Bock — Shiner Bock, Anchor Bock, Dead Guy Ale, Aventinus* , Kulmbacher Eisbock ( I expanded bock beers to include maibock, doppelbock and Eisbock)
(Todd)
Please let everybody know what you are bringing so we end up with the right counts. Specify the specific brand/label if you are bringing one of the beers requiring two varieties.
Here is the menu:
- Chevre on crostini(paired with the Hefeweizen)
- Grilled Portobello Mushrooms(paired with a Brown Ale and a Pale Ale)
- Garlic Shrimp Skewer(paired with a Belgian Style Wietbeer and an American Lager)
- BBQ Beef Sliders(paired with an IPA and a Pale Ale)
- Beer Brined Pork Medallions(paired with a Porter and a Bock)
- Lemon Squares(paired with Belgian Style Wietbeer and an American Style Wheat Beer)
- Chocolate Guinness Cake (new recipe)(paired with a Stout and an Oktoberfest or Marzen)
_____________________________________________
From: Todd
Subject: June Beer Tasting
We will be meeting at my house on the 25th at 7:30 PM with tasting to begin shortly there after. Just to recap, it will be a food pairings theme. My lovely wife and I are working diligently to close on the menu, but the overall execution will be as follows.
My wife and I will prepare a handful of appetizers, main course finger foods, and of course the famous Guinness Cake, for a targeted number of 6-8 courses depending upon attendance. Early next week I will send out a note with the courses, as well as two beer selections (by type to allow the buyer some choice in selection) for each course (for the comparison). For example, we might have lamb and we will taste the dish with a Belgian Ale and an American Style Pale Ale (just an example, I am not saying this is a good choice for pairings).
Confirmed so far:
- Steve Brooke
- Jay
- Chuck
- Stephen VanHorn
- Pete
- Zombie
- Luke
- Mike
- Barter
What my house lacks in gadgets and high-end electronics, I promise to make up in ambience! I have polished the rabbit ears and channel 16 looks pretty good in B&W!
He beat him like a rented mule!
Monday, June 2nd, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 4 Comments
Pens dominate Game 3 of Stanley Cup
When looking for a host for May, we were looking for something new and different. Steve V. stepped up to the plate, and not only delivered a hit, but a game-winning walk-off grand slam to boot! A fantastic night of beer-tasting — Steve delivers with good food, great beer, a basement that would fit into any Homearama house, and the Penguins on a 92 inch projector-type screen for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
OK, so Detroit would make a series of it and eventually win the Stanley Cup in Game 6. But not before the Penguins turned it around in Game 3 and made a series of it In the exciting game 3, the Pens go up 2-0 and then hold off the Red Wings to win Game 3 by the score of 3-2. It would have been an exciting game to watch on my 21 inch screen, but it was truly a breathtaking experience watching the Pens win covering the entire wall of Steve’s media room.
We had a great turn-out, and once again, a lot of quality beer to drink. I counted 16 beers for the night. Here’s the line-up (please post any corrections and I can fix them) from my notes….
- Steve V (host) — Dogfish Head Burton Baton, Ommegang Rare Vos
- Mike — Goose Island Summertime Kolsch
- Joe — Great Lakes Holy Moses, Harpoon 100 barrel series Fifth of Forth (bonus)
- Craig (new guy) — Great Lakes Elliot Ness Lager
- Todd/Jay (tag team) — Celis Grand Cru, Fuller’s London Pride, Stone Pale Ale, Bell’s Double Cream Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout
- Chuck — Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Harvest Ale
- Zombie — Orval
- Steve B. — Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
- Dave S. — Rogue Mom Hefeweizen
- Pete – Goose Island India Pale Ale
The theme this month was beers related to the Top 125 Places to Have a Beer list, courtesy of All About Beer Magazine. I was quite intrigued by this list, and a little upset that I personally had only visited 1 of the top 125 places (A recent weekend trip to Cleveland and the Great Lakes Brewery would soon double my participation to two). The list on this webpage has some additional information and some of my thoughts — look for a separate upcoming blog entry with some of my analysis. We had 3 beers from the Great Lakes Brewing Company (#35 on the list) and two beers from Goose Island (#84). In addition, we had 1 beer each from Dogfish Head (#91), Sierra Nevada (#60), Rogue (#32), Ommegong (#86). We also had Orval from the famed Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval (#7) along with 5 recent winners from the Great American Beer Festival (#1), Great British Beer Festival (#4), and the World Beer Festival (#25).
While visiting Cleveland the weekend before the tasting, I managed to make it to the Great Lakes Brewery. I planned to bring home a growler or two for this tasting, but the only problem was that I waited till Sunday to purchase my growler, only to find the brew pub closed. So I didn’t bring back any beer - but posted a couple of pictures in this month’s photo section
I was so enthralled by the Penquins game, I didn’t take a lot of notes for this tasting. But I do recall we had some absolutely excellent selections — both in quantity and quality. Although the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter was the only beer we had in the official top 100 list, I felt we had a lot of memorable selections.
I was very intrigued by the Fifth Forth of Ale selection from Harpoon’s 100 barrel series. I’ve been reluctant to buy Harpoon as I’ve had mixed experiences with them, but this one was indeed a winner. From their website, the 100 barrel series is a “one-of-a-kind limited batch creations fashioned by a Harpoon brewer. Every couple of months a different Harpoon brewer will choose a style, develop a recipe, and brew the g=beer - form selecting the ingredients to the final filtrations.” I thought this Scottish Ale had a lot of flavor and Scottish malt backing, which normally I don’t find appealing, but in this case was exceptional. The Fifth of Forth was session #22 in the series, and session #23 is currently available (Old Rusty’s Red Rye Ale). But this is the first of seen of this series in Dayton - I wonder what happened to the first 21 sessions?
I also thought the Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Harvest Ale was interesting. According to the Sierra Nevada website, this is the first time that an American brewer has put out a beer with fresh-picked hops from the Southern Hemisphere. I don’t know if this is significant, but it sounds interesting. Although the beer was quite enjoyable with a hoppy bitter taste, I’m not sure if it was that significantly different than the normal high hopped beers we tasted last month.
The Burton Baton is a mix of the 90 minute IPA aged in oak barrels. The oak aging adds a wonderful woody, vanilla flavor to the beer, and there’s a bit of an alcohol aftertaste (alcohol content 10%+). This would make a fine sipping beer to end the night with with very similar characteristics of a fine barley wine. I would be curious to see if and how this beer ages.
Of the three beers that I would consider summer beers, the Summertime Kolsch, Holy Moses, and MoM Hefeweizen, I enjoyed the Goose Island Summertime Kolsch the best for a beer to have on a summer day. Although the Holy Moses had a bit more flavor and spice to it.
The Edmund Fitzgerald is one of my favorites and the Double Cream Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout also received high marks. They each deserve a separate tasting when they have my undivided attention (and my taste buds not so spent).
- Great Lakes Elliot Ness BA A- RB 90
- Dogfish Head Burton Baton BA A- RB 94
- Goose Island Summertime Kolsch BA B RB 55
- Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale BA B+ RB 70
- Michigan Brewing Celis Grand Cru BA B RB 58
- Fuller’s London Pride BA B+ RB 81
- Stone Pale Ale BA B+ RB 92
- Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere BA A- RB 94
- Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (2008)
- Rogue MoM Hefeweizen BA B RB 63
- Ommegang Rare Vos Belgium Style Ale BA A- RB 88
- Harpoon Firth of Forth Ale BA B RB 66
- (100 Barrel Series)
- Orval Trappist Ale BA A- RB 98
- Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout BA A- RB 97
- Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter BA A RB 98
- Goose Island India Pale Ale BA B+ RB 90
- Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout BA B+ RB 87
MVP POINTS TOTAL
Steve grows his lead with another 5 extra points for a top 100 (Edmund Fitzgerald #52). Todd and Jay combine with 3 bonus beers, and Joe gets extra points for bringing his Harpoon 100 barrel series. In addition to his hosting and bonus beer points, I’m giving Steve V. and extra 5 points for having the best basement and another 5 points for putting the hockey game on the big screen. And Zombie gets an extra point for bringing Belgium trappist beer as well as for his original post for the Top 125 list.
Remember, an easy way to pick up points is to add any relevant content to the blog such as a review of a beer tasted, notification of an upcoming event, or anything beer related.
Prev Total May Score New Total
- Steve B 52 9 61
- Andrew S. 45 0 45
- Todd 36 8 44
- Mike 37 3 40
- Steve V. 9 31 40
- Andrew W 35 0 35
- Dave S 25 3 28
- Chuck 24 3 27
- Jay 18 9 27
- Zombie 17 6 23
- Luke 19 0 19
- Joe 4 9 13
- Pete 9 3 12
- Dave H 3 0 3
Let’s get hopped!
Friday, April 25th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 3 Comments
A glimpse into Andrew's beer cellar
What can I say about Wednesday’s beertasting. Andrew did an incredible job with excellent food, we had a great turnout, and tasted assortment of beers that left nothing to be desired — both in quantity and quality.
Full turnout, and Todd more than makes up for missing recent tastings with some fantastic bonus beers. Andrew also pitched in with a few selections from his cellar, and I counted 5 top 100 beers total this month, plus two excellent home brewed selections (one of which is being entered in Sam Adams Long Shot competition — Go Mike!)
- Andrew W (host) — Stone Old Guardian Barleywine, Allagash 4, Sammy’s Smiths Winter Welcome (1998), Joe W’s home-brewed hopfen tuefel zwei
- Todd — Two hearted Ale (mini-keg), Lagunitas IPA, Stone Ruination IPA, Alaska Brewing Smoked Porter
- Pete — Great Divide Titan IPA
- Steve — Victory Hop Devil
- Zombie — Bear Republic Hot Rod Rye
- Dave S. — Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA
- Andrew S. — Bell’s Pale Ale
- Jay — Stoudt’s Smooth Hoperator
- Steve B — Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA
- Joe B. — Stoudts Double IPA
- Mike — Weyerbacher Hops Infusion, Sam Adams Longshot entry “Dark Chocolate Expresso Stoudt”
- Luke — Mad River Steelhead Double IPA
- Chuck — Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught IPA
With such a large selection, my only (minor) complaint was that some of the IPA’s and high hopped beers tended to merge together after a few tastings and my taste buds at that point weren’t worthy to give them their due. I made a lot of notes, but I’ll spare you as most say “nice fruity aroma, excellent citrusy hops flavor”, etc. I don’t think I tasted one beer that I was disappointed with.
However, I do want to touch upon some of the highlights. I thought the Bell’s Two Hearted Ale was an excellent balance of hops and very refreshing. The Bear Republic Hot Rod Rye was darker in color with more maltier balance than the high hopped beers. The Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught had a much more earthy, pine flavor with a hint of spice. And I also noted the Great Divide Titan IPA had a very bitter hoppy flavor that lingered nicely on the back of my tongue. The double IPA’s (Stoudt’s and Mad River Steelhead) had a more pronounced alcohol bite to them, and of course the 90 minute IPA is known for it’s intense hop flavor.
Aside from the hoppy beers, there were also some additional bonus beers that did not exactly fit the theme, but were noteworthy in their own right. Old Guardian had a big bold flavor with a nice balance of malt and hop flavors. The Allagash Four (with 4 types of hops, 4 malts, 4 sugars and fermented 4 times with 4 different yeasts) didn’t quite fit into this tasting although I highly recommend it with a sweet Belgium yeasty flavor. My personal favorite beer of the night was the Alaskan Smoked Porter with a smokey, dry finish that complimented the beer without overwhelming it. And the vintage Sammy Smith — aged for nearly 10 years now – had a scotch & alcohol aroma to it, but was surprisingly very smooth with a bit of a sweetness to it. An excellent sipping beer to end the night with.
And I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the two home brewed beer selections. One was a Joe Waizmaan specialty beer which he called hpofen tuefel zwei — I noted it had a sherry flavored alcohol taste to it and very drinkable. Mike was nice enough to include his entry into the Sam Adams Long Shot competition. I noted his Dark Chocolate Expresso Stout had a sweet aroma, small head, smooth initial taste with a big coffee flavored aftertaste with subtle chocolate flavors. A very complex and interesting beer to taste. Good luck Mike in the competition and please remember us little guys if you win!
I counted five beers total in the top 100, including Dreadnaught IPA (#13), Two-Hearted Ale (#54), Hop Rod Rye (#56), Stone Ruination (#64), 90 minute IPA (#92). All together, we had 13 beers with a rating of 90. I reluctantly included the Winter Welcome Ale for reference only, as they were obviously not rating the 10 year aged vintage beer that we were drinking.
- Bell’s Two Hearted Ale BA A RB 99
- Great Divide Titan IPA BA A- RB 96
- Victory HopDevil Ale BA A- RB 98
- Lagunitas IPA BA B+ RB 86
- Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye BA A RB 99
- Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA BA A- RB 94
- Bell’s Pale Ale BA B RB 72
- Stoudts Smooth Hoperator BA A- RB 91
- Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA BA A RB 99
- Stoudt’s Double IPA BA B+ RB 96
- Weyerbacher Hops Infusion BA B RB 83
- Mad River Steelhead Double IPA BA B+ RB 87
- Hopfen Tuefel Zwei Not Rated
- Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught IPA BA A RB 100
- Stone Ruination IPA BA A RB 99
- Stone Old Guardian BarleyWine Style Ale BA A- RB 97
- Allagash Four BA A- RB 97
- Dark Chocolate Expresso Stoudt Not Rated
- Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter BA A- RB 98
- 1999 Vintage Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome BA B RB 66
MVP POINTS TOTAL
First, a small change in the scoring system. I want to give more flexibility in giving bonus points when bringing rare, hard to find more expensive beers, so I am increasing the potential bonus points total to 20. And going back to re-evaluate the scoring, I’m giving Mike the full 20 point maximum for sharing his Utopia back in February.
Lots of bonus points to be doled out this month. Steve gets 5 extra points for a top 100 plus 2 blog contribution points, and maintains his overall lead. But Todd and Andrew make a big move this month. Todd brings 4 beers total (12 points) plus 2 top 100’s (10 points), and I gave him 8 bonus points for sharing the very difficult to find Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter for 30 points all together. Andrew gets credit for 4 beers (12 points), being an excellent host (15 points) and 5 + 3 bonus points for sharing the unusual and unique beers (1999 Vintage Winter Welcome + hopfen tuefel zwei home brew). Mike also gets 3 bonus points for his unique home brewed beer, and I gave myself 2 bonus points for finding the Dreadnaught (they’ve temporarily stopped distributing in Ohio and I went to 4 stores before finding this. Big Kudos to Centerville take out store next to Sweeney’s Restaurant for helping me find this), plus 5 for it being a top 100. Zombie also gets bonus points for his Hop Rod Rye (5 for top 100 plus 2 for unique and hard to find plus 1 Blog Participation point).
Remember, an easy way to pick up points is to add any relevant content to the blog such as a review of a beer tasted, notification of an upcoming event, or anything beer related.
Prev Total April Score New Total
- Steve B 44 10 52
- Andrew S. 42 3 45
- Mike 28 9 37
- Todd 6 30 36
- Andrew W 0 35 35
- Dave S 22 3 25
- Chuck 14 10 24
- Luke 16 3 19
- Jay 15 3 18
- Zombie 6 11 17
- Steve V. 6 3 9
- Pete 6 3 9
- Dave H 3 0 3
- Joe 1 3 4
Cave Aged Ommegang!
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 | Announcements, Beer News, Tasting Reviews | 4 Comments
Cave Aged Ommegang was the highlight of March Testing
Sorry this is so late getting out — busy month. First a couple of announcements…
April beertasting is at Andrew W. house. The theme will be hoppy beers — in honor of the humulus lupulus plant that is used to flavor many of our finer beers. In the midst of the current (hopefully short-lived) hop shortage, we will be drinking our favorite beers with a predominant hop quality — while they are still available. Excellent suggestion Pete!
Also, for anyone interested, Lee Hill of Sierra Nevada will be at Dorothy Lane in Oakwood Wednesday, April 16 (tonight if you read this immediately), I tried to research who Lee Hill is, but couldn’t find anything on the guy, but I’m sure it will be interesting. Also, Friday night, April 18 is a Belgium beer tasting event at “A Taste of Wine” in Miamisburg. I’ve not been to a tasting event here, but it’s a quaint little wine/beer store with a built in tasting bar that looks like it has lots of atmosphere. Sally and I may attend if we can get a babysitter.
I’ve been exchanging emails with a New Jersey Beertasting club has seen our website. They’ve expressed interest in a joint beertasting event sometime in the near future where perhaps we set up a simulcast and co-ordinate the beer list so that we each have the same selections. I’m not sure how this would work exactly or if it would be worth the trouble, but I thought I’d open it up for thoughts, ideas, comments?
March brought on March Madness. And although we had a lot of people out this month, Dave still hosted an excellent event as we all cheered on Belmont as they nearly sent Duke packing in the first round. Here’s the notes I took on some of our selections.
- Dave S. (host) - Pyramid Hefeweizen, Barrel house Cumberland Pale Ale
- Steve — Stone Russian Imperial, Cave Aged Three Philosophers
- Andrew – Anchor Porter (?)
- Chuck — New Holland Red Tulip
- Jay — Wooden Shoe Bock + Ommegang Abbey Ale (?)
Steve wins some major bonus points this month. The Stone Russian Imperial is number 12 on the top 100 list, the highest rated beer we’ve had this year. And I thought it lived up to its rating — with a smooth sweet chocolate malt taste - a very heavy, complex and filling beer. In addition, Steve brought the Ommegang special edition Cave Aged Three Philosophers. From my notes, I recall a bold hoppy start, with a alcohol finish and a characteristic Belgium yeast flavor.
The Cave-Aged label got me curious to see what was special about aging beer in caves, and here is what I found on theOmmegang website…
“We set out to replicate as closely as possible the conditions that produce extraordinary champagnes,” explained Randy Thiel. “The virtues of cave-aging are well understood by champagne producers. There is no doubt that these dark, silent, subterranean “cathedrals” are the ideal surroundings for secondary fermentation and maturation of wines (and beers). It is further known that cold constant temperature between 50 and 55 degrees leads to great complexity, and that the colder the storage, the slower the maturation.”
Another beer that got my attention was the Barrel House Cumberland Pale Ale, with a very sweet hops! We also tasted Ommegang Abbey Ale (I think Jay brought this as a bonus), which I noted had a unique licorice flavor to it. Finally, the Anchor Porter scored high marks for its drinkability and roasted malt flavors.
Here’s the lineup (the rating for Three Philosphers is the regular Three Philosophers, not enough reviews for the Cave Aged beer to be ranked).
- Pyramid Hefeweizen BA C+ RB 32
- Wooden Shoe Bock BA B+ RB 35
- Stone Russian Imperial Stout (#12) BA A RB 100
- New Holland Red Tulip Ale BA B RB 60
- Ommegang Cave Aged Three Philosophers * BA A- RB 97
- Ommegang Abbey Ale BA A- RB 97
- Barrel House Cumberland Pale Ale BA B RB 68
- Anchor Porter BA A- RB 98
MVP POINTS TOTAL
Steve definitely gets some bonus points for his two selections and surpasses Andrew for first place (unless Andrew had a bonus beer that I didn’t give him credit). The Stone Russian Imperial Stout is in the top 100 (#12). The Cave Aged Three Philosophers was not in the top 100, but I gave him 3 extra points for originality and uniqueness, plus the points for bringing a bonus beer. Dave moves up the list for hosting and bringing a bonus as well. We had one more bonus beer, which I believe was Jay’s. Let me know if I’ve made any mistakes….
Prev Total March Score New Total
- Steve B 30 14 44
- Andrew S. 39 3 42
- Dave S 6 16 22
- Mike 18 0 18
- Luke 16 0 16
- Jay 9 6 15
- Chuck 11 3 14
- Steve V. 6 0 6
- Zombie 6 0 6
- Todd 6 0 6
- Pete 6 0 6
- Dave H 3 0 3
- Joe 1 0 1
St. Bernardus! February Recap
Thursday, February 28th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 2 Comments
Impressive linup of beers for February Tasting
What a night of beer tasting! Originally I announced we had no less than 4 beers from the Top 100 list! But I blew it and was completely wrong. I missed that Ayinger Celebrator is ranked #32 and Duvel ranks #80 on the list making it 6 beers in the Top 100!!! And several others that had to be pretty close. We also tasted the two beers in the Sam Adams LongShot pack — beers that won the Sam Adams homebrew contest. But to top everything off, Joe outdid everybody by bringing in Budweiser! OK, it wasn’t Budweiser, but he did get ridiculed for bringing in an Anheuser Busch product — prompting us to immediately adopt a new rule in our MVP contest hereby known as the Joe Barter Rule: Automatic 2 point deduction for bringing anything made by Anheuser Busch.
Attendees
- Andrew S. (host) — Duvel, St. Bernardus Tripel and Abt 12
- Steve B — Great Lakes Blackout Stout
- Jay — Full Sail Pale Ale
- Mike — Sam Adams Longshot
- Luke — Celebrator
- Dave S - Lion Stout
- Steve V. - Heavy Seas Holy Sheet
- Zombie - Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale
- Joe — Budweiser (technically Shock Top Belgium White)
- Chuck — Bells HopSlam
The 6 beers tasted from the top 100 were St. Bernardus Abt 12 (18th), Bells HopSlam (30th), Great Lakes Blackout Stout (76), Duvel (80) and St. Bernardus Tripel (99th). I still think that this is amazing. Somebody took the time to put together a list of the top 100 beers in the entire world and we had 6 of them in one night! And all 6 lived up to their billing in my opinion. Celebrator has a rich malty flavor to it and is one of my favorites. The HopSlam had a wonderful citrusy aroma with much grapefruit and citrus flavors in the taste. The Blackout Stout was dark, rich and complex — with a roasted malt flavor. Duvel poured with a thick creamy head and had a yeasty flavor to it. St. Bernardus Tripel had a spicy Belgium yeast flavor with hint of citrusy fruit. And the St. Bernardus 12 was very smooth and drinkable for it’s high alcohol content. All of them were very good and worth having again — even if they were no “Shock Top Belgium White”).
Aside from the top 6, we had a few others than get honorable mention. Lion Stout, Full Sail Pale Ale and Seven Seas were all very good. I’m not a big fan of Irish style ale’s, but I did like the Goose Island and thought it was very smooth and drinkable. I did not care for the Sam Adams Longshot winners, a Weizenbock and Grape Pale Ale. The Weizenbock had too much clove flavor for my taste and the Grape Pale Ale had too little hop flavor. But I enjoyed tasting them and thankful to Mike for bringing them.
Joe’s Shock Top Belgium White drew rave comparison’s with previous Dayton Beertasting Classics such as the Sorghum Beer and Cherry Wheat. (The Sorghum brought back reminiscings of Andy, who Luke tells us is doing quite well in North Carolina these days). In Joe’s defense, Shock top wasn’t nearly as bad as these beers — although it was a little bland and flavorless for the style. I think Luke summed it up best when he described “It looks like pee.”
Other notable conversation topics included the Oscars (in which we all agreed we didn’t see any of the nominated movies), midget wrestling on YouTube, and the downfall of the Dayton Flyers basketball team (which apparently was the dramatic come from behind win against Miami, OH. On a sad note, Chuck mourned the loss of Myron Cope, the creator the Terrible Towel. Todd made a brief visit via a cell phone call from Joe, in which he declared, “I am going home and getting sick”. Zombie announced that he would be hosting a Stone Vertical tasting in December 1212 with all but the 01-01-01 beer, and Chuck volunteered to pay for barmaids. And the line of the night goes to Jay, who answered Steve’s question regarding arrangements for next month with “I think it will be March”.
Here’s the beer lineup with current ratings and links to the Beer Advocate and Ratebeer sites. I was a little late so not sure about the order of the fist couple…
- Full Sail Pale Ale BA B+ RB 72
- Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock BA A RB 100
- Shock Top Belgium White BA B- RB 26
- Longshot Grape Pale Ale BA B RB 32
- Longshot Weizenbock BA B RB 93
- Bells Hopslam BA A RB 100
- Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale BA B RB 54
- Heavy Seas Holy Sheet BA A RB 59
- Great Lakes Blackout Stout BA A RB 98
- Lion Stout BA A- RB 97
- Duvel BA A RB 97
- St. Bernardus Tripel BA A RB 96
- St. Bernardus Abt 12 BA A RB 100
MVP POINTS TOTAL
With 6 Top 100 beers, lots of bonus points to dole out. I briefly considered docking Andrew for a lack of snacks, but I am glad I reconsidered. Although lacking in variety, the food we did have I thought was excellent and plentiful. In particular, I loved the cubes of the Dorothy Lane bread he cut up, and the chips and salsa was quite good. And kudos to him for having several vegetarian selections as well — I came without dinner and did not leave hungry. Andrew and Luke get double bonus points for both bringing 2 beers in the top 100. Chuck and Steve also had the other top 100 beers and Joe gets docked for bringing Anheuser Busch to beertasting. Steve also gets a bonus point for adding a comment to the blog, and I gave Mike some extra points since he brought 2 different beers in 1 six pack.
Feb Score Previous Total New Total
- Andrew S. 31!!! 8 39
- Steve B 9 21 30
- Mike 5 13 18
- Luke 16 0 16
- Chuck 8 3 11
- Jay 3 6 9
- Dave S 3 3 6
- Steve V. 3 3 6
- Zombie 3 3 6
- Todd 0 6 6
- Pete 0 6 6
- Dave H 0 3 3
- Joe 1 0 1
Utopia!
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 2 Comments
Sam Adams Utopia was the hit of January Tasting
The January theme was beers from Presidential candidates home states, so we had a wide variety of beers and styles to choose from. And although there were some great selections, the overall winner was Mike, who brought us Samual Adams Utopias. This beer retailed at The Party Source (if you can find it) for $153.95 for 1 24 oz bottle and is 25% ABV. Very much a sipping beer, it had a warm, sweet, rich flavor.
Steve hosted this event and didn’t an excellent job with a variety of food choices. And congratulations for Todd, Jay and Mike for coming up with the answer to this month’s trivia question, “What 4 college/universities have produced both a US President and Super Bowl Quarterback (answer below).
Attendees (Sorry, I don’t have records of who brought what)
- Steve (Host) (Left Hand Imperial Stout & Mendocino White Hawk IPA)
- Mike (Utopias)
- Chuck (Southern Tier Porter)
- Dave H. (Shiner Hefeweizen)
- Dave S.(Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale)
- Zombie (Wooden Shoe Lager)
- Jay (Buckeye Brewing Hippie IPA & DAI Label)
- Todd (Brooklyn Chocolate Stout & Shorts Woodmaster)
- Andrew S. (Bells Expedition stout)
- Steve V. (Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale)
- Pete M (Stoudts American Pale Ale & Flying Dog Gonzo)
Our complete lineup for the night included. I’ve included rating from Beer Advocate and Rate Beer Websites (for the complete review, click on the rating). Not a bad night given the ratings, with no less than 6 beers with a score of 90 or better plus 1 89.
- Shiner Hefeweizen BA - B-, RB - 27
- Buckeye Brewing Hippie IPA BA - B+, RB - 89
- Mendocino White Hawk India Pale Ale BA - B-, RB - 63
- Stoudts American Pale Ale BA - B, RB - 80
- Wooden Shoe Lager Beer BA - B, RB - 52
- Oktoberfest 2007 (brewed for the Dayton Art Institute Oktoberfest) — N/A
- Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale BA - A-, RB - 93
- Southern Tier Porter BA - B , RB - 78
- Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter BA - A-, RB - 98
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout BA - A-, RB - 99
- Bells Expedition Stout BA - A, RB - 100
- Left Hand Imperial Stout BA - B+, RB - 94
- Short’s The Woodmaster BA - B+, RB - NR
- Samual Adams Utopias BA - A, RB - 98
Beside Utopias, I particularly enjoyed the Bell’s Expedition Stout, and was somewhat disappointed in Southern Tier’s Porter (it seemed a bit “thin”). I also didn’t particularly care for the Brooklyn, and was very surprised by it’s high rating.
Oh yes, and the answer to the trivia question….
- University of Michigan - Tom Brady (Patriots) and Gerald Ford
- Stanford University - John Elway (Broncos) & Jim Plunkett (Raiders) and Herbert Hoover
- United States Naval Academy — Roger Staubach (Cowboys) and Jimmy Carter
- Miami University of Ohio — Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) and Benjamin Harrison
December Tasting: Christmas Beers
Friday, December 21st, 2007 | Tasting Reviews | No Comments
Bartenders Sammy & Tasia helped with the tasting
Thanks for all those who attended the December tasting at Chuck’s house. I thought it was a huge success and have posted pictures on the web site. I didn’t catch who brought what beer, but here is the roll call and the selection that we had (quite an impressive list)….
Attendees…
- Chuck & Sally
- Joe & Cathy Barter
- Mike & Lori
- Matt & Tina
- Steve
- Luke
- Todd
- Dave H
- Dave S
- Andrew W.
- Andrew S.
- +bartenders Sammy and Tasia
Beers Sampled….
- Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
- Great Lakes Christmas Ale
- Great Divide Hibernation Ale
- Penn Brewery St. Nikolaus Bock
- Mike’s Happy Holidays Ale
- Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
- Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve
- Goose Island Christmas Ale
- Bell’s Winter Welcome
- Anchor Steam Christmas Ale 2004
- Anchor Steam Christmas Ale 2007
- Killer Penguin BarleyWine
- Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve (20 oz bottle, I guess this was a duplicate)
- Trader Joe’s 2005 Vintage Ale
- Young’s Winter Warmer
- AleSmith Yuletide Holiday Ale
- Barrelhouse Belgian Style Winter Ale
- Church Brew Works Belgian Triple mini-keg (which kept well the next day).
I thought they were all good, as best as I can remember. But the ones that stood out for me in particular were Penn Brewery St. Nikolaus, Great Divide Hibernation Ale and the AleSmith Holiday Ale. I was also very impressed with Mike’s homebrew — I thought it stood up well next to any of them. Great job, Mike.
I thought it was also interesting to do the Anchor Steam vertical tasting. You could really taste the difference in the aged beer — it was much smoother with the spruce flavor being a little mellower. Someone commented that the 2004 had more of an alcohol taste to it. I preferred the 2004, but others liked the 2007. It was bolder and more intense flavors.
As a side note, we forgot to split up the extra’s and I have a ton of beer in my refrigerator which I will not be able to drink or store. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood Friday or Saturday. Also, somebody left a nice sweatshirt with a West Virginia logo on it. It’s a nice sweatshirt, but due to the logo, I could only use it for like changing my oil, etc. 
Happy Holidays.