After I finished the newsletter, but before you start, I formatted a lot of stuff that I copied in this one, so some of it may look weird when I hit publish. I apologize, I was not really on top of my game for this one. Also... there are no pictures. So I'm ok if you only read like three paragraphs and give up. I understand that. I would ask that you read the last paragraph, that's kind of interesting. And here we go...
Sorry so late. I really got caught up in season 5 of True Blood on Memorial Day. It kind of soaked up a lot of spare time that I would have otherwise used to write/edit a very popular, semi-quarterly newsletter. Instead, I can tell you in very much detail the setup of the Vampire government and Religion's impact on it's leadership. You probably don't want to hear about that. You probably don't want to hear a long winded introduction about my 8th grade BASIC class either. But there's nothing I can do about that now. It's already in print. I added a little bonus to all of the sections, and added some reviews comments from Untappd. Untappd is a nerd application that tracks all of the beer you consume. It's kind of like a Facebook for beer, without all the friends, and much less of the anxiety that comes with whether or not you should write on someone's timeline to wish them a Happy Birthday if you don't typically talk to them very often. Sometimes, Untappd can make it easier to pick out a six pack, sometimes far more difficult. And occasionally, the comments can be funny if used in the right context. I'll let you decide. And now, on with the show...
When I was in junior high school, we had a computer lab. I was interested in the future and took a class. As it turns out the sole purpose of the class was to teach us BASIC. It's the Latin of computer languages; dead. The teacher seemed very high strung, but I guess at the time there was probably a few hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment in there. I mean, between the dot matrix printers, and the 400 lb monitors, the meandering cords and power cables, it no longer surprises me when I look back and remember shocking myself on a metal folding chair, so as to not ruin the computers which in turn took 15 minutes to power up. Can you still do that? Can you still ruin a computer by shocking it? Anyway... We did stuff like write code to make the computer type our name 100 times and other yes/no games, that type of bullshit. It was dumb. There was this one kid in the class that really got into writing code. He made a pac-man-esque game, and added little design features that always ruined the curve in the class. Kids would crowd around his desk to look at his newest program. It was the early 90's, so no matter how good he was going to get at Basic, the graphics were going to be kind of crummy. The purpose of this meandering intro to let you know that I think that kid created the original design of the Two Brothers Website. 20 years ago. And they are still using it to this day. I don't really have anything against Two Brothers, their website is just stupid looking. Cane and Ebel is a Red Rye Ale, selected by @jdodaro. The Two Brothers Website insightfully says...
Dry, but with a creamy touch of thai palm sugar and the spicy tang of rye, all balanced by loads of the wackiest new hops we could lay our lands on. Yep, it's an original. And that's no sin.
From Untappd -
Brett J. “A Midwest classic. A personal regional favorite. And with this beer, my girlfriend has cut me off. But I have gator ribs on the way!” 4 starsRyan A. “Different but really good. Sweet and rye combo” 4 starsGerard L. “Very nice rye taste with caramel sweetness and a touch of roasted malts. Nice touch with the bitter hops to balance the sweetness.” 4 starsGood for Brett. I like how he's pushing the limits. I had started working on the newsletter last Wednesday, and jumped in and out of it a couple times. So don't worry, none of the other beers are going to take up that much space. On to Victory Summer Love, picked out by "Summer Beer Guru" @jim_camper. If I would put out top ten lists for new beers, this one would have been number one last year, or the year before, or whenever it came out. The only thing that would make this better is if it came in cans which would make tailgating with it slightly easier. They call it a Golden Ale, but it's on the hoppy side, and still only 5.2% abv, which is good for all day drinking if that's a thing that you do. The marketing team at Victory has a slightly better handle on things than at Two Brothers...
There are plenty of reasons to love summer, and here is one great one! German hops and pale malt blend beautifully to create this refreshing taste of summer. This light-bodied ale casts a golden hue reminiscent of the summer sun shining high above the City of Philadelphia. It was commissioned of us by the Greater Philadelphia Marketing and Tourism Corporation in order to capture the essence of a city that is rich in history and in flavor. Share and feel the ‘Love this summer as tourists and locals alike flock to your restaurant or bar!
To Untappd -
Topher B. “A bit hoppy, but I really just needed a beer” 3.5 starsJillian H. “Nice blonde, but with a kick. Doesn’t remind me of summer but still a good beer.” 3.5 starsTerence B. “If you like Magic Hat beers then you’ll like this.” 5 starsTopher needs to talk to someone, I would like to know what does remind Jillian of summer, and from the standpoint of "gateway" beers, I would agree with Terence. If you bought a case of this for a BBQ, I bet you'd get a few compliments from friends who only drink Miller Lite. Let's go to another seasonal selection that may be slightly more polarizing. 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon. Google can't even make a split decision whether a watermelon is a fruit or a vegetable. There seems to be a decent amount of debate. Let's just call it a Melon Beer, avoiding the conflict altogether. Last thing I need is this blog to get involved in the Fruit/Vegetable debate. Since I'm kind of late writing the newsletter, I can say that the early reviews are in, and they are pretty positive. @RNA1177 selected the seasonal that is best drank on hot days after doing yard work. It's refreshing, definitely different, but not overly sweet. I know there are other watermelon beers, but the only one I've had is Roy Pitz Watermelon Lager, and I would say this one is better. It's close, but this one. The 21st Amendment people also have website editors...
Like Lady Liberty, we stand for independence and perseverance. In the pursuit of innovative beer, there is no obstacle too great. No journey too long. No fruit too gigantic. This American wheat beer is brewed with real watermelon, for a flavor that’s surprisingly crisp, dry and refreshing—summer in a can.
Hell or High Watermelon Wheat is our summer seasonal beer available from April through September in six pack cans and on draft. We start by brewing a classic American wheat beer, which undergoes a traditional secondary fermentation using fresh watermelon. A straw-colored, refreshing beer with a kiss of watermelon aroma and flavor.
Well, we see where they stand on the big Fruit/Veggie debate. I've made the comment that I think one of the reasons this works is that the base beer seems like it would be pretty good on it's own. It would be cool if they released that one year alongside so you could see the difference the watermelon makes. Tastes almost like a pilsner so it must have a fairly hoppy wheat beer base. Untappd was pretty great on this one, so I went with an extra quote...
Adam G. “This beer has really grown on me.” No ratingKaye “Liquid Jolly Rancher.” 3 starsStephen M. “No bueno” no ratingA G. “If u like watermellon jolly ranchers more than breathing you’ll love this. If not you’ll hate it.” ½ starDr I. says “Heck-high hoochies” 3.5 stars
I think that shows a pretty good sampling of the good and bad on this one. I didn't like it when I first had it, but it's has grown on me much like on Adam G. I can see where the Jolly Rancher thing comes from, and if I hyperlinked it correctly you can see what Google Translate has to say about No Bueno. Overall, I think it's a good selection, changes things up a bit, and I'll probably get another six pack of this over summer for the beach. (You're wondering why I didn't comment on Heck-high hoochies? It's because I have no idea what to say about it.) Continuing with the seasonal category, we visit Bell's Oberon. @the_nooze was accompanied on #CBEX by a list of 17 beers created by her husband. But more importantly, had a sidekick in Good Ole' Charlie B. The first female to be a part of the CBE, she's really upped the ante by becoming the first preggers to make a CBE selection. In my opinion, way cooler than that most interesting man in the world guy. Let's see him do that. Bell's says...
Bell's Oberon is a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer.
They pretty much get to the point. I think this (as well as the other seasonals) is a solid beer. This one may be a little more of a standard style for summer beers. I'll take mine with a big orange slice.
Jay F. “Refreshing even on a cold evening. First one of the season.” 4 starsBrian K. “Fucking radical” 4 starsHunter “After drinking that 120 MinuteIPA, this just tastes like grainy water with an orange peel in it.” 4.5 starsSteve C. “Best overall summer beer. Hands down.” 4.5 stars
See, even a guy who thought it tasted like grainy water gave it 4 and 1/2 stars. I'm also a big fan of the word radical. I didn't put that in just for shock value, I figured there are probably not many instances of "radical" used in beer blogs. Without any other transition, I'll kind of be staying in the wheat category by jumping to new CBEer BG's selection of Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin'. This represents the 7th beer that we've had from Lagunitas. Their website is down while I am writing this newsletter, and that's a shame (don't worry, see below.) I enjoy going there to see the crazy videos of the beers, and all the old burnouts trying to spell things correctly. Double standard, when Two Brothers does it, I don't like it, but when Lagunitas does it, it's kitsch. I was really excited when I was introduced to the "White/Wheat IPA" genre. I like wheat beers, and I like IPAs, so why not. That excitement turned to old man bitterness and Friday the 13th type horror as they were all pretty terrible. Blue Point and Deschutes were some of the first ones I tried, and they didn't seem like a good mesh. This one for some reason, hits all the right marks. I think because it's not an overly hopped wheat, or a light IPA, there seems to be more thought put into it. It's something completely different from both of those things. As a matter of fact, 8 months ago, a guy called Stevey Jo on Untappd wrote "Others should note this for the hoppy/wheat style. This is the only one I've had that I would have again." That guys sounds pretty smart. Then some other people said...
Brian D. “Changed review of taste. A strong pale wheat, with IPA like hoppiness. Hoppy from the start with a light wheat undertone. Wheat finish.” 4.5 starsbrett o. “It’s kind of growing on me…” 3.5 starsLinda L. “ I like youuuuuuuuuu beeeer. J” 4 stars
I immediately sent a request to Linda L. so that I can follow more of her reviews. Unfortunately, I haven't heard back yet. Another quick note, which is also a short shout out to our new unofficial sponsor, Ambler Bev. I was curious how old this one was, and saw that they bottle date. It looks very Captain Kirk-y. The mark on the bottle is star date 095 2013. Turns out that is a Julian Date Code, or at least that's what some guy on Beer Advocate said it was. The 095 stands for the day of the year, which would be April 5th, which I think is pretty fresh. Depending on who you talk to in the fruit/vegetable argument, hoppy beers should be drank pretty quickly, and a lot of brewers put best by dates of 3-4 months. Now that we started getting into the hops, we're going full bore into the balance of the selections. Victory Hop Wallop was chosen by @gang_greeny. Worth pointing out, that this was the second Victory selection of #CBEX, and one of four beers from PA. I don't really know why that's important, it might just be interesting... to some. Anyway, I like the label on this beer, because it reminds us all that once upon a time, there wasn't a marketing department, but the owner found out that some guy or gal who worked in the office drew funny cartoon rabbits in everybody's yearbook, and asked he or she to take a shot at a "prospector with a crazy beard." Since they can't change the label at this point, their marketing department came up with this...
Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop headed West a broken man. For in the City of Blues a Miss LuLu Belle Lager had left him thirsting for more. Drawn by wild tales of riches to be had in the gold mines, Hop pressed on westward. His last nickel spent on a prospecting pan, Hop’s hunger got the best of him. Two fistfuls of barley and three of some wild and wayward hops tossed in a pan with some clear water was to be his meal. But sleep overcame him and he later awoke to a bubbling, cacophonous concoction. Overjoyed with the beautiful ale that he had made, Hop realized the secret of the green gold that he had discovered in those fresh hops. Celebrated far and wide, Hop Wallop lives on in this vivid ale with his words, “hoppiness is happiness.”
I know this is a bad pun... but this is absolute gold. I've come across some real awesome beer descriptions on various websites while I've been doing this, but Victory could write a cartoon youtube video on this guy. Or a comic book. Or he could be the entire basis of the coloring book scheme on the back of the kids menu. Why is he not the mascot for Victory?!? I have one of these in the fridge right now. It's been a while, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll probably go get it shortly, after the kind folks at Untappd tell us what they have to say about Hop Wallop...
Brian M. “Crisp.” 3.5 starsBrett “Pow” 3.5 starsSteve B. “Pretty good beer but smell strangely like a used cat litter box” 3.5 starsWinds of Strange “Strikingly floral” 4 starsTony L. “Despite the name, not very hoppy. Slightly sweet.” 2.5 starsNick Jack says “Definitely Hoppie! Name says it all…” 3 stars
I guess there's a good reason for me to put all of those comments there. It shows that one person can get something totally different than another. And by totally different, I mean one guy said "used cat litter box" and the other said "strikingly floral." I also like how someone tried to make their screen name a poem. Good for Winds of Strange. Lancaster Hop Hog was the @stavypapa selection. No one from Untappd said anything about litter boxes...
A.W. “I forgot how good this is!” 4 starsRyan B. “A lot different than expected, has an almost caramel flavor. Not particularly hoppy.” 3.5 starsnate “Advertised as citrus… Nah” 3 starsJesse V. “Calling this an IPA is misleading. Uncharacteristically sweet for the style. Not bad for whatever it is though.” 3.5 stars
I'll tell you why Jesse V. Because it's rude to label something that's almost 8% abv as a pale ale. So suck it. Lancaster Brewing is a cool place to visit. I like their beers, probably the Milk Stout and Kolsch the best. The Kolsch comes in cans, and is like 7 dollars a six pack, so I'm going to go ahead and out that as my favorite one. The brewer there Bill Moore has been making some one offs and specials, and if you ever see Shoo-Fly Porter, you should order that. This one's nothing to look past...
This formidable India Pale Ale has a hop aroma that demands attention. The bold, citrus hop flavor is balanced by a dry malt charcater that makes this refreshing ale a true classic.
I guess they all can't be legends about imaginary characters. Lancaster usually has a tap or two at FWOT. Soon they will be releasing their Double IPA Boss Hog, and that's worth finding if you have the opportunity. FWOT is usually pretty good about updating their beer list on twitter HERE, and I think they are on Philly Tap Finder as well. Actually they definitely are, and that PTF link will take you right there. Since I discovered how to put hyperlinks in, I'm really doing all of the work for you. They do a lot of tap takeover nights, and have completely redone the bar over the past couple of years. And the wings are good. Real good.
*in super duper excited/freaked out voice* Side note, the Lagunitas website is back up, and HOLY SHIT they must have fired the guy that was in charge of it because it looks awesome now. I don't know whether to be upset or just go with it. It looks like everything is spelled correctly and everything. About the Sumpin' they say "A truly unique style featuring a strong hop finish on a silky body. A filtered pale wheat ale that is great for both IPA and wheat beer fans." I'm befuddled by the website change, and since I already talked about Little Sumpin', I'll move on. There are several new breweries in the are that I haven't been too. It's gotten to the point that I can stash away past thoughts of visiting all the breweries in PA, especially because I can barely keep up with all the ones in Southeast PA. Round Guys is one of those breweries, although I've been to Prism I haven't stopped in since they remodeled the taproom, The Vault, Sly Fox's new brewery, I guess I did go to Neshaminy Creek a couple times. Whatever, stop judging. What I'm getting to is Free Will. I've had their Citra Pale Ale, and thought it was great. I had the Hop Geek on tap a couple places, and thought it was cool to see at a local distributor. Hop Geek doesn't even have a score on RateBeer because there are not enough reviews. That's really trying my OCD on the spreadsheet to not have a score there. I didn't really know anything about it, and thought this was cool...
Hop Geek 1 – The first in an series of imperial IPA’s, each version is to be released only twice. Unlike other free will beers which undergo an often long and arduous development phase, Hop Geek is ‘brewed from the hip’. Straight from our brain to your glass.
Adam G. “Very nicely done. Well rounded and balanced. Good floral and dank hop combo. Fun.” 4*
Ari E. “ A little too piney for my personal tastes.” 2.5*
Zach B. “Way to go perkasie pa this beer rocks” 5*
Donald M. “Smoooooooth” 5*
I had one of these, and thought it was good. It could use a little more balance, but like some of the enamel stripping IPAs we've had in the past, it could stand up. Now all I have to do is find out where the hell Perkasie is and maybe I can get a growler filled there one day. Never mind, there's a map right on their website (which has a pretty decent design.) There's a picture I wanted to drag and drop over here, but I can't because it's on a scroll. It's of the guy with his thumbs up.
There's not really anything else to say to sum up #CBEX. I'm happy that this little idea turned into a good way to get to drink different beers, and hope you enjoy. If I had more time, I was going to find an article on skunking beer, as ... wait... I... Oh, God, the internet, right? So THIS one is pretty much what I go by. The "skunk" quality that you get in beer is really from light. This differs pretty drastically if it's bottle conditioned (which is a topic for another day) or what color the bottle is (weird science, the internet will have to explain that to you) but overall, if you put beer in your car on a hot day for a few hours, and then it cools down in your house, you shouldn't have any problems. I'd be more concerned about bottle dates and recognizing Julian code/star dates. Beers weird. I've found it to be actually very resilient. I knew a guy once that got a growler of beer on his birthday, never opened for like 5 or 6 months, and I tried it and it was still carbonated and tasted pretty good. I'm not saying if you gradually change the temperature of your beer over the course of a week nothings going to happen, but I personally haven't had beer go bad from leaving it in the car for a little while. Knowledge is power. See you for #CBE11!
No comments:
Post a Comment