Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
Fruit seems to be the theme of the Reserve series so far. Of course, Widmer is only two beers into it. But first was Cherry Oak Dopplebock (which I still wish I could get a bottle of) and now comes the prickly pear paired with a malty mead. Sounds interesting.
Ballard’s Bitter was one of the early craft brews back when I was a young lad. A lot of beer has been brewed since then and Redhook seems to be losing favor among the beer geeks.
But there appears to be signs of life this year. New releases are coming. I hope it portends better to come.
The can movement is picking up steam. How do I know? Tall boys are back.
“We’re pleased to announce that Half Acre will be installing a canning line at the end of this month. Craft beer and cans are a great combination and we’re eager to make this change. What does this mean for you? Once we’re rolling out cans from the brewery we will begin to transition from six-packs of 12oz bottles to four-packs of 16oz cans. That’s right, Tall Boys! We’ll begin by canning two beers, Daisy Cutter Pale Ale and Gossamer Golden Ale. That means Half Acre cans will be a reliable friend come late April.”
Now craft beer is pushing it’s way into another industrial beer stronghold.
Gose is a little known East German specific style that is one of my favorites. I had it in Leipzig and was hooked. Now there are two brewers in Portland re-creating this forgotten beer. Cascade and now Upright Brewing.
Here are the specs:
Gose – Upright’s first German-style beer. It’s a neat style that dates back nearly 300 years and uses a unique ingredient – salt.
Malts: organic pale, wheat, organic caramel 15
Hops: hallertauer mittelfrüh
Also: coriander, salt
Yeast: French saison
5.2% abv
Ran across this beer mentioned on Roger Protz’s blog and thought I should bring it to a slightly wider audience…
“Denmark’s Harboe Brewery has launched a beer called Clim8 using 100% raw barley. The company says CO2 is saved by not malting the barley. All very worthy, but beer traditionally is made from malted grain that contains the natural maltose that can be fermented into alcohol. Raw barley on the other hand offers starch, not sugar. It appears that the only way maltose can be extracted from the grain is for large amounts of industrial enzymes to be added during the brewing process.”
Firestone-Walker has a new six-pack entering the world. A wheat beer. I am glad that they are moving in this direction. They have IPA’s and specialty releases in bottles but this marks a broadening of the portfolio. And I am all for that.
This is one of the beers that I wish made it across the pond. We are starting to see more Bateman’s here in Los Angeles so hopefully, more esoteric British beers will find their way to my ‘fridge.
The Badger website says this about the stinger…”Hall & Woodhouse Head Brewer, Tim Morris, who helped to brew the recipe for the ale said: “Stinger is made from fresh organic Dorset nettles from the River Cottage estate added to the copper. It has a grassy herbal aroma with subtle gooseberry and lemon citrus notes that build up towards the end of the glass. It is finished with a slightly spicy after taste that lingers beautifully.”
Check out their full range of beers HERE.
The rise of the Cascadian Dark! Oakshire makes some great stuff. Especially the Overcast Espresso Stout. Now here comes their take on the black IPA.
This is my favorite Sam Adams beer release of each year, hands down. Each year it’s dramatically different and you get a wide style variety from a mere 3 different beers.
Here is the pertinent information…..
“The 2010 Samuel Adams LongShot variety six-pack will be available nationwide in select retail stores beginning in April for a suggested retail price of $9.99. The variety pack will include two bottles each of Michael Robinson’s Old Ale, Ben Miller’s Barleywine, and Jeremy White’s Saison.
ABOUT THE WINNERS AND 2010 CONTEST
Michael Robinson’s Old Ale is a malty English-style brew boasting notes of dried fruit, nut, and caramel. A slight bitterness balances the combination of five malts in this full bodied beer. Light brown with reddish highlights and good clarity, the ingredients of this English-style brew are all American with the exception of the yeast which is distinctively English. Created to enjoy on cold nights or as an after dinner treat, Mike’s Old Ale is 9% alcohol by volume, about twice that of the average beer. An experienced homebrewer, Mike was recognized as a finalist in the 2008 Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest, as well as in the 2007 Samuel Adams® Patriot Homebrew Contest.
Ben Miller’s Barleywine is a dark red, flavorful brew with rich plum undertones to complement its caramel malt flavor. A self-proclaimed ‘hop head,’ Ben used several varieties of citrusy American hops in this beer, creating its resiny aroma followed by clean bitterness. Ben’s Barleywine is his 100th homebrew, brewed to commemorate two years of enjoying the hobby.
Jeremy White, who works in the IT department at Samuel Adams, channeled his love of Belgian beers to create his Saison, a classic Belgian-style brew. Jeremy’s flavorful, refreshing and lighter-bodied beer is brewed with Grains of Paradise, an exotic tropical spice also found in Samuel Adams Summer Ale. The peppery flavor is complemented by a slightly sweet aroma with hints of vanilla and citrus.”
The Old Ale sounds tempting.
Loyal readers are now probably sick of my chirpy introductions to beers that I want to try. How I only seem to really love special reserve beers or canned IPA’s. Sorry folks! Here is another one from one of the canning pioneers Sly Fox…
“Available only in 22oz bottles at present, Rt. 113 was the beer customers most requested be added to the brewery’s canned releases.
Rt. 113 will join Pikeland Pilsner and Phoenix Pale Ale as year-round releases and also still be packaged in the 22oz size.”