You can go to my YouTube video to see me spontaneously taste the new Abita Helles Dopplebock.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctbe_fkvNPY]
Sour Wench
I was in the celebratory mood because Eagle Rock Brewery passed another permit hurdle today so I went over to the nearby Verdugo. I tried the Sour Wench from Ballast Point.
This is a beer brewed with blackberries. Sam Adams also has a new Blackberry Wit so I guess that blackberries are the hip fruit. This offering isn’t particularly sour nor is it super fruity. It is right in the middle. Thanks to the berries it is more interesting than other beers and it does have an awesome red look to it.
Not really to my taste however, but I can see how this would be an excellent starter for someone who wants to try fruit and/or sour beers.
new Abita beer
This is a nice looking red-amber ale. As you may have figured out by now, I am a sucker for brewery special releases. This one is a nice Belgian dubbel. With part of the proceeds going to the St. Joesph Abbey. Not much aroma but it does carry an alcoholic punch. Not bad but it could use a little more spice to counteract the alcohol and malt.
The Daily Pint
I made my first trip to the Daily Pint this Memorial Day weekend and it was well worth it. Very similar to Lucky Baldwin’s in Pasadena. Old (in a good way) with the smell of casks past. Really nice selection of good beer choices though I must say there were two customers who ordered BMC that made me wince.
On to better news, the beer! I started with the Sublimely Self-Righteous from Stone.
They really do dark IPA’s well. Probably better than anyone else. This pours a beautiful dark black with a great head. Easy to drink but heavy. This would be great for a late fall BBQ.
Second up was the Einhorn Spezial Pilsner.
Another beer that looks really good. Now, I am not a big pils fan. But this one is pretty good. I could have done with just the pint instead of the boot.
Lastly, I had a combo. A mixed beer cocktail so to speak. Youngs Double Chocolate with Raspberry lambic.
This was sooo good. Like a candy bar. The mixture was just right. I highly recommend this. Great for dessert instead of ice cream.
North American Organic Brewers Festival
This June 26-28th is the 7th incarnation of this great festival in Portland, Oregon. Just take a look at this line-up….
Alameda Brew House
Portland, OR
• El Torero Organic IPA • Double IPA
Aspall Cyders
Suffolk, England
• Cyder • Estate Cider
Bison Brewing
Berkeley, CA
• Chocolate Stout • Dry Foreign Style Stout
• Single Hop IPA • Single Hop IPA
Caledonian (pending)
Edinburgh, Scotland
• Golden Promise • Golden Ale
Crannog Ales
Sorrento, British Columbia
• Backhand Of God Stout • Irish Stout
• Red Branch Irish Ale • Irish Red Ale
Deschutes
Bend, OR
• Green Lakes • American Amber Ale
Double Mountain Brewery
Hood River, OR
• Hop Lava •
• Kolsch •
Dupont
Belgium
• Foret Saison • Saison
Eel River
Fortuna, CA
• Acai Berry Wheat • Fruit wheat beer
• IPA • English Style IPA
Elliott Bay Brewing
Burien, WA
• Organic Coffee Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout
• Hop von Boorian • Belgian Style IPA
Fish Tales Ales
Olympia, WA
• Wild Salmon Pale Ale • American Pale Ale
• Fish Tale IPA • American IPA
• Organic Blonde • Blonde Ale with Rye
Fort George
Astoria, OR
• Quick Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier
Grand Teton Brewing Co.
Victor, ID
• Au Naturale Blonde Ale • Blonde Ale
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Portland, OR
• Hopworks Organic IPA • Double IPA
• TBD •
Lakefront Brewery
Milwaukee, WI
• Organic ESB • Extra Special Bitter
• Fuel Cafe • Organic Coffee Stout
Lammsbräu (pending)
Neumarkt, Bayern, Germany
• Dunkel •
• Pils •
• Lager •
• Hefeweizen •
Laurelwood Brewery
Portland, OR
• Organic Green Mammoth • IPA
• Something Delicious •
Lucky Labrador
Portland, OR
• Recession Session • Light Lager
• TBD •
MateVeza
San Francisco, CA
• Yerba Mate Ale • Ale
• Yerba Mate IPA • IPA
McMenamins
Portland, OR
• Crazy Enough Blonde • Belgian Blonde
• Gunslinger Pale Ale • Pale Ale
Nelson Brewing Company
Nelson B.C. Canada
• Paddywhack IPA • IPA
• Old Brewery Pale Ale • English Pale Ale
New Belgium
Fort Collins, CO •
Mothership Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier
New Old Lompoc Fifth Quadrant Brewery
Portland, OR
• Bald Guy Brown Ale • Brown Ale
Oakshire Brewing
Eugene, OR
• Watershed IPA • IPA
• Overcast Espresso Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout
Pelican Brewery
Pacific City, OR
• Heiferweizen •
Pike Brewing Company
Seattle, WA
• Naughty Nellie’s Golden Ale • Golden Ale
• Monk’s Uncle • Belgian Style Tripel
Pinkus Mueller
Munster, Germany
• Pinkus Munster Alt
• German brown ale
• Pinkus Hefe-Weizen • German Hefeweizen
• Pinkus UR Pils • German Pilsner
• Jubilate • Dark Lager
Rock Bottom Brewery (pending)
Portland, OR
• Oregonic Amber •
Roots Brewing Co.
Portland, OR
• ROTATING TAP •
Samuel Smith
North Yorkshire, U.K. • Organic Ale
• English Pale Ale
• Organic Cider • Sweetened Cider
• Organic Lager • English Lager
• Organic Raspberry Ale • English Ale with Raspberries
• Organic Strawberry Ale • English Ale with Strawberries
• Organic Cherry Ale • English Ale with Cherries
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Sant Cruz, CA
• People’s Porter • Porter
• Pale Ale • Pale Ale
Silenrieux (pending)
Cerfontaine-Silenrieux, Belgium
• Sara Buckwheat Ale • Double IPA
Standing Stone Brewing
Ashland, OR
• Hefeweizen • Hefeweizen
• Double IPA • Double IPA
• Oatmeal Stout • Oatmeal Stout
Schneider (pending)
Kelheim, Germany
• Edel-Weiss • Double IPA
St. Peter’s Brewery (pending)
Suffolk, UK
• English Ale • English Pale Ale
Ukiah Brewing Company
Ukiah, CA
• Pilsner Ukiah • Pilsner
• Emancipator Dopplebock • Dopplebock
Upright Brewing Co
Portland, OR
• Reggae Junkie Gruit • Farmhouse Gruit
• Seven • Farmhouse Golden
Wandering Aengus Cider
Salem, OR
• Heirloom Blend Cider • Cider
• Semi-Dry Cider • Cider
• Dry • Cider
Widmer
Portland, OR
• TBD •
Wolaver’s Organic Ales
Middlebury, VT
• Ben Gleason’s White Ale • Belgian Style Wit bier
• IPA • IPA
Craft Beer Fest LA
Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully many more to come of the Craft Beer Fest Los Angeles. I was there as both fan and volunteer from 2pm to 10pm so this will be a longer than usual post so find a comfortable chair. I will break it up into sections to make for easier reading.
Section 1 – The beer!!
Not a bad brewery in the bunch. And most importantly for me, new stuff that I really wanted to try plus new stuff from some of my old favorites. Here is what I had…..
1. Siamese Twin from Uncommon Brewers
Light golden ale, very different fruity taste to it. This beer really grew on me.
2. Automatic # 1 from Blind Lady Ales
Light Belgian ale. Had a bit of a tinny taste to me. A little astringent.
3. Scotch Isle from Craftsman
Very nice. Dark and malty. Not my favorite style of beer but this is well done.
4. Black IPA from Stone
Very good. I love IPA’s and this is an excellent beer.
5. Golden State from Uncommon Brewers
Hazy color. Light and flavorful. Great on a summer day.
6. Cuvee Jeune from The Bruery
Had this at Blue Palms a week ago and had to get some more. Excellent sour taste.
7. IPA from Hangar 24
Another really solid IPA. Not a hop bomb but citrusy and not too acidic.
8. Warm Water Wheat from Port Brewing
This was a really good banany hefeweizen. I hope they bottle this it is one I would like to have more of.
What I didn’t get to try and wanted to..
TAPS – Belgian White (which was really popular)
Port Brewing – Pig Dog Pale Ale
Section 2 – The Beer Panel
Moderated by Christina Perozzi with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Ryan Sweeney from The Verdugo, Larry James from Wine Warehouse, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada and Victor Novak from TAPS Brewery.
Quite the interesting cross section of the beer community. They were all quite optimistic and passionate about making craft beer and where we are compared to the past and where we may end up.
It was so heartening to hear what they were saying and I wish they could have gone on longer. One thing that I took away was that there seemed to be a feeling that it was inevitable that craft beer would do to BMC (BudMillerCoors) what Starbucks did to Folgers. To that I say Amen!
Section 3 – Behind the Bar
All I can say is, I had great fun being behind the bar. I had never done it before and I am sure it showed but it was great to hand beer over to the smiling faces on the other side. It was not long before I was sweating from avoiding fellow volunteers and going all the way from one side of the bar and back with four beers trying hard not to spill. Thanks to Kevin, Alex, Liz, Bob and Ben for allowing a rookie to help out.
Section 4 – Who was there
Jeremy from Eagle Rock Brewery
Tomm from the Celebrator
Tony from Craftsman
Joel from 826LA
Patrick from The Bruery
All in all a really great time. If you weren’t here this year plan on it next year.
Beer America.TV
I am not a big fan of the term Vlog (video blog) but there are some great beer sites that are exposing people to new beers and beer information. One that I just found (shame on me for not finding it sooner) is BeerAmerica.TV. They taste beer and give their reactions and reviews. They also talk about beer issues and give out beer tips on temperature. When you have ten minutes of free time check them out at http://beeramerica.tv/
Austin Drafthouse
Berliner Weisse – BJCP Style Guidelines
More background information to help you on your beer drinking adventures…
17A. Berliner Weisse
Aroma: A sharply sour, somewhat acidic character is dominant. Can have up to a moderately fruity character. The fruitiness may increase with age and a flowery character may develop. A mild Brettanomyces aroma may be present. No hop aroma, diacetyl, or DMS.
Appearance: Very pale straw in color. Clarity ranges from clear to somewhat hazy. Large, dense, white head with poor retention due to high acidity and low protein and hop content. Always effervescent.
Flavor: Clean lactic sourness dominates and can be quite strong, although not so acidic as a lambic. Some complementary bready or grainy wheat flavor is generally noticeable. Hop bitterness is very low. A mild Brettanomyces character may be detected, as may a restrained fruitiness (both are optional). No hop flavor. No diacetyl or DMS.
Mouthfeel: Light body. Very dry finish. Very high carbonation. No sensation of alcohol.
Overall Impression: A very pale, sour, refreshing, low-alcohol wheat ale.
Comments: In Germany, it is classified as a Schankbier denoting a small beer of starting gravity in the range 7-8°P. Often served with the addition of a shot of sugar syrups (‘mit schuss’) flavored with raspberry (‘himbeer’) or woodruff (‘waldmeister’) or even mixed with Pils to counter the substantial sourness. Has been described by some as the most purely refreshing beer in the world.
History: A regional specialty of Berlin; referred to by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 as “the Champagne of the North” due to its lively and elegant character. Only two traditional breweries still produce the product.
Commercial Examples: Schultheiss Berliner Weisse, Berliner Kindl Weisse, Nodding Head Berliner Weisse, Weihenstephan 1809 (unusual in its 5% ABV), Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse, Southampton Berliner Weisse, Bethlehem Berliner Weisse, Three Floyds Deesko
The Bruery @ Blue Palms
I and my intrepid beer buddy/connoisseur traveled into Hollywood for the Blue Palms “The Bruery Night” They had 8 of their beers available for small tastes or large ones. Patrick Rue and his cohorts from The Bruery were there to mingle and talk to people about the beer. Tomm Carroll from the Celebrator was there as well. A great way to spend a Wednesday evening. I did not try all of their beers. I just tasted the ones that I had not had before.
white zin
Reddish/pinkish. Not the usual beer color for sure. A
combination of the cuvee jeune and lots of grapes. Very light
and soda pop-py. You could drink a lot of this. Refreshing
humulus blonde
favorite beer of the night. Solid hop presence mixed with a
Belgian golden ale. Another gorgeous looking beer. Gold and hazy.
humulus amber
probably my second favorite of the night. I am not a big amber
fan but this one had great hop taste but was very smooth.
melange # 3
you could certainly tell this had been aged in bourbon barrels.
You could smell it from a mile away. Not a lot of beer flavor.
A slow sipping beer for sure. Great beside the fire on a long, cold
winter night.
cuvee jeune
I got quite the barnyard aroma and taste off of this. A little
sour and quite funky. To me this is another beer to sip.
