Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Chestnut in color, toasty and bready in aroma with a spicy yeast component. The flavor is of juicy hops with pine and citrus. The malt flavor is smooth and sweet. This b. wine is balanced and ready to drink now. It will age well for two to three years.
Being in a 1 liter flip top bottle I can not ship this in a three bottle box. That will cause it to be ship on it side and the flip top will leak. These bottles MUST be shipped in a 6 or 12 bottle box. If you do order this in a 3 bottle box you WILL BE CHARGED FOR A 6 BOTTLE BOX, no matter what the website calculates. Sorry for the inconvenience but it is the only way I can ship this one.
This massive grand cru pours orange / amber with low carbonation and head. The aroma is very perfumey with honey, orange and spice. The flavor is malty and fruity with notes of toffee, apricots, baked apple, ginger, cake, and a whiff of banana. At 10% this beer is all a grand cru should be and that is strong and malty with tons of esters.
Being in a 1 liter flip top bottle I can not ship this in a three bottle box. That will cause it to be ship on it side and the flip top will leak. These bottles MUST be shipped in a 6 or 12 bottle box. If you do order this in a 3 bottle box you WILL BE CHARGED FOR A 6 BOTTLE BOX, no matter what the website calculates. Sorry for the inconvenience but it is the only way I can ship this one.
Highly carbonated and pale golden in color. Fruity brandy soaked fruit aromas with apples, vanilla, and pear. The flavor is intense, grainy and honey. The mouthfeel is big and smooth and %14 and tasty and one big ass beer that will age well and it is nice to see this beer back into the Samichlaus lineup
This beer is one of my all time favorites. This rich smooth sweet brown Belgian rankes up there with Rochfort 10, Chimay Grand Reserve, and a fresh Zatte Bie. Dark brown in color this beers aroma is caramel, figs with a lightly tart fruit. The flavor is prune, caramel, raisin, figs, and cinnamon. Smooth, rich and sweet and at 11% it is kind of like the port wine of beers.
This triple pours a true golden color with a big head that fairly persistence. The aroma is pear with a light raspberry and an underlying earthiness. The flavor is lemony up front with the aforementioned raspberry. The 11% brings out a spiciness without being hot (or even warm).
This is a cherry infused Belgian brown. Brown bread, caramel and big cherry. Sweet fruity and delicious.
This is an IPA that is copper and gold in color. The aroma is grass and orange fruity. The malt is a touch bready and low lovibond crystal.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
*** New Beers ***
This imperial IPA from Mikkeller and Struise pours a bright amber orange color. The head is light beige, massive, gooey, and just might be permanent. The aroma is of orange, apple and spice. The flavor is both sweet and bitter. The hop profile is fruity and earthy and has quite a bitterness to it but not as big as the 130 IBUs claim. The sweetness comes from the candy sugar, and the toasty and caramel malts. The yeast and added spices provides an underlying fruit and peppery tone that is pervasive from start to finish. The brew starts juicy sweet, goes to hop bitter then finishes dry. It is very well put together and the best Danish Imperial IPA I have ever had :-)
Dark mahogany in color with a light tan head that laces well. The aroma is roasty, chocolate, caramel and herbal hops. The flavor is of bittersweet chocolate dark fruit and coffee. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and full body. A tad darker than most browns and more flavor as well.
This weizenbock pours a dusky straw yellow. The aroma is spicy and wheaty. The flavor is big clove spicy along with banana and a slight bubble gum along with a tart wheat taste that is the mark of a fine German wheat beer. The aggressive flavor profile is strong and well balanced.
Reddish brown in color this beer pours with a thin but tight head. The aroma is malty sweet with plum and brown bread. The flavor is chewy with caramel, chocolate and prune. The hops are mildly bitter and have a leafy flavor. This brew is more of a dessert beer and would certainly make a perfect end to any meal or maybe matched up to wash down something equally sumptuous as German Chocolate cake.
This pack includes four each of six different beers from the worlds oldest brewery. With a 5% discount.
Qty Description Size
4 Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier 500ml
4 Weihenstaphaner Kristall 500ml
4 Weihenstephaner Original Lager 500ml
4 Weihenstephaner Vitus 500ml
4 Weihenstephaner Dunkel 500ml
4 Weihenstephaner Korbinian 500ml
Orange in color with a bit of haze and a fluffy off white head. The aroma start off sweet with caramel and fruity hops. The flavor is of brown sugar, toasty malts along with a spicy hit from the alcohol. Not as hoppy as “The Hairy Eyeball” but instead sweeter and smoother.
Once again Lagunitas does a big over the top malty, hoppy extravaganza. 9% alcohol big malt character and enough hops (56 IBU) to balance the whole thing out. This “Strong Ale” style beer is not for the meek; it has a lot of just about everything you drink a beer for. If I had to compare it with something it would be the Stone Arrogant Bastard except this one is stronger and more aggressive.
Uuuummmmmm deep hop goodness. This red / copper colored beer pours with plenty of head. The aroma is of big citrus and fruity pineapple hop character. It has a toasty sweet malt to balance the huge spicy floral hop bitterness. With plenty of IBUs and over 10% it is an imperial in every sense of the word. Although Imperial IPAs are all about the hops I would be interested to see what this beer is like in 3 or 4 years. It is excellent now and has some awesome aging potential due to the forthright malt offering.
Very very dark brown in color with a tan head that is dense but thin. The aroma is of roasted / black malts with coffee and chocolate tones you come to expect from the style. The flavors match the aroma in addition to a tart hop character and well placed bitterness.
Bright gold in color, it pours with a reputable three fingers of foam. The aroma is slightly sweet with big fruity esters and a general spice character. The flavors are of fruity peach and yellow plum with an easy grassy hop.
*** New Sake ***
This unfiltered sake pours very opaque milk-like white. The aroma is earthy and creamy with a slight tartness. The texture has a fine granular about it. The flavor starts with a light tartness. The creamy/smooth/grainy flavors come forward but die back leaving the tartness. The tartness does dissapear after about 5 seconds leaving a very clean finish. The tart, creamy, tart flavor profile is fun and tasty.
*** Back In Stock ***
If you want smooth and mellow this baby tops it. Nitrogen charged with a malty, caramel, graininess with just a ting of fruitiness. For all of you Carffrey fans out there, this is as close as you are going to get here in the US.
Amber tan in color with that big creamy head that comes from the widget action. The aromas are sweet grainy with a floral hop. Ultra smooth with toasted malts and earthy floral hops. Mildly fruity esters with a dry finish.
This “Old” style ale has been aged for 2 years in oak and blended with younger ale to form a very complex malt driven beer. Malty with a hint of oak. Rich and full, with a bit of spicy hop. A great old ale and one that I was excited to get my hands on. Although we had gotten other Greene King product here it has taken a number for years for the Olde Suffolk to make it. That means I can finally drink that last one I had stashed in my collection, knowing I will now be able to get more.
From one of the oldest breweries in the world, this German wheat beer has the perfect mix of tart wheat character, fruity banana ester and just a slight hint of spiciness. As with any good wheat beer it pours with a voluminous pillowy head. Since this is a Hefe Weiss (beer served with the yeast) the finish is rounder and the body a little heavier than the Krstall (filtered) version. I guess when you started brewing around 1040AD you may have had just enough time it get your beer just right.
Much like its Hefe brother this German wheat beer has the perfect mix of tart wheat character, fruity banana ester and just a slight hint of spiciness. As with any good wheat beer it pours with a voluminous pillowy head. Since this is a Kristall Weiss (filtered wheat beer) the finish is crisper and the body a little lighter than the Hefe version.
IMHO this is the best Dunkel Weiss there is. The style is a fine balancing act that has the tart wheat on one side and the brown darker malts on the other. You want to add complexity and richer flavors with the brown malts but you do not want them to come across as sweet or to overpower the wheat. This beer does all that. It is a fine mix with a strong showing from the wheat, brown bread and toffee from the brown malts and the ever presence of the banana ester.
This Bavarian lager comes from the oldest brewery in the world, they have been at it for a long time and it shows. The aroma is kind of lemony, and malty. It has a great head that forms a delicate white lace on the glass. The flavor is the perfect complement of malty/biscuit to lemony hop bitterness. A true classic.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
*** New Mead ***
This mead from Salem Oregon is made from white clover honey. It is sweet and floral with a fresh clean finish. Good mead and it comes in at a great price.
*** New Beers ***
I’m stoked about Ninkasi being available in bottles. It has been one of my staples on draft for some time. They are the epitome of the Northwest brew scene. Masterfully crafted hop driven beers with dimension and balance. If you enjoy the hoppy brews, you will not be disappointed.
Hazy orange in color this hop driven brew pours with a small white head. The aroma is big and fruity, all hops with an orange, tropical and floral smell. The flavor has a fresh hoppy quality to it with orange rind, and some grapefruit along with some grassiness. There is a touch of caramel malt in there someplace but make no mistake, it is all about the hop.
I’m stoked about Ninkasi being available in bottles. It has been one of my staples on draft for some time. They are the epitome of the Northwest brew scene. Masterfully crafted hop driven beers with dimension and balance. If you enjoy the hoppy brews, you will not be disappointed.
This 9.6% hop fest is a masterpiece of brewing. It pours light amber in color with a small cap of dense foam. The aroma is huge with orange hops and just a hint of malt sweetness. The flavors is also big on the orange hop profile but the malt brings in some chewy caramel without being overly sweet. The mouthfeel is smooth and has a medium body. This is one of my favorite double/Imperial IPAs.
Dark amber / red in color, its aroma is hoppy upfront with toasted malts. The flavor is well bittered with a citrusy earthy hop. The malt is lightly of chocolate cake and bread. I’m a big fan of the Believer as it is aggressively flavored but well balanced malt to hops.
Clear copper in color, the head pours well but falls quickly. The aroma is of oily hops that come across as lime and pine. The flavor starts sweet but settles into the hop profile of pine and fruit. It has some respectable IUBs for an imperial and I give it well deserved thumbs up.
The Belgian has everything you expect out of a wit and a little more. It pours a cloudy off white and the head is prodigious and persistent. Whiffs of orange and coriander boil from the glass. The flavor is of tart wheat, orange, and a touch of licorice.
Copper/brown in color, it pours with little head. The aroma and flavor is malty sweet with caramel and toffee tones.
Golden with a thin head. Aroma is grainy malt. The flavor is crips with a slick creaminess and big finish.
Clear amber in color, this is a lighter English Style IPA.
*** Back In Stock ***
We were experiencing an unexpected outage of the Old Boardhead but it is back now and I stocked up on a little extra in case it happens again. If you have been trying to order and have been unable to, the problem has been resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience.
As usual Full Sail comes out with another fine vintage of Old Boardhead. Amber/orange in color with a small but tight head. Light fruity hop aroma with whiffs of caramel and cake. Soft and malty up front than moves into the fruity hop flavors and finish quite bitter. At the time of this review the IBUs come shining through in the finish; this will calm down quickly in the next few months and settle into a more rounded finish. At 9% and easy smooth, this barley wine will age for a good 5 years plus and is yummily accessible now.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
*** New Beers ***
This phenomenal red is a great beer, organic or not (which it is). Deep amber in color this a respectable white head. The aroma is spicy, malty and bready. The flavor is crisp with citrus and herbal hops with a caramel graininess, medium body and dry finish.
The beer is a coppery red color that is brilliantly clear and has a froathy low head. The aroma is earthy and fruity from the hops and has a pepper spiciness from the yeast. The flavor is lightly sweet with crystal malts. It then moves to a pale graininess and a citrus rind hop bitterness. Creamy on the pallet with a dry hop finish. This is one of the enduring staples of the Portland beer scene.
Orange amber in color this beer pours with a fluffy white head that has some good retension. Toasty and nutty in aroma with sweeter caramel and spice tones. The flavor is tart with a lemon orange fruitiness. Chestnuts and nutmeg in flavor along with a spicy colve and coriander. The yeast provides an earthy, bready quality and there is a woody finish along with a hop bite.
This dark farmhouse ale is dark brown in color. The aroma is tart with maple and candy sugar. The taste is also tart with a spice and brown sugar mix. A nice, dark example of Jolly Pumpkin.
This dark farmhouse ale is dark brown in color. The aroma is tart with maple and candy sugar. The taste is also tart with a spice and brown sugar mix. A nice, dark example of Jolly Pumpkin.
*** Back In Stock ***
What can I say about the Aventinus Eisbock other than, “This stuff ROCKS!!” This beer is what you get when you take the already flavorful “Aventinus” freeze it, then remove that pesky water/ice that only gets in the way. 12% alcohol but smooth as silk and tons of Weizen flavor. With the big clove spiciness and fruity esters to match. This is a strong chewy beer that is not to be missed.
This is a great Belgian style beer designed by Mr. Noel Blake of Portland Oregon. Fruity, spicy and strong 9.9%, everthing you come to expect out of a good Belgian beer. This is the 2007 bottling with new packaging.
This Dutch beer is in an ancient style call a Gruit beer. What that means is that there is no hops in it. It uses instead, a mixture of herbs and spices. It has a large smooth malt flavor but it is cut through by the herbs and spices (the “Gruit” mixture). For those of you who do not like bitter beer this is for you.
Light straw in color and the head is small but not so much it is not out of style. The aroma is of pale malt and floral hop. The flavor is of biscuit and pilsner malt with a crisp but not heavy bitter finish.
