Beer Profile: Hoppin Frog’s Barrel Aged Christmas Ale #1

HoppinFrog-BAChristmasLabel2

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Beer-Profile1-258x300Pop the cap, sniff and I immediately get oak. This year Hoppin’s Christmas comes in three types, the regular which I won’t open until Labor Day 2013 for my beer tastings in the Adirondacks. This seemed like it may be the barrel aged oak forward, as described by the folks at HF, until it warmed up and the bourbon came on strong. The nose is absolutely: spiced. Ginger, cinnamon and some nutmeg. The brown ale nose is way in the back.

Taste: the same. Bourbon pops out as it warms, more in the taste.

Mouthfeel is medium body with bourbon cling to the top of the palate. Low carbonation leaves just a hint of tingle.

Off white, pillow, head. Clarity very good with deep ruby highlights. SRM about 20-22. Nice perfect brown. The magic here is it is so multi-dimensional. The body is medium on the lighter side of, but bourbon and spices make it seem like more. Bourbon sweetness hangs after rest of the flavor fades.

Sipping on this is like savoring a fine light bourbon. The spices are way in the background but the bourbon first, the oak second, the sweet brown malt third and then the spices as a firm after thought. This is a perfect balance for what they were shooting for, and it definitely made me think “Christmas,” even in April. We’ll see next time how savory the oak forward Christmas Ale is.

I was tempted to give it a 5 out of 5. So I did.

3361242-simple-drawing-of-a-pint-of-beer-isolated-on-white3361242-simple-drawing-of-a-pint-of-beer-isolated-on-white3361242-simple-drawing-of-a-pint-of-beer-isolated-on-white3361242-simple-drawing-of-a-pint-of-beer-isolated-on-white3361242-simple-drawing-of-a-pint-of-beer-isolated-on-white

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “prefecto.”

That Condensation on Your Beer Can Might Not Be a Good Sign

beer-news10We’ve all seen a cold beer can sweat in the summer heat. Now, a new scientific study reveals the surprising effect that layer of condensation has on the temperature of your beverage.

If you’re familiar with evaporative cooling, there’s a chance you guessed that moisture keeps your can chilled. After all, when people sweat, we experience a cooling effect. Transitioning from a liquid phase to a gaseous one requires the input of energy; as the beads of moisture on our skin evaporate, that energy comes from our bodies in the form of heat, cooling us in the process. So is this what happens to a chilled beverage on a hot, humid day? Nope. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.


Want to read more? Please click…

HERE

Ph Readings Of Commercial Beers

IMAG0613Ph Readings of Commercial Beers

Written by Brandon Jones for embracethefunk.com

 

Assume all readings are taken at room temp (apprx 70 degrees F). I calibrate my ph meter fairly often, but don’t always show that here.

 

When I am able to do so…Gravity readings will also be recorded starting 8/25/2012. Thanks to everyone who suggested the idea! Please understand that some rare beers or beers I only have a small amount of, I just can’t sacrifice enough to de-carb for the reading.

  Click the reading for a picture of each beer being tested.
This page will be constantly updated as I am able to take the readings (meaning when I don’t forget!) Continue reading “Ph Readings Of Commercial Beers”

Beer Nut: Breweries Help Toward Healing

Courtesy businessinsider.com
Picture courtesy businessinsider.com

Beer people are good people.That’s one of the main things I’ve learned writing about beer these past few years. Last week, in wake up the Boston Marathon bombings, a bunch of beer people proved that statement true as many of them made donations and set up fundraisers to help the families of those killed and those who were injured in the two explosions.

One of the biggest events was the Buy a Beer for Boston, event that took place at the Tavern in Framingham. The speed that this event came together was impressive.

On Tuesday morning, David Carlson, owner of Marshall Wharf Brewing Company of Belfast, Maine, posted a message on Beer Advocate that they were going to be sending every can of beer they had to Massachusetts to help those who needed it, and they challenged other breweries to do the same.

Want to read more? Please click…

HERE

Israeli Beer Lovers Foaming Over Rising Brew Tax

Ale to the chief!

With the beer-less days of Passover just past and the sweltering get-me-a-cold-drink summer months up ahead, it seemed a perfect time for Israeli beer lovers to gather. And so they did − coming together at a beer festival in Jaffa recently to celebrate the art of the homeland brew, compare hops and yeast notes, talk barley − and also complain about that buzzkill of a subject: taxes.

“Now, here is a surprising fact,” begins Shachar Hertz, 37, owner of “Beer and Beyond,” a company dedicated to promoting beer consumption in Israel that co-sponsored the event, together with a local bartending school. “Israel is, after Finland, the biggest per capita consumer of…” But, alas, no, he shakes his head, looking around the underground parking lot-turned-beer-cellar and festival venue. “Beer,” despite Hertz’s best efforts, is not the next word to roll of his tongue. It’s “vodka” − thanks in no small part to the Russian immigration of the past decades, and with some help from Tel Aviv bartenders who have turned late night vodka chasers into the must-have giveaway item of any self respecting bar.

Want to read more? Please click…

HERE

Growler Revolution

With the increasing amount of draught only beers, growlers are becoming a must in today’s craft beer revolution. If you can’t find it in a bottle, how else are you going to be able to share your new favorite beer with your crew?

The need for transporting fresh beer goes back all the way to the late 1800s. Beer lovers would carry home beer from their local tavern in an open pail or hire a “Bucket Boy or Girl ” to deliver the beer to their home. Could you imagine that?

Want to read more? Please click…

HERE