Author: Professor Good Ales

Mythical poster at The LTS Good for What Ales You Beer Journal. Loves good beer. Hates same old, same old. Muses that Bud and Miller might as well be brewed in urinals. Drinks lagers too, if they are complex and interesting.
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The ugliest feud in the beer industry just reached a new boiling point

The_ugliest_feud_in_the-fabd3e0336784d63a6322317f75fdf2dCraft beer’s beef with big beer is no secret.
The rivalry between a major craft brewer and the largest spirits maker in the world show just how deep the animosity goes.

In one corner is Guinness, an iconic 257-year-old brand, backed by its parent company Diageo, the spirits market leader that also owns Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, and Baileys.

In the other corner we have BrewDog, an independent Scottish brewer founded in 2007 that has revenue of more than $48 million.

The craft brewer has called Diageo everything from “dumbass corporate freaks” to manufacturers of “mass-produced rubbish” like Guinness.

“We started BrewDog because we were bored of the industrially brewed lagers and stuffy ales that dominated the UK beer market,” Sarah Warman, BrewDog’s head of marketing, told Business Insider. “We won’t conform, we won’t apologise, we are punk and we will stand up for the beer in the face of anything.”

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Beer Profile: Middle Ages Beast Bitter

beast

Profiled by Maria Devan

I have happened upon a regional brewer that I am really starting to like a lot. Middle Ages in Syracuse. I bought a sixer from them called beast bitter and I almost had nothing to show for it because they disappeared that fast. Lucikly I put one away.

You have to love a brewer who has for their photo a half naked man inside of big mash tun wielding a paddle. Beast is a beast indeed. Pours beautifully. Nice and clear with a coppery and orange hues on a beautiful golden body. Off white head that did not last too long. Appearance is outstanding.

Nose is vivacious with malt. Biscuity and caramel. Firm dry caramel , none of that soft sweet stuff. The hops twinkle like fuggles do and show you soft earthy, woody spice. There is good citric backnote to them that makes them smell fresh and tangy and even a bit like zest. They also use cascade I think. Toasty malt is so crisp it’s almost crunchy in there. I love it! As you drink the beer it simply takes over your mouth and your will to fight. It’s abundant with malt. The hops are forward and keep forward until the very last moment in the swallow when you smile because it’s the malt that finishes this beer medium dry.

Taste is like toast! Lightly buttered and bitter. So delicious. The finish and the balance is what kept this beer in my glass until literally there was no more beer. Hops give an expert bitterness that never gains speed or strength. Steadfast, although it’s not really too gentle either. As all the flavor from malt fades, even the hop fruitiness fades off to tangerine pith but the bitter remains.

Outrageously good. I’ll take a few big mugs of that! I also hear that this brewer is using the ever elusive strain of yeast in this beer called Ringwood. I would love to know if that yeast is in any way responsible for the flavor that this beer has. You just can’t stop drinking it.

4


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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 “perfecto.”

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____________________________________Beer HERE

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mdMaria Devan. Not all three. Just the one in the middle.

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Stone Stochasticity Project Your Father’s Smelt of Elderberries

Profiled by Ken Carman

stoneSome dark malt, mostly pale. Very fresh smelling, but mostly elderberries stand out in aroma. The malt sense in background. Very.

Foggy, brown. Almost no head.

Elderberry deluxe with firm malt mouthfeel. More than a tad tart and a hint of sour. Not all that pleasant to be honest.

High side medium mouthfeel. A little harsh and bitter from the fruit. Too long of a boil with fruit, perhaps?

This is kind of like a gruit, tho from what I’ve read they did use hops. You’d never know. Elderberry sub’d for hops, essentially.

Yes, it is palatable, but not as pleasant as one would hope. 3.8. Way too elderberry focused, which makes it hard to continue drinking after a while. I really like the concept, but more focus needed to be had for drinkability.

81 BA, 55/22 RB.
3.8

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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 “perfecto.”

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_____________________________Beer HERE

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kKen, WHO???

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The Abyss 2015 x 3: Fresh Out of Adjectives

TPF
I had intended to write this post about the THREE(!) versions of Deschutes

Brewery’s “The Abyss” – that legendary, iconic American Imperial Stout that I have frequently called “the best beverage I have ever tasted” – Monday of last week. But when I sat down to write it, a strange thing happened. I normally let a subject for review marinate in my subconscious, think about it frequently, and work out any kinks in my reasoning. It takes hours, sometimes, days others. But then it just pops right out, almost on auto-pilot, because I’ve already done the thinking. The rest, as Truman Capote would say, is “just typing“.

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How to Make Beer Ice Cream

how to make beer ice cream

New Belgium Brewing and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream joined forces to bring the best of beer and ice cream together. New Belgium brewed an ice cream-inspired Salted Caramel Brownie Ale, while Ben & Jerry’s is working on an innovative ice cream flavor using this beer called Salted Caramel Brown-ie Ale.

But believe it or not, New Belgium and Ben & Jerry’s isn’t the first brewery-creamery team to pursue an ice cream that embodies the nuances of beer. Just take a look at I Scream, You Scream: It’s Craft Beer Ice Cream! featured on CraftBeer.com, which highlights some of the beer-y endeavors taken on by ice creameries and craft breweries across the nation.

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Beer Profile: Devil’s Backbone’s Danzig Baltic Porter

Danzig-Main-banner_1415

Profiled by Ken Carman

Black as hell with some deep ruby highlights. Light tan foam head, about ½ inch thick. This looks quite dense, and deep. Slight ruby red highlights at the edges in a strong light. Can’t be seen through, other than that.

Aroma: nice deep roast, no hops, fresh smelling and a slight lager yeast sense. This bugger is packed with malts, and a lot of dark malts. But hard to pick them apart. No hop nose.

The magic here is in the mouthfeel and the taste. NOT aroma. DEEP , malt sense. Heavy gravity obvious. Thick. Chewy. Obviously tons of grain and slight lager yeast sense. Getting sulfur way in the background; very light. If not from the yeast, most likely, then water? Does not seem a defect, more just part of the lager sense. The malts are dark, yet not roasty in the same sense as one would get from a stout, or an out of balance Baltic. It’s more like a deep, debittered, dark malt sense.

This is one of the better Baltics I’ve had. It is Baltic, as one would expect from Devil’s Backbone which has several examples listed as a “classic of the style” on the 2015 BJCP guidelines.

85 BA. 97/90 RB.

4.5

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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 “perfecto.”

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___________________________________________Beer HERE

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kYes, to the left is Ken Carman. Obviously Ken is a creature of 2 dimensions so he can slip in and out of breweries and sample their wares. He also has been known to sneak into WWE matches and pants the people in the ring just to underline how silly the farce called “pro” wrestling is.

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Home Beer News Beer Reviews Beer Styles Breweries Events Beer Week Festivals Tasting/Pairing Features Dan’s Blog Four Brewers Franny Interviews Polls Sponsored Supporters Artisanal Brewing Ventures Acquires Victory Brewing, Merges With Southern Tier Brewing

(Downingtown, PA) – Having just marked 20 years in the craft brewing industry, Victory Brewing Company (Victory) proudly announces a landmark alliance with Southern Tier Brewing Company (Southern Tier) under parent company Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV). As the first major transaction of 2016 within the rapidly evolving craft beer industry, this union presents a new model for craft beer partnerships by preserving brewery independence while pooling deep collective resources.

Victory Brewing - Southern Tier - Artisanal Brewing Ventures

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Dogmatic Brewing (or, What Rudyard Kipling Can Teach Us About Beer)

Dogma (n.): a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. 

That’s the Merriam-Webster definition of “dogma,” and I never realized how much we run into this as brewers – until I started offering brewing advice to brewers.  We’re a pretty dogmatic bunch, it turns out.  Which sucks, because “Dogmatic Brewing” sounds like a pretty cool name for a brewery…

Since I started writing Beer Simple, I’ve offered in the Brewing posts a number of recommendations, suggestions, and commentaries on brewing.  Not that I expect that every one is a gem that needs to be adopted – far from it, in fact.  Brew your own way.  I heartily and happily acknowledge that I’m not a biologist, chemist, professional brewer, or metallurgist.  I like to think I’m just the friendly neighbor, chatting over the fence.  “Say, Bob, you ever think about putting that sprinkler on a timer?  Works well for me.”  Like that.

But often, the response isn’t just that someone isn’t interested in the advice (which is perfectly fine, of course – your beer, your rules!).  It’s that what I’m saying simply can’t be right.  But why not?  Shouldn’t the proof be in the Pilsner, so to speak?

DOGMATIC BREWING

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