Category: Beer

Some craft beer lovers get a “fix” out of weird, novelty, brews-PGA

Written by Tom Becham

Spring and Summer seem to be the times of year when brewers get a little more whimsical with their releases. They experiment with flavors of fruits and spices, in what many people might call (and this is the most polite term I’ve heard) “girlfriend beers”.

Well, fruit has a long tradition as a beer ingredient, and as to experimental beers, well, that’s what pushes the envelope. It’s good to have an open mind about what constitutes things like patriotism, a family, or even beer.

Okay, my first two beers are both from The Bruery, in Placentia, California. Something one can *never* say about The Bruery is that they do anything normally, average or “to style”. Every single brew they produce is drastically unique in some way, and these two certainly fit that description. Continue reading “Tom Becham on Novelties”

Profiled by Maria Devan

Looks so good. I never rate a beer’s appearance that high but this beer is perfectly clear, has a thick creamy white crown that lasts and leaves a film and ring on top. Body is sunshine yellow. Golden.

Nose is sumptuous but fun with lots of fruity citrus, a plentiful hops herbal that is whimsical with pepper and a malt sweetness that is a touch of white bread with honey. Taste is sultry and heady with lemon, the bright lemon peel, the spontaneous herbal.

The hops herbal in this beer is like hay or dried grass but it also has quite a bit of pepper. A perfect tartness that makes the mouth water and a dry and bubbly finish that lets that pepper really tickle. Smooth and at 7.5% it’s on the high side for abv but you will find it a pleasant warmth in the swallow. There is a bitterness in this one and it’s welcome because of the slightly higher abv. It balances out that alcohol sweetness and bit of extra body perfectly and lets the beer reside in the aftertaste as plentiful in flavor as it was on the palate.

4

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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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. That’s Maria in the middle. The other two are not, but they are lucky to have her as a friend.

The Topic: it’s Toucan CAN-ned Man! (Or: A Morning Well Spent with Mo, Carl, Bailey, Steve and Jackalope

Written by Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers, who has been writing on beer-related topics, and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for over 15 years.

 The machinery chattered, rumbled as it twisted, turned and inserted probes. No, we’re not on some odd alien space ship with a long line production line of cows, or abductees, about to be experimented on. Instead, as beer cans moved quickly down that line, one almost expected all that was left of the Terminator to reach the end and attempt to strangle Linda Hamilton.
 No Terminator here to be feared!
  Instead, there was plenty of beer, Toucan-ers: Mo and Carl Oelker, then Master Brewer Bailey and Head Brewer Steve at the end of the behemoth; putting together six packs.
 Oh, and just to assure any concerned quaffers: no one was being strangled.
 Instead a virgin was being sacrificed.
 A beer virgin.
 Yes, I was there for the first canning of Rompo, one of the standard brews at Jackalope, and only the second Jackalope brew to be canned. The first was Thunder Ann, their pale ale.

Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All, Toucan Mobile Canning and Jackalope”

Profiled by Ken Carman

Pure white pillow head with fast rising legs. Yellow on paler side. Slight haze. Head fades fast to nothing. Light yellow/gold. Great legs.

Fruity aroma with slight corn (grits?) Just a hint of sweet: candy sugar-ish. Pilsner malt behind that.

Mouthfeel: slightly sweet. Almost an ale version of Bud/Miller, only with a sightly sweet-ish pilsner/pale malt sense. Malt on light side medium, at best. Pale malt and pilsner-like malt coat the roof of the mouth but fade fast. Slight sulfur lager yeast.

Taste: malt with slight sugary sweet, no hops. A bit corn-like, but not DMS. Grits, I suspect.

This is a fine,lighter side of medium, lager that has little to none of the defects common in lagers: too much yeast driven sulfur sense, often boring. This is a step above that. A sweet, slightly DMS/corn-ish (lager/grits), brew.

If this is what you prefer, or if you want something American lager-ish, but better, go for it!

No rating yet, BA, or Rate Beer.

4.

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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Ken Carman eats gerbils for breakfast and wasildorfs for lunch.He NEVER eats dinner, Instead he drinks BEER!

Written by Ken Carman

The Topic: Finding My Purpose in Beer @ King of the Mountain

  As a visiting judge you know there’s a better than even chance you’ll wind up on Specialty, or Spice, Herb and Vegetable. Especially if you do what I do and declare I will judge whatever, wherever, I’m needed. Can’t remember ever checking a category I wouldn’t judge for any competition.
  A masochist? No, I actually enjoy Specialty, even SH&V. They’re both a challenge, and certainly better than bad taste bud burn out. More on that in a moment.
  I judged at King of the Mountain last year when I was on tour, and this year I had to head up to empty out my former tour bus. Not sure about next year. The problem is by no means KOM: it’s a grand competition. It’s because King is over 500 miles away, and without the tour bus we no longer have an easy place to stay.
  This year Millie judged too.
  So, in the morning I was on, never guess what? Yup: collapsed categories, Herb, Vegetable and Specialty. Gee, howja guess? Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Purpose”

This beer pours with a purple tinted creamy head on an opaque eggplant colored body. The nose shows you a good malt . caramel ,bread-y, some dark fruits. It also shows you a hint of smoke which I was not expecting and a lovely sweetness from the elderberry juice. There is a brief and cursory scent of sour and a faint vinegar note. No alcohol on the nose or palate. The beer is a juicy beer with lots of middle. The bread is underneath and the hops come up surprisingly strong in this one to offer a crisp bitter that does not exceed the malty finish nor the touch of sour. The mouthfeel is fullish. The smoke is on the palate and that puzzles me a bit. It seems to lend texture to the beer. The sour aspect is just mouthwatering and as you drink it seems to mix with elderberry stems and a faint nuttiness that I would describe as nutshells or nut skins. It is not too strong though and does not compromise the other flavors. I don’t know what to think .. .yet.

(No score as of yet.-PGA)

Profiled by Maria Devan

Nose opens up with earthy grapefruit some bright fresh orange and a slight hops herbal. Sweet touch of biscuit and honey from malt.

Color is hazed golden orange amber with yellow sunshine hues. A white head that fell fast but kept refreshing. Minimal lace.

Mouthfeel is a lighter side of medium. The herbal on the palate steals the show in this one. It has such a good strong green with not too much sweetness and a hint of spice. The orange is subtle but resides on the palate gently as a moderate and pretty clean bitter takes the finish to show you a bit of sticky honey on that biscuit and that fresh orange to linger.

Balanced,tight and very well done.

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.”

_____________________________________Beer HERE

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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. That’s Maria in the middle. The other two are not, but they are lucky to have her as a friend.

Beer Term ‘O the Day: Adjunct. Fermentable material used as a substitute for traditional grains, to make beer lighter-bodied or cheaper. (Sugar, honey, oats, rice…) Adjuncts can be divided into two broad groups: kettle adjuncts and mashable adjuncts. Kettle adjuncts, like honey or candi sugar, contain fermentable sugar and are added to the kettle in the boil. Mashable adjuncts contain starch. This starch needs to be converted to sugar before it can be used by brewer’s yeast. These starchy adjuncts must be mashed, which means that enzymes degrade the starch to fermentable and unfermentable sugars and dextrins.

In beer news today, a young man from Clarksville, Tennesse, who is very dedicated to good beer, tells us more about beer terms, while also judging beer, being president of Clarksville Carboys, Clarksville, Tennessee and not being a student at Hogwarts, but maybe in the future “WORThogs?”