Category: Beer

This is a great little beer. It pours faint yellow , slight haze and a few bubbles wafting up to the top to meet a creamy head of white foam that fell quickly then lasted in a layer on top.

Nose is peach. Delightful peach. The earthy skin, the juicy fruit and a bit of cracker for malt. A light sweetness and a lovely floral.

Drinks wonderfully and lightly with plenty of flavor and a good carbonation. It is crisp, dry and drying. Has a light peach flavor and a crisp cracker for malt. A bit of malt sweetness comes forward as it warms . A faint touch of hops and a bit of tartness finish this one off and it just plain tastes great!

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.”

____________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours hazy, pale straw gold and with a fat head of white foam. Some is creamy some is loose and it falls slowly but doe not leave too much lace.

Nose is sweet wheat with honey and a nice citrus. Bright lemon peel and some fresh orange. A leafy hop herbal that turns grassy as the beer warms. A bit of cracker that you can smell.

Drinks dry and crisp with wheat that appears thin tall and golden to the palate. A sweetness behind it that is light honey. A slight bitterness and a lovely bit of citrus fruit. That fresh orange really takes the drink. It’s puts the lemon to the side which stays only for a mild tartness. Finishes dry and with a light little aftertaste where the herbal kicks up once more.

I like it very much. Refreshing, crisp and with a smooth mouthfeel that is creamy and has a soft few bubbles in it.

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.”

____________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

The Topic: Syracuse Gordon Biersch and Salt City
 Living in Nashville since 1978 I had always wanted to visit a Gordon Biersch. I heard they were an upscale version, and the anchor pub, for the Rock Bottom, now deceased Big River, Biersch chain. The Rivers were changed, so now they have more Rock Bottoms.
 You know that really doesn’t sound right when I read it back to myself, but I’ll leave it just for the fun of it.
 I had heard Gordon Biersch was more German-lager focused, oh, and dedicated to the Gersundheitgesneezen. Oh, sorry, I always get that wrong! The Reinheitsgebot where they can only use water, barley and hops… then yeast when we all figured out that mini-me magic trolls weren’t passing gas to make alcohol. (Actually not too far from what yeast do, in a sense, only if they were human it would be grosser than that.)
 As you can see the pub is pretty upscale.
 For a number of years I had been trading Facebook posts with Salt City Brewers in Syracuse, NY and one of their former presidents even tried to get me to judge at NY State Fair. This year I was able, and also lucked out: I made a meeting at none other than Gordon Biersch. Jackpot!
 Syracuse’s Biersch is in a mall, which I found odd: pictures of their stand alone pubs I’ve seen are very upscale: even futuristic, looking. But it doth fit well in a mall too! And, as I kept telling the Jonathan, their brewer: to your right, they made very efficient use of their space.
 I got there early because I wanted to speak to a manager and see if I could bring in a drop box for my competition: The Old Forge Old Ale Competition, and Robin agreed to make an exception since no one would be drinking the entries at Gordon. I yacked it up with Chris Sack: former president I had traded Es with a few years ago and… surprise! I found out I knew their presidents. That’s right, I typed “presidents:” Sarah and Ben, co-presidents. We all judged at the state fair this year.
 Jonathan got us together and arranged small tours: logical since space is limited. Syracuse’s Biersch has a 25.5 barrel Specific brewing system. Jonathan said a normal batch was 15 barrels. Biersch has in house recipes for all their beers and every year they send all the brewer’s samples out to see how close they got. Brewers are judged by those lab results. Consistency is crucial at Gordon. Expectations are exacting: like keeping mash ph at 4.5-4.7. Every aspect of each sample is judged by the lab to make sure the brewers hit their targets. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Profile by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours a golden amber with yellow hues. A creamy head of bone white foam that falls quickly and leaves spots of lace. beautiful clarity and only a few bubbles lazily wafting to the top.

Nose is malty with a little soft sweetness and a bit of cracker. Sweet lemon peel and earthy grapefruit peel. Some sweet grass and a bit of pine that also has a sweet little backing to it. A bit of simcoe spice that I would call tangy.

The taste is wonderful. Fruity and juicy. A bit of lemon, grapefruit and a nice little orange that is fresh and lightly sweet. The pine is soft and sweet on the palate and so is the malt. The malt is more crisp than it smelled on the nose and it comes right up to the definition of west coast style mouthfeel before it takes just one shy step over. The hops give an herbal quality at the back palate that is broad and leafy. This one finishes dry and with a lovely bitter that does not start on the mid palate. It starts at the swallow and then resonates back leaving you with a surprise bit of crisp cracker and some of that lovely light orange.

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.”

_____________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

Giant white pillow head that gently fades into a caramel, amber, crystal clear quaff. , Great amber highlights: like shining a light through a fine scotch or whiskey. Left behind: a light, paper thin cloud on the surface and poillow small bubble head on the edges of the glass.
Nose is grapefruit and tangerine-like with hint of rind. Some caramelized notes behind that. No Belgian yeast sense.
Mouthfeel: solid grapefruit. There are a lot of American hops in this and/or a long boil: but not too long. If a torpedo or spider were used I would not be surprised.
Taste is solid grapefruit-like hops and caramel malts plus pale. Wheat is so far in the background one wonders why they bothered. The bitter is solid, but backed up with enough fuity goodness to make it a heavenly marriage. While an easy quaff, it’s substantial. A party with this would go south quickly.
Overall a very enjoyable quaff. I would buy it in a snap. But what makes it “Belgian?” I expected funk, or something “Belgian” to stand out. I understand not all Belgian brews have “funk” but if you’re going to claim Belgian then hop it so high, have so much American-hop-like aroma, taste and mouthfeel and have such a nice caramel malt-like background, something needs to step out and say, “Hi, this is what makes me ‘Belgian!”
87 on BA, 98 Rate Beer.
So, style-wise, I can’t go above 4. I really want to. But punishment is due. Bend over Flying Dog: I’ll be kind.
So good I simply can’t go below a 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.”

____________________________________Beer HERE

Ken Carman is a Certified beer judge, columnist, entertainer and all around weird guy who lives i Nashville, TN and Beaver River Station, NY

Profiled for PGA by Maria Devan

Pours a very dark brown with a crimson hue when held to the light. It has a large creamy head of tan foam that falls slowly. The nose is mild. Some toasty malt with a nice sweetness on it and maybe some faint grass. Sweet milky chocolate creeps into the nose as it warms and there’s a touch fo bread crust on the nose.

Taste is gracefull and well done. It has a thin mouthfeel with a slight bite from carbonation. There’s a fruity backnote and some hops balance it for a finish that is lightly dry and has a faint touch of bitterness. The malt stays mild in this but enticing with some bread crust a bit of toffee and some light sweet chocolate.

Easy to drink and very pleasant.

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.”

____________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Written by Franz D. Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Tempest recently chalked up its ninth month of craft beer writing. To celebrate the occasion, I’ve been posting an annotated index of articles that I’ve written to date. The first segment listed my articles on beer and culture, followed by my regional spotlights. This segment includes a list of my brewery profiles and beer reviews, along with a few recipes for those interested in cooking and food/beverage pairings.

Thanks again for the support over the past several months. Enjoy!

Want to read more? Please click…

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