Category: Beer

Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

Foggy, redish, hazy. Some remaining big bubble head but this bottle was leftopen for a while, so I’d never count that against the presentation. Only slight light shines through like a murky ruby.
Carmel malt nose with grapefruit like hops. Great balance. No coriander or elderberry in the nose.

Taste is a great balance of slight coriander, slight elderberry all balanced out with a firm hop, again grapefruity and taste a bit rind of…. But mostly the flesh.

The mouthfeel is firm with slight pepper from coriander and slightly slick caramel. Carbonation very slight to none, but this sample is old. Did I mention I opened it and forgot about it for a while? I was amazed there was any carbonation.

The malt, which is caramel and pale but quite complex melts into the grapefruit hops and the spices perfectly. I would think maybe a hint of Maris Otter, hint of Munich: with this it’s tough because it blends so well together, a masterpiece.

They call this a “collective brew,” but Stone’s site, nor RB and BA mentionhow the two musicians helped. Or was it named after them? “Collective” indicates more than that. Here’s what Stone says about it…

In bringing together artisans from disparate aural planes, one might expect an offbeat, feedback-warped cacophony, shrill to the point of unlistenable. Yet, by inviting Kyle Hollingsworth, keyboardist for eclectic, jam-prone sextet, The String Cheese Incident, and Keri Kelli, wailing rock guitarist of Alice Cooper fame, we were able to make truly beautiful music. Turns out, these musicians have a great deal in common, both with each other and with Stone. We all enjoy turning things up to 11, and that is represented in this collaborative offering, an imperial India pale ale ably backed by Nugget, Comet and Calypso hops, and amplified care of a healthy dry-hopping with Vic’s Secret, a new Australian hop, adding citrus and tropical fruit oomph. To give this modern masterpiece some soulful, classic character, we traced the roots of brewing to the days when Old World herbs were used to spice beers, adding in coriander and, a first for us, elderberries. To stand up to that sumptuous spice and blaring bitterness, we added golden naked oats, which are lightly roasted and add body and enhanced mouthfeel to the brew like a steady, unbreakable backbeat to an incendiary jam solo. Sit back, crank the volume and get lost in this operatic incarnation of genres combined in the name of invention.

88 at Beer Advocate,with no rating by the site owners, 95 overall at Rate Beer, 75 for style. Not quite sure how one can rate “style” that strictly when it’s obvious a Specialty based off an Imperial IPA.

Looks like it may have been introduced at The Maui Brewers Festival.Once again: a bit vague in the promos I read.

4.5

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 was raised by wild yeast on the fermentation plains of Moosesylvania. There is no truth to him having grown up near NYC, but not so secretly longing to live in the Adirondacks. Or that he did. Or that he moved to Tennessee. Or that when he retires he’ll move back. Or that he started brewing in 79cause most of the selections sucked. Or that he’s a BJCP judge, a columnist. it’s all lies. Right now he’s still thinking it’s all true as he sucks down Miller in the Matrix, but dreams of more complicated quaffs.

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours a hazy honey brown with a khaki colored head that falls quickly but not entirely. Leaves some wet sheets of lace to slide down the glass as you drink a few spots too. Has a beautiful orangey/reddish hue when held to the light. Nose is rich and malty. bread crusts. Slightly sweet, toasty and a bit of smoke. really not that much smoke. A slight whiff of noble hops and a bit of caramel round out the nose.

Flavor is delicate. Mouthfeel is very thin. Crusty bread, a caramel that is deep but not heavy or excessive. The smoke adds only a faint hint of meat or even smoke and a just a bit of earthy char to the drink. A slight hop bitter finishes this one dry with the dry malt and a faint caramel sweetness. Clean, light and a bit of earth at the very end. Moderate carbonation.

Of the three beers I was able to try from this brewery I liked this one the least. The mouthfeel was so very thin. I felt like the smoke character was trying very hard to be “not disagreeable” or even smoky.

2.5

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 frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Image courtesy brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry and Chocolate Ale

For me, Rogue is one of those breweries that I never know about. They do some very nice brews. They also do some wild experiments and come up with some dreadful disasters. I would say that in a sense, they are a lesser version of Dogfish Head. Dogfish Head does wild experimentation, and are hit and miss. But Dogfish Head tends to have a decent success rate, and even their failures tend not to be completely hideous. Not so for Rogue.

Especially the previous editions of their Voodoo Doughnut Ales. Packaged in garish pink 750 ml bottles, until now, I had regarded the Voodoo Doughnut series (named after an iconic bakery in Portland, Oregon, and patterned after the flavors of their most popular baked goods) as purely gimmick beers.

The Bacon Maple Ale was a true abomination, tasting basically like a sweetened bottle of Liquid Smoke (trust me, it’s not as good as it sounds).

And the Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Ale tasted like none of those things, and was just a mediocre beer on its own merits, regardless of the supposed flavorings.

So, I approached their Pretzel, Raspberry and Chocolate Ale with more than a little trepidation.

Thankfully, Rogue hit the nail on the head this time.

This beer pours a lovely reddish-copper. A short-lived, caramel-colored, fizzy head brings some liveliness.

The aroma of Pretzel, Raspberry and Chocolate (PBC from here on) contains caramel and chocolate malts, and pungent hints of raspberry. Not sure if it’s real fruit or extract. If real fruit, I think it’s likely to also contain juice.

It is on the palate where this beer really scores major points. The first flavor is massive bready malt, akin to what one would expect in the best of German bocks.

Following this are brief glimpses of the raspberry. The fruit does not overpower or oversweeten, but its presence is readily identifiable.

On the finish is the distinctive flavor of chocolate malt (boosted by actual chocolate? Likely not.), providing a bittersweet baking chocolate impression.

All in all, Rogue has redeemed themselves and their Voodoo Doughnut series with this one. This is not just a novelty beer. Definitely try this one if you have the opportunity.

That’s Tom Becham. Right over there. To your left. WHAT, you DON’T recognize him? He lives in Oxnard, CA and he’s a famous beer writer.

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours hazy golden and much paler than I expected with a white head foam that fell pretty quickly but left a ring and some spots of lace.

Nose is malty and earthy. A bit of grass behind the malt. No fruit .A slight honey like sweetness. Just enough to be there and really no more than that.

Taste is round with malt. A bit of depth but no heaviness. Grainy. A slight honey sweetness and the roundness of the malt come together perfectly with a good little bite from carbonation. This finishes dry and with a slight bitter. The herbal is but a whisper in the drink. Just barely there. Crisp and lovely. The mouthfeel is on the thin side of medium.

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.

A review in praise of the homebrewer-PGA

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

If you talk to HopBack Nate he is so unassuming. He takes for granted that you know and like beer. He brews beer. He is a home brewer. he has made a beer that is exemplary. Well what does that mean? That means the only flaw in this beer is that he only sent me one bottle. It means that he has evoked the hops to their utmost potential, that he has instilled a title that will commit that to memory. That his malt is for some reason memorable. Nathan- that’s his name is Nathan, he has an affinity for hops that remind s me of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø. He’s also a self taught hombrewer.

He has evoked in this beer a fruit character that surprises you a fresh plum! He has a bitter that will astound you not because it confronts you but because it assuages you after a full palate of fruit. He has coaxed these hops to their potential and he has crafted a bitterness that will leave you remembering the fruits of the beer and saying there was No malt to speak of. (That reminds me of Hill Farmstead.) Damn! Floral and perfumey. Flowery and herbal, soft and elusive malt with a dry belgian yeast that does not give up any funk but stays to the side and lets you be mezmerized by fruit. A bit of pine, evergreen not pine needles. A lovely balance makes a great beer that I wish you could taste it!

Thank you for sending me this beer HopBack Nate

4.5

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 frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Once again Ye Olde Scribe ventures into beers that should never have been brewed territory…

Dog bites own tail and leaves it a bloody stump is more like it.

In the category, sort of, of malt liquor it’s hard to knock a brew for having a bite-y abv sense. Especially since with that style they often use adjuncts rather than adequate malt to get that high. Dog Bite succeeds. Ignore the sulfur-like lager sense. That’s pleasant in comparison. Dog Bite takes higher alcohols to a new level of barf. Kind of a piss yellow, if you’re having urinary tract problems, and lot of toxic foam, for the style, Scribe swears they simply fermented the still contaminated waters from Chernobyl.

Mouthfeel? Roof of the mouth and tongue ripping goodness!

Like the previous entry, Scribe refuses to have any pictures on this post. No need in promoting a Jimmy Jones like quaff. If you do buy it and survive it might get rid of your Hudson River rat problem. Ever seen one? BIG!

Courtesy blogs.villagevoice.com