Tonights beer is a little different for me and not a style you see all that often in normal bars. That could be because it is an ESB ale or extra special bitter. This brew comes from the east coast brewer of flying fish. This in my mind is like a light IPA, smooth and crisp but not as bitter as an IPA. This beer is 5.5% abv, a beer must have over 4.8 to fall into to ESB class.
This beer is copper in color but lacks in head formation and aroma. The flavor is fruity and light but is lacking in body. ESBs are a very English beer and somehow this racks the refinement you would expect from a brew of this type. These are not easy to make as the higher gravity tends to kill a lot of the nice hop flavors. It has a sharp taste when it hits your tongue but lacks any real mouth feel. I'm going to keep this short as this beer is not worth going into deeper into. I would not go find this beer, stick to Red Hook if you are interested in this style of beer.
Taste 4
Body. 3
Head. 2
Quality. 5
Overall 4
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Getting local
So tonights beer is one of the Las Vegas valley, while it may be sin city it does lack in the craft beer department. My first beer from the local breweries is from local brewer Tenaya Creek. Founded in 1999 by a pair of brothers from Utah it is one of few distributing brewers in the state of Nevada. I have two brews with me tonight but i am only going to start with the one in my hand.
This is their IPA, Hop Ride. This is a traditional American IPA with a sharp bite and a wonderful medium body. This is a strongly hopped beer and not for the weak of heart. They dry hop in this ale to provide a wonderful aromatic release when poured with a nice head. they use a combination of Magnum and Summit hops for bitterness and the classic Cascade hop for that rounded bouquet that you look for in an IPA.
The first look of this beer is that of a slightly amber color with a creamy white head. The aroma is strong and very floral. The head stays strong for a while after the pour is done. With a great bubble structure that almost looks like champagne. The first sip is spicy and powerful. From the on set you know this is not a beer for the faint of heart. Most typical beer drinkers are not going to dive into this strong of a beer but in my eyes it is a way of judging a brewery as a whole. This is a sold version of an IPA and because it is dry hopped it is much more American than a truly traditional IPA which would only use hops before the yeast is pitched. The after taste while strong is not offensive but could be too much for a light beer drinker. This wold be wonderful with a spicy dish or something with a strong red sauce. This beer is well balanced and sold in flavor. For a brew in a city that lacks a brewing culture this is a sold IPA that is not too light like many of the bigger company IPA's. I would say it is sold and not dumbed down. If your in Vegas and find it on tap i would recommend having a pint. My other sips from this brewery have been tasty also so try a local sin city brew. On that note there is a Sin City Brewery which I would not spend money on, very basic and not exciting beers, sorry just the truth.
Taste 8
Body 8
Head 7
Quality 8
Overall 8
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This is their IPA, Hop Ride. This is a traditional American IPA with a sharp bite and a wonderful medium body. This is a strongly hopped beer and not for the weak of heart. They dry hop in this ale to provide a wonderful aromatic release when poured with a nice head. they use a combination of Magnum and Summit hops for bitterness and the classic Cascade hop for that rounded bouquet that you look for in an IPA.
The first look of this beer is that of a slightly amber color with a creamy white head. The aroma is strong and very floral. The head stays strong for a while after the pour is done. With a great bubble structure that almost looks like champagne. The first sip is spicy and powerful. From the on set you know this is not a beer for the faint of heart. Most typical beer drinkers are not going to dive into this strong of a beer but in my eyes it is a way of judging a brewery as a whole. This is a sold version of an IPA and because it is dry hopped it is much more American than a truly traditional IPA which would only use hops before the yeast is pitched. The after taste while strong is not offensive but could be too much for a light beer drinker. This wold be wonderful with a spicy dish or something with a strong red sauce. This beer is well balanced and sold in flavor. For a brew in a city that lacks a brewing culture this is a sold IPA that is not too light like many of the bigger company IPA's. I would say it is sold and not dumbed down. If your in Vegas and find it on tap i would recommend having a pint. My other sips from this brewery have been tasty also so try a local sin city brew. On that note there is a Sin City Brewery which I would not spend money on, very basic and not exciting beers, sorry just the truth.
Taste 8
Body 8
Head 7
Quality 8
Overall 8
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Once again
So despite my massive failures to write a blog I have finally found a topic I can really get behind and to the people who know me best it should not come as a shock....BEER. A great man once said "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy. "... I'm not sure who said it but my money is on Homer Simpson (it was Ben Franklin FYI). So I sit here a lover of one of the true staples of man kind. It has been said that without beer man kind would have never learned to grow crops. Just saying. So I call all to read this and sample the many craft brews this country has to offer. I am currently in a town that for lack of a better word SUCKS when it comes to local brews but alas I will press on. I come form the land of Fat Tire and the College of Buckbean and to me to hunt what I love like a lion hunts a meal on the savanna. Beer is love and a passion to millions. That leads to the question, What is beer?
According to the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law) it is a combo of ONLY water, hops, and barley. Yeast was not yet discovered but was added at a later date. So what does that mean to you. Well in the most simple since beer is a ton of water, barley for color, body and flavor, and hops for flavor, bitterness and sent. When you think of beer in America you think of the big dogs who make up 95 percent of all sales. Names like Coors and Bud come to mind. These beers are like Wal-Mart, they get the job done but missing something. They brew a beer that is truly simple but exact and with no difference batch to batch. While many break from German law and now use rice and other grains as filler they are as simple as a beer gets. So that is where this blog and my beer quest start with Germans and a love of beer. I am here to talk about beer good, bad, cheap, and expensive. From the kind of glass to the temperature each beer likes.
Unlike wine, beer is very human. The brewer will have a major impact in the final product. You cannot blame a bad beer on the year of the hops or barley. "This Coors Light tastes off must have been a bad year for barley", this somehow does not work. A brewer is a chemist, perfectionist, and crazy but always careful of what he/she is making. I can go for days on glass selection, draft vs bottle, temperature of service, lager vs ale, old school vs new, and so on but if i dont fail again that is all for a later date. Tonight I will open my samples with two new brews, one form a favorite brewery of mine and one from a new comer from Utah of all places.
The first is from the always wonderful and almost never matched Deschutes Brewery out of Bend,OR. They can be visited at www.deschutesbrewery.com and i must say their public house has wonderful food. This it their Green Lakes Organic Ale this is a fairly classic ale but made with all organic ingredients. It uses 5 different types of barley allowing for a wonderful amber color and smooth body. While this amber ale it has a stronger hop flavor but it is not overpowering. With the use of the very common liberty and sterling hops it should have a familiar after taste to any one who has tried their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It sits on the tongue for a long time after your sip has passed for a wonderful after taste. I find this to be a wonderful thing but a light beer drinker may find this to be a little too much. For a beer drinker this is a wonderful relaxing beer. Easy to drink but could go with anything. This ale is a perfect late fall drink, perfect for that first snow fall. It is light enough i would not be scared to have it at thanksgiving, but that is with a beer drinkers tongue (could be to heavy for the entry level drinker). If you are sacred to venture into the land of pale ales and IPAs this could be a good start due to the smooth feel and light but lasting hop flavor.
Rating
Taste- 8/10
Body - 7/10
Head - 6/10
Quality - 9/10
Overall---- 8/10
My second choice is a beer drinkers beer, from Utah, yes Utah. It is from a brewery i know very little about called Uinta. I first tried their beers when i was on a barley wine kick and they were the only option left, they had me from then on. Also, had they Pumpkin beer that was wonderful. They started in 93 in a garage and in 96 started bottling. Really i am just reading from their web page so if you care just go there. I am still shocked you can even make beer in Utah. Now this beer is unique for a few reasons, first it is corked, second they consider it a whole different line (crooked),third it is bottle finished, and the best part all from this type they are high alcohol. This wonderful and great craft beer is Detour Double IPA. It is strong and has so much hop flavor i could die happy. For anyone who does not know hops=bitter, this can be varied by when and how they are added. There are four different hops in this brew and they all dance on your tongue. Like i said this is a beer for beer people and will be considered harsh by many. If you love IPAs and can find your way to this brew then i highly recommend popping a cork with some beer loving friends and having a pint.
Rating
Taste- 8/10
Body - 8/10
Head - 10/10
Quality - 9/10
Overall---- 9/10 ( must love hoppy beer)
According to the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law) it is a combo of ONLY water, hops, and barley. Yeast was not yet discovered but was added at a later date. So what does that mean to you. Well in the most simple since beer is a ton of water, barley for color, body and flavor, and hops for flavor, bitterness and sent. When you think of beer in America you think of the big dogs who make up 95 percent of all sales. Names like Coors and Bud come to mind. These beers are like Wal-Mart, they get the job done but missing something. They brew a beer that is truly simple but exact and with no difference batch to batch. While many break from German law and now use rice and other grains as filler they are as simple as a beer gets. So that is where this blog and my beer quest start with Germans and a love of beer. I am here to talk about beer good, bad, cheap, and expensive. From the kind of glass to the temperature each beer likes.
Unlike wine, beer is very human. The brewer will have a major impact in the final product. You cannot blame a bad beer on the year of the hops or barley. "This Coors Light tastes off must have been a bad year for barley", this somehow does not work. A brewer is a chemist, perfectionist, and crazy but always careful of what he/she is making. I can go for days on glass selection, draft vs bottle, temperature of service, lager vs ale, old school vs new, and so on but if i dont fail again that is all for a later date. Tonight I will open my samples with two new brews, one form a favorite brewery of mine and one from a new comer from Utah of all places.
The first is from the always wonderful and almost never matched Deschutes Brewery out of Bend,OR. They can be visited at www.deschutesbrewery.com and i must say their public house has wonderful food. This it their Green Lakes Organic Ale this is a fairly classic ale but made with all organic ingredients. It uses 5 different types of barley allowing for a wonderful amber color and smooth body. While this amber ale it has a stronger hop flavor but it is not overpowering. With the use of the very common liberty and sterling hops it should have a familiar after taste to any one who has tried their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It sits on the tongue for a long time after your sip has passed for a wonderful after taste. I find this to be a wonderful thing but a light beer drinker may find this to be a little too much. For a beer drinker this is a wonderful relaxing beer. Easy to drink but could go with anything. This ale is a perfect late fall drink, perfect for that first snow fall. It is light enough i would not be scared to have it at thanksgiving, but that is with a beer drinkers tongue (could be to heavy for the entry level drinker). If you are sacred to venture into the land of pale ales and IPAs this could be a good start due to the smooth feel and light but lasting hop flavor.
Rating
Taste- 8/10
Body - 7/10
Head - 6/10
Quality - 9/10
Overall---- 8/10
My second choice is a beer drinkers beer, from Utah, yes Utah. It is from a brewery i know very little about called Uinta. I first tried their beers when i was on a barley wine kick and they were the only option left, they had me from then on. Also, had they Pumpkin beer that was wonderful. They started in 93 in a garage and in 96 started bottling. Really i am just reading from their web page so if you care just go there. I am still shocked you can even make beer in Utah. Now this beer is unique for a few reasons, first it is corked, second they consider it a whole different line (crooked),third it is bottle finished, and the best part all from this type they are high alcohol. This wonderful and great craft beer is Detour Double IPA. It is strong and has so much hop flavor i could die happy. For anyone who does not know hops=bitter, this can be varied by when and how they are added. There are four different hops in this brew and they all dance on your tongue. Like i said this is a beer for beer people and will be considered harsh by many. If you love IPAs and can find your way to this brew then i highly recommend popping a cork with some beer loving friends and having a pint.
Rating
Taste- 8/10
Body - 8/10
Head - 10/10
Quality - 9/10
Overall---- 9/10 ( must love hoppy beer)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
