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)