A Pint Half Full

It's September which means Fall is here (who cares if it's still 90 degrees outside, September means FALL!!!)  and along with that comes your Octoberfest and Pumpkin beers.  The Sam Adams Octoberfest was released last week and DFH Punkin Ale released today.  Be on the lookout for these two offerings as well as the other seasonals.

I partook in the Sam Adams Octoberfest last week at my fantasy football draft out of a bottle.  I think it'd taste better in a glass but it did have an odd taste to it.  It had a bit of the natural pumpkin flavor with a rush of sweet malt at the front of the drink and then just kind of faded.  I was a bit disappointed with it but will have to reserve judgement until I have it in a glass.  I'd say it's a little better than last year's however.

I was fortunate to attend the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale release party at the Fairfax, VA branch of the DFH Alehouse and had some fresh Punkin Ale by the pint.  I must say that it is more subtle and balanced in its flavor profile than last year's; balancing the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars very well whereas last year's was a bit more on the sweet side.  Definitely pick up a 4-pack if you find it and like pumpkin beers.  Enjoy!

I've been on a dark beer kick as of late in search of new flavors.  More specifically, beers with dark fruit flavors - figs, cherries, mixed with chocolate and coffee.  Dark beers I've tried seem to have less hop bitterness and more emphasis on malt and spice complexity.  Harder to find in your typical beer store but really cool when you find it.  The two beers I describe in this post are a bit of opposites - the first is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and the other is an Imperial Stout.  Granted they are two different styles but one has a really nice balance while the other just breaks you down into a trembling mess.

The Lost Abbey Ten Commandments - Flavor profile of dark cherries, dark chocolate with a smooth and slick mouthfeel.  Great balance between that sweetness and hop flavor.  Just blends together so well.  The beer tastes like a dessert.  A bit of alcoholic warmth coats the throat as you drink it but I thought the alcohol taste was hardly noticeable and masked by other flavors.  This one makes me want to try more of this style of beers.


Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Looking forward to it since it's a Dogfish Head Stout but what a disaster!  Waaaay too strong alcohol wise and tastes like licorice or paint thinner.  I tried to choke it down but just was not feeling it.  Strong strong dark cherries and really high alcohol content.  As it warmed, the alcohol came to the forefront and dominated any flavor profile.  Sorry DFH.  Go try Old Rasputin Imperial Stout for what this style should taste like.

Summer is well underway, along with barbecues, pool parties, beach parties, and all the "summer" edition brews that accompany these occasions.  Typically light in alcohol content, crisp, and refreshing, summer styles are made for long summer days and nights, hanging out with friends.   Seems like the first summer beers come out mid-May and circulate until around August timeframe.  Believe it or not, beyond the normal mass produced fodder you'll find from A-B, Miller, and Coors, smaller breweries like Bell's or Magic Hat release some stuff especially for the summer too.  This year, I sampled a few summer beers from some other breweries and I can say that though they are better balanced and cleaner tasting, they are not all that great either!  But I'm going to rank the ones I did try so here are the 5 beers I've tried so far:

5.  Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale - Syrupy like when you mix honey with water.  That's all I could taste and could not get over in this beer.  Yuck.

4.  Samuel Adams Summer Ale - They equated summer beer with citrus.  Way too much lemon zest that made this almost sour and too tangy for me.  The tang hangs around and left this film in my mouth that's not good for the summer obviously.  Still sticking to the Boston Lager.

3.  Sierra Nevada Summerfest - Clear, clean taste but minimal flavor.  Notes of grassy, piney hops if you really look for it.  Very effervescent which helps the refreshment factor but overall a little bland!  A little yeasty in the aftertaste.  Harmless fun.

2.  Bell's Oberon - Nice light medium body and hints of orange sweetness.  Some peppery notes.  Thirst quenching.  Not bad and fits into the summer style well.

1.  Magic Hat Wacko - Best of the bunch.  Seriously, it's berry colored.  The taste had hint of cherries which I loved rather than the typical citrus hints.  Nice malt backbone and would be pleasant on any summer day.

Try picking some of these up and let me know what you think.

I went on a little IPA binge a couple weeks ago, went to my Total Wine on the hunt.  As usual I stood there in the beer aisle, debating what I wanted to try.  It's like going to Toys R Us as a kid and picking which GI Joe you wanted next.  I was in the mood for something hoppy that would blow my mind, pucker my mouth, and shrivel my tongue (sometimes you're just in one of those moods). 

IPAs, or India Pale Ales, were originally brewed to survive the long journey from England to India along that "trade-route-that-we-learned-about-in-high-school".  These beers were brewed with tons of hops to take advantage of the preservative nature of the ingredient.  That means these beers are all about that hop bitterness and aroma that opens up your sinuses.  When tasted, you'll get a whiff of spice, pine, perhaps some citrus (grapefruit, lemons, oranges) followed by a dryness or at least lingering bitterness to the back of the tongue.

I asked the beer guy at Total Wine what he recommended and he told me about two beers from breweries from the West Coast.  Seems like alot of good beers are from Cali these days. 

Purchased from:
Whole Foods, Fair Lakes

ABV%:
6%

Type:
Amber Ale

Color:
Caramelly and red glow

Aroma:
Well rounded, fresh hops, with hints of oranges - not tangy like lemons or grapefruits.

Taste:
A pleasant hop bite that cuts through the blend of slight malt sweetness and bitterness.  A wonderful balance.  Tastes somewhat "juicy" and thirst quenching.  Ends with a little spice that reminds me of cayenne.

Overall:
I've heard of Troeg's Brewery before but the only beer I've had from them was Nugget Nectar which I wasn't too fond of.  I saw a 6-pack of the Hopback and decided to give it a try as it is one of their year round offerings.  I am glad I tried it.  Perfectly balanced, with the right amount of alcohol content, this is a refreshing beer perfect for bbqs and the summer.  It can be subtle and in your face at the same time.  Could drink multiple bottles with not problem.  The spice in the end just gives it a little bit of personality and kick.  Thank you Troegs! 

4.5/5

Three of my good friends chipped in to sign me up to three months with the Rare Beer Club.  This privies me to 2 750 ml bottles of "rare" beer a month.  Stuff that I've never heard before brewed with ingredients that I have yet to fully experience in my craft beer journey.  How rare you ask?  Only a few thousand barrels of these beers are brewed and this club has bought half of the stock for its members.  How do I know?  The Club sends a newsletter along with each beer you receive describing, in excruciating detail, everything from the brewery's background, the thought process behind the beer, and tasting notes.  By the way, this newsletter is front and back, single spaced, 12 pt font.  Pretty intense.

I read through the newsletter for De Proef Brouwerij's (it's Belgian) Flemish Primitive Wild Ale 2008 Special Vintage Reserve and quickly became overwhelmed.  This beer was brewed back in 2008, using wild yeast and a mix of your typical beer ingredients (hops and malt) and gruit.  Gruit apparently is a mix of spices that was used in beer before hops were used for its aroma, flavor, and preservative nature.  What was I to expect?  This has been aging for a couple years, wild yeast at work in the bottle, with a strange mix of spices??  I had no idea.  I wasn't ready.  I popped the bottle...

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom here in DC.  They start blooming the end of March and die around the second week of April.  Aside from the flowers, I learned that Capitol City Brewery offers a Cherry Blossom Ale for these couple weeks.  After braving the crowds and viewing the blossoms, had some of it in the downtown location.  It is brewed with a belgian yeast and then allowed to infuse with some cherry puree giving it a unique, silky mouthfeel, and cherry-sugar sweetness balanced with hops.  Smooth, drinkable and light.  Go get some before it's too late!

I was browsing around my Netflix streaming library and saw the movie "Beer Wars" available for streaming.  I thought perhaps this movie was like "Beerfest", a comedy about a beer olympic competition.  Far from it, "Beer Wars" is a documentary about the beer industry in America, attempting to explain why the "Big Three" beer companies dominate the market and how difficult it is for smaller breweries to gain marketshare and bring their products to the masses.  The documentary pretty much demonizes the Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors companies and makes you want to never buy or drink their products again.  It highlights Dogfish Head Brewing as an up and coming brewery trying to make its mark on the beer world and contrasts the passion of one man to the profit-scheming of corporations.   The director, Anat Baron, is pretty annoying as the narrator (see Michael Moore), admits that she is allergic to alcohol, and was the CEO of Mike's Hard Lemonade prior to making this movie (which knocked her credibility down a bit for me - that stuff is weak!).  However, it's a decent documentary, creating this David vs Goliath story and portraying the craft beer world with love and passion.  I did not like the extreme bias against and repeated hatred for the larger brewing companies (we get it!) and the following of one story line which seemed to contradict the agenda the movie was trying to promote.  Read on for more of my thoughts.

Yes folks, I have achieved the impossible - I've become THIRTY years old last week.  I didn't think it'd affect me too much but in fact, when I woke up that fateful morning, it struck me.  I'm no longer "twenty-something"; I now have the privilege of saying I'm THIRTY.  That's a big number.  As odd as it may sound, the distance between a 29 year old and a 31 year old shrinks alot when it becomes the difference between a 30 year old and a 32 year old.

Anyways, I'm over it, as I had time to celebrate over the weekend with friends and revisiting some old haunts from when I first moved down to the Northern Virginia area.  Clarendon (a neighborhood of Arlington) pretty much typifies the NoVa nightlife experience - young professionals, in polos and jeans, gather to listen to 80s/90s cover bands, drink cocktails, and swig Miller Lite.  Not the preferred scene for everyone but fortunately, there are gems in a neighborhood that don't conform to this style and bring unique attitude and most importantly, awesome beers.  Galaxy Hut was the first stop on my birthday night and it was awesome.  The place is small, with a few booths and tables (including a pinball and 80's arcade machine tables).  The main attraction here for me was the beer selection.  They offer a large variety of craft brews on tap as well as bottles that rotate in and out (check their website for latest offerings).  Even with its hipster vibe, you feel welcome in the laid back atmosphere.  I had 4 beers here that I had never tried before and I will try to describe what I can remember here.

In this edition: Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale, Heavy Seas Big DIPA, Russian River/Avery Collaboration Ale, Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot Brown Ale

Purchased from:
Whole Foods, Fair lakes

ABV%:
11.5%

Type:
Imperial Pale Ale

Color:
Orange amber color with a burnt sugar colored head.

Aroma:
Sweet and bitter, bittersweet.  The aroma clears the sinuses and entices.  Grassy hops and a bit of toffee to balance it out.

Taste:
First some sugary followed with a woosh of flavor and bitterness from the hops finishing dry.  Decent balance considering the DOUBLE dose of hops and malt.  Again, the freshness and boldness of the hops clears the nose.

Overall:
I was walking around my local Whole Foods and guess what, Flying Dog Brewery had a rep there!  They were offering samples from something like 12 of their different beers.  I had to stop by and make my way through their free samples from light flavored to stout.  They had a great mix of flavors with the Belgian IPA and this Double Dog Double Pale Ale sticking out to me.  It was nice to contrast all the flavors from the beers and talk about it with the rep.  I walked away but then returned to purchase a 4 pack of the Double Dog Pale Ale.  Double means they added double the hops and double the malt.  The hops definitely come through with a one-two punch of bitters and hoppy flavor.  Delicious. These flavors are bold and fresh but didn't mask the maltiness that followed it up which was great.  Alcohol levels are high so go easy on this one.  Great to get that big hop fix you're missing.

4.25/5

I haven't delved too deep into dark beers so much on this blog as I think I generally favor hoppier styles.  When I think of Porter-style beers, I think of dark, rich flavors but since I'm a novice at this, I didn't know much beyond that.  I imagined they'd be bitter and syrupy or something, possibly "crunchy" tasting.  After reading about Porter, it looks like it is a close cousin to Stout beer, both using dark malts and emphasizing dark fruit (raisins, cherries), coffee, chocolate, and roasted flavors.  I like all those things so Porter is probably something I'd like.  I've tried two examples in recent days - one being a definitive version of the style, Fuller's London Porter, and a newcomer on the scene, Kona Brewing's Pipeline Porter. 

Purchased from:
Gift from my bestest buddy

ABV%:
7%

Type:
English Strong Ale

Color:
Orange hued, caramel color which a thick, creamy head

Aroma:
Nice hop aroma, flowery fragrance with apples balanced with some toffee sweetness

Taste:
Great mix of the bitterness and flavor of hops.  The bitters and balanced with some nice toffee malt, and shortbread.  Finishes dry and generates saliva in the mouth, giving the beer a 'juicy' texture.

Overall:
I first tried this beer New Year's Eve 2010.  I asked my friend to get me some beers from the New England area and this was one of the special ones.  It was ice cold out of the fridge and poured into my Sam Adams Perfect Pint.  It smelled great but at first sip, the hop presence was harsh and startled me and my friend who was having some with me.  Basically, there was not sweetness to counteract the hop flavor and aroma which Geary's Hampshire Special Ale has a ton of.  As it warmed, all the flavors came together and has since become one of my favorite beers.  Too bad I haven't seen too much of it in the Mid-Atlantic area!

What the HSA brings to the table is big malt profile with some molasses and cookie sweetness  PLUS hop bitterness and hop flavor.  These are all quite distinct in the beer and one can savor all the different flavors.  Some might argue that the beer is unbalanced due to its flavors being a little bit disjointed and on opposite ends of the spectrum but I didn't find this at all and the beer pronounces all the flavors with boldness and clarity.  Tasty beer!

4.25/5

Purchased from:
Gift but I've seen it at Whole Foods around here

ABV%:
5%

Type:
Wheat Ale

Color:
Straw yellow with a bit of cloudiness, barely existent, soapy, thin head

Aroma:
Ginger, lemons, with a wheat backbone.  Pretty fruity and light in the nose, fizzy

Taste:
Surprising tang and sourness from the lemon with a hint of the ginger and clove in the background.  Hardly any hop flavor to speak of.  I actually puckered at the taste.

Overall:
Wow.  What to say.  I expected alot from this.  My experience with white ales was Allagash White, Hoegaarden, and I loved both.  When drinking a white ale or other wheat beer, I expect a smoothness, a bit of citrus blended with spice, and overall a refreshing experience.  Perhaps my expectations were too high with this one because even though I got some of the things I expected, it was all destroyed by this sourness that dominated the flavor.

When I first poured the drink, it seemed thin based on the head and color.  I saw there was some leftover stuff at the bottom and kept pouring.  What came out was this deeper yellow stuff.  I have no idea what it was - maybe lemon/ginger residue that had settled out?  Anyway this made the first sip horrible as the sourness just blew me away.  I puckered and ended up with this bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I felt like washing away with water.  The over-carbonation helped in that it diluted this flavor a bit to make the drink bearable.  To make things worse, as the beer warmed, the beer became something like a lemon juice.

I'm really confused at what Kiuchi Brewing is going for here.  I get they are incorporating different flavors (as seen in their Red Rice Ale) in to their beer but it just fails here.  The balance is off and screws with the taste.  Behind it all there is a decent beer there, I think, but I couldn't get over the hump.

2/5

Purchased from:
Gifted but can be found easily

ABV%:
6.5%

Type:
Ale, Maibock-style

Color:
Light amber hue, a little orangey, like those fossils

Aroma:
Caramelly malt, a muted hop scent and a hint of oranges.

Taste:
First, lots of toffee-like sweetness sweeps through the mouth, hop dryness and bitterness hit the back of the palate but it is somewhat muted and fades fast.  Leaves dryness.  Well-balanced and alcohol is hidden.

Overall:
I loved the design of the bottle.  The little skeleton "dead guy" looks so chilled out on top of that barrel and it got me excited because I wanted to be like that while drinking this beer.  After the first sip, I was a little underwhelmed because the sweetness turned out to be a little more than I expected.  As I continued drinking however, the balance worked itself out and the hop flavor, with a decent level of carbonation countered the malt profile.  Rogue Dead Guy Ale turned out to be a solid beer with good flavor, albeit nothing too complex, robust yet sessionable.  My first brew from Rogue and I won't hesitate to try their other offerings.

3.5/5

With the growth of the craft and microbrew industry, it seems that more and more "mainstream" restaurant/brewery chains are opening up.  In the DC metro area alone I can think of a bunch.  Dogfish Head has grown their restaurant chain to three or four locations in the DelMarVa area.  Great American Restaurants has their Sweetwater Tavern.  Capitol City Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery.  The beers that are brewed range from all over the spectrum, decent to great.  I think they serve their purpose in pairing great food and bringing purposeful beer to the people.  I met up with a couple friends the other day at Gordon Biersch and tried a beer style I hadn't had before: Dunkel (DOON-kl).  Yum.

Purchased from:
Free aka gifted

ABV%:
8.2%

Type:
Weizenbock

Color:
Cloudy, muddy brown.  You can't see through it.  Characteristic of wheat beers (the cloudiness that is).

Aroma:
Cloves mixed with bananas, a bit of light bitterness and some toffee/raisin-y sweetness in the background.

Taste:
Really smooth with a medium mouthfeel - not too syrupy though.  Definite clove presence but balanced with the toffee malt and a bit of bananas .  The sweetness is met by some hop bitters in the finish which is balanced by all the other flavors.  Complex and enjoyable.

Overall:
This beer was very tasty.  It went down so easy and every sip brought different flavors out.  The Schneider Aventinus is a wheat beer which lends itself to another layer of flavors beyond the malt and hops.  You smell bananas and spices in the aroma.   The higher level of alcohol is not really noticeable due to the fantastic balance of sweetness, bitterness and spice.  It reminded me of other Belgian beer flavors (clovey) yet didn't leave your mouth dry as some Belgians can.  This is a beer that needs to be savored.  The only bad thing I'd say is that the cloves flavor can at times overpower everything.  But overall, so good.  I wanted more when I was done with the bottle. 

4.5/5

I wanted to get this blog entry in as we are going through round 2 of the end of the world, I mean, zombieland, I mean, a snow storm.  The snow started Friday afternoon-evening and continued straight through Saturday.  I mean it snowed for about 24 hours straight.  Friday morning I went out to the grocery stores and everyone was preparing for 2012 (Mayan-style) or something, not realizing that the snow would be over by Sunday.  More importantly, the snow happened on Super Bowl Weekend, foiling any plans I may have had to go gorge myself on junk food and beer while watching football with friends.  Instead, my wife and I had to gorge and drink with each other. 

I had bought some Otter Creek Copper Ale from Trader Joe's, and we finished up the Brewmaster's Collection from Sam Adams, including the Scotch Ale, Boston Ale, and Cream Stout.  All of these were unique with one not meeting expectations.  Read on for more deets...

Purchased from:
Still working off those gifts...

ABV%:
5.3%

Color:
Hazy yellow, golden wheat color.  Decent frothy head.

Aroma:
Lemons and citrus hops.  Tangy.

Taste:
Somewhat thin and watery.  Slight citrusy hop taste at the front, finishes smooth and especially dry.  Definite taste of the zing from lemons.  Light flavors all around.

Overall:
I've come to believe that the Boston Beer Company can be genius at times and at other times, utterly fail.  The Boston Lager still stands on its own as one of my favorite beers.  The flavor is consistent, balanced, and full providing you a hops fix with a nice maltiness.  It's just solid.  The Sam Adams Coastal Wheat is one of those "other times" unfortunately, when they step away from their forte and try something new. 

I must preface by saying I'm not a big Hefeweizen, wheat beer guy and I don't drink it much.  The Coastal Wheat is brewed in this style.  A wheat beer must be brewed with at least 60%-70% wheat malt rather than barley malt.  This gives these beers a more fruity, spicy flavor and impart a golden hazy color.  Sam Adams has gotten the color down here but the rest of the beer doesn't stand up for itself.  They had to add a bunch of lemon zest to the brew.  You smell and taste the tartness of the lemons that it overpowers anything the beer had to offer.  Which isn't to say the beer itself had much to offer.  It's kind of fizzy and soda water-y.  Really low hop bitterness and without any natural flavors from the wheat malt detected.  I suppose it was refreshing and crisp, but at the cost of any substantial flavor whatsoever.

2/5

Purchased from:
Gift!

ABV%:
4.5%

Color:
Light amber with a frothy head

Aroma:
Mild hop aroma with a sticky-sweet caramel backbone

Taste:
Crisp and clean, light-medium bodied.  Malty, buttery, caramel sweetness up front end combined with a rounded hop bitterness.  Goes down smooth.  Finishes with a bit of residual sweetness.

Overall:
I've had a few of the offerings from Abita, including Turbodog, Purple Haze, and Restoration.  All of them are good, solid beers that are well balanced and unique (ok, Restoration wasn't that good, but the rest were good.).   One common thread that I like in all these beers how fresh and clean the water tastes in them.  I think it helps to keep the flavor of the malts and hops in tact, as well as create a nice mouthfeel that is crisp and refreshing. 

The Abita Amber is quite distinct from the other beers I've tried from Abita but maintains the signature quality of the water.  There seems to be an emphasis on the malt in the Amber and a more dulled hop flavor, probably from the types of hops used.  The sweetness kind of lingered throughout the entire drink with some stale hop bitterness hitting the sides of the palate then fading quickly.  I'm not sure I liked the prominence of the malt flavor at the expense of the hops and would have preferred a better balance.  However, this beer was very drinkable and had good flavor overall.

3/5

I've been feeling a bit sick for the past few weeks so I've had to limit my beer consumption unfortunately.  So I decided to take this time to write an entry on some of the terms I write about to describe beer in the reviews and how they relate to the ingredients within a beer so that you, the reader, may be able to start distinguishing the flavor profile of a brew.  Not only will you be able to understand what I'm trying to say in my reviews and articles but also start characterizing the beer you drink to better determine your likes/dislikes.

The tagline to this blog is to savor the mix of barley, water, hops and yeast.  These are the primary ingredients found in any beer and contribute to the color, aroma, mouthfeel, and taste.  I'm going to attempt to break each of the ingredients down and how they contribute to the beer's flavor.  Let's get on with it shall we?

Purchased from:
Gift!

ABV%:
5.2%

Type:
Pilsner

Color:
Clear golden color

Aroma:
Grassy, piney, fresh

Taste:
Tastes of pine with a bright hop flavor, bitterness clears making way to a yeasty, clean, dry finish.  Light bodied.

Overall:
This came in the Sam Adams Brewmaster Collection and this is one of the beers in the case that really intrigued me.  The Sam Adams Noble Pils is the only pilsner-style lager from Boston Beer that I've had and was excited since I like the style.  A pilsner lager should have a nice hop distinction, have a clean, dry finish with minimal malt sweetness.  Interestingly, there was a bit of yeast taste in the finish as well.  This kept it tasting light rather than heavy.

Boston Beer has brewed this one with all 5 'Noble' hops which definitely brings the hop aroma and taste to the forefront.  It may sound like the Noble Pils was super strong but actually, that's the thing about the pilsner, it is not overwhelming or in your face like an IPA; this was well balanced but definitely with a focus on hop presence.  It's too bad this is only offered as a "seasonal" from Sam Adams.  I'd pick this up any time of the year.

3.75/5

Purchased from:
Gift!

ABV%:
4.5%

Type:
Ale

Color:
Really pale yellow, a bit hazy, straw-like.

Aroma:
A bit of yeast and malt sweetness, hardly any hop smell but there are some citrus, grapefruit notes.

Taste:
Watery, with a quick bite from the hops, then all malt sweetness once the bitterness subsides.  Warming finish down the throat.

Overall:
I received this beer from cmfl3x who had dropped by to visit over the new year after visiting North Carolina.  As I've become more and more interested in local craft beer, I had asked him to pick me up something from NC.  This was the first Kolsch-style beer I've tried and I really didn't know what that means so I looked it up.  According to Wikipedia, "It is a clear beer with a bright straw-yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German lager beer, Pilsner."

I had never heard of Big Boss Brewery so I was pretty excited to try this one and see how I liked an American Kolsch Ale.  As I poured it into my glass, it lived up to its Wikipedia definition as it looked bright, pale yellow with some haziness.  I stuck my nose in the glass and at first whiff didn't get much except some maltiness.  Took a huge whiff and finally got some citrus from the hops in there. 

Unfortunately, this beer was quite underwhelming and I'm hoping is not an accurate representation of the Kolsch style.  I struggled to find any hop notes as I drank but only tasted malt sweetness, water, and fizziness which helped counter the sweetness.  Pretty much the whole "prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness" thing was missed in this one.  Granted, it was light, super drinkable, and refreshing, but it reminded me a bit like your typical light beer, with a better mouthfeel and the added hint of real hops.  Despite its low ABV%, it did provide a warming sensation after you drank it which was nice.  However, the flavor doesn't cut through on this one.

2/5

Purchased from:
Gift!

ABV%:
7%

Type:
Ale

Color:
Pours a reddish tinge, almost like watermelon juice.  Cloudy with a pink hue and with a light head.

Aroma:
Smells of a little spice and alcohol, similar to sake, since they are both rice-based with some tang.  Some sweetness as well.

Taste:
Smooth going down, really clean finish and overall tastes 'light'.  Definitely has its roots in the rice as it tastes a bit like sake though obviously not as strong or concentrated as sake.  There is a slight bitterness from the hops used in the brewing process and a sweetness in the finish.  Refreshing but could have more umph.

Overall:
Many brewers use ingredients other than the core of water, malt, hops and yeast during the brewing process to add an additional depth of flavor to the beer.  These items, such as fruit (cranberry, lemon), coffee, or chocolate are used sometimes to great success and other times, they end up gimmicky.  For example, the use of lemon in Sam Adams Coastal Wheat ends up detracting from the beer itself and seems to be a gimmick as it just doesn't taste good.  Other times, such as Kona Brewing's Pipeline Porter, which is brewed with coffee, the extra ingredient can add an interesting flavor but not kill the beer drinking experience.

Kiuchi Brewing Co. adds an extra ingredient their Hitachino Red Rice Ale, namely red rice.  They combine this with the traditional ingredients of malt and hops to create this beer.  To break down the different sugars from the malt and rice, the brewery must also use different yeast to break it down: ale yeast for the malt and sake yeast for the rice.

Does this mash of alternative ingredients contribute to a superior beer?  Well, yes and no.  If you know what sake smells and tastes like, this beer definitely will remind you of its purer brother.  There are hints of the rice wine in both its texture, aroma and flavor.  Because 25% of the grain make-up is rice and then hops, the bitterness from the hops is quite mild while the sweetness of the rice and malt tend to be more at the forefront of the flavor profile.  The sake part of the beer contributes to the light flavor and as such, finishes very clean leaving a slight sweetness.

This is an interesting beer and I feel that it straddles the line between becoming gimmicky and truly creating a new flavor.  I found that I wished the flavors were more 'in your face' and bolder.  But this is a nice beer that does a good job of balancing the flavors from the use of rice in the  beer.

3.25/5

Though the holidays are way past, my gracious friends and family have helped me to prolong the holidays by providing me with gifts of beer.  Lots of beer.  My friends from Boston brought me about 20 beers and my cousin ordered me a 6-pack of an assortment of beers.  Starting a beer blog has its benefits!

I'm pretty excited to try all the bottles but here's my issue.  I can't get myself to try them since I only have 1 of each!  This puts pressure on getting every last drop out of each glass I pour.  There's no going back to the next bottle to gain a deeper understanding of complexities in a beer or if it's just darn good, to go back and drink a few more.  But I'm pretty excited to try them and give you my impressions of everything as I work through them. 

List of beers after the jump.

I'm back.  Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and happy New Year.  Alot has been going on in my world of beer.  My fridge is stocked with a "plethora" of beer thanks to friends, family, and a bit of my own curiosity.  Also, I bought a book called The Naked Pint which is great reading (at least the first 20 pages - I'm a slow reader).  So not only am I expanding my palate but also my MIND.  Don't worry, I plan to share these discoveries with you on my journey of learning.


Prior to going home for Christmas, I had the privilege of watching the NY Giants destroy the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field (football for all you uninformed, and don't talk to me about the last two weeks of the season). I'm a huge Giants fan and had scored tickets from my wife's co-worker. These were club level tickets no less! Being my first time on a seating tier that was not the nose-bleed level, I was excited to have a good view of the game and perhaps indulge in some higher quality refreshments, including the beer. Read on to find what I discover.