Beer Log: April, 2012

Beer Log: April:

April 5. Beer Adventure: The Hopyard. Pleasanton. I hadn’t seen my buddy Terrill in a while so we decided to head out for a beer. It was Spring Break, after all. Not really a time go get rowdy, but definitely a chance to try a new beer bar. The Hopyard is located in mini-mall on land that used to be part of the biggest hop farm in California. An auspicious beginning right there. The place has a nice feel to it – lots of wood and a nice wrap-around long bar. I chose the place partly for the name, and partly because they advertised having a number of craft beers on tap. Very good selection. They have about 32 taps, 11 of which are dedicated to regulars, including Pliny the Elder, and the rest rotate regularly. So, much to like. And they have garlic fries. So, what’s not to like. I tried two darker beers. The first was from Iron Springs, an offering called Revolutionary Guarde. Excellent beer. Nice and smooth. Dominated by the malt and chocolate. Some toasty flavor and aroma. Now I have a new destination –I need to get to Fairfax. I also tried New Belgium’s 1554 Enlightened Black Ale. Very good dark beer. Nice roasted chocolate flavor, deep yet drinkable. Overall I liked the Hopyard very much. It didn’t hurt that the Sharks were in the process of making a dramatic comeback against the Kings and were able to win in an overtime shootout.

Apr. 10. The last week and a half has been particularly busy for me. I did get out for a beer adventure on the 5^th, but haven’t had a chance to go back and write about it yet. I haven’t explored many new beer, instead I’ve just been revisiting old favorites. But, today, a new beer. Well, not really. I tried it last week, but neglected to write anything. But, I’ll pretend that this was the first sample, and no one will be the wiser (at least so long as they do not read this introduction).

Today’s Beer: Kona’s: Koko Brown: Aloha Series. Described as being brewed with toasted coconut and natural flavor added. Lovely dark amber color with a light crème colored head. Limited carbonation, but still crisp. Pleasant toasty nuttiness with an undertone of coconut. I’ve had two other beers brewed with coconut, both porters, but neither had a distinctive coconut flavor in the way this one does – it is very subtle, but it is there. Good beer for the colder days of spring or fall.

April 11. Today’s Beer: Rogue’s: Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout: This is a stout! Pitch black color, deep tan head, deep smoky aroma – perfection! This is beautifully balanced between a deep bitter chocolate and sweet burnt sugar flavor. It has a nice dry feel from the oats, but also has a bright, mildly, citrus sour that emerges as the bitterness recedes. Well done Rogue! As much as I love their other offerings, this may be my favorite so far.

April 14: Beer Adventure: Wine Affairs. San Jose. It’s always nice to try new places that have a good sampling of craft beers. I’d heard of Wine Affairs and knew that they had hosted a couple of events during SF Beerweek, so I’d been meaning to try it. My wife and I headed over and found a nice intimate bar with the offerings written on 2 chalk boards behind the long wooden bar. There were several small circular tables that offered a great setting for just sitting, sipping and chatting. They offer pints or 9 oz. glasses, which is pretty cool since it allows you to get a reasonable taste of something new, but still allows for sampling a few. On this evening they featured offerings from Dogfish Head, Russian River, Unita, Lost Abbey, Black Diamond, Ballast Point, and the Bruery, among others. I started with the Bruery’s Saison de Lente: Light, bright, citrusy and cloudy. Somewhat sour and mild yeasty flavor. Finishes with a dry, mildly bitter taste. Very Belgian character. Next I moved on to Russian River’s Sanctification which was a cloudy blonde with a bright citrus flavor. Very sour and wonderful to savor, unless of course you don’t like sours. In which case, you would probably get a puckery face and act as if you’d been given poison. Which you hadn’t, but really, you do tend to overreact. I finished with Ballast Point’s Sea Monster Stout. Now, there is a great name. This is a macho beer. Definitely not for beer wimps. At 10% ABV it is strong in every sense of the word. Nice pleasant sweetness, but also a dark, smoky, bitter chocolate flavor with a strong molasses character. Overall, the strong alcohol combined with the molasses flavor give this a bourbon-like feel. Overall, I’m pleased with Wine Affairs and will return.

April 15. Tax Day. Today’s Beer: something strong. North Coast’s: Old Stock Ale, 2011. Nice dark amber color and a pleasant, almost fruity smell. Very strong at 11.9%ABV and you can definitely taste it. In fact, the alcohol is a bit overwhelming and out of balance. Virtually no head. Disappointing since I generally enjoy much of what NC does. The 2011 Winter Braun was one of the better winter beers this year. But this one was subpar. There is an initial sweetness that seems to be setting up the flavor, but then there is a wave of alcohol that overpowers everything else. But, as it is tax day, having something strong seems appropriate. Cheers Mr. Tax Man.

April 16: Today’s Beer: Dogfish Head’s: Santo Palo Marron. So dark. So Sweet. So strong. The color of the beer as I poured it into a glass looks like molasses. Very thick pour with very little head. Strong, molassesy sweetness as well. Barrel aged in Paraguayan Palo Santo wood. This does seem blessed by the tree saint. Description on the bottle claims a caramel and vanilla flavor. I think it is more reminiscent of molasses than caramel, but there is a vanilla undertone mid sip that sneaks in after the initial taste, but is gone once the beer moseys down the back of the throat. Very strong at 12%, but not dominated by the alcohol as many barley wines are.  Definitely stands in stark contrast with the North Coast Old Stock of yesterday.

April 17: Today’s Beer: Deschutes’: Jubelale 2011: Crystal red color. Limited carbonation and head. Sweet, mildly citrus and lightly toasted flavor with mild bitterness that lingers in the background. Wonderfully balanced and approachable with a pleasant warmth at 6.7%ABV. The 2010 had reminded me more of a stronger version of the Black Butte, while this one is more like the ESB. I actually had tried one back in Dec. 2011, but hadn’t written about it at that point. I think in part because I was expecting something similar to last year’s release and wasn’t sure how to react. But, now with more critical distance, I’m happy to say I’m very pleased.

April 18: Today’s Beer: Rogue’s: Dead Guy Ale: I’ve had this in the past, but this is the first time I’ve sat down and written any notes about it. I tried a few Rogue selections in summer 2011 and noticed that while the trend for many brewers (Stone – I’m looking at you . . . ) have pushed the limits on how hoppy one can make a beer, Rogue has taken a more judicious, measured approach to the hopping process. I have yet to be overwhelmed by the hops in any of their beers. Instead, they rely on finding the right balance for each in order to let the malt and hops have equal billing. Dead Guy is a very tasty and well-crafted beer. It has a golden honey color, medium head that is frothy and sweet and dissipates gradually. Not a strong hoppy aroma – more sweet and inviting. It is light and crisp and would be a great beach beer. Lightly, but distinctly hopped with a mildly bitter, earthy, mildly pepper flavor. Good stuff!

April 21: A couple of new beers today:

Buffalo Bill’s Brewery: America’s Original Pumpkin Ale: Sour, sweet, and pumpkin pie spiced with a bit of a mild pepperiness. The clove flavor is most pronounced, with a bit of cinnamon. Tasty.

Stone’s: Vertical Epic: 10-10-10. Great and unusual beer! This one started with a Belgian Trippel and brewed it with three varieties of green grape; so essentially a Belgian beer crossed with a white wine. Very similar to a sour, but not quite as strongly sour as those brewed with the Brett yeast. Hazy bottle conditioned deep golden, almost honey color. I cracked it a little earlier than recommended, but it was the first really hot day of the spring, and I wanted to share with some friends that I knew would appreciate the beer on enough levels to justify sharing. Very glad I did, but I wish I had another bottle.

April 22: Today’s Beer: A revisit to 21^st Amendment’s Monk’s Blood, 2012. What else would you drink while watching Game Of Thrones! MMM.

April 23: Today’s Beer: Stone’s: Old Guardian: Barley Wine Style Ale. I love Stone. Such a big, bold, bitter, sweet beer! Amazing honey color infused with just a hint of an orange hue. So pretty! Delicious maltiness with just a mild roasted flavor, but mostly the sweetness that comes with the amber malts. This is a dangerous beer. It packs a punch at 11%ABV, but unlike most barley wines, you would never know how powerful it is since the alcohol flavor is very subdued. There is a sweetness that accompanies each sip that travels straight to the back of the tongue, while an earthy bitterness flanks the sides. Nice pleasant bitter aftertaste as well.

April 24: Today’s Beer: Stone’s: Imperial Russian Stout 2012: I do love a good stout – the darker and thicker the better. And this one is very dark and very thick. It has a deep, rich, intoxicatingly sweet and roasted aroma. It boasts a deep dark roasted coffee flavor with a hint of a sharp fruitiness. Some of the Imperial Stouts can be a bit hit-and-miss and the alcohol flavor tends to dominate. Not so here, despite the rather manly 10.5% ABV. This one is dominated by the deep roasted malty goodness with enough hops to add sufficient bitterness to balance the sweetness. I just happened to go to the local Whole Foods today and they had it. So, here I am, just mere hours later, enjoying. Thank you Stone! Thank you Brian the Beer Guy!

April 25: Today’s Beer: Collaboration of Stone, Alchemist, and Ninkasi: More Brown than Black IPA. Collaboration with The Alchemist and Ninkasi. Stone did a series of collaboration beers in 2011. I tried one of the others and will review it soon. This one is essentially a Black IPA, a recent style that is getting more adherents. The beer was headed up by John Kimmich of Alchemist. I haven’t seen anything from them before, so this is the first one with their influence I’ve tried. He describes the dark IPA style’s origins with a beer called Blackwatch, and says that it was refined with the help of brewer Greg Noonan. This is a lovely beer. Very rich brown color with a nice mildly sweet roasted flavor. It has a similar hoppiness to Lagunitas’ IPA, but instead of the grapefruit elements of Lagunitas, this one has almost a tart passion fruit flavor. The tart creates a slight pucker reaction and concentrates into a pleasant earthy bitterness. Low carbonation and ABV of 7.4%.

April 26: Today’s Beer: Unibrau: Trader Joes Vintage Ale 2011: Described on the bottle as a dark ale brewed with spices and other natural flavors. Very dark pour with a high carbonation and thick head. Sweet, spicy aroma with a hint of fruitiness, almost like raisin. The Unibroue beers are very much in the Belgian style – bottle conditioned, distinct yeasty taste to accompany the roasted malt and hops. Mild tartness and nice brown roasted sweetness, with little hop presence. Very dark brown color. Cheers to the French Canadians!

April 28: Today’s Beer: Collaboration! Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head: Life and Limb 2: This is a collaboration between Sierra and Dogfish Head. The one last year was distinct and unique and was brewed with birch syrup and maple. I wasn’t writing at that point, so I don’t have any notes, but I have a very powerfully positive impression of it. This year’s is also brewed with birch and maple (I love the use on non-traditional sugars). The pour revealed a very dark brown concoction with a medium head that dissipated. The head was a bit metallic. I’ve notices that at times I can pick up on the essence from the conditioning container in some beers. With the barrel aged beers you can taste the influence from the oak, but with those aged in metal containers, there can sometimes be a hint of that as well. Anyway I didn’t get it from the beer itself, only the head. It has a nice dark sweetness to it – not quite molasses, but similar. Strong at 10.2% and there is some of the bourbon-like character that you get with the stronger beers and barley wines. But it also is pretty smooth and not too hoppy. Limited carbonation. Somehow, as much as I’m enjoying it, it doesn’t seem as distinct as the First Life and Limb, so in comparison it’s a bit disappointing. Or, maybe I just hyped last year’s in my memory that the sequel could never live up to it.

 

April 29: Today’s Beer: Maui Brewing’s: Mana Wheat: Wheat beer brewed with Pineapple juice. I’ve also tried Maui’s Coconut Porter, but haven’t had a chance to describe it. It was quite good. This one is very refreshing. Honey colored and hazy. Highly carbonated with a very aggressive, but very light fizzy head. At the end of the pour there was an ice cream scoop shaped mound of foam above the rim of the glass. Bright, citrus smell, and a clean, crisp, citrus flavor. And it is distinctly pineapple. It works. Great summer beer. And it comes in a can since Maui believes in using cans, so it can go many places where bottles are banned. Limited hops so it lets the citrus of the pineapple come through very distinctly. Very tasty and inviting. 5.5%ABV, but it feels less than that. Maybe it’s the pineapple. I just like writing “pineapple”.

April 30: Today’s Beer: Stone’s: IPA: I realize that I’ve been trying a number of Stone varieties that are a bit more specialized or limited releases. So, on to some of the standards. This one is a light golden honey color and had a high level of carbonation. The head is thick and substantial, with a strong, bitter scent. The hops are very much on the sharp piney bitterness end of the spectrum, with a hint of a peppery spiciness.  But, as the hops retreat to the sidelines, the sweet golden maltiness comes through and provides a nice contrast between the honey-sweetness surrounded by earthy bitterness. Good overall IPA, but I still like the Lagunitas and the Deschutes Inversion better.