Archive for Beer

For a few minutes on Saturday I felt like Charles Bukowski. I was a writer sitting by a racetrack drinking a beer at 12:30, and I hadn’t placed a bet. Actually, I was there for the food not the thoroughbreds. The Andelman brothers, hosts of TV’s Phantom Gourmet, held one of their events at Suffolk Downs bringing good food to the masses.

Sponsored heavily by Budweiser, the vendor list was impressive: Fuddruckers, Firefly’s, Aussom Aussie, Wholly Cannoli, Harrow’s, Wicked Whoopie’s, the Sausage Guy and Sunset Grill, plenty to choose from. The prices were uniform for most vendors; you could purchase a modest portion for $5-$7.

For what it was, it was a good way to introduce people to something they may not eat everyday. For guys that claim to love food, they could have gotten better beer. The Sunset Bar boasts a tap list of over a hundred taps; I imagine it to be like Mecca.

I felt compelled to try Budweiser’s American Ale. I actually was surprised that Bud could create something with flavor. I also can’t believe it took a buy-out for them to do so.

The Andelman brothers themselves were walking around the event and stopped to chat with folks or pose for pictures. That was a nice touch to see them in person.

If you managed to find the secret escalator, you were led upstairs. On the second floor there was a mechanical bull, bouncy boxing, sumo wrestling, twister and a putting green. There was enough entertainment but as lines for everything got longer, waiting felt like a chore.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. Although, I wish I had placed a few bucks on the #2 horse in the first race, I would have had my money back for the food and beer.

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

I hit one of my usual beer spots the other day and slapped a mix six together. Lately, I’ve been trying beers from breweries I’m not familiar with, which is why Southampton’s Altbier made it in to the box. After a convincing recommendation I felt I should give it a go.

Altbier is a German style of beer, traditional red ale. Unlike a Killian’s, an Irish red, this German ale was smooth and had some extra bite to make it intriguing. I’m not too big into red ales, but I will make the exception here.

The color of this ale was a pale red and had a slightly bitter aroma. The ale itself had a creamy bitter taste, not too bitter. There was enough bitter to hit the sides of your tongue, and it was really refreshing.

Irish reds are usually very straight forward with flavor and have a deeper red color. This German was complex, and you had to drink a bit before it revealed all the potential.

Did I mention how smooth this beer was? No? Ridiculously smooth. After half the bottle I was beginning to regret that it was my only one. This is one of those gems I seem to have been coming across lately; I’m on a hot streak. Actually, shouldn’t that be a cold streak? No one drinks hot beer.

You really could liken this beer to a lager but much creamier. The fellow that convinced me to buy it warned me that this beer was very drinkable. Southampton Brewery is located in New York, and it sounds like they brew many traditional German beers with a twist. I was very impressed with this beer and would gladly try anything else by Southampton.

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

I decided to ignite the grill for a ‘last hoorah to warm weather’ last weekend. To ring in the fall weather I cracked open a Woodstock Inn Autumn Ale. Some seasonal brews are a little off the mark at times, this one was right on target.

New England is one of the few areas in the country that can enjoy seasonal beers, since we have seasons, and someone figured out what a fall beer should taste like. When you think fall in New England, some people think leaves. Considering leaves taste awful with hops, the next best thing is apples. This brew combines correct amounts of apples and cinnamon to create something really different.

This ale had a really good red-tan color in the glass and smelled great. The ale itself had the same flavor of apple crisp, if you left the skin on the apple. I was pleasantly surprised.

The label is interesting: I’m reminded of the witches from Macbeth, wearing pumpkins over their heads. After a few ales you may find yourself yelling. “Out damned beer spot!” has a nice ring to it if you ask me.

When I sampled the Gritty’s Halloween Ale last time, I was disappointed. Had the Gritty’s folks done something exciting like this Autumn Ale, I would’ve received a good scare. Woodstock Inn Brewery’s Autumn Ale is a great example of a seasonal or specialty ale you’ll really remember.

Do yourself a favor and try to enjoy these light tan ales while you can. Within a few weeks porters, stouts and other dark lagers will be more commonplace. Nothing against darker beers at all, it just means the weather is getting cold again.

Tap/Bottle: Bottle

While kids are terrorizing the streets dressed as zombies or Dick Cheney, create some terror of your own with Gritty’s Halloween Ale. Actually, the only thing that will scare you is how similar this ale tastes to others.

Having never tried anything by Gritty’s before, in retrospect, this may have been a bad first choice. If you want to get the full measure of a brewery, try one of their flagship beers, not a seasonal brew. Next time, I’ll heed my own advice.

Back to the beer at hand, this fall ale poured out nicely in a glass with a red/orange color. It smelled familiar, really familiar. Well, I decided to jump right in, and did I get a fright. I remember back in the day when I would get scared like that, a Snickers bar would fall in my bag. Instead, Sam Adam’s appeared wearing a cheap costume.

This Halloween Ale had a smoked caramel flavor to it that tasted almost identical to Sam Adam’s Octoberfest. I’m not sure what I was expecting; something unique would have been a nice surprise. I will say that the label idea is eye catching and made me want to read up on my Washington Irving.

Overall, this ale was fine; it wasn’t what I had in mind, though. Sadly, there are times when a lot of seasonal ales really do taste similar, and it is often too hard to distinguish the differences between them. This only means that at some point I’ll have to try another Gritty’s product to get the full spectrum of their line. If you seem to be stuck between this beer and a Snickers bar, remember, Snickers is the satisfier. Trick of treat!

Guten Tag! Since this is the lovely month of October, you’ve no doubt seen beers that share the same name. Octoberfest or Oktoberfest ale, are common this time of year. Generally these dark tan ales have a slightly bitter flavor with smokey overtones. Many breweries claim to have the best brew, so I took a few popular ones to a taste test.

Sam Adam’s, Octoberfest, bottle. We start with a dark copper color with a smokey aroma. This ale has a slightly bitter aftertaste and is very malty. Many people use this as a basis for all Octoberfest beers, which isn’t a terrible thing, but you must remember that Sam Adam’s is the gateway beer. The gateway to other possibilities and flavors, so keep exploring.

Harpoon, Octoberfest, bottle. Lighter in color than the Sam’s, a tan color, not very bitter and very smooth. This had an almost creamy taste to it and a little bite toward the end. I found this to be very enjoyable and not as heavy as Sam

Otter Creek, Oktoberfest, bottle. This had the brightest color of the three, a golden quality. It was very smooth with a slightly bitter taste. Not as spiced and smokey as the other two, which gave way to a good crisp taste. This was the easiest to drink of the three.

I only wish that I had a chance to try Spaten’s Octoberfest, but I couldn’t find any anywhere. Octoberfest ales can be confused with Autumn ales and other fall beers. Remember: Octoberfest beers come from a rich German and Bavarian heritage and are the start of the dark beer season. Next time you grill a few brats or German sausage with a bed of sauerkraut, crack open some German heritage to wash it down. Auf Wiedersehen.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve subjected myself to a study of different pumpkin beers in order to find The Great Pumpkin. Here are my results:

Wolaver’s Organic, Will Steven’s Pumpkin Ale, bottle: not heavy on spice with a slightly bitter flavor. A funny smell that wasn’t really pumpkin. Not very impressive overall, it was a good try though.

Smuttynose, Pumpkin Ale, tap: smelled like a can of pumpkin pie but had too much bitter aftertaste. Think of a pale ale with some pumpkin spice. Not my favorite but it was more convincing than the Wolaver’s.

Shipyard, Pumpkinhead Ale, tap: light aroma with no bitter flavor and very carbonated. Smooth like a golden ale. Sadly, it was too watered down by the end of the pint.

Post Road, Pumpkin Ale, bottle: (this brewery was bought out by the Brooklyn Brewery) this ale had a good aroma. It was a step up from the Shipyard. The spiced flavor was very consistent throughout, not overpowering.

Blue Moon, Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale, bottle: smooth pumpkin flavor and taste. Not bitter at all with no strong aroma. This one used to be my favorite.

Dogfish Head, Punkin Ale, bottle: strong pumpkin smell and solid flavor. No filler here, and consistent throughout with spice, you can almost taste the nutmeg. If you can find this ale, you’ll make the switch in no time.

There you have it folks, the fruits (or gourds, I guess) of my research. This year The Great Pumpkin goes to: Dogfish Head for this very consistent tasting ale. Well, those were all the pumpkin beers I could grab, maybe I missed a few. Have no fear there always is next year. See you around the patch.

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

The other night I had a funny craving: a cheeseburger with bacon. Stopping by the grocery store, I picked up ground beef and smoked bacon, then headed home. While grilling I applied barbecue sauce to the burgers and even grilled the bacon. To top this all off I decided to have a Trout River Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. Remember this: dark beers go great with smoky grilled foods.

I’ve had two other beers that advertise chocolate on the label: Sam Adams’ Chocolate Bock and Rogue’s Chocolate Stout. Both of which were very good and reminded me of melted Hershey bars.

I opened the Trout River, poured it into a glass, and was immediately struck by the aroma of chocolate. Since this is a stout it was obviously jet black in color with a little foam on top. It looked very appealing.

Oatmeal is a common ingredient in most stouts, and there was a hint of oatmeal here. Actually, if you added raisins to the chocolate and oatmeal, you’d have a pretty good cookie recipe. There was a little taste of bitterness, but for the most part this stout was very smooth.

Thankfully, the bacon and burger were grilled to perfection by yours truly, and the smoky flavors were only complimented. I never though I’d have chocolate for dinner, although I have had cake for breakfast, so I guess it all works out.

Overall, I really enjoyed Trout River’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout much more than their Red Ale, which I’ve had before. The time of year is approaching when darker, full bodied beers will be more common place, I’m just trying to jump the gun.

Tap/Bottle – Bottle

Only twice I’ve subjected myself to high potency beers: La Fin Du Monde and Sam Adam’s Imperial Pilsner. Usually, I avoid anything over 5 or 6% when I’m out and about, and this past Tuesday I was tricked.

Victory Brewing is one of the new lines of beers to have been added to Strangebrew’s roster. After a pint of delicious Bass, I decided to try one of the new offerings. Based on name alone, I chose the Golden Monkey Ale. What I envisioned and what I got were two different things. The words ‘golden ale’ usually bring up thoughts of a calm summer afternoon, but not this time.

The beer was served in a 12 ounce bottle; this should have been a hint. Second, the aroma was a little off. Finally, after a quarter of the bottle, I read the label: 9.5% alcohol by volume. Suddenly, I felt the urge to consume more nachos.

If you managed to try Sam Adam’s Imperial Pilsner last fall, it was intensely hoppy. Golden Monkey can be likened to the Imperial Pilsner, yet it tasted slightly better due to whatever spices Victory mixed in the brew.

The one characteristic of beers that are 9% or above is that they all begin to taste similar. Due to the alcohol content it really dilutes the flavor, and you can’t taste much else. This is why I avoid high alcohol beers.

Halfway through the bottle the flavor smoothed out a bit. I managed to finish it and peel off the label for future reference. For beers like this, you often need the right mindset before you pop the top, not totally be taken by surprise. I’m intrigued to try more by Victory Brewing; I just hope that the rest of their line isn’t so intimidating.

Tap/Bottle: Tap

I need to drink outside my comfort bottle and sample something different. I am no big fan of the IPA, but for the sake of journalism, I will travel to new frontiers.

At Strangebrew, I ordered an old favorite: French Onion soup. Some days you feel like a nut, some days you feel like soup. To go with my soup I picked a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA.

60 minutes has nothing to do with consumption time. It coincides with the brewing process and the length of boil time the wort endures. During this time, hops are continuously added for either 60, 90 or 120 minutes, thus increasing bitterness. The longer the boil the stronger the bitter.  Trust me on this, none of these beers are for sissy Budweiser drinkers.

The color of this beer was seductive enough that I thought nothing of the flavor, until I tasted it. According to my buddy, the look on my face was priceless. I will say this: Dogfish Head makes a fine beer. I just can’t seem to get them down too easily.

Thankfully, my soup arrived, which meant I had something to wash the beer down with. The 60 Minute IPA is slightly easier to get down than the 90 Minute, as you could have figured. The 60 starts off deceivingly smooth and nails you with the bitter when you least expect. However, the 90 is bitter all over. Having never tried the 120, I only can imagine how strong it must be.

I do have a slight bias against IPA’s, I don’t always enjoy bitter beers. I’ll drink them when I want some excitement. Maybe I’m just too weak for IPA’s, oh well. If you feel up to the challenge and enjoy strong flavor, give this one a go.

Tap/Bottle: Bottle

Rule of Citrus: None

Besides sampling plenty of Woodstock Inn beverages on our camping trip, I also brought a mix of Flying Dog ales. I’ve noticed Flying Dog in many stores, but I’ve never purchased any of their products. At first I was intrigued when I found out that Ralph Steadman was the artist in charge of the labels. Anyone familiar with Hunter S. Thompson will know who Ralph Steadman is and his brand of drawings.

On the first night of the trip Ed, our resident Bass Master, had come across some white perch on his last fishing trip. With his expert knife skills, he cleaned and prepared the fish so I could cook it over the stove.

The Tire Bite ale blended very well with the Old Bay seasoned perch. Tire Bite is a golden ale, very smooth and refreshing. With a crisp taste and finish it was pretty tough for me not to finish the whole pack I brought.

You can’t really screw up a golden ale- they might be the best tasting beer. Although you can get some that are very watered down, Tire Bite had a good blend of flavor and water.  I have to add Tire Bite to my list of ales to look for next spring and summer.

This was my first foray into Flying Dog products, and it won’t be my last. I just need to work my way up to the double bocks and barley wines they offer.