Stouts for the Chilly Season

For Christmas, my wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous wife got me a subscription to a craft brew monthly delivery service called BREWPUBLIK. I have received two deliveries so far and I have been very pleased with the selections that they brought. To plug the company briefly, you sign up for 6-12 months and they bring you 12 beers each month. Prior to your first delivery, you set up a flavor profile and let the company know what you like. #DingDongBeer

With my second delivery, I received a really great stout from Founders Brewing Company. Founders is located in Grand Rapids, MI. I have enjoyed many of their beers including Dirty Bastard Scottish Ale and their All Day IPA Session Ale which comes in a 15 pack! It is one of my favorites and a staple in my beer fridge. 

The selection from Founders in my delivery was a Russian Imperial Stout. This is one of their seasonal beers and only out January-February. At 10.5% ABV, this stout is perfect for warming up on the cold nights of the Winter season. Although it has a high alcohol content, it is extremely smooth with a rich body. It is very dark throughout the body with a caramel brown color under the head. Enjoy while  you can.

Another great stout that I enjoyed last weekend was Ballast Point's Curry Stout. This is the first beer I have enjoyed from the brewery located in San Diego, CA. I had it at one of our favorite Wine/Beer shops - Vintner Wine Market. Vintner always has a great selection of craft beers on tap that rotate monthly and typically highlights a brewery. This month...it was Ballast Point. The brewery clearly does a great job experimenting with various flavors from pineapple to curry to mango. I may have to convince my wife to go back this weekend to try another selection!

Snow Day, Snow Day!!!

New Belguim has my vote for the best winter ale on the market.  I found myself purchasing their Snow Day Winter Ale.  I liken this beer to a black IPA.  This beer is boldly hoppy with nice roasted undertones.  There are hints of chocolate and caramel that come from a new brewing malt called Midnight Wheat.  I encourage you to buy this beer up if you can still find it.  I, for one, will be stockpiling as much as I can find in my local grocery store and beer shop.  It is that good.  Enjoy the unexpected.

Brevard Knows Beer

I have been working on a project in this great mountain town called Brevard, NC (new home of Oskar Blues' East Coast Brewery).  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they have a craft brewery right near town call....Brevard Brewing Company.  I was in town for a meeting and the majority of us decided to go have a beverage and some food after the meeting.  We settled on a place called Marco Trattoria.  Being a Tuesday night, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves.  The waitress called for our order and I, as usual, ask if they had any beers on tap.  They had two, both from Brevard Brewing Company.

I first tried the Munich Dunkel.  I am a huge fan of German beers, so this sounded great.  I was surprised that this Dunkel functioned more like a chocolate stout.  The waitress told me that white chocolate was actually used in the creation of this beer.  This beer is very smooth and lightly carbonated.  I highly recommend this beer.

The second beer I had was the American IPA.  A very solid IPA with full hoppiness and citrus flavor.  I am very much looking forward to visiting the brewery in person.  Marco Trattoria is a great restaurant.  Try the pizzas, they are great.

Foothills Brewing...Get You Some!

So, it has been a while since my last post.  Lot going on, but won't bore you with all of that.  Let's get to the beer!

My beautiful wife recently grabbed me a great mixed 6 pack of beers from Trader Joe's which include two selections from Foothills Brewing out of Winston-Salem, NC.  I have long been a fan of Foothills Brewing.  I have always enjoyed the first of the two beers I will write about tonight, Hoppyum IPA.  Hoppyum is a solid IPA with a very hoppy nature and high bitterness.  It has a strong aftertaste and dry finish.  Definitely some citrus notes to this beer and it will leave you wanting another.  70 IBU's and a 6.2% ABV.  One interesting aspect of this IPA is that I found it to be thick on the sip.  Not exactly sure what this means as I review my notes from the night I tried it, so by default I find myself needing a re-try of this delicious IPA!  Well done Foothills.

The second Foothills brew is Torch!  Torch is a light Czech style pilsner that I found to be very appealing.  It has a full and rich finish and is surprisingly hoppy for a pilsner with 35 IBU's.  I see myself enjoying this brew on a hot day this summer.  Perhaps a drive to Winston-Salem is in order to get this nectar straight from the tap.  Let me know if you have been to the brewery.

The last Foothills brew that I want to cover in this post is the People's Porter.  I enjoyed this beer after sledding with my wife and boys up in Blowing Rock, NC at a really great restaurant called Bistro Roca.  It was a Sunday, but after spending a few hours going up and down a hill in the high wind and drifting snow this dad needed a beer.  I decided to try Foothills People's Porter.  I really gravitated toward darker beers this winter.  More so than usual.  People's is an English style porter with a slight hoppy flavor upfront but with a smooth espresso finish at the end.  The chocolate and toffee aroma is in full tilt.  It has a dark ruby hue color.  This beer does not disappoint   With 42 IBU's it will satisfy an IPA lover while still appealing to folks who love a dark smooth porter.  Have it with the Lobster Mac...I did!

One Night at the Office

I was traveling on business a few weeks ago in South Florida.  My co-worker and I decided to stay in Delray Beach and we went to a great restaurant called The Office.  If you ever find yourself in Delray, I highly recommend visiting the Office.  Each time I have been there it is always packed and the food is great.  I would try the Prime Boss Burger which is burger paddy made of prime ground brisket.  The devil eggs were pretty great too.

Now on to the beers.  The Office has a great selection of beers on tap and in the bottle.  The bartenders are always happy to let you try a sample before diving into a beer you may not like.  I decided to try Swamp Ape IPA from Florida Beer Company.  This is a fantastic beer.  It has a potent floral aroma but is not too sweet and has a bit of a bite.  This high gravity beer (10% ABV) includes five distinct varieties of hops which is a hop lover's dream.  This beer has moderate fruity nature with a medium malt character.  It looks like you will have to travel to Florida to try this beer as it is not widely distributed yet.  I think it is worth the trip.

I also has a Dales Pale Ale that night.  Dales Pale Ale is from Oskar Blues Brewing Company.  I had a Dales previously, but never on tap.  Dales is a unique beer that is canned versus bottled.  It has a hoppy nose and flavor but is a well balanced brew with the hops and malt working in harmony.  This is a great hoppy beer to enjoy anywhere, even on the beach where you might typically reach for a lager or lighter beer.  Pick up a six pack of cans and enjoy.

The third beer I had that evening was called Shipyard IPA from Shipyard Brewing Company.  I should have listened to the bartender and taken a sample taster. This beer is terrible and really not worth describing any further.  Perhaps it was its dry nature that didn't appeal to me.

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The Mixed Pack Dilemma - Magic Hat Brewing Company

I very rarely buy mixed packs unless I have the opportunity to pick the individual beers myself.  However, with my recent luck with Highland Brewing Company's mixed pack mentioned in the post I decided to try another.  I often find that evaluating a mixed pack often leads me to the same dilemma: satisfy my curiosity knowing that one of the options within the mix will not appeal to me v. buying each of the beers individually in a six pack and thus run the risk of wasting more money.

On Friday, I decided to buy a mixed 12 pack from a brewery which I have never tried, Magic Hat Brewing Company.  We were experiencing winter weather in Charlotte, NC so I was on the hunt for a Wintery Mix for my fridge that would satisfy my craving for the tastes of the season.  Below is my review of the four beers that made up Magic Hat's Winterland Seasonal Variety Pack.


Heart of Darkness Stout:  This is a very solid stout.  The first thing that struck me was the pour.  I tilted the glass at a 45 degree angle like I typically do, but instead of bringing it upright toward the end I left it tilted and came up with the perfect pour with a nice white head.  The name of this beer doesn't lie, it is very dark.  This stout has nice roasted bittersweet chocolate notes and is very smooth, even silky.  This is a seasonal selection, so get it while it is available.  5.7% ABV.

Encore Wheat IPA:  This was the beer in the mix pack that I thought was going to upset the apple cart.  In general, I do not care for wheat beers.  Somehow there is no trace of wheat beer flavor in this IPA.  There is  still the citrus and yeasty aspects that are typical of a wheat beer.  The difference is the hop.  There is a nice bitterness and the mouthful was heavier than expect.  I need to have another before I am able to fully detect the grapefruit...but it is there! 6.4% ABV.

Wooly:  Wow, what a beer!  This ESB is unlike any beer that I have tasted before.  The piney taste is interesting and would lead me to buying this beer again, but probably more so if I could find it on tap somewhere.  The spicy wood taste is truly appealing.  The pour is a nice medium amber with a nice head.  4.5% ABV.

#9:  And here it is...the reason for the dilemma.  This is the only year round bear out of the Winterland Pack and it was the one that did not appeal to me at all.  It is very floral and much too sweet.  It reminded me of a bitter soda I once had when I was in Mexico.  This is probably their most popular beer and I have to say that I am glad that I didn't try it first.  I may not have ever tried any of the other great beers mentioned above.  #9 is no mystery to me...it just is not a good beer.  PS - there is definitely apricot in the recipe.

Highland Brewing Company - Black Mocha Stout & Oatmeal Porter

Highland Brewing Company, located in Asheville, NC is a brewery that truly fits its community.  Asheville, NC is known for its scenic views, good food, music scene, eclectic population mix and now...beer!  It is Highland's goal to be the brewery of choice in the Southeast - a goal that is certainly attainable.  

Most people who have had a Highland beer have had the Highland Gaelic Ale which is an amber colored ale with a malty body and complex hop flavor and aroma.  This is a beer that could easily become an every day beer as I believe it pairs well with a variety of foods and is great on its own. 

For Christmas, my business partner and I exchanged mixed packs of beer.  He was extremely generous and gave me both a mix of Samuel Adams seasonal brews as well as a mix pack of Highland Brews.  While I have enjoyed them all, I thought I would focus on two of the ones that definitely stood taller than the others.  The Sammy Adams brews will be covered in another post.  

The first is the Black Mocha Stout.  This brew is a very smooth stout that is not overrun by the chocolate flavor its name would suggest.  The roasted flavor is a nice blend of coffee and chocolate and has a slightly hoppy finish.  It carries 25 IBU's.  Because of its smooth nature, this beer can be enjoyed on its own or be paired with a variety of foods including dessert!  It is certainly on the sweeter end of the stout spectrum.  Also, it is not as creamy as a Guinness, so you may want to take that into consideration if the creamy element is important to you when downing a stout!

The second is the Oatmeal Porter. This brew is a unique and robust dark beer with malty and roasted chocolate flavor with a nice hop balance. What keeps this porter so smooth is the introduction of oatmeal which helps give it its silky texture.  When poured into a glass via bottle or draft, it has a very dark body and nice caramel head.  35 IBU's and 5.9% alcohol content per volume.  I have tried this beer in a room temperature glass and a frozen mug.  This is just my opinion, but I think the aroma and flavors are more pronounced in the room temperature glass.  Try both and let me know what you think.

You really cannot go wrong with any of the Highland Brewery beers.  If you ever visit Asheville, go enjoy one straight from the brewery or at Barley's Taproom.

Great Divide Brewing Company - YETI, YETI, YETI!!!

Yeti, Yeti, Yeti!!!  Holy cow, this brewery could be the sole reason why I would visit the great state of Colorado, (okay, so Colorado also has some great skiing and phenomenal outdoor sports opportunities, good sports teams and other great breweries like New Belgium) but  Great Divide Brewing Company is producing some truly legit beers that rival the best craft breweries in the U.S.A.

Total Wine (a retail beer, wine and liquor store) was running its $1.00 off 22 oz beer special this month so I decided to try Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout.  When I poured the stout into my frosty mug it looked as if I was pouring oil into my glass.  The beer had a very smooth and rich look and finished with a nice caramel colored head.  The beer has a somewhat thick taste and includes the aroma and flavor you might expect from an imperial stout - toffee and caramel notes.  But the pleasant surprise is that this stout has a hoppy element to it.  It weighs in at a hefty 75 IBU's.  The Yeti is strong in both alcohol content (9.5%) and aftertaste (but a good one).  The best way to describe this beer is it is truly a flurry of flavor and aromas.  Very tasty!

Dark Cloud Munich Style Dunkel Lager - Ja, natürlich!

I have walked by the shelf containing the selection of Mother Earth Brewing Beers several times and have often wondered if they were any good.  This eastern North Carolina brewery has a great story and is worth the read - click on the link above.  Their focus on organic farming, down home/small town living, and the love of craft beer contributes to the fresh unique flavors they create.  

Dark Cloud is a Munich Style Dunkel Lager that is dark yet very mild.  This dunkel could easily be an every day beer and can go with almost any food paring including Eastern North Carolina BBQ.  I find it very comparable to German imports that I have tried.  There is nothing overly stand-out about this beer, but it is definitely a solid dark lager.  Pick up a six pack and let me know what you think.

Dogfish Head does Stout

So here is another stout I highly recommend for the colder months of the year that are now upon us...Dogfish Head Brewery's Chicory Stout.  This is a great stout with plenty of roast chicory and coffee flavor.  They use organic Mexican coffee for this delicious ale and a surprising, unexpected flavor - licorice root.  My advice is to pour this bold stout into a British style tulip pint glass.  Pour the beer at a 45 degree angle until you have just a little beer left in the bottle.  Give the bottle a little swirl and pour it directly into the middle of the upright glass to create a nice bone white head.  Before your first sip, inhale deeply and collect all of the strong aromas that this beer has to offer.  It may even make your eyes water a bit.

I have enjoyed everything that I have tried from Dogfish Head.  As I have mentioned before, their Punkin' Ale is my favorite pumpkin flavored beer on the market and their 60 minute ale is one of my go to beers.  I am waiting for the Discovery Channel to air another season of Brew Masters that showcases Dogfish Head Brewery and takes you along on the their adventures to find new flavors and collaborations (such as the making of a traditional Peruvian drink, Chicha, into a beer - there is a strange element to this drink that includes people's saliva).   Definitely "Off centered ales for off centered people" like me!  You can find back episodes here - Brew Masters.

Stouts for the Season...

I love stouts!  Guinness was my first experience (as I am sure was most people's) with stouts and it started me on the path of enjoying this dark libation and searching for other worthy breweries who match up to the pride of Ireland.

Tonight for the first time, I am trying Boulevard Brewery's Dark Truth Stout.  I have never had a beer from Boulevard Brewery (www.boulevard.com) out of Kansas City, MO, but I am definitely now a fan.  This 9.7% high gravity stout encompasses all of the important characteristics of a great stout.  Unlike most beers with high alcohol content, this stout is very smooth and the alcohol taste is not overpowering.  The roasted espresso flavor is very pronounced and is counter-balanced by a sweet, but not too sweet, finish.  There are plenty of spice and herbal notes to this stout and they have done a great job of adding a smoky element that makes you want to pop open another...but be careful because after two you may find yourself on the floor!

Pumpkin Ales...Mmmm!

So I am a bit behind in my write up on pumpkin ales.  I look forward to the pumpkin ales coming out each Fall and try my best to enjoy the offerings from multiple breweries before it is all done.  Last year, the clear winner in my book was Dogfish Head Brewery Punkin' Ale.  Punkin' Ale is a great pumpkin ale with the perfect amount of spice to pumpkin ratio and a great finish.  I find that a lot of pumpkin ales rely too much on the spices that are supposed to complement the pumpkin to the point that they overpower the pumpkin flavor all together, but not the Punkin' Ale.

This Fall, I tried a handful of pumpkin ales.  Dogfish Head still remains at the top of my list, but I wanted to branch out and see if there were any contenders.  The first one I tried was from one of my favorite breweries, Terrapin Beer Co.  I am a Bulldawg, so this Athens brewery tugs at my heartstrings, but unfortunately I found their Pumpkinfest to be much too floral.  Perhaps is was also the malt that didn't agree with me, but it was just not my favorite.  I still love their their Rye Pale Ale, Hopsecutioner IPA, and Wake n' Bake which includes Jittery Joe's coffee (a local Athens coffee shop brew).  I will definitely revisit Terrapin in a later post.  It is a great brewery (terrapinbeer.com).

The pumpkin ale that truly knocked my socks off this year was Foothills Brewery's Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale.  Cottonwood has done a great job of balancing real pumpkin flavor with the complementary spices of Fall.  This ale is very smooth and is enjoyable straight from the bottle or in a frosty mug.  Pumpkin brews may be hard to find at this point in the season, but if you can still find a six pack of Cottonwood's Pumpkin Ale I highly recommend picking one up.  Enjoy!

Sweet Water LowRYEder IPA

For my first review, I am starting with a brewery located in my hometown - Atlanta, GA.  SweetWater Brewery (www.sweetwaterbrew.com) is a brewery that truly lives by its motto "Don't Float the Mainstream".  I became acquainted with SweetWater beer in college at the University of Georgia.  We would often drive into Atlanta on Thursday afternoons to enjoy their patio, live music and SweetWater brews.  

Their 420 Extra Pale Ale is one of my "go to" beers for any meal or occasion.  In fact, before they started distributing in North Carolina, I had to pick it up over the boarder so I could enjoy it at home.  I have also enjoyed SweetWater's Motor Boat, Georgia Brown, Happy Ending, and Festive Ale. I am not a big fan of SweetWater Blue, which possesses a slight blueberry aroma and taste to it - much too sweet.  And, although I am typically a huge fan of IPA's, their IPA is just too sweet for me as well.  

This week, I had the opportunity to enjoy the newest addition to SweetWater's line-up, LowRYEder IPA.  I was hesitant to purchase this Rye IPA because I thought it would be too sweet like their regular IPA, but to my pleasant surprise the 25% shot of rye malt truly dialed in a smooth, hoppy and malty taste - definitely not too sweet.  Personally, I really enjoy when brewers substitute rye for barley.  Fall has definitely set into Charlotte, NC and this Rye-PA is a perfect afternoon brew to enjoy outdoors in the crisp afternoon weather.  Pick up a six pack and enjoy!

Craft Beer!

Hello fellow craft beer lovers.  Did you know that craft beer only makes up a little over 5% of the total beer consumption in the United States?  If you are like me, you probably agree that life is too short to drink boring, watered down, tasteless beer.  Through this blog, my goal is to try an educate the general public (or whomever actually reads this) about the growing craft beer trend that is happening in the United State.  There are so many breweries and so little time.  Let's get started!