Category Archives: Tasting Notes

These are my thoughts about various beers that I taste. Not as thorough as a review, but more than just casual drinking.

Boulevard Chocolate Ale

Posted on by

Chocolate Ale, the latest release in the Smokestack Series from Boulevard Brewing Company is a collaborative effort with Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow. According to Boulevard’s press release for the beer, “Elbow’s sweets are distinguished by their use of unusual and sometimes surprising flavors and ingredients.” A look at his website reveals some beautiful bonbons with intriguing flavors and colorfully intricate designs.

This collaborative beer is not your typical chocolate ale. Forget about chocolate stout, there are no roasted, black malts here, just oats, wheat, and pale malt. Elbow selected a variety of chocolate grown in the Dominican Republic and brewers incorporated the nibs into the brewing process. The result is an unexpectedly amber ale; an interesting departure from the chocolate beer norm. It should hit shelves in Minnesota on February 23rd. Too late for Valentine’s Day, I’m afraid.

Here’s my notes:

Chocolate Ale
Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri
Style: Specialty Ale
Serving Style: 750 ml bottle

Aroma: A milk chocolate bar. Chocolate and more chocolate. Hints of herbal hops.

Appearance: Amber color and very hazy. The full, ivory head persists and leaves lace on the glass.

Flavor: The predominant flavors are a blend of milk chocolate, vanilla, and hazelnuts. It is malty, but not sweet. Moderately-high and slightly astringent bitterness reminds me of both cocoa powder and hops. Spicy and herbal hop flavors are fairly strong; licorice and cinnamon. Finishes quick and dry, leaving only lingering, lightly-astringent, cocoa bitterness. It’s a bit alcoholic.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. Crisp and well attenuated. Fairly high carbonation. A bit of astringency.

Overall Impression: There are a lot of interesting flavors working in this beer; cocoa and herbs, vanilla and nuts. However, they aren’t always working together.  While only 24 IBUs, low for a 9% alcohol beer, it struck me as fairly bitter, a sense accentuated by the high carbonation and dry finish. I would have liked more sweetness. Chocolate Ale is unique enough to be worth picking up a bottle, but it didn’t really grab me.

Sam Adams Noble Pils

Posted on by

In the world of brewing ingredients there are only five hop varieties that can be called “noble”; Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter, Hersbrucker Hersbrucker, and Saaz. Grown only in Bavaria and the Czech Republic, these noble hops are prized for their spicy, herbal, and floral aromatic properties. They provide the signature flavors and aromas of German lagers and pilsners.

In 2009 the Boston Beer Company introduced a new beer called Noble Pils as part of their annual Beer Lovers Choice® program. While most lagers make use of one or two of the noble hops, the brewers at Sam Adams blended all five to make this new beer. Noble Pils won the votes of over 67,000 drinkers, giving it a place in the regular lineup.

Last year Noble Pils was released as a new spring seasonal beer. I first tried it last January while standing in the snow on a wet, frigid evening at the Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival event in St. Paul’s Mears Park. I loved it. I went back for multiple samples. Thus, it was with great expectation that I opened my first bottle of this year’s release. I still love it. What can I say? Here’s my notes:

Noble Pils
Boston Beer Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Style: Bohemian Pilsner
Serving Style: 12 oz bottle

Aroma: Grainy, pie-crust pilsner malt leads. Light perfume and floral hop notes overlay. Subtle sulfur underneath.

Appearance: Golden color with brilliant clarity. Moderate, fine-bubbled, white head is moderately persistent.

Flavor: Hops lead off with spicy, herbal, and floral notes; pepper and licorice. Some very interesting baby-aspirin orange overtones. The grainy malt sweetness stays underneath to just offer support, but comes in stronger mid-palate. Sharply bitter on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and medium carbonation. Crisp and clean.

Overall Impression: I just plain like this beer. I have since the first time I tried it. I’m a sucker for pilsners at any rate, but the delightful mix of hop tastes in this one really does it for me. And I love the hints of orange that wind their way through the flavor. I have lots of it in the cellar and that makes me happy.

Leinenkugel’s Limited

Posted on by

Back in 1986, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company made what the brewery calls its “first ever craft beer”, Leinenkugel’s Limited. (Of course, this begs the question what they had been doing for the previous 119 years, especially those before prohibition, but that’s for another story.) Limited was originally a fall seasonal release, but became a year-round beer in 1990. Because the beer then had “unlimited” availability, the name was changed to Northwoods Lager. It was taken out of production in 2000.

Apparently public clamor for this beer was great enough that Leinenkugel’s is re-releasing it for a limited run.  According to the press release it’s “a slow-brewed blend of four select barley malts – caramel, Munich, Carapils, and Pale – and aromatic, bittering Cluster and Cascade hops.” Limited won gold and silver medals in the premium lager category at the GABF in 1993 and 1991 respectively.

Leinenkugel’s Limited is being released in select markets on February 1st. Here’s my notes:

Leinenkugel’s Limited
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Style: Amber American Lager
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Very gentle aromas, but pleasant. Cool and refreshing. Light caramel and sweet malt. Overtones of orangy citrus.

Appearance: Beautiful to look at. Medium Amber color and crystal clear. Large, fluffy, white head that lasts and lasts.

Flavor: The crisp lager character and high carbonation are the first impressions, somewhat overpowering all else. As the beer warms some gentle caramel malt comes in, surrounded by delicate fruity hops with musk melon, orange citrus, and light floral overtones. Bitterness is low, but balances the low level of malt sweetness. Finishes dry with some lingering hints of caramel and orange.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-high carbonation with tiny, champagne-like bubbles; better once it has a chance to de-gas. Crisp.

Overall Impression: This is not a bad beer. In fact, it’s quite pleasant and easy to drink. I just wish there were more to it. I am a fan of subtle lagers. A good Munich Helles is heavenly. But the flavors and aromas of this beer are so delicate that despite being pleasant, it seems lacking. The old show-biz admonition to “leave them wanting more” applies here, just not in the right way.

Matacabras from Dave’s BrewFarm

Posted on by

Anyone who lives up here in the North-Country knows that northerly winds in the wintertime bring frigid unpleasantness. In Minnesota we call them Alberta Clippers. In Spain there are twin arctic winds. The first is called Descuernecabras, the wind that dehorns goats. The second, more vicious twin bears the morbid moniker Matacabras, the wind that kills goats.

Matacabras is also the name of a not-so-menacing beer from Dave’s BrewFarm in Wilson, Wisconsin. The name is appropriate however, as the wind can blow a mean-streak up on the rural ridge where the BrewFarm is situated. It blows hard enough to drive the wind turbine that provides a good percentage of the brewery’s power. As to whether it kills goats…you’ll have to ask Farmer Dave.

Here’s my notes:

Matacabras
Dave’s BrewFarm, Wilson, Wisconsin
Style: Belgiany Specialty Ale
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Toasted bread crust maltiness supports the light banana and sugar sweetness of Belgian yeast. Brown sugar mingles with some intriguing fruitiness; candied oranges, raisins, figs. Faint floral aromas float on top.

Appearance: A rocky, ivory-colored head that persists reasonably well. Dark orange/amber color with moderate haze.

Flavor: An herbal, peppery bite of hops and rye greets the tongue at first. That fades mid-palate to reveal toasty, bread-crust malt and loads of candied fruit flavors, brown sugar, raisins, bananas, and a faint tart citrusy note. Alcohol is noticeable and welcome. Finishes dry, with final spicy bite that resolves into long-lingering candied fruit.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and medium-full bodied. Medium-high carbonation lightens it up, but brings some carbonic bite in the beginning. Warming alcohol.

Overall Impression: A Belgian barleywine? An English Dubel? Maybe and Anglo-Belgian Imperial Dunkel? Matacabras offers an ever-changing mix of flavors that roll riotously from one thing to another; at times resolving in articulated layers and at others collapsing together into a chaotic clump. But always that beautiful bread crust.

Crispin Browns Lane Imported English Cider

Posted on by

A while back I was talking with Crispin Cider CEO Joe Heron when he handed me a can of cider from England. He told me that the company would soon be importing it to this country under the Crispin label. Heron was very excited about the project, but said that it was still under wraps.

Browns Lane Classic English Dry Cider was finally released earlier this month. It is now available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans at most metro-area fine beverage stores. According to the can Browns Lane is “100% pressed, fermented and produced in England. It is a lightly sparkling, crisply effervescent cider made with traditional English bittersweet cider apples sourced in the Malvern Hills of Worcestershire.”

Sounds tasty. And it is tasty. Here’s my notes:

Browns Lane
Imported by Crispin Cider Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Style: English Dry Cider
Serving Style: 16 oz can

Aroma: Fruity apples and spice. Red apple skins. Hints of sulfur.

Appearance: Golden color and crystal clear. Tiny bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass.

Flavor: Crisp red apple. When cold it’s like biting into a firm, fresh fruit. Vinous like chardonnay. Leans toward tart, with sweetness that just balances. Lingering apple sweetness after the swallow quickly gives way to a long-lasting, very dry and tart finish.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry, and light-bodied. Prickly carbonation.

Overall Impression: An easy-drinking and refreshing cider. Nice balance of sweet and tart. More tart and with a dryer finish than the other Crispin offerings, it is my favorite outside of the Artisanal Reserve line. Nothing offensive. Nothing challenging. Just a nice fruity, dry, and lightly tart apple cider. I braised some kale in this stuff and it was fantastic!

Great Lakes Eliot Ness Amber Lager

Posted on by

Invented in the 1840s by Austrian brewing magnate Anton Dreher, the Vienna lager style was one of the most popular of its day. The story goes that Dreher was touring Britain, visiting breweries and stealing wort in a hollow cane, an early bit of industrial espionage. He took what he learned there and made an amber lager roughly modeled the English pale ales he had sampled and swiped. I can’t be sure of the truth of this story, but that’s the story.

At any rate, the style gradually went out of favor in Europe and by the early/mid 20th century was gone from the continent. The style survived in central America where expatriate German brewers were still brewing it. Even there Vienna lager underwent a gradual transformation from a full-flavored, all-malt lager to an adjunct-laden shadow of itself. In the 1980s however, upstart American craft brewers re-discovered the toasty, amber lager and revived it. There are now several fine examples brewed in this country, including Capital Wisconsin Amber, Schell’s Firebrick and Great Lakes Eliot Ness Amber Lager. The latter is the one I just sampled. Here’s my notes:

Eliot Ness Amber Lager
Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
Style: Vienna Lager
Serving Style: 12 oz. bottle

Aroma: Toasty bread-crust and earthy spice. Aroma is light overall.

Appearance: Medium amber and brilliant. Long-lasting, creamy, ivory-colored head.

Flavor: Fuller flavor than most of the style. Sweet caramel and toasted bread-crust malt dominate. Moderate bitterness balances. Spicy/herbal hop flavors keep it refreshing and accentuate hints of roast. The crisp, dry finish lingers on toasty malt.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, but full for the style. Medium carbonation. Crisp.

Overall Impression: A very nice, full-flavored Vienna lager. I love toasted flavors in malt and this beer has them in spades. Refreshingly dry finish makes this a very easy beer to drink, sessionable except for the 6.2% ABV.

Goose Island Madame Rose

Posted on by

On a recent visit to the Goose Island production brewery on Fulton Street in Chicago, I marveled at the barrel room. Row upon row of racks stacked with wine and whiskey barrels beckoned me to sample. Labels with hand-written brewer’s notes tempted me with seductive names like Juliet, Sofie, and Lolita. My heart raced as I read ingredients like “brett”, “lacto” and cherries. Sadly, their contents went untasted.

Last night I opened a bottle of the fruit of these barrels (and fruit is the appropriate word here), Madame Rose. Goose Island calls the beer a Flemish Brown Ale. After an initial fermentation in stainless, the beer is transferred into wine barrels for a long fermentation with wild yeasts and acid-producing bacteria. 40-pounds of cherries are added to every barrel.

Here’s my notes:

Madame Rose
Goose Island Brewing Company, Chicago, Illinois
Style: Flemish Brown Ale
Serving Style: 750 ml Bottle

Aroma: Blush wine and balsamic vinegar. Tart cherry fruitiness with almond highlights. Earthy, mossy, woody. Brings to mind the smell of fresh cedar mulch.

Appearance: Light brown and clear. Small carbonation bubbles and color make this resemble champagne. Off-white head does not persist.

Flavor: Mouthwatering tart cherry. Vinous red wine vinegar combined with complex lingering malt flavors. Dark plums. Light almond, wood, and floral notes complete the picture. Finish is dry and light.

Mouthfeel: Light body, but with a velvety chewiness. Refreshing. Spritzy.

Overall Impression: Complex without being complicated. Delicate and delightful. This beer falls somewhere between a Kriek and a Flemish Brown. It has the residual malt character of a brown and the tart-cherry fruit of a Kriek. Less funky than a lambic, but funkier than an Oud Bruin.

Boulevard Brewing 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Posted on by

Boulevard Brewing Company of Kansas City, Missouri is celebrating 21 years of making beer on November 17th. That was the day in 1989 when founder John McDonald delivered the first keg of Pale Ale to a Mexican restaurant a few blocks from the brewery. At the time, Boulevard’s Pale Ale was considered over-the-top. The hop-happy direction of the craft beer industry in the intervening years has made it seem almost pedestrian. So to celebrate the anniversary of that original beer, Boulevard’s brewers have created a bigger and bolder pale ale. The newest beer in the Smokestack Series is 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale. It is a 7%+ ABV IPA with a relatively modest 44 IBU of bitterness. But juicy fresh-hop flavor abounds.

Here’s my notes:

21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale
Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri
Style: Fresh Hop IPA
Serving Style: 750 ml Bottle

Aroma: Deep and complex, hoppy nose; earth, orange/grapefruit citrus, melon, black pepper, garlic, mint. English in character but with other things going on. Light sweet malt with notes of toffee and biscuit.

Appearance: Voluminous and persistent, rocky, ivory head. Dark amber. A light haze that clears as the beer warms.

Flavor: Leads off with a bright, sharp, crisp bitterness. Complex and refreshing hop flavors; mown grass, wet leaves, lemon/orange citrus, melon, pepper, garlic, earth. Sweet malt with toffee and biscuit notes sits underneath, providing a solid bed, but letting the hops shine. From the crisp bitterness to the toffee/biscuit malt, the beer has a vaguely English character. The finish is dry and doesn’t linger long, leaving only faint wisps of earthy, lemony hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. High carbonation. Light astringency.

Overall Impression: I’m not typically a fan of wet-hopped beers. They tend to have a grassy, over-hopped character that I don’t find pleasant. This one is different. It is all about the hops, but has an adequate malt base to balance. Despite the high alcohol and grassy hops, it’s refreshing and easy to drink. The complexity of the hop expression provides evolving interest rather than vegetal disappointment.

Leinenkugel’s Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout

Posted on by

When you think of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company you probably don’t think of Imperial Stout. Leinenkugel makes middle-of-the-road, mass-appeal lagers. If they did make an Imperial Stout, it certainly couldn’t be a good one. At least that’s what many beer aficionados might say.

It’s not that Leinenkugel makes bad beer. For the most part they don’t. It’s just that their beers are not of the sort that appeals to the nattering nabobs of beer-geekdom. And Imperial Stout is the quintessential beer nerd’s beer.

But there it is, an Imperial Stout from Leinenkugel.

This week Leinenkugel is re-releasing Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout. I first tried this beer two years ago at the Autumn Brew Review. Someone brought me a sample saying, “Try this. It’s an Imperial Stout from Leinenkugel.” I too was skeptical. Then I tasted it. It was, in fact, a big, complex, full-bodied Russian Imperial Stout.

Big Eddy Imperial Stout was named after Big Eddy Spring, the water source for the Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin brewery for over a century. Big Eddy isn’t brewed in Chippewa Falls, though. That brewery only does lagers. Big Eddy and other ales produced by Leinenkugel are brewed at a Miller facility in Milwaukee.

Here’s my  notes:

Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Chocolate, molasses, and caramel. Like rich fudge brownies. Some minty, herbal hops add a whiff of refreshment. Dark fruits add depth; prunes and figs.

Appearance: Black as black can be. Sports a big, creamy, brown head that lasts a good long time.

Flavor: A complex blend of dark, roasty malt defines this beer; bittersweet chocolate, molasses, coffee. Dark fruits like figs and prunes swirl underneath. Moderate bitterness keeps the whole thing from becoming too sweet, while hop flavors add dashes of mint, earth, licorice, berries and citrus. The finish is remarkably light and dry, with lingering whisps of minty hops.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy. Full-bodied. Grainy. Low carbonation. Moderate creaminess

Overall Impression: This beer does surprise. One really wouldn’t expect it from Leinenkugel. But there it is; a thick, complex, bruiser of a Russian Imperial Stout. It’s worth picking up a four-pack.

Summit Unchained #5: Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Posted on by

Imperial Pumpkin Porter, the fifth beer in the Unchained Series from Summit Brewing Company, had it’s draft-only release in bars last week. The pre-Halloween timing of the release seemed appropriate for an ominously black pumpkin ale. According to the Summit website, the bottled version will be released the week of November 15th.

Brewer Nate Siats describes his beer as “a dark, chocolaty, full bodied beer with a slight bitter after taste. Evenly spiced with a hint of pumpkin, you would think you were sitting down for thanksgiving dessert. Perfect for a cool, fall afternoon or a holiday feast!”

Here’s my notes:

Unchained #5: Imperial Pumpkin Porter
Summit Brewing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota
Style: Imperial Pumpkin Porter
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Sweet caramel, coffee and chocolate. Malted Milk Balls. Molasses. Faint hints of spice come in as the beer warms.

Appearance: Black. Low, dark-tan head that dissipated relatively quickly.

Flavor: Roasted malts dominate; chocolate and coffee. Like the cookie part of an Oreo Cookie. The roastiness is countered by sweet, creamy caramel and molasses. Moderate bitterness from hops and roasted malts. Spicy and herbal hop flavors accentuate the subtle flavor of actual spices. Cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg notes add intrigue and complexity without being in any way overpowering. Pumpkin flavors are almost non-existent, coming in only as a vague pumpkin pie flavor in the long-lingering finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied. Creamy. Low carbonation.

Overall Impression: As this beer is made with pumpkins, it can be called “pumpkin ale.” Based on flavor, however, that designation is a stretch. Brewer Nate Siats stated that he wanted just a “hint of pumpkin.” In that he succeeded. I would like more. This criticism does not mean Imperial Pumpkin Porter isn’t a good beer. It’s mighty tasty, with balanced roasty and sweet malt. And I love what the subtle spicing brings to the flavor.