Weekend Brews - Week 49 - No More Turkey, But Plenty of Beer

(photo from firestonebeer.com)

Happy weekend to ya folks. I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and now that everyone is sick of turkey, let's do the right thing and turn our thoughts to beer. Hooray for beer!

I'd like to tell you about an appetizing beer I picked up the other day. It comes from Paso Robles, California, and it's packed with flavor.

The beer is the Double Barrel Ale from the Firestone Walker Brewing Company. After being named the mid-sized brewery of the year at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, I have a feeling they brew some pretty damn good beer over there. Let's check it out ...

The beer pours a perfectly clear amber into my pint glass, and forms a creamy, dreamy head fit for a milkshake. There's some light lacing on the walls of the glass as the head dies down, but there's still a little foam on top waiting to be enjoyed. The slight smell of a pine needles from the hops and caramel from the malt fill my nostrils.

So, who wants to try it? I DO!

Interesting flavors indeed. The beer goes down smoothly with a slightly dry finish. I detect some vanilla and caramel hiding in there, with just enough bitterness from the hops to round it out. According to the brewery's website, this beer is brewed in the style of an English pale ale, and finished in oak barrels, and that's what adds that vanilla I'm tasting. The Double Barrel Ale, or DBA, is a welcome change from the usually über-hopped west coast pale ales. I'm looking forward to trying more from the talented folks at Firestone Walker.

Give it a go if you can find it, and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

Overall score of the Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale: 3.75 out 5.0

Weekend Brews - Week 48 - 'Tis the Season to be Drinkin'

Happy Friday friends! It's time to jump right into some tasty seasonal beers. It's winter time, so that means the breweries come correct with beers filled with all kinds of spices and specialty malts. Isn't that nice of them?

I sliced the tip of my thumb off yesterday, so typing is kind of annoying and the camera thing just isn't happening today. Sorry folks. Hopefully my whimsical prose will entertain you just enough. Oh wait, it wouldn't be the holiday winter season without some of this nonsense right? Who wants to be a misfit elfin dentist?




First up is the White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager from the Moylan's Brewing Company in Novato, California. It's nice to have a winter lager for a change. Seems I'm always downing winter ales, so perhaps this will be a good alternative.

The beer is spiced with orange zest, mace, cinnamon, coriander and white pepper. Whoa! Looks like someone decided to clean out the back of the spice cabinet. Mace? Seriously? Who the hell uses that stuff? ha ha ha. And now is the time we talk about the beer ...

The color is a light copper and a bit cloudy. A light and fizzy head pops up fast and settles even faster. There's some good head retention as well. I bend the neck and my nose dives into the cavernous mug ... mmmmm. I smell that orange zest in a big way, followed by the white pepper. Ooooo spicy! I'm not getting much else in terms of aromas though.

Now the moment of truth; the tasting. Huh, not bad for spiced beer. Sometimes those spices can be over the top, but these add a nice flavor to the brew. The mouthfeel is light, smooth and kinda buttery. Weird. The beer finishes crisp. I can dig it.

I have to say this is a pretty good offering from Moylan's. It's not bursting with flavor, but I'm glad it wasn't overpowering as tends to happen with some winter seasonals. I'd buy another one if I had to. Check it out and give me your thoughts.

Overall score of the Moylan's White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager: 3.0 out 5.0


Next up is a beer my friend Adrian emailed me about, the New Belgium 2 Below Ale.

Oh man, I've been waiting to try this all day! Let's go!

I pour it straight into the pint glass and a thick and foamy head says, "hello!" and sticks around as if to say, "that's right fool, I'm a kick-ass beer you're going to love!"

This beer is brewed with roasted malts and Sterling and Liberty hops.

The beer is gorgeous and clear. A perfect medium-bodied amber stares me in the mouth. Oh praise Jeebus! I just smelled it, and it is full of pungent citrus and pine from the hops. Thank you New Belgium!

I've gotta taste it! I'VE GOTTA TASTE IT!!!

Oh for the love of sod! This beer is outstanding. Somehow they've managed to make it full of flavor with those delicious roasted malts, but balanced perfectly with those slightly bitter hops. This beer is one smooth and satisfying mofo. You know you can really tell when a brewmaster and crew nail it, and this is one of those times. This is probably the best winter seasonal I've ever had.

Throw in New Belgium's outstanding ability to care for the environment, the community around them and the designers they use to market their products, and you've got one of the best breweries in America. Thank you.

Go and get this one if you can. It'll only be around for a short while.

Oh, and check this link out ... FRAMBOZEN. Holy shit. I've got to find this beer immediately. I need to drink this while on the way to getting fat and passing out on Thanksgiving. Oh yes. It shall be done.

Overall score for the New Belgium 2 Below Ale: 5.o out 5.o
(Please find me a better winter seasonal, I dare you.)

Guess what tastes really good?

Really hoppy beers with tons of flavor, like this ...

(photo from Sierra Nevada website)

That's right, it's the 12th release of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale.

It pours a dark and delightful amber and creates a fluffy foam head that leaves a doily-like lacing on the inside of the glass.

Go on smell it! Aromas of fresh cut grass, pine and citrus groves permeate the room. Oh my god, this smells amazing.

Let us drink. The beer bursts with bitterness, but there's enough malt sweetness to make this an enjoyable beer. It's certainly heavier on bitter than sweet, but finishes light and refreshing ... none of that dryness on the palate you get with other super hoppy beers.

Now that's a nice beverage. If you enjoy the hops and that classic Sierra Nevada flavor, this beer is a must.

Get it while it's fresh! GO!

Overall score of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale: 4.25 out of 5.0