I’m Back

I have been busy with work and travel. But because I have been busy with both, that means more about beer. Now it’s time to write about:

-Boshka
-Kingpin
-Zum Uerige
-Paulaner Dunkleweiss
-Paulaner Dunkles
-Augustiner Maximator
-Sandels

and more

Baron Brewing – Rauchbier

One of the more unusual beers out there is Rauchbier. It is a German beer that is from the Bamberg German. What makes this beer unusual is that the malt is smoked over beechwood prior to being used to brewing. It adds a smoky flavor and deeper color to the beer. Most of theres beers are very dark, almost black in color.

Baron Brewing in Seattle is the first american brewery to make this style of beer. Unlike the German versions, their beer is a golden colored lager. Unlike the German versions of this beer, the smokiness of this beer is not nearly as pronounced. The smoke flavor is this beer is not an overpowering flavor, which buried all other flavors in it. Rather, it has that aroma of smoke mixed in with the beer and when you drink this beer, you taste the smoked malt, but it doesn’t overpower the rest of the beer, which is an excellent Bavarian style lager. Think of a fresh brewed Bavarian lager, such as Paulaner Original Münchener Helles Lager, with a lightly smoked taste. This was one of the more surprising beers from Baron, as there isn’t a huge demand for Rauchbier in the United States.

If you are in Seattle, be sure to stop by the Baron Brewery. It is located here. Give Jeff Smiley and Mike Baker a big shout out for this beer alone. Yes, they have more good beers as well.

Beer Stats for the beer junkies:

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 26

Rogue Brewing – Double Dead Guy Ale

Rogue’s Double Dead Guy Ale is in the words of the brewery “An evolution of Dead Guy Ale.” I have no idea what that means. It does make for good marketing copy on the website. It leads me to my first question of the day. Is this an evolution of Dead Guy Ale, making it an extra strong Maibock or is it a Doppelbock?

When I poured it into a glass to drink, it was a rich amber color. One point in the Doppelbock category. Alcohol content per the bottle 9%. One point in the Doppelbock category. The aroma was a sweet carmel and malt scent. One point in the Doppelbock category. A rich copper color, a bit light in color for a doppelbock, which tend to be more of an darker copper/chocolate color, but still normal for a doppelbock. Hmmm… so far, it looks like a doppelbock. But the key to this is the taste. Does it taste like a doppelbock? The first taste has a strong hoppyness to it, finishes dry and has a slight hoppy, yet sweet aftertaste. Some might consider it bitter, but I am a big fan of hoppy beers. I would consider this a strong Oktoberfest style beer. It is a strong beer, so be forwarned. It is available at the brewery and taproom in Newport, OR, where I got it.

Here are the beer stats for the beer stat junkies.

20º PLATO
60 IBU
78 AA
25º Lovibond

Ballard’s Brewing UK – Wassail Ale

This was a beer that was given to me at our house warming party. My friend Angus, who is English and not Scottish as would normally be implied by his name, gave a bottle of this as a housewarming gift. He stated it was the only bottle he knew of in the United States. I will have to take his word for it, but I do know that it is rare, to say the least.

Wassail Ale is brewed by Ballard’s Brewing for the English Heritage charity and is used to fund restoration work through out the UK. What struck me about this beer is that it has barely sediment in the bottle. If you are used to seeing the Belgian and Belgian Style Ales, you expect yeast. I have not seen barley sediment in a beer before. The label describes it as a fruit and hoppy beer. That is always a good sign to me as I like my beers hoppy.

It has a dark bronze to brown color to it, when I poured it into my glass. I also noticed the strong scent of hops when I opened the bottle and it got stronger as I poured it into the glass. I did leave a bit at the bottom for the barley sediment (I bet it gives a vicious dose of wind if you drink the sediment.) It also does have a fruity odor to it when you pour it. It’s not a specific fruit, but rather reminds you of a fresh fruit stand with all of the fruits together.

The first taste has a dry hoppy taste with very little aftertaste, which rarely happens in Ales. This is a beer that is best served at approximately 50 degrees F. As I continued to let the beer warm to drink it, the hops stand out more. It also brings out a slight floral aftertaste when warmed to the normal drinking temperature. This beer is available through the English Heritage website.

A Blast from the Past – The late Michael Jackson

I saw these two article on Michael Jackson’s website and I thought I would share it here. Having been familiar with Michael Jackson’s work though my favorite pub, the Unicorn, it was time to share two articles from his website on Beer.

Article #1 is about the great diversity of beers in American and the availability of beers in America. Europe brews some of the best beers in the world, but most pubs have only a few on tap. In most countries, the pubs are “closed houses”. In other words they carry beers from only one brewery. There are “free houses”, such as my favorite pub in London, the Hollybush, but they are few and far between.

Article #2 is about one of the great American brewers, Bert Grant. Bert was one of the main players in the craft beer revolution in America, but never got his due. He was the first brewer to brew an Imperial Stout in the United States, as far as I know and he made extensive use of locally grown ingredients in his beer. I am also partial to Bert Grant having met him through the Unicorn, when he would stop by on occasion with a new beer. Bert was one of those characters that craft brewing, just seems to have.

These two stories give an insight into what makes American craft brewing so great.

Rogue Brewing – Imperial Russian Stout

Another style of beer that I am fond of is Imperial Stout. The backstory of the Imperial Stout is that they were brewed to be exported to the Russian Tsar’s. This required extra hops as a preservative for the journey from England to Russia in the days of sail.

This is a STRONG beer. (I also love using the strong tags too). When I mean strong, I really do mean strong. It is 11% compared to the usual 4-6% of most American craft beers. I tried this beer at the Rogue Brewing taproom in Newport, Oregon. There are two parts to the beer menu at the taproom: Rogue Beers and Rogue XS Beers. I am convinced that the “XS” stands for “Extra Strong”. When the waiter brought the class of the Imperial Stout, I was surprised that it was in a 10 oz. schooner class and not a pint glass, until I saw how strong it was. It is an opaque black color with a espresso colored head on it. The quote from a friend was “You could ski on the head”.

When you first drink it, you will notice it is much more hoppy in aroma, but malty in taste than most stouts with a hint of chocolate and fruits to it. It also makes for a much dryer and less pronounced finish when you drink the beer. It is best with meats or with desert. It worked well with my Kobe Beef burger with blue cheese. This beer is available at the Rogue Breweries. It is only available in a 750 ml bottle. Be warned that will be a case of sticker shock when you buy a bottle, but it is worth the price. This is an ideal cold weather beer.

For the beer stat junkies, here are the specs for it:

26º PLATO
88 IBU
73 AA
256º Lovibond

Granville Island Brewing – Belgian Blonde Ale

Granville Island Brewing has released another seasonal beer, Belgian Blonde Ale. This is Granville Island Brewing version of a Belgian Blonde beer, similar to beers such as Duvel. When I sampled this beer with friends, it was described as ‘Pleasant’ and ‘better than some of the attempts other breweries have made for Belgian beers”. This beer has a golden color when poured into a glass and a pronounced hoppy aroma as you drink it. The taste is light, a bit hoppy with a minimal aftertaste to it when drunk.

This beer is unusual for a Belgian Blonde Ale in that is does not have secondary fermentation in the bottle as many of the other Belgian Blonde Ales do, so it is not a strong as most Belgian Blonde Ales. This beer is 6% instead of the usual 8 – 10%. Unlike most Belgian Blonde Ales, which can be set aside in a cool, dry location to age, this Belgian Blonde should be drunk within one month of purchase. Like the Raspberry Wheat Ale, you can purchase this beer at Granville Island Brewing on Granville Island, Vancouver, BC or selected BC Liquor stores in the province. As far as I am aware, the seasonal beers from Granville Island Brewing are not available in the US.

Granville Island Brewing – Raspberry Wheat Ale

Granville Island Brewing in Vancouver BC, does a wonderful seasonal Raspberry Wheat Ale. It’s a traditional Berlin style wheat ale with fresh raspberries added to the brewing process. This beer recreates a Berlin style weizen mit Schuß, (That is a wheat ale with a raspberry or woodruff syrup added to the beer as it is poured into the glass). What Granville Island Brewing does differently is to add fresh raspberries while brewing the beer. When you pour a glass of Raspberry Wheat Ale, you will notice the raspberry red color of the beer and the scent of fresh raspberries. It also gives the beer a touch of raspberry taste and aftertaste when drunk. This distinguishes the beer from many other fruit beers from the Northwest that I have tried, which add either fruit syrups or a smaller portion of fresh fruit to the beer.

This is a seasonal beer and is available only for the months of July and August. It is very much a summer beer that is meant to be drunk during warm weather. It is a mild beer at approximately 5% alcohol. It is sold in 750 ml bottles or on tap. The best place to buy it is at the Granville Island Brewing taproom and store on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC. It is available at some BC Liquor Stores as well.

The Beerhunter is Live

The Beerhunter has gone live. One of my passions in life is good beer. Beer is one of those drinks that unlike wine or cocktails, has a leveling effect on all classes. Beer has a certain social conviviality that most other drinks lack. Wine? I love wine, but wine has a certain snootiness about it. Cocktails? Puhlese!!!! All cocktails today seem to be targeted to those who don’t like the taste of alcohol. In other words, girl drinks for girl drink drunks. Beer is one of those drinks that is always suitable for all occasions and with the rise of craft brewing over the last 30 years in the United States, a drink that needs to be given respect for the new styles that are out there.

I, the humble beer hunter, intend to carry on the tradition of the late Michael Jackson, (No, not THAT Michael Jackson). Rather the Michael Jackson, writer and famous beer critic. Writing about beers, place to drink beer, beers I like and dislike and my recommendations. I will also want your input on beers. What you like and dislike, your favorites and least favorites. The beerhunter must live on and share the wealth and knowledge of good beer.