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Saranac Lake Effect Lager (20:45)

Saranac Lake Effect Lager

Lake Effect Lager is part of the Saranac winter sampler pack, and represents an example of a traditional lager style.

On the pour this brew has a slight orange tint rather than being a lighter straw color. The hint of red is probably a touch of caramel introduced in toasting the malt. The head is modest, about 5mm (1/4 inch) mixed small and tiny bubbles. The aroma is malt, with maybe a tiny hint of hops and yeast. Knowing how this beer is brewed that could be suggestion, but the caramel is very subtle, unlike a stout or porter style. On holding the little beer stein to a strong light, I observed typical small bubbles, and tiny flecy of bright caused by very small bubbles. The beer held its carbonation and enough head to cover the surface in the glass for about 10-15 minutes that observed. On a hot day this would not have to last as long, it goes down very nicely.

On first taste I found hops which seemed most evident on the top of my tongue, and malt which was evident further back. The flavor was complex, caramel, hops, malts, and very little lingering after taste. That was a surprise, the initial flavor was strong, usually that is followed by a lingering and fading aftertaste. Not so here, the aftertaste was brief, but the taste was so good it made me want to sample again. This beer, particularly on a hot day, would be for thirst quenching not sipping.

If you think of lager in terms of Budweiser (made with rice and beechwood) or Miller, Lake Effect Lager has a "bigger" flavor, more complex, more malt flavor to match the hops, a hint of caramel, and generally a more intense flavor sensation.

A word about the lager style

The German purity laws allow malt, hops, yeast, and water for beer. And Lagering is a fermentation process which uses a bottom fermenting yeast which converts sugars to alcohol at a low temperature over a relatively long time. Originally "long time" meant months, yeast aren't nearly as active at low temperature. Yeast also produce esters (organic compounds, some having distinct taste) at different temperatures, so the same ingredients fermented at a different temperature will taste different. Needless to say, not all beers marketed as lager are made from ingredients based on the purity laws or using the traditional lagering process.

Overall impression

I hope Saranac will make this brew in the summer, or better yet year round. It is very good at quenching thirst, and tastes great.

Taste conditions

Saranac tells me they used Hallertau hops and fermented to 6.0ABV. The beer was chilled to 40F (lager is good served cold), the small stein I'm using for tastings was cooled to 50F, and had been triple rinsed to eliminate any possible soap residue. Hint: many bars don't rinse carefully, it matters!

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SIP - Tremont - Freedom Trail IPA (05:21)

Tremont "Freedom Trail IPA"

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Magic Hat - Whacko (15:57)

Magic Hat - Whacko - Beer with Beet Juice

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Stone Brewing "Cali-Belgique" IPA (23:44)

Stone Brewing "Cali-Belgique IPA"

The pour

Aroma

The taste

Labels

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Warning its beer (03:21)

Warning - it's beer

An unusual warning

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Stone Double Bastard Ale (19:16)

What is it?

The pour

Aroma

Taste

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Harpoon Rye IPA (100 barrel series) (03:08)

This is part of the Harpoon "100 Barrel" series, currently in stock in my area along with the "Oyster Stout" which I am unlikely to review, since the very concept of Oyster Stout screams "don't bother" to me. If someone wants to buy me one, I'll try it, I just hate to buy a brew I don't expect to like. Too many I do expect to like to spend my time and money.

NOTE: click the image for a larger view.

The pour

Nice pour, straw colored, enough head, not too much, and I could have had more by a more aggressive pour. Ssmall bubbles, looks inviting. Small bubbles in the head and the carbonation.

A word about the way I pour. Since I'm usually comparing brews, I use the same pour for all of them. I start by pouring a small amount down the side of the mug, to leasve a wet side and see if the brew is insanely foamy  and would just be a glass of foam if I poured down the middle. That's usually a sign of poor treatment during shipping or storage, "skunked" beer. I normally pour at about 45F for lager and 50F for stout, porter, malty other brews, and play ales by ear.

Aroma

A bit of floral hop aroma with this one, with an undertone of malt. Nice, not exceptional.

Taste

Hops first, not stunning but aggressive, on the tip of the tongue and roof of the mouth. Not particularly long lasting, but really nice! Although the hops are the leading players in this flavor, the malt is solid and strong and really adds a lot to the flavor, like a choir with a subtle but strong bass note under the melody. This is somewhat hard to find in my (Albany NY) area, and I had to drive from Schenectady NY to Albany to get more, about 30mi round trip. Worth it!

Does the flavor last? You bet! The rye malt may be why this works so well, and still tastes great as it gets warmer. With a 22oz bottle, a phone call or good company make testing up to 60F unplanned but common. One bottle suffered this abuse, and even at room temperature it tastes pretty good and doesn't go flat. Purists probably refuse to drink brews at anything but the optimal temperature, I am aware of styles and temperature norms, but I drink what's in my mug.

Overall

If I sound as if I'm saying good things about all the brews I review, it's because I'm not spending my time writing about swill. At some point, maybe the end of the summer, I will have a "these beers suck" posting, with a list of stuff I really didn't like, and why. Drop me a line if you care.

And drop Harpoon a line if you try this and want to to join their regular lineup. You can also use that link to sign up as a "friend of Harpoon" and get some freebies and a newsletter.

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Is the beer blog back in action? (06:21)

Is the beer blog going to be active again?

I hope so. The last few years have been very stressful, and I haven't had the time to do this and other things I must. So it's been very intermittent, and many people have stopped even checking. I hope my life is more in order, doing the blog is a good distraction now.

The IPA series of reviews

I'm starting with a series of IPA reviews, since that's my personal choice on many occasions. We will see how that goes, and I will be doing some very short "in passing" reviews, f0or things I try in a less controlled environment. After that I expect to review the baseball themed brews from Cooperstown brewing, and we have planned a holiday trip there with the tasting club.

Let me know

If you enjoy these, or don't, or have a brew I might be able to get here for comment, hit the comment button and say something.

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400 Monkeys IPA - Left Hand Brewing (17:53)

Left Hand Brewing makes a lot of good brews, so this "400 Monkeys" brew was expected to be good and didn't disappoint. I often just buy two bottles of a new brew, for a 1st and 2nd impression, but I expected good things and bought a six pack of this one. Note that this report is based on the 2nd six pack, this has become one of my regulars.

The pour

I served this about 50F, and as you can see it had a nice head and reddish tint to the nice amber color. It's clear, perhaps not totally like a Lager, but I don't expect that, so this was nice a inviting. A sort of "just right" amount of head, small bubbles, and generally inviting.

Aroma

subtle nose on this one, I always got an opinion from my wife on these, but I have to say a mild balance of malt and hops without the various citrus or flowery characteristics I sometimes get. Nothing unpleasant but nothing that struck me in a "dive in" way.

Taste

Complex, balanced, more hop than malt as you would expect from an IPA. Hops, on the tip of the tongue back to the mid-mouth, and in the back of the throat, lingering but fading over 10-15 seconds. Clean and crisp.

The rest of the mug

The head follows the brew down the glass, leaving a lacy trail. I have to rely on notes that this brew holds its head and flavor if you drink it slowly, I had this one right after dinner, and it only lasted five minutes or so. I can report from dedicated testing that if you use this as a session beer, it delights with every bottle over the course of an evening, with or without food involved. It remains pleasant up to 60F, and if you take that long n a 12oz bottle, switch to swill and let it go flat in your mug!


Overall

Nothing bad  to say about this one, it is definitely a regular in my house. It has enough hops to satisfy the thirst for a "real IPA" but not such a tongue-numbing blast that it overpowers mild foods. Does well to cleanse the palette after a really hot chili or Jalapino burger, works with cheese from "Alpine Lace" Swiss to Blue cheese or our really aggressive New York or Vermont Cheddar.

The Label

There are some brewers who specialize in amazing labels, and this qualifies on that score, but the label doesn't just sell a so-so brew, this IPA is the real deal, as bold as the label. I very much like this one!

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Applejack 2010 (14:44)

I got some unfiltered apple cider at the local cider mill, and put it in the fridge for breakfast drinking. Unfortunately it got push back behind a few thing on the bottom shelf, and as I'm tall I didn't see it for a few weeks. When I poured myself a glass the other morning, it was very... fizzy! It had cold fermented and now contains some carbonation, and presumable some alcohol.

What to do? I can let it sit in the fridge for a while longer, or drink it now, but I think I'm going to try making some Applejack. Rather than distillation, making Applejack is done by freezing the wort, which freezes out the water and concentrates the alcohol, raising the proof. In the Vietnam War, soldiers used to freeze the low alcohol beer they could get under the wings of a high flying bomber or recon plane. Then the can would be punctured to extract the unfrozen contents, often with a nail (but the alcohol is an antiseptic, right?).

Didn't taste much better, but fast acting and you didn't have to pee all night.

In any case, I'll report back here as to the results of the freeze, after consultation. One friend says to let it warm now to speed the process, but I suspect that would change the flavor. Since cider is cheap, I'm going to get a few gallons, put it in a small fermenter, and do a larger batch (maybe this year, maybe next).

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Southern Tier "Krampus Imperial Lager" (11:15)

About the style

This brew calls itself krampus  I M P E R I A L  helles lager. Yes, oversize lowercase, separated capitals, lower case style. I have some (a lot of) comments on that later, On to the brew.

Tasting the beer

Since this is a lager, I served it at about 40F in it's 22oz (650ml) bottle, left for a week to let any years settle. Poured into a cool (that's temperature, not style) mug, as usual a little down the side of the mug in case it's decided to be fizzy beer, then down the middle to see how the head looks compared to other brews.

Looks nice and reddish amber, nice bit of carbonation, good head, cloudy indeed, doesn't look like yeast, doesn't look like those so-called "sea monkeys" indicating bad storage, just the usual look of a top fermented ale with all the character left in instead of filtered out. Not the clear perfection of an ideal lager, but not a bad sign, just unexpected.

The aroma is really complex, malt, hops, fruity volatile aromatics, all sorts of good stuff. The taste follows, just a ton of complex and pleasant impressions, malt and several kinds of hops, and a bunch of associated flavors which I believe come from complex fermentation. The aftertaste was pleasant, a few sips made me think nutmeg but I suspect something else was really the source. Could be nutmeg, though.

How did I like it?

This is the bottom line, right? I liked it, I enjoyed it, if I can I'm going to buy one more bottle to share with my family of beer snobs. Technically this is a fine example of the brewer's art, to be held up as an example of doing things right. As a style and a flavor, more of a very nice impression, the kind of thing I will drink as a special treat, when I'm feeling bored with my usual. As a regular thing? No, my session beers are less subtle, IPAs, bold Stout and Porters, where the brew is enjoyed in a series of robust gulps rather than sipped and enjoyed.

Serving

My bad there, it says right on the bottle 40F, and I was a little below that for the first pour, which put the second pour right about on the money. The flavor changes with temperature, but it doesn't fade. If this is available, and it might be one time or seasonal, you may find that you like it a little colder.

Brewing

The bottle has a good bit of information, but lacked one fact I am guessing explains the rich taste. It starts with 2-row pale malt, debittered black malt, munich malt, caramel malt, the boiling hops were chinook and the dry hops were williamette. 9% ABV and 20° plato. They go on to say it was "finished with lager yeast and aged cold for no less than 30 days."

What I don't see is mention of a first ferment, and I do suspect there was an initial ferment with ale yeast at a higher temperature. That would explain the rich assortment of flavors, particularly the hint of fruit I sometimes get on an ale.

And again on style

I'm not a purist, at least in the sense that I would say bad things about a brew because it doesn't meet some standard description, but the style is a label to attract people who like that style. I t also might discourage testing by people who don't care for a style but might like a given brew. This was a fun brew, and defines the Imperial Helles Lager style for sure.

Last line

If you enjoy complex and well made brews regardless of style, make an effort to try this one, both as a nice brew to drink and an example of brew done well.

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Saranac Seasonals - Saranac E.S.B. (17:21)

Saranac ESB is a seasonal offering from Saranac, in their "Brewer's Choice" offering line.

Initial pour

I poured this at 55°F into the usual cool hand washed clear mug. The color was a nice red, very clear, and with a smooth head which covered the brew to about 8mm (1/2 inch). The aroma was malty, rich and pleasant.

The taste

Was very good. Complex and balanced between malt and hops, not overly smoky or overly anything else. I've had ESB and bitter style brews in various parts of the world, and I don't believe that any bottled beer is going to match cask conditioned draft bitter. Having said that, the head lasted, and the flavor didn't become boring, this could be a session beer if you like to drink a single style all evening.

A bit of history

My first really good bitter was in Thursk England, in about 1983. It was in a small pub and sold with only the S.G. (specific gravity) listed. It was identified only as the "Publican's Choice." And believe it or not, I didn't have another bitter good enough to remember until 2002 (or so), when we were attending a 50th anniversary party in the VanDyke in Schenectady NY, a place we had visited for decades under various owners. The recent addition of on-site brewing led us (wife Pat and I) to try the bitter, which we proceeded to enjoy as you can with friends and within walking distance of home. Alas, the brewer changed, the brews changed, and the owner was good at finding investors but not customers, and it eventually closed.

The final memorable bitter was at Four Peaks Brewing a few blocks from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona. They had a sampler with not a single bad brew in the rack, and some better than average food to go with it. That was about 2005, on one of our trips back to the land of my wife's childhood. I strongly suggest a visit there if you are anywhere in the Phoenix or Tempe area, you will thank me for it.

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Saranac Seasonal Brews 2008 - Nut Brown Lager (08:21)

I don't remember this Nut Brown Lager, but I'm told Saranac has released it before. In any case I bet most people either don't remember or haven't tried it, so this is the 2008 version of the brew and the review.

Tech Note: the usual brewing of "nut brown" is an ale, using top fermenting ale yeast and moderately warm fermentation. This is a nut brown lager, presumable brewed with a beer yeast, bottom fermented, and at a lower temperature. In general a lager should be clearer than an ale, because the yeast remnants don't have to settle.

This was poured at a good temperature for a lager, about 40°F, into a hand washed clear 500ml mug. As expected it was very clear, and a nice red color, with a smooth head with various size bubbles up to 2mm or so. Before you ask, people care about bubble size, perhaps looking for that "perfect creamy head" for visual appeal. The head was relatively thin, but lasted as long as the brew (not all that long) and didn't noticeably leave any lace doily effect on the glass as the level dropped.

The aroma was a mild malty one, and I tried without success to detect any hint of clove, often noticeable in a nut brown ale. The taste was also mild, not the solid heaviness of malt with a tang of hops, just kind of a nice inoffensive well balanced mix, which really lasted more on the roof of the mouth than the tongue. I got the impression that Saranac wanter to present something different without offending anyone. It claims 5.3% ABV but it wasn't enough, it tasted like a "nut brown light" brew. Note that people who like bold brews found it lacking, my few friends who like lighter beverages thought it was fine.

This isn't a bad brew at all, it's a nice one to have around to server people as "something different" without scaring anyone, and tastes good enough to avoid disappointing serious beer drinkers.

I'm going to do photos of all the Saranac seasonals in a few days, I don't have the time right now.

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Saranac Seasonals 2008 - Belgian Ale (17:36)

Saranac calls this a "Belgian Ale," and perhaps they don't use the term Lambec because it's a trademark or similar, or because they care about the correct usage. I would call it a "Lambec-style" brew for sure, perhaps and "Abbey Ale," it has most of the characteristics in the Lambec from Europe (real Lambec) and Lambec-style from Ommegang. Hopefully that lets most people identify the style.

I poured this pretty cold, about 45°F, which I hope is a proper temperature, into a cool clear, hand washed 500ml mug. Pretty cool stuff, nice red color, nice firm head, nice bubbles, and an outstanding complex aroma with fruit, cloves, and malt playing in my nose. The taste? Great, of course. My nose didn't oversell this brew, it's big, and rich, and complex, and the aftertaste is some fruit and hop combination which lingers just long enough. Hold it on your tongue for a moment and let the warming push the aromas into your nose. Swallow and the aftertaste lays on your tongue just enough.

Do I sound like a commercial? Maybe, but this is the same type of drinking sensation I get from imported brews at a much higher price. If you like Abbey Ales as a style, if you treat yourself to a Lambec from time to time, then this is a find for you.

Goes with: Saranac recommends shellfish and Moules-Frites, I can say nice things about crab cakes. I think this would be nice with a soft cheese on a cracker, perhaps one of the stone ground thins. Another area in which comments are welcome.

Note: seasonal, limited release, get it now! And if you try it on my review, please drop a line and let me know what you think!

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Saranac seasonal 2008 - Vanilla Stout (13:46)

Saranac has a seasonal beer, and at this time a bunch of Brewer's Choice brews, which supposedly are things the brewers liked and wanted to market in limited quantity. This Vanilla Stout is one of the brewer's choice releases.

The first sample was poured a little cold for a stout, about 40°F, and in spite of that had way too much head. I always pour for the blog in one of a set of hand-washed mugs, which hold 12oz of beer (common US size) with a head of up to an inch. After pouring I had a mug of half stout and half head, and some stout still in the bottle. I'll repeat now that the holiday is over, and take a picture one way or the other.

Besides being over generous, the head had many bubbles of varying sizes, from tiny up to about 1/8 inch (4mm). Not a "smooth, creamy head" that I occasionally read about in beer magazines. The color was essentially black, no light showed through with a 60w light behind the mug. The aroma had a hint of vanilla, but I have a cold and asked my wife to verify that. She found some light malty aroma hiding behind the vanilla, so you get two opinions.

Not waiting for the head to fade (it did, to a nice lace) I took a sip out of the bottle. Okay stout taste, not too smoky, and just a hint of vanilla. While it doesn't bring out the "what is THAT?" reaction, people who expect a traditional stout flavor will notice, but only purists will be offended.

It's been a very busy holiday, and I'm just getting over seven weeks of assorted colds and pneumonia, so no pictures until the re-tasting.

NOTE: this is a limited availability brew, if it sounds interesting get to your local "good beer" outlet.

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BB_reloading (16:11)

The beer blog is being reloaded, look again in a day or two.

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Wachusett Country Ale again (01:14)

I did get a six pack of the Wachusett Country Ale and it's every bit as great as the first one I tested.

We had an Italian Festa at the local church down the street, and this brew goes well with sausage and pepper sandwiches. I wanted to be sure I had accurate results, so I tested it two nights in a row. ;-)

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Wachusett - Country Ale (11:10)

This is Wachusett Country Ale, the third of the assorted six pack I an trying. Their web site calls it a pale ale, and doesn't tell me the alcohol level, although it is called a "light pale ale." This sample was server at about 40F in a 0.5L mug.

On the pour

A nice yellow color, not quite as red as the image on the web site, at least as displayed on my color corrected display, but pleasing. The head is nice, about 1/4 inch (or a cm in Canada), mostly small bubbles but a few somewhat larger bubbles. I only mention this because I've been drinking a few other things which had all tiny bubbles, and the difference came to mind. The arome is a nice malt, not heavy but tempting and slightly sweet. My wife agreed on the aroma, but passed on a good opinion on the taste due to being in the middle of a glass of fruit juice when I asked her for a "smell and tell" opinion.

The first taste

A lot more hop than I would have suspected from the aroma, not big hop like an IPA, but there's no doubt that this is a pale ale. They don't identify the hops, I'm guessing Cascade or Simcoe, but as a former boss used to say, "I made that up." In any case, not enough hops to drive off any serious beer drinker, but certainly enough to be interesting. The aftertaste, or "finish" if you prefer, is a slightly swet malt flavor, very pleasant and refreshing on a warm day.

Overall impression

I added this to my shopping list after the first taste, this is the best brew I've tried so far from this brewery, and one I want to keep on hand to share with friends who enjoy robust brew with less hop character than my usual personal choice. I can't tell you how the head lasted, there was a trail of foam on the sides of the mug, but it was the first on a hot day, after a moderately active morning, and total drinking time was only a few minutes.

This is going on my very short list of brews to bring to a picnic or party when I want to wean people off megabrewed commercial beer. The only negative is that they currently distribute only in Massachusetts and New York State, so if you aren't here a specialty supplier may be needed.

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Ommegang Witte - wheat Ale (09:12)

At a recent tour of the Ommegang Brewery I had a chance to sample most of their current brews. I have to say that while the woman dispensing the brews was very competent, she was not provided with any means to keep each brew at optimal serving temperature, so I was not 100% sure I would like this in the 12oz bottle as well as I did her sample. Not to worry, this was my favorite of all the samples, and it is delicious at any temperature!

About the brewing process

This is a wheat ale, rather than a wheat beer. Some brewers use a lager yeast, bottom ferment, clarify the product with Irish Moss or similar and filtration as well, and wind up with something that looks like Budweiser® but has a totally different flavor, since Bud is made with rice. Ommegang uses an ale yeast, top fermenting, and that tends to make the resulting brew slightly cloudy. Because ale yeasts can be fermented at a higher temperature than beer yeasts (note "can be" not "must be"), the fermentation time is shorter, which is good for production, and the yeast often adds flavor, which can be anything from a fruit or citrus tang to the taste of moldy socks. Other brewers do use ale yeast in brewing Hefeweizen, a traditional European style.

On the pour

Great, cloudy but not murky, like pulp in orange juice you like it or you don't. Nice head, and a light "beer" aroma, hinting malt and hops, and perhaps a bit of fruity overtone. The head is nice, enough but not too much, and it lasts as long as the brew, which is often not long.

If you think Hefeweizen when you think of wheat beer, this isn't it. The flavors are different, and the use of spices is subtle but noticeable. I particularly like the way the flavor evolves in your mouth from the initial taste of the ale on the tongue to an aftertaste back farther in the mouth and throat. This 5.1% ABV, you will taste it, but it doesn't dominate the overall impression.

Overall

I like this a lot. I have another wheat ale in the queue, and summer is a great time to test how well a brew fares in fighting the heat. This is my personal favorite of the excellent Ommegang brews.

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Brew Trip Announcement (05:48)

We recently took a trip to Cooperstown NY, primarily to visit the three museums there. That's the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Farmer's Museum, and the Fenimore Museum.

Also in the area are Brewery Ommegang and Cooperstown Brewing. I'll be doing a report on each soon.

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