Thread O' Beer!

[bac0n]

It's time for the first of my beer exchange reviews!

Bengali Tiger
Style: American IPA
Brewery: Six Point Brewery, Brooklyn NY

Okay, it has a name like Bengali Tiger. With a name like that, the can could contain gerbil piss and I'd still buy it. And I'd probably buy it again, despite the fact that being that it was comprised of gerbil piss, it's flavor profile would be decidedly budweiser-ish, but, hey, such was not my fate as in so many video games wherein the coolest looking car/character/whatever was also the most sucky in battle (I'm looking at you, Sweet Tooth). Basically, this beer has it all: name, packaging, quality. It's a goddamn trifecta!

So, I'm wondering if the folks at Six Point shruged and decided to call this an IPA cuz it was as close as they could get in terms of an actual style classification. I say this because it doesn't really seem all that IPAish to me, at least not in the British or American sense of the word. The former tends to be all bitterness, and the other seeks to wallop you with a strong distinct hop profile. This does neither. Or perhaps it does both. In the end, it seems to be a sorta junction between an American IPA, a British IPA and a British Bitter. But ya know what: who cares; it tastes good and that's good enough for me.

Appearance: Pours a nice radioactive golden orange. The beer has a half life of half an hour at most. The head is a good inch and a half on the top and it leaves lovely lacing down the side of the glass as it pours.

Smell: The ample bosom that was the head made it difficult at first getting a good whiff, but as the head died down, sweetness and breadiness was right there waiting for me, beckoning me.

Taste: Bitterness throughout, but a decidedly complex and layered hop profile is what really defines this beer. At first piney and grassy, gives way to bitterness and ends on a grapefruity tone. Tethering the experience is the prevalence of biscuit throughout. I can only imagine the tweaking it took to get this sorta balance - I would say no less than five different hop varieties went into the crafting of this - and the constant adjusting no doubt resulted in fist fights.

Mouthfeel: If you would call something chewy like an Imperial Stout as the high extreme, and lightly carbonated urine like Miller Lite as the other, I would say this lives in the middle, about a 5 and a half.

Drinkability: By proxy of its more balanced approach to hops - not seeking to really overwhelm you like so many IPAs do - it becomes much more easy drinking than I would say I am used to for a beer which self identifies as an IPA. That being said, drinking this bad boy fast would be a shame, cuz you'd be zipping by a lot of hops.

Overall: I love beers which defy genre, and Bengali Tiger... it has a really cool name. But lo I digress, it also defies genre. I'm definitely going to seeking these guys out at the Great American Beer Festival this fall.

[Irish]

You forgot a +1 for that packacking & the "beer is culture" tag. Also, I want that pint glass. :P

[bac0n]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/m...mine-pint.html

[bac0n]

Beer of the Gods
Style: American Blonde
Brewery: High & Mighty Beer Co., Holyoke MA

So, I'm going into these beer exchange beers without having read anything about them prior to trying. Hell, I don't even read anything on the can or bottle aside from the name. I'd prefer to judge the beer on its own merits, without knowing the style rather than have my opinion shackled by genre conventions and expectations.

That being said, I was surprised when, after I had finished this brew, I went to Beer Advocate and saw them classify this beer as an American Blonde...

Really?

They must be really stretching to fit this one into a category. When I think blonde, I think sweetness with some malt thrown in. Afflingen. Leffe. Monroe. That's what I think of when I think of a blonde. But whatever.

Appearance: Pours a hazy straw color, as if a pilsner and a weiss had a kid. Head is minimal and dissipates quickly.

Smell: Not much here. Smelled clean if a touch grassy.

Taste: Not what I was expecting judging from how clear and light the appearance is. A pilsnener style of bitterness, makes me wonder if saaz hops were in the recipe. The bitterness lingers long after the other flavors have left the building. As it spreads across the palate a tartness kinda like granny smith apple reveals itself, just a slight whisper of pear, and finishes on a slightly floral note.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, benefits from being nice and cold.

Drinkability: This is a session beer to be sure. At 4.5 ABV, a fella could knock back a few and still drive home no problem. This would be a great beer to enjoy on a hot day after a round of golf. Or during a round of golf. Or instead of a round of golf.

Overall: This beer was a bit of a surprise on several fronts. First, with a name like Beer of the Gods, I was expecting something aggressive, either in terms of malt, alcohol, or hops. Instead I got something decidedly laid back. Second, the clear and light appearance belies an unexpected bitterness, and that tartness is not something I am used to in a session lager. I like being surprised.

[D_Davis]

So good.

I'm really into black lagers and black IPAs now. I don't like regular IPAs, but the black IPAs are fantastic.

Any good suggestions to try?

Also, Unita Brewing, in general, is awesome. Their Crooked Line Barleywine is incredible.

[Gizmo]

Any of you guys brew your own? I recently got into Mr. Beer. Simple and relatively cheap homebrew kit. First batch wasn't too bad (a pale ale that came with the kit), I'm in the middle of my 3rd batch fermenting while my 2nd batch conditions for a couple months. It's a fun hobby, and if I can get settled and more income to spare I'll probably expand to bigger batches.

[D_Davis]

Bacon does, and I'm going to start with my friend Aaron. He recently bought a house down the street from where I live, and we've been talking about brewing together for some time now.

[bac0n]

Awesome! I've been brewing for, hrm, about 6 or 7 years now. I have a batch which Scar helped me make a few weeks back which will be getting bottled tomorrow. Also, I think I may have found a free deep freeze, which if I can get it into the basement, I'm gonna trick it out so I can use it for lagering. w00t!

Probably gonna try my hand at a belgian dubble now that the weather is getting warm (those need to ferment at 80 degrees) next. Maybe next weekend. I pretty much always have a brew at some stage of completion.

Any of you guys have any questions about starting out or whatnot, i'd love to help. At the very least, do yourself a favor and buy John Palmer's book How To Brew.

[Gizmo]

Good deal on the dubbel. I'm going to do a Dubbel or Dopplebock next, have most of the ingredients for both, just haven't decided which yet. I'm hoping to get my hands on another fermenting keg soon so I can brew twice as often, or a bigger batch, since Mr. Beer only comes with a 2 gallon kit.

[bac0n]

Good deal on the dubbel. I'm going to do a Dubbel or Dopplebock next, have most of the ingredients for both, just haven't decided which yet. I'm hoping to get my hands on another fermenting keg soon so I can brew twice as often, or a bigger batch, since Mr. Beer only comes with a 2 gallon kit.

Wow, both brews are rather ambitious ventures for those just starting out. Bear in mind that a dopplebock is a lager, which means it needs to store (lager is German for "store") for 3 months at a temperature in the low 50 degrees fahrenheit. If you have some place that can sustain that temp for that long a time, (and have that sort of Herculean patience) which most of us (including me) don't, you're golden, but this is why most homebrewers (and craft brewers) stick to the ales, which require temps in the low to mid 60s which you can get via ambient temps in basements, for example. Not to mention it takes ales half the time to become drinkable.

Now for dubbles, you have the opposite challenge. Dubble by definition means twice (dubble = double) the alchohol content, so you need the yeast to gobble up the sugars in the wort more gooder. This is a term we beer dorks refer to as attenuation. This is why you need to ferment such beers at higher temps. As you approach 80 dgreees, the yeasties get more active and chow down more on the sugars in the wort, producing more alcohol. It's more an art than a science.

Not trying to discourage you or anything, just trying to set expectations. Anyway, if it were me i would go for it. Beer making is awfully hard to fuck up. I've tried, believe me, I've tried. i say fuck it. Go for it. See what happens.

[Gizmo]

Thanks for the advice. I'm using Mr. Beer recipes, so the dopplebock is not a true dopplebock lager, it'll be a dry yeast ale (that's all they carry). Same with the dubble, they make their recipes to ferment in 68-76 degree range, but is said to have 7% ABV. I guess faking homemade beer is still at least homemade beer. Eventually I'll get to where I'm mashing my own worts and creating true lagers, but for now I'll stick to the easy way out.

[bac0n]

Ya gotta start somewhere, and who cares how it's made as long as you're having fun and enjoying the output.

[D_Davis]

So my friend Aaron and I really like stouts and porters. What advice can you give us, B?

[bac0n]

So my friend Aaron and I really like stouts and porters. What advice can you give us, B?

Regular and Robust porters and stouts are pretty regular, standard ales, easy enough to make, and ferment at standard temps (67 degrees - if you have a cool basement, you're good to go; if not, ferment in a glass carboy and cover it with a wet towel).

Baltic porters are more tricky - you need to ferment those at much colder temps - so I would avoid those unless you have some equipment that can keep a fermentation vessel in the low 50s for a few weeks.

What ya might want to do is find a local brew supply shop - Seattle has tons - and buy a kit. That'll give you everything you need including the recipe, but instead of using the dry yeast included in the kit, buy two vials of whatever liquid yeast either the kit or one of the shopkeepers recommend you use.

[Gizmo]

Wow. Picked this up when I was down in Williamsburg/VA Beach over memorial day (along with 5 others of their brews). This was really good. Strong coffee flavor with hints of chocolate and vanilla. So smooth and drinkable, wish I had picked up a few more.

[Our Aurora]

My apologies to Bacon for not responding to his thoughtful posts about the beer I sent him in our exchange. I graduated recently, and things have been kind of wild since the end of May.

Honestly Bengali and Flower Power (one he didn't post a review of in here... but he did on Untappd) are some of my go to beers.

Some of the highlights from his end of the swap were the Bell's Oberon (obviously), Jolly Pumpkin E.S. Bam and Two Hearted Ale. I'm still saving the Hopslam he sent me. Waiting for the perfect day... I think it's coming soon, but I want to be sure.

Speaking of Jolly Pumpkin... I am headed to this on Sunday: http://www.the-festival.us/

The line-up is amazing, and has some breweries I've wanted to try for years (namely: Hill Farmstead from VT) which are unavailable around these parts.

Price of admission is kind of steep for an unemployed guy right now... but the session is 5 hours long... with food trucks... and a commemorative glass. And oh yeah... it's 5 minutes from my house. Pretty excited. Perhaps I'll post back in here with a recap (if I remember).

Cheers everyone!

P.S. -- There are a ton of brewers from around the world. If anyone has any recommendations... they are much appreciated. Me and my buddy (read: partner in gluttony) are trying to form a plan of attack for the first hour or so... before our palates and our worlds are wrecked.

[bac0n]

Holy Crap, OA, that Festival has an amazing line-up! When you hit the Jolly Pumpkin booth, be sure to try their Biere de Mars. It's my fave of theirs, and several of my beer buddies all agreed that it was the best beer at the GABF two years ago.

I'll be sure and at least post the Ithaca beer sometime soon. I have the tasting notes on my phone.

[Spun Lepton]

Just wanted to jump in here and mention that Furthermore's Fatty Boombalatty is lovely, lovely brew. Crisp like a good summer brew, with a light wheat-beer flavor. Loved it.

[bac0n]

Trying my hand today at brewing a Belgian Dubbel. We shall see how it goes!

[Russ]

Hey bac0n, how come we don't have a Thead O' Bacon?

Inquiring minds, etc..

[Kurosawa Fan]

Drinking some Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy while celebrating my dad's birthday. Good times.

[Scar]

Drinking some Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy while celebrating my dad's birthday. Good times.

Summer Shandy is alright, but a bit too lemony at times for me. I prefer Sunset Wheat myself. Hell, I may have brought it over when I visited.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Summer Shandy is alright, but a bit too lemony at times for me. I prefer Sunset Wheat myself. Hell, I may have brought it over when I visited.

You did indeed, and it was tasty. I agree about Summer Shandy. It was good for one bottle. The second bottle wasn't finished. The lemon becomes overwhelming.

[Scar]

You did indeed, and it was tasty. I agree about Summer Shandy. It was good for one bottle. The second bottle wasn't finished. The lemon becomes overwhelming.

I guess Samuel Adams has a Shandy out now, (Porch Rocker). Might have to give it a try. I 'hear' its better than Liney's.

[D_Davis]

Sunset Wheat is one of my favorite summer beers. I've also been into Twilight Summer Ale right now. Very refreshing.