Jack-O Traveler Shandy

 In an effort to find new ways to bring you new content, this quick sampling is  brought to you courtesy of my new LG smartphone...

 Jack-O Traveler is the latest release from The Traveler Beer Co. As if we really needed another "Pumpkin Pie" Ale, our Shandy brewing friends have decided to toss their proverbial "Pumpkin Head" into the fray. With the scary number of beers already fitting this profile, it's become quite difficult to bring anything new to the table. "Jack" rides down the same cobble stone road traveled by many, many headless brewers before him. As you would expect, the story of this beer begins with a malty Amber Ale to which they add the usual array of characters, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove etc. The one twist is the addition of lemon peel, which adds a bit of tartness and gives the beer that signature shandy flavor. "Jack" shows his true colors as he warms up, becoming a much more complex sensory awakening. Although the flavors become more pronounce, all this does is make for an even more tedious "B" horror film.  Cheers!

Goose Island Harvest Ale

 Goose Island makes their way into Fall with the seasonal release of  "Harvest Ale". Harvest Ale is an American take on the traditional English ESB. ESB's, or Extra Special Bitter as they are commonly known, take "top dog" status in  the English Pale Ale category for their higher bitterness and gravity rating. However by U.S. standards these beers would be considered tame. Interesting to note that English brewers choose not to put their best foot forward with ESB, but rather in the "Best Bitter" category. Here they would brew their finest products using far more premium ingredients at lower IBU's and ABV's.

 Harvest Ale pours a rich copper color with a off-white frothy head. Its aroma is a blend of caramel and nut, with some musty hop overtones. Its flavor is malt forward with those sweet caramel and nut characters ever-present. The hops provide mild bitterness with hints of citrus and pine. The mouth-feel is mild in body with rather low levels of carbonation. This is a common characteristic of  English Mild's and Bitter's. Cascade is the Hop of choice, and well balanced against the 2-Row, Wheat, Caramel and Pale malts. Harvest Ale checks in at 5.7 %ABV and 39 IBU's and is available Sept.-Oct. I enjoyed Harvest Ale, because of its mild bitterness and crisp drinkability. It makes for a great transition from those hot summer months into the cooler weather leading into, well, OKTOBERFEST of course!  Cheers!

Almanac Beer Co. Latest Release Dogpatch Sour

 Almanac Beer Co. is quickly making a name for themselves throughout the Northern California Craft Beer community.  Almanac was founded in 2010 by Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagin. Both began as successful homebrewers who partnered to create a brewery focused on partnerships with Northern California's sustainable farming community. Their motto "Beer Is Agriculture" is in keeping with "Farm to Table" philosophy of creating unique beers using ingredients harvested by locally owned family farms.

"Before brewing ever begins, we collaborate on ideas for interesting, unusual and seasonal beers. Once we’ve settled on that idea, we carefully select our partner farm focusing on small family run operations, just like us. Then we start with the basics.Water, malt, yeast and hops are combined to create a balanced beer with equal parts sweet and bitter. Then the fruit is added, so that the hungry yeast can eat the sugars in the fruit as well.  This creates a beer that has all of the flavors of the fruit, without overbearing sweetness.  All of our base recipes are rooted in, but not limited to, classic beer styles and brewed in very small batches."

Dogpatch Sour was created in the Flanders Red style then aged for eight months in oak wine barrels. The beer is built around a Belgian Red, then locally raised cherries are added. It's yeast is a blend of Belgian and  American. The beer comes in at 7.5% and will be available in 375ml bottles and on draught. Cheers!

For more info visit: Almanac Beer Co.

Widmer Brothers Alchemy Ale

Widmer hits the streets of the Southeast with the release of their newest offering "Alchemy Ale". Categorically this will land under the heading of American Pale Ale. Don't let that throw you, Alchemy Ale is one a great choice for the warm summer months. This is a wonderful rich golden pale ale with a frothy off white head. Strong grassy aromatics with hints of citrus are a result of Widmer's unique blend of Warrior, Millennium and Horizon hops. This beer has a light, crisp and refreshing malt base comprised of Pale, Caramel, Munich and Vienna Extra Special. The malt backbone creates the perfect canvas with the hops providing the pallet color. Widmer's balance of hop and malt is what really makes this beer appealing. At 5.8% ABV Alchemy Ale is just outside my "sessionable" range, but let this not deter you from drinking a really good beer. Cheers!

Highland Brewing Co. Devil's Britches IPA

  Highland Brewing  Co., out of Asheville N.C., is one of the originators of the now booming Asheville craft beer scene. Today's sampling is from their seasonal portfolio, a uniquely hoppy red IPA known as "Devil's Britches". The beer was inspired by the beautifully visual Southern Appalachian mountain range. The first thing you notice when pouring Devil's Britches is it's devilish red color. It's topped off with a frothy off white head which dissipated rather quickly.  There are strong piney aromatics with hints of pear. I found the flavor to be a blend of roasted malt and mild grapefruit bitterness, with nutty overtones present in the aftertaste. As the beer warmed its hop character became even more pronounced.

Devil's Britches is brewed with 2-Row, Ashburne Mild and Extra Special malts. The hops are Apollo, Bravo and Columbus, then it's dry hopped with Calypso. For those not familiar  with Calypso hops they impart a complex fruity citrus aroma, with hints of pear, apple and sweet lemon lime. Depending on their application you might also detect notes of tea and tropical fruit in the beers aroma. Devil's Britches is not all that menacing at 6.0% ABV, but it's 70 IBU rating might just scare those of you with "mild mannered" taste buds right back to Sunday Church. Cheers!  

For more info on Highland beers visit:  highLand brewing company

Shiner FM966 Farmhouse Ale

 Spoetzl Brewery, with over 100 years of German influenced brewing tradition, hales from the small Texas town known as Shiner. You may have even heard of one of their little offerings called "Shiner Bock". Okay, so who are we kidding, everyone from San Antonio to Texarkana knows SHINER BOCK!


 The K. Spoetzl Brewery was founded in 1909 by a group of German and Czech immigrants who settled in the small town of Shiner TX. With a yearning for the great Bavarian beers of their homeland, they quickly formed the Shiner Brewing Association. Then, on a shoestring budget, opened a makeshift brewery which would eventually become the K. Spoetzl Brewery. Shiner Bock was first brewed in 1913 as a seasonal offering and due to its overwhelming popularity, became their flagship beer.

 Although the brewery had been brewing many different styles of beer since their early days it was a beer called Shiner Premium which was their early mainstay. Years later, with the popularity of craft beer, these recipes, steeped in German tradition, allowed the brewery to take advantage of the growing number of educated palates. The breweries fan base spanned the gamete, college kids to the older Texan folk who grew up with Shiner.

 Shiner's FM966 is a Spring seasonal release which is based on the European tradition of brewing a beer in winter which would be ready to drink in the Spring. FM966 pours golden in color, with little to no head. It's aroma is musty with hints of fruity esters. The body is light with just a tad sticky mouth feel. The flavor is dry with sweet overtones and it finishes a mild spicy bitterness. From the appearance of the beer it's obvious light malts were used. The hops are a blend of Golding, Sterling and Meridian. It comes in at 21 IBU's and 5.7% ABV. Although this was a good beer for me, I wouldn't say it's one of Shiners best. But give it a try and judge for yourself. Cheers!



For more Shiner info visit: Shiner Brewery

Victory Hop Wallop Ale

 As beer lore will have it....

 Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop headed West a broken man. For in the City of Blues it was one Miss LuLubelle Lager that had left him, thirsting for more. Drawn by wild tales of the riches of the gold mines, Hop pressed on westward. His last nickel spent on a prospecting pan, Hop’s hunger and thirst got the best of him. Two fistfuls o’ barley and three of some wild and wayward hops tossed in the pan with some clear water was to be his meal. But sleep overcame him and he woke to a bubbling, cacophonous concoction. Overjoyed with the beautiful ale that he had made, Hop realized the secret of the ’green gold’ he had discovered in those fresh hops. Celebrated far and wide, Hop Wallop lives on in this vivid ale with his words, "hoppiness is happiness." 

For as magical as this tale is, so is this ale. Victory Brewing's "Hop Wallop Ale" is a grandiose hop filled Double IPA born from Victory's faithful fans who demanded "MORE HOPS!". Wallop pours a mild hazy yellow gold with a frothy white head. It's aroma is piney with a wonderful contrast of fruity citrus notes. This beers light malt canvas is accentuated by a resinous stickiness which can likely be attributed to the massive amounts of hops used to produce Wallop. As with all of Victory's beers, whole leaf hops are used to derive the maximum amount of "hop love". And in this beer, that's enough to capture any hophead's heart. Try as I may, I couldn't find any information on the hops used to make this beer. Very likely a calculated strategy on the part of Victory's founding fathers Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski. So folks, the best I can tell ya is: American whole flowers paired with imported German malts. Drink with caution my friends as this one tops the charts at 8.5% ABV, which is a Wallop in itself. Originally a seasonal release, Hop Wallop was such a hit that it's now one of Victory's year round offerings. Grab it if you can and demand it if you can't. Cheers!

For more Victory info visit: Victory Brewing Co.
   

Terrapin Side Project #18 Liquid Bliss

 Liquid Bliss is the 18th installment in Terrapin's "Side Project" line. Side Project is series of limited single batch beers which showcase Terrapin founder Spike's creativity and desire to push the boundaries of brewing. Liquid Bliss is a wonderfully interesting concoction of chocolate and peanut-butter set to a classic Porter canvas. The beer pours that traditional Porter black with a rich light tan head. The aroma is that of roasted chocolate malt and the nutty overtones often found in popular nut brown ales. Liquid Bliss is quite the flavor explosion, presenting both sweet and salty characters with more of a "milk chocolate" taste as opposed to "bitter-sweet" often found in Porters and Stouts. The beer is brewed with both peanut butter and brewery-boiled green peanuts. Terrapin has once again opted for their "go-to" source for chocolate, Olive & Sinclair Cocoa Nibs. Hops are US Golding and the malts are 2-Row, Wheat, Crystal 85, Crystal 120, Chocolate Wheat, Chocolate and  Black Malt. The ABV is modest at 6.7%, ad as is with most Porters the I.B.U.'s are low at 23.  I highly recommend Terrapin's Side Project #18 "Liquid Bliss", so get it now or may be stuck with buying a lonely Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Cheers!

For more info on Side Project visit: Terrapin Beer Co.

House of Shandy Tenacious Traveler

 New to the beer market are the offerings from The House Of Shandy Beer Company. "Shandy" is and old school concoction invented by the Brits who mixed various common Lemon or Lime beverages with their favorite libation ALE! The Addition of citrus to the ale lent a light refreshing quality to the beer thus making it even more appealing during those warm English summers. A traditional Shandy is comprised of half Ale and half Lemonade, but in early versions you would even find Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale.  The Tenacious Traveler pours cloudy yellow in color with a rich white head. You definitely get the lemon citrus and ginger aroma on the nose. Travelers thick mouth feel is likely derived from the use of clover honey, which also adds to its sweetness. Strong notes of ginger and tart lemon all complement the beers overall character. The honey adds to its flavor but does not overpower and allows for a crisp finish. This is a completely sessionable beer at 4.4% ABV.  The addition of ginger and honey is what sets this shandy apart from other versions. Overall, I did enjoy this beer and will be looking for more offerings from The House Of Shandy Beer Co. Cheers!


For more info on the Traveler visit: House Of Shandy

Beck's Sapphire

 This is our first sampling of Beck's latest release "Sapphire". Named after the German hops it's brewed with,  Sapphire pours the traditional golden color with a light white head. I found nothing particularity unique about this beer, it's pretty null of any noticeable aroma. It's a typical mild German pilsner. Quite smooth, as the label says, and there are some buttery sweet notes to it's flavor. It's appeal to those drinkers who might be swayed from the domestic giant beers, would be the absence of any harsh bitterness commonly found in the stereotypical Eastern European import as well as it's 6% ABV rating. Sapphire will hit the American marked at a  slightly higher retail price then its well established brethren, which could effect it's long term success. I must admit that the black bottle and the silver and black graphics are quite appealing,  With the influx of great high-end imports riding into the American beer market on the coattails of the ever-growing craft beer business, only time will tell if North American beer drinkers will embrace Sapphire. Cheers!

                                                                   

Newcastle Winter IPA

The Caledonian Brewery Company LTD, famous makers of "Newcastle Brown Ale", continue their quest to capture a piece of the ever-growing craft beer market with the release of  "Winter IPA". A few years back Newcastle released "Newcastle Summer Ale" their first seasonal offering here in the states. That beer didn't  really capture the essence of summer, and was in my opinion merely a "light" version of Brown Ale. Earlier this year we were treated to "Werewolf", an Irish Red Ale with a roasty malt backbone and a mild hop finish. These beers are all part of what Newcastle calls their "limited editions". They're exclusively brewed in small batches utilizing Newcastle's open-fired copper kettles at the Caledonian Brewery. 

 Newcastle Winter IPA pours copper in color with a bubbly off-white, quickly dissipating head. There was no real discernible aroma, and for an IPA (English or not) is the proverbial "kiss-of-death" to American Hop Heads.  As I ventured on in my tasting I discovered a nice roasty Irish malt flavor with hints of spices and a mild sweetness. Contrary to the brewers intent this IPA was practically void of any hop character in it's flavor or aroma. There was a fair amount of bitterness, but that I believe was associated with the roasted malt and or the fire kettle brewing.

 The ABV is low at 5.2%, which adds to its one saving-grace, drinkability. Winter IPA isn't a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination. A good Winter Ale? Yes! An IPA? well.. not-so much.  Cheers!