Turning Wattle Seeds into Lemonade

I have a friend named Christian who is a wine/liquor guy, but lately, he has been wanting -- perhaps to humor yours truly -- to learn more about beer. Every couple of weeks we meet at Wegmans and pick out a couple sixpacks to sample.

One problem: he doesn't like hops, which is basically saying that he doesn't really like beer yet, at least not the full spectrum. Because of this, our trips to Weggie's often consist of my scouring the West Coast and East Coast sections, while he trolls the Belgian and European sections, their beers being more brown sugary-sweet and less hop-intensive.

Personally, I think we all come around to hops in the same way that we all come around to coffee: over time and on that one time that it just hits you the right way. But for the time being, I am trying out a couple odd Euro beers that I wouldn't normally purchase.

Problem was, a few weeks ago -- against my "are you sure?" skepticism -- we picked up a six pack of Baron's Wattle Seed Ale. Apparently, wattleseeds come from the Acacia plant, a pea-like bit of foliage that bears pods. That's right: peas in beer. Other than it's admittedly useful medicinal function (not that I need it, am I right ladies...?) it's not a beer ingredient I would normally fancy. In fact, a bit more knowledge of the Magnoliophyta plant division might have steered us away from this unfortunate choice.


I have to give Christian credit: though he doesn't like hops, his palate is remarkable. He took his first whiff of it and said, "It smells like peas." And at this point neither of us had any idea what a wattleseed was. And boy was he right. It has the aroma of cooked vegetables and cigarette ashes. And as for the taste, imagine a Bass Ale brewed with more brown sugar and boiled broccoli. Please don't hurt yourself driving to the store to get a case.

It's a really dreadful beer, one that I found undrinkable. I drank half of it and poured the rest down the drain. Naturally, Christian gave me three to take home and try out.

Back at Christian's this past week, I brought some beer, including the two remaining Wattle Seed Ales, hoping perhaps to fool him into drinking some more, but also see if I could get it to go down easy. I hate wasting beer, even bad beer, and it's still got alcohol in it for pete sake!

I decided to cut the beer with two American beers with very strong flavors, hoping that they would be enough to grab those little wattleseeds by the throat and beat them into submission.

The first test was Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ale. Stone is one of my favorite breweries, but I have had Arrogant Bastard more times than I can count this year. Plus it's abundant and cheap, so if I ruined a bottle, I wouldn't be happy, but I wouldn't be heartbroken either.

I poured the beers half-and-half. The color of the beer was very Bastard-ish. (For all it's flaws, Wattle Seed Ale has a nice brownish red color.) The aroma took on that of an Arrogant Bastard Lite: still has some of the harsher, darker notes -- the alcohol, the woods, the dark malts -- but muted. The wattleseeds were drowning in the richness of the Bastard. Strangely, it made the Arrogant Bastard more "drinkable," in the Bud Light sense of making it lighter and less filling. It was not an unabashed success, but it made the Wattle Seed Ale go down easy like a worm pill hidden in a chunk of Purina.

The second beer I tried was Magic Hat's Roxy Rolles, another beer that I like, but that I've had a million of this winter. The color remained the same chunky red, but a little more transparent. This was a pleasant surprise, since the severe, woody hops of Roxy completely choked the life out of what was left of the Wattle Seed Ale. If I may: the Wattle Seed was The Colonel from Boogie Nights, and the Roxy Rolles was his large African-American cellmate, slapping him and telling him to shut up.

All-told, I am going to have to try cutting these terrible beers a lot more. Neither pairing was an improvement upon it's original non-Wattle Seed counterpart, but it saved me from having to waste precious, precious alcohol.

The Beers of 2008

Here are the best beers I had in 2008, in no particular order...

• Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale
  
• Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic
  
• Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale
  
• Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel
  
• Green Flash West Coast IPA
  
• Avery Out of Bounds Stout
  
• Mendocino Special Edition Imperial IPA
  
• Anchor Summer Beer
  
• Three Floyd's Alpha King Pale Ale
  
• Abita 20th Anniversary Pilsner
  
• Empire Brewing Company India Pale Ale
  
• Rogue Smoke Ale
  
• Troegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown
  
• Anchor Christmas Ale 2008 (Our Special Ale #34)
  
• Stoudt's Fat Dog Oatmal Stout
  
• Sierra Nevada 2008 Anniversary Ale
  
• Thomas Hooker Hop Meadow IPA
  
• Berkshire Cabin Fever Ale
  
• Shipyard Prelude (Special Ale)
  
• Custom Brewcrafters Canandaigua Lake Ale
  
• Gemini Imperial IPA
  
• Middle Ages Boxing Day Bitter

To all our readers: may the best of your 2008 be the worst of your 2009. We look forward to reading all of what you all have to say in the coming year. We also will be announcing a change to our site, for both of you that are interested. We look forward to providing flawed insight and ill-informed opinions -- and lots more of it than ever -- in the next year.

Cheers! From BeerJanglin'

My Cans! My Antique Cans!

It wasn't long ago that drinking beer that came from cans was considered something far too gauche for the drinker of finer beers. But brewers such as Saranac, Sly Fox and Oskar Blues have been scoffed at such constraints. Now, rather than being ignoble, canned beer is considered just as acceptable as bottled beer. In some cases, it may even be better for transport and storage purposes.

Plus, we all pour them into a glass anyway, don't we?

Long gone is the metallic taste that used to creep into the Miller Lites and Coorses of our youth. Since the "can liner" was pioneered by Keystone*, we have not had to add aluminum to our tasting notes.
With this stigma now removed, I felt little guilt about purchasing a twelve pack of four canned beers by Butternuts Beer and Ale in Garrattsville, New York. Butternuts' website describes their mission thusly:

It's a place where common men brew approachable beers for other common men. Translation? No pretentious eight dollar a bottle Weenieweissers allowed. Here, the ingredients are simple and natural. The brewer's art is practiced with creativity and reverence to the old code. The beers are eminently drinkable.

And farting is funny.

(Believe it or not, none of us at BeerJanglin' added that last line.)

So there is a clear -- some might say belabored -- credo to appeal to the "just plain folks" demographic; in fact, the site often takes irreverent potshots at the classic English and German styles. But will they apply the same irreverent whimsy to their beers?

---

The first beer I tried from the four options was the Porkslap, a pale ale that is also curiously labeled a Farmhouse Ale. (I later realized that all four of the beers were misleadingly labeled "Farmhouse Ale," being that they are apparently brewed in a rustic area.)

Porkslap pours a big fluffy head. There is a massive amount of carbonation climbing up the yellow-orange-amber colors. There is a decent amount of haze in the glass, but still remains somewhat clear. The aroma is spicy, with some crystallish pale malts. There is a touch of some orange peel and citrus. The curious earthiness that I might expect in a hefeweizen. Is it really a farmhouse ale?

The taste is a pretty typical pale malt taste, but with almost zero hops. There is a slight citrus taste that could be attributed to a hop but little more. It's not bad, but it's crystal malts or bust. The feel is fizzy and bubbly. It's not a great beer but for the right price it's not a bad one.

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My second selection was the traffic-light yellow Snapperhead IPA. It pours a nice finger of fluffy white head. Not exactly clear, but not what you would call cloudy either. It resembles a bright pilsner.

The aroma is of a pale ale, or an English pale ale; certainly not your typical American IPA. Some citrusy hops do come in, but they are sweet and very very mild. The smell is weak -- not bad, just weak. And another oddly earthy tobacco in the malt.

The taste is more heavily toasted malt than anything. It's a surprise. It ends up being bitter on the back of the tongue. The hops are citrusy but very sharp; tart, astringent, almost acidic. There are two bitters: the burnt kind and the grapefruity kind. It actually could use more of that earthy balance in the malt that it had in the aroma.

The beer feels fizzy on the tongue like ginger ale. It is a very sharp drink, lots of bitter flavors and not enough balance for my liking. It's average.

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Third on the list was the thick and milky Moo Thunder Stout. It isn't the most impressive beer I've ever had because of the lack of head; instead it has a brown film that floats atop. It is a black color with a brown tinge at the edges. It's about average to look at.

But the rest of it gets a heckuva lot better.

The smell is sweet raisin and black licorice. Granted, I hate black licorice, but it fits here. It's not burnt or bitter. It's sweet, and even just a bit sour in a good way. The first sip is slighly roasted stout flavors. More of that sour raisin to balance the roasted malts, which are very nice. It's tart because of that sweet raisiny taste, and really pleasant because of it. Comes in as it warms with toffee, caramel and molasses. The feel is milky smooth --appropriately -- and just a tad bubbly. It's quite good.

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The fourth beer in the pack, the Weissbier, really surprised me. It pours a cloudy-as-hell banana yellow. There is no head, but it doesn't seem to move. Appears slightly illuminated.

The Weissbier has a pungent and spicy Belgian-ish ale aroma. Also, it has the sweetness and wheat base of a hefeweizen. Mostly it's orange peel and a hint of banana. Very strong and very pleasant.

The taste is citrusy and orange. It has the flavor of Belgian spice, which is subdued but acts as a nice accent. Sweet in an appropriate way. It's puckery at the end. It feels milky and bubbly, dry at the swallow. This is a surprisingly nice wheat beer. It has the sweetness of a hefeweizen, with the wheaty mildness of a witbier.

---

In my ever-so-humble opinion, the Weissbier and the Moo Thunder are the class of the pack, although the Porkslap is their flagship beer. Here's hoping that if cans are truly the superior method of beer transport, that some of our finer breweries begin making the move so maybe our beers will stay out of the light, and last longer.

*I have no idea if this is actually true.

Ithaca Excelsior! White Gold

With all the fast-moving happenings in the craft brewing world, we have been remiss in being slow to ignore some of the good things that the Ithaca Brewing Company has been doing lately. I first took notice on Thanksgiving weekend, when I noticed that their seasonal twelve-pack was absent the previously ubiquitous Apricot Wheat beer (a popular beer of which I am not particularly fond).

Instead, the twelver has four solid offerings: the decent Pale Ale, the gloriously hoppy Cascazilla, the surprisingly nice Oaked Nut Brown and my favorite winter offering, Gorges Porter.

Ithaca has also thrown their hat into the Big Beer movement, by offering 22-ounce bottles of new beers, in their Excelsior! series. They have just announced the release of their new αlpHαlpHα Double Honey Bitter and it has become clear that we are way behind in getting in on the Ithaca action.

[Note: It is going to be hard to find information about the Excelsior! series on Ithaca Beer's own website since it's not listed among their beers. They may want to get on that.]

Ithaca has released a beer in the series called White Gold, which is labelled as a "Strong Pale Wheat Ale." The label describes the beer thusly:

A Belgo-American Ale brewed with domestic barley and French wheat malts, the finest Continental and U.S. grown hops, and fermented with Belgian, English and Wild yeasts.

Here's what I thought about it:

The look is a very clear straw-yellow color. It has a massive puffy head when poured into a tulip glass. The liquid is anything but static; quite the contrary, it looks like champagne on the interior, with throngs of upfloating bubbles rushing to the surface. Other than that, it is very clear, appropriately so. With each sip, it leaves a thick and frothy lace.

The aroma is of the typical wheat vardiety, with only a mild spiciness that comes more from the mild hop than from any possible Belgian yeasts. There are fruit flavors that come through like a light accent, mostly lemon, orange peel and apple. The malts are estery and crystalline, a little spicy.

The flavor is primarily apples: the sweet red kind and the sour green kind. All this is balanced by a dry wheaty base. The beer is both sweet and spicy; you could call it Franco-Belgian. Surprising taste of pineapple, as well as a mild leafy hop. The pale malts mix well with that wheaty "twang" (as the kids are calling it these days). At the end of the sip, it turns slightly more sour, probably due to warmth. All these sweetish/spicy/sour flavors blend nicely with a frosty thickness on the tongue, lending themselves to a feel that is both bubbly and creamy.

White Gold is sweeter than most beers of its ilk, but it's balanced enough on the other ends of the spectrum to make it very drinkable. While there is a hint of sour and lots of other tree fruits that make it a good beer for girls and boys.

Beer Review - Southern Tier Cuvee: Series One

When stumbling upon what appeared to be a nondescript convenience store -- Stafford Convenience Store, corner of Stafford and Sunnycrest in Eastwood, Syracuse, NY -- I was surprised to see, for the first time, Series One of Southern Tier Cuvee.



Apparently, Southern Tier will be putting out three separate series of oak-aged beers. The first series, released in October, will be in French oak; the second series, released in February, will use American oak; the third series, available when the last of the snow will finally have melted in June, will likely be a combination of the two.

And spoiler alert, because the label gives away some of the beer's secrets:

ALE IMPRESSIONS: Light copper color, slight malt flavor with mild bitterness, dry finish with subtle hop aroma.
FRENCH OAK IMPRESSIONS: Qualities of toasted coconut, almond biscotti and toasted almonds with a taste of honeysuckle.
11.0% abv. • individually boxed, foil labeled 22 oz bottle

But more importantly, what did I think? I broke out a tulip glass and my notebook and took a crack at it.

This beer is very attractive, worthy of its provocative French moniker. The color is honey and copper. Though the head starts puffy (possibly due to a suspect pour), it disappears pretty quickly. It's not a clear beer, but puts out a hazy glow like a lava lamp. The carbonation is infinitesimal.

When hoisting this unwieldy glass toward the nasal cavity, the first smell -- naturally -- is of oak. The oak masks a second wave of heavy Belgian ale spice. The caramel malts come through to add both another level of flavor and another level of balance. It smells woody, roasted and dry.

The taste opens up a veritable pandora's box of flavor, a menagerie of disparate flavors. I was able to taste: oak, vanilla accents, Belgian ale spices, raisin, strong alcohol, caramel, molasses, a nutty malt and coconut. (To be fair, I'm not sure I would have detected the coconut if I hadn't read it on the label first. Ah the power of suggestion.)

The label mentions that there is creme brulee in the flavor, but to me that comes out much more like vanilla, caramel and molasses, and not the strong sense of Southern Tier's recent Creme Brulee Milk Stout. The beer is creamy and fizzy, and leaves a nice little remnant on the tongue.

It's a beer that's actually greater than the sum of it's parts. As far as drinkability goes, it's superior. At 11% alcohol by volume, there wasn't a moment at which I was choking it down. In fact, I was surprised to find it was gone before I was finished writing everything down about it. Which meant I had to pour another glass. And fast.

According to the Southern Tier website, Series Two will feature a more roasted, possibly more bitter, flavor. It should be more oaky, but with "a creamy intensity." Series Three will ... ah who the hell knows. I'm just glad I got to try this one.

Beer O' the Moment - Sierra Nevada Harvest

Sunday, October 15th 2006 was a watershed day for yours truly, for it was the first time I tried the 2006 version of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale. Our Albany bureau chief Bojangles had secured a large, fancy growler of it -- and not the screw-cap kind, mind you, but the kind with the rubber stopper flip-top and an ornate silver handle. I was visiting Bojangles for the weekend and on Sunday morning -- before the Bills lost to the previously-winless Detroit Lions -- he offered me a pour.

This was in the early years of beer geekdom, and to me, Sierra Nevada was far too mainstream a brewery for my liking. Basically, if I had heard of it, I didn't want to try it. And I was sure that a brewery like Sierra Nevada had sold out to the American populace and dumbed down its recipe. Don't try to sell it to me, cuz I'm not buyin', maaaaan.

In short, I was an asshole.

Suffice it to say that the 2006 version of the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale was -- and I have repeated this many time since -- the single greatest pint of beer that I had ever had. It was my first experience with the "wet hops" of a harvest ale, and brought the idea of an IPA to a completely new place. It actually changed my life. I never doubted Sierra Nevada's brewing chops again. In fact, Mr. Bojangles once had a long and virulent discussion

The problem is, as with that first hit of heroin [secondhand knowledge], you are always chasing that high again. I had looked for the Sierra Nevada Harvest ale, and though it wasn't particularly hard to find, I had always ended up just missing it. I had had the Southern Hemisphere version -- which ostensibly was created to react to the hop shortage -- but it wasn't quite the same. I found the 2007 version at a local watering hole, but it didn't match up. This year, I called several local beer stores, all of whom said they would have it; they all lied.

Finally, on a fateful trip to Beers of the World on Thanksgiving weekend, I serendipitously found a twenty-two ounce bottle of the cumbersomely titled Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale. Being that I already was spending an embarrassing amount of money on all the other beer I was lugging to the register, I gladly took a flier on this one.

And folks, I have finally caught the elusive dragon.



There is nothing I don't love about this beer. First -- and maybe I'm just biased or using revisionist history -- it looks amazing. It's a clear copper orange. Infinitesimal little bubbles shoot up like little glass elevators. The head is huge: three chunky fingers worth, fluffy and white, like an ice cream float. The rings of lace around the top of the glass resemble a redwood more than a red-ale.

Take one whiff and prepare to be hooked. The hops in the nose are simply magnificent. They are a complex blend of major oily citrus, and a hint of resiny pine. It's a sweet, flowery perfume. All that sweet-n-spicy is balanced out by what I can only describe is burnt firewood.

The sip was a reward for two years of patience. Again, a bitter perfume. It's sweet and citrusy, but with a real bite on the back end. Some crucial roasted malts come through in the taste, without which this beer would collapse under its own hoppy weight. It's nearly the perfect IPA, and I don't know that I've had a better one. That triumphant triumverate of sweet estery hops, bitter citrus/pine hops and roasted malts make this an all-timer.

Combine the strangely bubbly, fizzy feel with these strong flavors and you got yourself a drink right there! It's bitter, yes, but it's balanced. And it's superior.

It must be said that this beer is closest in style to Stone Ruination and Flying Dog Double Dog, at least as far as my humble palate was able to ascertain. I would give the ever-so-slight edge, however, to the Sierra, only because of those inimitable "wet" hops.

My beer-drinkin' buddies are glad that I finally found this beer so that I would stop talking about, and bitching about how I can't find it anywhere. Pound for pound it's probably my favorite beer in the world. So go grab some, email me your address and expect a self-addressed stamped box within three business days.

Beer O' the Moment: Mendocino Imperial IPA

The first time I had the Mendocino Imperial IPA, it wasn't the Mendocino Imperial IPA. It was the 2005-2006 Mendocino Winter Ale, and my first sip of it took place at the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company, the East Coast home of the Mendocino family of beers.

'Twas a cold winter's night in early 2006, and the weather gods were angry that night, my friends. And though I am loathe to be sentimental, this was a watershed pint of draft beer. For on this dark and foreboding evening, I entered this brewpub a burgeoning beer enthusiast, and exited ... a hop-head.

This beer holds a special place in the hearts of the Beerjanglin' family (should you enter "Mendocino" in the search of this site, you will find numerous mentions of it), and when I found a full case of it for only $24.99 plus NYS sales tax and deposit, I simply had to have it.

The beer itself? Well it's so good that Mendocino decided to make it a permanent part of their line-up, instead of just a one-off. (And to think we thought we were going to have to say good-bye.) The beer itself is a veritable orgy of hops, but it's not extreme. It uses several different hops that bring different flavors; it's citrus and grapefruit, combined with some pine and woods. It's bitter to be sure, but it's not over the top, because it has some nice bready malts to balance it.

Mendocino Imperial IPA is a "Winter Seasonal," which means that this beer and the NFL playoffs are basically the only two things to look forward to in the winter months. Since I have about 22 of them left, I'm hoping to ration it until the sun comes out again some time in late May.

Bud American Ale - A Weiser Choice?

If there's one word that just screams "Amer'can" (three-syllables), it's Budweiser. For decades, the name has defined not only beer, but a way of life. If you are a "Bud Man," chances are you are a patriotic, blue-collar guy, who likes to work hard and relax at the end of the day with a cold one. Chances are you drink it directly out of the can or bottle, and drink it partially because you want to support Amer'ca and Amer'can workers -- at least up until six months ago.

This is the stereotype, anyway. For most people, Bud is a shorthand for affordable, universally-accepted beer that you could bring to a party without risk. It is the Coca-Cola of American beer; it's a wonder they still even feel the need to advertise.

Because of this, the unveiling of Bud American Ale has been met with curiosity and skepticism. I'm not sure how long Bud had been planning on unveiling this product, but it has put its weight behind it. Skeptics would say that Bud is attempting to tap into the craft beer market by creating a beer with a reddish hue that will somehow crossover by luring in the frugal craft beer fan, as well as the loyal -- if curious -- Budweiser aficianado.

So is this a cynical attempt to tap into the burgeoning craft beer market? Or is it an earnest olive branch to the evolving American palate? I took a flier a 22-oz bottle to find out.

First, let's observe the appearance: yellow water it is not. Although it is see-through (I was able to watch a few scenes of "30 Rock" completely through the glass), it is a nice reddish-orange color. The head is relatively sturdy -- another surprise. At face value, the look is not bad at all.

The aroma is relatively inoffensive as well. The caramel malts to which they refer in the commercials are noticeable, in their slightly toasted smell. It is sweeter in the nose than I had expected it to be, mostly because I had expected an English pub ale by its appearance. There is a little bit of a tinny, metallic presence here, which is typical of a macro beer. Some mild grassy hops are a minor accent, and some extra sweetness comes through in some brown sugary notes.

Finally, time to take a sip. The first thing I notice is how sweet it is, with more of that brown sugar coming through, but more of a sweet toffee flavor. It's actually too sweet for me, only because there is not enough of a hop balance.

I know that America is not ready for a steady diet of hops in a macro beer, lager or ale. But it appears to me that if Bud is truly committed to making a craft beer -- as opposed to simply cracking into the craft beer market -- they need to start adding some hops for balance. Sure, it may hinder sales among the fratboy crowd, but it might actually convince craft beer drinkers to give it a chance when they are looking for a cheap, widely-available ale. As-is, it's like Bass with a more cloyingly sweet, unbalanced flavor.

It does feel creamier than any Bud product I've ever had, but that's not saying much. It's drinkable, but it's weak. Far too cloying in both its sugary sweetness and its overbearing alcohol, which should have been hidden by more richness.

It seems that Bud may have suffered from trying to straddle the line between wanting to make something that would entice ale-drinkers, but not offend their hardcore contingent (i.e. 50% of the American beer-drinking population). Unfortunately, I think they may have failed at both.

My hope is that the American Ale will find a way to infiltrate the masses, thereby allowing the populace's palate to change from bland macro lagers to something more rich and flavorful. (For all its flaws, American Ale is far more flavorful than any of it's Bud brethren.) This, in my utopia, would lead to more ale-drinkers, who would then branch out into other beers and breweries.

Of course, I'm sure the folks at Bud don't share this hope.

Budweiser American Ale is a below-average but inoffensive ale. It reminds me of a sports bar more than a pub. And whether Bud should be lauded for branching out or scolded for being opportunistic and exploitative, I'll leave that up to you.

Head to Head: Ithaca Cascazilla vs. Magic Hat Roxy Rolles

We tried a little experiment some three months ago pitting two similar beers against each other and determining which had the superior brew. We know, of course, that beer is not a competitive enterprise, and should be seen as an artisinal endeavor. But then again, films have the Academy Awards and beer has the Great American Brew Fest, so we might as well just go ahead and have some fun with it.

VS.

Today, we explore two very hoppy amber ales: Cascazilla from the Ithaca Brewing Company in Upstate New York, and Roxy Rolles from the Magic Hat brewery in Burlington, Vermont. We had always considered these two beers somewhat equitable, since they were two of a a kind; both are amber ales with an inordinate amount of hops, eschewing the idea that an amber/red beer should be malty, with a bitter, German-style edge to it.

When we tried them side-by-side, however, we found them to be a lot more different than we had anticipated.

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• The Look:
  
  There is a striking discrepancy between these two beers in their appearance. The Cascazilla has the color of cherry juice, and is clear and glassy; Roxy is a deep mahogany reddish brown, and is as cloudy as a dirty martini. The head on the Cascazilla is pure white, while the head on the Roxy is a rose-tinged off-white. The head on the Roxy sticks around longer and is thicker, and Roxy also has more lace.
  
  Advantage: Roxy Rolles

  ---

  
  
• The Aroma:
  
  Again, these brews that we had heretofore considered fraternal twins show that they have deep differences. Roxy smolders in the nose, with the smells of oak and mahogany. Its hops are those of pine and cut grass. More of an "East Coast" hop aroma here. The hops on Cascazilla, on the other hand, are closer to a traditional West Coast variety, with sweeter citrus notes. Cascazilla's malt is more roasted, but also has some nice sharp crystal malt characteristics. Roxy's malts are more lightly toasted, in that bready English way. They are both very strong, bold aromas, but due to the balance between the bitter and the sweet, we have to say...
  
  Advantage: Cascazilla (by a nose-hair)

  ---

  
  
• The Flavor:
  
  Here is where the proverbial rubber meets the hypothetical road, and where the character of each of these two brews comes out. We cheated a bit and looked up the types of hops that each of these beers use: Cascazilla uses Cascade, Chinook and Crystal (aka "The Three C's"); and Roxy uses Simcoe. The hop character is what really sets these two apart. Having had them in different settings, we had always considered them step-brothers of sorts due to their hop strength in the amber/red style. But upon further examination, the hop character really differs between them.
  
  Cascazilla is much more citrusy in the hop, but is also balanced by a wonderful roasted caramel malt quality. As it exhibited in the smell, Roxy continues its arboreal streak with a rich oak flavor over lightly toasted malts. Those grassy Simcoe hops pop right out at you. If this makes any sense, Cascazilla has more of a "bouncy" flavor, and Roxy has more of a "flat" flavor. Cascazilla is very American; Roxy is very English. And though the Roxy tempers and improves with warmth, the balancing act that Ithaca pulls off means...
  
  Advantage: Cascazilla (but just barley)

  ---

  
  
• The Feel/Drinkability:
  
  These beers are really different on the palate, further proving that they are hardly relatives, but rather two sides of the same coin. The Roxy is dry, ashy, chewy and coarse. You almost have to have another drink to wash it down. Cascazilla is buttery and smooth, milky and fizzy. They are both very drinkable, but because of its substantial texture...
  
  Advantage: Roxy Rolles

  ---

  
  
• THE VERDICT:
  
  These are both two excellent brews. Cascazilla is bittersweet and balanced, smooth and highly quaffable. Roxy Rolles is deep, rich and woody, rough around the edges and a very rich session brew (only 5.1% compared to Cascazilla's surpising 7%).
  
  But we have to have a winner and so, we declare, by a split decision and one of the closest taste-tests we've ever had the pleasure of doing, the winner is....
  
  CASCAZILLA! Congratulations!

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Now, this is to take absolutely nothing away from Roxy Rolles, which is also an excellent beer, and one that, maybe on another day, we might have given the slight advantage to. It's a choice between smooth and balanced, versus rich and coarse. There are no "losers" in this competition, except those of you still drinking Coors (all due respect).

Beer O' Three Months Ago the Moment: Stone Vertical Epic 08.08.08

Some might say that a beer that was ceremoniously released over three months ago is hardly "of the moment." However, when that beer isn't actually intended on being drunk until after the next presidential election (if that benchmark puts it into any perspective).

For those not familiar with Stone's Vertical Epic series, it's a series of a dozen beers released over a dozen years, with the intention that they be cellared and drunk at the same time tasting. To taste them "vertically" means to sample multiple vintages (to use wine parlance) from the same brewery, so as to compare different styles and recipes, rather than comparing breweries. (Sampling the same style from different breweries is considered "horizontal" tasting.)

Stone's version isn't quite a true vertical tasting, only because the beers they have been creating are not identical in style: 02.02.02 was a Witbier; 03.03.03 thru 06.06.06 were Belgian Strong ales (the lone exception being 04.04.04's Tripel); and the last two offerings have been Belgian Pale ales. However, if you have to trudge through a myriad of beers from the same brewery, you could do a lot worse than Stone. In fact, one might say you could only do worse.

Personally, I wasn't crazy about the 07.07.07 version, which was a decent, drinkable beer, but harsh and sour. It was a fine, decent beverage to be sure, but not quite up to what I had hoped.

Enter a new year and a brand new beer: the 08.08.08 version is the truth, and son, you better recognize.

Poured into a Belgian tulip glass, it is roughly the color of a lit candle: brightly yellow and glowing. The puffy white head takes a while to subside. Small bubbles float to the top, creating a seductive, tantalizing appearance.

The aroma is, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, magnificent. Rarely does a beer have a smell that could be called perfect, but this is one of them. Spices abound, both in the sweet, citrusy hops, and its fraternal twin, the Belgian malt. It wafts a symphony of woody, flowery hops, as well as a dry, spicy, champagne-like malt. It's a strong perfume, and absolutely superior.

The first sip is strong citrus on the front of the tongue. At the swallow, the spicy Belgian flavors come out on the back of the palate. The two flavors, while both sharp and strong, mesh beautifully. For me, the intense Belgian ale flavors can often be a bit off-putting due to their intense flavors, but they are actually made more palatable by adding those wonderfully citrusy hops. The fizzy champagne texture scrubs the tongue and exfoliates the taste buds.

Oh-Eight-Oh-Eight-Oh-Eight an outstanding assault on the spicy part of the tongue. It's both strong and refreshing, and at 8.4% alcohol, it'll make you feel good for a little while. And in these tough times, who could argue with that?

Beer O' the Moment: Middle Ages XIII Anniversary

Around these parts, we are enormous fans of Middle Ages Brewing, an absolute local treasure located at 120 Wilkinson Street in Syracuse, NY. For thirteen years, the brewery has been English-style ales (and no lagers) to the region. Most of their beers having a very distinct ringwood yeast flavor.

Since their tenth year, they have been releasing "Anniversary" ales around this time. Their first of this series, the Tenth Anniversary -- now known as "Middle Ages Double India Pale Ale," but known as "The X" to my friends and me -- is a triumph of intense bitter hops and thick English malts. The Eleventh Anniversary, a double wheat, was not quite as successful commercially, but a fine, thick beverage nonetheless.

The Twelfth Anniversary is an outstanding, roasted porter with mocha and caramel notes that goes down almost in an almost unfairly smooth manner. And this year, they unveiled the Thirteenth Anniversary, which they bill as an Imperial Wheat. At 9.5%, it's certainly got some pop.

I have mixed feelings on this particular offering. First of all, what is it? It's not that I need every beer I drink to be precisely defined, but I do like to know what I'm getting into. The Beer's creators call it an imperial wheat. Beeradvocate calls it a "Herbed / Spiced beer." To me, it feels like an incredibly thick hefeweizen.

First let's discuss both the look and the beer's thickness. It's very very thick looking. Cloudy as all get-out, and dark orange, like a thick apple cider. Any head that was there disappears almost immediately, and it leaves no trace of its existence on the glass.

The feel of the beer is no small matter. I had this out of a half-growler. (Having had the sample at the Middle Ages tasting room, I wasn't so sure I could finish a full jug.) The beer is very thick and milky like a hefeweizen, but it also has some fizzy and bubbly qualities, like a typical Belgian ale. The issue here, however, is the beer's staying power. Hefeweizens are a dicey lot to begin with, since they can range from fresh and banana-y to overly thick and swampy.

I had good luck with this one. Since it is relatively fresh and not much-traveled, I was able to finish the entire 32 ounces with little incident or change to the viscosity of the beer itself. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that a friend of mine who bought the beer at the same time at me reported a bad turn of the beer into a syrupy, sap-like texture, which doesn't lend itself well to the beer. Take that for whatever it's worth.

As for the aroma, the banana/clove smell that we all associated with hefeweizens are all there. There is, however, a citrusy fragrance as well and the wheat comes out in a later sniff. The scent would tend to indicate a half-hef, half-wit concoction. (By that I mean half-witbier, not half-witted attempt at beermaking; the Middle Ages folks are as good as it gets.) But there is also a certain pungence to the smell. It's not bad, but it's tenuous.

The taste is where we get down to brass tacks: it vascillates between a strong hefeweizen and an extra thick witbier. The girl pouring at Middle Ages found it curious that I would say it was "sour," but I sense a certain Belgian ale sourness. There is, as the website says, plenty of orange and coriander, and the spices that come along with them. But I also detect a certain amount of cinnamon flavor. It's strength alone is impressive, if not thirst-obliterating.

From top to bottom, it's a solid beer, but not necessarily one I crave, nor one I would necessarily purchase again. This is certainly not an indictment of Middle Ages itself, as that particular company has taken thousands of dollars of my money, and I wouldn't take a penny back. (I've got a full growler of their Old Marcus sitting in the fridge right now.) But it's only fair to say that this beer isn't for everyone, especially those who are iffy on hefeweizen-style beers.

River Horse 12 Pack

Every time I had ever bought River Horse Hop Hazard, it has been an older bottle, and has gone a bit soft. Although liquid butterscotch doesn't sound like all that horrible a beverage, the Hop Hazard incarnation is not exactly the best way to experience such a confectionary delight. I blame the distrubutors and stores from which I had picked it up rather than the brewer themselves.

So when Wegmans started carrying left-of-center beers, one of the surprising offerings was a twelver of River Horse, which I had not seen any specialty beer store in the area, let alone a grocery store.

The four beers in the twelve-pack are a Special Ale, Tripel Horse Belgian tripel, the aforementioned Hop Hazard and River Horse Lager. Each was given an interrogation by Officer Taste Bud, whose office is in my mouth. I apologize for that last sentence for several reasons.

---

First up to bat was the SPECIAL ALE, which they call and ESB but seems to be a bit more than that. The color is a light cranberry red. It's clear except for that hazy fog on the glass. A half-finger of foamy off-white head sits atop the bubbly brew. Nice to look at.

Though the label categorizes this beer as an ESB, it smells like a barleywine, with that strong aroma of alcohol, as well as lots of dark berry and raisin. It has that "leathery" quality that so many darker beers give out. In a blind sniff-test, I wouldn't have pegged this as an Extra Special Bitter.

The taste is strong barley malt, and also gives a puckery sour flavor. Some leathery malt in the flavor here as well, almost like a porter in how dark the malt is. There is some sweet-n-sour dark berry here as well, as well as hints of roasted caramel. The hops are of the English variety and very subdued. The malt is strong and thick, as is the consistency; it's full-bodied on the palate like a cream ale.

So far so good, this is a "special/select" ale with some bite, but it's quite drinkable. It's substantial for just one but okay if you feel like snagging another one.

---

The next one came up a little later in the evening, and in retrospect was probably not the beer to finish off with. It's not that it isn't a fine beer, it's just that the TRIPEL HORSE packs quite a wallop. I mean it's only 10%, so who wouldn't have thought it's the one to have right before nighty-night time.

Out of a tall weizen glass, this beer pours a massive puffy head. It's clear and glassy, but ... there are some wonderful chunks of yeast (I hope) floating about. The head goes down eventually, but the floating sediment and carbonation remain.

Ironically, the thick head hides some of the aroma by blocking it from escaping. What little I am able to extract from it nasally is that of a trademark spicy Belgian yeast and malt. There is a tad of chlorine in the aroma, but I'll pretend I didn't smell it.

The first sip gives some sharp crystal malts but that come handcuffed to some sharp crystal malts with some caramel. There is a strong alcohol bite that I probably should have expected. Otherwise, it's actually deceptively mild. It doesn't at all fetishize the spicy Belgian aspect of it, which also makes it easily drinkable. It's very smooth for a Belgian tripel, especially one that's 10% abv. The feel is butter and honey, rather than champagne or orange juice pulp.

This one surprised me, a really easy-drinkin' Belgian, and though it's strong, it's not at all extreme. Nice curve-ball.

---

Ugh! I'm only halfway through this difficult slog? I decided to save the remainder for a few days later. I finally decided to give a shot to the beer which I had always previously caught at a bad time -- HOP HAZARD. The look, to paraphrase the Talking Heads, is the same as it ever was: nice, very cloudy dark orange. The head does disappear almost immediately, which is a bit of a downer. It is the color of apple cider, and would be gorgeous if it could just retain a little bit of head.

The aroma gives off some decent woody hops, and with the dual hints of butterscotch (not overwhelming this time) and sour apple. This is how it's supposed to smell. The smell is actually pretty complex, because further down the line, we get some nutty, toasted malts, as well as alcohol-soaked raisin, and all under the woody pine hops.

As for the taste, the first sip gives a nutty bitter malt, similar to a dry amber ale. Hints of raisin and black licorice (I'm not usually a fan but it works here as an accent). It's a darker brew than expected. Some caramel comes out when it's about half gone, and warmer. And there is the most unusual aftertaste of peanut?

Hop Hazard feels dry and a little bit ashy, but the thickness is nice. It's a very nice, toasted and complex ale. Sure it could be considered a pale, but a dark one -- if that's even possible.

---

Last but ... well, least, is the RIVER HORSE LAGER. I don't mean to crap on this beer, but when are brewers going to realize that there is really only so much you can do with lagers.

I must say, it seems that a lot of brewers are trying to have it both ways, in that they load up their mixed 12-packs with nine solid offerings, and then add one for the "non-beer drinker" or commercial beer drinkier. Magic Hat does it with "#9," Ithaca Brewing does it with the (in my opinion) undrinkable "Apricot Wheat," and Dundee does it with "Honey Brown."

Well, it's here so I might as well pound it. It pours a decent sunny golden color with a mass exodus of carbonation bubbles. There is a thin layer of head that resembles Italian ice. It's very clear, as is typical for the so-called "lager" style.

The aroma is lagery, but clearly made with real barley and not adjuncts. It's a fresh, biscuity malt, with just a touch of that sour apple. It's middle of the road, but inoffensive as many lagers can often be.

The taste is a very solid lager flavor, and we all know what that entails. It does have a slightly citrusy taste, but not from the hops, oddly enough. The malt is slightly bready. The sour apple and butterscotch that were present in the Hop Hazard also make an appearance here. And there is a welcome, tangy bubblegum flavor toward the end. It's actually quite pleasant for a summer lager.

The consistency is pretty predictable, with a thin and watery body. It's not unpleasant but there's not much to say about it. All told, it's not a bad lager by any stretch, it's just kind of run-of-the-mill with some extra flavors thrown in. Highly drinkable but not a skirt blower-upper.

---

At any price below $15, this is a pretty decent twelve-pack, with two very good beers, and two other good ones. Do what I do and bring it to a party and give the lagers out first. But do see that you make sure to get it somewhat fresh as it seems to go bad quicker than most.

Beer O' The Moment: Tröegs Hopback Amber

Picked this one up on a recent foray through northern Jersey. Luckily, Bergen County blue laws allow the purchase of beer on Sundays. Electronics geeks are not quite as fortunate. No, seriously. No electronics can be purchased in the Garden State's most populous county on Sundays. You can't even by pants there for crying out loud!

Tröegs Brewing Company is a pretty well thought of brewery based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. None of their stuff makes it to Upstate New York, so I jumped at the chance to grab a sixer of the flagship, Hopback Amber. Sure, I would have loved to get my hands on some Nugget Nectar or Mad Elf, two purportedly fantastic Tröegs entries, but this stuff surely does in a pinch.

Here's how the Brothers Trogner describe it:

Tröegs Brewery’s Flagship beer, HopBack Amber Ale derives its name from a vessel in the brewhouse called a hopback. As the ‘wort’ is being transferred from the brewhouse to fermentation it passes through the hopback vessel. Packed full of fresh whole flower hops, the wort slowly circulates through this vessel extracting the essence of the aromatic hops. This vessel adds more time and more hop character that creates a fresh, spicy taste and rich caramel note that defines this signature ale.

Deep amber in color under a huge creamy head. The aroma very apparent, bold and spicy with a slight floral character. Balanced with caramel malt, this well-rounded amber ale has an up-front floral spice that builds with a flush of sweetness

Our very own Bill, as only he can, expounds on the virtues of Hopback Amber thusly:

Appearance: Thick fluffy head. Ruby red with brown tinge. Glassy but with a haze and nice body.

Smell: Awesome combination of some dark caramel and bitter, woody hops. Hops evolve into a citrusy aroma. Really outstanding smell.

Taste: Toasted, roasted caramel malts, but with a latter bitter taste. Bold on both fronts and challenging. Both the piney hops and the malt are powerful flavors.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Thick and chewy. Creamy and viscous; really nice. Overall, a bold and challenging brew. Smooth, dark and bitter. Very good beer, all things considered.

Me? This is the third of these I've had over the past four or five days, and I've enjoyed each one more than the last. At first, I thought it was solid, but no match for, say, Ithaca Beer's über hoppy red ale, Cascazilla. I'm still leaning that way - gotta love the hopping Ithaca gives both Cascazilla and Flower Power IPA - but Hopback Amber is no pushover. It's a pretty caramel/orange beer with a great nose. An everyday drinker with a nice, bitter finish. I'd buy this stuff pretty regularly if getting it didn't involve entering New Jersey. Score one for the Trogner Bros.

Beer O' the Moment - Brown's Brewing ESB

While the weather is still nice, I encourage -- nay, implore those of you who live in New York's Capital District or the "Collar City" in particular, to visit the Brown's Brewing Taproom, located at 425 River Street in Troy, NY, off the banks of the Hudson River. Not only is the atmosphere pleasant both inside and out, but the food is top notch. Oh, and the beer is pretty damn good.



One beer in particular caught my fancy, one that is only available (as far as I can tell) directly from the brewery itself: Brown's Extra Special Bitter. As far as I can tell, it is only available from the taproom in a 22-ounce bottle, but it is worth the detour.

Before I give you my impressions, here is what Brown's says about this beverage.

...a deliciously sturdy ale that’s dead-on true to its English heritage. Full-bodied, with a classic toasty malt palate throughout, our ESB finishes fresh and hoppy. Carbonated lightly, and poured via a slow pour tap, Brown’s ESB is an outstanding example of one of Britain ’s finest gifts to civilization.

You've heard an intelligent opinion. Now mine...

The color is absolutely gorgeous; a hazy, radiant dark orange. A large and fluffy head peeks over the lip of the glass. A heavy jetsam of carbonation floats to the surface. The bishop's collar of lace around the top of the glass is big, thick and wonderful. Just a tremendous appearance.

The aroma gives initial sniffs of caramel that are a sweet balance to a nicely toasted malt. Yes, it does have some bitterness in the mild but flowery hop smell, but that is balanced by that solid malty base. The malt does dominate the nose.

As for the taste, it's an excellent roasty -- but not at all burnt -- malt. Again, the caramel fulfills the promise of the aroma. Though there are some mild flowery hops, the malt really dominates, like a fine English ale. The barley is sweet but bready, like a pub ale. And just a hint of nuttyness in the malt.

The feel of this beer is smooth, but with just a little pop at the end. Not too thick or too thin, and highly guzzle-able. It's one of those beers that is gone before you even realize you were half done with it. I have one regret about buying this bottle and that's that I didn't buy a case of them.

A Big Crazy Mix-Up

Since I feel like I'm running out of beers to try, I have decided to do something revolutionary. I had a six pack of Saranac and a twelve pack of Dundee and decided to mix it up a little. Literally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I took three beers and did a little "round robin" pouring half of each into a pint glass with half from the other two. The three beverages I used were Saranac Pale Ale, Dundee Porter and Dundee Wheat. Please note, I had intended to use Dundee Pale Bock but I screwed it up and poured the wrong one. Ah well, let's check the results...

SARANAC PALE/DUNDEE PORTER

The beer pours a mahogany reddish brown. It's slightly darker at the top. A finger of thick ocean foam head. It's thick, but also shiny and glassy.

In the aroma, the crystal malts of the Pale overshadow the roasted malts of the Porter, but only barley ... barely. The slightly piney hops in the pale do make a difference in breaking through the thick malt. It's a bit too sharp in the spiky malts.

The tastes are strange bedfellows. The pale flavors (hops, crystal malt) are the first flavors, and then a mild roasted, nutty malt kicks in. It evolves throughout the sip, but the flavors clash rather than getting along nicely.

The feel is thick and creamy, and chewy and chunky. Has some nice body, with a small bite on the way down. It's not the runaway success I had hoped for, but it's an interesting change of pace beer.

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DUNDEE WHEAT/SARANAC PALE

The look is a hazy light orange. The thick head dissipates quickly. Leaves a nice icy lace. Overall the appearance is a nice cloudy thickness.

The smell is some bittering pilsnery hops floating atop a thick banana-ish wheat aroma. Some mild citrusy sweetness, which actually blends nicely with the clove in the wheat.

The sweet citrus and banana/clove taste give this makeshift brew a decent bubblegum flavor. And though the flavors are strong, they are disparate, thought it is a surprisingly decent mix.

The feel is thick and sticky. It's creamy, and the wheat beer definitely has the influence on this one. All told, it's actually a solid mix. The hops and wheat play nicely in the sandbox.

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DUNDEE PORTER/DUNDEE WHEAT

This one was the real shocker.

The appearance is a thick, cloudy brown. The head disappears quickly. It looks very thick.

The aroma is, at first, an uneasy mix of the roasted malt and some wheat. It has the aromatic effect of a dark Belgian ale. The wheat and the roasted malt. It takes on a smoky quality.

The taste has a real, dark Belgian ale flavor, oddly enough. It's a really surprising mix of two good flavors. Not too shabby at all. The rich caramel flavors meet the wheat flavors, as well as a subtle tobacco kick.

The feel is milky but smooth. Really decent. Overall it's like a dark Belgian ale. A surprisingly good little concoction. Smoky, rich and deep.

None of these were the unmitigated triumph that I had secretly hoped for, but they were all drinkable, and were a decent change of pace idea when all you have is the same stuff you've been drinking for weeks on end.

Hopefully, we will become bolder and wiser in our choices, selecting brews that are unbalanced with other brews that are unbalanced. It is this attempt to bring together the yin and yang (the Yuen and Yueng?) of beers in those that are lacking that zen balance. I'm making a list as we speak.

Head to Head: Saranac IPA vs. Dundee IPA

Today we are pitting against one another two of Upstate New York's premier mid-sized breweries' hoppier offerings in a new feature we like to call "Head to Head." I tried to think of a catchier name but let's face it, when your research involves drinking it sometimes takes you out of the zone.

The breweries discussed today are both going through a rebirth of sorts. Saranac (aka F.X. Matt) weathered a major fire in late May of this year. Luckily, the fire, while harmful, was not enough to keep Saranac from brewing for more than about a month.

Dundee Beer, on the other hand, while not having to endure any kind of blaze, has been going through a transformation of its own, dropping the "JW" from it's moniker and coming up with a whole new design and identity for its flagship brand. Dundee appears ready to be taking its rightful place among the major regional breweries, not only by making a concerted marketing effort built on beer tradition, but also by improving the quality of the beer itself (which you will read about in an upcoming post). The brewery is looking to shed its image of being the brewer of Genny and a couple of marginal microbrews. And the way it's been flying off the shelves in the Syracuse area, it appears that the eye-catching new designs are working.

Today we decide to compare the IPAs of these two proud, venerable breweries, and see which one can reign supreme as Upstate New York Mid-size I-90 Brewery Champ. Let us begin...

• The Look:
  
  Both beers have an almost identical golden color, though Dundee's is slightly darker. Saranac is more clear and see-through, while Dundee has a bit more haze on the glass. The head retention goes to Dundee by far, in that its head sits proudly atop the liquid, while Saranac's head is minimal and fades quickly. The Saranac looks more watery, and while they both sweat on the outside of the glass, Dundee just looks a bit thicker, like an ale. Both leave a decent Brussels lace on the glass, but again Dundee is thicker and more pronounced.
  
  Advantage: Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Aroma:
  
  Saranac's IPA has a fine pine-hop aroma, with some citrusy notes of lemon and lime. It's a more flowery and sweet-smelling hop. The hop on the Dundee side is also a woody smell, but the aroma comes through less, ironically because of the thick head that is blocking many of the scents from coming through. The malts are what makes these ales smell markedly different: the Saranac has pale, crystal malts bursting through, while the Dundee is more roasted. The Saranac is just more aromatic.
  
  Advantage: Saranac.
  

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• The Flavor:
  
  Here is where the rubber meets the road, as they say. Both of these IPAs have very nice flavors, but they are decidedly different. The Saranac IPA has a woody, pine hop flavor, which is mild but does well with the sharp crystal malt flavor. There are sweet fruity and flowery hop flavors emerging. The malts in the Saranac are more "spiky" and sharp, giving the impression of a heavily-hopped pale ale rather than an IPA.
  
  The Dundee on the other hand, is more bold. It has a deeper "ale" flavor, with the malts deeper and more roasted than the sharp crystal malts in the Saranac. There are mild caramel and butterscotch notes coming through, giving off a more complex flavor than the Saranac. The malts are what separates these two beers.
  
  Advantage: Slight edge to Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Feel:
  
  The Saranac is more "spiky" and fizzy; it's got a sharper feel with more bubbly carbonation felt on the tongue. (Ironic because the Dundee looked much more carbonated in appearance.) The feel of the Dundee is thicker, more like a pub ale. It's more creamy and buttery than the Saranac. This one is based on personal preference I suppose, but to me...
  
  Advantage: Dundee.
  

  ---

  
  
• The Verdict:
  
  Both of these beers are very worthy, mild IPAs. The Saranac is really a pale ale that has been hopped a little extra. The Dundee is a milky, buttery ale with more balance and more pronounced malt flavors, which in turn make the hops shine through just a bit more. While both of these are worthy selections, I would have to declare...
  
  WINNER: DUNDEE

So in a nail-biter, High Falls just barely edges out the descendents of F.X. Matt on this one. To be sure, both are very solid middle-of-the-road IPAs, so please don't use this as a reason not to buy the Saranac IPA. In fact, if you get the chance, pick up a twelve-pack of each and help support both the local economy and the craft-brewing industry. The more you buy, the more they'll make

6Pac June 2006 - Drinking Outside the Bocks

The weather in Syracuse, NY, in June of 2006 was worthy of actually being a month that took place in "Summer." I scooped up a sixer at Glenville (N.Y.) Beverage in the Capital District whilst on a sojourn to visit our editor emeritus and Albany bureau chief.

Since the weather prospects at the time were iffy, I decided to split my selections into three dark and three lighter. Among the "yellow sticker" beers (the ones that were eligible to be included in a $8.99 six-pack), it was hard to find six I hadn't tried before, but I was able to find a couple, even if some of them didn't exactly blow my skirt up at first glance.

Ultimately, here is where I landed:

1. Hook & Ladder Lighter
   
2. Mendocino Bock Beer
   
3. Erie Brewing Mad Anthony IPA
   
4. Abita Bock
   
5. Hook & Ladder Golden Ale

I know you're just dying to know, so I'll just dive right in.

• #1: Hook & Ladder Lighter. I have been seeing these Hook & Ladder six-packs all over the place lately, and I didn't quite know what the story was with them, so I haven't really been that eager to try them.
  
  Upon reading up on Hook & Ladder, they are based in Silver Springs, Maryland, and they donate a small amount of money to burn centers in communities where their beer is sold. So at the very least, if I didn't like the beer, I was giving money to a good cause.
  
  I was surprised by how much I actually liked this beer. It's a pale ale with a lagery look and feel. The reviews on Beeradvocate.com for this beer were savage so maybe it's that my expectations were so low, but it was surprisingly decent.
  
  The color is bright, brilliant gold. The heavy carbonation bubbles up like ginger ale. The finger of foamy head looks like Italian Ice. Looks like a light lager, but I won't let that scare me off.
  
  The aroma is real barley, with a very nice biscuity sweetness in the malt. The hop is ever-so-slight, and reminiscient of a pilsner. Again, even though this is a pale ale, you coulda fooled me. The smell is surprisingly solid.
  
  The taste is where I really was caught off-guard. The malt in this beer is so biscuity sweet, with none of the adjuncty corn & rice flavors I expected. Amazing how real barley makes all the difference. This is a very good summer beer. It's a little sweet and only a tad bitter.
  
  The feel of the beer is smooth to the touch. It's got a tiny nibble of a bite on the way down. Not chunky, not watery: just right. It's refreshing, and is a "respectable" summer brew. It's not off-the-charts incredible, but it's highly drinkable beverage, and one that didn't make me feel guilty for foregoing other, craftier alternatives.
  
  
• #2: Mendocino Bock Beer. One of my great joys is to visit the Saratoga Brewery, purveyor of the finest Mendocino products. This bock is one that I hadn't tried before, but given their track record, I'd bet dollars to donuts that I was going to like it.
  
  The color is a honey-colored orange, shiny like polished glass. The lace is spotty and the head is minimal and slushy. To take a whiff is to inhale a pale malt aroma with a mild but spicy hop. The malt is a roasted concoction in the nose, with a naughty splash of liqueur-like alcohol stinging the nostrils slightly. The aroma overall is very hard to detect, but what is able to be picked up by the olfactory glands is pleasant enough.
  
  The intial taste I sensed was a hint of roasted toffee in the malt, with a very conspicuous layer of alcohol therein. As it warms up, it becomes more burnt and more bitter. That's pretty much the story of the taste of this beer, other than the pale malt blooming toward the end as the clock runs out. Decent.
  
  The beer feels smooth and buttery; savory, for lack of a better word. There is a small sting on the way down. It's a mild and roasted bock. Not too bitter, but strong otherwise. A solid choice.
  
  
• #3. Erie Brewing Company, Mad Anthony APA. Although the idea of an "American Pale Ale" is becoming more and more popular, I rarely see beers that advertise themselves as such. Being a native Western New Yorker (yes, Rochester does count as WNY, Javen), I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the beers made west of the 315 area code.
  
  Erie Brewing has been one that I haven't really been blown away by, mostly because their Railbender is decent enough, but I never seem to be able to get it fresh. Also, it always seems that the labels on their bottles are always peeling off, as if they are applied by a kindergarten glass with Elmer's glue sticks.
  
  I was really nicely surprised by this beer -- even moreso than the Hook & Ladder Lighter. The look is a bright, sunny yellow; it becomes light orange when held up to a lamp. The head is thick, but not long-lasting. There is some minor icy lace. Clear for the most part, but containing a light haze.
  
  The smell is mild, somewhat hard to detect like the aforementioned Mendocino Bock. The only thing I can really sense is pale malt. Again, the aroma doesn't detract from the beer, but it's hard to find a hint of what to expect.
  
  The taste provided a nice apology for the coyness of the aroma. The flavor is a terrific citrus that goes beautifully with the spicy pale malt flavor. The spice in the hop is almost reminiscient of a Belgian White/witbier. What sets this apart from most mediocre pale ales is that fantastic citrusy hop, which injects it with a refreshing, summery dynamic.
  
  The beer feels a little on the fizzy side, but you can feel the carbonation making the flavors of the beer burst out and come alive. There is a nice thickness that came as a surprise. Overall I was really impressed by the citrusy, fruit-tinged flavor that was balanced by the pale malts. It's refreshing and easy to drink.
  
  
• #4: Abita Bock. Apparently honey-tinged orange is a popular color this year, because this bock exhibits that very look. In the thinner spots of the glass, it is closer to a dark yellow. The head is short-lived, but otherwise this beer is awfully attractive.
  
  The aroma gives off some very nice flowery pale-ish malts. There are hops, of the German (Hallertauer-esque) variety. A couple citrusy notes here and there but it's not altogether clear whether it's the hops or actual citrus.
  
  The flavor has more of that pale malt flavor, as well as the sweet, puckery citrus that we all so dearly enjoy. They two flavors go together very very well. There is a dry, semi-sweet start and a tart finish.
  
  All told this is a pretty good summery bock, with lots of tree-fruits and with a nice thickness that doesn't require choking down.
  
  
• #5: Sam Adams Double Bock. Not to be confused with the Sam Adams Triple Bock, this lighter, distant cousin didn't particularly tickle my fancy any more than the Triple Bock did.
  
  The color is a nice-enough ruby red with very little head. The look is hazy, but also shiny and glassy. It has the foreshadowing look of a winter ale. The aroma has the vague prsence of a mild barley, with some pale-ish malts. Moreso, however, there is the aroma of a sweetish berry or cherry; the smell is underwhelming, but the saccharine nature of the aroma comes through.
  
  The taste has the initial taste of sweet cherry at the initial sip, before turning to a darker and more burnt berry. It is dark overall, but has a Nutrasweet finish. Just as I don't love winter ales, this one isn't my cup of tea (figuratively speaking, of course). There is a slight Belgian ale spicy finish, but overall it's a double Winter lager.
  
  The bite on the way down is mercifully controlled. It is somewhat spicy and bubbly like Coca-Cola, but that doesn't quite salvage it for me. All told, the flavors skew far too much toward a puckery, cloying Winter ale sweetness. If you like that sorta things, be my guest.
  
  
• #6: Hook & Ladder Golden Ale. This is the final beer of the sixer, and it's a bookend of sorts, in that it's another of the Hook & Ladder series. This one is a golden ale, so naturally it has a dark yellow color. The head is thin and watery, but there is a hint of icy lace on the glass like frost on a window.
  
  The aroma is consistent with a golden ale or lager. It has the properties of a pub ale, but to a weaker, more watered-down degree. It's nothing unpleasant, just a tad wimpy. The taste is of a light English ale, a la Bass. The malt is actually of a decent sweet style; it's bready and with just a dollop of molasses. It does leave a bit of a malted aftertaste.
  
  The beer feels watery and leaves a minor, bitter film that is more like a lager than a golden ale. This beer is okay, but not awesome. Didn't hit me the right way like the Lighter at #1. It's drinkable, but should be priced among the BudMillerCoors instead of the crafties.

I have quite a diverse selection for July, so hopefully I can find the strength to trudge through all of them.

F*ck It, Let's Do It Live! Part Deux.

[Note: My baby sister decided on a late-night whim to do a liveblog of the beer we were drinking. I'm not sure she fully grasps the concept of the liveblog but we all have to start somewhere. You might find a deviation from the normally erudite and buttoned-up style to which we generally adhere. Still, every voice counts.]

So when my dick brother (bitch sister?) told me we'd be drinking something stronger, imagine my surprise (i always spelled that without the first R) when he whipped, pulled, brought out a LABATT BLUE LIGHT. Ugh. Like I said, I've been to college - not interested.

However, I'm a sporting gent(lewoman) and am up for the challenge of categorizing this delicious (?) brew. And seeing as how my bro drinks this to sober up before driving home, we have to give it up to our neighbors to the North. I was told not to bother sniffing out of our Sam Adams quote/unquote Special Glass. I did anyway. Bill thinks that....speechless so far....WAIT. "It's not the moose piss that I generally think it is. When I think of Blue Light I think of something awful. Something evil. But now that I know they make it in Buffalo (as their american headquarters) I find it drinkable. I wouldn't call it a pilsner, I wouldn't call it that. But as far as Northeastern Macrobrews go, it's only 107 calories, which is paramount because those numbers are essential in terms of what I put in my body. It's not horrible. Sub-par, ahhh, yes. But not horrible."

All of a sudden, he's worried about what I think of the beer. Let me taste. Ahhhhhhhh, gross. Okay. Let me shoot it to you straight. In terms of sub-par, shitty beers, this isn't bad. Better than Coors. And Bud. And Bud Light. However, it is no American craft beer (am I right?) so it's hard to think of it in terms of a smaller scale of beers that are much (MUCH) better.

Intrigued? Let me continue. I've pissed lighter, fizzier, more head-laden liquids than this. The smell is unremarkable and the taste is like what 5th year college students drank - classier than me, but not so much so that they won't try to bang an undergrad. (The Dixie Jazz is looking gooooood right now.)

So, the verdict? Eick. I wouldn't bathe a crack baby in it, BUT I would drink it to sober up at the end of the night, because let's face it, water is boring and drinking is cool. So, when I rap atcha again (November?) you'll want to know what's hot, what's cool, what's dope, what's fresh, with all the college kids. I'm not in college anymore, but I still love a good, delicious beer. Later my lovelies.

F*ck It, Let's Do It Live!

[Note: My baby sister decided on a late-night whim to do a liveblog of the beer we were drinking. I'm not sure she fully grasps the concept of the liveblog but we all have to start somewhere. You might find a deviation from the normally erudite and buttoned-up style to which we generally adhere. Still, every voice counts.]

Hello beer snobs and sassy pants. This is Kate Shannon, sister to the beer blogger and extradinary a-hole, Bill. We knocked back a few of our favorites, and after a few embarassing stories (look out Seventeen Magazine) we decided to enjoy a few brews and liveblog it. I am drinking Great Divide Raspberry Wheat Ale, and hoss over there is drinking Dixie Jazz Amber Light (don't worry about it). Out of our Sam Adams quote/unquote Special Glass, we are both...WAIT - he hasn't sipped it yet...I am enjoying my beer. (he is surveying the situation, much like you would while mail-manning (gooogle that shit).)

I heard a wow. "Look at the carbonation of that shit." I did. Not that impressed.

Back to me. The Great Divide Raspberry Ale smells....not great. However, the taste is delish (probably a new word for Bojanglers). Bill says the raspberry is overpowering, like a framboise, while the wheat takes a back seat (use it, abuse it). I think it smells like something I've smelt before (not helpful...I'm new at this, deal.) I just sniffed, but was told I did it wrong. Anyway, my serious (Two Coreys is still on? Silly 80s actors, talent is for Rob Lowe.) opinion is that this beer is alright. As far as fruit beers go (I'm an connassyeur...connoseiur...connaseur...expert at fruity delights) it's a little heavy. More syrupy than I'm used to. I do like how it's a little on the sweeter side, but not overpowering. It's dark complexion is not what I'm used to, but definitely holds its ground. There is something inviting about it - not light like Michelob's new brews, but not so dark that I don't believe it's fruit. I'd give this beer a solid thumbs up and definitely suggest the mature fruit beer palate try it out - not hoppy and scary, but dark and smooth.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand back to Bill. "Wonderful, lovely, golden hue. A thick swatch of lace, gracing the inside of the glass. A majestic jetsam of carbonation, blah blah blah, Billy likey. Don't worry about it. Even though it's Light, he seems to appreciate it. "It's not bad. It's okay." It's definitely a lager, with a watery aftertaste. It's not all that amber by our accounts. As yellow as it gets, I heard Bill say. I think it's down right watery, but the bottle will get you. The cool piano and inviting letters will make you pick it up. Bill said watery is appropriate for the style, but I think there are no excuses. For $1.60/bottle, at a 4.3%, this is quite frankly, bullshit. I drank 3.5% in college and it was not pretty. But before I get a lambasting (word?) from the brewer, I'm sure they have plenty of other fine ales that are worth their weight in gold - Bill just called it a "decent light lager."

I was just challenged to drink something a little more heavy. Will our liveblogging continue? Wait and see fair readers. I'm tired of blogging and am ready to drink more. Hope to see you soon lovelies.

The Session: Independence Day Two-Fer

[Note: We have been remiss in contributing to The Session for a while, so I decided to throw one out there regarding two decidedly un-summer beers I had on the 4th of July.]

I spent the 4th of July with a fellow beergeek by the name of Bruce. In the course of the weekend, he introduced me to two beers to which I had not previously been exposed. (Naturally, we were not confined to only two beers for the day, but two really stood out.) One of these beers was a tremendously nice surprise, the other was a crushing disappointment.

Early on in the day, Bruce forced me to down a beer that he had been trying to convince me to have for months: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine. It's not exactly barleywine season, but it really didn't matter with this beer.

First, let's see what the folks at Sierra Nevada themselves have to say about this beer (courtesy of RateBeer.com):

Gold Medal Winner, Great American Beer Festival (Ales: Brown, Bitter and Pale 1987, Barleywine 1988,1992,1995). Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is an award winning example of the English Barley Wine style. It boasts a dense, fruity bouquet; an extremely rich, intense, bittersweet palate; and a deep, reddish-brown color. This ale is superbly balanced between an almost overpowering maltiness and a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness.

Bigfoot is a strong beer, to be sure. It's got all the usual trappings of a barleywine: it's thick (the color of mahogany, in case you were wondering), it's got a major alcohol aroma and flavor, a hard liquor-like burn on the way down and a juice-like thickness. But to me, what sets Bigfoot apart are (and if you know me I'll bet you could have guessed this) the hops.

Where most barleywines are content throwing a bunch of burnt malts and alcohol percentages at you, Sierra -- as they always do -- makes an overture toward those of us who need balance in our beers. The hops make this beer, and they make it one of my new favorite barleywines (Brooklyn Monster Ale, you've got company).

There is a major citrus and grapefruit quality to this beer that I found not only surprising but necessary. The beer has a very high alcohol content (just a smidge below 10%) and strong liqueur and malt flavors. But the hops, while adding a bitter respite, also add a needed sweetness that takes the edge off. It makes a man thankful that the United States expanded to the west coast to get dibs on those wonderful hops. I don't think I could have more than one in a row of this one, but the one to be had is outstanding.

After spending the rest of the day sampling various other offerings (including some nice choices like Wychwood Hobgoblin, Victory Whirlwind and Erie Brewing's Mad Anthony, among others), the time was nigh to get ready to go to sleep. For most sane people, beers at the end of the night are mild and easy to drink, so as to send one off to bed with a pleasant memory.

Of course, my friend Bruce is not at all sane, so he decided -- after midnight, mind you -- to break out the Samuel Adams Triple Bock. I had seen this beer, with its strange rubber-looking cork and 8-ounce bottle but never thought much of it. I have been drinking a few bocks lately but had never really been too familiar with this particular beer.

Again, let's have the fine folks at Sam Adams tell you what they think:

Triple Bock is complex, elegant, and has the depth and complexity of a fine cognac, vintage port or an old sherry. Non-carbonated, ruby-black, and very special, Triple Bock should be sipped from a small snifter in a two-ounce serving. This is a beer to savor, and sip slowly. Triple Bock has a brandy-like warmth and a complex melange of fruity, woody, and toffee-like flavors. Let the aroma fill your mouth and nose with rich malt and fruit overtones. Savor and appreciate its enormous character. Serve Triple Bock as you would a fine sherry, at room temperature, in a small snifter. One bottle generously serves two or three. Recork and store standing up. Once poured into a small glass, the layers of aroma and flavor will continue to evolve as the deep ruby brew warms in the hand.

Before I tell you what I think, let me tell you a few things I read about Sam Adams Triple Bock after the fact:

• It is considered by some to be one of the first "extreme" beers.
  
• It's one of the 25 strongest beers by ABV in the world, at 17.5%.
  
• It was brewed in only three batches, in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
  
• It's one of the most controversial beers on BeerAdvocate.com.

Okay, so what could be a better idea than cracking open this baby at quarter-to-one to ease into sleepytime land? Nothing, that's what. The beers were poured into two 4-ounce tester glasses, which was perfect for two servings. I noticed a couple of things.

First off, there was no head; apparently this beer is not carbonated at all. The look of it is black as midnight. It was very clear that this beer is deep, murky and thick. It is completely pitch black, as if someone poured roofing tar into a sippy-cup.

The smell is what shocked me. There is a scene in the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where Brian Fontana wears a cologne called Sex Panther. Ron Burgundy eventually tells him, "I'm gonna level with you, that smells like pure gasoline." Had this beer come out after 2004, it may well have been renamed Sex Panther. Never have I taken a whiff of a beer that actually dared me to take a sip of it. I don't drink liquor because I don't like the harshness of the flavor. (Any beverage where you have to wince after you have you have a 2-ounce shot of it is not for me.) But this smelled like brandy or bourbon or whiskey. A lot of reviews say it smells like a port, so I'll take their word for that.

But there is one common trait that this beer has in both smell and taste, and it's been noticed by beer drinkers throughout the nation: Soy sauce.

The taste of alcoholic soy sauce permeates every sip, as does some hints of dark raisin and burnt fruit. It's not a pleasurable combination to my taste buds. I know that I'm probably supposed to like this, and admitting that it's not for me, is going to make me look like a bit of a pansy, but my taste buds don't like what they don't like. I hated it. If I had to describe it in one sentence, I would say the following: It's like drinking soy sauce mixed with blood.

One note: about a year ago I reviewed the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, and while I didn't really care for it, I was able to sort of appreciate where it was coming from, and why it existed. My taste buds didn't enjoy the complexities of that brew, but it did understand them. I cannot say the same for Sam Adams Triple Bock; it does not seem to me to have many complexities, but rather a "everything but the kitchen sink" ethos. I just can't pretend this beer is good to me.

The epilogue is that Bruce and I had considered going halfsies (or thirdsies or fourthsies or however many people we could get on board) on a $170 kettle of Sam Adams Utopia, the most alcoholic beer in the world. But after having this concoction, I can't see shelling out that much money for a beer, even if just to say I've had it. Nothing against Sam Adams -- and I'm sure Jim Koch could care less what I think, since he has said that he's sold every kettle of Utopia that he's produced -- but that Utopia plan has since been scrapped. (I am a frequent drinker of Sam Adams products, by the way, so this in no way a criticism of the brewery as a whole.)

Not that I need to mention this, but these are strictly my own opinions. Feel free to agree or disagree and leave a comment if you'd like. Am I brave for having the courage to admit I didn't like something that beer geeks everywhere should enjoy? Or was that bad smell I detected simply my own head being wedged where the sun don't shine?