The Best Baseball Promotion Pretty Much EVER.

We here at Beerjanglin' are, without doubt, a baseball-loving bunch. Our loyalties are a bit divided, sure (Red Sox Nation, Yankees Country, and whatever the hell superlative Mets fans use to describe themselves as a collective are all represented among our numbers), but when it all comes down to nuts and bolts, we enjoy getting together to drink some good beer and enjoy watching our true national pastime.

So, when we were perusing this site, which lists the coolest promotions for the upcoming season of Major League Baseball, something caught our eye. It was this logo:



That's right. The Oakland A's are hosting a beer festival. On June 21, the technical first day of summer, no less.

According to the site, "The game’s not until 6PM, but come to McAfee Coliseum from 11AM to 1PM and sample beers from 30 breweries and listen to live music. Then go to the parking lot and tailgate. Can you tailgate in Oakland?

Admission is free with a game ticket, but you’ve got to pay $10 for a souvenir acrylic mug and two tastings. When you think about it, those might be the cheapest two beers you’ll ever buy at an MLB stadium."

After minutes of painstaking internet research, we uncovered a partial taplist from last year's event: Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Corona, Dos XX Lager, New Belgium Fat Tire, Skinny Dip, Heineken, Heineken Premium Light, Deschutes Inversion IPA, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Red Hook, Singha Lager, Singha Light Lager, Tecate Light, Trumer Pils, and Widmer Hefeweizen. While there are lame elements to this list (do you really need to waste taps on Singha and Singha Light? On Corona and Heineken?), there are some interesting picks (we are now intrigued by these Deschutes people). It's not perfect - far from, but credit to these folks for trying something different in an attempt to bring beer-nuts out to the ballpark. The odd timing notwithstanding (11 AM to 1 PM before a 6 PM game? Seriously?), this makes us wish we were somewhere near Oakland in June.

Beer O'The Moment - Stone 11th Anniversary

The wonderful beers of the fine people at San Diego's Stone Brewing are favorites around these parts, as both our loyal readers can tell you. One can find the Ruination double IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale at bargain basement prices even in grocery stores in Central New York, and if this is the way they are turning people on to craft beer -- 22 ounces and $5 at a time -- then we couldn't be happier.

Stone's iconic gargoyle imagery and the writerly copy on each of their 22 ounce bottles naturally appeals to us aesthetically, but it has always been the deceptively remarkable beers inside that have kept it from becoming just a cleverly marketed beer.

Given our already stratospheric opinion of this brewery, and given the constant evolution of their products and the championing of the merits of craft beer -- the Vertical Epic series comes to mind -- it's hard to say that Stone could really surprise us with any new beers they came out with. But they did exactly that with the 11th Anniversary Ale, a remarkable Strong Ale that pleases four out of the five senses (sorry, hearing). It's one of those beers that catches you by surprise even after you've poured it.

The look of the beer is pitch black. If handed this beer in some sort of a blind test, we would have guessed it was a stout. The foamy head at the top is a large and bubbly light cardboard brown. But it is absolutely opaque, where not even a sliver of light could burrow its way from one side to the other.

The aroma of the beer positively shocked -- nay, flabbergasted us. The smell is not the roasted coffee-and-dark-berries smell we expected. No, the XIth Anniversary smells of a citrusy IPA! What the...? The hops are bitter and woody, like any regular India Pale, pulling a complete switcheroo on our gullible olfactory senses. The hops, it must be pointed out, are magnificently complex: they have equal measures of pungent grapefruit, grassy pine and sweet citrus. All of this is balanced beautifully by a dry, English-ale style malt, a humbling agent that reminds all these brash other flavors where they came from. The smell is actually perfect, which is not a word we use very often. It's less an aroma than it is a bouquet of aromas. The traffic-stopping hops are oily and rich. And to top it off, there is a hint of chocolate aroma at the end. And notice we haven't even tasted it yet.

The flavor is a marriage of the look and the smell: supremely bitter West Coast hops, but with a unique burnt coffee malt. It's like an India Pale Porter. Those oily and bitter hops duke it out with the dry, bitter malt. The hops come out strong in the beginning, but the malt takes the later rounds. The flavor really shifts to the burnt, toasted malt as it warms up, with the hops receding to the background as an accent.

This is a beer that evolves.

The feel is supremely thick and yet also smooth. It's like motor oil with a dry roasted malt finish. And that about sums up the whole beer: it's a bit, thick, oily, dark, hoppy, nutty, roasted brew. Could I drink it all night? Not unless I had the next week off. But it's perfect for a pint.

Stone continues to get it done. If you haven't had the pleasure, take a chance on this damn good balanced brew.

Quick Take: Rogue JLS #23 Black Brutal 2007

Every once in a while, Rogue Brewery will put out one of their John Locker's Stock (or JLS) which is a special batch or limited edition. Kelly Coles Improper in Syracuse was serving #23 in the series, known as Black Brutal, a spin-off of their outstanding Brutal Bitter, which is available in bottles. I'll tell you a little about it.

The Look: It looks like dark brown chocolate milk. Has a light brownish head. It's incredibly thick-looking, like a suped-up brown ale or a slightly lighter porter.

The Aroma: I expected the burnt malt smell, but not the very powerful woody hop scent covering it up. Both smells, which wouldn't seem to really go together that well, compliment each other nicely. It's bitter but also a bit chocolatey sweet.

The Flavor: In addition to the burnt, roasted malt flavor that the smell foretold, there is a major chocolate accent in the taste. There is also a heavy, pungent molasses flavor that I didn't see coming. And some black licorice? It's both sweet and bitter. The hops are there too, but strictly as an accent to all the dark, roasted business going on. The malts are bitter and strong. You can almost taste the barley, as well as the alcohol. Yikes. Very good but not for the weak.

The Feel: It's really thick, one you have to sip, not gulp down. It feels like a brown ale, but tastes more like a strong ale. This doesn't mean it's hard to drink, it's just meant to be savored. No thin porter action going on here.

The Verdict: Think Rogue Dead Guy meets Saranac Caramel Porter. With a top layer of hops to boot. Technically, we are in September, and since football season has started, I'd say it's okay to start delving into porters and darker fare now. This one is a doozy; thick and challenging but also comforting like a warm glass of hot cocoa. Or a tight bear hug from your largest college buddy: sure it hurts a little for a second, but it's so comforting.

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale?

Quick note:

I was reading BeerAdvocate this evening (okay fine, well into the night) hoping to get some information about Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, which may have been the greatest pint of beer I have ever had. I tend to mention the Sierra Harvest with the frequency that Walter Sobchak might mention Vietnam.

Anyway, I came across some news that Sierra is going to be releasing a new brew this month called Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale. It will be a one-time release.

Other than the hop type (I believe the Harvest used Simcoe hops, whereas the Anniversary uses Cascade hops) and perhaps some of that caramel business, this seems to be extremely similar to the Harvest Ale. They have completely different ABV %s (Harvest=6.20%, Anniversary=5.90%) so I'm under no illusion that they are the same beer, but has anyone heard about this?

Here is how BeerAdvocate describes it:

Brewed to celebrate 27 years of the pioneering of the craft beer movement, this beer is an American Style IPA with a distinct Sierra Nevada twist; a generous amount of Cascade hops to produce a big fragrant pine and citrus hop aroma, which is balanced by the sweetness of two row pale and caramel malt, and finished with additional Cascade dry-hopping for good measure. Anniversary Ale is a medium-bodied, well-hopped ale that finishes with a slight malt sweetness. Released August 2007.

If you have any information on this brew (since Sierra's website is surprisingly closed-lipped), please leave a comment. Or you can email us at beerjanglin@gmail.com. More importantly, does anyone know whether the Harvest Ale will be released? And when? And where? And how far would I be willing to drive to have some? (Answer: Schenectady, at least.) Developing...

Beer O' The Moment - Boont Amber Ale

As many fans of this blog(ger) can attest, we have never been a huge fan of Ambers and Reds. (We went through a Killian's Irish Red Lager phase when we were young and indiscriminate, but we never really went back.) However, we have recently been privy to several outstanding Amber Ales. One of the better Amber ales we have come across is Boont Amber Ale, from the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Booneville, California. We have been somewhat enamored with many of the California brews (Stone, Lagunitas, Mendocino, North Coast and even the oft-confused Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada), and for some reason Anderson Valley hasn't quite gotten the distribution -- or at least the presence -- as the other Big Boys have had in the northeast.

We have enjoyed a fine, if fleeting, relationship so far with the Anderson Valley offerings, from the dry, definitive Boont ESB to the wildly popular, extraordinarily hoppy and only slightly overrated Hop Ottin' IPA. Due to our own personal demons (red devils perhaps), we had shied away from ruining our lucky streak by introducing our palate to an unpopular element. Yet what we found was one of the two or three best ambers we've ever had.

First, the look of the thing. Two words: gor-geous. Its a very hazy amber-red color. And though there is not much foamy head or lace as it goes down, the look of it is so rich and deep that none of that matters. The smell is fantastic, with the dry and biscuity malt blending perfectly with some secondary (but potent) flowery and sweet hops.

The flavor has to be recommended if for nothing more than its balance. The two elements hit two different parts of the tongue. The malt is dry and really not very bitter (my usual problem with ambers/reds). The hops (see above) are the perfect balance, giving a little punch to counter the dry malt. As it warms up, an unexpected smoky flavor shows up. Where the hell did that come from?

This is what an Amber should be. Much like their Boont ESB, this seems to define the style. Though it is an American Amber ale, it feels very British, very refined. It's thick, but not chewy.

Here's hoping more of Anderson Valley's beers start making their way to the Northeast and Great Lakes region. If this offering is any indication, the west coast might be on to something.