Beer o' the Moment: Ommegang Ommegeddon

Being only an hour's drive or so from Cooperstown, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (and quite a lovely little town in its own right) is a not unattractive aspect of life in the Capital Region of New York State. Proximity to the fantastic Belgian-style ales put out by Brewery Ommegang is no small part of that. Truth be told, we probably don't take advantage of either the town or the brewery nearly enough. We'd been hearing rumblings for awhile about the release of their latest creation, Ommegeddon, so you can imagine our excitement when a 750 ml bottle labeled "Batch #1, June 2007" was generously delivered into our hands.

Here's what the brewery says about it on their web site:

We are happy to introduce our newest addition, Ommegeddon.

It’s our new 8% abv Belgian-style ale with a wild twist- a dose of Brettanomyces yeast and a blast of dry hopping. Ommegedon is a strong blonde ale with a sharp citrus flavor that, like the other Ommegang ales has a dry finish. It’s dryness and funkiness begat the name of Ommegeddon-for the time when the forces of light and dark battle for world dominion. It’s time for you to pick your side.

We weren't really sure what to expect from this beer, especially given the line "Funkhouse Ale with Brettanomyces" on the bottle. Not knowing much about the wild yeast strain Brettanomyces (hereafter affectionately known as Brett), we did a bit of reading on the subject. A small bit, but still, give a little credit, eh? I don't claim to be anything but a novice in the ways of Belgian brewing, but, hey, I'm willing to work at it! Basically, Brett, along with Pediococcus and Lactobacillus is one of the "big three" beer (or wine - if you're into that sort of thing) spoiling micro-organisms. Most of the time, when of these bad boys is present in your adult beverage, it means something went horribly wrong with the brewing process.

Under a skilled hand, however, these bacteria can mean wonderful things. Brett, in particular, is at least partially responsible for the flavours of such luminaries as Orval, Rodenbach, and Liefmans. It is known for the "sweaty" or "horse blanket" qualities it can impart. In a good way.

To learn more, check out this article by Tomme Arthur, head of brewing at San Diego's highly regarded Port Brewing, and lead visionary of their Belgian offshoot, Lost Abbey. Alternatively, just try a few Brett-influenced beers. We plan to do both, perhaps repeatedly. Previous experience with Ommegang's five mainstay ales has taught us that they certainly know how to brew in the Belgian style. Well enough that they are now Belgian-owned and a portion of their line has been brewed in Belgium over the past couple years just to keep up with production. The Ommegeddon proved to be surprisingly easy to drink, and not nearly as "funky" as I'd hoped. Or was it feared? It certainly has that familiar smooth and slightly sweet Belgian quality to it.

We found it surprisingly similar to some of Ommegang's other offerings; almost a blend of Rare Vos and Hennepin, with just a dash of something unknown and earthy. It is faintly sweet and spicy, but with an oddly pleasant dampness. A little hoppy. Dry, bitter finish. There is a lot going on, but it definitely drinks lighter than the original Abbey Ale. This easy quaffability belies the 8% ABV. A 750 ml bottle of this stuff could easily disappear in a hurry.

A Second Opion - from (our very own) Bill:

Well from what I remember it seemed like a Saison or farmhouse ale.

It had that kind of strong Belgian taste which I can usually take or leave,
but in this case I did like it. It had a certain sweetness to it, too, like
a light cherry (this is all based on memory, of course). The thing that I
liked most about it was how smooth it was; it didn't have that champagne
fizz that most of those Saisons have. That made it a far more pleasant
drink for me. I wasn't blown away by it, and for $13 way overpriced. But it
was exemplary for the style (which is a style to which I am not
particularly partial).

The label does recommend that you should "Cellar 6 Months for maximum enjoyment of Brettanomyces funkiness." This one is crafted in such a manner that the mild funkiness in the beer now might turn into something George Clinton would envy in a year's time. Having grown up on a farm, we fear not a whit the "horse blanket" flavour, so aging this sounds like a good plan. It is hard to justify (at least to the wife) the $12-15 price tag too often, especially with most of Ommegang's other offerings available for less than half that, but this is certainly something we'd love to try again in six months or a year when those wild yeasts have had a chance to go about their work.

Capital Region Coming Attraction

If we were to tell you that coming soon to Wolf Road in Albany (well, technically, it's in Colonie) was a bar and restaurant specializing in Chicago style deep dish pizza that also features over 100 beers, you'd be at least a tad intrigued, right? Okay, so Old Chicago is a national chain, but it does have those two previously mentioned factors decidedly in its favour. We've never been to one of their locations, but have visited a Rock Bottom Brewery or two - they are run by the same company - and found them to be pretty solid establishments.


A cursory glance at the beer list is not all that impressive, considering the number available. We hear that just how good the beer selection is depends on the individual location, so here's hoping for the best. Want another check in the positive column? They also offer a beer tour:

Old Chicago World Beer Tour™
Travel the world, one beer at a time. For more than 20 years beer lovers across America have sampled the world’s finest brews with our famous World Beer Tour.
The tour includes 110 exciting brews -- some old favorites, others happy discoveries. Each one bringing another taste thrill -- and big prize potential.

It’s free to join with no obligation to complete the tour (but really, why wouldn’t you?). An electronic World Beer Tour card tracks every beer on your journey, from any Old Chicago location. It’s your ticket to quick validations and fabulous prizes.
Once you’ve tried all 110 beers (not in one day), your tour’s complete. On that proud day you get your name forever emblazoned on The Famous Hall of Foam and instant bragging rights for dear mom.

What better way to make your way around the globe than with a beer in your hand?

Sure, as beer tours go, this ain't exactly Mahar's, but it's worth checking out. Worry not, Dear Reader. We will, as always, do the leg work for you. Is elbow work more appropriate? Keg work? Anyway, a little bird told us that Old Chicago is slated to open on September 23 and that they will have up to 119 beers to choose from. Developing...

Beer O'the Moment - Brooklyner & Schneider Hopfen Weisse

We are big fans of most of the offerings of Brooklyn Brewery in general -- and brewmaster Garrett Oliver in particular. It turns out that several months ago, Oliver hopped a plane to Germany to collaborate with the Schneider brewing company, both breweries decided to combine the best of German wheat flavor and American hops. (You can read the very interesting overview of how this happened at Cure For What Ales You. They do a better job explaining than we could.) The two breweries turned out the Brooklyner & Schneider Hopfen Weisse.

Recently, we had apparently had the proverbial horseshoe firmly lodged where the sun-don't-shine, because we were able to sample a 22oz offering from one of only two cases being offered in Upstate New York. (At least that's what the guy at the Party Source told us.) We were slightly skeptical only because there haven't been, in our experience, a lot of successful hop/wheat combinations. (And if you can think of any besides this one, please do drop a note.)

The look of the beer is striking color. It's a gorgeous cloudy golden yellow. There is a major top layer of gloriously foamy head. The radiance of the beer is really striking. It's bright and shining in color, and yet so cloudy. (My crappy camera-phone picture below doesn't begin to do it justice.)

The scent is heavy with both that slightly pungent wheat smell we all love so much, and also a strong orange peel. There is that slight hint of banana that you will get with a typical hefe weizen, but it's much more slight than usual The aroma is sweet, for sure, but it's also grounded by that thick yeast smell. It's quite nice, especially for a Hef. It doesn't have that saccharine sweetness that characterizes so many well-intentioned Hefes. We also do detect just a smidgen of hops, but we think this might be wishful thinking. That is until we take a sip.

Congratulations, universe, you win. The combination of German engineering and American know-how have created one hell of a hoppy hefe weizen. The initial sip has the familiar tastes of orange/wheat/banana that you will get from a Hef. This is not to say that these flavors are just ordinary, because they are near-perfect. Nice sweetness in the fruit and in the wheat, balanced by some dry yeast. If they would have left it at that, we would have been duly impressed with this as a hefe weizen.

Oh but those cheeky Teutons weren't done. At the swallow, there is a surprising waterfall of bitter, grapefruity hops. We must admit that this was both shocking and exhilarating. While the yeast and fruits are shaking your hand, the hops are waiting for you to look down so they can slap you in the back of the head. Really tremendous. And instead of that sometimes cloying fruity sweetness that some Hefs leave in the aftertaste, this beer -- like napalm perhaps -- leaves nothing but hops in its wake. Not since Wernher von Braun and NASA have Germans and Americans been able to create such a beautiful invention.

The beer is thick like a hefe weizen, with that milky thickness, but also leaves a nice bitter hop film. Smooth for style. It's more than the average Hef. The key is not that the hops are so strong, but that they create such a nice secondary balance to the sweetness of the malt.

One note: it may be recommended to try this entire beer in one sitting. Although the beer doesn't appear to lose any of its carbonation after opening (and then re-sealing with an air-tight stopper), it does lose a lot of its clarity. It is much cloudier, and more of a mustard color. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't as bright, and looks more thick.

If you have the good fortune to pick up a bomber of it, go for it.

The 2 Minute Guide To Legends Sports Bar

Legends Sports Bar
288 Lark Street, Albany NY
http://www.legendsonlark.com

Tap Selection: Nothing tremendously impressive, although they did have 2 different Red Hook selections on (I saw the Red Hook Summer and ESB, and the website claims to have a Red Hook IPA available as well). Other beers available: Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Blue Moon, Harp, Bass, Guinness, Paulaner, Smithwick's, and Newcastle. All beers were fresh (clean lines).

Food: Full menu until 11 (midnight on high-activity evenings). Members of our party had the nachos and hot wings; these were pretty good. The nachos came with a bruschetta-esque salsa that was delicious. They serve ballpark-style hot dogs as well - while we didn't partake of them, they looked phenomenal, and we'll be back for a go at them at another date. Legends is run cooperatively with DeJohn's, which is a full-service restaurant next door with a solid reputation, and we were given free reign over the DeJohn's menu as well if we so chose (we didn't, but that's kind of awesome).

Ambience: It's basically a sports bar in a brownstone building - it's got two floors, each with its own bar. Lots of flat-screen televisions, including one over the urinal in the men's room. Legends is relatively new, and looks impeccably clean. The upstairs room had table seating; the downstairs bar was more wide-open. It was nice to have the choice. Lots of framed sports jersey decorations; while we're not crazy about a place that has Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees jerseys all hanging (pick a team!), they do get bonus points for having the framed #18 Yankees jersey be an autographed Don Larsen jersey instead of, say, Johnny Damon.

Vicinity: Legends is located smack-dab in the middle of the Lark Street neighborhood; this is Albany's hippest area, and the entire neighborhood caters to a youthful, liberal demographic. There are six or so other decent bars within walking distance, as well as a good variety of eateries. The Lark Street neighborhood has a little something for everybody.

Specials: $2 drafts of everything from 11 am to 7 pm daily. Is nice! We were there on a Wednesday, which featured $9 domestic pitchers after 8:30 (a deal that included Sierra Nevada and Red Hook) and $12 import pitchers. Check the website for other special information.

Extras: Trivia nights are Wednesdays! The trivia contest was well-run and pretty laid back and fun - it's highly recommended (even though our team missed winning by a mere one point).

The Verdict: Not bad for a sports bar. You could definitely do worse. We will be back.

A New Brewery in the Southern Tier

The Southern Tier of New York State refers to the geographic area that runs most of the length of the state, from the edge of the Catskill Mountains west along the border of northern Pennsylvania almost to the shores of Lake Erie. It is some of the most beautiful country you could hope to find; full of rolling hills, valleys, rivers, and precious little in the way of population centers.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer raised the ire of some when he said much of Upstate "looks like Appalachia" during his election campaign last year. He was referring, of course, to the faltering economy in many Upstate locales resembling that of the stereotypically impoverished and rural "hillbilly" region. Deliverance imagery aside, he wasn't exactly wrong. Spitzer was referring to the depressed economic conditions, but most of the Southern Tier region technically is Appalachia.

Okay, enough of the geographic and socioeconomic drivel, we're here for the beer. The point we are so circuitously [not to mention clumsily - Ed.] trying to make is that, as wonderful as the Southern Tier is, there ain't a whole lot happening there, especially when it comes to the microbrewery scene. With the exception of Ellicottville Brewing and, of course, the aptly named Southern Tier Brewing, both of which are in the far southwestern corner of the state (and happen to have a shared heritage, but that's another story for another time), there really is not another brewery in the region. Until now, that is!

Horseheads Brewing opened its doors (well, technically, got its liquor license) on July 3rd. Owner and longtime homebrewer Ed Samchisen handles the beer making, while his wife, Brenda, runs the gift shop and designs all the beer labels. The brewery is new enough that there is not yet a web site, but they do offer beer in growlers and hand-filled bottles. If all goes according to plan, they will soon have kegs for sale and begin supplying their beer to local bars and restaurants. According to this site, there may be as many as six different brews, each of which is linked in some way to local history through its name.

The line-up:

Brickyard Red Ale
Iroquois Wheat Beer
Newtown Brown
Pale Expedition Ale
Peach Wheet Beer
Sullivan Stout

Horseheads is located just North of Elmira off Interstate 86 and takes its uniquely wonderful name from the number of bleached horse skulls left behind in the aftermath of the Sullivan Expedition (yes, as in Sullivan Stout - told you the names had history behind them). It's a bit out of the way, but is located off a major highway, and certainly sounds like it merits some field research. If only we knew someone who had recently moved to the Southern Tier and enjoyed inexpensive and thoroughly enjoyable day trips to breweries. Developing...

The Physics of Beer

This is a little different from our normal beat, but it involves beer, so...

Scientists at the University of Manitoba are studying the physics of beer bubbles. They're looking at the use of multiply scattered acoustic waves and how they change physical systems - simply stated, they're hoping to increase the technology by which images are created. Where radars create simple images based on single waves, they're hoping that beer will provide them a solution to create more complex images. Multiply scattered acoustic waves can also track changes over time; if this research pans out, scientists might be able to create technology that can monitor the structural soundness of buildings and bridges - something that's definitely needed, especially in the wake of a disaster like this.

Lead researcher John Page notes: “I know that a lot of effort has gone into figuring out how to get just the right concentration and size of bubbles, and how to produce the perfect head on a glass of beer. There are people who work in that industry who know much, much more about that than I do."

We're not scientists, but we gleaned two essential truths from this reading.
- 1. Beer can save lives.
- 2. Finally, that bottle of Budweiser Select can be put to good use.

120 Minutes of Pain

Every once in a while a beer comes along that becomes less a bottle of suds than it is an experience, something transcendent. The very thought of it actually makes one slightly nervous. This can only be explained in that there are some beers that attain a sort of legendary status.

Such is the legend of the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. We are big fans of Dogfish Head around these parts. The 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPAs are all gold standards for the style. But the 120 is an entirely different type of flying, altogether.

First of all, there's the alcoholic content. It is 21.00% alcohol. That is not a misprint. Twenty-one percent alcohol by volume. It's 42 proof. It is listed as the fifth strongest beer in the world by BeerAdvocate.com. (The 60 and 90 Minute IPAs are 6% and 9% abv, respectively.) This means that drinking one of these beers is the equivalent of drinking between 3 to 5 "regular" beers, depending on alcohol content.

Then there is the price. One 12 ounce bottle of this stuff was $8.99. For one bottle. Now, this is just a little easier to justify given that I have plunked down $10 at bars before for beers that don't have the kind of bang for the buck that the 120 Minute has. And if you follow the "3 to 5" beer equation (and you're just looking to get lit up on the cheap), this is actually a pretty good bargain. It's better than sniffing magic markers. I've spent $8.99 on a lot of crappy CDs and bad restaurant hamburgers, so a ten-spot isn't really going to be a deal-breaker.

I consulted my personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this one, and he told me to go for it. So I found my cleanest glass and pulled the bottle out of the fridge. After having finished it, there is really nothing else like it (although Dogfish Head's Burton Baton is the closest thing). I went down this frightening and lonesome road so you don't have to. Here is what I found.

The color is gorgeous. It's big, and it's thick. It pours a huge, deep and dark orange color. It looks like apple cider, but somehow even thicker. There is a nice flat, half-finger of light brown head. The lacing is very minimal, which surprised me given the cloudy appearance of this sucker. There are lots of tiny carbonation bubbles skyrocketing from bottom to top, probably trying to find the escape velocity to get out of the muck. This mother is thick.

The smell is a very strong combination of flowery hops and a dark oak scent. The smell is very rich and very strong. The hops are strong, and yet they are completely overpowered by the combination of the oak, the dark berry/grape smell, and the massive grain alcohol smell. Anyone who says they can't smell the alcohol should probably see a doctor, because they've probably had a stroke. Still, the smells of oak, pine and some nuttiness still managed to escape. The smell isn't so much balanced as it just throws a lot of different scents in there, hoping one will stick.

The flavor is really the thing here, and it's what I have been a bit scared of. I am a huge fan of IPAs in general, and not afraid of hops, but after trying the Burton Baton from DFH previously, I would never underestimate the lengths to which they will go to make something extreme. This is definitely no exception.

The first taste I noticed was a major blast of alcohol on the tongue. More than just a hint of it, or an accent. This was almost like gasoline hitting my taste buds. It is the single most definitive characteristic of the taste of this beer. Yes, there are some woody hops, yes there is an oak accent. But every sip is like an assault on the tongue. It's less like a refined IPA than it is simply akin to licking a piece of fine wooden furniture (a dresser comes to mind).

I do give this beer points for sheer strength and power. And balls. But to me -- and maybe it's because my palate isn't as attuned as many of you fancy people -- this beer is less an example of a carefully rendered craft brewing and balance, and more an example of throwing a bunch of elements that people like in their beers (hops, alcohol, oak) and simply cranking up the volume. It conjures up the image of a mad brewer telling his reluctant assistants to throw each ingredient in the vat, and then yelling "More. More! MOOOORRRRE! BWOO-HA-HA!" (I am confident this image is not an accurate depiction of the beer's actual brewing process.)

The feel of the beer is about as thick and chunky as a beer can get. It's chewy. And in addition to its thickness, the feel of the beer is sandpapery, not even remotely smooth. Every sip is like choking down a thick, viscous shot of whiskey. And it burns the same way as whiskey, on the tongue, in the esophagus, and in the stomach.

As much as I will give credit to the pure chutzpah with which DFH made this beer, I will give even more credit to the alcohol content. I was plenty drunk after being only about 3/4 done with the glass. Luckily I was already in for the night. Do NOT drink this beer and drive anywhere for a few hours. Seriously.

My overall impression is this: I wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone, because I think it's a delicacy. Maybe if I drank one a day for six months I could begin to develop a palate for it, but why would I do that when I can enjoy the 60 and 90 minute varieties that DFH already offers? I would defy anyone to drink two in a row for pure enjoyment, and not as part of some dare or for charity.

I actually swished the last sip around in my mouth for a few extra seconds, knowing that I had finally come face to face with this mighty beast, and that it would likely never pass my lips again. I am glad, however, that I tried it that one time.

Quick Take: Pump Station Smoked Hefeweizen

When we read that the Albany Pump Station was offering a Smoked Hefeweizen, we had to visit. According to their web site:

This version of our Bavarian-style wheat beer is made with beechwood smoked malt, imparting a more than subtle flavor. The yeast-derived banana and clove characteristics are there, too. Our Brewmaster's favorite; in fact, I'm drinking it now! 5.6% ABV.

As it turns out, the Smoked Hefe is something they have offered twice previously in the past three months, and we'd actually sampled it before. The Pump Station's standard Hefeweizen is one of the best we have ever had the pleasure of tasting; it's crisp and refreshing without getting too yeast-y or over the top. There is a beautiful banana and clove spiciness going on as well. While we admittedly have not visited often enough lately (maybe once every three of four weeks on average), it seemed that either the Hefeweizen was not offered - they often have Evans' Wit, an excellent Belgian style beer in it's own right - or that the customary spice of the Hefe was just a little different.

In our ignorance, we had sampled the Bavarian Style (Smoked) Hefeweizen and simply assumed that their was a slight variance or tweak in the batch, similar to what seemingly has happened - for the better - with the Pale Ale recently. The Bavarian Style Hefeweizen sign on the tap list apparently is the same whether it's the smoked or standard version.

In our defense, the underlying smoke flavor is much more understated than the web site's description would lead us to believe. The smoke characteristic is fleeting at best; just a hint on the nose and at the finish. It is light, bubbly and solidly spiced, but, to our taste, not as clean and pleasant as their normal Hefeweizen. All in all, an enjoyable, easy drinker, but not one we'd choose over either the Hefe or the Evans' Wit. Still, any excuse to visit the Pump Station is a welcome one, at least in our book.

Revisiting Cape Cod

The beautifully summery weather this weekend brought to mind our trip earlier this year to Cape Cod, and in particular, to the Cape Cod Beer brewery. Other than some fine establishments in the city of Boston, and beers from Harpoon and Sam Adams, this was really one of our first experiences with the beers of Massachusetts. As we have been sadly lax in our picture taking for the site (especially since our only decent camera was stolen by a wanton criminal), we decided to post a few that were taken by an affiliated photog during our tour of the brewery in Hyannis. Rest assured, we are working on the camera situation and positive changes in that respect can be expected in the near future.

The outside of the brewery - it really is just a small warehouse in a light industrial park in Hyannis. This facility actually represents an expansion from their original downtown location.

Inspecting the tanks. I swear his head was in there just a moment before this was taken. One of the auxiliary holding tanks was actually acquired from the nearby Cape Cod Potato Chips factory.

One of New England's leading beer connoisseurs demonstrates a variety of different malts.

The local homebrewers club was brewing up a batch of undisclosed beer during our visit. We gave it the ol' sniff test. It passed. With flying colors.

Filled kegs biding their time in the cooler until their appointed time comes. So far, Cape Cod Brewing self distributes only to locations on the Cape. Too bad, we could go for a nice glass of their Hefe or IPA right about now.

Saranac's Next Big Beer

Word has it that the next entry in Saranac's High Peaks series will be a Russian Imperial Stout. "Our new High Peak Series line of beers," says the description on their web site, "are bigger, more complex and flavorful; beers that are meant to be sipped and savored." Their first foray into the world of "big beers" was the solid, tasty and well balanced Imperial IPA, released in 2006.

We have long held that Saranac (which brews a big chunk of Brooklyn Brewery's well-respected products under contract) is capable of much more than their standard line of brews. The Imperial IPA was a great first step, and the RIS will prove an excellent choice for the second. It is slated to be released in mid-September. And to think that I considered stopping by Utica for a brewery tour on Friday before passing it up to take the scenic route from Syracuse to the Capital Region!

What's Mexican for Alcoholic Water?

That would have to be Pacifico of course!*

Now let me tell you about Pacifico. And I mean to be specifico. This cerveza is by no means magnifico. When it comes to notoriety stateside, Corona is far more prolifico. But we all know that the Mexican beer game is mostly politic-o. Because you see the group responsible for Corona is also responsible for Pacifico. Yes, they both fall under Grupo Modelo in Me-hico. Now there are a lots of Corona fanaticos, but some seem to prefer their Pacificos. Now I've had both, and neither strikes me as really terrifico.

Pacifico is a pilsener, with a clear yellow pour, that is not in anyway distincto. Smells and tastes like one of those malted corn drinkos. It's almost like they found the basic corn pilsener recipe and photocopied it at a Kinkos. Now while it's not a beer that makes you thinko, it is okay to drinko. If you're offered one, don't pour it down the sink-ho'. But when answering the question, "is it better than Corona?" well, I guess I'm still on the brinko. But on on the ratings scale of swill, to liquid awesome, it rates an okay to drinko.

Bottoms Up!
Willie 3:16-O?

*Both Pacifico and Corona could be considered to be Mexican for alcoholic water. In the beer thesaurus they are, in fact loose synonyms.

Session #6 - Fruit Beer by Bill

[Note for both of our regular readers: We are proud to put enter the foray of "The Session," which is a day every month -- the first Friday, to be exact -- where bloggers from all around weigh in on a certain topic. To find out more about "The Session," please visit Appellation Beer for the origins. The topic this month is fruit beer. This month's session will be hosted by Beer, Beats & Bites, a terrific Canadian beer blog run by Greg Clow. Please visit BB&B. And to see what a completed "Session" looks like, please see session #5 from July, regarding the best Atmosphere in which to have a beer. For now, grab a pint and enjoy.]

[UPDATE: The Round-up for "The Session" can be found here.]

I was asked by my editor to contribute to The Session on behalf of Beerjanglin'. He told me that this month's theme would be Fruit Beers. Naturally, I headed to the nearest Wilson Farms convenience store to pick up a 30-pack of Busch, swung by the farmer's market for a dozen or so oranges, and began the arduous task of juicing the oranges and mixing them with the Busch in gallons of empty milk containers. Results were mixed, to say the least, but I emerged through the other side with a new appreciation for oranges, and for the resilience of the human gastrointestinal system. Before my opus detailing my experiences could see the light of day, my editor informed me that there were, in fact, beers brewed with the fruit already in them. Naturally, I thought he must be playing a prank on me. He was not.

Not quite understanding the protocol of The Session yet, I simply decided to select three fruit beers and see if I can tap into what makes them either potable, or unimpressive. Fruit beers are somewhat out of my wheelhouse ("My name is Bill S., and I am a hop-head..."), but I must admit a somewhat guilty-pleasure appreciation for fruit beers. Besides, no matter how hard I tried, there was no way to classify a hop as a fruit on a technicality. On a hot August day, sometimes a blueberry- or raspberry-flavored brew is just what the doctor ordered, and not only because of the fact that the American Medical Association recognizes that it fights scurvy.

Rather than try to traverse the gamut of all the Fruit Beers in the galaxy, I decided to stick with three breweries that I know and trust. My selections were Ellicottville (NY) Blueberry Wheat, Blue Point (NY) Blueberry Ale, and Dogfish Head (DE) Midas Touch Golden Elixir. I know I sorta chickened out by doing two Blueberry beers, but we shall see where this is headed.

The criteria I will primarily be using for Fruit Beer purposes will be Consistency (aka Mouthfeel), Flavor and Refreshingness (aka Drinkability). These beers are generally engineered for the summer, except the Midas Touch which I just realized is 9% alcohol by volume. Oops! Well, here we go. Excelsior!:

First up is the Blue Point Blueberry Ale, a seemingly popular blueberry beer around these parts. The first thing that struck me about this one is its thickness. The beer looks very thin and almost watery. It's a clear reddish-orange color (where's the blue???), and though it poured a pretty thick ice cream float head, I didn't expect there to be much body to it. But when I took a sip, there was a surprisingly creamy feel to this one. Yet, the taste of the beer is light enough to appease the lightest of lightweights, as well as satisfy the true beer drinker.

It does taste like a beer, not a fruit drink. It's a golden ale with a top coating of light, but not overwhelming blueberry flavor. In fact, it's a remarkably balanced beer, utilizing the sweetness of the blueberry to offset the dryness of the biscuity malt and the hints of wheat that show up all over this baby.

As far as summer drinking goes, it might be just a tad too much for the Smirnoff-swilling ingenues you might be inviting to your deck party because of its thickness, but it can still be enjoyed for its rich and balanced flavor. And the fellow beergeeks at the party who are sick of Corona and Miller High Life every Saturday afternoon will thank you for this one.

Next up to bat, is the Ellicottville Blueberry Wheat. I was immediately struck by the contrast between this beer and the Blueberry Ale shown above. First of all, the color is a straw-yellow, but not thin-looking; it's got a nice wheaty haze that makes the beer opaque. The smell was similar, with traces of wheat and blueberry, and a curious hint of pepper, of all things.

The differences become more apparent in the taste and feel. Whereas the beer above had a balance between the dry and the sweet, this one is all sweetness. The wheat itself is of a more confectionary variety, which goes along nicely with the blueberry, but doesn't offer much in the way of a counterpoint. It actually becomes a bit tart and sour, moreso as it warms up a bit.

Also, this is certainly not thick; it's more "wet" and watery. Which isn't to say it's a bad beer, but it's more along the lines of a summery, populist selection than the Blue Point ale. This one might be a bit more palatable for those not accustomed to the drier beers or beers with more malt presence. This is also a fine selection, and some might say it's actually summery...er than the Blue Point, but it appears that the Blue Point appeals more to the geek, and the Ellicottville is brewed for the cool kids. Also, the Ellicottville is unfiltered, just so you know.

And finally, one I've actually been wanting to try for a long time. Dogfish Head has made some great brews (the 60/90 Minute IPAs are the gold standard) and some interesting misses (Burton Baton). I ignored the sticker shock of the Midas Touch Golden Elixir and went for it. Here goes.

The color of the Midas Touch is, predictably, pure gold (and yes, it was like that before I touched it, in case you were wondering). It looks actually like apple juice. It's got a nice color, but looks like it has very little body.

Now, the smell of this Elixir is a whole 'nother story. It's one of the most complex-smelling beers I have ever experienced. If I were a bloodhound, maybe I could deconstruct all the aromas I'm picking up, but as it is, I am detecting mostly a deep red-wine grape aroma, along with some of the usual characteristics of a regular ale. There is a very sweet, sugary honey accent on top as well, and some other berries which I can't quite identify. It's like a symphony of different smells, a menagerie of different fragrances. A tiny bit of perfumey Belgian saison flavor comes about as well.

The taste is almost anticlimactic. There are all sorts of berries and grapes and round, nickel-sized fruits. All traces of malt and hops, while present, fade in the background of the strong panoply of fruits and berries. As it warms up, the rounded flavors become a bit sharper, with some of that heavy alcoholic kick (9%, remember). Also, the sweetness turns to more of a puckery sour toward the bottom of the glass. It evolved right before my eyes -- although I would also claim that it was intelligently designed.

The feel is not what I would call "summery." It's thick and bubbly, like a belgian farmhouse or saison ale. It's thick and strong, and pungent. It leaves a tart film on the tongue in the aftermath. It's a fascinating brew, really. Complex and one-of-a-kind. This doesn't mean I could have more than one every couple years, but it's worth having that one.

Thanks for wasting a few minutes reading our little blog. If you feel like it, take a gander back over the past few months and see if there is anything you like. Or hate. Feel free to stop back and see us again, or leave a message.

History Lesson: William S. Newman Brewing Company

A week away from my thirtieth birthday, I received an early birthday present from my dad - a package that included a card, some beer money, and three books. One of the books? The Simon and Schuster Pocket Guide To Beer, by Michael Jackson. Published in 1991, it's an interesting read - it's a guide to the different types of beer - which is invaluable in and of itself - as well as a tour of the beer world as it was 16 years ago. It's interesting how things have changed.

I was paging through the "United States" section, which was divided into sections. As of this writing, there were a scant 41 brewpubs, microbreweries, and major brewers from Washington, DC to Maine. Wow. How far we have come!

Of more interest, though was the entry under "Newman." It reads, "The first micro-brewery in the East, at Albany, New York, was ahead of its time and paid the price. Albany Amber Beer, a fruity lager/ale hybrid with some hop bitterness, is now produced under contract at F.X. Matt."

Interesting! The first microbrewery in the East was in Albany? I wanted to know more. So, it was off to Google!

Here's what I found out: the William S. Newman Brewing Company, named after master brewer Bill Newman, was founded in 1981. Newman apparently learned his craft in England and brought brewing to, well, downtown Albany, at 84 Chestnut Street - about a block away from Empire State Plaza. Aside from the aforementioned "Albany Amber," he brewed a Pale Ale.

It was the first microbrewery east of Colorado, apparently. Among those working there? Jim Koch, who would later go on to found the little-known Samuel Adams in Boston. Of Newman, Jim notes:

These little microbreweries were starting up and that really got my interest. I actually worked in Bill Newman's brewery in Albany. He was the first guy who started a microbrewery east of Boulder. I came away thinking, OK, the idea is right. I knew that it was possible to make world-class beer here in the United States.

Additionally, Newman Brewing apparently anticipated the trend of serving beer in growlers. In the early 1980s, according to this BeerAdvocate.com article, "Newman Brewing in Albany, NY used to sell soft plastic gallon containers of their beer. Apparently if you brought the empty back to the brewery, they'd replenish it with more beer." Growlers didn't make the scene until 1989.

Newman Brewing was pretty prominent. How so? It was profiled in this July 1983 article in Time Magazine, during which Newman claimed $130,000 in sales in 1982. Not too shabby at all. It was also profiled in Atlantic Monthly in November, 1987. (Grateful thanks to the kindred souls at A Good Beer Blog for preserving that through transcription.)

What happened to the William S. Newman Brewery? As articles like this recent one from the Albany Times-Union note, it went out of business. But when? I'm not sure.

As best as we can can figure, it departed the Albany scene around 1989-1990 or so, well before I moved up here. I'd be interested to know about the demise of the Newman Brewery, as well as what - if anything - Bill Newman is doing these days. (If you know more, use the comments section - thanks!)

At the end of the day, there's an interesting irony at hand - that Albany, which really isn't much of a beer town, actually played a pivotal role in the microbrewery movement. Fascinating stuff.

The Shifty Fifty - An Endurance Test, Part 1

It seems a universal truth for the average beer drinker that we have all been more or less forced into drinking beer when we didn't want to. This tends to be a somewhat common thread throughout college, where beer tends to become not only a vehicle for intoxication, but also a sort of recreational activity in and of itself.

Long and many have been the hours -- for nearly any of us who have graduated to what we like to call "good beer" -- that we have had to trudge through so many delivery methods of bad beer: Power hours, keg stands, beer pong, flip cup, funnels, shotguns, three-man, drinking games, card games, board games, dares, double dares, the physical challenge.

It's a miracle, given the amount of morning-after agony these games have given us, that we ever continued to drink beer. Certainly, after a particularly sadistic number of waterfalls in some round of "Kings," even the heartiest drinkers would understand if we had given up on the fizzy yellow stuff for good. And yet here we all are.

And with this caveman-like philistinism seemingly behind us, we had assumed that the task of trudging through unwanted beers was likely a thing of the past, that the barbarism of forced alcohol intake was a mercifully distant memory. This was, however, before we discovered the Shifty Fifty.

Shifty's is a semi-charming, quasi-townie bar (plus a few bikers here or there) on Burnet Ave at the edges of the Eastwood section of Syracuse, New York. We have been going there on and off for the better part of 7 years, and our experiences have been ... shall we say, inconsistent. (For whatever it's worth, at least 4 of the bloggers who write on this here site spent the last "normal" evening of our lives there, watching a Monday Night Football game on September 10, 2001.)

We recently discovered that the bar was doing a promotion called the "Shifty Fifty," in which patrons are assigned a number and a light blue card with 50 beers listed on it. When you finish all 50 beers, you receive some sort of prize, but more importantly, you receive the self-esteem of having accomplished a task. Nay, a challenge.

Fellow scribe Willie Moe and yours truly signed up for this little experiment several months ago, and decided to chip away at it over several months, hoping to finish the 50 beers within a year's time. It didn't seem like that much of a challenge. Fifty great beers, and we get a t-shirt or something at the end of the mission. It's better than running a marathon or getting your PhD, right?

We didn't foresee a couple of challenges, from an encounter with a strange (seemingly crack-addicted but not homeless) man who asked us to buy him beer several times even though I gave him a $5 bill, to some struggles with the Gimli-esque barkeep. But little did we know that perhaps the greatest struggle we would face would end up being those fifty beers themselves.

Shifty's likes to consider this fledgling promotion a sort of "beer tour around the world," where you can sample 43 bottles and 7 drafts of all different styles of beer. This is a fine idea, however, they may have forgotten to take into consideration that many of the "fine" beers from around the world, while celebrated in their own native countries, run the gamut from mediocre to pure and utter crap.

By this beergeek's calculations, there are actually 31 quote-unquote "drinkable" beers (62%), or beers that we would order without a list forcing us at hole-punch. Peruse the lists below. [Note: This is, of course, my own opinion. What may be drinkable to me, might not be drinkable to others, and vice-versa. If I trash your favorite beer here, please don't take offense. Holes punched to the left of the name of the beers in the pictures below indicate they have been "crossed off" the list.]

The front page is promising. Perhaps Spaten aside, the drafts are all safe, competent picks -- with the exception of the superior Middle Ages ImPaled Ale. Of the bottled beers on the front page, only the Carlsberg and the Dos Equis Amber are beers we would thumb our noses at in regular circumstance. (Notice we knocked those two out pretty early.) So far, so good, we'd say.

The top of the reverse side is where the rubber really meets the road. Though there are a healthy number of fine offerings (the two Ithaca brews, the two Magic Hat selections, the Cooperstown Nine Man/Old Slugger tandem), the majority of these beers were not ones for which we would plop down money in a normal situation. Some, admittedly, we hadn't tried, yet we somehow had a feeling about. (Pacifico? Grolsch? Dos Equis Special?) It was this top half that would test our mettle in this enterprise.

On the second half of the reverse side, it appeared our luck changed for the better, with a couple of old stand-bys (Sam Adams, Saranac, Sierra Nevada) and a couple of our favorites (Stone Smoked Porter, Southern Tier IPA/Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale).

You may notice that we have been efforting to save the best for last. By my calculations, there are actually only three beers remaining that we "have to try." It's much like when the cable company only gives you certain channels you want if you order them with some sort of multi-channel package. The three mandatory beers we have left are Dos Equis Special, Pilsner Urquell, and St. Pauli Girl. After that, we are looking at a flavor feast. At press time we have completed 28 of the beers available in this endeavor, and will provide you with part 2 when we have completed the job. Wish us luck.

Until then, some random notes and glib ratings on the "questionable" (and sometimes suprising) selections we were forced into:

Whitbread Pale Ale: Heavy yeast flavor (sure it isn't "White Bread" ale? oh ho ho!), the yeast overshadows all other flavors. There is some pale malt. It mellows out a bit as it warms. It's fizzy and bubbly. B-

Brooklyn Summer Ale: Smells very wheaty with orange and a hint of lemon. Nice yeast and wheat combo. Light and a bit fizzy. The wheat/orange combo is predominant. Refreshing. Thickens up as it warms. B+

Tsing Tao: Corn/rice with a slightly thick feel. Tiny hint os orange peel. Leaves a thick film. Almost a weak witbier since the wheat is what comes out most. C+

Sierra Nevada Porter: Very dark, great head. Smells sweet. Light coffee flavor, balanced nicely with the sweetness. Really balanced and great. A really superb porter. A-

Peroni: The only smell is rice and corn. Italians should stick to surrendering and stop brewing. Very average. Tiny bit creamy. Not very good. C

Carlsberg: Actually a nice head and some good lace. Looks good, tastes bland. Very not good. C-

San Miguel: Straw yellow. Smells very bland, tiny hint of orange. Interesting. Unusually creamy. Almost has a honey flavor. Cloying sweetness with every sip. Molasses? Kind of a taffy pull. C+

Lowenbrau Original: Bland yellow color; dull and clear. Mild wheaty sweetness in the otherwise dull malt taste. Kinda smooth, relatively speaking. Actually not awful. Subpar?: yes, but not awful. The wheaty taste counteracts the sharp bitterness. C+

Sam Adams Boston Ale: This is actually a seriously refreshing change from the fizzy yellow stuff I've been downing. What strikes me here is how smooth and butterscotchy it actually is. Decent. B-

Old Speckled Hen: Decent golden look with some surprisingly decent head. Great lace. Maybe because of the clear bottle, but it's somewhat skunked. Pale lager-flavored malt. I have to blame the distributor for still transporting this in clear bottles. Surprisingly, there is a buttery smooth feel. C+

Negra Modelo: The color is light and clear brown. Not much smell at all. Tastes like a brown, somewhat watery. Not terrible, but again, subpar. A little roasted malty film. C+

Southern Tier - Phin and Matt's Extraordinary Ale: Fantastic, lovely hop smell. Slight chlorine aroma, but hops cover it. Grapefruity citrus taste, sweet, love it. Sweet ultra pale, lots of hops. B+

ECP Approved - Slick's

Once, many Genny's ago, a man asked me to show him "The Best of Schenectady". While I won't say who that man is, I will say he resembled Brad Pitt, and he liked beer (above is an artist's rendering of said event).

So what was a Schenectadian to do? Where could he bring him so that this traveller could see the best of the Electric City? The answer was easy: Slick's Tavern.

Boasting giant sandwiches, a warm atmosphere, and friendly service, Slick's is the best bar in the electric city. Did I mention the beer? Over 40 bottle varieties, ranging from Otter Creek to Genny Cream. They also have a guest tap that rotates regularly, and second tap that presently features Molson. The latter tap has also featured the likes of Matt's, Rhiengold, and Pabst. A better variety has not been found in the Electric City.

But don't just take ECP's word for it. A recent review of Slick's stated:

"Slick's is a place for men. Real, hard-working men looking for a real meal and real value. And that's what they get."

Sounds like the readers of certain beer blog, no?

So I urge you, come visit the Electric City, and see the Best we have to offer. You can't go wrong...It's ECP approved!

Quick Take: Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale

When one thinks of microbreweries, they might think of Blue Moon. Then again, they might not. It depends on how much you know about beer, I suppose. For the unitiated, Blue Moon has quickly become a brand name for unfiltered wheat beer served at a wide variety of bars with a dainty little slice of orange as a garnish. For the initiated, Blue Moon is the demon spawn of Coors, unleashed to distract attention away from true craft breweries.

I tend to fall somewhere between the two; I can remember trying a Blue Moon somewhere between 1997 or 98 and enjoying it because it was different from my normal, ice-beer swill, but in the last couple of years, I've learned that I can do better with regards to Belgians and wheat beers.

That being said, today, circumstances (a visit to Lionheart in downtown Albany on $2 Tuesday) led to me trying a new variety of Blue Moon: their so-called Honey Moon Summer Ale.

The verdict: disappointing. One of the things I like about Blue Moon is the unfiltered wheat taste; I have a great affinity for unfiltered wheat beers. However, the Honey Moon is a filtered beer. The wheat taste is there, but the generally light coloring (it resembles a light pilsener in color more than anything else) and taste leads me to believe that the presence of wheat in the beer has been somewhat diminished. The website claims it uses malted white wheat, but it doesn't have a great effect in the beer. The honey in question is interesting; it's definitely clover honey as opposed to a more refined honey, but it really doesn't add much to the beer beyond an initial taste.

It's drinkable, that's for sure; but it's not the kind of beer I'd have more than one of. Ultimately, you can do better.

Beer in Mind: UBER SUN

In a new segment for Beerjanglin' I am gonna bring our readers, of which there are dozens, DOZENS, a look at some new or newer brews. Mostly ones I'd like to wet my palate with. Today we're taking a look at the Southern Tier Imperial Summer Wheat, The Uber Sun.

"It is through the movement of the universe that life presents itself in transformation. It is in this spirit that we make UberSun, a tribute to the dynamic energy of summer."

Basically this is an Imperial Hop Sun, and I think we all know there ain't a thing wrong with that! Made with a combo of 2-row pale malt, wheat malt, and some fine centennial hops...

"The alignment of wheat and barley through this hop-infused brew embodies the solar system itself.....This may be a difficult task, but one our brewers revel in! They brew a galaxy of taste into every batch. Uber Sun is the ultimate experience that will challenge you with every sip."

The Hop Sun, while not our favorite Southern Tier offering, is surely a solid brew, and with 8% ABV, the Uber Sun looks to be another winner, in our books. The early reviews of this are very good, scoring an average 4.23 (out of 5) on Beer Advocate. We, for one, cannot wait to get our hands on what promises to be a little slice of "Hop Heaven!"

"Uber Sun is clean and full of flavor, but don't pull an Icarus-this is one big beer! Pour a glass or drink straight from the bottle, it's meant to be consumed wisely with friends between summer solstice and autumnal equinox."- Southern Tier

Bottoms Up!
-Willie 3:16

Craft Beer Continues Upward and Outward Trend

"As sales of craft beers -- mostly local and regional smaller-batch brews -- continue to soar amid an otherwise sluggish U.S. beer market, arrivals of well-known but previously unavailable beers are becoming significant events. And craft brewers and retailers are going to greater lengths to stoke them."

In this article from Advertising Age, we learn that craft beer sales continue their impressive growth, up 18% in dollar sales in supermarkets in 2006, compared to 2.4% for beer overall. Likely as a result of this figure, supermarkets are stocking 20% more craft-beer products than a year ago. This strikes us an important sign, as the vast majority of beer drinkers are purchasing theirs at supermarkets along with the weekly groceries, not in specialty stores. Small steps to be sure, but important ones. Additionally, the launch of Colorado's New Belgium Fat Tire Amber in Minneapolis is compared to the hysteria surrounding the introduction of Apple's iPhone, Shiner Bock has a successful launch in Chicago thanks in part to viral marketing to displaced Texans, and craft beer's surging popularity is likened to that of Coor's in the 70's! It seems like more than a few things are happening in the Midwest. Sure, we've now given you the Cliffs Notes version, but the story is still a solid read (and not too long, ADD boy). Check it out.

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: Stone Ruination IPA

Stone is one of the best breweries going, in this fair nation. Now unfortunately I have not had the means to get to Stone, which, alas, lies on the complete other side of the country, in the sunny California. Now if you live out west, especially in the southern California area, you should really take a trip to the Stone Brewery. Now if you are like myself, and getting there is not quite as feasible, you can, and should, check out their website. Stone has many happenings going on from Beer and Book Night to Mike's Beer Cheese Night (Harpoon's not the only one mixing cheese and beer) to movie night (Blazing Saddles is the next late night movie). Needless to say, it doesn't take long to see that the folks at Stone know what they're doing.

In fact they even manage to brew a few good beers here and there, one of them being the BOTM: Ruination. I happened upon the Ruination, at one of my favorite haunts, Clark's Ale House. The Ruination is a hophead's dream come true. Here's how the fellas at Stone describe this bad boy:

So named for it's "ruinous" effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew, "a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!" Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA.


Couldn't put it better myself. The Ruination pours a beautiful amber with very little head. Although filled with hoppy goodness, the piney, hoppy smell is not more subtle than you may think, as it emanates from your glass. But once you dive it's like a taste bonanza! Whatever the heck that means? You can taste the hop and piney goodness, but there is a good flavor balance going on. The bitterness is poweful, but it doesn't "ruin" this baby from going down smooth. Maybe even smoother than other beers of the same nature. This is probably, without a doubt, the best IPA I've ever had. The guys at Stone sure do know their way around a fermenter. On my scale of swill to liquid awesome this rates a............LIQUID AWESOME!


Bottoms Up!
-Willie 3:16

Harpoon IPA Cheddar Cheese

Pairing craft beer with food has become almost de rigueur. Some of the foremost advocates of beer are predicting that it will be undergo a revolution similar to the one that transformed wine a few decades ago. No less an authority than Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver says "beer is a far better accompaniment to cheese," and compares matching beer with cheese to a "hug" while calling wine and cheese pairings a mere "handshake." If you're scoring at home, craft beer (1.) is in the midst of a revolution, (2.) pairs nicely with food, and (3.) may go better with cheese than wine does. But how about a cheese made with beer?


Two fine Vermont companies, Harpoon Brewery (they purchased the former Catamount Brewery in Windsor in 2000, in addition to their original Boston location) and Cabot Creamery, headquartered in Montpelier, have combined forces to help us answer this important question. We've long thought of Cabot in connection with beer (even before it became cool) because there is a Cabot production facility located right next to the Otter Creek brewery in Middlebury, VT. Cabot must feel pretty strongly about combining beer and cheese as well, as their web site has a page dedicated to comparing the similarities of their cheeses share with craft beers and some basic pairing suggestions. They even offer a Beer and Cheddar brochure! We especially enjoyed this bit:

Much like aging a premium cheese, or producing a fine wine, brewing a quality beer with a distinct personality is a craft unto itself. Today, there is no excuse for enduring bland, processed cheese or drinking mass-produced, watered-down beer. From rich dark stouts to refreshing pale ales, from spicy to fruity, smoky to herbal, somewhere out there is a brew for every taste and every occasion. To enhance the experience, Cabot offers a wide selection of tasty, all-natural cheeses to complement the new breed of American ales and lagers.

Amen!

The IPA cheddar acquitted itself nicely as part of a grilled ham and cheese panini (Black Forest ham, cheese, red onion, and our own blend of Whalen's spicy horseradish sauce combined with yellow mustard, on local Mastoriani Bros. multi-grain bread, which gets perfectly crispy on a panini press). Accompanied by a pint from a fresh growler of spicy Mendocino White Hawk IPA from Olde Saratoga brewery, it made for a better-than-decent quick meal.

A plate of sliced IPA cheddar and pretzel crisps paired quite nicely with a Cascazilla "Monstrously Hoppy" Red from Ithaca Beer Co. It's hard to screw up beer and cheese, and maybe it's just a mental thing, but this cheese does seem to go almost perfectly with a well-hopped beer. Harpoon IPA is not something that we typically keep on hand, but at some point we're going to have to try that pairing as well.

Harpoon IPA Cheddar is a bit spicier than the norm, presumably due to the flavouring process. The cheese is cut into blocks and then soaked in Harpoon IPA for 24 hours. It is then drained, packaged, and stored at 45º F for four weeks. In addition to the spiciness, it is quite creamy, and not overly sharp. We don't necessarily detect it, but Lady Bojangles swears it tastes a lot like beer. Overall, it's an excellent cheese, and fairly unique. It also makes one wonder - is this soaking beer in cheese thing something that we could try at home? It does sound fairly foolproof.

Cabot calls this effort their most innovative to date. You can read the press release here.

Midwestern Summer Beer Update

It's been a tough summer for any NYS beer lover transplanted to the Midwest. Fortunately for me, while I do enjoy a good beer, I've still got a lot of that junior high kid in me whose first full beer was the Piels he stole from his father's personal stash nearly 20-years ago. So it is that, now as I sit here gulping down Old Style's and cursing my shitty window unit A/C, I am once again reminded that as it was in the beginning, as it is now and as it always shall be, in some ways it's still all about the alcohol.

However, no amount of alcohol can really dull the trauma of the first summer Chicago has spent with no Bell's Oberon to refresh us and the even more perplexing vanishment of the Summit Hefeweizen from the Heartland, the best place to sit outdoors and drink an imperial pint on a Sunday Morning anywhere on the planet. Plus as our gas prices remain the highest in the country, it's made the regular beer excursions of past summers a lot harder to make this summers.

So take away Bell's and the Summit at the Heartland and field trips to New Glarus, Delafield or the Bent River, and what are you left with? Surprisingly, there is still a lot going on. The microbrew revolution has finally moved beyond the Hopleaf and has begun catching on all over the city.

And while it's still comical to walk into a bar and look up at the beer list on the chalkboards behind most bars and see things like "Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, California, Goose Island Honkers Ale, Chicago, Fat Tire, Colorado, Goose Island 312, Chicago, Miller Lite, Milwaukee..." It's still nice to notice the Rogue invasion in places like the Edgwater Tavern, the Allagash White at Kuma's Corner and the explosion of bars like Small Bar, a neighborhood place that specializes in good brews and Pub food. If only they could get their prices down under 7.50 a pint for a Spaten Hefe-Weizen.

Yes, the microbrew revolution is finally catching on here, and while it's nice to be a part of it, without Bell's, it's sort of like being introduced to the Grunge revolution in the Summer of 1994 when Candlebox ruled the airwaves and Kurt Cobain had left just recently enough for the whole world to still feel the void, A void I find myself filling more and more these days with the Goose Island 312 or the Summer Brew, the Candlebox brews of the microbrew scene.

So that's pretty much the way the beer scene has played out this summer in Chicago. Not a whole lot of excitement in terms of good beers, but still there is something to be said for the saturation of the market. As for me, I'm pretty much stuck up here in the Northeast Corner of the City where I am content to stick to sucking down my $3.50 Franziskaner Hefe-Weizzen imperial pints at Champions and the Bubble while I fantasize about the El Rojo Diablo at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport, PA, the Bohemian Red at the Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI, and of course a wonderful midsummer nights dream dancing with Oberon in the Beer garden @ bells. All of which are adventures that will be detailed on entries to come.