Beer – Page 2 – Sipology

Not Your Father’s Root Beer

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Small Town Brewery, Wauconda, Illinois, USA.

Brewed in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

Style: Spiced ale

ABV: 5.9%

Local retail price: $12/6 pack

Thanks to Holiday Market for this bottle (free sample from retailer).

Appearance: Dark brown with a fizzy, short lived head.

Nose: Grape bubble gum, root beer.

Palate: Root beer, aniseed, hint of sweet malt.

Finish: Heavy anise, yeast, and yes root beer.

Parting words: This bottle was dropped into my cart by Holiday Market’s wine/beer/liquor manager Brian after I introduced myself to him. As such it’s the first free beer I’ve received from a retailer after outing myself as a booze blogger. It could very well be my last.

Initialllly, NYFRB tasted just like root beer but it became unbalanced as it sat . The anise flavor became so strong that it took on a bitter quality. The sweetness is way over the top, which I probably should have expected from a product marketing itself as a boozy root beer, but malty notes pop up at unexpected moments leading to some unpleasant clashes of flavor. The fizz dies off much too quickly, too.

I set it aside for a few hours and then went back. It was back to tasting exactly like a decent root beer. I then tried it with ice and it also tasted the same. So my recommendation is to serve it well chilled.

My wife, who enjoys root beer more than I do and actual beer less than I do, tried this and liked it quite a bit, but she did notice the overly strong anise in finish. If your tastes run toward hers, you’ll probably enjoy this and you should act fast, since it’s apparently highly allocated. As for me, though, Not Your Father’s Root Beer is only mildly recommended.

Sunspot

June 1, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Green Bush, Sawyer, Michigan, USA

Style: hefeweizen

ABV: 6%

Purchased for $12/6 pack

Appearance: Hazy burnt orange with a frothy head.

Nose: Cut hay, apricot.

Palate: Full bodied but not heavy. More bitter than I expected. A slightly fruity background.

Finish: Very good. Chewy hops and stone fruit with a touch of citrus.

Parting words: I’ve long been a fan of wheat beers so when I saw this one on the shelf I grabbed it immediately. Around these parts, the big dog in summertime wheat beers is Bell’s Oberon, of course. It stands out because of its bitterness, a rare feature in wheats. Although Sunspot has an average number of IBUs (international bittering units) compared to other hefeweizen, its bitterness stood out very strongly to me. This may have been a function of my palate at the time, but I found it surprising. I prefer wheat beers with more fruit than this, but I’m not a style stickler either. The price is high for a beer billed as a refresher, but it is tasty. Sunspot is recommended.

Backwoods Bastard

April 13, 2015April 20, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Style: Bourbon barrel aged Scotch ale.

ABV: 10.2%

Price: $15/4 pack (The Party Source)

Note: Annual release (November)

Thanks to Mike for this bottle!

Appearance: Murky brown with a slowly fading creamy head.

Nose: Whiskey, dark toasted malt, oak, smoke.

Palate: Molasses, licorice, burn toast.

Finish: Rye-recipe bourbon, oak, charcoal.

Parting words: This bottle was a gift from a former neighbor. He’s a big beer nerd (among other things) and he and his fiancée Connie are two of my favorite people. I’m a big fan of bourbon barrel aged beer and this is one of the best I’ve had. It’s very well balanced. I can taste the beer and I can taste what the barrel brings to the party as well. The flavors are perfectly intergrated into a seamless whole. This is a fantastic beer, like just about everything Founders does. Backwoods Bastard is highly recommended.

Moher Stout

March 16, 2015March 16, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Shorts, Bellaire, Michigan, USA

Style: Double Irish-style stout.

ABV: 9.7%

Purchased for $13/6 pack

Appearance: Dark coffee brown with a beige lacy head.

Nose: Slightly toasty, sweet malt.

Palate: Sweet and a little sticky. Oatmeal, molasses, effervescence.

Finish: Some bitterness and a bit of smoke. Dry.

Parting words: Moher Stout is named for a scenic group of cliffs in Ireland that were, according to the bottle, the scene of at least one shipwreck.

Anyway, this differs from their Uncle Steve’s Stout in two ways. First, it’s at “double” strength and second oatmeal is used in the making of it. These two factors lift it above Uncle Steve’s and into highly recommended territory. Unfortunately the high price takes it down a peg from there. Moher Stout is, like I said, recommended.

Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

March 2, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Arcadia Ales, Battle Creek/Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

Purchased: 2012

ABV: 12%

Price: Don’t remember.

Appearance: Dark chocolate brown with a short-lived lacy head.

Nose: Bourbon, sweet malt, strawberry licorice, light molasses.

Palate: Medium bodied and powerful. Coffee, anise, rye recipe bourbon, piloncillo.

Finish: Light with a little bourbon and molasses.

Parting words: Aging beer is something I got really interested in a couple years ago and it’s starting to pay off now. I had an aged Arcadia Imperial Stout at the Arcadia brewpub once and it was good but was all anise and little else. This is much richer but oddly playful. The various flavors pop up seemingly at random on the palate to engage in a tug of war with the others. The result is not well integrated but still very enjoyable. If I have a complaint, it’s that it’s too enjoyable. I almost never get drunk off of beer but after just one of these I felt a pretty big buzz. At 12% ABV this beer is best drunk in the same way as a fortified wine. Find a friend or two and split a bottle after supper. I don’t remember what I paid for it but I think it was around $8 for one bottle which I think is fair for a liquid dessert. Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is recommended. Put it away for a while if you can.

Cup A Joe

January 5, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Short’s, Elk Rapids, Michigan, USA

Style: Coffee Cream Stout (made with FTO coffee from Higher Grounds roasters, Traverse City, Michigan).

ABV: 7%

Purchased for $12/6 pack

Appearance: Dark coffee with a short-lived lacy head.

Nose: Fresh ground coffee, sour yeast, cocoa.

Palate: Coffee with extra cream, and a little bit of funk.

Finish: Bitter and caffeinated like your ex but with a sweetness he or she lacks.

Parting words: This is one of my favorite styles from one of my favorite Michigan breweries, so buying it was an easy decision to make. I was not disappointed. The coffee, stout and cream elements blend together seamlessly and the result is a great after-dinner (or as-dinner) stout. Doesn’t do too bad with food either, at least with (electric) grilled pork chops. It’s pricy but worth it. Cup A Joe is recommended.

Mosaic Promise

December 22, 2014September 14, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Founders, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Style: IPA

ABV: 5.5%

Purchased for $10/6 pack

Notes: Brewed with a single malt (Golden Promise) and a single hop (Mosaic). Limited distrubion (Michigan, Wisconsin and the Chicago and NYC metro areas).

Appearance: Translucent orange with a delicate lacy head.

Nose: Big spicy hops with a bit of funk of indeterminate origin.

Palate: Spicy hops and a huge grapefruit flavor.

Finish: Big dry and bitter. Like having your oral cavity stuffed full of hops.

Parting words: Brewed to support the ArtPrize art competition in Grand Rapids, the beautiful image on the label is from a stained glass piece created by Matt and Elizabeth Kolenda that won the competition in 2013.

This is a beer I’m sure most hop heads will love. It’s crisp and refreshing with hops out the wazoo. It’s a solid but one-dimensional effort. I understand that they were going for something simple but for $10 a six pack, I expect more complexity. The proceeds go to a good cause so maybe that can be factored in when deciding if it’s worth buying. Mosaic Promise is mildly recommended.

Enlighten

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Chapman’s, Angola, Indiana, USA

Style: Kölsch style

ABV: 5.3%

Purchased for $11/4 pint cans

Appearance: Dark gold with a foamy head.

Nose: Sweet cereal, yeast.

Palate: medium bodied. Crisp, grassy and bitter with a subtle underpinning of sweetness.

Finish: Dry and bitter. Lasts quite some time.

Parting words: This is the first beer I’ve had from Chapman’s and it’s pretty good and a good example of the style. It’s a fine table beer and would be quite refreshing served ice cold in the summertime. The biggest problem is the price. For that much, I expect more than this by-the-numbers approach. Chapman’s Enlighten is mildly recommended.

Vanderbush

November 13, 2014November 12, 2014 JoshLeave a comment

Makers: Greenbush, Sawyer, Michigan/Vandermill, Spring Lake, Michigan, USA

Style: Tripel brewed with cider.

ABV: 10.2%

Purchased for $13/4 pack

Appearance: Like cloudy cider with a big foamy head.

Nose: Sweet malt, hot cereal, hot cider.

Palate: Effervescent with hops, apple juice, and sourdough swimming around.

Finish: Bizarre. Big bitter hops clashing with a slightly sweet, apple flavor. Like chewing on cotton or accidently swallowing a bug.

Parting words: I have had lots of great beers from Greenbush and lots of great ciders from Vandermill. I have nothing but love and respect for both producers. That said, this is a terrible product. The nose and palate are decent, but nothing special. The finish is what kills it. It’s just gross. If a cider-beer from two great craft producers tastes this bad, I shudder to think what the corporate versions taste like. Vanderbush is not recommended.

Dark Penance

November 3, 2014 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Founders, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Style: Imperial Black IPA

ABV: 8.9%

Purchased for $12/4 pack

Appearance: Dark chocolate brown with a foamy head.

Nose: Big hops, ruby red grapefruit, dried flowers.

Palate: Hot cocoa, floral hops, bitter citrus peel.

Finish: Big and bitter but split between roasted malt and hops.

Parting words: The best way to describe the flavor of this beer is as a hybrid of a porter and a pale ale. Most black IPAs I’ve had seemed to be little more than a darker colored IPA. A few have had some more depth and toastiness, but none as rich as this one. It has all the bite and spice of a good IPA but with the depth and power of an imperial stout. I’m not often overawed by beers, especially not IPAs, but this one did it to me.

It’s expensive even by craft beer standards but it’s the best beer of this style I’ve ever had and I think it’s very much worth the price. Dark Penance is highly recommended.