Category: Beer

Special Sneak Preview: Two new beers from Rochester Mills

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A good friend works for a beer distributor that handles this brewery’s products. They wanted to know what he thought of these beers and he was gracious enough to share his sample cans with me. These are my notes slightly amplified.

Lazy Dazersz_beer_004

Style: Amber lager (“German Style”)

ABV: 5% (or somewhere in there)

Notes: Made with Munich malt and German hops. Sessionable, malty and only slightly sweet. Hops balance it out nicely. Fairly dry. Pleasantly bitter finish. Octoberfest-ish. Recommended

Michigan Maple Brown Ale

Style: Brown Ale (with maple flavor? Or maybe not.)

ABV: 6-7% (?)

Notes: The label says this beer was inspired by and intended for people out collecting tree sap for making maple syrup. Alrighty then. Nose is slightly sweet and malty. In the mouth, a bit of maple, but mostly reminded my friend and me of Honey Brown. Slightly toasty. Finish was very mild and a bit underwhelming. Good enough, but not especially interesting. Mild recommendation.

Thanks again to Oscar for sharing!

El Mole Ocho

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Maker: New Holland, Holland, Michigan, USAMole-no-vintage-front-021412-front

Style: Spiced ale

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 8.4%

Appearance: Cloudy chocolate brown

Nose: Chocolate milk, tiny bit of red pepper.

On the palate: Sweet and medium-bodied. Hot chocolate, chipotle, roasted malt.

Finish: Fairly dry, all things considered. Tabasco sauce, chocolate syrup.

Parting words: This was an enjoyable beer. Not anything close to a go-to, but oddly refreshing and enjoyable after supper on a cold winter night. I haven’t had any other beers spiced like this so I can’t speak to how it compares to others like it, but it is recommended. Probably best to drink at no older than 1 year old, though.

Breakfast Stout

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Maker: Founder’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USAbreakfaststout

ABV: 8.3%

Appearance: Dark chocolate brown with a pale head.

Nose: Bitter chocolate, black cherry.

On the palate: Medium-bodied. Rich, roasted grain flavors. Burnt toast, brandy, espresso beans.

Finish: Long and bitter. Like finishing a cup of French Roast.

Parting words: This beer delivers on the promise of the name. It’s like a dark roast coffee with a bowl of breakfast cereal in stout form. It’s rich in flavor and certainly potent at over 8% ABV, but not excessively boozey either. Goes well with a rich, cheesy meal or as just a meal in itself. One of Founder’s (and Michigan’s) best beers. Breakfast Stout is highly recommended.

2012 in Review, Part I: Michigan beer & mead.

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Compared to the ongoing tumult in the whiskey world, the world of Michigan beer and wine was an ocean of calm in 2012. Calm, but not dull. Optimistic, joyful, or hopeful might be the best words to use. The world of craft beer, Michigan continues to be a leader despite increased competition. Bells is taking its place as one of the largest and most successful microbrewers in the country. Founders and New Holland confirmed their positions and justified their positions as leaders in the movement as well.

Many brewers experienced various sorts of growth in 2012. One of this blog’s favorites, Arcadia Ales, announced that they are expanding their operation and moving to the belly of the beast, as it were, Kalamazoo, Michigan, home to Bells. They will keep their pub and restaurant in Battle Creek, but the majority of the brewing operations will be moving into the new facility. They also expanded their canning operation to include their delicious Sky High Rye. Also expanding was Jolly Pumpkin. They are set to open a new pub and restaurant in Royal Oak, Michigan, Sipology’s home town, sometime soon. The place was rumored to be opening last fall but the Jolly Pumpkin never appeared. The bankruptcy of the former owner of the building the brewery has its eye on may be to blame for the delays. Real estate problems aside, the growth in popularity of sour beers has brought a lot of interest to Jolly Pumpkin. Milking It Productions is already in Royal Oak, and has also been slowly expanding their range and their reach. Their Jet black lager and Sno White Ale (recently reviewed) are both excellent and quick sellers judging by the short amount of time they spend on shelves. The “up north” brewers, like Short’s, North Peak and Keweenaw have continued to expand their offerings and distribution as well.

B. Nektar meadery in Ferndale, currently just a mile or so from Sipology HQ, is also moving and expanding. The new facility is a five minute walk from the old one and will include a tap room. It will no doubt be an improvement on their current set up for tastings: three card tables with bottles and a cash register. B. Nektar continued to release interesting meads with mass appeal this year, like Zombie Killer, Evil Genius and Naughty Ginger. Their most intriguing release this year was Sleeping Giant, a wildflower mead aged in former rye whiskey barrels. They were expensive ($24 for a 375 ml bottle) but promise to be one of the coolest things they’ve done. Maybe I’ll review it soon. Maybe I’ll just let it languish in the cellar for a few years.

2012 in wine and cider next.

Sno White Ale

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Maker: MillKing It Productions, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Style: Wheat ale

ABV: 4.8%

Appeance: Cloudy gold.

Nose: Light with dried flowers and a bit of fruit.

On the palate: Full-bodied and fruity. Fried plantains with cracked black pepper, mango, a hint of hoppy bitterness and spice to add balance.

Finish: More bitter than fruity, but works well with the flavors on the palate. Well composed from beginning to end.

Parting words: Like everything MiP does, this a is flavorful but very drinkable. Comes in pint cans like the rest. Sno is a bit pricier, though, $8 (if I recall correctly) for a four pack. Lots of wheat character without being a banana bomb. Sno White is recommended.

Double Down

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Maker: Atwater Block, Detroit, Michigan, USAatwater-block-double-down-imperial-amber-ale

Style: Imperial Amber Ale

ABV: 7.5%

Appearance: Cloudy burnt orange with an insanely foamy head that took the better part of a half hour to go down enough to be drinkable. Don’t believe me? The picture below is the beer fifteen minutes after being poured into a frosty mug. Still hadn’t poured the whole bottle in. Open and pour over a sink

IMG_20121104_185828Nose: Malty and fruity. Strawberry licorice candy, mango, papaya.

On the palate: Medium bodied. Nice interchange of fruity, malty and bitter.

Finish: Like most of my ex-girlfriends: pleasantly thick and sweet, with a hint of bitterness.

Parting words: Aside from the weird head behavior, this is a very nice beer. In spite of its imperialness it is food friendly and easy to drink. It comes in four packs for $9-$10, but considering the high alcohol content, it’s not that big of a deal. This one might even respond well to bottle aging of a few months. A nice pour. Double Down Imperial Amber Ale is recommended.

Ichabod Pumpkin Ale

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Maker: New Holland, Holland, Michigan, USA

Style: Ale with Pumpkin and spices

ABV: 5.2%

Appearance: Dark Amber with a frothy head

Nose: A bit of spice, pumpkin pie.

On the palate: medium bodied. Pumpkin, allspice, nutmeg, bit of ginger.

Finish: Fizzy, slightly bitter with more spice. Ginger, specifically.

Parting words: Ichabod was one of the first pumpkin beers on the market, and still one of the very best. It’s not overly sweet or overly spiced. One can actually taste pumpkin not just pumpkin pie spice or sweetness. It’s very food friendly, especially when compared to the competition and does not have too much alcohol. Ichabod comes highly recommended.

Pontius Road Pilsner

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

ABV: 4.5%

Appearance: Pale gold with a foamy head.

Nose: Standard pilsner. Creamy malt, sweetness, coriander, hops.

On the palate: Light bodied, aggressive hops and bitterness.

Finish: Bitter. slightly sweet, then big hop notes.

Parting words:  Pontius Road Pilsner is drinkable, but out of balance. The best pilsners are crisp and clean but also with enough bitterness and spice to make it interesting. This one is fairly crisp, but too heavily hopped for my taste. Not bad, but could be better. Mildly recommended.

Founder’s Porter

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Maker: Founder’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

ABV: 6.5%

Appearance: Dark chocolate brown, nearly black, with a frothy brown head, like espresso crema.

Nose: Rich and slightly boozy. Bitter dark chocolate, coffee liqueur (you know the one), espresso.

On the palate: Full-bodied. Slightly bitter, but not overly bitter. Dry. French roast coffee, dark toast.

Finish: Long and bitter. Like gargling with coffee. Long-lingering.

Parting words: Founder’s is a textbook porter. It’s all roasted coffee deliciousness. Nothing not to like. That said, it could use a little more sweetness for balance. Good but one-dimensional.  Still, Founder’s Porter is recommended.

The Wanderer Session India Pale Ale

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Maker: North Peak, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 4.2%

Appearance: Golden brown with a foamy head. An odd cloud hangs over the top half of the beer as I drink it.

Nose: Floral but slightly fruity. Wildflowers, fresh pineapple, peppered mango.

On the palate: Medium bodied and complex. Hops are the biggest flavor component here, naturally, but there are fruit and malt flavors here too. Dried wildflowers, orange peel, breadfruit.

Finish: Malty and hoppy. Lingers for a pretty long time.

Parting words: Against my better judgment, I bought yet another North Peak beer to review, based on the recommendation of another blogger. I’m glad I did. This is a fine, well-made IPA with more than just bitterness going on. The lightly fruity undertones of the Wanderer take it beyond the realms of the workaday session IPAs. I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. Maybe there is hope for North Peak yet. The Wanderer is recommended.