Mendocino Bock (9/10)

Mendocino Brewing Company, located in Saratoga Springs, New York, produces this delicious bock beer.

It pours a clear, brownish orange with minimal tan-colored head. There is virtually no lacing left behind.

The aroma hints at a malty nature and a high alcohol content. A hint of yeast can be detected as well. It is a beer that smells good, and I don't say that very often.

The flavor is where Mendocino Bock really earns its points with me. It is as malty as its aroma portends, and has a rock candy sweetness to it that is perfectly balanced with a touch of hops. If there is any imbalance to it, and I don't think there is, it might lean toward malty sweetness more than hops. But for me, that is just fine.

Beer Advocate visitors and I disagree on this one. They call it "average" and rate it 78/100. I think they're selling it short... Or perhaps the extra aging mine had improved the flavor (it's a spring release but I am having it in September).

This is a beer I will definitely add to my list of go-to brews.

I believe this was purchased at Kenny Road Market or Cost Plus World Market.

ABV: 6%
IBU: 28
My rating: 9/10

AleSmith Grand Cru (5/10)

AleSmith Grand Cru, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, is presented in a very classy-looking bottle with a shiny gold foil covering and printing that almost disappears on the bottle. The labeling is so subtle that it is hard to see unless the room is pretty well-lit. Lifting off the gold foil on the bottle, I expected to find a cork. Instead, an unlabeled matte-finish gold bottle cap greeted me. While I prefer a bottle cap for ease of opening, I was surprised (given the rest of the bottle's upscale appearance) to find one here.

When you look at the photo to the left, you may reach the conclusion that I'm not very good at pouring beer from a bottle.  While I'm not a professional bartender, I've got more than a little experience pouring a variety of types and brands of beers into glasses.  I therefore think it's safe to say that AleSmith's Grand Cru produces an incredibly large amount of head.  That head has a consistency similar to whipped cream, is fairly durable, and is tan in color.  It leaves behind a thick, foamy lacing that also takes a while to dissipate (though nearly vanishes completely when it does).  It took a while to get enough of the beer poured to take the other picture.

Once the foam finally settles, the beer becomes a clear, reddish brown color. The flavor begins with a little caramel, which immediately turns to a grapefruit-like sour. The sourness, in turn, gives way to a bitter, dry hoppiness. The bitterness lingers long after you've swallowed it. Although it's a 10% ABV beer, I get very little alcohol warmth from it, perhaps because my tastebuds focus on the bitterness.

The bottom line is that I don't care much for this beer. I don't hate it, but it's not one I expect to buy "exceptional" or "world-class" Grand Cru.  Since I tend to agree with their opinions more often than not, I suspect this is a case of the Grand Cru style being one I don't care for (much like the popular-but-not-with-me IPAs).  In fact, the Beer Advocate reviewers indicate that this is an excellent example of the Grand Cru style, so you should take my 5/10 rating to be less a reflection on the quality of this particular brew and more a reflection that this style doesn't mesh well with my personal taste in beer.
again.  I know that Beer Advocate's experts, and its visitors/reviewers, rate this an

I believe this was acquired locally at Kenny Road Market or The Andersons General Store.

ABV: 10%
IBU: 15 (according to a source other than AleSmith)
My Rating: 5/10

Dogfish Head Red and White (6/10)

Like most Dogfish Head brews, Red and White is something unusual.

Deep amber in color. Poured from the bottle, it has a tall, thick head which dissipates slowly.

The flavor is hard to describe. It starts a bit wine-like, a bit tangy and a bit sweet. Like a beer, it's got a hoppy bitterness to it. It's a bit more bitter than I care for but not unpleasantly so. There is a spiciness to it, like a good Belgian tripel or quadrupel. Unlike some high ABV beers, the alcohol warmth is hidden in the overall flavor.

Beer Advocate rates it 88/100, or good.

I don't recall where I purchased this bottle.  It may have been at the beer shop in the North Market.

ABV: 10%
IBU: 35
My rating: 6/10

The Columbus Microbrew Festival–Sept. 2012

This Saturday I attended the Columbus Microbrew Festival.  The Columbus Microbrew Festival is held at the North Market, near the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  Unlike the Columbus Beerfest that's held in January and August, which features beers from around the country, the Columbus Microbrew Festival features only Ohio brewers.

Compared to the major beer festivals in Columbus, this is much smaller.  It's also handled slightly differently.  Your $20 admission ticket gets you 10 sample tickets, a nice 16-ounce glass with the festival logo, and a $5 coupon for North Market food.  Where the other beer festivals charge a single ticket for a sample-sized beer (and aren't so picky about always collecting tickets), this one charged anywhere from 1 to 4 tickets for a sample, with the rarer and more expensive offerings being more tickets than the rest.  (You could also get a full 16-ounce glass at this festival, for a few tickets more.)  Still, at 50 cents per ticket for beers that would cost you $5-8 a glass at the associated pubs, it's a bargain.

The crowds were pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder the whole time we were there.  You didn't wait too long to get to any of the breweries and their products (except for one time at Barley's, where the popularity of their Blood Thirst Wheat required a wait for a change of keg).  The brewery representatives were knowledgeable about the products, and very friendly.

This year's festival featured:

• Barley's Brewing Company (Columbus, Ohio)


• Barley's Smokehouse and Brewpub (Columbus, Ohio)


• Buckeye Lake Brewery (Buckeye Lake, Ohio)


• Columbus Brewing Company (Columbus, Ohio)


• Elevator Brewing Company (Columbus, Ohio)


• Four String Brewing Company (Columbus, Ohio)


• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (Columbus, Ohio)


• Great Black Swamp Brewing Company (Toledo, Ohio)


• Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, Ohio)


• Hoof Hearted Brewing (Marengo, Ohio)


• Mt. Carmel Brewing Company (Cincinnati, Ohio)


• Neil House Brewery (Columbus, Ohio)


• Thirsty Dog Brewing Company (Akron, Ohio)


• Weasel Boy Brewing Company (Zanesville, Ohio)


• Zauber Brewing Company (Columbus, Ohio)

Each of these breweries brought several products to the festival.  The ones I happened to try, and my impression of them, were:

• Barley's Brewing Company – Beyond Infinity:  This is a Grand Cru style beer (which I personally think is excellent) mixed with an IPA (which I don't really care for).  The resulting beer is still good, just hoppier than I care for.  Their "Infinity" beer (the Grand Cru without the IPA) is much better.  I'd give Infinity a 8/10 but Beyond Infinity gets a 7.


• Buckeye Lake Brewery - American Wheat Ale: This was a pleasant, relatively mild wheat ale.  It was a bit hoppier than I care for, but not so hoppy that I didn't finish the sample.  Rating: 6/10.


• Buckeye Lake Brewery - Oktoberfest Ale:  This was a nice Oktoberfest style Marzen.  It's malty, and a touch hoppy, but nice.  Rating: 6/10.


• Elevator Brewing Company – Oktoberfest 1810:  Like the other Oktoberfest ales in this list, it was a decent one.  Elevator's brews are a bit hoppier than I like in general, though this one was easy enough to drink.  Rating: 6/10.


• Four String Brewing Company – Backstage Blonde Belgian Blonde Ale:  This was one of the stand-out beers I tried at this festival.  It was a really nice blonde ale with the typical Belgian spice flavoring.  I look forward to drinking it again. Rating: 8/10.


• Great Black Swamp Brewing – Black Frog Stout:  This was a fairly standard stout.  It felt a little under-carbonated, but nothing especially bad (or, unfortunately, especially wonderful) about it.  Rating: 6/10.


• Hoof Hearted Brewing – Permafrost Wheat Porter: This was very interesting.  It wasn't as sweet as some porters can be.  It reminded me of a milder stout.  If they hadn't been out of their "coffee chipotle porter" I would have tried that also.  Very good.  I'd give it a 8/10.


• Mt. Carmel Brewing Company – Nut Brown Ale: One of the friends I was with really enjoyed this one.  Based on her recommendation, I got a pint of it to have with dinner.  While I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good to me as Thirsty Dog's Saison or their Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy.  It gets a 6/10.


• Neil House Brewery – Happy Cow Milk Stout:  I probably judged this one unfairly.  In my mind, as I sipped it, I kept thinking about Left Hand's Milk Stout and Nitro Milk Stout.  For me, those two beers were much better than this one.  Still, I did like it, and it gets a 6/10 rating.


• Thirsty Dog Brewing Company – Barktoberfest:  None of the Oktoberfest ales at the festival really overwhelmed me.  They were all good, all very drinkable, just not outstanding in any particular way.  (Ayinger Oktoberfest is my favorite in this category and gets a 8/10.) It gets a 7/10.


• Thirsty Dog Brewing Company – Saison:  One of the stand-out beers at the beer festival for me.  There was a hops presence here, to be sure.  But this was offset nicely by the Belgian spice and the overall mix of flavors in the beer.  A solid 8/10.


• Thirsty Dog Brewing Company – Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy: Hands down, this was my favorite brew of the entire beer festival.  Strong malt flavor, sweet, not hoppy, a vanilla and perhaps even coconut note to it, with a warming alcohol presence.  This is a beer that goes on my "favorites" list.  A definite 10/10 (and the only one at this particular festival).


• Weasel Boy Brewing Company – Zuur Bruin Fret:  This is a very unusual brew.  On alternate sips, I couldn't decide if I really liked it, or didn't care for it.  It's sour, but not in a fruity way.  It's a touch bitter, but not particularly hoppy.  I decline to rate it here because I think I need to sample more of it than a little 5-ounce cup to really decide what I think. (But I think I like it.)

All in in all, I (and those I was with) enjoyed the Columbus Microbrew Festival and look forward to attending next year.  My only complaints, and I consider all of these very minor, were:

• There needed to be better signage to make it clear where the breweries were.  As you can see in the image at the right, only a couple of breweries had signage above eye level.  This made it difficult to find a brewery whose products interested you.  A map might have helped as well.


• This isn't anyone's fault, really, but there were two or three beers I wanted to try that simply ran out before I had the chance to try them.  One was only available on Friday night (and I arrived on Saturday).


• Some additional seating would have made it comfortable to stay longer than I did.

To be perfectly clear, I enjoyed the Columbus Microbrew Festival.  I was able to sample products from a number of breweries whose beers I don't often see, or have never seen, and enjoy the company of friends. The weather was pleasant, the crowds friendly and under control, and the food at the North Market was excellent as usual. It was great to get out and support the local breweries and try their products.  If you enjoy craft beer, I definitely recommend checking out next year's event.

Alltech Kentucky Light Beer (6/10)

Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company's Kentucky Light is a Kolsch style light beer.  It's color is a pale amber.  It produces a thin white head that dissipates fairly quickly and leaves no lacing behind in the glass.

The flavor is pleasant, with a nice balance between malty and hoppy.  It's a definite improvement over mass-produced light beers whose slogans you see plastered all over sports arenas, but it's nothing too special.  Beer Advocate rates it a 78, calling it "average". That's as fair a rating as any.

I tried this beer at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road, but it is available at several local retailers.  I've seen it at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Kenny Road Market, and others.

ABV: 4%
IBU: 14
My rating: 6/10

Ayinger Brau Weisse (9/10)

Ayinger  (a German brewery) produces some of my favorite beers.  Their Celebrator double bock is an excellent example of the style.  Ayinger Brau-Weisse is their Bavarian Hefe-Weizen style beer, and is equally good.

Like other Hefe-Weizens, it pours into the glass as a cloudy, pale amber. It produces a thick, coarse white head that dissipates quickly.  As you drink it, it leaves no lacing in the glass. The flavor is mild, with a hint of citrus, and no significant hops presences.  I found it a refreshing beer.

Beer Advocate rates it a 92 out of 100, or "exceptional".

I sampled this at The Winking Lizard on Bethel Road.

ABV: 5.1%
IBU:
My rating: 9/10