De Glazen Toren Jan De Lichte (3/10)

Periodically, I find myself at odds with the reviewers on Beer Advocate over one brew or another.  There are probably a couple of reasons for that. One is that I don't care much for hoppier beer styles like India Pale Ales (IPAs) or American Pale Ales.  I respect that plenty of people enjoy them, but I am not one of those people. Another is that sometimes a brewer tweaks a particular style of beer in a way that he or she finds pleasant, but which simply doesn't work for me.  In the case of KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren's Jan De Lichte witbier, it's probably the second case.

Jan De Lichte pours a cloudy yellow with an enormous, thick white head.  The aroma is a very enticing citrus, and makes me want to start gulping it down.

The flavor is where Jan De Lichte falls down for me, which is puzzling.  It has a mix of elements I usually like:  Curacao oranges, lemon peel, wheat malt, and coriander.  It's also not particularly hoppy.  But it doesn't need to be.  The Curacao oranges and lemon peel bring with them enough bitterness to more than offset the wheat.  It's an acidic bitterness, and for my tastebuds a very unpleasant one.

I appear to be in the minority with this opinion, however.  The reviewers on Beer Advocate and some other sites rate this an exceptional beer.  Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe it's just not a good beer for me.  Either way, I don't plan on ordering it again.

I tried this beer at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road.  I've not seen it available for purchase at local retailers.

ABV: 7%
IBU: unknown
My rating: 3/10

Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing

Earlier this week, I returned from a visit to Fort Collins, Colorado.  It's a beautiful city with a number of craft and micro breweries.  One of these is Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing.  I'd heard of Coopersmith's from other craft beer fanatics as a brewery that offered some good and unusual products.

There are two "sides" to Coopersmith's.  As you face it from the street, the right-hand side of the place is a pub with a pool hall and some outdoor seating.  The left-hand side is a pub with a restaurant. The brewing facilities appear in the left-hand side of the place, along with an aging cellar for the beer.

Like many brew pubs, Coopersmith's beer menu changes as the brewmasters experiment with new recipes or the seasons change.

During my visit, their beer menu included:

• Columbine Kolsch – a classic German ale
• Poudre Pale Ale – an English style ale featuring Crystal Malt, Amber Malt, English yeast, and Golding hops
• Albert Damm Bitter – a traditional English bitter style ale
• Punjabi Pale Ale – an IPA with lots of malt and Cascade hops
• Cask Conditioned Punjabi Pale Ale – a variant of the Punjabi Pale Ale that is fermented, aged, and served in the same cask
• Sigda's Green Chili – a golden ale brewed with Anaheim and Serrano chili peppers
• Scrumpy Cider – a hard apple cider whose blend changes through the season
• Peach Mead – a mead created with peaches, honey, and brewing sugar
• Biere Blanche du Fort – a Belgian style white ale featuring orange peel, coriander, chamomile, unmalted wheat, and oats
• Horsetooth Stout – an oatmeal stout
• Not Brown Ale – this is a brown ale, but one that is lightly hopped so that the caramel and coffee flavors of the malt take center stage – it's even slightly sweet
• Mountain Avenue Wheat – a German style hefeweizen made with 50% wheat malt
• Collaboration Szechuan Porter – This beer was a collaboration between Coopersmith's, Equinox, and Fort Collins breweries.  It's a porter made with chocolate rye malt, raisins, and Szechuan peppercorns
• Motueka Pale Ale – this pale ale features 100% Motueka hops from New Zealand
• Hopfather-Part Two – this is a medium bodied American style red ale that starts sweet and finishes dry with a lingering bitterness

I didn't have the opportunity to try all of these during my visit, but I did have the opportunity to try four of them.  Sigda's Green Chili had an understated flavor that allowed the heat and flavor of the chili peppers to shine.  It was spicy, but not overly so.  The Peach Mead was very nice.  It was sweet, but not syrupy, with the honey and peach flavors being well balanced.  It made a nice "dessert" after trying the other beers.  The Not Brown Ale was my favorite of the brews, delivering on the menu's promise of coffee and malt flavors taking center stage.  Hops bitterness was present, but stayed in the background to balance the malt.  A very nice beer.  The Collaboration Szechuan Porter was very interesting.  The base beer was an excellent porter, but the addition the Szechuan peppercorns added a distinctly Asian note to the beer.  It was like having a nice Chinese dinner with your beer, and a very unique flavor.

If you find yourself in Fort Collins, I recommend dropping by Coopersmith's to see what they have on tap.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  The folks at Beer Advocate agree, rating it 90/100 or exceptional.  After the break below, I've posted some additional photos.

Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing
#5 Old Town Square
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Phone: 970.498.0483
Fax: 970.498.0471

Cain's Bitter (6/10)

Cain's Bitter is an English style bitter beer from Robert Cain and Company in the UK, delivered in an aluminum can as reviewed here.

It pours a deep brown with a light brown head that is thin but persistent.  It leaves behind a thin ring of thick lace as you drink it from the glass.

The flavor features a smoky bitterness, some dark chocolate, malty sweetness, and a creamy note to it.  The hops bitterness serves to balance this out well, resulting in a decent brew overall.  It's nothing I'd get too excited about.

I've not seen this particular beer on any of the local retailers' shelves I've visited. However, I did see another Cain's product on the shelves at The Anderson General Store.

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

Gordon Biersch Marzen (5/10)

Gordon Biersch's Marzen is an Oktoberfest style beer, offered on draft in their restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

It pours a deep, rich brown.  The head is thick, off-white in color, and very creamy.

Despite having a lower IBU rating than their Maibock, it seemed quite a bit more bitter.  The dark roasted malts, in the draft I tried, were quite overwhelmed by the Hallertau hops. It wasn't bad, but wasn't a beer I'm in a hurry to have again.

I haven't seen this in bottled form anywhere.

ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 18
My rating: 5/10

New Beers at Ale Wine & Spirits

Ale Wine & Spirits of Powell has received a number of new beers this month, including:

• Maumee Bay Amarillo Brillo Double IPA..an Ohio IPA, out of Toledo


• Maumee Bay IPA...


• Evil Twin Even More Jesus....an Imperial Stout


• Evil Twil Ryan and the Beaster Bunny


• Stillwater Existent...now in 4 packs


• Stillwater Cellar Door...now in 4 packs


• Flying Dog Citra IPA


• Gregorious Trappist ale..a new trappist ale coming all the way from Austria


• Mckenzie's Lemon Lime Cider....think Lemon Heads

And just a reminder - they do tastings Thursday and Friday from 6-8pm, pricing varies but is usually in the $10-20 range.

Barley's Point of Origin Belgian Style Ale (9/10)

Barley's Brewing Company released a Belgian style ale last year called Point of Origin, which was probably my favorite of their products at the time.

It poured a clear amber color with no head or lacing.

The flavor was exactly what you'd expect for a Belgian ale.  There was a nice balance of hops to malt, and the usual Belgian spice flavors behind it. It is an excellent brew, and I recommend trying it if you get the chance.  (I went back a couple of months later and bought a growler full, which didn't last long!)

This beer isn't available in bottles, to my knowledge, which is unfortunate.  It's only available in their two restaurant locations.  One of these is on High Street across from the Convention Center (and is where this photo was taken).  The other is on Riverside Drive in Grandview.

ABV: 7.6%
IBU: unknown
My rating: 9/10

Barley's J. Scott Francis ESB Cask-Conditioned (8/10)

Barley's Brewing Company of Columbus, Ohio, produces a nice assortment of beers.  There are a few staples, such as their Blood Thirst Wheat, brewed with blood oranges.  But they also bring in a few others occasionally, such as the Scott Francis English Style Bitter Ale.  During my visit in May 2012, I had the opportunity to taste a cask-conditioned draft of this beer.

It's a reddish brown color, and slightly cloudy in the glass.

The aroma is one of hops and malt.

The thin, off-white head lingers for a while and leaves behind a lot of thick lacing.  The overall flavor, as you'd expect for a cask-conditioned beer, is very smooth.  It's slightly bitter, but just enough to balance the malt and its slightly-toasted flavor.  A very nice beer, and one I'll be happy to have again.

This beer, to my knowledge, is not available in bottles.  To get it, you'll need to visit one of the two Barley's restaurants in town.  One of these is Barley's Brewpub on High Street across from the convention center and near the North Market.  The other is on Riverside in Grandview (Barley's Smoke House).  If it's available, you'll be able to buy it by the pint or growler.

ABV: 6.8%
IBU: unknown
My rating: 8/10