The Week in Beer News–March 30, 2014

I saw the following interesting articles related to beer and other beverages this week:

• Evansville, Indiana, based Tin Man Brewing Co. is creating a beer called Klingon Warnog for fans of beer and Star Trek.  The beer is described as a dunkelweizen style beer with an aroma of mild bananas and cloves and uses rye malt to enhance the flavor.
• A Dutch beer company ran a commercial that envisions what it might be like if Elvis, Curt Cobain, Marilyn Monroe, and Tupac Shakur were all alive and hiding on an island.
• Windmill Pointe Brewing Company in Detroit is using bicycle power to brew beer.
• A Canadian man gave up food for Lent and is surviving on beer instead.
• Monks in Mt. Angel, Oregon, are going to follow in the tradition of many of their kind and brew beer to help support their monastery.
• The Motley Fool web site looks at the 10 Strongest Beer Brands on the market, which includes Blue Moon, Negro Modelo, Stella Artois, Bass Ale, Newcastle Brown Ale, Sam Adams, and Sierra Nevada.
• A Lifehacker article explains that aiming for the middle of the glass will help you pour beer perfectly.

Huyghe Delirium Nocturnum (9/10)

Delirium Nocturnum is brewed by the Huyghe Brewery in Belgium.  It’s a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

It pours a slightly cloudy dark brown cola-looking color with a thick coarse head that’s tan with patches of brown.  The had lasts all of about 5 seconds and then completely vanishes, never to be seen again.  It’s a very carbonated ale, as you can see in the image at the left.  The surface of the beer has little carbonation bubbles bursting on top of it for a few minutes after it’s poured.

The aroma is a combination of dark fruit and red wine.  It’s almost a sickly sweet aroma, giving the impression that this will be an intensely sweet beer.  Smells can be deceiving.
The flavor is more like a dry red wine with a malty Belgian Strong Dark Ale poured into it.  There is sweetness here, to be sure, but it’s much more dry than you’d think based on the aroma.  The flavor is definitely fruity, like most Belgian beers, but the usual Belgian spices are missing here (at least to my palate). 

While the massive carbonation dies down after a bit, you’ll still feel bubbles tickling your throat as you drink it.  The mouth feel is surprisingly light for something this dark, not all that different from a mass-produced cola soft drink.
There is a slight alcohol warmth to it, but much less than  you’d expect for a beer with an 8.5% alcohol content.

It’s a very pleasant beer to drink, especially if you like Belgian style beers and don’t mind the red wine element.

Beer Advocate’s visitors (nearly 2,000 of them at this writing) have given the beer a 90/100 and The Bros give it 94/100, which is considered “outstanding”.  Rate Beer also gives it a 94.  At first, I wanted to give it an 8/10 because there wasn’t anything “special” about it, but the more I drank it the more I came to appreciate its somewhat unique flavor, so I’m bumping it to a 9.
For the record, I didn’t see any pink elephants while drinking it…

Flavor Profile:


Sweet, Malty, Dry, or Bitter:  Slightly sweet
Spice Level:  Very Low
Hops Level:  Very Low
Dominant Flavors:  Red wine, dark fruit, malt
ABV: 8.5%
IBU:  Unknown, but probably in the lower 20’s
My Rating: 9/10

The Week in Beer News–March 22, 2014

Following are some interesting articles I encountered this week on the subject of craft beer:

• Homestead Beer Co. is re-opening its taproom on April 5.  The taproom is located at 811 Irving Wick Drive in Heath, Ohio.
• Wolf’s Ridge brewing is releasing a 3-part series of Belgian beers they’re calling The Wolf Pack. All three beers will be on tap in time for a seven course Belgian beer dinner on April 14.
• A Denver Post article shares “What you need to know about green beer”
• A story about Founders Brewing Co.’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) and how it became a phenomenon.  (FYI, if you want to know what this beer tastes like, I found it very similar to Kentucky Ale’s Bourbon Barrel Stout.)
• An NPR article talks about how craft beer sales surged in 2013.
• The bill proposing an increased alcohol limit on beer is in committee now.
• Dock Street Brewery in Philadelphia is brewing a beer with goat brains in it (yes, you read that correctly)
• Cast your vote in the 2014 Disney Beer Tournament
• CBS Minnesota shares How Light Beer is Made
• Starbucks is branching out, and will start selling alcohol after 4pm in a move to boost sales.
• I do NOT advocate underage drinking, but found this article about what underage drinkers consume to be interesting
• The latest nutrition facts about beer from Boston.com
• A sweetener based on agave from tequila may help with diabetes and obesity
• The Top 10 American Sour Beers according to Paste Magazine
• The owner of Pabst Beer may be selling it off
• Bloomberg Businessweek tells us that Beer Jelly Beans are Wrong and Taste Like Bad Beer
• CNN Money discusses a smartphone app that helps you identify if a supposed craft beer is owned by one of the macro breweries
• An interactive chart to help you find the right beers for you.
• High speed photos of alcohol exploding
• How to easily remove labels from glass bottles

Avery The Reverend (8/10)

Avery Brewing Company of Boulder, Colorado, produces a pretty wide range of beers.  They offer an IPA (of course), White Rascal (a Belgian wheat ale), Ellie's Brown Ale, Out of Bounds Stout, Joe's Pilsner, New World Porter, Karma, and several others.  The Reverend is their Belgian style Quadrupel Ale.

The Reverend features Sterling hops, two-row barley, aromatic malt, and Belgian Candy Sugar.

The Avery web site describes the color as Tawny, but to my eyes it's more a clear mahogany color (a "reddish brown").  The head is about half a finger thick and white, which is unusual for such a dark colored beer.

The aroma is one of caramel and spice.

The flavor starts sweet and malty, with just a touch of hops bitterness and a moderate amount of Belgian-style spice.  The finish is all dark fruit and mild hops bitterness.  I've had both the bottled and draft versions (draft is pictured here).  Both are good, but I think I like the draft slightly better.  The Reverend is a very nice Quad and I like it a lot.  I think I still prefer Ommegang Three Philosophers and Gulden Draak 9000 (two other Quads) to The Reverend, but it's a close comparison.  You wouldn't go wrong drinking any of those.

Beer Advocate's reviewers give The Reverend 86/100 (which is in line with my own rating).  RateBeer gives it a 94 overall.  Sounds like we all enjoyed this one.

ABV:  10.0%
IBU: 24
My Rating: 8/10

Atwater Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale (6/10)

Atwater Brewery is located in Michigan.  Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale is described on their web site as "Holding true to the Northern English tradition, the Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale has at its foundation a nutty profile with a round mouthfeel. Added is a chocolate extract consisting of three blended chocolates of varied depth."

The color is nearly black with a light-brown head that doesn't last too long but leaves behind thick bands of spiky lacing.

The aroma of this beer is absolutely amazing.  Imagine a freshly baked chocolate cake, in a glass.  Or a glass of hot cocoa.  That's this beer's aroma.  Being a chocolate fanatic, it's a very enticing aroma.

If this beer had a chocolate flavor identical to its aroma, I think I'd drink it by the keg.  Perhaps fortunately, that's not the case.  The flavor starts very "un-chocolate" with a splash of hops and burnt grain, and finishes mildly bitter.  I'm sure the chocolate flavor is in there somewhere, but it only just barely peeks out at you in the middle of the swallow.  If I ignore the chocolate aspect and go with it as a stout, it's "OK" but not great.

If you're looking for a more chocolaty beer, try Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout.  Even Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro has a better chocolate flavor to me.  But for chocolate aroma, Atwater's brew definitely wins out.

Beer Advocate gives Atwater Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale an 83, or "good" rating.  Rate Beer gives it a 76 overall.

I believe I picked this beer up at Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell.  I've also seen it at Whole Foods Market in Dublin inside their "Beer Cave".

ABV:  5.5%
IBU: 11
My Rating: 6/10

Minimum Wage and Beer

A recent infographic shows how long a worker in a given country would need to work (in hours) at minimum wage to afford a half-liter mug of beer at a bar or restaurant in their country.

The lowest hours-to-beer ratio is in Puerto Rico (0.2 hours per beer).  The highest is in Georgia (the European nation) where it takes 15.1 hours at minimum wage to buy a beer.  The United States is toward the lower end of the scale at 0.4 hours for a beer.

For the full list of countries and time, see the post on Quartz.

Fat Head's Oompa Loompa (8/10)

Fat Head's Brewery and Saloon, located in Cleveland, produces Oompa Loompa Chocolate Cream Stout.  The name, of course, is a reference to the characters in the Willy Wonka books and movies. It's a stout brewed with dark chocolate and vanilla beans.

It pours a dark opaque brown.  The head is very thick, as you can see in the photo, and is light brown in color.

The aroma has some chocolate to it.

The flavor starts with a typical stout bitterness, followed by sweetness, vanilla, and just a hint of chocolate.  The chocolate element, despite the name, seems quite subtle. Overall, not a bad beer.

If you're looking for a beer with a more chocolatey flavor, I'd recommend Samuel Smith's Chocolate Stout or Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro.

I purchased this bottle at Weiland's Gourmet Market.  I've also seen it at Whole Foods in Dublin, inside their Beer Cave.

Beer Advocate rates Fat Head's Oompa Loompa an 83, or good.  Rate Beer gives it an 89 overall.

ABV:  6.5%
IBU:  Unknown, but I'd estimate in the 22-27 range
My Rating: 8/10

The Real Face Behind the Vodka Bottle

If you’ve ever seen a bottle of Crystal Skull Vodka, you might have wondered whether the bottle represents a real human skull – and what the person behind that skull might have looked like.  You wouldn’t be alone.  A group of forensic scientists took a Crystal Skull bottle and applied forensic reconstruction methods to identify what the face of the person (if the skull had been real) might have looked like.

It’s kind of neat and creepy all at once.  To see the during and after pictures, visit this article on Neatorama.

The Week in Beer News–March 3, 2014

Following are some interesting beer and alcohol-related articles I’ve encountered recently;

• 18 Colorful Cocktails and their recipes


• An electric tongue has been developed that can identify beer brands by taste alone


• How to crush a can using steam and ice


• Which states were estimated to drink the most beer during the Super Bowl


• Three ways to chill your canned beverages the fastest


• The LA Times suggests that the tulip glass is the only beer glass you need


• Fortune Magazine investigates Miller Fortune beer


• Deadspin ranks 24 light beers from best to worst (spoiler: Molson Canadian Light won)


• America’s fastest growing “craft beer” is from Shock Top (a Busch property)


• Female beer makers unite to make beer and celebrate women in the industry


• The 9 beers Americans no longer drink (including Michelob Light, Budweiser Select, Milwaukee’s Best Premium, Miller Genuine Draft, and more)

UK University Builds Fake Pub to Study Drinking

London’s South Bank University built a new pub that is used by psychology students and professors to study topics related to bars and alcohol consumption.

This simulated bar features a number of unusual features, such as:

• Guests will randomly be served alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, depending on study being done in the lab
• The audio system will play music as well as pre-recorded chatter to simulate a busy pub
• There will be video cameras everywhere to record what’s going on inside
• Psychology students will serve as bartenders
• There will be games installed to test risk-taking and eye-hand coordination
• The drinks (real or fake) will be free!

The point of this bar/laboratory is to study why and how people drink, as well as the behaviors they engage in while drinking.

For more information, see this article from The Guardian.