Hats off to Homebrewers Event

On Wednesday, August 27, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery collaborated with local brewery Seventh Son to host an event called “Hats Off to Homebrewers” which featured a Q&A session with the brewers, free recipes for clones of Deschutes beers, raffles, commemorative glassware, and the presence of “Woody” the Deschutes Brewery keg-shaped tap wagon.  Local food truck Challah was on hand to supply eats.

This was my first visit to Seventh Son.  They’re located near Fourth Avenue and Fourth Street, in a building that used to be a garage.  Half of the location is dedicated to brewing their products, and half to a tap room and bar.  As with this event, food is normally provided by food trucks.

The event was also my introduction to Deschutes beer.  I’d had their Black Butte porter and found it good, but hadn’t had any of their other beers.  (The reason, quite frankly, is that most of them rate 70-80 IBUs.  That’s well outside my preference range but idea for IPA fans.)  Their menu at this event included Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA, Twilight Summer Ale, Foray IPA, Pinedrops IPA, and Doppel Dinkel Bock – a collaboration beer with German brewery Distelhauser.

From Seventh Son’s product line, I had a Stone Fort Oat Brown Ale which was very nice.  I found it pleasant and easy to drink.  It had a nice mix of coffee, chocolate and malt flavors without too much hops presence.

My wife and I shared a sample of Deschutes’ Doppel Dinkel Bock (pictured at left), which is quite simply an excellent beer.  This 10.5% ABV (20 IBU) beer is sweet and malty, with clove, bubblegum, and banana flavors with a touch of spice.  It’s reminiscent of a good Belgian brew.  I’d rank it as one of the best beers I’ve had in a long time and look forward to seeing it in stores or in Deschutes’ regular product line.  I look forward to seeing more beer from Distelhauser.

Deschutes handed out Cascade hops samples and “clone” recipes for their beers.  The recipes consisted of the mix of grain and hops used in their products, without information about starting and final gravities, leaving those as a “challenge” for the home brewer to figure out. 


All in all, a nice event and a great way for Seventh Son’s and Deschutes’ fans to learn about the other brewery’s beers.

Barley’s Infinity Grand Cru

Those of you who know me personally or have been reading this blog for a while know that I’m a huge fan of Belgian style beers and have been for some time.

Unfortunately, the prevailing trend in craft beer circles is the India Pale Ale, or IPA.  While I respect the reasons people like them, I quite simply don’t.

The brewmaster at Barley’s has created some great beers.  For me, the top-of-the-line is the beer pictured at left.  This is Barley’s Infinity Grand Cru. 

Barley’s describes Infinity Grand Cru as “a wonderfully complex Belgian dark strong ale” and they’re right on target.  It’s beautiful to look at in the glass, a kind of mahogany color with thin off-white head.  The aroma gives off the usual Belgian fruit and spice.  The flavor is sweet, malty, and mixes in plums, cherries, and a touch of pepper.  It’s really a great beer and I think it’s quite possibly my favorite beer brewed in the Columbus area.  (But since I haven’t had them all yet, we’ll just say it’s “one of my top favorites” to date.)

I mention this because, as of the moment I’m writing this, Barley’s Ale House on North High Street near the North Market has this excellent beer on tap.  If you like Belgian style ales and haven’t tried Infinity Grand Cru, get down there ASAP and try this one.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
One of the Barley’s employees told me last year that I’d probably never see this beer again because it didn’t sell that well.  I’m convinced that’s only because enough of the right craft beer fans haven’t tried it.  Otherwise I think it’d have to be a staple on their menu.  If you try it and like it, make sure you let the management at Barley’s know they have a winner here.

The Brass Tap Comes to Polaris in November

The Brass Tap is a chain of craft beer bars (with restaurants) that has locations in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Cincinnati.  This November, they expect to open their new location at Polaris Fashion Place near the Barnes & Noble location.  The Polaris location will feature 80 craft beer taps, thirty of which will be reserved for local breweries.  They’ll also have 160 different bottled beers available.  Draft beers will also be available for purchase by the growler.

The Brass Tap, unlike other locations such as The Daily Growler, will also feature its own restaurant.  The signature dish of The Brass Tap’s menu is a pretzel-crust pizza.
Some locations feature live music as well.  No word yet as to whether this will be true at the Polaris location.

Like World of Beer and other establishments, The Brass Tap also has a loyalty program which rewards patrons for drinking beer at their locations.  Drinking over 300 different beers at their locations (after paying the $15 sign-up fee) will earn you a $200 reward card and a “Beer Guru” T-shirt.  (There are prizes available at 50, 100, and 200 beer levels too.)

New Holland Envious 2011 (8/10)

Although New Holland has reportedly discontinued the Envious line of beers, you can occasionally still find them on Central Ohio retailer shelves.  This particular bottle was found at Ale Wine & Spirits in Powell.

Envious was brewed with a malt base, combined with Michigan pear juice, chardonnay yeast, and raspberries.  It’s then aged in oak barrels.

Envious pours an almost black color with a thin beige head that doesn't last long.

Its aroma is very fruity, hinting at plums, pears, and dark fruits.
The flavor of Envious matches up to the aroma, starting with what almost tastes like dark grape juice instead of pears and raspberries. It’s a thick and somewhat syrupy beer.  The raspberries come through at the finish, but remain in the background through most of the drink.  Because of the intensity of the flavor and the thickness, this isn’t a beer you’re going to drink quickly.  You’ll be sipping it for most of the glass.

Beer Advocate gave Envious a 75 or “okay” rating.  Rate Beer gave it a 66 overall.  I actually enjoyed it a little more than they did, rating it an 8 out of 10.  It’s not a beer I’d want to drink regularly, but I’d be happy to have a few in my refrigerator to sip occasionally after dinner or in situations where I wanted something more “dessert-like”.

As mentioned earlier, I found a bottle of this at Ale Wine & Spirits in Powell.  Since it’s been discontinued, you’ll have to shop a bit to locate a bottle around town.  I don’t recall having seen another at any of the shops I’ve visited in the last few months.


Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Sweet
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: grape, raspberry, malt
ABV:  7.5%
IBU:  12
My Rating: 8/10

Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre (9/10)

Raison D’Etre is a Belgian-style brown ale from Delaware’s Dogfish Head brewery.  They designed it to be paired with wood-grilled steaks in their restaurant.

It pours a clear mahogany color with a soda-like carbonation and finger-thick off-white head.

The aroma is that of dark fruit, raisins, and dark malt.  It’s a sweet and inviting aroma that makes you want to start drinking the beer immediately.

The flavor is rich, malty, and sweet – with a warming alcohol note.  I also get a hint of bubblegum, and fruit notes like dried apricots alongside the raisins.  It’s a very pleasant and smooth beer to drink, and one of my favorites in Dogfish Head’s product line.

Rate Beer gives Raison D’Etre a 96 out of 100.  Beer Advocate rates it a 73 (The Bros) or an 83 (with over 3700 ratings from readers).  I’m more in agreement with Rate Beer on this one, giving it a 9 out of 10.

Because this is a limited-availability beer, you won’t find it consistently on any store shelves in Columbus.  I picked up the six-pack containing this bottle at Ale Wine and Spirits in Powell, but the Dogfish Head web site  claims that you may also find it at Giant Eagle, Cost Plus World Market at Tuttle, Whole Foods on Lane Avenue or in Dublin, some Kroger locations, Grandview Carryout, Pace Hi, Savor Growl, Weiland’s Gourmet Market, Savor Market, The Hills Market, and a few other places around town.  The price is around $10.99 for a six-pack.

If you like sweeter beers and those which can be sipped as an after-dinner drink, you’ll want to try this one.



Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Sweet
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: none
ABV:  8.0%
IBU:  25
My Rating: 9/10

Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout (8/10)

Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, Michigan (that state up north) brings us this beer.  I’ve not encountered a cream stout in my travels (or at least nothing labeled as such), much less a Double Cream Stout like this.  The Bell’s web site says that it “derives its name from its smooth, creamy texture, not the ingredients” and that it’s “completely dairy-free”.  They reportedly used ten different specialty malts to get the intensely malty flavor.

It pours a nearly black color with finger-thick light brown head that lasts a minute or two before incorporating into the beer.  It leaves a spotty lacing on the glass as you drink it.

The aroma is primarily one of dark roast coffee with some sweet malt behind it.
The flavor starts with a very well-balanced mix of malt and hops.  The initial malty burst backs off a bit and the creamy element of the beer rises up.  The cream element is considerable, giving the mouth feel of a slightly melted milkshake.  I get a hint of date or fig in there along with all the malt.  Finish is malty and bitter.  The bitterness lingers a bit after you stop drinking.  It’s not an unpleasant level or quality of bitterness, but it’s a noticeable one.  It’s more dark-roasted grain and mild hops than overly-done hops.

Beer Advocate gives this beer  an 83-89 out of 100.  RateBeer is much kinder, giving it a 99 out of 100.  I’m rating it a 8 out of 10, not because of any flaws in it, but because I’m not as big a fan of stouts as I am of many other beer styles.

I found this particular bottle at Cost Plus World Market, priced at $2.19.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Low to Medium
Dominant Flavors: Malt, coffee, hops
ABV:  6.1%
IBU:  Unknown
My Rating: 7/10

New Belgium Paardebloem (7/10)

Paardebloem is a collaboration beer from New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Red Rock Brewery of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Red Rock is known for its “Elephino” Double IPA, which features six different hop varieties and is “double dry hopped” just to amp it up a bit more.  (Not a beer I’m likely to try any time soon…)

New Belgium is known for its Fat Tire amber ale, Ranger IPA, Abbey dubbel ale, and others.  This beer is part of their “Lips of Faith” series of beers, which are limited edition and collaboration beers.

Paardebloem is a Belgian style beer that uses dandelion greens to provide bitterness.  It’s “made with Pilsner malt, grains of paradise, peaches, fresh picked dandelion greens and is blended with some wood-aged beer.”  It won a Gold Medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival in the Experimental Beer category.
It pours a cloudy amber color with thin white head that dissipates within seconds of pouring.

The aroma is yeasty, with some peach and floral notes.

The flavor is complex, mixing malt, peach, a grassy bitterness from the dandelion greens, and a mild spice note from the grains of paradise.  The end result is a beer that’s interesting, and not unpleasant, but definitely not a favorite of mine.

Rate Beer gives Paardebloem an 84 overall.  Beer Advocate gives it an 81 or “good” rating.  I don’t care for it quite as much as they do.  I’m giving it a 7 out of 10.

You can usually find Paardebloem anywhere the New Belgium beers are sold in Ohio.  I purchased this bottle at Kenny Road Market, but I’ve seen it at Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale, Northwest Wine and Spirits, and other local retailers.  The price is approximately $8.99 per bottle.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Low or None
Dominant Flavors: Grassy bitterness, peach, mild spice
ABV:  9.2%
IBU:  Unknown
My Rating: 7/10

5th Annual Columbus Summer Beerfest–August 15-16, 2014

The Columbus Summer Beerfest is one of my favorite events of the year.  It features some great local food trucks, some good local bands performing live, and a huge selection of craft beers available for sampling (they expect over 250 beers).

It’s an outdoor, open-air venue, so it’s a lot less loud than the Winter Beerfest can be.  And it’s a larger venue, so it doesn’t tend to feel as crowded.

Did I mention the beer?  Lots of it, and some really good stuff – whether you’re into IPAs, Belgian Ales, Stouts, Porters, Wheat Beers, or anything else.   

St. Bernardus Pater 6 (9/10)

To say that I’m a fan of St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a bit like saying the typical Central Ohio native “appreciates” the Ohio State Buckeyes.  To my palate, St. Bernardus Abt 12 is one of the finest Belgian beers made.  Given that, I absolutely had to pick up a bottle of St. Bernardus Pater 6 when I saw it on the shelves at a local retailer (specifically, The Andersons General Store near Sawmill and 161).

Pater 6 pours a dark, slightly mahogany brown with two-finger thick beige head that lasts (to a lesser level) as you drink it.  It leaves behind thick sheet-like lacing that incorporates back into the beer and doesn’t leave much on the glass.

Pater 6 is a Belgian Dubbel style ale.  According to the Beer Judge Certification style guidelines, a Belgian Dubbel should have a complex aroma, which should include rich malty notes, caramel and/or toast, fruity esters (usually raisins/plums/cherries), and spicy phenols reminiscent of clove, spice, pepper, rose, and or perfume.  Hops aroma is usually absent.

Given that guideline, Pater 6 definitely delivers on the rich malt.  That comes through loud and clear.  I also get a strong plum note, and a moderate amount of yeast.  Alcohol is present in the aroma but not too strong.  I get a little of the noble hops, but only barely.

The BJCP guidelines tell us a Dubbel’s flavor should be similar to its aroma.  It should be rich, complex, malty and sweet on the palate but finishing dry.  You can expect raisin flavors, dried fruit flavors, and perhaps clove-like spiciness.  The flavor should balance toward the malt.

Again, Pater 6 delivers.  The initial flavor note is a rich, malty sweetness.  Right behind that comes some dark fruit and dried plum.  The finish is malty but dry, with some noble hops bitterness.  In short, it’s exactly what you’d expect for a Dubbel.  I prefer mine a touch sweeter at the finish, but there’s nothing at all wrong with this as it is.

It’s very smooth and has an almost milky level of carbonation.  Lots of body.

Pater 6 is an outstanding example of the Belgian Dubbel style.  Beer Advocate agrees with me on this, rating it 92/100.  RateBeer is also in alignment, giving it a 96/100 overall.  My rating is a very solid 9.  Minus the yeasty elements in the aroma and with a slightly sweeter finish, it’d be a 10.  (Given that it’s bottle-fermented, the yeastiness is to be expected to a point.)

Bear in mind that retailer stock varies with demand and availability, but I’ve seen St. Bernadus products (if not this particular one) at Ale Wine and Spirits in Powell,

An article I read recently claimed that Columbus beer fans are increasingly checking out Belgian beers like Pater 6.  I have been a fan of Belgian style beers for a while now.  I’m even trying to brew them myself.  Something that always perplexed me was that two bottles of the exact same Belgian beer would sometimes taste wildly different to me.  One bottle would taste sweet, fruity, spicy, complex, and amazing.  The next bottle of that beer might seem dry, maybe bitter, and lack that complexity.  I scratched my head about this for a while until I happened to look at a label one night and notice the little graphic circled in the image to the right…

What’s that?  It’s the brewery’s recommendation for the temperature at which you should serve and drink this particular beer.  In this case, St. Bernardus is telling me that I should drink this beer when its temperature is between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius, or 42.8 degrees and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  (They’re also suggesting the style of glassware you should use to get the most from the beer’s aroma and flavor.)

To many Americans, this sounds a bit “warm” for a beer.  For an American macro-brew, and many other styles of beer, it is.  But Belgian beers (and many other styles) are designed to be enjoyed at higher temperatures than we’re used to here.  The temperature makes a difference in the flavor.  I’ve had Belgian beers that seemed bland and unpleasant at 34-40 degrees, but left out on the counter a bit until they hit the right temperature, became sweet, fruity, spicy, and delicious.

I’m not knocking local establishments, but I know that serving temperatures of beer can vary.  Perhaps the beer you ordered came out of a 35-degree cooler and was brought to your table within seconds.  Maybe it sat on the counter for five minutes before your busy server got to it, and it arrived at your table in the “sweet spot” range, or even too warm.  It can be hard to know, especially if you order a draft and don’t have a thermometer with you (and if you do have one  with you, you’re more hard-core than I am).  But what I’m getting at is this… If you’ve tried a particular Belgian beer and didn’t like it, don’t give up on it.  You might have gotten a bottle (or draft) that was too cold, or too warm, and you didn’t get to experience the beer the way the brewer intended.  I’ve tried some Belgian beers in bars or restaurants and didn’t care for them, only to re-try the same beer at home (where I can control the temperatures a bit more) and found them to be quite different.  You may experience the same thing.

Here endeth the lesson.



Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty, starting sweet and finishing dry
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Low
Dominant Flavors: Sweet malt, dark fruit, mild spice
ABV:  6.7%
IBU:  20
My Rating: 9/10

Sprecher Abbey Triple (9/10)

The Sprecher brewery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, produces a wide range of beers.  Abbey Triple is the brewery’s version of the Belgian Tripel style.

According to their web site, this is “A Belgian Trappist triple yeast culture balanced with the finest imported pale barley, Belgian aromatic malt and oats.”
It pours a very slightly hazy gold color with a thin white head that dissipates to nothing fairly quickly (the photo at left was taken within 3-5 seconds of pouring).

The aroma is sweet, malty, and fruity.  It’s exactly what you’d expect to get from a good Belgian tripel.

The flavor backs up that aroma perfectly.  It starts sweet and malty, with a touch of cloves and apricot.  It finishes very clean and perfectly balanced.   While not as complex as a true Belgian tripel, I find it very easy to drink and certainly much better than some tripels I’ve had in the past. 

The Beer Advocate folks rated it 81 out of 100 or “good”.  The Rate Beer reviewers give it a 58 overall.  I like it a bit more than they did, especially considering its relatively low price.  I’m giving it a 9 out of 10, at least until I’ve tried it again.

This particular bottle was purchased at The Andersons General Store in Dublin.  I’ve not seen this brand at other local retailers since I first encountered it.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Sweet
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: clove, apricot
ABV:  8.41%
IBU:  13
My Rating: 9/10

4th Annual Food Truck (and Beer) Festival

Next weekend (August 15-16) you’ve got two great events for beer lovers.

The Columbus Summer Beer Fest at the LC Pavilion will be taking place.  We’ll talk more about that in the near future.

In addition to the Summer Beer Fest, you might also want to catch the 4th Annual Columbus Food Truck Festival.

Among the food trucks expected at this event are:  Aromaku, Schmidt’s Sausage Truck, Christian Bros. Meat Company, Red Plate Blue Plate Truck, Mixing Bowl Asian Grill, Lily’s Mini Delights, OH! Burger, Dave’s Caribbean Food and Ice Cream, Junior’s Tacos, Boston Bert’s Seafood, Gigi’s Cupcakes, Leslie’s Creperie, and lots more.
The event will start at noon each day and end at 10pm, at the Columbus Commons.  See the web site (linked above) for more info.

Zauber Block Party–Saturday August 9

This Saturday (August 9, 2014) from 3-8pm, the good folks at Zauber Brewing Co. on Fifth Avenue will be hosting another of their weekend beer and food truck events.  If it’s anything like the last few, you can expect a few good food trucks and a live band.  You can also count on good beer from Zauber and other Columbus area breweries.  Admission is free (but food/beer cost).

Gulden Draak vs. Gulden Fraug

Hoppin’ Frog released a beer this year called Gulden Fraug.  From the moment I saw it, I got the impression that Hoppin’ Frog was inviting comparison to the Belgian beer with the similar name… Brouwerij van Steenberge’s Gulden Draak.  So I decided to do it.

Appearance

Gulden Draak pours a dark brown with finger-and-a-half thick beige head that lasts a very long time.  Gulden Fraug pours a coppery amber color with a thin head that vanishes almost immediately.  Gulden Draak leaves behind thick lacing.  Gulden Fraug leaves none.

Aroma

Gulden Fraug has a sweet, caramel, malty aroma with some dark fruit.  Gulden Draak has a more intense aroma of dark fruit with spice and a slight wine-like note.  Gulden Fraug’s aroma is sweeter than Gulden Draak's.

Flavor

Gulden Fraug starts carmel malty and sweet.  Some clove-like notes and mild hops kick in after that.  Finish is malty and very mildly bitter.  Despite the alcohol content, it’s warming but not burning.  Gulden Draak starts with sweet dark malt, dark fruit, and spice.  This is followed by a perfectly balanced combination of hops, malt, dark fruit, and spice.  The finish is mildly bitter, a bit more bitter than Gulden Fraug.

Conclusion

These are both great beers.  They’re both Belgian in style (and Gulden Draak is Belgian in origin as well).  Gulden Fraug is smoother, less-expensive, and made here in Ohio.  At approximately $8 a bottle, it’s about half the price of Gulden Draak.  On the other hand, Gulden Draak’s flavor and aroma are more complex and nuanced.  In my mind, it’s definitely better than Gulden Fraug – but not by a lot.  When you compare the price of a bomber of Gulden Draak (around $13.99 these days) and a bottle of Gulden Fraug ($7.99), it’s tough to say there’s a clear “winner” here.  So we’re going to have two winners in this face-off.

Gulden Fraug is a great beer.  It’s smooth, delicious, and easy to drink.  It’s definitely the winner on value and taste.

Gulden Draak is also a great beer.  Its flavors are exactly what I want and expect in a Belgian beer.  You’d be hard-pressed to find something better.  But its price makes it a beer you’re probably not going to drink every day.

If you’re listening, Hoppin’ Frog, please keep making Gulden Fraug.  It’s a delicious beer and I look forward to adding it to my regular rotation.

Mikkeller Monk’s Brew–Raspberry (7/10)

This beer is brewed by Mikkeller of Denmark.  It’s a Belgian style quadruple that’s aged in a red wine barrel and brewed with raspberries.  Despite its rather high price tag ($12.99 for the smallish bottle pictured here), I decided to give this beer a try.

It pours a nearly black color with about three fingers’ worth of a tan head that lasts a while.

The aroma combines raspberries, red wine, and oak elements.

The red wine from the barrels used to age the beer provide the dominant flavor element.  It tastes something like a very carbonated red wine with some raspberry juice splashed into it.  Unlike the traditional Belgian Quadruple, which tends to be a sweet and fruity beer, this is a much more dry beer and is slightly bitter instead of sweet.  The finish combines some raspberry sourness and wine tannins.  On balance, it’s not bad… it’s just not what I want from a Quad.

Beer Advocate rates it an 88 out of 100 or “very good”.  Rate Beer gives it a 96 overall.  I don’t think I like it quite as well as they do.  I’m giving it a 7 out of 10.  Perhaps at a lower price point or with a sweeter finish I’d enjoy it more.

I purchased this bottle at Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell, but I have also seen it at Palmer's Beverage Center on Indianola.





Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Dry
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: dry red wine, raspberry
ABV:  10%
IBU:  Unknown, but probably < 20
My Rating: 7/10