Southern Tier Live Pale Ale (4/10)

Southern Tier makes Pumking, which is one of my favorite pumpkin beers.  The rest of their product line, though tends to be hoppy enough to lose my interest.  Take this beer as an example.  Live is brewed with four malts and four kinds of hops, and is a bottle-conditioned (live yeast, hence the name) Pale Ale.

Pale Ales have never been a favorite of mine.  The style, especially when made here in the US, tends to be a vehicle for showcasing hops bitterness and downplaying the other elements of a beer's flavor.  I prefer beer with a more complex and balanced flavor profile, where malt, hops, and yeast esters all have a role to play in what I'm tasting.  With Pale Ales, you get a little malt and a lot of hops, and that's about it.

So, the question you're probably asking is why I would bother to review a Pale Ale knowing that I hate the style.  As with some of the others, the answer is "family".  A relative brought me a sampling of Southern Tier products after a visit to New York, and suggested that they might change my mind about the style.
Live has a very hoppy aroma.  The hops aroma is of that "grapefruit" variety, which I generally find more pleasant than the resin or "pine tree" aroma.

It pours a hazy slightly orange color with thick white head that dissipates relatively slowly.  It leaves behind a short sheet of lacing that slowly reincorporates into the beer.

The flavor starts malt-forward and nearly balanced, but the hops bitterness quickly swells up and takes over, as we'd expect for an American Pale Ale.  The bitterness continues long after you finish drinking it.  As an example of a Pale Ale, Live is as good as any.  It has the elements a Pale Ale fan is looking for, and is not so bitter that it couldn't be sessionable.

That being said, it's a Pale Ale and I just don't like the style, so it gets a 4 out of 10 for me.  Beer Advocate rates it much higher, 83-88 or good to very good.  Rate Beer likes it even better, giving it a 96 overall.  Probably, as an example of the style, it warrants those 8/10 or 9/10 ratings.  For those of us who dislike the style

Southern Tier's web site says you can find Live at the Hayden Run Giant Eagle, Cemetery Road Kroger, Britton Parkway Giant Eagle, Hilliard Rome Road Giant Eagle, Perimeter Loop Giant Eagle, Whole Foods in Dublin, The Andersons, 3C Food Mart on Sawmill, Kroger on Henderson, Kenny Road Market, Northwest Wine and Spirits, and a number of other retailers in the area.

Zaftig Shadowed Mistress (6/10)

Columbus' own Zaftig Brewing Co. created Shadowed Mistress, which is something of a hybrid beer.  On The Daily Growler's web site, the brewmaster describes it as "kind of part IPA, part ESB and maybe part barleywine.  It's a dark, overly-hopped - put into perspective it uses about a half a pound hops more per five gallons than our Imperial IPA - citra hopped with a really unique citrusy flavor and aroma.  We've had a lot of people who don't like IPAs or hoppy beers really enjoy it."

It pours a cloudy, coppery medium brown with an off-white head that lasts a while - longer than you'd expect for a beer that's 9% alcohol by volume.

The aroma is definitely hoppy, showcasing grapefruit (from the citra hops) and pine.

The flavor is malty, but with a substantial hops presence.  There is a bit of malt sweetness in the middle, but it's definitely a hop-forward beer.  That pretty much rules it out as a favorite for me.  Still, it's not bad.

Neither Beer Advocate or Rate Beer have enough ratings yet to give Shadowed Mistress an official numeric rating.  Taking an unscientific mental analysis of the ratings it does have, I'd say they work out to around 80/100 or 8/10 on my own scale.  So it looks like people generally love the beer.  I'm not a fan of hoppy beers, so for me this one is a solid 6 out of 10.  If you're an IPA fan, I think you'll likely rate it much higher than I do.  I'd love to see what this tastes like with a lot lower hops load.

I tasted this beer at The Daily Growler some time ago.  The Zaftig web site says you might be able to find their beers on tap at The Ohio Tap Room, The Daily Growler, North High Brewing, Pies and Pints, Yabo's Tacos, The Crest Gastropub, or a number of other locations.

World Brews Dieselpunk Porter (7/10)

Last spring, a friend brought me a can of World Brews Dieselpunk Porter.  It's the one in the photo to the left.  (Don't worry, I drank it while it was still fresh. This post was written quite a bit later.)

The artwork on the can is worth the price of admission.  It's easily one of the coolest beer cans you'll see on a store shelf.

The beer pours a clear dark coppery brown with very thick tan head that lasts for a minute or two.  The head leaves behind a fair amount of lacing in the glass.

The aroma is mostly malt and yeast.

The flavor matches up to the aroma.  It's a solid porter, with minimal hops bitterness.  It's mild and very drinkable.

I'm giving this one a solid 7 out of 10, which puts me in the ballpark of the Beer Advocate rating of 76 but well above Rate Beer, which gives Dieselpunk only a 29 overall.  I think it's safe to say that with that much range in the ratings, this is one of those beers you'll either decide is "eh..." or "not so great".  For me, it's a decent beer and preferable to the macro brews (and a fair number of craft beers) but nothing I'll rush out to buy.

If you're looking for this beer, check your local Kroger, as it seems to be primarily distributed through that retail chain according to the official web site.

How Much Ice You Need to Properly Chill a 12-Pack

Business Insider's Rhett Allain (a "geek physics" expert) recently calculated the amount of ice you should have in order to properly chill a 12-pack of cans or bottles.  

According to his calculations, if you start with 12 drinks at room temperature and want to chill them to 0 degrees Celsius, you'll need 250 grams of ice per drink.  That works out to 1.5 kg for a six-pack and 3 kg for a 12-pack.  

Allain recommends using one 10-pound bag of ice per 12 drinks.  This will cool the drinks and leave behind ice to keep them cold for a longer period of time.

Beer That Makes You Better Looking?

According to a post on Geek.com, Japanese brewery Suntory has developed a beer containing collagen, which they claim will make the person drinking it more attractive.  The beer, called "Precious" seems to be a standard lager with two grams of collagen in it.  There is no actual science behind the claim that the beer will make you more attractive, so I doubt we'll be seeing this in the USA anytime soon.

Hofstetten Krammer Granitbock (7/10)

Austria's Braueri Hofstetten Krammer GmbH produces this granite-brewed doppelbock which is appropriately named Granitbock.

What's that you say? You've never heard of a granite-brewed beer?  Yeah, neither had I.  According to this page the brewers start with a doppelbock style wort and cool it.  The wort is then transferred to open granite troughs, and white-hot granite stones are lowered into it.  These stones cause the sugars in the malt to carmelize and give it something of a smoked flavor.  The beer is left in the granite troughs to ferment and is then transferred to a cellar to be conditioned and matured.  If you want to see the beer being made, this YouTube video reportedly shows it (but all the narration is in German so I can't tell you what's being said).

Granitbock pours a dark brown color similar to a cola.  The head, as you can see in the photo, is thin and doesn't last long.  It's a beige or tan color.

The aroma is sweet and malty, with no hint of hops bitterness.  There is a hint of dark fruit in it, too.  This is exactly what you expect from a doppelbock.

The flavor reminds me a little of Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron or a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  It's sweet, malty, and has a strong caramel note from the granite stone heating.  Dark fruit is present in here as well.  There is a touch of grain bitterness to it, but hops definitely takes a back seat here.  I can also pick up some mineral notes from the granite, which is unexpected but not unpleasant.

I like the beer, and it's something I anticipate buying again, but I can't honestly tell you I "love" it.  It's good, and I definitely recommend trying it.  Beer Advocate rates it an 84 or "good".  Rate Beer gives it a 92 overall.  Apart from the mineral notes from the granite used during brewing and fermenting, it's a straight-up doppelbock and a good example of the style.  However, there are other doppelbocks I like more, so I'm rating this a 7 out of 10.

When I checked Beer Menus, they didn't show it available in the Columbus area.  Here's the link in case you want to find this beer and check it out.

Nowhere in Particular's Treasure of the Humble (7/10)

I'm a big fan of Dayton's Toxic Brew Company.  When I heard that one of their brewmasters sort of moonlights as the gypsy brewery Nowhere in Particular, I knew I had to try his beer.  (A "gypsy brewer" is one without a brewery of his own, who borrows or rents brewing facilities to produce his beers.)  Nowhere in Particular produces one-off beers which are sold for a while and may never be brewed again.

Treasure of the Humble is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale brewed with Agave Nectar, a little rye, and Harkules hops (according to the brewer's Facebook page).  It's 10.4% alcohol by volume, and is described as having a "dry" flavor.

The beer pours a slightly orange gold color with creamy white head that lasts a little while and leaves behind thick white lacing that gradually reincorporates into the beer.

The aroma is fruity like most Belgian ales and has a hoppy bite to it from the Herkules hops.

The flavor corresponds well to the aroma.  It starts malty and mildly sweet, with some Belgian fruitiness.  This gives way fairly quickly to the hops.  The hops bitterness, while mild to moderate, dominates the rest of the flavor and the aftertaste.  It's more bitter than I care for, but not so bitter that I'd class it with the IPAs and Pale Ales.

I'm giving it a 7 out of 10, mostly because I don't care for the bitterness of the Herkules hops.  Other than this, I really like the beer.  It's not too fruity, not too malty, not too sweet.  If it had a less intense bitterness, I can imagine this being a 9 or a 10 for me.

If you want to try Treasure of the Humble, I strongly recommend making a trip to The Daily Growler in Upper Arlington as soon as you can.  The odds are good that when they run out of it, you might not see this beer again - or at least not for a while.

Wolf's Ridge Taproom

Last year, I visited Wolf's Ridge Brewing downtown while at the Greater Columbus Convention Center for an event.  At the time, they were just starting to break ground for their taproom.

Back in late January, they opened up that taproom.  It's a wonderful thing.  All their beers (and the number of them is impressive) are available, along with some excellent pub foods to have with them.  This is a nice alternative to the restaurant in the front of the location.  (The restaurant offers some great food, but if all you want is Wolf's Ridge's excellent beer, it's overkill.)

While there, I had the opportunity to sample the St. Francis Belgian Quad, which is delicious and highly recommended to fans of the style.

If it hadn't been necessary to walk out of there, I might have tried to sample everything... the brewmasters at Wolf's Ridge know what they're doing, and I love that Belgian and German styles are part of their repertoire.

If you want to try St. Francis, The Daily Growler in Upper Arlington has it on tap as of this writing.

For more about the taproom, see Anthony Dominic's article in Crave.

Columbus Craft Beer Week - May 1-6

In just under a month, Columbus will celebrate its first annual Craft Beer Week.  Cleveland, Dayton, and Cincinnati have had them for a while - so it's about time we got one, too.

The event will start on May 1, 2015, and run through May 9.  I've added some of the early events to the Beer Festival calendar here on the site.

Boulder Beer Company Hazed and Infused (6/10)

Boulder Beer Company of Colorado produces Hazed and Infused.  Hazed and Infused is an American Pale Ale that is unfiltered (which gives it a haze) and dry-hopped, then "infused" with a blend of Crystal and Centennial hops.

The beer pours a very slightly hazy amber color with finger thick beige head that has a somewhat spotty texture.

The aroma is citrus, pine, and grapefruit. This is enough to let you know that the beer's going to have quite a hops wallop to it, which one would expect for an American Pale Ale.

The flavor is hop forward with a malt and roasted barley backdrop.  Since it's meant to be a sessionable pale ale, it's not as hoppy as the aroma would make it out to be.  Still, not being a fan of the pale ale styles in general, it's more than hoppy enough to suit me.  It's also sessionable in that it has only a 5% alcohol content, compared with many ales that have 8%, 10%, or more.

Beer Advocate gives Hazed and Infused an 83 or "good" rating.  Rate Beer gives it an 86 overall.  Since I'm decidedly not a pale ale fan, I can only give it a 6 out of 10.  I'd rather drink this than one of the macro brews, but there are many other beers I'd rather have.