Brooklyn Brewing Brooklyner Wheat Beer (5/10)

Brooklyner Wheat Beer is produced by Brooklyn Brewing Company of New York.  It's a Hefeweizen style beer.

Brooklyner Wheat Beer pours a clear pale gold color with thick white head that disappears very soon after it's poured and leaves behind no lacing. That's not typical for a weizen, which usually has excellent head retention.  Once poured, it almost looks like a glass of apple juice.

The aroma is malty, with no hint of hops to it. There's not much to the aroma.  There are none of the clove or banana aromas you often find in German versions of the beer.

The flavor is fairly non-descript.  There is virtually no hops presence detectable in it, which is unusual for Brooklyn product.  The usual banana and clove flavors you find in a weizen is absent here.  It's malty, very mildly sweet, with just the barest hint of citrus.  Honestly, if you'd handed me this without showing me the bottle, I'd believe that it's any one of a number of macro brews, mild pilsners, or basic lagers.  That's not to say it's bad or unpleasant at all - it isn't.  It just doesn't make me instantly think "hefeweizen" when I drink it.  It's smooth and easy enough to drink.

Beer Advocate's reviewers give Brooklyner Wheat Beer an 83 or "good" rating.  Rate Beer gives it only a 62.  In my own rating system, which compares it to a macro brew, with 5 meaning I'd like it no more or less than a macro, and 10 meaning it's fantastic, this beer's a solid 5.  There's nothing about it that makes me want to rush out and have it again, yet nothing wrong with it that I wouldn't be willing to drink it if someone handed me a bottle at a party or beer festival.

This particular bottle was purchased at Kenny Road Market.  I've not noticed the beer on shelves at other Columbus retailers.

Troeg's Jovial Belgian Style Dubbel (8/10)

Troeg's Brewing Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania (yes, the chocolate city) produces Jovial, a Belgian Style Dubbel Ale.

Jovial pours a slightly hazy mahogany with thick tan head that lasts a while and leaves behind only dots of lacing in the glass.

The aroma to me is primarily malty with some yeast to it.  The label claims that a relatively hard pour like the one I did here will release the subtle aromas from the yeast, but I can't say I noticed them.  Then again, it is winter and my sinuses may not be 100%.

Jovial's flavor is comparable to that aroma.  It's malty, and a touch hoppier (or at least more bitter) than I typically associate with a dubbel.  Since the beer is rated at 13 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) I'm at something of a loss to explain the bitterness.  Perhaps it's from the chocolate malt used in brewing.  In any case, as the beer warms up toward the recommended 50-55 degree serving temperature, this bitterness subsides a little.  The malt and yeast flavors start to come through a bit more at that point.  There is a hint of coffee like bitterness, the barest touch of dark fruit like date or fig, and a note of the magnum and crystal hops bitterness.

Troeg's has done a good job of keeping the beer true to the Dubbel style.  Here's how Jovial matches up to the guidelines from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP):

Characteristic	BJCP Guideline for Dubbel	Troeg's Jovial
Original Gravity	1.062-1.075	Unknown
Final Gravity	1.008-1.018	Unknown
International Bitterness Units (IBUs)	15 to 25	13 (slightly low but close enough)
SRM (Color)	10 to 17	"Dark Brown"
Alcohol by Volume (ABV)	6 to 7.6%	7%
Aroma	Malty and sweet with chocolate, caramel, and/or toast. Moderate fruity esters (usually raisins, plums, or cherries).  Hops are usually absent.	Malty and yeasty with some dark fruit coming through.
Appearance	Dark amber to copper.  Clear.  Large, dense, long lasting creamy off-white head.	Coppery mahogany color. Thick off-white head that lasts a while.
Flavor	Malty sweetness with dry finish.  Complex malt, ester, and phenols (raisiny flavors are common, dried fruit flavors are welcome, cloves are optional).  Balance is toward malt.	Minimal to no sweetness, but dry finish.  Lots of malt, a hint of coffee, some dried fruit flavors.  Balance is slightly toward malt.

As you can see, Troeg's did a great job keeping this beer true to the style.  This is a good beer, and if I were visiting your home and you offered me a bottle, I'd be very happy to enjoy it with you.  But there are other Dubbels I like better, such as Anderson Valley Brother David's Double.

Beer Advocate rates Jovial 86 or "very good" which seems an apt description.  Rate Beer gives it a 90 overall.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 because it's a good example of the style, and is a tad less expensive than many of its true Belgian counterparts.

I purchased this particular bottle from Kenny Road Market.  I haven't seen it at other local retailers, but I would not be surprised if Weiland's, Savor Market, or The Andersons carried it.  Price for the bottle reviewed was $3.59 before tax.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak Ale (10/10)

Every so often, I look over the posts on this blog and find a glaring omission.  Although I've run a series of posts about cloning Gulden Draak Ale, and I've reviewed Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple, and even compared Gulden Draak to Gulden Fraug from Hoppin' Frog, it took several web searches to realize that I've never actually reviewed Gulden Draak itself.  This is an omission that requires immediate correction...

Despite its name (which is Dutch for Golden Dragon), Gulden Draak is a Belgian beer.  It's produced by the Van Steenberge brewery in Flanders, Belgium.  It's named after the gilded dragon statues found in the belfry of a church in Ghent.

Van Steenberge describes Gulden Draak as a "dark triple" that can be drunk as an aperitif or dessert.  They claim it's also good in stews, sauces for red meat, or in combination with dark chocolate.  (I'll have to try that last combo someday.)

As you can see in the photo, it pours a somewhat coppery brown with thick beige head that lingers a while.

The aroma is a combination of brown sugar, Belgian spices, and dark fruit.

At colder temperatures, it starts a touch hoppy with a hint of red wine tannins (probably because it's partially fermented with wine yeast).  This gives way to malty sweetness, dark fruit, cherry sourness, and spice.  As it warms up, the bitterness fades a bit, letting the fruit and spice flavors take center stage.  Gulden Draak Ale was named "the best-tasting beer in the world" in 1998 by the American Tasting Institute (now called ChefsBest).  I'm inclined to agree with those folks.  Without question, this is one of the best beers I've ever had - and quite likely the very best.

If you won't take my word for it, consider that Rate Beer gives this a 99 out of 100, and that's with over 2,300 ratings.  Beer Advocate gives it a 98 out of 100, describing it as world-class.  In case it wasn't obvious already, I give it a solid, unflinching 10 out of 10.  I absolutely love this beer.

The only bad thing about Gulden Draak is the price.  Four 11.2 ounce bottles like the one pictured above will set you back about $19.99 and tax.  A 25-ounce bomber, the last time I saw one, was $13.99 plus tax.  This is a beer I'd happily drink every day, but at the price can't justify.  (Hence my desire to learn to brew an acceptable clone myself.)

I can pretty consistently find Gulden Draak at The Andersons General Store in Dublin.  I've also seen it somewhat less consistently at The Hills Market in Worthington, Whole Foods in Dublin, Weiland's Gourmet Market, and other local retailers.

Columbus Beer Week - Impressions

May 1-9 saw Columbus celebrating its first Craft Beer Week.  I'm glad that we've finally been able to pull one together.  There are a lot of good things I can say about it.

There were LOTS of events around town, so many that the ones I attended never seemed to be overly crowded.  I was able to try any of the beers I wanted to at the events, rarely did any waiting, and none of the things I wanted to try ever ran out.  I think the variety of events was probably the strongest part of the week.  There were probably enough things going on that no one venue became overloaded.  The events I attended all had plenty of guests but only one was truly "crowded".  More on that in a moment.

Wolf's Ridge

I got to try the three variations on Wolf's Ridge's excellent St. Francis Quad at their taproom on Sunday.  Since I covered that in another post, all I'll say is that I love all three.  The maple one is probably my favorite, because it's just a touch sweeter and offsets the bitterness.  It's another great beer from Wolf's Ridge.

Lineage Brewing

I went to Lineage Brewing in Clintonville for the first time on Monday and got to sample their beers.  I was very impressed with the different styles they offered.  Their IPA was hoppy but drinkable.  Their other styles weren't particularly hoppy, but appropriately bitter for their style.  That's one sign of a good brewmaster - the ability to produce beers that don't have to hide behind a truckload of hops.

So many local brewers offer a range of beers, with most of them being some variation on an IPA, an "Imperial" version of an existing style, a "West Coast" version, or some other code word for "hopped-up" beer.  As I've said many times, I appreciate the flavor, aroma, and other qualities hops adds to a beer - but I don't enjoy it when the bitterness dominates the flavor.  It's like a chicken soup that's too salty, cinnamon toast with more cinnamon than sugar, or a chocolate cake with a paper-thin layer of frosting.  It's unbalanced.

Growl!

I visited Growl! which is just down the street from Lineage (within walking distance, even).  It's a very cozy and pleasant place to sit and have a glass of one of the 40 or so craft beers they have on draft.  Their draft list had a nice combination of local and non-local brews on it, and we felt welcome there.

Weird Beer Night at The St. James Tavern

Friday night we went to "Weird Beer Night" at the St. James Tavern.  That was my first time at the bar.  It had a friendly, cozy atmosphere that I felt comfortable in.  The fact that they had New Belgium Cascara Quad on draft (a beer I don't think is even in stock in Fort Collins) was the big draw for me.  I don't love it as much as St. Francis or Ommegang's Three Philosophers, but it's a great beer that I fell in love with at New Belgium's brewery.

Free Glass Night at Zauber

After St. James, we went to Zauber's Taproom on Fifth Avenue in Grandview.  My wife and I each got a free pint glass, and the opportunity to enjoy their Marzen and Empire Strikes Bock.  Both were nice beers and worthy of the Zauber name.

The Daily Growler

On Saturday, we stopped by The Daily Growler in Powell and shared a pint while talking with co-owner John Blakely and his excellent staff.  Be sure to check out his "Crowler Truck" campaign on IndieGoGo and support it if you can!

Six One Pour

Saturday evening we went to Six One Pour at Brewmaster's Gate.  It was great to see so many Columbus area breweries there showing off their products, and fun to try the different collaboration beers.  If you were a fan of hop-forward beer styles, you were probably in heaven.  Out of the approximately 120 beers on the official program guide for the event, I was only interested in about 14.  Of those, at least five or six didn't show up or were well-hidden in the venue.  We left the event about 90 minutes after we got there, having sampled as many of the beers we wanted to.  I probably dumped more samples than I drank, either because the flavor didn't live up to the name, or the beer was hoppier than its style suggested.  It's rare that I walk out of any beer tasting event as quickly as this, and with having tasted absolutely every beer I cared about.

There were a few beers at Six One Pour that I enjoyed.  Sadly, my favorite of the bunch was from Sam Adams - their New World Tripel.  I expected Wolf's Ridge to bring Alpha, Beta, St. Francis, and some of their excellent Belgian style beers.  They brought two IPAs instead.  There were lots of IPAs at the event, but few Belgian style beers.  I keep hoping that someday Columbus craft beer fans learn the joys of styles other than Pale Ales, IPAs, and "Imperial" beers.

Conclusion

All things considered, my proverbial hat is off to all of the organizers, local breweries, and others who made Columbus Craft Beer Week a reality.  I was genuinely impressed with the variety of events available around town each day of the event, the number of events going on, and the way it was all handled.  In case it sounds otherwise, I enjoyed Six One Pour, but hope there will be some improvements in it next year.

White Birch Oaked Wee Heavy Ale (7/10)

White Birch Brewing of Hooksett, New Hampshire, brews this oak-aged Scottish Wee Heavy style ale.

The Wee Heavy style is also known as Scotch Strong Ale.  It's known for a deeply malty aroma with earthy notes.  They're normally a copper to dark brown color with a large tan head which may not persist long.  They're rich, malty, usually sweet beers with complex malt flavors.  The sweetness is usually balanced out by an alcohol warming note.  This is per the Beer Judge Certification Guidelines.

This beer poured a dark mahogany color, in line with the style.

The aroma was oaky with a solid malt backdrop.

The flavor is similar to the aroma.  It starts with a mild malty sweetness that turns a little bitter and oaky.  The finish is bitter and lingering, and there's a little alcohol warmth to it as well.

I tried this particular glass at Growl! on North High Street in Clintonville.  It may still be on tap at this time this is published.  Since it's not listed on the official White Birch web site, I can't help you locate it if it's not available there anymore.  I've not seen it elsewhere in my travels.

Beer Advocate had only four ratings and two reviews of the beer.  Rate Beer had much the same.  The lingering bitterness knocked a point off this one, which I might otherwise have rated an 8.  My rating is in the same range as those on RateBeer and Beer Advocate, which are generally comparable to a 7-8 out of  10.

Lineage Brewing Ole Willy Mclane Scottish 80 Shilling Ale (8/10)

Of all the Lineage Brewing products I tried on my recent visit, Ole Willy Mclane Scottish 80 Shilling Ale was my clear favorite.

It pours a lovely copper or mahogany color, as you can see in the photo, with a beige head that dissipates slowly to a ring around the top.

The aroma is malty and mildly sweet.

The flavor is a very well-balanced combination of rich malt, roasted barley, and mild hops bitterness.  It's a very smooth and easy to drink beer.  I could easily sit back and sip a growler full of it.

It's a great representation of the style, too.  You wouldn't want it to be "more" or "less" of anything.  Nicely done, brewmaster!

I'm giving this an 8 out of 10, which makes it the highest-rated beer I've had from Lineage.  I'm still waiting to try their Mike Drop Coconut Porter, though.  Given that I'm a fan of Brew Kettle's Kitka Coconut Chocolate Stout, I might well enjoy Mike Drop as much as Ole Willy Mclane here.  We'll see.

As with all of Lineage Brewing's products, this one is available only at their taproom in Clintonville on North High Street.  They plan to rotate through styles and tweak them periodically, so if this sounds like a beer you'll enjoy, you'll want to visit them soon in case they decide to stop making it.

This 5.4% alcohol by volume, 19 IBU beer retails for $5 a pint at the taproom.

Lineage Brewing Spaceship #6 IPA (6/10)

I apologize if this is redundant to long-time readers, but you can never be sure which article on your blog a reader will find first.  For that reason, I want to warn readers up front that I am decidedly not a fan of the India Pale Ale (IPA), American Pale Ale (APA), and Pale Ale styles in general.  I find such hop-forward beers unpleasant to drink, and their flavors not overly complex.

For that reason, you'll probably never see me rate a Pale Ale or IPA an 8 or higher.  This doesn't mean those beers aren't solid IPAs, or aren't true representations of the style.  For instance, most people consider Pliny The Elder to be one of the best IPAs (or best beers) around.  Although I've never had it, it's unlikely that I'd rate it more than a 7 out of 10.  Keep that in mind as you read this review.

Clintonville's Lineage Brewing produces Spaceship #6 IPA.  A long-time science-fiction fan, the brewers had me at the word "spaceship" and I had to try it... even though I don't like the style.

As you can see in the image, Spaceship #6 is a beautiful beer to look at.  It's bright and clear, a nice gold color, with a thick white head that lasts a long time and leaves behind a lot of lacing.

The aroma, as one would expect for IPAs brewed with certain hops varieties, has a strong grapefruit element to it.

The flavor matches the aroma.  You'll primarily get a strong burst of hops bitterness with a pale malt backdrop.  The malt is far in the back, as you'd expect for an IPA.

Despite that fact that I generally dislike IPAs, I don't hate this one.  It's bitter.  It's more bitter than I would ever want a beer to be, in fact.  But despite that it's not horrendously bitter like Stone Ruination and some other beers.  I probably would never order this again, but if someone gave me one I'd be fine with drinking it.  That's very high praise for an IPA coming from an avowed IPA-hater.  So although I'm rating this only 6 out of 10, my typical range for an IPA is 3-5, so Lineage has managed to make an IPA that's a bit more drinkable to me than most.

If you want to try Spaceship #6, you'll want to visit Lineage Brewing soon.  They promise to periodically swap out and tweak their recipes, so you may find that Spaceship #6 isn't available if you want too long to get there.

Lineage Brewing Scarale Blackberry Wheat Beer (6/10)

Today we'll take a look at Lineage Brewing's Scarale, a Blackberry Wheat Beer.

From the start, I should let you know that I've kind of lost my taste for wheat beers, and I tend to only like fruit beers that bring to mind the precise flavor of a fresh, ripe piece of the fruit in question.

Scarale pours an interesting hazy raspberry tinged pink with a white head that lingers a little while before dissipating.

The aroma is that of tangy raspberries.

The flavor is comparable to the aroma.  It's a little tangy or sour, with a hint of not-quite-ripe raspberry to it.  It's a pleasant enough beer, but not a favorite.  I'd like to see the ripe raspberry flavor and sweetness come through more.

I'm giving Scarale a 6 out of 10.  Realistically, it's more of a 6.5 (but I don't give out half-point scores).  I like it a touch better than their Aunt Bernice Berliner Weisse, but not as much as some of their other beers.  My companions that evening were split on it.  My wife didn't care for the tartness.  My brother preferred it and wound up buying a pint later.

As with all the Lineage Brewing beers, this one is only available at their taproom on North High. If you're interested in trying it, you'll want to get there soon as they may swap out the recipe with something else.

Lineage Brewing Aunt Bernice Berliner Weisse (6/10)

Clintonville's Lineage Brewing makes this authentic Berliner Weisse.  If you're not familiar with the style, your first taste could be a little shocking.  The style is known for being sour.  It's something like a wheat beer into which has been poured a quantity of lemon juice.

Lineage's version pours a bright gold color with white head that lasts a little while before dissipating.

The aroma is malty, hints at the sourness, and maybe it's just me.. but I got a hint of wet canine there.  Bear in mind that I had sinus surgery recently so my sense of smell may be suspect.  Suffice to say that the aroma as it was didn't prevent me from trying the beer.

The flavor is mildly sour.  Compared to some of the true German Berliner Weisse beers I've had, it's a much milder sourness.  I can imagine drinking this while cutting the grass or sitting on a beach.  The sourness would work for it there.  My wife and brother, who were with me when I tried it, did not care for the beer.  They're also not fond of a true German version of it either.  I like the style as a change of pace but wouldn't drink it regularly.

I'm rating it a 6 out of 10.  It would probably get a 7, but that strange funk in the aroma detracted a little from the beer for me.  I'm still new to the style and am trying to figure out what I do and don't like in it.  That means my rating might be lower than it would when I've had a lot of other Berliner Weisse examples to compare it with.

Right now, this beer is only on tap at Lineage Brewing's location on North High Street.  Lineage plans to rotate through recipes and styles, so if you're looking to try the beer I recommend doing it soon.

Lineage Brewing Arm Bruiser American Oatmeal Stout (7/10)

Clintonville's Lineage Brewing created this American Oatmeal Stout, named Arm Bruiser.

As you can see in the image to the left, it pours a dark black color with beige head that lasts briefly.

The aroma is a mix of chocolate and coffee.

The flavor is that of a very well-made stout.  You'll find dark malt, coffee, chocolate, and enough hops bitterness to balance it all out.  It's not overly hoppy, overly sweet, or overly "anything".

Despite being rated at 47 IBUs, it's not any more bitter than a typical stout from any other brewer.

Although I like stouts, they're not my favorite beer style.  For that reason, Arm Bruiser rates only a 7 out of 10 for me.  While that doesn't sound very good, it's actually a pretty high rating from me for a stout - especially an "American" stout (which is usually so hoppy I dislike it).

You can currently find Arm Bruiser ONLY at the Lineage Brewing location at 2971 North High.  Lineage has said that they will periodically rotate through different beer styles and recipes, so stout fans will want to get there soon and let Lineage know you like it - so they'll keep it around.

At the time of this writing, it sells for $5 for a glass.  It's rated at 6.3% alcohol and 47 IBUs.

Growl! - Clintonville

Well over a year ago, I passed by a not-yet-open business on High Street in Clintonville called simply "Growl!".  My suspicion was that it probably sold growlers of beer.  On Tuesday, my suspicions were confirmed.  We stepped inside Growl and had a look around.

Growl has forty-one craft beer taps which can provide sample-size pours, glasses, or 32/64 ounce growlers of fresh craft beer.  Unlike many local growler-filling locations, this one will fill "any clean growler" you bring in, even if it's not theirs.

In addition to beer, Growl also sells a variety of merchandise.  This includes their own stuff, like growlers and T-shirts, but also other interesting products like soaps.  The rustic interior is relaxing and very cozy.

We shared a glass of White Birch Small Batch Oak-Aged Wee Heavy Ale while looking around.

Growl is located at 2995 North High Street, right next door to Lavash Cafe.

They're open 3-10pm Monday through Thursday, and 12pm to 12am Friday and Saturday.

Growl! LLC

2995 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43202

(614) 447-BEER

Lineage Brewing - Clintonville

I read back in March that Lineage Brewing would open in its Clintonville location on April 1.  Co-owned by Mike and Jessica Byrne, Carey Hall, and Jessica Page, Lineage Brewing is located in a former car wash at 2971 North High Street.  You'd never mistake it for a car wash today.  The interior is tastefully designed and decorated.  There is both outdoor and indoor seating.

The seven-barrel brewery serves up to six different brews at a time.  On the day of my visit, that included:

• Arm Buster - An Oatmeal Stout
• Scarale - A Blackberry Wheat Beer
• Aunt Bernice - A Berliner Weisse (sour) Beer
• Ole Willy Mclane - A Scottish 80 Shilling Ale
• Spaceship #6 - an IPA
• (Not available during my visit) Mike Drop - A coconut porter, which was ironically the beer I was most excited to try

Draft prices were $5-$6 at the time of my visit.  A flight of sample-sized glasses (pictured above) was $10 (with a discount for the missing Mike Drop sample).

Lineage also plans to offer a cask ale each week that takes one of its main beers and experiments with it a little, perhaps adding a spice, dry hopping, a fruit, or some other ingredient.  A mango version of their IPA was on cask during my visit.

I'm planning to review the beers individually over the next few weeks, so all I'll really tell you here is this... Here is a Columbus brewmaster who understands that a good beer isn't necessarily a hoppy one.  The IPA is well-hopped, as would be expected for the style, but drinkable even for me (and I generally dislike IPAs). The stout is hopped to 47 IBUs, which is a perfect balance to its malty, chocolate, and coffee flavors.  They were all true to their styles, very drinkable, and beverages that I will not mind having again in the future (though I'll probably skip the IPA from here on out).

Lineage offers "hand pies" in spinach, samosa, banh mi, and duck confit flavors.  During out visit, we decided to try the Indian samosa flavored one.  We were not disappointed.  The flavor and texture were excellent, and there was a perfect amount of spice to liven it up.  I would expect the others to be similarly good.

I recommend paying this excellent local brewery a visit when you get the chance.

Per their web site, they're open 2-10pm Sunday, closed Monday, 4-10pm Tuesday through Thursday, 4pm to 1am Friday, and 2pm to 1am Saturday.

Lineage Brewing

2971 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43202

(614) 461-3622

The Daily Growler Raising Funds for a Crowler Truck

If you've ever visited the Upper Arlington or Powell locations of The Daily Growler, you know they're famous for offering 59 taps of fresh, cold craft beer by the 5-ounce sample, 16-ounce glass, 32-ounce growler, or half-gallon growler... plus one tap of root beer made with John's secret recipe.

What you may not know is that John Blakely, the owner of The Daily Growler, recently started an IndieGoGo campaign to buy a "Crowler Truck" for the business.

What's a crowler?  As you can see on the Oskar Blues web site, a crowler is 32-ounce aluminum can that can be filled with craft beer and sealed on the spot.  A typical glass growler is only good for a few days before the beer begins to go flat and lose some of its flavor.  An aluminum crowler will hold the carbonation and flavor for much longer, as long as a month!  Since it's aluminum, you can easily recycle it when you're finished.

John's planning to build a mobile crowler station into a truck.  This will allow The Daily Growler to bring its products to festivals, private events, local breweries, and maybe even home brewers who want their beers canned for later drinking.

There are a variety of funding levels available, from $1 to $3,500.  Each offers different perks to the contributor.  For instance, at the $150 contribution level, you'll receive a "Crowler of the Month Club" membership that gets you 12 vouchers good for 1 Crowler of your choice each month and a limited edition beer can style Daily Crowler pint glass.

The Daily Growler is one of my favorite places to enjoy craft beer in Columbus, and I'm excited by the possibilities for a "Daily Crowler Truck" so I'm already a contributor.  If you've enjoyed a beer at "The Growler" as I have, you may want to drop a few bucks in John's hat, too.  It's a great way to support a local business and improve the already great options for craft beer around town.

Wolf's Ridge St. Francis Quad Comparison

On Friday, I met the Wolf's Ridge brewmaster who created St. Francis.  St. Francis is a Belgian style Quadrupel ale, and is so far my favorite Wolf's Ridge beer (which is saying something).  For Columbus beer week, Wolf's Ridge produced a maple version of St. Francis and a rum barrel aged version.  On Sunday, I was fortunate enough to be in their taproom at the right time to try all three.  The terrible things a humble Columbus beer blogger must endure to write a blog post... (Drink three great beers at an excellent brewery's taproom?  Say it ain't so.)

In the photo at the top left of this post, you see three glasses.  The left-most glass contains the rum barrel aged St. Francis.  The middle glass contains "regular" St. Francis.  The right-hand glass contains the last of the maple version in the taproom's keg.

As you can see, all three versions are more or less the same beautiful dark mahogany color with thin beige head.

The regular St. Francis has a malty aroma, with some dark fruit and subtle hops.  Rum barrel aged St. Francis layers oak and rum aromas on top of the normal St. Francis aroma, and is something like sniffing rum soaked prunes in a barrel.  It's a beer you'd be happy to sit and just sniff if you couldn't drink it - though that would be torture.  The maple version of St. Francis has a slightly sweeter aroma with just a hint of maple to it.  In fact, if you didn't have the regular version handy to compare it with, you might not even catch the maple.

Flavor is where these three really differ.

Regular St. Francis is a well-balanced beer, with a slight tip toward hops bitterness.  You'll get a definite malt presence, some dark fruit like prune or date, and a little spice.  The hops stays at the back initially and then swells up as you drink it, and lingers a bit at the end.  I love the beer.  If I was making it, I might dial the hops back just a tiny, tiny bit.

Rum Barrel St. Francis has a complex and layered flavor.  You'll get a strong oak and rum presence initially.  This gives way to the hearty malt and dark fruit backbone.  Then the malt dies down and leaves you with the dark fruit and hops.  It's a really nice beer for those who like high-gravity, barrel-aged brews with a strong malt presence.

Maple infused St. Francis is, in a word, fantastic.  The addition of maple syrup raises the sweetness of St. Francis a little, just the right amount to offset that tiny bit of extra hops bitterness.  The very slight maple flavor is a great compliment to the malt and dark fruit already present in St. Francis.  Sadly, the glass of St. Francis I loved the most was also the least-filled of the three.

When I met the Wolf's Ridge brewmaster behind St. Francis, I told him that it was a Columbus beer that I could not get enough of.  That was completely true, but it was also before I encountered the other two versions.  The maple infused St. Francis is one of my favorite beers ever.  It is absolutely delicious and I'd be just fine with it being one of the "X" number of beers I was stranded on a desert island with.  It's that good.

As is usually the case, I do have ratings to hand out here.

• St. Francis:  8 out of 10
• Rum Barrel Aged St. Francis:  9 out of 10
• Maple St. Francis:  10 out of 10

Congratulations, Wolf's Ridge, for getting the first 10 out of 10 I've ever given a Columbus-brewed beer.  You should be very, very proud of this one.  If it had come out of my fermenter, I'd be investing in kegging equipment to make sure I never ran out of it.  I hope you'll consider keeping it as a permanent fixture in your taproom.

Kentucky Ales' Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale - Draft (8/10)

Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. (also known as Kentucky Ales), produces Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  It's an ale aged for at least six weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from Kentucky distilleries.

The bottled and draft versions of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale resemble one another, but are different.

The draft pours a clear brownish amber color with thin white head that dissipates almost instantly.

The aroma is a mix of butter and bourbon.

The flavor is similar to the aroma.  It's got a strong butter-like element up front, followed by bourbon and barley malt, with a mild hops finish at the end.  It's definitely a beer you sip rather than gulp.  That's probably a good thing, considering it's also an 8.2% alcohol by volume beer.

The bottled version of the beer is similar. You get the bourbon up front in the aroma and flavor, but the buttery element seems to stay out of it.  Although butter is a flavor you normally don't want in your beer (as it can imply bacterial or yeast problems), I don't find it offensive in this beer.  It seems to play well with the oaky and bourbon notes.

Beer Advocate rates Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale an 85 or "very good".  Rate Beer is a bit tougher on it, giving the beer only a 59 overall.  I like Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale a lot, and my rating is much closer to Beer Advocates.  I give it an 8 out of 10.

The bottled version of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is available all over town.  I've seen it at Kroger, Giant Eagle, and virtually every other beer retailer in town.  I doubt you'll have trouble finding it.