The Classes

Trappist Ales

The Trappist tasting was interesting, and enjoyable, but also a touch disappointing. Perhaps it was, as Gabe suggested, our naivete on the general style; or perhaps we did too many at one sitting; or perhaps we did not heve a proper representation; or maybe we just had too much hoseradish dip before the class started. All the beers were good, but I just expected more.

As a group, the beers were all fruity, highly carbonated, tending almost to a wine; none retained a head for long. The best of the evening was the LaTrappe dubbel: quite complex, with the chocolate, licorice, and smokey all used to describe it. Of the four LaTrappes, this one is the best standalone beer. To drink with food, I would probably pick the enkel. It was refreshing and light, but flavorful.

The Chimay was the biggest disappointment, maybe because I expected a lot from it. A very good start, but seemed to have little on the finsh. The second glass was better however. Maybe if we did it in a different order it would fare better. We need to visit this one again sometime down the road and give it a second chance.

An interesting style to try; but given the quality and availability of the marzens, doppelbocks, dunkel wheats, and even nut brown ales, it's hard to justify the extra cost of the Trappists on any regular basis. If given the choice, I would skip spending ten bucks on a Chimay and instead spend sixteen for a Norton.

Stouts

Quick now, can anyone tell me the difference between Stout and Porter ??? We've done a class on each, and I still don't know. If you consider Guinness the standard for stout, then everything else we have done is porter. The style guides don't help much either. Well, don't worry about it and enjoy.

I just cracked my second pint of Samuel Smith's nut brown ale; so let's talk about the stouts we did last night.

Murphy's Irish Draft Stout: Pours with a nice creamy head, and a slightly nutty aroma. It has a very thin, watery body, and ends with a slight bitter finish. I found little to recommend this beer, except you can slam a lot along with your corned beef and cabbage. If you truly enjoy a Miller Lite and just want to try a dark beer, you might like this one. ( Sorry, Frank !!! )

Sheaf Stout: THis has a toasted malt, black cherry, fizzy flavor; but does not have a 'stout' bitter finish. Interesting and worth a try.

Saxer "Three Finger Jack" Stout: Medium bodied, a little coffee flavor, slightly buttery finish, not bitter. Very drinkable. This is the second Saxer we have done ( remember the Jackfrost doppelbock ), and I have enjoyed both. Looking forward to doing more Saxer, they seem to put out good stuff.

Boulder Stout: A much bigger flavor than the Saxer, coffee and unsweetened chocalate and fruit. This reminds me of dessert at the Rheinland restaurant: coffee and black forest cake.

Sierra Nevada Stout: Best brew of the night for me. Well balanced between the malt and bitters. You can drink several of these! I'm beginning to think Sierra Nevada just may be the best U.S. brewery. Let's get some more of these !

Guinness Irish Stout: The standard, and everyone has tried it. I really enjoy a Guinness from time to time, but can usually just do one. It's big, bold, in-your-face, bitter and full. Unless you do black & tans, but that's another story. Now I'm ready to try a black brother (Guinness & trappist) or a black cherry (Guinness & kriek (cherry) lambic).

Or maybe a Sierra Nevada black & tan. Or a Boulder stout with black forest cake. Or even a Guinness black cow. Pass the brownies, please.

mushy mushy

Scottish Ales

I am sitting here, just about to finish a McEwen's Scotch Ale. A world class brew, this makes my buy anytime list. It has a spicy aroma, and pours dark and thick. It starts with a big sweet malty flavor, then gives way quickly to a spicy cinnamon-clove-nutmeg tongue feel to offset the sweetness. It also has a strong alcohol feel in the throat. Overall, a big, strong, well-balanced brew. Too bad I have only one left.

HOWEVER----- last night when we tasted this last in class, the ONLY thing that came through was the sweetness, which was called 'cloying' by several members in attendance. And even I had to grudgingly agree.

So do yourself a favor, and DO NOT drink this after the others as we did; but rather enjoy it by itself, as a standalone dessert beer to sip and contemplate. I still believe it to be the best beer of the style.

As for the other beers: FORGET the Samuel Adams Scotch Ale. It starts with a promising scotch malty flavor, but goes immediately to a nasty medicinal, plastic finish that doesn't go away. Try this one only if you are fond of Rogue smoke ale or plastic bandaid tea.

All the other beers however are well worth the effort to seek out and try. They all poored dark and smooth, good head (but doesn't last) and sweet maltiness, but well balanced.

Younger's Tartan Special: This starts a lot like a Newcastle brown ale (go figure), then goes to a nice sweetness. Very mild and smooth, it doesn't take long to finish. It's a great intro to scotch ales, and hints at stronger flavors to come.

Belhaven Scottish Ale: As mild and smooth as the Youngers, but drier with a hoppy - citrus finish. Again very nice, and you could drink a lot quickly.

McTarnahan's Scotch Ale: A nice start, but thin in the middle; a citrus finish after you wait awhile. It kind of grew on me after awhile. I thought it a good beer for an American entry, approaching the Belhaven above.

McAndrew's: Some of the class picked this as beer of the night; it did show better than I remembered. A good, spicy aroma, good malty flavor, crisp citrus finish. Very well balanced.

Belhaven St.Andrew's Ale: Stronger than the Belhaven Scottish; good aroma, malt, nice finish. It is more subtle than the McAndrew's, a little drier, more of a complex blend than the balance of the McAndrews. These two beers were finally judged to be quite different, but equally worthwhile, and probably in a dead heat for best beer of the night.

Bitters

Well, I just opened a Newcastle, and sat down to write about the beers from last Wednesday's class. Another great class, with almost no controversy; you guys are all getting too damned agreeable. Next time I'll slip in a Berghoff.

Outstanding beer of the night was unanimous: the Fuller's ESB. Very well balanced, with a good aroma, nice malt in the middle, good citrus-tinged hoppy finish. We enjoyed a pint bottle each, along with the cigars from Brian at 99 Bottles. (The cigars , Galiano from Dominican Republic, were also pronounced very fine. I hope all those that incurred gender-based problems now have them under control.)

Second place was also unanimous: the Fischer Bitter "Hoopla". It was universally anointed the hoppiest beer ever tasted; but not an in-your-face hoppy, rather very refreshing. Thursday morning I still tasted hops in my coffee!

Most interesting beer was the Young's Ramrod. It has a nice fruity aroma and a good malt flavor, going to a strong hoppy dry finish. But then it began to change and progress, and was quickly nicknamed the "Andromeda Strain" beer because it was mutating. I called it complex; the others said it was just changing as it warmed a little. We will ALL try another!

The Bateman's XXXB was similar to the Young's, but a bit maltier, and consistent start to finish. Nicely balanced.

Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger has a flowery aroma with a bit of pepper. Good body, nice balance; definitely worthwhile.

Boddingtons Pub Ale Draught comes in a can, with a nitrogen widget in the bottom to supercharge the head. Their web site brags about the 'best head in England', and shows an icecream scoop taken out of the head. Poured in a pilsner glass, the head IS very impressive, falling out like a white Guinness. But they should pay as much attention to the rest of the beer as they do the head. Gabe could not finish his; the rest of us thought it drinkable, if relatively unimpressive.

The Red Hook ESB: I contend it should not be called a bitter, as it has nothing at all in common with the flavors of the other beers we sampled. It is an American microbrew style pale ale, with more hops added. It tastes much more like the Pike IPA than anything else. L will probably drink another, some hot day this summer; but simply think it is mis-named.

So, if you haven't done any bitters yet, you WILL like it !! A couple others to try if you see them:

Fuller's London Pride ( a special bitter ) very smooth, goes to a strong grapefruit-citrus finish.

Brown Ales

OK, I will admit up front a fondness for brown ales. Of all the beer styles I know of, this is probably the best to step up a new beer drinker. Got somebody that says they don't like beer ? Or one that only drinks Busch ?? Sit down with them and split a Samuel Smiths nut brown ale, and you will very likely have a new convert. ( yes, this IS a religion ). I have witnessed several conversions this way, both male and female.

Since it's May, we opened with an Ayinger Maibock (the only example of the style we could find). The pilsner color belies the very malty aroma and start. It goes to a good hop finish, slightly warming to the throat; overall a very balanced and smooth beer.

Next up was a Corsendonk Belgian Brown: a yeasty, wheat aroma, spicey flavor, with a fruity 'raisin' finish. It reminded me of a dark wheat beer, almost like the Aventinus. Which means I will have another one, real soon.

Shepherd Neame Spitfire: we included it because Michael Jackson calls it a brown ale. The label says it's a special bitter. Go with the label; it has a very hoppy aroma, and would do well in any 'bitter' tasting. Very good, but not in style.

Unfortunately, the heavy hops left over from the Spitfire pretty much wiped out the Newcastle that followed. Everyone but Gabe had tried it previously, so we knew it to be a light flavored beer suitable to drink almost any time. It probably couldn't stand up to real heavy foods, but good any other time.

Boulder Brown Ale: Carlton dubbed this a binary beer; an 'American hops' nose, then malt in the middle, then hops in the finish. No balance, just either-or, hops-malt-hops. Flip flop. Binary.

Batemans Nut Brown Ale: The only thing I wrote down on this one is "stronger than Newcastle." So I forced myself to open another, even as I write this. I can't find the 'nut' taste, but it's lightly sweet and very drinkable.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale: CIYJ all the way. If you ain't had it, turn off the damn computer and go buy one !!!

Brian at 99 Bottles is still working on getting some Adnam's nut brown. If he gets it, I will get some and call an emergency meeting, for the English browns only: Newcastle, Bateman's, Adnam's, Samuel Smith's.

Somebody, PLEASE skip that meeting, so I have some left !!

prosit

Belgian Wits

Dear Curtis:

SEND US SOME MORE CELIS WHITE !!!!!

What a travesty; a world class brew, we can't even buy here, sits gathering dust on a shelf in Hoosierland. I can think of no way to improve this beer: a beautifil color, very pale straw, almost white; snow white head, leaving good lace. Great aroma. Terrific, complex taste, light and delicate with much citrus-orange and spices. This would be the perfect refreshing drink on a hot summer day.

Equally impressive is the Blanche de Bruges. It has the same color and head and refreshing characteristics. The fruit flavors, however, tend more toward apples and pears than citrus.

Carlton says the Dentergems Wit is close to the Hoegaarden; since he's had that and I ain't, I'll take his word. The 750ml bottle we had, the entire bottom was coated with big yeast flakes. Swirl those in, it mellows the flavor.

Blue Moon is a very good beer (especially considering Coors is involved). Not as complex, but certainly refreshing, and spicier, suggesting nutmeg or clove (almost like a German wheat beer).

Sunshine, by New Belgium Brewing, was unlike any of the other beers. It has a thin body, with very pronounced buttery aroma, coating of the mouth, and flavor. There is also a certain nuttiness, prompting Carlton to call it the 'Bama pecan pie crust flavor.

We also tried Celis Grand Cru. Being the last beer of the evening, my notes are nonexistent, except for a scrawled " good shit!" Maybe that had something to do with trying Glenmorangie single malt before 'class' began. Response to this was pretty underwhelming. That's OK, anybody with some left can forward it on to me, I promise to dispose of it properly.

Next class: Brian is going to organize some pilsners. Drink up !

Winter Brews

Holiday Ale, Flying Monkey Brewing, Merriam KS. I approached this one with some hesitation because I didn't really care for their regular brown ale. Popping the top gives a strange odor, described by the class as "sour milk", or "the smell of an old thermos bottle in grade school". But let it sit a minute, get past it and go for the taste. It has a lot of malt, but not sweetness; hints at bitter chocolate and citrus. The next time I drink it ( and I will) I'll get out the holiday goodies and try this with something sweet; something covered in dark chocolate, or maybe a good fruitcake. I applaud a local brewery for taking a stab at complexity; I like this one much better than the other local Boulevard Nutcracker.

Igloo Ale,Boulder Brewing. In over a year now, this is only the second beer no one could finish. Seven glasses that had to be dumped in the sink. Starts with a strange nose, an OK start, but degenerates to a nasty chemical aftertaste. I'll PASS.

Winter Ale, Young's, London. Unanimous choice for best beer of the evening! A lovely color and head. This smells of apples and a hint of maple, and the taste goes along, ending with that great English citrusy hops finish. Very balanced with a smooth transition, start to finish. Seek this one out !!

Our Special Ale,Anchor Brewing. Poors with good color and a thick tan head. A thin body, with hints of bitter chocolate and cherry. We thought it a bit over-spiced, but better as it goes. Definitely worth a try.

Snow Cap Ale,Pyramid Brewing. Drinkable, but unremarkable; my notes say simply "It's OK".

Celebration Ale,Sierra Nevada. This one was a disappointment, mostly because we expected great things from Sierra. I thought it tasted too much like a Boulevard: a typical American micro with WAY too much use of the Northwestern hops. If you're a fan of that style, it's ok.

Winter Ale,Fuller's, London. An excellent beer; but not typical of this style. Short on malt and spices, it would do very well as an IPA or bitter.

Two others that didn't make it to class: Noche Buena ,Mexico. Not much to like or dislike either way. A hint of malt maybe. It's just a dark Dos Equis. Winter Brew, Pete's Brewing. One bottle was enough for seven guys to sample. Very perfumey smell and flavor; as in the nasty Woolworth perfume your grandma used to use. Don't bother.

Coming up next month: more winter brews, with two different years to sample. We have 1996 and 1997 Snow Goose,by Wild Goose (think of a good stout with spices !). We have 1996 and 1997 Breckenridge Christmas Ale. And as soon as we can get the 1997, compared to the 1996 Samichlaus. We might also do a couple vintages of the Thomas Hardy. Don't miss out on this one !!

Vintage Brews

It started innocently enough. I was looking for some Snow Goose for the winter brews class, and accidently came home from Gomers with some 1996. About the same time, Gabe found some '96 Breckenridge. Then Carlton found a 1995 Samichlaus at Gomers (we went back and bought out the rest!). And John was talking about his upcoming 'born-on' and freshness column for the paper. So, since we had the beer, why not a 'vintage' class?

We started with Breckenridge Christmas Ale,1997. It has a spicey nose with a hint of pine, and nice dark color. Lightly sweet in the middle, it goes to a very dry finish. All in all, a very nice winter beer. We then opened the 1996 version: the same nose, but no body. It was thin,watery,washed out tasting. Very disappointing. Evidently Breckenridge realizes this for what it is, as the 1997 bottle has an expiration date. Don't bother saving this one, drink it and enjoy it new.

Next up was the Wild Goose, Snow Goose,1997. It has a spicey and dark chocolate taste; a thin body, finishing with some good citrus-y hops. But on this one, I preferred the 1996 version. It is better balanced, smoother, and creamier. The 1997 is like a good fresh stew, with several ingredients easily identifiable; the 1996 the same stew after it simmers for hours, all the ingredients intermingling and balancing. I'm going to find some more '97 and put it down for next year.

Undoubtably best of the evening was the Samichlaus. The 1996 is dark, malty, a little sweet, reminiscent of raisins and fruits; a big mouthfeel, a true sipping liqueur among beers. But the 1995 is even better; lighter, more refined, tasting more of nuts and sherry. I would take the 1996 with a slice of black forest cake, or maybe some dark chocolate. For the 1995, savor it slowly with a pipe or a good cigar.

Last of the evening was Kulmbacher Reichelbrau Eisbock, vintage July 11,1996. ( Yes, a born on date!!). This one starts out as pure malt, even smelling like Whoppers when first poured. With 24% alcohol, it ends with a nice alcohol hit, like scotch and coffe and chocolate all together. This is THE original ice beer. We just found out, unfortunately, that it is no longer produced as of last year. Find it, buy it, hoard it !!! With all that alcohol, ain't no way it's going bad. If you think you have a bad bottle, send it over and I'll sample it for you!

Conclusions: the strong beers are not for the faint of heart or beer greenhorns; but if you appreciate a fine wine or a good scotch, you will enjoy the complexity and stronger alcohol. Find the Samichlaus, the Thomas Hardy, and try some like the Snow goose. Lay 'em down and hoard them for a few years. It's worth the effort.

Although Not a class yet...Single Malts

Single malt scotch, that is. Tried so far: Glenmorangie 10 and 18, Oban, Cragganmore, Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich, Talisker.

There aren't too many things better than kicking back with a great scotch and a good smoke. Sex, maybe; but it has to be GREAT sex. Some of these I've had once, some multiple.

The Glenlivet 12 tasted more like a blended scotch to me; put it on the low end of the spectrum.

Oban and Cragganmore we did an 'airline' bottle of each. Don't remember much about either, except I found no overwhelming reason to buy another.

Glenmorangie on the other hand is to die for ( or kill for). The 10 yr. old is lightly sweet, with a rich smokey-peat flavor that lasts forever. Very refreshing and clean flavor. The 18 yr. old is, as expected, a little less sweet and more complex; but very similar otherwise.

Glenfiddich starts with the same flavors and nose as a Glenmorangie; it just doesn't last. Great flavor up front, but no lingering finish.

The Talisker we had in St.Louis was outstanding! Extremely smokey and long lasting. I swear I still tasted it the next morning. Samples since then, however, have been less inspiring. It's had a harsh, almost chemical note, reminding me almost of the Rogue Smoke ale. Differences in bottles maybe ??? Or were we just totally blitzed in St.Louis ? ( as hard as that is to imagine).

So my rating so far ? Depends a little on how much you want to spend. My favorite is Glenmorangie 18 ( Bubba found on sale for $45). Next is Glenmorangie 10 ($30 at HyVee). Glenfiddich is a poor mans version ($18 at Sams when they have it). I can't justify buying a bottle of Talisker right now; but will continue trying it from different bottles. And I'll have to try the others again just to see.

Yes, it is a tough job, but somebody...........