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Bell’s Black Note Stout Review

February 22, 2012 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

Black Note Stout from Bell’s Brewery, Inc. is a blend of their Expedition Stout and Double Cream stout. It is then aged in retired bourbon barrels for months. I was lucky enough to try this beer on tap at Chappy’s Taproom. This beer was recently released in bottles in extremely limited quantities for the first time.

From the Bell’s website:

One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell’s history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.

Alcohol by Volume: 11.5%
Original Gravity: 1.112
Shelf Life: N/A

APPEARANCE

Well, what do you expect? It’s black as night, and sat under a mocha-colored head that dissipated quickly. There was no lacing, but the beer had some pretty apparent alcohol legs. There wasn’t any light coming through on this one. With a name like Black Note, would you expect anything else?

SMELL

This is heavy on the bourbon in the nose, which brings notes of vanilla and toasted coconut. There is a lot of nice complexity that ranges from sweet to slightly boozy. A hefty amount of chocolate and licorice comes through, and brings a bit of coffee and roasted malt with it. This is the type of beer that you get full from by just smelling – there is a LOT going on!

TASTE

First off, this beer is remarkably smooth. The bourbon is not as strong as it was on the nose, but it is definitely present. With it, the bourbon brings notes of vanilla, licorice, and toasted coconut come out. Surprisingly, the alcohol is very well hidden. The beer starts off milky sweet, with smooth caramel and toffee characteristics, then finishes with a nice hoppy bitterness. The bourbon lasts a long time after the swallow, making this beer have an absolutely amazing after taste.

MOUTHFEEL

This beer drinks like a pillow – it’s smooth! It has a velvet-creamy mouthfeel, sort of like melted chocolate. There isn’t much carbonation, which adds to the creaminess. The beer has a nice big body which makes it a sipper. The intense aftertaste lingers for an extremely long time.

OVERALL

This beer is incredible. It can hang with the big boy bourbon barrel aged brews and hold its ground. It’s a special beer from a brewery that is arguably one of the best brewers of stouts. I wouldn’t say that this is the barrel-aged stout to end all barrel-aged stouts, but it is absolutely incredible and worth seeking out.

Cheers.

SCORE: ★★★★ 4/5

This review can also be found at Snobby Beer.

Craft Beer Goes Gluten Free – Dogfish Head Tweason’ale Review

February 15, 2012 By Max Spang 1 Comment

Tweason’ale from Dogfish Head is a gluten free, sorghum based beer brewed with strawberries and honey. This is the first 4 pack in the Dogfish Head lineup in 5 years. Dogfish Head certainly isn’t the first brewery to make gluten free beer, but this is arguably the biggest release of a beer of this type.

From the Dogfish Head website:

The No. 1 thing Dogfish lovers ask for at our pub, in our brewery and on our website is a gluten-free beer. But not just any gluten-free beer — they want gluten-free with gusto.

“It seems as if lots of folks who have gluten-tolerance issues are pining for an interesting beer,” says Dogfish founder and president Sam Calagione. “While there are a few well-made examples that mirror traditional beer styles, there arent any off-centered offerings.”

Enter Tweason’ale.

For our first new 12-ounce 4-packs in nearly half a decade, we replaced the classic barley foundation of beer with a mild sorghum base. The hints of molasses and pit-fruit are balanced by vibrant strawberry notes and a unique complexity that comes with the addition of a malty buckwheat honey.

We believe health-conscious beer drinkers and the millions of Americans who suffer from Celiac disease can cut back on gluten while relishing the distinction and drinkability of this very special brew.

Tweasonale is a seasonal for between the seasons. It will first hit shelves in late January 2012 and will be released four times a year through our national network of distributors.

This beer was pretty labor-intensive to make, but it was a beautiful process. We invited our artist friends Jamie and Kevin to come document our brew with their ultra-cool Cinemagraph process. Check out the process here.

Original Release Date:

07/2011

Food Pairing Recommendations:

Fatty fish, dried fruit, salted nuts

Wine Comparable:

Rose

Here is my review for this beer.

APPEARANCE

Beautiful stuff – it’s a crystal clear honey-blonde color. The head was small and didn’t stick around for very long, but there was some nice visible carbonation in the glass sort of like champagne. In fact, this beer looks a lot like champagne due to its clarity. I must say it makes me thirsty just looking at it!

SMELL

The strawberry comes through and creates a nice, refreshing aroma. It’s on the border between smelling like fresh fruit and artificial fruit, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case. It’s followed by an unusual earthy aroma, and perhaps grassy notes and baker’s yeast. The honey is subtle, but present. Overall, this a nice smelling fruit beer.

TASTE

This beer has some interesting flavors! The strawberry comes out, bringing some nice sweetness and slight tartness. There’s sort of a spicey character, not quite like Belgian yeast notes (clove, banana, etc) but more like fresh or candied ginger. There’s some slight earthiness in there, but not as much as the nose. A yeast flavor comes through as it warms. It almost reminds me of sparkling grape juice in terms of flavor.

MOUTHFEEL

This is a really light beverage. There isn’t much body to it, which makes it extremely easy drinking. It’s nice and effervescent, and it doesn’t really feel like beer. It feels more like champagne or even soda due to the dryness and the high carbonation.

OVERALL

Not a bad brew in the least bit! I grabbed a whole 4 pack, and I’m glad that I did. It’s got some really nice flavors and is super easy to drink, so this is a beverage for both people who like beer as well as people who don’t. It’s nice to see a fairly large craft brewery like Dogfish Head produce a gluten-free beer that people with or without gluten allergies can appreciate. The lack of body makes the brew a little under-satisfying, but the complex flavors make up for it.

Cheers.

SCORE: ★★★ 3/5

This review can also be found at Snobby Beer.

Bell’s Hopslam – Video Review

January 24, 2012 By Max Spang 3 Comments

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEsjL3FTXgs’]

This is the Snobby Beer review of Hopslam from Bell’s Beer, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Hopslam is an American Imperial IPA ( or double IPA ) that gets tons and tons of hype when it is released each year. Hopslam is brewed with six different hop varieties and honey to create a complex flavor and body.

There’s also a nice little shout out to the guys at the Better Beer Authority! Cheers, guys!

From the Bells website:

“Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repertoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.”

Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you think! Grab a beer and leave a comment.

This post can also be found at Snobby Beer.

The Brew Kettle White Rajah – Video Review

January 20, 2012 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHw-nL7hgBM’]

A fantastic beer made right here in Ohio!

This is the Snobby Beer review of White Rajah from The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, Ohio. White Rajah is an American IPA that has been getting a lot of attention. I feel like I don’t showcase enough of the fantastic beers from my home state of Ohio, so I’m trying to fix that!

From the Brew Kettle website:

“A West Coast style IPA full of citrus-like and tropical fruit like hop flavor and aroma with an assertive yet smooth bitter finish….malt, take a back seat please.”

Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you think! Grab a beer and leave a comment.

Natural Light ( Natty Light ) – Video Review

January 10, 2012 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UOJbI0lg2g’]

This is the Snobby Beer review of Natural Light (AKA Natty Light) from Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, Missouri. Natural Light is a light lager served in cans and bottles. The beer has a reputation as being a college student’s beer of choice due to it’s affordability.

Hey, every beer deserves a fair review!

From the Anheuser Busch website:

“Natural Light is a wonderfully blended, balanced and brewed for a consistently clean flavor, light body and satisfying refreshment. Introduced in 1977, Natural Light was Anheuser-Busch’s first reduced-calorie light beer.”

Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you think! Grab a beer and leave a comment.

The Bruery – 4 Calling Birds review

January 2, 2012 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

I know, the holidays are over. But it is still the Winter season, and there’s still plenty of beer to be enjoyed! This one was consumed on Christmas Eve 2011.

4 Calling Birds from The Bruery is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, and is 11% ABV. This is part of the 12 Days of Christmas series. The Bruery will release a beer every year, and started with A Partridge in a Pear Tree. This is the fourth in the series. Each beer is made to be aged until the 12th year of the series (12 Drummers Drumming).

From The Bruery’s website:

Spiced Strong Dark Ale. The Twelve Days of Christmas series continues! We took inspiration from the traditional winter warmer for our fourth verse, integrating gingerbread spices into a robust dark ale. Notes of licorice & banana bread mingle with dark fruit, molasses and bitter chocolate for a perfect cold weather sipper!

APPEARANCE

The beer pours a deep, dark reddish brown – almost black. It had a mocha head with large bubbles, and disappeared quickly. As I drank, there was no head and no visible carbonation. Large alcohol legs grab the edge of the glass. Not a bad looking brew. [Read more…] about The Bruery – 4 Calling Birds review

Holiday Beers

December 22, 2011 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

‘Tis the season! Sure, you can have some Egg Nog, but with all of the Holiday-themed beers all over the place this time of year why not grab a brew? But where do you start? Here’s a short list of beers that are available in the Dayton area that are sure to give you a festive attitude (but hopefully not too festive, if you know what I mean). Each has a link to either a written or video review of the beer.

Happy Holidays!

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Navada‘s Celebration Ale is an american IPA brewed with fresh hops, meaning that the hops were used in the brewing process very soon after they were harvested. This is a seasonal beer that comes out every year in winter. This 6.8% ABV IPA contains no spices or other adjuncts. Read the review for this beer.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

Noel De Calabaza is brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Michigan. This beer is released once a year around the Holidays. Unlike other “Christmas” beers, this ale features no spices or adjuncts. Like all Jolly Pumpkin brews, this beer is open-fermented and aged in oak barrels. Batch 903, bottled 10-3-11. 9% Alcohol by volume. Enjoyed on 11-23-11. Read the review for this beer.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Great Lakes Christmas Ale This is the Snobby Beer Review of Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio. This beer is released once a year in November and December, and sells out extremely quickly. It’s a winter warmer, and is brewed with cinnamon, ginger, honey, and Yule Tide Cheer. There’s a Facebook page dedicated to this beer, and it has almost as many Likes as the Great Lakes page!. Watch the review for this beer.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale This is the Snobby Beer Review of Christmas Ale from St. Bernardus in Watou, Belgium. This beer is released once a year in Winter. Similar to the Abt. 12, and classified as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, this beer comes in at a hefty 10% ABV. The label on the bottle claims that this beer can be aged for up to 15 years due to the living yeast that remains in the bottle. This is the most recent offering from St. Bernardus, which was brewed all the way back in 1946! Watch the review for this beer.

Aging Beer Like Fine Wine

December 13, 2011 By Max Spang 3 Comments

Have you ever had a Bud or a Miller that was just a little bit too old? Perhaps someone left it in the garage during a party in the Spring, and you forgot all about it until well after Summer was over. You thought “Oh, what the heck” and cracked it open to see how it tastes.

Uh oh.

If you’ve done something like this, then you are probably scarred for life. The thought of aging beer may sound like a one-way ticket to Skunksville. However, you may be surprised to know beers, like wine, can actually mature for months, years, and even decades. You might even find the occasional bottle that has a “Best After” date rather than a “Best Before” date. The idea of sitting on perfectly good beer for months or years may sound crazy to you at first, but your patience will be rewarded in the long run.

Here are some things to think about regarding aging beers.

The Environment

The most important factor in aging your beer, also called “cellaring”, is the environment in which it will be aged. Throwing it in the garage or attic might be slightly more convenient in terms of space, but that kind of unstable environment is no good for storing beer.

Caves make great environments for beer. You know, for those of you who have an extra cave laying around

The optimum environment for beer is a cool and dark area with minimal temperature fluctuations. Light and high temperatures will do terrible things to beer over time. The optimum temperature range for most beer aging is 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit (10-13 degrees Celsius). You want the bottles to remain relatively dry but have enough moisture in the air to prevent corked beers from drying out. You also want to store your beer upright as opposed to horizontally like wine, even with corked beer. More information on why you store beer upright can be found here.

Unless you have a cave system underneath your house, this environment isn’t necessarily readily available in most homes and apartments. Fortunately, there are other options available. A wine chiller with the racks taken out can make a great spot to age beer. An extra refrigerator with a thermostat may also suffice, but keep in mind that refrigerators are very dry and may cause corked beers to dry out over time. If you have a basement, underneath your stairs or in a in a dark corner may be adequate places to age your beers. If you don’t have a basement, a small closet may be a suitable option. However, the general consensus is that if you are not in optimum cellaring conditions, you should only age beers for 2-3 years max.

Organization

Organization may not be a big concern when you first start aging beers, but after having a large random collection of unidentifiable bottles laying around you’ll learn the importance of organization. How to you go about organizing beer? That is entirely up to you. You may want to organize by brewery, style, age, or other ways.

Make sure your beers are easily-identifiable.

No matter which way you organize, you want to be able to easily identify what the beer is, who makes it, and how old it is.

If you have the space and can afford it, shelving units are some of the best and easiest ways to organize your beer. Just set up a few shelves, and stack the beers with the labels face-out.

You may also want to put dates on the beers that don’t have the “Bottled On” date printed on the label. I personally write the dates on strips of paper, then stick them on the neck of the bottles with clear Scotch tape. Dating bottles is important because it’s easy to lose track of the age of beers as your collection grows.

The Beer

Now that you know a little bit about storage, you can start thinking about the important stuff; the beer. There are a lot of types of beer that are great candidates for aging, and many that are not recommended to be aged. There are a few general rules of thumb regarding what types of beers should be aged:

High Alcohol Beers

Alcohol is one heck of a preservative. High alcohol beers are usually prime candidates for aging because they will remain preserved while the flavors mature over time. Generally speaking, beers over 8-9% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) can be aged for up to a few years. Beers that are much higher, closer to 15% and up, can be aged for many, many years. Not all high ABV beers are good candidates for cellaring, but this is generally a good starting point.

Bottle Conditioned/Refermented Beers

Sometimes, brewers will leave a small amount of yeast when they bottle their brews, which carbonate the beers naturally. These beers are known as “Bottle Conditioned” or “Bottle Refermented” beers. You can tell if a beer is bottle conditioned by holding it up to light and seeing the little slurry of yeast at the bottom of the bottle. Don’t be alarmed if you see this, yeast are perfectly fine to drink – though, you may want to leave the last ounce or so in the bottle as you pour so you do not affect the flavor of your beer. Bottle conditioned beers have live yeast in them, which would love nothing more than you hang out and create subtle flavor changes to your beer over time. Not all bottle conditioned beers can be aged, but it is something to look for on your beer aging quest.

Lambics/Sours

Lambics, and some other sour beers, contain a cocktail of natural yeasts and bacteria. Lambics go through what is called open fermentation or spontaneous fermentation, meaning only natural yeasts and bacteria from the surrounding area are used to ferment the beer. Lambics are considered one of the best beers to age, and many Lambic enthusiasts may argue that they will only get better with time. Generally low in alcohol, these sour beers rely on the living organisms that are contained in the bottle to keep them preserved. Their aging potential is extraordinary – I have read about lambics being aged for over 40 years and still tasting amazing! Other sour beers, such as American Wild Ales, contain many of the same bacteria and natural yeast as Lambics, and will continue to mature as the years go by.

Recommendations of Beers to Age

Not sure where to start? Here’s a few recommendations of beers to grab and age.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. Buy a sixer - drink some now, some later.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
An American Barley Wine, Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot is released once a year in January. The bottle has the year printed right on the cap, which is handy for organization. They sell this beer in six-packs, which gives you the opportunity to easy get a collection started. The beer is very hop-forward when it is fresh, and will mellow out and become much smoother over the years. This is perhaps one of the easiest beers to grab to start your cellar.

Stone Vertical Epic Beers
These beers from Stone are all designed to be aged and enjoyed “Sometime beyond 12.12.12”. The first release of this beer was 02.02.02, and there have been releases every year since (03.03.03, 04.04.04, and so on). Stone has recently released the 11.11.11 batch, which contains a Flanders yeast, chillies, and cinnamon. Grab two bottles of any that you find – one to drink now, and one to drink after 12.12.12. They are generally Belgian-influenced, and each of them has their own style-defying “twists”.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale
Probably one of the most commonly aged beers, this English Barley Wine comes in at a heft 11.5% ABV. It’s a big, chewy, and sweet beer that will change slowly over time. Vintage bottles of this ale are fairly easy to find (I recently grabbed a 1999 off the shelf!). This is one of those beers that can pretty much be aged for decades, and it’s not uncommon to hear about people sampling vintages of this beer from the 1980s. Barrel-aged versions of this beer are also available.

St. Bernardus Abt 12. A great Quad from Belgium that is perfect for aging.

St. Bernardus Abt 12
The label on this bottle-conditioned Belgian Quad claims that the beer can be aged for up to 15 years. Known as one of the best and most widely available Trappist Quads, the beer has notes of dark fruits, caramel, and spice notes from the Belgian yeast strain. It is available all year round at finer bottle shops.

Some other styles that are usually good candidates for aging: Geueze, Imperial Stout, Barley Wine, American Wild Ale, Old Ale, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Quad, Braggot, Flanders Red Ale, Wheatwine, etc.

Note: There are a few styles of beer that you do not want to age. These include Pale Ales, IPAs*, and other hop-forward styles, as well as low ABV beers such as Berliner Weiss, Wits, Wheat Beers, etc.

*Some beers labeled as IPAs can potentially be aged, I.E. Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, Founders Devil Dancer, Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree, etc.

Cheers.

For more information, beer reviews, home-brewing banter, and more, check out Snobby Beer.

Rivertown Lambic – Snobby Beer Video Reviews

December 6, 2011 By Max Spang 2 Comments

This is the Snobby Beer Review of the Lambic made by Rivertown Brewing Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The beer style is a lambic, which goes through what is called spontaneous fermentation where natural yeasts and bacteria are used to ferment the beer. Lambics are known for their “wild” flavors, which may include sourness and what is affectionately referred to as “funk”.

It’s a very interesting style, and it was brewed right here in Ohio! This beer is the 2010 vintage. It can still be found at finer bottle shops in the Dayton, Cincinnati, and other areas where Rivertown is distributed.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afijtisA5Q4′]

Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you think! Grab a beer and leave a comment.

Tröegs Mad Elf – Snobby Beer Reviews

November 28, 2011 By Max Spang 3 Comments

Troegs Mad Elf Beer. It’s a wonderful combination of barley, hops, water, and yeast. These four ingredients can produce a huge variety of styles of beer, from refreshing Lagers to chewy Imperial Stouts. There are beers for every occasion. Beer is something enjoyed by a diverse group of people. Beer is something you can make at home. It can be cheap, and it can be expensive. It can be widely available, and it can be extremely rare. If you’ve read this far, then you probably can agree: beer is awesome.

Now that it’s almost December, seasonal brews have shifted from Oktoberfests and Pumpkin Ales to Winter Warmers and Spiced Ales. These seasonal beers are among my favorite styles, if for no other reason than they just feel special. I decided to share my review for one of these beers as my first review on Dayton Most Metro.

Enter: Mad Elf from Tröegs Brewing Co. in Harrisburg, PA.

From the Tröegs Website:

The Mad Elf, a cheerful creation to warm your heart and enlighten your tongue. The combination of Cherries, Honey, and Chocolate Malts delivers gentle fruits and subtle spices. Fermented and aged with a unique yeast, this ruby red beer has significant warming strength that underlies the pleasant character of this intriguing yet delicious Ale. The Mad Elf, a jolly and delicious beer for the Holidays.

My review for this beer:

Troegs Mad Elf 2011

This beer is 11% Alcohol By Volume, and 15 IBUs (International Bittering Units).

Served in a Christmas tulip!

APPEARANCE

This Elf is a lovely deep copper-red color and is more translucent than expected. The head was about a one finger khaki color, and dissipated in a hurry – none of it remained. It looks like a lovely brew! I feel like the cherries were added to give it a good amount of color, but not so much on the flavor (more on that later).

SMELL

There is some definite big Belgian yeast/spice character coming through. Surprisingly, alcohol isn’t that present. There is a lovely honey aroma, but not a lot of the cherries. There’s a good bit of raisin bread character, and the Belgian spiciness is met with some dark fruitiness. It smells fantastic and inviting.

TASTE

Yum – this is a big bad beer. There’s a lot of chewy bread-like character, and some wonderful dark fruit character. The sweetness is definitely high, but not cloying. The honey comes through at the back of the tongue and hangs around for a little while after the swallow. The cherry flavor is present, but it’s not very noticeable. The Belgian spiciness is a nice addition to to overall flavor, but isn’t the focus of the beer. Alcohol? Schmalcohol, this beer doesn’t appear to have the stuff.

MOUTHFEEL

This Elf starts off big and chewy, and feels slightly syrupy (the good kind of syrupy). At the end, there’s a bit of dryness that ups the drinkability. It’s nice and warming after each sip, and even though you can’t taste the alcohol, you can feel it! There isn’t much carbonation to speak of, which works well in a thicker beer like this. The beer is pretty drinkable, yet it demands to be savored.

OVERALL

This beer is excellent. This is definitely not a beer to drink every night, but is great for cold winter nights. It doesn’t have as much spice character as other Holiday beers, but is a MUST for this time of the year. I don’t know what made the Elf Mad, but this beer makes me very happy. Due to the high ABV of this beer, it’s a prime candidate for aging in your basement or cellar. Plus, I love the fact that they sell it in a variety of ways – 22 Oz Bombers, 12 oz. Singles, and even six-packs instead of four-packs! It gives you the opportunity to buy a sixer, drink a few, then age the rest.

This beer is available at fine bottle shops in Dayton, such as Belmont Party Supply, Arrow Wine & Spirits, Liquor & Wine Warehouse, and more. They should also be available at your favorite craft beer bars – but get them fast before they sell out!

Cheers.

SCORE: ★★★★ 4/5

This and other reviews can also be found at Snobby Beer.