Beer Review: Southern Tier Krampus

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Nine percent

Appearance: This poured a deep copper color. After reading "Helles Lager" on the front of the label I was shocked to see something in the amber range pour out of this bottle. Fooled by that imperial word once again. The head had a thick and creamy appearance. It came off as very fluffy. Almost like clouds or a pillow. This, in turn, ended up leaving some thick and web-like lacing. It was tough to notice the carbonation bustling around, but a closer look unveiled it.

Smell: This was intensely sweet and spicy. It almost had a wintery smell to it. Quite reminiscent of a winter warmer. There was also a layer of intense malt character. This was probably responsible for some of the sweetness. It was almost like sweet candy.

Taste: This mainly had a dark and roasty profile to it. Kind of like overdone toast. It was also kind of tangy. There was a vigorous showing of hops towards the back that was mid-way to the rest of the way back. This tasted very out of place in the brew. My mouth was partially saturated by that hop flavor for the rest of the drink. Nothing really mixed well in this. Most flavors seemed out of place.

Overall Rating: 

When I think Helles Lager I think clear, gold and crisp. Maybe some cracker and malt tastes. Not dark, roasty and hops. Good lord. The beer has a lovely color and looks great, but I can't remember any drink in my life where I was as confused as when I had this. Nothing worked well together. It was almost as if each component of the taste  didn't belong there.

Beer Review: Stoudt's Gold Lager

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: This Helles Lager had a lovely straw gold color to the body. There was some form of a haze gradient. It started in the upper portions of the brew and faded away to something a bit more transparent down below. The head was quite thick and had an attractive white fluffiness to it. It didn't appear to be fueled by many carbonation bubbles, but it did end up caving in on itself to leave some web-like sticky lacing inside my glass.

Smell: This smelled quite clean. I also noticed a grassiness as well as a bready backbone. Very crackery and a slight hop nose.

Taste: I mainly tasted crackers and bread for the most part on each sip of this beer. Those flavors were especially dominant from the front to mid portions of the tongue. An additional flavor on the mid portion was a touch of sweet caramel to offset some of the stronger savory flavors. The finish was very herbal, crisp as well as hoppy. The caramel in the middle helped to counteract with the bitterness I caught on the finish. Very clean and crisp, overall.

Overall Rating: 

I really enjoyed this. A really quality Helles Lager. A very clean beer. Good cracker flavor with a hint of sweet caramel. It also had a nice hoppy bite on the back. This was very balanced in all aspects of flavor. If anything it did play a bit light. Carbonation was also a tad lacking. Still, those aren't huge reasons to deduct points, in my book.

Beer Heroes, Too

Honoring and appreciating members of police officers, armed forces and firefighters has become a staple at sporting events in this day and time. Honoring what they do and mean to our communities is something we all should do.

We had a little incident here in Munhall (a suburb of Pittsburgh) this week. It certainly wasn't the largest disaster in the history of mankind, but could have been devastating if our responders weren't there to help suppress the situation.

As some of you usually ask by this point in some of my posts, "What does this have to do with beer?" I say that I'll eventually get there. It's alright to acknowledge some people that are a lot braver than I am.

If you read the article that I linked, you'll notice the name of the chief of Munhall No. 4 close to me. Not only is Dan Rojtas considered one of those aforementioned heroes in his own right, but he can also be classified as a sort of craft beer hero.

Rojtas and his brother Bryan (also a firefighter at Montgomery County Fire Rescue Station 31) recently had an amazing idea to purchase 24 cases of pumpkin beer (even though it's out in the blazing heat of August) and sought out 23 other people to purchase a case that included one bottle of beer from each of the 24 cases. Get the gist? Also, this was of no profit to either. Their aim is strictly to try as many pumpkin beers as possible while being able to spread the wealth and tastiness of beer. Bryan was responsible for a few brews that aren't found in Pennsylvania being included in this "variety pack," which included the vaunted Schlafly Pumpkin. Something that I've never come across even with people out-of-state looking for it.

Rojtas assembling the "pumpkin variety" cases.

They plan on doing something similar in future seasons when the correct seasonal beers come out. This is certainly fodder for future posts in the future. I'm all for hoarding more beer.

Munhall No. 4 has also brought more than great deeds and beer to the surrounding area. It had a mini-fundraiser in recent weeks and sold hoagies (sub sandwiches for those of you outside of Western Pa.) from DiCarlo's here in Pittsburgh. Hoagies that go great with a Pilsner or a Helles Lager. I'll certainly try to let the local folk know the next time this happens.

Ah, Munich

I tend to quote the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when he's kissing Dr. Elsa Schneider and he looks up and proclaims "Ah, Venice." The problem is that I usually fill the spot used for Venice with just about anything.

The most recent usage of the phrase was when I read this post on a beer blogger's trip to Munich, Germany. I'm sure you've already figured out how my phrase was put together. I want to follow in this blogger's footsteps.

I've had many Civil War battlefield escapades as thy are somewhat close to me here on the east coast. A World War II tour of a few European spots is also on my bucket list. I'd start in Normandy, France and check out the beach heads )Operation Overlord took place later tonight back in 1944) and certainly make it to the Munich/Berchtesgaden/Bavaria area of Germany. People tend to hate the Hofbrauhaus we have here in Pittsburgh. I certainly hate it on Friday and Saturday nights as t turns into a douchebag fest. The food and beer is very tasty, in my opinion. Then again, I love German food. I'd definitely want to get to the original one in Munich.

I'm in no way a beer/food pairing expert. One thing that I do know that pars excellently with multiple beer styles is a bratwurst. This happens quite a lot in Germany. No bratwurst? Sure, just get me a nice Bavarian pretzel. The blog post I linked mentions that some might look at the beer selection in Germany and frown upon it. There isn't a lot of variety as there is here in the States, but if I had to try just Helles Lagers the entire trip I'd be perfectly fine.

There's A LOT of Helles over there, too.

Beer Review: Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde Lager

Serving Type: Can

ABV: 4.5  percent

Appearance: Bikini Blonde Lager pours a dark gold. The body is mostly hazy, which is sort of uncharacteristic for a Helles Lager (at least in my experiences with them). I was still able to notice a good multitude of rising carbonation bubbles. The head of the brew was a crisp white and foamy. it also slightly receded after a few seconds, but there was a nice creamy layer of foam for the duration of the drink.

Smell: The aroma consisted of a touch of sweet malt and a strong yeast presence. There was also a small bit of floral hops that made this feel very spring or summery. It was a crisp, fresh smell.

Taste: This was very sweet and malty up front, initially. The floral hoppiness of this contributed to a clean, crisp and bitter finish. I also caught a fruity sensation in the aftertaste a few sips into this beer. Still, that wasn't enough to make me classify this as a fruit beer. It still compliments the rest of the product quite well. We can't forget about that appetizing layer of foam that was atop the beer. It provided a touch of creaminess.

Overall Rating: 

I really enjoyed this beer. If anything was wrong, it was a bit too malty. I would have preferred a bit more balance. This is a goody for beach drinking. Especially if it's hot outside. I've heard and read rumors that this beer is no longer brewed as well as that it's still in existence. Whichever the reason, I was lucky to finally come across this. I'll continue to look and see which of the two aforementioned rumors is true.