Monday Rant: We're Very Forgetful

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "respect your elders" at many points over the years. I've sensed over time that I've become one of the keepers/backers of such a phrase.

For whatever reason, I developed an extreme craving for brown ales over the weekend. I had one of Voodoo Brewery's Wynona's Big Brown Ales stocked in the fridge. So, I cracked it and poured it into a glass.

My God was it tasty. Not only because it was actually good, but my body needed a beer that tasted as such for whatever reason. I just craved the chocolate and toffee roastiness of a brown ale. I supplemented all of this by also making a journey to East End Brewing to snag a growler of the very sessionable Fat Gary Nut Brown. That too was satisfying.

Once in a while I grab and open up Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer of the Oxford Companion to Beer and read about the specific styles that I'm drinking or the intricacies of each one.

It was yesterday that I discovered that brown ales are one of the old British cornerstones of beer. Right up there with porter and pale ale. Then I thought to myself that with the ultra creativity we see in craft beer today, we sometimes forget the roots of such a great drink. We're sometimes like children that ignore what our grandparents tell us. Just because a certain style is old doesn't mean that they're boring and outdated!

Beer Review: Anchor Humming Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.9 percent

Appearance: This came off to me as slightly foggy, but an interesting color similar to clover honey. The color itself seemed to be textured. it was very vivid and flashy to the eye. There were only just a few bubbles that I could notice with the haze, but there was a thin white head that got even thinner after a minute or two. What remained of the head had some great retention and even left some average lacing. I was intrigued by the interesting appeal of this beer.

Smell: The aroma of this brew could easily be classified as somewhere in between fruity and citrusy in my mind. I got hop notes that were quite pungent. In case you aren't really familiar with my tastes, this usually worries me. My first inclination was that this was a very bitter beer.

Taste: There was a ton of floral taste from the hops hat I noticed at first. Oddly, this struck me on the front of the tongue. I didn't pick up much of the citrus that I noticed in the brew's smell. What I did get was a big bite from the hops in this. I expected just a touch of paleness knowing that this was a form of a pale ale. I got plenty of hops instead. I've tried some IPA's that were loaded with hops. They never gave me hiccups. This pale ale did!

Overall Rating: 

I really loved the way this beer looked. The aroma was just as intriguing  as it was worrisome (mostly because I'm not Mr. Hoppy Beer). As for the hiccups? I'm assuming it's from the hops. Yikes! A good while back I wrote a Monday Rant post about the diversity I've found in the American Pale Ale style. That's if it is even an actual style or something American brewers here in the states just developed over time. I think this definitely fits in with what I explained in that post.

Beer Review: Cisco Whale's Tale Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.6 percent

Appearance: This Pale Ale was a light brown in color. Some might even classify it as something closer to an orange. It appeared to have both a thickness to its body as well as a haze. With the haze I noticed, there was also a tiny amount of bubbles that were still visible. Despite the appearance of the bubbles, they failed to assist the brew's head to amount any strength or retention. In this regard, the beer looked somewhat weak. From what I could notice, it was an off-white color.

Smell: I was able to pick up a fruity and ester-like profile from this one. It smelled very sweet. For whatever reason, I was reminded of tea. Then upon looking at it, the light brown of the brew's color resembled much the same. This also seemed to have a strong malty backbone to it.

Appearance: The taste of this beer was really bold. The malt seemed to boast a dark or roasted tang to it. There was a slight hint of fruit on the tip of my tongue as well as a strong bitterness it glided towards the back. This also featured a very complex, unique and pale aftertaste. The hop character of this brew mixed quite well with the paleness that's a great aspect of this beer's flavor profile.

Overall Rating: 

I started off on a bad note with this one. It looked like there was some thickness in the body, but it also looked very weak without the presence of a strong head. The smell was fruity and intriguing and the taste was as close to a home run as you can get in a good beer. Overall, this beer just seemed like a creative idea that was well-crafted and not an experiment gone bad as we sometimes come across.

Beer Review: Boulder Hazed and Infused

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: This beer had a body that was in the territory of a light copper. The head was over two inches in thickness and was a pretty, but complimentary (to the copper body) cream color. The beer in general looks thick and hazy. The head looked thick and fluffy and ended pup leaving some ample lacing inside the glass. I honestly could see the lacing marks for each sip I took once I finished the beer. I know that's one of those intricate things that beer geeks love.

Smell: I was surprised by the strong scent of tart fruit that emanated from this. I bought this as part of a mixed six pack on a recommendation that it was brewed with fresh raspberry pulp. That might have been it. It was complimented with an intense floral hop aroma.

Taste: I picked out the sweetness of the fruit right on the front of my tongue ion the very first sip of this beer. The floral hop notes I noticed in the smell once again jumped back into the picture as I got closer to the finish. The hops were pretty intense. This was most likely due to the dry-hopping that was used in the brewing process. The hop flavor and the tartness of the fruit in the beer combined amazingly on the finish. Add the tangy citrus of from the hops used in this beer and everything ties together even tighter.

Overall Rating: 

This one was definitely a winner with me. It's classified as an American Pale Ale, but we all know how that style has a lot of varieties in it. Still, I didn't notice much of a pale after taste as I usually enjoy. The smell wasn't as complex as I would have hoped due to the intensity of the two scents I discovered. The hops were intense once I started drinking this as well, but the other aspects of the taste were very present, too. I'm currently awaiting my next date with this brew!

Beer Review: Rogue Juniper Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.3 percent

Appearance: Rogue's Juniper Pale Ale has a body that resembled the color of golden honey and had a slight haze that hid any presence of carbonation bubbles. It was topped off with a puffy white head that rose to a peak of about three inches. If was soft to the touch and faded away fast as you drink it. Most of it stuck to the inside of the glass. Enough was left that I wasn't sure whether I should have still called it head or lacing. In my book that's a good thing.

Smell: I was kind of reminded of a spruce ale when I initially smelled this brew. I was kind of confused. It was full of spruce and pine. By pine, I don't exactly mean in a hop sense. It actually smelled like the woods. Basically, intense grassiness. I didn't pick up much of anything else such as hop notes or malt.

Taste: To put it simply, the pine essence in this beer was stingy on my tongue. A lot of people expect this beer to have tartness of berries when in fact juniper berries are more like pine cones. I got some of the malt character this time around. There was a ton of malt in this, as Rogue had a big malt bill. It was almost as if the flavor of this beer was undecided on what it actually wanted ti be. This had a very dry finish as well. Nothing in this beer said pale ale to me.

Overall Rating: 

A week or two ago I posted a Monday Rant on the increasing variety of American Pale Ales. This just might fall into that category. This beer was just weird for my tastes. I understand that Rogue is very creative and I appreciate that, but this just wasn't up my alley. When I get spruce or pine, I want something darker, sweeter and a with some molasses or brown sugar.

Beer Review: Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Pennant Ale '55 pours somewhere between a gold or an amber color. The color ended up being the most appetizing part of this. There wasn't much carbonation to be noticed. The head of the brew was cream white and began as a very thin layer of foam before fading away into oblivion. It left no lacing on the inside of the glass.

Smell: Overall, the aroma of this beer was very malty and sweet. The malt seemed to pass off a scent of slight roast. I think the extra punch of sweetness was honey, which was a nice touch.

Taste: This beer definitely earned some points with me on in this area. Everything was quite well-balanced. The sweetness of the honey and what I also noticed to be caramel hit me on the front. On the back, I got a complimentary bitter finish that evened everything out. The paleness of the brew sits on the back in the aftertaste.

Overall Rating: 

I didn't get off to a great start with this beer, but things did improve afterwards. I got some nice sweet malt and honey in the smell and I was very pleased with the balanced taste. I just wish this beer would have been able to appear a little more active to make this experience a complete one.

Monday Rant: Double Dosage

I had an unusual encounter with a beer this past weekend. This event caused me to split this week's edition of this post into two rants. This tends to happen to me when I have a beer and end up being somewhat disappointed with its flavor. Oh, alright I'll admit the truth. It's usually hops and this was the case once again.

American Pale Ales - A Diverse Style

I wont point names or name fingers, but I had a particular pale ale Saturday evening and for whatever reason it just tasted like an IPA to me. It had wonderful color as well as decent head and attractive retention. Each sip was just a mouthful of piney hoppiness and I'm not the world's biggest fan of that type of bitterness.

When I think of pale ales, I think of something on the British side. I like it on the maltier side with that awesome pale aftertaste. I obviously don't prefer them to be closer to IPA's. I'm starting to discover that within the style of the modern American Pale Ale there is a lot of diversity.

Take the pale ale I mentioned earlier as an example. Compare that to something like Flying Dog's Doggy Style Pale Ale, which is a lot maltier, and you'll understand the depth of the variety in this category. Which leads me to my next venture.

Craft Trends - How Much is Too Much?

Yea, nobody uses this hashtag but me.

This run-in with this really hoppy pale ale also sparked a thought in my mind concerning a trend in today's craft beer scene. Are we getting to the point where some brewers are just putting hops in their brews for the sake of putting more hops in than the competition? Could this possibly be because that's what a good portion of the beer community wants? I'm certainly not going to hate without ruling out that possibility. I try to see all of the angles.

If that's true, then so be it. I might just be in the minority on this one. You might like hoppy beers that are dominated like hops. Especially the pale ale I didn't enjoy on Saturday. That's perfectly fine.

I just get irked when I read things like this at Ding's Beer Blog. If making bigger and hoppier IPA's than other brewers are is what's really going on then craft beer is heading down a road full of pot holes.

Beer Review: Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.6 percent

Appearance: Philadelphia Pale Ale pours a golden straw color with a pretty active head. It was white and very fluffy. It was thick enough that I could actually take a finger, make an indentation in it and still not touch the beer's body. Thankfully, this wasn't a case where the head was so explosive that it takes 20 minutes just to pour the beer. This was a perfect instance. The retention was only average, but it was made up for by the layers of lacing that were left inside the glass. The golden body is somewhat clear (as you can obviously see the label of glass I poured this into), but the head presence let's you know this beer isn't watered-down.

Smell: This was very sweet and malty, but at the same time had a lovely mix of hop and citrus aromas. This was an interesting thing I noticed. You don't usually pick up citrus in pale ales.

Taste: The way this beer tasted reminded me of Troegs Sunshine Pils, but with a citrusy twist. I got the hop notes, and the pale aftertaste. The zing from the citrus and the sweet malt just go on to compliment the two traditional aspects of this style. The hop presence of this beer is also up to par with the above-average hopped Sunshine Pils. It works out perfectly. The hops compliment the finer aspects of the brew, and aren't the dominant ingredient. Overall, the taste was crisp and refreshing.

Overall Rating: 

The first sentence of the Philadelphia Pale Ale page on Yards' website says that they believe that all other beers of this style compare to this one in particular. I wholeheartedly agree. This was a fantastic drink. The fact that there was a nice floral hop presence and some citrus zest present vaults this pale ale over any other that I've had.

Beer Review: Troegs Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.4 percent

Appearance: Troegs Pale Ale pours somewhere in between a gold and a copper. There's a slight haziness throughout the body which also adds some attractiveness. There weren't a lot of bubbles floating throughout to provided any evidence of carbonation which helped to cast some doubt in my mind about the beer's texture. However, the head is white and frothy and had maybe a quarter of an inch thickness. It had above-average retention as the beer was consumed.

Smell: Initially, this beer had a strong aroma of grassiness. Some floral scents were also picked up. I was really reminded of being somewhere outdoors, most likely a forest. There was also a tad of yeastiness as well as a backbone of citrus from the hops.

Taste: I was worried that the hops would takeover the taste of this beer. I was pleasantly surprised. The hop character was balanced out by the hints of caramel on the front of the tongue. This beer finishes with an aftertaste that features the crust/yeast and that subtle paleness you look for.

Overall Rating: 

The only qualms I have with this beer is the slight lack in carbonation, which limits the texture of the beer a bit, and  possibly an overuse of hops. Again, this is most likely just my preference because I'm one to always go easy with hops. Maybe a bit more caramel? Otherwise, an awesome and enjoyable drink. I'm rarely disappointed by any Troegs offering.

Beer Review: Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: Flying Dog's Pale Ale pours an interesting shade of dark brown. The upper portion of the brew was a dark amber while the lower parts of it were a bit lighter and closer to the orange/tan spectrum. It also has a slight cloudiness to it with a half-inch bubbly, white head.

Smell: This beer was somewhat of a surprise in the aroma department. I picked up some malt that had a roasted scent to it. Behind that was a little amount of citrus, which I assume came from the hops. Here, I usually expect aromas of a lot less strengths such as wheat and yeast. Maybe even some honey. This definitely didn't go easy on the sweetness.

Taste: On the front, I got a ton of that roasted malt I picked up in the scent. The back featured the hop bitterness, which was a bit overpowering for my taste buds. The aftertaste leaves you with that characteristic paleness you expect from beers of this style. It finally came at the last second, but the paleness you'd expect was finally there.

Overall Rating:

In pale ales, I usually expect something a bit sweeter as opposed to dark and roasty. I also don't enjoy an overload of hops, as I think it defeats the purpose of this type of beer. If it's a pale ale, I want it to be just pale. Maybe even a touch of something sweet. Please save the hops for the IPA's.