Paceña vs. Baltica

The official Beer of bolivia this beverage provides what a beer should first and foremost provide: refreshment on a hot day. Now, to say this beer is a light Pilsner is the understatement of the year. However, what it lacks in grain bill complexity this brew makes up in being smooth. I am a Manny's man first and foremost, but I must say this beer is a rival for the smoothness. Also, every Paceña tastes the same, which can not be said for many beers, and I think is an admirable quality in a Pilsner. Now, the title of this post proposes a battle of sorts and that is with the only other beer I've had down here: Baltica. The locals and non-alcoholic types seem to scorn this beer but I find it quite interesting on the palette. Where as the Paceña finishes with a smooth, sitting in a cool swimming pool sort of way, Baltica takes the bitter route which provides complexity. Daring, in terms of Bolivian brew. But before you get all heiniken on me, the bitter is more of a citrus-y rather than your typical bitter, and therefore places on my list of beers I will try again. As a true, true fan of Rodeo Pale Ale, and all of its citrusy notes, I say if you ever find yourself in a Bolivian Dive, you're being risky anyway so why not give the cold refreshing Baltica a taste, if only to wash down the delicious MSG included in every meal. On a sad note since I doubt either beer use much hops I have no IBU's on either, and all I can say is that the alcohol content is way way down. Baltica is only at 4.5% and Paceña doesn't include that information on the bottle. No matter your take in this battle, I myself playing Switzerland, may you enjoy your next brew.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2010

I picked up a couple of these limited edition bomber size stouts (one to enjoy and the other to age so I may be reviewing this one again in about 6 months) from Plaza Liquor.

Pours a deep, ominous black, this already seems like my kind of beer.

The head is a frothy espresso color and dissipates into a thin film that leaves some nice lacing.

Moving quickly to the nose, there is the expected roasted malt and coffee and also hints of anise, currants and a slight smokiness. As the label correctly states, this brew is "intensely aromatic."

Wow, the taste packs a big punch right off the bat. Espresso, mocha, and long, dark chocolate finish. It has an incredibly oily palate that seems to coat the mouth with deliciousness. Slight hop character comes through as well. This stout really does have it all, a very well balanced example of the style.

Although the alcohol is hidden well by the complexity, half way through this one and I can feel the effects of this 10.5% ABV stout. Definitely not a session beer.

This one comes highly recommend for me. I can only imagine what the aged version has in store.

I am a man of simple Beer.

Went to Duck Island last night and had a couple beers: Schooner Exact- Brown Ale, and Iron Horse- Rodeo Pale Ale. The brown ale was pretty decent. Lagunitas, although I hate to say this, should take a leaf out of the book of schooner Exact regarding Brown Ales. It wasn't to sweet, yet it provided that comfortable feeling we look for in a brown. They hopped it with something a tad spicy. I'm not a big brown fan but I give the schooner a definite 8 out of ten. Now the rodeo pale ale is my kind of beer. Again Iron Horse created a magnificent brew. Incredibly smooth, this was one of the best session beers I've had in a while. They hopped it with the standard Pac NW cascade and maybe amarillo (I haven't checked). Very Aromatic, very citrusy this thing left nothing to clog the palette. The next time y'all are out beer tasting and want that last beer but don't want any surprises that make you not want to finish the pint, grab the Iron Horse and you will drive (or be driven) home a satisfied man.

Maredsous 8: Dubbel

This beer cost me 3 cents and a tv. In order to pay for this beer, my financially strapped, withered, post-collegiate soul had to sell a tv to Pawn X-Change on Lake City way. There I was, prying 5 bucks from the girl behind the x-change counter while the couple to my right received two hundred bucks for a handful of jewelry and the dude on my left, with crusty eyes because he mistook a bong for a cup of coffee this morning, sold his 29 years worth of video games for a minor fortune. The girl behind the counter, feeling munificent, handed me my cash and I promptly headed 4 doors down to the beer store...

Dubbels as I've come to learn, are a belgian style of brown beer with a high alcohol content, this one being no exception.

The color was a deep mahogany, reminiscent of a well aged brown leather wallet and the head poured a good, two fingers with a delicate froth that lasted through the end of the beer.

As I stuck my nose into the glass, I wasn't struck with a strong aroma. On this particular Dubbel it was fairly soft with a hint of raisin which followed through into the palette. The raisins are accompanied by dark fruits and roasted chocolate tones.

The trophy of Maredsous is its body. A fantastic balance between syrup and water, a good two percent milk that washes away and leaves a hint of flavor and a cerevisaphile saying, "what was that?... I need more."

Review of Goose Island 'Matilda,' Belgian style ale

Got this one from one of our distributors down here, this is a Belgian-style pale ale.

Pours a slightly hazy, orange-amber with a frothy, off-white head that dissipated quickly.

The smell is a sweet, honey, with a junipery, clovey spiciness with some phenols coming through. Also an apparent lemon, citrus character

The subtle hoppiness shines through in the taste to balance out the sweet flavors. There is also a slightly sour note of fermented fruit (apple, peach?) that shows up in the long finish. There is a hard crispness from citrus but overall a oily, velvety smooth body.

A story to inspire.

brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue5.4/stevens.html
maybe outdated, This gives some great ideas how we could make that transition.

Review of Straffe Hendrik Triple

Purchased from Plaza liquor (far and away the best shop for beer Tucson) and poured into a snifter.

Pours a golden orangish with a pillowy 1/2" head that retains fairly well with some nice lacing.

The aroma is what you expect for a triple: some citrus, spice, and notes with sweeter hints of candied sugar as well.

The aroma is just a glimpse at the complexity of this brew. There are hints of banana, coriander, honey, and some bitter hops in the finish (possibly saaz).

Lots of champagne bubbliness in the mouthfeel, almost pilsner-esque. This is a very delicious and well balanced ale.

Drinkibility is scary high for this 9.00% triple. If you guys are into the style at all you need to check this one out.

Beer Podcasts!

Mr. All-Grain Evangelist listed beer podcasts that he tunes into and if we truly want to start geeking out about beer, we'd better do the same. Short and sweet. Check the links.

All-Grain Evangelist's Beer Podcasts

Review of St. Feuillien Cuveé de Noel

This beer I found on tap at 1702 here in Tucson. If you guys come down here you need to check this place out. It might not be very special in Seattle but kind of a diamond in the rough down here considering the lack of good beer bars.

Served in a tulip glass. Pours a deep mahogany rubyish. The beer had a 3/4" off-white head that faded rapidly with some lacing.

The nose was sweet with brown sugar some dark fruitiness and possibly some oak notes. It had a fairly complex taste of apples, carmel, raisans, seasonal spices and some hop presence in the long finish. There was a medium body and a suprising amount of carbonation liveliness for a winter ale. There was a warming effect from the first sip with the 9.00% ABV but the alcohol esters are hidden very well under the complex flavors.

Although the drinkability was high, I couldn't see myself drinking more than a couple of these. Definitely not a session beer but overall a solid winter seasonal. I would drink it again.

In review.

Garrett and I went to duck island...pretty cool bar. Too many hipsters. I prefer the Dray. Started out with the Blonde Troubador(6.5 %). Incredibly wheaty but really easy to drink. The nose and first taste reminded me of a cider until the typical Belgian wheat taste came through. In a nutshell...started like magners ended like a Leffe. Beer segundo...Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout (69 IBU). Great body, but it was on a nitro tap. As of now the only Rogue beer I have enjoyed finishing. Really malty but my pallette was already saturated with other tastes. There was supposed to be a chocolate finish, but again the beer and/or conversation had already gotten in the way of me paying attention.

Annals of Drinking: A Better Brew: newyorker.com

I was cleaning out the garage and came across an old edition of the New Yorker with an article about a craft brewery deity, Mr. Calagione, the owner of Dogfish Head. A lengthy article but it reveals how Mr. Calagione decided to build a barrel entirely of Palo Santo, one of the world's hardest woods. "A Better Brew" was published two years ago but comments on the changing climate of American Beer and is a great read for that insight.

Annals of Drinking: A Better Brew: newyorker.com

Licensing Resources

Resource for brewery licensing. Obtaining A microbrewery license costs $100 according to this site.

Under the "Beer and Wine Gift Delivery" it says we need the delivery license, $75, in order to conduct a delivery based company. Check the source here.

Souther Tier: Choklat Stout, 9.1 abv

Choklat Stout

Last night Bryan and I made it out to the Dray (Ryan, you must check this place out when you move back up here) to sample a couple brews. Bryan had the Black Raven IPA and I sampled the Choklat Stout. I was curious to see how Southern Tier interprets the Chocolate style compared to Muddy Boots, (the chocolate stout that I brewed). Upon receiving the stemmed goblet I immediately noticed the pleasant chocolate aroma. Seriously, it smelled like a dark swiss miss hot cocoa. It tasted great, super drinkable despite the 9.1% abv. For the most part Southern Tier let the chocolate do the talking. The hops were there, tho only for bittering and it had a nice smooth body with a hint of chocolate malts for support. I fully endorse anybody trying this beer. Thinking about Muddy Boots after draining the goblet, I can see upping the chocolate presence could be a good revision to the recipe.

Cheers,

Garrett