Ithaca Cascazilla Red Ale

Let's give this another go. Time for round 2 of getting back in the review game. We picked up the Casca Zilla at the same Wegmans in Syracuse as the Abbey Ale. (Pic is coming when I get home, blah blah...)

Appearance: Dark amber with two fingers of head, this one just screamed "drink me!"

Smell: The aroma immediately was floral and a little spicy. The hops are at the forefront with a little nut malt in the background. An interesting but great mix I feel for a red ale.

Taste: The nuts and spices make a great combination as the beer makes its way down your throat. The 6.5% abv is definitely noticeable and provides a great kick, almost comparable to an IPA.

Mouthfeel: Heavy, but not thick. Not overly carbonated, but still tickles the mouth with the alcohol feel.

Drinkability: The 6.5%abv is perfect for this red ale, strong enough of a kick, but light enough to drink more than a few in one sitting. This was my beer of choice from my few days in the Thousand Islands. I am a big fan of red ales and that doesn't change with this one. My review probably doesn't do it justice, but I will try to leave comments later to clarify.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Pint glass

Ommegang Abbey Ale

Wow, it has been a hell of a long time since I have posted a review. Hope I still have some sort of ability to review beers. On the way up to the Thousand Islands in NY, the girlfriend and I stopped at a Wegmans in Syracuse and came across this beauty. I have never had it before, and don't really know if it's any good, but I have wanted to try more Belgians, so here goes nothing. (Pic will be added once I head home)

Appearance: Dark orange/brown glow, about a finger of head, very bubbly, very inviting. The head holds for quite a while, keeping the smell and flavor trapped in the beer.

Smell: Sweet malts kiss the nostrils with a slight hint of caramel. Maybe its just my hiatus from beer reviewing, but the hops seem very faint and a little dank. I need to get back to practicing distinguishing the hops and malts. Or maybe its exactly what Ommegang was going for...lets go with this theory.

Taste: The malt smell translated well into the taste, with the sweetness being the first noticeable aspect. The hidden characteristics of an oaky/caramel flavor become prevalent on the aftertaste. Very little hops if at all, which makes me think my smell assessment was correct. This is a great balance of malts and hops for this style though, as I feel any stronger acidity from the hops would ruin the flavor.

Mouthfeel: An interesting sensation as the beer floats around. It is simultaneously light, heavy, chewy, and thin. It is perfectly carbonated as there is a slight tickle on the roof of your mouth, but not that blast back up the throat and nose.

Drinkability: I decided to do the first four sections before dinner and then decide on drinkability while having the rest of the beer with a pasta and salad dinner. Surprisingly, this 8.5% abv beverage went pretty well with food and can be drank a few in a night, but I personally would save it for night time. I don't feel its a refreshing afternoon bbq brew like I was somewhat expecting, but still a very good beer all around. The label boasts fruity aroma, yet I just didn't see it. Give it a try, maybe I missed it. I would still drink this again and recommend it. (Girlfriend's analysis: "Good." That's riveting stuff right there.)

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Pint glass (I know, I should have used a snifter or my Duvel glass, but I gotta deal with being a snot's throw from Canada and five hours from home.)

Interesting article in the NYT

The Other Extreme: Low-Alcohol Beers

I came across an interesting article yesterday on the New York Times website. The craft brew awareness is really just beginning to fully blossom in the United States (even Bud is making an "American Ale" that they are positioning as a craft beer). But this article brings to light a Renaissance occurring within the still-young craft brew phenomenon in the U.S.

Many of the beers that Jimmy, Mike, Alex, and myself have tasted and reviewed on this site are full-flavored, high alcohol, punch-you-in-the-face, beers. But it appears (at least this article offers us) that craft brewers across the nation are beginning to find a refreshing challenge in brewing low alcohol beers, that don't skimp you on the flavor. In the article, the author also interviews Jason Ebel of Two Brothers Brewery, whose Cane and Ebel Hopped-up Red Rye Ale was reviewed by me almost two months ago.

REACTION:
My initial reaction is that the full-on Hopheads will continue to steer towards the high ABV's. That's just the way it is. I understand the negatives that the author presents at the end of the article: "real" beer drinkers will always go high %, low % beer's taste gets lost in all the extreme flavors, etc.

I really think it has another side to it, though. Consider all the people on the "fringe". All the people that are intrigued by craft brew and "really want to get into it", but they are intimidated by the extreme flavors and high ABVs. Perhaps these low % beers could act as stepping stones for these "fringe" beer drinkers, providing them with a brew that has a good amount of flavor, but not as extreme as the high ABVs. It's just a thought, but in this growing market of craft beer, it's definitely worth a try.

Bell's Kalamazoo Stout

The Darkness comes through again with another beer for me to indulge in. Please convince him to be part of us Hopheads dammit!! I had this stout to go along with my desert consisting of dark chocolate and gingersnap cookies. This lil' 12 ouncer was served in my mini Pocono beer fest pint.

Appearance: aka. The Dark Knight, this Batman was pitch black with a nut brown 1/3 finger foam head of glory.

Smell: Complex meteoric scents of roasty and toasty malts oh my! Dark chocolate and almond odors.

Taste: Very balanced and complex, I feel like every kind of malt and hops are in this one. Savory bittersweet/dark chocolate combined with a dark french roast coffee. I wish I could have this instead of coffee in the morning!

Mouthfeel: (SIDE NOTE - As I swirled the stout in my mouth and let it sit, I knocked over my beer, lost half of it! and it poured all over the left side of my keyboard, down my desk, onto my desktop and then the carpet. Fu*k me in the ass). Thick and creamy, the way I like my women. Carbonation lightly tingles and leaves a wonderful bitter velvety finish, almost like an IPA in a way.

Drinkability: (SIDE NOTE 2 - Some of my keys on my keyboard are starting to stick from the beer party foul spillage. Its as if somebody peed on my keyboard, university Vee-Tranny style.) Awesome. 9.5/10 and chills at 6.0% abv. Would have this beer either at the beginning or end of the night. I thought it would be weak sauce since it wasn't an imperial, but it exceeded my expectations. You can grab this stout from Bell's year round.

Urthel Hop-It Belgian IPA

Some fleeting thoughts on this beer:

I brought a nice big bottle of Urthel's Hop-It along with me for some delicious sushi at a restaurant that happens to be BYOB.

Appearance was pale, living up to the moniker I'm paraphrasing off the bottle "hoppy blonde ale."

The style "Belgian IPA" is no joke, though I would place it on the more Belgian end of the flavor spectrum. There was some bitter hop smack to the finish, but to my nose and taste buds (however distracted by sushi they may have been), the trademark Belgian sourness was up front and center.

Mouthfeel was light and bubbly. Good texture to go with my sushi.

I almost let the light feel fool me, until halfway through the bomber bottle I remembered this was a 9.5% Belgian. Maybe limit yourself to one bottle a night?

Overall it was a very interesting beer to drink. I don't get Belgians very often, as I'm usually drawn to the punch-you-in-the-face-with-hops offerings our American brewing brethren have to offer. Hence my purchase of the one called "Hop-It." I liked what I tasted though, and would recommend to any IPA drinker wanting a stepping stone over into the land of Belgians.

Urthel Hop-It Page
Thanks to Jimbo for the photo of his bottle of Hop-It. FYI, the bottle I got had a new, different label.

Anchor Bock Beer

I like the label on this beer so I got it (When I say "I got it," I just took it from my dads stash). It is some farm animal, perhaps a goat eating a branch with hops on both ends (kind of like a dumbell...lets call it a hopumbell). I also wanted to try a different style beer from my typical hop blasters that I love, so I got this. It may be from San Fransicko, but that is not stopping me from trying bottom fermenting lager.

Appearance: 1 fat finger of head after a bittersweet pour into my snifter. Dense and thick as it pours out like a stout, but the color is a mahogany farmhouse brown.

Smell: Very little hop aromas. Sweet malts that remind me of a red wine.

Taste: Sweet flavor with some fresh brewed coffee roast-y-ness going on. I even taste some kind of fruit (raspberry or red grape).

Mouthfeel: Thick and definitely creamy like a stout, but not overwhelming. Slight bitter but sweet after bite. It makes me want to drink more.

Drinkability: Raging at 5.5%, this beer exceeded my expectations. I am glad I gave this a try, I am sure the beer gods would approve my open taste to all kinds of beer (except Bud Light lime). Wouldn't mind having another for a day, but not more than two. I would keep this towards the beginning to middle of a beer cycle. 7/10 on the Jimbo scale.

Mishawaka Brewing Founder's Stout

The Darkness gave this classic dry irish-style stout from Indiana to me back in April and it has been sitting in my fridge ever since. Yes I am a slacker for not drinking it sooner. I am sure this Silver GABF'05 and Gold WBC'96 winner is disappointed in me.

Appearance: Watery pour with barely any head, even when I poured it fast. Black bear brown with some blood red glare when held up against a light. Despite the low density look, you still can't see through it.

Smell: Inviting scent coming from the nine types of malts and 3 hop varieties. Burnt-bitterness with some roasted chocolate whiffs.

Taste: Nothing like the smell at all. Roasted malt presence dominates my taste buds with no hops. Dry coffee taste with a lactic acid presence as it warms up.

Mouthfeel: Watery like the appearance. Goes down quite smooth. Awful acidic aftertaste, probably due to it being unfiltered and unpasteurized.

Drinkability: This bomber bottle was too much for me to handle. I am glad I gave this style a try however. Perhaps my bottle was skunked and deterred my taste buds from its true being. 5/10.