There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Beer
15 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in american ale, anheuser-busch, Anniversary Ale, beck's, Beck's Oktoberfest, beer, Beer Advocate, budweiser, craft beer line, feastive ale, Goose Island, Hudepohl Festival Bock, Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier, InBev, nut brown ale, oatmeal stout, Shiner Oktoberfest, Spoetzl Brewery, St. Arnold Brewery
The science of tasting beer can be a hilarious subject. Take a look at members’ reviews over at Beer Advocate, where some brews are hailed as the second coming, while others, for the crime of being produced by companies owned by international corporations are banished to the outer darkness, the unholy ones, as it were. All of this of course, is quite arbitrary, especially when beloved breweries, such as The Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, receive an Anheuser-Busch Inbev offer they could not refuse.
It should be noted that Goose Island chose to discontinue producing their Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout before the acquisition. Their concentration on the beer connoisseur segment of business, emphasizing expensive, oak barrel aged products, seemed far away, from the Goose Islands I sampled in the last century, which were modestly priced ales of great character. Such is the nature of change, as the old cliché goes. But one thing I do hope for, is that Goose Island returns to bottling their Christmas Ale into 12 ounce bottles, instead of the 22ounce version, given the silly name of bomber, so in vogue with the craft beer crowd. With a few exceptions, most bombers means you are going to spend a lot of money for 22ounces of beer. Three $9 bombers means you are paying $27 for a five and a half pack of beer. I gather that many believe that this leads to a superior drinking experience. Equally, many believe that if a beer is modestly priced, it must not be good, and many a fine recipe is dismissed because it is not expensive enough. Delegating many tasty recipes to condescending terms such as a good gateway beer.
I bring all of this up because of recent tastings of different Oktoberfest beers, which are popping up everywhere. Take Beck’s Oktoberfest from Bremen, Germany. A fest beer given the Oktoberfest designation in the United States, since only the brews within the city limits of Munich are allowed to use the name in Germany. Beck’s, now a part of the Inbev global portfolio, still makes a very tasty Marzen lager for fall, using only the four classic ingredients.
Or take Shiner Oktoberfest, probably the lightest take on Marzen. Where a doughy palate is simple and direct. The 96 Anniversary recipe, called a seasonal ale on the bottle. But this is where geography plays into the picture. The Spoetzl Brewery, being in Shiner, Texas, has to designate any beer above a certain alcohol level as ale, regardless of the fermentation method. The geographic location also helps explain why this recipe has a lighter approach: it gets very hot in Texas. Different parts of the country have different requirements. There is certainly room enough for all to be enjoyed. 
The March of Marzen 2 and a 40th Anniversary
24 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in 40th anniversary, beck's, beer, bitches brew, dogfish head, marzen, miles davis, Octoberfest, oktoberfest, Sam Adams, samuel adams
I was recently asked what is the difference between German and American Oktoberfest. After many years of sampling these annual celebrations, I think it comes down to the yeast and the ester interaction with the malts and hops, which produces in the German versions, a very distinctive dry floral finish. People who complain that American takes on Marzen lack this, really have little to complain about, since fresh versions from Munich are available.
People who do not care for Samuel Adams Octoberfest (with a C rather than the usual K) do not seem to appreciate that Jim Koch and company have developed their own North American take on this style.
It is also equally true that elite beer drinkers have difficulty acknowledging that commercial interests such as Beck’s of Bremen, Germany, have shown they are quite capable of brewing a highly drinkable fest bier themselves.
Since the Marzen march continues to this day, I want to mention a somewhat extraordinary drinking experience from a couple of weeks ago, when I got my thirsty hands on a 25 ounce bottle of Dogfish Head Brewery’s tribute to the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis Bitches Brew, that groundbreaking 2 LP set that is considered by many as the beginning of jazz fusion music.
The Dogfish Head tribute is several parts imperial stout combined with a honey ale that uses gesho, a traditional African root used as a replacement for hops. The result is an incredibly balanced (yet mysterious!) presentation that is silky smooth, where neither the chocolate notes nor honey sweetness dominates. Some reviewers at Beer Advocate have said they taste alcohol, which despite this being a 9% ale, I could not detect at all. Just a delicious focused ale from start to finish.
Of course the perfect musical accompaniment for this is Miles Davis Bitches Brew, which 40 years later is still worth listening to.
Alas, bottles of the ale were sold out within a day around here. So it is very likely that I will never taste another. I am happy that I was able to experience it
