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. 
Bock Until The End Of The World
19 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2012 mayan calendar, beer, bock, genesee brewery, Hudepohl Festival Bock, sierra nevada, Uncategorized
A brief respite from winter found myself recently sitting in neighbors’ backyard, where I said: “Of all the beer recipe styles, I think bock might have the most spiritual dimension.”
Part of this of course, was due to the Lenten Monk’s ‘liquid bread” connection. But that is only part of it. Another aspect is the connotation of bock being a celebratory, arrival-of-spring libation, designed to leave behind the heavy physical and emotional lifting of winter. All of this will do. Just seeing the return of these seasonal beers is a reminder that even before the so-called craft beer revolution, all American lager was not bland in taste.
In my own neck of the woods, Hudepohl-Schoenling, part of Christian Moerlein, has brought out Hudepohl Festival Bock, a pure beer recipe using Munich and Vienna malts, beautifully constructed by The Lion Brewery of Wilkes Barre, PA, for the Cincinnati based company. Complete with graphics of a beer goblet holding silhouette of Pan, America’s Great Small Brewery announces “Bock To Our Lips Spring In Our Souls”.
And a very tasty bock it is. Fresh and bright, the malts are given ample hops support, making this a lively, pleasant drinking experience.
At this time of year, it would not be spring forward without the arrival of Genesee Bock. Always a shocker to those who never saw the funky green Ball aluminum can, with a young goat springing about in a patch of yellow flowers. An American classic, nearly 60 years old, modestly priced for abundant enjoyment, I have often realized: My God what a beautifully made recipe.
Another tradition being established is the annual arrival of Sierra Nevada Glissade, a Mai Bock (golden colored) presentation, uually associated with late spring, this is a very fine take on the style, with the nectar-like quality found in Munich versions such as the one made by Hacker Pschorr. The depth of brewing skill is revealed here, demonstrating that Sierra Nevada, despite a hop-centric personality as a brewer, has enough respect for brewing history to produce this great traditional style beer.
One of the great surprises this week, was not a bock, but the surprising appearance of Stevens Point Brewery’s 2012 Black Ale. This is a tribute to the end of the Long Count Calendar (1 year, 10 nonths, 2 days… as of this writing) from the Mayan Civilization, scheduled to end on December 21, 2012. As the label on the bottle states: The ancient Mayans developed a “Long Count” round calendar that ends ominously on December 21, 2012. This date is the inspiration for the name of this ale.
An incredibly smoothly balanced black beer. So easy to drink it is almost scary. Point well made.
Cheers and of course thank you.
