Moving Forward Towards The Holidays
08 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in beer, beer of the bear, Breckenridge Christmas Ale, christmas, Great Divide Brewing Comany, Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier, Hudy, Sam Adams, samuel adams, Samuel Adams Winter Lager, winter classics, winter English ale
For beer seekers this autumn has been a remarkable time. The celebration of marzen and pumpkin ales has proven remarkable. For The Beer Doctor, this year produced what I consider the beer of the year, in the United States at least: Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier. A successful recipe that deliciously adheres to its German malty roots, and is a crowd pleaser, much in the same way as Samuel Adams Octoberfest. Designed to be enjoyed during this season, before giving way to the Holiday Special Brews, which have already started to arrive.
What for example, is to make of the perpetual favorites from out west, such as Breckenridge Christmas Ale, which has always been a beautiful New World take on Scottish Winter Ale that over years, has become a sublime achievement, where nothing is out of place in its palate profile.
The same can surely be said of Great Divide Hibernation Ale, a dry-hopped take on an old English Winter, where malts and hops do all the talking. As is also the case with Brooklyn Winter Ale, their holiday/winter tribute to the power of Maris Otter malt.
A careful perusal of spiced beer reveals there are many choices. Samuel Adams Winter Lager always has a huge fan base and rightfully so, considering the balanced obtained with spices added to the wheat bock recipe.
“A damn tasty winter beer,” is part of what Beer Advocate’s Todd Alstrom said of this beer, 9 years ago. Considering that I have sampled Winter Lager for at least 20 years, I marvel at the brewmasters’ skill at refining these exquisite recipes, bringing them to fruition, year after marvelous year.
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. 
09 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in beer, best american beers, bock beers, Christian Moerlein, Guinness Black Lager, Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier, Saengerfest Maibock, seasonal changes
In the world of beer each new year brings surprises. A good example is the Christian Moerlein Saengerfest Maibock which appeared at the end of spring, beautifully balanced with a generous, juicy malty palate with a floral note in the finish. As described in my original notes as “one of the best American beers sampled this year”. But my perception is biased perhaps, because I truly love bock beers, including the golden coloured ones, with a hint of honey-nectar in the nose.
The same can be said of Oktoberfest. Funny how matters sometimes work out. Only a week ago, minus a day, the temperature reached 100 degrees and people complained that it was too hot to be drinking Marzen. This was before a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico caused the season to turn in the Ohio Valley, and only 2 days later, I was out in the backyard drinking Samuel Adams Octoberfest with temperatures in the upper 50′s.
Some folks have complained about Oktoberfest beers appearing too early. Taste wise, this is sometimes true. When Samuel Adams version comes out at the beginning of August, it does not have the malty depth that it has now. Sampling a 22 ounce bottle each week of that month, it was fascinating to notice its development: from a very bright Nouveau creation where hops are in the forefront, to the malty depth and goodness found post-Labor Day, where the five malts have their say, as it were. As they say in cosmological physics: gravity has the final word.
The release of Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier is joyous event for me, here in southwestern Ohio. It also compliments their Moerlein Fith &Vine Oktoberfest, which is also a tribute to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati. In fact much of this is a Cincinnati story. The revival of the Hudepohl name is a tribute to this city’s beer baron past. This version of Marzen, I do believe would make Ludwig Hudepohl II proud.
Guinness Black Lager: The beer experts continue to weigh in on this. Some go to great lengths to describe the appearance of the pour, totally ignoring the instructions from Guinness that this beer is designed to be served cold and consumed straight from the bottle. Which I did, and found it to be an alternative to Bud, Miller and Coors, very drinkable with moderate alcohol strength. Which is perhaps what Guinness is aiming at: a decent beer for the football-tailgating crowd. The question has arisen whether Guinness Black Lager reflects the character of the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. I would have to say yes. It will be interesting to see whether this first bottom fermented Guinness actually sells.
