Oktober Surprise In September

Two recent productions from New Belgium Brewing captured my attention:

For those who do not care for pumpkin brewed beers, read no further. To be sure, my relationship with pumpkin ale goes way back: to Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale from California, to Brooklyn’s Post Road Ale in Utica, New York where Saranac Pumpkin Ale is also produced.
Locally there were magnificent versions from Samuel Adams. Then from St. Louis, there is Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, ridiculed by the anti-pumpkin sensibility, I found this to be a strong pumpkin ale that was a bit of a revelation, especially because I rarely consume pumpkin pie.
New Belgium Atomic Pumpkin Ale is the first I sampled in 2017, and it is a magical marvelous recipe. Here the pumpkin is used with cinnamon and habanero peppers, which gives this ale a very tasty profile, with pleasant heat in the finish. Quite good.

I think the late Pierre Celis would approve of New Belgium’s take on Belgian white. Fat Tire Belgian White far exceeds the mediocrity of Blue Moon of Molson-Coors fame.
The precise use of Seville orange zest combined with fresh coriander, make this one delicious drinking experience. One of the best beers available now in the United States, and I’m not kidding.
Cheers and peace.
The Beer Doctor

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The Very Long Trail Of Beer Adventures

Editor’s note: The never ending search for good tasting beer goes way back. In my case, the quest to find flavorful beer goes all the way back to the second half of the 1970’s (at least legally) when domestic beer was essentially lager brewed with rice and/or corn, which in the case of Schlitz, the disastrous use of anti-foaming agents made Budweiser the king of American beers.
In those days, with the delightful exception of spring American bock, flavorful beer was found in imported beer, although obtaining fresh examples from Europe was dubious at best.

Carlsberg then and now

Carlsberg brewery which often gets pooh-poohed from the beer expert crowd. Is now doing collaborative with Brooklyn Brewery. Long before its recognition as a global futbol brand  Carlsberg had a special place in American beer history, with its introduction of Carlsberg Elephant malt liquor (as it was called, addressing taxation concerns) was an early example of strong beer, although by today’s standard of strength, would be considered somewhat mild. But in those days, most beer was weak and watery. The Elephant, as it was commonly referred to, was in a class by itself. It was a beer my lost friend TA said he would serve to Hunter S. Thompson.

Before It was called fresh hop IPA

Sierra Nevada beers were rare anywhere east of the Mississippi river. When Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale first appeared in the Midwest, there was no reference of it being an IPA. It was just an extraordinary tasting ale. This was before hops became marketing drudgery.

Great tasting beer existed before anyone had the idea of saying the word “craft”

The fabulous recipe from Huber Brewing in Monroe, Wisconsin was a prime example of the Augsburger brand and their commitment to the German bock tradition. Education was sparse, to say the least, concerning beer in those days, with many folks still believing that bock was created by cleaning out the vats. Augsburger countered this misinformation by printing up a bock marker explaining the Einbeck roots of the style, placed inside each six pack.

Imported, no Transported to Another World

I recall my friend Gary, who in those days was strictly a Bud man, preferring the can to the bottle. He had a nice deli sandwich he was about to eat and he poured the weissbier into a ceramic mug. He took a healthy quaff and developed a new found expression on his face. One I had never seen before: a moment of surprised delight. Can one beer experience change your reality? Well all I can say that Gary, the hard working Bud man, 10 years later was ordering for Christmas, a half barrel of August Schell Cherry Bock, their holiday Blizzard/Snow Storm recipe that year.
Prost!

One Time Only

When everything in the beer world seems out of sync, often with questionable nonsense being offered as the latest examples of superior beer, I only have to turn to Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest collaborations to remind me that are still breweries, as Carol Stoudt once famously said, that still remember and respect “the integrity of the beer”.

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest 2017 is the latest German collaborative brew, this time with Brauhaus Miltenberger, known as Faust Miltenberger in Germany, but because the Faust brand is a trademark owned by AB-I it is not allowed in this context. So be it, this Oktoberfest 2017 is a malt forward recipe that is wonderfully complex and simultaneously quite drinkable using the finest German malts and hops. this is yet another outstanding example of Sierra Nevada collaboration project success. This from a very large family owned brewery, “owned, operated and argued over” now producing beer on west and east sides of the country.

But the true magic of these collaborative efforts is that each of these Oktoberfests are one time only. Enjoy this great 2017 Oktoberfest while it is available.
Cheers!
The Beer Doctor

Goodbye To All Of This

A recent event has caused me to reevaluate whether or not I should continue this blog. But before I get to this, I would like to thank all the people who have helped me in my educational path in the world of beer. Most of these encounters occurred long ago, but that does not mean I have forgotten their contributions. This was back in a time of magical beer thinking and writing, when there was actual poetry in describing the world’s great beers. That was before the technologically driven market place raised the concept of American exceptionalism to the point that the latest upstart breweries are bold in their marketing chutzpah:

WE DON’T BREW BEER FOR THE MASSES. INSTEAD, OUR BEERS ARE CRAFTED FOR A CHOSEN FEW, A SMALL CADRE OF RENEGADES AND REBELS WHO ENJOY BEER THAT PUSHES THE LIMITS OF WHAT IS COMMONLY ACCEPTED AS TASTE. IN SHORT. WE BREW FOR PEOPLE LIKE US. FOUNDERS. BREWED FOR US.

Well I do not know about you dear reader, but I certainly do not consider myself a part of that small cadre of the chosen few, although I have enjoyed Founders Dirty Bastard Ale, but after sampling their absolutely wretched PC Pils  a beer that actually made me ill. The first day I tried 1 bottle after a long hot day working outside. About 10 minutes later felt nauseous, so I thought maybe it’s heat exhaustion so I went to bed with an upset stomach, and thought nothing else about it.
The next day, same scenario, but with only a have day outside and an early morning breakfast, and the exact same thing happened. I was forced to throw out the rest of the six-pack and as a poor person (according to Founders, that must mean I am one of those “masses” that they do not brew for) that $10 plus tax does not sit well with me. But as the Beer Doctor, I always assumed that buying bad beer, or simply beers I do not like, was part of the material costs of the continuing project. But the arrogance associated with this horrible brew, went beyond all decency for me.
Calling this beer American hopped pilsner is a cruel joke for someone seeking the comfort of the malt forward style accentuated by floral hops. This is just an India Pale Lager of the worst kind. It made me wonder if perhaps those bold American hops of Chinook. Cascade. and Centennial where sprayed with pesticides? All I really know is this beer made me sick.

For those who have grown up learning about beer from the Internet, most of the information posted on web sites such as Beer Advocate or Rate Beer are basically useless, because there is an entire cadre of beer fans who offer their opinions with no idea of what they are talking about. Back that up with belligerent bullshit from the aggressive new breweries on the block, and you have a rising mountain of disinformation, which makes you believe that the latest US barrel aged sour is better than Rodenbach Grand Cru.

Then of course there is that neoliberal wet dream known as the Brewers Association, who seem to evolve along the lines of the Democratic National Committee. First, by expanding how many millions of barrels of beer you are allowed to brew and still be designated with that most holy term of craft. Then there is the thought police aspect of this virtuous group who have decided to clean up their industry of what they deem to be offensive labels. This prompted Flying Dog Brewery to say, thanks but no thanks, and bye bye.
The recent BA decision to produce an independently brewed designation on labels, it is said to be designed to differentiate from Big Brewer takeover of craft brewed brands. Well, this seems like pissing into the wind, because after all, those masses are not part of their audience anyway, that is mostly white, affluent and exceptionally American. How else to explain why Dogfish Head takes pride in the fact that their beers sell for over $50 a case?

Beer at one time was the drink of the common people. Who were the common people? Those who were not a part of the Ownership Class. The people who had to have session beer so they could continue their long shifts in armament factories in England in World War I. Beer provided respite from the often brutal ordeals of everyday living. In that sense, big beer productions is still doing that but is often overlooked by the racist snobbery of those in the industry who think it would be fun to make a faux tribute to malt liquor. To be sure, I lived under that delusional nonsense that tells me I should be concerned about where my precious money goes. In other words: who are the cool millionaires?
Globalism is not just for shoes and clothing. Beer is right there in the mix. Ask the people in the continent of Australia how they feel about AB-I taking over Carlton United ownership? How does Cooper & Sons play into all of this?

Here in the United States, we have the altruistic craft breweries, who do the neoliberal right thing  of donating to charities they deem worthy, or creating projects such as teaching incarcerated women how to repair bicycles.
The spirit of inventiveness abounds. I have a brewer in my own neighborhood who is creating an ale that mimics a famous local dill pickle.
Oh lord get me out of here! Goodbye to all of this.

The Old And The New

First off I am pleased to review a beer I consider to be one of the best beers brewed in the worldA masterpiece from Augsburg, Germany, Brauhaus Riegele’s Commerzienrat Privat is one of the most delicious fest lagers I have ever encountered. Although there are many fine examples of German brewing genius available, I put this in my go-to list as an acknowledgement to the tenacity of Luxe Brands of Monroe, Ohio for seeing fit to get this amazing imported beer on the crowded grocery store shelves, which is ironic, since this beer, available in 11.2 ounce bottled six packs, is only a dollar more than our local 12 ounce can productions.
A very serious Reinheitsgebot production, Commerzienrat Privat uses husk-separation, a labor intensive process known as Spelzentrennung, along with Brauhaus Riegele’s special lager yeast that is brewed and matured for 8 weeks, before being released.
I am not going into all that culinary babble to describe what this beer tastes like. I can only say that this beer has a nuanced botanical profile that can only be truly found in the finest examples of Bavarian brewing.
It is a bit of a throwback to see these heavy dark bottles with gold foiled wrapped bottle caps. But it is a pleasure from start to finish.

Braxton Brewing of Covington, Kentucky has released Twisted Bit, their contribution to the Dortmunder/Export style, and it is a very good one. A rich satisfying lager with the kind of body to be expected, from this time tested German tradition. This is a great edition to the Braxton portfolio.

Despite all the craft beer hype, beer sales have been in decline for quite some time. Breweries seeking to increase volume have started packaging beer in larger formats. Thus we now see 15-packs and 30-packs to appeal to cost conscious consumers who see little virtue in buying apex priced six or four packs. So it is not too surprising that Great Lakes Brewing Co. released their Rally Drum Red AleIn 12 packs of 16 ounce cans. This red ale has much in common with Cincinnati’s Christian Moerlein OTR AleA valuable reasonably priced beer. Both of these beers are 5.8% abv. The OTR has an IBU rating of 40, while Rally Drum is 45, giving Rally Drum a slightly more bitter dry finish. Both of these very good beers (OTR proud brewing in Cincinnati, and Rally Drum brewed by Harpoon Brewing in Boston, MA) are excellent choices where quantity and quality are not a separate consideration.
Prost!

Concerning Taft’s Brewing Company

September 15 of this year will be the 160th birthday of the Cincinnati born, 27th President of the United States, who also became the 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Taft’s Ale House, located in Over-The-Rhine, became a popular brew pub before it branched out as Taft’s Brewing Company, located at 4831 Spring Grove, (which is not all that far from my house), and that concerns me here: Having arrived at my local shop, I decided to investigate all three. From left to right, first there is Nellie’s Caribbean-Style Ale, a delicious lime juice infused beer with coriander, named after Big Bill’s beloved wife, Helen Herron’s nickname.
Then there is Gavel Banger American IPA, a 7% lupulin war chief tribute to the Chief Justice. My least favorite of the three, but that is just because I have grown weary, after tasting so many India Pale Ales, that I do not care much for this style of beer. Nonetheless, Taft’s version is straight forward and very well done.
And then there is 27 LAGER, a very tasty gold coloured beer in the Dortmunder/Export style. At 5.3% it is a slammer with substance, at the end of a dry day.

Building a beer portfolio around a locally famous historic figure requires some poetic license First off the use of the bathtub, referring to Big Bill (all 350 lbs.) getting stuck in the White House tub, is simply not true. But he did have a very large bath tub fabricated, a porcelain production that weighed, literally, a ton.
Something else to note: William Howard Taft was the last US president to have facial hair. Everyone since in that office has been clean shaved, no matter if they have to razor twice a day.
Did William Howard Taft drink beer? No he did not. But his thoughts on Prohibition were abundantly clear:

“I am opposed to national prohibition. I am opposed to it because I think it is a mixing of the national Government in a matter which should be one of local settlement.”

I’ll drink to that,
Cheers!
The Beer Doctor

Ramblings From The Beer Doctor

Concerning Samuel Adams

The continuing dip in sales volume at the Boston Beer Company has brought tears and lamentations amongst the stock holders on Wall St.  Jim Koch, whom many consider to be one of the founding fathers of the craft beer revolution, complained that the federal government assisted in this demise, by allowing the big boys such as: AB-I, Molson-Coors, to use their considerable economic muscle to dominate shelf space, through mergers and acquisitions and faux craft brew branding. This is a bit of a change in the position of Mr. Koch who only a few years ago said his company was ready to compete on that larger global market, where not only Bud Light, but Heineken and Dos Equis abide.

But this was before the craft brew industry shot itself in the foot, when it collectively decided that overtly hopped beer. in the form of American IPA would become the primary focus of new productions. In many cases this has become a boring set of variations on the same damn theme: double IPA, triple IPA, IPA infused with fruit juice, IPA brewed with flour to enhance a Cloudy IPA, etc. Here is where Samuel Adams fell into that marketing trap. I recall tasting their strong Rebel Rouser IPA and wondered how in the world that a company that perfected one of the world’s great Vienna ambers, Samuel Adams Lager, could now produce this brutal, vegetal monster? I can not even imagine Jim Koch drinking this.

If the Boston Beer Company wants to sell more beer, here are a few suggestion from a lowly beer drinker, who has no financial skin in the game:
First, stop believing that seasonal beers require having natural flavors added. Perhaps it is time to abandon the Saigon Cinnamon infused Winter Lager, with a straight up dunkel weizen bock. The Summer Ale should be retired, a white bier variation is just not good enough.
Second, lower the price of Samuel Adams Lager. It should compete with Yuengling Traditional Amber. It should be available in 18 pack cans. Boston Beer Company has to decide whether they make beer for a diminishing elite market or for everybody else.

The Return Of Pilsner

Pilsner or Pilsener, has been a much aligned style by beer snobs in the brewing industry. Southern Tier produced a beer called Euro-Trash to show their disdain. Stone Brewing and others have added their meaningless snark to a style of beer that changed the entire world. Fortunately, some brewers like Victory in Pennsylvania, always treated this historic style with the respect it deserves. Prima Pils is one of the very best pilsners available in the United States, and I recommend the can version, because it is a remarkably fresh presentation.
For those who still believe a bottle is better, Bell’s Lager of the Lakes fits the bill quite nicely. Bell’s, a Michigan based brewery founded in the last decades of the 20th century, has great respect for tradition. This is quite apparent in this Bohemian Pilsner, where even a hop-forward recipe version of this style is supported by a substantial malt backbone.
The same can be said of Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest 2017 A very well made lager that is simply a pleasure to drink. Who in the hell decided that having a beer involves a tasting struggle? If a beer does not taste good, why bother?
Locally, I have Christian Moerlein Pils A beautiful hometown rendition that strangely is not always available.
But it is with a heavy heart that I was completely disappointed by the ridiculously expensive Bear Republic Double Aught Pilsner This 12 dollars plus tax six pack claims it is a tribute to the balanced light lagers of central Europe. Actually it is an almost lifeless manifestation of beer, where a thin all malt body is brewed with Hallertauer hops, and pours into a glass and becomes a completely flat, no foam at all, in less than 90 seconds. Funny that the price of this beer was the same as Bofferding Pils A quite delicious, all natural pilsner from Luxembourg.  To be factual about the Double Aught, it was purchased straight out of a sealed case on the day it was delivered. The bottle said best before July 30, 2017. So there was no storage or light damage involved. It was just lousy beer. Let the truth be told.