Oktoberfest reviews, part 1

So I picked up a sampler 6-pack of Oktoberfest beers from my favorite local liquor store.  

I really love Oktoberfest beers, so I've managed to drink all of them in a couple of days.  Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good: Hacker-Pschorr.  Always a favorite.  Wonderfully malty and sweet, but clean and dry-finishing.

So-so: Paulaner.  I was a bit disappointed in this one, since it's a classic example of the style.  But it left me underwhelmed-- too little malt on the aroma, and too little in the flavor as well.  Just not enough there there.

The surprisingly good: Schell's.  A local brewery, most of whose beers tend toward the mass-market American light lager, or the mass market pseudo-microbrew.  But this was very good.  The best of the locals (in this batch).

The just-OK: Redhook?  I think that's what it was.  It was so forgettable, I've actually forgotten what brewery it was from (and I've already recycled the bottle).  Just not great.

The boring: Leinenkugel.  See comments under Paulaner, but even more so.  This tasted like a regular light lager with a dash of Oktoberfest....

The bad: Really, really bad, that is.  Lakefront.  A Wisconsin brewery, so you'd think they might know a thing or two about German style beers.  Yikes-- a big blast of diacetyl (fake movie popcorn butter) right up front in the aroma, and unfortunately, persisting all the way through the bottle.  Also, the malt profile is all wrong: more biscuit than toasty.  I probably should have poured this one out, but I kept hoping it might get better (and I've only poured out a couple of beers in my lifetime..).

More to come!

Homemade Limoncello

A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe in the paper for homemade limoncello. I don't think than anyone who knows me would be surprised that I immediately began planning to make my own batch!

I was very curious to see how it would compare to the limoncello we had in Campania and elsewhere in southern Italy last year (where limoncello was invented), and also to the limoncello I've had at a fine local restaurant which makes its own. (The picture at the top is from a wonderful restaurant in Basilicata, Italy, in the town of Aliano-- I asked for some limoncello after lunch, and they brought me the whole bottle!)

The recipe is pretty simple. Start with 2 pounds of lemons (I used organic lemons).

Zest the lemons (phew!).

(We used the leftover lemons to make a big batch of lemonade. Yum!)

Soak the zest in a quart of vodka for at least 3-5 days, stirring frequently.


I used 2 kinds of Minnesota-made vodka. Mostly this one, which is new and happens to be organic!

And a bit of this one, after I ran out of the other one...

I steeped for about 10 days, after which I was sick of waiting. Next time I might try to do it longer.... It says the zest should turn white when all of its flavor has been extracted-- mine never did....

Strain out the zest. Meanwhile, add 2 1/2 cups of sugar to 6 cups of water and heat over low heat till dissolved and clear. I used slightly less than 2.5 cups of organic sugar. Next time I think I will use even less.

Once simple syrup is at room temp., mix with vodka. Strain through coffee filters and bottle. Chill. The recipe says to strain through "several changes of coffee filters," but I just did it once. Again, I'm impatient. It's pretty clear but could be clearer....

I made up some labels, got some nice bottles at the local homebrew store, and voila!




Limoncello, a.k.a. grown-up lemonade. It has a lovely pale yellow color, a nice lemon aroma, and a delightful taste. It's a bit sweet for me, but I think it's right about the same as the "real" stuff we had in Italy. I just might prefer a bit more lemony pucker.

Avery Maharaja

Other members of my beer class had mentioned this beer, and I hadn't had it in a while.  So I picked one up today.  I will review this beer as if I'm judging it by the BJCP guidelines for an Imperial IPA.  It's Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale from Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO.

Aroma: some piney/resinous notes, followed by a hint of pineapple.  It's really almost all hops here-- just the slightest suggestion of malt.  10/12

Appearance: light copper with slight orange tint; crystal clear; rocky head is off-white and persistent; occasional thin lace.  3/3

Flavor: puckering (grapefruit) hop bitterness punches you right up front; lingering sweetness at the end; resiny hop flavor is prominent; as it warms, the malty sweetness comes more to the fore (thus explaining some of the comments I just read on BeerAdvocate about it being sweet, comments which at the time I thought indicated insanity on the part of the reviewer); alcohol is noticeable only in its effect, not its taste.  17/20

Mouthfeel: medium to medium-heavy body; moderate carbonation; slightly creamy.  3/5

Overall impression: hoppy enough for any hophead to enjoy; while there is a substantial malt backbone, it is perceived more in the body and alcohol than in the actual flavor, which tends overwhelmingly towards hop bitterness and hop flavor.  This is, according to the label, batch 7, brewed in February 2008, and 10.54% alcohol by volume (2 decimal places?  is that really necessary?).  I'd like for there to be a more complex hop aroma and more of a malt backbone.  It also seems to me that it's a bit thick in mouthfeel for the style ("medium-light to medium body"-- this is definitely heavier than that).  But there are no egregious faults in this beer, and it's very drinkable.  8/10

I scored it a 41/50, which puts it right in the middle of the "excellent" range (2nd highest) on the BJCP guidelines.  I could be persuaded to go a bit higher than that (and initially did).  A very nice beer.

Long time, no post

It's not that I haven't been drinking beer lately, just haven't blogged about it. I'm going to try to get into a regular posting habit, especially since I just started my BJCP class. For those who aren't beer geeks, BJCP stands for Beer Judge Certification Program. The class runs for 12 weeks, at the end of which time I will take the exam. If I pass, I will become a Certified Beer Judge. One can then advance, earning points for each competition judged, and become a Grand Master and all kinds of other fun and geeky titles. Anyway, the class involves lots of beer tasting and beer evaluation. I'll learn lots of fun jargon and, more importantly, refine my palate and practice describing what I taste. So I plan to use my blog to practice some of the stuff I'm learning on beers I find.

Here's my live-blog (written as I go along) tasting of a new (to me) beer:

Tres Blueberry Stout, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, Michigan.

Appearance: inky black, utterly opaque; brown head appears and quickly leaves; incredibly thick as it pours

Aroma: pronounced blueberry aroma hits you even as you pour the beer; more typical stout aromas are present too (dark roasted malts).

Taste: a definite blueberry flavor blends seamlessly into the malt; a surprisingly high amount of hop bitterness; if you didn't smell the beer, I'm not sure you'd be able to identify blueberry, but it's definitely there. Quite interesting. Hints of spice, perhaps some chocolate and coffee.

Mouthfeel: doesn't taste as thick as it looks, but it definitely ain't thin. Hop bitterness lingers, blueberry doesn't: it's all on the front end and the nose.

Overall: a nifty beer. I've had blueberry beers before, but they've always been light. A blueberry stout is a new one for me, though I'm not surprised that it hasn't been done more. The blueberry really goes well with the stout flavors. Add this to the list of good fruits to blend with stout (I've had cherry and raspberry stouts that were superb).

My Favorite Beers

I am really bad at favorites. "What's your favorite movie/book/food/beer/etc." is one of my least favorite questions, because I have a terrible time coming up with anything other than "ummm." I can come up with a list of favorites, but not a single favorite anything.

So, since I am often in the position of being a "beer authority" (i.e., I've drunk more beer than most people I know), I am relatively often asked about my favorites. Here's my attempt, more or less off the top of my head, to list some of them.

5 Favorite Breweries:

• Bar Harbor Brewing Co., Bar Harbor, ME. Three words: Cadillac Mountain Stout.
• Dogfish Head Brewing Co., Delaware; all of their many beers are interesting, most are amazingly good, among them Aprihop, 60-, 90-, and 120-minute Ales, World Wide Stout...
• Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI. Two-Hearted Ale, a variety of incredible stouts (including the inimitable Cherry Stout), various crazy seasonals.
• Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, IN. All of their beers are fantastic-- Alpha King (pale ale), Robert the Bruce (Scottish, natch), Alpha Klaus (Xmas porter)... if only we could get them here in Minnesota!
• Surly, right here in the Twin Cities. Bender and Furious, their first two beers, are both delicious. Their first anniversary beer, One, was astounding. And I've heard that their seasonal imperial stout, Darkness (released at Halloween) is something special.

5 Favorite Brewpubs:

• Minneapolis Town Hall. I'm not just being biased because I live so close by. It is legitimately one of the very best in the country. Their Masala Mama IPA is nectar from heaven. Their insane seasonals (Cabernet Stout? c'mon!) make each visit exciting.
• McNeill's, Brattleboro, VT. Really the first brewpub I visited, and still one of my favorites. The beer is all very good, but the atmosphere is what sets it apart. The closest I've ever seen in this country to a real neighborhood pub-- there are usually kids, dogs, and all kinds of people sitting around the long tables, playing darts, and enjoying a pint.
• Bosco's, Germantown, TN (now relocated). This was my regular place for the 5 years I lived in Memphis. I'm not just being sentimental, either-- their beer was excellent, and the atmosphere superb. Amazing bartenders who treated regulars like royalty-- free drinks and/or food, first-name service...
• Amnesia, Portland, OR. The latest one to get added to my list. Great beer, great atmosphere (complete with a brewhouse dog).
• Great Dane, Madison, WI. Incredible number of beers available, and all of them excellent. Great service. A lovely place... and thank goodness it's not too far away!
  

Also in contention: Franklin's, Hyattsville, MD; Magnolia, San Francisco, CA; Dogfish Head (the brewpub), Rehobeth Beach, DE, Three Floyd's (brewpub), Munster, IN.

Five Favorite Beer Bars:

• Toronado, San Francisco, CA. We've only been there once, but any bar that has a barleywine festival with approximately 50 barleywines ON TAP... well....
• Rich O's, New Albany, IN. Actually also a brewpub and a fine one at that, but they also have an amazing selection of other beer. And good atmosphere.
• Michael's Bistro, Charlottesville, VA. A small but fabulous and ever-changing beer list. Introduced me to some of my favorite beers...
• The Saloon, Washington, DC. Again, a small list, but with stuff you don't ever see elsewhere (Urbock?), and a wonderful atmosphere, amazing bartender, great regulars...
• The Happy Gnome, here in St. Paul. Excellent list, changes often, and regular casks. We need to go here more but we usually end up at their sister establishment the Muddy Pig (also great list, but no casks).

Also in the running: the Map Room in Chicago, but too crowded; RFD in DC, tremendous selection but crappy service and no atmosphere; Racer's in Baltimore, MD, only been there once, but it seems like a great place (and Geoff would agree).

5 Favorite Beers Not Mentioned Elsewhere in This Post:

• Anchor Liberty Ale, Porter, and Our Xmas Beer (Anchor is too big to really be a microbrewery, but darned if everything they make isn't incredibly good)
• Weyerbacher Raspberry Imperial Stout-- doesn't it just sound delicious?
• Victory Storm King Stout-- Victory's beers are all good, but this one is world class.
• Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout-- seems I've gotten on a bit of a stout kick...
• Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale-- the only non-American beer I'd cross the street for. Frequently in our house as a great session beer.

Did I miss any?

Drinking locally

(cross-posted at The Menagerie)

Daniela has written about the "Eating Locally Challenge" in which we're participating this month. She mentioned in one post that we're trying to drink locally, too, so I thought I'd expound on that aspect a bit.

Drinking locally is quite easy here in the Twin Cities. We have Summit, one of the larger "craft breweries" (they say they're too large to be considered a microbrewery these days) around, whose beers are available just about everywhere-- even at the Metrodome (home of the Twins and Vikings).

Then there's Surly, which Beer Advocate recently named the best brewery in America. I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but Surly is undeniably very very yummy stuff.

Just this year we've also added Flat Earth, a brand new brewery operating here in St. Paul. I just had their Angry Planet Organic Pale Ale and found it to be very tasty.

Minnesota also has a number of old breweries which somehow survived the massive consolidation of the 20th century-- Schell, Grain Belt (actually now brewed by Schell, but still), Stite, Gluek, to name a few. These breweries generally make beers in the American light lager category (ala Budweiser), but at least they're local! Then there are the micros located outside the Twin Cities metro area, like Lake Superior (Duluth).

And last but not least, included in the "local" category are beers from nearby Wisconsin. That means that even the crappy bar with nothing but lousy beer might have something local (Miller, anyone? or Pabst, or even Leinenkugel, though they're better than the other 2). Milwaukee was recently named America's drunkest city, (Twin Cities were #2!) and there's no shortage of beer made in Wisconsin. Putting aside the bad stuff, there are some great micros from the Cheesehead state too-- New Glarus, Furthermore (whose interesting smoked stout I'm drinking as I type), Sprecher, and Viking, to name a few locally available ones.

All in all, I'd guess that outside of the Pacific Northwest or northern California, we're probably in the best area for beer in the country. Or right up there... (if only we could get Three Floyds beer here, I'd have no problem with the previous statement)

Portland, Day Five

I planned to do three quick stops on Day Five. Unfortunately, I arrived at my first stop, Roots Organic Brewing Company, only to find it closed until 3:00. I was there at 11:30, needing an early start and planning to eat some lunch and drink some beer! 3:00... geesh...

Fortunately, stop 2 was right around the corner (this happens frequently in Portland-- brew pubs practically on top of other brew pubs!)-- the Lucky Labrador. I ordered some lunch, which was excellent, and had a sampler of beer.

Another good-looking pub, a beer-hall atmosphere-- high ceilings, a piano, dartboards-- with a large patio (as the name suggests, it's apparently very dog friendly). Besides the great food (I had a delicious lentil soup and a half sandwich), this place has good beer. Of the samples I tasted, my notes say, "all good, none revelatory." That about sums it up. I tasted their Magnolia PA (IPA), Rose City Organic Red, Black Lab Stout and Stumptown Porter (liked these two the best), Super Dog (hoppy pale ale), Crazy Ludwig's Alt on cask, and Goat Rocks Maibock.

I hopped a bus to head to stop #2, my first foray into the McMenamins chain of brewpubs. Starting from a single brewpub in 1983, the McMenamin brothers have now opened more than 50 pubs and "gathering places" in Oregon and Washington. Perhaps the most unique among them is the Kennedy School. They bought this abandoned elementary school and turned it into a hotel, pub, and movie theater, while retaining much of its school building character (for example, many of the hotel rooms have chalkboards!). They even kept the elementary-sized water fountains:


It's a gorgeous building with beautiful grounds. I headed to one of the bars (called the Detention Bar and the Honors Bar) for a beer and some freedom fries.


I had an IPA (when in Portland...). It was good but not outstanding. But the atmosphere of the place was pretty neat... Would be a fun place to stay, I imagine, though it's not an especially convenient location.

That evening Daniela and I headed to yet another brewpub for dinner. Laurelwood NW Public House is a converted house and specializes in organic beer and locally sourced food. I didn't take notes, but I recall that the beer was (again) good but not mind-blowing, and the food was good as well. We had some excellent gelato for dessert at a litte place nearby...

And that was the end of my beer tour. I managed to visit 8 brewpubs and 1 beer bar in 5 days... not too bad, I suppose. My one major regret is that I didn't make it to Hair of the Dog's brewery. Next trip!

Portland, Day Four

I decided to keep my plans modest for Thursday, following the difficulties arising from trying to do too much on Tuesday. So I had only 2 destinations: Widmer Brothers and Amnesia.

I took the light rail train to Widmer Brothers. This brewery is famous for its Hefeweizen, which one can find even here in Minnesota (saw it at the Xcel Center while we were there to see The Police!), but I wasn't about to waste my time on wheat beer. Nothing against the style-- it's just not my thing.

But I figured Widmer has been around a long time (est. 1984, I believe), so they must have some good beer. There was a promising beginning: as soon as I stepped out of the train, I could smell beer. Brewing beer. It's a delightful smell, and immediately confirmed that Widmer actually makes their beer at this location. The brewpub is plush and pleasant. I drank a nice pint of Broken Halo IPA, a solid if not thrilling example of the style. Given that I was not overwhelmed by my first beer, and that none of the other beers on offer seemed like one I couldn't live without, I decided to move on.

My next stop was a slightly less than 1 mile walk (made slightly longer by the fact that it was almost entirely uphill!) to Amnesia Brewing. You can read my review of the place on Beer Advocate here, but I'll repeat here as well: this is the best place I visited in Portland, and that's saying something.

It wasn't just the beer, though it was very good-- I especially liked The ESB, with lots of nice biscuity malt flavor, and the Copacetic IPA, exceedingly bitter with stunning grapefruit flavors. I also tried the Dusty Trail Pale Ale, Desolation IPA (darker and more alcoholic than Copacetic-- and gotta love a place with 2 IPAs on tap!), and Slowtrain Porter (yes, I had a sampler).

But it was also what an old drinking buddy of mine calls "the beer experience." Another place where the smell of brewing beer was quite strong-- as you can see in the above photo, the bar is mere steps from the brewery, with big bags of malt stacked next to the restrooms. The pub appears to have been a warehouse or garage of some sort.

There is a resident dog (above, named Leslie), and there were numerous other dogs outside, where a big tent covers a large seating area. There's also a big barbecue grill (in picture below, on the right), which is the only kitchen in the place-- they serve locally made sausages and burgers which smelled great, though I didn't try any.


All in all, a great neighborhood bar in what seems like a great neighborhood. This would be the place I'd want to live near if I lived in Portland....

Portland, Day Two and Day Three

Since Day One was the day I flew into town, I didn't do too much. But Day Two was my first full day, and I had big plans. I decided to begin with a Portland institution, Rogue. They actually brew their beer in Newport, Oregon, but they have a nice pub in Portland, not too far from my hotel. Since the weather here has been beautiful all week, I set out to walk there.

I was not expecting to stay too long at Rogue-- after all, I've had most of their beers, since they're distributed nationwide, and while they're reliably good, I've never been blown away. I decided to order a sampler of the draft offerings. I started off with Dad's Little Helper, a malt liquor clearly meant to be a boozier version of a lawnmowing beer. Fairly light in color and not terribly complex in flavor, it packs a good alcoholic punch (7% or so). I should mention that the nice bartender actually started everyone who walked in with a free sample of this beer. So my actual sampler followed. Brutal Bitter, not so brutal, really; Kells Irish Lager, couldn't remember having tried this before, eh...; Imperial Red Ale, clearly lots of alcohol, a good dose of hops, tasty; and Shakespeare Stout, a classic, dark and thick and yummy.

What made me stay longer at Rogue than I had originally planned, besides the very friendly bartender, was the previously-unknown-to-me presence of Rogue microdistilled liquors. Turns out that Rogue's rums are made right here in Portland, upstairs from the pub, and that they offer a sampler of each of the liquors, and that there was a tour coming up about an hour after I arrived. So I ordered the sampler and stayed for the tour.

Rogue makes 4 spirits: a white rum, dark rum, hazelnut spice rum, and spruce gin. The bartender told me she wasn't sure how much she was supposed to pour for the sampler, so I think I got a bit more than Rogue would like. All were very good. I've had Dogfish Head's spirits at their microdistillery in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, and loved them. It seems clear to me that microdistilling is the next great thing in American drinking, and that microdistilled spirits are to regular stuff what micro beers are to Bud. I especially liked the hazelnut spiced rum-- it has ginger as well as nuts, and it has a lovely earthy quality. Very nice. The gin is also quite good and would make an awesome gin-n-tonic, I imagine. The guy who gave the tour said that they're in the process of gaining distributing rights in Minnesota, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for this stuff to be available back home soon.

I rolled out of Rogue later and tipsier than planned, and walked to my next stop: BridgePort. This is another Oregon institution, calling itself Oregon's oldest craft brewery. It's a huge building, featuring a large bakery as well. They make a lot of beer, so I again ordered a sampler. I inquired whether the cask ales I had seen advertised were available on a sampler, and the bartender replied that she could put them on. I figured that I'd get 5 or 6 beers, including the casks. But no-- the sampler came out on a big tray with 13 beers! I had my work cut out for me...

I had the Haymaker Extra Pale Ale, Blue Heron Pale, ESB (draft and cask), Ropewalk Amber, Beertown Brown (also draft and cask), Hop Harvest (a seasonal), Old Knucklehead (barleywine), IPA (draft and cask), Black Strap Stout, and I guess one other.... it goes without saying that my notes were failing by this time. I liked the ESB, especially the cask version, the Hop Harvest, and the IPAs. And I had some great conversation with a man who sat down next to me-- about beer, books, politics, and other stuff. Mostly books and beer.

I really overdid it a bit on this day-- I was not feeling so well that evening, or even the next morning. So I took it easy on Day 3 to save energy for Days 4 and 5!

Day Three

As I mentioned, I was a bit out of sorts this day, so I did some reading in the morning and early afternoon and relaxed.

Then in the afternoon I did make it to one brewpub: the New Old Lompoc (odd name, the story of which you can read on their website). I had 2 pints here: the IPA, made with Centennial hops (just OK-- there are high standards for IPA in Portland, after all), and the LSD, or Lompoc Strong Draft. A cute name and a good beer-- 6.9%, quite dark, made with some smoked malt to give it a pleasant smokiness and a good bit of complexity. The owners or brewers of this place are big Red Sox fans-- they advertise that they have every Red Sox game available on TV and there were a group of Sox fans watching while I was there. So I relaxed with my beer and watched the baseball... unfortunately the Sox were getting beat.