Beer and Food

Greetings, 

Oak Aged Imperial Stout

Left-Hand Brewing Co.

Appearance: This is one of the clearest deepest darkest red garnet beers I've ever seen.  The head is a rocky very can lacy head.  It quickly recedes as expected in a beer with such a high alcohol content.

Aroma: As soon as I opened the bottle I knew this was an alcoholic beverage.  Raising the glass to take a sip the first aromatic impression is of deep dark milk chocolate.  There is very little hop in the nose and all.

Now feel: This is a very full-bodied beer.  Even with such high alcohol content, the mouth feel is very full and there is little of the well-known alcohol burn.

Flavor: The mouth feel continues and grows into a number of flavors including prune, raisin, sherry and some dark cherry flavor.  Again, the high alcohol content reduces the cloying feeling.  You have to look for the Oak to find it for without that flavor this beer would not be as much fun.

Finish: It was a remarkably bright finish to this brew.  It doesn't last very long, but it is most pleasant.  It makes this a dangerous brew to drink.

Comments: I must say that this was one of the most difficult beers to get into. And I mean that literally.  The wire cage of the cork finish was wound very tightly and the cork took a great deal of effort to extract.  It was worth the effort.

The fact that this beer is 10.4% alcohol by volume is, I believe, the reason the spear holds together so well.  Without such high alcohol content, the sweetness of the malts would be overpowering and any hop flavor with a totally hidden.  The effect of the old aging would be totally lost.  This is the third Oak aged year I have tasted a devastating suspicion that old aging smoothes these beers out tremendously would be interesting to have one of these beers, aged in a traditional manner, and the same beer from the same batch aged in oak.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com )

When I tell people I write about beer.  Their first question is usually "What is your favorite beer?"  Their second question is almost always "What makes a perfect beer?"

And there is a beer itself.  The first step to being a perfect beer is balance.  No matter how high in alcohol, or low in alcohol, the balance of flavors is essential.  There are some beers in which the sweet malt dominates and there are other beers in which the bitter hop dominates and yet in both of those instances, if the beer is going to qualify as a “perfect beer” it must be sublimely balanced.  (I am sure you can remember at least one instance of drinking a "hot tea" or a "malt soda".)  As with anything, the quality of the product is always self-evident.  There is no way to fake quality.  It is the direct result of people producing something they care about.  And so, we have a well-balanced beer made by people who care about it.

And so you can see, I've already violated one of the major rules.  Or, shall I give the folks at Labatt, a great deal more credit than some people do.  I prefer to grant the latter.

Peter LaFrance.

Greetings,

Hades Ale / Great Divide Brewing Co.

Appearance: This is a very effervescent golden yellow brew with an airy lacy white small-beaded head. 

Mouth feel: This is a medium bodied ale, and the carbonation adds a creamy feel.

Comments: After reading the label on this beer and seeing what looked like a mountaintop named Hades, I was not quite too sure what to make of this product.  With alcohol by volume at 7.3%  I was expecting a little bit more malt flavor.  The interesting nose and the bubblegum flavors are slightly confusing.  It has a very slick finish, though.  And I can imagine that this would be a comfortable high octane fuel for many an interesting hot summer night.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com )

Greetings,

Why do I write about beer?  The easy answer to that is, "because that's what I do." 

I could tell you a romantic story about how young man started out as a freelance writer, became an editor, and finally the author of two beer books and working on more.  But I'm not going to get into that today.

The real reason I write about beer is because it's fascinating. 

I am sure that breaking the genetic code is also fascinating.  However, I don't believe that sipping an ice cold pint of genetic code can compare to sipping a perfectly chilled amber ale.  I can also assure you that understanding the genetic code, as specific as that is, loses out when compared to beer, its history, its social influence, its political influence, and its nutritional influence only scratched the surface of the fascinating thing that is "beer".

First of all: what is in it? Then, how is it made?  How long has it been around?  How many kinds are there?  Why does this beer taste different than that beer?  Once I understood what beer was and how it was made I begin to understand what makes a good beer.  Once I understood what a good beer was I was able to put every beer I drink in perspective.  And then there was "context".  There have been some mornings I am drinking a beer at 10 o'clock and posting the tasting notes here on this blog. (It takes an outstanding beer to catch my attention at that time of the morning.)

I have learned more than 100 people have forgotten about beer, while interviewing brewmasters such as Garrett Oliver at Brooklyn Brewery, Jim Koch of Boston Beer, Al Marzi of Mass Bay Brewing Company and Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing Co.  And, I cannot begin to count the enjoyable meals in restaurants, at home, and in the middle of a Vermont woods in which the beer made the event memorable.  All of the previous mentioned have been not only fascinating experiences but also what I call "research". 

Of course all this sounds like fun, but is it lucrative?  It depends on how you define lucrative.  If you define it by listing assets of real estate, financial holdings, and stocks and bonds, then it has not been terribly lucrative.  However, if you accept it "lucrative" as having had the chance to enjoy some of the best beer, best food and the company of some of the best people in the world, then it is certainly lucrative.

And that's why I write about beer.

Cheers,

Peter LaFrance

Peter.LaFrance@beerbasics.com

Greetings,

Today I will sample one of the brews supplied by the good folks at Avery...

AVERY FOURTEEN ANNIVERSARY ALE

Appearance: this is a deep red garnet brew with a sandy brown tan very rocky head that laces beautifully down the glass.

Aroma: sitting atop a caramel malt base is a layer of dried fruit esters dominated by a "prune" accent.

Mouth feel: this is a very rich, full-bodied, alcoholic, beverage.  There is enough non-fermented sugar and dextrin to maintain a full body feel despite the high alcohol content.

Flavor: an effervescent malty-sherry flavor dominates with undercurrents of dried fruit, prune and citron.

Finish: the finish starts out with traces of the prone and citron and gradually progresses through grapefruit, ending with a palate cleansing slightly metallic flavor.

Comments: it is not quite 10 in the morning here in Brooklyn, USA.  The weather is almost perfect, and I am drinking a beer is 9.46% alcohol by volume and has 60 international bettering units.  The label also tells me that his original gravity was 1090, that it was bottled in 2007, and contains 1.6 fluid ounces. 

I'm supposed to get 2000 words entered into my manuscript for the next book.  And did I mention at the weather outside is beautiful today?  It should be noted here that I think this beer is just about as beautiful as today is. 

Which brings to question my dedication as a journalist; shall I file this report? Shall I finish this pint? Shall I finish the bottle? Shall I take the rest of the day off? Naaaaaa.....

VITAL STATISTICS:

Alcohol Content:          9.46% abv

http://www.averybrewing.com/Home

What others thought:

Rate Beer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/avery-fourteen/73023/

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

(http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

Greetings,

Once again I dive into the depth of the fridge to pull this one out of the back where it was hiding behind some Chinese take-away.All of that asside, it is just after 1000 hours EDT and getting hotter (almost 23C). So I'll take what I can get. The tale of the ancient Negra Modelo commences!

NEGRA MODELO

Appearance: This brew is a deep dark red copper colored beer topped with a thin quickly dissipating, light tan head of small bubbles. Note that the beer was poured cold less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Aroma: There is a light sweet sugar candy aroma, with very little hops.

Mouth feel: A light creamy mouth-feel with just a slight spike from the carbonation to assist what hops tang there is.

Flavor: This is not a very complex beer.  The flavors that are there are light and refreshing.

Finish: The finish is smooth and refreshing.  In the end though, there is very little of either the hop or the malt flavor.

Comments:

This beer is not as aggressive as Dos Equis. Brought to you by the fine folks at Corona.

VITAL STATISTICS:

Alcohol Content:          6% abv

http://www.gmodelo.com.mx/eng/marcas/negramodelo.html

What others thought:

Rate Beer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/negra-modelo/745/

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

(http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

Greetings, 

GREAT DIVIDE SAMURAI ALE

Appearance: This is an amazingly bright golden brew for an ale.  A dense, creamy pure white head of foam, not unlike well whipped egg whites just before they become the basis of a meringue, crowns this brew.

Aroma: Baking bread and new mown hay with a not-quite grapefruit undertone.

Mouth feel: A creamy mouth-feel with a rather full body

Flavor: The tang of the hops is supported by a malt flavor that is a bit too shy.

Finish: The final effect is a smooth soda-cracker flavor followed by a very pleasant sharp citric tang that resembles no fruit, rather a sharpness with a slight grass accent that lasts in a most enjoyable way.

Comments:

This brew was poured at between 45-50F and I was glad I did. The flavors would have been lost if it had been colder. However, on a hot day (later it is going to top 90F/32C here in NYC) like today I would be easily convinced to try this at a much chillier service temperature. I have a feeling the flavors with take the chill and enjoy it rather than get lost.

VITAL STATISTICS:

Alcohol Content:          5.1% abv

http://www.greatdivide.com/thebeers/samurai.htm

What others thought:

Rate Beer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/great-divide-samurai/50723/

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

(http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

Greetings,

Today, thanks to the good folks at The Shipyard Brewing Co. we have : Chamberlain Pale Ale

Chamberlain Pale Ale

Appearance: This is a dark copper colored brew, not quite red.  A light tan, frothy, large bubble, yet firm head sits atop this brew.

Aroma: There is a great deal of hop character to the initial aroma.  However, there is a roasted malt, almost a bread aroma that follows through.  Finally, in the end, the floral notes of the hops dominate.

Mouth feel: As this is a bottled beer, the carbonation is a little high, resulting in a small acidic bite.  Nevertheless, the mouth feel is of a creamy smooth beverage.

Flavor: The flavor of hops dominates this beer all the way through to the end.  My impression is that this beer is rather high in international bittering units, higher than even than initial and final impressions.  The undercurrent of malt flavors are what keep the hops from becoming overpowering.

Finish: The hop accents in the finish of this beer are not overpowering.  The finish leaves off without an astringent sensation.  In fact, it is quite a refreshing beer for such a high hop content.

Comments: After tasting this pale ale, I am even more interested in revisiting the rest of the Shipyard products.  For two reasons; first to compare Chamberlain Pale Ale to their other products, second; to become more familiar with the beers brewed in Maine.  I did note, when I opened this bottle that it is a twist-off cap. For some reason I found that unusual.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )