Beers in Review: A pair of Shiners/Spoetzls and a revisit

Today's review features two beers from the Shiner family of beers from the Spoetzl Brewery, along with a revisit of one of my very first reviews on this site. More on that later.

Shiner's holiday seasonal, known as Shiner Cheer, is delightfully different from your standard winter seasonals. Cheer is a Dunkelweisen, or dark wheat beer, and utilizes some very specific flavoring options from its home state of Texas: peaches and pecans. Feels more Georgia to me, but the flavors are a great addition to this beer, especially the peaches. They are prevalent in the aroma and the taste, though the peach sweetness was not too overwhelming. There is a nice level of maltiness, and just a low-to-moderate amount of body. Overall, a very nice beer, even if it might evoke more summer than winter.

Wicked Ram is a new Shiner beer for 2015, and the first attempt at an IPA in their history. The result is an incredibly balanced beer. The malts and hops complimented each other nicely, and some earthy notes were present in the taste. There was some hop bitterness, mostly on the back end, though that bitterness did increase throughout the taste as it warmed up. Overall, a good 1st IPA from a crew of experienced brewers.

As a policy, I don't want to repeat beers very often. Seasonals will likely come around every year (I wouldn't expect multiple reviews in one seasonal's production cycle), and I typically want to allow at least six months (and ideally longer) in between year-round-produced beers. That said, Boulder Hazed was one of my very first reviews, so I thought it might be fun to see what I said about that beer, and see if my writing AND my palate have improved after 3+ months of beer reviewing. Let's see what I wrote about Hazed on September 22nd:

“This session pale ale has some evident hop notes, but puts a lot of the focus on a fresh, clean beer that combines with a peach or apricot sweetness...not much of the normally-accompanying bitterness.”

The use of the awful phrase "normally-accompanying" notwithstanding, and allowing for a bit of stiffness that comes from a novice writer (hell, I probably still have that stiffness), I didn't do too bad on talking about Hazed. My new beer this weekend was also very crisp and clean, with piney hop flavors (something I missed the first time around). The fruity sweetness was there, though not as prevalent and not as easy to identify the first time around. I found the maltiness to be more evident this time around. I think this may be a legitimate result of more critical thinking around the beers I drink. That was a fun little exercise. Probably not something I'll do often; there are WAY too many beers to taste to get into repeats. But fun to revisit.

Beer in Review LIVE: Lagunitas Sucks (the beer, not the sentiment)

Lagunitas Sucks is known as the substitute for their Brown Shugga winter seasonal. It's a double IPA, but seems to trend on the lighter side of the DIPA spectrum. The beer pours an orange-ish color, and just explodes with sweet aromas as it is poured. Per their website (which features a whole lot of really cool tunes, by the way), Sucks utilizes a "cereal medley" of barley, rye, wheat, and oats. The result does have a hint of bready/crackery/wheaty characteristics, but there is a slight hop bite followed by fruit (such as apricot) qualities in the front, then some maltiness and a slight bit of alcohol in the back of the sip. Really, a very solid, very delicious beer.

A-B InBev throwing their weight around

Despite its best and ongoing efforts, Budweiser parent A-B InBev knows it can't buy up ALL the craft breweries. So, the behemoth beer company has come up with a heavily anti-craft solution to turning around their declining market share (45% vs. 49% in 2008): use their massive financial resources to incentivize independent distributors to carry more of their products.

Per this Mother Jones article (and originally reported in the Wall Street Journal, but sadly it's behind a paywall), A-B InBev will "reimburse" independent beer distributors up to $1.5 million (and, per the WSJ, an average of $200,000) each if A-B InBev sales make up a certain percentages of distributors' sales. Additional requirements of this program will push larger, widely-distributed (read: more dangerous to A-B) craft breweries such as Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues OFF THESE DISTRIBUTORS' SHELVES ALTOGETHER!

The folks at A-B InBev have seen craft beer's surge eat away at their market share for years now. A-B has now created a plan and dedicated up to $150 million over the next three years to get that market share back. And it's already working. Per the article linked, Oregon's Deschutes Brewery noted that a St. Louis distributor has dropped them in order to take advantage of the A-B reimbursements.

The Budweisers and Bud Lights of the world are the big money makers for these distributors. Ultimately, I can't blame them that much for accepting this strong-arm tactic. But I would much rather see craft beer continue to thrive and continue to chip away at the macrobrewers' market shares. I look at the explosion of high-end beer/wine/liquor stores and smaller (and largely small business) bottle shops, and would love to see them thrive at the expense of A-B InBev's tactics.

Beers in Review: Goze Duo

Before we start, a brief description of gozes, for the beer novices. Gozes, or gueuzes, are sour wheat beers that are very crisp and dominantly sour, often even venturing from sour to salty. They typically have very little body, fairly low alcohol content, and little to no hop presence. They can be quite the acquired taste, as you may imagine very sour/not heavily sugared lemonade.

First up is Anderson Valley Brewing Company's The Kimmie, The Yink, and the Holy Goze. Yep, that's the name. This goze has tons of lemony tartness, along with a hint of saltiness that comes through in the second half. The second half also has hints of earthiness as well, leading into a finish that is very clean. As expected, the whole thing is very effervescent and lively on the tongue the whole way through.

The second beer of our Goze pair is simply called Goze from Charleston's Westbrook Brewing Company. Westbrook's Goze is incredibly intense in every way. There is a hint of initial sweetness that quickly gives way to a strong citrusy bite--and I feel I'm getting assorted citrus in that flavor, not just lemon. The bite is powerful, and takes some getting used to. It does level out some in the back half of the sip, though a fair amount of saltiness is also added to the flavor near the finish. In a style of beer that tends to be pretty strong, flavor-wise, Westbrook's Goze would be among the strongest.

Beer in Review: A Winter Seasonal and a Brand New Brewery

Needless to say, when I think of pioneers of the super-hoppy IPA/beers in general movement that dominated a lot of the early craft beer movement, Sierra Nevada comes to mind instantly. Indeed, their famed Pale Ale was one of the first beers I ever remember having. Thanks, Dad.

When it comes to their many offerings, most of them tend to be very hop-forward, and their winter seasonal is no different. Their Celebration Ale is formally either an American-style IPA OR a Fresh Hop Ale. As in, freshly-harvested hops are used in this beer (typically, there is a roughly two-month window to harvest and store the full years' needed supply of hops). The result, like many of Sierra Nevada's beers, is a strong piney hop aroma and flavor, and a considerable amount of accompanying bitterness. Celebration bears a pretty full body and some malty flavors and a mild sweetness. Overall, though, this is another big, bold, hoppy beer from Sierra Nevada.

Frog Level Brewing Company is a brewery that I had NEVER heard of before, and they made a good first impression with their Nutty Brunette. Or, it may be listed as Nutty Brew-nette, I saw both. It probably just depends on your personal predilection for puns.

Nutty Brunette is a very flavorful brown ale that has a lot going on. While there is a little bit of hoppiness and a considerable amount of malts, the major player is the "Nutty" portion of the beer's name. Roasted nuts are the overlying flavor, along with some bready or crackery notes and not a whole lot of body.

I got burned on my conjecture of distribution previously, so I will just reiterate this was my first experience with Frog Level, and I hope to try more of their selections.

Beer in Review LIVE: Bell's Two-Hearted Ale

I'm already logged in and writing, so let's have a beer!

Bell's Brewery makes one of my favorite beers in their Oberon Ale, a REALLY tasty wheat beer. I recently picked up a four-can pack of Two Hearted Ale, their American-style IPA.

A golden-orange color, and translucent, this is an excellent APA/IPA. The taste starts out with some definite hop flavor, but not a whole lot of bitterness. There is some bite as the taste progresses, but this is tempered by mild fruity flavors. Underlying through out the entire drink, and especially notable at the end, is a significant malt presence. The body isn't super big, but the beer is crafted so as to be a sipping beer, certainly something to be savored, not downed quickly--a sentiment that matches a beer that is so well-executed.

I'm pretty sure this means craft beer is winning.

The Brewers Association, a "trade association for small and independent American brewers" (from the press release below), released some very good news for the beer industry as whole.

It is no secret that breweries have sprouted up at massive rates since craft beers have penetrated more and more of the beer market. In fact, the number of United States breweries has more than doubled since 2011, and the Brewers Association announced the U.S. has reached an all-time high of 4,144 breweries, beating the previous record of 4,131 set in 1873! Breweries open at a current rate of more than 2 per day, and 15 different states have more than 100 breweries. All of this is particularly notable, considering that the beer industry bottomed out just 40 years ago, with a mere 50 breweries nationwide!

I am glad to see the craft beer boom continue, and feel that most can survive so long as the quality remains high, as so many have done.

More info: Press release from the Brewers Association.

Beers in Review: An Additional Trio

Intros are hard, so let's just dive right in, shall we?

Rounding out the collection of Savannah/Georgia beers I recently tried is Service Brewing Company's Teufel Hunden, a beer brewed in the true Oktoberfest spirit. An unfiltered Marzen, the Tuefel features some mild "pumpkin pie spice" flavors, but nothing too overpowering, which I like. Also featuring some nice maltiness and a medium body. Another fall seasonal which I can enjoy, though their distribution doesn't make it to Columbia yet, to my knowledge. (EDIT: My knowledge is poor. Per Service, they are available throughout the Carolinas. -J.S.)

Next is Green Man Brewery and their ESB. Overall, this ESB is rock solid in style, and very good overall. Lots of toastiness and malts, with the signature ESB flavor--maybe a hint of bitterness. Also had some body, and finished with hints of grains and some sweetness.

The final Beer in Review had a whole lot going on. Unknown's Brown-Ryed Girl officially lists as a India Brown Ale. A super smooth beer, it starts with a light hop flavor before giving way to some roasty sweetness, and to me some darkly sweet flavors, such as caramel and the like. This may be a result of the rye spiciness. That spicyness especially shines through at the end of the drink. A really fun beer to drink.

Beers in Review: Some locals and a not-so-local (including the first winter seasonal)

And now, I give you four more reviews, including a Georgia beer I had during my trip to Savannah. We'll look at a few beers from pretty widely-available breweries, as well as a first-time tasting of a Wild Heaven Craft Beer. I'll also review this blog's inaugural winter seasonal, but we'll save that for last.

Leading off this review is Left Hand Brewing Company's Fade to Black, Volume 1, one of several volumes. This particular volume is a stout, and shows with a lot of the typical stout characteristics: pitch black, with a fair amount of body to me. There was some creaminess to it, with some cocoa and coffee notes. There was also some smokiness and smoky sweetness present, perhaps the most unique notes in what is formally called a Foreign Export Stout.

Next up is Oskar Blues' Dale's Pale Ale. This canned pale ale leads off with bitter citrusy hops and a slight malty sweetness. While these are fairly well-balanced early on, the hoppy bitterness maintains throughout, and my particular can was quite carbonated, which made it a bit of a tough swallow. This is nothing to dissuade me from having the beer again, I promise. Overall, this is a very solid pale.

My very first experience with Wild Heaven was quite extraordinary, as I was presented with quite the unusually-designed can of beer.

Emergency Drinking Beer was a very interesting Pilsner-style session ale. Weighing in at just 4% ABV, I put the pint glass up to my nose and immediately smelled Cherrios. Some faint fruit notes were present, but largely the typical Pils characteristics were there: very clean and crackery.

And now, Widmer Brothers Brewing Company's Brrr, our very first winter seasonal. Early on, the hops blend with caramelly malts. For me, the hops lasted all the way through the drink, and there was a good amount of bite in the finish. Now, I will write some more on this later this week, but I am not a fan of the super-spiced fall and winter beers, so I have no problem with a hoppy seasonal option.

Beer in Review LIVE: COAST's HopArt IPA

I'm fighting off the tryptophan (which is a misnomer, but this isn't a culinary blog) with a can of HopArt from COAST Brewing. Enjoy this quick live review!

This IPA is opaque, and the sip starts with a brief slight kick of alcohol followed by powerful sweet malty notes. The middle is a bit of a transition, and so it's a little tough to figure out what's going on. The transition leads into some bitter hop flavors that doesn't really hang around too much.

COAST, from Charleston, is one of the highly-regarded breweries in South Carolina. HopArt is a very good beer, though some of the flavor notes tend to make me want to push this into either the American Pale Ale or (given the 7.7% ABV) Double IPA territory. Still, this is a solid representative from COAST.

Beers in Review: Savannah's Moon River Brewing Company

As previously mentioned, I spent the weekend in Savannah, Georgia, and amongst many many miles of walking, shopping, and eating, my family and I happened upon the Moon River Brewing Company. I will review a couple of the beers shortly, but having tasted 4 of their beers in all (Swamp Fox American IPA and Southern Sour Blend #2, in addition to the 2 below), I think the most notable thing I found about Moon River is how much they have going on in their beers.

As the site name suggests (if you get puns), I don't claim to be any kind of expert in beer tastings. My palate is slowly but steadily getting better, but I am not one of these people who can pick out a half-dozen distinct flavors or aromas from each beer, like some folks. In Moon River's beers, I could taste the depth, which was very encouraging for me.

First off was Duppy Conquerer, a relatively low ABV beer, but I would hesitate to call it in any way sessionable, just due to its formidable flavor profile. A collaboration with fellow Savannah brewery Southpoint Brewing Company, Duppy is a Sour India Red Ale that is immensely fruity, with a powerful citrusy kick. A small amount of hoppiness is present, along with effervescent and fresh feelings. This ale really starts to make its left turn as it warms up. Progressively, some funky flavors start to creep in--they don't overwhelm the ale, but they are quite prevalent. The sourness also spikes as it warms up. The end result was that the last third or so of the pint was both a bit tough to get through while still being enjoyable. It's a really interesting ale, but I one must be into sours in order to enjoy Duppy.

The second beer I got a good taste of was the Boucane Brown Ale. I've started to stray away from browns in general, but if they all tasted like Boucane, I'd be downing browns with regularity. Oats and nuts were highly prevalent in both the aroma and the flavor, and was very smooth and tasty overall.

I wish Moon River made it across the Savannah River and here into South Carolina. One can only hope that some future expansion plan will make that possible. Moon River makes wonderfully complex beers that need to be appreciated by many more people.

A happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Coming up this weekend, some beers from my cellar, and the first of the winter/Christmas seasonals.

Beer in Review: Sixpoint Sweet Action (or, that funny-looking can)

It's been a quiet week on the beer front, frankly, though I hope to have lots of content out of tomorrow's Vista Lights celebration and this weekend's trip to Savannah.

A beer I am having right now is Sixpoint Brewery's Sweet Action. Now, there are two things I have noticed right away. First, the beer is named, but Sixpoint, even on their website, declines to note the type of beer, calling it "an undefinable beer...that your brain cannot categorize but instead speaks directly to your palate."

The second thing is, the odd can shape. This 12oz. can seems shaped more like a Red Bull can than your standard 12oz. beer can. Certainly not a bad thing. Just very apparent.

The beer has a pretty mild hop profile, but overall tends to be malty and smooth. Peaches are strong in the aroma--in the flavor, I tend to get more of the peach skins. Also, some apricots. Were I to label this beer, I think it'd fall into the APA category. Solid beer.

I hope to bring you lots more from what should be a fun weekend on Sunday and/or Monday.

Beers in Review: Beers from New Belgium and Highland

Just a reviews of a couple of beers I ahd this week.

First off is New Belgium's Long Table. It has the standard farmhouse ale sweetness, but also features pretty prominent notes of toasted bread or grains. It makes for a bit of an interesting balance, as the grains kind of put me in a Pilsner state of mind. But that saison/farmhouse fruitiness is fairly prominent, and tends to hang around the palate quite a bit after the sip.

Highland Brewing Company is one of my favorite regional breweries. I could drink their Gaelic Ale forever and probably not get tired of it. Like the Long Table above, Highland's Lost Cove APA also evoked some Pilsner-like feelings. This beer had some mild hop bitterness, but nothing overpowering, along with a nice citrusy bite. (Undoubtedly caused by the hop strains used in this beer, the bitterness and citrus came out in two separate stages of the mouth experience.) The finish went Pilsnery (a word I just made up), with prominent crackery malt notes.

Local news: new place in Columbia's Five Points with definite craft beer potential

I may be dabbling into local affairs a bit too much this week, but I was kind of excited by an Instagram picture I saw today.

The village of Five Points in Columbia, SC is typically seen as the collegiate night life district. It has a lot of great shopping spaces, and some great restaurants, but when the sun goes down, the students from USC take over. The result is a lot of PBR, Bud Light, and cheap liquor specials. And believe me, I can absolutely be down with cheap booze. But given the level of competition (Flying Saucer, World of Beer) in the Vista, Columbia's slightly-more-grown-up entertainment district, a few Five Points joints HAVE been making an effort to improve the Five Points beer scene. (shout-out to the Village Idiot and The Attic)

The scene may be taken to the next level with Publico Kitchen and Tap, a brand new beer joint and taqueria. Now, the picture that excited me is right here, and that is a really solid group of (mostly regional) craft beers, and a considerable number of taps for the Five Points area.

I am excited to check out Publico's beer AND food menu. The taco list is pretty crazy! Banh mi! Pad thai chicken! Tuna poke! Insane!

Best of luck to Columbia's newest restaurant! Hope you because yet another Five Points institution!

Beers in Review: 3 beers, including an oldie and an oh-so-goodie

Red Hare Cotton Tail Pale Ale: A solid pale with largely piney hops, maybe with a hint of citrus (unless that was just hop bite). Pretty refreshing overall with a clean finish. Again, solid all around, but nothing too deep. At just 5% ABV, also fairly sessionable for a quality craft pale.

From time to time, beers tend to unintentionally stay in my pantry or fridge for a little too long. As a general rule, I tend to not publish reviews for these beers, as it can represent an unfair view of the beers' qualities. Rest assured, in a situation such as this one, I will always publicly make a note of it. While I have no doubt this beer's flavor changed, I found it still held up well, flavor-wise. The beer in question is Founders Centennial IPA. The hop profile tended to be in the background compared to flavors of dark fruit, possibly plum, and some caramel. There was also a fairly noticable booze note (7.2% ABV). The bottle was right at one year old, and I wonder if that contributed to some of sweetness, or at least the lesser hop notes. But I found it to still be a quite drinkable beer.

The final beer in this review is a simply legendary Abbey Ale from Brouwerij St. Bernardus. St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a Belgian Quad, and one of the original, long-time tentpoles of the craft beer industry. Coming in a 10% ABV, the boozy note comes through at the end of the sip as it warms up, but the flavor is dominated by dark fruit, red wine notes, and a solid cherry sweetness. It's exceptionally smooth, as those dark fruits follow all the way through the sip until the beer leaves your mouth. An excellent beer, to put it mildly, and one I can put on my imaginary top shelf of great beers I've tasted.

A brief congratulations to Hunter-Gatherer!

I am glad to see that a local beer institution able to expand!

As originally reported by the crew at Soda City Suds Week, the Hunter-Gatherer will be adding a new brewing facility and taproom to compliment their existing Brewery and Alehouse (and restaurant) on Main Street in Columbia. The new Hunter-Gatherer Brewery will be located at Owens Field beginning in 2016 (more info in the link below). Hunter-Gatherer, which typically features an ESB, Wheat, and Pale Ale, as well as specialty brews, will be able to expand their operation, including having a bottling line. The new Owens Field facility will also have a taproom and observation desk overlooking the Owens Field airport.

Congratulations to Hunter-Gatherer on their upcoming expansion!

H/t: Free Times

Beers in Review: A trio of beers from the Carolinas

Today's review features beers from 2 North Carolina breweries and one from Charleston, SC.

The first offering comes from Palmetto Brewing Company's 843 limited-release series, named for the Charleston area code. The Ghost Rider IPA features citrusy hops spiced with ghost peppers and maraschino cherries. Now, to me, the peppers and hops combined for a fairly bitter hop taste. Also evident is a mild burn from the ghost peppers, but it is not overpowering like I've tasted in some other pepper-infused beers. The ghost pepper use should not cause people to shy away from this beer. The front end also had a bit of fruity sweetness from the cherries.

Carolina Brewery's award-winning Oatmeal Porter is a very solid offering style. The beer is hearty, but not super-thick, as some darker beers can be. It also sports a nice creamy head. The aroma and taste tend to feature cocoa/chocolate notes. Despite it being only 5.9% ABV, I found it to have a bit of a boozy aftertaste. But overall, I found this beer to be a strong contribution to its style.

American Pales have arguably become my style of choice. While I can appreciate, and even want, the heavy-hopped IPAs often, I appreciate the better balance of flavors that tend to come from APAs, and Unknown's Over The Edge was no different. It definitely shows its Paleness, with piney hops being a strong part of the flavor, especially early on. The hops give way to sweetness, and I what I identified as cherries, in the middle, before resolving to a pretty clean finish. Another enjoyable example of style, and my first time experiencing Unknown Brewing Company. I may need to seek out some more of their collection.

Beers in Review: Aviator Cretaceous Black IPA

Today's review is the Cretaceous Black IPA. This beer from North Carolina-based Aviator Brewing is brewed, then "short aged" in bourbon barrels. The short aging lends some smooth alcohol notes to the aroma, and adds a hint of the same to the taste as well--this is a bit surprising, given the fairly low 5.3% ABV. A pitch black beer, the "Black" and the "IPA" are represented pretty well. There is a mild hop flavor combined with a bit of that unsweetened cocoa-type taste you find in stouts. But these flavors tend to be pretty well-balanced, making for an enjoyable beer. Just don't expect "IPA" when you see it on the can.

Beers in Review: Finally caught up!

So, this review includes beers from the last two weekends, meaning I'm all caught up on my beers I've drank while out and about in Columbia. This means I need to start drinking more beer--what a torturous life to lead.

Before starting one comment on a beer from a couple of weeks ago. I had Stone's Go To IPA at a local establishment. Now, I don't really have a frame of reference for how this beer should taste, but this beer seemed very obviously off. A colleague of mine with a better idea for Go To's flavor confirmed the same thing, describing it with a pretty unsavory descriptor. This leads me to believe it was a single bad keg or something bad in the bar's set-up. I want to give both the beer and bar the benefit of the doubt, so I am declining to say much about the beer itself, other than I will give it another try at some point, if for no other reason than Stone's quality reputation.

Onto the reviews.

Westbrook Brewing Company has certainly established a reputation as arguably THE top brewery in South Carolina, and one of the best in the country. Beers like their Goze and Mexican Cake are held in the highest regard, and White Thai is a personal favorite. Their seasonal collaboration with The Charleston Beer Exchange, called Citrus Ninja Exchange, is a Double IPA that is pretty light in color. Grapefruit is one of prime ingredients of this beer, resulting citrusy hops and a fruity taste with a pretty clean finish. At 9% ABV, I felt the booze came through more and more as the beer warmed up.

Another Charleston, SC brewery, Revelry Brewing Company, is new to me. They seem to finally be making their way inland from the SC coast. I got to try one of their IPAs, Funkmaster Brett and the Furious Hops. Officially listed as a "Belgian IPA", this beer didn't have a huge hop flavor. I detected some citrusy sourness. I also got a bit of a red wine-like aftertaste. Perhaps this is a result of some blending of styles. Overall, a pretty quaffable beer.

Redhook's Longhammer IPA is a pretty commonly available craft IPA among the Columbia watering holes. Longhammer brought a balanced hop flavor with some mild bitterness. There was also a hint of caramelly sweetness early in the mouthful that resolved to some more piney hop flavors pretty quickly. However, I found that sweetness mixed with some maltiness to hang around longer as the beer warmed up.

This was a trio of varying-style IPAs that were all quite enjoyable.

Beer in Review: Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Ballast Point is one of the few breweries from whom I have NEVER had a negative experience. Even if a certain style hasn't been my thing (like, say, the Sculpin until recently), I could appreciate that it was a high-quality beer.

As my IPA palate has developed, I have come around on the Sculpin IPA. I find the Sculpin to be a pretty smooth drink, with a lot of fruity hops. The hops resolve into apricot and tropical fruit flavors. A very slight hit of alcohol at the start (7.0% ABV) and a pretty strong aftertaste prevent this from being  sessionable (which may be a word I just made up), but this IPA is very tasty.

I have one or two of the Grapefruit Sculpins floating around my refrigerator, so expect a side-by-side comparison in the not-too-distant future.