Beer reviews, news, commentary, and more from a guy who just likes to drink beer!
As you can tell by the title, I'm throwing a curve ball for today's video review (which I want to get uploaded while my interwebs aren't on the fritz). It is a cranberry cider, and it comes from Wyndridge Farms, not far from where I went to school! Also, I invoke the late, great Rowdy Roddy Piper in this video. Check it out!
Now that I've worked my way through everything written from up north (I still have a few for videos), I can return to my group of decidedly local beers.
We'll start with Palmetto Brewing Company, and their Huger Street IPA, which they officially call a "Wheat India Pale Ale", and pours a slightly occluded gold-to-orange color. At 7.2% ABV, Palmetto uses Falconer's Flight, Cascade, Chinook, and Citra hops to create a flavor profile that starts off with pine needle notes. This pine presence ramps up through the entire drinking experience and is joined by just a little bit of citrus, specifically orange and grapefruit. Similar to the pine note, the hop bite starts out fairly mild and gradually increases in potency throughout the drinking experience. It seems like the "wheat" portion of this beer comes through in a subtle grassy note, and perhaps a spicy note, as well. A medium-bodied beer, I was impressed with the overall complexities throughout the flavor profile and tasting experience. While the piney notes were generally the most prevalent feature, various other flavor notes came through the drinking experience at various times, making for a fun ride of a beer.
Next up is Kerry's Peanut Butter Porter from River Rat Brewery. It has 6% ABV and pours a moderately deep brown, similar to dark iced tea or watered-down cola. Peanuts and hazelnuts, though not necessarily peanut butter, come through in a generally light-to-moderate overall flavor profile. I also felt like there was just a hint of coffee, but I couldn't quite tell if that was the porter talking or if I was reinterpreting roast from the peanuts. This porter has a creamy mouthfeel that's very nice, though this is probably the beer's best attribute, frankly. Based on the beer's description, they were going for a porter that is quite light overall, and I feel River Rat overshot this mark. There is nothing bad or off-putting about this beer; everything tastes and seems fine. It's just all quite light or mild--the flavors, the body--and it's all a tad underwhelming. I would have liked a little more potency, instead of tasting something that almost felt watered down. I really liked the idea, River Rat. It just needed to be stronger.
Since its arrival in Columbia, SC a few years ago, I have been a fan of World of Beer, a semi-national chain of craft beer bars. I was especially impressed early on, when our particular branch did not stock pale macro lagers like Budweiser, Coors Light, and the rest. Within a year or so, they started stocking such beers in cans. While I was not a fan, I could at least acknowledge the potential market share being surrendered by not offering these beers, though why people would go to a craft beer bar and order Bud Light is beyond me. Still, as long as those tall boys were stashed away in a fridge in the corner, out of sight and out of mind, they weren’t bothering me at all.
Then I stopped by WoB last week, and saw this:
If you look closely at the left-hand side of that row of taps, you will see none other than a Bud Light handle.
Bud Light…and I’ve been told this is a company-wide addition to tap walls. Et tu, World of Beer?
I freely admit that I have held World of Beer to a higher standard, but that’s because this is a bar that prides itself on setting that higher standard. Their website openly brags about having “550+ different beers from around the world”. And I’m sure they are still holding to that impressive benchmark, or at least awfully close to it. That high quality carries through to the staff, who I find to be highly knowledgeable and passionate about the craft beer they sell. This passion reflected back to me, as I felt pride AS A CUSTOMER to be able to look at a 50- or 60-tap wall, and have the most common thing on it be Stella Artois. I love being able to find a dozen local beers, and a few relatively rare offerings that I have ZERO chance of finding most anywhere else.
For right now, yes, this Bud Light thing is just one tap, out of 50-some. There is still plenty of room for great beer. But that’s right now. Can the addition of Bud Light to the tap wall result in a slippery slope? How long until it’s joined by its big brother Budweiser? Or Miller Lite? Or any of a dozen or more macro lagers? The drinkers of these beers can be awfully hard to ignore—that’s a lot of market share being given up. It would be easy to populate a tap wall with these macros.
I urge World of Beer to remain strong. You cannot let the macro lager culture take over your tap walls. There’s enough macro lager culture already; this being Super Bowl Sunday, there’s a fair chance we can look forward to another commercial mocking craft beer. We, the craft beer lovers, must remain strong against this culture. World of Beer establishments are beacons of this craft beer culture, and their foundations are the thousands of great craft beers that can be found across this country and all over this world. It is my wish to no longer see Bud Light or other macro lagers on the WoB tap walls.
So, it's started. The dark times. The dry period. Whatever you want to call it. I call it "Booze-Free February".
But when you have responsibilities like a beer blog, the show must go on. As I mentioned in a few videos, I have created a back catalog of reviews to get through the month of February. In addition, you will see more news round-ups and commentaries, including one coming tomorrow (Sunday, 2/5/17).
But for today, I bring the first of this month's TWICE-weekly (instead of THRICE-weekly) video reviews, this one coming from Lagunitas Brewing Company. Enjoy, and I'll see you tomorrow!
Admittedly, it has been quite a while since the last news round-up. That is partially due to a somewhat slow news period around the holidays, but I was also waiting for February to come around so that I would have content to post during my dry time. Anyway, I have plenty to write about, so let's get started!
The Walt DIsney World Resort in Orlando, Florida is always looking for an angle to draw more guests to their theme parks and hotels--that's just plain capitalism. The main play at the Epcot theme park has been to add to and expand on their group of festivals held around the park. The latest is being called the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. Tom Corless and crew at WDWNT has full festival details, if you are interested, but what caught my eye were the beer offering at two of the food and drink kiosks set up around the park. The Cuisine Classique kiosk has a wonderful trio of beers: one of the iconic pale ales of the last generation-plus (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), one of the top breweries in America right now (Bell's Two-Hearted Ale), and one of the best Milk Stouts I've had (Duck-Rabbit). The beers from the Painter's Palate are less revered, but given the creative angle the Epcot folks were going for, the choices of 3 Daughters Strawberry Nitro, Breckenridge Nitro Vanilla Porter, and Young's Double Chocolate Stout are just fine choices. Find all the details of those specific booths in the respective links. The festival runs Fridays through Mondays at Epcot through February 20th.
I first mentioned this back in November, when it was backed by the Brewers Association trade group, but Senators Ron Wyden or Oregon and Roy Blunt of Missouri have reintroduced the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act for the Senate side of the 115th Congress, which began its legislative work earlier this year. The bill reduces excise taxes collected for smaller-scale breweries. Representatives Erik Paulsen of Minnesota and Ron Kind of Wisconsin introduced the House version of the bill, as well. The Brew Studs have all the details on the bill.
The Smithsonian Institution has hired a beer historian for the National Museum of American History. Theresa McCulla will soon receive a doctorate from Harvard in American Studies, which includes a doctoral dissertation on New Orleans cuisine and racial influences of said cuisine. For the National Museum of American History, "McCulla will research America’s brewing history and share her findings with the public," according to the article from Brewed Culture.
Because nostalgia seems to be all the rage right now, Bud Light has resurrected legendary 80's advertising canine Spuds McKensie for an ad in this weekend's Super Bowl.
Guinness beer will soon be brewed in America for the first time in over 60 years, according to this article from Brewbound. Diageo Beer Company, USA will be opening a Guinness brewery and visitor center in Maryland that will brew traditional Guinness and develop experimental styles for U.S. markets.
Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewery has teamed with Annapolis, Maryland's AC Beverage to create a straight-from-the-barrel draft beer system. The system allows nitrogen to be fed into oak barrels, and has an inline set of equipment from the barrels to cool and pressurize the beer for service. Beer Street Journal has all the details.
If you have enjoyed PRB, and would consider wanting to support what it is that I do, check out this video:
Please note that any content from Patreon will only be ADDITIONAL to the content here on the PRB main site--I instead to maintain the same amount of content regardless of patronage.
Patronage is absolutely not required, but absolutely appreciated.
Thanks.
-Justin
So, yesterday's video review of the Firestone Walker was actually the 100th beer-related video I made for the PRB YouTube page. I explain it all in this video of thanks:
Today's video review marks my last beer before Booze Free February, and it's a really good one! I check out an offering from Firestone Walker Brewing Company's rotating hop series Luponic Distortion. Check it out here!
Last week, I talked about the outstanding 2015 and 2016 Mad Elf varietals from Troegs Independent Brewing. I have two more beers from Troegs for reviewing, so let's get started.
First up is Troegs' year-round Perpetual IPA, which utilizes 6 different types of hops throughout the brewing process. Perpetual comes in at 7.5% ABV and 65 IBU, and pours a honey-gold color. The hops bring a wide variety of flavor notes into this IPA, most notably citrus and pine. A subtle tropical fruit note resulted in some hop candy and orange candy notes. This IPA has a medium body with a mild bitterness that ramps up as it gets warmer.
Next up is a beer out of Troeg's Scratch Series, which is their experimental small-batch series. At this point, they're up to batch 270+, but around Christmas, I got to try #258, which they call an American-Style Sour Ale. This particular sour was brewed using cherries, making it pretty much 100% up my alley. This sour pours a pretty pink color, rates at 5.5% ABV and a mere 9 IBU, but it packs a puckering tart punch. The flavor profile is straight forward, with loads of tart cherry and berry notes. The sour is highly carbonated, with a crisp finish. I found it to be a truly outstanding sour.
In today's video review, I bring you one beast of a beer from Stone Brewing. It is the terrific 2016 edition of Lukcy Basartd, the blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and Oaked Arrogant Bastard. If my enthusiasm doesn't show through on the video, it's because I was putting all my energy into trying to break down everything going on in that glass. But this is a mighty beer, and it is excellent. Let me tell you more here:
For the second straight Thursday, I was a panelist on fellow BeerTuber Rod J's "This Week in Beer" webcast. We discuss news of the week, and I learn that "BeerTuber" is a viable portmanteau! Check it all out here!
Hey, everyone! Check me out on this week's This Week in Beer webcast, starting at 8pm Eastern on YouTube! Keep watching this post--I will post a link when it is active closer to 8!
UPDATE: Link is live! The broadcast will begin at 8pm Eastern!
Today's video review comes out of a winter seasonal pack from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Check it out here:
In today's video review, I bring you a really solid IPA from Evolution Craft Brewing Company. Check it out here:
In today's BiR, I'll be discussing a Flemish Red from a small California-based brewery, as well as TWO years' varieties of a Christmas beer from a Hershey, PA brewery.
Starting, though, with Lost Abbey, a contract Belgian/Abbey-style brewery that works with San Marcos, California's Port Brewing Company. I had Red Poppy, a Flanders-style Red Ale that is based in their Brown ale that is then aged in oak barrels with sour cherries. The cherries come through as the primary piece of the flavor profile, which also includes just a bit of funkiness at the very end of the drinking experience. Red Poppy comes heavily carbonated, resulting in an effervescent mouthfeel. To me, this was an enjoyable Flanders Red, though not the best I've had.
While in Pennsylvania over the holidays, I had the opportunity to revisit Troegs Independent Brewing for the first time in a few year. For this review, I'll be discussing their Christmas seasonal Mad Elf, which they had in both the current 2016 and year-old 2015 varieties in their tasting room.
The 2016 Mad Elf is a mighty ale brewed with honey and cherries, and it has a massive 11% ABV. Many standard fall and winter spices, including cinnamon, clove, and all spice, are used in this beer along with the honey and cherries, and there's even a little bit of cocoa used in the recipe. You'll find all of those flavors in an intense, boozy, spicy ale that pours a ruby-to-copper color. It is truly a terrific ale, though that boozy note can get a bit overwhelming.
In the 2015 Mad Elf, that boozy note has been cut down significantly (though kicks back up a bit as it warms), turning this into a magnificent tasting experience. The 2015 still brings plenty of cherries, but the cocoa that was used but not that present in the 2016 really comes forward. The fall and winter spices are still present, especially the clove and all spice notes. But that spiciness has also cut down a significant amount. In fact, as great as the 2016 vintage is, the overall mellowness of the 2015 made for a much greater drinking experience for me. I expect that if you are used to a lot of high-gravity, high alcohol beers, the 2016 will be just as terrific.
Both are truly great offerings from Troegs.
Today's video brings reviews of TWO IPAs from York, PA's Liquid Hero Brewery! You can check out my thoughts, along with a new segment called Raise My Glass, right here:
On Thursday night, I had the opportunity to join the weekly "This Week in Beer" webcast, run by fellow beer blogger Rod J. Check it out here!
For decades, the liquor laws of Pennsylvania have been an antiquated joke. As the website Porch Drinking mentions in this article, “If you wanted to purchase a case of beer, a 6-pack, and a bottle of wine, you would have to go to three separate stores.” Beer distributors were only allowed to sell cases and kegs, while smaller packages (six- and twelve-packs) were available in bars, restaurants, and certain stores, but one could only buy 192 ounces at a time at non-distributors. This really made buying beer for those house parties back in college a pain in the neck. An additional restriction in Pennsylvania was limiting the purchase of wine and liquor to state-controlled stores.
Now, Pennsylvania had previously entered roughly the year 1997 by loosening some of its liquor laws, and further reforms passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor will finally bring Pennsylvania close to being in line with many other states. The Porch Drinking article linked above has an excellent summary of the newest reforms, as well as a history of the changes of the past few years. (Despite the date of the article, the latest round of reforms just recently took effect.) The biggest point of contention among these new reforms is the allowing of beer distributors to now sell any quantity of beer they wish. This includes six-packs as well as growlers, whose smaller size and presumed optimal freshness have made them a trendy option to novice and veteran craft beer drinkers.
Critics of this final reform claim that allowing distributors to sell six-packs will drive business to these businesses and away from bottle shops, grocery stores, bars, and others. Many in this latter group may be reliant on beer sales to remain open. If this is truly the case for restaurants and grocery stores, this does not feel like a great business plan. Moreover, beer distributors are not found on every corner, and many places that sell beer now will continue to successfully sell beer because of one major factor: convenience. There are still gas stations with their beer caves and smaller or independent bottle shops that continue to thrive, even when the big alcohol chain rolls into the area.
As someone who once had to navigate the formerly Draconian liquor laws of Pennsylvania, I celebrate the newest liquor reforms coming out of the commonwealth. Legislators, as well as many Pennsylvania citizens, have recognized the needed updating of these. There is more than enough of a market for alcohol that most or all current sellers should be able to continue to survive, regardless of size of the business of volumes of alcohol being sold. Any failures should not be blamed on new laws that greatly deserved to be modernized.
Without a doubt, one of the greatest breweries I've had the pleasure of visiting is Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing Company. Sadly, they don't yet distribute to South Carolina, but my parents had some, and I was able to wrestle away a bottle of their flagship lager, Dortmunder Gold--my mother wouldn't part with the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Anyway, here's my review of Dort:
Coming Saturday, another long-form commentary, this time on the new alcohol laws that have just taken effect in my old home state of Pennsylvania. See you then!
In last week's Beers in Review post, I talked about a few of the beers I tried at Collusion Tap Works, a relatively new brewery in York, Pennsylvania. I have a handful more to discuss in varying levels of detail before reviewing what I thought was really the best beer of the visit.
I will note that over the course of the roughly couple of hours spent at Collusion, I tried virtually every style of beer, and sampled at least half of their two-dozen offerings. As a result, palate fatigue set in during the back half of this visit, and it came through in my impressions of a couple of the beers.
As an example, I chiefly point to their Alley Session IPA, which, at the time, I described as "just okay"-a descriptor that indicated I didn't note anything wrong with the beer, but I wasn't getting a whole lot out of it. That being said, this came after having multiple normal/non-session IPAs of varying varieties, among other styles of beer. To me, this screams "palate fatigue", so this session IPA is one I would need to give further consideration before judging. The same could be said for What Gose Around. Both of these beers need to be moved to the front of the line on the next visit to Collusion. One sample I had was Bumfuzzle, which is an English Dark Mild beer. To me, it kind of tasted like a cross of ESB and coffee. I didn't have too much, so I can't make much more of a judgment, but it seemed like a nice session option (4.2% ABV) for the stout/porter crowd.
Another which came late in the drinking session (because they initially thought they had run out) was one of two wheat IPAs made in honor of the movie Rogue One. All I could pull out of Light Side were some citrusy hop notes and a mild hop bitterness. I was disappointed I got this one so late, because its twin was one of the first beers I had there, and it was easily my favorite.
Dark Side is a BLACK wheat IPA, and we'll get to the the execution of that combination of words shortly. The beer poured a deep, deep brown, and was 7.5% ABV. The IPA had very little bitterness overall, but did a notable job of threading the needle of the compound style. The start of the tasting experience was grassy and grainy, while the end was citrusy. I also got spicy and herbal notes throughout the experience. The folks at Collusion did a worthwhile job combining the black (body, some of the more subtle flavor notes), wheat (nice grassy, grainy opening), and the IPA (citrus notes) with all three being fairly well-balanced, and no muddled cross flavors. Unfortunately, this seemed to be a limited release. But I found Dark Side to be their best-executed beer. I look forward to trying many more offerings from Collusion Tap Works.