Beers in Review: Back to a Threesome

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I'm going back to doing three beers in this review, mostly because I had a really good beer today that I want to share. That will be the last one up.

But first up, a couple from the weekend. First up is an offering from one of A-B InBev's latest High End acquisitions, Virginia's Devils Backbone Brewing Company. Their core IPA, Eight Point IPA, clocks in a 6.2% ABV and 70 IBU. The particular watering hole where I had this beer was pretty dimly lit, so I called it a "roughly gold" color,but your actual mileage may vary. I also noted a highly carbonated mouthfeel. Overall, the flavor profile brought varied flavors to the tasting experience, but all were mild to medium in intensity, with no one flavor standing out or overpowering the others. I got a little bit of citrus, mild to moderate pine notes, some sweetness in the front half of the tasting experience, and a moderate (constant, but not overpowering) hop bite that carried into the aftertaste. This hop bite, really, was the most prominent flavor note of them all, so I wasn't a big fan of that. A decent, drinkable, if unremarkable, IPA.

Next up is the final beer from the Shiner Family Reunion variety pack from Spoetzl Brewery near Austin, Texas. The Bohemian Black Lager poured like a very dark cola to near black color, with 4.9% ABV, 18 IBU, and a medium-to-heavy body. It's a fairly basic schwarzbier (black beer). I got toasty and roasty malt notes with a slight graininess at the start of the drinking experience, and a very slight grainy note throughout. I also noticed that the beer had a fairly high amount of carbonation, but was a quite smooth and gentle drinker. Basic but good enough.

Finally, from Alpine, California's Alpine Beer Company is their Session IPA, Hoppy Birthday. Coming in at 5.25% ABV and 69 IBU, this beer pours a crystal clear gold color. Six different hops are used in this Session IPA, resulting in a bit of pine and lots of grassy field notes. I think I also got some hop candy flavors, fueled by a mild sweetness throughout the tasting experience. I probably need to track down some hop candy, just to be sure. It had a dank aftertaste, and the mouthfeel brought some interesting carbonation. It was a prickly sensation in my mouth, almost to the point of being a tad rough. This was a very minor note, as the flavors of Hoppy Birthday were truly outstanding.

Video Review: Just Like Riding a Bicycle

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So, Booze-Free February has ended for me. It went fine. Honest.

But it's March 1st, which means I'm back on the review scene! And I lead off with a collaboration between Against the Grain in Louisville, Kentucky and Magic Rock Brewing out of the United Kingdom. Now, my palate needs to get used to beer again, and re-calibrate a bit, but I think I got the gist of this beer out. Check out my thoughts on Shades of Grey here:

 

I will be back tomorrow, with ANOTHER video review, getting me back on my normal thrice-weekly schedule! See you then!

Beers in Review: From the Big Boys of Craft Beer

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Today's BiR offerings will come from two of the most widely available craft breweries: New Belgium Brewing Company and Boston Beer Company (aka Samuel Adams).

We lead off with New Belgium's Citradelic Tangerine IPA, which comes in at 6% ABV and 50 IBU. The name says it all, as Citradelic brings the fruit through the use of Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, Galaxy, and Azacca (along with a half-dozen other varietals) hops and tangerine peel to infuse orange, orange candy, and grapefruit notes into this IPA. I personally also got a significant amount of grassy hop notes, along with just a hint of pine. The IPA pours a crystal clear orange-gold color, and I also found a mildly juicy mouthfeel and a medium-heavy body within this beer. This is quite the nice citrusy, fruity IPA. If that is up your alley, find this Citradelic IPA.

Next up is Sam Adams' Hopscape, which was, unfortunately, the substitute for the kicked keg of Bell's Hopslam. But such is the curse of supply and demand. Officially deemed a wheat ale, Hopscape pours a moderately hazy yellow-gold color, and comes it 5.5% ABV and 30 IBU. It's the Sam Adams winter seasonal, but to me it plays more like a spring beer. I got a whole bunch of prominent grassy and wild/dandelion green notes. I got less of pine, citrus, and a little bit of funk. It was a decent beer, and fairly good for Sam Adams. I could have used more of the lesser notes to make a little more complex ale.

 

 

Six-Pack of News, Volume 20: It Only FEELS Like 5 Months Between Six-Packs

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Boy, I've been hitting all kinds of milestones recently. One year of video blogging AND 100 videos. 400 different beers reviewed. And now, a whopping 20 news round-ups! Just since May! AMAZING!

 

 

...let's get to it.

In what I imagine is a bi-weekly question for this city, the Asheville, NC Citizen-Times asks whether their fair city has too many breweries.

The folks at Vinepair sure like their lists, but in this news round-up, I would like to direct you to a map of the highest-rated brewery in each country, per the Untappd mobile app (find me @pourlyreviewedbeer!). Thankfully, the United States is repping itself well by having The Alchemist be our top-rated brewery!

Headlining a Brewbound news round-up of its own (and as mentioned on this week's "This Week in Beer" webcast!), Amazon plans to sell beer and wine at its super high-tech brick-and-mortar convenience store in Seattle called Amazon Go. This round-up also includes news on the possible U.S. return of the classic alcoholic beverage of the 1990s, Zima. So, we also have that going for us...

Brewbound also has news and the press release on the trade group The Brewers Association's election of a new board of directors for 2017. The press release also notes that there are now over 5200 "small and independent craft brewers" in the United States.

I note the updated brewery number, because All About Beer magazine recently reported on the extended waits brewers now face in getting their operating permits. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) says breweries now wait an average of 166 days, over 5 months, to receive their operating permits, as of September 2016. This is a 28.6% increase in wait time from the previous year, and more than double the wait time in 2013.

Finally, the team at craftbeer.com has details on the new brewery and expansion plans for Russian River Brewing Company, makers of the Pliny pair of beers, among many others. Construction will begin in April with a target completion of late 2018.

 

 

Beers in Review: In Which I Am Pleasantly Delighted

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We'll talk about this mini-commentary thing momentarily. First, the beer reviews!

The Beer Camp collaboration series has turned into an ever-growing hit for the long-time craft beer artists at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and they’ve bridged the gap between the 2016 and 2017 Beer Camp variety packs with this Golden IPA, which uses wheat malt and experimental hops to put a spin on what turned into Sierra Nevada’s Spring seasonal. This IPA pours a clear yellow-straw color and is 6.5 ABV while rating 50 IBU. Dominant grassy aromas push into the initial flavor impressions, which include wild field grass and dandelion greens. Pushing deeper, I got a mild sweetness and a barely-perceptible hop bite, along with a slight hint of a grainy note. Sierra Nevada (and friends) knock another hoppy beer out of the park.

Next up is, frankly, an unexpected treat, the Gose from Asheville, North Carolina’s Hi-Wire Brewing. Like so many in this style, this Gose rates low in ABV (4.2%) and IBU (a mere 5), while pouring a hazy straw color. Hi-Wire utilizes Pink Himalayan salt here, and the salty flavor does differ greatly from the types of salt that one would expect to be used in such a Gose., though I admit I struggled to describe HOW, exactly, the flavor differs. It was an interesting flavor sensation, though, that blended lemons, coriander, and a few other spices that all united for a nicely balanced flavor profile where no one item, not even the unique salt, overwhelmed the others. Somewhat surprisingly, I found this to be an excellent execution of the Gose style, and leads me to perhaps give Hi-Wire more consideration. Frankly, I don’t have a good reason for my typical bypassing of this brewery. It just sort of happens. But it will not anymore. A really terrific entry from Hi-Wire!

Now, regarding last night's hoped-for video commentary and plans for March--the interweb gods were just not smiling on me. I am going to record and bank the video for posting hopefully tomorrow, otherwise later this week. The release of the next video review will depend on THAT video's release, as well as the whims of the interweb gods.

Regardless, I will see you all soon! Cheers!

Video Review: An Entry from Yards

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Greetings, all. It's been a few days. I now bring you a review of Yards Brewing Company's very good IPA. Check it out!

 

As a programming note, if my internet decides to work with me, I might do a YouTube live stream around 8pm Eastern for a little while. I have a brief commentary I want to discuss, and I will talk about the next things up for PRB after the alcohol-free month of February concludes. Keep an eye on www.twitter.com/pourlyreviewed for info on whether this will be happening or not!

Beers in Review: Completely non-Valentine's Edition, Honest

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No lovey-dovey beers here! Except in the ordinary "loving beer" type of way. Let's get right to it!

Some time ago, Ballast Point Brewing Company aimed to create “medium-bodied” stout at their pilot brewery. The result was The Commodore American Stout, which contains 6.5% ABV and rates 62 IBU. This year-round stout pours pretty close to black, as expected, though I would probably define it as being “light-bodied”, not the medium Ballast Point claims. Perhaps that is simply picking nits, as there is no question the brewers hit their target on what certainly is a lighter-bodied stout. Flavor notes include some mild spices and bittersweet chocolate, along with a moderate coffee note—fairly standard stout offerings. There is also a fairly strong smoky note, and smoky notes tend to be a turnoff for me. They work in this beer, which is quite tasty overall, with no flavor note (including that smoke) overwhelming the rest of the stout.

I can’t quite tell if it’s global warming, or just the law of averages (the average winter high in Columbia, SC is in the low 60s Fahrenheit), but it’s felt like such a warm winter that it seems like we should abolish winter beers. Despite yet another bunch of days at or above 70 degrees, my next beer up is Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Winter Solstice Ale. The Winter Solstice comes in at 6.9% ABV and a mere 6 IBU. This take on the winter warmer style pours a nice reddish-copper color and brings hints of caramel and toffee. There are also considerable spice notes, which I believe I was interpreting as an iced tea flavor. The beer also brings a slight sweetness. Anderson Valley really brings it when it comes to the Summer and Winter Solstice ales. This is a tasty and terrific ale!

Patreon Bonus Commentary

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Hello, everyone. I am here to announce that I have written the first bonus content for PRB Patrons through Patreon. It is a bonus commentary piece featuring my thoughts on the latest entrant in the hard beverage craze. You can find it at the link highlighted above, but it will only be available to those that are kind enough to pledge $5 a month to PRB. Patreon donations go to help fund website operations, buy beers to review, help me grow in my personal craft beer journey, and more! You can find out more about patronage here.

Thank you, and we now return you to your regular programming.

Commentary: The Big Bottle Conundrum

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As I noted during Thursday’s Six-Pack of News, many breweries are starting to reduce or eliminate the use of the so-called “bomber” bottles—bottles that are typically in the 22-25-ounce range. As noted by Zach Fowle in this article at the online version of Draft Magazine, there are multiple reasons for this change. The first justification is availability, and is just flat out math: if a brewery brews a standard amount of a unique beer each year, that brewery can make many more 12- or 16-ounce bottles than 22-ounce bottles. The second reason is financial, and also distills down to simple math. As Fowle notes:

“While some customers may have balked at paying $17 for a single bottle of beer (the MSRP of Firestone’s 22-ounce Vintage Reserve bottles), a smaller bottle at close to half the price might be more palatable. (It’s also just good buisness: Why sell 22 ounces of beer at $17 when you can sell 12 ounces for $10?)”

Frankly, there’s little to no way to sensibly argue these first two points. Who really wants to debate that “beer SHOULDN’T be more widely available and more cost-conscious”?

The third and final point is more subjective: beer consumers don’t want to drink a full bomber bottle of beer. I can understand this sentiment from one angle: the big and heavy beers that tend to come in such bottles might be too much for some drinkers. Typically, these bomber bottles are used for higher-end beers (as an example, the beers that resulted in the original article: Firestone Walker’s Vintage Reserve series). Personally, bomber bottles, even of big beers, don’t bother me at all. In fact, I tend to buy nothing but singles or sampler 12-packs of beer, and a lot of the beers that come in these big bottles are damn good, even special, beers. I don’t mind having almost two beers’ worth of some awesome Imperial Stout, and I’m surprised that there’s a lot of push back from the craft beer community on this matter. But the data must say I’m wrong, given 1) the push for smaller bottles mentioned in this article, and 2) the little bit of data I’ve seen suggesting that growlers (which typically come in 32-64-ounce volumes, or 2-4 pints of beer) have begun sliding in popularity.

Ultimately, as at least one brewer put it in the article, it comes down to customer demand. If the community’s not buying larger bottles of beer, then breweries are going to stop producing and selling them. I as I said, I like the larger format bottles. I find it is a splitting of the difference between buying a single 12-ounce beer and having to buy a 4- or 6-pack. It would seem I’m in the minority though; I’ll just have to make my money talk for me and hope the bomber format survives.

Six-Pack of News, Volume 19: Featuring The High and Mighty Sierra Nevada

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Hello, everyone! I have a fresh batch of news all ready for you! Let's do it!

Yesterday, Switchback Brewing Company in Vermont has established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, in which 100 percent of company stock will be placed into a trust and distributed annually to employees based on salary. Switchback joins a number of significant craft breweries, including Deschutes, Left Hand, and New Belgium, who have gone the ESOP route, turning the breweries employees into the sole stockholders. Brewbound has all the details.

Zach Fowle at Draft Magazine notes many breweries' decisions to reduce or eliminate the use of 22-25 oz. "bomber" bottles from their stock in favor of smaller bottles. I will have more on this in a commentary piece this weekend, so stay tuned!

A recent Harris Poll of 2100 adults nationwide found that 38% of "legal drinking age consumers" prefer beer to wine or spirits. Wine was the preferred beverage of 31% of poll respondents, only good enough for 2nd place--sorry, Mom and Dad.

In addition to noting the Harris Poll above, and covering the Switchback news, Brewbound also posted an excellent round-up of some state legislative news, including laws in three states that would loosen direct sales rules in various forms. In addition, the state of Nebraska wants to limit craft breweries' off-site taproom and retail opportunities, while Virginia wants to exempt taxes paid on hops, malt, barley, and wheat that are grown in-state.

The Coloradoan newspaper notes that canned craft beer earned over 17% of the national share of packaged craft beer in 2016, roughly tripling their share since 2013. The Coloradoan is all over this news, because Longmont, Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery was one of the craft beer canning pioneers, canning their beers since 2002.

Finally, Sierra Nevada Vice President Brian Grossman addressed an assembled group of international brewers at Sierra Nevada's new production facility in Asheville, North Carolina and dramatically proclaimed craft beer "a dying art form". Now, of course, he was trying to make a point about how the start-up cost to start a brewery has become relatively cheap so any Joe Schmo, especially a Schmo who hasn't done the homework necessary in the art of brewing, can just start a brewery. And these Schmos can put out beer of questionable quality. And because Schmos Brew is small, they will immediately be labelled "craft", and their reputation for crappy beer will affect the entire craft beer industry. The point is fair, but I feel Grossman's whole sentiment is fairly overly dramatic. I believe the quality-based capitalism of the craft beer community, and I believe in their/our ability to self-enforce through our choices. The industry recently hit 5000 domestic craft breweries. I imagine a fair number of these are still fairly new (1-3 years) and might still be going through their initial seed money. But if these relatively new breweries are putting out crap, they won't last. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that craft brewery number dip back under 5000. Which might not be a bad thing, really. It could be a matter of the community ridding itself of the inferior product.

Despite all that, I have two words for Brian Grossman: C'mon, man.

(The link above also includes an in-depth interview with Grossman, courtesy of Good Beer Hunting.)