Mississippi Brewing Company: Mississippi Mudd

I know that I have said that many beers that  I have posted about are very unique and that is because they are all unique in there own way. Well, this next one is also very unique. If you are a fan of Guinness you have most likely heard of  a “Black and Tan” or “Black and Blue.” If you have not heard of those, what they are is a beer such as Guinness or any other Porter, mixed with a beer such a Pilsner. The outcome that you seem is really amazing. When you combine the two the  Guinness or other Porter will migrate to the top of the cup while  the Pilsner sinks to  the bottom of the cup leaving a perfect line between the two. You will also get the two distinct taste of each beer. First you will get the taste and aroma of the Porter then it is followed by the Pilsner.

While I was wondering the isles of the local Bevmo this afternoon I came across this beer called Mississippi Mudd which is brewed Mississippi Brewing Company. What caught my eye what the bottle that it is bottled in.  The term bottle is really a misconception, what it really is, is a  growler.  So after some thought and consideration about buying this because I wasn’t sure what to expect,  I went ahead and bought it.  To my surprise this beer taste really similar to the black and tan that would  be poured at your favorite pub. However, you do not get the cool effect that you would if it was poured at your favorite bar. This beer pours to a dark but clear brown and forms the head that you would expect of a Porter. When you pour this beer you will immediately smell sweet aroma of the  roasted malts and chocolate. Then when you take your first sip you will first taste the roasted malts and chocolate of the Porter. This will then be followed by the taste that the Pilsner distills in this beer. The beer  ends with the sweet notes of toffee that is left on your palette.

If you are looking to try what would be considered a bottled black and tan, this one would be the one to try. Along with your  purchase you will be able to get a great growler as well.  I encourage you all to try this beer and then if you are looking to get to see the effects that I was talking about, go to your local pub and order a black and tan.  There are many variations that you can order if you don’t want an ordinary pilsner such as the black and blue. If you order this you will get the Porter mixed with a Blue Moon. I can say that this combination is truly amazing and one of my favorite combinations.

Samuel Adams Tasman Red

This Saturday was a pretty event filled day and it all started off with a great hike to the infamous Hollywood sign in Hollywood, California. My wife and I went on this hike with a few of our friends and we chose a great day to go. The weather was perfect, it wasn’t too hot or too cold. We weren’t the only ones that chose to go and view the historical landmark, the trail was filled with people going up and down the trail. When we go to the top, we were able to take a few minutes and take in the great view that looked over the Hollywood resevoir and the rest of Los Angeles, California. It was my first time up there as it was my wife’s as well so you can imagine that we enjoyed it a lot. There is nothing better than getting out and doing things with really good friends.

Then after the hike was finished we decided to treat ourselves to a little lunch and coffee at the Urth Caffe.  It was also our first time there as well and as with the hike I was really impressed with the coffee and desert that we had while we were there.  After our lunch it was time to go home and get changed and head to a family members birthday party.  After a little more to eat and great time with friends and family it was finally time to go home and relax.

There is nothing better to come home to and relax with than a great beer and that is exactly what I did.  When I got home I opened another great beer by Samuel Adams. I know Samuel Adams mass produces a lot of their beer but they also have some great specialty beers. The one that I had was the Tasman Red. There are many different things that make this beer special, unique and so good. I want to start off with the hops that it is brewed with. It is brewed with a variety of  Tasmanian hops which include the  Topaz and Galaxy hops.  These hops will give the beer the aroma of Grapefruit, pine and other earthy tones.  The malts that are in this beer are Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Special B, Caramel 60, Carafa III. The combinations of these malts will give the beer the sweetness of toffee that balances the taste of the hops.

Now when you pour this beer, it will pour to a dark amber color and have a great head on it. As soon as you pour it you will smell those Tasmanian hops that I was talking about. I feel as though the great fruit and pine aromas give this beer a very inviting  beer. Then when you get to take you first sip you will notice the taste of the hops at the beginning of the beer. The bitterness of the hops is definitely noticeable but this beer is not extremely bitter. If I were to rate the bitterness of the beer I would rate it at around 50 using the IBU scale.  The bitterness is then followed by the sweetness of the roasted malts. the roasted malts will leave you with the smooth taste of toffee at the end of the beer.  All of the different taste and aromas will leave you wanting more.

 

This beer is a great beer to pair with food because it can be paired with many diffferent foods. If you are  a fan of curry or any other type of spicy food such as Mexican this beer will go great with that. If you are a fan of cheese you can beer this pair with cheeses such as Pepper Jack, Cheddar and Blue Cheese. If you are a fan of meat of seafood this beer is one that you should try because it goes well with poultry , fish, shellfish and salmon.  Another recommendation I can make is that you serve this beer at temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees F.  I really hope you all try this beer because it is one of the best Samuel Adams beer that they produce and in my opinion a very good Red IPA.

 

 

 

 

Lagunitas: Wilco Tango Foxtrot

There is nothing like going home from a hard days work to enjoy and nice home cooked meal with a cold beer.ii Yesterday was just one of those days that happen every so often, where everyone you run into, or talk to has an attitude. Well by the end of the day I was just about tired of the bad attitudes that everyone had. That is when I got text from my wife saying that she was making dinner and to hurry home. So being the day was almost over  I knew that I didn’t have to wait long and my day seemed to get a lot better knowing I had dinner waiting for me.

As I have started the journey of trying to find the best beer my wife has occasionally came along and helped out. She will try one of the beers that I get and tell me what she thinks of it. Having that outside opinion can either help or hurt when trying to find the best because of differing opinions. With that said, there was not only dinner but there was also a beer waiting for me as well. My wife decided that it was her turn to pick out what she thought was a great beer to do a review on for you all of the readers.

The beer that she chose was a great choice. It is brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company. Lagunitas Brewing Company is located in Petaluma, CA and has been in business sinc 1993. The founders of the brewing company come from all over the country but they all have one thing in common. That one thing that they all have is the desire to create and brew great beer. The beer that my wife picked out for me to review is called Wilco Tango Foxtrot.

What is the Wilco Tango Foxtrot? To start off with, the Wilco Tango Foxtrot is a seasonal beer that began to be available this month. They label the beer as an Imperial Brown Ale.  This beer is the perfect combination of malts and hops that one could combine in one bottle. When you pour this beer it pours to a clear dark amber color. Once it is poured you can immediately smell the sweetness of the malts and the floral aroma of the hops.  The when you take your first sip it is what you expect after smelling the aromas of the beer. You taste the the sweetness of the malts, toffee and caramel, the sweetness is followed by the bitterness of the hops.  If I were to scale this beer using the IBU system I would rate this beer as somewhere between 60 and 65, meaning that the bitterness is rather noticeable. Even though it is rather bitter this beer has a smooth / creamy feeling as you take a sip making it that more enjoyable to drink.

When drinking this beer I can recommend that you drink it will its between 50 and 55 degrees F. A good pairing with this beer is any one of the following cheeses:  Asiago, Colby or Parmesan. If your are looking for a glass to serve this in a great glass would be the snifter glass. This glass is designed to hold in the aromas of the beer and allow the drinker to easily distinguish different aromas that the beer gives off.

St. Sebastian Golden

One thing that I have noticed since trying out all of the beers that I have is that marketing pays off. I’m not neccasarily talking about the advertising  part of marketing but simply the bottling and labeling of different beers. I have noticed that I am drawn to beers that have unique labels and are bottled in anything other than your everyday 12 once bottle. Lately it seems the more unique the label is, the more likely I am going to try the beer.

That was the case went I went to one of the best places to go to buy beer and a store that I have mentioned in the past, Bevmo.  I went to Bevmo after work since it has been a little while since I have posted my last review. I started to wonder the isle when I came across a beer that was bottle in a ceramic bottle. I would have called it a ceramic growler but they are usually bigger than this was.  I have not seen a lot of beers in this type of bottle and that is why it caught my attention and why I bought the beer.

The beer that I bought is called St. Sebastian Golden. It is a golden ale that is brewed in the village of Meer which is located in Belgium.  This beer is brewed by a brewery called Brouwerij Sterkens. They have been brewing beer for a very long time and their history goes all the way back until 1651. So with this said it wasn’t a surprise that St. Sebastian Golden is such a great beer.  This beer is considered to beer of the Tripel Style and what that means is that its the strongest of the Golden Pale Ales.  This particular beer is brewed using the top fermenting yeast.  When I poured this beer I was surprised because this beer poured with a bigger head than I expected. You will also notice that this beer pours to a nice golden yellow color and is and has a haziness that can be compared to a wheat beer.  Then when I went to smell the aroma’s there was a few things that stuck out to me. The first was that I smelled a lot of pear within this beer and I also noticed that this beer had a very distinct aroma of the yeast.  I was also very surprised when I took that first sip, which was when this beer was chilled. I took that first sip and noticed that this beer was very crisp with the same distinct taste.  As the first sip was done I noticed that this beer finished off relatively dry. To go along with the dryness of that you are left with, there is the bitterness that you are looking for when you have any ale but even more when have a pale ale.

If you are looking for a great food pairing for this beer, there are multiple things that you could pair with this beer. With this said, I feel as though this beer goes great with chicken and seafood such as crab.  I also encourage you to try it with different things that you may like, you will be surprised at how well this beer pairs with food.

Albino Python by Schmaltz Brewing Company

If you are looking for a great beer from a proven brewery Schmaltz Brewing Company has one just for you. n 2012 Schmaltz Brewing Company was named one of the top 50 breweries in the world. That’s a great accomplishment considering how many breweries there are in the world. Between 2011 and 2012 they have entered 14 beers into the World Beer Championships and all of those beers have gotten either a gold or silver medal. So this brewery is definitely a proven brewer.

So when  I decided to try a beer called “Albino Python” from Schmaltz Brewing Company, I shouldn’t have been so surprised that this beer was as good as it was. This beer alone has won multiple medal in the World Beer Championships.  In 2011 and 2010 this beer won the gold medal at the World Beer Championships and also in 2010 it won gold medal at the Manitou Springs Craft Lager Festival.

So what makes this beer so good. In my opinion, what makes this beer so good is the combination of ingredients that it is brewed with. The ingredients give you just the right amount of malts, hops and spiciness. It leaves you with a beer that has a moderate amount of alcohol, starts of great and goes down even better. It gives you a beer that all beer lovers can enjoy even if a lager is not their preference. This beer is what Schmaltz Brewing Company refers to as a white lager. I looked up to see what exactly is a white lager but couldn’t get much information on it. What I do know is that it is very similar to a lot of wheat beers that I have had in the past. Their are a number of things that make this beer very unique. This one beer that  I have seen that uses Ginger and Crushed Fennel as spices when brewing this beer. They also include orange peel as well.  When it comes to the malts they use a variety that include Specialty 2-row, torrified wheat, weyermann acidulated, flaked oats and caramel pils. They use those malts in combination with the following hops : Warrior , Saaz and Summit. This combination gives you the smooth, flavorful taste that has a hint of bitterness to it. It’s what makes this beer go down so easy.

When you pour this beer it will pour to a golden orange color with a head that dissipates rather quickly. You will notice the aroma of the spices and malts that this beer is brewed with. One ingredients that really stuck out in my head and that I could smell was the ginger.  The hops and malts will give you the sweet floral aroma as well. When you take your first sip you will notice the taste of the sweet malts and when you are finished with that sip you are left with the spices and orange peel flavors on your tongue.  Like I said before, this beer only has a hint of bitterness to it, so it makes it even easier to drink. Since it is  a lager, I would recommend that you drink this beer while its rather cool, but if you decide to let it warm a bit, it will still taste great. This beer is a very versatile beer and can be paired with many different food items, such as chicken, beef, and many others.

If you normally like wheat beers you will definitely like this one.  If you don’t normally go for the wheat beers and usually go for something else, I encourage you all to try the Albino Python by Schmaltz Brewing Company. I am positive you will enjoy it.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier(Märzen)

So for Valentine’s Day my wife and I had a couple of friends over for a Valentines Day dinner. As with a lot of dinners that we have, we had beer and wine to go along with the meal. For me, since we were going to bbq some of the meal, I went with a beer to go along with my meal. The beer that I chose to go with my meal was truly the most unique one of a kind beer that I have ever had.  This beer is the “Marzen” by Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.  What makes this beer unique is that it is a smoked beer, which means that the malts used in this beer are smoked using beech wood. This beer is brewed using top fermenting yeast and once it has been brewed it is stored in traditional oakwood cask.

As soon as you open this beer up and pour it you realize why it is called a smoke beer or “Rauchbier”.  You immediately smell the distinct aroma of the smoked malts which in turns makes you very curious of this beer is going to taste. This beer urges your to take the first sip and then sit back and enjoy this beer. The first sip was exactly what I expected it to be. The flavor of the smoked malts was just as noticeable as the aroma.

So when the beer is poured it pours to a dark red/ amber color with a little head that dissipates rather quickly. After you get past the initial taste of the smoked malts you will notice that this beer ends with a sweet chocolate finish. Its not a strong taste of chocolate but enough to know that its there. The alcohol content of the  beer is not as high as I would expect and is only about 5.1%.  As I was drinking this beer I noticed that it didn’t really have a big presence of the hops, and has very little bitterness to the beer.  The lack of bitterness and the chocolate after tones make this beer go down really smooth. If your wondering what to pair this beer with, I would tell you to pair it with anything that is bbq, the smokiness of the beer goes very well with the bbq food, whether its beef or chicken that you are grilling, this beer will definitely compliment it.

This beer is a German made beer. It is produced in the German town of Bamberg. The beer gets its name from where it is produced and that its produced in what is called a Schlenkerla which is a brew pub that is  most renowned for producing this beer.  This building that houses the brew pub has a very rich history and dates back all the way to the 14th century. It was  passed down to many different people and has had many different owners but is now owned by a guy named German Trum who is the son of  Elizabeth and Jacob Trum.

If you are looking for a truly unique and different beer to try, this is the one for you.

 

Samuel Adams Norse Legend

Ever since I started my blog,  I have tried many different styles of beer by many different brewers. Some of the beers have been similar to other ones and then there are the ones that are completely different from any other that I have tried. That is what has made this experience interesting, fun, and enjoyable. I have come to realize that finding two beers that are identical is pretty much impossible.

The next beer falls into the category of the beers that are completely different from any other than I have tried before. This beer is brewed by Samuel Adams and is called “Norse Legend.” What makes this beer so different from any others is that it is aged on a bed of juniper berries. The process of having it age on a bend of juniper berries gives this beer a very noticeable citrus flavor and aroma. But before this beer is aged on the bed of Juniper berries it gets brewed with Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Rye, Special B, and aromatic malts and finished of with variety of hops called Hallertau Mittelfrueh. When being fermented this beer is the process of top fermenting which is where the yeast settles at the top of the beer instead of the bottom on the fermenting container.

This beer pours to a deep amber color and as I have said before the citrus aroma’s and taste a very noticable in this beer. This beer has a one of a kind of a taste. It might take a few sips to get used to it but after the first few sips this beer will go down smooth. Even though the beer  goes down smooth it still has the bitterness of the hops. I also believe that the juniper berries make this beer a little more bitter than it would be without them.

If you are looking to pair this beer with a meal you are in luck.This beer goes well with many different things. This beer goes well with seafood such as scallops, beef, and even goes well with a warm soup such as a french onion or tomato soup.

This beer is very unique and one of a kind. I encourage you all to try this one. I know for a fact that some of the people the that try this beer won’t like it, and others will love it. This beer is one of the best because its so different from any others.

 

The Healthy Side of ….. Beer?

I know what a lot you are thinking right now; how in the world can beer be healthy for me? I understand why you will all have the same questions and concerns but one thing you have to understand, is that moderation is everything. If you drink beer in moderation and don’t drink to the point of getting drunk, the beer can beer very healthy for you. Trust me, when I first found this out, I was just as surprised.

So lets start of with one of the basic health benefits of beer,  which is the iron content of beer. It is known that beer has a relatively high iron content in it, dark beers have more than the light beers. Why is this a health benefit? If you are unaware of what iron does, iron is in every part of our body and one of the main functions of iron is to help transport oxygen throughout our bodies. If you do not have a sufficient amount of Iron in your body, you could be considered anemic. So while maintaining a proper diet and having a beer along with that diet, the beer can be very beneficial in helping your body maintain an adequate iron level.

Not only does beer contain Iron, it also contains antioxidants. As with Iron, dark beers are going to have more antioxidants than the lighter beers. So how is this a health benefit of beer. I’m sure that most of us realize that antioxidants can play an important role in reversing cellular damage that occurs naturally within the human body.

One of  the most surprising pieces of information that I found is that beer contains ingredients that are known to help fight cancer. This product is Poly phenols, and it comes from the hops  that the beers is brewed with. Not only are they know to help fight cancer but they are also known to reduce cholesterol. These ingredients are of higher content in micro brews than the more mass produced beer.

Now I know that beer also has negative effects and I’m not disputing that at all. One thing you need to remember is that this information is relevant when you are drinking in moderation. If you are wondering where I found my information go to the following link:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/10/what-are-health-benefits-beer/

The Winterbraun Ale by Lost Coast Brewery

The other day I went to the local Bevmo to see what they had for  beer selections. If you have been there before you know they have an extensive one. If you haven’t been there and you are a beer or alcohol lover, you really need to go. They have a really great selection of beer, wine and other alcohol.

While I was  there I was wondering through the beer isles and came across the section that has beers from the Lost  Coast Brewery. If you have not heard of them before, they are based out of Eureka, California. This brewery started out as a small brewery and cafe that were combined in one space.  However, since their start in 1990 they have outgrown that space and had to move to a separate space down the road from the space they were originally based out of. Lost Coast Brewery now has beers in 22 different states, Canada and Puerto Rico. It has become the 33rd biggest brewery in the United States.

After browsing the selections  they  had I decided to go with the Winterbraun Ale. This is a dark ale that is brewed with roasted caramel and chocolate malts. The beers is then finished when they add some Saaz Hops in order to get a spicy flavor. This beer pours to a medium brown and has a medium sized head on it that dissipates rather quickly. As soon as I poured the beer I noticed the aroma of the chocolate and caramel hops. They are both very noticable  when you smell the beer and when you taste it for the first time.  There is a slight hit  of the hops but they are nothing over powering.  As with a lot of ales, the warmer the beer became, the more the chocolate aroma and taste stood out. With only a hint of bitterness that was evened out by the sweetness of the chocolate and caramel, this beer went down really smooth. This beers has about 8% ABV but the alcohol is nothing that over power the tastes of everything else that makes this beer great.

If you like a beer with hints of chocolate and caramel but you don’t like a full on stout. I would highly recommend this beer for you.

Shock Top’s Belgian White

Lately I have been posting about beer that a lot of people won’t be able to find near them. So I decided that tonight I would blog about one that you can find in just about every store in the United States .

The one that I’m going to talk about tonight a beer by Shock Top. It is probably one of there most famous beers, The Belgian White. Some of you may ask what does it mean to be a Belgian White. Well what that means is that this type of beer is usually brewed with un malted wheat and the malted barley. To add extra flavors these orange and other citrus peels may be added along with the coriander spice.

Shock Top’s Belgian White is brewed using the un malted wheat along with the malted barley and coriander. Instead of just orange peels, like a lot of Belgian Whites have, they have also used lemon and lime peels to give it an extra citrus flavor. When you pour this beer you will notice that it is a cloudy orangish color. It is cloudy because this beer is unfiltered. When drinking this beer you will notice the citrus tones because of the citrus peels. There is very little bitterness to this beer which makes it go down extremely smooth. Due to the citrus in the  beer, this beer is very refreshing. If you want to bring out the citrus tones more, you can garnish this beer with any type of citrus. This beer will pair very well with fish, such a glazed salmon and also goes well with other meats. On the day that I had this beer I chose to pair it with spicy orange chicken wings. They complimented each other  very well.