Feb 13 2012
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Beer, Podcast

Episode 10: The “White” Ales

This week we discussed:

  • The origin of Belgian witbiers (1:10)
  • The origin of German weisstbiers (2:50)
We reviewed:
  • Bell’s Winter White Ale (5:05)
  • Erdinger Hefe-Weizen (13:08)

Episode Notes:

  • We had to re-record our review section due to a corrupt file – doh!
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Bell’s Winter White Ale

Bell's Winter White Ale

Review

  • Appearance:  A pleasant, dusty golden color.  Very little head on the pour, even less retention.  Visible if light carbonation.  Little to no discernable lace left behind.
  • Smell:  Smells very yeasty, with abundant notes of citrus and additional accents of spice. A little bit of flat sweet esters as the beer opens up.
  • Taste:  Tastes very much like it smells, but with a slight sourness coming out in the taste along with the predominant yeast, and banana taking the lead as the primary ester flavor.  The spice and citrus are most apparent in the finish.
  • Mouthfeel:  Light to medium bodied, more viscous than expected and more efforvescent than expected, being noticeable right to the point of pre-empting the taste.  Does the brew justice.
  • Drinkability:  It’s a rich beer, if not terribly high in gravity.  Given that, it’s light enough that a few bottles would probably go down pretty easily.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.25
Devon: 3.25

 

Erdinger Hefe-Weizen

Erdinger Hefe-Weizen

Review

  • Appearance:  Translucent amber, excellent head after pour, a little less head retention than desirable.  Not a lot of visible carbonation.
  • Smell:  Notes of grain, yeast, in equal measure.  The wheat aspect of the beer becomes apparent here right away.  An undercurrent of booziness.  There is a smell of carmalized ester sweetness…
  • Taste:  Nice wheat grain taste without being overly rich.  The sweetness from malt is in evidence, and perhaps the most prominent feature, but in addition there is some non-fruity ester sweetness, and even the alcohol seems a little sweet.
  • Mouthfeel:  Nice mouthfeel – both a little bit sticky and simultaneously efforvescent.  Medium bodied and with a slight oiliness on the backside.
  • Drinkability:  Pretty drinkable.  This is a heady beer, again without being high gravity.  I have, in the past, sessioned this for hours.  I look forward to the next time.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.75
Devon: 3.75

 

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Jan 26 2012
Beer, Podcast

Episode 9: The Bourboniest of Stouts

This week we discussed:

  • The origin of Russian Imperial Stouts (3:50)
  • The beauty of bourbon barrel-aged stouts (5:50)
We reviewed:
  • North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin (9:30)
  • Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2009 (20:40)

Episode Notes:

  • Sadly, the bottle of Bourbon County ended up being defective due to no fault of our own. We contacted Goose Island, who offered a refund. We’ll discuss our conversation with GI on Episode 10.
  • We lost about 2 minutes of our recording, starting at about 20:00. Sorry about that. Most of what was lost was introduction to the Bourbon County
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North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin

North Coast - Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin

Review

  • Appearance:  Uneven, creep-esque cover, but with wonderful hazy brown suds above an opaque blackness.  Leaves some nice lace behind.
  • Smell:  Malt heavy coffee nose that warns of booze and hints at hop oil.  Rich and a bit sugary.  A little slightly chemical candied smell occassionally arises.
  • Taste:  Not at full bodied as the smell and appearance imply, but still heavy.  Rich taste of malt, slight hop bitterness, bourbon is rather light but present, and becomes more apparent on the finish.  Sweetness is nice on the tongue but burns a little on the aftertaste.  There were notes of roasted coffee bean throughout.
  • Mouthfeel:  A mostly creamy, viscous mouthfeel, as is appropriate.  Very light carbonation, also appropriate.  A little sudsiness here is actually rather pleasant.
  • Drinkability:  Moderately drinkable; I could happily split a bomber, probably finish a bomber myself.  More than that would be pushing it.  Too much could make me sick.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.75
Devon: 4

 

Goose Island Bourbon County (2009)

Goose Island - Bourbon County 2009

Review

  • Appearance:  Dark as dark; like, really dark.  Black.  Opaque.  Little to no head.  Very little carbonation.  Did I mention it’s dark?
  • Smell:  Notes of dark fruit; raisin/prune.  Toffee as well.  Roasted malts have a presence.  Not as potent as anticipated.  Issue: there is no real bourbon smell, which is abnormal.
  • Taste:  Taste is marvelous.  Smooth, not bitter or sweet, but soundly and eloquently in the middle.  A little bit of coffee peaks out in the finish that complements the toffee.  There is a nice bourbon harmony that accentuates the sweet grainy flavors of the imperial stout.
  • Mouthfeel:  Mouthfeel is not as it should be – not as effervescent as it should be, though still creamy and a little bit sticky.
  • Drinkability:  Considering the potency of the libation, it’s highly potable, despite being less compelling than it should (due to bottling flaws).  Not worth $40 in this state, but highly enjoyable.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 2.5
Devon: 3.0

 

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Jan 12 2012
Beer, Podcast, Wine

Episode 8: Bit-o-Bubbly

This week we discussed:

  • Bell’s Hopslam (1:42)
  • A beer/champagne showdown (4:32)
  • What’s special about champagne? (6:13)
We reviewed:
  • Cook’s Extra Dry (California Champagne) (9:14)
  • Boston Beer Company Infinium (12:50)

Episode Notes:

  • The “champagne” we reviewed is not really champagne, as we note in the show. Brian was in charge of buying the champagne and opted for the cheapest bullshit he could find. Success!
  • We’ve adjusted our format! Please let us know what you think at fans@brewhallashow.com.
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Cook’s Extra Dry (California Champagne)

Cook's Extra Dry

Review

  • Appearance:  Totally translucent, with little to no color distortion.  Obviously massive carbonation.  No legs, really.
  • Smell:  Smells of fruit and almost chemical tanic sugars.
  • Taste:  The taste is simultaneously dry and sweet, with a very light body as is to be expected from a sparkling wine.
  • Mouthfeel:  Bubbly (duh), with little to know alcohol burn.  Due to the high carbonation, it seems much sweeter.
  • Drinkability:  High drinkability, but nothing particularly unique.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.5 (this is way too high and I wish I’d said 2.5 -BWN)
Devon: 2.5

 

Boston Beer Company Infinium

Boston Beer Company Infinium

Review

  • Appearance:  Transparent, though cloudy, and amber in color; sexy carbonation rolling up throughout.  Nice head after pour, with decent retention.
  • Smell:  Aroma is primarily malt an hop, but there is some scent here that is tantalizing familiar and irritatingly unidentifiable.  It has light roasted notes, brown sugar, and just a touch of heat.
  • Taste:  With a little bit of boozy heat up front, it comes down heavy on malt backed by hops.  The heat is gone almost as quickly as it showed up, while the taste of the malt remains and resolves into something remniscent of graham cracker.  The finish is hops entwined with some other flavor which is once again simultaneously and frustratingly familiar and unidentifiable.
  • Mouthfeel:  Creamy at the same time it is efforvescent.  It’s very bubbly, making it seem light, and creamy, making it seem heavier.  The bubbling again makes it seem sweeter than it is, and the creamyness plays to the hint of hot.
  • Drinkability:  Pretty high, given that it’s as potent as it is.  Perhaps the most compelling aspect is that familiar yet hard to identify taste that generates the “what is this!?” question and coerces the next sip.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 2.5
Devon: 4.0

 

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Jan 03 2012
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Beer, Podcast

Episode 7: Dopplebocks & Cletus the Fetus

This week we discussed:

  • Genome of Brettanomyces successfully sequenced (2:57)
  • MIT researchers develop imagining system that captures movement of light (7:35)

We reviewed two Dopplebocks:

  • Bell’s Consecrator (12:42)
  • Ayinger Celebrator (17:50)
  • Fan mail (21:30)

Episode notes:

  • I (Brian) referred to brettanomyces as  “bacteria” several times, when it is actually a non-spore forming yeast. Check the wiki for more info.
  • Our good friend Tyler (a.k.a, Cletus the Fetus) visited the show and watched us record, which may explain how quickly we moved along. THAT FETUS MADE US NERVOUS, MAN!
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Bell’s Consecrator

Review

  • Appearance:  An opaque onyx, visible carbonation, surprising retention for a doppel; nice lacing left behind.
  • Smell:  Yeast, with roasted malt sugar notes.  Grainy smell becomes more concentrated the longer the beer remains in the glass.  not lots of complexity, but very solid and compelling.
  • Taste:  the strongest taste here is molasses; all of the smells are also echoed in the taste; yeast, malt, grains.  It is stunningly nice.
  • Mouthfeel:  Nice carbonation, creamy, wonderfully viscous.
  • Drinkability:  I could have a pitcher, this goes down easy, and will continue to do so ad infinitum.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 3.0
Brian: 3.0

Ayinger Celebrator

Review

  • Appearance:  A lighter daybreak brown, nice initial head, little retention, next to no lacing.
  • Smell:  Yeast, malt and a little bit of skunk, not much of hops, and a smell of almost citrus fruit that disappears and resurfaces as you inhale.
  • Taste:  A slightly skunky taste as well, with Roasty grain and an almost pilsner-like baked bread quality. A subtle sweetness co-mingled with bitterness lingers after the prominent tastes have dissipated.
  • Mouthfeel:  Mediocre carbonation, a little bit of creaminess, marginally detectable heat.
  • Drinkability:  I could have a pitcher, but I’d need something to eat with it.  I’m not really a fan of drinking it by itself, but with a steak or with burgers it’d be pretty sessionable.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 4.0
Brian: 4.0

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Dec 28 2011
Beer, Podcast

Episode 6: Winter Bur & Boozin’ With Your Favorite Video Games

This week we discussed:

  • The excitement over Sam Adams Infinium (7:00)
  • Video games and beer: Sharing a pint with your favorite characters (16:10)

We reviewed two Winter Beers:

  • New Belgium Snow Day (30:04)
  • Southern Tier Old Man (38:25)

Episode notes:

  • We had planned to review two saisons this episode, but we became irresponsible in the days leading up to the recording and drank them both.
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New Belgium Snow Day

Review

  • Appearance:  Opaque blackness with a sheen of carbonated bronze, nice head with little retention and pleasant lacing.
  • Smell:  Malty graininess, light yeast, raisin-y esters, aromatic hops and a little funk.
  • Taste:  Tastes largely like it smells.  The malt is the prominent flavor, with a somewhat spicy yet remote sweetness that speaks of snow-covered fields and elementary school being closed.  A pleasant undertone of hops adds that bus routes have been cancelled.  A little roasted and bitter, but unobtrusively so.
  • Mouthfeel:  Light but lingering, it is somewhat creamy without being heavy, goes down smooth not sticky, yet lets the taste stay behind.  Very little heat, with forgettable but appropriate carbonation.
  • Drinkability:  This is the kind of beer you order in November/December by the pitcher while you are watching the game.  You can drink plenty, but it doesn’t insist that it be consumed.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 3.0
Brian: 2.5

Southern Tier Old Man

Review

  • Appearance:  A lighter daybreak brown, nice initial head, little retention, next to no lacing.
  • Smell:  Yeast, malt and a little bit of skunk, not much of hops, and a smell of almost citrus fruit that disappears and resurfaces as you inhale.
  • Taste:  A slightly skunky taste as well, with Roasty grain and an almost pilsner-like baked bread quality. A subtle sweetness co-mingled with bitterness lingers after the prominent tastes have dissipated.
  • Mouthfeel:  Mediocre carbonation, a little bit of creaminess, marginally detectable heat.
  • Drinkability:  I could have a pitcher, but I’d need something to eat with it.  I’m not really a fan of drinking it by itself, but with a steak or with burgers it’d be pretty sessionable.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 3.5
Brian: 3.0

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Nov 30 2011
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Podcast, Spirits

Episode 5: Bourbon Days

This week we discussed:

  • Minneapolis bottle shop charging $40 for Surly Darkness? (6:00)
  • How to taste/review bourbon (12:55)

We reviewed:

  • Old Granddad Bonded [bourbon] (16:30)
  • Buffalo Trace [bourbon] (28:15)

Episode notes:

  • We got a little sloppy drunk here. In fact, when we finished recording we stretched out some cots on the floor of the brewery and simply fell asleep. This was on a Tuesday.

Notes on bourbon tasting:

  • As a general rule, a darker color usually indicates greater depth/complexity.
  • Smell is super important, breathing should be done through the nose and mouth.
  • Allow a small amount to coat the tongue, starting at the tip.
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Old Granddad Bonded

Old Granddad Bonded

Review

  • Appearance:  Light amber on the outside, darker and richer in the middle, very translucent.
  • Smell:  A woody aroma just under the fire of alcohol, and a faint but definite smell of grain, with just a hint of sap.
  • Taste:  A lightly sweet taste, almost a raisin-y sweetness that might more commonly be associated with sherry.  A certain caramel comes out as it evaporates from the tongue.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 3.0
Brian: 1.0

 

Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace

Review

  • Appearance:  A more golden color of amber, with a ruby heart, not totally see-through.
  • Smell:  Apple and cherry on the nose blended with the heat.  A hint of toffee sweetness lingers.
  • Taste:  Honey right away, burn in the middle, cherry on the finish, a slight fruitiness and a definite oak-wood taste throughout.

Score (out of 5)
Devon: 4.0
Brian: 2.0

 

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Nov 02 2011
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Beer, Podcast

Episode 4: The Nearly Extinct Style & A Google Beer

This week we discussed:

  • Surly Darkness 2011 (2:45)
  • Devon’s Halloween costume (6:33)
  • August Schell’s resurrection of the nearly extinct English-style Burton Ale (9:50)
  • The Google and Dogfish Head collaborative beer “URKontinent” (16:19)
We reviewed:
  • New Glarus ‘Raspberry Tart’ (25:05)
  • New Glarus ‘Unplugged Cran-bic’ (33:00)

Episode Notes:

  • If consistency of sound volume is again an issue (it is), fear not, we’ll be picking up some monitor headphones so we can keep tabs on our levels as we record.
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New Glarus ‘Raspberry Tart’

New Glarus 'Raspberry Tart'

Review

  • Appearance: Just gorgeously clear, this brew is a darker burgundy color.  It has nice head initially, but with little retention.  Nice carbonation, light but pleasant lacing.
  • Smell: Super fruity, berry in abundance with raspberry prominent.  There is sweetness from fruit, to be sure, but also from malt.  Strangely, it almost smells like a slightly sour ruby port.
  • Taste: The raspberry is tart, as the title implies, but isn’t too tart or sweet, and though strong, not overpowering.  It has enough grain that coupled with the raspberry, it almost has a pie-like quality to it.
  • Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky, moderately carbonated, nothing super polarizing anywhere here, but well done to open up the beer and capitalize on the flavor potential.
  • Drinkability: Medium drinkability; I can’t wait to refill my glass, though it is in danger of becoming cloying.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.0
Devon: 4.0

 

New Glarus ‘Unplugged Cran-bic’

New Glarus 'Unplugged Cran-bic'

Review

  • Appearance: Stunning clarity, very light in color, somewhere between orange and carnation pink, with a light ruby heart.  visible but very mild carbonation, with almost no cover or lacing.
  • Smell: The cranberry smell is up front, and has a candied quality to it.  There is very little to the smell other than candied cranberry and a slight alcohol, as in a low gravity wine.
  • Taste: Simultaneously sweet and sour, it ignites many tastebuds along the tongue and asserts an almost crabapple tartness on the finish, which is very unique.  Pleasant and interesting, but not amazing.
  • Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky, the carbonation leaves a little to be desired, though it does ‘pop’ on the finish, and just a trace of heat is detectable.
  • Drinkability: A couple of bottles would go down great; all the candied fruit, and the antipodal quality of the sweet and sour, can become overbearing.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.5
Devon: 3.5

 

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Oct 19 2011
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Cider, Podcast

Episode 3: Beer De Nodak & The Knights of A-B

This week we discussed:

  • Devon’s visit to The Great Pumpkin Festival (1:34)
  • Brian’s upcoming trip to Surly Darkness Day (11:46)
  • The Fargo Beer Company’s launch (15:08)
  • The knighting of two A-B brewers (23:17)
We reviewed:
  • Crispin ‘Cho-Tokkyu’ (32:35)
  • Crispin ‘The Saint’ (41:05)

Episode Notes:

  • Sorry for the audio clipping this week — we’re still getting a hang of the mics. It should be better next episode.
  • We were probably a bit more harsh on Fargo Beer Company than we needed to be — if you’re from FBC, feel free to comment and we’ll talk about it in the next episode.
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Crispin ‘Cho-Tokkyu’

Crispin 'Cho-Tokkyu'

Review

  • Appearance: This cider has a cloudy appearance with little visble carbonationa and no head. It looks like melted lemon drops.
  • Smell: It smells very much of fruity apple and sugar… The apple is the definitive part of the aroma, with a hint of dry starch which must be the sake components asserting themselves.
  • Taste: The taste is fairly dry throughout, with a definite bite that is striking but not unpleasant, the starch sweetness comes through. It’s a very clever blend of sake and cider flavors. With an almost juicy wine quality to it.
  • Mouthfeel: Juicy, with more carbonation in the feel than in the appearance, lively and very viscous, it leaves little behind as it goes down.
  • Drinkability: Highly drinkable, though the faster you drink it the more of the subtlety that will be missed.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 3.5
Devon: 4.25

 

Crispin ‘The Saint’

Crispin 'The Saint'

Review

  • Appearance: A more pronounced straw yellow color; more cloudy with more carbonation, but again no head.
  • Smell: A rather jubilant fruity smell to it, it’s hard to say for sure that but there is a slightly bready aroma that I will attribute to the the Belgian yeast. Apple abounds, of course.
  • Taste: A very sweet though not cloying cider. Apple comes through, with an almost wine-like quality to it. The maple comes through stupendously on the finish.
  • Mouthfeel: Juicy, mildly carbonated, lively and viscous.
  • Drinkability: Pretty drinkable… only time (and several bottles) could tell wether or not the maple would become cloying after a time, as I suspect it would.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 4.5
Devon: 4.0

 

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Oct 13 2011
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Beer, Podcast

Episode 2: Darkness Day & the Great Pumpkin Fiasco of 2K11

This week we discussed:

  • Elysian’s Great Pumpkin Fest (8:21)
  • Surly’s Darkness Day (15:00)

We reviewed:

  • Boulevard ‘Saison Brett’ (25:02)
  • New Belgium ‘Kick’ (35:49)
Episode Notes:
  • Yes, I did say “New Belgian” a couple times.
  • We’ll try to keep it shorter next time. This runs about 55 minutes but we’d like to aim for a maximum of 45 minutes for future episodes.
  • This is our first episode with any sort of formatting…it’s all progress from here.
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Boulevard ‘Saison Brett’

Boulevard 'Saison Brett'

Review

  • Appearance: A cloudy golden hay color with rocky tan head that dissipates into a finger of cover.
  • Smell: Strong fruity esters with a surprisingly mild yeasty funk. Just a touch of vanilla.
  • Taste: An exceedingly pleasant combination of peppery, citrus, and vanilla notes. The brettanomyces add an excellent dry complexity. Just awesome.
  • Mouthfeel: Lively carbonation with a thin and slightly malty body.
  • Drinkability: Surprisingly sessionable. Doesn’t overpower the senses and the moderate alcohol is barely detectable.

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 4.5
Devon: 4.5

 

New Belgium ‘Kick’

New Belgium 'Kick'

Review

  • Appearance: Nice color with a golden amber color. There is a creamy head that dissipates quickly into a very light cover.
  • Smell: Somewhat weak smell with a barely perceptible scent of cider and cranberry. There is a mild ester with a touch of alcoholic heat.
  • Taste: Excellent sour bite with the dryness of cranberry and spicy but mild pumpkin character. This is a big flavor that should probably not be followed with less flavorful beers.
  • Mouthfeel: Fairly thin but with pleasant carbonation and a crisp finish. The cranberry adds a very mild cloying quality that isn’t altogether unpleasant.
  • Drinkability: One pour will do just fine, but a 22 oz. bomber for one person would not be a problem (unless you’re driving).

Score (out of 5)
Brian: 4.0
Devon: 4.0

 

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Oct 01 2011
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Beer, Podcast

Episode 1: The one you’ll never hear

Because it sucked! Seriously, it was horrible. We’ll never post it.