Nut Brown Ale - Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

Lately I’ve been bouncing all over the beer color and taste spectrum, jumping from double IPA’s to Belgian Strong Ales to most recently a Russian Imperial Stout. This is largely because I try to find interesting beers, which to Americans means extremely strong in taste and alcohol. The few more restrained beers I have reviewed tended toward the lighter end of the spectrum such as the Kölsch and California Common styles, so I decided it was time to rectify this by trying a more temperately flavored dark beer. After browsing the coolers for something to fit this requirement, I finally settled on a Northern English Brown Ale.

Both of my readers may recall that I reviewed Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout over the summer, and I decided to stick with this brewery and give their Nut Brown Ale a shot. Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery was opened by Samuel Smith after he inherited the brewery from his uncle William Smith in 1886. The brewery itself dates back to 1758, having been the home to several different companies since that time, and is considered to be the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and the only remaining independent brewery in the city of Tadcaster. The brewery still draws its water from its original well, and has continuously used a strain of yeast since prior to 1900. Samuel Smith’s is noted for consistently producing very good beers, which typically serve as benchmarks of their respective styles.

Brown ales vary by region throughout England, and the Northern varieties tend to be a bit drier and hoppier than the Southern beers. The proper glassware for this style is a pint glass or mug as this is an everyday beer, lacking the complexities that stronger English beers such as Barleywines exhibit. Good food pairings for this beer would be earthy or nutty cheeses or a grilled meat, which will complement any roasted grain characteristics in the beer.

The nut brown ale poured a dark brown color, but when held up to the light a reddish hue was quickly apparent. The clarity was quite good, and both the clarity and the colors are typical of this style. The head was a light brown color, almost like that of coffee with a lot of creamer in it, and the texture was quite coarse due to large bubble size, which came as a bit of a surprise. The aroma was a pleasantly sweet, toffee-like smell, which was not overpowering or cloying at all. I did not notice any of the hop aroma or fruity scents which are sometimes present in this style, but by no means are these required, and it was quite enjoyable without them.

The first thing I noticed when tasting the beer was the surprisingly smooth texture; given the course head consistency I expected a very spritzy beer, but this was not the case. The carbonation was overall fairly moderate, although I noticed a sparkly quality on my tongue several seconds after taking a sip. The body was moderate but lingered, largely offsetting the effect of the carbonation. There was a bit of hop bitterness midway through the taste, but the main taste was a very pleasant caramel sweetness. This taste was not particularly strong, and overall the beer was pretty dry, but it is a defining characteristic of this style of beer that often ranges toward a toasted or biscuity nature. I was slightly surprised as the more caramel rather than nutty character, as this is a Northern English brown ale, but regardless it was an excellent taste. The aftertaste of this beer was a slightly bitter roasted malt taste, which was quite reminiscent of a stout such as Guinness.

Overall, this was a moderately flavorful beer that was balanced more toward the malt side. I quite enjoyed it, and I plan on trying some more of Samuel Smith’s brews in the future. I recommend trying this beer if you typically don’t typically like “dark” beers since the taste is so mild in comparison to stouts, but you still get a hint of roasted grain character.

Size: 18.7 oz

Price: $3.69

ABV: 5.0%

Look: 3/5

Smell: 3.5/5

Taste: 3/5

Mouthfeel: 3.5/5

Pumpkin Beer Shootout

As Halloween grows closer and the markets are filled with produce, I decided its time to review a pumpkin spice beer. I had a hard time deciding which one to drink, however, so I just bought four; These are Harvest Moon, Ichabod Pumpkin Ale, Imperial Pumpkin Ale and Devious Imperial Pumpkin.

Molson Coors Brewing Company has gained significant popularity over the last 15 years by brewing a beer with decent taste for a change. This beer is currently marketed as Blue Moon, although it has gone by other names over the years, and is a light wheat beer similar in character to a Belgian witbeer. As the Blue Moon brand gained popularity Molson Coors has expanded the lineup offered by the brand, which now includes a Pumpkin-flavored ale known as Harvest Moon, which is relatively strong at 5.7% ABV. New Holland Brewing Company is located in Holland, Michigan which was founded in 1996 by Jason Spaulding and Brett VanderKamp. NHBC operates a 50 barrel brew house, and has been adding some spice to the stereotypically bland Midwest by providing award winning craft brews. Ichabod Pumpkin Ale has a quite respectable 5.2% ABV, and has both cinnamon and nutmeg spices added to this brew. Weyerbacher is a small microbrewery located in ­­­­Easton, PA. The brewery was founded in 1995 by Dan and Sue Weirbeck, and in 2005 purchased Victory Brewing Company’s 25 barrel brew system, and since then has continued to upgrade their brewhouse and equipment. Their beer is named Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and packs a hefty punch at 8.0% ABV. Weyerbacher adds cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and clove to their beer. Fegley’s Brewworks is another small brewery located in Bethlehem, PA. Devious Imperial Pumpkin is brewed with real pumpkin and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice, and sports the strongest alcohol content of any of the beers reviewed at 9.0% ABV.

All these beers poured clear, although Imperial Pumpkin was definitely the most turbid of the four, and were fairly close in color, ranging from a deep copper in the Harvest Moon to a brown in the Devious Pumpkin Ale. Devious also had a big, even textured tan head while the others had much thinner white heads, although all four dissipated fairly quickly. Ichabod had good lacing and Imperial Pumpkin had some as well, but Devious had surprising little. Harvest Moon did not have any lacing, but I didn’t really expect any from this beer, anyway, since this is a perennially problem in many mass-produced beers. Ichabod was the clear winner in the smell category with a nice, lightly spiced aroma with hints of sweetness. Harvest moon smelled much rougher, but not very bad at all. Imperial Pumpkin had a much stronger spicy aroma which was, unfortunately, overshadowed by a bubblegum scent. Devious was distinctly different than the others, almost vegetative in nature, and I found it to be quite disenchanting. The Harvest Moon and Ichabod both had moderate body and carbonation, with Harvest having a slightly astringent quality. Imperial Pumpkin and Devious both had a much fuller body, but this was offset with a higher carbonation in both beers with Imperial Pumpkin having an almost effervescent quality. Harvest Moon tasted like a slightly sweeter Blue Moon, although it had a bit more of a bitter finish , and I really didn’t taste much fruit. Ichabod Pumpkin Ale was also bitter towards the end, but had a much drier finish than Harvest Moon. Imperial Pumpkin was a little bit sweeter overall, which helped to offset the bitter finish, and was overall much smoother and more balanced than any of the other three. Devious was also smooth, and was significantly malt forward, but the vegetative smell just put me off this beer.

Overall, I did not really enjoy any of these beers; I may just not like spiced ales in general, but I recall having tried Imperial Pumpkin and Harvest Moon before and I remember them being significantly better. Its possible that these bottles had sat on the shelf for a while, but they shouldn’t have been able to since its only mid October and these are fall seasonals. In my opinion, Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale was the best balance and most refined of any of these beers, being ruined only by the bubblegum character, so I would suggest giving that one a try; hopefully I got a bad bottle.

Harvest Moon/Ichabod Pumpkin/Imperial Pumpkin/Devious

Price: $5.50

Size: 12/12/12/22 oz

ABV: 5.7/5.2/8.0/9.0%

Look: 3/3/3/3.5 out of 5

Smell: 2.5/3/2.5/2 out of 5

Taste: 3/3/3.5/3

Mouthfeel: 4/3.5/4/4

Old Rasputin - North Coast Brewing Company

This week’s beer comes from, in my opinion, the strongest and most abusive style out there; the Russian Imperial Stout. This style combines a very strong and forward roasted malt presence with high bitterness and alcohol content. One word of caution, however; This style will tend to blow your palate for an hour or two, so don’t try sipping this while eating some delicately balanced dish with exotic spices, because you aren’t going to taste the food. The style itself is fairly old, as it was invented in the 1700s for export from England to the court of Catherine the Great, Tzar of Russia.

The beer in question is Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing Company. This brewery was founded in 1998 in Fort Bragg, California, but quickly became well known in the American microbrew community for their consistently high quality products. Mark Ruedrich currently serves as brew master and has won numerous national and international awards, including two gold and one silver medals at the 2010 World Beer Championship. North Coast has also revived the Acme brand name, bottling a California Pale ale and an India Pale Ale under this historic label.

The proper glassware for this beer is a snifter or tulip, since the wide bowl and tapered neck will tend to trap and concentrate the aroma of this beer. As poor college students, however, most of us don’t exactly have snifters laying around from all the cognac we drink, so we improvise; Wine glasses work just as well, and in a pinch a pint glass is just fine. Food pairings for this beer require something strong enough to cut through the heavy taste of the beer. Fried foods will serve the purpose quite well, as will red meats such as a good burger or steak, or a strong cheese. This beer can also pair well with heavier deserts, such as cheesecake, tiramisu or coffee ice cream. Personally, I’d opt for a bacon and blue cheese burger with a side of fries, but I don’t have much of a sweet tooth either.

This beer poured an opaque black, blocking all light coming through my glass except at the very edges, which had a reddish hue. The head was a light brown color, although other examples of this style can be even darker. The head level and retention were both surprisingly low, quickly dissipating with very little lacing, which is typical of this style. The aroma was quite complex, although dominated by a roasted malt character. There were some hints of sweetness, but more pronounced were both coffee and chocolate notes. Aroma hops and dark fruit scents are not out of place with this style, but I did not notice any in this particular beer. The beer had a full body, which was offset with a moderately high level of carbonation; many other examples tend to be a little lower in carbonation and fuller in body, but this was not particularly out of place. The most obvious taste in this beer is a roasted maltiness, stronger than Guinness while at the same time lacking the burnt character that I usually associate with stouts. There were not any hot alcohol flavors, and the aftertaste of this beer is quite bitter and fairly dry. Overall, while this beer may not have been balanced, it was surprising smooth.

I actually enjoyed this beer a lot more than other examples of the style, mainly because of the smoothness, and I highly recommend it if you want to try the Russian Imperial Stout style. This being said, however, a final word of caution is in order; this is a strong beer, both in taste and alcohol, so it should be served at an appropriate time and place if you want to appreciate it.

Price: $5.50

Size: 12 oz

ABV: 9.0%

Look: 4/5

Smell: 4.5/5

Taste: 4/5

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

Munich recently held the world’s largest festival, namely Oktoberfest, which is ironically held in September. The festival traditionally runs for the 15 days prior to the first Sunday in October, ending on that day, but the schedule has been modified to extend the period to always include German Unity Day (October 3^rd). This year the festival was extended an additional day, October 4^th, to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the festival. Munich only allows beers produced within the city limits to be served at the festival, which has led many other towns in the area to set up smaller versions of the festival to accommodate their local breweries. From what I have gathered by talking to German expatriates and people who spent extended periods of time in Germany, these smaller festivals are actually the best to visit for authentic beer and food, as the large Munich festival now caters to the large number of tourists.

The beer most frequently associated with this festival is the Oktoberfest or Märzen style. The traditional brewing season in Germany is from St. Michael’s day, September 29^th, to St. George’s day, April 9^th, at which point brewing would be stopped to decrease the chances of fires spreading from the brewery in the warmer weather. This meant that beer meant for consumption during the summer months had to be stored, or lagered, which was usually done in ice houses to slow the spoilage of the beer. Oktoberfest is traditionally brewed towards the end of the season in March and was designed to be stored until the end of the summer, with the last of the stock being consumed during the festival. The style dates back to at least 1840 when Gabriel Sedlmayr adapted the Vienna style to allow for the longer storage period. Generally the Oktoberfest version of this style is slightly stronger and served during special occasions, while the Märzen is an everyday beer, but this is a blurry distinction at best, and certainly does not hold true in American versions.

The beer I’m reviewing today is the Oktober Fest-Märzen produced by Ayinger Brewery in Germany. Ayinger is a mid-sized brewery located in the town of Aying about fifteen miles outside of Munich producing about three million gallons per year, but only about ten percent of that is exported outside of Germany. The brewery has won numerous awards over the years, and this beer in particular was the highest rated Vienna Märzen at the 2007 World Beer Championships.

First, this beer is traditionally served in a beer stein, but a standard pint glass will do it justice due to its clean lager character. The beer poured a crystal clear deep amber, which is to style, but many non-export German versions tend to be a lighter, more golden color. The head was large and off-white with a fine texture and good retention, leaving a little bit of lacing when it finally dissipated. The aroma had a very rich malty sweetness, and I detected a little bit of fruitiness in mine, although the style generally excludes any fruity esters. The flavor was surprising sweet up front, which largely masked the bitterness in the beer. The body was moderate but paired with a creamy texture, giving a very smooth character. The finish is slightly drier, but leaves a thick feeling without a lingering aftertaste. Overall, this beer is a clean lager that is surprisingly creamy and sweet throughout, although the sweetness was offset by the slightly drier finish. The style, or at least my reading of the guidelines, calls for a drier beer overall, which is in keeping with most American examples that I’ve had, but I found the sweetness to be quite pleasant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, and due to the clean lager character paired with the sweetness I will be adding this to the battery of beers I give to people who “don’t like beer” or are just beginning to learn about them. I honestly prefer it to any other Oktoberfest I’ve had at this point, with the previous contenders being Victory’s Festbier and Samuel Adam’s Oktoberfest on tap, although I’ve had very bad experiences with both these beers when they have been in a bottle for more than a couple of weeks.

Stats:

Price: $3.99

Size: 500 mL

ABV: 5.80%

Appearance: 4/5

Aroma: 4/5

Flavor: 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Drinkability: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.2

Russian River Damnation

The beer this week is from a legendary brewery on left, er…West…coast; namely Russian River Brewing Company. This brewery gained notoriety around the turn of the millennium when head brewer Vinnie Cilurzo helped create the Double IPA, one of United States few native beer styles. This beer, however, comes from Vinnie’s less widely known area of expertise; Belgian beers. This particular example is a Belgian Strong Ale named Damnation.

The brewery was created in 1997 by Korbel Champagne Cellars when they decided to diversify their markets by entering the brewing business. Vinnie Cilurzo, then head brewer, began winning awards within two years, and in 2002 Korbel sold the brewery to Vinnie. Cilurzo soon moved the operation from Guerneville to a new, larger brewery in Santa Rosa, California so that he could meet the rapidly increasing demand for his beers. Currently, Russian River offers a variety of beers in bottles and on tap in their brew pub, but their primary lines are their IPAs and Belgian beers. Many of the Belgian beers offered are sour beers, which will show up in later reviews, but Damnation showcases the brewery’s ability to turn out basic Belgian style so that I have a basis to judge their sour beers by.

Belgian Strong Ale was developed by the Moortgat company under the Duvel brand name to combat the growing popularity of the Pilsner style following the Second World War, and Duvel remains the archetypical beer of the style. Typically this style has a complex aroma incorporating fruity esters with a spiciness and some hop and alcohol aromas. The esters exhibited are typically reminiscent of lighter fruits such as apples and oranges, and the alcohols should never be hot or solventy. The beer should be yellow or golden in color with a large and persistent white head that is often lumpy or beady in texture. The beer should taste much like it smells, combining fruit, alcohol and spice flavors with a soft maltiness. The hops and the phenols can both give a peppery character as well as well as significant bitterness. The carbonation should be quite high, which leads to a light body for such a strong beer and leads to a perceived dry finish. Overall, beers of this style should be golden and highly carbonated while exhibiting a strong but delicate blend of spiciness and fruitiness backed up by a high alcohol content.

Damnation poured a slightly hazy deep yellow with about a finger of head. The head was a pure white and persisted for a long time, leaving a nice lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma was spicy and had hints of banana, orange and clove. The carbonation was fairly high and in the glass appeared quite coarse, which lead to larger bubbles in the head. The mouthfeel was of a moderate body, with and the carbonation tasted much finer than it appeared in the glass; this probably means the glass I used had some sort of contamination on it to allow the easy formation of large bubbles, causing the coarse head. The taste had a slight sweetness to it that quickly moved to a spiciness accentuated by the fine carbonation. The finish was moderately bitter, but nowhere near that of an American IPA. What struck me most was how well balanced the flavor was, which I did not expect at first given the diversity of the flavors.

Overall, this beer was excellent, and I look forward to tasting Russian River’s sour beers based on how good this beer was. I suggest trying this beer, or another Belgian Golden Strong Ale, along with a spicy food, such as some sort of curry. This style has the strength needed to stand up to some heat, complements it with a different spice profile and provides some contrasting bitterness as well.