Recurring Fridge Fillers

Most of the posts up until this point have been my articles for The Triangle, Drexel's student-run newspaper. I try to find either interesting and fairly accessible beers to review for these articles (with the occasional Russian River beer tossed in because I like them), but I haven't really talked about my drinking habits. Now, while I love sour beers and lots of different imports, but as a poor college student I can't drink these all the time. So, here are my standbys:
Yeungling Traditional Lager: I love this beer. Its one of the few (if not only) remaining examples of a pre-prohibition American lager. Its clean, got a hint of corn (think high fructose corn syrup, but not horrendously sweet), full bodied and an all around good taste. Two other points: its local (Pottsville, PA), and dirt cheap: $19 for a case of cans.
Troegs Variety Pack: Troegs actually has at least 3 different variety packs on the market at different times of year. All contain Dreamweaver (Belgian Wit/American Wheat style), Pale Ale (well, its a Pale Ale) and Hopback Amber (American Amber, nice hop bite to this one without going over the top). All three of these beers are very good, clean and consistent; I've never had a bad bottle of any of them (except some Dreamweaver that I froze and killed the yeast, which doesn't count). The fourth bottle rotates with the season between Rugged Trail Brown Ale (an American Brown, not really my thing but a good beer none the less), Java Head Stout (a coffee stout, quite good) and Sunshine Pils (a nice, crisp Pilsner). I usually keep a case of this stuff in the fridge, as it provides enough of a variety of choices that people can find something they like, as well as letting me recommend beers that I know are good to people who are looking to try something different. I pay about $36 per case at my local distributor.
Victory On-Tap: I view Victory as my home town brewery, and I have been incredibly spoiled by them. They consistently turn out clean, to-style beers in a huge variety of styles. They have 20 taps and 4 hand engines, and generally all are full. The most impressive thing to me is the fact that I've seen 4 different pilsners on tap at the same time, and all tasted both very good and distinctly different. The growler prices at the Downingtown brewpub are insanely low, starting at $7.50 for a 2-Liter of their normal-test beers (pilsners, etc). Here is the catch, though: I only buy growlers from them. I have had inconsistent luck with Victorys bottles (Stormking tasting astringent, Festbier tasting funny, Victory Lager being just foul, Golden Monkey lacking the smoothness that it should), so I currently have 5 growlers and periodically drive to Downingtown to get them filled. Another nice thing about victory is that they have a growler filling station, which purges the growler with CO2 and fills from the bottom. This prevents oxidation and contamination, which makes the beer last longer (current record is a month, compared to the normal week for growlers filled off the tap).

So, that's what you will most frequently find in my fridge. I vary these from time to time, but I keep coming back to these beers, as they are cheap and fantastic.

Philly Beer Week 2011

This year, Philly Beer Week starts on Friday, June 3^rd and lasts through Sunday, June 12^th; 7 days just isn’t enough time, so the week has been expanded to include both weekends. Philly Beer Week (PBW) was established in 2008 as a celebration of “America’s Best Beer Drinking City,” and is now the largest event of its type in the United States. The world-class breweries of the region are showcased in a wide variety of beer dinners, festivals and other events around the greater Philadelphia region.

The week kicks off with the “Opening Tap” at 7 pm on Independence Mall, where Mayor Michael Nutter will officially tap the first keg using the Hammer of Glory, the official keg mallet of PBW. The event then continues in the Independence Visitor Center, where Victory, Weyerbacher, Troegs, Sly Fox and 17 other regional and local breweries will be included in a beer tasting. The lucky attendees of this event will also get a taste of Brotherly Suds 2, a collaboration beer brewed at Stoudt’s Brewing by Brett Kintzer with help from Tom Kehoe, Bill Covaleski, John Trogner and Gordon Grubb of Yards, Victory, Troegs and Nodding Head respectively. This beer is the official beer of PBW, a lager crafted using a yeast culture from the old Schmidt’s brewery in the Northern Liberties.

> The most surprising event of the week, at least to me, is the With Love Beer Garden. This beer garden is being set up in the courtyard of the Four Seasons Hotel, which will be covered in a pavilion, and will feature a “meet the brewer” event each night from 4-8pm from Monday, June 6^th to Friday, June 10^th with food by Rafael Gonzalez. Monday night features Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing Company and the re-release of his “Summer Love Ale”, originally brewed for PBW last year and back by popular demand. Tuesday Chris Wilson of Weyerbacher will be celebrating their 750 mL bottle lineup, including “Merry Monks”, “Double Simcoe” and others. Wednesday to Friday features the brewers of Dock Street, Sly Fox and Yards, respectively.

University City itself contains a large number of PBW events, many of which are close to Drexel. Bridgewater’s Pub, located in 30^th street station, features Samuel Smith specials on the 3^rd, tap takeovers by Tommyknocker and Summit breweries on the 7^th and 9^th respectively, and Franziskaner Fest on the 10^th. City Tap House is hosting events every night of PBW, including Attach of the Clones on the 5^th, which is a taste off between commercial beers and homebrew clones of each. MidAtlantic Restaurant & Tap Room is hosting a pair of beer dinners, including one featuring Stone Brewing Co, a beer brunch featuring Stoudt’s (starts at 11:00am) and an interesting happy hour on June 6^th featuring canned craft beers. The Blockley Pour House is setting up a beer garden on the 9^th, and the World Café Live is hosting the Philly Food Experiment on the 5^th. The event that I’m most looking forward to, however, is Local 44’s Russian River Sunday. While the bar is holding lots of other events during PBW, RRS is legendary, with people lining up well before the 11:00 am opening time to get a taste of these fantastic beers (full disclosure: my all-time favorite beer is a Russian River brew, so I’m a bit biased).

Now, not everyone likes beer, or so they claim; lest these people feel left out of the festivities, or continue in their misguided thinking that they hate beer, PBW includes a large number of beer dinners this year. These take place all week, ranging from “Brew & Chew; Victory vs. Troegs” at Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse on Monday, June 6^th ($20), where the guests will try two beers from each brewery, vote on their favorite, and enjoy $3 pints of the winner along with the included tapas dishes for the rest of the night, to a $100 per plate collaboration between Chef Marc Vetri, Carol and Jodi Stoudt of Stoudt’s Brewing Company and Ian Brendle of Green Meadow Farm at Osteria on Sun, June 5^th.

This year’s Philly Beer Week promises to be bigger than ever, so make sure you get out and try some good beer and great food, and if possible head over to one of the various Meet the Brewer events to learn more about the men and women who make this wonderful beverage. More information about tickets and other events are available at www.phillybeerweek.org.

Troegs Nugget Nectar

This week I managed to get a bottle of Trӧegs nugget nectar. I’ve heard about this beer from friends and family for years, but I’ve never managed to get a bottle, as it’s a limited release in February of each year. This beer promises to be interesting, utilizing 5 types of hops during the boil, additional hops in a HopBack, plus dry hopping after fermentation, coupled with Vienna malt for color and Munich malt for a shot of sweetness on a base of enough Pilsner malt to give this beer a significant alcohol content.

Trӧegs Independent Craft Brewery was established by Chris and John Trogner in 1996 in Harrisburg, PA, and began selling beer in 1997. The brothers discovered the joy of good beer half a country apart, Chris while attending college in Colorado and John while working in the Real Estate market in Philadelphia. After realizing that they both wanted to open a brewery, they worked out a business plan and set to the task. John moved to Boulder, Colorado to work for Oasis Brewpub, during which he took classes at University of California at Davis and the Seibel Institute of Technology in Chicago, two of the best brewing technology programs in the US. John, on the other hand, worked to learn the marketing and management skills that they would need to successfully run a brewery, after which he took a brewing class at University of Sunderland in England. The timing of the brewery’s opening in 1997, one year behind Victory Brewing Company in 1996, placed Trӧegs as one of the first microbreweries in Pennsylvania. Since then, demand for Trӧegs’ beer has grown steadily, enabling them to construct a new, custom built brewery in Hershey, PA that is set to open later this year.

The beer poured a beautiful honey-orange golden hue without a hint of sediment. The head formed as only a thin layer of coarse white foam even after a vigorous pour, which dissipated quickly. After two minutes only a very thin skim remained in the center and around the edge, although that small amount of head left a surprising amount of lacing. The aroma was a surprising combination of sweet, fruity scents of apple and, surprisingly, honeysuckle contrasted with a very significant hop aroma. The hops initially had a very grapefruit citrus nature, but they quickly developed a more piney character. The body was moderate and the carbonation was low, giving a very smooth mouthfeel that did not linger. The taste was quite sweet up front, which had a very, light fruity sweetness to it, like a combination of apples and nectarines. This sweetness actually rose above a very significant hop character, which was only moderately bitter. The hop character mostly consisted of strong grapefruit and pine notes, with the pine dominating later on.

This beer was very enjoyable, but the taste profile is somewhat eclectic. Many people who enjoy sweet beers hate the taste of hops, and most of the hopheads out there prefer very dry beers. Regardless of how it compares to other beers on the market, if you want to try something interesting, this beer is definitely worth it.

Alcohol: 7.5%

Price: $2.99/12 oz

Appearance: 4

Aroma: 5

Mouthfeel: 4

Taste: 5

Duvel

This week I finally broke down and cracked open a bottle that I have been hording for some time now. This particular bottle is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale named Duvel, and its wonderfully complex taste, aroma and effervescent carbonation combine to provide a very enjoyable and refreshing drinking experience. I’ve been holding onto this bottle in my personal collection for a while, as its a bit outside my normal price range and I wanted to see what a little aging would do to it, but I decided that it was time to crack it open.

Duvel is brewed by the Duvel Moortgat Brewery, which is headquartered in Breendonk, Belgium. The brewery was opened in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, a Flemish brewer from Steenhuffel, Belgium. Moortgat quickly made a name for himself by producing excellent ales, which he distributed by horse and wagon throughout the surrounding region with the help of his sons. The onset of the First World War brought an influx of Englishmen, who brought with them their taste for English Pale Ales. These beers gained popularity in Belgium, and Jan’s son Albert decided to create a special beer incorporating English characteristics. This required obtaining a sample of yeast from somewhere in England, which proved to be no easy task; Albert wanted to work with a Scottish yeast strain, but during his trip the local brewers were disinclined to give him a sample. Fortunately, he kept trying and eventually managed to obtain his yeast, which is still in use today. Albert and his brother Victor introduced their new beer as Victory Ale in commemoration of the end of WWI, but this name was to be short lived. During a tasting session in 1923 a local cobbler was surprised by the potent aroma, and commented “This is a real Devil.” From that year on, the beer was marketed as Duvel, which is Belgian for Devil. This beer is still immensely popular internationally and has now become the prototypical beer around which the Belgian Golden Strong Ale style guidelines are written. The company has managed to remain in family ownership over the years even as it expanded, and now also owns Ommegang Brewery here in America, which you may have had to pleasure to taste.

Duvel poured a golden yellow color without any chill haze or sediment floating in it. The head formed as one finger of medium course white foam, although this dissipated quite quickly into a thin layer of very fine bubbles. This film was very long lived, and provided a good amount of the classic “Belgian lace”. One thing that stood out to me was the effervescent quality of this beer, as it gave off several constant streams of bubbles from a couple of locations on the beer, similar to Champagne. The aroma was quite complex and delicate, with some bitter and earthy hop notes mixed with lighter fruits, including apple and citrus, as well as a little bit of a yeast character. The taste of this beer was very complex, changing significantly over the course of a single sip. The initial taste was fairly sweet, but was very rapidly followed by a moderate bitterness coupled with the sharp bite of the carbonation, both of which subsided quickly. The element that came next was quite surprising in this beer; a nutty and slightly earthy finish, which subsided into a lingering sweetness. As the beer warmed up, the carbonation dropped off but the complexity grew as a some fruity esters came out; a soft mix of apple, pear and orange, although it lacked the peppery, slightly spicy character that I remember from tasting this beer previously.

As this beer is rather light and complex, it will pair well with light meats such as poultry, fruits and mild cheeses. Personally, though, I like this beer by itself, as this lets me explore the taste without the accompanying food masking anything. Duvel should be served in a tulip glass, as this was the company that designed that glass, and this is the beer it was intended to hold; Duvel actually lists a step-by-step process to pour this beer on their website, accompanied by a video, which I found to be quite amusing. One cautionary note, however, is that about a centimeter of beer should be left in the bottle, as this beer is bottle conditioned and thus has some yeast sediment on the bottom.

I highly recommend giving this beer a try, as it is a truly excellent example of the Belgian Golden Strong Ale style. The taste is light enough that anyone can enjoy it, and complex enough that any beer nut like myself (including those pretentious enough that insist you call them a beer sommelier or cicerone) will be shut up while enjoying the nuances of the taste.

Price: $5.79

Size: 330 mL

ABV: 8.5%

Appearance: 5/5

Aroma: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Mouthfeel: 5/5

HE'BREW Jewbelation Fourteen

I pride myself in having tried a fair cross section of beers from across America and Europe, and I’m constantly on the lookout for new beers to try. The dark side of my beer quest, however, is that its biased in that I tend to look for traditional beer styles; there are a couple of reasons for this, but the nasty side effect is that I don’t try nearly as many “odd” beers as I could. I decided to start remedying that this week by grabbing a bottle from HE’BREW Beer which looked to be quite odd indeed.

The beer is called Jewbelation Fourteen, and is the label’s fourteenth anniversary beer. The label is rather cluttered, with a golden base, yellow “14”, and the name, brewery logo and other information layered on top of each other. The thing that really stood out to me, though, is the motto on the HE’BREW label: “The Chosen Beer”. I knew that moniker, and hopefully the beer, was just too good not to share. Fortunately I convinced my friend Nyssa, a Messianic Jew, to join me: this way I got try The Chosen Beer with one of His Chosen People.

HE’BREW beer, along with Coney Island Craft Lagers is brewed by Smaltz Brewing Company of San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 1996 by Jeremy Cowan when he began distributing his hand made pomegranate beer out of the trunk of his grandmother’s car. The next year Jeremy contracted Anderson Valley Brewing Company to brew his beer, and began distributing to Chicago and New York as well. By 2003 Smaltz had moved production again to the Mendocino Brewing Company’s Saratoga Springs, NY brewery. HE’BREW was awarded a gold medal for Best American Craft Beer as well as the overall Best In Show by Beverage World Magazine in 2010, and has received much press over the years for its odd beers and quirky marketing. The label now produces 7,200 barrels annually of Genesis Ale, Messiah Bold, Origin Pomegranate Strong Ale, Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., Rejewvenator and Jewbelation beers, all of which are certified Kosher.

Jewbelation Fourteen poured an opaque black, with only the barest of golden red highlights when held up to the light. One finger of dark brown head with medium sized bubbles formed, but this dissipated quickly leaving a small amount of lacing. The aroma was a big malt character, mixing dark, roasted and sweet malts highlighted with hints of spice interspersed with some plum and dark fruit notes. I didn’t really notice any hop aroma, which is surprising, but I’m also coming off an IPA kick, so my frame of reference is all screwed up in the hop regard. The carbonation was low and the body was fairly thick, although it thinned out appreciably as it warmed up. The taste was very malt focused, with a surprising combination of roasty character and significant sweetness. This sweet taste was only partially balanced by the moderate level of bitterness. I paired this beer with a Country Miche from Metropolitan Bakery and some aged Cabot Cheddar, which actually worked better than I expected even with the sweetness of this beer. The proper glassware is pint glass for this beer, as it is an American Strong Ale.

Overall, the beer was smooth, but not particularly balanced due to the substantial sweetness present. There was also a lack of complexity, with the beer seeming rather one dimensional when compared to many other stouts. I found this blandness quite surprising because the label advertises that it uses fourteen different types of both hops and malts. This beer actually reminded me a lot of Dog Fish Head’s World Wide Stout, although I thought that beer was a bit more complex and enjoyable overall. This beer is certainly worth a try, especially if you are a new beer drinker, but the highlight was definitely the label.

Price: $9.50

Size: 22 oz

ABV: 14%

Appearance: 3/5

Aroma: 3.5/5

Flavor: 3/5

Mouthfeel: 3.5/5