Tonight I am back home, Yeah!! Decided to give my Heather Ale a quality check before taking it Saturday to the Peoria International Beerfest http://www.peoriajaycees.org/events/international-beer-fest/ . It is a festival that is organized by the Peoria Jaycees and features beer from home brewers as well as professional brewers. In years past MUGZ along with other homebrew clubs from Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa have brought imaginative beers to this event to show what can be done with beer. So this year I went way out there and made a Heather Ale. It is a Scottish 70 with 4 ounces of heather tips added to it. Thankfully the beer is nice and clean and has an interesting taste from the heather, best I can describe it is floral, piney, spicy and a bit antiseptic. It makes my mouth tingle and I like that! So the beer passes muster for the weekend.
More about the fest it is Saturday April 30th from 1-9 PM but I'm sure we will be out of beer before 6 PM. It is a fund raiser for the Peoria Jaycees, so the profits go to a good place. Tickets are on sale now $12 in advance and $15 at the door. So if you are not doing anything better and are in the mood for a road trip drive on down to Peoria for an afternoon of beer tasting. Needless to say if you do drive down make sure to have someone sober enough to drive afterward, because the drive from Peoria is a tad bit long.
Hope to see you there!
QC Beerguy
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bodega and some good beers but nothing new
I am back in La Crosse tonight so I went to the best beer bar in the town Bodega Brewpub http://www.bodegabrewpublax.com/. It was Tuesday night and I was greeted by the familiar face of John, the bar manager, and after a quick look at the taps I ordered a Palo Santo Marron http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/palo-santo-marron.htm . This is a complex beer that happens to be a high ABV as well. As an aside I remember a couple years ago when Sam Calagione was pouring Palo Santo "illegally" at Great Taste of the Midwest. I say "illegally" because Sam and Dogfish head are not from the Midwest. It is an awesome beer!
I followed it up with Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot http://www.lagunitas.com/beers/index.html a excellent
American Strong Ale. It is brown in color with a strong malty backbone and just enough hops to be assertive. This a wonderful beer, as most anything that Lagunitas makes. Boy I wish Lagunitas was a local brewery for me in the QC.
Well tonight was a quite but enjoyable night for me. Also Bodega does a 2 for Tuesday night, two sandwiches for the price of one. It is an awesome deal, but does not do me much good. If you are in La Crosse at any time this is a must stop, If you do not go here you do not love beer.
QC Beerguy
I followed it up with Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot http://www.lagunitas.com/beers/index.html a excellent
American Strong Ale. It is brown in color with a strong malty backbone and just enough hops to be assertive. This a wonderful beer, as most anything that Lagunitas makes. Boy I wish Lagunitas was a local brewery for me in the QC.
Well tonight was a quite but enjoyable night for me. Also Bodega does a 2 for Tuesday night, two sandwiches for the price of one. It is an awesome deal, but does not do me much good. If you are in La Crosse at any time this is a must stop, If you do not go here you do not love beer.
QC Beerguy
Whistle Binkies / a couple new beers
Last night I stayed over in Rochester, MN so I went to my usual place Whistle Binkie's http://www.whistlebinkiespub.com/index.shtml a really good beer bar here in Rochester. Each night they have a special for that night on Monday night's they have Mystery Beer Night. This is when they put the names of their bottled beers in a hat and you choose a name. Once you made your choice you have an option to take the beer or order something else at full price. The mystery beers are only $2 a beer, so it is fun to see what you get and it is not a large investment if you chose a beer you are unfamiliar with.
My first try I had pulled out Fat Tire, so I took my option and chose another beer, since I dislike Fat Tire. I ordered a Gold Sovereign Ale from Summit Brewing http://www.summitbrewing.com/brews/gold-sovereign-ale . I was quite happy with the choice it was a very easy drinking English style Pale Ale. One surprising thing to me was that it was made with 100 % organic malt. I my past experiences I have not enjoyed organic beers, to me they just do not have the same taste and body as non-organic beers.
So after I finished my first beer I tried my luck again with a mystery beer and this time pull out a beer more to my liking, Woody Creek Belgian White from Flying Dog Brewery http://flyingdogales.com/beers/ . This is a good American version of a Belgian Wit, clean and refreshing. Also the orange and coriander come through in the aroma and taste. This is several steps above Blue Moon, but it is not as good as the true Belgian Wits that I have had. So I was pleased with the beer and if this was a choice I would definitely chose it over Blue Moon and no I did not have an orange slice with it. There was no need to garnish the beer with an orange slice.
QC Beerguy
My first try I had pulled out Fat Tire, so I took my option and chose another beer, since I dislike Fat Tire. I ordered a Gold Sovereign Ale from Summit Brewing http://www.summitbrewing.com/brews/gold-sovereign-ale . I was quite happy with the choice it was a very easy drinking English style Pale Ale. One surprising thing to me was that it was made with 100 % organic malt. I my past experiences I have not enjoyed organic beers, to me they just do not have the same taste and body as non-organic beers.
So after I finished my first beer I tried my luck again with a mystery beer and this time pull out a beer more to my liking, Woody Creek Belgian White from Flying Dog Brewery http://flyingdogales.com/beers/ . This is a good American version of a Belgian Wit, clean and refreshing. Also the orange and coriander come through in the aroma and taste. This is several steps above Blue Moon, but it is not as good as the true Belgian Wits that I have had. So I was pleased with the beer and if this was a choice I would definitely chose it over Blue Moon and no I did not have an orange slice with it. There was no need to garnish the beer with an orange slice.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Great River Special Tapping / Front Street
Saturday my wife and I and along with a few friends went down to Great River Brewery http://greatriverbrewery.com/ for their special tapping of their Saison Farmhouse Ale. As usual they had a golden keg tapped at 1PM and had their festivities until 6PM on Saturday. Besides their special tapping they offered a ham for some sandwiches. They do a great job previewing each seasonal beer they make.
The Saison is a light drinking beer, that is true to the BJCP style guidelines. There is a noticeable fruitiness with noticeable peppery spiciness. It is amber colored with a slight haze to the beer. I am not a big lover of Saisons but this beer is within the style and would be acceptable to your typical Saison Drinker.
We walked a block down to the temporary flood wall to look at how much area was under the flood surge of the Mississippi River. Normally it is a little over two block walk to the river. After we did our sightseeing we went to Front Street Brewery http://frontstreetbrew.com/ for a few beers, lunch and a planning meeting for the ladies' Big Brew Day brewing session.
Front Street was a lane of road away from being in the Mississippi, which would of not been the first time the river had invaded the brewery. This time thankfully the temporary flood wall was holding. We all ordered a beer, unfortunately they were out of their most consistent beer the Raging River Pale Ale, what a shame it would of went nicely with what was happening with the flooding.
Some of us went with samplers and some ordered the Brewmasters' Special an ESB. The beer does meet the broad definition of an ESB, but is not a very good example of one. It was as cloudy as a hefewiezen normally is and with that much suspended yeast it did affect the overall flavor. Hopefully the beer will clarify as it sits in the serving tank.
As I have said before we try to give every chance to Front Street but they seemingly leave us wanting more each time we go there. I hope they will figure it out some time soon. On the positive side they have updated their menu and have included some really good new items to their classics.
QC Beerguy
The Saison is a light drinking beer, that is true to the BJCP style guidelines. There is a noticeable fruitiness with noticeable peppery spiciness. It is amber colored with a slight haze to the beer. I am not a big lover of Saisons but this beer is within the style and would be acceptable to your typical Saison Drinker.
We walked a block down to the temporary flood wall to look at how much area was under the flood surge of the Mississippi River. Normally it is a little over two block walk to the river. After we did our sightseeing we went to Front Street Brewery http://frontstreetbrew.com/ for a few beers, lunch and a planning meeting for the ladies' Big Brew Day brewing session.
Front Street was a lane of road away from being in the Mississippi, which would of not been the first time the river had invaded the brewery. This time thankfully the temporary flood wall was holding. We all ordered a beer, unfortunately they were out of their most consistent beer the Raging River Pale Ale, what a shame it would of went nicely with what was happening with the flooding.
Some of us went with samplers and some ordered the Brewmasters' Special an ESB. The beer does meet the broad definition of an ESB, but is not a very good example of one. It was as cloudy as a hefewiezen normally is and with that much suspended yeast it did affect the overall flavor. Hopefully the beer will clarify as it sits in the serving tank.
As I have said before we try to give every chance to Front Street but they seemingly leave us wanting more each time we go there. I hope they will figure it out some time soon. On the positive side they have updated their menu and have included some really good new items to their classics.
QC Beerguy
Friday, April 22, 2011
Great River Special Tapping
Just want to invite anyone and everyone to come down to Great River Brewery http://greatriverbrewery.com/ , tomorrow afternoon for the tapping of their latest creation Saison Farmhouse Ale. The golden keg will be tapped at 1PM and the festivities will be from 2-6PM. They are always happy to have their friends and customers come down and join them on their special tappings. I know my wife and I are planning on attending. So see you there!
QC Beerguy
QC Beerguy
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Cascadian Dark Ale / Black IPA
As I am sitting here drinking a bottle of Rodney Kibzey's Longshot winning Black IPA, I can not help but think about the beer "style" it is. Yes I do not believe that CDA/ BIPA is a beer style! It is a fad and to me a bad fad at that! Just because someone can brew a beer and other people copy it does not make it a style or good. This beer will soon enough be relegated to the trash heap it belongs in.
Yes I am on the muscle tonight. I have tried multiple CDA/ BIPAs and really have not found one I like. The closest is 1T's BIPA, it is probably the best balanced of the many I have had. Most of these beers are not balanced, they are either very roasty or very hoppy. The one I am currently drinking is towards the hoppy side. Also there is just too much bitterness in this beer between the roast and the hops, making it nearly undrinkable in an quantity over a 12 ounce bottle.
As most you may know the roots of CDA/ BIPA can be traced back to the East Coast instead of the West Coast, it is said that the first CDA/ BIPA was brewed by Greg Noonan in Vermont in the late 1990s. It really started to become popular in the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s when such beers as Rouge's Skull Splitter and Phillips Brewing's Black Toque were being made. As it became more and more popular in the Cascadian Region a common name was arrived at Cascadian Dark Ale. Around the same time in the rest of the United States it became known as a Black IPA, either name is considered correct.
So, what is this beer that you rant about, you may be asking. By a proposed set of guidelines from Brew Your Own Magazine http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/2072-birth-of-a-new-style-cascadian-dark-ale it is as follows. Color- 30+ SRM, OG 1.060 - 1.080, FG 1.010 - 1.016, 50-90 IBUs, and ABV 6.0 - 8.5%. Northwest hops predominate so piney, citrus hop notes are picked up. Also the dark malts add dark roast and chocolate notes. So it is a hoppy, dark, roasty beer that mixes some attributes of an IPA with a stout. It is a hybrid of styles, not a style unto its self.
When this beer is entered into a BJCP sanctioned event it goes into Category 23 Specialty Beers. The last time I judged Category 23 at a contest, of the 11 beers we judged 7 were CDA/ BIPAs. Needless to say we were both tired of this beer "style" by the time we were done judging the flight.
There will continue to be some consideration of making this beer a "style" unto its self when the next time the BJCP Style Guidelines are revised in the future. I am split as to whether or not to give CDA/ BIPA deserves it own sub category. On one hand if it is given its own sub category it will no longer be in Category 23, so next time I would judge Specialty Beers there would be none of them to judge. On the other hand as I have stated before this beer is just a fad that will die out and why have more empty categories to judge? Isn't it bad enough that the California Common has its own sub category? When was the last time you have seen a Cali Common in a contest? I have not seen one in years. Why just add more minutia to the judging process?
So to get back to the beer I am drinking right now, I'm glad I did not have to pay for this bottle. Otherwise I would of felt cheated by this beer because I do not find it overly enjoyable or even remotely well balanced. If you enjoy a CDA/ BIPA do not let my rant stop you from your enjoyment, but I do not plan on trying many more CDA/ BIPAs in the future.
QC Beerguy
Yes I am on the muscle tonight. I have tried multiple CDA/ BIPAs and really have not found one I like. The closest is 1T's BIPA, it is probably the best balanced of the many I have had. Most of these beers are not balanced, they are either very roasty or very hoppy. The one I am currently drinking is towards the hoppy side. Also there is just too much bitterness in this beer between the roast and the hops, making it nearly undrinkable in an quantity over a 12 ounce bottle.
As most you may know the roots of CDA/ BIPA can be traced back to the East Coast instead of the West Coast, it is said that the first CDA/ BIPA was brewed by Greg Noonan in Vermont in the late 1990s. It really started to become popular in the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s when such beers as Rouge's Skull Splitter and Phillips Brewing's Black Toque were being made. As it became more and more popular in the Cascadian Region a common name was arrived at Cascadian Dark Ale. Around the same time in the rest of the United States it became known as a Black IPA, either name is considered correct.
So, what is this beer that you rant about, you may be asking. By a proposed set of guidelines from Brew Your Own Magazine http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/2072-birth-of-a-new-style-cascadian-dark-ale it is as follows. Color- 30+ SRM, OG 1.060 - 1.080, FG 1.010 - 1.016, 50-90 IBUs, and ABV 6.0 - 8.5%. Northwest hops predominate so piney, citrus hop notes are picked up. Also the dark malts add dark roast and chocolate notes. So it is a hoppy, dark, roasty beer that mixes some attributes of an IPA with a stout. It is a hybrid of styles, not a style unto its self.
When this beer is entered into a BJCP sanctioned event it goes into Category 23 Specialty Beers. The last time I judged Category 23 at a contest, of the 11 beers we judged 7 were CDA/ BIPAs. Needless to say we were both tired of this beer "style" by the time we were done judging the flight.
There will continue to be some consideration of making this beer a "style" unto its self when the next time the BJCP Style Guidelines are revised in the future. I am split as to whether or not to give CDA/ BIPA deserves it own sub category. On one hand if it is given its own sub category it will no longer be in Category 23, so next time I would judge Specialty Beers there would be none of them to judge. On the other hand as I have stated before this beer is just a fad that will die out and why have more empty categories to judge? Isn't it bad enough that the California Common has its own sub category? When was the last time you have seen a Cali Common in a contest? I have not seen one in years. Why just add more minutia to the judging process?
So to get back to the beer I am drinking right now, I'm glad I did not have to pay for this bottle. Otherwise I would of felt cheated by this beer because I do not find it overly enjoyable or even remotely well balanced. If you enjoy a CDA/ BIPA do not let my rant stop you from your enjoyment, but I do not plan on trying many more CDA/ BIPAs in the future.
QC Beerguy
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Civilazation or Better know as Cedar Rapids
Tonight I am lucky to find myself in Cedar Rapids, better know as CR to those that know. So in CR there are two brewpubs kind of, Third Base Brewery, local and brewed on site and Granite City Brewing Company, chain and donewith brewus interuptus. So I hope you understand when I say two kind of! Granite City is across the parking lot from my hotel so it is easy to go to, but tonight I went to the true brewpub in CR Third Base http://www.3rdbasebrewery.com/ !
I really do like this place and wish I was overnight in CR more often so I could go here more. I have had a couple occasion to met and talk with the brewer and he really does love his craft which shows in the beers he brews. I had seven beers in the sampler tonight and there was not a bad beer in the lot, there were some that I did not like but they were well made.
So when you pull up to 3rd Base the first thing that strikes you is it is in a strip mall and the second thing is where the hell do I park? So once you walk inside everything is changed. It is wood, wood and more wood inside and every where you look is a tv. Each booth has it's own flat screen tv as well as the bigger ones on the walls. I am comfortable here, so needless to say just about anyone is welcome to this brewpub.
There food menu ranges from apps, to salads, to entrees, to sandwiches, needless to say there is something for everyone. I had a grilled tenderloin sandwich with fries, note to self need to get more healthy on the food. If you can't find something to eat your not trying.
So onto the beers! They do a sampler of their beers, each in about a 5 oz. glass and it was of all seven of their beers currently on tap. They have five year round beers and two seasonal taps. First up Golden Hawk Wheat as the name says it is a golden American wheat beer, it is true to style and I am not a fan of the style enough said. Next up is the Bees Knees Honey Ale, a top seller, again it is what the name says a sweet ale with lots of honey character and not in my wheelhouse, but thankful that a lot of people do like it so it pays for the other beers. Onto Red Rocket Amber Ale, it has nice piney hop notes in aroma and taste backed with nice toasty malt notes a easy drinker. Now the Flying Aces Pale Ale, it is a medium gold beer with lots of citrus notes in aroma and taste finishing clean and crisp a really nice pale ale. Black Cobra Oatmeal Stout is the last year round beer. It is black in color with coffee, chocolate and roast notes in aroma and flavor, also very noticeable is the roundness and slickness coming form the use of oatmeal in the beer.
As I said they have two seasonal taps first up is the Session 70, a Scottish 70 checking in at 3.6% ABV. It is truly a session beer, as it warms the malt aroma becomes more prominent and has low carbonation, my only detraction is I wish it had a little more body to it. The second seasonal was Tilted Kilt, they call it an Irish Red. To me it had a nice malty sweet nose and caramel, toffee flavors. Plus a slight smokey quality.
This is a worthy place to visit. As I was finishing out I had a chance to talk a bit with the bartender and he agreed with me on the beers, his least favorites as well were the wheat and the honey ale.
If you find yourself in CR make a trip to 3rd Base and you will not be sorry.
QC Beerguy
PS. To my Kind friends happy 4 20!
I really do like this place and wish I was overnight in CR more often so I could go here more. I have had a couple occasion to met and talk with the brewer and he really does love his craft which shows in the beers he brews. I had seven beers in the sampler tonight and there was not a bad beer in the lot, there were some that I did not like but they were well made.
So when you pull up to 3rd Base the first thing that strikes you is it is in a strip mall and the second thing is where the hell do I park? So once you walk inside everything is changed. It is wood, wood and more wood inside and every where you look is a tv. Each booth has it's own flat screen tv as well as the bigger ones on the walls. I am comfortable here, so needless to say just about anyone is welcome to this brewpub.
There food menu ranges from apps, to salads, to entrees, to sandwiches, needless to say there is something for everyone. I had a grilled tenderloin sandwich with fries, note to self need to get more healthy on the food. If you can't find something to eat your not trying.
So onto the beers! They do a sampler of their beers, each in about a 5 oz. glass and it was of all seven of their beers currently on tap. They have five year round beers and two seasonal taps. First up Golden Hawk Wheat as the name says it is a golden American wheat beer, it is true to style and I am not a fan of the style enough said. Next up is the Bees Knees Honey Ale, a top seller, again it is what the name says a sweet ale with lots of honey character and not in my wheelhouse, but thankful that a lot of people do like it so it pays for the other beers. Onto Red Rocket Amber Ale, it has nice piney hop notes in aroma and taste backed with nice toasty malt notes a easy drinker. Now the Flying Aces Pale Ale, it is a medium gold beer with lots of citrus notes in aroma and taste finishing clean and crisp a really nice pale ale. Black Cobra Oatmeal Stout is the last year round beer. It is black in color with coffee, chocolate and roast notes in aroma and flavor, also very noticeable is the roundness and slickness coming form the use of oatmeal in the beer.
As I said they have two seasonal taps first up is the Session 70, a Scottish 70 checking in at 3.6% ABV. It is truly a session beer, as it warms the malt aroma becomes more prominent and has low carbonation, my only detraction is I wish it had a little more body to it. The second seasonal was Tilted Kilt, they call it an Irish Red. To me it had a nice malty sweet nose and caramel, toffee flavors. Plus a slight smokey quality.
This is a worthy place to visit. As I was finishing out I had a chance to talk a bit with the bartender and he agreed with me on the beers, his least favorites as well were the wheat and the honey ale.
If you find yourself in CR make a trip to 3rd Base and you will not be sorry.
QC Beerguy
PS. To my Kind friends happy 4 20!
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