Lhasa

Lhasa Beer
Lhasa, Tibet
Lager

This beer is made from “pure Tibetan spring water, Tibetan barley, Saaz hops, and yeast,” making it the first beer to be produced with Tibetan barley. I don’t know what that means, but I’m willing to find out.

Perfectly yellow straw color, with crystal pilsner clarity and a huge rocky white head – aided by the tall kolsch glass – that subsides slowly, but hurrying down as it separates into a Swiss cheese layer of foam. The nose is grainy and clean, like wet corn husks, but there is something more there.

There are not a lhasa beers from Tibet.

A chewy and floury odor like boiled pasta comes out along with a slightly sweet maltiness. The first sip delivers a good mouthfeel that is refreshing as a good lager should be. There is a lightness yet a complexity to this beer that makes it really appealing. The malt appears first, smoothing out the sip as some nice bitter hops leave a grassy flavor that perks you up a bit to remind you that pilsners should have a bit of a kick at the end. A touch of rice-like flavor is imparted as well, and it is not at all unpleasant.

Each sip of this beer is as smooth as a marble rolling on polished granite countertop toward a pool of water. It glides along seamlessly and then plops with a hop finish that is entertaining enough to have another. This is not a run-of-the-mill gas-pumper. If you like drinking lagers with Asian cuisine, this is a step above most of the cheaper choices. I picked this up on sale at a local Whole Foods, so look for it to be a well-priced alternative.

In my haste to drink this beer, I grabbed the Sierra cap from the Celebration, which is a shame as the Lhasa cap is pretty cool. So, here’s a glamor shot.Good for Lhasa Beer. This earns an Awesome tag.

Sierra Nevada Celebration 2009

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, CA
2009 Celebration Ale

As usual, from Sierra, the signature golden color, like the rind of a perfectly ripe navel orange, and an angelic white halo of head form from the pour. Not that I’m biased or anything. The beer also has a slight haze, slightly more than the pale ale which also has sediment floating in the bottom. The carbonation is slow and fine.

It's a celebration, bitches. A Celebration, indeed.

The nose is certainly another Sierra trademark – rich citrus notes and cannabis. This brew has a sweeter texture, perhaps indicative of a maltier offering. There are sugary qualities to the aroma that remind me of pixi-stix or Sweet Tarts, but there is a breadiness of malt that comes across as sweet rolls.

The mouthfeel is very full, and starts off sweet and subtle with an orange-candy softness that rolls like a gathering wave into a full on smack of slightly floral hops that cascade into a slightly vinous aftertaste. There are fewer warming notes than I was expecting, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This beer is drinkable, and at nearly 7% ABV, maybe dangerously so.

The beer continues to open up as you drink, yielding slightly more resinous qualities that bring out touches of pine and ginger spice that indicate the more alcoholic nature of this brew. Elegant and heavy lacing hangs onto the chalice sides. Hops abound, as only Sierra can make them, and they are reasonably subtle here in that they don’t dry out your mouth as you sip. The florals do a lot to temper what might be an aggressive glassful for those not hooked on the hop. There’s a reason that this brewery made me love beer. And just when I think I couldn’t possibly love Sierra Nevada any more than I already do, I drink one of their beers and become giddy as a schoolgirl. Of course, that could be the 6.8% talking.

Because this beer is a Sierra stalwart, and doesn’t feel like you’re drinking Christmas dinner in a bottle, it is clear that this brew has not forgotten the secret of steel.

Boulder Hazed and Infused

Boulder Beer Co.
Boulder, CO
Hazed & Infused

The pour yields a pillowy off-white head that froths and climbs the glass and makes no indication that it wants to leave. The color is a deep amber, initially more golden before pouring the bottom of the bottle in, which turns it hazy and caramel-colored.

The nose has grapefruit, pine, and our hops’ cousin and old pal, marijuana. There are hints of pine, damp like an English forest, and really pleasant mentholated quality that climbs from the back of those pine needles.

Good effervescence on the pour; the bubbles twist erratically up and around the glass.

The first sip is reasonably delightful. The mouthfeel is very good and far creamier than one might expect. This is thanks, in part to the good quarter-inch of head that is still nestled atop the beer, locking in what is a great deal of hoppiness.

Grapefruit comes across initially, but is softer and sweeter before yielding to a fantastically dry hop snap that leaves the back of the tongue with a damper and grassier finish than many hop slap-happy brews might. The dry-hopped quality of the beer really comes through both in the nose and the finish of this brew.

While some hoptastic beers leave you feeling almost parched with their dry bitterness, this beer leaves you sated and ready to take another ride on the hopstacle course. I apologize for all the puns, but this beer is making me happy. Another fine offer from the great beer state of Colorado.

The lacing is more of a wall than a pattern. It stretches in great swaths like a tapestry of foam down the back of the glass. Even at the bottom inch of beer, a silver dollar of head balances atop the tawny brew. Pick this one up, hopheads, for a nice, lower ABV sample.

Saranac Pumpkin

Matt Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
Pumpkin Ale

I admit I’m not really a fan of pumpkin beers, but Saranac rarely veers too far off course.

The color is amber and gold, certainly reminiscent of a pumpkin with touches of orange and red. The head is decent, but quick to dissipate in the wider mouth of the Imperial pint.

The nose is very much like pumpkin pie. Gingerbread and brown sugar dominate, while subtler touches of clove-like sharpness and cinnamon waft around the glass. This seems to be softened by a hint of vanilla.

The mouthfeel is excellent. The body is full and the effervescence is constant and even. Fortunately, there is none of the coying sweetness that one might expect from something that smells so much like pie. There are a good amount of hops in there to kick the pumpkin sweetness down a notch or two.

This isn’t one of those heavier pumpkin ales that seems nothing more than fermented pumpkin puree. The beer is a bit earthy, but has a really good balance of sweetness, spice, and hop bitters. The pumpkin is far more subtler than you might expect and I give Saranac credit for crafting an interesting ale without going too far. Big beer is great, but sometimes a softer touch is necessary to produce a really quaffable brew.

Shiner Holiday Cheer

As today is Thanksgiving and, by most standards, the start of the ‘holiday season’, I thought I’d give this Texas brewery’s holiday brew a chance. I’ll probably need a lot of them once the Christmas carols start in earnest, a month before the actual day arrives.

Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner, TX
Holiday Cheer

The color is deep copper – almost garnet, and the head rushes up the confined base of the weizen glass and creates a tan pillow at the rim.

Caused little cheer in the house of the Brew Yorker

The nose is somewhat diaper-like, but sweet, negating any unpleasant association. Certainly, the peaches that Shiner claims to add are evident in the nose and create much of the very sweet, but not saccharine, aroma. There is no real hint of wheat, though perhaps more than an inkling of hops. The brew is supposedly a Dunkel and supposedly has pecans in it as well, but the sweetness overwhelms any hint at nutty or roasty notes.

The mouthfeel is reasonably good – full, to start – but gives way to a thinner fruity spread. The sip is surprisingly complex with a semblance of hop character on the sides of the tongue and a malt-coating quality. The initial peach-and-apricot flavor overwhelms the finish but, after a few slightly squeamish sips, settles down a bit to let the rest of the brew come out.

There might be an inkling of pecans in the top of the palate, but it is quickly washed away in a flood of soft, pitted fruits. The surest hints of a wheat beer are in the bubbles – the effervescence matches an active bottle-condition wheat, but there is no soapy banana and bubblegum touch; neither the tangy zest that you get when you sip a golden wheat nor the surprisingly buttery cleanliness of a dunkelweiss.

The beer would succeed more, I think, without the fruit essence spoiling the finish. This is more akin to Magic Hat #9 than any German dark wheat, and Spoetzl needs to tone down the sweetness. Try one, it’s not unpleasant. In fact, you may love it, but this one’s not for me.

100 Posts

The last post was Brew York City’s 100th post. This calls for a celebratory beer for all. Cheers!

(C) 2004, Comedy Central

Full Sail Pale Ale

Full Sail Brewing Co.
Hood River, OR
Pale Ale

As much fun as it is to say “Full Sail Pale Ale,” this really is a lovely-looking beer. The slightly cream-colored head is dense and foamy, sticking to the pint glass even as it first begins its slow collapse. The color is amber, with faint touches of honey orange.

Full Sail Pale Ale

The nose is spicy and slightly vinous. A strong, wet breadiness with apricot and under-ripe peaches comes about, too.

The first sip has a very good mouthfeel, one that is creamy but refreshing and not at all thin. The beer is not as big and bold as you might think from a Pacific Coast Pale, but in a good way.

A pleasant malt texture hits the tongue but is neither too bread- or molasses-like. It is a crisp grain taste,. You are met with some nice citrusy hops, not quite grapefruit, but certainly a fruit sweetness that gives way to a grassier finish. This is a true pale in the traditional sense, but with a very delicate Oregonian hand. When completed, this beer leaves behind an equally delicate lacing.

This brew is smooth but with a certain amount of complexity brought about by the crispness and fruit specters that linger just long enough before you take another sip. Full Sail Pale Ale rolls as well on to the tongue as it does off it and I would enjoy this in a pub any time.

As long as we’re in the pub frame of mind (aren’t we always), I would say this would pair well with a chicken pot pie. Likewise, this would go well with some sharp cheddar to bring out the sharpness of those more subtle hops. Cheers!

Beautiful Rings. Almost as beautiful as a full beer.

Saranac Rye IPA

Matt Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
Saranac Rye IPA

The pour is lively with a nice sudsy white head that clings well as it crackles and subsides. The color is that of golden honey – a lot of orange and deep marigold. The carbonation is well dispersed and steady, but not torrential.

The nose is that of a malted lager, not an IPA. There are faint plum notes disguising what seems like it would be a nice ABV bite. Some citrus rises up, but it’s more acidic and not set as you might expect from an IPA. The malt aroma is nice, biscuity but not quite like sourdough, nor so strong as to be termed phenolic. There is no real rye aroma at all as there is in, say, Blue Point’s RastafaRYE or Sixpoint’s Righteous.

The mouthfeel is decent but – wow, not what I was expecting. The beer tastes a bit sour at first. There is a real bitternes – I hope it’s hops – that leaves a taste that is a bit unpleasant at first, like lemon concentrate, on the sides of the tongue. The finish of the swallow is metallic and sere. There’s a certain amount of that snap of biscuit, but there is a real problem with the citric back of this beer.

To be perfectly honest, I hope this bottle is skunked. I really like MBC/Saranac and this is not impressing me., but after a few more sips, the beer is coming around a bit, but that may be me getting used to it. A slightly calmer citric/floral twang hits the top of the palate, as though this beer were aggressively dry-hopped, and perhaps rye was added in the fermenter, but this is not doing it for me. I’ll try again at a later date, but for now I can’t say I’m wild about this one.

That said, the lacing is very pretty and dense, and the overall aftertaste is one of very dry hops, so not all is lost.

 

Finished. Not a moment too soon.

 

 

 

 

Brooklyn Oktoberfest

Brooklyn Brewery
New York, NY
Oktoberfest

Always a fan of Brooklyn Brewery and all that they have to offer, I am eager to review one of my favorite styles – Oktoberfest.

The pour gives a decent head but, without too much agitation, the off-white fluff vanishes quickly as the slow and steady carbonation keeps a thin layer of effervescence on the surface.

The color is an absolutely textbook copper; orange, brown, and red shine through like dappled autumn light through changing foliage.

The nose is a good mix of bready malt and faintly spicy hops. More on the malty side, the aroma conjures the sweet richness of apple cider, but perhaps warmed and spiced up with some potent potable.

Potent, it is. The mouthfeel is full and considerably more aggressive than you might think. This is due, in part, to a really nice hops character that introduces itself early – rare for a Marzen. The huskiness of the odor gives way to a fruity hop bite that has notes of apricot and plum and perhaps a touch of orange rind. This is also rare for this style, but it works here

At 5.5%, there is no alcohol warmth – to be expected from a Vienna-style. Brooklyn has a definite flavor profile to many of its brews that seems to use the lager as a base. That is, they use hops generously, but never to an overwhelming degree. Most Oktoberfest beers focus entirely on the malt body of the beer so, while this may not be traditional in that sense, it certainly is delicious.

Saint Arnold Elissa

Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Houston, TX
Elissa IPA

Now that I’m in the Great State of Texas, I’m trying as many Texas beers as possible. Here’s one from Saint Arnold, a brewery with about ten selections, and which claims to be Texas’ oldest craft brewery. I’ve tried a couple of these while out at night and so far they’ve been good.

The pour immediately jumps up with a good inch of orange-tinged head that’s rocky and lively. The clarity is excellent and the carbonation is a steady string of pearls feeding the now slightly dissipated but still frothy head. The color is copper and orange, like a setting sun, but with les retinal burn.

The nose is very sticky and floral – this beer smells like West Coast hops all the way. Grapefruit and a fragrant and resinous sweetness out of what is sure to be a great hop bite. The mouthfeel is excellent. The malt kicks in at first but is quickly swept to the back of the palate by a wash of crisp hops that snaps but doesn’t sting. Those hops really impart a luscious citrus body that is complex and full but still refreshing and not overwhelming (at least not for a hophead like me).

This is as close to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale as any bottle I can think of offhand. Perhaps it lacks some of the heavyweight punch that Sierra carries (I’m biased), but this is a truly wonderful example of American IPA. A thick trellis-work of lacing hangs around the glass, too. This beer is a must for hop lovers.