Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Lagunitas Brewing Co.
Petaluma, CA
Hop Stoopid Ale

Lagunitas makes some of the finer US brews, I think. Their IPA, Pils, and Censored are all some stellar go-tos whenever I see them and I have been hanging onto this bottle of Hop Stoopid for a couple of months, eager to crack it open and enjoy the 22oz hopportunity.

Pours up with a very rocky, lively, and slightly orange head, over an inch thick and very sticky. The beer steadies and the head caves in on itself, but continues to leave a tight webbing of fine lace.

The color is a deep honey-amber – truly orange and burnished gold. It’s not quite coppery as there is no brown in the mix.

The nose has a strong wafting grapefruit aroma with a touch of bitter lemon solvent – no doubt a result of the nearly 8% ABV. There are some pine notes and faint phenolic odor as well as a deep, almost prune-like richness that lasts through the nose. This beer will undoubtedly have bite.

There is a great deal of very bitter grapefruit in the sip, along with some peppery pine and mint; it’s not cleansing but nor is it too heavy. The mouthfeel is very good, and the over-ripe stone fruit textures cling at the end of the swallow.

By no means is this a session beer, nor is it meant to be at 7.7%ABV served in a double-deuce. It is an excellent example of Lagunitas’ ability and of West Coast hops, but could be a bit aggressive (at 102 IBU) for the non-hopheads among us. I recommend this though for anyone looking for a big beer with body and who is not afraid to dip a toe in the hop end.

Shiner Bock

Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner, TX
Shiner Bock

Brew York City has moved! After much deliberation, your friendly neighborhood Brew Yorker has moved to Dallas. Despite my southern sojourn, this blog will stay the same After all, Brew York City is an ideal – that good beer can be enjoyed by all, anywhere. Even Texas. I thought it fitting that my first Texas review be the iconic Shiner Bock.

With its yellow label and elegant goat-head bottle top, it is a lovely example of local production. Bocks are typically celebration beers, first brewed in the German town of Einbeck in the 1300s. I always like bocks as they are a nice departure from my hoppy exploits. Bocks are usually strong and malty. A not-too-soft pour develops a just off-cream white head that is rocky and flies up to about an inch, settling quickly to an even coating of white over the top of the beer.

The color is amber and deep caramel, shading towards a light cola brown, but sitting more in the orange range. The nose is almost all malt. There is a carob and brown sugar aroma that carries through on a cantaloupe lightness that seems it would dull what would ordinarily be a hefty brew.

The mouthfeel is good, very much like a pub lager. The effervescence swells like a pilsner, but the hops are not present at the beginning of the sip. The first thing you notice is a real Viennese breadiness that is at once fulfilling and slightly chewy, but light and not overwhelming. The sip is not sticky, though the flavor subsists well on the tongue. A faint grassiness cleans up the swallow and leaves the malt and molasses behind. There is not a lot of lacing, but what is there is crystalline and weighty.

For a cheaper beer, I will take this over almost any of the bigger affordable brews any day. I would certainly recommend this with some BBQ, I think the clean malt would accentuate the brown sugar sweetness of the food, while the grassy ending would help to tamp out any flames that might accompany your ribs or brisket. I like this brew!

Lancaster Strawberry Wheat

Lancaster Brewing Co.
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Strawberry Wheat

While a beer that I would most certainly not ordinarily order, buy, or look at. However, it is a Pennsylvania brew and certainly seems interesting. Likewise, the beer was mae with Cascade and Hallertau hops so should be an interesting meeting of West Coast and Noble.

As expected, the beer is lively and is audibly effervescent. The head is clean white and rocky – not billowy – and dissipates rapidly. The carbonation looks steady, though not quite pearl strands and more of a meteor shower of bubbles heading to the surface. The color is penny-copper with a touch of bronze – it’s like an Irish Setter.

The nose is too sweet for me and reminds me of berry-flavored bubble gum. A slight malt aroma appears in the form of graham cracker but it is still too sweet to discern anything different. The mouthfeel is good. The effervescence really kicks in nicely and tickles the front end of the swallow with out overwhelming the palate with carbonation.

The initial flavor is like a berry lozenge, though isn’t quite as sweet. The Hallertau hops do a good job of introducing a slightly peppery earthiness to get away from the sticky sweetness. The finish is drier than you might think, though the strawberry flavor persists. It comes across as ‘freeze-dried’ and lasts a bit longer than it should. However, sacrificing that sweetness would probably produce a brew with less body than this one.

If you’re a wheat freak, you should probably steer clear. It’s a nice summer brew, but has little grass or bitters for you. If you’re into fruit beers, this will probably do nicely for you. If you’re not, give this a go and expand your horizons. It doesn’t take quite the leap of faith to enjoy as some other fruit-laden beers might. And who knows? You may even enjoy it.

Sea Dog Riverdriver Porter

Pugsley Brewing Co.
Portland, ME
Sea Dog Riverdriver Porter

Another from the Shipyard/Pugsley line, Sea Dog has some interesting brews, if not one of the cuter labels. This Riverdriver claims a hint of hazelnut and also Willamette hops, so I am certainly eager to give it a whirl.

Like many porters, this one is lively into the glass and foams up with a inch of billowy tan head that settles slowly. The color is a deep dark brown with good clarity, but it is dark and the light that passes through the edges highlights a deep red grape purple.

The nose is roasty malt with a creamy milk back that has a hint of fresh, not roasted, hazelnuts. There are hints of cranberry or cherry, with a good deal of dark chocolate that persists.

The mouthfeel is good, and the flavor really comes through as a melting piece of milk choclate. The slight fruitiness is the first noticeable flavor, a tartness that his assisted by the Willamette hops. But through the end of the swallow, the chocolate is really the main ingredient on the palate. The hazelnut is a bit of an afterthought – a good thing in my opinion – and one that contributes nicely, creating a great bitter porter.

Many porters come across as too sweet or, perhaps, too rasited. This one is a nice balance between bitter and sweet and, as a porter, won’t overload your palate either.

Casco Bay Brown Ale

Casco Bay Brewing Co.
Portland, ME
Brown Ale

As I recall (which is “not very well”) Adi and I tried this brew during our Winter ‘09 Unemployment Taste Test. Of course, I have not written up those notes yet but I will soon. More on that later. Casco is one of Shipyard’s labels. They also do Pumpkinhead and the Sea Dog line.

An even, not too careful pour elicits a good half- or three-quarter-inch light tan head that his rocky but not too lively or aggressive and settles nicely. The clarity is exquisite – clear and crisp, highlighting the deep plum-and-cola color.

The nose is all sweet milk chocolate and caramel, very much a malty ale. There is a powdery aspect to the aroma, if that makes sense, which comes across as honeysuckle and toffee.

The taste is very clean and crisp. The mouthfeel is excellent, cool and creamy but not in the least bit heavy. The flavor starts with a faint biscuit quality but becomes deeper and more cocoa-like in a hurry. There are touches of orange spice in the hops, but really this is a wonderfully crisp and refreshing brown ale. It is somewhat creamier than a Newkie, and possesses that chocolate note that Newcastle doesn’t really have, but its smooth, just BARELY perceptible touch of roasted grain is just perfect.

The lacing finishes in an Arabic webbing that really rounds out a splendid foray into a very interesting, eminently drinkable ale. Cheers to Casco/Shipyard!

Sierra Nevada ESB 2008

Sierra Nevada
Chico, CA
Early Spring Beer (ESB 2008)

I have been saving this beer for a while and figure that, as a Sierra, it will be sufficiently hoppy and more of an IPA than anything, so it probably shouldn’t sit around too long.

The pour is lively and pretty with swirling effervescence that stirs up a yellowy-orange head above a hazy, rich amber that has plenty of dark pumpkin orange and a hint of garnet.
Light passes through the glass, but not a lot, it is translucent but certainly not transparent.

The nose is lemon soap and orange rind with a malty, sweet tobacco back. There are more esters than there are flowers in the nose. The ABV is almost 6%, so I’m sure there will be some kick.

The mouthfeel is, of course, splendid and full. It fills the mouth with a malty coating which refrains from masking the rest of the flavors. Citrus and pepper on the tongue with a dry and slightly rusty finish that gives just a modicum of chewy breadiness. The lacing is better than decent; nice drapery zagging around the glass.

As always, Sierra really delivers. I am definitely biased, but this is outstanding. Everything from the coppery haze to the mild spiciness really make this beer stand out. Certainly, it’s not a session beer at 6%, but a few of these will show you that Sierra can make a complex beer for those non-hopheads among us. This beer lacks the same bitter floral grapefruit flavor that I love about the Pale Ale but is smooth enough to hide some of the heavier alcohol notes of that light green label.

Cisco Sankaty Light Lager

Cisco Brewers
Nantucket, MA
Sankaty Light Lager

Another offer from Cisco, which reserves a bar stool in my heart. I’ve never tried the other beers on tap from Cisco, so I’m eager to try this light lager (the “Light” being a play on words as Sankaty Light is an old lighthouse on Nantucket).

Despite a month or so on a shelf, this beer explodes out of the bottle, billowing in the sample glass, almost entirely foam. The head is certainly rocky and briny and very clear white. A slower pour shows fine carbonation and some haziness, but the head is really pillowy and sticky.

The clarity is good and the beer is lively, as a good golden lager should be. The color is a proper, straw-like light gold and the steady carbonation is impressive.

The nose is slightly sweet and sour, with hints of acidic apple and ripe pear. The hops don’t really come through in the nose, but maybe a faint wheatiness.

This beer is really interesting; as the glass approaches, the pear aroma makes you think “sweet”, but the first sip is immediately bitter and hoppy, almost metallic. It is not harsh but grassy all the way through, almost like an unripe pear this time. That same slightly sour and crisp snap occurs as the hops finish the swallow. The mouthfeel is good, which contributes a lot to this beer, helping complete a more full experience than this beer might offer if it were any lighter.

This beer tastes more like a pilsner hopped with something other than Saaz. It’s a complex session beer, but definitely amenable to the consumption of a few.

Carolina Blonde

Carolina Beer Co.
Mooresville, NC
Blonde

This beer says blonde, but boasts that it’s a pilsner. An even pour does not elicit too much head, and what does appear is very white and fine as a result of the silky effervescence. Some stickiness as the short head subsides. The beer is ruddier than a typical pilsner but the clarity is very good. The color is a bit red with straw touches. Really, I would classify this as a caramel-color – it really has some interesting brown and red qualities.

The nose is very malty, not hoppy and clean like a pilsner. There is too much breadiness that is very sweet, like warm almonds. There is a pungent fig aroma as well.

The mouthfeel is gassy and jumps around the mouth. The flavor is most evident towards the end of the swallow as a clean carbonated feel washes across the start. The sip is soda bread and sourdough. There are some hops evident in a crisp and tart finish with a very little bit of sweetness to round things out. There are touches of honey on toast as well, but this beer finishes cleanly, without being too dry.

Flying Dog Woody Creek White

Flying Dog Brewery
Denver, CO
Woody Creek White Belgian Style Witbier

Here’s another wheat and another offer from Flying Dog.

I poured this into a small, sample-sized, straight-sided glass. The pour is even and bright and the head is fizzy, but not so lively that it is uncontrollable. The clarity is good, but not 100%, and the carbonation is neat and even with really nice pearl strands running up from the sides and bottom of the glass. The head is pure white, sturdy but not spilling. The color is hay and straw – a lovely light golden color.

The nose is soapy and slightly floral, with a sweet lavender aroma. Bubblegum and parsley come through as well as a faint caraway spice. This beer smells complex and a bit fruity. That citric back hints at some good hops but which will probably be more mild on the tongue.

The first sip hits more on the bubblegum side, with a faint chalkiness like the coating of old baseball card chewing gum. A slight sweetness touches the middle of the tongue, but finishes with just a bit of metal, almost like wintergreen or pine. A bit of yeastiness is there, but  will likely come through more at the end of the swallow.

The lacing is widely-spaced, but clings in wide swaths of foam. The beer, as a whole, is quite nice but lacks just a final complexity that would really round it out. It’s on the way to tasting a bit like a farmhouse ale, but it really is a light wheat ale and perfectly enjoyable, particularly for a hop-head like me who was not so keen on whites to begin with.

Flying Dog always puts forth a good effort and this brew stands up well as a session. It is worth a try, though I’m wil
ling to bet that after a glass or two, you’d want a dog with a bit more bite.

Penn Weizen

Pennsylvania Brewing Co.
Pittsburgh, PA
Penn Weizen

The beer is exceptionally lively – fizzing and climbing up the glass with all but a delicate pour. I poured slowly, leaving a bit too little at the end for an adequate swirl to agitate the yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle, but got some nice brownish beer toward the end.

Into a hefeweizen glass, the beer is very gold toward the bottom, though darker brown and almost copper toward the top. Thanks to the yeasty murk, the clarity is low. Light passes, but not much. The head settled quickly, but I imagine a slightly less genteel pour would yield more quartz-like rockiness.

The nose is sweet like honey and citrus with the wheat coming through like green apples and cardamom.

The mouthfeel is medium, with light effervescence on the tongue and a faint film over the palate. The yeast adds a refreshing zing on the back sides of the tongue though there is a grassiness at the start of the swallow the is not too metallic but just a bit like celery that it clears the palate. Sweetness does not stick in the swallow, which prevents any phenolic attributes, but the beer lacks a real zing. Certainly, it is perfect for a hot day, and I could drink more of these than most wheats. A good session to pair with heavy German foods.