Lake Placid Ubu Ale

Lake Placid Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
Ubu Ale

As evidenced by the Lake Placid URL, it is clear this is the flagship brew. Advertised as an English-style ale, it seems like it’s going to be a take on those flattish British brews. However, a dense head the color (and size) of toasted marshmallows inflates quickly, and subsides slowly, leaving craggy lacing down the sides.

The color is nearly entirely opaque. It’s not quite black, but really a dense garnet that issues just the slightest cola-brown tints at the edges. The nose is perfectly balanced. Malt comes through as slightly powdery cocoa with a touch of baking bread. The hops are slightly citric along with some faint pine.

The mouthfeel is excellent – very full with fine carbonation. The first part of the sip is perfectly smooth, but roasted flavors come out without adding any char bitterness. That transitions into some resinous pine hop notes that are combined with a touch of grapefruit. There is no metallic unevenness, nor twang of alcohol. This is an awesomely even brew.

Lake Placid IPA

Lake Placid Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
India Pale Ale

The beer pours with decent clarity, through which steady streams of fine effervescence can be seen heading up to the surface to help bolster the already frothy beige head. The color is deep amber with toffee brown highlights.

Pungent, resinous piney aromas mingle with some very tart citrus notes. Hopheads will get fired up delving into the miasma of hops emanating from the glass.

The mouthfeel is excellent and expectedly hop-forward. The hops come together without zapping the tongue, and veer more towards the woodier pine flavors than any citrus fruit. There is a very subtle malt presence that helps to even out the swallow along the sides of the tongue but, ultimately, the finish is green and tart and gives a hint of the nearly 7% ABV that lurks behind what is otherwise a well-balanced, though certainly hoppy, brew.

He’Brew Hop Manna

Schmaltz Brewing Co.
Saratoga Springs, NY
He’Brew Hop Manna IPA

Love the folks at Schmaltz – they make great beer, aren’t afraid of taking chances, and manage to do it all without taking themselves too seriously. This brew is made with Warrior, Northern Brewer, Cascade, Amarillo, Crystal, Fuggle, and Golding AND is dry-hopped with the Cascade, Crystal, and Amarillos.

Not much head appears on the pour, but what does show up is cloud white and looks just as soft. The beer is straw gold with a honey quality to it that belies its crystal clarity. That clarity shows slow, sparse effervescence chugging up to the surface, keeping a clingy halo at the mouth of the glass.

The nose is not as aggressive as the seven hops may initially indicate, but Fuggle and Golding are much subtler than Cascade or Amarillo. What you get is a really nice medley of soft aromas. There is citrus, naturally, but that grapefruit spray emerges slowly behind a powdery floral bouquet of paperwhite, lavender, as well as some pine sap that masks just a bit of bready malt. Great stuff.

The mouthfeel excellent, accelerating from a surprisingly bubbly front and spreading out like a meadow. The hops hit immediately – bitter citrus first, then the wafting, rosy florals, and finally just a slightly metallic tobacco touch at the end. The malt is not apparent immediately, but the lack of any sere, saliva-sapping aridity shows that there is more balance than you might think.

Sixty-five IBUs is a lot, but not a ton, and this beer is an easy-going 6.8% that’s going to please any hophead. It’s hop-forward, to be sure, but Schmaltz has done a wonder here by creating a ‘big’ beer that is not going to be undrinkable for those who don’t have a sense of humulus. Nice stuff.

Stegmaier Winter Warmer

Lion Brewery
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Stegmaier Winter Warmer

I’m a little embarrassed to find some winter seasonals still lurking in the beer hold – it means I’ve not been posting (or drinking) enough. That said, spring has yet to rear it’s much anticipated head as of yet so a Winter Warmer may be just the ticket this evening.

Perfect clarity shows some very slow carbonation ascending to a quarter-inch of jaundiced tan head. The color is a spectacular garnet with slightly burnt ruby tints.

The nose is mostly malt, but spicy: cinnamon, nutmeg, and dried clove, as well as caraway bread and soft toffee.

The mouthfeel is excellent – full and complex. It starts off immediately with very chewy bread crusts which turn appropriately tart as though you’d just added some rind-heavy marmalade to your toast. What hopping is present is subtle, but it’s not missed as a docile alcohol warmth slowly awakes and adds just the right amount of tang.

I would not have believed this was a 7.2% beer. Very drinkable, very well-balanced, and not as cloying or palate-destroying as some bigger seasonal ales can be. Lion rarely disappoints. Kitty’s got claws!

Kitty also has rebus!

Heavy Seas Marzen

Heavy Seas Beer (Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.)
Baltimore, MD
Marzen

Beer of the Month Club pulled a fast one on me. When this particular shipment arrived, I was excited to receive a beer from a brewery I’d never heard of. However, upon further investigation, I found that Heavy Seas is simply Clipper City redux; and the Marzen used to be the MarzHon. Also, Heavy Seas uses some cute marketing to class their beers into “Pyrate”, “Clipper”, and “Mutiny” fleets. Fine. Despite already (sort of) reviewing this one way back in January 2009, I remember liking it quite a bit, so I’ll just have to give it another go. I’m a trouper.

The brew pours softly, not yielding too much of a head, though a snowy and delicate layer hangs around for a while. Very nice. The clarity is superb, and some decent sized pearls buzz up the glass. The color shines like a coin, but is just on the yellow side of copper-penny.

The nose is dank with malt, offering some toasted, biscuity notes, along with mildly sweet brown sugar aromas, and just a smattering of Noble hops.

The mouthfeel is excellent, flowing across the tongue and coating the mouth evenly with a smoothness of perfectly-made pie crust and a bit of honey graham cracker. The end of the swallow barely mentions the hop presence, but there’s enough of a green-twig crackle to even things out. No alcohol warmth like some German varieties, but this is as smooth a lager as you’re likely to find locally. Heavy Seas or Clipper City – either way, I’m on board.

Brooklyn Pilsner

Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Pilsner

Brooklyn Brewery’s pilsner, like their lager, is a highly- but specifically-hopped brew. BB never ceases to impress, so let’s go.

Brooklyn Pilsner

Not an overly lively pour, but what head does appear is crackling and snowy white. The brew itself is crystalline in clarity, and steady effervescence marches up the glass. The color is hay-and-straw with some golden orange highlights that just barely show up in the denser portions of the glass.

The aroma is mostly floral – lavender and clover rise up over cut grass. The mouthfeel is pretty good, though the Hallertau and Saaz hops impart a water-biscuit snap that hits the palate immediately and washes out any fullness or creaminess that might ordinarily be noticed.

Towards the back of the swallow, there is a very dry papery quality that begs another sip right away. This is as fine an example of a classic pilsner as you can find in the US.

Buzzards Bay Pale Ale

Buzzards Bay Brewing Co.
Westport, MA
Pale Ale

This Pale Ale was a special edition brew that was specifically for BoTMC. It’s important to note that it is a true pale, not an IPA.

The color is hazy and coppery – orange and amber with more rustiness than ruddiness.  A yellowish foam rapidly disappears, though an obligatory layer of film gets fed by slow and steady carbonation. Clarity is decent, but there is a bit of fog throughout.

The nose has a sweetness about it – gingerbread and a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar. Breathe a bit deeper and some oily, piney hop aromas emerge with a hint of tobacco and raisin bread.

A soft yet sparkling texture helps the hops emerge from behind the bready malt base. A subtle crispness hits the palate first – light pastry with just a touch of buttery sweetness and a bit of orange rind – followed by a nearly perfectly balanced tartness that rides on the coattails of the initial citrus flavors. The finish is not quite pristine, hoppy with less earthiness than the nose and more Goldings tang.

This is definitely an ale but a well-balanced one that is as close to an English pub ale as most any in the US and from a bottle. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it’s a good example of the style and a session ale with enough going on to keep you interested.

Saranac Lake Effect Lager

Matt Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
Saranac Lake Effect Lager

I just got back from eight days in Miami. As such, landing in 30-degree New York was a rude awakening. The name of this beer is very apt considering the windy flurries outside.

Get your coats on

The color is surprisingly dark for a lager, but the label boasts that it’s a malty German-style lager. A very fine and frothy beige head sits at about a half- to a quarter-inch with slow medium-fine carbonation rising in a wide column form the bottom.

The color is garnet and plum with touches of cola brown. The clarity is excellent and there are rich amber hues shining through when the glass is held to the light. A lot of malt on the nose; chocolate milk powder blends with some richer notes of stone fruit and a bit of cinnamon.

The mouthfeel is very good – the sprightly effervescence adds some peppery life to what is otherwise a very smooth first sip. There is less sweet malt than originally advertised but roasty toffee emerges as the beer warms a bit. Hallertau hops jump in with touches of grainy pear or coconut that is very pleasant when mixed with the nutty background of the malt.

An excellent winter beer – very balanced – and a great choice if you want something darker without resorting to ale.

New tag/category, too! Cheers to that.