Endless Beer -

by snebbu

Endless Beers: Anchor Big Leaf Maple

Fall beer season isn”t over. Remember – fall really isn”t over until Thanksgiving is over. So pack up the winter decorations, don”t you DARE say the “C word” or anything related to peppermints, candy canes, or mistletoe. Now, open your mind to even more fall beers! We looked at Anchor Big Leaf Maple last year and enjoyed the taste of a balanced sweetness of malts and spices.This year, we”ll give you the handy tasting profile, but we also have some suggested pairings and FALL concoctions made of the Big Leaf Maple. As always, the tasting notes:

Appearance: Copper, but lighter than last years – more translucent but still with a red hue.

Aroma: Sweet scent with slight hints of maple and caramel. A bit of a floral scent follows (mostly from the hops combination during the boil and dry hopping).

Taste: Malty with caramel undertones (maybe a little maple syrup flavor too), followed by spices and the slight bitterness of the hops.

Mouthfeel: A dry, crisp brew at the finish.

Overall: Definitely a warming brew, but without the strong alcohol flavor. Sat out on my porch on a cool casino evening for this drink and enjoyed it. The Big Leaf Maple fits the fall season and is a satisfying drink. It has good balance if you aren’t up for the sweetness of most Oktoberfests and Pumpkin brews. I also appreciated the hops that came through the beer. Still a refreshing brew – and pretty much sticks with the same flavors as last year”s vintage.

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: the Spiegelau Refresh Stein

Man, sometimes writing here is hard. I had to test several different varieties of beer for this one. The Spiegelau “Refresh Beer Stein” is touted as an everybeer glass. While many beer enthusiasts believe there is a specific glass for a specific style beer, this glass is calling: “BS. Pour anything in me.” The company that brought us the IPA glass and stout glass continues to design glass for literally any beer. The Refresh Stein has a molded turbine design at the bottom of the glass. This turbine is meant to “recharge” the beer, releasing more aromas and increasing the carbonation. The only thing you have to do, is swirl the glass in order to activate the recharging of your beer. The glass also tapers to “enhance aroma.”

The challenge here was to test the glass with the various fall flavored beers. I tried the glass with a pumpkin porter, pumpkin belgian, various pumpkin ales, a kolsh, an IPA, wheat, stout, and more pumpkin beers. I was testing the glass based on several criteria:

It’s a Stine – is the design convenient for drinking?
Does the beer “re-carbonate” when swirled?
Is the aroma enhanced?
Is the flavor enhanced?
Does the glass enhance ANY kind of beer?

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Fall Beer Roundup

It’s October. Now there is no excuse to not be indulging in some kind of fall flavored food or drink. Yes, I said fall flavored. Fall has many flavors, you know. If you are not enjoying the fall flavors, well there is some sort of evil hiding in the depths of your soul. For the rest of you, we bring you the 2014 roundup of fall brews. There are so many to choose from that it is hard to narrow it down to a list. But, with the help of several trusty breweries, we were able to provide you this handy list. Note that these aren’t just your typical pumpkin beers or Oktoberfests. These are in your face flavors or different twists on the typical fall beers. In order to categorize this list in the most helpful way, we’re trying something new: word association. After tasting each of these offerings, we thought of the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Reviews of each brew to come.

21st Amendment/Elysian Collaboration: He Said He Said

Refreshing and Sweet. The collaboration of 21st Amendment and Elysian is one of the most unique I’ve found for the fall. The trappist version of the He Said He Said is the refreshing part of this four pack. While the pumpkin flavor is at the forefront, the characteristics of a Sour Belgian Trappist come through with a crisp finish. Meanwhile, the pumpkin porter provides a sweet and nearly creamy rendition of a porter with extra pumpkin to boot.

Abita Oktoberfest

Toasty. The Abita Octoberfest is a classic lager with a sweet and toasty taste. The lager is a sweet classic Octoberfest with a pleasant roasted flavor and a hint of hops. The hops tone down the sweetness, making it a nice fall brew.

by snebbu

Fall TV Frenzy! Pairings for Your Favorite Shows

The arrival of fall brings us the return of many of our favorite shows. Some enjoy the comedies, the cheesy chick flick(ish) shows, and others the thrillers. Regardless of what show(s) you prefer – they’re back! Several hours will be taken away from the time you thought you had in your day as you stare at the tube losing brain cells. The least you can do is feed your body with tasty food and beverages. For you we polled ~~our trusted ES focus groups~~ ourselves to determine the shows that we are looking forward to watching most, pairing them with our own crazy dishes. Plan some parties with your several friends and impress with creative themes and pairings. You’re welcome.

FOX – New Girl

A show about a girl living with a bunch of dudes (and her ex) but somehow they all get along. Crack open a pumpkin wheat beer that everyone can enjoy together and put together (or order) a buffalo chicken pizza. While some biased people out there liken beer and wings to men, there are plenty of women out there that enjoy it too. Like Jess, find common grounds and dig in.

Drink: Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

Eat: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

FX – American Horror Story

Always a little creepy, and typically even more disturbing, American Horror Story merits something that will take the edge off while watching. The Séance Saison is a fall seasonal that adds fall spices to the mix to get you in the spirit. Also considering the fact that this year’s season’s theme is circus, we thought the best meal to pair with the theme would be circus food: corn dogs and some air popped popcorn.

Drink: Séance Saison

Eat: Corn Dogs with Popcorn

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by snebbu

Endless Beers: He Said He Said

Not sure you got our memo yet, but: fall has arrived. Get with it. That means that pumpkin beers are nearly gone already and Christmas everything will be out in a matter of weeks. Bah humbug. Until then, let’s enjoy the fall spirit with some more BEER!

The He Said He Said is a collaboration four pack brought to you by 21st Amendment and Elysian Brewery. The four pack offers two beers: a Belgian Tripel Brewed with Pumpkin and Spices and a Baltic Porter Lager Brewed with Pumpkin and Spices. The four pack tells the stories of how the two brewmasters/co-founders came up with their collaboration pumpkin brews. Of course, as we all would, each brewmaster takes a bit more credit than the other. The result of the clashing stories was two strong but very different pumpkin collaboration brews. Get it? He said, he said.

The first offering is the brain child of Shaun O’Sullivan of 21st Amendment: The Belgian Triple Brewed with Pumpkin and Spices. Of course, this comes from the brewery that brings us beers like Hell or High Watermelon and Back in Black IPA. Special ingredients in the Belgian Pumpkin Triple include pumpkin puree, pumpkin juice, Galangal, and Tarragon spices. Enough with the small talk, let’s discuss the taste:

ABV: 8.2 %

Appearance: Orange – the color of a pumpkin. A bright, transparent orange.
Aroma: Earthy pumpkin scents complemented by herbs, spices, and a little bit of the belgian trappist yeast.
Taste: Has clean and crisp taste of a Belgian Tripel, then pumpkin and spice flavor throughout. It’s a strong brew, but it doesn’t taste as much like alcohol as many Belgian Tripels. The smooth, sweet flavors take away most of the boozy taste.
Mouthfeel: Surprisingly creamy leaving a buttery feeling on the roof of your mouth.
Overall: Definitely a strong belgian with a decent ABV. I was able to drink this without feeling full, and instead actually feeling refreshed. The pumpkin flavor is there, but isn’t intensely strong like an imperial pumpkin. Good on a warm fall day, or a Sunday while watching football.

Next up is the other side of the debate of how the collaboration began: the Baltic Style Porter Lager Brewed with Pumpkin and Spices. This is the Elysian side of the coin – the side that brings you pumpkin fests, intense pumpkin beers, and strong beers. The Pumpkin Porter includes special ingredients such as pumpkin puree, pumpkin juice, Vietnamese Cinnamon, and Caraway Seed. While it’s a porter, it is also a lager. BOOM. Here are the tasting notes:

ABV: 8.2%

Appearance: Black, opaque. Looks more like a thick stout than a thinner porter.
Aroma: Sweet coffee smell with a meaty pumpkin smell.
Taste: Coffee flavors along with sweet molasses, but not as strong as expected. The pumpkin flavors come through stronger but do not overwhelm. Fall spices are subtle in this one.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, but more crisp than expected.
Overall: Carbonation could be better, but other than that it has the sweet flavors of a porter complemented by earthy spices and pumpkin. Lager aspects of the brew are subtle, but it balanced out the beer a bit.

The He Said He Said is an interesting collaboration that offers a different take on pumpkin beers. The porter was good, but reminded me of other stout pumpkin beers I have had before. On the other hand, the Belgian Tripel Pumpkin offered a completely different take on pumpkin brews that I haven’t had before. The Tripel is more of an “anytime beer” than other pumpkin beers I’ve had before. Refreshing yet sweet, strong yet not overwhelming, the brew offers the fall flavors without suggesting it must be drunk after dinner or during a cold, crisp day.

Our ES Suggested Pairings (dare I say…for BOTH?!):

Meals: Chicken Tacos (for the tripel) and juicy steak (for the porter)
Cigars: Macanudo Maduro or CAO MX2 (for the tripel) and Drew Estate Naturals English (for the porter)

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by snebbu

Endless Beers: Cape May Brewing Company

The fiance and I frequent Wildwood, New Jersey throughout the summer months. We’ve found the food and drink spots to avoid, and determined our “go to” spots. The one thing I was missing was local craft beer. In the past couple of years, I noticed a “Cape May IPA” popping up at the local bars. Finally I realized that the Cape May Brewing Company is located just miles away. Housing several fermentation tanks, small brew kettles, and various bearded men, the Cape May Brewing company is making its mark on the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia craft beer market.

The founders of the brewery (Chris and Ryan) are South Jersey residents and wanted to have a craft beer that was locally brewed. Unfortunately, there were few options. After some careful planning, the Cape May Brewing Company opened in July of 2011 and began brewing various beers to satisfy their urges. In only three years, the brewery (and taproom)’s reach continues to grow. A larger brew house is in the plans to help them fulfill their distribution wait list of 60 + vendors.

The taproom manager, Jim gives the tour and is well versed in the history and the making of their beer. Jim moved over to working in a brewery after working as a bartender for several years. Jim never really liked beer since he was tasting the water-like substance many of us call “big beer.” However, he visited the taproom and they gave him a flight of various beers to taste. Since then, he’s been hooked on beer. Jim’s advice to craft beer “novices” or noobs is to go to a brewery, order a flight, and keep give it a try.

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by snebbu

A Very Dogfish Vacay: The Brewery

Where beer is made. Brewery tours vary in size, location, and even in stories (and in free samples). I’ve noticed that some breweries just tell you how beer is made and dump you off at the pub for you to buy any of the beers. Others give more personalized tours and offer plenty of free samples. Dogfish Head was the best brewery tour to date. Of course, that may be because we got a private tour from an off-centered employee (thanks Senovia!) But before we get started, just imagine what you think the brewery looks like. Now, imagine that times ten. The brewery is part of a large amount of land that is practically becoming the dogfish campus. This includes an insulated pipe line that runs the beer from the brew house to bottling. Oh yeah, and an industrial-aged tree house where they hold their administrative meetings.

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