Hey everyone,
I recently had the opportunity to check out World Café Live’s 7th Annual Beer Festival – Beats, Brews, and BBQ. It was just a few weekends ago and if you had the chance to go, I am positive you had a great time just as I did. Two very good friends, Tony and Gemma, and I meandered through the maze of beer vendors and had a blast. I really wanted to share all the beers that I had (well…to be fair…the ones I remember trying and took notes on :) ) and thought it would have been really hard to do via video so it seemed quite apt to be my first blogging. What I’ll try to do is write just a little bit about each thing I had, be as succinct as possible to spare you from reading a thesis, and break it up into a few postings (this will be part 1 of 3).
Oskar Blues Brewery:
Dale’s Pale Ale: I really liked this one. Colin and I have had a few Oskar Blues’ beers before and I was glad they were represented here. Very nice hoppy beer with a sweet finish. I thought there was a nice citrus flavoring/aroma (very grapefruity if I recall…) and seemed like a very drinkable beer. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve had in years, but I would definitely have another one!
Old Chub Scotch Ale: Interesting selection. I found myself liking it in some respects and in others thinking it was missing something. Very smooth and very much what you’d want/expect from a scotch ale in the way of strong flavors and minimal carbonation. It’s not the easiest type of beer to drink and I like scotch anyhow. But, that being said, if you’re going to try a scotch ale for the firs time, this should get some thought for sure.
We’ve reviewed Oskar Blues’ Gubna, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, and Gordon from Oskar Blues. Check them out!
Great Lakes Brew Company:
Burning River Pale Ale: I thought this beer was ok. There was some nice malts going on and a really interesting pine floral aroma when swirled. I wasn’t in love with the finish though – it left a really strong residual hop taste in my mouth. I’ve had some really good brews from them so I’m not turned off at all but this one won’t likely be one that I do again.
Avery Brewing Company:
White Rascal Witbier: This beer ended up not being one that stood out in my mind. When it was poured for me, it had nearly no head (and what head it did have disappeared within seconds). It had a nice citrus aroma with a super subtle hint of some spices. I felt the malts were pretty low key for this type of brew and the yeast kinda dominated for me. Wasn’t the worst thing I’ve tasted ever but I wasn’t really impressed with this (especially since it was this company’s witbier at a Belgium beer fest!).
We’ve previously reviewed the Maharaja from Avery Brewing.
Weyerbacher Brewing Company
Heresy Russian Imperial Stout: This pitch black brew certainly left a lasting impression with me. There were some great oak smells and had an awesome finish which reminded me of coffee and chocolate. I struck up a conversation with the WBC rep and he said that a huge key for this beer was to have it either cask-conditioned or on tap (though the bottle can be good, the true flavors don’t come out the same). So, if you’re lucky enough to see this on tap someplace, check it out. I thought it had great taste front to back and certainly would be a beer I’ll recommend to friends.
Stone Brewing Company
Arrogant Bastard: Awesome. Ok, next beer…just kidding. But seriously…a great beer. A really nice looking deep red/red-brown look which had a super frothy pour. A very aromatic brew with lots of hops, fruity undertones, and a hint of alcohols. It was a very smooth drink but still maintained a complex body of flavors. I will say, however, that if you’re expecting a beer you can slam and be thrilled this may not be your beer. It really should be one of those triple s beers (swirled, sniffed, sipped) in order to really get out of the bottle what is possible.
Twin Lakes Brewing Company
Greenville Pale Ale: A very young local brewery with an interesting take on their brews. I spent about 20 minutes talking with the owner and had a really interesting conversation (I mention this here rather than with other brewers because I had such a unique answer…). He told me that the goal of [his] beer was to be slammable – there’re too many beers out there you have to sip and such while he wants his beer to be one you select at t he end of a long day’s work and you just slam it and want another one. How could you not be intrigued with an answer like that?
Ok, on to the beer (my review was based on the second beer because he insisted I slam the first one). Had a nice copper color upon pour and had a nice little hop smell. Nothing super remarkable upon tasting – it was a tasty beer but it wasn’t anything that I can say which offered a unique signature or reason to try it. In a sense it was very average in presentation which I suppose is good because that’s what he said he wanted. Was a good beer and I can say that they certainly met their goal – I’d gladly slam a GPA or two after work any time.
Tweeds Tavern Stout: More of the same methodology – meant to be a highly drinkable beer that just plain tastes good. A super black pour (not quite as deep and dark as the Heresy mentioned before, but still plenty black) with some really nice roasted malts to smell. It has a strong coffee-esque flavor but it certainly wasn’t over powering. It certainly had a lingering taste in my mouth which in some ways made me want to have another sip. Once again, I thought this was a pretty mundane stout in that it hits all the notes you’d expect, however there is nothing insane here. Yet, I found myself really liking the beer. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a beer you like without having to dissect all the elements.
The Half and Half: This was a personal creation from the owner which was half a glass of Greenville Pale Ale and Tweeds Tavern Stout. This is the drink of the owner after he has a long day at work and I can see why. It was really tasty and really hit the highs for each drink. The GPA made the TTS much more crisp on the palette while the TTS made the GPA much more savory and robust in taste. So, while you won’t find this offered in a bottle, if you’re at a local watering hole and they have both on tap, give it a try for sure!
Bear Republic Brewing Company
Hop Rod Rye: Really interesting beer here. Had a nice dark ale color to it which was just slightly opaque. There are super subtle rye tastes (as the beer kinda warms up a tad) which compliment the bitter hops and clean, crisp citrus tones. Full bodied beer with a reasonable amount of carbonation which I think was a perfect selection – had it been too much or too little carbonation it would have really taken away from the balance of the beer. Keep in mind that this beer is a little higher on the ABV (around 8% I believe) and can make it a challenge to drink. This would be a great first or second beer rather than one you’d have at the end of the night – which is fine because it’s really tasty and a very enjoyable beer.
