Ministry of Beer - Beer of Socialist Labor with Oak-Leaf Clusters

For today's review, Sip and Puff is going to go where it has never gone before: the far-off galaxy of homebrewing.

Homebrewing is the process of making one's own alcohol. Many specialty outlets and stores carry supplies to make beer, wine, mead or cider at home. There are even a wide variety of kits available for the layperson to make his or her own beverages. Legal restrictions on homebrewing were lifted in the United States in 1978, and currently one single home brewer can only make 100 gallons of beer per year. Since the government gets money in the form of an excise tax on alcohol, homebrewers can't realistically sell their beer.

You can't, however, have a home distillery. Home distillation is illegal in many countries, including the good old U.S. of A., but in places such as Russia, Great Britain, and New Zealand, it's permissible. In Great Britain and New Zealand, there are legal avenues to home distillation; but it's not regulated in Russia. This explains a few things.

My first (and heretofore only, with the exception of today's post) experience with homebrewed alcohol was in college, when my roommate Sean made honey mead in the common room. He had glass jugs, spigots, bottles, caps, and a whole manner of tubes. He and his now-wife Bethany spent an afternoon making the stuff; he had 5 gallons when he was done. He bottled it in old wine bottles, corked them, and put them in the dorm closet. After the carbonation popped a few corks out, we managed to keep them sealed until it was time to open them. Aaaand...the stuff tasted pretty sour. We promptly got rid of it (or, to use a term coined by my wine merchant Charles, we "launched" it.)

So fast forward almost five years. Dear friend Jonathan and his wife Jill (also a good friend) have taken it upon themselves to brew beer in the living room of their Virginia apartment. Given my past experiences with homebrewing, I was slightly skeptical of how the beer would turn out. After much research, planning, and fermenting, Jon's beer - an oak-barrel stout - was bottled. Here's what the actual brewing contraption looks like:

Also note the Soviet propaganda poster in the background.

He's calling his label the Ministry of Beer, and his beers will feature a comical Soviet theme. This one, the Beer of Socialist Labor with Oak-Leaf Clusters, is called so because it's an oak-barrel stout. Oak-leaf clusters are also small metal pins attached to armed service medals to denote special recognition or bravery in combat. And since the Soviet army gave out medals like crazy, as evidenced by these badasses,

Source: Wikipedia, naturally

the beer's name is rather apt. So now, on to the beer! Jon brought some over for a BBQ I held and he presented me with a few bottles. Although I had some at the party, I did reserve a bottle or two for a proper review. Like any good hipster, I can say that you've probably never heard of this beer before.

The bottle comes capped with a normal crimped bottle cap. The bottles are repurposed and recycled, so there's no labels on them. When opened, the bottles have no hiss - no carbonation at all, really. The pour is very thick, slow, with just a slight head. The glass doesn't lace at all.

Attempts to stir up a frothy head using a cocktail fork were successful; a walnut-colored foam was produced. There is a little bit of lacing in there as well, as you can see.

The nose is deep, malty, with notes of caramel. The aroma is muted and faint, which is nice. Some stouts I have encountered are rather aromatic; this can (but is not always) a distraction from the beer. The taste itself is oaky, smoky, woody, and thick. This blogger enjoys a smooth brew any day - none of this frilly, bubbly, gassy, light stuff. Another good point to his beer is that there's no alcohol taste whatsoever, no carbonation burn, and not a hint of burnt anything. That's good. Again, some stouts taste like burned whatever, and that's always rough on the way down.

The flavor is very deep and mild. The finish is smooth, malty, and has an aftertaste of perfectly-roasted cocoa beans. After a few minutes, as it sits, its pedigree as a stout becomes evident. It opens up with the air, becomes chocolatier, oakier, and a little more flavor-forward. It finishes nicely and is gone before you know it. I would serve it cool, but not right out of the fridge. There's a definite benefit to letting this one come in contact with the air for a few minutes.

So, I'm definitely pleased by how this came out. Maybe it's because I'm partial to this type of beer, but I couldn't find anything amiss with this DIY concoction. You could pair this beer with roast meats; perhaps a thick barley stew with carrots and roast beef. Because this beer is deep, smooth, and strong, you'd be best to pair it with heartier foods and thicker soups. Something that has a muted flavor that won't clash with the strength or flavor profile of this brew.

I'm not sure how well this beer would cellar; I'd be interested in laying it down for six months and coming back to it at Christmastime. In terms of new releases, I'm eager to see what else the Ministry of Beer is going release; odds are, it will be pretty good. Stay tuned for more reviews from this newcomer to the beer world.