Stone Brewing Company - 2011 Old Guardian Belgo

As you may recall, I have a thing for barleywine ales. They're (usually) sweeter and (almost always) stronger than most ales, and the variety of ales and brewing methods used can make for some pretty unique variants. Quite a few brewing houses have gotten into the game, so to speak, with varying degrees of success. Southern Tier makes a fine barleywine as I have noted in the past; Stone's Old Guardian is the quintessential barleywine. Other less-successful barleywines I have tried include 21st Amendment's Lower de Boom, which was expensive and sour. Beer can be hit-or-miss in general, but for specialty niche beers like today's review, it is particularly the case.

Today's review is a rather special review, as I delved into my cellar and found a 2011-vintage Old Guardian Belgo barleywine. I bought this beer in the summer of 2011 and it's been in my collection ever since.

Every year, the Escondido, CA-based Stone Brewing Co. releases two kinds of their Old Guardian barleywine: the classic release and an odd-year release. The classic release is, well, classic and simple. The odd-year release is a second version of the ale, made with different ingredients and using different methods. It's meant to be an experimental take on the Old Guardian and oftentimes yields very interesting results. For example, this year's odd-year release is aged in oak-smoked barrels.

The 2011 off-year release, of which I have several currently cellaring, is 12% ABV barleywine made in a Belgian style. This is rather unique and has been cellaring since 2011, so the strength of the beer coupled with the fact it's been in my basement for two years means it's probably closer to 14% ABV by now. The beer itself is made with Belgian yeast and is intended to have a lighter, maltier flavor than its twin brother. Naturally, here at Sip and Puff we do not take such hearsay lightly and simply must try these things for ourselves.

My brother Dan and I cracked it open on a hazy summer day at my mother's beach cottage in Connecticut, where I am taking a (brief) vacation.We opened the bomber of ale and let it sit for a moment before pouring it into burgundy glasses (yes, we do not have a full range of tasting glasses down here at the beach, so we have to make do.) The beer had very little carbonation, almost still, and the nose was fruity, pungent and full. Wow! It was very potent and we knew we were in for a treat.

There was very little head to this beer, and once it settled down there was no lacing or foam to speak of. It was almost still, thick, and was throwing off lots of fruity notes right there in the glass.

Look at that color! It's a hazy reddish-amber when held up to the light. Dan calls it "neon Thanksgiving turkey."

It almost looks like wine, which is a coincidence because it's a little bit like wine.

The first sip was sublime. This beer definitely aged well, and as a result was very strong. The taste was very full, powerful, and fruity with a strong, heady delivery. Lots of fruit tastes and sugar tastes here. The flavor was strong, fruity, malty, with a nice lush finish of fermented hops. I really liked it! It was strong, too, so each gulp took a few moments to process.

Unlike the regular Old Guardian, the Belgo is a little more subdued and not as sweet. My experiences with the Old Guardian line in the past have been positive, for sure, but I find that the Belgo is a lot more mellow and a little less sharp than the regular line. This may be a function of the Belgian yeast used or a function of the two and a half years it spent cellaring. Or both!

The Old Guardian is readily-available and released every year. If you are interested in a stronger beer with an unusual taste profile, I'd give it a shot. This beer also cellars very well - meaning that you can pop it in your basement or closet and let it age for a couple months to a couple years. Only certain beers can do this. When you age a beer, it may get stronger in alcohol content and the flavors will change slightly. It's a fun experiment, but if you choose to try it out, do a little research first and make sure that the beer you want to put away is OK to cellar. This one is great for cellaring, but also great for drinking now! I wouldn't pair this beer - just drink it on its own. If you positively absolutely do-or-die had to put some food with it, I'd try a charcuterie with a side of dates.

Uinta Brewing Co. - Baba Black Lager

This past weekend I decided to crack open one of the brews that my brother sent to me for my birthday. As you may recall, he sent a ginormous box from Seattle filled with various West Coast / Rockies beers, many of which are not distributed in the mid-Atlantic region.

Today's review is of the Baba Black Lager, a 4% ABV black beer (or, more accurately, a schwarzbier)  brewed by the Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, for the record, I am well aware that Utah is not precisely on the West Coast.

Organic, kosher, and brewed using 100% renewable power, the Baba is released in bottles and cans. The color of the pour is black, as the name suggests.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox

The pour out of the can was quick, surprisingly - many dark beers are often slow and thick so the quickness of pour surprised me. As you can see, there was a khaki-colored head that was very foamy. The beer laced the inside of the glass very well and the nose was of mixed malts, deep roasted grains, and chocolate.  There wasn't a lot of carbonation to this beer, which I frankly like. I've had too many over-carbonated beers in my time to dislike them. That's also why you will find very few, if any, sparkling white wine reviews on here. Your intrepid blogger does not like burping carbonation through his nose.

The taste didn't disappoint at all. Baba had a nice clean lager taste, which I wasn't expecting. There were no traces of burnt anything, no dark smoky flavors, but a deep clear smoothness. It's also a little bit sugary, too, which is nice. All the flavors were subtle and clear - I keep using that word - with no traces of nastiness (technical term) or unneeded flavors. I tasted a bit of chocolate and warm malt flavors with some smoke in there, too. The finish was smooth with very little aftertaste, and no flavors lingered on the palate.

It's kind of unusual, in my opinion, but in a good way. I was pleasantly surprised. I guess that's where the "lager" comes in - it's not a porter or a stout so it doesn't have that gravity associated with it. I would heartily recommend this to anyone looking for a dark beer but not looking for roasted / charred / singed / burnt / toasted / burnt-to-a-crisp hops flavor.

The light and dark tones of this beer make it exceptionally drinkable and I could see myself having this beer on hand just to enjoy. In addition, the fact that the beer pours and drinks like a lager makes it appropriate for summertime enjoyment as well - a time when most stouts and porters are relegated to the cellar to age for wintertime. The more I think about it, Baba might be a good introduction to beer novices who might be used to lighter fare - folks who might be reading this who aren't into beer. Naturally, I can definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good sessional beer. Baba is fine on its own, but could work well with desserts particularly. I'm imagining a nice chocolate pudding, or perhaps some chocolate eclairs.

As far as I know, Uinta is available on a limited basis here on the East Coast. I've never seen their stuff but SeekABrew says they are available out here, so who knows. If you see the Baba black lager, give it a shot!

Rogue Brewing Co. - Chipotle Ale

I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for interesting-looking ales. While I always enjoy a good, solid, traditional beer, I find that there is a whole world of beer out there that's brewed with unique ingredients or using unconventional methods. These beers, while definitely unorthodox, can hold some interesting flavors and tastes. Oregon-based Rogue Brewing Company takes the lead on a lot of the fun and interesting brews, but other breweries (like Southern Tier) also have their versions of flavored or specialty ales.

I ran into one such beer recently - Rogue's Chipotle Ale. The base is a 5.5% ABV amber ale, which is then brewed with chile peppers. This beer looked very interesting, just sitting there on the shelf, so being both a fan of peppers and of beer, I figured I would give it a shot. I was making some nihari curry that night and so I figured the beer would be a good prelude to the meal - it would warm up my tastebuds to the nuclear flavors of the dark red curry simmering on my stove. 

There was very little carbonation to this beer when I cracked it open. It poured a hazy amber with lots of white foam and lacing on the glass. The nose was of hops and peppers - this is going to be good! I let the beer sit for a few minutes to open up to the air. Nice notes of smoke and dark hops as the beer mingles with the air. The lacing and head subsided. 

It was tasty - for sure. There was a nice malty taste paired with a peppery flavor and a little bit of sweetness. I like the way the light filtered in through the beer. The color is very indicative of the taste, if that makes sense. The beer finished nicely, with a steady aftertaste of smoke and peppers. There was also a bit of a bite to it, at the end - pretty cool. My beer has never bit back before.

Unfortunately, like Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut, which as you may know I did not particularly like, the flavor here isn't quite as strong as it could be. Make no mistake - this ale has the bite of chile peppers. But the taste is not as hot or as pronounced as one might expect it to be. There is definitely pepper flavors here, along with some pleasant smoke and hoppiness, but there's not a lot of heat. And the spice and pepper flavors are dulled - and not unpleasantly so. However, this beer avoids the nasty sweet alcohol-y taste of the Voodoo Doughnut, which is a blessing because that was awful. 

But one thing positive about this experience is that this beer succeeds in not screwing up. When you think about it, a beer brewed with chile peppers has quite a bit of room to run into problems. The peppers could be too hot - or not hot at all. They could not mingle well with the beer and turn out awful tasting, bitter, or gross. Yet this beer is none of those things. It comes off as a rounded amber ale with notes of chile peppers in it. Sure, it's not a perfect chile beer, but it's pretty good and is definitely worth a shot. 

So if you're considering trying this beer, I definitely suggest doing so. But know that your experience may not be what you expect. Rogue delivers a nice brew here for $8. 

Boulevard Brewing Co. - Saison-Brett

Every so often, a special brew comes along that you immediately grab and jealously hoard. My top beer on that list is Southern Tier's Imperial Pumking, of which I will buy any store's complete stock. It's that good. I'm just crazy about it. Perhaps it's my New England heritage that instills in me a strange but undeniable urge to seek out pumpkin-related foods. Or maybe it's the fact that that particular beer just really speaks to me.

But that's not the only beer I specifically seek out, year after year. There are a handful of limited releases, seasonals, and off-year releases that I am always scoping out and will pick up if I see them. I've been on the lookout for Boulevard's Saison-Brett for quite some time now. My brother Daniel had me looking for this bottle for about two years now. No place seemed to have it.

A saison is the generic name for a style of Belgian farmhouse ales. Like many kinds of beer, saisons started out as just something farmers brewed in the winter with excess wheat. This traditional style ale was brewed across Belgium. Historically, there was no real "declared" set of characteristics - rather, were just known as refreshing beers for summer. They varied in alcohol content, flavors, and ingredients.

Dan recently informed me that Boulevard had released their Saison-Brett a few weeks ago, and wouldn't you know it - the bearded beer-bros of D'vines in Columbia Heights hooked me up.

The Saison-Brett is an 8.5% ABV saison farmhouse-style ale. Only 4100 cases produced - that's 49,200 bottles in the world. I have two of them, or 1/24600th of the total product run. Yep - I just dropped some math on you. It's a limited release, for sure, and one that is eagerly gobbled up. A week later, I trekked to Whole Foods on P Street and found they were all sold out. Damn! But I nabbed two at D'Vines so I'm all set.

I decided to crack open one and see what all the fuss was about. I had a feeling this beer would be good for the following reasons:

1. Boulevard Brewing is good. I've had both their Grainstorm Black IPA and their Tank No. 7 farmhouse (I get that filled up in my growler from D'Vines...it tastes great on tap!) and I've enjoyed both of them immensely. I've had no reason not to trust Boulevard so far. There is definitely something to be said not for brand loyalty necessarily, but finding which brands brew beer the way you want it to be brewed.

2. I love saisons. There's something about a deep, malty farmhouse ale that always tickles my fancy. Belgian unfiltered whites are also a big winner for me, so this beer was right up my alley anyways.

3. Dan likes it. He's been around longer than I have, and has had a wider range of beer-tasting experiences, so I generally trust what he says.

So I popped it in the fridge and decided to give it a shot. The bottle lingered in the fridge for a few days as I finished up a busy work week, and on Saturday evening after returning from the office, I fetched my beer goblet, set it down, and got to work. Grabbed the bottle, undid the wire cork cage, and gently eased the champagne bottle-style cork out of the bottle.

Pop.

Yes, definitely some carbonation in there!

The pour was thick, foamy, and frothy. Heavy spice and malt notes wafted up from the beer as I poured it into the goblet. I let it sit for a few minutes, exposing the beer to the air and opening up the flavors.

The beer was delicious. On the first taste, there was a bit of an alcohol taste with lots of spice. The beer is murky but not bogged down with sediment. Definite strong wheat tastes here. Powerful but mellow malts with alcohol taste. The finish was deep, wet, and lush with nice notes of spice and a not-unwelcome taste of alcohol.

In short, Boulevard's Saison-Brett is the perfect farmhouse ale. Strong, flavorful, mellow. Not overpowering.  It's pungent, heady, and hits you hard. If you're a fan of these types of ales, definitely seek this out. It's worth it! I've got a bottle cellaring and I plan to open it in 2015.

West Coast Beer Flight #1 - IPAs from Out West

The U.S. has some pretty diverse beermaking culture, and many specific regions have developed their own local flavor. Like bike shops and bearded fixie dudes, the West Coast has its own unique brewing tradition with a strong emphasis on microbrews. I'd wager there are dozens if not hundreds of breweries on the West Coast, and each of them have a particular style.

My first experience with serious West Coast brewcraft was in June of 2008, when I spent my 21st birthday barhopping in Seattle with my brother and his MBA buddies. One thing I learned - besides learning that Jack in the Box is NOT a good idea at 2 am after you've just opted for a spirited game of ping-pong fueled by beer-by-the-pitcher at Teddy's - is that the West Coast has quite a tradition for microbrews and local creations. At each bar we went to, we'd run into dozens of beers on tap...many I'd never heard of before. Some even made their own. There's definitely a strong, vibrant craft beer scene out there to which I think many of us back East don't really have the same kind of exposure. Sure, we've got brewpubs, and microbrews, and everything - but we don't have the same kind of variety of small, regional craft brews and special one-offs that you might find in Seattle. Rogue Brewing Company, based in Oregon, is a good example of a macrobrew that still sticks to West Coast spirit. Unfortunately, many of the delicious beers you'd drink out West are unavailable in the mid-Atlantic or in New England.

But I did get my hands on a nice selection recently, when my brother Daniel recently sent me a huge box filled with different West Coast brews. I've decided to try a beer flight and review several at time for the edification of my dear readers. Hopefully these reviews will give you a good idea of some of the beers out there that are primarily available out West...and especially for my mid-Atlantic and East Coast readers, this may expose you to some beers you won't find in Whole Foods, Giant, or even specialty shops. Over the next few months, I'll be rolling out periodic West Coast beer flight reviews.

For this review, I'm going to take a look at Red Hook's Long Hammer IPA, Fremont Brewing Co's Unviersale Pale, and Fort George Brewing Co's OPA. All are some form of West Coast IPA.

As a quick note, the letters "IPA" stand for "India Pale Ale." IPAs are a subset of the pale ale category of ales. India Pale Ales are called such because the ale originally was brewed to be sold in India. And since the trip was so long, they needed the beer to keep. But once side effect was that the long voyage to India did these beers well...and as a result, this beer started being sold in England proper.

However, the beers I'm about to review all diverge from that typical IPA precedent.  Let's read more about them!

The first beer I tried of the new West Coast batch was Red Hook's Long Hammer IPA. The Red Hook Ale brewery of Washington state has some good stuff. Today's offering is their IPA, a 6.2% ABV dry-hopped IPA.

Pouring the beer out yielded lots of bubbles and a thin, white, foamy head. The beer left lots of lacing on the glass. It has a hoppy, bitter nose and the taste is definitely bitter. But - it's bright, hoppy, and has a deliciously clear taste with notes of piney citrus. This beer is crisp, drinkable, not overpowering and I would recommend it for those who may like the IPA style but may not like some of the bitterness that comes with that style.

Next up is the Fremont Universale Pale ale. Straight of sunny Seattle, Fremont Brewing Co's Universale is a delicious (but straightforward) pale ale.

On the pour, it generated a very thick, frothy head with a deep golden color. Pale white head. After it settled down a bit, I took a nice long whiff and noted a distinct lack of a serious aroma. Drinking it yielded a delicious, crisp hop taste with nice floral and citrus notes.

The number one thing I took away from this beer is that it's completely drinkable. Unlike some pale ales that can really hit you below the belt with hops and bitterness, this beer was tasty, smooth, and not overly bitter. Just like a real IPA should be. I like it! I bet it tastes great on draft.

Last (but not least) is the Fort George Sunrise OPA, or Oatmeal Pale Ale. This beer hails from Astoria, Oregon and is the American Pale Ale style.

The nose was fruity, warm and bright, which I liked. The pour was swift and the beer poured a hazy yellow, with lots of thick white foam. The nose, color and pour all pointed towards a smooth, bright, malty beer.

But I was wrong. Looks (or in this case, smells) can be deceiving. Just like those strawberry candies your grandmother used to have...not what they seem.

This beer is hoppy. It hits you like a wrecking ball of pure hops. Those clean, clear hops have a strong body followed by a sharp alcohol taste that evens out to a fruit-tastic finish. While the concept of this beer is novel, and it was tasty, for the amount of hops and free alcohols in there it needs to come with a warning label or a waiver or something. This beer isn't a session beer and shouldn't be taken liberally.

So unlike some of their traditional IPA / pale ale peers, these all present a very crisp, strong, clean and clear taste. They don't have the same dirty hop overload that other beers have. The Fort George has a lot of hops, but they were clean. Not bitter. The West Coast has its share of IPAs, and these are just a few examples of some of them. If you're every in Washington, definitely seek out the Fremont Universale. It's probably the most approachable of all of these. More will come as I get through the backlog of posts!

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.

Southern Tier Brewing Co. - Backburner Barleywine

If you're not familiar with the concept of barleywine, you're missing out. Barleywine (also spelled 'barley wine') is a type of strong ale originating in England that generally weighs in at 8% to 12% ABV. Barleywine is called such as it has close to the ABV of wine yet is made with grains like barley. There are two main kinds of barleywine: American and English. American barleywines are hoppier, more bitter, and lighter. English style is sweeter and darker. Both, I find, are rather delicious and generally have higher alcohol contents than ordinary beers. This makes barleywine a great party beer.

Barleywine is definitely a recognized thing here in DC. Many companies make it and I have tried quite a few. The traditional favorite is Stone Brewing Company's "Old Guardian" barleywine, of which they have two, released annually. They have a classic release and an off-year creative release (which usually is some creative variant on the barleywine theme.) Rogue Brewing Co. also has a barleywine - their Old Crustacean. 21st Amendment Brewing Co. has their "Lower de Boom" barleywine, and Sierra Nevada released their Triple X anniversary barleywine (of which a review will come soon - I bought a bottle in 2010 and it's still cellaring at my mom's place, waiting for the right moment to be enjoyed.) Needless to say, there are many varieties out there. I recently came across a few bottles of Southern Tier's Backburner barleywine, and I knew that I had to try it.

Southern Tier has long been a favorite of mine. The Lakewood, NY-based brewery makes some run-of-the-mill IPAs and straight-up lagers, but their specialty brews is really where the quality of brewing shines through. They make a series of flavored beers that are without peer. For example, they have a coffee stout that's pretty good, a nicely-done mocha stout, and most importantly, their seasonal "Pumking," an imperial pumpkin ale released in the fall, is regarded by me (and many others) to be the finest pumpkin beer ever made. It's one of my favorite beers ever and if you see it, buy it! Without hesitation! Or if you don't want it, but see it somewhere - please tell me.

Like many other Southern Tier offerings, this beer didn't disappoint. The Backburner is a 9.6% ABV barleywine, aged in oak. Unlike some barleywines that are corked, this one came with a cap. I opened it up and heard a slight hiss - nicely carbonated. I let it sit for a moment to open it up, then poured it out into my hurricane glass.

On the first pour, it generated a bone-white head and had a caramelly, sweet nose. The beer was a hazy amber color with lots of carbonation rising to the top.

The middle of the beer - that is, the actual flavor and taste, was just right. The beer was sweet, not bitter, and held a delicious, lush, hoppy taste. I could detect spices and the taste of carmelized strawberries, paired with more oak, and the whole thing finished with no alcohol burn and a nice, full, crisp finish. Your dear author truly enjoyed it. 

One of the real reasons this ale is a winner is the fact that it's straightforward. While some flavored ales or barleywines can be exotic or fancy, the Backburner cuts through all that and offers a very solid, deep, tasty ale without any goofy additives or flavorings. I'd wager it's almost better than Stone's Old Guardian, in a way. The Old Guardian can be very sweet, almost sickly sweet, and while that has its place, I think the Backburner delivers the flavor and intent of the barleywine better. Give this a shot, if you see it - it's worth your time! This beer could also probably be cellared for quite a long time, so pick up two and lay one down for a few years.