Friday, February 27, 2009

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat

I was introduced to Leinenkugel's in Grad school. I went to a midwestern Big-ten school for Grad school, but I had spent most of my life in the east (aka no Leinenkugel's).

Back when, Leinenkugel's didn't produce as many varieties as they do now, but their products were always enjoyable. I don't remember precisely what variations were available, although I do remember making a run to Wisconsin for Leinenkugel's Bock Beer in the Winter. My friend took his pickup (with cab) and we loaded up the majority of it with cases of Bock.

So --- now I'm back in the same situation as Grad school -- Leinenkugel's is available and Yuengling is not. Oh well...

Tonight's beer of choice is Leinie's Sunset Wheat. Just like Blue Moon, this is a Witbier. It's aroma is of Orange, Coriander, and a few other spices. I'm fairly congested this evening, but I picked up a touch of cloves and possibly cinnamon.

Sunset Wheat has the orange aroma, but the orange in the flavor is subtle and quickly exits in favor of a dry-ish spiced wheat beer. It doesn't drive as much sweetness as Blue Moon throughout, which is good. Also, unlike Blue Moon, Sunset Wheat doesn't leave me with a sensation of thirst. This is probably due to the reduced sweetness and better overall balance.

The underlying wheat beer is quite smooth and well crafted. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm fighting a cold, so the more subtle aspects of the flavor escape me -- that and the fact that I'm terribly tired. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the balance of this beer.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Not much beer lately...

I've spent the past few days working (nearly non-stop) on a project for work... all complete with late nights and early mornings.

As a result, I've been largely beer-deprived...

So -- once things settle down again and return to their normal level of lunacy, I'll get busy sharing my thoughts on beer....

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Milestones...

Sunday represented a significant personal milestone for OlderDaughter(tm), but due to scheduling conflicts, we delayed any celebratory efforts until Monday.

She decided that a trip to BD's Mongolian Barbeque was in order. For those that have never gone to BD's, it is something worth trying at least once. BD's presents a foodbar full of uncooked ingredients. It is up to the diner to select the meats, veggies, sauces, and spices that they want. Upon completion of this, a group of "grillers" cooks your creation on a large, very hot, circular iron slab. If one is brave, experimentation is the order of the day. For those that are uncertain, recipe cards of "tried and true" favorites are available.

I always enjoy BD's. Over the years, I've accumulated a handful of personally-created recipes that I know will be successful. The occasional experiment sometimes yields a new recipe for my collection, but I've had my share of "flops". BD's is "all you can eat" (although they do have a slighly cheaper one-bowl option), so experimentation is not generally a costly mistake.

Upon arrival, I immediately inspected the draught selections and was happy to find three worthy candidates: The ever-popular Blue Moon, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Samuel Adams Winter seasonal. Having opined about Blue Moon recently, I decided to drop it and weigh the other two options.

Newcastle will always hold a "special" place in my heart. A few years ago, ProphetX's team (Manchester United) and my team (Arsenal) were in a heated competition for the Premiership title (English Soccer). It wasn't until Alan Shearer from Newcastle United rocketed home a spectacular goal against (you guessed it) Manchester United that the title was sewn up for my Gunners. The next time ProphetX and I got together for a brew or two, I made sure to have a few Newcastle's -- mostly to drive home the "we won, you lost" point, but also because it is a fine beer.

However, yesterday's nod went to the Samuel Adams seasonal. A month from now, Newcastle will still be available, but the Winter Brew will be 9 months away.

My "base recipe" at BD's is made with Lamb. Additional flavoring comes from onions, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, marinara, and some spices. All in all, it is a highly-flavored concoction that could overwhelm a weak-kneed beer. Sam's Winter Lager, on the other hand, had no trouble providing a refreshing partner to my food.

Now -- I'm an admitted fan of Lagers in general. Sam's Winter Seasonal has an outstanding dark color. I pick up a hint of cinnamon in the aroma from this beer, along with some orange and perhaps some ginger. To me, the aroma hints of sweetness, but the beer leads off fairly neutral and finishes slightly on the bitter side of the equation. I catch some hops in the finish, which also pleases me.

This is not an "in your face" dark beer. It is much "lighter" in taste than the color would indicate, but this is not to be confused with weakness or lack of character. Like most of Sam's creations, this beer produces a nice balance. It leads with hints of sweetness, but never goes over the top. It has malt character present, but doesn't overwhelm. The finish is sufficiently bitter to refresh. Another fine effort from the folks at Samuel Adams!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Of Beef, Beer, and my Babe

For most folks out there, Valentine's day arrives on February 14th. For Mrs. Bigdog and I, it arrived a day early -- mostly due to her work schedule.

We had the rare opportunity to go out and enjoy dinner without anyone else along. It isn't that I don't enjoy the rest of the crew; it is just nice to get some quiet one-on-one time with my wife.

She picked where we were going to eat tonight, and she picked very wisely. We went to one of the local restaurants that specializes in steak; a place we used to enjoy but haven't been to recently. There is no way that I'm turning down a trip to a place that knows how to properly cook a steak!

It was almost like they knew I was coming tonight. The special was a blue-cheese encrusted Fillet Mignon served with a loaded baked potato. Once I heard that, the sound of our waitresses voice dwindled off into a distant drone. My mind had no time to process audible input -- I was concentrating on what beer to get with my dinner!

But again, the choice was made immediately obvious by the inclusion of Samuel Adams Winter Ale on the draught selection. While damn near any beer goes well with steak, a dark beer with hints of sweetness in the overtones would go especially well with the bite of the blue cheese.

Again, the fine folks at Samuel Adams did not disappoint. The Winter Ale was absolutely perfect with my steak. I left very happy with my selection of both food and beer, and the wife and I had a great time dining together!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Blue Moon

I've been writing about beers that are on the sweet side of the scale, so I'll stick with that for at least one more entry...

Blue Moon is a Belgian-Style White Beer (yes, another Witbier) that contains fruit overtones and spices -- notably coriander and orange peel. It presents as a slightly foggy-looking brew, meaning that is a traditional "unfiltered" wheat beer. Blue Moon seems to be a very popular draft beer in the central Ohio area, and is traditionally served with a slice of orange adorning the glass. It certainly represents an interesting alternative to the traditional on-tap macrobrews.

For beers of this ilk, Blue Moon represents the point of maximum sweetness that I can tolerate. It is far sweeter from start to finish that Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier, for example.

As always, your mileage (and enjoyment) may vary, but I find this beer to be an enjoyable companion for my food. It is refreshing and enjoyable as a stand-alone beer, but without something to offset its sweetness, it tires my tastebuds more quickly than I'd like. This is in no way a criticism of the brew -- it is a well-crafted beer that I enjoy on a fairly regular basis. For me, it just needs a little something with it.

Another interesting observation from my experiences with Blue Moon... If I drink a fair amount of Blue Moon (especially without the accompianment of food), I feel "thirsty" even though I have consumed a fair amount of actual liquid. I do not have an explanation for this, but have observed it on several occasions. The beer is completely refreshing while being consumed, this "thirsty" feeling occurs some time afterwards.

Blue Moon opens with a noticeable orange and spice scent, and the initial flavor impression is dominated by the orange peel, at least to my taste. The orange does not overpower, but it does not give way as willingly as the Blackberry overtones of Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier. To my tastebuds, the underlying Wheat Beer in Blue Moon is probably slightly on the bitter side, and this provides the nice balance that the brew creates. The character of the wheat beer rises to meet the orange and spice overtones of the opening.

Blue Moon holds its taste throughout, and finishes much the same way as it began -- with a hint of Orange and Spice.

Because of the "makes me thirsty" thing, I usually only have one or two of these if I'm not having food with it. Still, the brew is quite good and very enjoyable. It is also nice to see an unfiltered brew make a regular appearance at the tap. Many people are of the mistaken opinion that beer has to be clear in order to be good; or worse, that a beer that appears hazy is somehow "spoiled" or "bad." This is hardly the case, and hopefully Blue Moon is making inroads in dispelling this myth.

So -- give Blue Moon a try. I recommend having it with food, as I mentioned previously. It does well as a complement to something with some zip -- a spicy sandwich, foods with onions/peppers, buffalo wings, chili, etc.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

I want a job with Samuel Adams... Everybody at the company loves beer. I'm an IT guy and I love beer... I can't think of a better place to work!

But I digress...

Tonight, I'm enjoying some Blackberry Witbier with my homemade chili. I'll probably mix in a few food-related entries from time to time, because I really like to cook and eat good food. All things considered, my chili kicks ass. I know -- everyone who makes chili says the same thing -- and they're probably right. Just like beer -- food is a completely subjective topic.

Blackberry Witbier is a wheat ale with blackberries and spices added. It stands as another fine product from the Samuel Adams brewing company.

I was introduced to this beer by my co-worker, K-Os. On my failed trip to find Buckeye, I spotted the Witbier and picked some up. In general, I like wheat beers. By their very character, they are incredibly sensitive -- or revealing -- of the ingredients that complement them. They also tend to run fairly neutral (to a little sweet) on the bitter-sweet scale -- at least to my tastebuds. These reasons are probably why so many "flavored" beers or "fruit/spice" beers start life with a wheat beer of some sort.

What worries me about "fruit/spice" beers is that many of them end up overpoweringly sweet. This isn't a taste that I really care for. I know some people really like sweet beers, and that's fine -- they're just not my bag. So I was a little hesitant -- would I get something excellent, or would I get blackberry juice with a hint of beer?

I should not worry! The experts at Sam Adams have done it again! The Witbier opens with a distinct, but not overpowering, Blackberry aroma and taste. The sweetness is subtle, but enough to work well with spicy foods (like my chili).

The thing that I find so utterly fascinating about this brew is the finish. Instead of continuing on into an in-your-face ultra-sweet blackberry explosion, the blackberry flavor steps out of the spotlight, and allows the crisp finish of the wheat ale to take over. The finish actually slips every so slightly to the bitter-side of the scale, which is just right to balance the initial blackberry hints. This takes some precise selection of ingredients, but also shows absolutely masterful brewing skills. Samuel Adams talks about "balance" in their commercials, and Witbier is an obvious demonstration of this principle.

This beer works well with food as well as going solo. It is a fine and worthy member of the Samuel Adams family of beers.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Buckeye Beer - Maumee Bay Brewing Company

A good friend introduced me to this interesting brew last week.

Buckeye Beer ("When you're dry, drink Buckeye") was around from the late 1830's until it was absorbed by Miller Brewing Company in the early 1970's. Miller moved the brewing location out of the Toledo area, and after producing Buckeye for a short period of time, killed the label.

(Aside -- whereas I don't automatically dismiss a macro-brew, I do hate it when big brewers do this kind of thing to local labels.)

You can read a bit about the brewing company here: http://maumeebaybrewing.com/brewery

Apparently, they have very accurately re-created the original beer (without the benefit of actually having the recipe), having reclaimed the rights to the name (due to lack of use by Miller, I believe). So an Ohio classic is reborn, thanks to several enterprising gentlemen. I have no idea how widely available it is. In central Ohio, one Giant-Eagle store I visited had never heard of it, while the other one had a few cases available.

Buckeye Beer is a very classic Pilsner beer, or at least when enters my mind when I think "Pilsner". It opens lightly and fairly crisply, almost Budweiser-like, but has an almost Champagne-like overtone during the finish. The carbonation adds to the "Champagne" hint that I picked up. On the "sweet-bitter" continuum, Buckeye is on the "sweet" side, but not obnoxiously so. Again, its sweetness is on the order of Budweiser, not a hyper-sweet fruit beer.

I found it to be a very refreshing beer with an extremely pleasant taste overall. I've tried it with several different types of food (pizza, meat loaf, hot wings, and other "healthful" delicacies) without regret. Light-hitting Pilsners are often considered "summer" beers (better in warm weather), but I had no trouble whatsoever enjoying Buckeye Beer during a recent stretch of cold, bleak, Ohio weather. It has accompanied my to my (chilly) basement workshop on several occasions, and I have not regretted its company.

Kudos to Maumee Bay Brewing!

The Beer Blog is Born!

A friend suggested this; partly due to my love of beer and partly due to the alliterative nature of the title. Either way, it sounded like a fun idea.

That said, I'm not particularly "in" to blogging. I tried it a little bit a few years ago, posting the normal day-to-day rants about corporate America, day-to-day life, and various other topics that came to mind.

So what am I going to do with this blog? Well, for one, I'm going to write about something that I truly enjoy -- Beer! I'm going to share my thoughts and observations on the various beers I encounter and hopefully get ideas of new brews to try.

It should be fair to note that I'm not going to write inane stories about how much beer I drank, how drunk I got, and what I vaguely remember. Not only is that not my style, it isn't particularly interesting, original, or practical. I'm a middle-aged dude with a job and a family. I have no interest in pissing in a dumpster at 3AM from having consumed an excess of Coors Light... If that is what you're hoping for, I'm sure you can find countless blogs boasting such adventures.

On the other hand, I don't possess a golden palette that can distinguish the time of day a particular species of hops was harvested, the roasting temperature, or the color of the brewmaster's tie. I'm not a microbrew snob. Frankly, I find some of them awful. I also don't dismiss a brew just because it is from a large brewer. If I like how a beer tastes, I'm going to say so. If I don't, the same will apply. Any food or beverage decision is completely subjective anyway, so eat and drink what tastes good to you!

I might pepper in a few other subjects from time to time, too. It just depends on my mood!

Feel free to comment and participate. I look forward to meeting people who want to share their love of beer!