Eitan: We haven't really gotten together for beer night in a while so there really hasn't been much to write about as far as beer nights go. However, I have been trying to try new beers and keep up with writing about them. Last night we didn't gather to try beers, but I did watch hockey with Stan and I brought over the Avery Mephistopheles' Stout to try. I was a bit apprehensive to try it because of its abv of over 16%
It was a 12 oz. 2007 bottle, but I forgot which batch it was. It poured almost pitch black with a bit of brown head. It had a very potent smell, it was bit sweet. It had notes of dark fruits, plums, coffee and a bit of malt. It also had a very strong taste, not in a bad way but in a grab your attention sort of way. The taste was very similar to the smell, but it is the coffee, plum and the sweetness of molasses that are the most pronounced. After opening up in the glass it had more flavor of dark fruits. It had medium carbonation which made it easier to drink because of the medium/heavy body and the syrupy feel to it.
Overall I was very happy with this beer, it was not what I had expected it to be. It wasn't as sweet and syrupy as other high alcohol beers that I've tried. Even though I think this is a good beer, I have to admit that I like the Beast grand cru better. Trying this beer has definitely made me want to go and try more vintage beers.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
BEERS OF THE TIMES - A Delicious Free-for-All by Eric Asimov
BEERS OF THE TIMES - A Delicious Free-for-All by Eric Asimov
A tasting and review of 20 Belgian Style beers by Eric Asimov of the NY Times
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
La Seigneuriale - 2/16/2010
Eitan: Last week I had a conversation with some about beer, and it came to my attention that I did not have a good selection of beer at home to have whenever I felt like it. While at Whole Foods last week I took the opportunity to stop by the Beer Room to pick up a beer or two. I decided upon two 750ml brews from Unibroue.
Last night I made some dinner and decided to have one of the Unibroue beers. I chose to have La Seigneuriale because it had an abv of 7.5%. I've had Unibroue beers before and I was hoping that this one would be just as good. Naturally, I used my La Fin du Monde glass it being a Unibroue beer and all. It poured a brownish copper color with about an inch and a half of foamy white/tan head. It had good head retention. It had a mixture of fruit sweetness, tartness and spiced smell to it. The smell was not very powerful as compared to La Fin or other Unibroue beers, but after opening up the smell became a bit sweeter and a bit more powerful. At first it had a taste of pear and then slowly the spice flavor comes in, it had more of a pepper taste. It does a bit of a hop finish. It had a medium body and low/medium carbonation. This beer goes down pretty easily. It is easy to have a few glasses, and with the lower abv its not that big of an issues. However, it will catch up to you.
Overall this was a good beer, not my favorite of the Unibroue beers that I have tried, but still a good beer nonetheless. I still have the other Unibroue beer at home to try, Le Terrible.
Last night I made some dinner and decided to have one of the Unibroue beers. I chose to have La Seigneuriale because it had an abv of 7.5%. I've had Unibroue beers before and I was hoping that this one would be just as good. Naturally, I used my La Fin du Monde glass it being a Unibroue beer and all. It poured a brownish copper color with about an inch and a half of foamy white/tan head. It had good head retention. It had a mixture of fruit sweetness, tartness and spiced smell to it. The smell was not very powerful as compared to La Fin or other Unibroue beers, but after opening up the smell became a bit sweeter and a bit more powerful. At first it had a taste of pear and then slowly the spice flavor comes in, it had more of a pepper taste. It does a bit of a hop finish. It had a medium body and low/medium carbonation. This beer goes down pretty easily. It is easy to have a few glasses, and with the lower abv its not that big of an issues. However, it will catch up to you.
Overall this was a good beer, not my favorite of the Unibroue beers that I have tried, but still a good beer nonetheless. I still have the other Unibroue beer at home to try, Le Terrible.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Snow Day - 2/10/10
Eitan: ....and the blizzard came, the snow accumulated, and hanging out with friends and having beer was not an option. Luckily, I did have some beers at home. I was not in the mood for a lot of beer so I just chose one. I went with the last bottle that I had left from my St. Bernardus sampler pack, which was the triple. I poured it into my Gouden Carolus goblet. It poured a hazy golden color with about an inch of foamy white head. It had good retention and some lacing near the top. It had a very good smell, similar to most triples, a mix of orange and spices. At first it has a bready flavor to it, but then it quickly has a sweeter taste to it, some orange and grape sweetness. There is also the ample spice flavor that many of these beers have. It was not overpowering at all and mixed nice with the sweetness. It did have a slight hoppy finish. As it sits in the glass for a bit it opens up really well and it has a sweeter taste and a sweeter finish. It had great carbonation and was very crisp. It had a medium/full body, I'd say mostly on the medium side.
Overall I've been very impressed with all the St. Bernardus brews that I've tried. They all had great flavor and are very easy to drink. In fact, even non-beer drinkers have taken a liking to some of the brews. St. Bernardus is definitely on the top of my list. I wouldn't mind stocking up on a few to have around to have at any time.
Overall I've been very impressed with all the St. Bernardus brews that I've tried. They all had great flavor and are very easy to drink. In fact, even non-beer drinkers have taken a liking to some of the brews. St. Bernardus is definitely on the top of my list. I wouldn't mind stocking up on a few to have around to have at any time.
Monday, February 8, 2010
A Bierkraft Dinner - 2/5/2010
Eitan: In preparation of the "snow storm" on Saturday, and knowing I'd be to lazy to cook or go out after hockey on Friday night, I took the opportunity to get some delicious sandwiches and some beer from Beirkraft for dinner. The sandwiches, one ham and cheese, the other Serrano ham, were fantastic as usual. We also had a beer with dinner and one for dessert.
With dinner we had a Stoudt's Triple because I was in the mood for a nice Abbey Ale. I bought two small bottles, one for each. It poured a golden color with some shades of orange. It had a descent amount of white head and pretty good head retention with some lacing. It had a smell of spices and a bit of sweetness like a triple should have. It had a pretty good taste, not really complex, very similar to most descent triples. It had a bit of that sweetness and spice taste at first and then a bit of hops flavor towards the end. It had high carbonation and a nice crisp feel. It is a very good triple to have if you're looking for something domestic and you want some thing new to have. It is easy to drink and is about 9% abv.
For dessert I bought a small bottle of Oud Beersel Framboise. I was really in the mood for a good traditional lambic beer and one of the guys at Bierkraft recommended it. I poured it in to my St. Louis lambic glass, and taking the suggestion from the label, I chilled the glass for a little bit. It poured a hazy diluted red color, not quite red but not quite pink either. It had a good amount of fizzy white head with ok retention. Right away it had this tart/sour and sweet raspberry smell. I really enjoyed the taste of this beer, my worry was that it would be really sweet and syrupy like other framboise beers. It was not like that at all, at first it has a nice sweet taste and then starts with a nice tart raspberry flavor. Overall it has a nice mix of tart/sour and sweet taste. It was high in carbonation, very crisp feeling and light body. I was definitely happy with this beer, it was no Cantillon beer, but it was up there for a lambic beer. I was happy with this beer, especially that it was not super sweet and syrupy, a very good post dinner beer.
With dinner we had a Stoudt's Triple because I was in the mood for a nice Abbey Ale. I bought two small bottles, one for each. It poured a golden color with some shades of orange. It had a descent amount of white head and pretty good head retention with some lacing. It had a smell of spices and a bit of sweetness like a triple should have. It had a pretty good taste, not really complex, very similar to most descent triples. It had a bit of that sweetness and spice taste at first and then a bit of hops flavor towards the end. It had high carbonation and a nice crisp feel. It is a very good triple to have if you're looking for something domestic and you want some thing new to have. It is easy to drink and is about 9% abv.
For dessert I bought a small bottle of Oud Beersel Framboise. I was really in the mood for a good traditional lambic beer and one of the guys at Bierkraft recommended it. I poured it in to my St. Louis lambic glass, and taking the suggestion from the label, I chilled the glass for a little bit. It poured a hazy diluted red color, not quite red but not quite pink either. It had a good amount of fizzy white head with ok retention. Right away it had this tart/sour and sweet raspberry smell. I really enjoyed the taste of this beer, my worry was that it would be really sweet and syrupy like other framboise beers. It was not like that at all, at first it has a nice sweet taste and then starts with a nice tart raspberry flavor. Overall it has a nice mix of tart/sour and sweet taste. It was high in carbonation, very crisp feeling and light body. I was definitely happy with this beer, it was no Cantillon beer, but it was up there for a lambic beer. I was happy with this beer, especially that it was not super sweet and syrupy, a very good post dinner beer.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Di Fara's Pizza and Beer 2/3/2010
Eitan: It was a pretty chill night last night with some Di Fara's square pie and two beers that we didn't get to in the last week. This was either the best idea or worst idea ever, Di Fara's and beer, it has potential to cause some damage. However, its been good so far.
The first beer we had was the Lagunitas Imperial Stout. I've had this many times on tap and 4th ave pub and it is one of my favorite stouts. This was the first time that we've had it from a bottle. It was a 22oz bottle that I got a few weeks ago, I get pretty excited to find a bottle like this because they are generally less then $5. It pours a very dark chocolate color with a thin layer of tan head. We divided it in to 4 glasses so I think maybe in 2 glasses we could get a bit more head. It had a smell of dark chocolate and coffee. Having a high abv it does also have a slight malt and alcohol scent. Its a good tasting stout, a good mix of coffee and chocolate at first and then some malty sweetness and light hop finish. It had low carbonation, it was very smooth and pretty easy to drink. Like I mentioned earlier, this is one of my favorite stouts, it is not very complex when it comes to imperial stouts; but, it is very tasty and easy to drink. I've read/heard people mention that it's too sweet, but I don't think so. I am not a big fan of sweet drinks and I've only had one glass of this beer which was slightly sweeter. Overall this is a good Imperial Stout that goes down easy.
The second beer was one that Greg got last week and we didn't get a chance to drink. It was the Pennichuck Pompier, it was a large swing top bottle. Greg was all excited about this beer "Oh, its soooo good, its an english barley wine with champagne yeast and aged in oak barrels" [I am just paraphrasing what Greg said, it was more than that but I stopped listening after barley wine.] When I first popped the top of the bottle it let of a pretty sour smell, it was like some corked sour wine, very off putting. I almost did not want to drink this at all. But I did anyway. It poured a dark sort of hazy copper color with some descent amount of white head. Like when I first opened the bottle it had the smell of funk, it is very off putting. It was pretty hard to smell anything other than the sour funk. At first it has a strong tart sour taste to it. After that it adds a bit of the malty sweetness you get in many barley wine. It had medium carbonation and a medium body with a crisp and smooth feel to it. After opening up for a bit in the glass it did finish with a bit of that syrupy feel to it. Overall the beer tasted a lot better than it smelled at first. It has a 12% abv and it tastes like it, but it was pretty easy to drink. Once you get past the initial smell this beer is not that bad.
The first beer we had was the Lagunitas Imperial Stout. I've had this many times on tap and 4th ave pub and it is one of my favorite stouts. This was the first time that we've had it from a bottle. It was a 22oz bottle that I got a few weeks ago, I get pretty excited to find a bottle like this because they are generally less then $5. It pours a very dark chocolate color with a thin layer of tan head. We divided it in to 4 glasses so I think maybe in 2 glasses we could get a bit more head. It had a smell of dark chocolate and coffee. Having a high abv it does also have a slight malt and alcohol scent. Its a good tasting stout, a good mix of coffee and chocolate at first and then some malty sweetness and light hop finish. It had low carbonation, it was very smooth and pretty easy to drink. Like I mentioned earlier, this is one of my favorite stouts, it is not very complex when it comes to imperial stouts; but, it is very tasty and easy to drink. I've read/heard people mention that it's too sweet, but I don't think so. I am not a big fan of sweet drinks and I've only had one glass of this beer which was slightly sweeter. Overall this is a good Imperial Stout that goes down easy.
The second beer was one that Greg got last week and we didn't get a chance to drink. It was the Pennichuck Pompier, it was a large swing top bottle. Greg was all excited about this beer "Oh, its soooo good, its an english barley wine with champagne yeast and aged in oak barrels" [I am just paraphrasing what Greg said, it was more than that but I stopped listening after barley wine.] When I first popped the top of the bottle it let of a pretty sour smell, it was like some corked sour wine, very off putting. I almost did not want to drink this at all. But I did anyway. It poured a dark sort of hazy copper color with some descent amount of white head. Like when I first opened the bottle it had the smell of funk, it is very off putting. It was pretty hard to smell anything other than the sour funk. At first it has a strong tart sour taste to it. After that it adds a bit of the malty sweetness you get in many barley wine. It had medium carbonation and a medium body with a crisp and smooth feel to it. After opening up for a bit in the glass it did finish with a bit of that syrupy feel to it. Overall the beer tasted a lot better than it smelled at first. It has a 12% abv and it tastes like it, but it was pretty easy to drink. Once you get past the initial smell this beer is not that bad.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Stoup, Wings and Beer - 1/29/2010
Eitan: On Friday we decided to have a some home made stoup (sausage, peppers, onion, tomato) and we brought some beers to try. While waiting for the stoup I finally opened the 2007 bottle of Avery The Beast. It poured a hazy golden color with decent head and slight retention and lacing. It had a very strong sweet smell of dark fruits and molasses. The taste was similar to the smell, very sweet molasses flavor with hints of figs and raisins. For a 2007 bottle it had pretty good carbonation. However, it was full bodied and did have a slight syrupy feel. This one was really tasty, I should have gotten more than one bottle. It's a good thing that I had some help with drinking it; because of the high alcohol and full body, it is tough to drink one bottle.
The second beer we had was the Duchess De Bourgogne. The name was familiar but I did not recall ever tasting it before. It poured a very nice reddish/brownish color with a small amount of tan head, almost no retention. The smell was fantastic, sour with some sweetness, very similar to a nice Champagne. The taste was even better, it was sour at first, not in an overwhelming way, similar to the Iris. It had a taste of some hops, but overall it was tart with a taste of a good green apple and some grapes. It had pretty good carbonation and was good crisp medium bodied beer. This is definitely one of the tart beers that I would like to have many more times.
The third beer we had was the 750ml bottle of St. Bernardus Christmas ale that I bought last week. (see December 10 post for review)
The fourth beer of the night was the St. Fueillien Cuvee De Noel, the other 750ml bottle that I bought last week. It pours a red/copper color with a good amount of foamy head. There is some good retention and lacing along the glass. It has the kind of smell you would expect from a holiday ale, smells like Christmas. It had a slight bread smell with a generous mix of dark fruits, spices and brown sugar. At first it has a slight bread taste to it, but it quickly subsides and you have a slight sour taste with a nice taste of plum and raisin, cinnamon and some hops. It had good carbonation. It was pretty smooth with a medium/full body. I better run to whole foods and get a few bottles of this and the St. Bernardus to store for a bit.
There was a fifth 750ml bottle that we did not have a chance to drink. Maybe on another night.
The second beer we had was the Duchess De Bourgogne. The name was familiar but I did not recall ever tasting it before. It poured a very nice reddish/brownish color with a small amount of tan head, almost no retention. The smell was fantastic, sour with some sweetness, very similar to a nice Champagne. The taste was even better, it was sour at first, not in an overwhelming way, similar to the Iris. It had a taste of some hops, but overall it was tart with a taste of a good green apple and some grapes. It had pretty good carbonation and was good crisp medium bodied beer. This is definitely one of the tart beers that I would like to have many more times.
The third beer we had was the 750ml bottle of St. Bernardus Christmas ale that I bought last week. (see December 10 post for review)
The fourth beer of the night was the St. Fueillien Cuvee De Noel, the other 750ml bottle that I bought last week. It pours a red/copper color with a good amount of foamy head. There is some good retention and lacing along the glass. It has the kind of smell you would expect from a holiday ale, smells like Christmas. It had a slight bread smell with a generous mix of dark fruits, spices and brown sugar. At first it has a slight bread taste to it, but it quickly subsides and you have a slight sour taste with a nice taste of plum and raisin, cinnamon and some hops. It had good carbonation. It was pretty smooth with a medium/full body. I better run to whole foods and get a few bottles of this and the St. Bernardus to store for a bit.
There was a fifth 750ml bottle that we did not have a chance to drink. Maybe on another night.
Monday, January 25, 2010
New Beer Purchases - 1/24/2010
Eitan: Last night I wanted to get to Bierkraft to get a sandwich, but sadly I was unable to make it before the close. So to cheer myself up I decided to stop of at the beer room at Whole Foods on Houston. I ended up getting three beers (well I got one, and two were bought for me). I ended up getting two Christmas ales because they still had plenty in stock and one Wild ale. I got a 750ml bottle of St. Bernardus Christmas ale, which can apparently be aged for up to 15 years, I will try to store it for as long as possible. I also got the St. Feuillien Cuvee De Noel, which I hope tasted very well. I would have gotten more Christmas/Holiday ales but it wasn't cheap and I don't have the place to store it all. The third beer was Goose Island Juliet, this is an American wild ale, it is fermented with wild yeast and aged in cabernet barrels with blackberries. I post something about these beers after I have tried them. I already posted something about the St. Bernardus Christmas ale which we had a few weeks ago.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Japanese Beer at the Fatty Crab - 1/21/2010
Eitan: So I am getting to snobbish/bratty about beer. I kind of get annoyed at places that don't have some fun beer choices and that overcharge for cheep beer. I feel like if I go out and have one beer that it should be something I haven't tried yet or haven't had in a long time. Last night I had dinner at the Fatty Crab in the West Village, I'd say this is a Malaysian/euro fusion place. The beer selection was "meh" but they had some Hitachino beers. I've had several, but the one that I haven't had was the Real Ginger Ale. What I really like about having a Hitachino is the little beer glass you pour the beer in.
It's funny how excited I was to try this beer, simply because it come in a different glass. It poured a nice amber color, some fizzy tan colored head. It had slight head retention and a small amount of lacing. Even with "Ginger" in the name the smell and taste were unexpected. It had a tartsmell, not a bad smell, it was more like the smell of a nice sour lambic or champagne with a mix of sour apples. The taste was similar to the smell. At first it was nice and tart, but then it hits with a nice amount of ginger spiciness. After the beer sits in the glass for a bit it opens up very well, the mixture of ginger and tart fruits is perfect. There was also a nice presence of tart fruits like sour apples and white grapes. It has a light body, light carbonation and nice dry finish.
The Hitachino beers are always very interesting, this beer was no different. I was a bit skeptical to try ginger beer, but I am glad I did. I would definitely be having this one again.
It's funny how excited I was to try this beer, simply because it come in a different glass. It poured a nice amber color, some fizzy tan colored head. It had slight head retention and a small amount of lacing. Even with "Ginger" in the name the smell and taste were unexpected. It had a tartsmell, not a bad smell, it was more like the smell of a nice sour lambic or champagne with a mix of sour apples. The taste was similar to the smell. At first it was nice and tart, but then it hits with a nice amount of ginger spiciness. After the beer sits in the glass for a bit it opens up very well, the mixture of ginger and tart fruits is perfect. There was also a nice presence of tart fruits like sour apples and white grapes. It has a light body, light carbonation and nice dry finish.
The Hitachino beers are always very interesting, this beer was no different. I was a bit skeptical to try ginger beer, but I am glad I did. I would definitely be having this one again.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Night cap with a Coffee Porter - 1/19/2010
Eitan: The best part about going out to Bonnie's at around 7 is that afterwards you can still make it to Bierkraft before they close. There is nothing like a mini trip to Bierkraft, too bad only the Meantime came with me and the ice cream sandwich went with someone else.
So I decided to get a small bottle of Meantime Coffee Porter. I've had my eye on it for the past few times at the store and this time I just went for it. I poured it into my Cooperstown Brewery porter pint glass. It pours a dark brown color with about 2 inches of foamy tan colored head (even though I tried to pour it pretty gently), with pretty good head retention. It smells like very rich black coffee and a bit of chocolate. It tasted like strong black coffee, bitter with a little nutty flavor and a hint of hops. Overall it was like having a morning cup of coffee. It has a light to medium body, light to medium carbonation, it was very silky. Overall it is a pretty good English porter. I would have it again, maybe try to pair it with some food. I would like to try this on tap.
Looking back, maybe I should not have had a coffee porter at around 9:30 pm since it does contain coffee.
So I decided to get a small bottle of Meantime Coffee Porter. I've had my eye on it for the past few times at the store and this time I just went for it. I poured it into my Cooperstown Brewery porter pint glass. It pours a dark brown color with about 2 inches of foamy tan colored head (even though I tried to pour it pretty gently), with pretty good head retention. It smells like very rich black coffee and a bit of chocolate. It tasted like strong black coffee, bitter with a little nutty flavor and a hint of hops. Overall it was like having a morning cup of coffee. It has a light to medium body, light to medium carbonation, it was very silky. Overall it is a pretty good English porter. I would have it again, maybe try to pair it with some food. I would like to try this on tap.
Looking back, maybe I should not have had a coffee porter at around 9:30 pm since it does contain coffee.
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