Taproom Talk

Tis Christmas Eve and I am beaming,
cherubs singing, bells a-ringing.
Nick at Finewine.com did me a solid
Found me this stout; apostolic.

See, the distributor here in Virginia
stopped carrying this beer. Why, I wonder?
It’s taste is robust, like nuts a-roasted
Smothered in chocolate tones; I boast it.

How he got it, although I wonder,
that it’s here, my pirate plunder
is all I care for, mind the effort,
A truckload or two is what I care for.

So here I sit after months of waiting
west to east this beer was coming.
My stout is here, Christmas is merry
Until I run out, that time I’m weary.

I’m not normally a fan of wheat beers due to a sharpness I find in their taste from time to time. In fact, when I first tasted the Struise Witte from Belgium’s Noordhoek Ostrich Farm (yes, you read that correctly, this brewery is an Ostrich farm) I was a bit underwhelmed. Reading the label proved to give this beer a second chance as I noted that it’s a bottle-conditioned beer– accordingly, I decided to stick a few in the back of the fridge to let them age and hopefully mellow out.

The Struise Witte, which roughly translates to “Robust White”, pours a slightly cloudy yellow hue due to its unfiltered nature. It reveals virtually no head and has a pleasant malty nose with citrus hints. The ale’s taste is delightfully smooth like a Belgian blonde; however, its edge, typically associated with these beers, has significantly abated leaving a citrusy warming taste with subtle spicy hints. I was quite impressed with this beer’s smoothness and could pick up a slight lime presence that could be emboldened with the addition of a lime slice on a warm summer’s day.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this beer’s soft aging, which has revealed an inviting spicy essence bound to please even the most demanding of beer connoisseurs. Just remember to give this beer time to mature!

On a recent trip out west, I had the pleasure of enjoying a few beers from the venerable Alaskan Brewing Company, who beer snobs the world over admire for their celebrated Smoked Porter. On this particular occasion, I had the opportunity to sample the brewery’s Summer Ale and I am here to tell you is a fabulous beer of momentus proportions! As I drank this nectar I kept thinking “WOW this is tasty”– what an excellent drink for a warm summers day. No doubt, the Summer Ale is an invitingly refreshing beer worthy of a beer snob.

The Summer Ale pours a light gold hue with a tiny head, which caressed the sides of my glass inviting me to partake of this most wonderful nectar. The beer gives off a wonderful spicy, sweet essence that complements its sweet grassy taste with a pleasant hop backdrop. The finish is astonishingly crisp with a slight hoppy character.

Interestingly, this is a Kölsh style beer, which means it is a Germanic type beer with typical hoppy overtones like a Pilsner; however, it is not a Pils because it’s a top-fermented beer, like all Ales in general. I hadn’t had a Kölsh before this sampling, but my first impression is an unbelievable knock out.

Indeed, this is one of the best beers I’ve had in awhile and I’d enjoy the opportunity to enjoy another! If anything, tasting this stupendous beer has transformed me into a whale of fan for the Alaskan Brewing Company.

Ladies and gentleman, you’ve heard it here first– not only does Santa make wonderful toys for children, but Jolly Old Saint Nick also brews an excellent beer to boot!

The Rogue Brewery’s Santa’s Private Reserve is a fine belly wash that pours a copper-brownish color with a beautiful head that slowly dissipates revealing a pleasant spicy nose accentuated with sweet malts. The beer has a wonderful roasted malt flavor with a slight peppery taste, which also reveals subtle hints of juniper in the finish. The spicy sweetness of the beer works well and gives it a warming character, which one expects from winter ales.

Santa’s winter wonderland must have an influence on this fine brew as the juniper hints portray a piney mouth feel that is warming and pleasant too. Indeed, for Christmas this year, I’ll be asking Santa to leave a few cases of his Private Reserve under my tree!

With immense joy, I ordered a new (to me, that is) winter ale the other night; however, I found myself somewhat disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good beer– it just doesn’t excite me. It’s a winter ale that tastes like a light brown ale.

The Breckenridge Christmas Ale poured a nice dark brownish color with a tiny head and gave off a pleasant malt nose with slight hints of cinnamon. The taste is clean and quite smooth– it’s agreeably malty with more subtle hints of sweet cinnamon and chocolate. What’s interesting is there wasn’t really a presence of a finish. The taste is so light and smooth that I wasn’t sure I was actually drinking a winter ale.

This beer’s taste is pleasant, but I was expecting something with more character. The Breckenridge is so light that you could drink it on a summer’s day, which is a good thing, but it’s labeled as a Christmas Ale, so I find myself dissatisfied. I would certainly indulge another Breckenridge (if someone offered me one at no cost); however, going forward, I’ll be seeking beers with more interesting personalities.

Every year, I eagerly await the arrival of the Anchor Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale and each year I am greeted by a new spice laden, warming brew that’s always a pleasure to drink.

This year’s brew is no exception, pouring a deep dark stout-like color with little to no head, which is tannish in color. The nose is a spicy sweet cinnamon with slight nutmeg and roasted malts, which happens to also describe the taste– burnt malts in a fashion close to the Brooklyn Brewery’s Chocolate Stout. The spices work well together imparting a sweet, yet warming feel all the way down. The finish is pleasantly malty with a slight sweetness.

This is definitely a sipping beer for a winter’s night, much unlike Anchor’s Liberty nectar. The difference in the two beer’s tastes is tremendous but the attention to detail and crisp beer tenderness is a common trait between the two ales– these brewers clearly don’t cut corners.

The 2006 is a fine showing; however, I must say that I prefer Anchor’s 2005 brew, but only by a hair. The beauty of this beer is that it ages well, so pick some up and remember to save few so that you can compare this year’s lot to next year!

It’s no secret that some German beers and I don’t get along. My rather negative review of the Hofbräu Original from Hofbräu München made me public enemy #1 to a good many German beer lovers. I’m here to proclaim, however, that I’ve imbibed a winner tonight and feel compelled to sing the praises of the Kulmbacher Brewery’s EKU Pilsner and thus regain my favor among the world’s elite beer lovers.

The EKU pours crisp with a nice white head and bubbly essence. It’s a light gold hue and well filtered, leaving it amazingly clear, like a mountain lake. The nose is well done with smooth malts and light hops– it’s an all Pilsner nose that imbues a smooth confidence that is both inviting and pleasantly refreshing.

The taste is equally smooth with hints of hops and sweet malts. One can only describe it as pure Pilsner Paradise. In fact, this is probably one of the smoothest Pilsners I’ve had in quite a long time. The bottle’s text uses the term “flawless balance”– how true, I couldn’t agree more, nor have said it better. The finish is excellent, leaving a slight carbonation tingling in the mouth that invites another sip.

This is a superbly smooth beer, perfect for a warm summers evening dining outside. Amazingly enough, when the average beer drinker thinks of a smooth, crisp beer and warm weather, they probably think of something like a Corona– it’s too bad they haven’t had the pleasure of drinking an EKU. The difference in taste is truly shocking.

Released in June 1986, True Blue was Madonna’s third album. More importantly, it is a seasonal beer from Bar Harbor Brewing Company. With a smell of fresh blueberry pie, I was suprised by this ale’s crisp taste. I was expecting overwhelming blueberries, but it’s a delicious, well balanced brew.

True Blue didn’t leave my tongue a dark shade of azul like I expected. In fact, it looks more like a brown ale. Enjoying blue raspberry slurpee (or razzleberry if you will) as I do, this wouldn’t have presented a problem. Light and balanced, with ever the littlest bit of tartness, True Blue won’t give you a case of the blues, however it may leave others green with envy. Green with envy of your delightful pint. Ok, I’ll stop with the color jokes or else you might turn red in the face.

The bouquet was distantly reminiscient of a Framboise Lambic. The color was gold-orange with an undeniable hint of red. The pureed raspberries had definitely found their final resting place. The first sip happily projected “THE FORT” into a category of its own. A true beer-drinker’s beer, which had no danger of losing its character or drinkability to the fruit flavor with which it was married. Don’t get me wrong, a good lambic is a good lambic. But the Fort!! It retained the strength and hoppy character of some of Dogfish’s other fine brews and expertly married it in a blissfull raspberry wedlock made in a wheat-filled heaven. There is perhaps only one thing missing from this beer… It is the typically overdone syrupy sweetness that is found in many “fusions” of fruit and liquid bread. Or, overt doses of flavor (PUMPKINS IN SAM ADAMS…) Fine effort and I must leave now if only to revisit the flavor, again and again…—Stirling Elmendorf—

With a huge white head that clung to the side of the glass, a pleasantly spicy nose and a warm crisp taste, the Goliath Belgian Blonde Ale is another strong showing from the Brasserie des Géants brewery in Belgium. This golden colored beer with a light bubbly body has a strong hoppy character accented with a spicy peppery taste and subtle malts. The spicy finish works amazingly well– in fact, I’d say that this Belgian Blonde is even better than the Leffe.

This unfiltered crisp ale is a great warm evening drink– if you can actually find this beer, buy a few! While the Leffe is far easier Belgian Blonde to find, this beer is much much smoother.