Feature Beer Friday! - Founders Porter

Founders Brewing is another relatively new arrival to the Louisiana craft beer portfolio, and this will be their first appearance on Feature Beer Friday! They are known for being one of the better craft breweries in the country, and their star is the Kentucky Breakfast Stout, a bourbon-barrel aged version of their regular Breakfast Stout.  We saw a little of this when they first came to Louisiana and likely will again, but in the meantime we have plenty to choose from out of their regular lineup. 


First up is their regular porter, nothing special about this one, no crazy flavors added, no barrel aging, just a straight up porter. In their words, "Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter." It's a respectable 45 IBU and 6.5% abv, so it's probably not a session porter, but that doesn't mean you can't have more than one!

Let's review...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, nice head, you can't see through it, so it has some thickness to it.

Aroma: Roasted coffee notes dominate, but Brenton could pick out some hops in there as well.

Taste: Rich, with more coffee and roasted malt notes. We all used those same terms so it was a unanimous approval on the taste of this one.

Mouthfeel: This one lingers with a little bitterness from the hops and roasted barley. The alcohol doesn't show up at all, so it's very well balanced.

Overall: An excellent porter, and just what we would expect from Founders.

Overall Rating: 80.75
My Rating: 83

Feature Beer Friday! - DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus!

This might be a brewery you've never heard of... but if you have you probably know this is likely going to be a very good review.  I'm not even too familiar with DuClaw Brewing, which is a fairly small company out of Maryland, has actually been around since the mid 90s, making them pretty old in the craft beer world.  Unfortunately they are only available in Maryland as far as I can tell... but that's where having good beer maven friends comes in handy.  

Today's Feature Beer is the Sweet Baby Jesus! from DuClaw. It's a chocolate peanut butter porter, clocking in at 6.5% abv and a substantial 56 IBU.  Yeah, that's right, chocolate, peanut butter, porter.  I've had homebrewed peanut butter beers before but this might be a first for me as far as commercial offerings go.  Enough talk... let's review.
 
Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jeff Herman (Tiger Deaux-nuts), Dan Fisher, and Mandi Kaelberer.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark brown, small head, good looking beer. 

Aroma: Peanuts!  Lots of peanuts, and a little roastiness as well. Dan said that he smelled ground up peanuts and roasted chocolate... looks like we are in agreement on this one.  

Taste: Just like it smells, peanut butter, chocolate, a little roasted malt, but mostly strong delicious peanut butter.

Mouthfeel: A little on the thin side, but it is a porter not a stout so no marks off there. Smooth with a great finish.

Overall: Phenomenal beer, and an excellent attempt at a peanut butter chocolate porter.  It's really hard to imagine someone attempting a style like this and doing much better, consider this one to seek out if you're ever traveling to Maryland or trading with someone in that area.

Overall Rating: 87.75
My Rating: 88

Celebrate Father's Day With Zea and Beer!

Uh oh... Father's Day is coming soon, did it sneak up on you too?  Father's Day is almost always a struggle for me, because I never know what to get my Dad.  He has all the tools he could possibly need, and his go-to beer is Bud Light.  In fact I'm not sure I've ever seen him drink a beer that wasn't Bud Light?  If your Dad likes new beers though, then Zea's might be just the ticket, as they are once again running their Father's Day FREE BEER! special.  All you need to do is head in on Sunday, order two entrees, and every father should receive their own 4-pack of Zea's own beers.  

They have four of their own brews, the Clearview Gold Lager, Zea Amber Lager, Category 5 Pale Ale, and the Pontchartrain Porter!  For more detailed info about the beers, I reviewed all of them for Father's Day 2011.  It's a good deal, and could be a good way to try some new beers.

Cheers!

Celebrate Father's Day With Zea Rotisserie & Brewery

Apparently Zea restaurants are stepping up their Father's Day game this year, with FREE BEER!  Yeah, that's right, apparently for every father that comes in, they receive a free 4-pack of the Zea custom beer with two entrees ordered.  Zea offers four unique beers in their restaurants, and I recently received one of these 4-packs to give them a try.  This offer is good at all the New Orleans area locations, as well as Covington, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette.  Sounds like a pretty cool promotion to me, but now let's look into the beers themselves...

I had previously had an opportunity to sample the Zea lineup at the Top Of The Hops festival in Lafayette, so unfortunately these aren't new ones for me, but this is a good chance to give them a proper reviewing.  It's hard to accurately review beers at a large festival... it was tough enough to keep track of all the beers I tried, let alone critique them.  I suppose if I wanted to take each sample, sit down and examine the characteristics, take in the aroma and savor the taste I could... but that would require WAY too much effort.  The point of a beer festival is to have a good time with friends and enjoy a lot of new and interesting beers, not make it a study session.  So, thanks again to Emily with Gambel Communications and Zea Restaurants for a chance to give these beers the proper write-up!

I decided to try these from lighter to darker, and up first was the Clearview Gold Lager, a light kölsch-style lager that's a definite step up from the domestic adjunct lagers we typically see.  It had a bit of a pear flavor, and the heavy carbonation almost gave it a cider feel.  I think this one would be a big hit among beer drinkers looking to get into craft beer but afraid of the dark side.

The second beer I tried was the Zea Amber Lager, a Vienna-style lager with a strong caramel malt base and a lot of biscuit flavor. There still wasn't a lot of hop profile, but the malts packed quite a flavor punch and gave this beer a good solid amber lager flavor.  All in all another good beer, and a slight step up from the Clearview Gold in my opinion.

As a side note... all of these beers are brewed by Heiner Brau over in Covington, but according to the Zea original recipes.  Unfortunately a true "brew-pub" where one entity brews their own beer for sale at the pub is illegal in Louisiana.  We need to work on that.

Beer #3 was the one I was the most excited for, the Category 5 Pale Ale.  American Pale Ales are one of my favorite styles currently, so I was interested to see how one of the locals would stack up.  There are a few other local pale ales, the Abita Restoration Ale, the Bayou Teche LA 31, and the Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal being three examples, but there's nothing wrong with another local example of a classic style.  The aroma is strong with caramel malts but not too hoppy. It really could use a little more hops to achieve the desired balance.  The flavor has a better hop profile and much more balance. The caramel malt is still strong but there's enough hop flavor to call this a solid pale ale. 

Last but not least, the Ponchartrain Porter, not to be confused with Covington's Ponchartrain Pilsner.  It's a dark brown color with a finger or so of off-white head.  It had a great porter aroma, coffee and chocolate and roasted malt notes. Spot on with the nose.  The taste was a little muted like a lot of porters, but still quite nice. The roasted malt notes came out the strongest, lending a thick bitterness to the end of the sip. It was surprisingly my favorite of the four Zea beers.  Very well done.

All in all, some good beers.  They aren't going to blow the real nerds away but if your Dad is tired of drinking the same old crap, bring him to Zea and he just might enjoy a few of these local brews.

Smuttynose Brewing - 5 New Reviews

This is one of the last installments from the trip to Gainesville a couple of months ago... 5 different beers from Smuttynose Brewing out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Before this trip to Gainesville I had heard of Smuttynose but never had a chance to give them a try.  They aren't available in Louisiana unfortunately, and also aren't available in Houston which is my second most likely place to find new beers.  Fortunately for me, they had several different varieties in Florida!  

Up first, the Smuttynose "Finest Kind" IPA:

This is a fantastic example of a regular IPA, in my opinion.  The aroma is a little on the weaker side but the taste is bold and in your face.  More of a west-coast piney feel to me, and really easy to drink.  It's a 6.9% brew so you'd feel it after a few but it's not overwhelming.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A-

Next up... the Shoals Pale Ale!

American Pale Ales are quickly becoming one of my favorite styles due to their intended blend of hoppiness and malt sweetness.  This example is high on the list when it comes to my favorites of the style.  It's a little hop forward for a pale ale, but still has a good caramel malt sweetness on the sip too.  Easy drinking and at only 5% this could be a fantastic session beer... if only I could get it in a pitcher at the Chimes.  Maybe some day...

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: B+

The third Smuttynose brew I tried was the Big A IPA...

Mmmmmm, another IPA.  This time it's an imperial IPA originally created for Smuttynose's "Big Beer Series" and carried over into their regular rotation.  I wish Abita would take this approach with their select series... take the most popular and put them into regular rotation!  Anyway, back to this beer... it's a good looking bubbly beer with a great hop blend on the nose.  It wavers on the edge between floral and pine notes in my opinion.  The taste is a little more on the pine side and the 9.6% alcohol is hardly noticeable.  A fantastic IIPA and another I would love to have more readily accessible.

My Rating: A

BeerAdvocate: A-

Hitting clean-up for Smuttynose... the Old Brown Dog Ale!

Okay, back to a more tame style, the American Brown Ale.  This flagship brew clocks in at a strong 6.7% abv though so I expect a little more flavor than a more mundane example of the style!  The smell did not disappoint, with note of molasses and toffee and a little roasted note to it.  Even the alcohol comes through a little, which is strange for a brown ale.  The roasted notes come through more in the taste... it's a little thin though. I like the sweet malt flavor on the tip of the tongue as a compliment to the roasted flavors at the end.  It's insanely easy to drink... just a little thin on the mouthfeel.

 

My Rating:  A-

BeerAdvocate: B+

And last but not least... the Smuttynose Robust Porter!

This is another of the Smuttynose flagships... a dark porter with a couple fingers worth of off-white head.  The smell is as expected as well... notes of coffee, roasted malts, and a little dark chocolate come through.  The flavor is a little more substantial than the aroma... the coffee flavors come through the most to me, with a bitter roasted aftertaste. Good mouthfeel, pretty easy to drink for a porter.  I think the problem is that I'm just not really a fan of porters... this is a good example of the style, has good ratings overall but in my opinion it's just an above-average beer and not great. So I guess I lied... this actually is the "least" among these five Smuttynose beers.  It's not BAD, by means, just not quite as tastebud stimulating as the four before it. 

My Rating: B

BeerAdvocate: A-

And that's it for my foray into the world of Smuttynose Brewing Company... a few that I'd love to try again and a few that I would take a pass on.  Overall the beers were well above average though, so I'd definitely check out any new Smuttynose brews I came across and would highly recommend them to someone with the chance to drink a few.

 

India Pale Ale (IPA)

American Pale Ale

Brown Ale

Porter

Las Vegas - Part 1

Alright, time for the first installment of the new beers I tried on the recent trip to Las Vegas for Dustin's bachelor party.  Sorry, no bachelor party stories in this webspace... maybe check Brent's facebook?  

Our first stop (after spending the night in New Orleans) was actually in the Salt Lake City airport, at a place called Squatters Pub.  The brewery opened in 1989 and now they run 3 locations... the original in Salt Lake City, a location in Park City, and a location in the airport.  And for an airport pub the selection was really not bad.  They had a wide range of the standard beers plus bottles of some of the specialties.  

First up was the Squatters Organic Amber Ale.  It's a pretty typical looking amber ale served in an imperial pint glass.  Dark caramel color with a small white head, but on a bar pour you don't really want a large head, right? 

The aroma is malt dominant as it should be, but with a nice hint of hops.  It has a good balance on the nose for sure.  Unfortunately the taste was a little weak compared to the smell, the same flavors but watered down.  It has a bitter hop hit on the aftertaste, but still an easy-drinking amber ale.  

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B

The second beer I tried from Squatters was the fantastically named Polygamy Porter.  Thanks for not taking yourselves too seriously, guys!  Although, I'm sure since they are brewers the guys running the show at Squatters probably aren't Mormon?  It's also worth noting that these beers are full strength, not 3.2% alcohol. 

As you can see it's a dark brown, nearly black, color with a decent sized head.  Good looking beer, and a solid aroma of chocolate and roasted malts.  The taste is a lot like the amber ale... just weak compared to the nose.  The roasted malt flavors are still there but it's watery and really thing for a porter.  Another easy drinker, but not super impressive.

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B

Third on the list was another beer from their regular rotation, the American Wheat Hefeweizen.  This one really has a good look to it, beautiful orange color and haziness. Definitely the best looking beer I've had from Squatters so far. 

The smell is mostly citrus, a little banana, very nice.  The flavor is definitely heavy on the wheat, with a milder citric profile than the nose.  A little weaker than I was hoping, but this seems to be the trend so far.

Even still, this one was easy to drink, tasted good... my favorite from Squatters so far.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B- 

 

Apparently I like this one better than the masses!

Last up, Buzz and I decided to split one of the special release beers, the Squatters Fifth Element Belgian Farmhouse Ale.  Split, you ask?  Yeah, because it's a 750ml bottle and costs $18.99, I have no problems splitting a beer.  This one even came with some proper glassware, props to the airport pub for serving it correctly!  

As you can see, it's a hazy golden color with a bubbly white head and lots of carbonation.  The aroma is very floral, with hints of honey and lots of spices.  The taste is even more floral and spicy, with a little hops and a dominant sour flavor to it.  This Fifth Element is a really good beer, the best yet from Squatters, but I'm glad I split it because it would be tough to drink an entire 750ml bottle by myself.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A-

 
And with that, I was up to 9 new beers on my quest to try 365 new beers in 2011, and we were on the plane headed to Vegas... and Part 2 of my beer drinking portion of the weekend.  Cheers!

Sam Adams Winter Classics in Review...

The Sam Adams Winter Classics lineup... from left to right, Winter Lager, Holiday Porter, Boston Lager,White Ale, Chocolate Bock, and Old Fezziwig Ale.  I mentioned the lineup a week or so ago and have had the chance to try all of them and here are a few bullet point thoughts on the mixed 12-pack.  

1. The clear winner in my opinion was the Old Fezziwig Ale... a nice Winter Warmer with a good blend of spices, malts, and hops.  The hype on this one wasn't far off at all.
2. The regular old Boston Lager is an underrated beer.  I never seem to order Sam Adams when I'm out, but this is a much better lager than I remembered.  It's hoppier than I expected but still with a decent malt balance to it.  Unlike some lagers, there is actual flavor in this one.
3. The Chocolate Bock missed the mark for me.  It had more of a coffee flavor to it and what hops were there conflicted with, rather than blended with, the malt flavors.  
4. The other three beers are all solid "B" beers and definitely pleasing to the palate but nothing too special about them for the styles.  The Winter Lager can be found on its own but the White Ale and Holiday Porter are only available in this pack.
5. The pack is definitely worth getting for a party or something of that nature where you're intending to share, but I'm not sure I'd want to regularly buy them for myself.  Part of that is because I like to try new beers, but also I wasn't thrilled by half the beers in here.

I'm glad I gave it a try, if for nothing else than I had forgot how solid of a beer the regular old Sam Adams Boston Lager is.  Cheers!