My First Official Beer Tasting! - July 26th

Alright, big news folks, I'll be running my first ever beer tasting in a couple of weeks, July 26th, at Roux Wine & Spirits in Prairieville!  The tasting will kick off at 7 PM, at a cost of $20 per person for most people, or $15 if you are a member of the Roux Wine & Spirits VIP Club.  I'll be talking everyone through an 8-beer tasting of Summer brews, including some variants that I think would make for nice Summer drinking.  

The full list includes:

• Brooklyn Summer Ale
• Harpoon Summer Ale
• Sam Adams Summer Ale
• Sierra Nevada Summerfest
• Magic Hat #9
• Full Sail LTD. 04
• NOLA Blonde
• Coney Island Albino Python

As you can see there will be four Summer seasonals from some of the big names of craft beer, plus a few that should work very well with the hot weather we've had down here so far.  I made sure to include NOLA Blonde to feature a local beer, plus the opportunity to talk about canned craft beer.  I'm excited about this tasting, and I hope many of my friends out there can come out and support me and also Roux Wine & Spirits.

Cheers!

Build Your Own 6-Packs At Albertsons

I was in the College Drive Albertsons yesterday buying some groceries when I noticed that they had re-done their main store beer section... okay, I'll check it out.  The first thing I noticed was a respectable selection of bombers and 6-packs. 

The problem is, they only carry 3 or 4 beers from each brewery.  If they even have that many... there's a Brooklyn Local 1, but no other bombers from them.  And Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, but no Racer 5?  For shame!  They have 4 or 5 different Stone beers but there are so many more good ones they are missing.  They also had a handful of Belgian ales down on the end, most noticeably the Chimay line.  Like I said, it's a respectable lineup... if I was stopping here to grab some food to cook for dinner and wanted a few beers to quench my thirst while I cooked, I'd easily be able to find something good.  Just not necessarily something new and exciting.

Then I noticed the "Build Your Own Mix & Match 6-Pack Display" and had to check it out.  The custom 6-pack is a pretty standard concept but I haven't seen it too often around Baton Rouge.  Most places are either 6-packs only, or price everything by the single like Calandro's does.  Anyway, it's a cool idea and I'm really glad Albertsons is giving it a try... here's the lineup as best as I could photograph in the store at least.

Like the rest of the selection, it's respectable but nothing special.  The highlight (for me at least) is probably the Stone Levitation Ale up on the top shelf... the Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, and Boulder Beer offerings aren't bad either.  This idea would really be cool for someone trying to sample some of the Louisiana brews, with Bayou Teche, Heinerbrau / Covington, and Abita all represented.

Hey, it's not the Baton Rouge beer revolution quite yet, but it's still a step in the right direction.

A Shoutout To Samuel Adams!

I really feel like Samuel Adams (AKA Boston Beer Company) is a brewery I tend to overlook.  Whether it's because I'm looking for something new, looking for something local, or just sticking to a few of my go-to beers I rarely seem to order up or pick up a Sam Adams.  When I reviewed the Winter Classics pack about 6 months ago I noted that the Boston Lager was an underrated beer and I stand by that.  This 365 in 2011 quest has led me to new beers but I'm going to remember to order some more Boston Lagers when there's nothing new on tap. 

Fortunately, my drinking adventures have recently led me to a few new Sam Adams beers... first was the Rustic Saison on tap at The Chimes.  It's a pretty light in alcohol (4.35%) Belgian saison style ale with a respectable B- score on BeerAdvocate.  I didn't have the chance to write out a review (I rarely do when I'm not reviewing properly at home) but I can say that I'd try this one again if I had the chance.  And definitely props to The Chimes for having something new on draft!  It seems like that's getting more and more rare these days.  Or maybe it's just me?

Shortly after checking out the Rustic Saison at the Chimes I found myself at The Bulldog with some friends, where they also had the Rustic Saison on tap.  After drinking another one of them I noticed that they also had the Sam Adams Wee Heavy in house.  Well... I knew what I was getting next!  The Wee Heavy is of course the same style it's named after... a 10% brew that the bartender rightfully warned me about.  He even asked me if I wanted a room temperature glass!  Um, of course I do... really unless it's a BMC product the room temperature glass should be standard and the frosted glass should be the special request, but at least he asked.  The 10% alcohol was noticeable, but I still really enjoyed this one... if I saw one in bottles I'd definitely pick it up to age.  

Then, on a trip to the beach house, I noticed a couple of Sam Adams Brewmaster's Series beers in the back of the fridge.  Hmmm... no telling how old they were but they were new ones to me, so I enjoyed a Blackberry Witbier and a Hefeweizen out of a wine glass.  Yeah, a wine glass... what can I say it was that or plastic cups, and a large wine glass really is a decent way to drink a beer.  I'll also have to make a mental note to take a few stacks of pint glasses with me the next time I head down there... I certainly have enough to spare.  

Okay... that's all the Sam Adams love for now... I'm sure I'll try another few before this year is up, but I'm going to be sure to keep them in mind whenever I'm looking at a bunch of taps I've already tried and just want a tasty brew.

Review: Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA

Another brew day beer!  Last week Dustin and I, with the help of our friend Kyle, set out to brew a noble pilsener.  While picking up a few ingredients from Marcello's on Perkins we also picked up one of the key components to brewing... some beers to drink during the process.  One that surprisingly neither Dustin or I had tried before was the Latitude 48 IPA from Sam Adams.  I've tried plenty of beers from the Boston Beer Company before, even a variety pack around Christmas time, but I guess their IPA had always slipped under my radar.  No longer!

As always, proper glassware is important to enjoying a beer... this one was poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint glass.  It's an amber color, very clear with a bubbly off-white head.

It's got a hoppy aroma, but not powerful. Grapefruit seems to be the dominant flavor with a little caramel note to it.  There is definitely a nice malt balance on the front of the sip. The hops come through stronger at the end. It's good, with a bitter aftertaste but drinks really smooth for an IPA.

A pretty good beer, but I'm not blown away.  It's not up there with the Stones and Racer 5s of the IPA world, but it's definitely another good one for someone trying to get into craft beer.  But then, I think a lot of what Sam Adams is about, at least as far as their flagship brews are concerned, is getting people into craft beer.  Absolutely nothing wrong with that, the move converts the better!

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B+

India Pale Ale (IPA)

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!

Sam Adams Winter Classics

Just picked up a Sam Adams Winter Classics mixed 12-pack from Albertson's on College for $14.99.  It has two each of the Boston Lager (flagship brew), the seasonal Winter Lager, and four different exclusive brews... the Holiday Porter, Chocolate Bock, White Ale, and Old Fezziwig Ale.  I'm really looking forward to the Old Fezziwig ales, I've heard nothing but good things about the beer... and the White Ale as well.  So... if you think you might like a few of these, or need to pick up a case for a party, give these a try!