Blind Tasting Reveal Time!

For the last five Fridays I've been featuring unnamed blind taste tested session beers, and now it's time to reveal which one was which. Did I guess any correct? And more importantly, which one did I and the rest of the group think was the best?

Beer #1 - We all enjoyed this one, it had a good grapefruit note to it and a solid amount of bitterness. I scored it a 71, compared to the group score of 67.25, and I took a guess, based on the grapefruity profile and high IBU level that this was the Stone Go-To IPA... it turns out that beer #1 was... the Founders All Day IPA! I'm 0/1 so far, but I've been drinking a lot of All Day IPA this football season, so I'm glad to know I scored it well even drinking blind.

Beer #2 - Another good one, but we all scored this one a little lower than Beer #1. I had it at a 67, compared to the group score of 64.5. My guess for this one was the Terrapin RecreationAle, being the only "pale ale" in the group of IPAs... and I was right! That makes 1/2 so far, but three more to go.

Beer #3 - This was the first of two that we didn't enjoy much, with a pungent and funky flavor that didn't hold up to the hops in the first two brews.  I scored it a 50, and it had a group average of 53.75.  I guessed at the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, mostly because it was one that I didn't know much about and hadn't tried before. Beer #3 actually was... the Sierra Nevada Nooner. This was a bit of a surprise, I really expected better from the good people at Sierra Nevada.

Beer #4 - This is the one we all agreed was the best of the 5, with powerful grapefruit hop bitterness throughout. I scored it a 77, and it had a group average of 71.25. My guess was that this was the Founders All Day IPA, but we now know that that beer was #1, so I'm down to 1/4, and Beer #4, the winner of the day, was actually the Stone Go-To IPA. So, congrats to Stone Brewing! 

Beer #5 - And that leaves Beer #5, one that I thought was a little on the sweet side and a little boring.  It scored a 55 on my sheet, and a 57.5 with the group.  Process of elimination leads to the Southern Tier Farmer's Tan, but I had incorrectly guessed that this was the Sierra Nevada, leaving me 1/5 on the day.  

Most important though, our blind taste test ranks:

1. Stone Go-To IPA (71.25)

2. Founders All Day IPA (67.25)

3. Terrapin RecreationAle (64.5) 

4. Southern Tier Farmer's Tan (57.5)

5. Sierra Nevada Nooner (53.75) 

I'm not surprised that we picked Stone #1, but I am a little surprised at Sierra Nevada bringing up the rear. That's why we tasted them blind though, to eliminate that prejudice and judge solely on the beer. 

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilz

Alright, time to visit a much maligned (in America at least) beer style, the pilsner.  This particular example is by Southern Tier Brewing out of New York... yes, Southern Tier is in New York. This will actually be Southern Tier's pace-setting 5th appearance on Feature Beer Friday!, following the Hop Sun, 2XIPA, Live, and Pumking.  That's plenty of Southern Tier, but I can't say that it's a bad thing.  They are a great addition to the local craft beer selection.

The Eurotrash Pilz is their Spring seasonal, so the timing of this post is a bit off, but it'll be something to bump on a throwback Thursday when the release rolls around.  They describe their beer as a "lightly carbonated, malty pilsner, and is perfect for session drinking." It's obviously a pilsner in style, and they use lager yeast, two types of hops, and two types of malts.  Presumably pilsner malt and I don't know about the second... and I'd certainly guess that both hops are of the noble variety.  

Let's see how it goes...

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: Clear, golden, nice head... typical pilsner.

Aroma: Grassy, a little sweet, not a lot of hops, and the sweetness from the malt definitely is the dominant flavor.

Taste: Very similar to the nose, a little grassy and malty sweet. I think this could definitely use some more hops, and we reviewed this one back in April, so it wasn't old at the time.   

Mouthfeel: Easy drinking, no bad aftertaste, thin, but it's supposed to be on the thin side.

Overall: It's a well done pilsner, but I think that only gets you so far in these ratings. I'd absolutely drink this over the BMC of the world, without thinking twice.  It's to style, easy to drink, low in abv for a sessionable experience, and there's nothing bad about it. If this was in cans I'd be a lot more likely to buy more of these next spring.

Overall Rating: 55.75
My Rating: 53

The Definitive Summer Guide To Pumpkin Beers

Wait what?  Pumpkin beers in the summer?  Yes indeed, as the breweries fight to be the first one with pumpkin beers on the shelves the release dates have continues to creep up, to the point where Crown Valley's Pumpkin Smash was released on August 1st this year in Baton Rouge!  Whether you look at Summer in the celestial sense of June 21st to September 21st, or in the Louisiana sense of April-May until basically early October, August 1st is pretty much right in the middle. That being said, here are some of the pumpkin beers we can expect to see around Baton Rouge, and my thoughts...

Ace Pumpkin Cider - Obviously a cider and not a beer, this is a 5% post-Labor Day release. My suggestion: sure, if you really like cider.

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale - No.

Brooklyn Brewery Post Road - A traditional pumpkin ale, it's listed as August-November availability so expect to see it any day now.  It's absolutely worth a try, but don't get your hopes up for something extremely daring.  My suggestion: try it when it comes out, and if you see some still around come Thanksgiving, grab some more. With a minimal hop profile, a little age won't hurt a thing, but at only 5%, it's not going to help either.

Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Smash - As mentioned above, this one is already out.  It's a pumpkin imperial stout and it's a good one.  The problem is that it's still way too fucking hot for a 10.6% stout. My suggestion: buy a 4-pack, if you want to try one now go for it, but save the rest for when the weather gets cold. Or maybe buy another 4-pack and save a few for next year and compare to that release.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - This one isn't available in Louisiana, but if you make your way to Houston for the LSU-Wisconsin game or head to Florida for a late Summer beach trip you might see it on the shelves. It's typically released around September 1st, and my suggestion is to grab a pack if you see it, because they usually go fast.

Harpoon Pumpkin Cider - Yes, Harpoon makes cider.  No, I've never tried it.  I'm not even sure if we're going to get this in Baton Rouge, but I'll be trying it if we do, because I'm a pretty big fan of cider.  This is also an August release, so if I see it I will report back later, but for now my suggestion is that if you like cider, why not give it a try?

Harpoon UFO Pumpkin - Yet another August release, what sets this one apart is that it's unfiltered, and it's 5.9% which is stronger than the rest of the non-imperial pumpkin ales on this list. My suggestion: If you want a little more kick without getting into a real high-gravity beer, this is one to try.

Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela - The name of the brewery is Jolly Pumpkin, and they usually put out some really good and interesting beers, so I'd have high hopes for this one.  I haven't ever tried it, but I'll definitely grab one if I see it on shelves this year.

McAuslan St. Ambroise Pumpkin - I'm 99% sure we'll get some of this down here, I've definitely seen the McAuslan beers before.  They are out of Canada, and they do a really good Apricot beer, so I'd have high hopes for their pumpkin release as well.

New Belgium Pumpkick - Their version of a pumpkin beer is brewed with cranberry juice and lemongrass.  My suggestion: If you like sour beers, this might be the pumpkin beer for you.

Saint Arnold Pumpkinator - Yes!  This one is released every year around October 15th, which is the PERFECT time for a good pumpkin beer. Buy some, enjoy it, age it, share it. You won't be disappointed. Don't try to drink too many by yourself though, or you'll be hurting the next morning.

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale - According to their website this is not currently brewed... so... I guess I'll have to pass!

Shipyard Pumpkinhead - One of the older pumpkin beers that I can remember, this one comes out in August as well, so sometime soon! It's only 4.5%, and a traditional lighter pumpkin beer.  My suggestion: give it a try, it's not the best on this list, but not the worst either.

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin - This is basically an imperial version of the Pumpkinhead, a little darker and a lot stronger, doubled to 9%.  It's also an August release, and I recommend grabbing a bottle or two, one for now and one for later.  This one should age pretty well.

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - No.

Southampton Pumpkin Ale - Another one that I haven't tried, I expect it to be released in Louisiana as I've seen previous Southampton beers on the shelves.  Their Double White and Imperial Porter are both excellent, so I'll give their pumpkin ale a try for sure.

Southern Tier Pumking - They describe this one as an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, at 8.6% with an August release.  I haven't seen any in Baton Rouge yet, but they are probably coming soon as well.  I reviewed one for Feature Beer Friday! a while back, and my sentiment holds true, it's worth picking a few up but not much point in aging these, although it won't hurt anything.

Terrapin Pumpkinfest - Honestly I've never tried this one, but we will likely get some in, as we got the previous seasonal, Maggie's Farmhouse peach ale. It's a german-style brew at 6.1%, I'll probably grab a pack and give it a try.

Wasatch Pumpkin Ale - I can't find release info on this one, but it's likely to be out soon. This one is the most "pumpkin pie" of all the pumpkin beers, and only at 4%.  My suggestion: get some for your friends or family that don't really like beer, they'll probably enjoy it.  And if not, you can always cook with the rest.

Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider - There is no release date that I see, but this is one of their limited releases, so quantity will likely be relatively small.  It's 6.9%, so if like cider and want a little more bite than the Ace or Harpoon, find some of these.

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier Pumking 2013

What's that?  Feature Beer Friday! for two weeks in a row?  That's right, and expect this streak to continue.  No more slacking for me, it's time for regular beer reviews and other content on a weekly basis.

For this round, the 2013 release of Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing in New York.  Southern Tier is a relative newcomer to the Louisiana market, and I've featured a few of their regular lineup before, including the Hop Sun, 2XIPA, and Live.  They have also brought us the Creme Brulee and Choklat stouts as well as a few special kegs of barleywine, and of course their pumpkin seasonal.  Pumking is described as an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, clocking in at 8.6% abv.
 
Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jeff Herman (Tiger Deaux-nuts), Dan Fisher, and Mandi Kaelberer.

Serving: 22 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Deep golden color, not a lot of head, this is definitely more of a traditional pumpkin ale as opposed to a pumpkin stout.

Aroma: Pie crust, not overly spiced or too much pumpkin, but it's there. Both Dan and Jeff said that it reminded them of a pumpkin pie.  

Taste: More pie crust, and honestly it could use a little more pumpkin.  It's like everything is there except the pumpkin itself. Despite that it's still delicious.

Mouthfeel: Finishes easy with a lot of breadiness.  

Overall: This is a pretty solid pumpkin beer among the traditional style of brewing pumpkin beers.  It's not going to rival the Saint Arnold Pumpkinator or Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Stout, but it's better (in my opinion) than something like the Wasatch Pumpkin Ale or even the Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale. It's absolutely worth picking up a bottle next fall. 

Overall Rating: 78.25
My Rating: 76

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier Live

It's time for part 3 of 3 featuring Southern Tier Brewing in Feature Beer Friday! Last week was the 2XIPA and two weeks ago featured the Hop Sun Summer Wheat Beer.

Just like the 2XIPA, the Southern Tier Live is available in bottles year-round.  I've also seen it on draft at the Bulldog and I'm sure they aren't the only ones to pick up a few Southern Tier beers for their taps.  The Live is a bottle-conditioned American Pale Ale, coming in at a sessionable 5.5% abv.  I know most people consider 5% the cutoff for a session beer, but that extra .5% isn't going to do you in.  Especially not the beer nerds out there used to imperial everything.   

Live is named due to the "alive" nature of beer as yeast consumes sugars and converts them into alcohol.  While the wort is turning into beer it is indeed alive with millions of living yeast organisms.  Some beer is filtered and maybe even pasteurized to kill off or suspend the yeast prior to bottling but with the Live they add a little more to produce a secondary fermentation and give this the bottle conditioning they advertise.  See, this is an educational blog!  

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 12 ounce bottle.

Appearance: Kind of like the other two Southern Tier beers, this one was clear and a deep gold.  I expected more haze from a bottle conditioned ale, oh well.  

Aroma: We all liked the aroma a lot, I picked up some grapefruit, and Brenton was all about the pine.  

Taste: Just like the aroma, almost bordering on an IPA hop balance but that was just fine with us.  It really had a good hop flavor without an overpowering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Nice carbonation, good lingering hoppiness... very nice.   

Overall: Of the three Southern Tier beers we tried this was the unanimous winner. I'd pick up another 6-pack of this one for sure.


Overall Rating: 80.33
My Rating: 75

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier 2XIPA

It's time for part 2 of 3 featuring Southern Tier Brewing in Feature Beer Friday! Last week was the Hop Sun and next week is going to be the Live Pale Ale. 
 
The 2XIPA is exactly the style it should be... a Double IPA.  It's not super strong at 8.2%, but that's enough to pass into the DIPA range.  It is one of their yearly offerings, not to be confused with the Unearthly, the yearly Imperial IPA they offer in bombers.  Why do they call one a Double IPA and one an Imperial IPA?  I'm not really sure, most people use those terms interchangeably, but not Southern Tier!  

They describe this 2XIPA as "feverishly hoppy with a malty backbone and higher-than-standard alcohol content.  Citrusy hops tease the senses with aromatics and lingering bitterness, while just the right balance of malts disguises 2XIPA's extra gravity."  Let's see how accurate that is!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 12 ounce bottle.

Appearance: Everyone noted the clear aspect of this one, and it was more golden in color than expected.  It looked a lot like the Hop Sun, not really a good thing considering the two styles.

Aroma: Hoppy, but nothing stood out to me.  Brenton picked up pine and citrus.

Taste: "Hoppy but with balance," was Dustin's comment.  I didn't find as much balance honestly, more just hoppy.

Mouthfeel: Brenton said it had a "pungent and strong finish without being excessively bitter."   

Overall: I didn't enjoy this as much as my co-reviewers, but it's still a decent DIPA.  Brenton was the biggest fan of the group, but we all gave it above average scores.


Overall Rating: 65
My Rating: 56

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier Hop Sun

Okay folks, in case you missed the news before, Southern Tier Brewing is into the Louisiana market!  So far I've seen 6-packs of the Hop Sun, Live Pale Ale, and the 2XIPA around town, and I believe a few others have found their way to New Orleans, although they might have just been on tap at Avenue Pub. This week and the next two weeks will cover all three of the Southern Tier offerings in an effort (last week's Pliny the Elder review aside) to keep Feature Beer Friday! a little more locally available.  

First up, is the Hop Sun.  This one is Southern Tier's summer seasonal, and it's most certainly summertime in South Louisiana these days.  Judging by the name I think we should expect something a little on the hoppier side for a summer seasonal, and it's labeled as a "Summer Wheat Beer" so I'm expecting something light, but with a little body and a refreshing hop profile.  Let's see what's in store...

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 12 ounce bottle.

Appearance: We all expected a little wheat haze from this one but it didn't deliver.  Not that it was a bad appearance, just missing that expected aspect.

Aroma: Hoppy, with some pine in there, but mostly citrus.  Brenton picked up some peach notes, and we all gave good scores here.

Taste: I found that the taste had even more citrus than the nose.  Brenton said it had a "nice blend of wheat and hop." Dustin liked the wheat but didn't find the hops to be as strong as expected based on the aroma.  

Mouthfeel: A little thin, nothing special here, but nothing offensive either.  Definitely good to not have an overly bitter aftertaste for a summer seasonal. 

Overall: Easy drinking but hoppy summer beer.  Definitely a pool-lounging sort of brew.


Overall Rating: 64.67
My Rating: 69

More Local Beer News! Southern Tier, Saint Arnold, NOLA...

Alright, as if American Craft Beer Week wasn't enough, here is even more local beer news:

Southern Tier officially releases in Louisiana today... just got this picture from Calandro's, looks like they also have some Parish Farmhouse IPA and Endeavour on the shelves, but the main point is all that Southern Tier.  Go get some!  The bar rollouts in Baton Rouge should be tonight at The Bulldog and tomorrow at The Cove. 

Also, today marks the official release of the Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel #3.  Like the Bishop's Barrel #1 this is an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels.  (All the Bishop's Barrel series are barrel aged, duh.)  Bishop's Barrel #1 was one of the best beers I've had from Saint Arnold, so I'm looking forward to this one as well.  It's only in bottles and only available at bars & restaurants, not retailers.  Look for it soon as the local places.  

More good news, NOLA Brewing is canning their Mechahopzilla Double IPA!  We knew this was coming, but it's still exciting to see the actual cans instead of just the artwork.  Look for this soon, don't know an exact release date.

Calandro's is also going to be running daily specials all week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.  Today is featuring the locals and the neighbors, Saint Arnold, Lazy Magnolia, NOLA, Tin Roof, Abita, and Parish.  Other breweries will be discounting on other days, follow their Facebook page for more. 

That's it for now... I'm sure other things will be popping up soon.  Chance of dieting this week: zero. 

New Brewery News! - New Belgium, Southern Tier, Founder's

Hey everyone, I'm sure you all know by now that New Belgium from Fort Collins, CO is officially out in Louisiana.  They arrived yesterday at Calandro's, Matherne's, Cuban Liquors, and The Beverage Store, and other area stores (the national chains) should be seeing their allotments any day now.  All the perennial releases were represented and Louisiana was lucky enough to get some cases of the Lips of Faith series as well.  I know Fat Tire is the real moneymaker for New Belgium, but their Lips of Faith series features some outstanding brews.  This first round of Lips of Faith might be going, going, gone, but there will plenty more to come! 

In other news, I'm late to the party on this one, but I've heard from multiple sources
including Nora's Beer Blog and The Ale Runner that Southern Tier from Lakewood, NY will be coming to Louisiana in May!  They are rolling out in Texas this month and I'm glad they chose Louisiana to follow.  Some of the hits here include the 2xIPA, 2xStout, Unearthly IIPA, Imperial Pumking, Imperial Choklat Stout, and the Imperial Creme Brulee Stout.  And that's leaving off many of their year-round beers, most of which I haven't had the chance to try.  I don't know yet what the Louisiana roll out will look like or an exact date, but I'll be passing it on.
 
Lastly, it's not quite to Louisiana, but beer hauls to Texas are about to get a lot better as I saw on The Petrol Station's FB page that Founder's Brewing from Grand Rapids, MI will be there this month as well!  April Fool's joke?  Nah, I checked the Founder's Brewing site and it's indeed true, that on April 8th they will be available across the state line. Their big claim to fame is the KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) but the rest of the lineup is solid as well.  Hopefully this means that like Southern Tier, they are thinking about moving a little east from Texas and coming to Louisiana.  Hopefully.

So, to recap... New Belgium is here, Southern Tier is coming, and Founder's is coming to TX.  

Beer Travels: Hopjacks - Pensacola, FL

Alright, long overdue it's a return to Pensacola, with a post all about the awesome beer bar that is Hopjacks.  Well, it's actually a small chain with a couple of locations in Pensacola and another in Mobile, AL but Jay and I, after a nice visit to the Pensacola Bay Brewery, made the short walk up Pensacola's main drag to Hopjacks.  Hopjacks was recommended to us as the best place in town to grab a craft beer, but it also was a pretty large restaurant specializing in pizza!  We weren't in the mood for a full meal though, so we bellied up to the bar and started with the beer.

The first thing I noticed as we sat down was the impressive wall of taps at the end of the bar.  112 taps is what they claim, and with them all squeezed together on the wall of the walk-in cooler it was pretty impressive.  

Now that's a lot of taps!  I liked how they grouped them together by brewery for the most part, and there were even more to the left of the picture.  The first one that caught my eye was a Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA on tap.  Whoa, on tap?  I had tried it once before in the bottle and reviewed it since also from the bottle but this was my first time having it on tap.  From there I moved on to a Southern Tier Back Burner Barleywine.  I wish Southern Tier would find their way down to Louisiana, but despite the name they are actually from New York.  After that I stuck with New York and ordered a Hoptical Illusion from Blue Point Brewing.  Not a bad IPA at all!  We also tried the Belgian Fries (fried in duck fat, yum!) and some of the Creamy Brie, Bacon & Artichoke Dip.  We weren't really hungry but sometime you need a little food with the beers and these both hit the spot.

The Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA!

The next night the whole crew decided they wanted to go out downtown and catch Trombone Shorty who was conveniently playing a show next door to Hopjacks.  So, go back again?  Hell yeah we did.  This time I grabbed a Toxic Sludge Black IPA from Blue Point and an Unearthly IPA from Southern Tier.  Two more New York beers?  I guess so, but we can't get them in Louisiana and both impressed.  We also split up some pizzas, and I can definitely say I'd eat there again if I'm ever back in Pensacola.  They were a little on the pricey side, but big and tasty.

All in all, a really nice place with good food and a fantastic beer selection.  If you're a craft beer fan visiting Pensacola, this should be the first (and maybe second and third) stop you make.