Not Just Any (New)Port in a Storm

I can't seem to let go of summer. I never want it to end. Therefore, as a way to hang onto it a little longer, here's a review of a Summer Hefeweizen in mid-October when most beer drinkers are well into the fall beers.

I'll start off right away by saying this is a fine Summer Hefeweizen from Newport Storm. Brewed by Coastal Extreme Brewing Company in Newport, Rhode Island. When I say "fine" I don't mean "fine" like your teenage daughter says "fine" when you tell her to turn off her cell phone and do her homework. I mean "fine" like it's used when you describe certain automobiles, old-world craftsmanship or Corinthian leather.

I have a "special place in my heart" for Hefeweizen. It was the first type of craft beer I'd ever tried. It's because of Hefeweizen that I became aware of all the great craft brews out there. It was my "gateway beer".
I've sampled several "Hefe's" since then, and I have to say this one is way up there on the Chart of Deliciousness. I poured it into the glass. A nice chunk of sediment drifted down to the bottom.  I recommend you always pour Hefe's into a glass as opposed to drinking it out of the bottle if you can. That way you're sure your getting all the sediment that adds to the special taste. I immediately noticed the darkish yellow color. Not a "bright" yellow/orange like some Hefe's. The fluffy, white head dissipated quickly. It was half gone by the time I got my camera on and trained into position. But no matter. I could smell the citrus aroma from a foot away. It has a very rich, smooth taste. And no, I didn't drink it with an orange slice or lemon slice. I'm OK with people that do that, but it's not for me. Why sprinkle a spoonful of sugar onto a slice of cake? The cake is better without it!

This is one delightfully tasty Hefeweizen. I gotta hand it to the guys up there in that little bitty state. They know how to make a tasty Hefe.

I have to acknowledge Richard Hunter (aka "Sir Richard) for the unbelievable effort he underwent to get this beer to me. It's only available in summer in certain parts of the northeast. He saved it and packed it with his other luggage when migrating back south from his summer vacation home in Rhode Island. I live in middle Tennessee and he lives in south Alabama on the Gulf Coast. We have a mutual friend in south Alabama who I visited last month. Sir Richard met us in Mobile, AL to make the hand-off. Not only did the package contain this particular beer, but three others from Newport Storm, all of which I plan to review (an Amber Ale, a Pilsener and an IPA). Super duper huge thank you to Sir Richard!

Would I buy this beer again? If only I could

Hoppy To See You Rating: 4.5 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

Summer Lovin'

Photo: Victory Brewing Company

Summer is over. There's no denying it. The temperature and leaves are dropping and the fall beers are falling onto the shelves. But I grabbed one more summer ale to try before they (and summer) went away– Summer Love Ale from Victory Brewers in Pennsylvania.

For some reason I had high expectations for this beer. Maybe it was the design of the label, maybe the name, I don't know what it was exactly that drew me to this beer in the store, and why I thought it would be good. I wouldn't call it a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn't call it a great beer by any stretch of the imagination, either. It stays right there in the middle of the road.

When I poured it from the bottle, I found it to have a bright yellow/gold color, and somewhat bubbly head. It has a slight hint of lemon which didn't really do much for me. It does go down easy and is somewhat refreshing. I found it to be just a little bitter, but not distractingly so.

Maybe it was because I had such high expectations for it that I was a little disappointed. I certainly didn't have any trouble drinking any of the six I bought! But I found myself reaching for one of the other beers in the fridge, and often passing on the Summer Love. For the longest time there was one still left after going through two or three other brands of beers that were sharing the fridge. 

Victory brews dozens of other beers and I'm sure I'll be trying many of them. But this one will probably not find it's way into the fridge again. There are just too many great and unknown beers out there to try.

Would I buy this beer again? Not Likely

Hoppy To See You Rating: 2.5 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

Vienna Lager from Devil's Backbone

Photo: Devil's Backbone Brewing Company

Once again, I was in my favorite local beer store to choose a couple of new beers I hadn't tried. Fortunately, it's not difficult to find a beer I haven't tried. Also fortunately, there are so many to choose from.

I had finally made my choice of one beer, and decided I was going to pick up a six-pack of one of my favorites - Tailgate's Blacktop Blonde. I was searching the shelves when one of the employees could tell I needed help finding something. I asked him where the Blacktop Blonde was and he took me to an aisle I thought I had already searched thoroughly. Sure enough, there was a hole where the Blacktop Blonde was supposed to be. I guess I'm not the only one that likes it. 

Sitting next to the hole was Vienna Lager from Devil's Backbone Brewing Company in Virginia. The beer store guy said they had just gotten it in and it was a "solid" lager. I wasn't sure how much of a compliment that was, but it was time to go, so Vienna Lager it was. 

When I poured it, I wasn't expecting such a beautiful amber/chestnut color. It had a nice head and looked delicious. Anticipation built as I raised to to my lips. I took a rather large sip. I took another rather large sip. I guess I was expecting a little more richness form such a "pretty" beer. I don't want to use the word "light" but I don't know what other word to use. When I say it was light, I don't mean that as a criticism, it was just that I wasn't expecting it. Just like the guy at the beer store said. It was a "solid" lager. Very little bitterness, goes down easy, good color, nice head, and tastes good. The very definition of "solid". If you associate lager with those mainstream beers, you should give Vienna Lager a try. See what a good (solid) lager should taste like.

Would I buy this beer again? Mmm... probably

Hoppy To See You Rating: 3.25 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

Blue Paddle

Photo: New Belgium Brewery

Yet another beer from New Belgium. A pilsener. Yes. A pilsener. 

OK, I'll admit I bought this beer by accident. I was in my favorite beer store, overwhelmed with all the choices as usual. It was the Friday before a holiday weekend and the place was very busy. Normally when I go, there's hardly anyone there (an advantage of being self-employed and able to run errands in the daytime during the week). But for some reason (OK, the lovely wife was out of wine and couldn't face the holiday weekend without the grapes) I found myself dodging and weaving around folks in the rather narrow aisles. I saw the Blue Paddle and it had a nice, friendly look about the package. It sparked memories of playing ping-pong when I was a young lad... even though I always seemed to lose. I found out later that it got its name from the instrument that was used to lovingly remind a New Belgium employee to behave when he was a child. 

I kept looking, dodging, weaving. 

The lovely comes up behind me, wine in hand, ready to go. I happened to be standing by the Blue Paddle again, so I grabbed it and we headed to check out.

By dinner time I was anxious to try the new beer I had gotten. It was sufficiently chilled and dinner was almost ready. I got one out, got out my favorite glass and was looking at the label. What? It was a pilsener! New Belgium makes a pilsener? Why, yes. Yes they do.

I thought about it and came to the conclusion that if New Belgium made a pilsener, surely it wouldn't taste like "those" pilseners... would it?

I poured it into my glass. Yes, it was that light yellow color that we're all familiar with. I didn't get much of a head. Kinda wimpy and almost disappeared before I could get a photo of it. I sort of blamed myself for that. I could have poured it better. So I let that go.

I took a robust sip, fearing the worst. 

Hey! Not bad! Not bad at all! It's much richer than what I'd braced myself for. It has a slight, very slight bitterness but a twinge of sweetness to take the edge off of the bitterness. I don't mean to sound like it's bitter, because it's not. No more bitter than you'd expect from a good pilsener, I suppose. Alcohol content is below 5%, so you're good for more than one if you so desire. Which, by the way, I do. 

I must say that if you associate pilsner with "those" beers, you should be pleasantly surprised by Blue Paddle. This one is a great choice if you're considering trying something other than "those" beers but have been hesitant to take the leap. It could be a good "gateway beer" to all the wonderful choices that are out there... Blue Paddle among them.

Would I buy this beer again? Signs Point to Yes

Hoppy To See You Rating: 3.5 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

Foster's Premium Ale is Dinky-di

I suppose just about anybody that has enjoyed beer for a portion of their adult life has, at one time or another, run across Foster's beer in the giant can. I've tried it out of curiosity (what's the deal with the big can? Australian beer – wonder what that's like?, etc). After trying it, I have to say I wasn't impressed. Basically just your typical lager, just in a giant can.

Anyway, I met this fellow from New Zealand. His name was Chris, but everybody called him Kiwi. He happened to be selling me a car at the time, and the subject of beer came up. I think the conversation was something like this:

Me - "How much more will the payments be if the interest rate is 'X'?"

Chris/Kiwi - "About $40 a month."

Me - "Well, I guess I could do with less groceries every month for the next four years."

My Wife - "You could buy less beer."

Me and Kiwi in unison - "Ohhhh noooo! You can do without groceries, but you can't do without beer!"

Well, we started talking about beer. My wife rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. She knew that working out the details on this car deal were going to be on hold for a while. Long story short, he asked me if I was familiar with Foster's. Of course, I was. I had to be honest with him and admit I wasn't impressed. He told me not to drink the stuff in the blue can, that I wanted the Foster's Premium Ale in the green and gold can. I had to say I'd never noticed the Foster's in the green can. I told him I would stop and get some on the way home in my new car if we could ever get back to ironing out the deal.

True to my word, I stopped and got two cans of Foster's Premium on my way home in my new (used) car. When I got home, I poured it into a glass, and I immediately knew, just from looking, it wasn't the Foster's I was familiar with. It had a nice amber color, and a rich, thick head. I took a rather large sip, followed by another rather large sip, and one more rather large sip (I was thirsty - buying a car is hard work).

It's a ripper of a tinnie! That's Australian for "It's a very good can of beer."

I enjoyed it very much. I drank the entire giant can. I recommend this as a great "pizza and/or burgers beer" (or a great "shrimp on the barbie" beer). It has a great malty taste that goes down easy. A rich taste that doesn't seem heavy. Another good, all-around beer.

Would I buy this beer again? Struth (Aussie for verification)

Hoppy To See You Rating: 3.75 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

Sawtooth Ale

As I navigate these delightful waters of beer discovery, I realize that there are so many good brews out there, that I have a difficult time drawing fine distinctions among them. They're certainly all different in their own ways. They're as individual as people. And, as with people, I find I like most of the brews I've tasted on this exploration. Certainly there are some bad apples, but most of them have some redeeming qualities.

That brings us to Sawtooth Ale. The flagship brew from Colorado's Left Hand Brewing. It is one fine brew. If you're new to this "Anything Other Than Mainstream Beer" movement. It would be a great one to start your journey of discovery with. It's an amber ale with a delightful balance of malt and hops. As you take a sip (by the way, I use the word "sip" because I find that it sounds better than "gulp" or "drink" or "chug", but I rarely "sip" on a beer) the first flavor you notice is the malt, as it exits your mouth and heads down the throat, the flavor of mild hops springs to life. After it's all gone, there's a bit of dryness that lets you know it's time for another "sip". 

Sawtooth is another one of those session ales. Low-ish in alcohol (5.3%) so you could have more than one at the picnic. Although not a seasonal brew, it's a great summer beer. Like one of my other favorite "every day" beers SweetWater Blue, it's a fine beer that's has complexity without being pretentious.

Would I buy this beer again? Affirmative

Hoppy To See You Rating: 4 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5

1554 Must've Been A Good Year

Photo: New Belgium Brewery, Fort Collins, CO

As I mentioned in the last post, I was not anxious to try anything from New Belgium after drinking their Fat Tire ale, but this is THE beer that broke down the barrier between me and New Belgium.

I was a cold winter night when I was introduced to 1554 Black Lager at a friend's house. I didn't expect to stay very long, so before I left home, I just grabbed whatever was left in the fridge (probably a few SweetWater 420's) to take with me. After arriving, I put the beer in my friend's fridge (after taking one for myself) and went in to join the party. A little while later, I went back to get another, and they had mysteriously disappeared. Well, not mysteriously. A couple of "beerless" folks had asked if they could have one, and of course I said yes.

A late arrival to the festivities had brought 1554 with him. I had never met this guy, but we struck up a conversation about beer. He (like me) was a fan of beer and we both made jokes about being "beer snobs". Anyway, I said I'd never tried 1554 and asked if I could try one. He insisted I try one, and have more than one if I wanted.

I didn't read the label before I took a sip. Very nice. An unexpected smoothness. A rich, malty taste without being too "heavy". Then (to my surprise) followed by a hint of chocolate. I've had some "chocolate beers" before, but didn't find them to my liking. This one keeps the chocolate taste at bay on the initial sip, lets you enjoy the good beer flavor, then the chocolate taste peeks it's head in the door and says a nice, quiet "hello" as it leaves your mouth. Yes. I became a fan of 1554, and the wall between me and New Belgium came crumbling down. I don't mean to suggest that 1554 is a "chocolate beer", but it does have chocolate as part of it's flavors.

When poured, it's very pretty to look at. A clear brown/black color with a thick, creamy, ivory colored head. This is a good after dinner brew, or to have with friends around the fire on a cold evening. The only problem I have with this beer is remembering it's name. I am terrible at remembering numbers, so I have a hard time remembering "1554". I always say "that black lager beer with the date as it's name". But even though I can't remember the name, I don't have any trouble finding it.

Would I buy this beer again? Have and will

Hoppy To See You Rating: 4.00 | 5
Highest possible rating: 5