Sunday, June 30, 2013

Almanac Beer Company Farmer's Reserve No. 3

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Almanac Beer Company Farmer's Reserve No. 3 - Ale Aged in Wine Barrels with Strawberries and Nectarines.  I picked up this bottle at Mission Liquors in Fremont (here).

From the Almanac Beer Company website: “Our third entry in our barrel-aged Farmer’s Reserve series is an ode to summer. When summer comes to California’s farmer’s markets, the stands explode with mountains of stone fruit and strawberries. We selected the sweetest coastal strawberries from Swanton Berry Farm and high summer Crimson Baby nectarines from Blossom Bluff Farms to make this tart, wild ale as a celebration of our California summer.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a hazy golden orange with a nice pale white head and nice lacing.
Aroma: Fresh strawberries and nectarines, pale malts, oak wine barrel notes, citrus, stone fruit and yeast funk.
Taste: Sour and tart, white wine, citrus, strawberries, nectarines, biscuit malt sweetness, yeast funk, biscuit malt sweetness and a touch of vanilla.
Overall: Amazing and impressive, Almanac Beer Company Farmer's Reserve No. 3 - Ale Aged in Wine Barrels with Strawberries and Nectarines is delicious and I was left wanting another.  At 6% ABV this impressive sour is worth trying.  

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Stone Brewing Company RuinTen IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Stone Brewing Company RuinTen IPA.

From the Stone Brewing Company website: “We first released this decidedly indelicate beer in 2012, as Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our belovedly bitter Stone Ruination IPA. Stone RuinTen IPA uses the same recklessly hoppy recipe as the 2012 release; only the name has changed, as we plan to unleash this belligerently delicious hop monster upon the public annually from now on. We packed a whopping five pounds of hops into each barrel, and cranked up the ABV to stand up to the hop onslaught. The results are glorious, and we know you'll rejoice in tasting this audacious gem of hoppy splendor once again. You're welcome.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a dark burnt orange color with a nice white head and sticky and chunky lacing.
Aroma: Orange, pine, grapefruit, tropical fruits, peach and sweet caramel dominate the nose.
Taste: Five pounds of hops per barrel is right! Grapefruit, pine, tropical fruits and citrus hops up front balanced majestically by caramel malts.
Overall: Do you like hops?  Do you like IPAs?  Do you like great beer?  If you have answered yes to any of these questions go pick up Stone Brewing Company RuinTen IPA.  At 10.8% ABV Stone once again produces a beer worth the praise, worth a long trek to the store, worth stocking the beer fridge with.  I’ll look forward to this release each year and I plan to source a few more bottles and drink ‘em fresh.  You should too.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Friday, June 28, 2013

The Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is The Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale. These days I’ll buy anything made by The Lost Abbey and it now seems that at nearly any price (this bottle was not inexpensive).

From The Lost Abbey website: “A blend of bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout and brandy barrel-aged Angels Share, Deliverance is the epic battle being waged between heaven and hell for the souls of mortal men… and your enjoyment in a glass.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours extremely dark brown, nearly black with the tiniest mocha colored head and sticky lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, brandy, dark fruits, molasses, vanilla, caramel, chocolate and licorice. Amazing nose and sweet smelling!
Taste: Boozy bourbon and brandy followed by chocolate, vanilla, roasted malts, caramel, brown sugar, oak and dark fruits (raisin, fig and cherry).
Overall: Certainly a sipper, The Lost Abbey Deliverance Ale is huge and at 12.5% ABV a beer to be respectfully consumed.  This thick and rich offering is something I’d like to drink again and again. This beer is exceptional!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Thursday, June 27, 2013

AleSmith Brewing Company Grand Cru

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is AleSmith Brewing Company Grand Cru. I picked this beer up at The Willow’s Market (here). If you haven’t yet been to Willow’s Market in Menlo Park, CA you really should.  With well over 1,000 craft beers you’d be hard pressed to find a better selection.

From the AleSmith Brewing Company website: “Our other famous Belgian-style offering is our Grand Cru. As with Horny Devil, it is fermented using yeast which originated in a Trappist monastery in Belgium. A darker type of Belgian candi sugar gives it more color and a richer complexity of flavor, consistent with the Belgian style.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a reddish caramel brown color with a large tan head and sticky lacing.
Aroma: Sweet caramel malt, plum and other dark fruits, Belgian yeast, slight banana and chocolate.
Taste: Starts out tangy then sweet caramel and roasted malts, dark fruits, Belgian yeast, spices and a little chocolate drift in. 
Overall: Complex and creamy, AleSmith Brewing Company Grand Cru is very enjoyable.  At 10% ABV the alcohol is noticeable, but does not drink like a 10% ABV beer. What is noticeable is how artfully created this beer is made.  Superb drinkability and HIGHLY recommended!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Abbaye Notre-Dame de St. Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10 Belgian Quadrupel

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Abbaye Notre-Dame de St. Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10 Belgian Quadrupel.

Commercial description: “Trappistes Rochefort 10 from Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy is a top fermentation beer with an alcohol content of 11.30%. Deep red-brown colour with a compact head. The alcohol profile is a major component in the flavour of this rich ale. Very similar to 6 and 8, but has much more of everything.
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours dark reddish-brown with a huge off-white head and sticky patchy lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruits, caramel, toffee, Belgian yeast, roasted nuts, candi sugar and toasted malt.
Taste: Dark fruits (plum, raisin, dried figs, cherries), toasted nuts, caramel malt, candi sugar, Belgian yeast, bready malt and a slight spiciness.
Overall: Rich and smooth Abbaye Notre-Dame de St. Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10 Belgian Quadrupel is an essential must try for fans of Belgian Quads (or beer in general really). This complex 11.3% ABV offering is just plain tremendous.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Drake's Brewing Company Alpha Session NorCal Bitter Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Drake's Brewing Company Alpha Session NorCal Bitter Ale. Two years ago I had the pleasure of having this beer during a Drake's First Friday event that I was working for my kid's school.  At that time they didn't have plans to bottle it, but things changed and here we are.  I'm a BIG fan of Drake's Brewing Company and this beer is just one of the many reasons why.

From the Drake’s Brewing Company website: “Our hoppy session ale. Light and refreshing with 2-row barley, Maris Otter, and a touch of C-45 malts, but hopped up with classic West Coast hops and an ample dry-hop of Simcoe, Citra, and CTZ for intense flavors and aromas of pine, citrus, and grapefruit. We call it a NorCal Bitter. — Available in May on draft and in 4-packs of 12 oz bottles.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance:  Pours a cloudy gold color with a frothy white head, sticky lacing and excellent head retention.
Aroma: Smells amazing! Huge hop presence (Citra, Simcoe and CTZ), citrus and pine and a light sweet pale malt scent in the background.
Taste: Hop forward with grapefruit, tangerine and pine and the slight flavors of pale malt.
Overall: I absolutely love it. Incredibly sessionable and perfect in so many ways. At 3.8% ABV I’d love to keep a case of Alpha Session on hand for those times when you want something to session that has great hop character, but that won’t put you on your rear end. Fortunately they are bottling this gem now, so go get some!  I picked up a four pack at Caps & Taps in Dublin (here). I’m heading to the brewery next to get serious about it.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Stone Brewing Company Espresso Imperial Russian Stout

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Stone Brewing Company Espresso Imperial Russian Stout.

From the Stone Brewing Company website: “Like the classic version, this Odd Year edition was brewed in the authentic, historical style of an imperial Russian stout, but with the addition of several hundred pounds of espresso beans from our friends at Ryan Bros. Coffee. Layers of flavor and complexity augment an already enigmatic brew, leaving this darkly delicious libation positively brimming with deep, rich espresso flavors that meld beautifully with the roasty bitterness of the dark malts.”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours black with a thin cream colored head and spotty lacing.
Aroma: Espresso, dark chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malt and a little boozy.
Taste: Dark and caramel malts, espresso, dark and milk chocolate, vanilla and dark fruits. There’s slow booziness that gradually creeps in.
Overall: Thick and rich, Stone Brewing Company Espresso Imperial Russian Stout is to be savored.  At 11% ABV this intense Espresso Imperial Russian Stout is not to be missed (if you’re a fan of the style).  I loved this beer and plan to source some more.  I don’t care if summer is here…this beer is exceptional!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey


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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Brewery Ommegang Gnomegang Blonde Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Brewery Ommegang Gnomegang Blonde Ale.

From the Brewery Ommegang website: "The cheerful gnomes of Belgian farmstead Brasserie d 'Achouffe dropped by the Brewery Ommegang farmstead brewery in the summer of 2010.

In appearance, Gnomegang is a rich, translucent gold, with a big, fluffy white head. The high-carbonation is readily apparent. The nose focuses on distinctive clove aromas, combined with yeasty fruitiness typical of Chouffe beers. Flavors include ripe fruit, clove, light caramel, non-cloying candy sweetness, smooth maltiness, and well-balanced hopping. Mouthfeel offers a big, round body with full, fine carbonation. The finish is dry and warming, lingering gracefully."
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with a large white head and nice lacing.
Aroma: Belgian yeast, banana, cloves, citrus, light grains and apple.
Taste: Belgian yeast, cloves, candi sugar, citrus, sweet caramel malt and banana.
Overall: Delicious and highly drinkable, Brewery Ommegang Gnomegang Blonde Ale is well balanced.  At 9.5% ABV I highly recommend this Belgian Blonde Ale (if you’re a fan of the style). I certainly am and I’ll be seeking more of this on my next beer run.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Schubros Brewery 680 IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Schubros Brewery 680 IPA. I saw this beer at Costco (who, by the way has really increased their craft beer selection) and thought I should pick this up mostly due to Schubros Brewery being locals, but also because I drive 680 most days (the return home commute).

From the Schubros Brewery website: “680 is classic Olde English IPA.  She pours with a rocky head, just off-white in color. The beer below emanates a bright mahogany, hinting of the caramel and toffee malt flavors that await.  Hops define the aroma, with the refreshing scents of tropical fruits and lively citrus at the lead, balancing out the rich maltiness of the body. Finish is mildly bitter and slightly warming.

1% of all 680 sales will go to the local school system in which the brew sells (what sells in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District goes to SVUSD; what sells in Dublin stays in Dublin, etc.).”
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a bright mahogany color with an off-white head and nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus hops, toffee, caramel and quite malty smelling.
Taste: Caramel malt, toffee, citrus hops and a little earthy.
Overall: A nice offering, Schubros Brewery 680 IPA is a malt forward IPA that, at 6% ABV, is easy to drink and enjoyable. I typically drink more hop forward IPAs, but this was great to try and I’d most definitely drink Schubros Brewery 680 IPA again.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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