dogfish head

New Blog Summit Saga India Pale Ale

Starting a tap, we are going to explore a new brew from the Summit Brewing Company.  The new brew is called Summit Saga India Pale Ale.  Summit Brewing Conmpany was founded in 1986 by Mark Stutrud in St Paul, Minnesota.   It is nice to see this brewery trying to do something new in their beer portfolio.  When they started releasing their Unchained Series, there was a change in the air in the Summit Brewery.  They were doing beers that fit the St Paul area.  Now they are trying to grow even more in other areas of the states.  This beer is their second new beer this year. The first new one was their new Summer Ale replace their old seasonal, which was Summit Hefenizen Ale. Let us get into the beer.

It has a light copper color. It has a grapefruit to mango smell with a little spicy. The taste of the beer is of grapefruit and mango with a slight carbonation taste. This is a very drinkable beer. This is a slight different IPA then what is on the market.

Here is a description from their website (www.summitbrewing.com):

Named after the Norse goddess Sága, drinking companion of the God Odin. With a divine tropical fruit hop aroma and clean, assertive bitterness.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.summitbrewing.com

Twitter: @summitbeer

Closing the bar, I love this beer and I am happy to see this brewery doing something new and different. There are a few beers that from this brewery. I love their EPA, maibock, porter, winter ale, and oatmeal stout that I wish was package. The rest of their beers are average. This is my thought pattern not yours. Make sure you try their beers and draw your judgment on them. However, this beer to me has brought them back to the front of the line, I cannot wait to see how this beer does against rest of the beer market. Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:@djweiser

New Blog Redhook Long Hammer IPA

In this blog, the beer that will be featured is from Redhook Brewery and it is called Long Hammer IPA. This brewery was founded in 1981 by Paul Shipman and Gordon Bowker in Seattle, Wa. This brewery is known to have all of their beers be very drinkable for any event and time of the year.

This beer in the glass is a light copper color. The smell is citrus to almost earthy.  The taste of the beer is of carbonation to some citrus drinkable and able to drink it all day. It might be drinkable but it is not well balance. I feel the hoppies over take everything.

Here is a description from their website (www.redhook.com):

The generous addition of hops both during and at the end of the fermentation process (dry-hopping) gives our India Pale Ale its characteristic bitterness and piney citrus aroma and flavor.  The medium body, crisp finish, and moderate alcohol and IBU levels makes this one of America’s most drinkable and best-selling IPAs.

Style………………….India Pale Ale

Abv…………………….6.5%

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Malts…………………Pale, Caramel, MunichHops…………………..Alchemy, Cascade, WillametteColor SRM………….8.5–>IBUs…………………..44.0

IBUOriginal Gravity..14.4 degrees plato

Brewed Since………1984

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: http://www.redhook.com

Twitter: @redhook_brewery

In closing, this brewery was one of the first breweries that had me hooked on craft beer world. I use to drink their ESB (Extra Special Bitter) all the time. From there, I started to try other craft beers from other craft breweries. I want to thank this brewery for showing me the light on good beer. I like this beer for its drinkable but I believe it is not well balance and over hopped. It does not have enough malt backbone to it. I love this beer in the can but I will not buy it all the time. Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Milwaukee Brewing Hop Happy India Pale Ale

Starting another tap, we are going to talk about another beer from the Milwaukee Brewing Company and it is called Milwaukee Brewing Hop Happy India Pale Ale.  If you read my earlier blogs on this brewery, you will know the history of it.  Let us get into the beer now.

This beer is a beautiful copper tone to it in the glass. It has a nice earthy to piney smell to the beer. As far as the taste of the beer, it is very smooth and well balance for being an India Pale Ale.  A nice sweet carbonation taste in the beer with a slight circus kick in it. Aftertaste has the nice dry earthy hop snap to it.

Here is a description of the beer from the website (www.mkebrewing.com):

Brewed with three different kinds of hops, this IPA is balanced by the oats added to the mash. The oats not only add an unexpected sweetness, but also a heavier mouthfeel.

Here is a video about the beer from their website (www.mkebrewing.com) also:

http://youtu.be/KHbJ5StqoI4

Here is a few spots where you can get some information on this brewery:

Website: http://www.mkebrewing.com

Twitter: @mkebrewco

Last call, I really enjoy many of the beers that this brewery makes in their lineup. I love this beer for many reason but mainly because it is not overly hoppy like most IPAs out now. Plus, this beer is very drinkable for any season. Go hunt this beer down and let me know what you think of the beer. Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Sebago Brewery Lake Trout Stout

In this blog, we are going to talk about a beer I received through my Beer of the Month. This brewery is unknown to me just like this brew. This brewery was founded in 1998. They offer a full line of different beer styles all the east coast.

This beer is black in color like your normal stout with a constant light brown head.  The smell from the beer is strong chocolate. The taste is not very good to be honest. The beer starts out water tasting and then a chocolate taste along a strong chocolate aftertaste.

Here is a description from their website (www.sebagobrewing.com):

Lake Trout Stout is midnight black with a thick and creamy head.  It is a full bodied stout brewed with oatmeal and plenty of hops to balance the roasted barley. Our stout is an experience.  It tastes the same way it looks – dark and rich. It is named after the famous deep water Sebago Lake Togue or Lake Trout which inhabit the depths of Maine’s deepest lake. Enjoy.

BEER DETAILS:

Style: Stout

History: First Brewed in 1998

Orig. Gravity: 13.5 °P

Color: Midnight Black 170 SRM

ABV: 4.7%

IBU’s: 32

Pairing Suggestions: rich sauces, grilled meats, or chocolate

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.sebagobrewing.com

Twitter: @sebagobrewing

In closing, I love stouts in every style, however, Irish Dry Stout is very dry and I feel you need to drink a water with this style of beer. This beer is good but not bad. Since I cannot get this beer in Chicago, I will be enjoying my last two bottles of this brew. Drink it! Enjoy it l! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Dogfish My Antonia Pilsner

In this blog, we are going to dig into Dogfish Head My Antonia Pilsner.  Here is a little history of the brewery called Dogfish Head Brewery.  It was founded in 1995 by Sam Calagione in the state of Milton, Delaware.  They try to do different things to the old classic beer styles.  Their tagline says it all, which is “Off-centered ales for off-centered people.”  They do several different styles of beer that they sell out in the market.  They were featured in documentary “Beer Wars” and the TV show called “Brew Masters” on Discovery Channel.

This beer is your normal german pilsner. It has a ton of carbonation in this 750ml bottle. It is slightly cloudy with a golden to yellow in color. It has a slight circus smell or nothing in the smell from the beer. The beer has a tastes of circus with carbonation in it. The aftertaste is dry that will make you want to drink water with the beer. The dry aftertaste is slightly bitter that comes from the hops, however, it is not a huge bitter aftertaste like from IPAs.

Here is a description from the bottle:

This here beer is a lagerific departure for our ale-centric brewery.  A marriage of old world tradition and new world innovation, My Antonia is brewed with pilsner malt and continually-hopped with a blend of Noble and West Coast hops.

Here is a story on their website (www.dogfish.com):

My Antonia (named after the Willa Cather read), is a continually-hopped imperial pilsner. This lager for ale lovers is citrusy, sweet and refined.

My Antonia started out as a collaboration beer when Sam brewed it atBirra del Borgo (hope you can read Italian) outside Rome, Italy, with owner/brewer Leonardo DiVencenzo in October 2008. In 2010, we began brewing My Antonia here in Delaware for U.S. distribution.

As an aside, in June 2009, Leonardo came over to Delaware and brewed our original batch of Namaste with us at our Rehoboth Beach brewpub. And Leo is also one of the brewers involved in the Eataly project in New York City. What goes around, comes around.

Anyhoo… here is our Quick Sip Clip of Sam chatting about My Antonia with his Italian-American grandmother Jessie Calagione (they sometimes veer a bit off topic, but we think it’s a great video and love her ‘cash customers’ story). Cheers!

Here is a few ways to get to know this brewery:

Website: www.dogfishhead.com

Twitter: @dogfishbeer

In closing, I respect these craft breweries for their beer passion they have for this art. Dogfish Head is a great brewery and I love many of their beers. I love how this brewery pushes the limits of beer drinkers taste buds.  However, this beer and many of their beers that are in 750ml, I feel are not worth the money you are paying for what is in the bottle.  Let me say this, the beer itself is pretty good but for the price I feel it is not worth the money. I do love some of their beers that come in 750ml bottles.  I love their Black and Blue, Bitch’s Brew, and a few others. If you are a huge pilsner fan, I believe you will love this brew for the difference that it bring to the beer style. Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Big Horn 71 Pale Ale

In this blog, we are going to talk about another brew from the Big Horn Ram Brewery called 71 Pale Ale. You know the history of this brewery from my earlier blogs. This beer has the 71 for the year that the brewery was founded. In some cases, you can call this their flagship beer.

This beer sits in the glass as slightly cloudy golden color.  The smell of the beer is little earthy.  The taste is a nice well balance beer. It has a sweet then heavy carbonation taste. The aftertaste has a nice bitter hop kick to it. This beer is perfect in any season and very drinkable.

Here is a description from their website (www.theram.com):

A distinctly drinkable pale ale brewed with a touch of rye and a blend of 5 hops. Deep copper in color with subtle spicy rye character and an enjoyable hoppy flavor.

Here is sources to get to know this brewery:

Website: www.theram.com

Twitter: @theram

On ending, like this beer and all the rest of the beers that are made at Big Horn Ram Brewery, they are designed for you to have more than one beer.  They are all very drinkable and sessional.  The 71 pale ale is one of my favorites at this great brewery.  It gives everything I am looking for in pale ale.  Go find your nearby Ram Brewery to eat and drink.  Enjoy it!  Drink it! Metal it !

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA

In this blog, we are going to talk about another small brewery called Uinta Brewery from Salt Lake City, Utah.  We talked about Hyve in my earlier blog.  I voiced how it was very disappointed and I did not like it.  This time around we are going to talk about one of my favorite beer from them.  The beer we are going to sip and visit is called the Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA.  This beer style is a marriage of two awesome styles of beer.  Porter or stout meets IPAs.  You can’t go wrong with that.  This is the latest trending beer style out there right now.

This beer in the glass is black until you put it up to the light then it becomes a dark brown.  The smell of the beer is of sweet circus. The taste of the beer is slight chocolate and kick of carbonation to circus kick. The aftertaste is very dry but in a good way.  The dryness from this beer is from the hops and the IBU is over 130.  Just picture yourself eating chocolate cover orange and you will understand this style a little bit better.  It is not fully like that but it gives you a better idea.

Here is a descripation from their website (www.uintabrewing.com):

Toasted, chocolaty dark malts align with an astronomical amount of hops.

They put this also on their website (www.uintabrewing.com):

Named Utah’s Centennial Star in 1996, Dubhe (pronounced Doo-bee) illuminates the front of the big dipper from 124 light years away. Dubhe, also known as Alpha Ursae Majoris, is a red giant that appears orange in color and has a mass 4x that of the sun.

Here is a few places to get information on this brewery:

Website: www.uintabrewing.com

Twitter:  @uintabrewing

Setting up the tap again, I really love this beer.  I love all three beer styles that go into this one beer style.  It is a wet dream for people that enjoy all factors that this style and this beer brings to your coffee table or bar.  This is one of my favorite one in the Black IPA market along with Widmer Pitch Black IPA. Pitch Black and Dubhe are the same style but totally different.  I want you to go out and hunt this beer down and try it.  Please let me know what you think and send a message to the brewery.  Breweries love to hear from us beer drinkers.  Enjoy it!  Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Central Waters Illumination Double IPA

In this blog, we are going to take a look at a beer from a small brewery from Amherst, WI called Central Waters.  This brewery is powered by solar power.  They are very green on everything with packaging and energy use.  This brewery has been in business since 1996.  Mike McElwain and Jerome Ebel are the founders of this brewery.  Their packaging is very dull and boring, however, we do not judge on packing just the beer inside.  They brew several different styles. The one we will be talking from Central Waters called Illumination Double IPA (India Pale Ale).

This beer in the glass is a cloudy light copper color.  When smelling it, you will get a strong piny smell from the hops in the brew.  As far as tasting the beer, it is over load of circus to earthy sweetest with a very dry aftertaste leaving in your mouth.  I really do not like this beer because several factors.  The one thing I do not like, there is not enough malt backbone in this beer.  The other thing I do not like about this beer is the over hop in the beer.  This beer is another cookie cutter of all the rest of American Double IPAs out there.  I am not saying all are bad but there are better ones out there.  However, after killing this beer, the plus for this beer is it is a great value for the price you will be paying for it.

Here is a descripation from the bottle:

Can you say palate wrecker? This Double IPA comes in at 108 IBUs, as hoppy as it gets with a mouthful of citrus flavors.  Grab one today and Illuminate your taste buds.

Here is a few sources to get to know this brewery better:

Website: www.centralwaters.com

Twitter: Not one listed

Setting up the bill, this is not a beer I will run out and get when it comes out.  It is a seasonal four pack from Central Waters.  If I am in the mood and I see it, I will drink it.  If there is another Double IPA at the bar, I hate to say I will drink that.  Just because I did not like this beer.  This does not mean that you will not like this beer.  This brewery cannot be judge on this beer and you should not judge them for this beer nor blog.  They do brewery some awesome beers.  This one is not one of their best ones.  Enjoy it! Drink it!  Metal it!

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Perennial Artisan Ales Saison de Lis

In this blog, we are going to talk about a brewery, who is called Perennial Artisan Ales, that was founded in 2011.  This brewery joins an awesome current lineup of craft breweries in and out of St Louis, MO. This blog will feature one, which is called Saison de Lis, and there will be two more blogs, which are called Hommel Bier and Hommel Bier,to follow.

Just like a normal farmhouse saison ale, it is cloudy and golden to yellow in color. The smell is slightly circus to very earthly.  This Saison just like others is very drinkable and refreshing, which is why this beer style is brew by farmers on their farms in Belgium for their workers.

Here is a few sources to get to know about this brewery:

Website: www.perennialbeer.com

Twitter: @PerennialBeer

On ending, this beer is in big bottles and I am really not a fan of beers in these big bottles.  Unless, it is a really big beer and this saison is only 5% in ABV.  This beer is pretty good but not for the packaging size and price.  They did a very good job doing the American version of this beer.  I would say try it and put your thoughts on this beer.  It would be neat to check out their Brewpub some time in the future.  I will have to hunt down their other beers.  They are brewing some interesting beers.  Overall, this beer has a market just like every beer but I am not the market.  Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Perennial Artisan Ales Hommel Bier

In this blog, we are going to talk about the final beer from the Perennial Artisan Ales that I got my hands on in the Chicago market.  They have a few more beers that I believe will not be available just yet in this market.  The beer that will be feature is their Hommel Bier.  This brewery goal is take American and Belgian styles and do something different within reason.  Hommel Bier is a Belgian Style Ale.

This beer pours into glass with huge carbonation just like your normal Belgian Strong Golden Ale.  The head is very constant with a slightly cloudy golden color to the beer. It has species and slight circus smell. The taste is sweet and carbonation with a bit of a bitter aftertaste.   It is kind of dry for the aftertaste. This beer is drinkable at anytime of the year.  It has a nice spicy kicking in this beer just like your normal Belgian style.  Just reading the description, I believe the spices are coming from the Belgian Yeast.

Here is description from the bottle:

In the hop capital of Belgium, Hommel is the word for Humulus, the plant genus where hops reside. Our Hommel Bier defies tradition by combining North American malts, Pacific Northwest hops, and a Belgian yeast strain.  The result is a beer that combines earthy and spicy tones from the yeast with a slight orange note contributed by the hops.  We think it’s buzzworthy.

Here is a few places on the web to get some information about this brewery:

Website: www.perenialbeer.com

Twitter: @perenialbeer

Closing out the tap, this beer like their Saison.  I honestly do not think it is a good value in a 750ml bottle.  However, this beer has a lower ABV, which is 5.9%, then other Belgium or styel, it puts it at a value and drinkable then them.  What I mean by that, you can drink all day and do not have to worry about getting tank.  Duvel, for example, you will have to worry about the ABV because it is 8.5%.  Since this is a small brewery, there will be a limited supply in the market (I am assuming.  I could be totally wrong on this theory.  I am just using my experience at searching for beers from smaller breweries.  I hope I am wrong on this theory.).  I believe craft beer drinkers will hunt this beer down even more then other beers that are easier to find.  Go find this beer and let me know what you think. Enjoy it!  Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser