restaurants

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

New Blog Widmer Brothers Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout ’12

In this blog, we are going to talk about a very limited release around the country. I have been wanting to try this beer and I could not find a bottle.  I finally found a bottle but I had to get some help from a few people.  Widmer Brothers is the second oldest brewery from Portland, Oregon.  Bridgeport beat them by a few weeks to have the title of the Oldest Craft Brewery.  Well both breweries are really good at what they do.  Well back to Widmer, the whole idea of the brewery is give you something different from the classic beers from around the world.  I believe the brothers of Widmer has done a very good job.  There pale ale is different from what is out there now.  It has a heavy grapefruit smell and taste.  Let us talk about this beer now.

This beer is black as black can get with a dirty head that is constant. This beer smells like chocolate cover raspberry smell with hints of roasted malt smells. This beer taste like dark chocolate cover raspberry with a roasted and carbonation.  For this beer being a big beer style, it is a very drinkable beer.  You will only have one beer and make it with some kind of dessert.  I did my bottle with vanilla ice cream.

Here is a description from the bottle:

An extremely rich and complex beer.  The addition of raspberries during the fermentation process results in an almost purplish opaque color with a beautiful brown head.  Warm chocolate and roasty notes complement the hop bitterness.

Here is more information on this beer from their website (www.widmerbrothers.com):

ABV 9.3% IBU 70

Malts: Pale, Roast Barley, Caramel 60L, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate Malt

Hops: Alchemy, Willamette, Cascade

Here is a few sources to get more information on this great brewery:

Website: www.widmerbrothers.com

Twitter: @widmer_brothers

In closing, this is not one of my favorites from this brewery but it is still a great beer.  This beer is perfect for a beer dinner.  They pick the right fruit to put into this stout and make it perfect for a spring seasonal.  Rasberries are not over powering but enough for you to enjoy the sweetness of them and the chocolate in it.  If you see a bottle, I would pick it up.  This beer in the Chicagoland area I would say big craft stores where you can find this beer.  Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it!

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Big Horn Ram Blonde Beer

In this blog, I am on location at The Ram in Wheeling, IL. This is the third blog on this brewery, please look back at the older blogs on back story if this brewery. If you have read them, then you know about this beer.

We are going to talk about one of their everyday beers called Blonde Beer.  It sits in the glass as a clear with a yellow to golden color. There really is no smell to this beer. As far as taste, you can taste the carbonation while the sweetest kicks in halfway through the tasting experience.

There was a menu lying around so here is the description of the beer:

Big Horn Blonde award-winning golden ale, light bodied with mild malt sweetness and delicately hopped for a crisp, refreshing finish.

ABV 4.4% SRM 6.0 IBUs 20 Grain Pale Munich Hops Cascade and Willamette.

In closing, I am going to be honest.  I am really not a fan of this beer nor the style. I really can see people loving this beer. It is a very drinkable beer and session. It is a perfect day like today in Chicago where it is 90+ degree today. This will make the American lager drinker to the wheat beer drinker happy. I do not see many hop heads liking this beer. Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Big Horn Ram No Name Imperial IPA

In this blog, we are going to talk about another brew from The Ram Brewery company called No Name Imperial IPA.  If you read my last blog, then you know this brewery.  I try this one at the Wheeling, IL location.  I do know this is available at other locations.  This is a seasonal so if you want to try.  I would say you need to act pretty fast.

When pouring this beer, the color of it is a brownish copper look with constant white head. Over time the head will go to nothing. Nice circus to earth smell to the beer. As far as taste, it is very sweet with an overpowering bitter aftertaste. For being an Imperial IPA, it is very well balance and drinkable beer.

In closing, as long as they have this beer on tap I will be getting by jug filled with it.  I can drink this beer all day without the dry mouth that I get from some normal IPAs to the overpowering Imperial IPAs.  I love this beer.  It is so much better then their normal Big Red IPA.  I realize these are two different IPA styles.  I would try this beer.  Enjoy it!  Drink it!  Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Big Horn Ram Total Disorder Porter

In this blog, we will talk about one of beers from one of my favorite brewpubs in the Chicagoland area.  I am talking about the Ram Brewery Total Disorder Porter.  This brewery was founded in 1971.  It is also a very award winning brewery.  Let us get back to some of the history of this brewery.

This came from their website (www.theram.com)

The Ram is a private, independent, family-owned and operated   restaurant business. We were born on February 26, 1971 when our founders took   their entrepreneurial spirit and experiences they received making pizza and   serving beer at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor to open their own restaurant. That first   restaurant was called the Ram Pub, which was a “Deluxe Tavern” that served hot   food, including cook-your-own burgers and steaks, along with beer and wine.

This is a short point of their history.  It is kind of neat to see where this resturant and brwery.  They have multiple location through out the USA.  I bet there is one by you.  I wrote a blog on the Wheeling, IL Ram.

Here is a descripation from their website (www.theram.com) about their Porter:

Rich and smooth, our award-winning brown porter features the flavor of chocolate and caramel.

This beer has won an award.

2010 Gold Metal at the Great American Beer Festive

The porter in the glass has a dark brown to black look to it. Nice chocolate and roasted malt smell in the porter. When drinking the beer, you will get a light carbonation taste along with slight burned malts, chocolate, and hints of toffee. This porter is in the class of the English Porter world. It is very drinkable and heavy enough to make the porter drinkers happy.  You can drink this beer all year long.  Even in the hottest Chicago days and the coldest winters, it is a perfect drinkable beer.

Here is a few ways to get information on this Brewery and Resturant:

Website: www.theram.com

Twitter Main Brewery: @theram

Twitter Wheeling Brewery: @rambrew

In closing, this beer is one of my favorite porter in the market.  I love this beer along with most of their other beers that they brew.  Along with great beer, their food is off the charts.  You will get the whole Craft Beer Drinker wet dream.  Great food and good Craft Beer is under one brewery called The Ram.  Go to their website and see where a location is near you.  Let me know what you think.  Enjoy it!  Drink it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

New Blog Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale

In this beer blog, we are talk about this new brand, which is Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale, coming out from Spoetzl Brewery or better known as Shiner from Shiner, Texas.  This is their first Pale Ale and third ale.  Well a little history of this brewery, they are a German base brewing style.   They are the second oldest craft brewery behind Yuengling Brewery.  This brewery is about two hours outside of Austin, Texas.

Here is the information from the bottle about the beer:

Wild Hare is a classic American Pale Ale – richly hopped, fruity and floral.  Munich malt nicely balances the assertive character of the U.S. Golding and Bravo hop varieties that give this brew its signature bitterness and aroma. Enjoy!

This beer pours copper color with a constant head. Shiner Pale Ale smells of piney. Taste of this beer is closer to an English Pale Ale but has enough muscle to a west coast pale ale. This will make your normal american lager drinker to your hop head very happy drinkers . This is a very drinkable and session beer.   For this being their first pale ale, Brewmaster did a very excellent job.

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

Website: www.shiner.com

Twitter: @shinerbeer

In the end, this beer has a chance to be something out in the market.  It has the old school or throwback look on the label that you would see back in the 1930’s to 1950’s.  However, the most important is the beer that is inside the bottle, it is very drinkable but with enough favor that will make people happy and keep drinking it.  This beer will be out in June in Chicago market.  I am not sure about the rest of the market.  You will be able to get it around the country.  I love this beer and I am glad Shiner is doing something different.  You know what to do.  Go out and hunt this bunny down.  Enjoy it!  Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Blog Geary’s Pale Ale

In this blog, we are going to talk about Geary’s Pale Ale.   A little back story on this brewery first.  This brewery was founded in 1983 by David Geary in Portland, Maine.  They are the first micro brewery in Maine.  Their first beer is this Pale Ale but since they have open up to other types of beer.

Here is the description from their website, which is www.gearybrewing.com.

 Our flagship pale is a classic British pale ale with a nod to the legendary beers of Burton-on-Trent. Copper-colored, dry, clean and crisp with lots of late hope taste in an appetizing complex with ale fruitiness from imported Hampshire yeast.

This beer pours out as dark copper to light amber color with next to nothing on the head. There is a huge strong grapefruit smell to this beer.  Taste is very well balance with circus to slight grapefruit taste with nice hop finish.  It has next to nothing on the aftertaste. It also has a heavy carbonation taste going on this beer. This beer is a very very drinkable and sessional beer.

Here is where you can get information about this brewery:

Website: www.gearybrewing.com

Twitter: @gearybrewing

In closing, I really enjoy this beer.  For a bit this brewery is now available in the Chicago Market.  However, if I am around Portland, Maine, I will be drinking up and visit their brewery.  If you are live or around Maine, go out and search for this great beer.  Please let me know what you think of it.  Enjoy it! Drink it! Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email: djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter: @djweiser

Boston Beer Company Samuel Adams IPA Hop-ology 12 Pack Sampler

Well this will be my second blog of the day and will be a pretty long one.  Boston Beer Company, I believe you will not need any history or information on this company.  Unless you live under a rock get hold of me and I will give you the information.  I will still put there twitter and website addresses on this blog. They were one of the first to get the craft beer business going in the states and the world.  Well for the last two years Sam Adams has put out sampler back for the hop heads of the world.  Latitude 48 IPA (India Pale Ale) came out last year from Sam Adams just to keep up with the growing sales of IPAs.  Last years sampler pack was a collection of Latitude 48 IPA brew with different hops.  It was one of my favorites set of beers last spring and summer.

A very sweet and to the point history on IPA.  England back in 1600s was looking to ship beer to their soldiers in India.  Well every shipment of beer went bad. The name escapes me but a brewmaster added more hops to make the beer last longer on the travel to India.  So a new beer style was borned from the England Pale Ales.  English India Pale Ales are not as high in the IBUs as the USA ones.  Most American West Coast Pale Ales are just as high as the English IPAs.

This years sampler pack will feature the following IPAs and each will be review in this blog:

Latitude 48 IPA

This beer is in an everyday six pack bottles.  It has your normal IPA amber to copper look to it with a white head.  Tasting this beer gives a nice hop taste with nice bitter ending.  You can taste beer from the front of the pallet which gives off sweet to bitter tastes.  The after taste is something I really don’t like about this beer.  For what Samuel Adams is today, this is a well made beer.  I hate to say it because I know it is a slap in the face to any brewmaster but this is a nice beginner IPA for people wanting to get into this great beer style.  Overall a nice drinkable and sessional beer.

This is the dscription the bottle:

A unique IPA brewed with a carefully selected blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48th Latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere.  The intense hop character is balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the malt blend.  Cheers! Jim Koch

Dark Depths Baltic IPA

This IPA pours as a dark brown color.  This is a pretty big IPA with an ABV of 7.6%.  For most people calling this a Black IPA.  It is very light color black.  I really wouldn’t call it a Black IPA.  I realize it is taking from a Porter and mixing it with IPA.  You will see I read this from the decription off the bottle.  It just doesn’t taste that way to me.  This is just my thought on the beer.  I compare this Widmer Pitch Black IPA and Uinta Dubhe Black IPA.  There is a very little head on the beer when you are done pouring it.  Smell the beer gives off smells of malty and then hints of the hops.  The taste is sweet with slight roasted malt hints with a hop finish of bitterest.  The hops are not overpowering.  It is a very well balance IPA for the ABV being so high.  This beer is also available in 22oz single service bottles in any craft store in you.

This is the dscription the bottle:

Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English porter was transformed, from a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition.  Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that’s bold, mysterious, and full of flavor

White Water IPA

This beer is available in six pack bottles, part of this sampler, and also in their summer sampler pack.  Here is a IPA style that is starting to grow.  This a wheat ale that is brew with a ton of hops.  There a very few IPA Wheat Ales out there.  There is Three Fylod Gumballhead Wheat Ale and Shock Top Wheat IPA from the ABInbev Company.  Gumballhead is more of a wheat with a ton more IBUs then your average wheat ale out there.  Lagunitas Brewing Company has one called A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ ale.  It is more of a wheat mix with blond ale with a high IBU on it.  Yes it could get you in trouble with a pretty bartender.  Trust me I know.  Samuel Adams is slightly cloudly and you do get the wheat taste along with the hop finish.  It is pretty hoppy for a wheat ale.  The only problem I have with this beer, which is why I don’t like most wheat ales, it is too much of the yeast taste for me.  This beer fits into this new growing category.  Overall, it is a good beer and very drinkable.  I can see people enjoying this beer.

This is the dscription the bottle:

This hazy brew combines the crisp character of a white ale with the intense pine and citrus flavors of an India Pale Ale.  We took this unique combination to a new level with the subtle addition of apricots, which provide a slight sweetness to balance the bitterness of the hops.  Cheers! Jim Koch

Third Voyage Double IPA

This beer is a copper color when you are pouring it with the head always there.  Nice looking copper color beer with white head.  When smelling it, it has a  very strong pinely smell to it.  Just burn some pine trees and you will get the same feeling I am talking about.  Please don’t go out and burn a forest.  I am just giving an example of the smell you will experience from this beer.  Now let us get back to this beer. When drinking this beer, you will get a nice sweetness through out the beer tasting beer experience and then the slap of the bitterest at the end of beer. This is a very balance and drinkable IPA for the ABV being 8.0%.  It has a very nice grapefruit to circus taste to it.  Overall, this is a great beer.  I am very impressed for being made by Samuel Adams. This beer is also available in 22oz single service bottles in any craft store in you.

This is the dscription the bottle:

This unique double IPA takes the style’s origins a step futher.  IPAs were born out of making an ale that could sustain a long voyage.  For our take, we were inspired by the indomitable Capt. James Cook whose 3rd voyage made him the first to navigate a treacherous route from England to New Zealand to the Pactific Northwest.  Using Cascade hops from each of these regions, we created a brew that’s citrusy, earthy, and full of bold character.

Grumpy Monk Belgian IPA

This whole thing calling this a Belgian IPA is a bunch of bull shit.  Sorry for using it but it is true.  Belguin, the last time I check beer history didn’t make any IPAs, however, they did make a beer style from Monks called a Triple, which is pretty close to English and American IPAs.  American breweries get your facts straight and I hope you are talking about Triple. Not making up a style you think they made in this small sexy country.  Well Samuel Adams did a beer that they called Belgian IPA.  Guess what it is a Triple.  A light cooper color with barely no head.  Nice Monk yeast and hoppy taste.  This is really good beer for the style that is so wrong.  This is a Triple not an IPA.  Triples are Belguin’s IPA but with heavy spicies on their yeast.  Overall, this is a very good beer.  I am kind of impressed.  This beer is only available in this sampler pack.

This is the dscription the bottle:

The long held brewing traditions of Belgian monks aren’t meant to be broken. Yet, to the monk’s dismay, the distinctive character of Belgian yeast with its spicy clove and fruit notes can be reimagined when combined with the brazen hop character of an IPA.  These hops impart a citrusy, piney, and earthy flavor that’s balanced by a roasted malt sweetness for a complex and playful brew.

Tasman Red IPA

This beer pours red just like what the beer says on the label.  Picture this, a person with a burn face as red as red can get with blonde hair and this is what the  beer will look like in your glass when you hold it up to the light.  Pretty funny.  This is a very balance IPA with sweetness.  This is a very good beer.  I am really stun I like this because I am not a really a fan of Red Ales. If you read the decription below from the bottle, the red comes from the hop called Tasman.  I am not a brewmast but that is really interesting.  This beer is also available in 22oz single service bottles in any craft store in you.

This is the dscription the bottle:

This wily red IPA gets its character from the Tasmanian hops that are full of grapefruit, pine, and earthy notes., creating a bold flavor that threads throughout the taste.  The hops are balanced by a core the taste.  The hops are balanced by a core of roasty malts that give this brew body and richness with hints of toffee.  This flavorful brew is rounded and smooth with a dry and citrusy hop finish.

In closing, this is an awesome set of IPAs.  It is gives you a lesson of all the different IPAs around the world or in the states.  However, I really like the one fron last year.  I kind of wish they would have done that plus this one.  It is kind of good to get some of these beers that are in 22oz like Tasman Red IPA, Third Voyage Double IPA, and Dark Depths Baltic IPA in 12oz bottles.  Some of them I wish were in six pack bottles.  I understand why they are in 22oz bottles to get into that high in market that most craft beer companies are trying to reach.  Overall, great patch of IPAs, I say try it once to get your own thought on this pack.  Drink it! Enjoy it! and Metal it!

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Twitter @djweiser

Email djweiser13@comcast.net

Milwaukee Brewing Booyah (MKE)

In this blog, we are going to talk about this great brewery from Milwaukee, WI.  You already know about this brewery from my Pull Chain blog.  Here is my second beer from this brewery and it is called Booyah.  It is an American Farmhouse Ale.  A small bit of history on Farmhouse Ales, they were made way back in the day in Belguim on farms, which hints Farmhouse.  The owners of the farms would brew this beer to be very drinkable and refreshing for the workers that work on their farm.  So you can just picture all the different styles of taste on this style, which is a case to this day.  There are several arguements on what is a saison to farmhouse.  I believe they are the same thing with different sub categories.  MKE style has a ABV 6.5% IBU 20, which is taking from their website.

Here is a great youtube from MKE website about the beer.  www.mkebrewing.com

http://youtu.be/gsS_Vi7T0PA

Let’s talk about the beer now.  This beer pours like a darker farmhouse ale.  It is like a golden amber.  It is not really cloudy like most farmhouse ales.  The taste is a little weird but in a very good way.  It is very drinkable as close as balance are you going to get.  Just like other farmhouse ales, it is very refreshing.  You get the farmhouse hoppiest but has the amber.  This is a very good tasting beer.  Even though it is all year beer.  This beer is perfect in spring, hot summers, and warm falls.

A few ways to get information on this brewery.

Website www.mkebrewing.com

Twitter @mkebrewing

In closing, this beer is excite and you need to search it out.  This brewery is making some great beers that I believe most people haven’t really check them out.  If you are up in Milwaukee, stop by this brewery.  Don’t do the boring Miller Brewery Company brewery tour.  There is nothing wrong with it.  There is a small engine that can brewery making some great beers that needs some loving.  Drink it, Enjoy It, and Metal it!

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Twitter @djweiser

Email djweiser16@gmail.com

Sixpoint Brewery Apollo

In this blog, we are going to talk about Sixpoint’s Apollo ale.  Let’s start with the history of the brewery.  Sixpoint is a craft brewery out of Brooklyn, New York.  They were founded by homebrewer Shane Welch in 2004.  They brew several different styles of beers from IPAs, Ryes, Lagers, etc.  They also brew this wheat ale that we are going to talk about in this blog.

I will be up front and honest before we get into this beer.  I am really not a fan of wheat ales however, I have becoming a huge fan of Bavarian Wheat Ales.  Apollo is their new summer seasonal.  Here is what is posted on Sixpoint website (www.sixpoint.com) on what it is.

“The unmistakable flavor of a Bavarian Wheat, but with a clear golden brilliance and a Sixpoint twist. An entirely unique canned offering for the sun-worshipping ale lovers.” (taking from the sixpoint website)

The one thing that this brewery is doing right on their packaging and I kind of wish others would pick up on this.  Sixpoint puts IBU, ABV, and SRM on their cans. Apollo is a 5.2% abv, 11 IBU (internation bitter units), and 3.7 SRM (the color of the beer).  Also on their can it does tell you what the beer is.

Apollo pours with a head but it goes away pretty quick. It is a cloudy with a strew to golden color. It smells like a Germen hef with some circus. This is a very nice balance beer when tasting it. The lemon attacks your pallet throughout the drinking experience. Very little to no after taste from the hops but a slight lemon hint. The IBUs are only 11. It is in the average for a wheat, white, hefenize, etc.