Beer of the Week, Special Mexican Edition

It's starting to feel disingenuous calling this column "Beer of the Week", but I'm going to keep calling it that and maybe soon I'll live up to that name.

For now I'm going to continue my special, sporadic, summer series. I'm going to go a little off course for this one and not review a few "summer seasonals." Instead I'm going to take a look at some of the beers of Mexico, in honor of my recent trip there.

I'll be looking at Corona, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, and Sol. These are the beers I actually had while on vacation. I didn't bother trying Leon because I've heard it is awful. I wanted to try Pacifico and Tecate but I didn't get around to it. (That's because in our hotel rooms we had a case of each Modelo to work through, and, more significantly, once I tried a Sol I didn't want anything else. I'll try Pacifico and Tecate sometime soon.)

Corona:

I'll get through this quickly. Everyone has had it. You know what it is all about. The only reason I drank one in Mexico was because I went to an all-inclusive dinner where Corona was the only beer choice.

Modelo Especial:

This beer was unremarkable. It is not bad, but not great. It is a typical good Mexican light beer. It is the type of beer you can drank on a hot summer afternoon, all afternoon. You won't get tired of it, but if something better is available you'd probably leave the Modelo behind.

Negra Modelo:

This beer is great. It has a nice dark rich color. It has a robust full flavor. The mouthfeel is very smooth. I prefer dark beers and this one is no exception.

Sol:

A lot of people don't like this beer. In fact, it is panned on most of the good beer websites. However, many of the reviews mention old or skunky beers. I imagine it is difficult to find fresh specimens in the U.S.A. That being said, I had a fresh one in Mexico. We had had a long day, lots of walking in the oppressive Mexican sun. My wife and I sat down at an outdoor dive bar and ordered two Sol simply because they were 2 for $4. It was perfect. The flavor and refreshment the beer provided stopped me in my tracks. When we got up to leave we had four empty bottles on the table, three of which were mine. Enough said.

Beer of the Week 11 and 12

Beer of the Week Summer Seasonal Special


I apologize for Beer of the "Week" being somewhat sporadic lately. I will start to try and make up for that with some special editions, starting now with a special Summer Seasonal two-fer. I'll be looking at one very popular nationally distributed brew, Sam Adams Summer Ale, and one great local (to me) beer, Starr Hill's "The Love."


Let's get started.


First the well known beer.


Sam Adam's Summer Ale






The Facts: Everyone knows the Sam Adam's brand. If you don't, well.....I find amazing that you would be reading this little blog and not know about Sam Adam's (especially since a few weeks ago I reviewed the Sam Adam's brewery). But just in case, here is the quick and dirty history. Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch uses his grandfather's recipe and cooks up the first batch of Sam Adam's Boston Lager in his kitchen. The next year it wins an award at the Great American Beer Festival. He sets up shop in the Jamaica neighborhood in Boston. The rest is history.
5.20% ABV.
Available everywhere.
Check out their website here.


What They Say: It has an average rating of 3.46 out of 5.00 at BeerAdvocate.com, giving it a grade of B- from the users. The brothers have also given it a B-. It has an average rating of 2.97 out of 5.00 at RateBeer.com placing it in the 42nd percentile overall and in the 73rd percentile for it's style.

What I Say: In my mind, Sam Adam's Summer Ale is the iconic summer beer. All other are judged against it. I have spent many lazy afternoons on decks and by pools turning bottles of this beer upside-down. Like most summer seasonals, this one is a wheat ale. I poured from a 12oz. bottle into an official Sam Adams Perfect Pint Glass (I know I'm a beer nerd). It has a hazy straw colored appearance. The head is small and dissipates quickly. The aroma is bright and citrusy. The taste is aromatic and fruity with some very nice spice notes. What sets Sam Adam's Summer Ale apart from other summer seasonals is the spice blend used. It has lemon zest, coriander, and an anciant African spice called grains of paradise. It has a light, fruity, aromatic aftertaste.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 6 pints.



Starr Hill The Love




The Facts: The Starr Hill brewery is located in Crozet, Virginia, about a thirty minute drive from my current hometown of Charlottesville. They started in a building on Main Street in Charlottesville in 1999. High demand required them to move to a bigger facility, which they did in 2005. More about their history and their beer varities can be found here, at their website.
4.6% ABV.
Currently this beer, and all Starr Hill beers, are only available regionally (mid-Atlantic). They recently signed a distribution deal with Anhueser-Busch that has allowed them to spread beyond central VA, and hopefully they will soon be available even further away.

What They Say: The Love has an average rating of 3.81 out of 5.00 from the users of BeerAdvocate.com, giving a grade of B+. The brother have not reviewed this beer. It has an average rating of 3.24 out of 5.00 at RateBeer.com, putting it in the 62nd percentile overall on the site, and in the 75.7th percentile for it's style.

What I Say: Like most summer ales it is a hefeweizen. I poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. It has a great hazy golden straw color. It had a firm half inch thick head that didn't fade. It has a sweet fruity aroma. It has a nice citrusy and spicy taste and a champagne like mouthfeel. It has a very aromatic aftertaste. I would highly recommend this beer.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 pints.


- Gabe

Beer of the Week 9 and 10

Beer of the Week has been a little lazy lately. Because it’s been almost three weeks since an update you will be getting a two-fer this week. Unlike the last two-fer this one will be one good beer and one great beer.

Let’s get started.

First the good:

Founder’s Porter

Some Facts: Well, there isn't much out there about the Founders Brewery. The website is copyrighted 2004 and looks like it has not been updated since 2005. Here is what little can gleaned from the site. They were founded in 1997 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That's about it. Most of the info on the history page is obsolete. The "Beer Styles" page is out of date as well. I do see ads for their beers in some of the industry magazines, but they remain largely a mystery. It has a 6.5 ABV%.


What They Say: The beer has a 4.16 out of 5.00 rating from the users at BeerAdvocate.com., for a grade of A-. The brothers have not reviewed it. It has a 3.99 out of 5.0 rating at RateBeer.com ranking it in the 99th percentile overall on the site and a 99.6th percentile within it's style.

What I Say: I poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. It has almost no head. It has a very deep, dark, brownish-black color, almost an inky black. The aroma is very faint. The mouthfeel is initially very smooth and creamy. It then gets a little bubbly, like champagne. The beer has a very bitter taste, like many porters. The aftertaste has strong coffee notes and a hint of cocoa. It is not sweet like chocolate or mocha, but bitter like cocoa. Overall it is a pretty good porter. I found this beer at the Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. I have only seen Founders at one other store, but I imagine is should be available at most speciality stores.

Final Rating: 4 out of 6 pints.


Now the great.

Delirium Nocturnum:

Some Facts: Delirium is brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe in Belgium. In an earlier edition of the Beer of the Week I reviewed Delirium Tremens, (in fact, it was the last two-fer). More information about the brewery and it's history can be found at their website (this link is for the English version of the site).
It has 8.5% ABV.

What They Say: This beer has a rating of 3.94 out of 5 by the users at BeerAdvocate.com, for a grade of B+. The brothers gave it an A-. It has a rating of 3.51 out of 5 at RateBeer.com, ranking it in the 86th percentile on the site, and the 67.7th percentile within it's style. There is a wide disparity in the ratings, so make sure you get a fresh bottle that has not been on the shelf for a long time.

What I Say: I poured from a 25.4 ounce bottle into a snifter. This beer has a nice head and dark, deep, brown color that still has a lot of clarity. It reminds me of a good root beer. The impressive aspect of this beer is the taste. It has an impeccable balance of hops, malt, and bitterness. I dare say the taste is perfectly balance. No characteristic overpowers. If I have one criticism it is this, because of the balance the beer lacks an identity. It doesn't pop. It is an extremely well crafted beer.
I found the beer at a Whole Foods grocery store.


Final Rating: 5 out of 6 pints.

- Gabe

Beer of the Week Special

Sam Adams Brewery Tour

Beer of the Week took in on the road last weekend and visited the Sam Adams Brewery in Boston. Here is a little recap and review of their facility.

The first place you walk into at the Sam Adams complex is a very cool lobby area. They have displays showing many things, including history of the brewery, awards they have won, and history of beer brewing in Boston. They also have a counter with free copies of many different beer brewing newsletters and Beer Advocate magazine (a Beer of the Week favorite). One immediately sees that the people who run Sam Adams care about great beer, not just their own product.

So after milling around the lobby for a few minutes the tour begins. First, you walk through a huge old glass lined beer barrel. You walk through the working brewery and into a little room. In this room the tour guide gives some history and then passes around barley for you to smell (and eat if you choose) and hops. She told us to crush the hops in our hand and smell it, just like their founder Jim Koch (pronounced "Cook", not as if it rhymes with "watch" like I thought) does in all of the Sam Adams commercials.

Then you walk into the working part of the brewery. This facility brews everything but the Boston Lager. My only complaint of the tour was that this room is loud, probably because of the working brewery happening around you. The tour guide explains the beer brewing process while in this room.

You then proceed to the part of the tour everyone waits for, the tasting room. Everyone of age is given a seven ounce glass with the Sam Adams logo and sits down at long banquet style tables. The first thing they do is explain the five things to evaluate when tasting and judging beer: 1. Color and opacity, 2. Aroma, 3. Mouthfeel and sweetness, 4. Bitterness, and 5. Overall appeal. They then pass pitchers of three different beers down the tables for everyone to sample. The first sample is always Boston Lager (the best Boston Lager I've ever had, by the way). The next sample is always the current seasonal brew, in this case the Summer Ale which is just now hitting stores. The third sample is always different and could be any one of the almost three dozen other beers Sam Adams brews. In this case we had a Pilsner that is not commercially available. They said it has a spicy aroma and nice flavor but after many samples (I may have filled my glass when the pitchers were coming and going) on an empty stomach, I couldn't tell.
Because the third sample is always different it is worth making multiple trips to the brewery.

The tour is free, a $2 donation for charity is suggested. There is the requisite overpriced gift shop (although I did buy a "Perfect Pint" glass). The brewery is very easy to get to, either by driving or taking the T. They maintain a fun and welcoming atmosphere and you learn a lot about the brewery, the company, the Koch family (for instance, the Boston Lager recipe was Koch's great-grandfather's and he found it in an attic. Koch won a major award at the Great American Beer Festival a year after brewing the first batch in his kitchen), and the history of beer (much more than I could get into here). I had a great time and would go back again. I would highly suggest that everyone visit.

- Gabe

Beer of the Week 8 - Clipper City Marzhon

Clipper City Marzhon


Some Facts: Clipper City Marzhon is produced by the Clipper City Brewery in Baltimore, MD. It is a marzen style lager. I hate to admit this, but I first heard of Clipper City when watching the movie He's Just Not That Into You (It was Valentine's Day and I was taking my wife to see it. Besides, the book the movie is based on was co-written by Greg Behrendt, one of the coolest men on the planet, so back off.) The movie is set in Baltimore and the characters were always drinking Clipper City. The brewery is also responsible for a line of beers called "Heavy Seas." More information on the brewery and their beers can be found at their website, http://www.ccbeer.com/.
I didn't know what a marzen beer is until I tried this one, and it is too much to explain here. Check out the Wikipedia article on marzen.
5.8% ABV

What They Say: The beer has an average score of 3.09 out of 5.0 at RateBeer.com, putting it in the 51st percentile overall on the site. At BeerAdvocate.com the beer has a rating of 3.63 out of 5.0 giving it an overall grade of B. This rating is from the users. The brothers have not rated the beer.

What I say: I poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. The beer has a nice rich brown color. It has a small head that dissipates quickly. It has a very nice, sweet, floral aroma. The taste is very similar. It is sweet and floral with a little fruity and citrus character. It has a faint strange aftertaste. It has a nice mouthfeel. It is slightly sparkly at first with a smooth finish. Because of the light and fruity flavor this a great summer beer. A perfect "porch beer."

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 6 pints.

- Gabe

Note - Beer of the Week is taking it on the road this week. I will be visiting the Sam Adam's Brewery in Boston and doing a special Beer of the Week update this weekend. This will be the first in a series of brewery visits. Plans for this year include: Starr Hill in Crozet, VA, Flying Dog in Frederick, MD, and the big one, the World Beer Festival in Durham, NC, in October.

Lion Stout - Beer of the Week 7

Lion Stout

Some Facts: Lion Stout is brewed by the Ceylon brewery in Sri Lanka. They brew the Lion beers (Stout and Lager), Strong Beer, Special Brew, and Carlsberg (which this reviewer always thought was brewed in either Europe or Australia.) The website for the company is under construction but can be viewed here. The most helpful information I found was at the Wikipedia page for the parent brewery, here.
Lion Stout is 8% ABV.

What They Say: Lion Stout has an average rating of 3.81 out of 5.0 at RateBeer.com. This puts it in the 96th percentile overall at that site. It has a 4.01 out of 5.0 rating at BeerAdvocate.com. The reviewers at the site give it an average grade of A-. The Bros. give it a B+.

What I Say:
After seeing numerous pictures of friends of mine drinking Lion Stout overseas I became very curious about it. I stumbled upon this beer while out with my wife and in-laws at a wine tasting at our local Whole Foods (much cooler than it might sound.) I bought a six pack and couldn't wait to try it.
I was not disappointed. I poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. This stout has a nice smooth pour with an average head that grows slightly and then dissipates slowly. It has a very, very, dark, murky brownish black color. No light passes through. It has a nice bold aroma. The taste is great. It starts a little bitter and has wonderful coffee and chocolate notes. I don't usually comment on mouthfeel, but this will be an exception. It is sparkly. That is a bit surprising because most stouts are very smooth and creamy. The aftertaste is pleasant, a little bitter with hints of mocha.
I found this beer at my local Whole Foods. So if you have a Whole Foods or a grocery store of that caliber nearby it should be available. I have not seen it anywhere else, as of yet, but I'll be looking.
And remember, it has 8% ABV, so a little goes a long way.

Final Rating: 4.5 pints (out of 6.)

Check out my Beer of the Week blogs 1 through 6 (among other things) at my other blog.

- Gabe