Archive for the ‘Tasting Notes’ Category
Sierra Nevada – Tumbler
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010![]() |
I picked up a six-pack of Tumbler out of a desire to not have to think about what beer I wanted, but still get a seasonal that I knew would probably be good. I know Sierra, I like Sierra, I bought Sierra. I’m sure you’ve done this more than once yourself. Over the past month, I’ve knocked down (with help) three six-packs of this little bad boy and in doing so, figured I really should give it a proper write-up. When I think of Brown Ale, I typically think of Newcastle (meh) and Downtown Brown (yay!), by Lost Coast Brewing. Newcastle being a thin, drinkable English Brown and Downtown being a bit more malt forward in character. Tumbler follows after the |
American Brown tradition and like Downtown is a malty, but not cloying. However, being Sierra, they just can’t help themselves and they THROWINASHITTONOFHOPS WEEEEE! Now that’s not to say that it’s over hopped, or extravagantly bitter in nature, but it is just a touch “out of style” for the American Brown Ale category. It’s not really a flaw though. In fact I find that after my initial tasting, I was more than happy to dig in for more. The real test came when my wife, notorious hop hater that she is, tried it and found it quite drinkable. There’s a definite taste of “biscuity”, “roasty” flavor before the hop bombardment and that carries through after the bitterness subsides on your pallet. It makes itself very available to the non-hopheads in your life. As Fall seasonals go, I’ve yet to find another that’s quite so drinkable. |
21st Amendment – Back in Black
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010These tasting notes on the 21A Back in Black come with a bit of an interesting story. It’s a Friday night in San Francisco and I’m off to see a show at the Great American Music Hall called WootStock. It’s basically a geekfest nerdcore show staring none other than Wil (Wesley Crusher) Wheaton, Adam (Mythbusters) Savage, and a musical duo called Paul and Storm. Lolz were had and I was able to meet Wil and Grant Imahara (also of Mythbusters), which was all very cool. My friend had made Wil a shirt (back story here) and so as thanks he bought us a round. That’s right, Westley Crusher paid for our beer. It was awesome. Nuff said. By this point you’ve guessed that the beer I selected was the 21A’s Back in Black, Black India Ale.
As with many of the 21A’s beers, this one came in a can, which is really starting to catch on with the craft brew world, and rightly so. I’ve had their Brew Free or Die IPA and Water Mellon Wheat in both the can and fresh off the tap without noticing much difference between the two. Cans really are mini-kegs.
Cascadian Dark Ale – First impressions
Thursday, August 12th, 2010I was able to keg my CDA today and a took a quick sample to see how it came out. A few points before I give my tasting notes: This was the first fermentation I’ve been able to do with full temperature control. It maintained 67 F for 10 days then I dropped it to 44 F for another 10 days.
The bad news – nothing serious, but it turns out that the Carafa II that I picked up was 320 L when I had it set in my brew software as 400 L. This resulted in creating a deep brown color instead of the black that one would expect from a “Black India Ale”. No biggie. I’ve corrected the data in my software so next time I’ll at that extra 1/2 ounce to get to the deep black color I was intending.
The good news – It tastes crisp and clean with just a hint of dark roast character in the malt and with a very big citrus/resin hop profile. The hop aroma is not very deep, but it’s not carbonated yet either, which may enhance the hop aroma in a few days when it hits the proper CO2 level. There are some definite differences here from an IPA, the hint of deep roast flavor in the malt character, but it’s not overpowering at all. In fact, if I don’t look at the beer while I’m drinking it, I would certainly have guessed this to be an IPA. I’m not picking up any real yeast flavors or aromas at all. It came out very clean. I look forward to tasting this in a week or so to see how it matures!
Michigan breweries – Tasting notes
Thursday, August 12th, 2010During my high-speed posting while at the breweries and brewpubs last week, I really didn’t give proper tasting notes for much of what we had. I thought I’d rectify that with an overview of my favorite beer from each of the places I visited: