Abrasive Ale: F#%k Yea!

Yes, I have been slacking on my posts. I never thought working 50 hrs a week plus going to school could keep a guy so busy. Plus I need time in there to drink beer. Anyways, DLD is this weekend, so I will def be posting on that. I will have lots of fun stuff to read about.

For today, however, I have a review of Abrasive Ale from Surly. This beer was originally DVDA, then it was 16 Grit (which I had last year on tap at Stubs), and now is being canned for the first time with the name Abrasive Ale. It is Surly's version of a DIPA!

Poured into Surly Darkness snifter.

Pours almost a finger of beige khaki head. Fades down to a thin layer leaving some light lacing. Color is a glowing golden orange.

Aroma: I am smelling PtY here or what? The aroma reminds me so much of younger, but more floral notes. Huge floral hop profile. I can detect (yes this word is lame in a review) a fairly large biscuity malt profile (maybe some caramel malt as well which adds some sweetness to the beer). The citrus blend is also well represented in the nose. A big flavor. I dig it straight up.
Taste: Huge beer. Massive amount of floral hops, but the level of malts is high to keep it slightly balanced. Caramel and biscuit flavored malts keep things going here. The citrus notes are hard to separate, but there seems to be a lot going on. I would have to go with mango and grapefruit.There is a level of sweetness in there that reminds me a bit of the sweetness in hopslam as well (very little, but a bit). Big hop resin going on here.

Mouthfeel: It starts out relatively creamy, not the level of bitterness that I was expecting. It is bitter, but not too bitter. As it warms, however, the bitterness comes out more. Very big body for the style with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends very clean with some hop flavor sticking around. Nothing sticky or dry which is incredible for the style.

Overall, Surly has done it again. I had 16 grit last year on tap and this seems to top it. It reminds me a lot of PtY, which I thought was amazing. This beer packs more floral notes however, which is fine by me. It is extremely drinkable and my can is going fast. My wallet is going to be hurting for the next couple of weeks as long as this is on the shelves.

Do yourself and get some of this while you can!

Thanks for reading!
-Ben

Polish Beer Night

So tonight I have two Polish beers that I will be reviewing. To be honest, I reviewed them on separate nights so I didn't mess with my taste buds. My friend recently moved back to Poland after being in the states for over 4 years and she gave me two beers from Poland before she left. She knows I enjoy trying new beers so she always surprises me with something. So, these are two beers directly from Poland!

These beers are similar to the American macro lagers. They are light in color and flavor. Nothing to spectacular about them. Consider them the Bud and the Miller products of Poland. Up first is Lech Premium.

Poured into a pilsner glass.

Pours a large layer of fluffy white head.Decent retention. Leaves some nice lace which surprised me. Color is a clear golden yellow. Lots of active carbonation.

Aroma: Lots of rice, corn, and low level hops. Reminds me a lot of the typical macros in America. Nothing to special.

Taste: It is definitely different from the American macros. It has the pale malt present but also has a European flavor to it. Corn and rice flavors with some malt. Very basic but a little different from the American macro lager. Very dry with grassy hops... reminds me a little of a pils.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, smooth, relatively easy drinking. A little dry. Light bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Ends a little dry and grassy.

Overall, it was fun drinking this beer. I knew it would taste like an American macro, but Europe/Poland has different malts and hops than us so it was fun to try something new. It was a fun experience. Fairly drinkable.

Next up is Zywiec. I think this beer is available on the East Coast, but this is from Poland so it is a bit more legit.

Poured into a pils glass.

Pours a little over a finger of creamy white head. Fades down to a thinner layer. Leaves a lot of splattered lace. Color is a clear straw yellow. Lots of carbonation bubbles in the glass.

Aroma: a lot like the typical American macro lagers. Grain and corn flavors, with a lower quality of grassy hops. Some light citrus zest with some pale malts.

Taste: Not as enjoyable as the aroma. It is very bready. Lots of pale malts and grassy hops. It is a bigger beer than I was expecting. Some grain and corn flavors.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy for the style. Crisp as well. Medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Ends very dry and grainy.

Overall, it is always fun getting to try new beer and a Polish beer is never an exception. This tastes a lot like American macro lagers, but it definitely has that European tough to it with the hops and malt flavors I can taste. Relatively drinkable.

Firkin Fest 2010... Long Overdue

Well, I am still busy as normal, but I really had to get something up on Firkin Fest.

First off, let me say this... 64 casks under one tent is pretty solid. Firkin Fest is one of the only beer fests in which the host buys all of the beer. In this case, the Happy Gnome bought all 64 casks, which is quite impressive. There was many solid beers as well as some disappointments. Before I get to the beer I just wanted to comment on a few things.

Cost - $10 plus $1 each for an approximate 4 oz sample of any beer. I had talked to a few people in the beer industry and they had heard many people complaining about the price and the fact that they had to pay for the ticket and then the beer. I think that this fest is a great deal. After you pay for your ticket it cost $4 for a pint of beer! That is a great deal. Some beerfests range from $30 - $60 so this fest is in that range as well (unless you plan on drinking a ton of samples).

Space - It started out pretty packed. There was a line for a decent amount of time after the doors open. If you check out the picture here, you can get an idea of how many people were at the event. Seemed to be a popular event. The mass amount of people at the event made for a few problems. 1) Bathroom lines were very long. That was fixed later on in the event and they ordered more Out-houses. Also, the amount of people there caused the beer to run out an hour or two early. Lots of thirsty people I guess.

Now for a few comments on the beers:

First beer I started out with was Surly's 2010 Oak Aged Dry Hopped Darkness. I was a little letdown with this beer. It was good, but not as good as regular Darkness. It had a lot of chocolate flavors but a very odd mouthfeel. I would have liked the oak to show a bit more as well.

Next was a huge letdown: Avery's Uberschwein Barley Wine. This is their double dry hopped Hog Heaven. It tasted like ditchweed alcohol. 'Nuff said.

I then had the Ola Dubh 18 yr followed by the 40 yr. These were some big beers that had a lot of barrel flavors to them. The 40 yr tasted more like scotch/whiskey than it did beer. Pretty good though. This beer was only available with a golden ticket that you got if you bought 20 tickets. It sold out pretty fast.

Nightstalker on cask = bad. It had way to much citrus notes and it didn't even compare to what it is like on tap. I barely wanted to even finish my sample. Big stout meet citrus fruit. Ugh.

Fulton War and Peace. This beer pretty much was near the top of my charts for the day. I love coffee stouts and this one competed with some of the other top coffee stouts I have had. The peace coffee they used was so fresh and blended with the stout really well. I was shocked a new brewery (Fulton) could make a beer this solid. My hat is off to these guys!

Brau Brother's Elisha Old Ale.... not too much of an old ale imo. I am glad I had this hear and didn't have to buy a $10 750 mL bottle of it to try it. This beer was nothing near the caliber of some of the old ales I have had. It just had some caramel and toffee malt with some dark dried fruits. Some people may like it, but if I want an old ale, I will go with Hair of the Dog.

Founder's Double Dry Hopped Red's Rye was awesome. It was the typical goodness of Red's Rye with some great citrus flavors. Very fresh and extremely drinkable. I just wish Founders would have had some 'special' treats cough kbs/cbs cough.

The last beer that I want to comment on is by the Lift Bridge crew. These guys are awesome. I had a blast BS-ing with Steve and glad I got to try some of his wild beers. The beer that I want to talk a bit about is Ol' Pine Box. This is their Cross Cut Pale Ale dry hopped with Cascade hops and grapefruit zest added in. This beer tasted like Christmas. Lots of spruce pine notes. Very awesome tasting and original beer. The pictures with the LB guys are of the trophy they won for best cask at the event.

I had a 'few' other samples but these were just a few I wanted to write about. I have all my reviews posted on BA if you care to check them out.

Overall, the fest was great and I am glad I went. I will be back next year.

Thanks for reading and sorry it was delayed so long!

Cheers,
Ben

Summit is off the hook! (Unchained)

So the other day I grabbed the latest Summit Unchained beer. This is the 3rd in the Series and is an India Style Rye Ale. Mike Lundell, one of the senior brewers at Summit, came up with this recipe.

Poured into bells tulip

Pours 1/2 finger of creamy beige head. Decent retention with some great lace walls. Color is a dark copper brown with a slight ruby hue. Very nice looking beer.

Aroma: Lots of spices and rye. Very malty with some roasted notes and caramel. Reminds me of campfire smoke. Has some earthy hops flavor, but mainly malt here. I really like it though. Very complex.

Taste: Lots of spices again. Crushed black pepper sticks out a lot. Rye of course. I get some bitter floral hops here which add yet another level to this beer. A decent amount of roasted/smoked malts really work with this beer. I must say I am impressed.

Mouthfeel: Roasted, smoked, and bitter. Medium bodied with a nice amount of carbonation. Ends dry with a lot of spice and rye flavors.

Overall, I am very impressed with Summit. This has to be one of the best beers to come out of their brewery. I have never met Mike, but I give props to him for this creation. Very drinkable.

If you get a chance, this one is worth picking up a 6er of. I hope the Unchained series continues to produce some wonderful beers.

Cheers,
Ben