Monthly Archives: September 2009

Port Brewing Hop-15 Ale Review

Posted on September 25, 2009 by

Hop 15 Ale

Hop-15 Ale is a big double IPA brewed by Port Brewing in the town of San Marcos, CA in the San Diego area. This 10% alcohol by volume beer is brewed using 15 different varieties of hops that are added every 15 minutes. It was originally brewer for the 15th Anniversary of Port Brewing but is now available year round.

Hop-15 Ale has received numerous awards. The brewer’s website lists them off as follows:

It has won two silver medals at the Great American Beer Festival. It also was named Alpha King in 2004 and received a first place award at the Bistro Double IPA beer festival in Hayward, CA. Hop 15 remains won of the stickiest most resinous beers we have ever tasted and for that, we are thankful it is on tap at our brewery each and every day.

Where I Found It. BevMo in La Quinta, CA.

Date Reviewed. June 10, 2009

Serving Type. 22 0z. bottle to a glass.

Hop 15 AleAppearance. Hop-15 has a hazy appearance with an orange, clover-honey color. The head is an off-white tan color and the head does not last very long. The head does, however, last as a very very thin layer of loose bubbles on the top of the beer.

Smell. The hop bouquet of this beer is leafy green hops with a touch of pine and a hint of citrus and maybe just a bit of pineapple. The hop bouquet is not quite as intense as other IPAs and Double IPAs that I have tried recently. The aroma has a subtle roasty malt sweetness.

Taste. Hop-15 Ale starts with a smooth hop bitterness that is followed up by a bite of bitterness on the finish. The hops flavor is primarily spicy with a touch of pine. The citrus does not come out in the taste but I taste a little pineapple with the sweetness from the malt. It has a nice roasty and malted barley sweetness that smooths out the bitter hops that are jam packed into this beer. Although there is a lot of alcohol in this beer, this beer is not harsh and lacks astringency.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium to full bodied beer with plenty of carbonation that you can feel. The mouthfeel is about right.

Drinkability. Although Hop-15 is not a session beer due to the 10% alcohol by volume, it is a big giant tasty beer. After trying trying this beer, anything other than an IPA might taste flavorless. It is surprisingly smooth for being loaded with hops, which is likely due to the sweetness of the malt.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

  • Appearance (20%): 3.5
  • Smell (20%): 4.0
  • Taste (40%): 4.0
  • Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
  • Drinkability (10%): 4.0
  • Overall: 3.85

Information

  • Brewers info: Hop-15 Ale
  • Style: Double IPA
  • Brewery: Port Brewing
  • Alcohol by volume: 10.0%
  • Original Gravity: 1.086
  • Final Gravity: 1.014
  • Hops: 15 different varieties
  • Malt: Two Row and English Light Crystal
  • Beer Advocate rating: 4.23 (as of September 25, 2009)

Caption on the Bottle

porthop15-8533The following caption appears on the side of the bottle:

Out beer oozes all the hop goodness you would expect to find in a double IPA. In your nose, you will experience a citric hop quality which is balanced by a slight malt sweetness. The essence of a great double IPA is hops and as such the beer finishes with a pronounced spicy hop bite. Thankfully, for all of us hop-heads, we have decided to brew this beer more than once a year. Look for Hop 15 to make an appearance from time to time when space permits us to brew this one, one of our favorite ales.

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porthop15-8553

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Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

Posted on September 23, 2009 by

Mama’s Little Yella Pils is the latest addition to the canned beer offerings of Oskar Blues and their first canned lager. It was released earlier in 2009 just in time for the warm weather of summer. Speaking of summer this is a refreshing, crisp, malty beer that is perfect for warm weather.

This name of this beer is very likely an allusion to lyrics in the song Mother’s Little Helper by the Rolling Stones. The first verse of the song is as follows, with the reference underlined:

What a drag it is getting old
Kids are different today,
I hear evry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though shes not really ill
Theres a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

The brewery describes Mama’s Little Yella Pils as follows:

Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast.

Mama's LIttle Yella PilsThis pilsner is certainly not watered down. It has a nice malty flavor and a great hops bouquet making it a well crafted beer perfect for summer or to be paired with salty cuisine like pizza, burgers, or Japanese food.

Where I Found It. Generously provided by the brewery.

Serving Type. Served out of a can into a glass.

Date reviewed. August 27, 2009

Appearance. Mama’s Little Yella Pils is Crystal clear to slightly hazy in clarity. It is wonderfully bright yellow with a touch of golden-yellow color. The standard foamy white head lasts an average amount of time on top of the beer.

Smell. The hop bouquet is slightly coppery or metallic but also pleasant, earthy, and just a hint of spiciness. The Saaz and German hops really stand out nicely in this beer. The hop bouquet is accompanied by a malt aroma that is grainy with a light sweet malts.

Taste. There is a smooth bitterness to Mama’s LIttle Yella Pils that is well balanced by the grainy sweet malt flavor. The sweetness in the malt combined with the earthy hops gives a flavor that is almost like a diluted honey. The hops are earthy and the bitterness builds up just a little bit over time. A great combination of flavors and complexity for a pilsner.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium or medium-light bodied beer. The carbonation level is just right and makes this a refreshing malty beverage. It is crisp and smooth with a hop bitterness that adds to the refreshment of this beer.

Drinkability. Mama’ Little Yella Pils is a smooth and easy to drink beer. A perfect beer for a warm summer day to accompany BBQ or grilled meat. It has a great thirst quenching characteristic.

Mama's LIttle Yella Pils

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

  • Appearance (20%): 4.0
  • Smell (20%): 4.0
  • Taste (40%): 4.0
  • Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
  • Drinkability (10%): 4.5
  • Overall: 4.05

Information

  • Style: pilsner
  • Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery
  • Alcohol by volume: 5.3%
  • Bitterness: 35 IBU
  • Hops: Czech Saaz and “21st century Bavarian hops”
  • Beer Advocate rating: 3.66 (as of September 23, 2009)

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St. Peter’s Ruby Red Ale Review

Posted on September 18, 2009 by

St. Peter's Ruby Red Ale Cask at The Jerusalem

On a recent vacation to London, a friend of mine, Allen, introduced me to The Jerusalem Tavern where we were in for a real treat: a full selection of St. Peter’s Brewery beers on tap and in bottles. One of the beers I tried was the Ruby Red Ale and although I drank it out of an acrylic pint glass, I was able to enjoy it outside with friends and it still tasted spectacular.

St. Peter’s Brewery describes Ruby Red Ale on their website as follows:

A tawny red ale with subtle malt undertones and a distinctive spicy hop aroma from Cascade. Ruby Red won a Silver Medal at the SIBA East Anglian Beer Festival in Bedford in October 2004.

Where I Found It. I had a pint of Ruby Red at The Jerusalem Tavern in London on August 11, 2009.

Serving Type. This beer was served from the cask into an acrylic pint glass.

Appearance. Thin off-white head with loose bubbles and does not last long. Clear red amber ruby mahogany color.

Smell. Ruby Red Ale has a sweet crystal malt aroma which is more sweet and roasted than biscuit-like. The fruity sweetness almost reminds me of watermelon, sweet and refreshing. The hop aroma is subtle and sweet.

Taste. This beer as a smooth sweetness with a kick of bitterness at the end. It has roasted sweetness with a flavor of vanilla. I also has a wonderfully unique flavor which is hard to describe. There is a hint of cocao which gives a slight dark chocolate flavor enhanced by the bitterness of the hops. This beer, to me, seems quite bitter, but at the time of writing, during my London trip, I have had several barely hopped English ales. So on the spectrum of English bitters, this beer is much more bitter.

Mouthfeel. Ruby Red Ale is medium bodied with low carbonation. It has just the right amount of thickness for the flavor. Not watery and not syrupy.

Drinkability. Delicious and a refreshing departure from the almost too easy to drink English ales.

St. Peter's Ruby Red Ale in an acrylic pint glass outside

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

  • Appearance (20%): 4.0
  • Smell (20%): 4.5
  • Taste (40%): 4.0
  • Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
  • Drinkability (10%): 4.0
  • Overall: 4.1

Information

  • Style: English Bitter
  • Brewery: St. Peter’s Brewery
  • Alcohol by volume: 4.3%
  • Hops: Cascade aroma hops
  • Beer Advocate rating: 3.88 (as of September 18, 2009)

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Favorite Summer Beers of 2009

Posted on September 6, 2009 by

Drinking blonde bier in Dinant

For the September, BetterBeerBlog is hosting with the topic of Summer Beer for The Session #31. Peter asks the simple question, “what was your favorite beer of the summer?” On the surface, this is a simple question but for this topic the beer doesn’t even need to be a summer beer style, just your favorite beer of this or any other summer.

This year, I don’t have one favorite, I have 6 and I barely recall what all 6 were. I didn’t write them down, didn’t review them, and took maybe 1 picture one of them. In fact, I had to dig to get the names for this article. I just enjoyed them in the moment. These “favorite” 6 beers of the summer were the ones that were paired with a wonderful meal that my wife and I ate at Den Dijver in Bruges, Belgium less than 4 weeks ago.

Why these six beers? First and foremost, it was the memory of the situation: we were together in Brugge, a beautiful European Medieval town, the weather was perfect, we were eating lunch outside in a garden patio, the food was exquisite, the beer was delicious, and the pairings were perfect. The whole situation was very enjoyable and memorable.

The beer pairing, itself, was another reason why these were my favorite beers of the summer. Each course had exactly the right beer to go with the dish. One particularly memorable pairing was grilled sardines and a hoppy, bitter Belgian beer. Sardines have a very strong flavor but this hoppy beer held up and was a strong counterpart that complimented the fish. Another great pairing was an dry, tart oude geuze paired with a cheese for dessert.

Finally, the beers themselves were excellent on their own. We had the house beer, which I think was something by Halve Maan, the only brewery in the city limits of Brugge, Koriala from Brouwerij Lupiline, Steenbrugge Wit from Brouwerij Palm, Chimay Cinq Cents, Moinette Brune from Brasserie Dupont, and Oude Geuze from Brouwerij Cantillon.

In summary, my favorite summer beers of 2009 and possibly all time were more centered around the circumstances in which we enjoyed them than the quality of each beer on its own. That is now to say, however, that these 6 beers are not excellent on their own but had I enjoyed any one of these beers in a different circumstance during the summer, they would not have been my favorite beers of the summer.

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Hangar 24 Orange Wheat Review

Posted on September 5, 2009 by

Hangar 24 Orange Wheat in front of tap handles

Over the summer while I was visiting Southern California I searched for a brewery in the area and found Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands, California. I arranged for a visit and tried all of the beers on tap at the time. More on the brewery tour in a future post.

Hangar 24′s flagship and most popular beer is Orange Wheat, a wonderful summertime, or any time, American style wheat beer made with oranges. The oranges in this beer are organic and are sourced from local growers from the Inland Orange Conservancy. The oranges are pureed whole and added to the beer giving it a strong orange natural flavor.

Hangar 24 tap handles for Orange Wheat and Helles LagerWhere I Found It. I tried this beer at Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands, California on June 6, 2009.

Serving Type. I tried Orange Wheat from the tap into a plastic cup.

Appearance. This beer has a pale yellow pastel color and has a cloudy appearance, as you would expect a wheat beer to be. The head was frothy and lasted a good amount of time, especially for a fruit beer. With the style of beer in mind, it has a refreshing appearance like grapefruit juice.

Smell. The aroma and bouquet of Orange Wheat is primarily related to the oranges in the beer. It has a strong smell of fresh squeezed orange  juice, orange rind, and orange rind. It has an inviting tangy smell accompanied by a hint of grainy and bready aroma.

Taste. Orange Wheat is exactly how I think that an orange beer should taste. It has the perfect blend of fresh natural oranges and beer and does not taste nor like orange candy like some other of the orange beers on the market. Just like the smell it has flavors or orange juice and slightly tart and acidic making it clean and crisp. The malt reveals itself as a slight grainy sweetness of wheat and barley while finishing more dry than sweet. There is little to no discernible bitterness in this beer.

Hangar 24 Orange Wheat labelsMouthfeel. This beer is light bodied with a refreshing amount of carbonation. Orange Wheat has a slight and pleasant orange aftertaste.

Drinkability. This beer is thirst quenching and very easy to drink. It has an ideal blend of orange and beer and tastes fresh both with regard to the beer and the oranges. It is crisp, light, and easy to consume several in one sitting. Although it might be best suited for a warm summer day, it is also great for any time of day in any California season.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

  • Appearance (20%): 4.0
  • Smell (20%): 4.5
  • Taste (40%): 5.0
  • Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
  • Drinkability (10%): 5.0
  • Overall: 4.6

A serving of Hangar 24 Orange Wheat

Information

  • Style: American Wheat, Fruit Beer
  • Brewery: Hangar 24 Brewery website, twitter, facebook
  • Alcohol by volume: 4.6% abv
  • Other ingredients: whole pureed oranges
  • Beer Advocate rating: 3.83 (as of September 5, 2009)

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