I enjoyed this pint of porter on tap at the Speakeasy brewery for the Halloween party on Friday, October 29, 2010.

Bison Brewing is a small brewery, headquartered out of Berkeley, California that brews USDA certified organic beer and sells it to 12 states (as of writing). The history of the brewery was a little turbulent but the excellence of their product has prevailed as exemplified by beers such as Chocolate Stout, Honey Basil Ale, and, the beer we’re focusing on today, Gingerbread Ale.

Bison describes Gingerbread Ale on their website and on the bottle as follows:

Our Spiced holiday porter is brewed with ginger, nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon, yielding the aroma of fresh backed gingerbread men! The chewy dark malt flavors are sure to smooth out that dinner with the in-laws.

Date Reviewed. December 13, 2009

Where I Found It. City Beer Store in San Francisco.

Serving Type. Bottle to pint glass.

Appearance. Bison Gingerbread Ale is deep dark brown, nearly black, and opaque. You can see a little light through the corners of the glass, which gives the beer a deep dark red-brown glow. The head is cola-fizz color. Poured about 0.75 inch of head which did not last long. However, a nice thin layer of foam remained throughout consumption.

Smell. This beer has wonderful holiday spice bouquet of ginger and cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg. It also has the perception of cloves, even though cloves are not listed an ingredient. The spices do not overwhelm and contribute to a good balance of beer and spice. It also has a hint of brown sugar and a nice roasty malt aroma. The roasted and black malts contribute the a hint of coffee aroma.

Taste. Gingerbread Ale is balanced and not excessively sweet. It has a toasty and roasty malt taste with a dark sugar flavor lacking the bitterness of molasses. The dry sugar flavor combines well with the ginger and cinnamon to have just enough spice without being overwhelming. The spice is more subtle in the taste than the smell, which is good thing. This beer tastes better at cellar temperatures than ice cold.

Mouthfeel. Medium-light bodied and nicely carbonated. Like many porters this one has a ever so slightly chalky mouthfeel that smooths out at a warmer temperature.

Drinkability. As a holiday beer this is very tasty and, despite being a spiced beer, I could drink two of these in one session. This beer is great to sip and savor slowly.

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%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 4.0
• Overall: 4.05

Information

• Style: herb spice beer
• Brewery: Bison Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 6.0%
• Original Gravity: 1.054
• Final Gravity: 1.009 (calculated)
• Bitterness: 21 IBU
• Malts: (all organic) 2-row, caramel, chocolate, roast barley, black
• Other ingredients: (all organic) ginger, nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.6 (as of December 26, 2009).

Other Reviews

• Drink with the Wench – Gingerbread Ale & Butternut Squash Soup
• Mike Loves Beer – Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale
  
• Brewed for Thought – Beer of the Week: Bison Brewing Gingerbread Ale
• Daily Beer Review – Gingerbread Ale
• Beer Advocate – Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale

I had been casually searching for this beer ever since July and in November 2008 I discovered City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA and that they carried several of the Hitachino Nest beers. One of those beers that I picked up was the Real Ginger Brew.

Unfortunately, there is no information on the Kiuchi Brewery website about this beer. It is a very unique beer and it would by nice to know a little background information about it.

It looks like this beer is bottle conditioned so I might try to harvest some of the yeast the next time that I try one of the Hitachino Nest beers.

Where I Found It. City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. Poured a 330ml bottle into a glass.

Appearance. This beer has a foamy but not frothy yellow-white head and does not leave much foam on the glass. A small layer of head remains on top. This beer is hazy, which might be expected of an herb/spice beer, and has an amber or dark honey color.

Smell. Real Ginger Brew has a ginger aroma like that of ginger ale or ginger beer, which is a sweet smooth ginger smell. In fact the smell is almost indistinguishable from ginger ale or ginger beer. The bouquet is spicy with a bit of cloves and is enhanced by the ginger while accompanied by a light fruitiness. The hops are not pronounced and the malt only seems to be a vehicle to deliver the sweet ginger-ale-like smell. There is also a slight bready or yeast aroma present. I enjoy the ginger aroma but the yeast detracts from it a little bit.

Taste. The most pronounced taste of this beer is sweet malty ginger. It is almost as if this is a ginger beer made with malt, instead of cane sugar, and contains alcohol. It actually contains 7% alcohol but the astringent alcohol flavor is masked completely by the other flavors. Backing the ginger beer flavor is a sweet maltiness that is complemented with a touch of smooth hop bitterness. As you drink more of this brew the spiciness of the ginger builds but not so much that is it overpowering. All of these aspects combine to produce a crisp and refreshing flavor.

Mouthfeel. Real Ginger Brew is well carbonated, which adds to the comparison to ginger ale, and is a medium-light bodied beer. The taste of the ginger lingers just for a bit and fades nicely.

Drinkability. This beer is strong in alcohol content and strong in ginger flavor. On one hand it is crisp and refreshing like a ginger ale but also like a ginger ale I rarely want more than one. I would drink this again but I would not want more than one at a time. All in all it is an enjoyable beer.

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

• Appearance (20%): 3.5
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 3.0
• Overall: 3.45

Caption on the Bottle

The following caption is found on the back of the beer bottles of Real Ginger Brew:

Fresh ginger roots aded to the brewkettle create and intriguing balance of ginger-spicy, sweet-malty and hoppy-dry flavors and aromas.

Information

• Style: Herb Spice Ale
• Brewery: Kiuchi Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 7.0%
• Other ingredients: ginger
• Bottle conditioned
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.69 (as of April 1, 2009)

Other Reviews

• 97 Bottles – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew by Kiuchi Brwery
• Freshly Squeezed Jew – Beer Review 5: Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Chicagoist – Chicagoist’s “Beer of the Week”: Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew
• BrewedGirl – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Beer & Nosh – Cardamon Cauliflower Soup with Hitachino Ginger Beer
• Thom’s Beer Blog – 364. Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale
• New York Brew – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• LivingSocial – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew
• Beers, Beers, Beers – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale
• Beer Advocate – Hitachino Nest Real Gingerr Brew
• Rate Beer – Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale

In a previous article about the SF Beer Week Canned Craft Brews event, I briefly mentioned some of the benefits of craft beer in a can. Buckbean is very interested in both dispelling the myths as well as promoting the benefits of beer in a can. These are some of the points that the brewery makes:

• Cans have had inert, flavorless linings since the 1980s, meaning no metal flavor
• Cans can go where bottles cannot: golf courses, camping, parks, etc.
• Cans are more environmentally friendly
  • Since they are lighter than bottles, they require less fuel to ship. Trucks go partially empty with bottles due to weight concerns.
  • Cans don’t require paper labels and glue.
  • A case of cans uses 70% less paper and cardboard than a case of bottles.
  • Cans are more easily recyclable.

Of the craft beer that I have tried in cans, with Original Orange Blossom Ale as no exception, I have not detected anything that tasted like metal. Since I always pour my beer into a glass, I never literally taste the can itself.

Now onto the specifics of Original Orange Blossom Ale. The idea for this beer style came from the brewer, Daniel B. Kahn, in the 1990s while he was living and brewing in Riverside, CA to accompany the Orange Blossom Festival. Buckbean claims that Dan originated this style of beer and thus include the term “Original” in the name of the beer.

If you enjoy beer that are, as the folks at Dogfish Head put it, “off-centered” or extreme, then you might enjoy this beer. Otherwise if you are a conformist to the Reinheitsgebot and dislike beer with adjuncts, herbs, or spices, then you might not like this beer. The orange blossom bouquet and flavor is quite prominent. I find this to be a very interesting and refreshing beer that will go great with food. Just before I tried this beer I had some Japanese yaki soba fried noodles and it would have been excellent with that. It should also pair well with spicy food like Mexican and especially Thai food to complement the lime, spiciness, and saltiness found in many Thai dishes (at least the ones that I eat and prepare).

Where I Found It. A sample can graciously provided by the brewery. Thank you Buckbean!

Serving Type. From a 16oz can into a pilsner-like glass.

Appearance. Orange Blossom Ale pours our of the can smoothly with a nice thick frothy white head. The head lasts much longer than I would have expected. When the head receded, it does not leave much on the glass. The beer is hazy and has a color that is somewhere between dark honey and light amber.

Smell. Upon opening the can, the smell is bready and yeasty. As the beer is poured into a glass and brought to your nose the full affect of the orange blossoms come into play. The bouquet is fruity and sweet-floral, like the scent of jasmine flowers, or orange blossom flowers. The fruitiness isn’t the typical citrus-from-hop but more like a tropical-orange fruit juice cocktail. I pick up fruitiness like passionfruit with a little white grape juice. The combination of these flavors creates a candy-like odor. The floral bouquet is quite intense but in the background there is still a hint of malted grains, letting you know that this is a beer.

Taste. Original Orange Blossom ale has a sweet honey maltiness without actually being sugary. There is a touch of hop bitterness making it crisp and clean coupled with a floral and fruity orange flavor. This beer should be great with salty food as well as spicy food. It will be especially tasty ice cold on a hot summer day.

Mouthfeel. This beer is a light to medium bodied beer that goes down very smooth. There is a slight bitterness that lingers on the tounge with the floral flavors. For some reason, I feel that I want more effervescence

Drinkability. Original Orange Blossom Ale is highly drinkable and very refreshing.

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%): 3.0
• Drinkability (10%): 4.5
• Overall: 3.9

Information

• Style: Herb/Spice Ale
• Brewery: Buckbean Brewing Company
• Alcohol by volume: 5.8%
• Hops: “American” hops
• Malt: Munich and light caramel malts
• Other ingredients: orange tree flowers
  
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.12 (as of March 28, 2009)

Caption on the Can

The following caption is found near the bottom of each can:

This well balanced, full flavored, copper colored ale combines the smooth, creamy flavor of Munich and Caramel malts and bright, refreshing American hops with the rich flavor and aroma of real orange tree flowers. A real treat for the sesnses!

Other Reviews

• Fermentedly Challenged – Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale review
• The Beer Snob – Buckbean Brewing: Original Orange Blossom Ale
• The Barley Blog – Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale
• Beer & Food – A taste of … Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale
• A Beer Sort of Blog – Buckbean Brew Review
• A Roughneck’s Take on Beer - Buckbean Orange Blossom Ale
• Beer Advocate – Original Orange Blossom Ale
• Rate Beer – Buckbean Original Orange Blossom Ale