This beer is Ten Fidy imperial stout but aged in bourbon whiskey barrels. It is roasty, with a little licorice, rich espresso, leather. It has molasses sweetness and the bourbon is very apparent. The flavors are rich with subtle hints of chocolate. This beery is a little oaky with a touch of caramel.
I had this great beer on draft in Longmont, Colorado at the Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel tap room on November 5, 2011.
One of my favorite events at SF Beer Week in 2009 was the Canned Craft Brews event at Jug Shop so when I saw that it was returning for 2010 on April 13, I had to attend. Although I was quite beered-out from the many many other events earlier in the week, I still had a great time sipping on a few beers, taking a few photos, and talking with the representatives from the breweries. It was a great event and a wonderful way to promote craft beer in a can, a movement that I strongly support. Continue reading
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.
This 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.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.
I picked up a 4 pack of Gordon Beer after tasting it during SF Beer Week at the Jug Shop Canned Craft Beers event. It left such an impression during the event that I had to take some more home to do a full review with pictures. Update (6/23/2011): Oskar Blues has renamed Gordon Beer to G’Knight Imperial Ale. At the time of writing this review, the beer was still called Gordon Ale.
The second event that I attended during SF Beer Week was the “Kick Ass Canned Craft Brews” event at the Jug Shop on February 7, 2009. Although I was excited to attend the AleSmith tasting at City Beer Store earlier that day, this was the event I was looking forward to. There seems to be more and more craft breweries releasing their beer in canned form yet I had only previously tried one can of Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues about a year ago.
According to these, and other brewers, beer from a can has advantages. First, the beer cans are lined so the beer never comes in contact with metal. Next, the beer is never exposed to the harmful effects of light. The beer can is supposedly a more airtight container preventing exposure to oxygen. Finally, the cans are lighter and you can take them where you cannot take bottles such as camping and golfing.
This event was a great opportunity to try canned beer from Oskar Blues from Colorado, 21st Amendment from San Francisco, and Uncommon Brewers from Santa Cruz. I tried a little bit of everything (except Dale’s and Brew Free or Die) and the beer was excellent. For all I knew, the beer could have been poured from a can or poured from draft. The following is a list of beer that was available in cans at this event:
Siamese Twin is a wonderful Belgian-style double brewed with “exotic spices to enhance beer flavors,” which, according to the brewery, is a long tradition in Belgian brewing. A good example is Belgian witbier which includes coriander and orange peel. This beer, however, is brewed with Thai spices such as kaffir lime and lemongrass in addition to coriander. Being a double it had a high alcohol content by volume at 8.5%. I thought this beer was both interesting and delicious and lives up to the name “Uncommon.” Since I had some very hoppy and malty brews before this one, I had trouble finding the Thai spices but they are definitely there. I can’t wait to get some more cans so I can enjoy it with some home made Thai food and also write up a full review.
The Watermelon Wheat beer is interesting in that it smells a little bit like a vegetable but when you taste it the flavor is distinctly and deliciously watermelon. I always prefer to be able to taste the special ingredient than have it be so subtle you’re not sure it is there. This beer is made with 400 lbs. of watermelon per batch.
Old Chub, by Oskar Blues, is an acclaimed and award winning Scottish Ale having won a Gold Medal at the 2008 World Beer Championships. It is a deeply malty ale that is a wonderful representation of the Scottish ale style. It is roasty, sweet, hints of bittersweet chocolate, and slightly smoky from the beechwood-smoked grains. Old Chub also has a nice warming feeling from the 8% alcohol by volume. This beer definitely ranks among some of the best Scottish ales that I have tried.
Oskar Blues Gordon Beer is, according to the brewery, “a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA.” It is a great beer with an incredible citrus and fresh hop smell yet warms you up with 8.7% alcohol by volume. After the event I picked up a 4-pack of this beer so that I can review it in a later blog posting.
Finally, I tried my new favorite imperial stout, Ten Fidy also by Oskar Blues. What makes this beer imperial? The huge amount of flavor, malt, hops, and alcohol is what makes this an imperial beer. The alcohol content is 10% alcohol by volume but the malty sweetness both overshadows the alcohol flavor as well at the 98 IBUs of hops. The beer both smells and tastes like bittersweet chocolate cake and artisan roasted coffee. It is extraordinarily drinkable for being such a big beer. I purchased a 4-pack at the end of the event and will be doing a full review later. I also used a can of this wonderful beer to cook up a batch of beer brittle, which I will also blog about.
Beer 47 in a Tumblr
