Ale

Aug 05 2013

Battle of the New Belgium Brews

Five Beers. One Multi-Pack. Five Ratings. One Blog Post. Here Goes…

Sam’s Club near me (Chicago’s suburbs; a burb without a Costco) was selling cold beer from New Belgium. And I thought, why not? I’ve had – and quite enjoy – Fat Tire, but there’s other stuff they produce out there in Colorado that might be worth a try.

Price was right: $14-ish for the 12-pack. Here goes…

Battle of the New Belgium Brews

We could do this a whole number of ways – best-to-worst, or alphabetically, or by coolest label. However, I think it makes the most sense to look at this chronologically.

Here’s a hypothetical week – imagine, hypothetically, of course, that you’re a suburban dad and you pick up some brewskis at the Sam’s Club, and, because they’re cold, you try one. On a Tuesday.

Tuesday: Loft

This is an…interesting name for a beer. And it’s a flavor that I can’t quite place.

It’s not BAD, but…I’m not turning cartwheels over it either.

Hoppy – Ale-y – Slightly Bitter. Beyond that, does it say “summer?” Does it say “go fly a kite?” Not sure.

Loft – Metasip Grade: B-

It’s fine. There are four bottles in the 12-pack, so maybe it’ll grow on me. If so, I’ll change the grade. But I don’t think I’ll change the grade.

Wednesday: Sunshine

“Wheat beer brewed with spices.” I’m already scared – wheat beer to me equals a surefire headache after just one.

My other mistake is that there’s supposed to be some sort of citrus involved – like an orange slice or whatnot. Didn’t have it – and, now that I realize what beers like Blue Moon do to me, I have to draw the line at anything marked “wheat beer.” Can’t do it.

This had some spice to it, but I couldn’t place what spice, and I lost interest after a couple sips anyway.

Sure enough, the next morning, the headache would erase any positive thoughts about this beer.

Sunshine – Metasip Grade: B-

We’re 40% through our tasting, and New Belgium isn’t showing so well thus far.

Of course, we may have stacked the lineup: 1 and 2 are light-hitting infielders. Might as well give the big boys an at bat or two.

Thursday: Fat Tire

Ages ago – must be at least a dozen years now – a friend heard we were making a trip from Chicago to St. Louis and implored us to get him some Fat Tire. We didn’t know why this was important…until we tasted it.

Since then, this is the beer that has come to define New Belgium’s prowess.

This is an ale that is up there among the finest brews you’ll try. Hops? It’s got ’em. And then some. An alcohol kick, too. (ABV of 6.5%.)

We wouldn’t be a real review site if we didn’t give this our highest score yet.

Fat Tire – Metasip Grade: A-

Why not an A? Why the minus? We run a tight ship over here in the beer department.Maybe it’s familiarity that keeps us from handing out a straight “A.”

N.B. Only one beverage in our history has an A. Read a review of it over here. Bulleit Rye Review. It’s outstanding, actually.

Friday: Ranger IPA

This is exactly what you think of when you think IPA. Packs that wallop. Hops – probably hoppier than Fat Tire. Some bitterness on the finish – but not too bitter. And, darnit, this is another outstanding brew from New Belgium.

Ranger IPA – Metasip Grade: A-

We actually drafted a review of this beer a couple months ago – but we stopped short because we weren’t sure we were giving it a fair shake. Then, we had it pegged as a high-B+. But, trust us, it’s worthy of the “A-” grade.

Saturday: Blue Paddle

If there were an award for “Most Surprising Beer,” this would win hands down.

In fact, this is the kind of beer that, if it were a student, you would be certain it was cheating. This came out of nowhere.

From the “judge the book by the cover” category, your professor (me) was guilty of doing so – and that’s because it said “Pilsner Lager” on the label. Immediately, thoughts of mass-marketed, mass-produced, watered-down swill crossed my mind.

This was the exact opposite of those things. And more: clean finish, but a powerful beer. I was wishing there were more than two in the 12-pack.

Blue Paddle – Metasip Grade: B+

But it’s the highest “B+” you could imagine. Let’s just say this was like a solo homer after the other beers cleared the bases with extra-base hits.

So there you go…5 beers, maybe 3 winners and two average brews…all from New Belgium. Cheers!

Jul 23 2013

Newcastle Brown Ale

Time to hand the podium to a guest reviewer from the UK – here’s Kev Hedges, and his take on Newcastle Brown Ale.

When I first looked at the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle it had an air of sturdiness and strength about it, and along with its dark brown almost black opaque look, it had a powerful and contrasting yellow label to offset the dark coloring of this ale perfectly.

Newcastle Brown Ale Review

So what does this dark, handsome-looking ale actually taste like? One thing you can say for sure is that it definitely does have taste. Unlike many types of ale, particularly the weaker ones, Newcastle Brown has that strong, malty kick in the taste and it comes with no after taste like you might get with ginger beer or tonic water.

In fact Newcastle Brown Ale appears to be strong and difficult to drink but when you actually take a sip you become instantly surprised by the ease at which it is to drink. The aroma of this ale I found to be very feint and without much at all in the way of a powerful smell. To some tasting this ale reminds you of biscuits, you know a bit like those wheat biscuits and there is an obvious fizz to the ale too. You cannot actually see any bubbles going on in the bottle as it really is so dark in appearance, but it is surprisingly light to taste.

If you prefer to pour your ale into a pint glass and not drink straight from the bottle then you will notice a very short lived head. Most ale I have tasted over the years has always had a long lasting and frothy head which is a little annoying when the froth sits on your lip. But you don’t have this issue with Newcastle Brown.

After a while of drinking this bottle I noticed it was a little watery and could have done with a bit more thickness in the drink. When you see its dark appearance you automatically assume that the beer should be thick, creamy and strong but it is not. It is also easy to guzzle this ale as it is not particularly high in strength and you are not likely to get too smashed after just a couple of bottles.

Metasip Grade: B+

I am going to give this Newcastle Brown Ale a B+ Metasip Grade as it certainly tastes light and easy to drink and I was happy with the malty effect on my tongue.

Jun 30 2013

Kona Big Wave Golden Ale

I have to admit that I thought about the review of the Portuguese wine when I picked this stuff up.

Here’s the thing: I DO think of Hawaii when I drink this, but more in a “what beer would I drink after surfing?” sorta way.

Note to self: learn to surf.

Also, “Golden Ale” is code for “Lager.”

Taste

Not bad, really. Box talks about caramel, hops, etc., but I’m thinking lager the whole time.

“lighter bodied golden ale with a tropical hop aroma and flavor.”

Misleading nose: there’s not as much hop, and the bitter aftertaste doesn’t thrill me.

Profile

4.4% ABV

Value

$7.99 for a six-pack, so you pay a premium for “Hawaii.”

Metasip Grade: B-

No cartwheels were turned in the drinking of this beer.

In retrospect, we’d probably like to try other varieties from this brewery; and they score points for “realism in distribution.” They have facilities on the mainland (Oregon, Connecticut among them), so getting you the beer without having to pay crazy amounts on freight is something they score points for.

Jun 30 2013

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale

The Spoetzl Ale House, Shiner, Texas, is known for Shiner Bock. This is their pale ale and we were wondering if it’s any good.

Well…

We are still wondering.

This beer seems different each time we try it. Whether that’s our fault or not, we aren’t sure…but this is one perplexing pale ale.

To the review!

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale Review

Taste

The bottle gives it away: a complex character to this beer, thanks to “Munich malt, (which) nicely balances the assertive character of the US Golding and Bravo hop varieties.”

Yes, it’s bitter, but we have had pale ales that were more bitter than this.

Finish is not that clean. Aroma not too powerful.

Frankly, an underwhelming beer.

Profile

Why doesn’t it say on the bottle? We have to Google the alcohol content?

We did check: ABV of 5.7%, 28 IBUs.

Value

7 bucks for six bottles.

Metasip Grade: B-

Hmmmm. Not very memorable, and that’s its downfall.

Jun 21 2013

Two Brothers Resistance IPA

If you’re anywhere near Chicago, you’ve heard of Two Brothers. They make beer. And good beer. And they’ve been involved in the craft brewery movement for what seems like forever. (Note: that means 1996, according to the Two Brothers website. Or 1993 if you choose the date they first formed the co-op.)

If you are wondering whether or not they have the coolness street cred thing going on, they’re the types of people who host concerts with bands that are huge in Canada.

We digress: let’s talk about one of their Seasonal Ales, the Two Brothers Resistance IPA. We scored this six-pack at Whole Foods, where the very knowledgeable beer steward said, and I quote: “This just got here, I haven’t had it yet.”

(To her defense, and she knows her stuff, they have a lot of beer at Whole Foods.)

To the review!

Two Brothers Resistance IPA Review

I know what you’re thinking…”Resisting Resistance is Futile.” At least that’s what I was thinking after the first sip.

Hop. This has got Hop. And Hops.

6.9% ABV, so it packs a wallop. But, as IPAs go, this is really worth your attention.

We went back and forth on the review: were we too quick to give other IPAs an “A-?” Does this one deserve such a high rating, or is it a notch below?

We think that could be a very healthy debate; but, sadly, due to distribution vagaries, only Metasippers in Illinois, Indiana, New York, Minnesota, and Ohio can take advantage of Two Brothers’ stuff.

Taste

It’s got that combo of bitterness and hoppiness that you’re looking for in an IPA. Not too much spice – like you’d find in a Trippel or something that has some spicy kick to it.

Profile

As we mentioned, 6.9% ABV. So more than one and you’ll want to pace yourself. 70 IBU.

Value

We paid $8.99 at Whole Foods for a six-pack. $1.50-ish a bottle.

Metasip Grade: B+

Yeah, like we said, back and forth on whether or not this was “A-minus-worthy.” Talk us out of it if you’ve had this: weigh in below.