Beer oh beer (.com)

Brother Thelonious

Overview: The bottle and label are an impressive start; the 750ml bottle has an imposing presence about it, you know that it has to be consumed in one sitting because the cork will not go back in the bottle, nor should it, like the wines that come in similarly sized bottles, this is a beer to be consumed and savoured. You are not only buying a beer you are helping young jazz musicians too; no they are not selling it themselves, the brewery donates to the Thelonious Institute. This is a Belgian Abbey style beer.

The Beer: A fabulous 9.3% abv; very dark brown (the brewery call it a dark mahogany), a nutty aroma; Full bodied, in fact it is safe to say that this has so much body that you should consider finding a skeleton in the glass afterwards, the nuttiness is in there together with a distinct bitterness; the flavour is somewhat hot by the full-on grabbing of the throat, it does seem to have complex elements to it, but you can’t get to them.

After Words: To be fair, it does have complexities but the sheer strength washes masks it out. It is a good beer but I was maybe expecting a bit more from it. Worth trying - you are imbibing and philanthropising (is there such a word) at the same time - but suffers a bit from the higher strength that drowns the flavour.

Website: North Coast Brewing

Wing Walker - Amber Ale

Overview: The main reason for trying this second offering from Wing Walker is that the website stated it won a medal; it doesn’t say which games the brewer was competing in, but a medal is a medal and suggests that the experience of the Lager might be isolated to just that variety of beer, let us not use the same brush to tar all the beers from the same brewer, etc. I also can’t get over the idea that so much effort has been put into the presentation that there must be some room for salvation somewhere, plus you can’t judge all the beers on the basis of a poor first try (see: Primator). This is a Märzen style beer.

The Beer: 5.7% abv; deep amber, plenty of gas (bubbles) rising up; has a malty aroma, tending towards the fruitier side, or at least with traces of fruit in there (and I don’t mean banana), lets try to stick with a general orchard fruit, sweetness aroma; plenty of maltiness to the taste, robust, edging towards being full bodied, distinctive creamy elements, in fact really creamy; has a pleasant bitterness to it, but not too much, and certainly that creaminess lingers.

After Words: You would not think, in a blind test, that the two beers came from the same brewery. This has a fabulous roundness to it, it is a pleasure to drink and once again it is a beer that has something ‘extra’ about it that makes the whole experience enjoyable. The creamy elements add an edge to it that masks the robustness of the beer - given the higher abv. Certainly a good beer to try out, at least just the once. Once again my only whine is the website is crap really needs revising (if it even loads)

Website: Wing Walker

Wing Walker - Lager

Overview: This is a strange beer in that there is not too much information on the web about it and, from what I can tell, the beer is produced by a “third party” brewery in Wisconsin - this assumes that the information these sources got are also correct. So to fill in with something (since there is very little else to start with) does this brand of beer suggest that drinking it helps you go wing walking (sorry, on with the beer, this ‘filling in’ is getting desparate)…

The Beer: 4.8% abv; has a light, hoppy aroma, a pale, golden colour with little or no gas rising; light, hoppy taste that is a little too watery, some traces of fruitiness, but all together too light; a bit too gassy (fizzy), plenty to help the digestion.

After Words: This beer does not make you want to walk on wings, or go flying in a classic aeroplane; it edges towards the lighter side of taste - I couldn’t get myself to finish it off, then again my preferences tend towards the full-bodied beer, then again my mother-in-law enjoyed this beer. The artwork on the packaging is fabulous and I can see why people are drawn to it; whilst this particular beer is not going to be on my shopping list in the near future, the Amber Ale does, since it is highly recommended by others and appears to have won a Gold Medal. Woefully little information about this beer or the brewery; would like to see their website with a little more information, a little more something, anything.

Website: Wing Walker

Matilda

Overview: I have been to one of the Goose Island brew-pubs in North Chicago (near Wrigley Stadium). It is as impressive as all the other brew-pubs that you find in the US; the sheer scale of the brewing is impressive enough - usually comprising of several fermentation tanks - makes you wonder why all pubs can’t be like this, you almost become a part of the brewing process, it is on your scale and right in front of you, somehow you trust that the beer is going to be good, it is a good feeling. This has nothing to do with Matilda which is a full on specialty beer inspired by Belgium; the website suggests that this is a limited run, the bottle states that it should be consumed within five years, but the taste gets better as it matures. One for the ‘cellar’ then

The Beer: 7% abv; very slightly misty, amber in colour, plenty of gas rising; fabulously combination of fruit and roasted malt wafts out; the taste is a robust, full-bodied beer that has strong elements of maltiness and fruitiness, smooth but at the same time reminds you of it’s strength; pleasant  bitter aftertaste that is rich on the back of the tongue and lighter towards the front.

After Words: I am fast becoming a fan of Goose Island; they are able to produce good beers that appeal to those who want to try something different and then lure them into a world of beer that provides them with nothing but a rich enjoyment and beer drink pleasure. I will have another four pack of this sitting around for at least another few years, let us see what it is like when it has had chance to mature still further. If my news sources are correct this should also be available in the UK, as well as other Goose Island delights.

Website: Goose Island

Breakfast Stout

Overview: My wife gets credit for picking this up; the guys in the store were very impressed by her selection even telling her so; she just went for the label. Once again this is a fabulous example of creative labeling, the whole range from the Founders Brewery have got the labeling spot on (more will follow at some point). I am sure that at some point they will be forced to add “not a children’s breakfast beer”, but for now it is fabulously original. This is a “double chocolate, coffee oatmeal stout”; no mention of milk…

The Beer: 8.3% abv; the thick, black liquid is impenetrable by light and makes the head go all chocolate-brown; the aroma is coffee, some elements of oat come out, but it is mainly dark roasted coffee; the taste is also a dark roasted blend, bitter, with elements of dark chocolate swimming about; smooth with a rich roasted after taste

After Words: Just for the sheer shock of drinking this beer I like it - you are drinking beer but at the same time could be having a mouthful of iced coffee. This is not going to be for everyone, in fact I would have thought this would be either an acquired taste over a period of time, or if you are in to coffee flavoured beer then this is for you. But this beer has an element of entertainment about it, right from the label to it’s inky thick blackness and then on to it’s bitter coffeeness. Its hard to tell, at first, if this is even a stout (other than colour), but after a while you find the links to it’s style and the sharper bitterness is a good lead. It is available on tap which I would think would take some of the sharpness out of it making it that bit smoother; not a regular beer for everyone, but certainly worth a taste adventure.

Website: Founders Brewing

Dead Guy Ale

Overview: How can you pass up such a beer; the name and label itself captures the attention. One of the aspects of US beers that has caught my attention is the use of creative and colourful images on the labels; this might, at first, appear to be nothing more than branding (which I guess it is), but in a market that is seemingly awash with fabulous craft beers, the more creative the labelling the greater the chances of drawing the drinkers in, surely? Possibly, but at the very least it makes the beer more interesting from a presentation point of view (Dundee is a case in point, the label are very creative and theme out the beer); there is something intriguing about a dead guy on a beer label…

The Beer: 6.6% abv, 16°; Cloudy, pale golden brown (some say amber, I guess I need a colour chart), brownish head that remains solid; fabulous aroma combining a well roasted barley with caramel tones; the taste is a full-bodies experience, the deep roasted barley and caramel elements come through in a robust taste that attacks the tastes buds with a full on assault leaving it wanting more; some bitterness that get masked by the roasted taste in that it does not take over the mouth so much; roasted, malty aftertaste.

After Words: This Maibock style beer is simply fabulous, in fact it is one of the first “highly recommended” beers I have tried in a while. The website states that there is a double-dead-guy ale available which I guess would be a “Belgian” experience. Simply a great beer and very enjoyable.

Website: Rogue Ales

Harvest Ale

Overview: From what I can see, Goose Island seems to be a rather enthusiastic brewer, and widely available in the Chicago area and even beyond. Producing a solid range of year round beers they also produce seasonal beers as well as craft beers. From anecdotal evidence Goose Island is somewhat popular in the Chicagoland area; it has two brewpubs, there seems to be a Goose Island tap in every bar (certainly the ones I go to), and the bottled versions are available in a huge variety of stores. This probably means that, from the point of view of these tasting, this beer will not be the last of the Goose Islands

The Beer: 5.7% abv, 33 IBU; Golden brown, copper in colour, matches the leaves at this time of year; little or no traces of gas rising; has a fabulous aroma, very earthy, somewhat fruity; I found the taste intensely bitter at first, the earthy tones are full on in the taste, smooth/soft in the mouth, almost ‘flat’ when it comes to the gas; aftertaste has the same bitterness, but does not longer too much

After Words: It reminds me of a version of the Opat ‘extra bitter’ I tasted a while back, almost as if the earthy tones came from extra hops added towards the end of the brewing process. If you can imagine doing some digging in soil at this time of year, the aroma you get from the soil as you lift it is reflected in the beer’s aroma and taste. Very different and a lot more enjoyable than the first mouthful suggested. From the point of view of being an ale, this hits the mark in its basic make-up and texture (and ale drinking experience); as a seasonal beer this fits in so well with the changing colours of the trees, the experience of autumn in a glass. This beer is like a seasonal opus.

Website: Goose Island