Archive for Beer a Day
Ichtegem’s Grand Cru
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Sour’s are an addictive style. After enjoying my first real excursion into the sour patch with Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red, I found myself craving that cherry-vinegar / sweet and sour taste.
Alas, Ichtegem’s Grand Cru didn’t pack quite the punch I was looking for.
Ichtegem’s Grand Cru was a dark caramel to rich brown Flemish Red Ale, with a mellow citrus aroma tinged with sour cherries and accented by a whiff of vinegar. The taste was fairly tame, malty with sweet cherry on the front. The taste faded into a tart, sour aftertaste that was more reminiscent of wine than beer. The Grand Cru had a rich mouthfeel and lots of carbonation.
Not bad by any means, but less interesting than I had expected. Think of this Grand Cru as a “beginner’s sour” — it gives you a good sense for the style but fails to follow through with any depth.
Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier
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I’m not a big fan of fruit beers. Drinking a beer brewed with raspberries generally makes me cringe, and I firmly believe blueberries belong in pancakes instead of beer. I’ve had a scant number of good fruit beers during this one-a-day challenge, so I’m still leery of the style.
After going out to dinner with my wife, I found myself back at home with about two hours in which to drink my beer for the day. Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier was cold in my refrigerator — I’ve been putting off drinking it for some time — so I grabbed the bottle.
I wasn’t expecting much, but the Blackberry Witbier beer wasn’t too bad. Perhaps that’s why the Blackberry Witbier was selected as the most recent addition to the “Beer Lover’s Choice” brews.
Tröegs Nugget Nectar
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Where can you get a blast of aromatic, flavorful hops that are richly draped with caramel malty goodness? If you’ve read the title of this post, then I’ll give you one guess.
Nugget Nectar from Tröegs has been recommended to me almost constantly since I began this one-a-day challenge. Because I had trouble finding a bottle of Nugget Nectar, I found myself drinking HopBack Amber and the Tröegs Pale Ale. If those two beers made me fans of the Tröegs brothers, then Nugget Nectar has elevated my affection to the point of idolatry.
Somber but fragrant, the Nugget Nectar poured from its 22 oz bottle and filled the lower half of my tulip glass with a surprisingly clear, pale amber elixer. It produced a foamy white head that left a lace sweater down the side of the glass as I drank.
Hoppy aromas pushed up from the glass — rich, herbal and viney hops overlaying a sweet caramel base. Hops strike the tongue on the first sip, quickly mellowing into a sweet, caramel malt and lingering for a warm finish. Overall mouthfeel is wet and not-quite-oily. Quite satisfying!
Newport Storm Cyclone Series: Henry
Posted by: | CommentsCoastal Extreme Brewing Company made an appearance on this site earlier this year, with its Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale.
I enjoyed the Hurricane Amber and promptly bought two more Newport Storm brews, one of which I opened up to drink tonight. Unfortunately, I’m not nearly as impressed with their Munich Dark.
The brewery describes Newport Storm Cyclone Series: Henry as:
. . . an 8% abv Munich Dark Ale. With over 75% of the malted barley in this beer being of the Munich Malt variety, the body and flavor of this beer are unmistakable. The full bodied and malty seet backbone is married to plentiful amounts of roasted malt to give this pitch black ale balance. A variety of German hops are used to add further balance to this unique version of the style.
Geary’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday, I enjoyed Colorado’s first microbrewery. Today, I sampled beer from the first microbrewery in New England.
The D.L. Geary Brewing Company was founded in 1986 in Portland, ME, building a brewery around its flagship Pale Ale and influences from Scotland and England.
Geary’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale is described on the brewery’s website as simply:
A Scottish ale with a rich roasted maltiness blended with mellow hoppiness, and an alcohol by volume of 8%.
Succinct and to the point. I’ll try to take a cue from their copywriter and keep tonight’s article brief.
