Lakefront IPA

Milwaukee, WI is almost synonymous with beer, so I’ve been looking forward to trying the products of the Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery.

Could there be a better way to start than with Lakefront’s IPA?

Lakefront IPA has a kind of cyclops logo, with a thick letter “I” upon which an eyeball is superimposed, quite similar in style to the pyramid on the reverse of the US dollar. There’s little else on the label to suggest more about the beer.

Ah, but so often it is what’s inside that counts.

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St. Bernardus Tripel

“Bringing heavenly nectar within reach”
– from the back of the St. Bernardus Tripel

For Easter, I decided to head back to Belgium for an abbey ale. Beer produced by monks, I reasoned, would be quite appropriate for the holiday — and, at least in taste, St. Bernardus Tripel rose to the occasion.

But St. Bernardus isn’t produced by monks at all. Technically, this is an “abbey-style” ale.

I’m not alone in my confusion. Many people think of St. Bernardus as a Trappist brewery. And the confusion may be justified, because — for more than 45 years — St. Bernardus licensed the Trappist name to produce beer.

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Hitachino Nest White Ale

Since beer number 100 was a stout of stygian blackness, I decided to follow up with a decidedly lighter brew. For beer number 101 I chose Kiuchi Brewery of Japan, and its Hitachino Nest Beer White Ale.

The Kiuchi Brewery’s website describes this Witbier as:

A refreshing mildly hopped Belgian styled beer with a complex flavor of coriander, orange peel, nutmeg.

Not what I think of when I consider Japanese beer — the description certainly sounds a lot better than Sapporo, so bring it on!

Hitachino Nest White Ale poured hazy and pale yellow, with a pronounced but brief head. The beer allowed light through, but the body was hazy enough that I couldn’t even see my fingers on the other side of the glass.

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Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch

Celebrating the first 100 Days & 100 Brews

We’re 100 days into the year 2009 — and because I have diligently consumed exactly one beer a day all year long (with my trademark “No Repeats” clause), today’s beer means I will have consumed 100 different brews in as many days.

That calls for some real celebration! So before I get into the details of today’s beer, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has helped make this such an enjoyable experience by commenting on the blog, sending me emails, and following me on (and participating via) Twitter. Your beer suggestions and stories of discovery have helped me stay on track!

So how did I celebrate this 100 beer milestone?

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Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat

Can’t just leave the sweet wheats alone, can I?

After yesterday’s Puple Haze debacle, I felt compelled to seek a sweet wheat I could actually describe as tasty; and I was hoping Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series Catamount Maple Wheat would fit that bill nicely. At the very least, I can say one thing without hesitation — Catamount Maple Wheat is better than yesterday’s beer!

For my readers who aren’t native to the East Coast, a “catamount” is simply another name for a wildcat, or a puma, mountain lion, panther, etc. Here in New England, we call them catamounts. Just go with it.

Catamount Maple Wheat is part of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series. The beer is brewed with wheat malt, pale malt, caramel malt, Willamette hops, and real Vermont maple syrup.

The beer poured a rich caramel color and produced a big, bubbly, white head at the top of my wheat beer glass. The initial aroma was of a malty wheat beer, but as I drank the aroma took on more of a sweet, brown sugar profile.

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Last Consumed:

My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.

I hope that means he liked it.

The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.

So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.

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