Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale
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As far as passions go, drinking and discovering new beer sure beats the heck out of stamp collecting. I mean, I’m sure I could get excited about a good stamp if I really, really needed to mail a letter — but that letter would probably contain an order for beer.
Getting excited about a beer comes easily, especially when you’ve just discovered a beer like the Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale. I’ve never had a beer from Tröegs before — but if they’re all like the HopBack Amber, I may have just discovered one of my favorite breweries.
Beyond the color — a rich amber — the pour didn’t seem very special. It looked flat in my tulip glass, with only a handful of errant bubbles (despite the bubble-inducing etch at the bottom of the glass) and an aroma I could only smell by putting my whole face in the glass. My bottle was almost exactly 1 month old — bottled Jan 22nd of this year — so perhaps its youth is why I didn’t get much head or aroma.
The nose of the beer, even if weak, was quite inviting. And with my face practically buried in the beer, inviting is a good thing. The aroma is floral and spicy, with a hint of sweetness.
The Matt Brewing Company produces Saranac Adirondack Lager. According to its website, the Saranac “classic German lager has a perfect balance of caramel malt sweetness. Look for a rich, amber color and medium body.”
While not a bad beer, it definitely has much more of a robust aroma than the taste can live up to. If this is perfect balance, I’m an Olympic gymnast.
I poured my bottle into one of those new-fangled, curvy Sam Adams glasses and the result was a big, frothy pillow of foam atop an amber beer. The lager is bottle conditioned and my glass was just noticeably cloudy with sediment, drifting through the turbulent bubbles like smoke in the wind.
Fat Tuesday is upon us, which means it’s practically required that I indulge in a strong brew.
That fact was made clear to me by a good friend who moved to New Orleans a few years ago. This morning I awoke to an email in which he promised to hole up on Bourbon Street and attempt what he called the “Anti-Beer-A-Day Challenge” of drinking a full year’s worth of beer in one day.
At 10.2% ABV and bearing the logo of Flying Dog, the Horn Dog Barley Wine Style Ale is more than capable of living up to the occasion.
My bottle (“VINTAGE08″ according to the label) poured a smooth, reddish brown with a narrow but creamy head. And let me tell you, this dog smells pretty good. Malty. Strong. But complete with alcohol that crawls right up your nose and begs your eyes to water.
Good, smooth, and drinkable, the Horn Dog doesn’t bite. The flavor is sweet, tasting of brown sugar, caramel, and full of dark fruit. On the label you’ll find a reference to licorice and chocolate, and those flavors come out mostly at the tail, which continues to wag long after the sip has slipped away.
“A liquid poem to the glory of the hop.”
– from the Ruination IPA bottle
IPA Monday, how I love you. You are attentive, appearing just as I need you most, always at the conclusion of the week’s first workday. But you never fail to light up my life by being both a reliable constant, and a constant surprise.
For example, take today’s amazing Double IPA from Stone Brewing Company — the Ruination IPA.
I expected — and received — an amazing hoppiness. But I did not expect the malt, or how the taste mixed with the hops to create a sort of herbal candy swirling through my mouth and clinging in flavored swaths to my gums.
The sensory excitement begins long before you taste the beer. The Ruination IPA bottle doesn’t have a label in the traditional sense — it’s screen printed, resulting in a rough, stubbled texture like a statue carved from stone. The feeling reminds me of running my hands along gargoyles atop Notre Dame de Paris — no accident on Stone’s part, I’m sure.
On this night when Hollywood celebrates itself, and with Jon Stewart and his shtick so absent from the Oscars, I’ve decided to keep Kosher with HE’BREW: The Chosen Beer – Messiah Bold, by the Shmaltz Brewing Company.
This is the part where I’m supposed to insert jokes about Hollywood, Jewish producers, and maybe even toss in some yiddish puns. But Shmaltz is way ahead of me — why not take a moment to watch a HE’BREW Commercial, Two Jews Walk Into A Bar, or Doctor.
And on the label:
Why is this beer different from all other beers? As commanded, we at HE’BREW Beer have been fruitful and multiplied our offerings. Tradition teaches that the Messiah’s name is Shalom — Peace. With your first sip of this rich, dar, and delicious libation, we hope to offer a momentary taste of microbrewed bliss . . . Now, our award-winning brewers can’t claim supernatural powers — simply a fanatical commitment to brewing world-class beers: A truly scrumptious mitzvah (good deed)! Through the new Millennium and beyond, may your cups runneth over with the blessings of great beer and great shtick. To the Future! To a Bold Life! L’Chaim!
I’d intended to drink Messiah Bold and Genesis Ale on back to back nights. But instead of one of each, I accidentally grabbed two bottles of Messiah Bold. What will I do with the second bottle? Send me your ideas in the comments.
