Category Archive

On Monday April 14th, 2008 we had the last Boulder Beer “Beer Appreciation Class” until the fall.  Boohoo!  Their calendars are packed, no doubt because we’re in Beer Festival season, which pretty much runs spring, summer and fall. 

The last class was very interesting – Professional Beer Tasting!  Every week the brewers get together and have a professional tasting panel for the beers they will be distributing in the upcoming week.  The beers are always tasted unfiltered as this will show the flaws most profoundly.  Because the beers are unfiltered, there are still options for correcting any flaws that are found, even if it means slowly blending the batch into many following batches.

Each brewer fills out a sheet with the following categories:

Brand, Brew Number, Fermenter, Comments.

Aroma – Fruity, Solvent, Citrus, Banana, Hop, Spicey, Yeasty, Malty, Roasted, Oxidized.

Flavor – Bitternes, Astringency, Sweetness, Malty, Roasted, Fruity, Citrus, Hop, Grainy, Worty, Alcoholic, Mouthfeel.

Clarity – (rate on a scale of 1 – 10)

Off Flavors & Aromas – DMS, Sulfur, Cardboard, Musty Cellar, Diacetyl, Acidic/Tart, Metallic, Acetaldehyde, other

DMS – sulfur, eggs.  Sulfur – matches.  Card board – like chewing paper.  Diacetyl – Popcorn butter, butterscotch, corn, vegetal.  Acetaldehyde – Green apples, wet grass, hay.

We got to try rating beers based on a 10 point scale, then compare them to the professional brewers ratings.  “Expired” Hazed and Infused – high oxidation characteristics.  Rolling Rock – very strong DMS.  Heineken – again, strong oxidation.  Porter – high roasted malt character.  Buffalo Gold and SingleTrack were just to train us how to do a tasting and to callibrate our taste buds!  We were also able to compare and contrast Unfiltered Hazed with “Clean” Hazed from the bright tank.  Yum!

I found my numbers were consistently lower then the brewers.  I should have been a little more assertive with what I was tasting.  It was a fun night!  Can’t wait for the classes to start up again. 🙂

The 6th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest was held on April 11th and 12th at Harpos on Arapahoe.  I attended the Friday session from 4:00pm till 10:00pm.

This event celebrates the some of the biggest and boldest American strong ales.  Donations benefitted the Humane Society and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless.  Peter Archer of Avery Brewing Company did a great job getting many new breweries involved.  There were many offerings I never tried or even heard of before.

The requirements were: 8% ABV or higher, diversity of styles and most importantly, it had to be something very special and from the heart of the brewery.  Some brewers actually crafted ales specifically for this event!

The beers were very STRONG, some having 4 times the alcohol content of piss beer. There was a great food menu that I really wish I would have taken advantage of.  Thank goodness I had a designated driver for this one.  I definitely needed a ride afterwards.

Okay, on to the brews!
– I planned to try it, but didn’t
= I tried it.
+ I liked it.
^ I really liked it.

Allagash Brewing, Porland, ME
 Curieux – bourbon barrel aged triple 11.0%
 Musette – dry hopped Belgian Ale aged in bourbon oak 9.0%

Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO
– “Bad” Sally – belgian golden ale with bretts in cab sav barrel 9.0%
 Beast’04 – belgian strong ale brewed with 6 sugars 18.1%
 Deviation – strong hoppy lager 9.0%
 Fourteen – hoppy dark belgian ale 9.5%
 Mephistopheles’07 – belgian imperial stout 15.1%
 Maharaja – double IPA 10.5%
 Oak Aged Reverend – belgian quad aged in opus one oak 10.0%
 Samaels’08 – oak aged english strong ale 15.5%

Ballast Point, San Diego, CA
– Victory at Sea – imperial porter 10.0%
 
Bear Republic, Healdsburg, CA
 Batch 1092 – bourbon aged barleywine 9.5%
 Olde Scout – barleywine style ale 10.0%

BJ’s Brewery, Boulder, CO
 Trippel – with sweet orange peel and coriander 12.0%

Boston Brewing, Boston, MA
 Imperial Pilsner – pilsner on steroids 8.6%

Boulder Beer, Boulder, CO
+ Killer Penguin – american style barleywine 10.0%

Boulevard Brewing, Kansas, MO
 Doublewide on Bretts – double ipa with bretts 8.5%
 Long Strange Tripel – belgian style tripel 9.5%
 Quadrupple ale – bourbon barrel aged 11.5%

Bull & Bush, Denver, CO
^+ Legend of the Liquid Brain – imperial stout aged in bourbon oak 12.0%

Cambridge Brewing, Cambridge, MA
++ OM – belgian golden aged in chardonnay barrels 9.4%

Deschutes, Bend, OR
 Double Black – imperial porter infused with coffee 10.3%

Dogfish Head, Rehoboth Beach, DE
 120 Minute IPA – super huge double IPA 18.0%

Elysian Brewing, Seattle, WA
 Old One Eye Cyclops Barleywine – barleywine 9.9%

Firestone Walker, Paso Robles, CA
^+ Parabola – barrel aged imperial stout 13.0%

Flying Dog, Denver, CO
 Double Dog Double Pale – dry hopped with cascade and columbus 11.5%

Full Sail Brewing, Hood River, OR
 Imperial Stout – yep, imperial stout 8.5%

Golden City Brewing, Golden, CO
 Stand Up Double – 150 ibu imperial ipa 9.3%

Gordon Biersch, Broomfield CO
 Maibock – strong lager 8.2%

Great Divide Brewing, Denver, CO
 Hercules Double IPA – huge hops start to finish 9.1%
 Oak Aged Yeti – imperial stout aged on oak 9.5%

Green Flash Brewing, Vista, CA
 Grand Cru – belgian strong ale with two yeast strains 8.7%
 Le Freak – trippel meets imperial ipa 9.0%

Ironworks Brewing, Lakewood, CO
 Misfit – sardonically irreverent wit 9.0%

Lagunitas Brewing, Cameron Park, CA
^++ Hop Stoopid – 101 ibu ipa 8.3%

Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, CO
 Imperial Stout – barrel aged in french oak 10.4%
 Oak Aged Widdershins – barleywine 8.8%

Mountain Sun Brewery, Boulder, CO
+ Miscreant – oak aged belgian ale 10.1%
 XXX Pale – extra dry hopped XXX Pale 8.5%

Moylans, Novato, CA
= Moylander Double IPA – silver medal GABF 2007 8.0%
 Ryan Sullivans Imperial Stout – bronze medal GABF 1997 10.0%

New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
 CoJohnny’s Voodoo Ale – yerba matte grand cru trippel 8.6%

New Holland, Holland, MI
= Night Tripper – imperial stout 10.8%

Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
 The Hammer – english old ale on steroids 12.0%

Oskar Blues, Lyons, CO
^ Bourbon Old Chub – scotch ale aged in whiskey barrels 8.0%
= Ten Fidy – stranahans whiskey barrel aged imperial stout – 9.5%

Pizza Port, Carlsbad, CA
 547 Haight – imperial red ale 9.4%
 Black Lie – san diego style ipa 8.0%
 None the Weisser – weizenbock 8.0%
 Ruby Black – baltic porter 9.5%
 Sticky Stout – american stout 8.0%
^- Wipeout IPA – huge west coast ipa 8.0%

Pizza Port, San Clemente, CA
 Barbarian Barleywine – american barleywine 9.3%

Pizza Port, Solana Beach, CA
 The Guru – double ipa 9.5%

Pumphouse, Longmont, CA
^+ Oak Aged Imperial Stout – yep, like it says.  8.6%

Redstone Meadery, Boulder, CO
 Black Rascal – blend of blackberry mead and WR wit 8.0%
– Hops on Mead – yep, like it says. 8.0%

Shorts Brewing, Bellaire, MI
^+ ICE – rye steam ipa frozen, removed from ice, then dry hopped 10.0%

Ska Brewing, Durango, CO
 Dragon Ass Dopplebock– licorice and caramel 9.1%

Smuttynose Brewing, Portsmouth, NH
= Wheatwine – american style wheat wine 11.0%

Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA
 Russian Imperial Stout – yep, thats what it is. 10.8%

Trinidad Brewing, Trinidad, CO
= Wee Heavy Lassie – whiskey barrel strong scottish ale 10.5%

Twisted Pine Brewing, Boulder, CO
 The North Star Porter – imperial porter 9.0%

Victory Brewing, Downingtown, PA
 Golden Monkey – belgian golden 9.5%
 Old Horizontal – american barleywine 11.0%

Wild Mountain, Nederland, CO
^ Cliffords Big Red Ale – big hoppy red ale 9.3%

Wyncoop Brewing, Denver, CO
^+ Double Barrel Barleywine – aged on american oak 10.8%
 Rosslying Mead – braggot aged in brandy barrels

April 2nd 2008 was the third Insider Tasting Series.  This session was a special treat for me for two reasons – I love malty beers and the beer they show-cased happened to be one of my favorites from Avery Brewing Company – Samael Oak Aged  Ale.  My biggest fear was being able to walk out at the end of the evening. Not a problem as C.V. Howe and Peter Archer, our moderators for the evening, are always very conscious of giving folks enough without getting them wasted.

April usually marks the release of Samael’s Oak Aged Ale.  This is a big beer from the Demonic series – it’s brethren are The Beast and Mephistopholes.  NICE!

Flight 1: North American malts vs. Belgians

The Reverend Belgian Quad – Belgian yeast signature in it’s aroma.  Sweet taste.  This beer has Cara 20 (19° – 27° L) which lends body, adds smooth mouthfeel, and foam stability.  This malt was imported by Dingemans of Belgium.  This beer also has some Special B which imparts a heavy caramel taste and is credited with the raisin like flavors of Belgians.

Ellies Brown Ale – nutty nose.  Darker then the Belgian Quad. This beer has chocolate malts in it which is a high nitrogen malt that is roasted at temperatures up to 450°F then rapidly cooled when it reaches the appropriate color.  The malt lends various levels of aroma, a deep red color and a nutty/roasted taste.

Flight 2: Surprise Mystery Beer!  Czar vertical!  Noble hallertau hops, English Toffee, rich mocha, candied Currents, Anise.  This beer features Honey Malt (20° – 30° L), which is a North American (Gambrinus) version of a European malt – brumalt.  It’s intense malt sweetness makes it perfect for any specialty beer.  It’s devoid of astringent roast flavors.

Czar Russian Imperial Stout – Bottled November 2nd 2007.  Coffee, astringent, “brighter” and hoppier.

Czar Russian Imperial Stout – Bottled November 4th 2006.  Molasses, Sweet, Vinous.

FLight 3:

Samael’s Oak Aged Ale – April 2nd, 2008.  Awesome beer.  15.5% ABV “Bright” (a term Peter uses to describe fresh beer).  Some alcohol phenols but minimal heat.  Mouthfeel is somewhat thinner then other beers in this flight.  There was a bit of a bite.  Definite oak character.  Fermented in stainless steel with oak chips.

Samael’s Oak Aged Ale – May 5th, 2006.  Only beer in this vertical that maintained any head at all.  The head was about 1/4″ and persisted for several minutes. It was a creamy white color.  14.9%.  Effervescent.

Samael’s Oak Aged Ale – April 2005.  Sweet, caramel.  SMOOTH.  Very nice nose.  Body due to residual sugars.  It sipped like a liquor or after dinner drink.

There were a lot interesting discussions.  One of the discussions had to do with the price of malt going up.  This is having even a larger influence on cost of brewing then the cost of hops.  2 Row pale was .19 cents a pound last year, now they are up to .34 cents per pound.  I pay up to $2.00 a pound, so apparently buying in bulk is obviously worth it if you can!

They discussed brewing on a 40 BBL system, yielding 22 BBLs due to the high gravity involved.  To fill a 120 BBL fermenter, they need to brew 5 batches. 

And finally the discussed filtering beer on a 10 M DE filtration system using Perlite, then Pall at to filter it to the 5 micron level.

All in all, it was another great night at Avery Brewing.  I hope they don’t run out of topics to discuss, I want to keep coming back!