Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. -- Summerfest

Sierra Nevada's Summerfest is a bottom fermented beer (a lager) that is brewed every year for the summer months.

Review:
Appearance: Straw in color and very clear. A quarter inch head dissipates down to an eighth of an inch, but stays at this level through the glass.

Aroma: The grain husk smell of pilsner malt is rather apparent in this beer. The slight sulfur note is obvious to me, but may be less obvious to someone who is less sensitive to that characteristic. Hop notes, including lemon peel and fresh cut hay, are also present but are at a very low level.

Taste: This lager starts slightly sweet, but quickly transitions to a tangy orange/lemon peel taste and feel. The finish is tangy and less crisp than I remember from years past.

Mouthfeel: There is  a strong sensation of a pilsner, but without the crisp finish... specifically the feel of pilsner malt husk shines through. The carbonation is medium/high which helps lighten the perceived viscosity.

Finish: In Sierra Nevada style, this beer has a gripping hop bite. It also has an astringency that is not unlike water with a squeeze of lemon in it.

(Side note: Although Sierra Nevada makes a wide variety of Ales, this is one of two seasonal beers that is lagered. The other is the spring release, Glissade.)

Overall: 
I have, of course, tasted this beer in years past. This year the hop presence seems a bit more prominent than previous years. In some ways I like it, but the lingering lemon peel sensation cancels out the crispness that I've come to expect in this beer and this style. Usually this is a B+ beer for me, but this year...

Grade: C+

Barrel Man says,
"I like Bikini Blonde
better."

(This bottle purchased at Foodland Supermarket)

Birra Moretti

 

Birra Moretti is a "Premium Lager" that is produced by the Heineken Corporation.

4.6% ABV

Review:

Birra Moretti pours a straw color with a quickly dissipating head. The aroma has both sulfur and sweet lager notes that hint at a touch of corn. (I could be wrong, but since their website states only that they use, "the highest quality raw materials" I would bet that corn is their adjunct of choice.) The taste is lightly grainy-- not as robust as a Munich style lager, but not as thin as an American lager. The mouthfeel is appropriately light but the high carbonation level makes the beer feel a bit foamy. The finish? Well, Bierra Moretti's sweetness lingers for quite a while... long enough for you to almost give up on the hops... but they kick in very late and cleanse your palate with their peppery Saaz/Hallertaur flavor.

(Side note: This beer gets an astounding 11 out of 100 on Ratebeer.)

Overall:

Bierra Moretti is an average lager. I'd grade it higher than the domestic big 3, but I wouldn't pay a premium for this beer. It simply doesn't have enough flavor for my taste, but it would be refreshing for those intense yard work days. 

Grade: C

Barrel Man says,

"good for days 

out on the boat."

(Bottle purchased at Tamura's)

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. -- Ewe - 96 (Schwarzbier)

Ewe - 96 Dark Lager was made at Sierra Nevada's Beercamp #38. 

Because it was "torpedoed" it was supposed to be called U-Boat... 

but then lawyers got involved.

The ABV is 5.4%

Review:

This is the most bad-ass Schwarzbier ever sold by an American Brewery. Quite a claim, huh? Well it is true, and this is why: through the brilliance of Sierra Nevada's Brewmaster Scott Jennings, the malt bill is technically perfect;  through the brilliance of the beer campers, the hop selection and resulting aroma blows the competition away. I mean, the idea to combine a rare, floor malted and kilned basemalt with carafa III-- in perfect harmony-- then send this beautiful beer through Sierra's "torpedo" hopping contraption to get the most hop aroma of any schwarzbier? Righteous. 

Only one problem: I had the only 2 bottles on the island. Boy, were they tasty!

(I know that it's unkind of myself to tease my MILLIONS of followers, but hey, if you can't have fun with your blog, why bother blogging?)

GRADE: A

 

Barrel Man says, 

"Mahalo to Kasim!"

Ayinger -- Jahrhundert-Bier

 Ayinger Brewing Co.'s Jahrhundert-Bier, is a "Dieses Bier wurde erstmals 1978 zum 100. Geburtstag der Brauerei eingebraut. Es ist von goldgelber Farbe mit einem leicht hefeblumigen, honigartigen Geruch, schmeckt würzig und vollmundig im Antrunk, im Haupttrunk mild und weich mit einer feinen Rezenz und klingt mit einer gut abgestimmten Bittere aus. Es ist ein besonders süffiges und harmonisches Bier. Im August 2009 untersuchte das Magazin Öko-Test 46 deut-sche Biermarken. Das Ayinger Jahrhundert-Bier wurde von der Fachjury des Verbraucher-Magazins als bestes Bier bewertet und war Testsieger.." Um... yeah... That's what she said.

 5.5% ABV and "Erhältlich in der 0,33l." I hear it is a Dortmunder lager.

Review:

This is a European lager that smells like a lager, has a slightly sweet nose with some grain husk notes, but remains clean and fresh.The color is light yellow to straw color and produces a bright white head.  Sweet to bitter/tart flavor progression. No DMS, some chalkiness in the finish. A nice peppery hop character rounds things off.

(Side Note: All of you European lager drinkers who drink out of green bottles have a big surprise waiting for you when you have one from a brown bottle--
What could it be, you ask?...   GOOD BEER! )

Overall Impression: 

There is a smell of Fritos corn chips, but there can't be corn according to the Reinheitsgebot. Lagers taste like lagers... some are delicious, some taste like, well, they came from a horse. This beer tastes like a really good European lager. I gather from the label that this beer has been around since Ayinger celebrated an anniversary in 1978. Whatever. This beer is still good and has won awards in  1995, 96, 97, 99, 2001, 03, 05, 07, 08. Who am I to argue with success?

Grade: A

Barrel Man Say,

"Refreshing Lager."

(bottle purchased at Liquor Collection)

Suntory Brewing -- "The Premium Malt's"

Suntory's "The Premium Malt's" draft beer is a lager was (according to the website) "...created to fulfill this desire of Ryozo Yamamoto, the man behind its development."

If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

 5.5% ABV

Review:
I think that the best thing about this beer was that it made me visit Suntory's website. Please, if you are reading this, you've gotta check out the site if only for the picture of the stern-faced brewers with the caption, "Today, this perfect beer, created in pursuit of taste and flavor, continues to challenge new heights." Being that it is perfect and all, what new heights can it possibly challenge? Only the website creator knows...
But, on to the beer!

This beer pours clear and golden, like Martinelli's apple juice. The head starts tall, but quickly subsides to a small but constant height. This reflects the relatively high carbonation level.  The aroma has obvious sulfur compounds and a slight malt nose. No hop aroma. The taste is malty and sweet with a decent grassy hop character. I don't know if I would say that it is balanced, exactly. It is surprisingly sweet until about 2.5 seconds after you swallow, at which time the hops kick in. Unfortunately, the nice grassy hop character is accompanied with a grittiness on the edges of the tongue that is a bit unpleasant.

(Side note: Suntory is a huge conglomerate of companies and is much better known for their distillates.)

Overall Impression:
This beer reminds me of a cheaper malt liquor. I suppose it compares favorably to some of the Baltika lagers on the market, but honestly, for a beer that claims to be "perfect," it leaves me desiring more balance and better flavor.
Maybe I should try their "Relax" beer

BONUS YOUTUBE CLIP HERE!  Are they laughing because he drinks loudly? Who knows!

Grade: C

(This beer purchased at Marukai.)

Kulmbacher Brauerei -- Eisbock

Kulmbacher Brauerei's Eisbock claims to be the original eisbock.

 This is a very deceptive 9.2% ABV

Review:
The story goes that an apprentice at Kulmbacher Brewery left some casks of beer out in a snowstorm, and when finally discovered, a portion of water in the beer was frozen leaving the unfrozen alcohol (alcohol has a much lower freezing point than water) in a concentrated condition. Personally, I doubt that they were the first to accidentally freeze beer. I've accidentally frozen beer a half a dozen times, and I have the sticky dregs in my freezer to prove it! Nonetheless, they probably were the first to decide to market frozen beer from a blown-out keg.
--Yeah, yeah, I can hear you all saying, "But, the beer! The beer!"
Ok, so, the aroma is heavy on the dark cherries and has a light chocolate roasty aspect. If you swirl the glass, you get some serious whipping cream notes. The color is of a dark Koa wood (the picture above is misleading. It needed some back-lighting.) The initial taste is dominated by an apple cider flavor, but there is some butterscotch/toffee flavor in the background. The aftertaste has an, ahem, interesting medicinal quality similar to cough syrup mixed with coriander. Other tasters noted equal sweet and burnt notes in the aftertaste with a hint of anise.

(Side note: The process of freezing beer to concentrate the alcohol is what BrewDog used in their Tactical Nuclear Penguin that was the world's strongest "beer" for a short time -- 32% ABV.)

Overall Impression:
I've liked all the Eisbocks I've had... until I had this bottle. Because I've had this specific brand before, I have to say that it was probably an old bottle and that it may not be representative of the brewing skills of this company. Still, while the blame may be more on the distributors or the retailers for not rotating their stock, I've got to, "play it as it lies." Sorry, Kulmbacher.

Grade: C

(This beer purchased at Whole Foods)

Cervejaria Sudbrack Ltda. -- Eisenbahn Vigorosa

Cervejaria Sudbrack Ltda.'s "Eisenbahn Vigorosa" is an "Unfiltered Wheat Doublebock," (A.K.A. Weizenbock) with "notes of toasted whole-grain bread, bananas, and chocolate."

The ABV on this is a proud 8% and the beer hails from Brazil!

Review:
*Special tasting alert! I tried this with my brother, Bryan, and so the notes are compiled from both our comments.*

Getting a beer from Brazil is a real treat. The last one I had was Xingu and that was years ago. This beer was nothing like that one...
The the beer pours with little head, and although this beer is dark, it is obvious that it is unfiltered. There is quite a bit of cloudiness apparent at the edge of the glass. The color is either a red/brown rye beer color, or mahogany, depending on who you ask. The aroma has notes of apricot, plums, peaches, cherries, and orange. As for the taste, well, we picked up notes of orange candy, roasted barley and chocolate, cherries, fruit punch and dark candy sugar.

(Side Note: Eisenbahn seems to mean something about trains / train stations. Eisenbahn Vigorosa is only available in the great USA, so drink up if you like Weizenbocks.)

Overall Impression:
The beer is fine. If you like malty goodness, or sweet beers that are 8%,  this is for you. Between my brother and myself, there was no split. We both gave it a B.

Grade: B

(bottle purchased Whole Foods.)

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. -- Glissade

 

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s "Glissade" is a Golden Bock, "with restrained sweetness... balanced against delicate aromas of spicy and floral European hops." 

The ABV on this is 6.4% and it claims 42 IBU's.

Review:
I could be wrong, but I don't think that "Golden Bock" is a recognized style. Therefore, I am left to assume that this beer would fall under the jurisdiction of a Hellesbock or Maibock category. Both of these categories call for a lighter color and more hoppy profile than your everyday Bock, and they are commonly brewed for the spring time. Glissade seems to fit this mold.
Looking at the above photo, you can see that this beer is a nice orange/gold color with a small head. The flavor starts a bit sweet but quickly sours across the tongue. More correctly stated, it begins malty but finishes hoppy with a grassy/citrus punch. There is a small amount of malt husk character present, but it is not distracting. As far as medium strength lagers go, this is fairly complex... Upon further tastings, there is a certain dry pepper flavor to the hops and some sulfur notes become evident.

(Side Note: Glissade is a term that can be used in three ways. In this instance it is referring to the practice of sliding down a steep snowy mountain either by putting your weight on your heels and alternating your weight back and forth in a sort of improvised "boot-skiing" fashion, or riding on your butt and feet down the mountain. -- I'll bet you're wondering what this has to do with beer, well, read the description at Sierra Nevada to find out.)

Overall Impression:
Last year, before I was blogging, I had this beer and it was different. Reviewing my notes, it had a much larger head and no yeast notes. This year it lacks the same malt presence that I found so magical in 2010. It is still good, but I admit, I am a touch disappointed that the flavor couldn't quite meet the high expectations set last year.

Grade: B

(bottle purchased The Liquor Collection.)

EKU Pils

Kulmbacher Brauerei's "Pils" claims to have "flawless balance" while being "light and refreshing, rich and deeply satisfying."

It weighs in at 5% ABV.

Review: Although this beer gets B average ratings on the Beer Advocate website, the Great Brewer's website states that in a blind taste test in 2008, Germans chose this beer as the best German Pilsner. After tasting this beer I must say I align more closely with the Great Brewer's opinion.
The very first whiff of aroma screams of pilsner malt. For me, this is always a plus within the Pilsner category as I feel it adds to the drinking experience. The straw color was crystal clear and the pleasant head had good retention. The body was light/thin, (as German Pilsners should be) but there was a nice light pilsner maltiness. The slight bite from the hops balances the grain. Basically, this has all of the enjoyable characteristics of a German Pilsner.

(Side Note: This brewery was created in 1872, only 30 years after the first Pilsner was brewed in the Czech republic.)

Overall Impression: This ain't one of those green bottle beers that has suffered its way across the pond, getting skunked all along the way. This is crisp, clean, light, flavorful and delightful. American brewers should strive to make their Pilsners taste more like this beer! As the bottle says, "perfect for everyday drinking!"

Grade: A-

This bottle was purchased at Whole Foods.

Mehana Brewing Co. - Hawaii Lager

Mehana Brewing Co.'s Hawaii Lager is an lager brewed in the wonderful town of Hilo.

 It is 4.8% ABV and is available year-round.

Review:
First of all, what is going on with the bottling line at Hawaii Nui? This was a cold beer from the fridge that hadn't been shaken. That's a LOT OF FOAM! You guys over in Hilo need to get that thing dialed in! But let's move on...
According to Ratebeer, "This Hawaiian-style European lager is most often described as being very smooth with lots of body and some bitterness. It is an all-malt brew with the tropical taste in mind. This lager has a deep copper color with a malty aroma and subtle fruitiness creating a caramel maltiness on the palate with a sweet malt aftertaste."
You'll notice that there is no mention of aroma in this description. Indeed, because of the low aroma level, I was unable to really describe it. The flavor seemed to be slightly sweet but that sweetness was countered very well by the grassy lemony hop. Unfortunately, neither aspect was very exciting and the body was-- in direct contradiction with the above description-- very, very light.It was so light that it had an almost metallic finish reminiscent of certain light American lagers.

(Side Note: This beer may be in the style of the Vienna lager.)

Overall Impression:
-If you like Budweiser, or maybe Tecate, try this beer.
-Mehana's (still!) gotta tone down their carbonation levels. 

Grade:  C-

(This bottle was purchased at Kokua Market)

Asahi Select

Asahi Brewing Co.'s "Asahi Select" is a lagered beer sometimes classified as a "European Pale Lager" and sometimes labeled a "Premium Lager"

 4.7% ABV and available at *select* locations

Review:
Information about this beer is sketchy and reliable information is difficult to find. Ratebeer has this blurb: "COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION: An original premium lager skillfully crafted using our finest malt and pure yeast selected by our brewmaster." That doesn't offer much to the beer connoisseur. Asahi's webpage is equally as unhelpful. At least nobody can accuse me of biasing my tasting with too much previous knowledge!
After prying the crown, and pouring the beer into a pint glass, I found the aroma to have a sweet and malty nose with notes similar to the malt Special B. The appearance is slightly darker than I would have imagined (leaning toward copper), and when combined with the aroma, makes me feel that this is a beer brewed without rice. The head is pale white and dissipates quickly. The flavor of the beer immediately reminds me of Munich beers, especially those brewed for Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest beers are slightly rich and roasty in character. This beer has those qualities and none of the adjunct notes commonly associated with Japanese mainstream beers.

(Side Note: Although this beer is under the umbrella of Asahi, a Japanese company, it is brewed in Molson, Canada. )

(Note to Asahi: Your website would be better if your "products" page had more than just one product--Asahi Super Dry.)

Overall Impression:
Despite the lumps and insults that this beer takes on both Ratebeer and Beeradvocate, I have to say that I found it to be quite enjoyable. I would take this beer over a Spaten Oktoberfest any day! The sweet tangyness that slips into a dry finish is backed by a bready accents that make for an enjoyable experience.

Grade: B+

(bottle purchased at Whole Foods.)

Maui Brewing Co. - Bikini Blonde Lager

Maui Brewing Co.'s Bikini Blonde Lager might actually be "what the Sailors really come to shore for..."

 4.5% ABV  and a very light 18 IBU's

Review:
This beautiful golden potion is powerfully aromatic, with the delightful smells of Pilsner and Pale Malt leading the charge through the straits of your nostrils, and into your beer-centered mind. The taste starts sweet, then has a touch of earth, then the hops come out and play. Finally you are left with a delightful sweet/hoppy/husky flavor that reminds you of every ingredient that went into this beer. I have to say that if you have never chewed fresh pale malts, just take a sip of this and you will know what "fresh" really tastes like. The healthy hop level seems a bit higher than the 18 IBUs claimed, but it does not overwhelm-- it just makes this beer lively. It has a clean taste that incorporates the lingering spicy hop on the edge of your tongue and a chalky fullness that sits in the middle. This may be the most complex lager of normal strength made domestically.

(Side Note: This beer is classified as a Munich Helles Lager. This style was invented as the German brewers' slightly more malty answer to the Czech Pilsner. Also, "Helles" means bright.)

Overall Impression: This beer is quickly becoming my favorite lager. You can pick it up at Tamuras for the best price I've seen anywhere.
If you are in the islands and you want a nice beer to take to the beach, this is your beer. Just remember to bring plastic cups to keep the 5-0 away. --And don't give me crap about plastic cups --this beer comes in a can. To me it is always acceptable to drink canned beer from a plastic cup.

Grade: A-

(Can purchased at Tamura's)