Anchor Brewing Co. -- Liberty Ale

 

Anchor Brewing Co.'s Liberty Ale, "was first introduced on April 18th, 1975 to commemorate the bicentennial of the famous ride by Paul Revere."

5.9% ABV

Review:
Appearance: Liberty pours a beautiful golden orange, with a lasting, fluffy white head.

Aroma: Smells just like a lemon tart. Yum!

Taste: Hmmm... this beer is a bit confusing. It is citrusy, but has no real bite. It feels flat on the tongue, but has exciting flavors. It is sour, but still complex.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a high hop presence.

Finish: This is a hoppy beer, but the hops are earthy.

(Side Note: I think that the hops used in this beer are the same as those that were available in the 1970's. There is nothing wrong with that, but you have to remember that Cascade hops were created in 1972, and didn't get popular until the 80's when Sierra Nevada started using them in copious amounts. Most of the citrusy hops that we associate with American IPA's were developed even later.)

Overall:
This is an old school IPA. When this was created, it was probably edgy -- it borrows a lot from the English style, but has a certain Americanness to it. Today, it seems much closer to an English style than what the American Style has become. Despite the claims of Anchor's website stating that Liberty is unique because it is, "Bunged" (a now common method usually called "bottle fermented"), and uses a "rarely used" process called dry hopping (which is VERY common), I would say that the uniqueness of this beer comes from how uniquely dated the flavor profile is. This is like drinking a snapshot of where the leaders of the American brewing industry were in the mid 70's. Put on some Led Zeppelin, crack open a Liberty, and enjoy how good something British can be once America has influenced it!

Grade: B-

Barrel Man says,
"at least I don't have
to talk about Fritz 
anymore."

(This Bottle Purchased at Whole Foods, Kahala Mall)

Kona Brewing Co. -- FIre Rock Pale Ale

Kona Brewing Company's Fire Rock Pale Ale claims to be a, "crisp, refreshing 'Hawaiian-style' pale ale."

5.9% ABV and 35 IBU's

Review:

This copper colored ale pours from the bottle slightly hazy. The initial head stands 1/2 inch high, but fades to a minimal 1/16 inch. Aromas of crystal malts swirl and combine with hints of passion fruit and pineapple. The taste is surprisingly tart, with a dose of citrus rind character and a sprinkle of unripe fruit. There isn't much in the way of malt character or sweetness. The mouthfeel is full, and seems reminiscent of carbonated fruit juice. 

(Side Note: Kona Brewing Co. is owned in majority by Anheuser-busch, which is owned by INBEV, which is not an American company.)

Overall:

This beer is both hoppier and fruitier than I remember. As I was drinking this, I was thinking it tasted like it had followed the Wailua Wheat through a fermentation vessel and had picked up some of that flavor. I see on their website that this beer is brewed with wheat, which explains the haze and the wheaty character, but what about the unripe fruit? I'm afraid that with a sour front, a tart hop middle, no perceivable malt flavor and such little aroma, I'm not going to give this beer a very good grade. 

Grade: C+

Barrel Man says,

"tastes corrupted."

(This bottle purchased at Whole Foods, Kahala Mall)

Mehana Brewing Co. -- Mauna Kea Pale Ale

Mehana Brewing Co.'s Mauna Kea Pale Ale is brewed on the Big Island of Hawaii in the wonderful town of Hilo.

Review:
This beer pours gold and lifts a 3/4 inch head. Lacing remains on the top 1/3 of the glass while drinking. The aroma is comprised of crystal malts and a touch of citrus hops along with a slight hint of fresh cut hedges. The taste is a back-and-forth battle between sweet and bitter. Sweet leads the battle early but the bitter punches out a late victory in the match. The hops taste slightly earthy and remind me of a lot of organic hops I've tasted.

(Side Note: If you go to the brewery you can have a couple small samples for free, or can try them all for a few bucks. This investment is well worth it because the beer tastes twice as fresh as the bottle.)

Overall Impression:
This is a good, solid pale ale.
I've had some issues with this brewery in the past... twice. 
However, it looks like they've finally got their groove back and are making good beer.

Grade: A-

(bottle purchased at Whole Foods.)

Buffalo Bill's Brewing Co. -- Alimony Ale (IPA)

Buffalo Bill's Brewing Co.'s Alimony Ale used to be called, "the bitterest brew in America." It now carries the tag line: "irreconcilably different!" 

 It is 6.8% ABV and has 70 IBU's.

Review:
This beer pours a proud copper color, has low carbonation, little head, and has very little aroma.  There is not much flavor except the bittering... this bittering seems to come from a high alpha acid hop-- maybe Columbus or possibly Cluster. The body of this beer is very light-- almost watery thin.

(Side Note: This might be a good beer to convert ESB drinkers into IPA drinkers.  )

Overall Impression:
Whenever rating hoppy beers shipped from the mainland, I always wonder how different they would taste if they were fresh... this beer might be the exception to that rule. According to the brewery's website, this recipe has been around since 1987... a time where hoppy beers were a rarity. It stands to reason that these forerunners of our modern day hop-monsters would have been lighter in flavor and bitterness. Combining that reasoning with the fact that the latest release of this beer was February 2nd, I believe I tasted a fresh and fairly true to form bottle. So, while I am grateful that Buffalo Bill's helped start the Brewpub movement, and that they marketed this IPA at a time where few brewers were making boldly hopped beer, I am sad to say that this beer has passed its time.

Grade: C-
  
Barrel Man says,

"Give it a break...
It's very sessionable."

(This bottle was purchased at Whole Foods)

Unibroue -- Ephemere Apple

Unibroue's Ephemere Apple is a witbier beer brewed with apple must, coriander, and curacao peels.

The ABV is 5.5% and the beer hails from Canada.

Review:
This beer pours a hazy straw color and carries a thick, tall white head. The aroma is dominated by apples and bubblegum from the apple must and the yeast respectively. The taste has elements of spicy coriander that dance around, and sour apples on the edges of your tongue. The high carbonation and unfiltered beer combine to produce a creamy mouthfeel while still retaining a nice snappy finish. For the most part, this beer just tastes like somebody put some apple juice in my Belgian witbier.

(Side Note: According to Ratebeer and Beer Advocate, there are multiple versions of Ephemere with different fruit flavors.)

Overall Impression:
This is the first fruit beer I've rated. The reason I've waited this long is because I generally don't seek out fruit beers. I like beer, and I like fermented fruit drinks, but a fermented fruit/beer drink is is a rare commodity in my fridge.
However, for what this beer is attempting to be, it is a success. 

Grade: B






Barrel man says,
"pinky up" drink.

(bottle purchased Whole Foods.)

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.)

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.

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.)

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Are you ready to rumble? This ale sure is! Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s "Hoptimum" is a monster beer made with only whole cone hops-- some of which are experimental, and as yet, unnamed.

 Definitely a Heavyweight contender with a 10.4% ABV 

Ready to smack you in the mouth with an uppercut of 100 IBUs

It is released in limited quantities and is just hitting the market.

Review:
Are you a Hophead? If you said no, or you don't know what that is, than this is not the beer for you. Just move on. Seriously. Go find something else to do.

For the rest of you, well, you will probably like this beer. The aroma is of grapefruit/citrus peels with a slight earthy nose. The earthiness probably is a result of the chinook hops used in the Torpedo and the citrus is certainly from the Citra and Simcoe, but there is another wild card hop in there for dry hopping. The golden orange color has a slight rustiness, but remains  crystal clear and truly beautiful. The head is minimal (not uncommon for a beer of this strength) but long lasting and leaves a nice lace. Taste wise, it is certainly dominated by the hop character. It is citrusy at all levels but I can still taste the Chinook (think SN celebration) which I really enjoy. There is certainly a warming feel as you sip the beer, but for something of this strength, it is very smooth... (and dare I use the "b" word? aaaahh!)...balanced. No, not balanced to where the malt flavors equal the hop flavors-- just balanced enough to say "That's a nice beer!" instead of, "that's a pretty astringent hop tea!"


(Side Note: For the home brewers out there-- check out the malt bill. That is how it is done! American 2-row Pale malts for the base alcohol, Scottish Golden Promise for alcohol and a slight sweetness, Munich for the malty character--balancing the citrus hops-- and wheat to add a touch of mouthfeel/smoothness and adding to the head retention and lacing.)

Overall Impression:
If you read this far, you are a hophead...
You will like this beer.

Grade: A

(bottle purchased at Whole Foods.)

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Mahalo to my Ohana for the new gear!

 Love you guys!

Asahi "Kuronama" Black

Asahi Breweries' "Kuronama Black," or just "Black" is a beer shrouded in mystique and mystery. According to the bottle it is "Asahi's original brew, rich and smooth taste."

 5.0% ABV

Review:
This is a very sought after beer in the American beer market. Beer nerds go from store to store looking for it and when it is located, they generally don't balk at the high price it demands. It consistently scores well on sites like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer and even Michael Jackson spoke fondly of it. BUT... what is it? This may seem like a silly question, but the label on the bottle says that it is "Kuronama Ale," and "IMPORTED, 11.2 FL. OZ. ALE" Most beer related sites label it as a European Dark Lager, or just a Lager. This is not simply a question of semantics, however. Ales and lagers have pretty different characteristics and are brewed very differently. (There are some German style beers brewed with ale yeast but bottled with lager yeast, but this beer did not have the sediment that I would have expected from this type of conditioning.) Is it possible that since 1995 the Japanese brewery has been putting out labels with a typo right in the middle of the design? I'd say it's possible, but unlikely.
My tasting finds that it has a yeasty nose and a slight yeasty/bready flavor characteristic closer to an ale. The roasty notes are similar to black patent or a de-bittered black roast. (common to European Dark Lagers). The color is black with beautiful highlights-- but  that tells nothing about the brewing process. I found the mouthfeel to be closer to a soda (lager characteristic).  When served cold, the flavor was roasty and a bit nutty. As the beer warmed, it transformed into something like a chocolaty, fruity, Dr. Pepper (the fruitiness could be a ale yeast characteristic or some darkly roasted crystal/caramel malts).

Overall Impression: I still can't tell you for sure how, exactly, this beer should be labeled... As a whole, I would say it is much closer to a Schwarzbier, but still, something in the back of my mind says, "no." Hmmm... could this beer be a darker Japanese version of a Steam Beer (California Common)? In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter how it is categorized. The question is, "Is it good?" The answer is Yes!

(Side note: If you don't want to spend 15 bucks on a six pack, see if you can find it in a store that will sell you singles. This is a very session-able beer, and I would feel silly spending that much money on something that didn't even last a night.)

Grade: B+

This beer was purchased at Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market, Kahala Mall

My fellow O'ahuans-- I have found one of the seven wonders of the island: a grocery store with a great beer selection. That's right-- this place has things in stock other than the standard wall of Bud in 6, 12, 18, 20, and 24 packs. Not only that, but they have prices that are competitive with, and sometimes better than, those other supermarket chains!

(Side note: Their Poke was highly rated in Metromix)

Highlights: Good selection of Rogue beers, Maui Brewing Co.,Mehana, Hawaii Nui,  Mikkeller, BrewDog, Sierra Nevada, Mad River Brewing Co, Anchor, Nogne O beers (including the varieties brewed with sake yeast) Sam Adams Infinium, Ballast Point Victory at Sea and Sculpin IPA.

Missing: Stuff not distributed to Hawaii. That's about it.

Selection: 9/10 (always leave room for improvement--like getting Pliny, for example.)
Location: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Friendliness: 9/10
Beer Knowledge: Troy, their beer purchaser-- 10/10
Over all grade: A