Brew Master Speaks!!

We kicked off 2008 with good intentions of routinely providing everyone with informative and sometimes provacative reviews of various beers both domestically and from around the world. Al (a.k.a. Beer Pedaler) did a fine job of bringing you the kind of insightful reviews that only an afficianado could provide. Then Al became so intent on getting more first-hand experience with European beers that he decided to sell his house and move to the United Kingdom. While Al dives into British offerings, Greg (a.k.a. Brew Master) has agreed to carry the torch. Greg brings with him special insights gained as an award winning home brewer. (I give Greg an award every time he brings some of his craft to our house. :-) Post your questions and comments to Brew Master in the "Beer" forum of this web site.

Weyerbacher Quad (22 February 2009)

During a recent brewery crawl in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, I made an unplanned stop at the Weyerbacher Brewery. As I entered the warehouse looking brewery, I was greeted by a wall of Merry Monks, a tee shirt rack, and a small (standing only) bar. After a couple quick samples of their beer, I joined in on the brewery tour. The tour took about 15 minutes, and we were quickly back at the bar to enjoy more samples!

During the sampling period (which lasted about 2 hours….which is also why I recommend a DD if you visit Weyerbacher), I tried every beer that they had….multiple times! One of their beers that stood out among all was the QUAD.

The QUAD is an abbey style quadruple ale. It has a darker caramel color with a light brown head and good lacing. Lacing is what you have left on your glass as you drink your beer. It is the lines of “foam” that are left on your glass. It can act as an indication for how sticky the beer is. An IPA will have more lacing than a simple Lager. The aroma is of caramel malt. This beer starts off sweet, with hints of a fruity brown sugar flavor, followed by 11.8% of alcohol goodness. It is a good beer to get you through these last few weeks of winter.

Keep ‘em cold,

Brew Master

“A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure."
Czech Proverb

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery came to a knife fight with an Atom Bomb whenever they brewed this IPA (India Pale Ale). It is the IPA of IPA’s. When you pop the top on this beer you are unleashing a beer with a 20% ABV, 120 IBU’s (International Bittering Unit) that has been boiled for 120 minutes (hence the name) with continuous hop additions. Once it starts fermentation, more hops are added everyday for a month. After that, it is aged for another month with whole leaf hops.

When I cracked this beer open, I got a nose full of hop aroma. It smelled wonderful! As I poured the light carmel beer into my glass I noticed the low carbonation level by the lack of any measurable head. The first sip of the beer was surprising to me because of its sweetness. However, that quickly subsided as the alcohol in this mammoth beer kicked in. That too quickly subsided, and left me with the classic bitter taste of an IPA.

This is a strong beer that you have to drink slow. It offers very strong flavors and aromas that will open up and reveal spicy, tarty, and fruity notes. Personally, this is not my favorite IPA, but it is good. I would recommend that a seasoned IPA drinker try to tackle this beer, and everyone else to wait until the next beer review.

‘Till Next Time,

Brew Master

“May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head always be strong, and may you be in heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.” – Old Irish Toast

Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen (21 February 2008)

Educational prelude: Weizen beer is wheat beer. It doesn't lack barley; it simply substitutes a portion of the barley with wheat - often in roughly a 50/50 ratio. "Hefe"-weizen is a particular type of wheat beer in which the yeast is not filtered out after it is added and the beer subsequently takes on a cloudy appearance. As an added bonus, some hefe's even come with a sludge pile in the bottom of the bottle which you can choose to mix up into your beer, carefully leave behind undisturbed or forget about until the last swig and then remember it just as the cold gooey slug lands on your tongue.

Widmer Hefeweizen is an exceptionally smooth beer with a citrus note throughout, more carbonation than a typical lager and an appealing, rich golden color. It isn't hoppy (bitter), but the malt doesn't take over either - in other words its deliciously balanced. In general, if you order a hefe from a bartender don't be shocked if it arrives with a lemon wedge floating on top (an American-only custom). A lemon in your beer?? This of course brings us to the ethical quandary of "fruit in beer." It is my opinion, of which I am unanimous, that if the brewmaster intended that anything need be added to his or her brew, they would have seen to it during the brewing process. Therefore, adding ANYTHING to a finished brew can only be seen as an insult to the brewer. Furthermore, after exhaustive research into numerous clinical studies I discovered that persistent consumption of beer with fruit additives can result in testicular dropoffage, a condition generally affecting only men, but irreversible nonetheless. And don't think your safe with German Hefeweizens just because they aren't served with lemon - instead they typically have a strange German yeast strain that give it a horrible banana, coriander, hoppy twang that can render your face irrevocably stuck in a horrifying expression of sour betrayal. Thank heavens for the American Hefeweizen . . .

Widmer Hefeweizen: 10/9/7-YES (rating system)

Widmer is brewed in Portland OR and thankfully also in Portsmouth NH which makes it available in the eastern half of the country. Again, its only available in the 12 oz aperitif size and it took two of these to fill Al's mug, but hey, at only 4.9% alcohol, drinking two at a time shouldn't prompt a visit to your local AA, its just being efficient.

Also, there's a cool hidden message on the bottle's label just to the left of the red Widmer Brothers crest.

Beer Pedaler

Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale (3 February 2008)

If your name happens to be Nancy or Sally, this is probably not your beer. Rugged Trail is a medium to heavyweight, filling beer. If you primarily drink smooth tasting, crisp-finishing American Lagers this beer will probably be a serious mouthful, but it is a superb choice to stretch your taste buds a bit without going too far.

At first, Rugged Trail appears to have a dark brown color, but when backlit with 1500 watts or so of light it surprises you with a deep, rich amber color. It has a roasted nutty opening flavor trailing off to a satisfying malty finish. Surprisingly, all of this heft and flavor does not translate into much of an alcohol percentage and at only 4.4% alcohol one may want to get a head start before the ride is over. This is NOT to condone drinking and riding as there is significant and often-underestimated risk of spillage (however, camel backing your beer reduces the overall foaming effect and the bite-valve doubles as overpressure protection).

As is typical, I rate all beers with the “10/a/b –yes/no” system. For you novices it works like this: In MY estimation, if ten respectable beer drinkers tried this beer “a” of them would say they at least “liked it” and of those “b” of them would say they “loved it” and the yes/no part is whether or not I would immediately set this beer down and assist the hot naked lost chicks on Wave Pool Hill. So,

Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale: 10/7/5 -YES

Tröegs is brewed in PA and is readily available at most local distributors. I purchased my “test” sample at Barley’s and Hops. Note, I have not personally observed Tröegs distributed in anything other than the 12 oz aperitif size and, as is painfully noticeable in the photograph, Al’s mug is barely half full with only 12 ounces.

I also recommend trying Tröegs HopBack Amber and Nugget Nectar – two great selections, however, beware of the Tröegs DreamWeaver Wheat – it’s a 10/1/0-HELLYES.

Beer Pedaler