Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

Blue Mountain A Hopwork Orange

An orange infused IPA sounds great after running around in the heat.

A theory that does not turn out to be as exciting in practice.

A nicely orange citrus nose.
An odd hop combination that is a bit off putting.

Should go well with the burgers in the grill.

A nice differentiation attempt in a crowded market.
Different hop profile and maybe this is a winner.

Hmmm, gives me pause about returning to Total Wine and purchasing Mango, Tango Foxtrot IPA, a new Deep River offering.

[devildeac]

Attempting to remove the term "malty" from how I describe a beer's flavour.

Harder than it sounds.

After a sip of Sam Adams, I think I would substitute caramel-y sweet.
Switching to Clawhammer, there is a biscuit-y or even a molasses and honey aspect.

A new way for me to start thinking about beer tasting.

I often use bready/biscuity/croissant-like/toasted but still find myself slipping back to malty at times.

[devildeac]

King Basil-Fullsteam Brewing

The style:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beerstyles/biere-de-garde/58/

If you look at their list, I think I've had a grand total of 0 of their top 50 ales.

Another viewpoint:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi%C3%A8re_de_Garde

At least they don't have a Top XX list so I can be embarrassed again.

The beer:

Poured from a pint can into a standard pint glass (with a wee bit left over so I could let it warm up a tad) with a small, foamy head. Very fragrant nose of herbs and spices, with the basil not over-powering. Mildly earthy and herbal tastes, again with basil being in the forefront but not in an obnoxious manner. There are some saison characteristics of pears and apples and also some pale ale features of lightly toasted wheat bread and a bit of caramel sweetness. Very "soft" drinking at 28 IBUs and more potent than expected at 8% ABV. Sooooooo, if it's the French "equivalent" of a strong pale ale, does that make it a session IIPA or, in the Belgian line/style of brewing, an imperial saison? I've never had their Summer Basil and that would make an interesting tasting comparison, I think. I like fuse's idea of pairing this with Italian foods but I'd also consider a pint of this with a pork roast, an herbal chicken entree or a rack or lamb.

Available for sharing/trading at a tailgate soon near you.

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[ricks68]

I believe ricks68 has a bottle of this stored in his ginormous beer 'fridge for me along with its twin for fuse so he'd best get his stone fruit palate in game shape for this.

Yep, along with others.😊

ricks

[fuse]

Beer market changing again...

I'm not sure if this is Beer 3.0, if you give the rise of craft beer the "Beer 2.0" moniker. Perhaps if you prefer, the golden age of beer is giving way for the dawn of a new era?

Heineken is taking a 50% stake in Lagunitas.

I expect as some of the old guard (Sierra Nevada, Anchor, etc) decide to retire that we'll see some market shake-ups.

New Belgium has a new CEO I believe.

I am certain consolidation (to a degree) is inevitable.
I am equally hopeful that craft beer will continue to be flavour packed and genre busting/ innovative and inventive.

I hope this means the next batch of Lagunitas Sucks...won't.

[devildeac]

Beer market changing again...

I'm not sure if this is Beer 3.0, if you give the rise of craft beer the "Beer 2.0" moniker. Perhaps if you prefer, the golden age of beer is giving way for the dawn of a new era?

Heineken is taking a 50% stake in Lagunitas.

I expect as some of the old guard (Sierra Nevada, Anchor, etc) decide to retire that we'll see some market shake-ups.

New Belgium has a new CEO I believe.

I am certain consolidation (to a degree) is inevitable.
I am equally hopeful that craft beer will continue to be flavour packed and genre busting/ innovative and inventive.

I hope this means the next batch of Lagunitas Sucks...won't.

As long as they don't put any Lagunitas products in green bottles, I'll be (h)optomistic.

I don't see any red flags here for the composition/%ages of their ownership:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken_International

[mattman91]

Beer market changing again...

I'm not sure if this is Beer 3.0, if you give the rise of craft beer the "Beer 2.0" moniker. Perhaps if you prefer, the golden age of beer is giving way for the dawn of a new era?

Heineken is taking a 50% stake in Lagunitas.

I expect as some of the old guard (Sierra Nevada, Anchor, etc) decide to retire that we'll see some market shake-ups.

New Belgium has a new CEO I believe.

I am certain consolidation (to a degree) is inevitable.
I am equally hopeful that craft beer will continue to be flavour packed and genre busting/ innovative and inventive.

I hope this means the next batch of Lagunitas Sucks...won't.

Coors took a chunk of Terrapin last year and nothing seems to have changed...yet.

[devildeac]

Coors took a chunk of Terrapin last year and nothing seems to have changed...yet.

It most certainly did. They moved to the Big10/11/12 conference. Ha! I injected sports into the beer thread.

[fuse]

The Craft Brew Alliance approach that Widmer and Red Hook took would have been a good model to follow for consolidation (craft brewers banding together).
Unfortunately this seems to have had the unintended effect of big enough to be interesting but not too big to acquire- AB owns 30% of CBA.

The deal is private, speculation that Lagunitas was valued at $1 billion.
For a 50/50 joint venture, there are some happy folks at Lagunitas who just got a $500 million pay raise. Wow!

[devildeac]

The Craft Brew Alliance approach that Widmer and Red Hook took would have been a good model to follow for consolidation (craft brewers banding together).
Unfortunately this seems to have had the unintended effect of big enough to be interesting but not too big to acquire- AB owns 30% of CBA.

The deal is private, speculation that Lagunitas was valued at $1 billion.
For a 50/50 joint venture, there are some happy folks at Lagunitas who just got a $500 million pay raise. Wow!

That's a mighty large ship that just came in for the Lagunitas folks.

Sooooo, when do you want to start brewing?

[Tripping William]

It most certainly did. They moved to the Big10/11/12 conference. Ha! I injected sports into the beer thread.

Not like any of us has ever injected beer into a sports thread.

[devildeac]

The Craft Brew Alliance approach that Widmer and Red Hook took would have been a good model to follow for consolidation (craft brewers banding together).
Unfortunately this seems to have had the unintended effect of big enough to be interesting but not too big to acquire- AB owns 30% of CBA.

The deal is private, speculation that Lagunitas was valued at $1 billion.
For a 50/50 joint venture, there are some happy folks at Lagunitas who just got a $500 million pay raise. Wow!

I hope these are not signs of the Hoppocalypse or Brewmageddon approaching.

[devildeac]

Not like any of us has ever injected beer into a sports thread.

On DBR? Never!

(well, not that often anyway)

[fuse]

Oskar Blues IPA (blue can)

I've still not tried Pinner.

Nose of lemon and an indeterminate spice.

Loads and loads of grapefruit.

Notes of light honey sweetness- really all about the grapefruit.
Not the juicy bursting of fruit like Founder's All Day IPA- more dry pith bitterness tempered with enough sweetness to bring a smile.

A beer I think most would enjoy.

Cheers!

[mattman91]

Oskar Blues IPA (blue can)

I've still not tried Pinner.

Nose of lemon and an indeterminate spice.

Loads and loads of grapefruit.

Notes of light honey sweetness- really all about the grapefruit.
Not the juicy bursting of fruit like Founder's All Day IPA- more dry pith bitterness tempered with enough sweetness to bring a smile.

A beer I think most would enjoy.

Cheers!

I need to have a second taste of this.

[devildeac]

Oskar Blues IPA (blue can)

I've still not tried Pinner.

Nose of lemon and an indeterminate spice.

Loads and loads of grapefruit.

Notes of light honey sweetness- really all about the grapefruit.
Not the juicy bursting of fruit like Founder's All Day IPA- more dry pith bitterness tempered with enough sweetness to bring a smile.

A beer I think most would enjoy.

Cheers!

Ok, after this review, it's back to Total Wine tomorrow with my last $1 off coupon for this and another 3 cartons of beers for the late summer/early-mid fall. I almost bought this but it looked like a good supply remained and I chose another group of 4 to sip/share/trade. I'm sending you the bill.

[devildeac]

This is pretty cool. Stone Brewing entrusted Maine Beer Company, Maui Brewing, Brew Dog and Great Divide with their secret Arrogant Bastard recipe so they could brew it themselves for a charitable cause:

https://instagram.com/p/7I6UT8tL97/

[devildeac]

Night Time (Fear the Dark)-Lagunitas Brewing

Reminds me of this. A lot.

Weez-Maine Beer Company

No relation to our esteemed poster. This is another somewhat unusual example of an unusual style of beer, a black IPA. Poured a dark, dark coffee color with a generous, foamy, light tan head. Complex assortment of aromas including dark chocolate, tropical and citrus fruits and a bit of espresso. Tastes were just as varied. My best comparison would probably be a mixture of dark chocolate covered coffee beans and milk chocolate covered candied or jellied grapefruit and orange slices. Strange, interesting and very flavorful. Malts listed: Maris Otter, American 2-Row, Munich, C-80, Chocolate, Flaked Wheat, Black Barley, Midnight Wheat. Hops: Warrior, Cascade, Citra, Simcoe. So, after you examine those lists, the scents and palatal delights make a whole lot more sense. They state on the bottle that the same hops are used in Another One, a standard IPA. but it's a different malt bill for Weez, so a much darker, different flavored IPA. I'd guess IBUs around 60-70 range with the ABV stated at 7.2%. I don't think this was on draft when I visited the brewery and tasting room last month so I had to "settle" for the 500 ml bottle divided over two nights last week. Fuse got the 2nd bottle so I'll be curious to read his musings when he consumes his.

Black IIPA? Imperial porter meets IPA?

Fascinating brew. Poured a dark espresso color with a generous, foamy tan head that lasted to the bottom of the glass. Nose of slightly burned coffee, dark chocolate and roasted figs. Tastes were similar with grapefruit juice, pulp and zest. I'm really thinking jellied/candied grapefruit wedges, covered in dark chocolate dipped in ground Jamaican coffee beans. IBUs of 74 and ABV of 7.9% so it's treading on that IPA/IIPA borderline. Forget a food pairing with this unless you want a hard, stinky cheese or some chile/jalapeno rubbed ribs right off the grill with it. I think this was about $10 for the 6er with my buck off Total Wine coupon.

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[ricks68]

Oskar Blues IPA (blue can)

I've still not tried Pinner.

Nose of lemon and an indeterminate spice.

Loads and loads of grapefruit.

Notes of light honey sweetness- really all about the grapefruit.
Not the juicy bursting of fruit like Founder's All Day IPA- more dry pith bitterness tempered with enough sweetness to bring a smile.

A beer I think most would enjoy.

Cheers!

I really enjoy one of their tall cans of G'Night in the stands during an Asheville Tourists game. I have to drink it very early in the game or we won't be getting home, as Mrs. Ricks doesn't see too well at night to drive. (I need it to survive the boredom of a baseball game------or maybe just to have a great appropriate beer for a Tourists game. )

ricks

[mattman91]

Mattman Brewing Company will be back up and running soon. I'm making an investment on some new equipment and planning a collaboration with my Samsung Rep. It may even get distributed to the Triangle via mine or Ricks68's next voyage