I tried something new over the weekend, I saw a "Summer Wheat" ale made by a local brewer that has some really good stuff and I was in the mood for something slightly different so why not?

Hop Sun, Summer Wheat
by Southern Tier Brewing Co

This is an American Pale Wheat Ale, I am not a huge fan of wheat beers, that should be stated from the start! But Summer around the corner, again, why not?

Not gonna do a comprehensive review but some takes I had,
It was VERY clear, most wheats are usually less filtered? And the color was very VERY pale, almost no color it seemed. Highly carbonated, it being so clear and light, you could see those bubbles streaming to the top like a freaking fish tank!
The aroma was very fruity, obviously more hoppy than most wheat beers (but Southern Tier is known for their hoppy beers so this was no shock to me)
The bottle said something about there being one hops and three malts but damn, it was not very malty and somewhat hoppy, more like any other IPA I have had (and I was trying something different or so I thought?)

Overall, it was like a "Light IPA" flavor was fair but one thing I did think was this was one very refreshing brew and might be a great choice sitting on my deck on a hot Summer afternoon after mowing the lawn.

I would grade it a B- for now but reserve the right to move it up after testing on the deck!?

So it turns out I'm not so interested in putting the time in for full reviews, but I'm still out there trying new beers. I do quick number rankings at Beer Advocate but no real reviews. Over my summer travels, I've come across many new ones highlighted by the following recommendations:

Moo Joos by Brau Brothers Brewing. I tried this as a mixer for a Black Russian (vodka & kahlua)... yummy!

Founder's Dirty Bastard. This is the first scotch ale I've ever had. Wow, this one's good and makes me want to try others in this style.

Carry on and drink well!

I'm off from work all week long, I was busy in the yard and just came in and had a beer from waaaay back of the fridge. It was something a friend brought over quite a while ago and I had a couple left over.
Budweiser Black Crown
Not a good beer, far from it!
But I had a choice of a pretty good Sam Adams Irish Red or this crap...
Being hot and sweaty, I was looking for something cold and refreshing, not something to "savor" and "enjoy" I figured it best to skip the good stuff and down the swill.

Tell you what, when hot and sweaty, the crappy mass produced garbage actually goes down nice in this situation! I tried this stuff, it's pretty bad! But today, it was COLD and it wasn't nearly so bad!
Not a thumbs up in any way, but rather an observation!

FYI, the Sam Adams Irish Red
This stuff is pretty good! A few here like the IPA's and their hoppiness, this beer is not hoppy but has a nice malt flavor to it, quite rich and full bodied, I like it a lot!!

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/198

I pulled one off the shelf for making bread, trying to get rid of it. After using half for bread making I decided to try it again and dammit if I didn't love it. Superb taste, mouth feel, finish, the whole gambit.

That may not be that surprising, I developed a taste for it in between the last time I had it and hated it and now moths later.

I tried a new beer over the weekend. This being Summer, I do appreciate an ice cold Kolsch on a hot afternoon. I saw a brand I never heard of and threw caution to the wind.
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co, Captains Kolsch

It was really good stuff and I may just have another tonight!
For those not familiar with Kolsch, it's a great Summer beer. While not a "light beer" (Diet) it is lighter in style and tastes great when very cold. My neighbor once called it "Lawn Mower Beer" he would put one in the freezer, mow his (small) lawn and then enjoy the brew on his deck! What an absolutely perfect idea. Kolsch is lighter, a bit more carbonated, refreshing, smooth, not real hoppy, not real malty. (this is why it works as a summer time beer, in colder months, the heavier maltier flavors tend to fit better) just a nice break!

This brand is brewed quite well for the style. I have trouble rating a Kolsch too high because it's more of a Summer refresher but it IS worth a try in that right situation.

tom

(yes, in Ontario you buy your beer from a beer store, it is not available elsewhere

Not strictly true as the LCBO (liquor stores) stock imported beers, and in remote northern communities the local groery store doubles as a Beer store. The Beer Store is a unique cooperative ownership situation. The brewers who seel their product own the percentage of the store based on their pecentage of total sales through the stores. Small local brewers can be found within a small geographic radius of their breweries...

To find the kind of exotic types that you seem to favour, try the BEER Festival in Toronto in July..

http://www.beerfestival.ca/


Although it seems a little strange to have a BEER Store it has some benefits. The choice is remarkable as they must stock all brands available in a locale. Plus the recycling of bottles is above 98% and the Beer stores also accept all liquor bottles for recycling now... Plus they strictly enforce age restrictions... MErchandising at the stores leaves something to be desired though stores are modernizing to allow for better display of product. Right now a lot depend on The Wall. A huge display of hundreds of brand labels .....divided by type. It makes it hard to choose something new ...

I hope you enjoyed the wine tours... Whilst there did you take in some shows at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake?

WA state gave up it's state run liquor stores and unfortunately that has killed the great diversity they provided. Walmart, Costco etc are more interested in volume sales to the hoi polloi. If you want scotch at Costco there's Johnnie Walker and then a Kirkland 12yr single malt. Because you know those who appreciate a 12yr single malt are always happy to try a Kirkland generic bottling. Not!

rickyp wrote:tom

(yes, in Ontario you buy your beer from a beer store, it is not available elsewhere

I was in Ontario last month for a wedding, driving from Detroit after flying there from New York. The wedding party had everyone who was driving from the US bring the legal limit of beer with them through customs. And I was like, "You want me to bring beer to Canada? Isn't that like bringing ice to Eskimos?" (sorry, First Nation peoples). Apparently beer is a lot cheaper in the US.

never went to to the beer store and finding anyplace other than the beer store that sells the stuff...never seen one yet. I did ask around and the locals all preferred the states for their beer as well. Before the American craft beer movement, Canada was vastly superior to ours but now, the states really make a lot of real good beers. Canada does have plenty of craft brews as well of course, but due to price and availability, the states now beat Canada at what they used to rule so no it's not really like bringing ice to Eskimos not anymore that is!

Never went to the Shaw festival either, while Niagara on the Lake is BEAUTIFUL and the Shaw Festival has a lot going for it, damn is it expensive! That and we were there for a very short time so we had no time for it. The area is just beautiful, while America rules the beer game, Canada has it in spades over the states in it's beauty for the region!

To be fair, brewing in large batches takes an awful lot of plant and space. The brewing itself is not the problem, it's the days of fermenting.

I went around a brewery at the weekend (Black Sheep, in Masham Yorkshire who make Holy Grail that some may have seen in the USA). All the Yorkshire Squares were in use for fermentation and so they could not brew any more for two days anyway. That's a mid-size concern. The mega breweries can do a lot more. A small brewer starting out has little choice but to start out small, as the plant is far from cheap. And once in place it's a big investment to expand upon or replace.

Not all small batch craft beers are good (many are poor from the micros I see around here), but eventually they either improve or go under. The good ones, the established ones, will remain. But it takes time to build up the following and the investment to go from small to large. When small companies do not have the same distribution networks, entry to new markets is not easy either.

Anyway, what does this DB Vienna Lager taste like?

Hey Randy, next time why don't you just skip the first paragraph and go right to the second. I really believe I'm 'cool' and I don't want anybody puncturing my ego.

I like some of Devil's Backbone offerings, e.g. the Lager you reference. On the other hand, their 8-point IPA is not something I would buy again - there are many others out there that are much better. See, I don't like it just because its a craft brewer in my backyard! Truth is, since I rarely drink in quantity anymore, quality matters a lot more to me than it used to. However, quality costs money so you've got to be willing to pay. Perhaps that's why craft breweries stay small - it's not that people don't like them but rather, the macro substitutes are cheaper and beer drinkers are price conscious.

If you get a chance, get yourself to Total Wine & More in Sterling (a regional chain). They've got a tremendous selection of beers including a build your own six section with hundreds of choices.

wow in just a couple days i missed so much...

Holy Grail Ale, in the states it's brewed under license I assume) just a few miles from me!

and shocking as this sounds, I have to disagree with Randy (for the most part)
I do not know of a single large scale brewer who makes "good" beer (let alone "excellent"). I do like Sam Adams and most of what they make, and while they are pretty big, they are still considered "craft" *(though not for long, they are just barely under that defining line)
That being said, of course Randy is correct in saying not all Craft beers are good and some are quite horrible! But the best beers, every one of them, is made by a "craft brewery"

I think part of the problem from Randy's perspective is possibly multi-faceted.
What the rest of us beer snobs fine delicious he may find revolting. Maybe he LIKES Budweiser and Coors? And that's ok, I am not going to say he's wrong, it's all personal preference and he likes what he likes. However, I have "helped" a few buddies and neighbors along in their beer snobbery and they started out liking the mass produced "American Adjunct" brews, they slowly learned what they liked and investigated brews in that family of styles and now, they no longer care for adjunct beer!

For example, SloTerp loves IPA's, From what Randy said before, he's not a big fan of hoppy beer, he would HATE some of the highest rated beers and what seems to be the trendy beer right now. He mentions a Vienna Lager and this style is much more full bodied, less hoppy, more malty. I happen to LOVE Vienna lager myself! I would suggest trying that and similar syles.
Randy, we seem to have some similar tastes possibly? It's all about finding the style you like and finding what brews within that style are to your liking.
May I suggest you try the following:

Eliot Ness, Great Lakes Brewing Co
I posted earlier, this is an ECELLENT Vienna Lager I enjoy quite a lot

Otter Creek Copper Ale, Otter Creek Brewing Co
a nice Altbier style, It seems similar to me and you might enjoy this?

Brooklyn Lager by Brooklyn Brewing Co
a nice American/Red Lager, nice rich malty stuff here

Boston lager, Samuel Adams Brewing
another Vienna lager, I prefer Eliot Ness but this is very good and you might like it more?

and tis the season, maybe try a pumpkin ale or two? Some are real good, some not-so but for a nice change of pace, I do enjoy pumpkin ales a LOT
Southern Tier Brewing's PumKing is expensive but incredible!

give some a shot, see what you think
...myself, I'm going to look for the Devils Backbone stuff you mentioned!

GMTom wrote:wow in just a couple days i missed so much...

Holy Grail Ale, in the states it's brewed under license I assume) just a few miles from me!

Yeah, I know - the guide mentioned it during the tour. It's the only beer that they let be brewed under license anywhere. As it happens I'm drinking a (Masham brewed) bottle of it right now!

RUFFHAUS 8 wrote:I do like Scotch Ales/Brown Ales

I've only had one Scotch Ale and man was I impressed. Look out for Founder's Dirty Bastard - outstanding. On the Brown Ale side, I'm not a big fan, but my wife loves Ellie's Brown Ale from Avery and there's not much else she likes outside of Miller Lite.

Regarding the debate about the industry, I guess I don't pay attention to the 'craft' marketing. I mostly try beers based on recommendation or ratings from reputable sources (say, Beer Advocate). I concur that 'craft' does not always equal good as I've had some stinkers, especially when randomly trying stuff which I'll do at bars/restaurants that have large tap selections. What I find amusing is how the mega-brewers have been competing in the market as well, although you wouldn't necessarily know it nor want to drink it (Blue Moon comes to mind).

On the whole, I just don't see how this can be anything but good for beer drinkers. More competition means competitive pricing and a lot more variety.

Oh, speaking of bad beer... avoid Newcastle Bombshell at all costs!

I JUST finished one of those Southern Tier PumKing ales and damn, it's been a long year since having one, that stuff is really good! It would be tough to drink too many at a time but it's a wonderful one-off brew!

sorry, I still can't agree with Randy
Not all craft beers are good, he is 100% correct there no doubt! Long Point springs to mind here, many think this stuff is sooo good, it's no better than average to me.
But the big guys, I drove home thinking about what I had said, "no "good" larger beers"
I would say Michelob Amber Boch is good (not great but a "good" beer in my book) That's about it! Some are a step above fair but not quite good... Killians comes to mind.