Tag: beer

From their website:

Saisonale, eigen eigenbraute Bierspezialität. Die lange lagerzeit macht unser Festbier zu einem ausgereiften, vollmundigen Genuss. Ein köstliches, süffiges Geschmackserlebnis zur festbierzeit

Got that? No, roughly translated it means:

Seasonal, intrinsically self-brewed specialty beer . The long storage time brings our festival beer to a mature, full-bodied pleasure. A delicious, light and sweet taste to be beer time.

Yeah, I’m not quite sure how that last sentence is supposed to be read.

From my notes:

floral, citrusy smell, delicate, thick head with large bubbles that quickly dissipates. Looks like ripe grain. Citrusy taste with wheat, malt  highlights. Hint of hops at the finish. Slight bitterness. Delicious.

I really enjoyed this beer! Perfect light beer with wonderful finish when you’re celebrating the Winter holidays.

Rating (out of five):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the bottle:

Routes des  épices (French for “spice route”) is a rye beer brewed with botch black and green peppercorns. Initially the beer reveals flavours of fresh grain and malt, which give it noes of chocolate, caramel, and fruit. The pepper flavour and aroma is fully revealed in the finish, which leaves a pleasant, spicy, tingling sensation on the tongue

From my notes:

nice thick head, nearly two inches. Beer is a cloudy red color. Smells of pepper. Flavor: hint of caramel and fruit with a spicy, peppery finish. Lightly carbonated. Fascinating test using peppercorns. You can taste and feel the peppercorns in this brew. Complex

I picked this beer up on a whim. I was intrigued by the idea of using peppercorns in a beer. I love spicy food and if the peppery feel and taste could be imparted to a good beer, well I thought that would taste good. And it does! Every sip of this beer I was surprised at the complex, balance, and richness of the flavor. I kept telling my wife and roommate to take a sip and tell me what they thought. Wanting them to share in the uniqueness of the beer! This isn’t a beer you would want to drink every day but it is one you’d want to share with friends! I imagine it’d go great with a nice pepper steak.

Rating (out of five):

From the bottle:

With 3 feet of powder closing the roads, a brewery is not a bad place to get snowed in. Given the unanticipated hall pass of a snow day, our brewers decided to experiment. Hmm… what about this dark caramel roasted Midnight Wheat braced with a serious load of Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade hops? Shovel it in. What a deliciously unexpected way to spend a SNOW DAY!

From my notes:

Dark caramel, almost black coloring. delicate tan head with nice lacing. Smells hoppy with citrus notes, the smallest hint of malt. Smells amazing. Feels light, almost thin in the mouth, with a taste that does not match the smell. Tastes of dry hops and sharp grapefruit, (rinds?) There is a little smokiness here too. A bitter chocolate finish.

I enjoy New Belgium’s brews and this one isn’t bad for a seasonal brew but I’d never pick up a six-pack of this when I can bring their 1554 home… This beer was so close to a 2 star review but that’s only because the smell promised so much more and I expect more from New Belgium.

Rating (out of five):

From the bottle:

An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this ale comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. At 10,000 gallons each, these are the largest wooden brewing vessels built in America since before Prohibition. It’s all very exciting. We have wood. Now you do too.

From the notes:

Thick head, tannish quickly dissipated, dark colored almost caramel reminds me of root beer. Smells of cut wood with subtle candy sweetness. You can taste the alcohol in this beer. Reminds me of a stout, toasted molasses, malts, and spiced wood tastes. Bittersweet finish.

This is a uniquely flavored beer. I’ve never tasted anything like it. While I was drink and taking notes I kept finding myself searching for words to describe the complex smells an tastes I was experiencing… Woody and spiced came up a lot. But I think both of those words fail to encapsulate what is going on with Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron. In the end I don’t think this beer is for me, despite the taste I don’t see myself drinking this beer regularly in the future. I do recommend that everyone give it a try though!

Rating (out of five):