Shmaltz Coney Island Lager

I'm not a huge lager fan, as mentioned in the Shmaltz tasting post below. With that said, if all lagers were like the Coney Island series from Shmaltz, I'd like lagers.

The Coney Island Lager is quite good. The aroma is almost all malt, very clean and crisp, and reminds me of a freshly opened bag of pale malt, minus the dust. Flavor balances similarly, mostly malt, but with a great hoppy bitterness to balance the malt in the finish. The Label says there are 8 malts and 6 hop varieties -- that may be -- whatever it is, it works. Even with the variety of ingredients, this isn't all that complex of a beer, it's just really good. It's very balanced, easy to drink, and quite tasty. The label artwork is even cool. This is a great beer, highly recommended.

Edited to add:

22oz bottle, 5.5%abv 

Shmaltz Tasting

The local brew shop (Corvallis Brewing Supply - http://www.brewbeer.cc/) hosted a free beer tasting with Shmaltz brewing and their West coast rep, Zak.

We got to try six of Shmaltz's great beers, four of the Coney Island lagers, and two of the He'brew ales. All the beers were excellent, and I was really surprised at how much I liked their lagers. I'm normally not much of a lager drinker, but I bought two of them to bring home -- they're that good.

The beers we tasted were: (left-to-right in the first photo)

Lagers:
Coney Island Lager
Albino Python
Sword Swallower
Human Blockhead

He'brew ales:
Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.
Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah more info here also and such as.

They were all really good.  I came home with the Coney Island Lager and the Human Blockhead, both lagers, both yummeh as can be.  I'll post full reviews of the ones I brought home as I have a chance to drink them and get my thoughts down coherently.  Basically, if you have a chance to get any of these beers, do.  I plan to buy the rest of them after I deplete my existing overstock of beer, and once I do, I'll review them too.

(Oh, and by the way Zak, assuming you read this: the page linked on the Shmaltz website's left menu as "The Chosen Beers" -- http://www.shmaltz.com/HEBREW/chosen-beers.html -- comes up with a "404 not found" error... Not the individual beer pages, but the "chosen beer" link itself)

41% ABV

Holy crap!  The Scots have brewed up a 41% abv beer!?!!!one!

I wonder what it's like.  I'm curious if it would even be legal to sell it as beer in Oregon, or if it would have to be sold at liquor stores like other "hard" liquors are here.

Valentines

Had a great V day. Tracie gave me a great book and a really nice new Brooks running jacket. We just got back from trying our new gear out on a fun trail run.

My mother-in-law surprised me with the selection of excellent beer you see pictured. From left to right, we have:

JW Lees brewing, UK: Harvest ale matured in calvados casks. 11.5%abv, 275ml bottle, brewed in 2006.

North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA: Le Merle saison, Belgian style farmhouse ale. 7.9%abv, 750ml bottle.

Kleinbrouwerij De Glazen Toren, Erpe-Mere Belgium: Ondineke Oilsjtesen Tripel. 750ml bottle, 8.5%abv.

Deschutes Brewery, Bend Oregon: Hop Henge IPA. 22oz bottle, 8.75%abv.

Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA: Estate Brewer's Harvest Ale. 24oz, 6.7%abv

Brasserie D'Achouffe, Belgium: McChouffe Artisanal Belgian Brown Ale. 750ml bottle, 8.0%abv.

Thanks Jan!!

I've only had the Hop Henge and Sierra Nevada Estate -- the others look quite interesting and I'm sure I'll enjoy trying them.

Now to get started making a delicious steak and shrimp dinner!

HD

I can't believe I survived without an HDDVR and HD Theater until now.

That is all.

For Chris

'Cause I have lots of beer and he doesn't...

This is one of two five gallon English Brown Ale batches I brewed recently. The better of the two will be entered in the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing in a couple of weeks.

Playin' live!

Saturday was my Dad's big 60th birthday party in Hood River. His high
school band ("The Scepters") got back together for the occasion, and I
was invited to sit in for a couple of songs. My dad's the one on drums
in the photo. All of these guys have kept playing all these years, and
are damn good.

Since I'd never played in public, let alone with players of this caliber
in front of 100+ people, this was a bit nerve wracking. I was nervous
for no reason though, as it ended up sounding great and we all had a ton
of fun. Tracie got some great pictures to commemorate the event, and it
was recorded too -- hopefully I'll get a copy of that.

Hoppe

I liked the other Southern Tier beer I tried recently, so I figured I'd give another one a shot. "Hoppe" is what the brewery calls an "imperial extra pale" ale. Seems kind of like a step between an IPA and a double IPA.

8%abv, 22oz bottle.

Mild to moderate hop aroma, moderate to strong hop flavor, fairly balanced bitterness balanced a bit on the malt side in the finish. Quite yummy. I'm glad this brewery is available locally now.

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Ale brewed with coffee. 22oz bottle, 9.26% abv.

I've been impressed with most of the Lagunitas beers I've had, and this one is no exception.

I'm generally a big stout fan, and am often a bit wary of stouts with "stuff" added to them. It seems that some breweries think they can mask a lousy stout recipe by throwing chocolate or coffee at it. Thankfully, that is not the case with this beer. The underlying stout would stand well on its own, and the added coffee (from "Sebastopol's own Hard Core Coffee") is just a nice added note, without being overpowering.

Yummy.

La Monecuse Special Winter Ale

This is a leftover Advent beer. Figured I can enjoy the big bottle while I hang out in the garage/brewery and brew up a batch of my award-winning brown ale.

750ml bottle, 8%abv. Brasserie de Blaugies, Dour, Belgium -- Belgium's smallest brewery.

This is a surprisingly refreshing and lively Belgian ale. Light aroma with a hint of sourness, thick, luxuriant head, and a mild flavor with subtle notes of fruit and spice. Finishes bit sour with a hint of lingering bitterness. Yummy.

Southern Tier Iniquity Imperial Black ale

22oz bottle, 9%abv.

Got this on the recommendation of my friend Scott. Southern Tier is a brewery from Lakewood, New York that I hadn't heard of before.

Aroma is mostly malt, a bit of vanilla and caramel, some strong hints of alcohol, and low to moderate hoppiness.

Flavor is intensely malty, but nicely balanced by an assertive hop profile. Strong notes of alcohol.

Mouthfeel is thick. Finishes a bit sweet, but not too much so.

Tasty beer. Slightly lighter in color, and significantly less roast malt flavor, than a stout. More complex than a porter. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.

Hopworks Urban Brewing IPA

Paired with "peanut butter dream" dessert.

Hopworks is in Portland, so it's sort of local. Their IPA is nice. A bit light in the mouthfeel and hop aroma, but a solid hop presence in flavor and bitterness. A decent IPA, a bit understated for a Northwest brew, but nice.

The dessert is awesome though :)

Cuvee du 8eme

Amber ale brewed with cocoa powder. Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes, Switzerland. 11.3oz bottle 7.5% abv.

I think this is the first beer I've ever had from Switzerland, and it's nice.

Aroma is very slightly hoppy, with a hint of sourness and chocolate/cocoa. The cocoa is subtle, but there.

Flavor is lightly malty with a bit of sweetness. Finish is fairly balanced. Mouthfeel is nicely crisp and it's surprisingly drinkable for its alcohol content.

Mud

This is my sexy calf covered in mud after my five mile trail run at lunch today. Running in the mud on a rainy day is fun, but it's a bit messy...

And now I have the "My Name Is Mud" song from Primus' "Pork Soda" album stuck in my head.

Ambush!

This is an interesting one -- a Scotch ale (remember, if it's not Scottish, it's crrrrrap!), "Highland Ambush" is 33% aged in bourbon barrels. This is another new one Trace picked up for me on Saturday. Bridgeport brewing, Portland, Oregon, 6.8% abv, 22oz bottle.

Little aroma other than a slight maltiness.

Flavor is quite malty with strong hints of vanilla.

Mouthfeel is medium-thick and a bit creamy. Fairly clean, with a tiny hint of lingering sweetness, followed by a nice balance of bitterness at the finish.

Not a super complex beer, but it's really, really good. Great malt flavor, with a quite nice bit of vanilla/spice imparted by the barrel aging.

Scaldis Belgian ale

Trace picked me up a few new beers at the brew shop yesterday. First one I opened is Dubuisson brewing's Scaldis ale. 12% abv, 250ml (8.48 oz) bottle.

This is nice. Extremely malty, but not overly sweet. Some nice fruit notes both in the nose and flavor. Mouthfeel is thick and finishes a bit sticky but it's not cloying. Great dessert after the nice dinner I made Tracie for her birthday.

Advent beer continued -- Gueuze Girardin

This is a Belgian Lambic, spontaneously fermented with wild yeasts and bacteria.

12.7oz bottle, 5%abv

I dig Lambics. A lot of them have fruit added, like raspberries to make the Framboise style. The Gueuze is just a "straight" beer--no fruit added.

The beer is a little too cold now, so all I'm really getting flavor and aroma wise is sourness -- it's almost like drinking Sour Patch Kids, which to me isn't a bad thing. I'll update after the glass warms up a bit.

Update: The beer's warmed a bit. Sourness is still dominant, but it has developed a hint of sweetness and bitterness as well. There's also a slight note of smokiness in the nose. A very light, crisp, sour beer. This would be a great summer drink.

Lump of Coal

Yet another Advent beer: Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout. Ridgeway Brewing, England. 16.9oz, 8%abv.

Nice stout, some pleasant spiciness, quite yummy.

Kerstmutske Christmas Nightcap

More Advent beer...

Really nice dark Belgian ale. Lots of nice chocolate malt notes, very yummy.

750ml bottle, 7.4% abv

Update: As I finish this, just a few more tasting comments: Aroma is mild, malty, little hops, some nutmeg, a little cola. Flavor is great, lots of malt, good chocolate notes, a bit of fruitiness, but not a ton. Mouth feel is moderate to light, and very creamy. This was a great beer. Would drink again :)

Happy New Year!

2009 was a good year, hopefully 2010 will be too.