DeWeese SpeakSTYLISTICALLY SPEAKINGJanuary 19, 2006 BY MIKE DEWEESE Happy New Year and welcome to my favorite time of the year for beer, Winter. Brewers have been brewing special beers in Winter for centuries. I personally like these beers because they are usually stronger and more flavorful than beers produced in other seasons. Bell's Winter White is the first beer of this session. It is 4.5% abv and brewed with wheat in the mash and fermented with German Hefe and Belgian ale yeasts. The beer is cloudy and golden as is typical of those styles. There is citrus, clove, banana and orange peel on the palate as well as on the nose. Bell's Winter White is typical for Kalamazoo Brewing beers in that the hops were not forgotten. The hops bring a crispness to the finish. I would pair this with smoked salmon and smoked gouda on water crackers with fresh horseradish. The next ale is Abita Christmas Ale from New Orleans. It is amber and very clear. The beer is not overly cloying with a mild bitterness and a hint of honey. Abita Christmas Ale is very easy to drink and great with crawfish pie or gumbo down on the bayou. The 2005 version of Anchor Christmas Ale fron San Francisco is next up. Each year this brewery resurrected in 1975 by Fritz Maytag makes slight alterations to the recipe. We have to pay homage to Fritz for spearheading the beginning of the American micro-brew movement. This edition has the usual spruce, cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose. Anchor 2005 Christmas Ale is malty and roasty with vanilla and toffee on the palate. It is also quite vinous. This would be awesome with chili, especially if used as an ingredient in the chili. Finally, a local beer with a Belgian twist that is bottled comes in touch with my lips. Oaken Barrel Epiphany Ale from Greenwood, a tripel style brings the newest wave of American micro fetishes to Central Indiana. This ale is malty and spicy with clove, apple, caramel and vanilla on both the palate and nose. Boil some peel and eat shrimp in Epiphany with Old Bay seasoning and enjoy a glass with the shrimp. Brewed in Cleveland, great lakes Christmas Ale is our fifth winter warmer. At 7.5% abv it sure does the trick. It is dark and malty with caramel on the palate. There is honey, ginger, cinnamon and pomegranate on the nose as well. This ale screams for a slice of ginger bread topped with cream cheese. Next up is Flying Dog K9 Cruiser Ale from Denver. The beer is 6.4% abv with a malty palate. There are definitely coffee and fruit undertones. Cherry comes to mind as well. This robust ale would go nicely with beef stew or smoked beef brisket. I would toss a bottle in the stew and don't forget the chipotles. Pyramid Snow Cap Ale is our seventh victim weighing in at 7% abv. Brewed in Seattle it is deep amber in color and tastes that way as well. The beer is roasty and spicy on the nose and palate. Definitely a strong nutmeg presence in this one. Great with pumpkin pie. From the wine country of California comes 2004 Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Ale. This beer tastes better after sitting for at least six months. It is 6.9% abv and deep amber in color. There are pronounced caramel and vanilla notes on the palate and the mouthfeel is exceptionally creamy. The nose reflects caramel and vanilla as well as maple syrup. Bring on thre mince meat pie. Avery Old Jubilation provides a nice differentiation in this session with hop bitterness on the palate and floral notes on the nose. At 8% abv, it still packs a malty wallop. Brewed in Colorado, there are hints of caramel, toffee and hazelnut on the palate. Try this one with horseradish cheddar cheese or port wine cheese and crackers. If you like coffee you'll love Schlafly Coffee Stout from St. Louis. This ale is a blend of a coffee stout with the breweries' oatmeal stout. St. Louis beer never tasted this freaky! There is an expected robust coffee aroma. it is roasty on the palate with a distinctive hop bitterness. Break out the ice cream and make a float with this gem. The poet from New Holland, Michigan is the last beer of our session. This stout is roasty with coffee undertones. It is fairly bitter for a stout and the bitterness comes from the hops and not the malt. This would be great with dark Belgian chocolates.
October 11, 2005
STYLISTICALLY SPEAKING By Mike DeWeese Welcome to what will be an on-going look into the diverse world of beer styles. This session will focus on celebratory Fall beers. Since the Middle Ages it has been customary for brewers to create special beers to celebrate the Fall harvest. This tradition was taken to a new level when Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausenin 1810. This weeks-long celebration became the first Oktoberfest. For more information on Oktoberfest origins you can view the article at www.WorldClassBeverages.com. The Oktoberfest style of beer came about in the 1840's. Gabriel Sedlmayer, the owner of Spaten Brewery in Munich, and Anton Dreher, his brewer, invented the style not long after they had developed making lager beer. Lager beer is fermented at a cooler temperature(45-55 Degrees Celsius) that produces a crisper, cleaner finish on the palate. The Oktoberfest style became darker in color, maltier in flavor and stronger than traditional golden lagers. The first beer I'm sampling for this session is Spaten Oktoberfest. Spaten is one of the oldest breweries in the world and invented lagering as was previously mentioned. The appearance is very clear and lightly caramel colored. The nose is quite hoppy for an Oktoberfest. The beer is easy to drink but not particularly flavorful for the style. The finish is very clean with minimal mouthfeel. This beer is made for mass consuption. Keep in mind that many veterans of Oktoberfest have noticed a distinctive reduction in flavor and character of the beers served at Oktoberfest over the last 10-15 years. Much of this occurrence is blamed on the proliferation of visitors from outside Germany that prefer traditional lagers. Paulaner Oktoberfest is the next offering. It is considerably darker than the Spaten with fruity and malty flavors on the palate. There is hint of citric orange peel as well. The finish is malty and lingering. Bring on the wurst!! The final beer this session is Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Since it is an ale there will definitely be distinctive differences between Dead Guy, or as my bar staff calls it "The Corpse", and the Oktoberfest lagers. Rogue Brewery describes Dead Guy as a Maibock. Maibocks are German in origin and golden to slightly amber strong lagers produced for Spring celebrations. Dead Guy resembles a traditional Bock more than a Maibock. This is reflected in the darkness of the beer. Keep in mind that Rogue Head Brewer John Maier is very independent and doesn't worry about style guidelines. Dead Guy is hazy and yeasty in appearance. It has the color of toffee and has that flavor on the palate. The lingering residual sweetness continues on until it is intercepted by a pleasant bitter finish. Each of these beers calls out for sausages and smoked meats. They would pair particularly well with spicy cheese, perhaps horseradish cheddar, to accompany the meats. One recommendation would be dark rye bread topped with smoked salmon or kielbasa and crowned with a slice of horseradish cheddar. If you can't find horseradish cheddar a zippy pepperjack would substitute nicely. Prosit!! Mike DeWeese has been homebrewing and searching out unique beers since 1991. He is the owner of Buffalo Wild Wings Downtown Indianapolis and the Dick's Bodacious Bar*B*Q franchise system |
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