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Andy’s 1,000th Beer Review!

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

I have the pleasure of reaching beer review #1,000 in under 1.5 years before keeling over and dying (not like I was aiming for that -the speed…or dying). I was hoping this review would coincide with the launch of the new BeerFM website but I just drink faster than I work apparently.

Before I jump into the review I’ve got to thank my incredibly supportive and loving girlfriend Trish for not only putting up with this crazy hobby of mine but also for buying this beer for me for my first huge reviewing milestone. I love you Trish!

The Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Aged Angel’s Share Ale

A / 4.45
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4
rDev: +2.9%
374 ml/12.7 oz corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter. 12.5% ABV, “Bourbon 2010″ printed on the back, towards the bottom of the bottle.

A - Mild Carbonation results in a quiet fizzy pour that allows only seconds of tan head to appear before falling away to a tiny ring of bubbles. Obvious for a beer this high in alcohol. Surprisingly, it’s not sludgy like motor oil. Instead it’s a clear, very dark brown color with mahogany red slivers around the edge.

S - Dark, rich notes of earthy, dirty old wood pairs well with an incredibly hot bourbon booze in the nose. It’s like a slap in the face how hot it smells. Molasses trickles in after the booze but is followed by a scary soy sauce aroma. Let’s not have a repeat of “Triple Bock” please… Vanilla and caramel malts find their way in towards the background of the aroma. No hop presence at all as it’s almost entirely bourbon.

T - I’m thrown for a loop initially by the rich texture that it’s got that it didn’t seem to have on the pour. Then I’m thrown for a second loop with hop mild the bourbon alcohol hotness is in the flavor compared to the aroma. Vanilla and sweet milk chocolate with molasses outlines the caramel malt-laced warm wood bourbon barrel flavor nicely. Lot’s of deep, rich notes cover up any hops that may actually be in here and actually work very well with the lower bourbon kick. This is incredible.

M - It looked thinner from the pour but boy, was I mistaken. Almost non-existent carbonation leaves this full-bodied, chewy beer smooth as velvet, rich, and thick. It lacks the alcohol kick to the taste (thankfully) that the nose has. Instead, it warms up your innards pretty damn quickly.

D – I’ll be sipping this for the next two hours no doubt. It’s warm and goes down well but would be best shared and is much more suited for anywhere between late fall and the dead of winter. While the hotness doesn’t enter the taste so much, I still find this to be a beer that would only get better with another 5 years.

Cheers to 1,000 more!

-Andy

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Ray’s Lakefront Tasting

Monday, July 5th, 2010

If you’ve seen the recent BeerFM promotions, Ray’s has begun their monthly beer tastings in their new tasting and education room. I was able to attend the first one on July 1st which featured Lakefront Brewery president Russ Klisch, no stranger to me. Despite the fact we talk on a consistent basis, I always learn something new from him. This Ray’s event was no different.

We entered the room and people began to flood in shortly after. Each chair at every table had a Lakefront placemat with six four ounce plastic cups on it, all numbered on the printed paper. Russ then walked around putting three different types of malts on each table. No stranger to homebrewing, I recognized them as Pale, Caramel, and a variety of Chocolate malt. The session begun with a quick overview of Lakefront and Russ which moved into the tasting portion. Starting with Lakefront’s White, a Belgian-style Witbier. From there we moved to the Klisch Pilsner, Local Acre, Fixed Gear and Bridge Burner side-by-side, the brand new True Evel, and finished with a surprise tasting of Rosie, their newly released sour beer.

Each beer was accompanied by a little blurb on the style as well as Lakefront’s/ Russ’ take on it. Some of my favorite parts of the tasting included news from Russ that Lakefront will be expanding their Brettanomyces/ aged beer offering as well as adding a beer series titled “My Turn” to their line up.

My Turn will feature a beer from each full-time employee at the brewery (around 19 or so). They’ll have complete control over the whole batch, making it exactly like they want. These beers will be on a three-month rotation so new ones will be available pretty regularly. Russ also stated that he’s in the works of trying to round up every brewery in Wisconsin to brew a wet-hopped beer that will all be released on the exact same day. It seems to be in early stages so far but he seemed very optimistic about it.

Lastly, the thing I found most interesting is that while Russ talked about Local Acre, their Imperial Pilsner beer brewed with all-Wisconsin ingredients, he talked about the hop farms in Wisconsin. Apparently, in the 1800s Sauk County was the highest hop producing county in America! Right now Lakefront gets hops from both Mazomanie, located by Madison and Hortonville, up by Green Bay.

All-in-all it was an incredibly informational session with lots to learn for the new beer lover up to the experienced homebrewer. I enjoyed this event thoroughly and talking to Russ is always a pleasure, as well as event organizer John who I must thank for the event.

If it sounds like something up your alley, Ray’s will be hosting Stone Brewing Company on Wednesday, July 28th. I’m excited for that and I hope to see you there!

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Beerwolf’s Take on the Summer Solstice Fest

Monday, June 28th, 2010

The BeerFM crew spent the day at the first year fest and here’s what I took away from it.

First off, what made this fest unique was two main factors; the first thing being the food. I’ve been to countless beer festivals and only a small handful incorporated food into the activities, let alone “feature” the food as a co-star along with the beer. The other factor was being able to speak with the brew masters and owners on a personal level. Quite often the brewers and owners are tied up and have to send reps to pour their beer. For a true “beer geek” this can be disappointing. Well, on Saturday I managed to get mini interviews with more brewers/owners than I can count. Talk about “beer geek” nirvana!

Here’s the run down on how our day shook out.

As our group walked up we noted there was no clear signage pointing out where to go. This will be an easy fix next year. Once we grabbed our tickets we met with the festival’s liaison Jackie. She greeted us with a smile and asked if we wanted a personal tour of the layout. We politely declined since this wasn’t our first beer fest and we pretty much have a grasp on how things work. We took a deep breath and a quick survey of the grounds before diving head first into some serious beer and food tasting. The brewers were paired side by side in a long block of booths with food pairings to either side of them. This made for an easy access walk from one end to the other. A lot of times at beer fests you lose track of booths when they are scattered throughout the grounds. (Especially after you’ve had a sample or seven) So it can be easy to miss some really good beers. The set up here pretty much guaranteed you could hit every booth with ease.

Almost all the pertinent Wisconsin breweries and brew pubs were represented. A few were absent but summer is a busy time so I give the Wisconsin Brewers Guild credit for drawing in the number they did. I don’t have the space to go through each brewer and restaurant so I will just give some highlights. A couple of my favorites in the beer category were Hinerland’s Barrel aged DIPA. It had a great nose of bourbon and wood with just a hint of pine and citrus. The flavor was spot on DIPA bathed in barrels of booze. Another winner for me was Central Waters Illumination DIPA. The nose is a bouquet of pine and citrus with just enough tongue bruising bitterness to keep you coming back for more.

Now let’s look at the food. Our collective group award for best food was the Solly’s sliders to which I agreed. Just the perfect size and packed with so much flavor. You couldn’t help but get back in line for another. Another sure fire winner was Zambonie’s Silver Creek Imperial Mai-bock marinated steak. It simply melted in your mouth with a burst of flavor from the steak, beer, and mushrooms.

Unfortunately I have to address a few negative things. Without criticism how would we learn? There was a gap in the middle of the “alley” of booths where you could not walk with your beer. So if you wanted to cross you had to slam your sample or wait for everyone to finish. This should be roped off to incorporate into the fest next year. Another minor misstep for me was seating. If you wanted to get some shade and relax in a chair you were not going to do it with beer in hand since it wasn’t included in the fest grounds either. This should have been blocked off to allow fest-goers to enjoy a beer and listen to the band. The other main sticking point was no Port-O-Potties. Going into the mall for bathroom breaks was very annoying. A simple row or two of Port-O-Potties on the backside of the fest would have shored up this problem.

Overall the fest looked like a success from our viewpoint. As usual bottom line will be the real judge. Some minor tweaks could make this fest a top stop for all beer and food enthusiasts each year.

I would like to give special thanks to all the brewers and owners who took time out of their schedules to make this fest one of the more memorable ones. I really hope this fest continues for many years. I know I will be back.

-Beerwolf

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Lakefront Rosie Review Podcast Transcription

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Welcome to BeerFM, your source for beer news, tips, reviews, and more and I’m you host Andy. Recently Lakefront released, through their gift shop, their long-time draft-only beer Rosie which has dropped in corked and caged 750 ml. The bottles have been hand-bottled, bottle conditioned, and due to more production, now available in stores. The bottles go for about $10 a piece. So if you see it, pick up this awesome beer.

Let’s get to the review. First, I’d like to thank Lakefront president Russ Kilsch for the opportunity to try this beer as well as discuss it with him. Todd and I split this bottle and poured it into a stemmed wine glass. It’s fresh from the brewery but no date was found on the bottle. At the bottom it reads “Roseclaire style oak aged sour ale fermented and aged with Wisconsin cherries” 9.0% ABV.

A-/ 4.2
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4.5

A – Rosie pours a beautifully clear orange-amber color tinted pink with a puffy, loose tinted light pink head. It’s really carbonated from the pop of the cork to the fizzy pour but produces only a small layer of foam. The foam drops fairly quickly leaving a thin coat of patchy lace and a sudsy ring.

S – Rosie has an awesome nose of bold oak woodiness and delicious-smelling Brett funkiness. The funk doesn’t interfere too much but instead, adds an awesome depth to the nose with small hints of barnyard funk and horse-blanket. Mild cherry tartness pokes out timidly in the background while a swirl brings out more of the Brett yeast aroma.

T – Hints of tart cherries fall gently behind a small malt kiss, but the majority of the flavor profile comes from the Brett yeast. Oak wood and barnyard blend so well with a kiss of the mildly tart Wisconsin cherries. A light and complex flavor.

M – Highly carbonated with a sharp prickly finish and a light body, Rosie could use a bit more in this area. It’s a touch thin, or light-bodied for me. A little more malt presence could really help this out and make it a fuller beer. Otherwise the oak and Brett funkiness blend very well with the mildly tart finish. It’s a crisp and refreshing beer.

D – Where could the 9% possibly hide? Dear lord, it’s not even HINTED at. It hides so well in this beer, it’s dangerous. The flavor profile is fantastic as well as the nose leading in to it. Much better that what I remember on tap, the bottle is fantastic to have and I’ll be heading back to buy a few more of these to age. The cross between the Kriek, Flanders Sour, and American Wild is just awesome in this brew.

Thanks again Russ! Rosie is one tasty treat that’ll age well. I plan on hoarding a case to both share and cellar. If you find yourself in Milwaukee or perhaps at a Lakefront tour, pick up a bottle where you can and try this delicious beer for yourself. Thanks for listening to BeerFM’s podcast, check out our website beerfm.com, brought to you by stolensunmedia.com, for more beer news, tips, articles, reviews, events, and more! While you’re there why not become a fan of BeerFM on facebook by clicking the “like” button in the upper right corner? Also, don’t forget that an entirely new website is in the works! Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you soon! Cheers.

-Andy

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Wine Cellar of Wisconsin’s Beer Fest Write-up

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Since getting their feet wet in the craft beer market half a year ago, it’s no surprise Wine Cellar of Wisconsin would have high aspirations for hosting a tasting amid the frenzy of summer beer events. After I visited the spacious location on Bluemound Road in Elm Grove, Wisconsin a few months ago and heard of the event, I knew it could have the potential for greatness.

The past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the event with a guest courtesy of the owner Joel whom I thank for the great time! As my friend and I drove there, a bit behind schedule, I contemplated the layout of this event. It was advertised that over 75 beers would be available to try, and despite how spacious the location is, I was unsure of how the logistics would work besides serving outside.

As we pulled up my question was immediately answered. Three tables were lined up outside with people serving beer. I took a glance at the table as we walked in to get our glasses and was content with what I saw. Nothing out of the ordinary opened made it seem like another fest that contained a decent selection of beer I’ve had plenty of times. That was until after we went through our first table which had offerings from Summit, Milwaukee Brewing Co, Left Hand, Big Sky, and Schelle.

After a short stop at an Abita table my mouth began watering at the sight of the next table; beers I haven’t had! Koenings, Chouffe, Dogfish Head Red & White, and some great beers to revisit; Stone Arrogant Bastard and Ruination IPA, DFH 60 and 90 Min. IPA, and Piraat among many others.

Other tables included beers from Laguniats (who had an awesome poster!), strategically placed by the bathroom line, Reaper Ale, Potosi, Upland, and Fish Tale Organic beer. The real kicker is that my favorite table during the whole event wasn’t even a beer table. It was Crispin’s Cider table. They had six different ciders, all of them all-natural with no added sugar. They were spectacular and it was great to try them after constantly seeing them in stores and wondering how good they could be.

I’d consider the event a success simply based on the camaraderie there from the Lagunitas and Crispin reps to a fellow BeerAdvocate member, to some of the store employees including the owner Joel. The beer samples just made it that much better, and all for $15!

My only suggestion would be to group beers with people a bit more familiar with them or bring in more reps with large varieties of their beers. Trying new things is nice, but to have someone able to explain the style or particular beer helps explorers looking for something different. This doesn’t mean none of the servers were knowledgeable, in fact the opposite; most of the servers were. I for one would be happy to volunteer to pour for people at the next event. All in all, the first Beer Fest brought out a lot of good beers for people to try before buying as well as explore new styles which I consider a great time anywhere.

The turnout seemed pretty good as it grew substantially by the time we left (about 2 hours early too!)  so let’s hope that next year is even bigger and better!

Cheers Joel, thanks for the good time and thanks to my friend Jason for taking the pictures!

-Andy

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Milwaukee Firkin Fest Round up

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010


So I know this is a bit late but I wanted to at least give my thoughts of this first time event. Milwaukee Firkin Fest is a festival celebrating Milwaukee based breweries, so the total number of booths pouring was around 20 or so. There weren’t actually any firkins though, which perplexed me a bit. Lakefront did have something called stitchvass that was about the closest thing I saw resembling a firkin. The usual suspects were in attendance. The afformentioned Lakefront along with Sprecher, Milwaukee Ale House, and Waterstreet Brewery, and the list goes on. I spent about half of the fest pouring beer for a home brew club I belong to called Beer Buffalo Lodge. This was a great way to interact with the paid attendees. Most everyone I spoke to seemed fairly knowledgeable about craft beer. They would ask about ingredients and how the beers were made. Which I found very refreshing. There were the usual “dudes” that show up to simply pound beers but for the most part it was an intelligent crowd.

Overall it seemed to be a success considering it was the first time holding the event. This purely my opinion and maybe the bottom line would prove otherwise. Only time will tell if they decide to make it an annual event.

-Beerwolf

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Lakefront Rosie Review

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Lakefront’s Rosie, a Roseclaire style oak aged sour ale fermented and aged with Wisconsin cherries  is out in stores now. All new equipment to produce more of this beer has been/is being installed at Lakefront. Is it worth the price tag? Take a listen to the podcast to find out!

Lakefront Rosie Review

Music: AC/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie (Live)

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Sprecher Belgian Style Dubbel Review!

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Sprecher Brewery is releasing their Belgian Style Dubbel this Saturday for their 25th Anniversary party and I was lucky enough to get a pre-release bottle of their Belgian Style Dubbel today and if this beer isn’t reason enough to head over their with me Saturday, I don’t know what is. Posted below is my review and event information:

A- / 4.25
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4
16 oz bottle poured into a Duvel tulip. 6.50% ABV, 10168 on the neck (June 16th, 2010). Interesting because when I picked it up today I was told it was bottled just today. Either way it’s as fresh as humanly possible.

Appearance – The tall pour froths up a one-and-one-half finger dense light khaki-colored head. The beer is a beautiful clear mahogany red-brown with sharp red-orange highlights in the light. The head isn’t retained all too well as it sinks to a creamy pile leaving lackluster spots of lace on the glass for a Belgian style.

Smell – Dark Belgian candi sugar pairs well with the up-front toasted malts. Deep, dark fruit esters from the Belgian yeast play a pivotal role despite being in the background. Complex notes of cherries, fig, and prune add a layer of dimension to the hearty, biscuity, caramel malt nose. Serious hop-heads won’t find much of their favored aroma in this dubbel but it absolutely hits the mark on the style.

Taste – Round, deeply toasted malts push right to the forefront of the flavor profile hitting fast with a smooth, dense breadiness and sweet caramel cube flavor. Belgian yeast and candi sugar aren’t messing around either as they follow up the maltiness swiftly. Dark fruit esters still add a fantastic cherry, fig, and prune complexity while the alcohol becomes very slightly noticeable on the back end. The nuances grow nicely as it warms while toffee pokes out through the finish.

Moutfeel – Very smooth and robust, this dubbel really hits the mark here where most fall flat. A medium level of carbonation allows this beer to go down smoothly. A very light warming sensation finishes up the sweet, malty dubbel.

Drinkability – Sprecher’s 25th Anniversary dubbel nails the style that seems hard to pin down by some smaller American craft breweries. With a fantastic mouthfeel and comparable taste and aroma to boot, it’s a dubbel worth the extra money and definitely worth cellaring to see how it ages. I presume it’ll change gracefully to something possibly even better than it is fresh. Nice work Sprecher!

Come on out Saturday June 19th from 6-10 P.M. to try the awesome new Sprecher beer and hang out with Randy Sprecher. There is no cover charge and if you attended the Firkin Fest last weekend and retained your ticket stub it will get you a free beer!

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Outpost Natural Foods Mr. Grain Jeans Review

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Mr Grain Jeans Amber Ale

I have the pleasure of reviewing the Outpost Natural Foods‘ Mr. Grain Jeans Organic Amber Ale that was just released late last week at all three Outpost locations in the greater Milwaukee area.

I had a 22 oz bottle that I poured in a Sierra Nevada imperial pint glass. The label showed it was bottled during May Wk3, ’10. This beer is contract-brewed with Lakefront but the recipe comes from Outpost themselves.

Appearance - This beer looks fantastic right away. A tall pour releases three fingers of dense and well-retained off-white, bone-colored head that has a tiny hue of orange in it. Superb lace coats the glass above the cloudy golden orange beer.

Smell – Predominantly malty, Mr. Grain Jeans is all over the place. Anything specific about the malts is hard to pin down but I get notes of light toasted amber and caramel sweetness with just a pinch of a Pils malt aroma to it. A tiny but of the wheat and rye come through in a soft scent and unique spice respectively. Hops are there and add to the nose but not in any sort of outpouring way. Light citrusy and floral notes balance it out well but the aroma is malt-heavy.

Taste - Mr. Grain Jeans, do to all it’s ingredients, is pretty elusive. It also took me by surprise. The flavor differs from the aroma nicely. Amber and pale malts have this grainy taste with a light rye kick on the finish. Again, it’s a malt-heavy beer but not thick at all. The hops play a nice role of adding a slight kiss of floral citrus to the mix. Very nice tasting

Mouthfeel - I really like the mouthfeel when compaired to the whole beer. It’s medium-light bodied with a smooth entrance that rides nicely through to a lightly but well-balanced carbonation addition and a soft, dry finish.

Drinkability - Outpost comes through with a well-blended organic amber ale that combines a good nose and tasty flavor with a smooth mouthfeel for a very nice drinking beer. This lighter amber should be a good step outside the box to a world of better beer for the “light” beer drinkers while it’ll certainly become a welcomed pint for the seasoned craft beer lover.

It’s a good beer I’d reccomend to anyone. You can pick up a bottle at any of the three Outpost Locations now!

-Andy

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Sierra Nevada/ Dogfish Head Life and Limb Review (Podcast Transcription)

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

For those unable to listen to the podcast release for any reason, podcast transcriptions will now be available.

Sierra Nevada/ DFH Life and Limb Review

Welcome to BeerFM, your source for beer news, tips, and reviews. Today I’ve got myself a bottle of Life and Limb to review for you. But I’d like to start by thanking my friend Sweem for sharing it with me. It’s a Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaboration brew that’s described as an ale brewed with maple syrup & birch syrup.

B+ / 3.95

look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 3.5

24 oz bottle split with Sweemzander who procured this (thank you!) and poured into a Nonic. 9 286219 16 Printed on the label. I assume its 9286 (Oct 12th). 10.2% ABV, Brewed with Maple and Birch Syrup.

A – The color is a clear dark brown with a huge cream head. Great retention to the three-finger head and a bit of lace around the edges.

S – Malty sweet with a dark candi-sugar hint and a light maple syrup natural raw nose. There is a small hint of grassy hops in there too. No alcohol on the nose for the percent it has in it. Rather low and uninteresting overall.

T – There is a lot of birch flavor in this one. Very malty for a Sierra Nevada brew too. The Dogfish Head in it comes out a bit more. Lots of sweetness wraps around a potent fusel alcohol flavor. Dark candi-sugar, raisins, and maple syrup in this brew.

M – Smooth and warm in the mouth and stomach from the alcohol, it’s medium-full-bodied with a low carbonation feel.

D – A bit overly boozy but it makes for a good winter sipper. The label evokes feelings of late springtime or early summer, but it certainly works well as a winter beer.

It’s a bit hard to find as I’ve heard most stores that carry craft brews only got upwards of three bottles of it. If you can find it, it’s worth the try.

And while your looking for things, head over to beerfmpodcast.com and look at our links on the right hand side. You can find sweem and myself on beeradvocate.com and our sponsors, stolensunmedia.com there as well. Also, rate us on iTunes if you haven’t already!

Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you soon!

Cheers!

-Andy

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