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Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown

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American Brown Ale, Texas Brown Ale or as Founders calls this beer ‘Imperial Brown Ale’ generally describes a malt forward beer, a pumped up version of an English Brown recipe with hops like Cascade aggressively added and the ABV often much higher than the British original. The Oxford Companion to Beer notes that American Browns use “(r)oasted and caramelized malts are used heavily enough to skirt the edges of the porter style’ and nearly all have ‘notable hop aromatics’.

THE BEER

Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown bottle is subtle compared to many of their own labels for beers such as Backwoods Bastard and Breakfast Stout. More like Black Rye. The brown and yellow color palette seems to hearken back to an older time, preparing us for a simple beer. Imagine our surprise then, when I spied that this brown was brewed with Sumatran coffee (yes, hence the name) and comes in at a whopping 9% alcohol by volume. This is not a working man’s sipper at the pub. Founders describes the beer thusly:

This bold, imperial brown ale gets its body from a team of malts including Caramel malt for sweetness, flaked barley for dense foam, a bit of Chocolate malt for its deep color and Aromatic and Munich malts to add even more depth. German and Perle hops add a touch of bitterness to balance the malty sweetness. The addition of rich Sumatra coffee takes this perfectly balanced imperial brown ale to a decadent level.

TASTING NOTES

Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown

Cracking open Sumatra Mountain, the addition of Indonesian coffee is evident. Dave and I both felt it reminded us of the percolator or instant coffee aromatics one finds in beers like Weyerbacher Sunday Morning Stout. The picture above looks nearly black but as it poured the color is a ruddy brown. The tan head is foamy and lingers a good time for a 9% beer. What you taste is big on roasted malts and of course coffee, nothing percolator about how it comes through in the flavor. Really nice use of the java, with some pop of hops right at the end, with mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is amazingly creamy! Apparently due to the flaked barley, making it highly drinkable, and the beer finishes dry. Great brewers don’t brew high alcohol beers, they make great beer that is high gravity. Drinking Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown I got no hint it was anything above 5%.

CONCLUSION

Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown was another 9% ABV coffee beer, released as one of the more underwhelming of the Backstage Series in a large format bottle. Despite not setting off the beer geeks fervor, it was a tasty beer with strong hazelnut notes (BarleyWhine.com gave it an 8.0).

Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown comes in at the same 9%, with big coffee notes, dry with a medium body, although minus the hazelnut flavoring. I’m not sure these beers vary greatly in their recipe, which is a good thing. Offering 6 packs of a coffee forward imperial brown ale is a great addition to the Founders lineup. Brown ales, especially those with nuttier notes or coffee, are often gateway beers for those entering the good beer world. As such, Sumatra Mountain would be a great choice to try if you are starting out looking for a craft beer with a balance of flavors, albeit leaning towards the sweeter malt side. This is a fine beer, delivering on what it promises. One of the better straight ahead coffee beers around. find yourself a 6-pack 4-pack and you will not be disappointed.

8.0/10

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Avery Fortuna: Barrel Aged Series #28

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Avery Fortuna: Barrel Aged Series #28

Tequila, distilled from the blue agave plant native to Mexico, heralds south of the border adventure and indulgence like no other spirit. Consumption is popularized as the rapid shooting of pours, rather than by snifter. And while bourbon or single malts are consumed straight by connoisseurs, tequila is so tied with shots that even less sophisticated tequila drinkers tend to pound shots, chased with a lime and salt. Despite the availability of opulent brands that age for years on wood, rounding out flavors like bourbon, the drink is not always associated with high end production. But some do recognize the potential for the better bottles. Writing in Paste, Nathan Borchelt points out that Quentin Tarantino gives visual adulation to Tres Generaciones Anejo, “which Bill drinks before that last East-meets-West sword fight”.

KIll Bill Tequila

This is a girding drink, one to firm up resolve before a fight. Tequila is a rough drink, best slammed down, or sipped straight up. But all this would ignore that other use for blue agave nectar, the margarita. And this apparently, was the inspiration for a new Avery sour in their limited Barrel Series.

THE BEER

The 28th release in Avery’s much heralded ‘Barrel Series’ brings a new twist (puns!) to their limited release beers in the gold foil. Avery, known for their great wheat ale White Rascal as well as one of the best barrel programs in the country, regularly hosts very popular GABF week events featuring their limited release brews. For the twenty eighth small batch release, Avery attempted something highly creative, in utilizing tequila barrels and adding the lime and salt flavors of a margarita. Admittedly, had this not been an Avery beer, the expectations for such an experiment would be quite low. But with such a great reputation wrapped up on that shiny foil, we decided to give the somewhat expensive 12oz bottle a try. The barrels come from Suerte Tequila, also based in Colorado.

TASTING NOTES

Opening this bottle I thought; ‘What does tequila smell like’? It is a distinctive agave aroma that is never quite as pungent as, say bourbon was my best recollection. Aristotle suggested that humans primarily recall smells that are pleasurable or painful, so those who have had a rough morning caused by tequila might get a better sense of the tequila barrels in play here. For me, the barrel note was a subtle oak with what could be tequila, certainly lime. The carbonation produced a fine head that faded soon after. The taste on Avery Fortuna was the real surprise. Not nearly as funky as many of their sours, a distinctive lacto sour note was present, along with a tart semi-sweet element that was very complex. I am guessing this was from the Suerte barrel. This was followed up with some lime and perhaps a hint of salt. Not as salinated as gose, the salt here was just enough to make you thirsty for another ponderous sip of this unique beer. The more I sampled, the more this margarita variant drew me in. The carbonation stays potent, and the dry finish with that hint of wood aging is simply a delicious combination.

Avery Fortuna, Barrel Aged Series #28

CONCLUSION

Brewers more and more and hard pressed to come up with new ideas for recipes that will make their beer stand out. Even less common is a completely new (as far as I know) idea for a beer that actually stands out beyond the novelty. Based around the idea for a summertime Mexican restaurant staple, Avery Fortuna is a refreshingly mild sour beer with subtle tequila and salt notes, that come together to form a tasty brew. It defies the odds and makes people what would make tequila their last choice at the bar appreciate the flavors it brings to a sour, citrus forward brew.  If you find one on the shelves or they bring a keg to your town, jump on the chance to try this crazy combination.

7.0/10

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Willoughby Brewing Hazy Days

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Willoughby Brewing Hazy Days

Willoughby Nut Smasher Release
Glasses of Nut Smasher with Hazy Days in the background

Willoughby Brewing Company was founded in 1997 and has recently garnered modest national attention. Much of that buzz has come in praise of their excellent Peanut Butter Cup Porter, a beer that sounds like what it tastes like and World Beer Cup gold medal winner in 2014. But brewmaster Rick Seibt has proven he can do more than make Clevelanders try a porter not named Edmond. With tasty, hop-forward brews such as Moonshadow and Cosmic, both American IPAs, hop fans are not left out of the Willoughby deliciousness. With that thought in mind, word that Willoughby was offering the chance to buy a 4-pack of a hoppy wheat beer in addition to the Nutsmasher allotment, made attending the most recent release of their amp’d up Peanut Butter Cup Porter a must.

Willoughby Brewmaster

THE BEER

This is the first canned beer we have sampled from Willoughby. Cracking the tab brings white bubbles up and a hugely fragrant, tropical hop aroma with tangerines, pineapple and lemon. The beer looks slightly cloudy with a pale orange color and potent white head. After that huge aroma, the first sip is a surprise; there is less wheat flavor, and a sweetness from the malt and a hint of that hefeweizen banana. The mouthfeel is thicker than an IPA from the wheat, which is quite pleasant. Hazy Days finishes like it started, with a big floral and citrus hop explosion and any hint of wheat is quieted by the hops. Very much an American take on wheat ale, this is certainly the hoppiest wheat ale we have had the pleasure of tasting. While it may not be a spot on imitator of the style, this is a beer with high drinkability, and a killer brew to have a four pack of on a warm night.

TASTING NOTES

Willoughby Hazy Days

CONCLUSION

Summertime brings heat, and where we drink, humidity. There is no question you are going to need refreshment. While there was a time in recent history when US beer lovers struggled finding a rewarding canned beer appropriate for beaches or classical music under the stars, better days are upon us. While cans of Hazy Days were released at the June ’15 there is word that these soon will be seen at First Energy Stadium for Cleveland Browns games this year, and hopefully more readily available in local markets.

Drink this delicious hop blast as fresh as possible. The flavors will reward your impatience, but like summer, they wont last.

 

8.5/10

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de Garde Hop Bu

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And think of the summers of the past
Adjust the base and let the Alpine blast
Pop in my CD and let me run a rhyme and put your car
On cruise and lay back ’cause this is summertime
-Will Smith

THE BEER

A Berliner Weisse, according to the German Beer Institute, constitutes a”sour, tart, fruity, highly effervescent, spritzy, and refreshing ale that holds only a fraction of a percent market share in Germany as a whole but is stll[sic] fairly popular in and around Berlin, especially on hot summer days”. In the States, people love to ask ‘what’s your lawn mower beer’, an indication generally of something lighter in body, with an emphasis on refreshing, clean notes—preferably in a can. But who wants another weak ass ‘sessionable’ IPA when you can have a beautifully flavored, yet equally refreshing gem like Berliner Weisse? And what if a small batch brewery foeder ferments one at 2.3% ABV with dry hopping, and ages it on oak barrels? The potential for the perfect summer beer. And that might be the best description we can give to de Garde Hop Bu. That, and one of the biggest misnomer beer names we have come across in some time.

TASTING NOTES

de Garde Hop Bu Berliner Weisse

So yes, this beer is dry hopped with Simcoe and Centennial hops, which might lead one to thinking Hop Bu is going to be an IPA. that was our thought anyways. Neither Dave or I could recall tasting an oak aged Berliner before, so we were unsure what to expect. A look at the pleasantly simply label however, showed us what we were truly in store for.

Pouring out with bubbly, thin carbonation that dissipates within a few minutes, de Garde’s Hop Bu shows itself as a cloudy, pale yellow ale. A traditional Berliner has a subtle tart noes, and this was on point, with an additional element of aged Italian cheese that hinted at something more complex in the glass. The flavors start out slightly sweet pineapple changing to a tart lime or lilikoi. The finish is mildly sour, mostly clean, with hints of oak throughout, giving an overarching depth that merges the sweet and sour to create an amazingly complex beverage.

CONCLUSION

The Germans take beer as both a central part of their culture, and yet much less seriously than most Americans drinking Berliner Weisse. They add fruit syrups to the beer and enjoy it as a simple pleasure. Jackie O’s offered this option at one of their recent releases which included their tasty Berliner. And if Hop Bu simply hit that level of quality summer beer, it would a welcome addition to the beer scene, bereft of American sours. But de Garde has created something beyond a clean beer with character. Hop Bu, with all its barrel aged funkiness is the most delicious Berliner Dave or I have ever tasted, and perhaps the most surprising and delicious beer we’ve tried this year. This beer, never heavy, and never boring, brings a Belgian level of depth of flavor to the palette. We will certainly be seeing out more de Garde beers in the future if they can produce this level quality.

9.5/10

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Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

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“…as if his soul had been extinguished within his lungs at the very moment the sweet pumpkin gave up its incensed ghost.”
― Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

THE BEER

As pumpkin beers go, we have covered quite a few. The style started as a simple use of a gourd as an adjunct for flavor and sweetness. These days, pumpkin is paired with coffee, huge pumpkin pie spices, and of course bourbon barrels.

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, a special release from the brewery, attempts to toe the line between the the overly spiced, and the original pumpkin beers that were bland and simple. A simply name, a simple label, and an unaffected approach to an autumn classic. This beer should by all rights fall by the wayside, another pumpkin ale with no gimmick. And yet it stands out, a consistently beloved pumpkin beer, considered a standard barer of the style.

TASTING NOTES

Looking at the bottle, this beer looks like so many 1990’s microbrews, orange in color with a pumpkin, but otherwise quite boring. The beer pours a ruddy orange color, with no visible sediments. Schlafly Pumpkin Ale bubbles up with a short, pallid, tan head, that fades with minimal retention. The aromas off the pour are a bouquet of cinnamon, cloves or ginger and nutmeg, with no notes of hops, and mildly sweet malt elements. The tastes are a joyful blend of pumpkin pie, an almost tang of vestigial gourd and sweet malt finish. The body is creamy with good carbonation. Almost no bitterness shows against the spice and sugars, with a dry, clean finish.

CONCLUSION

More people care for pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, or pumpkin pie spice Pringles, more than they do for actual pumpkin. The spice mixture is a popular blend without question. Within Schlafly Pumpkin Ale that well liked blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg combines with a grounding of pumpkin flavor and light, dry finish. The seasoning is strong, yet not overwhelming. The beer is quite simply a delicious expression of what has become the standard pumpkin ale style. While not rare, the distribution is limited, making this a special treat for those of us outside Schlafly’s range. The 8% ABV is rather high, and yet well hidden here. This is a rewarding beer, one of the best around for anyone that likes pumpkin pie.

9.0/10

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