New to Shelves: Sam Adams, Rogue, Fort Collins

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New to shelves this week in Eastern Iowa will be Sam Adams Fat Jack Double pumpkin ale along with many more bomber style bottles from them. Fat Jack comes in at 92 score on http://www.ratebeer.com
Commercial description: “This rich and luscious brew indulges in flavor with over 28Ibs of pumpkin per barrel, for a full bodied sweetness and deep russet color. Classic pumpkin pie spices of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice ignite a warmth and spark that’s deepened by an undercurrent of roasty smoked malts. The result is a delectable brew full of enveloping layers of flavor and spice. At Samuel Adams we love experimenting. This series of limited edition brews represents some of our favorite small batch creations. Style: Pumpkin Beer Hops: East Kent Goldings, Fuggle Malts: Samuel Adams Two-Row Pale Malt Blend, Caramel 60, Special B, Smoked Malt Extras: Real Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Allspice”

Also, look for Fort Collins Incredible Hop to hit shelves as well. This is a series of different beers including a Belgian Style IPA, Black IPA, Imperial IPA, Imperial India Wheat, etc. Check out more here: http://www.ratebeer.com/findbeer.asp

And last but not least, Rogue is finally getting Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale to Eastern Iowa shelves. A good beer to experience with a mixed reaction from drinkers. A ratebeer.com score of 46, here’s the commercial description: “13 Ingredients: Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt, House-smoked Hickory Malt, Great Western 2 Row, Munich, C15, C75 Malts; Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Pure Maple Flavoring, Rogue Micro Hopyard Revolution & Independent Hops, Free Range Coastal Water & Pacman Yeast Specs: 14º PLATO 30 IBU 76 AA 30º Lovibond World Class Package: 750ml painted bottle.”

Beer Review #87: Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

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With the ever popular culture of craft beer continuing its fantastic uprising, there comes the Beer pros, snobs, critics, that love to throw bigger craft breweries under the bus. Reading blogs, forums, and magazines has become a chore for me lately. Reading about these “critics” bitching about Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada and the amount of barrels they produce instead of giving them credit and praising them for helping create the landscape of the craft beer revolution has become quite tiresome. Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada may make a shitload of beer and have huge distribution, but they make a shitload of great beer and we deserve to drink it and now I’m cussing in my post and my wife is going to give me the red ass. Damn!
Okay…enough of ranting..Let’s review some brew.
Sierra Nevada is widely available just about everywhere now. In fact, Torpedo has landed in my tiny grocery store in Mount Vernon, IA to my pleasant surprise. A brewery I will always gravitate towards for an everyday brew, a weekend drink, or especially, their limited releases they are a constant in my fridge. Here’s the commercial description:
“Torpedo is an assertive American IPA deep reddish-gold in color, with a smooth and bready malt presence and over-the-top hop aromas. The beer has a solid bitterness and a massive hop flavor, yet remains easy drinking with a pleasant dry finish.”

This is a wonderfully balanced IPA. Piney hop flavor with sweetness of the malts to mellow it out works perfect. This is now available in 4 pack tall boy cans! Too dangerous for an Iowa Hawkeye tailgate? Maybe….but the Baron plans to give it a shot anyway.

REVIEW

STYLE: India Pale Ale (IPA)

ABV: 7.2%

PURCHASED AT: Gary’s; Mount Vernon, IA

Pour: Dark amber pour with a huge, fluffy, white head.

Aroma: Floral, pine, citrus, especially grapefruit.

Taste: Perfectly balanced! Huge amount of hops, resin, citrus, and pine flavor balanced by the sweet bready malts.

Overall: A-

My Recommendation: Buy it. Buy it now. Keep buying it and keep drinking it. An awesome beer, hop heads and IPA fans will love it!

Breweries on the Horizon: Coming Soon…….

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Wow, looking at the Iowa Craft Beer tent website setup for the Iowa state fair, there are quite a few new breweries that are looking to make their way into Iowa in the coming year. Below is a list and links to their websites or facebook accounts. This is a wonderful thing!

*C.I.B. Brewery; Carson, Iowa: http://www.cibbrewery.com/

*Confluence Brewing Co.; Des Moines, IA: http://www.confluencebrewing.com/

*Exile Brewing Co.; Des Moines, IA: http://exilebrewing.com/

*Heartbreak Brewing Co. Des Moines, IA: http://www.heartbreakbrew.com/

*Mason City Brewing Co. Mason City, IA: http://www.masoncitybrewing.com/

*New American Brewing Co.; Ankeny, IA: http://www.newamericanbeer.com/

*Number 7 Brewing Co.; Ankeny, IA: http://www.number7brewing.com/Beer.htm

*Slew City Brewing Co.; Cedar Rapids, IA: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slew-City-Brewing-Company/248911668522012

*Van Houzen Brewing Co.; Newton, IA: http://vhbrewing.com/

Wow!!! Things are looking promising. If you get a chance to hit up the state fair and get to try any of these breweries please drop me a line and let me know your thoughts!

Beer Review #86: Stone Levitation Ale

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As mad as I am at this particular brewery for getting Eastern Iowa’s hopes up that they might be hitting our shelves and then bailing on us……they make some great brew. Stone’s Levitation ale (www.stonebrew.com) is an amber ale that combines roasty malts and hoppy flavor to make a fantastic beer. Here’s the description from the brewery:
“This deep amber ale has rich & roasty malt flavors, a big hoppy character, citrus overtones (courtesy of the hops and our special brewers yeast) and modest alcohol.”

Stone has a very impressive lineup of beers and they aren’t afraid to play around with their ingredients; but for this one, they just made an excellent amber ale. Nothing crazy added to it; just a damn fine beer. If available in Iowa, it would be mainstay in my fridge. The good news is that we can still drive over to East Dubuque, IL and hit up Family Beer and Liquor and bring home a six pack or two. Who knows, with craft beer absolutely crazy right now, Stone might see a market here a start supplying us with their great beer. I sure hope so.

REVIEW

STYLE: Amber Ale

ABV: 4.4%

PURCHASED AT: Family Beer and Liquor; East Dubuque, IL

Pour: Amber color pour with an off-white head.

Aroma: Roasted malt, nuts, and nice hoppy citrus.

Taste: Much the same as the aroma, maybe some toffee?

Overall: B

My Recommendation: Like I said above, you can still go to Illinois or Wisconsin to pick it up. Their products are worth the drive alone.

Distribution News: Lagunitas, Stone, Dogfish, Founders

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With no reason given Stone and Lagunitas WILL NOT be coming to Eastern Iowa anytime soon. Any talks about getting their products into this area have broken off and I’m not sure when they are going to resume. While talking about these two breweries my source brought up Dogfish maybe returning to the state, if we are lucky, late next year. This is pretty good news since the demand for that brewery is so high and at one point it looked impossible that they would even be thinking of returning to the state in the next five years. So hopefully we will see that happen next year. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on any Green Flash products you need to hit up John’s Grocery. They are doing some 2 for specials right now with Green Flash. Their beer is great!

Good news: In the next few weeks look for Founders’ Breakfast Stout to be gracing our shelves. It is a fall seasonal and should be out soon. It probably won’t last long on the shelves as this is a pretty in-demand product.

Brews and Food #2: Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese with Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale

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Had a recipe for mac and cheese that I wanted to try out. A little different as it’s jalapeno popper mac and cheese and wasn’t sure what beer to pair with it so I did a little research. I read that brown ales, marzens, and English pales work exceptionally well with mac and cheese, but since mine had a little heat in it I went with the maltiness of a brown and used up my last Rogue Hazelnut brown nectar (www.rogue.com). I thought I used quite a bit of jalapeno for this dish and the maltiness of a brown ale was to tame the heat, and maybe it did a bit too much as there wasn’t as much heat as I was hoping for.

The cheese sauce was very creamy which also works in favor in using a robust beer such as a brown ale to cut through that sauce a bit. I used a ton of monterey jack cheese and mixing it with the pepper mixture really brought out the nuttiness of the rogue brown ale. I think the nuttiness would have stood out more if I would have used a sharp cheddar or gruyere, but I didn’t, so piss off.

Overall a very good and hearty dish. Very filling. The rogue brown works well and is now available in six packs around Eastern Iowa. Let me know if you give it a shot. Here’s the recipe: http://tvfoodanddrink.com/2012/02/superbowl-sunday-mac-and-cheese/

Brews and Food: BBQ Baby Back Ribs and Racer 5 IPA

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All right; gonna try something a bit new on the website just so stuff doesn’t get stale. Trying to think of things that I could add to the blog to go along with my passion of beer and here we have it. Now, the recipes that appear and the pictures that appear on here are all taken by me at the time of consumption.

The first pairing I tried out tonight was slow cooked baby back ribs and a Racer 5 IPA. I chose an IPA because I thought it would bring out the little spice that was in the ribs, and it did! Also, a hot day is perfect for an IPA. For my ribs, I’m not a fall of the bone kind of guy and I don’t liked them slopped in sauce either. I like to pick mine up by the bone and chew it off; still tender mind you, but not a mess. I found a recipe in the folder my wife and I keep recipes in, which is just ridiculously big, for Apple-Glazed BBQ Baby Back Ribs. The apple glaze kind of threw me off, but I’m an amateur at cooking ribs so I thought I would give it a shot. Nothing to lose.

Glad I tried it! The glaze was simple. You start by making a simple dry rub, and then a wet marinade. You rub the ribs with the dry rub, cook for 2 1/2 hours, dump the marinade on them, cook for another hour, remove, slather with sauce and then cook 15 minutes. Simple, but you have to have patience so they come out tender. A wonderful meal that I will definitely make again and the beer worked really well with the smokiness and spice of the ribs. Want the recipe? Send $5 to… kidding… here ya go! http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/apple-glazed-barbecued-baby-back-ribs  you try it please let me know how it turns out.

SIDE NOTE: I also a side dish of sliced baby mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Great stuff!

Beer Review #85: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

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One of the most in-demand breweries in America today is Dogfish Head. Their beers are so sought after that if you get your hands on some you could make some pretty good money put hacking them off on ebay. Luckily, a trip to Chicago for me usually results in bringing a few of their beers back to the great state of Iowa. I always make sure to get my hands on some of their 60 minute because it is a fantastic IPA.

I’ll be honest, some of the Dogfish beers I’ve had, didn’t really do it for me, but I will say, no matter which ones you try, it will be a unique beer drinking experience for you. They go above and beyond most brewers out there with trying new recipes, ingredients, and flavor combinations. Luckily, they also make a great IPA. Here’s the description from the brewery:

“Our flagship beer. A session India Pale Ale brewed with Warrior, Amarillo & ’Mystery Hop X.’ A powerful East Coast I.P.A. with a lot of citrusy hop character. THE session beer for beer geeks like us! 6% abv 60 ibu Tasting Notes: Citrus, cedar, pine & candied-orange flavors, floral. Food Pairing recommendations: Spicy foods, pesto, grilled salmon, soy-based dishes, pizza. Glassware recommendation: Pint Wine comparable: Busty Chardonnay In case you care… the average 12 oz. serving has 209 calories.”

At only 6% this makes for an all-night drinking experience. This beer alone puts Dogfish brewery (www.dogfish.com) in my Top 5 wishlist (which will be coming out soon) of breweries to get to the Eastern Iowa marketplace. Fantastic hop flavor, slight bitterness, a bit of cedar taste, and a smooth malt finish. Fantastic! Once again, the nearest place to get it is Chicago, if you know of someone making a trip there, have them stop at a Binny’s a set you up with some Dogfish products.

REVIEW

STYLE: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

PURCHASED AT: Binny’s Beverage Depot; Schaumburg, IL

Pour: Hazy orange pour with a thick white head.

Aroma: Citrus, pine, and floral smell.

Taste: Citrus and pine, with some orange peel in there as well. Wonderful!

Overall: A-

My Recommendation: Buy as much Dogfish product as possible; try them all. If you don’t like them, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a trade partner.