Saturday, September 18, 2010

Session Beers: like going to the beach in a thong...exactly.

What's Up Gang,
Today I'm going to write a little bit about session beers. Inspired by beer guru Jay R. Brooks who is occasionally featured in the San Jose, I decided to explore the basis behind "session beers." You may have heard this term used for a particular brew, but with the direction of craft beer, you probably have no explored the world of session beers too frequently unless you're at Oktoberfest. So this is an appropriate time to bring up session beers!
Session beers are primarily defined by their alcoholic content, which is anywhere at or under 5.0abv. As you may have assumed, it's a beer that you could consume during a "session" with your buddies or family. Session beers are crafted to be enjoyed bottle after bottle but without the intention of getting schnokered. Call up some friends during the World Series or put together a barbecue with some quality brews that will not overwhelm anyone at any point of the evening.
That said, depending on the person, a session beer can be nearly any type of beer. Many German styles of lager and hefeweizen are low in alcoholic content, and many ales from blondes, to ambers, and even dark brews (Guinness is only 4.0abv!) will work for your session as long as they are "flavorful, balanced, and reasonably priced" (Brooks "Subtle delights in session beers").
With everyone vacated from my home town of Monterey, I decided to have my own little session with a couple beers I picked up from BevMo. I turned on some baseball, watched some "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and poured myself some hefeweizen from the Blue Frog Grog and Grill in Fairfield and Alpine Gold blond ale from the Tied House in San Jose.

Blue Frog's hefeweizen was a bit darker in color than typical German hefeweizens, resembling ecanasia juice in a glass. I got a mild citrus, sort of watery aroma that had no notes of banana/clove. Please note that I poured this into the inappropriate glass. Still, I was unable to taste any of the qualities you find in the German staple. This beer was a little on the sour side, drinking like a watered down version of citrus Airborne (the stuff you take if your immune system isn't up to speed). The bottle has its text upside down and reads that one should store the bottle upside down to let the yeast settle correctly...are they messing with me? When was the last time you drank a hefeweizen from a bottle that was stored upside down? If for some reason one of my buddies has this in his fridge, I'll say one of two things:
1. "Dude, turn it upside down!"
2. "Dude, don't waste your time with this. Drink a Franziskaner instead."
The glass is full. I'm not a fan of this beer. Perhaps Blue Frog excels at some of their other brews.

The Tied House's Alpine Gold blond ale might suit your palate a little better, especially if you plan to head up to the mountains in a couple months. I found this light ale to work as a session beer as there is a fair balance and enough flavor to keep the casual beer drinker satisfied.
Give Alpine Gold a sniff and you'll pick up a light citrus, caramel/nutty, and grainy aroma. You'll taste that same nuttiness that won't overwhelm you and possibly encourage you to get another one. I was hoping for a hoppier jolt that gave the beer a more crisp finish, but then again I'm not too much of an expert on light ales. It's not my brew of choice, but I can recommend it for a larger gathering if people have other beverage options as well.
The glass is half full. This brew has the fundamental aroma but doesn't fully deliver in flavor to make me want another one. 
Next up for Calibrew:
I plan to hit up an Oktoberfest pretty soon and may be doing so when I visit Chicago next week. There are a few events like this in the Bay Area right now, so hopefully I find an opportunity there as well. As always, feel free to keep up with CaliBrew by subscribing (like...now) or following my Twitter right here .
Oh, and check out Jay R. Brooks' sites for lots of fascinating info and insight regarding the best beverage known to man and woman.
You can check out Brooks' material at http://www.ibabuzz.com/bottomsup/.  

Prost!
Pink

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Back to California and Back to Beer!

Noble Beer Brethren,

As we eye the near shift from summer to fall, I eye my even nearer arrival in California. After five glorious months in Chicago, I have decided to go back out west where the brew is the best. This could not come at a better time for me, as the sun is slowly setting on heat (and humidity if you're in Chicago) and welcoming football of all types. Hopefully you're looking forward to finishing your klölsch or summer shandy in hand and smiling at the arrival of autumn lagers and ales, from the Bavarian hefeweizen, to the always welcoming märzen, to bock varieties, to the pumpkin and fall spiced ales.

Anticipating the new season, I spent one of my last nights in Chicago at my favorite pub for brew, the Map Room, eager to try Orange County's The Bruery's Autumn Maple ale on draft. A seasonal beer brewed with maple syrup and yams? On draft? I couldn't think of a better way to leave Chicago and welcome in the taste of California simultaneously. However, the Map Room was tapped out of this fine ale, leaving me to resort to another exquisite La Trappe Quadruppel.

In addition, I sampled a few other brews from all around. A fan of Unibroue's La Fin du Monde and Maudite, I took a crack at their "Chambly Noire" but was left disappointed. In short, I wasn't sure what Unibroue was trying to achieve with this beer but was sure that this encounter made drinking their more reliable beers a pleasure. I also acquainted myself with Colorado's Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout. I hadn't sampled a chocolate stout before, as I usually lean toward a coffee malt, but I found this a fair beer.

But this is a California-based beer blog isn't it? That's why I save the best for last. I had a terrific experience with San Diego's Port Brewing Company. Their "Older" Viscosity ale encapsulates class, flavor, and Iggy Pop-esque "raw power" in a wine glass. Older Viscosity is a specialty brew based off of Port's "Old Viscosity." The beer is aged in bourbon barrels, though from my episode from the tap, I could have sworn it was a cabernet-aged ale or something of that sort. Still, what you get is a midnight colored strong (12.5% abv) ale that has the smooth-sipping consistency of a Belgian trippel/quaruppel. 

Older viscosity combines the chocolate malt of typical dark ales and sophisticates it with what Port states as "hints of vanilla and American oak." People always say that chocolate compliments wine, but I say why not have them together in a glass; it's a similar concept with Older Viscosity. Ironically, the best part of this brew is its aftertaste, one that i can characterize as a toasted caramel/chocolate richness that gives this aged ale one hell of an accent. For someone who has not ventured into beer finely aged, I recommend checking this one out immediately. For other beer enthusiasts, you've simply got to get a hold of this beer.
The glass is empty. A superb beer!

One last thing gang. Since it is September and since I'm going to be back in beer country, expect some good things from CaliBrew! I'll be looking into getting some better digital content uploaded onto the site and have some ideas for capturing Oktoberfest in the Bay Area and/or elsewhere. Please subscribe to my blog and check out my attempt at being cool on My Twitter

I've also posted a couple useful links.

You Stay Hoppy California,
Pink