Jadyn and I went to Bukowski's with some friends back in February. We'd initially planned to go to The B-Side for some of their excellent Blue Cheese fries, but the wait was close to an hour. We walked to Bukowski's instead.
803. Victory Baltic Thunder
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
I thought this was a good shot at the Baltic Porter style. Rich and malty with nice coffee and chocolate notes. My only complaint is that it was a tad sweet.
804. Melbourn Bros. Strawberry
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Melbourn Bros.
Alcohol: 3.40%
Serving: Bottle
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This one is labeled as spontaneously fermented, and you do see some tartness and a faint hint of the wild microbes, but overall it's much too sweet for my liking.
803. Victory Baltic Thunder
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.50%
Serving: Tap
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
I thought this was a good shot at the Baltic Porter style. Rich and malty with nice coffee and chocolate notes. My only complaint is that it was a tad sweet.
804. Melbourn Bros. Strawberry
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Melbourn Bros.
Alcohol: 3.40%
Serving: Bottle
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This one is labeled as spontaneously fermented, and you do see some tartness and a faint hint of the wild microbes, but overall it's much too sweet for my liking.
Labels: Baltic Porter, Fruit/Vegetable Beer, Melbourn Bros., Victory Brewing Company
The activation energies for these multi-beer posts is pretty high, but I'm really behind in the blog, so I'll really try to get some of them done. This post is from mid-February.
After brunch at Gaslight and an afternoon at an arcade, David, Win and I went to Cafe Polonia, a Polish Restaurant in South Boston. We shared potato pancakes, Win got the Polish Plate, David had the goulash, and I had pierogis. The beer selection was small, but consisted almost entirely of Polish beers. We had two rounds, trading off partway through each beer. I originally gave ratings, but looking back I don't think that I had enough to justify them, so I've cut them. We had some nice Baltic Porters that were smooth and flavorful, though perhaps not as rich as some other examples I've had. We also had some decent European Lagers.
787. Okocim Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 8.10%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, ruby, brown with a thin head on top. The aroma is malty with lots of dark fruit, cherries, and a boozy quality. The flavors are malty all the way. Sweet molasses gives way to a raisiny fruitiness and a light roasty finish. Medium-bodied on the palate with moderate to low carbonation. Tasty, but the sweetness could get in the way were you to have a few.
788. Okocim Palone
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, dark amber with a thin beige head. This is another malty one, with aromas of dark fruit and molasses with a touch of roasty malts. The flavors are sweet and malty, with caramel, breadiness, toastiness and fruitiness. Lightly bitter in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation. Not overly sweet, balanced.
789. Lomza Petne
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Łomża
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Golden in color and lightly hazed with a wispy film of a head. The aroma is very light. There are notes of graininess, a light sweetness, and a hint of bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation.
790. Zywiec Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zywiec Breweries
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a lightly hazed brown-ruby. Topped by a thick, brown, fluffy head. The aroma is lightly malty with notes of dark fruit. Starts with sweet maltiness, some molasses and dark fruit. The finish is lightly spice with a nice roasty bitterness. Medium-bodied with low carbonation.
791. Okocim OK
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, pale straw-golden that's topped by a fluffy, white head that leaves nice lace as it fades. There's a light graininess in the aroma with a hint of sweetness. Lightly sweet with a nice clean malty flavor with a mild bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied, very drinkable.
792. Lezajsk 1525 Legendary Premium Lager
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zakłady Piwowarskie w Leżajsku
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Style, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale golden with a fluffy white head that leaves moderate lace. The aroma is a little peppery. Grainy malts, light sweetness with a peppery finish. Moderate carbonation.
After brunch at Gaslight and an afternoon at an arcade, David, Win and I went to Cafe Polonia, a Polish Restaurant in South Boston. We shared potato pancakes, Win got the Polish Plate, David had the goulash, and I had pierogis. The beer selection was small, but consisted almost entirely of Polish beers. We had two rounds, trading off partway through each beer. I originally gave ratings, but looking back I don't think that I had enough to justify them, so I've cut them. We had some nice Baltic Porters that were smooth and flavorful, though perhaps not as rich as some other examples I've had. We also had some decent European Lagers.
787. Okocim Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 8.10%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, ruby, brown with a thin head on top. The aroma is malty with lots of dark fruit, cherries, and a boozy quality. The flavors are malty all the way. Sweet molasses gives way to a raisiny fruitiness and a light roasty finish. Medium-bodied on the palate with moderate to low carbonation. Tasty, but the sweetness could get in the way were you to have a few.
788. Okocim Palone
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, dark amber with a thin beige head. This is another malty one, with aromas of dark fruit and molasses with a touch of roasty malts. The flavors are sweet and malty, with caramel, breadiness, toastiness and fruitiness. Lightly bitter in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation. Not overly sweet, balanced.
789. Lomza Petne
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Łomża
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Golden in color and lightly hazed with a wispy film of a head. The aroma is very light. There are notes of graininess, a light sweetness, and a hint of bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation.
790. Zywiec Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zywiec Breweries
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a lightly hazed brown-ruby. Topped by a thick, brown, fluffy head. The aroma is lightly malty with notes of dark fruit. Starts with sweet maltiness, some molasses and dark fruit. The finish is lightly spice with a nice roasty bitterness. Medium-bodied with low carbonation.
791. Okocim OK
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Browar Okocim
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Euro Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, pale straw-golden that's topped by a fluffy, white head that leaves nice lace as it fades. There's a light graininess in the aroma with a hint of sweetness. Lightly sweet with a nice clean malty flavor with a mild bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied, very drinkable.
792. Lezajsk 1525 Legendary Premium Lager
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zakłady Piwowarskie w Leżajsku
Alcohol: 5.50%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Style, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale golden with a fluffy white head that leaves moderate lace. The aroma is a little peppery. Grainy malts, light sweetness with a peppery finish. Moderate carbonation.
Labels: Baltic Porter, Euro Pale Lager
There's not much to say in this post. These are my tasting notes for the middle 10 beers that I had at the Extreme Beer Fest. My handwriting remains legible for all 10 of these beers, but does start to deteriorate a little towards the last few. There are no beers that I have marked down as standouts from these 10, though it was nice to finally get to try a Berlinerweiss.
621. Allagash Bacchus Tripel
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.20%
Style: Tripel, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a lightly hazy golden. The aroma is sour apples, vinous and a little buttery. There are tart apple flavors, as well as some wine like qualities. An interesting tripel. I'd like to have it again and take proper notes.
622. Iron Hill Hopzilla
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Alcohol: ?
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear copper. The aroma has some berry fruitiness, malts and citric hops. The flavor is toasty malts, citric fruitiness and a hoppy bitterness in the finish.
623. The Tap Erebus
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: Eisbock, BJCP Style Guide
The style I'm not sure of here, it's listed as an Eisbock on ratebeer, but the Tap's website only describes it as a "very strong lager," which may or may not be an Eisbock. It xertainly didn't look like an Eisbock. Pours a clear golden. There's a strange, savory aroma, with a bit of a medicinal tinge. Upfront there's a mix of sour and sweet apple flavors, and a mild bitterness in the finish.
624. The Tap Berlinerweiss
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Alcohol: 2.80%
Style: Berliner Weissbier, BJCP Style Guide
This was my first Berlinerweiss, I drank this without the available syrups. It pours a hazy, pale, straw color. The aroma is grainy with a definite lactic, bacterial edge. The beer was lightly grainy, with a pronounced lactic sourness.
625. Captain Swain's "Big Woody" Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cisco Brewers Inc.
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a dark black. The aroma is very light, some fruitiness and roasted malts. The flavor is fruity and sweet with a strong roasted bitterness in the finish.
626. Weekapaug Gruit Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.00%
Style: Scottish Gruit / Ancient Herbed Ale
I've never been to the CBC when they have this on tap, so I decided to give it a shot. This was a tall pour, maybe a sample and a half. It pours a hazy brown. Notes for this one were tough since I haven't had any other Gruits. The aroma, like the flavor, was predominantly herbal/floral.
627. Tröegs Nugget Nectar
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.50%
Style: American Amber/Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear amber/copper. The aroma is fruity with some floral, citric and resiny hops. The flavor is fruity and peppery with a citric hop bitterness in the finish.
628. Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 4.50%
Style: Berliner Weissbier, BJCP Style Guide
According to the fest program: "A Neo-Berliner Weiss brewed with fresh peaches. The beer is comprised of half wheat malt and half Pilsner malt, with an addition of lactic acid." This one pours a pale, hazy, straw color with a thick white head. I didn't catch peaches specifically, but I did notice fruitiness in both the aroma and flavors, which were predomiantly lactic acid sourness.
629. Samuel Adams Baltic Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Alcohol: ?
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a dark black with a fizzy brown head. The aroma is mostly fruity with some roasty chocolate notes. The flavor is much the same with more prominent chocolate flavors and a light roasted bitterness.
630. Avery Samael's (2006)
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Avery Breweing Company
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: American Barleywine, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a copper orange. The aroma is fruity and malty, with a light citric hop hint. The beer is very sweet and fruity with a bit of pepper and vanilla.
I have one more Extreme Beer Fest post to get done, hopefully I'll get that done in the next few days and get caught up with the blog.
621. Allagash Bacchus Tripel
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.20%
Style: Tripel, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a lightly hazy golden. The aroma is sour apples, vinous and a little buttery. There are tart apple flavors, as well as some wine like qualities. An interesting tripel. I'd like to have it again and take proper notes.
622. Iron Hill Hopzilla
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Alcohol: ?
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear copper. The aroma has some berry fruitiness, malts and citric hops. The flavor is toasty malts, citric fruitiness and a hoppy bitterness in the finish.
623. The Tap Erebus
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: Eisbock, BJCP Style Guide
The style I'm not sure of here, it's listed as an Eisbock on ratebeer, but the Tap's website only describes it as a "very strong lager," which may or may not be an Eisbock. It xertainly didn't look like an Eisbock. Pours a clear golden. There's a strange, savory aroma, with a bit of a medicinal tinge. Upfront there's a mix of sour and sweet apple flavors, and a mild bitterness in the finish.
624. The Tap Berlinerweiss
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Alcohol: 2.80%
Style: Berliner Weissbier, BJCP Style Guide
This was my first Berlinerweiss, I drank this without the available syrups. It pours a hazy, pale, straw color. The aroma is grainy with a definite lactic, bacterial edge. The beer was lightly grainy, with a pronounced lactic sourness.
625. Captain Swain's "Big Woody" Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cisco Brewers Inc.
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a dark black. The aroma is very light, some fruitiness and roasted malts. The flavor is fruity and sweet with a strong roasted bitterness in the finish.
626. Weekapaug Gruit Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.00%
Style: Scottish Gruit / Ancient Herbed Ale
I've never been to the CBC when they have this on tap, so I decided to give it a shot. This was a tall pour, maybe a sample and a half. It pours a hazy brown. Notes for this one were tough since I haven't had any other Gruits. The aroma, like the flavor, was predominantly herbal/floral.
627. Tröegs Nugget Nectar
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.50%
Style: American Amber/Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear amber/copper. The aroma is fruity with some floral, citric and resiny hops. The flavor is fruity and peppery with a citric hop bitterness in the finish.
628. Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Alcohol: 4.50%
Style: Berliner Weissbier, BJCP Style Guide
According to the fest program: "A Neo-Berliner Weiss brewed with fresh peaches. The beer is comprised of half wheat malt and half Pilsner malt, with an addition of lactic acid." This one pours a pale, hazy, straw color with a thick white head. I didn't catch peaches specifically, but I did notice fruitiness in both the aroma and flavors, which were predomiantly lactic acid sourness.
629. Samuel Adams Baltic Porter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Alcohol: ?
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a dark black with a fizzy brown head. The aroma is mostly fruity with some roasty chocolate notes. The flavor is much the same with more prominent chocolate flavors and a light roasted bitterness.
630. Avery Samael's (2006)
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Avery Breweing Company
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: American Barleywine, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a copper orange. The aroma is fruity and malty, with a light citric hop hint. The beer is very sweet and fruity with a bit of pepper and vanilla.
I have one more Extreme Beer Fest post to get done, hopefully I'll get that done in the next few days and get caught up with the blog.
Labels: American Barleywine, American IPA, Baltic Porter, Beer Fests, Berliner Weissbier, EisAmerican Amber/Red Alebock, Russian Imperial Stout, Scottish Gruit, Tripel
610. Chocolate Thunder Porter
I had a pint of this with dinner at Grendel's Den in Harvard Square on Tuesday night. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Watch City Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.10%
Serving: Tap, 16 oz.
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a dark brown with ruby tints. The head is a thin, wispy brown film.
Smell (3.5): Chocolate, roasted coffee, light fruitiness and a hint of sourness.
Taste (4.0): Mildly sweet upfront with a bit of sourness that reminds me of extra-dark chocolate (Scharffen Berger 82% Cacao) coming through in the center, followed by a mild roasted bitterness in the finish.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to medium-bodied with high carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Very tasty, and light enough to have a few.
Overall (3.85)
I had a pint of this with dinner at Grendel's Den in Harvard Square on Tuesday night. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Watch City Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.10%
Serving: Tap, 16 oz.
Style: Baltic Porter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a dark brown with ruby tints. The head is a thin, wispy brown film.
Smell (3.5): Chocolate, roasted coffee, light fruitiness and a hint of sourness.
Taste (4.0): Mildly sweet upfront with a bit of sourness that reminds me of extra-dark chocolate (Scharffen Berger 82% Cacao) coming through in the center, followed by a mild roasted bitterness in the finish.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to medium-bodied with high carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Very tasty, and light enough to have a few.
Overall (3.85)
Labels: Baltic Porter, Watch City Brewing Company
343. Sinebrychoff Porter
I picked this beer up at Columbia Deli & Market in NYC. The "Bottled in 1998" sticker caught my eye. I made the assumption that if the bottling date were being prominently advertised then the beer must age well. I let this warm up to about 55ºF, and served it in a small Kirin Beer glass. I had this with a slice of Three Berry pie from Cafe Lalo.
Sinebrychoff Porter is a Baltic Porter. As far as I know this is my first encounter with the style, though I could check my database to be sure. Baltic porters are typically higher in alcohol than other porters. According to BA these porters were brewed for shipping. The beer traditionally comes from countries bordering the Baltic Sea. BJCP Style Guide.
Appearance (4.0): Pours an opaque black with fluffy brown head that recedes to a thin layer.
Smell (4.0): The smell is predominantly sweet with notes of raspberries and raisins. There are also more subtle notes of chocolate and coffee.
Taste (4.5): Sweet flavors are evident at the front of the palate. These include raisins and caramel. There is a light tartness at the center of the palate, along with sweet and fruity flavors that carry over from the front. There are roasted bitter flavors of chocolate and coffee in the finish. Hop presence is low overall.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Mouthfeel is smooth and medium-bodied with low carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Very smooth and easy to drink.
Overall (4.15): This is a very nice and flavorful porter. I'd be interested in doing a side by side comparison with different vintages.
I picked this beer up at Columbia Deli & Market in NYC. The "Bottled in 1998" sticker caught my eye. I made the assumption that if the bottling date were being prominently advertised then the beer must age well. I let this warm up to about 55ºF, and served it in a small Kirin Beer glass. I had this with a slice of Three Berry pie from Cafe Lalo.
Sinebrychoff Porter is a Baltic Porter. As far as I know this is my first encounter with the style, though I could check my database to be sure. Baltic porters are typically higher in alcohol than other porters. According to BA these porters were brewed for shipping. The beer traditionally comes from countries bordering the Baltic Sea. BJCP Style Guide.
Appearance (4.0): Pours an opaque black with fluffy brown head that recedes to a thin layer.
Smell (4.0): The smell is predominantly sweet with notes of raspberries and raisins. There are also more subtle notes of chocolate and coffee.
Taste (4.5): Sweet flavors are evident at the front of the palate. These include raisins and caramel. There is a light tartness at the center of the palate, along with sweet and fruity flavors that carry over from the front. There are roasted bitter flavors of chocolate and coffee in the finish. Hop presence is low overall.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Mouthfeel is smooth and medium-bodied with low carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Very smooth and easy to drink.
Overall (4.15): This is a very nice and flavorful porter. I'd be interested in doing a side by side comparison with different vintages.
Labels: Baltic Porter, Oy Sinebrychoff Ab, Reviews
