I went down to New York for David's birthday and a long weekend. I saw friends, had some new beers and did a little home-brewing. All in all a good weekend.
Friday
On Friday night David, Dave and I went bar hopping in the East Village. Dave was at Lotus Lounge when I got into town, so after a brief layover at The Bear to drop off my bags David and I set off to meet him.
369. B.B. Bürgerbräu
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy golden with a thin white head.
Smell (3.5): Light hops with toffee and caramel malt aromas.
Taste (2.5): Sweet and toasty malts. Hop flavors are light and the beer lacks any real bitterness.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Light carbonation, light-bodied and watery.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink, but there aren't really any great flavors to make you want to drink it.
Overall (2.9): Simple and lacking in flavor and depth in the palate.
370. Sixpoint Sweet Action
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass. Dave and David gave me comments on this one.
Appearance (4.5): Hazy orange-amber with a thin creamy white head that leaves nice lace.
Dave: Pretty Sexy
David: Copper and cloudy
Smell (4.5): Sweet and peppery, with fruitiness and citric hops.
Dave: Berry.
David: Beer & boisenberry.
Taste (3.5): Mild malts upfront, with a peppery finish with citric hops. Nicely balanced in the finish. bu the malts could be more pronounced upfront.
Dave: I can't do taste. Closer to sweet scintilating saltiness (peppery).
David: Colorado Grolsch. A draft beer taste with flavor and body.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, slightly oily and a little watery.
Dave: Carbonation a bit much. Leaves harsh taste of void.
David: Dry mouth, overly carbonated.
Drinkability (4.5): Easy to drink with a nice refreshing hoppiness.
Dave: Mine's already gone so it must get a 5.
David: I could drink it but I don't want to.
Overall (3.95): Very drinkable, the only thing holding this beer back is the lack of malt character upfront.
371. Radeberger Pilsner
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear golden with a fluffy white head that thins to a persistent layer.
Smell (2.0): There's a sweet smell and that's about it.
Taste (2.5): Slight sweetness upfront with a decent hoppy finish.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Tingly carbonation and clean mouthfeel.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink.
Overall (2.8): Drinkable, but not a lot of flavor that makes you want to drink it.
Next we headed out to look for a place to eat. We ended going to an Italian restaurant whose name I don't remember. I had the ricotta and spinach ravioli tossed in olive oil and sage, which was quite nice. We finished up our meals with port: Dow's 10 Year Tawny for Dave and I, and Dow's for David.
Pictures of us enjoying port:
David
Dave
Dave
Me
Next we headed to Happy Ending where we had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before we left we had the candle priviledges revoked at our table, surprisingly not my fault.
After a trip out to a bar in Brooklyn we ended up back in the East Village around 3 AM. We were wandering around looking for a bar when I spotted a place called The Belgian Room. We started off with a round of De Dolle Oerbiers, found a table and started playing poker with cards we'd borrowed from the bartender.
372. Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek - 2001
We split a 750 mL bottle of this at the Belgian Room. It was served in Cantillon wine glasses.
Appearance: Hazy dark-red. The only evidence of a head are thin wispy patches of bubbles.
Smell: Nose of cherries, a light funkiness and an acidic sour smell. Very lambic.
Taste: Sweet and sour notes of cherries up front. An intense sourness takes hold in the center and maintains its dominance through the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mildly carbonated, with a very dry finish.
Drinkability: This is something to drink slowly and savor.
Overall: This is a very nice cherry lambic.
373. Bink Blonde
I sampled this from a 12 (or maybe 11.2 oz) bottle at The Belgian Room, it was served in a Leffe Class.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden with a thin white head.
Smell: Sweet and peppery with some fruity notes that may have been banana.
Taste: Sweet upfront with peppery notes, fruit (again bananas?) and a surprising hop profile for the style.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability: A little tough to tell this late in the night, but the hoppiness was pleasant.
Saturday
Saturday Dave, David, Bennett and I went for a late brunch at Kitchenette in Morningside Heights. We walked around Central Park for awhile then saw Art School Confidential in Times Square. David, Bennett and I then headed to Megan's house in Pelham. We had pizza at the always excellent Johnny's. David, Bennett and I then played pool and poker and had a few beers: Harpoon Summer Beer, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Guinness Extra Stout.
Sunday
Sunday was David's birthday party. Megan had purchased a beginner homebrew kit for his birthday. The kit was an extract stout recipe with a small batch of milled grain, a package of extract syrup, and some Perle hop pellets. I had several Sam Adams Summer Ales as well as one new beer.
374. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
I poured half a bottle into a half-pint weisse glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a slightly-hazy copper with a white foamy head that thins to a persitent layer. Large bubbles stream from the bottom of the glass.
Smell (2.0): Very strong and overpowering candy-like cherry aromas.
Taste (2.5): Light cherry flavor upfront, that fades into an American-style-wheat-beer flavor in the finish. The cherry flavor is present throughout and while not overpowering is a little cough-syrupy. The finish is grainy with little bitterness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability (3.5): Refreshing aside from the slight cough syrup flavor.
Overall (2.85): This isn't a great fruit beer. The cherry comes off candy-like and overpowering in the smell, and a bit cough-syrupy in the finish.
Friday
On Friday night David, Dave and I went bar hopping in the East Village. Dave was at Lotus Lounge when I got into town, so after a brief layover at The Bear to drop off my bags David and I set off to meet him.
369. B.B. Bürgerbräu
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy golden with a thin white head.
Smell (3.5): Light hops with toffee and caramel malt aromas.
Taste (2.5): Sweet and toasty malts. Hop flavors are light and the beer lacks any real bitterness.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Light carbonation, light-bodied and watery.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink, but there aren't really any great flavors to make you want to drink it.
Overall (2.9): Simple and lacking in flavor and depth in the palate.
370. Sixpoint Sweet Action
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass. Dave and David gave me comments on this one.
Appearance (4.5): Hazy orange-amber with a thin creamy white head that leaves nice lace.
Dave: Pretty Sexy
David: Copper and cloudy
Smell (4.5): Sweet and peppery, with fruitiness and citric hops.
Dave: Berry.
David: Beer & boisenberry.
Taste (3.5): Mild malts upfront, with a peppery finish with citric hops. Nicely balanced in the finish. bu the malts could be more pronounced upfront.
Dave: I can't do taste. Closer to sweet scintilating saltiness (peppery).
David: Colorado Grolsch. A draft beer taste with flavor and body.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, slightly oily and a little watery.
Dave: Carbonation a bit much. Leaves harsh taste of void.
David: Dry mouth, overly carbonated.
Drinkability (4.5): Easy to drink with a nice refreshing hoppiness.
Dave: Mine's already gone so it must get a 5.
David: I could drink it but I don't want to.
Overall (3.95): Very drinkable, the only thing holding this beer back is the lack of malt character upfront.
371. Radeberger Pilsner
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear golden with a fluffy white head that thins to a persistent layer.
Smell (2.0): There's a sweet smell and that's about it.
Taste (2.5): Slight sweetness upfront with a decent hoppy finish.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Tingly carbonation and clean mouthfeel.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink.
Overall (2.8): Drinkable, but not a lot of flavor that makes you want to drink it.
Next we headed out to look for a place to eat. We ended going to an Italian restaurant whose name I don't remember. I had the ricotta and spinach ravioli tossed in olive oil and sage, which was quite nice. We finished up our meals with port: Dow's 10 Year Tawny for Dave and I, and Dow's for David.
Pictures of us enjoying port:
David
Dave
Dave
Me
Next we headed to Happy Ending where we had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before we left we had the candle priviledges revoked at our table, surprisingly not my fault.
After a trip out to a bar in Brooklyn we ended up back in the East Village around 3 AM. We were wandering around looking for a bar when I spotted a place called The Belgian Room. We started off with a round of De Dolle Oerbiers, found a table and started playing poker with cards we'd borrowed from the bartender.
372. Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek - 2001
We split a 750 mL bottle of this at the Belgian Room. It was served in Cantillon wine glasses.
Appearance: Hazy dark-red. The only evidence of a head are thin wispy patches of bubbles.
Smell: Nose of cherries, a light funkiness and an acidic sour smell. Very lambic.
Taste: Sweet and sour notes of cherries up front. An intense sourness takes hold in the center and maintains its dominance through the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mildly carbonated, with a very dry finish.
Drinkability: This is something to drink slowly and savor.
Overall: This is a very nice cherry lambic.
373. Bink Blonde
I sampled this from a 12 (or maybe 11.2 oz) bottle at The Belgian Room, it was served in a Leffe Class.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden with a thin white head.
Smell: Sweet and peppery with some fruity notes that may have been banana.
Taste: Sweet upfront with peppery notes, fruit (again bananas?) and a surprising hop profile for the style.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability: A little tough to tell this late in the night, but the hoppiness was pleasant.
Saturday
Saturday Dave, David, Bennett and I went for a late brunch at Kitchenette in Morningside Heights. We walked around Central Park for awhile then saw Art School Confidential in Times Square. David, Bennett and I then headed to Megan's house in Pelham. We had pizza at the always excellent Johnny's. David, Bennett and I then played pool and poker and had a few beers: Harpoon Summer Beer, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Guinness Extra Stout.
Sunday
Sunday was David's birthday party. Megan had purchased a beginner homebrew kit for his birthday. The kit was an extract stout recipe with a small batch of milled grain, a package of extract syrup, and some Perle hop pellets. I had several Sam Adams Summer Ales as well as one new beer.
374. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
I poured half a bottle into a half-pint weisse glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a slightly-hazy copper with a white foamy head that thins to a persitent layer. Large bubbles stream from the bottom of the glass.
Smell (2.0): Very strong and overpowering candy-like cherry aromas.
Taste (2.5): Light cherry flavor upfront, that fades into an American-style-wheat-beer flavor in the finish. The cherry flavor is present throughout and while not overpowering is a little cough-syrupy. The finish is grainy with little bitterness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability (3.5): Refreshing aside from the slight cough syrup flavor.
Overall (2.85): This isn't a great fruit beer. The cherry comes off candy-like and overpowering in the smell, and a bit cough-syrupy in the finish.
Labels: American Blonde Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, Brasserie Cantillon, Czech Pilsener, Fruit Lambic, Fruit/Vegatable Beer, German Pilsener, Lambic, NYC, Reviews, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Sour Beer, Travel
325-326. New York City: Beer at Bars, Saturday
Published by Unknown on Monday, February 06, 2006 at 9:25 PM.
After the tour at the Brooklyn Brewery we went out to play pool and have another drink before dinner. After dinner we headed to the Lower East Side for some bar hopping.
325. Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55
I had this beer on tap at the Brooklyn Ale House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was served in an Imperial Pint glass. This is an American Pale Ale, which is a variant of the British style Pale Ales.
Appearance: This beer pours a clear amber, with a thick white head and diminishes to a thin layer. There is light lacing and not much carbonation.
Smell: The aroma contains bready malt notes, and light hop florals.
Taste: Sweet bready malts are evident at the front of the palate. Overall there is a fair amount of hop bitterness here. The finish is clean with light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with mild carbonation.
Drinkability: This is really easy to drink. The sweetness of the malts is balanced nicely against the bitterness of the hops.
Overall: This isn't a spectacular brew, it's a good example of the style, but one of its strengths is its simplicity. I could easily drink a six-pack or more.
326. Brooklyn Pilsner
After dinner we headed to the Lower East Side for some bar hopping. We stopped at Barra Mundi, where this was served in a Brooklyn Brewery pint glass. This is a German Pilsener, not one of my favorite styles.
Appearance: Poured a clear pale gold with little head.
Smell: Aromas were light overall, with sweetness and floral hops.
Taste: I found this beer overly simple, though I'm not a huge fan of the style. There was light malt sweetness and hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, crisp and light bodied.
Drinkability: Smooth, light and easy to drink.
Overall: I wasn't a huge fan of the style, so perhaps I can't objectively rate the quality. I tend to prefer the more complex flavors of ales to lagers.
Other Drinks:
We went to quite a few bars after Barra Mundi. We mostly stuck to drinks in the gin family (G&Ts and Gimlets), though we had a PBR or two. We started drinking at 2:30 PM, and finished at around 3:00 AM. Overall not a bad day of drinking. I'm going to the Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Fest this weekend so that should net another entry with 10 or so new beers.
325. Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55
I had this beer on tap at the Brooklyn Ale House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was served in an Imperial Pint glass. This is an American Pale Ale, which is a variant of the British style Pale Ales.
Appearance: This beer pours a clear amber, with a thick white head and diminishes to a thin layer. There is light lacing and not much carbonation.
Smell: The aroma contains bready malt notes, and light hop florals.
Taste: Sweet bready malts are evident at the front of the palate. Overall there is a fair amount of hop bitterness here. The finish is clean with light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with mild carbonation.
Drinkability: This is really easy to drink. The sweetness of the malts is balanced nicely against the bitterness of the hops.
Overall: This isn't a spectacular brew, it's a good example of the style, but one of its strengths is its simplicity. I could easily drink a six-pack or more.
326. Brooklyn Pilsner
After dinner we headed to the Lower East Side for some bar hopping. We stopped at Barra Mundi, where this was served in a Brooklyn Brewery pint glass. This is a German Pilsener, not one of my favorite styles.
Appearance: Poured a clear pale gold with little head.
Smell: Aromas were light overall, with sweetness and floral hops.
Taste: I found this beer overly simple, though I'm not a huge fan of the style. There was light malt sweetness and hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, crisp and light bodied.
Drinkability: Smooth, light and easy to drink.
Overall: I wasn't a huge fan of the style, so perhaps I can't objectively rate the quality. I tend to prefer the more complex flavors of ales to lagers.
Other Drinks:
We went to quite a few bars after Barra Mundi. We mostly stuck to drinks in the gin family (G&Ts and Gimlets), though we had a PBR or two. We started drinking at 2:30 PM, and finished at around 3:00 AM. Overall not a bad day of drinking. I'm going to the Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Fest this weekend so that should net another entry with 10 or so new beers.
Labels: American Pale Ale, Brooklyn Brewery, German Pilsener, NYC, Reviews, Travel
321-324. New York City: Brooklyn Brewery Tour
Published by Unknown on Sunday, February 05, 2006 at 11:49 PM.
On Saturday we went to the Brooklyn Brewery for a tour. The tours are free and occur hourly beginning at 1 PM on Saturdays. The tour lasts about half an hour, and is one-half history of the brewery and one-half about how beer is brewed. The entire tour takes place in a single room where the wort is made and where the fermenters are. I was surprised how open the access was. None of the equipment is roped off or behind glass. There was a tub of iodine solution for sterilizing equipment in the middle of where the tour group stood.
Brooklyn Brewery Logo
The tour setup was surprisingly focused on drinking beer. There is an open access bar area with a large amount of seating, art on the walls, and fairly 'hip' music playing. You can get full-sized beers at the bar by purchasing tokens for $3 each. The brewery opens at 12 PM and closes at around 5 PM. There is no limit to how long you can drink there, they just kick everyone out when it closes. There's also a happy hour from 6-11 PM on Fridays. There were 8 beers on tap: Brooklyner Weisse, Brooklyn Lager, Saison de Brooklyn, Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55, Brooklyn Pilsner, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Brooklyn Smoked Porter.
Brooklyn Smoked Porter, Brooklyner Weisse & Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.
A cat that seems to be a brewery resident.
321. Saison de Brooklyn
I had this on tap, obviously at the brewery, in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Saison, which is a farmhouse ale typically brewed in the winter for summer consumption.
Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden, with persistent carbonation. The white head diminishes to a thin layer, and leaves nice lacing.
Smell: Major notes of bananas and cloves, with an earthy aroma as well.
Taste: There are flavors of pepper, cloves and bananas at the front of the palate. The center has acidic tartness with some malts. The finish is slightly sweet, with bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: This beer is light-bodied with some tingly carbonation.
Drinkability: This beer is light and refreshing and pleasantly flavored.
Overall: This reminds me of a dry Hefe Weisse.
322. Brooklyn Smoked Porter
I had this on tap in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is an American Porter that uses smoked malts to achieve a smoky flavor.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a dark brown, bordering on opaque. There's a yellowish-brown tint through the light. A thin beige head fades into a thin layer.
Smell (4.0): Aromas include smoky roasted malts, coffee and chocolate.
Taste (4.5): The front of the palate is sweet followed by coffee and dark chocolate flavors from the roasted malts in the center. There is a smoky aftertaste. There is bitterness from hops and roasted malts, which is balanced by sweetness and some acidic tartness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Carbonation is mild. The beer is very thick and creamy.
Drinkability (3.0): This beer drinks like a meal.
Overall (TC: 4.05, BA: 4.1): This is an exceptionally well balanced porter. Very nice.
323. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Once again, served on tap at Brooklyn Brewery in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Russian Imperial Stout.
Appearance: This pours a dark black, with some ruby tints when held to the light. There's a one-half inch brown head that sticks to the glass nicely.
Smell: There's a sweet almost berry-like aroma.
Taste: The beer is sweet upfront. Dark chocolate flavors fade into bitterness from roasted malts and hops. The 8.5% abv is very evident in this beer.
Mouthfeel: This beer is smooth and full-bodied, with light carbonation.
Drinkability: This would go nice with a meal, but is way to heavy to drink several of.
324. Brooklyner Weisse
Had on tap at Brooklyn Brewery in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Bavarian style Hefe Weizen. I had some water between the Black Chocolate Stout and this to cleanse the palate.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a hazy golden, with moderate carbonation. A creamy white head persists as a quarter-inch layer, with nice lacing.
Smell (3.5): There are light clove and banana notes, though not as pronounced as the Saison. The most obvious aroma is a yeast, musty smell.
Taste (3.0): This is lightly sweet at the beginning, with cloves and bananas at the center. There isn't much bitterness or flavor in the finish.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Strong carbonation up front. Other than carbonation this beer is very light-bodied, almost watery.
Drinkability (3.0): This beer is light and easy to drink, what flavors there are, are pleasant.
Overall (TC: 2.975, BA: 3.2): This was a pretty disappointing beer. The fruity and spicy flavors and aromas of German Hefes are present, but the flavors just fall flat. Look to Live Oak Hefe Weizen for one of the best American made German style Hefes.
"For a relaxing time, make it Santori Time"
The following pictures were taken while saying the above phrase.
David
Dave
Thom (note: definitely the worst picture of the three)
Next entry, two more beers that I had elsewhere in NYC.
Brooklyn Brewery Logo
The tour setup was surprisingly focused on drinking beer. There is an open access bar area with a large amount of seating, art on the walls, and fairly 'hip' music playing. You can get full-sized beers at the bar by purchasing tokens for $3 each. The brewery opens at 12 PM and closes at around 5 PM. There is no limit to how long you can drink there, they just kick everyone out when it closes. There's also a happy hour from 6-11 PM on Fridays. There were 8 beers on tap: Brooklyner Weisse, Brooklyn Lager, Saison de Brooklyn, Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55, Brooklyn Pilsner, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Brooklyn Smoked Porter.
Brooklyn Smoked Porter, Brooklyner Weisse & Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.
A cat that seems to be a brewery resident.
321. Saison de Brooklyn
I had this on tap, obviously at the brewery, in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Saison, which is a farmhouse ale typically brewed in the winter for summer consumption.
Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden, with persistent carbonation. The white head diminishes to a thin layer, and leaves nice lacing.
Smell: Major notes of bananas and cloves, with an earthy aroma as well.
Taste: There are flavors of pepper, cloves and bananas at the front of the palate. The center has acidic tartness with some malts. The finish is slightly sweet, with bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: This beer is light-bodied with some tingly carbonation.
Drinkability: This beer is light and refreshing and pleasantly flavored.
Overall: This reminds me of a dry Hefe Weisse.
322. Brooklyn Smoked Porter
I had this on tap in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is an American Porter that uses smoked malts to achieve a smoky flavor.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a dark brown, bordering on opaque. There's a yellowish-brown tint through the light. A thin beige head fades into a thin layer.
Smell (4.0): Aromas include smoky roasted malts, coffee and chocolate.
Taste (4.5): The front of the palate is sweet followed by coffee and dark chocolate flavors from the roasted malts in the center. There is a smoky aftertaste. There is bitterness from hops and roasted malts, which is balanced by sweetness and some acidic tartness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Carbonation is mild. The beer is very thick and creamy.
Drinkability (3.0): This beer drinks like a meal.
Overall (TC: 4.05, BA: 4.1): This is an exceptionally well balanced porter. Very nice.
323. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Once again, served on tap at Brooklyn Brewery in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Russian Imperial Stout.
Appearance: This pours a dark black, with some ruby tints when held to the light. There's a one-half inch brown head that sticks to the glass nicely.
Smell: There's a sweet almost berry-like aroma.
Taste: The beer is sweet upfront. Dark chocolate flavors fade into bitterness from roasted malts and hops. The 8.5% abv is very evident in this beer.
Mouthfeel: This beer is smooth and full-bodied, with light carbonation.
Drinkability: This would go nice with a meal, but is way to heavy to drink several of.
324. Brooklyner Weisse
Had on tap at Brooklyn Brewery in a plastic Brooklyn Brewery cup. This is a Bavarian style Hefe Weizen. I had some water between the Black Chocolate Stout and this to cleanse the palate.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a hazy golden, with moderate carbonation. A creamy white head persists as a quarter-inch layer, with nice lacing.
Smell (3.5): There are light clove and banana notes, though not as pronounced as the Saison. The most obvious aroma is a yeast, musty smell.
Taste (3.0): This is lightly sweet at the beginning, with cloves and bananas at the center. There isn't much bitterness or flavor in the finish.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Strong carbonation up front. Other than carbonation this beer is very light-bodied, almost watery.
Drinkability (3.0): This beer is light and easy to drink, what flavors there are, are pleasant.
Overall (TC: 2.975, BA: 3.2): This was a pretty disappointing beer. The fruity and spicy flavors and aromas of German Hefes are present, but the flavors just fall flat. Look to Live Oak Hefe Weizen for one of the best American made German style Hefes.
"For a relaxing time, make it Santori Time"
The following pictures were taken while saying the above phrase.
David
Dave
Thom (note: definitely the worst picture of the three)
Next entry, two more beers that I had elsewhere in NYC.
Labels: American Porter, Brewery Tours, Brooklyn Brewery, Hefe Weizen, NYC, Russian Imperial Stout, Saison, Travel
I went to NYC this weekend to visit David and Dave. I arrived in the always clean Port Authority Bus Terminal, and then headed to David's apartment to drop my stuff off. We decided on Sri Lankan food, and since Sigiri is BYOB we stopped at Columbia Deli and Market to pick up some beer to have with dinner. The selection was pretty impressive. We picked up a bottle of McChouffe and a bottle of Hitachino Nest Weizen.
319. McChouffe
McChouffe is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. I chose this beer because I've heard good things, and because it's Belgian. We had a 750 mL green bottle with a larger than normal bottle cap, and a Scottish looking gnome character on the front. This had warmed sufficiently by the end of our subway ride, and was served in a wine glass.
Appearance: The beer pours a hazy brown color. A thick beige head diminishes to a thin layer, but leaves nice lacing.
Smell: This had a surprisingly light aroma. There were some bready sweet aromas, as well as hints of spice.
Taste: Peppery spicy flavors dominate the front of the palate, with light malts in the center. The finish is sweet, with warming alcohol. There was mild bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, and medium bodied.
Drinkability: As with beers of this and similar styles I like the interplay between spicy and sweet flavors. I could drink a lot of this.
320. Hitachino Nest Weizen
Hitachino Nest Weizen is a Hefe Weizen brewed by the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan. We picked this up because I wanted to try more of the Hitachino Nest beers. It came in a 750 mL brown bottle with the owl on the front. As with the McChouffe, this had warmed sufficiently by the end of our subway ride, and was served in a wine glass.
Appearance: The beer pours a lightly cloudy golden color with little carbonation. A thin fluffy head emerges but quickly vanishes.
Smell: The aroma is fruity, like that of a typical hefe. I get sour apple, clove and banana aromas.
Taste: Sweetness and clove spices are present in the front of the palate. Sourness comes through in the center. There is a very, very light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: This beer is light bodied with mild carbonation.
Drinkability: This beer is very light and refreshing.
DEL: "Sour apple aftertaste encourages you to drink another." "Representative of its class in a good way."
Other Beer
We then went to an improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre where we each had four PBR cans. After improv we went to a bar and each had a Bud Light on tap. There are two more entries to do for this trip. They include a tour of the Brooklyn Brewery, and some new beers in various bars.
319. McChouffe
McChouffe is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. I chose this beer because I've heard good things, and because it's Belgian. We had a 750 mL green bottle with a larger than normal bottle cap, and a Scottish looking gnome character on the front. This had warmed sufficiently by the end of our subway ride, and was served in a wine glass.
Appearance: The beer pours a hazy brown color. A thick beige head diminishes to a thin layer, but leaves nice lacing.
Smell: This had a surprisingly light aroma. There were some bready sweet aromas, as well as hints of spice.
Taste: Peppery spicy flavors dominate the front of the palate, with light malts in the center. The finish is sweet, with warming alcohol. There was mild bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, and medium bodied.
Drinkability: As with beers of this and similar styles I like the interplay between spicy and sweet flavors. I could drink a lot of this.
320. Hitachino Nest Weizen
Hitachino Nest Weizen is a Hefe Weizen brewed by the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan. We picked this up because I wanted to try more of the Hitachino Nest beers. It came in a 750 mL brown bottle with the owl on the front. As with the McChouffe, this had warmed sufficiently by the end of our subway ride, and was served in a wine glass.
Appearance: The beer pours a lightly cloudy golden color with little carbonation. A thin fluffy head emerges but quickly vanishes.
Smell: The aroma is fruity, like that of a typical hefe. I get sour apple, clove and banana aromas.
Taste: Sweetness and clove spices are present in the front of the palate. Sourness comes through in the center. There is a very, very light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: This beer is light bodied with mild carbonation.
Drinkability: This beer is very light and refreshing.
DEL: "Sour apple aftertaste encourages you to drink another." "Representative of its class in a good way."
Other Beer
We then went to an improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre where we each had four PBR cans. After improv we went to a bar and each had a Bud Light on tap. There are two more entries to do for this trip. They include a tour of the Brooklyn Brewery, and some new beers in various bars.
Labels: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Brasserie d'Achouffe, Hefe Weizen, Kiuchi Brewery, NYC, Reviews, Travel
