Jester King Gotlandsdricka

Brewery:  Jester King Craft Brewery
Location: Austin, TX
Style: Smoked Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 6.6%
Price: Unknown (Given as Gift)

Jester King is Texas' premier brewer of farmhouse ales. They've put out a variety of creatively inspired beers in their short existence and have built quite a reputation for themselves nationwide.

I received this bottle from a couple of friends in Houston and have been curious to try it, though I didn't know too much about this beer. I checked out Jester King's site, and this is their description of Gotlandsdricka:

Gotlandsdricka, meaning “Drink of the Land of Goths”, is believed to have been the beer of the Vikings. Our rendition of this ancient style is inspired by the traditional farmhouse ales once brewed on the island of Gotland off the coast of Sweden. Gotlandsdricka (6.6% alcohol by volume) is brewed with birchwood smoked malt, juniper, sweet gale and rye. It’s unfiltered, unpasteurized and naturally carbonated through re-fermentation in the bottle.

This beer pours a light yellow hue that's slightly cloudy. It appears to be a light-bodied beer judging from the color and how rapidly the carbonation rushes to the top of the glass.

The aroma is spicy--like a solid witbier. It's earthy and yeasty.

I'll admit, I was immediately turned off after the first sip. The birchwood smoked malt that Jester King brewed this beer with is over-powering and completely takes over. All of the flavors I was expecting to taste from the nose play second fiddle to the deep smokiness of this beer. To make matters worse, the body is so light that as the beer warms, it starts to taste a little skunky.

Unfortunately, the flavors just don't work in this. Although I was able to get past the smoked malt after about half a glass, sadly I didn't even enjoy the flavors that are beyond the smoke. If this is what the Vikings drank, than there's no wonder why they were so aggressively seeking new lands...likely in search of a new beer recipe.

This one's not for me, but I appreciate what Jester King does and look forward to trying more of their beers.

Sweetwater Happy Ending 2013

Brewery:  Sweetwater Brewing Co.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 9%
Price: $8.99/22oz

Ever since I was a little boy, I have been a fan of happy endings. The first movie I ever saw in a theater, An American Tail, was about a mouse who gets lost but is eventually reunited with his family--happy ending. My first fight came in the fourth grade when Adam, a weasel-of-a-friend, sucker-punched me in the locker room while I was pulling my shirt up over my head. A few years later, Karma gave Adam a case of the herpes--happy ending. And then there was that time when I went to prom...well, you get the pattern.

Given my experience with happy endings, I was naturally drawn to this one by Sweetwater. I really enjoyed the last beer I had from them and have been looking forward to this!

I think I got a little giddy as I poured this one into the glass. There's something about a pitch-black beverage that excites me every time. Despite a gentle pour, there was a large, untamed, head that formed (seems oddly appropriate given the name of the beer). Too far?

The aroma is vibrant with lots of citrus--likely from the cascade hops with which the brewery dry-hopped the beer. This is a great example of why you cannot judge a beer by its color. I expected to get a lot more roast and chocolate on the nose and there is next to none of either. It smells a lot more like an IPA than it does a traditional stout.

The flavors are excellent! This is a two-faced beer that will please both hop-heads and stout-lovers. There is a nice roasted malt profile that balances the pine and grapefruit flavors of the hops. I would also point out that this stout features a nice smokiness somewhere in the middle of the palate.

This stout has a bitter and slightly boozy finish that is expected with the ABV and hop profile. And like all great stouts, this is a full-bodied beer. Great mouthfeel.

Happy Ending is quite creamy. But then again, aren't they all?

Saint Arnold Sailing Santa

Brewery:  Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Location: Houston, TX

Style: American IPA/Blend
ABV: 7%
Price: Unknown (Given as gift)

Texas' oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold has literally helped define Houston's craft beer scene. In fact, Saint Arnold is what I refer to as my personal gateway brewery. I owe my craft beer allegiance to this brewery. I am forever a fan and advocate of this brewery!

I moved to Houston right out of college in 2007 and "craft beer" was not anywhere on my radar. Once settled, there were two Texas breweries that I took a liking to: Shiner and Saint Arnold. Both have important places in my beer journey, but I credit the latter for my love of craft beer.

Unfortunately, craft beer can be expensive and I was just a budding professional on a humble teacher's salary. Luckily, Saint Arnold held affordable $5 brewery tours every Saturday (the brewery has since moved locations, grown significantly, and now holds daily brewery tours for $7). It was at these tours that I began learning about hand-crafted beer; and it was there, in the middle of their brewery tour, standing beside a few hundred pounds of barley, that I became a born-again beer drinker.

Now that we've gone down memory lane and tears have all but dried on my cheeks, let's get to today's review.

Image taken from saintarnold.com

Sailing Santa is a seasonal blend of their Elissa (IPA) and Christmas Ale. The beer pours a nice copper/amber color. The head thins quickly and leaves a minimal lacing around the glass.

The aroma is a great blend of sweet malts and earthy hops. Given that Saint Arnold has labeled this beer as an IPA, I would say the aroma is a bit incongruent to the typical aroma of an IPA.

This beer is malt-forward. Again, I think it's mislabeled. The taste and aromatic profile fit more as a winter warmer in my opinion. The front flavors are all malt, caramel, toffee, and maybe a little maple syrup. The hop profile from the Elissa IPA portion of the blend are mild and subtle. Pine sneaks in towards the finish of this, which is also a tad dry. I do pick up on the cinnamon that was apparently added to the 2012 version. It's a pleasant flavor that lingers nicely.

Overall, this is a solid winter beer, but it's just not an IPA. I understand that Saint Arnold wants to capitalize on the blend which uses Elissa IPA, but it disappoints if being compared to true IPAs. Style aside, this is an enjoyable blend that's highly drinkable and perfect for the season. As I said above, this reminds me more of an earthy winter warmer. I appreciate the subtle hops in this beer, but the prevailing flavors are the heavier malt profiles and warming spices.

Sweetwater Dank Tank The Gimp 2013

Brewery:  Sweetwater Brewing Co.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 10.3%
Price: $7.99/22oz

The Dank Tank Series is an experimental series in which this Atlanta brewery stretches its creative mind and taps into a fun, creative, and riskier side of brewing. I appreciate the Dank Tank Series because these beers are exactly the type of products every beer geek fantasizes his or her own brewery producing. These beers are crazy and cool. The Dank Tank is full of strange and intriguing concoctions that, if nothing else, are imaginative, providing a memorable beer-experience for consumers.

 Here's how the brewery describes the series:

A series of rarely release beers from the dark side of our brewers souls.  These one hitters are only released a few times are year and are in very short supply so get em while the getting is good.

If nothing else, the bottle is fun and worth to add to the collection. Here's the caption on the bottle:

The Gimp A love story! A wide open Old Ale, The Gimp gags up Alc.10.3% by Vol. and is bred to be stashed in a Dank dark cellar only to be brought out for your most “special” guests! This full-bodied Gimp gives off sweet scents of caramel and toffee and, as legend has it, warm sensations of malt balanced by low voltage doses of hops delivering a SHOCKER you’ll actually want to receive. Don’t keep The Gimp’s leash too tight, as he will mellow with age and become more experienced the longer he stays locked up in the cellar. Bring out The Gimp!

The Gimp pours a dark brown with deep amber tints when held to the light. The aroma is full of caramel, dark fruits, and burnt sugars. I also pick up some alcohol tones, but it's not profound enough to distinguish exactly what it is.

That's not the case in the flavor. There's an alcohol bite that comes with this beer. The flavor profile starts off with lots of fig and other dark fruits along with caramel and malt. But as I said, the booze is strong. There's an earthy-alcoholic dryness that dominates the palate. After a sip, my lips feel sticky and my throat dry.

This beer almost reminds me of a barleywine (due to the dark fruit flavors, booze, and burnt sugars) but it's way too dry and bitter to be one.

I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. The heat from the alcohol is a little too strong for me right now. I think this needs some time in the cellar to let the booze mellow and allow the other flavors to come forward more prominently. If you're going to try this, do yourself a favor and grab an extra bottle or two and store it away in your cellar (or as I call it, the master closet). I think this is going to be a winner in a year or so. For now, it's an interesting take on a difficult style. But in my opinion, it hasn't reached its peak yet.

One last thing. I am always conscious of the price of beer, which is why I list the price at the top of each of my beer reviews. Some people think the price doesn't matter. I guess they make more money than me. Price definitely matters.

As I stated in my post, "The Cost of Craft Beer," I don't appreciate breweries that hike prices on special releases simply because they are "special." Dank Tank The Gimp is affordable despite being a rare and limited release. So, if anyone from Sweetwater is reading this, thanks for brewing a limited-release beer that doesn't limit my budget.

Cheers!

Cigar City Jai Alai vs White Oak-Aged Jai Alai

 Brewery: Cigar City Brewing
Location: Tampa, FL
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Price: $10.99/6pk (Jai Alai) $9.99/4pk (White Oak Aged Jai Alai)

With the recent release of White Oak Aged Jai Alai, I have been itching to pair it with the regular release and share my notes and critiques of each. Also, this was just a good excuse for me to pour myself two beers simultaneously without looking like I have a drinking problem.

Most importantly, I am excited to record my thoughts on how much Jai Alai changes after being aged on the white oak. I have always loved Jai Alai by itself and am curious to see how the white oak variation compares.

We'll start with the regular release of Jai Alai.

Jai Alai pours an orangish-red hue with a strong head that remains in the glass and puts out a pretty good lacing.


The aroma is beautiful. Lots of grapefruit and lemon with a malt sweetness underneath. This is exactly what I imagine a citrus farm smelling like as you walk through the rows of fruit-bearing trees (I've never been to a citrus farms, but that's how I imagine them).

The flavor comes at you with a stinging sharpness from the hops. There's no doubting this is an IPA and Cigar City doesn't shy away from the bitterness. Once Jai Alai passes the front of the palate, there is a subtle yet distinct malt-sweetness that quickly fades in a dry and bitter finish. After a couple sips, I noticed that the beer started to taste sweeter. It's almost as if my taste-buds adjusted.

Now we move to the White Oak Jai Alai:

The White Oak-Aged Jai Alai pours a cloudy yellow with hints of amber.

The aroma is dominated by the oak. The citrus notes still come forward, but they are mellowed in comparison and a bit more complex. There's a nice scent of vanilla that comes through on this as well. There's a lot going on, but I really like how this one smells.

What a great flavor! The body is much creamier than the regular version of Jai Alai. Like most IPAs after they've been aged, the citrus/hops are mild and balanced by a malted sweetness. The hops are not nearly as prolific as the regular release, but the flavors are balanced and enjoyable. The vanilla finish is nice. Smooth. And unlike other beers that have been oaked, there's not a smokiness that comes through prevalently with other beers (see Oaked Arrogant Bastard).

Which Do I Prefer?

Tasting these together really presents a nice opportunity to pick up on the different complexities in each beer, and analyze the affect of aging Jai Alai on the white oak. Cigar City pulls both off excellently. Each variation offers something unique to patrons looking for something bitter, hoppy, and complex to satisfy the palate.

Although I think it's probably a bit silly to name one a "winner" over the other, if I had to choose, I would go with the regular Jai Alai over the aged version. When fresh, Jai Alai is a superb IPA with a wonderful citrus profile that's simply exceptional.

But as I said, it's silly to name one a winner because they are both great beers; each presents a unique beer-tasting experience for the consumer. If you have a chance to taste both, I recommend you trying these together and see for yourself how the oak changes the flavor profile of the original.

Stillwater Artisanal Autumnal

Brewery: Stillwater Artisanal Ales
Location: Baltimore, MD
Style: Farmhouse Saison
ABV: 7.2%
Price: $12.99 750ml

Before I sampled this beer, I did some research to learn the origins of farmhouse ales and to gain an understanding of what is the desired outcome of brewing this style. A simple search on the World Wide Web led me to discover plenty of articles about farmhouse ales. One article in particular was pretty straight forward and gave me some of the historical context that's behind this type of beer.

To synthesize my learning, a farmhouse ale is historically a style of beer that uses whatever is "around the farm." Unlike many other craft beer styles, farmhouse ales (also called "saisons") are imperfect. They're a bit messy and unclean. Farmhouse ales do not have the same well-groomed hygiene as their craft counterparts. The yeasts are often wild and erratic. The grains may be a hodgepodge of leftovers.

Basically, farmhouse ales represent a time when farmers used whatever resources they had to produce something that closely resembled the type of beer they could drink at the local saloon. Note: I don't actually know that for sure; this is my archetype of a 19th Century farmer. Hard-working alcoholics. All of them.

Now that we know how cool farmhouse ales are, let's talk about Stillwater's Autumnal.This beer is a dark amber in color. The carbonation is evident in the pour as it left about three-fingers worth of head. Lots of lacing on the glass. Fortunately, the head dissipates quickly.

Lots of spice, yeast, and sweet fruits on the nose. As the beer warmed, I could pick up some caramel in the aroma as well.

The taste is a Belgian bomb of sugar, spices, and dark fruits. Slightly sour. Grape, ginger, and figs are the dominant flavors up front before the Belgian funk shows up. This beer has a creamy caramel finish that took my by surprise. With all the carbonation that hits the tongue up front, I wasn't expecting such a creamy finish. The carbonation fades in the mouth and allows this beer to end with a smooth coating on the tongue.

At first, I wanted to write about how this is a decent beer, but sort of forgettable, and then I remembered what I learned about farmhouse ales. These are brewed to "get by" on the farm. They aren't meant to blow your socks off with a bag of tricks. They come from a time of simplicity and hard work. They're rustic. And when I think about that, I think Autumnal successfully embodies this style. It's not the best beer I've tasted, but it's satisfying. I think that's all it needs to be.

The Cost of Craft Beer

Taken from http://thefullpint.com/beer-reviews/the-bruery-fruet/

Since when did beer become unaffordably ugly? This question popped into my head a few days ago as I was gallivanting around Jacksonville in search of a few worthy bottles with which I could ring in the New Year. After my first stop, it became quite clear that either I no longer make enough money to support my hobby, or something has gone terribly wrong with the retail/consumer approach to craft beer.

At this particular location in a trendy Jacksonville neighborhood, I came across several bottles that I had been wanting to try. Among them being a bottle of Fruet, brewed by The Bruery. It's a bourbon barrel aged anniversary ale that comes in at a whopping 15.5%! The bottle and label exudes prestige. There is a golden wax seal that tops the champagne-looking bottle. Knowing that I had just found the PERFECT beer for the occasion, I reached up to pull my prize off the top shelf and--Gasp--$35.99? I literally gasped at the price and, remembering what my mother told me: "If you break it you buy it," I carefully eased the bottle back in it's place. Sure, did I have at least $36 in my bank account? Of course. But there is just no reason a beer should ever cost that much. Period. I don't care what it is, where it's from, or who made it.

Craft beer has somehow forgot the very thing that makes it great--it's not only good, but it's affordable You see, craft beer isn't pretentious or intimidating like wine and fine liquors can be. With craft beer, the average Joe can take his ten bucks and buy something better than piss in a can.

Let me be clear in saying I don't fault the store for setting the price of Fruet so high. They know they'll sell it because people are suckers for "rarities."  We're idiots for feeding into whatever it is that makes us believe a bottle of beer is worth that much. Heck, it was just a few weeks ago that a six pack of Westvleteren XII sold for $300 on Ebay. Come on, man. That's just insane. Have we forgotten that no matter how rare a beer is, regardless of how sought-after a particular brew may be, here's what happens when you consume it: you take a giant piss and walk away (hopefully after you've washed your hands).

Now listen, I know I am generalizing a bit and playing to an extreme. I do not mean to say there are not distinguishable differences in "good" beer and "bad" beer.  Yes, even in the craft market there are crappy beers. My argument is simple: craft beer isn't wine. It's not whiskey, scotch, or cognac. It's beer--good beer. Great beer. It might even be aged in fine barrels from one of the aforementioned liquors. But, in the end, it's still beer. And I just don't believe beer is meant to be unaffordable.

Am I crazy? Maybe. But I'll keep buying beers like Stone Imperial Russian Stout and He'Brew Jewbelation Sweet 16, both of which are superb and under $10.