Tasting Tuesday: Union Royal Farmhouse DIPA

For Tasting Tuesday, Christian tries a seasonal IPA that has a bit of everything.

As you probably realize, I'm a big fan of Union (Baltimore), particularly their Double Duckpin double IPA. So when I came across Royal Farmhouse DIPA, I had to give it a try.

This one is considered a Belgian IPA, due mostly to the Belgian pale ale malt that is used. This also has rye, spelt and oats. And five varieties of hops. See? A little of everything. 

But that's okay - if there is anyone that can work a pile of complex ingredients, it's Kevin the brewmaster.

This one pours a dark amber with good carbonation and a big 8.5% ABV alcohol content.

There is a lot of flavor going on. It's slightly sweet, but very bitter with lots of pine, a hint of grapefruit, and even a tad sour. There's no escaping the hops, though, and it's almost on the verge of being too much.

Overall, it's a good double IPA but, to be honest, it's not as good as their Double Duckpin, which is a high benchmark to match.

It's definitely a beer for hop heads, but casual fans may want to give it a pass. It's not that it's a bad beer - it's just BIG flavor that may not appeal to everyone.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Tasting Tuesday: Pajama Pants by Union Craft Brewing

For this week's #TastingTuesday, Christian drinks a seasonal beer that's quite a bit out of season.

During the winter months, Union (Baltimore) makes Snow Pants, an amazing oatmeal stout that has a heavy, creamy texture (due to the oatmeal) and some mild hops flavor. The combination makes for a delicious, dark stout that'll warm you up on a cold day. And if that doesn't do it, the 8% alcohol content will make you feel nice and toasty in no time!

So when a friend handed me a can of Pajama Pants back in January, I got really excited. Why?

Because Pajama Pants, my friends, is Snow Pants on steroids, er, caffeine.

That's right - all the goodness of Snow Pants is enhanced with the addition of a medium-roast coffee known as, "Destroyer" from Ceremony Coffee Roasters (Annapolis, MD).

Pajama Pants retains the 8% ABV and mild carbonation (typical of a stout), and is completely opaque black.

You taste a bit of the malt, some mild bitter hops, and a very slight dark chocolate flavor with a mild, dry finish. The addition of coffee can sometimes overpower the other flavors of a beer, but I think it's the medium roast coffee that makes the other flavors stand out. In fact, you really only notice the coffee in the aftertaste, so you get this great beer up front, and are left with a toasty, warm coffee flavor once you swallow it.

Overall, this is a really good one, particularly for beer geeks. Casual beer fans may want to share this with a piece of chocolate cake - the flavors will complement each other nicely, especially if you're not much of a coffee fan.

All this, unfortunately, is a bit of a moot point. Being a seasonal beer, we're likely to not see Snow Pants for a few more months. And no word yet if Pajama Pants will be brewed again.

I, for one, hope it does. 😎

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Tasting Tuesday: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Our friend, Janelle, with an aged bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - an amazing craft beer.

This #TastingTuesday, Christian shares a really, really special beer.

A few weeks ago, I got together with my friends, Brad, Kristy & their daughter, Janelle who had been saving me a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, which had been aging since November.

Friends, I have to admit something. For once, the beer geeks are right.

The thing with Bourbon County Stout (BCS) is that it goes on sale one day a year - on Black Friday. People wait in lines for hours. In Chicago (Goose Island's home), lines would be shorter for tickets to see the Bears win the Superbowl followed by a double-header of the Bulls winning the NBA finals after Jordan stepped out of a time machine sent from 1992. 

It's all a bit ridiculous. Yet here I am, in July, being handed a bottle opener and a bottle of BCS. And I feel like Ditka holding the Lombardi trophy in 1986.

It's the stuff of legend, and the truth is that it really does deserve that praise.

Being a stout, BCS naturally has a heavier body to it. It actually has nice carbonation, too. But what really makes this special is the aging in bourbon barrels, which Goose Island is well known for.

It may have been the aging, but the bourbon flavor was actually pretty mild. You get a lot of vanilla, chocolate, some coffee, and even a little bit if root beer. The taste is incredibly complex, with a myriad of flavors that keep showing up while you drink it. If it wasn't for a slight alcohol burn, you'd almost forget that it's 13.8% ABV.

Suddenly, I'm trying to justify camping outside a liquor store for this.

The truth is, I was incredibly lucky to have friends share a bottle with me. But I'd recommend this to any beer fan - if nothing else, see what it's like to taste one of the most complex beers you'll ever come across. It's all about the experience.

Who else has had it? We'd love to know what you thought.

TBT: A beer tasting with Garrett Oliver

For TBT, Christian wanted to share the story about this scribbled-upon piece of paper.

Recently, I was cleaning out a drawer at home and came across this sheet of paper. As best as I can figure, it dates to a night in May, 2011 when I attended a special presentation at National Geographic given by Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewing.

The evening consisted of nine beer tastings, hand-picked by him for their amazing taste and uniqueness, along with a Q&A session.

And WOW, were there some good ones! If I close my eyes, I can still taste Kern River Brewing Company's Just Outstanding IPA, which is a MUST FIND in the SoCal area - assuming you can find this small-batch brew.

Honestly, I'd never heard of (or had since) any of these, but I'd love to try them again sometime. In case you're wondering, Garrett's palate seems to favor drier beers. 

If you want more info on these rarities, let me know in the comments - I'd be happy to share the list with you. 

Cheers!

Christian

Tasting Tuesday: Little Brett by Allagash

If someone asked you about a good, warm-weather beer that's a little different, what would you recommend? For #TastingTuesday, we came across a good one you should try this summer.

Friends of ours had us over recently to spend a blazingly hot afternoon by their pool. Naturally, we're always asked to bring beer to social events these days, and since Brad & Kristy are pretty well-versed beer fans, we had to step up our game a bit. So we rolled the dice on Little Brett from Allagash.

Allagash Brewing Company does a nice job with Belgian-style lighter beers, so that's what we were expecting. Instead, we got something a bit different.

It pours a light gold color with good carbonation. And at only 4.8% ABV, it's pretty light on alcohol, too.

Little Brett is actually classified as an American "wild" ale due to the strain of yeast used but, based on its other characteristics, you may want to think of it as a light pale ale. Here's why.

Wild ales tend to skew to a Belgian style (light in color and body, sometimes a bit smokey), but Allagash chose to add Mosaic hops to this one, which gives it a definite pale ale (or mild IPA) flavor.

The result is a very light, easy-to-drink beer that's full of citrus flavors like grapefruit, with a small hint of bread, and a slightly dry aftertaste. 

Overall, it's a really nice beer that surprised all of the beer geeks. We honestly weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a perfect choice for a hot afternoon of pool lounging and tacos.

Definitely one I'd recommend to anyone. It's light with just the right amount of flavors, so even people who don't don't care for hoppy beers (like IPAs) won't mind it. Beer geeks should check out this one. 

So what kind of beer would you bring to a hot, summer cookout? Let us know in the comments which other ones we should check out.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric 

Frank About Beer

What's the difference between Nitro and bottled beer?

For this week's #TastingTuesday, we're actually comparing two of the same beer. Wait - what???

That's right - last night at Beer Club, we had the opportunity to taste Flying Dog's Bloodline IPA, against Flying Dog's Bloodline IPA. The difference was that one came from a bottle, and the other was on tap - and a Nitro beer.

So what's a Nitro? You've likely come across this term before, and it's typically a welcome bonus (and is rare treat). 

You see, the fizziness you find in beer is produced by carbon dioxide. Nitro beers, on the other hand, are full of nitrogen, which has much smaller bubbles. The result is a beer that has a much creamier body and head. 

If you're trying to think back to a beer in your history that may have been on Nitro, just think back to your last Guinness. Remember the signature, cascading, creamy head floating on top? That's caused by nitrogen.

So how does it affect the taste? As it turned out, Beck's has both the bottle and Nitro versions on hand, so we ordered one of each to taste side-by-side.

What we found was that the bottle version had a much fizzier head, but the orange flavor, mildly sweet malt and big hops flavors (it's an IPA after all) were strong and right up front.

The Nitro version, by comparison, was definitely smoother & creamier, as well as being much less fizzy, but the flavors seemed more sedate. The orange flavor of Bloodline seemed more pronounced, but the sweet malt and bitter hops were toned down quite a bit.

It was Christian who suggested the flavors of the bottled beer, "seemed brighter," and, despite his douchebag comment, the rest of us couldn't help but agree. By itself, the Nitro is excellent, but on this hot, summer evening, the bottled version was more refreshing.

To be honest, this was the first time we'd tried this experiment, so we're eager to try a few more if the opportunity presents itself.

But If you should come across a Nitro beer, give it a try, paying particular attention to the look and texture of the foam. It's always a rare, delicious treat.

Got a suggestion for us to try? Let us know!

Cheers,

Christian & Eric