Category Archives: Beerman

Blog entries that pertain to the journey from Apprentice to Master Beerman.

Hops, Hops, James Clark Hops!

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Yep.  I’m growing hops again this year.  As you may, or may not, know … I was out of the country until the early part of May.  My lovely bride took care of my hop vines for me and she got them off to a great start–they are now in full bloom and I’ll have to decide soon when is the appropriate time to pick them.  I have three varieties I’m growing: Chinook, Cascade, and Nugget.

The Chinook:  My Chinook vine took a hit this year — it was awesome early — had already grown to my roof and was spilling over at the top.  Then my air conditioner went out and the repairmen totally destroyed my vine.  I mean they completely pulled it out at the ground level.  I gotta tell you — hops are resilient!  Take a look at the pictures of my Chinook now … completely regrown and producing flowers (and this was in July).  Wow.  Oh, you can also see my new A/C unit in these pics.

The Cascade:  Last year I trimmed and tried to follow the advice about keeping the vines “spruced up” thinking that would produce more hop flowers.  NOT!  I only got about an ounce of Cascade hops out of my vine.  This year I just let the vine go.  It could grow wherever it wanted to go … and it did!  Talk about produce flowers!  Check out these pictures of how it has grown and started producing. We’ll see if I get more than one ounce this year!

The Nugget:  Lastly, I have the Nugget hops.  I did the same thing with these as I did with the Cascade … I just let them go.  They are growing hop flowers all over the place.  We’ll see if I get more than one ounce out of them this year too.  See the pictures:

This is kind of funny, really.  I’m just renting this house — it will be interesting to see what the next renters/owners think of these vines!  They are now very well established — they will be hard to get rid of … LOL!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Gluten-Free Beers

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Ok, let’s talk gluten-free beers for a moment.  For those who don’t know gluten is considered to be “wheat grain protein.”  The offending protein, gluten, is found in wheat, barley, rye–obviously, for beer drinkers, no barley is a bad thing!  If you are allergic to this, then “gluten” is a toxin to  your body–read more here: Celiac Sprue

So there are several companies out there who are now making beers that are gluten-free–that means the beer is made from sorghum, or buckwheat, rice, or any other non-gluten grain.   This list is based on beers my wife (who is gluten-intolerant) tells me are good to her (it doesn’t matter if they are good to me — I can drink any beer I want!)

So, from someone who is a “Celiac,”  here’s her beer opinions:

Bard’s–this beer is ok, but not her favorite.  This would probably be the last gluten-free beer she would chose.  It’s just too light, not enough character.

Green’s — these guys make several gluten-free beers.  The ones my wife has had are English or Belgian-style beers which are basically a Belgian Strong Pale Ale (Quest), a Dubbel (Endeavour), and an English Strong Ale (Discovery).  I know what the beer advocate ratings say, but these are very good gluten-free beers.  She would recommend these to any Celiac. (They are higher alcohol beers, though, so be careful)

Redbridge – Yeah, I know, an Anheuser-Busch beer.  But she really likes this one–it is her daily go-to beer.  I keep a stash of this in the fridge for her and, when she’s not drinking wine, she likes to grab one of these.

Finally, the last beer she had was a Spanish beer that is gluten-free: Estrella Damm.  This one has won a gold medal the last couple of years … it is an excellent, gluten-free beer.  This one is probably moving up to be her favorite.

She will continue to sample other gluten-free beers as she gets the chance–the selection is growing … which is wonderful for her!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Stumblingpiper’s Top 50 Places to Drink Beer

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Ok, these are in the order I can remember them.  The key for this list is: 1) I can remember where the place was and can get back there, 2) it’s a place that you can get to to drink beer, 3) it will be a place that, no matter if you’ve been once or dozens of times, you will want to go back when the opportunity presents itself.  I will adjust this list as I remember places …

  1. My House … currently in Springfield, VA
  2. Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO
  3. Aventinus Festival … Schneider Weisse Brewery, Kelheim, Germany
  4. Hahnen Fest … Queidersbach, Germany
  5. Savor Fest … Washington, DC
  6. Delerium Cafe … Brussels, Belgium
  7. Fruhlings Fest … Bad Cannstadt, Germany
  8. Cellar Bar … Breuberg Schloss, Germany (during B.A.G Summer School)
  9. An Spailpin Fanach … across from the Beamish Brewery, Cork, Ireland
  10. Beer Tent. Glengarry Highland games … Maxville, Ontario
  11. Beer Tent. Fruita Fat Tire Festival … Fruita, CO
  12. Firkin Rendevous (Bristol Brewery) … Colorado Springs, CO
  13. Cafe Trappisten … Westmalle, Belgium
  14. The Auberge de Poteaupre … near Chimay, Belgium
  15. Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval … Orval, Belgium
  16. In de Vrede … Westvleteren, Belgium
  17. Jack Quinn Irish Pub … Colorado Springs, CO
  18. Campus Pub … Simon Fraser University … Vancouver, British Columbia
  19. Spinnacker’s Brew Pub … Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
  20. Rock Bottom Brewery … Bellevue, Washington
  21. Naturfreunde Haus … Volklingen, Germany
  22. Irseer Klosterbrauerei … Irsee, Germany
  23. Bier Garten on top of the Staffelberg … Bad Staffelstein, Germany
  24. Bier Garten behind Vierzehnheiligen Church … Vierzehnheiligen, Germany
  25. Raglan Road Irish Pub, Downtown Disney … Orlando, Florida
  26. Jack of the Wood Irish Pub … Asheville, NC
  27. Purple Fiddle .. Thomas, WV
  28. Westville Pub … Asheville, NC
  29. McGillin’s Old Ale House … Philadelphia, PA
  30. The Golden Bee … Colorado Springs, CO
  31. Durty Nelly’s … San Antonio, TX
  32. The Perch Bar … Orient Beach, St Martin
  33. Sloppy Joe’s Bar … Key West, FL
  34. Bull & Whistle Bar … Key West, FL
  35. The Hotel Bar … Georgetown, Ascension Island
  36. Bräustüberl Weihenstephan … Friesing, Germany
  37. Hofbrauhaus … Munich, Germany
  38. RiRa’s Irish Pub … Arlington, VA
  39. Clark’s Alehouse … Syracuse, NY
  40. Old Triangle Irish Alehouse … Halifax, Nova Scotia
  41. St Georgen Braustuberl … Buttenheim, Germany
  42. Peel Pub … Montreal, Quebec
  43. The Noble Savage … Shreveport, LA
  44. Trinity Brewery … Colorado Springs, CO
  45. Galaxy Hut … Arlington, VA
  46. Coconuts on the Beach … Cocoa Beach, FL
  47. Meg O’Malleys … Melbourne, FL
  48. Biergarten in front of Burg Nanstein … Landstuhl, Germany
  49. Dogfish Head Ale House … Fairfax, VA
  50. O’Brien’s Pub … San Diego, CA

Catching up … finishing out 250 beers

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Sorry for the hiatus on the blog update.  You may have noticed the one I just posted on top places to drink beer.  This is to complete my 180 beers in 180 days effort.  I decided to extend it to 250 beers in 250 days.  If you have been following the blog, you will note that I stopped at 243.  However, I did finish out to 250.  Here are the last 7 beers (for your viewing edification)!

244. (4 Jul 10) Orion Draft Beer – We had this at our local sushi place.  We stopped here for lunch on the 4th.  Nice to have a Japanese beer on our National Holiday! Ha.  It wasn’t very good … but it quenched my thirst!

245. (5 Jul 10) Rolling Rock – Two mediocre beer days in a row.  I can’t remember now why I had to have this beer on this day … I think it was the best available selection. Sad. I know.

246. (6 Jul 10) Chatoe Rogue – Ok, now, here we go!  The beers are getting better again.  This one was simply a treat–I always like to see the efforts brewers make in using the freshest hops — this beer is a solid drinker.

247. (7 Jul 10) Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Rye Porter.  This beer, too, was a very nice drinker. Two dark beers in a row, two nice beers in a row (you can see my early season hops drying in the container).  I really liked this beer … no real style but excellent none-the-less.

248. (8 Jul 10) James’ Imperial Walker IPA.  No rating on this baby!  I made this imperial IPA (post coming soon) out of my own hops.  9.1% ABV — can’t really tell what the profile is.  But it is good if I do say so myself! LOL!

249. (9 Jul 10) 21st Amendment IPA.  These can beers just strike me as strange.  I picked up several cans for our Tubing of the Shenandoah expedition on 17 July.  Of course, I couldn’ t wait.  I’m glad I didn’t.  This is a very nice IPA.

250. (10 Jul 10) Gubna Imperial IPA.  Yep.  Couldn’t wait again.  Had another can of beer.  But I thought it would be a good idea to finish out my 25o straight beers with an Imperial IPA.  This one worked out great.  Nice balance, good finish.  Worth the effort to find and drink!

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

All About Beer Top 125 Places to Drink Beer

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On May 1st, 2008, All About Beer published their list of the Top 125 Places to Drink Beer.  They recently updated this list by publishing the 150 Great Bars list.  Most people would consider both of these lists controversial because … well … because that’s what lists do — start controversies … especially on a topic as subjective as the best places to drink beer.  I’ve taken two different approaches to this list.  First, I’m building my own list of the “Top 50 Places I’ve Drank Beer.”  I will be posting that list soon.  Secondly, I’m working down the original All About Beer List because, that too, is what I do.  If I see a list, I see that list as a challenge!  I will caveat my work on this list by stating that I think it is valid to substitute a venue when it’s about a location/event (e.g., drinking on the Green Monster at Fenway.  I will substitute Camden Yards).  So, without further ado, here is my status on this list so far!

Goal: To have 25/125 by the end of this year.  Current Status 17/125 places.

1 (1). Great American Beer Fest.  I admit–this is the best place to drink beer in the world.

2 (2). Grand Place.  Not really number two on my list–but nice!

5 (3). Oktoberfest.  Been there, done that.

7 (4). Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval.  My favorite beer of all time.  The location is awesome!

11 (5). Hofbrauhaus.  Excellent — but not my favorite Beer Haus in Germany.

16 (6). Seats behind Homeplate at Camden Yards.  Wow!  The only way I like to watch baseball.  (Oh, I also was at the Brewers Stadium when Bonds was chasing the record.  And I have to say the Ballpark at Arlington is also wonderful…)  Funny, I don’t really like baseball.  But they have a nice selection of Craft Beer in the Orioles stadium.

19 (7). The Beer Tent at the Glengarry Highland Games … Maxville, Ontario.  North American Bagpipe Championships.  Horses, schmorses.  Not really a horse race fan … so I picked another style competition! Even better if you’re celebrating a 2nd place with your band.

26 (8). French Quarter … I’m cheating on this one–I was there during St Paddy’s Day … not Mardi Gras–but still a wild party … as New Orleans usually is (but, to be honest, this really isn’t a beer drinking city …)

31 (9). Private Suite at the Redskins Stadium watching the Dallas Cowboys beat the ‘skins.

44 (10). Tailgating.  I know an SEC game tailgate party is something else, but if you never tailgated at an IFL Game (Frankfurt Galaxy) in Europe you missed out!

57 (11). Andechs Monastery.  Definitely a tourist destination, but worth the trip!

66 (12).  Delerium Cafe.  This place should be a lot higher on the list!

80 (13). Le Bier Circus.  It was a serious Circus!

82 (14). Irseer klosterbrauerei.  If you have the option, I’d pick this one over Andechs.

97 (15). Clark’s Ale House.  They aren’t kidding!  Their Roast Beef sandwiches are amazing!

103 (16).  Kelly’s Caribbean Bar.  Yeah, I can’t really remember this one! 🙂

121 (17). Old Ebbitt Grill.  Yep–this one is very nice … right across from the Treasury Building in DC.

I’ve got 8 left to go this year … planning on them being: 12 (18). Brickskeller (easy), 14. (19)  The Market Porter (maybe, hard), 15. (20) Cat’s Eye Pub (easy), 25. (21) World Beer Festival (medium), 30. (22) The Olde Mitre Tavern (hard), 45. (23) Selin’s Grove Brewing (medium),  71. (24) Brewer’s Art (easy), 76. (25) City Tavern (medium), 91. (26) Dogfish Head Ale House (medium), 114. (27) The Dubliner (easy).

We’ll see how these go!  It’s all in the effort, isn’t it?

Beer Mentor

The Next 110 beers …

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Today I rolled over 220 different beers in 220 days!  Yes!  Hard to believe, but just to keep me honest, I’m posting the next 110 off of my list in this post …. hope it doesn’t get too long! LOL!

Beer Mentor

  1. Mack “Haakon”

  2. Mack “Arctic Beer”
  3. Schwechater Bier (Austrian)
  4. Hansa Fatøl
  5. Ringnes Pilsener
  6. Mack afterski
  7. Ringnes Premium Lager
  8. Haandbyggeriet IPA
  9. Dominikaner Pilsner
  10. Schorsch Weizen (16%)
  11. Calwer-Eck-Braeu Pilsner
  12. Tsing Tao Pilsener
  13. Gordon’s Finest Red Beer
  14. Bohemia
  15. San Miguel (Philippines)
  16. Zipfer Maerzen (Austrian)
  17. Karlovacko (Czech)
  18. Weihenstephaner Vitus
  19. Schneider-Weisse “Aventinus”
  20. Ettaler Hefe Dunkel Weizen
  21. Weltenburger Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel
  22. Becks Green Lemon
  23. Ettaler Kloster Pils
  24. Augustiner EdelStoff (Export)
  25. Weltenburger Urtyp Hell
  26. Mack Pilsner
  27. Weihenstephan Original
  28. Mauritius Bock Dunkel
  29. Beerlao Lager Beer
  30. Dinkelacker Export
  31. Brew Dog Punk IPA
  32. Frydenlander Bokkol
  33. Handbryggert Dobbel Dose IPA
  34. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
  35. Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel
  36. Schoenbuch Maibock
  37. Maisel’s Weisse
  38. Stuttgarter Hofbrau Lemon Gold
  39. Irseer Klosterbrau UrDunkel
  40. Handbryggert Odin’s Tipple
  41. Schwaben Brau Meister Pils
  42. Irseer Kloster Urweisse
  43. Augustiner Weisse
  44. Andechser Spezial Hell
  45. Irseer Kloster UrTrunk
  46. Brauhaus Pforzheim Hefeweizen
  47. Turm Brau Pilsener
  48. Irseer Klosterstarkbier
  49. Affligem Dubbel (Brune)
  50. LaChouffe Blonde
  51. Delerium Tremens
  52. Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier
  53. Alpirsbacher Kloster Spezial
  54. Leibinger Pilsener
  55. Maeght van Gottem
  56. HaandBryggeriet ‘dark force’
  57. Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel
  58. Alpirsbacher NaturTrub
  59. Augustiner Maximator
  60. Lowenbrau Kellerbier
  61. Ebrach Klosterbrau
  62. Weltenburger Hefe-Weissbier Hell
  63. Alpirsbacher Hefe-Weizen hell
  64. Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
  65. Alpirsbacher Pils
  66. Weihenstephan Korbinian
  67. Alpirsbacher Starkbier
  68. Weltenburger Kloster Anno 1050
  69. Weltenburger Kloster Asam Bock
  70. Tsjeesus
  71. Dinkel Acker MaiBock (Helles Bock)
  72. Pearl River (Chinese)
  73. Tyskie Gronie (Polish)
  74. Schoenbuch Horst Pils
  75. Schoefferhofer Hefeweizen
  76. Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
  77. Shiner Bock
  78. Hacker-Pschorr Weisse
  79. Yuengling Lager
  80. Kirin Ichiban (Japanese)
  81. Southern Tier Unearthly
  82. Victory Irish Stout
  83. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
  84. Flying Dog Woody Creek White
  85. Leinenkugel 1888 Bock
  86. New Belgium Ranger IPA
  87. Sam Adams Summer Ale
  88. Southern Tier 422 Pale
  89. Kingfisher Lager
  90. Gouden Carolous “Grand Cru 2007”
  91. Southern Tier Phin & Matts
  92. The Bruery Saison Rue
  93. New Holland Mad Hatter IPA
  94. Dogfish Head Chickory Stout
  95. Widmer Hefeweizen
  96. McSorley’s Irish Pale Ale
  97. Herold Bohemian Wheat Lager
  98. Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
  99. Lagunitas The Hairy Eyeball Ale
  100. Southern Tier IPA
  101. Mikkeller Single Hop IPA Nugget
  102. Heavy Seas Red Sky at Night
  103. Left Hand 400 lb Monkey
  104. Victory Whirlwind Witbier
  105. Bell’s Java Stout
  106. Oxfordshire Ales Marsh Mallow
  107. Breckenridge Small Batch 471
  108. Avery White Rascal
  109. Garrison Imperial IPA

  110. Rickard’s Amber Ale

Victory: Whirlwind Witbier!

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Tonight’s brew? Victory Whirlwind Witbier.   I started with high expectations for this beer and couldn’t decide if I wanted to keep the high or not.    After the first sip, I was trying to decide if a witbier can be too light.  The color is nice — that’s not what I mean by too light.  The aroma is spot on for a Witbier.  Even when I taste it … excellent!  But the finish just seems to be a little too light … and then I think, could I be trying to change the style?

Today I was given a lesson on American-style Hefeweizens … and I realized I judged another beer in my mind based on the wrong style.  Was I trying to do this to a Witbier?  Isn’t it supposed to have a light finish?  Well, I went to the experts: The BJCP (The Beer Judge Certification Program)–I was right.  What I’m calling light, they call thin … and it shouldn’t be.  But if that’s the only flaw I find in this brew … well … ok!  It’s a good one then.

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Win a Bottle of Westvleteren 12!

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I am what you would call a little eccentric.  Yes, I’m a beer drinker, but I collect things too (like my Iron Man comic book collection … etc).   I collect Beer Coasters, Bottle Caps, etc.  Sooooo … I took a few pictures of my bottle cap collection.  My daughter and I laid it all out on my bar this evening … here are the pics:

Here’s the challenge — the first one to identify all of the Trappist Beers represented by this collection (hint: there are 21) will win a bottle of Westvleteren 12 (first is determined by date/timestamp on the e-mail).  IMPORTANT: There will be only one winner.  Send your answers to my e-mail: answers@beermentor.com.  I will check your answers and reply back to the winner.  Once someone has won, I will change this blog entry … Have fun.  Oh, here’s a high-def picture to use …

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

How do I pick a Good Beer?

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I know that the first lesson for the “Beer Apprentice” at beermentor.com is “Identify a ‘good’ beer.”  I “developed” about 5 hours worth of work to get a good feeling for Beer basics and styles.  I also recommended purchasing several of these styles and sampling them.

However, after you’ve completed this lesson, where do you turn to find “Good Versions” of the styles you like?  For instance, if you really like American IPAs, how do  you go about picking a good one to try?

The most obvious answer is “Ask an expert”–but this begs the question “Who is an expert?”  The difficulty you find is knowing if you can trust someone to recommend the style you want to try.  For instance, if a friend of yours happens to love English Bitters (and pretty much drinks only those), you probably wouldn’t ask him what American IPA he would recommend.

Sooooo, I would fall back on the less obvious way to find one to try.  The first places I would look are the most recent GABF or World Beer Cub winners for that style.  For instance, Sweetgrass APA from Grand Teton Brewing is the most recent (2009) GABF Gold Medal winner.  From the World Beer Cup (2008), the top two IPAs are “IPA” from  Odell Brewing Co (Gold) and “Union Jack IPA“, from Firestone Walker Brewing Co (Silver).  These are selections from certified judges and will probably be fantastic options (Actually, they are fantastic options … I’ve had all three … wow, they are good!)

If these aren’t available in your area, then as a secondary option, I would 1) make a list of the available beers in that style, and then 2) go to ratebeer.com or beeradvocate.com to see how those particular beers stack up.  Even though the folks that rate these beers at these sites are not (usually) certified judges, the collective mind of all these folks usually get it right and the rating will be spot on for the beer. Once you have a couple of options, buy them, chill them correctly (but don’t make them too cold), and have a tasting session with some friends!

The final option would be to go to a bar or restaurant that serves a sampling of the style you want to try and just go for it!  This is usually hit-or-miss, but, hey, you are out drinking beer!

Yes!

Beer Mentor

The difference between East Coast/West Coast APAs?

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As I start moving into the 200’s for “beers in a row” I just wonder how long I can keep it up!  This has been difficult — I’ve been sick a couple of times and just had to drink through it … and other times I’ve just not really felt like a brew … but I have persevered.  So, today, I’ve sampled beer #201.

Tonight’s brew was another Southern Tier: Phin  & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale.

I like this beer … I just don’t love it.  If you’ve read some of my other posts/comments you may have read that I notice a difference between East Coast and West Coast “American Pale Ales (APA).”  This is an East Coast APA.  I know there is a subtle difference between IPAs and APAs … the APAs tend to be more hopped up.  However, when you drink a west coast APA, you get HOPS!  Lots of them … and the balance is more pronounced toward the hop.  With the East Coast APAs, you get MALT.

In actuality, the East Coast APAs are probably more balanced, but I just don’t like it when I have an APA/IPA and don’t think “HOP!”  To me, an APA (or an IPA) should say you love Hops and, oh by the way, there’s some malt in there too.

So, while I like Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale … I’ll stick with the more hopped up ones … especially Southern Tier’s Imperial Collection … Yummy!

Beer Mentor