2/11: Flying Dog's In Heat Wheat

Hi all.  The team I coach is in a tournament now, so it is a hectic week. I am glad that my bocce team had a bye tonight, otherwise there might not be a post this week.  Seriously, tomorrow I have a meeting at 6, and basketball practice at 8; Wednesday is our multi-course pre-Valentine's Day dinner; Thursday is a basketball game; Friday is Card Party!; Saturday we have both a league game and a tournament game.  So enough about the rest of my life, you've probably come here for the beer...

In last week's post I mentioned beers that I had had, without saying anything about them.  Let me now talk about some of the beers that I've had in February...

 Trader Joe's 2012 Vintage Ale: 
They say...
Drawing upon centuries-old Trappist Monk brewing traditions, the Belgian-style dark ale is bottle conditioned on lees (aged in the bottle on fresh yeast). This year, it results in finely structured brew that presents rich, malty (mildly sweet) flavor, with notes of cocoa and mulling spices.

My reaction...
Being a "dark ale" I was surprised that it wasn't black or brown, but rather reddish/golden.  At 9% abv, it was a winter warmer, that was bubbly and spicy and a bit sweet.  It had red wine notes.  So their was a mulled wine aspect to this beer.  An interesting beer.

Killian's Irish Red:
It is a lager, and it tasted largely like a mainstream lager.  The difference was that the malt was slightly roasted, which showed up in some slight "toast" and "caramel" notes on the tongue and accounted for the reddish color of the beer.  But it looks more different than it tastes.

Tecate:
Is a Mexican lager.  The brand is not a craft beer.  It is a beer designed for quenching a thirst on a hot day, or cooling your mouth down after eating some spicy food.  It is not very popular with Anglos in America, but the brand is popular with Mexicans and Mexican Americans.  Tecate sponsors several Mexican soccer teams and advertises primarily on Spanish-language television.  But they are starting to advertise to Anglos with the tag line... "It's not beer, it's cerveza."  Can the guy who wrote "Foster's, it's Australian for beer" sue?

Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat Hefeweizen:
They say...
Flavor notes: Huge banana and clove notes.

I didn't taste either.  Instead I tasted a subtle cotton candy note on the finish.  It wasn't cloudy like the
hefeweizens I have enjoyed before.  It was a good wheat beer, but it didn't strike me as a hefeweizen.

Happy Valentine's Day.  Have a good week.  Go Raiders!

-Jim from Milwaukee

1/17: Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

See my post from the 9th to learn about "Abbey Style Ales." This particular variety is a "single" and is really good. Its alcohol content is only 5.6% abv, compared to last week's triple's 8.4% abv., as you would expect since single, double and triple refer to alcohol content.

This beer is a golden brown and red color, and poured with a better head than is pictured, but the foam quickly dissipated. The flavor was smooth and carmel-y without being overly sweet. The bottle says it is brewed "with roasted malts, Belgian sugar and a touch of wheat." That would explain the carmel and the smoothness. The label says there is "a smooth toffee finish." I didn't pick up on that, but you might. It is definately one would have again, so a 3.

Now I want to talk about the brewery, Blue Moon. It is part of the Tenth and Blake Beer Company - a craft brewing division of what is now MillerCoors.

What do I think about multi-national conglomerates making craft beers? If you make a good beer, I don't care how big you are. They use their distribution networks to get in to bars and grocery stores across the country, and good for them... as long as the local breweries also get to represent at these establishments. And in my town the true little guys get to compete in the marketplace. In some ways, the Blue Moons of the world can serve as a gateway to true Belgians or other small craft beers. It is a good time to drink beer. Craft beers are gaining marketshare (at the expense of the mega-lagers) and consumers like me are learning to appreciate different styles of beer. Blue Moon and Leinenkugel are brands that can help MillerCoors hold overall marketshare when High-Life and Coors Light take a dip. It is good business. And as long as it is good beer and alongside true micro-brews, I believe it is good for beer drinkers.

Jim from Milwaukee