The Beer Retard

Pulled a disappearing act again, but I haven’t given up my quest to drink every beer at Bottleworks. I’ve been drinking, just not writing about it. I’ll cop to procrastination, but I’ve also been going out and living life a little instead of sitting in my recliner, swirling and sniffing beer and drinking with my pinky out. To catch up, here’s a quick recap of the nine beers I’ve tried since last time:

7. New Belgium Hoptober – 5 hops and 4 malts add up to a beer that doesn’t have an identity. Tried it two times and both times the flavors were muddled and nothing grabbed me enough to make me want to keep drinking. (*)

8. Hale’s O’Brien’s Harvest Ale – Some people think this is one of Hale’s best beers, but I’m not one of them. Couldn’t finish the whole bottle. The earthy hop flavor wasn’t my thing and bitterness sat on my tongue in a bad way. After half a bottle, I was slogging my way through and not getting any enjoyment out of it. (*)

9. Bayern Oktoberfest – Wow, this was not good. Way too sweet and overall crappy-tasting. Drain pour. If anyone bought a sixer of this, I feel for you. (zero stars)

10. Leinenkugel Classic Amber – For what it is, it wasn’t bad. It’s on the bland side, but there’s enough flavor to keep you interested. In a certain situation, I could take down a bunch of these and have no complaints. (**)

11. Victory Sunrise – I’m out of my element talking about wheat beers, but this one had the flavors you’d expect from the style. Something was missing, though. Would I have it again when Weihenstephaner or Ayinger are around? Probably not. (*½)

12. Lagunitas Lucky 13 – Some of Lagunitas’s 8%+ beers are too sweet for me, but this big red ale has the right balance of hoppy bitterness and malty sweetness. It’s almost as tasty as Mad River’s Double Dread. (***)

13. Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale – I wanted to like this more than I did. Cool Hieronymous Bosch image on the label, brewed inside the Konigshoeven abbey… but I was a little underwhelmed. It was like a toned-down Belgian dubbel (a style not really in my wheelhouse to begin with). Not bad, but nothing I’m gonna make a point of having again soon. (**)

14. Spaten Oktoberfest – Not as rich malt-wise as Ayinger’s, but more drinkable. I could throw back a couple of liters if I were in Munich right now. (**½)

15. Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale – A wheat/pale ale from the can that was refreshing at first, but took a turn for the worse with an odd bitterness about halfway through. Maybe you just need to drink it ice cold in 3 minutes or less. (*½)

Who makes it: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. Located in the Bavarian city of Freising in Germany. Founded in 1040, it’s the oldest existing brewery in the world.

What kind of beer is it: Festbier or Oktoberfestbier. A lager brewed in the spring to be consumed in the fall around fest time. Weighs in at 5.8% ABV.

What I thought of the beer: Even though I have a lot to learn, my appreciation for German beer is growing. I now know that this style isn’t necessarily amber or super malty or full-bodied to the point of slowing you down. Weihenstephaner’s version is golden, has a definite floral hoppiness and is an easy drinker. There’s plenty of malt and a bit of sweetness, but the flavor you get from the malt is very toasty/bready. I hate to douche it up, but there’s a “smooth, creamy mouthfeel” going on here that makes the beer rich without coming across as heavy. This is just a damn tasty beer.

Rating: ****
Because they’re so different, you can’t really compare this to the Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen I had last week, but forced to choose, I’d take the Weihenstephaner. It may not have the depth of malt flavor that Ayinger has, but there’s still a lot going on and it’s much more drinkable. One of my co-workers at Bottleworks told me that this batch of Festbier may be the freshest-tasting German bottled beer he’s ever had. I know I’ll be buying and drinking a few more of these while we still have them.

Who makes it: Great Divide Brewing from Denver, Colorado.

What kind of beer is it: Rye märzen lager. Great Divide’s first crack at a commercially-released lager. Weighs in at 6.2% ABV.

What I thought of the beer: Tried a taste of this at the end of a long night of sampling and the five of us universally panned it. Figured it deserved another shot (mostly because it’s called Hoss and has a lumberjack on the label). For a märzen, this doesn’t have enough malt complexity to be in the ballpark of solid German examples of the style. The rye–which is supposed to give the beer a spicy, crisp balance to its “rich, layered malt notes”–registers in the smell but not much in the taste. Hoss has a thin, watery quality that I’m guessing would not please your average beer fan, let alone a lumberjack.

Rating: *
I finished the whole bottle, but didn’t have a good time doing it. Great Divide needs to give this beer more flavor if they’re gonna continue it as a seasonal. Not recommended for beer douches, lumberjacks or drinkers who are tempted by a beer named Hoss (like me).

Who makes it: Brauerei Aying (Ayinger Brewery), located in the Bavarian village of Aying in Germany.

What kind of beer is it: Oktoberfest/Märzen, a lager usually brewed in March (Märzen in German) and cold-stored over the spring and summer months. Comes in a 500 ml. bottle and weighs in at 5.8% ABV.

What I thought of the beer: I approached this having heard how amazing the brewery is and how this beer is probably the best Oktoberfest beer, so having that in my head may have tainted my impression. All I know is I liked it. I appreciated that it was hugely malty without being very sweet. I also liked that it had some hop flavor and finished on the dry side. It did seem a little heavy for a beer that’s under 6%, due to the richness of the malt. I’m not sure if I could put down liters of it, but I enjoyed every ounce of this bottle.

Rating: ***½
You can fit what I don’t know about German beer in a set of encylopedias, so I’m not going to pretend to know how this beer compares to other Oktoberfest/Märzens. I liked it and would drink it again, but I won’t say it was a revelatory experience that’ll have me wearing lederhosen and binging on German beer. I’m thinking it’ll take a trip to Germany to do that.

Who made it: Mad River Brewing from Blue Lake, California (up in the hippie paradise of Northern California’s Humboldt County). They’ve been around since 1989 and have several year-round beers under two brand names: Steelhead and Jamaica.

What kind of beer is it: Imperial Red Ale (basically an amber on steroids). Part of Mad River’s limited release High Gravity series to commemorate their 20th anniversary. Comes in a 12 oz. bottle and weighs in at 8.6% ABV.

What I thought of the beer: A lot of sweet, caramel malt flavor followed by a shit-ton of hops with bitterness that lingers, but not in an unpleasant way. If I were going for Beer Douche of the Week honors, I might say “copious amounts of malt and hops intertwine to create a pleasingly complex yet quaffable delicacy.” I’ll stick with saying that everything is big about this beer and it’s goddamned tasty. Not sure if it’d be a good idea to have more than one of these in a sitting, but I could. Not difficult to drink even though it’s strong, and has some heft to the body.

Rating: ***½
This is a tasty beer that I’d drink again if I could, but it’s a limited release that’s come and gone. Would’ve been interesting to try it on tap. Look forward to checking out any future beers in this series.