This blog is not entirely dead...

This blog isn't exactly dead, but it may continue to be on hold for a while more.

In the past year, I've gone on a medication that requires I restrict my alcohol consumption. Until we know how it's working with my liver, I am not drinking.

And yes... that's about as horrible as it sounds.

If things change, I shall resume this blog. If not... well... it was a fun ride while it lasted.

Quick Sip 017. Shiner Old Time Alt (limited edition)

I don't know how long this one has been in my upstairs beer fridge. Probably a year, but it could be a little more than that. So, you need to take this review with a bit of caution -- I might be talking about old beer here.

That being said, I'm very sorry I let this one sit so long. It's really very good and has a lot of depth. If this were not part of their Brewer's Pride collection (and thus a limited edition), I would head out this weekend too but some more to do a proper review. As it is, I'll just share my Quick Sip thoughts with you.

This has a beautiful color: copper with a sweet red hue. The aroma is a combination of spicy malt and heady yeast (the latter I ascribe to age, not brewer's intent). Both of these carry through into the flavor palette, and provide a refreshing and very broad base flavor. I find this to be a really good winter beer. The sweet malt is dominant over the hops, and the strong spices definitely take precedence over the faintly aromatic hops. All in all, the flavor is a rich pageant of fun flavors that are -- for the most part -- working together in harmony. 

It has a slightly dry mouth feel (especially for a beer with a 4.2% ABV) that I am uncertain as to whether it comes from the age or from the beer. It probably has something to do with the strong yeast flavor.

I think I got this as part of a family reunion pack, which is their name for a sampler. I'm going to keep my eyes open to see if I can find another sample of this beer. I like it enough that I want to know more about it.

My score: 7 out of 10.

A Quick Comment: This beer got quite a few interesting descriptions from the guys over at Beer Advocate.

Quick Sip 016. Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils

I cannot deny that the name was part of the reason I bought this little beer. I mean, what a cool Rolling Stones reference. But, I have to admit I didn't go into this with very high hopes because I have not really enjoyed a lot of the beers offered from Oskar Blues Brewery. I mean, I don't hate their stuff, but in general I have not been that impressed. I was hoping to be proven wrong this time, but that was not to be.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this beer. It is a nice, refreshing little pilsner, definitely the sort of thing to chill you out more than get you hopped up (especially since it has a very mild hop profile, which is NOT a bad thing for me -- I don't like hops for the sake of hops).

It's just nothing special. It's a nice pilsner, the sort that is perfect for a hot summer afternoon. But that's all there is. So, let's break it down: Not much of an aroma. There is almost no head (although it does leave a fine lace). The color is a testament to truth in advertising: it is VERY yellow. The carbonation is very light, and it does have a floral mouthfeel.

This pairs okay with Mexican food and beef. It's low 5.3% ABV doesn't leave any strong alcohol flavors, so I imagine it will pair fairly well with just about any food. So, in closing, I doubt I'll buy this again, but you never know. It's definitely a non-threatening beer, so if I'm faced with a tricky food pairing, I could be tempted to give this one another try.

From their Website:Oskar Blues’ Mama’s Little Yella Pils is an uncompromising, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czech Republic, famous. Unlike mass market “pilsners” diluted with corn & rice, Mama’s is built with 100% pale malt, German specialty malts, and Saaz hops. While its rich with Czeched-out flavor, its gentle hopping (35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) make it a luxurious but low-dose (by Oskar Blues standards) refresher.

My score: 6 out of 10

The Farm Drinkery

Visited a local craft beer bar tonight with friends: The Farm Drinkery in NW Houston (aka Spring). Very small venue, but fun. Love that it's not too loud, although that also meant four of us were sitting at the bar where it's hard for the two on the outside of the pack to engage in conversation.

Small, but cozy.  

16646 Champion Forest Dr Spring, TX 77379‎

(832) 761-7589

• First beer was 11 Below  OSO Bueno Amber. Not bad. Not great. I will try it again.
• 8th Wonder Dome Fau'z (foam). This is better. I might get a growler of this to go home.
• Guns and Oil Maverick Lager was okay, but I don't remember anything special about it.

A funky menu for a funky place

My friends (Lynn & Root) raved about the fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich, but I wasn't in the mood for anything sweet, so  I had the fried pickles and they were pretty good. My wife thought they were a little spicy, and she didn't care for their Ranch Dressing (but that's not a surprise, as she hates almost all bottled Ranch Dressing and prefers to make her own). But I liked them, and although they were a little slow to come out of the kitchen, the friendliness of the server and the competency of the waitstaff more than made up for it.

In all, we had a nice time. My wife hates bars, but I'm planning to visit some afternoon after work and test a beer or two.

Quick Sip 015. Flensburger Gold

I picked up a single of this German import from either Spec's Liquor Store in NW Houston, or at World Market. In either case, Flensburger Gold is a decent German lager that falls fairly in the middle of average imports from Deutschland.

This is a one-note beer with a low ABV of 4.6%. It has almost no aroma, but what is there is faintly malty and yeasty with just a few hints of mountain hops (in other words, it's got a very  faint grassy smell). It pours a very clear pale yellow and developed a thin white head that dissipated quickly to a ring that left almost no lace.

The flavor is unremarkable: It's not great and it's not bad. It tastes like the kind of pleasant lager you wouldn't mind drinking on a warm afternoon with your lunch. Since I was drinking it on a cold winter's night, it seemed a little anemic. Still, it had a nice flavor. The malt was balanced with the hops to create a light-tasting beer that was enjoyable, in spite of a slightly bitter hoppy aftertaste that was very refreshing and clean.

The above link is to the German website. BeerAdvocate.com has a few decent mini-reviews in English.

My score: 6.5 out of 10

Quick Sip 014. Left Hand Brewing Company Oktoberfest

This is the last of my Octoberfest beers -- I found a single bottle of this hiding in my "review me!" shelf in the beer refrigerator. I remember buying it at World Market for about $8 a six-pack. They had a few good looking beers for sale, but I must admit, it was the label that drew me to this one. It features a blue lion (or some kind of big cat) in front of the blue and white Munich flag, and it just caught my eye.

I generally like Marzen Lagers, so it wasn't much of a stretch to predict that I would like this one -- and I did. A lot. This is probably my second-favorite Octoberfest beer of the season (the first being Karbachtoberfest, which I reviewed a while back).

OKTOBERFEST MÄRZEN LAGERTOASTY MALT FLAVORS DOMINATE UP FRONT AND NOBLE HOPS LEAD TO A SPICY AND SUPERBLY CLEAN LAGER FINISH.This is no festivus for the restuvus – on the contrary – we start brewing in the Spring and it takes a full two months to reach lagered perfection. Biscuity, malty goodness dominates upfront while the noble pedigree hops lend a properly spicy, dry finish. Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi. Time to roast your chicken and upend your stein before the air gets crisp, the leaves flame and fall and the skies fade to black. Auf geht's!-- From their Website: http://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/oktoberfest/

The aroma is mostly of malt with a hint of yeast and the aromatics of Muich hops. Fortunately, it's not too sweet nor grassy smelling. And the same can be said of the crisp, clean taste. Mostly malt, some hint of bready yeast, and just notes of hops. The carbonation is medium, but the head dissipated faster than I expected, as did the lace. The color is a gorgeous copper brown, and when it warms to a chilly room temperature, other flavors come alive, giving it more depth than you would expect.

I paired this with a pumpkin bread and it was delicious, with no alcohol taste to indicate that this packs an ABV of 6.6%.

My score: 8 out of 10.

Quick Sip 013. Artigianale Italian Red Ale

The first time I saw beer in a wine bottle, I was surprised. I grew up in Texas, and even though we're known for liking things big, when I first started drinking beer all those years ago things seldom got bigger than a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor.

Nowadays, though, a 750 ml bottle of wine is fairly common. So when I saw this bottle of Artigianale Italian Red Ale back at the start of summer, I wasn't surprised, but I do recall noting the low price. It was probably around $3 or $4 at my local Spec's Liquor Store in NW Houston. It's been sitting in my refrigerator ever since, waiting for the night when I would finally pop the top and see what's brewing in Italy.

I think I'll stick to their wine.

This is not a horrible beer, but it's not that great, either. The aroma has a little fruit and yeast and maybe a hint of aromatic mountain hops. But not much else. It pours a very hazy copper brown and a moderate pour delivered almost no head. An aggressive pour finally got a 2-finger head that dissipated quickly to a thin ring that deposited more lace than I expected.

My first sips of cold beer were very off-putting. I was not impressed. However, as it warmed up to 48 degrees, the unpleasant bitterness went away (BTW: It is important to note that the bitterness was probably alcohol and not hops -- as I said, this is not a hoppy beer).  The warmer it got, the more nuance I detected, so I actually set it aside and took a break to let it warm up over 50 degrees to see if it would come alive and exceed my already low expectations.

It turns out that 55 degrees is the sweet spot for this beer. And how sweet it is. More nuanced flavors did come to the forefront as the beer warmed up, but it also awoke the sugars and a taste of yeasty caramel. The bitterness retreated and a strong sweetness came forth. It's not bad -- not like some of the overly spiced holiday beers I sometimes encounter -- but it is sweet without relying on malt. So, if you like sweeter beers but don't like malt, this might be something you'll like.

The sweetness did serve to hide the 7.8% ABV alcohol taste that was present at the lower temperatures, but it really wasn't enough to compensate for what was -- in general -- an unremarkable import.

My Rating: 5.5 out of 10