Sorry about this being a week behind! State Patty’s Day here at Penn State really messed up my schedule.  I had the following on tap at The Z Bar at the Deli last Wednesday, and it will be my selection for last week.

Rogue Brewing and myself were born during the same month (October 1988) and, like me, quickly moved somewhere else.  They moved from Ashland, Oregon to Newport, OR and the rest is history.  Rogue Brewing has developed an excited series of specialty beers called “John’s Locker Stock”.  This series is only sent out on tap to 130 bars who are a part of the Rogue Ambassador program, and the Z Bar at the Deli in State College, PA is one of them.  If you scroll below to see the picture, you can see a nice handout that came along with the beer, it reads:

Originally brewed and bottled for the 2001 National Craft Brewers Conference-a private bottling & release with no distribution. A second batch, Charlie Redux was brewed with very limited distribution. 2005 is the hat-trick batch, Charlie 1981 returns for a third time as part of John’s Locker Stock!

Charlie 1981 is an unfiltered strong ale, it exhibits massive bitterness and a firm malt backbone. Hedonistic! Brewed using Pale Malt, Munich and Crystal 40 malts, Horizon, Sterling and Amarillo Hops. Estimated measurements are: 18.2 degrees Plato (OG), 3.5 Degrees Plato (TG), 75 IBU’s, 8.5% ABV. Prost!

Charlie 1981 is named in honor of Charlie Papazian, president of the Association of Brewers, founder of the American Homebrewers Association and homebrewing guru. John Maier, Brewmaster for Rogue Ales, made his first batch of beer in 1981 using Papazian’s influential book “The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing.”

And now to my review.  The pour from the tap results in a huge white head that takes off after the pour, overflowing over the top of the glass. Golden brown, almost orange in color.  Subtle smell. Hoppy up front with a nice caramel malt backbone.  Hop front taste but very balanced.  Maltiness is present, but not dominant. Bit of a bitter and dry aftertaste. Light to medium bodied with a nice bite of carbonation. My only qualm is that it isn’t available elsewhere and more often!

Stillwater Artisanal Ales might not be a name you’re used to hearing in the beer world, but that is all starting to change. Considering it began mass brewing in January of 2010, the success of the beer I am reviewing this week is quite surprising. The verbiage on the label describes the history behind the beer better than I ever could:

Stateside Saison pays homage to old world tradition while celebrating new world innovation. Naturally brewed with the finest European malts & fresh aromatic hops from the United States & New Zealand. It’s then fermented using a classic farmhouse ale yeast and bottle conditioned to enhance stability. The outcome is a beer of unique design and exquisite taste, showcasing some of the best attributes of modern-day craft brewing.

The bottle opened with a huge pop! (Just with a bottle cap, no cork) and sprayed out a little bit.  The beer itself poured into my Duvel Tulip with a huge white head that almost billowed over the top of the glass and laced nicely. Hazy yellow in color. Substantial amount of funk in the smell of this one.  Also, I’m picking up the alcohol a bit, along with grassy hops, and yeast for sure. The taste is light, with a bit of yeast up front. Which gives way to a slight bitterness and a dry finish. Hardly any alcohol sensation, which is surprising considering the smell.  The huge amount of carbonation leaves a nice tingle on the palate. Very drinkable offering, this one. Very good representation of the saison style in my opinion. Complex, but not overly dominated by one aspect.  I can’t wait for Stillwater to concoct more delicious offerings like this one for me to have at!

Brasserie Dupont, as we know it today, was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Tourpes (Leuze-en-Hainaut), in central western Hainaut, Belgium.  The buildings, however, actually date back to 1759, and it has been brewing continuously since 1844.  Since the brewery became popular in America in the 80s, the brewery has focused on creating some of the best saisons in the world.  A saison is traditionally made to be enjoyed in the summer.  They are very light pale ales with a low alcohol content, and were traditionally brewed in farmhouses in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, to refresh farm workers during harvest season.  The style is really different, very earthy with lots of spice.  Normally they finish dry with a touch of sweetness.

The offering I chose for this week is their Aves Les Bons Voeux, the full name meaning “With the good wishes of the Dupont Brewery”.  It is a very high ABV saison, weighing in at 9.5%, and is rated very favorably on the online sites.  It was the first of many on Super Bowl Sunday, where my Steelers fell short of capturing their 7th title.  I found the beer to be have a hazy yellow pour with a nice thick white head. The head lasts forever and laces down the side of my glass beautifully.  The smell has bananas up front for me, only a hint of the earthiness I alluded to earlier (often referred to as ‘funk’), and some spices as well. Very good smelling beer.  The taste is really interesting and delicious.  It contains/but is not limited to cloves, bananas, spices, and a bit of funk. A bit bitter and hoppy up front. Honestly reminds me of a tripel, a light Belgian style with typical high ABVs along with a nice fruitiness, and has a slight bitter finish. Only a hint of the alcohol, which is masked nicely by the taste.  Light and bubbly, very refreshing.  Overall I was really impressed by this one.  I was worried that the high ABV would destroy the subtle tastes of a good saison, but this one has that and some nice qualities of other Belgian styles that I really enjoyed.

Wednesday night, I had the unique experience of meeting Troegs brewing at Z Bar at the Deli in State College.  As a part of a new series, Z Bar will be hosting beer tastings, paired with food, from breweries who will also send a rep to talk you through what they have to offer.  Troegs has long been a favorite brewery of mine, considering how readily available and local they are to me, and I was excited to learn more.

The set up was really nice. They had 5 6oz samples of what I would consider staples of Troegs Brewing, and the Deli paired tapas to match the drinks.  We started with Dreamweaver Wheat, paired with a California Roll.  The Dreamweaver is a classic hefeweizen and is very light, full of cloves, and give you a hint of bananas.  Second up was Troegenator Dopplebock, probably one of the better known beers Troegs makes, this was paired with a Buffalo Meatball. This beer has been given multiple honors and awards at some of the most competitive beerfests in America, and those are well deserved.  Third was their Javahead Stout, paired with cheese and crackers. As you would expect, this offering is packed with a nice punch of coffee flavor and aroma, but was created on a stout backbone. This was followed by their Pale Ale, paired with fried macaroni and cheese.  This is a really traditional take on the style, very light, very refreshing, a should be regular of any fridge.  Finally we finished up with the Hopback Amber ale, paired with steak and cheese on toast.  The Troegs rep described how the beer got its name, saying that it comes from the machine that inserts the hops into this specific beer.  In the end, we all got to go home with a much appreciate Troegs pint glass, and bought some tickets for upcoming installments in the series.

Afterwards we got another real treat. A firkin of Nugget Nectar (pictured below) was brought out, and I was really eager to try it.  Nugget Nectar is a hugely sought after seasonal offering by Troegs, called an Imperial Amber, it takes the recipe for Hopback, and turns it up a couple notches.  What is a firkin? You might be asking. Well, it is a specially cask-conditioned ale that is naturally carbonated inside the firkin. The brewery adds more yeast, or sometimes even some fruit juice as was explained by the rep, to the beer so it’s alive and still fermenting right up until the time you tap it.  The tapping is accomplished by hammering a tube in the top of the cask and the beer starts to flow.  I found it to be a lot smoother than the Nugget Nectar I had from the bottle. It was just as refreshing, but the flavor profile was, without a doubt, very interesting and different.  It was almost a more balanced beer and very delicious in its own ways.

Overall, I would call the event a resounding success and can’t wait to go back.

Bell’s Brewery was founded in 1985 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  They offer a wide variety of beers, but right now none is hotter than Bell’s Hopslam.  This is perhaps the most talked about beer in the world over the last month or so, and I decided to join the crowd.  Bell’s calls it the most complex hopping schedule in their repertoire.

Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.

Reports stated that well more than 250 threads were created on BeerAdvocate alone talking about the beer. Everything from trades to tastes to threads about how man threads there were.  I was lucky enough to have a friend who procured a case from Pletcher’s in State College, and nabbed a 6pack of my own.

Bottle date of 1/11/11, reviewed on 1/31/11.  Small white head, doesn’t stick around for long but still manages to lace pretty nicely.   Pour is a hazy copper color, with some hints of orange.  Smell is light and sweet, citrus hops and some orange and grapefruit hints.  My guess is the sweetness comes from the honey., hops definitely come through though.  Honey is first on the taste perhaps with some faint caramel, followed by the citrus hops and grapefruit certainly.  Nice and dry aftertaste, you don’t want to put this one down.  The alcohol is masked well, I hardly notice any carbonation.  Very light bodied.  The hops aren’t overpowering and the taste is really well balanced.  Bitterness makes you keep drinking.  This has become one of my favorite IPAs, the hype is lived up to.  It’s just really well balanced, no punch in the face hoppiness, no overpowering fruity tastes, just the best of both worlds.  Kudos Bell’s!