Drinking the Pig: Samburro Chili Beer

When I originally started the CU Brew Blog, my intentions were to give an honest non-technical review of brews that can’t be found at your local grocery store. If you’re expecting to read about Miller Light or Coors Light, you’re in the wrong place. If a Corona is the most exotic beer you’ve enjoyed, I’m willing to bet you’re not an overly adventurous beer drinker.

So it seems to reason that a review about a beer created by a local brewery is something that needs to be featured in this blog. In Champaign, local beers are few and far between with one location standing above the rest, The Blind Pig Brewery. So we’ll consider this post the first of many entries in an on-going series we’ll call "Drinking the Pig."

My most recent visit was an unexpected stop following a disappointing road trip to the County Fair. We decided to cut our losses and at least enjoy a couple of delicious brews in our favorite beer garden. We rolled in and I noticed the Pig had a new beer on draught, the Samburro Chili Beer. I caved to the urge and took a chance.

Brainchild of a local home brewer, Samburro is the first Pro/Am brewed by the Blind Pig (professional brewery making a large scale amount of an amateur recipe). Combining amber ale with a healthy amount of morita peppers, similar to a chipotle pepper, this beer pours a beautiful reddish brown and has a very detectable spicy aroma.

The first thing you will notice about the taste is again, the spice. Strong but not too overwhelming, drinking a Samburro is similar to drinking a bloody mary. You can definitely taste the spice but you don’t lose any of the alcohol taste, or in this case, the ale taste either.  Based on my research of the chili beer style, this is an accomplishment in its own. The most difficult thing about brewing a beer such as this is how quickly the peppers can overtake the beer.

The spice also lingers throughout your drink letting you know that you have just ingested a healthy dose of smoked pepper. And if you’re looking to pair this beer with a specific food, I can’t help but think about a nice hearty breakfast. I can only imagine how well this spicy ale would mix with an omelet, sausage, bacon, and home fries. On the flip side, I couldn’t think of anything worse to pair this beer with than my usual weekend breakfast, a short stack.

Blind Pig Samburro Chili Beer comes in at 8 mugs out of 10.

Shock Top Belgian White

Welcome to part two of the CU Brew Blog's unofficial Wheat Week. After a less than stellar experience with Lost Coast Brewery's Tangerine Wheat, I felt compelled to wash the poor taste out of my mouth with one of my favorite wheats, Shock Top Belgian White.

Right out of the gate, the differences between Lost Coast and Shock Top are night and day. While the former tasted like kool-aid and stale wheat beer mixed in a martini shaker, Shock Top is perfectly balanced with an incredibly delicious citrus flavor.

This St. Louis ale not only provides its connoisseurs with a remarkable taste of orange, it also has tones of lemon and lime to take the flavor to the next level. Also added to the mix is coriander, an Asian version of cilantro that supposedly adds an extra citrus zest. While I will readily admit I don't know if the coriander does in fact add anything to the mix, I can tell you the result is one hell of a beer.

Perhaps my favorite part of this beer is the fact that you do not need a slice of orange on the glass to enhance the flavor. Unlike most other citrus wheats I've tried, Shock Top does not need the assistance of a slice of fruit to help you recognize the flavor. If you're going to do anything to enrich this beer I recommend following the suggestion on the bottle.

Empty your bottle until there is only an inch of beer remaining, lay the bottle on it's side and begin gently rolling the beer bottle back and forth, pour what's left in your glass and enjoy. This won't do anything for flavor but it will make each sip smell like a freshly cut orange.

Shock Top Belgian White, 9 mugs out of 10.

Lost Coast Brewery Tangerine Wheat

One of the Brew Blog's favorite spring to summer beers has always been wheat beer. Light and refreshing, these brews are a great way to start a day of drinking, enjoy casually while at a baseball game or family get together, chilling in the backyard listening to music while the grill is burning, hell, I'll take a good Hefeweizen just about any time.

So when I came across a wheat beer that infused tangerines (one of my favorite fruits) in the brew, I was ecstatic. Wheat's and oranges have long been paired together, blue moon and shock top just to name a few, so the idea of pairing a wheat with the orange's sweeter better tasting cousin seemed right up my alley.

Unfortunately, Lost Coast Brewery failed to live up to the expectations I had for its Tangerine Wheat. From the very first sip I noticed two specifically different tastes. The first was that of a very flat wheat ale. Whatever carbonation this beer possessed apparently dissipated within seconds of opening the bottle.

The second was a very cheap water downed overly sugared children's orange drink. What's worse is that these two tastes could not have mixed together any worse. Drinking this Lost Coast brew was like drinking a Hoegaarden that had been left opened for three days, adding a healthy dose of Walmart brand tangerine syrup, and then shaking out whatever carbonation remains of this red-headed step child of a beer.

Even more damning was that Tangerine Wheat got considerably flatter by just the fourth drink. I will say one positive thing for this California native however, the tangerine head labeling was quite impressive; regrettably, it's taste was not.

Lost Coast Brewery Tangerine Wheat, 4 mugs out of 10.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

When I first came up with the idea to start my Brew Blog I was enjoying a very delicious New Belgium 2 Below that I happened to stumble upon in Late May. So when I saw the beernews.org report that New Belgium has decided to replace 2 Below with a new Winter Seasonal, I was saddened to find out that my inspiration was being replaced.

While I respect New Belgium's decision to craft a new winter brew biannually, I will miss 2 Below. Warming in the winter, cooling in the summer, it was a beer to enjoy for any occasion. I look forward to Snow Day hitting shelves this November, I just hope somehow, I'll be able to run into my good friend 2 Below one last time.

R.I.P. Buddy

Avery Eighteen Dry-Hopped Rye Saison

Every once in a while the Brew Guy encounters a style of beer he’s never tried before. Like a kid opening the big present on Christmas morning, I find myself full of excitement over the prospect of trying the new brew placed in front of me.

This was the case with a recent trip to my favorite watering hole when I encountered Avery Brewing Company’s Eighteen Dry-Hopped Rye Saison. For those of you unfamiliar with the Saison style of beer, it was originally brewed by Belgian farmers as a refreshing beverage for their field hands when clean potable water was not readily available.

Brewed just before the winter to avoid spoilage in warm weather, saison uses wild yeasts left over from the summer’s harvest. The farmer’s kept the alcohol content to around 3 percent to help hydrate the workers without risking drunkenness.

At one point, saison's fell out of favor with beer drinkers but a recent revival has been occurring over the last decade or so. Today, these beers typically range from 5-8% ABV and, thanks to modern brewing techniques, can now be brewed year round.

After my first sip I fell in love. Eighteen is without a doubt, one of the most delicious beers I have ever tasted. Extremely flavorful, every sip of this beer was like taking a bite out of a ripe orange. It also carries a strong hint of spice most likely present thanks to the rye.

This being my first experience with a saison, I’m unsure whether or not I have fallen in love with a new style of beer or simply discovered one of the best individually crafted beers I’ve ever had the luxury of tasting. For my sake, I hope it’s the former because this wonderful beer was exclusively bottled in May and will never be brewed again.

My advice to you, if you have a chance to try this beer do not miss the opportunity, it may be your one and only chance to taste perfection.

Avery Eighteen Dry-Hopped Rye Saison receives the first perfect 10 out of 10 mugs in Brew Blog history.

Hoist the Colors with Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Prosit Imperial Oktoberbest Lager

Avast me maties, hoist the mizzen mast, swab the poop deck, and fetch me a hogshead of grog. Or for those of you who aren't fluent in pirate, welcome to the Brew Blog's first review of a Pirate beer.

A look into the history of the brew guy will show a moderate fascination with all things pirate lore. Treasure Island is one of my all time favorite books, grade school reports on historical figures include the likes of Black Beard, hell, I even paid full price to see the third and fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

So when I was at my favorite liquor store and came across a collection of 22 oz. bottles baring a skull and crossbones, I couldn't help but immediately make a purchase.

Based out of Baltimore, Heavy Seas Beer comes in a variety of styles including their Mutiny Fleet showcasing unusual beer styles in excess of 8% ABV. I settled on Heavy Seas Prosit Imperial Oktoberfest Lager and I wasn't disappointed.

Thick and rich, Oktoberfest was direct and to the point. Pouring a dark amber with an intense aroma, I was eager to dive right in. Distinctly German in taste, Heavy Seas drinks strong, finishes clean, and then kicks you right in the lederhosen.

Before you know it you'll be trading in your pirate hat and cutlass for a Bavarian feather cap and a really bad ass alpine horn that you'll be playing from the yardarm.

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Prosit Imperial Oktoberfest Lager weighs in at 8 mugs out of 10.

It's a Celebration - the #IPADay 6-Pack

In the near month and a half that the CU Brew Blog has been in existence, I have tried to not only review brands of beer other than the major labels, but learn more about the intricacies of beer itself. One of the main ways I've been doing this is by following and reading works produced by some of the beer games biggest hitters.

Through my research I've come across a woman by the name Ashley Rouston, more affectionately known throughout the beer universe as the Beer Wench (@TheBeerWench). Apart from being a fellow hophead, she has the privilege of actually working in the beer industry and has the knowledge of all things suds I could only hope to one day learn.

So when the Wench announced a grass roots movement to pay homage to craft beer by way of India Pale Ale, the CU Brew Guy felt inclined to represent his home in this worldwide event. The goal of International #IPADay (Thursday, Aug. 4th) is to use social media to strengthen the collective voice of craft beer through the simple celebration of beer itself. The success of #IPADay hinges on the passionate voices of beer enthusiasts worldwide and their willingness to share that passion across the social sphere.

Although I'm a young pup in the beer game, I want to do my part in spreading this movement throughout eastern Illinois as best I can. Therefore, the CU Brew Blog will have a special day of blogging August 4th, solely dedicated to the IPA. We're calling it our #IPADay 6-Pack.

As is my custom, I will write a review for six different kinds of IPA's and make six different posts to the CU Brew Blog throughout the day. It may be a modest attempt to honor craft beers most popular style, but every journey has to start somewhere. I encourage all of you to let me know your opinions on the six brews that will be selected or better yet, if you haven't tried them for yourself, do so.

I will purchase all six of these beers at Friar Tucks in Savoy (@FTBSavoy) so I know they will be readily available for all of you fellow brew hounds out there. So cheers to you and the International #IPADay, join me in becoming part of the experience.

On the Edge of Glory - Yuengling Traditional Lager

Call it fate, call it destiny, call it karma, call it whatever you want, but at the exact time I sat down to begin working on this post a commercial featuring Lady Gaga's On the Edge of Glory was on TV. The words rang out,

"There ain't no reason you and me should be alone tonight.

Yeah baby, tonight, Yeah baby

I got a reason you should be the one to take me home tonight."

The songs catch line instantly popped into my head while I was thinking of a way to describe Yuengling Traditional Lager and being on the edge of glory seemed to fit perfectly.

Founded in Pottsville, PA in 1829, Yuengling has the privilege of calling itself America's oldest brewery. And, as you can imagine, if a company wants to stay in business for 182 years it needs to offer a damn fine product. Yuengling's Traditional Lager is exactly that.

I had heard from several people that if you could have only one beer the rest of your life, you'd be doing yourself a favor to make it this one. Needless to say that's a pretty high expectation and I have absolutely no problem saying that this is one of the best beers I have ever tasted.

Yuenling has found a way to make amber lager at its finest. I have never tasted a beer as balanced as the one I'm writing about right now. You can taste the heavy body that one would expect to find in a beer crafted by a German immigrant, but that is offset by its caramel sweetness.

Traditional Lager tastes like a beer but drinks like water. It goes down very quickly without the rush one would expect from throwing back a bottle with speed. It also is completely lacking in any after taste.

Well Yuengling, I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hanging on this moment because of you.

The only thing keeping this amazing beer from a perfect score is the difficulty you'll have finding it anywhere in our area...9.5 mugs out of 10.

Baseball, Beer, and the Corn Crib - An All-Star Experience

When the CU Brew Blog started in mid-June I promised my faithful readers two things. First, I would try to give an every man's point of view on every beer I could get my hands on. Secondly, that I would review the drinking culture in our area as well.

Until now, I have been holding off on the culture reviews in case I run into a lack of interesting beers to try. I'm happy to report, however, that one month into this journey the beer selections are constantly growing and changing. So with the MLB All-Star break upon us I feel like it is the right time to do our first culture review and talk about a hidden gem just one hour away on 74-West.

Baseball and beer have been All-American bed mates for about as long as baseball and beer have been in coexistence. Unfortunately, Champaign-Urbana's only local baseball offerings limit themselves to the Fighting Illini and Little League. Both of which frown upon kicking back in the stands with an ice cold beer.

But if you're willing to make a short drive you can find in yourself at the Corn Crib in Normal, IL for baseball and yep, you guessed it, BEER.

Home to the Normal Cornbelters, the Corn Crib is the only place within reasonable distance that you can find the full baseball experience. In its second year of existence, the Cornbelters provide plenty of off-field entertainment for children who can't focus on a game for nine innings, plenty of food options, silly games between innings, promotional events at pretty much every night, and of course a game that may not provide the type of skill you'd expect to see at a professional game.

But the quirks the Corn Crib offers is what make it a truly enjoyable experience. The first thing you'll notice when you enter the stadium is the homage to the teams name. If you take a glance into right center you'll see rows of corn. Although the team might not enter the field through the corn, it still has a Field of Dreams vibe. Something that is even driven home by the specialty concession stand that only sells foods made of corn.

If you take a look at the field itself you'll see something a little unusual, the entire field is made out of field turf. And when I say the entire field I mean it, both grass and dirt are synthetic. As we stated earlier, there's a very good chance that the players in the lineup each night don't have the skill to make it to the Big Leagues. Throw in a playing surface that allows for some really funky hops and you've got potential to see some very interesting defense.

When it comes to the beer score, the Corn Crib comes through with flying colors as well. They offer Busch and Busch Light, Budweiser and Bud Light, Corona, Heineken, even Shock Top. By and far the finest beer selection this baseball fan has ever seen at a minor league game. They also host $1 beer nights every Thursday that the Cornbelters are at home (and no, you're not just stuck with drinking Busch either).

If you're looking for a nice little baseball trip this summer, it is highly recommended that you check out the Corn Crib. Just remember, as fun as baseball and beer are together, it's a lot more fun when you live to do it again, use a DD.

Monty Python Holy Grail Ale

Tempered over burning witches, Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale has been a beer the CU Brew Guy has been contemplating trying for a while now.

Brewed by the Black Sheep Brewery in North Yorkshire, Holy Grail Ale was initially created in honor of the 30th anniversary of Monty Python’s most universally well-known masterpiece. Here it is 12 years later and this cult beer is still making the rounds claiming to have more hops than a killer rabbit and a dangerously fruity flavor that may or may not be elderberries.

This beer also has the privilege of being Black Sheep’s best selling beer in both the United States and Canada, however, I’m willing to wager a life time worth of religious relics that Holy Grail’s popularity is a result of the movies popularity and not because of the beer itself.

There is nothing wrong with Holy Grail as a beer, but there isn’t anything special with it either. Absent of any bells, whistles, or uniquely identifying traits, Holy Grail ale is just a standard run of the mill blonde ale. Clean, crisp, and smooth, this beer goes down easy without leaving any after taste.

Although Holy Grail Ale doesn’t bring anything special to the table, you’ll certainly want to try this brew at least once with a friend named Tim. After all, what would a Monty Python beer be if not a cheeky good time?

Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale: 6.5 out 10 mugs