Dundee Pale Bock Lager

If you have read any of the previous reviews of Dundee beer (Kolsch-Style Ale and Stout) on this blog, you are aware that it is essential to be optimistic and keep an open mind when trying new styles from this brewery. The previously mentioned styles are a perfect example of how craft beer can go wrong, so as any good beer drinker does, we must clear are minds and palates while we move on to other brews.

The first thing I noticed with Dundee Pale Bock Lager was its aroma. The second I opened the bottle, the smell of roasted malts came wafting up to my nose, which was a welcome change from its predecessors. This roasted quality also transferred over to the taste as well.

For the first time with this particular brewery I could actually detect the tastes associated with the style of beer. I could tell that both the caramel and the malt had spent ample time roasting and I enjoyed this aspect of the beer thoroughly. It was bold, thick, and hearty as opposed to the airy/flat taste I had come to expect.

If I could find this Pale Bock Lager by itself and not part of a craft pack, I might actually consider trying it again. It is a beer I could envision drinking as a wind down beer at the end of a long day on the move. And just to remind our drinkers, as with every other Dundee beer I’ve tried, make sure you drink it straight from the bottle.

Dundee Pale Bock Lager receives a respectable 6.5 mugs out of 10.

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Hybrid beers can be a very enjoyable experience when done right. So when I came across a bottle of Stone Cali-Belgique IPA during the beer world’s recent India Pale Ale celebration, I knew I had to bring a bomber home with me.

To create this IPA, Stone Brewing Co. takes its traditional Stone IPA and infuses it with Belgian yeast. The result is a full flavored Stone IPA with a deliciously orange taste and a remarkably clean and crisp finish. In other words, Cali-Belgique is a 22 ounce bottle of awesome sauce.

Combining two amazing beer styles perfectly, this Stone craft provides a unique twist on an already delicious standard. Cali-Belgique combines the best features of a traditional Belgian with the generous hoppiness one expects from a California IPA.

It also pours with a thick fluffy head that refuses to dissipate until the beer is finished. The head carries with it a very sweet taste that adds an extra little something to every drink you take. This beer drank easy, drank quickly, and left me wishing I had another waiting for me in the fridge.

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA comes in at 9.5 mugs out of 10.

Anchor Steam Beer

The Urban Dictionary defines the term "California Cool" as having a laid back, chill swagger that all the honeys love. You can't help but enjoy the x-factor it brings to the game and can't do anything but respect the fact it's not forced upon you. It's also a term that pretty much sums up what drinking an Anchor Steam beer from the Anchor Brewing Co. is like.

Pouring a beautiful shade of amber and leaving a thick creamy head that adds a little something extra to every drink, Anchor Steam is a calm and relaxed beer that is the pure essence of the california life style. As best I could tell, this San Francisco native is an American Marzen tride and true.

On first impressions, Anchor Steam is a subtle drink that offers a very sweet aroma similar to a chocolate malted milk shake. Your drink is just as sweet initially, the malt washes over your tounge until it reaches the back of your mouth and the hops explode right before you swallow.

This beer would be the perfect beverage to enjoy on San Fran's Pier 48 for Oktoberfest By the Bay.

Anchor Steam Beer gets 7 mugs out of 10.

Boulevard Pale Ale

Are you a die hard baseball fan?

Do you take the words "Root, Root, Root for the HOME team" seriously?

Do you live in Kansas City?

If you answered yes to all three questions, you are unfortunately a Kansas City Royals fan and are in need of some severe lubrication to make it through the rest of the baseball season. Luckily, Boulevard Brewing Co. has come up with one hell of a beer to help you either forget another losing season or fondly remember 1985.

Boulevard Pale Ale, in my humble opinion, is the crown jewel of this Kansas City brewery's year round beers. Bold enough for truly heavy beer drinkers, crisp and refreshing enough for those who can't handle the heavier stuff; this pale ale is the perfect balance between a wheat beer and an IPA.

With a delicious balance of hops and wheat, this beer is bottle conditioned brilliance. And while many people claim Boulevard's Unfiltered Wheat to be the Midwest's favorite craft beer, I am willing to go on record saying that Pale Ale is its finest.

Boulevard Pale Ale comes in at 9 mugs out of 10.

Bell's Amber Ale

One of my favorite past times is sitting on the porch with an ice cold brew watching a summer storm roll through. It had been a while since as much as a rain drop fell from the heavens, so when Mother Nature opened up with a hell of a storm last week I ran to the fridge and Bell's Amber Ale was what was in my reach.

At first taste I was treated by the flavor of the cinnamon bagel I had eaten earlier that morning. Although the first sip was the only one that tasted like cinnamon, the rest of the beer was quite sweet. Initially I thought that the sweetness was purely the result of my breakfast, but I quickly stepped away from this notion considering I had also had a lunch that was far less sweeter than the bagel prior to the beer.

I also believe that this Amber Ale would be better suited as a lager. The usual paleness one has with an ale was nowhere to be found. Similar to other lagers I am familiar with, it was very filling and I highly doubt its ability as an extended session beer.

Perhaps its most endearing quality came from what would normally be considered an unfortunate mishap. The label on this particular bottle was very loose and as soon as the condensation built up, the label fell off. Regrettably, I was holding the bottle gently with the majority of my grip on the label and the beer fell right out of my hands. Despite a hard crash to the ground, the beer retained all of its taste.

Bell's Amber Ale gets a 7 out 10 mugs for its durability.

Boulevard Zon

With the summer brew season approaching its end, I find myself enjoying as many summer styles as possible. My latest excursion was Boulevard's Zon, the Kansas City Brewery's summer belgian wheat.

I had expected the usual orange flavor one comes to expect from a traditional belgian. Boulevard however, offers one of the more interesting twists I've tasted on this kind of seasonal. Claiming to offer subtle tastes of coriander, orange peel, and other traditional ingredients, Zon can best be described as tangy.

The ingredients blended together well making it difficult to separate this beer into distinct flavors. Instead, Zon had a very balanced tang to it that came across as very lemony. It also attacks your taste buds in multiple waves. The wheat sits on the center of your tongue while the lemon tang spreads throughout the rest of your mouth. The citrus also leaves the roof of your mouth tingling.

In the end, I'd say this belgian wheat is a good beer, but far from great. It holds its chill very well from start to finish which makes it an excellent choice to sit on the back porch while watching the sun fade away. Which is a good thing for this brew in particular considering it's overly acidic taste makes it a sipping beer to begin with.

Boulevard Zon, 7 mugs out of 10.

Carib Premium Lager

When enjoying an all day beer fest with friends, it's important to find a beer that will let you enjoy all the good company, music, and suds you can get your hands on. While craft beers are the preferred libation around these parts, this occasion calls for something with a little less kick.

As has been my modus operandi these last few months, I pick a style and then choose a brew that's a little off the beaten path so to speak. So when Meximerican Lager was chosen, I knew Corona just wouldn't do. Instead of heading south of the border, I went to the Caribbean.

Enter Carib Premium Lager.

Like it's Mexican counterparts, Carib was crisp and light. It's flavor was minimal and it drinks like water. All this allows one to consume mass quantities with the only real side effect being one too many trips to the bathroom.

For the style, it's one of the finest beers I have tasted. One of the things I most liked about Carib was it's natural lime taste. Unlike the Corona's, there is no need to add a slice to enhance the flavor because that attribute is already present. It is a very good choice when looking to enjoy a brew from sun up to sun down.

On a scale of bad to good, Carib Premium Lager comes in at better than Corona receiving 6 mugs out of 10.

Dundee Stout

The tricky thing with buying craft packs is that if the brewer doesn't produce a quality product, you're stuck with multiple kinds of less than stellar beer. After my experience with Dundee Kolsch-Style Ale, I was a little nervous when I cracked open my second style, Dundee Stout.

The first thing I noticed with Stout was an absence of aroma. For a style that typically, at least in my opinion, produces a very strong scent of espresso, this Dundee craft was somewhat underwhelming. It did however pour a deep dark brown that produced a very thick and creamy head. Pouring the beer woke the aroma and the espresso faintly came through every time you took a drink.

The taste was a different story. Although I was able to detect subtle amounts of the espresso, I believe the malts were roasted a little too long producing a very unique taste that I've yet to come across in a beer. After trying to pinpoint what the flavor was, it dawned on me, drinking Dundee Stout was almost like drinking a beer flavored like Mesquite Smoked Turkey.

This cold cut flavored beer was also lacking in bite. The usual acidity one expects from a standard stout was absent. Dundee was thick, but calling this stout robust would hardly do the style justice. Drinking this beer was more like drinking a milkshake, it has a heavy consistency without a heavy taste.

Dundee Stout receives 4.5 mugs out of 10.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer

Finding a beer that not only satisfies ones taste buds, but also offers an affordable option as a party beer can be a bit of a difficult task. Luckily, Missouri's largest independent brewer has got your back.

Based out of Kansas City, Boulevard Brewing Company has been a proud purveyor of the Midwest since 1989. And if you're talking about Boulevard Beer, you'd be well served to start the discussion with their Unfiltered Wheat Beer.

Boulevard's most popular style is the American Wheat Ale equivalent to an India Pale Ale. Super charged with pale wheat ale, this unfiltered brew literally sparkles throughout your entire experience. Similar to drinking a can of sprite, this ale fizzes and pops with every drink you take.

Simply put, Unfiltered Wheat has everything one could want in a go to craft beer. It's clean, light, and bottle conditioned to give you the feel of a freshly opened bottle from start to finish. Whether it's a sixer on the golf course or the case you bring to a buddies tailgate, it tastes good and won't break the bank either.

One thing I do highly recommend with this Boulevard brew however, is that you gently swirl the last ounce or two of your beer before you finish the bottle. The wheat that is leftover, due to the unfiltering, will smack the hell out of your palate if you leave it settled.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat receives a strong 8 our 10 mugs.

Moylan's Chelsea Porter

I feel slightly ashamed admitting this, but my tasting notes for Moylan's Chelsea Porter were temporarily misplaced. My descriptions are easy to follow but I don't overly remember my true sentiments and interpretations from when I was drinking this beer, so please bare with me. Again my apologies for what may be a brief and concise review.

This porter was very delicious for a dark beer. Traditionally, my experience with these styles have always trended towards something that is very heavy, strong, and roasted. While the espresso provides this Moylan's craft with all these qualities, Chelsea Porter also offers a strong chocolaty counter balance.

Extremely smooth, Moylan's Chelsea Porter is like drinking the alcoholic cousin of a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino. And with a 5.0% ABV (from BeerAdvocate.com, ABV not listed on Moylan's website), it's a porter you can enjoy again and again like any light domestic that big beer has to offer.

Moylan's Chelsea Porter gets 8 mugs out of 10.

Dundee Kolsch-Style Ale

To many people, this would be considered a coincidence, to the Brew Guy, it is very much pre-ordained that the day I put pen to pad about Dundee's Kolsch-Style Ale, is the day that DrinkCraftBeer.com posts a survey on whether or not you will suffer through or drain pour a brew that is not up to snuff.

Pre-ordained in the fact that this is the exact question I asked myself literally three drinks into this Rochester, NY beer.

My understanding of the Kolsch style is that of a light, crisp, and a refreshing beer with a light golden hue. Out of all these things, Dundee was only able to recreate the latter. This is by far one of my least favorite beers I have ever tasted.

The first drink came across overly sweet, almost like a malt liquor, and it would not get any better. For a matter of comparison, I've tasted better beers in the basement of my frat house when we were trying to turn our beer money into as many forties of Mickey's and Olde English as we could.

As if this wasn't bad enough, there was nothing crisp or refreshing about this Dundee craft beer at all. Purchased as part of a craft pack I had three bottles to taste. Beer number 1 was drank straight from the bottle and was one of the flattest beers I've had the misfortune of stumbling across. I took a different approach to the second bottle and poured it into a pint glass. This was counter productive as whatever carbonation this beer originally contained fizzled out even quicker.

The third and final bottle I held off on a couple of days in hopes of tyring this ale with a fresh palate. It didn't matter, this bottle was just as flat as my first experience. The only thing I took away this kolsch was an affirmation to the question posed by DrinkCraftBeer.com, and yes, I will suffer through a bad beer, no matter how many ounces I have to drink.

Dundee Kolsch-Style Ale receives a lowly 2.5 out of 10.

Founder's Centennial IPA

It's been quite an unprecedented day here at the CU Brew Blog headquarters. Over the last five hours we've unveiled 5 different India Pale Ale's in honor of the first ever International #IPADay. So, without further a do, we knock back the final brew in our #IPADay 6-Pack, Founder's Centennial IPA.

If I've learned one thing from this exercise in hoperiety, it's that the IPA style can be a fickled mistress. One of the most enjoyable beer styles when done right, it can also leave you wanting at times. Founder's Centennial falls somewhere right in the middle.

Centennial offers an aroma of orange that follows up instantly with an over-watery and slightly acidic taste. The hops don't actually hit your taste buds until a few seconds later. This is especially confusing because this Founder's IPA is unfiltered, a process typically used to help enhance the taste of a beer.

Although the delayed taste leaves you feeling like you're drinking a half empty beer, once the hops actually hit, Centennial is enjoyable. It leaves me with the impression that while this Founder's IPA isn't overly good, it isn't all that bad either.

Founder's Centennial IPA, 6 mugs out of 10.

Lost Coast Brewery Indica IPA

The fifth installment of the first ever International #IPADay is the Lost Coast Brewery's Indica IPA. Hailing from Eureka, CA, Indica has a very pungent citrus aroma, easily the strongest smell of all of today's brews. The aroma is however a little misleading as the citrus doesn't really translate over into the flavor of the beer.

Indica isn't short on taste however. You will most certainly pick up on the bold definitive taste of an India Pale Ale. And while this beer does go big on hops, it is not something that will overwhelm your taste buds. Just as soon the bitter hits your lips you will also taste a wave of what I believe to be caramel or vanilla. This sugary compliment slightly dulls the hops creating a beer that is truly bitter-sweet.

While Indica offers plenty of flavor, I would not recommend rushing your way through the bottle. I attempted a large swig and was caught off guard by how acidic that swig was. This Lost Coast brew is most definitely best enjoyed as a sipping beer, which doubles as its down fall. Unfortunately, as Indica warms, it tends to go a little sour as well. You end up caught between a rock and a hard place. This is regrettable considering this beers potential as a solid IPA.

Lost Coast Brewery Indica IPA gets 6 mugs out of 10.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

Have you ever seen a beer that you know will just haunt your dreams? Such is the case with our 4th entry to the International #IPADay 6-Pack, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA. Before you even contemplate opening the bottle, one can't help but notice the labeling.

Featuring a very creepy snake and dog hybrid that looks more like an I don't know what with a dragon head growing out of it's back, it truly is one of the most memorable labels I've ever seen. At the same time, the bottle description aptly describes the beer as a crazy, stalking, ex girlfriend -- full of bitterness, bite, and attitude that slaps you in the face.

Not only amusing, this bottle description is also spot on in it's description of this IPA. Like a snake, it will lie around in the bushes until it attacks your taste buds with a truly bitter bite, but at the same time, like man's best friend, it is extra crisp and refreshing and will leave you asking for more.

Snake Dog also leaves a very strong aftertaste in a good way. While the common conception of aftertaste isn't a good thing, this Maryland native provides more of a lasting impression or a reminder of the delicious beer you just finished.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA gets 8.5 mugs out of 10.

Shipyard Brewing Company Fuggles IPA

The third beer in our International #IPADay 6-Pack comes from Portland, ME and the Shipyard Brewing Company. Their Fuggles IPA is one of the more interesting India Pale Ales I've had the privilege of trying.

The first thing I noticed after I had cracked this brew open was its aroma. It smelled somewhat citrus but I was unable to place exactly where it came from. It was a welcoming smell that had vague hints of orange taking a back seat to a strong floral. I had to research what caused this unique aroma only to discover that Fuggles is brewed with apples and plum.

The smell however did not translate over into the taste. I think the two fruits went together well enough were all you tasted was something slightly fruity and sweet as a secondary compliment to the hops. What was most interesting about the taste however was that Fuggles IPA is only single hopped. Where most IPA's go through two separate stages of hopping, Shipyard elected to fore go the dry hopping process after fermentation.

The result of less hopping definitely showed up in the taste of the beer causing every drink to seem half empty. Most IPA's I've tasted fully engage your taste buds. Fuggles however, seemed to deliver the traditional IPA flavor to targeted areas of your palate only. If I was forced to take a blind taste test I know beyond a matter of doubt I could identify it as an IPA, but to be perfectly honest, I was kind of put off by my first single-hopped experience.

The main reason I love IPA's is the truly hearty taste that completely engulfs your taste buds. While I was able enjoy the flavor, I wasn't able to fully enjoy the taste I expect out of an India Pale Ale. It was almost like drinking a hybrid beer. The IPA flavor quickly dissipated to a crisp clean finish that you would expect out of a lager.

Although I would recommend other IPA's before I would tell someone to give this Shipyard brew a try, I won't condemn it either. In the end, it may just be my style preference that has difficulty fully supporting this IPA "Light."

Shipyard Brewing Company Fuggles IPA receives 6 mugs out of 10.

Abita Jockamo IPA

In part two of the CU Brew Blog's International #IPADay 6-Pack, we'll be heading across country to a state that boasts a personality just as big and bold as the brew being honored throughout the beer universe today.

If Boulder Beer's Mojo IPA is the standard we're living up to, Louisiana's Abita Jockamo IPA is the cream of today's crop. I had hoped to review each of today's 6 brews based solely on their own merits, but for every reason I liked Mojo, I absolutely love Jockamo. The comparison is just natural.

Abita claims to brew Jockamo in a traditional style which means they have chosen a truly amazing blend of hops. This is without a doubt a very strong beer, but at the same time, it is also one of the least overwhelming beers I have ever tasted.

Jockamo drinks like a heavy IPA but finishes just as crisp and cleanly as a wheat beer would. This bold yet unassuming taste spreads over your taste buds instantly and retains that full flavor for at least 15 seconds before it disappears leaving your palate as fresh as it would be if you just rinsed your mouth.

Simple yet distinct, Jockamo's taste truly ignites when being enjoyed with a pizza. A bit of a side note however, if your pizza du jour happens to be Papa John's, do not mix this IPA with the garlic sauce. That is one combination I would not recommend.

Abita Jockamo IPA comes in at 9 mugs out of 10.

Boulder Beer Mojo IPA

Here we go Hopheads, it's August 4th and the day we've all been anticipating for the last month. I hope everyone has plans to pay homage to all things hops today and is ready to enjoy some good beer. If you need a refresher on the IPA style I encourage you to give our crash course (posted tuesday) a read.

So without further ado, let's crack the top on the first beer in the CU Brew Blog's International #IPADay 6-Pack, Boulder Beer Mojo IPA.

For anyone familiar with this style of beer, there's one generalization that can be made about India Pale Ale's, IPA's are beers intended for drinkers that enjoy a big full bodied beer with taste from start to finish. Mojo IPA delivers on this generalization.

The second you open the bottle you are greeted by a thick hearty aroma that smells exactly as the beer tastes. Boulder Beer claims citrus but I detected something a bit more floral. Either way, once the top is popped, the hops attack.

Your first drink is equally as powerful. The second it hits your tongue, your taste buds are overwhelmed in hoppy greatness. Again, I don't really taste any orange but the thick and rich bitter malt taste is all I need to know I'm enjoying a delicious beer.

And while Mojo is a truly enjoyable beer, I also feel comfortable saying that there is definitely room for improvement. This is not an attempt to speak negatively against Boulder Beer, it is simply a statement that Mojo seems to be merely following an almost standard recipe with extreme precision.

If you are looking for a very solid IPA that shows you exactly what India Pale Ale's are all about, I highly recommend this Boulder Beer. We'll go ahead and consider Mojo IPA the barometer for the rest of today's 6-Pack.

Boulder Company Mojo IPA weighs in at 7 mugs out of 10.

IPA 101: A Crash Course on India Pale Ale

This Thursday will mark the first ever International #IPADay, a day aimed at celebrating one of Craft Beer’s most popular styles. Considering that no two beer drinker’s taste buds are alike, I figured I’d take this opportunity to give a little lesson on India Pale Ale, where it came from and what to expect, for those brew hounds that haven’t experienced this style of beer.

We’ll start by hopping into our Delorian and go back to the 1700’s when India was still under colonial rule. Soldiers and Civilians living in India found themselves missing the traditional British ales they were accustomed to at the local pub. Brewer’s found that every attempt to ship these ales to India ended up with spoiled beer.

The only way to deliver a non-spoiled beer to the British-Colony was to increase the alcohol, and more importantly, the hops of the beer.  The process started with adding extra hops to a traditional pale ale recipe creating a higher alcohol content which fought off bacteria.  Once the ale was ready to be casked, an additional amount of dry hops and sugar was added to help prevent the ale from going flat.

India Pale Ale became a more than suitable substitute for those Imperials living in the colony, but it wasn’t until later that IPA became anything more than a specialty brew. In 1827, a ship leaving London wrecked and the decision was made to sell any damaged barrels locally. The Londoners instantly fell in love with this hop heavy ale and the IPA style was here to stay.

As to what you can expect from an IPA (Courtesy of James Clausen; Beers, Cocktails, and Beverages):

·         Coloring. IPA can vary widely in coloring depending on the types and amounts of malts used. The color can range from a light golden to a dark amber coloring. IPA usually has a good-sized head of foam and can vary in color from pure white to a darker brown.

·         Aroma. IPA usually has a strong aroma of hops. The strength of the aroma depends on the type and amount of hops used. Most IPA aromas have a sweet citrus blossom aroma or a pine tree aroma. Although there are many types of hops used in an IPA by American Breweries, Cascade and Chinook Hops are very popular. Cascade has a strong citrus blossom aroma and Chinook has more of a piney aroma. The amounts and types of malts used can also have an effect on the aroma of an IPA.

·         Taste. Many IPA’s have a bitter hoppy taste. Just like the aroma, the taste can vary widely from one IPA to another. Some IPA’s can have a very complex taste with lots of different flavors or it can be more simple with just a strong taste of pine or citrus. The taste of an IPA depends a lot on the types of hops and malts along with the amounts used. Often times a brewer will use a mixture of different types of hops and malts. Don’t judge an IPA by the aroma. Often times the aroma is totally independent of the taste.

I’ll go ahead and add my own personal disclaimer at this point in time; India Pale Ales are not for everyone. These beers are very strong and don’t sit easily on the palate of beer drinkers who don’t enjoy think full bodied beers.

UPDATE: You're telling me Santa isn't real? Apparently the origin story I have grown to know and love is a complete fallacy. It appears that the extra hops aren't added to help avoid spoiling and my face is officially red. This may be the common story spread throughout most of the beer world, (I know of at least 20 articles not published on Wikipedia that claim this story to be true) but I'm willing to bet at some point it was copy created by a truly excellent marketing mind. An in depth look at the origin can be found following the link below:

http://www.beerconnoisseur.com/the-origins-of-ipa