1001 Beers

Beer No: 98
Page No: 418
Category: Blond

It's always tough to review a pilsner.  Most of the time, they're watered down, lack any real flavor, and are hard to objectively rate from one to another.  Every once in a while though, you come across a pilsner that has more flavor then all the others and is actually able to be differentiated from all the other so-called "pilsners" out there like Bud, Coors, and Miller (technically they're American Lagers, but they derive directly from the classic pilsners).

So it's nice to come across the Lagunitas Pils, which as Lagunitas founder Tony Magee states, "This is our best beer."  Now, I'd disagree on that, but I do think that the Lagunitas Pils is a damn fine beer, able to hold itself against other imported pilsners, like Pilsner Urquell and other "true" pilsners from the region.  The Lagunitas Pils is pretty much your standard pilsner with a clear yellow appearance and a nice white head and good carbonation.  It features a slight bit of hops on the nose and a slight bitterness on the end.  It's easy to drink like almost any pilsner and really quenches a thirst.  But complex it is not.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lagunitas Pils by Lagunitas Brewing Company

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

12 oz. bottle. Pours clear, golden yellow with good white head and slight lacing. Aroma is of slight hops and a bit of bread with malts. Body is light like most pilsners with a clean, crisp flavor of malts with a slightly bitter hop finish. A nice, drinkable pilsner.

Beer No: 85
Page No: 304
Category: Blond

Day 7 of the World Cup.  We're now a full week in and teams have started playing their second games of the round robin format.  Argentina thoroughly destroyed South Korea today, Greece won their first World Cup game in the country's history, beating Nigeria, and France lost 0-2 to Mexico.  So alas, my record drops to 2-3-2 with the French beer I selected today.  1001 Beers notes that the 3 Monts beer from the St. Sylvestre brewery utilizes locally grown hops along with malts from Northern France.  The beer ferments for a few days and then is "garded" for between three to four weeks.

Now, I've heard of the style "biere de garde" before, but never really knew what it meant, so let's go to Wikipedia for the answer:

Bière de Garde, or "keeping beer", is a pale ale traditionally brewed in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. These beers were usually brewed by farmhouses in the winter and spring, to avoid unpredictable problems with the yeast during the summertime.

The origins of the name lies in the tradition that it was matured/cellared for a period of time once bottled (and most sealed with a cork), to be consumed later in the year, akin to a Saison.

So, basically, it's a cellared beer, which really doesn't mean much these days as many beers are cellared before release and then bottle conditioned.  But what Wikipedia doesn't mention and 1001 Beers does, is that a 'biere de garde' usually is a "classic amber malt bomb."  So, I'm glad that St. Sylvestre strays away from tradition as this golden, hoppy, 8.5% ABV beer is definitely anything but a malt bomb.

If you have a chance to try this fine French beer, give it a shot.  The alcohol is hidden well and the citrus and yeast flavors dominate the palate.  Just another great selection from 1001 Beers - opening my palate up to many a new flavors and my knowledge up to new and unique beer styles.  Oddly enough, I have had one other 'biere de garde' - the New Belgium Lips of Faith (which I rated at a 3.6 vs. the 3 Monts 3.0).

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

St. Sylvestre 3 Monts by La Brasserie de St.-Sylvestre

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 11/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle, corked, strange cage, then wrapped in plastic. Pours golden yellow with good carbonation, head, and lacing. Foamed out of the bottle slightly, but quickly caught in tulip glass. Aroma is floral with citrus, bread, and yeast. Taste is grassy, almost lager-like. Alcohol is present along with bread and citrus flavors. Drinkable, enjoyable, but ultimately, nothing special.

Beer No: 68
Page No: 851
Category: Specialty

Memorial Day...A day of remembrance and thanks.  A time to salute those who gave their lives so we could BBQ, play trivia games, and drink flat beer.  Of course Memorial Day is much more than that, but lately, it seems that unless you lived during WWII or Vietnam we forget about what's going on all over the world and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  We forget about those in Iraq and Afghanistan working to root out the terrorists and keep our country safe from attack.  We seem to have grown complacent and forgotten what happened on 9/11.  But we should be anything but.  There are still millions of people out there whose sole purpose in life is to seek out revenge on the United States.  They are offended by our capitalist ideals and our freedoms.  They are unable to put religious hatred aside and embrace peace, and because of them, we must still wage wars that should be pointless in this day and time.  One day, maybe these wars will be unnecessary, but until the masses abandon their hatred, put down their arms, give up their nuclear ambitions, and come to the table to discuss peace, we must protect our shores.  We must keep this country safe.  And we must never forget all those who went before us and allowed us these freedoms by giving their lives.

Thank you Veterans.  Thank you Air Force.  Thank you Navy.  Thank you Army.  Thank you Marines.  Thank you Coast Guard.  Thank you to all the reserves, the National Guard, the policemen, the firemen, EMTs, and everyone else who goes to work each day to keep us safe.  We will not forget.

And like I said, because of all those people, I'm free to drink Angel's Share (2009 vintage) and have no carbonation in it.  I'm free to decide that I don't like it - even though the masses say I should (100th percentile on RateBeer and an A on BeerAdvocate).  This beer was just lacking without the carbonation.  Perhaps some bubbles or fizz would have broken up the syrup-like consistency and added some extra pop to the thick, sweet flavors.  And unfortunate as it is, it just appears I got a bad year as the 2008 vintage was properly carbonated and a much better beer.  But until I have that, or try the 2010 (and hope for good carbonation - any carbonation), I'll have to leave my rating as-is.

For those of you who are curious also, here's the definition of Angel's Share:

Angels' share is a term for the portion (share) of a wine or distilled spirit's volume that is lost to evaporation during aging in oak barrels. The barrels are typically French or American oak. In low humidity conditions, the loss to evaporation may be primarily water. However, in higher humidities, more alcohol than water will evaporate, therefore reducing the alcoholic strength of the product. In humid climates, this loss of ethanol is associated with the growth of a darkly colored fungus, Baudoinia compniacensis, on the exterior surfaces of buildings, trees and other vegetation, and anything else that happens to be nearby.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Lost Abbey The Angel's Share from Port Brewing / Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 10/20

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Had from 375ml bottle - 2009 vintage. Pours dark brown, with maybe a hint of red with absolutely no carbonation or bubbles. Aroma is of fruit, alcohol, oak, and malts. Flavor is complicated, but being flat, leaves much to be desired. Overly sweet, syrup-like, with flavors of caramel, raisins, malts, alcohol and wood. Leaves a sticky film behind and finishes with sugar and alcohol. Really expected much more from this brew.