1001 Beers

Beer No: 94
Page No: 120
Category: Amber

World Cup Day 16...what is there to say?  Today's beer comes from the United States, and just like that, the United States is out.  A very disappointing game in which they give up an early goal AGAIN, manage to tie it, have chances to win it, push it to extra time, and give up another early goal, and can't recover.   A sad day, but I've still got Germany in it, so it's not all bad quite yet.  In the early game Uruguay handled South Korea pretty well.  They gave up a goal (the first of the tournament), but scored two pretty easily, advancing to the round of 8 where they now face the afternoon's winner, Ghana.

Of course, I picked the United States to win (the homer pick) and couldn't have been more wrong, but in the early game, I predicted a 2-1 Uruguay win, so nice call there (though 2-1 is pretty easy to guess and could be called for most games - as that was the final score of the Ghana / U.S. game as well).

For today's beer, we have a new American classic, New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber Ale.  It's their flagship beer and, while a solid, consistent beer, it just isn't the best that New Belgium puts out and it's just a good, run-of-the-mill amber ale.  As noted in 1001 Beers though, in an interview with brewmaster Peter Bouckaert, he commented, "Luckily, we have Fat Tire, and that allows us to do all these other things."  So, I'm glad Fat Tire's around, because it allows them to produce amazing beers like La Folie, Love, and the amazing Lips of Faith Series (Eric's Ale, Dark Kriek, Transatlantique Kriek, Biere de Mars, and many others).

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

New Belgium Fat Tire Ale by New Belgium Brewing Company

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

Rating: 2.8 / 5.0

Had from six-pack - 12 oz. bottle from BevMo. Pours amber in color, slight tan head. Aroma is malty with slight hop undertones. Taste is fairly weak for an amber, nicely balanced, but doesn’t show off any flavors well. Nice nutty flavors linger afterwords. A solid, consistent amber, but nothing out of the ordinary.

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: 55
Page No: 68
Category: Amber

First a dark brown, then a brown, now an amber, it seems like I'm on a little tasting streak here.  But, no, it's just how the bottles have fallen.  However, someone that does specialize in streaks is Laurie over at 100 Beers in 30 Days.  She's taken beer drinking to the max, going through 100 Belgian beers in a scant 30 days and she's doing a wonderful job.  Her post on The Bruery beers was awesome, and who can argue with a whole post devoted to Flanders?  She's quickly made it through 57 and is well on the way to 100.

As for me, the Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale was the second beer of the night for me, following Eric's Ale from New Belgium.  It was, quite simply, an amazing sour.  Even my friend who isn't a fan of the sour beers really enjoyed this one.  Billed as a sour for those who don't like sours and a fruit beer for those who don't like fruit beers, Eric's Ale delivers on that promise.  But even I, a sour beer lover, really enjoyed this beer.  And, it was also my 300th rating at Ratebeer, prompting this wonderful diddy to pop up after I had rated Eric's Ale at 4.2 / 5.0:

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale from Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.4 / 5.0

Quick Look: Starts off strong and hoppy, finished with a malty flavor that is just right. A very nice Amber Ale.
In Depth: A very dark amber ale with a light, tan head when served. The aroma isn’t too strong - a hoppy waft originates with a slightly carmelized flavor in the first sip. This Amber Ale seemingly starts off too strong, but evens out and becomes easily drinkable.

(Review was from August 20th, 2002)

Beer No: 31/1001
Page No: 779
Category: Dark

I just don't understand...why does 7-11 feel the need to sell their own brand of cheap beer?  Did they really think that the Bud Light / Miller Light / Coors Light marketplace needed another entrant?  Did they think people, most likely set in their cheap, yellow, fizzy beer ways would suddenly switch to 7-11 brand "Game Day" beer?  Well, I guess they figured if all the big breweries are getting a piece of the crap beer pie, they should have a sliver too...so out they come with "Game Day" and "Game Day Light" and luckily I don't have to go buy some to review it.  The folks over at the SF Gate did a wonderful review already.  So, if you really need a reason to not drink this swill, hopefully the review will do that for you.  Here's my favorite part of the review:

Despite showing up in a sport coat and button-down shirt, the dude behind the counter still instinctively covered my giant cans of Game Day Ice and Game Day Light in a small paper bag, presumably so the cops wouldn't hassle me if I wanted to drink my beer on the corner. Thanks, mini-mart enablers! I felt weird paying with a five dollar bill. Next time I buy Game Day beer I'm definitely dropping a handful of nickels, dimes and pennies, a crumpled up dollar and a subway token on the counter.

Luckily the educated out there aren't going to drink this.  Luckily we have beers from German, Belgium, and craft breweries in the United States to save us.  Luckily we have beers like Petrus' Oud Bruin.  A mixture of old and young brown ales, this beer smells a bit more tart than it tastes.  It has a wonderful complexity to the flavors with sweetness, malts, tartness, and hints of oak, cherries, and raspberries.  I drank this one as I watched my brother and his friends throw darts while drinking Bud Light for the most part.  Luckily one of his friends has a smidgen of taste and brought over a six-pack of New Belgium's Mothership Wit, but that disappeared first and they went to their old friend, the Bud Light.  I guess there will always be a market for cheap, crap beers, even amongst those that know good beers are out there - even if they're surrounded by the good beers.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Petrus Oud Bruin from Bavik-De Brabandere

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.7 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. Pours a dark brown with hints of red and a tan head with good lacing. The aroma is tart which belies the subtleness of the sourness in the flavor. Other aromas of malts and fruits - cherries, raspberries... Tastes of a brown ale - malts, oak, slightly sour and more oak than I expected. With the tart aroma, I expected a more pronounced sour flavor, but it’s quite demure with just slight undertones. Very enjoyable, drinkable, and tasty.

Beer No: 12/1001
Page No: 623
Category: Dark

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a nice Easter Sunday.  I certainly enjoyed the day with a trio of beers - Arkh Pale Ale (home brew of course), New Belgium's Transatlantique Kriek, and then The Bruery's Oude Tart.  So after starting with a nice malty and hoppy pale, I made the transition to fruity, sour beers.  And boy was it delectable. None of those beers are part of my 1001, so I'm heading back to a beer I had Friday night, the Asahi Black.

Asahi is more well known for their Super Dry Asahi, but the black seems to be gaining traction after being introduced in 1995.  Not as heavy as a Guinness, the Asahi Black is a dark pilsner brewed with barley, maize, and rice.  Though you might expect a darker beer to be a bit heavier in texture, the lagering and cold conditioning really make the Asahi Black a very drinkable, crisp, and almost light beer.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it easy to drink and flavorful.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Asahi Black (Kuronama) from Asahi Breweries

Aroma: 4/10
Appearance: 3/5
Flavor: 6/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 11/20

Rating: 2.6 / 5.0

Had from bottle, pours a dark brown, almost black color with very small brownish/beige head. Lacing is minimal and head dissipates quickly. Aromas of roasted malts, nuts, and coffee. Flavor is balanced nicely between malts and hops, but a bit on the weak side. It’s a crisp, easy-drinking beer, but nothing I’d go back to given a choice.