1001 Beers

Beer No: 105
Page No: 572
Category: White

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse is easily one of my favorite Hefewiezens.  So it saddened me so when half way through drinking this beer and reading the Wall Street Journal, a fly landed in it and could not escape.  Such a shame to waste this beer.  My friends all told me to fish out the fly and continue drinking, but I just couldn't do it.  That being said, I still got to drink half of the beer and then went in and started on a new beer - Speakeasy Prohibition Ale - a nice amber, but nothing too special.  Easy to drink and a good representation of the style.

On a side note, I found it pretty funny that just days after BrewDog comes out with the world's strongest beer at 55% and names it "End of History," another brewery, just for fun comes out with a 60% beer and names it "Start the Future."  A fun game of one-upmanship and hilarious product naming.  However, one downside to "Start the Future" is it doesn't come bottled in roadkill...

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier by Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau (InBev)

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

UPDATED: AUG 1, 2010 Rerate 7/28/2010
Not quite sure what happened with my original rating 8 years ago - maybe I had a bad bottle or something, but since then, Franziskaner has become one of my favorite Hefeweizens. The aroma has a wonderful blend of fruits, spices, yeast, and bananas while the taste is pretty much exactly what a hefe should be. Fruit, cloves, and vanilla all dominate the tasting and blend together perfectly. A truly wonderful hefe.

I’m usually a huge fan of hefeweizens, but this one seemed a bit bland. The color is the usual hazy yellow with a medium sized head. The aroma is slightly fruity and the taste as well, but overall, it seemed weak with a taste that left something to be desired. A refreshing beer, but nothing special - not a stand-out hefe.

Original Rating: 6/4/6/3/13 3.2/5.0 on 10.10.2002

Beer No: 97
Page No: 560
Category: White

It's been almost a month with no beer reviews, so I figure that's ample time away.  I guess other things just got the better of me.  It started with a weekend missed due to prior engagements and then I just didn't have the inclination to catch up from the missed weekend and the weekend turned into a week, and from there, it just spiraled out of control.  Then came Sunday, Stone's 4th Annual Sour Fest kicked my butt into gear.  I had an amazing time sampling some absolutely amazing beers (I'll post the full beer list in a bit).

So I'm back.  I've still got tons of beers lined up to enjoy from the book and I can't wait to start reviewing them again.  So we'll start with a nice German wheat, the Ayinger Ur-Weisse.  I'm generally a fan of Ayinger's beers and I enjoyed this nice wheat beer that packs a bit of malts along with it.  Not as fruity as your standard wheat, nor really having all of the spices, this beer is well balanced and a perfect fit for a warm day in the sun.

It's good to be back and hopefully I can stay on schedule again and not take a few weeks off any more like I did here.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Ayinger Ur-Weisse by Brauerei Aying

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

Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

500mL bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours cloudy, hazy yellow/orange with nice head and some lacing. Aroma is slight wheat, spices, and malts, all blended together nicely. Taste is refreshing, light, malty, nice balance of wheat and cloves. Slight bitterness at the finish, but a very nice finish and easy drinkability.

Beer No: 89
Page No: 571
Category: White

Day 11...the final matchups of the round robin round begin tomorrow!  Just 2 days until the U.S. plays...so, might as well take a quick look at what's coming up over the next 4 days.

Tomorrow: Groups A & B

Group A - Uruguay and Mexico - 4 points, France & South Africa - 1 point.  With Mexico playing Uruguay and France playing South Africa, theoretically, any team could make it.  France and South Africa need Uruguay or Mexico to win so the other gets 0 points and with a win, France or South Africa could end up with 4 points and we would then go to goals.  I imagine Mexico and Uruguay will probably end in a tie though so both can advance.  Neither team needs to go out and win, so they'll play defensively.

Group B - Argentina 6 points, South Korea and Greece 3 points, Nigeria, 0 points.  Nigeria plays South Korea and Greece plays Argentina.  This will be a tough game for Greece and I see Argentina winning and I would think South Korea can beat Nigeria, so I pick those two teams to advance.  But Argentina doesn't need the win, so they might play for a tie and if South Korea ties Nigeria, it could come down to goals between Greece and South Korea.  Could be interesting tomorrow.

Wedneday: Groups C & D

Group C: Slovenia, 4 points.  England and United States, 2 points.  Algeria, 1 point.  This is a crazy bracket.  Basically, it comes down to if the United States beats Algeria, they are in  The U.S. ends up with 5 points and if Slovenia / England ends in a tie, Slovenia advances.  But look for England to go all out.  If they win (which I think they will), they also end up with 5 points and advance.  If the U.S. ties, they only end up with 3 points and then Slovenia and England will probably advance.  I see the United States and England winning though and both teams advancing.

Group D: Ghana has 4 points, Germany and Serbia have 3, and Australia has 1.  Germany plays Ghana and needs to win to get in.  A tie really does them no good.  But I see Germany coming out strong on Wednesday and winning to advance.  That means that Serbia has to win to advance, or tie and score a few goals to leap over Ghana and well...Australia is pretty much out.  I predict Germany and Ghana advancing.

Thursday: Groups E & F

Group E: Netherlands 6 points, Japan & Denmark 3, Cameroon: 0.  Denmark plays Japan and with both teams at 3 points, they'll be fighting to advance.  Netherlands plays Cameroon and will advance with 9 points.  So that just leaves the winner of Japan / Denmark.  This is a tough game to call and could go either way.  I'd like to see both teams advance, but pick Denmark by a hair.  If they tie, Japan advances.

Group F: Paraguay 4 points, Italy & New Zealand 2, Slovakia 1.  This is the closest group, other than Group C which has the same point structure.  Paraguay plays New Zealand and I think they'll take that game which leaves Italy in with a win or tie.  Anything could happen in the game vs. Slovakia, but I think Italy can muster the tie or win, so I'm putting Paraguay and Italy through.

Friday: Groups G & H

Group G: Brazil 6 points, Portugal 4, Ivory Coast 1, North Korea 0.  This is the only bracket that has a team eliminated.  There is no way North Korea can advance.  Luckily for the Ivory Coast, they play North Korea while Portugal has to play Brazil.  Unluckily for Ivory Coast, Portugal scored 7 goals against North Korea and Ivory Coast is down two goals overall.  So they have to get 9 goals more than Portugal scores vs. Brazil to advance.  Slim chances.  Brazil and Portugal advance.

Group H: Chile has 6 points, Spain and Switzerland have 3, and Honduras has 0.  Switzerland plays Honduras while Chile plays Spain.  I like Switzerland's chances of advancing.  With a win over Honduras, they have to hope that Spain beats or ties Chile.  A Chile win over Spain sounds improbable, so it's just up to Switzerland to win.  I will take them and Spain.

So in the end, I've got the U.S. and England advancing from group C and Germany and Ghana in Group D.  It will be interesting to see what happens since both the U.S. and England have the same goal differential.  So if one team wins by 2 while the other wins by 1, the team that wins by 2 is the winner of the bracket and plays the second place team from Group D which I think will be Ghana.  While the second place team out of Group C has to play Germany.  So I'm hoping the U.S. can win the group so we don't have to play Germany as the Germans are the other team I am rooting for in the cup.

The beer, you ask?  Awesome.  I first has the Estrella Damm Inedit at a Beers Around the World Party and loved it then as I do now.  It's a very nice white beer with a good blend of citrus and spice.  Perfect for a hot day, a lovely import from Spain.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Estrella Damm Inedit by Damm

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

Rating: 3.4 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours cloudy yellow/orange with one-finger white head and good lacing. Aroma is pleasant, but weak - mostly citrus, yeast, and spice. Taste is similar, mostly the ctirus and hints of the yeast in the finish. Mouthfeel is slightly watered down with fizzy bubbles. A nicely balanced white - easy to drink and flavorful with citrus.

Beer No: 87
Page No: 582
Category: Blond

Woohoo, Day 9 of the World Cup.  A few interesting games today, but no downright good games.  It started with a tie between Ghana and Australia, a Japan loss to the Netherlands, and Denmark's comeback from 0-1 to beat Cameroon 2-1.  Tomorrow, for Father's Day, we have Slovakia vs. Paraguay (yawn), Italy vs. New Zealand (eh), and Brazil vs. Ivory Coast (Brazil dominates I will guess).  Tomorrow's beer will be coming from Italy, but today's comes from another losing team, making me 2-5-2, Japan.

The White Ale from Hitachino Nest is based on the popular Hoegaarden White, but the brewery also found that because it contains fruit and spices, it's also taxed at a lower rate than beer in Japan.  Finding the right formula was a pretty long experiment according to 1001 Beers.  But they finally settled on a wonderful mix of flaked barley, flaked wheat, and pilsner malt.  Then, for some added good measure, they toss in some coriander, nutmeg, orange peel, and a hint of orange juice.  It doesn't quite matter how it's made, this is a refreshing beer, but I thought it could use just a bit more carbonation.  Also, I thought the fruit flavors overwhelm the wheat and malts a bit.  Overall, an enjoyable beer though.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Hitachino Next White Ale by Kiuchi Brewery

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

Had from 12oz. bottle from Hi Time Wines. Pours hazy yellow with very slight head that dissipates to nothingness. Carbonation is slight, but lasts throughout. Aroma is citrus, flowers, lemon, and grapefruit. Taste is a very nice white with orange, lemon, spices, and floral tastes. Finishes sweet with citrus lingering. A nice white that could maybe use a bit more carbonation, but overall easily drinkable and refreshing.

Beer No: 46/1001
Page No: 347
Category: Blond

Happy Mother's Day all.

For Mother's Day, I of course headed over to my parents house where my brother, my dad, and I cooked up crab legs and steak and enjoyed them with a nice salad, some bread, and some good beer.  And before someone says something, yes, I know you shouldn't serve Chimay in a PINT glass.  But, my parents are wine drinkers and don't have any Belgian beer glasses.  I probably should have used a wine glass like I did for tomorrow's beer, but for the Chimay, it tasted just fine out of a Stone pint glass.

The Chimay was not paired with my dinner, but instead had with the appetizers that I provided - one was cream cheese with an apricot chili pepper jam which was sinfully good and the other was a hunk of Chimay cheese.  I didn't know Chimay had their hands in cheese making, but I saw two bricks at Whole Foods last week when prepping for my Spotted Pig burger, so I picked up the cheese that had beer added and it was very good too.  We ate most of it on Cinco de Mayo and I was going to break out the Chimay then, but stuck to the Mexican beers and wisely saved the Chimay for me to drink all by myself today.

Paired with the steak and crab legs, I figured a darker beer would work well and the 10 Commandments from Lost Abbey worked wonders.  The raisins and spice paired perfectly with the lighter crab legs and blended with the steak as well.  Just like red wine goes with red meats, this darker 10 Commandments really complemented the steak well.  We finished the night with a brownie-crusted cheesecake I made last night which would have paired perfectly with the Bourbon County stout I gave to my mom in her Mother's Day basket, but she wanted to save it for another time, so I settled for some water while everyone else enjoyed coffee with the cheesecake (I don't drink coffee or caffeine).

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Chimay Triple / Blanche (White) from Chimay

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Had from bottle. Pours orange-yellow with slight haze, good carbonation, and small to medium head. Aromas of citrus, spice, malts, banana, and caramel. Taste is complex mixing the caramel malts with a good hop citrus and nice spiciness to balance it all out. Very well done, easy to drink triple. Those monks know what they’re doing.

Beer No: 26/1001
Page No: 593
Category: White

Today, I awoke to a couple of e-mails from Twitter.  Seems the nice people over at Total Wine & More noticed my post a few days back about visiting their store and are now following my tweets.  Everyone I've run into at the store has been really nice so, here's their usernames in case you want to know what's happening over at my new favorite beer store: @Total_Wine and @Total_Wine_Beer.  Today I had to run some errands and one of them took me to Costco...which is right next to Total Wine & More, so I couldn't resist and even though I only planned on picking up a 6 pack, I walked out with 15 more beers from my list.  Including today's beer, Napa Smith Wheat Beer.

Napa Smith is a brewery I had never heard of before, so I was excited to try this beer.  Napa Smith Brewery is in the heart of the Napa Valley - wine country and is a relatively new brewery, but their head brewer has quite an extensive craft beer background.  1001 Beers notes that brewmaster Don Barkley was the assistant brewer at New Albion, the first modern microbrewery in America which opened in 1977.  When they closed in 1983, he bought their equipment and co-founded the Mendocino Brewing Company.  In 2008, he was persuaded to start another new brewery and joined the Smith family in Napa to be the brewmaster at Napa Smith Brewery.  Which brings us to the Napa Smith Wheat Beer...

I can't recall seeing a wheat beer so clear in all my life.  I mean, this thing is so clear, you can see the seat on the other side of the table through the glass.  1001 Beers states that, "unlike most wheat beers, [Don] uses lager yeast at a cool temperature, but without lagering it" and "the malt build is half wheat, half two-row barley with just a small amount of Franco-Belges kiln amber malt."  And that pretty much explains it.  By using a lager yeast, you can get the lager clarity and still call it a wheat beer with only 1/2 of the malts being wheat.  Either way, this is a very watery beer and it has almost no flavors to it.  A let down from this new brewery and makes me question whether I will go back to try their other brews.  It's a novel idea to brew a wheat this way, but I just can't get on board with it.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Napa Smith Wheat Beer from Napa Smith Brewery

Aroma: 4/10
Appearance: 2/5
Taste: 3/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 7/20

Rating: 1.9 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine. Expected a standard wheat beer, got something completely different. Pours clear with very little head which dissipates to a small layer of white film. Good lacing, but very little carbonation. Utilizes a lager yeast which produces the clarity you’re not used to from a wheat beer. Also, just 1/2 wheat in the malt selection which really tones down the standard wheat flavors. Aroma is very weak, hints of spices and barely any wheat. Taste is watery, buttery, with hints of citrus and wheat. Tastes like almost nothing, very disappointed.

Beer No: 22/1001
Page No: 603
Category: White

The beer in a bit...first - The Side Door.  A new-ish gastropub in Corona Del Mar, I visited for the first time last night and was thoroughly impressed.  An extensive draught and bottle list with very reasonable pricing coupled with some sumptious food combined for a wonderful evening.  Starting with a Wells Bombardier ESB and continuing on to a North Coast Pranqster Belgian Style Golden Ale, I was very impressed with the service and beer listing.  The food was quite good as well - from our avocado mash (aka guacamole) to the prime rib chili cheese fries, all of the appetizers delighted and the main courses were very good as well.  I finished the night with a Coney Island Albino Python (white lager brewed with spices) and a few sips of a Delirium Floris Apple (waaaay too sweet).  It was a great night with great beers.  If only my local gastropub could step up their food as the beer selection rivals the Side Door.

Back to the Sprecher Hefe Weisse - my second in as many days.  This American brew (which sounds German) puts out a good Hef.  And for good reason - they experimented many times in the brewery before finishing a product for commercial release.  1001 Beers quotes Randy Sprecher, founder of the brewery; "That led to a quest to learn how to coax the yeast into making the best possible beer.  It turned out to be all about good reproduction and better 'viability' of the yeast cells, which change malt sugars into alcohol and carbonation, but are also responsible for the fruit salad of flavors."  This beer really does deliver a solid mix of all the Hefe Weiss flavors you are looking for - banana, wheat, cloves, and citrus.  A very solid Hefe and very drinkable and perfect with the Blake's Place BBQ wings I had left over from lunch a couple of days ago.  The apricot-chili wings went perfectly with the fruit and spice of this Hefe.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Sprecher Hefe Weiss from Sprecher Brewing Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall:11/20

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

Had from bottle. Pours hazy yellow with good head and fizz. Aroma of citrus, banana, and clove. Taste is crisp, drinkable. Flavors of orange at start, cloves and spices in middle, banana at end. Very refreshing Hefe

Beer No: 21/1001
Page No: 585
Category: White

Well, I'm now officially over 2% of the way through the book, but I've got a long way to go (obviously).  For today's beer, we have another from my Total Wine six-pack I got yesterday, Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat.  Truth be told, I wasn't that impressed with this wheat.  It was almost overly citrus flavored without the usual spice/clove undertone and no hops anywhere to be found.  But, the main reason I suspect it's in the book is because Eric Warner, who created Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat literally wrote the book on wheat beers.  German Wheat Beer was published back in 1992 when the style was almost unknown in the States.  Luckily, wheat beer now has a strong foothold as there's really nothing better on a hot day than a nice, mellow wheat beer (well, unless you're a hophead like me who would prefer a Ruination).

On another note, yesterday I received my new copy of Food & Wine magazine.  They had a nice article on the "100 Best New Food & Drink Experiences."  Many of the restaurants are in Paris, New York, Las Vegas, etc. and most of them are too trendy for me to even think about going to, but near the end, #88 - #90, they have "Beer Innovators" which I'll print below:

• #88.  Baird Brewing Co., Tokyo - Baird makes its fabulous signature ales with Japanese fruit like mikans (a citrus); they are on draft at its new taproom in the Harajuku district. bairdbeer.com
• #89.  Brasserie 4:20, Rome - Alex Liberati's seafood restaurant has become a beer mecca.  The draw: vintage and extreme brews from the planet's most radical producers. brasserie420.com
• #90.  Moeder Lambic, Brussels - Discriminating craft-beer importer Daniel Shelton calls this bar "the spanking-new center of the Belgian Brewing universe." moederlambic.eu

I know I would absolutely love to visit all three of the above places - Moeder Lambic especially.  Belgians and sours are my favorite, so I feel like I'd be home in this "center of the Belgian Brewing universe."

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat Hefeweizen from Flying Dog Brewery

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

Rating: 2.8 / 5.0

Had from 12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy golden yellow with slight head which dissipates quickly. Aroma of citrus, orange, and wheat. Taste is very citrusy - lots of orange, lemon, and sweetness. Missing any hops and spices. Acceptable, easy to drink, nothing special.

Beer No: 15/1001
Page No: 566
Category: White

It's somewhat fitting that today's beer of choice is Blue Moon from Blue Moon Brewing Co.  A "Belgian-Style Wheat Ale," this beer is pretty far off of the mark of being a Belgian white.  It's a bit too dark, way too watery, and just devoid of any real flavors.  But boy is it refreshing on a hot day like today.  This beer is just easy to drink.  It's certainly nothing special, but if you're looking for a beer to chug down while watching your favorite game, or if you're one of "those" people that likes a fruit in their beer, have a Blue Moon with a slice of orange and drink it down...

As for me, I'll take a beer with flavor, with heft, with character.  So, I'll wait until tomorrow to have what I really crave as I've got a couple of amazing beers in the fridge for the weekend lineup.  But until then, watered down wheat.

On an unrelated note, studying to become a Certified Cicerone continues.  After passing the Certified Beer Server exam with a 93% (and I somehow skipped two questions), I'm fairly confident that with some more studying and time, becoming a Certified Cicerone should not be a huge problem.  My main weaknesses lie in knowing all about the draft beer system - the kegs, lines, proper cleaning, etc. - and in the food and beer pairings.  But with my new book, Tasting Beer, I hope to really learn about proper pairings and the intricacies of all the different types of beer.  I really was surprised by this book when it arrived yesterday - it's much more in-depth than I expected and it covers such a broad range of topics, it really is an essential book for any beer geek.  From glassware to cheese pairings and ancient beer history to modern brewing techniques, this book really does cover just about anything you need to know about beer.  It'll teach you how to identify off-flavors, differentiate between a German and Czech Pilsner, and what type of beer you should bring to a party when you don't know what will be served (Abbey Dubbels or Tripels work great with all foods).  Either way, I'm looking forward to digging into the book and really learning much more about beer.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Blue Moon Belgian White Ale from Coors Brewing Company (MillerCoors)

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

Rating: 2.2 / 5.0

Had from bottle. Pours a golden orange color with a slight white head which is quickly gone. Very small bit of head remains around edges of glass and there is no lacing to speak of. Aromas of wheat and very minuscule hints of orange and citrus. Tastes of orange and slight sweetness. Cloudy appearance deceives the watery texture and taste. It’s got drinkability though, and that’s all the masses seem to care about. As for taste, not so much.

This is why I love Amazon.com.  I have their Prime membership and everything ships with 2 day delivery free (well, I pay for Prime...).  But I ordered 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die yesterday at 9:01am and it arrived today while I was at lunch.  How wonderful is that?  Next day delivery even though it was supposed to come tomorrow.

But the book, in short, is beautiful.  It is gigantic with 960 full color, glossy pages and the beers are organized first by type, then alphabetically.  It breaks beers up into the following categories: Amber, Blond, White, Dark, and Specialty.  After the preface, they have an Index of Beers by Country and then at the end, after a short glossary, they have an Index of Beers by Brewery.  This makes it especially easy to pick out beers that will be included in the beer.  For example, I figured the Aprihop wouldn't be in the book, and looking at the index, I find these are the only beers from Dogfish Head Brewery: 90 Minute IPA, World Wide Stout, Midas Touch, and Raison D'Etre.  Similarly, I can go to my favorite brewery at the moment, The Bruery and see that they have two beers listed: Orchard White and Saison Rue (I'm assuming this book went to print before both Black Tuesday and Oude Tart were released - especially Black Tuesday since Three Floyd's Dark Lord Imperial Stout made the list).

But either way, I'm immediately going to go make a photocopy of the beers by brewery, shrink it down to a wallet size, and then carry it with me wherever I go to make sure that if there's a beer on tap, in a bottle, or in a can that is on the list, I'm going to try it.  I will try beers I know I won't like (Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier) and then try everything else I hope I will like.  It'll be tough to track a lot of these down I reckon, but with some determination and hopefully trading via the Internet, I will find a way!  It is my destiny!