Monday, August 17, 2009

Drinking out of the can/bottle


I'm sitting here about 3-4 beers in before I have to go back to the water for a 2 week stint. I enjoyed some great beers over the weekend, including the Sam Adams Triple Chocolate Stout. It wasn't quite as chocolatey as I thought it would be, but fantastic for a desert beer.

Today I've been drinking beers like Heineken Dark, Oskar Blue's Mama's Little Yella Pils, and Michelob Marzen all out of the can or bottle. All I can say is that the Pils and Marzen were A LOT better out of the can/bottle than in a glass. In a glass I found both of them boring. But the Mama's had a great extra maltiness to it out of the can. The Marzen has the same thing. Nice and flavorful for a session beer. What I want to know is: why is it that some beer taste better straight out of the bottle or can? A few weeks ago the wife picked up some Fat Tire in a can and it was fantastic. One sec...

Beer Log: Right now
State: ever so slightly tipsy

St. Rogue Red Ale (dry hopped)
Moderate malt nose, not as hoppy on the nose as I would think. Slight cloudy dark amber color with a big tan head. Taste is extremely overly hopped. Big on the citrus and piney hops. Nowhere near the maltiness I smelled on the beer. Moderate to high carbonation with an excellent crisp finish. I'm they dry hopped it up, but the nose to flavor experience suggests there were a lot more hops in the boil. The malt is a little caramely. The beer leaves me feeling pretty dry as well. 3 Star if you are eating spicy food.

So how is it that some session beers are so much better out of the bottle? We think that when you put a beer in a glass, it opens up with exposure air. Just like wine, beer can breathe and give off flavors and scents. But we figure that certain low flavor craft beers will give away to nothing the little bit of flavor they have left if you put it in a glass and swirl it about. Straight out of the bottle I get a light choco/syrup from Shiner Bock, and I get an excellent smooth maltiness from Fat Tire. On tap or poured into a glass, they go down a full star rating. Amazing how that works. I guess we beer lovers and connoisseur's won't have to risk alienating ourselves when we drink out of the bottle for tailgating season. Anyway, more beering to come. I owe you guys my beer posts from Toronto. Holla.

2 comments:

HolzBrew said...

I think generally beer in a glass is better, but you are right that certain beers rock out of a can. I think beers in a can warm up a little quicker as the aluminum is thinner than glass. This warmer temperature allows you to taste more.

The American Don said...

Indeed. I just like the fact that the beer gets colder that much quicker.