So the wife picked up the party pack of the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beers. I understand these beers were brewed by some big time beer enthusiasts who send in videos. The beers are usually then sold off on the market, probably for charity. Typically I'm not a weizenbock fan, but I'll give it a try.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Mouth a little dry, hot as ballz outside
Sierra Nevada Weizenbock
Orangish straw color with long lasting low head. Nose has banana ester and veggie nose. Beer has a nice moderate syrup sweet flavor, something akin to plum, and a nice amount of crystal malt. I'm getting a nice softness that is obviously attributed to the wheat. I would even give the kudos for the high carbonation, which works for both bocks and weissebiers. I absolutely loved the 4 star Glissade this year (not so much last year's), and love a good german wiesse bier. You know what. 4 stars for this one. Nice and simple, yet very good and very refreshing. A welcome change from SN's typical cascade hop glory beers.
Speaking of hop glory
Sierra Nevada Double IPA
Clear and straw. Big white poofy head. Oh yes lord. Huge piney/citrus/grassy hops. Very fresh and a DRINK NOW IPA. The beer is just barely balanced with the malt, and has the right crispness to keep from being cloying on the palate. Has that steely malt feel to it. Yes sir yes sir. It is extremely strong, a pinch acidic, and yet jumps right off. I just need some spicy crawfish from Hanks or some chicken from Fainmous BBQ with the hot BBQ sauce and I'm in there. High 4 stars.
Showing posts with label weizenbock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weizenbock. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, October 2, 2008
St. Arnold Divine Reserve 7
Funny story.
So St. Arnold has their divine reserve #7 coming out in late September. I was supposed to be offshore, and I forgot about it as my wife is probably too busy to be at the liquor store at 10AM on a workday. They delayed the release to September 30 when Hurricane Ike made its way to Houston, when I would be back on dry land.
September 30 comes and goes and I totally forget about it, as I had to take the baby to the doctor and a couple other errands. It was her wellbaby visit with all the vaccines, so I was hoping we could make it out without too much crying. She was crying when the nurse was listening to her heartbeat. Poor girl.
October 1st comes and my wife calls me up in the middle of the day, saying that I need to find Divine Reserve. I get all fired up, call up some Specs and HEB. Specs had run out within an hour, and the Wine/Beer guy at HEB was not answering the phone. I had a couple errands, and around 3:30, I went to a neat little bar (that used to be a brewpub) that had Divine Reserve #6 (a 5 Star beer). They don't have it. I order a Pyramid Apricot Ale, and quickly derate it from a 4 star to a 3 star, as the drinkability was pretty bad. The gent at the bar said that they didn't make hardly any kegs of DR7, and I won't find it on draft anywhere. I could find DR6 at a couple local pubs months after it had come out (sad). I chat up the guys about beer, my homebrew, and about Obama, and move on home.
I have HEB's number in my phone (the one about 10 miles north of where I was). I call and get the Wine/Beer guy as I am driving home. He says he has DR7 for sale, I tell him I'm on the way and hang up. You want to talk about DRIVING. I had 1o miles of city driving to the upper northwest Houston metro area, and cops were EVERYWHERE. I'm going 55-60 in a 45 zone. I am yelling at people in front of me, "GET OUT THE WAY B!TCH". Visions of tasers dance in my head, but I found my Drowning Pool CD to fire me up and let it ride.
I finally make it HEB, which seemed to take 5 hours. I walk with purpose through the parking lot, breeze past the cheese and bread areas, and make it to Wine/Beer. Plenty of good stuff, but the St Arnolds section had no DR7. The wine/beer guy is not there, and I find someone who looks like a manager. We both look around, and there is nothing there. He says he'll get with the manufacturer tomorrow to get the beer there. I thank him, but apparently he is not aware of the power of St Arnolds Divine Reserve. It is an underground Holiday in Houston, TX when a DR comes out. Normally it sells out within an hour. People are a stone's throw away from performing sexual favors for a 6 pack.
One last sweep through the wine section, and I see it, 4 SIX PACKS OF DIVINE RESERVE #7. Oh hell yeah. No fancy display, no anything. Just four six packs sitting next to a couple bottles of Pinot. I start to pick up 3 of the 6 packs. I figure that there is bound to be some poor sap out there in the same boat I am, and he could be on the way to find a 6 pack. I consider that a community service. I should get a tax break. As I pick up the three 6 packs, an older sistah asks me, "are you old enough to buying that beer". WOMAN, I AIN'T TRYING TO HEAR THAT! I didn't say that, but I thought it. She quickly said she was joking, and I smiled, and made a B-line for the register.
Finally, I OWN a Divine Reserve beer. A beer that (without some pictures of the brewer in a hot tub with the governor's wife while snorting an eightball of coke off her bosom) St. Arn will never brew again. The DR #6 was one of the best beer I'd ever had. And now, St. Arn has delivered once again...
Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve #7
A Weizenbock. The only time I had one of those was in Austin, and it was not up to snuff. Just plain boring. St Arn did a homebrew competition in Weizenbocks, and let the winner brew one batch of the stuff and sell it. Cost me 15 bucks a 6 pack. They could have charged 30.
Pours thick, dark brown color, very cloudy in a weizen glass. Good brown head on it that is very strong. It smells of strong roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee grounds. I think there was some element of wheat beer smells (banana, estery), but it is simply overpowered by the bock smells. Taste, oh yeah, strong malt, very thick, with a slight hop on the aftertaste. VERY VERY drinkable, low carbonation, tailor made for guys like me. Excellent mouthfeel, which comes from the wheat, but not very bready. It just fills up your mouth completely and very smooth (nullus). Definetly not a session beer, though there are no traces of alcohol. To further characterize that malt, I would say it is almost maple syrupy, maybe a little fruity. But this beer as excellent balance. This is a beer that I think helps define why we do what we do. I am sitting here watching this boring debate, and all of an hour after drinking it down, I am craving it big time. But smartly I only chilled 2 of them (one for the wife). We will cellar some of it, and break it out on special occasions. 5 Stars, all day long.
So St. Arnold has their divine reserve #7 coming out in late September. I was supposed to be offshore, and I forgot about it as my wife is probably too busy to be at the liquor store at 10AM on a workday. They delayed the release to September 30 when Hurricane Ike made its way to Houston, when I would be back on dry land.
September 30 comes and goes and I totally forget about it, as I had to take the baby to the doctor and a couple other errands. It was her wellbaby visit with all the vaccines, so I was hoping we could make it out without too much crying. She was crying when the nurse was listening to her heartbeat. Poor girl.
October 1st comes and my wife calls me up in the middle of the day, saying that I need to find Divine Reserve. I get all fired up, call up some Specs and HEB. Specs had run out within an hour, and the Wine/Beer guy at HEB was not answering the phone. I had a couple errands, and around 3:30, I went to a neat little bar (that used to be a brewpub) that had Divine Reserve #6 (a 5 Star beer). They don't have it. I order a Pyramid Apricot Ale, and quickly derate it from a 4 star to a 3 star, as the drinkability was pretty bad. The gent at the bar said that they didn't make hardly any kegs of DR7, and I won't find it on draft anywhere. I could find DR6 at a couple local pubs months after it had come out (sad). I chat up the guys about beer, my homebrew, and about Obama, and move on home.
I have HEB's number in my phone (the one about 10 miles north of where I was). I call and get the Wine/Beer guy as I am driving home. He says he has DR7 for sale, I tell him I'm on the way and hang up. You want to talk about DRIVING. I had 1o miles of city driving to the upper northwest Houston metro area, and cops were EVERYWHERE. I'm going 55-60 in a 45 zone. I am yelling at people in front of me, "GET OUT THE WAY B!TCH". Visions of tasers dance in my head, but I found my Drowning Pool CD to fire me up and let it ride.
I finally make it HEB, which seemed to take 5 hours. I walk with purpose through the parking lot, breeze past the cheese and bread areas, and make it to Wine/Beer. Plenty of good stuff, but the St Arnolds section had no DR7. The wine/beer guy is not there, and I find someone who looks like a manager. We both look around, and there is nothing there. He says he'll get with the manufacturer tomorrow to get the beer there. I thank him, but apparently he is not aware of the power of St Arnolds Divine Reserve. It is an underground Holiday in Houston, TX when a DR comes out. Normally it sells out within an hour. People are a stone's throw away from performing sexual favors for a 6 pack.
One last sweep through the wine section, and I see it, 4 SIX PACKS OF DIVINE RESERVE #7. Oh hell yeah. No fancy display, no anything. Just four six packs sitting next to a couple bottles of Pinot. I start to pick up 3 of the 6 packs. I figure that there is bound to be some poor sap out there in the same boat I am, and he could be on the way to find a 6 pack. I consider that a community service. I should get a tax break. As I pick up the three 6 packs, an older sistah asks me, "are you old enough to buying that beer". WOMAN, I AIN'T TRYING TO HEAR THAT! I didn't say that, but I thought it. She quickly said she was joking, and I smiled, and made a B-line for the register.
Finally, I OWN a Divine Reserve beer. A beer that (without some pictures of the brewer in a hot tub with the governor's wife while snorting an eightball of coke off her bosom) St. Arn will never brew again. The DR #6 was one of the best beer I'd ever had. And now, St. Arn has delivered once again...
Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve #7
A Weizenbock. The only time I had one of those was in Austin, and it was not up to snuff. Just plain boring. St Arn did a homebrew competition in Weizenbocks, and let the winner brew one batch of the stuff and sell it. Cost me 15 bucks a 6 pack. They could have charged 30.
Pours thick, dark brown color, very cloudy in a weizen glass. Good brown head on it that is very strong. It smells of strong roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee grounds. I think there was some element of wheat beer smells (banana, estery), but it is simply overpowered by the bock smells. Taste, oh yeah, strong malt, very thick, with a slight hop on the aftertaste. VERY VERY drinkable, low carbonation, tailor made for guys like me. Excellent mouthfeel, which comes from the wheat, but not very bready. It just fills up your mouth completely and very smooth (nullus). Definetly not a session beer, though there are no traces of alcohol. To further characterize that malt, I would say it is almost maple syrupy, maybe a little fruity. But this beer as excellent balance. This is a beer that I think helps define why we do what we do. I am sitting here watching this boring debate, and all of an hour after drinking it down, I am craving it big time. But smartly I only chilled 2 of them (one for the wife). We will cellar some of it, and break it out on special occasions. 5 Stars, all day long.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Austin Part 2: Who's House???
We now return you to your regularky scheduled beering updates. I would have been posting earlier but someone has to get out to the platform to get that Oil so that the people in Florida can drive their Mercedes on South Beach.
We left Uncle Billy's and zipped up the westside to Draught House Pub and Brewery. The brewpub was much more of a pub than a restaurant. What's cool is that folks were hanging out in Draught's parking lot with music going and beer drinking. Kinda like Fast and the Furious without the cute Asian women or the fancy cars. Just a bunch of folks kind of tailgating listening to Pink Floyd.
Based on my sobriety points remaining, I felt that only 2 beers would work for me. They had 3 beers brewed onsite on the chalkboard: a hefeweizen, a weizenbock, and a Black wheat. We got in line and I ordered myself their Weizenbock.
First thing I notice is that these chumps have the St. Arnold's Divine Reserve #6 on the durn board. We could have had it out here rather than to downtown Houston before rolling back out to Austin. Oh well. I have since found #6 two more times in Houston.
Weizenbock
Don't think I've ever had a weizenbock, but I like bock and I like wheat beers, so what could go wrong? Crayon brown and opaque in appearance with offwhite head. It was on tap and poured into a dimpled glass. It has a caramel and sugary sweet smell. The taste makes me think of a hefe made with roasted malts. It has a full mouthfeel, low carbonation and hops, with a quick finish. The more I drink it, the more of the roasty/choco malts. It seems like it is a combo wheat/bock beer.
Black Wheat
Dark brown and opaque, but with a tan head. This one has a strong roasted/chocolate smell. It tastes smokey, roasted malt, and like a wheat full mouthfeel. Low hops on the aftertaste this time with low carbonation.
These beers were okay, but I was running a bit low on SB points. I nearly didn't finish the Black Wheat. The pub itself looks like a cool college town hangout spot. On their website they claim both beers have some banana flavor, but I didn't get it. Nice place though. I would like to see them try some more hoppy beers, but with the hop shortage, who knows.
Independence is not only the name of my high school, but is a microbrewery in Austin. I did not find a brewpub, so we just grabbed Indy whenever we could find it.
Clear gold, no head, biting but mild hops on the nose. Sudden strong hops that disappears just as fast. Some cistrus as well. Nice change of pace. It goes down easy with medium carbonation. I would not say that this in an American or India Pale Ale, probably more English
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