Before moving on to the “finale beer” of our tasting, Patrick and I moved on to a beer that has been my favorite Big Beer Series beer ever since I first tried it in 2009, Smuttynose’s Baltic Porter. Carefully crafted to be both bold in flavor and smooth from its lager fermentation; this beer is a winner on all accounts. Offering the body and flavor of a well brewed imperial stout along with the drinkability of a lager (e.g. a doppelbock). In this video we taste the beer, pair it with 72% cocoa dark chocolate, and go on to discuss the growth and popularity of Smuttynose Brewing Company in terms of distribution and availability of craft beers in the US. As in the previous videos in this series, this one shows how I continued to learn more about and came to appreciate Smuttynose more and more as we went from filming the interview to 6 different tasting segments. As such, I hope all who view this series will have a similar experience. Cheers!
Stats: ABV: varies by year, IBUs: 35, availability: Winter
Stay tuned for the final beer of this tasting Zinneke, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout.
After enjoying Durty, Smuttynose’s latest release, Patrick and I moved on to tasting 3 beers from their Big Beer Series. Big in terms of both alcohol content and complexity of flavor. Additionally, all of the beers in this series are bottled in 22oz bottles to promote a shared drinking experience…Since we were transitioning off of the more hop forward beers we choose to first try Smuttynose’s Barleywine, an English Barleywine with a bit of an American hop kick. In this video we taste the beer, pair it with cheddar cheese, and discuss ways to best cellar beers especially barleywines which are known for aging quite well.
Stats (2013): 10.8% ABV, ? IBUs
Stay tuned for the tasting of 2 more Smuttynose beers…Next Up: Baltic Porter
After enjoying the balanced pairing of Big A IPA and cheddar cheese Patrick and I moved on to the final hop forward beer of the tasting. Durty, a “mud season hoppy brown ale” is the newest beer to Smuttynose’s seasonal line up of beers and has recently hit the market after receiving rave reviews as part of Smuttynose’s Short Batch series. Hence, the bottle that Patrick and I shared was quite fresh. In this video we taste the beer, discuss the story behind the beer and its packaging, and then pair it with cheddar cheese and dark chocolate.
Stats: 8.4% ABV 97 IBUs
Malts: North American 2-Row, Munich 10L, Chocolate, C-60, Brown Malt
Hops: Bittering-Magnum, Flavor- Nugget, Dry Hop- CTZ and Chinook
Yeast: White Labs WLP-001 American Ale
Available in six packs, twelve packs and cases of 12 ounce bottles as well as 5.2 gallon and 15.5 gallon kegs. Durty will be hitting markets throughout the month of January.
Stay tuned for the tasting of 3 more Smuttynose beers…Next Up: Barleywine Ale
After the Finest Kind IPA Patrick and I decided to first drink the 3 hop forward beers that he brought for the tasting and then move onto the malt forward beers that he brought from Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series. For our second beer we chose Big A IPA, Smuttynose’s Double IPA, which since it’s initial release has received great reviews and a awards such as the 2010 CAMRA Michael Jackson Award for best American Cask Ale at the Great British Beer Festival. In this video we taste the beer, pair it with a mild cheddar cheese, and discuss the story behind the vintage boxer photo on the beer’s label.
Stats: 9.8% ABV 120 IBUs
Available September through January in 4-packs and on draft in 1/6 and 1/2 barrel kegs.
Stay tuned for the tasting of 4 more Smuttynose beers…Next Up: Durty: Muddy Season Hoppy Brown Ale
After the formal interview was over Patrick and I began our somewhat informal tasting of 6 of Smuttynose’s finest beers. For our first beer we chose Finest Kind IPA, Smuttynose’s Flagship beer, which was my first ever craft brewed IPA. In this video we taste the beer, pair it with a mild cheddar cheese, and go on to talk more about what’s coming up at Smuttynose and hoppy beer trends in the craft beer scene.
Stats: 6.9% ABV 75 IBUs
Stay tuned for the tasting of 5 more Smuttynose beers…Next Up: Big A IPA
On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Patrick Fondiller, Smuttynose Brewing Company’s NY Brewery Representative (Field Manager) stopped by my apartment to chat about Smuttynose and his experiences with their beers in NY. After filming an informative interview we went on to film a tasting of 6 beers and pair some of them with cheeses and dark chocolates.
In part 1/6 or 7 I interview Patrick about Smuttynose’s new brewery, his experiences since joining the Smuttynose team, Portsmouth Brewery, and the creativity of Smuttynose’s brewers. I hope you find this video informative and that it inspires you to seek out beers from this great northeastern craft brewery.
Before pouring this beer all I knew about it was that it was a traditional Belgian ale that has been brought back after years without being brewed that it had won a gold medal at the 2012 World Beer Cup. I therefore went into this drinking experience blind with the hope of tasting a flavor profile that I’d never experienced before in other Belgian ales.
Seef Bier poured pale straw in color with a clear body (some chill haze at first) and a big white head from pouring down the center of my glass. Due to the beer being quite effervescent the head dissipated quickly, but a layer of foam did stick around till the end and leave lacing on my glass.
Upon taking my first whiff my first reactions was “this smells like a pretty standard Belgian pale ale. In other words, Sief Bier’s aroma was a mix of banana, a bit of spice, malt sweetness, and a touch of perfumey phenols. These characteristics continued into the taste and were joined by some bright lemon and peach upfront. This complexity ended at mid palate and the overall flavor profile fell a touch flat and one note in the finish.
Overall for me Seef Bier was just a standard drinkable BPA. However, it’s medium body and lingering flavors made for a drinkable and approachable Belgian ale that those new to Belgian ales can definitely enjoy.
BREWERY’S DESCIPRTION: Originally called “Ouden Tripel”, this ancient West Flanders Brown beer has found a new élan as a regional specialty under its current name: “VanderGhinste Oud Bruin”. The main ingredients of our Vanderghinste Oud Bruin are malted barley, wheat, hops, water, and caramelized malts. These are used to brew a top-fermented beer. Blending this beer with lambic beer aged in oak for 18 months results in this specific West Flanders Brown beer. Its typical flavour is characterized by a well-balanced, hardly noticeable sourness. This first flavour impression is soon followed by a second pleasant discovery: a slight bitterness followed by a hint of sweetness.
As a lover of Belgian sour/wild ales I was quite experience to be trying yet another Flemish sour ale by Bockor Brewery, the same brewery that brews Cuvee des Jacobins rouge, an amazing Flemish red ale that I seek out when at my local bars and beer stores.
Vanderghinste poured true to style with a deep opaque reddish brown body and a tan ring of head that stuck around and left some nice lacing.
Both the aroma and taste were on the sweeter side for oud bruin i.e. not as tart as other examples of the style. Furthermore, the beer’s complexity was right up my alley in terms of flavor characteristics that I like in this style in terms of malts and fruit (notes of caramel, toffee, dates, and cherries). In fact, after searching for more tartness as I took my first few sips, I came to the conclusion that the faint tartness that I did was able to detect was just right for this beer and helped round out its flavor profile. Although, I could see where some may read that this beer is blended with lambic and aged in oak barrels and expect more tartness and “funk”.
Because I liked this beer more and more as I drank it and can recommend it to those who enjoy Flemish sour ales I’ve decided to give this beer a rating of 7.5/10
In this week’s Homebrew Wednesday I talk about and show footage of me bottling my oak aged English Barleywine and then “empty out a bottle of beer related updates”.
Recipes Mentioned In This Video:
Bro Time IPA (mini-mash)
Grains (mash grains @152F):
6 lbs Pale Liquid Malt Extract
3.25 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter
12oz Caramel/Crystal 40L
4oz Carapils
Hops (60 minute boil):
1 oz Nugget @ 60 minutes
0.5 oz each Citra and Amarillo @ 15 minutes
0.5oz each Citra and Amarillo @ 5 minutes
1 oz each Citra and Amarillo @ Flameout / Whirpool
0.5 oz Nugget @ Flameout / Whirpool
2 oz each Motueka and Pacific Jade – dry hop for 7 days in secondary
Topics covered in Part Two: Bitterness Units / Gravity Units ratio, Aromatic Oils, Different Hop Products, Uses for hops in the brewing process and conditioning, Factors that affect hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma, Growing Hops at home…
On January 5, 2014 I attended a class about hops at my local home-brew shop, Bitter and Esters. Being that my primary goal for The Brewed Palate is to share my beer related adventures with as many people as possible; I chose to film key parts of the lecture portion of the class. As the most experienced home brewer at this particular class (aside from John LaPolla, owner of Bitter & Esters and teacher of this class), I was familiar with most of the material being discussed. However, in the end I did learn a fair amount and liked that John was well prepared for the class and discussed various perspectives on each topic. In addition, the tasting of the single hop beers that John brewed was well organized in that a sheet with a numbered square for each beer was included in the class’s handouts in order to keep track of the 8 beers we tried, and coffee beans, saltine crackers and water were provided to cleanse our palates between beers. I feel that homebrewers of all experience levels can learn something from this duo of videos about hops.
Materials from this class: SlidesHandouts ((Alpha Acids, Essential Oils, Aromatics, Hop Profiles, and Recipe and tasting notes for the single hop beers served after the lecture portion of the class).
If you live in NYC or in its surrounding area/s, Bitter and Esters’ large variety of classes are definitely worth checking out; whether you’re new to homebrewing or have years of experience. Check out their website for upcoming classes.
On January 5, 2014 I attended a class about hops at my local home-brew shop, Bitter and Esters. Being that my primary goal for The Brewed Palate is to share my beer related adventures with as many people as possible; I chose to film key parts of the lecture portion of the class. As the most experience home brewer at this particular class (aside from John LaPolla, owner of Bitter & Esters and teacher of this class), I was familiar with most of the material being discussed. However, in the end I did learn a fair amount and liked that John was well prepared for the class and discussed various perspectives on each topic. I feel that homebrewers of all experience levels can learn something from this duo of videos about hops.
The above video represents the first half of my footage from the class….Cheers!
Handouts(Alpha Acids, Essential Oils, Aromatics, Hop Profiles, and Recipe and tasting notes for the single hop beers served after the lecture portion of the class).
thebrewedpalate.com 