Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Yeah, that sounds like something happened to it. I went back for a second sixer a month later to see if the hops melded a bit better, and didn't have any issues like that with either one I had.

 

They've been open a number of years now... and have a larger brewing operation in the pipeline.... solid stuff, and a lovely location! !!

 

But the Von Trapp family is Austrian

 

Yeah... wasn't gonna start picking nits... this time.

After all, Trumer Austrian Pilsner is my favorite "German-Style" Pilsner.

 

Not sure -- all I know is that it was far from the beer everyone was raving about and I wasn't willing to gamble on the remaining 5 bottles.

 

No cobblestone roads or cathedrals gracing my neighborhood, but it was a beautiful Summer day to enjoy my new favorite.

 

I finally visited the American Beer Mecca that is the Hill Farmstead brewery this past weekend. I have a few growlers with me that I plan on consuming this weekend (best by dates are a week out from growler fills on their bottles) and I purchased their glass, so I’ll try to post some pictures in this thread in a few days.

I had the chance to try samples of Everett (their highly touted porter) and Double Citra and Society and Solitude (DIPA’s, the former being one of their highest rated), all three of which I purchased growlers of. I also bought a bottle of Arthur, one of their saisons.

I had full glasses of their Mosaic Single Hop Pale Ale, Works of Love (a hoppy session blonde brewed with tea), and then Edward (their famous pale ale) and Mary (their German pils) on draft at Parker Pie.

Some quick notes…I’ve had many of their saisons before, and Edward on draft. I find them to be a great brewery, but honestly, their hoppy beer isn’t anything that’s better (and in some cases isn’t on par with) some of the top pale ales/IPAs I’ve had in Massachusetts and Vermont. Breweries like Trillium, Wormtown, The Alchemist, Lawson’s…etc. have caught up with Sean. And I haven’t even tried what many consider the top Massachusetts brewery, Treehouse. Moreover, he has a HUGE advantage in that none of his hoppy beers are bottled, they’re growler only. They’re being consumed fresher than the competition.

Finally, I want to comment on their German pils, which I was ECSTATIC to find. To try their only lager was a real treat. It was hoppier, and more “American” pils than German. Akin to Prima Pils, and probably the beer I would most compare it to. However, I enjoyed this far more than Prima. Mary started off balanced, some hops in the nose/first sip but you’re not blown away, and I perceived a decent amount of biscuity sweetness from the malt as well. In the middle of the beer, the hops began to poke through more and more, reminding me of Prima. A very good pils, but I would have liked to have seen more pils malt presence (what typically separates the elite pils from the very good for my palate). I also would have liked to see the beer be a bit more crisp, and since it was hop forward to me, more of that lingering bitterness I get with a hoppier German pils. Bear in mind, this is only from having ONE draft, I hope to someday try another.

All in all, my favorite beer from them will still be Walden (a 4% session blonde) I had on draft a few years ago. Tasted like a 7% IPA and wasn’t thin at all, amazing. Much better than their Works of Love I had this past weekend.

 

Weirdly enough i found some Anderson Valley Beers (IPA,Oatmeal Stout,Amber Ale) in my area.
Probably not the freshest so ill try to drink em quick

i also noticed changes in terms of Importers of Anchor Beers.
Used to be imported by a dutch company,now it's the "Nordmann Gruppe" (owners of Störtebeker Brewery)

 

Mostly @steveh but I'm very excited to see how our local Notch Brewing's new brewery pans out next year....notice the decoction capable brewhouse mentioned...I love their beers, and this guy's style. If I had to work for one local brewery, it would be these guys. Solid brewer, with years of experience who...shocker...went to the source to learn about the culture and the beer styles.

http://www.vontrappbrewing.com/von-trapp-lagers-and-beers.htm

In other news, von Trapp brewery from Vermont has started distributed mixed 12 packs, and I picked one up last weekend. I've only drank a couple bottles while at a wedding, more thorough reviews coming. The link above is to their site with the four beers in the mix pack. Their Helles, Munich Dunkel, Czech Pils, and Vienna Lager.

 

So, I splurged and got a few of Ballast Point beers (Sculpin, Grapefruit Sculpin, Big Eye) which I will likely have a closer look at quite soon (I know I've been a bit absent as of late, university can eat up a lot of time).

 

Interesting updates from Jack's Abby on changes to their brewing methods, including spunding. @herrburgess should be thrilled

http://jacksabbybrewing.com/blog/2015/07/about-the-beer-spunding-and-slurming-updates/

 

Sounds like a good move. I'm actually not intricate on the specific processes involved but I do think that you can notice the difference with certain beers.

I remember trying Warsteiner and absolutely hating the "co2 explosion" mouthfeel. Compare that with a Schönramer... much less intrusive.

This reminds me, I still have to try some of these American recreations of our traditional styles.

 

Hmm, I wonder which beers they're dry hopping? Is it just their IPLs?

Their "traditional" German pils, Sunny Ridge, and their session lager, Jabby Brau, do not taste like they've been dry hopped to me.

 

I love GF sculpin and big eye.
Sculpin was good but had a weird onion-y taste

 

You'll likely taste that with a lot of the hefty IBU-heavy west coast IPA's. Not everyone picks up that flavor profile, but if you get it in Sculpin, you'll probably get it in others like Pliny and some of the Alpine hoppy beers.
I'm also sensitive to that flavor profile, but (luckily) don't get much of it in Sculpin.

 

According to the internet:

“This was provided to me by Ballast Point on Monday. No, they did not provide a hop schedule, just the list.

Mash hops: Simcoe
Boil: CTZ, Chinook, Cascade, Northern Brewer, Centennial, Galena, Amarillo
Dry Hop: Amarillo & Simcoe”

I personally do not pick up any onion from Sculpin and I have never read in any homebrewing forums that other folks perceive onion from any of those hops listed above.

Hmm, maybe drmeto is perceiving Simcoe as oniony? For my palate Simcoe = piney.

The one hop that I have read lots of folks perceive as being oniony is Summit hops. I personally avoid drinking beers that are brewed using Summit hops and I refuse to use any Summit hops in my homebrewing.

Cheers!

 

It is primarily our IPLs and Hopstitutions that are dry hopped. The ones that you mentioned are not dry hopped.

 

I get cat pee and ditch weed from simcoe on occasion, but not really in the case of Sculpin.
For onions, I think CTZ can give that character. I've had commercial brewer friends swear citra can, too...but not often.

 

Both Simcoe and Citra are high in a compound referred to as 4MMP. Different people will perceive 4MMP differently. There seems to be a genetic component in this as studies indicate that a higher percentage of women will perceive 4MMP as cat pee vs. men.

For my palate:

• Simcoe = piney
• Citra = tropical fruits

Cheers!

 

I usually get a slightly sweet lemon juice note from citra. Not quite the lemon candy note with lemondrop, but more of a "real" fruit juice character. It reminds me a little of bitter lemon soda from Germany now that I think about it.