What’s the Difference? Share your Side-by-Side (2021)

Now, much to my wife's chagrin, am following up with a Trappistes Rochefort 8. ("Really, three beers? Aren't you trying to lose weight?") Obviously a very different style. Usually, I drink the 10, but the 8 is nice when you want something just a bit lighter. In fact, recently I've found the 10 almost too sweet. Think my batch needs to age a bit more. The 8 seems perfect. Then again, after the Westmalle Tripel and Chimay White Cap my judgment is likely impaired. I'll stop at three. But I am a very happy man.

 

Interesting. I just bought a few bottles of Orval from the LCBO (Ontario provincial liquor store). I drank the first bottle a week ago. It surprised me. Quite good, but it didn't have the funky Orval taste I remember (it had been about two years since I had had one.) Wonder if aging makes a difference or if it's just that this recent batch isn't so yeasty?

 

Aging most definitely makes a difference when it comes to that Orval funk. Since you can't control for age when you buy them, they would benefit from being put aside for a year or two.

 

FWIW I am personally not a fan of Von Trapp Bohemian Pilsner and I have had that beer fresh. While I am a fan of the Bohemian Pilsner beer style the Von Trapp version just isn't my 'cup of tea'. Apparently not for you either?

Cheers!

 

No it wasn't. It was good, but it drinks a bit odd: it's too shy to be reminiscent of a Czech pils and it just falls a bit flat.

 

With regret, I must admit that my wife was right. I gained 1.5 pounds overnight. So each Trappist Ale drunk equates to half a pound gained.

I have decided to give up food. The beer is simply too good.

 

Priorities, a man must have priorities.
Were not Trappist Ales brewed to be replacement for bread during lent? You should be fine.

 

Have you tried the Von Trapp Bavarian Pilsner? If not I would add that to your bucket list.

Cheers!

 

Ok, so I had a new Hefeweizen from a Virginia brewer that has produced decent offerings, in my opinion. I liked this beer, called Compass by Front Royal Brewing but found it a little more wheat grain to earthy versus what I’m used to experiencing. But should I be expecting different? Let’s see what Hofbrauhaus Freising has to say by way of a comparison...


Well, first it says, “Son, you gotta learn to keep your head up!”

I thought the Virginia brew looked a little “dirty” without a comparison, but the Freising is actually a little darker and more hazy, but not by very much on the latter.

Next, Freising claims, “Your cologne is nice, but you could use one more small splash.”

Similar notes, the Virginia brew might be a little more raw and there’s a little more sweet, bubblegum from the German brew, but they are closer than expected. There’s also a light mineral background note from the German brew in lieu of the earthy note from closer to home.

Lastly, Freising notes with a slight head nod towards me, “You aren’t as down to earth as someone claimed you were, but you’re okay.”

Oddly, the Virginia beer has a sort of citrus note to it compared to Freising. The bases of both beers are similar, but Freising sticks with the base notes and adds a baseball card bubblegum note. Compass brings some higher “citrus-like tang,” relatively.

I like the German brew just ever so slightly more, but by less than I expected to. I would say they are near interchangeable.

Freising snorts, “F you!”
Taken aback, I say, “Well, you definitely are better looking than Compass.”
Compass interjects, “F you, you shallow —”

Sheesh! I highly encourage you do your own side-by-sides, folks, but be careful doing them!

Cheers!!

 

Here's a Saturday Night Special coming up:

Big honkin' can o' Presidene vs. Big honkin' can o' Sol.

The Sol is rounded, corny up front with a grainy base and a flavor that reminds me of Chex cereal. Hops are barely detectable if at all- with the minimum snap to keep things from coming off as flabby. Surprisingly full bodied for the style. And the finish has a flavor that is sort of like grape soda. The most surprising thing is: it has a unique personality and it actually works.

Presidente- you can't really tell from that photo, but this one is a pale yellow compared to Sol's gold. It's also got a totally different feel to it: very much as a no-bullshit beer flavored beer (there, I said it ). Nothing odd like cereal or soda happening at all. Spicy hop flavor with crackery malt, some cornbread crust, and a nice love tap of bitterness. Light and bouncy feel but not watery. It's just that the 'beer flavor' is turned down to the 3 to 4 range. Easy drinking and pleasant.

For a style where the knock is that they are all the same, nothing could be further from the truth tonight. These are radically different takes, and each is pretty damn nice in its own way.

If I had to pick a winner it would be the Presidente, but I shall not regret buying either of these cans tonight. Cheers all!

 

I liked it first, and now let´s see.

 

Nice!

 

The ‘original’ Champagne of Beers!?!

There are not many commercially brewed CAP (Classic American Pilsner) beers available. In the past I discussed a CAP brewed by Straub 1872 (they refer to it as a Pre-Prohibition Lager):

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-678.559974/#post-5884158

It has been several years since I have seen Straub 1872 on my local beer retailers’ shelves. Last fall I sent an e-mail to Straub asking for help in locating this beer. The folks at Straub just ignored me.

Today I will be discussing a CAP brewed by Upland Brewing: Champagne Velvet. There is a very interesting backstory to this beer:

“The Terre Haute Brewing Co. was founded in 1855 and grew to be one of the largest breweries in Indiana. In 1902, Terre Haute brewmaster Walter Braun created a lager called Champagne Velvet (CV) that quickly became the flagship beer of the company. While the beer helped the brewery spread its market and fame during the next two decades, Prohibition forced the brewery to close and its assets were sold.”

After prohibition:

“CV was officially re-launched on March 17, 1934, and the city of Terre Haute celebrated with a parade during which bands played a march specially written for the occasion. By the end of its first year in production, CV was available in 19 states, and it was firmly established as an Indiana favorite.”

And:

“In 2012, Upland was looking for a special beer to make in celebration of their fifteenth anniversary, and their sights set on Champagne Velvet, says Patrick Lynch, head brewer at Upland. “We really wanted to pay tribute to Indiana brewing heritage, and Champagne Velvet was a natural for us,” he explains.”

All of the quoted material above is from the below link which includes further details for the interested student:

https://www.growlermag.com/glass-from-the-past-champagne-velvet/

In case anyone one was wondering, Miller High Life was first brewed in 1903 so Champagne Velvet has the ‘rights’ to the first Champagne of Beers vs. MHL.

It has been a while since I conducted a side-by-side tasting so I figured I would conduct one today of Champagne Velvet and my homebrewed CAP.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glasses:

Appearance:

Champagne Velvet: Light straw colored with a BIG white head which dissipates fairly quickly.

Jack’s CAP: A bright golden color with a HUGE white head which lasts and lasts; even a ½ inch head when the glass is half full.

Aroma:

Champagne Velvet: There is a very mild graininess with just a tiny hint of floral from the hops.

Jack’s CAP: A robust combination of some biscuity malt aroma with plenty of herbal & spicy aromas from the hops.

Taste:

Champagne Velvet: The flavor follows the nose with a bit of grainy flavors and a subtle floral flavor from the hop. There is an aspect of sweetness to this beer. A light-medium bitterness.

Jack’s CAP: The flavor follows the nose; biscuity malt flavor accompanied by robust herbal and spicy flavors from the hops. There is a firm bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Champagne Velvet: Light body with a dry finish.

Jack’s CAP: Medium bodied with a pleasant crisp & dry finish

Overall

Champagne Velvet: This is a well brewed beer but too light for a CAP in my opinion. I will borrow some verbiage from @FBarber here: “…straddling the line between AAL and Classic American Pilsner.”

Jack’s CAP: A robust and enjoyable Pilsner combining biscuity malt flavors with spicy/herbal hop flavors.

For those of you who enjoy drinking AAL beers (I do from time to time) and are looking for ‘more’ to that beer style I would recommend Champagne Velvet to you.

Cheers!

 

Ok, a while ago I went for a new country tick, and had a nicely passable lager called Paceña. One of my takes is that there was too much flavor, but what was there was pretty good, and it definitely was refreshing.

So, to see how tasteless the beer was or wasn't I decided to try it against another beer. My review had Freising Jagerbier as a malty-turning-noble bitter beer. I definitely didn't get this in Paceña, so if they are fairly close, one of my impressions seems wrong. Let's see:


The Freising is more golden than Paceña's pale yellow, and has just a tad more head/retention, but fairly close out of the gate.

There's more bread in Jagerbier, but it has a berry-like fruit note that I definitely didn't have in the original review. The Paceña has less malt notes and a more citrusy fruit aroma that has a hint of grape soda. (I'm not sure what's up with the fruit notes I am getting - my fingers smell like hand soap and I hand wash the glasses with more of a pine-scented dish washing liquid.)

Ignoring the fruit notes, there is still the bready malt notes that come through in the Jagerbier that the Paceña is missing. Jagerbier is starting to gain a lead.

Paceña has a light base, with a bit more corn than I got in my previous attempts. Relatively, there is a sugar sweetness (it seems to get a little bit of banana later in the glass) that joins bread and crust opening notes of the Jagerbier. The hops are not putting as big a bite into that sweetness as I hoped for and read in my original review. Relatively, Paceña is actually a little more bitter up front (it's really neutral - which the buzzword for this beer).

Jagerbier is fading a little in the stretch...
Finishing a sip of Jagerbier and sipping the Paceña shows that the Jagerbier is a little more bitter in the end, but not by a whole lot. Paceña is easier to sip for me due to its more neutral opening.

At the wire...
So yes, Paceña is more plain Jane, that is confirmed. However, the interesting parts of this "competitor" come with a little sweet baggage. I think if I were to have another now, I would grab a Paceña. If I were to grab one of these tomorrow, I would grab the Jagerbier.

 

20253 code, so maybe a bit old if that's as straightforward as I hope? Maybe that's what made it a closer battle than expected.