Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Year round beer production:

Session Pils, Left of the Dial and Infinite Jest are brewed at Two Roads in CT.

Zwickel Bier is brewed at Von Trapp in VT and Notch in Salem

Dog & Pony is brewed at Two Roads in VT and Notch in Salem

Slanted & Enchanted is brewed at Notch in Salem

Our only year round lager that is not decocted is Session Pils, but we do a version in Salem that is triple decocted. May move Session Pils to a decocted mash next year.

In Salem, all of our Czech lagers are double or triple decocted, and our German can be single, double or triple depending on the beer.

We haven't brewed at Ipswich in a few years.

I think that answers all the questions, I didn't read the whole thread, so hit me up if you have something else to ask

 

Has anyone tried the newer Gordon-Biersch version of their Pils? They're calling it "Full Pressure Unfiltered Pils -- Robustly Hopped Lager." 32 IBUs, but they don't list the hop strain(s).

I stopped into the local Trader Joe's for some of the G-B - brewed beers and my first taste of the Plzner was a bit of a shock -- the hop character is very "new Noble," not as traditional as it used to be; very resinous and piny. It's also pretty clear, so I don't know how it lines up with the current G-B Pils.

I checked G-B's web site and noticed that they've cut back on the different styles they used to have, changed label art, and don't even seem to have seasonals any more.

I also got some of the TJ's Heller Bock (what G-B is now calling their "Cave Raider Blonde Bock," huh?) and it still seems to be inline with what they brewed previously.

 

@steveh I've always like GB brews, they are also great value beers and over the years have made some great (and mostly fresh) Märican beers. The new pilsner intrigues me, I'll have to stop in and pick up a 6pk.

 

@steveh could GB be moving more from their traditional German lineup? At the DC Lager Fest, they had a Cali Common and another one, of which I can’t remember. It might have been an American Pre-Pro Pilsner. Similarly, they are having a tasting event next week where they are releasing a traditional Chesapeake Porter from the 19th century. Are they moving more into American “heritage” styles?

 

Was GB represented by the local brew-pub, or the original brewery in California? The beers made for Trader Joe's are brewed in California and that brewery only distributes to certain areas of the country.

 

I think it was their brewpubs either in DC or the nearby brewpub in Rockville, MD. However, their table was staffed by volunteers who worked at different tables all day. The volunteers knew little about the beer or the company they were representing, so I couldn't really talk to them about what they were serving me.

 

So I stopped into my local Trader Joes looking for the GB unfiltered pils, and it wasn't there. But, fortunately for me, the new SN/Weihenstephan Oktoberfest collaboration beer was in stock! My thoughts....

Bottled 8/3/2018....Beer poured with a slight amber hue, aromas of breadiness, biscuit and a hint of citrus. Missing a bit of noble hops, I guess that's the American influence :-) Just a guess, but I would say some sort of American FWH addition (SN=Cascade?). The beer seemed a tad oily but had a huge upfront bread/biscuit flavor - not so much like Weyermann pils bread but more like Biscuit/cara malt. Very sweet on the palate. Aftertaste of citrus and caramalt, almost a bit overpowering and lingering. Super tasty 6% ABV brew, did not taste like a typical SN brew, but also nothing like a common pale Oktoberfest.

My gut says that this needs a bit more cold lagering...this bottle was packaged only 20 days ago. I will leave the rest in my fridge for a few more weeks and re-visit. Prosit!

 

I thought both of these beers were excellent. Shipping Out of Boston was super smooth and soft. Big malt character with just enough herbal hops to balance it. Great Export lager.

Apparently, I had a bottle of Sunny Ridge about 4 years ago and gave it a low rating on here. I'm happy to say the cans I had this time were a different story. Nice floral and grassy hop bite. Dry, bitter and delicious. Highly recommend both of these beers.

 

To my palate at least, Jack's Abby tweaked the recipe for this over the years and now it's really dialed in.

Was that beer clear? There's condesation on the glass, and I don't recall from a few months ago when I had it.

Because I do recall it being hazy and then clearing up throughout the years as it improved.

Don't quote me on this either, but I believe they gained the ability to do decoction mashing in the last couple of years. I think at least their Oktoberfest uses decoction mashing, but it's possible other beers are too.

 

Yes, the Sunny Ridge had great clarity. Good catch about the condensation on the glass!

 

Nice little write-up in our local alt-weekly about our Festbier (though I'd take issue with the "honey" description; it's clearly sweet breadiness from the Barke malt, dummy )

When you think about it, it’d be rather damning if Bierkeller Columbia didn’t have a great festbier. After all, the lager-centric enterprise conducted by Scott Burgess within the facility belonging to Swamp Cabbage Brewing Company sets as its mission to (per its website) brew “exclusively German styles [that] contain only the four essential ingredients: malt, water, hops, and yeast.”

True to the exemplary form Bierkeller shows with its other offerings, its seasonal Oktoberfest brew is a crushable delight. Pouring out dark gold with a pleasantly foamy head, it drinks a little slower and heavier than the company’s other beers, and is the only one with an ABV above 6 percent. But it’s heavier with purpose, providing a bright but delicate honeyed malt backbone enhanced by subtly floral hop accents. It’s a perfect brew for the early fall in Columbia, complementing the hint of cool in the evening air while providing enough refreshment to stand tall against 80 (or 90) degree afternoons.

And you’ll have ample opportunity to enjoy it. Bierkeller is back hosting biergartens in Riverfront Park, setting up most Tuesdays (5-9 p.m.) and select Saturdays (1-8 p.m.) through December.

 

Getting to one of your pop-up events is on my bucket list!

 

Have you tried Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger? If not, I would recommend that you try this beer.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26520/71501/

Cheers!

 

Maybe next year when you travel for Thanksgiving?

It is a good thing to give Thanks!

Cheers!

 

I flew through Charlotte over the weekend and got a chance to try the Olde Meck Copper for the first time. If I could buy that out here, it would be in my fridge permanently. I've only had a handful of authentic tasting altbiers from the US and it might be the best of the bunch.

 

Happened to be in the St Louis area recently and got to try some Urban Chestnut. Really enjoyed the Zwickel, richly malty but with a definite noble/grassy/herbal snap (and a fine accompaniment for fried pickles no less!)

I enjoy beer - have since I was introduced to it and probably always will - but have grown generally tired of trying to keep up with the latest trends, many of which don’t much suit me. The STL trip was sort of a summation of this feeling — hit the hot craft spots (Side Project, which I found wildly underwhelming; Perennial, much more enjoyable; and a local spot called Narrow Gauge, whose hazy IPAs had been well recommended but which I found mostly forgettable), but it was Urban Chestnut’s lagers which I most enjoyed (had a dunkel lager from them whose name I can’t remember but was also very tasty).