New Beer Weekend #134

A New and Improved Budweiser?

No, today’s new beer is not a Bud but is instead: Jack’s Abby Kogarashi Rice Lager.

Before we get to the beer, a fun fact. Did you know that in the 1800’s the Budweiser label was in German? Below is a label of the original Budweiser beer from 1876:



Beyond the aspect of it being in German the other noteworthy aspect is that it lists C. Conrad & Co. as the company producing this beer (it was contract brewed at AB, which was called E. Anheuser Company's Brewing Association at that time).

The ‘connection’ between Budweiser and this beer from Jack’s Abby is they are both beers brewed using rice. Below is the list of ingredients on the beer can:

“Brewed with: American 2-Row Barley and Rice, Centennial Hops

Step Infusion Mash

Naturally Carbonated”

The Budweiser of 1876 would have been brewed using American 6-row barley malt (the predominant type of barley grown back then) and the hops would be Saaz (or Saazer Hopfen as written in German on the above label). And rather than a step infusion mash it would likely have been an American Double Mash with the rice being cooked in a rice cooker.

I find it quite interesting that Jack’s Abby was willing to ‘own’ this beer by calling it a Rice Lager. For many (most?) craft beer drinkers the word “rice” is a dirty word and an ingredient to be avoided since adjuncts (i.e., rice, corn) is the ‘bad stuff’ in nasty macro beers. Every year I homebrew a Classic American Pilsner with my preference to use corn (flaked corn) as the adjunct. I did once use rice (flaked rice) and that batch turned out well but the rice was too flavor neutral for my palate. I prefer the flavor contribution that corn provides.

Let’s see what a Jack’s Abby ‘version’ of a Budweiser tastes like.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Straw yellow colored with a three finger white head which dissipated fairly quickly.

Aroma:

There is a combination of citrus (lemon-like) hop aroma and light biscuity malt aroma.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a combination of light biscuit and subtle citrus (lemon-like) flavors. There is a low/moderate bitterness

Mouthfeel:

Light/medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

This is a very good AAL beer. It is very cleanly brewed.

With its great drinkability, think this beer would be a tasty & refreshing beer for summertime drinking.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @JacksAbbyBrewing @springdalebeer

 

Thanks to @Roguer for opening!

Bottle White from Sapwood Cellars in Maryland.
A Helles with wheat malt added to the bill
.


Notes from the can:
While we brewed this lager with German Pilsner malt and German hops, it is not a traditional German-inspired Helles. We added wheat malt for a rounder malt flavor. The hopping is restrained, but we selected Hallertau Blanc and Huell Melon for a brighter aroma to compliment the clean fermentation. Traditionally brewed, but not traditional!
4.6% ABV

3.2/5 rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
16 ounce can poured into a large mug.
Canned on 1/11/23

Pours cloudy pale yellow, with a short lived soapy white head that leaves tiny bits of lace.

Spicy and citrus hops make the nose. The malt forward, but not sweet, taste opens with lightly toasted malt and a touch of wheat flavor, the spicy and green, but not grassy, hop flavor takes over quickly and maintains to the finish. Later in the mug I start to get a lemony hop flavor. Bitterness is mild. The aftertaste is light spicy hops, with hints of corn after it warms.Feel is medium, starting soft and building to an almost crisp finish. A slight gritty feel develops towards the end of the glass.

The addition of wheat to this beer seems to impart more to the feel, fuller and softer, than most Helles examples I’ve had, but not so much in flavor. Leans Wheat but still reads Helles. Interesting but I prefer a more traditional example.

Cheers and enjoy the rest of the day!

 

New Holland Brewing Dragon's Milk Reserve Coffee Chocolate. This year's first release in the series. I really like this series of beers. The look is everblack with light brown foam that immediately disappears. Especially with the wind we are experiencing. The smell is strong with chocolate. It explodes out of the bottle. A delicious coffee scent follows, with appearances by vanilla, graham cracker, and light bourbon ambiance. The taste leads with coffee. It is quite pleasant. Chocolate flavor is secondary, but I assume this changes with a bit of aging. Bourbon, vanilla, and oak add to the blend in a very nice way. The mouthfeel is oily, smooth, and full, with medium carbonation. Overall, this beer is exactly what I expected, which is a good thing. I really like this series. But no beer in this series has blown me away. This is a solid coffee BA stout, but with the recent edition of my house beer, Central Waters Brewing Cassian Sunset, costing less, and Lagunitas Brewing Willitized 2022 costing even less, I should have purchased a single. I will try to age the other three beers in the four-pack to see how it changes over time. Realistically though, I will probably drink them all rather quickly.

 

The other reason some brewers add a bit of wheat malt to beers is to aid in head retention since wheat malt has a higher protein level than barley malt on a per unit basis. It would seem that the wheat malt did not play this role in this particular beer.

Cheers!

 

Thank you, @Roguer for getting this thread started. I have two new to me beers from Prairie Artisan Ales. The first one is This Is The Way, a barrel aged imperial stout with chocolate creme filled cookies, toasted coconut, and toasted marshmallow flavor. It clocks in at 13.6% ABV.
Black color. Small tan head that fades in a nanosecond. No lace.
Chocolate aroma, vanilla, some nuttiness, sweet.
Taste of chocolate and chocolate fudge, vanilla, almond.
Big bodied. Warming.
A very nice stout. The sweetness precludes me from drinking a lot of this beer in one sitting. Share the 12oz bottle with a friend or two.

 

All of that toasting made me think of how they flame a creme brulee:



Cheers!

 

Thanks for the intel. Having never brewed myself I only have a basic understanding of the process. Which why I love reading these tidbits.

That head didn’t last thirty seconds, no thin cap or ring just gone.

Cheers!

 

Well, a factor is now much wheat malt was used and brewing process aspects (what type of mashing regime they chose).

From the description you provided in your post it sounds like they were seeking flavor/mouthfeel contributions: "rounder malt flavor".

Are you a fan of Hefeweizen beers? The typical grain bill for a Hefeweizen is 50/50 barley malt and wheat malt. With this amount of wheat malt a long lasting head will be achieved. Very often when I am done drinking a glass of Hefeweizen there is a 'glob' of head at the bottom of the empty glass.

Cheers!

 

First up today is a beer I received last year courtesy of @Ozzylizard. This is Bourbon Barrel Oil of Aphrodite, an "Imperial stout brewed with walnuts & aged in bourbon barrels"


Pours an expected dark brown with reddish tinges, settling into an almost black color once in the glass. Thin, short-lived head. First sniff of the beer overwhelmed me with booze, but as my nose adjusted (and from a few inches farther away), it was more nuanced, with hints of maple syrup and chocolate (but still plenty of booze)

Taste is pretty similar to the nose. Plenty of booze and clear bourbon barrels. No syrup or walnuts, but there is some nice roast that I'm enjoying. I'm a bit surprised that the walnuts don't present themselves, but then again, I haven't had many beers brewed with them, so maybe they are what's behind the light roasty bitterness I'm getting. Feel is a little thinner than expected, but it coats the palate well. Overall, good beer.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 1/11/23. Pours a very attractive yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with awesome retention. 4.75

Aroma is mango, tangerine, pineapple, cantaloupe, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows mango, tangerine, pineapple, cantaloupe, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel is rather big, soft gentle almost creamy carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.4% big flavor but goes down easy. 4.5

Overall this is a very tasty NEDIPA. Very impressed. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Bad Weather Pils

Appearance: Clear yellow, good head.

Smell: Corn, bit of grassiness.

Taste: Mild sweetness to start, slight corn flavor, moderately grassy finish.

Overall: A solid pilsner from Bad Weather, they have been making some nice drinking lagers lately and this is a good example. Nicely made pilsner, balanced, flavorful, easy drinking.

 

I am. And I have experienced some heads that were like snowballs that persisted and just lowered with the level of the beer.

 

Yeah, "snowball" is a better descriptor than "glob".

Cheers to wheaty snowballs!!

 

Money Tree a 6.9% ABV DDH NEIPA at Oakflower Brewing. This is a full bodied brew loaded with Straus hops , fine brew.

 

Up next is a beer I received in the spring (or maybe summer) of 2021 from @FBarber. This is Pear Reine Des Renards, a "Flemish blonde style ale fermented in a calvados foedre with pears, pear juice and native yeasts" from Off Color Brewing.

I know IPAs dominate, but I'll take a beer like this any day of the week. I love how saisons / farmhouse ales / wild ales have an ability to be completely unique. This is a good example of that. It's interesting and I love that.


Pours a very clear, very bright light amber with minimal fizzy white head that dissipated almost immediately. The aroma is pretty much exactly what I want it to be with tons of earthy funk, some oak, and faint pears. The taste is consistent with the aroma, but there's a depth and complexity to it that I'm digging. Definitely some wine vibes from this one as well. Light and lively. Good beer.

 

Happy to be back with you all and doing what we do best; sharing new beers together...this week has been pretty neat. There is green everywhere, eagles flags, signs, strangers saying "go birds"...the energy is palpable and it is such a cool feeling...sports, like beer, bring people together and I love it! A beautiful sunny day with a slight chill in the air; life is good this weekend...

I'm gonna start my weekend beers with a 100 day lagered German pils from none other than our Michigan friend @Whyteboar

Transient Artisan Ales - Hunnid (German Pilsner 5%)



Pours a slightly cloudy gold, white head; soapy but dense; sticks around for a little before leaving just a few splotch islands.

Nose is cracker like; as well as slightly grainy and floral, a bright nectar like honey sweet note.

The taste is more white bread like than cracker; very lightly sweet, grass like hops which then fades into herbal like hops in the aftertaste.

Light body, thought it has a little heft to it; lively carbonation that presents itself very creamy on the tongue, moderate dry bitterness on the finish.

A pretty tasty Germany pils; the hops add a little bit of heft to the mouthfeel but it still goes down easy and clean, would drink again.

I will see you all later today, keep the good beers flowing!

------------------

Fly…Fly

 

When I first saw this beer, Pink, in my mix pack I just assumed it had something to do with Pink Boots or another female cause. Turns out Pink is a new Galaxy-like hop from Idaho.


4.16/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 16oz can to a Nonic at fridge temperature. There was no dating, very rare for Treehouse, maybe the line ran out of ink? Can was purchased 1/28/23 at the Deerfield facility as part of a predetermined mix.
An opaque glowing apricot body sits below a pure 1.2 inch puffy white head. Lacing is generous.
The aroma is musty with hoppy citrus poking through.
The taste has guava and peach and strawberry with a grapefruit finish.
Mouthfeel is medium to large with good carbonation.
I’m not disappointed, in fact it's a great representation of the style.