In a great example of supply and demand and how that can change even the best laid plans, Saint Arnold's has run out of one of their seasonals and had to release another one early. Even though the folks at SA brewed more of their Octoberfest than they ever have, they still ran out halfway through the month of October. This led to SA going ahead and releasing their Christmas Ale. With their shuffling I was able to buy a 6 pack of both and decided to do a tasting.
Octoberfest: This is actually one of my favorite Octoberfests, and one of the only ones made in Texas (the other is from Rahr and Sons). I've had this many times in the past and its pretty consistent across years. This one pours a slightly cloudy orange amber with a thick off-white head. The nose is sweet caramel, malts, burnt sugar, and some bitterness. The mouth is effervescent with a great body, sweet but not cloying. Some notes of caramel, butterscotch, a little bitter kick at the finish. Overall a nice silky honey like texture, creating a very smooth very solid beer that gets a B from me.
Christmas Ale: Its actually been a couple of years since I last posted on this fine beer (well during Christmas that is). The beer pours a reddish copper brown with a thin head that dissipates into a film on top. The nose is malty (as it should be, its made with five different malts). Roasted malts, caramel, brown sugar and a cinnamon-y scent. The mouth is smooth up front before bringing a spicy character. Its malty, bready, brown sugar, and spices. It reminds me of a Christmas cookies. Extremely tasty. This one gets a B+ from me.
Showing posts with label Oktoberfest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oktoberfest. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Upcoming Octoberfest Events
Yes I know that this weekend is actually the end of the Oktoberfest celebration in Germany. However over here I don't really think Oktoberfest really gets into swing until this weekend. With that, our local breweries are holding some events to celebrate:
- This weekend is Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest Pub crawl. Check out their latest newsletter for details.
- Speaking of Saint Arnold's they'll be having their HUGE annual Oktoberfest celebration on Oct 17th and 18th. Click here for more details.
- Other local brewery Southern Star Brewing will be holding their first Oktoberfest celebration on October 25th. Price of admission gets you a special commemorative glass.
- This weekend is Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest Pub crawl. Check out their latest newsletter for details.
- Speaking of Saint Arnold's they'll be having their HUGE annual Oktoberfest celebration on Oct 17th and 18th. Click here for more details.
- Other local brewery Southern Star Brewing will be holding their first Oktoberfest celebration on October 25th. Price of admission gets you a special commemorative glass.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Avery Kaiser 2008
Yes I know its Mid-August and the last thing it feels like here in Houston is Fall, but that doesn't stop brewers from getting an early start and releasing their Octoberfest beers. This fall style beer is one of my favorites, and this Imperial version from Avery brewing has been a solid one in the past. I've tried their previous versions and posted them here and here.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10.03% which is higher than the previous two years. The beer pours a reddish orange color with a thick white head. The nose is rich and malty with notes of caramel. The mouth is very malty up front with a bit of alcohol burn mellowing into a nice rich sweetness, notes of caramel and earthy hop notes finish it off. For a big beer this is rather drinkable, mellowing out the richness of last years. Even with a bit of alcohol burn this one gets rated higher by me, give it a B+.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10.03% which is higher than the previous two years. The beer pours a reddish orange color with a thick white head. The nose is rich and malty with notes of caramel. The mouth is very malty up front with a bit of alcohol burn mellowing into a nice rich sweetness, notes of caramel and earthy hop notes finish it off. For a big beer this is rather drinkable, mellowing out the richness of last years. Even with a bit of alcohol burn this one gets rated higher by me, give it a B+.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Avery's Kaiser Imprerial Oktoberfest Lager 2007
I know its only September, but this will be my last Okotoberfest Beer post for a while (more on that later today). Ever since the Oktoberfest beers started showing up at my store, I have been looking forward to seeing this beer in particular on the shelves. I had it last year and really enjoyed it. So how was the consistency between years you ask?
The Beer: The beer weighs in at a powerful 9.37%, slightly more than the 9.1 of last year. It pours a nice orange amber, with a foamy quarter inch creamy head. The nose is full of malt, caramel, some floral hops, roastiness. The mouth is incredibly complex. It starts with some malty sweetness, then there is some hits of hoppy bitterness and spiciness, before ending with a creamy caramelly sweetness. Just a very multilayered beer. Its rich, very rich. As the beer warms, you get more and more caramel sweetness, maybe a little too much. The richness of the beer, more than the alcohol is the reason why I don't think I enjoy much more than a glass. A fine beer, just a little too rich for my tastes. I'd give it a B. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say. (note that they do not break their tasting notes into separate years).
The Beer: The beer weighs in at a powerful 9.37%, slightly more than the 9.1 of last year. It pours a nice orange amber, with a foamy quarter inch creamy head. The nose is full of malt, caramel, some floral hops, roastiness. The mouth is incredibly complex. It starts with some malty sweetness, then there is some hits of hoppy bitterness and spiciness, before ending with a creamy caramelly sweetness. Just a very multilayered beer. Its rich, very rich. As the beer warms, you get more and more caramel sweetness, maybe a little too much. The richness of the beer, more than the alcohol is the reason why I don't think I enjoy much more than a glass. A fine beer, just a little too rich for my tastes. I'd give it a B. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say. (note that they do not break their tasting notes into separate years).
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Saint Arnold's Octoberfest
Labor day has finally gone. More than just symbolizing the end of summer and beginning of a school year it also symbolized a time to get ready for fall, and many brewers use this time to start putting out their fall beers, whether they be Octoberfest style brews or pumpkin ale these are some of my favorite beers. So over the course of the next month or so, I'll be trying as many fall brews as I possibly can, then maybe at the end, around the end of October I'll do a mass tasting to see which one I thought the best was. My first foray is one I had last year.
The Beer: Looking over last years notes it's held up very well and its a pretty consistent beer. It pours a bright amber color with a nice quarter inch taupe head, that has more staying power than last years. The nose is of roasted malts and caramel, with notes of yeast and floral hops. The mouth is sweet and caramel-y. Very little bitterness here, but copious amounts of malt-y goodness. Sweet without being cloying or overpowering. A very good beer in my book.
The Beer: Looking over last years notes it's held up very well and its a pretty consistent beer. It pours a bright amber color with a nice quarter inch taupe head, that has more staying power than last years. The nose is of roasted malts and caramel, with notes of yeast and floral hops. The mouth is sweet and caramel-y. Very little bitterness here, but copious amounts of malt-y goodness. Sweet without being cloying or overpowering. A very good beer in my book.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Avery: The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest
My latest excursion into the world of Oktoberfest beers came in the form of a BIG beer from a great Colorado brewery. I have spoken a couple of times in the past on Avery Brewery so you can check out that here. I have also spoken about the Oktoberfest style here. I will make a note that as it always seems, since its called Imperial, it is usually slightly more hoppy than the original and a lot more alcohol.
The Beer: Pours an orangish brown almost amber liquid in the glass capped off with a pillowy creamy head. The head dissipated over time leaving copious amounts of lacing. The nose is malty with just a bit of floural hops, some honey and raisiny scents as well. The mouth has more sweet caramel and roasted hops with a bit of hop bitterness and some alcohol burn on the finish which isn't too suppressing as the beer weighs in at 9.1%. The beer was very creamy, very nice, and very smooth. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
The Beer: Pours an orangish brown almost amber liquid in the glass capped off with a pillowy creamy head. The head dissipated over time leaving copious amounts of lacing. The nose is malty with just a bit of floural hops, some honey and raisiny scents as well. The mouth has more sweet caramel and roasted hops with a bit of hop bitterness and some alcohol burn on the finish which isn't too suppressing as the beer weighs in at 9.1%. The beer was very creamy, very nice, and very smooth. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Saint Arnold's Octoberfest
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to try the Sam Adam's Octoberfest beer and rather enjoyed it. However I was very excited when Houston's own Saint Arnolds released their version this week. I have gone over the style of beer in an earlier post.
The Brewery: Saint Arnold's is located on the north west side of Houston. I love this brewery and have made many a travel up on a Saturday for their tastings. The brewery was started by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol on June 8, 1994. This is a small operation of 17 people and having talked to many of the employees including Brock its more of a family and not a business relationship. Brock began as a homebrewer, his day job being a financial analyst in downtown Houston. After realizing he would rather make beer than work in finances he worked with Mr. Bartol to create Saint Arnold's the patron Saint of Beer. Mr. Bartol is no longer involved in Saint Arnold's (nope nothing sinister). All of Saint Arnold's beers are not pasturized creating beers of greater depth, taste and complexity.
The Beer: It pours a nice dark amber with an inch or so of light tan head. The head dissipates into a thin line with ample lacing. On the nose, malt is the highlight, plenty of caramel and roasted flavors with just a hint of floral hoppy bitterness. The mouthfeel is heavy, smooth malty sweetness more of that caramel and roastyness with some underlying toffee flavors coming out. The sweetness is noticeable but not cloying. A bit of bitterness at the end. Nice carbonation in the beer. As the beer warms up it develops a little bit of spicy undertones adding some nice complexity to the beer. Very nice beer, I'd grade it above the Sam Adams version. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
The Brewery: Saint Arnold's is located on the north west side of Houston. I love this brewery and have made many a travel up on a Saturday for their tastings. The brewery was started by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol on June 8, 1994. This is a small operation of 17 people and having talked to many of the employees including Brock its more of a family and not a business relationship. Brock began as a homebrewer, his day job being a financial analyst in downtown Houston. After realizing he would rather make beer than work in finances he worked with Mr. Bartol to create Saint Arnold's the patron Saint of Beer. Mr. Bartol is no longer involved in Saint Arnold's (nope nothing sinister). All of Saint Arnold's beers are not pasturized creating beers of greater depth, taste and complexity.
The Beer: It pours a nice dark amber with an inch or so of light tan head. The head dissipates into a thin line with ample lacing. On the nose, malt is the highlight, plenty of caramel and roasted flavors with just a hint of floral hoppy bitterness. The mouthfeel is heavy, smooth malty sweetness more of that caramel and roastyness with some underlying toffee flavors coming out. The sweetness is noticeable but not cloying. A bit of bitterness at the end. Nice carbonation in the beer. As the beer warms up it develops a little bit of spicy undertones adding some nice complexity to the beer. Very nice beer, I'd grade it above the Sam Adams version. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Sam Adams Octoberfest
The first Octoberfest beer of the season. Yes I know its only August and its hard to think of fall when its still in the upper nineties here in Texas, but Octoberfest in Munich is only a month away so the Craft Brewers the world over will be getting out their Octoberfest beers. Traditionally a Marzen style ale, it has now evolved into a Fall Seasonal beer that may be traditional or may be pumpkin spiced ale or other fall style beers.
I won't go into the brewer since most everyone knows Sam Adams and founder Jim Koch.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 5.4% which makes it a nice session beer. The beer is made with Two Row Pale malt, Munich-10, 2 Row Moravian, and Caramel-10 malts. The hops are a blend of Tettnang Tettnanger and Hallreta-Mittlefruh hops. The beer pours a nice Brownish Amber color with a thick pillowy head that dissipated into a consistent quarter inch cap of foam that stayed there for the first few drinks of beer. Nice hints of malt, caramel specifically showing up along with some roasted characteristics. In the mouth there is more caramel, and some toffee coming out. A slightly lighter mouthfeel than I would have liked, and some abundant carbonation were some of the weaknesses in the beer, but overall I enjoyed it. Here's what the folks over at BA say.
I won't go into the brewer since most everyone knows Sam Adams and founder Jim Koch.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at 5.4% which makes it a nice session beer. The beer is made with Two Row Pale malt, Munich-10, 2 Row Moravian, and Caramel-10 malts. The hops are a blend of Tettnang Tettnanger and Hallreta-Mittlefruh hops. The beer pours a nice Brownish Amber color with a thick pillowy head that dissipated into a consistent quarter inch cap of foam that stayed there for the first few drinks of beer. Nice hints of malt, caramel specifically showing up along with some roasted characteristics. In the mouth there is more caramel, and some toffee coming out. A slightly lighter mouthfeel than I would have liked, and some abundant carbonation were some of the weaknesses in the beer, but overall I enjoyed it. Here's what the folks over at BA say.
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