Not the usual suspects. A look at two Asian stouts.

We are doing a doubleheader and looking at two stouts tonight, both from Asia, though only one that is slightly understandable.

The Lion is sleeping in that bottle,
not the jungle.

First up tonight is the understandable one. Lion Stout has been brewed by the Ceylon Brewing Company in Sri Lanka since 1881 back when this was a British colony. I can see why this stout is still selling today. It is a very good beer. 

It pours very clear and dark, almost black, with a small puffy tan head. It is very smooth, with creaminess in the drink with little carbonation and finishes with a pleasant coffee aftertaste that gradual disappears. Surprisingly this comes in at 8.8 ABV. At certain points you can just make out the sharpness of the alcohol, but you have to be paying attention. By the end of my glass the alcohol had crept up on me creating a pleasant warmness in my stomach. I drank this beer faster than I expected, before I knew it the glass was empty. Beware this is a very easy drinking and potent stout.  

For those keeping score at home, this is a book beer, page 729. I can’t refer to the brewery’s “party line” since their website is under construction so instead I’ll turn it over to the late, great, Michael Jackson who went on an odyssey for this beer and had this to say about Lion Stout.

I will definitely be getting more of this in the future.

http://www.lionbeer.com/

I love that owl and the beer was
pretty good too!

Our second guest is more of an odd duck. In the big picture, Japan and stout beer rarely show up in the same sentence, but that is now changing and Kiuchi Brewery is leading the charge. They are the brewers of the Hitachino Nest line of beers. The one we are focusing on tonight is the Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

I poured this in a tulip glass. It was clear and very dark brown, with a light brown head that lasted for a few minutes before it dissipated. On the drink the espresso makes itself known with a bite right away and stays with you into the aftertaste. There is a mild bitterness when you swallow. It comes in at 7.5 ABV but to me there was no real taste of alcohol, coffeeness pervades the beer. Unlike a smoother coffee stout though this has the bite of espresso and reminds me of Lagunitas Cappucino Stout. Overall this beer is very tasty and like all good coffee stouts it gets better as it warms up.

Kuichi Brewery was damaged by the earthquake in March 2011, but they have repaired and rallied. I was not able to find the “party line” on the Espresso Stout. If you can find this I would recommend picking some and giving it a try.

Thanks for stopping in!

Winter warmers, an introduction and a review.

It's January and for all our readers in the northern hemisphere that means it is winter. One of the great things about beer is how it changes and compliments / complements the seasons. This month we are going to be taking a look at "winter warmers" This is a weird phrase because it can be used as a style of beer, but also a branding thing by corralling the myriad of different beer brewed for the winter season, be they old ales, bocks, brown ales, etc.  


Traditionally a winter warmer was a stronger, maltier, & heavier beer brewed for the end of the year for holidays and festivals. Brewers have been making this stuff for a long time. Over time though, particularly in the last few decades this definition has started to break down. Brewers are stretching the definition on this and frankly that is awesome. So here is how we are going to define "winter warmers" on the blog. A seasonal beer brewed for winter. And while holiday beer and ales fall into this category we are going to exclude them since we spent all of December looking at them. We will also be excluding stouts and porters. They get their own months. (Yay!)


This is our working definition and I am happy to hear your thoughts on this. 


Starting right out the gate we are going to stretch the traditional definition of a winter warmer. 

The beer was lackluster,
but the bottle art was cool

First Snow by RJ Rockers Brewing Company, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 


I really expected more from this beer. It poured a hazy, reddish-gold color with some particulate matter suspended throughout the glass. Interesting to note that it stayed the way also, never settling. It had a nice fluffy white head that stuck around for awhile and glommed onto the side of the glass as I drank it down. It has a nice aroma that lends you to think that the beer is hearty than it is. 


Here is where the disappointment set in. My first thought was "it's flat," there was little carbonation in mouthful. The spices flashed immediately and then just vanish, they didn't give me much to work with. I almost wanted to season it a bit on my own, a little of nutmeg or coriander to liven it up. It had a flat, uneventful aftertaste that disappeared rapidly after the drink. 


Here is the crux of the problem, winter warmers have an expectation with them and this isn't fulfilling the basic ones. More hearty and some "weight." Let's go back a few weeks to the review of Starr Hill's The Gift. First Snow suffers from pretty much the same problem we had there. We have a beer that is trying to do too many things. It is labeled as a "hearty pale ale" It doesn't do the hearty very well and it not bringing the hops I would expect from a standard pale ale. 


I was a bit surprised that this comes in at 6% ABV because I honestly couldn't tell. It is very well masked. In summation I could chug this beer and that is not necessarily a good thing, at least it is not what I am looking for in a wintertime beer. I am glad I tried it, I may have had a bad bottle, and I still would love to try it off draught. Overall I would recommend this as a "gateway beer" where it may serve a useful purpose of exposing inexperienced folks to the larger world of beer. 


Here is the "propaganda."


THE FIRST SNOW ALE  
This hearty American pale ale contains a rich blend of spices that warms the soul on a cold winter's night. Chill the mug, stoke the fire, and savor this quality seasonal brew. Available only during the Winter season. 

Three...count' em, 3 reviews of festive beers!

It's the end of the year so to finish out strong we are going all in with a festive triple header. That's right folks. We are bringing you 3 reviews of festive beers to finish out December.

Port City Tidings

I drank this from my new Spiegelau tulip glass from a freshly filled growler (10 minutes from the tap at the brewery to my glass at home.) It poured slightly hazy with a white fluffy head filling the glass with a bright sunny golden color. It is crisp, clean, and mildly sweet on the tongue as you drink it; though the aftertaste has a faint spicy weight to it. I think it is atypical to Belgian style golden ale, but it is delicious.

I have been drinking Tidings over the last week and I have been consistently surprised at how refreshing this beer is. It is not like all the other festive beers I have been drinking at or reviewing. It clocks in with a sly 7.8% ABV but the alcohol is hidden very well. I could easily see myself enjoying this on a hot summer day. I do hope this will be a reoccurring seasonal because I will purchase it without hesitation again.

Full disclosure, I have a bias for Port City Brewing, they are my local, only about a block away from where I hang my hat. I recently started getting growlers filled there, they are wonderful people, and I hope they are successful.

Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale

It poured a bronze color, clear, with a light tannish head that stuck around longer than expected. (It was a hard pour, but worth it for the blast of caramel that filled the air.) I drank this out of a lager glass. It has a smooth, malty taste that stays with you through the drink and into the aftertaste. This is also when the alcohol reveals itself, but it doesn’t stay around long. It comes in a winter sessionable 6.4% ABV.

Overall Ebenezer Ale is an easy to drink beer, not as rich or with as much caramel taste as I expected when poured but definitely enjoyable and a good party companion. You could work through several bottles of this in a row and not get bored.

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

My first thought when I drank this was, well that is different, particularly from the other two beers that I had reviewed earlier. It poured a clear copper color in the lager glass, the head dissipating quickly. It has a nice carbonation on the tongue and a fair share of hops that stand up as you swallow the ale and mingle with the bitterness in the aftertaste. They are never at the forefront though. This ale is not heavy on the drink. You could easily session this ale, and while lighter than expected, it has a nice body to it for winter drinking. I only had one bottle of the Winter Welcome Ale and this is disappointing because I would like to try a few more to form a more thorough opinion.

Normally I would include the "propaganda" on each beer from the brewery, but this has been long enough. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and thanks for stopping by!