This is another review of a beer I used to drink long ago when I was first starting out on this journey of craft beer exploration.  I remember many Rogue beers being easily accessible in the later 90's while I was attending Purdue University and that they really stood out in their 22oz screen printed bottles.  I would reach for a different bottle every time just to see what goodness was hidden behind these unique labels.  Then, similar to the Sierra Nevada story, Rogue just fell off my personal radar.  It seems like the brand withdrew a bit from Indiana as it became much less noticeable during a beer run for quite a while in the early part of this decade.  Of course during this time the craft beer industry was exploding and beer coolers were starting to really burst at the seams with the available choices.  Maybe it was just a case of 'out with the old, in with the new' for a while.  Anyway, after years of neglect I saw a bottle of Dead Guy Ale in the cooler and wanted to get re-acquainted.  For one thing, I had recently read that it was a maibock, which thoroughly surprised me.  When I was originally drinking it all those years ago I didn't know what a maibock was, and by last week I was under the assumption that Dead Guy was just a pale ale. 

So with anticipation high, I poured the beer... into the wrong glass.  Somewhere in my large pint glass collection is a true Rogue Dead Guy pint glass, which I didn't use.  Anyway, even in the wrong glassware this beer pours a nice burnt orangey-copper color with a finger's worth of off-white head.  That foam dissipated fairly quick but did leave some lacing on the way down.  Looking through the beer, one will see solid streams of tiny bubbles blasting from the bottom of the glass up to the surface.  That carbonation helps push a nice malty aroma that has just a fleeting sense of earthy hops.  There is also an almost orange blossom scent, or maybe a touch of lemon, mingling in the bouquet.

Taking a drink I was hit by the big caramelized malt backbone before the hops start to kick in.  Initially this beer is on the sweet side, with tons of raisin and a subtle Mandarin orange flavor lurking around.  That transitions smoothly to a mellow bitterness and a semi-dry finish.  I would actually say this was a bit chewy.  Lots of flavors to enjoy here while either sipping it slowly or quaffing.  I definitely plan to get Rogue Dead Guy Ale back into a much more normal rotation as I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Once again I am left scratching my head as to how this beer fell off my radar so long.  Maybe there is a legitimate argument that too many choices can be a bad thing?

This past Saturday was Beer School at the Map Room in Chicago and was originally going to be based on beers from Michigan breweries.  My dad was planning on collecting cases of beer from a variety of Michigan breweries and wound up with 10 from Michigan Brewing Co.  So for the first time ever, Beer School at the Map Room was dedicated to one single brewery.  Most people are not going to be familiar with Michigan Brewing as they have a pretty limited distribution network currently for their own branded beers.  But some of you may be at least familiar with the Celis line that I have reviewed earlier.  Those at least are getting outside of Michigan to a few markets. 

The event went off very nicely started with 3 beers from the Celis line-up and then moving to 7 of Michigan Brewing Co's own line.  The Celis beers were probably the best received overall, but there were some notable beers from the standard line-up as well.  To start their wheat beer was one of the very best American wheats I have ever had.  I generally tend to be very critical on the American wheat style, finding it very bland and a pale mockery of the German hefeweizen it is trying to emulate.  This beer though was very crisp and refreshing with a nice amount of citrus and some hints of spice similar to what you would expect in a Belgian wit.  The India Pale Ale was also very well done.  A very well crafted hop profile that was more citrusy paired a fairly sweet malt backbone made it a treat to sample. 

Supposedly Michigan Brewing beers will be available at all Meijer stores in the near future, so hopefully if you live near a Meijer's you will have access to these beers soon.  After Beer School we went to the Goose Island brewpub for a nightcap.  I specifically wanted to get back as there is a good possibility that the brewpub will be closing at the end of the year.  Apparently the lease is coming due and the owner has raised the rent drastically.  So after 20 years this landmark brewpub may be closing it's doors for good.  There is a glimmer of hope that a late deal can be struck and this whole mess can be avoided.  So hopefully they work it out and the brewpub stays operational for many more years to come.  Anyway, while there I tried their 20th Anniversary Ale, which I am told was an ESB.  It was amazing to say the least.  A ton of flavors and one I wish was readily available in bottle.  They did bottle it as part of their 20th Anniversary Collection and I kind of want to kick myself for not trying to buy a bottle.  I also tried their Harvest Ale which was very good and nicely hopped.  And I got to take a sip of someone's Beerhunter Brown Porter (Dedicated to Michael Jackson R.I.P) which was outstanding.  If it had been more in the fall or winter months I would have had a pint of it. 

All in all, a very fun weekend spent up in Chitown. 

This week couldn't have ended on a worse note for work.  Major problems and in the end I wound up working late on Friday to make sure the higher-ups were taken care of.  Well the weekend finally has arrived and there was only one way to kick it off that seemed right... 8-ball.  O-E.  a Forty.  You get the idea.  I had a similar day about a month ago and stopped and picked up 2 bottles of Olde English "800" Malt Liquor.  It's cheap and get's the job done, and with one bottle left in the fridge, I am set. 

The interesting thing with Olde English 800 is it actually tastes more like a standard beer, say a PBR or Old Style, then a regular malt liquor.  Most have a definite booziness right up front to let the consumer taste the higher alcohol, where this actually tastes a little better prepared.  It is by no means a great beer, but I enjoy it on rare occasions such as this.  A subtle amount of hops and light mouthfeel.. ahh who the hell am I kidding.. I am not seriously going to write a review of this.  It's time to drink it!  Enjoy the weekend everyone, mine starts now.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is most likely the beer you can point to as the start of my love affair with craft beers.  When I was in school at Purdue it was readily available at most of the local bars and was probably the one standout American brewed beer at that time.  I remember being enamored with the hoppy bitterness in those days and found it to be a great change of pace on a slower night at the bars with a few friends.  Then for some reason it just fell off my radar for years.  The last one I had was almost 3 years ago at a bar in Chicago.  It was on draught and it was horrible, bland hops and just seemed weak.  I basically wrote it off and honestly didn't think much of the Sierra Nevada name from that point forward.  That is until my buddy Bill gave me a couple bottles of their Anniversary Ale 2007 last fall and brought over one of their Harvest Ales.  I was admittedly blown away by those offerings but still skeptical that maybe it was just a couple of one time brews.  Come to find out that there are quite a few seasonal offerings that got me interested in the Sierra Nevada name again, and I realized I owed it to the brewery to give the standard Pale Ale another shot after all these years.

I must say I am glad I did.  The beer doesn't seem as hoppy any longer as it once did a decade or more ago, but then I factor in that I routinely drink beers in the 75+ IBU range.  In fact I have homebrewed a beer that was close to 120 IBUs which will make the 37 IBUs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale seem timid in comparison.  That isn't a bad thing by any means, this is a pale ale and it fits in the style as it should.  Pouring a clean golden color with a bright barely off-white head.  That cap of foam is huge initially and slow to recede, but leaves some very nice lacing on the way down.  Peering into those golden depths will reveal some active carbonation with steady streams of bubbles heading north.

The aroma is fairly subdued and a bit more malty then hoppy in my opinion.  The flavor on the other hand does reveal some nice pine and grassy hops.  A solid malt backbone evens things out and gives this a medium body.  All in all a very refreshing and quaffable beer.  One that I feel guilty for rushing to judgement in that Chicago bar as I realize now that I was served either the wrong beer or at best from a stale keg.  Either way, the choice to write off this beer and by extension the brewery itself for a couple of years was not the proper course of action.  I would definitely put this back into the list as one of the best pale ales out there.  Certainly a few breweries have come along since and upped the bar in this style, but most of those aren't as suited to drinking for an entire evening as this one is.

I just got word from a buddy of mine that Brugge bottles are officially in the warehouse over at Monarch / World Class.  I am not sure if they have been pushed out to retailers yet, but it looks like the long endless wait may finally be over!  I am told there are cases of the White, Black and Tripel de Ripple as well as a variety case with 2 of each of those.  I am really looking forward to picking up my first variety pack and enjoying some Brugge beers at home.

Stone is one of my favorite West coast breweries.  I don't think I have ever had a beer brewed by them that I didn't thoroughly enjoy and Arrogant Bastard Ale is the beer that started this relationship.  Stone Brewing is based in Escondido, CA which is a suburb of San Diego.  They are known for brewing uncompromising beers with an attitude that defies criticism from the 'yellow beer drinkers'.  One reading of the back of one of their 22oz bottles should be enough to rouse the passion in any fan of craft brewing.  For example, this is what is printed on the back of an Arrogant Bastard bottle:

Arrogant Bastard Ale

ar-ro-gance (ar' o gans) n.

The act or quality of being arrogant; haughty; undue assumption; overbearing conceit.

Arrogant Bastard Ale: This is an aggressive beer.  You probably won't like it.  It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth.  We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory --- maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal.  Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better.  Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this.

The Brewery: Located in North County San Diego, we are a small, honest, brewery with unrealistically high, yet cantankerously unwavering, standards.  We concentrate on creating the most satisfying, big character ales imaginable, by using only the finest natural ingredients.  And lots of 'em!  It's an approach that leaves many bewildered, but it works for us Arrogant Bastards, and we're the only ones that are worth satisfying.

Ingredients: Nothing but the finest Barley, most aggressive Hops, clearest Water, our proprietary Yeast strain and abundant Arrogance.

Questions or comments?  If you don't like this beer, keep it to yourself --- we don't want to hear from any sniveling yellow-beer-drinkin' wimps.  'cause this beer wasn't made for you.

Inspired yet?  Arrogant Bastard is a 7.2% ABV hop lovers wet dream.  It pours a dark brown, yet looks almost ruby red when held up to the light.  Beautifully clear with a hue that I can't say for certain I have seen on any other beer and capped off by a huge pillowy tan head that sticks around forever.  Lacing?  Yeah, more lacing then your grandmothers doilies.   The aroma on this is dominated by piney hops with just a hint of some citrus hops in there.  I also detect an almost brown sugar sweetness wafting in the background and a little bit of roastiness. 

The flavor is full of bitter hops and semi-sweet malt.  A touch of caramel and roasted grains leads into a lingering pleasant bitterness.  The hops really coat the mouth and stick with you for quite some time.  Arrogant Bastard Ale is a full bodied beer that I think should be enjoyed at a warmer temperature to really let the flavors and aroma come out to play.  I had this bottle in a wine fridge set to 55 degrees and it was great out of the fridge.  I have since let some sit out for over an hour and at basically room temperature it is still phenomenal with an almost oaky bourbon barrel quality.  Really a fantastic beer that earns the right to claim on the bottle "You're not worthy".

P.S. - That would be the Stone Ruination IPA pint glass my dad bought me when he visited the Stone Brewery based on my recommendation up there. ^_-

I picked up a case of the Sierra Nevada Summerfest for a cookout we had this past Saturday for my dad's birthday.  I figured something we could drink throughout the day that was in the mid-ABV range as well as mellow enough to not wreck your palate was in order.  So having never tried Summerfest, I rolled the dice when I realized this was not your normal summer beer that has to add lemon or some other fruit to be 'summery'.  According to the Sierra Nevada website, Summerfest is brewed with Perle and Saaz hops and is only 5 IBUs less than their Pale Ale.  I was sold.

When you pour this into a glass, something I didn't do until there was only 1 bottle left, you get a clear golden yellow beer with a fairly robust white head that drops quickly but leaves decent lacing.  There is a steady stream of carbonation even 10 minutes after the pour inviting you to imbibe deeply.  The aroma is somewhat malty with hints of grassy hops which make me think of rolling hills and big blue skies for some reason.  I kind of like that to be honest.  The flavor is full of those grassy and earthy hops with a good amount of malt there to balance things out.  Their claim that that this is a crisp beer is not far from the truth either.  While there are crisper pilsners out there, mainly the Czech pilsners, this beer does have a pleasant bite before fading to a semi-sweet finish.

To me this is what every macro brewery should be striving for when they brew their flagship brands.  This is an extremely well done beer that has enough hops for you to know they are there and at the same time be easy drinking enough to get you through an entire day in front of a grill.  Put simply, I was drinking this from Noon on Saturday until around 11PM and never once got tired of it nor felt the need to grab for a different brand.  I also didn't get knocked off my gourd since Summerfest has just enough alcohol.  I want to also reiterate that I absolutely commend Sierra Nevada for brewing a summer beer that was simply a beer that was a little bit lighter then their standard offerings.  Unlike most other breweries that feel the need to make a beer and add lemon flavoring or a wheat / wit beer with (once again) lemon or orange flavoring, Sierra Nevada made a beer that will make your cooler proud to keep it chilled. 

I have seen quite a bit of misinformation around the internets about who is the largest American owned brewery now that Anheuser Busch is going to be foreign owned.  Mostly what I hear is the wrong assumption that Boston Beer Co is now the largest out there.  Unfortunately those people are forgetting that the brewer with the iconic red white and blue can is still entirely American owned, even if they no longer own a brewery of their own.  Yes, Pabst Brewing Co is the largest American brewer now.  And if that isn't enough, under the Pabst umbrella of brands is a plethora of iconic names that have been around since the 1800's.  Many of them may be macro swill in the minds of craft beer fans, yet almost every one I know has fond memories of these brands.  The point being, if you want a cheap easy drinking beer and it has to be American, put your snobbery aside and grab for a PBR.

Red, white and blue marketing

Pabst touts ascent to No. 1 American-owned beer maker

By TOM DAYKIN
tdaykin@journalsentinel.com

Posted: July 16, 2008

Pabst Brewing Co. doesn’t operate breweries anymore, but it wants to be the first choice for every red-blooded American beer drinker.

The company, which owns dozens of beer brands and contracts with MillerCoors LLC to create most of its brews, is staking its claim as the largest remaining American-owned beer maker.

Just days after industry giant Anheuser-Busch Cos. announced its sale to InBev, a European brewer, Pabst is conducting an online survey, asking customers about it.

“Did you know that after this sale is completed, Pabst Brewing Company will be the largest remaining American-owned brewery?” the survey asks. “How likely is this information to affect your decision to purchase beer? Would information about Pabst’s American ownership on packaging, like bottles or cans, impact your decision to purchase our products?”

Executives at Pabst, based in suburban Chicago, and spokesmen for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

But a Pabst statement noted that it will be “the last of the famous iconic U.S. brewers to be fully independent and American-owned.”

“Most of our brands (Pabst, Schlitz, Stroh, Schaefer, Rainier, Olympia, and others) have been around since the 1800s,” the statement said.

It seems clear that Pabst is poised to snatch at the patriotic appeal long used by Anheuser-Busch.

That’s probably a smart strategy, given that some drinkers of Budweiser, the Anheuser-Busch brand that’s been sold with flag-waving ads, aren’t happy about the King of Beers being acquired by a company based in Belgium, said Mike McCarthy, an associate professor of marketing at Miami (Ohio) University.

“I do think Budweiser has cultivated a very, very strong patriotic, all-American beer image for many, many years,” McCarthy said. “I think there is a little bit of a sense that Bud is a quintessential all-American beer.”

However, with Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch brands being owned by a European company, calling those brands all-American beers “will be a little hard to say with a straight face,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said even if just 1% of Budweiser’s customers dropped the beer and switched to Pabst Blue Ribbon, that would bring a huge boost for the brand. Its Americana image was immortalized in the 1973 Johnny Russell song “Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer,” and later in the 1992 Mary Chapin Carpenter song, “I Am a Town.”

Budweiser has seen declining sales for several years as beer drinkers turn to Bud Light and other low-calorie brews. But Budweiser in 2007 still posted sales volume of 24.6 million barrels, accounting for 11.3% of the U.S. market, according to trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights.

Pabst Brewing, meanwhile, posted sales of 6.1 million barrels, or 2.8% market share, for all of its brands.

Anheuser-Busch’s 2007 market share was 48.2%, while Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co., which have since combined to form MillerCoors, posted a 29.5% market share. MillerCoors is a 50-50 joint venture of London-based SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co., which is based in Denver and Montreal.

Pabst’s possible patriotic appeal could be seen as a bit ironic, given that its beers are made by MillerCoors, which is owned by one company based in Great Britain and another company that is co-based in Canada. Pabst, owned by the California-based Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust, closed its Milwaukee brewery in 1996 and shuttered its last remaining brewery in 2001 after hiring Miller to brew its brands. Pabst moved its offices from San Antonio, Texas, to Woodridge, Ill., in 2006.

Another irony: Anheuser-Busch in 2005 aired a TV spot that featured its employees talking about how they’re proud to serve “the only major American brewery that’s still American-owned,” profits from which stay in the United States.

The spot was a not-so-subtle dig at Coors, which earlier that year had merged with Canada’s Molson Inc., and Miller, which was sold in 2002 to South African Breweries PLC, which then changed its name to SABMiller.

In 2004, Anheuser-Busch put up posters in liquor stores and other retail outlets saying Miller is owned by “South African Breweries.” U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ordered the posters be taken down, saying they were inaccurate because Miller was actually a subsidiary of SABMiller.

My buddy Bill wound up getting some beers from New Belgian, and being the nice guy that he is brought some over to share with me.  This bottle of Mothership Wit from New Belgium has been hanging around in my fridge for a few weeks now waiting for me to review it.  Originally when he brought it over we downed a vast array of craft beer and homebrew and this beer just got lost in the shuffle.  In all honesty I didn't think too much of it and that is partially why it sat around for so long.  Well the wait is over.

Mothership Wit is labeled as an organic wheat beer brewed with spices.  It even has a USDA Organic logo on the bottle, which to be quite honest is not something I care one way or the other about.  As long as the finished product tastes good I am impartial to what the brewer does to get there.  Pouring this into a glass I found the beer to be a very pale and hazy yellow.  Actually quite similar in many ways to fresh lemonade in appearance.  Riding up top was a thin but bright white head that faded quickly in the middle with a slight ring at the edge of the glass.

When you raise the glass towards your face you will definitely catch the scent of citrus.  More lemony then anything else as well as hints of the yeast in there.  Being a wit beer there is really no sense of the hops.  As with the aroma, the taste is also dominated initially by a citrus flavor.  According to New Belgium's website they spice the beer with orange peel and coriander, both of which will give this a hearty citrus flavor.  After the tart impression, the flavor gives way to a mild and dry finish.  Mothership Wit has a pretty active amount of carbonation which keeps the beer feeling fairly light and refreshing.

Trying this beer by itself completely reversed my original opinion of it.  I would absolutely by this in the summer months as a lighter thirst quenching beer.  Unfortunately the closest place it is available is probably Chicago.  I know New Belgium just recently began canning their Fat Tire beer, but I can't help but think Mothership Wit would be an amazing beer to pack a cooler with to take to the Indianapolis 500 if they put it in cans as well.

Today is my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday dad!!) and he is coming down to visit this weekend to celebrate.  So I figured I should go snag some good beer that I have been wanting to introduce him to and ran over to Parti-Pak after work.  Definitely not on my way home, but that place is as close to beer heaven as there is in Naptown.  Anyway, I figured I would share what I picked up for those that are interested.

The Shiner Bock actually came from Marsh and originally there were 2 bottles of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but one didn't quite make it to the photo shoot.  Anyway from left to right we have:

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 24oz
• Jolly Pumpkin Ora de Calabaza
• Grotten Brown Ale
• Shiner Bock
• Grotten Belgian Ale
• Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
• Sierra Nevada ESB (Early Spring Beer) ((Obviously out very early for next year, right? :-P))

One of these days I will take some photos of the beer posters I have hanging and share them.  Closest in is a poster from the now defunct Indianapolis Brewing Co.  Right above the Shiner sixer is a Ranier poster of 'The Barbeerian'.  Hidden by the Grotten Brown is an old Lone Star Schooner in a Longneck poster with huge armadillos dragging Lone Star bottles with stage coaches inside.  And way down at the end is the signed Yuengling poster I got on my birthday during our tour of Yuengling.