Brau Brothers Rubus Black

In mid-June, I made a post about the newest limited brew scheduled for release from Brau Brothers. I had tried the previous 2 and was very excited to hear about the 3rd. When I read the description, I knew I had to try this Brau creation called Rubus Black.

Rubus is an imperial porter brewed with blackberries. The brewers also used a traditional British yeast and a large amount of chocolate malt. It weighs in at 8.9% ABV. I can't wait to pour this brew!

I pour from the 750 ml bottle into my snifter. A 1-finger tan head is generated and then gradually sinks into a thin, oblong-shaped patch with a very fine ring of foam around the glass. The body is very opaque black and does not let any light pass through.

Man, the smell of this beer is making it hard to wait for a taste. The faint aroma of caramelized sugar is overpowered by chocolate and roasted coffee beans. A sweet fruit scent is reminiscent of a chilled blueberry pie.

The flavors of this brew do not disappoint. There is a brief hint of toffee before rich, dark chocolate makes its presence known. An unbelievably clean blackberry taste is fruity and delicious without becoming too sweet. I almost expected some tartness to come from the berries, but that's not the case. Espresso bitterness comes at the finish to help cleanse the heavy malt and fruit from my mouth.

Thick and viscous, this beer is very smooth and pleasant to swallow. There is a definite alcohol warmth that builds with each sip.

Rubus Black is an awesomely rich and fruity beer from Brau Brothers. The aroma and flavor of blackberries perfectly complement the dark chocolate qualities, which are the backbone of the brew. A friend of mine tried this beer at the Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest and did not like it, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm glad I tried it for myself, because I was pleasantly surprised. If you see the 750 ml bottle sitting on a shelf at your favorite liquor store, I greatly encourage you to give it a try. This is another tasty beer from Brau Brothers!

Coborn's Tasting on August 7th

That's right, it's time for another beer tasting at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. This time, I will be pouring samples of all 6 beers in the Samuel Adams summer sampler 12-pack:

• Samuel Adams Light
• Boston Lager
• Summer Ale
• Pale Ale
• Blackberry Witbier
• Latitude 48 IPA

The tasting will start at 3pm and run until 7pm. Be sure to stop by and try some tasty brews. As usual, feel free to ask questions and talk beer with me. I hope to see you on the 7th!

Schell's Zommerfest

When I think of summer seasonal beers in Minnesota, one that easily comes to mind is Zommerfest. This Kölsch-style brew has been one of Schell's warm weather options since Memorial Weekend of 1998. (The other being Schell's Hefeweizen.) Like a true German Kölsch, this one is meant to be light and crisp - good for hot summer days.

I poured samples of this beer at my last Coborn's tasting. It went over very well, with many people complimenting it's drinkablity and purchasing 6-packs for their 4th of July celebrations. In fact, it was the most popular of the 7 beers I sampled that day. It definitely deserves a session on my blog, so let's sit down with this one!

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my mug. I have to work hard to generate a 1/4" white head, which then quickly shrinks to a thin, patchy layer. The body is crystal clear and golden in color, with multiple streams of sparkling bubbles shooting to the top.

The aroma isn't strong, but it's pleasant. I smell some honey and doughy bread, along with a slight grassy hop character and a just touch of citrus.

After 2 sips, I can taste sweet bready malt with the same honey I could smell. Something is fruity in there - let me take a couple more sips. Do I detect a faint apple flavor? Then a building bitterness leads into a metallic tang at the finish.

The viscosity is definitely on the lighter side, but not at all watery. The carbonation is pleasant on my tongue and the liquid is very easy to swallow. After it travels down my throat, there is a dry feeling left in my mouth. No lacing presents itself on the glass.

Zommerfest is a very crisp and refreshing beer that is easy to drink. It starts malty sweet and ends dry and bitter, while remaining on the lighter side of those flavors. This is a well-balanced summer option that's likely to appeal to many craft beer newbies. It is tasty, simple, and straightforward. Give it a try next time you see it.

Surly Bitter Brewer

In my opinion, warm weather beers should be light and refreshing, yet full-bodied and flavorful at the same time. Another big plus is a low level of alcohol. That way, you can drink a few to quench your thirst without the risk of falling out of your chair. Which leads us to Surly Bitter Brewer.

The Surly website lists the style as "not really a British bitter" and describes the beer:

Pale orange in color, this ale gets intense toast and marmalade character from British malt and American hops. Dry-hopping brings the floral citrus aromas.

It is their late spring/early summer seasonal and weighs in at 4% ABV.

I pour the 16 ounce can into my imperial pint glass. A rapidly appearing, coarse, 3-finger off-white head settles into a thin soapy-looking layer of foam. The body is clear and copper in color.

For the aroma, I definitely agree with the brewery's description of marmalade. It's the smell of sugar combined with citrus, which is making me long for a sip. There is also a definite grain character, like the faintest scent of warm fresh bread.

The taste starts with caramel and toasted malt and moves right into apricot and slight orange. Throughout, there is a moderate building bitterness that continues to linger after I swallow.

Mouthfeel is medium to medium-light with a mild, but prickly, carbonation. As the beer level goes down, a nice sticky web of lacing is left behind.

Bitter Brewer is a crisp, light, and refreshing session beer with low alcohol and lots of flavor. It definitely fits my definition of a warm weather brew and would be great for any hot summer day. Thanks to the 4% ABV, you can put down a few and still be in good shape for your favorite outdoor activities. I highly recommend this beer, so give it a try!

Beers Worth Mentioning from Saturday

This past Saturday, I visited the Top Ten Wine & Spirits in Woodbury for their Grand Beer Tasting. As usual, it was set up well and there was a great selection of craft brews to sample. I had already tasted many of the beers in the past, but their were also a few that were new to me. 2 of those stood out in my mind - Deschutes Hop in the Dark and Goose Island Fleur. Here are the brewers' descriptions:

• Hop in the Dark - Can an IPA be black? Semantics aside, this noir version adds deep roasted malts to alter the hue and slightly smooth the edges. What emerges is something deeper, less orthodox, and all its own. “We’ve brewed 22 batches of this beer at both our Bend and Portland pubs, experimenting on our customers as we perfected the recipe,” said Brewmaster Larry Sidor. “This beer has subtle coffee undertones born from a blend of oats with dark, Munich and crystal malts. Classic IPA flavors and aromas are due to courageous additions of Cascade, Citra and Centennial hops.” Take the plunge – a hop, if you will – into this new Cascadian Dark Ale. Many may never even try to swim for shore.
• Goose Island Fleur - A Belgian style pale ale blended with hibiscus and kombucha tea, Fleur is a beautiful, rose-colored ale with an aroma of strawberries and hibiscus flowers. Her flavor balance starts with a hint of sweet, ripe berry and finishes tart.

Both of these beers were quite tasty and I hope to have a session with each someday. I highly recommend giving them a try!

Slow Day = Trip to Great Waters

Well, today is slow going at work and it's a Friday. Typically for me that means I'll try to leave work early and have a couple tasty beers at Great Waters. With the nice, warm sunny weather, I had to check the beer list to see if anything will suit the outdoor conditions. After all, I might want to sit outside because Great Waters does have a nice patio.

Here's what sounds good for today's possible excursion:

• Kaizerweizer Hefeweizen
• Tighty Whitey Wit
• Veloman 2 - a Belgian-style pale ale

Hopefully I'll get over there soon. I'm feeling kind of thirsty...

Great Divide Hades

Most regular readers of this blog know that I tend to focus on our local Minnesota brews in my posts. The majority of my beer sessions are the same way. However, as you've no doubt already seen, every once in a while I have to mix it up with an outside beer.

When it came time for a beer session last night, I ventured to the fridge to decide which beer to use. I didn't really have any local beers that I hadn't already done a session with, so I grabbed a bottle of Great Divide Hades that I had gotten in a build-your-own 6-pack.

Great Divide Brewing is located in Denver, CO and was founded in 1994 by Brian Dunn. The brewery has built quite a good reputation for themselves with their quality beers and numerous awards. From their website:

Great Divide brews some of the globe's most balanced yet assertive and flavorful beers.

These beers have landed an impressive amount of acclaim: Great Divide beers have earned 16 Great American Beer Festival medals and 5 World Beer Cup awards. Great Divide was also ranked 8th in Ratebeer.com’s 2010 “The Best Brewers in the World” and was ranked 7th in Beer Advocate’s 2009 “All-Time Top Breweries on Planet Earth.”

A lot of people love this brewery...

According to the website, Hades is a Belgian-style golden ale brewed with a proper Belgian yeast strain. This one weighs in at 7.8% ABV.

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my tulip glass. A 2-finger white head makes an appearance before shrinking down to a paper-thin layer. The body is light gold in color and has a slight haze. There are some pretty streams of bubbles ambling to the top of the liquid.

There is a bit of caramel and mild grassiness in the aroma along with an herbal spice that really dominates.

The brief taste of honey leads straight into some tart lemon citrus. Then there is a wonderful level of spice right before a moderate bitterness. The finish is dry and has notes of alcohol. The bitter quality hangs around for a little while after you swallow.

The medium mouthfeel combined with very mild carbonation makes it very drinkable. It has a pleasant warmth and leaves minimal lacing on the glass.

Hades is a spicy and dry Belgian that is crisp and easy to drink. All the expected flavors are there, but they are not overly strong. This beer would probably be a great gateway beverage that opens doors for people to Belgian brews with more pronounced attributes. It is well made and quite tasty, but I probably won't revisit it very often as I prefer other Belgian-style brews more. Go out and give it a try!

Batch 4 in Eric Harper's Own Words...

It can be a beautiful thing to hear a brewer describe his own creation. You get some history about why they chose the recipe and how it was physically created. It's also fun when you pick up on their pride in the product and their connection to the brew, like it's their child.

I've been a big fan of the Summit Unchained Series since Batch 1 came out last year. Each one of those tasty beers was created by a different Summit brewer. Up until now, I did not have any further insight into the recipes from their creators. Today, I received a newsletter email from the brewery. It contained a link to a page where brewer Eric Harper was able to write about his Batch 4. You should check it out. Like I said, it's a beautiful thing...

Schell's Stag Series Batch No. 2

Schell's brewery has announced the second beer in their limited Stag Series. I really enjoyed batch 1 and was excited to read about the new recipe.

They are calling it Wild Rice Farmhouse Ale. It will be Schell's version of a Belgian Farmhouse Ale brewed with wild rice, our official Minnesota state grain. According to the brewery, it will be "dry and thirst-quenching" and will be a healthy 7% ABV.

I'm always interested in unique beers, and this one seems to fit the bill. I can't wait to taste this brew after it's released on October 1st! Check out the Schell's website for more details.

Lift Bridge Minnesota Tan

Lift Bridge Beer's bottled products started with the popular Farm Girl Saison. After some established success, they released Cross Cut Pale Ale in 6-packs as well. Their third, most recent release in 4-packs is a limited specialty brew called Minnesota Tan.

According to Lift Bridge, Minnesota Tan is a Belgian Tripel made with lingonberries. It weighs in at 8.5% ABV. I've never seen a lingonberry, let alone tasted or smelled one, so I did a little research to learn about this fruit. They are red berries that are a close relative of common cranberries, but have a unique flavor. Also, they are very tart and most commonly consumed in conjunction with sugar (jams, juice, syrup), which keeps the sour flavor from becoming overwhelming.

Why the name Minnesota Tan? Well, the brewery states that the lingonberries give the beer a slight pink tint, like a Minnesota "tan." Clever name for a summer beer in this state, don't you think?

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my goblet. A 1-finger white head makes an appearance before falling fast into multiple thin, tiny patches and a ring of foam around the glass. The body is cloudy and golden in color with numerous bubbles flying to the top of the liquid. I'm not sure that I see the pink that Lift Bridge claims, but, to be fair, they do say it is a "slight" tint.

The slight aroma of brown sugar is followed by the smell of acidic fruit, like tart cherries or cranberries. There may also be a bit of spice, but it's hard to liken it to something.

The brief taste of sweet caramel disappears quickly. Apricots and then sour cherries become the dominate flavors. Then it transitions into a gently bitter and decently dry finish.

There is a medium-light mouthfeel with pleasant carbonation that cleanses the tongue. There is a noticeable alcohol warmth which was not present in the smell or taste. There isn't any lacing to speak of.

This is a wonderfully tasty and unique beer that combines the characteristics of a tripel and a sour beer, minus the funk. It is sweet, then fruity and tart before finishing dry and warm. It is very pleasing and almost too easy to drink. Definitely give this beer a try while the weather is still warm.

Top Ten Beer Tasting

Yesterday I received an email notifying me about one of my favorite beer events: a beer tasting at Top Ten Wine & Spirits!

Top Ten has 2 locations - Cottage Grove and Woodbury. They have 4 big beer tastings every year, one for each season. The spring and fall tastings are held at the Cottage Grove location, while the winter and summer tastings are held in the Woodbury store.

This being the summer tasting, it will be in Woodbury on Saturday, July 17th from 1:30 - 4:00 pm. They will have over 35 different beers to sample, which is amazing for the cost of zero dollars. I have been to some of their previous tastings, and they are a lot of fun. They typically have some great quality craft brews, and you'll get to chat with some fellow beer lovers.

I highly recommend setting some time aside during the afternoon of July 17th so you can attend this tasting. You won't regret it. I know I'll be going!

For your convenience, here is the address and phone number for the Woodbury Top Ten:

9887 Norma Lane

Woodbury, MN 55125

651-501-1199

In early June, I posted some information on the next recipe in the Summit Unchained Series. Now, Summit has listed some more specific info and release events for Batch 4:

Unchained Series 04: Belgian Style Golden Ale

Brewer Eric Harper is releasing his Unchained beer the week of July 19! In his own words:

Light golden in color, pours effervescent with a thick, rocky head. The aromas of fruity esters produced by our Belgian yeast strain dominate, while a subtle spiciness from the Czech Saaz and Styrian Golding hops linger in the background. Brewed with 100% Belgian Malt and tons (literally) of Belgian Candi Sugar, the body was lightened, and the alcohol increased. The end result is a sublime drinking experience!

We have a number of release events planned that week and beyond:

Monday, July 19: Golden Ale on tap at 3 Squares in Maple Grove, The Longfellow Grill, and Groveland Tap.
Tuesday, July 20: All week long, all Punch Pizza locations will be featuring the Golden Ale on tap. Harper will be visiting their Grand Ave on the 20th from 4-6pm.
Wednesday, July 21: Harper will be at Grumpy’s NE at 4:30pm, Golden Ale pints $3
Thursday, July 22: Join Harper and crew at Sweeney’s in St. Paul at 6pm
Thursday, July 29: Harper and Rudolphs from 6-8pm. All Summit pints $2!
Friday, August 6: Golden Ale firkin lunch at Grumpy’s on Washington. This will be our first Unchained Series beer to go into a cask. Join us for triple fermented goodness!

Specs:
Malts: 100 % Belgian Pilsen Malt
Kettle Additions: Czech Saaz and Styrian Golding Hops, Belgian Candi Sugar
OG: 18.5° Plato
IBU: 30
ABV: 8.6%
Color: Golden
Yeast: Belgian Ale Yeast

I can't wait to try this delicious-sounding brew soon! Keep your eyes open for it in 2 weeks, and check out some of the events.

P.S. Don't forget to try the Unchained Series Batch 3 - IRA before it's all gone.

Coborn's Tasting Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder to all of you that I will be pouring samples of 6 tasty beers tomorrow at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. Check out my previous post for the important details. Stop by and talk beer before you do your beverage shopping for the holiday weekend. I hope to see you there!

Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison

While looking over my list of sessions with beers from local breweries, I was reminded that I haven't yet done a Lift Bridge brew. To remedy this situation, I made a trip to the liquor store so I could purchase a 6-pack of their Farm Girl Saison.

Lift Bridge Beer Company is a pretty young Minnesota brewery. It was founded in 2007 and is located in Stillwater, which is where they make their pilot/test brews in small batches. They currently contract brew their bottled beer at Stephens Point Brewery in Wisconsin. At the time of this post, they bottle 3 beers: Farm Girl Saison, Crosscut Pale Ale, and Minnesota Tan.

In April of this year, Lift Bridge made an exciting announcement regarding their acquisition of a 10,500 square foot building in Stillwater. They plan to develop the 10 year old building into their own craft brewery and are likely to offer tours and sales of growlers and other merchandise when it opens. I don't know about you, but I'm always happy to hear about a new local brewing facility being created. I'm definitely going to get in line for a tour!

As a fan of the saison style, I chose Farm Girl for my first Lift Bridge beer session. This was the first beer they released in bottles. It weighs in at 6% ABV and 30 IBUs.

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my tulip glass. A 2-finger white head appears and quickly dissipates into a few small thin patches and a ring of foam around the glass. The body is straw to light gold in color and has a slight haze. There are many sparkly bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass.

I smell honey and some lightly tart fruit like peaches or apricots. I also believe there is a hint of marmalade and some definite herbal spice.

The taste of sweet caramelized sugar urgently moves into a bit of lemon. The spicy characteristic presents itself more in the flavor as black pepper and leads into an earthy, somewhat metallic finish.

A medium-light mouthfeel goes well with the prickly carbonation. It has a fairly dry finish and a decent warming effect for a 6% beer.

This is a very tasty saison, though it seems to have much less of the strong flavors I associate with my favorite versions of this particular style. It does combine sweet, fruity, tart, spicy, and dry qualities like a good saison should; Lift Bridge has just turned down the volume on those flavors a smidge, which could be beneficial in helping to ease in newcomers to the style. Farm Girl is a highly drinkable brew that I have revisited many times. It is crisp and refreshing while maintaining a lovely warmth which leads me to believe this beer would be appropriate to drink in both warm and cold weather. Another excellent Minnesota creation worth trying!