Grut (Gruit) Bier, Munich Germany

Here I have something I've been hoping to try for a while. A gruit beer that advertises itself as being "brewed as they did in the 13th century." The importance is that hops, a flower bud that gives beer its 'bitter' flavor and also is a potent preservative, wasn't used in beer until fairly recently, less than 600 years. Before then early brewers used a variety of berries, herbs and spices (known as gruit) to give beer it's flavor. True beer, as first defined by the German Food Purity Law, is flavored by hops, so this beer, a gruit beer, is technically a 'proto-beer' and is pretty excited to a geek like myself.

I picked up a bottle of this from the Spuytin Duyvil beer store in Williamsburg. Just a note - I'm actually not sure which brewer made this as the label simply says "Brewed in Munich by Dr. Fritz Briem". Being as this is my first try with a gruit beer, I won't rate it as I have nothing to compare it to.

The Pour- the beer is a light orange color, similar to a wheat beer. It's opaque with no head. A very small grouping of bubbles appear in groups, similar to the Midas Touch, something I normally associate with sweetness. Looks cool and refreshing.

Nose - First wiffs are of a strong, bready yeast, like a loft of freshly baked whole wheat. After a moment the nose fills with a strong bouquet of spices and tang. Similar to a belgian saison with notes of citrus and bitter brett yeast.

Mouth Feel- Very flat, like a stout... actually no noticeable carbonation. Very little body, similar to a ginger ale left open for a few minutes, very light and very refreshing. It's fresh from the fridge so it's nicely cold and goes down fast.

Taste- a little lacking here actually. The beer really perks up the back and roof of the mouth and is sitting there after a few sips. A particularly 'wild' bitter yeast, most likely brett, gives is a strong tang. Gone are the citrus notes and really most flavoring of any kind. Not quite unpleasant as it goes down very quickly without lingering at all. Bottle says 4.6% and I'm not getting any alcohol warmth at all. A very mild session hitter, somewhat similar to a mass produced american lager that can go down quickly and rapidly.

Overall: a bit anticlimactic really. I was anticipating big wild flavors of all the juniper berries, bay leaves, ginger and anise that it was brewed with (according to the bottle) but I'm getting little else than the bitter yeast. I can easily imagine a group of feudal serfs pounding these by the liter is a dark ages pub but something is missing. This really makes one fonder and more appreciative of hops, what an experience that must have been to taste hops for the first time. Finally beer has body, sticky resins that coat the mouth and make it a full sensory experience. Either way, I would definitely pick up another bottle of this or any other gruit beer that comes my way. A nice connection to the past.

Smuttynose Maibock

I've been very interested in bocks ever since I first heard of these heavy and malty treats back over the summer. I've made my way through the dobbles and a few singles but this is my first maibock. I did some research so I know that these were typically brewed in the Spring (hence Mai or May, they are also called Hellerbock where heller is German for Spring) and they are typically the most heavily hopped of traditional lagers.

I picked up this bomber from Bierkraft for about $7. Label indicated it was brewed this year, at only around 6.5% abv, I wouldn't really age this beer.

The Pour - A very light, caramel color beer with a nice 2 fingers of head. Not nearly as syrupy as many dobblebocks I've had, while still resembling more of a pale ale than a pilsner. The head leaves fairly quickly but leaves some extensive lacing.
7/10

Nose - Hoppier than a traditional bock but I still wouldn't call this a 'hoppy' beer, not compared to how things get hopped now-a-days. Strong sweet malts as well along with the typical light, fizzy lager freshness. I'm missing a lot of the interesting mini-scents that an ale would be giving off but this is interesting - the fizzy carbonation does keep this smelling nicely for quite a while. Very pleasant.
7/10

Mouthfeel - A bit of an odd combination, the malt is potent but not as deep or thick as other bocks I've tasted. Typically I like how with a dobblebock the viscosity of the beer and the alcohol content team up to really make it a 'big' experience. I'm just not getting that here. This is a tinier beer with a nice amount of hops that makes it more chuggable though. Very similar to a pale ale in body and flavor, just not as complex. Also not nearly as filling as typical bocks, I could drink a couple of these before filling up.
7/10

Taste - Tinier than I'd like as I've said. I feel like the lager yeast cuts this beer off at the knees and prevents it from becoming a richer experience. That being said, not all beer is made to be savored and Smuttynose has done a great job at matching the sweetness, bitterness and lightness to make this a very drinkable beer. Its a session beer that is well balanced and seems like it would hold up well over the course of a evening. That said, I'm somewhat not engaged by it. Hrmph.
6/10

Overall the Maibock gets a 27/40 outta me. Not a terrible review considering where my preferences lie and that this is my first time trying a maibock. I'd love to see a dobblemaibock as this beer could be bigger and remember bigger = better.

What I haven't been posting or Enough with the IPA already!

I think the tap list of Brouwerij Lane in Greenpoint is a good barometer by which to judge the beer climate. A month ago you could find 5 or 6 IPAs on there with 2 or 3 imperials. As of this morning I count only 3 imperials. In their place I find a brown ale, a barley wine and a handful of saisons and oktoberfests.

As much as I love the IPA I think it's time to indulge in malt for the time being and try start warming up my gullet for this winter's crop of barley wines. So in interest of being fair here are some things I've been tasting without posting and things that currently in the ol' lock up.

Recent Tastings-

Troeg's Troegenator Dobblebock - very tasty lager for the fall with a smooth creaminess.

Dogfish Head Sah-tea - a very sweet fermented beverage inspired from traditional nordic brews. Much sweeter and lighter than I anticipated, very similar to the Midas Touch surprisingly. I have 2 more 750's to try.

Troeg's Amber Ale - fruity and sweet with just enough hops to make it palatable. Not something I'd drink a lot of but very refreshing for a hop tired tongue and perfect for a fall afternoon.

Slyfox Hops Project 2008 IPAs and 2009 Pale Ales - Tasted over at the Gate last week, each year Slyfox makes 8 or 9 versions of a single style to explore the subtle differences. Last year was the IPA, which they 3 or 4 left over and this year was the Pale Ale with about 10 varieties on tap. I tasted a few that were interesting but the 2008 Amarillo IPA really blew me away. A whispy head with intense lacing and a potent hops upfront made this special.

Green Flash Imperial IPA

I've had the great fortune to enjoy a few bottles of this lately. This beer occupies a special place in the hearts of my brother and I from one magical night in which we found it on tap at Muggs Alehouse in Williamsburg and were just blown away. Anywho, he actually gave me this bottle (the last of a case as I believe) as a gift the last time I visited him down in Philly.

Served from a bomber, slightly below room temperature, into a whisky tumbler.

The Pour: A very colorful IPA, the green flash is a cloudy, dark amber without the reddish tones of some "American Strong Ales" nowadays, a good thing. There is a fluffy pillow of head that forms, about 1 finger, than leaves rather quickly. The beer pours surprisingly smoothly without being syrupy like many ales this heavily malted can be. Visually it resembles a more golden single IPA than many east coast DIPAs. Very pretty but not as nice as I remember the draft being. I think this beer chafes at being bottled a bit.

7/10

Nose: The tumbler gave plenty of breathing room for this but I wasn't quite finding the intense fresh hop scent that I know this beer should have. Again I think this beer is meant for the keg or cask to really get it fresh and tasty. Still, this is intensely hoppy in a unique way and by this I mean it's pure hop juice. If you grabbed a fresh hop bud and rolled it in your hands, it would be less hoppy than this beer can be. Occasionally I get those intensely BIG hop odors from this but not like the draft that you could smell being poured across the room. I wish I could have that again...

6/10 (only because I know what it could be)

Mouthfeel: Heavily sweet without being syrupy which is great. A beer with this much hop oils and malt in it can get very viscous and coat your mouth but not the Green Flash. It's the perfect guest that knows not to overstay it's welcome longer than it needs to. Very nice and well balanced.

10/10

Taste: Mmmm.....mmm... So good. I may have missed the hops in the nose but they are still loud and clear in the taste. This is so potently hopped its unbelievable. The sweetness and the alcohol follow afterwards and remind you just how big a beer this is. Still, from the draft these notes were muted because the hops were overwhelming from all angles. This feels like a much more balanced beer now, more than just a one hit wonder. Unfortunately, this does make it more pedestrian as it now blends in with so many other DIPAs that are hoppy and sweet and delicious.

7/10

Overall: From the bottle I'd give the Green Flash a 30/40. It's just not the same beer as it is fresh from the tap. What makes this beer special is just how heavily hopped it is and how unbalanced it feels, like it or love it, it's unique. From the bottle, however, it balances out into one of the best DIPA's out there without standing out from that illustrious crowd. I'd be interested in tasting a bottle fresh from the brewery sometime as I bet that's much closer to what I want. Or better yet, just find it on tap again.

Stone 13th Anniversary Imperial Red Ale

Stone released the 13th Anniversary back in early Summer and I quickly snatched up as many bottles as I could of this one time release. I've been able to enjoy about case of it while it was available and I'm now down to my last two bombers, well, my last one after drinking it for this review. If I remember correctly I picked it up for about $6 a bomber at Biercraft in Park Slope.

Disclaimer -*- I must admit to having 2 bottles of Stone IPA before tasting this so my palate was already hopped out. All the better for me!

The Pour- A deep mahogany color, unfiltered with a lively, soda-y head. This is definitely a solid imperial red ale. A genre that seems to be getting more and more popular on the West Coast what with the Green Flash Hop Head Red, the Bear Republic Imperial Red, Lagunitas Lucky 13, etc. This is a bit thicker looking than most reds though to go along with it's 9.5% ABV. Loses some points as I prefer a frothier head in beers this big.

7/10

Nose - The hops are milder than I remember then being when the bottle was new but still very pungent and delightful. A particularly West Coast resin and spice are present but much less then I remember. Also present is a smokey malt scent that I definitely haven't detected before in this brew, which is nice. The booze makes a guest appearance towards the finish. Very nice smell here.

8/10

Taste - So much sweeter than I remember! No doubt the hops has died down a bit since the bottling but I didn't realize just how big of a malty beer this was. This is really impressive considering just how drinkable it is without being too filling or ruining that taste buds. Especially after coming from the Stone IPA the Anniversary just tastes so complex with a lot fruitiness and thickness that just isn't found in regular IPA. I do miss the face meltingly bitter hops of the fresh bottling though...

7/10

Mouthfeel - I'm proud to see the Imperial Red finally have standard bearer in the market. There is so much going right in this beer it just reaffirms my belief that Stone is the best brewery in the US today. Their ability to control the character of the hops and bring across all the resiny notes, the spice and the mouth coating oils while at the same time not over doing the bitterness and controlling the massive amount of malt in the Anniversary is nothing short of masterful. This is a fantastic beer and I look forward to it being released again.

10/10

So I'd give the Stone a 32/40. I feel like I was perhaps a little too harsh on it because I miss the fresh hops of the young bottling but also because this is Stone and I expect nothing better than the best beers on the market from them. I still have one bottle of this in the cellar and I'm thinking I'll have to drink it soon as it's not bottle conditioned. Anyway care to join me?