Thoughts on Beer

Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Biere

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had a chance to try another ale from Jolly Pumpkin – Bam Biere, a farmhouse ale, similar to a saison .

It started sweet smelling with a hint of sour.  It started out a bit tart but finished clean and funky with a bit of sweet.

I enjoyed Bam Biere.  Have you tried it?  What did you think?

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

In this year’s Samuel Adams Winter Classics 12-pack, Samuel Adams has expanded the scope of their Chocolate Bock.  Previously, the Chocolate Bock could only be found in Limited Edition 25.9 ounce bottles.

The beer smelled sweet, with a scent of chocolate.  With the taste, it was a smooth, malty bock that had a hint of chocolate flavor that comes from the Ecuador cocoa nibs that the beer is aged on.  The chocolate was not too overpowering, and was subtle.  It was just enough to let you know it was there.

I’m glad to see Samuel Adams added Chocolate Bock to the Winter Classics as a seasonal beer.

Have you tried the Chocolate Bock?  What did you think?

New Belgium 2 Below

Ah, winter ales.  Thank goodness for New Belgium to shake up the traditional idea of a winter seasonal ale with 2 Below.

2 Below is not your normal run-of-the-mill spiced winter ale.  In fact, I don’t even know if they use any spices.  What they do use is subtle hops and lightly roasted malts, for a pale ale-like flavor that is very balanced.

At first, you get a nice scent of earthy hops.  The taste is slightly malty, with a clean hop profile as it hits the back of your tongue.  According to the packaging, the brewery chills the beer to a near-freezing state, which makes the beer very clean and nice on the palate.

I enjoyed this beer quite a bit, and it is very close to being one of my favorites.

Have you had 2 Below?  What was your impression?  Did you like it as much as I did?

Samuel Adams Winter Classics

Note: this info is for the 2010 version of the Winter Classics pack. The 2011 pack is located here.

Now that the calendar has turned to November, many breweries are starting to release winter beers.  Maybe it’s just me, but letting go of the malty goodness of a fall beer and jumping into spicy winter beers makes me wish it was still fall.  Spiced beers have never been a favorite of mine (I’m looking at you, pumpkin ale), but luckily Samuel Adams hasn’t gone overboard with the spices in this year’s Winter Classics Variety Pack.

In the pack, there are 2 bottles each of:

Boston Lager

Holiday Porter

White Ale

Chocolate Bock

Winter Lager

Old Fezziwig Ale

Looking through the pack, the only one I would consider unpleasantly spiced would be Old Fezziwig Ale, but luckily, Samuel Adams has learned to turn down the spices a bit to make all of them drinkable.  I like the fact that the Chocolate Bock has been included, and the Cranberry Lambic has been removed.  It’s also good to see an appearance from the White Ale, since it’s no longer the Samuel Adams spring seasonal beer.

Have you tried the Winter Classics Variety Pack?  Which ones in the pack do you like?  Which ones don’t you like?

Peace Tree Cornucopia

I recently had the chance to try Peace Tree Brewing’s Cornucopia.  It is a saison with sweet corn and corn stalks.

Being a fan of saisons, I was excited to sample Peace Tree’s interpretation. It had a slightly spicy aroma.  The first taste was a bit sweeter than other saisons I’ve had, and had a hint of corn flavor.  The finish was clean, but it left an “interesting” aftertaste.

I held back on my original (not as favorable) review of this, and I’m glad I did.  Here’s why: I found several things that made drinking this beer a better experience.

1. It was better fresh.  The bottles I had at the beginning of the season and at the beginning of six-packs were much better than those during the fall and at the end of the pack (unless I drank all of them in a few days time).
2. It was much better with the yeast mixed in, so pour it into a glass, swirl around what’s left in the bottle, and pour the sediment into the glass.

Overall, it was a good saison, but it’s still not my favorite Peace Tree offering.

Have you had Cornucopia?  What did you think?