Thoughts on Beer

New Glarus Enigma

Continuing with the current sour beer trend, along with my trip to New Glarus Brewing, I picked up a four pack of Enigma, from the Unplugged series.

Technically, it is a sour brown ale, similar to the Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale.  It started with a tart flavor, and finished sour.  It leaves a slight caramel flavor aftertaste.

It was a great sour beer with limited availability, so get yours soon!

Have you tried Enigma?  What was your impression?

Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze

The next sour beer I tried was the Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze.  A gueuze is a blend of a new lambic (around 1 year old), and an old lambic (2-3 years old).

At first, it smelled of a combination of citrus and horse hair or a horse blanket, the way a wild yeast tends to smell.  With the first taste, it is pretty sour, lemony, and is very carbonated.  The gueuze started tart and ended tart.  It’s a great beer, especially if you like sour beer.

Have you tried the Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze?

Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale

Toward the end of the summer, I start to crave a nice, tart beer.  To start this off, I had a Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale.  It is a Belgian sour ale made in Belgium for the Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia, and has nationwide distribution.

At first scent, it smells very fruity.  With a taste, it starts slightly sour then finishes sweet with a sweet aftertaste.  It’s a great beer to start getting into sour beers because of its sweet and sour taste.  It finishes very refreshing.  It is a great slightly sour beer, and is one of my favorites.

Have you tried Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale?  What did you think?  What’s your favorite sour ale?

Stone Brewing Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

On a recent trip to Detroit, I was pleased to find a carry-over from the winter seasonal beers in the form of Stone Brewing Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.  Since we don’t yet have Stone’s beers in Iowa, it was an extra-special treat.

The stout poured black, and had very little head.  It smelled a lot like roasted chocolate.  It was very smooth, and tasted like a dark chocolate, and continued with a slight bite at the finish.

It was a very nice and mellow beer, and I look forward to Stone arriving into the Iowa market, whenever that may be.

Have you tried the Stone Brewing Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout?  What was your experience?

Millstream Weizenbock

I had a chance to try the Millstream special release Weizenbock.

This reminded me a lot of the Millstream Dopplebock.  It poured nice and thick, with a small head.

It smelled sweet, with a bit of caramel and a bit of bread.  It was nice and smooth, and had a bready-sweet flavor to it.  You could tell it had a higher taste of alcohol, but it was nice, and it finished with a bit of sweetness.

Have you tried the Millstream Weizenbock?  What did you think?