Thoughts on Beer

I was finally able to watch the Iowa Public Television show, Iowa Journal, that was aired last Thursday night on the state of beer and the brewing industry in Iowa. It was a panel discussion that included three beer experts: Iowa Brewers Guild president and head brewer at Raccoon River, Dave Coy, Sioux City Journal beer writer Tim Hynds and John’s Grocery manager and bier guy Doug Alberhasky.

The panel discussed how beer in Iowa will expand and gives the consumer better choices after the March 10th passage of SF 2088.  The episode is available online.

Hop Wrangler 3

Peace Tree Brewing made it to Iowa City!

I was able to try Hop Wrangler 3 in the bottle. It is an IPA with Belgian, English, and American malts, and  English and American hops added at 6 different times.  A Belgian yeast is used, and leaves a lot of nice sweet esters.

The aroma is very hoppy with a bit of a sweet smell.  The taste has a strong hop flavor balanced with just enough malt.  There is a fluffy white head that stayed the whole glass.  It also had a nice finish.  It was a great IPA, and I look forward to more from Peace Tree!

I just read an excellent article on how, in America, our beer (and drinking) culture as a whole need to have a shift in perception.  From the article, the author, Max Feldhake,  proposes that “rather than drinking for the sake of becoming heavily inebriated, let us drink for the beer’s sake”.

I couldn’t agree more.  Even though the craft beer revolution in America has began changing this skewed perception, we have a long way to go, judging from the less than 5% market share craft brewing has.  We should “drink for the beer’s sake”!

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

I just had a chance to taste the new seasonal from Sierra Nevada, Summerfest.

Although I don’t normally like pilsners, it was a nice version of one. It was very crisp and had a nice malt flavor with a bit of spicy and floral hops tat finished nice and clean.  The label states it is for “enjoyment on warm summer days”.

It was a good pilsner, and I look forward to enjoying more this summer.

Have you tried Summerfest?  What did you think?

Ranger IPA

I just had the chance to try New Belgium’s Ranger IPA.

At first, there was an aroma of citrus.  Upon tasting, there was a bit of citrus, pine, and mango.  It is balanced, and not too bitter.  With the finish, here is enough hops to make it an IPA.  I can taste the three hops used, Cascade (adds a citrus flavor), Simcoe (adds a bit of mango), and Chinook (gives it a nice bitterness).

It was a good IPA and would try it again.  Have you tried Ranger IPA?  What did you think?