Boulevard Brewing Unfiltered Wheat

In a moment of culinary inspiration tonight, I wanted to cover some swai filets in a lemon beurre blanc (lemon/cream/white wine sauce). Yummy, right? Only we lacked the white wine that makes a proper beurre blanc, so I substituted a bit of a wheat beer for the white wine. It was fantastic. At a certain point in the reduction, it even smelled just like wine. Flavor-wise, you'd never know. And now, David Letterman is making terrible jokes about vacationing in Russia. Let me tell you, I've lived there; if you get a chance, it's an amazing place to vacation. I just can't believe it's been 20 years since I lived there. The one thing I will say is that I hope their craft beer scene has improved since I was there, and I need to revisit Baltika beer soon. I tended to spend most of my spare time at the Warsteiner bar in St. Petersburg, and thoroughly enjoyed a couple of Irish bars in Moscow on St. Patrick's Day.

So, onto this decidedly American beer. It's from Boulevard Brewing, out of Missouri, from our trip to Illinois last month. It pours a hazy pale yellow with a light hint of a white head. The nose is mostly wheat, with just a hint of lemony citrus. It's an extraordinarily mild wheat beer with a very unnoticeable yeast strain and even lighter citrus notes. Exceedingly drinkable, there's a hint of Triscuits among the dry finish and 4.4% ABV. This is probably the mildest, blandest Boulevard beer I've had. It's also probably the blandest wheat beer I've had. It's well done, it's just, well, bland. At the very bottom of the glass, however, contains some yeast sediment which actually has more flavor than the rest of the beer, and is where most of the citrusy, lemon flavors reside.

My overall take on this is to use this in cooking more than drinking, unless it's a really hot and humid day, like it should be in Ohio tonight. It's a fine substitute for white wine. It makes a phenomenal beurre blanc.

3.9/5 caps

-Jennie

Being to work at 7 am, roughly 2 hours before I normally wake up, after roughly 3 hours of sleep, makes for a very long day. The way to relax is beer and artwork. So, while continuing an EPIC painting for my friend, we decided to continue on our beer adventures. Now, what beer to review? We have roughly eight 12 oz singles and 2 bombers from unobtainable in Ohio beers, plus one single and one bomber of quasi-readily available here. Huh. Jennie used part of this Boulevard brew in her fantastic sauce tonight, so it's clear that we're going to be reviewing this.

This has a hazy pale straw color, perfectly fine for a wheat. Jazzy just blasted me in the back while adjusting herself as Amanda Seyfried is talking about showing her boobs in her new movie about Linda Lovelace. Fuck. Where was I? Oh yeah, beer. So this has a wheaty/citrusy aroma about it that is fantastic. Normally, I'm not a fan of wheat beers, but this smells amazing. Now onto the part that will chase PBR out of my mouth, the taste. Lawnmower beer at it's finest. Nice, lighter, DAMN IT JAZZY! STOP KICKING ME!... Nice, lighter beer with just hints of flavors. Nicely described by Jennie. This makes me want to buy more and drink it while playing corn hole at our friend's place. Perfect lighter summer beer with hints of wheat and citrus, dry finish, nice smooth mouthfeel that's as refreshing as it is smooth. Now, off to the Great Land of Slumber to dream about how to pay homage to Hopsus on Aug 1st (National IPA Day).

4/5 caps

-Nathan

Ska Brewing Vernal Minthe Stout

Ah, Sunday night, an evening for relaxing and recovering from the weekend while preparing for the coming week. It was a perfectly beautiful day, with that kind of weather you wish for year-round, in the lower 70s and sunny with big puffy clouds. This makes me crave craft beer, so here we are. I've been looking forward to this brew since we bought it in Peoria.

This brew comes to us from Ska Brewing, out of Durango, Colorado. Their notes on this particular brew, on their website at http://www.skabrewing.com, note that this is brewed with real peppermint and spearmint, cacao nibs, vanilla beans. This is a beer after my heart. Also in the notes on their website:

Ancient Greeks tell us ('cause we talk to them) that Persephone turned Minthe into a mint plant in a jealous rage, to keep the little nymph away from her man Hades. Jealous rages rarely end well, but if one did result in mint we're glad: this is a unique and delicious stout, and we recommend having one while you calm the hell down.
Once we translated their Castilian, we realized we had to support their dream. We knew you wouldn't let us down, grapes. An oak-aged stout fermented with Malbec grapes. Complex and slightly boozy, yet balanced.

I chuckled heartily when I read this. I just threw a temper tantrum in the kitchen a few minutes ago, as the entire bag of recycling landed on its side shortly after my son went to bed. Indeed, I'll be happy to calm the hell down. And it's fermented with Malbec grapes (one of my favorite varieties of wine)... OK, I can't wait any longer to drink this.

It pours a deep brown, just shy of black, with a smallish khaki head. The aroma is divine; think Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. Noticeable mint, lovely soft chocolate, a hint of vanilla. It's like they brewed fresh Girl Scouts. Given the intense chocolate cravings I was having earlier, this needs to get into my mouth, now. It's a most interesting brew to drink. Up front there's a hit of mint (both spearmint and peppermint), which goes into a lovely chocolate note, the vanilla peeks through, and then there's a lovely finish from the grapes. You can taste the grapes, yet it's not like the hot mess that was Dogfish Head's Sixty-One Minute. And underlying all of this, which I also noticed in the aroma, is the evident flavor of root beer that pervades the drink. The mouthfeel is creamy and a little sticky.

At 5.8% ABV, you can drink this one and not feel guilty Monday morning. I'm not sure that I'm fully in love with it, but I'm very glad that I selected this in Peoria.

4.3/5 caps

-Jennie

Wow, how do I follow that up except listening to Bohemian Rhapsody by Puscifer and a velvet Elvis painting of one of my good friends.  So, with the background sufficiently covered, I guess I'll get to the worst part of this, reviewing the beer. Damn, I hate drinking beer. HA! Just kidding.

This was poured into my trusty Flying Dog pint glass. By this point, roughly a half hour after the initial pour, there's no visible head. What sticks out instantly is the dark cola/black coffee sort of color of this. Whoa the aroma. Heavy mint, notes of chocolate and almost a vanilla coke hint between the sweetness and vanilla blending on the, ah hell, does anyone really read this part of the review? I could randomly rant and talk about how the quality of Applause by Ovation guitars in the 70's was much better than any product put out by Harmony after Harmony was bought out and produced in Korea. But no, I'll save rants like that for another day when I need to unwind from work. This is a night of celebration. The celebration is surviving another weekend and enjoying another beer that's unobtainable in Ohio.

Now, with the aroma out of the way, onto the part many of you wish (not to brag) you could be doing right now. The taste. There's an initial burst of mint (think Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime), followed by some chocolate and vanilla, riding out on the mint note. Lighter body, smooth drinking, slightly creamy feel with some light stickiness (like sweetness sort of stickiness). Not bad. This is one of the lightest stouts that I've had, but yet, rather enjoyable.

4.4/5 caps

-Nathan-

Upland Dragonfly IPA

Upland is new to Ohio distribution. Upland is out of Indiana (for those not familiar with American geography, Indiana is next to Ohio on the western border). They were picked up here in Columbus by Superior Beverage (the local Miller/Coors distributor who also carries a fantastic profile of craft beer such as Columbus Brewing Company, Rivertown, Erie Brewing, Frankenmuth, Oskar Blues, and the now defunct Neil House). This is the first chance we've had to try one of their brews, so I hope this leaves a lasting impression.

This pours a nice clear, amber color with decent head that does not linger. Now, I would like to point out at this point that there was around, mmm, roughly 10-15 minutes between the pour and where we are now. The aroma on this is earthy, tea-like faintness with some caramel and almost a skunkiness to it (not like Heinie or any other green bottle import sort of skunk, more like dank with sweetness). So, now, with my trusty gray snuggle bug by my side, I delve into this beer like an excavator in a cave that collapsed. The flavor is an interesting combination. There's a nice citrusy, piney blend with some earthy tones that pop up toward the back. The malt doesn't make itself as heavily known as other brews, but it's there. It's more of a biscuit flavor than a caramel flavor. A nice dry finish with some residual hops lingering to leave a resiny pleasantness about it... This has a light body. Very smooth drinking, mouthfeel like velvet with some pungent bitterness toward the back. I enjoy this.

Although they are new to the Ohio area, I can't wait to try more of their brews, especially as they've around 15 years now, and we, in this huge Craft Beer Mecca of Ohio, are just now hearing about them.

4.4/5 caps

-Nathan-

Let's discuss, just for a moment, how Ohio is the most underrated state in the craft beer scene. Sure, we all know Oregon, California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New York are hot on the beer scene. I might even throw Vermont and Massachusetts onto that list. And sure, North Carolina is up-and-coming. Good for you! Ohio has something around 200 breweries, some larger than others (Great Lakes, anyone? Or hell, I drive past an Anheuser-Busch brewery every day), and yet, we get no respect. Consider this my official petition to get Ohio recognized among the best craft beer states. We make it, we drink it, we appreciate the hell out of it. And it's not just Columbus. No, sir. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton, Toledo, Athens, Delaware (just north of Columbus)... all have killer local breweries. Some have killer regional breweries. And yet, in the mass beer press, we get no love. No love. It's now my mission to change that, one beer at a time.

Anyway, so this one is from our fair neighbor-to-the-west, Indiana. Let's get to it. Huh. Upland is based out of Bloomington, where Ohio State's rival, Indiana University, is located. And yet Nathan failed to mention that, all while I've been taking crap all night from him and a friend over the Ohio State-Michigan game from last fall. I've been to a football game at Memorial Stadium. That's more than most OSU fans can say. Anyway, back to this, the beer. It's amazingly clear. With the head long gone, it has a beautiful light, piney, citrusy aroma, with just a hint of bready malts in the background. It starts out earthy and resinous with pine, fading into more soft citrus and just a tinge of biscuit, then back into strong pine with an almost harsh bite at the end. It's pretty good, very light in body, very resin-y without being dank.

Upland, welcome to Ohio, 2014's Craft Beer Mecca Of The World. Although if we could get some Pliny or Heady Topper here, that'd be great. Thanks.

4.05/5 caps

-Jennie

Tenaya Creek Tandem

Randomly last week, we ran across town to seek a 24-pack of Burger beer at the only place we know that consistently carries it in stock. This place, Kenny Road Market, also has a fantastic selection of craft brews and wines, and they usually have some stuff on clearance at great prices, if you're willing to take a chance. This beer is one of those.

This is our first foray into any of Tenaya Creek's brews. This is their double IPA, Tandem. Tenaya Creek is out of Vegas, baby! I'm always up for discovering a new brewery, and Nathan was craving hops, so here we are. At 9% ABV, this should also be the perfect start to a Friday evening.

This pours a medium orange color, hazy with a decent-sized, fluffy head that has mostly dissipated in the short amount of time it took me to log into Blogger. The nose is heavily caramel, moderately citrus, with perhaps a hint of grass, and definite overtones of alcohol. The flavor is caramel, lychee (squee!), grapefruit, and some earthy, grassy notes sneaking in at the end. The finish on this is different. I'm trying to put my finger on what it is. OK, bear with me here... have you ever swallowed an aspirin without water? Yeah, it's like that. Or if you've taken a Dr. Goody's headache powder... it's like that. Almost a metallic aftertaste, with the bitterness and alcohol bite coming in. It's one of the strangest finishes on a beer I've had. Up until that point, it's a pretty decent beer. That aftertaste is very unsettling. The mouthfeel is well carbonated, and because of the heavy malts in here, it's pretty heavy-bodied, rather like if Guinness made an IPA. The super-aftertaste (read: flavor in the belch I just made -- discreetly, of course -- and while that may not be the most ladylike, it also is important to me in my beer flavor) is pure orange.

I'm completely conflicted. I enjoy the beginning of this, but not the finish. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. My face is screwed up in confusion. Even the cat is sniffing it and giving it a weird look. And now she's blocking the monitor again. Sigh. She thinks she's my muse, usually sitting off to the side of the computer desk while I write. Tonight, she's trying to become literate, staring at the screen rather intently. Cat removed (for the time being; she'll be back), I'm going to turn this over to Nathan.

3.95/5 caps

-Jennie

After letting this warm up with Jennie taking lead (me doing artwork followed by petting my little gray monster, Gia), let's figure out how this ranks up with the awesomeness that is Hops. Hopsus be with you (and also with you). And after chair dancing and singing to my Gia (Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order), it's time to stop pussy-footing around and get down to brass tacks. Enough of this PBR in my mouth, nay, I need hops.

This has a color that is a hazy brown orange muddled mess. But, oh you naysayers, say nay, as that's what you do. Don't let any appearance deter you from any beer. It goes back to the old English idiom of 'never judge a book by it's cover.' There is a bit of faint, wispy head lingering around to almost a translucent white hanging by a thread above this muddled concoction. The aroma, at this time, is malt heavy (caramel) with pine, earthy and herbal smells, almost a good Irish red aroma. And now, the long awaited taste. Where are the hops? There's an initial blast of caramel and grapefruit that fades instantly to an non-disclosed herbal tea.  That tea like flavor fades while giving way to an alcohol bite toward the backend. Not what I consider a double IPA, let alone an IPA. The mouthfeel is thick with some slight resiny lingering along the gums and cheeks, but not the pucker power of, say, something like... well I just spent 5 minutes trying to figure out a beer to equate the heavy resin that I'm trying to equate that to and failed.

And there's the 9% kicking in after countless PBR and vodka. Time to crack open the next beer and finish out this month on a few good notes.

3.8/5

-Nathan-

New Belgium Dig

New Belgium is, once again, a huge brewery that we cannot obtain in Ohio. This would be our 3rd brew from them that we've reviewed (other two being Ranger and Rolle Bolle). And I just realized this makes out 196th posting here on the blog.

This pours a darker amber color, initially having a small amount of light caramel head. This is a lot darker than most pale ales that I've seen. The only info I can find on this is 5.6% ABV, no idea on the IBUs, but is brewed with Sorachi Ace, Nelson Sauvin, Cascade and Centennial hop strains. Sounds pleasant. The aroma is an interesting blend of caramel, citrus and cracker. The flavor is eh. There's an initial watery taste followed by a mild blast of citrus, tropical, earthy all at once, rounding into a caramel note with a slight lingering bitterness having almost a mango-like flavor. Interesting, yes. Lighter body with a slight resin on the residual mouthfeel. Little carbonation.

4/5 caps

-Nathan-

So, there are Rampant rumors that New Belgium will actually be distributed in Ohio once their new Asheville, NC, brewery is up and running. Ha, see what I did there? Rampant is one of New Belgium's IPAs (and why we didn't pick some up in Illinois, I can't recall). Regardless, it looks like they are nearing deconstruction on the site and have about a 22-month construction projection, so I'm guessing we'll see them here somewhere around the middle of 2015. Sigh.

When I looked at the beer after it was poured, my initial comment was, "Well, that's the darkest pale ale I've seen." It is, indeed, a darker amber color. My partner-in-crime's description of the aroma was pretty spot-on. I am not getting the initial blast of citrus, but I do pick up a lot of earthy, mineral notes early, maybe a hint of grapefruit, the caramel that Nathan mentioned, and the tropical fruit and lingering bitterness. Let's discuss that for a moment... it's almost like a shock on my tongue, the finish is so dry and bitter (much like my sense of humor). Yet there's also a little sticky sweetness left on my tongue afterwards. It's interesting. I don't find it nearly as watery as Nathan does.

Huh. Mango in a belch. I'm Dig-ging that. Ugh, the beer puns are starting to take over. Let's wrap this up quickly.

To review, this is a decent pale ale, almost British in style, but I think it's fairly well done. Nelson Sauvin is a strain that I'm still getting to know, and it adds an interesting note to this. It's a milder hop strain from New Zealand (who hasn't seen the weather affecting hop crops as much as in the United States the last few years). It definitely adds a certain zest to the beers I've had with that strain in them. I also enjoy the full body of the brew. And, most importantly, I look forward to trying a whole lot more of New Belgium's brews over the next few years.

4.2/5 caps

-Jennie

Capital Brewery Lake House Lager

Beer reviews sound pretty amazing after an epic dinner, so here we are. The wine is gone, time to move on to some decent beer. I figured since it's one of those miserable hot and muggy days and I've been slaving over a hot stove for the last five hours, a craft lager sounds pretty amazing.

This is Capital Brewery's Lake House Lager. They are from Wisconsin, and we've enjoyed most of the beers we've had from them. This pours a clear medium straw color with a small white head. The aroma on this is clean malts and a little lemony bite from the hops. Taking a drink, it's malty smoothness, going into a little lemon and freshly mown grass, and then finishing with a dry bite from the hops. The hops aren't in-your-face, but this is tasty for a standard lager. It's way better than most American adjunct macro lagers. It's well-carbonated, yet feels a little creamy in the mouth. There's a little resiny stickiness that comes in after the beer slides down the throat.

All in all, it's pretty refreshing. Just what the doctor ordered on a hot summer night.

4.1/5 caps

-Jennie

Jennie, after making a fantastic Julia Child-esque dinner, was rather brief and to the point on this. Huh. Very rare for us with our perpetual train of thought derailment. I was working on a painting while she was pouring, so I'll have to go somewhat off what she said (yes, that's what she said).

This coming from our Peoria trip, is a crystal clear straw. At this point there's no head remaining, but at some point, according to Jennie-a Child (AHH! See what I did there?!), there was a small amount of white head. The aroma is clean, slight honey aroma and a hint of citrus (lemon?). The initial sip on this is damn good for a lager. Very clean, crisp and refreshing. There's the same slight sweetness with faint citrus and grass. Still, after sitting out and getting closer to room temp, has decent carbonation. Sega-Jenniesus nailed the mouthfeel.

Overall a damn good lager. Wishing Capital would distribute here to Ohio (Hop Cream and Mutiny constantly, anyone?).

4.1/5 caps

-Nathan-

Flying Dog Easy IPA

Since the moment I read about this, I knew I needed it. A 4.2% ABV, 50 IBU Brewhouse Rarity selection that uses Galaxy, Amarillo, and Sorachi Ace hops. I'm sold. Flying Dog is my favorite brewery, and they decided to do a one off batch per month for their Brewhouse Rarity series. We, in Ohio, missed the first 3 selections (Chipotle Dark Ale, Green Tea Imperial Stout, and Pumpernickel IPA), but we were able to get April's selection (Big Black Wit). So with that being said, let me muster my inner Gonzo and venture into this fantastic looking and smelling brew.

After a night of mojitos and cheap beer, the body calls for something strong flavored, possibly to shake away the shock that AB actually has a decent brew (Rolling Rock in can form). This fine specimen of a beer might do the trick. As I poured this, I was overwhelmed with a lemony, citrusy blast that was sheer bliss upon the olfactory senses. The color is a yellow-orange color, and hazy. Hazy like last night's romp in the front yard with the neighbors. Strange memories of potential lawsuits and throwing a cat in the shower start to make their way out of the depths of obscured darkness as I bend over to catch the aroma of this. There is very little head on this, which doesn't surprise me as the growler was filled yesterday. Analyzing this more, there's strong citrus notes with almost a peach/apricot aroma lending a hand. Not much, but a whisper from the malt plays from time to time. As I raise this up to take my initial sip, I'm distracted by the kid cranking the volume on some half-wit waterhead cartoon. Fucker, you don't need to have the volume halfway up to hear a bunch of annoying noises and sounds with no god damned plot.

I finally take my first sip of this and was instantly blown back. I debate if I share this with Jennie, as she is in the kitchen making some sort of French cuisine a la Julia Child's cookbook. It is, after all Bastille Day, some sort of French holiday celebrating the French Revolution. I feel like having some cake when I'm done with this beer. But I seem to off topic. Ah, now, where were we? Oh, yes. The flavor profile on this. Oh, yes. This is something else. For a lighter body, lighter ABV beer, there's a lot happening here. There's the initial pine and citrus burst that gives way to a hint of the lighter malts, then there's a blast of lemongrass, peach, and grapefruit zest that fades into a pine/ citrus zest bitterness that rides out the rest of the wave. Lighter body, slightly creamy, very resiny on the backend, lighter carbonation to make this an awesome porch-sipping brew.

I need this constantly in my life, instead of this being a one off batch. Oh, Flying Dog, why do you torture me so? As a side note, however, I would like to point out that we are some of the elite few who have reviewed this twisted ale (3 reviews on BA and 13 on RateBeer).

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

Yes, it's Bastille Day, the day when the French stormed the Bastille and kicked off the French Revolution in 1789. I'm channeling my inner Julia today, putting together a lovely menu of beef stew braised with onions and red wine, a broccoli gratin, and crusty French bread. The chocolate mousse is chilling in the fridge, keeping the remainder of the growler company. Let them eat mousse, my dear. Let them eat mousse. And oh, how I think a lovely chocolate mint stout (such as is also in the fridge) would make for a fanstastic addition to the mousse. But that's a cooking segment for another episode.

Nathan made me smell this as soon as he poured his glass. I fell in love. The smell is divine: pine, grapefruit, a hint of pineapple that I pick up on, but Nathan does not. I find the pineapple note comes through even more in the taste than in the aroma. Oh, wait, there's that peach note He-With-Boy-Parts mentioned. It sneaks in toward the very end of the sip. Other than that, his description was very similar to what I am experiencing.

My only beef with session IPAs is that they tend to lack the body to complement the strong hop flavors. They tend to taste more like a hop tea than a full beer to me. This is just my opinion; I've had the same opinion with Founders All-Day IPA and Lagunitas Daytime. There's almost a watery flavor that runs underneath the beer profile. I prefer the heavier body that the malts add to a traditional IPA. That is not saying anything bad about this beer or the other session IPAs we've tasted; all have great hop flavors, it's just not a style I prefer.

I'm back to the kitchen, so that dinner is on the table before midnight tonight. I find that spending a day in the kitchen is very therapeutic, creating a multitude of culinary delights for the family. Today, it's just what I need.

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie