O’So Brewing – Winds of Change

CHANGE, IS IT? Of what sort, O’So? Take your pick: 1. Deciding to focus more on their barrel program 2. Starting to brew sour ales 3. Hiring a new head brewer. Each alone would have been a stiff breeze—all three at once seems more like a tempest. Whatever its magnitude, the first gust of these changes arrives in this Brett-soured hoppy pale ale, golden-hued with light haze, around 6% ABV and 45 IBUs. It’s a 50/50 blend: half pale ale inoculated with Brett in secondary and barrel-aged for six months, half a primary Brett fermentation that spent the same time in stainless.

The aroma is initially quite appealing, blooming creamily with Brett Brux’s lactic acid, a bit of lemon, some oaky vanilla and just enough yeasty funk to cue the mouth towards salivation. More than just a Brett beer, though, Winds of Change is also substantially hopped with West Coast cultivars, giving it some extra citric and herbal snap in both aroma and flavor. It’s also dry-hopped with German Tettnanger (a pound per barrel) to enhance its earthy bouquet.

After that promising first pass, though, Winds of Change starts to tail. Six months of aging is substantial enough for many beers but rarely suffices with wild yeasts. Brettanomyces in particular needs time to work its slow magic, paring back that off-medium body while producing more effervescence and the complex flavors that only come with patience. On the other hand, higher carbonation might have further imbalanced the bitterly herbal hops and mildly astringent oak tannins of the finish. Overall this blend is a fair idea—signifying to O’So fans that the brewers had something new in mind but weren’t about to abandon their roots—but a less heavy hand with the hops and more patience before bottling would have provided a much stronger tailwind.

Served: 750 ml bottle

Rating: 74

 

Anchor Brewing – Liberty Ale

LIBERTY ALE was originally released in 1975 to coincide with the 200^th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride. Yet Anchor also emphasizes the beer as a source of innovation, calling it the first “modern” American IPA as well as the first to be single- and dry-hopped. Each accolade on its own would be enough to enshrine any beer in brewing history, much less one that claims all three. And Anchor does have room to make such claims, given their track record for pioneering (or at least rediscovering) American craft brewing at large. But the modern craft drinker doesn’t generally regard Liberty as an IPA and might even be surprised to hear it described as such. It’s the reverse situation of another old-school Cascade-driven pioneer—Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale, commonly called an IPA but actually classed as an APA.

The distinction would be merely academic if Anchor’s weren’t on the cusp of releasing a six-hop beer actually called IPA that deliberately targets the category’s explosive growth and constant redefinition. Few breweries have been around long enough to see that landscape shift beneath them, and fewer still produced a recipe continuously since the days of the Vietnam War. So how has Liberty Ale kept up?

In short, pretty well. Though less assertive than modern drinkers expect American IPAs to be (not least those from California), Liberty is a refreshingly bright pale ale with distinct citric aromas, light body, and crisp finish. More than a ‘gateway’ beer, Liberty is a textbook case of how clean and pure flavors (often marketing euphemisms for bland and icy lager) can be compelling in an ale. Admittedly Liberty won’t satisfy the lupulin cravings of modern hopheads—nor has it aged quite as well as other first wave Anchor beers like Porter—but it retains its dignity and relevance today on the outskirts of beer’s most competitive category.

Liberty has a clear amber color, filtered for perfect clarity, with a thin fluffy white head and lasting percolation of bubbles. Dry-hopping yields a gently floral and citric bouquet: not the overwhelming hop farm aroma of some beers, but rather something pleasantly refreshing and approachable. The single hop used here for both the boil and dry-hopping is Cascade, the iconic cultivar of American brewing and still its most popular. The malts supply subtle support with a touch of honey, caramel sweetness, and undertone of fresh yeast, despite the filtration.

The beer’s flavors dovetail perfectly with its aroma—fully refreshing without being aggressive—led by Cascade’s lemon and lime, supported by the faintest hint of biscuit, and with moderately high but still gentle effervescence that derives naturally from completing fermentation in casks. The finish is clean, slightly leafy with only moderate bitterness, and touched lightly by soft water. The 5.9% ABV can maybe be sensed as a whiff in the aroma but not in the flavor at all.

By today’s standards (especially those of an IPA), Liberty is perhaps a touch too focused on Cascade’s citric notes. In comparison, the aforementioned Pale Ale also draws out the hop’s pine and florals as well as more assertive bittering, making for a more complete and complex experience. Indeed, from Liberty’s lightness one can see how hop resins and more assertive bitterness developed to complement Cascade’s nearly tart lemon/lime edge. Many modern IPAs also have more robust grain bills, too, supplying a little more malt complexity beyond Liberty’s gauze of 2-row pale. These personal qualms notwithstanding, Liberty is a compelling recipe that executes to perfection—its clarity and fine lines are as refined as anyone’s.

Served: 12 oz bottled December 30, 2013 (3D3)

Rating: 88

Firestone Walker – Pale 31 California Pale Ale

AS THE DEFAULT pale ale from a brewery known for balance, Firestone Walker’s Pale 31 could have turned out dowdy—dependable and drinkable but wholly unremarkable. Happily, it isn’t. Though admittedly lesser than the exemplary Union Jack IPA and unlikely to top many lists of America’s best pale ale, Pale 31 still has plenty going for it. Flavorful and refreshing without being aggressive, its careful proportions and layered hop flavors (not just bitterness) are quintessentially Firestone.

The beer pours a lambent gold (7 SRM) with persistent effervescence filtering up from the bottom of the glass and a head moderate in size but pleasantly creamy. Unsurprisingly, the citric honey of Cascade hops take a leading role in aroma and flavor, though this is hardly a one-man show. Centennial and Chinook were also used for late-kettle additions and dry-hopping alike, giving Pale 31 a robust profile of resin, pine, grapefruit, zest, and so forth. Bittering with Fuggle hops accounts for 38 IBUs that are present and palate-cleansing (the heftiest punch shows up just before the aftertaste) without being unduly spiked by excessive carbonation or bicarbonates. The body is moderate, comprised of an unusually diverse malt bill (for an APA) that includes 2-row, Maris Otter, crystal, and Munich. The result is fairly transparent for all its components, though, aside from a little cereal flavor and grain texture in the aftertaste. It remains substantial enough to sit just over the carbonation level, keep up with the bitterness through the finish, and obscure any impression of the 4.9% ABV. Altogether Pale 31 isn’t a revelatory experience, but such easygoing contours can only come from meticulous calculations and a rare diligence in the brewhouse.

Served: 12 oz bottle

Rating: 89

Note: Rated in a vacuum this beer would score several notches higher. Yet we also live in a world that contains Double Jack and Parabola, and even those powerful testaments must concede some few points to perfection.

Deschutes Brewing – Mirror Pond Pale Ale

THOUGH MANY BEER fans nationwide might first associate Deschutes with their stalwart Black Butte Porter or rarefied The Abyss, it is the regular old Mirror Pond Pale Ale that the Oregon brewery calls their most popular. Evocative of both English and American tradition and mild-mannered at 5% ABV, Mirror Pond is a comfortable continent-crossover that also doubles as Deschutes point of entry for new craft fans.

When poured aggressively Mirror Pond generates a fluffy head that pauses for a time at a finger’s width before subsiding to a thin layer. Its color is an appealing caramel tinged with red, a few shades more orange than the red on the bottle’s label. Clarity is very high, though effervescence is understated and only prominent in the early going. Aromas are rather mild–paler stone fruit with a bit of cream when the head is strong, then some light crystal malts for a bit of biscuit and neutral grain. Hop aromas are of classic Cascade (this being Oregon, after all): somewhat soft, floral, a bit of grapefruit and nectarine. Smooth.

Regrettably, the first impression on the palate is not so much smooth as simply underwhelming. Final gravity is estimated around 1.013, quite in line with the style, so ‘watery’ is likely a better descriptor than ‘thin’ for its mouthfeel. One advantage of such a neutral foundation, though, is that Cascade’s nuanced flavors have plenty of room to unfurl; unencumbered and unhurried over a few pulses of bitterness, they are floral at first then increasingly leafy. The hop aroma becomes more citric as it warms and eventually some signature of alcohol and phenols develop in the finish. Also later comes a touch of cidery tang as an aftertaste–not exactly sour but still a little unexpected.

Perhaps this bottle was simply a poor showing, especially considering Mirror Pond’s broadly positive reputation. But until evidence proves otherwise, this beer is easy refreshment that’s just too transparent to inspire deep draughts.

Served: 12 oz bottle best by 11/08/13

Rating: 84

Widmer Brothers – Omission Pale Ale

OMISSION IS ON A MISSION “…to brew a great craft beer with traditional beer ingredients that everyone of legal drinking
age can enjoy.” In other words, a gluten-free beer. Thus the rather brilliant branding title, which implies everything the beer does without having to make it explicit (i.e. dull or inferior to average beer drinkers). The Widmer Brothers logo is even more buried in the branding, such that Omission seems more like its own brand than a line. Altogether it’s a solid marketing pitch that the beer more or less backs up. Maybe a little less.

Omission’s Pale Ale is on the darker end of the amber spectrum (more caramel malt than Munich, and only the dark variant of the latter) and has a middling full body for the style. Aromas are pleasantly balanced between some caramel sweet malts and a medium dose exotic fruit from the Citra hops (a stronger dose of aroma hops wouldn’t have gone awry, in fact). It does follow that the beer is gluten-free, though, as a certain element of mouthfeel and complexity usually sought in the midpalate is missing. Still, its lacing is excellent and the textures generally balance between chewy malts and a steady one-two Cascade/Citra hop movement. AT only 33 IBU, though, a stronger dose of hops for bittering would probably also have been a blessing, especially when the luscious Citra are on hand. The finish is short and simple with a bit of mineral twist from the slightly above average carbonation. Alcohol of 5.8% none too notable. Overall, Omission has the makings of a session ale–it just pulled out a bit too much along with the gluten.

Served: 12 oz bottle

Rating: 83

Southern Tier Brewing – Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale

A BETTER SESSION BEER than their Eurotrash Pilsner, leading with biscuit and a bit of pine in the aroma before filling in a medium light body with three malts—mixed enough to give texture without delivering much of a sweet or grainy impression. Yet, from its moderate golden hue to medium pale head, middling carbonation and ‘just there’ kind of finish, this beer ends up being the antithesis of its soubriquet. Better than bad—just not setting a high bar for one of the more broadly-distributed New York craft brewers in the Midwest.

Served: 12 oz bottle

Rating: 77

Southern Tier Brewing – Live APA

THE MOST INTERESTING of Southern Tier’s year-round standard lineup, being lively indeed without pushing the palate to excess (i.e. Pumking). Bottle-conditioned, this pale ale has some basic qualities recognizable from  Phin & Matt’s, but a more potent and clearing aroma (touch of Pine-Sol), slightly darker color, and an enlivening burst of hop clusters early on the palate. More complex up front, but unexpectedly smooth towards the back with four malts combining to pull down the citrusy hop tingles on the roof of the mouth. Light to medium , sliding towards the former even so, and fairly strong carbonation. A brief swipe of the 5.5% ABV at the end completes this modest yet dignified suite of clear and distinguished flavors.

Served: 12 oz bottle

Rating: 88

Spendrups Bryggeri – Brutal Brewing Hale to Nothing

GIVEN ITS SIMPLICITY—München and Pilsner malts; Fuggle, Perle, Centennial hops all in conventional proportions—one wonders what the point of this beer is, particularly given that it does nothing new, particularly well, or particularly much at only 4.5% ABV. Hence the ‘Hale to…?’ et neither is it awful; one suspects a release from a smaller brewery would have met with less skepticism. But it at least offers an engaging contrast between the citrus and pineapple hops in the aroma to the sweeter, nearly apple and lemon kinds of hop fruits in the flavor. Body rather thin and carbonation too aggressive to make much out of it, however. Malts quite ‘sådär’. But flavorful and cheap without too grating a battery acid bitterness in the back of the throat. At least not after one.

Served: 12 oz bottle best by Oct 3, 2013

Rating: 75

Oceanbryggeriet – Västkust American Pale Ale

SWEDEN PITCHING AMERICAN WEST COAST PALE, but not quite living up to the hop profile. Which is, of course, the crux of any such effort. Amber-colored in pour with a large and fluffy head, but one that subsides too quickly over a body with unusually low carbonation. Aroma is pleasant—slightly underripe grapes, definitely grapefruit, and a little, little caramel malt sweetness for balance. A bit minty. In flavor, some malt is present and tempers the hop finish a smidge towards at the end, though the body isn’t quite substantial enough to give much sustenance. Not sure why its original formula was tempered down from 5,6% and Cascade-hopped variety to its present 4,8% and quad-hopped state, but it seems a little confused, all in all.

Served: 33 cl bottle best by 2015

Rating: 79

To Øl – Reparationsbajer Pale Ale

A STANDOUT SESSION PALE that fulfills its name in easy drinking if not easy pronunciation. Reparationsbajer (Denmark’s way of saying ‘hair of the dog’) is overall American in style but not hop-mad, blessedly, and includes a dose of flaked oats in its smooth, inviting body. Hazy amber pour with medium light mouthfeel and enough pop at 5.8% to be noticeably slick towards the end but by no means overpowering. Caramel malts don’t poke out too much and some berry tones are carried nicely to the hop finish by the tick-or-two above average carbonation. Denmark has lately been importing more New Zealand’s burgeoning hop market to their own island named Zealand and this ‘recovery beer’ is a fine introduction to Nelson Sauvin. Just don’t mix it in with your morning Alka-Setzer.

Served: On tap (Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen)

Rating: 90