On Southern Tier IPA

I like labels. I've talked about their affect on me before with my post of Milten Gaither's label design for Brooklyn Sorachi Ace.  Labels say a lot about the beer you're about to spend your hard earned money on. Good labels - and packaging, in general - should tell you everything you need to know about the product. I'm not talking just about the name, or the description, or the logo on the front. The colour and the shape*. The texture, the size, and even the smell all play a roll in telling you what's inside. 

 So what does Southern Tier's packaging say about their IPA? Their labels tell me they are very particular about their products. There is nothing on the label that doesn't belong. The simple color scheme makes the 6 packs easy to find on the shelf. Just look for the sea of green (IPA, 2xIPA) or purple (porter) and you're on your way. Southern Tier is very pragmatic and efficient. Nothing is wasted. Everything in it's right place**. If there is a hop addition or a malt used, it has a reason. Nothing is just for the hell of it. The packaging has an organic look. Not to say that their beers are organic in the eyes of the USDA, but they portray an image of care for the environment in a down to earth, practical way. The consistency from beer to beer and from case to bottle to tap tell me that Southern Tier is detail oriented and I can expect that attention to detail to extend to their recipes.

The aroma starts with pine resin and earthiness. Like a walk through a redwood forest. Burnt orange color with a dense head that lingers.

Bitterness is well balanced with a touch of caramel (and honey?) sweetness. Pine and earthy flavors cary through from the aroma. Some minerals appear in the tail. Moderately long finish that isn’t overly sweet or bitter.

The balance stays throughout, never tipping from one side or the other, like a skilled tightrope walker. The medium body feels thick from the hops. I’ll be licking the insides of my mouth for a while.

Overall quite an enjoyable beer whose strength lies in its balance.

*good album, btw.

**good song, btw.

On Crispin Stagger Lee

Today I take a break from beer and give myself something a bit different to try: Cider. While there are similarities in the production, purpose, and - to some extent - history of these two beverages, cider and beer are very different drinks that test the beer drinker's palate. Accustomed to face contorting double IPAs, stupefying Russian imperial stouts, and sour Belgian's that make Warheads taste like water, the beer drinker may find it difficult to appreciate the subtleties of a fine cider. Cider is a rapidly growing segment of the craft beer world (can craft really claim cider to it's cause?). For 2011 the cider market has grown supermarket sales faster than any of the top 15 beverage alcohol segments with 27.5% growth. This compares to craft beer at 15.1%. True, cider is much smaller (about 20 times smaller) than craft, but it's growth is outstanding.

Premium cider brands such as Crispin have led the charge. Crispin alone saw over 200% sales growth in 2011 and brewers such as Boston Beer have joined the party. The man responsible for some of Goose Island's iconic brands, Greg Hall, has also gotten into the cider game and has planted cider apples in Michigan for his new venture, Virtue Cider. All this means more good cider for good beer lovers. So, in the spirit of broadening my horizons and trying something different, today I review Crispin's Stagger Lee: a blended hard cider aged in rye whiskey barrels.

Stagger Lee pours a cloudy yellow/orange with little head. Legs fall from the glass like wet paint.

The aroma starts with sweet apples. Whiskey is in the background but present. Clove esters. Maybe some banana esters as well, but hard to tell.

With the taste, whiskey, again in the background. Apple juice. The good kind. None of that apple drink mix. This is juicer fresh apple taste. I was hoping for more complexity and depth of character. The whiskey goes very well with the apples and this cider makes for a backwoods colonial history lesson. The whiskey comes out more as it warms; both in the flavor and aromatics.

Highly effervescent and full bodied. Residual sugars linger on the palate.

Overall, the cider/whiskey combo is delicious and I would like to try some of their other barrel aged offerings, but cider is still a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. I look forward to the budding cider industry. There is much to learn about this cousin to my favorite barley based beverage.

On Finch's Secret Stache Stout

Finch's Beer Company, based out of Chicago, has been open for less than a year and they have already extended distribution to Wisconsin and Indiana. Helped by their accessible Golden Wing (golden ale) and Cut Throat (pale ale) flagships, they are seeing quick success that must be demanded of their (relatively) large brewing capacity. Though the distribution extends wide, I did not expect any but the two core beers to be distributed outside their home market of Chicago. So I was pleasantly surprised to see Secret Stache Stout at my local Woodman's grocery store in Rockford.  And as I've said before, I like stouts.  So another stout on the market is good news for me.

The bottle represents a departure from their canned mainstays, and the artwork is quite interesting. A finch handing a beer to another bird that is being weighed down by a ridiculously large mustache. The reverse label shows an unlocked padlock sugesting that this may be the beginning of a limited edition series of specially branded brews.

Pouring a very violent pour produced almost no head. What there was was the color of medium toast. "soap bubbles" linger on the sides.

Not much going on aroma wise. Some general roast character and a hint of vanilla.

The taste is of espresso and vanilla. A bit of oak (probably from the vanilla, not actual oak) and alcohol linger in the finish. Medium-thick body and a lot of residual sweetness. This one is built like tank, but at 5.3% you can enjoy all 650ml without waking up the next day wondering what happened.

The low carbonation is perfect for the style. This would do well on nitro.

Overall, a mixed bag. I wish there were more aroma and a touch less sweetness, but the flavor and carbonation are spot on. Not bad for a bomber priced under $5. This is the best I’ve seen from Finch’s thus far.

On Bud Light Platinum

I know, I know. We're supposed to hate mass market lagers. They represent everything that craft beer is not. Big industrial machines pumping out vaguely yellow, vaguely flavored, slightly alcoholic water. But you know what? I don't care. The way I see it, beer is beer. Luciano Pavarotti, the popular singer, once said "I do not accept that the word 'pop' is a derogatory word. If the word 'classic' is the word to say 'boring', I do not accept it. There is good and bad music." Likewise, there is good and bad beer and just because it is made by a large, international company doesn't mean it can't be good. So when Anheuser-Busch InBev introduced Bud Light Platinum a couple of months ago, I decided I should give it a try. I was not disappointed.

Bud Light Platinum pours crystal clear and golden yellow. Slightly darker than regular Bud Light from what I remember. The snow white head dissipates quickly.

Slightly sour pilsener malt aroma. Flavor of sweet malt. A touch of honey, perhaps, but mostly just clean pilsener malt. Not as much adjunct flavor as regular bud light.

The body is the weak link and it borders on watery, but doesn’t quite cross that line. Highly carbonated and very drinkable.

Overall, it’s good for a BMC beer and I can appreciate it for what it is. This could be my weeknight drinker if it were a little lower in alcohol. But I guess that would defeat the point.

No, it's not the best beer ever, but when taken in context it holds its own. I happen to like light lagers and pilsners and Bud Light Platinum represents one of the best of the style. Miller may be playing catch-up with this one.

P.S. - I'm glad I like it... I had to buy a 12 pack.

On New Glarus Road Slush

Winter means stout, and in Northern Illinois (and Wisconsin, the home of this beer), winter means ice and snow. So today, in honor of the slush that I lovingly kick from my wheel well, I'm drinking New Glarus Road Slush. I've reviewed New Glarus previously and I have much respect for the brewery. Combine that with my love of low(er) gravity stouts, and this beer makes a perfect match.

Road Slush starts with lots of roasted aroma. Many stouts fall flat on aroma, but no this one. Full roasted aroma. That smell in fall when people are burning leaves... that’s this beer. Full. Warm. Inviting. Other aromatics of raw grain (oats) and a touch of honey.

The first taste brings out more sweet notes than the aroma. The taste of roast is still strong, but not quite as dominant. Coffee, chocolate and cherries come through. Some grain sits easy in the background. Just enough to keep things interesting.

The palate brings a bit too much carbonation for my taste. A beer of this caliber doesn’t need to hide behind 15psi of carbonation. Otherwise, the beer is quite smooth.

Overall, probably not the best oatmeal stout I’ve ever had, but it’s up there. The aroma is this beer’s strong suit and is what makes it unique.