Beer of the Day: Horn Dog

Horn Dog

Flying Dog Brewery

Fredrick, MD

English Barley Wine

10.5%

I grabbed this brew at a beer store next to the Five Guys I ate at in Tennessee on my way to Michigan right before the New Year. It was a 2009 vintage so I picked up a six pack and saved one for aging. This beer is aged for three months before it is packaged and released. In 2009 their 2007 vintage won gold at the Great American Beer Festival.

Appearance – 2 finger creamy tan head. Brown/mahogany in color with very nice lacing.

Aroma – Malty and slightly floral with a hint of dark fruit in the background. Caramel.

Taste – Sweet, maybe mocha. slightly bitter. Light hints of fruit.

Mouthfeel – Acidic on the palate. Good booze sting. Medium to heavy bodied ale.

Drinkability – Great beer. Can’t wait to see how it mellows out after maybe a year or two. Great sipper.

Beer of the Day: My Antonia

My Antonia

Dogfish Head Brewery

Milton, DE

American Imperial Pilsner

7.5%

My Antonia started as a collaboration brew with an Italian brewery right outside of Rome. It was brewed and distributed in Italy and a little was shipped to America until It was decided to become a year round brew. I grabbed this brew at the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier.

Appearance – Pale and golden. 2-finger foamy white head with a fairly sticky lacing.

Aroma -Citrus and floral hops dominate this nose. Not very malty in the aroma.

Taste – Bitter and sweet. Hops come out very nicely on the finish.

Mouth Feel – Medium bodied. The tongue dried out maybe from some sort of tannins in this brew?

Drinkability – Good Beer. Nice and hoppy. It gets a little watered down towards the end. But that an American Pilsner for ya though ain’t it?

Beer Of The Day: A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

The Lagunitas Brewing Company

Petaluma, CA

American Ale

7.5%

I got this beer after hearing people at work talk about it. It was pretty darn good actually. On their website Lagunitas describes this ale as wheatly-esque-ish-ness. I’m assuming that means there is a little wheat in this beer?

 

Appearance – Golden with a white one – finger head that leaves a slight lacing.

Smell – Moderately and florally hopped. When the head went away I could smell some citrus coming out.

Taste – The hops are present but not overwhelming. The citrus comes out just a little. When I burp I get the hops a lot more. That wheatynessy or whatever they said is starting to pitch itself in there too. nice malts.

Mouth Feel – Medium bodied, not hard to gulp, but who really wants to?

Drinkability – Good ale, not too expensive to I would buy again. I would recommend to a friend or two.

Beer Of The Day: Three Philosphers: Belgian Style Blend

Three Philosophers: Belgian Style Blend

Brewery Ommegang

Cooperstown, NY

Quadrupel

9.8%

This is a beer that I used as a 3rd course beer pairing dinner. It is a blend of a Belgian strong ale and a Belgian cherry lambic. I paired the beer with a roasted duck breast with a cranberry and red wine reduction. I recently read that they are now aging this beer in caves in NY. The only brewery I have ever heard of doing that in America. I know that it is still tradition in France.  My uncle couldnt get enough of this one. This is a GREAT beer to put away for a year or two.

Appearance – Beautiful dark brown with a 3 finger foamy dark tan head with decent lacing.

Smell – Floral and citrus. Alcohol is not hard to smell in this beer. A slight licorice and dark fruit (cherry, raisin, currant) comes out very well. Also on another note I am getting good malts and a little coffee and vanilla.

Taste – The licorice and dark fruit stands out at the first sip. A nice slight sweetness from the malts are in their as well and the alcohol kinda heats things up. Very good balance of flavor with this beer.

Mouth Feel – Leaves a sensation you would get while chewing a stick of big red. It tingles throughout the entire experience. Not a very heavy beer.

Drinkability – This is a very drinkable beer. Not too sour from the lambic. Like I said, set it aside for aging and break it out for a special occasion between you and a loved on or a reunion with an old friend and have a few glasses and you will be satisfied.

Beer Of The Day and Other News

So today was the first day of our homebrew club meeting. Really excited, Chef Ryan O’Mally is going to be our instructor for the club. We met to talk about our goals for this club and what days we will meet and blah blah. We had some really cool ideas being tossed around like maybe having a beer day at NECI’s quad and invite any homebrewer in town to participate, after brewing enough beers having a beer pairing dinner, growing hops in the school garden and maybe even visiting local breweries. I am actually about to head out to price supplies for our mash tun we are going to build.

Well with that out of the way lets get started on our Beer Of The Day.

Red & White

Dogfish Head

Milton, DE

Witbeier (Brewed with pinot noir juice)

10%

Red & White is a Belgian style witbier that is mashed with coriander and orange peel. Once it has been added to the fermentation vessel they ferment it with pinot noir juice. After it is done fermenting a portion of this beer is then aged in oak barrels and then married back together. This is a limited edition Dogfish brew. I snagged a bottle of it at some random beer store in Tennessee.

Appearance – 1/2 finger head with a beautiful copper color with a hint of red.

Smell – Citrus and spice. Nice and malty, definitely has that pinot noir aroma.

Taste – Slightly sour with sweetness from the malts. More sourness towards the back. Tastes like pineapple when I burp.

Mouth Feel – Medium to heavy bodied. Leaves an acidic tingle on your gums.

Drinkability – Great beer. I love the spice, maybe a bit too much of that pineapply taste but it’s tolerable. Not a “session” beer.

Beer Of The Day: Old Engine Oil

Old Engine Oil

Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

Alva, Scotland

English Porter

6%

Ken Brooker spent a lot of time working on cars. The viscous nature of this beer reminded Ken of car engine oil, so he named it after his second love, the internal combustion engine.

Appearance – Black with a caramel lining. 1 finger head that quickly reduces to little bubbles.

Smell – Slight chocolate. A little caramel and coffee. Good malts.

Taste – Not as sweet as it smells. Good booze sting. Bitterness is balanced by the malts.

Mouth Feel – Not as thick as it is described. Foams a lot in the mouth, leaves a pleasant after taste.

Drinkability – Fairly medium bodied. It was enjoyable but not something I would drink often.

Beer Of The Day: Two Hearted Ale

 

Two Hearted Ale

Bell’s Brewery

Kalamazoo, MI

India Pale Ale

7.1%

 

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale is an American IPA.  It is massively hopped with centennial hops both during the boil and during fermentation. The house yeast adds to the beautiful citrus notes in this amazing beer. This calls for another shout out to Liz for introducing me to the Bell’s company. Thanks Liz!

Appearance – Cloudy, amberish orange color. Tiny bubbles with a one to two finger white head.

Smell – Very hoppy. Citrus and Floral dominate this beer. Slightly piney. Quite an amazing nose on this beer.

Taste – Nice and spicy. Good bittery hop with a good malt in the back ground to balance the flavors.

Mouth Feel – Stings at the beginning of the sip. Leaves a tingling after taste.  Leaves mouth feeling hoppy. Not very heavy, probably medium bodied.

Drinkability – This beer is very fun. Would love to be able to have a few bottles of this in the fridge at all times.