Pale Ale Taste Test: v1.0

Every now and then one has a great idea. However, one rarely ever gets the chance to execute such an idea. In my case the best ideas seem to come around when I least expect them and fortunately they often involve beer. This time around it was in the form of a linear blind taste test. The theory behind this practice is that if you are unaware of the beer you are drinking, then all biases are removed and you can decide if you like the beer or not. Also, all preconceived notions about the flavor profile are removed and you are able to not only judge the beer with an even hand, but you can also try and take a stab at which beer you think you might be drinking. It's fun and scientific!!!

When setting up a "Blind Taster", as they have come to be known to me and my fellow beer drinking cohort, I have found that the best ones group together beers of a similar type or season. While I am no beer judge, nor do I really know what each type should taste like... I do know what I like and what I don't. In this instance Pale Ales were the name of the game. While this beer type has the tendency of being all over the board in taste, I decided that I would pick some fairly well known California Pale's and see how each stacked up to the other.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, North Coast Red Seal, Bear Republic XP, and Hoppy Brewing Co. Liquid Sunshine. (The later is technically a golden ale, but this was a hasty trip to BevMo and the liquid sunshine is a damn good beer!!)

The beer was poured into unmarked glasses, they were numbered from left to right 1-4 respectively. I drank them and ranked them...

Ranking:

1) 2nd (tie)

2) 2nd (tie)

3) 4th

4) 1st (favorite)

Results:

1) Hoppy Brewing Co. Liquid Sunshine

2) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

3) Bear Republic XP

4) North Coast Red Seal

Short Reviews:

1)Hoppy Brewing Co. Liquid Sunshine

This beer was sort of the black sheep of the group as it was radically different from the rest. It is not really a pale ale so much as a really hoppy golden ale. However, it may be the only thing that Hoppy Brewing makes that would even fit with these others. So, with that in mind it is a good beer regardless. Light and crisp with a good hop aroma and flavor. The malt is well balanced with the hops. Citrus flavors come through and it is probably the beer I would see myself drinking in the summertime.

2) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

This was the most unexpected answer overall. I thought that this beer was anything but Sierra Nevada. If I had to break the tie on taste alone, this would be 3rd. Since it is actually a pale ale I decided to make it a tie. I felt it was a little bland and uninteresting. The hop aroma was subdued and although balanced with the malt it was a little thinner than I was expecting given the color. Not a bad beer at all. Perhaps I have had too much of this beer in the past and my taste buds are saying "enough already"...

3)Bear Republic XP

This was definitely the least favorite by far. The malt was over the top and sweet as hell. Very caramel like. There was a little hop flavor, no aroma, and a very heavy mouthfeel. I would not drink this beer if I had a choice. I will however give Bear Republic the benefit of the doubt as I think that this beer may have been under-fermented (things happen). I have had the XP before and remember a much different beer.

4)North Coast Red Seal

This beer is amazingly good. I thought without a doubt this was Sierra Nevada... I was incontrovertibly wrong! The hop aroma was upfront and the balance between the malt and hops were perfectly harmonious. Just the right amount of bitter. I really enjoyed this beer alot! It may be the best Pale Ale available. Although as always, more testing is required.

Note: This really ended up being a battle between Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and North Coast Red Seal. The others were kind of peripheral in the tasting as I really felt like hashing it out between these two beers that I like so much. Red Seal prevails...

Sacramento Beer Week: Friday, February 26th... Rubicon Cask Ales and 3 Fires Lounge

Friday night of beer week marked the final stretch of the week long festivities... with only two more days left to soak in the beer culture of Sacramento I had my heart set on a fantastic Cask Ale tasting at Rubicon Brewing Co. This was to be the coup de grace of my beer week experience. Even though Saturday and Sunday were chalk full of good events, Friday is where I conclude my Beer Week postings and wrap up my overall take on the first ever Sacramento Beer Week. The night started off promising and full of excitement. However, a snag in the plan and forces beyond my control denied me what I had been looking forward to all week. Eventually the night would lead me the 3 Fires Lounge where I was able to partake of some fairly decent Belgian ales.

Rubicon Brewing Co.

Arriving at the Rubicon it was apparent that many people were also excited about Cask Ales as trying to enter the establishment proved to be somewhat difficult. Finding a place to sit was nigh impossible... so I stood and tried to get to the bar and partake in some Cask conditioned goodness. I got up to the bar and looked over the Cask Ale list... It was as follows,

Rubicon IPA

Sierra Nevada BROWN ALE

Bear Republic Brewing Company’s APEX

Stone Brewing Company’s ARROGANT BASTARD

Sudwerk’s UNFILTERED MÄRZEN

Auburn Alehouse GOLD DIGGER I.P.A.

Moylan’s Brewing Company MOCHA PORTER

I decided to hold off on a full blown sampler of all of them until I had a seat. I decided instead to go with the Apex I.P.A. However, to my immediate chagrin I was was informed that all of the Cask Ales, with the exception of the Sierra Nevada Brown Ale, were gone!!! What?? I looked at my phone to check the time... not even 8:00pm... Oh well... give me a Brown Ale then! Got my beer, found an open seat outside and drank it. It was really good. Not much else to say there... Sierra Nevada does good stuff and a Cask conditioned Brown Ale does not disappoint. At least I was able to get one of the specialty beers. Hopefully next year during Beer Week this event, if it is slated to happen again, is a little more well thought out. Regardless, I was able to get my hands on one of the few pints left of the event and was thankful I didn't arrive any later than I did.

3 Fires Lounge

The next stop was the 3 Fires Lounge, located at 1501 L st. in downtown Sac. All week they had been offering specials on some select Belgian ales. As a last shot at drinking some good beer during beer week, I and some friends I had met up with walked down to this establishment to check it out. Somewhat of an upscale bar/lounge, the setting was a stark contrast to the normal brew pub surroundings that I am used to. Nonetheless I acquired both Belgians that were on the special and shared them with the group. Both were wheat based ales, one of them in my opinion was definitely better than the other.

Le Grande Blanche (De Proefbrouwerij; bvba Andelot) was very smooth and sweet. Similar to a saison but lighter in body and more carbonated. This is a beer I would definitely drink again. The second selection, and the one I found to be just o.k. was Blanche De Bruxelles (Brasserie Lefèbvre SA). Another wheat based ale, this one was very light and the key flavors I was looking for were underwhelming. Honestly, the beer is good... just not what I would choose to drink if I had the choice. The spices, coriander and orange peel flavors come through more than the malt or yeast flavors and tend to be distracting. Overall Le Grande Blanche may be one of my new go to belgians in the future... further experimentation in required!

As Sacramento Beer Week came to a close (for me anyway) I was reminded that Sacramento has a strong affinity for the brew! All events were fun to some degree and I was able to observe some real unity between people towards a common interest. I am looking forward to the next manifestation of Beer Week and having been part of the first ever implementation of such an idea I am sure that next year I will be better prepared and hopefully more active in my approach. All in all, not a bad start!!!

till next year...

Sacramento Beer Week: Thursday, Feb. 25th... Hoppy Brew Tour and Rubicon Moylans/Marin Guest Beers

Thursday night presented an opportunity to try an eclectic mix of micro-brew concoctions from Moylans and Marin brewing companies. However, in an attempt to gain some insight on the brewing process, I returned to Hoppy Brewing Co. for their open house event and brewery tour earlier in the day. Not to mention partaking in one of their many flavorful beers on tap. As a precursor event, it was a good way to get into the mood of beer week...

Hoppy Brewing Co.

From the dining area of the Hoppy Brewing Co. one can easily see through a back window an amalgamation of steel and hoses configured in such a way that one may think of a scientist's laboratory. Well, in all honesty this isn't too far from the truth. In fact, much of what goes on behind the double doors is a repeated process of experimentation and formulation that has every possibility of failing in some respect... However, judging by the consistency of taste and overall quality of Hoppy brewing it would seem that failure is unlikely. Instead, the surprising aspect of Hoppy's brewing operation is the relatively small size. One mash tun and one boiler is all, however five 628 gallon fermenters (one of which is double sized) makes sense as you really need the most time for fermentation anyway. The highest producing and selling beer they make is the Hoppy Face Amber Ale, a really good amber IPA. As an amateur homebrewer much of the information on the tour was a rehashing of what I already had a fairly good idea about. I just happen to find this stuff really interesting... Overall, good beer and a decently productive brewing operation.

Rubicon Brewing Co.

Thursday night was the first truly large event at Rubicon during Beer Week(in my opinion) as they were hosting a fair assortment of beers from Moylans and Marin Brewing companies. Always a welcomed deviation from Rubicon's house ales, guest taps offer a new dimension to any brewery. Also, when a brewery can showcase another brewery's beers exclusively, it shows a certain amount of camaraderie in the brewing community that is welcoming. On draft was as follows...

MOYLAN'S BEERS

Pomegranate Wheat

Danny's Irish Red Ale

Dragoon's Dry Irish Stout

MARIN'S BEERS

Point Reyes Porter

Albion Amber Ale

E.S. CHI

Mt. Tam Pale Ale

I am not going to give a review of each of these, however there are a couple of standouts... and weirdnesses.

First the weird... The E.S. Chi ale just didn't quite taste right. It is an E.S.B. style ale brewed with Chinese herbs. I got the British ale taste for sure but the after taste is hard to get through... personally this is just too weird... Moylan's Brewing makes one of my favorite beers ever! Kiltlifter Scottish Ale... however they did not send this to Rubicon. Instead they sent a decent Irish red (very smooth) and a better than average Stout. The pomegranate wheat was very sweet and dry and not my style really, but not bad for what it is. The standout here was Marin's Mt. Tam Pale Ale. Very well balanced and flavorful. A pretty standard tasting west coast pale ale, but done very well and easy to drink!! Overall it wasn't a showcasing of the best beers that these companies make... but it was a fun evening nonetheless!!

Note: I forgot my camera at home, so I had to improvise to put up a picture... looks fine to me!!

On to Friday...