White Birch Celebrates Three More Apprentice Program Graduates

White Birch Brewing is back at the Ancient Fire Wine Blog. It might seem a bit slanted for White Birch to have shown up a half dozen times in my blog just in the last year, but what can I say? The beer is good and the people who have embraced White Birch are fun to be around.

Last Friday night Margot and I headed over to the new space White Birch recently moved into for an open house to celebrate the graduation of three more apprentices. The Apprentice Program at White Birch is one of the most unique (I know it isn’t a new idea, but for our times…) ideas to help spread the love of a craft to others whilst training people for future employment and grow your own business all at the same time.

The most exciting part of the program for consumers is that each apprentice gets to pick a beer to brew at White Birch that becomes “their” beer. Once that beer makes its way to the tasting room we get to meet the creator and enjoy their beer at an open house along with lots of other White Birch enthusiasts. Being able to meet three such people, and try their beers, in one night was a true joy.

Margot and I also ran into several Brew Free or Die (BFD) homebrew club members at the event, fermenting our choice to join up so we could hang with people with similar interests. Bill Herlicka, the founder of White Birch, has been a long time member of BFD and is a stellar example of where you can take such a passion. Beer really is that cool!

First up was a blind tasting of beers only named “B” or “O”. Margot and I preferred “B” which we found fruitier and maltier. I still don’t know exactly what was going on here, but I bet it won’t be long before White Birch fans find out.

The first apprentice was David Sakolsky with his creation, Deviant Monk. Dave described the beer as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with spices and aged on Tempranillo soaked oak. What, what, what!?!?!

I had to ask why and how this brew came to be. Dave went on to explain that this was a recipe he had been working with as a home brewer for some time, and with his experiences at White Birch he was able to create a batch that made all of his effort come full circle. One of Dave’s friends was chilling to the left of the table and he confirmed that being friends with Dave means that you get to try some pretty awesome homebrewed beer.

Margot and I found the beer to be sweet, malty with obvious spices, hints of wood aging and just a bit of wine character. This is a big beer, 10% ABV, and presents enough nuance that my tendency would be to serve it is an aperitif or with dessert in a formal pairing setting. I’d drink a whole glass of this, or a bomber, just because I could, but for me it isn’t an all night drinker. I am suspecting most other folks would feel the same way.

Way to go Dave!

Next up was Christian Weber with his Colonial Ale. I asked Christian what had him looking to the Colonial era for beer inspiration. He explained that coming to school in New England from elsewhere exposed him to people who were very proud of their heritage and history, and that stuck with him. To him the Colonial Ale brewed with molasses, which was common in that era, and aged on local cedar embraces the history and tradition in the region.

The beer is rich, and was served (at least to us) warm enough that it expose a full palate of malt, spice and wood in both the nose and mouth. The touch of Brett did add a bit of funk and character to the beer to make it stand out.

Christian, thanks for your spin on New England beer!

The last beer we reached as we worked around the room was the Eorna Ceol Ale brewed by Justin Umlah. This beer is Justin’s take on a Scottish Wee Heavy Ale, a beer style I don’t have experience with, making this tasting that much more exciting.

I again asked Justin about the motivation. Scottish heritage and a love for the style of beer were the succinct reply. He is clearly very passionate and animated creating lots of laughs at the table while serving his beer and interacting with tasters.

Margot and I both found a wonderful perfumed nose of malt, smoke and earth to the beer, with a rich malty character in the mouth that is noticeably sweet. This beer was also served at cellar temperature (purposefully or not I don’t know) which really did help us pick up the aromatics it offered.

Many thanks to Justin for introducing us to a new style of beer!

There was a festive mood during the open house. I offer the Octoberfest girl in the following picture as evidence.

As we have said before, we strongly recommend beer lovers seek out White Birch products and/or plan a visit to the brewery so you can experience it for yourself.

Cheers!

Jason

Drink Local - Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon

Holy wild name Batman! And you might feel like you are wearing clown shoes after drinking this particular beer.

Clown Shoes is a relatively new local brand and from what the label says is brewed at Mercury Brewing in Ipswich, MA. The web site says Clown Shoes was started by a group of beer lovers, and they clearly have some creative ideas for making and marketing beer. I had no idea what I was walking into by choosing a Clown Shoes beer to review in my blog. Search Google for “clown shoes beer” and you will find a series of articles about provocative and sexist labeling, conspiracy theories about who Clown Shoes is exactly, and impassioned votes for AND against their beers.

A beer named Tramp Stamp or Brown Angel with scantily clad women on the label? Say what you will, but if the beer is good the label only adds to the experience. The names and labels are going to ruffle some feathers for sure, but give it a rest, it’s a beer, an adult beverage that adults choose to drink! Walk away if you don’t like it. A little controversy goes a long way these days, and whether intended or not I am betting it has helped business.

Blaecorn Unidragon

Russian Imperial Stout

12.5% ABV

Pours a very dark brown with a thick light brown head. Coffee, chocolate and hops meet your nose pretty quickly. Those aromas translate to flavors and I also found vanilla. This beer is complex and much hoppier than other Imperial Stouts, but that is the beauty of beer, there is something for everyone. I like this particular beer, but in fairness it didn’t grab me in a profound way.

The alcohol is not overtly perceptible, but you won't mistake this brew for a session ale. I vaguely recall having something from Clown Shoes at the ABCF back in June, but I’d have to dig out my notes to see what it was. I am interested in trying some of the other styles and while a 22 ouncer is a bit pricy, it’s local beer and I might find one I really dig!

So that’s my controversial, local beer review for this week.

Cheers!

Jason

Autumn, Oktoberfest & Pumpkin Beer Shootout Round 2

The Ancient Fire Wine Blog has been nominated for a Foodbuzz Blog Award in the Best Single Topic category. Please vote for us and other great Foodbuzz blogs at http://www.foodbuzz.com/pages/awards. Voting is open until October 17th, 2011.

In the first round, read the wrap-up post, we sampled eight Autumn, Oktoberfest and Pumpkin beers and picked two winner, one each from the Autumn/Brown Ale and Pumpkin beer styles. We’ve sample the second round of eight and picked two more winners in the same fashion.

Overall what have we learned from this experience? First, seasonal beers come in two varieties. You have the serious beers that are crafted to reflect an interpretation of the season, and for us in New England this means cool days, yard work and hearty meals. Included in this category are also those beers that channel pumpkin and spices as they are typically used this time of year. What you have leftover are those beers than are made to take advantage of the seasonal beer theme, but don’t really have distinguishing characteristics and/or lack balance within the style. I’ll leave it to the reader to glean which are which from the reviews here and those we published from round 1.

We also learned that even with a halthy range of origins for the 16 beers (NH, ME, VT, MA, CO, CA, DE and NY) one state really shined, Maine! The fact that Maine is the source of good beer is nothing new for me, but to take 3 of the 4 spots in our unscientific survey was a surprise.

Which beers won in this round?

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin and Breckenridge After Rakin’ Autumn Ale!  The Smashed Pumpkin is in my experience the most talked about pumpkin beer this time of year in New England. It is made in limited quantities and goes fast. Our autumn/brown ale winner once again projected significant roasted malt, nut and caramel flavors with a touch of smoke. It is very full bodied and finishes clean.

Reviews Beer by Beer

Woodstock Inn & Brewery Autumn Ale

Pours a medium amber color with a light brown head. Malt, spices and fruit are presented in the nose. The beer is flavored with apple, which you can pick out pretty easily. Lots of cinnamon, almost too much. (Jason) Drinking several of these could be a problem with the level of cinnamon. The apple ducks out in the middle and then comes back on the finish. This beer is ever so slightly sweet. From New Hampshire

Harpoon UFO Pumpkin

Pours and orange/gold color with a tan head. A bit hazy. It smells mildly like baked squash, but it might not if you didn’t know it was a pumpkin beer. It has a savory element to the taste, a little herbaceous, with some fleshiness from the squash and subtle hops & acidity in the finish. From Massachusetts.

Sam Adams HarvestPumpkin Ale

This beer pours an amber color and is brilliantly clear. Watching the columns of bubbles in the glass was captivating. The head is light brown with a red shift and is creamy on the tongue. It tastes of lightly spiced pumpkin pie and has some vegetal character to it. The spices are restrained. Some toasted malt comes through on the finish. Way better than the Sam Adams Oktoberfest! From Massachusetts.

Otter CreekOktoberfest

Pours and orange/gold color with a slight haze. Off-white head that lingers a bit. Grains in the nose, not very malty. Margot said hints of cranberry and oatmeal in the nose. I didn’t get that, but hey, she’s weird, and that’s why I like her! The flavors are a bit toasted and the hops make an appearance. We both said there was something funky, not a good funky either, in the latter part and finish. From Vermont.

Woodchuck PumpkinHard Cider

Orange/gold in color. Aromas of apple, spices and what smells like potato (assuming that is the squash). A bit sweet with some tartness, but only notable for the fact that is it unusual. Not our bag. From Vermont.

Breckenridge AfterRakin’ Autumn Ale

Margot says “Kickass Name!” The beer pours brown with a light brown head that sticks around. The nose is full of roasted nuts and malt which continue in the mouth. There is a hint of smoke and no real hop influence. The finish is clean and pleasant. From Colorado

Sarnac Octoberfest

Pours and orange/gold color with an off-white head. We both found malt and dried fruit in the nose. There is lots of carbonation in this beer, but very mild malt and nut flavors. You could use this for pairing where the beer wasn’t expected to add much or take much way, but it isn’t terribly interesting on its own. From New York.

Shipyard SmashedPumpkin

This beer pours an orange/gold color with an off-white head that quickly disappears. I picked up baked pumpkin in the nose and a slight sweet smell. Margot said the aromas were like spiced pumpkin custard. Pretty creative, eh? Both of thought this was the closest of all the pumpkin beers to pumpkin pie. Pumpkin, spice, malt and some hops all come together in the mouth. It does have just enough sweetness to tend in the pie direction, and the pumpkin and spice flavors travel along for the finish. Very well balanced and smooth. From Maine.

What Next?

We hosted a tasting of winter & holiday beers at our holiday open house last year.  Read our tasting notes in “Fifth Annual Holiday Open House” and whet your appetite for the upcoming release of many of those beers for a new year.

http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/fifth-annual-holiday-open-house.html

Be careful with seasonal beers, not all of them stack up after you give them a taste. If you can buy a mixed pack of single bottles from a local beer shop that will be a smartest way to try several beers first to find one or more you want to slot in for your seasonal drinking.

Cheers!

Jason

Autumn, Oktoberfest & Pumpkin Beer Shootout Round 1

Seasonal beers are all the rage. So I am, along with Margot’s trusted beer sense, going to ride that wave a bit. For the autumn season we get all sorts of brown ales, spiced and pumpkin flavored beers, especially here in New England. I’ve never sampled more than one or two of the ones I have ever come across, and never given much thought to exactly what worked and what did in the annual crop of autumn warmers.

We are going to run sixteen Autumn, Oktoberfest and Pumpkin beers up against each other in two rounds. This is not scientific. We sourced the selections from our local craft beer shops by grabbing a single of every one that fit the style they had on hand. We didn’t hit the local brewpubs to sample the non-bottled offerings, and we didn’t seek out some of the nano-brewed versions that aren’t always in usual stores. Most of the beers are regional to us but we do have California, Delaware, Colorado and New York represented as well. You get what we are going to give you.

This is round one. Our method? Two tasting glasses each, two ounce pours. Taste two, clean the glasses and send the leftovers back to the fridge. Repeat.

We are going to pick two personal favorites and winners in each round, one autumn brown ale style and one pumpkin flavored. We hope something we taste and review finds its way into your fridge this fall!

And the round one winners were?

Shipyard Pumpkinhead and Geary’s Autumn Ale. Right up front, you note they both come from Maine. I’m not surprised, and even if they had been consciously separated into the two rounds I am betting they both would have still stood out. I’ve known Maine makes tasty beers for a few years now. Shipyard and Sebago are two sources I’ve enjoyed beers from repeatedly. I also have experience with Allagash (and everyone who loves good beer should), Sea Dog, Casco Bay, Gritty McDuff’s and the Inn on Peaks Island, all hailing from Maine. Check out the full reviews of the first eight beers below.

Reviews Beer by Beer

Sam Adams Octoberfest

We started with this beer because this is the one I associate with my first tastes of beers crafted for this season. Unfortunately we were both underwhelmed by it. I’ve mentioned my frustration with some of Sam Adams’ beers before in my blog. I feel like they’ve lost their oomph over time. It is also fair to say my tastes have grown, something of a combination of both is the likely answer. I recall when I first had this beer I really wanted it long after it was out of rotation. They made a lot less of it then. Here are the hard facts nonetheless. Pours orange/gold to amber with a tan head that lingers. The nose is mildly malty, a bit hoppy and Margot said it smelled of wet hay. The maltiness is more evident when you drink it, although is a lighter in body than I expected. It finished short with a touch of dried fruit. From Massachusetts.

*** Note: after I published this article I came across the leftover bottle (capped) in the fridge since last Friday. Thinking it might have lost carbonation or be otherwise less than worthy I took a quick sip before assuming I had to dump it. Not so! This beer has improved with a little oxygen. I would not have expected this. While it wouldn't have changed the outcome of the tasting, it is notable, and something to potentially bear in mind about this beer.

Smuttynose PumpkinAle

I’ve sampled through the beers from Smuttynose over the last few years, generally enjoying everything I’ve had. The Pumpkin Ale pours an orange/gold color with a slight haze and an off-white creamy head. The nose is spiced pumpkin all the way. There is lots of carbonation. This beer is definitely hoppy, Margot wrote it twice in CAPS, and the nutmeg (we think) really kicks in on the finish. The finish is a bit acidic and the hops are represented there as well. I also picked up the meaty, fleshy quality that pumpkin can impart to a beer. This beer is well made and drinks as it you would expect it to. From New Hampshire.

Geary’s Autumn Ale

This is a brown ale in the truest of senses. It pours brown with amber hues setting up a dark brown head that dissipates fast. The nose is huge and full of malt, fruit and caramel (thanks Margot!) aromas. In the mouth the malt character performs really well with a touch of smoke, nuts and a clean, pleasantly bitter finish. The boldness of the nose and mouth on this beer propelled it to the front of the pack. It is intense without being intrusive. You have to stop for a second when you hit one of these to make sure you know what you’ve got! From Maine.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead

This and the Sam Adams Octoberfest were the only beers of this bunch I had ever had before. My last tasting of the Pumpkinhead was with a spiced sugar rimmed glass, which while it makes for a great “beer cocktail” like experience, wouldn’t offer a proper review of the beer itself. No rimmed glasses this time. Pours gold with hints of orange. It is very light for a fall season beer, but keep reading. The head is very slight but when you get to the nose you starting paying attention. I said it smelled like a garden, and squash flowers, tomato leaves and ripening vegetables was where I was going with that. Raw pumpkin. The pumpkin, spices and a bit of baked pie crust come together in the mouth. The spices arrive a little late but stick around through the finish, which has some zip. Margot noted that she could drink quite a few of these. Gotta love a woman who can pick out a good beer! We bought extras of this so we could try the rimmed glass at home and otherwise enjoy them with the season. In hindsight, smart plan. From Maine.

Sarnac Pumpkin Ale

Pours an amber color with a quick dissipating off-white head. The pumpkin is accessible in the nose but is restrained. There is a fleshy, vegetal character to the pumpkin aroma. The spice is again bounded and not huge, but was easily found. The finish was a tad bitter with some hops along for the ride. Margot stated, and I would agree, that the pumpkin flavor was not very pronounced and that this beer drank more like a standard red ale with an off-character nose.

Sierra Nevada Tumbler

Pours a dark amber color with a light brown head that lingers. The nose is nutty and a little toasted. It is medium bodied with some fall character (dry leaves, another Margot-ism) to it and a slightly hoppy finish. I have to say I would not have guessed this was a Sierra Nevada beer, it just isn’t bold enough. I have enjoyed everything from them I have ever had, but this one doesn’t fit. From California.

Long Trail HarvestAle

Pours a dark amber color with minimal head. Malty and nutty nose. A bit rooty & earthy as well.  Lots of carbonation. Low on the hops and the nut & dried fruit flavors come through in the mouth. Moderate, clean finish. This is a solid casual drinker for the season. Not huge, but put together well enough to drink. This is my Bud 30 pack beer of seasonal small-batch beers. I don’t drink cheap beer, instead try to find straightforward drinkable craft and small-batch brews that offer the same casual consumption scenario, but with character. I hope that comes across as a compliment, cause it is. From Vermont.

Dogfish Head Punkin

I’ve heard things about this beer but hadn’t had it until now. The rumors and the beer match for any who might have been concerned. Pours an amber/orange color with tan head that lingers for a bit. Smells like baked squash or the inside of a pumpkin (Margot, again) and toasted pumpkin seeds. The fleshy quality of the squash comes through in the mouth joined with some spices but not to an extent that it tastes like pumpkin pie. More like spiced, baked pumpkin. Makes for an interesting drink to be sure. From Delaware.

Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down

Overall this was an exciting first round. The round two tasting is tonight and the full results will be posted in a week. Never having surveyed this many beers from this category before I have to say it is worth a spin if you are interested in these types of beers. Expanding your view to include other beers, don’t forget the local keg-only ones, would definitely mean some additional cream would rise to the top.

Cheers and happy autumn drinking all!

Jason