Brew52 » ryan

I used to drink this a lot…

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:19:07 +0000

…but then discovered local craft beer. Chance are good that if you’re a Minnesotan, you know this beer. It’s our version of PBR, Iron City, Blatz, etc., etc. The beer pours pale yellow in color, with a light white head. The aroma is light and sweet, not hoppy or overly malty, but definitely more flavorful than your typical American pale lager. The old timers will tell you that they could detect a flavor change (water?) when this beer moved to New Ulm… me, I couldn’t tell… Not my favorite, but definitely one of my favorites for this style of beer.

Life…indeed.

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:09:12 +0000

I don’t particularly care for many of the beers that fall under the “red” distinction. Regardless, I tried “Life” a couple of years ago and was happy to see it return again. This doesn’t taste like a typical Irish Red. The malt profile seems to be more complex – slightly toasty, almost earthy. Despite the alcohol content, this beer isn’t “Hot” or strongly alcoholic. Overall very nice.

I can’t think of anything remotely witty…

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:56:00 +0000

The beer pours out a clear, dark copper color with a decent off-white head. Solid malt aroma, but nothing terribly roasty. I get a whiff of brown sugar and caramel. The flavor is of more malt, slightly sweet. I taste the hops upfront, but it’s light and caramely on the finish. Crisp, clean… probably a great session beer. Bonus: cans or bottles.

Love it…

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:47:21 +0000

This beer became a new favorite for me this summer. I’ve been drinking it for quite some time, but I don’t think I fully appreciated it until recently. It pours a nice cloudy pale yellow with a rocky white head. I smell bread and weizen yeast, a bit of clove and some bubblegum. Much of the same comes through in the flavor – a decent yeasty profile with equal parts clove and banana. Ever-so-slightly tart. Yum. This beer is an easy, easy drinker. Definitely a new summer favorite.

I’m lazy… but I drank this beer this weekend so…

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:39:24 +0000

So I actually had the double dry-hopped, cask-conditioned version of this beer on Saturday at Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison. I think it’s a nice, multi-dimensional pale ale, and the fact that it’s organic is cool too. It’s crisp, just a bit caramel-y and hoppy but not extremely hoppy. Nice, floral… grapefruit. A good drinker. Yum.

I think he’s a teddy bear…

ryan — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:15:24 +0000

…despite the long hair and the affinity for Satan’s music, I think Surly brewer Todd Haug is a softie and the “bitter” thing is just a front. I have a sinking suspicion that Todd was more bitter in the 80s while playing in the Twin Cities’ metal band, Powermad. But that’s just me. Of course he ain’t exactly emo, either.

On to the beer… Slightly toasty and earthy with some spiciness from the hops – this comes through in both the flavor and aroma. Pretty nice, though not exactly what you’d expect from an English Bitter (and that’s fine… no one is pretending that this is such a beer). Very drinkable. I threw three 4-packs of this beer in my messenger bag when my neighborhood liquor store started carrying it and either the dog started drinking beer or Dawn and I consumed the beer at a furious pace. Yum. Glad to see this in cans this year.

Good coffee, good beer, everybody wins.

ryan — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:29:03 +0000

I like good coffee, I like good beer. No surprise that I like this combination. Roasty, earthy… notes of chocolate, a hint of smoke. Very nice. Flat Earth did something that no one else has done with their coffee beer, as far as I can tell. Paradise Roasters pulled a ton of coffee through a Clover machine, a labor-intensive job, to say the least. If you haven’t had coffee made in a Clover, I implore you to visit Kopplin’s in St. Paul. In any case, the coffee comes through quite nicely… not bitter or acrid, just lovely. Yum.

ryan — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:16:32 +0000

This beer pours a nice golden color with a tight white head. Biscuit malt comes through in the nose as well the earthy, grassy Fuggles hops. More of the same with the flavor with the addition of a fruitiness that I can’t quite place – slightly citrusy and sweet with some spicy notes from the hops. Extremely drinkable for a 9% abv beer. Very nice.

MY Fest

ryan — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:32:58 +0000

First… this isn’t my favorite style. Second… that being said, I think this is one of the better examples of the style. Rogue’s Dead Guy is probably one of the more well-known domestic examples, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Maifest. The beer is very clear and golden in color with a nice white head. I smell floral hops as well as some toasty (biscuit?) malt. More of the same comes through in the flavor along with some caramel sweetness. If I loved maibocks, I’d drink this often.

I wish I had a cool last name like “Brau”

ryan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:51:15 +0000

The Brau’s have been plugging away in the brew world for a number of years – first with the Brauhaus brewpub in tiny Lucan, Minnesota and more recently with Brau Brothers Brewing Co. It’s a small, family-run affair and they do almost everything in-house, from the brewing to poster-printing, silk-screening t-shirts, etc. Up until recently, they were even hand-screening their beer bottles.

On to the beer… Brau Brothers’ Frame Straightener is a Belgian-style pale ale, not terribly unlike Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale. Copper color, with a thin white head. Think old man in Miami. The yeast comes through in the aroma as well as some fruit and biscuit-like notes. More of the same in flavor with a touch of sweetness and a dry finish. The six pack is already gone. Dammit. Nicely done. Dustin has a history of brewing tasty Belgian-style brews with the Brauhaus, so it’s nice to see him using their Single Batch Series to reach back into his bag of tricks.