Blue & Gray Spiced Winter Ale

After the somewhat ho-hum spiced winter ale from Highland Brewery, we decided to open a bottle of Blue & Gray Spiced Winter Ale. As noted earlier, we enjoyed this one immensely last year and went back to refill our growlers several times. Neither Colleen nor I got the same "wow" out of it this year, but we still enjoyed it. I'm beginning to think I might be losing my taste for Winter-spiced beers; I didn't find many pumpkin ales I enjoyed this Fall either.

Blue & Gray Spiced Winter Ale pours a murky iced tea color. The very thin head fades rapidly. Aroma is strong in cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste has typical mulled cider flavors -- a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel. A bit of citrus hops comes through as well. This is an easy drinking spiced Winter ale. It doesn't say on the Blue & Gray web site, but my guess is that this is a spiced up version of the brewery's very popular Fred Red Ale.

As an experiment we tried heating some of the Spiced Winter Ale in a double boiler to see if it worked as a hot mulled cider-type drink. In Ultimate Beer, Michael Jackson describes Liefmans Glühkriek spiced ale that is meant to be served warmed. The result of the trial wasn't anything special. The warming actually seemed to diminish the spice flavors. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale

Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale is another one of the beers my brother in-law brought up from North Carolina when he visited. Highland's St. Therese's Pale Ale is one of my favorite American Pale Ales, and I was looking forward to trying the brewery's Winter beer.

Cold Mountain Winter Ale comes in a 1 liter flip-top bottle. The bottle opens with an audible "pop" releasing a wisp of carbonated air. The pour is a dark reddish-amber with a very thick, pillowy beige head. As the head slowly fades plenty of lacing is left on the glass. The aroma of cinnamon is immediately noticeable. As the beer warms, nutmeg and caramel notes appear. The taste matches the aroma preview with cinnamon being the strongest spice noted. There are some nutmeg, caramel and vanilla flavors too. This beer really needs to be at room temperature to loosen the flavors. The initial cold pour had us wondering about the presence of spices. I didn't notice much in the way of hops. Overall, the spices were subdued. I presume the brewer is going for a wassail-type beer here, but this left me wanting just a bit more in the way of stronger spices and more kick.

As a Winter beer, Cold Mountain Ale seemed very similar to so many Fall pumpkin beers. The ABV isn't noted but I think that is on the low side of many Winter beers. Not a bad beer, but certainly not as outstanding as I had hoped.

Beer: Eyewitness Companions

Beer: Eyewitness Companions is the last book by the late Michael Jackson, "The Beer Hunter." The book was completed just prior to his death on August 30, 2007. Jackson is listed as the Editor-in-Chief as his way of acknowledging contributions from selected correspondents.

The book has the detailed descriptions of beer one expects from Michael Jackson. The beers are arranged by geography and Jackson takes us on a trip through "Great Brewing Nations." These sections are further broken into regions and the distinctions in the beers to found, along with the brewing history of the areas, are noted. The book truly takes the reader on a world tour of great beers. The information is current and up-to-date, not simply reprinted from earlier works. (For example, the 2006 purchase of Frederick Brewing Co. in Frederick, MD. by Flying Dog is noted.)

The first part of the book is devoted to an introduction to the history, styles, and enjoyment of beer. There's enough detail to be interesting and informative, but not distract from the "travelogue" aspect of the book. Numerous photographs illustrate the beer, places and people discussed.

Beer: Eyewitness Companions is a fitting remembrance to a great beer evangelist and author. In the back of my mind I keep hope that there are more writings from Jackson that will be published in the future.

Antique Botanical Print - Humulus lupulus

I purchased this print of the hop plant recently on Ebay. The print is an original hand color engraving from English Botany: or Coloured Figures of British Plants, With Their Essential Characters, Synonyms, and Places of Growth. This periodical publication, published between 1790 and 1814, included 2,592 beautifully coloured illustrations of British plants. Most of the illustrations were drawn and engraved by James Sowerby. The engraved image of Humulus lupulus measures 6-1/2" x 3-l/2". The page is imprinted Humulus Lupulus, London: Jas. Sowerby, January 1796.

If you think about the time period when this publication was being produced, beer was an essential part of everyday life. The hop plant was probably familiar to more of the population than it is today. These hand-illustrated publications provided some of the only botanical literature available to the average person of the time. We own several botanical prints and find them to provide an interesting contrast to today's computer-reproduced illustrations.

Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

My brother in-law recently moved to Durham, NC and when he wrote that he was coming to visit a couple weeks ago, I sent him an email asking him to pick up a "few things" for me. Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter was something I'd been wanting to try, but that isn't available locally. He brought this, along with a couple other beers, when he visited. After I shampooed our carpets last night, I decided it was time to relax with a glass of Baltic Porter. Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery in Farmville, NC bills itself as "The Dark Beer Specialist." Their Winter release Baltic Porter certainly gives backing to that.

The Baltic Porter pours black. That's about all there is to say about the color, this stuff is dark. There's a beige head that fades pretty rapidly leaving just a thin ring. The initial aroma of dark, bittersweet chocolate is noticeable as soon as I opened the bottle. Baltic Porters are typically higher in alcohol than standard porters and the Duck-Rabbit offering is no different. This is a big beer at 9% ABV and the alcohol is also apparent in the aroma.

The mouth feel is thick and quite smooth. There's a moderate about of carbonation to tingle the tongue as well. Initially the flavor is that of dark chocolate. The alcohol provides a warming sensation on the way down. The alcohol is well played in this one. It is not overbearing nor unpleasant. The alcohol in a big beer should be noticeable, but not over power the other flavors. Duck-Rabbit does a good job of keeping the alcohol level enjoyable. As the beer warms, roasted coffee flavors begin to emerge, along with some dark fruit. There are some faint bitter hops detected in the aftertaste, along with roasted coffee.

One of the things I find with these flavor-rich, high ABV beers is they continually draw you back for sip after sip. I have to make a concerted effort of enjoying the beer slowly. Duck Rabbit created an outstanding beer in their Baltic Porter. My bottles have an "Enjoy By" date of October 2008 so the beer probably holds up well to aging. However, there will surely be enough cold nights this Winter that need some warmth from a good Baltic Porter. Mark, next time you visit ...

Choosing Glassware - Perfection or Practicality?

My opinion on proper glassware is no secret. There's a poll on RealBeer.com that caught by attention this morning. Which Glass? asks the question "If you could use only one glass (or type of glass) for the rest of your life, what would you choose?" The answer options are taken from from BeerAdvocate.com's glassware page:

• Flute Glass
• Goblet (or Chalice)
• Mug (or Seidel, Stein)
• Pilsner Glass (or Pokal)
• Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler)
• Snifter
• Stange (Slender Cylinder)
• Tulip
• Weizen Glass
• Oversized Wine Glass

As I pondered the question, my first thought was that my current favorites are the Samuel Adams Boston Lager Glasses and some Cervoise-style glasses, neither which are on the list. But, if I could have only one glass, would it be one of those? Surprisingly, I realized that it would be a utilitarian pint glass, and more specifically, the shaker pint, even though I rarely use those these days. Yes, that heavy, created-for-mixing-drinks-not beer, much-maligned shaker pint. Why? It's stable, easy to hold, has a wide mouth, and is easy to store. Additionally, if I only had one glass for the rest of my life, I'd want one that's not so fragile that I have to worry about breaking it! So, the Pint Glass option got my vote.

When the results graph came up, I was quite surprised. The pint glass was in the lead by a significant margin. As I write this, the pint glass has 63.01% of the 73 votes cast. Check any online beer forum and you'll see plenty of raving about the proper glassware, yet when it all comes down to it, the plain ol' pint glass still rules. It's only fair to note, that as you read through the accompanying thread, it's apparent that the nonic pint is a specific favorite. The shaker still draws disdain from many beer geeks. Nonetheless, the poll results surprised me. The perfect glassware is one thing, but utility wins in the end.

Starr Hill Brewery Signs Distribution Deal With Anheuser-Busch

According to this article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress, Starr Hill Brewery has inked a distribution deal with Anheuser-Busch Inc. The Crozet-based brewery plans to eventually market its beers in independent and chain stores nationwide. Virginians still reeling from the changes at Dominion Brewery after A-B gained a major share, may wonder what other changes are in store for Starr Hill. There's no mention in the article of anything other than distribution rights, so it appears that this craft brewer will retain its character. However, one could reasonably assume that A-B wouldn't do this without gaining some bit of ownership. More details will surely be coming out soon. An expansion of production facilities is planned to handle the growth in distribution. Brewmaster Mark Thompson is quoted as saying “We want to be the next Sierra Nevada.” With the recent announcement that all of Denver-based Flying Dog's production will be moved to Frederick, MD, the Maryland/Virginia area appears poised to gain an increased presence in beer stores nationwide.

Update: I received this from Mark in reply to my email query:

Thank you for your continued support of Starr Hill. Our plan is to roll out in Fredericksburg in May of next year so hopefully your long wait for Starr Hill will be over. This distribution deal is something that Starr Hill has envisioned since day one. I founded the brewery in September of 1999 with the mission of sharing the gift of great beer with the world and this is another step in fulfilling that mission. The first step of our mission was to design four world class beers. Our four house beers (Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Dark Starr Stout, and Jomo Lager) have won 11 GABF medals and one WBC award. Each of our four beers is a multiple award winner at the GABF and something that I am very proud of. Having determined that Starr Hill could make world class beer, our brewery needed a world class distribution system. No one would argue that AB has the very best distribution system in the world. The reality of my world is that beer sales operate on a Three tiered system and I need distribution to grow the brand. This deal allows me to do what I do best which is to make world class beer and not waste valuable time on looking for a new distributor in every new town that we expand into. I can now focus on making beer instead of trying to assemble a sales system.

Update 2: The Anheuser-Busch press release is here and includes a statement about A-B's role:

“We’re committed to providing new and exceptional beverages to those adult consumers who are looking for specialty products,” said Dave Peacock, vice president, marketing for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “Starr Hill has already developed a loyal following among craft beer consumers in Virginia, and together with our wholesaler network, we’re looking forward to enhancing the distribution and sales support for these award-winning beers.”

Brewing and marketing decisions will remain the responsibility of Starr Hill and its management.

Winter Beer Tasting at Hard Times Cafe

We attended the Winter Beer Tasting held at the Hard Times Cafe in Woodbridge Monday evening. The event is different from many tastings. At the start the brewery or distributor reps describe each of the beers they are presenting. Then unmarked samples of the beers are brought to the tables in random order. Our task is to identify the beers based on the descriptions presented earlier. It's fun but not as easy as you might think, and some of the introductions given were better than others. A few of the beers are quite obvious, but many get narrowed down to an "either/or" situation. As more beers are brought out you start questioning your earlier choices. I managed to get a mere 5 of the 11 correct, while Colleen scored 7 out of 11. There was a tie for best record with FABTS' own Lyle Brown tied for first place getting 9 of 11 correct.

The beers presented for tasting were:

Victory Hop Wallop
Wychwood Bah Humbug
Allagash Grand Cru
Clipper City Below Decks
Bell's Winter White
Delirium Noël
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Brooklyn Winter Ale
Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
Smuttynose Winter Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration (not shown)

I ranked the Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout as my favorite of the bunch. Randy reports that the Cappuccino Stout won the popularity vote and will soon join the draft line up at the Woodbridge Hard Times.

It was a lot of fun and thanks go out to all the reps and to Randy at Hard Times for putting on this event. Included in the price of the dinner was your choice of a menu item and a pint of beer. As a special treat for the event, Tom Cizauskas from Clipper City Brewing in Baltimore brought in a firkin of cask conditioned Winter Storm "Category 5" Ale. I mentioned in a previous post that I was looking forward to having this Winter release again, but I've not yet had a chance this season. So the opportunity to try it "fresh" was a treat. The Winter Storm has a crisp floral hop aroma backed by a bit of caramel malts. The mouth feel was very smooth with a very nice piney and floral hop flavor. A very nice beer and the 7.50% ABV is well masked. The cask serving makes for a smoother drink with less carbonation. It was certainly the beer highlight of the evening. If I wasn't going to be tasting 11 more beers, I'd have had another.


It was also great to finally meet Tom Cizauskas in person. I've been reading his blog for some time so I felt as if I already knew him. When I saw the bandage in his finger I knew exactly why it was there. Although I gladly drove the 40 miles to attend the dinner, I look forward to seeing events like this in Fredericksburg some day. (That's a hint, Tom. :-)

Tom has posted his write up of the event here.