"If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs."
- David Daye
Recently, I started thinking how frustrating it is to go places that claim to have large selections of beer, but in reality their entire selection is derived of the same bland, unoriginal recipe. You could argue that they all have their distinctive tastes, but all too often they are modeled after the American Premium Lager. What is so "premium" about using corn or rice in your beer? But there are bright spots in the beer landscape. There are those of you who have signed up for this newsletter, those who frequent beer appreciation websites on the Internet, and there are the people who keep small craft brewers in business. The movement is growing. Maybe slowly, but together we can change the commonly held attitudes about beer. Beer is no longer the drink for the rowdy and classless. It is a sophisticated beverage that is more accessible to the average person. One day we might be in the majority demanding brewers invest more in their beer than in their advertising. Frankly, I do not care how funny an advertisement is, and I know that it will not magically change my life. So I am resolved to drink what I like, and I experiment to find out what that is (though I find I like a lot of the styles out there). Maybe someday people will not mindlessly drink what they have seen on TV because they think some busty blond will then go home with them. They will have found out that there is more than one dimension to the drink that is just called beer.
Cheers!
Jason Arakelian Editor and Reviewer
Beers Reviewed in this Issue
Fruh Kolsch (Germany – Kolsch) Kingfisher Lager (India – German Style Lager) Unibroue Ephemere (Canada – Belgian Wit with Apple Juice) Catamount Porter (USA – Porter) Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen (Germany – Rauchbier)
Fruh Kolsch
A Kolsch is a pale yellow style of beer that originated in Cologne. Despite its light color, it does not lack in taste. The Fruh brewery produces this beer with a creamy malt body that finishes with a crisp hoppiness. There is also a faint taste of fresh berries.
Kingfisher Lager
I happened upon this beer at the most recent Fancy Food Show in New York City. I have seen it many times in liquor stores, but never thought much of it. Well, I am not one to pass on free samples of beer and this booth was giving away full bottles. Not a bad sample , huh? Needless to say I was very surprised at the taste. It has a noble hop aroma and a taste that was crisp and refreshing.
Unibruoe Ephemere
Here is Unibroue's newest summer release. It is a Belgian Wit with apple juice added. It looks like a typical wit beer; a huge head and a color that is almost white from the cloudy yeast. The aroma is slightly hoppy, but there is a definite presence of green apple. It is a light, crisp, beer that is sweet and acidic. You can taste traces of the coriander and orange peal through the apple taste. This is great for sitting out on the porch and drinking on a warm summer night.
Catamount Porter
A ruby black beer with a roasted coffee and chocolate flavor. It has a smooth body and would go well with dessert, preferably with chocolate or raspberry.
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen
This style of beer is definitely not for everyone. Do you like beef jerky? Would you like to drink beef jerky? If not, you may want to try this cautiously. There are some American brewers who brew smoked beers, but none are quite as smoky as the authentic brews from Germany. This brewer creates three different Rauchbiers (a.k.a. smoked beers); a weizen, a marzen, and an urbock. The weizen is the first one you should try if this is the first time you have had any beer that is so bold. The weizen uses smoked barley malt and unsmoked wheat malt, giving it a lighter, cleaner taste than the marzen and urbock that use 100% smoked barley malt. The weizen is ruby brown in color with a big head and a sweet, smoky aroma. The malty crispness explodes to smokiness that is reminiscent of bacon, ham, or even beef jerky. Not surprisingly, this style of beer pairs excellently with smoked foods.
Dining Out
Earlier this summer, I had the chance to dine at the City Tavern in Philadelphia on South 2nd Street. It is an interesting piece of history that I highly recommend if you are in the area. One thing to note, even though it is a tavern, the fare is not your normal pub grub and the prices are not cheap. Nonetheless, I am sure you will enjoy yourself. The staff was dressed in colonial garb as musicians playing the harpsichord and harp entertained us in the dimly lit room. We were seated in an area that was supposed to be the most haunted part of the building since it used to be a prison.
To start off, a trio of fresh breads was brought to the table. Of course I was in the mood for ale, but could not decide on which, so I had a sampler. There were four beers on tap that are based on Revolutionary War Era recipes. The first was the Philadelphia Pale Ale; an English version of the style brewed by Yards Brewing Company right in Philadelphia. It is a well-balanced ale with a somewhat grassy aroma. Next, I tried the Martha Washington, which they called a Belgian Bitter. It reminded me a lot of a Belgian Wit because it had orange peal and spice added to it, though in this case the spice was cardamom instead of coriander. It is spicier than a wit with a slight sweet, almost syrupy body, but not as crisp as it did not use any wheat. Then, I sampled the Thomas Jefferson, which is an unfiltered honey wheat, which was sweet, hoppy, malty, and overall a very good ale. Lastly, there was the George Washington, which was by far my favorite. This ale is a molasses porter that had toasted, coffee, and sweet molasses flavors that went down smoothly.
Back to the dinner. My one dinner companion had a romaine and Roquefort salad with bacon. Some of us decided to go with the price fixe dinner, which was an authentic colonial meal. To start we had a champagne shrub (fruit vinegar, honey, sugar, and champagne). This was refreshing and whetted our appetites for what was to come. We also had mixed green salad with raspberry vinaigrette. For the main courses, one of us had the salmon and corn cakes, another had the beef tenderloin tips with noodles and squash, someone else had the beef tenderloin medallions with asparagus and mashed potatoes, and two of us had the beef and pork pies. All the food was great, though I was partial to the beef and pork pies, which had tender meat in a flaky pastry. Those who ordered the price fixe meal also had a choice of the red or white wine of the day. The desserts were a real treat. Chocolate mousse cake, coconut tart, and raspberry mousse with marscapone were all very tasty and just enough to satisfy our sweet tooth. Last, but not least, the price fixe included Madeira as a digestif. This was a great dining experience with good food, good drink, and an informative and friendly staff. If you want to treat yourself with a night on the town, this is a great piece of history in the Old City part of Philadelphia and an enjoyable time to be had by all.
World Brew Review Staff Jason Arakelian: Editor/Reviewer Emily Grant: Graphic Design/Editorial Consultant
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