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Into The Pint Glass: Cream Ale

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Into The Pint Glass Cream Ales

Step right up ladies and gents, to our latest edition of Into The Pint Glass. This week we are exploring Cream Ales, not to be confused with cream soda for those of you not partaking. I’ll let Katie take it away on what is a Cream Ale…

Did you have a hard time finding a cream ale? I’m sure you did. Cream ales are part of the Hybrid category, which means they don’t really fit in anywhere. Which means they are kind of like the Harry Potter of beers*. They could have gone into the Lager category (aka Slytherin) but chose to become Ales (Gryffindor). Unlike Harry Potter, they aren’t always very interesting. They are often referred to as the ale version of American Adjunct Lagers (and you all know how we feel about *that* style) and the BJCP style guide even calls it an “American lawnmower beer.”
 
The reason *we* think they are interesting is because the way they are brewed. Ales commonly, if not exclusively, ferment at the the top of the barrel at warmer temperatures. But Cream Ales traditionally were made in cooler temperatures so that they could be more crisp and less fruity. During Prohibition, or what we like to call The Dark Ages, Canadians favored this beer. When the worst period in American ended, we stole the style back after they had taken much care and refined it and we made it our own, just like we do best. 
 
*My day is complete when I can make a Harry Potter reference.

Well, I certainly had a hard time finding a cream ale when I went searching, only one for me to share today.

Cali’ Creamin’ by Mother Earth, Vista, CA
Cali'-Creamin'-Mother-Earch-Brewing

This is a vanilla cream ale by one of our local breweries right outside of San Diego. I have had this beer before, so I knew it was a good one. Honestly, cream ales are hard to come by and this was the only one BottleCraft was carrying the day I went. ABV is 5.2%.

Smell: Hint of vanilla, pretty much smells like a vanilla cream soda.

Flavor: Vanilla on the front with a creamy mouthfeel a little bit of a bitterness at the finish that cleanses the palette.  The vanilla does not overwhelm, just a hint so not a sweet or dessert-like beer. Very nice beer, that is very drinkable. I like, I like it a lot.

Have you tried a Cream Ale before?

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Don’t miss the last four Into The Pint Glass, next up is Bock on September 17th.
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Into The Pint Glass: Hefeweizen

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Hefeweizen

Well HELLOOOO THERE!! Katie and I are back Into The Pint Glass, that time of the month where we drink and talk about beer, and today we are discussing Hefeweizen. This is one of the styles I’m know, for well, pretty much hating except for a very select few. However, this is also a style that many people are a huge fan of. Let’s talk a little more about the style and then I’ll explain where my dislike comes from (because I know you guys are dying to hear all about it)…

Hefeweizen is a German-style wheat beer, also known as Weissbier. “Hefe” means yeast and “Weizen” means wheat, so Hefeweizen translates as yeast wheat. Unique to Hefeweizen is it’s phenolic character, producing flavors of clove and banana. Other flavors associated with this style is bubblegum or Band-aid. By German law it must contain at least 50% malted wheat. Of course American craft brewers do not have to hold this standard. Hefeweizens are noted for their low to no hop bitterness. Most hefeweizens are cloudy due to their high wheat content and yeast sediment, however they can be filtered, to produce a Krystal version of the style.

Hefeweizen has deep roots in Bavaria, though referred to in Germany as Weissbier (not Hefeweizen). Weissbier means white beer, which you will recall from the Wit post, that Witbier is also referred to as white ale. However, Hefeweizen/Weissbier and Wit are two different sub-styles of wheat beer. They are not the same. Hefeweizen is more malty and has the characteristic yeast flavors, whereas Wit is characterized by the addition of spices. Hefeweizen’s origin is German and Wit’s is Belgian. It can be confusing…so just drink it 🙂

Now back to me and my issues….I do not like the characteristic flavor profile associated with Hefeweizen, that banana, clove, bubblegum flavor profile makes me gag. I do like it, and can generally tell just by smell whether or not it’s a drinkable Hefeweizen for me or not. I don’t think it’s a beer style I’m ever going to adapt to.

Mango Hefeweizen, Garage Brewing, Temecula, CA
Garage Brewing Mango Hefewizen
I decided to grab this one because 1. mango (I like mangos) and 2. I had never tried Garage Brewing.

Smell: Super fruity, definitely mango, but I also picked up orange. This smelled like juice, it is that fruit forward. This one did not turn me off already in the smell department, onto tasting.

Taste: Crisp, a little tart/mango/orange flavor, well carbonated, and overall quite refreshing. This had none of the banana/clove flavor profile, or it is well masked. It was not that fruity in taste, despite the smell. Yay, I picked a winner! This would certainly be a hefeweizen I would drink again. This has an ABV of 5.5%, so a good middle of the road beer for sipping.

Do you have a beer style that you identify as one you know you dislike? Don’t say all of them, because my response is you just haven’t tried enough 🙂 


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Into The Pint Glass: American Lager

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American-Lager

Howdy, fellow beer drinkers and blog readers 🙂 Today on Into The Pint Glass we are exploring the American Lager style of beer. Katie has provided more information on this style of beer, though currently she is off in Italy sip’n on wine and enjoying the lovely beaches. Seriously check out her Instagram.
What was the first beer you ever tried? Budweiser? PBR? Miller High Life? Chances are it was a really shitty beer that tasted like piss water. These are American Adjunct Lagers, which were inspired by the Czech Republic and German Pilsners. However, they’ve come a long way and not necessarily for the better. 
Lagers were first introduced to American in 1840 and in 40 years, there would be over 2000 breweries producing that style. But, what’s the difference between an ale and a lager, you ask? It’s simple (ish). It’s all about where they ferment in the fermentation tanks. Ale yeast will ferment at the top in warmer temperatures while lager yeast ferments at the bottom in colder temperatures. So can you find a good tasting American Lager? That depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s a traditional adjunct, in my personal opinion, not so much. Stella Artois makes a tasty premium lager, as does Full Sail. But maybe try adding “Amber” in the mix or “Blueberry.” But what it really comes down to is if it’s a hot day and you want to have a hot dog and a beer, Lagers are usually your best bet for low ABV and for chugging them down. 
I honestly can’t remember the first brand of beer I ever tried, it was too long ago, ha, ha 🙂

Yacht by Stillwater Brewing, Baltimore, MD

Stillwater Yacht Lager

Smell: Very little aroma, it just smells clean. Maybe a hint of hops, but I think that it is just wishful thinking.

Taste: Clean, light. Light mouthfeel, clean, no maltiness, and a VERY bitter finish. The bitterness lingers and it is highly carbonated. Not much more to say, clean light beer with a strong bitter finish.

3 Best Friends Lager by Sudwerk Brewing, Davis, CA

Sudwerk Best Friends Lager

Smell: Chocolate with a hint of vanilla

Taste: I tasted mostly chocolate, a little vanilla and a coffee finish. The coffee flavor is not strong or overwhelming, which is good for me 🙂 Light mouthfeel with a little fizz at the end. Much more carbonated than a stout or porter, so it’s an interesting mouthfeel with this flavor profile. Overall, very enjoyable dessert type beer.

What was the first beer you ever tried?  


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Into The Pint Glass: Cider

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Join us as we talk ciders

Ok, ok, you caught us this is technically not a beer, it’s CIDER, but hey, it’s often served in a pint glass. So, let’s dive right into that glass and learn a little more on this “non-beer drinkers” drink 🙂

Cider or more specifically hard cider, is an alcoholic beverage produced from the fermentation of juice from the apple. While the concept of cider is very simple, there are many variations on this lovely and ancient drink. Ciders can be sweet, tart, light, refreshing, barreled-aged, high in alcohol, low in alcohol, mixed with other fruits, clear, murky, dark, white, sparkling, still, made with wine yeast, made with beer yeast, made from filtered apple juice or unfiltered apple juice/cider. Are you getting the picture yet? Ciders are crazy complex, however they are fairly simple to make. Basic cider is made by dumping yeast into apple juice, unlike beer there are not multiple steps with mash and boil time.

Cider dates back to the BC era (before cans), that’s why you mostly see it in bottles (ba-dum-chh). It’s debatable when cider first hit the civilization market. There is evidence that apples were grown as early as 1300 BC, but whether they were used for cider is unclear. Cider comes on record in the era of Julius Caesar, around 55 BC. By the ninth century cider was well established in Europe. Cider was also the newly colonized America’s beverage of choice, where apples, not grains were plentiful. As beer became more plentiful in America, the popularity of cider decreased, then was wiped out with Prohibition. It’s slowly seen a return as the popularity of craft beer and artisan brewing grows.

Ciders are not really broken down into styles per say. The basic cider styles are still or sparkling, and level of sweetness. Though included under the brewing style of Cider, we also have Perry. Perry is like Cider, except it’s made with pears not apples. Cider is it’s own beverage category. It’s actually more similar to wine than beer, but it likes to hang with the craft crowd.

Guys, I went super out of the box on my cider picks here:

California 101 IPC, Los Angeles, CA

California-101-IPC

So the IPC stands for India Pale Cider, it’s a hopped cider! I could not pass that up. This is the first hopped cider I’ve ever tried and I really enjoyed it. The beer store guy said this cider was really funky, but I didn’t get that.

Smell: It smells dry, similar to wine. It doesn’t smell juicy or sweet.

Taste: Very light and very dry. A bit of citrus comes through I think from the hops, but not overly hoppy per say. Clean, super dry, citrus, tart with a slight bitterness but more of a dryness. Not very cider or apple tasting. This is wild fermented, but it did have that funky or sour taste often associated with wild fermentation. It came across much more clean than I was expecting given the fermentation, and it is not filtered, or pasteurized. This was unlike anything I’ve tried before. If I was given a glass of this with no information, I would have a hard time saying what it was. I would 100% get this again, and probably will. They have two other versions, so I need to try those too.  Also, the color was super yellow. I included a picture, it was so brightly colored. The ABV is 6.9%.

IPC-super-yellow-coloring

Padre Nat’s ¡Tepache!, Portland, OR

Padre-Nats-Tepache

First things first, this is actually not a cider. It’s tepache, not a cider since it does not have apples. I didn’t quite realize that when I picked it up. I thought oh pineapple cider, how interesting. Anyway…

Smell: Pineapple and spice. Very Christmas in smell. Cinnamon, clove and maybe nutmeg?

Taste: It hits you like this: tart, pineapple, and then SPICE. The spice is like a punch. Even though I say tart it seems sweet, I think because the spice is so cloying. I pretty much hated it. It was way too much spice, and I know for sure it had clove. It gave you that numb tongue feel that cloves do. It was just not good. I only managed a few sips. It’s also not really carbonated at all. They recommend mixing it with beer, which I also tried, and still hated it. Not only was it not a cider, but it was terrible. Epic fail.

So, how did your adventures in cider fare? What is the most unusual cider you have tried? 


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We are back to “real” beer for the next Into The Pint Glass.
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