The Mutants Are Revolting

 

          For the record, I love the innovation that comes with craft brewing. Without the craft beer industry’s innovations we wouldn’t have IPA made with rye, or seasoned with juniper berries. Nor would we have the unique, ever changing Christmas beers brought to us by Anchor Brewing. And we definitely wouldn’t have breweries like Brewdog continue to make the strongest beers in the world, or Flying Dog bringing the world’s most historic beers back to life. That very innovation gives me grief however, when we start inventing new styles and substyles of beer.

The session IPA is one such substyle. Essentially, the session IPA is just a regular IPA, except with less than 5% abv. It’s that alcohol content under 4.5% that makes this a “session” version of an IPA. Personally, I’ve always thought that was just a pale ale with an extra dose of hops. However, producers of these beers disagree with me, asserting that it’s still an IPA just with a lower alcohol content. So here we are getting ready to crush our review of a “crushable” session IPA. The Mutants are Revolting fills my glass with a medium hazy, pale amber colored beer. Thin streams of carbonation support a rocky white head which leaves good lacing as it slowly recedes down the side of the glass.

          Ripe, juicy hop aromas rise from the glass supported by hints of pine. Overall hop nose is perfumey with background grassiness, helping give the nose structure. Beneath all this, hints of malt come through, only helping add to the beer’s aromatic profile. Biscuit malts give the nose hints of bread that are faint, but present. This adds a hint of sweetness to the nose which I think only helps balance out the beer’s assertive hop nose.

          On the tongue, Mutants are Revolting are anything but revolting. It’s a medium bodied ale, with a juicy up front hop profile. Medium carbonation cuts into that initial hoppiness, showing me the bready, soda cracker flavors of the beer’s paler malts. The flavor sweetens briefly before carbonation leads into a dry, hoppy finish. Mutants are Revolting’s finish is crisp, bitter, and kind of woody in nature. I find it to be a nice contrast to the ripe, almost tropical juiciness that greeted me up front.

          I think The Mutants are Revolting deserves a 7.5 out of 10. It’s a very well balanced, well executed version of the American IPA. I find myself enjoying the beer’s hop profile both at the front and at the end of each sip. I like very much how the hop finish gives contrast to the ripe juiciness I get at the start of each sip. Carbonation and malt provide balance and structure to the overall beer and the medium carbonation gives backbone without throwing the flavors all out of balance.

House Band IPA

 

          I remember my last trip to Portland, Oregon. While roaming the town seeing the sights, I would also hit the local bars and brewpubs. As a budding beer geek it felt like a waste of a trip to go to Portland and not sample the local beer scene. One day while at the Barley Mill Pub on SE Hawthorne, I decided to have an IPA. I don’t recall the name of the beer but I do recall it was the cloudiest, muddiest beer I’d ever had in my life. Today I wonder if that might have been my first east coast IPA.

Also known as New England IPA or Hazy IPA, the East Coast IPA is basically an unfiltered, hazy looking IPA. Being unfiltered, a Hazy IPA will be slightly hazy to downright cloudy, like a European wheat beer. It’s also not uncommon for these beers to have a tropical, juicy, or otherwise fruit forward hop profile depending on the strains of hops used to make the beer. It’s interesting to note that the New England IPA has recently become an officially recognized beer style by the Craft Beer Association. House Band pours into my glass medium amber in color, and as hazy as any hefeweizen I’ve ever had The head is rocky, white, and decently lasting.

          The aroma House Band offers is as pleasantly and assertively hop forward as an IPA I’ve had so far. It’s citrusy, full of orange pith and very juicy in nature. There’s also something ripe and tropical in there, kind of reminding me of mango. A gentle peppercorn quality provides the nose with an interesting through note. Aromas of coconut provides a balancing softness to the otherwise intense aromas provided by the hops.

          Taking my first sip is….interesting. It’s smooth and pillowy, medium bodied, and well carbonated without being over carbonated. Flavors of coconut and coconut milk seem to take the place of bready, biscuit malts. Specifically, coconut provides a base upon which to build other flavors. As you might expect, those other flavors are hops, hops, and more hops. First up, I get flavors of pine resin which leads into the mouth coating flavors of grapefruit pith. All of this leads to an assertive lingering bitterness.

          Overall, I’m going to give House Band 6.75 out of 10. It’s a very interesting interpretation of the American IPA and is overall pretty enjoyable. The one issue I have with the beer is its flavors of coconut and coconut milk. It adds an almost milky creaminess to the mouthfeel that I think cuts the beer’s final enjoyability. I think a hint of bread, or toasted bread would be a nice way to add to the beer’s flavor. Otherwise, I’m more than happy to enjoy this American style IPA.

Brave Liver Scotch Ale

 

          You know, it seems I’ve been seeing Mt. Begbie’s beer at my local liquor stores for almost as long as I can remember. I would often look their beer over while reaching for something else. Well, for the first time ever I decided it was time to give Mt. Begbie a first look in the form of their Brave Liver Scotch Ale. As a lover of Scotch ale, and never one to turn down the challenge of a strong beer, Brave Liver seemed like the apt choice.

Located in Revelstoke B.C., Mt Begbie has been making beer since 1996. Today, Mt Begbie Brewing has expanded into its third location (still in Revelstoke) and has included a tasting room in its facility. Here you can enjoy more than a dozen beers including their core lineup, seasonal beers, and a few specialty brews. Brave Liver pours into my glass leathery brown with ruby highlights. This crystal clear Scotch ale supports a dense, cream colored head.

          Brave Liver’s nose is very malty. It’s rich and sweet with notes of leather and brown sugar. Aromas of leather and brown sugar lead into a center that gives me a restrained, and therefore not unpleasant earthiness. As the aroma’s earthiness moves towards its finish, I’m picking up aromas of ripe dark fruit and just a wisp of smoke. Dark fruit has a richness to it that comes in somewhere between dates and dark chocolate.

           Taking a sip forces me to confront a medium bodied ale that is full flavored, well carbonated, and showing initial promise of genuine complexity. Brave Liver’s flavor is huge and malty with flavors of leather and damp earth leading the charge. The beer’s assertive carbonation lead the flavors into a dryish center before becoming somewhat sweet again in the finish. Somehow the whole flavor profile comes together in a rum and raisins sort of way without giving me any actual flavors of rum and raisin along the way. Interesting.

          Overall, I’m giving Brave Liver Scotch Ale a 7.25 out of 10. This is a very full and complex Scotch ale, one that’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It reminds me of Traquair House more than beers like Belhaven. I think this will make the craft beer lovers happier than those who are less experienced in the world of craft beer. All I mean to say is this: Brave Liver is a respectable, well executed example of a strong Scotch ale that may not appeal to all drinkers despite how good it is.

Birra Moretti L'Autentica

 

          Located in the Italian city of Udine, Birra Moretti’s history dates back to the late 1850s when the region was still part of the Austrian empire. At the time, the company was known as the Beer and Ice factory, with the first bottles of beer coming out for sale in 1860. The company was established by a young merchant from a wealthy family by the name of Luigi Moretti. According to legend, it was Luigi’s nephew who took a picture of a man enjoying a beer in 1942. Allegedly it is that man who graces the labels of Birra Moretti’s labels to this day.

I still recall the first time I had a pint of Birra Moretti while on vacation one summer in Sandpoint, Idaho. My father and I decided we were in the mood for Italian food one evening and found a promising restaurant with a view of the river. Having some time to kill before supper, we took a seat at the bar and decided to try some Italian beer before our dinner. Birra Moretti L’autentica is crystal clear and pale amber in color, sort of the color of ripe hay. Moderate bubbles of CO2 rise through the glass, supporting a fluffy, bone white head with decent retention.

          Interestingly, L’autentica’s nose boasts an up front sweetness that somehow reminds me of those lemon flavored hard candies. Beneath that I find just a hint of soda crackers, not pronounced enough really add anything to the overall profile. But there it is nonetheless, if you go digging hard enough for it. The rest of L’autentica’s aroma is pretty straightforward, smelling only slightly of adjunct before falling into a nondescript finish.

          L’autentica’s flavor profile seems to have more going on than the aroma did. It’s rounded and sweet up front, before moving quickly into a soda cracker flavored dryness. CO2 does a decent enough job carrying flavors across my tongue, such as they are. Sweetness comes out a little more in the center, giving me a bit of lemon candy like I found in the nose. Those flavors of lemon drop leads into a dry, lasting finish where I find just a hint of grassy European hops before fading away.

          At the end of the day, I’m giving Birra Moretti L’autentica 6.5 out of 10. As far as lagers go it’s inoffensive enough, and indeed perfectly drinkable in its own respect. The only reason I’m not putting this beer over a 7 out of 10, is that it just doesn’t have very much going on, even for a lager. I found the aroma especially to be too simple and straightforward for its own good. If there had been more bread or soda cracker or something in the aroma, I think L’autentica would be a better beer.

Smash the Curve Kveik

 

          One thing I love about craft beer is when brewers get innovative and work together to collaborate on new, interesting beers. Recently, Tool Shed Brewing got together with Fitzsimmons Brewing to produce a beer called Smash the Curve. No doubt named in defiance of the pandemic, Smash the Curve uses a special Scandinavian yeast called Kveik. Kveik is a yeast that has been used by Scandinavian farmers to brew their farmhouse ales, something farmers across Europe would do so their workers would have something potable to drink while working on a hot summer day.

Both professional and amateur brewers love using this new, old strain of yeast. In short, Kveik is a more robust and forgiving yeast that can successfully ferment a beer at higher temperatures and in less time than more “traditional” strains of yeast. This means beer can be fermented in only a couple of days instead of the more typical weak. Also, the yeast can ferment at higher temperatures without producing unpleasant flavors, a dream for home brewers when ambient temperature can be hard to control.

The result is a yeast that is gaining popularity amongst brewers across north America. I wouldn’t be surprised to find more beer brewed with Kveik yeast in your favorite beer store. Smash the Curve pours into my glass crystal clear and pale amber in color, sort of like ripe hay. Thin but robust streams of CO2 rise through the glass, supporting a rocky, bone white head with good retention.

          Taking a sniff, Smash the Curve’s aroma is interestingly fruity up front. The fruit aromas remind me of stoned fruit like apricot, nectarine, and oddly enough, ripe pear. Then a hint of something berry-like comes along, providing a little structure to the overall aroma. Light breadiness and peppery spice come in at the center, leading the beer’s aroma into a dry, almost earthy finish. It’s interesting how these aromas come together to give the nose an overall sense of balance, rather than the conflict that could easily have happened.

          Smash the Curve’s flavor follows the nose very well, while slightly straying from the path in interesting ways. Up front, flavors remind me of ripe pear with stone fruit providing backup. Ripe fruit leads into a center where I get flavors of soda cracker and an almost peppery spiciness. This aspect of Smash the Curve’s flavor reminds me a little of the sort of funkiness you might find in certain styles of Belgian beer. Smash the Curve then moves into a finish that is both slightly dry, and slightly bitter with what tastes like peppery, European hops.

          I’ll give Smash the Curve a 7.5 out of 10. Smash the Curve is an interesting, balanced, and overall decent tasting beer. What’s more, by using the Kveik yeast, the beer has an interesting profile I’ve not had in many other beers. It’s delicate and  laid back enough to make a good introduction to the world of craft beer. It also has enough going on to give the beer an interesting enough character to please most craft beer lovers. Personally, I hope either Tool Shed or Fitzsimmons adds this beer to their regular lineup.

Frequency Hopper IPA

 

          When researching my reviews, I like to visit the brewery’s website and read their story. Most breweries, like Theoretically Brewing, have the same basic story. Two friends get together with a love for home brewing. After growing their home brewery beyond the capacity of their own kitchen, the next step is often to open a brewery. In 2015 Kris Fischer and Kelti Baird opened what would be Lethbridge’s first microbrewery in December, 2015.

Since the turn of the century, a new element has come into the origin story of many craft breweries. That new element comes in the form of environmental sustainability. Instead of sending spent grain to the landfill for example, Theoretically brewing has found a couple ways to keep grain from going to waste there. One option is to send their spent grain to local farmers where it can be used as cattle feed. Another option is to send grain to Lethbridge bio/gas where it gets converted to methane gas.

Owners of Theoretically Brewing report that none of their grain has gone to the landfill with nearly 30,000 kg of grain being recycled. Frequency Hopper pours into my glass medium amber in color with rusty highlights. Overall, looking like peach jam in a glass. The head is dense, tightly packed, and cream colored.

          Frequency Hopper’s aroma is up front malt and hops. Malt is a combination of fresh baked bread and caramel. Maltiness leads into a center that is mostly ripe, juicy American hops. There’s also an herbaceous, leafy quality that seems slightly out of place. It’s not entirely unpleasant, it just doesn’t add anything to the proceedings, as it were. The finish at least has a slightly piney hop aroma to it.

          Taking a sip, Frequency Hopper is medium bodied and smooth. There’s something going on with the flavor I’m not sure what to make of, though. Frequency Hopper has an up front juiciness that reminds me of some sort of tropical fruit punch. Subtle, not overpowering at all, but present nonetheless. Unfortunately, I don’t taste any significant malt profile. Too bad, because some malt might add structure and depth to the beer’s overall juiciness. Instead, the flavor profile just moves into a hoppy finish that’s not much more than more pacific northwest hops.

          Overall, I’m giving Frequency Hopper a 6.25 out of 10. The flavor profile just doesn’t have any depth to it. Also, I’m not sure what to make of the leafy quality I found in the nose. It’s almost as though Theoretically Brewing wanted to put their own spin on the American IPA but didn’t approach that spin with any coherent plan of attack. It’s too bad, because for my money the whole beer suffered for it.

Dead Woodsman Pale Ale

 

          Once upon a time, there was a brewery named Bench Creek Brewing, who opened their doors in 2014 outside of Edson, Alberta. They made many beers including an American pale ale called Naked Woodsman. Legal issues forced Bench Creek to change their name so that now they are known as Apex Predator Brewing; a name well suited to symbolize survival in a hostile, competitive environment. Due to other legal issues, the brewery was forced to retire their Naked Woodsman was in 2018, only three years after bringing their Naked Woodsman into the world.

Clocking in at a solid 5.2% abv and medium bitterness, Dead Woodsman is an American style pale ale. The American pale ale is similar to the English version, but with local, American ingredients. This can result in less caramel flavor or fruit ester than you’d expect in the English model. The hop profile is also less outright bitterness and more flavors of citrus, grapefruit, and pine. Dead Woodsman is crystal clear and pale copper in color. Minimal CO2 hold up a rocky, cream colored head with good retention

          Aromas of soda cracker start things off, leading swiftly into deeper aromas of fresh baked bread. Hints of earthiness come out in the middle coupled with just a hint of what could be dried orange peels. Baked bread aroma adds an odd through note, throwing an otherwise decent aroma out of balance. Or is that an aroma of ripe pitted fruit? Either way, the whole thing fades into a quiet finish without any of the hop presence one might expect from an American pale ale.

          First sip gives me something medium bodied and crisp, with a promising underlying sweetness. There’s an initial, up front dryness before the sweetness kicks In, giving me an impression of soda cracker malt flavors. Malt flavors build towards a rounded center where I find just a faint hint of lemon drop citrus. This is where everything fades into a crisp, assertive, but not overstated bitter finish. Bitter finish is just pleasantly assertive enough to be enjoyable.

          After giving it some thought, I’m going to give Dead Woodsman 6.5 out of 10. The beer has some elements in its flavor and mouthfeel that are decent, bordering on enjoyable enough to give this pale ale a slightly higher score. The aroma throws me off, however. The bready quality just threw things a little off balance in my opinion. And the flavors, pleasant as they are just weren’t enough to totally make up for it. That being said, Dead Woodsman is a very passable pale ale.

Chinook Saison

 

          For the second time in a matter of weeks, I’ve stumbled

across a brewery that was recently purchased by a multinational corporation. In this case, Calgary’s Banded Peak Brewing was purchased by Labatt’s, which itself is owned by Anheuser-Busch inbev. As with my previous review, this raises the question of what will happen to the brewery now that it’s owned by a major corporation. You see, many craft beer lovers won’t support a brewery that’s been taken over by a large, corporate entity like Labatt’s or Heineken.

Most craft beer lovers would rather give their support to independent, locally owned breweries. That’s a position I try and take when I do most of my shopping. When it comes to craft beer though, I tend to make my purchase based on the quality of the product rather than who owns the brewery. I guess what it comes down to for me is simply this: I would rather buy a corporate craft beer as long as it’s good, as opposed to buying a mediocre beer because I’m more worried about supporting local.

So what does that mean for me and Banded Peak? Well, as long as they make good beer, I’ll probably keep buying it. Chinook Saison is slightly hazy and pale amber in color. Head is packed, off white, and lasting.

          Chinook’s aroma is funky up front, with hints of what smells like banana. As such, the aroma reminds me initially of a funky hefeweizen. This couples with a bready, grainy aroma you’d find in many beers with lighter malt profiles. Graininess leads into a center that is a little citrusy. Citrus aromas remind me more of lemon peel than lemon juice and makes the aroma better in going that route. Subtle earthiness leads to a light, peppery hoppiness in the finish.

          Taking a sip, Chinook Saison is smoother than I expected for a beer of this style. Up front, the flavors are a combination of lemon rind and pear, giving the flavor a pleasant fruitiness. Belgian funkiness takes a back seat to the beer’s fruit flavors, coming in just past the beer’s rounded center. There also seems to be a hint of earthiness, lending the flavor a decent, if subtle through note. All of this leads to a pleasant, peppery finish in the form of European hops.

          I’m giving Chinook Saison a 7.5 out of 10. The flavors are delicate, and nicely balanced. The mouthfeel is smooth, rounded, and boasts the crispness one would expect from a Saison. I particularly enjoy the beer’s fruit notes which somehow seem appropriate in taking the form of lemon peel and pear. And yet, you still have that Belgian spiciness lending support and giving you the overall character you’d expect for a Saison.

Boomtown Lager

         

I always consider it a treat when I stumble across a new Vienna lager to try. It’s a treat in my mind because of all the world’s beer styles, the Vienna lager can be hard to find. Outside of the occasional north American craft beer, the only Vienna lagers you can find with regularity are the fairly industrial examples made by Mexican breweries. That kept me limited to beers like Negra Modelo and maybe three American examples.

Vienna lager traces its history to the very early 1840s when new technology allowed for more even roasting of malted barley. The new kilns used heated air to dry and roast the barley, rather than doing the same job over direct fire. Previously malted barley tended to be unevenly, or even overly roasted, resulting in beer being much darker than we’re used to by today’s standards. German brewers Anton Dreher and Gabriel Sedlmyer brought the new kilning technology over from Britain in 1841 for use in their own breweries.

Dreher first brought the Vienna lager to market in 1841 where it gained popularity until disappearing after WWI. It was Archduke Ferdinand who brought this new, medium colored lager to Mexico when he ruled there for three years as Emperor Maximilian I. It was Austrian immigrants to central America who revived the style, using local ingredients. Vienna lager quickly became popular in Mexico, eventually making its way across the border for American craft brewers to discover and help revitalize. Boomtown lager is a crystal clear, copper colored lager. It throws a decent sized, rocky, just off white head.

          Taking my first sniff, what I notice first is a malt forward presence. It’s sort of a combination of toasted white bread and caramel. This paves the way for what seems to be fruit esters. It reminds me somewhat of ripe berries, just present enough to lend support to what came before. Moving along, all of this fades quickly and quietly into the background. The aroma is overall pleasant in its subtlety. Too assertive and these aromas would only overpower the senses.

          On the tongue, Boomtown Lager boasts a smooth, rounded mouthfeel. Spritzy, pinpoint carbonation carries flavors of caramel and toasted bread easily across the tongue. Body builds towards a rounded center before dropping off into a finish that is crisp, dry, and slightly bitter. Flavors are straightforward but at the same time well balanced, and offering a lager that is refreshing in spite of its comparably assertive malt character.

          Overall, I feel like Boomtown Lager deserves a 7.4 out of 10. On the one hand, its flavors are maybe simple and straightforward. On the other hand, it’s a delicious and refreshing lager. At the end of the day, I could enjoy this beer for its rounded, refreshing qualities as well as for its overall flavor profile.

Asahi Super Dry

 

          I’ll be the first to admit it: when it comes to beer, I like them fancy. Whether it’s the craft beer of north America, or the classic beer styles of Europe, I like the good stuff. This means that unless I’m doing so for a review, I don’t drink many lagers. I especially try to avoid beer made with rice and corn because adjuncts make the beer taste generally unpleasant in some way, which gets in the way of enjoying what should be an otherwise refreshing summer beverage. Bring me an Asian lager on the other hand, and I may find in myself to change my mind on the subject.

Asian lagers often have rice included in the grain bill because it’s an inexpensive way to add fermentable sugars to the beer. This typically makes for a thinner beer with less flavor and character. This is usually an undesirable effect to have on a beer, especially when you prefer your beer to actually taste like something. When you think about the cuisine of southeastern Asia though, adding rice to your beer’s grain bill can make your lager desirable in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Imagine drinking a thin, lightly flavored, ultimately refreshing beer with your favorite spicy Thai food. That lager won’t have any bitterness or other hop profiles to accentuate your food’s spiciness. Rather, every sip refreshes you for the next bite of food, making your meal maybe a little more enjoyable. Asahi Super Dry pours into my glass crystal clear, and the color of pale, ripe hay. Thin streams of pinpoint carbonation support a rocky, bone white head with decent retention.

          Taking a sniff, the first thing I notice is a faint, sweet aroma. Beyond that, the aroma is impressively neutral. This makes me wonder if Asahi uses rice as an adjunct in their grain bill. Asahi’s overall neutral aroma does come on the back of a very faint hint of bready pale malts. Faint graininess leads into a neutral center and a finish almost completely lacking in character. I don’t even pick up a whiff of hops in the finish, which is disappointing but not unpleasant in character.

          Taking a sip, I notice Asahi’s mouthfeel first. It’s slick and smooth up front, with spritzy carbonation leading swiftly into a dry and lasting finish. As with the nose, the flavor profile is neutral, almost to the point of lacking any flavors at all. But only almost. With its faint grainy flavors up front, and neutral center from the use of rice, Asahi still tastes like lager. What’s more, with its smooth mouthfeel, balance, and lack of off flavors Asahi Super Dry tastes like a better version of those lawnmower beers we’ve all been subjected to in our lives.

          I will happily give Asahi super Dry a 7 out of 10. As lagers go, it occupies that strange place where it borders on being good despite its almost complete lack of any real flavor or character. Despite lacking any of the real flavors I’ve noted in better lager, Asahi is decent tasting in its own right, balanced and refreshing. I will take one of these beers over a mainstream lager any day, especially if I’m having some spicy southeast Asian food for supper.

Tennent's Lager

     Whenever I review European beer, I become fascinated by the history behind the brewery or the beer itself. So many of Europe’s breweries are older than anything in Canada. The entire province of Alberta doesn’t go as far back as some of these breweries. Take Tennent Caledonian Breweries for example. H & R Tennent’s brewing was originally founded In Glasgow in 1740. The brewery passed from father to son, Tennent’s expanded its business in the 1790s purchasing the neighboring brewery.

Tennent’s originally produced stout and strong ale, and by the mid 19^th century was the world’s largest exporter of bottled beer. The company then completed construction of a lager brewery in 1891, and became the first brewery to produce a draught lager I 1924. Today, Tennent’s produces a variety of products with their lager accounting for 60% of the market In Scotland. Tennent’s Lager pours into my glass crystal clear, slightly deeper than the color of ripe hay. The lager throws a two finger, rocky, bone white head that’s in no hurry to go anywhere.

          On the nose, Tennent’s presents a pleasantly lagery aroma. Specifically, it starts off bready, sweet, and enticing, if maybe a little straightforward. Sweetness here is more sugars, and less adjunct oriented which in my opinion puts it ahead of most, more adjunct based lagers. Aromas build slightly towards the center, becoming more akin to fresh baked white bread with just the faintest whiff of something sulfury. All these aromas blend together well enough before dropping into a clean, crisp finish.

          Taking my first sip, I’m greeted by a soft, smooth, rounded mouthfeel. Flavors of sweetness and fresh baked bread much like what I found in the nose. Center builds a little, giving me a very rounded mouthfeel. Rounded center seems to add to the overall refreshing quality of the beer which is something I look for in a lager. Slight sulfur quality seems more prominent on the tongue, skewing the overall flavor profile in a direction I like less than I did when discussing the beer’s aroma. Either way, it drops into a rounded finish that is overall at least decently satisfying.

          Overall, I’m giving Tennent’s a 6.5 out of 10. It’s a very decent lager in its own right. It’s smooth, refreshing, overall decently balanced. I think I’d like it more if that sulfur compound didn’t come out just a whiff to strong on the beer’s overall flavor profile.

Stiegl Pilsner

     With a history dating back to 1492, Stiegl is the oldest brewery I’ve tried so far. The first mention of Stiegl in Salzburg’s historical records is when owner Hans Peuntner left the brewery to his daughter In law after his son’s death. Sold In 1819 to Johann Schreinner, Stiegl is named after a small staircase that led up to the brewery. For the next ninety years, the brewery expanded to include a cellar and beer garden. In 1909 the original brewery was sold to the city of Salzburg who In turn sold part of the building to the Ursuline monastery

During World War I, Stiegl’s sales dropped, but the company recuperated during the 1920s, becoming one of Austria’s most popular beers. Sadly, the stock market crash negatively affected sales which didn’t start to recover until World War II. After the war, Stiegl was able to focus on the quality of its beer again and began regaining sales. Stiegl pours into my glass very pale amber in color, reminding me of ripe hay. The head is thick, rocky, and bone white in color. Head is also pleasantly lasting.

          Delicate malt aromas lead the charge, smelling like biscuits or soda crackers. Biscuit malts lead into a center where I’m picking up a few contradictory, but enticingly balanced aromas. On the one hand I’m getting a faintly citrus quality, reminding me of lemon drops. This mingles with a very faint earthiness coupled with just a hint of sulfur which can be okay for this style of beer. All of this fades into the background where there might be a subtle note of European hops.

          On the tongue, Stiegl is light bodied with an up front rounded quality promising me something refreshing. Flavor starts out sweet and lightly bready, kind of like bread fresh from the oven. Mouthfeel becomes somewhat more rounded in the center where the breadiness increases a bit before fading into a barely hoppy finish. Unlike the aroma, the flavor gives me bread coupled with that slight earthiness and no hint of lemon drop or sulfur.

          Overall, I’m happy giving Stiegl a 7.5 out of 10. It’s very much what I would look for in a lager. There are some genuinely pleasant flavors and aromas. The flavor especially is rounded, balanced, and refreshing. There are no off flavors from adjuncts like your more mainstream lagers. As a well put together, balanced beer, I would happily add this to my summertime drinking rotation.

Saison Dupont Review

          Also known as a farmhouse ale, the saison is a beer with origins in the French speaking region of Belgium. Named after the French word for “season,” saisons were brewed during the winter months by Belgian farmers for use the following summer. Since farmers made their own beers with what ingredients they had on hand, the saison didn’t keep to strict style guidelines back in the day. Some farmers’ saisons were more or less dry, more or less dark, or more or less fruit forward.

The one constant in the style though, was they were lower in alcohol content. The reason for this is that saisons were meant to quench the thirst of the farm workers. Today’s saisons clock in at 6-8% abv and can boast a certain complexity. Softly malty qualities support a variety of fruit, spice, and overall funky qualities produced by the fermentation process. High carbonation and a dry finish produce a flavorful, yet drinkable style of beer.

As of this writing, the saison seems very popular amongst north American brewers. Visiting your local beer store will reveal a wide variety of saisons with often creative interpretations of the style. And when done right, those interpretations compare very well to classic examples of the style. Saison Dupont is very slightly hazy and pale amber in color, sort of the color of ripe wheat. The head is billowing, rocky, and bone white in color.

          As I take a sniff, the first word that comes into my mind is perfume. After the initial aroma of yeast I smell things that remind me of a dusty old attic, but in a good way. In the middle I find something juicy and citrusy in nature. Hints of lemon drop and dried tangerine orange peels. All of this mingles seamlessly with the pepper and clove funkiness of a really good Belgian beer.

          On the tongue, Saison Dupont is medium bodied, dry, and crisp at least at first blush. Up front flavors of yeast and soda crackers lead into a very complex center. Again, flavors of orange and dried orange peel. But then along come flavors of peppercorns and Belgian funkiness. All of this leads to a finish that is dry and lasting, hosting the subtle grassy flavor of old world hops.

          Altogether I don’t mind giving Saison Dupont an 8.25 out of 10. It’s crisp, delicate, balanced, and has a lot going on. Overall, there’s a nice balance to the beer that makes this a truly wonderful beer. My only complaint in the world is that it’s maybe a little dryer than I would personally care for given the rest of the profile.