#7. Alpine Spring - Boston Beer Company

Today I am trying a new beer from the Sam Adams people, Alpine Spring. Now I have been a fan of Sam Adams for a long time. I feel that modern craft brewers owe some level of gratitude because Sam helped launch the microbrew craze. However, that was then and this is now. Based on their website they make over 40 different beers which makes me curious as to if the brewery can consistently crank out quality, tasty brews.

Since the label reads that it is an unfiltered beer, I immediately think that this is similar to a hefeweizen. I pour it into a wheat beer glass and take notice of the cloudy, but slightly darker than pale body. The head is very white, with dense bubbles.

On the nose there is citrus and some pineapple. A faint sourness is there too, almost like lemon. There is a subtle little hint of pine. As the beer continues to warm up I get Lavender coming through (which I love - my favorite scent).

The taste is a little malty with some hop bitterness on the back of the palate. I get a little citrus flavor , that of maybe lemon. But it isn't the tangy part of the lemon or the zest, but rather the pith. It is a little unpleasant and the bitterness lingers a bit.

This would be a good beach beer that you could pound all day, but so is Coors Light. I had higher expectations for this beer like I do with all the Sam Adams varieties, but this one is too light on flavor to really stand out. I don't quite get why this one was made with all the other varieties Sam makes. I give it an 80 out of 100.

#6. Baltika 7 - Baltika Brewery

I have to admit, I was a little scared about this one. Mother Russia has never been one for quality and a Russian friend of mine thought I was crazy to try it. In the back of my mind I thought maybe blindness or even death, but what the hell.

First off, it is a green bottle which tells me this might be a little skunky. I have to admit though that I don't mind skunkiness all that much. Call me weird. This one has an unusual crown that looks almost like an old fashioned pull-top. It comes off with a nice "pffttt" like you get with a bottle conditioned ale.

As I pour it into a pilsner glass, I am first noticing the very pale, straw color. This one starts to remind me of a typical American lager.

On the nose there is a slight skunky smell, but nothing too offensive. Outside of that there is a smell of sweetness probably coming off adjuncts in the malt. My guess is a lot of rice and corn, yet their website makes no mention of anything but pale malt.

Drinking it, I am amazed to find that this beer has no flavor whatsoever. The only thing that gives me a hint that I am drinking beer is the slight bitterness of hops and carbonation. I might as well be drinking water. This is probably the lightest bodied, lightest flavored beer I have ever had. If you go to their website and get past the initial load, there is an ocean scene which is appropriate - this is my new "canoe beer." A special shout out to the honey once the website completely loads - I'd buy beer from her.

They describe the beer as one with "special mildness" which is probably putting it lightly. I can't give this one a score.

We now have "beer" in Texas!

In another victory for the abolishment of antiquated, stupid laws in this state, a judge last month struck down laws that relate to what we call beer here in Texas. Anything below 5% ABV could be labeled as "beer" while stuff above that limit had to be known as "ale" or "malt liquor." Another silly law prohibited brewers from being able to tell consumers where to find their suds. Those laws are no more! You can read more about it here in a blog post from the good folks at Jester King Brewery.

#5 John Durgin Ale & Boston Trip

So I haven't been exactly on the ball with the blog lately, but that is because I was traveling on business all last week. I have been to Boston many times and with breweries like Samuel Adams and Harpoon right there, I always seek out beers that I probably cannot find in Texas. Only once did I find something that fit and that was for John Durgin Ale that I found at the restaurant Durgin Park in the Quincy Market area.

This was a surprisingly tasty brew being that it was a private label beer for the restaurant. I have found those to be hit or miss, but was one that stood out a bit.

The beer is brewed by Harpoon and is named for one of the restaurant's namesakes (the other being Eldridge Park).

I was with a few business associates and didn't take any notes, so this is going to be by memory. The pour was a golden, slightly orange hue with a good head. As you can see from the picture there is a good amount of lacing as the head dissipated. The aroma was piney with a slight hint of citrus. There was a subtle smell of malt, but mostly the pine and citrus. On the palate was a little bit of malt, but then a good dollop of the hops broke through. This is an American Pale Ale (I think) and it immediately reminded me of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but with a smaller amount of the piney hop flavor. I would definitely drink this one again as it was smooth and flavorful. This would be a good brew for those that like a little bit of hoppiness, but can't go all the way with an IPA. Very well done at an 88 out of 100.

If this was the only local beer I had, what else did I drink? Mostly wine with dinner as I had steak and Italian while I was there. I was also fortunate to find a small, mostly hidden bar that was featured in the Food & Wine list of Top 50 Bars called Drink. I read some of the reviews off Yelp and Urbanspoon and it piqued my curiosity. One one hand you had a lot of people say it was fantastic, then others say that the long waits on the weekends (several hours) made for an overrated experience. I found basis for both sides of the argument.

We arrived about 5:00pm after our last meeting ended and it was damp and dreary outside. Surely nobody would be tying one on in this kind of weather on a Thursday, but the place was already hopping. The place is in the lower level of a nondescript office building with no visible external signage. This place would be easy to miss if I hadn't already known what to look for (thank you, Yelpers).

For my first drink I asked the server about the house specialty which his reply was a smug and arrogant "Anything." Fine - bring me back anything. The drink was called a "Fort Point" which was Rye Whiskey, Grenadine, and I believe Benedictine. For my palate I could not taste anything by the whiskey, but then again I am a hard liquor wuss. Too many times growing up did I throw up on Tequila, Rum, or Vodka that I still have a hard time downing fire water. But I still think it was a well-crafted drink because there were no odd flavors that you get with cheap booze. And at $12 this was not made with cheap booze.

The next drink was placed directly with one of the bartenders which numbered about 4. When she asked what I would like (again in a rather smug way), I said "I don't care." She walked off and consulted what appeared to be an encyclopedia of drinks and came back with a drink called "I Don't Care." Touche, my dear bartender.

This drink was more my speed. It also had some Rye Whiskey, but also featured Creme de Minthe and Grenadine. It was cool and refreshing and the flavor of the whiskey was nicely balanced against the mint.

I hope to get back to regular drinking soon. In the fridge I have a nice, big bottle of some Belgian Ale and a 22oz bottle of some sort of Russian beer that cost me $1.50. I am sweating that one a bit.

#4 Annual Grand Cru - BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

The second beer tonight was courtesy of date night with my 2 year old daughter. BJ's Brewhouse is a California based chain that is modeled after the brewpub style that has become very popular. From their website they say most of their establishments do not brew on premise which is a shame, but in the name of quality control I guess that makes some sense. What I have found on the internet says that all beers come from either 2 of their own breweries or contract brewers.

I have visited a few brewpub establishments over the years and for the most part their products have been mostly passable. My expectations for a large brewpub chain probably fall somewhere between average to slightly above average in terms of flavor and quality. I have been to the BJ's in my neighborhood several times, but usually opt for a beer from other brewers which is a little bit unusual for a brewpub. They have a fantastic selection of Belgian beers for a casual restaurant.

The Annual Grand Cru is brewed every year and is available January/February. It is a heady 10% ABV and has won some awards, so lets see how it goes.

First off I have to comment on the head. It consists of very fine bubble and is very creamy. When I took my first sip I was a little surprised at the amount of creaminess to it and it made for a good start.

The color of this beer is like a light amber, only not clear as say a lager. Definitely in the style of a Belgian tripel although they do not classify it as such.

The nose on this one is muted which I think stems from the temperature of this beer - it is American light beer cold. If you put this one in a Coors bottle the rocky mountains would be blue its so cold. After letting it warm up a bit I pick up a faint smell of banana and some spice along with the slight mustiness of a stale beer. Not sure if this is because of unclean lines, but I can definitely smell it.

Tasting it, this beer has a light mouthfeel. The flavors I pick up are orange peel and coriander, heavy coriander. My first batch of homebrew had a very similar flavor profile which is not the biggest compliment.  There is a lingering bitterness in the aftertaste along with a tinny, metallic finish. This is most noticed when I drink it solo and it is not perceptible with food. I am really into Belgians these days and if I were to crave one, this would not satisfy my craving.

I have tasted most of the brews at BJ's and have found them to be fairly bland, bordering on conservative. It is almost like they are a brewpub for those that regularly drink Bud and Coors and play it safe. This one is probably one of the better beers I have tried there, but again it is probably a little safe for the style of beer. 80 out of 100.