Newly Discovered Spirits: Entry 2
Last night, Fred and I went on our bi-monthly beer tasting at Chief's in Greencastle. Here's the menu, and then I'll discuss the beer.
Paulaner Munich Lager served with Rye Crostini and vegetable slaw
Bells Oberon Wheat Beer served with whole grain noodle salad
Anchor Bock served with maple BBQ chicken, cheese grits, and asparagus
3 Floyds Robert the Bruce served with Blueberry-Pecan Baklava
Paulaner Munich Lager
http://www.paulaner-kundenportal.de/50.0.cf83e96d3a598d514cf6bffc24017edb.html
This is what started our night, and it was a great choice. It's a very crisp, smooth lager with a golden color. It has a slight citrus taste after you drink it, and it's one of the finer beers that you can drink anytime of the day. However, it goes best with a lightly flavored meal such as the vegetable slaw mentioned above.
Bells Oberon Wheat Beer
http://heavytable.com/bells-oberon-release-party-at-bryant-lake-bowl/
This was the first beer I was introduced to by Jared that turned me into a beer snob. I feel it's the primary example of an excellent wheat beer. It has the hazy, golden look in the glass. So hazy that you can't see through it. It typically has a citrus taste to it; more orange and tangerine than anything. It doesn't have too many hops in it, but enough to taste a slight bitterness in the end. It doesn't have too much carbonation, but just enough to make the tangerine/orange taste pop.
Anchor Bock
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/bockbeer.htm
The Anchor Bock pours very dark and heavy with a tan foam. The aroma of the beer is very malty and sweet, and there's a smooth, carmel taste. The smoothness from the carmel is what sets this beer off, and it's brewed very well. I would consider this a medium to lightly heavy beer that goes well with the BBQ chicken mentioned above. This was one of my favorites out of the bunch.
3 Floyds Robert the Bruce
http://www.threefloyds.com/dspRobertBruce.html
Minus the IPA's (I personally don't like IPA's, but I'll taste them when given), I've never been disappointed with any of 3 Floyd's beverages. 3 Floyd's is based out of Munster, Indiana. This is the Scottish Ale out of the bunch brewed with chocolate malts with just the right amount of hops to even out the smooth, malt taste. It's a sweet dark ale that goes down smoothly, but not as smooth as the Anchor Bock.
Vincent Van Gogh Banana Vodka
http://vangoghvodka.com/index.html
This was not on the menu, but after we had dinner, most of us that attended the beer tasting went down to a small bar in Greencastle called the Swizzle Stick. It was a Monday night and dead, and Jared wanted us to see the bar that recently opened. Upon sitting at the bar, I noticed some flavored vodkas. Lo and behold, there was banana vodka! (I assume you all know how I love bananas). They had a menu of martinis that had the banana vodka as one of their ingredients, but I didn't want a martini. I asked if she could mix it with orange juice and pineapple juice. It was DELICIOUS. Very smooth, there wasn't the rubbing alcohol smell to it (it smelled just like bananas), and it was a good beverage with breakfast juices.No one had asked for that mixture before, so I took the liberty of calling it Dead Man's Twist =)
UPDATE: Well's Banana Bread Beer
This is one of my favorite beers right now, very close to Oaken Barrel's Razz-Wheat. When you first open it, you can definitely smell the bananas, and it smells just like freshly baked banana bread. The banana taste isn't overpowering, and it's very creamy thanks to the malts. It has a crisp ending to it. It is a very unique beer, but personally, I wouldn't sit and drink it all night long. It's one of those beers that goes well with a dinner or even banana bread ;)
Oh, and all of you should ask why Jared didn't go to the Brugge Brewery to drink beer DIRECTLY FROM THE BREW, RIGHT OUT OF THE TAP WITH THE BREW MASTER HIMSELF. Fred and I will continuously give him a hard time about that ;)
Paulaner Munich Lager served with Rye Crostini and vegetable slaw
Bells Oberon Wheat Beer served with whole grain noodle salad
Anchor Bock served with maple BBQ chicken, cheese grits, and asparagus
3 Floyds Robert the Bruce served with Blueberry-Pecan Baklava
Paulaner Munich Lager
http://www.paulaner-kundenportal.de/50.0.cf83e96d3a598d514cf6bffc24017edb.html
This is what started our night, and it was a great choice. It's a very crisp, smooth lager with a golden color. It has a slight citrus taste after you drink it, and it's one of the finer beers that you can drink anytime of the day. However, it goes best with a lightly flavored meal such as the vegetable slaw mentioned above.
Bells Oberon Wheat Beer
http://heavytable.com/bells-oberon-release-party-at-bryant-lake-bowl/
This was the first beer I was introduced to by Jared that turned me into a beer snob. I feel it's the primary example of an excellent wheat beer. It has the hazy, golden look in the glass. So hazy that you can't see through it. It typically has a citrus taste to it; more orange and tangerine than anything. It doesn't have too many hops in it, but enough to taste a slight bitterness in the end. It doesn't have too much carbonation, but just enough to make the tangerine/orange taste pop.
Anchor Bock
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/bockbeer.htm
The Anchor Bock pours very dark and heavy with a tan foam. The aroma of the beer is very malty and sweet, and there's a smooth, carmel taste. The smoothness from the carmel is what sets this beer off, and it's brewed very well. I would consider this a medium to lightly heavy beer that goes well with the BBQ chicken mentioned above. This was one of my favorites out of the bunch.
3 Floyds Robert the Bruce
http://www.threefloyds.com/dspRobertBruce.html
Minus the IPA's (I personally don't like IPA's, but I'll taste them when given), I've never been disappointed with any of 3 Floyd's beverages. 3 Floyd's is based out of Munster, Indiana. This is the Scottish Ale out of the bunch brewed with chocolate malts with just the right amount of hops to even out the smooth, malt taste. It's a sweet dark ale that goes down smoothly, but not as smooth as the Anchor Bock.
Vincent Van Gogh Banana Vodka
http://vangoghvodka.com/index.html
This was not on the menu, but after we had dinner, most of us that attended the beer tasting went down to a small bar in Greencastle called the Swizzle Stick. It was a Monday night and dead, and Jared wanted us to see the bar that recently opened. Upon sitting at the bar, I noticed some flavored vodkas. Lo and behold, there was banana vodka! (I assume you all know how I love bananas). They had a menu of martinis that had the banana vodka as one of their ingredients, but I didn't want a martini. I asked if she could mix it with orange juice and pineapple juice. It was DELICIOUS. Very smooth, there wasn't the rubbing alcohol smell to it (it smelled just like bananas), and it was a good beverage with breakfast juices.No one had asked for that mixture before, so I took the liberty of calling it Dead Man's Twist =)
UPDATE: Well's Banana Bread Beer
This is one of my favorite beers right now, very close to Oaken Barrel's Razz-Wheat. When you first open it, you can definitely smell the bananas, and it smells just like freshly baked banana bread. The banana taste isn't overpowering, and it's very creamy thanks to the malts. It has a crisp ending to it. It is a very unique beer, but personally, I wouldn't sit and drink it all night long. It's one of those beers that goes well with a dinner or even banana bread ;)
Oh, and all of you should ask why Jared didn't go to the Brugge Brewery to drink beer DIRECTLY FROM THE BREW, RIGHT OUT OF THE TAP WITH THE BREW MASTER HIMSELF. Fred and I will continuously give him a hard time about that ;)