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beers reviews beer news pintley newsAn Interview with Magic Hat
June 25, 2010 | Posted by Tim Noetzel
When Magic
Hat’s PR agent contacted me about running a story on the brewery, I
jumped 
at the chance. The larger craft breweries are the subjects of
some controversy in the beer world. While these breweries have garnered
devoted followings, especially in their home states, accusations of
disingenuous marketing campaigns and mediocre beer are equally common. I
thought an interview with Magic Hat’s cofounder, Alan Newman, would
prove a good opportunity to set the record straight. And having only
tried Magic Hat’s #9, Circus Boy,
and Wacko, I
decided a liberal sampling of Magic Hat’s less pedestrian products
wouldn’t be amiss either. What I discovered was a reality far different
from the stories of either the fanboys or the critics—and much more
interesting.
0
Newcastle Brown Ale
March 12, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether
Newcastle Brown Ale
is an English Brown Ale that was introduced in 1927, and is currently
manufactured by Scottish & Newcastle in New Yorkshire, owned by Heineken International.
Although Newcastle is pretty ubiquitous, I hadn't tried it until I was
in Sarasota, FL at a training event. A few of us were going to go back
to our hotel for the evening and relax with a few beers, so I picked up
some 12oz bottles.
4
Appalachian Brewing Purist Pale Ale
March 11, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger
Over the past few weeks, I've been sampling American Pale Ales from around the country. For this review, I popped open a bottle of Purist Pale Ale from the Appalachian Brewing Company
in Harrisburg, PA. Appalachian started in 1997, and they appear to be a
small, local brewery/brewpub chain. Apart from Harrisburg, there are
locations in Camp Hill and Gettysburg as well. If I recall correctly, I
got this beer as part of a $20 mix pack that included their Water Gap
Wheat Ale, Mountain Lager, and Jolly Scot Scottish Ale as well—all
decent brews by the way. That puts it at less than $2 per bottle, which
I'd say is pretty reasonable.
Stone Pale Ale
March 04, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger
For my second American Pale Ale (APA) review, I popped open a bottle of the Stone Brewing Company's Pale Ale.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit up front that I
am a major Stone fanboy. They have a well-deserved reputation for
being fine connoisseurs and purveyors of the humulus lupulus
("hopheads"), and, if you are into that, everything they make is at
minimum very good and more often than not phenomenal. Stone is based
is Escondido, CA. For those of you who, like me, have no idea where
that is, it's about 30-40 miles north of San Diego. Unfortunately for
me, it's also approximately 2,685 miles west from Baltimore. If it
wasn't, I'd probably be there right now!
Evolution Craft Brewery - Rise Up Stout
February 19, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether
Recently, Evolution Craft Brewing released its latest creation, Rise Up Stout.
It's a roasty, full-flavored caribbean stout that has been cold steeped
in Rise Up Coffee, which is yet another brand local to this area,
making this the ultimate in local brews. The cold steeping produces a
strong coffee flavor with minimal caffiene content.
Otter Creek Pale Ale
February 18, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger
To begin my study of American Pale Ales (APAs), I headed out to my
local beer store and acquired a smattering of examples of the style
from breweries around the country. The first one that I popped open to
taste was new to me: the Pale Ale from Otter Creek Brewing
in Middlebury, Vermont. Otter Creek is a family-owned brewery that
started in 1991. I had not previously sampled any of the offerings from
either of their two brands: Otter Creek and Wolaver's Organic Ales, so
I was excited to try something new. Unfortunately, this brew was a
rather inauspicious, hop-backward start to my exploration of APAs.
Dogfish Head Squall IPA
February 16, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether
Squall IPA is basically the unfiltered, unpasturized, bottle-conditioned version of Dogfish Head's
90 minute IPA. It's only available in 750ml bottles, a standard for
any bottle-conditioned brew. Squall is dry hopped with Palisade,
Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops, giving it a bold,
bitter flavor. The 9.0% ABV is standard for an Imperial IPA, but it
can catch you off gaurd if you're not expecting it. I enjoyed a bottle
of Squall with my dinner at Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach,
DE. It paired perfectly with the custom-built burger I ordered.
Squall is a remarkable beer in a beautiful bottle, which they let me
take home.
Blogging for Pintley and EVO Lucky 7 Porter
February 15, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether
I'd like to continue my journey with my favorite local porter. Evolution Craft Brewing Company, which I'll discuss much more in the future, opened near my hometown this past April. Lucky 7
was their first porter, and has now become one of their flagship
beers. It gets its name from the 7 malts used in the brewing process.
It features a beautiful dark black color with a rich foamy head. It's
a full-flavored brew, with notes of coffee, chocolate, and smoke. Evo
uses smoked barley, creating a great smoky finish that doesn't
overpower the toffee and dark dried fruit tones used to accent the
beer's flavor. I was lucky enough to sample one of the first batches
of Lucky 7 to come off the line and it didn't disappoint.
Pintley Blog Rating Guidelines
February 12, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger
As I sat down to start writing up my first tasting reviews for Pintley, I realized that I didn't have a good feel for what a given score in each of the six rating categories really meant and how those scores combined to reach an overall rating. What is it about a particular beer that sets it apart from others as a five in "Drinkability" as opposed to a two? Before beginning to review my pints, I spent some time thinking about this and codifying my own rating scales; you'll find the results of this endeavor below. With any luck, this should both help me to be consistent and help you all understand what the hell I'm talking about.
February/March Style Study: American Pale Ale
February 11, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger
I'd like to give a big welcome to the readers of the new Pintley blog. The Pintley community is all about drinking better beer, so I hope that those of us writing for the blog can help others pursue that goal. My particular contribution will be in the form of a monthly style study of sorts. The main component of this will be a survey of commercial examples of the style, but I may throw in some other elements as I think of them (or someone suggests them). I have been considering doing something like this for a while as a way of expanding both my palate and my knowledge of the various styles, and I'm looking forward to sharing the experience with you all.