Superbowl Beer: Black Crown

After the great success of my last Superbowl Beer Review, Bud Light Platinum, I decided to give this years promotion a try. I did not do things like I usually do for that review but I figured for this one, I would treat it like any other beer.

I always try to give an honest opinion on a beer, whether I like it or not. Sometimes I am drawn in by my obsession with a particular brewery but when it falls short, It feels disappointing. Here is a great post on the matter from Sheppy's Blog, one of the few that fall into my email every so often. He even says "inconceivable" in this one!



So, Black Crown. It was suggested by another blogger, Daily Beer Review, that this beer was actually part of the Budweiser Project Twelve Series, Batch No. 91406. He said, "based on the beechwood, description, alc % and brewmaster", he is pretty certain Black Crown is nothing new. Just another marketing ploy.

Reading on the back of the bottle they broke it down and explained that out of the 6 beers taste tested across the country, from the 12 brewers who put forth a beer, Batch No. 91406 won the "Black Crown". I guess Daily Beer Review was right. I used to live in 91607, not too far from this place. No point to that. Just random fact.



Now down to this beer. It pours a crystal clear light amber with a small, quickly dissipating white head. Aroma of crystal malt and green apples. Overly sweet. When you drink it, that sweetness is still there and the apple flavor again. A higher carbonation level and actually a decent body. It says this beer is beechwood finished but I cannot pick that out... I don't think. There is a little bit of a tang on the finish.

Doesn't seem all that bad if they would have put a few IBUs into this one to counter out the sweetness. I don't mean make it bitter or give it hop flavor, I just mean better balance out the sweetness. ABInBev gave their Brewmasters a chance to branch out and make something new. While this still holds true to the spirit of the company, it is actually one of their better products. I'd say give it a try.

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Pilsner Urquell

Beer Number 32: Pilsner Urquell

Here is a beer I knew literally nothing of. Other than it was like 170 million years old... Ok, not million but 170 years none the less. It actually has a pretty cool story and the website is pretty high tech and fancy. I would go by there and watch the video.

At one point in the 1830s, the beer from the Bohemian town of Pilsen was considered undrinkable, with many locals preferring the new lagers arriving from Bavaria. Unfortunately, the main brewery in Pilsen didn't have room to switch to the new style of production, and the quality of its own top-fermented beer fell. One day in 1838, locals protested by dumping thirty-six barrels of spoiled beer in front of the town hall. The citizens with brewing rights agreed to build a new brewery.

Hiring Josef Groll as brewmaster might have been their real stroke of luck. Hailing from the Bavarian town of Vilshofen, Groll had experience working with bottom fermentation, as well as the knwoledge he had received from his brewmaster father. Still, the first batch brewed in 1842 came as a shock. With the combination of bottom fermentation, triple-decocted pale barley malt, and the city's extremely soft water, Groll had created the world's first clear, pale, bottom-fermented beer. It tasted different as well, in part due to the delicate floral aroma and light bitterness from a healthy dose of Bohemia's long-treasured Saaz hops.

I kind of forgot to get a picture before I started drinking this one. I thought it was pretty good though. The Saaz was a standout in this beer and the light bitterness made it fairly crisp. A bit of caramel, clean and dry. I mean, not a style I drink very often so there are probably somethings I am missing from it. Typically, I'm an ale drinker.

That story made me appreciate this beer more. It is hard to think about a time such as then when beer was considered bad by the masses. Everyone thinks every beer brewed today is amazing... when that is truly not the case. But hey, Drink What You Damn Well Please.

969 Bottle Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

Allagash: Fluxus

Sometimes you are just given a beer and you have no idea when to drink it. Not because you don't want to, just because you hold that beer in high regards and don't want to waste it in the wrong setting, during the wrong event. I got this beer for Beermas, of course, and I decided now was a time better than any for the reason that Allagash Brewing was hosting this weeks edition of #BeerChat!



This is a beer that I did not know much about. Just that it was brewed by one of my favorite breweries. That list is pretty short (4), so it goes to show you I actually care. I did a quick Google search and found out that this is actually an anniversary ale that gets rebooted every July. They state they do this to give their brewers a chance to push the limits of beer. I also learned that Fluxus is Latin for "Continuous Change". This year Fluxus is a Strong Golden Ale brewed with a mixture of stuff.

Allagash Fluxus is a beer of continuous change. Brewed differently every year to commemorate our anniversary, this year's Fluxus is a strong golden ale brewed with a mix of barley and spelt, and spiced with both green and pink peppercorns. It was lightly hopped using Northern Brewer, Cascade and Saaz varieties. It was then fermented with with a yeast indigenous to the northern region of Belgium.

The resulting beer is a hazy, golden colored ale with herbal and spice notes throughout. The aroma is both fruity, with hints of mango, and spicy, with notes of clove and pepper. The medium body gives way to a subtle malt presence and dry finish, with a surprising residual sweetness and a mild peppery heat.

7.7% ABV. Released July 2012.

I have only had one beer that used Pink Peppercorns before. It was a collaboration beer between New Belgium and Elysian. Maybe I will be able to draw some differences off from that beer... probably not though. I really did not know what I was looking for then, and not sure now. That beer was an IPA, this is a Stong Golden Ale, Belgian Inspired.



The first thing I noticed when opening Fluxus is how funky the air around me got. That good ole, Belgian yeast stink I think I would call it. Into the glass it is very golden and poured a big fluffy white head that has some great staying power. I wonder where they got hazy from in their description because mine is as clear as the glass I poured it into. The nose is spicy and sweet. Maybe a little bit of bubble gum. That funk comes into play, too... in case you were wondering.

Spice attacks as soon as you take the first sips of this beer. It tingles and kind of gives your tongue that numb feeling from when you visit the dentist. It just doesn't taste like whatever they do to you there. Very grainy and highly fruity & sweet. I wish I could describe the underlying flavor in this one but it has a lot to do with the Belgian yeast used to ferment it I would say. Just the character is very distinct. Maybe pears & apples kind of describe what I am trying to get at. Medium to full bodied, quite a bit of carbonation.

Overall, I think Allagash knew exactly what they were doing when they put this together... 7.7% does not feel like 7.7%. I cannot taste it but for sure feeling it. The 2012 version is damn good and you can't stop drinking it. I like spice, so for me, this was great. If you don't, maybe not so much but I definitely recommend it. I am very interested to see how the recipes change over the years.

Here is another really cool reason you should get this beer. I just had to share.

Allagash Fluxus is brewed to help fund a scholarship set up for pediatric nurses at The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. For details on the great work that they do there, go to mmc.org.

Cheers!