Beer Review: Maracaibo Especial

The Beer

Maracaibo Especial By Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Special Brown Ale Brewed with Cacao and Spices

Belgian Strong Dark Ale
7.5% abv
1 pt. 9.4 oz bottle
$13.00 a bottle
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Dexter, Michigan, USA
Jollypumpkin.com
My Strength Rating: 5

Caution: get this bottle near a sink when you open it! Foam was flying out of the bottle and I didn’t even open it all the way. Needless to say, the kitchen counter and floor was a mess. Clean-up isle 3.

Murky dark amber color with plenty and I mean plenty of foam and then more foam. That bottle has been open for 45 minutes now and the beer is halfway down the bottle but the foam is still bubbling around the cork I had to put in the bottle. Oh yeah, the color of the foam is beige.

The overall bouquet has some character to it with notes of tart apple, spices, and some fresh apple. I think the amount of effervescence in this ale keeps the aroma up.

On the taste there is a moderate level of tartness. The spices are pleasing to my palate along with some earthy yeast and dried dark fruits. There seems to be a good balance between the malts and hops for it is not too sweet nor is it too bitter. I would call this a Brown Mild Sour Ale or Tart Ale.

Now, on the bottle they have written sweet orange peel, cinnamon, and cacao. I don’t feel any of these flavors standout all by themselves but, they add to the spices, earthy notes, and overall taste. The one I notice more of is the sweet orange peel and that is as an undertone on the aftertaste.

Speaking of aftertaste, it is pleasing overall. The tartness does not have a pucker effect but leaves a settle lingering twang on the palate. The fine carbonation has a nice cleansing effect.

The carbonation puts on a show coming from the bottle and when it is poured into the glass. I wish I ran the video I was afraid to drink it. I thought it was going to just explode in the mouth. The texture was a fine fizzy feel on the mouth. Like a Belgian ale.

I give this ale a 5 on my strength rating because I think the actual body weight is just below medium but, the tartness kicks it up just a smidge.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron: Review

The Beer
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
Malt Beverage aged on Palo Santo Wood
12% abv
12 oz bottle
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, Delware, USA
Dogfish.com

This unfiltered brown ale is one tasty brew. It pours a dark body with brown highlights. The head is a dark caramel color that looks tasty. The nose seems complex with some sweet malts, burnt cocoa, vanilla dark cherry. When pouring the beer it had a thick appearance and that is how it feels on the mouthfeel. This ale is thick, almost syrupy in texture. The taste is complex as well, with notes of roasted malts, toasted caramel, rich vanilla, molasses, sweet flavors and slight sour notes. We could even throw in some coffee and rich chocolate into the mix. I don’t know what Palo Santo wood smells or taste like so, the best a can come up with it has a black walnut like quality. The alcohol does add some spice and boozy feel to the palate. This is a sipper.

This beer is not for your yellow water beer drinker. No amateurs here. I drank one about three weeks ago, then one yesterday and then this one for the review. I think this beer is growing on me. The first one I had I did not really enjoy.

Liberty Street Starkweather Stout: Review

The Stout

Liberty Street Starkweather Stout

6.3% abv

Growler

Liberty Street Brewing Co.

Plymouth, Michigan, USA

Located on 149 W. Liberty Street

libertystreetbeer.com

My Strength Rating: 5.5

If you live in the Detroit Metro area make your way to Old Village Plymouth, Michigan.  This little brew pub has nine different beers on tap.  I made my way home with a growler full of their stout. 

Appearance: Black body with brown highlights.  Barely any head due to the low carbonation.

Aroma: Chocolate and coffee.

Flavors: Right off I notice the roasted grains.  This roasted profile is very nice in my book.  I get a bit of a dark chocolate note and the medium roast coffee taste is front and center to me.  There is slight hoppy bitterness that builds some character. 

Mouthfeel: Very smooth and easy to drink stout.  The carbonation is very low. The body is only medium weight to me and the aftertaste is not strong. 

To me: I like the overall taste profile of this stout.  I wish the body weight was a little heavier and the texture a little creamier.  But, I am going back for more!

To the Point: If you like a roasted style stout this is very nice.  Throw in some nice roasted coffee notes and a touch of chocolate this is it. 

 

Liberty Street Red Glare Amber Ale and CAO America Potomac Cigar: Review

The Cigar

CAO America Potomac

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and Connecticut Shade Leaf

The wrapper is pin striped with the maduro wrapper layered over the shade leaf.

Binder: Brazil

Fillers: 100% legero; Dominican, Nicaraguan, Italian, and American

Size: 5 x 56

My Strength Rating: 5

$8.00 in Michigan

Off the light: medium earthy notes of portabella mushroom and hardwood.  

During the first half I liked the walnut like nut taste and the mushroom earthiness.  Beyond that there is not much to offer.  The overall mouthfeel is smooth yet dry.  I always feel uninspired by this line-up. 

Half-way: an oaky hardwood note started to build to add some character.  The flavors are becoming a little more robust with roasted grains and that oak coming through.   A little inspiration here. 

On the finish: The robust style, while still present, did not continue to build.  The earthy notes returned to sooth the oaky taste that built in the mid-section. 

Of course I could not smoke one of these Americas without a wrapper problem.  Upon removing the band the glue took a chunk of the wrapper off.  Then as the burn got closer to this point the binder popped. 

But, I do know that the CAO America’s are good with a nice IPA.  But, today I’m pairing it with an amber ale from a local brewery. 

The Ale

Liberty Street Red Glare Amber Ale

5.2% abv

Growler – take home

IBU: under 25

libertystreetbeer.com

My Strength Rating: 4

The ale pours a dark burnt amber color with a thin beige head. The nose is grainy with a bit of caramel malt.

This ale is similar to the cigar in that it is pretty straight forward and simple. (I like this ale better than the cigar) I like the sweet touch of caramel followed by slightly toasted grains and a hint of grassy hoppiness.  The overall mouthfeel maybe a bit thin but, it is tasty and very easy to drink.   It leaves a soft and pleasing aftertaste on the palate.  This ale should have a good range for food and cigar. 

The Pairing

This is a decent pairing.  As the robust style started to build in the cigar the ale with its fine carbonation helped to keep the palate clean.  The sweet caramel mixed well with the oak and the toasted notes of the cigar.  The earthy notes of the cigar also mingled well with the slight grassy hoppy character of the ale.   The refreshing style of this ale made this an enjoyable pairing. 

A Cigar and Beer Pairing: Olde World Corojo Toro and Luciernaga The Firefly

The Ale
Luciernaga The Firefly

Ale Brewed with Spices
Barrel Aged and Bottle Conditioned
6.5% abv
1pt. 9.4oz bottle
$12.00 a bottle
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Dexter, Michigan, USA
jollypumpkin.com
My Strength Rating: 4.5 While, full of flavors and tart on the tongue the body weight is light on the palate. Making it easy to drink.

Appearance: amber or burnt orange with an off-white colored head and plenty of it.

Aroma: sweet spice and citrus zip; light overall

Flavors: tart almost sour taste greets the palate, grapefruit like bite, good oak, solid citrus rinds swirl around some grainy sweet malts and sweet spice. This Belgian-style Pale Ale sure is tasty. They say that they use coriander and grains or paradise to brew this ale. I don’t think the coriander stands out, which is okay by me.

Mouthfeel: a fine carbonation feel leads to a dry finish. Tart yet sweet, lingering notes on the tongue.

To the Point: some nice complexity on the flavors yet easy to drink.

Goose Island 2010 Bourbon County: Review

Brand Vanilla Stout

Stout Brewed with Vanilla Beans and Aged in Bourbon Barrels

This Stout has the potential to age up to five years, if you can keep your hands off of it. 

The Stout

Goose Island 2010 Bourbon County

13% abv

650 ml bottle

gift from my The Fine Wine and Liquor Store in Canton, Michigan.

Goose Island Beer Co.

Chicago, Illinois, USA

My Strength Rating: 9; heavy weight on the tongue, with complex flavors and a long lingering aftertaste.

Wow, what an aroma.  The bourbon stands out for sure and there is a good chocolate and vanilla on the nose as well.  I feel like I have a bourbon barrel right in my glass.  Not much in the carbonation department.  There is just a little tan fizz that swirls around on the top of the black body.   

Wow, bourbon for sure on the flavor.  This is a sipper from the get go.  The vanilla bean is present with some good chocolate notes and rich toasted caramel notes.  The texture is thick yet smooth. 

On the back of the palate I taste the oak and get some good alcohol spice.  To me it has a boozy feel. 

As I continue this difficult research project here (tasting beer), I notice a good coffee taste.  The toasted notes change from toasted to roasted to charred and back again.  There is some underlying sweet caramel notes mixed in with some nice bitter notes.  But, the bourbon is still there.  As the stout warms up the thick texture moves to a syrupy mouthfeel.

 

Detroit Drawf: Beer Review

6.8% abv
12 oz bottle
Detroit Brewing Co.
Detroit, Michigan, USA
This beer was brewed by Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville, Michigan.

This Altbier has sweet, bready malts on the nose along with a touch of spice. Overall, it is light on the smell.

The flavors remind me of lightly toasted caramel, pecan nutty notes, bready, and a little herbal hoppy presence. There is a nice interplay between the malts and hops.

The mouthfeel has a moderate carbonation level, some lingering hoppy notes on the tongue, and a creamy texture.

I only bought one bottle to give this a try and I am going back for more because I liked this beer.

Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown

4.9% abv
12 oz bottle
$7.50 a six pack
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA
My Strength Rating: 4

This Nut Brown pours an attractive clear copper color with a fine off-white head. It sure is hard to even pour a one finger head with this beer. The aroma is very clean on this brew.

The notes are sweet caramel like with a pecan nutty and woodsy flavor. There are some hops mixed in to add a little bitter note. Unfortunately there is a big watery style. It is this watery profile that makes this an easy beer to drink.

This beer is always a puzzle to me. Sometimes it comes across too sweet and grassy and then other times it just goes down just fine. I have to admit that I buy this beer every winter and enjoy drinking it now and then. But, it is not what I would call a good Nut Brown. If I was into grading beers I would give it a C. But, I still comeback to it for some reason.

See CigarPostings2 for the cigar pairing.

Bacon Cheddar Burger

Bacon Cheddar Burger

Topped with Portabella, Roasted Red Pepper, White Onion, and Colby Cheese

I am starting with a bacon cheddar burger that I bought at Walt’s Meat Market. Before Walt’s closes for the winter I bought 16 burgers from them because their burgers are that good. I also picked up a dozen filet mignons because they are that great.

I poured some basil olive oil over the portabella.

I slice up the roasted red pepper and white onion that will top the portabella on the grill.

I have a slice of Colby cheese for that extra cheesy taste.

Select your favorite malt beverage and you have a great lunch.



Drinking Blue Moon out of the Bottle – Celery Taste?

Ron R. sent me the original question, ‘Why does Blue Moon taste different on tap versus the bottle?’
You can read my response to that question on the December 28th posting.

I did find out that Ron and his wife were drinking the Blue Moon out of the bottle.

Remember, good quality beers should always be drank from a good beer glass. Your beer glass should only be for beer only.



I poured the Blue Moon out of the bottle down to the last couple of ounces.
Here are the last two ounces. See all the sediment.  The liquid looks white.

With bottle conditioned beer and unfiltered beer you will have sediment in the bottle that needs to be stirred up and poured into the glass to enjoy all the flavors and aromas that the beer has to offer. The reason all good beers should be poured into a glass is for the same reason – you want to enjoy all the aromas and flavors from the beer! When you can smell the aromas of a malted beverage the flavors will just follow.



You can see some sediment still in the bottom of the bottle.

Drinking out of a bottle or can you cannot enjoy the aromas. Miller, Bud, Coors, and other such beers can be enjoyed out of a bottle or can. One, these are not going to be called good beers here. Two, they don’t have any aromas to help taste the sugar sweetened yellow water. (Guinness Stout in the bottle or can has the little widget inside to help give you that tap beer taste. This beer you drink out of a can or bottle and do not pour it into a glass.)

Ron R. said, he thought that Blue Moon tasted like celery from the bottle. Time for more research!

Aroma: muted coriander only to me, no orange. Wait! That is a strange smell. I get the celery bottle out of the spice cabinet and give it a smell. Smells like … smell again … Blue Moon! Smell the bottle nothing. Perfect. If it smelled like coriander then the coriander smell would win out. But, when you smell celery (any aroma) then, smell another item with the same smell it will usually cancel out that aroma. I read that on an article about the science of smell. (I think I have the link to that on this blog. Look at the first months postings.)

Then, I tasted the Blue Moon after I cleared the air so to say. It taste like … oh, yes … CELERY!

Ron, go buy a spice bottle of celery and do this same experiment with your wife. Then, she may believe you. How do you like that a wife who doubted her loving husband.