De Proef Brewerij Saison Imperiale Review: Someone go to Europe and tell the Belgians that they have lost their minds.

Saison Imperiale

De Proef Brewerij, Lochristi, Belgium

http://www.proefbrouwerij.com/

De Proef Brewerij's Saisson Imperiale

If you woke me from sleep and demanded to know what "farmhouse ale" meant (because you didn't bother to Google first) I'd say something like "an unfiltered, sour, bottle-conditioned wheat beer.  You know like a scrumpy cider or a country wine.  Now let me go back to sleep damn it!"  According to Saison Imperiale's label, I'm way off.  It actually means, according to De Proefu Brewerij, that the beer makers blend Sacchromyces and Brettanomyces yeasts to produce "mild earthiness" and "farmhouse."  From a marketing standpoint, "earthy" implies "pastoral" which means "smells like shit." Thankfully, this beer didn't.  The high alcohol and sour and sweet malt combine to form an altogether pleasant tasting saison.  I'd have it with meal next time just to keep from getting burned out on malty after taste, but I'd definitely have it again.  

 

                                                                            -Jesse 

When I first poured De Proef's Saison Imperiale I was ready to attack. A saison? Look at the color! 8.5% ABV? Any farmer who drank one of these for lunch who lose a leg to his scythe! Then, I tasted it. This does not taste like a saison! If you drink hoping for a traditional saison experience, you are going to have to swallow disappointment. Everything about this beer, except the aroma perhaps, screamed "I am not a saison!" The Imperiale looked like no saison I have ever seen. Instead, it featured a thick tan head with nice lacing and amber coloring. The aroma fit the saison mold -- slightly fruity with a hint of dirt. The beer managed to be both sweet and sour on the tongue like a bipolar candy with lots of caramel maltiness. There was no bitterness until the aftertaste. Despite all my vitriole, this was an interesting concoction. Overall I enjoyed this beer, and you will too.

-Ryan

Style: Saison/Imperial
ABV: 8.5%
Availability: Specialty stores nationwide

Other beers that may interest you:

Odanata Beer Company's Saison

Sam Adams' Rustic Saison

Sam Adams' Summer Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale Review: Chrsitmas in June

Yesterday Santa visited in the form of a single Celebration Ale left over from Christmas. I'll skip the long review since you won't be able to purchase the beer until the late fall, but I love this beer. I could drink it all year long. The closest beer Sierra Nevada offers year round is the Torpedo. Torpedo is just as freshly hopped but not quite as spicy. I love both!

Harp Premium Lager Review: The Irish Attempt a Half-Decent Lager. Get it Half Right.

"From the Makers of Guinness." The marketing message is clear: "Guinness is pretty good, and we made Guinness so Harp Premium Lager must also be good." I remain skeptical. I know saying that Guinness is not my favorite stout is a bit like saying Jesus isn't my favorite first-century Jewish spiritual leader, but I just don't love the dark ale from Dublin.

Harp's new green, more Irishy-looking bottle

Appearance wise, Harp Premium Lager is exactly what it should be. It poured with a classic lager gold, very clear. It left a fleeting head. There wasn't much to the aroma, however, no malt or hops. I could have been sniffing an empty glass mistakenly.

On to the taste. "Genuine Irish Recipe." What does that mean? It means that a bunch of people not known for making a lager got together and made up their own recipe. You know, because the German and Czech's muck it up so badly. This beer tasted crisp and clean; it was surprisingly good actually. I'd like a bit more flavor, but what was there wasn't bad. There was a hint of corn maybe, but not much else. Very crisp, very clean. The mouth feel was a bit thin but acceptable. The aftertaste was clean, a hint bitter, and refreshing.

The best, most accurate praise I can give Harp Premium Lager is that it tastes like an American lager should, if only American beer drinkers weren't so lazy and unadventurous. The Irish can make a decent lager. What other stereotypes about the Irish aren't true either?

-Ryan

Style: Lager
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Nationwide

Franziskaner Weissbier Review: An Old Standard in Wheat Beering

It is officially unofficially summer, which means two things: I hate the Miami Heat and the calendar says it is time to drink wheat beer.

Franziskaner Weissbier - Classic German Wheat

Franziskaner Weissbier is an old wheat beer standby. Dating back to 1397, it might be even older than wheat itself, though someone should double check that on Wikipedia. Franziskaner, now owned by Anheuser-Busch/InBev, makes two versions of their wheat beer: this one, called Hefe-Weisse Hell, and a darker version called Hefe-Weisse Dunkel. Those are their words not mine, although something may be lost in translation. The bottle of the label says "Naturtrüb," which is German for "clumpy nastiness in bottom." For God's sake, swirl before you pour!

Once I poured the Franziskaner into a glass, the profusion of bubbles immediately struck me. A clean, white head erupted at the top of the golden-orange beer and lingered nicely. The aroma of the Franziskaner was fairly standard wheat beer with a hint of citrus and yeast. The yeast came through strongly on the tongue too, along with citrus, and fair amount of sour. The Weissbier had a good mouth feel for a wheat beer.

Franziskaner is an old standard among wheat beers. Though there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it, at least after it makes the long journey from Bavaria to the local Trader Joe's. If nothing else, I recommend it as an alternative to Blue Moon or Pyramid.

-Ryan

Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Nationwide

Other beers that may interest you:

Odanata Beer Company's Saison

De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale

Sam Adams' Summer Ale

Sam Adams' Rustic Saison

Apologies

Dear Reader,

I apologize. I am a miserable human being. For an entire month, I have made no new posts. Before you draw and quarter me, please know that I was drinking beer. I just didn't have time to write about it. I promise to make it up to you with a barrage of new posts in the coming days.

Check back in the next few days to read about my experience with Lazy Dog Cafe's  house brews, Karl Strauss' Full Suit, New Belgium's 2 Degrees Below Zero, Sam Adams' Revolutionary Ale, and many more.

Sam Adams Rustic Saison Review: Enjoying a Good Saison at an Urban Hipster Oasis

Confronted with a mammoth beer list last night at Haven Gastropub in Orange, CA, my eyes fell upon a familiar name: Sam Adams. The words that followed though were a surprise. Rustic Saison? Saison's are Belgian wheat beers that typically have fruity and sour characteristics. They enjoyed a long, proud history refreshing farm workers in the fields of southern Belgium and have begun a Renaissance here in the US thanks to their more complex character than the standard wheat beers typically available. I have recently grown very fond of saisons as I attempt to drag myself away from the IPA well.

Haven, the aforementioned pub, is a bit of an aberration in Orange County, full of urban hipsters, gypsies, and even the occasional Furry mixing with the Chapman University clientele. The food at Haven was quite good. The flat bread Margherita Pizza was fantastic, and no one complained about the lamb burgers. My wife had mac n' cheese, because that's how she rolls. Since it had cheese, I guarantee that she loved it. The most impressive thing though about Haven was the beer list, which bursts at the seems with hugely expensive, limited edition brews. I am poor; so after admiring the list, I set it aside and asked for the Rustic Saison Sammy.

The waitress served the beer to me in one of the fancy Belgian strong ale glasses, which seems to be license to charge as much for one small pour as 7 Eleven normally charges for an entire six pack, but I digress. The color looked golden and hazy, as one should expect from a saison. The beer tickled my nose with citrus and delighted my tongue with pepper, spices, and just a hint of sourness. Though not the absolute best saison I've ever drunk, I'd have no trouble recommending this saison to any Blue Moon drinker looking to expand his horizons.

-Ryan

Style: Wheat Ale/Saison
ABV: 4.35%
Availability: Nationwide. Look for it in the Summer Styles Variety Pack

Other beers that may interest you:
Sam Adams' Rustic Saison
De Proef Brewerij's Saison Imperiale
Odanata Beer Company's Saison Ale

Ridiculous Beer Marketing: Miller Lite - "Triple Hops Brewed?"

Here is one of Miller's ridiculous commercials. I won't get into the nerdy reasons why, but brewers almost invariably add hops three times to the brew kettle. To claim that adding hops three times makes Miller unique is akin to my claiming that breathing oxygen makes me a unique human. Such a claim is patently absurd. Great job Miller. Keep up the good work.

-Ryan

Eel River Acai Berry Wheat Review: What the hell is Acai berry and why is it in my beer?

Eel River's Acai Wheat

I admit it; I'm being hypocritical, but Eel River nearly lost me before I even tried this beer. I hate fruit in my beer. To me, beer and fruit go together like Israelis and Palestinians. Eel River did not just go local farmers' market for this particular fruit either. The brewery went all the way to the Amazon for this nearly unpronounceable flavor adjunct. I don't mean to complain, but I suspect that Eel River chose Acai berry not for its flavor characteristics, but for its marketing potential to hipsters.

The beer itself poured golden and cloudy, with no hint of pink food coloring. The berry aroma hit my nose immediately, which was a bit of a surprise considering the lack of berry color. The taste was tart, not sweet, and filled with berry. The beer finished with a strong wheat presence.

The overall effect of the Acai berry and wheat partnership was refreshment. Despite the organic hippy nonsense on the label, I like this beer.

-Ryan

Style: Wheat Ale/Fruit Beer
ABV: 4.0%
Availability: Specialty stores nationwide

Great Divide Hibernation Ale Review: Can Ryan Find Anything in this Beer to Complain About?

Hibernation Ale: Is year round
too much to ask?

Great Divide Brewing Company has produced an outstanding strong English-style ale with Hibernation. This beer is truly difficult to complain about, but I'll try. The beer pours a dark brown with a light tan head, which dissipated cleanly. The aroma was a nice balance of maltiness and hops, quite pleasant. Failing to disappoint, the Hibernation also balanced well on the tongue, but with a bit of a bitter, hoppy punch. I found something to complain about! Supposedly, Great Divide dry hops this beer, but I didn't detect the usual strong hop aromas that come from dry hopping. Another thing that I don't like: Hibernation is a winter seasonal. Do not buy this beer if you value strong dry-hopped aromas or if you like good ale!


-Ryan

Style: English Brown Ale
ABV: 8.7%
Availability: Nationwide with a few exceptions, such as Utah, which hates beer and America

Wisdom from the Beer Snarks

Miller Lite cannot claim to be "triple hops brewed" until we can taste hops.