SkullSplitter Orkney Ale

Holy cow, the name’s no mistake – with one of my Viking forbears on the label and packing an 8.5%ABV punch this dark-brown ale is not for the fainthearted. It is, apparently, named after Thorfinn Hausakluif, the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney – who lived and ruled around 950 AD and went by the same charming name as this little bottle of beer. Beats Bluetooth, I suppose.

If he drank this all the time I’m not surprised he was a bloodthirsty brute, because he’d probably have had the world’s worst hangover. Like his Nordic horde, this brew comes across the sea, probably in a longboat, all the way to America where the fine people at Legends ship it out to sentimental Brits like me, suckers for a taste of our homeland…

 

Anyway. Do I like it? It tastes pretty good at first, but halfway down the glass the sweetness and the overly-heavy alcohol presence started to put me off. So I rested for a while, and thought. This was a beer I really wanted to like, and I wasn’t doing it justice.

So, I pulled a leather armchair up by the log fire, slipped into a tweed suit, found my Calabash, and polished off the rest – and that made it go down a treat. Good wintery times in a glass. Enjoy.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Brewery Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Saison

Started tonight with a couple of margaritas after a long week of work… the perfect compliment to the beer-with-dinner we experienced last night:

Since I didn’t really feel like chasing margaritas with ordinary beer, I stopped at PCC on the way home, just outside of Redmond, and picked up about 5 different brews.  I have heard a lot about Brewery Ommegang in my perusing of the net and Draft Magazine, but never had a chance to pick it up.  Well, it was on sale for $7.50 so I thought what the hell.

The first thing I noticed was the outstanding pop the cork made as I pulled it easily out of the top of the bottle.  I could tell there were some good contents under pressure there and that this beer was ready to be enjoyed.  From there, the mist that seeped out of the bottle caught the attention of me and my daughter and as I began to pour, its heavier-than-air characteristics poured into the glass just before the golden ale.  I poured a full glass with a 1/4 head and breathed in the wonderful aroma of the beer.

Ah… the anticipation to the first drink… whoa!  Not exactly what I was expecting… super-strong for my unsophisticated taste buds, this beer really has a kick.  I mean, I knew it did based on the alcohol content, but I didn’t expect it.  I wonder how much of that was due to the sweet margaritas from earlier… anyhow, it took me a glass and a half to really get the hang of this beer but now I am starting to understand why it gets some of the high praises I have seen. 

Brewery Ommegang’s Hennepin Farmhouse Saisonis a very complex beer that can’t be taken lightly.  This isn’t the type of drink that you head into the cul-de-sac with or that you keep by your side while you tend to the BBQ.  This beer needs to be enjoyed and appreciated or the complexity is easily lost in what might appear to be a standard ale.  As I read more about the saison style, I can see how Hennepin is the embodiment of it. 

Overall a good beer.  It would have to be somewhat of a special occasion to buy this again, but I would do it.  Maybe next time with some fine cheese and crackers…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

   

Note to self: This is beer review #85. 

Pilsner Urquell

Last beer of the night… don’t worry, this was over a 4 hour period, so I was fine when we were done… at least according to Intoximeters Incorporated and their Drink Wheel.  Actually a pretty darn cool site if you ever wanted to test out your limits.

So, Pilsner Urquell… another sprise that it has taken this long to get on the blog since this is one of my all time favorite beers.  The folks at Plzensky Prazdroj bring us this fine libation for year round enjoyment.  The Pilsner Urquell web site, is actually pretty damn cool and provides a fine amount of information on the history of the beer.  I also found out that the head is supposed to be precisely 35mm high… get out your ruler.

As far as flavor goes, Pilsner Urquell lives up to its reputation of being *the* benchmark for other pilsners the world over.  It has a wonderfully light yet full, strong flavor that sits just perfect in your mouth and on your tongue.  It is a as easy to drink as it is to look at and smell, showing off a beautiful golden color… like a field of mature wheat in the afternoon sun. 

There isn’t any other way around it… this is hall of fame material. 

JBB6 Rating: JustBeer Blog Hall of Fame

Just a side note… that is StRoss in the background looking all serious… if he was much of a beer drinker, he would like this beer… I promise.

Dos Equis Ambar

Second beer of the night.  Dos Equis Ambar with a lime slice for good measure.  Dos Equis comes to us from Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery in Mexico.  Enter your age on the first page and if you are old enough, you can see a spanish version of their site.  At least you can see all of the brands they are responsible for…

First a word of advice… when going directly to the Dos Equis site, make sure you only put one ‘x’ in the URL for http://dosxx.com.  If you put three ‘x’s in there, you might be in for a bit of a surprise… not that I would know or anything.  Also, it is worth checking out their international site here, as it is much, much cooler than the US one. Anyhow…

This was another Middle of the Road tonight.  Good but not great, easily forgettable.  In fact, merely 4 hours later and I still don’t quite remember much about this beer.  From what I do remember, it was a bit heavier than I expected but the heaviness did not net much in the taste department… so it leaves me with a kind of ‘eah’ feeling.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

BridgePort Blue Heron Pale Ale

It has been a long week.  We have been working 12 hour days in an effort to address some business that needs to be taken care of and there just hasn’t been a lot of down time.  I basically work, come home and spend some limited time with the family, drink a beer and blog about it, then go to bed.  

So, I don’t feel bad in saying tonight was a good break from Diet Dr. Pepper with some tasty brews to go along with dinner.  The first of the night just happened to be BridgePort Blue Heron Pale Ale.  No glass to pour into, so you get the staight-out-of-the-bottle review. 

Overall, this Pale Ale gets a similar review to the one I provided of their BridgePort Beer Town Brown.  While it had flavor, the flavor just wasn’t anything spectacular.  It was super average with no distinguishing flavor and with random and undecidable undertones and aftertaste that just leave you feeling a bit like you have dry mouth. 

The best thing BridgePort has going for it so far is their labels are pretty kick-ass.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Another day older, another day wiser, and hurray! Another bottle of doppelbock to knock back. Like this one – dark chocolate liquid swirls nicely into the glass, producing a hefty but short-lived malty head and a comfortingly sweet aroma that reminds me (in nothing but a good way) of homebrew.

Must have been doing something right, back in the day when I made my own, for this is good stuff. As I’m sipping this one, there’s little hints of malt, and nuts, and a rich complex brown-ness that reminds you Germans really do know how to make kick-ass beer.

 

Also, I really really like the goats on the label.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Duvel

Ah, those crazy, clever Belgians – masters of chocolate, comics and world-famous beer, I’ve been an admirer of their renowned cultural heritage for years. Funnily enough, probably for about as long as I’ve been a fan of Duvel, a brew I haven’t managed to sample in quite some time.

Luckily I hadn’t forgotten how to pour myself a drop of this fine ale, for you should be forewarned that it produces the mightiest, foamiest, longest-lived head you’re likely to encounter this side of Amsterdam*, a head that can take you quite unawares. If you’ve got the wrong kind of glass and don’t have a gentle wrist, there will be trouble – so take a look at the pouring guide before you take the plunge, and maybe leave that last little bit with the yeast in it in the bottle.

You’re also best off with a special glass – like this one you can buy online.

 

Now that might seem like a bit too much hassle, but with the right container and with the pour mastered, you’re in for something of a treat. Awaiting your attention is a beautiful golden straw-coloured beer, with a meringue-like topping of tasty foam. Super-high carbonation keeps things looking really interesting, and helps overcome what could otherwise be a pretty heavy pint. Beneath the head lies a dry, hoppy and slightly yeasty ale that’s both refreshing and potent.

Now almost certainly, you won’t want to tip back pints of this, but paired with some bread and cheese you’d probably manage to polish off a bottle or three at lunchtime and feel very happy afterwards. Or at least, I would – it’s got reasonable legs at 8.5%ABV, and I can see myself laying down a few bottles in my cellar for a special occasion in the future. As it’s triple-fermented (twice at the brewery, once in the bottle) it’s only going to improve with a bit of aging, apparently… so if I can keep my hands off it for a while, who knows what’ll happen.  

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

*Dutch beer being well-known for it’s long-lived heads. Honestly.

Bitburger Premium Beer

Bitburger Premium Beer (click Ja if you are old enough then the EN is in the upper left portion of the page), comes to us from the lovely country of Germany where we have seen some pretty decent beers on this blog.  In fact, we haven’t rated lower than Will Buy Again for any of the three we have tasted… I would say Germany is doing well for themselves as far as this blog is concerned.

Bitburger has a very light look and taste but at 4.8% ABV, it isn’t too much of a slouch in the alcohol department.  It has a fullness flavor that I often miss in beer of its kind in the states, so it was a pleasant surprise after a long 12 hour day. 

I am especially fond of their Trading Units Page… an impressive array of options for purchasing, consuming, and storing Bitburger beer.  The next time I am in Germany, I will have to have some straight from the tap.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Weihenstephaner Vitus

Weihenstephaner Vitus is supposedly from the world’s oldest brewery and I have to say that I believe them… I did a quick search and about the only other old brewery I could find was Weltenburger… they show 10 years later, though, and only claim to be the world’s oldest monastary brewery… pretty damn close, but no cigar.  The Weihenstephan website has some pretty interesting information about the orign of beer, the history of the brewery, etc.  Good stuff for any beer nut to enjoy and would be a great trivia hot spot.

Now, on to the review… I basically don’t know what to say.  It is a strong weizenbock beer at 7.7% ABV.  It has a cloudy light golden color to it with about a 1/2 inch head on a good poor.  It tastes a bit fruity toward a hefe, but also has the bitterness and tart aftertaste of an IPA.  Overall, it is definitely an aquired taste that I haven’t quite aquired yet.

JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout (from Wells and Young’s Brewing Company in the UK) is a copycat and I don’t like it… ok… so it isn’t that big of a deal.  But really, they may call it “chocolate stout” but it tastes just like Murphy’s Stout or Guinness (not exactly this one, but the one with nitro).  I really couldn’t taste the flavor.  Now, no one has ever accused me of having a perfect palete or anything, but still… if it says chocolate on the label, I expect to taste chocolate.  Just like I had expected to taste honey in MacTarnahan’s Oregon Honey Beer.  I really hate being dissappointed.

Overall, if you put this next to Murphy’s or Guinness, you probably couldn’t tell the difference just by looking at them.  You probably could tell the difference in taste as I think Young’s is just ever so slightly ‘off’, but still not too bad.  Overall, pretty much par for the course.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road