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    Unplugged Smoked Rye Ale

    May 10, 2011
    / Beer Review /
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    Name – Unplugged Smoked Rye Ale
    Country – United States
    Type – Smoked Beer

    Trading beer is fun.  Now I don’t take it nearly as seriously as some of my friends that are constantly bringing in and sending out new things each week.  But I mostly just work off of Twitter where people I follow ask me about things I have.

    The beer I have today was part of a recent trade where I sent some Cigar City stuff for a bunch of Wisconsin favorites.  This is part of New Glarus’ Unplugged Series.  This is the Smoked Rye Ale.  I love me rye and I like  me smoke.

    I decided to bust out a glass I haven’t used in awhile for this one.  It’s a Bavarian style pils glass.  It pours a really clear copper color, a lot like a penny.  There is a small white head but it is gone pretty fast.

    Big time smoke on the nose.  Nice bacon like aroma in there with some hints of wood, caramel and a very small bit of rye.

    Lots of peat smoke and wood in the taste.  There is some malt backing to it that sweetens things up a bit.  This beer, for being as smoky as it is, is incredibly smooth.

    So did I enjoy this beer?  You bet I did.  But are there any problems?  Yes there is.  There are not more of it for me to enjoy.  Awesome beer that would make for great drinking this summer while BBQing outside.

    For those of you that can get New Glarus (only those in Wisconsin) you are lucky folks.  You probably already know about this gem of brewery.  But if you didn’t you better get to know them.

    Apologies for the images.  The batteries on my camera died without any backups.  So I had to resort to the worst camera phone in the world.

    Oh and one last note: Dave from the Drunken Polack, don’t think I haven’t forgotten about you.  I have picked up some CCB bottles specifically for you.  I’ll hit you up with an email soon.

    Grade – A

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    Marron Acidifie

    May 5, 2011
    / Beer Review /
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    Name – Marrón Acidifié
    Country – United States
    Type – Flanders Oud Bruin

    Super group is term used to refer to a band that is made up of musicians that are primarily known for their work in other bands.  Acts like Cream, Temple of the Dog, Fantomas and Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains are some that come to my mind.  But can breweries form super groups too when they do collaboration brews?

    The collaborative effort that brought Isabelle Proximus to the not so masses was a super group if there ever was one (Lost Abbey, Dogfish Head, Avery, Russian River and Allagash).  But this collaboration between Cigar City and the Bruery is very intriguing to me.

    Both breweries have been around for relatively the same amount of time.  Both are making unique twists on traditional recipes.  Both are taking the craft brewing world by storm.  And most importantly, they are both a couple of my favorite brewers right now.

    Marron Acidifie fells like a life time in the making.  A beer that was brainstormed and brewed in late 2009 has finally seen the shelves here in early 2011.  This sour ale sat for a long time to make sure it was what these two brewers wanted.  Now after all this wait I finally have one and will finally get to taste it right here on the site.

    I chose my Bruery tulip for this job since the beer was actually brewed at their facility.  When the other half of the collaboration that was brewed at CCB comes out I will drink that in my CCB snifter.  It a slightly hazy brownish red color.  I was actually surprised by the amount of clarity in here.  The small white head is gone very quickly.

    The nose is quite sour.  Strong vinegar scents along with a strong scent of brown mustard.  I’m honestly a little scared because the last time I had a sour that smelt like that I sank it.  But I get some dark acidic fruit like cherries in there too.

    Oh thank goodness that I don’t get the mustard in the taste.  There is definitely more vinegar taste in there but lots of tart fruit flavors as well.  A slight barnhouse like funk in there too.

    All in all?  It’s a good sour.  Not great to me but good.  I honestly enjoyed Cigar City’s collaborative sour with Saint Somewhere, Vuja De, a bit more.  But I still have another bottle and I am going to sit on it for a couple years to see what it turns into.

    I still love these two breweries no matter what.  I look forward to their next collaborative effort together.

    And I must say that Cigar City is becoming the Mike Patton of the brewing world.  They are working with so many other brewers.  It is really cool to me.

    Grade – B

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