Throwback Thursday: Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on December 12th, 2013. Exactly six years ago today!


German beers brewers are pretty straightforward about the styles of beer that they brew. They tend not to stray far from the true version of a particular style of beer. This one Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager, 5.1% ABV, is true to that statement. The style is known as a winter lager. Winter lagers are slightly more malty and rich than are normal lagers would be. Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager pours an amber color with a three-finger white head that slowly dissipates into nice wispy lacing around the glass. I saw nice amounts of light coming through and nice carbonation bubbles as well. The aroma is a bit sweeter than a regular lager would tend to be, and there is a faint earthy tone as well. You do get a faint biscuit/breaded scent. The taste is a bit malty, but not overly malty and you do get a little sweetness that isn’t there too long, but just long enough to enjoy. The sweetness is reminiscent of light semi-sweet chocolate. The taste is also earthy with a grassy like the taste, but not in the way an IPA would be. It is more of a lager grain type of flavor than an earthy flavor. The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is nice smooth with a touch of malty sweetness. The aftertaste is slightly sweet with hints of earthy, grainy biscuit flavor. This Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager goes well for a winter day like yesterday or today, not such an easy drinker, but close. Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager is good, so it gets an A. German beers are always high up on my list, and even ones that I have not had before. Germans are masters and brewing beer and consistently brew great beer and this one was no exception, it was a good winter beer. So go out and pick up Lammsbräu Organic Winter Spezial Premium Bavarian Lager, and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s news and events happening in the Charlotte, North Carolina area!

  • Wednesday, December 11th. Tap Take Over & Meet the Brewer with Protagonist. Pop the Top Craft Beer Shop. 6 pm-10 pm. Come out and meet one of the newest & tastiest breweries in Charlotte, Protagonist!

    We are doing a tap takeover with these amazing guys and as a special treat, the head brewers will be there to talk about their beers as well as all things craft beer. They will also bring some barley and hops so that we can smell and feel these special ingredients that make beer so tasty.

    Finalized Tap List Below

    > Magyver – NEIPA (5.6% ABV) – Pithy aromas of lemon & lime citrus with a soft texture. Notes of berry from the addition of Mosaic, Azacca, Mandarina Bavaria & Waiti hops with a slightly rounded sweetness leading into a noticeably hoppy bitter finish.

    > Mouth – NEIPA (7.0% ABV) – Dank aromas of tropical fruit and citrus featuring Idaho 7, Citra, Motueka, & Waiti hops. A soft and creamy texture due to the addition of Spelt, with a light bready malt character and some lingering bitterness.

    > Persephone – Pomegranate Stout (5.5% ABV) – Restrained roast, toast & caramel balance a bright impression of fresh pomegranate that adds a ruby hue to the edges and a gentle sweetness.

 

  • Wednesday, December 11th. Fashionably Late: Chai Jacked Can Release. Red Clay Ciderworks. 3 pm-10 pm. We may be late to the party, but we’re bringing the good stuff!

    A limited amount of our popular seasonal Chai Jacked will be available in cans!

    Cans will only be available in our taproom bottle shop!

 

  •  Thursday, December 12th. Buffalo Trace Barrel Aged Up All Night Breakfast Porter Release. Triple C Brewing Company. 4 pm-10 pm. We aged an entire batch of Up All Night in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels for this year’s release! Our 10% Breakfast Porter is back and in 16oz cans for the first time!! Brewed with flaked oats, honey, lactose, chocolate malts, and Magnolia Coffee Company coffee.

    We will be selling single cans and 4 packs. There are 4 Golden Tickets under the caps of 4 random 4 packs to be sold in our taproom. Winners will get one of the Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels we aged the beer in!!

 

  • Thursday, December 12th. White Tea White Ale Release. Catawba Brewing Company. 3 pm-10 pm. It’s tea time here at Catawba! Brewed with 2 pounds of White Tea, 5 pounds of Juniper and 1 pound of Hibiscus, this herbal white ale will put you in the mood for a tea party!

 

  • Friday, December 13th. Monstro 2019 Bottle Release. NoDa Brewing Company. 2 pm-10 pm. *Bottles exclusively at our NE location*

    Neptune said to the sea there should be a terrible Monstro, born from its deepest depths. It should be stout with the strength of a whale. This is that beer… A Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial stout, fortified with molasses and accented with cocoa nibs. 🤤 Enjoy the deep.

    It’s finally that time. 👏🏻 Join us on Friday, December 13th, as we release our VERY limited run of this deliciously deep Russian Imperial Stout. See details below:

    – Doors open at 2 pm.
    – We’re releasing a limited quantity of bottles.
    – There’s no bottle purchase limit.

    500 bottles will be available.

    If you’re interested in tasting variations that are very limited, make sure you head over to OG You Drink We Donate – Safe Alliance, which will feature these Monstro variations:

    – Toasted coconut and vanilla.
    – Hazelnut and double cocoa nibs.
    – Coffee and vanilla.

    While Monstro will be released at both taprooms, this special flight ($15) will ONLY be available at the OG. Snifters of any flavor variation ($7) will also be available at the OG location.

    Thanks to The Jelly Roger, we’ll have a cookie pairing at the OG on 12/14 at 12 pm until sold out. Indulge in perfectly curated cookie flavors, which complement this deep Imperial Stout and our new variations.

    Cost: $2 per cookie
    Cookie flavors:
    – A Bourbon Pecan cookie for a standard variation
    – A Lemon Ginger cookie to go with the Toasted Coconut and Vanilla
    – A Mint Irish Cream cookie to go with the Coffee and Vanilla
    – and a Caramel Apple cookie to go with the Hazelnut Cocoa

 

  • Friday, December 13th. Dunkle Bock Release. Pilot Brewing. 11 am-10 pm. Our GABF 2019 Bronze Medal winner for the Bock Category will be back on tap starting Friday! Enjoy $3 goblets of the award-winning beer all day. 

 

  • Saturday, December 14th. Beer with Santa. Legion Brewing 12 pm-3 pm. Bring the kiddos (and even the big kids) to meet Santa from 12pm – 3pm! There will be a photographer on-site taking photos that will be emailed to you, plus you can take photos with your phone. Photos are free BUT we’re asking for donations to Operation Sidekick, an organization that trains rescued pit bulls as service pets for veterans. So you can decide which list you want to be on – naughty or nice?

 

  • Saturday, December 14th. New Anthem Tap Takeover. Carolina Beer Temple Ayrsley. 12 pm-11:30 pm. One of the Southeast’s hottest breweries is coming to the Temple! Wilmington’s New Anthem Beer Project has been turning out some of the best IPAs, Stouts, Sours, and more, with national acclaim following wherever they go. This is your chance to try some of their best offerings, all in one spot. Don’t miss out.

    TAP LIST:
    Love Gone Bad Imperial Stout
    Velvet Lies IPA
    Throwing Shade IPA
    Little Star Kellerbier

Beer & Chips Pairing: Sun Chips French Onion & New South Brewing Waccamaw Red Ale

Posted on by Evan

Beer & Chips Pairing: Sun Chips French Onion & New South Brewing Waccamaw Red Ale, 5.8% ABV, Sun Chips are a Frito-Lay brand. New South Brewing Red Ale I have previously reviewed and that can be seen here. Sun Chips French Onion are darker yellow color, have a wave shape to them and have tiny flecks of onion. They have a slight onion aroma to the with a light wafting of potato and the flavor is not pronounced with French onion as you would think. There is just enough to know that French Onion is there with some nice but light potato flavor and plenty of crunch to them. The beer counters the French Onion flavor with its bold hoppy flavor. The red ale and this French Onion chips do not pair well with one another. This pairing gets a D-, but the chips are not bad on their own so I give Sun Chips French Onion a B. The flavor of the beer overpower the flavors of these chips and that big beer flavor sticks. Don’t try these together, have a nice amber ale or a German Altbier with Sun Chips French Onion. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

GrowlerWerks UKEG (128 oz)

Posted on by Evan

In Portland Oregon GrowlerWerks has taken the simple idea of a growler and taken it to a new level. A growler is a glass or stone vessel for transporting beer either with a corked, screw or swivel top. A traditional growler is either thirty-two or sixty-four ounces and keeps beer for a day once opened. That’s where the similarities end between a traditional growler and a GrowlerWerks UKEG end. GrowlerWerks UKEG uses a food grade C02 cartridge inside the cap where a pressure regulator is located above it. Once you fill a UKEG with your favorite beer from a growler filling location you turn the knob and set the C02 pressure to the correct psi according to the style of the beer. Different styles have different psi settings. The UKEG has a lockable tap handle with a site measure to see how much delicious beer is inside and a pressure gauge. It’s an awesome product because it keep the beer even fresher longer than a traditional growler would and it’s like having a draft beer. A GrowlerWerks UKEG can keep beer fresh for up to a week. This one I have here is a one hundred twenty-eight ounce UKEG which I filled with Suffolk Punch Raspberry Pool Party, 4.7% ABV is a Belgian style Wit with raspberry’s. UKEGs come in sixty-four and thirty-two ounces as well. Now a good tip for filling any growler is to fill it with a beer that you want have a lot of and one that isn’t in cans or bottles. I highly recommend this GrowlerWerks UKEG to anyone that enjoys beer, you’ll be a popular person at your next social gathering. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Catawba Brewing Company CLT India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

Catawba Brewing Company CLT India Pale Ale, 7.2% ABV is a double dry-hopped IPA brewed in Charlotte North Carolina hence the name CLT which is airport  nomenclature for Charlotte. CLT pours a cloudy orange color with a two-finger white head that fades quickly into the thinnest ring around the glass, giving off a bitter grapefruit l and orange aroma with a pine bitter note. Taste follows the nose with grapefruit and orange bitter flavors that have a piney note to them with a bitter tropical finish and a piney bitter orange aftertaste with a medium mouthfeel. Catawba Brewing Company CLT India Pale Ale starts off in the wrong direction then after a few sips the flavor begins to head in a good direction and becomes a grade B beer, but I don’t think I could drink more than two pints of Catawba Brewing Company CLT India Pale Ale all its flavor would overpower your taste buds but it’s not bad and one that’s worth a try. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Throwback Thursday: New Belgium Brewing Citradelic Tangerine IPA

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on February 11th, 2016.

I am not a fan of New Belgium Brewing IPAs. I don’t like Ranger their original IPA. Well that changed when I had Citradelic Tangerine IPA, 6.0% ABV with an IBU of 50. This IPA is brewed with Citra Hops and Tangerines. Now these two things sound like they go well together in an IPA. Citra Hops give a citrus flavor and well Tangerines are a Citrus fruit, so how can they not go well together.  Citradelic pours a crisp golden color with a bit of an orange twinge to it and a two finger bright white head. The head quickly fades to about one finger then slowly fades into nice ropey lacing that is on the thinner side. The aroma is tropical with citrus fruit like tangerines, oranges and some faint grapefruits. There is a little bit of a subtly earthy aroma as well. This   is one good smelling tropical IPA. The taste is juicy with nice Citra note up front with some real nice tangerine flavor kicking in in the middle of the mouth that really build up a great tropical taste. The mouth feel is on the lighter side with a nice half sweet finish of earthy pine tangerine. The after taste is a bit hop with tangerines and faint subtle grapefruit notes. This beer surprised me with how good it was. I was going in to this IPA thinking it was going to be okay/average, and be a little to hoppy and have a little bitter fruit. Well it was not! I give this an A-. Citradelic was all about one hop and one added ingredient, which wasn’t bad. I enjoy it, but I really prefer a more round flavorful IPA. Not to say that Citradelic wasn’t flavorful. New Belgium nailed the tropical tangerine flavors on this IPA! This is a great IPA a great for warmer weather IPA or anytime of the year. This IPA is tropical and sweet with out being to sweet. It is also easy to drink and refreshing. I highly recommend New Belgium Brewing Citradelic Tangerine IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

here are this week’s news and events happening in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

  • Thursday, December 5th, Flat Brim Hazy IPA Release. Triple C Brewing Company.  4 pm-10 pm. Flat Brim IPA is back and brewed with ridiculous amounts of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. 5.2% ABV

 

  • Friday, December 6th. Yule Bock Release. The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. 11 am-11 pm. Come and celebrate the start of OMB’s Christmas Market on December 6th with the release of YULE BOCK!

    Yule Bock usually sells out before the end of Weihnachtsmarkt, so drink it while you can! This holiday delight is an authentic “Weihnachtsbock” (Christmas Bock). Premium European barley malts and noble hops give this bock lager its rich crimson color and smooth malty character. If you’re looking to add some happy to your holidays, have a Yule Bock!

    Like all OMB beers, Yule Bock is all-natural — brewed in strict accordance with the famous German beer purity law of 1516: the “Reinheitsgebot.” In line with Reinheitsgebot, it was brewed using natural carbonation from the pure CO2 produced by the yeast during fermentation. We pull our brews from our lager tanks weekly, so you know it’s fresh. And, it was kept cold from production to delivery to you, because all beer should be kept cold to maximize freshness. We hope you enjoy this pure, fresh, cold beer.

    See our other event pages for more details on Santa & Weihnachtsmarkt. Under 21 is welcome at OMB. Pets are welcome outside in our Biergarten. Thanks & Prost!

 

  • Friday, December 6th. Premium Roast Breakfast Stout Release. NoDa Brewing Co. One of your favorite winter seasonals is back! 🍻☕️ Rise and shine for a pint of our Breakfast Stout, a perfectly rich and roasty brew, thanks to our custom Ethiopian and Colombian coffee bean blend provided by Nightflyer Roastworks. This Stout, sitting at 5.5% ABV, is rich and full of flavor but not overly heavy, or high in alcohol. 👌🏻

    While you’re here sipping on this delicious brew, stick around for food from TIN Kitchen and live music in the taproom! Premium Roast Breakfast Stout Release featuring syrups and infusions. 3 pm-10 pm. OG NoDa Brewing Co. One of your favorite winter seasonals is back! 🍻☕️ Enjoy a pint of our Breakfast Stout, a perfectly rich and roasty brew, thanks to our custom Ethiopian and Colombian coffee bean blend provided by Nightflyer Roastworks. This Stout, sitting at 5.5% ABV, is rich and full of flavor. 👌🏻

    Enjoy it as is, or with coffee syrups to take things up a notch. We’ll have amaretto, hazelnut, caramel, Irish cream, and vanilla syrups available to be paired with our Premium Roast Breakfast Stout, or with any other brew on tap. 🍺

    Last, but not least, If you want to see how our other brews on tap would taste with a coffee twist, try out our coffee infused options where we use a french press to steep coffee beans on one of our non-coffee infused IPAs. ☕️

 

  • Saturday. December 7th. Birdsong 8 Year Anniversary. Birdsong Brewing Co. 11 am-10 pm. Limited Beer Glass and four Beer Tokens $15.00 on Facebook or eventbrite.com. We’re turning 8 (WOW) and we hope you’ll save the date to celebrate with us! We expect no shortage of awesome people, good vibes, and DELICIOUS beer! Mark yourself as interested or going to this event and you’ll get all of the updates on beer releases, food trucks, music, and other fun stuff!

    We are so excited to announce that we are switching things up this year and will be offering 5oz pours so you can try ALL of the awesome beers we’ll have at our anniversary party!

    SCHEDULE:
    MUSIC
    1p: The Robertson Boys
    4p: The Shana Blake Band
    7p: Sinners and Saints
    3-5p: Ira the 3rd (production space)

    MARKET VENDORS:— 2-6p
    Shelves Bookstore Pop up
    The Tinsel Crown
    Moxie Mercantile
    Jim Hanley Stoneware
    Lumen CLT

    FOOD:
    11:30a-4:30p: My Sausage Buddy & Sun Burger Vegan
    2-7p: Queen City Pretzels and Pierogies!
    4:30p-9:30p: Chimi Spot and Bleu Barn Bistro

    Also NEW this year, you will be able to pre-purchase a package with the anniversary glass + 4 beer tokens online so you can skip the line and come right on in! Of course, you can always purchase more tokens at the event and we WILL be honoring tokens here at the taproom for future purchases beyond the anniversary. We can’t wait to celebrate with you all! Here’s the breakdown:
    $15 Pre-Sale Token Package = Limited edition anniversary glass + 4 beer tokens. (you can wait and purchase tokens and/or glass at the door in any quantity you desire)

    Token Breakdown:
    ONE TOKEN = 5oz POUR
    TWO TOKENS = FULL POUR (16oz standard pint size OR 12oz high gravity and barrel-aged brews)

    **Must be 21 with valid ID to purchase/ pickup beer tokens. You do not need to pre-purchase anything to attend the event. Tokens and the anniversary glass will be available for sale at the door.

    IN CASE YOU DIDN’T NOTICE, WE ARE BRINGING BACK HAZY SEXY COOL IPA!

    The Barrel-Aged List has been finalized:
    2018 Turtles on Pterodactyls stout
    Four Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged

    2018 Rich Girl Imperial Oatmeal Raisin Porter
    Muddy River Rum Barrel Aged

    2018 Prehistoric Dog Stout
    Bookers Bourbon Barrel Aged

    2018 Let’s Stay Together barleywine
    buffalo trace bourbon barrel-aged

    Dirty Bird imperial lazy bird brown ale
    4 yr Muddy River Rum Barrel Aged

    Vein Melter sour w/ black currants
    Tequila Barrel Aged (contains lactose)

    Besamé Mucho Gose w/ lime and tangerine zest
    Tequila Barrel Aged

    Too Many Puppies gran cru fermented w/ cherries
    Brandy Barrel-aged

    Skipping Rocks white double IPA
    16 yr George Dickel Whiskey Barrel Aged  

 

  • Saturday, December 7th. Beach Shack Coffe Blonde Ale Release! Sycamore Brewing. 12 pm-11 pm. Crafted with a variety of the finest, hand-selected coffee microlots and vanilla beans, chosen by our own coffee roastery – Beach Shack.

 

  • Sunday, December 8th. Keg Tapping! 1st Ward Beverage Company. 12 pm-10 pm. Come join us for Sunday Funday and enjoy Cold Mountain on tap from Highland Brewing Company

Kona Brewing Co. Hanalei Island IPA

Posted on by Evan

Kona Brewing Co. Hanalei Island IPA, 4.5% ABV with 40 IBUs is brewed in Kona Hawaii with Pale, 2 Row Premium, Carmel-120 malts, Azacca, Galaxy hops, Tropical Passionfruit, Orange, and Guava. Hanalei Island IPA pours a clear golden color with a one and a half finger white head that give tropical fruit aromas of passionfruit, guava, and some light orange. Taste of Hanalei Island IPA is a little similar to its nose with tropical fruits, guava, passionfruit and a little faint orange with a slight bitter hoppy note come through on the back of the tongue that does carry into the finish where the tropical fruit flavors fade into a light hoppy aftertaste with a light mouthfeel. Kona Brewing Co. Hanalei Island IPA is more tropical fruit than traditional IPA. I think that Kona Brewing Co. Hanalei Island IPA is an A-, the hoppy notes only chime in towards the back of the mouth and in the finish and aftertaste with drops it just slightly, and with that said this IPA is one beer I’d recommend trying. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Crafted Cocktail: Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer, Dark & Stormy

Posted on by Evan

Here is something a little different from the usual. Thank you to the The Baddish Group for sending me some Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer and for sparking the idea for this post. One of my favorite types of liquor is rum especially dark rum so here I crafted a Dark & Stormy, 3 1/3 oz ginger beer (Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer), 2 oz dark rum (Pusser’s Rum), and 1/2 oz lime juice (Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice). Fill a highball glass with ice, add dark rum atop ginger beer then add lime juice, mix thoroughly and garnish with a lime wedge. Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer has a 4.8% ABV whereas most ginger beers used to not. The Dark & Stormy is a is light sort of brown copper color with a big aroma of ginger and little notes of the lime and dark rum. It has a pronounced ginger flavor with a nice following of light lime dark rum right behind all the ginger beer with an alcoholic ginger finish and similar aftertaste with a light lime coming through with a halfway medium mouthfeel. This is not as boozy as it would seem but it’s a little boozier than a standard Dark & Stormy due to the Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Overall this was a nice taste Dark & Stormy cocktails, gets a B+. Yes sure there will always be something better out there but right now this Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer, Dark & Stormy is really good. Please enjoy responsibly. Cheers!

Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Posted on by Evan

Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer, 4.8% imported from Edinburgh, Scotland is not something I usually review but I do like ginger so let’s give it a review. Thanks to The Baddish Group for sending this to me. Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer is brewed with real Far East ginger that has been steeped for up to six weeks and with exotic spices. Crabbie’s pours (over ice) a bronze, semi-gold color with really not head and gives off a sharp and strong spicy ginger sweet aroma. The taste is a slightly more amplified version of the aroma, of strong spicy ginger with a nice cool sweetness that finishes with a nice mellow ginger sweet and spicy note with a sweet and slightly spicy ginger aftertaste with a lighter mouthfeel. Overall I found Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer to be a little on the strong side with its ginger flavor but I think that it’s a B+. Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer is a refreshing drink for any time and would be a nice addition to any cocktail. Please enjoy responsibly! Cheers!