Talk to me, Goose

T

Thor

Thor Iverson
Brewdog bashah Black Belgian Style Double IPA (Scotland) No. Too much. No. (7/10)

Fentimans Curiosity Cola (England) Yes, this is a soda note. But I think it belongs here anyway. A bitter slosh of herbs and amaro-like anti-sugar complexities, with just barely enough sugar to compensate, though this is decidedly on the not-sweet side of sodas. I completely love it. (6/10)

White Birch Belgian Style Pale Ale (New Hampshire) Fairly enticing. Ive realized, after extensive sampling (perhaps too-extensive), that most domestic Belgian knockoffs dont really do it for me, outside the spiced white ale genre. The reason is that they mostly stop at heaviness and sweet alcoholism without the complexity or inner life. Here, thankfully, theres more: spice, swirl, and light within. Perhaps even a woodsy note? Tasty. (6/10)

Manchester Brewing Kombat Ale (New Hampshire) Why must we fight? Straightforward and good-quality beer. Done. Next? (6/10)

Dogfish Head Saison du Buff (California) Oh, those wacky Dogfish folk. I find that they either hit a grand slam out of the park or go down swinging, and this is one of the latter at-bats. A furious attempt to achieve the pinnacle of nothing very interesting. (7/10)

Goose Island 2010 Matilda Belgian Style Ale (Illinois) Im immediately moved to hate the labels, which scream pretension and artifice, but this beer is good. Very good. The weight of the ale is expressed in a lower-gravity environment, lending it buoyancy and air, and theres a singing flavor development full of bronze and spice. I like it, a lot. (7/10)

Goose Island 2010 Pere Jacques Belgian Style Ale (Illinois) No, theres no accent on the label. Fairly intense but balanced, though theres not quite the development of flavor Id expect from the structure. Only sorta good. (7/10)

Goose Island 2009 Sofie Belgian Style Ale (Illinois) In the mode of a Belgian white, with perhaps just a little more weight than is good for it, but an otherwise firm, confident style. Just enough flavoring, just enough beer, just enough spice-fuzz texture. (7/10)

North Country Orchard Crooked Tree Cider (New Hampshire) Pretty basic. This tastes more like apple juice with the slight warmth of cider than it does an actual fermented cider. Very pleasant, but not worth the upcharge over (good, local, fresh) supermarket cider. (7/10)

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale (Delaware) Yeah, thats brown ale. And the first time Ive ever found a Dogfish Head beer kinda indifferent. I didnt think they had it in them. Its good. Not great. Not interesting. Just good. (7/10)

Nicoll Dry Wildflower Mead (Maine) Yeah, its mead. Dry-ish honey in drinkable form. And then? Nothing. The problem is less this beverage than my tastes; once one has delved into single-source meads, the blends seemwell, boring. So thats my bad. I can recommend it for those whose palates havent been ruined by, um, varietal bottlings. (6/10)
 
Ive realized, after extensive sampling (perhaps too-extensive), that most domestic Belgian knockoffs dont really do it for me, outside the spiced white ale genre.
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What do you think of Allagash? I haven't done extensive sampling, but I've liked most of what I tried from them and they shot to the top of my domestic Belgian knockoff list.
 
Purely domestic? They're OK. Continentally domestic, even the post-megacorp Unibroue beers are still better, for me. But I admit I haven't done the Allagash range in a while.
 
Are those all legitimate beers you're describing? Some of the names sound like something you might call a bottle of beer. Creative names!
 
originally posted by Thor:
Beer naming, labeling...and, sadly, oaking...has gotten way, way, way out of hand.
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Navigating the American beer scene could practically be a full time job. Between adding the most obscure macerated fruit possible to pushing the envelope for the universe's strongest ale to dry hopping to new oak to whose label/name is the craziest, I couldn't agree more than it's gotten out of hand. And the "sad" part is that in my estimation, for all the experimentation and kitchen sink mentality, most of them are nowhere as good as their old world counterparts.

After years of trying every beer I could find, I've spent the last few sticking with my handful of trusty American brews and the wide array of more traditionally produced European beers that I absolutely adore.
 
originally posted by evan hansen:

After years of trying every beer I could find, I've spent the last few sticking with my handful of trusty American brews and the wide array of more traditionally produced European beers that I absolutely adore.
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Amen. This is by no means an original sentiment, by the parallel between over-the-top domestic wines and domestic beers is striking. It's possible to find producers that value balance and restraint, but it's a lot of work in both fields.
 
I was a bit disappointed by the Matilda and Pere Jacques. I thought they were a bit too sweetly malty for the amount of hops used. And also, I love brett in my beers, and though Matilda is supposed to have brett in it, I didn't notice it at all! That was maybe the greatest disappointment.
 
I couldn't agree more than it's gotten out of hand.
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I was staring at the "big beer" wall of one local store a few weeks ago and literally got dizzy. I had to look away. The Goose Island brews actually stood out because they were so minimalist and $70-pinot-like, but everywhere else, there was this crazy Pollockesque color/font/design thing going on, to the point where I couldn't actually read anything on any of the labels. That's no way to sell a category.

They're out of Delware, no? Have they opened something out west as well?
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Perhaps it would be better if I edited these things once in a while. *sigh* Yes, Delaware. Thanks for the catch.

Otto, I didn't notice the brett either. And maybe I overrated the Matilda by way of comparison. I'm likely to buy it again, so I'll have another chance.

A fairly high portion of my beer enjoyment, over the last few years, has been Harpoon's "100 Barrel Series" (maybe a 50% success rate, but the successes have been terrific), Long Trail's "Brewmaster Series" (ditto; their Winter White was a triumph), and their semi-neighbor Otter Creek's "World Tour" (about a 35% success rate), plus the usual Belgians. Other than that, there's a lot of experimentation and a lot of disappointment. And sure, I'd like to try the Tactical Nuclear Penguin at some point just for the experience, but...well, there's a reason I don't drink Carlisle, and the same reason applies to beer.
 
originally posted by Otto Nieminen:
...though Matilda is supposed to have brett in it, I didn't notice it at all! That was maybe the greatest disappointment.
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I've had the Matilda twice, the first time out of a larger (20 oz?) bottle, the second time from a 12 oz. bottle. Brett was distincly noticeable in the first bottle, which I thought was very good. I liked it enough that I bought more. The second bottle had only the slightest hint of brett. I liked it less than the first. I don't see how bottle size would affect that, so it was probably a matter of different batches.
 
originally posted by Thor:

Fentimans Curiosity Cola (England) Yes, this is a soda note. But I think it belongs here anyway. A bitter slosh of herbs and amaro-like anti-sugar complexities, with just barely enough sugar to compensate, though this is decidedly on the not-sweet side of sodas. I completely love it. (6/10)
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thor, fentimans makes a tonic water that i'm dying to try, but can find nowhere. can you get it in boston?
 
Haven't seen it, and the Fentimans I've been noting are coming from Vermont. But I'll look around.
 
They're out of Delware, no? Have they opened something out west as well?
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I'm recanting my edit; the Saison du Buff is a collaboration between Stone Brewing in California and Victory in PA, but made in California.
 
originally posted by Thor:
I couldn't agree more than it's gotten out of hand.
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I was staring at the "big beer" wall of one local store a few weeks ago and literally got dizzy. I had to look away. The Goose Island brews actually stood out because they were so minimalist and $70-pinot-like, but everywhere else, there was this crazy Pollockesque color/font/design thing going on, to the point where I couldn't actually read anything on any of the labels. That's no way to sell a category.
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Somehow I don't think WD posters/commenters/lurkers are the target market. Think younger Parkerites.
 
I suppose it's a good thing Dan Phillips wasn't involved. We'd have beers called "Slut" and "Pimp" and so forth...100 points and guaranteed to offend someone.
 
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