Gumball Rally

We had a great Halloween party this year and lots of folks brought nice beer.  My friends Al and Tonia came as Wrigley Field, and would not have been welcomed if it were not for the 2 sixers that they brought.  Both came from Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, IN.  Tonight I’ll tell you about one, namely Gumballhead Wheat Beer.  Although it is unfiltered, it poured very clear, light gold and lightly carbonated, and didn’t produce much of a head.  The bouquet is very hoppy with a hint of pine.  It tastes very hoppy initially, and finishes dry, proceeding from lightly sweet to slightly citrusy.  It is not yeasty, like so many breweries of Three Floyds caliber tend to be.  It’s not what I expected from a wheat beer.  It seemed more like a pale ale.  It’s light in many ways except for in flavor.  That’s a big thumbs up.

Angus the Road Builder was here!

Here’s a treat if you can find it.  My friend Bill, an enjoyer of good beer, gave me a bottle of Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale, from Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids.  It pours smooth and deep red.  The head is there, but not noteworthy.  The bouquet is interesting.  It starts with some whiskey-like qualities.  Then one notices the sweet malt, undetermined spices, peat smoke and coffee, followed by a breeze of alcohol tickling the nose.  The taste starts sweet, smooth and round in the mouth, and quickly reveals a hint of berry, a sharpness, and a roasted malt/coffee taste after swallowing, followed by a hoppy, dry finish.  There are suspended brew particles in it, but not enough to make it cloudy, and it is averagely carbonated.  It’s the perfect brew for a chilly night in Downers Grove (nice name), making my ears warm and head a bit lighter than normal.  Pair it with crusty bread and some 5 year aged Gouda and you have a good time.

World Series of Spitting

I love baseball.  Even the lesser version of it called National League baseball.  I’ve enjoyed the playoffs, although every team I favored lost.  Except for the Cubs, whom I did not favor and lost, in an embarassing fashion I might add.  I know, at least they made the playoffs.  My team barely finished ahead of the Royals.   Never the less, I find some aspects of baseball disheartening (beyond the White Sox play this year), if not downright disagreeable.

Let’s start with spitting.  All baseball players spit.  Except for maybe that Francis guy who pitches for the Rockies,  I haven’t seen him spit.  What a disgusting habit, and the cameras just can’t seem to find a guy who doesn’t spit.  With Ozzie, it’s generally sunflower seed shells, which is bad enough.  But for this example, let’s take the Red Sox.  These guys are spitting fools.  One is more disgusting than the next.  Where are you raised, that spitting is considered acceptable?  It’s to the point where I am considering listening to the World Series rather than watching.  And that Francona guy, he is the worst.  He is a gobby fountain of bubble gum sugar and tobacco juice.  What a complete swine.  I assume that his upbringing in a reform school for wayward scuzzballs is to blame.  What?  He had parents?  They must be quite proud.  Every time the camera is on him, he lays a stringy gob onto the dugout floor.  Good Lord, how would you like to drop a $20 bill at his feet?  He could have it, the drizzly, slavering bugger.  Hey guys, please stop the disgusting, germ-spreading, low class behavior.

 Well, enjoy the Series, and GO ROCKIES.  That was the kiss of death.

On The Dark Side

Gosser Dark is one of my favorite dunkel biers and I’ll tell you why.  It has a beautiful deep brown color, almost opaque.  The bouquet is complex, with notes of butterscotch, molasses and chocolate, and a hint of dryness.  It is of average carbonation, and produces a whispy tan head.  The texture of the beer is nice, fairly smooth and it produces a tang on the back of the tongue.  Malt is well represented, with roasted chocolate and patent malts being evident to me in the finish.  Hops are mild, but make their presence known in the finish as well, in the form of a light dryness.  The alcohol follows with a warmth in the nose.  It’s a really good beer, and Chef Paul has it on tap.  Find somewhere else in the Chicagoland area that has it on tap and I’ll give you a dollar.  No, I won’t really, it’s just an expression.  Try comparing a bottle of Gosser to its on-tap counterpart, and you will find the on-tap version smoother, and the bottle version tangier.

There should be an Umlaut over the “o” in Gosser, but I forgot how to find the umlaut key.  

Another reason I like Gosser is beacause when I e-mailed them to tell them how much I enjoyed their Dark, they responded quickly and even sent me a Gosser bottle opener.  It’s Austrian, too, and I love the part of Austria that I saw.  Vorarlberg.  They had some great beers there.  Mohrenbrau, Fuersten-something-or-other, Egger…Egg was the town from where my wife and I based our travels.  We stayed with my friends family.  What a wonderful experience!

I digress.  Try Gosser Dark, you won’t be disappointed.

Zum Voll.

More Oktoberfest – Warsteiner

Went to dinner at Mirabell, around Kedzie and Addison last night.  A small German bar/restaurant, a little pricey, but serving some great food.  I won’t get into details about the service, but once we made our presence known it was good.  I tried Warsteiner Oktoberfest bier.  It was nice.  The bouquet is hoppy, maybe a tad rusty, but not offensive, and has a mildly sweet quality.  The brew is amber with a good persistent head.  The texture is smooth and creamy, and makes for a very quaffable beer.  There is a note of alcohol and hops in the finish.  Very good, and the first time I’ve seen this beer. 

Next time I’ll tell you about Gosser Dunkel.  Try to hold out.

Merger

Today’s Chicago Tribune said that Coors and Miller may merge in order to get a larger share of the national beer market, and to make life a little less comfortable for Anheuser-Busch.  As it is, Miller has about 18% of the market, Coors about 11% and Anheuser-Busch about 48%.  I was shocked.  I read the list of A-B products and I don’t even buy any of them by accident.  Ascent 54?  Mule Kick Oatmeal Stout?  Ray Hill’s American Pilsner?

Long ago, I pledged my allegiance to Miller.  With brands such as Olde English 800 and Mickey’s Malt Liquor, I was in.  Seriously, I never liked Budweiser or Busch, particularly.  Bud gives me a headache after one beer.  If I want a headache, I will take a ball peen hammer to my temple.  I don’t like Bud’s aftertaste, either.

Back in the day, as so many morons say these days, usually right after pronouncing the silent “t” in often, A-B made a wonderful brew called Michelob Classic Dark.  Man, was that stuff good.  Smooth, whiffs of roasted chocolate malt, wonderful texture.  What ever happened to this beer?  Did it turn into Amber Bock?  It’s similar, but not nearly as good.

Good luck to Coors-Miller, and good luck to the superfluous employees that are let go when this merger happens.  Whatever happens, please don’t take any more beer brewing from Milwaukee.  I love that place.  In the mean time, I’m going to look for some Steel Reserve (Miller) or Extra Gold Lager (Coors).

Zum Voll.

Best Selection in the Western Suburbs

I visited my favorite restaurant twice this weekend. Chef Paul’s Bavarian Lodge is located at 1800 W. Ogden Ave., Lisle, IL. The food is German/Czech and the beer list is out of this world.

My goal was to try two new selections on tap, and to enjoy the recently tapped Spaten Oktoberfest, which was wonderful as always.  The new additions were polar opposites, but both outstanding in their own right.

I started with Erdinger Oktoberfest Weiss, which was a bit darker than a traditional weiss.  It didn’t have as deeply weissy a bouquet either, in fact, I wasn’t sure I got the right beer at first.  It was well carbonated and didn’t support as frothy a head as I would have expected.  It was crisper and hoppier than I expected as well.  It was really good, and a perfect companion to the Tiroler Hackschnitzel and spinach. 

Next, I had a Kasteel Red, just introduced to the States, and just tapped on the 4th.  It is a brown ale brewed with cherries.  What a surprise! I was presented with a chalice of garnet colored beer (say about a PMS 209) with a thin pinkish head.  The bouquet was predominantly cherry, with a malty finish.  The body was a hair thinner than the deep color hinted at.  It was tart on the tongue, going from cherry to malt, with a note of alcohol on the final exhale.  I’m not sure what kind of food would be appropriate to pair this with (not the Tiroler), but on its own, it is a work of art, and I highly recommend it, especially if you like sweet drinks and cordials.

Check out Chef Paul, check out their beer list, and enjoy!

Regional Favorites

I am interested in regional and local beers.  The $12 per 30 pack kinds, in this case.  The kinds you grew up with, that the old man drank.  In the working-class south suburbs of Chicago, we snuck Old Style and Miller High Life from our fathers’ garage beer fridges.  (And Kingsbury Brew accidentally, what a burn, Mr. Maratea!)  Friends in the western suburbs tell me it was Stroh’s.  In Baltimore, it was (and is) Natty Boh.  I bought a 12er of National Bohemian in cans and found it to be a good, cheap beer.  Although it had a grassy smell when I first opened the can, when poured it aired out and became decent.  Kind of thin and reminiscent of Pabst Blue Ribbon, it was exactly what I needed after an 11 hour drive from Chicago to Frederick, MD.  Also bought some Yeungling (pronounced Yingling by locals).  The lager was fabulous and Lord Chesterfield Ale is a local treasure.  Can you get it in Chicago?

What do you drink, when drinking cheap, and where do you buy it?

Saxo

Wow, here’s a gem.  Saxo Blond Ale, by Brewery Caracole, Falmignoul, Belgium.  The label attracted me, depicting a Ralph Steadmanesque, harlequin-hooded snail holding aloft a tenor sax, illuminated in a spotlight.  Light yellow, very effervescent, with a good 1″ thick head.  It’s interesting:  The head is so dense and the carbonation so vigorous that there is battle of epic proportions to establish the more dominant force.  The line of demarcation between the two is in a state of flux, being created, destroyed and recreated constantly.  Saxo’s bouquet is citrusy, yeasty and a bit fruity, like banana.  It tastes wonderful.  Cleaner and fresher than a Bavarian weissbier, a little sharp with a touch of sweetness.  It finishes a little dry and hoppy, with a hint of alcohol in the final exhale.  Delicious, and well worth the $6.00 per 750ml bottle price tag.