An inconclusive and meandering thought process on the question - Are Beer Reviews Bullshit?

My favorite science-fiction blog, io9, recently published a fun little article titled Wine Tasting is Bullshit. Here's Why. where they humorously point out a number of studies where wine tasting experts contradict themselves, or they fail to differentiate between red and white wine when white wine has been dyed with food coloring. They point out one review that describes a wine like this, "The overall character is that of a sex loaded scarlet."

One wine maker, wanting to understand how his wine could win accolades at one competition and be ranked incredibly low in another, decided to give multiple glasses of the same wine to a panel of judges. None of the judges rated the wine with the same results, and it's implied that none of them realized it was the same wine. Now, it can be said that wine changes character over the course of minutes once you allow it to breathe in your glass, so there is some level of subjectivity in this experiment. Another wine maker replies that:

A Beer Worth Buying: Odell Brewing's Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA

I was really happy to see Odell's latest 750ml bottle offering at the liquor store last week. It was warmer out, spring had sprung, unlike the last 24 hours, which have proved to some of the snowiest times of the entire year so far in Colorado Springs. The citrusy and peachy promises of this IPA were calling out to me. Fortunately, the beer is also 9.7%, which is certainly enough alcohol to give you that warm feeling on a cold night. So, while mother-nature tries to fight off winter, Odell has released a beer that feels good whether it's freezing out or whether it's more of a t-shirts-for-an-hour type of day.

The beer is super fun. The aromas are very citrusy, with hints of mango, pineapple, and other tropical fruits. It tastes really big, with a sugary sweetness, not necessarily a malt complexity, but it's not cloying either. There are huge citrus flavors in this beer, loads of pineapple, almost like a fruit juice. My favorite part is the search for the Peach flavor, which sneaks up out of the background, rounds out and then fades away very quietly. It's quite nice. There's some bitterness present, considering it's an Imperial IPA, but it really takes a back seat to the more complex fruit flavors. This beer is all about the hop flavor and aroma that compliment and even mimic the subtler peach. 

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

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Buy This Beer: Paradox Beer Co.'s The Yang

Paradox Beer Co. is one of the newest breweries in the Pikes Peak Region, they released their first beers somewhere around six months ago. We very much enjoyed these initial beers, and with each new release we have noticed a continual commitment toward improvement, subtlety, and complexity. The newest releases are The Ying and The Yang, a play off of dark Belgian and white Belgian Ales. While I haven't tried the Ying yet, I have tried The Yang and I must urge you all to find a bottle of this beer for yourself.

The Yang is described as an American-Belgo White Ale with Brett Yeast, cardamom, corainder, rose hips, sweet and bitter orange peel and aged in oak wine barrels. When I cracked the bottle open it made a huge pop noise, if it had been a cork and not a swingtop I estimate we would have seen a good twenty foot cork shot. Immediately the room filled with an orange citrus and fruity Brett aroma. I could smell the beer from five feet away and I knew immediately that this thing was going to be delicious. And it most certainly is. There is a balanced lemon and earthy bitterness followed by sweet orange, some lavender notes that taste wonderful with the light citrusy and fruity Brett yeast, and a touch of spice as well. The beer is at once complex and layered while remaining absolutely easy to drink. It is also a refreshing beer as it is quite citrusy, yet balanced with a crisp, clean, and almost cinnamon-like finish.

Paradox knocked this one out of the ball park. The beer is not only their best beer to date (in my opinion), but this is a must try for any lover of Belgian, wild, sour, or experimental beers. I am very much excited about what's happening with this brewery. Also, I think that combined with Trinity's Red Swingline beer, 2013 is proving to be a very exciting year in the Brett Beer Category for the Pikes Peak Region.

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Buy This Beer: Trinity Red Swingline

Every now and again a brewery will experiment to combine and mash together two different styles of beers. The results can be a mixed bag. Cascadian Dark Ales are some combination of porter with a big, dank, Pacific NW IPA. Some of those beers I truly enjoy, some definitely miss the mark. I've heard a lot about West Coast breweries trying out smoked IPAs. As experiments these can be fun beers to try. With further refining the beers that were too weird to quaff can perhaps begin to have some drinkability to them.

A look at Lone Tree Brewing's new bottled beers

Over the weekend we headed to Breckenridge and got some good time on the mountain before all the powder disappeared. We brought along Lone Tree Brewing's brand new bottled beers, Outta Range Pale Ale and the Acres O'Green Irish Red Ale. They've just started bottling now that they have a couple new fermenters the brewery. Both beers proved to have an extraordinary drinkability and are certainly worth mentioning here. Also worth mentioning is the beautiful artwork, by Jeff Bowles. I learned the aircraft on the Outta Range bottle has references to co-founder John Winter's flying career, with a Northern Exposure type of twist. Both label designs are a real visual treat.

The Outta Range Pale is a true light bodied pale ale with a good hop aroma. I really enjoyed the biscuit and bready malt overtones that were balanced nicely with some lemony citrus hops, some pine notes, and a mild bitterness. The beer was simple but very enjoyable in that simplicity, and at $5.99 a bottle, it's a really nice deal. Similarly the Acres O' Green Irish Red Ale is also incredibly easy-drinking. The aroma is of sweet malts, toffee with some nuttiness. The flavor is similar but has a tang to it that I often call a 'copper metal flavor' but not in a bad way. The beer is really smooth, really balanced but certainly malt forward. Some nice spice hops are sitting in there as well. If I remember correctly, when I first visited the brewery the Red Ale was just a seasonal but was met with so much demand that Lone Tree was practically forced to bring it back as a regular beer. I personally preferred the Pale Ale as it's a really great representation of one of my favorite styles.

Both of these beers were perfect for mellowing out after a long day on the mountain. They made for an easy transition from adventure to dinner. In the kitchen I worked on my deep dish cornmeal crust pizza while sipping away, any heavier beer would have created too much of a buzz for what I was trying to cook. I must admit I'm really happy to see both these beers in town and hope that they sell really well. Lone Tree Brewing is quietly nailing their beers up north and we all should pay a bit more attention to what they are doing.

If I can use this post to make a request - Lone Tree please also bottle your Double IPA! That's one of my favorite IPAs in the state!

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Buy This Beer: Elevation Downpour Imperial Red Ale

I remember a couple months ago I picked up a pint of Elevation Beer Co.'s Downpour at the local pub. The beer is an Imperial Red Ale, which is basically an IPA but you can perhaps expect nuttier and earthier malt profiles. I'm attracted to the letters IRA because my favorite beer back in Oregon has long been the Double Mountain IRA. As I mentioned in a recent post though, my interest in hops has only recently resurfaced after years of a hop-fatigued palate. But at the pub, on this particular night, I remember being impressed with Downpour and I remember ordering more than one pint of the beer.

So, it's no surprise that when I saw the beer at my local bottle shop I decided to pick up a bottle. It's hard not to buy a bottle of Elevation's beer in the first place, the elegant design on the bottle always calls my name, and I've yet to have a bad experience with any of their beers.

The second I cracked the bottle I could smell massive amounts of clean, crisp pineapple and tropical fruit forward hops with some grassy character too. As you can see in the photo the beer is a really pretty red color with an off-white, thick head that sticks around. The hop aroma translates almost directly in the taste, but with an addition of some danker and earthier hops and a clean lemony bitterness. The malt character is a welcome balance and hides nicely in the background, rounding out the hops with some caramel character and a good texture. The beer weighs in at 7.5% and it feels like it too, I do wish it was a smaller bottle as I'm drinking alone this evening, but I'll still finish it off ;) This one is another enjoyable offering from Elevation. I hope to see Downpour around more often, and especially at the pub where it feels like a fantastic go-to hop-forward beer when I want to grab a pint or two.

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A look at Paradox Beer Co.'s American Pale Ale

Beer Info:
This beer comes to us from the newest brewery in the Pikes Peak Region - Paradox Beer Co. They specialize in barrel aged beers and experiment with fermentation in different types of barrels, adding different varieties of hops and yeast to their barrels. This particular bottle is the American Pale Ale aged in wine barrels and bottle conditioned. It is one of their first three beers released to the public, and the bottle says it's part of their "Kandid Kaiser Project" which I believe we'll learn more about in the near future.

Thoughts:
The beer pours a hazy orange with a really thick off-white head. Without even putting my nose up to the glass I could smell strong oak and vanilla. There's also a touch of some peppery hops in there too. On sipping I immediately pick up oak and a vinous/wine background that I believe imparts some honey notes. There's a nice crisp bready malt, with a solid honey, lemon, and subtly pepper flavor with a soft bitter finish. It's really nice! The aroma becomes a bit more like green apples as it warms. The beer is a lot of fun and I'd really like to point out the complex play of flavors between the hops and the wood. The hop and wood combination isn't something that is normal for brewers to play with so it's an extra level of enjoyment for me. Also I enjoy this a little more with every sip.

Drinking/Aging This Thing:
Let's face it, I haven't eaten dinner and I drank half the bottle and I'm a bit buzzed so it's hard to say right now...This would be perfect to share but, to be honest, I want to drink the whole thing by myself. With age the oak notes and smooth honey character will blend more together with the bittering finish, but the hop aromas and flavor will mellow out. Not sure there's enough malt character to give it a barleywine character but nonetheless it'll be a fun one to cellar for a year and see what happens.

Where From:
Paradox Beer Co, Woodland Park, CO.

Disclosure:
I paid full price for this bottle. $11.50 or so.

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Upslope Pumpkin Ale Tasting Notes

UPDATE *** Just heard this beer was delivered to Coaltrain and Weber St. Liquor today in limited quantities. No guarantee that more will come into town but hopefully...***

This post was written by Scott Simmons. The Upslope Pumpkin Ale was purchased up in Ft. Collins and should be hitting Colorado Springs shelves very soon, although the beer is limited.

Upslope Pumpkin Ale Tasting Notes: Poured from a 16oz tallboy beautifully copper colored can. The beer has light carbonation allowing you to pour down the middle of the glass to give a nice 1/2" off whitish tan head. The foam is dense with the majority disappearing quickly leaving a light coating.

The beer pours deep red almost maroon and nearly totally clear. It took me a while to take my first sip because I just kept moving the glass into different light to see the different colors. They range from a blood orange to a deep dark ruby brown. What a beautiful beer.

In the beginning of the aroma you automatically recognize this as a pumpkin/fall/spiced beer. The next prominent thing is a little warmth on the back end. The spices carry through the beer, not at all overpowering but collaborating together for a gentle spiciness and a warmth. As the beer warms the aroma seems to sweeten up a bit highlighting a different blend of spices.

After staring and sniffing at this beer for way too long I take a sip. The first thing I notice is how the aroma transfers into the flavor. They almost blend together giving up quite the sensory experience. There is a smoothness to the body which hides the 7.7% abv well. There is a bitterness on the end that might be from hopping or the spices but it's pleasant either way. The bitterness fades like a smooth pale ale which I prefer.

Overall this is an amazing beer. I'm sure I don't need to tell Upslope that since they won a 2011 GABF gold medal for it. Sadly I picked this beer up in Ft. Collins as I have not seen it here in the Springs and it disappeared from the Denver market immediately. If you happen across this beer buy it all!

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Beer Thoughts: Bristol Scotch Ale

Beer Info: 
From the new Bristol Brewhouse Series comes the Scotch Ale in 22oz bottles. Clockin' in at 6.9% ABV this beer will promise to be a bigger rich and smooth relative to the flagship Laughing Lab Scottish Ale. The beer was released very recently and can be found at Bristol and at local liquor stores.

Magical Paradigm Shift

A couple months back we did a review of the New Belgium Shift and while I think we were fair, we didn't give it the most favorable marks. I've thought a lot about the beer since, my feelings for it have changed and I'd like to tell you the story...

I'm a bit of beer geek. Usually this term might be one of endearment but today I use the term in a slightly more negative way. I'm a beer geek that sometimes can't see the forest through the trees. I was given a couple cans of Shift and decided this would be a beer that I'd review. I cracked open the can and promptly poured the contents into a glass and started my note taking. I don't do this with all beers, just ones that I want to really dig into. I wrote the review, it ended up being not my favorite beer when I sat there and tried to really deconstruct what was happening in terms of flavor, aroma, color, mouthfeel, and the usual suspects.

Anyway, Isaac and I headed to Fort Collins earlier in the summer and we toured New Belgium, Odell, Funkwerks, and Equinox during the day. At night we headed to a bar that was located reasonably close to the college campus. The bar looked like it was probably an old dive that had been converted into a now-cool place, complete with bikes hanging off the ceiling, writing all over the bathroom walls, and dapper bartenders with awesome mustaches. The night was warm, the place was filled with young people, the bike parking was completely packed and the bar had a contagious energy. Tall cans of Shift were priced at $3 and just about every single person in the bar carried one in hand. There was something completely amazing about that, I can't exactly explain this the way I'd like to, but it's something like magic.

Three bucks is Not Bad, so I picked one up, cracked it open and slammed it in about two minutes. I went to the bar and ordered another and went out for a smoke. I came back in for another can of Shift and finished that one off inside the bar. I wasn't there for long, perhaps an hour, maybe a little longer, but I had at least three, perhaps four cans of this beer and I changed my mind about it. That night it was the perfect beer. And it has been the perfect beer a few times since then as well.

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Beer Thoughts: River North Hypothesis

Beer Info:
Hypothesis is a Belgian-Style Double IPA from one of Colorado's newest breweries. Normally we only post beers that you can get in the Springs, but this one is currently available in Denver. River North is worth visiting so we thought we'd post it anyway. This one sits at 9% ABV and has 'enough IBUs to sharpen the senses to razor-like acuity...'

Beer Thoughts: Elevation Beer Co. Apis IV

Beer Info:
From Elevation: "Apis, the genus of the honeybee, is in homage to the hardworking honeybees of Colorado that provided the caramelized honey we use in making this fantastic beer. IV is a nod to the four people who came together to turn Elevation from a dream into a reality as well as to the beer style this Belgian Dark Strong Ale loosely adheres to." The bottle calls it a Quadrupel, which is a dark strong Belgian Ale, and it sits at a large 10.7% ABV. Elevation is a new brewery near Salida, CO, and have been open for only about a month.

Beer Thoughts:
Gorgeous artwork gives this bottle a sense of value and collectability. The beer pours a beautiful dark brown with ruby notes,

Beer Thoughts: Twisted Pine Roots Revival Carrot IPA

Beer Info:
Twisted Pine started a series of beers called Farm to Foam which will feature beers that are 100% Colorado made. The "brewers aim to utilize not only locally grown grain and hops, but 'fruits, roots, seeds, and vegetables that spring from Colorado soil as well." There will be 2-4 per year, and the first is Roots Revival Carrot IPA, made for the 25th Anniversary of the Boulder Farmer's Market. It "brewed with barley and wheat grown in Alamosa, Cascade hops from the Uncompahgre Valley, Crystal hops from Niwot and organic carrots harvested less than 15 miles from the brewery." The carrots were incorporated into the mash. The beer comes in 750ml bottles, and sits at 6.9% ABV.

Beer Thoughts:
You can probably tell, due to Beers Made By Walking, and certain comments I've made about organic, local, and indigenous

Beer Thoughts: New Belgium Tart Lychee

We're a bit behind on our Beer Thoughts because we contemplated some new formatting for beer reviews but it hasn't really worked out quite yet. So, for now, we'll stick with our old format. Hope you don't mind!

Beer Info:
From New Belgium: "New Belgium's sweet and sour Tart Lychee highlights the unique lychee fruit, which is balanced alongside a wood-aged sour beer. It’s brewed with pale malt, caramel-80, carapils, malted wheat and oats, then spiced with lychee fruit and a touch of cinnamon." The bottle reads that 56% of the beer was aged in oak, and the other 44% is the ale brewed with Lychee and Cinnamon. It sits at 7.5% ABV.

Beer Thoughts:
The beer pours a light orange, slightly cloudy with a lovely white and foamy head. The aroma is of orange, peaches, and is really fruity. Eric believes he gets a little hint of cinnamon in the nose, which

Beer Thoughts: Crabtree Berliner Weisse Ale

Beer info:
I was at Weber Street Liquor and saw some bottles of beer from Crabtree Brewing. It turns out they've got a pretty limited quantity of beer from Crabtree, and they trucked it down from Castle Rock because the brewery isn't distributing in Colorado Springs yet. So, they've got a limited quantity of the Berliner Weisse (GABF gold medal, 2011), Ginger Bee, Oatmeal Stout (GABF silver medal, 2011), and the Serenity Amber. The Berliner Weisse is what we're looking at today. It's historically a low alcohol German style wheat beer that's been soured with a lactobacillus, this one has 60% wheat malt. The style was nearly lost by the 20th century but has made a recent resurgence in US markets.

Beer Thoughts: Re-Look at Buddha Nuvo

Beer Info:
The Buddha Nuvo was a collaborative beer with about fourteen Colorado breweries. The funds raised from sales go to the Colorado Brewer's Guild. This beer features Buddha's Hand fruit, pumpkin, spelt, oats, peppercorns, ten strains of Brettanomyces and Saison yeast, was aged in French Oak Chardonnay barrels, bottle conditioned with local honey, and it sits at 12% ABV. Here's photos of the making of, the bottling, and our first review of Buddha Nuvo. Now that it's aged for about 9 months, we thought we'd give it another look.

Beer Thoughts: Rockyard Olde BroAle

Beer Info:
Olde BroAle is a part of Rockyard's Homebrewers Gone Wild program. They invite a Colorado-based homebrew club to make beer in a specific style, choose the one they feel is working best and then rebrew the beer on their commercial system, and the homebrew club gets to participate in the whole thing. For this one, our local brew club, the Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak, made an Old Ale from John Garbett's recipe.

Beer Thoughts: Odell Footprint

Beer Info:
There are ten states that make up what we (Odell) call our 'Distribution Footprint.' Each state made a unique contribution to Footprint. This artful ale is our tribute to these states in which our beer is available. The brewery sourced select ingredients from each of these ten states and crafted a myriad of small batch brews that were then blended into one larger brew. Guest brewers comprised of distributor partners, retailers, co-workers and friends from each state were invited to Odell Brewing to help with the brews. Colorado: Hops & Barley, Arizona: Prickly Pear, Idaho: Hops & Barley, Kansas: Wheat, Minnesota: WIld Rice, Missouri: Oak Barrels, Nebraska: Corn, New Mexico: Green Chilies, South Dakota: Barley & Honey, Wyoming: Wheat. ABV 9.5%

Beer Thoughts: Funkwerks Aurora

Beer thoughts:
Funkwerks Aurora is perhaps Funkwerks' most striking bottle in terms of aesthetics and will turn the head of any person, giving them a 'What are you about to open' look on their face. It is a Belgian Style Ale, pouring golden orange with a beautiful long lasting lacing and head. The combination of yeasts specially highlight the fruitier flavors of the single hop, Styrian Aurora hops. The aroma is of grassiness and really juicy fruits like apricots and peaches. The taste is very similar, lots of peach, exotic fruits, some grassiness, and a hint of spice. The beer is sweet in a fruity way, not really in a malty way. The beer is beautiful, I wish we could have this regularly at our pubs.

A Beer Worth Drinking: Boulevard Chocolate Ale

Boulevard's Chocolate Ale really surprised me. I've never had a chocolate beer that wasn't a porter or a stout so when I poured this bright orange-red beer into the glass I wondered if I had opened the wrong bottle. The beer was made in collaboration with Christopher Elbow, who is known for his masterful work with chocolate (I'm not a specialty-chocolate-follower so I've only heard of him in tandem with this beer). Well, after drinking this I know he's gotta be good. The aroma is quite earthy with a clear cocoa character. The taste is really fun and complex, think dark chocolate, like the small specialty brands that you might find at food coops. It's not milk chocolate anyway, somewhat chalky, medium bodied, really nutty malt character, bitter-sweet finish, and some dark fruit notes (think cherry with dark chocolate). It's a complex beer, very unique, makes your mouth water, and definitely a lot of fun to drink. Whoa, 9.1%!!! Who would have guessed?