Double Pilsner Flies Again - Odell Brewing celebrates the return of Double Pilsner

Fort Collins, CO. – On March 31, 2012, Odell Brewing will celebrate the return of Double Pilsner. Double Pilsner, a creative take on the traditional Bohemian Pilsner, replaces Mountain Standard for the warmer months as one of the brewery’s four pack offerings.

Bohemian by tradition American by craft, Double Pilsner is filled with rich sweet German Pilsen Malt and spicy Noble Hops. The Odell brewers took the storied style and increased both the malts and hops to increase the ABV and body while balancing the crisp hop character that is so prominent in this style of beer.

“Aromatically, Double Pilsner buzzes with notes of beeswax, ginger and a sharp Riesling white wine,” said Lee Williams in his 2011 review for Denver Off the Wagon. “On the palate, flavors of fresh mint leaf, lemon pith and quinine all busily vie for attention and cumulatively give the beer a breezy Czech pilsner freshness.”

Odell Brewing will celebrate the Double Pilsner release with a tapping party in the brewery’s Tap Room on Saturday, March 31st featuring local food, back yard games, and live music by the Gin Mill Gypsies from 4-6pm.

Double Pilsner is available through September within the brewery’s ten state distribution region.

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Founded in 1989, Odell Brewing was started by Doug Odell, his wife Wynne, and his sister Corkie. Twenty-three years later, the culture of family and collaboration still thrives fostering a brewery full of beer-centric people. It is this passion for beer that inspires Odell Brewing to create quality, hand-crafted, innovative brews. As a regional craft brewery, Odell Brewing is committed to serving the communities in which it distributes by sourcing local raw materials, and through its charitable giving program known as Odell Outreach. Odell Brewing was recently named a “Top Company of 2010” by ColoradoBiz Magazine and is an award winning brewery, nationally and internationally: 2011 Great American Beer Festival® - gold medal for Friek. 2010 North American Beer Awards – gold medal for Woodcut No. 3. 2009 BrewNZ Awards – gold for 5 Barrel Pale Ale. 2008 World Beer Cup® – gold for IPA. 2007 Great American Beer Festival® – gold medal for IPA.

Two Brothers Brewing Company- Circus Penguin Pale Ale: Walking a tightrope with no safety net…

Two Brothers is as an Illinois brewery that makes some exceptional beers, including Cane and Ebel and (my personal favorite) Domain Dupage French Country Ale. I have enjoyed almost every beer I have ever had from this brewery. The only limited release beer I have had of theirs up to this point is the excellent “Hop Juice.” So when I saw a bomber of something new sitting on the shelf I was pretty jazzed.

Circus Penguin is a pale ale brewed with Organic Beets and Blood Oranges. Considering the two added ingredients I figured this beer was going to be a little darker, but it is actually just slightly darker than most pales. The carbonation is very light and so was the wispy head. Circus Penguin has a very light, clean and bitter smell is reminiscent of a Pilsner or a Lager.

I’m not going to beat around the bush with this review. I found Circus Penguin to be pretty much unpalatable.  The flavor is astringent and clingy. After repeated sips, I could not find a single positive attribute to accredit to this brew. I wound up dumping out about three/quarters of a $10 bottle.   I really feel sorry for a person if this is their first Two Brothers experience. I would direct you to the website to find another beer from these guys, but unfortunately Two Brothers may have the worst website in the industry. It looks like it was designed for a 9^th grade programming project.  Seek out something else from these guys and leave Circus Penguin to the clowns.

Consumed: Pint Glass

ABV: 5.9%

Verdict: Skip IT!

Twisted Pine Gets Medieval with April Artisan Ale - West Bound Braggot Fourth Offering in Crafty Local Series

Boulder, Colorado –March 27th 2012 – When designing the Artisan Ale Project, Twisted Pine Brewing Company intended to have its brewers flex their creative muscles in much the same manner as the local artists whose work is celebrated on each label.  With the fourth installment in the series, West Bound Braggot, the Twisted crew has made it evident that they are both willing and able to match their creative might with the rest of Colorado’s artistic community. 

West Bound Braggot, which will debut April 7th, is Twisted Pine’s modern take on a medieval classic.  Braggot, more or less a hybrid of mead and ale, was popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and Chaucer even made mention of the drink in his Canterbury Tales.  The Twisted rendition began with malted barley, orange blossom honey and Citra hops, before the brewers shifted into adventure mode and added Tasmanian pepper berries and Buddha’s Hand to the kettle.  Then for the finishing strokes this unique ale was fermented with a Belgian saison yeast.

The resulting unfiltered brew pours the color of hazed champagne and the aroma that wanders off the snowflake head is a mosaic of pleasant flagrances.  Scents of nectar sweetness and ripe citrus, along with earthy malt tones, a slight pinch of pepper and the farmhouse esters of the yeast all meet the nose in perfect proportions.  As the first sip finds the tongue, the beautiful balance is upheld and the ale slides sweet and smoothly across the palate, highlighted by a wink of citrus and pepper and punctuated with a dry, crisp finish.  The beer weighs in at 8% ABV and 35 IBU. 

The label for West Bound Braggot features the painting “Running Wild” by Boulder artist Lael Har.  The Twisted ale house will relinquish their wall space to Lael for the release-party on Saturday April 7th, where the artist will be on hand from 4-8pm to sign bottles and meet fans of brush and beer and both.  Her pieces will remain on display in the ale house for the remainder of the month and until the following release on May 5th.  For more details on the Artisan Ale Project, visit www.twistedpinebrewing.com.

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Based in Boulder, Colorado Twisted Pine Brewing Company has been handcrafting beer since 1995.  They are the brewers of such favorites as “Hoppy Boy IPA,” “Raspberry Wheat Ale” and “Billy’s Chilies.”  The Ale House is a very popular local hangout and boasts 17 taps, 5 rotating.  Twisted Pine is active with local charitable organizations and a strong believer in sustainable business practices.   You can find more information at www.twistedpinebrewing.com.

Three Floyds Brewing Company- Zombie Dust Pale Ale: Walking Dead or dead in the water?

Zombie Dust is not exactly a new beer. It was available in draft only form a few years ago and was known as Cenotaph. A cenotaph is an empty tomb, which is similar to the reaction this beer received upon its introduction. I had it on draft and thought it was enjoyable, but for some reason this brew never seem to garnish much buzz. Fast-forward a couple years and BAM! Cenotaph has been rebranded “Zombie Dust” and the world is going crazy for it. Luckily Zombie Dust is no longer draft only and my buddy Doug was able to score me a bottle from a six pack he found in Chicago.

Last Sunday Doug and his wife came over to watch “The Walking Dead” and I figured this was a pretty fitting time to review Zombie Dust. ZD pours on the darker side of most APAs. The hue was deep citrine with a yellow moonlight glow toward the outer edges of the glass. I know I am going to get chewed alive for this comment, but all Three Floyds beers smell the same to me! Three Floyds has such a unique yeast strain that the yeast seems to be all I can ever really smell in their brews. There are definitely hints of grapefruit and lemon in the background. The carbonation was lively and the head was thick and robust.

Zombie Dust is a good, but not great, beer. The flavor is going after the tongue-twisting, bitter beer nerd. The flavor is citrus, pine and hop oils with a very subtle hint of bisquity sweetness. Rafael called this beer, “pleasantly unbalanced” in his review and I think that about nails it. I found Zombie Dust to be an enjoyable beer that comes nowhere close to its hype, or its $15.99 a six-pack price point, for that matter. Once you get past the awesome label I think most people are going to be like me: wanting to like Zombie Dust WAY more than they actually do.

ABV: 6.2%

Consumed: Sensory Glass

Verdict: Buy A 12 Pack

Brew Dog- Tokyo Intergalactic Fantastic Oak Aged Stout: More than a mouthful!

Tokyo is one third of the collaboration I recently reviewed, “Black Tokyo Horizon.” This is another incredible beer that my mom brought back from Scotland. This oak aged stout is a mind boggling 18.2% ABV! Translation: one bottle equals four and a half Bud Lights. Intergalactic is a sipping brew in every sense of the word. Tokyo is inspired by the Japanese Space Invaders craze of the mid-eighties. This beer is meant to take you back to a time of wild speculation about what is beyond this little, blue marble we call home.

I was surprised by the carbonation level during the pour; however, it quickly dissipated. The head was minimal with only a few swirls of chocolate milk colored froth. Tokyo has an exuberant bouquet that packs hints of sweet coffee, piney hops and red wine. The hue is pitch black meets midnight on the dark side of the moon.

Tokyo is brewed on French toasted oak chips, and DAMN does it ever show. The flavor is woody and smoky. Brew Dog also added cranberries and jasmine but those flavors seemed to have been muted during fermentation. The real pinnacle of this brew is the dry hopping which seems strange for a stout. However, Tokyo has so much innate sweetness that the dry hopping really balances the end flavor to avoid a “liquid candy” effect. As Tokyo warms it gets sweeter and more subtle. Brew Dog as sculpted a true masterpiece here.

Another day, another boundary pushing brew from Brew Dog. I really enjoyed this beer. I realize that super high ABV beers are a bit of a novelty and they are not for everyone, but I must implore everyone to try Tokyo at least once. The price is more reasonable than “Black Tokyo Horizon” and the experience is still mind-blowingly similar. Find it, try it, talk about it!

Consumed: Sensory Glass

ABV: 18.2%

Verdict: Buy a Keg!

Williams Bros. Brewing Company- Harvest Sun Hoppy Golden Ale: Good Morning Gubna’…

A very busy holiday season has left me with very little time to review beers. Hell, I have not even had time to drink much beer lately.  Fortunately, my mom just returned from England and brought me a slew of brews that are not available in the states. I’m pretty pumped and excited for some of the bottles she brought back, including tonight’s review of Harvest Sun. Prepare to get weird you limey bastards.

Harvest Sun is a low ABV Golden Ale that pours a little darker that I was expecting. It is a citrine/ faded orange hue with a snow white head and a medium/ low carbonation level. The aroma is sweet malt and punchy sour hops. This beer smells very “European” for some reason and no I am not trying to be a smart ass. The grain profile reminds me of many English Pale ales I have sampled including Meat Wave from Half Acre.

This brew really took me by surprise.  Harvest Sun is much smoother and fuller than I anticipated. It has a dry and crisp finish that is a little biscuity. This is the ultimate session beer. I could drink this all day long during football season.  The slight citrus overtones build which gives a Harvest Sun a clean, almost pallet cleansing effect. I found myself reaching for another sip almost immediately after putting the glass down each time. Bravo to Williams Bros for this picture perfect inauguration to my international beer journey!

Consumed: Sensory Glass

ABV: 3.9%

Verdict: Buy a Case!