     Kunstmann Honig Ale (Cervecera Kunstmann)
One of the more unique offerings from Kunstmann. Honig Ale, or "cerveza miel", is a great example of the types of beers that Chilean brewers are providing to an ever increasing craft beer loving country.
From the Kunstmann site (translated):
"An homage to the Vikings and their special beers brewed with natural honey. We preserve this tradition by using 100% natural honey from the southern fields of Chile's Region X and ingredients of the finest quality. We brew this beer amber in color with pleasant honey flavor and aroma. Ideal for those long afternoon gatherings or to enjoy as a digestif."
Here we go...
Pour - deep amber in color with a big fluffy head. Carbonation levels seem pretty spot on. Nice looking beer.
Aroma - wow, that really smells like honey. Not just because it is sweet but because the aroma of honey just dominates. A bit vegetal as well but more than anything this gives makes you feel like you stuck your head in a honey pot! Taste - honey sticks. Ever had those? The first sip reminds me so much of those little straws filled with honey. Its sweet but not completely cloying. Very unique flavor profile as the honey really pushes the rest of the flavors to the back. There is some nice maltiness backing it up but not much else.
Overall - if you like honey you best find some of this beer. I've never had a beer that has more in your face honey flavor. A very interesting offering from one of Chile's best breweries.
Would I buy more of it? - I had some other opportunities to try this in Chile but I passed in order to try other things. Chile has a TON of great beer!
Note - Region X is in the southern part of Chile. Chile itself is divided into 13 regions starting with Region I in the far north stretching to Region XII in the far southern part of Patagonia (including part of Antarctica). The capital, Santiago, is itself a region as well.
Posted by Russ Labels: Herbed/Spiced Beers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    Underlig Jul (Nøgne Ø)
According to Nøgne Ø's website: "This spiced Christmas ale is strange - and indeed a fusion beer. We have gathered inspiration from the Norwegian drink “gløgg”, and as such this is quite an uncompromising brew." The "gløgg" in question is a type of mulled wine that is spiced and served warm, often with raisins and almonds in Scandinavia around Christmas. Underlig pretty much translates as odd, strange, peculiar or weird. You pick it. Perhaps they were eluding to the great English beer Old Peculiar.... Jul of course means Christmas in modern times - and is where the likes of yuletide and yule log come from. These types of beers abound in Scandinavia in the months leading up to Christmas, however with Nøgne Ø's reputation I expect this to be something very different, special, even peculiar. In addition to the 4 types of malts and two types of hops, the bottle says this contains English yeast, local water and 4 types of spices (the website says 5). I smell a guessing game... Appearance - Dark, dark brown and nearly opaque with a big, thick and solid head of espresso like foam. Aroma - You can smell this beer a good meter away. And, yes, it smells like...Christmas. If you've ever had "gløgg", then you'd say it reminds you of that...only bolder. This is spicy like gingerbread with cloves, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon. (I'd wager this has none of those things in it however...or well, maybe nutmeg and coriander.) Taste - Not nearly as sweet and spicy as the aroma would have you believe. It is full bodied, almost thick with a chewy mouthfeel and a dry aftertaste. The spices are definitely present, but they don't run rampant. The malts do make an appearance and you can discern the chocolate and caramel. What works well is the aroma combined with the taste...just add snow, a fire and some bad Christmas music and you've got a fine amount of holiday cheer in the making. I'm sure this amount of spicing is going to throw some people off, even put them off this beer completely. But, if you've been around these types of beers before and sampled the usual bland brown ginger soups that are often presented from the big breweries of Scandinavia you'll understand why this one sticks out. Where many have failed, this is actually a spicy - immediately Christmas - ale with a malty, thick back end made for winter. And, at 6.5%, it won't put you on the floor before the akvavit and herring show up. Overall - No, I don't suppose this is for everybody. It is a spiced beer, and those can be all over the shop. Despite the bold aroma, this is actually a more subtle beer than your nose will tell you...and more complex than the first couple sips lead you to believe. I enjoyed it, and for all of those that go looking for Christmas in a bottle I can recommend it. This is a good way to kick off the juløl season here in the north...and if this is your first ever juløl then it's a good place to start. Nøgne Ø's website suggests you drink this with goro or fattigmann - two types of cookies. The links are to their recipes if you want the true experience...uff da!
Posted by Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Rosée d’Hibiscus (Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel!)
From the artists at Dieu de Ciel! in Montreal comes this Belgian-style wheat brewed with Hibiscus flowers. They are doing some amazing things at this brewery. If you see any of their beers in the store be sure to check them out. From the Dieu de Ciel! site: "The Rosée d’Hibiscus is a soft spoken Belgian-style wheat beer. The rose colour comes from the hibiscus flowers added during the brewing process. The aromas and flavour of this tropical flower are very prominent in the beer, giving it a slight acidity and a very agreeable fragrance. It is the perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day." Here we go... Pour - a bit hazy, like a Wit with a beautiful glow of raspberry pink/red. The head is rather thin with some nice lacing. When held to the light the color really shines.
Aroma - initial aroma is sour fruit, maybe some raspberry and strawberry combined with some sour cherries. The smell actually reminds me a bit of some lambics I've had.
Taste - subtle sour fruit flavors, slightly acidic along with a carbonation level that dances bubbles off your tongue a little more than the average wheat beer. Some floral notes come out as it warms and it also becomes a little sweeter but leaves a sharp citrus taste in the finish.
Overall - a very unique take on the Belgian Wit style. Hibiscus flowers add to the appearance, aroma and the taste. I liked it, it was refreshing and very easy to drink.
Would I buy more of it? - possibly, my wife really enjoyed it so I could see buying a few bottles for her. If and when I make it back up to Montreal I'll need to try this on tap.
Note: The red hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian women. A single flower is tucked behind the ear. Which ear is used indicates the wearer's availability for marriage.
Posted by Russ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Bud Light Golden Wheat (Anheuser-Busch Inc.)
I know what you're thinking! What the F is this guy doing drinking a bottle of this beer and why the hell is he taking the time to write a review! Well, its all out of curiosity (and it was left in my fridge by a guest). I kind of wonder how bad this stuff could really be. It's sure to push more than a handful of Bud Light drinkers to check out some higher quality beers so I figured I'd test it out. Will it really be as bad as I think its going to be? Yeah, probably. I'll try and make things humorous as well as brutally honest. From the Anheuser-Busch site: "Premium light, unfiltered wheat beer with citrus and a hint of coriander and the superior drinkability of Bud Light." Here we go... Pour - No bottle opener necessary with this one. Pours a hazy orangish gold color with a thin seltzery head. Plenty of tiny streaming bubbles looking for an escape. Aroma - Errr...this is tough. Very faint hints of orange zest and some sour wheat malt. My nose is not able to detect much else in this department....wait, I actually seem to think this has a little bit of a Pla-Doh aroma. Strange. Taste - Watery mouthfeel, very light on the tongue and palate. I taste some a little bit of sweet citrus but none of the coriander. The back of my mouth is waiting for the flavor to arrive but it never really does, it just goes down my throat sort of like a cold glass of water. Definitely a light wheat beer, no argument there. Overall - It didn't kill me and it was better than Bud Light. Its probably around a C- as far as quality and taste go. Hopefully people will use this as a gateway beer and seek out some craft brews to quench their curiosity. Would I buy more of it? - Ummm, absolutely not. This was out of curiosity and curiosity alone. Note: The Saturday Night Live that aired on October 17th was sponsored entirely by Bud Light Golden Wheat. Every single ad during the show was for this beer. Absolutely astounding what money can buy you, especially if you've got oodles of it. The marketing budget for Bud Light Golden Wheat is about $30 million a year, similar to the marketing budget for Bud Light Lime, which A-B launched last year. What it apparently can't buy you is the ingredients and time needed to produce a very drinkable, quality beer.
Posted by Russ Labels: Herbed/Spiced Beers, Wheat Beers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   Pandan Brown Ale (Trade Route Brewing Company)
I've never had anything from this brewery but was intrigued by this one, mainly because I didn't know what pandan was. It turns out pandan leaves are "used in Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak, kaya ('jam') preserves, and desserts such as pandan cake. Pandan leaf can be used as a complement to chocolate in many dishes, such as ice cream." Sounds good. From the Trade Route site (and on the bottle): "Exquisite brown ale with a delicate Southeast Asian pandan leaf aroma and palm sugar finish." Pandan Brown Ale a rusty brown color with a fizzy head that is sort of loosely packed together. Sort of reminds me a bit of cola. Aroma is caramel and brown sugar, I still don't really know what the aroma of pandan should be so I am not sure I can pick it out. Overall the smell of this beer is rather bland and reminds me of Newcastle. The flavor profile of this beer is pretty much that of an average brown ale with some sweeter than average components. Its definitely got some brown sugar stuff going on and a very malty finish but no real complexity. I wish the pandan offered up more so that I could brag about how much I enjoy pandan and people could assume I know a lot about its use in cooking but alas that is not the case. Nonetheless I respect the brewery for doing something new and innovative. Trade Route Brewing Company, whose mantra is "Explore the beer frontier", represents a new breed in breweries that are producing beers with more unique flavors. They sort of remind me Uncommon Brewers' in Santa Cruz who produce Siamese Twin Ale, a Belgian-style dubbel brewed with kaffir lime.
Posted by Russ Labels: Brown Ales, Herbed/Spiced Beers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
