Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Beer tasting

Well it was time again to try a different beer and well, I cheated because I've had this one before. Up next is an Oatmeal Stout from Breckenridge Brewery in Denver. I knew I liked this beer the first time I had it and that was about a year ago at the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth MI. Frankenmuth is the host of the World Expo of Beer in May (same day I proposed to my now Fiance) and is hosted as a fundraiser for the Jaycees. I tell ya, if you like different beers this is the place to go. We had a blast, but it was crowded and by 5pm it was packed with a lot of people who I hope weren't driving. You buy tickets and then one ticket is one sample which is about 2 or 2 and a half ounces of the beer. Some of these people must of had at least 10... 20 samples because they could hardly stand. It was a good time and we hope to go back again this year but of course we will see. Now on the the beer...


Breckenridge Brewery - Oatmeal Stout
Here's the story of Breckenridge Brewery: Back in the 1980s our founder, Richard Squire, had a dream – to ski all day and drink great beer every night. Since he lived in the snow-kissed Rocky Mountains, fulfilling the skiing portion of his dream was easy. But the great beer part – at a time when a "micro brew" was a rarity – that was another story. So Richard started brewing his own, more flavorful beers for himself and his thrill-seeking ski pals.

His home brewed creations were a hit, and soon Richard was spending more time brewing than skiing. So he chased after another dream – making exceptional beer for a living. In February, 1990 that dream became reality when Richard opened the original Breckenridge Brewery & Pub in the town of Breckenridge, Colorado. Richard's ski bum days were over, and so were the days of bland beer for the folks in Colorado's ski country.

Today Breckenridge Brewery continues to work hard to satisfy the thirsts of discerning beer drinkers. Richard's original recipes – and a handful of seasonal creations – are now handcrafted at our three Breckenridge Brewery locations in Colorado. In 1992 we opened our sister brewpub in downtown Denver, at 22nd and Blake Street. Just a block from Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, our Denver brewpub is home to locals, baseball fans and Denver visitors who seek a quality meal and craft beer with character.

In May 1996 we expanded our family again with the opening of our brewing and bottling facility in Denver's historic Golden Triangle neighborhood. Here our brew masters and staffers craft and package the bottled and kegged versions of our nationally acclaimed beers. An adjoining tasting room allows guests to savor their brews in a cozy setting, in full view of the brew kettles and bottling line.

Sure, our growth means we're spending a little less time on the slopes and in the high country. But we're not complaining. In the past two decades we've grown from a small 3,000-barrels-a-year brewpub to one of the most successful craft beer companies in the nation. We now handcraft nearly 30,000 barrels of fresh beer each year and sell it across Colorado and 25 other states.

This beer is so smooth and yummy, even my fiance likes it with its coffee notes. I would have to describe it as Bold but very smooth, Rich in flavor with a nice taste of coffee and chocolate, that good Oatmeal taste and a good amount of hops. I must say if you don't like a hoppy beer this one may not be for you with the after taste quite hoppy. But... it's not to much for me as the coffee and chocolate are also tasted after it goes down. As you can see by the picture it's 12 ounces and not a pint. That creamy head you see is full of flavor with the oatmeal making it! This is one of my favorites when it comes to dark beer. Here's some quick facts about Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout :

Beer Style: Specialty Stout
Flavor: Chocolate coffee maltiness, round oatmeal mouth feel with very slight hop character
Yeast: Top Fermenting Ale Yeast
Malts: Two Row Pale, Caramel, Roasted Barley, Chocolate, Oat Flakes, Black
Hops: Chinook, Perle
Color: Black
Bitterness Units: 31
Alcohol By Volume: 4.95%
Alcohol By Weight: 3.96%







They have what looks to be a good recipe for BBQ sauce with the Oatmeal Stout on their website.

The Players

Oatmeal Stout

* 1/2 cup molasses
* 1/4 cup mustard
* 1/2 cup chili sauce
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup powdered onion
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 cup Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

Details

Combine all the players in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes

So there ya go with this weeks addition of beer tasting. Next week it's another beer I've had at the World Expo of Beer as well. I couldn't really remember what I liked about it but I know it's good.




Monday, March 16, 2009

Trying New Beer

Well hello one and all. I haven't been blogging much lately since there is really nothing new to talk about and Aija and myself don't go out anywhere since the money is really tight right now. I thought I needed something to do so... why not try different beers and see if I like them. I'll be trying different beer about once a week and blogging about it. Before I get into the beer for this week... This is where I like to go in Saginaw for different beer and that is this place pictured below which is Oppermann's Keg and CorkThe nice thing about Oppermann's is that if they can get it shipped to them you can get it even if they don't carry it. Now I've never tried it and I'm guessing that a case of beer special ordered would be pretty expensive. Also you really don't need to order it since they have so much to choose from already. Here's three pictures from the store to get you an idea of how big it is and how much really unique items they have. This is the beer isle...These are all the single shown here and from there it goes down and gets into the 4,6,12 packs and cases. Also along the wall they have coolers with beer. Next is the liquor Section which if you're looking for a cheap bottle of say vodka, you might not find it here. They have some really high end stuff and different kinds of liquor from around the world. And last but not least is their biggest section which is their wine. Row after row of wine from around the world. So if you are in the Saginaw area and looking for that hard to fine beer, wine or liquor? You may want to try Keg and Cork.





And now on to the beer tasting
The first beer I thought I would try is St.Peter's old-style Porter which comes in a Pint bottle. It's brewed at St. Peter's Brewery situated in Suffolk England and imported by Eurobrew Inc. out of Maryland. This is what the brewery's web site had to say about the beer...

"This fine beer is a blend of a mature old ale and a younger light beer – just as a true Porter should be. The marriage produces an extremely characterful brew which is dark in colour and complex in taste. CAMRA Champion Beer of Suffolk 2005 / Bronze medal CAMRA Winter Beers Festival 2007."
Now as for the taste of the beer it was pretty good. It was a little light for my taste. When I think of a Porter I think of a dark rich beer and this was on the light side. It had a good flavor consisting of caramel toffee, coffee, and brown sugar taste to it. The finish was a little bitter but the coffee flavor really came thru and was quite nice. It had a good color too it and nice head as you can see, and the flavor was OK. I must say I probably won't be getting this one again but if you like the lighter side of Porter, you may like this one. Well there ya go, the first beer review. I think I'll keep going on the Porter's and Stouts. I think I have a nice Oatmeal Stout I'll have on here next week. Until then it's back to the cheap American beer brewed in mass quantities.