KegWorks Blog

This weekend I was finally able to get some R & R. After a busy couple of weeks and a weekend out of town, I was able to sit on my back patio on Saturday evening. I made a fire, left my cell phone in the house and grabbed myself a nice cool beer (Not ice cold, since I wanted to really be able to taste this specialty Belgian). That’s right, I treated myself to Kapittel Pater, Brown, Abbey Ale. Not only does this beer taste refreshing, with hints of fruit and a pleasant outdoor smokiness, it is not overpowering. It doesn’t have to be preceded by a large steak and potato dinner…although that is never a bad idea.

After a couple of sips, I didn’t think this evening could get any better. Then, I remembered my humidor was next to me! I decided to pull out a classic, the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Imperial, maduro. I have to tell you, cutting these things is hard to do. They are such a perfect looking smoke - a nice box press, dark oily wrapper. They are just brilliant to look at. Anyway, these smoke like a gem and are worth every penny you spend on them. The ash is tight and snow white. The taste is unique and complex - chocolate, nuts and hints of spice combine to make a wonderful experience. Amazingly, none of the flavors dominate the smoke, it is as if they take turns giving you the best of each world. I don’t know if I will have another opportunity like this this year, living in Buffalo… I may be skiing next weekend.

TAGS [ BEER | CIGARS | ABBEY ALE ]

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I love beer and drink what of a lot of people would consider high-end, fancy beers and imports, but when people ask what my everyday drinking beer is, they are often surprised by my answer: Miller High Life. This answer is all the more surprising because I live in Buffalo, New York where (with Canada just across the Niagara River) most people prefer to drink Molson or Labatt brands. In fact, Buffalonians drink so much Labatt that the company moved their US headquarters here in 2007. I used to be a Canadian beer only drinker, and no mass-produced US domestic beers would pass my lips unless necessity dictated it.

Well, necessity did dictate it on a trip several years ago to Nashville, Tennessee in the summertime where Canadian brands were considered fancy import beers (although I have heard since that Molson has made major inroads into the market) and mass-produced domestic beers reined supreme in the local bars. Every bar had your standard domestic selection of Budweiser, Coors and Miller products while microbrews and imports were few and far between. So, I settled on Miller High Life, a beer I had tried in the past and thought was OK. Being summer in Nashville it was hot and incredibly humid. I was amazed at how refreshing an ice-cold bottle of Miller High Life was while watching the plentiful live music that starts at two in the afternoon and goes until two in the morning. I came back from that trip down South with newfound appreciation for High Life that has continued through that summer and every summer since.

High Life is a very light straw yellow colored American Pilsner with a alcohol content of 5.0% ABV. The bottles are a distinctive clear glass shaped to mimic champagne bottles, and the beer in it is so light in color you could probably read a newspaper through a full bottle. When poured into a glass (not something I often bother with) the head is white and frothy. Miller High Life should always be consumed ice cold because like most beers from the big 3 US breweries, it is almost unpalatable warm. The taste is watery, with very little hops and finishes clean with a slightly sweet, light malt aftertaste, leaving you ready for another one. Now from that description, you might not imagine a great beer, but time and time again when I have brought a 12 pack of bottles to a summer party or a 30 pack of cans on group camping trip it always seems to be the first beer to disappear from the cooler. Maybe it is the unique clear bottles, the classic Girl in the Moon Logo, or the slogan “The Champagne of Beer,” but something about High Life is irresistible in the summer time.

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When it comes to writing beer reviews, Peter is by far our in-house expert. But I recently tried a beer that needed to be blogged about…Miller Chill. “Chill is a new cheleda style beer brewed with a hint of lime and salt” to quote the Miller Chill Web site.

Here’s the back story: I read all the trade rags about the beverage alcohol industry (insert your own joke here). Each one kept talking about how this beer is taking the country by storm, stealing market share from Corona and Anheuser Busch. So I wanted to try one…ONE. I wasn’t sure on the whole lime-salt-flavored-beer-thing.

My wife saw an ad for it somewhere and asked what, exactly, it was. I explained it to her and mentioned wanting to try it. Being the wonderful person she is, on her next visit to the store she brought home a twelve pack. All I could think of was the eleven orphans I was going to have left taking up valuable fridge space waiting, for the opportunity to be pawned off on company.

Now the review…it’s not bad, if you know what you are getting into. If you are looking for any type of normal beer taste, this is not for you. The only resemblance it has to other mass produced light beers is the way it feels in your mouth. The taste is different. The lime flavor is strong, but not overpowering. Someone told me it tastes better if you use margarita salt on the rim of a glass to drink it. Chill is light and surprisingly refreshing. It falls into to category of what we at KegWorks like to call lawnmower beers; perfect for when the yard work is done on a hot Saturday afternoon. Now, it’s not going to be for regular consumption at my house, but these orphans will probably find a home before the end of the summer.

I know this is not for everyone, so I would recommend trying ONE when you’re out to see if you think it’s worth bringing some home.

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After a beautiful afternoon spent getting angry, swearing you’ll never play again, and almost breaking a malfunctioning club or two on the golf course, there is nothing like a refreshing beer and a premium cigar on the patio of the 19th hole.

My suggestion, this week, is Belgium’s Stella Artois, a smooth, Euro Pale Lager. Perfect for an afternoon distraction, this beer is on the lighter side, not at all overpowering, and just what you’ll be looking for to quench your thirst after a round of golf.

In pairing this beer with a cigar you are going to also want to choose something on the lighter side. You’re going to want to stay away from the Hondurans and Nicaraguans, or you’ll never taste the beer.

The smoke you want is the Butera Royal Vintage. While hard to find, it is worth the hunt; Should you find them, I suggest you buy a handful and keep them in your humidor. This smoke is made in the Dominican Republic with Indonesian and Dominican tobacco, and wrapped with a beautiful Connecticut Shade Wrapper. By the looks of this cigar you wouldn’t think there was much to it, however don’t be fooled by the appearance. It pairs perfectly with an ice cold Stella. Does not overpower, but instead, enhanced the citrus undertones of the beer. The Butera Royal Vintage, although mild, has a creamy, sweet taste that makes it impossible to put down.

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Alright, so I am totally psyched up for next week…. I’m taking my very first week-long vacation since 2005, so it’s long overdue. This vacation is the epitome of vacations – I have no specific destination, and plan to completely relax for its entire duration…. ahhhh…. summer vacation.

Here’s the best part of all… to prep for my impending play time, I made the hour and a half journey to Rochester, to a great little store called Beers of the World. Upon entering, I was overwhelmed with beer, glorious beer, from every part of the globe. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I headed straight to the section full of Irish brews, to get myself some Imported Guinness Extra Stout - you know, the super extra stout - the one we can’t just get anywhere here in the states? Oh yeah, I’m truly a stout girl at heart. I love them all, and filled my basket with quite a few. Of course, it’s not every day I take a drive to Beers of the World, so I made sure to get some suggested by friends – some Franziskaner, Kostriker, Ayinger and Schwelmer, to name a few.

I’ve only tried one of my new brews so far. The Young’s Double Chocolate Stout poured deep, dark brown with a high, tan head. It had a rich, dark, bittersweet chocolate flavor, especially apparent at the end of the sip. I definitely look forward to enjoying more of this stout in the days to come.

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My boss called me into his office the other day and told me he had an important assignment for me. He presented me with a bottle of Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier and told me to drink it at home (not at my desk) and write a review of the beer. This is the type of homework assignment I could not argue with.

The beer was a kristall style wheat beer, which means the beer is brewed using wheat malt and then filtered for clarity. The major difference between this style of wheat beer and “hefe” style wheat beers is the yeast. “Hefe” means yeast in German, and hefe style wheat beer is a beer brewed with wheat malt in which the yeast is left in, so the beer can bottle condition with the yeast. This makes the beer cloudy when poured into a glass and adds a distinct ester flavor and aroma.

I poured the Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier into half liter Weizen glass. The color was light gold, bright and very clear. The head was white and high. The nose contained a subtle aroma of spicy German hops and was very similar to a good light pilsner with a hint of wheat. Many of the reviews for this beer I read described the nose as having hints of banana’s and spice like a Hefeweizen. I was expecting this, but I did not pick up on any bananas or spice. I even bought a second bottle to see if I could get a different nose, but I got the same result. The taste was overall very light. Tasted similar to a pilsner upfront with nice wheat malt and spicy hops finish that lingered a bit in my throat. Overall, I found the beer very smooth and crisp with a flavor I am more used to finding in an excellent pilsner than wheat beer. The mild flavor and 5.4% alcohol makes this a refreshing beer to drink on hot summer day and a homework assignment I would be glad to repeat.

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It states right on the bottle “Belikin - the beer of Belize” and they aren’t kidding. Belikin is “the” only beer available in most places in Belize. I was in Belize for 9 days and I only saw Belikin products and occasionally Red Stripe. Belikin Brewing makes 4 products: Belikin Lager, Belikin Stout, Light House, and Belikin Premium. The Belikin Company also produces Guinness Foreign Extra Stout under license from Guinness. Belikin Lager is by far the most popular beer you will find in Belize. Every place that serves alcohol will have it in bottles, and if you ask for a Belikin or just a “beer” you will get a Belikin Lager. The others can be more elusive, but are generally available at better bars and resorts. They all pretty much taste the same, the differences being that Light House is a light beer and the Belikin Premium comes in 12 ounce bottle with a alcohol content around 5.5%. I understand that Belikin on draft exists, but I never saw any draft beer in Belize.

Belikin Lager tastes pretty much like most tropical beers: slightly sweet with very low hops flavor and a clean finish, making it a refreshing beer you can drink a lot of in the tropical heat. I found the taste similar to, but even milder than, Miller High Life (which is my favorite summertime drinking beer). The lager goes great with the seafood and rice and beans dishes that are a staple of the Belizean diet. Belikin Lager’s alcohol content is a little lower in than most US domestic lagers at 4.8% alcohol by volume. The stout is a dark, very sweet stout with a higher alcohol content at 6.3% by volume. The stout is surprisingly good, but a bit too sweet to drink more than a couple of bottles in a row in the heat of Belize.

Belikin Lager and Stout come in the same bottle, the only difference is the bottle cap; green caps for lager and blue caps for stout. The bottles are the heaviest I have ever felt. They are the same size as a U.S. 12 ounce bottle, but hold 9.6 ounces. The locals joke that the bottles are as heavy empty as they are full. So, if you are US tourist looking to tie on a tropical beer buzz, be ready to put away few more bottles than you are used to drinking at home due to the smaller bottle volume and lower alcohol content. If you get sick of Belikin beer, Belize also produces many excellent rums.

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