Revolver Brewing Blood and Honey

Finding the right beer for the moment or meal can sometimes be a well-executed plan, or can come together as if by divine inspiration. While I would love to give credit to myself or a craft beer deity, chance likely had more to do with the combination of Revolver Brewing’s Blood and Honey with a late breakfast (that I refuse to call brunch.) As I enjoyed a mélange of sausage, egg, cheese, and salsa, nestled in a tortilla on my mid-week day off, I thirsted for fermentables, and rummaged my decimated beer stores for a suitable ale. Hiding behind a carton of soy milk sat a lone bottle of the first brew bottled by the Granbury, TX  brewery, once lost, but not forgotten.

The beer pours out a light straw hued color, cloudy and bursting with carbonation. A resilient, puffy, white head forms, adhering to the side of the pint with each tip of the vessel.

The essence of the aroma stands true to the ingredients of the brew. Sweet tones of honey, floral citrus, and malt are prominent, and are augmented with clove, and a slight spiciness.

When consumed, the ale imparts a light bodied, full flavored sweetness ranging from honey to a deeper brown sugar, while a refreshing tartness and bitterness added by hops and citrus zest balances the profile. On its own, the beer is really good, but the savoryness of the eggs, cheese, and sausage accentuated a wonderful mimosa like essence of this beer.

The closest beer I’ve had to this ale is Shiner’s Ruby Redbird. While it has its fans, I have to say that the execution of a unique citrus element in the brewing of the beer does not strike better  a balance, and isn’t nearly as enjoyable as Revolver’s Blood and Honey. 

Ranger Creek’s Mesquite Smoked Porter

Well it’s Tuesday, and being the predictable, domesticated man boy that I am, I spent  my mid-week day off with some light cleaning, and heavy duty Sid Meyer’s Civilization playing, peppered with a craft beer or two. Today’s review will look at bottle of Ranger Creek’s Mesquite Smoked Porter that’s been sitting in a cool dark place for the last twelve months. 

 Decanting a beer shouldn’t be too hard for me, being a seasoned veteran of the sobriety wars, however this black as night ale created copious amount of cappuccino colored carbonation (alliteration, motherfuckers!) While in most beers I would give this a few jeers, this  ale is bottle conditioned, and I think helps  give a beer a better mouth feel than the standard forced carbonation most commercially produced beer goes through, craft or not. A somewhat more difficult pour is an easy trade-off for a better beer drinking experience.

On the nose there is a nice roasted coffee and dark chocolate essence accentuated with a slight leather and floral aspect. Now, I first had this beer at the first annual Dallas Winter Warmer (you might have seen me use the taster in prior reviews), where I felt the smokiness was just too much. Now I had it at the end of a brewfest, so suffice to say my taste buds and level of inebriation might have caused an overworked palate, or perhaps the year of bottle conditioning has tamed that tiger. But from this bottle, while the smokiness is still upfront, it seems more in balance with the dark roasted malt and subtle hoppiness. While I have had a few smoked porters, this one has a unique, but not unpleasant, light sourness.

 The finish of the Mesquite Smoked Porter is dry and leaves a somewhat floral, dark roasted coffee aftertaste. These flavors seem to concentrate the more this beer is consumed.

This beer would be perfect with a nice plate of chopped brisket, as its smokiness would obviously pair well with the smoked meat, while also standing up to the sweetness and tang of a good barbeque sauce. 

Without the glory that is barbeque, it still holds its own as an enjoyable ale. I would highly suggest this to the Texas craft beer consumer.   

Hops And Grain "The One They Call Zoe" Pale Lager

Days off for myself are usually distilled into a balance of work and play. I like to spend my mornings toiling with laundry, working on illustrations, and chipping away at whatever projects I might have had to put on the back burners. One crutch modern people have with doing most tasks though is that of electricity. 

While it is true humans have lived eons without the ease of electric living, currently we have built our domiciles on the assumption that it will always be available for us to consume. This hubris leads us into situations that once power is denied us, our ability to complete chores becomes quite limited. As inconvenient as this is, it does also allow an opportunity to sit back and reflect.

With a cold front moving across North Texas, I pulled a beer from the chill chest and walked out onto my apartment’s small patio. The beer du jour is a can of Austin’s Hops And Grain pale lager “The One They Call Zoe.”

Dispensing the ale from its aluminum vessel into my pint glass, a quite beautiful beer is exposed.  As the tangerine hued ale pours against the sides of the pint glass a plume of carbonation fervently builds. A perfect head forms, never appearing too weak or thin, and never builds too aggressively, building to at most a finger’s thickness, and during consumption never dissipating to anything less than half a finger.   It is a head with presence and fortitude, one that laces the sides of my glass with aggression.

As pretty a beer it is, its aroma is an enticing perfume for the craft beer drinker with a hop forward nose. Pine and grapefruit mingle atop a yeasty, bread-like foundation.

The first sip of Zoe, as best described by my wife, is like drinking a grapefruit soda. While offering a sweet body, a mildly bitter citrus and pine brightness and bitterness bring wonderful balance and ease of drinkability.

The brewer’s skill has created a “Goldilocks” ale, threading a needle of flavor. Sweet malts sing, but it’s not too sweet. Hops are unmistakable, but bitterness is restrained.  

The beer’s packaging describes itself as affable,  and given its insanely well balance flavor profile, and wet mouthfeel, it is undoubtedly so. This is a beer that can be enjoyed in quantity, on its own, or paired with just about any beer worthy meal.

Prost! 

Real Ale Brewing Company Brewer's Cut #2 Black Quadrupel

 

Hello Malt Mavens and Hop Heads. Life has been somewhat slow and repetitive in my corner of the world. My mother’s cancer is in remission, the daily grind that the Pope endures to put craft beer on the table continues without drama, and Spring in North Texas is showing its mild, albeit fleeting, head.

To welcome Spring, and clear out an ever growing reserve of craft beer, I will be focusing on beers of the Lone Star State from some of my favorite breweries since my move almost two years ago. I am also hoping to get back into regular publishing of reviews, shooting for one or two a week as opposed to the one post a month or less that has defined my recent attention to my beer duties.

To saddle up this focus on Texas craft beer, I have chosen the Real Ale Brewing Company’s second release under their “Brewer’s Cut” series, a Belgian style “Black Quadrupel“ brewed with Belgian black malt.

Pouring the chocolate hued ale, careful to not exceed the capacity of the sole chalice in my barware collection, I get a small amount of head and active carbonation from my pour. 

The aroma from the freshly decanted beer brings bold, but unsurprising notes. Chocolate and coffee play on the edge of roasted malts, as the Belgian yeast adds a slight fruitiness to the party. 

Now, to be honest, I was really looking forward to reviewing this beer since enjoying it last November on tap at the Dallas Winter Warmer, a local beer festival. I’m not one that usually identifies as a fan of beers brewed with Belgian yeast strains,  but this offering twirled my moustache from first sip. 

The roastiness of the malt, bringing a nice chocolate base, combined with the dark currant and fruit notes from the yeast strain, make an ale that offers the best flavor profiles from dark beer and red wine. Allowing the ale to warm up brings out more of the fruitiness, making it quite tasty at any range of temperatures.

My brother, who is bonkers for Belgian and Belgian style brews, often professes he would consume nothing but this brew if it were more than just a one shot from the Blanco, TX brewery. I cannot doubt nor blame my brother for his fanaticism for it is a beer that is making me take another, more open look at Belgian inspired intoxicants.

Happy Drinking!

 

The Regulator Doppelbock by Rahr and Sons' Brewery

Hello good friends and readers, hope all has been moving along for your fine selves.

I have been plugging away with my usual routine of hunting the elusive job opportunity, doing general chores around the house, and praying at the alter of the Stanley Cup as the playoffs for the National Hockey League begin the second round. Its only a shame that no team I have any vested interest in made it into the playoffs to begin with in the first place.

Tonight, as my wife prepares dinner, I am enjoying a bottle of Rahr and Sons’ “The Regulator,” a dopplebock released as part of their “To Thee Series.”

Pouring the beer, it weighs in on the darker side of the style, with a more traditional dark brown shade, highlighted with ruby red edges. The beer’s crest topped with a light tan head, the beer is opaque in every sense of the word outside of carbonation climbing the inside of the pint glass.

As expected by the style, the nose is sweet and malty, complemented by light dough like accent.

Finally ready to enjoy, the feast of flavors augmented by a wonderful visual aspect and aroma, the first brush of malt on my palate brought elation to my tongue.  On the front-end lots of wonderful chocolate and honey notes define the beer’s malt offering, being sweet and full bodied. While no hop characteristics present themselves in the flavor of the beer, a nice balanced bitterness contrasts the opening volley of flavor on the backend, but the beverage still manages to leave a very warm, sweet finish. 

I am always impressed with the Rahr seasonal and limited time offerings, as they show the skills of the brewmaster’s craft in producing high quality beer. This is a must try for any drinker that craves a malt forward offering.  

Open The Taps! (More fun with Adobe Illustrator)

With nothing but time to search for jobs, waste time, and learn new skills, I have been applying myself to learn Adobe Illustrator, hone dormant art skills, and make myself more marketable for a profession I would like to break into.

Today's image is a play on Grant Wood's American Gothic, in honor of OpenTheTaps.org. Open The Taps is a nonprofit organization which is fighting for change of the antiquated blue laws that hinder the growth of Texas craft breweries, and act as a wall between producer and consumer.

Please feel free to share this image for non-commercial use. For any other use, please email me at intoxicobeer@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful day.
Pope Crisco

Bucking Bock by Rahr and Sons

Hello fellow craft beer drinkers, I hope life has been treating you well this early Spring.

With Spring, Texans have the coming of blue bonnets, the state flower, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros baseball to cover for the lack of post season hockey from the Dallas Stars, and thanks to the continuing tradition from the German settlers that populated the Republic of Texas in this nations infancy, seasonal bock beer offerings are hitting the store shelves. Already on Intoxico I have reviewed the Saint Arnold Brewery’s offering, and today I have the offering from Fort Worth’s own Rahr and Sons in their Bucking Bock.

Tipping a bottle of the brew into one of the many pint glasses I’ve collected going to their brewery tours, the lager shows its light golden hue, which while in the acceptable range for modern bocks, is lighter than traditional interpretation.  Fully poured, the beverage exhibits a decent half finger of head, clear body, and moderate carbonation.

There are not any other breweries that I can recognize by the nose of their brews, but the boys and girls must do something to every batch of their regular production line that gives the beer a “Rahr smell.” This “Rahr smell” is full of bread and yeast notes that, in this beer underscore a malty, light caramel forward nose, with almost no detectible hop presence.

A deluge of very sweet, light caramel syrup flavor opens on the palate on the initial quaff, with a nice bitter backend that subsides to nil by the third sip. Once the tongue acclimates to an almost cloying beginning, the beer’s sugariness pulls back, and acts as a compliment to a very unique “grain” like flavor profile.

Along with a slight sourness that helps quiet the malt forwardness of the beer, a nice grassy aftertaste adds a dry and refreshing complexity to Bucking Bock.

Not being the biggest maltose head, this beer took me about four servings (not all at once) to really develop an enjoyment of the beverage’s offerings. As long as you can hold on to the reigns without being thrown off, any drinker should be able to tame this malt bomb.

Prosit!

Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Winter Stout

Howdy all,

Quick question, what common tie exists between NHL super-star Gordie Howe and Texas craft beer?

Ready for the answer?

The Houston Aeros signed Howe in ’73, allowing him to fulfill a dream of playing hockey with his two sons, and this April, Houston’s own Saint Arnold Brewery will be hosting the 10th annual get together for enthusiasts of craft beer and Aeros’ hockey that will include a pregame meet up at the brewery, group seating for an Aeros’ game, and post game wind down at a local pub (click here for details.)

While I don’t have an opportunity to join the people of Houston for this event, something that I am truly disappointed about, I do have the opportunity to join them in the enjoyment of the quality beer produced by St. Arnold. This afternoon I have decided to crack open a few bottles of this brewery’s Winter Stout.

Pouring the beer, which is a “tweaked” result of a home brew competition promoted by the brewery in the late 90s, the stout is a dark brown, almost, but not quite black, body, while a slight ruby color can be seen in the edges of the pint glass. Atop the body of the beverage, the head is a nice, light tan hue. As strongly as the head forms with a semi-aggressive pour, it is a tad disappointing to see it die down quickly to less than the width of a dime.  

Putting my olfactory glands to work, I experience the aromas of bread, the malty sweetness of candy sugars and caramel, balanced by coffee and roasted aromas. 

Taking my first sip, the wet, medium bodied beverage rushes the palate with a mélange of honey, candy and caramel flavors. On the back of the palate roasted coffee flavor and bitterness, displaying light floral and woody accents, rounds out the malt bomb on the front end.

The best way to describe this beer would be as a unique interpretation on the style, from an equally unique brewery. This is a wicked little wrister that goes top shelf.

Cheers to Texas craft beer, and to Texas Hockey. 

Spring Bock by Saint Arnold Brewing

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day, a day that a lot of Americans will use as an excuse to drink adjunct lagers that have been dyed green (just like they do in Ireland?) If you must celebrate a holiday that properly celebrates merriment and the consumption of alcohol, please follow the German tradition. Don’t add fake color to beer, brew beer specific to the holiday, and make it last a couple of weeks.

If I had to celebrate a saint, make it Saint Arnold, the patron saint of brewers, and namesake to Houston’s own craft brewery. Today, in my favorite saint's celebration,  I have decided to crack open a couple of bottles of Saint Arnold’s Spring Bock.

As the beer decants from a bottle with a label adorned with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes, flowers that mark the coming of spring in the Texas landscape, the beverage exhibits a pretty, amber hue with amazing clarity. A slight off-white head forms with the width of a dime as the CO2 action from the pour dies down.

With a bready, malt forward nose, intertwined with the aroma of light, floral hops, I take an aggressive first gulp.  My palate is rewarded with a wet, full bodied, full flavored, malt experience.  With its nice, rounded, caramel body, there is a very subtle floral backend that is just enough to keep the sweetness from being cloying, keeping the beverage very drinkable throughout the three bottles I enjoyed this afternoon.

In Texas, you can’t really drink and talk about a bock style beer without mentioning the 300-pound armadillo in the room, Shiner Bock. 

Since I was of drinking age, my older brother always lamented on how Shiner was not as good as it was after they became part of the Gambrinus Company. (A quick side note, Gambrinus is referenced as the name of an “unofficial” saint of beer and beer brewing while Saint Arnold is the patron saint of Hop Pickers and Belgian brewers.)

           

My brother, who gets my respect as a malt head, tells me this is what Shiner “used to be like,” and will do just about anything short of papalcide (the murder of the Pope) to get his lips on this beer.

While I lean more towards being hop obsessed, I can see how this well-balanced, refreshing bock can generate excitement in its fans.

Shiner Ryes And Shine by Spoetzl Brewery

As a Texan and also as a craft beer drinker, I feel somewhat at odds when presented with a beer from the Spoetzl Brewery, namely Shiner Bock. Much like the offerings from the Boston Beer Co, the flagship beers of these breweries are what I would call “craft lite,” seeking consensus and ease of drinkability on the palates of less adventurous beer drinkers, pulling back on flavor and aggressiveness, where smaller craft breweries find their niche.

Maybe Spoetzl, by calling this their 2nd craft brew is acknowledging their normal production line as something other than craft?

This is not a bad thing, for I don’t always want to pound my taste buds to death, but I still want some flavor to hold onto. For this reason I will occasionally buy a 12 pack of Shiner's “Family Reunion,” a sampler of their Blonde, Bock, Black Lager, and a seasonal wild card. Last year's season was the first of their “Brewer's Pride,” an Old Time Alt, this year the boys and girls from Shiner, TX are offering the second release in the line, a rye lager.

This new offering, Ryes & Shine, is a combination of rye, chocolate rye, caramel malts, and three varieties of hops. Dispensing the lager into a pint glass, the beer pours out a dark yet still translucent hue. Lots of active carbonation bubbles and ferments to the top of the beverage that sports a half finger, off white head that does not dissipate, and adheres to the pint glass's sides in an attractive lace.

A bready, malty nose with hints of spice greets the drinker as the first sip of this medium bodied lager hits the palate with a roasted caramel nuttiness and a slight generic spice that offers a nice, dry finish. As more of the beer is consumed, the generic spice develops more, and the sweetness of the body tempers considerably, offering a peppery aspect that brings out some of the flavor of the chocolate rye malts on the backend.

This beer seems to be an example, as was Shiner's Wild Hare Pale Ale, of the brewery's awareness of their position as a big boy in the land of craft breweries, and a need to address the wants of a thirsty public. While not an excellent beer, it is a solid effort from this brewery to offer a more diverse and unique product to the marketplace, and worth a try.

It’s been a Rye-mageddon here at the “offices” of Intoxico! Be on the lookout for a review of Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye IPA coming soon to this website.  

Iron Thistle Scottish Ale by Rahr and Sons Brewing Co.

Well, today is March 2^nd, and on this day in 1836, the state of Texas officially broke it ties with Mexico, and in 2012, I broke my ties with my employer. Sparing all the boring details, I am glad to not have to walk back into that office, and now I just need to find a job that offers a decent salary, and a daily routine that saves me from dread and regret.

To celebrate these acts of liberation I have popped a couple caps off bottles of Rahr and Sons' Iron Thistle, a Scottish Style Ale in the tradition of a “wee heavy.”

Pouring out a nice mahogany hue, the beer forms a nice, light tan head that needs an aggressive pour to form a substantial head, and leaves a decent, yet somewhat unimpressive lacing on the pint glass.

Aromas mingling sweet, roasted, caramel essence greet the drinker with a nice, developed opening and is balanced by an underlying bitterness of coffee and hops. This essence is echoed in the flavors of this beer, adding slight chocolate and floral notes, filling out any holes in the profile of the beverage. As the beverage is consumed a nice warmth follows down the esophagus into the gullet.

As my wife articulated with wonderful brevity, “It's yummy!”

Happy drinking! Prost!

Ugly Pug by Rahr and Sons Brewing Co

 Right now, as I write this beer review, I am trying to decide whether I should continue to toil at my current job with, well, lets just say the bank of the northern hemisphere.

I work in their mortgage department, so my day consists of me telling people useful bits of information, teaching them about the documents they signed, answering questions they should have asked at closing, and taking their abuse. The job isn’t hard, once you get past the stupidity and verbal abuse, and I guess for some people can be happy in this type of life. Personally, I feel trapped in a routine that offers me no out regardless of how hard I run on my hamster wheel. Do I waste more time trying to find a place in this large, bureaucratic fish bowl? Do I toss the dice on finding a new place to take abuse from faceless customers and ineffective management? Or, do I try to find something outside of my area of expertise, my area of experience in this down economy?

This is why I used to drink to excess. I am now better about managing my alcohol intake, but that numbing alcohol helped me put blinders on, and drudge through my last customer service job for the better part of six years.

Well, enough with my therapy, it's time for tonight’s medication. The doctor has prescribed another bottle of craft beer, this time another selection from Rahr and Sons, their black lager, Ugly Pug.

This beer pours out a pretty, rich and dark, almost black, brown ale. The light tan head forms strong and fast, starting at a thick finger, but dissipates to a still impressive half finger's thickness. Lacing of the beer was nice, but not quite as impressive as the crown atop my beverage.

The aroma of the beverage is light, and has a breadiness that is familiar from my experience with the lagers from this brewery. Coupling the familiar nose, there is a malty sweetness and mild bitter fragrance.

With both a medium bodied flavor profile and mouth-feel, the beer exhibits a nice, toasted caramel and coffee flavor with a tasty, light floral hop essence on the backend.

The drinkability of this beer is wonderful, and a well suited alternative to macro pilsners and Shiner Bock that Texans serviced by this Fort Worth brewery might otherwise reach for when temperature starts heading north.

Prost!

Sisyphus 2008 and 2011 Barleywine by Real Ale Brewing

Hope everyone, or at least their spouse, had a good Valentines Day,

For myself, it included a trip to the store to pick up flowers, my wife’s favorite beer, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, and a healthy dose of a number of different flu and cold medications for myself.

Luckily my cold has broken for the most part, and as my reward for joining the ranks of the working dregs, I have decided to open a couple bottles of Real Ale Brewing Company’s Sisyphus, a bottle from 2008 that was gifted to me by my brother and another from 2011, bought last week from Central Market in Southlake, TX. 

The bottle from 2008, which is to date the only intentionally aged bottle of beer I’ve had the opportunity to drink, pours out a nice amber hue that is cloudy with minimal signs of active carbonation outside of the dense, silver dollar thick head that formed.

Reminiscent of artisanal honey, the up front bouquet of this barlywine style ale is sweet with a floral and fruit like essence.

Carried on a thick, syrupy body, the flavors of the 2008 variety offers a strong honey sweetness that is augmented by light clove, green apple, and caramel notes, creating a very busy profile on the palate.

Where the ’08 bottle is somewhat overpowering with a bright, saccharine profile, the ’11 example is more balanced and refined.

As the first bottle knocked out the olfactory glands with aromas, the latter is quite a bit subtler, only suggesting malt and floral hoppiness, as opposed to beating the drinker over the head.

Pouring out with a less impressive crown, more active carbonation and greater translucency is present than in the older bottle of Sisyphus, but is similarly hued.

With a more medium bodied mouthfeel, the primary notes are of a caramel maltiness with an almost strawberry like tilt. While still sweet, a nice, welcomed somewhat floral bitterness adds a wonderful sharpness to the back end that I feel was lacking in the earlier bottle.

Ultimately though, the wide range of flavors, complexity, and overall quality put in both of these beers is wonderful, and make this a limited release ale that is a must grab when I see the next year’s offering.

Prost!