Something to Drool Over: Big Sky Brewing Company’s Moose Drool Brown Ale

The Big Sky Brewing Company is located in Missoula, Montana, where I had the privilege of first trying this beer. Over the past year, their beers have been showing up in local grocery stores throughout the Northwest. Recently, I found their beer at a specialty beer store in the Midwest. The growing popularity makes sense as soon as you try the Moose Drool Brown Ale.

The Brown Ale has the solid taste of solid oatmeal stout, but maintains a light side that makes it easy to enjoy a few without getting too full. To keep with the theme of previous posts, the brown ale/light side of it makes it an enjoyable summertime beer for those looking for something to drink in the hot-summer sun, but prefer to drink something with a great taste as well.

The Brown Ales is interesting. It has the chocolate, oatmeal taste of a microbrew stout, but is smooth and easy like most brown ales. It is a well-balanced beer in that it has a great taste to it without being overbearing, which is common among many beers that strive for the chocolate, oatmeal taste.

Here is what the Big Sky Brewery has to say about the Moose Drool Brown Ale:
“That first taste, the best part of a beer after a long day. We want to make that better than ever. So we made Moose Drool. The name sounds a little iffy, but it's really the best Brown Ale you'll ever taste. That's why Moose Drool is far and away the best-selling beer brewed in Montana.

It's chocolate brown in color with a creamy texture. A malty beer with just enough hop presence to keep it from being too sweet. The aroma mostly comes from the malt with a hint of spice added by the hops. Moose Drool is brewed with pale, caramel, chocolate, and whole black malts; and Kent Goldings, Liberty, and WILLAMETTE HOPS. It has an original gravity of 13 degrees Plato, and is 4.2% alcohol by weight, 5.3% by volume.”

Doing it Doggie Style: Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale

This week, with a few days off of work, I headed up to the local specialty beer store with the intention of finding some summer-style beers to write about, which included mostly pale ales, wheats, and hefeweizens. Most were unimpressive as a result of their watered-down tastes. But I got to one that I enjoyed quite a bit. And I should have known I would enjoy this beer from the second I saw it. The Flying Dog Brewery was the first brewery to open in Aspen, Colorado in over one hundred years. The bottom of the label quotes the once local celebrity Hunter S. Thompson: "Good people drink good beer."

The Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale has the light feel of a summertime beer (i.e. a great beer for hot weather), but maintains a fullness of taste. It may just be my new, favorite hot weather beer. This beer is well-balanced and the malt taste filters through the mild citrus flavor upon the initial taste. The first taste is sweet but finishes with a mild bitter taste. Overall, it has a great crisp taste to it.

Here's how the Flying Dog website describes the Classic Pale Ale:

"Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale is brilliant amber in color and dry hopped with buckets full of Cascades for an unrivaled hop flavor and aroma. This is a true representation of an American-style pale ale, using the finest ingredients. Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale is a multi-award winning product and is consistently ranked as one of the best pale ales in the U.S."

The Classic Pale Ale is 5.5% ABV and uses 120L Crystal Malt and Northern Brewer, Cascade hops.

A Great Summertime Beer From Spoetzl Brewery: Shiner Hefeweizen

By now, Shiner beers are well-known across the country due primarily to the growing popularity of Shiner Boch, a fine beer in and of itself. I generally try to stay away from well-known breweries since the goal of this website is to expose viewers to new beers they might not have come across. However, as often as I come across Shiner Boch in local grocery and liquor stores across the country, today was the first time I had come across the Shiner Hefeweizen.

I didn't quite now what to expect with the Hefeweizen. Shiner Boch is a personal favorite of mine. It was the only beer I had ever associated with the Spoetzl Brewery. Honestly, I my first reaction to the hefeweizen was not positive. The first taste seemed a bit too bitter. But I waited a minute or so and had a few more drinks and my opinion started to change. This really is a great summertime beer. It mixes great taste with the light beer feel of unfiltered wheats. It's ideal for someone who needs to cool off from the heat with a nice cold one, but can't bring themselves to drink Budweiser or Miller products.

The first taste as you take has a great citrus taste. And this is coming from someone who does not like fruity beers. But that citrus taste quickly dissipates as the malt flavor kicks in and it finishes with a great dry feel.

Here's what the Spoetzl Brewery has to say about Shiner Hefeweizen:

"Hefeweizen recalls the classic beers of Bavaria as a true unfiltered wheat brew. This beer captures old-world Munich Malt, wheat grist used in a scant 1% of all brews worldwide, orange and lemon zest in a frothy classic example of bottle-conditioned beer. Adding clover honey and yeast just before it's bottled touches off a unique, secondary fermentation process inside every keg and bottle before its final release from the brewery."

Down From The Mountain: Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

I am a stout-lover. Stouts have been my favorite beers for as long as a I can remember. In recent years, the stout have become my winter beer while I lighten up to hefeweizens and pale ales in the summer. Afterall, it is sometimes tough to drink a few stouts in the hot and humid summer weather. However, the Breckenridge Brewery Oatmeal Stout is one of those stouts that is great for all seasons.

The flavor is pretty unique for an oatmeal stout. It is not unusual to come across a chocolate-flavored oatmeal stout. But this beer has more of a roasted chocolate coffee flavor to it that makes it especially tasty.
The great thing about this beer is that it is popping up at more and more speciality beer stores around the country. You can buy it in a six-pack, usually for about $7.99.

This is a black beer with two row pale, carmel, roasted barley, chocolate, and oak flakes. Breckenridge Brewery uses chinook and perle hops. It is 4.95 ABV.

Breckenridge Brewery describes the Oatmeal Stout:

"Rich, round and roasted, our Oatmeal Stout is satisfaction in a glass. It's a bold, smooth-bodied concoction that oozes dark-roasted coffee aromas and flavors of espresso and semi-sweet chocolate. We wround these heady pleasures with a dose of flaked oatmeal for a creamy body of semi-dry finish."
You can learn more about the Breckenridge Brewery at their website.

Double the Pleasure: Boulevard Brewery's Double Wide I.P.A.

I realize this makes two I.P.A. recommendations in a row, but as I walked down the aisle of our local speciality store, the Boulevard Double Wide I.P.A. jumped out at me.  Boulevard Brewery started in 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri and has grown quickly in the last twenty years.  

Having lived in Kansas City for a few years in the past, I was very familiar with this brewery, which has a reputation for creating all-around, good beers.  It's one of those breweries where, when you see the Boulevard name on the label, you know you're getting a good beer.

The Double Wide I.P.A. stood out to me for two reasons.  First, it is rare to see Boulevard as far away from Kansas City as the Pacific Northwest, which goes to show you that its beers are slowly catching on around the country.  Second, this beer is part of a new series of specialty brews called the Smokestack Series. 

At the Boulevard website, this is what the brewery has to say about the Smokestack Series:

"We've made beers like these for years, but just for ourselves and brewery visitors.  Now, we're able to share these limited edition brews with a wider audience.

A labor of love, these bold, complex ales include both traditional styles and daring experiments, allowing our brewers to explore some of the more esoteric realms of their craft.  They have been carefully nurtured and refined through countless test brews over many years.""

As I write this, I am sipping the first few tastes of the Double Wide I.P.A. and it is a fantastic beer.  This beer is 8.5% ABV, but you would never know.  It does not have the overbearing taste that you sometimes get with the stronger I.P.A.s.  This is a well-balanced beer with a nice caramel malt that balances out the hops.  The first taste is both smokey and citrusy.  It has a slightly bitter, dry aftertaste, where the flavor really bursts.  This is a great beer for I.P.A. lovers.  

Here is what Boulevard Brewery says about the Double Wide I.P.A.:

"We use Zeus and Magnum hops for both bittering and aroma, and Ahtanum hops solely for aroma.  Two additional dry hopping regimens employ Ahtanum, Centennial, and Chinook varietals.  The resulting beer--not surprisingly--has a hop forward aroma, redolent of peach and apricot.  The assertive flavor bursts forth with citrus notes of blood orange and lemon, and a caramel malt backbone serves to balance the intensity of the hops.  Warning:  this F4 hop storm shows no restraint--it is not for the faint of heart!"

Dogfish Head: Got Time for A 90 Minute I.P.A.?

A good friend introduced me to Dogfish Head a few years back.  At the time, it was very difficult to find this brand west of the Mississippi.  But over the last year or so, it has started to pop up more and more at specialty beer shops around town.  This beer is a must for I.P.A. lovers and you will realize it as soon as you open the bottle and get a whiff of what is inside.  This beer is hops central.  Its ABV is 9%, but you would not know from the taste because Dogfish Head does such a fine job balancing the hops and malt.  This beer is only slightly carbonated and is much more smooth than the typical I.P.A.  The flavor is pretty robust, with hints of grapefruit and pine.

Here is what the Dogfish Head Brewery has to say about it:

Esquire Magazine calls our 90 Minute IPA., "perhaps the best I.P.A. in America." An Imperial I.P.A. brewed to be savored from a snifter. A big beer with a great malt backbone that stands up to the extreme hopping rate. This beer is an excellent candidate for use with Randall The Enamel Animal!

Original Release Date: 

04/2001

Food Pairing Recommendations: 

Pork chops, beef, grilled fish, frites, focaccia, split pea soup, Stilton cheese & escargot

Glassware Recommendation: 

Snifter

Tasting Notes: 

Brandied fruitcake, raisiney, citrusy

The Royal Brewery of Krusovice: A Rare Treat

This is my current favorite.  The Krusovice Cerne was recommended by a bartender at one of my favorite bars in West Seattle.  It is a great tasting, dry beer.  When you take a drink, you get a great brown ale-type flavor that quickly evaporates.  This beer is very dry.  It is a great summer beer, but it can be difficult to find.  I would recommend it to anyone who would consider themselves fans of I.P.A.s or stouts.  Here is the story of the brewery from the local tourism board.

"The Královský Pivovar Krušovice (the Royal Brewery of Krušovice) is one of the oldest and at the same time one of the most advanced breweries in the Czech Republic.

The oldest mention about the brewery is already from 16th century. You can find The Royal Brewery of Krušovice cca 50 km away from Prague on the Prague - Karlovy Vary route.

The historical buildings of the Krušovice brewery are being continually renovated. At present in one of the parts of the brewery the famous beer of Krušovice is made. Other part of the brewery is possible to see during the brewery tour. Most excursions finish with beer tasting in the Meeting Room, the room itself was previously used as a malt house.

First-class raw materials, prime technology, experienced and honest brewers - that all makes up quality which is common for all four types of Krušovice beer which the royal brewery brews nowadays. 

Light lager beer has a slight gold colour, a deliciously bitter taste and an excellent foam. The dark beer has a full, sweet caramel taste and a light hop flavour. The high quality of the raw ingredients assures the excellent taste of the beer. This beer has many friends at home as well as abroad and the number is still increasing. The same interest of foreing market has the Czech Premium Lager, this beer  has a slight gold colour, a deliciously bitter taste and an excellent foam. Pleasant and significant sharpness is another of its qualities.

n the collection is not missing the Musketeer Beer. This beer is brewed in accordance with a special recipe developed by Krušovice's Master Brewers. This lager beer has a strong golden colour, a pleasant bitter hop taste, a full sweet body and a compact foam."

Free State Brewery Oatmeal Stout

This one has a special place in my heart after having spent a few years in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Free State Brewery.  The typical night involved a few stouts with one of the brewery's great meals and then I'd head over to catch a show at the Bottleneck, a small, intimate music venue that hosted national acts.  For a stout-lover, the Free State Oatmeal Stout is a must-try.  It's well balanced and is really smooth, something that you don't see in many microbrew stouts.  Here is the brewery's description:

"Silver Medal Winner 1997 World Beer Championships - Oatmeal Stouts. Our classic dark beer. Full body and a well rounded flavor comes from a foundation of seven different grains. The oats add a special silky texture that complements the roasted malts. The rich malty flavor is spiced with plenty of Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops for balance. Enjoy this perennial Free State Favorite by itself or as a blend with one of our other beers."

Also of note is that this is a very strong beer.  It is not an imperial stout (Free State has its own seasonal imperial), but it doesn't take but a few to really feel the effects.  You can purchase growlers at the brewery.  I have not come across any place online that offers the Free State beers.

Lawrence, Kansas is forty-five minutes west of Kansas City, Missouri.  If you find yourself in the area and have time on your hands, this is the place to go.  

A Great Summertime Brew: Snoqualmie Copperhead Pale Ale

I'll start this post by recognizing that I am not a sophisticated beer drinker.  I enjoy good beers and I enjoy trying new beers I haven't heard of.  I have always been a fan of darker beers, especially stouts.  But there is something to be said about a lighter beer such as a pale ale or hefeweizen in the summertime.  One that has caught my attention in recent months is the Copperhead Pale Ale made by Snoqualmie Brewery, which is located in the mountains just forty-five minutes east of Seattle, Washington.  The Northwest is known for its microbrews.  I don't hear this brewery talked about a whole lot and I've never received a recommendation for it, despite the fact that Seattleites love to give microbrew recommendations.  

I usually buy the Copperhead Pale Ale at our local QFC in Seattle.  It comes in a twenty-four ounce bottle and runs about $3.49 a bottle.  It is 5.3% alcohol.  I am enjoying one as I write this blog.  Here is Snoqualmie Brewery's description of it.

"We use light Crystal malt with Two-row Pale, Munich and Aromatic malts to give Copperhead Pale Ale a slightly toasty flavor and deep gold color.  Cascade hops add just the right amount of aroma and dryness for a clean, bright ale that pairs well with most foods."

I like the Copperhead because it is very flavorful, but not overbearing.  The hops balance is great, which I like since so many beers lately seem to be judged by the amount of hops.  The rule seems to be, the more hops, the more hype.  I agree that hops is important, but some beers over do it.  

I agree with Snoqualmie's description of the "toasty flavor."  That pretty much nails this beer.  This beer probably won't win any awards, but is no doubt, a reliable, good-tasting beer.  Be careful though:  a few too many of these will leave you with a worse hangover than you would have predicted.

You can learn more about this and other Snoqualmie beers at their website, where they appear to be working on an online store:  www.fallsbrew.com