Tuesday Review: AleSmith Speedway Stout

By Mark Iacopelli

AleSmith Brewing Company was established in 1995 in San Diego. Their history is deeply rooted in homebrewing and, more to the point, brewing beers at home that expanded style boundaries. Today the brewery has decorated its walls with nine World Beer Cup medals (five gold) and sixteen GABF medals. They also won Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year Awards in 2008. The current owner, Peter Zien, is a Grand Master beer judge. The most noteworthy beer they brew is Speedway Stout.

Some see stouts as a style of beer reserved for the cold winter months. AleSmith Speedway Stout has recently made its way to the local market and will prove that a good imperial stout can be enjoyed at any time. This 12% behemoth is imbued with coffee and has numerous variants (including a barrel-aged version) but always has a coffee influence.

When first poured the appearance is pitch black with a small tan head that does not persist. The aroma is initially very chocolate forward with a subtle coffee and bread note in the background. As the beer warms up the coffee comes through and takes the focus. The first sip slapped me in the face with intense roast. It had a big chewy mouthfeel and dryness from the roasted malts. As the beer ran across the palate, rich dark chocolate and coffee came through and continued into the finish. The alcohol was apparent at first but not overly boozy or hot. As the beer warmed, the alcohol, coffee, chocolate and roast melded together and each play a more equal role in the beer’s character. Added to that was a burnt note with sweetness and stone-fruit character that was difficult to detect initially. The finish still had a touch of sweetness despite the roast and coffee creating so much dryness.

Speedway Stout is known nationwide and for good reason. Any beer fan in love with big stouts and KBS especially will find a year-round substitute in this bottle. This beer will pair well with grilled red meats, chocolate desserts and vanilla ice-cream with red berries. Find it at Siciliano’s Market in 750ml foil-wrapped bottles for $13.99. We also carry a handful of other mainstays crafted by AleSmith.

Anchorage Brewing Love Buzz Saison: Review

By Matt Ross (not pictured)

The Love Buzz from Anchorage Brewing Company is a big special beer. It is a saison brewed with rose hips, peppercorns and orange peel. It is fermented with saison yeast and brettanomyces. From there it is dry hopped with bright fruity Citra hops and then transferred into Pinot Noir barrels. This beer was a sensory overload. I felt like a dog chasing my tail, except that I had five tails all moving in different directions. And all of the tails were made of bacon. It’s a good thing.

The upfront appearance of this beer is stunning. It is a deep rich amber in color with a bright white head. It is very effervescent. The aroma is intense, full of grapefruit citrus and big brett with lots of underlying floral earth tones from the rose hips. This beer’s aroma reminded me of crisp leaves on a fall day. The flavor did not disappoint either. It was abundant with brett and oak. Paired with the orange and peppercorn, these flavors hung onto the palate. The finish had a mild, pleasant tannic flavor from the wine barrel.

Overall this beer was amazing. If someone handed you a glass and did not tell you what it was, it would be a very confusing beer to drink, but also a ton of fun to share and analyze with a friend. Each flavor was present which is a something Anchorage Brewing Company has been great about in my opinion. I would absolutely recommend this brew for sharing among friends. Beyond it being extremely well made, it will surely drum up lively conversation (especially due to it being 8%). Share the love!

Anchorage Brewing Love Buzz Saison is available now at Siciliano's ($15.99/750ml).

Right Brain Brewing Company Concrete Dinosaur

Review by Mark Iacopelli

In a seemingly endless sea of IPAs it is difficult to find one that stands out and really impresses me. Concrete Dinosaur by Right Brain Brewing is one such IPA. It is a brown rye IPA clocking in at 7.2% ABV. Although Right Brain is most often associated with their CEO Stout, I'm not the only one this IPA impressed — the Traverse City brewery brought home a silver medal in the category of Rye Beer from The Great American Beer Festival 2015.

I poured Concrete Dinosaur into a chalice-style glass at around 43F. It poured a very deep brown almost black color. In the light you can see very good clarity and deep ruby highlights. The head is tan and pillow soft with fine bubbles lingering. On the nose I picked up grassy resinous hop aroma with pine in the background. I detected little to no malt or rye initially, but as the beer warmed more of the rye and caramel-chocolate came through. As for the flavor, wow! Initial caramel sweetness gives way to a burst of peppery rye that is both aided by hop bitterness and also makes for a near seamless transition into the hops. Hop flavor reflects the resin and pine found in the aroma. It is assertively bitter without being a tongue scrapper. The finish is immediately dry and lingers with a pleasant balance of bitter hops and nutty malt tones. As it warms nutty chocolate malt takes center stage with hops as the chorus. The mouthfeel is medium in body, medium carbonation and very smooth. It is prickly on the tongue, but has no alcohol warming or burn. Overall I thought this was a fantastic beer! It was both satisfying if you were to have just one glass, but I could see myself easily drinking a couple.

I have always been a fan of blended styles. In many cases, blending styles have a way of bringing the best out of both worlds. This beer is a wonderful marriage between the nutty chocolate of a brown ale and the crisp refreshing character of an IPA, with rye being the key to the harmonious union.

Right Brain Concrete Dinosaur is available at Siciliano's Market for $6.49/750ml while supplies last.

Anchorage Brewing Company Whiteout Wit

Review by Matt Ross

To pick up where we left off with Anchorage Brewing, I present my review of their Whiteout Wit. Traditionally this is a pretty straight-forward style that thrives on subtly: pilsner and wheat malt, conservative hop additions and wit yeast. Spices are optional. Anchorage took these basic guidelines and indulged in all departments. They added lemon peel, coriander and black peppercorn. They also added brettanomyces. It is aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels. It is also 6.5% ABV. Up front it seems like there is a lot going on.

The first thing you notice is the pour. This beer is very carbonated. Pleasantly carbonated. The color is stunning. It is a beautiful hazy pale straw in color. The aroma is subtle but dramatic. If you are not paying much attention it would be easy to overlook. Up front it had a wonderful bright sour pineapple from the brett. Upon closer investigation I found earthy and mild citrus character mixed with white wine. The first sip was a roller coaster. For everything that was put into this beer I was shocked at how well it was balanced. The brett was not too tart. You could taste each spice’s unique addition. Overall I found this beer to be incredibly quaffable and fun to drink.

Witbier is a style that is notoriously tough to make well. In my opinion Anchorage knocked this one out of the park. They did their own take on a classic and it paid off. This is a great beer for sitting on the porch and watching time pass with friends. Siciliano’s is currently selling the Whiteout Wit in 750-ml bottles for $14.39 while supplies last. Despite this beer referencing a “whiteout,” it is perfect for shaking off the cobwebs from winter hibernation and to welcome spring. Brew on.

Odd Side Ales Mayan Mocha Stout: A Review

Eric Traver is a craft beer enthusiast and accomplished homebrewer. Winner of a gold medal in Siciliano's 2013 Homebrew Competition, he lives and brews in Clarkson, Michigan. Read more of his writing on his blog, frankandmoosebrewing.com. 

Odd Side Mayan Mocha Stout

By Eric Traver

This past summer I had the opportunity to travel west to a grand Michigan town that offers a safe haven to boaters and vacationers along the picturesque Lake Michigan shoreline. This town, aptly named Grand Haven, is home to Odd Side Ales, a brewery known for churning out some of the great eccentric beers being produced today.

As I set out on my cross-state journey, I was eager to check Odd Side off my "to visit" list of Michigan breweries. (It should be noted that with new breweries popping up everyday, crossing every brewery off my list will be no easy feat to accomplish). The unfortunate thing about this story is that while in Grand Haven to visit friends, I never had the chance to make it into the ex-piano-factory-turned-brew-pub to sample their offerings. No matter. I knew my path would soon cross again with Odd Side's.

The place we met was a bottle of their Mayan Mocha Stout ($2.19/12oz at Siciliano's). This stout is brewed with coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and habaneros, a combination of ingredients that intrigued me. It seemed to be an uncommon but perfect combination for a cool autumn evening nestled up with a bowl of hearty venison chili. Being a homebrewer, I have been greatly influenced by other brewers who use unique combinations of ingredients—Short’s and Dogfish Head come readily to mind—and I have come to appreciate brewers who take risks. Let’s dig into the risk that Odd Side took to create a stout that is spicy in more ways than one.

Mayan Mocha Stout pours black, as in no-light-shall-pass black, with a thick dark tan head that holds up for a short time. Roasted barley and coffee take the lead in the aroma department as expected from an American stout. The spices and pepper were not prominent in the aroma, which I like, and I’ll let you know why shortly. The first sip is like a dance to the Mayan Gods in your mouth. The combination of coffee and cinnamon mixed with the carbonation level and the mild sting from the habanero peppers is hugely surprising. The aroma completely hides the complexity of the beer until it rests upon your taste buds. It is this surprise which is what makes this beer so enjoyable. And don’t let the habaneros scare you away. The sting only lasts momentarily paving the way for the lingering flavor of coffee and vanilla.

Pair this complex beer with a bowl of spicy chili or a pulled pork sandwich. I guarantee you will not be disappointed, and don’t be afraid to drop an unmarked pint of this on one of your stout loving friends. It will surely catch them off guard and leave them wanting more.

Odd Side Ales Mayan Mocha Stout is available at Siciliano's Market for $2.19/12oz.

Widmer Brothers Omission Gluten Free Lager: A Review

What follows is the last installment in staffer Doug Dorda's review series focusing on gluten-free alternatives to malt-based beers.

By Doug Dorda

A “hallelujah” escaped my lips as I slowly lowered the glass and allowed waves of rapturous finality to wash unbroken over my slightly frustrated mind—I had finally discovered a gluten-free (GF) beer that tasted like beer! Here was found an American lager that was as crisp and refreshing as any gluten-burdened kin that had arisen in post-prohibition America and, in the opinion of this author, to simply say that Widmer Brewing Company's Omission Lager tastes like beer could be as much an understatement as saying that Napoleon was only mildly aware of his short stature.

It is important to note, however, that amidst my throws of triumphant exclamations, I noticed that the packaging of the beer clearly states that is not in fact gluten free, but rather a lager that has had its gluten significantly removed or reduced. Before busting out the party hats and streamers, I decided that finding more information about the beer would be in the best interest of all parties.

Without getting too technical, it may suffice to say that modern brewing practice in cooperation with scientific advances have devised a few methods by which to significantly lower the amount of gluten in Omission lager and ale. The most important factor is that the beer is not entirely gluten free, much to my personal dismay. The packaging clearly states that the level of gluten in the beer has been dropped to below 20 parts per million, far lower than the threshold at which many of the country's gluten-intolerant population could be affected by. However, as the beer is not entirely devoid of gluten, true celiac sufferers have reported experiencing reactions. The debate that has arisen over the distribution of the beer is this: are extremely low levels of gluten effectively the same as no gluten at all? Perhaps the best person to help answer that question is you. Read this article further, and specific, information.

Stunned a bit by the gluten-free mirage I staggered so quickly toward, I slumped back into my chair and began to ponder this final frontier of alternative beer. Though the Omission beers offer a wondrous alternative to many, it would seem it can not meet the needs of all. Again I hear the question, “Do any of these taste like beer?” Again I find the answer seasoned with a host of caveats as opposed to a blissful yes. Perhaps it is time to say that most GF beer tastes like GF beer. Those who have experimented with sugar substitutes will undoubtedly remark that an uncanny flavor will always be present in foods once devoid of that particular signature. Beers fermented with sorghum and rice may also be expected to play host to a different sweetness that will always be the familiar signature of their “author.” However, time may be the key to developing a love for said signature: perhaps the alternative will usurp the original, and perhaps the mind will begin to associate the flavor of sorghum and rice as beer for those who may not have gluten.

For the mildly intolerant, or those sure of their threshold, the Widmer Brothers Omission beers eagerly await you. For those who must live gluten free, a myriad of GF beers, as well as ciders, meads and wine, are now available for your palate's exploration. May it come to fruition that a new love is only a taste away.

This concludes my series of gluten free experimentation.