Phil knows beer. His wife and I have been friends for years and Brett and I have really enjoyed becoming closer friends of theirs over the past few months. While we were out on a double lunch date Sunday, I asked Phil if he would share is knowledge of brews and suggest a few favorites with my readers who were looking for an alternative Christmas gift for their beaus. He took the task with pleasure (with a grinning Brett being a willing taste tester) and has offered not one but 3 posts of information to share! So if your guy likes light, medium, or dark beers... you (and him) are in for a treat; served with a world of knowledge! This is the first of a 3 week series. Up first this week: light brews.
Change
can be hard, but let’s face it; the same old bland flavored beer just isn’t cutting it anymore.
This Holiday Season, why not treat your guy to some new (or
tried and true) beers! Some may be familiar, some may sound weird; but all of them
are delicious in their own unique way. I hope that within this list, you’re
able to try at least a couple (why not all?) of these quality beers this
holiday season, and on throughout the year. Most of the beers included are
available year-round, though availability may depend your location. I live on
the East Coast United States, and most of these are available all over the
U.S.- if not, just bug your local beer store until they get it in for you!
First off, let’s quickly run through some beer definitions
to make it easier to work through this small, essential guide for that perfect,
fridge-stuffer this season:
ABV – This means how much alcohol is in the brew. Your
average beer is around 5%; and your average wine is around 12%.
Hops – This is a plant that’s used to provide a bitter
flavor to beers. Historically, hops were used to help preserve beer during long
transports by ship from England to Indian colonies. The taste of hops in beer
grew in time, and is now considered an essential element in brewing. India Pale
Ale’s or IPA’s are the representative of this trend.
BUI – This determines how many “Bittering Units are in a
beer. Often this is used when describing a “hoppy” beer (a plant used to make beer
have a more bitter taste). Typically, you’ll only really want to know this
number when buying a beer that’s specially made to have a “hoppier” or more
bitter flavor, like an IPA (India Pale
Ale)
Mouth-Feel – This describes how the beer sits on the pallet.
For example; milk has a much different “mouth-feel” from a soda. Soda has a
much more crisp and clean mouth feel, where-as milk could be described has
having a more malty mouth-feel.
Malty – This is a term to describe a beer with a full body.
Think of it like drinking a “malt milk-shake” to understand the term. A more
malty beer will have a thicker “mouth-feel”, and typically tends to be a little
sweeter.
*Some beers are meant to be enjoyed at warmer temperatures-
Icing these kinds of beers down to frigid temperatures often hides a lot of
subtle notes and hints that the brewer meant for you to experience and enjoy!
Always follow the recommended serving instructions on the bottle. If there are
none, then it’s safe to assume normal fridge temperature is the best way to
enjoy.
Now on to some great brews!
Allagash Belgian Style Wheat
This is a delicious un-filtered wheat beer. It’s cloudy in
color, yet clear and crisp in taste. Notes of Nutmeg, citrusy combinations of
lemon, orange, and tangerine give it a wonderful earthy flavor and mouth-feel.
This delightful Belgian has a really nice, light texture with no overbearing
flavors.
Truly a beer for all
occasions, it’s light enough to enjoy on a hot day in mid-summer, yet provides
enough depth and character to be a wonderful brew for those chilly, autumn
nights by the fire .
I was greatly
impressed with the character and flavor of this beer. Not overly heavy, syrupy
or bitter; it’s a wonderful balance of spice and citrus, and a perfect
year-round beer.
Brewery: Allagash
Brewing Company, Portland, Maine
ABV: 5.0%
Price Range: $10 / 4pk
Pairings: Salads, Goat
Cheese, Grilled Chicken
Yuengling Lager
No doubt you’ve seen Yuengling in stores recently. This historic
company is the second largest
micro-brewery in the U.S., and
distribution continues to grow at a very steady pace. I first encountered Yuengling Lager while living in Pennsylvania and was pleasantly surprised to
find a delicious crisp and clean Amber Lager.
The brewery is touted
as America’s Oldest, dating back to 1829, and its tradition of producing fine-quality
beer is clearly shown with their flagship brew.
Yuengling’s Amber Lager has a darker color than a standard
American Style Lager but still maintains a very light, easily drinkable body
and texture. This is a great beer for either warm or cool weather, with an unassuming,
yet satisfying quality.
Yuengling boasts nothing special and nothing fancy. It’s just
a great anytime beer for a really good price! I definitely recommend this for
anyone looking to break out of the mold of the same old American Lager- the
quality is that of some more expensive craft American Lagers, but with a price that
rivals even the cheapest mass-produced beer on the market!
Brewery: Yuengling
Brewing Company, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
ABV: 4.4%
Expect to pay: $6.00-$8.00
/ 6pk
Pairings: Chicken
Fajitas, Fried or Grilled Catfish, Pizza, Burgers, (goes well with just about
anything!)
Magic Hat #9
This is a Pale Ale Style beer with extra spice (can you tell
I like the spicy beers?). There are hints of Clove, Nutmeg, Allspice, combined
with a nice balance of citrusy Apricot. Magic Hat’s #9 is wonderful on tap or
bottled, and a must-try for new flavor seekers!
Magic Hat is a great brewery- They definitely are willing to
experiment, and my Hat is off to them for that reason alone. There are a lot of
other flavors (seasonal and year-round) that Magic Hat puts out, but #9 has become
one of my absolute favorite, staple Magic Hat Brews.
There’s enough hoppiness to keep the beverage lively, and yet
it’s balanced out with a nice light-medium body of spices.
This one is great for those just who want to test the waters
beyond the typical American Lager or Pale Ale. While, not overly aggressive, #9
still holds enough intrigue for even the snobbiest of your self-proclaimed
beer connoisseur friends.
Brewery: Magic Hat,
Burlington, Vermont
ABV: 5.10%
Expect to pay:
$7.00-$9.00 / 6pk
Pairings: Zesty
Chicken, Pizza Margarita, Smoked Salmon
Weyerbacher (why-er-bock-er) Merry Monks’ Belgian Style Golden Ale
Merry Monks is a Belgian Style Abby Tripel (think of a
really stout Pale Ale). It has a really nice creamy texture and mouth-feel with
very subtle hints of banana.
The traditional Belgian yeast is very apparent and gives the
beer a very complex flavor, and very sweet as well. This has no real bitterness,
and is a real pleasure to drink!
Merry Monks’ is a great cool weather Ale; it’s a very
warming drink. You’ll notice an almost wine-like quality to it with a
moderately dry finish. Overall, this is one of the sweeter, more robust,
complex and thoughtful beers that I’ve been able to try, and I think you’ll
really find a wonderfully similar experience.
*Extra tip- This beer
is conditioned in the bottle (a bit of yeast and sugar is added at the time of
bottling to give it that extra creamy carbonation) Try storing a couple of
bottles out of sunlight for a few months (at around 55-60 degrees)– This
conditioning process helps keeps it fresh and will continue to mature the Ale,
allowing for a drier and crisper characteristic.
Brewery: WeyerBacher, Easton, PA
ABV: 9.3%
Expect to pay:
$10.00-$12.00 / 6pk
Pairings: Fresh Baked
Bread, Rueben Sandwich, Pipe Tobacco and a good book
New Belgium Ranger IPA
I’ll go ahead and warn you, you’ll be seeing a couple of New
Belgium’s brews on this blog posting, and there’s a good reason!
Leading off the New Belgium Brews, and finishing off this
first set of “lighter” brews, is the Ranger IPA, an American Style India Pale
Ale.
Ranger is an experience in delicious Floral, Citrus, and
Fruity Hops. This beer is at a reasonable 70 IBU, so right at a good place for
a medium IPA.
The beer starts hoppy, has a decent balance of
medium/caramel malts, and then has a nice, dry finish with the zest and pop of
Citrus Hops again.
The color is a beautiful amber-tone, the body is just malty
enough to handle the trifecta of hops. For IPA and Hop lovers, this is a beer
that’s easy to have just one more!
Like many of New Belgium’s brews, there’s nothing super
[insert adjective here] about this splendid IPA, it’s just really good.
Brewery: New Belgium,
Fort Collins, Colorado
ABV: 6.5%
Expect to pay:
$8.00-$10.00 / 6pk
Pairings: Burgers,
Ribs, Creamy Potato Soup, Grilled Trout
Brought to you by my dear friend & ghost-writer:
-Phil Harmonic Smorgasbord
