And that goes double for Widmer's 25th Anniversary beer, the 84 '09 Double Alt. Actually, since I just picked this beer up and haven't tried it yet, soI don't know if you should buy it or not. The words all just seemed to fit so well. Alt style beer is a Dusseldorf, Germany speciality and is an ale that is stored cold and aged like a lager. The double style is unusual for an alt but goes with the doubling trend these days, which I am personally all for. This 9.8% beer goes for $5.99 per 22 oz. at Kelly's. Altstanding!
Red Hook has added the next of their big beer series following the success of Double Black stout with the Tripel, a 10.2% shot at this tricky Belgian style. I did not buy one of these yet, but it will be interesting to see if they pull it off. I'm just glad AmBev (the new name for the Anheuser Busch/InBev merger) is allowing the Red Hook brewers to experiment with styles that may not sell like Red Hook's better known beers, like the ESB. Kelly's has it for $7.49 per 22 oz. bottle.
Deschutes tries to play in the IPA ballpark again, this time with their Red Chair IPA. They have not fared well with IPAs in the past, having had to shelve their original Quail Springs IPA in favor of Inversion IPA because the Quail just wasn't very good. Inversion is better, but has a malty presence that is too heavy for the style, in my opinion. Red Chair relies on the new Citra hop, which is grown on a 5 acre spot in New Zealand and is co-owned by three breweries (Deschutes, Widmer, and Sierra Nevada). This hop produces a citrusy smell and flavor without bitterness. Not sure why you wouldn't want bitterness in an IPA, but this beer is pretty good without it. Kind of tastes like a better version of a pale ale but with a higher abv (6.4). 22 oz. for $5.99 at Kelly's and Jubilation.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I wouldn't doubt that the Widmer is excellent - I was really pleased with their 2007 special edition that they brought back as the Drifter. I'll have to check out that one and the Redhook (heading to Seattle, so perhaps can try it from the source!)
good calls
Jason I like the Red Chair. It was really nice to drink and I liked the Hops they used in the beer. I am a huge fan of the Stone Henge as well. Any way, my opinion man.
Post a Comment