Monthly Archives: September 2010

Photography and beer

I am kind of a weirdo, just ask my wife. I am really into a lot of different things. One of the things I like best about my beer hobby (and it is a hobby) is that I can join some of my interest together. For instance, I really like the whole website thing. I am not good at it, but I like it. Another thing I am becoming more and more passionate about is photography.

You will notice that I put up a lot of pictures when I review a beer. A lot more images than most beer blogs use. Generally the types and positions of the photos are the same, but I still like to put a bunch up there. I really like photographing beer. It allows me to share it with you and it is also an interesting subject to photograph. It is always changing and has a wonderful movement to it.

I also really like photographing things up close. The macro setting and I are best friends. I am a bit limited to not doing some things because of the equipment, but in general my simple camera is up to most of the tasks I ask it for. You will notice that I tend to grab a lot of up-close photos of the beer bottle. I love beer labels and I don’t see enough high quality images of them on the internet.

I think the images presented on this site are improving, and I hope they keep getting better. A digital SLR is on my wish-list, but so is a house, and a kegorator. I think the other two items will beat out the SLR for right now. Anyone else have other interest that get married in the context of beer?

Beer Review #67 Festbier

It’s the time of year when the fall beers are rolling out. I have about a dozen pumpkin, Oktoberfest, and fall style beer lined up so far, and that’s just from one trip to the beer store. Today’s beer is Festbier from Victory Brewing Company. Festbier is actually not a seasonal brew anymore, Victory brews this year round but it can only be found in bottles September through November.

Victory describes the beer as “a rick amber lager in the tradition of Oktoberfest.” They also brew this beer with a decoction mash, which basically means they take some of the wort out of the mash tun, boil it, and then throw it back into the mash tun. By doing the brewing method, you get a very strong malt component added to the beer.

Festbier pours a brilliant amber color and is perfectly clear. The pours with a thin white head that quickly fades to nothingness. The nose is very malty, which is to be expected as I mentioned earlier. There are some bread components in there as well. I didn’t notice any hops or ABV on this beer which isn’t super surprising.

On the first tasting you really get a sense of the malt component. The beer has a very nice body. Festbier is a slightly sweet beer, which, with all of that malt, should not come as a big surprise. There is a nice slight hop bite towards the end, but it is very approachable. I love beers that have a nice bread aftertaste, and Festbier delivers.

Overall I really enjoyed this beer. It comes in at 5.8% ABV so you don’t have to plan an afternoon around drinking this beer. It has a nice malty body and not a lot of hops. It should be a dream for a new comer to the craft beer world but is a solid choice for the seasoned expert. I enjoyed every drop and I am going to be getting another six pack soon. I can’t wait to have my patio door open and enjoy a crisp fall night while sipping this and watching my Phillies play in October. Continue reading →

Beer Review #66 Wailua Wheat

I really dig Kona Brewing Company. I think it is more do to the fact that I loved the time that I spent in Hawaii, but I do love me some Kona. Wailua Wheat from the Kona Brewing Company is a wheat ale brewed with passion fruit. The bottle says that it is a limited release, but I have no idea how limited it was. I got it when I was in Texas, so it probably wasn’t super limited. I guess it falls into a summer release as it is in production from March to September. Wailua is Hawaiian for two fresh water streams mingling.

It pours a light straw to blond color and is perfectly clear. For a wheat beer there really wasn’t much head to speak of. It was pretty thin, full of tiny bubbles, and white. The nose is very sweet. You can get the fruit on the nose as well. I really don’t know what passion fruit smells like, but I think the beer captures a good fruity smell that I can only imagine is passion fruit.

Wailua Wheat has a slight biscuit flavored maltiness which is quickly taken over by the passion fruit. The two flavors then combine on the aftertaste and mix really well. There is no hop to speak of which was just fine with me. The beer is actually pretty solid for a fruit wheat beer. Usually the fruit is over the top and makes it undrinkable. Wailua Wheat is much more balanced, but as you drink more, the fruit/sweetness starts to get a little overwhelming. Not a bad beer by any means and a solid summer beer, but not something I loved. It did take me back to Hawaii for a bit, and for that I am thankful. Continue reading →

I hate beer snobs!

Out in Texas I ran into a few beer snobs at the local homebrew club, but overall, they didn’t bother me all that bad. They knew what they liked and what they didn’t. No problem with that. Now that I live in Delaware, I have run into more beer snobs than I have ever met. I think this is do to a larger number of educated beer people, but it is getting annoying.

I was at my new favorite beer place yesterday trying to grab a bottle of Dogfish Head’s Bitches Brew and I ran into the worst beer snobs I have ever met. It started with my wife and I looking around the store trying to see if they had it. We could not find it in any of the coolers or on the shelves so we asked one of the guys who works there if they had it. Limit two per customer, cool. As the worker descended into the back room, a couple who overheard the conversation came over to us and said, “we had a bottle of that this morning, it was alright, not really that great.” What! The rules of being in public say that you don’t listen in on other peoples conversations and make comments on them.

You also do not give your opinion on a beer that someone else specifically asked for unless they ask you for one. We were in the store for about a half hour getting what we wanted and the couple did not move from one shelf the entire time. They were in the way, and were on their iPhones looking up each and every beer on the shelf. If it didn’t have an “A” rating, it did not go in the cart. I hate that. Get something that you like, don’t depend on other people’s tastes. I love the craft beer world and love the community surrounding it, but those kinds of people drive me up the wall.