Orkney Brewing - English Stout, Scottish Ales

Today we're trying out some fairly obtainable Scottish brews from Orkney brewing, well known for their heavy Scotch style Skullsplitter (a must try). Scottish brews are heavy on the malt side with flavors that range from caramel, toffee, smokiness, teriyaki and peat. The caramel flavor in Scottish ales generally comes from a longer boil in the kettle rather than the barley. Yeast can also attribute some of the smokiness which can also be obtained from smoked malts.

The DragonHead Stout fell more into a dry stout category being lower in alcohol (4%), these beers tend to have a dryness/bitterness due to a significant amount of roasted malts used.

The beers were

Dark Island - Scottish Ale - 4.6% ABV - bitter, malty, caramel and coffee aroma with some molasses and smokiness. Light body.

Dragon head - Stout - 4.0% ABV - smelled like teriyaki, coffee and maple syrup. Bitter dark chocolate taste, hints of bourbon. Thicker body of the three.

Red MacGregor - Scottish Ale - 4.0% ABV - A little more bitter, sweet tea aroma, floral finish, a more amber body, a more fruity and lighter taste of the three.


L: MacGregor, Dragon Head, Dark Island
A: MacGregor, Dragon Head, Dark Island
T: Dragon Head, Dark Island, MacGregor
K: Dragon Head, Dark Island, MacGregor
J: Dark Island, Dragon Head, MacGregor

Cream Ales, Munich Helles Lager, Kölsch

We're here with another round of highly attenuated beers this week with a Cream Ale (Anderson Valley Summer Solstice), a Munich Helles (Weihenstephaner Original) and a Kölsch (Harpoon Summer Ale). Attenuation refers to the process when yeast consumes fermentable sugar and converts into CO2 and alcohol. This doesn't always mean you'll get a higher alcoholic beer, however its safe to say the beer will be lighter in body and easy drinking. BMC (Bud, Miller, Coors) have capitalized on easy drinking beers, but we're going to educate you on beers that actually have flavor and look sexier in a koozie on the beach than BMC.















Cream Ales have a lot of American history (which I'll spare you details) and were brewed in response to golden lagers taking the market. Breweries were interested in making a paler beer, lighter in body, sometimes even using corn since its cheaper. Ales tend to have a quicker turn-around time than lagers due to fermentation and also could be brewed during the warm months. Cream ales are sometimes referred to an "ale" version of BMC. Take it as you may, some of the corn flavor may come through with some slight fruity flavors from the ale yeast. You don't see much of this style around.. Sam Adams, Genesee? I don't see any indication why they're named Cream ales, maybe because they have a soft mouthfeel and golden color yet sweet.

Munich Helles Lagers are another low hopped but malty sweet light beer. Hops used tend to be noble German/UK hops that are more spicy/earthy than grassy/citrusy that you'd taste in American beers.

Kölsch is a name that is protected in a Convention agreed by the Cologne Association of Brewers and the German Government fair-trade department which restricts the term to only be used by breweries in Cologne. What this means is don't go looking on the shelves for Kölsch because you're probably wasting your time. There are exports we can find in America like Reissdorf Kölsch (one of my favorite beers), however most will change the name to "Summer Ale" .. somehow Sam Adams has gotten away with naming theirs East/West Kölsch yet I don't know how. If you're looking to try this style, here's the best reference (http://beeradvocate.com/lists/style/85). Regardless, its a style you must try and from what I hear it just doesn't taste the same unless you've had to fresh from a brewery in Cologne. Anyways, we'll be trying it from my kitchen. The style is similar to the Munich Helles with a soft body, low hop profile but also has a slight fruitiness from the ale yeast and can also be slightly sulfuric.

So the reviews:

Summer Solstice - Darker color, sweeter and fruitier, nutty taste reminiscent of praline ice cream, somebody got some whopper flavors in there. Then a canned corn finish, how bout that for a canned beer?

Weihenstephaner Original - Some champagne characteristics, light with lemon undertones, slight grapes, sweet, the ladies thought it smelled like a plant which is not a too distant cousin from hops ;)

Summer Ale - dry and more subtle flavor of the three, kinda boring actually, had the most head, slightly bready taste, again the same scents as the Munich Helles.

The verdict:

L - Summer Solstice, Weihenstephaner, Summer Ale
A - Summer Solstice, Weihenstephaner, Summer Ale
T- Summer Solstice, Weihenstephaner, Summer Ale
K - Weihenstephaner, Summer Solstice, Summer Ale
J - Weihenstephaner, Summer Solstice, Summer Ale














The canned beer put up a good fight, and although they're totally different styles I was surprised it put up a fight. You can also find these in bottles along with several other varieties from Anderson Valley. Every time I crack one open the only way I can describe it is "wtf in a can" because it has so many different flavors going on, some foreign.

I really can't talk good enough about Weihenstephaner (the world's oldest brewery). Keep in mind we're reviewing their Original, however they also have a wheat Hefeweizen which we reviewed way back. It tasted similar to the Kölsch, except more flavorful and complex. If you're looking for a pretty easy to find Kölsch, go for Reissdorf.

Belgian Blond Ale, Tripel, Golden Strong Ale

Hard to believe a year has gone by since I've last updated this thing. Although the writing has slowed down, the quest for beer knowledge has not. I've decided to hit the books and start studying for the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) that will be held in June of next year (yeah a year of studying)! If at any moment you feel you've peaked your beereducation I recommend you humble yourself and flip through some of the guidelines on the BJCP website (http://www.bjcp.org/) and you'll realize the vast amounts of details in each style. So what does this all mean to you? We'll be taking three different (but similar) beer styles biweekly and putting them against each other to see if we can understand the differences in aroma, taste, appearance and mouthfeel. We'll try to pick styles that are appropriate for that particular month, although its Florida so there truly are only two seasons.

The first round we've chosen the Belgian Strong Ale category (http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style18.php) which partly consists of:















Belgian Blond Ale (right - Grimburgen Blond)
Belgian Tripel (middle - Victory Golden Monkey)
Belgian Golden Strong Ale (left - Duvel.. pronounced Doovel)

The Blond Ale tends to be the lowest in ABV of the three, but also sweeter and less bitter. It also has clean lager-like characteristics, however our tastings showed it had a malty sweetness. It is described as having a creamy head.

The Belgian Tripel has very complex aromas and flavors. Could range from spicy/peppery/clove with a little banana and citrus. Low hop characteristics. The body is very effervescent with a long lasting rocky head. Very similar to the Belgian Golden Strong, except darker/fuller bodied and slightly rounder malt flavor (although not sweet).

The Belgian Golden Strong ale is very similar to the Tripel, with some of the same aromas and flavors, but also hints of apples/pears. It shares the same spicy/peppery/clove and citrus along with a billowing head. It is also very dry and champagne-like. This style tends to be paler, drier and lighter bodied than the Tripel and slightly more assertive in hops/spiciness.

We had a special guest Jenny come join us in the tasting, so here are the ranks:

K: Duvel, Golden Monkey, Grimburgen
T: Duvel, Golden Monkey, Grimburgen
J: Duvel, Grimburgen, Golden Monkey
A: Grimburgen, (Duvel and Golden Monkey tied)
L: Grimburgen, Golden Monkey, Duvel

Duvel - Lighter color, peppery, very complex and slightly sour
Golden Monkey - Highly carbonated, lemony, slight fruit undertones (banana).. barnyard hay? peppery.
Grimburgen - Much fruitier and sweeter than its peers, smooth, slight bitter finish

This was a great style if you're looking to beat the heat, but looking for a lot more complexity and alcohol than a lager, with some of the characteristics of a Hefeweizen yet not as aggressive.

Next review will be Cream Ales, Kolsch and Munich Helles Lagers