Bourgogne des Flandres Ambree

I love sours, I love Belgians, and I adore anything that says Flanders on it.  It can't be helped.  After years of thinking that beer was just that watery stuff that you drink from a funnel, something with such a powerful flavor like a sour that just punches you in the face and tells you what it is is refreshing and exciting, and I don't think I'll ever get enough.  I select them somewhat willy-nilly from the sour section at my favorite local beer store, but this method has yet to let me down!

Beer: Bourgogne des Flandres Ambree

Brewery: Timmermans

Style: Flanders Red
ABV: 5.0%

Glass: Stemmed Belgian

Appearance:  Pours very dark but clear, with a beautiful red color when held up to the light.  About an inch of off-white to tan head that recedes quickly.

Aroma:  Definite sour aroma but with noticeable malty notes.  

Body & Texture:  Medium body, slightly syrupy, with a mid-level amount of carbonation.

Taste:  Distinctly Belgian.  Big sticky sweetness with vaguely malty notes, and just enough sour grape skin flavor at the end.  I may also be detecting a faint bitterness in the finish.  The Dobie says the flavor reminds him of Worstishire sauce, which I don't often eat, so I'll just go ahead and assume he's a nut and leave it at that.    Addendum - he made me taste said sauce and I see where he's coming from.  I think it's that malted "brown" flavor.

Overall: This certainly isn't the sour to end all sours, but it has pleasing wine-like fruit aromas and flavors that convey both sweetness and light sourness.  If you're looking for something that will pucker your face, this isn't it.  If you're looking for something you can sip on while eating some cheese, fruit, or even a nice cheesecake, then this is right up your alley.  A more mild Flanders, this is definitely a decent beginner beer if you're taking someone in through the sour route and trying to pair with food.  It has a distinctly Belgian character that, while it may not impress like a more powerful sour, will still leave you toasting the wonderful brewers of Belgium.  

Ithaca Apricot Wheat

Quit with the fruit beer already woman!  I know, but look, it was a long hot day at work and I need something refreshing before I tuck in to the bigger stuff.  I generally like the wheat-blend fruit beers, as many of the offer a solid balance between that bready wheat flavor and subtle sweetness with a good solid fruit backing.  Let's see how this one goes!

Beer: Apricot Wheat

Brewery: Ithaca Beer Company

Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer
ABV: 4.9%

Glass: Wheat Glass

Appearance:  Pours a cloudy straw yellow with a decent-sized white head that drops quickly with little trace.

Aroma:  Powerful apricot aromas with hints of bread or light malt in the background just barely coming through.

Body & Texture:  Light bodied with a healthy carbonation.

Taste:  Apricot flavor is definitely in the forefront with subtle hints of bread backing it up.  The apricot and wheat blend together very smoothly, with none of the jarring flavor transitions that sometimes occur with crossover fruit beers.

Overall:  A solid session beer that goes down easy and doesn't leave you disappointed.  This is a very mild beer that would be a good match for a beginner who isn't really sure they quite like craft beer (or beer at all) because it is not too bitter or powerfully flavored.  For the hopheads in the room, this won't be the favorite of the night, but it probably won't go right in the bucket either.  Grab Ithaca's Apricot Wheat for a brew session on a hot day, or if you need to convince a beer hating friend that beer actually tastes pretty good.  I promise it isn't your run of the mill, disappointingly sweet fruit beer - while pretty unassuming, this beer has a little something that everyone can appreciate and enjoy while sharing a cold one!

Check out Apricot Wheat and Ithaca Beer Co's other beers at their website - http://ithacabeer.com/home/

Beer Gear - Brewer Shirts

The Dobie had a birthday not too long ago and I of course had to order him some awesome craft beer gear.  Searching the internet is such a  toss-up, and there are questionable and sketchy sites all over the place out there.  Fearing impending internet-related doom, I headed to Etsy and searched up "hops."  After skimming through the usual homemade craft horrors that Etsy often offers, I stumbled on a delightful shop called BrewerShirts that I later discovered was a fantastic little company that produces wonderful beer gear for the hopheads and beer nerds out there!

I ended up ordering their Hop Bomber t-shirt, and am I glad I did!  My package arrived safely and very quickly, so I was happy from the get-go.  Their awesome designs are printed on what have to be the softest t-shirts I have ever had the pleasure to rub my little craft beer nerd face on, and in true-marked sizes that fit as advertised and don't shrink in the wash.  The screen-printing lasts fantastically through multiple washes, and the colors stay just as bright as the day you buy them!

I will definitely be ordering from Brewer Shirts again, and you should check them out too!  Grab a fun tee to show off your beer-nerd pride out at the bar, or a lucky shirt to wear on brew day.  Happy brewing and happy drinking everyone!

Check out Brewer Shirts on their site here - http://www.brewershirts.com/  or on their Etsy page at - https://www.etsy.com/shop/brewershirts?ref=l2-shopheader-name#

Boulder Kinda Blue

I won't lie, I bought this on a whim.  Yes, I'm a big weirdo that enjoys fruit beers.  They're good on a hot day and as a chaser between your more hefty brews, don't judge me!  In all of my drinking experience however, I've had yet to encounter a blueberry beer that has really tickled my fancy; in fact, most of the blueberry brews I've encountered have been pretty gross.  Either they have absolutely zero flavor from the fruit or they taste syrupy and fake and all around just displeasing.  But I enjoy a good Boulder beer, so I figured I would give it a shot.

Beer: Kinda Blue

Brewery: Boulder Beer Company

Style: Fruit/Vegetable Beer
ABV: 5.5%

Glass: Stemmed Tulip

Appearance:  Pours a deep gold to light-medium amber with a small off-white head that drops quickly.

Aroma:  More of a wheaty malt aroma with little to no blueberry.  I can detect the blueberry addition with a cupped hand over the glass, but it is otherwise pretty faint.  

Body & Texture:  Medium bodied, thickened by the fruit.  Effervescent carbonation assaults the mouth with a hefty prickle.  Drinking a little cold, which enhances the feel of the carbonation, but doesn't take away from flavors.

Taste:  I'm quite surprised - this is the first blueberry beer I've encountered that I haven't faced out as terrible from the first sip.  The smooth flavor starts and ends with a wheaty malt, somewhat like the slightly darker side of a hefe.  Blueberry comes in mid-taste and is lightly sweet, bringing in enough blueberry to classify this as a fruit beer without bringing in too much sticky flavor.

Overall:  As I mentioned in the pre-tasting comments, I was a little nervous about tasting this one.  I've had a few blueberry beers that have been so wretchedly syrupy and full of added fake "blueberry" flavoring that they've been just too entirely unpleasant to drink.  This one however was not at all displeasing in that department.  It is quite obvious in the flavor that fresh blueberries were used in lieu of the displeasing blueberry flavoring that many brewing companies utilize, and cheers to Boulder Beer for that!  If you're brewing a fruit beer and not using fresh fruit, shame on you - you're making an alcoholic soda that isn't fit for public consumption.  If fruit beers are your bag, go ahead and pick up a Kinda Blue from Boulder Beer - it's great to enjoy on a hot afternoon, and would be a delicious end to your Saturday BBQ paired with a fruit-topped cheesecake or a berry cobbler!

Read about Kinda Blue and check out Boulder's other beers here - http://www.boulderbeer.com/

Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

I've got to be hands down the laziest blogger ever - I am the Kansas of bloggers.  The band, not the state.  To my Kansas friends, I love you and you all work very hard.  Kansas the band, step up guys, you've released one album about every 20 years since you started.  I was hoping to have a few bottles of this, for pictures and for aging, but unfortunately due to last minute work scheduling issues (yes this isn't all I do, thank goodness), I missed out at my local beer stores!  Luckily I was able to pick up a glass on tap from my local Lizardville, so I can sit here a little buzzed minutes later and tell everyone about it!  Note however that I do have to apologize, I had a slight stuffy nose during my tasting, so my flavor and aromatic notes will be a little bit off.  It's allergy season, which is just awful for beer nerds who suffer from the plague of pollen and molds - I feel you guys!!!

Beer: KBS

Brewery: Founders
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.2%

Glass: Tulip

Appearance:  Pours a dark coffee black with a small but thick, dark tan head.  Deep and opaque.

Aroma:  Aromatics are just what one would expect from a bourbon barrel aged version of Founder's famous Breakfast stout - strong notes of bourbon with hints of coffee that creep into the nostrils and entice the drinker, promising an excellent beer experience.

Body & Texture:  Medium body with a thinly syrupy quality which likely comes from the original brew and is built up by the addition of bourbon aging, and just enough carbonation tingle to enhance the experience of the flavors.

Taste:  Absolutely divine!  Like a fine coffee aged in bourbon, with deeper caramel malt notes and hints of oatmeal, perhaps the suggestion of a light chocolate.  There is a definite alcohol warmth or burn, but without the heavy alcohol flavor that one might expect from a beer aged in a liquor barrel.

Overall: If you're a beer nerd, I don't know why you're sitting here reading my review - go find some, and go now before it's gone!  If you haven't had the chance to taste the regular Breakfast Stout from Founders, I suggest you try that first so that you have something to compare this to.  While this beer is absolutely fantastic, I feel as though my experience was significantly enhanced by the fact that I've had the opportunity to taste the pre-aged beer first.  That being said, even if you haven't had a chance to taste the regular run of the mill Founders Breakfast Stout, I am certainly not telling you to skip out on KBS season!  The warmth and depth of the bourbon blends so well with the deep, rich flavors of the initial brew that I would wager you folks that aren't big fans of the barrel aged beers will really get in to this one because of the smoothness and lack of sharp alcohol flavor.

What are you waiting for?  I know it's the first day of May, but there might be a few still hanging around, especially if you're living outside of Michigan where Founders is located - go out and find some!

Read about KBS at the Founders website, and check out their other awesome brews here - http://foundersbrewing.com/