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Saturday, 06 March 2010

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout
This beer comes to us from Bell's Brewery in Michigan. It is in the style of a cream stout, and being a style I'm very familiar with as it's one of my favorite styles, I had to pick one up.

So what exactly is a cream stout? Some of you might be unfamiliar with the term, however its name is quite a literal interpretation of how it's made. Also called a sweet stout or milk stout, cream stouts are a result of adding lactose to the beer during the brewing process. Since lactose is not fermentable, it stays in its sugar form, adding not only a creamy, milky sweetness to the beer, but also body, and quite frankly, calories. An average cream stout will have about 200 to 250 calories per 12-ounce serving (about 100 to 150 net calories), and is very filling, however it's one of the most nutritious beers out there.

So how does this Bell's version of the cream stout rate? Quite frankly, I thought it was simply amazing.

Pour: Deep black in color with 3 fingers of frothy, tan head that retains well and leaves blotted lacing on the glass. This beer is eye-candy.

Smell: Up front you're greeted with a very sweet scent - like homemade vanilla ice cream. Roasted/chocolate malts with coffee notes and a floral hop undertone.

Taste: Lactose is very noticeable up front: a very vanilla ice cream sweetness starts things off - almost like a cream soda taste. The middle of the palate gives way to a fair amount of chocolate malts, and a nice bitter coffee flavor. The back end finishes up with a mild earthy hop bite. Slight alcohol burn on the way down, and a rather dry finish. Delicious.

Mouthfeel: Thick, creamy and slightly heavy. Absolutely velvety smooth, and a rather surprisingly high amount of carbonation.

Drinkability: Drinks easily, but very filling, as is typical of the style. Couldn't drink more than a couple.

Final Notes: If you're looking for an excellent example of a cream stout, look no further. This beer is beautifully balanced, full-flavored, and a pleasure to drink. The ABV isn't too bad at 6.1%. Makes a great dessert beer either paired with a nice dessert or drank all by itself. Would also be a good beer for those wanting to venture into the world of darker beers. A solid "A" beer.

Monday, 01 March 2010

Poll: What's your favorite beer style?
So, we here at LG's and Paige's Beer Reviews are dying to know:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BEER STYLE?

This is a poll. Leave your response in a comment, and rec this post. We want to get an indication of what our readers like, and that way maybe we can do reviews more geared toward what our readership drinks. Always remember to feel free to request beers for review too, anytime.

And go!

Thursday, 25 February 2010

"Triple Hops Brewed:" The Truth Behind Miller's Deceptive Marketing Tactic
Everyone knows about the "triple hops brewed" campaign launched by the Miller brewing company in an effort to tout their Miller Lite as being the best beer around. Well, what exactly does "triple hops brewed" mean? Well, at first glance it seems like they mean they use triple the hops of their competitors (which if they do, wouldn't necessarily be a lie, because when you triple no hops at all, you still get no hops), but let's take a look at the deeper meaning.

You see, most beer styles, during the brewing process, have hops added at least twice during the fermentation process, if not more than that. Adding hops multiple times during the brewing process provides the beer with bitter balance for the sweetness of the malted barley, and adds certain characteristics and subtleties to the flavor, and adds a certain complexity to the aroma.

So virtually all beers are at least double-hopped. The number of times hops are added says virtually nothing about how hoppy the beer is. It has to do with the volume/amount of hops added, in the end. Suppose I were selling lemonade, for example. Let's say my recipe calls for squeezing one full lemon. I cut the lemon into thirds, and squeeze it in three different times during the process. I can technically say I added lemon juice three times, right? Sure I can, but it says nothing about how much lemon juice is in my lemonade.

Whereas the marketing gimmick sounds cool, and it might honestly be true, it doesn't amount to much. If you think "triple hops brewing" makes a beer hoppy, you've demonstrated you don't know a damn thing about beer, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Miller Lite is not a hoppy beer.

Monday, 22 February 2010

Beer Our Last Hope In Fighting Cancer?
Perhaps so.

Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center have identified a chemical present in hops that has been shown to prevent both breast and prostate cancers - the most frequent cancers in women and men, respectively.

A chemical in hops called Xanthohumol has been shown to block the effects of excess testosterone and estrogen - which are thought to be primary risk factors in prostate and breast cancers, respectively. Also, it's been shown to suppress the production of the protein PSA which has been shown to contribute to the spread of prostate cancer.

The preliminary findings are so promising, that perhaps one day Xanthohumol might be used as a cancer-fighting drug. This would completely revolutionize the way cancer is treated, moving from synthesized, unnatural drugs to an all-natural treatment. (hey, maybe there are Natural Cures that nobody wants you to know about after all!)

So if you're in a high risk category for either cancer, it might be worth your while to have a beer or two each day. Choose ales and heavily-hopped lagers for the maximum benefit.

When combined with heart-healthy alcohol (in moderation of course), B-vitamins, folates, and proteins, beer might just truly be the worlds "miracle beverage."

Here's to a beer and a healthier you. Cheers!

Sunday, 21 February 2010

1554 Enlightened Black Ale
This beer comes to us from the New Belgium brewing company in Colorado. Honestly, this is more or less darker cousin of Fat Tire Amber Ale (which, by the way, is one of my favorite mass-produced, run-of-the-mill American ambers). This beer is brewed in the style of a Belgian Dark Ale, and although it's rather opaque, has a character and quality all its own that differentiates it from the most well-known dark style: the stout.

I had some of this on tap this week. Honestly, for a more mass-produced beer my expectations weren't all that high, however, I was VERY IMPRESSED with this beer, as is evident in the breakdown:

Pour: Dark brown. Not as dark or opaque as a stout or porter, but pretty dang close. When held up to the light, it's a very deep red-amber color. About an inch of slight off-white head that retained decently and left all sorts of lacing on the glass.

Smell: A combination of caramel and chocolate malts combined with floral, fruity, and spicy hops. A bit of an unusual acidic sour smell that was very faint.

Taste: This is one of the most complex "mass-produced" microbrew beers I think I've ever had. Starts off with a slight bit of a hop spice, moving into a caramel malty sweetness which then fades into a semi-sweet chocolate malt character. The middle of the palate has a dark fruity taste, almost like freshly rippened blackberry. The back end finishes up with a coffee overtone and leads into a mild bit of bitter, floral hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, creamy, and with a fair amount of carbonation, and very smooth. Spot-on.

Drinkability: I could sit back and drink these all day. They go down so well.

Final Notes: An excellent choice for a session beer, or to pair with food or even a dessert. This beer has so many potential uses. It satisfies a broad spectrum of tastes pulling from fruity, bitter, sweet, and coffee elements. A great beer to serve at parties and at 5.5% by volume, you can have a few. I'm going to rate this one an "A-."