Author Archives: lizbertjane

Sprecher Winter Brew

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Sprecher Winter Brew

Sprecher Winter Brew: Makes me want to switch to root beer.

Joy has returned to the Brew du Jour refrigerator! After several sad, empty days, beer once again occupies the fridge door. To commemorate this occasion, as well as the  nasty, sloppy weather of late, I opened up a Sprecher Winter Brew.

While Glendale, WI-based Sprecher makes some pretty tasty root beer, I’ve never been particularly fond of their beer. Though I haven’t come across an offensively bad specimen from Sprecher’s line-up of mostly malty, German styles, none have been memorable. I also find Sprecher’s 16oz bottles annoying, since there isn’t really much to enjoy about 4 extra ounces of mediocre beer.

Nonetheless, given Sprecher’s aforementioned penchant for malty, German styles, I figured that this Dunkel Bock might be worth a try. Yet again, however, the results were unimpressive. Winter Ale is intensely malty throughout, with a slightly unpleasant sour aroma and aftertaste that, after a few sips, became a little nauseating. Since neither the brewmate or I could stomach 16oz of this stuff, most of the bottle ended up down the drain. In the future, I think I’ll stick to Sprecher root beer. The facts:

Sprecher Winter Brew

Style: Dunkel Bock
Availability: Seasonal (winter)
ABV: 5.75%
Hops: Cascade, Chinook, Mt. Hood, Tettnanger
Notes: Intensely malty, with a somewhat nauseating sour aroma and aftertaste.
More Info: http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/beer.php?cat=2
My Take: Skip the Winter Brew and stick with the root beer.

Point Special Lager

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Point Special Lager

Point, with a side of Plaza Sauce. This photo was so bad that the only a watercolor filter could make it worse.

Recently, I’ve been chastised for my seemingly ill-conceived beer choices, so I’d like to take a moment to reiterate the one essential rule of this project: only beers that I have not tried before are allowed. For some, this might not present much of a challenge, but, with nearly a decade of love for great beer to my credit, this narrows the field significantly.

150 years of crappy beer

150 years of crappy beer

On a stop at The Plaza this past Friday, my “only new beers” rule backfired a bit, leaving Point Brewery Special Lager as the only qualified option. Well-known in the swampy, flat area of the state that I hail from, Point Brewery has been supplying the northern half of Wisconsin with cheap, nondescript lager since the Civil War era.

In 2007 or so, after 150 years of crappy beer, Point re-branded a bit and added some craft-ish styles to its lineup. Offerings such as 2012 Black Ale and Point Oktoberfest demonstrate modest brewing skill and are tasty enough to outweigh the shame of drinking Point in public. Some of the old standards, however, remain. Among these, of course, is Point Special Lager.

Not much to say here; it’s a typical American lager, albeit without that tinge of iniquity that accompanies macro lagers. Despite its shortcomings, however, Point Special, still does a fine job of washing down a Plazaburger. The facts:

Point Special Lager

Style: Pilsner
Availability: Year-round
ABV: 4.66%
Hops: Yakima Alpha
Notes: Not much to say here. It’s a light-bodied American Lager. Tastes like beer.
More Info: http://www.pointbeer.com/point-special-lager/
My Take: Washes down a Plazaburger handily.

Founders Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Breakfast Stout

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Founders Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Breakfast Stout: Thanks, boss!

I had every intention of remedying the unfortunate beer inventory situation today, but yet another round of sloppy, irksome winter weather mangled my precisely-timed travel plans, landing me at my beverage emporium of choice several hours after the accursed 9pm deadline. This tragic turn of events threatened to rain doom upon Brew du Jour, nearly ending my impeccable streak of daily beer consumption. Fortunately, failure was averted due to the heroic efforts of my benevolent boss.

I’ve mentioned previously that I have 3ish jobs, all of which I adore partly because of some great bosses. Today, one of these exceptional supervisors saved the day by leaving a lovely potable gift in the office fridge for me. Of course, retrieving said gift involved a frantic midnight expedition through the snow that nearly resulted in a run-in with a metro bus. Luckily, all parties survived the trip and daily tasting responsibilities were fulfilled.

Noting my affinity for Founders beers, the boss gifted me a Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Breakfast Stout. As its name implies, this is a potent concoction brimming with intense flavors and aromas. On the pour, whiffs of coffee and chocolate mixed with distinctly grainy notes emanate from this dark, viscous liquid. The flavor is mainly roasted chocolate, but a decidedly coffee-like acidity becomes apparent on the finish. While Breakfast Stout is impressive, it’s a bit too sweet and chocolatey for my taste. In the extravagant dark beer category, I much prefer Founders Porter, which offers a bit more balance and subtlety. The facts:

Founders Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Breakfast Stout

Style: Stout
Availability: Seasonal (winter)
ABV: 8.3%
Hops: Not Specified
Notes: Intensely sweet and chocolatey, with coffee-like acidity on the finish.
More Info: http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/breakfast-stout/
My Take: Impressive, but to sweet for my taste. I’ll stick with the Porter .