Beer Tasting: Irish Beer at Dusty's Cellar

Dusty's Cellar near Lansing, MI offered a St. Patrick's Day Beer Tasting. Dusty's Cellar usually specializes in wine. From my experience, they are also clearly knowledgeable about beer.
From the list above, I sampled : Harp, Wexford Creme Ale, Murphy's Stout, Guinness Foreign Extra, Magner's Cider, McSorley's Pale Ale, Sam Adams Red, McSorley's Black Lager, Short's Uncle Steve's Stout. (Plus a special tasting of Dark Horse Brewery's Blueberry Stout.)


For those who haven't tried Harp in a few years, you're in for a surprise! It has been reformulated and is now hoppier and fruitier than before. This is a nice, light, Irish brew.

Wexford Creme Ale lacked bitterness, and tasted like the love child of an ale and a creme sherry. This paired very nicely with the assortment of Irish cheese that was offered. For me, it was good, but lacked complexity. This creme ale only struck one note.

We skipped on the Smithwick's and Guinness Draught because we already knew what those tasted like. But there was a lot of nostalgia for these two among the other tasters at the tasting.

Murphy's Stout is very similar to the Guinness Draught. Murphy's has a bit more of the coffee flavor that can come out in a stout, and it was heavier. It also tasted cleaner than a Guinness.

The Guinness Foreign Extra was one of the favorites from the Irish table. It has a very bold flavor with sourness that's rare in stouts, and you can taste the alcohol. Guinness got it right when brewing the Foreign Extra. It's everything that traditional Guinness is lacking.

Magner's Cider was not one of my favorites of the night. This is likely because it's not actually a beer, and it's much too sweet. You get left with a pleasant green apple flavor at the end note.

McSorley's Pale Ale was heavy for an ale, but still light. This is a complex beer with a good kick of hops. My first McSorley's experience, and I was not let down.

The Sam Adam's Red came as a surprise. It smelled like wet dog. I think this is because of the amount of yeast. While drinking this red, all I tasted was yeast. This is a disappointing red.

McSorley's Black Lager tasted like you would expect a lager to taste. This hit it out of the ball park! By far my favorite of the night. This was an easy-drinking heavy lager that hit all the right notes.

The Short's Uncle Steve's Stout was very bitter, and didn't hit the usual malty notes a typical stout will hit. If you really want a hoppy stout, go for this one. I wasn't a fan, but several other tasters expressed their love of this beer.

Although not part of the official tasting list, the beer guys got excited and opened a bottle of Dark Horse Blueberry Stout. This was such a delicious beer to savor. This is a stout with a hint of real blueberry flavor, not a blueberry beer with stout flavor. For a true stout fan, this is the way to go if you want a flavored stout. The alcohol flavor is quite strong, though. Drinking this was like taking a shot of liqueur. I would love to experiment and bake some blueberry muffins with this stout.

Overall we were much more impressed with the Irish table than the American Irish table. Each had its good and bad beers, but the Irish table was more consistent. Then again, they have hundreds of years of tradition going for them.

-Sandy

Beer News: Proposed Bill to Reduce the Tax on Micro-Breweries

Associated Press - February 23, 2011 3:05 AM ET
TROY, N.Y. (AP) - Sen. Chuck Schumer stopped in at a couple of brew pubs during an upstate tour on Tuesday, but he wasn't there to sample the suds.
Schumer toured Brown's Brewing Company in Troy and Empire Brewery in Syracuse to promote new legislation to cut the excise tax on small breweries. The BEER Act, sponsored by Schumer and more than 20 colleagues, would reduce the federal tax on beer from $7 a barrel to $3.50 for the first 60,000 barrels.
Schumer said about 65 microbreweries in New York would benefit. He said the beer industry supports nearly 60,000 jobs in New York state and cutting taxes on small brewing operations would allow the brewers to expand and hire more workers.
Empire employs 65 people at its Syracuse brewpub and makes 1,100 barrels a year in Syracuse and 3,000 at a second location in Brooklyn. Owner David Katleski says the company plans to develop a 5,000-barrel brewery in the town of Cazenovia by 2012.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

 If you are interested in contacting Sen. Schumer with your support, please follow this link: http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contactchuck.cfm

Beer News: Brewing and Industry - Michigan Brewery Map

Image from M-Live

Beer Review: My Take on Oak-Aged Brews

First things first: I love oak-aged beers.

I first fell in love with the flavor when I tried New Holland's oak-aged Mad Hatter. Somehow, the brewery managed to make beer taste like whiskey. And who doesn't like whiskey, right? We'd drink a lot more of it if it didn't totally screw you up at the end of the night. It is much more pleasurable to savor a full pint, and still be able to walk out of the bar when done.
Although New Holland was the first I tried, almost two years ago, the trend is picking up among brewers.

Some brewers start with fresh oak casks, burned a bit on the inside to bring out the flavor. Other brewers start with casks which have already been used for aging whiskey. Each is good, each brings its unique flavor. If you're interested in the second option, some distillers are selling their pre-used whiskey casks. They cost $80-$150 a barrel, depending on the size and the source.

Next, the brewers pick a beer flavor which will nicely compliment, or pleasantly contrast with the oak flavor. New Holland's Mad Hatter IPA is a good choice. It is a hoppy beer whose bitterness mellows with the oak. The Mad Hatter is a great base for many flavors. Any time I stop into the brewery bar, there are usually two or three additional flavor of Hatter on tap. (Though my favorite will always be the oak-aged.)
The Royal Oak Brewery in Royal Oak, MI also has made an oak-aged beer available. The one I have sampled started with their house red. Their red has an earthier flavor, which in my opinion competes with the oak. This is a good choice for people who don't like to taste the oak as much. But if you're going to give the beer a punch of oak flavor, you had better go balls out. Amiright?

Third, the brewers let their beers age in the oak cask of choice. Aging beers is also an up-and-coming trend - like people age cheese and beer for more distinct flavors. Usually, the longer it ages, the deeper the flavor.
So what pairs well with an oak-aged beer? I would suggest creamy foods, like cheese or olives, or foods with citrus, something marinated with orange or lemon perhaps.
Again, professing my love for New Holland - their pub offers marinated olives that use orange zest in the marinade. This pairs very nicely with the oak-aged Hatter.
If you're going to be drinking a variety of beers, I would recommend this type to be drunk after lighter-flavored beers, and avoid beers with fruit. The oak flavor can be quite over-powering and can mar the softer fruit flavors.

Additionally, last year I was told by a New Holland rep that their oak-aged Hatter will be heading to stores at some point in the future. Let's hope that point comes sooner than later.

-Sandy

Beer Poll: What beer should I have at my wedding?

Sandy at the Boobs & Beer blog is getting married this summer. What beer(s) should she feature?

Which Michigan beer would you be excited or pleasantly surprised to see at a wedding?

• Bell's Oberon
• Detroit Brewing Co. Lager
• Michigan Brewing Co. Mackinac Pale Ale
• New Holland Brewing Full Circle Kolsch
• Saugatuck Brewing Co. ESB Ale

View Results
Create a Blog Poll