New Belgium Dig Pale Ale

Clear, golden and heavily carbonated, Dig pale ale is a teaser, letting us see the light at the end of the winter tunnel and getting us ready for grilling and lawn mowing to come. Hoppy, but smooth, malty, yet gritty, lemony, bready and earthy. A great beer to welcome in the IGB gardening season!

Sam Adams Mighty Oak

We really hit the jackpot with this Spring's variety pack from Sam Adams: three brand new styles (two of which I've previously reviewed). I was a little puzzled at what this was going to be like, as the label didn't give much information. After tasting it, I'd rate it a cross between a red and an amber in hue and a light Irish red in taste. The initial tastes are a subtle vanilla and caramel, as well as something I can't quite put my finger on, which must be the oak. Sweet maltiness, not quite balanced by the hops. Hard to figure out what they're trying to do with it, but consumed icy cold, it's still pretty darn good!

Schell's Bock

I've reviewed Schell's Bock before, but didn't have much to say at the time, so I thought it rated a second go 'round. This tasty bock pours a caramelly brown, with a lacy tan head. There's a malty sweetness to it, with some brown sugar and maple. German beer purity laws specify a minimum specific gravity (i.e. heaviness) and Schell's tries to maintain those standards whenever possible, giving this brew a solid character. About halfway down I detected some nuttiness and some black cherry notes. Very smooth, very tasty. Perfect for the cool of a Spring evening...like tonight!

Shiner Dortmunder Spring Ale

The Dortmunder style of beer is a pale lager that originated in the city of Dortmund in Germany. It is very similar to the Czech style from Pilzen, that is known as Pilsner. Shiner's version is indeed crisp and clear and extremely drinkable. There's distinct floral notes and evident, yet not overwhelming hoppiness. A different direction from the bocks, barleywines and Scotch ales that dominate the season. Further down the glass I detect some cloves and a little ginger. Part of the fun of springtime beer drinking is the great variety of styles that pop up between February and April. Sweet stouts and porters early on, bocks as the weather changes and lighter brews as things heat up. Enjoy!

Saranac White IPA

When out of town, one must try the out of town beers. I'm out on Long Island (pronounced Lawn Guyland) visiting Mom & Dad and I came across Saranac beer, which I had previously spotted in a beer industry magazine. Saranac hails from upstate New York, from either Ithaca or Utica, depending on what source you believe. White India Pale Ale (IPA) is a relatively new style, a combination of an IPA, with it's higher IBU - hop content, but smoothed out by the use of Belgian wheat, giving it a sharp, yet smooth taste. Saranac poured a smoky lemonade hue, with a tall three-finger head, cloudy with sediment due to its unfiltered nature. There's some prominent lemon, coriander and some orange peel. The white IPA is very drinkable, sessionable...I look forward to a few more of these at my brother Mike's tomorrow.

Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine Ale

Yes indeed, I believe it's time to move on to the barleywines. Nice & strong for the waning days of winter before full Spring. Pours a clear amber hue with a giant foamy head. Very clear - I expected an unfiltered ale - with strong tastes of toffee and honey and some hints of scotch - possibly due to the high ABV, 8 1/2 %. Now I almost hesitate to mention this one, because it's somewhat weird - but I'm getting some ripe banana in there! Despite the high ABV, Old Foghorn is smooth and drinkable; just make sure you have a designated driver.

Follows is a definition of "barleywine"

A barley wine typically reaches an alcohol strength of 8 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120. It is called abarley wine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it is made from grain rather than fruit, it is, in fact, a beer.

Most barley wines range in colour from amber to deep reddish-browns, though until the introduction of Whitbread Gold Label in the 1950s, British barley wines were always dark in colour. All are rich and full-flavoured.

Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale

Ah...we continue in the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale vein with another great one from Great Divide brewing. It's hard to believe that a year ago I'd never heard of the term "Wee Heavy". (Except from Wikipedia's entry for Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is below)

Claymore pours a dark chocolate brown, with a thin brown head. Very little smokiness, but quite a bit of the "whiskey" heat. Toffee, vanilla, and a hint of raisin & fig. I'm becoming quite a fan of this style, although the higher ABV limits my consumption. I do have this image of myself in a smoking jacket and a pipe, sitting before a roaring fire, drinking a few of these from a brandy snifter. Ah...lord of all I survey.

Scotch Ale was first used as a designation for strong ales exported from Edinburgh in the 18th century. The term has become popular in the USA, where strong ales which may be available in Scotland under a different name are sold in America as "Scotch Ale", for example, Caledonian's Edinburgh Strong Ale or Edinburgh Tattoo, is sold in the USA as Edinburgh Scotch Ale. As with other examples of strong ales, such as Barley wine, these beers tend toward sweetness and a full body.

Scotch Ale or Whiskey Ale is a designation used by brewers in France and Belgium for peat-smoked malt flavoured beers. Even though the malt used by distillers in Scotland is no longer dried by peat burning, some peat smoke flavour is added during malting by an additional process. 

Scotch Ale is sometimes conflated with the term "Wee Heavy", as both are used to describe a strong beer. Examples of beers brewed in the USA under the name Wee Heavy tend to be 7% abv and higher, while Scottish-brewed examples, such as Belhaven's Wee Heavy, can be found between 5.5% and 6.5% abv. McEwan's Scotch Ale is also 8% abv. In North East England, "Best Scotch" refers to a beer similar to Mild Ale but with a drier, more burnt palate.

Lucky Bucket Heartland Wheat

So new that they didn't even have labels on the bottles yet. Pours an apricot color, with a amber hued head - cloudy, since it's unfiltered. Definitely a wheat beer, with the characteristic wheat flavor, no bitterness, lots of smoothness. Suggestions of lemon, orange and maybe some soft summer fruit like peaches and apricots. Not a bad beer for sitting on the porch (or the stoop) in the heat of the summer. I predict that this will be a good seller for the Omaha-area brewer.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

What is Leinenkugel's marketing plan? A few days ago I was expressing disappointment that they had bypassed their Spring seasonal, 1888 Bock and jumped right into the Summer Shandy. There's no question that Summer Shandy is a popular beer, but please, let's at least try to maintain some seasonality! On the other hand, Leinie's has introduced the Big Eddy limited edition series. The Russian Imperial Stout was great, and now the Wee Heavy is stepping into those Big Eddy shoes and filling them nicely.

The Wee Heavy poured a rubyesque (that's right, occasionally I make up my own words) mahogany. Not much of a head, and as one would expect, very little hoppiness. The high ABV (9.5%) gives it a smoothness that you might associate with some good scotch. Lots of maltiness, some caramel sweetness and hints of "dark" fruits like raisins, figs and black cherries. It's incredibly smooth, and the only thing discouraging me from having more than one is the high alcohol content.