Pangaea: Not Just Any Super Continent

Hey Gang!

Wow it's been awhile since our last post but we're back in a serious way! Moving to a new place sure takes some time to get everything set up but now that we're in good shape we've got our own home brews on the way. That's right, in conjunction with Good Brew Hunting I'll be starting my home brews under the Rayje Brewing name but with the same bulls-eye Good Brew Hunting logo. Once our first batch, the .38 Amber, is ready to drink we'll be doing tastings from both room temperature and cold conditioned bottles over several months to gauge the flavor. I hope to be as hard on myself as I am on other beers as I expect the same level of flavor from myself as other craft breweries (obviously on a smaller and INITIALLY less sophisticated level). Stay tuned!

What better way to get back in to the beer tasting spirit than to go out on a cultural limb with Dogfish Head's Pangaea! We've reviewed Midas Touch awhile ago and while I wasn't the biggest fan of the beer, I applauded Dogfish Head  for their bravery as conjurers of beer recipes. Pangaea is one of their unique "Occasional Rarities" and the ingredients are quite varied. A dash of flavors from the 7 continents (Antarctic water, Australian crystallized ginger, Asian basmati rice, African muscavado sugar, South American quinoa, European yeast, and North American maize) were enough to peak my interest and give it a shot.

The color (a yellow gold with hint of amber), carbonation (tiny bubbles instead of any head) and smell (there's more than a hint of wine in her) made me ask myself if I poured a chardonnay. The bottle recommends a snifter or wine glass but I have those rad martini glasses and I think it gives it the appropriate breathing room. Can't wait to find out what's beneath this complicated continent.

Wow...So lets roll back to my review of Midas Touch. I recall saying it was a wine trying to wear beer clothing. This time, we have the opposite problem/flavor combinations.  This is a beer dressed as a wine. Everything going in to this beer told me to expect a heavy wine flavor. Not the case. At the start there is the tiniest of wine influence what I would attribute to the fusion of ginger in to the other six ingredients. From there we enter into a wit bier (European yeast and quinoa are most likely the culprits here). Maybe that Antarctic water is who I can thank for the refreshing beginning and end to the beer. Oh, and somehow that wine influence returns at the end, waiting behind a corner to pop out and surprise me before it completely left my palate.

Surprisingly refreshing, incredibly complex yet simple and elegance. The bottle intimidates like a Beethoven symphony but you're romanticized by Stravinsky violin elegance. I can't imagine a more perfect harmony of several ingredients to complete a unique beer from beginning to end. I was expecting originality but not perfection from Dogfish Head in this beer but, for what it is, that's what they've given me. I'm only too happy to reward Pangaea with a Scottish PINTRS score. Till next time!

120 Pulls a 1080

We've talked about Dogfish Head brewery before.  They've been able to establish themselves as a US-wide high quality craft brewery that happens to have a few alehouses (where I highly recommend sitting down and grabbing a bite with your brew).  They have a few of what they call "Occasional Varieties" in their beer selection.  The one we're tasting today is the 120 Minute IPA.  I highly recommend checking out the Dogfish Head video regarding 120 Minute IPA.

The labels from Dogfish Head are well done and each of their selections stand out well against each other. There's still not much style to the outside of the bottle, but it speaks of an gentlemanly elegance.  Does what's in the bottle match up?

You'll see I poured in a pilsner-like glass, which I knew was not for this beer's ilk. But I like continuity and you can see the fullness of the beer when stood up within this glass. If a beer could pour like molasses this one would have.  There was a syrupy-thickness to the pour which was further emphasized by the overpowering aroma as the beer was poured out.  The smell of this IPA permeated throughout my bedroom with a pungent, malty alcohol wafer that's sure to intimidate.  On to the taste.

And what a first taste it was.  If we're talking about beers who can TKO just about any other beer, this is it. There's nothing really like this beer, and you can tell from it's strength just how much an impact being aged a whole month with whole-leaf hops has.  My palate felt like this was a beer that had nuzzled up with a warm whiskey barrel and comes out wanting to show the kinds of mountains beers can climb. Syrupy, sticky sweetness which sits in your mouth (and a slap of hardcore alcohol which warms the blood) on every taste.

After a few sips, I switched the glass.  My glass selection is somewhat lacking but this particular martini glass worked great as I was able to keep the beer at just the right cold temperature I wanted. My recommendation? Find this beer, buy it, and age it a little more too. I love this beer as an after dinner drink.  Drinking this in a nice snifter glass, 120 Minute IPA belongs rick with that high backed dark leather chair with an ABV that can light it's own pipe. Complicated brilliance in a bottle, this commands a Scottish PINTRS score.  Be warned, this beer will kick your ass and not feel bad about it.

Hippo over the River Saison

Tonight is a review from a brewery I have a love affair with River Horse Brewing Company.  Their website isn't as impressive as their beers.  I've grown quite fond of this gem along the Delaware River, and have high hopes for our taste this evening.

Each season,  River Horse Brewing Company does a different beer under its Brewer's Reserve label.  This season is a first tasting for me, they're Saison Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale.  This is a style of beer I've yet to taste so I decided to do a little research about what a saison farmhouse ale is all about.  According to Wikipedia, the saison ale originated from Wallonia, a French-speaking region of Belgium.  The beer was meant to be refreshing but local alcohol content so as not to easily intoxicate it's primary consumers, farmers.  It was meant to be just strong enough to prevent spoilage.  The US versions of saison ales are less concerned with the ABV content and more concerned with getting the hoppy base flavor just right.

The picture above doesn't do the beer's color justice.  The head is light and with a fizzy consistency.  It's got the sweet smell I'd expect from a honey ale or mead.  I was excited from the moment I poured it and was expecting the refreshing flavors of a Belgian wheat summer ale.

Wow, these flavors were complex.  It's hard to break down the complexity of all the flavors at work but I like to think of it as an explosion of spices and hops.  Lighter on spice than a Christmas ale which gets overpowered with nutmeg, but definitely a cavalcade of different spices at work here.  As far as getting a hop base right which is in traditional saisons, it's definitely there in force.  The two combine for something not quite light enough for a hot beach day but I look forward to coming home from a day of work and letting my body soak in the deliciousness that  River Horse Brewing Company has created with this saison.  I can't wait to stop by and hear the story behind this recipe from some of their staff.  This beer doesn't QUITE survive the test of all seasons that I'd like to see in a Scottish PINTRS, but it most certainly deserves a French rating. Till next time!