Hocking Hills Hefeweizen

Barrelhouse Brewing Company
Cincinnati, Ohio
4.6 percent alcohol by volume
22 fl. oz. bottle
Sampled: July 30, 2006

From the first taste, this marvelous beer could pass for the product of the best breweries in Belgium and Germany. Maybe Barrelhouse Brewery owes a debt to Cincinnati's German heritage here, but they produce a beer that widely defied my expectations.
After a summer of drinking virtually any hefeweizen/Belgian wit I never before tasted, too many overhopped hippie-made microbrews started to leave a bad impression. Cruising the single-bottle cooler at Palmer's Beverage, I spotted this and grabbed one, waiting for the disappointment to begin.

But Hocking Hills Hefeweizen offered a different tale.

Barrelhouse crafted a beer that resides among the heights of Celis White and other masterful wheat beers. The citrus and spiciness strike up from the initial whiff and hold a tight grip on everything that follows. Banana, clove, orange and vanilla mingle nicely, though the citrus is firmly in charge.

I couldn't ask for a better summer session beer, though in this case, the session lasted a single bottle.

Barrelhouse, stay small, and don't let mass-production fiddle with that beer. Since it's made with organic ingredients, I expect that will be the case.
Rating: 8.5/10

Saison Imperiale

Belgian Farmhouse Ale
Brewmaster's Collection Special Reserve
De Prouef Brouwerij, Lochristi, Belgium
8.5 percent alcohol by volume
Sampled: July 26, 2006

After getting past the initial shock of the color and its strength, neither indicative of the standard Saison, the Saison Imperiale grew on me quickly. It has a dry foamy head which dissipates quickly. However, Saison Imperiale needed a lot of help to surpass the ugly nose - it brings to mind many smells I'd rather forget, so let's just call it "a dirty barn bouquet."
Luckily, it found it in the not-quite Saison flavor and finish. Saison Imperiale does come with a spiciness true to other Saisons, but it diverts in its other charming characteristics.

The ale comes on strong with a robust, dark red fruit character - cherries, apples, even a little touch of plum --- though it does not follow the path of the high-alcohol quadruple-fermented ales.

Through a 750-milliliter bottle (not pleased with its synthetic cork; for me, it's true cork or a cap, with no room for middle ground), Saison Imperiale remains quite pleasant and drinkable.

Its makers deserve praise for carving a new niche in the pantheon of Belgian beer styles. Not fitting the traditional Saison standards, they do a solid job of treading new territory.

Just don't inhale it too deeply.

Rating: 6.5/10

Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection 4-pack

Samuel Adams isn't a brewer people sit on the fence with when it comes to their beers: they love or they loathe. But once you get away from their mainstream beers, a more adventurous side of the brewer emerges, resulting in some rare brews, like its Double Bock and its Fall Harvest Imperial Pilsner.

On July 4, I caught a glance of the Brewer Patriot Collection, four ales made from Colonial-era beer recipes. $10 for 4 beers might not sound like a bargain, but at least 3 of these beers here are usual enough to merit the purchase.
I drank all four beers from a Statesmetal beer mug, since other beer vessels of the time weren't available to me, and I'm pretty sure the Sam Adams portrait on most bottles holds a metal mug. But I could be wrong on that. All I really know if what I tasted. And I'll give each beer its own rating; to rate such a disparate group of ales together does justice to none of them.

Traditional Ginger Honey Ale: The most pleasant surprise of the batch. I had no expectations, but what I found was a perfect summer session beer; drink it in the sun all day and never suffer from its ill effects. Honey, ginger and lemon hit the taste buds early and often, just as the name promises.

Because it fermented quickly and could be made from everyday ingredients, this was an everyday libation for the colonists. Even at 5.5 percent alcohol-by-volume, this would serve as a fine alcoholic substitute for ice tea on a hot summer afternoon.

Rating: 8/10

George Washington Porter: Easily the best beer here, if only because it stands out as one of the best porters I've ever tasted. Most porters come off as stout light (which they are), but those one takes off in new directions of flavor and complexity. I attribute that to its unfiltered state (none of the beers in this collection are filtered) and the sharp flavors it exhibits: molasses, licorice and a divine roasted finish that recalls a German rauchbier.

I want a sixer of this porter. And I'm not a fan of most porters.
9.5/10

James Madison Dark Wheat: Blah. That's all I can say. I've been drinking too much hefeweizen and wit bier this summer to show patience for an ordinary wheat. It isn't bad --- some slight toffee and cocoa flavors emerge later in the sampling. Coming on the heels of the GW Porter, however, banality is a misdemeanor.
Rating: 4/10

1790 Root Beer Brew: Advertising exactly what it is once again, here we have an alcoholic root brew, with a strong - though not imposing - spearmint tone running through it. Another one that works well on a hot summer day. However, it is heavy like root beer, and more than one glass might leave you on the bloated side. Since I only had one, I think it was a quality, if somewhat esoteric, way to wrap up the fine Brewer Patriot Collection (just as long as we ignore James Madison).
Rating:7/10

Busting free of the notebook

I'm shoving my beer tasting notes into the face of the world. After seven months of scribbling random thoughts on the beers I drink, it's time to drop them in a new setting --- i.e., one where other people might actually see them.

I'm going off a 10-point scale, because four or five star-scales are too absolute.

Up first: The Sam Adams Brewer Patriot Collection on Thursday.