Primo Lager

This past winter, my sister went on a trip to Hawaii and being the wonderful sister that she is, she brought me back some rum and a bunch of beer to try. Some of the stuff, like Maui Brewing, I had seen before, but others were brand new to me. For instance, Primo Island Lager is a beer that I hadn't heard of before. Being an "Island Lager" I wasn't really expecting much, as they are usually meant more as a thirst quencher than a flavor forward beer. On the other hand, craft beers usually have to give you at least a unique and interesting flavor to survive in the beer market. I decided to be optimistic. 

Unfortunately my gut was correct. It is little more than an underwhelming lawn mower beer. It has a taste like sweet, grainy water. The flavor goes away quickly and leave only a slight sweet aftertaste. It isn't offensive, but it also doesn't make me what to drink it. I'm sure it would be much better sitting on a Hawaiian beach than on a cold winter night on the East Coast. Nonetheless, the only way I will be drinking another Primo is if I am in Hawaii and looking for a local beach beer. 

After minimal research, it turns out that Primo is owned by Pabst, which had I known that prior to tasting it, would probably have diminished my opinion even further. I'll leave it as: It is not a good beer, but it isn't offensive.

Glassware: Pint, Bottle

Synonym Beer: It is like a sweet version of Rolling Rock.

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html. 

J.W. Lees Harvest 2005 (Lagavulin)

I am a big fan of Lagavulin 16 Year Scotch Whisky. Naturally, when I saw a beer that had been aged in Lagavulin casks, I jumped at the opportunity, regardless of the fact that it was about $17 for a 9.3 oz bottle. This is one of those beers that I am happy to have tried it, but I don't think I will be going back for seconds. 

I'm not sure what it was about this beer that I didn't particularly love. It could be that it is a Barelywine, a style that I don't particularly care for. It could be that it was aged for about 8 years by the time that I consumed it. It was just too sweet for me. There wasn't nearly enough Lagavulin for me to justify the amount of money I spent on such a small bottle. I am glad that I only gave myself a 2 oz tasting (I split it with my family). It was boozy and sweet, which in combination, is really unpleasant to me. I will be open to trying this again, provided it is on the younger side and the price is substantially less. Maybe my palate isn't refined enough for a beer this style. What I do know is that I didn't understand this beer and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Never pretend to like a beer that you don't. There is no reason to do that. 

Glassware: Snifter

Synonym Beer: Couldn't tell you. 

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.

Andygator

I was honestly very surprised by this one. I didn't really know what to expect. I know that Abita has a couple beers that I really enjoy, specifically Turbodog (Brown ale), but I didn't know how a Helles Doppelbock would be. I've never had one before, how could I? 

As you may know, a Doppelbock is a dark, heavy German lager. I think this has more in common with the Maibock, which are traditionally as strong as Doppelbocks, but with a lighter color and less heavy flavor. 

Andygator was very pleasant. It was largely dry, but had a sweet finish that you would associate with bocks. The malts and hops used are perfect for recreating a German style. It is a tad heavy on the alcohol for my tastes. You do get a little bit of booziness in the flavor, but that is more of a reflection on the style than the beer, I think. It would be a nice beer to share on a cool summer night. This is one that I will definitely be buying in the future. 

Glassware: Stein, Pilsner glass

Synonym Beer: Victory St. Boisterous 

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.

E.S.Bam

If you have read this blog before, then you probably know that I love Jolly Pumpkin. You might know that they produce a variety of funky, sour beers that I find to be delicious. Some people, however, aren't as big of a fan of the funk and some people love hops. You might think that Jolly Pumpkin has nothing to offer them. You are most likely wrong. 

I'm not saying that hop heads will definitely like E.S. Bam, especially if they don't appreciate funky beers, but it does hold two extremes for Jolly Pumpkin. E.S. Bam is (in my opinion) the least funky of the JP beers as well as the hoppiest. It does have at least one thing in common with the others, it is damn refreshing. It is a seasonal April release, so you might be able to find it around now. The beer brings more hops and more malt to their Bam farmhouse ale, which add some interesting citrus and grassy aromas to the nose. The taste confused my palate for a bit until I got used to it, as there are so many different flavors competing for superiority. Once I got used to it, it turned out to be a very unique, refreshing beer.

When it comes down to it, I'm not sure that Jolly Pumpkin is even capable of making a beer that disappoints me. They do great work. All the time. 

Glassware: Saison, Tulip

Synonym Beer: Jack D'or (if it had funk to it)

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.

Breckenridge 471 Double IPA

Certain IPAs are wonderfully balanced. This is a skill that not every brewery has, or even wants, for that matter. It takes very little skill to make a strong beer that is very heavy on the hops. Fortunately for the producers of those beers, some people actually like that. Given the fact that I run into so many unbalanced IPAs, it was a real treat to find Breckenridge 471 Double IPA.

471 is a good deal easier drinking than it probably should be. Since it is 9.2% ABV, you should be a bit careful that you don’t down it too quick, and you might want to think about whether or not you want to drink a few in one sitting. The beer itself is really nice. It is jammed full of hop aroma and flavor. The bitterness is cut by a light sweetness from the malt. You will get some nice citrusy notes and a hint of booziness, but nothing strong enough to offend me.

It doesn’t pack the insane punch that many DIPAs do. I would put it somewhere in between IPA and DIPA, tending toward the IPA side in terms of flavor. I personally found it to be a great beer and one that I would choose over a lot of other DIPAs. If you like your hops, give it a shot.

Glassware: Pint, Snifter

Synonym Beer: Saranac Imperial IPA

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.

Krombacher Dark

Some people only like only light beer, others only dark beer. Both of these sets are wrong. I know you can't really be wrong when it is a personal opinion, but nonetheless, they are wrong. As I have said before, all type of beer have their place. Sometimes, you just might not expect what that place is. 

Krombacher Dark is a relatively easy to find dark German lager. It is very light in alcohol (at 4.3%) and surprisingly light in body. Usually when people (who don't like it) hear about dark beer they think of ultra heavy, roasted beers. Dark German lager might be a bit roasty and malty, but they are in no way heavy. They were effectively designed to have a little bit bigger and different of a flavor than the common German light lagers, yet still designed in the same way. This means that they were meant to be consumed in mass quantity. Why do you think they are often served in 1 L steins? It's because the German love their beer and they know they can drink that much. Krombacher has all of the refreshing body of a light lager, but with a nice roasted flavor. It has a nice caramel sweetness, which is one of the things that separates it from the light lagers, which can be a little grainy sometimes. Like with many German beers, I could go into great depth describing the subtle nature of the beers components, but that isn't really the spirit of those beers. They are best enjoyed with a nice meal, good friends, and a good time. 

Glassware: Mug, Stein, Pilsner Glass

Synonym Beer: Köstritzer Schwarzbier (the classic German Dark Lager)

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.

3Beans

I am a pretty big fan of Sixpoint. I think that they produce great beer, have awesome designs, and are made up of some pretty great people. One thing that I love is that they are constantly producing new, interesting beers. 

Meet 3Beans, Sixpoint's (relatively) new canned beer. Like the Resin, it was released in the 12 ounce "Red Bull" cans. Unlike the Resin, it is a limited release (unless they decide to brew it again). As the name suggests, it is made with three different varieties of beans: cacao, coffee, and romano beans. 

This is one hefty beer. It is 10% ABV, which means that it was probably a good idea for them to only can in the 12 ouncers. It is a chocolate, coffee Baltic porter, so it has a good deal of body to it. This is a perfect beer for a cold night, dessert, or maybe if you need something to sustain you for a day. What it brings in body, it also brings in flavor. This was delicious. It certainly won't be for everyone, but if you like beers big and dark, then you will enjoy 3Beans immensely. I particularly loved the texture of the beer. I'm not sure if the addition of the beans had anything to do with it, but it seemed to be a little thicker and a little richer than most porters. Even though it was pretty expensive (~$15 for a 4 pack), it was also pretty damn worthwhile. At this point, you might be hard pressed to find it, but lucky for you, I still have some and I'm always willing to trade. 

Glassware: Can, Pint, Snifter

Synonym Beer: Hard to say taste-wise, but Founder's Porter is close in terms of quality. 

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter (@ofmonksandmalts). You can also buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html.