Beers of the Month January 2011
Bell Ringer Ale
Bell Ringer AleWill RJ Rockers ring your bell with this big, bad, 8.5% brew? Well, that depends on how fast you drink it and how many you have. But, in our experience… well let’s just say our beer panel was quite the lively event the night we sampled this one. On the pour, Bell Ringer offers a delicious-looking hazy amber color with an off-white head with decent retention for the high ABV. On the nose, look for a floral and lightly grassy hop profile with subtle undercurrents of pineapple and grapefruit. Beneath the hop aromas is a rich and somewhat bready malt center with a touch of earthy yeast and a light impression of straw or hay. As you take a sip, the core of sweet, biscuity malt comes to the fore accompanied by hints of brown sugar. Hanging on the malt backbone is a hop profile with enough bitterness to provide plenty of checks and balances, while offering a delicious flavor profile that’s at once subtly spicy, grassy, floral, and citric. The mouthfeel, which is soft, round, and quite full, makes Bell Ringer a pleasure to drink, and the spicy hop bitterness that lingers in the fade kept beckoning us to take another sip. No wonder it rang our bell!
Serving Temperature: 48-55°F
Alcohol by Volume: 8.5%
Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 53
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Tulip, or Snifter
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Bonlander, 60L Caramel
Hops: Tradition, Cascade
EKU Pils
EKU PilsAs you might suspect from the name, EKU Pils is a pilsner, a style that has loosely become the most popular style of beer in the world since its invention in 1842. This style originated in the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, and it was the first beer to be brewed clear and golden in color (up until that time, beer was dark and rather murky). Though it’s always remained popular in the Czech Republic, the Germans ultimately became the most devoted fans of the style. They added their own twist, too, brewing it somewhat lighter in body and adding an extra bit of hops to give a refreshing, bitter zing. EKU Pils is a well-carbonated brew, with a big, fluffy, bright white head atop the golden body. Look for notes of spicy and floral hops with a traditional pilsner maltiness. We enjoyed this easy-drinking brew, with its crisp, clean, and dry finish, and lightly lingering bitter hop-forward aftertaste. This beer is great with food, and would be a great accompaniment for anything from pizza, to whitefish, to Chicken Kiev, to spicy Thai or Indian fare. Prost!
Serving Temperature: 48°F
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Pokal or Mug (clear)
EKU 28
EKU 28EKU 28 walks a bit of a tightrope act between a standard eisbock and an amped-up, fortified doppelbock. While their recipe has never been released to the public, we do know that it spends an astonishing nine months lagering, during which time the temperature is lowered until the beer starts to freeze. EKU claims, however, that the amount of ice removed from the beer is not really a major factor in its potent level of alcohol or its concentrated flavor. One bit of info that they do acknowledge is the “28” in its name refers to the beer’s “degrees Plato,” which is the German method of calculating a beer’s “original gravity” (a measure of the density of fermentable sugars within the malt/water mixture that begins every batch of beer). To obtain the high ABV, a very large amount of malt must be used to infuse the this mixture (known as wort—pronounced “wert”) with the sugary fuel that the yeast will convert into alcohol. An average beer typically has an original gravity of around 8-10 degrees Plato, so EKU 28 is loaded up with around three times the level of fermentable sugars as a “typical” beer.
On the nose, look for a big, caramel-heavy aroma. The impressive flavor offers up notes of thick caramel and freshly-baked bread, with light fruity hints, and not surprisingly, some notes of alcohol (producing a pleasant belly-warming effect that is quite satisfying around this time of the year). The healthy does of hops creates a very well-crafted finish which balances EKU 28’s sweet overall flavor. You could say that this is a beer for special occasions, but honestly, as soon as you open one you’ve created a special occasion! We actually don’t recommend it with food; we think it’s much nicer as a digestif after a meal, like a port wine or cognac. A full-bodied cigar might work too, if you’re so inclined.
Serving Temperature: 55°F
Alcohol by Volume: 11.0%
Suggested Glassware: Snifter
Lakefront IPA
Lakefront IPALook for a hazy, orange-amber on the pour, with a big, fluffy head that retains well before dropping to a persistent collar. The aromas are big – it cries IPA as soon as you pop it open, in fact – with prominent piney, herbal hops offering a somewhat minty cannabinoid character, with a touch of citrus rind. Take a sip and the hops hit upfront with that same bold herbal quality, with hints of grapefruit zest and pine. The malts try to get your attention with a crackery, lightly toasty flavor offering some residual sweetness with a hint of fruity esters thrown in, but ultimately the hops declare their supremacy in this brew as the big hop flavors carry into the finish and linger with a firm but not overpowering bitterness. In fact, that’s one of the things our panel really enjoyed about this brew – it’s not super bitter, but it is super flavorful. The smooth and creamy body makes it very easy to drink, and we found it made a great thirst-quenching accompaniment to some super hot Thai pork stir fry with basil and chilies.
Serving Temperature: 45-50°F
Alcohol by Volume: 6.4%
Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 38 (an “honest” number per the brewer; 55 using a different calculation)
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Mug
Malts: Cargill 2-Row Pale, Dingemans Cara 20, Dingemans Cara 45
Hops: Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, Simcoe
Beers of the Month January 2011
Bell Ringer Ale
Bell Ringer AleWill RJ Rockers ring your bell with this big, bad, 8.5% brew? Well, that depends on how fast you drink it and how many you have. But, in our experience… well let’s just say our beer panel was quite the lively event the night we sampled this one. On the pour, Bell Ringer offers a delicious-looking hazy amber color with an off-white head with decent retention for the high ABV. On the nose, look for a floral and lightly grassy hop profile with subtle undercurrents of pineapple and grapefruit. Beneath the hop aromas is a rich and somewhat bready malt center with a touch of earthy yeast and a light impression of straw or hay. As you take a sip, the core of sweet, biscuity malt comes to the fore accompanied by hints of brown sugar. Hanging on the malt backbone is a hop profile with enough bitterness to provide plenty of checks and balances, while offering a delicious flavor profile that’s at once subtly spicy, grassy, floral, and citric. The mouthfeel, which is soft, round, and quite full, makes Bell Ringer a pleasure to drink, and the spicy hop bitterness that lingers in the fade kept beckoning us to take another sip. No wonder it rang our bell!
Serving Temperature: 48-55°F
Alcohol by Volume: 8.5%
Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 53
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Tulip, or Snifter
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Bonlander, 60L Caramel
Hops: Tradition, Cascade
EKU Pils
EKU PilsAs you might suspect from the name, EKU Pils is a pilsner, a style that has loosely become the most popular style of beer in the world since its invention in 1842. This style originated in the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, and it was the first beer to be brewed clear and golden in color (up until that time, beer was dark and rather murky). Though it’s always remained popular in the Czech Republic, the Germans ultimately became the most devoted fans of the style. They added their own twist, too, brewing it somewhat lighter in body and adding an extra bit of hops to give a refreshing, bitter zing. EKU Pils is a well-carbonated brew, with a big, fluffy, bright white head atop the golden body. Look for notes of spicy and floral hops with a traditional pilsner maltiness. We enjoyed this easy-drinking brew, with its crisp, clean, and dry finish, and lightly lingering bitter hop-forward aftertaste. This beer is great with food, and would be a great accompaniment for anything from pizza, to whitefish, to Chicken Kiev, to spicy Thai or Indian fare. Prost!
Serving Temperature: 48°F
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Pokal or Mug (clear)
EKU 28
EKU 28EKU 28 walks a bit of a tightrope act between a standard eisbock and an amped-up, fortified doppelbock. While their recipe has never been released to the public, we do know that it spends an astonishing nine months lagering, during which time the temperature is lowered until the beer starts to freeze. EKU claims, however, that the amount of ice removed from the beer is not really a major factor in its potent level of alcohol or its concentrated flavor. One bit of info that they do acknowledge is the “28” in its name refers to the beer’s “degrees Plato,” which is the German method of calculating a beer’s “original gravity” (a measure of the density of fermentable sugars within the malt/water mixture that begins every batch of beer). To obtain the high ABV, a very large amount of malt must be used to infuse the this mixture (known as wort—pronounced “wert”) with the sugary fuel that the yeast will convert into alcohol. An average beer typically has an original gravity of around 8-10 degrees Plato, so EKU 28 is loaded up with around three times the level of fermentable sugars as a “typical” beer.
On the nose, look for a big, caramel-heavy aroma. The impressive flavor offers up notes of thick caramel and freshly-baked bread, with light fruity hints, and not surprisingly, some notes of alcohol (producing a pleasant belly-warming effect that is quite satisfying around this time of the year). The healthy does of hops creates a very well-crafted finish which balances EKU 28’s sweet overall flavor. You could say that this is a beer for special occasions, but honestly, as soon as you open one you’ve created a special occasion! We actually don’t recommend it with food; we think it’s much nicer as a digestif after a meal, like a port wine or cognac. A full-bodied cigar might work too, if you’re so inclined.
Serving Temperature: 55°F
Alcohol by Volume: 11.0%
Suggested Glassware: Snifter
Lakefront IPA
Lakefront IPALook for a hazy, orange-amber on the pour, with a big, fluffy head that retains well before dropping to a persistent collar. The aromas are big – it cries IPA as soon as you pop it open, in fact – with prominent piney, herbal hops offering a somewhat minty cannabinoid character, with a touch of citrus rind. Take a sip and the hops hit upfront with that same bold herbal quality, with hints of grapefruit zest and pine. The malts try to get your attention with a crackery, lightly toasty flavor offering some residual sweetness with a hint of fruity esters thrown in, but ultimately the hops declare their supremacy in this brew as the big hop flavors carry into the finish and linger with a firm but not overpowering bitterness. In fact, that’s one of the things our panel really enjoyed about this brew – it’s not super bitter, but it is super flavorful. The smooth and creamy body makes it very easy to drink, and we found it made a great thirst-quenching accompaniment to some super hot Thai pork stir fry with basil and chilies.
Serving Temperature: 45-50°F
Alcohol by Volume: 6.4%
Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 38 (an “honest” number per the brewer; 55 using a different calculation)
Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Mug
Malts: Cargill 2-Row Pale, Dingemans Cara 20, Dingemans Cara 45
Hops: Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, Simcoe