VERSUS: Boont Amber Ale vs. Alaskan Amber Alt Style Ale

An idea I've had floating in my head for a while is to compare some beers side by side.  Hopefully, this sheds some light into the difference between brewers who brew the same styles.  First up for this epic battle is Boont Amber Ale against Alaskan Amber Alt Style Ale.

Boont Amber Ale is brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Mendocino County California, which is a couple hours north of the Bay Area.  Boont describes itself as "an essay in balance" and as "the classic American-style Amber Ale.  It claims to be well balanced that will pair well with any meal.It's 5.8% ABV and pours with a hazy copper color.  I found this beer to be light body, malty with a tinge of bitterness, and a bitter aftertaste.  Its a hazy copper color.

Alaskan Amber Alt Style Ale is brewed by Alaskan Brewing Company in Juneau, Alaska.  "Alt" is German for "old" which is a good way to describe this beer since Alaskan formulated this beer from a recipe dating back to 1907.  It also claims to be well balanced that will pair well with any meal. Its 5.3% ABV and has a clear copper color.  I thought this beer was more on the sweet side and had more caramel flavor than the Boont Amber.  It has a full body, lots of malts and not much bitterness.

Both beers are really good, and if you're looking for an amber you won't go wrong with either one.  But between the two, side by side, Kiki and I both liked Alaskan Amber better.  Alaskan just seemed to have a bigger flavor, bigger malts, and bigger body.

Smithwick's Irish Ale

 
Smithwick's Irish Ale goes back to 1710 and claims to be Ireland's oldest brewery.  That's over 300 years for those of you keeping track at home.  Its roots trace back to a brewery at St. Francis Abbey in Kilkenny.  The name comes from John Smithwick who moved to Kilkenny in the early 1700s, but at that time Catholics were not allowed to own property so he did business in secret.  It wasn't until the 1800s when his grandson was finally able to use the Smithwick name with this beer.  Nine generations of Smithwick's kept the beer going through the decades and centuries.  In 1964Guinness bought a controlling share.

Even though this is considered a red ale the coloring is a dark amber color that is almost brown.  It clocks in a a mere 4.5% ABV.  It tastes like a very malty amber beer with a little bit of caramel flavor.  Not really any hop flavor, but it still has a bit of a bitter flavor which is comes from the hops being added late in the boil.  There is a long aftertaste that is long and malty.  Overall, it reminded me of Newcastle, but darker, more malty, and less nutty. Smithwick's is nothing to be impressed with, but its a good smooth drinking beer.

Anheuser-Busch -- Bud Light

Nothing quite says beer like Bud Light.  If you could drink America, it would be Bud Light.

The brewery was originally on the brink of bankruptcy when it was purchased in 1860 by Eberhard Anheuser, who was a soap maker.  After initially making beer that tasted like soap, his son-in-law Adolphus Busch joined as a partner to form Anheuser-Busch and they perfected their craft. After expanding the family business world wide, they continued expansion by starting Busch theme parks.  St. Louis, Missouri seemed like a good location to get the finest muddy water around.  In 2008 Anheuser-Busch was sold to InBev for $52-billion where it continued the family tradition by immediately laying off 1400 people.  Unfortunately, InBev sold some of the corporate jets and made executives answer their own phones.  InBev now controls the three best selling beers in the world: Budweiser, Bud Light, and Skol.  Tasty!

Bud Light is a lager style beer with less calories.  Really is there anything you could hate about this beer?  Pouring it gives that light frothy head and allows you to see the clear straw color.  Its balanced between hops and malt so it is sure to please everyone with its "fresh" and "clean" flavor.  It has a water-y flavor and consistency so as to not dehydrate you.  It has a light zesty flavor that dances on your taste buds with just the right amount of carbonation.  The bottle describes as being "Brewed with the Finest Ingredients for a Refreshingly Smooth Taste" so you know its a beer of the highest quality.  Five out of five stars!

Beer Law: Bagging Alcoholic Beverages in California

A while back I was at Total Wine & More and when we were checking out I said, "We don't need a bag."  My wife and I like to be environmentally conscious and not use bags when we don't need to, and use reusable bags when we need a bag.  The checker informed me that state law required them to bag alcohol.

Thanks to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverages Control ("ABC") this has been clarified in a statement on their website:

"Over the past several years, the Department has received numerous inquiries concerning laws or rules that compel retail licensees to place alcoholic beverages in bags or other containers before handing the beverages to consumers.  Be advised that neither the provisions of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act nor the Department's business regulations require any licensee to put alcoholic beverage purchases in bags or other containers before customers leave the licensed premises.  It is possible that some cities or counties may have enacted ordinances that require the bagging of alcoholic beverages.  If so, licensees should adhere to these local ordinances."

Neither the city nor the county at the Total Wine I went to require alcohol to be bagged.  Well Total Wine checker, I was right, but thanks for the blog post idea.

New Belgium -- Snow Day Winter Ale

I'm no stranger to New Belgium Brewing, but this is the first of their beers that I've blogged about.  When I was in Colorado visiting our friend Blake, our plan was to tour New Belgium but they had just implemented a policy where tours had to be by reservation and they were full -- so we did the Denver Microbrew Tour instead.

Here is some history on New Belgium: in 1989, Jeff Lebesch road a bike with "fat tires" through Europe and then started home brewing back home in Colorado.  Jeff was an electrical engineer and built his home brewing set up from old dairy equipment.  Jeff officially started New Belgium in 1991 after friends urged him to start brewing as a business.  Jeff's then wife, Kim Jordan, was a social worker who started doing New Belgium's bottling, sales, distributing, marketing, and financial planning.  Today, she is New Belgium's CEO.  New Belgium Brewing is considered a regional brewery since it only distributes to 15 states, but it is still the third biggest craft brewer in the U.S. based on beer sales volume.

New Belgium, like Sierra Nevada, works hard to be "green."  And their website is even powered by wind.  How does that work?  Their data center is powered by a wind farm in Wyoming.  New Belgium is particularly focused on being environmentally sustainable.

Now for the beer: Snow Day Winter Ale.  New Belgium's old winter seasonal, 2 Below, was retired to make way for Snow Day and mix things up a bit.  The stats are: 6.2% ABV and 55 IBU's (although IBU's are just a made up number since its subjective and there is no way to quantify bitterness).  As you can see, the color of Snow Day is about as dark as beers come.  It tastes dark like a stout but quite a bit more hoppy.  The Midnight Wheat malt gives it subtle chocolate flavors.  It's crisp with a short aftertaste.  I thought it was like a pale ale in hoppiness but with darker roasted malts.  I expect winter ales to be dark and heavy, but different from a stout or porter -- that's exactly what Snow Day delivers.  Overall, it's a good beer that's balanced enough to have wide appeal.

Newcastle -- Werewolf "Blood Red Ale"

Escaped from Britain!  I previously reviewed Newcastle Winter IPA -- a beer I didn't really care for.  Thanks to our friend Paul I got to try Werewolf.  Like the Winter IPA, it's a limited edition.  As you can see it's a dark copper color, which I guess is close enough to be able to call it "blood red ale."  This beer is still thin tasting and light in body.  It's more bitter than the Newcastle Brown or Winter IPA, and the other thing that sets it apart is there is a burnt taste on the nose.

Overall, Werewolf is nothing to brag about, but if you're a Newcastle fan or someone buying beer for a party its worth trying and is a little different than just the regular Brown.

Avery Brewing -- Rumpkin

Thanks to my broham Brian for traveling all the way to Colorado and bringing back some Rumpkin by Avery Brewing to share!

Sharing is caring, hence the two glasses...plus it's 15.90% ABV.

I admit I'm new to Avery Brewing.  But, their website tells me that they are from Boulder, Colorado and were founded in 1993.  They claim to make beers that they like to drink, not necessarily what the market demands.  I can respect that, and after drinking Rumpkin I fully believe it -- Rumpkin is far from your average beer.

Rumpkin is 15.90% ABV and comes in a bottle with gold foil.  This particular bottle was from a production of 512 cases and bottled on October 5, 2011.  The ingredients were simply water, malted barley, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, hops, and yeast.  In the words of Avery, "We wondered what would happen if a monstrous pumpkin ale, plump full of spicy gourdiness, were aged in fine fresh rum barrels to add suggestions of delicate oak and candied molasses.  Rumpkin is what happens!" 

When poured, it has a brown-reddish hue.  What sets this beer truly apart from any other pumpkin beer is the molasses-rum taste, which I really enjoyed.  This beer is very spicey, a little sweet, has a heavy body, and strong alcohol taste.  It was really a beer to enjoy every sip of.  At $10 for a 12 ounce bottle you better enjoy it.  Rumpkin is definitely on the pricey side, but it may just be worth it.