Episode 11: Hoegaarden- Oh I've got Hoes

This week we look at Hoegaarden a beer from Germany, that you can get anywhere.

News

Well for those of you who don’t know what Guinness is, for shame I say. However for those of you who do know that it is a Irish Stout brewed in Ireland, you may be interested to know that it may no longer be brewed in the historic brewery, where it has been been brewed since 1759.

Hoegaarden

• Hoegaarden Brewery founded in 1966 in Hoegaarden, which is in Flanders Belgium, by Pierre Celis, so it is a relatively new brewery to the region, being that most of the breweries there are from the 1500’s.
• Currently it is owned by InBev, the biggest brewing company in the world!
• In other words, you can get this just about anywhere.
• The beer itself, Hoegaarden Original White Ale, is typically the beer that you can find on tap at most decent beer bars, with a blue handle and a yellow and white top.
• The vitals on this beer are 4.9% ABV, which is a little lower than last weeks beer.
• This is a very cloudy, white beer. In fact it almost looks like a Coors light would look like if they left the yeast in it.
• The taste however is not the taste of Coors light. It has a much more carbonated than last weeks beer, although not as much as the Pilsner Urquell that we talked about before. Again though you should taste some citrus and spices in this beer, although nothing overwhelming.

Next week

We have come to the end of a series after the next show. For the pinnacle here we are going to be talking about Gumballhead Beer from Three Flyods Brewing Company.

Episode 10: Shiner Hefe-Weizen - Don't Mess with Texas

This week we look at the beer I think of when I think of Texas, Shiner Hefe-Weizen.

News

More of a general story today, something that I have been hearing a lot in the past couple weeks, and that is that because of the rise in ethanol use for fuel, the cost of beer may be going up. This is due to the fact that they use some of the same ingredients, such as corn…thats all really, discuss amongst yourselves.

Shiner Hefe-Weizen

• The beer we are talking about today is Shiner Hefe-Weizen, produced by Spoetzl Brewing Company in Shiner, Texas. This is also the oldest independent brewery in Texas, having been incorporated in 1909.
• You can find it in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin
• The vitals: 5.6% ABV, brewed year round.
• The look: hazy, which is exactly how it should look.
• The taste: Actually I find it rather citrusy, a lot of orange seems to come through.
• This beer is not pasteurized, which means it is not heated up right after bottling, so the yeast should be alive in the bottle.
• The label on this one is also pretty cool, it has a character on it named Flip, which at first is a little trippy because he looks like a guy with to head attached at the top of the head.

Next Week

Our next show, we will be hopping across the pond again to look at some imported version of hefeweizens, in particular Hogarden, a beer that most people should be able to get on tap at some of the nicer bars. We will also briefly talk about some other imports such as Franziskaner and Paulener Hefewies beer.

Episode 9: Blue Moon – You saw me standing alone

Back to the macro brews with Blue Moon and Wheat beers. This series should put you in the summertime mood.

News

Two of our listeners got engaged a few weeks ago, so George and Jerry, congrats. We will be working on a “Your Next Beer: Extreme Wedding Edition” for you.

And in other wedding news, Jake’s sister and Podcast listener Rachel got married to Shawn on Saturday, June 2.

Hefeweizen/Wheat Beers

• Wheat beers are traditionally brewed with, you guessed it, wheat.
• The term hefeweizen actually comes from the German words "hefe" meaning yeast and "weizen" meaning wheat.
• Often times you may see these beers with a slice of lemon or an orange. Some people will tell you that is blasphemy, some will be accepting.
• Another note on pouring, these are unfiltered which means they are cloudy. Good hefewizens will tell you on the bottle to pour about half of it, then to swirl the bottle to “rouse the yeast” and then pour the rest.

Blue Moon

• Blue Moon, made officially by, get this, Blue Moon Brewing Company. Translated from marketing speak to normal speak, that means Moslon-Coors of Canada.
• Being that this is a Coors product, you can get this anywhere. In fact if you can’t get this product I would be amazed.
• This beer was actually first made at the Sandlot, the brewery located at Coors Field in Colorado. It has won a few awards, including a Gold Medal at the 1995 World Beer Championship and two silver medals one at 1996 and one at 1997 World Beer Championships, all in the White Beer Category.
• The vital statistics here, about 5.4% abv, brewed from barley, white wheat, and oats. Kind of orangy and hazy in color.
• As for the taste, well Jim has always thought this to be a little soapy in flavor really. There is a sweetness to this beer though that is much different than the past couple weeks, definitely an orangy flavor, but also a bit spicy, like coriander or clove.

Next Week

We will be looking at American craft Hefeweizen. Depending on where you are, look to pick up Pyramid Brewing Company, Shiner or Sam Adams.

Episode 8: Morimoto Imperial Pilsner - Domo Arigato

In this episode we hit the top of our Pilsner series with Morimoto Imperial Pilsner. Another chance for me to try describe the taste of a beer, since Jim can't get it in Chicago all of a sudden.

News

Pizza, get your pizza beer here. A Chicago brewpub is making a beer out of pizza. From what the news story says, they are making a beer with real pizza in it. I guess pizza and beer are good together, but this is ridiculous.

Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

• Rogue Brewing Company is based out of Newport, Oregon and opened in 1988 making it a pioneer in craft brewing. They are known for their penchant for more experimental beer styles.
• Rogue is available in most places including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin. Yeah, thats a lot of states.
• Weighs in at an impressive 8.8% abv, which for a Pilsner is very strong. Which also means think before you try to operate your car after downing one of these.
• It’s made from four ingredients: water, yeast, French Pilsner Malt, and Sterling hops.
• As for the taste…think kind of citrus, but not like chewing on an orange, more like a mild grapefruit. You may also taste some more sweetness here that we haven't found in other Pilsners.
• Also, a quick note about the bottle, its a cool 750 ml cermanic bottle with a swing top.
• Now if you can’t get this beer, there are several other Double/Imperial Pilsners out there including Golden Shower from Dogfish Head, or you may want to go into your local micro brewery like Rock Bottom, sometimes if they have an adventurous brewer they may try something like this.

Next Week

We are moving on to a new style, Hefeweizen this style is great for the summer, and if your listening to us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer. We'll start our journey in this style with Blue Moon from Coors Brewing Company. You should be able to get this beer just about anywhere.