beer demystifier - new york city - The Gotham Imbiber

Achilles, Itegem, Belgium SB
The tiny Brouwerij Achilles, founded in 1999, is wedged into
a crowded garage on a quiet street in the small Flemish town
of Itegem. Achiel (Achilles) Van de Moer is an unassuming
homebrewer who has largely abandoned his career as a
music teacher to pursue his dream of a self-sustaining
commercial brewery. He brews honest, unfiltered and
unpasteurized beers, and has formulated a unique way of
achieving an even heating of the wort without the use of a
direct flame or steam power – the wort is pumped through a
spiral tube that is placed in a tub of hot water! This brewery is
a welcome new addition to the American scene in Fall 2007.
Serafijn Celtic Angel (6.2%) * * * B12 – Deep copper
colored, complex ale with dark fruit notes. A hybrid Irish-style
ale fermented with Belgian yeast.
Serafijn Donker (8.0%) * * * B18 – Mid-brown beer with a
soft bitterness and mild herbal and spice notes.
Serafijn Tripel (8.0%) * * * B17 – Hazy golden tripel, mildy
spiced.
Serafijn Grand Cru (9.0%) * * * B19 – Amber-colored strong
ale with hints of apple, sugar, and caramel.
Serafijn Christmas Angel (aka Kerstlicht)* (7.9%) * * * B19
– Hazy orange-amber festive ale with a spicy aroma, medium
body, and residual sweetness and spices.
Adnams, Southwold, U.K. (England) SB
Adnams is a traditional English
regional brewery owning 82 pubs
in that country, all of which sell
cask ale. Brewing on the Adnams
site dates back to at least 1345,
though its present incarnation
dates from 1872.
Bitter (3.7%) * * * * E13 – Mellow
session bitter, cask only.
Broadside (4.7% & 6.3%
variants) * * * * E15 – Auburn and
medium bodied, great to find on
cask (which is the lower strength).
SSB (4.5%) * * * * E14 – Wellbalanced
and slightly nutty.
Tally Ho! {S} (7.0%) * * * * E29 –
Dark ruby, rich and warming, with a deep vinous quality.
Cask only, limited winter release.
Aktien, Kaufbeuren,
Germany WM
A historic large brewery dating back to
1618, and with brewing roots even further
back to at least 1308.
Jubiläums Pils (4.9%) * * * D4 – A straw
colored lager, pleasant but not assertive.
Hell (5.0%) * * * * D1 – A quality golden lager with a grassy
aroma, refreshing and undemanding.
Oktoberfest {S} (5.9%) * * * D5 – A very pale märzen.
Alamaza, Bauchrieh, Lebanon
A large Middle Eastern brewery founded in 1933.
Pilsener Beer (5.0% estimated) (no rating yet) C4 – A fairly
crisp pils.
80
Allgäuer, Kempten, Germany WM
[Allgäuer’s parent company is The Oetker Group, which
also owns Dortmunder Actien, Tucher, Berliner Kindl,
Radeberger and
Jever]
Brewing has taken
place here since at least
1394.
Fürstabt Hefeweizen
(5.0%) * * * D31 –
Cloudy orange wheat beer with clove, toffee, and banana
notes.
Fürstabt Kristallweizen (5.0%) * * * D31 – The filterered
version of the hefeweizen, easily drinkable.
Urbairisch Dunkel (5.0%) * * * D6 – Mid-brown, malty
dunkel with mild notes of nuts and bread.
Büble Bier (5.5%) * * * D4 – A smooth, malty lager brewed
with hops from the Tettnang region.
Oktoberfest (aka Festbier) {S} (5.5%) * * * D5 – Orangegold,
sweetish märzen with rye bread in the aroma.
Winterfestival (aka Weihnachtsbier) {S} (5.5%) * * * D13 –
A slightly spicy, golden winter brew.
Altenmünster Winterbier Doppelbock {S} (7.2%) * * * D9 –
Dark brown and malty with vine fruits prominent.
Cambonator (7.2%) * * * * D9 – Pleasant, sweet, dark brown
doppelbock, dominantly malty with notes of caramel and
molasses.
St. Magnus (7.2%) * * * D3 – Powerful, sweet Heller Bock.
Almond 22, Pescara, Italy BU
A small microbrewery founded in 2003 in the Pescara Hills in
a building dating from 1870 – which in 1922 housed an small
almond peeling factory where all work was done by hand
(hence the name). Similarly, the brewing is all hand-crafted
today.
Torbata (8.7%) * * * * E29 – A smoky strong ale, brewed with
peat smoked malt as 5% of the grist, and flavored with
chestnut honey, organic orange peel, organic cane sugar,
and Kent Goldings hops.
Alvinne, Heule,
Belgium BU
A very tiny brewery in western
Belgium which was founded in
2003 in Ingelmunster, and
expanded to new premises in
Heule in September 2007.
Gaspar (8.0%) * * * B26 – A
hazy amber brew heavily laden
with Hallertau, Goldings, and
Saaz hops.
Podge Belgian Imperial Stout (10.5%) * * * E28 – Very dark
brown, powerful, hard-to-find beer with lots of coffee and
bitter chocolate on the palate. Named in honor of beer
enthusiast Chris ‘Podge’ Pollard.