Fourth of July Beer

Greetings,

The Fourth of July holiday falls on Sunday this year and that will insure, weather willing, outdoor festivities.

With the exception of those who are teetotalers this means that beer will probably be the beverage of choice. How this choice is made can, pun intended, be as simple as price to volume ratio. The greater quantity for the least cost formula can still present a plethora of choices. This where brand loyalty steps in.

Should the flavor of the chosen brew come into the formula? No.

Beer in a can, served al fresco, should be iced and the ice cold brew will have little flavor… simply refreshing.

This means choosing either a selection of brews or a single selection and plenty of it.

Being an All American boy, I have plans to provide the beer for a family cook out.

There will be at least two persons who enjoy multiple servings. One or two others are one-can consumers. Of course, left-over is not a bad thing and should be included in determining the amount of brew to acquire.

My calculation is based on the formula of one 12 oz. can of beer consumed every forty five minutes over three hours. For the above event that comes to two six packs for consumption and two more for unexpected guests and “left-over”. Total is one case of canned beer.

The weather should be close to 90F, 60% humidity, a 5 mph intermittent breeze and crystal clear blue skies. A swimming pool will be involved.

The menu will be grilled chopped meat, sausages of beef and pork, chicken parts and the salads and condiments traditional to a cook out.

What beer will I be bringing? Stay tuned…

A taste of... Dundee Summer Wheat Beer

Genesee Brewing Co./ High Falls Brewing Co.
445 Saint Paul St.
Rochester, New York, 14605
United States
(585) 546-1030

Preface: This 12 oz. bottle of Dundee Summer Wheat Beer was sent to me by the folks at Genesee Brewing Co.. (There is a dating code on the neck of the bottle 1090 09:13 4E.)

The following notes are made after a mouth wash with room temperature sparkling water. These notes have not been influenced by reading promotional material or any other review of this brew.
I am including this preface to inform the reader of any and all circumstances that might be conceived of as creating a biased review or a conflict of interest regarding the choice of words used in the following review. I could go on and on with semi-legal jargon but I guess you will just have to trust me eh?

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: The traditional cloudy, murky bright golden brew is very effervescent and builds a fine head of tightly knit white bubbles. The Belgian lace is also impressive.

Aroma: First impressions are of raisins and sugar. The second impression brought out more of the same nuances. The third nose dive revealed a floral hop flower aroma that hid shyly behind the sugar aroma.

Flavor: After that first refreshing sensation, there is a sharp tang that grows from behind a sweet sugar moment. The second sip finds more of the metallic tang in the forefront. The third swallow begins to build some grain impressions that soften the sharp earlier impressions.

Mouth feel: There is some body to this brew, but it is not over built.

Finish: The grain flavors keep the more metallic flavors in check as they mosey down the road into the sunset.

Comments: You may check earlier posts regarding American Wheat beer style parameters. This is a rather refreshing brew that I wish I had tasted when it was a bit more chilled. They call it a beer so I should have left it on the cooler side before tasting it.

When savored in a chilled condition I would find this a great brew to enjoy with an all beef grilled frankfurter on a top slit bun with only a trace of honey mustard.

The Brewery: http://www.geneseebeer.com/Welcome.aspx

What others say:

BeerAdvocate: N/A

RateBeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dundee-summer-wheat/58654/

A taste of… Dundee Pale Bock Lager

Genesee Brewing Co./ High Falls Brewing Co.

445 Saint Paul St.
Rochester, New York, 14605
United States
(585) 546-1030

Preface: This 12 oz. bottle of Dundee Pale Bock Lager was sent to me by the folks at Genesee Brewing Co. not only for inclusion in these tasting notes, but as part of a “virtual “beer tasting… more on that later. (There is a dating code on the neck of the bottle 0550 R 15:43 4W.)

The following notes are made after a mouth wash with room temperature sparkling water. These notes have not been influenced by reading promotional material or any other review of this brew.

I am including this preface to inform the reader of any and all circumstances that might be conceived of as creating a biased review or a conflict of interest regarding the choice of words used in the following review. I could go on and on with semi-legal jargon but I guess you will just have to trust me eh?

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: A golden honey colored brew is carbonated with fine bubbles that form a respectable rather rocky light tan head of medium to large bubbles.

Aroma: The first sensation is lightly roasted grains and an almost maple syrup aroma. The second nose dive revealed a slight butterscotch accent and the third aromatic adventure left the impression of a distant whiff of lemon.

Flavor: After that first refreshing sensation, a sweet flavor ushers in a fairly aggressive hop tang. The second impression adds more to the malt flavors (sweet) but ends with the more dry sensation of the hop tang. The third swallow brought the sweet grain flavors back with that maple syrup accent as counterpoint.

Mouth feel: There is a lush feel to this brew.

Finish: The curtain call leaves the spotlight on the grain while the tang of the hops holds the bouquet.

Comments: I assumed that a “bock lager” would be a caramel colored highly hopped brew. This is more of a Dortmund style brew, and there is not a thing wrong with that as there is a ram on the label.

The rich flavor and body to this one would be my suggestion as a beverage of choice to go with the six-count shrimp you are going to grill over the charcoal this week-end.

Now about that “virtual tasting”… http://www.beerbasics.com/Brewpubs Plus/cybertasting 001.htm


The Brewery: http://www.geneseebeer.com/Welcome.aspx

What others say:

BeerAdvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/302/21861

RateBeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dundee-pale-bock-lager/96057/

A taste of… Dundee India Pale Ale

Genesee Brewing Co./ High Falls Brewing Co.
445 Saint Paul St.
Rochester, New York, 14605
United States
(585) 546-1030

Preface: This 12 oz. bottle of Dundee India Pale Ale was sent to me by the folks at Genesee Brewing Co., not only for inclusion in these tasting notes, but as part of a “virtual “beer tasting… more on that later. - Link To A Virtual Tasting - (There is a dating code on the neck of the bottle 0540 R 09:13 4E.)

The following notes are made after a mouth wash with room temperature sparkling water. These notes have not been influenced by reading promotional material or any other review of this brew.
I am including this preface to inform the reader of any and all circumstances that might be conceived of as creating a biased review or a conflict of interest regarding the choice of words used in the following review. I could go on and on with semi-legal jargon but I guess you will just have to trust me eh?

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: A crystal clear amber brew is carbonated with tiny bubbles that form a rich head of sandy small and medium bubbles. The Belgian Lace is noticeable as the head slowly falls.

Aroma: The first impression is of sweet roasted grain with a hint of apple. The second visit revealed a honey accent and the third nose dive served only to get the olfactory sense calibrated.

Flavor: After the refreshing chill there is a slightly sweet sensation that ebbs while a slowly surging tang grows but doesn’t crest. The second sip features the hop tang that edges toward a metallic touch. The third swallow got my nasal passages acquainted with the hop oils used and quite charmed they were.

Mouth feel: There is a full feel to this one.

Finish: The tang of the hops lingers but is also joined by a burnt sugar flavor friend.

Comments: The neck label notes “Be bitter”… I couldn’t agree more, the operative word being “more.” A touch more hops would have made this a remarkable example of an American India Pale Ale.

As I sipped this brew I would have very much liked to have had a medium rare, thin sliced roast beef rye bread sandwich dressed with salt, pepper butter, lettuce and sliced tomato.


Now about that “virtual tasting”… http://www.beerbasics.com/Brewpubs Plus/cybertasting 001.htm


The Brewery: http://www.geneseebeer.com/Welcome.aspx

What others say:

BeerAdvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/302/25144

RateBeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dundee-india-pale-ale/51228/

A taste of… Dundee Irish Red Lager

Dundee/Genesee Brewing Co./ High Falls Brewing Co.
445 Saint Paul St.
Rochester, New York, 14605
United States
(585) 546-1030

Preface: This 12 oz. bottle of Dundee Irish Red Lager was sent to me by the folks at Genesee Brewing Co., not only for inclusion in these tasting notes, but as part of a “virtual “beer tasting… more on that later. (There is a dating code on the neck of the bottle 0430 R 11:34 4W.)

The following notes are made after a mouth wash with room temperature sparkling water. These notes have not been influenced by reading promotional material or any other review of this brew.

I am including this preface to inform the reader of any and all circumstances that might be conceived of as creating a biased review or a conflict of interest regarding the choice of words used in the following review. I could go on and on with semi-legal jargon but I guess you will just have to trust me eh?

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: A deep golden bronze colored brew is carbonated by some hefty sized bubbles that nevertheless manage to build a fine sandy, almost orange, rocky head that shows a fine set of Belgian lace.

Aroma: Initial impression is a deep roasted malt aroma. This is followed by a whiff of more levels of roasted grains and a burnt sugar accent. The third nose-dive reinforced the caramel candy aromas.

Flavor: After the first refreshing sensation there was a rush by the sweet promise of the aromas and a sharp hop tang. Both graciously yielded to a non-aggressive stance. The second sip brought out some citric accents of grapefruit just for a brief moment. The third swallow brought out the floral accents that the sweet flavors had been hiding. The late entrance is rather dramatic and very welcome.

Mouth feel: A fine body to this one.

Finish: In the end the flavors are well enough balanced that the coda is more of a request for an encore.

Comments: Should this be served as beverage of choice with a sliced rare leg of lamb with roasted small red skinned potatoes and crisp sautéed thin green beans.

Now about that “virtual tasting”…

http://www.beerbasics.com/Brewpubs Plus/cybertasting 001.htm



The Brewery: http://www.geneseebeer.com/Welcome.aspx

What others say:

BeerAdvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/302/56521

RateBeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dundee-irish-red-lager/118583/