Wet hop ales (otherwise known as Fresh Hop Ales) are a little-brewed type of beers where hops are taken from vine to brew within 24 hours, skipping the drying step that allows hops to last in storage but causes them to lose many volatile oils. Many brewers go through extreme feats to get their hops this fast, but some go above the others. One of these is Rogue Ales in Newport, OR. They have launched a new line of Rogue beers called "Chatoe Rogue," a play on the french "Chateau" normally used in the wine industry. To brew these beers, they've launched what can only be called a brew farm, where they grow both malting grain and hops. In First Growth Wet Hop Ale, they showcase two propriety strains of hops they've cultivated, Independent (coincidentally the name of the town in which the farm is located, 77 miles from Newport) and Revolution. According to the label: "Raw hops are picked, stuffed into burlap bags, driven immediately 77 miles to Newport, Oregon and pitched into the brew kettle." Luckily, we didn't have to grow any hops to try this beer (but we do grow hops anyway), so that's what we're going to do right now!

Appearance: The beer pours a deep amber red with a light taupe head. Pour this one with mild caution as we were able to get about 5 inches of head from a pretty rough pour. Looks tasty!

Smell: Fresh hops are the first thing you smell... like being in a hop field. It's not overwhelming as many hop-focused beers can be, but rather delicate and complex due to the extremely volatile oils preserved by skipping the drying step of the hops. After this, you get a bit of malt. It's fleeting, but there's definitely some bread and light grain in there... a great complement to the hops.

Taste: At first it's fairly clean and crisp, just enough hoppiness to balance the malts which definitely show through a bit. After a second, though, medium bitterness comes in as does the hop flavor. The only way we can describe it is a juicy hop flavor. Throughout the taste the grain is there, but it's just a support structure for the hops, providing a great drinkable beer. Rogue definitely did a good job with this one; they made a beer that isn't over the top but showcases some great flavors in a manner that could be drank all night long. We can't wait to try some of the other brews from the Chatoe Rogue series!

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Hailing from tiny Lyons, CO, the Oskar Blues brew pub has shot into the stratosphere of craft brewing over the past few years with their (then) revolutionary canned craft beer. They immediately won us over with Dale's Pale Ale and Old Chub Scotch Ale, and continued to woo us with their Imperial Red, Gordon, and their Imperial Stout, Ten FIDY, both in cans. They recently moved Ten FIDY to a seasonal brew schedule, leaving half the year open for something new. What did they fill it with? GUBNA Imperial India Pale Ale! More hops, more malt! This monster clocks in at 10%abv. Now, let's get down to the good part and taste it.

Appearance: Gubna pours almost orange enough to be described as pumpkin colored, except for the fact that it's crystal clear. A white head forms as the carbonation cascades through the beer, looking a lot like the well-known "Guinness" cascade... this time, though, it's because the beer is fairly thick coming in at 10% abv. The head sticks around for quite some time and definitely leaves its mark in the from of lacing all the way down the glass.

Smell: As soon as I pour this beer, all I can smell is hops. As I'm taking the picture you know what I smell? Hops! The aroma has permeated the room! Aromas of dank hemp and pine are all you can get until you stick your nose nearly into the foam. Once you do, you can pick up a trace of alcohol which should be expected for a beer of this strength. There's not much malt to smell or yeast influence... or they may just be covered up by HOPS!!! As it warms up, you get some orange from the hops as well. Weird, it looks orange and tastes a bit like oranges...

Taste: Bitter and oily hops are the first thing you get in this beer and they coat your mouth for the long haul. The mouthfeel is slick, but the beer is try which is quite contradictory. There is just the mildest hint of residual sweetness, but the dryness really helps to showcase the humulus lupulus that this brew is definitely all about. Even as I'm typing I have some bitter hops in the back of my mouth. As Gubna warms up you get a bit of malt sweetness on the front... nothing more, no real malt character to speak of before the hops sweep back in to take over the show. It's at this point, though, that the alcohol starts to come through a little bit giving a mild solvent finish to the beer. This is the only real problem I can find with it, but it's not a big problem.

Oskar Blues delivers another winner with their Imperial IPA, Gubna! The only thing I would ask is that they tame it down to around 8.5%abv. I'd be able to drink more of it then and I think that would help the solventy finish I'm getting.

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If you drink enough craft beer, you have definitely come across one of the large format, 22oz bottles of brew known as a "bomber." In fact, there are many beers you can't try without buying it in the bomber format. The good aspect of this? You get a single bottle with 22oz of beer in it... that's almost two beers! The bad aspect? You get a single bottle with 22oz of beer in it... that's almost two beers!

We say this can be good or bad because, at times, you may want more beer. Maybe you have nothing to do that night... Or, perhaps, you have someone to share the extra beer with. These are the good scenarios. The bad scenario is when you find yourself without a buddy to drink your craft beer with and you don't want to ingest 2 beers worth of alcohol. To compound this problem, oftentimes these beers are the stronger brews that a brewery creates. It's the Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs, Strong Belgian Ales and the like that come in 22oz bottles. So, what is a craft beer drinker to do when he or she wants to drink a single serving of Double IPA but only has a bomber of said Double IPA? There are those who would tell you to, and we quote, "man up." The point of drinking craft beer is to enjoy the libation, though, not to get drunk... sometimes that's a pleasant side effect, but sometimes people have other things to do (like go down to the bar to drink other craft beer...).

I (Jeff from DrinkCraftBeer.com) found myself in this position a little while back, and ended up leaving half a bomber of Smuttynose Big A Double IPA in the refrigerator for 3 nights. Upon finishing the beer on the 4th day of it being open, it was still hoppy, carbonated and delicious. Rather than leave this as a fluke, I figured this would be an interesting beer experiment (beerxperiment?)... Just how long will an open bottle of beer last in the refigerator?

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We may have created an ice cream with the longest name ever, but it's delicious. Despite the cold of Winter this is a recipe we've been meaning to try for a while and we've finally gotten around to trying it out. Fortunately for all of you, the test worked, and it's awesome. The beer gives this ice cream a nice depth of flavor that regular maple ice cream just doesn't have. The added maltiness makes this a simply spectacular dessert. 

 

Ingredients

• 22oz Peak Organic Maple Oat Ale
• 1 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups half and half
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup grade A maple syrup (real maple syrup)
• 1 cup choped walnuts

Pour half and half maple syrup and cream in saucepan.

Whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add sugar while whisking rapidly. Keep whisking until mixture falls from whisk in ribbon like form.

Temper the cream mixture gradually adding small amounts, a few tablespoons at a time, of cream into the eggs while stirring, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour remainder of cream in and transfer back to saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F.

Strain mixture and place into a container. Once mixture has cooled enough not to form condensation on the lid place the mixture into the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

Place beer reduction in separate container and cool in refrigerator.

After 8-12 hours stir in beer reduction into ice cream base.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. When mixture starts to become firm add walnuts to the machine.  Continue to churn until done (total time 20-25 mins) Freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

 

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