Beer Tasting: Frank

One of Community Beer Work's best selling creations is Frank, an American Pale Ale.  For my review of Community Beer Works see this review.  Community Beer Works has earned respect in the Buffalo craft beer scene with consistently delicious and fresh beers.  Buffalo's first nanobrewery admirably seeks to "Embeer Buffalo", and turn Buffalo into a modern day craft beer destination.

President Ethan Cox leads the charge for Community Beer Works in their task to become a neighborhood integrated brewery.  Ethan Cox has written the book on the history of beer in Buffalo.  Buffalo Beer: The History of Brewing in the Nickel City, written by Michael Rizzo and Ethan Cox, is now available at Barnes & Noble (by clicking here). 

Having been to Community Beer Works a few times, I can say that the beer is always high quality and fresh.  For National Craft Beer Week, I purchased a growler of Frank at the local Consumer's Beverages outlet.  Here is a picture of my Frank.

Community Beer Works: Frank

ABV: 4.6%

Style: American Pale Ale

Rating: 88/100 with 37 reviews at Beeradvocate.com

 Why is this beer named Frank?  Who is Frank exactly?  According to Ethan Cox:

He's the quintessential Buffalonian, the "I gotta guy for that" guy - down to earth, jocular, unpretentious, equally at ease with a Blue or CBW, drinks at the corner bar.

He's sort of the avatar or manifestation of the CBW ethos.  We make damn good beer, not precious unicorn teardrop beer.

Frank poured a pale to deep gold and showed an ample foam that dissipated after a half minute into a retentive half-finger head.  The aroma of Frank is pine and a tad bit of citrus.  Frank is made with Zeus, Centennial, and Zythos hops.  Zeus hops (of CTZ trio fame) are known for being aromatic and pleasant, and Frank certainly possesses those categories in aroma and taste.  Centennial hops are another hallmark addition to American-style ales, and Frank benefits from these hops as well.  Frank is rounded off by the addition of Zythos hops, which impart some tropical and citrus tones to the taste- but not a lot.  More so, Frank smacks of raw hop oil resin and is a little sticky and sweet.  The mouthfeel is light to medium and Frank finishes dry.

There is a distinct and recognizable quality about Frank that renders this beer highly drinkable.  Frank is a blend of American-style hops but not overpoweringly so.  And there is a base malt sweetness, but not ostentatiously so.  There is nothing offensive about Frank; a sign of balance and blend success.

Frank gets the job done.  In a blizzard, or in the heat.  In a bar, or on the job.  But always in Buffalo.

Beer Tasting: Boomenator

Continuing along with National Craft Beer Week and the desire to drink local beers, I picked up a growler of Hamburg Brewing Company's Boomenater.  Hamburg Brewing Company is located in the Town of Hamburg, NY, about a 20 minute drive south and a bit east of downtown Buffalo.  I have heard from many people that the tap room is a wonderful drinking space with a great atmosphere.  To date, I have not been able to visit the brewery myself, although I have certainly had numerous Hamburg beers at local festivals.  I plan to visit Hamburg Brewing Company this Sunday, May 17th, for their "Farm to Pint" event.

Boomenater is billed as a German style bock.  There is some amazing history surrounding the birth of the "bock" beer.  Bock beer is assumed to have been originally produced in the German city of Einbeck.  In the early 1600's, a German brewer was hired by Munich officials to make copious amounts of this beer.  Many Catholics would consumer this beer as "liquid bread" during the Lent season.  Other spinoffs of bock beer exist, including doppelbock (stronger bock) and Maibock (produced in May). 

Boomenater was on tap at a local Consumer's Beverage outlet, so I decided to give this beer a try.  I poured Boomenater into my Pilsner glass and the result is shown below.

Hamburg Brewing Company: Boomenater

ABV: 6.0%

Style:Bock

Recently added on Beeradvocate.com

Boomenater poured a brown to ruby-brown color and displayed a half-finger head and good lacing.  The aroma of Boomenater is sweet and bready, with some nuttiness and gentle spice notes.  Neither of the hop strains used in making Boomenater, Magnum and Perle, produce strong hop bitterness or aroma.  The flavor of Boomenater is predominantly sweet malt in the front, with a clean bitterness in the background.  A bit of spice does round out the taste, including an earthy, minty feel.  Toffee and "brown ale" flavors are also noticeable.  There are quite a few different malts used in the creation of Boomenater, and their caramel impact occludes any real hop detection.  The mouthfeel of Boomenater is syrupy and full.

Overall, Hamburg Brewing Company's Boomenater achieves the traditional bock style: malt domination balanced with subtle spice hops.  I would recommend this beer on a thermometer-challenged night in winter or spring.  

Beer Tasting: Hayburner American IPA

To kick off National Craft Beer Week, I decided to review one of my favorite local beers, Big Ditch Brewing Company's Hayburner American IPA.  Hayburner American IPA is one of the best local beers being produced.  And I'm not just saying that because co-founder and president Matt Kahn led my microbiology students on a brewery tour a couple weeks ago (although that was very cool).  Hayburner American IPA is one of the best local beers because that's the way co-founder and head brewer Corey Catalano want it to be.  As with all Big Ditch Brewing Company beers, both Matt and Corey spend considerable time and effort to ensure that Hayburner American IPA is produced with consistency and quality.  As a result, Hayburner American IPA has quickly become a favorite local IPA by Buffalo beer drinkers.

So where does the name Hayburner American IPA come from?  The description provided by Big Ditch Brewing Company reads:

Mules, known long ago as "Hayburners", were the workhorses behind the construction of the Erie Canal.  This IPA is equally dependable, and is extremely satisfying at the end of a hard day's work.

So we have these "long-eared robins" to thank for the name given to this Big Ditch creation.  Here is a picture of my Hayburner American IPA:

Big Ditch Brewing Company: Hayburner American IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Style: American IPA

Rating: 89/100 and 21 ratings on Beeradvocate.com

Hayburner American IPA pours a clear to ever-so-slightly hazy pale gold, with a one-finger retentive head that survives the pint.  The aroma of Hayburner American IPA is predominantly citrus with a backdrop of pine.  The taste of Hayburner American IPA is not as citrus up-front as the aroma suggests.  Instead, Hayburner American IPA is a nice balance of strong hop bitterness, caramel malt sweetness, and grapefruit and orange.  The Warrior hops used to create Hayburner American IPA add a clean hop bitterness, the Falconer's flight hops add a Northwest pine touch, and the glacier hops add a gentle fruit aroma.  Carapils malt provide just the right amount of sweetness but don't overpower the hops flavors.  The mouthfeel of Hayburner American IPA is moderate and the carbonation is right.  The alcohol level of Hayburner American IPA is fairly high, but concealed by crisp clean hops.

Overall, Hayburner American IPA is a well-balanced and refreshing American IPA packed with structured flavor.  Hayburner American IPA is on the stronger side but very drinkable and balanced.  Order a pint of Hayburner American IPA and you will quickly taste why this beer has become a Buffalo favorite.

Remember to drink local this week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.  And remember to stop by Big Ditch Brewing Company in the very near future as they open their doors and unveil their new tap room to the public!

Beer Tasting: White Aphro

From Empire Brewing in Syracuse, NY, comes White Aphro (short for aphrodisiac) a witbier style beer.

 Last week, a perfect amalgam of nerdiness overcame me on the way home from work.  On May the 4th, also known as "Star Wars Day" for the popular phrase "May the 4th be with you", the local Consumer's Beverages had a growler special entitled "The Empire Strikes Back".  During this event, customers could stop into their local Consumer's Beverages outlet and purchase of a growler of either Empire IPA or Empire Brewing Company's White Aphro.  Customers were then automatically entered into a raffle for a Darth Vader growler set.  The Jedi mind powers of persuasion succeeded, and I stopped into Consumer's Beverages for a growler of White Aphro.

Empire Brewing Company has been cool before craft beer was cool.  Here is a video from Empire Brewing Company and their beers, with discussion of White Aphro at the 7:23 mark.

Empire Brews All video

Having lived in Syracuse between 1998 and 2000, I recall (most) nights heading down the steps leading into Empire Brewing Company and pondering just what I was doing in this strange basement surrounded by a bunch of large metal vessels.  During these years, I really did not deviate too far from mainstream "not-to-be-named lagers" and the taste of an IPA was overwhelming and foreign.  But I do recall Empire Brewing Company's beer to be quite intoxicating and full of fresh taste and flavor.  But that was a long time ago in a brewery far, far away.

And yet Empire Brewing Company has survived all these years (since 1994) in the popular and high demand Armory Square market.  This Syracuse brewing staple has felt the pressure to expand due to increased craft beer thirst, and plans to open a new Farmstead brewery in Cazenovia, NY, located southeast of the city.  This Farmstead brewery plans to be one of the largest craft beer makers in the state.

Farmstead Brewery

So seeing Empire Brewing Company beer available on tap here in Buffalo made me happy.  Having White Aphro reminded me my early grad school years at Syracuse University.  And having White Aphro on May the 4th reminded me of Star Wars.  What a great nostalgic place to be.

Here is a picture of my White Aphro:

Empire Brewing Company: White Aphro

ABV: 5.75%

Style:Witbier

Rating: 83/100 and 94 ratings on Beeradvocate.com

White Aphro pours a clear to slightly cloudy white, with noticeable yeast sediment present.  The aroma of White Aphro is bready, citrus, and spicy, with notes of lemon, coriander, and ginger.  The taste of White Aphro is actually lighter than the aroma at first, with wheat malt and cereal flavors predominating the palate.  The lemon, coriander, lavender, and honey follow soon after.  The mouthfeel of White Aphro is moderate and smooth.

White Aphro is a craft-beer crossover, designed in witbier style.  But what sets apart White Aphro from other beers in the style is the presence of unique spice and citrus blends.  Drinking White Aphro makes me reminisce of Armory Square exploits.  I hope to return to Syracuse to explore the evolution of craft beer at Empire Brewing Company.