Berkshire Czech Style Pilsner

Sometimes when I'm craving a beer I want something so hoppy it strips the enamel from my teeth. Sometimes I want some thing so malty it's almost chewy.  And, sometimes I want something smooth and silky like a good stout.

Maybe it's the Czechoslovakian blood flowing through my veins, but when I want to kick back and knock back a few, I usually turn towards a crisp pilsner.  When I bought this beer, that's exactly what I had in mind.

Berkshire Czech Style Pilsner (5.5% ABV) pours a bright clear gold with lively carbonation that builds a fluffy white head that leaves behind clumpy lacing.

The aroma is bready malt and herbal hops. Some floral essences waft forth, as well. Enticing and droolworthy.

The taste is malty and biscuit with the tang of citrus and herbal hops. The gentle sweetness is offset nicely by equally gentle bitterness. The flavors are bright, fresh, and balanced. The finish is crisp and clean.

The mouthfeel is light and effervescent making for exceptionally quaffability.

Berkshire Czech Style Pilsner is an excellent example of the style. It's crisp, bright, and tasty. The low alcoholo content makes it sessionable so that drinking a few isn't a few too many.

Overall: very good.

Beerific Javanilla Cocktail

This concoction is a match made in heaven.  The sweet richness of Saphouse vanilla bean mead mixed with Berkshire brewing coffee porter tastes like a beerific cappuccino whipped up a coffeehouse barista.

It's especially special since Berkshire Brewing is the distributor for New Hampshire based Sap House mead in Connecticut.


Beerfific Javanilla Cocktail

2 Ounces Saphouse Meadery Vanilla Bean Mead
11 Ounces Berkshire Brewing Dean's Beans Coffeehouse Porter

Pour chilled vanilla mead into a 16 ounce glass.  Top with coffee porter.

Enjoy!

Four beers in four minutes

I love it when a beer run leads to a beer tasting. This was one of those trips with a bonus waiting for me right inside the door. 

Berkshire Brewing Company was set up with several bottles of their beer chilling in a bucket of ice.  Did I stop to give them a try?  You bet your sweet bippy.

Colin, the BBC representative, was knowledgeable and professional.  he described the different beers as I tasted and we discussed my thoughts and opinions of the various brews. 

Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale (5.3% ABV) Extra Pale it is.  The aroma is very fruity and malty.  Based on the smell, I was looking forward to my first sip.  The flavor?  A huge let-down. The tasted of this beer is empty and featureless.  Bland. It really has almost no flavor at all.  Disappointing.

Lost Sailor India Pale Ale (5.5% ABV) a British style ale.  The aroma is very malty.  The taste is somewhat light. Malt is what comes through first with some hoppiness on the back end and it finishes dry.   This beer is good but not great.  Pretty much a middle of the road IPA.  Overall:  good.

Maibock Lager (6.5% ABV) Now this is more like it.  The aroma is malty and fruity.  The taste is rich and pleasantly sweet; loaded with caramel malt, bready yeast and a whisper of vanilla.  The sweetness is nicely balanced with a touch of bitter hops.   There is a boozy quality, but it is fairly well concealed and doesn't detract.  The mouthfeel was especially pleasant,  it is somewhat heavy and creamy on the palate.  If it's any indication of how much I liked this beer, I bought a bottle.  Overall: Very Good.

Dean's Beans Coffeehouse Porter (6.2% ABV) is a damned good porter!  The aroma is like a fresh cup of coffee.  Yeah, just like that and very enticing.  The flavor met every expectation the smell stimulated.  Loads of roasty coffee flavor with hints of cocoa and vanilla.  Bitter hops balance out the malty sweetness.    The mouthfeel is heavy but the carbonation lightens it up.  I bought two bottles of this brew because I liked it so much.  Overall: Very Good.

Based on this tasting experience, my opinion is that BBC does much better with their heavier, darker beers.  The light ones I sampled were okay, but nothing special.  I look forward trying more of their brews in the future.

Visit Berkshire Brewing's website for info on their other beers and "like" them on Facebook.

Friday Beer Run

I love it when a Plan (B) comes together!

Last night hubby and I went to Plan B burger bar primarily because they were tapping a keg of the much anticipated Stone Enjoy By 04/01/13, secondarily for burgers.

We each ordered a beer and placed our burger order. I went with the Enjoy By, because that's why we were there after all, and hubby decided on Copper Hill Kolsch.  

I won't do a review of the Enjoy By.  Suffice to say that I didn't enjoy it.  Please click here if you're interested in reading my full review.  

Copper Hill Kölsch (5.1% ABV) is brewed by Cambridge House, which is a local-to-me brewery.  Copper Hill was served in a standard shaker pint glass.  This lager is a clear straw color with a thin lingering head that laces nicely on the glass.  The aroma is hoppy and somewhat bready.  Sweet malt dominates with a touch of fruitiness and a healthy (but not overbearing) dose of hops.  The finish is mildly bitter.  The mouth feel is medium and smooth.  Overall good and quite drinkable.  

While we were finishing up our first round of brews, the burgers were served and round two was ordered.

I got sliders made with ground duck, topped with brie and dates along with a side of green fries (flash fried green beans).  Oh my goodness, those were some yummy little burgers. 

Hubby got a cream cheese and jelly burger.  Before you cringe, it was a burger topped with a cream/goat cheese mixture, pepper jelly, bacon and greens.  It was delicious!

668 The Neighbor of the Beast (8.5% ABV) by New England Brewing another Connecticut brewery.  The strong Belgian pale ale was served in a chalice. The beer was a hazy gold with a big white head that left nice lacing on the glass. There's plenty of hop character that balances nicely with a sweet maltiness and a touch of wheat.  The alcohol can be felt as well as tasted, but it's please and warm, not overpowering.  Be careful with this one; it goes down easy.  This is a great beer! Try it if you find it.

G'Knight (8.7% ABV) by Oskar Blues Brewery is an imperial red ale and was without a doubt the best beer of the night.  This dense amber beer was served in chalice.  It came to the table with a decent head and left behind exceptional lacing on the glass.  G'Knight has a big aroma and big flavor.  Lots of citrus hops and roasty malt along with a nice bready yeastiness.  Despite the high alcohol, this is a smooth beer that goes down too easy.  Overall, excellent.

For dessert, we decided to split a beer and cinnamon apple pie a la mode. The beer was good and the pie was rockin'!

River Ale (7% ABV) by Berkshire Brewing Company is an American Pale Wheat Ale.  Served in a shaker pint, this beer was dark and dense with a good head. The aroma is subtle but malty.  The flavor was a bit surprising; in a good way.  It was wheaty, of course, with spicy clove and banana undertones.  This is complimented by caramel malt, a bready yeastiness and a nice touch of bitter hops.  This is a very well balance and flavorful beer.  Overall, good.

If you haven't been to a Plan B, I highly recommend it!  They have delicious burgers, an extensive bourbon menu and ever rotating beer taps.  Good stuff!