Civility in Threes: A trio of ales by Civil Life Brewing

In a previous post, I noted that, even if I could not go to St. Louis, I at least could enjoy a Dunkel from that fair town.

However, a friend of mine could go to St. Louis and, indeed he did recently. In addition to eating at Pappy's Smokehouse to his stomach's content, he made a stop at Civil Life Brewing. They don't distribute here nor to Chicagoland so their beer is something of a treat since it can only be obtained after a 5 hour drive south-southwest and I hadn't done that in several years.

 

Shortly after my friend's return to this side of the Cheddar Curtain, I was gifted with about half of a sampler case. My refrigerator was full of porter and brown ale and more porter and ESB and so on. Civil Life tends to brew English-style beers and some American interpretations of them. I had not delved deeply into their offerings until I received my gift.

The first brew I sampled was the IPA. My reasoning was two-fold: 1) if it wasn't an English IPA then I would get it done and out of the way as American ones, generally speaking, are not my cup of tea and 2) it had been a while since I'd had an English IPA and, since I liked the one I'd tasted, it'd be hoopy to have another.

 

I was quite surprised when I poured some and found that it wasn't just hazy, it was turbid. Was this really a hazy-juicy IPA? From Civil Life?

"Well, they've gotta keep the lights on somehow," I reasoned.

The mega-haze dulled what I think would have been a very pretty gold beer. On the plus side, the head was this big dollop of just off-white foam that lingered. I took solace in the fact that I didn't smell Hawaiian Punch as I inspected the glass. Taking a big whiff, my nose was greeted by pine, something like mango, and a malty sweetness. The mango wasn't unpleasant and it was in the background behind the pine.

My first sip found a medium-light body that leaned towards the former. Instead of being a hazy IPA, it was more like a West Coast one with the pine and some grapefruit being the prominent flavors. I appreciated that the malt was a bit restrained and didn't have that syrupy sweetness in the background trying to be the hops' foil.

I was pleasantly reminded of Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale with this one.

Next I tried Civil Life's American Brown Ale.

A lovely deep amber with a big, light tan head. Looked scrumptious. It had an aroma that I've smelled in beer before but I don't know what it is and can best describe it as musty plum, but in a good way. Also, a little spicy hoppiness and some leather.

Every beer I've been drinking lately seems to have a medium-light body and this one did too. Some milk chocolate was joined by coffee flavors and caramel too, though the beer wasn't particularly sweet.

If I recall correctly, this is Civil Life's best-seller. No wonder as it's very, very tasty. If their IPA brought back memories from the mid-90s of drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, this did the same only for Pete's Wicked Ale. Does this stuff taste like that pioneering beer? I don't recall. But it is decidedly retro to have a brown ale as your best selling brew.

I enjoyed how easy drinking this was despite having a fuller malt flavor. Astringency was mild, sweetness was kept at bay. It was malty without being cloying and it had just the perfect amount of hops for balance with a pleasing bitterness at the end.

This trio of Civil Life brews will be rounded out with their Goal!den Ale.

The goofy name comes from the fact that this beer was originally brewed for the Amsterdam Tavern in St. Louis, a place where folks like to gather to watch soccer. Er, football.

A very pretty beer with a big white head and light gold color. It was hazy, but only just. Smelled great too with notes of biscuit and honey as well as a faint bit of grass.

This one was light-medium - ha! A slight sweetness along with the taste of biscuit and something else. Just as there was that scent in the brown ale that was familiar yet undefinable, this stuff had a flavor that made me think there was corn in it. (The brewery disabused me of this idea via email.) It had a vague resemblance to Corona. When your beer's malty taste doesn't have a clear baked good analogue such as a biscuit or a cracker or bread and instead has more of a muddy, doughy taste - well, this is it. There was also a hint of lemon and some gentle herbal-peppery hops.

There are times when the lines between a golden/blonde ale and an American light lager are thrown into sharp relief. This is not one of those times. Goal!den Ale is crisp and clean with everything about it light and easy going. OK, I'll cop to it having a fuller malt taste than most American light lagers meaning it's not the same species or even genus, but definitely the same family.

A fine lawnmower+ beer.

The Choice Is Clear: India Ale by Samuel Smith Old Brewery

Recently I was at a brewery with my lovely Frau enjoying a flight of beers as we awaited lunch. The gentleman who was sitting next to us chimed in at one point and asked if we liked one of the beers in our sampler. It turned out he was an employee of the establishment. Very friendly guy. At one point he recommended and commented upon the hazy IPA on the menu and I replied that, yes, it was a fine IPA…

FOR ME TO POOP ON!

Ha!

No, I was polite and remarked that American IPAs aren’t my thing or something akin to that and our conversation veered to the merits of other styles.

I am reminded of an exchange I had at another brewery - this one is here in Madison. I was getting refills for the three of us when the person behind the counter asked if I'd tried the double or extra cryo or mega-hazy or whatever variation of their flagship IPA. I politely informed this person that I don't drink IPAs.

This, of course, is a lie since you are reading a review of an IPA written by your humble narrator. It would have been more correct to have said that I don't drink American IPAs. Not totally correct, mind you, but this would have gotten us closer to the truth. And it would have gotten across the point that I am not interested in their fruity-tasting beers. Hence that pilsner clear as day in my order.

I guess pushing the trendiest of the trendy is just what you do when you work at a craft brewery these days.

After having had some extremely delicious nut brown ale by Samuel Smith, I thought I'd investigate what else they brew and started with their India Ale.

I can find no proof that Samuel Smith ever exported a pale ale to India back when the sun never set on the English Empire. The brewery's website notes that the bottle's label "is based on Samuel Smith’s Victorian letterhead when the brewery was a contractor to Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s forces." Are they avoiding noting that the brewery, however tangentially, aided and abetted imperialism? Or did they simply never send pale ale to India? Harumph.

The important bit for me is that this is an IPA brewed by honest-to-Christ British people and promised not to taste like the hideous union of Hawaiian Punch and Boone's Farm that, for me, is the hazy/juicy IPA, the fashionable variant of the venerable style.

 

Look ma, no haze!

 

It was a lovely clear amber with a nice off-white head that disappeared quickly. I suspect that I was trying to get a photo with my cat Piper in just the right spot and failed, hence the lack of head in the picture. (Although you can see her walking away.) A fair number of bubbles could be seen inside the glass. The beer smelled sweetish. There was fairly prominent caramel scent and a little fruitiness - think apple and berry commingling. My nose also caught something a little floral which made for a lovely aroma.

With such a conspicuous caramel scent, I was slightly worried that the taste would lean heavily to the sweet side whether by design or perhaps age. Who knows when this stuff was brewed and how it was treated on the voyage over here. On my initial sip, my tongue was greeted by a nice, firm fizz which helped keep the caramel flavor in check. That fruity-floral thing was here too as was a hint of roasted grain. It was moderately astringent.

The sweetness disappeared on the swallow and was replaced by a healthy dose of herbal/spicy hops that left a dry, almost minty taste in my mouth.

What a lovely beer! The flavors were in balance and it never got too sweet. I loved the fruity-floral taste with its lack of tropical fruity flavors. Plus the herbal tasting hops. Just a nice mix of subtle flavors that made for a rich, tasty gestalt of a beer.

Junk food pairing: this brew or something like it may or may not have ever been shipped to India but pair it with the delights of the Asian subcontinent - Lay's Magic Masala potato chips. Er, crisps.

IPA Ascendant

A couple new labels:





I think I had St. Thomas last year at the Potosi Brew Fest. I found it rather bland. But, if it is the same brew, perhaps it's been reformulated. The Lakefront beer seems to have been brewed for a two-location restaurant chain out in New York/New Jersey. A fernet is a post-prandial bitter and this stout appears to be a custom digestif. Sounds tasty.

Lew Bryson notes data showing that the IPA is selling like gangbusters.

It should come to a surprise to no one, but sales tracking company GuestMetrics has released a report showing that IPA kicked ass and took names last year. According to their database (from POS systems in restaurants and bars), IPA showed stronger growth than any other type of beer last year: an amazing 39% year on year. And it's accelerating going into the second quarter of 2013; 1Q 2013 showed 40% growth.

This comports with the shelf at Jenifer Street Market this morning which had an empty row where six packs of Capital's Mutiny IPA should have been. The shelves at Woodman's generally haven't been full of Mutiny either. While I am not sure if this is just hopheads trying it out or if they're getting repeat business, good for Capital. I am not a big fan of IPAs but I did have a couple yesterday. Geneva Lakes' No Wake IPA was pretty good. Big in citrus/grapefruit hoppiness. Rhinelander's Thumper American IPA was less successful. It had a dull sweetness to it that I didn't care for. This is a Rhinelander product brewed by Minhas so it's not surprising that Thumper was pretty bad. I will say in their defense, however, that their Chocolate Bunny stout is actually good stuff.

Since I mentioned Capital I should note that Doug at Over Served has a review of their new summer seasonal, Lake House. He describes it as a lawnmower beer. I will certainly try it and am hoping it's more of a helles than an American pale lager. But I am also disappointed that there will be no hefeweizen or wild rice or Fest this summer. (Hey Dan Carey - put Laughing Fox out in the summer and Dancing Man in the autumn.)

Looking westward, I noticed that Schell's gose, Goosetown, is now on store shelves. I had one yesterday and it was good. It tasted like it was lagered to me, which is not traditional. Still I liked the salt, coriander, and sourness. My initial impression of Schell was not positive (FireBrick) but I am now warming to them. They have a gose, an alt, a Kölsch, a rye lager, and a rauch dunkles. Now these are beers that interest my palate.

Sixpoint: First Impression, Part I

I had my first Sixpoint brew this evening - Bengali Tiger, an American IPA.

It looks really nice with its orange-amber hue and smells great too with caramel maltiness followed by floral hops. The taste is similar with that sweetness first and then a massive hop rush. Massive for me, at any rate. While I'm not sure what varieties of hops were used, I tasted the floral-grassy kind. Bengali Tiger had the dryest finish of any beer that I can recall ever having tasted.

This stuff is like Kirby Nelson repellent.

Leinenkugel's: IIPA and Trend Starter

The next installment in Leine's Big Eddy series will be an Imperial IPA:



Speaking of Leine's, it seems that their Summer Shandy has spawned a trend.


Breweries are looking for ways to curb receding market share to wine and spirits with new products geared toward those that don’t like the taste of beer. For those that do and drink craft beer on a casual basis, Shandy might appeal. Casual craft beer drinkers and drinkers that cling to flagships (and safe seasonals) still drive more volume in the category than those who experiment. Though breweries are increasing activity with barrels and so on, that fringe crowd is massive and can’t be ignored. Shandy offers a trade-up opportunity for those danging between premiums like Bud Light and crafts, and can work as a gateway to trials of other brands in the portfolio.


Sam Adams, Anheuser-Busch, Labatt, Harp, and Saranac all have shandies on tap for the summer.