Fat Heads Sorcerer

Cleveland and Pittsburgh . . . What a long colorful history these two cities have between them . . .

It would seem that we have a peace offering of sorts in our midst, Fat Heads Brewery and Saloon located in North Olmsted, Ohio. It was only a matter of time before Fat Heads Saloon in Pittsburgh's South Side decided that pouring the great beers of the world was no longer enough, and have begun to brew beer also!

Take a great brand like Fat Heads, pair it with a fantastic brewer like Matt Cole, and you have yourself a winning recipe!

The first offering available in the local Pittsburgh area, Fat Heads Sorcerer.

Fat Heads Sorcerer, 9% ABV:

The beer is described as a Belgian-styled Dark Ale. The color is brown with an amber hue. Nice, sturdy, bone white head that holds steady and laces very well. Ripe fruit and heavy malt in the nose. Upon entry, you are hit with big malt, ripe fruit, and hints of fig. The beer coats the mouth nicely, then dissipates ever so slowly . . . Yummmm. This beer cleans up well as it finishes . . . Leaving a wonderful, malty, Belgian Candy Sugar sweetness that pleases, does not offend, and begs you to take another swig. Heat? None found here. This beer is clean and soft, which is key when dealing with this style of beer.

After quaffing Sorcerer, I am only more curious of what Brewer Matt Cole has to offer us. If Sorcerer is any indication, we should be very excited about the future!

"Chill out man, have a beer!" -Fat Heads

Don't forget about the Second Annual Fat Head's Brewer's Ball from 6:00-9:00 this Friday, May 1, 2009 at the South Side's I.B.E.W. No. 5's Circuit Center. This event benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Ticket cost is $60 in advance and $65 at the door and includes craft brews, food, and entertainment. Sure to be a fun time had by all! Please come out and show support for this great cause.

Part of your reward for attending is an opportunity to try four new Fat Heads Brewery and Saloon beers; Goggle Fogger Hefeweizen, Head Hunter IPA, Bean Me Up Coffee Stout, and Pack a Wallop Pale Ale.

Blue Point Rastafar Rye

Blue Point Rastafar Rye, 7% ABV:

This beer is copper in color. Good malt in the nose . . . heavy bread with subtle hop and rye spice. Nice malt weight up front; creamy mouthfeel, flavors of caramel, the crust of bread, hints of brown sugar, subtle apple brandy, and spice. There are just enough hops present to balance this beer, and let the malt coat and work the inside of the mouth. This ale has a nice, semi-dry, spicy finish. Honestly, I'm not sure that I have had a rye ale that serves up and features the rye the way that this beer does . . . It's all about the rye in this beer. At 7% ABV, this beer comes off malty, and frankly, that's exactly what I like about this beer. It's not overly-hopped and hiding the rye, like many other rye ales that I have tried. Rather, it stages some of the great qualities that rye has to offer; subtle apple brandy notes, and a spicy, dry characteristic to the finish. This beer succeeds in exactly what it sets out to do; take the great qualities of rye addition to the mash, and throw them in your face. You want some rye? I got your rye . . .

Southampton Biere de Garde

So, what is biere de garde? That's a discussion that could take quite some time. In a nut shell, biere de garde (beer da gart) means beer for preserving or storing. A biere de garde is a French Farmhouse style with a long, debatable history. Southampton Biere de Garde is a tribute to this classic style.

Southampton Biere de Garde, 7.2% ABV:

Appearance is beautiful . . . Light amber in color. Stylistically correct spritzy carbonation. Delicate malt, ripe fruit, spice, and hints of apple in the nose. Medium bodied with nice malt and ripe fruit upfront that leads way to earthy spiciness. Finishes semi dry and clean with underlying apple flavor and hints of lemon. Coats the mouth with a nice malty slick that sticks around for quite some time. The coating left on your mouth is reminiscent of a high quality, lightly sweetened iced black tea . . . Very pleasing, very pleasant. I love the subtle apple flavor and spice that hangs out for minutes as the beer finishes.

Southampton Biere de Garde: Yet another outstanding beer from the boys at Southampton!! I challenge you to find another American brewer that brews a biere de garde that comes this close to this classic style. As a matter of fact, scratch that. Trust me on this one. Don't waste your time. There is not much room at the same table where Southampton Biere de Garde sits. Don't believe me? Then do some research. And while you're at it, find a bottle of Southampton Biere de Garde, buy Phil Markowski's book, "Farmhouse Ales; Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition," and prepare to digest the one literally and the other figuratively. . . . Now, doesn't that just taste and feel good? I know it does.

Like food with your beer? Roasted duck or pork, duck or pork confit, ostrich, game birds, and pasta with cream sauce are just a few things that will pair great with Southampton Biere de Garde.

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial Ale

Friday happy hour found me with a Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial Ale in my hand. The label calls it "Triple Hoppy". So what exactly is a Triple Hoppy Ale?

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial Ale, >100 IBUs, 9.2% ABV:
The color is copper. Pungent citrus, pine, and herb hop in the nose with a hefty malt background. The malt is present, but outweighed greatly by the hop vapor being released in this beast. Big malt upfront that is quickly replaced by citrus, pine, and herby resinousness. This beer is extremely bitter! Moylan's calls it a Triple Hoppy Ale, and they ain't lying!! This beer has the weight of a Double IPA, and the hops of a Triple IPA . . . Uhhhh, nevermind . . . That's just stupid . . . Of course, there's no such thing as a Triple IPA . . . sorry, Founders Devil Dancer and Dogfish 120. This Hopsickle Ale is a hop assertive Double IPA with the stress on the hops! As previously stated, Moylan's is not lying when they call Hopsickle a Triple Hoppy Ale. Call yourself a hophead? If so, you will be elated! If you're like me, a hopheadless, beer-loving fool that appreciates hops . . . you will find Hopsickle to be a hoppy Double IPA. If you don't like hops, don't even smell this beer. Stay far away. It's not for the faint of heart.

10 minutes after leaving the bar . . . hops still in affect.

This beer is extremely rare to find on draft in the Pittsburgh area. As stated, Hopsickle has the weight of a Double IPA, but is not nearly as malty sweet as a Double IPA. Hopsickle on draft is quite a treat.

Who's pouring this wonderful beer on draft locally?

Harris Grill
Rivertowne Inn
Smokin Joe's Saloon
Fat Heads Saloon
D's 6 Pax & Dogz
Carl's Tavern (3386 William Penn Hwy., Monroeville)
Bocktown Beer
Mad Mex-Cranberry
Mad Mex-Robinson

Voodoo White Magick of the Sun

Finally had time to give another one of these Voodoo Brewery samples my attention and due diligence. Seems like each time that I open a Voodoo Brewery beer, I'm inspired to write.

Voodoo White Magick of the Sun, 30 IBUs, 6% ABV:

Spalter Select Hops, coriander, sweet orange peel, juniper berries, and 12 varieties of peppercorns . . . No lie. Sounds full of stuff, and it is , but drinks super clean, super dry, and impresses with its subtleties. You get a nice hint of orange peel late, mid-palate that immediately moves onto a spicy Spalter hop characteristic which sets off the wonderful, delicate balance of the additionally added spices. The spice of the hops definitely paves the road for the coriander, juniper berries, and variety of peppercorns . . . Wonderfully selected hops for these specific spices. Everything is kept in check, and this Belgian Yeast strain is a beautiful complement aiding to create a very dry finish.

Definitely one of the most unique and satisfying "White Ales" that I have ever had.

Voodoo Brewing Pilzilla

Thursday made me the fortunate possessor of some very fine Voodoo Brewing Company 22 oz bottles. The only question was which bottle should I try first. I decided on the 4 Seasons IPA. 4 Seasons IPA is interesting in the fact that it changes with all 4 regionally existing seasons here in Pennsylvania. For this reason, this is the only Voodoo Brewing Beer that does not list information regarding the ingredients, IBU, gravity, or ABV on the label. In my hand, I had this year's Spring version of the 4 Seasons IPA (silver cap). What I found inside of the bottle was a delicious, clean, American IPA that satisfies. I'd tell you more, but I would rather you check out their link, or better yet, buy it and check it out for yourself. On to the second bottle, and our topic for the day, Pilzilla.

Voodoo Brewing Pilzilla, 50 IBUs, 6.7% ABV:
Beautiful pale golden color with a bright white head. Bready malt character in the nose accented by nice hop spice. Hits the mouth creamy, bright, and balanced. Malt coats the mouth wonderfully, while hop bitterness and flavor builds. Spicy hop complexity hangs around nicely and continues to coax and tease the malty slick that coats the mouth. This beer is bright and clean like its traditional European brother. However, I can assure you . . . If Pilzilla walks in a room, which he can't, because he's too monstrously large to fit through the doorway . . . But if he could, his European brothers would be screaming and running the other way. This beer takes the great qualities of a European Pilsner, hits them with two atom bombs, and out walks Pilzilla . . . He's big . . . He's bad. And he's righteously angry.

Voodoo Brewing Company makes cutting-edge American craft beer, and they do it well. These guys are relatively new, but years of experience, passion, and love are apparent in every Voodoo beer that's produced.

1995 Thomas Hardy's Ale

Had my mother and father-in-law in town this past weekend. It's always good to see them. A little verbal prodding from Theresa had me looking around in my cellar for a couple of bottles of Thomas Hardy's Ale from O'Hanlons Brewing Company. She did help me secure a few cases of various vintages a couple of years ago, so it's only right that I share them with her occasionally. Besides, with the way that I squirrel stuff away in my cellar, who knows when I'll actually think to drink one on my own!

1995 Thomas Hardy's Ale, 11% ABV:

Decanted clear with almost no carbonation. The color is brown, and the nose is of molasses, toffee, pecans, dates, and soft alcohol. The bouquet of this beer is huge! You can smell it sitting on the table a couple of feet away. Upon entry, it delivers molasses and hints of cocoa in the front, then quickly moves onto figs, dates, and subtle apricot. Finishes with pecan nuttiness, caramel, hints of chocolate, and ripe fruit. This beer is outrageous, and well worth the wait!!

If I had a favorite style, Old Ale would probably be it. I'm a huge fan of the style, and this 1995 Thomas Hardy's Ale is a perfect example of how wonderfully complex and delicious that this style can be!

What a treat!!

Thomas Hardy's Ale was first sold in 1968 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the death of Thomas Hardy. It is based on the ale mentioned in the novel "The Trumpet Major" where it is described so vividly by the author.

"IT WAS OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COLOUR THAT THE EYE OF AN ARTIST IN BEER COULD DESIRE; FULL IN BODY, YET BRISK AS A VOLCANO; PIQUANT, YET WITHOUT A TWANG; LUMINOUS AS AN AUTUMN SUNSET." http://www.onlyfinebeer.co.uk/beer/1487/