Rahr Snowmageddon Update

I recently reviewed a beer from Rahr called Snowmageddon (See review here). There wasn’t any information on the website, but a beer peddler for Rahr contacted me and asked if I wanted any information. He went as far as contacting the guy who developed the beer and gave me the basic recipe. Here’s the stats:

OG 1060
IBU 35

67% Pale Malt
8% Victory
5% Roasted Barley
3% Chocolate
7% Caramunich
10% Quick Oats

Magnum Hops 12.1aa 60 min or sub any medium to high alpha hop to get to 35 IBU but avoid super citrus hops

1oz per 5g EK Goldings 20 min – Any English Variety will work
Yeast Nottingham – The specific strain has an extremely minimal effect on this beer, Any English or US Ale will work fine just be more careful with Windsor to keep the fermentation between 65-68.

Mash at 154 for 60-90 minutes

Other substitutions that make nearly no noticable change on final beer:
Caramunich can be substitued with any crystal malt at 40-75 lovibond
Nearly any base malt is fine, Pilsner, Munich, US Pale, generic 2-Row
You can go to 20# of base malt and ditch the Victory/Biscuit if you use Weyermann Pale, Munich or Marris Otter.
I also like to bump up the oats a little more than that.

This is the base for all of my stouts, sub the oats with flaked and add lactose for a sweet stout. Flaked Barley & make it bigger for a Foreign Export, even bigger for a RIS. Or if you want to get really crazy, Sub 25% of the base with Rye Malt and Flaked Rye instead of Oats.

That’s an awesome beer and an awesome way to reach out. Kudos Rahr!

St. Arnold Divine Reserve #11

This is the final Texas beer review. Thanks again Ben! St. Arnold’s Divine Reserve series is a different beer every time it’s release. This release is a double IPA, brewed in February and bottled in March, so it’s pretty damn fresh. It features 2-row and Caramel malts with Columbus, Simcoe, and Centennial hops.

Stats:
Double India Pale Ale. 8.9% ABV. 76 IBUs. Texas.

Nice orange color with a head that lasts.

Reminds me of Lagunitas. Lots of hops on the citrus side. Grapefruit and orange are dominated with a substantial pine resin aroma.

Mouthfeel isn’t too bad, but I might like to see it a little bigger.

Floral, citrusy, and piney hop flavors just dominate the palate, and won’t let go. You’ll be tasting this beer for seemingly hours. It’s got a really floral thing going on drizzled with honey and grapefruit everywhere.

This is damn tasty. It’s got tremendous length and it’s a hop bomb, but doesn’t destroy the palate with IBUs. 92 points.

St. Arnold Summer Pils

I hope everyone is having a good Easter. Let me know what you all are drinking. I’m not sure what I’m gonna have yet. This is another Texas brewery that I have yet to try. St. Arnold is supposedly Texas’ oldest craft brewery. The Pils, if you couldn’t guess, is their Summer seasonal. It’s German in style with German malts and Czech Saaz and Hallertauer hops.

Stats:
German Pilsener. 4.9% ABV. 41 IBUs. Texas. Summer Seasonal.

Golden color, no head.

Fairly typical pils nose with some grainy malt and some hop presence. Just light fruits come through, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Mouthfeel is great. It’s got good body and easy drinking.

Again, fairly typical of the style. Grain and light fruits on the the palate and has a slight hop presence on the back.

Not a whole lot to say about this one. It has everything you look for in a Pils. It’s a summertime treat. 88 points.

Real Ale Sisyphus 2010

This is is the final review for the Real Ale’s I got from Ben (@bttreemonkey). I accidentally deleted the review of the brown ale, but I’ll just tell you that it was a decent beer and standard in the brown ale category. But this one I was really excited about, mainly because it has one of the best looking labels I’ve seen. It’s a barleywine rolling in at 10-11% ABV,

Stats:
American Barleywine. 10.0% ABV. 77 IBUs. Texas

Fairly orange in color and not a whole lot of head.

Typical barleywine style aroma with heavy malt and sweetness coming through. This has a lot of toffee and caramel, hint of vanilla.

An absolutely huge mouthfeel, chewy and a bit cloying.

Orange, caramel, vanilla, pineapple, and toffee, with a nice hop bitterness and balance.

This barleywine is a little bit lighter and brighter than most which brings some light fruits. This beer is considerably sweet, even for a barleywine, which makes it a huge beer and can probably age extremely well. Set a few of these aside and try them out in a year or two. 91 points.

Real Ale Full Moon Pale Rye Ale

This is a pale ale made with malted barley and rye with Willamette and Cascade hops. I really enjoyed the their regular pale, so I hope this one is brings something to the table as well. And I hope Coors doesn’t send them a cease and desist for naming it Full Moon.

Stats:
Rye Beer. 5.6% ABV. 42 IBUs. Texas.

Orange in color and a very hazy beer. The head doesn’t last.

Not a whole lot going on on this nose. I’m getting some orange, lemon, rye, and grain, about it.

Great mouthfeel. Nice medium body and medium carbonation.

Orange, lemon, rye, apples, and grain come through here. Rye gives it a nice flavor, without being too “ryeish”…or something.

Another tasty pale from Real Ale. Not quite as sessionable as the other, but nice flavor and balance. Definitely a beer to grab if you can get it. 88 points.

Real Ale Rio Blanco Pale Ale

This is a “Texan interpretation of an English pale ale” with Czech Saaz hops. Another Texas beer from @bttreemonkey, this is the first of the Real Ale’s.

Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.3% ABV. 26 IBUs. Texas.

Golden amber color, head doesn’t last, but does keep some lacing.

The beer’s a little cold, but I’m not getting a whole lot on the nose here. All I’m getting at all is a little orange peel and grain.

Mouthfeel is great, perfect body for the style. It’s not too light but easily drinkable.

Wasn’t much on the nose, but the palate is great. It’s got some malty-ness, with some grain and orange peel. The hops are understated, but perfect balance, that bring a little bit of pine with some bitterness. Orange peel and grain on the finish.

This is not the most complex beer in the world, but it’s a fantastic example of the style. I was actually taken aback a bit from the balance and quality of this beer. Fantastic, easy-drinking, and a full-flavored example. 90 points.

Rahr Snowmageddon

This is the final Rahr beer from @bttreemonkey. This beer isn’t actually listed on the brewery’s website, but it’s a winter released imperial stout.

Stats:
Imperial Stout. 10.0% ABV. Texas. Winter Seasonal.

Quite a red looking stout with great head.

The nose has rum, chocolate, sour apples, banana, vanilla, and a little bit of coffee. Nice rich nose, but not on the roasty side.

Mouthfeel is a bit too light, but damn is this easy drinking for 10%.

vanilla, rum, banana, plums, chocolate, and a little roasted coffee on the back. It is a little bit hot, but it’s not really bothering me.

This is actually a fairly unroasted imperial stout, staying on the lighter, fruity side without getting too sweet. This is almost too easy drinking with the alcohol so high, but it is a little hot and I would like to see the alcohol maybe come down a point, but otherwise this is a lovely beer. 90 points.

Rahr & Sons Bucking Bock

This is the third of four Rahr beers that I got from @bttreemonkey. This one is a bock that features 2-row, Munich, Vienna, and Carahell malts with Magnum hops.

Stats:
Helles Bock. 7.5% ABV. 45 IBUs. Texas. Available March-April.

Amber color with some decent white head and hazy.

The nose is mostly malt with some sweetness. It’s got a honey thing going on, but honey flavored with peaches and oranges. Not a bad nose.

Good body, but actually very low carbonation, making it slightly less drinkable.

Palate is all about honey and fruit on the initial, but a high hop bitterness presence completely takes over everything else. I think alcohol might be showing up here as well.

This beer has some really nice flavors, unfortunately, it’s totally off-balanced, killing most of the flavor with harsh bitterness. 80 points.

Rahr & Sons Iron Thistle

The second review from Rahr is a Scottish ale. I’m not generally fond of these beers, but let’s see how this one plays out. This is a season that features 2-row, Vienna, Crystal, Chocolate, and Carafa Special II malts with only Warrior hops. I want to thank @bttreemonkey again for the beer!

Stats:
Scotch Ale. 8.0% ABV. 25 IBUs. Texas. Available January-February.

Looks a little more red than a Coke, okay head.

Lots of dark fruits on the nose, actually they just explode here. It’s slightly sweet and has a nice brown sugar thing going on. It smells just delicious.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, good body for the style, but not cloying.

The first thing that strikes me is how full flavored and balanced this beer is. Lots of plums, dark cherries, apricots, blueberries, and strawberries on the palate. It’s fairly inky in the fruit department and has a nice brown sugar flavor and a little bit of sweetness.

This is damn good, and it’s not a style I like, but the flavor just fills the palate, and doesn’t leave. Dark fruits just explode on the palate. Good balance for the style, but it could benefit from a little bit more hops. 89 points.

Rahr Stormcloud

My buddy Ben (@bttreemonkey) just sent me a bunch of Texas beer. Thanks Ben! So you will be seeing a Texas beer reviews on here for the next several days. This first review is from Rahr & Sons, a brewery we’ve talked quite a bit about on GtwF. This is supposed to be a “German” style IPA, whatever that means. This beer features 2-row, Vienna, and Crystal malts with Warrior, and US Goldings hops.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 6.0% ABV. 64 IBUs. Texas.

It’s got a fairly orange color with a decent head that fades, but it does leave a little lacing.

Very little hops coming through the nose. I’m getting a little citrus, grain, and caramel, and that’s about it.

Mouthfeel is a tad light, but nothing to really complain about.

Lots of caramel, a hint of citrus, some vanilla, and a little grain and apple on the back, where the bitterness also shows up.

Not sure this should be called an IPA. I read some reviews on BA, and that’s pretty much what most other people said too. The hops just don’t come through except a little bitterness on the finish. 78 points.