Quelque Chose

This week we're taking a look at Quelque Chose by the renown Unibroue Brewery



Unibroue's Quelque Chose is a mixed ale at 8% A.B.V. and approximately 1 pint, 9 ounces for $12.99.

History

If you have ever stumbled out of the dark world of Bud, Miller, and other travesties and into the world of fine craft brews, you will sooner or later run into Unibroue, and for good reason. Unibroue is based out of Quebec, Canada and has an impressive pedigree comprised of a few solid beers. No doubt you've seen them in your corner liquor store, what with impressive art on the bottles of their beers such as Tres Pistoleres, Fin Du Monde, and one of my favorites by them, Ephemere. If you have never tried any of their beers, I suggest you leave the computer now and go buy a six-pack. Quite frankly, Unibroue is the heir to legacies of fantastic breweries such as Guinness.

What is interesting about the Quelque Chose is that like another offering of theirs (the "Terrible", which is anything but) it is only available in this single bottle size and not available as a smaller six pack. Quelque Chose is done with a magnificent presentation on the bottle. The corked bottle lists it's contents as a red ale, consisting of half dark ale and half brown ale. The bottle says it includes vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and honey in the taste. It also notes that the cherries that are included in the brew make it necessary for the beer to require only light carbonation.

Taste

As usual, it is time to kick off the taste section with color, scent, and mouthfeel. The color has a dark brownish-red color clouded by the fruit. The smell is most certainly familiar. The cherry smell and lack of carbonation led me to a scent that was similar in lambics such as Lindeman's. The fact that there is very little carbonation also lead to no head at all upon pouring. I even fumbled the pour just a little, and still zero head.

The mouthfeel also suffers greatly from the carbonation approach Unibroue decided to take. The second I had the Quelque Chose in my mouth, it seemed flat. Only the very last of the beer seemed to have any carbonation at all. I understand that this is part of a decision made by the brewers in order to preserve the cherry flavor of the beer, however this flat taste causes the flavors of the beer to suffer greatly.

To the credit of this beer, the flavors are delivered as promised by the beer. Cherry is most certainly there, as are the faint traces of cinnamon, vanilla, and honey in order of strongest to faintest flavor. All of this flavor appears with a not-too-strong brown ale presence in the background.

Food

This beer is clearly not for full meals. That is not to say that it is through any certain fault. This beer is just clearly more well-suited for after a meal. As a result, the dessert that I would pair with this beer is Apple Pie A La Mode. It would seem obvious to pair this beer with a cherry pie, but the tartness of the pie would overwhelm the (sadly) lacking carbonation. The sweetness of the apple pie would pair well with the cherry flavor, and the scoop of vanilla ice cream would match well with the understated cinnamon, vanilla, and honey.

Music

So clearly this beer does not feel that it needs to impress anyone, and that's fine. Many beers do it big on the mouthfeel portion, and sometimes it plays to their strengths and sometimes it is just for show. Seeing as how the Quelque Chose does neither, it does not seem to exist for anyone but itself. I appreciate that honesty. "Highschool Lover" by Air seems to function in a similar style. The song is smooth, simple and exists for itself. The first time I heard it, I wished it was longer than the three and a half minutes it plays for. But everytime I played it, I had to be satisfied with the length, even though each time I was not.

"Playground Love" by Air (Offsite)

I am not going to say that this beer is bad. I can only say that the beer is disappointing. I really feel like Unibroue knew that conceptually, this beer was going to be dynamite. As a result, I think that Unibroue decided to play not to lose instead of playing to win with this beer. The idea of low carbonation being used to "preserve" the beer instead resulted in the low carbonation betraying everything this beer could have been. But the flavor itself is fantastic, so instead of a 5 out of 10, Unibroue does manage to redeem itself a little with a 7.1 out of a possible 10.

Until next time, make sure that the only flat notes are in your music, and not your beer.

All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Hitachino Nest Beer White Ale

Today's review will be on the Hitachino White Ale by Kiuchi Brewery


Kiuchi offers a line of Hitachino beers, but the White Ale is available at around $10.99 for a 1 pint 8 ounce bottle. It is an easy drink at 5 percent A.B.V.

History

Starting out in 1823, the Kiuchi brewery was founded by Kiuchi Gihei, a man whose family collected the rice tax of his village. Kiuchi utilized the left-over rice for brewing. Initially brewing sake, the Kiuchi brewery then continued to produce small, perfected batches while all other sake breweries in 1950's Japan started to mass produce cheaper sake (sorta like the Miller and Budweiser beers over here.)

Kiuchi brewing did not try creating beer until 1996, which brings us to the Nest beer. It should be noted that the transition of sake to beer should be difficult as the products are supposed to have completely different qualities due to their very different brewing processes (such as the dregs of the rice in sake as opposed to the lack thereof in beer). Apparently, the next goal for the Kiuchi brewery is to produce wine. But who cares about that. You're here for the beer, dammit.

Taste

Alright, now to the main attraction. Starting with the color, the White Ale is a light and slightly cloudy amber-yellow. The ale pours with very little head. I tried to get some kind of scent off the beer, but all I could get was an underwhelming slightly floral and "clean" smell. I would have to admit so far that the presentation of the beer is falling quite short. But there is still the mouthfeel and taste to cover.

In terms of mouthfeel, this beer evenly coats the tongue and dances a little on the mouth before quickly fading to the actual taste of the beer. Although the mouthfeel fades, it does seem to float on the tongue while it is there.

The beer itself (once you get past all of the presentation and mouthfeel) is understated, but almost in a way where it means to be as such. Immediately, it is easy to notice the hops in the distant background, but once you take in the beer, you immediately get notes of ginger and a kind of floral taste. In addition to some floral notes, you can also pick up on some orange as well. If anything, I would have to say that this clean-drinking beer is the Japanese equivalent of Wittekerke, another belgian white ale.

Food

For those of you in major cities such as my lovely Chicago, you should be familiar with tamales being sold on the corner. No, I am not talking about those crappy little plastic-wrapped tamales you can get in the freezer of Jewel-Osco. I am talking about hand-made tamales. If you want to pair this beer perfectly with a food, go and get yourself some home-made chicken tamales and cook up some eggs to go with it. Hell, if you want, throw some sriracha on there too. It would all go perfect together. The fact that this lighter tasting beer is being paired with chicken as opposed to beef makes the pairing work. The eggs just round out the flavor and complete the taste.

Music

The beer is somewhat flowery and ... erm... floaty, but it seems to mean what it is saying and says it in a pleasant manner. This combination of a heart-felt flavor and floral sense make this beer an appropriate representation of the song "River Sea Ocean" by Badly Drawn Boy from the "About a Boy" soundtrack. The song is fairly simple, but that does not mean that it is well written.

"River Sea Ocean" by Badly Drawn Boy (Offsite)

Overall, I will not fault the Hitachino White Ale for the shortcomings in smell. Thinking about it again, the color was really quite pleasant when coupled with the subtle mouthfeel and taste. Still, I feel like much more could have been done. This leads me to give the Hitachino White Ale an 8.0 out of a possible 10.

Until next time, make sure that the only flat notes are in your music, and not your beer.

All images are copyright of their respective owners. Sources Cited: www.hitachinonest.com

Dragon's Milk

Today we will be taking a good look at Dragon's Milk by New Holland Brewing



This particular brew can be purchased for about $8.99 for a 1 pint 6 ounce bottle. Bottled by New Holland, this beauty weighs in at a brain-mauling 10% ABV. That's right. You heard me.

History

According to their website, New Holland Brewing Company started in 1996 in Holland, Michigan. They did not begin brewing their first beer until a year later in '97. From there they would spend the next few years building up a reputation before shipping out larger amounts of beer to customers and beer festivals where prized brews such as their Mad Hatter would win gold medals. If one makes a trip out to Holland, Michigan, they can find the New Holland brewery and pub. Given the number of stellar beers that they have turned out over the years, it does indeed sound like a trip worth making.

Taste

As usual, we start off with color, scent, and mouthfeel. Well, this brew does not try to hide it's nature. When poured, it has barely any head, but the color is incredibly dark. I almost want to say that it is kind of foreboding. If I had to make this kind of similarity, I would say compare the color to a freshly poured glass of Coca-cola. Seriously. This is an ale that knows what it is doing coming right out of the gate.
While the ale gives off not too much of a scent, what scent there is has notes of dark oak and a little bit of a chocolate aroma. Again, since there is not much scent to be had, it is barely noticeable at all.
Now we hit the mouthfeel. The beer gives a great tame tingle across the tongue. By the time it moves to the back of the throat, the tingle gives way to a mellow kind of mouthfeel, leaving everything kind of smooth. WARNING: Do not let this go straight to the back of the throat. Due to the 10% ABV, you will pay for it. I know this isn't whiskey, but don't let the fact that it is a beer fool you.

Now for the actual taste. So far, this beer does a lot to not tell you who it is right away. Low color. Barely noticeable scent. Very tame mouthfeel. Where is this all going? To a very rich taste, that's where. The taste gives a very good deep chocolaty tone. The fact that it is barrel-aged with some vanilla hints makes it very deep and smooth. This is not a beer for frat boys. That would be casting pearls before swine. This beer is strong for a reason. It gives a very simple-yet-complex taste for those who don't mind their darker side.

Food

Well, the Dragon's Milk brew is something else. I can't really pair it up with a food. The label on the rather imposing bottle lists "red meat, smoked food, balsamic, rich cheese, and dark chocolate" as appropriate pairings. I decided to go with the dark chocolate. However, when I tried both, something seemed to be missing. I decided the fire up the hookah I had around the house, used some mint hookah tobacco, and began enjoying all three items. Let me tell you something about perfection because this is it. It was one of those rare pairings where everything somehow managed to complement each other perfectly. The chocolate brought out the richer tones in the ale and the hookah gave a nice sweeter underlying note to the beer and chocolate.

Music

Well, as a bit of backstory, this was the beer that inspired me to create Song and Drink. When I had this at a restaurant outside of Chicago, my mind immediately played "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. With the low strong notes that maintain a presence despite their simplicity, it only made sense to enjoy the Dragon's Milk Brew with this song. (And yes, it did go well with the hookah smoke.)

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple (Offsite)

To sum things up, this beer is for those who know what they are doing. Rich and simple notes play out on the tongue, but the initial presentation had left a little more to be desired. But I can't fault them much for that, since this beer did nothing short of amaze beyond that. This heavy brew clocks in at a well-respected 9.0 out of a possible 10.

Until next time, make sure that the only flat notes are in your music, and not your beer.

All images are copyright of their respective owners. Sources Cited: www.Newhollandbrew.com

Mamma Mia Pizza Beer

Today, god is crying because we are going to review the Pizza Beer by the Seefurth family.



The Pizza Beer is available at most liquor stores for approximately $1.50 a bottle. It comes in 16 oz. bottles. The beer is distributed by Sprecher and the ABV is unavailable at time of writing.

History

Well, this is an interesting one. The home brewery is located in Campton, IL, which is just a stone's throw from the sountheast border of Missouri. This may be quite a way from the capital city of pizza that we call Chicago, but it seems like the notion of Chicago pizza and the "can-do" attitude Chicago has been known for was the main spot of inspiration for chefs Tom and Athena Seefurth. (Hey, I said "can-do" attitude. I did not say "wacky politics". Stop thinking about that and Chicago in the same thought. Seriously.)
By the information on their website, these folks read as many brewing books and recipes as they could. By the end of it, they could that they could make good use of the abundance of tomatoes and other ingredients that would normally be found in pizzas.

Taste

Well, let's start this with the mouthfeel, color, and scent. Overall mouthfeel was well done on this one. The beer kicked things off with an initial tingle, but kept the tingle calm and left things off with a smooth feeling finish. The color was a light, clear, golden hue with practically no head at all.
Now, there was a damn good reason why I left the scent to be the last item of description before the actual taste of the brew. God in heaven help me, it smells like a pizza. I could actually smell the oregano, garlic, and tomato. I did get a crisp bitter note out of the smell towards the end of it, but still. Oh man, I was whiffing a damn pizza.

And then there was the taste. This one actually does taste like a pizza. I am not kidding. This is a pizza and little else. I could have sworn that at some point there was a bitter taste in the brew, but I could not taste it over the overwhelming pizza. And you would think that is is a good thing for a pizza beer to be tasting like pizza. I would disagree. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean that you should. I mean seriously. The label of the Pizza Beer touts it as being the "beer so good that it deserves a wine glass", but I don't think I lost anything by serving it in a plastic mug.

Food

Yeah, I feel ashamed about having even drank this. So just as you would figure, it would in fact need a pizza. But it would only be a simple chain-store pizza. So help me that if I find out you are pairing this with an actual awesome Chicago slice of pizza, I will yank that pizza out of your hand and eat it while yelling at you, spraying chunks of awesome pizza on your face.

Song

Well, this beer is one that is very lackadaisical. As well, it would be a lie to say that this beer has no Chicago influence to it. As a result of the quirky taste of this beer, it is going to have to have an equally quirky song to pair with it. I can think of no better song than "Rubber Biscuit" by The Blues Brothers. A simply fun song to pair with the beer. And no, just because I really dislike the beer, does not mean that I dislike the song. The beer rating of the beer does not reflect upon the rating of the song.

"Rubber Biscuit" by the Blues Brothers on Youtube. (offsite)

To wrap things up, this beer is going to get two ratings. The first rating will be for effort. They gave a strong attempt at making a beer that tastes like pizza, and wouldn't ya know it, that is exactly what they did. So for the effort of making a beer that tastes like pizza, they get a 10 out of a possible 10. But then we get to the matter of rating the beer itself. Like I said before, just because you can do it, does not mean you should. My pop used to own a t.v. that had a phone built into the set. You know why it didn't work? BECAUSE THE PERSON YOU WERE CALLING COULDN'T HEAR YOU OVER YOUR DAMN T.V. Seriously, you are essentially drinking an alcoholic pizza. You should not be able to drink a pizza. It might be me, but this stuff was just foul. So for the actual beer itself, it gets a 2.5 out of a possible 10.




Until the next round, make sure the only flat notes are the ones in your music, not your beer.

All photos are copyright of their respective owners. Sources cited: http://www.mammamiapizzabeer.com/main.php

Claim Jumper Hefeweizen

Next up for review is the house brew Claim Jumper Hefeweizen.


The Claim Jumper Hefeweizen is available at all Claim Jumper restaurants and can be purchased for approximately $3.95 and is 4.5% ABV. At time of writing, there are no known bottled versions available. This one is on tap and on tap only, fellers.

History

The Claim Jumper restaurant itself has been around since 1977. It mainly has its locations on the west coast stats with a few in Wisconsin and here in Illinois. Claim Jumper is mainly known for decent hearty foods, but it also has something very, very valuable on its menu: a beer flight. The beer flight that Claim Jumper offers has a honey blonde, their original red, and the prized hefeweizen. When ordering the hefeweizen, it is listed as being the "silver medal" hefeweizen. I really wanted to look up more information on this, but since this is not really available outside of the restaurant locations. Which is still really a shame. As this review goes on you'll see why I wished there was more info

Taste

This beer was an amazing showing from the get go. The color was that of a misty, golden-amber hue. Opaque with a very good tint. This was very good when paired with the scent the brew gave off. The beer gave off a sweet and welcoming fragrant aroma. When smelling the beer I couldn't get enough of this flowery smell that had no bitter or dry touches. I seriously wanted to smell this beer as much as a creepy high school stalker wants to smell his first crush.
...
Okay, maybe not that much, but I still couldn't get over that scent. But, you're not here for that. Nobody goes to bars and just sniffs the beers and leaves. So to the actual enjoyment.

This brew was amazing. The first and nearly only tastes you get are sweet tastes. The brew starts things out with a sweet honey note that goes all over the mouth. A distinct lemon and oat taste can be sensed towards the back of the tongue. The taste is made complete with the mouthfeel being a slight tingle across the tongue and none of the sides of the mouth or the sides of the tongue. At the end of the taste, there is a distinct lack of any dry taste, only leaving a nice wet feel across the mouth.
When tasting, it is very obvious that the brewmaster in charge did all they could to keep this beer free from bitter tastes. Since that was their intention, they got nothing but success in that.
This one overall was a fun drink if ever there was one. Were I trying to intro someone to the world of beer for the first time (and believe me, I know some folks and they will be dragged kicking and screaming) I would intro them to this fine offering from Claim Jumper.

Food

Now this one was 5 shades of perplexing when trying to pair this up with a food dish. It was not necessarily light, but it had substance without being very full bodied. The sweet tastes would need some kind of decent balance. This balance, I feel, can really only be made in a dish appropriate as a simple side of Calamari. Calamari has that bit of lemon taste that can be found in the beer, but provides a decent light salt taste to balance the sweet tastes.

However,

The other thing is that since this beer is a perfect substance and a great series of sweet notes and wet-ish finish. This beer is a very good brew and can pretty much stand on it's own legs. It took me so long to come up with the conclusion that calamari would be a good match, that I feel that it is also acceptable to say that this beer can also do fine with no food pairing. It really has a relaxation beer feel to it. I could see no reason why it needs a food to match it like other beers do.

Song

Now lastly, it is the mission of this blog to make your beer come with a song. All memories come with a song and if anyone tells you beer isn't a memory is a liar, damn his eyes. Well, more to the point, this is not a serious beer but it isn't a silly one either. The hefeweizen has nothing but sweet relaxed notes. The beer wants to be your friend, so you should probably let it. Hang out with it. Relax on a summer day. Did someone say summer day? That was probably James Taylor with his song "Summer's Here". Both the beer and the song are simple to enjoy, and meant to put one into a mood of relaxation.

A sample of "Summer's Here" can be hound here. (offsite)

Overall, the beer is amazing. A great taste for the experienced drinker to relax and just enjoy or for the new drinker to simply get into the swing of things in the world of diverse beers. And if I learn you introduced a new drinker to the world of beer using a domestic mass-produced brew, you are going to catch a whooping not seen since the riots in Chicago. I don't care how many of these 9.5 out of a possible 10 Claim Jumper Hefeweizens you throw at me, I won't calm down until you get your beatings.



Until the next round, make sure the only flat notes are the ones in your music, not your beer.

All photos are copyright of their respective owners.

SkullSplitter Orkney Ale

Today we will be reviewing the SkullSplitter Orkney Ale by Orkney Brewery.




The SkullSplitter is available usually in single 11.2 ounce bottles although it can be purchased at some specialty stores in a four-pack. The beer is 8.5% ABV The single bottle price varies around 3-4 dollars. The price for the four-pack is unavailable.

History

The label to this particular brew features a photo representation of "Skull-Splitter", a "7th century Viking Earl of Orkney". Orkney being a set of islands off the coast of Scotland. This would make it, of course, a Scottish ale. But the names in Thorfinn's history read far more interesting than just the label can provide. Thorfinn "Skull-splitter" Turf-Einarsson married the daughter of Thorstein the Red and they had a son who married the daughter of Eric Bloodaxe. Reading up on a history like this, one can only hope that the beer will be as metal as the history reads. Unfortunately, there is little else available in terms of information on Skullsplitter. All I know is that this beer looks like it was taking down bears with a small knife, all the while just waiting for me. Am I intimidated? The answer is "yes" and "my pants are a little wet".

Taste

The initial pour and aroma of Skullsplitter was.... decieving. The beer had a good sweet and dry aroma. There was very little head to speak of upon pouring. What was this? I was expecting it to start swearing in foreign languages right upon being opened. The color was a good reddish-brown copper color, very beautiful throughout but showing a strong reserve.

Then came the tasting.

It was an ambush. The Skullsplitter was not smooth, but it really didn't need (or want) to be. The initial tastes had strong bitter and slightly nutty notes. Though the brew initially attacked the front of the tongue, it started to make it's way back and leave semi-sweet notes. Finally, after the beer had finished rampaging and sacking the countryside of my tastebuds, it left a bitter yet strong and dark aftertaste on the back of my tongue. Overall I appreciated the strong showing, and was more than eager to subject the poor, peace-loving farm folk of my palate to the savage beating once again. This is definitely a choice for the more excited palate.

Food Pairing

Choosing the appropriate food pairing for this beer selection really was not that hard to make. The Skullsplitter had strong bitter and sweet notes with a dominant, satisfying taste. Given that, and the fact that there is a FREAKING VIKING on the front of the bottle, eating anything less than a plate of barbecue ribs would make the All-Father ashamed of you. The tangy taste of ribs with the correct sauce would definitely be the perfect compliment for this beer.

Song

Lastly, we come once again to the whole point of this: the music selection. So, in review, we have a Scottish Ale created in honor of a Viking that was most likely engineered to burn your village down, all the while laughing and having a damn good time. So we are looking at a strong beer that holds no punches, keeps the whole tasting process exciting, and has a good potency to it. Given that description, it really only makes sense to hear "Beer Beer" by Korpiklaani and say that it is pretty much the musical equivalent to this brew. Non-stop ass-kicking, good times, and a good shout make this song appropriate to match this beer.
"Beer Beer" by Korpiklaani on Youtube (offsite)


So, in closing, we reviewed a strong and good showing of an ale. Skullsplitter is a brew that is more or less not afraid and holds no punches. Well crafted bitter and sweet notes compliment the full-body taste and fragrant aroma. In the end, Skullsplitter Orkney Ale receives a 9.25 out of a possible 10.


Until the next round, make sure the only flat notes are the ones in your music, not your beer.


All photos copyright their respective owners. Sources cited : Wikipedia.org and Orkney Ale.

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

For the first review on Same Ol' Song and Drink, we will be taking a look at the Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.


The drink comes in 1 pint bottles available at most retailers for a little under $5.00. First, we will be taking a quick look at the history of the brew.

History

Oatmeal Stouts such as this one have a strong history, particularly in the U.K. Oatmeal stouts had their starts in medieval England, where ale was actually a type of alcoholic porridge. (Yes, the kind that required chewing. Bleh.) However, the oatmeal stout would fall out of favor during the mid 20th century and not enjoy a strong revival until the Samuel Smith offering was made popular in the 1980's.
Differing from the traditional ingredients of barley and wheat, oats used in beer were usually expected to yield a smoother taste when used in the correct proportion to the brew. Too much would lead to a more bitter taste. The first stouts expected the brew to be around one-third oats, where modern versions now favor a greatly decreased 5%.

Taste

Right out the gate, the Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout is upfront, honest, and not going to whack you over the head with a billy club when you are not looking. The initial taste is a very balanced darker presence without being too strong on the tip or the middle of the tongue. The beginning notes of the beer can best be described as being "hearty" and nothing else. The brew does not feel a need to beat you in the face until you call it manlier than you are.
After the initial tastes, this particular brew then goes on to leave more bitter notes on the sides of the tongue and a slight sweet aftertaste on the back of the tongue if you are really paying attention to it. When all of the tastes are combined, it gives you a very nice "blanket" effect all around the tongue. It more or less covers everything that it needs to, again, without being too strong or dominant in the tastes.
However, since the oatmeal stout does not beat you over the face and the tastes are very simple, that means that the beer has little else to offer aside from that. While it does not stand out very much on the palate, it is still a very formidable offering to other somewhat darker brews.

Food Pairing

The beer has a U.K. background and given the overall calm yet noticeable tastes the beer is offering, I would ideally like to enjoy the beer with a shepherd's pie. Both the beer and the dish would display the appropriate hearty essence while at the same time complementing one another with their strong-but-not-too-strong tones.

Song

Lastly, we get to the very point of SOSD: what song is the equivalent of this beer. The beer puts it all out there and is honest without yelling. It has few components and those mix well together. Bitter? Check. Sweet? Check (barely). So therefore.... bittersweet? You got that right. So with the hearty and strong parts of the ale, those give it a clear "rock" attitude. So if we are looking at this beer as a song, we are looking at a bittersweet, simple, rock anthem. Ladies and gentlemen I point to this beer and hear "My My, Hey Hey" by Neil Young. Both the ale and the amazingly well written and performed song have much in common and are not there to cause screaming and shouting, but rather simplistic enjoyment.
The song by Neil Young on Youtube (offsite)


In the end, due to the Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout giving a solid delivery, but not putting anything extra into the mix, I would have to give this beautiful offering an 8.5 out of a possible 10. Well done, Mr. Smith.

Until the next round, make sure the only flat notes are the ones in your music, not your beer.



All images copyright their respective owners. Sources cited: http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/samsmith_oatmeal_stout.html , Wikipedia.org