Beer Review: Rogue Brewing John John Juniper Pale Ale

Rogue John John Juniper

Style:

Barrel aged Food Pairing: Pork, Hot & Spicy

Tasting Notes:
A hint of cucumber and a Sprucey note in the aroma followed by a Juniper bite mid palate finishing with a soft oakiness.
11 Ingredients:
Harrington, Crystal, Triumph, C-15 & Rogue Micro Barley Farm Dare™ malts.
Styrian, Golding, Amarillo & Rogue Hopyard Willamette hops.Juniper


Berries Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water.


Specs:


13º PLATO
34 IBU
77 AA
3.2º Lovibond

Appearance: Pours a hazy gold with a very small amount of head. Slight white ring around the glass.

Aroma: Sweet citrus fruits like orange and tangerine. A slight pale malt and a hint of ginger ends it out. As the beer warms a bit of juniper/pine comes out of the aroma.

Flavor: Great up front balanced bitterness strong on the grapefruit. Hints of caramel and nuts fill the middle leading into a piney goodness that ends pretty soft.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: This is my first time trying this and I  must say it is spectacular. I am not huge on the juniper usually but I thought it complimented a great pale ale very well. What I liked most is what the spruce barrels brought to the picture. The end pineyness always goes well with American hops. hops. The additions are not too over the top however, and it is not like you are sipping on a bottle of gin. The pale ale component is well balanced and has the right amount of malt and hops. I give this one an A.

The Perks of the Job

So as some of you know, or that have been following know, that I pretty much took my passion for something and made it into a job. For those of you that don't, about a year and a half ago I started this blog while I was sitting in a cubicle at a finance company in downtown Denver. I was so sick and tired of going into work and staring at a computer screen doing something that wasn't interesting or anything near amusing in any way. I decided to take a chance, (and a paycut) to take on a job at a larger format liquor store in the beer department. In a little over 4 months I was promoted to Beer Manager and our store moved to a new location where I was able to manage 26 beer doors and a walk in beer cooler. I was flying high, I got to go to work and talk about beer all day!

All of a sudden the GMs that hired me quit to persue other ventures and the new guy came in. I would call him Lucifer but that would be too nice. Being the owners brother there was really nothing I could do to change the situation. The man took away everything fun about working in this industry. No more tastings, no more events, no more handselling, and no more fun. I was starting to regret taking the pay cut.

But then ALAS light at the end of the tunnel. A former co-worker at my store, that "Imperial Lucifer" had pretty much hired to fire, called me up and asked if I wanted to run a new smaller scale upperclass liquor store. More money and benefits now? Sign me up!

So where am I going with all this? Well after about a month or so of doing everything there is to do to open up a store (I will have a post on this at some point in the near future) we opened and my brewery representatives started coming in. As beer geeks should know the Great American Beer Festival is held right here in Denver, Colorado. Oskar Blues Brewery was putting on an event and being in the position that I am in, I was invited to take part in this amazing ride. Camera crews were present for the local news/magazine and captured our drunken escapades. Check it out:

Here is another article from Metromix with a slideshow:

http://denver.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/standard_photo_gallery/the-oskar-blues-ordeal/2841920/content

Great find: Buying a Chick a Beer

Isn't it every guy beer geek's ultimate woman if she can slang them back with the best of em? Or even better if she goes up to the bartender and orders a Maharaja IIPA or an Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, hell it doesn't even have to be an imperial just anything that doesn't have a TV sized marketing budget...

Well I came across this lovely little number with some good tips on taking that first step....ENJOY!

http://foodbytes.blogs4businesses.com/wp-content/uploads/howtobuyachickabeer.pdf

Beer Review: Plank Dunkler Weizenbock

yes, tis true people I am back....it's been a good while but now with a new job its time to start putting some posts up again. Today I am posting about one of my favorite German Breweries distributed out here in lovely Colorado.

Plank Bier Dunkler Weizenbock

Appearance: Pours a clear brown with a fluffy off white head. Head retains at about 3 to 4 fingers.

Aroma: Very malt driven aroma with a lot of bread. Slight undertones of pepper, toast, and a slight nuttiness. Raisin and currant also present.

Flavor: Malty sweet up front leading to a bit of toast and pecan. The middle of the sip has a drying quality sweetness lingers throughout. A strong presence of bread covered in caramel. Dried fruit present but not over powering. Raisin and fig dominant in these dried fruit flavors.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation with medium to high body. Very smooth beer. Glides over the tongue like silk.

Overall: An excellent beer; what I have come to expect from Michael Plank. Esters and phenols not present as you would expect from a german unfiltered wheat beer. This is a perfect beer for the fall as the leaves change and the temps start to drop.