I am still humbled to this day that breweries see fit that they would send their best beers to me to taste and review. Just in the last few weeks, I have received two high-profile beers for “review and comment”. I typically like to set up a tasting with a few other beer geeks so there is more than one palate to pass judgment on the brewer’s handiwork.

Five discerning beer geeks made up this latest panel, Charles Bockway, Rob Absten, Chris Workman, Tim Lepley and myself with Chris being the least “tolerant” and brutally critical. The BTY sensors typically have to censor even his praise, let alone his scorn. You can read some of his musings at www.wvgourmet.com. Charles is more diplomatic, yet can be severely critical when the situation calls for it. He is currently working diligently to enlighten the masses that make wine pilgrimages to Sonoma, informing them that they are driving past some of the best breweries in the country, with his site www.winecountrybeer.com. Though generally grumpy, Rob is a pretty straight shooter when it comes to beer, and well, Tim and I (the avid brewers of the bunch) will drink just about anything at least once…

This past week , the panel gathered to taste two beers, Ayinger Weizen-bock and Brewdog’s Atlantic IPA. I had the pleasure of tasting the weizenbock during my visit to Ayinger’s brewery last January, not knowing that the beer was slated to be exported to the U.S. for the first time this fall.

Typical of the German language, all one has to do is dissect the name “Weizenbock” and a one gets a pretty good idea of what to expect from this beer. “Weizen” means that it’s a wheat-based beer and “bock” means that it’s a bit stronger than normal. This beer tips the scales at 7.1%abv, putting it safely into “bock bier” range for strength. This beer is not a summer porch sipper like its popular kid brother hefeweizen, but is called to the stage in the fall and winter months when there is a bit of chill in the air.

Ayinger Weizen-bock pours a bit cloudy and with notable viscosity, forming a small creamy head. The color is deep yellow, maybe even light amber; a bit like pear or pineapple juice in color. The beer’s aroma is full of bready aromas along with notes of papaya and very subdued citrus notes, but not too busy. Chris Workman noted that although he generally dislikes wheat beers, this one smelled appetizing. Everyone broke into a smile upon our first sip. The beer is very smooth and the alcohol is well-hidden. The bready notes carry through in the flavor as does the thickness of the beer, but it’s not cloying. None of us felt that the beer was a “clove-bomb” as might be expected from such a big Bavarian wheat beer. Some banana and other fruity esters were contrasted with the clove-like phenolics. All in all, this a very well balanced brew. A beer like this would pair well with roasted dishes, like poultry or pork. It would also do well with creamy goat or sheep cheeses and would be great paired with cheesecake (especially one with a graham cracker crust).

Our next beer comes with its own great story (and a large price tag!). Scotland’s Brewdog Brewing Atlantic IPA is big 8.5% India pale ale, and supposedly in the “”real” traditional sense, a true IPA. What makes this beer different than other IPA’s? Well, how many IPA’s travel for two months in a barrel on the high seas of the North Atlantic on the deck of a fishing trawler? This was done by the brewer in an attempt to re-create the historical voyages of uber-hoppy English pale ales that journeyed to India during its colonial era. This beer is described as “Sea Aged”, is very rare (I think they only made eight barrels) and costs $26.00 for a 33cl bottle! The BTY tasting crew were very anxious to taste our modest samples. The beer poured with a much lighter color than any of us expected, having just a tinge of amber and a very modest head that faded quickly. The aroma was sort of unremarkable, but did have just a tinge of wood and faint hops. The body of the beer was a bit disappointing for such a big beer, but looking at the recipe, it makes sense since the beer is 98% Pale malt and just a little Amber malt. One thing held true to expectations though, the 80 bittering units of hops were smoothed out considerably by the relentless sloshing around in the barrel while on the open seas, ringing true to the legend of the original IPA’s of yesteryear. The beer tasted of wood, notably oak, which was a bit over the top based on the otherwise one dimensional beer. I am sad to say the none of us really enjoyed this beer, regardless of the price, but it was a very interesting and educational process. Maybe that’s what Brewdog intended here; to make a bit of history come alive? The history books never remarked if the original India-bound pale ales actually tasted good!

Thanks again to the rest of BTY tasting panel. It’s a tough job, but…

Many of us knew it was coming, but earlier today when I received a Facebook status update from longtime MBC brewer Kelly Sauber, the reality sunk in. Kelly’s update simply said “Last batch lautering  @ MBC”…

The business outlook for a brewpub in the rather small town of Marietta was always a challenging one, but somehow MBC made it through for many years, albeit with a few ownership and brewer changes along the way. From the moment Kelly Sauber slipped on those brewery boots, the place had a chance. Kelly slowly improved and revamped may of the standard recipes like “True Meridian” amber lager and the MBC transition beer called “Georges First” all with the magic of Kelly’s propogated 2112 yeast strain (or as many called it 21,112 jokingly alluding to how many times the yeast was re-pitched). One of the keys to the longevity of MBC run was the fact that Kelly became a salesman of sorts, selling much more beer to the pubs in his hometown of Athens, OH, than was sold at the brewpub itself!

One of the best of MBC and Kelly’s beers was the Scotch Ale. Kelly used his gas-fired kettle to caramelize the first runnings to give the ale it’s extra caramel/malty kick. The only time he regretted this technique was when he became distracted one time, leaving the flame on and discoloring the bottom of his brew kettle!

Marietta will also find its place in regional brewing history along with Kelly for having produced what we all believe to be the first beer in the world made with paw-paws. “Paw-Paw Wheat” was always a big hit and sold out quickly. I don’t think the Paw-Paw recipe will die with the brewery however.

Of course, we have not heard the last gasp from Kelly Sauber and I will try to keep you all up to date with Kelly’s next act.

West Virginia Craft Beer Society is Building membership

Travis Carrow, a frequent BTY commentator and beer geek is now “catalyst” for what we all hope will be a craft beer revolution here in West Virginia. Travis called me a few weeks ago to discuss the need for a more formalized way for WV beer enthusiasts to communicate and build a consumer presence that could help build a healthy beer market. The result was The West Virginia Craft Beer Appreciation Society or WVCBAS. The website (www.wvcbas.com) is and forum is up and running. Please check it out and sign-up!

Another Beer Website that’s Worth a Sip.

The website www.greatbrewers.com is really good website that is operated by L. Knife and Son, a large east coast beer importer and distributor. Some might view this being in conflict with running an totally non-biased beer information site, but that does not seem to be a problem here.

One of the most useful features on the site is the “Beer Sommelier” web app, which assists you with beer and food pairings based on a few simple questions about your menu. There is also extensive resources to help you educate yourself on beer and beer styles.

“Oktoberwest” flew right under the BTY radar screen

I won’t take the sole blame for this, but I had no idea that Charleston’s West Side association was going to have an Oktoberfest celebration until 48 hours before the event. Where do my responsibilities to “bird-dog” this stuff end and their responsibility to advertise their event begin? If anyone can fill us in on what we missed, please do so!  Apparently there was beer. (Sam Adams Oktoberfest?)