Jubelale

Jubelale Winter Ale by Deschutes Brewery 

Trying a seasonal brew that is perfect for this time of year. Winter Ale's are upon us and have been for a month or two. They tend to focus on warming up the beer drinker and having a fruity taste, from the Winter Ale's, I have had. Not all beers are exactly like this, but most tend to focus on the warming part because you are drinking a cold brew in the cold weather. I am trying a brew from a brewery I have tried before and I am excited to try another brew of theirs. I am trying a brew from Deschutes Brewery and they are located in Bend, Oregon. Deschutes believes "As a family and employee-owned brewery, Deschutes believes every pint of beer worth brewing is worth sharing--- with friends, family, and even the stranger you just met on the barstool next to you". They were founded in 1988 and started as small public house in downtown Bend. It great to see breweries focusing on sustainability and focusing on making the world greener. "Deschutes Brewery has lived by the words “do your best and next time do it better” since the day our doors opened in 1988". Awesome words to use as a motto and to focus on sustainability, which is important. I am trying Deschutes Jubelale tonight, which is my second brew from this brewery. Jubelale is a Winter Ale has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 6.7% and an IBU of 65. Jubelale last won an award in 2013 at the Australian International Beer Awards, which it won a Silver. Time to check out what is behind this Winter ale. 

Appearance of Jubelale

Jubelale has a deep amber or maroon appearance to the brew. I notice that there is a deep red tint to the beer mixed with a rich brown tint as well. The foam or head of the beer has a brown tint to it, almost as if there were spices mixed in with beer as it was poured. The foam is thick and leaves a nice half inch of head at the top of the brew. There is some lacing at the top of the glass where the foam has moved from. Aroma of this brew is what I am curious to figure out. I am able to pick up a dried fruity aroma and a hop note in the beginning. I took another whiff and notice there was a subtle spice note, I could pick up on as well. Looking more and more at this beer I cannot help but think this brew is going to have a thick body. To me this beer just looks like it is a heavy beer, but looks can be deceiving and I am focused/looking forward to the taste part of this brew. 

I am eager and so ready to try this brew from Deschutes Brewery. I took my first sip and was hit with so many different notes. I think the first thing that I noticed was the sweet malty fruit taste. Second was the bitter hop note in the brew, which goes along with the 65 IBU of the brew. After that I noticed two things, the burnt note/ roasted note and a spice note. To me the burnt/roasted note kind of warmed me up like coffee or hot chocolate. The spice note was note over powering but was still noticeable. The more and more I have of this beer the more and more I see how the taste and the aroma are pairing with each other and support one another. I was worried about the beer appearing to be a thick beer because of the dense color, but I was wrong this is a smooth drinkable brew. I think that the 6.7% ABV is noticeable the more and more you drink this beer, but it is not something you worry about like a beer that is 12%. 

Deschutes Brewery Jubelale Festive Winter Ale 

If you are out looking for a good winter ale, I think you should look no further than this brew from Deschutes. It has the perfect blend of sweet/spice/bitter/Chicory, that some beer drinker should be looking for in a Winter Ale. I really enjoyed this beer from start to finish and cannot wait to try more from Deschutes Brewery. 

Check out Deschutes Brewery on Twitter and their Website: 

@DeschutesBeer

and 

https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/ 

Criminally Bad Elf

Criminally Bad Elf by Ridgeway Brewery

Cheers, I know it has been a while since my last post. Holiday season is busy for a server/bartender and now I have settled down after the holiday season, time to get back into the swing of reviews. The brew I am trying tonight is one that I received as a gift for my birthday, from my friend Daniel, who is a Sommelier . I have not tried this beer before and am excited to try this particular style of brew. The brew I am trying tonight is from an English Brewery that I have never tried before tonight. Ridgeway Brewery is located in South Stoke. I have not tried this particular style of beer before as well. Criminally Bad Elf is an English style Barleywine. Barleywines are beers that tend to act like wines and are usually able to be cellared like wines. They are strong in alcohol content and tend to blend malt sweetness with bitter hop notes. While looking up this style it gives me some hope to the style because of the blend of hop and malt notes. I have been hesitant to try Barleywines because of their inherent strong Alcohol by Volume and they usually have a high booze taste to them like wine. Criminally Bad Elf has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 10.5%. 

Appearance of Criminally Bad Elf 

The aroma of Criminally Bad Elf is a sweet aroma. The first aroma I picked up was a sweet aroma followed by a booze forward aroma. The sweet aroma I noticed was a caramel aroma and then I picked up on the fruity esters in the booze aroma. There is a subtle spice note that is tough to pick up, but if you give it a chance it will appear. Moving on towards the appearance of Criminally Bad Elf, I noticed the lighter colored appearance. If I had to pick a color of the appearance of this barleywine, I would have to say is a light Amber or something that reminds me of the appearance of a traditional Lager. In fact it almost looks like a copper color. The foam or head of Criminally Bad Elf is little to none after being poured it quickly dissipates and leaves very little foam behind. The foam or head that is still apparent is limited to the outside of the glass and has a small rim around the outside. 

Taste and body of the beer is all the I have left to check out on this brew. So far, from what I have encountered I have not been turned off of this brew. I am eager to see what an English Style Barleywine tastes like. The first sip, I took I noticed the sweet taste of the brew, which for me is something I would look for over a bitter hop note beer. In this particular style the sweet taste is too overpowering and does not allow any other notes to pop through the sweet taste. The caramel that you smell in the aroma is present in the taste of the beer. The other noticeable characteristic that is present is the booze forward presence. Towards the end of the sip you do notice the bitter hop note, but initially the sweet fruity esters take precedence over all other profiles in the brew. I think that the beer has a smooth and thick body to the beer. It is definitely drinkable and something I would/could enjoy on a cold night like tonight. 

Criminally Bad Elf by Ridgeway Brewery

Overall I think that Criminally Bad Elf is a good brew for someone that really enjoys higher alcohol by volume brews. I tend to try to only have these types of beers every once in awhile because I know it can mess you up very quickly depending on how quickly you enjoy it. We are in the season of this style of beers, so if you know any other Quads or Barleywines I show try let me know. Getting back to this brew, I think this brew is a little too booze forward for me, but I did enjoy the malt forward taste over the hop forward taste. Barleywines are a particular style of brew one might look to cellar for a year or two to help mellow out the malt or hop profiles in the brew. If you have had this brew or know any beers like this that I should try next, suggest them to me on Twitter: @craftbeerkcco 

Follow Ridgeway Brewery on Twitter at 

@RidgewayBrewery