Sapporo: Black is the New Black

Sapporo started making beer in 1876 in Japan, the same time Budweiser launched in the U.S., so there is a long history to Japanese beers. But Sapporo has rarely launched new beers and after 50 years in the U.S market they decided to hit the market with a new beer - Sapporo Premium Black. Sold in 22-ounce cans and at just 5% ABV, this new beer uses both hops and barley to create an initial foamy, thick head and deep rich chocolate brown color. It drinks smooth and offers up aromas roasted dark malt, chocolate black coffee with wisps of resin and molasses. Though it has some girth, it is not heavy handed and bitter, therefore it will work with a variety of foods including blackened/Cajun seasoned meats, burgers of course, smoked ham, wild boar pizza, well a host of things actually. Time to check it out.

SAPPORO

My Pet Piva - Drinking Beer in Prague

Prague is an exceptionally cool city, almost overwhelming with stunning architecture. But it is also a city of beer, known in the Czech language as piva. This region has a history of brewing dating back to the middle 900s, so yeah, a long and established beer culture. During a recent visit I wanted to see what their beer culture was like. Yes it's similar to America in that there are many craft beers coming on the market, but I was also curious about what are the standard beers, beers you can find everywhere that are ubiquitous. How do they stack up? So rather than search out oddball beers that are hard to find, cost an arm and a leg, I decided to focus on the beers that were widely available, reasonably priced and provided a nice diversity of beer drinking experience.

The Breznak Svetle is a pilsner style that is light and bright, presenting a little bitterness and slight hoppiness. This is not a complex beer but pleasant and even-keeled for new beer folks. The Krusovice Cerne offers up mild cocoa and malt notes, soft, silky and creamy with a slight hoppiness on the back and very drinkable. The Bernard Cerny is a non-filtered lager which is not heavy handed, but with noticeable malt and hops and a mild mocha, and while refreshing, it is not a big beer that overwhelms your palette. Even the ubiquitous Pilsner Urquell (billed as the world’s first pilsner) that you’ll see everywhere, is nonetheless a mass produced beer that is crisp and clean and shows that the mass produced beers in the Czech Republic have more flavor than their American mass produced counterparts. These are very pleasant beers and you’ll find them everywhere in Prague, so when you visit, be sure to seek out some craft beers, but even if you don’t, you’ll be rewarded with these piva.

 

And God Said Let There Be Beer - The Book!

Alcohol, it's what's for dinner, and preferably with food. But beer is one of those drinks that can stand alone without food, because, you know, it is food. The rise of craft beers in the U.S. has been a wonderful thing and people are discovering there is more to beer than just mass-produced bland yellow colored drinks. So if you are a hophead and you love beer you will need to get the beer Bible. Author Jeff Alworth lives in Portland, ground zero for breweries and has traveled the world. Though I have visited beer breweries in Tecate, Mexico; Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Elk Mountain Farms - the largest hop farm in the U.S. located in North Dakota – Alworth has everyone beat. And frankly, for a book like this you want a man obsessed with beer.

What I like about this book is that it’s well formatted, after all 600+ pages it’s like War and Peace without the war. There are specific sections about the variety of beers, ales, lagers, stouts IPAs and Alworth defines these, also uncovering some industry names, beer pairing with food, beer tourism - how to act in foreign taverns and pubs - even an oddball recipe from George Washington about a “beer” he was brewing. It’s stunningly comprehensive without being the least bit dull or pedantic. And there’s plenty of information you’ll discover, as I did in this tidbit regarding the 1936 vintage of a special beer brewed in England. “The English brewery Greene King brewed a beer in special celebration of the ascension of Edward the 8th to the throne. This was not unusual. For centuries people have been making celebratory beer; the word ‘bridal’ derives from the Angle Saxon bryd-ealo (“bride ale”) which actually refers to a celebratory feast, not just the beer.” Huh. Didn’t know that one! Rich, comprehensive and engaging, Alworth’s bible will convert some, if not many to the devotion to beer.

The Beer Bible, by Jeff Alworth

Workman Publishing

644 pages, $19.95

From Russia, With Love

Russian Stouts have been around a long time, and though the name implies one thing, they were originally created in England, not Russia. Similar to a Porter (which were brewed first), these were beers hopped up to make them supercharged. Favored by the Russian Imperial family for decades, they fell out of favor, but thankfully, came back in style in the early 1900s. The Narragansett Russian Stout is a burly brew, immensely creamy with dark rich mocha and malt notes, with a nutty bitterness. Coming in at 60 IBU, it’s surprisingly less bitter than you might imagine, but make no mistake, it is nonetheless hefty and not for those with timid palates though the bitterness doesn’t linger and therefore it’s easier to have this with a wider range of foods. Narragansett started brewing back in 1890 and it’s tough to find this beer outside of East Coast states, but if you do, add this beer to your drinking routine.

NARRAGANSETT
ORIGIN: Westport, Massachusetts

PRICE: $5.99 / 22 oz

ALCOHOL: 8.5%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  89 POINTS

Beer-Tails

Since beer has been on planet Earth for thousands of years, it comes as a weird surprise there isn’t much in the way of cocktails actually made with beer – like it’s some sort of anomaly (yeah, like wine coolers were a good idea). Until now. Howard and Ashley Stelzer’s new book, Beer Cocktails, gets you on the creative path to changing up your drinking routines. There are 50 recipes here, many happy color photos, from the times of old, classics and tried-and-true concoctions. And there are new creations that the Stelzer’s have crafted (you can also check out their blog called Beyond the Shadow of a Stout). The cool thing about this book is that it doesn’t shy away from telling you which brand of beer works best with which cocktail. For example they strongly suggest a Pabst Blue Ribbon with one, and not Heineken for another. The book is organized from lighter beers into cocktails made with porters and stouts. Many of the recipes use bourbon and whiskey elements and I like that, and they suggest Belgian brews like Kwak, and Delirium Tremens. Plus, with this as a guide you won’t be able to help yourself as you dash to your kitchen to create your own beer-tail. But that’s half the fun and frankly, this book has been a long time coming. Now, drink up.

$12.95/Harvard Common Press (hardback).
Harvard Common Press

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!