Get educated on the finer art of the brew by our resident beer-snobs Tyler and Sean. Sean explans below...
I think it’ s perfectly clear that beer and bikes go together - case in point, Dirt Rag has a "Beer Me!" column that runs regularly and many bike shops have a fridge for their favorite customers; Hammerhead is no exception to this rule. In the case of Hammerhead, the fine customers (as well as the proximity to Grapevine Market) tend to enjoy bringing surprises into the shop. Therefore, it is with great pleasure (or is it trepidation?) that I announce the Hammerhead Beer review, courtesy of RockyMountainOysterMolitovCocktailBomb and myself.
The reviews will be based upon what we find in the Hammerhead fridge, and are likely to take an approach somewhere between Statler & Waldorf and the Dirt Rag "Beer Me!" column (which doesn’ t seem to be available online...so you’ d better subscribe now!) You are therefore challenged to stump the chumps (attempts to befuddle us with IPAs, Imperial Stouts, and Dubbels will be met with great resistance).
— Sean & Tyler
Digging through my pile of photos, I remembered I tried a few bottles of Hopus Ale, a nice hoppy, Belgian Blonde ale. For a Blonde, it’s quite smooth; I made a mistake buying just one bottle the first time! You can find it at Spec’s, Central Market, Whole Foods, and high-quality establishments about town.
I’m a big fan of corks, but flip-top bottles travel better in the bottle cages on my bike…
Hmm…sweet, well-rounded, and hoppy….
The retention on the head is amazing!
The week after returning from the Dirty Kanza 200, I was getting ready to hit the long road again, this time to Arkansas for a good friend’s wedding. At an early engagement party, I got him a bottle of Brewdog’s Paradox Imperial Stout, but never tried it myself. As a wedding gift, he was to get a bottle of Ardbeg Whisky, so I figured I’d give the Paradox a try…
…it works really well with a nice steak with some roasted and buttered new potatoes.
For a $9.50 four-pack,
these brews fall into the class of high-zoot, bottle-opener needing yuppie beer, but any greenhorn beer snob tends to do a double take based on the stein-hoisting personage printed on the packaging. Fear not, fair foam friend, for while Sam Adams is known for reliably good, albeit basic (in the cornerstone sense; their Boston Lager often saves the day in a world of horse-water) brews, they’ve stepped up to the big beers with remarkable quality and grace; nothing they make is over-the-top in terms of alcohol content, maltiness, or hoppiness, just the well-balanced product we’ve all come to expect from Boston’s best known brewhouse.
This weekend I had the pleasure of playing follow-the-leader with a couple of friends through town and trail; Saturday the downtowner led, and I learned all about the pubs and later, the east side. Sunday, I got to show two hours of trail and hills, which was quite tiring after spending 10 hours (6 riding) outside with the Xtracycle. The ride completed and a fresh set of clothes donned, we “rolled” to the local kosher megamart to balk at the matzo in favor of Passover’s favorite – three meat pizza with stuffed crust. My fellow TGR racer (and closet gym rat) quipped that while he was familiar with Witbier, he had never seen an “Imperial White”, but reckoned they must be similar. At 10.3%, he claimed, it must be over the top.
So what’s it like?
Anything in this level of alcohol must have a malt balance, lest it taste of burning; it must have some hop bitterness, so realize that it’s a big beer, and big beers need love too. It’s sweet, but not cloyingly sweet (the difference between a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of agave syrup); it’s strong enough to give you a hefty buzz after a hard ride, but well-balanced enough to hide the alcohol, ninja style. Because of the strength, the usual witbier coriander and orange flavors are a little hard to notice, but Russell noticed something and once given a handful of coriander seed, made a positive ID.
Stats:
- 10.3% ABV
- $9.49 / 4-pack of 12oz bottles
- Well balanced & slightly sweet. Great with pizza and chilis
- A good introduction to big beers for non-hopheads
Will I buy it again? Yes, but only after I remind myself how much I like the Sam Adams Imperial Stout!
