Monday, January 18, 2010

Random Beer-Related Facts!


In our never-ending pursuit of beer, Mugsy and Jugsy often come across interesting little tidbits of beer facts and trivia.

We'll be posting some of them here from time-to-time. We hope you enjoy them!


For instance, did you know that if you collect beer bottles, you're a labeorphilist?



And, if you collect beer coasters, then you're a tegestologist?



Is there such a thing as fear of an empty beer glass?

Well, if you're a serious beer lover like Mugsy,
you may suffer from a condition known as cenosillicaphobia, the fear of an empty (beer) glass!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Deschutes Jubelale

Beer: Jubelale
Brewer: Deschutes Brewery, Bend, O
R, USA
Type: Winter ale

Bottle: 12 fl. oz. bottle
ABV: 6.7%

IBUs: 60
Served in: Pint glass
Place of Purchase: Unknown - gift from our friend Louis!

Price: Also unknown! Thanks, Louis!!!

Happy 2010! It's our first beer review of the new year! It's definitely a late start for us (thanks to lingering illness - seriously, sick from December 25th to just a fe
w days ago.) Your two Beeraucrats, (that's us - Mugsy and Jugsy), are finally able to actually SMELL and TASTE beer! We are now more than ready to bring you another year of loving beer!

It's mid-January and certainly still mid-Winter, so we will continue with our seasonal brew reviews!

On January 1st, our friends Louis and his wife Linds
ey were kind enough to drive all the way from Idaho to Los Angeles just to bring us a couple of bottles of beer! OK, so maybe their trip was really to show off their new baby boy, Soren, to friends and family in Southern CA. Any way you slice it, the proud parents were kind enough to bring us a couple of bottles of Deschutes Jubelale to review!


Each year, Deschutes Brewery's Winter offering features a unique label with artwork by different local artists - this time by central Oregon artist, Tracy Leagjeld. We're thinking about starting our collection now.

Thank you, again, to Louis, Lindsey and Soren! And thank you to our Beeraucracy readers! We wish you a happy, healthy and beer-filled 2010!

In every proper review, your trusted husband & wife team of Beeraucrats will examine the Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouth-Feel, Drinkability and Overall Rating of the Beer and arrive at a Total Score from 1 to 10.

Deschutes Jubelale

APPEARANCE:

Mugsy:
Dark brown yet not opaque. Becomes deep bronze when held to light. Average sized, lightly tan colored head that dissipates very quickly. Not much noticeable carbonation. No lacing is left on the glass as glass is emptied.
Jugsy: Reddish brown in color with strong copper hues. Carbonation is barely visible. Medium head dissipates very quickly. Particulate matter in bottom of glass. Leaves little to no lacing on the glass.

AROMA:

Mugsy:
Strong, sweet malt aroma - almost a "chocolate milk" type of smell. Very slight hints of toffee. Hops are almost imperceptible but do come through in the end, especially after swirling glass.
Jugsy: Chocolate covered cherries and vanilla rum comprise the initial sweet scent. Strong aroma of chocolate malt along with a wheat and berry bread smell. The faintest hint of piny hops can also be detected.

TASTE:


Mugsy: Bitter roasted malt comes on first. Then a sweeter malt immediately follows. Hops are definitely there, however, more as an aftertaste. Very slight bitter dark chocolate aftertaste and slight coffee aftertaste.
Jugsy: Heavy roasted malt flavor dominates. Predominantly chocolate flavor with a hint of coffee. The fresh and bitter taste of piny hops reveals itself more in the aftertaste than the initial sip. If I really concentrate, I can sense a hint of fruity yeast, as well. The flavors are not as complex as the aroma would have you believe.

MOUTH-FEEL:

Mugsy: Creamy; almost like drinking a glass of watered-down chocolate milk. Slight sting from the bitterness of the malt and/or hops. Not even close to being watery, this one is on the heavy side. In fact, almost chewy - but not quite. Very slight coating left on the tongue. Goes down quite nicely.
Jugsy: Initial impression was creamy, but the more I drank, the more watery it seemed to become. The Jubelale is very mild on carbonation, perhaps too much so, as it gives the beer a thin feel. However, it does leave a malty/hoppy coating on the tongue.

DRINKABILITY:

Mugsy:
At 6.7% ABV, this might not necessarily be everyone's best candidate for a session beer. However, I could easily throw back several and enjoy every drop. The heaviness may become a problem for me though when considering drinking more than one or two.
Jugsy: While the Jubelale might feel like a lighter Winter ale, its 6.7% ABV certainly packs a punch. Going on flavor alone, one could certainly drink a fair number of these, but the higher alcohol content would limit me to only one or two.

OVERALL:

Mugsy:
Nice, complex beer. Quite a bit going on here as far as taste. Also, the creamy mouthfeel is quite nice. Just a little on the heavy side for me and maybe the tiniest bit too sugary, but hey, that's never stopped me before. Would pair very well with rich Winter foods or with desserts. Even with the heavy-handedness I would absolutely drink again, but only one or two. Or three.... Maybe four.
Jugsy: I wish I could have actually tasted all the complex aromas I smelled in this brew! I was looking forward to tasting this beer, not only because Louis went through so much trouble to get it into our hands, but also because its smell promised to deliver so much flavor! Overall, this is a fine seasonal ale - maybe not my favorite - but I will definitely seek out next year's batch!

SCORE:
Mugsy 7.0

Jugsy 6.6




Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Brew Free Or Die


Brew Free! Or Die

Provocative name! We'll take the "Brew Free!" please!

Mugsy and Jugsy typically search for the best airfare when choosing airlines, but we may just need to forgo that tradition the next time we fly and go with Virgin Airlines instead.

"Why?" you ask? We love to support our fellow Beer-lovers and Virgin America is doing something pretty special. For the first time ever, craft beer is making its way to the blue skies! Hooray!!!

According to RealBeer.com:

21st Amendment Brewery is set to launch their Brew Free! Or Die IPA in cans aboard Virgin America Airlines. Starting now Virgin America will serve complimentary Brew Free! or Die IPA in First Class and Main Cabin Select and the beer will be available for purchase in the Main Cabin for $7.

21st Amendment Brewery says their "Brew Free! or Die IPA is brewed with some serious west coast attitude. This aromatic golden IPA starts with a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose, quickly balanced by a solid malt back bone. The Brewery’s top selling beer, this IPA starts big and finishes clean leaving you wanting more."

Mmmmmmm... we haven't even tried it yet and we want more already!!!

Friday, January 1, 2010

BEERS OF THE YEAR -- 2009!!!


HAPPY NEW YEAR!



2010 promises to be another great year for beer!

Here at Beeraucracy, your two Beeraucrats, Mugsy and Jugsy, promise to bring you many more fun and insightful reviews throughout the year, all from the husband and wife perspective!

At the moment, Jugsy and I are still under the weather (can you believe it?!), and still unable to do a proper review.

That being said, this seems like the perfect time to bring you Beeraucracy's Best of 2009!

We have gone back through all the reviews of 2009; studied and scrutinized - read and re-read, and come up with...

(drum roll, please!)

MUGSY & JUGSY'S BEERS OF THE YEAR -- 2009!!

Ladies first! Let's start with Jugsy's 2009 favorite....

Jugsy: At a mind-boggling 100+ IBUs, my pick for 2009 beer of the year (you might call it my own personal pursuit of "hoppiness") is the Stone Ruination IPA!

Click HERE for the full review

And now Mugsy's favorite for 2009....

Mugsy: January 1st just happens to be the day that I proposed to Jugsy. So, what better way to celebrate an anniversary than with the Sierra Nevada 2009 Anniversary Ale?!

Click HERE for the full review


Sometimes it can be difficult to get a husband & wife to agree on anything! However, Mugsy & Jugsy sure do agree that the Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron was one of their mutual favorites of 2009!

Click HERE for the full review

Happy 2010! We wish you happiness, health and lots of beer throughout the year!