Beer of the Week

The beer: Strange Beast

The brewery: Nepenthe Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "Built on a subtle base of just 2-row and rice, then hopped gently with Sorachi Ace, Centennial, and Motueka. Suddenly bursting out of an otherwise calm Pacific on a cresting tsunami of Ginger Peach Green Tea from our pals at Wight Tea Company. Sweeping notes of juicy peach, fresh sun tea, crisp malt, a touch of herbal funk, and light, zesty ginger rampage across your palate. A pale straw in color and oh so drinkable. Do we know what lies in the deepest places?"

Would I buy it again? Now this was the beer I was really looking forward to when I came to Nepenthe. A beer that was described on the menu as a "ginger peach green tea rice lager." That's a lot of things for a beer to be, and I was certain this beer was either going to be really good or really bad. No in between. And I'm happy to report that it's actually very good. The peach was the key, I think, it added some fruity sweetness and blended all the various ingredients together well. Basically, this is an enhanced, fruitier version of Thick-N-Thin's Kaiju rice lager, which is entirely appropriate, as "kaiju" means strange beast. I'll definitely buy this again if I can ever find it locally.

Beer Wars: A New Hop

Of the four main ingredients in any beer, the hop is the most particular and niche. We don't grow barley or wheat just for beer, yeast is used in many sorts of baking, and obviously water has a few uses, but hops are really only used for beer, and more importantly, they can only be effectively grown in a few areas. Bavaria in Germany and Washington state account for something like two-thirds of the world's hop production (don't quote me on that percentage, but either way, it's a lot). You can grow hops plenty of places, and there are certainly plenty of non–beer-related hops that flourish outside Germany and Washington, but if you want mass hop production, your options are limited. Beer hops require a specific soil and climate.

Take Maryland, for example. There are numerous farm breweries throughout the state that grow their own hops, but the total acreage devoted to hop growth is 20. That compares with over 50,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest. They need constant care in Maryland, as they're vulnerable to both excessive heat and numerous diseases and pests. But what if there was a hop that was adapted to the Maryland climate? A hop that's been here for many years and could be used in beer?

Say hello to the Monocacy hop. Discovered in 2013, it's completely unique, unknown anywhere outside Frederick County in Maryland. While technically it's not native, it's been naturalized, having been in Maryland since the early 1800s. That means it can survive Maryland's adverse conditions. And unlike other invasive species from Japan, it produces flowers usable in brewing. But the question is, while the research into the hop shows it can be used in beer, does the Monocacy hop taste good? And now, in 2023, the hop is moving out of the lab and into commercial production. Milkhouse Brewery in Mt. Airy, Maryland, came out with three beers utilizing the Monocacy hop. And while I would suggest any interested parties go out and try it for yourself, since Milkhouse is a 25-minute drive from home, I went out and secured all three of these new beers for myself. So, if you're curious, I'll be reviewing all three for the next 3 weeks.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Braaaaaaaains - Pineapple, Guava, & Dragonfruit

Brewed by: Drekker Brewing Company, Fargo, North Dakota

Description (from Untappd): "This Braaaaaaaains Double Fruit Smoothie Sour was blasted with pineapple, guava, & dragonfruit then we hit it with our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla beans."

Would I buy it again?: To be honest, this almost doesn't count as a beer. There's a reason I don't review the many, many fruited sours that have emerged in the past couple years. For one, I don't like sours, fruited or otherwise; also, these things get so many things shoved into them that they lose literally all their beer taste. But when it comes to obtaining a beer from North Dakota, you take what you can get. It's not as bad as I was afraid of, it's drinkable, but I just don't enjoy it. It tastes like fruit, not beer. So no, definitely wouldn't go for this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Spellbinder

Brewed by: Wren House Brewing Company, Phoenix, Arizona

Description (from the website): "Brewed with oats and Grain R&D AZ grown Sonora white wheat. Hopped exclusively with Cascade throughout the whirlpool. We then heavily dry hop this beer during fermentation with ludicrous amounts of Citra and Mosaic. Super bright aroma of tangerine peel marmalade, overripe strawberry, and pungent dank pineapple. 7%"

Would I buy it again?: Well, it's an IPA. I don't know about heavy dry hopping with ludicrous amounts of hops though, this wasn't any more hoppy than any other IPA. So it's fine, but like the Alaska beer a couple weeks ago, I wouldn't go out of my way to buy this one again. I have my Arizona beer, and that's good enough for me.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Golden Ale

Brewed by: Uinta Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah

Description (from the website): "A year-round refresher, this golden ale is light bodied and crisp with a subtle sweetness."

Would I buy it again?: Probably not. It didn't taste bad, far from it, but it tasted exactly the same as pretty much every other easy-to-drink ale out there. And if I want one of those, I can go through a lot less effort to get one.

What's it Like Brewing Ancient Beer?

Turns out, sometimes it involves chewing and spitting out corn for hours on end. And yes, people do drink the end product of that less-than-pleasant process. That's the goal anyway, but according to this article, sometimes the brewing process went less than swimmingly. But hey, beer archeology (that's a great job title, by the way, I kind of want to do that now) is a less than exact science. The brewers are working with nonexact recipes that are hundreds or thousands of years old. Not only that, the microorganisms used to ferment the beer will probably never be known. So we have to take a guess.

A couple other things stood out to me. One, I'm fairly certain I've had the Mida Touch from Dogfish Head once before. I'll have to keep a lookout for their Ancient Ale series next time I go do some serious beer shopping. It could be interesting.

Two, I like how apparently ancient civilizations liked trash each other's beer. The Romans were very harsh on Egyptian beer, and I think that's pretty funny. Even in ancient times, beer snobs still existed.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Thru Hiker Summer Wheat

Brewed by: Long Trail Brewing Company, Bridgewater, Vermont

Description (from the website): "Continue down the trail with this refreshing wheat ale.Thru Hiker Summer Wheat is slightly sweet with a hazy body and notes of citrus, spice and fruity hops.

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I would. It had a very pleasant taste that I enjoyed a lot. And I do generally like wheat beers.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Woodbooger Belgian-style Brown Ale

Brewed by: Strangeways Brewing, Richmond, Virginia

Description (from the website): "Dark, roasty brown ale brewed with coconut sugar and dark Belgian candi sugar, fermented with Belgian ale yeast and aged with Bourbon vanilla beans. It’s no hoax. You’ve spotted the elusive Woodbooger. However, your adventure is only now beginning. Examine its habits and you’ll uncover footprints of caramel, chocolate and roasted malts with subtle traces of dark chocolate and fruit esters. It will show you a sweet side, tempting you to let down your guard. But you must keep your wits about you, because as quickly as it reveals itself, it will vanish."

Would I buy it again?: They called their beer Woodbooger. Of course I'd buy it again, the name is basically the entire reason I bought the beer in the first place. But it's actually pretty good.