Beer In Review: Yes, More Porters

The daffodils are just beginning to poke up through the ground. I warned them that while the calendar says Spring, the forecast for the weekend weather is forecasting lows in the mid-20's. So I better finish up these porter reviews.

First up is Ithaca Beer Company's Gorges Smoked Porter. This brew has a nice dark brown body. Backlighting a pint glass will reveal some rich ruby hues. There is an ample amount of head, tan in color. It has a mild roasted malt aroma. The website claims that "The distinctive smokey character comes from the use of special beechwood smoked malt from Bamburg, Germany." Yes, it comes through and I believe that's what smooths out the otherwise robust hops (US Northern Brewer). It finishes clean. A very tasty beer. I was pleasantly surprised. 6.3% ABV.

This is a seasonal offering so it may already be off the shelf. If not, expect it to go on sale to make room for Spring.

Otter Creek already has an excellent porter so it came as a surprise to me that they were offering another one. But, as part of their World Tour of Beer series, they're offering a Baltic Porter. After drinking one of these, I can see why they brewed another porter. This is a great one.

On the pour we get ample creamy head and a roasted malt aroma. The quintessential dark brown body is a little reluctant to reveal its ruby hues to the light. Chocolate and roasted malts are plainly evident to the tongue. Surprisingly, it's not very robust at all and then a little sweetness takes over and rides your tongue to the finish.

The website admits to using "2-row, Munich, Caramel, and special German hulled barley malt, Carafa," which may have something to do with the taste. But then they go on to say, "Not only did we take extra time to brew this beer with a special 'step mash' process, it was also fermented longer, with a lager yeast." There's nothing really exotic about the "special step mash process." In essence, that's just a multi-step infusion process where the malt grains are steeped at different temperatures to let different enzymes play with the starches to get the desired sugars.

The lager yeast, now that's different. Normally one would use an ale yeast, typically London or Irish. Anyway, end result great beer.

Otter Creek is available throughout the Northeast, out to Ohio, and as far south as North Carolina. Residents of Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon are also lucky.

Lastly, there's the DED of Winter Porter, my latest homebrew in case that isn't obvious. ;) The pour yields alot of creamy, tan head, though it does eventually settle. As I raise my glass, there's a faint vanilla bouquet. As is the style, dark brown body with a faint red hue visible if you shine a bright light on it. There's a smooth blend of malt on the tongue, with Fuggles and Kent Goldings hops waving "allo" from across the room. Vanilla and cinnamon peek out from the malt just before the finish, lending the brew a seasonal feel.

It's one of the best batches I've done and I credit the decision to go with a secondary fermentation. As a result, there's no yeast bite, which means that the added vanilla and cinnamon flavorings don't get trampled in the mix.

I'll see if I can take a picture of it and provide an estimated ABV determination later.

1. Anchor Porter
   
2. Baltic Porter
   
3. Smuttynose Robust Porter
   
4. Stovepipe Porter
   
5. Coal Porter
   
6. Road Dog Scottish Porter
   
7. Gorges Smoked Porter
   
8. Gonzo Imperial Porter
   
9. Black Bear Porter
   
10. Santa's Butt Porter
    
11. Saranac's Caramel Porter
    
12. Samuel Adams Honey Porter

\_/
DED

Another 5 Year Anniversary

A year and a half ago, we marked the 5 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The only noteworthy thing to point out then was that Osama bin Laden was still free (and still is).

Now, we're marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It's long since become public knowledge that there were no WMD nor did Saddam have anything to do with 9/11 or al Qaeda. Of course, thanks to us, al Qaeda has franchise operations in Iraq. Despite the overwhelming unpopularity of the war with the public, not to mention our allies in Europe, and retired generals warning us about the strain its put on our military, repeatedly, we're still there. The Democrats have been unable to use Congressional powers, thanks to obstructionist Republicans, to end the war, let alone hold hearings as to how billions of dollars are being spent. We're closing in on 4,000 dead and over 60,000 wounded American soldiers and the collateral damage is mounting. Were it not for the amazing advances in medical care and logistics, many more of those wounded would be dead. The number of Iraqi dead is unknown. The miserable state of its bureaucracy makes it impossible to get an accurate count, but estimates range from 85,000 to 655,000 to 1.2 million. I don't think we'll ever know. The fiscal costs? Unfathomable. Even if we were to pull out today, we'll still be paying for war for decades. And if our government decides to do the honorable thing and take care of its wounded, the costs will continue that much longer.

Yet despite what's happened, W still insists that Iraq is still relevant to the War on Terror and a success.

I'll grant him that the removal of Saddam Hussein from power was a good thing. His decision to stay there is another matter. His failure to take into account Iraq's disparate ethnic groups (Kurds, Shiite, and Sunni) was profound. It took a brutal monster to keep these three from killing one another. With his death, they were free to resurrect centuries old differences and go to war with one another. It's gone from deplorable to horrendous.

Last year's surge, which is still ongoing, appears to have had some positive effect. The frequency of violence has decreased. But it comes at a price. Equipment breaks down from the undeniable wear and tear of sand, heat and IED's. Soldiers are forced to endure extended tours of duty and are then called back to the front after limited reprieves at home. Enlistment is down. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government fails to achieve any sort of political settlement among the factions.

Of the three major presidential candidates, none has called for an immediate withdrawal. Obama and Clinton talk about drawdowns over the next 6 to 18 months. McCain says we'll be there for years, perhaps a century. While we can handle something like Korea, where we're still there after 50 years, the situation is far different in Iraq. We can not maintain our current level of commitment any longer. The cost in tangibles such as lives, equipment, and dollars is too high. The intangibles, like relations with our allies, preparedness for future emergencies, the real War on Terror, and the socio-economic health of our nation are even higher.

As I write this, McCain seems to have survived the political attacks from within his own party. Democrats continue to fight with one another and may in fact self-destruct. I was fairly certain that whomever the Democrats nominate would win the general election. I've lost that certainty. Of course, I was encouraging Democrats to root for Ron Paul to win the Republican nomination, just in case they lost. But instead there's McCain, who insists that he'll perpetuate our presence in Iraq.

My neighbor is Vietnam War veteran. I have tremendous respect for him and he's a great guy. He's also a Republican. I suspect he's an Ostrich Republican as he's not like the guys you see in Congress or on Fox or hear on Right Wing Radio. On Saturday, I needed to borrow his truck. I took a short ride with him as he went to dump a load of wood chips. The subject of politics came up. When we got to McCain, he revealed that while he was serving on the USS Forrestal, John McCain was one of the pilots. So, I knew with absolute certainty who he was voting for.

I used to like McCain. But the McCain of 2008 isn't the McCain of 2000. When people say, "9/11 changed everything," they're not kidding. I can not, in good conscience, vote for this man due to his position on Iraq. So, I had to figure out a way to disagree with my neighbor without alienating him. While my liberal friends might say, "Screw him! He's a Republican!", that's a simplistic position to take. It's akin to saying, "You're with us or against us," just like the current occupant of the White House. This administration has done too good a job of alienating other countries and even our fellow Americans. It's easy to keep that mentality in the blogosphere, but I have no desire to make enemies of my neighbors.

After declaring I wouldn't vote for Clinton (True. I won't. I don't like her. I'll go 3rd party again if I have to.), I said that I had reservations about McCain because of Iraq. He brought up the "cut and run" argument but I shot it down. "After five years it's no longer a question of cutting and running. Our boys are dying over there, doing all the hard work to make some semblance of order, while the Iraqi government sits on its ass doing nothing to resolve their differences. It's time for them to stand up and fight for themselves." It must've struck a chord as he made no effort to counter what I said. We arrived at our destination and when we got back in the truck the subject was changed. Then again, maybe he was just being polite.

I wanted to end this post with something positive, but barring a miracle, or even a horrendous catastrophe, we'll be in Iraq for at least another 10 months. What lessons will we learn from this experience? Thirty years from now will be have another president that rode out a war due to privilege only to get us embroiled in another fatal endeavor? Couple the war with colossal trade deficits and a seriously troubled economy and does it all signal the beginning of the end of America as we know it? Just as the Soviet Union ended due to bankruptcy and an unpopular war, maybe we're headed there as well. I know the analogy isn't perfect. But as we won the Cold War by outspending the Soviets, we may lose everything because we've outspent ourselves.

\_/
DED

Beer In Review: Porter Season Winding Down

Winter is drawing to a close and with it ends porter season. Porters are dark, malty ales which are best suited to drinking in cold weather. While hot weather doesn't stop people from drinking them, most don't. In fact, some brewers consider their porters to be seasonal concoctions and have already ceased making them. So, it's probably a bit late in the season to be reviewing porters. [shrug] Oh well.

I finally picked up a 6 pack of Stone Coast Brewery's (or is it Sunday River Brewing?) Black Bear Porter. With a large black bear on the label, I expected this to be a fairly robust beer. I was a little disappointed by the outcome.

The pour is nice. Big frothy head and a dark brown body. The bouquet is mild though. I really don't smell much of anything. There's enough hops in it to qualify as "robust", probably Cascade. It definitely has a bite, but I'm not sure if it's bear worthy. Roasted, crystal, and chocolate malts come to play, but a little too nicely. I don't know. It just leaves me feeling like something's missing. It's good, but not great. Since there's better out there, I won't be buying any more of it.

Smuttynose's Robust Porter is nothing short of the textbook definition of the classification. It won the gold medal at the 2001 Great American Beer Festival. It's been one of my favorites and I've been wanting to review it for some time.

The aroma is all roasted malt. No light penetrates a pint glass of this stuff so you know you're dealing with some seriously high degrees Lovibond malts (Chocolate and dark crystal at the very least). Even the head has a dark tint to it. When the brew hits your tongue, the roasted malt walks in hand-in-hand with a decent amount of Cascade hops to provide some bite. There's a subtle chocolate follow up but if you blink you'll miss it. Smuttynose confesses to using Carastan malt, which I've learned is another name for English Crystal malt. I don't know what "special 'b'" is, but I suspect it's a brand of Black Patent malt, a highly roasted black malt.

5.7% ABV. Available through New England and down the East coast through Virginia. And, for some reason, Wisconsin.

The updated porter rankings:

1. Anchor Porter
   
2. Smuttynose Robust Porter
   
3. Stovepipe Porter
   
4. Coal Porter
   
5. Road Dog Scottish Porter
   
6. Gonzo Imperial Porter
   
7. Black Bear Porter
   
8. Santa's Butt Porter
   
9. Saranac's Caramel Porter
   
10. Samuel Adams Honey Porter

I'll have to pick up the Stovepipe and have a deathmatch between it and Smuttynose just to make sure that I got it right. I recently had Saranac's Caramel Porter and it reaffirmed it's place in the standings. Way too much caramel.

In other beer news, prices are going up this month (if they haven't already). Beer Guy tells me that a few brewers are passing their increased hops and malt costs along to the consumer. $1 - $3.50 a 12-pack can be expected. Saranac, which is one of the least expensive craft brewers (at least as far as CT pricing goes), is increasing their prices by a buck. Ithaca Brewing is hitting us with $3.50, which I think sends them to the $17+ range. I've got some at the house right now so it'll probably be the last. Beer Guy expects their already mediocre sales to tank. Magic Hat is also on the rise (think closer to Ithaca than Saranac).

More porter reviews to come.

Thanks to Jim and/or Paul for supplying the Smuttynose. Don't know which of you guys picked it up since you carpooled.

\_/
DED

Love Thy Neighbor's Trees

Once I became a homeowner, I've tried to be a good neighbor. I can't say that I'm friends with everyone, nor do I even know half, but I try not to be a dick. While I don't necessarily agree with what some of them do with their yards, it's not my yard so it's really none of my business.

For example, my neighbor to the south cleared out the last vestiges of "forest" in his yard because he wasn't getting enough sunlight (thus heat) on his pool. I thought this was stupid as the remaining trees were east of the pool and downhill so they only blocked very early morning light. Still, it's his yard. He's a good guy and very helpful. Of all my neighbors, I get along with him the best.

Another neighbor had a tree at the edge of his yard get knocked over by a storm and fell into the woods of my yard. Several months later, since he hadn't made any effort to cut it up, I went over to his house and asked him if he minded if I cut it up for use in my wood stove. He immediately said that I could have it.

But out in Sunnyvale, California, people aren't so neighborly. CNN did a story about a guy who took his neighbor to court because his trees were blocking his solar panels. The online article lacks the punch of the TV story. This guy covered every square foot of the roof of his huge house with solar panels. I'm not exaggerating. Except for a thin border on each section, it was all solar panels.

Since the yards are so small, his neighbor's redwoods, which were planted years before the panels were installed, shade part of his house and thus the solar panels. Not the entire house, just a small part of it. The solar panel guy sued him under this obscure California law entitled "The Solar Shade Control Act."

He won.

Tree guy spent $37,000 defending himself and can't afford to appeal.

So while trees suck carbon dioxide out of the air, solar panel guy says that his $70,000 worth of photovoltaics prevent more of it from being released. I'm all for solar power. If I could afford it, and it was practical (too many trees and it's New England - not the sunniest of places), I'd throw them up on my roof. But by solar panel guy's logic, we should cut down all our forests and replace them with solar panels.

Solar panel guy fails to realize that the trees provide: shade, which cools the surrounding air by several degrees and prevents soil moisture loss, soil stability (read: erosion prevention), homes for birds (I expect him to sue the birds for crapping on his panels), and oxygen to breathe. The latter desperately needed to counter the hot air spewed by solar panel guy.

\_/
DED