Saison Rue Belgian-Style Ale, made with Rye and Brettanomyces

What a find in my own backyard.  Just a month ago I discovered and wrote about the wonders of a yeast called Brettanomyces, or “Brett” for short, that is normally viewed as a contaminant.  As the Orval beer I was drinking demonstrated, this “contaminant” can be used to add distinctive flavors to beer.  I sadly reported, however, that few breweries are courageous enough to take on the Brett challenge and that Orval is the last Trappist monastery that uses Brett in its the beer making process.

But tonight I selected a beer I have never tried from The Bruery, which is located right here in So Cal, in the City of Placentia.  Right there in black and white (actually more of a maroon and yellow), the label says it is made with brettanomyces and rye.  I feel like such a nub for not knowing a local brewery offered a Brett beer, but in my defense the label also says that it is offered only occasionally.  (Pretty brilliant actually.  When a vat gets contaminated with Brett, you bottle the stuff and call it a seasonal.)

But enough background; to the beer!  This is great stuff.  I am really becoming a fan of Brett if these two beers are illustrative.  The Brett provides a earthy taste that is unlike any beer you have likely tasted.  I didn’t like this Saison Rue as much as the Orval, but it is still very good in its own right, and the Orval is much more expensive.  You’d do well to give this one a try.  I give it an 89.

Cain F Straight Ligero (6 x 60)

I don’t often crave a specific cigar, but this one has been calling to me since I spotted it in my humidor.  It’s a dark, massive beauty, and the Ligero is the slowest burning part of the tobacco leaf, so I had to wait for sufficient time to devote to this stick.

Ligero refers to the leaves from the top section of the tobacco plant. Exposure to the sun creates a stronger, robust flavor, while producing an oily texture.  The Cain F (by Oliva) is made of three different Nicaraguan Ligeros, in a dark Nicaraguan wrapper.

The cigar presents with a perfect construction, with no soft spots and minimal veins and seams.  Upon lighting, it produces copious smoke with a strong spice/pepper and a slightly sweet taste.  Given the content, I anticipated some harshness, but it was very smooth.  Indeed, the strength can be deceiving, because the taste is medium in strength but it soon hits you right between the eyes.  By midpoint, the strength of the cigar is more evident. 

I was right about needing time for this monster; it was a two hour commitment.  But it was time well spent.  A very good cigar, earning it a 90 on The Morris Scale.

So the series just ended, and in the final episode Grace finally opens the box and finds that it contains Gurkha cigars.  Then in a final battle with evil, Grace is talking to some evil guy, who may or may not be the devil but who is responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, and he comments that Gurkha cigars are the best you can get.

There you have it.  God smokes Gurkhas.  All I could think of is how much did Gurkha pay for that bit of product placement?  I think God could do better, but I did give the Gurkha Titan a 92 back in September of 2008, so I thought I would check to see if I still like them. 

Gurkha Titan 6.2” x 56

The Gurkha Titan is a 6.2 x 56 Honduran cigar with a Maduro wrapper.  The Titan debuted at the 2005 Retail Tobacco Dealers tradeshow, and with only 1,000 boxes made, it was only available to a small number of suppliers. The cigar begins with a combination of five year old Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Columbian fillers that are secured in a five year Nicaraguan binder. It is then finished with a dark 1996 Vintage Costa Rican wrapper.

The Gurkha Titan had a perfect burn and draw and yielded a long ash. Medium to strong the entire length, with lots of flavorful smoke tasting of spice.  The 92 I gave it last time was spot on; I still really like the Titan.  A very tasty smoke.

They run around $30 a stick individually from the discounters when you can find them.  CigarsDirect has them for $24 each in quantities of 16, which is $48 less than what Cigars.com charges for the same quantity.  I don’t like to commit to 16 of any cigar, so I watch for cigar bundle specials that include a Titan.  Cigars International recently offered a Gurkha “Top-Ten Sampler” for 30 bucks that included a Titan.

Old Scratch Amber Lager

I continue to be a real fan of the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland, and its Old Scratch Amber Lager did not disappoint.

Old Scratch pours deep golden amber with a large, off-white head.  The nose is interesting, with a smell of toasted malts; almost like oatmeal.  The taste is malt and citrus, with a hint of bread and caramel.  The mouthfeel is perfect for a lager, and not at all watery.  Outstanding drinkability.  It’s not my all time favorite from the Flying Dog Brewery, but it warrants a strong 90 on The Morris Scale.

Joya de Nicaragua Fuerte Serie B, Corona Gorda (5.0" x 46)

From what I read, Nicaragua is the fastest growing cigar manufacturing country in the world, and for good reason.  I’ve never met a Nicaraguan puro I didn’t like, and supposedly Joya de Nicaragua started it all.  This stick was no exception.  Many cigars start slow and turn into something special as you smoke, but a precious few invoke an immediate “oh yeah” from the first draw.  That was my reaction to this small, unassuming beauty.

The taste was strong with a mix of spice and leather, but without a hint of harshness.  The smoke was thick, voluminous and dark, as though to confirm the complex taste I was experiencing.  The construction and burn were perfect.  This is one great cigar, earning a 95 on The Morris Scale.

If you are interested, BestCigarPrices.com provides a detailed history of Joya de Nicaragua here.  But that site does not offer the Fuerte Serie B, which proved a little elusive.  The going price on the sites were I was able to find it was around $63 for a box of 20, which is a great price for such a quality cigar, but at the time I am writing this, Cigars International has them on sale for $40.  At $2 a stick, this may be the best cigar value I have ever found.

Orval Trappist Ale

You may not give much thought to the yeast used to make your beer, but it can make a huge difference in the taste.  If you have ever made your own beer, you may be familiar with a yeast called Brettanomyces, or “Brett” for short, that is normally viewed as a contaminant.  This yeast comes from wood, and can feed on wood, which can be a problem for breweries that ferment in casks.

But in the proper hands, Brett can be used to add distinctive flavors to beer, and is used in some sour beer styles.  If you want to experience a Brett beer (not in a sour style), Orval is the only Trappist monastery that uses Brett in its the beer making process.

The taste of the Orval Trappist Ale is amazing, especially if you take the time to really smell the beer before you take your first taste.  The aroma of Brett beer is sometimes described as damp wool.  The Orval smell is slightly citrus as well, but very distinctive, and totally belies what you are about to experience. 

This Belgium Trappist ale pours a golden brown with a frothy tan head so thick you could suspend a cherry on top if you were so inclined.  The wild Brett yeast brings an earthy taste, that is at the same time sweet, dry and citrusy.  The yeast taste was oddly reminiscent of the horrible yeasty beer I created during my first home brewing attempts, but in this case it is a perfectly balanced addition.

You need to experience this beer.  It’s a little pricey at $4.79 for an 11.2 ounce bottle, but this is a true experience.  Draft magazine rightfully rated this beer at 98.

I tried, Dale Bros., I really tried.  I tried to wrap my mind and taste buds around this beer, but I couldn’t make it work.  You see, in concept the California Black Beer is supposed to be a classic American Style Dark Lager, according to the brewery’s website.  So, it pours dark brown with a huge tan  head, and you think you are about to enjoy something akin to a stout.  But I had done my homework, and I knew this was a dark lager that is supposed to present as a lighter tasting beer.  The problem is, it’s not even a good lager.  It tastes flat and watery, with the thinnest mouthfeel I have ever experienced.  I drank all 22 ounces, trying to squeak out some appreciation of the slightly chocolate malt taste, but it just didn’t cut it.  I like Dale Bros. overall; they make some fine beers.  This isn’t one of them.  A very thin and watery 78 on The Morris Scale.

Graycliff Profesionale, Pirate (6.0″ x 52)

Those very nice folks at CigarsDirect.com apparently signed up BeerBikesButts for a complementary subscription to their Cigar of the Month Club, which turned out to be the same selection as the one I received from Cigar.com’s COTMC for April.  I know Cigars International and Cigar.com are the same company, but as far as I can tell CigarsDirect is not affiliated.  Rather, I think they must use the same wholesaler for their COTM clubs.

In any event, one of the cigars in the package was the Graycliff Profesionale, torpedo (along with a CAO Brazilia, La Gloria Cubana, Cuba Libre and Joya de Nicaragua Fuerte).  The Profesionale Series, also known as the Blue Label, received a 92 rating from Cigar Aficionado.  It consists of an extra-fermented Indonesian wrapper with a complex mixture of vintage, long-leaf tobaccos from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

I was not as impressed as Cigar Aficionado.  The cigar unraveled slightly even with a careful guillotine cut.  The construction was otherwise good and the burn very good, but the taste was not very complex.  I picked up only mild tastes of pepper and cedar.  The intensity was on the light to medium end of the spectrum.  The smoke was very smooth and enjoyable, and this would be a great go-to cigar when you are in the mood for something light, or if you want a cigar that won’t compete with your meal or port.  The problem is, it’s a bit too expensive for my tastes as a go-to cigar, coming in at almost $400 for a box of 25.  I’ll give this stick an 89 for its smoothness, but only an 85 for the overall experience.  If you want to rate it yourself, CigarsDirect has it here.  As always, use code BBB for a 10% discount.

Partagas Black Label Pronto (4 3/16″ x 36)

The impulsive purchase in question was a box of Partagas Black Label Prontos.  You need to understand that I don’t buy boxes of cigars.  There are just too many great cigars out there (and sitting in my humidors) for me to commit to an entire box of anything, no matter how much I might like it.  

But the demonic laugh sang from my computer, signaling the hourly deal from CigarMonster.com.  (I really need to sign them up as an advertiser if I’m going to keep pimping for them.)  It was a box of 25 small Partagas cigars for $49.99.

“No, you don’t need more cigars damn it,” I said to myself (I should probably talk to someone about these conversations.)

“But it would be nice to have some small cigars, for the many times I can’t commit to a two hour smoke.”

“No, it’s 50 bucks, man.”

“But that’s only $2 a stick.”

“Paypal or credit card?”

Famous Smoke Shop (the bastards behind CigarMonster.com) claims these are made exclusively for them, which I will take as true.  The small sticks are made from Nicaraguan and Piloto Cubano Ligero tobaccos capped in a black, and one of the oiliest Habano wrappers, I have seen, but I say that in a good way.  I didn’t allow this to mellow in my humidor, smoking it the day after the box arrived, and for that reason I think it was a little too moist.  For that reason, the burn was a little ragged at first, and I had to relight a few times, but setting these minor issues aside, this was an amazing smoke.  I never would have anticipated the rich, spicy taste and copious smoke from such a small contender.  Equally surprising, despite my intention to use these as quick smokes, it took about 35 minutes to finish this cigar.

I’ll give the Partagas Black Label Pronto a 91 on The Morris Scale.  Put a few in your travel humidor for those times when you can’t commit to a Churchill.

Spezial Pilsner by Einhorn Beer Company

The Einhorn Beer Company claims to be a California Central Coast transplant of a German beer company.  If you examine the label on the beer, there is nothing to indicate this is a domestic beer (and notice the Spezial spelling).  The company wants you to think this is a German beer, and proudly proclaims that all of their beers are brewed according to the German Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) which was established in 1516.  That’s a bizarre claim to make, when you think about it, because I can just imagine what constituted purity in the 1500s.

But ignoring the hype, the Spezial Pilsner is a North German style, where pilsners are traditionally more bitter than in the rest of the country.  It is a full-bodied, golden-colored craft beer and has only 5% ABV.   It contains high-quality aroma hops from the Tettnang region in Germany, a small town near Lake Constance on the Austrian border.

The beer certainly pours like a German beer, with a huge foam head.  The nose was citrus, and the mouthfeel was thicker than you would expect from a pilsner.  The taste was grapefruit and very refreshing.  Great beer.  I give it another 91.

Let’s keep things in perspective.  I mean, seriously, when Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to the camera after winning Super Bowl XLIII and said, “I’m going to Disney World!”, did anyone think that was an endorsement of the amusement park?  Of course not.  We all knew he was just showing a little love for the fine organization that had given him a very large stack of cash.

So, for example, if an outstanding cigar retailer like CigarsDirect.com gets really generous and sends me a free box of ten God of Fire cigars, by Carlito, aged two years and released only in limited numbers, you can bet I’m going to show them a little love.  It’s not going to “buy” a favorable review, but it would certainly be fair and appropriate to tell my readers that while I have not yet had the honor of ordering from CigarsDirect.com because all my humidors are already overflowing, from what I have seen CigarsDirect.com stocks some hard to find cigars at good prices, and they may want to visit the website and form their own opinions.  Heck, I’ll even show you some love if you too send me a box of good cigars, suggesting that my readers should check out your website the next time they need the services of a trade commission.

I hope this has made my position perfectly clear.  Now onto tonight’s reviews.

God of Fire Churchill by Carlito

God of Fire is one of the most limited production lines made by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic.  It came about as a joint effort between the Fuentes and the Prometheus company, which makes cigar accessories.  The God of Fire cigars come in two blends, one designed by Carlos Fuente Jr. (“Carlito”) and the other by his father, Carlos Sr.  Carlos Sr.’s blend of the 2005 vintage, in the robusto size, received a rating of 93 by Cigar Aficionado. The God of Fire Churchill I am reviewing is the 2006 vintage, released in 2009 after more than two years of aging.

The cigar is the type that smells great even before you light it up, with a sweet caramel aroma.  The construction is impressive, and revealed no soft spots.  The burn was perfectly even with a long ash, yielding copious amounts of smoke.  The stick started a little slow in taste, but soon released a strong, complex blend of pepper and coffee.

For some reason this stick draws criticism from some quarters, claiming it is over-hyped., but I throughly enjoyed the God of Fire Carlito.  With that said, at $22 each, you’d better be sure you share my opinion before you commit to a box.  A strong 92 on The Morris Scale.

Hoegaarden White Beer

Named after the Belgian village where it was first discovered, Hoegaarden wheat beer has a rich history dating back to the middle ages.  It is the original Belgian wheat beer and part of a long brewing tradition in this agriculturally rich region.  Blended with malted barley, wheat, coriander and curaçao orange peel Hoegaarden has a distinctive, smooth flavour and subtle citrusy character.  When poured it has a soft, white creamy head and pale almost shimmering appearance. Today the Hoegaarden brewery is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.  (Thanks to Wikipedia for the background.)

It pours with a thick head, and the beer itself is very pale and cloudy.  The nose is citrus, but the taste consists of bananas and grapefruit.  I’m not sure how this ended up in the ol’ beer fridge, and I selected it with no preconceived notions, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  This is a refreshing beer with excellent drinkability.

I picked this one at random, not even noticing it was a light beer.  It’s a great concept, giving you the option of a light amber beer when you want to save a few calories (just 92.5 calories).  And the taste did not disappoint.  It pours dark, with a nice foam head and creamy mouth feel.  The taste was rich and citrus, not too sweet, with a nice finish.  The Dixie Brewing company is located in New Orleans, as you might have guessed, so pick up a six pack and write it off as a donation to the Katrina fund.  I liked this beer.  An 89 on The Morris Scale.  (Since wines, beers and cigars are traditionally ranked on a scale of 1 to 100, my ten point scale was causing problems.  “I give this a 9.5.”  “Wow, it must really suck!”  So I’m selling out to convention.)

G.A.R. Robusto (5.0” x 50)

I love Nicaraguan tobacco.  The G.A.R. by George A. Rico (oh, I get it) contains a blend of Nicaraguan long leave tobaccos and a Corojo wrapper.  Perfect construction and burn.  The stick was very spicy, to the point that I could feel the spices on my lips.  The taste was complex and strong throughout.  Not a truly great cigar, but a very good, enjoyable cigar.  An 87 on The Morris Scale.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet, Magnum (6.0″ x 50)

I went to my humidor with no particular stick or style in mind, but was drawn to the A.J. Fernandez Sol Cubano, primarily due to the look of it.  It’s a beefy stick, dark and oily, with a metallic band that practically glows.  A punch turned out to be the perfect cutting tool, leaving a nice opening with no stragglers due to the triple cap.

The cigar is constructed with Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos, wrapped in an oily wrapper grown in Ecuador, yielding a complex, medium to full-body taste of pepper, spice and a hint of chocolate.  The burn was perfect, with no relights.  My initial thought was that I would be characterizing this cigar as a fine, everyday cigar, perfect for the golf course where it would provide little distraction, but it grew more and more complex as I smoked it.  The Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet deserves your attention so it can be properly savored.  A great smoke, rating it a 9.1, and a real bargain at less than $5 a stick.

Tire Bite Golden Ale

The Flying Dog Brewery in Denver Colorado is fast becoming one of my favorite breweries.  Its In Heat Wheat took the honors against seven other contenders in our recent hefeweizen shoot-out, and tonight its Tire Bite Golden Ale was a great surprise.

Tire Bite Golden Ale is brewed as a Kölsch-style beer.  Technically, Kölsch is a German beer specialty, brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw-yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German lager beer, Pilsner.  Kölsch beers are top-fermented at a relatively warm temperature (55 to 70°F) and then cold-conditioned, or lagered. This manner of fermentation links Kölsch with some other beer styles of central northern Europe, such as the Altbiers of northern Germany and the Netherlands.  (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Kölsch beers are meant to be crisp and light, with a slight hop edge.  That may be why they sometimes lack respect because they are not particularly complex.  Instead, drinking a Tire Bite Golden Ale is akin to biting into a green apple, with a crisp, dry not sweet presentation.  Reviewing this beer as a true Kölsch, it fares very well, with a deserved 8.7 on The Morris Scale.  The beer has tremendous drinkability.  The next time you think you are in the mood for something like a Coors light to pair up with burgers or hot dogs, reach for one of these instead.

P.S.  I bid a very sad farewell to Paul Chappron, a friend of some 30 years.  He lived his life serving his country, first in the military and then for 20 years as a police officer in Tucson, Arizona.  His big, loving heart gave out on him at way too young an age.  You will be missed brother.