So, here it is 8:45 pm and I'm just sitting down to have my first sip of beer. Its Friday night so waiting this long for my first beer was not easy. It was definitely made easier by spending it with my girls doing what the do best - SHOP ( he said with a huge sigh ). Yes, we had fun; dinner at Chik-chik-filet (as my girls call it); a little grocery shopping; a little Ikea shopping; and capped it off with a little Toys-R-Us shopping. Boy did T-R-Us go down hill. That used to be the mecca of all toy stores. I"m sure my girls still think it is the bomb. But it looks rather like a bomb went of in it! UGH.
So, here I sit, resting with a new brew in front of me. I opted for a 'big boy' bottle 1 pint 6 fluid ounces as I felt I deserved it for the wonderful bit of shopping I've done. This was a "special" I bought just before Christmas over at the Water Front. My lovely wife and I had a nice quiet lunch at the bar and had some fine beverages from the bar. Rock Bottom is a chain brewery found through out the United States. If I'm not mistaken they all serve similar style brews but with their own brew masters comes there own touches. I think the first Rock Bottom I ever visited was in possibly Colorado Spring some 8-9 years ago. I've been to a Rock Bottom that was in King of Prussia (not sure if it is still there or not). I haven't been to Rock Bottom in Pittsburgh for sometime so I was pleasantly surprised with their beers this time around. I found this blurb on wikipedia about this style of beer - Marzen:
"The original Märzen was described as "dark brown, full-bodied". As intended, the beer was often kept in the cellar until late in the summer, and remaining bottles were served at the Oktoberfest. In order to last so long, either the original gravity and alcohol were increased or the hopping was strengthened"
Throwing down a bit of history for you. I've always favored Octoberfest's and the beers that come with them. But I will tell you that to me the styles of brews that are meant to be drank at a certain time of year really should be drank during that time of year. This beer is crisp; full-bodied; and malty like I like them. This tastes like beer should taste. It has no hints of flowers or roses or cardamom or strawberries. I taste a small bit of sweet caramel taste coming from the malt. The noble hops (I'm guessing since I couldn't find the notes on this particular beer on line), typical to this style, show a low but nice presence in the beer. They are present enough to balance the malty sweetness perfectly. The color was an amber brown before I decided to mix the bottom of the bottom and pour out the Bottle Conditioned yeast that floats at the bottom. I currently sit with a muddy swill of brew that has living yeast floating around and it puts a huge smile on my face. I am sure there is a Yeast Activist Group out there that would speak out against the use of trapping happy little yeasts in a tiny little bottle but to me - this is where they are happiest. Its like their own little vat. If I were a cell yeast, I would happily throw myself into the bottle a sacrifice to all the beer gods out there.
Wow, I just thought of something, I started talking about beers that are meant to be drank specific times of the years and got side tracked. Sorry about that; my point, this beer is awesome, fantastic, excellent even; but it is the wrong time of year for this beer. It is crisp, clear (well was before the bottle conditioned yeast), and malty - the time to drink this beer is in October, not January. Oh, I'll drink it... and I'm happy, but honestly, it leaves my mind and bottle confused as the snow is starting to fall and I'm thinking the the final leaves should really be the ones finding the ground. As the bottle states "an uncrompromised natural ale" this beer lives true. If you happen to venture by and they still have any left please do grab one and enjoy.
Until tomorrow; have a great Friday night!
So, here I sit, resting with a new brew in front of me. I opted for a 'big boy' bottle 1 pint 6 fluid ounces as I felt I deserved it for the wonderful bit of shopping I've done. This was a "special" I bought just before Christmas over at the Water Front. My lovely wife and I had a nice quiet lunch at the bar and had some fine beverages from the bar. Rock Bottom is a chain brewery found through out the United States. If I'm not mistaken they all serve similar style brews but with their own brew masters comes there own touches. I think the first Rock Bottom I ever visited was in possibly Colorado Spring some 8-9 years ago. I've been to a Rock Bottom that was in King of Prussia (not sure if it is still there or not). I haven't been to Rock Bottom in Pittsburgh for sometime so I was pleasantly surprised with their beers this time around. I found this blurb on wikipedia about this style of beer - Marzen:
"The original Märzen was described as "dark brown, full-bodied". As intended, the beer was often kept in the cellar until late in the summer, and remaining bottles were served at the Oktoberfest. In order to last so long, either the original gravity and alcohol were increased or the hopping was strengthened"
Throwing down a bit of history for you. I've always favored Octoberfest's and the beers that come with them. But I will tell you that to me the styles of brews that are meant to be drank at a certain time of year really should be drank during that time of year. This beer is crisp; full-bodied; and malty like I like them. This tastes like beer should taste. It has no hints of flowers or roses or cardamom or strawberries. I taste a small bit of sweet caramel taste coming from the malt. The noble hops (I'm guessing since I couldn't find the notes on this particular beer on line), typical to this style, show a low but nice presence in the beer. They are present enough to balance the malty sweetness perfectly. The color was an amber brown before I decided to mix the bottom of the bottom and pour out the Bottle Conditioned yeast that floats at the bottom. I currently sit with a muddy swill of brew that has living yeast floating around and it puts a huge smile on my face. I am sure there is a Yeast Activist Group out there that would speak out against the use of trapping happy little yeasts in a tiny little bottle but to me - this is where they are happiest. Its like their own little vat. If I were a cell yeast, I would happily throw myself into the bottle a sacrifice to all the beer gods out there.
Wow, I just thought of something, I started talking about beers that are meant to be drank specific times of the years and got side tracked. Sorry about that; my point, this beer is awesome, fantastic, excellent even; but it is the wrong time of year for this beer. It is crisp, clear (well was before the bottle conditioned yeast), and malty - the time to drink this beer is in October, not January. Oh, I'll drink it... and I'm happy, but honestly, it leaves my mind and bottle confused as the snow is starting to fall and I'm thinking the the final leaves should really be the ones finding the ground. As the bottle states "an uncrompromised natural ale" this beer lives true. If you happen to venture by and they still have any left please do grab one and enjoy.
Until tomorrow; have a great Friday night!
