Mongolian Dark Beer (XAP XOPYM)

The Mongolian mystery beer has been poured! Thanks to my friend Dan for hauling this little beauty back from a recent trip to Mongolia. He had it stuffed in a shoe and it survived unscathed. Now if only I could find some information about this beer! I know its a dark beer and I know its "the Mongolian premium beer" but the label tells me those things. Everything else remains a mystery for now.

Pours a dark auburn color that is clean and clear when held to up to the light. Based on the carbonation and the color I will go with this being a dark lager. Its also my guess that Mongolia is a lager drinking country. The head is about a finger in thickness and very rich. Not a bad looking beer.

Smells of dark malt, some apple or dark fruit along with a sweet buttery-ness. There is also some caramel notes and dark bread.

Tastes very much like dark German wheat bread! There are also some hints of sweet fruit. The taste is very refreshing as its definitely beer you can drink nice and cold and there is little to no aftertaste. A pretty basic dark lager but extremely easy to drink. Its the best Mongolian beer I've ever had!

BEER FACTS

Name: Xap Xopym Dark Beer

Style: Dark Lager

Brewery: XAP XOPYM

Location: Ulanbaatar, Mongolia

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: ?

ABV: 5.3%

IBUs: ?

Portsmouth Lager (Smuttynose Brewing Company)

I'm not sure if all the rumors are true, but if they are you won't be seeing this beer around for too much longer. I've been hearing that Smutty is doing away with their lager and will be replacing it with an abbey-style ale. Lagering is an expensive process and its likely that the cost plus the challenge of a local lager competing with the big boys might have limited the Portsmouth Lager's life. If you have any inside information on this please let me know, I don't like to contribute to the rumor mill.

From the Smuttynose site:

Named in honor of our hometown's 375th anniversary, Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager is a full-flavored, medium bodied continental-style beer - deep golden in color, featuring a mouth-pleasing maltiness subtly balanced with spicy imported Saaz hops. One taste of this fine lager tells you this is no ordinary beer: From its mellow, velvety body to its lingering, fresh hop finish, Portsmouth Lager is smooth, complex and satisfying.

Pours a nice, sparkling golden color that very much looks like a golden ale or an IPA. Its definitely not a light, pale lager. The head was thin from the beginning and there is a white ring left that clings tightly to the top of the glass. Lots of nice bubbles round out the pour.

Smell is sweet honey, a little wheat or grass, some yeast and that is about it. I don't expect a whole lot from the nose of a lager so I'm not surprised. 

Tastes very crisp with some honey sweetness. The after taste is a bit dry and a bit acidic but it goes well with the initial maltiness. The carbonation is spot on with this lager and it really makes it refreshing. I'm not a big lager person and I am definitely no expert on lagers but I really am enjoying this one. 

Its always sad to see a beer "retired" but such is the life of craft beers. With Smuttynose I'm sure whatever takes the place of their Portsmouth Lager will certainly be just as good.

BEER FACTS

Name: Portsmouth Lager

Style: Lager

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company

Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: Two-row US pale malt, carastan, special "B."

Hops: Czech Saaz

ABV: 4.5%

IBUs: 15

Maibock (Smuttynose Brewing Co.)

What the hell is a maibock? Is it a bock released in May? It must be German, right? Well, I admit I wasn't all that knowledgeable when it comes to this style of beer. 

The label tells me that,"Maibocks are a traditional Teutonic seasonal specialty. We brew ours to be hugely malty & subtly finished with a variety of continental hops, with an eye-pleasing russet brown color. Prosit!"

I need just a little more information about this style, so thankfully this isn't 1986 and I can just do a little browsing on the interweb and voila!, I am an expert. Thanks Wikipedia!

Maibock

"The maibock style is a pale version of a traditional bock. It is a fairly recent development compared to other styles of bock beers, frequently associated with springtime and the month of May. Alcohol content ranges from 6.3% to 7.4% by volume. The flavor is typically less malty than a traditional bock, and may be drier, hoppier, and more bitter, but still with a relatively low hop flavor, with a mild spicy or peppery quality from the hops or alcohol content. It is a clear lager, deep gold to light amber in color, with a large, creamy, persistent white head, and moderate to moderately high carbonation. There is some dispute as to whether the Helles ("pale") bock and the Mai ("May") bocks are the same style, but they are generally agreed to be the same."

This Maibock* is the most recent release of the Smuttynose BIG BEER SERIES. They all rock, so I am sure to be impressed.

It pours a darker version of golden. The head is fluffy white and soon forms a ring with some little islands of white in the middle. It looks slightly cloudy which leads me to believe it to be rich and flavorful. 

Smells of sweet fruit, malty, brown sugar and some yeastiness. I definitely smell cooked apples. It also has a faint smell of alcohol, this is a BIG BEER and comes in at close to 8%. 

Taste is nice and juicy sweet followed by some spiciness and bitterness. Not sure if the bitterness is hops or alcohol. The label tells me that this is "*a robust seasonal lager".  That is no lie. Score another great beer for Smuttynose. This is a smooth drinking but full-flavored strong seasonal beer. I am so glad we can get the BIG BEERS here in Maine!

BEER FACTS

Name: Maibock 

Style: Maibock

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company

Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: ?

ABV: 7.7%

IBUs: ?

The Smuttynose BIG BEER Series is:

Baltic Porter - mid-January 
Imperial Stout - mid-February
Maibock - early April
Big A IPA - early May 
Farmhouse Ale - early June
Wheat Wine mid-August
Barley Wine - early October
S'muttonator Double Bock - mid-November

Bock Beer (Lakefront Brewery)

Lakefront beers are new to Maine. I've just started seeing them on the shelves this month. I decided I'd give this one a shot since the Bock Beer is their spring release and spring technically begins this week.

Bocks are historically dark lagers and the name bock is a corruption of the traditional German brewing town name of Einbeck. According to an article I read recently, many breweries include images of goats on bottle labels, as bock means billy-goat in German. Lakefront's Bock is no exception.

This one pours dark but clear and clean. Its got a very thin head which is wispy and gone within about 30 seconds. It smells at first a bit like vanilla, followed by malty sweetness and marzipan.

This tastes very smooth. Its not overly carbonated and has a nice sweet taste that makes it flavorful enough that each concurrent sip is appealing. I admit, I am an ale fan first and a lager fan second, but dark lagers like this are a nice change up. I look forward to checking out the other beers from Lakefront, especially since they have to be a million times better than the other beers from Milwaukee we can get here in Maine!

BEER FACTS

Name: Bock Beer

Style: Bock

Brewery: Lakefront Brewery, Inc.

Location: Milwaukee, Wisonsin, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Munich

Hops: Hallertau

ABV: ?

IBUs: ?