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KOMMENTER BEER BARREL: AVERY WHITE RASCAL

Cuntler

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This week, let’s discuss an old Colorado standby from Boulder.  Away we go to the land of STRONG BEER TAEKS.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6096/6224543118_95d3b59e04.jpg

NAME: Avery White Rascal

SOURCE: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, Colorado; and apparently a bunch of trust fund kids because Boulder.

TYPE: Belgian-Style White Ale

REVIEW:  This is probably my wife’s favorite beer, so it is always in our beer fridge.  Also, she doesn’t drink beer very often and prefers wine, so I end up drinking 95% of it.  I had a few of these last night while I watched about 45 minutes of the NBA Finals.*  White (no offense) Rascal is an easy drinking Belgian-style witbier.  It’s pretty light and citrusy, has overtones of fruit (banana and orange peel), and a touch of coriander. While I prefer IPAs, this beer is a solid, if not spectacular, wheat beer.  Basically, it is what Blue Moon would taste like if you filtered out that trademark MillerCoors ass taste. The ABV is 5.6%, so it is in no way overpowering. The excited tone of this post was inspired by Joe Flacco.

*Alternative title:  “Free throws, commercials, and hyperbole.”

GRADE:  B

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Old School Zero

Fine. You fuckers win. At my local bottle shop, tonight I picked up one each of:
-Epic Brewing Wit Beer
-Green Flash Mosaic IPA (100% mosaic)
-Cascade Lakes Mosaic IPA
-Dogfish Head 90 minute
-And an Anchor California Lager, because I needed balance

I will report back on my thoughts as I gradually work through them.

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Cuntler

I got funkwerks raspberry sour, the ballast point porter, and quandary from river north.

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ballsofsteelandfury

Has anyone tried a dunkel weizen?

I like hefes, but I prefer dunkels. Then again, I have a sweet tooth, so…

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Cuntler

Yup. New Belgium (makers of Fat TIre) has a really good series of experimental beers called “Lips of Faith” and they made a Dunkleweiss a few years back that was tasty (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/new-belgium-lips-of-faith–dunkelweiss/96675/) Also, Hacker-Pschorr Dunkle Weisse is decent and is available everywhere, but I think it is pricey (I haven’t had it awhile).

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jerbear50

Dunkels are good. Little more flavor to them than just a regular Hef. Franziskaner and Erdinger both make nice Dunkelweizens. I’d also strongly recommend Weizenbocks (or Weissbock depending on the brewery), particularly if you can find Weihenstephaner Vitus. It only comes in pint bottles as far as I know, but it’s easily in my top ten overall.

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Old School Zero

I was a fan of Blue Moon back when I was in a small Iowa town where the choices involved 90% American macros, and then Leine’s taps and Boulevard Wheat (which was also good). Then I found Hoegaarden before it was bought up by the bigs. I have not tried Allegash or Shock Top. I should definitely try out more micro Belgian whites, but damned if I’m not surrounded by too much good beer right now to really make it a priority.

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Cuntler

Do not try Shock Top. Much worse than Blue Moon.

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Old School Zero

Yeah, it’s not on my list. I’m open to trying some Allegash brews, but we don’t get a lot of it out here. If I’m being honest (and snobby [same diff,, imo]), a good Belgian white can be really tasty, but the other Belgian styles are usually even better. A strong Belgian dark? Yes please. Belgian blonde? Oh hell yes.

Plus, the Occidental Hefe we have around here is so damn good and cheap, there’s no reason to want something similar.

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Cuntler

Yeah, Portland isn’t really short on beer options. I like Belgian Sours the best, for what it is worth (I like my beer like my takes: strong and bitter or sour). Jester King in Austin has this shit called Cerveza de Tempranillo (very Belgian name, I know) that is one of the best beers I’ve had in that style, and their brewery is outside of town on an old ranch and is one of the coolest breweries I’ve ever visited. And Crooked Stave in Denver has a bunch of brett-infused craziness that is amazing, but expensive.

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jerbear50

If you can find Cigar City’s Florida Cracker, it’s a really nice Wit. Just about everything from them is pretty good though.

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Cuntler

Yup. The Jai Alai is excellent.

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jerbear50

I’m not an IPA fan but everyone raves about Jai Alai down here. At one point when they first got out of state distribution, they supposedly had to cut back their distribution range because they couldn’t keep up with demand.

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Cuntler

It is delicious. Easily one of the best I’ve had.

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jerbear50

They’re a fantastic brewery. Maduro is probably my favorite brown ale, and they’ve got a couple semi-annual releases that they put out that I will actively seek out. I’ll go sit at a bar I don’t particularly want to be at just for a couple pints of their Cafe Con Leche Stout or Espresso Aged Brown Ale when someone happens to have them.

I really regret not getting to try 3 Floyds before I moved away from the Region. Have you had any of their brews?

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Cuntler

No. That’s in Munster right? My folks moved to New Mexico so I don’t make it back much. I heard that place is good and will have to try it when I get back this summer.

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jerbear50

Yeah, it’s in Munster. I grew up around Hammond mostly. I have family up there but I still choose to make it back as rarely as possible. That whole fucking area is just depressing.

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Cuntler

I remember driving through the area to go back and forth to undergrad. Gary/East Chicago has quite the smell, doesn’t it?

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jerbear50

Driving through (without stopping) to get somewhere else is far and away the best way to experience the area. Also the most beneficial for your life expectancy.

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ballsofsteelandfury

Trust fund kids from Boulder, eh? No wonder they called it White Rascal!

No offense.

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sunrisensunrise

My favorite thing about my wife’s beer choices is the fact that she will never drink what I like. Therefore, more for me.

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makeitsnowondem

This is one of my girlfriend’s favorites too. They call it a Belgian wit, and I’m not exactly going to disagree, but to me it always kind of comes off like a wit/hefeweizen hybrid with a fair bit of that banana flavor. Which, hey, that’s cool, and definitely seems to be in her wheelhouse, as she’s also a big fan of Karbach’s actual wit/hefeweizen hybrid, Weisse Versa.

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Cuntler

I’ve always thought that white ales are supposed to be more hoppy, but I guess there are some distinctions in the malt used as well. This article touches on it and gets way too in depth for me, since I can’t tell that much of a difference. http://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/351/

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sunrisensunrise

I thought the difference was just the “Belgian-Style” is less hoppy than a straight White ale.

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Cuntler

“Belgian White” to me has always been basically a hefeweizen with more fruit and spice, and I think they are brewed the same way (unfiltered, top fermented, low hops) except the wits use orange peel, coriander and other spices/fruits.

I always thought they were both low in hops, but then there are White IPAs like Chainbreaker now, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

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makeitsnowondem

Quick wheat beer cheat sheet:

Witbier/Belgian white: Belgian. Low hops. Coriander and orange peel added. Generally dry and a bit tart. Blanche de Bruxelles, Allagash White, Hitachino Nest White Ale (Japan!).

Hefeweizen: German. Low hops. Nothing added. Banana, clove, and bubblegum flavors from traditionally hefeweizen yeast strain. Weienstephaner Hefeweizen, Ayinger Bräu Weisse, Schneider Weisse.

White IPA: American. Usually derived from witbier. High hops. Wide range of spices may be added. Hoppy, citrusy (!!!). Deschutes Chainbreaker, Boulevard Reboot, Sam Adams Whitewater.

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