Two Brothers Atom Smasher

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 6-Pack from Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Oktoberfest/Märzen, 7.7%

I've already talked up the Two Brothers Brewing Company. And yes, I agree...they could probably benefit from a website overhaul. Two Brothers Brewing hail from Warrenville, Illinois, a town not too far from Chicago. Two Brothers are one of the rising craft breweries in Illinois, filling a much needed void now that Goose Island has been purchased by the big guys.

Today's beer is part of Two Brother's J Series. The 2011 version of this beer is not currently on their website (surprise, surprise), so I'll tell you what I know. According to Two Brother's website, the J Series is "A fusion of updated styles and techniques with old brewing traditions." Basically, Two Brothers takes traditional styles of beer and ages them in French oak foudres (casks). They age their J Series beer for a minimum of 4 weeks in the oak casks. How does aging a beer in oak change the beer? It adds vanilla notes, woody notes, and other complex and subtle flavors that would otherwise be impossible to achieve without the use of casks.

Already we have a good idea what to expect here. An oak-aged Oktoberfest/Märzen. But what is an Oktoberfest/Märzen? (From now on I'm referring to Oktoberfest/Märzen as "O/M," just so you know). "Märzen" means March in German. This is a style of beer that is an adaptation of the Vienna style. Traditionally, Märzen beers were brewed in the spring and then stored in cold caves or cellars to preserve the beer during the warm summer months (no electricity...no fridgerators). The beer was then served as an Oktoberfestbier during Oktoberfest. This is a lager style of beer, usually darker in color, with more malt than hops. The BJCP says O/M should be around 4.8-5.7% ABV. Ratebeer states that traditional Märzen were between 5.5-6% ABV. Today's beer clocks in at 7.7% ABV, so it is on the high side of what you would expect for the style. But it is oak aged for at least an additional 4 weeks. Let's see if the oak aging stacks in favor of this beer.

This is an Autumn looking beer if there ever was one. This beer pours with a nice 2-finger, off-white head. The head has medium-thick, slightly soapy bubbles, and it is tinted slightly orange. The body of this beer is a hazy red-orange-copper color in low light. Under direct bright light, this beer has a nice "sunset effect" with hints of gold, yellow, and orange. There is low carbonation.

This beer is super aromatic. You really smell lots of oak and vanilla right out the gate. I'm also smelling alcohol, nuts, ham, hot dogs, ketchup, pork, berries, and some doughy and bready notes. This has a really interesting nose for sure.

Two Brothers Atom Smasher

As far as taste: I am a little bit surprised at the sharpness of the alcohol in this. It is almost slightly astringent. But at 7.7% ABV and being that this is a fall beer, I won't complain. When fall rolls in, I want a beer to warm me up. I'm getting huge oak notes, woody notes, tobacco notes, and lots of vanilla. There is this pork note as well: ham, hotdogs, and ketchup. I'm also getting lots of nuttiness, and sweet malts. There is some caramel in here for good measure. There may be some bread/toast on the back end as well. I'm still wrapping my palate around this slightly astringent note: is it the alcohol? Is it the sharpness of the dry fnish? It is hard to tell.

This is a light-medium beer that is highly drinkable despite the big ABV. At 22.6 IBUs this beer has enough bite to be entertaining to my palate, but not enough bite to ward off people who hate hops. Despite being such a light beer, this is a complex beer. This has huge complexity, and moderate depth. There isn't a ton of carbonation, which is kind of nice. The front end is smooth, boozy, and full of oak, vanilla and ham. The middle rolls into sweet malts with more oak. The back end has a slightly astringent bite - maybe from the booze - and finishes slightly drying with some hints of toast or bread. The back end is pretty vicious, actually pulling on my throat a bit. I kind of like it.

Rating: Above-Average
Score: 81%

First off, in order to enjoy this beer we need to acknowledge that this is not a standard Oktoberfest/Märzen. This has been aged in an oak cask for great effect. 

Second...I need to confess that I am a victim to subjectivity and variability. When I first had this beer a couple weeks ago I was not overly impressed. I'm glad I waited a little bit to sleep on this. This is a really complex and interesting take on the O/M style of beer. This probably isn't going to be a beer for everyone: the vanilla, oak, and ham notes are big on this one. This is also surprisingly boozy (although the bottle warns you in advance, 7.7% ABV). Finally, there is a slightly astringent component. It doesn't ruin the beer for me, but it is noticeable. I almost wonder if the astringent note will settle down if this beer ages/mellows out for a few months.

I will likely buy this beer again, and I will definitely pursue more offerings from Two Brothers Brewing's J Series. This is a beer that would pair well with sausage, bratwurst, potatoes, sauerkraut or many other German foods. This also works well as a stand alone beer to drink during the Oktoberfest season. I recommend checking it out if you like oak-aged beers. Cheers!

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Brewed By: Brauerei Aying in Aying, Germany

Purchased: Single 11.2oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Doppelbock, 6.7%

 

Do I love Ayinger or what? Ayinger is a German brewery that has been around since 1877 and is located a couple miles away from Munich. Their website can be found here. I'm a big fan of the Ayinger Bräu-Weisse Hefeweizen, but today I am drinking their Doppelbock.

Doppelbock means "double Bock." Bocks are a strong lager that originate from Germany, primarily consumed during the spring months to celebrate the end of winter. Bock means "billy-goat" in German, and there are several theories as to why this style of beer is named as such. I won't go into all those theories, but if you see artwork that portrays goats on Bock beers, you now know why. Of course this is a "double" Bock, so it is going to be slightly stronger than a standard Bock. Doppelbocks are known to be quite malty and to be decently potent in terms of ABV. Ayinger's Celebrator is one of the top rated Doppelbocks, so bottoms up.

 

The pour yields a dark beer with a nice 2-finger tan/brown head. The head is surprisingly thick and has good density to it. The head is receding fairly quickly, and I have to image that the 6.7% ABV is the contributing factor there. This is a big ABV beer, especially considering the style and ingredients. The body of this beer looks deceptively darker in low light, but it is actually a very dark purple-brown-red color. Hints of red, brown, and purple escape off the sides of my glass when the beer is held up to light. You can actually kind of see into the center of this beer; the beer is reacting favorably to the nucleation site on my glass.

Beer and Twizzlers...a match made in heaven

I love dark malty beers. This beer has all sorts of cool phenols and aromas, but let me talk about the big one. I am getting huge Twizzler notes from the aroma of this beer. That's right...Twizzler. This beer smells a lot like Twizzler candy. There is also some burnt toast and some caramel; lots of dark fruits like figs, prunes and even plums. There are aromas similar to molasses; and pulls towards fruit cake. I'm picking up a steamed vegetable note as well.

 

This is really complex based on my first taste. I want my beer to warm up, so let me put some thoughts on the complexity of this beer out there. This is a very carbonated beer, right up front you get good carbonation. The beer smooths out big time, and really reaches nice depths on your palate. The back end finishes off with toasted notes, and even a slight smoked quality. There is some warming and some booze. At 6.7% you would expect it. But the alcohol really mellows out when held against the dark fruit notes and big malts. 

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

There is a lot of caramel, sweet malts, and molasses in this beer. All of these flavors are enhanced by a silky smokey quality. There are definite pulls towards things like fruit cake, figs and raisins, and other dark fruits as well. You do taste the alcohol a bit as well. And Twizzlers! Again, I am getting manifestations of Twizzlers in the flavor profile of this beer. It's not a bad thing because I love Twizzlers, so there you go.

The front end is carbonated and sweet: you get some malts and some dark fruits. The middle rolls into more dark fruits and some smokiness. The back is toasty, bread-like, smokey, boozy, warming, and quite nice. This is a complex beer with moderate to deep depth on the palate. This is a medium-full beer that is surprisingly drinkable (...and low-calories: apparently 150ish for a bottle? Not sure I believe that.) despite its big flavor profile and ABV.

 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 96% 

 

I love this beer. This is a brilliantly executed beer. This is also top-shelf stuff as far as Doppelbocks are concerned. But this isn't just a great Doppelbock; this is a great "any style" beer. I'm really enjoying the back-end of this beer. This beer has a nice warming effect and you can feel the alcohol. This is truly a beer meant to be consumed on a cold spring day when it feels more like winter outside than spring.

 

In summary, here is why this beer kicks ass: it's not too expensive, it pours beautifully. It smells really aromatic and complex, and it tastes complex. There are some great dark fruit and dark malt flavors being bounced around in here. All these great flavors do not come at the expense of drinkability - this is a highly drinkable beer - and yet this beer is still complex and has great depth on the palate.

 

Oh and because of Twizzlers. That's why. So don't hesitate to pick this beer up.

Westmalle Tripel

Brewed By: Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle in Malle, Belgium

Purchased: Single 11.2oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Tripel, 9.5%

My life....fuuuuuucccccckk. I've been down and out with a cold for the past week and a half. I've been coughing up thick chunks of yellow shit, and forget trying to smell anything. Welcome to fall in the Midwest. This is just late September; wait til Swine Flue October, sneezing November, dry cough December, and if you haven't killed yourself or moved; stuffy January through March. And then there is allergy season! Yay.

I half-joke. The Midwest is great, just don't breathe the air. I have been using the past week and a half to recover and take a break from beer. If I can't enjoy it, why drink it? Plus, it gives my liver a chance to catch its breath. And too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Take a break from beer for a week: the next beer you drink is that much better.

So like a metaphor for absolution, I've decided to crack open a Trappist ale. My last Trappist ale was Orval, and it was good. In case you are wondering what a Trappist ale is: it is a beer brewed by monks in a monastery. There are currently seven monasteries brewing beer, including the breweries Brasserie d'Orval and Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle.  

Today's beer comes from the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle. According to their website, the monastery has been around for a little over 200 years (1974) and became a Trappist abbey on April 22, 1836. According to Wikipedia, Westmalle is credited with making the first Dubbel and the first Tripel. 

This is not just the first Tripel: this is the beer that set the standard and became highly copied. What we have here today is a very historical, unique and important beer. And a monster of a style, clocking in at a serious 9.5% ABV. I'm torn on whether or not to pour this into a Tripel-friendly tulip, or into a Trappist glass. 

I did end up going with the Trappist glass....it seemed wrong to not pour a Trappist beer into a non-Trappist glass. Especially since I have one on hand. This is a beautiful beer, and it is evident that there is a lot of yeast in the bottle. There is actually some sediment floating around in my glass - I don't mind it - but perhaps I should have poured more cautiously. Anyway, this beer is a gorgeous pale yellow-orange, straw color. There are hints of orange coming from the beer when held in certain lights. There is a mammoth of a 4-finger head on top of this beer: the head is super thick, foamy, has tons of bubbles, and is slightly off-white with hints of orange. There is lacing on the side of my glass already. The head is on-par with Orval, and about just as thick. This beer is quite effervescent.

Westmalle Tripel

The aroma on this is super malty and yeasty and the hops seem slightly faded. This bottle right here is very close to its expiration date. I have a couple of questions about that. At 9.5% ABV, I figured you could age this beer forever. In fact, I've read online about people drinking 25 year old bottles of Westmalle Tripel at the brewery. At any rate, the nose is hugely malty, and smells funky and yeasty. I'm also getting big waves of orange zest, some unripe banana, band-aids, and lots of clove. 

How does it taste? Wow. This beer really levels out your palate. Maybe it is because I have not had a beer in a while, but this beer tastes as big as its 9.5% ABV but it doesn't taste of alcohol. I'm getting blasted with huge clove and pepper flavors: tons of warm spice notes. This is super creamy and effervescent, but still huge. I'm picking up some dried oranges, orange zest, unripe bananas, band-aids, and a powdery quality. 

This is not overly spicy or overly hot. A lot of Tripels bring the spices or bring the heat: this is remarkably smooth and soft. But this beer is still huge. This is a full-bodied beer, with medium complexity but huge depth. This beer extends deep and really blasts your palate. The front end is carbonated and smooth with hints of orange, clove, and even some booze. The middle rolls into yeast and malt, with more orange. The back end finishes with a clear pale malt note and a slightly powdery and dry finish. At 9.5% this is stupid drinkable, but at 9.5% this isn't something you want to session.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 84%

This is a ridonkulously good Tripel. It has a huge mouthfeel, hides the heat well, and pairs well with the smoked provolone I have here (which I refrained from eating until scoring the beer). There are big punchy clove notes, some warm spices that compliment the big ABV, and some oranges and banana.

I'd like to get a few more bottles of this for the future: I wonder how a very fresh bottle and a properly aged one would hold up. I will likely do future reviews of this, because as with many of the Trappist beers: there is great variability with respect to aging.

Until then, I found this to be an Above-Average Tripels, and definitely a beer you want to check out. Single bottles of this were going for around 4 or 5 bucks this summer. That's a good deal.