Written by 1. juli holder Amager Bryghus: Amerikanerdag. Dagen hvor Amager Bryghus frigiver de forskellige øl, de i årets løb har brygget sammen med en række amerikanske bryggerier. I år har Amager Bryghus lanceret otte øl i samarbejde med Wicked Weed Brewing, Ei8th Ball Brewing Co., Hermit Thrush, Pipework Brewing Co., Against the Grain, Trillium Brewing Co., Bagby Beer Company og Barrier Brewing.
Der skal lyde en stor tak til Bestofbeers.dk for disse otte øl, som jeg fik udleveret et par dage efter frigivelsen.
Øllene er smagt over flere gange. Første smagte jeg på Sigtebroad og Going Old School, da jeg var med familien i sommerhus. Derefter smagte jeg på Mandarina Man, Bordello Bandits, Bees for my Honey og Piping Up for Peace i selskab med Peter. Til sidste smagte jeg på Minor Axident og The Mortician hjemme ved mine forældre.
Derfor får I også alle øllene på én gang i én anmeldelse.
Amager Bryghus & Trillium Brewing Co. – Sigtebroad
Øltype: India Pale Ale
Alkohol: 6,8% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Once Amager Bryghus and Trillium Brewing Co. had decided to do a beer together, some investigative brewer research started on both sides of the Atlantic. Trillium main man Jean Claude Tetreault (JC) came across the name of an old Danish type of bread called “Sigtebrød”, and we decided to aim for a beer with mostly the same ingredients as in this old style of bread. However, we wouldn’t be Amager if we didn’t dig a little deeper into the matter. It appears that the word “sigte” – in English “to aim” – can be taken back to the Viking era, where a “Sigtebrød” would be baked very hard as a substitute for a traditional longbow in areas where wood was scarce or even absent. After the victorious battle the Viking could then toast their bread bow on a traditional Anglo Saxon toaster. Illustrations of this bread bow have been found in several places in Ireland and Scotland, but not until recently did the confused archaeologists realize, what exactly was going on. Several hundred years later, Danish settlers in Minnesota brought the old Viking bread with them, and it soon gained widespread popularity. Also the bakery girls of blonde, Danish descent selling the bread, became popular to an extreme degree, and local Minnesotans soon nicknamed them “sigte broads” for their good looks. In some areas the baker even had to arm his sigte broads with a traditional Danish long knife to dishearten the most intrusive young, male bread costumers. All very weird, but indeed very true.
Forventningerne til Sigtebroad har været tårnhøje, ligesiden jeg en i marts-april måned fandt ud at Amager Bryghus havde brygget en NE IPA med amerikanske Trillium. Det bryggeri, der om nogen kan brygge NE IPA’er (hvad jeg har hørt), og som også startede trenden.
Sigtebroad er kun knap 1-2 uger gammel, da jeg smager på den.
Duft
Sigtebroad dufter af tropiske frugter; ananas, mango og passionfrugt. Den har dog også en skrap duft, som kun helt frisk humle kan dufte.
Smag
Sigtebroad har en god og fyldig mundfylde. Den smager lækkert at tropiske frugter, men bitterheden er meget fremtrædende, og bliver en anelse krads. Øllen har en kraftig krydret eftersmag.
Konklusion
Kraftig bitterhed for en new England IPA. Men samtidig også god sødme og fyldighed i mundfylden.
4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Bagby Beer Company – Going Old School
Øltype: India Pale Ale
Alkohol: 7,5% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 3 ud af 5 kapsler.
These days it appears that trends in the craft beer world come and go faster than ever before. Beer drinkers with a fresh Untappd account will claim to be experts in craft only two months after advocating to anybody, who’d care to listen, that PBR was the hottest thing since beer floats. And they WILL demand new stuff, will insist on the lazy and dried out brewers to get their act together. And so we do…. Let’s talk IPAs. We’ve had the red ones, the white ones and the black ones. And now we hardly remember those styles anymore. At the moment it’s all about the haze, that lovely juicy haze. It’s great, it’s amazing, it’s wonderful. And in spite of all the bitching above, it is truly inspiring to be challenged, to be kept sharp. But then again, sometimes it’s also such a relief to return to a beer that you really feel for, a beer that has dug its own cavity in your heart. To a true hophead’s brewery like Amager such a beer is a West Coast IPA – a style that was itself new and innovative quite some years ago. So juicy and hop forward, with hops that bite. And when Jeff Bagby came by our brewery for a collaboration, it was a no brainer that a West Coast IPA should be born. Jeff with a past at Stone and Pizza Port and a hand in some of the juiciest IPAs out of California. Bagby Beer Company and Amager share the love for those potent hop bombs, and we’re not even ashamed to admit it.
Duft
En duft af fyrrenåle, karamel, en sødmefuld duft.
Smag
Old School smag, kraftig bitterhed, perlende på tungen. En smag af fyr og harpiks, lidt af karamel og farin, lidt citrus.
Konklusion
En tør og kraftig smagende øl. Meget old school, kraftig maltet, men stadig med høj bitterhed.
3 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Pipeworks Brewing Co. – Piping Up For Peace
Øltype: Session IPA
Alkohol: 4,5% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 3 ud af 5 kapsler.
Hailing out of Little Village, Chicago, and with a strict Irish background, the MacDunnes had been patriots since the day the first family member set her foot on American soil. Male MacDunnes had been volunteering for every war they possibly could. So, the day that young Garret turned 18 it was both expected and with a natural pride that he enlisted to fight for his country in the Vietnam war as part of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. As a private he was hailed through some of the fiercest battles of the war: Khe Sanh, Hamburger Hill, the Tet Offensive you name it – Garret was there. Wounded several times but strictly alive unlike many of his fighting compadres. Actually, he’d lost so many that his battalion was nicknamed “The Walking Dead” due to their extreme casualty rate. When Garret returned to Chicago after three years in hell, he was utterly disillusioned and soon became a very outspoken voice against the war. He was a prominent member of the anti-war movement, and taking up music he was famous for his long concerts for peace played on a mobile organ with a distinct Ray Manzarek inspiration. Part of his fame could clearly be attributed to the strange fact that he would always perform without pants, due to a severe skin rash he brought home from the war. This collaboration beer made with one of Chicago’s finest craft breweries is named in honor of this true American patriot and peace activist.
Piping Up For Peace, er den første øl Peter og jeg knapper op, en tirsdag eftermiddag kl. 14. Vi når at smage på fire Amagerkanske øl, og en enkelte fra Mikkeller San Diego, som en den grad var en helt fantastisk øl.
Duft
Piping Up For Peace har en frisk duft af Mosaic-humle, der dog ikke så frugtig.
Smag
Øllen smager af fersken, og har en god men let mundfylde. Eftersmagen er ret tør og den bliver hængende længe.
Konklusion
Piping Up For Peace er lidt for ukompliceret, der er lige som for lidt af alting. Vi savner lidt mere smag. Øllen er læskende men ender tørt ud.
3 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Ei8ht Ball Brewing Co. – Bordello Bandits
Øltype: India Style Lager
Alkohol: 6,3% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 3 ud af 5 kapsler.
It’s been said that Kentucky is one of only two American states to contain no natural gold deposits. None at all. However, 200 years ago, the local folks didn’t know this or they simply disagreed. Gold or not, in the year if 1812 a regular gold rush hit the small settlement of Bellevue, right on the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. Within a fortnight, Bellevue outgrew neighboring boomtown Cincinnati just across the river. And with the steady influx of prospectors and no real plan of where to settle them, the town turned into a Klondike-like mess with cheap entertainment and even cheaper bordellos. But in spite of being cheap, word of the actual high quality of these bordellos spread far and wide, soon attracting a much less desired customer group known as the Night Riders or the Bordello Bandits. Most came from as far as Mexico, in horse gangs as big as 30 riders. Within just a few hours such a gang of bandits could ravage a fully equipped bordello in the middle of the night, causing rack and ruin. These racketeers would enjoy the pleasures of the establishment, but leave without paying a penny. According to much later historians this is where and when the desperate call for “The Great Southern Wall” was first heard from the citizens of the young state. A call to keep the Bordello Bandits back in Mexico where they belonged. This is all a great story, but is it also true at all? Well, due to the most recent trends in American society fact or fiction seems to be in equal regard. So, to hell with it – drink up and be merry, before the Bordello Bandits return.
Duft
Bordello Bandits dufter lidt af hestestald, citrus og så har den en udefinerbar krydret aroma.
Smag
Okay fyldig mundfylde og let perlende på tungen. Bordello Bandits giver os et skud af citrus, tropiske frugter og humle. Eftersmag er meget tør.
Konklusion
Vi kan ikke helt finde ud af hvad den vil? Er den lidt humleforvirret? Vi bliver i hvert fald forvirrede.
3 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Wicked Weed Brewing – Mandarina Man
Øltype: India Pale Ale
Alkohol: 7% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Peter Prescott was born the youngest of 7 boys, son of a fruit picker in an orchard not far from Asheville in 19th century North Carolina. Not only was he last in line when the one daily meal was served, he was also small and weak. Peter soon realized that in order to survive he had to find his calories elsewhere. Fallen mandarins and mangos from the thousands of orchard trees became his salvation – quite literally. Peter calculated that most days 95% of his nutrition came from those fruits. And luckily Peter liked fruits. However, in his puberty things started to change for Peter. While his peers developed acne, Peter also had excrescences growing on his skin. Those were not pimples though, but small branches that would set ripe fruit during the night. Most annoying were the ones that grew out of his ears. Medicinal experts found Peter’s case very interesting, but lost interest as soon as they realized that no money would cover their interest. So Peter continued to wake up with branches sticking out from his body, and every now and then the pattern would be broken with an additional mango taking two days to be ripened out of his belly button. Peter was not a good orchard worker, weak as he was and fighting his daily abnormities. So when P.T. Barnums travelling circus passed through Asheville in 1860, Peter’s dad said a quick goodbye and sold him to Barnum’s side show for as little as 50 dollars. Peter however didn’t really mind and became famous as the Mandarina Man in many US states. Some claim he was even more famous than fellow English freak The Elephant Man. Later Peter married his long time love ‘The bearded lady” but the couple never had any children. Which might also have proven complicated.
Duft
Mandarina Man har en god duft af citrus, bare ikke så meget af mandarin.
Smag
Mandarina Man har en livlig mundfylde, hvor utrolig meget kulsyre spiller på tungen. Øllen har en god sødmefuld smag af mandarin, og samtidig en lækker syrlighed, der spiller op i mod sødmen. Eftersmagen er læskende og forfriskende.
Konklusion
Mandarina Man smager dejligt og drikkes let. Der er noget Nikoline appelsinsodavand over øllen, og det er kun en positiv ting.
4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Hermit Thrush Brewery – Bees For My Honey
Øltype: American Strong Ale / Braggot
Alkohol: 9% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 5 ud af 5 kapsler.
One great thing about the craft beer world is how erratic it can be. To be completely honest, until just recently we had never even heard of Hermit Thrush Brewery – simply pronouncing their name proved a major challenge for most of us! But one day – out of the blue – we received an email from Joan Bulzacchelli and Victoria Banerjee from the brewing crew at Hermit Thrush, asking if they could join in on a brewing day at Amager since they were travelling Europe – half in private, half to visit breweries. As we only have the deepest respect for Vermont breweries we suggested turning the brewing day into an actual collaboration day, and a recipe was developed via email with one of the brewery’s masterminds Christophe Gagne. Bees For My Honey is a tribute to a product that is local to both breweries, a wonderful product that we both hold in high regard: honey! And it’s also a tribute to those wonderful buzzing little aviators called the honey bees. A friendly lil creature we have been taking for granted for way too long, only to realize that they seem to be abandoning us in recent years. We can’t blame them, but when honey becomes a scarce product, it may be too late to invite them back, because they just may have found a safer haven without pesticides and pollution. Save the bees – we need ‘em!!
Vi har nu smagt på tre Amagerkanske øl, og Henry Hazesmith fra Mikkeller San Diego. Derfor glæder vi os til at smag på denne rye braggot, eller som Ratebeer siger, en American Strong Ale. Braggot er en gammel øltype, hvor man blander enten øl eller mjød med honning og krydderier.
Duft
Bees For My Honey dufter fantastisk af honning, banan og fersken. Øllen har denne næsten hvedeøls-agtige duft over sig.
Smag
Bees For My Honey har en god mundfylde. Den smager som en hvedeøl med ekstra sødme, og vi kan slet ikke smage de 9% vol.
Bees For My Honey har en god frugtig humlesmag, og ja så smager den selvfølgelig også af honning.
Øllen har en lang og vedvarende eftersmag.
Konklusion
Bees For My Honey var lige det vi havde brug for efter fire forskellige humlede øltyper. Øllen har en fantastisk god balance, og bare godt lavet.
5 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Against The Grain Brewery – Minor Axident
Øltype: Imperial IPA
Alkohol: 8% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 4 ud af 5 kapsler.
On the canned American version of this collaboration beer, Sam Cruz – the head honcho of our collaboration partner Against The Grain – babbles on for ages about the name Minor Axident, how it has no meaning and so on. Well Sam, after lines upon lines of insults from you, it has become clear to us, that the Minor Axident here was to even collaborate with you guys for a third time. Actually, we’re inclined to call it a major axident. However, we forgive you and we understand you. Having your lack of appetite exposed on the first beer we brewed together “The Great, Big Kentucky Sausage Fest” and then being humiliated in arm wrestling not once, not twice, but a dozen times. We understand your bitterness and we forgive you, Sam. We’ll be the bigger person here, and we meet your sarcasm and bitterness with nothing but peace, love…… and this wonderfully hoppy collaboration. Come visit again Sam. Bring Jerry. Bring Adam – and bring a case of Pappy VW. It’s time to rejoice in true happiness. Amen.
Minor Axident og The Mortician havde jeg hjembragt til Thisted, da jeg er på ferie hos mine forældre et par uger. Det er altid dejligt at kunne dele.
Duft
Lækker aroma af tropiske frugter. En rigtig god sødme breder sig. En snert af alkohol kan også fornemmes.
Smag
Jeg synes sagtens man kan smage procenterne i Minor Axident. Mundfylden er let til medium, hvor varmen fra alkoholen spreder sig i munden.
Minor Axident har klare frugtige noter af appelsin. Eftersmagen er ganske bitter, men har samtidig også en let parfumeret smag.
Konklusion
Minor Axident er en imperial IPA af den mere klassiske slags. Den er frugtig og har en markant smag af alkohol.
4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Amager Bryghus & Barrier Brewing Co. – The Mortician
Øltype: Imperial Stout
Alkohol: 10,5% vol. (50 cl.)
Forhandler: Bestofbeers.dk, sponsoreret.
Bedømmelse: 4 ud af 5 kapsler.
This is a blending beer of Barrier’s Morticia Imperial Stout in a non barrel-aged version and Amager’s Hr. Frederiksen Imperial Stout, with an added twist of Kenyan coffee and smoked malt.
Throughout the 18th century The Alistair Smythe Burial and Cremation Company had a thriving business based in Hempstead, Long Island NY. Immigrants brought in illness and disease galore, and personal hygiene was still not really regarded as anything other than a waste of time. Let’s be honest, people died like flies and the Smythe morticians had their hands full taking care of the dead. But with the 19th century approaching things were starting to change. Everyone who met the new owner – Alistair’s oldest son Walter – described him as the perfect mortician, compassionate and caring. But only Walter knew the blood red reality of the company accounts. The Long Islanders had started using soap, the roads were getting paved and even the immigrants seemed healthier. People simply didn’t die at the rate they used to. Walter, being a practical man, realized he had to make his own customers. Soon he had formed a band of nighttime gravediggers who would raid fresh graves and dump the corpses from a row boat in the narrow channels south of Oceanside. For years, the local police wondered about the numerous dead bodies that washed ashore on Parsonage Island and The East Channel Islands. But since they were impossible to identify and apparently missed by no-one the police quietly closed the case. Walter Smythe died a rich man, famed for his abilities with a row boat. A model citizen, and a much respected mortician.
Duft
The Mortician har en duft af lakrids og kaffe.
Smag
The Mortician har en let mundfylde. Øllen er godt balanceret, da den har en behagelig sødme der samtidig følges op af en god bitterhed i eftersmagen. The Mortician smager af lakrids, kaffe og alkohol. Alkoholen varmer dejligt. Eftersmagen er forholdsvis lang og tør.
Konklusion
The Mortician er en god imperial stout med en god sødme og fin balance mht. bitterhed.
4 ud af 5 kapsler.
Rookiebeers 