Schokolade Bock, the winter seasonal from Amana, Iowa’s, Millstream Brewing Co. is a rich, flavorful brew that does Iowa’s first microbrewery proud.

Schokolade (German for chocolate) Bock pours a deep honey brown color with a tall and fluffy tan head. Its initial aroma is of sweet, roast malt with notes of coffee, chocolate and noble hops.

The lager’s initial flavor is rich malt with just a touch of sweetness and a moderate amount of roast. At mid tongue, the malt flavors take a turn toward dark fruit with notes of light fig and black cherry. Sweetness at mid tongue is very subdued.

Malt flavors are rich, but very well balanced with some subtle and true-to-style noble hop bitterness.

Those dark fruit malt flavors linger into the back of the throat, where the beer’s roastiness seems to ramp up and flavors move towards light coffee and dark cocoa.

Schokolade Bock’s finish is long and keys on roasty malt with flavors of light cocoa dominating. Complimentary notes of hop bitterness leave a pleasant taste in the mouth.

The beer is medium bodied and medium flavored and was purchased at Miller Liquor in North Sioux City, SD.

Schokolade Bock is listed at 5.2% alcohol by volume and is a welcome addition to the winter beer celler. It is recommended.

-Tim Hynds

Warrior IPA enters the Siouxland marketplace with a fresh hop beer brewed with 100% Colorado-grown hops. My only fault with the beer is that I think the hop profile gets a little too jiggy in the finish.

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont, Colo., Warrior pours a deep golden orange with a tall, light tan head that left lots of lacing in the glass.

Its aroma is of  citrus and floral hops with an almost equal amount of caramel malt notes.

Warrior’s initial flavor is a short blast of sweet caramel malt at the tip of the tongue. The malt flavors are then overrun by strong floral and piney hop flavors at mid-tongue. However, as much as the hops overtake the malt, apparent malt flavors remain to provide a pleasant backbone for the bitterness.

Hop flavors start to get a little jiggy, turning slightly vegetal at the sides of the tongue. Those rather strong flavors increase and continue into the back of the throat.

Finish is medium in length and keys on floral and astringent hop flavors, supported by caramel malt sweetness. At the very end of Warrior’s finish, the hop flavors turn slightly soapy.

Warrior is listed at 6.6% alcohol by volume and 60 IBUs. Thankfully, the beer’s caramel malt flavors are able to support its hop profile. Because without the level of malt it has, Warrior’s finish would be akin to an astringent hop bomb.

I consider the beer to be full flavored and medium bodied.

Warrior IPA was purchased at the HyVee Wine and Spirits in South Sioux City, Nebr.

-Tim Hynds

The 2009 edition of Schell’s Snowstorm continues the trend of the New Ulm, Minn., brewery kicking out a top notch winter seasonal.

This year’s version of the beer – the style and recipe changes each year – is a Baltic porter. And, Schell’s take on the style is at once flavorful and delicate. I consider it a very accessible version of the style, but one that devotees of big malt beers can still enjoy.

However, if you are looking for a malt powerhouse, you will be disappointed.

Snowstorm pours a deep, opaque mahogany with a tall tan head that leaves lots of lacing on the glass. The beer’s initial aroma is of roast malt with some sourdough notes. Those aromas are combined with some  light cherry cola and gravelly hop scents.

Snowstorm’s initial flavor is moderate roasty malt with a modest bit of toffee sweetness.

Roasty malt flavors ramp up at mid-tongue, but is balanced with floral hop flavors that show at the sides of the tongue. Some moderate cherry cola (but not the cloying cola sweetness) flavors and anise make an appearance here.

Mouthfeel at mid-tongue is rather spritely, making the beer feel less heavy in the mouth than its flavors would otherwise lead you. It’s a feature that makes this brew go down rather easily and keeps Snowstorm from becoming a 40-weight version of the Baltic porter style.

Hop bitterness picks up slightly at the back of the throat and the malt takes on a dark fruit flavor (think light raisin and black cherry) with moderate to heavy malt roastiness.

The moderately long finish on this Baltic porter is rather dry and keys on roasty malt supported by floral hops.

I consider the 2009 edition of Snowstorm to be on the the lighter end of full flavored and medium bodied. It is highly recommended as a flavorful, but not heavy take on the Baltic porter style.

I’d love to let you know the beer’s alcohol by volume content and other stats, but Schell’s website still lists the 2008 Snowstorm (a fine Weihnachtsbier). In fact, Internet information says this beer isn’t scheduled to be released until Sunday (Nov. 1, 2009). My guess is that this beer will hover around 6% ABV. I’ll update with a comment when the information becomes available.

Schell’s Snowstorm was purchased at Miller Liquor in North Sioux City, SD.

-Tim Hynds

Horizon Red Ale from St. Paul, Minn’s, Summit Brewing Co. is a satisfying hop-forward ale that doesn’t forget that hoppy ales need malt for balance.

Horizon Red Ale pours a ruddy brown with a tall fluffy tan head that leaves lots of lacing on the glass. Its aroma is slightly sweet malt dominated by nicely done grapefruit and orange citrus aromas.

The ale’s initial flavor is a jolt of citrus hoppiness (it’s 65-70 IBU) blended with a well balanced and slightly sweet biscuity malt flavor.

Hops and malt are well balanced at mid tongue, with the hops turning from citrus and slightly floral to pine flavored.

At the back of the throat, both hop and malt flavors take a turn. The hops move from piney to slightly resinous and the malt turns roasty with some coffee notes. These flavors were unexpected – more so the malt turning roasty  – but were very pleasant.

The medium length finish on this ale is very dry and focuses on piney hop flavors and light roasty malt.

I consider Horizon Red Ale to be medium bodied and medium flavored. I recommend it as a very worthy hop-forward ale.

Horizon is 5.7% alcohol by volume and was purchased at the Southern Hills Mall HyVee in Sioux City.

-Tim Hynds

America’s Original Pumpkin Ale is a pleasant, easy to drink pumpkin and spice beer whose flavors key more on pumpkin pie spices than actual pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Ale is brewed by Pyramid Brewing Co. of Seattle, Washington, for Buffalo Bill’s Brewery of Hayward, Calif.

Pumpkin Ale pours a light orange with a short, quick-to-collapse light tan head. Its aroma is nutmeg with faint undernotes of floral hops and pumpkin.

Nutmeg leads the flavor parade at the front of the tongue and quickly gives way to floral hop flavors.

Light pumpkin flavors emerge at mid-tongue as well as some very light brown sugar sweetness.

Notes of allspice and mace show at the back of the throat.

Malt flavors in this beer are light and mostly show as caramel flavors that emerge through the beer’s spice flavor profile. Hops barely show in this ale, mostly as floral and pine flavors at the back of the throat.

I consider this beer 5.2% alcohol by volume beer to be light bodied and light to medium flavored. If you enjoy pumpkin pie, you will probably enjoy this brew. It was purchased at the HyVee Wine and Spirits’ Hamilton Blvd. location in Sioux City, Iowa.

-Tim Hynds

Is it irony that one of the highest alcohol beers in Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Smokestack Series is called Seeyoulator?

Seeyoulator Doppelbock is a big beer and you’ll be reminded of its 8.5% alcohol by volume with every sip you take.

Seeyoulator pours a medium amber with a massive puffy, tan head. Its aroma is of sweet toffee malt with notes of banana, floral hops and alcohol.

This beer’s initial flavor is rich, sweet maltiness with hints of cedar (the beer is aged on cedar), vanilla and dark fruits.

The malt and dark fruit flavors increase at mid-tongue and are joined by a boozy, bourbon-ey sort of alcohol flavor that adds quite a noticeable bit of warmth to the flavor profile.

A piney hopiness appears at the back of the throat and acts to (sort of) balance out this beer’s intense malt sweetness and cedar flavors.

Seeyoulator’s finish is very long and very dry. It is dominated by maltiness, piney hops, cedar and the beer’s everpresent alcohol warmth.

Seeyoulator is full bodied and full flavored. It is recommended with the caveat that some might find its alcohol flavors a bit distracting.

Seeyoulator was purchased at the HyVee Wine and Spirits in South Sioux City, Nebr.

-Tim Hynds

Does Jerome Cerveza Rubia have an identity crisis? It’s labeled as a “fine aged ale,” “white ale” and as “Belgian style.”  I’m not so sure.

Cerveza Rubia, brewed by Jerome Brewing Co. in Potrerillos, Mendoza, Argentina, has a tart – almost sour – sort of aroma and flavor that was very similar to a farmhouse ale or perhaps a lambic. It’s not what I’m use to from a “white ale”.

Or, maybe I just got hold of a bad bottle. Some reviewers posting on a national beer website mention the sourness, some do not. For the purpose of this review, let’s assume the funk is intentional. But, be advised of this particular bottle’s, ahem,  lambic-ness.

Jerome Cerveza Rubia pours a light golden yellow with an off-white frothy, but quick to fall head. Its aroma is tart, with notes of lemon citrus and light honey.

The beer’s initial flavor is of very light caramel malt. The flavor rapidly segues into a tart lemongrass sourness that reminds of a lambic.

The main flavor at mid-tongue is of bready sourdough with some honey notes. Some light citrus hop flavors show at the side of the tongue.

Those citrus hop flavors continue to the back of the throat and into the beer’s medium-length finish.

Sourdough, however, dominated the finish with companion notes of light honey and lemon. An off-putting metallic flavor also appeared in Cerveza Rubia’s finish.

The funk in this 6% alcohol by volume beer was not offensive – at least not if it had been labeled as a saison or some other farmhouse style . If you think of it as such, this is an unremarkable, but not unacceptable beer. If you’re expecting a blond ale, you will be sourly disappointed.

Jerome Cerveza Rubia was purchased at Charlie’s Wine and Spirits in Sioux City, Iowa.

-Tim Hynds

Hoptober, the newest seasonal from Ft. Collins’ New Belgium Brewing, is golden ale with a nice bit of complexity resulting from its use of rye, wheat and oats.

But, don’t be afraid if you’re not a hophead. While probably one of New Belgium’s hoppiest tasting beers (it’s 40 IBUs), this beer is no hop bomb.

Hoptober  pours a light orangish-gold with a tall white head that left plenty of lacing on the glass. Its aroma is of orange zest and pine hops.

The ale’s initial flavor is of light malt that immediately gives way to a pleasant citrus and pine hoppiness.

Spicy (but not overpowering) rye flavors emerge at mid tongue and are complimented by the wheat and oat’s contributions to a very smooth and almost oily mouthfeel. Malt flavors in this beer are subtle.

Piney hop flavors come to the fore at the sides of the tongue.

Hoptober separates itself from the ordinary (which it otherwise would be)  at the back of the throat where light rye spiciness ramps up slightly to contribute a subtle complexity that counterbalances the brew’s citrus and pine hop flavors.

That interplay of spiciness and hoppiness continues into Hoptober’s medium-length finish.

I consider Hoptober to be light to medium-bodied and medium flavored. It is listed at 6% alcohol by volume.

My six-pack purchased at Miller Liquor in North Sioux City, SD.

-Tim Hynds

Date: 09/28/2009 08:50 AM

 In this frame grab made from video and released by IntelCenter on Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, an alleged Taliban spokesperson makes threats of terrorist attacks against Germany at an unknown location. Munich police said Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 that two men are in preventative custody for suspected links to Islamic extremists and officials are increasing security at the ongoing Oktoberfest beer festival. (AP Photo/IntelCenter) ** MANDATORY CREDIT: INTELCENTER **

MARIA MARQUART
Associated Press Writer

MUNICH (AP) – Two men with suspected links to Islamic extremists were taken into custody by Munich police, and security at the Oktoberfest beer festival has been increased as videos threatening Germany continued to surface on the Internet, officials said Monday.

Two men from Arab countries were arrested Saturday, the same day authorities banned flights over Oktoberfest, said Munich police chief Wilhelm Schmidbauer.

Such bans are usually imposed only during visits by high-ranking state visits. Traffic was also restricted around the Theresienwiese, the 77-acre (31-hectare) festival grounds where Oktoberfest is held for 16 days each year. This year’s event began Sept. 19.

At least five videos by Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and the Taliban have threatened Germany in recent weeks. A video released by the Taliban late Friday included pictures of Oktoberfest and threatened an attack.

(more…)

With notes of light honey and lemongrass, Towhead Ale is a worthy brew with a Belgian ale bent.

Towhead is brewed by Sand Creek Brewing Co. of Black River Falls, Wisc., for  Briar Creek Brewery of Janesville, Iowa.

Towhead pours a light gold with a bubbly white head that was quick to collapse. Notes of lemongrass, yeast and light honey make up the ale’s aroma.

The initial flavor of this beer is a light honey and caramel sweetness that gives way to slightly spicy, lemongrass and floral hop flavors.

At mid-tongue, the brew’s mouthfeel turns pretty thick and velvety. Spice flavors ramp up very slightly and compliment a fruitiness that reminds of a Belgian ale. Flavors that are very similar to the yeastiness of a hefe show at mid-tongue.

At the back of the tongue, light spicy and citrus hop flavors slightly increase and lead into a medium length finish that keys on light lemongrass hoppiness backed by mild honey and caramel malt sweetness.

Despite the beer’s heavy mouthfeel, Towhead is a rather delicate, well-balanced beer.

Towhead was purchased at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. It is recommended.

-Tim Hynds