Mould's Beer Blog

Welcome to the Six-Pack Project!  The idea of the project is to create a six-pack of beer that would best represent the current beer scene in your respective state.  For me, that is obviously New Jersey.  The Six-Pack Project was created by Bryan over at the This Is Why I'm Drunk blog.  Check out his introduction to the project here ! 10 years ago, beer probably wasn't the first thing that came to your mind when you were thinking about New Jersey.  However, times are changing, and it's an exciting time to be a beer drinker in the Garden State.  Every year, more and more bars are starting to serve a greater variety in beer.  Even more importantly, new breweries haven been opening in NJ each year, and lots more are in planning Today, there is a wide variety of beer brewed here in New Jersey.  Choosing six beers to best represent the state was no easy feat, but I was up for it!  Hopefully, the following will clue you in a little bit more to some o

Evil Twin Brewing Ron and the Beast Ryan There has been much discussion recently about contract brewing.  In most contract brewing situations, Brewer A will hire Brewer B to manufacture beer.  In some cases, Brewer B will do all of the actual brewing and packaging.  In other cases, Brewer A will actually go to Brewer B's facility, brew on Brewer B's brewhouse, maintain fermentation, and package up the product.  Sometimes, Brewer A will even purchase a fermentation tank to hold their beer at Brewer B's facility, so it doesn't interfere too much with Brewer B's brewing capacity (tank space = $$$).   It seems simple and harmless, but there is some disdain held for these contract brewing situations.  Some think that these "Brewer B's" should have their own breweries instead of using someone else's kit.  They should invest their own capital  and get their own skin in the game.   Personally, the first thing I hold at the forefront is the b

The aging of beer in wine barrels is a rather popular trend in the beer industry these days.  I recently wrote about Victory Brewing Company's White Monkey , which is their Golden Monkey Belgian-style tripel aged in Chardonnay barrels.  In this post, I will be comparing Victory's Baltic Thunder (Baltic Porter) with Red Thunder (Baltic Porter aged in red wine barrels).  Also, check out Victory Brewing's page on Beer Portfolio . Victory Brewing Company Baltic Thunder Victory Brewing Company Red Thunder Baltic Thunder / 8.5 % ABV / Beer Portfolio Appearance :  Pours black, with some red around the edges when held up to the light.  Displays a one finger width light tan head with no lacing present. Aroma :  Smells deeply of dark fruits.  Reminds me a lot of plums, which I like to smell, but surprisingly don't like to eat! Flavor :  Chocolate, roasted malts, only a light bitterness.  A touch of alcohol lingers in the finish. Mouthfeel :  A l

Hey everyone!  I've got some blog-posts to share with you all today, hope you enjoy them! The 2013 Craft Brewers Conference Wrap-Up Post: Photojournalism!  - Jacob from the BeerBrarian  sums up his visit to the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC.  Loaded with pictures and information from the conference. A Fresh Beer Infraction  - Aleheads touches on a very important topic in this post: fresh beer.  Quite often, I walk into a beer store, and find old (or undated) beer on the shelves.  Is there a way to solve this problem? Drink the Beer, Darkly: Three Floyds Dark Lord Day - 2013  - A write-up of what Dark Lord Day was like this year, from outside  the gates!  Brought to you by Mark & Shaun's Beer Blog . Pilsner on the Patio: Perfect  - Beercraft Blog brings us a post where he asks the reader to consider what the perfect summer beer might be.  The author chooses pilsner, and that is certainly a fine choice.  Check out his post for some pilsne

Chatoe Rogue 19 Original Colonies Mead Hey everyone, glad you could make it!  One of my New Year's beer resolutions was to branch out and try some styles of fermented beverages which I don't normally enjoy.  One of these was mead, which seem to slowly be growing more popularity here in the U.S.  A few weeks ago I picked up the 19 Original Colonies Mead from Rogue Ales.  This mead is made using honey from bees that are kept at Rogue Farms in Oregon.  It is part of their Chatoe Rogue "movement," where Rogue brews beers (and mead) using all ingredients grown at Rogue Farms.  Other beers from Chatoe Rogue are Roguenier Rye Ale, Good Chit Pilsner, Pumpkin Patch Ale and Single Malt Ale.  Enough about the other stuff, let's taste the 19 Original Colonies Mead! Chatoe Rogue 19 Original Colonies Mead 19 Original Colonies Mead Rogue Ales / Chatoe Rogue Mead Chatoe Rogue 19 Original Colonies Mead Rogue's 19 Original Colonies Mead pours a cloudy ye

Happy Sunday, y'all!  Hope all of your weekends were fantastic.  I've got a quick review for tonight.  This is my first review of a beer from East Coast Beer Co.  East Coast Beer is based out of Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, but they contract brew all of their beer out of state.  I'm not sure if they have any plans of opening their own production brewery.  East Coast Beer's core beers are Beach Haus (an American Pilsner), and the beer I am reviewing today, Kick Back Ale (an Amber Ale).  They also have a winter seasonal called Winter Rental, which I believe is a black lager and an IPA is in the works. East Coast Beer Co. Kick Back Ale Kick Back Ale East Coast Beer Co. ( brewery website / Beer Portfolio website ) Amber Ale Unknown ABV Kick Back Ale on Beer Portfolio East Coast Beer Co. Kick Back Ale Kick Back Ale pours a reddish amber with a finger width of white head.  There is some decent lacing that is left behind on the glass.  The aroma is of cara

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping in!  Great Lakes Brewing Company recently expanded their distribution into the central and northern parts of New Jersey.  I was excited to get my hands on some of these highly recognized beers from Cleveland, Ohio.  My local Wegmans in Bridgewater had three of the Great Lakes beers in their mix a 6-pack section, so I quickly picked them up.  Great Lakes didn't let me down.  Here's what I thought of those three beers! Great Lakes Brewing Company on Beer Portfolio Dortmunder Gold, Dortmunder Lager, 5.8% ABV, 30 IBUs, Best by 06-30-13 Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold Appearance :  crystal clear golden color, two finger widths of a fluffy white head that leaves lots of lacing on the glass, visible rising carbonation, small bubbles Aroma :  strong scent of sweet biscuits and bread in the nose, caramel.  Surprisingly, not much hop presence. Flavor :   the flavor is leaning on the sweet side initially.  I'm tasting bread, caramel, a