Know Your Beer - Märzen/Oktoberfest

Ach ja, baby! Oktoberfest time! In the spirit of this annual goodness, let's take a look at the beer that is best associated with the festival of brews - the Märzen/Oktoberfest style.

Back in the old days, when you would walk uphill, both ways, in the snow, it was nigh impossible to brew beer in the summer months because there wasn't really a way to keep it cool. As such, beers were brewed in March (hey, that sounds very similar to Märzen...) and stored in caves that were surrounded by ice until about September.

This lager is a full bodied, rich, malty beer. Depending on where the beer is from, you may get some different flavor profiles. Austrian/German beers will be more malty and lighter in color (almost pale ale coloring). North American Marzens will be a bit hoppy and bitter, but not aggresively so. Coloring may be a bit darker as well.

This style will range from 4% - 7% ABV, with most falling near mid 5%...

There are all sorts of these beers around the place - Spaten Oktoberfest, Flying Dog Dogtoberfest, Paulaner München Märzen, Gordon Biersch Märzen, Left Hand Oktoberfest Märzen and Sam Adams Octoberfest. Some of Albuquerque and Santa Fe's breweries do Oktoberfest beers.

Know Your Beer - Belgian Tripel

This week we are going to look at the Belgian Tripel style of beer. This style has become more common in the US, but especially in Nuevo Mexico - we're really starting to see our local breweries exploring this type of beer and seeing what they can do with it.

The term "tripel" actually relates to the part of the brewing process where a brewer will use triple (aka 3x) the amount of malt that they would usually use for a brew. These beers tend to be on the fragrant end; having a bit of floral, fruity and sweet aroma to it. The brew tends to be lighter in color and body; the lighter body hides the fact that these beers are really strong - most of these start off at 8.0% abv (an average beer is 5.0% abv) and go up from there! So don't suck these down, unless you want to end up with a headache the next day.

I haven't had a lot of these, in fact, we've only featured three on the blog: the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel, the Chama River Menege a Tripel and the Prescott Brewing Belgian Tripel.

Some others that you could try are the Rock Bottom Tremere Tripel and the Sierra Nevada Stricklander.

Know Your Beer: Stouts

If you are following along, we're going to hit the end of the "Beer Spectrum" before we start exploring some of the more speciality styles within the spectrum. After talking about hefeweizens, ambers and IPAs, I think a logical next step would be the Stout. This type of beer may intimidate a number of drinkers, who see its pitch blackness as a black hole of flavor or "taste" that they won't venture to get close to. I have to admit that I was one of those individuals. I don't think you could get me near a dark beer to save my life. In fact, a good friend of mine (Mr. Crow) challenged me to try some of the darker spectrum and I couldn't have been happier to expand my horizons to this type of beer.

The Stout will obviously be a dark beer - so expect this brew to be pretty opaque. Head will likely depend on the type of beer, as traditional stouts will lean to a lighter head and chocolate/mocha stouts will have a more tan/brown head. The scent profile will offer a lot of malty deliciousness, as well as coffee and some bitter chocolate aromas. There will be a distinct level of bitterness - not the high amount that you'd get in an IPA, but enough that you'd taste it.

When you see a stout beer, you can expect it to be called a number of different things: Stout, Porter, Oatmeal Stout, Coffee Stout, Chocolate Stout, Oyster Stout, Milk Stout. While all of a similar nature, the flavors will drastically differ based on the type of stouts, and by a function of the type, the ingredients used in the brewing process. Utilizing traditional carbination or more modern nitrous will change the flavor and texture of the beer, appealing to some and not to others.

Obviously, thanks to Mr. Crow's challenge, we have looked at a number of stouts on this blog: Four Peaks Oatmeal Stout, Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, Rogue Shakespeare Stout and Rogue Chocolate Stout.

Other stouts that you may have heard about, but never had - Guinness, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout, Marble Brewing Oatmeal Stout, Diamond Bear Paradise Porter and Rogue Mocha Porter.

Know Your Beer: India Pale Ale (IPA)

India Pale Ales (IPAs) are an acquired taste. They have a very strong flavor profile due to the concentration of hops utilized in the brewing process, which gives it a strong bitterness and fragrant aroma. I have grown particularily fond of these beers because I enjoy the real distinction of the smell, taste and feel of the beer. My lovely wife strongly disagrees with me and gets bitter beer face each time she takes a sip.

Hops are the primary driver of the flavor, aroma and bitterness of an IPA. The term IBU (International Bittering Unit) is based on the amount of hops you utilize to get a beer more bitter (malt will often offset the bitter flavor, so malty beers with a higher IBU may not be all that bitter). The higher the number, the more bitter the beer typically. Most IPAs run about 60 IBUs. To put it in perspective, I would say that most other beers run 20-35 IBUs. Double/Imperial IPAs will range in the 90+ IBU range. I've had one that is 120 IBUs...wow!

Lots of flowery, sometimes citrus-y scents due to the hops. The flavor will be somewhat different depending on what hops are utilized in the beer. Expect bitterness and don't complain if you have an IPA and don't like bitterness. Color will run from a light amber to a dark copper. The alcohol content on these beers run on the higher end, typically 6%+.

Past reviews of IPAs have included Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, Marble Brewing IPA, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, Four Peaks HopKnot IPA, Four Peaks RAJ IPA, Hales' Mongoose IPA, Alaskan Brewing IPA, Redhook Long Hammer IPA, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Marble Brewing Double IPA, Carver Cascade Canyon Cask IPA (say that three times fast), and the 21st Amendment Double Trouble Imperial IPA.

In terms of other IPAs to try out or that you may see around town, there's Chama River Brewing's Dr. Strange Hop, Turtle Mountain Brewing IPA, Stone IPA, Boulder Beer Mojo IPA and Il Vicino Wet Mountain IPA and the Prescott Brewing Ponderosa IPA.

You'll find that almost any brewery will do an IPA - some get really into them, but I haven't gone to a brewery yet that didn't have at least one on tap.

Know Your Beer: Amber

For this week's episode of Know Your Beer, let's move down the Beer Spectrum to Ambers. You'll sometimes hear these beers called Reds, given the color similiarity. This type of beer has been known to become a catch-all given it's placement in the dead-center of light and dark beer. The color of the beer will range from a dark golden to a dark copper.

The flavor profile of a amber/red ale tends to focus on malt. You may get hints of the bitterness that accommanies hops, but this will depend on the brewery. Most of these beers are pretty well balanced, so you aren't going to end up with some really extreme flavors. However, this does make this beer generally acceptible for a diverse audience. It's enough of a stretch that folks who like lighter beers are ok with it, while dark beer fans are willing to "step down" the color spectrum a bit.

Expect some toasted malt, caramel, toffee and and nutty aromas, along with the occassional hint of sweetness. These are pretty smooth beers too, so it goes down nice. Alcohol content will be mid 5% to low 6%, with the exceptions that may lower or (ridiculously higher)

I've reviewed a number of Ambers/Reds on here - including Murphy's Prescott Red, Bridgeport Ropewalk Amber Ale, Maritime Pacific Nightwatch Dark Amber Ale, Grand Teton Brewing Teton Amber Ale, Alaskan Amber (one of my favorites), Chama River Rio Chama Amber and the Mendocino Red Tail Ale.

Others that you can find around the place and are good (and will be reviewed eventually) include Full Sail Amber, New Belgium Fat Tire, Breckenridge Avalanche Amber and Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale.

Know Your Beer - Hefeweizen & Wheat Beer

Know Your Beer will be a new feature on From the Beer Fridge. There are a ton of different types of beer and not everyone is exquisitely knowledgable about what they are, what to expect, etc... So, every week, we'll feature a different type of beer and make this a bit of an educational moment.


We'll start of with the Hefeweizen, a beer most often recognized for its cloudy unfiltered appearance. The name comes from German - "hefe" translating to yeast and "weizen" translating to wheat. So, these beers have a high concentrate of wheat in them (if you're allergic - be aware!). Hefeweizens use at least a 50:50 mix of wheat and malt, with some breweries going as high as 70% wheat.

The flavor tends to be on the sweet and fruity side, with a bit of clove, banana and vanilla. Lots of aroma, so get a nice whiff of the beer before you start slugging it down. These beers are very refreshing, especially when it's hot, so you're likely to see them a whole bunch during the summer months. Most Hefeweizen/wheat beers tend to be on the mid to high 5% range in terms of alcohol content.

Americans have popularized tossing in a lemon or orange wedge into the beer to add some more citrus flavor into it. Some folks like this, others don't, as the citrus changes the flavor of the beer. So, if the brewer wanted the beer to have citrus in it, they would have added into the mix from the get go. Don't even think about asking for this treatment in any true German establishment, as you'll probably get das boot in your face. As my Beer Buddy Larry has informed me, the lemon messed up the "schaum" (head) of the beer. In fact, the beer should take about 7 minutes from pour to your table, in order for the head to settle properly. You can expect to see these beers served in a tall weizen glass to best release the flavors and scents and let you experience them.

We've taken a look at some of these type of beers before on From The Beer Fridge, including: the Four Peaks Brewing Hefeweizen, Carver's Raspberry Wheat Beer, Breckenridge Brewing Agave Wheat, Santa Fe Brewing Hefeweizen, and the Prescott Brewing Alpine Wheat.

Other suggestions that haven't been reviewed yet, but are quality beers include: the Flying Dog In Heat Wheat, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen, Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen and Gordon Bierish Hefeweizen (which goes really well in OJ).