On Tap
Lancaster Liederkranz Beer News
February 7, 2018
Saint Benjamin Brewing Company is a craft brewery and taproom operating in Kensington, Philadelphia, a few blocks east of the Temple campus. Opened in 2014, the brewery is located in the historic carriage house and stables of the defunct Theo Finkenauer Brewery which began in 1876 and by 1890 was producing 15,000 barrels of lager beer. In contrast, St. Benjamin's German made 10-hectoliter system (roughly eight-and-a-half barrels) can brew up 4,000 barrels a year.
How To Forget Oat & Wheat is an Americanized version of a Hefe Weizen, which has the look of the Bavarian versions but without the flavors and aromas of banana esters and clove-like phenols. Head brewer Andrew Foss gets 6.5% ABV from the oat, wheat, and pils malt grain bill and Motueka and Rakau hops from New Zealand add aroma and bitterness. Classified as a Wheat Pale Ale, it's considerably stiffer than regular Hefe's at 6.5% ABV. With soft aromas of citrus oils followed with flavors of nectarine and peach, it finishes off-dry with lingering citrus and stone fruit.
The legislation allowing homebrewing up to 100 gallons that President Jimmy Carter supported and signed staffed the surge of brewery openings during the 80's and 90's. Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman is credited with learning to homebrew from the father of a close friend which led to a lifelong passion for the art of fermentation. Sierra Nevada has been a force in American brewing since 1980 and basically underwrote a significant chunk of the craft beer movement with their iconic Pale Ale, brewed from the start of their opening. Significant growth led to large expansions in 1987 and 1997 and culminated in the establishment of a LEED certified brewing facility in Mills River, NC. Sierra Nevada Hop Bullet is brewed with Two-row Pale, Wheat, Dextrine, and Chocolate malts and is hopped using a technique to introduce maximum hop flavor per IBU. They "hit the beer with a double-barreled blast of Magnum hops and lupulin dust-pure, concentrated hop flavor-directly into the tank to emphasize the intense pine and citrus flavors of classic West Coast (Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Magnum, Crystal) hops". This Double IPA clocks in at 8% and 60 IBUs of citrus presence.
Austin EastCider was started by Ed Gibson, an Englishman and former cider bar owner who hooked up with Texan Mark King to produce their first cider, Gold Top, in 2012. Cider apple juice concentrate from Europe is fermented with white wine yeast to bring out the sparkly and effervescent qualities. Austin Eastciders Texas Honey Cider is a blend of bittersweet and dessert apples with Texas honey to create a delicious, well balanced and refreshing 5% ABV cider with just a hint of sweet.
Boniface Winter Warmer
is number 38 in their series of unique offerings. "As W
inter maintains its grip, 'Tis the season to enjoy Offering #38". This 7% ABV spiced Scottish Ale is dark red in color and has a medium body with a good amount of sweetness. It was brewed with additions of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, all spice & nutmeg.
The epitome of Bavarian beer, the Hacker-Pschorr Munich Dunkel pours a dark chestnut brown that invites seasonal contemplation. As the brewers state, "Aged in the deepest levels of our storage cellars, this beer has been able to develop its unique taste in peace and quiet". Noticeably malty, its toasty full-bodied flavor lingers and offers a slight hint of caramel, nuts and candied fruit. Local grains, (80% Munich malt Marthe, Grace and Catamaran barley varieties), are background hopped with Hallertauer Tradition and Herkules at 18% ebu. An accommodating 5% ABV allows this hearty, highly rated, well balanced beer to have minimal impact.
Originally inspired by Czech Pilsner beers, German pils beers were the original inspiration for golden lagers in the US. A brisk golden lager with a flowery hop aroma and pure barley malt flavor, German brewers made this popular style when they dominated US brewing in the latter half of the 19th century. Ayinger's version shows the masterful perfection of four classic ingredients melded by a family's generations of brewing skill: local barley malt; noble hops; water from an Ice Age aquifer via the brewery's well; and lager yeast. Ayinger Bairisch Pils evokes the flavor of the barley harvest augmented by the scents of nearby gardens. The solid pils flavors are enhanced by a zesty mouthfeel and the moderate 5.3% ABV keeps this beer light and refreshing.
Chef Matt has a special Prix Fixe dinner menu planned for next Wednesday, and there will be Valentines 'style' beers on tap all next week--most of which should be available to pair
with Matt's 4 courses.
Selections will include:
- Delirium Red
is an 8.5% ABV dark-red cherry beer made by Brouwerij Huyghe and is based on their internationally known blonde ale Delirium Tremens. The Red has a light pink, compact head, a
soft aroma of almond and sour cherries, and tastes tangy and fruity, with a perfect balance between sweet and sour. This dessert beer will have your lover seeing pink elephants!
- Doc's Framboise Fresh raspberries are added to Doc's Draft Hard Apple Cider and re-fermented to create a delicious spin on traditional cider. Someone call the love DOCtor. The tremendous Doc's Framboise is a dessert beverage that is on par with any dessert wine out there. 5.5% ABV.
- llicottville Chocolate Cherry Bomb
is brewed with chocolate malt, English hops, sumptuous dark Oregon sweet cherries, and love. This robust and malty Imperial Stout pours midnight dark and yields a thick and creamy tan head. A robust and delicious dessert imperial stout that's mild in it's sweetness, bold in its complexity, and with
lightly crisp carbonation. Some seek out Ellicottville Brewing Co.'s brews when in the mood for something wicked hoppy and local.
- Hardywood Raspberry Stout
is a GABF award winner from this popular Virginia brewery. Brewed with heaps of chocolate malt, cacao nibs, and local, late season red raspberries from Agriberry Farm, Hardywood Raspberry Stout captures the essence of a decadent raspberry truffle in liquid form. A beguiling yet sturdy 9.2% ABV ale, this stout's enticing cocoa aromatics build to a flavorful crescendo of full bodied dark chocolate, subsiding with a pleasantly sweet, tart raspberry jam laced finish. Share with someone you love BERRY much.
- Southern Tier Choklat
is without a doubt, everyine's favorite dessert beer. It encompasses the complexity of the darkest, bittersweet candy together with that of the original frothy beverage of the Mayans. Grab some strawberries to pair with to really WOW your soulmate.
- Tripporteur Kinky Berry Is your Valentine a little kinky? From
Belgian Original Malt Bakery and Brewery, this is a heavenly beer brewed with home-baked BOM malt. A pure and complex brew with more as 20 ingredients, it's packed with fruits and finished with dry hopped with noble Hallertauer hops.
Lancaster Liederkranz beer drinkers enjoy quality regular beers and an array of rotating items. If one of the beers has gone off tap, ask your bartender to suggest a similar, tasty replacement.
Enjoy!
Lancaster Liederkranz Beer Guy -
Jim Weber
The LLK beer staff tries to satisfy customer interests at all times by providing a range of beers for disparate tastes, alcoholic content, and budgets. We know beer drinkers at the Liederkranz take their beer seriously! If you have concerns, suggestions, comments, or just wish to send ramblings on the subject, please send to Jim Weber at
jimweber.lancaster@gmail.com
or Greg Buckwalter at
gregbuckwalter@hotmail.com
. Enjoy and see you at the club!
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