Category Archives: Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Day 2 – Camba Bavaria – Bavarian Winter IPA

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day-2-camba-bavaria-bavarian-winter

The craft beer advent calendar is a tradition for me now. It is my third year writing about each of the beers contained within and it’s also a reminder of how far I’ve managed to come with my beer education and this blog. I am a long stretch from where I was when I first began.

It was really fun trying yesterday’s beer from Italy. I found myself reminiscing of searching for craft breweries while I was there. Today I opened the second tab to see what might be in store. From one of my favorite places to visit, Bavaria (Germany) was their Bavarian Winter IPA from Camba Bavaria Brewery.

Camba Bavaria has only been brewing since 2008 and already they have produced over 50 beers ranging from Pale ales, to Helles, to Russian Imperial Stouts aged in cognac barrels. Making use of a large variety of raw materials, they are always working to be innovative. This young brewery has been working to introduce new beers practically every week.

Located in an old mill in Truchtlaching on the river Alz, Camba was originally built as a brewery pilot plant by the brewing plant manufacturer BrauKon GmbH, regarded worldwide as one of the top suppliers of brewery equipment for small- and medium-sized breweries. This means that when Camba started they were already beginning with the ideal conditions for brewing beer giving them a head start in their journey. Currently Camba employs 3 master brewers, 5 brewers, and 5 beer sommeliers and work hard to communicate and exchange with other brewers around the world.

The name Camba Bavaria is actually pretty interesting as well. Truchtlaching was originally a celtic settlement in Bavaria. The word “Camba” means “brew kettle” in old Celtic language and thus pays tribute to that heritage. The second part, obviously, comes from the region in which they are located. The village of Truchtlaching is located in Chiemgau, one of the most beautiful holiday destinations in Bavaria.

IPAs or India Pale Ale, have a storied history. The first known use of the term comes from the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1829.  At this time, they were also referred to as a “pale ale as prepared for India”, “East India pale ale”, and “Export India Pale Ale”.  These types of IPAs were widely popular amongst the East India company and, while considered very hoppy, they were not much stronger than other beers brewed at this time. If you’re curious about IPAs check out Wikipedia, the BJCP Guidelines (Page 37) or IPA Beer.

While these beers are part of the pale ale family, they are strongly hopped and often showcase the variety of flavours and complexities that can come from the simple ingredients used to brew beer.  Many will say the IPAs are an acquired taste, and they are rather unique, the bitterness brought by the use of a large quantity of hops is not for everyone. Whether there is anything special about this in being a “Bavarian Winter” IPA is unknown, but I’m certainly excited to see. Now, onto this specific beer.

Appearance – Pale golden, almost amber with a good 3” of head that retains well and leaves lacing as it fades.
Smell –  Resinous hop notes that come through strong. Grapefruit citrus and a sweet tropical fruit note that is likely the lychee (I’ve never had one but my wife says that’s what it smells like.)
Taste –  Good bitterness on the front, not overpowering, with a sweet candy like taste and some grapefruit tartness. Finishes with a subtle lingering bitterness and citrus notes.
Mouth feel – Medium body with an upfront resinous bitterness, candy sweetness in the middle and a subtle lingering bitterness on finish.
Overall – A well hopped, but not overpowering, IPA that offers a good combinations of resinous hop notes combined with subtle citrus and candy sweetness.
Do I like it? – I found it to be fine. With the plethora of IPAs out there and the number that I’ve had, I find myself craving different beers than IPAs these days. I wasn’t a huge fan of the candied sweetness, but other than that I found it to be enjoyable.

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Day 1 – Birrifico Del Doge – APA

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day-1-birrifico-del-doge-apa

As with every year, opening up that first advent calendar tab is incredibly exciting.  It brings me back to when I was a kid and my mom would buy us an advent calendar with little chocolates inside. Every day was a different chocolate and every day was a little bit of excitement.  Translate that to an adult version with beer instead of chocolate, I’m a happy camper. Nostalgic.

So, like I did last year, with sincere anticipation I opened the first tab and lo and behold, it was Birrifico Del Doge’s APA. I had the opportunity to visit some craft breweries in Italy. While not typically known for beer, being the largest producer in the world of wine, what I tasted was quite good. So I’m interested to see what this one is like.

Birrifico Del Doge (Doge’s Brewery) is located in Zero Branco (Treviso) Italy and is self-described as an “Italian crafted German beer”.  Zero Branco is located on the expanse of the Paduan plain between the cities of Venice and Treviso. The local landscape is characterized by its beauty and network of waterways including the river for which the town is named, River Zero.

Doge’s Brewery takes great pride in their brewing and selects only the highest quality ingredients to use in its beer. Brewing was originally a hobby for the brothers who founded Doge’s Brewery, but once they got a taste for brewing they knew they needed to take it further. In 2012 the Guiman brothers partnered with brewer Federico Casarin to create Doge’s Brewery. ‘Doge’ brewery’s main values include attention to quality, meticulous selection of raw materials, use of source water, deep passion and a desire to impress.

Birrificio del Doge produces eight types of craft beers as well as the occasional specialty brew.  They take pride in attention to detail and quality and say on their website that “We do not bottle-condition our beer, but decant the yeast, which affords Doge’s Brewery beer its hallmark clarity.”

American Pale Ales (APA) are, obviously, pale, refreshing and well hopped but with the right amount of malt backbone to balance the beer. The opportunity to select from hops can give this beer a range and either reflect classic hops or new world hops. Generally, an APA is more accessible than an IPA while still providing a hop forward flavour.

The APA is a modern American craft beer adaptation of the English pale ale. These beers tend to reflect ingredients that can be sourced by the brewery locally. While these beers are an American craft beer invention, the desire to source locally means that this Italian version will hopefully have a little bit of that old world flare.

Prior to the explosion of popularity of the IPA, the American Pale Ale was the most well-known and popular of the American craft beer styles. Without further ado, time to taste the beer.

Appearance – Pours golden blonde with a thin ½” white head that retains well.
Smell –  Citrus notes reminiscent of lemon and grapefruit with a soft floral hop aroma.
Taste –  Mild hop bitterness that is compliment by a very subtle malty sweetness with notes of lemon, grapefruit.
Mouth feel – Light mouth feel with soft bitterness on the start and mild carbonation. Finishes with a light lingering bitterness.
Overall – Subtle hop complimented with malt sweetness that balances well and presents an approachable mildly hoppy beer.
Do I like it? – I did like it. This beer was light, floral, and had some good hop notes to it. These days I find myself leaning towards bolder beers and so, while this one was good, and I did like it, it’s not one I’d be clamoring to grab.

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2016

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My wife gifted me the Beer Advent calendar again this year.  24 different “New World” beers from “Old World Countries”.  As I did last year, I plan to blog about these beers again.  Every day.  That means 24 posts, hopefully.  The goal of these posts is education. Mine and, hopefully, yours. It’s about learning more about beer and the breweries who make them. Here is how the post will be organized:

  • Beer name, location, and style of beer.
  • Description of the style, origins and information about the brewery.
  • Rating of the beer based on the following:
    • The appearance of the beer
      • What’s the colour, the head and the retention of the foam?
    • The smell of the beer
      • What notes are present and are there any off notes that shouldn’t be there?
    • The big one
      • How do the smells come through in the taste, is it pleasant, are there any off-flavours or things that just aren’t quite right?
    • Mouth Feel
      • What’s the body of the beer, is it light, or heavy? Is there a good carbonation level for the style?
    • Overall thoughts on the beer in relation to the style
    • Whether I actually like the beer or not and why

I want to make a note on the reviewing system I use.  I’m not a beer judge. Those who have been trained to be able to smell and taste what is off in a beer are very good and I respect their opinions.  With that exception, I don’t always take stock in how people rate beers.  Perhaps someone doesn’t like a particular style, or they don’t think the beer is good.  It doesn’t mean I, or someone else, won’t like it.

So, while I will be reviewing these beers, it is more for my own personal education and to keep track of which ones I liked the best throughout the process.  You can take my reviews as you like, either listen or don’t.  Ultimately, I want people to try new beers and take chances.

The first post will be coming later today.  In the meantime, here is my round up of last year’s Craft Beer Advent Calendar.