Review: Z Lager

Fort Collins is a new arrival in Florida. Total Wine & More stocks several of their beers. I had to pick up the smoked one, Z Lager.

Smoked beers are a fairly old style, since historically all grain was malted over wood fires, imparting a smoky flavor to the grain. The first time I had a smoked beer (Rogue's Chipotle Ale) I thought it was the worst beer I'd ever had. But the smoky flavor grew on me and now I love the style. The level of smoke flavor varies from brewery to brewery.

My notes:

This pours a nice copper/mahogany in color with an off-white head that reduces to a thin layer of foam.

Its aroma is lightly smoky.

The taste is also lightly smoky, with a nice malt flavor. It's balanced and not a big smoky mess.

Smooth and creamy body.

Overall this is a nice smoked beer that's subtle enough to be a beer to drink regularly and introduce people to the style.

Review: Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

Fresh hop beers are relatively new. Instead of using dried hops, brewers use hops right off the vine, which gives the beer a more resiny and floral hop aroma and taste. You have to be quick, though, because hops degrade rapidly in a few days if they aren't dried. I've seen more western brewers do fresh hop beers, I'm guessing because American hops are grown in the west, particularly Washington. Rogue has brewed a fresh hop beer, Hop Heaven, where the hops were picked only hours before being thrown in the brewing kettle.

Fresh hops are only available in the fall. But Sierra Nevada decided to do a fresh hop beer in the spring/summer. To do that, they went to the southern hemisphere. They use fresh hops from New Zealand in this beer. Hence the name: Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale.

I don't consider this a true fresh hop beer because Sierra Nevada dries the New Zealand hops before shipping them to their California brewery. On the 24-ounce bottle's label, they said the hops were picked, dried, shipped and used in a little over a week's time. But still, the hops are dried and aren't truly fresh.

This is the second year Sierra Nevada has brewed this beer.

From my notes on the 2008 brew:

An almost-glowing copper in color with a large foamy head that is rock-solid.

The aroma is all about the hops: It smells of citrus, and, well, hops.

The taste is nice and bitter and hoppy, with just enough malt flavor to provide a slight amount of balance. If you aren't a hophead, though, this might be a bitter bomb.

The body is fine -- possibly even a little light.

Overall, this is a fine fresh hop ale. Probably for hopheads only, though.

I think the 2009 "vintage" isn't quite as bitter as the 2008 brew. It has a real depth of hop flavors and bitterness, but it isn't shockingly bitter. But then, my taste buds may have been further ruined by a year's worth of drinking primarily hoppy, bitter beer.

It's still a lovely hoppy beer. And the 24-ounce bottle looks like a bottle of malt liquor, albeit one that costs $5.49 at Total Wine & More.

World of Beer Sarasota-Manatee micro-update

As I've noted before, World of Beer is planning on opening a new beer bar on University Parkway in southern Manatee County in September. To recap the details: 30 taps, 500 beers, nonsmoking.

They're on Twitter now, and posted that they are planning a grand opening celebration with free food, live music, giveaways and beer. No specifics on date and time, yet.

Review: Hop Ottin' IPA

It's been years since I had Anderson Valley brews. I visited their brewery in Boonville, Calif., in 2003 during a beer pilgrimage. It's a couple of hours north of San Francisco. And yes, there's not much there. A lovely rural area. They are a recent arrival in Florida, which is great.

Anderson Valley's beers have an illustration of a bear with antlers on them. The label says "The legendary Boonville beer." Bear + deer = beer. Too cute.

California breweries love hops. Not just to make beers bitter, but to give them lots of hop flavors. Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery in NYC, even suggests calling Double/Imperial IPAs "San Diego Pale Ale," after the city that really developed the style.

I bought Anderson Valley's Hop Ottin' IPA during a recent trip to Total Wine & More.

My notes:

A deep copper in color with a big foamy head. Nice.

The smell is all hops. Big citrus and floral aromas.

The taste is wonderfully bitter and hoppy. There's a bit of malt balance, but only a token amount. But as I've written before, who cares? Hops, hops and hops. A real depth of hops, likely from several varieties.

A slick and oily body.

Overall this is a great American IPA. It's very much an example of California's love of hops. A must-have, even at a bit more than $10 a six-pack.

Beer tasting dinner in Sarasota

Mattison's Forty-One restaurant, 7275 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, is hosting a five-course beer tasting dinner on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. They are featuring beers from the Brooklyn Brewery, an awesome brewery. It's $40 per person and reservations are required.

Call (941) 921-3400 or go to mattisons.com to buy tickets.

Thanks again to H-T Assistant Business Editor Gerard Walen.