Taste the Mountains!

Minhas Brewery seems to be a Wisconsin-centric brewery that is just getting into the Minneapolis market.  They are the brewery that took over brewing Rhinelander and have been brewing Huber and other local 'grandpa' beers since 1845, making them the second oldest brewery in America behind Yuengling.

I was interested to see their "craft" offerings hitting the market (so far only Lazy Mutt) since I drank cup upon cup of Berghoff out of the keg in college.  The brew that I HAD to try first was Mountian Crest.  It was $8.99/case.  There is no reason to pass this up.

Here's the deal.  I've had craft-brewed lagers and pilsners but most craft breweries don't make them because they're not as sexy as a triple-hopped IPA or a chocolate stout or something.  Victory makes an impressive pilsner, for example.  What separates them from Mountain Crest is the nuance.  Victory gives you a good hint of honey, Goose Island, a grassy flavor, etc.  Minhas gives us a typical lager in a can and slaps a craft brewery logo on the box.

This is totally cool with me.  $9 a case.  No other beer this cheap lets me drink it without destryoing my insides for the next day.  So something has to be said about the quality of ingredients.  I'm happy with the results, if not the process - for a cheap drunk with few side effects, try Mountain Crest!

Make Way for Makeweight.

Right now I'm about to crack Furthermore's newest small batch beer - Makeweight.  The website describes it as a triple pale that is a bastardization of three distinct regional recipies.  It uses Belgian, American and English yeast strains as well as hops from Kent and Oregon and malts from England and Belgium.  All in all this is a complex and confusing way to make a beer but the end result is pretty delicious.

The Belgian side to this beer has a strong arm.  The sweetness comes through in the nose and the Belgian yeasts combine with the sugar and malts to give a real syrupy flavor.  This is when the Oregon hops and American yeasts come in handy as, unlike other maltier, sweeter brews such as barlywines or dubbels, the sweetness does not stay in your mouth long.  Actually, as the sweet taste fades a good bitterness takes over and gets your mouth ready for another sip.

At 8.5% this is a strong beer from a strong effort.  Makeweight pulls in at my #3 favorite beer that Furthermore offers behind Knot Stock and the champion, Fatty Boombalatty.  I recommend picking up a six pack and mixing it in to your routine a few nights this month.