Terrapin Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale

Brewer- Terrapin Beer Company

Beer- Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale

Style- Saison/ Farmhouse Ale

ABV- 6.00%

Description- Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale pours a a clear straw like yellow with a HUGE billowing white head that does dissipate down to a thin line that does not leave much lacing on the glass.  The aroma is dominated by what you would expect, peaches, along with hints of a tart wheat and subtle aroma of saison yeast.  The taste is also dominated by peaches and has a bit of funk backing it up, but the standard saison taste, which I personally love, is a bit hidden in the mix and thus makes this beer a bit less interesting.  Also, the beer is highly carbonated and makes the beer itself a bit thin and unable to handle the body.  However, this beer is still very refreshing and I think with a bit of tweaking to the recipe this beer could be absolutely fantastic.

Food Pairing-  This light and crisp beer lends itself perfectly to salads.  Also, anything with peaches would highlight the tastes within (of course) a nice appetizer of tortilla chips with mango peach salsa is a dream with this beer.  A main course entree of salmon with lemon pepper on the grill would balance nicely against this highly carbonated beer.  This is a beer that I recommend having at least one by itself though.  The thin body can cause it to be lost in the mix quite easily so experience this one alone to truly understand what is going on within the beer.

Is it worth trying?- Yes, but if you are a huge saison fan you may be disappointed by this offering.  I really hate to say that too as I am a huge fan of Terrapin.  However, this is far from a "bad" beer so do not be put off entirely by this review.  Summer is a time that the market is flooded with fruit styled beers and some have become staples to me (see Dogfish Head review of Festina Pêche) but many are not highlights to me as they can become overly sweet very quickly.  Maggie's Peach Farmhouse Ale is somewhere in between the two, not overly sweet, but not blended seamlessly into the profile of the beer, but still a beer certainly worth trying!

Rating-

Where Can I Get It?- This is pretty widely available throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.  I picked up a 4 pack in Kingston at Goldstein's Deli, but it is also available at Wegman's- Dickson City and Wilkes Barre, and I believe Krugel's Georgetown Deli in Wilkes Barre has some as well.  Terrapin is only available in 10 states (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia) so we need to consider ourselves lucky to have such fantastic breweries available in our area!

10 Summer Beers

I have never been a huge fan of lists, I feel that they can be a bit pompous (says the guy who writes beer revews) but I think a good compilation of summer beers is in order with a market that is quickly becoming over saturated with seasonal beers.  If you disagree with any of these or feel that some should be added, feel free to let me know!

10 Summer Beers

Just peachy!

This week I reviewed Dogfish Head's fantastic Festina Pêche, an amazing take on the Berliner Weissbier style.  If you have not had this beer yet, go find some, it is the quintessential summer beer!

Festina Pêche Review

What is a witbier?

Last week in the Weekender I had a chance to explore witbiers in depth.  Interested in the style?  Take a look at the article here:

What is a witbier?

Bracingly Witte-y

 

This week's review in the Weekender centers around Brewery Ommegang's Witte.  It is a truly refreshing beer, something that is certainly needed in this incredible summer heat!

Read up and enjoy!

Brewery Ommegang Witte

Eggs, Bacon, and Green Panini

 

My review in The Weekender this week discussed Witte by Brewery Ommegang.  I mentioned that having an eggs, bacon, and greens panini would be a wonderful pairing dish with it and here is the recipe to try it for yourself!

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 8 slices thick-cut bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch of crushed red pepper
• 8 cups chopped greens
• 2/3 cup wheat beer
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounces sliced sharp Cheddar cheese
• 8 pieces whole-grain bread

Instructions:

 • In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon in two batches until crispy, turning occasionally. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

• Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from pan. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and stir for 30 seconds. Add the greens and beer, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until beer is evaporated and the greens are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

• Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Break eggs into skillet and cook over medium heat to desired doneness. 

• Preheat a panini press or heat a skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Break the bacon slices in half. Arrange 4 pieces of bacon on 4 pieces of bread. (If using a skillet instead of a panini press, lightly butter the bread prior to assembly.) Top with the greens, an egg and some cheese. Top with remaining bread slices. Cook in the panini press until golden.

Recipe is appeared in May/June 2013 issue of Draft Magazine

 http://draftmag.com/recipes/detail/261

The King of IPA's

This week in my weekender review I took a look at Maharaja by Avery Brewing Company.  This imperial IPA definitely holds its own against some of the hoppiest IPA's out there.  Some have complained that the overly sweet characteristic of this beer makes it "not to style," that might be true if we are all going by BJCP guidelines but most of us do not think about that while drinking beer, instead it is either good or bad, and I would certainly rate this as GOOD!

So, read the review for yourself and don't just take my word for it, go get your own bottle!

Avery Maharaja Review

Magnificently Balanced

Brewer- Boston Brewing Company (Sam Adams)

Beer- Long Shot- Magnificent Seven

Style- Imperial/Double IPA

ABV- 7.80%

What’s a “Long Shot”? - Every year the Boston Brewing Company hosts a homebrewing competition where brewers from around the nation can enter their favorite homebrewed beer.  The winner of the competition will have his/her beer brewed on large scale using Boston Brewing Company equipment and they also get to see the beer bottled and distributed nationwide.  I personally think it is a great competition that shows the huge amount of great homebrewed beer that we have in this country.

Description- Magnificent Seven pours a fine-looking clear golden amber color with a creamy white head that has a fairly good retention but leaves an impressive lacing on the glass.  The aroma is dominated by what you would imagine with an imperial IPA, hops!  The hop aroma that dominates here is citrus, more on the lemon side, with a fair amount of hop resin as well and just a hint of sweet malt.  The hop aroma is certainly strong, but not overpowering as with many of today’s imperial IPA’s.  The taste is surprisingly sweet with the malt hitting the palate first, followed by hops which have that familiar citrus taste and some pine as well, and finishes up with a nice dry finish.  This is a very smooth and drinkable IPA that has a medium body with excellent balance against the carbonation.  I would say that this double IPA is more balanced than most that lean towards the aggressively hoppy side of the flavor spectrum.  All in all a great double IPA, it really is a shame that this is a one off beer, but really does show the great beer someone can make at home!

Food pairing – As with most IPA’s, try this one with Mexican food.  The citrus notes will meld perfectly with your favorite fajita dish and the malty sweetness will accentuate the meat and the hops will be a match made in heaven for the spices.  Another great dish with this beer would be a pizza with some good pepperoni on top; the characteristics of this beer just crave this dish, and who doesn’t love pizza and beer?

Is it worth trying? – YES! However, finding it may be a bit more difficult now, but do yourself a favor and search for this one!  Homebrewing has long been said to be the hobby that pushed the industry forward out of the “dark ages’ of macro-brewing and the hobby is still pushing the industry forward.  Many breweries are collaborating with homebrewers now to produce beer with fantastic results.  If you are unable to find this beer though, the recipe is fairly easy to find online if you are so inclined to try making this one yourself, so however you try it, just try it!

Rating-

Where can I get it? -  I purchased a few bottles from Wegman’s in Dickson City, PA, but be sure to check around at any establishment that sells Sam Adams beer.  This beer did receive a national release as well, so get hunting!