In the relatively short time that this blog has been around (I haven't even reviewed half a dozen beers yet!) a few people have emailed me some questions that I thought I would answer up here in case they come up again.
Q: Why did you start this blog?
I started this blog because I kept seeing gluten free beer reviewed by people who drink regular beer. Gluten free beer has a completely different smell, taste, mouthfeel, and texture than regular beer, and most regular beer drinkers can't quite get past that. Most of the reviews I read had something to the effect of "...but, if I had to only drink gluten free beer, I might have reviewed this differently." So, as someone who hasn't had a regular beer in three years, I wanted to come with a neutral stance towards gluten free beer, and review it without the assumption that it was something second rate or secondary to regular beer.
Q: Why beer? Why not wine?
I can find thousands of blogs devoted to wines of all sort, probably just as many devoted to beer but in all my searching, I never found a blog solely devoted to gluten free beer. So, I present to you the internet's first and only gluten free beer blog! :) (please correct me if I'm wrong! I'd like to link to them!)
Q: How did you learn to review beer? Did you take a class?
I never took a class, I guess I just started doing it. Way back in 2003 I had a flegling food blog called "Cuisine Urbaine" which detailed cooking in my studio apartment and restaurant reviews in Milwaukee. This blog lasted about a year before college consumed my life and I left my studio apartment kitchen. I learned to describe and review food just by doing just that - trying to put down into words what I was eating. Subscriptions to quite a few cooking magazines and religiously reading the New York Times food section helped me hone and refine my voice and see how things were done. I started reviewing beers the same way - I drank them and then tried to describe what was going on.
If you are interested in beer reviewing classes (for the gluten eaters) there are dozens out there. I have yet to hear of a gluten free beer tasting class, but if you hear of any, let me know! I will attend and review!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Jolly Pumpkin's Golden Manatee Belipago
Jolly Pumpkin is a microbrewery in Ann Arbor, MI known for its barrel brewing and tiny batches. It also has a cafe with good food that is vegetarian friendly! We have been having our cycling team meetings here for some time, and somehow I never noticed there was a gluten free beer on the menu. I guess with a name like "Golden Manatee Belipago" I somehow managed to write that one off. Jolly Pumpkin has some great seasonals, too., so if you can make it there around Christmas and are not a strict gluten free beer drinker, you will be rewarded greatly according to my teammates.
I had a cycling team meeting the other day at the cafe in Ann Arbor, MI, which is about 20 minutes from my house. I figured this was a great opportunity to try the Golden Manatee Belipago. This beer was on tap at the Cafe which is unusual for gluten free beers, mostly they are in bottles. This to me speaks of one of two things - either there are enough gluten free people in the area to warrant that, or enough regular people are ordering this to make it worth keeping on tap. Sweet! I have to say that of all of the gluten free beers enjoyed this is the one that people who are not strictly gluten free have liked the best. After this meeting, I realized that some non gluten free cycling teammates regularly order this beer!
Before I get to the description, just a heads up that I'm going to start pulling the company description here, to archive those as well.
Jolly Pumpkin - Golden Manatee Belipago
Link: Jolly Pumpkin's Beer List (pdf)
Official Description: "A delicious Belgian-style IPA, brewed with chestnuts, tapioca, sorghum, agave nectar and loads of the freshest hops money can buy. Fermented with two yeasts for a layered complexity, and dry hopped for a spicy mouthful of fun. Gluten free!"
Look: Golden or coppery, with a healthy layer of foam on top of it. Definitely got a beer mustache from this one. It was served in a chalice, which did its job preserving the head when gently swirled. Foam stayed until the end.
Smell: Fruity, sweet, and spicy! This beer has agave nectar in it, and this probably attributes to the peculiar type of sweet smell it has - not quite sugar, not quite honey.
Taste: This is a dry beer with a prominent hops undertone. I also picked up hints of spices, citrus, and yeast as well. It finishes bitter and has (like most gluten free beer) a medium thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation. I can't remember what the alchohol content was (not because of the alchohol content either, I just forgot to write it down!)
Where to Buy: Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor, Traverse City, or Dexter.
I had a cycling team meeting the other day at the cafe in Ann Arbor, MI, which is about 20 minutes from my house. I figured this was a great opportunity to try the Golden Manatee Belipago. This beer was on tap at the Cafe which is unusual for gluten free beers, mostly they are in bottles. This to me speaks of one of two things - either there are enough gluten free people in the area to warrant that, or enough regular people are ordering this to make it worth keeping on tap. Sweet! I have to say that of all of the gluten free beers enjoyed this is the one that people who are not strictly gluten free have liked the best. After this meeting, I realized that some non gluten free cycling teammates regularly order this beer!
Before I get to the description, just a heads up that I'm going to start pulling the company description here, to archive those as well.
Jolly Pumpkin - Golden Manatee Belipago
Link: Jolly Pumpkin's Beer List (pdf)Official Description: "A delicious Belgian-style IPA, brewed with chestnuts, tapioca, sorghum, agave nectar and loads of the freshest hops money can buy. Fermented with two yeasts for a layered complexity, and dry hopped for a spicy mouthful of fun. Gluten free!"
Look: Golden or coppery, with a healthy layer of foam on top of it. Definitely got a beer mustache from this one. It was served in a chalice, which did its job preserving the head when gently swirled. Foam stayed until the end.
Smell: Fruity, sweet, and spicy! This beer has agave nectar in it, and this probably attributes to the peculiar type of sweet smell it has - not quite sugar, not quite honey.
Taste: This is a dry beer with a prominent hops undertone. I also picked up hints of spices, citrus, and yeast as well. It finishes bitter and has (like most gluten free beer) a medium thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation. I can't remember what the alchohol content was (not because of the alchohol content either, I just forgot to write it down!)
Where to Buy: Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor, Traverse City, or Dexter.
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