This week's Sunday Night Suds beer review looks at Uinta's Anniversary Barleywine. Additionally, since this is the last Sunday before Purim, this blog post also contains the Pre-Purim Kosher Beer List.
A number of weeks ago I was notified by the Orthodox Union that they had added another brewery to their stable of kosher products - the Uinta Brewery of Salt Lake City, Utah. I contacted Uinta seeking information about who carries their products in New York but they directed me to Manhattan Beer (their distributor in New York) who are notorious for not being responsive to the public. Needless to say, Manhattan Beer did not answer my inquiries, however, I was able to locate Uinta in a number of beer stores including the vastly underrated Eagle Provisions on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn.
Eagle Provisions is a very interesting store. From the outside Eagle appears to be a typical bodega/Polish grocery store. Inside, the store has the best variety of beer that I have ever seen. However, as impressive as their selection is the methodical way that they categorize the brews as the beers are sorted by state and country.
Although Eagle carried more than half a dozen varieties of Uinta, I chose the Anniversary Barley Wine which I intended to be my Purim seudah special brew. [This was later supplanted by a care package from the Gush, but that will be the subject of next week's post, i"yh].
So what is a Barley Wine? As defined by the experts at BA:
Despite its name, a Barleywine (or Barley Wine) is very much a beer, albeit a very strong and often intense beer! In fact, it's one of the strongest of the beer styles. Lively and fruity, sometimes sweet, sometimes bittersweet, but always alcoholic. A brew of this strength and complexity can be a challenge to the palate. Expect anything from an amber to dark brown colored beer, with aromas ranging from intense fruits to intense hops. Body is typically thick, alcohol will definitely be perceived, and flavors can range from dominant fruits to palate smacking, resiny hops.The beer poured a rich amber, with some similarity to an IPA. The first taste of the brew was a knockout punch of hops, malt and some fruit - maybe a little apricot in the flavor. The beer has a high alcohol content (typical of barleywine) as it was slightly above 10% abv. After having just one of these with dinner tonight, I could feel the alcohol and I do not recommend having more than one at a meal (maybe at a Purim seudah...).
English varieties are quite different from the American efforts, what sets them apart is usually the American versions are insanely hopped to make for a more bitter and hop flavored brew, typically using American high alpha oil hops. English versions tend to be more rounded and balanced between malt and hops, with a slightly lower alcohol content, though this is not always the case.
Uinta Anniverary Barleywine is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, although there is no OU on the label. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the LOC for Uinta, please send me an e-mail.
For the experts' take on the Uinta Anniversary Barleywine please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/3840.
As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).
Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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Pre-Purim Kosher Beers List - As a public service, Kosherbeers is proud to offer a list of beers which are known to be under kosher supervision. As the scribd format worked so well for the Labor Day version, the Pre Purim list is provided in this format as well.
Kosher Beers List Purim 2011
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