Karl Strauss Brewing Company - Amber Lager

Currently the brewery's only bottled product, Karl Strauss Amber Lager is brewed with a combination of two row pale, munich, dextrin, and caramel malts. Karl adds both Clusters and Cascade hops in equal proportions during the boil primarily for their bittering contributions. A proprietary yeast strain is used.

Look for a sweet, caramelly maltiness up front with some hop spiciness evident in the nose. Note good head retention in this medium-bodied, clear, copper-to-amber colored beer. Karl Strauss Amber Lager starts off with a sweet, caramelly flavor as its nose indicates. The sweetness carries into the middle, however this beer ends with a mild bitter/dry finish. Overall, one of the better American interpretations of an amber lager we've tried.

Karl Strauss' Old Columbia Brewery & Grill opened its doors to the public on February 2, 1989. At the time it opened, it was the first new brewery of any kind to open in the city of San Diego in more than fifty years. Karl Strauss Amber Lager was the first beer brewed at Old Columbia, and on opening day it was served along with Gaslamp Gold Ale and Downtown After Dark Brown Ale as the first 3 beers on tap. In 1991, the brewery expanded by building a second brewery to produce and distribute their Amber Lager. Founder Karl Strauss is one of the world's most recognized master brewers and was the first and only person to ever receive the Master Brewers Association of the Americas' Award of Honor and Merit, considered to be the highest of honors in the American Brewing Industry. More than 65 years of brewing expertise are reflected in the superb quality of the brewery's product line which is comprised of over 35 different recipes which are brewed and served from the three San Diego breweries and brewpubs.

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (619) 234-BREW or check out their web site at www.karlstrauss.com.

TrailBlazer Mousse

Stouts get their dark color and robust taste from dark roasted malt barley. The well-roasted malt barley imparts a rich flavor that is a perfect marriage with desserts, and its born to go with chocolate! We've found a Mousse recipe in the Southwest Brewing News that'll give you a whole new appreciation for El Dorado's TrailBlazer Stout.

1 lb. chocolate chips, or other bitter chocolate
¾ cup El Dorado TrailBlazer Stout, room temp.
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
8 large eggs, room temp., separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt chocolate chips slowly in double boiler. Remove from heat. Stir in Stout and coffee liqueur, blending until smooth. Add egg yolks to mixture two at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream, vanilla and sugar until stiff peaks. Chill cream mixture. In another bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff, and gently fold egg whites and whipped cream together. Very slowly fold ¼ of this mixture into the melted chocolate until smooth, then fold in remainder of cream mixture until no white is showing. Spoon into 10 serving goblets and chill. Some like to serve with a raspberry sauce, but you might not want to take any attention away from the pureness of its existing wonderful, malty, chocolate flavor.

Dear Murl,

Hello from the Pacific Northwest, home of the re-birth of the microbrewery! First, I would like to thank you for your beer of the month service. Thanks to you, we've been able to enjoy a lot of great brews from around the country. My question is this: What is meant by the term "lagering"? And if I can get two in for the price of one, what is the difference between beer and ale? You might be able to tell from my questions that I am fairly new at this hobby. I don't know much about 'em, but I sure do enjoy drinkin' them! Keep up the great work!

Happily Yours,

Harold Scott

Belfair, WA.

Yo Harry!

May I call you Harry? I mean, my friends call me hairy and sometimes I get ticked, not because I have ticks, mind you, but because I am hairy. Anyway, Harold, thanks for the kind words; it means a lot to a guy that is usually rewarded with rawhide chewies and Science Diet's interpretation of a "Scooby Snack". Lagering is a term that originated from the German word "Lagen" which means to lie, rest, or repose. The term refers to the storing of bottom-fermented beer in cold cellars at near freezing temperatures for periods ranging from a few weeks to several months and occasionally up to a year, during which time the slow process chemical reactions take place which mellow the beer, reducing any harsh or off flavors.

Lagering generally creates a smoother, crisper, and cleaner product. On beer and ale, it's really just a question of semantics. The word beer is used rather broadly to describe nearly all beverages made with malted barley save zee inzamous Zima and zome other peculiar products. All beers fall into two primary categories or classifications, one of which is Ales, the other being Lagers. Furthermore, there are many different styles such as stouts, bocks, or hefeweizens that fall under each category. We've included several articles on the various beer styles in past editions of The Brew Harvest Review and also on our site: www.beermonthclub.com/beerstyleguide.

Woof!

Murl.