BetterBeerBlog

Last night, Sammy and I made the long drive up to the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley to try their “vertical” tasting of their winter seasonal Snow Cap. It really wasn’t much of a vertical though as they were only pouring the ’08, ’09 and a third dubbed “Super” Snow Cap. Call it more of a taster.

Beer may have been the excuse to drive all the way up to Berkeley but the real reason for making my way was to attend my very first tweet up. A tweet up is basically a gathering of folks organized through Twitter. The term is a derivative of “meet up”. In attendance were @BrewSugar, @D_e_a_n_o, @MrTrav, @bisonbrew and @TripleRockBeer. With a line-up like this, how could I not go?

All in all, it was a fairly mellow affair. I had fully expected us to be rocking the bar area but by the time everyone showed up, the bar was filled so we were pretty much forced to be at a table. Since Sammy and I ate before driving up to Pyramid, we just ordered a basket of sweet potato fries (came with an interesting curry dipping sauce) while everyone else ordered more robust fare.

I had the opportunity to talk with Rodger Davis, the brewmaster at Triple Rock. I first “met” Rodger a couple of years ago during the Boonville Beerfest when he hung out at our campsite and talked shop with New Belgium beer rep Jeremy. Since then, I’ve seen Rodger at multiple Bay Area events for months now but never had the opportunity to speak to him at any length until tonight.

While nothing revolutionary came from the conversation, I can say I’m trying to help out with a future beer-related project regarding SF Beer Week. The idea, suggested by Firehouse brewmaster Steve Donohue, was for each participating brewer(y) to brew up a “Bill Brand” beer in honor of the late beer journalist/advocate who tragically passed away during the inaugural year of SF Beer Week. I think this is a great way to remember the man who did so much for craft brewing here in the Bay Area and I’m happy to help in any way.

Anyway, I was up at Pyramid for their beers so here’s what I thought of them.

Snow Cap 2008, Pyramid Brewing, 7.0% ABV

The 2008 Snow Cap pours out a brilliantly clear mahogany color with a beige head. The beer has a sweet, caramelish flavor with a deep, toasted barley flavor and slight roasty notes. The hop character of the beer is muted. The 2008 Snow Cap is more of a malt forward beer. The aroma is similar to the flavor. The beer is medium bodied, lighter than I had expected but with medium-high carbonation. There’s a slight alcohol character in the aroma.

When talking to Rodger, he comments on how he feels Snow Cap would make a very good barrel aged beer. He can see Snow Cap aging very well in bourbon, brandy and port barrels, just to name a few.

Snow Cap 2009, Pyramid Brewing, 7.0% ABV

For all intents and purposes, the 2009 Snow Cap looks identical to the 2008. The difference between the two lies in the hop character. Since this is the freshest version of this beer, the hops come through moreso than in the 2008. The hop aroma is slightly fruity and floral while the bitterness is about medium intensity. The malt character of the beer makes Snow Cap seem less bitter than it really is. Snow Cap is also medium bodied with medium-high carbonation and a slight alcohol aroma and astringency.

Super Snow Cap, Pyramid Brewing, 9.0% ABV

I never did get to ask the bartender what made this beer “super”. I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that has 2% more alcohol by volume than its counter parts. Super Snow Cap is a hazy, dark caramel in color and is virtually opaque with a thin, beige head. Lots of stuff, most likely yeast, in suspension. This beer has a muddled, sweet malt flavor. Unlike the other beers with a clear, distinguishable malt character, Super Snow Cap’s flavors are all mixed together with nothing jumping out at me as the dominant flavor. This beer has a very low hop character. Super Snow Cap is medium-high in body, medium-low carbonation and a slight warming feeling as it goes down my throat.

Hum Bug’r, MacTarnahan’s, 5.3% ABV

To finish the night off, I order Hum Bug’r seasonal porter from MacTarnahan’s. MacTarnahan’s was purchased by Pyramid Brewing some time ago and now makes their beers as well. Hum Bug’r has chocolate flavors as well as a deep roasted malt character. There’s not a lot of hops in this beer, just enought for balance. The aroma is similar to the flavor. Hum Bug’r is a very dark brown color, nearly black with a tan head. It is medium-bodied with medium carbonation.

Out of the three Snow Caps I tried this night, my favorite was the 2009 iteration. I found it to have a bright, clear flavor and more balanced because I can taste the hops. I found nothing super about Super Snow Cap. I felt its flavors were all muddled together with nothing jumping out at me. Hum Bug’r was an enjoyable beer as well, I ordered this in a pint that I finished.

Seeing as their distribution is pretty wide, having to drive up to Berkeley for 3 tasting size samples of Snow Cap might not seem worth it. As always, the beer is just an excuse to get out of the house; the real treat is getting to meet fellow craft beer enthusiasts and professional brewers.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 1:15 am and is filed under Beer Tappings, Brew pubs, Craft Beer, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.