Bull N Bear – The Tap Takeover

Beer Review: Bull ‘N Bear’s Alternative Investments

Name: Alternative Investment
Brewing Company: Bull N Bear Brewery
Location: Summit, NJ
Style: Altbier
ABV: 5.5%

Bull n Bear crafted a nice, malty easy drinking and flavorful German Ale.

I was in Summit, NJ recently for a few things and knowing I was going to be in Summit, one of those things was visiting Bull ‘n Bear Brewery. I was quite happy with the beer I had when the brewery first opened and a subsequent visit, so I was happy to give their beer another try. Altbier (literally, “Old Beer” in German) is not exactly a popular style in today’s “craft” beer landscape. Northeast brewery Long Trail’s “Long Trail Ale” is one of the few more widely available interpretations of the style so I was excited to see “Alternate Investment” on draft.

Altbiers are predominant in the Düsseldorf region of Germany and are one of the few German styles not a lager (Hefeweizen and Dunkelweizen being the others). Often characterized by a maltiness, some sweetness, and maybe some hop character, the color is often reddish brown or even copper. An English Brown Ale is a somewhat close equivalent, but the malts in the Altbier will stand out as a major differentiator from my experience.

On to the beer under review, Alternative Investments from Bull N Bear Brewery…

I’m given a brownish-reddish beer that is cold to the touch. Slight aroma, but nothing that would set it apart from other beers I’ve had. First sip is smooth and malty.

There’s a slight sweetness from the malt, the kind of tastiness that makes you want to drink the beer very quickly. I get notes of caramel and hints of vanilla, two flavors that complement each other very well. As such, those flavors work well in this beer. Maybe a hint of chocolate, as well as slight fruitiness. It isn’t over carbonated and at a nice ABV of 5.5% make for a beer that delivers on flavor, but won’t knock you over the head with booziness All in all, a really tasty, flavorful profile of the beer.

Recommended, link to 3.75 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Originating from Germany, the Altbier, or old beer, uses the old school brewing style of top fermentation and is left to condition for longer than normal. That’s 10 different beers with the style of Altbier. .

Draught Diversions: May 2021 Six Pack

Draught Diversion, Monthly New Brews

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and non-review posts here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

May was a month for a plentiful amount of new beer. I was fortunate enough to enjoy so many good new beers that I had a tougher time choosing six than I have in quite a few months. A nice mix of styles, a brewery or two appearing in the Monthly Six Pack for the first time or first time in a while. This marks the third month in a row with a Barleywine, third month in a row without an IPA, and first time in a two months without a new Pilsner. Only one of these beers was purchased a liquor/beer store (the lone non-NJ beer), the other five were purchased directly at the brewery, with four of those enjoyed at the brewery. Is that too granular of an analyzation?

Saint Alphonsus (Bull ‘n Bear) | Belgian Dubbel | 4 Bottle Caps on untappd

BullnBear_StAlphonsus

Had a meet up in Summit, NJ on the first day of the month and we had time before our restaurant reservations so of course we stopped at the neighboring brewery. This is the 3rd beer I’ve had from Bull ‘n Bear and each style has been very tasty. This Dubbel is a very impressive interpretation of the style from Bull ‘n Bear.

Vanilla Maris (Timber Ales/Horus Aged Ales/Mindful Ales) | Barleywine – English | 4.50 Bottle Caps on untappd

Timber_VanillaMaris

Here I am again with the third beer I’ve had from a brewery…what a fantastic Barleywine this beer is. The English Barleywines are more malty and sweet compared to their hoppy cousins from America and often exhibit hints of toffee in the flavor profile. This beer does indeed have that element to it, which plays wonderfully with the vanilla beans on which the beer was aged. Another standout from Timber Ales.

Morning Bean 2020 (Kane Brewing Company) | Porter – Other | 4.5 Bottle Caps on untappd

Kane_MorningBean

With the world slowly emerging from the Pandemic, a couple of friends and I decided to visit Kane’s Biergarten. Morning Bell is a superb Coffee Porter and they release variants every year. I missed out on the bottle release of this one, which takes the beer and conditions the liquid on Bourbon Vanilla Beans. This beer is an unbelievably delicious porter.

Paddy’s House Kölsch (Source Brewing) | Kölsch | 4.75 Bottle Caps on untappd

Source_PaddysKolsch

…and after Kane, we visited Source, which was a first for us. A beautiful setting, a warm day, and a cold beer with friends. Well, I saw good things about this beer on untappd and I was not disappointed. The is beer is the winner of a homebrew contest, and there’s no question of the quality. Of the 30 beers on untappd I’ve had categorized as “Kölsch,” this is at least the best American version and maybe the best period. This was zlow-poured to allow the flavors to express themselves even more potently, some malt/breadiness with a crisp finish that has some hops and a wonderful mouthfeel. This is everything I want in a beer.

Blackberry Frukt (Conclave Brewing Company) | Farmhouse Ale – Other | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

ConclaveBlackberryFrukt

I took a quick drive to Conclave to grab one of the very limited bottle releases (likely to be mentioned in next month’s six pack) and of course had to have some freshly poured beer. I was glad to see this beer still on tap because it was absolutely perfect for warm weather enjoyment. Conclave calls this a “Norwegian Farmhouse Ale” because of the Kviek yeast which brings fun flavors to the beer, but they went further and finished the beer on fresh blackberries for a really special beer.

Triple 5 Phat Crispy (Twin Elephant Brewing Company/Five Boroughs Brewing Company ) | Lager – American | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

TEB_TriplePhat5

Twin Elephant is celebrating their fifth year this year and they’ve canned a few beers, including this one, the first Lager they’ve packaged. Brewed in collaboration with Five Boroughs Brewing, this beer is just about everything a fan of flavorful Lagers could want in a beer. Refreshing, tasty, a delicious crusher. A contender for my favorite beer from the folks from Chatham, NJ.

Beer Review: Bull ‘N Bear’s Liquid Asset

Beer Review

Name: Liquid Asset
Brewing Company: Bull ‘n Bear Brewing Company
Location: Summit, NJ
Style: Lager – Dortmunder / Export
ABV: 5.8%

The new North Jersey brewery is off to a strong start with this delicious, unique style of Lager.

From the untappd page for the beers.

German Lager that is crisp, earthy, herbal and refreshing. A unique water profile (high sulpahtes) to Dortmund Germany differs this beer from the traditional German Helles by interacting with the malt and hops (Hallertau & Saaz) which heightens the bitterness of the hops and the alkalinity leaving a slight haze. Prost!

Here we are with another brewery who had the misfortune to open their doors during the COVID Pandemic, but they started strong, at least based on the two beers I enjoyed. The one under review is (shock to regular readers) a Lager, but not a Pilsner or a Helles Lager (probably two of the most common craft Lagers), but a Dortumunder Lager.

What is a Dortmunder Lager? It falls within the family of Pale Lagers, like a Pilsner or Helles. The most common description I’ve seen is that it is has elements of Pilsner (some kind of hop presence) and a Helles (a more pronounced malt character) and is all about balance. Like many German Lagers, this beer derives its name from the region (Dortmund, German) as many styles originated as such. Not many breweries are making this specific style of Lager on a regular basis, Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Dortmund Gold out of Cleveland, Ohio is the only large regional brewery to come to mind, so I was quite pleased to see a new brewery make the style.

Let’s dive into some Liquid Asset…

Look at that picture above? The beer is clear, golden, and very appealing in that glass. In other words, it looks exactly like I want a lager to look. As good as it looks, I didn’t really catch too much of the aroma on the beer.

Liquid Asset passes my first sip test with flying colors. This lager hits some great opening notes. A little sweetness from the malt in the beer, and that ever-important quality of making me want to drink more.

The most pronounced character of this beer is that wonderful bready, malt element. There’s a little bit of hop presence, essentially just there to be noticed, but there’s no bitterness from the hops. This is an extremely clean, delicious beer. Overall, the malt character brings a pleasant sweetness and the finish is extremely clean.

In speaking to the beertender, he said the recipe for this beer was one of the first or earliest beers the owner/head brewer was making in his home-brewing days. The refinement of making this beer over and over many years shines through and highlights how well-crafted this beer is from first sip to the last drops that remain in the glass. I hope this beer stays in constant rotation at Bull ‘N Bear because it is a showcase for the brewer’s quality. Liquid Asset is the a perfect beer to walk the line between appealing to “new” craft beer drinkers and those of us who consider ourselves something like aficionados.

Prost to Bull ‘N Bear for such finely crafted lager!

Highly Recommended, link to Untappd 4.25-bottle cap rating.