Grin and Beer It

Birthday Barleywine

2012-01-31T18:33:00.000-08:00

So I turned 33. It was a pretty stressful month, and thinking about my birthday was not a priority. However, I had a wonderful birthday. Primarily due to a very lovely person in my life giving me thoughtful gifts, time and attention, and many delicious things. One delicious thing was Funfetti cupcakes with homemade lemon frosting. Seriously. Another delicious thing was Short's: The Wizard, an American Barleywine. Barleywines are strong, fruity, intense beers; the American Barleywine tends to be much hoppier than the British style. That being said, I don't think I've had a British Barleywine. (I'd like to change this status. Feel free to recommend some.) The aforementioned lovely person drove me to a beer store and told me to pick out beer for her to buy me. (So yes, she is amazing and you are jealous).
The Wizard has kind of this old school-looking packaging. A kinda...Campy looking Wizard with a magic ball and a black cat. Not much information on the label except, "Barleywine aged on raisins. Brewed on Devil's Night for 6 hours and 66 minutes." This is a Winter seasonal that comes out in December, has over 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) and 11% alcohol. That's pretty bitter and pretty boozy.
The Wizard poured a murkey dark brown with reddish highlights. As it warmed up (I let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Not by choice! I don't have that kind of willpower), it almost looked more red. And a later pour produced a much larger sudsy head.
The smell? Upon opening the bottle I got a whiff of alcohol. Then it mellowed into a milder fruit scent, mostly raisins. And the taste: Primarily sweet dark fruits, definitely raisins, but also cherries. Sweet malts, but a little bit of bitter hops and just a little noticeable alcohol. A substantial body, soft-feel, and just a little alcohol warmth.
The flavor is strong, and the alcohol is noticeable, but this is a very drinkable Barleywine. I put a couple of bottles away for aging. I will have to use will-power for that.

A

Captain Lawrence - Captain's Reserve IIPA

2012-01-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't appreciate a nice beer offering? My rockstar uncle is visiting from New York, and brought with him a local treat. Captain Lawrence hails from Pleasantville, NY (pleasant!) - its website offers lots of information about the brewery and owner. He's adorable. He started brewing at age 17, studied brewing in college (at age 18, before he could even legally drink his product). In 2006 he opened Captain Lawrence - largely run by his family. Cute.

Captain Lawrence's Captain's Reserve was poured fresh into a growler and carefully transported from New York to Michigan (through treacherous snow storms, no less!). This Imperial India Pale Ale is a big beer. A big, delicious beer. It poured a clear, pretty, light honey-like amber with a thin white head. A later (warmer) pour brought forth a larger, fluffier head and lots of sticky lace. Everything about this beer screams "fresh." The smell is very piney. And the taste--pineapple-grapefruit-pine hops. 80 IBUs (International Bittering Units -- nerds), 9% ABV (Alcohol By Volume), and 20 OGs. This is a new acronym for me. Can someone explain Original Gravity units in layman's terms please? Or maybe Captain Lawrence has 20 original gangsters. Whatever it is, it's working.
As per the brewery's website -- This beer is a salute to the ingenuity and creativity of the American craft brewers. A uniquely American style of beer, the Double or Imperial IPA, has become the calling card of many craft brewers who aren't afraid to push the limits of what hops can add to a beer. This beer is big and hoppy - not for the faint of heart! Be prepared to experience sensory overload as you savor this Imperial IPA.

Indeed. This beer is big and hoppy. And did I mention that this beer was super tasty? While the flavors are strong, it is still very drinkable. It's not an overly bitter beer to slowly sip; there is balance. A great Imperial IPA. Beeradvocate.com rates it a 91% (exceptional) and Ratebeer.com rates it a 99%.

I'll give it an A for sure. Cheers!

Alpha King Pale Ale

2012-01-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

Where'd you spend your New Years? I spent mine in Madison with the BFF. Among other things, I ate at Red Lobster for the first time (it was delicious), and saw the Muppet Movie for the third time. If you haven't seen it yet, please go see it. My uncle is the puppeteer of the new muppet Walter. I'm proud. Also while there, I shopped at Woodman's. On New Year's Eve. Who buys booze on New Year's Eve? Everyone. It was crazy busy. But I got some fun beers, including a 6-er of Indiana's Three Floyd's Alpha King Pale Ale, which I have not seen carried in Michigan. Very modest imagery--NOT! I like the art. The description on the bottle reads "...an American Pale Ale with a bold citrus hop character." Indeed!
It poured a clear reddish amber with a thin white head. I love a pretty hoppy ale! I have a slight cold and am stuffy, yet the nose isn't joking around. A refreshing blast of citrus and pine in my face. This beer is tasty. Orange, pineapple...Strong bitter pine and citrus hops. Also sweet malts, making it balanced and not crazy bitter, even though it was crazy. And bitter. Very crisp, strong flavors, super tasty. I had a second one, which had sat for longer at room temperature. The warmer beer had a huge fluffy white head; the mouthfeel softer and more mellow. A fantastic Pale Ale.

And a cool bottle cap.

The nicer-looking 2nd beer.

Thanks Three Floyds for the delicious Pale Ale! And a happy New Year! A

Happy Holidays! International Beer Gift

2011-12-26T18:07:00.001-08:00

Happy Winter Celebrations! I hope you have all gotten to indulge in your favorite holiday treats this year. I got this "Beer of the World" 10 pack as a gift from 2 dear friends. Yay! It's nice when people know what I like. A couple of German beers, a couple of British beers, my dad went right for the Mexican craft beer (in a can!) and I chose to first indulge on a beer from Sri Lanka and another from Australia.Lion Imperial Premium Malt Pil sner - a product of Sri Lanka with 8.8% alcohol by volume. It poured a mighty orange, much like the lion on its label, with a small sudsy white head. The smell was mild - faintly sweet malts and grassy hops. The taste was again mild - a bit of apple, grassy hops, and sweet malts. The alcohol was just slightly noticeable. It was smooth, mellow, light, and crisp. Not offensive, but not super flavorful. Fairly well-balanced. I wouldn't go out of my way to try this again, but was happy to get to try something new. B-

James Boag's Premium Lager states to be "Tasmania's Finest Since 1881." It poured like clear apple juice, with lots of rapid carbonation, and a huge fluffy head. Very mild nose, just vague sweetness. The taste, again, was extremely mild. A little tart apple, a little bitter/metallic taste, and a little bit of grass. Light, smooth, pleasant enough, but not enough flavor or substance to make it stand out. C

3 Pumpkin Beers: In Your/My Face

2011-10-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Holy wow, I've been doing this blog for 4 years now. Four years! And this is my 4th annual pumpkin beer review. And yes, I still love pumpkin.
I generally find cider a little too sweet, and this was no exception. However, the orange label on this Woodchuck called to me. It also informed me that this beverage contains 6.9% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) and is made in a small batch (2 1/2 hours on their assembly line) with pumpkin added at the end.

It drank like a regular cider, and mostly tasted like an apple cider. There was a little bit of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg) but it was pretty subtle. The body felt a little more substantial as well, perhaps from the pumpkin. Very sweet, still very strongly apple-flavored. Crisp, pleasant, but not that...Pumpkin-y. B-
Next was Screaming Pumpkin Spiced Ale from the local Michigan Brewing Company. I had this on tap last year and blogged about it! I liked it, but it was semi-frozen into beer chunks. No one likes that. No one. This time I tried it from the bottle, and enjoyed it. This is attractive - hazy orange, big fluffy head, some lacing. The aroma was strongly spicy. Nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon - these flavors also all dominated the taste. Cloves in particular stood out, as well as a little actual pumpkin flavor, and caramel malt sweetness. The focus is really on the spice rather than the pumpkin, and it is very spicy. A good local seasonal brew. B+
Oh I have some love for Southern Tier's Pumking. It's a big beer - not just a pumpkin beer but an "Imperial Pumpkin" beer.This has been my favorite pumpkin beer for a few years now. I only get it once or twice a year, and I always look forward to drinking it. This year was no exception. I got to share a bomber of it with a couple of friends. Everything about this is Halloween to me. The scary jack-o-lantern label. The bright orange color (pretty)...It smells like candy. Candy corn, to be precise. Brown sugar, real pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla. It tastes like actual pumpkin, as well as pumpkin pie spices, caramel malts, and a touch of hops. After it warms the spices stand out more, and it is darn good. Yes it is sweet. Yes it is a bit boozy at 8.6% ABV. That is why we share. Creamy, smooth, delicious. A

Stone Smoked Porter: Smokin'!

2011-09-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Stone Smoked Porter! I've been wanting to spend some quality time with this one for a while now.
As an aside, I've also been interested in trying more smoked beers. Rauchbiers are traditional old-school German beers that have had malts smoked over a beech wood fire. On the other hand, Smoked beers use peat-smoked malts in a variety of styles. Thanks Beeradvocate.com! Stone's Smoked Porter would be the latter style, using peat.
Appearance: Way too many words on the bottle. I don't have time for this. But truth be told, it is an entertaining/informative read. AND, Stone recommends PB&J as a good food item to be paired with this beer. Very nice. This brew was very dark, but had ruby highlights around the edges. Also a beautiful foamy tan head rested on top of the dark liquid.The nose was fairly mild, but notes of sweet malts as well as smokey malts were present. And the taste: UHM. NUM. Roasty, robust coffee, sweet dark chocolate. Nutty, sweet malts, burnt sugar. Rich, tasty, earthy (wood). Smokiness is there, but not in the forefront.
Overall, this is a delicious porter. The smoked factor adds a little to the taste. This is a full-bodied, creamy ale. Delicious; I would totally have another.
A

Lagunitas 13 Year Anniversary Release

2011-09-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

How could anyone resist this sexy bottle? Lagunitas released Lucky 13 as their 13th anniversary release - an amber ale. I found myself wondering - would this be considered "imperial"? What makes a beer style imperial anyways? According to the first website I found on the topic, it used to refer to beer shipped to Russia from England for the imperial court. Now it simply means a beer with a higher alcohol content than the typical style, and often stronger flavors as well.

Therefore, I declare Lucky 13 as an Imperial Amber Ale. I also declare it as damn good.
Appearance: From the sexy label to the lovely subdued orange-amber, sudsy off-white head, and visible carbonation, this is an attractive beer.

Smell: Sweet, sweet pineapple.

Taste: Tropical fruits, again pineapple in particular. Also strongly sweet caramel malts. Then very bitter hops. Strong flavors all around on both the hops and malts front, making this "balanced yet bold." (I should go into advertising, amiright?) Not much noticeable alcohol in the flavor, but certainly some warmth could be detected.
I shared this one with my dad. His thoughts? "It's fruity. Light yet not lite." (He spelled that one out). That's a fair assessment.

Overall - this is a solid beer. Tasty, strong flavors, strong hops the way I like it, great flavors of tropical fruit, sweetness, caramel, and bitter hops in yo' face. I'm a fan. Well done Lagunitas!
A

2 Michigan Belgian-Styles

2011-08-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of lovely Belgian beers out there. I often eye them in the store, consider them, then consider my limited budget. I've been wanting to do a vertical Chimay tasting for years now. Wow, I should just do it. Or, in the meantime, find more affordable locally-made brews in the traditional Belgian style. Such as these 2 brightly colored cans! Hey, hey - check it out. I picked up "Solitude" and "Triomphe," from Brewer y Vivant out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their slogan? "Belgian Tradition, Local Mission." Nice.

I began with the Solitude, although not in solitude. The Solitude is an Abbey-Style Belgian Dark Ale. It poured from the can (which included a message about the environmental reasons for using cans) to my wine glass as a murky brown with red highlights and a small fizzy brown head. Kind of like an ugly cola. The nose was strong; Belgian yeast and dark fruits.
Solitude was malty and fruity...Dark fruits - plums, raisins. The strong Belgian yeast flavor with a little funk. This was medium-bodied, had low carbonation, and felt smooth and soft. At 6% alcohol by volume, this was pleasant and mild enough. As it warmed I enjoyed it more. B

Next was the green can: Triomphe, a Belgian IPA. Now, pardon my naivete, but what is a Belgian-style IPA? I turn to the experts at BeerAdvocate: some Belgian brewers are creating strong IPAs in the style of American Imperial IPAs and geared towards an American audience. They often use Belgian yeast strains and American hops, and are drier than American IPAs.
Not to be shallow, but Triumphe was a little prettier than the Solitude. Sorry. It poured a pretty, cloudy, orange-amber with a huge fluffy off-white head. It left lots of lacing and had a very inviting appearance. The nose was fairly mild but pleasant; hoppy citrus and floral. And delicious - initial sweet citrus (pineapple, orange) gave way to bitter pines and subtle Belgian yeast flavors. Strongly stated flavors, but not a super hop-bomb. Great drinkability at 6.5% alcohol by volume; smooth, soft, pleasant, and tasty. A

This was a nice way to discover yet another cool Michigan brewery AND a new style of beer to boot!

A Firkin of Smells Like...

2011-07-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

So a local tavern has "firkin Fridays." I've never partaken. Partook? (Seriously, which is correct? I really want to know). What's a firkin again? A 1/4 barrel, often encased in wood. It contains 72 pints of cask-conditioned ale. Usually a specialty ale left to complete the fermentation process in the barrel, producing a fresh and evolving product. On this particular "firkin Friday" they were tapping a barrel of "Smells Like Weed" by Dark Horse Brewing Company. Obviously an alluring name to many, and when I arrived at 5 minutes prior to tapping time, there was already an eager group of people surrounding said firkin.

It poured surprisingly dark and murky. It looked like very cloudy apple cider with a big sudsy light brown head. The nose was...mild. Pleasant. Floral hops. So far, not too exciting...

Okay, but do not fret! The taste made up for it. This is a good IPA. Strongly floral and citrus hops. In particular pineapple and mango. Strongly bitter hop notes were off-set with just a touch of sweet malts. Then there was a slight banana flavor along with a slight unique flavor I can only describe as "funk." Strong, good flavors for those of us who like strong and bitter IPAs.

"Smells Like Weed" was kind of thick and oily. I asked a couple of guys sitting by me what they thought. Their sentiments: "It doesn't smell like weed, it doesn't look very pretty, but it tastes really good." That pretty much sums it up!

Overall a solid IPA that I would try again. B+

Beer Art (Bart?)

2011-07-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty amazing print. 89 beer varieties, appropriate glassware, and examples. I think I could get lost in the beauty of it for a while.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

2011-07-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the infamous and mighty Edmund Fitzgerald. Yeah I never heard of it either. But apparently it sunk in Lake Superior in 1975. What I had heard of was the beer named after it created by Ohio's Great Lakes Brewing Company. This beer has won lots of awards, and is highly scored on both BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer. And I gotta say...This is good stuff.

This is an attractive beer. Pitch black with a sudsy brown head, good retention, moderate lacing. The first word that came to me when smelling it was "soft." Softly chocolate and roasty. Same with the taste.

Chocolate and coffee notes with a solid roasted grains and flavor and enough hops to keep this more bitter (or bittersweet) than sweet.

Smooth, creamy, medium-bodied, low carbonation. Again, "softness" comes to mind.
This is a solid beer. Well-balanced, tasty, flavorful, & not overwhelming.

Short's Rich's Rye

2011-06-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Have I ever had a Rye beer? I don't know that I have. And only being a semi-fan of rye bread, I've been curious but not super-excited about trying this style. Rye beer uses...um, rye. And is marked by bitter, sour, and spicy notes. Short's Rich's Rye is described as a "super-hopped golden rye beer." And there is an adorable picture of a "brewery dad" on the label. So I figured this was a good choice to start with.
This is a unique-looking beer. And not in a "Well, at least you've got a great personality" kind of way. It is good looking! Handsome, even. This is a very hazy muted amber. A sudsy and sturdy white head left lots of lacing. This is also an intensely-carbonated beer.
It smelled like rye, peppery spice, and sourness. It reminded me of overly ripe peaches.

The taste was interesting. At first like a regular lager but then you get hit with some bitter hops, strong spice, and a touch of sourness. The rye definitely gives it a unique flavor. I like the combination of bread, spice, and bitter pine hops.
The mouthfeel was medium, smooth, and creamy. Great drinkability, especially considering the fact that its a style and flavor I'm not used to. I can't compare it to other Ryes, and I assume this one is extra hoppy. But I would welcome some other Ryes in my future. Feel free to recommend some!

A-

may the beer in me be the beer in you: namaste

2011-06-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Check out this film trailer. For The Love of Beer, a documentary focusing on women working in the craft beer industry in the Pacific Northwest. Awesome! And while I love women and beer and am excited for that aspect of the film, I also got real excited about Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head brewery and all around beer rock star. I'm pretty gay, y'all. But I want to beer-marry this man. Whatever that means.
When I first began to explore the craft beer world, I hit up Dogfish Head right away. I've tried a lot of their beer. I don't love it all, but I love a lot of it and I respect their creativity and boldness. Anyways, after seeing this little trailer with Mr. Calagione I had Dogfish Head in my head and went to search out something new. I went searching for an answer. I found namaste.
The label is very cute and informative/entertaining:

Namaste the word kinda sorta means the spirit in me recognizes and celebrates the spirit in you. Namaste the brew kinda sorta means white ale as in wheat and coriander but also means dried orange slices and lemongrass. A refreshing summer thing, Namaste.

(Check out the cute skeleton label!)

Namaste poured a completely hazy bright orange-yellow. Lots of visible sediment floating around along with the carbonation. Nice 1.5 finger of solid white head, excellent retention, and just a bit of lacing. This is sunshine in a glass.

It smells...Juicy. "Drink me." Strongly orange and lemon. Wheat and just a bit of spice. It tastes great - very refreshing. A strong wheat flavor, plenty of fruity citrus, and a strong coriander spice. The spice is a little much at times, but really, this is a super tasty flavorful beverage. It's also just a little sour. Looks good, smells good, tastes good too.

The body is medium and creamy, and the drinkability is great. 5% alcohol is pretty low, making this a good "hot summer day beer."

A-

Baltika #9 Extra: My 1st Russian Beer!

2011-05-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lotta beer in my day. Never before have I seen a bottle quite like this - it is plastic, with a plastic screw-on top. At 51 ounces and 8% alcohol (for $3.99), this could easily be a dangerous party beer. The brewery is Baltika (check out the website! fun dance music, very European). What is also European is the style of this lager. According to BeerAdvocate, this style is "Euro Strong Lager," a style that uses more malts and less corn/rice (like most American-style lagers). Cool, a new style to explore! And I have to say, I like it.
It poured darker than I expected; a good sign. Medium amber, crystal clear, lots of carbonation, and a huge sudsy white head with little retention. The smell was STRONGLY green apple. Like, regular apples plus artificial green apple, very sweet. And the taste...Again, I was expecting to hop on the train to Blandsville, but this is flavorful! Strong caramel malts, a big apple bite, some grassiness, and a touch of bitter hops. Even with 8% alcohol, I do not detect much in the taste.This has a stronger body than expected as well. Almost too thick. But then again, maybe that's because I'm not familiar with this style. It is not a bad drinking beer. However, it is really sweet. A little too sweet. But, you know, sweet flavor is better than no flavor. Ya know?(Plus I got a cool bottle cap for the ol' collection). B-

Short's Hangin' Frank: Controversy!

2011-05-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Oooh, nothing like a little controversy in the beer world, eh? Hangin' Frank by Short's has a story behind it. And a quick Google search shows the debates over the rather gruesome label. I have to admit, the label is what caught my eye, besides also generally enjoying Short's products and IPAs. SO, the short story is that there is a bar in Petoskey, MI, where a bartender hung himself. There is a rumor that his ghost haunts the bar, and this beer was named in his honor. Cool story, cool tribute to a small-town Michigan bar. But Short's....Really? Really you didn't think the label might be in poor taste? The early version of the label made Frank look black. Um, yeah a beer label with a hanging black man without context? Terrible idea. You know, American history and such. The label has been changed, so Frank looks white now. Still totally creepy. Anyways, the beer is to be rebranded next year. Probably a good idea.So, how's the actual beer? Pretty good! I got over the label. It's a purty beer. Nice, light amber with hints of red; almost peach-like. Mostly clear, but a bit murky. Plenty of visible carbonation and a sudsy 1/2 finger head which left lots of lacing.
Hops are quickly detected upon opening the bottle. Odors of lemon, orange, and a little bit of sweetness, almost like honey.
This is a very pleasant IPA. Lots of citrus hops, some bitter pines, with a touch of malty sweetness for balance. Strongly bitter, but not over-the-top. The feel is a lil sticky, and surprisingly light and soft compared to other IPAs. Definitely has good drinkability. I'd pick this up again for sure...Perhaps at that time with a new name and label.
A-

A Couple of Cans: 21st Amendment Brewing

2011-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

On a recent road trip to MA, I decided to make a beer run. Namely to find my absolute favorite beer that you cannot get in MI. I stopped in Mentor, Ohio and found a really amazing store that had all kinds of goodies. Really amazing considering the kinda crappy strip mall and unassuming name - "Save On Tobacco and Beverage." Inside, aisles of beers from all over the country and world. Including some 21st Amendment beers from San Francisco.
First up was the Back in Black, an American-style IPA brewed with dark malts. It has 6.8% alcohol and 65 International Bitterness Units (IBUs). This poured very dark, although not exactly black, into my chicken glass. It had 1 finger of a rocky brown head with excellent retention. The nose was quite hoppy, and notably grapefruity.
Back in Black was a tasty IPA. There was an interesting balance of hops, a touch of spice, and just enough nutty malt taste to balance it out. A nice medium to full body and easy and pleasant to drink. I like IPAs a lot, and definitely enjoyed this one. It's kind of a strange style though, and I'm somewhat of a hop head, so don't see the need for dark malts in my IPAs.
I totally scored a can of Monks Blood too. I didn't know it was a score, but the cashier was excited because it's a limited release and I got the last one in the store. Therefore, SCORE. 21st Amendment has some nice packaging, and I enjoyed reading some of the scripture about monks on the can...But mostly went ahead to the tasting. This has 8.3% alcohol and 34 IBUs. Description: "Belgian-style dark ale brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, oak chips, and dried figs." OOH LA LA fancy pants.
Monk's Blood poured a cloudy brown with a thick sudsy light brown head. It smelled mildly sweet and malty. It tasted very nice. Sweet vanilla, mild cinnamon spice, and the oak flavor stood out as the beer warmed. This is a nice, mellow, well-balanced ale. Very soft in body, but a sipper due to the noticeable alcohol. Also I did not pick up a lot of fig or dark fruit flavors, which is my preference. So yeah. I enjoyed the Monk's Blood a lot.

Back in Black IPA: B+
Monk's Blood: A-

New Glarus Two Women: Our First Ever Joint Blog

2011-04-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Recognize these two? No, you say? Oh, that's just us, Sarah and Reem, out for some beers at the New Glarus Brewery on a beautiful, sunny day. If you've met us before, you probably know that we cause quite a scene wherever we go, and today was no different. In fact, we were such a hit today at the brewery that they created and named a beer after us! It's called, duh, Two Women. Two fine women, I might add!
We found ourselves in the Tasting Room of the New Glarus Brewery. As you can see, there were a lot of white people here.
Thanks for setting the stage, Reem. In the tasting room we each got a wrist band with 3 tickets attached, each for a "taste". Quite a deal - $3.50 for 3-3oz. glasses. And you get to keep the glass!
Our first sample was Cabin Fever, a honey Bock. It is brewed with Wisconsin barley along with European hops. I found it to be a light, crisp, pleasant lager. Reem noted, "The mouthfeel is nosy. I detect hints of honey and Bock."
Here we have Sarah looking adorable and knowledgeable, taking notes on the various beers we sampled.
And here's me, being a total jerk.
Like I said before, New Glarus Two Women. I imagine this is the moment at which the official brewers decided they needed to document this magnificent day by way of alcohol. Good choice, brewers!
Here we are 'sitting in our storm, drinking a toast to the slim chance of love's recovery'. Whoops, there may have been some Indigo Girls on at some point. Anyways, our next selection was Moon Man- a Pale Ale, and Fat Squirrel - a nut brown ale.
The Moon Man was delicious. New Glarus's description is funny - the "bold blend of five hops flirt obligingly with the smooth malty backside". But it's true!! Hey Sarah - THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!
I suppose I'm being pensive about this one. And enjoying its tasty citrus hops and well-balanced character.
There they are! Moon Man on the left, Fat Squirrel on the right.
Reem was not so much a fan of the Fat Squirrel. Me neither. Generally brown ales are a little boring to me. It had a strong caramel maltiness to it; and is described as having hazelnut notes.
But, as Reem wrote, "Sarah said all this stuff about hazelnuts and caramel. So I was expecting dessert. I was thusly surprised and disappointed to discover that it just tasted like beer."

Okay, so our last two were the Golden Ale: R & D Edition and the Wisconsin Belgian Red Cherry Ale. The Golden Ale was a limited edition, but you can get the cherry one anytime. Sarah wrote about the ale: "slightly strong, soap-y, spices." Well, at least I think she wrote that; her writing is atrocious! JK, guys. We're still BFF. Here's what I wrote: "It smells like one thing and tastes like a different thing. Also, I didn't think about soap until Sarah said 'soap,' so now all I can taste is soap. Thanks a lot, Sarah."
The cherry ale, on the other hand, was pretty delicious and completely non-soapy! Sarah's words: "Gorgeous. Red head. Cherries. Tart. Friendship." I couldn't agree more, Sarah! My words: "Now you're talkin'! Sarah is being a TOTAL nerd right now. Oh man."
After enjoying our samples we explored the brewery. They had bowls of hops and malts. One could smell and touch. Perhaps even taste, if one was to be that bold.
Reem smelling the nuggets of hop goodness.
The outside of the brewery is real pretty.
There was a beer store. We made some purchases.
There were also some funny signs up around the brewery. You know, about things like yeast. And there were some cute gentlemen working. We noticed that Sarah was really interested in the beers and I was really interested in the BOYS! Am I right, gals?!?!?!
Giant bottle cap! Wah Wah.
This is a true fact.

Overall, this was a fun visit to a fantastic Wisconsin brewery. And yes we scored the beers.

Sarah: Reem:

Cabin Fever: B Cabin Fever: Pass

Moon Man: A Moon Man: A+++

Fat Squirrel: B- Fat Squirrel: F-

Golden Ale: C Golden Ale: F-

WI Belgian Red: A+ WI Belgian Red: A++++

Chocolate-Beer and Beer-Chocolate.

2011-04-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

Beer and chocolate. Am I right? I am.
Tommyknocker is out of Colorado. I thought the Cocoa Porter sounded and looked good. Check out that whimsical label. This looked like a fizzy cola with small foamy light brown head. The nose was strong - cocoa for sure, raisin-y, mostly sweet...Okay, but not that "inviting to the palate." Overall a sweet beer, the cocoa powder is prominant, along with a little honey, some coffee, and something a bit fruity and slightly off-putting. This is on the thin side, moderately carbonated. Overall, meh. I tend to enjoy porters and enjoyed this well enough. Increase the chocolate and decrease the raisin-y taste and you got yourself a deal. B

Another recent chocolate beer was had at the Reno's...In Lansing, Michigan. I did not know I had been in there before, until I stepped in and had a flashdate of a Horrible Date I had there in 2003. I think it lasted 90 minutes total. Too bad because Reno's is a cool enough spot. Luckily the company was much better this time around. :) Shuffleboard, games, and a decent beer list. They were featuring Michigan's Arcadia Ales, a brewery specializing in British-style ales. I had Arcadia's Cocoa Loco, a "triple-chocolate milk stout." It was nice. Very dark brown with a small light-brown head. Smelled very roasty with coffee and sweet chocolate. Tasted the same - basically a mocha beer. Distinct coffee, chocolate, some lingering bitterness, and a little bit of noticeable alcohol. At 7% ABV it's a big beer, but still subtle. Not overly boozey, sweet, or chocolatey. It's got some class. This is a pleasant milk stout. A-

The same night I was at Reno's, I came home to find a package from my BFF! I had the chocolate beer...Now I got the beer chocolate. Ooooh I have a good BFF. It also included a slightly bitchy birthday card, which is a hilarious tradition of ours. The beer-pretzel caramels are ridiculous. Salty-sweet, crunchy-gooey. I am excited to try the beer-chocolate-potato chip-slurtle. And especially excited for the PB and J Bar. Thanks for the deliciousness!

2 Ladies, Eh?: Sofie and Matilda

2011-02-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

I picked up these 2 beers for a couple of reasons. One, Goose Island from Chicago has a good reputation, and I have not had much from them. Two, their simple yet elegant labels. One labeled "Sofie," one labeled, "Matilda," both labeled, "Belgian-style Ale." I picked up one of each (One of Each!) on Friday and brought them home to me pops.

We cracked open the Sofie first, a farmhouse ale or "saison." Btw, you should totally click on that link; Goose Island has a great website including short informational videos about each beer! I hadn't had a saison in a long time and had to remind myself of their origins: bottle-conditioned beer made by farmers during the winter to be stored until the summer. This Sofie was brewed in 2010, has 6.5% alcohol, and can be stored for up to 5 years. 20% of the beverage was aged in wine bottles with orange peel; this was a highly citrus-y brew.

It poured a very cloudy pale yellow, with a huge billowing head that left a ton of lacing. The nose was strong and very pleasant - banana, lemon, and pepper. Upon tasting my dad declared, "This has lots of flavor, or should I say flavorS." Well said! Lemony, zesty, tart green apple. Yeast, bitterness, very tasty. Lots of strong flavors that worked well together.

This beverage was crisp, tingly, and had a little warmth from the alcohol. Great drinkability, I found myself drinking my glass pretty quickly. That being said, after splitting the one 12oz bottle, my dad and I felt satiated. Nevertheless, the show must go on, so I brought out the...
Matilda! And again, my dad and I split a bottle. Matilda is a Belgian-style Pale Ale with 7% alcohol. This poured a darker orange, still cloudy, with a small fizzy white head. The smell was not as strong as Sofie but sweeter.

The taste started bitter, then citrus and Belgian yeast stood out. A little floral, overall this felt "muted" in both taste and smell. Aftertaste funky.

The body was medium, soft, and light. I've had other Belgian Pale Ales that I've enjoyed a little more than this. It was tasty and pleasant, but I think I like stronger flavors. Overall, both were enjoyable and I dig Goose Island's style.
Sofie: A
Matilda: B+

Crappy Beer on Business

2011-02-22T19:56:00.001-08:00

I'm in Orlando on bizness. It's actually really cool, it's for a very huge conference on Health Information Technology. First of all, I just need to define the things I find funny at professional conferences. Men in suits on Segways. Obviously. Men in suits getting their shoes shined. It's the equivalent of a pedicure and makes me feel funny. There's always lots of walking, yet many women wear heels and are limping horribly by the end of day 1. Funny giveaways - I got my photo taken with a cardboard Barack Obama, fancy post-its, and a light up bouncy ball!

Anyhow, tonight I decided it was time for a beer break. My first night at the hotel suite I sought out the on-site convenience store and purchased a 24 ounce can of bud lite lime, figuring it would come in handy. I don't think I have had this before. Obviously Coors, Miller, Bud...All the same. Yet, I have associations with each one, whether fair or not. Miller is a lesbian-friendly beer so it's top choice of the three. Coors is working-class, so that makes it the #2 slot. But Bud...It's just frat to me. So Bud Lite Lime would be sorority. Maybe those connotations are not fair, but that's what they are, I'm just a victim of society, man.

It poured a golden color with a large sudsy head. It smelled of lime. It tasted of lime. Which *is* a big improvement over regular bud taste. The mouthfeel was thin, but surprisingly not as watery as I expected. It actually had a little body! Hot. Overall, this was surprisingly palatable. Cold, wet, and lime. More actual beer flavor and a higher alcohol content would improve this greatly. But for what it is, I can't complain. C

Next it was onto the hotel bar! The choices were awesome (no)- Bud, Bud Lite, or Yuengling, which I went for. I texted a beer buddy of mine, who informed me that Yuengling is President Obama's beer of choice. I could feel my inner-beer snob emerging, but I liked this enough to have 2 glasses. This was also due to the friendly (and cute) girl who was chatting me up at the bar. This lager poured a brownish-amber with a thin white head that instantly disappeared. Not much odor, just mildly malty. The taste was sweeter than other macro lagers. Caramel malts stood out with a bit of bitter hops. This was medium-bodied, very smooth, with low carbonation. I declare Yuengling supremely average, but still better than Bud. C+

Lil' Sumpin and Walgreen's Beer

2011-02-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

Why haven't I tried Lagunita's Lil' Sumpin Sumpin ale before? The name is fantastic, the label is adorably sexy, and I've enjoyed Lagunita's beverages in the past. This is lovely - a clear honey-amber with a solid white head with great retention that left a lot of lacing. The nose was nice and strong - heavy on lemon, citrus hops galore, and a little pine.The flavors are strong! This is a wheat ale and a summer seasonal. Strong flavors of citrus, bitter hops, sweet malts, and wheat. As it warmed up the flavors mellowed out but were still strong and really pleasant. This was smooth and soft feeling. Great drinkability; it was nice to have a strong (7.5% ABV) summer ale on a cold's winter day. A- So, on an entirely different note, a good buddy of mine brought me a gift a couple of months ago. A six-pack of Big Flats, a beer carried exclusively by Walgreen's. $2.99 for a 6-pack. I admit, this sat in my garage for a good 2 months. I figured it would be bad. Real bad. Tonight a different friend who works at Walgreen's asked me if I had tried it. I knew the time had come. First of all, the label and name are terrible. Who wants a "big flat" beer? Anyways, I poured a can of this and noticed it was far from flat. Extremely pale with a massive sudsy head. Not much smell. Not much taste, just a little odd sweetness. So basically your typical macro lager but blander and sweeter. I did not pick up on any alcohol content either, although it's listed as having 4.5%. Thin, watery, bland. Honestly not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And for 50 cents a can, it's cheaper than bottled water. C+

Ring my Bell's

2011-01-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

Riiiiiiiiing. Ring my Bell's. Ba-dum. Bell's hails from Kalamazoo and began with a modest soup kettle in 1985. I've tried several of their beers over the years, and regularly enjoy their 2-Hearted Ale, an IPA commonly served on draught around here. I picked up a couple of their winter seasonals to check out. Check it!:

One of their super hyped seasonal offerings is Hopslam. This is a double IPA brewed with honey. When my friend told me about its release, I rushed to the store posthaste. Posthaste! I mean, look at the label. A lucky sonofabitch is getting body-slammed by a giant hop nugget. What a way to go. Hops + Honey...That's just smart.
The hopslam poured a beautiful orange-amber-honey color with a small fizzy white head and slow-moving carbonation, enjoying their journey through the liquid ambrosia. The smell was strong citrus hops with an underlying malt presence. And the taste - just like the picture. A bountiful hop nugget body slammed on my tongue which puckered in the delightful combination of bitterness, citrus, and honey. Sorry if that's TMI, but I'm just saying. A little bit of floral notes too, and very little noticeable alcohol for 10% ABV. It was smooth sailing, a little bit of alcohol warmth, medium bodied, and very good drinkability for such a high level of alcohol.
Also sampled was the winter seasonal Cherry Stout. If you've been paying any attention to me at all (geez), you know that fruit in beer usually tastes plastic-y to me. However, this was delicious. It poured a beautiful black with ruby/cherry higlights and a dark brown sudsy head. Very nice looking. The smell was strong with malts, cherry, and a little alcohol (7% ABV) all standing out. And the taste - wow. The cherry is not subtle. And it is real cherry flavor, as this bad boy is brewed with cherries from Traverse City. Loud and Proud. Also coffee notes, overall a sweet stout with a tart real cherry flavor. It was smooth and medium-bodied, and great drinkability.

2 fantastic winter seasonals from a super local brewery.
Well done, Bell's. Aces all around.

Kid Rock's Badass

2011-01-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know much about Mr. Rock. While he is a Detroit native, his genre is..."Southern rock-rap?" Kid Rock created American Badass Beer and the Michigan Brewing Company contracted it. He also wrote a song called American Badass. Sample lyrics:
Pass that bottle around
Got the rock from Detroit
Soul from Motown
The underground stoned fuckin pimp
With tracks that mack and slap back the whack
Never gay, no way, I don't play with ass. Charming, amiright? Read a few song lyrics, he is very into his heterosexuality. And he does enjoy a bottle and created a beer to enjoy with friends. His words, "People that like premium beers and Guinness is their choice, they will not like this. I want this to be like the beer I drink. You grab it, you share it with your friends, it's refreshing, it's cold, it gives you a good buzz. Done."This is the palest beer I have ever seen. It's slightly yellowish water with a 3 finger sudsy head and lots of carbonation. The smell? Like a watery macro lager. The taste? Like a watery macro lager. This could be the beer for the person who does not like beer, since it's more water than anything. Faint grass, faint apple, faint earthy afer-taste. This beverage is very thin. Have I mentioned watery?It's somewhat drinkable, since there is not much flavor, and relatively little alcohol at 4.2%. In a nutshell, this is bad. Not badass. Not even close.
I'll give it a D, because at least this will maybe stiumlate the Michigan economy for a minute.

In my mind, good beer will be enjoyed with good music. And all with Michigan pride:
How about humming along with a Huma-Lupa Licious to the Marvelettes?
Or savor a Bell's Special Double Cream Stout whilst enjoying my girlfriends Slumber Party:

Or Dragonmead's Under the Kilt Wee Heavy whilst skanking to Mustard Plug?

Michigan! America's High-Five. I don't know where this surge of Michigan love is coming from, but I think I'll thank Kid Rock.

Beer and Curds at the Olde Fashioned

2010-12-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

So I'm visiting my BFF in Madison, WI to ring in the new year. Last night we went on a bro-mantic date to the Old Fashioned, which I will now refer to as the "Olde Fashioned." It's a nice bar and restaurant celebrating Wisconsin food and drink.My first beverage was an American Pale Ale called Hopalicious from Madison's own Ale Asylum. It was fantastic. Very pretty - a clear pale amber with a sudsy thin head that left lots of lacing...See? Purty. The first smell I noticed was pineapple. The nose was a nice citrus and hoppy bouquet.

It was very tasty. Sweet citrus turned into bitter hops. The flavors were strong but not overwhelming, making this a very drinkable beer. It had a medium and smooth body, and was well-carbonated. I found myself drinking this very quickly. It was tasty, refreshing, smooth, and hoppy. In fact, hoppy and delicious...Hence the appropriate name - Hoppalicious! Perfecto.

Next was the Whole Hog Barleywine from Point Brewing in Stevens Point, WI. I had remembered having this on my last visit to Madison and enjoying it. Plus, geez, $3 for a 10 oz. snifter ofdelicious and boozey drink is a bargain. It was a very dark brown with reddish highlights and a thin white fizzy head. It smelled sweet, malty, and a touch alcoholic. It had nice strong flavors of dark fruit, malts, with substantial alcohol warmth. This was a lovely "after-dinner drink" and was a very pleasant sipper.

Speaking of dinner, we had delicious fried cheese curds that I've craved since having them at the Olde Fashioned the last time I was in town. Of course they come with a ranch dipping sauce. Of course. We also had a fresh salad of beets, gorgonzola cheese, and walnuts.

A's all around...Here's to bro-mance and good grub. Cheers and happy New Year!

UBER GOOBER: A blessed treat in a crappy year.

2010-12-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

2010, you sucked. I can't wait for you to be over. You sucked for a million reasons. You hear me, 2010? YOU SUCK. The positive part of 2010 was that through all the bullshit, there were some really nice people holding me up. You hear me, nice people? YOU DON'T SUCK.

Anyways, that being done with, we was sittin' shiva, and a good friend of mine who also happens to be a beer geek and who also happens to be named Sarah brought me some damn beer treats. It was perfect. Thank you!!!

She brought me a couple of He'Brews, Kid Rock's beer (as a joke! Blog to come), and some selections from Michigan's own Short's.

From Short's there were 2 different selections - PB and J, and Uber Goober. Both beer treats I had heard of but never had. So I was excited! I shared the PB and J with a bunch of people, and did not care too much for it. The "J" part was kinda funky and not in a good way. But the Uber Goober...Oh man. It was so good that I had to go buy a 6 pack.

Uber Goober is an imperial oatmeal stout brewed with real peanuts. It poured black with a thin fizzy cola-esque brown head that dissipated quickly. The smell was kind of mild, but pleasant. Malty, nutty, definitely had a peanuty presence. As far as the taste goes, this is a nice solid oatmeal stout. Coffee, nutty, vaguely sweet malts, with a prominant peanut after-taste. After drinking it I felt like I had eaten a peanut butter sandwich. And while it is not overly sweet at all, it was reminiscent of a peanut butter milkshake.

The Uber Goober was smooth, full-bodied, creamy, and silky with little carbonation. 6.5% alcohol is a reasonable amount of booze compared to some super boozey imperial stouts. Tasty but filling, 2 were plenty to have in one evening. Peanut butter rules. Stouts rule. And friends rule.

Thanks for helping me get through this ridiculous year. xoxoxo

Pumpkin For Once

2010-11-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, what the hell have I been doing with my life lately? Clearly not drinking enough beer...Or at least not blogging about it. Since getting into this beer thing, I've certainly gotten excited about pumpkin ales. The last 2 Octobers proved that. This year I have failed to drink pumpkin ale so far, except I got to try Sam Adam's pumpkin ale when I was in Wisconsin (and I was a fan). When was that, September? That's it! So this past weekend I decided to make up for lost time.

Where have all the pumpkins gone? Yippee yi, yippee yay.

On Sunday I indulged in a pint of Michigan Brewing Company's Screamin' Pumpkin. This was at Leo's Lodge, which by the way, is delicious. I'm gonna skip the beer for a sec and just focus on the cheese bread. Yeah, check out that grease.

So, Leo's serves their beer in super chilled glasses. Like, frostified to the max. When I first started to learn about beer, I read that chilling glasses is frowned upon because it can dilute the flavor, plus most beer is better closer to room temperature. I scoffed at this pickiness...But yeah. The overly chilled glass totally bothered me. I mean, there were actual ice chunks of beer floaties! It's a good thing that cheese bread was so delicious, Leo's! Geez.

Frozen beer chunks---------->

Anyways, MBC's Screamin' Pumpkin was a clear orange beer with a small light brown head that dissipated quickly. When the barkeep put down the glass in front of me, the smell of pumpkin immediately hit me, along with some mild notes of spice (nutmeg). This was a nice tasting ale! The flavor of pumpkin was not too sweet, and there was a little bit of bitter hops flavor for balance. The spice was present but not overwhelming. It was...Pumpkin-y! I actually would have liked a little more sweetness, cuz I have a sweet tooth like that. It was an easy-drinking and pleasant beer. I'd like to try it again at a better temperature. God, what a Snobby Mcsnobster.

Anyways, that evening I decided I needed another pumpkin ale in my day, so I busted open this Buffalo Bill's, a brewery I have not tried previously. It as billed as "America's Original Pumpkin Ale" that is brewed with real baked pumpkin and spices. It poured a light hazy orange with a fizzy off-white head. It smelled like pumpkin and mild spices. The taste was surprisingly tart! Again, pumpkin is dominating along with some spice presence. I found it to be tasty and well-balanced. A little different than other pumpkin ales. It was on the thin side with plenty of carbonation. I had it with another seasonal treat, pumpkin brownies. Homemade. Obviously I'm gearing up for hibernation.

Overall, I enjoyed both of these pumpkin ales. However, Southern Tier's Pumking remains as my absolute favorite. I'm gonna give them both a B+.

Wisconsin Beer Love

2010-09-26T10:09:00.001-07:00

Madison, Wisconsin is my happy place. I lived there for a glorious 1.5 years in my early 20s and may live there again one day. There are some people I kinda like there. You know, who aren't total suckos. I got to visit recently and managed to find some time for some beer education. Or as I like to call it, beerucation.
This blurry pic is a delicious Hemp Porter from the delicious Old Fashioned. Not pictured is the fried cheese curds that accompanied it that I now crave frequently.

I brought home 2 local beer souvenirs, or as I like to call them, beervenirs. Is that gonna get annoying?

1)Furthermore's Fatty BoomBalatty. I met these dudes once a few years back at a tasting, and they were really nice! Reem reminded me that they have a beer that tastes like bacon; this is not it. This is billed as a "dangerously drinkable Belgian." I have to agree.

Its a cloudy orange-amber with lots of visible retention, a nice foamy white head that has crazy retention and left lots of lace. It smelled great, just a little wheat, some banana, and definite Belgian yeast.

The taste was spot on to its description too. Not super wheaty and with some hoppy bitterness. The yeast flavor is strong, the hop bite is nice, and the hints of citrus and banana are good too. All strong flavors, all really tasty. It works. This is crazy good and very drinkable. Solid A.
2. Lake Louie Brewing's Kiss the Lips IPA. I admit, the price and name/label were my deciding factors with this purchase. There was almost no information on the bottle except for the slogan "This is livin.'" Yeah!!

This IPA poured a cloudy orange-amber with a fluffy white head.

It does not have a strong nose at all. Mostly kind of a sweet citrus smell, like pineapple.

Likewise, the taste is a little weak for me. Citrusy hops and pineapple dominate, with a little bit of bitterness. It felt a little thin and watery. I like my IPAs to be a punch in the mouth of hop bitterness, and this is definitely not like that. Pleasant enough though not my favorite IPA. B-
Extra points for the label. KISS THE LIPS!

All The Leaves are Brown and the Brown Ale is Hazelnut

2010-08-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's back to school time! Tighten up your bookstraps, button your cardigans, and fill your inkwells kiddoes! For the vast majority of my life I've been in school or worked for a school. So this time of year is full of distinct feelings related to "back to school." Slight butterflies, giddiness, anxiety about the future, a strong instinct to purchase pencil boxes. The weather brings it on, and right now its 70s, grey skies, foggy mornings. Okay, not brown leaves yet, but soon, soon.

Autumn is full of fun beer what with Octoberfests and pumpkin ales and all. But what better compliment to back-to-school-jitters than this nice looking brown ale from our Rogue friends? The Hazelnut Brown Nectar is, oh, a brown ale brewed with hazelnut. Brown ales tend to be malty, nutty, and on the sweet side. Speaking of sweet, I shared a bomber of this with my dad. Aww.

It poured a murkey brown with amber highlights. Lots of visible carbonation and a small light brown head with good retention that left some lacing in the glass. The smell was mild; I picked up more spice and hops than malts. But as it warmed the hazelnut aroma came out strong. It smelled like hazelnut syrup they put in coffee. Which in my humble opinion is an awesome smell.

This was a tasty brown ale that definitely was on the sweeter side of things. Nutty, mildly fruity, malty, and with a strong hazelnut flavor. Dad thought it tasted a little like Dr. Pepper. Nice. I bet it would be a tasty accompaniment to some dessert. Chocolate-chip cookies perhaps. Hmm...One glass was enough; its a little sweet but I think this is one of the tastier brown ales I've had. And I've been for a walk on a winter's day.

B+

Ooooooh...Pink!: Short's Soft Parade

2010-08-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Short's is local to me, and I haven't had much from this esteemed Michigan brewery, namely their delicious Huma-Lupa-Licious. So I went to the store to check out their other selections.

I walked in, gazing upon the shelves.

And then...A very beautiful woman stared at me. Her long hair rested upon her back as she sat, relaxing in her recliner, sexy long legs gently resting on the ground. Do I want her? Do I want to be her? I don't know but add in a pink background and the marketing department clearly knows what it's doing! I took her home.

I poured some into 2 wine glasses. Big for me, small for dad. It poured a hazy red/peach color with a small bubbly white head. When swirled, a viscious residue was left on the glass sides.

When discussing odors I am tempted to talk about "the nose" but fear it may be pretentious. Ah, well. "The nose" was strong. Strawberries, sweet candy, peach, a touch of alcohol. I asked my dad what he thought of "the nose." He said, "Its fruity as all get-out!" And there you have it.

The bottle claims to have an ale brewed with strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry. I can taste the first three, but not so much of the latter. At first a plastic-like artificial taste hit me, which is often the case with fruit beers. However, it decreased quickly, and as the beer warmed up, I warmed up to it. It has a yeast flavor similar to some Belgian ales. Sweet malts, tartness, and noticeable alcohol add to the very fruity flavor. Apparently this is a rye ale as well, but I could not detect any rye.

Overall, this is not a style I typically care for. But this was one of the better fruit beers I've ever had. Plus it was fairly boozey at I believe 9% ABV, but it was subtle in the taste. Good enough to have a 2nd, not good enough to seek out again. I'll see what else Short's has to offer.

B-

Back on the Blogging Wagon: Molson Canadian

2010-07-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, eh? Or maybe I should say, "It's been a while, AY?" Because today I'm talking Canadian. Sadly, I'm on a tight beer budget these days. Luckily I am living with my dad who is an enthusiastic beer drinker. Enthusiastic, but fiscally responsible. He tends towards Killian's Irish Red as well as Canadian lagers, such as today's selection, Molson's Canadian Lager.

I've been so out-of-touch with my "beer roots" as of late, I did not realize that Molson = Coors. They are one and the same, but Molson is the Canadian version. But I try to be open-minded, as I drink from the palm of The Man.

I crack open a bottle of this and pour into a giant tumbler of a glass that a cute girl left in my car. Is the glass 2/3 full or 1/3 empty? While you philosophize, I'll fill my glass up with a can of the same stuff. Yep, we had both cans and bottles of this at home. I'm guessing there was a sale.

So I filled my glass mightily. Ahh, that's more like it.
Appearance: The color of pale apple juice with a big sudsy white head with decent retention. It left small spots of lacing in the glass.
Smell: Extremely mild. A tiny bit of sweet green apple and corn.
Taste: Again, very mild but well-balanced and mostly inoffensive. The bit of white grape malts turned into a slightly bitter hops flavor. Maybe a little hay or grass. And a tiny big of metallic aftertaste.
I made some din-din. This beverage is crisp, light, and mild enough to go with probably anything. Ya know, its okay for the style.

The bottle and can claim that its "The Best Canadian Has to Offer." Somehow I doubt that. Immediately I think of Unibroue in Quebec...And then...Um, other Canadian beers? Awww, sorry neighbors to the north. I have neglected ye. Yet another topic to research and become learned upon.

It also boasts no preservatives. Is this unusual? Hops and alcohol act as a preservative in beer. Both of those components are pretty darn important. So this tasting venture leaves me with 2 questions for you, dear reader(s):
1) Best Canadian beer?
2) Do most beers have preservatives, other than alcohol and hops?

C+

MIDWEST!!! Wisconsin: New Glaurus Spotted Cow

2010-06-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

I feel a lot of state pride today. I was reared in Michigan from age 1-18. Then my studies and journies took me to Wisconsin, Philly, Chicago, back to Wisconsin, back to Michigan, and out to New England.

Now I'm back in the saddle. In the saddle of Michigan, that is. You know what? People are nice here. People are looking out for me, trying to help me find a job. People are looking out for my folks, who have some health issues. There are some great places and people here, if you know where to find them.

The Midwest also has some mighty fine beers. I got a visit from BFF Reem who brought with her genuine Wisconsin beer from the New Glaurus Brewery. Reem and I were busy as always, eating delicious food, spending time with the family, and watching the cats be funny. But we did manage to find some time to drink Spotted Cow while "sunning" outside. Having gone to college in Wisconsin, this was a popular beer amongst students. But I don't really recall having it much or having much opinion about it. Of course, that was before my "sophisticated brew" days, when good beer = cheap/free. Spotted Cow is a "cream ale," according to Beeradvocate.com, which means it is a light lager style of beer brewed like it is an ale. They tend to be low on hops, light, and mild. The New Glarus website defines the style as a "Naturally Cloudy Farmhouse Ale." The yeast stays in the bottle, and there are Wisconsin malts and corn. Let's check it out!(My parents are in the middle of re-doing their kitchen which is why the wall behind the beer looks a bit tattered).

It poured a pale orange, hazy, thin fizzy white head, with a multitude of bubbles quickly streaming up to the top. For a minute I got lost in the beauty of this perpetual motion and felt like I was staring at a lava lamp.

The scent is mild, kind of wheat-y, and fruity. Definitely no strong hop scent standing out.

Likewise, the taste is also mild. There is a bit of sweet apple, corn, and malts. Just a tiny bit of hops to balance it out.

Spotted Cow is fairly crisp, soft, and smooth. This is a good summer beer, easy to drink and enjoy. Nothing extreme or over the top about it. Just a nice easy-drinking ale. At just 5% alcohol, go ahead and have 2. Like me.

B+

Going Alt with Haverill's Gestalt Altbier

2010-05-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I still have LOTS to learn in the areas of German style ales and lagers. There are many. So to start, I picked up an altbier made all the way from...Haverhill, MA, very close to home.

The label is informational (which I love!) - they use German yeast, malts, and hops and brew in the altbier ("old beer") tradition. It ages for 2 months, and has the crispness of a lager, hoppiness of a pale ale, and maltiness of a brown ale. This is pretty right on! The appearance is my least favorite part of this beverage. Its murky in a way thats a bit unappealing to me. It is brown but with some hints of amber. There was a tiny white head that immediately fizzled out. The smell, however, instantly stood out. Apples, grapes, clean grassy hops, sweet malts. I like! The taste is very balanced. Sweet malts, fruit (apples, grapes), nuts, some bitter hops. It's a pleasant taste that is very drinkable. Overall, this is a nice, refreshing, easy-going, balanced beverage. I don't know much about Altbiers, except its an old style of beer from the Dusseldorf region. But I'm happy to get to try this, and open to try more Alts!
B+

Excellent Thrift Store Find

2010-04-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

Those Neglected Brits: Fuller's ESB

2010-04-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

I want to learn more about European beverage styles! I've had a few German styles and Belgian styles but there are so many different ones! Bocks, Bitters, Biers, Weizens, Dunkels, Heavys, Guezes. Lots to learn! And to drink, sheesh! I feel like I've neglected the Brits, and I'd like to change that.
Fuller's is cool for a couple of reasons, besides their beer. They are old school, brewing since 1845 in "traditional family style." They also brew at the "Griffin brewery," meaning there is a sweet griffin on their labels. I've tried their London Porter before and enjoyed it. So I picked up this Fuller's ESB, which stands for Extra Special Bitter.
It is my understanding, more or less, that Bitter Ales are similar to Pale Ales. They tend to be low in alcohol and high in hops. Extra Special Bitters are higher in alcohol and more balanced. Fuller's ESB is 5.9% alcohol in the bottle.This pint sized bottle poured a very lovely clear reddish-brown/amber with a small but solid white head. The head receded slowly and left thick rings of lace. The smell was mild but dominated by sweet malts. I took a drink...And several more. Wow! Strong sweet caramel malts along with a bitter layer of hops and a touch of spice. Sweetness dominated at first but it ended bitter, making this a nicely balanced ale. It was smooth, light, refreshing, and tasty. I had to keep myself from chugging this. Delicious! If I get the chance to try a pint of this at a British pub I will do so with gusto. A-

Cooking With Beer: Stout Brownies

2010-04-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

So I've been reading and watching stuff about beer for a while now, and finding it increasingly interesting as I go. Right now cooking with beer and pairing craft beer with food in fine dining situations is "hot." I've seen a couple of "wine vs beer" debates (scroll down for one clip from the authors of "He Said Beer, She Said Wine."

In a local beer rag they always print a recipe using beer. I've read of recipes using things like rabbit, leeks, figs, pork belly, thyme, fennel, porcini...Basically things I'd probably never attempt. (But never say never!) Prior to this hard-core research of mine, I've only heard of Beer Butt Chicken. (That picture makes me wanna barf). But as I was getting ready to have a nice Russian Imperial Stout from Hoppin Frog in Ohio, I thought "brownies!" The only recipes I could find were to make brownies from scratch, which I was not up for. So I had to "fudge" the measurements, if you will.
1 box brownie mix
2 eggs
1 cup stout
Bake 'n Eat.
The result? Pretty yum! A little more "cake-like" than "fudge-like" but still nice and chewey. The stout flavor came through more than I expected, adding a nice edge of bitterness and richness to the brownies, so they weren't just straight-up chocolate. Next time I'd probably go nuts and make them from scratch - I'm sure its worth it. But this was cool...More "cooking" with beer (hey, maybe next time real cooking with no quotation marks) to come!

Another Saison: Victory's Helios

2010-04-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

So I tried my first Saison not long ago and was interested in trying another! I found this 22 oz bottle of Helios from Victory Brewing in PA at the quite reasonable price of $2.99. The label was so friendly and welcoming - a smiling sun in a glass! Delightful! As I opened it there was a loud PFFFFFT and the lovely smell filled the room and carbonation filled the glass as I poured. The head was massive and fluffy. It lasted forever and left puffs of lace all over the glass. The liquid was cloudy yellow with small yeast sediments. And the smell! I don't think I have the strongest sense of smell. But oh man...There were some powerful esters going in this guy! Spicy pepper, Belgian yeast, grassy hops, mildly sweet malts, lemon...Delightful!And Helios was very tasty as well! Belgian yeast, some spice, lemon, a bit of grass. Kind of reminded me of a white wine at times. Dry -- leaves you wanting more! And more! As it warmed the spices and sour flavor stood out to me more. Even at 7.5% alcohol, I did not detect it in the taste.

Also as it warmed the carbonation stayed extremely huge. I even had a carbonation overflow during my second pour. Not sophisticatd!

The mouthfeel was very light on the tongue, and extremely crisp to the point of almost feeling sharp as I swallowed. I just typed that without laughing, by the way. Okay, maybe a little.

I REALLY liked this. Saisons are supposed to pair well with lots of food. I ate some "flavor x-treme" cheddar goldfish with this and thought it was excellent. Sour, crisp ale and salty, cheesey crackers? It's good for me!!

A

Rain Rain Go Away with Pollinator

2010-03-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sigh...There has been some mad rain here. The weather is like 70 degrees and sunny one day, and 30 degrees and stormy the next. It messes with my Seasonal Affective Disorder, for sure. And screams for some Spring-like delights. Such as this Pollenator from Long Trail brewing in Vermont.
It sure looks Spring-y. Pollen is all about the birds and the bees and flowers. This is a limited release beer, in celebration of Long Trail's 20th anniversary. It comes in a 22 oz. bottle, and was inexpensive at $2.50. The color was lovely - a golden amber, slightly hazy, and with a small white head with some nice lacing. The smell surprised me; it was more malt-dominant than I expected for a pale ale. There was a bit of hoppiness as well, and some citrus. The taste was also malty, with sweet lemon and honey. There also was a bitter hop bite but that was a minor aspect of the flavor. I don't know what pollen tastes like, but I detected something that could be pollen. The Pollenator was light and crisp, refreshing, and tasty. A different kind of pale ale.
B

Beer Geek/Beer Snob

2010-03-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

You may find this amusing:
How To Tell If You Are A Beer Snob

I'm reading a great book by a fellow (lady) Beer Geek: The Naked Pint. It's one of the more entertaining and informative books on beer I've read thus far.

I still don't find myself at the height of beer geekdom. But I am making progress in my learnedness. The other day at the bar, I was ordering a Sam Adams Noble Pils and a guy asked me "What kind of beer is that anyways?" I answered, "Well, it's basically a hoppy pilsner. I find it to be rather floral, which is appropriate as its their spring seasonal." He said, "Ah." Yep.

Running Through the Foret

2010-03-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Back in the olden days, folks in Belgium made special beer in the winter to keep through the summer in order to be consumed by hard-working farmers during harvest season. They are generally bottle-conditioned (meaning unfiltered OR filtered but added with extra yeast at the end); either way they end up being "conditioned" in the bottle. They tend to be earthy, fruity, tart, and spicy. Back in the farming times they were made with 3% alcohol in order for the farmers to be refreshed but not inebriated. Now they tend to be more like 5-8% alcohol. These are called "Saisons" or "Farmhouse" style.

I never had one, but got this Foret from the Belgian Brasserie Dupont. Check out the adorable label. There's a unicorn on it! And beautiful trees, butterflies, and doggies. Cute! It also proclaims to be Belgium's only completely organic ale. Whoo-hoo!

Well, I'm no farmer but I do work hard in an office. And enjoyed this after work one evening. It poured a delightful peach color, completely hazy, and with a small white head that left minimal lacing. The smell was mostly Belgian yeast. It tasted like a nice Belgian ale with some strong peppery spice. Some mild citrus and lemons as well. It was tasty. The spice is what made it stand out as a little unique to me from other Belgians I've had.

A new style is always fun; hopefully I'll get to try more!
B+

EVIL STOUT: Mephistopheles

2010-03-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hmm, there seems to be a devilish trend of several brews I've had. This is 1 of Avery Brewing Company's series of 3 "Demons of Ale." I previously had another one from these series: the Beast.
It pours black as night, black as your soul, black as the chest cavity where Satan's heart would go. The smell is rich but mild. Dark coffee, bitter chocolate, nuts, dark fruits. As it warms, these flavors all grow strong, but also include a definite alcohol presence in both feel and taste. Towards the end both the alcohol and the dark fruits (figs, grapes) are very in-your-face, making it a little difficult to finish. A beer this big (over 16% alcohol and over 100 IBUs) definitely requires a sinful snack. I don't know much (yet!) about pairing food and beer. But I can tell you what does not go well together. Mephistopheles and Dorito's 2nd degree burn. You would think they would compliment each other perfectly. A satanic stout with chips hotter than the fires of hell, right? Wrong. My mouth was burning, and the beverage did not help. But chocolate ice cream with this stout? Totally delicious. The sweet chocolate went excellently with the bitter coffee and dark chocolate flavors of the beer. Both had creamy textures and cooled off my scorched tongue. (Yeah those chips are really hot).
B+

Hott Like Fire: Cave Creek Chili Beer

2010-03-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

Yee-haw! Thanks to a kindly beer geek in Texas, I got hooked up with a bottle of this crazy brew. Cave Creek Chile Beer. (Check out the website! There's an educational cartoon about the masculinity of chile peppers. It's entertainment.) I was pumped to try this notorious beverage! Yet scared. I thought it would be hella nasty, stomach turning, vileness. It actually was kind of good in a bad way, you know?

I like spiciness. This is some spicy beer. My experience with chile beer has been limited to Theobroma and Rogue's Chipotle Ale. Cave Creek is, shall we say, less complex than both of these.

The appearance is the worst part of the beer. It's crystal clear yellow, kind of flat, and no head. Then the fun part - a sketchy looking chile pepper floating in the bottle (and then my glass). Seeing that pepper bob up and down, floating dangerously close to my mouth...Bleh.

Smells: bell peppers, chile peppers, hot sauce.

Tastes: like the same. The pepper and spice totally overpowers the "beer" characteristics. It's like chile pepper juice.

The mouthfeel is surprisingly thick for the appearance and flat.

Drinkability: Do you like spice? And not much else? If so, this is really not that bad. I got through 2/3 of the way through before pouring the rest down the drain. No it's not complex. No, you probably wouldn't serve this at a fancy lobster dinner with the pope. But for a novelty item, it's kind of good and even a little refreshing. I wish I had some tacos or nachos or something to eat with it. I'm glad I got to try it.
D

A Duet of Imperial IPAs

2010-02-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

I recently traded beer for the first time with a couple of nice beer nerds. It is *fun* to get a box of beer goodies, so I recommend it!

Plenty of new things to try, but first: a "duet" of Imperial IPAs.
First, Hop Rod Rye from Bear Republic out of CA, the first I've tried from these guys. I'm curious about their name - it seems like it's more about bears, than bears.

The Hop Rod Rye (check out the cool label!) poured a lovely darkish amber-brown, very cloudy, with a huge pillowy light brown head. The head was massive with great retention and tons of lace. This was an interesting Imperial IPA. It's made with 18% rye which gave it a unique flavor and smell. The smell and taste had tons of great sweet citrus hops, bitter piney hops, but also some strong peppery spice. I could feel it in my throat just from smelling it. The spicy and bitter rye added some depth to the flavor, but didn't overpower it. It was really good and different. This was a nice beer, tasty, well-balanced, attractive, and soft from the huge foam. I'm interested in trying more rye beers now, along with some more from Bear Republic. A-

Mmm, another one from Stone. Ruination, the bottle explains, is called that because its extreme hops and IBUS (international bitterness units) will "ruin" your palate and everything afterwards will just taste bland. It has 100 IBUs (IPAs typically have 40+); this is high. Appearance is lovely. Clear orange-amber with decent sudsy head that left some lace. This beverage tastes strongly of hops - citrus, florals, and pines in yo' face. I also got some mild malts, sweet vanilla, and earthy notes. As it warmed the bitterness came out, but not unpleasantly, against delicious orange and lemon notes. Mouthfeel is very smooth, medium-bodied, slightly oily, and a delicious (bitter) hops residue behind. I don't know that my palate is "ruined," more like "delighted." Yes! A

Drinkin' With the Devil: Belzebuth.

2010-02-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

Check it out:
There is just something adorable and irresistable about a little 8.4 oz. bottle proclaiming "Belzebuth"! "Pur Malt!" "France!" "13% Alcohol!"...All with a little picture of a devilish creature. How could I resist? This ale reigns from the Brasserie Grain D'orge in Northern France. They describe Belzebuth as a "golden ale" with a "pungent taste" due to the combination of a special yeast with 3 malts. They also suggest you enjoy it with a "sinful dessert." Muwa-ha-ha-ha.

(As an aside: you may want to scroll down to play the music video. The soundtrack for this beer review is obviously "Beezelboss" by Tenacious D. Obviously).

I was not sure what to expect with this. On label it largely proclaims the 13% abv and not much else, besides "the most unique ale in the world." This boasting annoys me, but I try to remain open-minded. Afterall, cockiness is a devilish attribute.

Upon opening the bottle, I got a huge whiff of alcohol, along with some malts. The smell mellowed out to fruit, namely grapes and citrus. Mildly sweet.

And as for the tasting, it started sweet and grapey to a more dry and alcohol-finish. Grapes is the strong flavor to me, along with some bread and pepper. It actually reminds me of a white wine. The alcohol is noticeable but not overwhelming. It can be felt; about half-way through my face is *warm* as is my stomach. I like this a lot more than I thought I would! I thought it would be too boozey.

Overall, this was surprisingly good. I thought this would be a very slow sipper with a really strong alcohol flavor. But I enjoyed it and drank 1 bottle easily (but could feel the alcohol so one was enough). And I do agree with the label - it's a unique ale. Darn you, Belzebuth...You were right.

B+

Feeling Finey With Some Pliny

2010-02-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Like the punny blog titles? I sure hope so. (Or hop so?) Ahem, so...Very quickly into my foray into the wilderness of beer education, I heard about some highly regarded Double India Pale Ales. In particular, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger from Russian River in CA. Pliny the Elder is a year-round beer, made with 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) and 8% alcohol. Pliny the Younger is much more limited, not available in bottles and is called a Triple India Pale Ale with even more hops and bitterness and alcohol.

Pliny the Elder won the Gold medal at the "World Beer Cup" in 2006 in the Double IPA category. (note to self: find out how to be a judge at this thing!)

So therefore, I was super excited when my little sister who lives in Oregon was able to score me a bottle of this for my birthday!

All over the bottle are phrases saying things like, "DRINK ME NOW!" Drink while fresh, fresh hops are best, do not age, drink me please!!!

So this bottle was about a month old. And it was delicious.

I poured it into my new and sexy Sam Adams "perfect pint" glass. It was a lovely orange with 1-2 fingers of sudsy white head. It slided viscously around the sides of the glass.

The smell...Oh the smell. When I opened the bottle, hops just poured out of it. Orange. Pineapple. Pine. Grass. Mango. A bit of spice. Very enticing.

And the taste. Oh boy, lots o' hops! The taste went from sweet fruits to bitter pines. The mango was really present. Sweet citrus to bitter pines with a bit of spice, maybe pepper. Each sip left a huge hop presence in my mouth; I felt like I'd be tasting hops forever.

This was absolutely delicious. Tremendously hoppy and tasty. While I was disappointed when the bottle was empty, it did get a wee bit bitter for me after a while. Still awesome. I'm so glad I got to try this! Hopefully I'll get to try Pliny's Younger one day too! Thanks sis.

Happy Beer-Day!

2010-02-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Ahhh...Little Sophisticated is growing up. No longer a wee confused babe in the woods of ales. Last week I turned...31. Yes, 31. And to celebrate? Oh boy!

1) Sam Adams Brewery Tour: 'Kay this rules. It's free. You touch, smell, and taste various types of malts and hops. The dude leading the tour is funny. Then you sit at long tables and taste. Taste! With your free 7 oz. tasting glass. We tasted their Boston Lager, Brick Red Amber, and Winter Ale. Yum, yum, and yum. It was funny how the room got louder and louder with each sample. We also learned the appropriate steps to appreciating beer.

For example, here I'm demonstrating how to check your beer for clarity and proper filtering. If you can see your fingers on the other side of the glass, you're "in the clear."

Here I'm tasting a sample! Just kidding. Geez. I also purchased a "perfect pint" glass, scientifically designed to make your beer perfect. Some of the features include a wide mouth to allow smelling and tasting simultaneously, and etchings on the bottom of the glass to allow for continuous release of the carbonation. And sexy, sexy curves.

Next, we went to Doyle's, a pub near the brewery. After all that beer, I wanted fried things. I had: garlic fries, sweet potato fries, fried fish sandwich, and (really good) (and fried) onion rings. The pub gives out FREE perfect pint glasses to people who went on the brewery tour! I also got nice presents, including a book I hope to use someday.

Perfect Pint Glasses! 1 was free! And a tasting glass. Also free!Then...A very lovely gift from my Oregonian sister. 3 delicious West coast beers I am eager to try. Including the much-lauded Pliny the Elder and Abyss. So generous and exciting!

Thanks to all who helped make my birthday a happy beer-day.

Nugget Nectar of the Gods

2010-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Be prepared to drool. I have found it. Quite possibly my favorite beer. Ever. In. Life. For the second time in my amatuerish beer-geeking life, I hunted. Luckily, this hunt was easy. I knew it had recently been shipped out from Troeg's, so I called one place. They said no. I stopped at a second place; when I inquired at the counter, the gentleman excitedly ran to the back to get me a bottle from the case. It had just come in and had not even been opened yet. Score!

Everything about this screams "DRINK ME NOW!" If I were Alice and this was in Wonderland, I'd be tiny. Or huge. Or drunk.

I mean, look at the label. A big fat green bud of a hop nugget (hmm...) being squeezed of it's juices and oils.

Then, I opened the bottle and it just got better. Beautiful clear amber liquid with a thick fluffy white head. It receded slowly, leaving massive lace and fluff sitting on top. And the delicious smell poured out of the bottle. Holy hops! Citrus, sweet florals, and fresh hops. Just smells fresh in general.

So this is an "amber ale" which is basically a reddish ale that tends to be fruity and malty. Indeed, despite the picture and smell, there are some definite malty notes present. There was lots of sweet notes with citrus, honey, florals, pineapple, and also some caramel malts. There was also a definite bitter side of hops. Some sips were a litle sweeter, some more bitter. It felt balanced. And did I mention delicious?

This was smooth, medium, refreshing, and delicious from start to finish. Powerful smell, powerful flavor, but never overpowering, if you will.

The embarassing part is...I enjoyed it so much that I actually felt sad when I was done with it. Like, "That's it? You're done? We're through?" I needed some closure.

So I got another bottle the following weekend. You know, just to make sure that it was as awesome as I thought it was.

And it was.

A+

2 Turtle Doves: 2009 Seasonal

2010-01-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. Another beer review. This one is the first I've had from The Bruery, out of California. I'm done with the holidays! Yet this one seemed to call my name from the shelf. It was not until after I purchased it that I learned that the brewery is doing a seasonal winter brew every year. Winter 2008's was (duh) "Partridge in a Pear Tree." So obviously this one is "Two Turtle Doves."

This is a "Belgian Strong Dark Ale, " a style marked by darkness of color, maltiness, fruitiness, and complexity of flavor. I've had a few beers of this style, and frankly did not care much for them. It's the fruitiness that turns me off; the figgy/plumb/raisin-esque flavor. But for some reason this beer called to me. I mean, the description is great - it's based on the turtle candy with "cocoa nibs, toasted pecans, caramelized sugar and a lot of caramel malts." Nom.

Okay. It poured out thickly: dark brown with a nice tan head. The smell was great - definite nuttiness and cocoa presence.

I took a sip -- oh man. Not at all "figgy." Smooth, balanced, with sweet notes of chocolate and nuts. A bit of tartness, a bit of spice. Mild yeast. Mild bread. Creamy and delicious. Most definitely my favorite brew of this style thus far.

At times it was a bit harsh or "astringent", particularly at the end. But besides that it was a wonderfully delicious treat that was a pleasure to drink. The bottle informs that this brew can be aged for up to 10 years (when the final release of "12 Drummers Drumming" occurs). Will-power allowing, I will do my best to age my 2nd bottle of this and will be eager to see how it drinks then.

If your true love gives you this on the second day of any holiday, they're a keeper.

A-

2 from Brazil: Palma Louca, Xingu

2010-01-13T18:11:00.001-08:00

On a recent visit home (Michigan) I got to geek out a bit with my pops. He enjoys a brewski or 2, and had a variety as usual. 2 happened to be from Brazil, so we tried them both.

My dad even humored me and let me photograph him with our 2 samples.

On the left: Palma Louca, a yellow/ginger-ale-ish looking beverage with a tiny white fizz of a head.
On the right: Xingu, a pretty dark brown ale with reddish edges; almost a deep burgandy. No head, low carbonation.

Palma Louca: This unassuming mild-mannered liquid is...Well, just that. Virtually no smell. The taste is extremely mild. Extremely watery. Pops thought it was "almost cidery". Kinda pilsner-y. Kind of sweet. But mostly watery. Too bad.
Palma Louca: D

Xingu: Defiitely had a little more going on. The smell was vaguely sweet but also mild. The taste is surprising. Sweet. "Almost like a cola" said the pops. But light. This is a "black beer", (or Schwarzbier) and perhaps the first dark beer I've had that was not robust and flavorful like a stout or porter.
The website is interesting; this beer was actually founded in the 1980s through Amazon, Inc, a women-founded group destined to prevent the extinction of rare beers! This beer represents a style used by both the native Amazonians as well as the European settlers.

I'm not familiar with this style, but it was different. Besides the sweetness, and the vague maltiness or dark-fruitiness, I could not really identify anything else in the taste. No hops to be smelled or tasted. It was somewhat thin but coated the mouth nicely and felt refreshing. Under 5% alcohol also makes this a drinkable beer.

Xingu: B-

Cheers to sharing beer with my dad and trying new things!

Totally Malternative: SPARKS.

2010-01-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

So, while I'm usually the epitome of sophistication (duh), sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I have a really bad day and am cranky. Then I stop at the corner store for a $1 scratch-off ticket and a bag of 99-cent generic potato chips. As well as this concoction: SPARKS. I never had seen such a thing, and curiosity got the better of me. For $1.49, a 16-oz. can of 8% alcoholic...Something. Really, the can gave no information about its contents except that there was a) alcohol, b) malt, and oddly c) artificial coloring.

It's pretty amusing. Premium Malt Beverage With Natural Flavors, Certified Colors, FD&C Yellow Number 6 & FD&C Red Number 40!!!!!!!

Now I don't know much about artificial colors, but it seems odd that practically the only information about the beverage inside was which red and yellow it uses.

However, when I opened the can, that's when I realized why the colors are in such bold print on the can. It's a warning. So you don't die of shock when you realize that THIS is going into your body.

YIKES! Artificial-florescent-candy-cartoon-pinkish-reddish liquid covered by huge cotton-candy-esque foam. This is clearly a beverage to drink straight from the can so you aren't distracted by the appearance.

It smelled like medicine, strawberry candy, plastic, flowers, sweet tarts.
It tasted like strawberry soda mixed with cough syrup, along with a barely noticeable malty-beer like flavor.
It felt slightly flat and sticky.
This is bad. Real bad.

Some internet research taught me that this is a Miller product, and an energy drink. I thought it probably was, but really there was nothing clear from the label that it contains huge amounts of caffiene or ginseng or whatever. The website is definitely geared towards teens or maybe twenty-somethings. Not sophisticated ladies of 30. You can design your own "axe" that plays a metal riff and upload it to your facebook account! Dudes!!! (disclaimer: this was actually fun).

Anyways, my curiosity has been satisfied. If you like energy drinks and getting buzzed on a very low budget, this is for you. I definitely got a buzz and got the energy needed to have a wild night of catching up on Intervention and Hoarders. I also drew a picture of my girlfriend and our cat with crayons. WHOOO! Party-time with SPARKS.

D+

I TOTALLY SCORED!

2009-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

...Something way cooler than power converters from the finest of Tashi stations. More like, something to imbibe whilst avoiding doom in Mos Eisley Cantina.

Last year I saw "Imperial Stout Trooper" listed on a fancy beer bar's menu. It was $15. I thought "Cool name. But for $15? No way." For some reason this beer stuck with me. I love Star Wars. And I have started to love stouts and imperial stouts, at that. On BeerAdvocate.com I started to read inquiries about this beer a couple of months ago. I found out it was being released on December 21 from New England Brewing in Connecticut.

So on December 21st, I started to make phone calls. To the finest of liquor stores from Boston down to Cape Cod. Nothing. One place said they'd see if they could order it for me. This filled me with hope. A New Hope, if you will. It took them 4 days to call me back to inform me that, no, they would not be able to order any. Another place said "They might have some the next day" when the order came in. I stopped by. Nothing. I read online that this was made in a very limited quantity, hardly any came to MA, and that it was "selling like hotcakes."

I gave up. I will never be one with Imperial Stout Trooper. And then...I read online today. Again, BeerAdvocate.com. Someone mentioned that on Christmas Eve, Village Vineyards in Plymouth (5 minutes from my home!) got a case in. What?! I had called them previously, and they said they were not carrying it. But as soon as I read this news, I called. The guy said, sure, they have 12 bottles sitting right at the store's entrance.SCORE!!! I flew over to that store faster than a rebel in hyperspace. I wished I had more money. But 2 750 ml bottles at $16.50 each is already steep. But oh, how exciting.

One will be for my birthday. One...For a trade? To sell? To gift to someone extremely deserving with whom the force is strong? Who knows. This is the most time and energy I've spend on finding a beer. Totally gratifying.

I Heart A Good Mix-A-Six

2009-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

When I first decided to learn about beer, I found a few places in my area that sold mix-a-six packs. They had a selection of individual bottles sold at individual prices, but mix a six of them, and save 10%! This is a fantastic concept for people trying to learn about the different varieties of beer. Having moved, I have not seen any places around my current place of residence that does this, however, I recently stumbled upon a place with a small but interesting mix-a-six area. Instead of having the bottles marked individually, the 6-pack was sold at a flat $10 rate.

I got 2 from the East. Sam Adams (Boston) and Heavy Seas (Maryland).

2 from the West. Avery (Colorado) and Sierra Nevada (California).

And 2 from outside the US. Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (England) and Xingu (Brazil).

And apparently I had a holy theme going on here.

2 were oldies but goodies, one's I have had an enjoyed before - Sierra Nevada's Torpedo and Sam Adam's Holiday Porter. The others are all new to me. Whence beer shopping, I enjoy browsing. I could browse for a while. Reading labels. Pondering decisions. I usually do not have a ton of money to spend, so I make my selections thoughtfully. Therefore when the trying-to-be-helpful sales guy comes over and watches me selecting bottles with little comments about every one I look at or touch, it's annoying. I like talking beer and feel more comfortable doing so now. But dude, let me take my time and stop acting like a know-it-all. He also kept talking about how if you make smart decisions, you can actually save money on the flat rate. Yes, that is important to me, but not as important to me as getting an ineresting variety. Plus, there was some major crap - old summer ales and old bottles covered in dust. The one item I let his opinion influence me on was Avery's Stout. The only Avery products I've had were the deliciously intense Maharaja, and the scarily intense BEAST.

Reviews to come!

A Beer from India: Maharaja

2009-12-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

Not gonna lie - the cool label, the $1.79 (or something) price-tag, and the fact that it's from India is what made me instantly throw it into my shopping basket. I do not believe I have had an Indian beer, so I was excited to try the Maharaja Premium Indian Pilsner.

Now the "pilsner," if you will, is a German-style of beverage. Light in color and with some spice, hops, and possibly even some "zest."This looked like ginger ale. Light, straw-colored, and fizzy. No foam at all. It tasted and smelled like watery corn and apple. But honestly, it was kind of good. Kind of bland, kind of sweet, nothing too complex. I'd take it over a Bud any day.
C

Southern Tier's Backburner

2009-12-22T19:03:00.001-08:00

Mmm...Another imperial treat from Southern Tier brewing. This one is a winter seasonal "barleywine" - a typically darker and high alcohol brew often fruity, sweet, and in the USA - hopped. According to the Southern Tier website, the British used to make barleywines with "the first runnings of the mash." I don't know what that means, but it is the inspiration for this beverage and it celebrates the new year and new beginnings. The label proclaimed it to be "the first brew of 2008" so it's getting close to a year old.It poured a dark amber with red highlights. The head was tight small bubbles that left tons of lace.It smelled and tasted fruity and sweet. Cherries and plums, also sweet malts, caramel and vanilla. The hops were present but not super noticeable. The 10% alcohol was felt but not tasted. This was soft and chewey, and complex. I sipped it over a long time, but it was enjoyable. I'd have another.
A-

Dear Santa, I've Been Alright:

2009-12-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season bitches! (as they say). I <3 Xmas. And this blog is in no way a passive agressive hint to my true love of what to get me on the 12 days of Xmas. Not at all. No turtle doves, please. But...I do have some special wishes that may reflect what other beer lovers could enjoy.

1) Mr. Brew Home-Brewing Kit. I saw this on sale at Target. I thought it was $25, but maybe it was $50. Anyways, this is a deal. I don't know anything about homebrewing (yet!) but can only imagine it is messy and smelly and takes up a lot of space if you only live in a 1-bedroom apartment. But still.

2)Cool beer-related shirts*.("Life is too short to drink shitty beer" - in German for subtlety).Puns are always a plus.
*Note: I am trying to become a beer expert. Not a fashion expert. Don't hate.

Not to be confused with uncool beer-related shirts*.
Nope.
I am no fashion expert, but I do not believe vomit has ever been cool.No. Please, no.

3) Sam Adams' Color Spectrum/To-Do List
I've seen this on billboards, and I really like it. It's eye-catching and shows the vast array of brew colors. You can buy it as a magnet, but I'd prefer a ginormous poster of it. I don't think that exists, however.

4) Actual beer. Especially Star Wars themed. Imperial Stout Trooper comes from New England Brewing in CT and is released on Dec. 21st. Yes, I mostly want it for the bottle. But it's supposed to be a good beer too.

5) Another new brew, that does not come out until January. Flying Dog's 20th Anniversary Brew: Hey, my birthday is in January! Hmmm...So anyways, this is TMI, but a certain friend and I used to call that certain time of the month a "raging bitch." There was more to it, I'm sure, and it was more hilarious than it sounds. Duh. So when I read about a beer by that name (and it's an IPA, heck yeah!) you know I'm all over that.

6) A million Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales. Seriously, one of the best winter brews ever. It's just a kick-ass IPA. Delicious, pretty, sticky, and refreshing.
Geez, how high maintenance and greedy am I? Not very, I swear. But, these are some hott items that deserve a place on any beer drinker's wishlist.

I love the holidays. Raise your glass, feel the love, and cheers!

Warming Up with Sam Adams Cream Stout

2009-12-06T08:48:00.001-08:00

It's already December! Yet...Not a flake of snow to be seen, and 2 days ago it was 70 degrees. What the hey! X-Mas is in 19 days! Hard to believe. However, whence shopping for brewskis it is clear the winter season is upon us. Holiday ales and winter brews abound. Something about cooler weather (at least theoretically cooler weather) lends itself to craving darker beers.

I picked up a 6-pack of Sam Adam's Cream Stout, an award-winning brew from the Sam Adam's Brewmaster Collection.
This is a lovely ale. It pours an extremely dark brown-to black, with mounds of fluffy tan head with decent retention and plenty of lace. Oooh la la! It smells like coffee with vanilla cream and dark bitter cocoa.The strongest taste is coffee, along with cream and sugar, roasted malts, and some vanilla and caramel. This is a rich beer with strong flavor, but it is not overly sweet at all like some other milk stouts.

This is a creamy, rich drink. Very good and easy to drink. It only has 4.8% alcohol which is on the low side and helps it to be a relatively sessionable stout. You could have it for dessert! Or with a fancy dessert!

A-

"Cooking" with Beer: Apple Pie Ale

2009-11-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

Wow. Okay last year around this time I commenced a little project called "The 12 Beers of Xmas" in which I compared 12 winter/holiday ales to find the winners. It was fun. And hard, delicious work. I recall trying a Harpoon's Winter Warmer at that time and enjoying it. Hadn't thought about it since until recently when I read on a well-known beer-related site that if you mix it with cider it tastes like apple pie.
For a little seasonal fun, I decided to try this, but first trying the beverages in their solitary states.
Harpoon's Winter Warmer (From Boston): A pretty dark clear amber, tiny fizzy head. It smelled strongly of cinnamon and nutmeg, along with some malts and mild...banana? It tastes sweet, like pumpkin pie. Noticeable malts. Despite the strong flavors, it still comes across as thin. Perhaps...Like watered-down banana bread, if that were possible. But overall, pleasant, if not awesome. B
Next I give the cider a go. I picked up a nice 22 oz. of JK Scrumpy's Organic Cider, simply because it was the only cider I saw. I didn't realize until right now that it's from MI. WHOOT! It poured paler than I thought it would be - looked like cloudy apple juice with almost a pink undertone. No visible carbonation or head. The smell? Like apple orchard and beer. The taste? Wow! Super crisp, sweet yet tart, and, ya know, tastes like cider. Alcohol not as present in the taste as the smell. This was WAY good.
A
Now for the cooking...
I poured about 50% each. It came out darker, sudsier, and with sediment that I had not noticed before but decided they were tiny pieces of apple. Sweet and tart, caramel, spices...Yep! Tastes like pie! I decided to be decadent and have some with real apple pie. Delightful. Also, didn't you think the motto for Sara Lee was "nobody does it like Sara Lee?" Well, according to the box it's "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." I don't like that double negative. I do, however, like apple pie.
A

Stressed Out = Thailand's Chang

2009-11-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, I was REALLY STRESSED the other day. Cuz of boring job stuff. Anyways, it was stressful all day and then I really wanted a beer. But not a delicious beer to savor and appreciate. I wanted a shitty cheap beer in order to feel somewhat more relaxed. I went to the haven of Luke's Discount Liquor. This place was pretty fantastic. A huge aisle was dedicated to nothing but imported beers and besides the usual sizable Belgian/English/German beers they also had a large Asian section. Besides that, plenty of US Micros. But I was not there for any of that. I was there for the crap. So I followed the Budweiser signs back to the cooler. Hmmm...I planned to get a nice 22 oz. of Bud Light or Miller Light or something. Maybe even a 40! But when I got back there, I really couldn't justify spending even $1.50 on something gross. Then I saw the $2.99 22 oz. bottles of Chang. I figured, for basically the same price, let's try something new.

Upon my arrival home, I poured it into a pint glass. It was crystal clear, and dark yellow-ish orange with a tiny white fizzy head that instantly disappeared. No lacing or anything. The smell was strong and poured out of the bottle. It smelled like apples and corn. A lot like Bud or Miller. Also, frankly, kind of like urine.

While it tasted mostly like the watery/corn-y US Macros, it was a little bit sweeter - almost (midly) like apple cider. This had high drinkability, because the flavor was not strong but it was kind of bland, sweet, watery, and not terribly interesting or delicious. Overall gross, but hey, it was a decent distraction to end a less than decent day.

D+

Midas Touch

2009-11-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

The story goes that everything King Midas touched turned into gold. The Midas Touch by Dogfish Head Brewing, is based on an ancient beverage found in the Midas Tomb from 2700 years ago. This is really cool. Unfortunately, the beer was kinda gross. The bottle I had was from December 2008, almost a year ago. Almost as impressive as the scrapings of an ancient bottle, no?
Appearance: a cloudy orange, small off-white head, not much visible carbonation.
Smell: Sweet. Honey, a little bit of spice, and at times, a whiff of bakery.Taste: Woah. 1 sip had a bunch of different flavors. The first taste went from sweet to spicey to bitter to fruity to alcohol. Later I refined this to be: Malts->honey->grains and spice->alcohol and dark fruits, grapes. The alcohol was definitely present in the taste. Mouthfeel: Medium to thin and on the flat side
Drinkability: Not very good for me. In theory this is a really cool beverage. And I'm glad they had booze back in the days of yore. But this was a little too complex for my taste buds. Which, by the by, did not turn into gold upon tasting.
C

Everybody Must Get Stone: Ken Schmidt and Oak Aged Arrogant

2009-11-09T16:40:00.001-08:00

Man, oh Womyn. It's been like 6 weeks since I've blogged. Never fret, dear reader(s?) - I have enjoyed some delicious beer during that time. Some Dogfish Head Punkin Ale at a bar in Philly as well as at Halloween. A lovely Belgian Delerium Tremens while out on the town with a visiting friend.

And over the weekend, 2 different beers from the Stone Brewery out in CA.

I've tried a couple from Stone, in particular the delicious Arrogant Bastard. The first I tried was randomly picked up. There was a whole bunch of them in single bottles. Upon inspection I realized it was a Stone product, later learning it was a collaboration between Stone, a Hawiian brewery, and a lucky home-brewer named Ken. The result? a Kona Coffee Macadamia Nut Coconut Porter. Sounds delicious and intense right? Right.
Fun fact: "porters" became a popular style in 18th century England among transportation workers. Hence, the name. American style porters take some initiatives with this style, adding coffee, chocolate, hop bitterness, or in this case, a multitude of nuts and coffee.

Appearance: This poured a very dark cola-esque brown. The thin dark brown head was fizzy and disappeared almost instantly. The liquid was viscious against the glass but left no lacing.
Smell: Coffee instantly stood out. Dark, roasty with a very mild sweet coconut smell coming through.
Taste: Wow - very flavorful! "Smokey," "nutty," and "roasty" all came to mind. Strong, big flavors of coffee and bitter chocolate. I found it to be balanced with a wee aftertaste of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Somewhat soft and chewey, plenty of carbonation, and "coating of the tongue," if you will.
Drinkability: Good. Fairly high in alcohol at 8.5%, but I couldn't taste it. It's a big and intense flavor, so one was plenty. But definitely enjoyable. Recommended with a SKOR BAR.
B+

Next was an Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard, one that I've been keeping for a special occassion. In this case, there was no real occassion except a day off work. I love the regular Arrogant Bastard, so was eager to try this. I don't really get what oak aging does, except add a little flavor and "mellow it out," man. Or something.

Appearance: Gorgeous. Deep amber. Looked brown but bright ruby RED when held to the light. The sticky 1 finger brown head lasted for a long time and left a frothy ring around the glass and tons of lacing.
Smell: Strong vanilla stood out, then dark fruits, malts, and spice, along with a noticeable smell of alcohol. I asked my non-beer-drinking gf what she thought it smelled like and she said, "alcohol and Christmas" which was a better description than I could come up with.
Taste: Nice. Similar to the regular Arrogant Bastard but more malty and rich. The alcohol was also more noticeable in the taste, although the amount is stil 7.2%, same as the original.
Mouthfeel: Soft and chewey
Drinkability: Good, but would have been better for me if the alcohol was less noticeable in the taste and smell. This is a rich, flavorful beverage; something to savor. Unfortunately, after I drank half the bottle I spilled the rest on the carpet. I promise, I was not drunk, only clumsy. And now our carpet smells like old Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard. Which is not so great. B+

YOW! Getting Spicy with Rogue's Chipotle Ale

2009-09-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't tried many from Rogue brewery, in OR, although I often admire their lovely bottles and interesting sounding varieties. So imagine my delighted surprise when my gf came home with a bottle of Rogue's Chipotle Ale "just because." And she does not even drink beer. Swoon! I was not sure if I'd like it, but when we decided it was taco night, I decided I needed to try it.The bottle was decorated with a rendition of author Juan de la Cueva who wrote of a recipe using beer and chipotle seeds. Hence, chipotle ale!
The appearance was lovely. Amber with large sudsy off-white foam creating a large head that dissipated into a foamy ring around the top and lots o' lace.

The smell was mild. Sweet malts and just a bit of spice. Not as powerful and spicy as I thought it would be.
The taste: At first a nice sweet malty amber ale. And then - just the delightful flavor of chipotle (ripe and smoked jalepano peppers). There definitely was spice, but not in a super hot way. More like the flavor of the peppers. I could feel some heat though, and wondered if it was the spice, or the alcohol. Looking up the ABV - only 5.5% So the warmth was definitely spice-related.

If you like spice and chipotle flavor, you should definitely try this brew. Especially at taco night.

A-

More on Oktoberfest: Flying Dog's Dogtoberfest

2009-09-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson (used as Flying Dog's logo)
Oktoberfest has been celebrated in Munich since 1810, when a prince organized a horse race in honor of his upcoming marriage. It was celebrated with the race, and lots of beer. It's still a big party, albeit with a lack of horses. Current celebrations have over 6.5 million people and serve over 6.5 million liters (or something) of beer. WHOOOOOH! Par-tay. I prefer my quiet living room with the company of my gf and cat, thankyouverymuch.

I really have not tried Oktoberfest styles of beer, or Marzens, besides a couple of small samples last weekend. I randomly picked up this 6-pack of Flying Dog's Dogtoberfest. I never tried Flying Dog either - it's an interesting brewery. It started in CO and now distributes out of Maryland, as well. The packaging is known for having unique cartoon designs, created by a friend of Hunter S. Thompson (who is friends with the brewery's owner).

This Dogtoberfest looked like liquid caramel as it poured from the bottle into a pint glass. The thin brown head quickly fizzled away and left small spots of lace. It smelled mostly of sweet caramel malts, along with apples.

The taste: sour caramel apples, sweet malts, wheat or rye bread, and bitter hops towards the end. I tend to like hoppier beverages, but I liked this the more I drank this. It felt smooth and was not overly carbonated. It "sat on my tongue for a spell", coating my mouth with deliciousness.

Later I enjoyed the beverage alongside a feast. I made it myself. Chicken (fake for me, real for the gf), falaffel, hummus wraps, brown rice with tabouli and feta, yogurt-cucumber sauce, roasted garlic and stuffed olives. Impressed, no? NOM NOM.

Overall, this was a fairly sweet but balanced brew. On the Flying Dog website, I learned that they import all German products (hops, malt, yeast) for an authentic Oktoberfest beer. It was a pleasant drink and with 5.3%ABV it's easy to have several, particularly alongside some oom-pah music. I'm not sure I love the style of the Marzen, but I definitely enjoy this brew enough.

B+

Stimulating My Economy with Golden Anniversary Beer

2009-09-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be gross. But I did stimulate my economy. Ahem. I am totally unfamiliar with Genesee Brewing but it bought Fred Koch's Brewery in 1985 (which was originally founded 100 years earlier)in Rochester, NY. Anyways, it has a reputation in New England, mainly for being affordable, and when I came across a 6-pack of Golden Anniversary Beer for $3.49, my wallet said YES PLEASE.
It poured the color of watered down lemonade. Even a very gentle pour created a huge head of mounds of white foam. It left spots of lacing on the pint glass. The smell was mild; corn, wheat, minor amounts of hops/malts. The taste was also mild. Watery. A metallic edge, but also a sweet edge. Bread/corn - some fairly nuetral carby taste.
It's thin and watery, but well-carbonated. Just 4.4% ABV, so it's on the light side of booziness.

Honestly, it's a basic American Lager. But I do enjoy it more than Budweiser/Miller/Coors. There is a light, slightly sweet, flavor that makes it more refreshing that BMC which tends to gross me out more than not. And at 58 cents a can...It's a helluva bargain.

C+

A Weary, Beery Weekend: Pumpkin Head, Oktoberfest, Tom Robbins

2009-09-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ah, 'twas a good weekend for swilling an ale or 3. Now that it's getting to be Autumn, some maltier brews along the lines of Oktoberfests and Pumpkin Ales are coming out.
Part One:
I LOVE PUMPKIN. And after getting to recently try Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout I was eager to try their heavily lauded Imperial Pumpkin Ale - Pum King.
I poured the very attractive orange-peach color ale from the 22 oz. bottle into a wine glass, forming a small sudsy head that left decent lacing. The smell was awesome. Cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg, cookies, Autumn, back-to-school, Halloween. All of that. The taste? Gingerbread cookies and pumpkin pie atop a mild ale of malts and hops. Sweet, but not as much as you'd think. Started sweet, but the spice is what really stood out, especially the nutmeg, and then it ended on a bitter note. YUM. This is definitely an Autumnal treat. I drank the bomber over 3 hours. At one point I had a chocolate cupcake with it, which was awesome. The alcohol was not noticeable in taste, but I could definitely feel the 10%ABV after a while.

Part 2: The next day I stopped by a local Oktoberfest. It was pretty funny, and a nice (charitable) event, despite the drizzly rain. There was a strength contest - the ladies had to hold full steins out in front of them for as long as possible. The gentlemen had to hold kegs out in front of them! There was some traditional music, pretzels, and beer sampling. So what makes beer October/Oktober-style? Well, education: back in the day, brewers could not keep beer cold enough to brew in the summer, so they'd make a special beer in March, keep it cold in caves or caverns over the summer (some of which still are used in Germany)and then busted out to enjoy when the weather began to get colder once again. March = Marzen, so Oktoberfest beers are also called "Marzen". They are malty lagers, but that's about the only generalized characteristic that I can find. I sampled Sam Adams Oktoberfest and a Post Road Pumpkin Ale.

Part 3:
A trip to the public library and a glance in the new book room lead me to find this new book by Tom Robbins. I've never actually read anything by him, even though I know I've started Even Cowgirls Get the Blues multiple times. I should do something about that. Anyways, this is a "children's book for adults" about a smart 5 year old girl who learns about beer and life. It's actually pretty educational about the brewing process (as told by a Beer Fairy) and several micro-breweries get shout-outs. It's an odd little book, but entertaining enough and one I'd recommend to beer fans. Plus the little girl is sassy and kicks a drunk dude's ass at one point.

Pum-King Ale: A
Oktoberfest: B
B is for Beer: B

Day of Labor: With Dogfish Head's Burton Baton

2009-09-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day! I'd say I have a good work ethic, and therefore deserve a day off like my other fellow Americans fortunate enough to be employed. It was LOVELY having a 3-day weekend, although busy. I'd really like to learn how to kick back and do nothing. You'd think I'd be good at that, what with this beer hobby of mine, and all. But no. Still a good weekend. I picked up a new piece of furniture, cleaned the apartment, hung some art, played with the kitty...Good times!

I did celebrate with some Dogfish Head Burton Baton. A mixture of their DELICIOUS 90 minute imperial IPA with an oak-aged English strong ale to create...An oak-aged imperial IPA. What the heck is the point of oak aging beer? Well, it mellows it out. Adds some woody-ness. Just in case beer needed yet another sexual innuendo. I love a lot of what Dogfish Head does, but I also have been disappointed with them. I was really looking forward to trying Burton Baton.
Appearance: Very pretty. A hazy reddish-amber. The thin fizzy head quickly disappeared leaving just a rim of bubbles.

Smell: This is when I started to get nervous. Upon opening the bottle, the smell of alcohol just poured out. This was replaced by sweet malts. Where are my hops? The smell was slightly reminiscent of their (disappointing) 120 minute - too much sugary malts and alcohol.

Taste: The smell made me apprehensive, but the taste, for the most part, improved things. It definitely had some caramel-malts going on with the wood-y taste balancing some pineapple-citrus and floral hops. Some tastes were nice and mellow and I could see what the beer could be. Other sips were too strong in alcohol taste and malts.

Mouthfeel: actually really nice. Felt soft with somewhat low carbonation.

Drinkability: Pretty good, especially for a 10% ABV. It's a sipper with rich complex tastes. I would rate it higher if the alcohol was less prominant and if the hops did not get lost in the sweet malts. It was $16 for a 4-pack. One bottle I put in my "aging box." It will be interesting to see how it fares with time.

B-

Creme de la Creme: Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Imperial Milk Stout

2009-08-30T14:21:00.001-07:00

I've got a sweet tooth. No surprises there. That being said, I have not had creme brulee in a long time. Maybe once or twice in my life. I definitely recall being out at a bar in NYC at 2 or 3am about 10 years ago having wine and "creme caramel" and feeling pretty fancy-pants about it. Fast forward to yesterday.

Southern Tier is located in Lakewood, NY and has a large and diverse selection of beer. The Creme Brulee Imperial Cream Stout is among its unusual imperial styles, which include an imperial cherry saison, and an imperial pumpkin ale (you know I'm excited to try that one!) The bottle has some interesting facts on it, including the cultural disputes over where creme brulee originated (there are similar desserts with roots in England and Spain, but it's generally attributed to the French).

Cream stouts are sweet stouts made with lactose (milk sugar) which regular stouts are not. There you go.

Appearance: is typical for a stout. Pitch black. When held to the light it's slightly lighter around the edges (like a dark cola-esque brown). A foamy brown head forms on top and sticks around for a minute, leaving a thin layer on top for quite some time. Spider-webby lace coats the glass. It's attractive.

Smell: Upon opening the bottle the smell of pure vanilla bean pours out. I poured it into a pint glass and woah sweetness. Caramel, vanilla, marshmallow, cream. Subtle malts and hops. Did I mention this is "sweet?"

Taste: "Sugar...Doo doo doo doo doo do ohhh honey honey...." Caramel-sugar-vanilla-cream topped with marshmallow. Faint hops contribute a bitter edge which helps bring this beverage some slight semblance of balance, but it is overwhelmingly sweet. I ate a little l'creme vanilla et cookie-chips-ahoy et hershey's syrup with this beer. The ice cream in my mouth mixed with a little beer turned into a ridiculously delicious vanilla-beer-milkshake.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and good consistency. It actually felt a little flat after a while. I was glad it was not any thicker...That may have been overkill.

Drinkability: This comes in a 22 ounce bottle which I paid $8.95 for. I recommend it, but split it with a friend or 2. About 8 ounces was plenty. This is dessert. It is also 10% ABV which was not noticeable at first, but as it warmed, the alcohol became more noticeable in smell and taste. This is super sweet. Beer and dessert are not mutually exclusive. Have this with super dark chocolate. Or vanilla ice cream. Or alone. And enjoy.

B+

A Unique Beer and History Lesson: Dogfish Head's Theobroma

2009-08-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been waiting for this. Ever since seeing it featured on an educational tv special about beer, I have been waiting. For like, months. I had to go to a few places to find it, and felt immense satisfaction at buying it. I held onto it for a few weeks, but this past weekend it was time to try it.

First: the history. "Theobroma" = "food of the gods"
The creative and unique Dogfish Head Brewery created this beer after analyzing traces of chemicals on Aztec pottery dated to 1200 BC. Who knows how close it is to the actual old school beverages of our ancient Aztecian friends, but it is inspired by this, using Aztec cocoa, honey, chile, and annatto ("fragrant tree seeds.")
It is available only in a 750 ml bottle. I poured it into a wine glass, not sure what the closest thing I have is to 1200 BC pottery.

Appearance: A pretty peach color. Tiny bubbles of white head did not last at all, and it left no lacing. It was slightly hazy; almost like an orange-ish colored apple juice.

Smell: I have a cold, but even without this, I do not think the smell is strong. The first smell was chile, which I got upon opening the bottle. Mild and sweet. Perhaps faint cocoa.

Taste: Interesting. Very interesting. Started out sweet, but the spices (chile and "annatto" I suppose) came out. To me there was cinnamon. Maltiness; an overall sweetness but I'm not sure if I would have pinpointed this to honey and cocoa without reading the bottle first. The spice of the chile is not overbearing but present; I can feel it in my stomach. As it warmed, the spices became more dominant.

Overall, this was decent. A very unique beverage, made more interesting because of the historical inspiration behind it. Truly "off-centered" as Dogfish Head's motto proclaims. Very flavorful, but not overpowering since it has both spice and sweetness. One glass took me a good hour and a half to sip on and is plenty with 9%ABV.

The next night I enjoyed another glass with a most delicious mustard-glazed cranberry-topped salmon with goat cheese and spinach-risotto (Holla!) It was all delicious, but a million different strong flavors happening. I will not be going out of my way to try Theobroma again, but I'm very glad I got the chance to try it. I did enjoy it, but it's not for everybody.

B+

Judged By Its Cover: Speakeasy's Prohibition Ale

2009-08-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well, my beer intake has decreased as of late. The good news? I've been real busy and lost weight. The bad news? Boring! I like my beer.

I got this Prohibition Ale on a whim. The bottle is awesome. The label is great, the name is fun, and best of all? Creepy eyes looking at you from the neck.

This is an amber ale, coming from Speakeasy Brewery in San Francisco. "Amber Ales" are amber to deep red in color, generally malty, and somewhat fruity. The bottle boasts that this one is aggressively hopped as well.

A) Caramel-amber with a thin white head that disappears quickly.

S) Malt-heavy. Caramel and raisins. An edge of hops does come through.

T) The hops come out more in the taste, but it's still very sweet. Caramel-malts, slight piney-hops, some bread, and a bit of alcohol taste after a while.

MF) Medium-bodied

D) Pretty good. It is refreshing and tasty. 6.1%ABV is reasonable to have a couple. While it may be hoppy for the style, it's still too sweet and malty for me to have more than 1. But worth a try. I'd give another style from this brewery a shot.

B

Moving + Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier

2009-07-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

I move every summer. Or at least I have for the past 8 years. Sometimes it is long, like from Michigan to New Hampshire. Sometimes it is right next door. This year it was an hour away, to fully move-in with my partner instead of splitting my time between work and home. So not a bad move, but moving nonetheless. And it is a law that moving on a hot day = beer and pizza. No pizza for me, but I did have a delicious brew that I had been saving for a worthy day, this one being a delicious Hefeweissbier (Hefe = yeast, Weiss = wheat, Bier = beer).

The Weihenstephaner brewery in Freising, Germany claims to be the oldest brewery in the world. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that they seem to know what they are doing when it comes to Hefeweiss beer.

I poured this in the "inverted style" as shown on this helpful, and entertaining, video I found via youtube.

Appearance) 2 fingers frothy white head atop of a hazy apple-juice colored brew with lots of visible carbonation.

Smell) YUMMY: lemon, banana, cloves, bubblegum, wheat. Great balance of scents.

Tastes) Started sweet and banana-y then tart-lemon, with a bubblegum-wheat finish. Delicious. Definitely more sweet than bitter, but not in an over-the-top way. Heavier cloves than I've noticed with other hefe's.

MF) Smooth, plenty of carbonation, medium mouthfeel.

D) Fantastic. A great hot-day-after-moving beer. And just 5.4% ABV. Definitely a high drinkability.

This may not be my favorite of styles, but if you're in the mood for a wheat beer, this one is pretty fantastic.

A-

Another Delight from Sierra Nevada: Kellerweiss

2009-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I went to a ginormous liquor store and finally got a bottle of Theobroma, which I've been very interested to try since seeing it featured on a Discovery channel special. I also got a bottle of Sam Adam's Chocolate Bock (for $10 instead of $16-18!) - okay this is because the "best by" date is a few months past, but I'm not worried about it. And I was proud of myself - the cashier talked to me about Dogfish Head Brewery and some of their latest releases, and instead of being intimidated, I was excited to talk to him! I've learned about beer, hoorah! Although the conversation was kept pretty short, due to the long line of people behind me but still...

Anyways, I've had a couple of bottles of Sierra Nevada Kellerweiss for a while now. It's a new release this year, and it's gotten good reviews. Some are saying it's one of the best American Hefeweizens. You may recall from my Big Hefeweizen Taste-Off, that it certainly was the German Hefe that held up. The Kellerweiss is brewed in the "Bavarian tradition" - not sure what it means, but SN says it's complex. If anyone would like to summarize what this means in layman's terms, that would be appreciated.

It was a hot and muggy day, I went for a long walk, and was happy to have a couple of these in the fridge upon my return.

A) Completely hazy straw-colored with sudsy white head that stuck around forever, leaving small traces of lacing
S)The smell was nice - Wheat and lemon up front, but then the banana and cloves came through
T) Extremely well-balanced. Ends on a sweet banana-y note, but definitely not too sweet. Lots of wheat, yeast, and a little bit of spice.
MF) The label describes it as "velvet-y" - not a term I would have thought of but pretty accurate! Soft, fresh, crisp...Um, velvety!
D) Extremely good. Easy and pleasant to drink. And just 4.8%ABV makes having a couple no problem. Great on this hot day.

A-

Dinner Party with Hop Stoopid

2009-07-11T12:04:00.001-07:00

SO...I had a dinner party a few nights ago! Well, maybe "party" is stretching it. 2 colleagues came over for dinner, but when there's more than 1.5 people, in my book, it's a party. I had a 22 oz. bottle of Hop Stoopid to celebrate, by the Lagunitas Brewing Company in CA. I've heard good stuff, and enjoyed their Cappuccino Stout, so wanted to try it. Appearnce) Was a pretty amber, 1.5 fingers of fluffy off-white head, nice retention, and lovely lacing. Smell) Surprisingly sweet. Pineapple and honey, along with citrus/grapefruit hops.
Taste) I expected this to be more bitter and straight-forward hops, esp. with 102 IBUs. It was actually a little sweet at first, fairly mellow fruit/honey taste, followed by the bitter hops at the end. Delicious.
Mouthfeel) Good carbonation, medium-to-full feel
Drinkability) Great. Sometimes crisp and tasty IPAs are too easy to guzzle, but this was something to savor. Very pleasurable.
Hop Stoopid: A-
But what about dinner, you ask? Fear not. I made salmon burgers (which I never made before - so easy!)
And a cheese tray, naturally, to tease the app. That would be some olive-goat cheese and smoked muenster. Delicious.
My sister taught me about this roasted corn salad: roasted corn, red onion, black beans, and mango with lime juice and cumin = lovely.

And of course dessert - chocolate cupcakes courtesy of Hungry Girl. I do enjoy a delicious evening.

Happy 4th! Come Hell or High Water...Melon

2009-07-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

GOD. This weekend has ruled so much. 3 days off in a row with my partner is a rarity. We played basketball (meaning "around the world"). We tried to play disc golf but it was super muddy and swampy from the past 5 days of rain. But we played for a bit. We ate some delicious food. At a pub near the disc golf course I got the Best Dessert I Ever Had. It kind of looked like this picture, but it was baked in a ramekin.It was layered, from bottom to top as such: chocolate cake-thin layer of peanut butter-thin layer of chocolate sauce-vanilla ice cream-thick layer of caramelized marshmallow. It was ridiculously decadent.

We watched movies and cuddled and walked around downtown by the waterfront. We watched the fireworks. The fireworks were hard - this is our 2nd year here. Last year we sat up on a tall hill and had a great view but it was crowded. So this year we thought we'd try to sit down by the water. This was just as crowded but also there were no good views. There were trees or boats in the way. So we finally made our way up the hill and caught the 2nd half of the show very nicely. But my mood was then fouled by someone saying, "lesbians!" as they passed us (coincidence? i have no idea), the smoking teenagers in front of us, and seeing people with babies and dogs, both of which are not crazy about loud noises.

Overall though, very fun. For the 4th dinner we had veggie dogs, watermelon, & corn on the cob. Very summery, no? And to drink, a watermelon wheat beer from 21st Amendment Brewing.
I had never heard of this brewing company before, but admit the packaging caught my eye and thought watermelon was a good flavor for the 4th. The 21st Amendment, btw, repealed the 18th amendment (Prohibition).

A) Straw-colored, semi-hazy, between amber and yellow. Thin white foam disappeared quickly leaving no head or lacing.

S) Mildly wheaty and lemony with a definite (but not overpowering) smell of watermelon

T) Like it smelled. Watermelon was the most defined taste, but again, not over-powering.

MF) Crisp and a little thin.

D) Very high. It was refreshing enough, tasty enough, and a 5.5%ABV makes it no trouble to have a few of these. Plus I was fancy and garnished mine with a watermelon slice.

Overall, tasty and a nice addition to a fantastic July 4th weekend. But, also a little boring and nothing I'll be rushing back for.

B

What Beer Would YOU Be?

2009-07-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

God, I always have to do all the work around here. Hee hee, no just kidding. I took a quiz on facebook about "What beer would you be" and it sucked so I made my own version.

On Facebook?
Go on now, take it. Take it!

http://apps.facebook.com/ifyouwereabetwnsqr/

Beer + Haikus = 4 Beer-kus

2009-07-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

1) Dogfish Head 120 Minute: Imperial IPA (Delaware)

Over-hyped and -hopped?
Super sweet syrupy booze
20 Percent, Ugh.

Conclusion: Go for the DFH 90 minutes, ANY day. Your wallet, tastebuds, and brain
will thank thee. C-

2) Sherwood Forest's Blueberry Maiden: Fruit Beer (Massachusetts)

Sigh when will i learn?
lovely, tons of blueberries
still tastes like plastic

Conclusion: I want to like blueberry beers. I even garnished this one with blueberries. It smelled like blueberries. It tasted like blueberries. However, there was also an unfortunately strong smell/taste of plastic. C

3) Harpoon's Leviathan Series IPA: Imperial IPA (Vermont)
Gotta have my hops
A well-balanced IPA
Delish, orange, smooth

Conclusion: Very nice. My first from the Leviathan series. This was very pretty, and super hoppy but not overly bitter. There was a bit of sweetness in there that mellowed it out. I really enjoyed it. A-

4) Hoegaarden's Witbier: Wit/Wheat (Belgium)
Belgian Wit delight
Lemons, bubblegum, and wheat
A classic to try

Conclusion? Even if you're not gung-ho about Wits, this is lovely. Refreshing, crisp, and strong with the classic banana, bubblegum, cloves taste of Wits. This is actually the first time I've really noticed the bubblegum smell and taste. It could be a good summer session beer. A-

Now YOU write one!

Thirsty Thursday: A Big Ol' DIPA

2009-06-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

What a day yesterday. Farrah Fawcett and, more importantly, Michael Jackson. Having mixed feelings about the latter (and no feelings about the former), I still feel sad. I don't know if he hurt children. But I do know that he was hurt as a child, that he wrote some amazing songs, did some amazing things, and challenged people's notions of race and gender, as he got a lot of crap for not fitting into an easily understood box.

So, I'd like to rewind the time. Yesterday's brew was in honor of MJ. So listen to the embedded video. Go on now!

Alrighty then. After work, hitting up a local brew spot, I tried an Avery's Maharaja. (stock photos used - I was nerdy enough to take notes at the bar, but not to take pictures). The Maharaja is an Imperial India Pale Ale (IIPA) also called a Double India Pale Ale (DIPA), meaning extra hoppy and extra alcohol. I have a nephew named Avery, so I like saying "Avery's DIPA" because it sounds like "Avery's Diaper." This is only my 2nd brew from Avery, the first being THE BEAST, a massive 16%ABV strong Belgian dark. Likewise, Majaraha was also an intense brew with 10.2% ABV. That's like...Over 2 Miller Lite's worth of booze. It contains 102 IBUs (International Bitterness Units). IPAs tend to start at 40+ IBUs, and some people say that 100 IBUs is the limit that people can detect. Therefore, the Maharaja is taking it to the limits, bitterness-wise. It's also a limited-edition summer brew. Phew, that was educational.
A) 10 ounces was served in a tulip glass. It was pretty. It looked like ruby-red grapefruit juice with a hefty 1.5 inches of fluffy white head. The foam took a while to dissipate and left a white ring for the duration of the beverage. Thick rings of lacing coated the glass.
S) Hops in your face. Hops, grapefruit, pines, possibly a little something sweeter in the smell like caramel or apple. Mostly hops though.
T) Like it smells. Ended on a definite bitter note, and my mouth still tasted like hops an hour after I finished it, probably coated in hop oil.
MF)well carbonated.
D) Good. This is no "session beer" nor one you're gonna down a 6-pack of. 10 ounces was plenty and it took me a good 30-45 minutes to savor.

I REALLY liked his. I like a good IPA and hops, but even for me it was a little too bitter at the end. Although the final sip filled me with euphoria that I could chalk up to the hop-cannibis relationship. Or simply the delight at getting to try another one of Avery's impressive beers.

A-

Rest in Peace, Michael!

"That Yeti is my Papa and He's Going to Protect Me!": 2 from Great Divide

2009-06-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Jack Black's character in the best movie ever is really into Yeti. Play while reading:

Good beer is also really into Yeti types of legends, including Bigfoot. And this weekend I got to try 2 Yetis from Great Divide in CO.

1) Yeti Imperial Stout, described as "untamed" and "imposing," much like Yeti himself.

A) Pours pitch black with a small brown fluffy head (perhaps like the Yeti's head).
S) Nuts, roasted malts, mild grape, mild hops
T) Good! 75 IBUs means its bitter and balances out the sweeter tastes of coffee and caramel nicely.
MF) Thick and chewy, but not super slick
D) Very good. I split a bomber of this which was a good idea at 9.5% ABV, but if I wanted to, I could have enjoyed the entire bomber by myself.

2) The Yeti I was especially excited to try was the newer (and pricier) Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti, which I eagerly cracked open the following day.
A) Pitch black, mounds of dark brown foam that lasted for several minutes. Beautiful lacing coated the glass.

S) The smell was surprisingly mild. Dark bitter chocolate was the only smell I could recognize at first. As it warmed up I could smell a bit of oak and vanilla, along with mild malts and hops.
T) At first it was nutty, and heavier on the oak taste. Then some cocoa and vanilla tones came through, but not overly sweet at all. Mild roasted malts, and a bitter hoppy note ended the taste. And then! The "splash of cayenne" comes through. Just a bit of spicy tingle, starting in my stomach and then becoming more noticeable with the taste.
MF) Thick, soft, and chewy
D) Very good. I admit, I had this bomber by myself. Another 9.5% ABV. Probably good to share, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Overall, both of these Yetis were awesome. They also make an Oak Aged Yeti, and an Espresso Oak Aged Yet, both I'd like to try.

As the Great Divide company says on their bottle caps: Great Minds Drink Alike.

A's!

Rainy Days and Thursdays: Samuel Smith Oatmeal and Magic Hat #9

2009-06-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

After work. Dreary, dark, rainy day. BLEH.

Went to neighborhood tavern. Only been there once before. They brag about "99 bottles of beer on the wall" and several taps. Really, it's nothing too impressive. Kinda dark and cruddy. But, whatever. Stopped by after work, and no one else was in there.

I had read about Burton Baton earlier and had something delicious with hops and vanilla on my mind.

However when I came to the tavern I was not too wowed with their selection. Then I was indecisive. The kindly barkeep gave me a sample of their newest micro:
Sample (hefty) of Wolaver's Pat Leary Organic All American Ale.
It was golden brown. Smooth, well-balanced. Smelled a little hoppy.
But nothing that WOWED me. I wanted to be wowed. Is that too much to ask for?

So I got a Samual Smith Oatmeal Stout. Hearing amazing things about it. I've had a couple of Samual Smiths before, but not the famous Oatmeal stout.
It poured a dark black with a bit of light brown foam that disappeared into a ring.
it smelled delicious - light cocoa, roasted malts (but not overly roasted, like meaty-beers), and coffee without being overwhelming.
It was thick and chewey with some viscocity going on up in here.
The taste was sweet-to bitter-to sweet, ends on a light/sweet coffee-cocoa note. There's something bready going on, I suppose the oatmeal. It feels like a meal. I actually tried to look up calorie info, interested to see how it compares to other stouts.
*There is a misconception that darker beers are "heavier" and more fattening than light-colored beers. This is totally untrue. Some light-colored beers are heavier in alcohol and have more calories. Guiness is actually on the low side of calories, but people always say it's "like a meal." Personally, (one might say "IMHO") compared to the Samuel Smith, Guiness is like drinking water.

A

Later at home i had a Magic Hat 9 from VT. It was labeled on the bottle as "not quite a pale ale."
A) True to its name it was a shade darker than a typical pale ale. Light amber, fluffy white head with sticky lacing.
S) Good - sweet, honey, citrus, mild hops.
T) This was a couple of hours after the SS Stout. The first couple of sips, therefore, tasted like water. But then I got used to it, and found it refreshing. Light lemon. Grass. A pineapple/honey taste? that I could not define. **
M) Crisp, light
D) Good. Only 4.8%ABV. Refreshing, could see it being pleaseant on a hot day. UNTIL...I was about 2/3 of the way done. I was trying to figure out what the sweet//fruit smell and taste was.
**I looked online, and it turns out this is brewed with apricots! I've had a couple of bad experiences with peach/apricot beers. So I don't know if it was mental or what, but all of a sudden this artificial peach smell jumped out at me, and the spricot was too much.

C

Outro): "Hanging around! Nothing to do but frown! Rainy days and Mondays always get me down..."

Two-Fer-Tuesday: Main Course & Dessert

2009-06-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

APPETIZER: Oh boy. Today I was exhausted from a weekend of partying with little kids and not sleeping enough and it's that time of the month which means I'm out of it and tired and a little moody. I also had no food at home, which meant grocery shopping. No big deal except the power went out and the registers went down while I was in the middle of checking out, so it took longer than usual. Ready for a beer? I was.

MAIN COURSE: I went home to eat dinner and relax. I made homemade chili dogs (meaning a can of Hormel veggie chilli on top of veggie hot dogs) = yum. With my main course I had a La Binchoise Artisinal Amber Ale Reserve Speciale, a product from Belgium. Normally it seems to be called "Speciale Noel" so I guess it's a Christmas beer. But this one was not labeled as such. Perhaps I should have guessed from the label with angels and $2.99 clearance price.
Anyhow, I have kind of put off trying this one...Again maybe because of the angels and clearance price. However, I opened it tonight and am glad I did.
A) Appearance was lovely. Very thick with sediment, a deep amber color, off-white head that briefly stuck around leaving thick lacing.
S) Mild smell, cherry/raisins/crackers.
T) Taste was not overwhelming, which to me was a good thing for this style. It was tasty: dark fruits, cherries, bread, a bit of spice at the end. The spicy tang is what stood out to me.
MF) Medium to chewey, well-carbonated.
D) Very good! Sometimes these styles can be too intense for me, especially the dark fruit tastes and high alcohol levels. But with 9% ABV, this was well-balanced, pleasant, and lovely to drink.
PERHAPS MY FAVORITE BELGIAN STRONG ALE YET!
A-

DESSERT: I had an Atwater's Vanilla Java Porter, something I have also held off on trying. The only other Atwater's I've had is a Winter Bock, which I was not too wowed with. I really want to like Atwater's, especially because they are from MI like me!Come on, Hand State, let's get it together.
A) Extremely dark brown, powerful finger of light brown fluffly foam with many dents and mounds. LOVELY.
S) Subtle vanilla, followed by hints of cocoa and coffee, malts. GOOD SO FAR.
T) Starts more bitter with a bit of hops, a light coffee note, and ending on a mild vanilla taste (which is good). Kind of watery in flavor, definitely not "robust" as the label claims. GETTING DISAPPOINTING.
MF) Again, feels kind of watery and thin.
D) Okay - easy to drink but not that fun to. While it's more complex than some straight up chocolate stouts, it's still lacking in flavor and feels weak. However, I paired this with a super flavorful dessert, and it accompanied this okay.
B-

Rogue's Dead Guy Ale

2009-06-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

So, I'm in NY hanging out with an awesome toddler, my awesome sister, and her awesome partner. For dinner we got some awesome Turkish take-out. Note the falafel sandwich and orange tabouli pictured!

So I needed an awesome beer. I've held onto this Dead Guy Ale for a long time. Which is funny because I have a memory of seeing it years ago, before I knew anything about craft beer, and just thought the name and packaging was funny. I recalled my Oregonian sister telling me it was big out there. But I haven't tried anything by Rogue yet besides an Xmas ale.

It poured an orange-ish light brown. It smelled mild - a bit of spice (cinnamon?), sweet malt. Taste was fairly mild too, mostly malts, a little sweet fruit/caramel. Mouthfeel was medium but maybe a little low on the carbonation. The drinkability was pretty high.

Overall? Bored. This is only my 2nd Maibock. With a name like Rogue's Dead Guy Ale, I was kind of hoping it would knock me on my ass (in a good way). It was good, but nothing super memorable. The previous Maibock I had (Einbecker) was delicious.

B

Comparative Study #5: 2 Hefeweizens Face Off

2009-06-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I did one of these! Today I'm writing about 2 Hefeweizens that faced off.
What is a "hefeweizen" you ask? WELL, it is a German Wheat beer with a ton of wheat, yeast known to produce banana and clove scents, not much bitterness, and it's unfiltered. I tried a German Paulaner Hefeweizen, and a Longtrail Hefeweizen from the good ol' US of A, specifically Vermont.

Appearance:Now, looking at these 2, I would not see much difference. The Paulaner was definitely a shade darker than the Longtrail. They both were cloudy, straw-colored, off-white head that left a ring around the glass.
Smell: Instantly the Longtrail gave off a strong banana scent, even as I was pouring it. Even after I added a lemon slice, the banana still came through. The Paulaner was much more subtle, some wheaty, beery smell. Once I added a lemon, it was all lemon.
Taste: The Paulaner had a strong wheat taste with a definite banana-like undertone. The Longtrail had a milder taste; the wheat was more mild and the banana was surprisingly subtle despite the smell.
Mouthfeel: Both were mild in carbonation, and smooth, but the Paulaner had more of a mouthfeel than the Longtrail. The Longtrail was more watery. Hee hee. "Mouthfeel."
Drinkability: Both excellent, light, refreshing, easy to drink.

Might I note how much I rocked this? I used the right kind of glasses, AND even had a lemon on hand (of course having a sliced lemon in the Hefeweizen is controversial, just like everything else in Beerworld).

Overall - a good summer style. Yet again the Germans seem to know what they are doing.
Paulaner Hefeweizen: A-
Longtrail Hefeweizen: B-

It's been 8 months...A summary

2009-06-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Oh, I still have a long ways to go to truly become learned in the ways of fermentation. However, reviewing my bloggy blog, I have listed the brews I have enjoyed the most thus far:

Sierra Nevada: Torpedo IPA, Bigfoot Barleywine, Wet Hops Ale
Dogfish Head: 90 Minute Imperial IPA
Vicory Hop Devil IPA
Brooklyn Lager
Duvel Belgian Ale
Arrogant Bastard American Strong Ale

So, mostly IPAs along with a couple of other styles. On the sweeter side of Sears:

Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Lagunita's Cappuccino Stout
Lefthand's Milk Stout

Just keeping track...Let's see if this changes in another 8 months!

Follies Leads to 3 types of Dogfish Head: 90 Minute, Palo Santo, Red and White

2009-06-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

I saw some follies in my workplace today. Do you know what the word "follies" means?
1. A lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight.
2.
a. An act or instance of foolishness: regretted the follies of his youth.
b. A costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.
3. follies (used with a sing. or pl. verb) An elaborate theatrical revue consisting of music, dance, and skits

I don't mean to be a snot, but grown-ass men and women singing non-offensive "humorous" songs that we can all relate to in order to boost morale embarasses me. Especially when they turn actual songs into humorous songs. Such as "525,600 pot holes...How do you measure - measure a state?" a la Rent. Or "There's...A...Parking space for us" a la West Side Story. Are you blushing yet? Because I was. And partially because I have some musical background, I could not stop thinking...What if this was me? I mean these people had talent; they were really good singers. And I'd be happy to sing dorky songs to kids. Hell, I'd love to. But to professional men and women...I don't know. I could not really handle it. But I laughed and clapped along and tried to get into it. If only out of slight pity and major discomfort.
And then I ran. To a tavern I had never been to. Track 84 is an unassuming little dive-looking place on a dead-end road. It is great. Huge craft beer selection, reasonable prices, a barber chair to sit in, a couple of games to play, a juke box, and a huge barrel of peanuts to help oneself to. And they have a "no shots" policy. or at least a sign claiming as much, which I think is probably a good idea. When I entered every single seat was taken at the bar by middle aged men drinking bud light. I was anxious - sit near them awkwardly, or sit away from them awkwardly and risk looking like a snob? I sat near them and ordered a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA on tap by the lovely barkeep who sported a skull tattoo on her wrist. I asked what other Dogfish Heads they had, and she gave me a free shot glass sample of Dogfish Head Palo Santo, a dark brown ale, super rich and sweet with 12% abv. So nice! I quickly made friends with a regular named Jim, who I hope to see again. He opened up to me quickly and we talked about beer, family, illness, and love.

DFH 90 Minute: an Imperial India Pale Ale (aka, an IPA that will kick other IPAs' butts)
A) Beautiful dark amber, 1-2 fingers off white head disappears quickly
S) Floral, hops, deliciousness
T) Hops, Pines, some fruits, caramel, do i detect a hint of banana?
M) Soft with a crisp bite
D) Very good

My buddies then came in. I finished my second 90 Minute IPA and bought a bomber of Dogfish Head Red and White and got 4 glasses to sample it from. Red and White is a witbier flavored with orange, coriandor, and Pinot Noir. It was unfiltered, orange, and I definitely tasted lots of orange and coriander, not sure about the Pinot Noir. It was definitely tasty, and a lovely ruby colored.

After that there were more shenanigans. We changed locations and I tried to convince my buddys to do karaoke, but no one would. And today that seems like probably a good idea; I'd hate to risk turning into a "folly" of my own.

90 Minute IPA: A A A!
Palo Santo: B+
Red and White: B+
Track 84: A
Follies: B for Blushing

Thirsty Thursday: Opa Opa Kix Pale Ale

2009-05-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

But first: a quiz! What's your Beer IQ, courtesey of MSN?
I got about half right, and learned a thing or two! It's interesting, so I don't want to give away any of the facts...So just take it already!

So I picked up this growler, which I had never gotten before. It's a half-gallon (64 ounces - a bit over 5 beers) and it was a very reasonable price, I believe $6.99. Opa Opa is a MA brewery. There are lots of rules about growlers - keep them cold, still, and drink within 2 days of opening. That's not gonna happen, however, a few days after first opening and it is still in decent shape. The Opa Opa Kix Ale is an American Blonde Ale, which is a malty, fruity, lager-like beer.

A) Pale straw. Clear. Sudsy head quickly disappears.
S) Not strong, light malts, lemon.
T) Watery, but also somewhat sweet and lemony with a slight bitter aftertaste.
MF) Thin, decent carbonation.
D) Definitely high - it's a light and refreshing beverage, easy to drink and would be refreshing on a hot summer day.

It's not bad, and I enjoy the novelty (for me) of a growler, but overall it's boring and watery. I like the name Opa Opa though (my grandfather was called Opa) so I'd give another one of their beers a shot for sure. Their Warthog Double IPA sounds particularly delicious.

C

Hump Night Delight: Abita's Strawberry Harvest Lager

2009-05-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

It's summer. Which means tankinis, bikinis, tube tops, and strappy sandles. Not on me, that is, but on other people. But it does mean that I am actually trying to be healthy and "watch my calories" and "excercise" and "not be a lazy ass laying on the couch drinking beer and avoiding doing anything." So I'm cutting back on the beer. Which means when I do indulge, it better count. No crap allowed.

Now that I'm sophisticated enough to know that different seasons = different beers, I hope to find a summer ale to call my own. First on the list:

Abita's Strawberry Harvest Lager.
A) Hazy shade of amber, tiny head disappears almost instantly
S) Strawberries mostly, some malt, not overly sweet
T) Strawberry jam on toast. Actually more balanced than I would think - the strawberry is more on the real side than artificial side.
M) Light and moderately crisp
D) Good. The alcohol is under 5% so you could easily drink several of these; it may go well with eating real strawberries. But overall I found it a little too sweet and kind of boring.

C+
Now, for some real "thinspiration" (gross, I promise I would never use that word in real life) check out this new beer from Australia! Not only is it low carb, but the sexy lady gets naked as the bottle gets empty! Ingenius marketing.

Opening Up A Can Of Whoop-Ass. I mean Beer.

2009-05-15T19:02:00.001-07:00

Bottles and Cans and Just Clap Your Hands...
There seems to be a movement of craft beer in cans. Not sure what that's about, but I tried a couple. While it felt less classy, I was not disappointed. I wonder what the economic/ecologic advantages are (or disadvantages?) More importantly, check out this cute cow!
1) Moo Thunder Stout: Butternuts Beer and Ale hails from NY at what was once a dairy farm. I highly recommend you check out their website; it's quite entertaining. The Moo Thunder Stout pays tribute to their dairy farm past. It pours black as night, with 1 finger of brown head. It smells very sweet - marshmallow, malts, coffee with sugar. It tastes roasty, with a sweet edge of caramel and coffee. It feels creamy. It's good! A little too intense to drink a whole lot of, but fun.
B+

2) Mama's Little Yella Pils: From the Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. They also make a Ten Fidy, something I have only read about, but sounds delicious. They modestly describe it as, "...the beer equivalent of decadently rich milkshake made with malted-milk balls and Heaven’s best chocolate ice cream." Ooooh man! Another day, hopefully. Now back to the Pilsner. It poured a cloudy pale amber with a decent sudsy head. I could not really pick up any smell. It tasted nice. Not overly sweet nor bitter. Like a piece of bread. Better than an BMC-type Pilsner, because it actually tasted good. But not distinct enough to know how to describe it. It felt smooth and was definitely refreshing. This is one to drink out of the can on a hot day while mowing the lawn. I drank it fast, and could easily enough several of these. Nothing remarkable but tasty and refreshing.
B+

Time in MI: Founder's Pale Ale

2009-05-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've gotten to visit my homeland, and it's been super swell. My parents have a beautiful yard with floral trees and flowers so it smells amazing. My BFF got to come visit. I got to hear my sister play violin with a symphony. I got to play frisbee golf with my dad twice. And I was even social. How about that!

Last night I went to Stober's with a friend, primarily to play their shuffle board games. On tap was the usual crud but they also had Founder's Pale Ale. SO delicious! Not much to look at - a cloudy light amber with little head. It tasted hoppy but also sweet and fruity. For some reason I picked up pineapple which was awesome, along with some caramel. Mmmm...

Not so delicious? The hipster gentleman who was an excellent shuffleboard player, but turned out to be an incoherent alcoholic by the end of the night. But still...We had fun playing. I, on the other hand, am pretty bad at shuffleboard. But it's fun.

The night was completed by coming back home to eat my mom's delicious rhubarb custard pie. All's well that ends well.

Shuffle board: A
Dude: D
Mom's rhubarb custard pie: A+
Founder's Pale Ale: B+

Trivia Night and Arrogant Bastard

2009-05-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I discovered some new things that I love.
1) British Beer Company
Great beer selection, great food including: 2) Veggie Pasty with mushroom gravy and sweet potato fries, from said location.
3)Did I mention the great beer selection? I had 2 Arrogant Bastards on tap. Arrogant Bastard is pretty funny. There was a poster behind the bar similar to the website saying things like, "You're not worthy. You probably won't like it." This is an American Strong Ale which is a generic term for any ale with a higher than 7% ABV. It's a dark reddish brown with nice fluffy head and thick lacing on the glass. With the intimidating advertising I expected it to be hugely bitter, but it wasn't. It had some spice, some bitter hops, some citrus/pine-ness, but also some caramelly sweetness. I found it to be well balanced enough and enjoyed it enough to have a 2nd. Which at 7.2%ABV (and 20 ounce glasses) was really not necessary...But delicious.

4)Oh yeah and it was trivia night! I had never gone to a bar trivia night before. It was FUN. I thought it would be like, on-the-spot-like, with people shouting answers or buzzing buzzers, but instead it was quietly discussing and writing answers down on little slips of paper. I suck at trivia but my gf is super smart and rocked it (plus was more sober than me). Yet she never acted like an "arrogant bastard." We did really well, at one point we were in 2nd or 3rd I think, but did not end up winning. Some things I learned?
George Bush does not like broccoli.
Missouri and Tennesse are the states that border the highest number of other states(8).

Um...I can't remember others right now but it was totally fun.

A's all around!

Do You Want To See Me Do the Chimay Again? Ahhhh.

2009-05-04T18:15:00.001-07:00

Chimay = Shimmy. Look at : 3:49. GOD, Tina does a great "Ahhhh."

See? Yeah. But that Shimmy might be a little more delicious and satisfying than this one. And god, I love the key change at 3:14.
Anyhow, I had a private Chimay instead of a private Shimmey. I wish I liked this more. It's cool! It's made by monks at an abbey in Belgium. They give a portion to the profits to charities and the special yeast and " its highly protected water of the abbey's wells" make it special.

It's a Tripel, which means a strong and in-your-face ale, from what I can gather.

Appearance: cloudy peachy-amber, yeast sediments, 2 fingers fluffy off-white head with great retention and thick lacing.

Smell: pears, honey, yeast, freshness

Taste: darker than I expected. Dark fruits, yeast, strong at first, then milder and sweeter, then more boozey and green grapey.

MF: Crisp at first, then super soft and fluffy.

D: Not very good. It's a nice sipper, but too much alcohol presence to make me want to drink much.

I don't know if I've had other "tripel" ales, but, you know, I'm flattered. Perhaps even a little curious.

B-

Short and Sweet: Otromundo Strong Red Ale

2009-05-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

I found this for 1.99 for a pint bottle. It seemed to be on clearance and I have never had a beer from Argentina, so why not.

I was overall very pleased. It poured a clear bright amber with 3 or so fingers of fluffy head and decent retention. It smelled and tasted malty, heavy on the maple/caramel, and light fruits (apples and pears). It was medium and slightly creamy feeling. Good drinkability with 7.5% ABV, but a little too sweet. Still I was pleasantly surprised by this beverage. Plus, I love a good bargain.

B+