Infinium 2010

At long last I'm having some Infinium.

Beer log: right now

State: eating spaghetti, watching Luther

Infinium 2010

Amber and clear, big white head. Nose is lemony sour. Taste has a great jolly rancher sour and green apples thing going on. I'm even getting something like white grapes as well. The more I drink it I get something like a light smoke as well. The more I drink it, the more I like it. Not too dry and a quick end to the mouthfeel. Well put together, barely notice the 10% abv. 4 stars. The more it warms the more grain and cinnamon I get. Nice stuff from Sam Adams and Wiehenstephan.

Hitachino Nest: Sake Aged Beer

Sitting here watching the Texans on the Thursday nighter against Indianapolis. We are winning as type this, but we are looking incredibly sloppy on offense. Need to get this ish straight in time for the playoffs. Anyway, I picked up this beer in Montgomery, AL back in Thanksgiving last year. Looking forward to seeing how this thing turned out after a year or so in the house.

Hitachino Nest XH

Beer pours a caramel color with a nutty smell to it (no homo). Rather cloudy thick beer with a long lasting offwhite head. The taste is actually pretty flavorful, probably the most flavorful beer I've had from Japan. I'm getting something like a nougat and caramel flavor. Not bad, kind of a like a sweet amber with moderate bitterness. A good 45 seconds after I swallow the beer, I get a weird harsh bitterness out of nowhere. I'm hunting hard for that sake flavor but I think I'm getting it, but that could be power of suggestion. Otherwise, the beer is not bad and probably better fresh. I'll have to keep an eye out. Low 3 stars that goes up if I have it fresh. Well done for the Extra High Owls.

Grand Cru for the Grand Win

How bout them Houston Texans. One time for TJ Yates, Wade Phillips, Kubes, and the boys. So let's get a grand cru for the big win against the Dirty Birds.

Beer Log: Right now

State: Chilling out, voice and headache still recovering from the game, eating Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust

Green Flash Grand Cru

Pours a coco brown with a quickly dissipating head. The smell has roasted almonds and cherries. Taste is much the same, with plenty of caramel malt and something akin to oats (though a thin body). As it warms I get more of the hot alcohol and pepper. The beer seemed to congeal very well as it is complex yet very simple. More it warms I get that light roasty almond, something like bourbon, and low hop bitterness. Goes down very easy with its light carbonation, and if it wasn't for that alcohol coming out of it, you could accidentally drink a lot of this one. 4 stars.

Beer that makes you Thirsty? Chipotle Porter

Beer Log: Right now

State: Watching some Ultimate Fighter, foot-dragging on decorating the tree

Mikkeller Chipotle Porter

I always have a hesitation with pepper beers. I just don't get too jazzed about heat being in my throat (no homo) after drinking a beer. So this puppy actually stayed in our beer fridge for a couple years. Well here we go. Pour thick and smooth in my porter glass. Deep rich chocolate color and brown thick head. The nose has a great chocolate and coffee smell, but as it warms I'm getting something like pepper. The beer tastes just fine with the bitter chocolate powder, moderate roast, and moderate hops. Full bodied and low carbonation. I'm getting a little heat at the top of my throat that kicks up maybe 60 seconds after you drink the beer.

It's like as the beer residue and chocolate recedes, I'm left with hot pepper on my tongue and throat. Oh damn LSU is whippin up on the Dawgs! While I hate University(sic) of Georgia, I just don't want to hear everyone's mouth at the office when LSU goes to the BCS title game. Back to the beer, it feels like I drank some jalapeno juice and can feel it in my stomach. Otherwise, it works out very well. The pepper feeling does make me want to drink more, but just to kill that pepper. I guess that is just how Mikkeller gets down. Good for them. 3 stars.

Samichlaus Classic 2009 Vintage

Beer Log: Right now

State: Chilling out with the Misses watching The Soup

Got this one a couple years ago and aged it ever since. Been looking forward to this one for quite some time.

Samichlaus Classic 2009 vintage

Ruby color and I can smell the malt and alcohol from here. Nose has lots of caramel, cherries. Oh that's a like the sweetest beer ever. Lots of brown sugar, some cherries, bourbon. I'm thinking purple grapes. Kind of reminds me of those sweet liquors you get the club. It goes down pretty easily as well. This is like the ultra doppelbock. I get some of the peppery alcohol as well on your breath. Dammit I need to get a house with a back porch so I can get some cigars with this puppy. 4 stars. Not bad for the boys from Schloss Eggenberg. Looking forward to trying some more of their beer in the future.

Let's get some Draak

Beer Log: Right now

State: Just finished eating, had a Shiner Holiday Cheer as a warmup

Gulden Draak Vintage Ale 2010 by Br. Van Steenberge

Got this one some time last year. Looking forward to this one. Mmm, pours syrup sweet. Kinda like maple syrup, but the cheap stuff that just has "Syrup" on it. The beer seems to have a lot of carbonation coming out of this dark ruby colored beer. Oh but the taste. It starts out with a brown sugar and candy apple. Don't get used to the flavor when it is on your tongue, as it goes away fast. From there I'm left with something like chalk on my tongue and a slight dark cherry. The beer finishes very dry and leaves you wanted more.

Low hops (dare I say no hops?) or bitterness. Body is a little thin for my taste otherwise, not to mention that I get something like a vegetal sense (maybe they mixed in some pilsner malt). The finish is good at first but degrades and leaves you feeling a little off for drinking it. It's kind of like dating the hot young girl. It's fun at first but you know she leaving you in like 6 weeks and you'll have a hefty credit card bill waiting on you. Low 3 stars.

Dammit that IS a dragon with a Santa hat. I didn't know what that was at first, but it looks pretty badass now.

Texans Win with Leinart... Bitch Please

Beer Log: Right now

State: Eating baked salmon seasoned with Rock Salt, Rice and Broccoli. Watching Hell on Wheels.

Brewdog Bitch Please

The dawgs are at it again. And here we go... Deep brown color with a thin tan head in my Old New Orleans rum snifter. Nose has a huge caramel malt, pepper, alcohol, and something like sherry and smoke. Taste is heavily weight toward burnt wood or likely oak. I get some malt and alcohol in there but this is a wow beer on the flavor, typical of the Brewdogs. The more I sip it the more I get that charred oak with maybe something like whiskey. Either way there is plenty of strong sherry and sweet caramel. High octane beer all around, but a great sipping beer. If I could smoke indoors, I'd a cigar with it. Low 4 stars.

Oh, and you had to know this was coming...

It's the Most Wonderful time of the Beer

Sitting here today just incredibly butthurt over the last two weekend's sporting events. FAMU lost to Bethune Cookman with my BCU alum Mother-in-Law talking big ish the entire time while we were at the game in Orlando. Ga Tech just bent over and took it against U(sic)GA today. And Norfolk State just laid down in the playoffs representing our conference, pushing our MEAC conference even further to the back of the bus. Help us Matt Leinart, you're our only hope. Let's get some beer.

Gnommegang

A collaboration beer with Ommegang and La Chouffe. I love both of these breweries' beers, so I'm looking forward to this one. Nose has a light banana and sour candy scent to it. Tinged straw color and a pinch cloudy. Taste, oh lord yes. Big banana, green apple jolly rancher, and a pinch of peppery alcohol. Maybe it's b/c I'm upset about the foolishness of the football games, but this is fricken awesome. Upon more tasting I get a pinch more alcohol, but it works well. A great belgian blonde ale that if they told me was a trippel I would believe it. A little more complex with maybe something like reminds me of churros (of all things). I'm giving this one the big 5 Stars. All the way to the core, this beer hits the mark. If it weren't for the fact that there was a baby in this house, I'm talking about drinking this one by the case.

Back in Town, DVR Marathon

Just loved the trip with the family to Central Florida. Lot's of great beer in Walt Disney World Resort. A brewpub, a couple of beer bars, a good cigar bar. Not to mention I found some decent beering out on the town. Anyway, I'm back home and will probably just spend a few hours recapping all the beering and travelling I've done this year since I haven't had the chance to do more than microblog (@beerbrotha) much this year.

But I'm back here with the wife at the house and we doing a DVR marathon. While we are here, we are going to hit some good beers in the cellar.

Boulevard 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Enjoying this in my Stella Artois goblet. Yes I know Bully's anniversary is a year ago and one should probably drink a fresh hop beer as soon as you get it. Moving on. Amber color and kind of cloudy with a huge tan head. Nose has a huge flowery hop head. Just awesome. I get a pinch of chalk just before a rush a great caramel and grassy hop goodness. The beer is rather simply done with a nice caramel malt (reminds me of bread pudding or something with that caramel topping) and with another sip I get a pine cone thing going on. Must have been all the pine trees in the Magic Kingdom influencing me. The mouthfeel is still a chalky yet finishes incredibly dry, which begs you to have another. Low 4 stars. Probably would be all aces if I drank it immediately. Won't let that happen with the next round.

...and later on

Saint Somewhere Lectio Divina

Sounds divine? Smell that jolly rancher once we pop the cork. Ruby amber color with a highly effervescent rapidly dissipating head. Taste has a moderate sourness with a regular old school bubble gum taste. It has a nice moderate caramel to it. It's like someone took a red jolly rancher and cherry coke (two things I typically don't like) and made a beer out of it. Very nice. High 3 Stars.

Reader Recommendation: Strongbow

One of my readers tweeted me saying that they are having a Strongbow Cider right now and I have to try it. I happen to doing my traditional beering-while-catching-up-on-work-at-the-Saucer Friday, so let hit it right now.

Beer Log: Right now

State: Pretty hungry, at the Saucer, need to catch up on Project reports

Strongbow Cider

Clear amber/gold color, kinda like the off-spec gold Georgia Tech football wore in Paul Kelly's first year. Maybe the glassware is off, but this thing is all effervescent with bubbles all over the glass. No real head but the nose has a bitter-beer smell which too me back to my days as a kid when Dad would let us take a sip of his Keystone knowing we would hate it. Taste has a moderate apple, leaves a filmy residue on the tongue (no homo), and some sort of a grain backbone. It's actually a little confusing and I may have to look this one up before we walk away. Right now I'm still not a cider guy though I'm expanding my reach into ciders, scotch, and cigars. That's it, that smell reminds me of gasoline. Just weird all around. The taste is just fine, and I'm sure is very refreshing on a hot day on the links in the UK. Cold day in Houston when I could be drinking some Ranger Creek... 2 stars.

Nick Diaz: Sierra Nevada, Don't be scared homie

One of my many beer traditions is to drink beer from the home area of the main event fighters of the UFC. I would normally do this all the time, but how much Xingu can a brotha drink. Anyway, this time I'll review a beer from the winner of the main event of UFC 137, Nick Diaz of Stockton, CA.

Sierra Nevada Juniper Black Ale

Beer pours a very dark brown, I'm sure it's black in some lights, with a huge deep tan head. Head has a nice soft chocolate and some sweet grapes. I'm sure that is supposed to be Juniper needles or something. Beer has a nice moderate chocolate and something pretty weird going on. Let's see, it's roasty, bitter like bitter chocolate. I'm thinking they just used roasted malt and added hops early on, as the nose has no real hops going on. Leaves my mouth a little chalky (no homo). Other flavors in there include a bitter cherry (like the pit or the stem), and maybe some smoke. While I can see where they were going with this, I'm not digging it too much. Just a bit much on the hops, and that's after we aged it for months. While I rewatch this UFC b/c I don't feel like going to sleep, this beer is just about as bitter as Nick was when calling out GSP. Don't be scared homie, but I'm giving it a high 2 stars.

Let us Blog: Mortality Stout

Here at the house and I have some downtime before I got to get some more work done. Otherwise, things are going very well.

Beer Log: Right now

State: Watching Dragon Ball Z Kai with the baby

Reaper Ale Mortality Stout

Picked this up years ago, I think at the Specs downtown or maybe Marcello's in Lafayette, LA. And here we go. Nose has a cherry lemony thing, with a chocolate powder thing going on. The taste is kinda bland and sour right off the gate. Probably held on to it too long. The mouthfeel is pretty gritty kind of like a saison. I'm curious to see how this warms up. After the warmup, it doesn't seem to recover the stoutness. No rating as I'm going to call this one aged too long. #fail

Schlafly Biere De Garde

Before I fire up a Cigar, let's Biere De Garde it up.

Beer Log: Right now

State: Chilling out, doing some Linkedin networking on the computer

Schlafly BDG

Nose has a nice light fruity sour thing going on. Auburn color with a white head. First I notice the high carbonation, then a quick citrus-sweet thing going on. The second sip and I get a nice light ginger snap cookie flavor, but it leaves off your tongue faster than it shows up. It's like the Texans' season. It's over just after it starts. Nice flavor and very refreshing, but this thing just vaporizes off my tongue. Glad I picked up this puppy in early April when I was out in St. Louis. Certainly makes up for the fricken snow we had out there in the Lou at the time. High 3 Stars.

Game Live Blog: Fort Valley (Sweetwater) vs. Florida A&M (Cigar City)

So it's finally FAMU football time and we are stumbling out of the gate. We are playing against Division II Fort Valley State. For all 2 of you that read my blog that are in fact black, you may know all about Black College Football. I am a FAMU alum and a rabid FAMU football fan. My wine doesn't taste as sweet whenever FAMU loses. So here we go.

FAMU goes down early to FVSU (no homo) and after a virtual minstrel show of cacophonic buffoonery on the field by FAMU, the Rattlers manage to start pulling away at the half. FVSU 12, FAMU 21. I'm actually still polishing off my Saint Arnold Bock for U of H beating the Bruins, but I'll take one for the team and pour another beer.

OH NO, the CC Maduro is a GUSHER!!!!!!!! Beer is infected, still foaming up 5 minutes after I opened it. For those new to the beer world, that typically means we got some bacteria that got into the beer and it will taste uber-sour and terrible. Happens. Let's get Infected


Thrilling game. We took this D2 school to the wire and messed around and won a 95 yard touchdown. I'm getting a beer.

Cigar City Jose Marti
Pours very smooth with a huge tan head, brown and opaque. Taste is a bold malt, roast, and dammit if that's not cigar flavor. I may even have some bourbon and oak in there. Just blown away at the melody of flavor! The aftertaste leaves a bitter coffee bean/hop thing in there. Not bad at all. Bold, yet with a smooth flavor and moderate body. Not cloying at all. I may call this the first 5 star porter I've ever had. Ok, after one more sip, this amazing beer is right there. Just has it all for me. 5 Stars. One of the best I've had all year.

UCLA at UH Live Blog and Beer

So it's time again and it's my weekend to watch the baby. Which means that I have to depend on my chump friends to set something up to watch the UH game. Which means I am at HOME with the baby watching the game by myself. I figured that when I can, I may as well combine my football watching and beer blogging. I thought about reviewing a beer from the home city (or state) of each school for my favorite schools. Since I managed to pick up a potbelly and I just bought some expensive slimming french cuff shirts, I'm back on Weightwatchers. Which means unless I hit Memorial Park hard, I can only have a couple beers a day. So I'll just review the beer of the team in the lead at halftime and at the end of the game.

I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of Cigar City for FAMU and I think I have enough Sweetwater and Terrapin for Georgia Tech. But here we go.

UCLA (Sierra Nevada) vs Houston (Saint Arnold)
UH gets the ball first and basically throws and runs all over the field like they have diarrehea. Get the BIG touchdown. While I spoon in a couple scoops of rice in my mouth (no homo), UCLA is already punting. UCLA 0, UH 7

2:00 left in 1st Quarter. Hell, U of H is running all over these boys. They make it to the red zone and then stall out of an offsides penalty. Houston's field is good and they have now run 27 plays to UCLA's 3. Damn shame. Funny how they are showing the quarterbacks drafted recently who are Kennum's age. Cam Newton, Sam Bradford, and Matthew Stafford. For me that's 2 busts and a possible, like a bad game of blackjack. Bruins 0, Cougars 10.

14:21 left in the 2nd Quarter. And the Bruins are on the board. After getting an old fashioned mashin in the first quarter, UCLA brings the pain offensively and blasts out with some huge passes to get the touchdown. UCLA 7, UH 10.

12:39 left in the 2nd Quarter. UH stalls out like an old El Camino. UCLA 7, UH 10

Down goes Prince. Down goes Prince!

9:45 left in the 2nd quarter The new QB for UCLA screws it up and UH gets the ball back. UH's defense actually holds but an unsportsmanlike conduct screws it up. Anyway, UH is driving. Same score.

TOUCHDOWN COOGS. These boys are slicing and dicing through UCLA's defense. Looking like it may be a Saint Arnold time at half time. Thinking I'll clear out the cellar with some Winter Seasonal beers. 7:18 Second Quarter. Yookla 7, Houston 17.

The Surfers are not going away. UCLA gets the ball and looks very classy making their way to the end zone. The WR, Fauria, for UCLA is looking like he is going to wreck shop all day. Old boy transferred from Notre Dame, good idea looking at how the Irish are playing against USF. Things are getting a little bit tight now. UCLA 14, UH 17, 2:50 left in the Second Quarter.

TOUCHDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNN! UH just ran the ball right down the Bruin's throughts. This is just an amazing run by Michael Hayes. He must have Juggernauted his way through the entire UCLA Defense, Offsense, Chemistry Department, and Marching Band. Unbelieaveable!!! The Bars 14, Coogs 24.

Halftime in the UCLA/UH game. This is a great game so far as I wait on the FAMU game to start. Houston's offsnse is looking VERY VERY SHARP AND HERE'S ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can tell that I start typing this a pinch early. Oh MY MY MY MY MY MY MY. I'm thinking someone is going to the ROSE BOWL! At halftime the score is UCLA 14, UH 31. And it's not even in HD.

Saint Arnold Winter Stout
"I'll take you shopping out of season, buy you summer clothes in the fall" Nose has a great chocolate, caramel and cherry. I think this one is a couple years old. The deep velvety brown beer has a nice soft dark cherry/malt flavor, followed up with some great light bitterness in the aftertaste. This beer seems to have aged nicely. I'm getting a more nutty flavor (no homo) as it warms up, something like almonds. Kinda like that poison in those Robert Ludlum novels. Hopefully I won't keel over here. If I do, it would be worth it. I'll go ahead and rate the aged Winter Stout at 4 Stars out of Five. Awesome.

Ok, I'm going to see if I can get this Rattler Vision working...

8:28 into the 3rd Quarter and UCLA has garnered a hard fought touchdown. I still haven't finished my beer yet, and I cannot get Rattlervision to work just yet either. Dammit UCLA 21, UH 31.

Sorry, I've been dealing with this online streaming crap. Anyway UCLA just scored and they are down now 34 to 38 after the botched extra point. Butts are geting tight as UCLA is looking for the onside kick with only 1:18 minutes left in the game. While we're at it, I planned on doing the same beer review thing with FAMU taking on Fort Valley State, but I just now got a local radio station online radio as opposed to a streaming service FROM THE SCHOOL THAT I PAID FOR, which is not working. And it turns out FAMU is losing, looks like I may be chugging a bomber of Sweetwater Dank Tank Barleywine if that game doesn't work out.

Anyway UH got the onside kick, so they are kneeling er down in VICTORY FORMATION. HOUSTON WIN HOUSTON WIN HOUSTON WIN. Let's wrap it up with another Saint Arnold Seasonal.

Saint Arnold Spring Bock
The hue is a nice dark copper wiht a sustaining offwhite head. The nose has that steely malt that we like and the taste is much the same. The beer has softened up a bit since I first bought it earlier this year. Nice sweet cookie caramel malt, low hops, and just very well done. Again out of season beering here, but this one has held up pretty well. 4 stars.

Thanks all. I'm onward for the FAMU game. We're up nearly 21-12 over Fort Valley, so it looks like Cigar city is the ticket.

Dogzilla; what kind of nose is that

Beer Log: Right now
State: Chilling, ready for a cigar, a brew, and a little linkedin-ing.

Dogizilla Black IPA
So i open this beer up and before I even pour it I get all kinds of sour cherries, brett, and soda esters. The beer pours well with high carbo and a deep mahogony, but it comes out with more of that nose. Oh that's disgusting. I think this one is infected. I just did a search on beeradvocate and a few of the folks on there may have had the same issue I have. I smuggle this thing all the way from St. Louis and it must be infected or something. Just terrible. I'm trying to chug down at least one glass, but I think we have a problem Houston. Let's try something else and let this thing be for cooking.

Ok, got that out of the way, I'm getting some Warrior IPA. Had this one a couple years back but never reviewed. Instead I slammed the whole bomber.
State: Still got that Dogzilla taste in my mouth (that's what she said, oh).

Left Hand Warrior IPA
Now that's the stuff. Reddish and amber, low head. Nose has strong malt almost like a nugget or something. Also very pine resin like. Nice moderate hops on a beer I probably aged too long. Should probably drink fresh hop beers fresh. Pleasant otherwise. Good big malt but the hop bite has probably vacated the premises. No rating.

A Full Nelson...

After a late night run at Memo Park, looking forward to a brew before doing a little linkedin-ing and hitting the hay.

State: A little thirsty and tired

Beer Log: Right now

Widmer Nelson Imperial IPA

Very nice cookie, caramel malt, and grassy hop nose. Amber color with an offwhite reddish head with some good lace. Oh yeah that's nice. Big malt and a moderate hops that probably was stronger when I first got it. Just a great big flavor, with some hint of sweet cherries or liquorice. Big body that is a pinch cloying. The hops have that strong grass and piney thing going on. Has that whole juniper thing going on. I like. 4 Stars.

Pepe Nero Quick Review

Finally getting to blog it up. Great week in beer as the Flying Saucer was going crazy this week with all the new beer. If I had the funds, I'd be there NIGHTLY. Anyway, let me get a quick live log in for this beer I picked up in Chicago.

Beer Log: Right now
State: A little out of it, but ready for a drink

Goose Island Pepe Nero
Pours a velvety chocolate color in the glass, lots of soapy looking head that is very long lasting (no homo). Nose has a very slight chocolate and sour jolly rancher thing going on. Not bad on the combo style beer. A Belgian golden and a porter I'm guessing. Actually had my hands on some Ass Kisser Smoked Porter and found that one to be a little more drinkable. This beer comes in a little off, likely bottle fermented hence the high carbonation. Taste is like chocolate/roast and a that belgian sour thing going on, which makes me think of porter. Nothing to great in my opinion here for what was probably a big deal when it first hit the shelves. Not to mention I may not have aged it well and the farmhouse ales tend to be all or nothing. High 2 stars.

Tallgrass IPA

Beer Log: Right now
State: Chillaxing

Tallgrass IPA
Got this in my Saint Arnold half liter beer mug, picked this up from in Indianapolis. Can smell it from here two feet away, malt and some maybe cascade hops. Beer has a nice bitterness to it, with some light malt in there. Beer may have peaked a bit here as I had this in my cabinet for a long time. Either this is an English IPA or a regular American IPA. I can certainly get a light bread going on in the back before the grassy hops take back over. It tastes pretty good though, they keep it simple. 3 stars.

Some Time out for Matilda

Beer Log: Right now
State: A little upset, sitting outside on the porch with a bowful of grapes, an unlit champagne cigar, and my Good Morning Heartache Pandora channel.

So it was an ok day today, and I'm looking forward to a long unplugged vacation. To chillax, I'm going to enjoy a bottle of the Matilda I smuggled back from Chicago.

Matilda
Light hazy tinged amber color with a low head. I get a bouquet of flowers, lillies, lilacs, and so forth in the nose. Some great sourness as well, like jolly ranchers. Beer has a nice set up in the taste, a moderate sourness but not overpowering, followed by a light candy sweetness, some passion fruit thing, and then a mild yet noticeable hop tinge. A perfect medley of flavors that are not quite put together yet. Kinda like a fresh wine before they aged it for 30 years. And actually, I love that sometimes more than the fully aged version. Beer finishes nice and crisp and dry, leaving memories of it's goodness on your tongue well after you drink it. 4 stars for the Goose Island 2011 Vintage.

Beerbrotha Unposted Reviews: St. Louis

First things first

Beer Log: Right now
State: Eating homemade tacos, listening to the Brewing Network

Squatters Hop Rising
First had this puppy at the Texas Beer Fest (not the Houston Beer Fest), and I enjoyed it. Now let's see if this thing can taste just as good when I'm not in a rodeo arena in Humble on my 14th 2-ounce beer. Aw that nose is awesome. Big piney hops with a huge caramel malt. Perfect pour in my Circle Brewing pint glass, with a huge white head. Beer is unbelievable at the beginning with a huge caramel malt and massive piney/lemon hops. The middle of the slug has something like a slight metallic, and there is a big ick hop flavor on the aftertaste. A pinch more cloying than I would want, but hey, that's Double IPA for ya. Need some food.

Ok. After downing some tacos and contemplating polishing off the rest of the ground meat (no homo), this beer serves as a great foil. Huge flavor all the way around that is very drinkable. I'll give it a high 3 star.

So anyway it turns out that I've been doing some SERIOUS beering and some great travelling this year, and it's not slowing down. If you count Indianapolis in November, I got St. Louis, Chicago, Western suburbs of Chicago, Mobile, New York City, Tampa, Mexico, and downed a ton of great beer at the Philadelphia airport all this year. Now that I actually type all that out, that does look like a lot. Doesn't help that I'm hitting San Antonio this weekend, some travel to the DC area in a couple weeks, and may squeeze in a guys trip to Oktoberfest or Malaysia this fall. After that, I'm going to be eating Top Ramen boiled in Pabst Blue Ribbon. And yes, I did have my beer book.

So let's see what's tappenin in St. Louis. Despite how late I'm getting it done and how much beer I was downing I can actually remember this very well.

Beer Log: March 24, 2011
State: Chilly outside, little did I know it was about to snow like a sonofabitch the rest of the weekend.

To get my Schlafly post, please see this one. So the next day after I got going I managed to make my way down the hill and across the bridge from the Americas Convention center to Morgan Street Brewery , but some time before that I managed to find some Honker's Ale from Goose Island.

Honker's Ale

Amber color with some chill haze. Nice english muffin and grit flavor. Kinda tastes like cream of wheat. I must have forgotten I've had this beer, as I also had this beer at Wrigley stadium a couple weeks ago. Oh well.

So Morgan Street was down in this little area with a block or two of restaurants. I like the historic district feel to it. It was one of those places where you can feel the history of a place. Like a place where they signed some treaty or something. Anyway, it was lunch time, so here we go.

Golden Pilsner: Perfect straw color. Lacy head. Taste has a great combination of something like German hops and maybe American hops. This puppy has a great bitter hoppy aftertaste and is just a great great well made pilsner. Simple, yet effective. 4 Stars.

Honey Wheat: Not much honey in the nose or esteriness. Kinda the two things you would expect in a honey wheat. Strong honey sweetness and wheat in the flavor, soft yet crisp and estery. How my nose missed this I don't know, or care. Very light but tasty. 3 Stars

Alt-Bier: Dammit I love a good alt, especially when it gets all chilly and whatnot. Great malt and color of the alt. A pinch sour as well. So hard to knock it out like ze Germans, but not as bold as the Bud Am Ale or the Boston Ale. Great for mass consumption. No rating.

Decades: Creamy white head (no homo) with a deep amber/copper color. Maybe some caramel malt and still crisp. Big hops and bready. Nice! High 3 stars.

Pumpkin Vienna: Copper with Big pumpking and caramel, with low malt. May be better as an ale so it won't be so crisp and copper ale-y. It goes go great with the smoked mozzarella. 3 Stars.

Oh and by the way, get the damn fried ravioli. Awesomeness

True Blood Beering: Brooklyn Black Ops

Beer Log: Right now

State: Watching the new True Blood. Finally got the baby to sleep.

Very fired up for another round of True Blood. Here's to hoping they don't jump the shark with this one.

Brooklyn Black Ops

The wife picked this up some time ago and we had it in our cellar for quite some time. Looking forward to this. Pours velvety smooth with a rich dark look and texture. The nose is excellent with dried cherries, plum, and bourbon. Huge tan head that eventually calms down. The taste is a huge sweet sherry, bourbon, and some light dark cherries. The second sip and I can pick out the big oak flavor as well, as that is what dominates the aftertaste. Just an excellent drink that is aged enough to the point where get some moderate noticeable hot alcohol to it. The hops are probably rather strong just to cut the velvet sweetness of it all. It gets pretty strong as it warms with the alcohol. Apparently not aged enough. Damn those ferries are throwing psych bombs at each other. There's suspending belief, and there's suspending belief. High 3 stars.

A little Uncommon Common

Beer Log: Right now

State: Eating some baked beans with broccoli and steak, watching Bellator on DVR

Sierra Nevada California Common

Only had one take on the Cal Common ever, of course Anchor Steam. Anyway the wife picked this up in a party pack of Sierra Nevada Camp Beers. Copper color with high mist and white head. Nose is something between a malty vegetable. Kinda like the food I'm eating now. I still don't really like veggies, but I just mix them in with something so I can scarf them down. Hence the sweet baked beans and broccoli. Taste has a nice cookie malt thing going on that wasn't there with my first few sips. Nice amount of carbonation to cut the caramel and pecan sweetness with a moderate hops (very uncharacteristic of SN). I never quite got into the Cal Common style as I felt it never took you one way or the other, kinda like the Alt Bier in bizarro world. I'm even getting a little chalkiness coming through on the mouthfeel residue. Low 3 stars.

Beer Camp: Sierra Nevada

So the wife picked up the party pack of the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beers. I understand these beers were brewed by some big time beer enthusiasts who send in videos. The beers are usually then sold off on the market, probably for charity. Typically I'm not a weizenbock fan, but I'll give it a try.


Beer Log: Right now
State: Mouth a little dry, hot as ballz outside

Sierra Nevada Weizenbock
Orangish straw color with long lasting low head. Nose has banana ester and veggie nose. Beer has a nice moderate syrup sweet flavor, something akin to plum, and a nice amount of crystal malt. I'm getting a nice softness that is obviously attributed to the wheat. I would even give the kudos for the high carbonation, which works for both bocks and weissebiers. I absolutely loved the 4 star Glissade this year (not so much last year's), and love a good german wiesse bier. You know what. 4 stars for this one. Nice and simple, yet very good and very refreshing. A welcome change from SN's typical cascade hop glory beers.

Speaking of hop glory
Sierra Nevada Double IPA
Clear and straw. Big white poofy head. Oh yes lord. Huge piney/citrus/grassy hops. Very fresh and a DRINK NOW IPA. The beer is just barely balanced with the malt, and has the right crispness to keep from being cloying on the palate. Has that steely malt feel to it. Yes sir yes sir. It is extremely strong, a pinch acidic, and yet jumps right off. I just need some spicy crawfish from Hanks or some chicken from Fainmous BBQ with the hot BBQ sauce and I'm in there. High 4 stars.

Sure could use some beering

Beer Log: Right now

State: A little wired from a funny day

Mikeller Coffee IPA

Huge tinged red head with a slightly cloudy copper colored. Would've thought this one would be black. The brothas can't have NOTHIN, not even coffee beers. Beer has lots of hops on the nose. Seems like a regular potpourri of hops, lemony, grassy, citrusy. Beer is rather smooth and thick yet thin on the body. The hops don't come out as strong as I'd thought, and I'm really digging for that coffee bean flavor. Just a basic IPA without enough carbo but a nice hops when I eat the some rice and steak. Growing on me now. Still not telling where the Guji coffee is. But it is cool that it's Swedish and all. 3 stars

Lips of Faith Dunkel Weiss

New Belgium Lips of Faith Dunkel Weiss
Beer Log: Right now
State: Feeling good, eating spicy pork chop and green beans

Pours a deep brown with the head falling over itself like a Guiness. Good mix of sweet caramel malt and the banana esters. Head is sticky and lacy, light tan. Also that's some good chop. This one has a nice maple syrup and steely malt thing going on as it warms up. I like how smooth is and whatnot. no homo. Something about Dunkel Weisses just kinda rub me the wrong way (nullus), and I never got over it. After Divine Reserve 7, everything else is blah. I like the light banana and high carbo of the German Wiesse, or the caramel crisp of a dunkel lager. Just can't put them together and put up an elite beer. Maybe someone will prove me wrong. Low 3 stars.

Texas Beerfest Wrap-Up

Oh what a day yesterday. Started out donating a bunch of my daughter's old clothes to a church that's going to get the stuff to the folks in Alabama. Then made our way up to an old friend's house in the Kingwood area to drop off the kid while we hit the Texas Beer Fest ... Oh yeah, did I mention our printer didn't work so I had to hunt down a printing place in the Kingwood/Humble/Lake Houston area to print out my tickets for the beerfest. Um, if you thought it was tough to find Bin Laden, try finding a printing place. After an hour roaming around the Upper Northeast Houston, we made it to the festival.

The wife and I didn't know what to expect, and honestly had not been to a beer festival like this before. I got a GREAT cheeseburger at this school bus like joint. You walk in and there were a half-dozen or so portable food trucks (nice stuff), as well as stands for various types of hot sauce, beer desserts, and sweetbread. Nice stuff.

I'll tell you know that I knew enough to know that there was NO POINT in trying to to detailed beer reviews. With maybe a couple dozen stands of different beers, I'll just hit the highlights. I counted a couple hundred people in the quaint rodeo stadium while I was there. Live music going on in the back, but not too loud. And a special stand with rare beers being tapped every half hour.

I just loved how we had so many new breweries in town checking things out. Thirsty Planet , Circle , and something out of College Station (only three days old mine you) called New Republic. Of course No Label was there serving that bomb hefeweizen. Our favorites were there of course with Southern Star pouring their Jasmine Bombshell Blonde and Independence debuting a new bitter. Each stand had about 3 beers mostly in jockey boxes. The 2 oz pours were sad, but probably a good idea, with the place seemingly crawling with cops. Cops that seemed to be in line just as much as I was. Nothing but a new pilsner by Avery and the Utah beer was lower than 5% ABV, so everyone was feeling nice the whole time.

As we tried a number of new (to us) beers, special releases and others, I couldn't help but want to take a few hits of the Thirsty Planet Buckethead IPA. An excellent huge hoppy beer with a splendid mixture of several types of hops. At the cold temperature and fresh, it was just right for my tastes. High 4 stars. I even remembered that beer while drinking Heineken with the brothas while watching the Mosley/Pacquiao fight. Another great balanced IPA came from our boys at Squatters with the best beer poster would be awesome.

On top of that they had a serious amount of commercial craft beer courtesy of many of the beer distributors. Unfortunately those guys did not seem to get as much love as the local beers, but I guess that's how it has to be at the Texas Beerfest. I really hope they come back for another year. Somebody is having a beer festival of sorts in Hermann Park, and those guys slapped up Groupon just before the TBF. I know somebody in our house not named Don or Bella bought Ptickets for that one even though we would all be out of town. Best of luck for the Houston Beer Fest with a tremendous lineup of beering. I just hope that as more breweries pop up and the laws may soon change in our favor, we will see more festivals such as this. The bigger beer dinners already sell like hotcakes, so it is safe to say something is stirring in the Bayou City. And I'll drink to that.

Sam Adams Longshot: Kaitlin

Hit the music...


Beer Log: right now
State: Doing fine, just ate.


Sam Adams Longshot: Honey B's Lavender Ale


Pours really clear and tinged straw with a big long lasting white poofy head. The nose has something like oranges, flowers (which I'm assuming is lavender), and something kind of estery. The taste has a shock of potpourri and melds quickly to oranges, sugar sweetness, and citrusy hops (maybe orange peel). Medium bodied beer that kind of goes a few places. Lots of flowers and hops. A lot going on in that beer, which counts as complex. Didn't really knock me off my feet, but tasty. Lots of carbonation in this one. Probably could have benefitted from a reduction in the hops, but maybe that's just me. 3 stars.

Some IPA from Tampa

So the wife just handed me a Cigar City Jai Alai IPA just as I was finishing my Firestone Walker Pale Ale. That is soooo sweet. Good woman there.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Just had some great steak and FW Pale, watching The Borgias on DVR.

Nose has a great grapefruit and fruitiness to it. I'm getting something akin to nail polish as well on the nose. Could be my imagination. Rather cloudy and orange with a big white soft head (no homo). Beer has a fruity thing going with a bunch of bitters and some sours going own. The beer has a light chalky thing going on. The beer is about as bitter as can be without being what I could call hoppy. Lots of grapefruit malt and citrus everywhere. Not sure where to take this one. Has a light bready finish, yet still rather sugary sweet. It's just like the sport of Jai Alai. Cool to watch but damned quirky. High 3 stars.

Breakfast Beering: Buffalo Sweat

State: Feeling good, eating spicy dear sausage and scrambled eggs. Watching MMA Live and the UFC 129 weigh-ins.

Beer Log: right now

Got this one in cans from my St. Louis trip.

Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat
Deep brown color with quickly vaporizing deep tan head. Has a great chocolate nose to it. First thing I notice is the mouthfeel, very silky smooth. Has a moderate chocolate and a pinch of coffee. This is like Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout Lite. And that's not a bad thing baby! High 3 stars.

Beering in St. Louis: Schlafly

So I made it out to the NSBE national convention this past March, and the locale was St. Louis. The only things I knew about St. Louis is that they were trying to extend Pujols' deal and what I read on Byron Crawford's blog . That and the highest crime rate in the country. I land in the city and I have a couple of panel discussions I'm supposed to do this time, one of them with a US Congressmen on the panel, and lo and behold I did not have time to get my hair cut. So I ask the sistahs at the hotel and they direct me to this nice place in the hood. It was about 10AM so no need to worry about some bullish going down.

Anyway, after getting hooked up, I head over to the first of several brewpubs in the Lou, first up Schlafly Taproom . I made this one my first stop as I heard about them through the Brewing Network. I get there smackdab at 11AM when they open, and belly up to the bar. The place smells of wort and grain (nice) and is spacious yet cozy. The chalk board has a ton of beer and the man working the bar knew his baseball. So I order up a flight along with some mussels and fries and have at it...

Beer Log: March 22, 2011
State: feeling good, got a new empty beer diary, ready to roll son

Hefeweizen
Good banana and orange peel nose. The taste is high banana and yeasty esters. It's kind of lemony for my taste and has moderate carbonation. This is certainly Bavarian and very well done, however the lemon knocks it from a 4 to a 3 star.

Pilsner
Good strong hops taste and kinda gritty on the tongue. Crisp, cool, high carbonation. Similar to Pilsner Urquell with all those saaz hops. Managed to forget to put down a rating.

Oktoberfest
Gold-amber-copper color without much of a scent. Not bad with the malty taste but I'm not in the right season for it. No rating

Altbier
Now I'm really looking forward to this one, as I love alts but rarely get them. Kinda fruity and plain with the taste (the thing that sucks about flights is that you lose the head and thus a larger portion of the scent to enjoy it. And unless you are boning the bartender will someone bring out a several 3 oz samples every few minutes.) I could see the style here more like an amber lager which I typically love, hello Eliot Ness. Very clear with a low butter and corn, slight acidic. Low 3 Stars.

Dry Hopped APA
Finally an American Pale Ale. Very smooth, good crisp hops. There is a great light biscuity flavor to go with the hops. I wish they ramped it up on the malt, but otherwise drinkable. 3 Stars.

Oatmeal Stout
Pitch black and delish. Very English with the smoothness, big chocolate and coffee. to make it all come together nicely. 4 Stars.

They had an American Amber on Cask of which I ordered a full glass to go to the mussels (which were killer by the way). Warm, soft, and kinda caramely like my favorite strippers. Nice hops but very mellow. High 3 Stars.

Saint Somewhere Saison

Back on the block. This beer the wife picked up in Central Florida while she was visiting some family. This puppy comes out of Tarpon Springs, Florida. Never heard of Tarpon Springs, but I'm sure their beer or their women are top notch. I guess I'll have to find out about one.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Just drank a lot of Sierra Nevada Torpedo

Fire TORPEDOS!!!
Saint Somewhere Saison
Oh wow, the cork just came off by itself. Oh yeah that carbo goes fast. Nose has that sweet/sour of a farmhouse ale. Nice straw color and the beer is nucleating all over my glass (that's what she said). Big carbo and kinda jolly rancher taste to it. Has a nice pepper and moderate hop to it, lots of herbs and whatnot. The finish is rather dry. But I will say it puts me in that psychadelic mood that matches Gnarls Barkely's St. Elsewhere. Their website says they use open fermentation, which is awesome which means we are tasting Tarpon Springs in this beer. 3 Stars for this slightly tart ale.

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca

Picked this bad boy up while I was beering it up in St. Louis. Yes I know I am so far behind on blog posts that this may was well be a History book than a beer blog. Anyway, a small toast to HB602 passing the Texas House. Hopefully the Senate and Governor Perry will get 'er done for us.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Eating cheese lover's pizza

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca Batch 724
Came out in a bomber and I smuggled it back from this huge beer store in St. Louis. Nose has a huge coriander and orange peel, as well as very estery yeast. Beer is a rather clear and as I take my first sip I also see that the bottle says this is barrel aged and bottle conditioned. Beer has a nice sourness to it reminiscent of pinot grigio, though I'd have to look up which type of barrel they put this in. I put this one right in the kegerator as soon as I got it home as I knew these wheat beers can be a little sensitive to heat. The carbonation is high but not as high as some bottle conditioned ones. High 3 stars.

I have not been blogging but damn have I been beering. Divine Reserves with Cigars, St. Louis brewpubbing, Camp Beer, Cigar city beer, even had some refreshing lagers out in Mexico I never heard of. I have all the notes, just need to write them up. Maybe when I get a break in the action from the job, I'll hit it hard. Holla back.

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 11: Winning

So it snuck up on me a little bit this time, but Saint Arnold came out with their 11th installment of their Divine Reserve Series. These beers typically are from a homebrew competition winner and are brewed only one time. The beer style is always extreme and as anyone in Houston can tell you, the ish sells out in NO TIME. This time around I finally am on twitter with a hashtag setup for #DR11. I easily slip out of my office around 10:15 to hit the Randall's at Town and Country to snap up my two 6 packs. Extremely easy score. WINNING. However we were not done there. The wife and I decided to hit up Petrol Station for the beer on tap and on cask. Already dudes have been drinking this beer all day, but it is always nice for a big beer release with all the beer nerds over at Petrol Station. You gotta love Petrol, it has this patchwork quilt of clientele of beer geeks, white collar engineers, some townies, and Gothic looking roller derby women. Anyway onward to the beer. Beer Log: Two days ago State: Fired up for the DR11, already had an Real Ale Lost Gold IPA and Avery IPA as a warmup. Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 11 (on draft) This one is a dippa, or Double IPA. Reminiscent of the first DR I ever had which was an American Barley Wine. This puppy has an excellent copper color, very clear, with a light tan head. The nose has a ton of grapefruit, citrus, and pine needle thing going on. The taste is just awesome. It seems to get better the more you drink it. Lots of citrus and pine going on. It's a little cloying, but gets right back off the tongue just as fast, leaving a balanced malt-hop aftertaste. The malt is heavy caramel, not much roast or choco at all. It's very full flavored without any hint of the 9% ABV. This DIPA is graciously tipped toward the hops. So good I'm actually back on an IPA kick. I've been slamming Maibocks and Weisse beers the last month or so. Got to go all the way to the 5 out of 5 stars for this one. The drinkability is what tears it for me. So many other DIPAs fill you up or are just glorified barleywine. Nothing wrong with that, but this one drinks so well and easy, you could have a ton of it. Matter of fact, since SA said that this beer is NOT meant to be aged, I'm getting another one right now. Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 11 (Cask) So they had this son of a gun on cask at PS as well. For comparison, take everything I just posted and take it down a notch in the hoppiness and the overall strength. It seemed mellow everything out just right. On top of that the carbonation laid down quite a bit more for a much smoother more English feel to it, though the hops were still certainly American. My tastes right now are for the higher carbo of a draft beer, so I'll knock this down to a 4 star. Great overall as usual, but I'd rather have this beer via keg stand. Divine Reserve 6 Review Divine Reserve 7 Review Divine Reserve 8 Review I actually had DR2 at a Camp Beer a few months ago... SA DR2 Cloudy amber with sweet malt, caramel and plum nose. A little cold right now on the taste, but as it warms up I get a nice brown sugar and caramel flavor. This one did not have much carbonation left, but still warranted a 4 star. I actually have some DR10 in the cellar, and I need to blog it up. By the way, if you have any DR7 left, drink it now. It ages terribly. Too bad though. Moving on... Next up I have a series of blogposts about my trip to St. Louis (WINNING) and I think I still have to wrap up Indianapolis and San Francisco. Next travel will take me to Mexico and then Mobile BAMA. This summer it looks like Chicago and maybe my home town of Charlotte Carolina if I can swing it. Holla.

Family out of town weekend Extravaganza 4

Oh man here we go again. Every once in a while, a loving father finds himself in the rare position where the wife and kid(s) are gone for an entire weekend and he has the house to himself. That usually results in something happenning between the movies The Hangover and Hot Tub Time Machine. However, this time I took it easy and just enjoyed the barscene in Houston. Oh did I mention it was Saint Patrick's Day as well?

So we kicked it off at (of course) the Saucer. I checked out my plate which they put behind the toilet and enjoyed the EXCELLENT dry irish stouts of Moylans and Breckenridge. For tradition's sake, I even ordered a Guiness. Unfortunately they were out of "Black Crack", also known as Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout. Now the Breckenridge Thunder Stout was very tasty with the more intense chocolate flavor. The Moylan's Draggoon was bit more traditional in it's calming smooth stout flavor. We even took in the Real Ale Shade Grown Coffee Porter, which really stole the show. One I was already feeling sleepy after working all day, and that intense coffee/espresso thing that Real Ale does made a lot of sense. Afterward we hit up Taps and Brixx for a ton of Guiness and Bean Bag toss with the suprisingly non douche-bags on Washington Avenue. We somehow ended up back at the Saucer for some real beering.

Next day it was Friday night and time for some Petrol Station love. Haven't hit this spot in quite some time. Looking forward to some creative beers.

Great Divide Farmhouse Colette
Cloudy straw, very yeasty funky nose. Great lemony slight sour, great wit beer thing going on. Tasty. Some grit. Lots of wheaty leven bread yeast flavor. As estery a they come. 4 stars

Dogfish Na Meste
Serious coriander and orange peel. Nose and flavor. Goes down smooth. Less filling and great taste. As I type this two days later, I want to get a keg of this stuff and hook it up to my veins. High 4 stars for the Fish.

Petrol Station seems to have been struck by the Roller Derby women as well. I love a good roller derby, complete with clotheslines and powerbombs. Looks like they are ramping up the Derby and the ladies were hitting it hard at the Station. Pretty cool ish.

Next day, as in yesterday was a bit of a clusterf*ck. So I started it out last night having some Blue Moon in a can (that's right cans) at the Niko Niko's downtown at the revamped Market Square. I remember the Market Square area a few years back when we first moved to Houston, and the "it" crowd used to hang out there all the time. Then the crowd moved to Richmond Avenue, then Main Street, then Midtown, then the Galleria, and now Washington Avenue. Seems like as soon as me and a few of the brothas find a new cool multi-cultural bar scene, the culture shortly changes their minds. Anyway...

We started out the night at the Saucer enjoying some great Weisse beers. I made the mistake of going for the Jester King/Mikeller collabo beer Drinkin' in the Sunbelt first. The American Pale Wheat was just that, a mish-mash of an American Pale Ale and a Weisse beer. I mirco-blogged this one on my twitter page (@beerbrotha), but my twitter followers were saying they plan on toning down the hops for the next one.

Afterward we hit the Dynamo game home opener and watched the new guys flail around like the Lost Children of Isreal. Damn shame but it was a good time. We stood where we always stand, with El Batallon. The very energetic young supporters group. And they were in full force with trombones, drums, new shirts, ripped orange and black fabric, and early fist fights all in the first six minutes of the damn season. Don't worry, I'll post the video later. I love watching the game with those guys. The stadium officials no longer allow us to stand in the concourse during game play and we prefer not to be held up for everyone else to leave the stadium by standing in the EB after the game has ended. The EB is so wild, but sometimes they mess around and show up late for the game, and if you go to their domain name, you will see they forgot to pay to keep the domain name. But it's South American chants, kinda ghetto, and something akin to a P-Funk crowd is just awesome.

But we figured what the hell and for the first time EVER went to sit on the other side of the stadium with the Texian Army. We only see these guys from our side of the stadium, and their stuff looks organized, well thought out, lots of homemade flags, and whatnot. But the crowd could not be the exact opposite. So HILARIOUS. If the EB is inner city Houston, the TA is Cinco Ranch Suburbia. I'll give the TA credit, they are all in it with their Soccer moms waiving flags, retired oil execs on the drums, and darling little children throwing real ass confetti. The EB uses shredded phone books for confetti, whereas the TA actually went to the Party store. Ah the dichotemy of life.

So after the game, we hit us midtown for some beering and UFC. As per my stance I was rooting for the brotha Jon Jones against Shogun Rua. As much as I like Jones, I still don't have that connection to him that I have with Rampage, Evans, Anderson Silva, Alistair Overeem and King Mo. Jones answers the age old question: what if a hippie from the 1960s were black, athletically gifted, very intelligent, and fought in the UFC? I think I like more that the MMA fanboys hate him so much which is why I like him. He's getting his due and now it's gametime. Of course he absolutely smashed Shogun and made him tap out to strikes. Fricken awesome.

The family doesn't come back for a while, and after I ran 12 miles yesterday morning, I'm debating between getting some crawfish or a pedicure. Or a Pedicure while eating crawfish. That would be the ballz. Holla. See you at Anvil.

Spring Bock Beer Tasting

It's the most wonderful time of the year! BOCK SEASON BABY! After the dog days of summer and the 58 minutes of winter we get in Houston, nothing NOTHING is better than late February in Houston, Texas. 70 degrees outside, crawfish are starting to pop up, and I can be found on the golf course on my Friday's off. But that also means that the Spring Bocks are back. Sweet, malty, low hops, crisp, easy to drink, clean, pure. I absolutely love. So let's make it happen.

Beer Log: Right now

State: A little loopy from last nights beering, especially the Saint Arnold Farmer's Brown

Abita Mardi Gras Bock

Clear amber, kinda great malt nose, a pinch raisiny taste, low hops. Has a nice water thing going that Abita is known for. Nice light body, good mouthfeel. Sure could use some crawfish right now. Light bitter aftertaste that barely lingers. High 3 stars.

Boulevard Boss Tom's Golden Bock

Golden, pinch more straw. Good caramel malt and raisin thing going on. Smell something like wheat. Good chewier beer. Has a light bread thing going, seemingly noble hops and whatnot. Nice cookie thing going on. High 3 stars, but not as high as Abita's Mardi Gras.

Saint Arnold Bock

Tinged amber color. Syrup sweet thing smell. Big caramel/cinnamon thing, with a pinch of brown sugar. Great meld of sweetness with crisp crisp aftertaste. After you drink it, it's like sipping a new one. 5 stars.

Breckenridge Pandora's Bock

Even a darker amber, copper color. Head waned quickly, so not much nose. Much stronger sweetness than SA, but a little more cloying. Has some chalkiness to it. I like the way it comes together, just that the water is not there. It's actually great, just came after the SA Bock. 4 stars.

Sierra Nevada 2011 Glissade Golden Bock

Great golden straw color. Nice lasting head. Cookie sweetness thing again. Much softer beer, better taken care of than b-ridge. Has a light hop and light sweetness to it. Extremely drinkable. A little more balanced with the hops. Has a lemony hop I'm getting now. Palate getting low. High 3 stars.

Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock

Very clear straw. Very tasty caramel malt, nice sweetness, low hops. Has a little honey thing going on as well. Great light mouthfeel as well. Has some light bread to it, but more of a oatmeal raisin bread. Funny thing is I don't care for raisins, but I love the flavor in the beer. Kinda running out of taste buds there. No rating right now.

Give me Beer or Give me Death: HB660

All three of my readers are waiting to see me blog about HB 660, the Texas House bill that will allow microbreweries to sell beer at the brewery at the conclusion of brewery tours. Something on the order of 48 12-ounce beers. Everyone knows that I'm a business guy, who feels that any business that fails is it's own fault. I've got a lot of things to do today, but I will say that we should certainly support this bill.

With a law like this in place, the number of microbreweries in Texas would SKYROCKET. You could actually stay in business long enough to become a player in the game. Please write your representative about the bill and voice your support. Check out http://texasbeerfreedom.org/ for more information.

We find ourselves at a serious crossroads here in Texas Craft Beer. A number of brewers are trying to get going, and these entrepreneurs truly embody the spirit of free enterprise and pride in one's product. Right now these folks are hamstrung by laws that force them to only sell their beer via distributors. Whatever that profit margin is, it's NOTHING compared to the profit margin micros could get by selling just a fraction of their beer onsite.

The distributors will have nothing to worry about. Only a small few are actually going to dragass all the way to the brewery for a few bottles. 98% of the time, we are all going to go to Specs or HEB or Kroger to get our beering. However, letting these folks sell some beer onsite will give the micros a chance to build capital quickly, and allow them to remain viable businesses while they are pounding the pavement for taps and shelf space.

BTW, Rally today at the Flying Saucer in Houston at 3PM. Some special beers will be poured and I'm sure someone will get a speech going or something. The more the merrier.

Get your Shine On

So Shiner (the folks that got me into craft beer) have come out with a new seasonal Dortmunder and a Double Wheat for the 102nd anniversary beer. The Dortmunder calls itself an ale, which I believe the first version was a lager. My non-craft beer bud light folk love it. It's a basic light lager when I prefer my lagers at least at Premium Lager strength. Of course the bigger the flavor the better.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Stuffed with the wife's spaghetti, watching Princess and the Frog again with the kid

Shiner 102: Double Wheat
Picked up a sixer of this one today at Specs on Barker-Cypress. Has a very very clear appearance, no haziness at all. The nose is a little leaven bread thing going on, as well as the taste. Moderate carbonation and a nice saaz hop thing going on. I can get a sense of the wheat beer, some light bread and banana, but that's it. I guess if I were thinking a Double Wheat beer, I'm thinking of those big Imperial Wheat beers like Sam Adams or the Wheat Wine from Boulevard. This one has the hoppiness of a premium lager or dortmunder. The body is reminiscent of wheat, kinda like St. Arnold's Lawnmower. The 6.2% ABV is greatly masked however. Very very soft beer. You put this on one during summer time and or even just yesterday, it would do well. As the temperature plummets to below freezing, drinking this beer now ain't gonna get it. Hopefully they'll hold out until March with this beer. I think more brothas would give this one a shot. I'll give this a low 3 stars for now. Gotta love that Shine though...

Petrol Station Black Party, Jester King

So a couple weeks ago I find thought I was able to squeeze in enough time to run by Petrol Station for some stout/porter party, which Ben said I can call the "Black Party". The place was packed with people and had one special guest, the head man at Jester King, Jeff.

Hold up....

Beer Log: Right now
State: Tongue a little burnt from tea and hot tomato catfish I was eating

Breckenridge Pandora's Bock
Ruby-brown color with a great clarity. I love how this puppy has a nice light head and that sweet malt nose of the lighter bocks, though it's darker in color. The taste is that perfect light caramel-cookie-cinnamon with a pinch of chocolate and toast that makes Bock season my favorite beer season of all. Light bitterness, dare I say English hops with the simpleness of it all. I can see I'll be drinking these steely bocks as long as they'll let me. 4 Stars for the simple and excellently crafted beer.

The beeradvocate dudes are hating on it, but whatever. Those guys are like how I used to be, where only the hugest mega-hopped barrel aged with a specialty strains harvested from the Lost City of Atlantis would spark my interest. You just weren't a true craft brewer if you were spitting out a pilsner or helles. After surfing the strong, creative stuff which I still love, I find that I'm getting a major appreciation for the subtly of a Bohemian pilsner, the gentleness of a German maibock, and sometimes the smoothness of an English mild. Plus I don't have to have a DD to get home. Funny that I find myself copping a sixer of Pilsner Urquell more often than say a Broken Halo IPA.

OK, so Petrol was jam packed with people and I had an excellent long conversation with Jeff about his beer and how things are going. Being the consummate Houston oil-man, I couldn't help but try to sell our city and how great it is for craft beer, just has not had much success in the brewpub scene. I couldn't help but point out that sheer number of people drove many miles to the hood just for a stout party at some bar the size of a postage stamp. It's instances like that that show me we really are thirsty" for craft beer in Houston. Luckily Jeff has some space to get beer to the larger Houston beer bars, so I should be able to drown in Wytchmaker IPA all I want.

Just quickly on the beering...

Beer Log: January 22, 2011

State: Relaxed, just downed a ton of PS's great french fries, not really in the mood for the Oxtails, fried chicken, waffles, and collard greens they were cooking out back. Just a quick thing on the food, I had a few tweets and texts with some of the brothas out there. I think it's ultra cool that Petrol broke out the soul food for this event. These guys are awesome.

Rogue Hazelnut John John
The John John boys are at it again, this time with a hazelnut thing juicing with what I thought were whiskey barrels. Dark Amber gold. No head do no nose, but I get a great hazelnut flavor aged in probably whiskey. Low nutty AT. Has this thin body that makes it feel sessionable. Turns out it's rum barrels. 3 stars

Somewhere around this point I caught with several of the other Houston beer-munity, including a nice lady who recognized me from this blog and gave me a few really cool knit beer coozies, which I use all the time.

Jester King Black Metal
Good strong roast and toast. Low hops and alc flavor. High carbo, very drinkable. As I kept drinking it, the hops came out as it warmed, and the black patent smoke starting coming through. Not bad at all. I typically shy away from black patent beers as I get a lot of smoke and band-aid flavor, but this one did not overdue it. 3 stars.

Rogue Dirtoir
Very smooth and choco. The JK blows it up. I should have had this one first. Turns out this one was a black lager, which won't taste like much after you drink a smokey imperial stout and a rum-barrel stout.

512 Cream Stout

Much later on I did try this one.
Very candy like. Chocolate/butterscotch thing going on. Again should have had this one first.

I am so far behind in my beer adventures blogging it's ridiculous. I've got San Francisco, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Houston beer adventures of note since November. And I'm only getting further behind with the new beering available in Houston, and Bock season coming on strong. Future travels in the 1st and 2nd quarter should include Tampa (Ybor of course) Cozumel, St. Louis, and I'll probably hit up Austin for my birthday. Of course there are a couple of trips to New Orleans/Covington.

I'll probably fly Southwest this time to NO b/c they've got the NOLA and Covington beers on that side of the airport. On the Continental side they can only get you a bomber of Abita SOS and a shot glass of Jack, not that that's a bad thing, but I need that NOLA Blonde like a crackhead needs crack, and they ain't bottling. We are also looking at a trip to Boston some time soon to visit my wife's Alma Mater (MIT baby).

Sam Adams Infinium!!!

Well I'm about to start a new position at the job, same company and all. I was pretty comfortable where I was but these changes can happen. At least for the first time in my life, I'll actually have an office with a door, all to myself, with a view. I'm thinking about getting a tap handle put in somewhere along with a kegerator. Maybe score some Southern Star Pine Belt. A couple of guys on my new team are homebrewers, so this could get pretty cool. Well I step into the new job tomorrow at the new building and I know how I'm going to walk into the building.

Who says engineer's can't be sexy.

This beer comes in highly touted in beer geek world, as this a collaboration of Sam Adams and Weihenstephan. Infinium comes gorgeous 750ml bottle, complete with cork a la a champagne. Haven't really looked up the style, so I'm putting these in our Stella Artois goblets.

Beer Log: right now
State: Kinda out of it with football, sitting at home with the fam

Sam Adams Infinium

Nose is kinda sour musty thing going on with a lot of bubbles coming off the amber color and white head. The first I notice something akin to sugar like belgian candy sugar you get in Westmalle. Has that musty, danky taste going on. Some sweet, some sour, some jolly rancher, high carbonation. Gets better the more you drink it, but um... It's very spicy and whatnot, but it's hard to believe they actually got all of this and still be a Purity Law Beer. This one is a little cloying to me. The Beeradvocates tore it a new one, especially the Bros. As I sit and chill with this beer, it does grow on me. I can get those herbal notes and whatnot, but I think I'll take DeuS over this one. It's surprisingly belgian/french to me. Some sourdough bread, cherry-tart, sugar sweet. Medium body that the hops and carbo cannot cut through. I wish it was a few shades more dry. 3 Stars. I know when I'm trying to impress folks with a Brut beer it's always been DeuS, and I think I'll stick to that one for now. We bought another one we put way back in the beer cellar, so we'll see how it works for now.

Local No. 2

Beer Log: Right now
State: Slightly Inebriated, watching college football

Brooklyn Local No. 2
Don't even remember when we bought this one, but I think it was at Specs. Deep brown color with a heavenly honey and orange nose. Kinda what I figure orange blossoms smell like. It's like I'm dancing through an orange and honey field, probably naked. This beer has a great strong orange zest thing going on. Lots of honey sweetness as well. Low hop bitterness and a quick jumping off the tongue. No HINT of the 9%+ ABV, which makes this beer very dangerous, as I could see myself drinking this one all day long. The dark color is deceptive, in that you think it's going to be all roasty and it's the exact opposite. Aftertaste is kinda dry, which is great. I'm giving this one a high 4 stars. I just love the lightness of it. Easily the best beer I've had by Bully.