First Shiner makes a Pale Ale which turned into one of my favorite session beers in Texas, and these guys are making a Farmhouse Ale! In the words of Wally from Dilbert "that's crazy talk". Anyway I found a nice six pack of the FM966 at the Kroger by my house. That Kroger must know some beer nerds are near by, as they went from standard BMC fare to plenty of Saint Arnold, all three Karbach, and seasonals from Sam Adams and Shiner.
Beer log: Right now
state: relaxing at home watching A Football Life
Shiner FM 966
Poured this one into my Central Market Brewniveristy tulip glass. I forgot how badass Marcus Allen was... Pours orangish and clear with a lasting white head. Nose has a nice sourdough cracker and lit banana. The taste is a light lemon sourness and choppy carbonation. The beer has a flavor that's hard to nail, but its almost like a leathery saddle or something. I think that's perfect for the farmhouse style. Congrats to Shiner for making very clean beers with ever expanding styles. Low 3 stars for me, still not a huge sour man. I always wondered what would happen if the cleanliness, skill, and consistency of a 100 year old plus brewery put its food in craft beer.
As usual the early Fall season means you're going to find me doing some corporate travel, and that almost always means Atlanta and Georgia Tech. I typically stay in Midtown near campus at the Georgia Tech Hotel and this time was no different. Every year the only option I typically have is the Taco Mac at Metropolis and if I feel like not going local, the Gordon Biersch on Peachtree. This time however, I was pleasantly surprised when setting up my itinerary I stumble upon Cypress Street Pint and Plate.
The place is within walking distance of my hotel and has a more Petrol Station feel to it. Only a few beers on tap, all craft beer, that rotates throughout the day. I actually missed their Beer Geek night and just had lunch there.
Beer Log: September 12, 2012
State: Chilling with one of the guys at Cypress Pint and Plate
I ordered the chicken since I was in Atlanta.
They were out of EasyRider so...
Sweetwater Lowryder
Light amber and clear wtih low head and not much of a scent. The taste had a nice hop bite to it and a little bit of a light caramel malt. A pinch of bread, pine cone, and a wet aftertaste (if that makes sense). Low three stars.
Later on I had all the other beers they had there and ended up with some stuff we have not prayer of getting in Houston.
21st Amendment Back in Black
Just love the name of this beer. Black color and whatnot. Great chocolate and hops flavor. I just went ahead and enjoyed this right out of the can... that's right cans. 4 stars for the San Franciscans.
So it turns out it was the wife's birthday on September 17th, and I was asking what she wanted to do. As I have an amazing wife, one of the things she wanted was the Stone Beer Dinner at Central Market in Houston's Highland Village. I got there a pinch early and just shot the shyte with the chefs until it was game time.
Beers we had a the time were Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale (which the wife almost got one the brewers to tell us the recipe), Sublimely Self Righteous, and Stone IPA. One beer that was totally new to me I had to take notes with...
Beer Log: September 20th
State: At Central Market for the Stone Beer Dinner
Saison du Buff by Stone
Everyone knows I'm a big fan of saisons. With this incredibly hot climate here in Houston these past few years, the saison style has really suited me well. This one is yellowish with a great herbal nose. I'm getting parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. The beer has an excellent quadpack of herbs with a nice lemony zip (I know) and light banana. Uber clean and drinkable with light hops. Just fantastic collaboration for Dogfish Head, Stone, and Victory. 4 Stars.
And since we are talking collaborations...
And the day before
Beer Log: September 19th
State: Just hanging out with the crew
Mikkeller Not Just Another Wit
Has a brilliantly clear color and kind of a smoky lemony thing in the nose. The beer istelf has a light lemony sourness with a great light bitter bite. It think this may be a hefty amount of lemon zest in this beer. I like the beer but only 3 stars, just too much zest or bitterness for me.
Terrapin Special Anniversary Ale
Clear with a slight straw tinge. Nose is all funky. Taste is like a steely malt and big ginger snap cookie. Like those ginger snaps cookies that are in the brown bags with a clear plastic window we would OD on back in the day. Nice big sweet flaovr that lasts on the tongue, though the beer is a pinch dry. High 3 Stars.
Beer Log: September 16, 2012
State: At a friend's house in Cyrpress, TX watching the Texans kill the Jaguars, having a BBQ
My highest viewed posts are the Budweiser and Miller posts, so why not blog up this one. I'm at a friend's house kind of going between a Karbach and Saint Arnold beer. I try to enjoy Houston area beer when the Texans or Dynamo are playing. But they had a small slim can of Bud Light Lime-A-Rita, and I had my Ipad open watching my Fantasy Football scores. So why not...
Bud Light Lime-A-Rita
Comes in a small can, kinda like a short Red Bull Can. Pours incredibly clear with a clear yellowish green color. Light white head with a very lime nose. Beer has a nice soft lemon lime flavor which reminds me of Sprite or 7UP. Which is funny as I think the last time I had either one of those without Gin in them was 20 years ago. And the last time I had either one of those with Gin was 10 years ago in college. No real bitterness but a slight sweetness that was missing from the original Bud Light Lime. Oh I know, this reminds me of Smirnoff Ice from my college days. My beer geek evolution went from Smirnoff Ice (year 2000) to Miller Lite (Chicago White Sox game in 2002), to Shiner Bock (Lil Woodrows in 2005 at a training course), to Victory Golden Monkey (Flying Saucer in 2007), all Craft Beer.
It wasn't nasty or anything like that, just not what I reach for as a beer man. 2 stars. Just give this to the sistas at the beach in Miami and call it good.
So my brother-in-law elected to have his wedding on Labor Day weekend. Our family was in the wedding party along with our toddler, who is making a career out of being a flower girl. I think she has been a flower girl about 10 times in 5 years of life. I'm going to have to get her set up with a miles account.
Though I was born in Cleveland and the wife in Maryland, we've never spent time in that part of country where West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio meet. I asked Pennsylvania beer king Lew Bryson on twitter what I can find for beer and he said there was nothing. Well as luck would have it, the rehearsal dinner was a River City Restaurant. The restaurant in the middle of rustic Wheeling, WV, which is an island in the Ohio River. The area has a great banquet hall and wouldn't ya know, the place used to be a brewery! Adjacent to it is what looks like a sports bar with PLENTY of Great Lakes beer on tap. And oh darn, the bride is late getting to the rehearsal dinner. So the wife and I enjoyed plenty of Great Lakes Burning River Dortmunder and one of my favorites of all time, Oktoberfest.
Wheeling, WV
The history of Wheeling is that it used to have over 20 breweries operating before the dreaded Prohibition took affect. The place we were actually was in operation as of 2003, but shut down due to a flooding of a Ohio River. BUMMER! The place is now the Wheeling Artisan Center with tours and plenty of beer paraphernalia and lots of craft beer on tap at the bar.
Otherwise the beer selection in the area was pretty slim, which is sad as Pennsylvania and Ohio have great beer scenes. I mostly consumed a ton of Yuengling, which is my go to beer when I'm in the Mid-Atlantic.. I typically go for their traditional lager as opposed to the Black and Tan.
Overall I would say the various operating and abandoned steel plants and breweries give you the impression of a place who's time has come and gone. I cannot help but contrast the quiet former glory of the Ohio Valley Area's former industrial might with Shanghai's ever growing world we were just a month later. At first it's depressing but then the scenery in the early fall has a beauty and charm to it. I remember back in high school that we learned Venus fell in love with Vulcan, the ugly blacksmith (if you will) of the gods. Well now I can see why people love this area, even if they call it the Rust Belt.
Of course I did not have my notebook but we enjoyed some serious beers at Bar Symon at Pittsburg's airport: Founder's Dirty Bastard, Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat, and Big Eddy IPA by Leinenkugels. Not a bad experience overall.
Beer Log: Sunday night after the Texans whipped up on the Jaguars
State: Chilling out at home, the wife is frying up pork chops, going to put the baby down soon.
Allagash Black Belgian Style Stout
We actually had this in our cellar for what must be years, this one is Batch 14. Anyway we had this with us at our friend's house for the game but did not open it up. Anyway let's crack 'em. Mixed in with the pork and cajun seasoning smells in the air, I get a chocolate and jolly rancher like nose on this one. Maybe something akin to star annise. This deep brown beer with tan head has a great malty flavor at first, I'll take some dark caramunich for $200 Alex. Also it feels like cinnamon, a pinch of raisins, and sweet chocolate come all over the tongue after it warms up a touch. This is one of those beers that makes you thirsty as the very dry nature of the beer and it's sheer effervescence get's it right off the tongue just as you are really ready to take it all in. I love the slight banana ester as well. A perfect marraige of a black stout and belgian styles. Shouts out to Tatiana Silva. 5 Stars!!!!
As any good Cy-Fairian knows, the place with the coolest restaurants for beer in our neck of the woods are in straight up Cypress and dragging as down to Sugarland. So we made it up to Rockwell Tavern to catch up on some specialty brews. Always nice to have a good beer bar without having to pack a lunch to get to the bar.
Beer Log: May 4, 2012
Ranger Creek Strawberry Milk Stout
Deep black with a great lasting tan head. Taste has a nice chocolate stout flavor with a nice fruity aftertaste. Very drinkable with low hops. I'm going to assume that I'm getting that strawberry in there, however the flavor can be overpowered by the chocolate stoutiness, however Ranger Creek did not fall for it. 4 stars once again for the San Antone.
Karbach Hop Baron
Nose has a noticeable hops with feint chocolate notes. This black beer is basically the stout version of the Rodeo Clown. Awesome! Clean hops with light roast and chocolate. 4 Stars.
No Label Jalapeno Ale
Oh boy. I've never been a pepper beer guy, no matter how much I've tried. I'll keep trying as I do not want any particular type of beer to be off limits to me (there used to be a time I didn't like hoppy beer). Anyway we are in the burbs and so that means I'm drinking No Label. Jalapeno nose comes through just barely. Beer has strong flavor but no bite. Some hops and malt in there but not overdone. Aaaaaaaaaaand not long after that I start coughing and I'm getting that heat. 2 stars, but I'm not a pepper beer guy anyway.
A couple weeks later I make it back down to the Flying Saucer in Sugarland with the family. We tried to kill some time with the baby by going to City Park but the mosquitoes jacked us up. No wonder they call the baseball team the Sugarland Skeeters. The Skeeters... HA!
Beer Log: May 19, 2012
New Belgium Prickly Passion
For a company where even the damn JR Crickets in Atlanta has Fat Tire on tap and in the neon sign, New Belgium is showing their naked ass with all these various beer styles. These guys are hitting it at both ends apparently. Congrats to the New Belgians. So anyway the Prickly Passion has an orange amber color with light head. The beer has nice banana, sour apple (I guess pear), nose. Nice moderate sourness in the flavor with low carbonation. Beer has something like a brett sour and cinnamon to it. Maybe something akin to pine needles like thing for the hops. Light sour aftertaste. This beer is all over the place. Just wish they took down the ABV to make it more session-able. High 3 star - Low 4 star.
Great Divide 18th Anniversary
No nose but great malty oak, wood, vanilla and pine hops. To put it simply, just amazing. After that my daughter got my beer book and wrote all over it. She did managed the words "Beer is Good".
Just going through the my beer notebook and wanted to clear some things out. I've had some fantastic travel this summer mostly family related, lot's of time in DC which I've already chronicled, as well as some beering out on the Ohio River. Lastly I finished up my most recent travels back in Midtown Atlanta once again, and that part of town is absolutely great for beer, with many spots within decent walking distance.
Beer Log: April 15, 2012
State: Hanging out with the family at Petrol Station, absolutely starving.
New Belgium Dig Pale Ale:
For some reason we could not find this beer on Untappd, which is weird for a New Belgium beer. Didn't feel like spending the time to add it in, so I figured I would just hang out and write my notes. Amber color and clear with a decent finger or so of head. The taste has a great hops and malt. Beer is very clean with lemon like character which I'm attributing to the hops, yet it's balanced. I love the slight sour aftertaste and nuttiness and caramel flavor of the malt just peaking through. 4 stars for the New Belgians.
Independence Easy Riser Stout
Now I've been hunting the durn Mandarin Saison between when I had this beer (April) and when I'm writing this up in the blog (September), I've not seen it. Damn shame. That beer was unreal! ANyway the ERS is a deep brown with a tean head, great coffee ground and roasted malt nose. Beer has a dry character with coffee and chocolate. It's dry yet very poofy (if that makes sense). How about I call this like Saint Arnold Santo but with more kick all the way around. High 3 Stars.
And later on...
State: Just had some Lazy Magnolia beer at the house, and now going to split a bomber with the Misses while watching some Bill Maher.
Lagunitas Bavarian-Style Dunkelweizen
Nice cloudy orange color in the sunlight (I'm BLIND) with a thin white head. The nose makes me think of Halloween candy and banana. I actually wrote "mmm, sweet sugar wheat beer". Nice softness and light bitterness. Taste of sugar sweetness, lemon hops, and banana flavored bubblegum. No hint of 9% alcohol content. Loving life. 4 Stars.
So I'm hanging out with the wife and child and we actually elected to skip the Flying Saucer party downtown. Just too much with the baby. But we did compromise and make it the Sugarland location for some Texas Beer. Hold up....
Beer Log: Right now
State: Watching the Bootleg Storage Wars aka Storage Hunters
Man Storage Wars kills Storage Hunters. All we have are big stereotypical black women. Damn shame.
New Belgium Lips of Faith Belgian Style Blond
Pour this one in our Oak Aged Yeti Snifter. It has a nice golden straw hue that is a little cloudy. Thin white head. Nose has a great limon and banana nose, Taste is not as sour as I thought, more a sugar cookie sweetness with a wet yet dry aftertaste. High carbonation and very drinkable. A nice mixture of sweet and sour, smooth and dry. A battle of extremes that juxtaposes just right. I could drink this one all day even with 8%+ ABV. High 3 stars.
So at the Saucer I went ahead and grabbed a couple of beers from the great state of Texas. Some of the new stuff. You know what, I'm actually going to let the Voice annotation on my Droid Razr 2 stand and not correct it, save the links and some capitalization. Figured this would be fun.
Beer Log: Earlier Today
State: At the Flying Saucer in Sugar Land
Deep Ellum Dallas Blond on cask clear install color, with a great malti nose. fantastic like honey crackers and light caramel what flavor, makes with yes to the hospital make it worth it. I get a nice chance of ok as well which really as a nice touch to what should be a great session beer and they can get it in a can in time for football season.
Buffalo by you 1836 amber color in clear with this and why Ted. That beer has a great multi band Steely know as well as Chase. I get something like it ok meal cookies and some great lights soda pops. Check that's probably tiny hops. I am really enjoying this beer. Another great session beer for the tailgate. Go Texas.
So after pounding a Budweiser at the wedding just to get the Wedding Badge on Untappd, we all get together in Silver Springs to play some cards with the old crew.
Turns out the fricken red line is all screwed up with Construction and once we get to the Red line transfer, we actually have to take the bus. We didn't time this just right so my friend and I were about 45 minutes early as we hoofed it through a very nice Silver Springs, MD. We call up our boy and he starts bitching that he said 8:30PM. So we end up taking a very slight detour and walk to Firestation #1 Restaurant and Brewery to watch some preseason ball, have some local beer, and ham it up with the townies.
State: Belly up to the bar and I just go ahead and order the flight. My friend doesn't drink but gets a banana split. The Jets are playing the Giants and I'm over here yelling to everyone that I just want to see Tebow. I don't care for the Jets, I DO care about GOOD TELEVISION.
As we were engaged in deep philosophical conversation about Rex Ryan and the new rules assisting passing quarterbacks, I did not get the most thorough of notes on the beer, so pardon me..
Beer Log: August 18, 2012
FH1 Avenue Golden Ale Clear and light straw. Light nose and light flavor of cracker and a pinch if metal. 2 stars.
FH1 Stout Dark brown and cloudy. Deep beer with a body like guinness. Light coco roast with a pinch of lemon. Low 3stars.
FH1 IPA This ain't working out too well. Maybe a little sour and whatnot. Smooth like an English pale ale. AT is all bready.
Later on in the flight I get a soda hoppy Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA. That was some good stuff.
It looks like FH1 has elected to go the English style of beering as opposed to what I would call American. That actually makes a lot of sense as this makes the beers a little beter for mass consumption, but I've never been an English style beer guy. German yes, Czech Hell Yes, American West coast shit yeah, Mexican Si, but never got into the English. I'm sure I'll have to catch up one of these days.
Good to be back on the horse. I've been out of commission these last few weeks as I had some knee surgery. The MRI seemed to show a slight meniscus tear but during the scope they found it was just a chondromalacia patella or knee ice sickles. This is caused when your knees are not exactly aligned and will eventually get all screwed if you try to lead an active lifestyle with high impact sports.
I was a band nerd in high school but did the following pursuits since turning mid college: Power weightlifting for two years, rugby for 3 years, long distance running for 5 years, and now mixed martial arts. I've been laying on my couch and basically unable to work out for weeks, and it's killing me.
Well now my knee is all cleaned out and after I finish rehab, I'll just have to warm up very well and make sure my legs are nice and strong. Afterward, should not have much more of a problem. Not only that but I'm going to bias toward low impact activities. I really enjoy kayaking but may take up mountain biking. Golf may kick up a bit and will continue yoga. MMA will remain, though I may switch to just Brazilian Jitz and cry as I put down my kickboxing. Damn that will really suck. Distance running may have to go by-by in place of 10K max running and distance cycling and maybe even get some swimming going.
But before that I managed to visit some old college buddies in the DC area for one of their weddings. Very sweet that all the old crew is getting married. Anyway, my friend and I elect not to rent a car and to just hang out utilizing only the Metro, which worked out well all weekend as we made our way to Dupont Circle area and Silver Springs
Beer Log: August 15, 2012
State: At Bier Baron, just relaxing getting some dinner
So we make it to Dupont Circle's metro stop and it is BUTT NAKED out there with Washington Nationals fans. They are simply everywhere. Turns out the last thing you want to do is ride the Green Line at all during a Nats game. Folks are pretty fired up for the team. Luckily we were going to the big money part of town, which means we minimize the amount of hooligans we'll run into. As my friend is a huge Yankees man and I'm a 'Stros fan. So we hoof it over to Bier Baron as we have not been here in ages. We go down to what I can only imagine was the dungeon, belly up to the bar, and order some local beer...
Port City Wit Yellow cloudy with a thin head. Nose is fluffy banana and clove. Taste is the same. High quality wit beer, mild carbo, some lingering bitter bite. Three stars.
Port City Pale Clear amber caramel nose. Nice light hoops and malt. Clean, no butter. Crisp. Loving it 4 stars
Later on that night we make it out to Birch and Barley, but my phone was nearly dead, so I couldn't take any notes or log them in on Untappd. Hate when that happens.
So the next day we hit the golf course and then score some killer chinese food. Along with it we stop by the liquor store and grab some Yuengling and Amish Four Grain. No review for either but they were great session beers for us throughout.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand the race was on. I managed to get about three six packs and a bomber today in the great hunt for Divine Reserve. Of course, I'll be drinking this beer at every bar I can find for this weekend (assuming any makes it lasts that long). Twitter was going crazy today with people more doing jokes about the beer than where to find it.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Watching the Russians screw it up on the balance beam, slight heartburn from the crawfish spaghetti
Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 12
Pours a somewhat murky ruby amber with a very thin head in my Old New Orleans Rum glass. The beer tastes very caramel sweet with some faint hops barely holding on. I can say things like ruby, plum, raisin, and caramel, maybe a pinch of chocolate all in that order. But what I can really say is that the beer is probably not all that ready yet for consumption. I think I'll great out one say once every 6 months and see how it changes.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Knees in some pain, sitting in our house which is pretty hot due to our just getting the AC fixed.
Jester King Das Wunderkind
Cloudy orange color with a very low head. Beer has a great moderate sourness. I love how the yeast is cultured from the Texas Hill Country! They've been working on this for a while. Beer is rather sour but not kick-you-in-the-balls sour. Has a great light malt and hops. Is just a fantastic sour beer, though not very complex, which I think lends to its genius. The beer has a light chardonnay and whatnot. I'm running low on identifiers as I typically don't frequent the sour beers. But this one is excellent. 4 stars for the Kangs
Love coming to City Walk on a nice Sunday. Got the Dressage on the screen, great AC, could always do a little restaurant hopping and shopping. But most of all it's Texas Pint Nite, and the Flying Saucer in Sugarland is plenty family friendly enough.
Beer log: Right now
State: Hungry, hanging out with the family at the Saucer. Watching the Olympics.
Buffalo Bayou Wit da Eff
A new one from the boys on the Bayou. Anyway, let's see. Beer has a nice clear tinged straw color with a light head. Not much of a nose beyond some light banana. The flavor however has a great banana and spicy character to it. Will came up to us and tells us it's actually basil. An interesting spice for a Belgian wit or German hef. I still remember when someone at Saint Arnold busted my ass on this blog for confusing the German Hefeweizen style with the Belgian Wit style on the first release of Weedwacker, so I guess I'll call this one a bit of both. This beer however is perfect for the hot summers we've have in these parts. Kinda wish I had this one while I was kayaking on the Buffalo Bayou. High 3 stars.
Ok that Dressage was boring as all get out. Not the beach volleyball women are wearing full singlets (must be cold out there) instead of what they normally wear, next to nothing. Moving on.
Deep Ellum Double Brown Stout
Big black with a tan head. When I ordered this puppy I'm thinking I'm getting a brown ale, turns out it's Baltic Porter to Imperial stout. Not that I'm complaining. Beer has a great light roasted coffee grounds nose to it, maybe a pinch of sweet chocolate going. It tastes the same, like a bitter coffee with a dry and chalky aftertaste. It's very drinkable with low carbonation. The dry feeling makes one want to drink more. Otherwise, it reminds me more of a regular english porter than a baltic porter. But maybe that's just me. High 2 stars.
Austin Beerworks Flying Headbutt
Slightly cloudy tinged straw with a bubbly yet thin head white. Kind of like the Brazilian women's beach volleyball team. Beer has a slightly acidic and grapefruit hop flavor. Beer tastes very crackery at first, like non-saltine crackers. After that it's a little hoppy and dry. I'm not getting much malt here. Just a bitterness without much backbone. You'll have no CLUE that this beer is 10% ABV until you stand up from your chair, so be careful. Otherwise the beer comes off kind of flat to me. First 2 star beer I've had from the Beerworks boys. The beer gets more enjoyable as a summer drinking beverage the more one drinks it. Nothing too bold, which may actually be the idea.
So the wife made a trip to London last year and find us some beers to try. We both forgot about some of this stuff and it's sat in our beer fridge for months. Looking forward to trying it now.
This beer comes in a regular 12 ounce brown bottle. Going to pour this in my Old New Orleans Rum small goblets. Deep dark brown color with a great full city roast, chocolate, and dark cherry nose. Beer has a strong bitter coffee and chocolate flavor, strong hops that cut through in the aftertaste. The drink is even more bitter and hoppy the more I drink it. The hops have a cascade flavor of all things. Looks like the Yanks are hanging out in London again. If they called this an imperial dark IPA, I would have been happy. Just tons of toasty and coffee flavor. Low 4 stars.
So last week I'm flying into DC "on the hush hush" for my Grandfather's 80th birthday surprise party. God bless my father's side of the family, but man they are not the best at planning. I pretty have to book my flight for the entire weekend as I didn't know the time of the party until a few weeks out. For all I know this is a whole weekend trip. So the festivities do not begin until 6:30PM on Saturday and I fly into DC on Friday at Noon. So I figure with all that down time I could probably catch up with some colleagues and do some pub crawling. Where better than in the DC area than the Northwest area. I find a hotel as close as I can to Churchkey and get things started.
Beer Log: July 13, 2012
State: hot as all get out, drinking at Pizzeria Paradiso
I hit up my twitter account (@beerbrotha) to ask where I should go first. Paradiso is the big suggestion and I make my way to the area. I'm wearing my Dynamo gear to represent. I belly up to the bar and find myself in a somewhat crammed bar with elegant natural lighting restaurant behind me. The bartender is a cool guy and I ask what is the good local stuff. Turns out there are TWO new breweries since the last time I was beering in Washington DC, one is DC Brau and the other is the elusive Chocolate City Brewing.
DC Brau The Public
Comes in a can and pouring into a pint glass. Amber color with a thin white head. Bigger than expected malt nose and citrus hops. Very tasty malt-hop combo. Something akin to caramel with a cut of lemon. Great all-the-time drinking beer. I'm not too terribly thrilled at the 6% ABV and I think they would get more traction at 5% or even 4.8%, but that's just me on my session beer kick. Give me four stars for what would likely be my go to beer.
So at this point my pizza with mussels show up and I'm doing pretty good now.
Hold up
Beer Log: Right now
State: Watching Storage Wars with the wife after work, kind of thirsty
South Austin Belgian Style Golden Ale
Pours actually a nice straw gold in my Stella Artois goblet. Huge white poofy head with a banana and apple nose. The nose also has some great sour jolly rancher in there as well. Beer has a very belgian golden taste. Lot's of white grape and banana, a good bitterness that does not leave one's mouth all icky (no homo). The white grape and peach flavor lasts pretty long on the tongue with a moderate residue feel. The beer is not very dry but has a great shock of flavor every time I take a sip. Give me low 4 stars.
Ok back to DC.
DC Brau The Citizen
Again in a can poured into a goblet this time. Light orange and great banana nose along with flavor. Extremely simple beer with light body and malt. Fresher and cleaner than Outkast. 4 Stars.
DC Brau/Epic Brewing Brainless Corruption
As I polished off the pizza, I had to participate in the JulyPA3 they were having. And sticking with #golocal, I took my last beer as a collaboration beer with DC Brau and Epic Brewing. Huge head on dirty straw color. The nose is very fruit, like pineapple with grapefruit hops. Taste is incredibly smooth. They have a program of special IPAs throughout the month of July, which they call July PA3 (third year in a row). Great soda and grapefruit hops. I get a nice moderate banana ester and jully rancher. Moderate to strong hops. Just amazing. At 6.2% ABV I think this is on eof the best beer I've ever had. Worth the price of admission. 5 Stars!!!!!
Afterward I made it over to Scion as the folks at the bar said they had Chocolate City beer. I hoof it over to Scion and elect to sit outside, as my Best Of app tells me it is one of the best places in DC to people-watch.
I had my paperback with me (The Litigators by Grisham), lay off the food, and get a few 4 oz beer from Widmer. Nothing big to write about until I see a beer named after Marion "Bitch Set me Up" Berry.
Widmer Marionberry Gose
Bright red with some orange ting. Not much of a head. Slight fruity (apple, peach, and grape) smell. Taste is not very bold. Has a lemony character with not much else but salt. Dry and chalky aftertaste. I still have a lot to learn about gose but maybe later. 2 stars.
Beer Log: At Alamo Drafthouse on Mason, watching The Dark Knight Rises, thirsty as hell after Jiu Jitsu class
Dark Knight Rises DKR is a pretty good movie. I just don't think ANYONE can match the seductive performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Bane did have some of that Occupy Wall Street feel to it throughout, but whatever. Great movie that had great drama, very dark and very melancholy. Of course I'm a melancholy guy at heart despite my sense of humor and social nature, so it fits in well with me. Otherwise, the only problem I had was the ending. In my opinion, it would have had HUGE effect if they just... let's have some beer.
No Label Mint IPA Amber and cloudy with killer malty and hoppy nose. Had that pine tree thing going on. Taste has a fantastic malt up front, quickly yielding to a serious tangy hop bite. I'm sure there is something like peppermint in there but it only plays a small in the overall pineyness of the drink. Aftertaste is fleeting and the beer finishes dry. A dangerous combo for binging. 4 stars. May be the best No Label yet right up there with Elda M. Milk. Maybe they really don't need no stinkin' labels. As a Katy man myself, #GOLOCAL
Beer Log: Right now
State: Just finished my MMA and Jiu Jitsu courses at Precision MMA
Just got back from Austin on Sunday and at Whip In we got a growler of this new Austin brewery Rogness. RognessYogi
Deep brown color with a tan head (1 finger no homo). I got a great mint tea nose. The beer has a nice strong grapefruity hops that lasts throughout as well as a great chocolate and mint flavor. It's leave a mint flavor on my nose. Kind of like those Tazo teas you get at the Starbucks. Maybe a hint of Earl Grey with a nice dosing of fresh mint leaves. This thing is chock full of cinnamon and say star anise and clove, maybe some oak. High 3 Stars for the Rogness.
Well I just changed out the smoke detector in the most un-ergonomical place in the house. And now I just changed out the toilet internals in the bedroom. The wife is out getting some Saint Arnold Homefront IPA and some bison meat for the grill, so I'm going to take a break before going to the other toilet and the other smoke detector.
And what do you know, we have all this Sam Adams Longshot beer that we have not sampled or blogged about yet. Somebody hit the music.
Sam Adams Fred Hessler. Derf's Secret Alt
For a while there a few years back I was really on the alt/dunkel kick. I was slamming as much Boston Ale and Heineken Dark as I could handle. Anyway, I've been big on pilsners and saisons (gotta love how one's tastes change), so let's see if this dude can bring me back to Alts.
Pours with a huge head in my Saint Arnold 16oz glass. Nice deep brown color that allows a ruby light through it. The nose has a fantastic caramel and brown sugar thing. Kind of reminds me like making sugar cookies but with brown sugar, which rocks btw. Thicker than I thought it would be is the first sensation, but that quickly gives way to the FANTASTIC caramel, maple syrup and brown sugar flavor. My mouth is left with sour dark cherry that I am just thrilled about as well. Low hops and just utterly fantastic. I have that great alt yeast affect in there, kind of like a bit of copper that just works perfectly. I get ZERO alcohol in this thing, which is scary as I may just slam this thing in about 15 minutes. 5 stars all the way.
And later on...
I just got the other toilet finished and smoke alarm. That checks off two big items on Remember the Milk and I'm ready for a Longshot
Sam Adams Five Crown Imperial Stout
Splitting this one with the wife. Enjoying this in my Old New Orleans minigoblet. Deep dark brown with a nice thin tan head. The nose gives me a great dark malt, chocolate, and plum. The taste has a nice chocolate and coffee, maybe some dried fruit. I get a nice sourness as well in the middle of this beer. Has a decent bitterness and a nice dryness in the finish. Low 4 Stars.
Going to be doing some serious beering here at the house while watching UFC 146: Heavyweights.
Rahr and Sons Winter Warmer
This bottle is maybe 3 years old. Poured into a pint glass with a light carbo. I first thought that it lost its carbonation and I needed to pour it out. But rather it's pretty pleasant. No nose but a nice light chocolate and cinnamon with a nice pinch of coffee. Is extremely smooth and goes does very nicely. I get a light sourness and whatnot, not sure if that's supposed to be there, but I'll take it. Low 3 Stars.
I'm stuck with the baby tonight so I have to watch this on PPV at the house. The wife came in early tonight, so hopefully she can sleep through it, because I'm going to be fired up.
I called it on twitter. If Struve got this puppy to the ground, he would win this fight. He damn near broke Big Lavar's arm. I'm telling you, this entire pay per view will last 90 minutes. I still didn't finish my Rahr and Sons. Damn. The blackfolk are down one already. Just 1:05 into the first fight.
So Del Rosario got the elbow of death in the fight. Ok, now it's time for the Overhand Right of my main man Big Country. I need more beer.
Widmer Dark Saison
Nice brown color yet kind of clear. Big light tan head. I'm rooting for Big Country hard here. Nice ginger snap cookie smell on this beer. Light metal in this one, but otherwise a nice faint lemony zip and bready banana thing going on. Feels good otherwise on the tongue. Not quite at the level of the Independence Brewing Saisons, but I can give Widmer a pass as they don't have the same distance to travel as a brewery in Austin. Low 3 Stars.
Man I'm fired up all over the place. KO from Big Country, KO from Dan Hardy, KO from Jamie Varner. Call this one UFC 146: The Concussions. This is absolutely fabulous. I need another beer.
Lazy Magnolia Deep South
Hell yeah some quality Reb Ale. Love the toasty amber ale. love it more as a lager, but Lazy Mag bring the heat with this one. Nice toasty malt with a moderate hops. If I still lived in Mississippi, I would drink this beer everyday and twice on Sunday. 4 Stars.
And speaking of bringing the heat, Cain Velasquez just sent a message to tho the UFC heavyweight division. He cut up and jacked up Big Foot like a simple gatekeeper. This UFC is just awesome. They are beating ass all night long. And now on to the Main Event.
Game fight for Frank Mir, but Dos Santos was just a BAAAAAAAAAAAD matchup for Mir. Great Second Round TKO.
Had a great weekend beering it up for Cinco De Mayo. Actually had some Victoria, Bud Light Lime, and Bud Light Platinum. It was also a killer weekend for sports. A horse called "I'll Have Another" won the Kentucky Derby. At that time I was beering it up at Petrol Station while Drinking Made Easy was taping. That was just awesome. We had a great time watching UFC on Fox, with the big win for Big Lavar Johnson and Nate Diaz, not to mention Floyd Mayweather won his fight, while coming out to the ring with 50 Cent, Justin Bieber, Triple HHH, and a guy that looked like the Chinese Ambassador to the UN. Ok enough jaw jacking...
Beer Log: April 12, 2012
State: A little Borgias, two sheets to the wind, a rough day at the office.
Allagash Victor 2009
Nothing like a aged Allagash. Translucent amber with white lasting head. The nose has a light appley sourness along with something like sweet grapes. Taste is exactly the same as the scent at first, and it gives way to great light sour green grapes. Low carbonation caps off a 4 star beer.
Beer Log: April 15, 2012
State: Starving at Petrol Station. Dig Pale Ale by New Belgium
Had a heck of a time finding this one on Untappd. Amber color and clear with a decent head. Went straight to drinking this one an I got great hops and malt. Clean flavor. The beer has a lemony hops but very balanced. I get a lemon hop aftertaste as well. Love teh light nuttiness and caramel along with the hops. 4 Stars.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Mouth is dry, watching the Borgias with the Misses Ommegang Adoration
Enjoying this one in a snifter. Blood amber color with a frothy yet disappearing light rusty head. The nose has healthy notes of cinnamon, brown sugar, orange peel, and coriander. A little Christmas in the summer time never hurt anybody. The taste has a nice full caramel, brown sugar and cinnamon flavor up front. This gives way to soft notes of orange and coriander. Not overdone at all and a true testament to the professionalism of Ommegang. This beer is just a great foil after all the summer madness we've been drinking. It's tempting to break out the cigars, but screw that, this beer needs to be by itself. Low to moderate carbonation with a light bitterness. Very well done Ommegang. Give me all 5 stars.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Sitting on an awesome patio at Cedar Creek. Perfect weather.
First off, why didn't someone tell me about how great Cedar Creek was.
Alaska Amber
Clear amber colored beer (who'da thunk it), with a thin white head. Beer has a caramel oatmeal cookie smell to it. Taste is much the same. I get a nice caramel malt and a moderately thin body. The beer makes you think you'll taste some off flavors but they never come out. Low hops and very short malt after taste. A very sessionable beer that I imagine is meant for all of us to enjoy after hunting down moose or playing hockey. Just incredibly simple and effective. 3 stars.
Now all I need is some pulled pork breakfast tacos and I'm good to go.
It was late August 2005. I was driving my still new convertible on highways with down trees, leaves everywhere, and down power lines. My wife of 2 months was in her car following me. Our lovely condo on a golf course on the water could not possibly have stood a chance right? Hurricane Katrina was as huge as the Gulf itself, and all we had was some little sandbags. I listened to classical music on my XM radio as the local stations were all down. The wife was unemployed and I had just started out of college, and the only big valuable I could think of was my 10" piece of the goal post from the game where Georgia Tech beat Auburn the year before.
Much to our surprise, we had no damage at all at our condo. Down trees everywhere but nothing was wrong, just spoiled food in the fridge. Fortunately our place which was completely submerged was saved by the double paned windows due to the extra protection they had for golf courses. We lived on the first tee. We packed up about two weeks worth of stuff and high tailed it to Houston. I was transferring to Houston anyway in a couple weeks and the job let me leave early.
First off we didn't know we were the first set in a HUGE number of evacuees to come to Houston, and second, who the hell puts a damn microbrewery in coastal Mississippi just after we leave? I know I was just getting into craft beer in those days, as I had just discovered Shiner Bock on a training trip to Houston, but whatever.
Anyway, Lazy Mag has finally made it Houston and I cannot wait to start slamming some of that Indian Wheat during the oppressive heat of the Gulf Coast summers.
Beer Log: Right now
State: Just got back from Petrol Station, chilling out with the baby awaiting a crazy week at the job
First off, you cannot imagine how tempting it is for me to mix in dixieland and slavery references all throughout this beer review, but that was would just be wrong and mean spirited. Huge white poofy head on a light very clear amber beer. The nose is a little malt, a little veggie, and some slight funky hops (seems like noble hops here). Taste has a light hops and malt, followed up by some noticeable metallic flavor. That melds away to sourdough bread and lastly some very bitter hop finish. Hmmmm. Just a wash of different flavors as it goes across my tongue (no homo). The metal flavor mixed with the lemony/grassy hops may not be the best for a Pale Ale, but I fricken LOVE IT in my Czech Pilsners. If they backed off the malt and used some bottom fermenting yeast, you could have just injected it in my veins. The more I drink it, the more I enjoy the flavor but that metal is throwing things off. Low 3 Stars.
May be a little off on the trip to Houston, but I know the next time we hit the Beau Rivage, I'm going to ordering a lot of this one at the craps table.
Lazy Mag Southern Pecan
Much appreciation for the deep south ingredients in the beer. Coastal Mississippi was a great place on the map. Everybody was very nice, we got involved with the local high school football team, and New Orleans was a quick trip away. Anyway, here we go... Clear beer again but ruby amber. Big offwhite head this time yielding a slight nutty malt (no homo). Everyone that knows me knows that me and nut brown ales do not mix. And sadly this is still the same here. I get a nuttiness and some light malt and chocolate. Still getting some of that metal as well. Anyway, no rating as this is one of my least favorite styles.
Great first start overall, still waiting for boys from coastal Mississippi. And to commemorate, a little tune from Coastal Mississippi's finest joining up with Houston Rap Legends. If you are at work, you may want to put on the headphones for this one.
Clear amber with a big white head. Nice cascady grass nose. Great light hops and malt. Perfect marriage of the two with no corn or butter. It's beauty, is in it's simplicity. As clean as the Shiner Wild Hare but gives you a lot more flavor. 4 stars.
So we actually stayed Downtown in Pittsburgh. And damned if there wasn't a little something going on out there beer and bar-wise. I did not rent a car so I had no opportunity to check out any brewpubs, so we had to stay true to the local bar scene.
Beer Log: March 28, 2012
State: At Sharp Edge Bistro
I would say this is the best beer bar I could find within walking distance. It had several dozen beers on tap and some pretty nice food as well. It wasn't too packed this night so I could just belly up to the bar, watch the Pens game, and chill out.
Big white head with good IPA style hoppy/malty nose. Cloudy and orangish amber color. I was attracted to the beer by the name, sounds like it should be hoppy. Beer tastes very hop forward with a simple high hop bitterness. $5 says it's a Single Hop beer. I'm getting somewhere between grapefruit and grass with the hoppy flavor, which I will now dub grassfruit. Low oatmeal cookie malt. Give me 3 stars.
Oh GOOD LORD! Big malt and hop on the nose. (Yes, I am East Coast IPAing it on this trip). The malt is a huge caramel. Flavor is not as imposing. It's big but not as crushing on the ops. Hops are kind of soda like. Though I suspect my palate is blown. No rating.
Other locales and beers that I had but did not get notes on:
Double Day Famous Burgers (I had the cheeseburger with fried egg) with the Troegs Nugget Nectar (love that beer). Had a little Marzen from Penn Brewery.
Later on we made it back to Sharp Edge for some coffee beers, like Full Pint's Perc E Bust and the Bells Java Stout. I was with some friends and short on time, so I felt it would be rude to be scribbling a lot of notes.
Lastly, I had what I think was one of the best simple brown ales I've ever had:
Cucapa Obscura. We found this one at this very trendy tapas bar called Seviche. Too bad I didn't have any notepad and my phone was dead, but it's a DAMN shame I had to go all the way to Pittsburgh to get some Mexican Craft beer. I don't get that beer in Texas, I didn't get that beer in MEXICO!
So it turns out they let me back at another NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) Conference, this time in sunny Pittsburgh. I know why NSBE insists on having these conferences in March in the midwest, but this is killing me. Last year we were snowed up in St. Louis. This year it's frigid Pittsburgh. Next year in balmy Indianapolis, and then Nashville. Whatever happened to New Orleans. Anyway moving on.
In between working at the conference, we do like to check out the local flavor of the city, and of course that means we go local with the beer. So let's begin...
Right on the corner of 6th and Penn (creative eh?), this place was very hip. Lot's of beautiful people all over the place, drinking it up on a Wednesday afternoon. Anyway, they only had two locals ... hold up
Beer log: Right now
State: watching Drinking made Easy with the wife
Widmer Dark Saison
Just picked this up from Specs. It is in fact a dark brown color but is rather clear. Light white head. The wife was drinking it but she wasn't feeling it, so she gave me the rest of her beer. Light estery with caramel malt nose. The taste has that classic sour saisonness that we like, with a light grittiness to the body, which I like in my saisons. I get a very faint caramel malt (for all that color especially) and the beer finishes with a funky sour bitterness. I think it should be a little colder, but I'm not digging this one too much. I fear this beer has fallen into the category of beer that I used to love but just can't get into these days, Dunkels. Beers that are typically light that they darken up with more malt. Anyway, the more you drink it you a very nice soft banana and passion fruit, but it is fleeting. I'm sure I'll still find a home for it, but give me High 2 stars.
Ok back to Pittsburgh
I am very much looking forward to this Nut Brown ale, as apparantly it's kind of a big deal in these parts. I get a beer that's deep brown in color with a very thin white head. Nose has hints of chocolate, moderate nuttiness and something like dark cherries. Beer is very English to me. Low malt and all. The more I drink it I get something that reminds me of bitter chocolate powder. Not quite the cinnamon challenge or anything. The beer is rather dry and a bit sour. Not digging this one. Low 2 Stars. Not going to lie, I got with the Victory Hop Devil (which was also everywhere) the rest of the night. Also, I've never been a Nut Brown guy (no homo).
Big big head on a kind of cloudy. Beer has a great grassy nose with some pine in there. Taste is a big extra hoppy beer. Lots of grassy hops and a moderate caramel cookie thing. I think we
accidently aged this one as I like to wolf down the fresh hoppers ASAP. Anyway, I still find it very very pleasant. 4 stars.
beer has a big yet effervescent head with a orangish cloudy color. Gotta love that label by the way. Nose is a sour jolly rancher thing going on. On first taste you notice the big carbonation and sour/saltiness. Not sure which farmhouse we're talking about here but the light candy sweetness seems to really help. Thinking candy of I'm thinking that Halloween gum for which the flavor lasts. Low 4 stars.
Ok so Norfolk State is getting run out of the gym right now. I think Billy Donovan told his boys that if they lose to NSU, someone is going to die. I'm so proud of the Green and Gold, let's grab something DEEEEEEEEEEEEEP in the cellar. A 3 year old vintage of:
Beer Log: Right now
State: Eating homemade tacos with the HEB tortillas (WINNING)
I think this only came out once. Only 19 check ins on untappd. Let us beer. Hmm, smell those malts. Beer has a thick but thin white head on top of an orangish amber beer. The beer has a thick caramel flavor, moderate hops just barely holding the balance. This beer is huge but those hops must have mellowed those 142 IBUs over the years. The beer is very piney and big caramel, some ginger, and a pinch of cherries. I'm sure they kept this one pretty simple ingredient wise and let it simmer. Low carbonation and it drinks very good (as they say in Alabama). It mellows out the spiciness of the McCormick taco mix. I'm sure this beer could have been called a Double IPA when it was first bottled. No hot alcohol, very mellow, damn near takes the place of wine for me. I do wonder if they wanted us to age it or drink it now. I wish more brewers put comments on their labels like Pliny the Elder (DRINK IT NOW). 4 Stars for the second version of the Donkey Punch.
By the way, whatever you do please do not use your work computer to Google Donkey Punch and Sweetwater.
Oh, and for the record, let's get in the review from yesterday
Beer log saint patrick's day state: March 17th at Onion Creek coffee house outside trying to watch a little basketball with the family
Amber color with great effervescent carbonation in a perfectly white head. They messed around and put a lemon in it boo. Nose has a great lemon with a little bit of lemon zest, I enjoy the great light sour this is well as the grapefruit hops in the finish. This beer tastes fantastic, and I get a good feeling it would really help when I'm the dusting the furniture back at the house. No hint of a 9 percent alcohol content. This one could really sneak up on you in the summertime. 4 star for Independence once again!
I think this is a 2010 vintage, but I cannot find a date on the bottle. Had to reach waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the cellar for this puppy. The beer smells as sweet and malty as an HBCU victory in the NCAA Tournament. The beer has a Virginia Pine nose like that of a Spartan shield. The beer has a huge foamy head just like the huge win of the Norfolk State Spartans. The first taste of this dark amber beer and it tastes as bitter as Mizzou's loss in the Big Dance. The beer has a nice sweetness to it, very very piney hops but with SERIOUS caramel cookie malt. It's cloying just for a few seconds before the dryness comes out making you want more. Beer so good it makes me think of when my Grandfather was the longtime Dean of Arts and Sciences at Norfolk State. Makes me remember when my Uncles and Aunts went to NSU. Makes me remember when NSU was my #2 choice for Undergraduate education but I chose FAMU, another school in the MEAC conference. High 4 stars!
When I sat down to write about an in depth post about some grand personal beer experiences I had a year ago in Saint Louis. I'm talking careers and counselors and money and martial arts and tears and empty apartments and drunken weekdays and smokey rooms and.... But we'll save that for later.
While I'm here, I figure I'll go ahead and fire up the Mississippi Valley State play-in game. I'm brimming with Black College pride as MVSU from the SWAC is destroying the Toppers from Western Kentucky. They put my school FAMU in this jacked up play-in game a few years back and I'm glad we won. Every year we get a Black School in the Play-in and all of us Black College Alums gather up our pride to root on our brethren.
As I sit here there are only 2:15 minutes left in the game and things have gone to hell in a hand basket. The Delta Devils are falling apart like a house of cards in the last 5 minutes. And add to that, THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT IS IN THE DAMN CROWD! This is a mess.
The wife is getting a beer for me to review in a minute, but while I'm here, let's rant a bit about the status of Black College Sports....
Is it not true that you only need like 3 good players to have a DECENT team. Is it not true that 98% of the best basketball players in the country Black? Is it not true that teams with hardly any gym at all is fielding decent teams (say Fordham). How is it that WE are the BOTTOM of the BARREL every damn year in Black College Basketball. It's not like football where you have to have castle-like field houses, epic stadiums, whores posing as co-eds, and 40,000 member booster clubs. It's just basketball.
Ok here we go, 40 seconds left and WKU gets the shot and the foul. If you are going to foul, take his KNEECAPS out. This is so much fail right now.
If you asked me 5 years ago what would we have first, an HBCU that was a 10 seed in the NCAA's or a Black President? I mean come on. And the game is OVER! And the President is leaving the game! Damn damn shame.
Beer Log: Right now
Beer State: Watching Real Time with the wife and pissed off
I can get a whiff of those hops a full 3 feet away from me. I can see the deep brown beer has a very very lacy tan head. The beer has a very strong pine and grapefruit and grassy hop nose. Barely any hops fitting in there. This beer is incredibly good and balanced. The hops are as strong as the nose, but it works well with the darker roasty malts. I'm getting what would likely normally be strong roast, coffee, and caramel with a pinch of toast, but those hops are just killer. The beauty is that this beer is nice and dry enough that you can drink a lot of it. The ABV is 7.4% which is a bit high for session beering, but damn it works for me. As one's tongue gets used to impact (no homo), it gets to be like a beer cookie thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck a few oats in there as well. You know what, give me 4 stars, a high 4 stars.
Feel free to read here about the story of this beer.
Looks like our friends at Spoetzl got a hair up their you know what and made a fricken pale ale! Shiner has always been that ice cold lager of Texas, but I cannot wait to blog this one up.
Man I hung out with the boys last Saturday night very late, and I don't think I have recovered, and it's THURSDAY. Dammit I must be getting old. Moving on. Beer pours with the hugest head I've ever seen on a Shiner beer. Lasting power with an amber color. The beer has a very nice oatmeal cookie and English muffin thing. I'm getting something like the cinnamon toast the baby likes so much. The beer has a light english muffin and toast flavor. The hops are moderate and it's very balanced with the moderate caramel malt. Extremely clean with no butter flavor that I get from so many craft pale ales. I think the Southern Star Pine Belt has it beat in intensity, but this one is very sessionable. I could see me slamming a lot of this at a tailgate in the summer time. High 3 stars.
So I was waltzing through the Specs near my house and it turns that Southern Star has a new seasonal. This thing totally missed my gaze before, so I copped a 4 pack and promptly drank two of them. Now the official review.
Beer log: Right now
State: Anti-multitasking talking to a friend of mine on the phone while trying to blog.
Le Mort Vivant by Southern Star
Beer comes in a 12 ounce can with a cool looking design. Cloudy amber with a slightly tinged offwhite head. Nose has a little bit of cinnamon, caramel and a pinch of sour apple. Beer has thin body with high carbonation. The flavor while fleeting is pretty refreshing. I need to think hard about what I had in Paris a few years ago, but I am more into this. Beer leaves my mouth dry and chalky with something akin to apple and sour apple, but very subtle. Subtle flavors and refreshing beer must mean we are coming up on my favorite time of the year for beer, Spring. I hope to have my new kegerator fabbed up and ready to go in time to score some serious spring bock. Hell I may get two. So the beer flavor has a bit of grainy malt and very low hops. I'm sure they put some hops in there, b/c ya just gotta. I'm going to give this a low 3 star. Probably just too cold outside to get the most out of this puppy. Put an indie rock band outdoors in June at Petrol or Hubcap and slap this beer on tap and it may be the best ever.
Beer log: Right now State: Watching the Outback Bowl 2OT.
Come on Michigan State, please beat the Dawgs. Man I hate U(sic)GA, not to mention the SEC.
Samuel Adams Alpine Spring Enjoying this one in my Brewing Network glass, splitting a bottle with the Misses. Tinged straw color and a little cloudy. Beer has a vegetal, grass hop, and something like a light cracker thing going on. Not the saltine crackers but like those fancy ones the wife buys that have wheat in them and little grains in them. Goes great with hummus. Moving on. Taste of the beer is a moderate hop with some of that same cracker thing in the middle. After about 60 seconds I'm getting a funky bitterness aftertaste, kinda like orange rinds. Oh he made the kick, going to the third overtime. The more I drink the beer I get a light sugar sweetness as well. Nice beer but the aftertaste kills it. High 2 stars.
Ok, so Georgia LOST the game baby! I'm fired up. Now we are watching the first season of The Wire on HBO Plus. Righteous!
Samual Adams Whitewater IPA Apparantly keeping with the water theme. Huge white head this time, cloudy again but with a more orange look to it. No clue what hop I'm smelling here, but it smells like (I'm sorry), kind of a dumpster outside a restaurant, that eerie sweet smell. Taste of the beer is not bad, strong hops, low malt, something I would like if I were on my Extra IPA kick. With this weather though I'm nearly ready for Bock season. The hops on this one are pretty tough for me, probably a big amount of American and German hops. I don't taste the apricots they say are in there. High 2 Stars.
Ok, now the last one. About 45 minutes have passed and I chugged some Crystal light, so after a few I'm going for the last new SA Beer in this Variety Pack.
Sam Adams Mighty Oak Ale Clear deep amber with a tinghed white head. Nose has a huge caramel malt with some slight oak. Beer taste has a light caramel, a little thin on the body, and a light chocolate powder and vanilla flavor (I imagine from the oak). Beer is lightly hopped and actually is kind of dry. A drinkable session oak aged beer is a welcome change to the high gravity oak aged beers that we can rarely find occasion to drink. 3 stars.
