I'm sitting here drinking a Medalla Light from Peurto Rico, trying to think of how many posts I'm backed up. Since my last few posts, I've got reviews written on the back of envelopes, notebooks, textbooks, you name it.
Just got back from New Orleans on Sunday, tried a couple new beers here and there. Nothing major. Going to be flying out to Las Vegas tomorrow and will likely spend about 4-5 hours a day studying for the PE Exam in my hotel room. Luckily I have been to Vegas a few times on the company, so I can charge this trip to the game. I am (eff it, let's drink).
Medalla Light
I can smell the funky hops from over here. It has a touch of hops and veggie on the nose. Nice uber-clear straw color with a surprisingly strong white head. Not bad on the tongue, has a touch of bread, a touch of astringency, a little drying as well. Very little aftertaste on this one. The second draught I catch a touch of metal in there. FYI: A good friend brought this one from PR for me to try in a couple aluminum cans. The beer is not all corned up like Mexican cervazas, but it works. Like a good light beer, it's very light on the bread and hops but not too watery. It actually is not a bad beer, just a good light beer in the sweltering heat of the caribbean. Goes down pretty well, a moderate carbonation. As far as light beer go, I would take this one over Shiner Spezial Leicht but not over Amstel Light. High 2 Stars.
Back to my diatribe. I plan on itznaying a rental car and will just roll around Vegas on their monorail and hopping cabs. A lot of my old friends from undergrad, grad school, various internships, and of course my current job will be there. Got to love the National Society of Black Engineers. It's a pretty wild conference, and if it weren't for the recession, this years' conference in Vegas would be off the hook (to quote Michael Steele). I did a touch of gambling in New Orleans and will simply refuse to gamble on anything over a $5 table in Vegas. It's just a waste of money with a bunch of other douchebags doing their best James Bond impression at a lowball blackjack table. MFers are showing up to $10 craps tables with tuxedos on, waiting 15 minutes for the drink girl to bring them an Amaretto sour so they can leave the table. "They call me Double-O Negro." As Medalla warms it getting a little icky on the AT, pushing it down to a regular 2 Star. I have to recruit college students at this conference for my company, which I thoroughly enjoy and have a knack for. But hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a visit to a couple brewpubs or at least try some West Coast beer at the bars on the strip. I'm particularly interested in finding some damn Alesmith. If I come up with no dice, I'll probably have to trade for it.
Holla back if you have any suggestions of a good beer bar in Vegas.
Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Live Review: Jockamo IPA
We interrupt my notebook clearing for a live review. The kicker is I bought about 8 bottles of Abita's Jockamo IPA when I came back from offshore, which you'll see in a later post, and yet I kept forgetting to review it in my book. I'm now down to the last bottle, so I figure I'll just slap this one directly on the blog.
If you'll recall from my last New Orleans post, I kinda felt bad I did not get to Abita's IPA before I had to leave the city. Damn shame for a guy who is a hophead. If I recall, I ranked the Restoration Pale Ale as the best beer I had in the NO. Well, too bad, b/c I like the IPA over the Restoration. So here we go...
Bottle pours into dimpled glass. Good burnt orange color with a light tan strong head. Smells of flowery hops, a slight hop bite (maybe from Cascade), and some caramel malt. Front of the tongue is light malt, with stronger bitterness coming in the back of the tongue. It's not wet on the mouthfeel, but kind of gritty. It is of medium-low bitterness based on the IPA's that I've had. It's certainly more than Restoration, but it's very good. The more I drink it, the more I'm getting the citrusyness (is that a word) of the hops, yet it a nice malt balanced. Well done for Abita. I can imagine many hopheads would say this is closer to an English or regular pale ale on the bitterness. The aftertaste is slightly bitter and lingering, but no real harshness to it. It kind of reminds me of the Broken Halo, but a little lighter.
Review of Abita Brewery.
Well, I've pretty much now had all the beers I could find for Abita. They have the regular seasonals (Bock for Spring, a Christmas Ale for Winter, and a Red Ale for late spring), and I've only had the Summer (Wheat). Of course in New Orleans, there is no such thing as Winter, so it's all kind of Spring or Summer. Lake Affect my ass. Abita's beers seem to be on the lighter side for all brands, which probably works well for the hot times in French quarter. I'm not sure how popular they are in Acadiana (Cajun country), but pretty much all their beers work well for walking the city streets while looking for loose women to flash for beads, not that I do that type of thing. I honestly think their beers would work well for nationwide expansion, especially their Purple Haze and Turbodog brands. The names are awesome, and they are subtle yet tasty enough to curve off a little market share from Miller, Bud, Boston, and the Mexicans. Hell, I could see someone naming their Soccer club Purple Haze. I look forward to trying Abita's seasonals. As Louisiana is a second home for me, I hope to see a little more out of New Orleans. I particularly look forward to NOLA opening up.
Be on the lookout for posts on my homebrews, a lager and an IPA. I will also document my adventures in building a big arse kegerator. Lastly, I'm thinking of documenting my next two weeks of no beer. Should be fun.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Beering in New Orleans, Part 4 and Wrap Up
First the beer
State: Hot as balls in New Orleans
May 25th, 2008
Abita Wheat
In case you are wondering how hot balls are... 98.6 degrees.
Got this one at a bottle in the store. I had to make a choice between this one and Jockamo IPA. I am a hop head, but just couldn't feel an IPA right now while I'm sweating out my clothes walking the streets. That one will have to wait until I get back.
Wheat beer pours oange and smooth from the bottle to the plastic cup. Serious head on this one but a regular beer smell (if there is such a thing). The head is a little lacy. Some sweetness in the smell if I really try. Not bad. Medium-full body with hints of orange. I'm not a fan of the 60 second bitter aftertaste this one has. Though it has medium hops. I now step outside the hotel room. The hops makes it a slightly different experience for a wheat beer, and I can dig it. It definetly refreshes one at 95 degree heat. It still feels smooth, though no new flavors are coming out, save MAYBE a slight spiciness.
And that's it for the NO this time. I did not get to the Jockamo IPA, I got most of what I wanted to try. The other locations were beer bars (d.b.a., and Beerfest). I made it to beerfest but can't remember what we had outside of a jager shot.
I enjoyed beering in New Orleans and look forward to doing it again. I will likely stop by a grocery store to pick a Jockamo. I also did not get to Big Easy or Lagniappe. It seems that the local NO beers are really about being refreshing, not tossing your tastebuds around. Of course it was summertime, so it fits well. Not to mention that most tourists will drink their beer on steamy streets of the Quarter, which further boosts the case for not juicing the beer with lot of hops or malts.
Damn near anything will taste good after walking it out in NO for an hour. All the beer sold on the street are Miller and Bud lights, but it does the trick. I look forward to going back to NO in the winter for some winter seasonals to see how these guys get 'er done when it's time to turn it up.
Of course NOLA will not be ready until October 2008. In the meantime, I feel I have enough to give a top 3 beers of New Orleans.
#1. Abita Restoration Ale
I love the cause, but that was pleasant hop bitterness as well. Would be a great beer to have back in Houston. Just goes great with heat of NO, and whatnot. I also see on Abita's website the have a slew of Select beers. I can see I'll just have to make a day trip to Abita's brewpub.
#2. Abita Amber
Just so good and bready. Maybe b/c it was one of my early beers and we were partying it up, but I really enjoyed this one. It seems like if there was a general Amber beer, this would be it.
#3. Crescent City Red Stallion
I love the richness of this one. I'm a fan of Vienna style malts as well. This was CC's best beer, and I think it would work well as a foil for seafood. I have very rich ribs which kinda knocked down the sweetness, but I could see it still there. It's like if you eat pork-n-beans laced with brown sugar, and then try to drink Kool-aid. The kool-aid would taste like water. The act that I could get the caramel out of this one bodes well.
State: Hot as balls in New Orleans
May 25th, 2008
Abita Wheat
In case you are wondering how hot balls are... 98.6 degrees.
Got this one at a bottle in the store. I had to make a choice between this one and Jockamo IPA. I am a hop head, but just couldn't feel an IPA right now while I'm sweating out my clothes walking the streets. That one will have to wait until I get back.
Wheat beer pours oange and smooth from the bottle to the plastic cup. Serious head on this one but a regular beer smell (if there is such a thing). The head is a little lacy. Some sweetness in the smell if I really try. Not bad. Medium-full body with hints of orange. I'm not a fan of the 60 second bitter aftertaste this one has. Though it has medium hops. I now step outside the hotel room. The hops makes it a slightly different experience for a wheat beer, and I can dig it. It definetly refreshes one at 95 degree heat. It still feels smooth, though no new flavors are coming out, save MAYBE a slight spiciness.
And that's it for the NO this time. I did not get to the Jockamo IPA, I got most of what I wanted to try. The other locations were beer bars (d.b.a., and Beerfest). I made it to beerfest but can't remember what we had outside of a jager shot.
I enjoyed beering in New Orleans and look forward to doing it again. I will likely stop by a grocery store to pick a Jockamo. I also did not get to Big Easy or Lagniappe. It seems that the local NO beers are really about being refreshing, not tossing your tastebuds around. Of course it was summertime, so it fits well. Not to mention that most tourists will drink their beer on steamy streets of the Quarter, which further boosts the case for not juicing the beer with lot of hops or malts.
Damn near anything will taste good after walking it out in NO for an hour. All the beer sold on the street are Miller and Bud lights, but it does the trick. I look forward to going back to NO in the winter for some winter seasonals to see how these guys get 'er done when it's time to turn it up.
Of course NOLA will not be ready until October 2008. In the meantime, I feel I have enough to give a top 3 beers of New Orleans.
#1. Abita Restoration Ale
I love the cause, but that was pleasant hop bitterness as well. Would be a great beer to have back in Houston. Just goes great with heat of NO, and whatnot. I also see on Abita's website the have a slew of Select beers. I can see I'll just have to make a day trip to Abita's brewpub.
#2. Abita Amber
Just so good and bready. Maybe b/c it was one of my early beers and we were partying it up, but I really enjoyed this one. It seems like if there was a general Amber beer, this would be it.
#3. Crescent City Red Stallion
I love the richness of this one. I'm a fan of Vienna style malts as well. This was CC's best beer, and I think it would work well as a foil for seafood. I have very rich ribs which kinda knocked down the sweetness, but I could see it still there. It's like if you eat pork-n-beans laced with brown sugar, and then try to drink Kool-aid. The kool-aid would taste like water. The act that I could get the caramel out of this one bodes well.
Beering in New Orleans, Part Duex
The next day we are hanging out and I am copping a few beers at the corner store. I KNOW I grabbed the Abita Strawberry Lager, but I don't see it here in my notebook. Oh well, it was kinda light anyway.
May 24, 2008
State, in the hotel room with single bottles
I just gave my luncheon seminar, and now I'm just kind of goofing off, so grabbed a few of these beers to give them a try
Dixie Beer
Plastic cup. Dixie's brewery got jacked up during Katrina, but they are now back and brewing. Gotta represent. Kinda foamy white head and smells veggie-like. High carbonation and medium bread taste, served ice cold. Head has slight lace to it. It has a light body and hops, and a little bitter aftertaste. There's a light maltiness in there as well. Yes I'm going backwards, but the color is orange straw and very clear. I do have a slight headaches from drinking it up the night before.
Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager
Dark brown, ruby in the light with a tan head. Smells of butter biscuits, chocolate, and malt. Full body with a velvety mouthfeel with a medium carbonation. Low malt and very low hops, with a light aftertaste. No flavors really. Based on the smell I was hoping for more. It gets kinda bready and smoky as it warms up. I'm still just getting into homebrewing, but it may be that Dixie added a lot of stuff very late in the boil or even during secondary fermentation, hence all the nice smells but no flavor to match. They pulled a bait and switch on me.
May 24, 2008
State, in the hotel room with single bottles
I just gave my luncheon seminar, and now I'm just kind of goofing off, so grabbed a few of these beers to give them a try
Dixie Beer
Plastic cup. Dixie's brewery got jacked up during Katrina, but they are now back and brewing. Gotta represent. Kinda foamy white head and smells veggie-like. High carbonation and medium bread taste, served ice cold. Head has slight lace to it. It has a light body and hops, and a little bitter aftertaste. There's a light maltiness in there as well. Yes I'm going backwards, but the color is orange straw and very clear. I do have a slight headaches from drinking it up the night before.
Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager
Dark brown, ruby in the light with a tan head. Smells of butter biscuits, chocolate, and malt. Full body with a velvety mouthfeel with a medium carbonation. Low malt and very low hops, with a light aftertaste. No flavors really. Based on the smell I was hoping for more. It gets kinda bready and smoky as it warms up. I'm still just getting into homebrewing, but it may be that Dixie added a lot of stuff very late in the boil or even during secondary fermentation, hence all the nice smells but no flavor to match. They pulled a bait and switch on me.
Abita Restoration Ale
Abita threw together this pale ale to raise money for the Katrina recovery efforts. Could be soured on the smell, with a very strong head. Maybe a little malt on the aroma. Dark bronze and orange color. Offwhite head that is lacy. Mild-medium hops, with low to medium light body. low medium carbonation as well. I would say this is a blond pale ale with some bitterness on the AT. It got more hoppy as it warmed up. maybe even a regular pale ale level. Nice stuff.
GB is a national chain brewpub, but they do brew their beer onsite. I cannot drink on Monday, so I had to prioritize, but I decided to sneak in one beer from GB before moving on. I think I'll be travelling to Atlanta in September and probably to the DC area one more time before the year is out, and they have chains out there. But I did try their seasonal beer. A little smell on there. Its brown with an offwhite head. It's moderately malty on the first sip, a little dry, little to no aftertaste. I'm tasting caramel malts and low hops. It's a little slippery on the drinkability with low carbonation. A little roasted malts as well. Not a bad beer at all. I had to move to another engagement, so I got this to go.
Beering in New Orleans: Part 1
And now I get to my New Orleans trip in my notebook. I attended a conference in New Orleans over Memorial Weekend. There is nothing like travelling on Expense. So I set up my beertinerary to try and go to Abita, but all their beers are available at the corner stores. For better or worse, you can buy single bottles of beer at the corner store, slap it in a plastic cup, and drink it right there on the street. I was so blown when the guy a Gordon Beirsch asked me if I wanted my beer TO GO. And what's more, the corner stores on Canal Street have a beer selection that's better than the Kroger. They may have just as much selection as a basic HEB. All in single bottles as well. So throughout my trip in NO, I bought several Abitas and Dixie Beers from the stores, and drank them out of plastic cups either at the hotel room or just milling about. I even hit up the brewpub in the French Quarter.
I would also like to send a special shoutout to NOLA Brewing, a new microbrewery in New Orleans. I called them up asking about a tasting room and though they weren't open yet, the guy on the phone was a great help in finding not only some good beering, but good restaurants to eat at as well.
For the record, I still do not have the heart to visit the Lower 9th Ward or the harder hit areas of NO. As a Katrina evac myself (my wife and I lived in Ocean Springs, MS just outside of Biloxi when the storm hit), I cannot look at the yet worse state New Orleans is in. And how they could re-elect Ray Nagin just makes me vomit in my own mouth. I get so pissed off I can barely speak about it without a LONG string of obscenities coming out of my mouth. It could drive a man to drink. Speaking of which :)
May 23rd, 2008
Abita Amber (got it on draft, in a plastic cup)
Picked up this joint a little bar on a Riverboat restaurant. They only had two taps, but I hadn't had this one before. If you'll recall from my earlier posts, I was NOT impressed with Abita Beer and Turbodog. But here we go. It has an amber-auburn color, go figure, and is pretty clear. First taste if of high breadiness, nice medium body, medium carbonation. As it warms up (and it warmed up quickly in the heat and in my plastic cup), you get a nice cool maltiness. I'd say this was a very good session beer. The slight offwhite head remained the entire time. Very good stuff as I sit outside overlooking the old Mississippi river.
Abita Purple Haze
Negros chat up this beer quite a bit, so I had to cop this one at the store on the way back from the boat. Straw color slightly hazy, strong white head. Slight fruity and sour smell. Kinda like raspberry. The first taste is kinda empty at first, then I notice the light body, high carbonation, and low raspberry flavor. It moderately drinkable. It has low hops and low on the wheat. I really expected more out of this one.
I would also like to send a special shoutout to NOLA Brewing, a new microbrewery in New Orleans. I called them up asking about a tasting room and though they weren't open yet, the guy on the phone was a great help in finding not only some good beering, but good restaurants to eat at as well.
For the record, I still do not have the heart to visit the Lower 9th Ward or the harder hit areas of NO. As a Katrina evac myself (my wife and I lived in Ocean Springs, MS just outside of Biloxi when the storm hit), I cannot look at the yet worse state New Orleans is in. And how they could re-elect Ray Nagin just makes me vomit in my own mouth. I get so pissed off I can barely speak about it without a LONG string of obscenities coming out of my mouth. It could drive a man to drink. Speaking of which :)
May 23rd, 2008
Abita Amber (got it on draft, in a plastic cup)
Picked up this joint a little bar on a Riverboat restaurant. They only had two taps, but I hadn't had this one before. If you'll recall from my earlier posts, I was NOT impressed with Abita Beer and Turbodog. But here we go. It has an amber-auburn color, go figure, and is pretty clear. First taste if of high breadiness, nice medium body, medium carbonation. As it warms up (and it warmed up quickly in the heat and in my plastic cup), you get a nice cool maltiness. I'd say this was a very good session beer. The slight offwhite head remained the entire time. Very good stuff as I sit outside overlooking the old Mississippi river.
Abita Purple Haze
Negros chat up this beer quite a bit, so I had to cop this one at the store on the way back from the boat. Straw color slightly hazy, strong white head. Slight fruity and sour smell. Kinda like raspberry. The first taste is kinda empty at first, then I notice the light body, high carbonation, and low raspberry flavor. It moderately drinkable. It has low hops and low on the wheat. I really expected more out of this one.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Back in the Easy
Beer Log: January 30, 2008
State: slight hunder and a headache.
Ahh New Orleans. Come on baby. I'm traveling the city streets and finally made it back to the airport. Sitting around waiting for plane, and I notice something peculiar on the bottle list. Abita. http://www.abita.com/ Lord knows everyone is all up on the Abita water, so the beer has to be good right. Word is, NO cats love this stuff, so I gave this my fullest review yet.
Abita Beer (Amber):
I poured it from a bottle into the plastic cup they gave me. Oh well, it is an airport. Slight malt scent, amber color with a light cream colored full head. Head actually has some Lace. First thing I notice is the aftertaste, which as a a little bitter. High carbonation, light malt & hops, uberlight citrus. I'm actually thinking of water and earth. Medium to full bodied beer that is very wet. As my adventure with a damn plastic cup continues, the head sustains and pops in fine bubbes. But its nothing to write home about with drinkability due to high carbo. Damned if this isn't a Metallic feel in my mouth a few minutes after drinking it. As it warms up it's light caramel as it warms up. Not bad, butI can see why it could be popular in NO. Though they surprisingly don't have it on tap. And I do wonder how long you could stay in business in Houston without having some Shiner on tap. Oh my, there is something like biscuits in that last draught. Oh well. I did session this puppy in an attempt to knock myself out on the flight, which didn't work of course. I look forward to trying more Abita stuff as I continue travelling to NO.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
