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.
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.
Not to be confused with Thunderhead or Thunderbird beer. This nitro stout has a very long last head on top of a deep brown colored beer. Nose has a nice subtle roast/choco thing going on, maybe a touch of butter. Oh yeah man, I've got beer-stache. Mad creamy head is followed by a very smooth velvety beer. Nice and neat chocolate due to the malts and very thick body due to the oatmeal. I always have a very great impression of the first beer of the day and especially after a long run. It's funny, for the first time at Memo Park I used their fitness center locker room and shower facilities rather than dragging ass back home still sweaty. The place looks pretty old compared to something like an LA Fitness, but damned if this is not the ballz. You would think that when the Allen brothers discovered Houston, the first thing they built was the Memorial Park Fitness Center. I can do my long run, shower up, change clothes, and in a few minutes I'm in the Heights or downtown. Hell yeah baby. Back to the beer as it warms up, I just get even more of that great roast and chocolate. At 5% abv, this is a nice beer to have. High 3 stars.
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Don't remember if I ever formally reviewed this one. Ruby/brown color with a nice thin white head. Not much of a scent. Beer tastes like a vanilla/chocolate candy. One of those cheaper ones you get on halloween that your parents claim is the good shyt. As my palate gets used to the vanilla, I get something kinda thin and a little bit watery in the middle of the palate. I would say that I should have gotten this one first, as the fuller Oatmeal Stout just ran roughshod over the tongue here. Oh well. May as well just enjoy this puppy.
I'm one of those guys that thinks hot pepper beers are pretty much bad ideas, but here goes. Dark brown color and tan lasting head. Nose has choco and something like a hot pepper going on in there. Beer has a smokiness and harsh roastiness to it that basically overpowers the chipotle. Give this beer about 20 seconds after you down in and you'll get some of that pepper heat in the back. In all reality I think the Mikkeller boys tried to do too much here. Super hardcore smoke which has that light band-aid thing going on, and the roast, and the pepper burn. As you drink it, that chocolate and coffee are rather pleasent, it's just everything else is throwing it off for me. And now I'm getting that pepper heat in like the middle of my throat. Dude. And I'm one of those guys that puts cayenne on the hot taco McCormicks mix for even more kick. For this cacophony of foolishness that Mikeller has stricken us with, I'm going to have to skip the star rating and give this the Cowboy Curtis face. And to think Mikeller is typically the bomb. Oh well. If they just itznayed the pepper and black patent, we would be in there. And for 9 bucks too. Come on son.
So I'm weighing in a bit heavy after my trip to San Fran, so I'm back on the weight watchers band wagon. I had my dinner and I'm still hungry. I have several points still left, so how about some porter.
Beer Log: Right now
State: A little thirsty and light headed from my run earlier today
Picked this one up at the BevMo in San Francisco, the good one over on Van Ness. Big money baby. This beer comes in a can (that's right cans), so I'm fired up. Pour it into my dimpled pint glass and the beer is giving me more brown head than Pinky. The smell has a great chocolate, plum, roast, and almost that hard caramel imperial malt. I think there is a pinch of coconut in there, but it's a little hard to tell. Oh hell yeah. Nice smooth with low carbo, a great malt and chocolate with a nice roasty character on the aftertaste. Low balanced hops as well. I don't know how many calories are in this thing, but I'm giving it 4 WW points like the Anchor Porter, and giving it 4 stars as well. This thing is just a great porter, not all stouty and too thick. Maybe there is some coconut, but I'm not getting much of it. It's taking a lot of my will not to not SLAM this thing right now, go into the cabinets, put the other three cans on ice and slam them, then get on a plane to the Maui, open the fermenter, and dive in with a straw.
You know what. FIVE Stars for the Maui Coconut Porter. It was well worth the $12 for a fourpack.
So we went on this 7 day cruise with the family last month. It was one of those Carnival cruises that takes you to Gran Turks and Caicos and a couple of spots in the Bahamas. At first I didn't even plan on drinking beer at all on the cruise thinking that it would just be a BMC thing with maybe some Heineken. But damned if they didn't have plenty of Pilsner Urquell, Bodingtons, Grolsch, and Stella. Not exactly a Banana Nectarine Double Mocha CDA, but it'll due. I drank more Pilsner Urquell than I have probably PILSNER in general all my life (if you don't Miller Lite).
So after meandering around the caribbean, we finally make our way to Freeport. Basically this a great island which has plenty of nices homes and a lot of "the industry". I'm talking refineries , chemical plants, the works. Looked beautiful to me. Anyway they have this smallish outdoor mall like area selling all kinds of trinkets and whatnot, but I was mostly hoping to land on some of those lagers and stouts you here so much about.
The outdoor bars were selling Sands and Kalik at two bottles for 5 dollars. Both of which were pretty basic lagers, maybe a touch sweeter then the Pilsner Urquell, but not as much body. Great for the hot arse weather. And then we stumble on a little convenience store selling the stouts by the bottle. We grab a couple and head over to a Greek Restaurant of all places.
Beer Log: June 25, 2010 State: In Freeport, hot as all get-out
Royal Extra Stout (Carib brewery) I was a little hesitant about bringing my own beer into the restaurant, so I drank this out of the bottle in the paper bag. No scent or color. Super strong sugar syrup sweetness, some moderate chocolate as well. The Trinis made this one smooth that's a pinch astringent. The body is velvety and somehow dry at the same time. No real hop presence to speak of. I think this is sweetest beer I've ever had. Low 3 Stars.
Strong Back Stout by Bahamiam Brewery More balanced and beery (vegetal). Good hop presence buy not very stouty, at least compared to the Royal Extra Stout. Good refreshiness. With a pinch of chocolate and coffee, and even a slight citrus sourness, I'll give it a 3 Star.
Execellent caramel, cherry, sherry, chocolate nose. Slight visibility of the brown beer in the light, with strong creamy tan head. The beer taste is a light moderate body, nice chocolate/malt backbone, but a touch watery for me. But much better with the bison. Goes down smooth with a very quick finish, very low hop presence. It is at like 42 deg F, and knowing the British, this needs be around 60 deg F. So I'll chill out, finish my food, turn on the LeBron James show on ESPN, and try it again.
Fast forward an hour and this beer is much better and fuller at about 65 deg. I like smooth richness of the beer and how it all melds together with the chocolate and smokiness. Give it a high 3 Star.
Beer Log: Right Now State: A little drained dealing with the baby all day. Ready to eat some steak.
Santa Fe State Pen Porter Pours very smooth with a big poofy head. Nose is smokey, with some sweetness like cherries. Deep brown and cloudy if I can tell. Tan head. Tastes like the color black. Roasty and smokey flavor with a moderate bitterness (probably like bitter chocolate). Another couple slugs reveals a thick maltiness, kinda fruity. I'm enjoying it more and more as I drink it and it warms up a tad. Getting more malt and more cherry flavor. We had it at 42 deg F in the kegerator and I imagine it's at 55 deg F now. It goes splendidly with the wife's porter steak. High 3 stars. One time for Santa Fe coming strong.
I'm back on the weight watchers now that I've manage to gain about 8 lbs from my low a few months ago. Though I think this last measurement was too high because I didn't work out all week and we just ate out the whole time, but the scale doesn't lie. So I took it easy on the food today, went to town on some crystal light, and now have enough points for two more beers. Problem is, the wife is going to stay out all night (probably with her boyfriend), so I can't let 'er rip on the imperial beers anyway, baby and all.
...and much later on
Mama's Little Yella Pils A can of this Oskar Blues beer should work out well to round out the night. Very clear straw with a decent head. Looks pretty fizzy though. Has a basic "beer" smell, just a little stronger. In other words, kinda funky bitter, kinda sweet, kinda veggie: basically what the swill drinkers would call "beer smell". On the flavor, I get a stronger than expected malt, with some toastiness, followed by a nice dose of bitter hops, maybe German Noble hops. (Damn, Lynette's pregnant... watching Desperate Housewives finale on DVR). Carbo is not too strong, but there is some level of ickiness bitterness in the aftertaste. Basically take your basic pilsner and dial everything a few notches. But not quite in a good way like an Imperial Pilsner. I do like that toastiness in there, it's almost a little nutty. And the body is not too thin. (Come on Susan get the hell outta there! That Tin Man is a bad MFer). I'll give this beer a solid 3 Star as the aftertaste eases up the more you drink it. Even in my tall pilsner glass. I can't see myself getting another sixer of this one but it does remind me of this little number. Dammit Latifah, did you have to get that reduction? We loved you the way you were.
I’m sitting here watching the Tudors on DVR drinking on a Heineken Dark Lager. Man I was truly rooting for Mr. Aske and the boys, fully knowing through history that the rebellion against King Henry the VIII was not going to succeed. Anyway, I’m re-introducing myself into civilian life after taking the PE exam. If I pass the test, you’ll know. If I don’t pass, this blog will turn from a beer appreciation and beer hunter blog to more of “a confessions of a crying grown man”.
Anyway, let’s clear out the old notebook of beer travels.
First off this beer I had 3 months ago, I forgot to write the name down. It could have been the beer we traded for with the guys in Virginia, or just something we picked up at Specs. Maybe yah can figure it out.
Beer Log: January 26, 2009 Dark copper color and very clear with a very strong light tan head. Nose is bready, fruity, with plum/alcohol accent. It’s kinda bitter and bready with a nice balance of light syrup malt. Has a nice medium yet filling body. Very drinkable. I’ll call it a rounded beer. High 3 Stars
I’m thinking this is something like a strong bock.
January 30, 2009 Dominion Baltic Porter Got this one with a trade with a guy from Virginia. I let the Misses set it up. Brown and ruby in the light. Tan head. Smells of malt and coholate with maybe touch of alcohol. Excellent strong malt, lightly roasty and medium-full bodied. Very low hops. Quick finish . 4 Star body baby, and a high 4 Star beer. If I ever get my hands on it again, I may give it the 5. Dominion did it just right with this winter seasonal. Malt bill is just off the imperial level with a caramel, chocolate, toffee, and licorice flavor as it warms.
Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout The dawgs came on strong with a drak brown beer with a strong tan head. The nose is HIGH alcohol and serious caramel and toffee. WOW BEER. It’s a monster malt beer that is not imperial either. It’s kind of like they forgot to put the hops in there. Take some wort and add vodka. Force carbonate it up and call it good. 4 Stars.
We interrupt this lovefest with Atlanta to review a beer that has been sitting in our kegerator for some time.
Sam Adams Holiday Porter "Shouldn't that be Christmas Porter Mr. Adams?" I'm sitting here watching the Heisman and the baby is doing well, so why not crack open a Christmas beer before I head out for offshore tomorrow. Pours deep mahogany with a seriously thick tan head that is taking its sweet time going down. My nose doth detect honey, chocolate, light coffee, and cinnamon. There could be a citrus/piney hops note in there as well. The head is so thick and has such consistency that I have watched the entire Heisman trophy trailer. Wow, taste is surprisingly not all that. I get a medium bodied porter with that is a touch too hopped up. It's not IPA, but that citrus and biting hop is not what we were looking for. It's rather citrusy with moderate carbonation. Oh lord, all the Heisman guys listen to Kenny Chesney. This beer does not work for me. I think I'm tasting some chocolate powder as opposed to chocolate or roasted malt. The lighter body is nice, but it's a low 3 Star. Rather disappointing for me.
November 10, 2008 State: Devouring leftovers in the fridge, a small taco, one Cajun grilled tilapia, and a small ear of corn.
Stone Smoked Porter Dark brown and opaque. Seriously strong tan head. Nice chocolate and malt on the nose as I wait for the head to die down. I'm doing the "Guiness" pour, where you pour harshly, let the head settle, and pour again. Not getting much in the "smoke" department on the flavor. Just smooth not overly harsh roasted malt. I get a bit of grittiness left on the tongue with a medium hop bitterness on the aftertaste. I really like the way the hops blends well with this one for a good balance. I was hoping for something "bigger" from Stone, but I guess expectations can do that to you. I've only had a couple slugs, so let me blog about some other beers I had last night while this one warms up. It's still cold from the fridge you see.
Beer Log November 9, 2008 For the first time in my life, I gave up my tickets to an NFL football to go to an MLS Futbol Game. The Texans suck so much balls right now it's just hard to get up for it. The Dynamo were playing the New York Red Bulls for the aggregate in the playoffs. You here that, playoff futbol in Houston!!! They tied in the first meeting, so basically whoever won this game wins the playoffs. To make a long story short, the Dynamo were run off the field. NY looked like the fricken Brasilian National Team on us. To boot, the Texans got murdered by the Ravens with our QB throwing 4 GD interceptions. Our pre/post Dynamo game tradition is to go up to the Flying Saucer for some beers. It's Sunday which means all Texas pints are $2.75. I notice that I had not formally reviewed any Southern Star beers, and they had two new ones on tap.
Southern Star Logger Finally get to try this one from the newest Brewery in the Houston area. Kinda cloudy, yet with a straw color. It smells kind of vegetaly, which is what I expect from a lager, but then I get some cardboard smell. First thing I notice is basic Germanish hops on the aftertaste. Another draught and I get the light sweet malt. I think it could be a pilsner style. I notice a grit on my tongue. Never cool. Basically, I didn't notice the malt on the first sip as it only lasts a split second. It has more flavor than a Bud, but I'm putting this at 2 star. The flavors don't mesh well at all. It's like the worst part of munich and the worst part of hops. Sorry man. My friend was dissing this one the whole time.
Southern Star Rauchbier My first smoked beer I think I've had in a long time. Greatly looking forward to this. It comes out crystal clear with a small white head. What the hell, I expected it to be pitch black. And dammit this thing smells like a ham sandwich. That is probably the absolute LAST thing I expected to smell on a beer. The kicker: I HATE HAM, Bacon, pepperoni, salami, and sausage. (yet I love pork ribs and pork chops, go fig). I took one swig and it tasted like ham and water. I was ready to chalk this one up on the spot, but my friend insisted that we have to finish this thing. He said I had to be a man and finish the beer I had. We had one of our homegirls at the table, so I had to show up. I visibly suffered the whole time while choking this one down. The more i drank it, the more I thought they dry hopped this with Bacon bits. There is NOTHING more wrong in this world than bacon bits. I don't see why the waitress didn't just garnish it with bacon bits. I saw it had only 3 reviews on beeradvocate that averaged out to a B-. I think all three of them had it at the Flying Saucer like I did. This is a damn shame and if there ever was a 1 Star beer, this one is it.
I love the creativity that Southern Star is bringing to the Texas game, and who knows, this may be a huge hit with the swine lovers. $5 says it wins an award at the GABF. Southern Star is well on it's way to being one of our more creative Texas micros with this pork beer and the really hoppy Pine Belt Pale Ale. The thing about creativity, sometimes it works, and sometimes people look at you like you're a circus freak. But I'm glad they are nearby, which means every new creation they push out will be in Houston first. Good luck fellas. Lay off that pig.
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA My friend and I decided we had to make an audible and go with something other than Texas beer. I just needed that Bacon flavor out of my mouth. And I needed a Westcoast IPA to make it happen. My friend got a Westmalle. Amber color, strong hops that are flowery and citrus. Yes sir! Creamy white head. The taste is a strong malt followed by a strong hops. I'm thinking maybe Cascade and some other hops. It's not overwhelming but this one got the job done. 3-4 Star.
Back to today... What made it so bad is that I still tasted some of that pork in my mouth all night.
Stone Smoked Porter, now warmer Now there's some of that smoke. This beer is maybe in its 50s instead of upper 30s when I first tried it. The grittiness on the tongue is still there after you drink it down, but this one is so smooth you don't even care. Nice low carbonation. Very good. The maltiness comes in very well. I'm going to refrian from calling this a 4 Star beer, as I think the Sam Adams Black Lager is really the ticket. I just walked away from it to eat some corn. I come back and it's even better. 4 Stars man. Don't even put this one in the fridge. This one would be a little better with a touch more mouthfeel, but I'll keep it at a low 4 Star.
Well I finally decided to do some brewpubbing in my own durn city. We have a few beer bars with The Sauce having the best selection, but as gas prices are still kinda high, I can't pick up and drive 20 miles in town just for some brown ale. There is a national chain brewpub that is on the Northwest suburban side of town, not too far from the house.
I had not been pushing to get to this brewpub with the thought that it's a national chain which should mean it sucks right? I mean, the most publicized beers are not all that good, so a successful chain brewpub would mean that it's beer are tempered down to have some sort of mass appeal? WRONG! I will be making a trip to BJ's probably every time I go up that way for a littel golf. What's this, I have a tee time tomorrow on that side of town? Another round at BJ's after the tournament? Oh yeah.
Anyway, we got there on a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. The wife decided to chill so I went to the bar for my first beer. Seeing as how it is so god-awful hot outside, I needed something cool and light to get things started...
Harvest Hefeweizen (draft) Orangish-yellow, low white head with a little lace. Banana and fruit smell going on. The taste kind of reminds me of banana and bread, lightly though. It's a little sweet as well. Medium carbonation that is a little choppy, if that makes sense. But it's very refreshing. The drinkability is only moderate, so it's a little tough to get down. The mouthfeel is okay, but I like my hefs to have a touch more thickness. But it works for the heat. Great start. Didn't write a star rating in my book, so I'll try it again later.
Brewhouse Blonde (a kolsch) got to the table and decided to stay on the cooler side of things, so I copped the kolsch. Light gold color but very clear with only a little bit of head. Very bready taste with a medium-full body. Cool and very smooth. Low-medium carbonation, but has a good nonharsh fizziness. (Eating Garlic cheese breadsticks). The food is a good compliment. You'll get more of the bitterness as it warms up slightly. This one would be great for tailgating. Probably one of the better kolsches I've ever had. 3 Stars.
PM Porter (BBQ Chicken Pizza) I'm trying to remember to incorporate beer and food, so I take the menu's advice and order the porter with bbq chicken. The beer is opaque and dark brown with a low tan head. Maybe slight maltiness on the nose. The beer is smooth and full bodied with low carbonation, and kind of chocolaty. This is a NICE compliment with the BBQ sauce they used for the pizza. Low hops on the aftertaste. A nice 3 star beer. As it warms, I'm getting more smoke and more bitterness. Nice.
All in all a great experience. Nice family restaurant, which is good b/c the baby was making some noise. Nice ambiance and settings. They have several more beers on tap that I'll have to try next time. I don't think they brew on site, but I'll take it.
Well, I made it off the platform and have decided to stop in Lafayette while letting the Tropical Storm make its way north of I-10. No sense in driving in this mess if I don't have to. A little Googling reveals a chain of restaurants called Zea Rotisserie and Grill. Turns out they get their beer brewed out of the Heiner Brau brewery. It's not exactly a brewpub, but it's close e-damn-nough. I have some time before I'm going to see my cousin who works out of Lafayette, so I make my way to Zea.
The decor is nice, and it feels great getting out of the heat. The menu has four microbrewed beers available with suggestions for food pairings. I would like to take their advice, but screw that, I make up my own pairing lunch.
Zea Amber Lager
State: starving, haven't had a beer in over 2 weeks, ordered Hummus with Pita bread.
I figured hummus would go well with the amber lager, and I loved it. It could have been that I hadn't had a drink in over 2 weeks, but the beer was great. It served as an excellent foil with hummus, in that both the food and the beer tasted like the first bite/sip throughout the whole experience. They brought it out in a bottle with a frosted pilsner glass. It has a nice bready malt scent with a little caramel in there, almost syrupy when the head vanishes. Brown/red in color and clear. Light malt taste, medium body, and medium bready taste on the aftertaste. Low carbonation (excellent) yet I'll say moderately drinkable. The hummus is excellent. I was thinking this stuff tastes like purity law beer , and sure enough it is. Very well done. High 3 stars. It's the next day and I still want this one again.
When I say purity law, I am referring to the German law that beer can only have barely, yeast, water, and hops. Beer brewed in this style is typically very clean, very crisp, and very good pure beer. As much as I like the creativity of guys like Dogfish, Sam Adams, etc, there is something to be said for a brewery that puts all its energy in the four basic ingredients. It's great craft beer without the cloves, cinnamon sticks, raissonettes, rice, cane, ubu, watermelon, blood, chicken feathers, wine, candy sugar etc.
Category 5 American Pale Ale
The aptly named Pale Ale was something I was looking forward to since walking in. I order this with one of the signature Rotisserie chicken dishes (that says spicy on the menu). Another bottle with a frosted pilsner glass. Low head with my vigorous pour. Similar color as the last beer. There is a light maltiness on the nose (hmm no hops). I can taste the Cascade bite hops late, but it's kinda unbalanced. A little icky on the aftertaste as well. I don't know if they should have used Cascade by itself. The Rotis Chicken has arrived. The beer tastes a little better and balanced as it warms up a bit (figures). Near the end it got much better, but the chicken wasn't all the spicy, though very very good. Probably Munich specialty malt, which is what I think the other one had in it. It's basically like the amber lager, but with Cascade. At 45 degrees, it's a 3 star. At bone chilling cold, they can keep it.
The waitress convinced me to get the bread pudding for desert, and I ordered their...
Pontchartrain Porter
Another frosted glass. Not much of a smell, but I did notice that inside of the glass was COATED with bubbles. Means they did not rinse this glass thoroughly, and the soap residue probably killed the head on this one. It's dark brown and tastes like a dark Munich malt with low hops. Not much of a compliment to the bread pudding, which was very sweet. In fact, it was a bad idea to order any desert with this one. I won't give this one a rating just yet, as I had it with the bread pudding, and it just overwhelmed whatever flavor was in the Porter. Lord knows I'll be in Louisiana enough to try it again.
Overall, the place was fantastic. Food was great, beer was pretty good. I'm hope to try it again with some other food, and maybe they'll have some seasonals. Seems like Munich malt is their house specialty malt. Cool beans. I was a little miffed that they kept bringing out frosted glasses, but I can understand the marketing, as it is hot as balls out there, and cold beer is just what the doctor ordered.
Oh yeah baby. If you are tired of partying in Houston, you can party it up in Austin Texas. This is the town that did not take on the cultural conservatism of the rest of Texas, although Houston's midtown/Montrose area is trying to catch up. So the wife and I make a 36 hour trip to Austin for our third anniversary, and we have mapped out a beertinerary to include a few brewpubs, and beer bars to cover the microbrews.
As we made our way up 290, couldn't help but notice quite a few guys riding Harleys, with long beards, confederate flag helmets, or no helmets at all. There were more of them the closer we got to Austin, and we later found out there was a Republic of Texas Biker Rally going on that same weekend. Fan-effing-tastic. That pretty much ruled out all of downtown, and we thanked our lucky stars that stayed a few miles out. Not that I think the bikers would have tried to kick my ass, but I knew that all the major hangouts on Sixth Street would be jam packed. So we had to skip Lovejoys, and just kinda did the perimeter of the city. Oh it's real.
The first brewpub we hit got rave reviews in the Southwest Brewing News, Uncle Billy's Brew and Que. We sat on the patio in the early evening. They had a great set up for valet parking, and a great food. The waitress did not know what a milk stout was, but who outside of a the beer nerds would know that anyway. We copped the flight of the beers they brewed on tap, and went for it. All beers were in those "gentlemen" glasses, about 5 ounces. We decided to go with flights as we don't get to Austin so much with the baby.
June 13, 2008
State: hungry, pretty warm outside, feeling good and looking over my shoulder as the bikers are showing up.
Back 40 Blonde Ale
Straw colored with a light hops smell. The only thing that gets me about flights is that you don't get as much head as with a regular beer, and your pallet can get jacked up, especially if it's all bitters like Wharf Rat in B-more. Back 40 did have a nice white head. On first draught, I got the medium body, light hops and carbonation. Very little aftertaste. I leaves a velvety feel in my mouth. It tasted a bit maltier with my bbq pulled pork. That swine be callin me.
Agave Wit
their seasonal brew. Lace white head, kinda belgian smell, you know fruity and sour. Straw colored and opaque. It had a full body, and I could taste the clove right away, with high fine carbonation. It's kind of tequilaish, and I'm not feeling it. There is some sweetness in here, but overall it's a bit overwhelming for me. The wife then told me that agave is what they use in tequila, so there you have it.
Organic Amber
Dark brown, white head, smells like chocolate. It has a strong choco flavor and velvety smooth mouthfeel. I'm going to call this roasted malt with medium carbonation and low hops. This one got a WOW from me, but the choco goes away the more you drink it. I think the agave was still messing with me, though I kept eating and drinking water inbetween beers.
Bitchin' Camero
Another special beer that's not always on tap. It's on the "Special Hop Tap" Dark red with low head. A good scrong hops smell. Strong to medium hop bite and high on the carbonation. Low malt. The beer has a quick finish which is always nice. I'm still not quite there with this one either. I imagine this is an English style judging by the bitterness, though I could be wrong.
Axe Handle Pale Ale
Oh yeah. Let's get hoppy. Orange pale color, white head and stronger hop smell than the Bitchin' Camero. But it smells kind of musty. But dammit that joint is bitter with a bready finish, high carbonation. This is for real stuff. Lingering hops aftertaste. I have to take a break now. It's a good thing the waitress told me to try this one after the BC.
Smokehouse Porter
On the Special Dark and Malty Tap. Deep brown and opaque, tan head. Smells of biscuits, coffee, and roasted malt. This is what the heck I'm talking about here. Chocolate flavor with low carbonation, tastes of coffee and toffee. Full body with low hops, and a great regular (probably crystal malt) malt to go along with it. This one is going great with the bbq. FTR, the BBQ was a sweet sauce, not tangy.
So this was a very good experience overall, my rankings for these beers are:
6. Agave Wit
5. Organic Amber, yes I said wow, but further tastes show it was just the Agave talking
4. Bitchin Camero
3. Back 40 Blonde Ale, yes I put the blonde ahead of the pale ale
2. Axe Handle Pale Ale.
and the best beer...
1. Smokehouse Porter. this was just perfect with the bbq, even though it was warm outside. Well done Uncle Billy's
I've taken a couple days off from tasting, as I'm getting ready for a Marathon, which I probably will be too beat up to run, but the wife did have a bottle of some Vanilla Porter in there. She really really hated it, claiming waaaaay too much vanilla. What's up with these guys and the damn vanilla. First the Winter's Cask and Ale, and now this. Well, with a bias from the wife, I'm going in there.
Breckenridge Brewer's Vanilla Porter A gorgeous deep dark brown color, with a tan strong head. I'm getting excited about this 'un. Coffee and light chocolate on the smell. I gave it a vigorous pour, so I'm smelling a little malt in there. First thing I'm getting is that it's kind of grainy on my tongue, not cool. Coffee and choco on the flavor with the rudimentary roasted malt. It' actually kinda hoppy with full-medium body. I don't know what the hell my wife was thinking, but the vanilla is not too bad. Oh yeah, I'm drinking it very cold. And now it has warmed up, and there's the vanilla and plenty of it. Here's the problem, the whole time I drank it my face was a bit cringed, and didn't relax until I finished it. It's that graininess. Not the best porter out there.
