Two New 5 Star Beers...

I rarely give the distinction of a 5 Star beer. I define a 5 Star beer as a beer the defines why we are doing this whole beer thing at all. Defines why we are doing what we are doing.

I was sitting at Watson's on the westside of Houston waiting forever for my Guinness. I was the only son of a b8tch that wore green today, but at least Watson's had a ton of St. Patrick's day themed stuff, like Guinness beads, 4 leaf clover beads, some live band, green decor, and the waitresses has green gear on and were smoking hot. I felt like Tiger Wood's out there.

So I got the Guinness and found it just way too dry for the weather. I downed it and I took my wife's advice and got a Sam Adams Nobel Pils. The way the various hops cut through that Guinness and the carbonation hit my tongue just right, it made me think, is this one of the best beers I've ever had? It was so good that I am highly considering getting a keg of it to put in my kegerator. I NEVER do that with any beer, and I want to do it now. This beer is so awesome that I have to change it from a 4 star to a 5 star beer. The Sam Adams boys just nailed it, BIG TIME. And it's so ironic that of all the far out styles Boston Beer is hitting us with, that a simple strong Pilsner is their best beer in the world of the Beerbrotha. Just. Awesome.

And since we're adding beers to the 5 Star list, I cannot forget the cocaine-like character of a very hoppy and very malty with a pinch of chocolate: Oskar Blue's Gordon Ale. The ONLY beer I make it a point to pick up whenever I'm at Specs. I can't get enough of it. I've walked by so many Allagashes, Avery's, and Dogfish to get this OBGA. The Oskar boys are showing their naked ass with this beer. Unbelievable.

Alright, I guess I need to do my bracket. Holla.

BJ's New Seasonal

I'm sitting here drinking a Magic Hat Howl (kinda dry, chalky, a nice choco, pretty thin though, low 3 star) fantasizing about the girls from the Slate DoubleX Podcast and footdragging on my NCAA Bracket. Turns out Oasis is a new seasonal amber from BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse.

Beer Log: this past Saturday
State: A little full and chilling out, chomping on their Pulled pork BBQ sandwich

Oasis Amber
Nice to see the black man is coming in with some new beer. Their Grand Cru was so awesome. Amber color and clear, no head. Toasty malt nose, which is what I like in my ambers. The beer tastes alright. Has an english muffin and light hops thng. I'm getting some lemon flavor as I keep drinking it. Moderate carbonation and smooth. High 2 Star.

The wife says this beer is meant for the masses, smart move. It will keep the lights on, but will not win you many points with the beer community.

Beer Log: Right Now

State: Chilling out, eating a burger

Widmer 84 09 Double Alt, 25th Anniversary

Dark color with a very thin head. Sugary caramel sweet nose with a dose of chocolate powder. Very smooth, low carbo, good notes of chocolate, malt, and low hops. May be b/c of the age that everything is mellow. We've had this one for many many months. Has some alcohol on the new couple sips with my Saint Arnold winter stout burgers. I like the quick finish, very quick. I'm trying to remember the last time I had an alt, but I alt have another sip. It's like a strong brown ale without any of the cloyingness. Perfect for the bock season. 4 Stars for Widmer's 25th Anniversary.

Moylan's has its work cut out for it.

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial IPA

Well I love hops, and I'm okay about popsickles. But this one is orangish amber in color, has a poofy white head. Nose is a rathercitrus hops as I turn on the DVR of 24. Great citrus hop character. Plenty of hops in this thing, with probably some orange. Damn that orange is coming through in the aftertaste. And President Hassan's daughter could get it, big time. They have such hot arabic/persian women on this show. The moderately carbonated beer gets a 4 star from me. Two four stars in one night, a rarity.

Ok, now I'm rooting for the Black College Arkansas Pine Bluff against those chumps from Winthrop in the play-in game. PB is up by 11, and I'm loving life right now. Pine Bluff has won the game, fantastic. Black power baby. I'm going to down a Bohemia and walk away.

Dogfish Red and White

I didn't write it down, but how could I forget it. A couple days ago we were munching on some grilled pork and waffle fries, and the wife cracks open the Dogfish Head Red and White. We get this in bomber form, and we let it age for a few months. The beer pours a reddish amber with little head. The nose is a great wheat beer. On the flavor, it actually tastes like the colors red and white. You get a grape juice character, intermingled with a coriander, banana, and orange flavor. The perfect amalgamation of a smooth witbier and a robust red wine. Man that is just COOL man. Dogfish is just hitting us with such great beer we don't know what to do. Looking forward to swimming with the dogfish when we make it up to the Maryland area this June. 4 Stars.

Great Article About Oliver on The Root

Sorry for not posting. I was busy beering it up on some hardcore sour beer over my birthday weekend, and I am consequently sick today. Anyway, I'm sitting here in the guest bedroom waitng for the Nyquil to kick in, and I noticed this article on The Root. The Root.com is basically a black newspaper website sponsored by the Washington Post. I rarely read it, but they've got a great article today. Maybe they'll get me on there next as a major black beer blogger..

Garrett Oliver: The Black Man Who Knows What’s on Tap
America’s only black brewmaster wants you to stop thinking of beer as just a “cold one.”

Garrett Oliver wasn’t looking to start a revolution; he just wanted a good beer.
Oliver’s interest is not so unusual by today’s standards, when high–caliber, micro-brewed beer can be found at convenience markets, and nearly every major city can tout a craft brewery as a local icon. But Oliver’s quest began in the mid-‘80s, when the beer landscape in America was a veritable wasteland.

It hasn’t escaped Oliver’s attention that he is the only black brewmaster in America. His enthusiastic ramble slows a bit when the subject of why there are so few black beer geeks comes up. He attributes some of it to class issues. “So many of us are just getting to mainstream economic status,” he said. “Activities of genuine leisure won’t be far behind.”

The genuine leisure Oliver refers to isn’t drinking beer, which doesn’t require much of an investment, it is travel. He figures most beer fanatics caught their passion in Europe. “Just look at how few Americans have their passport [even generous estimates put it at one in three]; it’s even worse in the African-American community.”

He also noted the success of Heineken’s marketing campaign toward the African-American community. “Heineken is like a Cadillac,” he said, noting that it’s a good car but that people who treated it as a great car were showing what they don’t know as much as what they know. Oliver expects that in a generation, black craft beer brewmasters will begin to mirror the African-American presence in the population at large.

Click the link to read more...

A Pale Ale

Beer Log: Right now
State: Cleaning the kitchen

Moylan's Tipperary Pale Ale
Clear amber color with slightly tan somewhat bubbly head. Has a good caramel malt to the smell. Moderate hops with a good caramel malt. I get hints of chocolate somewhere in there. This one is just a notch above the stronger ambers I've had. Kind of a good break from all the Imperial beer I've been knocking down. Beer has an icky hop taste to it now. Kinda funky, a little bready now. Low 3 Stars.

Hey it's kegging time on the homebrew.

The Southern Tier Boys Never Dissappoint

Reddish orange in color with an orangish creamy head. Sweet caramel malt and piney hops on the nose. Oh I needed that. We're talking a strong caramel and raisiny malt just slightly overbalanced on the malt, but the hops make an appearance in the back of the palette. It's more of a barley wine than an Imperial IPA, but who the hell buys barley wine. 4 Stars for the Southern Tier Unearthly IPA.

So it turns out my birthday is this Saturday, my 30th birthday. And I must getting simpler as I get older. All my other birthdays I tried to invite everyone I've ever known for a cookout, beer, and maybe some UFC. Now I may still do all that, but Don Taylor is perfectly happy smoking cigars and drinking high quality beer with some of the boys at Downing Street at night with 18 holes of golf that morning. Otherwise, I'm just going to renovate my wardrobe a JA Bank and leave it alone. Must be old age.

As an added bonus to my birthday week, I made it to the AHA Rally at St. Arnold's Newery just north of downtown Houston last Sunday. Oh so sweet. This place was very spacious, with a drinking room that was lightly but tastefully decked out in brick and cream walls. Has the space to be a killer beer hall. The kettles provided the perfect backdrop. Brock Wagner himself did a one room tour. I bought a couple SA glasses which I used to drink the Spring Bock. I walked around waiting for someone to start speaking. But there was no agenda at all. I just chatted it up with the Foam Ranger boys and the Defalco's guys, as well as some other beer enthusiasts. And you could drink all the beer you wanted until 3PM. Now THAT'S A DAMN POLITICAL RALLY. You pay your money to join, then you drink beer as much beer as you can stomach until they kick you out. If the Tea Parties had this one, I would be right up there with Sarah Palin.

Had to cancel my trip to Toronto (sad face) as the job is more important and my projects come to a head right when I would be on my 5th pint at Volo. So I sent the email today to back out. (crying face). To make things better, I've resolved to drink Imperial IPA for the rest of this week, as I have a LOT of it and the wife doesn't like it. So that's a bomber a night all to myself. Should be fun. Thursday night we'll hit the Saucer and probably Downing Street. If I can get box seats to the rodeo, I'll check that out on Friday night. Saturday and Sunday I'll just visit some friends and relax.