Let us Blog: Mortality Stout

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

Beer Log: Right now

State: Watching Dragon Ball Z Kai with the baby

Reaper Ale Mortality Stout

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

Schlafly Biere De Garde

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

Beer Log: Right now

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

Schlafly BDG

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

UCLA at UH Live Blog and Beer

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

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

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

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

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

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

Down goes Prince. Down goes Prince!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dogzilla; what kind of nose is that

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

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

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

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

A Full Nelson...

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

State: A little thirsty and tired

Beer Log: Right now

Widmer Nelson Imperial IPA

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

Pepe Nero Quick Review

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

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

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