Live Blogging: Middle Ages Apricot Ale

Copped this one while I was in Buffalo.

State: Watching Dora the Explorer con bebe.

Middle Ages Apricot Ale

High carbo and moderate apricot and hops. Nice clear amber with thin white head. The beer has a decent toastiness to it. Very pleasant. Yum yum yum yum yum, deliciosa. 3 Stars.

Oktober in August

Maybe it's cooling down where you guys live, but it still was way over 100 degrees on the heat index here in Houston. We still have Hurricanes shooting the gap every week or so. But things like St. Arnolds Oktoberfest and Harvest Moon are appearing on the shelves. Those negros at St. Arn even tapped their Christmas Ale at the bars. And I'm seeing the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and I think a Winter warmer in the local HEB. WTF man. I'm still losing 7 pounds of water weight in 18 holes of golf.

But I am starting to go back to malty beers as I'm kinda of IPAing myself out. I think I've had enough of the hops, as I did an IPA tour at the Sauce recently and I've been trying beers like the Sierra Nevada Anniversary and the Southern Star (new shit). I would have reviewed those but they were out of a bottle/can. I'll get 'em later. You know its something serious when a 6 pack of Shiner Helles Lager was knocking me over with sweetness at our fantasy football draft last weekend. So we have tried a couple of pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests. Here's the first one I've been able to get into the blog.

Sam Adams Octoberfest

What's up with the "C", why not with a "K". I know these guys are patriots, but damn.

Copper color with a light tan head. Munich malt smell. Head has pretty good retention in this beer mug. (Eating spicy catfish and lemon ginger asparagus). Oh yeah. Kinda sweet like syrup, not caramely. Medium body, low hops (probably hallertau). Very well done again for Sammy. Kinda reminds me of the Shiner Helles Lager to be honest. Lower carbonation. 3 Stars. Maybe a touch of emptiness (wateriness) at the very end, which keeps it out of the 4 stars. Nice foil for this catfish. Granted, come late winter, I won't be talking much noise about Oktoberfests, as I'll need some warmers.

Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale (yesterday)

State: Eating pot roast with carrots and greens

A good friend of the family wanted to whip up some Sunday dinner and invited us along. Good stuff, as we had no plans. She knows we are a beering family, so she picks up some Pumpkin ale. Looks like apple cider. Low head that goes away fast. Very sweet smell, with remnants of cinnamon and pumpkin. I take a big sip and I notice its light body with lots of pumpkin and allspice. A little overwhelming for me. Low hops with a quick finish. Low carbonation. It's basically a pumpkin pie beer. Even has the light roasted malt near the back of the pallette, kinda like a browned pie crust. But I'm going to have to give this one a low 3 star. If they could dial the pumpkin pie back a little, I'd be in there. In this case, I'm looking for some subtly.

If I find my book, I'll go on and put in the St. Arn and Harvest Moon. Otherwise, I'm taking a 36 hour trip to Hotlanta and my grad school, Georgia Tech. It's a very quick turnaround but I'm going to try and squeeze in Sweetwater brewpub. We'll see. I'm a Ramblin, Gamblin hell of an Engineer, HEY!!!

Why Can't We Be Friends

If you don't know, War is the sh*t. Anyway, I've heard tell in the podcastosphere about two micro/medium sized breweries getting together to make a Belgian beer. I couldn't remember the name until I saw the bottle at Central Market.

May 11, 2008

Collaboration, Not Litigation Ale

State: Slight hungry

How cool is this? Avery and Russian River got together to make Salvation. And if I'm understanding the bottle correctly, they just both made the same Belgian style of beer and blended them. Gotta love friends. "Sticking together is what good waffles do."

It's cloudy with a dark copper color with an offwhite head. It's smells of slight citrus, fruit, and malt. Kinda like Leffe (who I say is the standard Belgian). It's full bodied and slightly gritty on the tongue. It's smoooooooooooth, malty with slight spice and low hops. There's no aftertaste, but I can tell that this beer is very complex. This one was Batch #2. Maybe by the time I taste Batch #3 or #4, I would be able to discern what's going on. We did at least drink it in a wine goblet. I start eating ribs and fries, and the beer tastes more sour as it warms up. I like it, and wish I could have more. But as I sit here offshore unloading my notebook, I really could use a fruity/sour Belgian right about now. Only 3 more days and a wake up.

Lake Placid Ubu Ale

This is apparently Placid's signature beer. They say they named the beer after the dog, Ubu. Well it's has weak smoked malt smell, dark brown with a light tan head. It's cloudy as well. It's bready on the first taste with malt coming second. I get the smoked malt (though light) with maybe some biscuits. It has medium carbonation with very low hops. The aftertaste is biscuity as well. As it warms (I love it when it warms) the aftertaste gets more bitter, though I could just be getting used to the malt. I'm having a hard time picking out the Ubu though.