Grand Cru for the Grand Win

How bout them Houston Texans. One time for TJ Yates, Wade Phillips, Kubes, and the boys. So let's get a grand cru for the big win against the Dirty Birds.

Beer Log: Right now

State: Chilling out, voice and headache still recovering from the game, eating Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust

Green Flash Grand Cru

Pours a coco brown with a quickly dissipating head. The smell has roasted almonds and cherries. Taste is much the same, with plenty of caramel malt and something akin to oats (though a thin body). As it warms I get more of the hot alcohol and pepper. The beer seemed to congeal very well as it is complex yet very simple. More it warms I get that light roasty almond, something like bourbon, and low hop bitterness. Goes down very easy with its light carbonation, and if it wasn't for that alcohol coming out of it, you could accidentally drink a lot of this one. 4 stars.

Let's get some Draak

Beer Log: Right now

State: Just finished eating, had a Shiner Holiday Cheer as a warmup

Gulden Draak Vintage Ale 2010 by Br. Van Steenberge

Got this one some time last year. Looking forward to this one. Mmm, pours syrup sweet. Kinda like maple syrup, but the cheap stuff that just has "Syrup" on it. The beer seems to have a lot of carbonation coming out of this dark ruby colored beer. Oh but the taste. It starts out with a brown sugar and candy apple. Don't get used to the flavor when it is on your tongue, as it goes away fast. From there I'm left with something like chalk on my tongue and a slight dark cherry. The beer finishes very dry and leaves you wanted more.

Low hops (dare I say no hops?) or bitterness. Body is a little thin for my taste otherwise, not to mention that I get something like a vegetal sense (maybe they mixed in some pilsner malt). The finish is good at first but degrades and leaves you feeling a little off for drinking it. It's kind of like dating the hot young girl. It's fun at first but you know she leaving you in like 6 weeks and you'll have a hefty credit card bill waiting on you. Low 3 stars.

Dammit that IS a dragon with a Santa hat. I didn't know what that was at first, but it looks pretty badass now.

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.

Some Time out for Matilda

Beer Log: Right now
State: A little upset, sitting outside on the porch with a bowful of grapes, an unlit champagne cigar, and my Good Morning Heartache Pandora channel.

So it was an ok day today, and I'm looking forward to a long unplugged vacation. To chillax, I'm going to enjoy a bottle of the Matilda I smuggled back from Chicago.

Matilda
Light hazy tinged amber color with a low head. I get a bouquet of flowers, lillies, lilacs, and so forth in the nose. Some great sourness as well, like jolly ranchers. Beer has a nice set up in the taste, a moderate sourness but not overpowering, followed by a light candy sweetness, some passion fruit thing, and then a mild yet noticeable hop tinge. A perfect medley of flavors that are not quite put together yet. Kinda like a fresh wine before they aged it for 30 years. And actually, I love that sometimes more than the fully aged version. Beer finishes nice and crisp and dry, leaving memories of it's goodness on your tongue well after you drink it. 4 stars for the Goose Island 2011 Vintage.

Saint Arnold Altared Amber

Here at Pub Hub out here in Katy. Feeling good that I didn't have to drag so much ass to the inner loop for this beer. For those not in Houston, the Movable yeast series is a series of beer from Saint Arnold where they take their regular line-up of beers with the same malt and hops bill, but with different yeast. The first one I found OK, the Lawnmower with a German Hef yeast.

Beer log: Right now

Saint Arnold Amber

Nice toasty amber ale flavor. The aroma is a touch more metallic than I remember. High carbo out of the bottle, good and tingly. Light moderate hop aftertaste. Has a nice amber color to it, maybe some chill haze but that could be from just bottle storage and whatnot. I always like that English Muffin thing and whatnot.

Saint Arnold Altared Amber

Finally. Ooh that's a nice clear amber color (on draft) with a strong belgian clove and banana nose. Taste is rather belgiany. The American hops with the belgian ester yeast flavor kinda reminds me of those American-Belgo IPA I like so much, just toned down a little bit. Very tasty. Has a nice mixture with the harsh hops and whatnot that sits well on some sips and not so well on others. The body is a touch smoother and the carbo is a little less choppy, but of course that could be attributed to the difference b/t draft and bottle. I lose some of the English muffin and malt character that I get with the unaltered amber until the beer warms up. I would consider the regular Amber of this one if I had to choose which one they continued to keep in rotation.

I'll need to grab a bottle somewhere, but it seems like a stronger version of (dare I say it) Stella Artois. Getting a sampler of Stella right now...

Stella Artois
Crystal clear and simple. Oh no, not even close. Tastes like the Budweiser Movable Yeast series. I can see the belgo influence in Stella, but it won't work. Forget I mentioned it.

Overall impression: I still find it amazing that yeast has THAT much affect on a beer. If someone told me they put some clove in this beer, I would have believed it. 3 Stars for both the regular and altared ambers, though I prefer the regular amber. Keep 'em coming baby.

Live blogging from the iPad: Allagash

Screw that damn ipad. I'm on my Dell now. It wouldn't let me type in the screen. Just got back from San Fran on Sunday and I absolutely loved it. Speaking of today, I just finished an Abita Fall Fest and did not care for it. Too metallic for me. Anyway, let's finally crack open some of that Allagash I've got in the house

Beer Log: Right now
State: Hanging out with the wife and kid, a little HDNet Fights on the tube.

Allagash BLACK: Huge head on a sour smelling beer Nice and dark amber with big tan head (no homo). The nose has notes of plum, brown sugar, and caramel malt, and some roasted notes. We had this in our regular fridge and took it out of the fridge for about 20 minutes to give it a good sweating. The taste is a strong bitterness not necessarily from the hops, but kind of like a bitter root flavor going on. Like if you mess around and added too much cinnamon to your oatmeal. Second sip hits us with a nice brown sugar and malt, much better. I like the soft yet crisp nature of the beer. It's very drinkable and leaves a nice roasty/coffee flavor on the tongue. High 3 Stars for the combo belgian style stout.

As soon as I can get those damn beer reviews off the ipad, I'll go ahead and post my adventures in beer in San Francisco.

Beering in Atlanta: 5 Seasons

Finally making it up to the 5 Seasons in northern Atlanta, right near the perimeter. They say this is the best brewpub in the ATL, but we shall find out. I thought I would be beering solo, but I have a co-worker and his lady friend from his days in high and college.

5 Seasons was not all that packed when I showed up a 6:00ish. It was nestled away in yet another one of those uber-high class shopping/restaurant/bar areas. Very nice soft decor with a massive projector with ESPN on. I belly up to the bar and strike up some convo with a guy rocking a Thrashers Jersey. I'm a Carolina Hurricanes man myself, so it was good hockey talk, though I don't really keep up until playoffs. I count 5 taps directly in front of me with another 4 on another side of the bar. I figure let's just get a 12 ouncer to get us started while we wait.



Beer Log: December 9, 2008
State: Waiting on the folks to show up, not eating right now

Chug Monkey Cream Ale
Got it in a pint glass on draft. Straw colored and very clear with a white creamy head. My nose doth detect the caramel notes of what I think is munich malt. The first draught I notice medium carbonation and a moderate amount of bread. There is an icky hop flavor late in the taste but dammit it works out very well. If there was a lighter beer I need to have in the house, this would be it, hands down. High 3 Star.

I'm actually a little fired up for this brewpub.

I knock back the monkey (that didn't come out right) and decide to go for a sampler of the other beers on tap, and then round out the night with the Belgians.

Hopgasm IPA
Sounds interesting and a little bit sexual. White head sitting on top of an orange beer. Very . There is a strong citrus and flower hop thing going on with the scent. I wrote in my book "OMG". Excellent balance, but not as strong as hoppy as the smell suggests, probably a good thing in Atlanta. In fact its almost pale ale ish. The quick finish is very nice. The more I sip it the more that citrus is coming out along with a slight hoppy aftertaste, along with a hint of pine. 3 Stars.

Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Whoever is naming these beers probably needs to watched by the sex offender database. Chocolate and RUM smell coming off of this one. There is a good maltiness with something akin to scotch actually. It's a very very smooth in its mahogony shell with the white head. Not too strong on the hops but there is some roast in there. High 3 Star.

Blackbird Porter
Strong chocolate smell in this ebony colored beer. Tan head. There si a strong chocolate and coffee taste. IT's a little dry as well but comes off with a great finish. Certainly 4 Stars, especially considering the beer I just had before it. The more I drink it the more I get what I think is citrus. It's not that much caramel malt but with a subtle hop presence to round it out.

Loving it!!

The crew has shown up now and we moved to a table. I've already got some sort of a lamb appertizer, perfect for belgians.

Flanders Golden Ale
Orange and cloudy. Banana and that sour smell of a belgian, I miss it so. It tastes of banana and fruit. It's super smooth with low carbonation. It tastes even better when it's a little warmer. It reminds me of a leffe, but smoother. 4 Stars once again.


At this point, I wrote down the head brewers name: Kevin McNerny. Turns out these guys at 5 Seasons have their roots in Sweetwater beer also of Atlanta. This one is fast becoming my most favorite brewpub PERIOD. And I still have a full glass of a tripel and a sampler of Barleywine to go.

West Mall Tripel
Not to be confused with Westmalle. STraw and cloudy. Smells like a port wine or a liquor, AWESOME. Sweet and shockingly a little empty at first. The more I drink it I see that it is nice and full bodied with a touch of brown sugar. I now change my note from "empty" to a very quick finish. Oh hell yeah. 4 Stars.

For those of you keeping score at home, I wasn't really tipsy, as all but that Tripel and the Monkey were full glasses. So don't go thinking I'm just gone off the booze and giving out the most 4 Star beers I've ever given for a brewpub.

Barley Wine
The guy got me a sampler of this apple cider looking beer. It's offwhite head gives a scent that is sweet like apples, yet subtle. It kind of has that Fall beer smell with that maltiness. The maltiness is there but then bitterness take over the palette. The alcohol is a little much. Medium-full bodied and rather fruity. It's a little dry. His girl finds it "yucky". Me, 3 Stars.

All in all I have to go on and say that this is the best beer I've had a brewpub since I started the beer blog last year. The decor, the place was packed within an hour of my showing up. Very eclectic food, and just an array of excellent beers any one of which I would like to have on tap at the house. I find that brewpubs are better at some things than others, and I see these guys steered clear of the lagers. Fine by me. If I come back to Atlanta, there is no question where I'll be beering every chance I get. Fantastic job 5 Seasons. Look forward to trying some more in the future.

Good Belgian

We hit the Specs Downtown to see what's poppin, and we grabs a Dubbel, a Triple, and a Quadruple. Seeing as how all of these are pretty high in alcohol content, we only tried one tonight. I had the Dubbel a couple nights before (though I'll review it later), so we reached for the Trip.

Allagash Tripel Reserve Batch #114
Bottle to Wine Goblet
Status:Eating Chicken breast basted in leftover Shiner Bock and Oatmeal Stout

Big head, malty smell oh yeah. A little sourness, (Bret I think that is). Light gold color with cloudiness. Head ain't going nowhere. Smooth, sweet, moderate drinkability.Feels good. Slight bitterness on AT. High-med fine carbonation. Oh yeah. No real taste of alcohol, nice and smooth. We're thinking 4 star here. Maybe some slight honey and fruit but not much. Getting better as it warms, more fruity. It was served in the upper 38ish degrees it was from my fridge. Kinda like Leffe but a little better done and a little more hops.

A little bit later I stood up and walked around, and am now feeling the 9% alcohol. Igot to get to work today, and I don't want to put a wine stopper in it and risk it going bad. The wife is not feeling it as much, she liked the Ommegang we had at a house party better.

I have some extra WW points so I knocks to what amounted to 24 ounces of this stuff. The wife is wearing her revealing gear while watching Good Eats, so I'm probably not going to be blogging much longer. Just waiting for that baby to go to sleep. Dammit man that's good beer. I have a double and a quadruple at the house for comparison, so right now, this one is 4 stars. I need a stash of this at the house at all times

My Brotha

June 15, 2008

State: Chillin

The wife picked up a pretty cool Belgian Dark Ale, Brother Thelonious for Northcoast. The label ALONE is reason enough to buy a case of this stuff. That has got to be the best beer label I've EVER seen, our boy Thelonious Monk. We poured the beer into two wine goblets and went for it...

Brother Thelonious

It pours very smooth. Nice brown color that is crimson in the light, with a tan head. It's got a fruity smell of the Abbeys. Strong head though not as frothy as the label. It's kinda malty smell as well. It goes down easy and flavors I get are malt, then brown sugar sweetness, then mabye some cinnamon spice. Medium carbonation and light hops. It's so damn good. I write down that it may be a dubbel, and later learn it's a dark ale. Medium to quick finish. It's almost as sweet as a barleywine, but with a thinner body. I cannot taste the alcohol but we know it's there.