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.

Sports Review: Strikeforce Houston and Sam Adam Harvest Pumpkin

One of the only two advantages of being black in America is that I can openly admit in writing that I root for the black guy in sporting competitions and no one will call me out. (The other is that people selling newspapers and doing promotional stuff at grocery stores exits leave you alone.) So I showed up to Strikeforce Houston last night pretty fired up to see King Mo and Bobby Lashley. And both of them consequently got f7cked up. Lashely just out-and-out gassed and gave up after some serious hammerfists by a guy that looked like a Confederate General. They did screw Lashley by standing him up while he had the full mount, but Lashley was fading to black very quickly anyway and probably would have keeled over and died if they made him go for a third round.

King Mo was doing ok the first couple rounds, but he pretty much tossed out any boxing skill at all and went in to brawl with a Muay Thai guy (bad idea). King Mo fell in love with the body shots, and although they had some stank on it, close range Balrog body shots open you up for the knee to the dome, everytime. Ask Rich Franklin (against Silva) and Rampage Jackson (the first two times against Wanderlei). Mo flattened, then got a single leg, then got elbowed down hard. Fight OVER! And the Texas crowd lustily cheered when the Dallas product was knocked out.

I'm just glad we hit the Saucer before the event for some Blonde Bock and some Stone 14. The Blonde Bock by Gordon Biersch is one of those other beers that is kinda like a combo beer in the style, but not quite. It had a real syrupy malt to it and very drinkable, but the mesh of the "blonde" and the "bock" actually throw it off for me. I'd rather be slamming some Hofbrau maibocks like I have been these days. The Stone 14 Emperial IPA I picked up b/c we were eating some hot wings. The last time I had wings at the saucer, they put some fire on it, but this time the hot sauce seemed to be a little heavier on the butter, which my bloated gut 24 hours later can atest to. But the EIPA was f'n AWESOME! I knew that I could count on Stone to provide a very balanced perfect finishing Imperial IPA. One sec.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Chilling out, eating lunch

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
Pours brown and smooth with a tan head. Nose is pumpkin and cinnamon with some caramel. Tastes like a light bitter bread with some pumpkin. Not my cup of tea. 2 Stars.

Moving on, the Dynamo finally won a game last night. Taking big shots from Ching to beat the Chicago Fire. The Flaming Footballers of Chicago tried to come back, but Ching would not be denied despite our goaltender's best efforts. Also, the Texans got mollywhoped by the Saints in preseason, which nobody cares about. Holla.

It's Friday, Imperial IPA please

Well, last night we figured we would just stay home and crack open a few bombers. So I went down to Coaches Pub on Barker-Cypress and I-10 to pick up a couple pounds of crawfish and had at it.

Beer Log: Last Night
State: Pretty tired after the job, week of hard work getting that oil.

Rogue Ale Northwestern Ale
Great caramel and choco nose, with huge poofy tan head. I would saythe color is caramel as well. I like the big caramel malt up topwith a pinch of choco, and it is followed by harsh pointed grapefruit hops, not cascade. Moderate carbo. I actually think the hops actually screw this oneup a bit. Just too unbalanced near the end there, but I like the hard grapefruit. I'm sure it fits a style, but what? Kinda likea beer with all the leftovers. High 3 Stars.

So the wife looked this beer up and it turns out most consider it an India Red Ale. I think that description is spot on. Biting caramel, a little chocolate, ruddish color, and biting hops. No softness anywhere.

Rogue Imperial Red Ale
Not to be confused with Northwestern, but this is the IRA in the fancy claylike bottle. We bought this one nearly 2 years ago and let it age in our cellar (on top of our cabinets in the kitchen). Dark brown color with tan bubbly head. Nose is caramel. The taste is a robust maltiness and a muted yet strong hops. Not much more I can really say about it than it is an aged version of the Northwestern, without the chocolate. 4 Stars.

Ska Decadence
Switching gears and losing sobriety, I really want to see what this one with the skeleton and the waxed up bottle cap. Dark amber color with a white head. Steel hops and malty nose. The taste is steely hops as well, thought not metal. The beer tastes much softer after the hardcore Red Ale's I've been drinking. Pleasant. 4 Stars.

As per all black men over the age of 25, whenever I think of "ska", I think of my babymomma Gwen Stefani...

Honey Moon and Baton

Honey Moon and Crawfish
Clear straw color with a substantial yet fizzy head after a vigorous pour. Kinda smells lagery, like veggie. Maybe a little honey. Taste has some smoothness of a wheat beer, but not much. The taste is pretty bland actually, although they claim they used the orange peel, coriander, and now honey. With the crawfish I get a lot more of the honey coming through. Nice. Only with the crawfish do you get some of that honey, and as it warms there is some orange peel. But by itself, not cool. Low 3 Star to 2 Star.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Very strong alcohol and malt and spicey floral hops. Head is very creamy offwhite with that apple cider look to it. Wow. Has a lot of hops later on, with a rush of hops and malt in the early goings. Reminds me of an Imperial style. (BTW, I have no idea what style this is as I review it). Could say Imperial IPA, American Barleywine. The hop AT is vanishing faster. No sense of alcohol going on. The wife tells me it's a blended young Imperial IPA with an Oak-aged Imperial IPA. I could see some of the oak in there. High 3 Star, and probably a 4 star if it's aged and mellows a touch. Hops are really grassy and floral, and the nose really contributes to the taste on this one. Nice touch from the Fish.

I've stepped away to down the rest of my Honey Moon and watch the Liddell-Rua fight again, and now the beer is a bit sweeter, the hops are still very strong. I like the balance tipped toward hops here. Dogfish Head just knows how to do an Imperial IPA man. I just can't wait until I make it to Cali to try some of those I-IPAs and whathaveyou. I still haven't had Pliny or any of the Alesmiths.

Holla...

Oh by the way, if you live in the gulf, try your crawfish this season with just about any craft beer. I had the Bud American Ale with my spicy crawfish in Houma, Louisiana, and the Am Ale tasted FANTASTIC. It totally blew away Abita Amber. The one drawback about crawfish is that they look disgusting as hell. The trick is to not stare at them, it will totally gross you out.