Summer Madness

Ah Summer Time is here, which means all breweries are going to take this opportunity to put out some lighter flavored, easier drinking beers for the folks. I'm sure it sells well, but this is usually when I kind of bide my time awaiting Oktoberfest season. Sure I'm thirsty as hell, but I'd rather for a helles or dunkel lager rather than a light pilsner. But who someone may surprise me this season.

Beer Log: Earlier today
State: Relaxing after work, eating some spicy spaghetti

Redhook Rope Swing Summer Pilsner
Very fruity nose on a rather yella beer with a good white head. It smells great. On the first drink I get a moderate body with a nice bread character. High carbonation and funky hops thrown in as well. The scent just really helps this one along with the flavor, just an excellent job dry hopping. Not a bad pilsner. Leaves the tongue feeling tingly. I like the moderate hops with a pinch of sweetness. 3 Stars.

Widmer Sunburn
Got to love how Widmer and Redhook always show up at the same time. Who says all mergers are bad. This one has a very citrus/grapefruit nose with some grass in there. The taste is very simple with light hops and great bready MT. Clean and uber-refreshing. Lots of beers this gentle usually have something wrong with them. With the low alcohol content to boot, I'm giving this one a high 3 Stars. I just love that I can down a few of these without getting all hazy, but I guess I need to go ahead and drink this one in the next few days, or it's going bad fast.

Estrella Damm Inedit
Comes in a black bottle with just the Estrella Star on the bottle and the bottle cap. I don't know if that's even legal. I have no idea what to expect, though the basic ED as a basic lager was pretty boring. Nose is sugar, raisin, and brown sugar. Cloudy with a tinged gold color, head is going down fast. The beer has a poofy mouthfeel with moderate body. It's a little sweet like candy and bread. Smooth. Not bad at all. It has a nice low aftertaste to it. It's like a smooth megaswill version of a wheat beer. Very nice. High 3 Stars for the Catalans.

Friday Night Beering

Friday Night Beering

Beer Log: August 28, 2009

Sitting here at the house just off a quick stomach virus, which kept me off the beer for a while. I think we'll just be a'beering all night at the house tonight. No real theme or anything, just Good Beer while hanging out with the wife watching some movies.

Summit IPA
Nose is a little metal malt with balanced hops. Smells pretty flowery. Slightly hazy amber color with a lasting white head. Taste is a little metallic and a rush of icky bitterness. I think we held on to this one too long as it tastes like an old liquor store. With the cheese pizza it has a bit better malt and hops. Stronger than the English IPA variety but not quite American IPA strength. The more I drink it and the more it warms up the better it gets. The metal nose and flavor has given way to a more basic IPA. I get that caramel malt with the pretty strong hops, but rather balanced. Just gets better as we keep going. High 3 star.

He'brew The Chosen Beer: Jewbelation Twelve
He'brew's 12th anniversary beer in a bomber. We've had this one for a few months. Been looking forward to this. I wonder if I can pick out all twelve malts and all twelve hops. If not, the 12% alcohol will probably just make me lose count. In a wine glass. Deep brown color that pours smooth. Great malty nose with slight chocolate. Low head. Oh my, a great sweet maltiness that has a chocolate aftertaste. Low carbonation and somewhat easy drinkability. The hops are not as bold as I thought they'd be. The beer is like a strong brown ale or even a barley wine. I get a bit more choco and hot alcohol as it warms up. A very warming beer which means I should have had this a few months ago when I bought it instead of late August in Houston. I'm guessing on the 12 malts: two row, six row, pilsner, chocolate malt, munich, biscuit, caramunich, caramel, crystal (2 types), roasted malt, wheat. Hops: cascade, centennial, fuggles, EK Goldings, warrior, Willamette, mt. hood, saaz, noble, Amarillo. Whatever it all is, this power packed beer gets 4 out of 5 stars. **Wife says I got about 70% of the malt right and 60% of the hops**


A good hour later and I'm still feeling that brown ale on the tongue. That thing does NOT go away.

Redhook Double Black Stout with Coffee
Nose has a little stoutness to it, though the beer is pretty cold in my dimpled pint glass. High carbo with a bitter coffee bean flavor mixed with chocolate on the back. Finish is pretty damn dry with some choco. Goes down easy and has a thinish body. Not bad so far,we'll see how it warms up. Take a dry Irish stout with a higher coffee character. Low 3 Star.

Oregon Beer Tax Hike

Is Oregon being run by Mayor Bill White of Houston? A 1900% tax increase on beer? Like Bill Cosby says: COME ON, PEOPLE! And look at the picture of the guy sponsoring the bill, he looks like he's on that Michael Phelps Weed. He should be on our side. Maybe he should be looking their policy on Mary Jane and leave Widmer alone.

With this kind of tax, maybe the Houston Texans games will finally have some craft beers from *gasp* TEXAS on tap in the concession stands. For some reason , we have the standard Bud Light and Miller Lite, but we have three craft beers from Widmer/Redhook. I'm glad we have better beer options, but I was a little upset we had to go all the way to Oregon to get it and let the Texans know as much in their season ticket surveys which I'm sure they read. At least I was upset until they brought in the Drop Top Amber, that stuff is the bomb, as the kids say.

Hopefully Oregonians can talk down this tax to something a little more in line with rest of the country. Or do the Newt Gingrich thing and cut it even further, which may prompt people to make/buy more beer, which may net you more money in the tax coffers, which is what you wanted in the first place.


Here's to hoping Oregon can get me that Drop Top Amber at a halfway decent price, and hoping this law proposal does not spread to other States!

Back at Home: Christmas Beer Me

Man it feels good to be back at the house. The baby has learned all kinds of new tricks, so cute. After some hanging out with friends, I'm able to try to try the new beers.

Beer log: Right now
State: Chillin with the wife, watching Real Housewives of Atlanta

Abita Christmas

Velvet brown color, white a slight tan head. Smells like a great cinnamon brown sugar cookie. Fantastic. Taste, not so much. On its own, it has a light breadiness and not much on the maltiness.Some cinnamon in there and a smattering of bitterness about. With the turkey, it is much better, some malt and stronger cinnamon cookie presence. Low 3 Star though, unless you are eating it with a saltier food.

Redhook Winterhook

Ruby brown color, with a rather strong offwhite head. Balanced nose with a caramel malt and piney hop scent. This head ain't going nowhere. Decent hops and late bread on the flavor. A little watery maybe 3/4 of the way back on the palette, and the AT has medium hop citrus bite. Low 3 Star.

Not a bad start, but I've got some Avery and a few others. We're going to try and squeeze in a trip to Gingerman to run through the Anchors Christmas beers going back to 2005. Stay Tuned.