31 December 2013

453. Robinsons Brewery Trooper

Ever since Michael Maier posted pics of this beer, I've been looking to get my hands on one - and my close friend Jason L. Maier made it happen as a Christmas present.

It's good, but nothing great. It hits the pallet with a strong flavorful hit, but it disappears just as quickly as the beer goes down. Very smooth and drinkable with no bitters, it has a nice taste - it's too bad it doesn't longer longer. 


And I enjoyed drinking it, while watching "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown".




30 December 2013

452. New Glarus Stone Soup

Very interesting for an Abbey Ale. Very easy to drink with citrus flavors up front. Just seems a little low-gravity for what I expect from an Abbey, perhaps it had not aged nearly enough?


451. New Glarus Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale

Very great aromas, little bitters, and goes down really easy. Good session drink.


450. New Glarus Two Women Lager

My good buddy Snow hooked me up with a few beers from New Glarus, and I felt like I should start with "Two Women".

Really enjoyable lager. Fairly smooth with low bitters, the flavors kick in right away while it's going down my tongue. It's very flavorful, minor hints of fruity sours. 


449. Hinterland Oktoberfest

Very full flavored, but heavier than I prefer. Still a good beer overall, but nowhere near the best Oktoberfest I've ever had.


25 December 2013

BREW DAY 1: Weiß Brüder Sudhaus HefeEINS

My goal for 2014 is to brew at least one batch of beer each month. It's a personal goal to help me learn more about malts and hops. Because my goal one day is to be a Master Cicerone. So, it's starting by learning the science behind it all. So, my brother and I teamed up to brew a beer together and we call it Weiß Brüder Sudhaus HefeEINS.  It's a Hefeweizen, I wanted to make sure I began my brewing life by paying tribute to my German heritage and love of all things German. 



So, there's a nice collage from the wonderful Christmas Day Brewing. All the ingredients, cooling/chilling the wort, pitching the yeast, and the bubbling airlock. 

It was an amazing day, and in about a month, I'll get to taste something I made myself!!!  Very excited for this step in life. 

23 December 2013

447. Indiana City Beer Cratchit's Winter Olde Ale

Very delicious. Lots of wonderful flavors that take their time to develop in your mouth. Very glad I got my hands on this.


And I'm enjoying it while watching Patrick Stewart as Scrooge, in "A Christmas Carol".




22 December 2013

446. Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale

So, I've been drinking a good amount of Triton Gingerbread Brown, while I've been searching high and low for Sam Adams Merry Maker (their gingerbread beer).  So, I settled for this tonight. 

It's right on par with the Triton Gingerbread Brown. I like the flavor and enjoy drinking it. It's about that simple. 


21 December 2013

445. Blue Moon Rounder

So....  This is the first questionable entry, that I'm forcing myself to justify.

Rounder is billed as a "Belgian Style Pale Ale".  When I pulled out my glassware, I noticed that the Blue Moon Pale Moon is described as a "Belgian Style Pale Ale" - which is a beer that is listed on the Original 152.

So, it's my fear that they are a very similar (if not the same) recipe. However, I hold to the notion, that since they changed they name, they did also make changes to the recipe. 

I drank the Pale Moon before I ever started paying attention to my beer, and I don't remember it. So, Rounders is an enjoyable beer, but I don't love it. It does have some nice Belgian flavor, goes down very smooth, and has no bitter aftertaste. Really, there's no aftertaste whatsoever. It's ok, I like it, I don't love it. 


444. Blue Moon Short Straw

So, for whatever reason, the entire time I've kept this blog, I haven't done any Blue Moon Beers since the first few I did in the initial 152 post. So, I got their holiday variety pack to try.

First up, I tried the Short Straw, and I'm not really fan. The flavor is just odd and off. It's easy to drink, with no bitterness, but there's just something in the finish that lingers, leaving a bad taste. Not a fan. 


14 December 2013

443. BIER Brewery Berry Belgian Brown

Very subtle berry flavor adds a great finish to this delicious brown beer. Goes down thick and smooth without any bitters, and delivers a flavor I really enjoy.


07 December 2013

442. New Belgium Rampant Imperial IPA

This is like the "pimped out" Ranger IPA.  Smells the same, similar taste, but a little bit more bitter and a little more flavor, with some fuller flavor. Close to Ranger, though....


441. New Belgium Ranger IPA

Smells VERY hoppy, but has barely any bitter flavor to it. Nice floral tastes that longer for a while. I dig it for someone who tends to shy away from IPAs.


440. New Belgium Abbey Ale

The aroma is amazing!!! Wow. 
Pretty thick and malty, dark flavor with no bitters. Very enjoyable. 


439. New Belgium 2° Below Ale

I had this a few years ago at Fox, but it never made the website. Glad that New Belgium brought it back (it was their 2005 Winter brew), I enjoy it. Very interesting and enjoyable toffee flavor imvved. No bitters, goes down smooth with a great aftertaste. 


438. North Coast PranQster Ale

Nice and fruity, good flavors, and overall enjoyable - but it's not the best I've had of this style. It's not bad, and worth a try, I'm just not blown away by it.





437. Finch's Beer Company Fascist Pig Ale

Nice strong and full flavors, well balanced and not too bitter. Very enjoyable.


05 December 2013

436. Rogue Yellow Snow IPA

Lots of fruity flavors upfront that start smooth, but quickly goes bitter. Then it has a lingering bitter aftertaste that I'm not a fan of. It's not a bad IPA, but hoppier than I prefer. 


Also, for the first time, I used a new IPA glass. It was co-created by Sam Caligone of Dogfish Head. 

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blogfish/members/justin-williams/dogfish-head-sierra-nevada-debut-new-standard-for-ipa-glassware.htm

"I took Snoopy for a walk tonight, and then decided some Yellow Snow sounded good..."


29 November 2013

435. Indiana City Brewing Mimi's Tabernacle

Breakfast Stout.
Oatmeal and Maple Syrup. 
Really, really good!  Very enjoyable. The oatmeal taste is very prominent. The syrup creeps up on you. Glad I got here when I did, they are on their last keg!





28 November 2013

434. Ommegang Rare Vos

Great flavors all the way!!!  This was a gift from my buddy Dave Richmond. It was one of the Ommegang's I had yet to try. I really enjoy it. Smooth, with a great blend of fruity flavors that go down easy.

Really a fan of everything I try from Ommegang. 


26 November 2013

433. New Holland Cabin Fever

Generally, I'm a big fan of brown ales. This one is just a little odd....  Reading about it, I assume it's the raisins. It just adds an odd flavor that I'm not really a fan off. No bitter, so it does go down easy, only complaint is that little flavor.


25 November 2013

432. Southern Tier Krampus

It's interesting. Not really great, but not terrible. Spicy flavors that are really smooth and almost no bitters. An odd lingering aftertaste...  I'll enjoy it, but won't be drinking it religiously, like Benjamin Grinchby will be.





431. Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's

A flavor-full and hop-full beer. 
Lots of good flavors up front, but finishes with more bitters than I prefer. Very quality product.


430. New Glarus Spotted Cow

This one that a lot of people have been raving about, and I'm just now getting around to trying it. This one was a gift from my buddy Ryan Miller.

It's pretty darn good. I really enjoy the flavors up front - there's quite a few of them - it goes downs fairly easily, with a medium bodied feel. My only complaint might be that the flavors don't longer too long. In the time I've typed this, I've lost all flavor and I'm ready for another drink. 


24 November 2013

429. Two Brothers Domaine du Page

It's SO CLOSE to a sour - in my opinion. It's just got that small, tiny, minor sour aftertaste, that I enjoy.  I won't say the flavor is outstanding, but it's smooth and fruity, and a great finish. 


428. New Holland White Hatter WPA

It's an interesting blend. Nice and fruity flavor of a Belgian, but a thick and heavy finish of a quality Pale Ale. Good flavor overall, I'm enjoying it. 


23 November 2013

427. Goose Island Sixth Day

It's a typical brown ale. No real special flavors or taste, but I like brown ales, so I'm going to drink a lot of them.


"Six Geese a Laying..."


426. Upland Teddy Bear Kisses

Goes down quick and smooth, but then hit hard with massive bitterness, before finishing with a serious chocolate aftertaste. If I liked bitter and chocolate more - this would be more enjoyable for me. 


425. Veteran Beer Company Blonde Bomber

A little more flavor than a typical blonde ale, but nothing super special. Good flavor, easy to drink.


18 November 2013

424. Triton Gingerbread Brown

Smells AMAZING!
It's a good, standard brown ale. 
Nice flavor, but the gingerbread is pretty subtle compared to the aroma. 
I enjoy this, and will probably enjoy many more during the holidays. 


16 November 2013

423. Sam Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

Very nice and smooth and drinkable.
Delivers both flavors very well and balanced, no bitters. I just wish I liked chocolate more...




422. Sam Adams Juniper IPA

I really like the aroma, but the beer is just ok. It's a very standard IPA, not too bitter, but very dry. Leaves me thirsty as soon as I'm done drinking. Nothing really extremely good or bad about this beer. It's drinkable, but nothing I'll seek out ever again.




421. Samuel Adams White Christmas

Interesting.
Good interesting.
It's goes down super smooth, like any regular ale - then as soon as you stop drinking, that cinnamon/nutmeg flavor kicks in, and it's kind of weird at first, but it grew on my quickly. Once I knew what to expect, later drinks were very enjoyable!




12 November 2013

420. Stone Enjoy By 11.12.13 IPA

Felt like today was the only day that 11.12.13 could be and should be drank. 

Lots of full flavor up front, with very bold citrus notes. Typical of Stone, there is a lot of bitter on the backside. Therefore, I really enjoy half of this beer!


419. Lost Abbey Serpents Stout

Found this picture on my phone from Saturday night. I got so busy talking with friends of Gabe that I neglected to add it that night. 

I remember it being very enjoyable. 


09 November 2013

418. Oskar Blues Ten FIDY

Oh. WOW.
I'm like some stouts - I LIKE this stout. 
It's smooth and easy to drink. Good flavors!  Goes down easy, leaves a nice chocolate-like after taste. It's a power punch, that you never see coming!  This. Could. Get. Dangerous!



417. Oskar Blues G'Knight

Imperial RED IPA???
Ok. Word. 
Obviously dry-hopped, which is my only complaint. The flavor is good and bold, but leaves my palate very dry and needing an instant drink. 


416. Oskar Blues Old Chub

I really enjoy this, and I can't figure out why. It's smooth and easy to drink, very low bitters and an almost chocolate after taste. But still, it just hits me the right way. I dig it. I probably couldn't do a lot of them, but I'm enjoying it!


415. Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils

Clean, crisp, smooth, just a nice extra touch of flavor. I could drink this all day long.