24 April 2023

1762. Scarlet Lane Bruce's Groovy Brew

On the day that I went to Pax Verum with the Joe's Crew, it was decided that we were going to go see Bruce Campbell's Bruce-O-Rama when it came to town.  Bruce was coming to do a game show and screen "Army of Darkness".  A group of six of us decided to go...  And then I completely forgot about it until three days before, when Snow texted the group about our meeting time and place.

And as excited as I was for the event, I didn't know how much more excitement was in store, when we showed up and saw that Scarlet Lane did an "official" beer for the event.

So, there is a beer that's missing from this website - and it's one of my all-time favorite beers, and I don't know how it never got posted.  A few years ago, Horrorhound's annual event had a screening of "Scream" downtown at the IMAX, and I went solo and drank a beer from Scarlet Lane called Screamsicle.  IT WAS AMAZING.  It had the perfect blend of orange and lactose to make it orange-creamy, and tasted exactly like drinking a dreamsicle while it was melting.  It was amazing - and I don't know how or why it never got posted on here.  If I ever re-activate my Facebook, I need to find the photo from that night, because I know montaged a few pictures from that disappointing evening (the cast never showed up to the Q&A we were promised at the showing, because their lines were too long at Horrorhound...)

Anyways, Scarlet Lane was a favorite brewery when Caitlin and I were together.
I enjoyed their horror elements, and she was often happy with their stout options.
So, I'm a big fan of Scarlet Lane, and was so happy to see them make a beer for tonight.

The beer is fine.  I don't love it.  It's a little drier and most bitter than I enjoy, but not to a terrible level.
It was very drinkable, and the whole group enjoyed a number of them together.






22 April 2023

1761. Guggman Haus Biergarten Day Munich Dunkel

It was a Bayern Munich morning, so when there's a beer with Munich in the title, I know I need to try and enjoy one of them.

This beer was good, nothing exciting or special - but it tasted exactly like the Dunkel I wanted and expected.  Perfect flavors, enjoyable to drink to a chilly match day.





1322 REVISITED: Guggman Haus Guggenweizen

I was in the mood for something light and easy, and I was pretty sure I'd done the Hefe before, but it sounded good (sadly, a lot of their options when I was there - didn't really appeal to me...).

Side note, to that side note about things on the their menu.
I love being in the company of people who know people who work places.
It's happened many times in my life, and sometimes I just vibe with an employee that I get some special treatment.  Tonight, we were blessed to try a Bourbon Barrel Aged Milk Stout.  And it was amazing.  It wasn't on the menu, it was tapped, but they weren't really selling it - but eventually Ray was able to get a snifter of it.  I enjoyed my two samples I was given (first sample, then when Ray got his snifter, the couple next to him asked about it, and another round of samples was handed out).  That beer was DELICIOUS, and I don't like coffee at all.  But all three flavors went together so well.  I should probably avoid doing a snifter for the website, but...  it was yum-yum.

So, I'm drinking another Guggenweizen.
And this is something I'm learning with REVISITED.
The colors of beers change over time.  Obviously the recipe has seen some tweeks.
When I drank beer back a BEER #1322 it was A LOT dark and orange-colored.
Now, it's a much brighter yellow-orange color.

My review stays the same.  I like it.  It's exactly what I expect it to taste like.
Prost!





1760. Guggman Haus Sour: Blackberry Pomegranate

A couple of the Bayern Brothers and I ended up meeting up at Guggman Haus before the Indy 11 match tonight.  My buddy Ray has a friend who works here, and he was a really cool guy to chat with.  I also got the chance to talk with one of their brewers there - who is a big Chelsea fan.  So, it was tough to like him, but he was a good dude to talk football with.

So, it's been a few years since I've been to Guggman, I have not been since the expansion, and it's tough to think what it used to be like when I came to write on their patio, or when we had a dude's drinking day that started here, and we were the only seven people in the house on a Sunday afternoon.

The expansion was huge, and there was NOWHERE to sit.  It was slammed. And good for them!  We eventually got to sit at the small bar top they have.  I ate a pretzel that was pretty good.  Their beer cheese was solid, but their "spicy" cheese wasn't enjoyable.  I like stone ground mustard and horseradish, but there was something in there that I didn't care for.

Back to this beer, it was good and tasty.  I nice sour, but I'm not a fan of pomegranate, and that flavor is powerful in this beer.  It wasn't bad, I just didn't really care for it.








20 April 2023

1759. Big Lug Topanga

A beer named after the greatest fictional girlfriend of 90s television!

The citrus flavor upfront is really good.
It's nice and light, but it does sadly finish drier than I like.
The dry ending wasn't the worst, so the beer was still very drinkable, and as the beer warmed up, the harshness in the end faded away.

Overall, an enjoyable and tasty beverage that I would drink again.




18 April 2023

1758. New Belgium Dominga Mimosa Sour

This beer sucks.
Tuesday night is my Destiny Video Game Night with two of my good friends.
I'm drinking out of my Destiny pint glass tonight, because I don't normally drink on Tuesday nights, but I had kind of a rough meeting at work today, and even though I know I'm not "in trouble" at work, I just feel like I've been a let down.  Granted, in my venting to co-workers, they've attempted to spin it into a positive for me - I just...  I need a moment to have a beer and help calm my over-reacting-brain.

So, it's video games and beer tonight.

Did I mention this beer sucks?
It's not good at all.
It's not a good tart.
The orange flavor is off.
And whatever is supposed to taste like wine, just sucks.
I don't have anything else to say about this epic failure of a beer.
It mirrors my feelings of epic failure at work.
Sucky day at work.
Sucky beer at home.

Tomorrow is another day.






17 April 2023

1757. Short's Critterless

Truth be told, this label originally turned me off and I wasn't willing to buy the beer.
But, as I perused around Total Wine, there weren't many beers that looked good to me (it might be time to go to Kahn's next time...?).  And while I was walking around, I couldn't stop thinking about mangos and cherries.  So, when I got five beers, I forced myself to just get this one.

I hate the label. 
When I take a drink, I think bugs are crawling around in my mouth.
Not really, but I hate looking at the can.

The beer is tasty.
It's nice and tart, and I enjoy it.
The cherry flavor is powerful upfront, and then it mellows into a nice mango flavor, that leaves my mouth watering from its tart.

I enjoy it.
I would prefer drinking it on draft in the future, so I never have to see this can again.





15 April 2023

1756. BrewDog Bushwood Beer

Well, it's almost time for SNL, and I consider this beer to be SNL-adjacent.
BrewDog seems to be fixed on Chevy Chase movies these days, as back during the holidays they did a beer for "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (Beer #1714), and now they have a beer for "Caddyshack".

Bushwood Beer - named after the prestigious country club - is a "crisp" Pilsner...
Personally, I would not use "crisp" to describe this beer.
It's fine, it's drinkable. but it's a little drier than I enjoy.
It would be fine for outdoor drinking on a golf course, but it doesn't really quench my thirst.

I look forward to what comes next...
Funny Farm-house Ale
Spies Like Us Saison
Nothing But Bourbon Barrel Trouble
Extra Special Bitter European Vacation
Three Mexican Lager Amigos!





1755. Destihl Pink Raspberry Lemonade

This beer is better than I expected from Destihl.
Their Chocolate Peanut Butter Beer SUCKED.
Their coconut ale had ZERO coconut flavor.

At least this beer is sour and tart, and has a decent berry/lemon flavor to the beer.
The finish is a little more dry than I would prefer, but it doesn't ruin the beer, just adds an odd finish to what starts out so tasty.

Still drinkable, still fruity, still tart.
I guess I need to try more of their "Wild Sour Series".





1754. DuClaw Give a Crap

It's been a long time since I made a Saturday Morning trip to Total Wine, last few weekends have been busier than normal.
After the Wrexham match, and the Bayern match, I went out to build myself a six pack, to enjoy a few tonight while I watch some basketball and get ready for Ana de Armas on SNL.

When I saw this can on the shelf, I knew I was going to buy it - no matter what style the beer was.
I got very lucky that it turned out to be a sour ale, and some interesting fruits involved.

Also, reading online, I learn that $1 from every sale goes to help with colon cancer.

So, the beer is tasty.
The black currant is honestly probably the strongest flavor upfront, but the blueberry flavor does linger.
It's a mild tart, and tasty - I would gladly drink a few more, and throw more money towards colon cancer.








03 April 2023

REVISITED: 1729. Untitled Art Lemon Sherbet

This was originally the first beer I attempted to order when I arrived - not realizing that it was on the "tapping soon" list.  So, I had some NAs and some other beers I knew I liked, and Ben and I had actually cashed out when our waitress came over to me and let me know they had just tapped the Lemon Sherbet, and I told her that I obviously needed to stick around for one more.  So, I bought Ben another Two-Hearted in exchange for his company, and I got the beer that I originally wanted.

In typical Untitled Art fashion, it's a very good and drinkable beer, but something was just slightly "off".
I don't know if its milk sugars or lactose or something else - but whatever ingredient they used for the "sherbet" part of the flavor, was just different.  It wasn't sour, but I didn't need it to be.  It definitely has a lemon flavor to it, but it seems to be subdued by whatever other ingredient was used.  

Again, it's a very quality Untitled Art beer.

And, when I get home, I learn I've already drank this beer - and didn't remember.
And, I didn't drink it very long ago.   UGH.  Beer #1729 drank back in January.  Sounds like I enjoyed the canned version better than the draft - but still a similar reaction.

I'm leaving this post up, because I like the photo with Ben's smile.





1753. Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor's Lemon

My buddy Ben texted me and asked if I would be interested in sitting outside, enjoying the weather, eating a pizza and drinking some beer - and I quickly replied with "Hell Yes!".  

So, we met up at Pies & Pints, literally one of the best pizza places I've ever enjoyed.
Their dough and sauce are just top-notch.

And they often have beers I've never tried.
Tonight, I started with a beer that was supposed to have a lemon-meringue-pie flavor.
Tart and bready.

And it kind of does, but the bread-like flavoring does work for me, and it's not a sour tart, it's a dry-tart.
It's not bad, but it's not very good either.