| Philly Beer Week |
[Mar. 21st, 2008|11:02 am] |
And I missed Philly Beer week in its entirety, although I had a fun time reading about it at my local suburban beer bars. I really wanted to attend the "Meet the brewer from Allagash (and tasting)" downtown, but I found out about it too late. Also, my plans for attending the Sunday Belgian Brunch at the Springhouse Drafting Room were also unfortunately interrupted. Next year perhaps.
On with the beers.
67) Allagash - Fluxus - Brewed with Yarrow, Pilsner Malt and Rye Malt, this one is all over the place. Delicious, fruity with spice pairings I couldn't place, and surprisingly light for a bottle conditioned double Belgian style ale. Excellent brew. More about this beer here.
68) Ithica - Double IPA - Rich and Malty with a decent hop character.
69) Cantillon - Rose de Gambrinus - My fifth from Cantillon. A Cask Conditioned Framboise Lambic. Sour with a musky nose, clean and perfect. An excellent beer. I have had comparable local brews, however, this is one of the originals. Highly recommended as are all brews from Cantillon.
70) Smutty Nose - Finest Kind IPA - I can't believe this is my first time trying this IPA. It is perfect. Clean, hoppy with a dry finish. Another big win for New England.
71) Brasserie d'Achouffe - La Chouffe - One of my all time favorite pale Belgian style ales. Simply a treat every single time I drink it.
72) Pilsner Urquel - Photo here - I had to try this just to see what, if anything, I was missing out on. A very non-carbonated, simple yet clean pilsner. Stated as the original pilsner from the many books I own, it's not bad at all.
Just to be sure, my next beer was to be one of my all time favorite pilsners. And from the bottle just to make the comparison fair.
73) Victory - Prima Pils - Yep, sorry. Freshness counts when it comes to pilsners. Although the base quality is very similar, Victory just makes a better version of this classic style. Simple, clean, hoppy and refreshing (with bubbles).
74) Stone - Double Bastard - Big American Strong Ale from the Tap. Wow, this stuff is huge and much better than the Arrogant Bastard. Not exactly my style of brew, but if you want a big winter ale, go for this one. I would rather be drinking this one with a meal.
75) Digfish Head - 90 Minute IPA - I forgot to photograph this one. It was from the bottle. There are three brews in this series from Dogfish Head. I have had all of them before and this is my favorite, mostly for being the most balanced and drinkable with a wee-heavy body and excellent hop character. The 60 is a simpler version and the 120 is, well, one of the largest IPAs in the universe at 21% ABV (yea, you read that right).
76) Hoppin' Frog - Hoppin' To Heaven IPA - Nice hoppy IPA with a decent sweet body from Akron, Ohio of all places.
77) Ommegang - Abbey Ale - A decent Belgian style dark double ale. Nothing like their Three Philosophers though, which is a home run.
78) Riverhorse - Special Ale (ESB) - My Uncle had a couple of these in his fridge. I was surprised as this is the one from Riverhorse I have yet to try. It's really good. Brit-style Extra Special Bitter with a nice solid yet drinkable body and a good amount of hops.
79) Sly Fox - Cascade IPA - Perfect, Cascade-heavy IPA from the Sly Fox IPA project. Yum, so good. |
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| 300 more to go |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|09:53 am] |
64) Dogfish Head - Black and Blue - Ale made with raspberry and blueberry puree. Very wine-like, no real head. Pours a gorgeous deep red. Subtle hints of blueberry, although, no real raspberry is detectable. Not very tart either, which is what I was hoping for. A surprisingly simple brew.
65) Green Flash - Imperial IPA - Excellent IIPA made with summit and nugget hops. A perfect amount of body that isn't overly sweet. Dry and clean finish with a nice lingering of hop flavor. Green Flash is great stuff.
66) Lost Coast - Double Trouble IPA - From the tap. Nice and hoppy with a medium amount of body that is subtle and sweet. |
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| And back up again |
[Mar. 1st, 2008|04:40 pm] |
53) Sly Fox - Pacific Jade IPA - Another from the IPA project. Delicious. Subtle cascade. Well balanced.
54) Allagash - Hugh Mallone Ale - Allagash's featured Simcoe Ale. Not at all over the top with the hops. And in the typical Allagash style, a big, strong body. A wonderful surprise for this lover of Simcoe hops. An excellent write up of this brew can be found here.
55) Cantillon - Broucsella (1900) Grand Cru - If this is the worst brew from Cantillon, it's still not bad. It is, however, interesting. It is a still Lambic, which means there was no conditioning performed to create carbon dioxide (bubbles) after the initial fermentation. Therefore, the beer is much weaker, watery, and well, plain, than you would expect. It is however still very delicious and provides a new perspective for this traditional style. How they came up with the Grand Cru name is beyond me. It is nowhere close to that style. Not even in the ballpark, or the galaxy for that matter. Drunks!
56) Southampton Publick House - XXII Reserve IPA - Quickly diminishing head with good balance. A decent IPA.
57) Allagash - Interlude - This is one of my favorite beers of all time. Possibly my most favorite from Allagash brewing in Portland, Maine. Oak aged ale that is crisp and light on the palette. Incredibly strong at 9.5% ABV, and you can barely even tell it is. Nice notes of cherry and fruit invade your senses. Again, an excellent write up of this brew can be found here.
58) Rogue - Dead Guy Ale - From the tap. One of my all time favorite session style craft brews. We would purchase the limited edition "Glow in the Dark" labeled 24oz bottles of this for our Halloween parties. And everyone loves this beer. A heavily hopped Maibock style that is like no other.
59) Yuengling - Lager - In Pennsylvania, if you order a "lager" without stating which one, this is what you'll most likely end up with. It is a staple of the better macro brews from our State. A simple lager for lager lovers.
60) Troegs - Nugget Nectar - Troegs' hopped up double IPA. This beer uses Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe and Palisade hops to make this the hoppiest concoction from this fantastic Harrisburg, PA craft brewery. Sorry for the lack of photo. Instead, here are fresh Nugget hops that I grow in my garden. Yum.
61) Duvel - Belgian Golden Ale - Another of my favorites. A strong, unbelievably crisp and refreshing Golden Ale with just the right amount of spice and body. The head retention alone is prize worthy. You can simply walk away from the brew and come back 10 minutes later and there will still be a magnificent head in your glass. Love this beer.
62) Urthel - Hop-It - A clever Belgian style spiced IPA. Darker and sweeter than most IPAs. Enjoyable, although I find it to be too sweet.
63) Bells - Hop Slam - Another clever invention using honey in the base lending a lighter, gently sweeter body. Nice and hoppy, but not a knockout. I think I enjoyed their Two Hearted Ale more than this one. |
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| From the top of the barrel to the bottom |
[Feb. 24th, 2008|11:44 am] |
In this stretch, I've attended a party or two which provided both very rare samplings and some very simple session beers. Some of these session beers I wouldn't have touched otherwise. However, in the spirit of the 365 varietal beers, I was up for the challenge to my palette. But let's start off with the better and work our way to the bottom of the barrel:
40) Rogue - Ten Thousand Brew - Limited Edition Ceramic Bottle celebrating John Maier's ten thousandth batch. This was a knockout, heavyweight ale. Heavily hopped for balance, incredible ABV poured medium brown with an everlasting, creamy head. Stronger than most of the ales I've ever had from the other big ale contenders like Dogfish Head and Allagash.
This was the opening beer I brought to a three friend get together as you can see from the stuff laying around in my friend's garage-based lab. We shared it, and thankfully so. I don't think anyone of us could have enjoyed that single bottle ourselves. BA's Alström Bros did an excellent review on this brew.
41) Souther Tier - Imperial Hoppe - A well hopped strong ale from Southern Tier, a brewery that is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. Although, not over-the-top like their Gemini or the UnEarthly IPA, this beer is still assertive and bold in character. Very drinkable with a nice touch of amarillo hops.
42) Souther Tier - UnEarthly IPA - The name says it all. Over-the-top hop character with a very well balanced body to carry it. I found the hops challenging to decipher in this brew as they are so skillfully mated one would think you were drinking new varietals throughout. This is one excellent craft brew.
43) Sly Fox - Horizon IPA - From the tap at their Royersford location, this beer is part of their annual IPA project. A generous amount of cascade hops gives this a nice evergreen bite.
44) Sly Fox - Route 113 IPA - Again, from the tap, this is their flagship IPA, and one of my favorites. Nice amounts of citrus and a medium body for a smooth, easily enjoyable yet powerful drink.
45) Sly Fox - Raspberry Wheat - Once again, from the tap. Accolades for this brew. I have yet to sample a beer like it anywhere else. The raspberry notes give it just the amount of essence one could ever want while not taking away from the delicious wheat character that ends up at the back of your tongue. A simple, yet complex brew that is highly enjoyable no matter what your preferred style of beer is.
46) Sly Fox - Black and Tan - One of the best black and tans you can get! This is a combination of the O'Reilly's Stout and the Phoenix Pale Ale, which mate perfectly yielding a gorgeous single pint of two beers. The pale ale is much less hoppy than their 113 IPA making the transition from the rich stout a simple one.
47) Victory - Hop Devil - As I have enjoyed this beer in so many fashions before, this time around it was in a bottle. This is one of the greatest craft brews to ever hit the mainstream market. It deserves as much success as it achieves. It is well balanced and incredibly well hopped with a mixture of hops that is simply incomparable to other ales from Pennsylvania.
48) Weyerbacher - Double Simcoe IPA - Actually, I'm just kidding, this is an older photo with my kitten that is named Simcoe. I just wanted to throw it in here before we move into the not-so-good beer territory to get some smiles:)
Brace yourselves for impact.
48) Labatt - Blue Pilsner - A typical macro lager. Drank it straight from the can. Not the worst I've ever tasted, but I was definitely not enjoying the corn flavors. Taking one for the team! OUCH!
48) Miller - Genuine Draft - I remember a long time ago trying this beer and thinking it wasn't bad. Wow have my tastes changed since that time. It's just another macro brew that gives no apparent flavor or enjoyment. Yes, I'm a beer snob.
49) Blue Moon - A case of this showed up at a party that was held here at the house. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at this macro brewed Belgian style wit. It is difficult to mass produce any beer with quality in mind. The fact that brewers like Coors are taking the next steps to make this happen with a better than average recipe is admirable. Although, it's still just that, a macro session beer. Easily drinkable. Just nothing more.
50) Sierra Nevada - Pale Ale - One of my first pale ales so long ago. This is always my go-to beer when the bar would serve nothing else. An excellent amount of citrus with a sharp clean finish.
51) Guinness - Stout - In a bottle. The little CO2 widget doesn't always seem to do the job from the bottle. I poured two or three from the case until I was able to get one that had the proper amount of carbonation. I suppose they should be commended for trying to achieve the classic Guinness pour from the comfort of your kitchen. However, I just don't see the point. Every bar in the universe has Guinness on tap.
52) Samuel Adams - Cherry Wheat - Extremely sweet for a fruit wheat beer. Way too sweet for my tastes. If it was aged for a while then perhaps, but wow. No. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 19th, 2008|11:39 pm] |
Went by the local liquor store and picked up a dozen different singles and drank them over 2 days, so as to experience the taste.
( Images under cut ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 11th, 2008|09:04 pm] |
 #15 Goose Island Honker's Ale (US Domestic) Copperish color with very little head. Wife commented that it had a fruity aroma, which I agreed. Nice bitterness to it with some earthly / grainy taste to it with little aftertaste. Very nice surprise at the corner convenience store.
Three stars |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 10th, 2008|04:34 pm] |
 #14 Rising Moon Spring Ale (US Import) One of the Blue Moon wheat ale seasonal brews. I missed the inter one but having a beer hiatus the past couple weeks I wanted something that would go down nice. Pours a nice bright golden color. Larger than average off white head. Per the label this is an Amber Wheat Ale with Kieffer Lime and Lime Peel. You definitely notice the lime in the aroma. Amazingly smooth to drink, its like they took a regular Blue Moon and made it smoother. Little to no aftertaste.
Four stars
Blue Moon is making me a fan of wheat ales, anyone have a recommendation for another brand to try?
I'm revising my rating on that "Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale" I made back on 1/26. The more times I had this beer, the more the bourbon taste became overpowering. Now if you're a whiskey or bourbon fan, you may like this. I am not a whiskey or bourbon fan, kind of ironic since I live within an afternoon drive of almost every bourbon distillery in the world. I'm a good 20 minute drive through town to Bourbon County, Kentucky. Anyways, I give it a 1 now. What was I thinking back then? |
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| Brew Years Resolution |
[Feb. 9th, 2008|11:58 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
17) Lagunitas - Hop Stupid on tap - Very drinkable version of the Maximus. Less body, all the hops.
18) Cantillon - Fou Foune - The most delicious sour lambic I have yet to put to my mouth. Brewed with apricots. Musky nose with a long sour finish reaching far back into the throat. Tons of crisp citrus flavors. All of this with a refreshing, wine like body. Well worth the $40 I paid for it. This beer was rated #24 in Beer Advocate Magazine's Top 25 Belgian Brews.
19) Southern Tier - Tripple Chocolate Stout - I only sampled this. It was like drinking chocolate syrup with a heavy body. A beer to pair with a dessert, for sure. Definitely not my style of beer.
20) Port Brewing - Hop 15 - 15 hops varieties boiled at 15 minutes each for this 15th anniversary IPA. A bit sweet for my taste, but well worth it due to the spectacular combination of hop flavors.
21) Cantillon - Iris - Another incredible sour lambic from Cantillon. Lots of citrus on the palette, very sour and finishing long and dry.
22) Bell's Brewery - Two Hearted Ale - A knockout IPA from Bell's Brewing. Medium body with a full hop palette.
23) Cantillon - Kriek Lambic - Does this brewery make anything less than brilliant beers? Hands down, this is one of the best sour kriek lambics I've ever tasted. Ripe with cherry on the nose and pours a glowing sapphire red.
That's THREE from Cantillon that have blown me away.
24) Olfabrikken - 100 gram IPA - Poured deep golden. Sweet body leaving hints of liquorish. Not very hoppy. A very big beer.
25) Dogfish Head Brewing - Red and White - Pours a deep red. Oak on the nose with hints of pinot noir. No head. Nice strong finish. A one of a kind oak aged wit beer.
26) Moylans - Moylander Double IPA - Excellent Strong IPA. Lots of hop character balanced on a medium amount of body. Clean and strong.
27) Triumph Brewery - Honey Wheat on tap - Sorry for the lack of photos of the following brew pub's specialty brews. Triumph's Honey Wheat was wonderful. Light in body, crisp finishing, very refreshing.
28) Rock Bottom Brew Pub - Cask Conditioned Prussia's Pride IPA on tap - Much smoother than their regular Prussia's Pride IPA. Very delicious.
29) Iron Hill Brewery - Kryptonyte IPA on tap - Hopppy and smooth finishing IPA.
30) Iron Hill Brewery - Iron Bound Ale on tap - Nice light, standard IPA.
31) Port Brewing - Wipeout IPA - Excellent combination of hops in this brew. Amarillo, Centenial, Cascade, Simcoe and Summit! Bold body, pours dark amber. Excellent bitter-sweet balance.
32) Slyfox Brewery - Odyssey on tap - A personal favorite from one of my favorite local brewpubs. Carmel-malt body with an excellent hop character.
33) Bear Republic - Racer 5 IPA - Nice and hoppy standard IPA.
34) Victory Brewing Company - Harvest Pils on tap - Sorry for the lack of photo. I'm a huge fan of Victory's brews. Especially their refined Pilsners. This one falls short of being as great as their Prima Pils, but has a barely robustness not found in any other pilsner I've had to date.
35) Voodoo Brewery - 4 Seasons IPA - Citrus notes and a perfect body. Very subtle malt hint towards the end. Well defined flavors. Detected a scotch flavor 3/4 the way into the glass. Excellent IPA.
36) Brouwerij Bavik - Petrus - Oak aged Pale Ale - Yum. Sour and clean. Pours a golden blonde. Hints of oak in the throat and nose. This is one fantastic ale.
37) Green Flash Brewing Co - West Coast IPA - Nice hoppy IPA. Don't know why I didn't take more notes or photos of this one. I'll have to revisit this another time.
38) Victory Brewing Company - Prima Pils on tap at the brewery - Still the best pilsner around here in my opinion. Penn Brewing's Penn Pilsner comes very close to being as good as this.
39) Rogue - Brewer - Brewmaster John's dog's who passed away in 2006. His name was 'Brewer'. This beer, made in 8-10 batches, is only available in about 60 places within the US. I just happened upon a pint. A porter style beer, heavily spiced. Pours dark. Very delicious. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 2nd, 2008|10:49 pm] |
#13 High Country Canadian Draft (brewed by me!) I did this one all by my lonesome, yeh the wort was premade but it was my first time. Nice golden color. Stronger than expected run of the mill aroma. Tasted stronger then a typical mega lager.
I'm just proud of making it myself and enjoying the fruits of my labors.
4 stars yeh I said 4 stars baby! |
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