This was the best one, yeah. Glad you liked it!

Recent...

Green Flash - Imperial IPA

Split this with Shiv / FemShiv. Within that crowd, west coast Imperial Big IPA's, this actually tastes a little different. It's... spicey. Like Rye. There's something interesting about the malt, fuck if I know what it is, but it tasted kinda unique and pretty good. Only had a little snifter, so I don't know if things change as you go through more of it, but this was pretty good, and bonus points for staking out some unique ground in Flavor Country. A-


Lagunitas - Brown Shugga

This, uh, this is dangerous... 9.99% that tastes like hoppy candy. It's very sweet, and mid-high hoppy, so the effect is a wierdly good balance, not unlike sweet-n-sour chinese food. Two big loud flavors that sorta balance each other out. You're at the bottom of Bottle #1 and feeling like you can take on another 4, and then halfway through Bottle #2 you get The Thousand-Yard Stare. Another great offering from these guys, who continue to impress. Tread lightly. A-

I've got a back log of stuff.

Time to clean it out:




Brooklyn Local #1- I've only had their Local #2 and, if I remember correctly, I was a pretty big fan of it. Many of their regular beers leave me a little meh. Do like their Brown Ale okay. This was pretty good. Has all the elements of that Belgian style that you want. Easily the best attempt at a Belgian Pale Ale by an American brewery that I've had yet. The alcohol is virtually unnoticeable and dangerously drinkable at 9%. Still, it's missing that indefinable funk of those true Belgians that once you've had, you'll always compare to. Also, someone explain to me the difference between a Belgian Strong Pale Ale and a Belgian Triple. I realize it's been "tripled" to raise the alcohol content but they taste pretty much the same to me.




Ayinger - Celebrator Doppelbock- I'd read a ton of great things about this beer but I proceeded with caution because the only Doppelbock I've had was something by Smuttynose (I think) and I thought it was hot garbage. Had a couple of these Sunday evening after a full day with my family and FemDerris' family in my hometown. A. Full. Day. My fears were short lived. This is one of the best fucking beers. I'm not even sure how to describe it. It's got all the consistency and appearance of a Porter. Even some of the smell. But it's infinitely more complex and has a higher ABV. It's like Porter's drunk brother who also has the best drugs in town. His shit is so good, he's going to get you feeling good, but in the end, he's trouble. Ayinger is the shit.



Highland Brewing - Oatmeal Porter- These guys have slowly gotten pretty big regionally to the point where you can get their stuff in the supermarket in some markets here in Georgia. They're out of Asheville, NC. This is easily the best thing I've had by them (didn't care much for their Gaelic Ale, but I'm not a huge Red Ale guy) It's not a special beer by any stretch but it's a solid beer that you can drink several of. In some areas they're as big as Sweetwater down here.




French Broad Brewing - 13 Rebels ESB- Another brewery out of Asheville. I don't have any experience with ESB's outside of Fuller's but this was about as close to that as it gets. Great caramel-esque taste with a trace of fruitiness to it. Good malty blanket over all of it. VERY drinkable. First beer I've had of theirs. So far so good.





Victory Brewing - Hop Wallop- Their version of a Double IPA. Around 8% ABV or so I think. I have nothing bad to say about this. Had before dinner on Saturday night because I wanted something pretty stiff but drinkable. It was both those things. The problem with these sorts of beers for me is that the field is so stacked. There are so many "solid" versions of this style. Good beer that didn't really differentiate itself. That said, having a couple on hand would never be bad.




Caracole - Saxo- One of Cap'n's house brands. Again, a beer billed as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. I thought this was a little better than the Brooklyn #1. Still, I enjoyed this sitting outside reading a magazine, eating lunch by myself while FemDerris and her mom were shopping. Seems really light and refreshing which belies it's 8% ABV. Hints of lemon all over the place. Just a really crisp beer. Just a solid brewery.



Other that I had but can't remember much about:

Bruery Orchard White - This was pretty good to my memory. I'd like to try more of their stuff. They seem, to me, kind of like Dogfish Head where they aren't afraid to really get out there.

O'Dempsey's InukShuk - Red Irish Ale brewed by a local guy here in Atlanta. Really young brewer that may only have 3-4 beers and very limited distribution. From what I recall it was okay.

Souther Tier - ???? Can't remember. Just had a taste of it after dinner (Muss & Turner's for the ATL folk).

Also, coming this week:

The Squirrgle Shipment: A Story in 5 Parts

Damn, excellent work Derris. Ayinger is indeed the goods. I feel like with the Canon of old world standards like all the Ayinger and Weihenstephaner products, I know they're incredibly good, but I tried them all back in college 15 years ago and I'm trying to go try all this new stuff, etc etc, but at some point you have a sip of one of these and there's no more bullshit. No more denying... these guys got it right 400 years ago and they ain't gone out of business yet for a very, very good reason.

Yeah, the Ayinger is on my growing list for beers to try when I resume boozing in mid-to-late May. Just started stocking it at the local boozatorium and the clerk was talking it up...

The draft list of a place that just opened near me.



Meadhall

gottDAMN

I'm going to a tapping party for Mikkeller Koppi Coffee IPA tomorrow night.
It is the World's First Coffee IPA
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307/65674

hmm...

Last Night had some friends over for Stouts and Scrabble. A few good ones from last night,


Left Hand Milk Stout


Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout (my favorite of the night by far)


Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

Just got back from Ireland and I'm celebrating with some boozey, hoppy goodness:

It wasn't particularly grand, but it certainly wasn't terrible or way over the top. The bitterness of the hops blended rather well with the coffee and there was a subtle, barely noticeable coffee after taste that lingered on your tongue at the finish. You couldn't distinctly smell coffee in it either, so I think most people would have simply thought it was a standard IPA in a blind taste test.

I made a Apple Sauce Spice Cake with Lips of Faith Sahti last night that is absolutely delicious. I would have preferred to use a Nogne O Sahti, but I didn't feel like driving up to Omaha for a bottle.

Headed to the Beer, Bourbon and Barbecue Festival here in town tomorrow. Really excited, as I've been wanting to check it out for a few years now: http://www.beerandbourbon.com/north-carolina/show-info

60+ beers, 40+ bourbons and barbecue? I'm going to be in heaven.

I will be hosting a local craft beer and beer paired foods benefit tomorrow for the Nebraska Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We will be featuring beer from Lucky Bucket, Empyrean and Modern Monks and giving away Growlers from Nebraska Brewing Co.
I am also going to the Empyrean Brewing Co. 20th Anniversary tapping party tonight. They will be featuring five beers:
20th Anniversary Limited Barleywine
Beer Quest winner Matt Stinchfield's Dunkel
20th Anniversary Limited Black Pepper Porter
Four Rose Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout
Summerfest Seasonal

I had an O'Dell's Double Pilsener after the CF Benefit, and have a 750ml bottle of O'Dell's India Barleywine to drink at a later date.
We ended up making roughly $300 on the benefit, which means about 60 people showed up to eat food made with beer and drink cheap craft beer from various Nebraska Breweries. I was genuinely pleased with results after having to contend with University of Nebraska Graduation parties and a Husker Baseball game against Tejas. I figured anything better than 50 people would be a success after not having to pay for a venue and getting folks to donate their time and talent for the rest of the benefit.

Nice work Prom. Sounds like a good turnout.

Well done.

Yesterday, I had a French Broad Gateway Kölsch on draught.


Wasn't a fan. That's all.

Recents

Lagunitas - Maximus IPA

Another gigantic IPA from these guys, available in sixer form. I don't really know what distinguishes this from their other big IPA's, to be honest - it was thick and sweet and bitter and green as all get out, but so are their others. It was really good, that's for sure, but the 8.2% was a lot. Seemed like everytime I had one of these my BAC would slingshot up into GO GET'EM territory in like 25 minutes. Hoppy rocket fuel. A-


Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

Organic ingredients, from VT. Brewed using the Otter Creek (solid if boring little brewery) facilities. This was ok, nothing special, nice to put your bucks behind folks who support the good kind of farming, I guess. B



Rock Art - ESB2

The only other one of theirs I know is The Vermonster, which is a fucking enormous double IPA and nothing to be trifled with. The cover art is Hippy Chic (read: awful) but these two beers fare pretty well. This one was probably over-hopped for an english ESB, but it had a lot of snap to it that the real ones don't, to be frank. Not bad, not amazing, but I'll kick it up to an A- even though it is probably more like a B+.


Cambridge Brewing Company - Summer something er other

It was beautiful out, we were biking through Harvard Square, it was snacktime for the baby, so we stopped at a place with outdoor tables and goddam, nothing beats a crisp cold pint when it's nice out in the springtime. This picture makes me fall in love with beer all over again. B+, not that it mattered... I recall it tasting lightly orange peeled and yeasty in a good way.



Baltika - 8 (Wheat Ale)

God help me, I dove in and tried the russian numbered beers. I expect to go blind any second now but so far so good. This was what it said it was, a wheat beer. It was completely and utterly serviceable and unsurprising, like just about everything out of their country. Bananas, yeast, bubble gum, maybe a hop bud or two thrown into the vat at the last second. Cheap as fuck, considering the decent taste. -shrug- B


Baltika - 6 (Porter)

It was sweet, maybe the sweetest Porter I've had. Not off-putting, and again at 7% with decent flavor, one hell of a bargain. I'll say this... if I had to be (got to be) a wino tomorrow, I think these would be my choice for under the overpass. B+

SPECIAL REPORT

Harpoon Brewery


I visited, finally. The wife rode sweeper on a 20 mile bike ride through Boston as part of her job, one of those gigs where they got a famous local bike racer and then charged corporate execs a chunk of money to ride with him, all for a good cause (sustainability issues in their companies). The exec types love it because they can blow up their pictures with him in their cycling attire on their office walls. Whatever works! So anyway, Harpoon sponsored the event, and it ended there. I got the email late in the afternoon to grab the baby and bike there ASAP, as they were throwing an open bar, and this guy doesn't miss open bars at breweries. Anywho, here's their modest but nice "Guest" entrance and tasting room. They do a lot of good for cycling in Boston, so I am strongly in their corner. Love these guys.



Mash/Lauter Tuns

Had three of these last night. Very good. It's billed as a Porter, but they actually call it a "black IPA" on the back of the label.

So, it's dark, 6.7% and delicious. It's like a Porter/Brown Ale, but very crisp.

Need to explore their brews further.

Last night I had:

What did you think of the Yella?

Crooked line is 3 for 3 after enjoying this one last night. 9% and i'd be hard pressed to find much of a hint of the booziness. dangerous. in a good way.


been downing a lot of Racer 5 lately. also had a bottle of this, which was solid:

I fucking love Racer 5, and that settles it - Crooked Line is in the club. Must find more.